Lessons From Ponyville

by MattTOB

Lesson 3: Accepting Your Heritage

Written by MattTOB

---

It started out as another ordinary day in Ponyville; birds were singing, authors were writing clichéd introductions, and an unfamiliar alicorn stallion was walking down the street.

Wait, an unrecognized stallion in Ponyville? And an alicorn, no less?! This looks like a job for Pinkie Pie!

The pink party mare, as soon as she spotted the new face, rushed over. "A new pony in Ponyville!? We haven't had one of those since... since the last time we had one of those! I'm Pinkie Pie, and you are?"

The stallion blinked for a moment. "Pinkie Pie, it's me, Imago."

The party mare gasped in realization. "Oh, I see!"

Then she paused. "Wait, why are you disguised? You know you don't have to do that anymore, right?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "Whaddya mean? I'm just... Bein' my good ol', natural self..."

Pinkie blinked. "Wha...?"

Imago suddenly held up his wrist and hastily spat out, "Oh, would you look at that, I have a compound fracture, time to go to the hospital, bye!" And just like that, he ran off.

The usually bubbly Pinkie Pie was incredibly confused. "What just happened...?"

---

It was nearly noon when Imago returned to the farm, still in his stallion guise. He expected that he'd be able to get in a quick nap as soon as he got home.

Instead, he was greeted by the other Changelings, the Elements of Harmony, and Spike. And they all looked concerned.

"Imago," Twilight began, "Pinkie Pie told us what happened. Why are you walking around disguised as an Alicorn, pretending it's normal?"

His eyes nervously shifted between them as he lied, "B-because it is normal?"

Mandy frowned. "He's lying to himself, not just us," he stated. The other Changelings concurred.

"But why?" Pinkie begged. "Was it something I did?"

"N-no!" Imago jumped to answer, "it's not any of your faults! Am I not allowed to just... Try something new...?"

Then it clicked.

"You're ashamed, aren't you?" Mandy realized. "You hate being a Changeling."

He stuttered for a moment, before nodding defeatedly.

Everypony gasped, concerned beyond belief. "But why?" Rarity asked, her usual dramatic tone actually fitting the situation.

Imago sighed, turning towards a mirror on the wall. "Two days ago, I was playing some pranks on a few ponies, when I came across a little filly with curly red hair."

"Her name's Twist," Pinkie clarified.

He nodded in acknowledgement. "I pulled a prank on her, but as soon as she saw me, she ran away screaming. It didn't take a genius to figure out why."

Twilight stepped forward. "But I'm sure that if you explained your intentions, she—"

Imago huffed forlornly. "It's not just that, Twilight. Changelings have done far more harm than good. We ruined that wedding in Canterlot, Pharynx nearly got me to burn down Sweet Apple Acres, and then we got arrested in Canterlot simply for existing! Scaring away Twist was just the last straw."

Everyone shuddered at the memories. "Okay, we'll admit that the Changelings haven't had the most, uh, pleasant past..."

Imago shook his head. "EXACTLY. Being a Changeling causes me nothing but trouble; it's better for me to just be a pony."

With that, the Changeling-turned-Pony turned away, not even willing to face them anymore.

Rainbow looked to Twilight. "What do we do, Twi?"

The purple princess looked torn for a while, then eventually relented, "I don't know; this is quite a tough situation..."

AJ nodded slowly. "Normally, Ah ain't one to run from a challenge, but this..."

Mandy pointed out, "It's not running; we're just making a tactical retreat to figure out what to do."

"Ah can accept that."

---

"So," Rarity asked once they'd reconvened at the Castle of Friendship, "what exactly should we do about this situation?"

Twilight grabbed her forehead with her hooves and cried out, "I don't know! I've never had to deal with something like this before!"

Pharynx crossed his arms. "That grub is just confused, that's all. I say we knock some sense into him."

Thorax chastised, "Pharynx, we don't do that anymore."

He blinked. "Right. Sorry, I'm just used to doing things a certain way."

Hyaline piped up, "Well, we can't just leave him be; that much is for certain."

AJ agreed, "He ain't bein' himself, an' that jus' ain't right."

