Taken Heart

Chapters

Stolen
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Stolen

Ugh this mission is so degrading. Sure, it's for the greater good of the hive and mother will be very proud of me should I succeed but impersonating as a baby? I won't be able to talk aloud for at the very least a year.

Who's baby?

Why the Princess of Love’s baby no less. So I'm actually probably the luckiest Changeling ever, I'm not going to go hungry for a long time and what’s better is that I'm going to being a baby. I don't have to worry about being out of character because I can create the character.

My name’s Sa’tha, daughter of Queen Chrysalis’ personal brood, but I'm not the heir, that would be my eldest brother G’drik, then my other brother Ma’shal, then me.

I don't know why my mother picked me for this, I guess it's because she trusts me the most and that I'm her only daughter, why she’d want her only daughter to be in the hooves her arch-nemesis, I have no clue. I'm gonna go with it being some kind of test or something.

I'm flying over the Crystal Empire right now, you’d be surprised how little ponies actually look up into the sky. I'm not even disguised, I’m carrying a bag so I can swipe the wretched child whilst it sleeps and send it to mother. Then I take its place for the foreseeable future.

Saying goodbye was the hardest part, G’drik and Ma’shal each gave me their own little ways of seeing a fellow Changeling off into the field. G’drik, being the heir and has most responsibility was more serious and less bothered, Ma’shal was more kind. He was always the brother who looked out for me, the one I could rely on. He embraced me and told me to look after myself.

Mother pulled me aside and drilled me on my mission once again. She reminded me to keep in my head that the ponies are the enemy. The only enemy. It matters not however nice Cadance will be to me, she was the one who blasted mother out of Canterlot and sent the hive into chaos. All we wanted was an end to the famine, but things have only gotten worse. She then brought me into an embrace and whispered into my ear, “I love you, Sa’tha, don't believe their lies, do your mother proud, do your hive proud.”

“You can count on me, mother,” I replied, “I’ll contact you every day through the hive-mind.” I promised.

Mother smiled at me, a rare occasion. She is often far to stressed now with the major overpopulation and increasing famine. The daughter of the Princess of Love is, somewhat ironically, our only hope.

I'm going to miss that place, the dank, dark walls of the hive, the green cocoons containing captured ponies to have their love drained from them, the busy arena for Changelings wanting to test their strength and others watching for entertainment, hell, I’ll even miss waking up to G’drik and Ma’shal arguing about Discord knows what.

As I left into the cool afternoon air of the outside world, I turned round to take one last look of the hive. I wouldn’t be seeing it for a long time.

I can see a train leaving the station in the distance, I'm nearing the Palace now, I’ll disguise myself and hang around until the dead of night, then I’ll sneak into the Palace, into the foal’s room and nah it before it has a chance to cry and teleport it off to the Hive for mother to raise it. Then before anypony notices anything, I shapeshift into the foal and live as the foal for the next decade or so whilst mother raises the real foal to be the ultimate weapon.

I shapeshifted into a random Pegasus mare and landed inside the Empire, looking for something to pass the evening away. My eyes immediately fell onto a Pub called The Winser, I may not be above legal drinking age, but I look it, and Changelings have a natural resistance to alcohol and getting drunk on it anyway, so what does it matter? I have a fair amount of bits that G’drik snuck me so I could entertain myself before I do the actual job, so why not spend them on something I want to do.

I entered the pub and hopped onto a stool at the bar. “Get us a crystal beer,” I said to the bartender, who nodded and got me my drink,

“Four bits, please,” he said, I rifled through my wallet and produced the money, handing it to him and taking my drink,

“Thanks,” I muttered and took and sipped the pint of beer. Changelings are advised not to take the form of a foal, it gives us all the disadvantages to a foal’s body and even can slightly change the mindset if the Changeling is weak-minded enough. I'm not though, mother chose me specifically for this task so she knows that I will be able to do it. Mother knows best.

I finished the beer and walked out, it wasn't much later but it should be fine. I walked into an alleyway and shapeshifted into a Crystal Guardspony, that should get me inside the Palace and, hopefully, into the baby’s room.

I was dead nervous, walking towards that Palace. The entire future of the Changeling Hive depends on me succeeding in this job. If I fail, I’ll be banished, no matter how much mother loves me, she’ll be forced to.

I entered the Palace courtyard, there was the Crystal Heart, shining a bit brighter due to the Crystalling earlier on today. I'm going to get a lot more used to this sight.

I walked into the actual Palace and made my way to the baby’s room. It took some time but I finally found it.

This is it Sa’tha, get the baby, teleport it away, replace the baby. Simple. Mother’s counting on you, G’drik and Ma’shal are too. DO IT!

I slowly pushed open the door to the room, easy does it, and crept in. The baby was, thankfully, asleep. Soundly asleep. I tip-hoofed towards it and carefully brought the bag over it. I trapped it in the bag and it woke up.

SHIT, FUCK, SHIT! I panicked as the baby started to cry out so I quickly teleported it away and I shapeshifted into the form of the foal, a form I will be in for a long time. I managed to get myself into the cot and look somewhat distressed as Cadenza herself came inside the room.

