Life in Phoenix Roost

by Boldish42

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Other, Random, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Tank, Changelings
Length: 10948

The changeling hive of Twilight and Rainbow have settled in the Everfree Forrest and they have had many adventures. But what happens at home?

The changeling hive of Twilight and Rainbow have settled in the Everfree Forest and they have had many adventures. But what happens at home? What's it like to live in Phoenix Roost? What's it like to be a Thestral from the long dead Moonlit Empire living in the modern day? A Tea'la from the nightmarish Chaos Lands? A pony among a sea of purple and blue shape shifters? Or even a Sphinx from distant lands with strange customs? Let's find out.

Side story to the Hive series by Law Abiding Pony. If you're not familiar with it how'd you find this? Go check it out, it's pretty good if I do say so myself. Course I do edit for it... Also very little would make sense if you jump in with just this story.
Pre-read and edited by LAP and BitterPill
Awesome cover art by PaintSplotch!
Tags will be altered as the story continues.

Published 2015-05-01 07:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-07-02 14:17:18 UTC

Like a Tank

Glitter Wing dove behind cover. Desperate to conceal herself, she pressed up against the surface as much as she could. Her heart thundered in her ears, blood pumping at a roaring pace. It had gotten all her clutch mates, not a one of them was left! First Lilac, then Roaring Fire... all of them fell one after the other.

Now it was after her.

What was that?! It was getting closer! She could hear the great green beast’s steps as it neared her location. She would have to make a break for it! But which way? Left or right? She steeled herself and bolted left.

Only to smack right into her pursuer.

“Eeeee! Oh no! The horrible Tankosaurus Rex got me! Argh! Ugh, I’m dead.” The changeling nymph cried out as she played dead with enough drama to make Rarity proud.

Tank the tortoise blinked slowly, leaning his head down he nudged his latest ‘kill’.

“Hehehe, and then the Mighty Tankosaurus ruled the world forever!” Lilac giggled as she walked up from the sidelines. “What should we play now?”

The rest of the nymphs on the sidelines came back into their play area eager to start again.

“Ooh ooh! Queen of the Hill!” Jet Star called out.

“More like Queen of the tortoise!” Roaring Fire countered as she charged Tank. Jumping up and fluttering her wings she cleared her siblings and flopped onto their mother’s favored pet. The rest of the nymphs followed in a mad dash to claim dominance. Tank withdrew into his shell to protect himself from their flailing limbs.

A large hollow decorated toy tortoise shell shuffled across the playroom floor until it was right in front of where Tank’s head hid. The small shy face of one of the nymphs, Flitter Free, poked out of the faux shell looking into the reptile’s. “Aww, I’m sorry they’re so rough Tanky. I’ll keep you company so you’re not left out.”

Several more minutes of rough play passed as the young changelings game devolved into plain old wrestling and other little activities. Eventually Bell Curve, their elder blue sister and teacher called them all together with magic words.

“Snack time!” The squeaking cheers of the nymphs blasted in her ears shortly before they all rushed to her. Flitter however stayed behind and shuffled her way with Tank as he moseyed along.

With the snacks already passed along to the other nymphs, Bell Curve turned to see the two shells approaching her. It was especially cute to see Flitter. She had the shell hanging from her neck trying to look like tank, but it was too big for her tiny frame so she ended up dragging the whole back half across the floor.

“And what would you like for your snack today, Flitter?”

“I’m not gonna be a changeling anymore, now I’m a tortoise. So can I have the same stuff Tank gets?”

“Well you’ve got the shell, but I think you have a bit too much blue fur to be a tortoise..”

The little filly scrunched her face at that. Closing her eyes in concentration a small flash of fire crossed her head leaving behind a cartoonish visage of a tortoise.

“Nuh uh. See, Imma tortoise.”

“Hmmm, well okay.” Bell said with a mischievous grin that made Flitter worried. Humoring her tiny sister, she gave her the same fruits and vegetables as Tank. Which Flitter immediately checked for the expected prank.

Moving to the front of the group, Bell picked up one of the books on the shelf by her desk. “Today’s story is ‘The littlest, evilest, crankiest bunny’. Once upon a time in a cottage by the Ever-”

“No! Can we have a story about Tank please?” Granite Chip called from her corner.

“Yeah! Tank story, Tank story!” The little ones said in chorus before they all descended into manic plees for their request.

Bell sighed with a smirk. “Alright alright. Let me think… I’ve got one. This is the story of how Momma Rainbow chose Tank the Tortoise…”

By the end of the story many of the nymphs had fallen asleep. Snuggled together, even the ones clinging to consciousness fell to the siren song of nap time, their bellies full of snacks and love.

Bell Curve smiled warmly at her sisters and draped blankets over them before she began to move about the room organizing things.

Tank meanwhile continued to chew away at his food, seemingly savoring every bite of his apples and lettuce.

“Heh, you know Tank, it wasn’t all that long ago that it was me playing tortoise with you. Time really flies huh?” Tank continued to munch away, though he did seem to have a smile. “We’ll have to show them the funnest game to play with you won’t we?”

Later that day, the children began to stir, the instinct of all young ones to not miss anything, surging inside them. They wandered around the room, playing with toys, drawing, all the things they could think of doing they did.

Bell looked around the room and couldn’t keep the the satisfaction from her face even if she tried. Part of her longed to be that innocent and carefree again. Another part was melancholy that they would lose theirs. But an even larger part couldn’t wait to see what these little ones would become.

Slowly, as they played, their minds were filled with information through the hive mind, guided by Bell Curve. But there were still things they couldn’t learn through the Link alone. They were taught social skills and developed study habits, and all the other things needed to help them become fully realized individuals.

All the nymphs perked up and rushed over to their big sis. “Very good! Guess what? It’s flying practice time!” All but two of the twenty eight nymphs cheered enthusiastically. “Today we’re going to have help from an expert!” Bell stepped to the side revealing Tank, or as she called him:

”Sky Captain Tank Tora Toiso!!”

A leather fur lined bomber hat framed his face, goggles resting above his eyes, and a petite handlebar mustache drawn above his beak’s confident smirk. A white scarf wrapped around his neck completed the look.

“Ooh ooh! Can we have costumes too?”

“Maybe next time,” Bell said smiling. “The goal today is to catch Tank. I’ll start his propeller and you chase him ok?”

“Aww, is that it? Tank’s so slow we’ll catch him in no time!” Roaring complained.

Bell said nothing, merely starting up Tank’s flight systems. The normally lethargic reptile took off at a speed that none of the nymphs expected. He made a quick lap around the room performing loop-de-loops and rolls. He spun around to face backwards and strafed by the children. Their mother/aunt’s cocky influence was evident without doubt even to them.

