Unity: One Year Later

by Kieva Lynn

Dauphin

The meeting was breaking up and everyone was engaged in smaller conversations, when the door of the meeting room slammed open, admitting the changeling Bzzzz. "Xix!" She called out, "Nyma is missing!"

"What!?"

"Yes! She's not been seen since just before you came to Unity! We think she must have disguised herself as something one of you was carrying!" Bzzzz said.

"Okay slow down!" Bert said. "Who exactly is missing?"

"Yeah, I've not heard of a drone named Nyma." Tucker agreed.

Xix shook her head. "Nyma's not a drone yet. She's a larva, the only one we had in Shetland Crossing when the town was taken. We've kept her in the hive safehouse for her own protection."

"Just a larva... Can she already change form?" Twilight asked.

"Oh yes, we can do that as soon as we hatch."

"So there's a shapechanger hiding somewhere in this town?" Tess asked.

"Xix's hive is our allies." Twilight said. "This Nyma won't be a threat. But finding her..."

"Xix and I can narrow it down maybe." Bzzzz said. "We can sense when there's another changeling close by. But it's a general sense, not a precision target kind of thing... If Nyma insinuates herself into a large crowd we'd know she was in there but might never figure out which one was her."

XXXXX

The Cutie Mark Crusaders (Original trio plus Dinky Hooves, and human friends Micheal and Sarah) were headed to the town arcade. "It's too bad the others couldn't come." Sweetie Belle said.

"Ahh, you know Silver and Tiara. Arcade games aren't their thing." Scootaloo said. "Besides, there's Silver's party at Fluttershy's tomorrow."

"That's true." Sweetie agreed.

Micheal said "I feel bad for Paul not making it though."

"Oh yeah! He's like this close to beating the high score on Galaga!" Scootaloo agreed.

Rounding a corner, Apple Bloom let out a yelp as she trotted headlong into the running Bethany. "Whoa Beth! What's the rush!?"

"Sorry 'Bloom can't talk now!" Bethany shouted back as she continued to run as fast as she could down the street.

"You okay?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Apple Bloom shook her head. "I think so. Let's not do that again though, eh?"

As she spoke the last word, Bloom was struck again, this time by a mint-green pegasus filly with an orange mane and tail who had been galloping down the sidewalk. "Oh! I'm sorry!" The filly said, helping Apple Bloom to her hooves.

"It's all right... Say, I don't recognize you... Are you one of the ponies visiting through that window?"

"Oh! Um, yeah, yeah that's right." The pegasus answered.

"So what's your name?" Micheal asked.

"I,m, um, Mythril Wind." she answered after a short pause.

Apple Bloom passed around introductions, then said "We're goin' 't play some games. Y'all wanna come?"

"You're inviting me? Okay!"

"Let's go then!" Scootaloo groused, "We're losing time and I wanna finish Dragon's Lair finally!"

Two humans, four ponies, and a disguised changeling larva ran for the arcade...

XXXXX

“I'm actually a little concerned here, about something else...” Bert said. “You never let the kid out of the house?”

“Yes darling, I understand wanting to protect your little sister, but children need the world.” Rarity agreed.

Xix shook her head. “There's more to it than that. Forge and Gerolt already know this, but... Like I said Nyma is a larva. She won't cocoon and morph into her adult form for at least eighteen months, probably closer to two years-”

“And when she does, she'll become either a worker drone like Xix or a soldier drone like Bzzzz?”

“That's exactly the issue. Yes, most likely, that's what will happen. But there is also a very small chance, about one in four hundred, that she will become a new queen.” Bzzzz explained.

Twilight's eyes went wide with understanding. “Oohhhh... Because without a queen, you can't...”

“Right.” Xix confirmed. “Without a queen there are no more of us here. We'll die out within a century. And we really don't wanna lose the chance to be a part of what's being built here.”

“So you tried to protect her. But she wanted to see what there was to see in the world...” Roger said.

“And broke out.” Macintosh finished.

Steel Forge asked “And you are certain she is not hiding somewhere in Shetland Crossing?”

“We all canvased the town. No sense of her presence.” Bzzzz replied. “And she's smart enough to know better than to run off into the forest. So she's got to be here in Unity. Somewhere...”