Oh Discord, I can't believe I'm about to do this

I burst into fake tears.

Replaced

I'm hating this mission already. I really hope my cry is convincing enough. I'm sobbing, bawling, wailing.

“Oh dear my little snowflake, did you incinerate your diaper again?” Cadance asked,

Wait what? Incinerate? What in Discord’s name is this baby capable of?

I looked up at Cadance, eyes still wet with fake tears and made baby noises, you know, gurgling and such.

What sort of baby should I be? Cadance looks pretty worn out so I guess I should go easy on her…

Hell no! This bitch is the reason I'm on this mission in the first place! Maybe I can have some fun on this mission after all.

Mother, did you receive the child? I have successfully replaced the child and am currently in a very degrading diaper change I tried to contact my mother in the hive-mind as Cadenza slipped a new diaper onto me. I could tell mother was chuckling,

Yes, I’ve got the child. I hate that name Flurry Heart, not worthy of her strength. Remember, they are the enemy. No doubt having your diaper changed by Cadenza is proof enough. Good luck, Sa’tha, we believe you can do us proud. Give Cadenza hell for me

Yes mother I replied as Cadenza put me back into my cot. I felt the love radiate off of her and I swallowed at it, filling me up and making me feel drowsy. Curse this baby body, I'm tired as hell after that love influx,

“Sleep tight, my little snowflake,” Cadance nuzzled me and blew a raspberry. I faked a baby giggle and she left me to my cot and my dreams. She didn't notice a thing about me being different. Perfect.

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QUEEN CHRYSALIS POV

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Sa’tha succeeded! Flurry Heart is mine… all mine. I need to think of a better name for her. I shall consult G’drik and Ma’shal about it. My two eldest children. The child is an Alicorn, just another bonus. I was expecting a unicorn.

I shall raise the child personally as my daughter as Cadenza shall be ‘raising’ Sa’tha. Except I shall be training the child in the Changeling magics and ways, teaching her to despise ponies and to ultimately be what Sa’tha should be if she were not replacing her.

I'm putting the child to bed right now as a matter of fact, she’s surprisingly loud for a baby. I'm not going to shapeshift into Cadenza just to put this thing to bed, it will learn its place.

“Sleep you wretched creature,” I commanded, putting more authority into my voice. The child ignored me and started to fly around the room. I locked the door shut with my magic to prevent her getting out and spoke again, "Flurry Heart, if you value your life, go to bed this instant!”

The child continued to fly. Suddenly, I had a brilliant idea. Changelings can drain love from things and we can give that love out to something at the price of some of our energy, but I’m willing to try anything to get this baby to shut up and go to sleep. I started filling the baby up with excess love for me, love that I had drained from a cocooned pony only an hour or so earlier. Sure, it was wasting a meal but it’ll hopefully get this baby to stop its rioting and obey me, for a short while at least. The foal stopped and looked at me in loving obedience as a child would do a parent. It climbed into its cot and settled down for bed.

“Thank you,” I said, a name springing to mind, “sweet dreams, Venom, sweet dreams. Mother loves you.”

That child is Flurry Heart no longer, she is now Venom, adopted daughter to a Queen Chrysalis. Myself. Up yours Cadenza.

I left the room for the child to sleep and crossed paths with G’drik,

“Good evening, mother,” G’drik said,

“Hello my child, what do you want?” I asked him,

“Mother, did Sa’tha succeed? Do we have the baby?” He asked,

“Yes,” I confirmed, “the child is ours, her name is Venom, by the way. Gather the Vanguard and your brother, there is to be a meeting immediately,”

“I’ll go inform Ma’shal and the Vanguard, mother,” he said and hurried out of the door. I'm hard on him sometimes but he needs to learn that one day he will be in charge of the hive and has to be prepared for it.

I made my way to the Gathering Hall and waited for my sons and Vanguard to arrive. They filed into the dank, murky hall and all took a place at the table. I sat down at the head and started the meeting off,

“We have successfully captured and replaced the daughter of Cadenza and Shining Armour, she shall now be known as my daughter, Venom. If any Changeling is caught with her without permission from me and me alone, he or she will be sentenced to digging labour for however long I see fit,” I said.

Fang, my head Vanguard, spoke up, “My Queen, what if Cadenza notices that the baby is acting different?”

“Don't worry, Fang,” I assured him, “Sa’tha can make up the baby’s personality. It's the beauty of replacing a foal, makes the job a lot easier,”

“But with Sa’tha gone…” G’drik trailed off. “She was one of our best hunters,” he commented.

“I have full faith that we will be able to sustain and protect ourselves without Sa’tha,” I replied

confidently. That blast from Canterlot Mountain left us crippled, we’re only just starting to regain strength now but with Celestia issuing a hunt for changelings, we have to be even more careful. Sa’tha helped to protect us from the creatures seeking to kill us out here in the Badlands, working alongside the Vanguard.

“My Queen, love supplies are still dangerously low, the cocooned stock are not producing enough to keep us sustained. We need to capture more ponies,” Fang brought up another problem.

“Yes, I’m… Working on something,” I replied.

