//------------------------------// // Droplets // Story: Emerald Eyes // by TheApostate //------------------------------// ‘Into the forest we go!’ -Someone, possibly. [After Starlight, the mighty one, and the dimwit did their thing] A first day can mean excitement as much as it entails stress. For some, the latter is expressed by the first. Good to keep your senses aware of your surroundings, but needlessly bothersome when confronted with an unforeseen problem. A simple misdirection or error can be fatal for morale in that case. And, when it is the first day at your new job, it is difficult to keep composure and a straight face when confronted by the reality of what you will be tasked with. ‘Hello, my name is Spring… Field.’ No one took notice of her. She was shorter than the rest of the creatures within the agency, but she had hoped for even a modicum of courtesy from them. Supposedly a reputed company thought after by high individuals for their photo shoots. All she wanted to do at the moment was to shoot them for the insult of ignoring her. She did not come to Canterlot, go through the hurdle of getting a job that would be enough to pay her rent and food, and took her time to find proper attire for her to be ignored by her coworkers. ‘You are the new mare, right?’ Someone finally noticed her standing and frowning in the reception. She replied with a nod. ‘Welcome to your new work! I am Gold Reach, your coworker.’ He extended his hoof to her. She took it with clear hesitation. ‘Nice to meet you,’ she smiled. ‘I am Spring Field. I come from Tall Tales.’ ‘An honor to have someone from those parts of Equestria being part of the company. I hope you integrate well.’ ‘I was ignored,’ she plainly stated. ‘Ah…’ he scratched the back of his head. ‘Yeah, not the friendliest of people – I have to admit,’ he whispered in her ear. It incensed her beyond reason but managed to contain it. ‘So what that cutie mark means?’ asked Gold Reach. ‘It is a ladybug, no?’ The question irked her. Too personal for her own taste. She hated it beyond anything. ‘Yes. I am very good at that whole photography work. When I was a kid, my m-mother…’ She paused, needing to refocus her thoughts. ‘My mother used to appreciate my detailed pictures…’ she concluded in a dour tone. ‘Excuse me for reawakening some odd memories.’ ‘You’ve awakened nothing!’ she decried. ‘Calm down.’ He tapped her back repeatedly but noticed her growing distaste the more he continued. ‘If you want to persist with us here, you will need to be more amicable and more assured. I am patient, but you need to calm down. Okay?’ It was her life now, the realization sat in. At least, until a chance to strike would hold itself in front of her. She had to swallow her pride momentarily, to accept she wasn’t truly queen anymore. She had to act as a mere subject of the Alicorn Sisters. She had to show her enthusiasm for their debased traditions and accept those pseudo-heroes. “Heroes”. Perhaps so. They are almost reminiscent, she dared think, of those of Changeling history. But compared to those illustrious beings whose deeds helped preserve their civilization, they are simple children gifted with power. Many of them should not even be given power and responsibility. They had been six, once- Chrysalis stopped herself. It was unneeded hate for the time. Yet, they managed to keep the situation calm. Her attempts at overthrowing the Alicorns' rule were almost unnoticed by the general populace, like no threat to their lifestyle, like no change to the perennial rule of rejects had ever occurred. Life went on as if nothing happened. Could friendship and those Elements be the cause behind such leniency? Or is it something more nefarious? Something she herself never, even in her more desperate days, acted upon. The patience of Eternals. It all came down to this, after all. She could exploit it. To use the collective surety of the ever-enduring reign of Celestia, the collective patience and arrogance it brought for commons and nobles alike, for her own gain. She just needed to unlock the secret of their creation. To have her own Cadance and Twilight. The mare’s face contorted into a snarl. Hatred for her own stupidity for a realization long overdue, yet so obvious for one in her position. I should have groomed an heir. ‘Excuse me.’ The brief snarl turned into an awkward grin. ‘You should also work on that smile,’ he laughed. ‘It will be easier for you later on.’ ‘Yes,’ she agreed. She internally sighed. A promise – that was all she had made to deter any rebellious sentiment. And all it had taken for it to falter was a mare she never had heard of nor could envisage possessing such prodigious abilities. From whence such a being came forth was simply hard for her to comprehend. But it did not matter. Her throne and the work of a lifetime were lost – yes – but she still held on to her title, and the remnants of the old aristocracy are sure to not take too kindly at some dimwit, foreign-backed commoner playing king with his cur of a brother. She just had to bide her time. Her failed plan was of a grand scale and, if not thwarted by the death of the Arriver, she could have brought down entire civilizations in a single swoop of the claw. Traitors and reluctant participants were a factor she did not disregard but neglected to fully grasp the cheer resolve they made a show of. In a way, that Starlight and another idiot with her were successful at bringing Chrysalis’s goal to fruition, at the cost of independence. And that, the true Queen of all Changelings, would not countenance upon. ‘Has the agency been tasked with being around foreign officials?’ she asked, taking the coffee he was offering her. ‘Ah! You mean to talk about those Changeling rulers?’ She forced herself to nod. ‘Of course! First place even. Weird how there are some similarities between them and the Sisters, no?’ ‘Yes,’ she murmured. It had not gotten past her notice. Of course, it did not. In fact, that very sight terrified her the most. The similarities were too… flagrant. Too… intentional. Legends told her to be wary of such an occurrence. The echoes of the end of empires and nations rang loudly in her mind. There was no great arbiter at this time, however. No greater power would be able to protect those that could not. In that moment of reflection, it came to her: she was still Queen. The senior in title, rank, and age of all the rulers she once envisaged treating as equals – old and new. She was not the queen of a petty kingdom like for the Hippogriffs – and not the client state of a foreign power. She was not the head of a barbaric band of beasts, boasting of strength when they lack to rise beyond primitive standings. She was the Lady of Change, the Changer of Ways, the breaker of traditions; that is what she had promised herself to become. She will be the end and the death of the old world. But, for now, better drink that coffee and make that wide-eyed moron happy he had helped his new “friend”. And it was disgusting. At least, she was sure to have a good repository when hunger would overtake her once more.