James' Nymphs

by AizakkuHorooee

Prologue - Somewhere in the World

This morning, I was going to cheer for this Ponyville-Canterlot cross-invasion. But right now, I’m starting to get a little worried. Everyone’s back, even if some are acting like they’re hurt, but where’s the Queen? I haven’t seen her since she left.

After deciding that I would see if Mom heard anything about where Queen Areola is, I notice that the halls, viewpoints, and stairways don’t have as much traffic in them as they did this morning. In the nesting areas, the nestrooms seem to be filled with two or more changelings. Sometimes, up to three caretakers were inside the nestrooms. Near the bottom of the hive, there aren’t even any caretakers in the nestrooms. Suddenly, a rather young changeling waves to me. My eyes shoot open, prompting me to turn to the late-stage nymph.

“Ah, Greta?”

“Hi, Mat. What’re you doing here?”

“I-I’m looking for Mom so that she can tell me where Queen Areola is.”

“You’ll be lucky if you can even see her. She’s up near the top of the hive, caring for Queen Chrysalis.”

“Wait. I thought it was just Chrysalis.”

“Well, Queen Chrysalis will be taking over the hive.”

“Oh, okay. Bye?”

The late-stage nymph waves goodbye, prompting me to zoom throughout the hive, and finally arrive at Chrysalis’ nest. And just like that late-stage nymph said, there’s Mom, right beside her.

“Oh, hey, Mat. What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be waiting for me in-”

“Wait, Pele. I know what your daughter’s here for. It’s about Areola. Isn’t it, Mat?”

I nod.

“Yes, Chrysalis.”

“I apologize to announce it to you, but as soon as I recover, I will be queen of the changelings.”

“What?!? But you’re the queen’s student!!!”

“All of the changelings have favored me as the next queen. I can’t imagine what’s like for all of the nymphs that have heard about what happened to Areola. In the meantime, Mat, please return to your nest until Pele finishes her shift in caring for me.”

“But what about the Queen? What happened to her?”

“There’s no other way of saying it, Mat. Areola’s not with us anymore.”

“...No...”

In disbelief, I run out of the throne room.

-=-

Sitting on my nest, I simply stare at the formable entrance.

“Wow... I can’t... believe it.”

Suddenly, the entrance forms, only for two changeling nymphs to walk by, but then stop and backtrack to look at me. My view zooms in on the two. One of them appears to be a girl, and the other a boy.

“Uh? Hello?” I softly call out.

“Alo? Who’s that?”

“Not sure, Arada.”

“Are you two coming in?”

“Sure, why not? Come on, Arada. So, who’re you?”

As the two changelings enter, the entrance closes.

“Mat.”

“So, uh, you like to go on adventures? Mat is Lingo for ‘to go’.”

“Well, Arada, I’m almost never in my nestroom, other than when I sleep. Speaking of sleep, I think that’s what I should be doing right now.”

Alo approaches me further.

“Uh, why? It’s far from sunset.”

“I’m feeling a bit out of it. Apparently, Queen Areola’s ‘not with us anymore’.”

“Tss, is that it? That Areola had gone missing? Mat, if that’s what not being with the hive anymore means, what do you think you should do?”

“Um, would I look for her? From the tone of how Chrysalis said it in, Alo, it sure doesn’t sound like it. I guess that it’d be worth a shot though.”

“I’d say anything’s worth a shot. So, Arada, want to come?”

Arada just sighs, slightly frustrated.

“...sure, why not?”

-=-

After twenty silent minutes of flying, Alo is the first to speak.

“So, uh, Mat?”

“Yeah?”

“Where’re we going?”

“I thought we’d start looking for Queen Areola by going to the eastmost part of the world, which is quickest to get to by going west. Queen Areola can be anywhere if she’s not with the hive anymore.”

“But why?”

“Well, have you noticed that the sun sets in the west?”

Alo nods at me.

“Last night, I asked my mother which direction changelings fly the fastest in, and she said that it’d be west.”

“So, what does that mean?”

“It means that if we fly west, like we are now, the sunset will last longer. Not only that, but we will be able to find land a lot quicker flying over the South Luna Ocean from the hive than over Celestia Sea.”

“Um, Alo? Mat? Are you two also getting tired?”

Alo and I share confusion with each other.

“Where?”

“In the wings?”

“Well, I don’t know about Alo, but I feel okay. Yawns might come from me pretty soon though.”

“Eh, I’m feel just fi-”

Alo suddenly gasps at something he sees, prompting the loss of control of my body, Arada possibly feeling the same way. I look at the land, which seems to be a multi-town port sandwiched between a large lake and a mountain. We start speeding up as if there might be a fire up ahead.

“LAND HO!!! LAND HO!!!”

“Oh, thank Areola!” Arada exclaims. “Now I can rest!”

Alo and Arada come side to side with me, giving me the idea to lay my forehooves on their backs. The closer to the we are to land, the faster our decent gets. And then...

...dark...

We enter some kind of forest within the port. I lose Alo and Alada as I plant my face onto a thick branch within the canopy. When I finally land on the forest floor, I have a bad pain in where I first hit the ground: the abdomen.

“...ugh... Alo?!? Arada?!?” I call out after groaning.

The two call my name out in a distance far enough to hear a prevalent echo in the sky, possibly hearing their names.

MAT!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!?

OW!!! My head!!!

“I’m... over... here...”

I grumble a bit and hold my head, that is until the entire scale of the forest imagery finally starts to take part of my focus. I find prevalence of pride in the scent, the pack, not the emotion, and some of the most unusual of cries in sound.

MAT!!!

They’re still on it. They must’ve had it pretty well on the landing if that’s the case. Can’t wait to see what they want to do after sunset.

But as soon as the imagery set in, it fades away as I grow tired from the fading light. I decide to climb up the tree I’m at the foot of and see if I can fit inside to keep warm. Unfortunately for me, the hole is JUST big enough, but there is no room to actually get in, so I slumb back to the root and claim my place there.