“Whenever you’re ready please feel free to start. You just have to try to catch him, but I warn you... No nymph ever has.” Bell said as dramatically as she could.

With that challenge declared, Roaring Fire and the other most confident nymphs launched themselves with the rest following eagerly behind.

In the end, Tank’s record continued unbroken. He smiled, greatly satisfied as the children washed his shell, erasing the collection of scribbles he had gathered through the day. When they were done, Bell carefully applied a stencil and paint on his shell above his head.

“Hey! We just finished cleaning him! Why do you get to draw on him?”

“Oh, it’s just a little tradition. We are done drawing on him, but this one is special.” Bell said finishing applying the mark. “Well everyone, it’s time to say goodbye to Tank for tonight.”

“Noooo!”
“Awwww…”
“But, but we want to play more!”

“Now now, Tank will be back again tomorrow to play with us. Come on now, say goodnight everyone.”

The nymphs all said their mournful goodbyes as Tank took off with his propeller. Buzzing through the halls of Phoenix Roost’s palace he knew exactly where to go. Passing through the rebirthing chambers with their countless carefully arranged cocoons and caretakers, Tank the Tortoise made his way to his mistress.

Bell turned from the door that Tank left through to see her crestfallen charges. “Now don’t be that way, Momma deserves some time with Tank too doesn’t she?” The little ones mumbled their agreements. Bell was especially proud that none of them threw a tantrum this time since they tended to spread rapidly among the nymphs. “By the way, I have some special news for everyone! Tomorrow we will be having a special guest; Lady Rasua Talarn of the Sphinxes will be joining our class for the day! Isn’t that exciting?!”

“Isn’t that the Gryphon lady with the funny face?” Rusty Pinion asked.

“... Maybe we should go over what a Sphinx is…”

Queen Rainbow Dash settled down in her room after a long and exhausting day. As co-ruler of a nation state, she was always busy with at least one thing or another. Even now a small piece of her mind was spread out across the hive touching in on some of her less seen children, checking up on status reports and a few other minor details. Fortunately, as queen, her mind was suited exactly for this function, and the strain was no where near as large as it would be for other queens outside her bloodline. It was still a pain though.

Sometimes she almost wished for the simplicity of her old pony life. Almost. She’d never give this up willingly.

She snuggled into her bedding, two consorts, Storm and Snow flanking her. “So Queen Rainbow, what position would you like to use tonight?” Snow asked, kneading her haunches.

“Mmmmmm right there. How about…” Rainbow thought a moment, then an idea came to her. Her smile growing wide as she voiced her choice, “Triple Perspective?”

Both consorts wings shot open and buzzed at the thought. “Sooo feeling especially kinky tonight huh?” Storm smirked.

Sometimes, like tonight, Rainbow liked to experiment by puppeting her consorts during their activities. The male perspective could be quite... satisfying. And three perspectives at once even more so. The effect of their activities was never lost on the puppeted drones however, and the experience of merely being puppeted was often described to her as being even more exhilerating.

All three of the participants were thoroughly exhausted and very thankful for the speed of the cleaning staff in changing the bedding. With her consorts snuggled up close beside her, Rainbow was about to let herself slip into sleep, when Tank flew in.

“Tank!” she yell-whispered. “There you are! Bell said you were on your way. What, did you get lost or something? Cause that mark there tells me you haven’t lost your speed.” Rainbow praised her beloved pet grabbing him and hugging him tight. “So what’cha think, good batch?”

The tortoise smiled and nodded.

“Aw yeah! I thought so too, but it’s always best when you give your seal of approval.”

Rainbow clutched Tank tight, soon he had drifted to sleep along with the consorts. Rainbow on the other hoof, laid there with her thoughts.

Tank… Thank you. Thank you for sticking by me. After all we’ve been through… When I went off with Twilight to Stripped Gear that first time. When I left on my tour of duty with the Wonderbolts… So many times you waited for me so patiently. And when I came back as giant bug-pony with far too many holes, and no feathers, and a head-spike… You knew who I was, even when I didn’t. I love you Tank, and I wish you could feel that the way I do.

In his sleep, Tank’s beak creased into his craggy smile.

Nevermind… You already know exactly how I feel don’t you? And with that last thought, Rainbow finally slipped into sleep. Absolutely at peace… for now at least.

Author's Note

Law Abiding Pony, Bitter Pill and I were discussing the upcoming chapters of Reformation of the Hives when the question was asked: What about Tank?

Doubtless it came up because of the Tank episode last week, and so I decided I'd try to answer the question when LAP declined.

I hope you enjoyed it and I hope I can keep adding to this.

Transfer Student

Rasua sat on her haunches in front of the door, her tail swishing agitatedly. It was a normal, wooden door, not in itself particularly menacing. The numerous crayon drawings taped to it helped in that regard, depicting a variety of animals, buildings and many purple and blue shapes that were probably changelings. Still, she stalled nonetheless.

“You know we could just go in.”

Rasua startled at the spoken words, whipping herself into a defensive position to face her taunter. She had thought she was alone and the fact that someone had managed to sneak up on her set her instincts on edge.

A blue figure responded by backing up and trying to placate her with soothing gestures. “Woah! Easy easy! It’s only me.” Thunderfury said.

The sphinx calmed visibly, her fur settling down and her posture relaxing, at recognizing him. “Do not do that.” She stated as forcefully as she could. She took a few calming breaths to steady herself. “When did you get here?”

Responding to her relaxed state, Thunderfury slowly returned to the door. “I’ve been here sitting beside you for the last five minutes or so. Bell Curve pinged out that you hadn’t shown up to the class yet, and since I was close by I decided to check up on you.”

She playfully flicked his nose with her tail. “Come to spy on me eh?”

“Why would I spy on you?” He said, scrunching his face and refusing to let a sneeze out.

“To make sure I didn’t do anything devious or something. These are your little ones after all.”

“No, I mean why would I spy on you? I’m a close combat expert in the Queens’ Guard, not the Intelligence Department. Though I guess I do have some basic training in the field…”

Rasua quirked an eyebrow at the blue male. He had an almost cute expression on his face as he seemed to think back on his Intelligence training. That or he was requesting information over their hive mind. The sphinx jane tried her best to push thoughts of their psychic powers from her mind and went back to examining the door.

Sitting down beside her, Thunderfury continued. “So… Are you going to go in or what?”

Rasua huffed at the question. Why was she hesitating? She was a Huntress, she had faced some of the greatest dangers of her homeland, and was on the front lines of the New Frontier! She had nothing to be fearful of behind this door! She reached for the handle, pausing only for a moment before gripping it tightly and turning.

