Molimentum

The helmet fit perfectly, though the inlay felt a little loose. Maybe because of the hair, he figured. It was a mess and hard to contain, but from he’d seen the pony had been self-conscious about it. The weeks he had spent figuring this one out would all come to fruition as of right now, because she had made contact with the ruler of the ponies, his target.

The corpse of the pony he had disposed of quickly, in a ditch behind the barracks. It was a makeshift thing and she’d be discovered eventually. It didn't matter. Nothing had to matter but the mission. He knew, and yet there was a strange feeling in the back of his mind. It made him frown as he moved back into the barracks to make sure he had cleaned up everything.

He had, as far as he could tell. That was good, though he knew that he only had this one day to put the plan into effect. If he didn’t do it, then. . . He put that thought away, sealed it off in a vault and threw the keys away. The only thing that counted was the mission. With that in mind he stepped outside in order to prepare himself. The sun would soon reach over the castle walls, he noticed and its warm light had already started washing over the lands beneath Canterlot. Looking at the bright light coming up from behind the walls he noticed a cold shiver running down his spine.

It was then that he noticed just how scared he was.

A drone that was afraid of what was to come, he would’ve laughed if he had understood the concept of gallows humor. Instead his mouth twisted.

Ever since the death of the last queen over a thousand years ago the changelings hadn’t been able to access their natural food resources. He knew the stories of how drones like he would take away the children from ponies, griffons and all the other creatures and exchange them with changelings, to be raised and fed with the love of the parents until the day would come they’d leave their home and return to the hive, with the real child returning. With magical aid it had been that nopony would ever notice the change. The stories spoke of powerful memory-spells the queens could cast and other great magicks that had helped the changeling hives endure.

He walked over the grass, his eyes turned towards the front. He wondered what a princess, or queen looked like. All this time in the palace and he had needed to avoid Twilight Sparkle all this time. He had only heard rumors and stories from ponies who had talked to her or seen her from afar, which might become a huge problem later on. If the changeling queens of old could alter memories and could alter the course of history through their will and finesse, what could an alicorn do? He didn’t know, but he knew his mission.

He stepped closer to the palace, another guard moving closer to him. Glitter, this one was called. She had a greyish blue coat, and the bulk of her face was covered up beneath that colorful armor every pony guard wore. Had Glitter been on night duty today, he wondered?

The other pony grinned and waved at what she believed to be her comrade. A first test for how well my homework went, he thought, but instead of anticipation there was only a flutter of his heart and the thought of hiding beneath a blanket.

“Yo, Ribbon, whazzup!” Glitter said, making a very elaborate hoof gesture. He didn’t really get it, but younger ponies did something like that for greetings, probably in an attempt for uniqueness. The one thing he did know was that everypony hated Glitter because she had an annoying voice and often spoke in gruesome lingo.

“Hello, Glitter,” he said, though the voice didn’t belong to him. It belonged to a dead pony, a pony who had died for a different cause. “You look well.”

“Ah, you know, was just chillin’ with ma homies, when diz bitch showed up. Like, not a literal bitch, but a metaphorical one, you know the one. I went to school with her and shiz.”

He had also never understood whether or not Glitter was actually understanding half the words that left her mouth. As far as he was concerned, it made no sense for someone to be a metaphorical bitch. How was one a metaphorical female dog anyhow? Considering he had questions like that, all he could do was nod in silent agreement, while also hoping that this pony wouldn’t go into topics of conversation aside from any indulgences into her own life.

“She was like: “Wow, you’re still a guard? Didn’t they disband you militarists already?” Like, seriously, I so wanted to beat her up, but then I remembered that beating ponies is bad and I just explained shiz to her. Should’ve seen her face, gurl, I was, like, totally being awesome.”

This was the moment during which he had to say the right thing, what the pony he killed would have said: “You did a good job, controlling your feelings.”

Glitter’s smile vanished for a moment, only to grow wider than before. “Thanks, Ribbon. I’m really happy you’re down like that.”

