"Hollow it out."
I'm standing on the street outside of my brownstone house. I've been walking for days to get home, resting wherever I can. It has been an all consuming drive. My family, what must they be thinking when I didn't return with my unit. I can't let them down. Smiling that I've made it I look up. Through the first floor window I see my wife Spring Rain standing next to me with our new foal. How am I looking at myself through the window. Something slams into me. I'm on the group still looking at the window but everything is sideways. I stretch my hoof toward Spring as darkness nibbles away at the edges of my vision.
"Get everything."
I cough, expelling the burnt dirt from my lungs. Struggling I raise my head. My fellow soldiers lie around me still smoking from the dragon fire. Ash swirls and blows through the air coating everything grey. I start gagging when I inhale tasting the remains of my fallen comrades. Dead. How are they dead? Nopony dies in Her Glorious Highness Celestia's army.
"Be thorough."
I'm marching down the road with my fellow soldiers to a mountain on our northern border. A full thousand ponies are with me. Everypony's armor is as bright and shiny as the day it was made. Around me my comrades are singing songs and telling jokes. I find myself skipping along to the beat not a care in the world.
"You missed a spot."
I jerk upright in bed. Somepony is screaming outside. It sounds like it's coming from down the street. I check the time, it's still early, but not so early that I'll bother going back to sleep. I look over at Spring Rain. Thankfully she is still asleep. My eyes drift along her barrel before I gently cover her with a discarded blanket. Any day now our foal will be born, Rain Burst. I'll see our little one when I return.
"Don't forget the deep memories."
I'm Twin Thrust
I'm Twin Thirst
I'm Twin-
I'm Night Gale
I'm Sudden Sound
I'm Blue Skies
I'm
I'm
I-
"Sloppy, it wasn't erased properly last time."
...
"There, send it for reassignment."
The changeling stands in a brightly lit room. It is surrounded by its fellows. Row upon row of unmoving changeling, hundreds of them. All staring straight ahead. Not waiting. That would imply conscious thought. No. They exist. Those brave volunteers.
* * *
Excerpt from the Love for Happiness Treaty between Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria and the Changeling People.
Changeling Replacements hereafter referred to as Replacements will be conditioned to believe completely that they are the pony they replaced. They will have no sense of self beyond the pony that they now are.
If a Replacement is killed or severely injured while they are on assignment they will be swapped out for a fresh Replacement the same as if they were the original pony.
Going to be late, going to be late. Stop Watch raced down the street pulling his delivery cart behind him. Boxes jumped and danced whenever his cart hit a bit of uneven road. Strictly speaking he was going faster than was legal or even safe, but everypony did on this road. It had a nice gentle down slope that just begged to help make up time on late deliveries. Hooves pounding Stop Watch braced himself for the upcoming turn onto Golden Pear Road. With scrabbling hooves Stop Watch started the sliding maneuver that would let him corner at nearly full speed.
Crack
With a whimper Stop Watch woke up unable to open his eyes through the blinding pain. Worse though he couldn't feel his rear legs.
"It's okay, it's going to be okay, stay with me." A soothing mares broke through the haze of pain. "I'm Doctor Whole Heart and you are going to be just fine. A medical cart is on the way and we'll get you patched up and home for dinner."
Now that Stop Watch had calmed down enough to stop resisting her Whole Heart got to work assessing his injuries. It would only be a few more minutes until the cart arrived and this pony needed immediate care so he could be stabilized for transport. Getting to work Whole Heart began feeding magic through his body looking for any internal bleeding that needed to be staunched.
"Doctor, look out!"
Pain. Whole Heart's entire world was burning. Thinking caused her vision to strobe with red spikes of agony.
"Here, I found her horn."
Hearing the clip clop of hooves approaching sent fresh waves of nausea through her.
"Careful, careful. Load her up with the cart drivers."
That did it. Whole Heart's heart rate skyrocketed. No, no, no, no.
It felt like she was struggling against a living mountain as she tried to wiggle her way free from the ponies trying to help her. They kept reassuring her that everything would be alright. With a quick twist of her hips she managed to break free from her executioners. Scrabbling backwards madly Whole Heart managed to get to a nearby wall and lever herself up. Fortifying herself Whole Heart turned her aching head looking for a way past all the shocked looking ponies surrounding her.
One of the medical cart runners started slowly approaching her. "You're in shock Doctor Heart, we want to help you. Please let us." Two other ponies were edging closer from the left and right.
Before they could reach her Whole Heart did a very stupid and reckless thing. She tried with her entire being to cast just one last spell to let her escape, no matter the cost.
A high pitched shriek rattled windows before trailing off into the inaudible range. Arcane fire burst from Whole Heart's stump as she tried to force magic through a nonexistent horn burning away the exposed nerve endings.
"No..." With a last whimper Whole Heart collapsed, unconscious.
* * *
Whole Heart woke up as the green nutrient gel invaded her nostrils. Coughing she forced the foul fluid from her body straining her neck back to keep her nose free. Slowly the gel filled the cocoon she was in until at last there was no air left. Whole Heart held her breath as long as she could. When she couldn't restrain herself any longer she opened her mouth and sucked in a huge mouthful of the slimy fluid. Her entire body convulsed begging for a breath of clean air. Gradually Whole Heart stopped struggling. The convulsions lessened to sporadic twitching which slowed until she went still.
* * *
Excerpt from the Love for Happiness Treaty between Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria and the Changeling People.
For the benefit of the Changeling People those ponies who are Irreparably Injured shall also get a Replacement. The original pony will be secured and placed in a harvesting device to live out their nature life providing sustenance to the Changeling People.
The judgement of when a pony has been Irreparably Injured shall be at the sole discretion of a pony medical professional or Replacement medical professional.