The classroom was not what she was expecting. The room of pulsating organic architecture that she had somehow convinced herself had to exist in this hive was not here either, though there were dozens of purple and blue spots where the nymphs apparently had gotten into salve spitting wars. Instead it seemed like many other classrooms she had come across in her life.

Still she was sure she’d find one around here some day. I’’ll bet anything that hatchery of theirs is crawling with bug slime and organic nonsense.

The simple walls were covered in drawings made by the children (or else sadly deficient adults), toys were scattered about and everything was in a generally chaotic state. Then there were the little ones. Twenty eight blue and purple nymphs were running around, drawing, playing and wrestling with one another.

“Heh, I remember when I was a little filly running around in a classroom like this.” Thunderfury chuckled. Then cocked his head curiously and looked back out into the hall. “Actually, I think it might have been this one.”

“I’m sorry, but did you say ‘when you were a filly’?” Rasua asked somewhat incredulously.

“Well yeah… Oh! No one told you yet?. All changelings born to Momma and Auntie Twilight are female. When we reach the age of metamorphosis some of us decide to give being male a shot. Some of us like it, some change their mind and go back to female. It’s an open choice we can make at any time, but it’s a bit time consuming so many don’t even bother to try the other side.”

“... You used to be a little girl.” Rasua said flatly with an arching eyebrow.

“Yep! Why do you mammals find that so weird?” Thunderfury seemed to ask with pure honest confusion.

At that moment the teacher, Bell Curve, trotted up to the two guests. “There you are Miss Talarn! We were beginning to wonder if you got lost. So I hear you’d like to learn more about our hive and changelings in particular?”

Forgetting for the moment the strange tidbit she had already collected, Rasua turned her focus to the purple changeling before her. “Yes, Princess Aegis has told me some things but I don’t believe educating others is her strong point.”

“Actually it was her job to delay and then try to soften up the news about us being psychic.” Thunderfury supplied helpfully.

“Yes, I know. I was trying to save face for her deceiving me. Knowing I just walked into a civilization full of psykers was a bit much to handle..” Rasua replied flatly to the seemingly oblivious guard.

“So what would you like to know?” Bell asked trying to get back into the conversation.

Rasua didn’t have to think too much on what to ask, having prepared a mental list earlier. “How about we start with the history of your hive, your branch of the changeling race and all that.”

“Well if you’ll take a seat I’ll gather the nymphs.” Bell said with a happy smile.

Rasua looked around and picked a spot off to the side across the room. She started making her way when a large green rock walked in front of her. Looking down she found a craggy beaked, wrinkled face looking up at her. The face smiled and blinked slowly.

It took a moment for her brain to catch up that it wasn’t a rock. “What’s with the walking soup mix here?” Instantly five nymphs sprang into place between the sphinx and Tank, all of them growling menacingly, showing off their tiny fangs. One of them settled on top of the tortoise, three made a wedge formation in front of him and then the last one hovered above them placing herself in front of Rasua.

“Don’t you dare eat Tank! Or, or… We’ll eat you! And, and then momma will eat you cause you wanted to eat her favoritest pet!” Flitter Free threatened.

Having clearly struck a nerve and not wanting to cause an incident with the nymphs, Rasua tried to placate them. “Hey I was just asking about the turtle-”

“Tortoise!” The entire class yelled sternly. Rasua turned to see all the changelings were focused on her.

Thunderfury stepped between Rasua and the impromptu Pet Guard, “It’s okay, she was just joking. She didn’t mean anything by it. Besides, if she tried anything I’d stop her okay, Flitter?”

The tiny Flitter seemed to think seriously on it a moment. “Okay, but no more jokes about eating Tank! Momma’s had him longer than all of us, ever since she was a pony!” The little nymph backed down and started doting on the tortoise, offering him reassurances and comfort. Promising that the mean ‘kitty lady’ wouldn’t eat him all up. Given his unconcerned expression, this was probably more for her than him.

Since she was a pony? Must be when she was pretending to be a pony and ‘collecting love’ or something. Rasua spared a moment to contemplate the oddness of her hosts, before deciding it would serve her better to try to make peace with the nymphs.

Straightening her back, Rasua took on a theatrically official tone. “Pardon my ignorance and poor conduct young one. Given your decisive response, I can only assume you five are champions assigned to protect Ver Tank? Then allow me to commend you on your dedication and alertness. Please, allow me the honor of knowing the name of your order.”

The five nymphs stared at Rasua, then cocked their heads in confusion at the same time. “What’s a ‘order’” One of them asked.

Got’em Rasua smirked internally. “Why, surely a group as unified of purpose as your own, dedicated to the sacred task of guarding one of such prominence as Ver Tank is an Order of Knights?”

All five pairs of eyes widened in realization. “You mean, like the Queen’s Guard?” They all turned to look at Thunderfury, decked out in his uniform and gear.

“Indeed” Rasua nodded her head sagely. “If you have no official title, maybe I can make a suggestion?” The little heads nodded in unison, enraptured by the Huntress’ words.

“Very well. Then how about ‘the Order of The Shell’?”

The nymphs all had the look of one who has had an epiphany. In that moment, as one, and without conscious thought, they had decided. They were The Knights of the Order of The Shell.

Their response encapsulated this momentous moment perfectly.

“Whoa.”

And with that they were off, their day suddenly so much busier…

Rasua smirked to herself. That wasn’t too bad.

Then she noticed Thunderfury smiling at her.

“W-what? That wasn’t out of line I hope?” She said, slightly unnerved that she had once again allowed his presence to be a surprise. Also that smile…

Thunderfury shook his head, his wide smile turning into a satisfied grin. “No no, that was actually very nice of you. I’m not sure you realize it though, just how much you’ve… Inspired them.

The sphinx cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. “What do you mean? They’re just children, they’ll play at being knights and protectors until they get bored, or distracted by the next fun game.”

Thunderfury’s grin continued. “If you think so…”

Seeing their guest settle into a spot, Bell sent a quick pulse across their little corner of the hive mind, calling the nymphs into a loose formation from all over the class. “Okay everyone, this is Rasua Talarn, the nice sphinx jane who will be staying here in our city. She will be joining us for the day to learn more about us! Now, how about we start with the beginning of our hive.” Bell turned to look at one nymph in particular. “Exactly, Soft Wind. But please, let’s stick to talking out loud so that Miss Talarn can be a part of the conversation too.” Embarrassed with her unexpected faux pas, Soft Wind hid behind her mane.

Facing the children with her encouraging smile, Bell continued. “Alright, who can tell us about how our hive started?”

“Ummm, Momma Twilight settled in the Everfree forest?” Indigo ventured.

“Yes she did, but that was the start of Phoenix’s Roost, our city. How did our Hive start? Here’s a hint: How does every changeling hive begin?”

