//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten: First Impressions // Story: The Cuckoo Child // by Nyarlathi //------------------------------// It was a weekend afternoon in the nursery, and Sparrowbee drifted back to awareness of his surroundings after a mental meeting with the Queen in a somewhat distracted mood. Apparently, there was indeed a serious love shortage – just as that nymph in the cafeteria had implied – and one that would be problematic at best for his goal of becoming a Royal, if he’d need as much love as her majesty claimed. Should he confide more in her about his plan? It could help cement his position, to give her the hope it might provide – but with the hive in such dire straits, she might simply pod all the resulting foals and not bother with any customising or the free roaming he’d promised Nightmare Moon… He was startled out of his reverie by a glomp from Chitin, who seemed somewhat excited. “Naptime’s over, sleepy! Come on, we’ve got some new friends!” Puzzled and still adjusting to the situation, he allowed Chitin to guide him towards the rest of the nest, who were listening rapt to a trio of slightly older nymphs wearing yellow scarves. When they noticed their audience had grown, they each struck a pose and introduced themselves. They were, apparently, Chitter, Scurry and Bluebottle of the Caste Questers – a longstanding, multi-nest club dedicated to having fun while trying to figure out what path in life truly fit them. If Sparrowbee had researched the Cutie Mark Crusaders before getting stuck in this world, he’d have known to be wary. As it was, though, he was more bemused than anything. He’d never been part of a club as a true child, and he wasn’t entirely sure how they were supposed to work. Not to mention, he already knew what caste he was aiming for. He was reluctant, but… the rest of his nest really wanted this, and he doubted he could afford a split in the nest at this stage if he wanted to maintain and expand on his rule. Besides, maybe he could use this to gain influence with more nymphs, rather than his time simply being wasted? He’d have to stay on the ball, make sure he took charge in as many activities as he could without being obnoxious. Lovely – another commitment to juggle. With his course set, he began to ask questions. “Does the club explore the hive?” The others perked up at this, their eyes sparkling, and Scurry nodded – after all, as they explained gleeful, there was no better way to investigate all the castes. Now that had promise… Perhaps, now he could better comprehend changeling script, he could check out whatever library there might be? Slyly, he pointed out that there could be books about the castes in a place like that, maybe more knowhow than they could find on the hivemind yet. There were, as expected, a couple of dissenters – mostly due to the difficulty of reading at their stage of development – but the prospect of picture books was persuasive enough. While it wasn’t quite the sort of quest the CQs had imagined, they latched onto it with an enthusiastic shout of ‘Caste Questers forever!’ As they began to lead the way, Sparrowbee noticed with bemused unease that he could hear some kind of music starting up, despite the lack of any visible instrument – and nobuggy seemed to see anything unusual about that. Not only that, but the CQs had broken into song, perfectly in time and with enviable harmony. “We are the Caste Questers, a band of nymphs in need - of a path to purpose, through every song and deed. In the hive’s grand scheme, we’re sure to be a hit - but first we have to work out just how we’re gonna fit! Could we be Builders, big and tough and strong? Maybe keeping our hive running is where we’ll belong! Or will we be Infiltrators, deceiving ponykind? We’d don a face and steal their love, while to our schemes they’d be blind!” Okay, so he could kind of remember there being a lot of songs in the show, even from the limited amount of episodes he’d skimmed, but now the others of his nest were chiming in on cue – without any hivemind networking. This was distinctly weird – even he was bounding in step with the music as they ventured out of the nursery. He’d zoned out for a considerable portion of the song, unsettled, but he was rallying. If he just lagged behind in this song thing, which seemed to come so naturally to everybuggy, how could he convince them to follow him? As he dwelt on his intent to rule, words swam into his head, unbidden but his own. The others left him an opening automatically, and he took the plunge. “Or perhaps I have a lofty goal, to reach the greatest height - a wish to rule a hive someday, a quest for which I’ll fight! If you support me on my way, I’ll make it worth your while - for my hive won’t go hungry, my plan will make you smile!” It seemed his solo had concluded the musical number, and with it their journey, the little group finding themselves stood in the doorway of a well-illuminated cavern lined with books as far as the eye could see. With a grin of anticipation, he rushed in at a gallop to find a table, wings buzzing enough that his gait wouldn’t have been out of place on the moon. It wasn’t too long before the entire group of them were gathered around a table piled with books – but after a moment, Sparrowbee realised that he was the only one actually trying to read. Ah. Right. His solo. With a distinctly awkward smile, he lowered the tome he’d been trying to get into and met the glittering, wide eyes of the other nymphs. “Do you really want to be a Royal?” Chitter asked breathlessly, in tones very much like their namesake, and he nodded slowly, glancing around to check whether they were being observed. Nobuggy had seemed to really notice the musical number for some reason, but now that that particular piece of madness was over, there was no reason not to be cautious. At his confirmation, the excitement he could feel wafting from the others spiked, though the feel of it differed between his nestmates and the CQs. Wings buzzing, the club members exchanged glances, grins wide enough that he began to wonder if he ought to be concerned. “We’ve never had a Royal Caste Quester before – we could be the very first to have one in the club!” Well, at least they seemed enthusiastic about helping him to achieve his goal, but he had the distinct feeling that he was in a little out of his depth with these nymphs. Not to mention, from the impressions he was picking up from the others, he had some explaining to do to his nestmates before the day was up. Hopefully, this wouldn’t all go to the dogs.