//------------------------------// // Nymph Talk // Story: The Changeling That Bugged My Heart // by sIDsleeper //------------------------------// Chapter 13. -Nymph Talk Formica closed the door of the bathroom and locked it, just to be safe, before releasing her magic on the pegasus downstairs. She listened for a minute, but she couldn’t hear the sound of stampeding hooves coming up the stairs. That was a good sign. Either Lantern was a reasonable fellow, who understood that she didn’t mean harm to Archive, or she succeeded in intimidating him. Both options were fine by her. She levitated the panting nymph into the large tub, and decided that a warm bath would be much better for her than a cold shower. She helped Archive clean her chitin of the various remaining fluids, before starting to fill the tub with water. She walked over to the sink and started rummaging in the little cabinet above it. She levitated out a vial, and sprinkled some of its contents into the water before putting it away again. As the small crystals dissolved into the warm water, they tinted it a light shade of pink. A sweet aroma of candy with a hint of lemon, filled their nostrils. Formica joined Archive in the soothing bath, her mane was still damp from her previous shower. She smiled at the exhausted nymph, and saw nothing but eager curiosity in her eyes. “I can see it on your face. Go ahead and ask away, before you burst like a bubble.” she said, emphasizing her words by blowing a pink bubble through one of the holes in her forehoof. Archive felt reinvigorated by the bath water, and she couldn’t decide what to ask first. “Aunt Formica…” “Stop! If you call me ‘Aunt’ again, I’ll tell your colt-toy a few interesting facts about the holes on your feet.” Archive blushed and looked aside. “He already knows.” she muttered. “Wow. Kinky.” replied Formica, with a sultry look that took the place of her initially surprised expression. “For Hive’s sake, would you stop with the lewd jokes!? It wasn’t like that, it was a misunderstanding. He tried to jam some glowing stones into them, so I could guide him in the dark.” Formica’s ears twitched imperceptibly at the mention of the glowing stones, but she decided not to push Archive for details. “Okay, okay, but seriously, ‘Formica,’ will do just fine. So, what did you want to ask me?” “C-could you tell me about what Mother was like when she was a nymph? I’ve been cut off from the hive-mind for days, and I miss her presence in my head.” “I can imagine how unsettling it is for you not to have her reassuring hum in the back of your mind. Like missing a piece of yourself, that was always there since the day you hatched. It took me weeks to get used to the silence after I left the hive behind. Let me see, how about I tell you how she became a Queen?” “Ooh, that sounds interesting. She never let us into her memories, it feels kinda naughty to hear something so intimate about her.” “Haha, yeah. Queens do that, but there’s a reason for that. There’s a ritual that’s required for one to become a Queen, and it’s not without danger. Say Archive, did you know that any nymph could be a potential Queen?” “Well, yes, as long as they have the Gift. Then they’d be trained to be one, just as you said.” “Technically, the Gift is not a requirement. It’s only there to help the hive advance. If you recall, Teshya didn’t have the Gift. She made it herself, after Csillag appointed her to be her successor. The only actual requirements are that the ‘ling has to be a Nymph, and the completion of a certain ritual. Anyway, the reason the Queen keeps her memories from her children, is to prevent them from learning about the ritual I’ve mentioned. I hope you’re responsible enough not to spread what I’m about to tell you, or to actually try it, but then again, I’m not part of the Hive anymore, so it’s not really a concern for me.” Archive nodded, that she would keep it a secret. “Clever girl. You see, we were finished with our training when our mother shared it with us. A test, and a necessary step to become a Queen. She told us we had to go out and live with the ponies for a month, but not to gather emotional energy, instead to find a mate. She said a nymph in itself is not capable of laying eggs. Every nymph has the eggs, but they’re unfertilised, so we would have to find a mate, a stallion, who would do just that. Each of us would have to find a stallion to mate with, so we could become Queens and lay fertile eggs to raise a new generation of changelings. But there was a condition. Having sex with a stallion in itself would be worthless, if we did it while being disguised. For the seed to take, we