The hug that followed was sudden, but not entirely unexpected. Glitter had been from a farmhold close to Canterlot, as far as he understood and had lost everything to Magia. For all her faults, she honestly wanted to make this country better, was what others said about her. That’s why she’d been so low on his list for ponies he could change into. She was too talkative, too much of an attention seeker, unlike the quiet Ribbon Spear, who had fought in wars and lost so many things that she had been afraid to create new friendships.

With that in mind, he did actually return the hug. Ribbon hadn’t been cold, and he needed sustenance. With the return of magic, love had become a viable option again and the warmth of the hug stilled the hunger in him. It lasted only for a moment, but love was a force that strengthened every fiber of a changeling’s being.

“So, I see you’re off duty now? The others are already at that new place, Donut Joe’s. You wanna come, too?” Glitter asked, letting him put on an uncertain smile, before he shook his head.

“I’m sorry, I’ve still got some business in the castle. You guys have fun, though,” he said and left her.

His eyes were on the castle, in all its splendour and it made him remember what was outside the walls. Canterlot, the most beautiful city in the world. He knew of the colorful roofs, the houses with the many shapes. He knew of the sweet smell that lingered in some streets and the way everypony seemed to trot about without a care in the world. He knew of the clear night skies and he knew of how everypony lived in harmony. He knew about all this and he despised them for it.

He remembered a female changeling, the one who watched over the hatchlings. She had been a scrawny thing, her mane only covering half her head, her tail but a few strands of hair. He remembered how she’d looked at him with her only eye, for the other had never grown. He remembered how her hollow expression had changed to a tiny smile when she had first looked at him.

They were of the last hive. The last few changelings and the ponies had done this to them. They had ended magic once and only brought it back now that all hope had faded from them. The hive was dead, or would soon be. There was nothing there for him anymore and all he could do now was do this mission and end it once and for all.

He remembered how she looked at him after he had been given his mission by the overseer, and he remembered himself asking: “Am I supposed to shiver?”

She had put her hoof to his head then and had given him half a smile. “Don’t worry about that. This kind of thing is important and no matter what happens on the morrow, you are our only hope.”

He remembered the hive, the dead carcasses of changelings that had once been lying around, collapsed tunnels telling stories of a time where they had lived there like kings. A time that might never come back, for they had been the last few changelings. A hundred when he had been born, a dozen when he had left and now there was a good chance that he was the only one left. Taking a deep brave he forgot the fear, for he had a mission to accomplish.

His steps grew quicker, the preparations would take some time but he would finish them nonetheless. With that thought in mind, he stepped closer towards the palace, his goal in mind.

There was one corridor that was fit for his plan. A crossing of eight pathways, a room build in shape of a circle. For all intents and purposes, this was the one room from which he could do it. He looked at the red carpet and the many ways. Some lead to towers, one to the throne room, others to the gardens of Canterlot and one way led to the hole from which the sea ponies could be reached. He had no interest in them, though. Instead he sat down by a wall, watching the as-of-yet empty hallways. Soon enough officials would be prowling this place and then he could finally get to work.

Sometimes, Ribbon had done that, just seated herself in a corner and watched the others go on as she retreated to a world where all her burdens had been lifted from her, where she could snuggle with her love and play with her children. She had dreamt of this even after everything.

For the briefest of moments he wondered if she was with all those she had lost now. He lost that thought immediately and instead just looked onto the hallways.

He had expected somepony to walk by. Maybe Kettle Hat or Silver Sallet, the guards on duty. Maybe even Numeral or Singsong or some other bureaucrat. He had expected anypony but the pony who appeared, since suddenly he felt something hitting his side. He turned his head and saw the strangest sight.

He had been here for quite some time, so he knew most of the regulars. Yet the truth of the matter was that there were many ponies visiting this place and he could never know all of them. Some of the ponies who lived here were but rumors within the halls, tales of the princess’ loyalty and kindness, maybe even her generosity. It was one of these rumors that he met right then, one small pony who looked so frail and helpless.

