//------------------------------// // Exposed // Story: Pinkie's *Bug* Surprise // by MattTOB //------------------------------// "You've gathered up all of them?" Lord Tirek said, resting his arms on the cage containing Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike. Discord leaned in close towards Spike and sneered, "And their little Dragon friend, too." Spike responded by snapping his teeth at the draconequus. "Why are you doing this!?" Fluttershy cried into Applejack's arms, "I thought we were friends!" "Oh, we WERE," Discord shrugged, "but Tirek offered me so much more than just tea parties. Surely you saw this coming." "I didn't," the yellow pegasus said weakly, "I really didn't..." Tirek stepped forward, grabbing the cage with his magical ability and lifting it up into the air. The ponies watched on in horror as Tirek prepared to take their magic. But among them, Pinkie Pie seemed more scared than the rest, her entire body shivering in anticipation of a doozy. Slowly, their magic was sucked out into Tirek's opened jaw. They tried to hold onto it, but it slipped out effortlessly, making Tirek grow as he ate it. Then something STRANGE happened. A wave of green fire enveloped Pinkie Pie, and after a moment, the pink pony's form had given way to reveal a similar-looking bug form. She had poofy pink hair with holes in it, solid-blue eyes, and shiny pink wings, but other than that, she looked like an ordinary Changeling. Tirek, now done with his meal, dropped the cage back onto the ground. Pinkie Pie hid behind some of the others as they got back up, managing not to be seen (as their attention was still focused on Tirek and Discord). "You really think she'd do anything for them?" Tirek asked Discord. "As long as Twilight Sparkle has magic to give, it will be yours. Soon there won't be a Pegasus, Earth Pony, or Unicorn who will be able to stand up against us!" "Us?" Tirek cackled, "Who said anything about us?" "You did," Discord replied, confused. Tirek stepped forward, bearing down on the Draconequus, and grabbed him in his magic. "You've helped me grow strong, you've provided the means by which I can obtain Princess Twilight's magic, and now you are no longer of any use to me." Before Discord could do anything, Tirek sucked the magic out of Discord, growing even bigger, then tossed the Draconequus to the ground like an empty soda can. Discord weakly got up, clutching at the pendant around his neck. "But you said this was a sign of your gratitude and loyalty; a gift from someone close to you!" Tirek waved dismissively as he began to walk away. "My brother, who betrayed me. It is as worthless as he is." Applejack glared at the Lord of Chaos, now reduced to nothing. "Surely you saw this comin'." Discord looked between them and Tirek, real devastation in his eyes. "I didn't... I truly didn't...." he whimpered meekly. A moment of silence soon followed. But that silence was soon broken when Fluttershy let her eyes wander about, spotting the odd-pony among them, and causing her to scream: "CHANGELING!!!" The rest looked up and gasped, as they saw it was true: Pinkie Pie was a Changeling. "What're ya doin' here!?" Applejack pointed a hoof accusedly at the Changeling, now standing upright. "And where's Pinkie Pie?!" Rainbow Dash glared as she shakily got up to get in between her friends and the bug. "Guys, guys, it's me!" It exclaimed nervously in Pinkie's voice. The characters were taken aback for a moment by the sight of a talking Changeling, but quickly shook off the initial shock. "Stop usin' her voice!" AJ shook her head. Rarity brushed aside her mane and spat, "How long have you been replacing her?! You tell us where you've hidden her RIGHT NOW, or I'll—" "Rarity, it's ME! I'm Pinkie Pie!" The grub pleaded, a look of fear and embarrassment somehow registering in its pure blue compound eyes. "Give it up, bug!" Rainbow tried to get into a fighting position, but she was still too weak from having her essence drained. "And give us the real Pinkie Pie back!" "Hot sauce!" The creature shouted out of frustration, seemingly out of nowhere. The group looked at one another confusedly. "When Twilight first came to Ponyville, she drank my hot sauce instead of the juice!" The insect clarified. "How would ya know that?" AJ asked. That had happened inside Twilight's Library, which wasn't exactly closed off from public view, but it'd happened in the corner of the room, before Nightmare Moon had even returned. Unless this Changeling somehow knew that they'd be important before even they themselves knew... "Pinkie?" AJ stepped forward. "I-Is it really you?" The Changeling, blushing, smiled apprehensively at her friend and nodded. Rainbow Dash exclaimed at AJ, "Oh come on, you can't seriously be falling for this!" AJ turned sharply towards Dash. "I ain't fallin' for nothin', Dash; I can tell she's tellin' the truth!" Dash stammered, trying to find a way to argue against the Element of Honesty's reasoning. "Rainbow Dash, remember at the lake, when we were looking through that telescope and planning pranks?" Pinkie called back. Rainbow's eyes widened. "B-but the only other pony there was Fluttershy; how did—" Realization slowly dawned upon her. "Oh sweet Celestia, it's actually you, isn't it?" Fluttershy looked back at Rainbow. "Wait, is that what that fake animal in the water was about?!" Rainbow groaned, "We'll talk about that later!" Rarity then looked apprehensively at Pinkie. "And what about me?" "I remember the first birthday party I threw for you! It was at the Bowling Alley, since I didn't know you that well yet, where we had—" "—A bowling ball-shaped Marble Cake," they both said simultaneously. "And after that," Pinkie continued, tears starting to well up at the memories, "I gave you that one-of a kind Topaz necklace, straight from my family's Rock Farm!" "I still have it to this day," Rarity reminisced, wiping a tear away. "Okay, I believe you." Pinkie collapsed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness! I don't know what I'd do if my friends started hating me!" Then she got back up, nervous again. "You don't hate me, right? You're not upset because I'm..." "...actually a Changeling?" AJ asked, walking towards her friend. "Well, I'm not upset because you're a Changeling, though I AM upset that you've been lying to us!" "Yeah, that's understandable," Pinkie replied, slightly despondent. "Why didn't you come out with it BEFORE the whole wedding disaster?" Rarity pressed. "If you'd've introduced yourself like this from the start, we wouldn't be having this issue!" Pinkie replied, "My family always warned me that I'd cause too much of a panic if I showed my true face. D-don't get me wrong, they still wanted me to be myself, and allowed me to be undisguised at home; just not in public." Rarity then asked, "Does this mean that the rest of your family is also...?" Pinkie was taken aback. "Wha- No! No, they're all actual ponies; they just adopted me when they found me abandoned." The others nodded, agreeing that this made at least some sense. Pinkie then gasped. "Wait, we're forgetting about Tirek!" The others gasped, too.