The Bugged Element

by Down with Chrysalis

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Zecora, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Changelings, Original Character, Comedy, Adventure
Length: 16635

A defective Changeling, six colorful mares, and some powerful magical artifacts all in one place. Yep, nothing can go wrong here!

Changeling Drone 626 had considered a lot of things after being banished from the Hive. Most of these things consisted of cursing whatever deity above decided to ruin his life by making him the way he was, wondering if there was any point in moving forward, and questioning his own sanity in a world without the Hive Mind to lean on for comfort.

What he did not consider was the possibility of ever being accepted by the ponies, much less becoming a part of the nation’s only self-defense system!

With a past he'd rather leave behind, and a future filled with only more uncertainty then before 626 could only wonder one thing...

Why did he ever think it was a good idea to go into that silly little pony town, regardless if it was a favor for Zecora or not!

Welcome one and all to my own take of the series! Yes yes I know its cliched and done a thousand times, but what can I say? I couldn't get the idea out of my head once it was in there, and I figured it was my turn to give this whole 'Seventh Element OC' idea a shot.

So read on dear friends and readers, as we journey through the story we all know and love with a new twist! Let's see how long a defective changeling can survive being a part of the Elements of Harmony, and considering its me writing this you know some good old DWC chaos is around to help in the 'fun.'

I give him a week before a mental breakdown hehehehehe...

Big thanks to the amazing Puzzling Frost for proof-reading and editing the story! He does a amazing job and the story wouldn't be as good as it is without his help!

Published 2020-10-02 20:20:00 UTC
Last updated 2020-10-03 11:12:28 UTC

Prologue: The Disgraced Drone

Changelings.

Not much is know about this strange, elusive species. Outside of legends and myths of old few know what they are, and even fewer recognize the name of these creatures of legend at all.

From what one can gather from the various myths and legends that surround these strange creatures it paints a rather unpleasant picture.

While they may have the shape of your average pony, they were more like insects trying to mimic one in an attempt to fit in. That insect comparison is not too far off from what one would use to describe a Changeling.

Instead of being covered with fur with a soft tail and mane they had rough, smooth black carapace like skin with webbed manes and tails. Twisted horns in mockery of a unicorn’s with bug-like wings replacing the elegance of feathered pegasus wings. A sharp fang pokes out of their muzzles, ready to sink it into innocent flesh. Their legs are covered with holes like swiss cheese, some so big that one could look through them and see out the other side with no trouble.

However it is their eyes, eyes that lack no soul or empathy for anypony but themselves, that is what is truly the most horrifying thing about them. They are merely blue reflectionless eyes that stare into their preys souls, enticing them into their clutches so that they may feed off their naivete.

With a description such as this, it is no wonder these creatures are considered true terrors that stalk the night by those who know their legends. Yet their description truly holds no justice to what makes them truly terrifying.

These creatures, these monsters, do not feed like you or me. While we may dine on hay and greens, and while others beyond our borders ravish red meat, these creatures do not.

Changelings do not eat regular food, nor do they eat meat despite their fangs. No, these terrors can eat and strive for only one thing.

Emotions.

Happiness, Sadness, Regret, Fear. It matters not what feeling it is, so long as it is an emotion meant for another the Changeling will feast to its heart’s content.

But of course, there is one emotion above all that the legends say was divine to them, that was so delicious they would do everything in their power no matter how twisted it may be to taste it. For a Changeling, love was nothing less than blessed nectar from Celestia herself.

The legends that surround the Changelings tell of how their species has a special magic, one only capable by those shrouded in deception, that allows them to disguise themselves as anypony. They would sneak into the homes of innocent creatures and whisk off loved ones and friends into the night, never to be seen again.

Yet the next day these supposedly missing creatures are still at home, going about their business as if nothing had happened the night before. But do not be fooled, though they may act and talk the same the creature before you is not your friend. It is not your mother, not your marefriend, not your wife, and not your mailmare.

It is the Changeling, replacing a precious member of a community and slithering around at night. It feeds off the emotions of gratitude and friendship that is not theirs to have until there is nothing left for those it prays on. No emotions, no feelings, no drive, just an empty husk trotting through the motions of life.

