//------------------------------// // 2. The worst day ever // Story: I'm Sorry // by Asterix //------------------------------// Chapter 2. The worst day ever, When they started to train us, they taught us that manipulating someone to do something by "Own choice'', was much more effective than a threat. Remembering that would have helped me a lot. Those royal guards ruined everything, now that Filly and I are heading downtown. This is overwhelming, I could be working in the hive if it was not for this stupid invasion. We could have replaced ponies from another city, with fewer defenses. but guess what! Instead, we tried to take control of one of the biggest cities in Equestria! And Now two royal guards are escorting me to one of the tents for the wounded ponies, and on top of that, that filly knows what I am. Gena could taste the fear in Frosty. She wasn't planning to scare her but she had to. The die was cast and the only thing she could do was increase her chances, all of her hivemates were gone except for her, she was just a worker changeling, and they probably wouldn't even make the effort to come back for her. The streets of Canterlot were relatively safe, the royal guards were patrolling every street, and Gena could see a guard on every corner and even more on the main avenues, she believed that the Royal Guard was crumbs compared to the Changeling army and it was, but even being ten times smaller than the changeling army, they could be at every corner of the city without even breaking a sweat. It had something to do with the fact that Princess Celestia's garrison had been deployed with the others, but even without them, they still were a lot. "Okay, we arrived, that young pony sitting at the desk will ask you some questions. Your parents must be looking for you, so they'll probably be picking you up soon." The royal guard said. "Wait, are you just leaving us alone?" Frosty said with a concerned tone. "You won't be alone, there are lots of ponies here, if something worries you, you can talk to the guard over there," He said while pointing to the corner of the tent, where a guard was on duty. Gena knew she would be in serious trouble if Frosty said anything. She would have to keep a close eye on her to make sure Frosty didn't become a problem. One of the things that Gena learned was how to infiltrate, she needed a good disguise, but above all, they taught her to mix with the ponies, and the first step was to earn their trust. If you earn the trust of just one pony, it will stay with you even in the worst of times, the pony will also bring lots of love to the infiltrator, food. "Now, I just have to start a dialogue with her." Gena caught sight of the white-coated filly and approached her. "Hey," Gena said in a low tone. Her expression said it all, she looked really scared, just as expected. Gena needed to do something to calm her down, otherwise, they would attract attention and get her in some trouble. "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you, I just want to talk," She said. Frosty was confused. "how do I know that?" "Because… If I attacked you right now... everybody would notice and I would be scrapped" Looking at it from a certain point of view, she wasn't lying at all, but having said that, she only had to trust in the good faith of that filly. Analysis and problem-solving were always her forte, the social part was never. "That… does make sense… I think" Frosty said, she still doubted the changeling's intentions, but that was a fair point. "Manipulating, lying, and cheating were things for the infiltrators, not for the worker changelings, this is too much for me." "Well, I just wanted to say sorry, I just… don't want to end up in some kind of dungeon," Gena explained, taking great care in her choice of words. "You said you were gonna eat me," Frosty said. "How do I know you are not just lying?" "Changelings don't eat ponies," Gena said. A lie. Frosty still doubted Gena's intentions, she couldn't just believe those who had just chased her around the city and she knew that perfectly, Gena had to bond with her if she pretended to keep herself alive. "Gena," she whispered Frosty gazed at her in confusion. "My name is Gena," She said as she extended a hoof to her in greeting, those greetings that she once read in the hive’s forbidden library, nobody noticed her presence, not even the guards that were supposed to keep the library a secret only for the hive’s highest ranks. She had read about greetings and hugs. The greetings were a social pony ritual where the pony in front, the one extending the hoof, meant no harm. Greetings conveyed enthusiasm and joy in meeting the pony to whom the hoof was extended, On the other hand, hugs meant that the pony who embraced the other in their hoofs cared deeply and had a strong affection for that pony. A white-coated pony approached both fillies, she had a baby pink mane tied in a bun with a red ribbon. "Hi, I hope I’m not interrupting something, I am in charge of keeping a record of all the foals who got separated from their parents, so if they come, we can locate you more easily." She said, rushing through her introduction. In some strange way, the nurse had a relaxing voice, even though she was talking as fast as possible. That voice sounded very familiar, but without reminding her of anyone in particular. It was probably the sweetest voice she'd ever heard. Gena also noticed the way the ponies behaved, especially the nurse; they acted strangely, always caring about others. "Always looking first for others, that pony sure was weird." She thought Apart from Frosty, she had never interacted with any ponies before. It all felt strange to her. "Sorry, I’m in a hurry and I must be brief… what are your names?" The nurse said in a cheerful tone. "I'm Frosty Flower." She replied "And I am... Dew Drops" She said. The Nurse wrote their names on a paper. "Well, if you have any problems, feel free to find me," The nurse said, "I'll be at that desk doing… paperwork,'' she said with a dull tone when mentioning the last word, even her expression seemed lackluster as she glanced back at the enormous stack of papers. Frosty was about to say something when Gena abruptly cut her off preventing Frosty from saying anything. "We will, thanks," She said. Even if being with the nurse made Gena feel comfortable, she would prefer to keep her away. Gena continued to watch the nurse until she returned to her desk, perhaps to continue with paperwork, taking notes, and registering the injured and missing foals, when the nurse had moved far enough away that their conversation was no longer audible to her, Gena resumed speaking. "Look, I'll understand if you don't trust me, you may have your reasons, but I would really appreciate it if you kept the secret." She seems scared. Frosty thought Silence filled the room, and