//------------------------------//
// Loyalty 
// Story: Love at Ground Zero 
// by My Little Scribbler 
//------------------------------//


Love at Ground Zero
Chapter 2: Loyalty


Her name was Mirror. She started her life as a typical hatchling born from the various emerald green eggs that incubate in the Hive’s collective rookery. This is because all changelings are raised together as one large community; each changeling lives as a single part of one whole. She was born a soldier and raised with one purpose: to protect and serve the Queen and the Hive. But her true power as a magician first manifested during her soldier training. With the Hive’s massive underground caverns, most soldiers never see the outdoors aside for combat and training. On one particular day, Mirror joined her fellow hatchlings in the training gym. With few resources in the desert, the training gym was arranged into the shape of a tortoise shell made of rock and mortared with green changeling wax. There were no windows since the building was built underground and the noise of the changeling city was subdued within the walls of the training gym like an impenetrable egg.
Mirror stood in line along with the other changelings, her fangs bearing in excitement as she waited for her instructor to return and begin the lesson. With their teacher momentarily absent, the hatchlings were free to talk amongst one another, usually talking about games they will play, or gossip they have heard, or about the latest toys. The lone exception was Mirror who stood off to the side, staring off at the wall like a gargoyle in deep concentration.
Among one of the larger males in the class was a changeling named Echo. When he noticed Mirror lost in her own head, he approached her. “Hey Mirror,” he shouted, “what’re you staring at?’
Mirror said nothing, keeping her gaze at the wall as she pretended that she did not hear him. Much like Mirror’s unusual charcoal red color, Echo also stood out as well thanks to the blue tiger stripes along his back, contrasting with his onyx black body.
“Hey, why aren’t you talking?” demanded Echo, stamping his hoof to the floor. “Oh I see. You think you’re too good to talk to me? Are you planning on blowing up the entire gym again like you did last week?”
Mirror got the distinct impression that other hatchlings were noticing her and Echo, but she kept her mouth closed; she refused to so much as glance at Echo, even as he sleeked up in front of her, his eyes piercing into hers.
“Face it, Mirror, you may be magically talented, but you’re also a class-A screw-up and a weirdo.” He pocked a hoof into her wings. “I’m poking you, what are you going to do about it?”
After only a moment of hesitation, Mirror’s horn glowed a bright red and telekinetically grabbed Echo by his hind legs and flipped him onto his back with a soft thud.
As the room filled with giggles from some of the onlookers, Echo awkwardly flipped back onto his legs and stared into Mirror’s eyes, his face absolutely fuming with anger. Even though Echo was right in her face, Mirror just stood there, her eyes glaring off into space. Although she seemed to be in a daze, in actuality, her mind was alert and aware as she waited for Echo to make his next move.
“Come on, try that again,” challenged Echo, but Mirror would not respond. Seething with anger, his horn began to glow with magic.
As Mirror watched his horn glow, her own horn was glowing as well, both combatants itching to strike.
“That’s enough!” At that moment, Forgery, the teacher, trotted across the room from the door he came in and approached the hatchlings with his stern gaze.
“Well, he started it,” said Mirror, rubbing her hooves together nervously.
“I did not,” shouted Echo.
“Silence! Since you two want to fight so bad, come up front.”
Echo and Mirror scurried to the front of the class.
“Now class,” said Forgery, turning his attention to the students, “I assume you’ve all did your homework and read the section on cocoon magic as I’ve instructed.”
There were some murmurs of confirmation from the students even though some were clearly putting on an unconvincing poker face.
“If not,” continued Forgery with a slight hint of a threat in his voice, “then Mirror and Echo will demonstrate it to the class. They will try to capture each other into a cocoon, paralyzing each other.”
Mirror could see the sly smirk on Echo’s face and knew what he was thinking. She stood with both hooves planted firmly in the ground, knowing this might not be a fair fight.
“Ready...go!”
Without a single second of hesitation, Echo fired a blue blast of magical energy from his horn. Mirror countered with a red colored force field, but the blast from Echo’s horn was so strong, its force pushed back both her and her force field with a loud screech of magic against magic. He’s not holding back. Well if that’s the way he wants to play, then neither should I. Her horn glowed red as she shot her own spell at Echo.
