Act 1

One fine day, in the magical land of Equestria, there was a changeling born to the Changeling Hive. His brood mother named him Larvo, for he was the smallest larva she had ever laid eyes on. Many hatchlings discovered their world that day; Larvo had many brood brothers and sisters. Their first few days would be tough, but they would soon find that despite their circumstances, they had it easier than most Equestrians when it came to sharing; sharing comes naturally to the changelings.

Changelings do not operate exclusively with a hive mind per-se. Instead, changelings are able to tap into their collective consciousness in order to access knowledge and important memories, while still retaining some basic semblance of individuality. This was all made possible by their mother, Queen Chrysalis; using her unique, inherent magic, she could create a field of energy around her children that allowed this sharing.

Larvo and his brood soon became used to hive life. Apart from his size, Larvo was just like anyone else from his brood; he worked for the good of the hive, never thought of himself, and wanted only the best for his queen. His brood siblings never once made fun of his size, but they didn't have to; he could feel their disappointment thanks to the magical hive energy. Why couldn't he have been just like everypony else? Larvo hated the burden of uniqueness. It was impossible for him to blend into the hive, and the constant shame he felt from the hive was enough to drive any Equestrian mad.

Larvo persevered however; he would prove his worth to the Queen, and the hive! Larvo, like all changelings, was sustained on the energy of love. This love was gathered by taking over somepony's life; becoming another pony in order to gather love directly from that colt or mare's family, friends, or special somepony. Larvo didn't understand why the hive couldn't just love one another and harvest energy from that, but his brood mother told him that was silly.

"Changelings cannot be loved," she said "and we certainly cannot love something that does not love us back. That is the reason we must trick ponies into loving us." Larvo pretended he understood.

On Larvo's first birthday, along with his other brood siblings', it was his brood's duty to start infiltrating pony society and integrate as best they can in order to harvest as much love as possible. The young changelings weren't allowed, nor able to completely assume the identity of somepony for more than a few minutes at a time. Instead, they were to masquerade as a foal and collect love in short bursts; at recess, during bathroom breaks, and various other times that foals aren't kept a very good watch on.

Larvo and a few of his brood were assigned to the small town of Ponyville; Larvo was assigned to the school specifically. Ponyville wasn't a very big town; in fact, Ponyville was only recently considered as a valid source of love for the queen. In the past, she had avoided it simply because it's harder to assume the life of somepony else when the whole town knows everypony so well. Ponyville had expanded in recent years, however, making small infiltration teams a valid option.

Larvo enjoyed playing with the fillies and colts, receiving praise from Ms. Cherilee, and getting hugs from 'family' who occasionally came to visit their children and school. But most of all, Larvo enjoyed being away from his hive. It's not that Larvo disliked his brood siblings, and he certainly didn't dislike his Queen. However, he was free from the constant pressure that always beat down on him from the magical hivemind. Although he looked forward to feeding after a hard day's work in Ponyville, Larvo loathed the feeling of entering back into the hive; back into the pressure, shame, and guilt of his brood.

The years passed and Larvo grew into an adult, which doesn't take very long for a changeling; Larvo had practiced infiltration before he was 1, just like his other brood siblings. By 3 years old, a changeling is expected to be able to change into practically anyone or anything. Still, Larvo was quite small for a changeling. Regardless, Larvo was able to easily pass as a full-grown mare, and the occasional smaller stallion. Larvo had had much time to think about which pony's live he would assume. Larvo hated the idea of replacing a pony who was meant for another. He had seen the heartbreak it caused other ponies and he knew that it was impossible to receive any love from a heartbroken pony, even if he was able to gather some in the short term. No, Larvo wanted a long term relationship...for the good of the hive...for the Queen!

This was easier said than done, however. How could Larvo find a pony to replace that loved their partner without ruining the partner's life? He watched many ponies, and one day, he finally found somepony perfect; Big Shot. A little pony, Big Shot was a stallion with a Naponyian complex. He didn't love anypony but himself, and he tried his hardest to stand out amongst other ponies. Big Shot was an Earth pony, and his cutie mark was fitting of his narcissism; a tall, ornate mirror. It was the same mirror that he had always admired himself in growing up, convincing himself that he was larger than life.

Big Shot wasn't very good at anything, except loving himself of course. Too bad Larvo couldn't harvest that love. Instead, Larvo settled for the next best thing. As anypony can imagine, Big Shot talked a big game. Many ponies saw right through his ruse, but there were some who fell for his swagger. One mare in particular had fallen head over hooves in love with him.

Left at the Ponyville orphanage as a little foal, she was named "Fallen Angel" by the caretaker who found her at the orphanage's doorstep. You see, Angel was a pegasus pony who was missing one of her wings. Apparently left by her parents who didn't want a freak for a daughter, Angel had every reason to be upset at the world, which is why it's all the stranger that she was as kind and gentle a mare a pony could ever hope to meet. However, due to her unusual circumstances, many ponies avoided her completely. Growing up in Ponyville wasn't easy for a pegasus, especially one with only one wing. Maybe it was for the better though...was it better to be shunned by earth ponies than her own kind? Angel didn't know; there were very few pegasi living in Ponyville, and none around her age.