Roaring Fire lit up with understanding and started hopping up and down buzzing her wings for added lift. “Ooh! Ohoh! Sis! Pick me pick me!”

Pointing her out, the elder sister made her selection. “Alright, Roaring. How did it all start?”

Springing on her hooves with her joyous expression, it was clear this was one of Roaring Fire’s favorite stories. “Granny Caddy saved Auntie Twilight when she was going to go to Stripped Gear to try to make peace between changelings and ponies!”

Nodding her head in agreement, Bell Curve added her two cents. “That’s right and-”

But Roaring’s story was not so easily stopped. “And then when she was on the convoy... GRAAAGH! A huge monster burst out of the jungle and killed almost everyone! But Granny’s drones managed to get Auntie out of danger, but it was too late! She was poisoned and pony magic couldn’t save her! She was doooooomed!” At this point in the narrative the young blue bug began to run in circles howling Twilight’s fate, only to come to a sudden stop. “But then Granny came up with a plan. She had the technology! She could rebirth her! So she offered it to Auntie Twilight and Princess Celestia and they all agreed to do what it would take to save her. And so Granny Caddy turned Auntie into a changeling princess-”

Wait.. WHAT!? Rasua’s mind went from listening, to a full stop, before screaming into high gear. Turned into a changeling?! She was something else, then was transformed into a bug?! Slow down Rasua, slow down. It’s an excited child’s report, maybe she’s exaggerating, maybe even misinformed somehow... But then why isn’t the teacher correcting her?

Focusing back on the world, Rasua cleared her throat loudly to get attention, also to try and make sure her voice wouldn’t fail her.

“Yes Miss Talarn?” Bell Curve gently somehow quieted the excited storyteller. “Do you have a question?”

The whole class of miniature copies turned as one once more to look at the sphinx. Rasua could feel her blood thunder and mouth go dry. By Lightning that was creepy. Reflexively her eyes darted between the occupants of the room. Somewhat mutely she made note that the five nymphs who now called themselves ‘the Order of The Shell’ somehow managed to acquire some play armor. She tore her focus back and stayed firm, her face a mask of eased detachment once she focused on the teacher. “Could you elaborate on what you mean by ‘turned her into a changeling’?” The sphinx asked steadily.

One of the nearest nymphs, a purple one, looked at her with a bemused expression. “Well duh. Momma was poisoned and the only way to heal her was to rebirth her from a unicorn into a changeling. Granny could only regenerate her if she was a changeling so she turned her into one.”

Rasua could feel an involuntary shiver run down her spine. Her throat clenched and it was difficult for her to continue her questions. “Y-you transformed her from a unicorn into a bu-uh changeling? You can change others into changelings?!”

Thunderfury felt the panic rise in Rasua and moved to try to head it off. “Ms. Rasua, if we were going to turn you into a changeling we’d have done it already, so relax! In fact I don’t think we could even if we wanted to. I’m pretty sure the conversion technique only works on ponies. Probably because we were the same species once… Hmmm actually I really should look into that.”

“...You used to be the same species?” Rasua’s mind attempted to process this, but she kept hitting a fatal logic error.

Bell Curve decided to clear up the guard’s lack of information and detail. “Well Thestrals technically, and actually the conversion technique works on all intelligent creatures, Thunderfury. It was merely more commonly practised with ponies. Anyway, I think we’re getting a little off track here. Miss Talarn, if you have any more questions so far we can answer them now.” Bell said.

Rasua sat there frozen. Her mind fixating on the new horror that she, if not careful, could find herself transformed into the very creatures of her nightmares. “Uh… Just, just keep going I have a feeling I’ll have more soon.”

“Would you like to continue, Roaring?”

The excited nymph nodded emphatically and picked up her story. “Ok, so Auntie was turned into a changeling and then a bunch of stuff happened and then Momma went with Auntie to keep her company and help teach her Queen’s Guard. Then she joined the Wonderbolts and went to the Chaos Lands and when she came back big sis Aegis accidentally gave her that circlet that turned her into a changeling-”

Rasua once more interrupted the excited girl. “Wait! Queen Rainbow Dash wasn’t a Changeling either?” She glanced sidelong at the little nymph, Flitter, who had been in her face earlier. She sat on top of the tortoise rubbing his shell gently. So that wasn’t a mistake…

Roaring, not wanting to be delayed even more, headed off her big sister’s explanation. “If you were listening to my story you’d know that! Uggghhhh! And then they went and fought the battle of Rookhaven and rescued the tree and bat ponies and then they met the rude interrupting gryphon people with the weird faces! The end!” Her story finally finished, Roaring folded her front hooves and sat on her haunches in a huff.

Rasua gathered her courage to ask the question that concerned her most for the moment. “H-how many more changelings were actually uh, converted?”

Once more Bell Curve took up the task of answering. “I can’t speak for the other hives, but as far as ours? None. We don’t practise transpeciation despite the many requests our Queens receive. And no Queen before Cadista had ever attempted to make a royal daughter out of a pony before. And Grandmother was forced to enact her experimental treatment before she was even fully prepared. Ideally she wouldn’t have chosen Auntie Twilight since it would have, and nearly did, cause a huge international incident. Though it worked out well in the end it could have easily ended in tragedy. It’s a popular theory that had it not been for The Element of Magic, it is likely she would have failed, or at least that the metamorphosis wouldn’t have been as successful as it was.”

This day was clearly going to continue being a challenge for Rasua. For every answer she got, more questions and concerns arose. But she wouldn’t quit now. “What’s an Element of Magic? I think I’ve heard that term before.”

Another nymph popped up, instantly beginning to answer the question. “Momma used to wear it as a crown! And she and our Aunties would go fight bad guys by shooting them with rainbows!”

“Correct, Spark.” Bell commended the little one. “The Element of Magic was one of six magical artifacts called the Elements of Harmony. They were known to grant their bearers, those who most exemplified the six virtues, with unusual power, even in their daily lives. Until fairly recently, many of Equestria’s greatest adversaries were dealt with by the Elements of Harmony and their bearers. In fact, you’ve actually met them all. Our Queens are Magic and Loyalty, the others are our pony aunts: Rarity the Generous, Fluttershy the Kind, Applejack the Honest and Pinkie Pie of Laughter. Though honestly I think that last one is a mistranslation or something, personally I think Joy or Joyful would be more accurate.”

“I see… In the Federation we have the paragons: Duty, Loyalty, The Hunter, Thunder Lord, and the Master of the Forge. If your Elements are like my paragons, I assume they represent the moral tenets of your society?” Rasua’s throat clenched unintentionally and she suddenly became aware of how dry her mouth had gotten. “May I please have some water?”

