A great dust storm rolled over the Prowl with the howling wind. It tugged on the secretion barricades that covered the cave entrance and the outside seemed to vanish in the thick wall of dust. The wind picked up its ferocity and something hit the barricades, likely a branch or a trunk of a tree that had been picked up by the storm. 1077 wondered if the Hive had managed to lock all the storm-doors before the dust had hit them. His thoughts lingered on his comrades and a yawn escaped his mouth. Gnat and Louse had nice and fresh pods they could sleep in, he would have to find a relatively comfortable rock.

1077 was at least not alone with his pain since he heard many grumbles from the Infiltrators and Warriors that traveled with them for their final exams in disguises and love extraction. The smaller and more slender changeling Infiltrators tried to curl into crevices in the cave while the more bulky changeling Warriors laid themselves to rest where they stood guard. The changeling Scouts had been sent out into the storm to train in ambush tactics and Prowl survival. The cave was quiet without the constant buzzing of the Scouts' rapid and impatient movements and as most changelings slept a serene calm fell over him. Only a few of the drones worked tirelessly to keep the storm-door secure but they tried their best to not disturb their sleeping brethren.

That was when light steps echoed over the cave. Each hoof was placed slowly and tactically to avoid as much noise as possible. 1077 yawned and looked over his shoulder only to snort in amusement and shake his head. He watched as Princess Lampyridae made her way across the room until she stood by his side and watched the shaking green storm-door.

"Seamstress forgive my words, but the Prowl is damn ugly today," Lampyridae mumbled and sat down beside him.

1077 gave a sideways glance at the princess before he continued to watch the entrance. "You should return to your pod, Firefly. The others get antsy when you approach the storm-door."

"They are asleep if you hadn't noticed, and you should be too. Furthermore, I know enough wards to keep a bug-bear at bay, a storm wouldn't hurt me," she said and stretched. "And storm can't go on forever. I give it two more hours, or I decree that I shall die of boredom."

1077 looked out at the howling storm which showed no sign of waning and he shook his head. "I don't sleep while on watch duty. And I believe it will last for a lot longer than two hours, princess. But I can at least rescue you from boredom."

Lampyridae's eyes lit up at the suggestion and she leaned in close. "And what do you suggest?~"

"Likely nothing close to whatever perverse imagery your mind has conjured up."

"Hey, I am not perverse!—"

He held up a hoof to silence her and he pointed to the sleeping changelings. The princess reluctantly backed down and 1077 gave her a small smile. "I do have some stories you might like. From when I was in training with my brood-brothers."

The pink-maned changeling smiled in excitement. "Alright, I'll bite. I want to know what is the stupidest thing you did during your training."

He flushed for a second and coughed to hide his embarrassment. "I... I accidentally disturbed the nest of an empress spider..."

"You what!?" Lampyridae whispered.

Another changeling Warrior that sat up on guard duty piqued up at their conversation. He grinned at the two of them. "1077, you do mean when you managed to—"

"Yes."

"And we were forced to—"

1077 cleared his throat. "Do not spoil the surprise, Dragonfly, the princess herself asked to hear the story."

Dragonfly let out a quick 'ah' and bowed his head in respect before he returned to keep watch over the camp.

Lampyridae looked at 1077 over with a sad frown. "You should have a name by now."

"I'll get one when I have earned one, Firefly. Now, about my story," he replied and sat down.

The princess leaned in close with a small smile and looked at him expectantly.

"I had just passed my fourteenth cycle when I was sent out into the Prowl with the rest of the Warrior brood. My brood-brothers, Gnat and Louse, or 1054 and 1071 as they were called at the time, suggested we do some exploring of the forest perimeter when we got to Fort Cicada. I was apprehensive at first but I was convinced it would be good survival training and that we might even run into some pony mares if we ventured deep enough," 1077 said.

Lampyridae gave him a small grin. "And what exactly were three broodlings gonna do to some helpless pony mares?"