Echo stood his ground as the spell flew toward him. However, it did not get far until a blast of sparks shot from his horn. With a swing of his head, he left a current of electricity in the air and as the spell hit the current, it followed the current and flew toward the wall where it ineffectually dissipated with a soft hiss. 
“Echo!” said Forgery, angrily. “I told you not to use electricity spells in my class without permission. Do that again and you get detention.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” said Echo, but after saying his apologies, he turned to Mirror with a sinister grin on his face.
Mirror knew Echo was a skillful electrokinetic, and such a destructive ability was highly coveted among the soldiers. Although Mirror had her gifts too, her gift was less than coveted...or at least not among soldiers.
Echo lowered his horn like a bull ready to charge. “You’re move.”
Mirror countered with her own cocoon spell. The blast of magical energy flew toward Echo, but he erected a force field to block. Mirror expected him to just fire another blast, but instead he curved the shield so that the spell would curve around and fly back at Mirror. She took off into the air to dodge the attack, but as she ascended over the spell, she could see another cocoon spell heading toward her. Mirror realized that Echo must have anticipated that she would fly over his spell and fired his own spell in the line of her flight. Before she could counter, the spell hit her and she found herself engulfed in magic. She collapsed to the ground, hitting the ground with a wet smack as if she hit a waterbed. The cocoon that broke her fall solidified around her and she was trapped inside.
“Very good, Echo,” complemented Forgery.
The class laughed at Mirror as she lay inside the cocoon, blushing profusely. However, Mirror had a gift of her own. The general rule of changelings is that they can only transform into creatures with a heart, and there are rare changelings—particularly Mirror—who can surpass the need for a heart or any living body. Her horn glowed with magic. The echo of laughter turned to shrieks of surprise as Mirror grew and metamorphosed into a log big and long enough to pierce through the shell of the cocoon and break free with a loud splatter. She quickly reverted back into her original form and before Echo saw it coming, she flipped onto her hooves and fired a blast upon him. He let out a muffled cry as he was imprisoned inside a cocoon, leaving the class shocked and silent.
“Mirror!” shouted Forgery, angrily. He used his magic to free Echo from the cocoon, blasting the shell into pieces and leaving Echo on the ground, stunned and confused. “Outside, now!” Forgery painfully grabbed Mirror by her ear with telekinesis and led her out of the classroom. Mirror was forced along, wincing as she tried to keep up with the pull of her teacher’s magic. Once they were out of sight, she felt her teacher let go and she glanced up at his angry face.
“Where did you learn to do that?” demanded Forgery. “Only workers can change into inanimate objects.”
“Well,” Mirror nervously rubbed her hooves together, “it was just a trick I was able to pick up. And why can’t I use this power? I may be a soldier, but even a solider has to take on the job of a worker and vice versa.”
“I don’t deny that your talents may come in handy in the future, but it is the responsibility of all soldiers to learn offensive and defensive magic to serve and protect the Hive. That is your first and foremost responsibility. Never forget that. As for your unique shape shifting powers, you will not use it in my class without permission again. Do you understand?”
Mirror squatted down in a meek and submissive pose like a mouse with a hungry cat hunched over her. “Yes sir...” 

As the years went by, Mirror’s powers grew over time, making her into one of the toughest soldiers of the Hive. Although her body grew in size, her real strength came from her horn and the magic she could unleash with it.
After the failed siege of Canterlot, she went back to volunteering at the school, teaching the hatchlings magic.
With a blast of red light from her horn, she trapped a pony-shaped dummy into a cocoon with her spell. “And that, little ones, is how you trap your opponents.”
The hatchlings clopped their hooves together with excitement, their young and bright eyes staring with excitement and wonderment at the prodigy before them. Even among soldiers, Mirror was well known for her deeds in battle, especially after she beat a dozen Canterlot guards during the siege.
Forgery came out, his face now a little withered with age, said to the hatchlings, “All right, it’s time for a lunch break.”
