//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: Oddball 
// by The Infinity Doctor 
//------------------------------//

"I assume your 'free time' went well?" Chrysalis asked
"Yes, it did, got some reading done- battled with one of your guards...Lots of fun"
"Resonation told me of your sparring skills"
"It was just some self-defense, nothing special"
Chrysalis snorted

'Did she just try to laugh?'

"Chrysalis, I've been wondering..."
"What is it?"
"You've told me changelings feed off of love, correct?"
"That is correct, yes- where are you going with this?"
"I heard Rez saying something about how younger nymphs feed off of something else"
"Yes, that is partially true, when nymphs are very young, such as they are, they are able to feed on Royal Jelly and Nectar"
"Oh, but I haven't been feeding them either of those-"
"They've slowly been making the transition"
"That would make more sense...um, there's also something else-"
Chrysalis put a hoof to her head

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked
"Nothing...just a small headache..."
"Well- I'll just leave you to it then"
I prepared to leave when Chrysalis called me back
"Wait- could you come back?"

I noticed she didn't command me, and asked like a normal pers- pony

"Sure, what is it?" I asked
"Let us retire to my chambers, I'll postpone court for now"
'Something's up'

Once we were in the Chrysalis' chamber- she sat down on a large bed of grass and hay, much like the smaller one in my cave
The chamber was a little smaller than the throne room itself, a worn and cracked mirror hung from one of the walls, and a small vanity made from the natural rock of the cave
"Uh...what did you want to talk about?" I asked
She was silent for a moment
"Are you-"
"Do you consider me-"
"Consider you what?"
"A- a friend?"
She said it as if it were poison
"Why do you need to know?"
"...I detest the very concept of companionship, yet I feel drawn to you whenever you're in the vicinity"

'Oh god, is she saying what I think she's saying?'

"For all intents and purposes, yes Chrysalis, I do think of you as a friend- what brought this on?"
"I have no idea...it was just nagging at me for the past few days"
"Oh, well- I'll see you around then-"

"I have a favor to ask of you"

'Again?'

"What is it?"
"I realize that you have no real place in the hive"
'Thanks for that' I thought sarcastically 
"So I'm sending you out for- let's call it extensive research"
"Where to?"
"A little town not far from Canterlot- Ponyville I believe"

"Alright, is there anything I should know or am I going in blind?"
"Don't get caught"
"That's...reassuring, when do I leave?"
"In two days, be ready"
"Er, I will..."
Chrysalis shooed me out of her chambers and I went to my cave to pack

'Well that didn't take too long...' I thought, slipping a bedsheet into the backpack

"Hey..."
"Oh, hey Rez, what's up?"
"I just heard the news, congradulations"
"Thanks, it's nice here, but I think I'll enjoy some fresh air"
"Yeah...just be careful- please?"
"Uh, sure"
'I was planning to anyway...'
"-because, y'know, it'd be a big loss to...the hive...and everything"
"Nah, I haven't really done anything except probably get in everyone's way"
"Well...I'm not great with 'goodbyes'"
"It's not goodbye, just farewell for now"
"Yeah- I guess that's true...I guess this is 'farewell' then, I've got some other things to do..."
"-bye Rez"
"Bye Sam"

She left the cave and I finished making sure everything was ready for my trip

X X X X X X X

"Goodbye Sam, it's been a very...different experience" Chrysalis said

She and the younger nymphs were lined up at the main entrance to the hive, wishing me luck on the way

"Chrysalis, I can't thank you enough for your hospitality"
"It was nothing- now you must be on your way" 
I nodded and turned to the vast expanse of wasteland, my wings buzzed and I hovered above the ground

I heard another pair of wings and turned to see one of the nymphs trying to follow me, flying a few feet at a time.

"I'm sorry, you can't come with me"

She shook her head and stomped her hoof in the dirt

"No"

I picked her up and set her closer to the hive

"Stay"

She stamped her hoof again I looked to Chrysalis for help
"She's too cute; can't you do anything?"

"There's nothing I can do" she said with a hint of a smile "If she wants to go with you, that's her decision"
"Are you sure? I'd think you'd want to keep all of your hatchlings together"
"True, true, butour hive has slowly begun to deteriorate, our food supplies have steadily depleted...I suppose what I'm saying is- would you mind taking her with you?"
"I'd be more than happy to, but-"
"Your Queen commands it"
"I think we've established that you aren't my Queen..." I muttered "Yes, I'll take Mirror with me"
"You do understand that it is difficult for me to make these decisions? Don't you?"
"Yes...I just wish it didn't involve separating all of you"
"You won't, we're able to detect each other- remember?"
"Yes, I remember-"
"Good- now get going"
She led the rest of the nymphs into the hive and I looked down to Mirror

"Well, looks like it's just you and me now, kid"

X X X X X X X

Mirror and I 'trotted' through the desert-like landscape, stopping every few hours to rest or take a drink of water, whenever she'd get tired I'd pick her up, carry her, and fly for a little while, then repeat the cycle. Mirror enjoyed the short flights, spreading her hooves superman-style as the wind blew through her little mane- she squealed as I did small loops and a few turns, she was still giggling as I touched back down to the landscape.