mistrust lingered in Frosty's mind. She still had doubts about whether to believe Gena or not. However, the words echoed in her head, and she couldn't put her hoof on it, but there was something about them that sounded sincere. They remained like that for a while, a wall of silence between them, Surrounded by the incessant gallops of the ponies, as the prince had already mobilized all the royal guards. "Fine," Frosty said "I won't say a thing." "Thanks," Gena said relieved "But I want to ask you something," "What is it?" Gena said The silence came back until Frosty could muster the courage to ask her question. "Why?" she asked. "What?" She didn't quite understand what she was asking. "Why did the changelings attack Canterlot? Do you hate us so much, or did you do it because you wanted to?" She asked bluntly. "It's… not that simple," Gena said, trying to avoid the question. "If the ponies learned more about us, a second attack would be impossible." "Try me, I think I can understand," She Said. "What? No, no no no, If my queen found out about this, I would be expelled from the hive... Or worse, be drained of my love reserves." Gena exclaimed almost terrified. "So, you did it because your queen told you to? She seems like a tyrant to me" "No! Not at all, it was necessary for our survival, we need to eat emotions to keep living," Gena replied, almost offended. "And for the record, the queen is compassionate to those who follow the rules she sets". "And what happens if you don't follow her rules?" Frosty asked. "I don’t intend to find out" Gena replied. "But how can you be so sure she is not, you know, just lying to you all?" Frosty asked "I know it's true because changelings need love to survive; we feed on emotions, and if we don't adhere to her rules, we face consequences. But we did it out of necessity; if we didn't, we'd starve," Gena replied, her voice filled with desperation, who, without shouting, answered morosely. "But if changelings didn't attack Canterlot, the queen was going to punish you?" Frosty asked. "It was… necessary, and I won't give more details," Frosty simply replied with an "Alright." She didn't want to ask any more questions, feeling that her words had somehow bothered her. Then, another silence filled the room, those questions left Gena speechless; she was unprepared for that line of questioning. Amid all the silence, their gazes briefly met, and the time they kept their gazes locked, it might have been just a fraction of a second, but Frosty could swear she saw through Gena's disguise. "Was it my imagination?" She thought. Even if it was, this action raised the question, 'Why?' She didn't even feel threatened when she saw her like that, even though she appeared rather menacing. "She probably doesn't even know my name." She thought She swiftly turned to her and conducted a brief assessment of her appearance. It was just her, taking the form of a light gray filly with a dark gray mane, Gena appeared to acknowledge her, but she remained unchanged, as if nothing had happened. "It must’ve been my imagination, then," Frosty thought "Now that I think about it, we never finished introducing ourselves," Frosty finally said, breaking the ice. "Oh, that’s… right" Gena replied, perplexed, thinking she had already finished that pony ritual. "Well, I suppose I should introduce myself then, my name is Frosty Flower, a pleasure to meet you," "Umm…" "What's wrong?" Frosty asked, looking confused. "I've never really introduced myself to another pony before. Actually, I don't think I've ever introduced myself, ever," Gena said, shyly. This revelation, caused Frosty to giggle. "Don't worry, you just have to shake the hoof of the other pony and get acquainted" Frosty reassured. Unsure of what to do, Gena took Frosty's hoof and shook it. "It’s nice to meet you, Gena," Frosty added with a smile. For Gena, it felt like uncovering a new world, delving into pony customs and manners, and most importantly, they were nutritious. If she kept collecting information like this, perhaps her species could have a fighting chance against starvation. Who knows? Maybe the queen could reward her with a reward for her efforts. “Be that as it may, I must find a way to escape from this place. Even with the taste of fear lingering in Canterlot, these kinds of gestures brought me some vitality back. It wasn't as much as I would have liked, but at least it would help maintain my disguise for a little longer.” Frosty stayed silent, yet her curiosity was clear; it seemed as if she wanted to learn something about Gena and she seemed to notice this. Gena recalled a valuable lesson from her time in the hive. "The best way to manipulate a pony is to make them feel comfortable," Gena thought to herself. "Is there something you wanted to ask me?" she inquired shrewdly. "Yeah, actually," Frosty said in a low tone of voice "So?" "You see… I was wondering about your age," Frosty confessed. "My age?" Gena thought, in a way, it made sense for Frosty to be curious about Gena's age. She had first seen her as an adult changeling in disguise, then in her true form as a youngling, and now she was disguised as a filly. "Yeah, I was wondering how old are you," "You mean my winters?" Gena asked "I don't know, what are those 'winters' you talk about?" Frosty said. "You see, the elder changelings gauge our strength based on how many 'winters' we've survived. That's the way they decide which chores can be assigned to us, based on our strength," Gena explained. Frosty couldn't help but let out a small giggle. "Well, I guess you might call it something different, but in the end, it measures the same thing, right? So… how many 'winters' have you passed?" she asked with her ever-present smile Hesitating about whether to answer or not, she finally gave her response. "Eleven," Gena confessed "Eleven winters?" "Frosty asked, making a concerted effort to avoid drawing any undue attention while in the medical tent." Frosty was taken aback by the realization. "That scary changeling that had stalked me all day is my age!?" She thought in astonishment. Gena could taste how Frosty's fear had completely vanished, bringing relief as she couldn't bear the bitter taste any longer. There were cases of changelings becoming intoxicated from consuming excessive negative emotions. "You're almost the same age as me! I can't believe that this entire time, I was scared of a filly!" She exclaimed. Frosty's expressiveness elicited a shy and slight giggle from Gena. “Well, you see, I’m still a youngling, not a filly,” Gena said "Youngling?" She asked in a curious tone. "Yes, I'm not a Pony, I'm a changeling," Gena explained "Oh, I see…" Frosty exclaimed, "Anyways I'm sure you wouldn't have liked it if I said a changeling." Frosty said in a really low tone. "I suppose that's true... thanks," Gena said at the end