Pinkie's *Bug* Surprise

by MattTOB


Growing Up

22 Years, 5 Months Ago...

"Slow down, dear," Cloudy Quartz struggled to keep up with her husband as he led her through the South Field, "I can't exactly keep up with the foal on the way."

Igneous Rock Pie turned to face his wife. "Right, sorry," he apologized. "I just want you to see what I found."

He walked down the path, his encumbered wife trudging behind him, until they reached a specific spot along the tree line. He stepped aside and pointed to a strange green ellipsoid that was laying on the ground.

Cloudy regarded the object. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Igneous shook his head. "I thought it was a rock at first, but then it squirmed."

As if on cue, the ellipsoid wiggled again.

Cloudy picked it up carefully, noting that, despite its gooey appearance, it was actually rather tough. "I think it's an egg," she deduced.

"I think so, too. What should we do with it?"

Before she could answer, the foal in her tummy kicked. The creature inside the egg seemingly felt this, and squirmed in response.

Cloudy looked at the egg for a long while. "We should keep it, see what it is. Who knows; maybe it'll make a great pet for Maudelina."

Igneous took in her words. "You're probably right."

And with that, it was decided. Cloudy carried the egg back to the rock farm.


22 Years, 3 Months ago...

Cloudy screamed as she pushed through the pain of childbirth. Igneous stood by her side, holding her hoof.

But meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, Maud was watching the egg hatch.

The egg ended up hatching a few minutes before the foal, Marble Pie, was born.

When Maud eventually brought the larva into their room with her, they observed it curiously. It was white and insect-like, but it also had the face of a pony, along with a little horn and a wiry pink mane. And when it looked upon them, it seemed to regard them with more complex emotions than what a simple animal would be capable of.

In fact, it seemed sentient.

They looked at each other. "Igneous, dear? I think that, like it or not, we just had twins..."


19 Years, 9 Months ago...

2 year-old Pinkie Pie sat at the table with her adoptive family, feeding on their love while they ate rock soup (though she also received a bowl of rock soup, just to feel included).

"Mom, what am I?" she asked out of the blue.

Cloudy nearly gagged on her soup. She knew this day would come eventually, but Pinkie was maturing surprisingly quickly.

"Well, Pinkie dear," she began, "we don't actually know. We found your egg down in the south field, and we took you in."

Pinkie pouted. "Okay, thanks anyway."

They continued their dinner in silence.


18 Years, 7 Months ago...

Pinkie, now 3 years old, had just recently started working the fields, tending to the stones there. She didn't exactly know why they farmed rocks, but she never thought to question it; it'd just always been a constant in her life.

She was turning over a Micah stone near Holder's Boulder when she heard an eagle above her. Thinking nothing of it, she continued to work.

That is, until the eagle swooped down and grabbed her in its talons.

"HELP!" she screamed as the bird carried her high into the sky. She tried to wriggle out of its grasp, but its talons were sharp, and they dug into her still-developing chitin.

Desperate, she tried to utilize her horn, relying on pure instinct.

Suddenly, harmless green fire flashed around her, and when it dispersed, she found herself transformed into a ladybug. After taking a moment to process, she used her smaller size to easily slip out of the bird's grasp.

The only problem: she barely knew how to fly in her own form, let alone this new one, and she was several feet above the ground.

She may have been able to slow her descent enough to prevent any serious injury, but the force of the impact was still enough to dissipate her newfound ladybug form. The rest of the family, who'd come running at Pinkie's cry for help, rushed over to make sure she was okay.

"Pinkie Pie, are you alright?" Cloudy asked, and Pinkie nodded.

"I was so worried," Maud said in a way that, unless you knew her personally (or had emotion-sensing powers like Pinkie), appeared emotionless.

Limestone regarded at her as though she'd grown a second head for a moment. "How did you do that?!"

"No idea," Pinkie muttered, still dazed from the landing.


18 Years, 2 Months ago...

"Now change," Igneous instructed.

Pinkie focused a good portion of her energy into her horn, and she transformed into her chosen pony form.

"Very good," Igneous congratulated. "Now, I want to see you hold that form for the entirety of supper this time. You'll need to practice your stamina if you ever want to go into town with us."

Pinkie nodded, then trotted after her father as he reentered the house.


15 Years, 6 Months ago…

Earlier that day, she was tending the rock fields when she saw the Sonic Rainboom in the distance. She began to think:

She didn't know anything about what that explosion was or what had caused it.

And yet, despite that, its beauty had made her happy regardless.

It was rather inspiring to little Pinkie Pie. Here she was, a creature that neither she nor her family knew anything about, just like that explosion.

Maybe she, too, could spread happiness to others in spite of that?

She smiled broadly as she thought of the perfect place to start:

Her own family.


Present day...

"And that's the story of my entire life!" Pinkie Pie finished. "At least, that's the parts related to me being a Changeling. The rest you either already know or should be able to extrapolate."

Twilight looked up from her notepad. "Thank you, Pinkie Pie. This information will be invaluable."

Pinkie blinked. "Well, duh! That's because I gave it to you for free!"

Twilight face-hoofed.