//------------------------------// // lending a hoof. // Story: Another day... // by chil304 //------------------------------// Slowly, wearily, I pulled myself out of the trash and started to magically pull chunks of rotting food out of my mane and tail. I knew I should've spent the night thinking up a plan but sleep was just so much more inviting. Not that death would be a bad thing at this point. I try to think through what happened yesterday and come up with something but my mind feels full and blocked. A slight headache didn't help the situation either. Peeking through the end of the alleyway, I quickly search the streets for ponies. Not many were up and about early in the morning were only a few foals playing hoof-ball populating the street. My stomach rumbling reminded me that I hadn't eaten in about a day, and the foals laughing and playing free looked like an easy meal. I felt torn about whether or not to grab a foal when one bucked the ball too hard. Foals were easy to take down and at such a young age were full to bursting with love so i'd only have needed to take down one but... It was a child. Barely even in this world and even if I had no problems with killing the child (which was not the case) the parents would definitely notice and get some ponies searching for the lost foal. One of the foals managed to buck the ball hard enough to land at the entrance of the alleyway, and soon I heard the clip-clop of tiny hoof-steps come over towards the ball. If I was going to take the child down, I was going to have to prepare now. I start praying to Chrysalis for forgiveness as I straighten my wings, pre-charge my telekinesis and tense all my muscles. No. I'm not a monster. Not yet. I quickly scurry back into the dumpster and wait for the sound of little hooves clip-clopping away. I'll find food somewhere else... Hopefully. My grumbling stomach disagrees with my previous notion but I try to ignore it. I find myself snuggling back into the dumpster as I think through last night. The building was probably one of the most secure places in the entire city and I was about to waltz in as one of the most universally hated creatures and help pull off a huge heist. Not that I had a problem with optimism but... It wasn't exactly favorable odds. Ignoring the stench coming from the now warming trash I thought through my options. Taking out a guard on their way to work could work but... If multiple were taken out, the building would be put on high-alert. Getting caught would land me in prison and ultimately end up with me dead in a week. I started to think back to the hive. What would chrysalis do? She'd have an army storm the place. An army of competent changelings who could actually change form and... And weren't useless like me. I try muster up the motivation to get out of the trash but it's just not there. It's the most comfortable I can get, after all. I started toying with a can on the top of the pile, my hooves leaving slight dents in the metal whenever i'm more rough with it. What I needed was a way of getting into the building without being noticed. Reading the can's label reveals it's previous contents. "poison joke spray - hours of laughs*" I quickly search for where the asterisk refers too and find it within a minute. "actual effectual period may vary. If results last longer than an hour, consult your local hospital. Actually... Maybe getting noticed didn't matter. In-fact, maybe getting noticed was the perfect way to be completely ignored... Suddenly I had an idea. An idea that was crazy. An idea that was dangerous. An idea that just might work... Slowly, I started to muster the motivation to move away from the trash and start gathering supplies. I tried to get up, the now irritating pain in my chest still flickered like a match that refuses to go out. My rumbling stomach reminded me of what I must do soon if I am to survive and I quickly slumped back into the trash, motivation lost once again. In the hive I never had to worry about planning out my survival or unicorns casting spells on me. If I was struggling, the queen and her council would help me out until I was back to the expected standard. Well, in theory. In practice, they gave you a small fraction of what you needed then kicked you out the hive if you continued to under-perform but... It was the principle, dammit. Realising, slowly, that I would never be going back to the hive I started to break down. I wasn't going to be able to pull off what the unicorn asked and I was going to die in pain because of it. I was going to die in pain, away from anyone who knew (or cared) about my existence. I wasn't going to live another day, was I?