"So, are you clear on what your mission is?" the changeling queen, her mother, stood before her. Her sharp green eyes gave a piercing gaze to her daughter.
The young changeling was given all the information - pictures, names, and more importantly, what she has to do.
"Yes, your highness, Infiltrate Equestria. Charm my way into those foolish ponies' society. Then, strike. I shall not fail you.... mother." she said, looking back into her mother's eyes.
"You know not to call me that, Shade. I am your queen, just like I am to all my changeling subjects." Chrysalis lectured, "The fact that you are my daughter does not change that fact."
She nodded, hiding her sorrow. She had always wished for her mother to be more affectionate to her. She walked away slowly, saying nothing more.
As she walked out of the changeling hive, preparing to depart for Equestria, two other changelings appeared to see her off. Her two sisters, Cocoon and Siren, had come to say goodbye.
"So, mother has sent you off on an important mission, huh?" Siren asked, her emerald eyes glinting, imagining the excitement that would come from leaving the hive.
"Yeah..." Shade replied.
"That's no surprise. Every changeling in every hive knows how amazing your abilities of shape shifting and deception are." Cocoon cheered, giving her big sister an enormous hug, "You can suck the love energy out of a stupid pony without them even noticing it was gone, and then stab them in the neck without them even noticing they're bleeding."
"It's not that good...." she answered modestly.
"Oh, it is. I remember that time you changed into mother and fooled every changeling in the hive!" Siren laughed, "And that time you pretended to be a rock! I couldn't believe that any changeling could ever do that!"
It was true that Shade was master of disguise - if she imagined it, she could transform into it, even better than the adults. She discovered her talent for it after the attack, when Chrysalis was overburdened with business and military affairs. It made every changeling in the hive proud of her, especially her mother. However, she was still mostly ignored around the hive, as if she was just another changeling.
"And let's not forget that time she changed into you, Siren!" Cocoon started to giggle, "She made you look like such a fool!"
Siren rolled her eyes and sighed, "At least come home alive. We'll always be here for you. Contact the hive any time you can, I'll make sure to get your message ASAP."
Shade smiled at the supporting words of her younger sisters, savouring the last time the three of them would be together for a long time.
"You know I must come home successful, Siren. I'm expected to." Shade looked down.
"And then..." Shade thought, "Then maybe she will pay attention to me..."
"But if you do fail - which I highly doubt - don't feel as if you must live in exile for the rest of your life." Siren put her hoof on her sister's head, comforting her with soothing words.
"Yeah sis, Siren and I will always be there for you, no matter what!" Cocoon happily supported Shade.
Shade smiled and, before tears could fall, she left, on the long road to Equestria. Her sisters waved happily, watching Shade as she disappeared into the wilderness of the Dark Lands.
~~//~~
As Shade walked, she admired the scenery of the Dark Lands. The dark sky, the gloomy mist, the pools of green slime and disturbing mutated flora all felt familiar to her. She had heard from the briefing that Equestria was a much different place, full of grass and trees and happy clouds and the sky changed, depending on the time. Animals lived in the wilderness, and tall buildings lined the paths. The thought of a world like that scared Shade.
How could such unrefined creatures live in such a perfect world?
She dismissed the thought as she started stumbling upon the first sign that Equestria was ahead - the sight of light from a glowing ball in the sky known as the sun. The sky changed from black to a lustrous purple, mystifying Shade, as she decided it would be the perfect time to set up a guise. She knew of her mother's failed strike on Canterlot in the events of a royal wedding - she decided it would definitely not be best to transform into the ponies that her mother had shown her as examples. She used her magic and imagined a pony to the best of her ability, from the pictures. She chose to transform into something young, instead of an adult, as she found that having to seduce a pony just sounded so vile that the bile in her stomach rose into her mouth. She would find another way to trick ponies, besides, a way which she could acquire love energy as well without romance, just fit in and then call in the changeling hoard at the most suitable time. She changed into the form of a young filly, with a smoky grey coat, fluffy aqua mane and tiny wings. Her flank was blank, and she was rather slender and tall. She checked how her disguise looked with her rose coloured eyes. She believed that it was fine enough, but she wouldn't know until a pony saw her. She sighed in disgust. She felt as if she became a monster.