A weak little magical field floated a plastic cup full of water up to the Huntress. Grasping the cup, Rasua looked down at a smiling nymph whose horn powered down. “You can have mine. I didn’t drink any, so no germs.”

It’s drugged! Or full of whatever turns people into them! Or she spat in it!... Or it’s just water and I’m being paranoid. Get it together Rasua. Looking into the cup, she took a heavy breath and huffed it out. Downing a gulp, Rasua decided that, yes, it was just water.

“It’s always a pleasure to learn about our friends, thank you Miss Talarn, and essentially, yes. Now here’s an idea! Would anyone like to tell the story of The Elements?” Silence met Bell’s question, all the nymphs a little intimidated by the sphinx lady who kept interrupting and whose current emotions tasted bad. “Oh! I know. Camille! Would you please tell the story? I know it’s one of your favorites.”

Camille Eon sat shivering on the floor. At having the attention of the room called to her, the purple filly let out a startled *Eeeeep!* and flipped her mane over her eyes. Slowly she peeked out of her long mane with one eye. “D-do I-I h-have to?”

Bell gave her a gentle smile. “You don’t have to but I do know you love to tell stories, you’re very good at it. And I know Momma Twilight would be very proud of you.”

“I-I just like to tell s-stories to, to…” Camille started to say but seemed to gather some resolve. She looked back at Rasua and bit her lower lip with her tiny little fangs. “You, uh, you’re not going to shout anymore are you?”

I wasn’t shouting. “Uh, I’ll try my best?” Rasua said. Seeing a little one seemingly as scared as she herself felt, filled her with some reassurance. And more than a little bit of guilt.

Camille took a deep breath and pushed a hoof from her chest out while she exhaled. She began to tell the tale, her tiny voice speaking clearly. “In the thousandth year of the Celestial Era, Momma Twilight was the personal student of Princess Celestia. The day before the Summer Sun Celebration Momma found an ancient prophecy warning of the return of Nightmare Moon. But when she went to tell the Princess she was sent instead to Ponyville to set things up and make friends.

“And when she was there she met our Aunties: Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack. But Momma wasn’t interested in friends so she just pouted the whole time and worried about Nightmare Moon. And then when it was time for the Celebration, Princess Celestia disappeared and Nightmare Moon was there instead! And she laughed all evil, like ‘Mwahahaha!’.” Rasua was more than a little surprised when the cripplingly shy little changeling actually burst into maniacal laughter. She wasn’t even hiding behind her mane anymore, clearly she was getting into it.

“But Momma knew how to stop her ‘cause she read about The Elements of Harmony and then she and Auntie Rainbow and our other Aunties all came here to the Castle of the Two Sisters cause it wasn’t our hive then and then they found The Elements and blasted Nightmare Moon who then became Princess Luna because she was Nightmare Moon but she was all crazy and possesseded by an evil cloud thing. Oh! And I heard it then tried to possess Auntie Rarity a couple months later!.. But that might have been made up ‘cause Shine Bright told me that one.”

The sound of plastic shattering rang out, the plastic cup that had been put under increasing pressure as Rasua’s anxiety spiked, finally gave under her hands crushing grip.

Camille flinched in fright letting out another *Eeeeep!*. Instead of trying to cover herself with her mane again, she instead reflexively activated her camouflage and disappeared from sight.

Rasua’s twitching eye’s widened at the little one’s disappearance. “And you can become invisible too!?!”

“Hehehe… Aegis was right, it is funny to watch your face go all screwy.” Thunderfury said, his voice not his own. Rasua turned to see his eyes were slitted now.

“Ah, Mother! How wonderful you could join us! Miss Talarn, you’ve met Queen Rainbow Dash.” Bell said, the largest smile Rasua had seen yet on her face.

“Mama!” Instantly every blue nymph in the room rushed to hug Thunderfury’s body, covering every square inch. The purple nymphs were only slightly less excited, jumping up and down, buzzing their wings excitedly, giggling childishly and madly, and running around squealing in delight.

In the time it took for the Queen and teacher to restore order, Rasua worked quietly away inside her own mind, psyching herself up to calm down her aggravated phobia. It’s okay, they are your allies, your hosts. It’s just a class of excited little girls. And their teacher. And their Super Psychic Mother Queen… They are your hosts, allies, patrons, benefactors… Dammit! What other synonyms are there?

Finally Rainbow managed to gently extricate herself from her cocoon of nymphs and approached the recovering Sphinx. “Hey Rasua. Look as funny as it is to watch you squirm with every new bit of info that freaks you out, why don’t we just get through it all in one go, hmm? Okay kiddos, gather round, cause mommy’s gonna take over story time now!”

“Yay!!!”

-A bit later-

Rainbow sat in front of the solitary, stationary, silent Sphinx. “So Huntress Rasua Talarn, any questions?”

The jane’s breath was even, neither shallow or particularly deep. Her eyes blinked steadily and had a look of contemplation. She calmly picked up a glass sitting on the desk next to her and drank the water.

She cleared her throat and began.

“In the past hour I’ve learned that changelings can forcefully transform other species into themselves. That the Queens of this hive were in fact, and please excuse me if this sounds negative, victims of such a transfiguration. That you and your sister are also two of six wielders of a magic artifact whose power seems to rival primordial forces. Which you’ve used to cure one of two Immortal, incredibly powerful sorceresses of her madness brought on by possession, then seal and unseal a living embodiment of chaos and possibly insanity. Oh, and the two sorceresses that govern this nation also personally control heavenly bodies, and the younger one who had been possessed delves nightly into the minds of her subjects as they sleep.”

Rainbow interjected to clarify. “To be fair, Princess Luna uses magic and not psychic powers. As far as we know ponies don’t have psychics, well maybe Pinkie but I don’t think that’s the case. Anyway there are more than a few spells that seem to mimic to an extent the effects of those. Don’t you have some fear inducing spell?” She smiled with a wink.

“How is the thought of anyone with such magical prowess barging into your mind at any time supposed to make me feel the slightest bit better?!” Rasua exclaimed. She coughed, drank some water and composed herself once more. “Have I summed up what you just told me about correctly?”

Rainbow nodded slowly, a thoughtful expression on her face as she considered Rasua’s summation. “Yeah, that sounds about right… Welcome to the magical land of Equestria!” She said smiling mischievously wide.

“Welcome to Equestria!” The whole class of nymphs chorused.

“The Order of The Shell welcomes you to our fair land!”

Rasua looked to her left. The Knights she had just a short time ago named had apparently been busy. Decked out in cardboard armor with plastic swords and shields. Flitter sat inside a cardboard box colored to resemble a castle tower sitting atop the tortoise Tank, who himself wore a crown.

