Regrets and Reflections (Prologue)
There was the soft tweeting of birds. This caught my attention as chittering and the clicking of changelings were what I was used to waking up to. I could feel a cool draft as the gears in my head sputtered to life and began to turn. With a groan I rolled over onto my side with some effort and for some reason my bed felt like dirt as if somebuggy crumbled up crackers and threw them onto my bed. My pillow was hard and felt literally as much as a log would. This isn't right. My head was throbbing, though as if somebuggy were hitting me over the head with a sledge hammer! This pathetic excuse for a pillow must to blame!
Just where was I?
I'm obviously not at the hive.
.....That is unless my crumbled cracker hypothesis is true, which I doubt.
Riiiibit!
My eyes shot open to be greeted by a frog mere inches from my face, the black slits in the center of it's eyes, seeming totally oblovious to anything and everything.
They spooked me.
The smallest of yelps escaped me as I backed away from the creature, moving into a sitting up position, scaring the frog as he bounded away and dove into...a lake? I'm definitely not at the hive. Yeah, the hive doesn't have a lake or tall trees with fall leaves that slowly fluttered to the ground. As I looked around, I noticed I was surrounded by trees looming high above, the morning sun shining through the leaves.I tried to stand. Slowly I got up, my legs trembling, but as I stood, a sharp pinch shot up my right hind leg, sending me back down to the ground with a dull thud and crackling of leaves.
I gave off a low groan as I once again tried to stand, but avoiding using pressure on said leg. Just incase, I looked back at my wings to see if they were intact...only to see the right one bent and torn besides the holes that already existed.
"This won't do." I muttered to myself as I tried to buzz them. My right wing was completely unresponsive.
I groaned again.
Birds flew above and creatures scurried across the land, weaving through the trees whereas I was stuck with no idea of where I am or where to go a broken leg and broken wing. Just fun!
"Oh, I am absolutely loving this!" I said to nobuggy out of pure irritation and sarcasm. "Better start walking, I guess."
So I did. With my weak and trembling three operable legs, I wandered aimlessly, peering through the trees ahead in search of the end of this forest or wherever I was. These yellows, browns, reds and oranges, though due make up for it in comparison to the dark hive in which I should be at right now. As my brain was still waking up, flashbacks of the attack came to me.
I seemed so unbeatable! My plan was working flawlessly! But that nosey purple unicorn just HAD to ruin the fun, didn't she? If it weren't for her, I'd be ruler of Equestria now, but instead I find myself limping and flightless through a random forest. How wonderful. By the time I get back to the hive, my changelings might be dead. Heh. All of them...wondering where I am and why I haven't returned...they probably hate me.
I've failed.
The love famine is bad enough and this attack would have earned us enough to last for months! My subjects...my children...I watch them drop one by one each day, never to breathe again, and what have they done with their lives? Dig. They dig, hoping they can get even the smallest morsel of love to bring to their families.
They probably think I'm dead.
I found I held my head low as I walked, the entire battle replaying over and over in my head as if my brain were attempting to try and torture me with it.
Full scale invasion? Check.
Lock up Cadence in the Crystal caves? Check.
Take down Celestia? Check.
Marry Soarin to gain the love so critically needed? Nope.
Welling up tears nipped at my eyes as I came to a stop along the river which flowed away from the lake. I gazed into it, peering at my reflection with the utmost of disgust and anger, swatting at the water with a hoof, splashing the reflection away. I continued walking along the river. For about ten minutes I walked, when something caught my eye.
A bridge.
"Finally!" I said aloud as I quickened my pace to the best of my limping ability, but the sound of voices cut me short.
Voices followed by the sound of squeaky wheels needing to be oiled and the thumps and clip clops of hooves hitting dirt. I quickly ducked behind a patch of thick bushes to hide. Why am I hiding? Well, I don't want to be reported as seen and then the elements of harmony come after me with my broken leg and wing! I'm in bad enough condition as it is! I don't need friendship lasers being shot at me!
Apparently they heard because my clumsy flank had to step on a fairly thick twig, snapping it and the carriage came to a stop. I watched them carefully through the leaves of the bushes.
"Did you hear that?" said the driver, a light orange, hazel eyed stallion with a yellow and orange mane, donned with a horn to the earth pony mare next to him. The stallion reminded me of toast.
"Hear what?" she replied, moving her neon green mane out of the way of her bright pink eyes. Her white coat glistened in the sun.
"Wait here," the stallion said to the mare and he hopped down from the carriage. He reached into his over stuffed saddlebags and pulled out some sort of a spray can. "Who's there!?" he aimed into the bushes in which I hid, ready to spray whatever decided to pop out with whatever was in that can.
He stood there for a moment until the mare in the passenger seat called to him impatiently. With a huff he put the can away and turned back. As he did, a book fell from his bag, which he didn't notice and it now lay behind a fallen branch. He hopped back onto the carriage.
"Where's that book you had?" The mare asked.
"Who in Equestria cares? It didn't make a bit of sense anyhow," he said a bit irritated and snapped a whip at the stallions pulling the carriage. "Hy-yah!"
They galloped off down the dirt path. I gave a sigh of relief as I stepped out of my hiding spot.
"That was too close..." I muttered to myself, peering up and down the path for any other passerby, finding nobu - nopony in sight.
I looked down at the little blue book which fell from the stallion's saddlebag.
"What's this?" I asked myself as i wrapped my green magical aura around it and brought it up to see. In gold writing, the cover read: The Book of Mormon.
"The Book of Mormon? What kind of a name is that?"
