It Takes a Village to Reform a Changeling

by MattTOB

Chapter 20: Mandy and the Changelings

It started out like any other Thursday; Mandy headed out for his usual morning grocery run for Twilight (even though he'd completed his community service, he didn't mind continuing to do this for her). The colder weather didn't even bother him; Rarity had recently refitted his suit to go with his new figure.

But then, while he was purchasing avocados, he heard someone go "Psst!"

At first, he ignored it. He was, after all, in a marketplace; it must've just been a shopper trying to get a friend's attention without waking the neighborho–

"Psst! Mandy!"

Mandy blinked, whipping his head around to try and find the source of the sound. He looked to a nearby alley, and froze.

Two familiar blue eyes stared back at him.

Mandy hurriedly finished the transaction, then rushed over to the alleyway to address the Changeling. "What the– who are you, and what are you doing here?"

The Changeling (who Mandy could now see had a hind-leg that was slightly shorter than the other) smiled deviously. "My name is Coxa. I was here on a gathering mission when I noticed your brother walking around without a disguise! I thought he'd be mobbed for sure, but ponies seemed to like him! And, while your disguise is colorful like a pony, you still have the telltale features of a Changeling – and yet they haven't they mobbed you, either?!"

Mandy blinked, looked down at himself, then corrected, "Oh, this isn't actually a disguise."

Coxa gawked. "Wait, it isn't?"

Then he burst out laughing.

Mandy groaned. "Tell me, WHY did you call out to me?"

He wiped away a tear. "Oh, right. I just wanted to know how you suckered these ponies into giving you two so much love while undisguised!"

Mandy frowned. "Okay, first off: I didn't sucker anyone into anything. And secondly: why do you want to know?"

A rumble from Coxa's stomach answered Mandy's question.

"Figures," the reformed Changeling face-hooved.

"Wait a second, you said you didn't trick them? Then how'd you do it!?"

Mandy groaned. "You wanna know how? I became friends with them!"

Coxa stared incredulously at him.

Then he started laughing again.

"I'm serious," Mandy deadpanned.

He stopped. "Wait, really?! But how, and why!?"

Mandy looked off wistfully. "I dunno; I just sorta fell into it. When they captured and interrogated me, I stated the truth and waited for the punishment, and they..."

Then he stopped. Why DID Celestia go easy on him? It'd been in the back of his mind ever since she'd sentenced him, but only now that he had a new perspective on his life did he really think to question it.

Looking back, he didn't believe he was deserving of it at that point; he'd been nothing but rudely blunt to them, emotionally detached from everything and insensitive to their feelings. He'd only begun to tone it down to remain in the good graces he'd miraculously landed in, before he became comfortable enough around the ponies...

...so what HAD she seen in him?

"...I dunno..." he finished absently.

Coxa mulled over everything. "Hmm... betray everything the Changelings have been taught from birth, but potentially never go hungry again?" he asked himself.

Then he shrugged. "Eh, what the hell; we'll give it a shot!"

Mandy nodded, then blinked as Coxa's words caught up. "Wait, 'We'?"

Coxa turned to look down the alley and whistled through the holes in his hooves. After a moment, half a dozen more Changelings stepped out from various hiding places.

Mandy gawked for a while, then shook himself out of his catatonic state. "Okay, okay – alright, I'll help, but you have to do what I say, got it?"

They all bowed. "Of course, Sir."

He blinked, then shook his head frantically. "No, no, none of that stuff; I'm not your master, or your King, or anything like that! I'm more like... an ambassador, or something?"

They all bowed. "Of course, Ambassador Sir."

Mandy rolled his eyes as he pulled out a parchment. "Drones..."

"I got your letter, Mandy," Twilight rushed to the alley where Mandy was waiting. "You said it was urgent?"

Mandy began awkwardly, "You know how Thorax has been walking around undisguised?"

Twilight blinked, then nodded, unsure of where this was headed.

"Well," he grimaced, "It didn't exactly go unnoticed..."

"Well, of course it didn't," she confirmed, "that was kind of the point of it; we're getting the citizens used to –"

"I'm not talking about the town," Mandy interrupted. "I'm talking about other Changelings."

Twilight's eyes widened. "Are you serious?! I mean, I suppose that's to be expected, but –"

Then she froze. "Wait, what makes you so sure?"

Mandy looked back into the alleyway and nodded, and a large group of Changelings stepped from the shadows.

Twilight flared her wings out, but Mandy held up a hoof. "Wait," he said, "They want to give friendship a try."

She blinked.

Then her posture relaxed, and her wings folded up again. "Well, why didn't you just say so?!" She smiled.

