A Changeling Tradegy

by Reddling Rain

In Prominence's Shadow

The movement to war was best described as sluggish at first. Although the townsponies were too terrified to even look out their boarded up windows as their wagons were stolen and repurposed for war, moving enough food into the wagons and barrels of water to support the war effort was still a time consuming task for all drones involved. Once it was complete, it still took four drones to pull each wagon, all of them disguised as ponies. Prominence's drones flew overhead, disguised as pegasi covering the flanks of the caravan. Prominence, Pupae, and Lazni each had their own wagon reserved to them, one that looked just like all of the others so that they could blend in with the supplies and not stand out for the enemy to spot.

The trip was made in silence from evening to night, night to day, and day back to evening again. So far as Lazni knew, she and Prominence were spending their days furnishing both their own drones and Prominence's drones with love to keep their magical stores topped off. Lazni didn't bother to think about what was at the end of the road until the wagons stopped on the other side of the mountain.

"Hivemother Lazni?" Lazni glanced up at one of her drones calling her name, their head poking into the stopped wagon. Outside it was completely dark, a moonless night .

"Yes drone?" Lazni asked.

"Princess Prominence requests to see you before... before the battle tomorrow. Sooner rather than later." Lazni raised an eyebrow at her drones, but then nodded.

"Tell her I am on my way." the drone saluted before disappearing into the night, leaving Lazni to stretch her chitin before stepping out into the night, looking behind her at the still hungry drones and saying, "Worry not, I will return soon."

Lazni followed her drone through the night, staying close to him as they approached Prominence's wagon. While on the outside the wagon was just a normal travel wagon like all the rest commandeered from Raspberry Creek, on the inside Prominence had a miniature recreation of her hall. Currently she had her map folded up in a corner and head poking into the coach area of the wagon. Behind Prominence were glasses of mulled wine. Between the two glasses of wine was a pretty living flame, part of it purple and lively, and the other fiery red with wispy and erratic behaviour. Lazni winced in surprise, taken aback by situation.

"What's all this, Prominence?" Lazni asked, sitting down on some cushions laid out for her.

"Ah, Lazni. I'm glad you could come. I wanted to talk to you." Prominence said, turning around and taking a seat on considerably less cushions than she had provided for Lazni.

"We can talk now." Lazni said, lounging into the pillows but not touching the wine.

"It's not poisoned. We can switch glasses if you'd like. It's best if you don't wait for it to be lukewarm." Prominence said, noticing Lazni not reaching for the warm drink.

"Ah-- yes, very well." Lazni said, lifting the glass with her magic and taking a sip. Normally pony drink was not something Changelings engaged in-- not for lack of desire but typically due to lack of supply. Lazni wasn't even sure if Changelings could become intoxicated, it wasn't something she'd ever had to experiment with.

"How did we become so distant, Lazni?" Prominence asked. "We were the best of friends at Hive Lalartu. Do you think that we could be like that again?"

"Like what again, Prominence?" Lazni said guardedly. "I was an infiltrator and you were my Princess. I was loyal to you and the hive."

"But in the end you were most loyal to me." Prominence said. "You made the choice to follow me into the unknown. You've always been so loyal to me, and so good to me, even before this ordeal."

"... It was just what felt natural." Lazni mumbled.

"I couldn't agree more." Prominence said with a smile, finishing off her heated wine and then sliding herself towards Lazni looked down at Prominence, who was laying on the floor of the wagon and looking up expectantly at her. Lazni was dead silent for a full minute before Prominence sat up, a smile on her face. "Think about it Lazni. We'll have Hive Lalartu. You and me. Tomorrow we will meet Lalartu in battle, and after that, we shall take her hive. With you under me, I'll have your loyalty and my power. I will be High Queen."

"Yeah, right." Lazni said mutely. "High Queen Prominence." Prominence pulled her map out, showing off all the territories south of Equestria and beyond.

"Everything on this map will be ours Lazni. You will rule right at my side while we subjugate other hives. Hives in every other land, from the wastes to the oceans."

"And how do you intend to have the armies to do this?" Lazni asked. "Convert more ponies against their will and then brainwash them so they fight in your wars?"

Prominence flattened her ears at this, deflating noticeably at this. "Lazni-- you're the one that thinks it's such a good idea to help ponies evolve."

"Not like this. Not the way you're doing this!" Lazni yelled. "They are my family! I love each and every one of them, and you don't seem to feel anything for any of them! All that you care about is using them as tools, not what they mean to you. Why is that? How can you be so callous?"