Despite how utterly adorable the scene was, Rasua blinked a few times and decided to focus on talking to the queen.

“I apologize for having lost control, but please understand. This does not at all mesh with what I have been taught. The vast Great Cycle tells us that the universe ebbs and flows in, surprisingly enough, cycles. Such as the changing of the seasons, the rise and fall of governments, the birth and extinction of species. My people try to predict these cycles so we know when to ride the Vuulta, or period of growth, and how to defend ourselves during the Brula, or fall of the cycle. What you’ve told me about this land, seems to fly in the face of my people’s doctrine.”

“You know, around here we also control the changing of the seasons.” Rainbow added, almost as an afterthought.

That seemed to do it. Rasua’s calm that she was trying so hard to keep, snapped at this final insult to her understanding of the natural order of things. Fortunately, she somehow managed to keep from another outburst. She just locked up, a continuous low growling noise emitting from somewhere deep inside her.

A nearby nymph gasped in excitement. “She is a kitty lady! She makes the same noise as that kitty who didn’t want to play and then scratched us.” The little girl dropped her voice to a stage whisper, “Momma, do you think she’d hiss if we poked her?”

Bell Curve came up to shoo the inquisitive nymph away, and began announcing to the class. “Okay everyone! It looks like our time with miss Rasua is over.” The class let their disappointment be known with a chorus of ‘Awww’s. “Now, now, we’ve all had fun learning with Miss Rasua, but she has a busy day ahead of her I’m sure, and we still have a few things to do ourselves. Now, everyone say goodbye for today to Miss Talarn.”

“Goodbye Miss Talarn!” The young ones, some chipper others disappointed, declared to the nearly catatonic Sphinx.

Bell approached the still puppeted body of Thunderfury. “Mother, thank you for coming to see us today.”

Rainbow smiled motherly at her daughter and ruffled the teacher’s mane. “No trouble at all, I enjoyed it greatly. I’ll help Rasua out and get Thunderfury somewhere… Else. Take care girls!”

“Bye Momma!”
“Momma don’t go yet!”
“Bye Thunderfury!”

With a *POP* Rainbow teleported Rasua and Thunderfury away. Bell Curve looked at the scorch marks on her classroom floor in exasperation for a moment before turning to her class. “Alright! It’s Sna~ack Time!”

“Yay!”

-In the castle-

Rainbow and Rasua materialized outside the sphinx's’ quarters, The Queen taking her charge in a telekinetic field and opening the door. “Well Aegis tells me this is where you prefer to go when you’re going to freak out, so I’ll just let you recuperate. See you tomorrow, Rasua!”

In the silence and privacy of her room, Rasua slowly returned to herself. It felt as if she was trying to think, but her thoughts just couldn’t gain any traction. She sat for quite a while there trying to process all she had learned that day, not making any headway.

Finally, out of the still and murky depths of her frozen mind, an image came to her. That wrinkly, smiling tortoise done up like a castle wearing a crown… Maybe she should just take a cue from him and just let things happen.

… Or something like that, she was too tired to meditate on it, and collapsed herself into her bed.

Author's Note

My god... I posted chapter two. I never thought it would happen, several of you probably thought so too eh?

I wrote like, half of this, almost right after the first chapter, then I got overly bummed due to my misinterpreting some criticisms, took a break, fought depression, got new meds, helped some family move, went to work alot, edited alot of LAP's stuff and Gambit Prawn now and then, etc etc. All the time thinking 'I'll get back to it eventually'. Well it happened.

Sorry about the delay, really I am. Thank you for the ones who asked in the comments if it was going to happen, it really did keep this in my mind. Finally one last PM got me off my ass and set a deadline for me, which really helped me focus. (You know who you are)

I hope you all enjoy it, and I hope I've improved with what I've learned from my editing work. Hopefully it won't take so long next time, but please don't be too disappointed if I start to focus on other aspects of life in PR beside the nymphs in the classroom. There's a few more walks of life I feel deserve a bit of lime light here too.:pinkiesmile:

Adventure!

Author's Note

Hello! So I have a request of those of you that would like more of this story. Don't worry, it's not money.

I am a procrastinator and my life outside work is unstructured to say the least. I, just like many, also play video games which absorb vast chunks of my life and time. Currently Stardew Valley threatens my free time.

My point being I get distracted. When I get a story idea I'm gun ho for about 2 weeks, then I either get discouraged or distracted. I would like to ask that people PM me, keep this story in my mind, maybe even discuss ideas for where it could go or what it could do. I'm going to aim for april 26th. I like this story and I'd like it to grow a bit more, would you please help me?

Thanks for listening, please enjoy the chapter!

Adventure!

Rocky Road was ecstatic. For the first time in her life she was out and exploring!

Sure it was her home city of Phoenix Roost, but she’d never seen it beyond the walls of the nursery! And sure she had technically run off from her class/clutchmates and Bell Curve and was currently lost, but hey. Adventure!

Hmm… Maybe she could get back before Bell noticed she was gone. If Bell found out Rocky had ditched the field trip to the Jiyya groves she’d be in big trouble. Stupid trees were just super ultra gigantically boring. Even if they were supposed to be important.

Rocky wanted to get out there and see cool stuff! Awesome stuff! Have adventures and discover new stuff! She was going to become an adventurer after all, just like that Daring Doo lady from her favorite books at story time. She snorted, giggling to herself. Hehehe doo.

Then a brilliant idea came to Rocky, born from her need to stay out of trouble. She needed some kind of help getting back to her group before Bell found out she was missing. But she couldn’t just ask any of her grown up siblings cause they’d just ping Bell over the Hive and then she’d be in trouble. That was why she was currently hiding behind a sign after all. There was one person though she could ask for help from that would only be supportive and wouldn’t rat her out. It was time to entreat Her.

Truly it was the greatest speech delivered by a nymph ever.

There was only a moment’s pause before Rocky felt the warm focus of her mother on her. Queen Twilight said with an upbeat soothing voice,

Rocky smiled, momma always seemed to just make everything better, even having to repeat stuff. Obediently the little one began the calming exercise they were all taught and started pumping her forehoof as hard as she could while gulping air down. It’s important to note that little Rocky never seemed to grasp the core concepts of the exercise, those being to sit down, make a soothing controlled movement, and slowly taking calming breaths. As such she looked like she was having some kind of mental fit.

Rocky beamed with the confidence only child logic could create.

Twilight sighed. Rocky took this as approval.

Rocky felt a mental prod to the left. < Thanks momma!> Learning stuff from momma was the best.