Changed

It’s only been a week since I replaced Flurry Heart and I'm in a constant state of being really full up. Luckily Changelings can't get fat!

All this food has caused other problems though, such as this thoroughly embarrassing toilet problem, I can barely wait three hours before letting a little something into my diaper. At this rate I’ll bankrupt the Crystal Empire and make the diaper factory owners even richer.

If there’s one thing I can't stand, it's all the attention! There’s always somepony making some dumb noises at me and trying to get me to laugh. I just want them to leave me alone so I try bursting into tears, but that just attracts Cadance or Shining Armour’s attention. I should get used to calling them mum and dad to avoid slip-ups in the future. My Queen is my real mother, I must never forget that.

I’m missing my whole family. G’drik and his green eyes and somewhat greasy teal mane and Ma’shal and his piercing orange eyes and more well kept mane. I miss hunting, the Vanguard telling me where threats to the hive are and me going to hunt them, usually alone. It's dangerous, but it has to be done otherwise the hive would be destroyed. Can't be having that.

Oh no, I need to pee. Now. Better get Not-Mum or Not-Dad’s attention. Easy, all I have to do is cry. I burst into fake sobs and Shining Armour rushed in.

“Hey there, kid, you need your diaper changed?” He asked me, I looked up at him, eyes wet with tears.

He used his magic and took the blasted diaper off of my behind. I let out a little giggle and allowed myself to piss. There was so much of it, and almost all of it was hitting Not-Dad. He was horrified- no, mortified as the last drops splashed onto him. I let out a cute baby giggle and shoved my hoof into my mouth because dammit that thing looked good to suck on, don’t judge me okay?

Not-Dad called out for Cadance to take care of me whilst he had a shower. He left the room as Cadance trotted in, looking rather disheveled to say the least.

“What did you do to your father?” Cadance sighed at me. I really wish I could react to something by talking, not by gurgles, giggles or crying. Suddenly, without any explanation, I let out a huge fart, it terrified me, I thought my butt had exploded or something. My eyes widened in shock and Cadance burst out laughing. so much for supportive parenting. I thought. To distract myself from Cadance, I decided to contact mother, my real mother, that is.

Mother?

Yes Sa’tha, what is it? Mother asked me,

Mother, how are you? I asked her,

I’m fine, Sa’tha, why are you disturbing me? she replied.

Mother, I just peed all over Shining Armour I said, as bluntly as I could manage.

Sa’tha, did you just tell me you urinated on Shining Armour? Mother asked for confirmation.

Yes I confirmed, mentally laughing my head off at Not-Dad’s reaction.

I could tell Mother found it absolutely hilarious, she was probably randomly heavily chuckling out loud for no reason. Anyling in the room with her will think she’s finally lost all of her marbles, granted they probably think she lost all of them a long me ago.

Wow I need to stretch, I've been a week without moving my wings at all and they feel horrible for it. Not-Mum’s gone now so I guess it couldn't hurt to have a little fly-around. I unfurled my wings and gave them a few experimental flaps.

Okay, good, this is going well I thought as I slowly and shakily rose into the air on my surprisingly large baby wings. I started to wobble a bit more violently; trying to regain control I desperately flapped my useless wings and careened to the left, bashing hard into the wall.

Ouch, bollocks! I thought as my body responded to the bump a lot worse than I would’ve done in my real body. It's this stupid baby body again. I hate it even more now, and I’m in pain. This day is just perfect. Who would've known this mission would be so… grim.

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QUEEN CHRYSALIS POV

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I’m so proud of Sa’tha. Peeing on Shining Armour, hilarious! I can only imagine his reaction!

On a more serious note though, this is a problem. We need love. Soon. I'm not going to be relying on shoving love down Venom’s throat to make her obey me, only if she gets really difficult, which wouldn't surprise me, she is my daughter after all. How am I going to explain her looks to her? She definitely doesn't look like a changeling, that's for sure and until she’s old enough, I can't have G’drik and Ma’shal training her in disguise magics.

If only we got off as well as the ponies back in the dark ages. Raising Venom would be easy then. Now the Changelings are in a chaotic state. Separated by Hives, rulers, different rules and ways of life. It wasn't always that way, there used to be the Great Changeling Empire, ruled by Emperor Klimmek, until the reign of Discord, when ponies were generating little to no love. Then after, Klimmek went to Celestia, wanting, pleading for help. She bucking cast the Changeling Empire out, decreeing it the spawn of Discord.

There was an uproar then, I remember Emperor Klimmek’s face when we rebelled against him ofor his failure to help us. Hell, we led the rebellion, the other hive rulers and I. King Nightshade, Queen Crimson, Queen Daggerfang and King Reaver. Luckily, we’re mostly on easy terms.

Should be a good tale to tell to Venom to stir her anger towards the ponies. Speaking of Venom, I can hear her crying now. Best go see to her then.

“What is it, my daughter?” I asked when walking into her room knowing full well that she couldn't answer me. Suddenly, out of the blue, her horn sparked up and blasted a hole into the roof via magic.

Motherbucker… she’s very powerful. Even as a baby. She’s perfect! I wonder how far her powers extend... This day is going to be perfect…