Mandy suggested, "Should we go and talk to Twist about it, and get her to apologize to him?"

Twilight shook her head. "She didn't exactly do anything wrong. And you heard Imago; Twist was only the tipping point."

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash let out an impatient groan. "You guys are missing the obvious solution here: we need to remind him just how awesome it is to be a Changeling!"

Everypony stared at her questioningly, so she elaborated: "Think about it: what other creature can turn into practically anything they want? What other creature, other than Alicorns, can use magic and fly? There's so much for him to be proud of, and we need to remind him of that!"

Twilight gasped. "Rainbow Dash, I think you're actually on to something!"

AJ stared, then smiled. "Y'all are really comin' along in yer friendship lessons, ain'tcha?

The prismatic pegasus raised an eyebrow. "I just thought about if I was in this situation. What do you take me for, a self-absorbed ass?"

Nobody would give her a straight answer, instead finding sudden interest in the floor and walls.

Rainbow groused, but didn't press it further. "Well, let's go!"

With that, the group rushed out.

---

Imago was walking down the path on his way back from the marketplace, still in his Alicorn disguise. In his magical grasp was a basket filled with boxes of nails, screws, and other assorted hardware for use around the farm.

Then suddenly, somepony screamed.

Imago whipped his head around, looking for the source of the voice. He quickly found it, but paled at what he saw.

Apple Bloom was being chased by a bugbear.

Dropping the basket, Imago took off flying towards the pair. As he approached, he was able to glean the emotions of both parties.

But something was wrong: Apple Bloom wasn't actually feeling scared, and the bugbear seemed... Hopeful?

Imago stopped flying, grinding to a halt a couple meters away from the two as they endlessly circled around on the path. "What the...?"

It was then that Apple Bloom noticed him. "Imago, help me! Ah can't outrun this bugbear forever!"

To her credit, she would've been convincing to anyone who couldn't see her true emotions. But Imago could, and he asked, "What's going on?"

Now Apple Bloom's aura contained a slight amount of nervousness. "Don't just stand there; do somethin'!"

Imago's eyebrows furrowed. "Like what?"

The filly was now visibly sweating. "A-Ah dunno, shape-change inta somethin' and scare 'im — Ah mean, scare it away!"

The Changeling-turned-Pony frowned. "Okay, something's up."

Apple Bloom kept a forced smile on, but her nervous aura betrayed her true feelings. "Ah don't know what yer—"

Then she tripped. And the bugbear hesitated to catch up with her.

Imago clicked the pieces together in his mind. "That's not an actual bugbear, is it?"

The beast flinched, "Goddamnit." A vortex of burgundy fire surrounded it, revealing Mandy. "You're too good at that."

"More like you're too bad at that!" Imago snapped back. "What the hell were you doing!?"

Apple Bloom was the one to speak up. "We jus' wantcha ta see that bein' a Changelin' ain't so bad!"

"So you staged a bugbear attack?" he deadpanned. "And so soon after Cranky and Matilda's Wedding?"

"We were hoping you'd transform in order to save her," Mandy explained.

Imago groaned. "This is exactly what I was talking about: Changelings using deception to try and get their way! And I want no part in that, so why can't you just leave me alone!?"

Mandy and Apple Bloom faltered at that. Not receiving an answer, Imago huffed, retrieved his basket, and continued on his way to the farm.

---

"...and the worst part is, he doesn't even realize he's being hypocritical!" Mandy bitterly finished retelling the events to the group.

Twilight massaged her temples. "We really should've seen that coming."

"What'll we do now?" Rainbow asked.

The group fell silent for a moment; nopony seemed to have any idea what to do.

Surprisingly, it was Pinkie Pie who first spoke up: "Argh, this would be so much easier if the Changelings had a brighter history! If they did even one good thing, we could show him that Changelings aren't all bad!"

Twilight gasped. "Pinkie, that's it! I love it when your genius shows!"

She gasped. "It is!? Aw, poodles, I knew I should've left it at home!"

Everypony at the table blinked, then dropped the topic and left.