In walked a worker changeling dressed in a white lunch lady uniform. As a volunteer, Mirror was allowed a share of the food, so she stepped in line with the changelings. One by one, the lunch lady pressed the tip of her horn against the students’ horns, transferring love to them like a bird regurgitating food for her chicks...except not as gross. When Mirror got her share, the energy transferred from the worker’s horn to herself. She could feel her malnourished body strengthen and her mind become more alert. There was one final hatchling to feed, but when the worker transferred the love, there was hardly a spark from the worker’s horn.
“That’s it?” pleaded the hatchling.
“I’m sorry. That’s all I have left.”
“But I’m still hungry.”
Without hesitating, Mirror put her horn up against the hatchling’s horn. “Here, have a little of mine.” Mirror transferred half of the love she had to the hatchling who ate it up eagerly. As soon as she transferred the love, Mirror felt her strength tire a little, once again leaving her weak and malnourished.
The little changeling looked up at her with her small blue eyes. “Thank you.”
Mirror gave her a tired smile. With the majority of food going to the workers and hatchlings, Mirror had been eating less and less as is the case with all of the soldiers. That was why it tore at her heart to see the hatchlings begging for food despite getting more of a share than she did.
With the lessons over, Mirror waved good-bye to the hatchlings and left the training gym and into the hallways. The halls were merely a series of tunnels made of bricks and mortared with green colored changeling wax, just like every other room. Round wooden doors and metal lockers were built into the sides of the halls, leading into various classrooms and closets. As she followed the hallways to the exit, she could hear two familiar voices talking. As she approached the voices, she could see, standing next to the door, that it was Queen Chrysalis talking to one of her subjects. As Mirror suspected, the other one was Echo. Now that he had aged into a full grown solider, his body was muscular and large and his blue stripes seemed to radiate with a soft shine like a vein of lapis lazuli in rock.
“Why her?” shouted Echo. “Your Excellency, please. Surely I’d be a better choice.” 
Queen Chrysalis let out a low, angry hiss. “Although you are very powerful, a mission like this requires aptitude, not power. You are to remain with the other soldiers and I don’t want to hear another word of complaint from you. Do I make myself clear?”
Echo’s horn glowed as arcs of electricity coursed from it. With rage alone, he was able to produce a bright glow of electricity, which made Mirror shudder as she imagined what he could do with actual murderous intentions. As soon as the electricity cooled down, he said, “As you wish, Your Excellency,” and trotted out the door with a huff.
Queen Chrysalis turned to Mirror.
“Your Excellency,” Mirror bowed to her and kept her head to the ground as she spoke, “what brings you here?”
“I’ve been looking for you. I want you for an important mission.”
“What is your command?”
“I want you to kidnap Twilight Sparkle and her brother.”
“What?” exclaimed Mirror, raising her head up in shock. “Beg your pardon, but...why me? I-I mean...that is to say...I-I’m ill equipped. Surely it would be the job of a worker.”
“I need all of my most talented workers I can spare for my grand plan. There’s a meteor coming near Equestria, and the princesses plan on drawing it down to Earth. My plan is to place some worker changelings among the volunteers in order to sabotage the attempt. That way, it will land upon the princesses, squashing them.”
Mirror gawked at her in shock. “You’re going to kill the princesses?”
“Yes, and I need all of the most magically talented workers I have to make it happen. That is why I need you. Out of all the soldiers I have, your magical abilities are some of the most impressive when it comes to support and utilities. I need you to infiltrate the ponies and lure Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor into our trap. With the princesses and Twilight out of the way, Equestria and all of its love will be ours.”
Mirror nervously bit her lower lip.
“Is something wrong?” asked Queen Chrysalis.
“Why do we...surely there...”
“Are you refusing the mission?”
“No! I-I mean...No, I won’t refuse...” Even in battle, Mirror had never deliberately killed anyone, preferring to weaken or capture her opponents as opposed to inflicting serious harm. As Queen Chrysalis’s plan preyed on her mind, her fatigued body felt like it weighed as heavy as bricks.
“Then you accept the mission?”