Everyling there gaped, clearly surprised by her swift change in demeanor.

She stepped forward, extending a foreleg. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. It's nice to meet all of you, and I'm sure the citizens of Ponyville will be willing to give you a chance, too."

Nopony moved for the longest time, clearly not sharing Twilight's confidence.

Then, slowly, one by one, the Changelings hustled up to her and introduced themselves:

First was Hyaline, an agent whose specialty was recovering compromised infiltrators. Although she'd never admit it, she cared about her fellow Changelings. So when she'd seen two of the other drones here running away from the hive, she'd followed to make sure they stayed safe. Eventually, they'd been found and befriended by Coxa, and now here they were.

Next came Imago, an infiltrator who was usually sent in to stir up trouble (in order to get enemies off their game in preparation for an attack). But that personality had carried over to his daily life, and he'd been banished after a particularly bad incident.

Then there was Deagus, a breeder / caretaker who had suffered an... accident, and was ridiculed into running away with his adoptive son. Unlike the others, he had no skills as an infiltrator, so he likely would've starved if Hyaline hadn't been following him.

Fourth was Labium, a scout with a lisp. And that was it; the one thing he was known for was his lisp, and he hated this about himself. He was ostracized by his peers for this, and because of this, he'd joined Coxa's group. Under the lisp, he was rather nerdy, and a great strategist.

Ozadene came next. She was a tactical soldier (the army would use her notably strong stink gland to disorient enemies), but her not-so-pleasant-smelling reputation had left her outcast. Surprisingly, she was rather skittish for a Changeling.

After that was Frons, a young Changeling with a Borderline Personality Disorder, as well as Deagus's adoptive son. After he was born an orphan, he'd eventually landed in the care of Deagus, and they became inseparable. But when Deagus had his... accident, they ran away, where Hyaline saved them from starvation.

And finally was Coxa, the gatherer that'd brought them all together. Despite a birth defect that made his left hind-leg shorter than his other legs, he was still the most capable drone here (including Mandy). Be that as it were, that hadn't stopped him from feeling inferior anyway. Because of this feeling, he'd kept this rag-tag group close, and it was his curiosity that'd eventually convinced him to bring them and question Mandy.

Twilight accepted each of them with open hooves.

And then, after a little convincing, they stepped out into the open.

Nearby ponies took one look, then continued on with their lives as if nothing strange was happening.

Frons looked around anxiously, sensing their emotions. "Why aren't they... Are they... Is that complacency I taste?!"

The rest of the group flitted their tongues out, murmuring with agreement.

One pony who was walking by, the turquoise unicorn that Mandy recognized from his Welcome Party (He'd forgotten her name since then. Heart-Something?), turned and shrugged. "We're used to new Changelings by now."

The group did a collective blink.

"Are you theriouth?" Labium lisped.

Twilight nodded, smiling. "See? What'd I tell you?"

Mandy let out a huff as he collapsed onto a cushion in front of the Golden Oaks Library's fireplace. He'd just spent the entire day showing the group around Ponyville while trying to keep them out of trouble (Imago, in particular, was quite the hellion). They had ended the tour at Sweet Apple Acres, where Applejack agreed to let them live in exchange for manual labor (some of them, being used to hard work, were eager to accept, while the rest acquiesced to her terms).

Twilight entered the room after him, her hair slightly singed (as stated before, Imago was a troublemaker), and collapsed in exhaustion. "Well, that was quite a busy day..."

Mandy scoffed. "You're telling me; I was the one who had to simplify your lecture-worthy descriptions of the basic elements of Ponyville!"

She blushed. "Sorry, I tend to ramble when I'm excited."

"So I've gathered," Mandy rolled his eyes, then chuckled when Vesper flew to him and landed on his muzzle.

Twilight, with what little strength she had left, scooted herself towards the fireplace, which Mandy lit with his magic. She set her head in the crook of her forelegs, staring into the fire while she thought.

Then her eyes lit up. "Hey Mandy, I just thought of something."

Mindful of Vesper, Mandy turned and cocked an eyebrow. "Okay, I'll bite; what'd you think of?"

She pointed to his flank, causing him to blush slightly as she explained, "I've been wondering what your Cutie Mark would be, if you were able to get one."

He did a double-take. "Huh? What for?"

"Curiosity," she answered simply. "Anyway, I think I have an idea what it'd be for."

He looked up at her, his own curiosity overtaking him. "What is it? What's my 'special talent'?"

She smirked. "You're good at relationships."

He blinked as he sat up. "Huh?"

