//------------------------------// // Thought-full // Story: Thought for Food // by AstralMouse //------------------------------// Ambassador woke with a yawn. The darkness of his small, sealed underground lair posed no problem for the changeling, as his eyes were made for seeing in the dimly lit depths of the hive. The entire interior was covered in a thin layer of gluelike mucus, keeping the ovoid chamber from collapsing. It was only big enough for his bed, a small storage space, and a path to the exit. He raised the elytra on his back and let his gossamer wings fold out, giving them a little buzz before tucking them back under the thick plates. A glance at the storage space (really just a small pile of stuff set away from his bed) brought a smile to his lips. The sign he had fixed the day before was propped up against the side of the chamber, paint now completely dry. It was sure to catch the right kind of attention this time. FEED ME EMOT IONS He had taken Diamond Tiara's advice and added clarification about what he wanted fed to him. Unfortunately, he had run out of space and had to nail on an extra plank of wood to be able to finish writing the word. Planning ahead was never his strong suit. But no matter, it was fine now. Buzzing a low, happy tune from deep in his throat, he grabbed the sign and began his walk into town. The weather today was overcast, but not raining. The cooler air made Ambassador just a bit more sluggish in his movements, but he enjoyed it. He had spent most of his life underground, where the air was always warm and stagnant. Being outside was something he still loved to experience. Even just a breeze felt so liberating. It was another reminder that he was free from... her. Queen Chrysalis, who had kept so many of her subjects in fear and confinement for so long. With a clear path in front of him, he closed his eyes without fear of bumping into anything and breathed deeply through his nose, taking in his surroundings with his other senses. The crunch of the dirt path under his hooves, the smell of trees and flowers, and the sound they made as they rustled in the wind. Being above ground sure was great. Ambassador opened his eyes and let out a short, terrified shriek, stopping in his tracks. Filling most of his vision was a giant pink face with two enormous blue eyes staring back at him, open wide in excitement. An almost crippling amount of bubbly happiness assaulted his mind, causing him to stagger back half a step. His horn had apparently made contact with the wild, bouncy pink mane of the mare in front of him. Even physically separated from her, he could feel her barely-restrained excitement, like a storm raging around her. He had no idea how he hadn't felt her coming from a mile away, or where she had even come from. "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie!" she said cheerfully. Somehow, even her excessive outward cheer belied just how much joy she seemed to be holding inside. To Ambassador, she felt like an overflowing wellspring of the stuff, threatening to explode if she didn't relieve some of the pressure. "You're new in town!" It wasn't a question. He began to perk up. Her intense glee was as infectious as it was intimidating. "Yeah!" he said. "Well, not new new. I know you were here yesterday but I was in Canterlot with friends and I could tell somepony -- I mean somecreature -- was new in town and I was so sad I couldn't welcome them to Ponyville but now I'm back and here you are!" She punctuated her final word with a grin that produced a mysterious squee sound that didn't seem to be made by her voice. "Wow! Thanks!" "Wanna hear my 'Welcome to Ponyville' song?" she asked, leaning forward so far that her rear hooves had left the ground and she was balanced on her forehooves. Ambassador had to step back a bit to avoid horn contact again, smiling as he nodded. "Sure!" The wacky pink mare took off to his right. He turned to watch her disappear behind a tree, then nearly instantly reappear pushing a bizarre-looking cart. She whacked it with a hoof and trumpets popped out from Faust-knows-where, somehow playing music. Then, as expected, she started singing. "Welcome, welcome, welcome, a fine welcome to you!" she began. Ambassador had the biggest grin on his face as he listened, bouncing along to the music. He could feel more than just happiness coming from this pony. There was real love there. Some love was for him, but most of it was love for what she was doing. He felt entranced, literally drinking it all in. At one point during the song, a single confetto landed on his eye. Not wanting to blink and miss anything, he instead quickly flicked his long, forked tongue up to collect it, pulling the thin bit of paper into his mouth. The song was short and soon ended with an oven on the cart opening to reveal a cake. As confetti blasted outward from the cart and fell all around him, he realized the small paper square in his mouth wasn't supposed to be food. He decided to swallow it anyway. "Wow!" he said, sitting and clopping his hooves together in cheer. "That was amazing!" Pinkie Pie beamed at him and quickly produced a plate and large knife from