Oddball

by The Infinity Doctor

Chapter 4

"So, where are now?" Sady asked, stepping out of the portal
"We're at your house" Chrysalis said, pointing to me
"We are? Why?"
"Pack your necessities, you're coming with me"
"...will I be able to see Elaine one last time?"
"Yes, yes, there will be time for your loved ones" she said hurriedly "Now go"

I slowly nodded and ran upstairs to get everything I needed

"So...where're you two going?" Sady asked
Chrysalis didn't respond
"Are you an alien?"
No response
"I know Sam isn't an alien, but you look like one, so I was just wondering if-"
"Silence!"
The sudden volume caused Sady to flinch
"Sorry..." Sady said

A few minutes later, Sam came down the stairs wearing a backpack
"Well...I'm all ready- when do we leave?"
"Right now"
Her horn flashed and she and I disappeared from the room

"Wait- what about Sady?"
"I sent her back to her own home-" was all her response

Travelling through the portal, we arrived at Elaine's house
"Are you sure she'll accept you in this form?"
"Probably not, but it'll be easier to get all of this over with"
"Sam? I-I-Is that y-you?" Elaine asked, coming out of her room
"...y-yeah, it is"

In her defense, she took my transformations alot better than I thought she would- she only screamed twice

"Are you quite finished?" Chrysalis asked
"Um, y-yes..."
She went to hug me
"They told us you died, I-I- was so worried"
"I know, and I'm sorry- I can't stay here while I'm like this..."
"I d-don't want you to g-go...but it's f-f-for the best"
We held each other for a little longer and we finally let go
"I'll- I'll try and come and visit every so often..." I said
"Goodbye Sam...I'm going to miss you..."
"...bye..."
Chrysalis' horn lit up and I was pulled through the portal
I felt like I was falling as the portal raged around us, Chrysalis stood there as if she were waiting for a bus.

We finally stopped and I felt the cold floor as I tripped

"Here we are, Hive Sweet Hive"

I stood up and looked around the semi-large cavern, some type of bioluminescent fungus forming on the walls
"It's very...cozy" I said

"This is the throne room" she said proudly "My chambers are just beyond here, and there's the matter of where you'll be living"
"Oh, um, what exactly will I be doing while I'm here?" I asked
"I shall keep that a suprise, you will find out soon enough"
"Finally developing a sense of humor are we?"
"You shall not address your Queen that way"
"I could be wrong, but I don't think you're 'my Queen'"
"We shall discuss that matter later, right now I will have one of my guards escort you to your quarters"

She clicked her teeth and her wings buzzed, two changelings floated into the room

"Yes your highness?" One of them asked
"Please escort Sam to his quarters"
The two other changelings shot me a glare and bowed
"Yes your highness"
I followed the two out of the throne room and into a network of tunnels and caverns, it was actually very hard to keep up with them, given that every changeling looks almost the same

"This is your cave" One of them hissed
"Thank you" I said, wandering into the space
There was a little more of that fungus I saw in the throne room, acting as sort of a night- light, a small bed of what looked like grasses and hay, and that was about it.
'Wow, this is actually pretty comfortable' I thought, sitting on the bed
I stood up and set my backpack near the bed

'Well at least I won't have to worry about cleaning up'

Two more guards appeared at the entrance of the small cave
"Her Highness requests your presence in the throne room"
I trooped after them, not trusting myself with using my wings yet- no matter how much fun it seemed

Chrysalis was sitting on her throne, the guards presented me to her and left
"You wanted to see me?"
"Yes, earlier you asked what your duties are going to be in the Hive"
"Yeah?"
"You're about to find out, follow me"
She stood up and left the throne room, with me trailing
Once more walking through the tunnels, I noticed that there were less and less changelings buzzing around as we went
"Uh, where are we going?"
"Somewhere that is very important to the future of the hive"

I didn't understand and continued following her until we arrived at one of the only chambers in the tunnel.

Chrysalis entered and I followed
"This will be part of your duties"

Nine or ten changelings were wandering around the spacious cavern, but there were a few differences between them and other changelings, they had harlequin eyes like mine and Chrysalis'.

"These are nymphs, potential Queens to the hive"
I rubbed my eyes and saw the small changelings
"Didn't see that coming" I said "Wait, why not kings?"
"Nymphs are always born Queens" she said, as if it were obvious
"Where did they come from?"
"Nymphs are hatched from eggs laid by the queen of the hive"
"So you-"
"Yes"
"-and then-"
"Yes"
"Wow"
"I must leave, I am trusting you with their saftey- do NOT disappoint me"
"*Gulp* I won't-"

"Oh, and one more thing, watch out for Mirror- she likes to bite"
And with that, she left

I stared down at the nymphs, who were all staring back at me
'Guess I'd better make the first move'
I sat down and let the nymphs crowd around me, they sniffed at my skin and chitin, one even tried to crawl on me
'Awwww'
One of the smaller ones bit down on my hoof (as I now had no need for shoes)
"Ow- you must be Mirror"
The small changeling only giggled
"Next time ask, please?"
The only response I got was another giggle

Some of the others were probably wondering what to make of me

"Well, we've got a few hours, what do you want to do now?"
My question was answered as the nymphs were determined to show me every nook and cranny of their 'nursery'- showing where the best spots to nap were and the places that were warmest during the cold season.