“Watch where you’re going,” the pegasus filly mouthed loudly. Her eyes were hidden beneath glasses of black color, her coat was cyan and her mane had six different colors. “Honestly, I’m an important future member of the wonderbolts, what if I could get hurt?”

He blinked, trying to measuring her. She was dressed in pink pajamas adorned with clouds and her mane was a mess, that was to be expected, as it was morning. The name of the filly, however, came only to him a second later: Rainbow Dash. Hadn’t the princess found this one in Canterlot shortly after the destruction of Canterlot? The filly was tiny, but appeared healthy, especially with that somewhat angry look on her face.

“Aren’t you a bit too young to walk alone through the palace?” He decided to ask.

The filly tilted her head, “What’re you talking about?” She pointed to her left. “Fluttershy’s with me. Right, Fluttershy?”

I stared between the filly and the air.

“Come on, Flutters,” the filly said, her voice suddenly becoming shaky. “Flutters?” She turned around, suddenly uncertain, her voice breaking almost immediately.

There were many concepts he couldn’t quite grasp. Blind ponies were one of them. If a hatchling would be born with a deficiency like that, it would be killed on the spot. As this small thing before him started crying out for her friend and breaking down he wondered if whether he should do her a favor and just strangle her?

Ponies don’t do that, he had to remind himself. He had been bred to understand them, yet they were still such strange creatures to him, them and their own strange moralities.

He put an arm around the tiny pony. “It’s alright, ssh.”

He was thankful for the stranger’s voice. Ribbon Spear may possess a rough, deep voice for a female, but it suited his needs for the moment. Rainbow Dash shivered and tears came out from beneath those black glasses. Another thing he didn’t get about ponies, but then, he had never experienced pain like they did.

This small interaction made him realize just how strange these colorful equines were to him.

“She’s abandoned me, too,” the little one mumbled.

The right words, he thought and opened his mouth: “It’ll be alright. If we wait here, your friend will surely come.”

They could have left and searched for this Fluttershy, but he didn’t dare leave this place. Magic rituals were hard to prepare, especially those that would directly influence their own source. He needed to start at the right moment, since time was also a factor. Maybe Ribbon had something done that hadn’t been within his calculations. Talked to somepony, made an appointment. He only had this one day for sure and the mission was of a higher priority than the enemy’s child.

A few minutes passed, the filly sobbing by her side, slowly getting quieter. He didn’t know what to say, but conversations with strangers were easily opened with simple questions. “Who are you.”

“R-Rainbow Dash,” she answered, stuttering. “I’m going to be a wonderbolt and bring happiness and laughter to the ponies.”

Happiness and laughter. Food, he thought. “That sounds nice,” was what he answered. “I’m Ribbon Spear, a guard here.”

“A… A guard? You work for the princess?” The voice of the tiny pony seemed to change, so did the way she moved. Is she feeling safe around guards?

“Yes, I watch over the palace and all it’s inhabitants. Including you,” he said, the voice belonging to a pony with a horrible mane.

RD grabbed her hoof almost instantly. “You’re not going to leave then, are you?”

“No,” he answered. “Even if we waited the whole day, I wouldn’t leave.”

That seemed to make her happy. “I don’t talk to the guards much. Mostly it’s just the caretakers the princess sends me to, they and the other fillies. I mean, I’d like to play with colts more, some rough stuff like tag or knight and dragon, but Fluttershy won’t let me. She never lets me do anything fun.”

The play of children. He had often watch them go at it in the streets but had never understood the purpose of their make belief, their dances and their laughter. They weren’t bred for a purpose, instead acquired their own destiny and lived their own dreams. The watcher had told him that before he died, in those words. Had they all been sad then, or had it been those words that had prompted them to give him a funeral? He didn’t know, he only knew that he didn’t get why this child was talking to him.

“I believe playing rough stuff would be hard for you.” He said it in a way she would clearly understand. It was the truth, where he came from she never would have lived.