the cart. With stunning speed and grace, she expertly cut a slice from the chocolate cake and placed it on the plate, offering it to him. Smiling, he took it gratefully. "So, anyway, who are you?" she asked, somehow already holding her own plate with a slice of cake on it as well. She ate it in one giant bite before he could even answer her question. "Ambassador!" he said, excited to be introducing himself with his name for the first time. Pinkie Pie gasped. "Wow, really? Me too!" "Huh? I thought your name was Pinkie Pie." "It is!" she said simply. Ambassador tilted his head, confused. Unfortunately, the new, slightly angled perspective gave him no clues. "So you're Pinkie Pie and also Ambassador?" "Yep! Well, no. I'm an ambassador. It's not my name. That would be silly," she said with a giggle. Ambassador suddenly felt very self-conscious. Did he have a bad name? He decided to push that thought away for now. "Oh, I see. So, who are you representing? You know, for ambassador... stuff." "Ponies." "You represent ponies? In Ponyville?" "Well, yeah, I do that too. But not as an ambassador. I only do that in Yakyakistan." "Oh. But this isn't Yakyakistan... right?" "Nope! Still Ponyville last I checked." She tapped a hoof on her chin and squinted in thought. "Hmm. When did I last check? Anyway, I don't live there. Well, I did for, like, a day, but I don't live there now. I just visit when they need me! Sooo, what's your name?" "Ambassador." "Wait, do you mean your name is Ambassador, or that you are an ambassador?" "Yep!" "Which one is it?" "Both." "So, let me get this straight. You're an ambassador and your name is Ambassador? Does that make you Ambassador Ambassador?" As he nodded, Pinkie Pie giggled helplessly. Ambassador felt a brief sting of doubt about his name, but quickly sensed that her mirth was not a mocking kind. It infected him, making him giggle along with her. Maybe it wasn't a bad name after all. As they laughed, an idea came to his mind. With a quick flash of green, he was a perfect copy of the pink mare. "And now," he said in her voice, "I'm Ambassador Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie Pie fell over on her side, laughing. He quickly transformed back and basked in her unfettered joy, giggling along with her. With Pinkie Pie paralyzed by laughter, this was also his chance to try the cake he had been holding. He lifted the plate up and took a big bite. There was the soft texture of cake, the smoothness of frosting, and most of all, flavor. His tongue had never tasted anything so sweet and rich. And the experience was enriched all the more by the waves of elation coming from Pinkie Pie. He quickly ate the rest of the delicious treat before she got over her giggle fit. She took a deep breath and released it in a long sigh as she recovered and climbed to her hooves. "You're funny. I like you," she said. "So, what's the sign for?" She indicated the sign that was presently lying next to him in the dirt. "Oh, that's just something I made yesterday," Ambassador said, picking it up and swiveling it to face her. "Feed me emote... ions. Oh. Emotions!" He nodded. "Since there aren't a lot of other changelings around to share love with, I have to feed on ponies. So I just set it up in a busy spot in the market and sat next to it." "But you came here as an ambassador, right?" she asked. He nodded again. "Well, as an ambassador myself, I think I can help you out. You gotta meet with the leaders if you wanna make a good impression. And I just happen to know the leaderiest leader in all of Ponyville!" "That sounds great! Where can I find this... leaderiest leader?" "Well, she lives in the giant crystal castle. Looks kind of like a tree. You've probably seen it. But she also won't have any free time until after school's out, so I have a better idea. I'll stop by there and tell her about you, and you go set up your sign again and just do your thing. Then she can go meet you there! How's that sound?" "Great!" "Great! Before I go, are you hungry? You know," she said, pointing at the sign, "for emotions?" "Well, I'd never turn down a good meal," Ambassador said. After the initial surprising burst of happiness he had gotten from her earlier, he hoped he could handle feeding from her. However, that had come unexpectedly and he was feeling more confident now. Pinkie Pie smiled. "Alrighty-ditey. What do I do?" Ambassador lowered his head. "Just touch my horn. Careful though, it's sharp. Normally, I would ask you to think happy thoughts, but that actually might be a bit much for me. Try... hmm," he said, pausing to think. An idea quickly came to mind. "Try thinking of the song you sang. You know, the welcome song." Pinkie Pie nodded and leaned forward. She nuzzled her snout up against the side of his horn. She instantly felt a terrifying sensation that she realized she had felt when she first ran into him—literally. At the time, it was so fleeting that she had dismissed it as unimportant. Now, it wasn't going away. It was as if her very essence was exposed. It felt dangerous. It was okay, though. She trusted Ambassador. She began to think of her welcome song, just like he had asked. The