The Meatery was a shiny diner. One might think it was because it was new but they’d be wrong. Griffons instinctively liked shiny things, as they can be seen for quite the distance from the air. So it was a traditional design for an establishment attempting to attract customers. The fact it was buried in the expanding industrial district of Phoenix Roost didn’t seem to dissuade the proprietor from liberally expending elbow grease trying to keep it as shiny as possible, despite the crowding skyline. Fortunately the environmental quality control of the city saw to it that little diminished the polished shine.

Gerty huffed in boredom. Phoenix Roost was boring. She thought changelings would be exciting, but they were all boring adults. Sitting outside her dad’s kitchen was boring. Start just three fires and suddenly it’s no longer a place for chicks. Being bored was really boring. The little griffon huffed again and flopped onto her back on a bench, her head tilted back to see the world upside down.

… This position hurt her wings… and it was boring.

“DaaaAAAaaad. There’s nothing to do… I’m bored.” Gerty groaned.

Her father, Korbinian stuck his head out from the diner’s kitchen. “I’m sorry you are bored mah leetal downy fluff.” He said in his old country accent. “Maybe when you start school you will cease to be bored. I assume you already played wit your toys?”

Gerty huffed. Playing with toys? Please. She was a big griffon now. Big griffons did stuff, they got stronger and faster doing stuff. They didn’t sit around with Miss Flopsy having tea parties with their father’s diner dishes and discuss what they read in books… Anymore.

And of course she wasn’t allowed to go explore the city on her own cause she was ‘still too short of feather’. Puh-lease. There were cubs and chicks back home in the ‘old country’ half her age allowed to go roam around. Dad had been so over-protective ever since mom…

Ugh, now she was sad… And she was still bored. Miserable combo.

Ding! Ding! The door’s bell announced the arrival of a new customer.

“Mmm something smells super tasty!” A small voice squeaked.

Both Korbinian and Gerty looked to the door and saw the smallest changeling they’d seen yet. Her tiny wings buzzed excitedly as she practically drooled. Then her face exploded into excitement and wonder. “Griffons! Wow, so cool! You’re the first griffons I’ve ever really seen! Um, can I have something to eat? I don’t have any bits but my mommy does!”

Korbinian studied the little nymph for a bit. It was his first time seeing an adolescent changeling as well. He had to admit, she was pretty cute. No where near as precious as his Little Feather of course, but still cute. His eyes flashed in recognition of this new opportunity.

“Of course leetal one, I can make you a snack, but you will have to share with mah girl Gerty.”

This seemed to excite the little nymph all the more. She zipped straight toward the smaller griffon and planted herself in the bench opposite her. “Hi Gerty! I’m Rocky Road! Is that your dad? His food smells really really good!”

“Uh, yeah.” Was all the little griffoness could reply with, her brain still trying to get out of the lurch Rocky’s presence had thrown it into. Also from the blood rushing from her head as she sat up again.

“I really like your feathers, is it okay if try to copy them?”

This registered in Gerty’s mind a bit better. The nymph, Rocky, had complimented her style and asked to adopt it herself. This put Gerty in the more dominant position, having had the original style! Or at least that’s what her mom taught her.

“Sure, just be sure to tell everypony I had the look first.”

Rocky nodded grinning, then her head exploded in flames.

This was quite shocking to little Gerty, but then Rocky’s head extinguished, her mane replaced with feathers. Rocky grinned again, no wait it was the same grin. As Gerty’s heart rode the adrenaline high of panic brought on by her companion bursting into flames, she finally remembered she was sitting next to a changeling. She could be forgiven for her reaction, the changelings of Phoenix Roost seemed to almost never use their illusory powers. At least Gerty had never seen them do it in the week she’d been here.

“How’s it look on me?” Rocky asked eagerly.

Gerty couldn't stop her giggle. She brought herself to a snorting stop. Ponies could be awful sensitive about their looks, maybe changelings were too? The mild surge of panic from the thought that she may have ruined her first potential friendship was squashed upon seeing Rocky’s beaming smile.

“Hehehe *snort!* he! Guess I don't wear it as good as you do huh?”

Gerty smiled and started laughing too.

Korbinian brought a plate of Grifish delights from in the kitchen only to stop at the sight of his daughter and the nymph. He hadn't seen Gerty smile and laugh like that in… far too long.

The two got on wonderfully as they ate and chatted, both excited to hear from the other what was said. Gerty’s tales of her previous travels that brought herself and her dad to Phoenix Roost. Rocky, her stories of her siblings and their antics. They would have chatted forever surely, except…

Twilight gently reminded her little one.

Rocky suddenly gasped in the middle of her story of the time Lavender got her head stuck in a jar. “I gotta get back before Bell notices I'm gone and I get in trouble! Sorry Gerty I gotta go!” She leapt from her seat, took two steps then turned back and shoved as much food into her mouth as would fit.

Gerty was caught off guard by this. She only just made her first friend in forever! Who knew when they'd ever get to see each other again? She made up her mind, her prey, uh friend wasn't going to escape her!

“Then I'll go too! You're on a mission right? To sneak back without being noticed? Then you're going to need help. I got skills, I can watch your back.” Gerty said buffing her claws on her puffed chest feathers trying to look as ‘aloof’ as she could. Yep, no doubt. She sounded awesome saying that.

“Mmm unfk mmnmn gffg!” Rocky said.

“Uh, I'm gonna take that as an OK.” Gerty said feeling her coolness evaporate slightly in mild confusion at her friend. “Dad! I'm gonna help Rocky with her, uh, mission! Yep! She got a mission from the Queen herself and she said I gotta come too… So uh, can I please?” She said turning to her father and cranking her eyes to maximum cute.

“Hoho very well mah girl, go along and play with your friend, just be home in time for dinner. It’s salmon night!” Korbinian chuckled. Success. he thought smirking at the grill. His thoughts drifted to his most significant culinary adventure. There is no relationship that can't be started with my cooking, eh Branwen? Thinking of his wife he put all the more effort into his cooking.

Just in time too, as a rush of drones came in to check the place their baby sister/cousin found. And wouldn't stop link chatting about.

And so the pair of new friends took off down the street following Twilights instructions. Off to test their wits and cunning against the deadliest of foes known to nymphkind. A big sister/teacher.

In the grove

Indigenis wandered the Jiyya grove. The orderly trunks and lush canopy seemed to keep going and going, convincing the young sphinx that this was surely an orchard and not a grove. That was the difference between the two right? Orchards were bigger than groves… yeah, totally! Orchard was even a bigger word. Case closed.

Indigenis sighed as he pulled out a little notebook and wrote ‘Orchard vs. Grove’. There was another thing he’d be looking up when he got back to the library. If he didn’t it’d bug him for days, a little niggling thought that he’d forgotten something. Was it important or trivial? Wouldn’t matter cause it would just hang there on the tip of his tongue, hiding in a bend of the brain. Best just write it down and look it up.