Did the Changeling care? Did it show sympathy for its victims as it drained them of their very selves while pretending to be one they hold dear?

No...no it did not.

All a Changeling cares about is its next meal. It does not worry about those it leaves behind, and it does not feel regret for the pain it causes in its wake. It simply continues to feed day after day, never to be satisfied even after whole towns fall to emptiness.

Or at least, that is how the legends go.

Nopony has ever heard or seen a Changeling outside of these legends and they are considered nothing more than scary pony tales to keep restless foals and fillies in line. Yet one can't help but wonder, if somepony close to you suddenly started acting strangely one day, could they simply be having an off day?

Or could it be a Changeling ready to drain your emotions dry?

This, I do not know. But if there is one thing, my little ponies, that I do know, it is this.

A Changeling can never be trusted, for they are a deceitful and cunning monster to the end. They only act on selfish whims, and will never go out of their way to help another if it means revealing their true selves to others. They are nothing more than emotional parasites, feeding off the love and care meant for somepony else without so much as a hint of regret for doing so.

While I may never know if they existed, I hope to Celestia herself that they are merely a simple ponies tale. For if one of these horrendous creatures were to exist today, I fear what kind of damage they may cause.

Never trust a Changeling, my little ponies, lest you end up another vessel void of life rotting away without a care in the world...

"You are a disgrace to this entire Hive!"

"You are nothing more than a defective grub wasting resources!"

"This is all your fault! How could you have let this happen!?"

"You're a freak! You don't have any place here in the Hive!"

"By order of Queen Chrysalis, you are hereby banished from the Hive! Your magic will be nullified and your connection to the Hive severed!"

"Serves you right you freak!"

"DEFECTIVE GRUB!"

"FREAK OF NATURE!"

"TRAITOR!"

"MONSTER!"

"KIN KILLER!"

The lone changeling's eyes snapped open, his pupilless eyes darting everywhere around him as he sat up from the stone ground beneath him in a panic. His breathing was rapid and deep as he scanned the stone walls surrounding him.

After a few moments his breathing calms down as the environment he found himself in was the same scenery he had grown accustomed to over the last year.

Same old ruined walls, same old broken stone, same old broken windows. I'm still at the castle, not...not the Hive... The drone's thoughts, while reassuring at first, grew despondent at the end at the reminder of his old home.

Staring at the ruined castle walls for a few more moments, seemingly in some deep trance, the drone eventually gave a deep sigh as he removed himself from his makeshift bed. While the mattress had lost any sense of comfortableness from however long it had been abandoned at the ancient castle, it was still a better option than sleeping on the cold stone floor.

Stretching slightly the drone made his way towards one of the many ruined windows, his earlier fright seemingly forgotten as the sight of the slowly rising sun in the distance caught his attention.

Figures, the changeling thought bitterly as he glared at the rising sun, Of course, my nightmares just had to wake me up so Celestia-damn early in the morning. Couldn't let me sleep in just a bit could ya?

Grumbling some petty insults the drone, figuring there was no point in trying to go back to sleep, went about his daily morning tasks. Tasks that just boil down to doing some basic exercises to keep in moderate shape and doing everything in his power to forget or drown out the previous images and sounds his nightmares provided him.

He was getting eerily good at that with how many times he had those blasted nightmares, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

He made his choice and now he had to suffer through the consequences that choice brought.

It was as he was nearing the end of his exercises that his mind started to wander against his better judgment and control. His thoughts began to linger on past, of comfortable beds and sacks, of a vast desert full of never-ending discovery. On ex-friends, former family, of the kindness of the Que-

"You are nothing but a defective runt, with no place in this Swarm. You were a mistake I should have cleaned my hooves of long ago."

The chilled, haunting tone of a former leader suddenly assaulted his mind, bringing with it pain and sadness the drone did not want to feel again. With a quick shake of the head and a few smacks to his muzzle he banished the haunting voice back to the darkest corners of his mind.

Guess today’s not going to be a good one huh? He thought bitterly, angry at himself for letting that memory slip to the front of his mind.