changeling, prepared for the barrage of happiness, merely winced at Pinkie Pie's initial contact. After an initial wave of fear that ponies always seemed to feel at first, there was trust. Then a flood of love. It was thick and rich, reminding him of the cake he had eaten. He drank it in, feeling no end to it. It was Pinkie Pie's love for singing, for meeting new friends and making them smile. It was the most filling feeding he had ever experienced. And it was euphoric. He had to force himself to pull away from her before he overdrained her. Harming her was the last thing he wanted to do. "Wow," he said, a bit awed by the experience. "That was amazing. Thank you, Pinkie Pie." The pink pony was a little dazed, but recovered after a simple shake of her head. Ambassador was impressed. She smiled brightly and giggled. "You're welcome! That was... well, I don't want to say fun, but... I always love helping out!" She surprised him by pulling him into a sudden hug. He couldn't help but smile as he returned it, careful not to brush her with his horn. Then, as quick as it had come, it ended as she pulled away. "Anyway, I really gotta get going. Don't want to be late for school, and I can't be in two places at once. Well, not anymore." Somehow, Ambassador did not find the implication there hard to believe. "It was great meeting you, Pinkie Pie!" he said cheerfully. "You too! Oh! Before I go, just one last teensy weensy bit of advice. You might want to warn ponies about how it will feel when they touch your horn. Some ponies are really sensitive and you don't wanna give them nightmares or anything." "Oh, yeah. Will do!" "Byyyeeee!" she said and pronked off toward town. Ambassador waved after her and followed in the same direction, at a much slower pace. As he passed by the abandoned musical cart, he wondered about it. Would Pinkie Pie come back for it? Was the cake going to waste? Where did it even come from? Was it behind that tree the whole time? None of this would have been acceptable in the old hive. They had to be efficient. Wasting food, leaving equipment lying around or stashing it anywhere outside of storage chambers, and defying the laws of the universe as he understood them were all severely punished under Queen Chrysalis. That last one was a guess, but he was sure enough it would have been the case. His thoughts lingered on hive life, old and new, as he made his way to the familiar grassy area between two market stalls. Finding the hole his sign had been in the day before, he planted it back in, securing it with a few good smacks of his hoof. The streets were busy, but not nearly as much as the previous day. As he sat next to his sign, he again watched ponies going about their day. He got many odd looks, felt many jabs of uncertainty or discomfort, and was largely avoided and ignored. He made sure to keep smiling, making the best impression he could. His respect and admiration for King Thorax compelled him to do his very best. And it eventually paid off as a two mares approached him. One was a minty green unicorn with a teal mane and tail that each had a single white stripe running through them. Her friendly golden eyes were complemented by a soft smile. Ambassador could feel her curiosity, strong but forcibly subdued. The other mare had a light yellow coat and curled mane and tail of dark blue, each with a pink stripe that reminded him of Pinkie Pie. She looked incredibly uncomfortable as the two stopped in front of him. "Hi!" Ambassador said in his most chipper tone. "Hey! Name's Lyra, and this here is my marefriend Bon Bon," the green one said, indicating her yellow companion with a gentle jab of an elbow. "My name's Ambassador. I'm the ambassador sent here by King Thorax to represent changelings in Ponyville," he said, a bit proud of nailing his introduction. Bon Bon perked up at that, but said nothing. "Oh, sweet! I love changelings. I'm a huge fan of the exotic, as Bon Bon here can attest to," Lyra said with a sly grin and eyebrow waggle. "I knew this was a bad idea," Bon Bon mumbled under her breath. "Heck, if I wasn't already with Bon Bon, I'd probably be making a pass at you right now." "Oh, sweet Celestia," muttered the embarrassed mare, covering her face with a hoof. "Hey, so you can, like, turn into anything, right?" Lyra asked. "As long as it isn't too much bigger or smaller than me, yeah," Ambassador said. "Well, have you ever heard of hu-" "Lyra!" Bon Bon interrupted, glaring daggers at her. "This is really not the time." Lyra looked down, ashamed, but not enough to take away her smile. "Okay, fine. I won't ask," she said gently. Ambassador could feel how deeply they cared for each other as they shared an affectionate nuzzle. "So, what's the sign about? I know you guys eat emotions. Are you looking for a free meal?" "Yep!" he said happily. "Ha. Very forward. I like it. So, can I try feeding you? You got me curious now." Bon Bon suddenly looked extremely anxious and spoke before Ambassador could reply. "Lyra, I don't think this is a good idea. We should go." "Aww, come on. What's the worst that could happen? I'll be fine, I promise. Isn't that right?" she asked, looking to him for