XXXXX

After an hour at the arcade, the Crusaders and their friends were headed to Sweet Apple Acres, and the Crusader's clubhouse. 'Mythril Wind' trotted happily by their side, delighted to have made friends and buoyed with the fun she had experienced playing the arcade games. “I could get used to this.” The disguised changeling larva thought to herself.

The group reached the clubhouse and piled inside. It was getting a bit more crowded than it used to be, but there was still enough room for everyone present. Apple Bloom stood on her hind legs behind the podium and said “This meetin' of the Cutie Mark Crusaders is called 't order! Any old business?” No one spoke. “Any new business?” Silence. “Alright then, I gotcha all some new business then. Mythril Wind, seein' as y'all don't got a cutie mark neither, I was gonna ask if you wanted to be a member. But then I remembered that yah ain't really here. But then I realized that yah are really here, 'cause we're outside the range of that window thing!”

“Hey yeah!” Scootaloo exclaimed, staring at the filly. “What gives?”

“Um, I, Umm... I have to go!” the changeling shouted and fled as fast as her hooves would carry her.

“So we're going after her right?” Micheal asked.

“Dern tootin' we are.” Apple Bloom agreed, and the group gave chase.

Nyma fled towards town, hoping to lose herself in a crowd. “I should have known better. Of course I'd trip up I've never done this before! I just wanted...” She considered changing forms, but even here on the outskirts of the town there were too many people in range to see her do it, not least of which the Crusaders following behind. Then, as she reached the town center, Nyma also saw her hivemates flying by above, seeking her energy signature, and heard voices calling out her name: Her real name. The crowds were heavy, especially with all the window visitors, but the Crusaders were right there, and then from the other side there was Xix speaking to a human she recognized from pictures as Sheriff Tucker..

“She's very close.” Xix said. “Nyma? I know you're here! Please show yourself!”

“No one is mad Nyma. You're not in any trouble. Your sisters just wanna know you're okay.” Tucker said.

Nyma lowered her head and sighed deeply.

“Are you alright Mythril Wind?” Dinky asked, a forehoof on her shoulder.

“I'll be okay... But...” She looked over her shoulder at Xix, who she could tell had realized, “But my name isn't Mythril Wind...” Green magic flared as Nyma resumed her usual form.

There was a commotion in the crowd, but it was subdued and limited mainly to the visitors. “You're a changeling!? Cool!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Why didn't you just tell us?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Xix-xax stepped forward. “That was our fault. We've been so focused on protecting Nyma that we didn't let her do anything. She hid it from you because she was hiding from us.” Xix looked the young larva in the eyes. “Nyma, I'm sorry...”

“I know, I know... Let's just go already.”

Xix chuckled. “You didn't let me finish. We cannot leave you unguarded. You're too important. But... We have maybe been going about it the wrong way...”

“Wait so... I can go out? I can do things?”

“You can.” Xix smiled. “There will be one of us close by at all times of course. We'll do our best to stay out of sight and out of the way.”

“Thank you.” Nyma smiled, and she turned to the Crusaders, “And thank you for a fun day.”

Before Nyma knew what was happening, she was at the center of a four-way hug. “You'll always be Mythril Wind to us.” Sweetie Belle said.

“And who said the day was over?” Scootaloo added. “Race you all to Sugarcube Corner!”

Comments

[KeePony]

That was a nice short chapter. At least no was hurt captured or worse. and made some friends.

[BestinDworld]

Doctor : " im sorry princess it seems your human has gotten adorabeties

Celestia: "NUUUUUUU!!!!"

[Darzac]

I find you narrate this story way too fast. The lack of description make it hard to feel anything for your characters, I don't truly feel the emergency behind Nyma, I understand it, but the characters are like "We lost our potentially new Queen. -Okay, good". Same for Nyma, she came out of nowhere, so I had the impression she absolutly don't care and just decide to randomly escape her caretakers, then suddenly she is afraid of being discovered by his hivemates/ revealed to the CMC, why?
Little complain, I know, but I love your setting, so I can't help but share my opinion

[badninja]

I guess kids will be kids. I hope that she will be a new queen one day.

[TheJacksonFive]

Noticed this yesterday and had to read all of unity again. It was worth it, though I definitely failed that test in English