And so ‘Orchard vs. Grove’ joined the list along with ‘Jiyya myths and cultural importance’, ‘Thestral empire’, ‘Learn to make crepes’ and ‘History of thestrals in Equestria’. It was going to be a long library trip. But if he was going to be an archaeologist then he’d best get used to it, it was a career of mostly research after all.

Research into ancient and fascinating cultures, mysterious myths and legends, exotic peoples and foods and beautiful places across the world! Indigenis couldn’t wait! But first the library.

Indigenis was hoping this field trip would reveal more about thestrals and their history with Jiyya trees and their fruits. Maybe even highlight the connections and cultural parallels with the Tea’la tree ponies. But no, it was all about the trees cultivation and stuff. Boring stuff.

Boredom was something Indigenis had a weapon against. All he needed was a focus to weave the necessary magic. A focus like that.

Buried in the grass at the foot of a Jiyya tree is where he found it hiding. A stone. A triangular stone. An arrow head! He dug the artifact out, judged it to be adequate indeed and just like that the ‘spell’ was cast.

Doctor Indigenis surveyed the jungle he had delved deep into. The sounds of life chirped, hooted squelled and cawed uncaring of his intrusion. How long had it been since the last intelligent being trod this deep, searching for what he did… the Lost City of the Ponyans! Sure, civilization had clawed the ruins of some ancient monuments back from nature, a city had even sprung from one nearby, but still the true prize remained unclaimed.

The professor of archaeology looked to his only clue, an ornamental arrowhead. Having studied its markings he was sure indicated it belonged to King Clophofenkof, the last ruler of the Ponyans. And it had led him here.

The thick foliage crowded around him, smothering out the sun. The buzz of insects and chatter of creatures making it difficult to hear past his own pawfalls. He kept stalking forward as stealthily as he could, he couldn’t afford to be caught. The native tribes jealously guarded all the secrets of their fallen ancestors and would surely kill him if they found him.

Maybe by skinning him alive! Or boiling him! Or-!

*Crash!*

Natives! They found him!

“Ow. I thought griffons were supposed to be graceful like cats Gerty.”

“Haha, I laugh.” Gerty said in a light wheeze.

And just like that, Indigenis’ fantasy evaporated under the heat of his blush from the thought of being found out being so silly. And then the purple fangy face of Rocky was in his.

“Hi! I’m Rocky Road and that’s Gerty,” she said pointing over her buzzing wings to the tangled mess of griffon trying to free herself from the leafy branch she rode down. “What’s your name?”

Somehow Indigenis managed to not startle at Rocky’s infiltration of his personal space. “Uh, I’m Indigenis.”

Rocky scrunched her face as her head tilted in confusion. “Indig.. Indesi.. Indignant… Uh is it ok if I just call you Indy? Great thanks! So what were you doing?” The purple nymph licked the air sloppily like a plate a few times then seemed to savor what she found. “Hmm… HMMMM… AHA! You were playing make believe weren’t you! What was it what was it?!”

“I was a Doctor of Archaeology looking for the lost city of the Ponyians.” Wait, why was he telling her?

“*GASP* like Daring Doo! Is that what you want to grow up to be too? I’m gonna be a great explorer-er too!”

“Who’s Daring Doo?”

“You don’t know Daring Doo?!! She’s only the best adventurer and archamologist ever! Her books are the best, like there was this one time with a rock-”

“ROCKY!” Both Sphinx and Changeling turned to look at the irate little(ish) Griffon that had apparently been trying to get the nymphs attention for some time. “Don’t you gotta get back to your class?”

“Oh yeah…” Rocky looked off into the distant parts of the grove toward the blobs of purple and blue walking between the rows. Then she looked at Gerty and Indy appraisingly. Then she smiled and stood all prim and proper.

“Ah yes, my companion is entirely correct Doctor Genis,” She said in a bizarre but thoroughly cultivated accent that somehow turned the second half of the little tom’s name into Jones. “I, Miss Paved Way, socialite and secretly spy for the bad guys, have secured your services for results and not this dithering! Let’s be off, or do you intend to refund me for this expedition and give up on Lost Ponytas?”

‘Indy’ sat there dumbfounded for a moment before it clicked. He stood back up and threw himself into his alter ego. “Ha! Good luck finding Ponytas without me Ms.Way. You may be resourceful and I don’t notice you being a bad guy cause you’ve seduced me, but you’ll never find your way to the treasure without my knowledge and the key.”

Gerty looked at both of them. “You’re both such dorks y’know that?” She said dryly. ‘Indy’ seemed to flinch and deflate a little and Rocky gave her an almost desperate series of head gestures that could only translate as ‘C’mon and join us’. She sighed. “Are you two done flirting so we can find the Lost City already? I, uh, Clara.. Quick-Claw, get paid by the hour and you’re running up a tab.”

Indigenis took it up from there. “ Right, now let’s move carefully cause this jungle is crawling with natives that will kill us if they find us-”

“Rocky?” A half dozen on the nymph’s sisters exploring on their own walked from another row bringing both groups into view of one another.

Rocky froze, blinked and then… “Ah! The Cannibal natives guarding the Lost City have found us! RUN!!” She cried out loud as she explained the game across the link.

And so the Brave Adventurers ran, chased by the wildly grinning Cannibal Natives as they whooped and hollered.

Bell Curve watched as her wayward charge was pursued with her new pals.

Queen Twilight’s attention was evident in the teacher’s mind. She said preempting the teacher.

Bell Curve blushed at the praise and the love directed her way, from both Queen and class. As the Queen’s attention faded away Bell looked over her little ones. She wasn’t a Queen and she felt pretty certain she never would be and so they weren’t her changelings. But… They were Her little ones. Her children. She smiled as they played and explored, marveling at bugs and plants and even just the weather.

They always grew up so fast. Too fast. But that was okay, it made these times all the more precious after all.

Author's Note

I had versions of this chapter in my head for over a year. I love story making, but I don't have much int the way of discipline in writing. I also become so very impatient with how slowly I craft, text-wise. I come up with stories constantly, have ever since I was little, but actually trying to commit them to written form is so very different. It's short, shorter than I like and feels like it should be at least three times as long for the effort I put into it. But I think it's pretty... solid. Condensed goodness. I hope you like it.

But I can't ignore that it took me a year to write 1300 words. So I'm marking this completed. If the mood strikes me good and hard, an idea firmly crystallized in mind, I may add a bit or two though. But don't count on it. Sorry.

Shout out to Eimeit, Undeadking243 and Mugen Kagemaru for bringing Life in Phoenix Roost back to mind. The best way to get something from me is to pester me.