Prominence was silent for a few minutes. She pulled out her mulled wine and poured herself another cup, drinking it at room temperature. The living flame that had been keeping the glasses heated had now almost all but died, casting shifting shadows around the inside of the wagon.

"Lazni, do you remember when I told you that I was a very powerful child, before I joined the swarm and how I cannot remember my family?" Prominence asked quietly, looking seriously into Lazni's eyes.

"Yes, I do." Lazni said. "It was the first time where I realized how unhinged you've become. It seems to me like you've lost your mind, Prominence."

"I suppose it would when you don't know what I know." Prominence said quietly. "What I tell you here, please, never tell it to anyone else. I wish it to be so."

"There are no lies between us, Prominence." Lazni said quietly.

"Yes, let us keep it that way." Prominence mumbled. "After I attacked the mayor and saw that filly find her body, I was struck with a strange sense of deja vu. I had seen the seen before because I had lived the scene before. You see, I was not volunteered to be apart of Hive Lalartu. Changeling drones killed my mother and father, and then took me away. Lalartu forced me to become one of her Princesses. I always knew that I was more of a crown jewel to her than anything else. Something quaint and entertaining that she could call her own, and nothing more."

Lazni remained silent, her mouth dropping. In all the years she had been close to Prominence, she had never been told this. Lazni watched as Prominence crumpled, laying against the wagon floor and reminiscing. Prominence cleared her throat and then continued, "I know. Trust me, I know that I'm doing a lot of things wrong. But I'm doing them because I swore to myself that I would destroy Lalartu for what she did to me. I swore that... when I destroyed her, that would never have to happen to anypony ever again. Perhaps I'm the only one who feels that way. Or maybe half of my drones want to kill me. What do you think, Lazni?"

Lazni was silent for a few moments before she found her words, mumbling very quietly to Prominence, "Don't you think that, in your quest for revenge... you've become the second Lalartu?"

"Excuse me?" Prominence said, sitting up. This clearly had not been what she was expecting to hear."

"You set out to stop Lalartu forcibly changing ponies. You wanted to make sure that what happened to you never happened to anypony ever again. But you're a hundred times worse, Prominence. You've done it hundreds of times to countless ponies that make up our hives."

It was Prominence's turn to be in shock. Only it was more shock mixed with a gut punch. Prominence looked as if Lazni had just stabbed her in the chest, her face a picture of horror.

"Prominence, it is too late to reverse what you've done, but you can stop making it worse. If you turn these wagons around and we go back to Raspberry Creek, things won't be okay, but they'll be better." Lazni assured her, reaching out and hugging Prominence. Prominence leaned idly into the hug. She was stiff and very hard to hold onto in her current position, but Lazni still managed to pull the smaller changeling to her chest.

"It is Lalartu who drove me to do this. I will not stop until I have destroyed her." Prominence said, pulling away from Lazni and standing up. "This is my destiny. I always knew that it was."

"What's your destiny, Prominence? You know nothing is written in stone, right?" Lazni said, her voice pleading for her friend to see reason.

"I predicted a long time ago that I would someday become like Lalartu. When she was too old and she died, I would take her place. I'd be every bit as horrible as she was and rule with an iron fist. and in my quest to make sure that I never became her, the things I've done-- I've become just like her. Worse than her." Lazni reached out a hoof to Prominence, but Prominence magically stopped her, grabbing Lazni with full telekinetic force and pushing her towards the door of the wagon.

"Leave me." Prominence said. "I don't deserve your company." Lazni paused before leaving, not sure what she should say. She could already hear Prominence beginning to cry and knew she had to say something, even if it wasn't much.

"Then prove to me you deserve my company." Lazni said, "Prove to me that you're good, as I know you are deep inside, Prominence. Please, make the right decisions. Do the right thing, and we'll rule together happily. As friends."

Prominence let out a gurgling noise, which sounded like she was choking on her own tears. Lazni turned from the wagon, feeling her own tears well up inside of her as she stepped out into the cold night. Lazni did not leave though, and instead she waited. She waited because she had never seen her friend like this before. Prominence was the fiery one, and while she was as unpredictable as flames, that did not mean she deserved to be alone. Even if Prominence thought she was alone, Lazni knew that she wasn't. This was, at least to Lazni, some small solace for her heart.

"Oh Lazni." Prominence said from inside the wagon, her words wet with tears. "All I wanted was to see a great Empire where I am the queen, and you rule right by my side. I don't care about my hive, or any of those other Changelings. But you Lazni, you'e always been good to me. How can I get you back? Have I gone too far? No. No, I have to stay the course. You'll see. You'll see that I am right. I'll show you."

Lazni quickly pulled away, silently sneaking off before she heard too much that she was not comfortable with hearing.