She was finally in Equestria. She felt guilty to be in the majesty of such a beautiful world, one which should not belong to ponies, in her mind. She saw a small town in the distance, and a city made of clouds. And extremely far away, looking like a dot from her perspective, was Canterlot, though she could not identify it from the perspective she was at. The queen told her that she should go there, as that was where the princesses lived. Conquering Canterlot would mean conquering Equestria, and that would bring more land and slaves for the changeling empire. She headed towards the buildings, knowing that where there were buildings, there would be ponies, from the knowledge that Chrysalis had given her.
~~//~~
After a while of walking, she started to become quite tired. She had no idea how long she had been walking, and her hooves were killing her. Shade rested beside a young lush tree with leaves more radiant than any leaves that she'd seen in the Dark Lands. This was her first time seeing, or relaxing near, a real tree. There were no trees in the Dark Lands, and she had never left the Dark Lands before then. When the changeling assault occurred, she was extremely young, and the queen refused for her to participate. This mission made her extremely excited, but also sent a shiver up her spine. Could she really fulfil her role? She dismissed these thoughts as she lay back and her eyes fluttered shut, falling asleep slowly.
She woke up from her nap refreshed and delighted, but something hit her nose. A small raindrop landed on her nose and trickled down her face. It was cold, wet, and not that delightful to Shade. It fell down from the sky and she was in awe of how it twinkled and shimmered, however still annoying her to no end. Then, something noticed her.
A pony. A pegasus mare, in a matter of fact.
"What are you doing out of your house at this time of night? Young fillies are supposed to be in bed!" The voice of the mare
made her look up.
"What?" Shade asked.
"Why are you out in the middle of the night?" she asked.
Shade replied, "... where am I supposed to be then?"
"In a house, idiot. Where else? Now go home to your mother and father." she lectured.
"If only I could...." Shade thought, then lied, ".... I don't have those. My mother took care of me alone. One day I saw her, the next day.... I don't know what happened. "
"You don't have a family? Well then, come with me. I'll take you to the Cloudsdale orphanage. A young pegasus filly like yourself is sure to be welcome there." the mare smiled, putting Shade on her back and flying towards the city in the sky, "What is your name, little filly?"
"Name?" Shade asked, "Shade, ma'am."
"What a lovely name." the mare smiled at her happily.
Shade gave a smile back, thinking, "This plan is going to be perfect. I will not fail for my race. Nothing will ever change that."
"Nothing."
The orphanage was like all other areas of Cloudsdale, majestic. However, the uniform white colour made it look bland to Shade, and she yawned at its appearance.
"Doesn't your new home look marvellous?" the mare said happily, pushing Shade into the building, "Don't worry, there are many fillies and colts here that will love and appreciate you."
"Perfect. More annoyances." Shade thought darkly, wishing she could just turn back and use her changeling fangs to kill them all, spilling their blood on the floor, giving a warning that changelings are the superior race.
"Oh, hello." an old, frail pegasus greeted happily. Beside her was another mare with rather large glasses on.
"Hello. This is Cloudsdale Orphanage, right? I found this little filly during weather duty. She has no parents anymore and I can't take care of her, so can you please take her in?" the pegasus that found Shade asked, "I hope she finds a nice home where everypony loves her."
"Well, we'll certainly take her in. Zephyra, take her into one of the free rooms." the old orphanage matron commanded.
"Right away, Aerin." Zephyra, the pegasus with the glasses, replied, then turned to Shade, "Come with me, little one."
The mare sighed with relief that Shade was taken in, then went back to her weather duties. Aerin waved her off happily.
"And this... can be your room." Zephyra led Shade to a rather dark room, with all the furniture constructed from clouds.
The bed was sitting at the far side of the room, and beside it, was a closet. Inside the closet was just a few sets of clothes that have managed to make their way into the orphanage, and were for when anypony wanted to dress up.
