Taken Heart

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.