"The Queen has asked me to relay that it is time for the nymphs to wash"

I jumped at the sudden appearance of the changeling

"Thanks, could you wait a moment, I've got to get them all together"
He nodded and stood by the entrance
"Alright, come on- let's go" I said, corraling them towards the door
One of them raised both her forehooves towards me

"What?"
"Up!"
"You can talk?"
"Up!"
I lifted her up and cradled her, she struggled in my arms
"Alright- let's try this"
I moved her so she was practically laying on top of my head, her forehooves wrapped around my horn as she sat on my shoulders
"That better?"
"Mm-hmmm"
"Okay, let's go then"
The older changeling and I proceeded down the tunnel, trying to keep the nymphs between us

Changelings crowding the hall moved out of our way as we headed to wherever it is we were going.
"What's with them?"
The changeling rolled his eyes before answering
Wait, he had no pupils- how did he do that?
"The nymphs are royalty, having come from the Queen"
"Does she lay eggs often?"
"I'm not sure...I know they hatched a while ago" he said, motioning towards the nymphs
"Are there any that're older than them?"
"Didn't I just say I didn't know?"
"Uh, right"
"Here are the baths, her highness said she'll escort you back"
"Thank you"

I ushered the nymphs into the cave

Small pools of water connected into a larger one, which I assume was a hot spring, given the amount of steam in the air.

Queen Chrysalis was already in the spring, along with a few other changelings; who I noticed were like the nymphs
"I suspect they behaved themselves?" Chrysalis asked
"Yep, they were angels"
The smaller nymphs waded into the shallow end of the spring and played in the water

"Mother, you didn't tell us you had company" an older nymph said
"I've never seen something like you before" another said, getting out of the water and circling me

'I'm beginning to feel like sharkbait'

The others got out and followed her, the five circling me
"You'd make an excellent meal" another one commented
"For fang's sake Gem, it's not even dark yet"
"How would you know?"
"I just do"
"Oh yeah?"

"Girls!" Chrysalis shouted
The shout caused the nymphs to look to her
"Give our guest some space..."
They shrugged and trotted back into the water

My brain was still trying to figure out what just happened

"I think we might have broken him" one said
I shook my head and walked into the water about knee-deep
"You could come in if you took those clothes off"
"N-no!" I said, feeling heat on my face
"Why not?"
"My species wears clothes on a regular basis, there's a nudity taboo; and besides, I'd be naked in there with you"
"So?"
"Long story short, I'm not taking my clothes off"
"Awwww"
The nymph I remembered as 'Mirror' splashed me, I cupped some water in my hands and returned fire

She squealed and the other small nymphs joined in on the attack- by the end of it all I was soaking wet, but happy.

The older nymphs left the baths and I was with Chrysalis and the other nymphs

"You are either very good with foals, or completely crazy" she said
"Eh, either or"
"So, are you certain you could do this?"
"I think, I mean- there's more to taking care of them, but I think I could manage"
"You passed my little test, admirable"
"I should have seen that coming...so anyway, is this the only place to take a bath? In the whole hive?"
"No, these are my personal baths, there are other springs in the hive available for bathing"
"Just curious"
"Now then, I will lead you to the nursery, you won't be needed until later"
'Way to make me feel important...'
"Alright- so what should I do in the meantime?"
"It doesn't really matter to me, do what you like- as long as it doesn't interfere with the hive"
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind"

Chrysalis led me and the nymphs back to the nursery, then I went to my cave and dug through my backpack for a book

I had just started when-

"Hey there cutie" A nymph from the bath said
"Oh- hey there..."
"Resonation, but everypony calls me Rez"
"Hey there Rez"
"So- what're you up to?"
"Nothing much, just doing a little reading"
"Well I was just about to teach training drills, want to come?"
"Uh, sure- I guess"

She beckoned me to follow and we walked into a cavern almost as large as the throne room
"So this is what you guys do for fun?"
"Not exactly" she said "We mostly just spar and practice our fighting skills"
"And nymphs train the hatchlings?"
"-that and we get to boss everypony else around" she grinned
"Right..."

As other Changelings filtered into the cavern, Rez told me all about the different classes of Changelings-if I remember correctly, there were drones, workers, Behemoths, Nymphs, and finally, the Queen.

Drones and Workers were the most common of the classes, they were the ones that kept the hive from collapsing on itself and defended it if necessary

Behemoths were massive, standing almost two stories tall and almost as wide- I assumed they were more soldier-like than the workers or drones.
I saw two other Nymphs from the baths across the room, doing training drills with a squad of their own Changelings.

"So, ready to get started?" she asked
"Started on what?"
"I get teach you how to fight for a few days"
"Uh...I don't think I should...I'm not a big fan of violence"

"Look at this! The freak don't know how to fight!" One of the nearby Changelings taunted
"First of all- it just so happens I do know how to fight, it's just for self-defense"
"Oh really? Well defend against this!"

He charged me and I leapt out of the way, he skidded in the dirt and turned towards me again
I tried to get out of the way again, but flew around me
I felt him bite down on my leg/hoof and fell backwards

He triumphantly placed a hoof on my chest, declaring victory
"Some defense" he snorted
I grabbed his hoof and flipped him over, pinning both of his forehooves behind his back

"Say uncle!"

"Never!"

"I can keep this up all day"

"No"

"Fine"

"..."

"...I yield..." he muttered

"Good" I said, releasing him "Never underestimate your opponent"

Author's Note:

I know, seems like an weird place to end a chapter.

If I happen to contradict myself, please let me know.

Your comments and support are welcomed! Please let me know what you think.

Comments

[Thecoolguy1239]

Awesome!

[Headlock1_0]

So...Sam wanted to say goodbye to the girl he was dating, so he just says 'bye' and leaves....That's it? He doesn't have ANY emotion about the whole situation? *groans* This needs work. There's not enough description, and it feels very rushed.