"Now, make yourself at home. The other children will want to see you tomorrow, I know that." Zephyra talked briefly, then walked out.
Shade was relieved that she was finally able to have peace and tranquility after the events that unfolded, and sighed happily as she lay down on the soft bed. She took this opportunity to be able to turn back to normal and contact the hive, hopefully having her sisters pick up. She reverted back to her normal self, and her horn glowed a sickly green as she contacted the hive.
"Hello? Anyone there?" Shade telepathically asked,
"Shade? Is that you? It's good to hear you haven't died or worse. the wispy voice of Siren entered her mind.
She smiled as she listened to her sister's words.
"How are you Shade? Have you made it in?" Siren asked, hoping for the best.
Shade smiled as she replied, "Very well. I'm in an orphanage in Cloudsdale. Nopony expects a thing about me, they just look at me as a sweet, innocent filly! Dumb ponies!"
A telepathic laugh sounded in her mind as she cheered, "I knew it'd be easy for you to get into Equestria! Keep up the great work! But now I have to cut off. Mother is calling me over."
"Okay Siren. I'll call soon. I hope things are good on your end." Shade said as she cut off the telepathic call.
She heard hoofsteps coming up through the hallway. She changed back into the pegasus filly and fell asleep, fooling Aerin who was looking in each room at each filly, in case of something suspicious going on.
~~//~~
"Wake up, Shade." A voice cut into Shade's sleep, waking her up abruptly.
She moaned angrily, opening a rose eye to see Aerin's face staring at her.
"Why do I need to wake up now?" Shade asked angrily.
"It's midday. You need to wake up eventually." Aerin answered, "Besides, the other children are playing outside. Wouldn't you like to meet them, Shade?"
"Not really." Shade looked down and glared at the orphanage's owner.
"Horse apples Shade, you must go and meet the other orphans." Aerin pushed Shade out of bed and gave her an enraged gaze.
Shade grunted and walked outside the orphanage.
The other orphans were playing in the playground made from the fluffy white cloud mass. Zephyra watched over them happily. All different kinds of creatures were there, which caused Shade to blink twice. She was forced to approach the group of fillies and colts congregated by the swing by the supervising Zephyra, and they just stared at her with judging eyes, as if she was another piece of meat.
"Hi... I'm Shade..." Shade said, feeling as if she did not belong, as if her cover had been blown, "What.... are your names?"
A few whispers went around the crowd, then they made a pathway for a creature which was half eagle, half lion. Shade believed that it was their leader.
"My name is Aula, and I suggest if you want to fit in here, you follow my rules, new girl." Aula glared at Shade.
"Very nice to meet you, Aula." Shade said happily.
Aula continued to judge Shade deeply, looking her in the eye as if she was staring into her soul. Shade decided to back away silently, and the group mentality made its final look before going back to conversing with each other, making Shade feel abandoned, alone.
"Don't worry." Zephyra said supportively to Shade, "They're like that to every new kid. You'll fit in soon, I promise."
Shade looked down, doubting that remark.
~~//~~
Shade sat by the wall of the orphanage every time she was commanded to go outside after that event. She would normally watch everything around her, or talk to Zephyra, though conversations with the mare were extremely brief. She avoided eye contact with the group of fillies and colts, as they would normally look at her in response and then whisper things to each other. This was the first time she felt as if she wished she was not born a changeling. She found comfort in calling Siren every night, updating and hearing all of her stories on the events occurring in the hives. Not much of interest normally went on, usually conferences and assemblies. Shade told her sister particularly about the other orphans, who judged her to no end. She usually gave calming words which made her feel better about herself, and Shade felt as if she just kept trying and she would succeed in her mission. Making friends did not matter to her, the mission did.
Then came Saturday.
Saturday operated differently than every other day, and Shade wondered why. Every orphan inside was eagerly waiting outside, as if something was to happen. Even Aerin looked happier than normal. Shade was puzzled at the fact everypony in the building had been waiting outside in a big crowd, and went out to see what was the commotion. The other orphans would not allow her near, so she sat by a wall, waiting for whatever was happening, believing they were all lunatics.