were to do it in our true-forms. It was up to us how we would accomplish this, but we had to do it without revealing ourselves to the ponies.” “How would you do that?” asked Archive incredulously. “There are a lot of tools for that, starting with partial transformation, a simple illusion, or you can even knock the stallion unconscious before getting down to business.” said Formica, flashing a mischievous smile at Archive. “But where was I? Oh, yeah! So, we set out on our mission. Each of us chose a village for ourselves. I came here to find myself a mate, but the ponies of the village were very distrusting, and I had a hard time fitting in. If it weren’t for that one pony, I would’ve starved after the first week.” “That’s weird. From what I heard about ponies from my sisters, they’re generally very welcoming to new faces.” “While that may be true to small towns, this little village was a very tight-knit community at the time, and they were slow to accept any new addition to their circle. That’s not to say they were hostile, but aside from nods and greetings they tended to keep to themselves. It helped that both of us were new in the village, so it was easy to find common ground, and lean on each other for help. We became good friends, and even more. I knew then, that I would not become a Queen.” “How come?” Archive asked incredulously. “Not only have I fallen in love with a pony, which was kind of a taboo in and of itself, I fell for a mare. I decided that I would stay here and start a new life, but then something happened. A message came to me in the middle of the night to inform me, that Lamia has returned to the hive after completing Mother’s trial. I was called back. I couldn’t disobey Mother. I snuck away from the village that same night and kept crying the whole way back home.” Archive’s expression fell at hearing Formica’s saddened voice. “Wait, Aunt Lamia? But...but Mother’s the Queen now.” “Yes, well...when I got back to the Hive, Mother welcomed me with grave news.” she said in a sober tone of voice, ”I rushed to my sister’s chambers. Lamia was lying on her bed, crying, broken, clutching a single egg to her body. She fed everything she had into that single egg, but it just wouldn’t hatch, and she couldn’t lay another. Her body rejected the seed, and she became infertile after laying her first egg, almost dying in the process. Her failure drove her to the edge of insanity. She would go out to gather emotional energy, then return to feed it to her egg for weeks, barely leaving any to herself to keep going.” “I can’t even imagine what that must have felt like. Poor Aunty. Now it makes sense why she’s guarding her memories so closely.” “As you know, she recovered eventually, but at the time she was a wreck. Mother felt for her and never treated her like she had failed her expectations, but the fact remained that the hive needed another Queen. She decided with a heavy heart, that we would need to return to our mission, and find a mate. Another Queen was necessary for the hive to survive, and for that an heir was needed who could lay eggs, and nurture new generations for a long time to come. By this time my heart was almost shattered by the pain of leaving the pony I loved behind, and the unfortunate fate of my sister. I was torn between my family and love. I decided to leave the Hive forever, to go back and live with the one my heart was beating for. I visited Lamia one night, before heading out. I told her everything. She just smiled at me, as she hung onto her egg. It was definitely alive, but it looked so fragile, that I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, and as a parting gift, I channelled all the pure love I got from my significant somepony into her, and said goodbye to her. Then I went to Lilith, and told her the same. She protested that she wouldn’t be able to handle a hive of her own, but I told her, that I always thought that she would be the best Queen out of the three of us.” “Please don’t get angry at me for saying this, but that was very irresponsible of you, Formica. What would’ve happened to the hive if the same thing happened to Mother as Aunt Lamia?” “I know it was foolish, but as I’ve told you, Lamia and I are twins, hatched from the same egg. It’s more likely that I would have run into the same complications as she did, rather than Lilith. Confident that Lilith would succeed, I snuck out of the hive, silenced my mind and severed the link that bound me to my family for all those years. I almost gone insane, had it not for the welcoming hooves and love of my Rose Vine, who wept and cried and was about to give up hope when I showed