confirmation. He looked at Bon Bon and nodded. "I won't harm her. I'll stop before she even gets tired." Bon Bon paused as she seemed to consider something. "O-okay," she said, relenting. "Go ahead, then." "Alright. What do I do?" Lyra asked. "Just touch my horn and think happy thoughts. And be careful, it's sharp. Oh, and when you do, it might feel really uncomfortable. But don't worry, I will be extra careful," Ambassador said, lowering his head toward her. Lyra nodded in understanding and began lowering her own head and moving it toward him. "Lyra!" Bon Bon said suddenly, making Lyra stop and pull her head back. "Were you... about to touch his horn with your horn?" "Well, yeah, isn't that how it works?" "No! Use your hoof, ya dingus!" Lyra blushed and tittered nervously. "Oh. Right. Of course. Heheh..." She reached a hoof up and pressed it lightly to the side of Ambassador's horn. Her smile never faltered as she felt the sensation he was talking about. It felt somehow familiar, and immediately reminded her of her marefriend standing next to her. She thought of Bon Bon, and how happy she was with her. In that moment, she felt like the luckiest mare in Equestria. Ambassador smiled as he felt a deep pool of pure romantic love. He drank from it, feeling his reserves swell. It was the tastiest kind of love for a changeling. For some reason, however, the pony seemed to tire much sooner than any others had. He took one last sip of the delicious nectar and pulled away, grinning happily. "Mmm, thank you, Lyra. That was wonderful. You have a lot of love for her," Ambassador said. Bon Bon smiled a mysteriously knowing smile. Lyra blinked as she recovered quickly. "That was... weird. I could swear I've felt that before..." she said, tapping her chin with a hoof. A sudden icy spike of dread came from Bon Bon. "Oh! Look at the time, we really should be going now, Lyra," she said. "Aww, you don't wanna try too? It was interesting. I actually loved it!" "Nope, definitely not trying it. I'm glad you liked it, but we have places to be." Lyra looked at Ambassador as she spoke. "Well, it was great meeting you and all, but sometimes this old ball and chain just gets rolling, and I gotta go with it or lose a leg." He smiled at both of them, sensing no malice even as Bon Bon was nearly dragging Lyra away. "Goodbye!" he called after them, seeing Lyra wave in reply. Then they were out of sight. What an odd pair. Ambassador suddenly noticed that a few ponies had stopped and had been watching. He sat next to his sign and smiled at them, mentally rehearsing his introduction in case any of them approached. And some did. The day was a busy one for him. After meeting Lyra and Bon Bon, ponies seemed to start to view him as more approachable. Seeing fellow ponies having positive interactions with him was all the encouragement many needed. Some fed him and some did not. He was asked many questions, most of which he knew the answers to. He focused on maintaining a friendly demeanor even through the hiccups. And he finally felt like he was doing some real ambassador work and making good progress. He actually noticed a few ponies change their minds about changelings. After meeting him, more than one had gone from fear and uncertainty to cautious optimism and curiosity. It all started to feel very rewarding. Eventually, he found himself face-to-face with a purple mare who had both a horn and wings. Something about her seemed familiar. "Hi!" he greeted. "Hi! Are you Ambassador Ambassador? Representative for the new changeling hive?" His eyes widened. "Yeah! How did you know?" "Pinkie Pie told me about you. My name's Twilight Sparkle." Something clicked in his mind as he recognized her. He hadn't met her, but he knew who she was. "Twilight? As in, Headmare Twilight? You're the leaderiest leader in all of Ponyville?" "Leaderiest leader? I don't know about that part, but yes, that is me." "Oh wow, it's great to meet you! King Thorax talks about you sometimes, especially when Ocellus sends letters." "That's great! So, Pinkie told me you might need some help setting up shop here." "Oh no, I'm not selling anything. Just here to make friends and answer questions." Twilight giggled. "I know. It's just an expression. So, is there anything you need help with?" Ambassador thought about it, and remembered Pinkie Pie's advice. "Well, Pinkie Pie told me to meet the leaders. So I guess I'm doing that right now. What do I do next?" She giggled again. "Well, meeting is all well and good, but befriending them is the important part. So, how about this?" She reached out a hoof to him. "Let's be friends?" Ambassador took her hoof and shook it, nodding excitedly. Oh, King Thorax was going to be so proud of him. "So, what's with the sign?" she asked, indicating it with a hoof. "Oh, yeah, that. Well, when I got here, I realized there wouldn't be other changelings to share love with, so I would have to feed on ponies," he said. He felt a small surge of discomfort from her, and was quick to add "But I'm very careful! We've all learned how to feed on ponies without hurting them." Her discomfort melted away at his reassurance. "Anyway, I made the sign after I dug my burrow by the forest. I thought maybe if some ponies let me feed on them, I'd also be meeting them and doing ambassador stuff." "Well, it might be a little too forward. I could certainly see it being intimidating to some ponies." "Oh..." Ambassador said, crestfallen. "Oh, no, I mean, it's okay! Just maybe change it to something more... friendly?" He instantly perked back up. "I can do that! What should it say?" Twilight considered this for a moment. "Hmm... how about... 