I can't do this. Can I? I can't do this. I'm not cut out for this. Couldn't Twilight have found somebody better?
Anypony looking on the scene would have seen a dark-blue earth pony with a black mane fidgeting nervously and pacing outside of the Ponyville Elementary schoolhouse.
That'd be mostly accurate, except I'm actually a changeling. I had a standard pony 'disguise' I used – though I couldn't keep the disguise up for long periods – when I didn't want to draw attention to that fact, but yeah. Changeling. A changeling about to go speak with a bunch of pony foals.
I could just imagine the Ponyville residents' reaction to finding out that I'd done this. I imagined pitchforks, torches, and an angry mob – though I also imagined angry parents giving me a stern talking-to, and I wasn't sure which was worse.
Imagine the headline. 'Monster Stalks Our Youth!', et ceterAHHHH!
The schoolhouse door opened, startling me; I leapt up in the air, and almost dropped my disguise on the spot. Pretty embarrassing, since it was just Cheerilee, but that's nerves for you.
"Saro-Terrent? They're ready for you inside..."
Cheerilee looked vaguely concerned at my reaction, but didn't say anything; she's tactful like that.
"Ah, er, right. Yeah, sorry about that, I'm just, uhhhhhh..."
She didn't say anything, so I had to go and do it instead. Ugh!
I smacked my face with my hoof and groaned. She put on a sympathetic smile and tried to reassure me.
"It can be scary talking in front of a bunch of foals your first time. Just, try to take it a step at a time, okay? Remember, they're just like any other ponies, except smaller."
I imagined smaller pitchforks and torches.
"Right." I nodded and put on a winning, confident smile. "No problem."
"Are... are you okay? You look like you're about to pass out."
Or maybe a losing grimace.
My face is being insubordinate!
"Y-yeah. Yeah... no, not really. I, uh... I don't really do public speaking."
Cheerilee cocked her head, looking vaguely confused.
"But, don't you run the local changeling-pony cultural exchange events?"
I paused for a second, my anxiety stepping aside for a moment of realization.
"Oh. Uh... yeah, I do."
"And... you speak publicly to the entire exchange group at those little get-togethers, right? That's even more ponies – er, people – than my class!"
"That's, uh... true, yeah."
Cheerilee smirked at me. I could only sheepishly grin back; I found the whole thing pretty embarrassing. That having been said, though, at least she wasn't as nervous as she had been when I had first arrived; at first, she seemed to half-expect me to jump out and bite her.
She finally rolled her eyes and spoke further. "I guess it's a little different, but try to think of it as the other side of the same thing. You tell changelings about ponies all the time; I think that's why Princess Twilight picked you for this."
"Yeah, but ponies are scary!"
I immediately put a hoof on my mouth after I said that. It had just slipped out. What followed was a bit of awkward silence as Cheerilee stared at me in concern.
Uhh... whoops. Way to be tolerant and culturally integrated, jackass.
I feebly waved the hoof at her while stammering an apology, and then just planted my hoof on my face again. Cheerilee just shook her head with a somewhat amused smirk, and gestured for me to follow her inside.
Might as well get it over with. Ugh, this is why I can't do public speaking! I haven't even started yet and I already made an idiot of myself. 'Scary'?! They're not any scarier than changelings are!
My thoughts suddenly went to the incredible magical displays I had occasionally seen Twilight pull off, for various reasons. And the giant sound-barrier-shattering rainboom I'd seen. Or that time I'd watched a pegasus shatter a boulder – with her face.
I mean, a third of them have horns on their heads!
I paused for a moment.
Wait. WE have horns on our heads. Ooooh, that's why ponies are scared of us.
I almost had time to reflect on the depth of that epiphany when I realized that I had mindlessly followed Cheerilee into her classroom, and she was in the process of introducing me. Dozens of big, curious eyes stared at me from behind their desks. Big, curious, terrifying eyes.
"Class, please welcome Saro-Terrent. He's here to tell us about changelings!"
I tried to smile at the class and wave a hoof, but my facial insubordination was still an issue.
"H-hey, uh, nymphs – or, er, foals? Uhh, my name is Saro-Terrent – wait you already know that – and, um, I wanted to go ahead and tell you a few things, maybe answer some... questions?"
HELLO KIDS I'M A MONSTER
The kids looked at me curiously, and I realized they were waiting for me to continue.
WHY YES OF COURSE I CAME PREPARED IT'S JUST THAT I FORGOT LITERALLY EVERYTHING
Cheerilee piped in, saving me from my own awkward silence. "Terrent here is actually a changeling. Now, I know he may look like a pony, but changelings have the special power to transform, allowing them to disguise themselves as any pony they see!"
I stammered a bit, and then looked at her. She gave a subtle wave at me with her hoof, as if to say 'come on'. I gulped hard.
"Y-yeah, that's right! Well, sort-of, I mean, transformation is a skill, uh, kinda like moving stuff with magic for unicorns? I mean, all of us can transformbutsomeofus aren't very good at it."
I panted a bit, having suddenly broken into a very fast speech. One of the foals in front raised a hoof. I tried to look at them without making eye contact.
"Yes?"
"Mister Terrent, could you show us what you really look like?"
Their request was met with a flurry of approval and encouragement from the rest of the class. I had planned to show them my true form all along, of course, but now I hesitated; I imagined all of them screaming in terror and fleeing from the classroom, no doubt to find the nearest godlike unicorn, unstoppable pegasus, or literal pony god to come here and smite me for daring to be near their foals.
So basically I froze. I stuttered a bit and shuffled, and almost bolted for the door when I felt something tug back on me. It felt like warm water flowing through me on a cold day, and it filled me with confidence. I took a few deep breaths, and I felt my heart rate calm down. It took me a few seconds to glance at Cheerilee and realize what was happening.
She's giving me love?
I took a moment to reflect on the kind-hearted and generous nature of the schoolteacher before looking back to the class.
"Sure. Uh, I'll be black, and kinda like a bug, and I'll have a horn, okay? So, uh... don't freak out. Oh, and I have fangs."
Cheerilee smirked and commented, "Don't forget the blue eyes."
"Right."
The foal in the front gave me a skeptical scowl.
"You're just messing with us."
I put on my most cocksure grin, and – aided by knowing someone had my back when the inevitable angry mob came – I let my disguise down in a flash of green fire.