"Extract their love. It was purely for the sake of the Hive."

"Sure," she deadpanned.

1077 cleared his throat. "Anyway as I was saying we ventured out into the woods, feigning that we were gonna check up on the wards meant to keep away wildlife from the fort. In reality, we completely abandoned our duties to have fun instead. I still suspect our commander knew that we were up to no good, but either he didn't care enough to stop us or he simply thought we couldn't get into any real trouble. After all, Fort Cicada is in one of the more peaceful regions of the forest."

Lampyridae nodded. "I visited once maybe three cycles ago? I remember it as being in a lush part of the woods with no real dangerous beasts."

"Well, you would be wrong. As we explored I decided to venture off on my own, mostly because I wanted to find a nice quiet place and sleep. I still wasn't used to my new chitin or how much more taxing it was to cast the new combat magic. I often dozed off in the middle of a march or fell asleep during guard duty. Not unheard of, but annoying to my superiors and the Praetorians that accompanied us. Praetorian Scourge was assigned to supervise my brood and he once chewed me out for falling asleep during my guard duty. The cranky old bug had me run thirty laps around the fort grounds and then deprived me of love for two days. I still remember how he glared at me..." he said with a shudder.

"Yeah, cranky old Scourge... I miss him. He was fun in his own way. Always had a snide comment ready whenever my mother approached. I swear he feared nothing. I bet you he wouldn't have thought twice about insulting the Seamstress if he found himself in her presence," Lampyridae grinned.

1077 smiled. "Yeah, good old Scourge. I used to resent him until the day I went exploring with Gnat and Louse. Speaking of which... After I parted ways with them I searched for a place where I could hide, maybe build a quick bed. And I did find such a place, a beautiful cave that beckoned me. Like I was possessed I flew into its inviting maw without a care in the world. I was a fool. You see, Firefly, there is a reason we have broods specialized in different things. As a Warrior, I am meant to act as a soldier and guard the royal family. Infiltrators are meant to be able to perfectly mimic the movements of any creature and quickly adapt to their surroundings. Praetorians are meant to lead our armies and act as the shields of the queen. Scouts are meant to collect all relevant information about an area without making a sound or leaving a mark. So tell me, Firefly, why do you think it might be a bad idea for a Warrior to go explore as I did?"

She hummed and looked him over for a second. "You didn't have threat assessments when it came to places?"

He shook his head. "Well, that is not entirely true. I did have some semblance of safe and unsafe, but it was rudimentary in comparison to my extensive education in the martial. You see, a scout would have given the cave one glance and known to keep away and mark it as a danger on the map. A scout would have known the cave was inhabited. I just waltzed in like an idiot with the quest to find sleep."

"And instead you found an empress spider."

"Oh, I sure did. I walked all the way into the main chamber of the cave, did not see a single sign of it being a nest, and almost—forgive my crude words—pissed myself when I saw it: Three times as large as the queen with a giant white line on its back, six mandibles that ended in sharp spikes, hairy legs which moved so quickly I could barely register them, and blue eyes that glowed in the dark. I screamed and ran. And as I left the cave the empress spider chased me. I just so happened to run into Gnat and Louse on the way and we all proceeded to run, hollering and screeching like banshees as the empress spider chased us," 1077 said and slid a hoof down his face.

"What about the wards? Or your spells?" the princess asked.

He gave her an unimpressed look. "We were young and stupid, but not that stupid. No one was gonna attack an empress spider! The Seamstress herself sired them. And the wards were completely ineffective against it. We passed the stone inscribed with the warding runes and the empress spider toppled it as it chased after us. It did not even flinch! So there we are, running and soon flying away from a very hungry empress spider while we scream our heads off. As we reach Fort Cicada the guards at the gate, also of our brood cycle, just stand around like particularly surprised trees. They don't immediately try to lock the gate or fly into action to save us, they just scream and run inside.

