//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: The final assignment 
// by BirdsAreTheShit 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 1



The sound of waterdrops hitting the roof above was almost hypnotizing to Hornet. He could not get his thoughts off of yesterday`s events. 
He had been told that Queen Chrysalis had an important assignment for him. 
The other changelings had frowned at him, most likely offended because of him being picked instead of themselves. 
He had no special talents, nor had he ever done anything impressive. The other changelings had picked on him for as long as he could remember, and he never had any real friends. 
The cold presence of the room he was in, made him shudder. His frosty hooves kept shivering. As he stretched out his hoof to get a blanket from the couch, a tingly sensation struck him. 
Suddenly, a faint voice could be heard from inside his head: "It is time Hornet, meet me in the gardens." He shook his head, and the voice was gone. 

Hornet slowly made his way down trough the corridors of Chrysalis` castle. The hallways were filled with large paintings and artifacts. 
He began thinking about what kind of assignment it was he was being given. Perhaps she wanted him to defeat a dragon? Or even worse; she wanted him to join in on her 15 hour long tea party. As much as he respected the queen, he would not like to take part in any of those things. 
As he passed by other changelings, they either gave him a strange look, or ignored him completely. 
Luckily, he was not far from the gardens now; he began recognizing the path he had followed yesterday. 
As he stepped out into the gardens, he could feel a mild breeze hitting him. He looked around, but could not find the Queen. The bushes and flowers that surrounded him were fantastic to look at. 
He took in the view as he stood there waiting for the queen to make her arrival. 
It was still raining, and all the changelings had gone inside. 
All the changelings except for Hornet. 
This was his big day after all, and he had no problem with standing in the downpour. 

The rain had been going on for hours, and there was still no sign of Chrysalis. 
Even though hornet had promised himself to wait, he was starting to get a little anxious that she would not show up at all. 
Or so he thought. 
A faint green light could be seen through the rain. It was coming closer. 
Hornet`s eyes widened as Chrysalis came into view. 
His entire body was shaking; he was now in the presence of the queen.
"welcome, Hornet. As you may have been told, I have a task for you." 
Hornet cleared his throat as he said: "Yes your highness, I was told yesterday. What is it you want me to do?" Hornet was so excited to finally know what his assignment was.
The queen chuckled a little at the way Hornet was speaking, before she said: " Your assignment, dear changeling of mine, is to pay a visit to a small village named Ponyville. There you will find six ponies that..." 
"What`s a pony?" he interrupted. 
The queen, looking a bit annoyed, answered calmly, saying: "They are the most vicious and evil beings in all of Equestria. They need to be eliminated, but I have to find out how. That is where you come in." 
"What am I supposed to do?" Hornet answered.
"It`s quite simple actually, the only thing you need to do, is to disguise yourself as a pony, and infiltrate their town. Once you have done that, you will have to befriend six ponies named Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack." 
Hornet nodded slowly, just to show that he understood. 
"Oh, and you should take this with you." The queen handed him a small, glowing gem.
Hornet took it and attached the gem to his chest armour.
"Thanks, but what does it do?" he asked.
"I can`t tell you." the Queen replied.
Hornet looked a bit disappointed, but thought no more of it.

To get to Ponyville, Hornet had to travel by train.
He had never traveled anywhere before, and was therefore way to excited about a plain trainride.
But to be able to even get on the train, he had to disguise himself. 
He looked around to see if he could spot any ponies. 
As you can imagine, searching for something you don`t even know what looks like, is not easy. 
Oddly enough, he was the only one at the platform. The train was almost there now too, so he had to improvise. 
Suddenly, an extremely high-pitched screech could be heard from behind him. 
He quickly turned around and noticed a strange looking creature staring back at him with it`s mouth wide open. 
"Somebody please help me! There is a changeling here!" the creature yelled. 
He put his hoof to the creatures lips, as to tell it that it should keep quiet. 
"Are you a pony?" Hornet asked the creature.
The creature slowly nodded.
It looked absolutely terrified. 
Polite as he was, Hornet asked: "Would it be alright if I turned into to you? I promise that it won`t hurt."
Just as he had completed his sentence, the pony fainted, and the train arrived.