---

"I'm not sure this'll work," Princess Chrysalis shook her head as she pored over the written records of Changeling history. "I mean, we've certainly done things that benefitted pony-kind, but they were all calculated moves to further our love-gathering."

Twilight, meanwhile, was absolutely enthralled by the documents. "So many historical ponies... Whinny Van Gogh, Aerial Earhart, Prance Lowell — all of them, Changelings!"

"Twilight," Applejack reprimanded, "this ain't the time."

She blinked sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just stunned! So much of what I knew was wrong!"

"Ah can understand," the farmer admitted. "Ah mean, mah Cousin Appleseed's a Changelin'? Ah always knew he was a bit deceptive, but this..."

"And Canter Klein?!" Rarity added. "I'll never look at fashion the same way again!"

"Admiral Fairy Flight, too!?" Rainbow Dash gasped. "I had no idea; she was just as good, if not better than any pegasi I know!"

Fluttershy said nothing; instead, she just silently stared at the papers that claimed her favorite grandmother was a Changeling.

Pinkie pointed out, "Girls? I think we're getting distracted again."

Prince Mothra gave a concerned look from his position in the doorway. "What's the issue?"

"Imago doesn't like the fact that he's a Changeling, so he's disguised himself as an Alicorn," Mandy explained.

The Prince looked off contemplatively for a moment.

Then he left wordlessly.

Twilight looked confused. "What's he doing?"

Chrysalis smirked, "What he does best."

---

Imago bucked another tree, getting twenty-three of the thirty-something apples off it. He turned to prepare another kick, but stopped when he saw who was watching from behind.

"Impressive," Mothra nodded. "I can only get fifteen at a time, myself, and I've had two hundred years to practice."

Imago sighed. "What do you want?"

"I just want to talk," the former King stated simply, to Imago's apparent surprise. "How have things been, here on the farm?"

After a moment of recomposure, the disguised Changeling stated, "It's hard work, but it's rewarding."

"How so?"

"Well, we get food, shelter, and good companionship, and all we gotta do is harvest some apples." To punctuate that statement, he gave the tree he was working on a good buck, dislodging most of the remaining apples.

"That's all one can really hope for, isn't it?" Mothra smiled as he moved himself to help with the harvest.

"After all we've done? We're lucky we're even allowed in Equestria, let alone Ponyville."

Mothra frowned, but nodded anyways. They both bucked apples for a while, the only sounds being those of their work.

Finally, Mothra continued the conversation. "Do you know what happens when a pony builds up too much love?"

Imago blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Ponies naturally generate love, but since they can't digest it, they need to share it. This all happens so naturally that they don't even realize it's a thing at all. But tell me: what happens when a pony can't share love properly?"

Imago thought for a moment, but came up blank. "I don't really know."

"It starts out harmlessly enough; they get really horny."

Imago started, lightly blushing. "How's that harmless?"

"Because at this point, they're still mentally coherent enough to refrain from acting upon it," Mothra explained simply. "But, given enough time, their sense of inhibition bleeds away, and they begin looking for any sort of relations, no matter the cost, just to release some of that love.

"You remember what the Elements told you of Starlight Glimmer, right?"

"That crazy mare that brainwashed a town by making them all equal? Yeah, what of her?"

"She had all the telltale signs of Love Buildup. That's the kind of thing it can do to a pony."

Imago paled. A pony who couldn't share their love properly could turn out like that? It made him shudder just thinking about it.

"But luckily, there's another way to prevent that from happening."

Imago put the pieces together, blinking. "It's Changelings, isn't it? When we feed on their love, it prevents them from building up too much..."

Mothra nodded. "We're not parasitic; they need us as much as we need them."

Imago looked down at his disguised hoof. "I never thought of it like that..."

"Most don't," Mothra admitted. "I only found this out for myself through years of extensive research. It takes a while for that love to build up to a dangerous point, but when it does..."

Imago nodded, looking off wistfully. "Thank you for, uh, telling me..."

Mothra smiled, "No problem."

With that, they continued to buck the trees.