With a disgruntled sigh and a firm belief that the rest of the day was just going to get worst from here on out, the drone made his way to exit the destroyed bedroom he had called home for the past year. While he would have liked nothing more to just stay in and sleep on a crummy day like this, the hunger pains in his stomach had other ideas for him.

If I had known hunger could get this bad I would never ha-No! The drone shook his head fiercely, ridding himself of the traitorous thought as he glared at the air with determination. No regret, never regret. The choice I made was the right one, there is nothing to regret!

With that mantra playing in his mind to once again drown out his doubtful thoughts he made his way out of the bedroom, though not before stopping before a surprisingly ornate mirror that had survived the years of neglect inside the castle unlike most of the furniture there.

The drone seemed captivated with his reflection...or at least at something at the top of his head.

"...Your magic will be nullified..."

His hole covered hoof subconsciously lifted to touch a strange stump that rested at the top of his head. The second it came into contact, however, the drone let out a hiss of pain as he quickly pulled his hoof back. Pain pulses from the stump for a few seconds before eventually fading away like it was never there in the first place.

The drone stared at the stump on his head for a few moments before a dry chuckle escaped him as words from his past made themselves know once more.

"More pony than a changeling now huh?" He said aloud with a humorless, dry tone the words seemingly echoing throughout the ruined room.

With a shake of his head and the dull pains from his stomach as motivation, the changeling eventually left the room and the castle itself. His destination, a simple shack in the woods...

Like all society's there was a hierarchy that separated the weak from the strong, the rich from the weak, and so on. The Changeling Hives were no different. While their classes were determined on a more genetic level than other hierarchies, it did not change the fact that they did have one.

Much like an ant colony once a changeling was born they were assigned a job the minute they could benefit the Hive in any way, shape, or fashion. Once assigned you would never get to leave that class, as it was your destiny to serve the Hive no matter what you do.

If you were lucky you would be born with the genes to be a royal concubine for the queen, or perhaps with the necessary skills to be an infiltrator or scout for town raids. At the lower end of the spectrum were the Drones meant to act as the bulk of the Changeling militia and the Workers tasked with repairing and constructing the Hive at all hours of the day.

It didn't matter what you were assigned at the end of the day, after all, it was determined at birth what your worth was. Plus all would hold pride no matter where they were slotted in life, for they brought glory to the Hive with every day of work they gave.

Even if it ends with the death of one from starvation to do so.

When drones are born, they are born as blank slates. No emotions, no cries of want for a mother, no need to move or wiggle around. They were simply empty husks, seemingly dead to the world, waiting to carry out orders from the royals above. Unlike all other classes of Changelings who would have the barest hint of a personality to match their class, drones would forever remain lifeless. Standing at attention and never moving or feeding without a direct order from the Queen or her generals.

Drone Designation 626 was...special.

When he hatched from his egg, he cried for the warmth of another. He giggled at the confused looks of those in charge of the nests. He was an anomaly among the drones, something that shouldn't exist. He was an error in the system, a defect of the otherwise perfect Changeling genetic pool.

He was destined to be terminated...but the Queen saw potential in this strange, emotive drone. She bypassed the order to have him decommissioned and took the drone under her wings. She raised him, watched him grow, watched him perform his best for the Hive.

Watched him become an individual, a free-thinker. Watched as he developed a personality that should have been impossible for drones to have. But then again, he was the impossible anomaly. The drone who could think and feel for himself, who wasn't a mindless blank slate!

But for one to develop their own self, to gain their own individuality, then one is bound to develop their own beliefs. To develop from their experiences and exposure to others their own set of ideals that they believe in. To form an need to express those ideals, to share them with others, and find those who share the same ideals as them.

But when one expresses their ideals to others, there is bound to be those who think against those ideals. Who believe in the opposite of those ideals for various reasons. And when two opposing ideals meet...

...there is bound to be conflict. A conflict that ends with one standing victorious...and the other fallen to the floor in defeat.

That day eventually came for 626, and the special thing the queen saw in him vanished. And with it...the need to keep the defect around was no longer needed.

626 found himself standing outside of a rather strange looking tree, a cloak concealing his changeling appearance from those around him. Yet strangely enough, the hood was kept down, failing to conceal his changeling face.