“Yes, I do,” said Mirror, reluctantly.

In the following days, Mirror was hard at work with the other changelings, sneaking some of the workers in as volunteers, undermining some of the security, and rallying the soldiers to help with the invasion once the mission was complete. Mirror took it upon herself to lure Twilight into a trap, deciding to kidnap her first then take Shining Armor later. The only minor setback was that she was not told that Twilight was an alicorn. Mirror was certainly thankful that she brought along others to help take her down because there was no way she could take on a princess by herself.
Mirror stared up at Twilight as she hung upside down in the cocoon. She studied Twilight’s wings, and remembered the sheer power Twilight exhibited when she moved those rocks. So this is Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s own pupil. She certainly lives up to the power of a princess.
“Now, Mirror,” said Queen Chrysalis, “go out and greet the princesses and tell them that they need to be seated on the foot of the hill beside the reservoir. That will be the most ideal place to land the meteor on top of them.”
“But what about Twilight?” asked Mirror. “What do you intend for her?”
“Since she’s a princess, she must have a lot of love in her. The workers will stay and drain every last bit of it until she’s too weak to walk. In the mean time, go and take care of Shining Armor and the princesses.”
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Mirror said, “I won’t let you down, Your Excellency.” With a flash of green light, Mirror changed herself into the form of Twilight. She galloped out of the caves and out into the open air. While heading toward the reservoir, the sun began to set in the distance and causing the sky to turn dark blue. She eventually found Shining Armor standing outside of the reservoir, searching for his sister.
“Twily, there you are. Have you finished?”
“Oh yes, I’m done here.”
“That’s good because I just got word that the princesses have arrived. I think we should go greet them.”
“Lead the way, Shining.” As Mirror spoke, her voice seemed to show a hint of nervousness, but Shining Armor did not seem to notice as he led her on.
Mirror followed Shining Armor to the train station. Once she got there, she saw a precession of royal guards gathered around the train. The royal guards stood in a line outside the exit to the train. With a red rug conveniently laid out for them, Celestia and Luna walked out of the train car. With so many ponies preparing for the oncoming meteor, none could come and greet the princesses save for Mirror and Shining Armor
“Welcome, princesses,” said Mirror as she bowed to them.
“Salutation, Princess Twilight and Prince Shining Armor,” said Luna. “Have thou completed the preparations?”
“Everything is ready,” said Shining Armor.
“Very good,” said Celestia. “The meteor will be in range within the next two or three hours so please take us to our positions.”
“This way, princesses,” said Mirror. She led the princesses toward the foot of a hill beside the reservoir as Queen Chrysalis had instructed.
“You’ll be standing here,” said Mirror.
“Strange, I thought I’d be out on the field with the other unicorns,” said Celestia.
“I did some calculations and I think it would be best if you were here in the path of the meteor’s trajectory once it hits the Earth’s atmosphere.”
“Strange, I’ve never drawn down a meteor from that position before, but I trust your judgment. Thank you so much for your help. I’m sure this meteor will have a huge impact on Appleloosa.”
“I’m sure it will too,” said Mirror, sadly.
As Mirror watched the servants bringing chairs and food, one of the guards made a quick gesture to Mirror: waving his hoof up at his throat followed by drawing a circle in the air. Mirror returned the gesture. It was a sign that changelings use to identify each other when in disguise. She was told that all of Celestia and Luna’s guards would be changelings and that little gesture confirmed it.
“Everything has been set up for your arrival,” explained Shining Armor, “including some refreshments from Appleloosa.”
“It looks lovely,” said Celestia, admiring the scenery. “Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Are you sure you’ll be okay here?” asked Shining Armor. “After all, you’ve never been to Appleloosa. The locals might be a little too eager to see you in person.”
“There is nothing to concern thou,” explained Luna as she sat down in her chair. “The guards were instructed not to let a soul too close to us until the meteor lands.”
And no one to warn you once danger’s coming, thought Mirror. She looked up at the sky. Although there was still a bit of sunlight, she could still make out a white dot in the sky. She knew the meteor was out there, and its arrival will not be too much long.