---

Twilight paced back and forth. "It's been 4 hours and 27 minutes already—"

Chrysalis groaned, holding her hooves to her ears. "We know how long it's been; you keep reminding us every minute!"

The Princess of Friendship and Checklists blinked sheepishly. "Sorry..."

Thankfully, the door creaked open, and in came Mothra. Twilight rushed forward and asked, "Did you do it?"

Mothra smirked, "See for yourself." He pointed to the still-open door, through which an undisguised Imago was stepping.

Mandy stepped forward. "Imago, you okay?"

He nodded sheepishly. "I'd like to, uh, apologize for how I've been acting today. I was ignorant, and narrow-minded, and I was only thinking about myself, and I'm truly sorry for that."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Twilight said reassuringly. "You're just confused about your place in life. If anything, it should be us apologizing for trying to use such underhoofed tactics."

"And sending Mothra to talk to me wasn't underhoofed?" Imago raised an eyebrow teasingly.

"Actually, he sent himself," Mandy clarified.

Imago blinked. "He did?" At Twilight's nod, he looked up at the former King and smiled. "Well, thank you anyways; you were just what I needed to get my head out of my plot."

"So, now what'll you do?" Mandy asked.

Imago thought for a moment. "I've got a little filly to apologize to."

Author's Note:

Fun fact: during the scene where they're going through the Changeling records, there was originally going to be a joke that referenced Pinkie's Bug Adventure (i.e, Pinkie saying "I was supposed to be a Changeling!?"), but it was cut for consistency.

Comments

[Yoshifan30]

"You're ashamed, aren't you?" Mandy realized. "You hate being a Changeling."

Ohhh I guess because of his species did throughout the years 😔

[Yoshifan30]

Imago huffed forlornly. "It's not just that, Twilight. Changelings have done far more harm than good. We ruined that wedding in Canterlot, Pharynx nearly got me to burn down Sweet Apple Acres, and then we got arrested in Canterlot simply for existing! Scaring away Twist was just the last straw."

Ouch I can see why he's upset about all of them past events but some of them were not in his control but then again he still feel guilty for what his kind did to the ponies in his lifetime poor guy

[Melody Song]

Ooh! Great chapter! Also, Starlight went crazy because of Love Buildup? Yeah, sounds about right...

That might explain a lot of Twilight's colossal mistakes too...*cough* Want-It Need-It spell *cough cough*

[Yoshifan30]

But something was wrong: Apple Bloom wasn't actually feeling scared, and the bugbear seemed... Hopeful?

Yeah you kind of forgot that changelings can sense emotions from a mile away oopsie

[Yoshifan30]

Well this was a pretty interesting one so Imago was feeling a little low after what happened from his last prank and then scaring the kid away basically was the last straw for him so he decided to disguises himself but permanently into a pony because he felt disgusted of himself which he should not it was just an accident but I guess from his past it's time to catch up to him about all the things they've done so Mothra talk to him hopefully to understand about their heritage but it looks like it worked but Imago still feels guilty but I'm sure he'll get through this this was a pretty good story I wonder what's going to happen next guess we'll find out next time

[Yoshifan30]

10719016
That's a pretty interesting information about Starlight How she is I guess 😅

[Starlight Glimmer1]

Imago huffed forlornly. "It's not just that, Twilight. Changelings have done far more harm than good. We ruined that wedding in Canterlot, Pharynx nearly got me to burn down Sweet Apple Acres, and then we got arrested in Canterlot simply for existing! Scaring away Twist was just the last straw."

The thing with them getting arrested in Canterlot was more because a guard was being an idiot really. Part of me hopes he lost his job for that.

[tsaukpaetra]

Imagine becoming a love bomb...

[MattTOB]

10719083
Celestia tried to punish the guards responsible, but too many were involved to properly figure out who was responsible, so the whole squadron was moved to a different sector.

[Revluc_The_Pony]

"So you staged a bugbear attack?" he deadpanned. "And so soon after Cranky and Matilda's Wedding?"

Great episode.

[Revluc_The_Pony]

"That crazy mare that brainwashed a town by making them all equal? Yeah, what of her?"

Also a great episode.