Imago

      Twilight woke Imago with a slight nudge. He shot up. Twilight didn’t seem to notice, but she wasn’t going to give him a hard time about sleeping in. He’d had a hectic couple of days. Imago woke up sweating and startled. He just had the worst nightmare he ever had. It involved a cheese grater, a knife, Celestia, and his queen. It was horrible. “Spike, are you okay? You’ve had a rough week and I’m always here if you need somepony to talk to.”

      “It’s okay Twilight, I’m fine. I just…don’t feel important, you know? Like I’m in the background all of the time, I don’t feel…special.” Twilight looked at Imago, with sadness in her eyes.

      “Spike, don’t say that. You’re the most special thing in my life!” His face lit up.

      “Really, you mean it?!” Imago said with a little too much enthusiasm.

      “Yes, of course Spike.” He leaned in and hugged her and she hugged back. “Always.” They stayed that way for about five minutes before Imago got up to go celebrate three out of six weaknesses found.

      “Well, I’m going to go get those ingredients now. Bye Twilight!”

      “Bye, Spike.” Imago walked off into the Everfree Forest for his celebration. He turned back into a changeling when he got to the forest. Time to find some campers, he thought to himself. Imago didn’t have to look far. There was an odd building in the middle of a few trees, covered with vines. It was almost invisible and would’ve been to a pony, but he wasn’t a pony. He walked up to it cautiously and walked inside. There wasn’t anything there. Imago looked let down, he was expecting a fight. He walked back outside and searched for more ponies. He heard someone, talking a little down the road, so he went to investigate. It was two patrolling royal guards. The captain was a unicorn and his partner was an earth pony. He hid in a bush and waited for them to get right in front of him. As soon as the guards were in front of him he hissed and jumped into a tree, making sure they saw.

      “You there! Come down now and no harm will come to you!” Imago stayed in the tree and stared at them from where they could see.

      “No.” He was enjoying this. He would make them work for it.

      “Captain what do we do?” The other one decided to ask up

      “We will have to use force.”

      “How about you tell me what I’ve done wrong.” Imago demanded

      “You invaded Canterlot with your idiotic queen.” Imago didn’t like that response.

      “What did you call Queen Chrysalis?” The guards seemed to like that they had found a soft spot.

      “Idiotic, stupid, incompetent, what she doesn’t teach you pests either? What a surprise.” Imago was fuming and the guard that wasn’t talking was stifling a laugh.

      “You shut up about her! You know nothing you ignorant pony!” The guard in the back couldn’t hold back laughter any longer. He busted out laughing. “Shut up! I’ll come down there and kill you myself!”

      “Oh, really? Come on, kill us! We are ready to go!” He launched himself at the ponies, completely driven by rage. The captain dodged Imago while the other held him down. “Last chance changeling, come quietly or die for your pathetic queen.” Imago broke free and yelled,

      “She isn’t pathetic! Your princess is pathetic! She’s the one who got defeated by my queen!” He punched the captain in the face. The other guard jumped at him, but was thrown into a tree. The captain stood up and rushed Imago. Imago dodged his charge only to be rammed by his partner and slammed to the ground. The unicorn drove his horn toward his chest, but Imago blocked it with his hoof, accidentally getting it stuck in one of his holes. Imago used it to his advantage and shoved the captain’s face into the ground. The earth pony bucked Imago in the wound on his back, hoping for the best. Instead, he got a metal plate to the hoof. Imago turned around and stabbed him in the eye with the unicorn’s horn, getting a successful squish. The unicorn himself couldn’t move, due to his horn being in his best friend. He started to cry.

      “Stop! Please stop! We’re sorry!” Imago loved this part.

      “Then what is Queen Chrysalis?”

      “She’s incredible! She is the greatest being in all of Equestria! Please just let us go!”

      “No, you can tell my queen what you just told me.” He spit it on the horn to keep it stuck in his eye and then he spit in both of their eyes. He walked them to the Hive and gave them to a few changelings that gladly accepted to ‘gently escort’ them to the queen for punishment. He walked back to Ponyville, stopping by Zecora’s shack. A friendly hiker gave told him where it was after a little persuading. He turned into Spike and asked her for Twilight’s order. She replied in some accent and rhymed every word she said. It was pretty impressive. He took the items and went back to the library where Twilight was waiting.

      “Ah, Spike, there you are. Do you have the herbs I asked for?”

      “Yes, I do.” He put them down next to Twilight.

      “Perfect! Thanks Spike, now we can perform the changeling repelling spell!” Twilight was ecstatic. She had resented the changelings ever since the wedding and then they came to her home and lied to her and all of her friends about death and tragedy. This would show them, she thought. Imago was not as happy. He had resented ponies his whole life and he was not about to help one perform the spell from the wedding. Imago walked closer to Twilight and ‘tripped’ onto the ingredients, crushing them. “Perfect Spike! You did read that book on defense spells! Now that you crushed them, we just need to mix them together!” He quickly ate an ingredient, unaware of which one it was. “Spike! Why did you do that?”

      “Umm…I was hungry.”

      “Well which one did you eat?”

      “I’m not sure.”

    “Well all of the ingredients were originally from mostly dragon populated areas, so you’re fine.” Imago was a little more worried now.

      "What would happen to someone who isn't a dragon?"

      "Well, they would get very angry at the littlest things and make irrational decisions, one of the herbs was a fatal one." Imago paled at fatal, or he paled as much as a purple dragon could. "Spike, are you okay? You look a little pale."

      "I'm perfect! Let's find out which one I ate so I can get it from Zecora again." Twilight was getting suspicious.

      "Okay." They took inventory of everything still recognizable. "It looks like you didn't eat the fatal one, so if you were worried then don't be."

      "Thanks Twilight."

      "Your welcome, my number one assistant." Imago was a little worried about the effects, though. His habit to lose disguise might be a hazard. He decided to go over to Rarity's to explain his behavior from the other day. He blamed it on a stomach virus and she didn't dare ask more of it. Pinkie Pie passed him on his way back to the library.

      "Hiya, Spike! I want to know if you and Twilight will be attending the picnic later! Don't forget to RSVP!" She said, bouncing away. Imago walked to his temporary home and asked Twilight if she was coming. She said yes and both of them headed for their usual picnic place.

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy were all there. They sat down and talked while Imago played with his food. No one was paying any attention to him. At all. They were talking amongst themselves and disregarding him. He got mad. Imago picked up a piece of bread and threw it at them. They all looked at him, except Rainbow who got hit by the bread and was clearing her face of crumbs.

      "Spike, what was that for?" Rainbow asked.

      "For not talking to me!" He stormed off into Ponyville. He turned into a changeling in an alley and walked back out. What were they gonna do, he thought. They're just ponies. He walked down the streets throwing people around and hissing at foals. No one wanted to attack a changeling, so they all took it. He punched holes in houses, insulted families, the whole nine yards. One big red stallion got all defensive when he hissed at the yellow filly from yesterday and bucked him in the hip. It hurt. He decided to fight him. He flew up in the air and came down on top of him. In that moment all of the ponies came to fight him. He could take them all, he thought. He beat about three before he was swarmed and subdued. The red stallion came up to him again and bucked him in the face to knock him out.