This did not seem to bother 626, for the drone calmly knocked onto the door imbedded into the rather creepy looking tree. Months before 626 was rather intimidated by strange masks and decorations hanging around the tree, but by now he had grown used to seeing them.

The strange decorations gave a mysterious vibe to the tree, which 626 supposed did match the owner of it if only slightly.

I probably should have thought if she was even up this early before knocking. 626 thought to himself with an embarrassed tone, only now realizing that knocking on somelings door this early in the morning probably wasn't the best idea.

The drone started to turn to leave, figuring he could deal with the hunger pain for a few more hours to not disturb the occupant of the tree hut. Before he could however a familiar scent hit his nose, the identity behind them immediately popping into his mind thanks to years of instructions and lessons hammered into his skull.

Curiosity. Annoyance.

Oh no...

Recognizing what those emotions mean, or rather what it meant for who they were coming from, 626 tried to escape before it was too late. But before he could even take a step away from the door it slowly opened up, revealing a rather tired looking zebra who was directing a rather exhausted looking glare at the now frozen changeling.

"It is far too early in the morning for knocking on my door! If not an emergency, then prepare for a rather angry accord!"

626 couldn't help but flinch slightly at the tired zebra's tone as a nervous chuckle escaped his lips.

"H-hey Zecora. Sorry for waking you up so early."

The tiredness in the zebra's eyes vanished at the sight of the changeling before her, but not in fear or shock, as one would expect. Instead, her eyes were simply filled with surprise before a warm smile crossed her lips.

"I suppose its no big deal if it’s you 626! I suppose you require another fix?"

The drone chuckled sheepishly at the obvious reason for his arrival at the zebra's home.

"If it isn't too much trouble Zecora, I can wait a few more hours if you need me to."

Zecora simply shook her head before moving aside and gesturing for the changeling to come in. With a small smile, the drone entered the home of another with no disguise or deceit used. It was simply a changeling in his natural form being invited into another's home as if they were old friends.

Truly a strange sight to behold for those outside the mold, but for two fellow outcasts it was simply business as usual. It was just another day for the two Everfree Forest dwellers if only starting a little earlier then usual.

But what the two didn't know was that today would mark a change in their lives. For one changeling, today was the day his normal routine of life after his banishment ended.

Today was the day of great change for ponies, changelings, and Equestria as a whole. For today would be the day...

...that a changeling would appear out of the legends, and prove every last one wrong!

Author's Note

And thus the tale begins! How things turn out and what risks the changeling drone known only as 626 is all up into the air! Tune in the next ep as a whole new version of the MLP you know is brought to life, with exciting and hopefully hilarious results!

Also yes that is a cliché way to end a prologue, but who doesn't need a good old cliché every now and then huh?

Hey all, DWC here!

I hope all you curious readers enjoyed the start of this fic! I admit I'm pretty excited about starting this one up, if only because a certain virus has made getting bored far, far too easy to achieve lately.

I mean seriously people, being stuck in a dorm room 24/7 while doing classes online is pure torture, and this is coming from the guy who prefers staying indoors all day to read fanfiction!

Truly these are dark times....

Anyway! As any of you guys who've read or are reading one of my previous works you're probably aware that my publishing schedule is pretty random. This story is no exception to it, as I still have other stories to write and college to deal with.

However, I am happy to say that the first episode of this fic is done and ready to be posted! I just need to look it over one last time and write up the AN for it, but since I'm dying to get some feedback on this fic I'm going to hold back on posting it till tomorrow. So look forward to that, and let me tell ya its a long one!

But yeah, I'm really curious on what you all think about this fic? The premise behind it, what you got out of the prologue, so on and so forth. I'm not expecting this to be some new hit fic on the site or anything like that, but I still appreciate getting feedback so I can continue to improve it as time goes on!

So feel free to leave a comment with any of your thoughts, theories, opinions, and all that below! Every bit helps make this story better, and I always appreciate new ideas to improve the fic!

But I think I went on a spiel long enough! I hope you all have a pleasent day, and see you all tomorrow in the next chapter!

Just a Reminder: Next chap will be published tomorrow!

This has been DWC, signing off!