“It’s called rough stuff because it isn’t easy. Anyway, I’m a good flyer, I don’t need eyes,” the filly said and seemed to prepare herself for take off.

He immediately put his hoof in her back, “No flying in the palace.”

She grumbled. “But it’s true. I’m a good flyer, I won’t break anything.”

“I don’t know what you are or what you think you are, but rules are rules. No flying in the palace.”

“You’re just like Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said and began to pout, though she still seemed to try to keep close to the guard and she was shaking like a leaf.

Fear was an emotion he could understand, though not the reasons behind it. Ultimately, ponies were a mystery to him.

“You cannot see, what makes you think you can fly like other pegasi?” He finally asked, not really knowing why.

“I made a promise to Tavi and though she can’t keep her part anymore I will do everything to do mine,” the filly said defiantly. “I don’t need eyes to see my goal.”

“How profound,” he answered, not really thinking about it. Still, the little one smiled with smugness, her ego growing vastly with that compliment.

“You’re pretty cool. I can give you my autograph, since it’ll be worth a lot when I’m a wonderbolt.”

“And you can write to?”

“Never learned it, but it’s just like drawing, right? Give me a pen and I’ll show you my talent,” Rainbow boasted.

He didn’t know whether he should answer to that, but he presumed the reason for her ego stemming from the fact that she didn’t want to accept her own weakness. At an age this young she was using her coping mechanism like an adult pony. He couldn’t decide whether they were brilliant or just plain pathetic. He only knew that one day, reality would punch that smile right off her face. Or had that day already happened. He had heard what happened in Canterlot, he remembered how they had felt once Magia had started influence them.

He couldn’t understand this pony and so he didn’t say anything. The mask and what was beneath, neither could say anything at this moment, or wanted to say anything.

Luckily for them, another voice appeared: “Rainbow Dash, I told you not to run off like that,” a tiny voice, pretending to be stronger than it really was. He looked at another pegasus, yellow with a pink mane, who only now seemed to notice the armored guard and shrank down to a size smaller almost immediately. “Oh. . . Uhm, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. Rainbow didn’t cause any trouble did she?”

“Ribbon’s cool Fluttershy, and I’m not running off, I told you I wanted to go to the bathroom and you just can’t keep up.”

“Bath. . .” Fluttershy halted immediately, but took only a second to push her friend into a corner. “What if you got hurt on the way, or didn’t find your way back anymore? This castle is a maze and there’s so many adults running around. The princess said she wants me to keep you safe and I can’t do that if you’re going to do something so dangerous.”

“I’m not a foal, Fluttershy. I think I can manage to go to the bathroom.”

“You’re blind, in case you didn’t notice,” Fluttershy said, sighing. Her friend didn’t appear to want to counter that argument.

“I’m sorry,” the cyan one said, probably not wanting to make her friend angry.

“It’s alright. Let’s just go back.”

“Uhm. . . I didn’t finish to go to the bathroom, yet,” Rainbow Dash said, suddenly getting shy.

“Why?”

“Couldn’t find it.”

“What?”

Rainbow took a deep breath, before she answered: “Couldn’t find it.”

Her friend didn’t say anything at first, just gave the younger filly a tiny smile. “Well, take my hoof and I’ll lead you. Come on.”

She reached out and her friend took it after one miss.

“Bye, Ribbon, I’ll give you that autograph later,” Rainbow then said, turning her head into his direction one last time.

“And thank you for watching over her,” Fluttershy added and off they went.

Soon thereafter the hallways started to fill with politicians and he pondered what had just went on. The princess kept the mistakes of her species alive and close to her? Why? Was it love? He didn’t understand it and figured that he probably never would. So all that remained was his mission. He lifted his flank off the ground and looked onto the circle as the palace came alive. All that remained were the memories of the other changelings, off a hive that had taken its last breath. He decided to look towards the future.

All he needed to do now was to kill Twilight Sparkle in order to awaken a new queen.