"We fly over the wall and the empress spider crashes through the gate. There is absolute chaos. The Praetorians tried to form a formation to repulse the spider but they are literally sent flying by a swipe of its legs. The Warriors are running around absolutely terrified, the Scouts have already fled, and the damn Infiltrators transform into barrels and tools to hide from the spider, basically leaving us to be eaten. And to top it all off the spider crashes into the latrines as it tried to eat a fellow brooding."

Lampyridae couldn't help but laugh at the imagery. "And what happened next?"

"Good old Scourge happened. He marches out of his quarters, roars in rage at the pandemonium that's happening in the camp, and grabs a bo-staff. The old Praetorian begins whacking away at the spider's legs and slowly but surely he forces it out of the force. He even uses a light-blast spell for good measure to disorient the beast and then he casts a shield spell that envelops the entire fort. The shield is in place until the spider disappears into the forest and a scout confirms it has returned to its cave. Eventually, all the chaos dies down, the Infiltrators are chewed out for cowardice by their superiors, the Praetorians are tasked with setting up more powerful wards, the scouts do not get new love rations for three days, and finally, there was me and my brood-brothers. Scourge gave me the biggest dressing down I'd had in my entire life, I swear I showered in his spit as he yelled at me. He said I had to be the most stupid, selfish, foolish, and tactically braindead changeling he'd ever met. I swear he wanted to kill me. Luckily the old bug was somewhat lenient as I got to keep my life, but I had to repair and take care of the latrines for the rest of my stay in Fort Cicada."

Lampyridae had rolled over laughing as he told his tale and she wiped tears from her eyes. "And despite that, you liked old Scourge?"

"He saved my life, and it was he who recommended that I'd be trained for a bodyguard position three cycles later. He was a strict and cranky superior, but he encouraged those under him to pursue valuable roles in the Hive. I dedicated myself to being the best in my brood after the spider incident and he took notice. He was many things, but not unjust," 1077 said with a smile.

1077 continued to tell Lampyridae some stories from his time as a broodling as the storm raged on. As the hours passed the two of them sat closer and closer until Lampyridae leaned her head on his shoulder. The Scouts did eventually return, which prompted them to temporarily separate, but once sleep reigned over the cave once more 1077 continued.

As the storm eventually lost its strength and the storm-door stopped shaking Lampyridae got up to stretch. She looked out at the dusty plains of the Prowl through the green crystal of the storm-door and she seemed to sink deep in thought. "Do you think I will pass the exam? I worry I'll fail."

1077 shrugged and noticed that the other changelings slowly woke from their rest. "Infiltrators that are your age extract love all the time. I mean, even I managed to do it during my exam. And even if you should fail you wouldn't be the first. We all blunder and fail in the beginning. Though I believe you'll find it easy to extract love. Just follow your instincts. Emotions ebb and flow from ponies and they're easy to grasp and siphon."

"Thank you," Lampyridae said with a smile.

The princess looked around them, waited for the other changelings to look the other way, and she then leaned in to kiss 1077's cheek. He stared wide-eyed in surprise and he gave the princess a bewildered look.

"Firefly..."

She pressed a hoof to her lips and shushed him. "There's scarce few moments of happiness in the prowl or Hive. Let's enjoy one for a while, together."

And he couldn't help but smile at her words.

This story is indeed not dead. I am working on this story and King of Cosea simultaneously and I will make a blogpost eventually about my plans for both. You won't see any updates for King of Cosea in a while though.

Some things about the chapter: Originally this was intended as a short flashback but it was soon expanded and since I am trying not to go over 3k words in a chapter I could not add the modern-day stuff. Furthermore, I decided on a "name" for Mute which I have incorporated into the flashback back in chapter 1. Why 1077? I am not really sure. But I needed something to call him before he earns his name since using "he" and "him" all the time seemed monotonous. I also expanded a bit on the changeling lore while giving you some fun images of Mute running away from a very angry spider. I hope you liked the chapter and have a good day!