The Doppelganger Society

The Doppelganger Society

This was the place for me to wallow. Ever since I had lost my hive, and been imprisoned in stone, I had almost given up. The deep threads of my hatred sunk into the Earth and rooted a tree. This tree bore the fruits of despair.

When they had foolishly released us from the stone, in an attempt of so called reformation, I had complied. A short while later, I had fled. I had fled far away, beyond the eyes of that moronic princess and her ever annoying friends. How I hated and despised her…. How I LOATHED the effort of reformation.

Cozy had been the only one susceptible to such things. She had always loved the concept of friendship. Her view of it, though, was more twisted than that of a peppermint stick.

Tirek had not given in and had been cast back into stone. They had made me stare at the lifeless statue as if to imply some sort of threat. I took this with a grain of salt. The princess had never truly destroyed anyone. She was far too soft for that.

In my travels, I had settled in a village outside of Ponyville. It's location had laid somewhere beyond the Everfree forest. The ponies here seemed quite happy, and I had gotten by feeding off of their love. Right now I was under the guise of a pretty unicorn, and I often would go on dates to suck out the lustful emotions of stallions.

Yet it was still empty. My hive had cut off from me, and I felt more alone than ever. I hated ponies… HATED them.

Right now I was settled on a bench, overlooking the stones of once living creatures. I had felt oddly at peace in this place. It was often quiet, and the stones of many ponies long past were overgrown. It wasn't often fresh graves were dug here.

Today I was trying to decompress. I was exhausted and it had been quite awhile since my last love meal. I shut my eyes, enjoying the ample sunshine that was cast through the branches of the willow shading the bench.

The birds tweeted and little things scuttled around. Graveyards were peaceful…. They were one of the most peaceful places I had ever been.

That was until I heard the sobbing. The wretching cries of a pony, wailing over the grave of a lost soul. I couldn't help but feel irritated. Morphing into a bird, I landed on a branch nearby the weeping party. I felt a little ignorant, having not noticed the group gathering for a memorial service.

An older pony was leading a speech, "He will be sorely missed. We will always remember who he was. He was a bright and young stallion, and he didn't deserve to go so soon."

Intrigued I watched. There appeared to be a picture of the young stallion, grinning, on a poster board. My gaze wandered over the small crowd. Pity…. He had no legacy and didn't seem to have impacted many ponies. A pretty and young mare stepped out of the crowd. She wore a black veil and I could see her hair was braided into pretty lavender loops.

"I….I… I know I was only in his life for a few years, but… I truly did love Lemongrass. He meant more to me…" the mare choked up and another pony came rushing out and pulled her back.

I was surprised when she shoved the older mare away and continued, "he had a short life… but he was a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. I will always love him and I will always miss him."

I watched as the procession continued. They all laid flowers down on the freshly dig grave. Finally the mare asked, "c... could I be alone for a bit please? I'll catch up… I promise."

I watched as the other ponies left. After awhile I listened to her, "If only I could have seen you one more time. If only I could have been there in the hospital so you wouldn't have felt alone."

A devilish thought seemed to cross over my mind. I examined the poster one last time. Silently I flew down behind her and allowed my form to change. She jumped when I cracked a twig under my hoof. As she turned around, she gasped, "L...LEMONGRASS?! But you...you can't be here! You're there!"

I changed my voice to match that of a stallion. Well….a girly stallion, "I assure you my love… it's me. I can only stay for a moment though, so we should make this quick."

"Are you a ghost?!" The mare shook, "oh it doesn't matter! I'm just so glad you're here…!"

She dashed towards me and hugged me close. I was shocked and slammed by the full force of love emanating from her. I quickly started to drink it in as she spoke, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry you had to be all alone! Was it painful?! I tried to get there in time, but it was so unexpected I couldn't!"

As I continued to drink in the bittersweet tang of the mares love I spoke as realistically as I could, "Darling…. Death is a part of life. Life is a part of death. It only hurt for a moment…. Then I was free. I'm in a better place…. I'm not in pain anymore. I loved you with all my heart and it will take time to heal those wounds, but darling. I must go…." Was that something a dead pony would say?

I tore myself away from the mare and dashed over to the fresh grave, turning into a bug as I did. I felt more energetic then I had in months. That pure agonizing love was disgusting. Yet… drinking it was such a wonderful experience.

My gaze drew upward. The mare was looking utterly exhausted but as she turned to walk away I couldn't help but have the sense she seemed more at peace.

Had I just helped a pony? I scoffed. Was it really that easy to manipulate their emotions? I smirked, a devilish idea forming in my mind. Perhaps this could be useful…. Perhaps I could pull something like this off. It was too risky constantly hovering around the same town and feeding from there.

But this….this was perfect. I could play it off as if I was some sort of phantom. I could get my share of love from these depressed and disgusting wretches mourning over things of the past.

But what of my hive? What of the others that were gone? The part of me that had so callously been ripped away?

'I'll figure something out…. I'm a queen after all!'

With that last thought, I went back to the place I was staying for the moment and settled in. Feeling satisfactory for the first time in a very long time, I settled into a comfortable sleep.