Despite being an outgoing pony, Angel none-the-less found it difficult to make friends. Since many ponies avertered their eyes as soon as they noticed her missing wing, Angel was self conscious of her appearance. The only friends she had were much older ponies; wiser, more mature ponies who didn't care anymore about fitting in. But Angel just wanted to be normal. And that's why she fell in love with Big Shot. Big Shot didn't let his height get in the way; he made friends, he wasn't self-conscious, and he didn't let anyone bother him. She envied his attitude; she wanted so much to be like him. She didn't want to be defined by her limitations. Maybe that's why her cutie mark was a Luna Moth; despite her handicap, her cutie mark still depicted a flying creature. Or maybe it was just because she really liked moths...what pony can say for certain?

Larvo had observed both Big Shot and Fallen Angel for weeks. He had seen how Angel admired him from afar; how she listened to every word that came from his mouth...which was a lot of words, to be sure. Also, it wasn't hard to hear them since he was always talking so loud. Larvo really didn't get why she liked him so much, but it didn't really matter. After all, he had the perfect pony to imitate, and he liked the thought of Angel loving him...well, loving Big Shot, but still, he liked Angel...although he wasn't for certain why he liked her so much. Maybe it was the pretty moth on her flank that reminded him a little bit of the Queen, who knows?

Regardless, Larvo had set into motion a grand scheme to effortlessly take over Big Shot's life. He had followed Big Shot for days, and had seen him on many occasions reading through Pony magazine, which mostly dealt with celebrity ponies; actors, fashion models, that sort of thing. He had observed Big Shot mail in a special resume for a casting call that he had read in Pony magazine for the newest reality series "Ponies With Problems," a show that, despite the name, was actually just another typical reality show involving ponies and their everyday lives...with just the right amount of manufactured drama thrown in for good measure. Larvo had read the article backwards and forwards, and learned enough about the director that he felt confident that he could imitate him...well enough to trick Big Shot into leaving for Ponywood, anyways.

Well, after a few days of waiting, and imitating a random mailmare of little importance, Larvo intercepted the return letter from Pony Magazine. Big Shot was turned down, of course. No matter; Larvo was confident that that once Big Shot made it to Ponywood he'd find a way to make it...after all, with an ego that big, a pony would be guaranteed to do well in Ponywood. So after destroying the return letter, Larvo changed into the director for "Ponies with Problems," Apple Lemons-Sorta. He confronted Big Shot with news that he had been chosen as a regular on Ponies with Problems.

Big Shot fell for the ruse immediately, and told Larvo that "I thought you'd be taller."

Larvo replied with "I was just going to say the same thing."

Big Shot also said that he couldn't wait to tell his friends. Larvo quickly told Big Shot that there was a "non-disclosure" agreement that required that Big Shot keep everything a secret until after filming. He didn't really understand, but Big Shot agreed and said he'd be ready to leave for Ponywood as soon as he got his stuff together. "There's no time for that," Larvo yelled quickly, "You have to hurry to the train! It's leaving for Ponywood in just 10 minutes!"

Big Shot was concerned "But how will I pay for the ticket!? My house is 15 minutes away! And what about living expenses?" Larvo had planned for this, and had actually accumulated enough bits to buy Mr. Big Shot a ticket...but not living accommodations.

"That's Ponywood for you; a fake town full of fake people and fake promises." Larvo thought to himself. He'd be just as worse off even if he had gotten a real spot on a show. "Living expenses will be taken care of, trust me. There's a BS ticket bound for Ponywood waiting for you at the station," Larvo said.

"Excuse me?" replied Big Shot.

"A BS ticket! You know; a ticket for Big Shot, a BS ticket!"

"Oh, well that makes sense," Big Shot said, and galloped as fast as he could towards the train station. The first part of Larvo's plan was complete. Now he just had to approach Fallen Angel, spout out some generic charmer dribble, and Angel would soon be providing much needed love for his hive.

Transforming into Big Shot, Larvo went over some potential one liners in his head to seal the deal with Fallen Angel. He had just decided on the best one when none other than Fallen Angel herself galloped straight into Larvo.

"Oh, Big Shot! I'm sorry; I overheard somepony mention that you were heading towards the train station. I thought that maybe I'd meet you over there and see what you were up to...not that I'm spying on you or anything. No, I just mean that I wanted to see if you were leaving on a vacation or just visiting relatives or meeting a special somepony...wait that's not right. Ok. The truth is I was spying on you and I've had a crush on you since we were in school and I can't believe I'm confessing to you right now. You must hate me; I'll go home now and never bother you again."

What luck! Not only did Angel spare Larvo the trouble of finding her, but she saved him the trouble of wooing her! Already, Larvo could feel the love absorbing into his being. But no time to savor that now; Larvo couldn't let Angel get away. "Wait! I know this may sound crazy, but I was on my way to the train station...you see, I was thinking about leaving town, but then had the overwhelming urge to say goodbye to you. And then I thought, 'I can't do that; I could never say goodbye to Angel!'"

"Oh, well if you don't want to say goodbye that's fine. I'll just go home and you can leave without ever thinking about me again." Angel said with a heart full of woe.

"That's not what I meant, silly filly. I meant that I never want to leave you. I can't believe it's happening, but ever since I first laid eyes on you, I've always felt there was a special connection between us." And with those words, Larvo sealed the deal. He was surprised at how naturally the words came, considering that he was improvising them this whole time. He was surprised by a lot of things, though...how he pulled this off, how lucky he was, how easy it ended up being. But he was happy. With this one mare, he could feed his hive and his Queen for years...and best of all, it was permanent and heartbreak free...well, more or less.

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