For now though, she hung around my head the way she did back at the hive, I held her in place as she snored softly- it was night-time now.

A short while ago I discovered my golden-eye can glow, sort of acting like a flashlight, my eye shined ahead, reminding me of a spot light
I continued walking as Mirror shifted on my head

I assumed it was around midnight when I stopped and sat down and leaned against one of the rocks sticking out of the ground, careful not to disturb Mirror.

X X X X X X X

The sun burned my eyes as I sat up and looked around, noticing the abscence of a certain changeling nymph

"Mirror?"
I continued to scan the horizon
'She couldn't have gotten far-'
"Mirror?"
I heard her squeak and I looked down, seeing her staring up at me; I pretended not to notice her and held up a hand, as if looking at something in the far distance

"I wonder where Mirror could have gotten to?"

I felt her bat my leg with her hoof

"I cannot seem to find her anywhere- oh what shall I tell Chrysalis?"

Her hoof hit my leg again

"Perhaps I should- OUCH!"
I looked down at her, a look of innoccence as her little mouth was still attatched to my hoof
She frowned and whimpered as I pulled her off and set her down

"I guess I deserved that, didn't I?"
She gave a half-nod
"Where'd you learn to bite like that?"
She only smiled innoccently
"Well, let's keep going, I think we might be close to a town by now"
I transformed into an orange pegasus stallion and Mirror turned into a dark blue earth pony filly

I picked her up as we grew closer to the town

X X X X X X X

A few ponies greeted me as Mirror and I got closer to the town square
'This place isn't half bad'
For her part, Mirror seemed amazed at everything, especially with the statue in the fountain
"Pretty amazin' isn't it?"
"Hmmm?"
I turned and a unicorn mare was approaching us
"My son used to get the same look on his face whenever we'd visit here"
She turned her attention to the statue and sighed
"I sure miss those days...anyway, my name's Rose" she said, offering her hoof
"Nice to meet you" I said, shaking it
"I'm- uh, Silent Night, this is my little sister, Mira"
"Good to meet the both of you- so, what brings you to Trottingham?"
"Oh, well, we're on a trip around Equestria, this was our first stop"
"That sounds nice, I might try that myself- but like they say, there's no place like home" she said, gesturing to the square
"Yeah...well it was nice meeting you"
"Likewise, I guess I'll see you around then"
"Before I forget, do you know when the next train leaves?"
"I can't say that I know offhoof, you could try asking the stationmaster, where are you two headed anyway?"
"Ponyville is our next stop"
'Sort of the truth'
"Ah, nice place, my cousin lives there now, maybe you know her- mare by the name of Daisy"
"Can't say that I do..."
"Oh, well nice meeting you, good luck with your trip"
"Thanks, bye!"
"Bye bye!"

The mare trotted away and I looked back to Mirror, who was watching the conversation with interest
"See? It's not so hard"

After exploring around for a few hours, we were on the train heading for Ponyville

"Nice place" I said as the train pulled into the station
Mirror and I got up from our seats and walked out of the passenger car, we were about to decide what to do first when a purple unicorn carrying some sort of a reptile trotted past

"Excuse me, miss?"
"No time sir, I'm very busy, you can go to the library and I'll talk later if you want"
"Uh...okay"
'Wonder what that was about?'
Mirror sneezed and nearly fell off my back
I caught her with my wing and gently set her on the ground
"Don't wander off- okay?"
She nodded
"We really need to get you to start talking more..." I muttered "So- your decision, what should we do?"

She looked around the town and pointed to three fillies playing some sort of game
"You want to go play?"
She nodded eagerly
"Okay, but no feeding- I've got the jelly your mother gave me"
Mirror and I made our way over to the three fillies
"Girls, I was wondering if you might let my little sister play with you"
"Sure mister! There's always room for one more!" the yellow filly with the red mane said
"Just be careful please, she's still very young"
"Alright! Hey- we can show you our clubhouse!"
"What clubhouse?"
"It's where we hold our crusader meetings" the white-coated filly said
"What exactly do you crusade for?"
"The three of us are on a mission to get our cutie marks"
"Oh, well I'm coming to keep an eye on Mirror, is that okay with you?"
"Sure! You can meet my family while we're there"
"What are your names anyway?"
"I'm Applebloom"
"I'm Sweetie Belle"
"I'm Scootaloo"
"-and we're THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" they shouted at once

'I may just have a heart-attack, these ponies are just too darned cute'

The crusaders took us to a large apple farm, where I saw an orange mare and the purple unicorn from before
"Hey, looks like there's a new pony in town" Applebloom said, running up to the orange mare
"Hey there Applebloom, who're your friends?" the orange mare asked
"This is- um- um-"
"Forgive me, I didn't give my name, I'm Silent Night, and this is my little sister, Mira"
"I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike" the unicorn said
"Oh, so now you have time to talk?" I asked

"That reminds me! I've got to get going, I'll see you all later" she said, leaving the farm

"Somethin' tells me that pony works too hard" Applejack said