'Let's be friends'?" "Sure! I'll do it as soon as I get home." "Great!" she said. After a brief pause, she shuffled anxiously. "So... the feeding thing." "Yeah. What about it? Wanna try it?" he asked with a friendly smile and small tilt of his head. "Actually, yes. There's so much I want to learn about changeling feeding habits! It's still such a new research topic. I could write books!" Ambassador could almost see stars in her eyes. He wasn't sure how he felt about being a test subject. In the old hive, that was often a death sentence. He was sure that wasn't the case here, but he couldn't shed his old fears so easily. He laughed nervously. "W-well, let's just try one feeding for now." "Sure! I've seen Ocellus do it before, so I think I know what to do. I just have to pet your head a few times, then touch your horn, right?" "Well, just touch my horn. You don't have to pet my head." "But I heard her saying that was the most important part." "Nope. Not necessary at all." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "I'm gonna have to talk to her about that. Well, anyway, that can come later. So, anything else I should know before I start?" He nodded. "You'll feel a very uncomfortable sensation when you make contact with it, but it's nothing to worry about. Then, just think happy thoughts. And be careful, my horn is sharp," he said, turning his head down to present his horn. Twilight reached a hoof forward and pressed up against the underside of the small chitinous horn. She felt the sensation he had warned her about, but steeled herself and ignored it. She thought of her friends. The special ponies that had made her life complete. Then, suddenly, Ambassador pulled away. "Huh?" Twilight said, confused. "Are you done already?" "No... I mean yes, but I don't know why. I found a deep reserve of love, and I got some, then it just... stopped. I couldn't take anymore. Am I..." He paused, chewing on the word mentally before saying it out loud. "...full? If I am, I didn't even know that was possible." Twilight was ecstatic. With a magic poof, she had a quill and parchment floating in front of her, scribbling furiously. "I didn't know that either! This is incredible! Do you feel any different? Any pain? Do you have a headache? How many ponies did you feed on today? How much of it was love and how much was other emotions? Can you make a pie chart?" Ambassador felt overwhelmed by her questions, but did his best to answer them. "No, no, no, a lot, I don't know, and no, I don't bake." "Actually, a pie chart is-" she started, then thought better of it. "You know what, never mind. Sorry for getting a little too excited there." She wrote a couple more things on the parchment, and with another magic poof, it was gone. After pausing as if to remember something, she spoke again. "So, earlier you mentioned a burrow that you dug. Does that mean you plan on staying here in Ponyville as a permanent resident?" she asked. Ambassador nodded. "Well, if that's the case, you'll need an office and a house. Or at least a home address for mail delivery. You can't just stand out here every day." He nodded again, glad to have a solution for winter. "So how do I get an office? Do you have one I can borrow?" Twilight giggled. "No. You'll have to talk to Mayor Mare about that. Her office is closed right now, so you'll have to see her tomorrow morning." She magically produced another quill and piece of parchment and quickly wrote something down. She rolled it up and floated it to Ambassador, who took it in his hoof. "Those are directions for the town hall. I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding it." "Thanks! I'll have an office in no time!" He couldn't wait to tell King Thorax about what he had accomplished in just two days. He was sure to receive the highest honor; a hug from the King himself. His mind was so busy, he tried and failed spectacularly to excuse himself. "I should... I mean... I need to. Um. I better fix my sign." Twilight giggled warmly and nodded. "I understand. I should get going too. It was nice meeting you, Ambassador. I look forward to seeing your office." She held out a hoof which he took, shaking it happily. "Thank you, Headmare Twilight!" "You can just call me Twilight. Anyway, see you around," she said, turning to leave. "Oh. Sure thing. Bye, Twilight!" he called after her. Feeling utterly satisfied with the day, he pulled his sign up and held it over his back as he again walked out of town. He even noticed a few ponies wave at him in recognition. He waved back with a friendly smile. The interaction made him realize something. As much as he missed his hive, he knew he was going to love it here in Ponyville.