Nothing happened at first, but then it struck 12. Shade finally realised that there was a mare approaching the orphanage, happily trotting and humming a tune. She was a cream colour, with hair the colour of a hot flame. Her cutie mark was of a bolt of fire. She looked at the orphans with smoky blue eyes, as if she missed them.
"Hi everypony! I came as promised." the mare spoke happily.
Shade looked at the crowd of orphans' face light up almost instantly, surrounding the young mare and cheering, "Auntie Flamestriker! Auntie Flamestriker!"
"It's nice to see you again. The orphans have been eagerly awaiting your visit." Aerin told Flamestriker happily.
"Of course we do! It's auntie Flamestriker! Can you tell us a story today?" a young colt asked the mare.
"Of course Stratos. What would you like to hear?" Flamestriker lay by the orphans, looking up to them. Then, she noticed Shade out of the corner of her eye. Shade didn't look, in fear of being judged by the other orphans, yet she was tempted to do so.
"Why are you sitting all the way over here? You can't hide in the darkness forever." Flamestriker crouched down to talk to Shade, who was now staring at the odd mare.
"I'd go, but they don't want me anywhere near them." Shade snapped, pointing a feathered wing at the other orphans.
Flamestriker gave them a scolding gaze, making them all look down and apologise.
"I haven't seen you around here before. Do you mind if I ask what's your name?" the mare gave a warm comforting smile at Shade, reminding her of how her sister Siren would smile at her when she was upset and in tears.
"My name is Shade, ma'am." Shade looked back at the mare and asked, "What's your name?"
"Name's Flamestriker, Shade. It's very nice to meet you!" Flamestriker held out her hoof to shake Shade's, which made her feel a lot more comfortable towards her, "Now come and join the group. I'll tell you all a tale, and then you can all have some cake."
Everyone cheered, including Shade. Flamestriker told a story of a little filly who grew up and became a princess because of the friendship she held in her heart, and how she spread it all over the world. Then she took a cake out of her saddlebag and divided up, with everypony, including Aerin, getting a piece. However, Shade, unfamiliar to the concept of food, refused to eat. Normally, when dinner and breakfast came, she would just sit there, and lied, saying 'she just ate'.
"It's just cake. It won't hurt you." Zephyra said to Shade, "Eat it."
Shade continued to refuse.
"She doesn't have to eat it if she doesn't want to, Zephyra. You should know that." Flamestriker, once again, supported Shade, and Flamestriker asked, "Would you like to eat it? I could give it to somepony else, if you want."
"Give it to somepony else. I don't eat that stuff." Shade said happily.
Flamestriker nodded, as Aula stole the last piece of cake. Flamestriker shrugged, then noticed the time.
"Oh, I better get going kids. Nopony would like it if I were to be late for work again, right?" she said, picking up her saddlebag.
The orphans looked down. Shade in particular found it sad that she had to leave.
"But you will come back, right?" Shade asked involuntarily, which sounded odd to her.
"Of course Shade, I come here every week to see all my favourite friends. I'll make sure to see you every week. I pinkie promise." the mare said happily, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"
As she flew off humming a melodic tune, Shade smiled, feeling that everything would be okay. That night she would definitely have an interesting chat with Siren.
However, things turned out differently to what she believed. Once she came into contact with the hive, it was not Siren talking to her, but her mother, Queen Chrysalis.
"How is the mission going, Shade?" the queen's voice buzzed, catching her off guard.
"Great, my liege. I am earning the ponies of this orphanage's trust. They're all fools. Nice, but fools." Shade smirked as she telepathically communicated that comment.
"Remember that they are the enemy." Chrysalis lectured, "Do not fall for their kindness as them being innocent. We are the superior race, Shade. Don't forget that."
"Don't worry. I know." Shade replied, then cut off communications, transforming back into her filly pegasus form. She lay on the bed, continuing to remind herself that the mission is more important than anything else.