"Think about it: you arrived in Ponyville, and over the course of less than five months, you slowly broke down our stigmas and fears about the Changelings. You and Applejack fell in love, metamorphosed when you accepted your newfound friendships, saved your brother from his old life, and now, you're helping a ragtag group of Changelings discover the magic of friendship."

She sat up and patted his back. "You're working to strengthen bonds between Equines and Changelings. And I, for one, couldn't be more proud of you for it."

Mandy's jaw hung open. She was smiling with the warmth of a proud mother, respect radiating from her.

Vesper took off again as Mandy mused, "I suppose I have been acting as an ambassador of sorts..."

That gave her an idea. With newfound energy, she shot up and ran to her desk, bringing out a roll of parchment. "Spike! Take a note!" She called out, and a moment later, the little dragon bounded down the stairs. He took the parchment, brandished a quill, and began to write as she dictated:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today has been a most extraordinary day.

Mandy discovered a group of cast-out Changelings who were willing to give friendship a try, and with his help, they are now living under Applejack's care.

But these events have led me to a realization about Mandy's purpose, and that is the reason I am writing this next section:

"I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, do hereby request that the Changeling known as Mandibles Carapace shall hold the title of Equestrian Ambassador to the Changelings for as long as he is able and willing. He shall be responsible for the construction and upkeep of relations between Equestria and any Changelings that seek to escape the Changeling Kingdom, and he shall be held responsible for their actions until they become Equestrian Citizens."

I hope you will accept my proposition, and send it through the proper channels to make it official. I eagerly await your reply.

She signed her own name, then rolled up the parchment and had Spike send it to Celestia.

Mandy stared wide-eyed, not believing what he'd just heard. "A-a-ambassador...? You j-j-just made me... An ambassador?!"

Twilight bobbed her head side-to-side. "Well, technically, I just asked Celestia to do it for me, since I don't have the power to do so myself. But she owes me a few after all the times my friends and I saved Equestria, so in all actuality, yes!"

Mandy's flabbergasted face turned to one of dread. "I appreciate the gesture, but I don't think I can handle so much pressure!"

Twilight put her hoof on his shoulder, staring confidently into his eyes. "I know you can," she repeated the sentiment he'd given her when her friends' Cutie Marks were swapped.

Mandy slowly smiled at the gesture. "O-okay, I'll give it a try. Thanks, Twilight."

She then pulled him in for a hug.

After a moment, she broke off. "Oh, and one more thing..."

She pulled out another piece of parchment, only this time, she wrote it herself, keeping the contents hidden from everyone else in the room. She had Spike send it to Rarity of all ponies, and he did so with a little hesitation.

"What was that about?" Mandy asked.

She smirked coyly, "You'll see in a few minutes..."

So they sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, until they heard the front door open and frantic hoof-steps rushed up the stairs. Mandy turned and gawked.

Rarity stood in the doorway, looking like she'd just run a marathon in scorching heat. It was the most frazzled he'd ever seen her. She had her saddlebags on, but Mandy couldn't tell what, if anything, was inside of them.

"I'm here, Twilight! I made it as quickly as I could, then rushed over here!"

The Changeling blinked. "Made what?"

In response, Twilight magically opened Rarity's bags and pulled out a small hoof-sewn patch. "I asked her to make you a Cutie Mark."

He did a double-take. "Wait, what?!"

She smiled, levitating the patch towards the collar of his shirt while Rarity brought out a needle and thread. They began their work, sewing the patch on the flap opposite the embroidered cobweb design.

When they were done, they stepped back. "Voila!" Rarity pressed a hoof to her mouth, then smacked her lips as she flung it outward.

He looked down at the newly-added symbol on his jacket. It looked almost identical to his alter ego Harrowing Winds' Cutie Mark – a hurricane blowing a pegasus's feather around.

Except, next to that feather was a Changeling's wing.

He looked up at Twilight and raised an eyebrow. "What's it supposed to mean?"

She explained, "It represents how, even if the threats are raging all around you like a storm, you'll get through and bring what's best for everyone, Pony and Changeling alike."

He looked down at the symbol – at his Cutie Mark – and couldn't hold back the tears anymore. He rushed over and gave both of them a hug.

"It's perfect. Thank you, thank you both for everything..."

In that moment, Mandy had found a clarity he hadn't even known he was missing:

He'd finally found his place in the world.

And with the help of his friends, he knew everything would turn out okay.

But everything would not be okay.

For, unbeknownst to any of the others, one member of the newly-arrived Changelings wasn't who they appeared to be.

They were actually Pharynx, who'd joined this squad under Chrysalis's orders.

And he was looking to nip this rebellion in the bud by any means necessary.

Anything to get Thorax back.