up in the village again, half dead by the starvation that I had to endure on my way back. Next time I heard of the hive was on a chilly winter evening, about half a year later, when Lamia knocked on the door downstairs.” “If you cut the Link, how did she find you out here?” “I told her where I’d go, in case the worst scenario would come to pass. She found me easily, and when Rosie opened the door for her, she saw right through her disguise. I still remember that hilarious face she made when Rosie called out that my ‘Humbug’ was here to visit.” Formica was laughing mirthfully, “Lamia was back to her old self, and it was good to see that she did not succumb to her grief over her failure, and how she was genuinely happy to tell me about Lithy’s first brood of about five hundred little grubs. She also told me that Mother was furious with me after hearing what I’d done, but in a few months she calmed down and decided to let the new Queen pass judgement on me. Lithy convinced her that I’d never let any harm come to the hive because of my actions, and that I should be left alone to live how I saw fit. She conceded, and took her place beside her Mother in the chamber of Queens. Before Lamia left to return home, Rosie came up with the idea to send some love to Lithy as congratulations on her becoming a Queen. When I last saw Lamia, she was filled to bursting with love and was literally hobbling her way out after saying goodbye to us. They were faring far better than I could ever hoped, and the hive was in good hooves. I only regret that I forgot to ask what happened to little Chrysalis, before she left.” Archive’s expression turned to fearful at the mention of the name. “C-Chrysalis?” she asked shakily. “Yeah, Lamia’s egg. She kept calling it her little princess, Chrysalis. It was a sad deal, seeing her like that.” “F-Formica...there’s something you should know.” she said in a serious tone. Formica looked at her questioningly. As Archive retold the events of Chrysalis’ actions, what she had done in Canterlot, and most of all what she had done to the Hive. Formica’s features filled with rage and she jumped out of the tub. “Archive, get out of there and dry yourself! When you’re done, meet me downstairs...also, prepare a disguise! We’re going to the village.” “B-but I can’t change!” she protested. “I’m sure you can, now that your horn is fixed. We have a lot of things to do, and very little time to do it.” she said, before storming out of the bathroom, dripping with water. Archive climbed out of the tub, fired up her horn to change, and as the fires consumed her form, she dried off instantly. Lantern was sitting by the fire, trying to dry his mane after dunking his head into the water barrel, when Formica flew down the stairs, leaving a wet trail behind herself. He jerked his head around to the sound of her landing behind him. “Pull yourself together, ponyboy. We’re going on an adventure.” “W-what?” “Archive told me what happened at Canterlot. Our family needs us now, so we’ll go to the village. There’s a pair of ponies there I want you to meet. They’ll help us, so we can help my kind.” “Weren’t you guys supposed to keep your identities a secret?” “If it were that serious, you’d be dead, boy.” “HA! You can’t hurt me! I know about the Ancient Laws.” Lantern shot back. “It took you way too long to figure it out...but, it’s not like I’m bound by those laws. I’m an outcast by my own choosing. Who’s there to punish me for breaking it?” “Wow, you’re rotten.” “Do you think it’s wise to say something like that to a changeling who could either help you, or freeze you in place and bite off your tongue? Hmm? I do wonder how you taste, dear. Wanna give me a kiss?” Lantern paled a little, and shut his mouth. “I thought so. Now, if you need to use the toilet before we head out, this would be the perfect time to do so.” laughed Formica. Lantern’s cheeks colored and he looked everywhere, but at her. “Actually…” his voice trailed off. “Are you for real?” Formica said in a deadpan tone. “Hey! Nature’s calling and there’s only so much I can do not to violate your garden.” he shot back. Formica’s laugher was uproarish as she pointed down the hallway “Last door on the left.” Lantern stomped his way across the room, looking indignant as all Tartarus. Formica watched him go as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye that spilled by the laughing, “He’s a good pony. Archive’s lucky that she didn’t happen to grab some heartless idiot when she got blasted.” she murmured under her breath while smiling. She collected her thoughts as she stood in the middle of the room, closed her eyes, and changed.