Episode 1: Friendship is Bugged (Part 1)

There had been horror stories spread among the more intelligent Changelings about those who had been banished. Tales of how the lone bugs would be torn to shreds by angry tribes of griffons or used as punching bags by wondering minotaurs. How a Banished would most likely meet a quick and painful death at the hooves of angry ponies whose loved ones they had taken away to impersonate them, never to be seen again.

Not to mention the agonizingly slow death of starvation a Banished would suffer from if one were lucky enough to avoid travelers, border patrols, and the dangerous beasts that make the Band Lands their home.

626 had never put much thought into these tales seeing as how rarely a changeling banishment occurred, much less any actual evidence to support the fates of the rare few who were banished. Yet when the time came and 626 was sentenced to his banishment, those silly little tales he thought so little of suddenly came back in full force with far more intimidation and fear backing them.

When he was banished from the Hive, 626 thought he would become one of those unfortunate changelings from those cautionary tales. Another story to tell hatchlings to dissuade them from stepping out of line and meeting a similar fate. To his surprise, he lasted much longer than he originally thought.

Once he was stripped of his magic and his connection to the Hive painfully severed he was instantly teleported as far away from the Hive as possible with no time to try and get his bearings from the painful experience. Despite this agonizing pain he took to the skies as fast as possible to get as far away from the Hive's territory as he could.

There was to be no mercy for the Banished found within the Hive's land, even if they had only been just recently banished.

So he flew, no destination in mind just so long as it wasn't there. He flew and he flew and he flew, away from the place he once thought of as home until the sands of the desert were replaced by rocky mountains and until that was replaced with a vast plain of grass and trees.

Eventually, after flying so long with no rest his wings dried out on him and forced him to land, but even then he kept running, never looking back for even a moment. He kept running even with the blistering pain on his head, and he still kept running even once his stomach cried out in agony for food it could no longer gain.

Once the pain from his head and stomach became too much he collapsed, but even then he continued to crawl till his hooves refused to move for him any longer.

It was then that 626 found himself in a dark, foreboding forest out of energy and in seemingly never-ending pain. He had no idea how far he went from the Hive, or how long it had even been since he was casted out from the Hive.

All he knew was that his stomach was crying out for food he could never give it and that he was most likely on death’s door. He had accepted his fate then and there. He knew he was going to die, alone and hungry, in some foreign forest with noling caring about his fate.

He closed his eyes and accepted his death...but it did not accept him.

For that was when his savior found him, passed out, and on the brink of death. She cared not for his freighting appearance, for all she saw was a fellow-creature in desperate need of help. So she took him back to her home, nursed him as best she could, and provided him a place to stay as he recovered those first few months.

She was his savior, his healer, his...miracle.

She was Zecora the zebra shaman, and his best friend.

"I can seriously never thank you enough for doing this Zecora! Who knows what would happen to me if it weren't for your potions?"

The aforementioned zebra smiled gently as 626 finished drinking a strange, rainbow-colored liquid out of one of the many potion bottles placed around the zebra shaman's home.

"Do not mention it, my buggy friend, after all, it would be against my nature to let you meet a bad end."

During his time at the Hive 626 was instructed in the various cultures and languages of the various species that live on the planet for proper infiltrating, something drones normally wouldn't be involved in since they're more for large scale attacks then stealth. His rather unique upbringing in the Hive probably allowed for that to happen, but even then there was a big difference between learning about how zebras speak in rhythm and talking to one.

Needless to say, it was just as fascinating as 626 thought it would be, and being able to converse with someling who could come up with rhythms so fast and rapidly as they spoke did help him the first time he met Zecora after coming too from his exhaustion.

There was a lot of panicking on his end, thrown objects, an embarrassing amount of apologizes, and a few bumps to his head he'd rather not go into any time soon.

Instead of reminiscing in the past 626 moved his attention back to Zecora as he offered her a genuine smile as he said,

"Even still, if it weren't for your emotion potions I'd be six feet under by now, so seriously, thanks!"

Zecora's gentle smile grew slightly at the sight of the genuine smile from the changeling, a rather rare occurrence for the bug. Zecora had seen her friend smile plenty of times during the year she’s known him, but she could count on one hoof the number of times those smiles were fully genuine.

She felt it no doubt had something to do with the changeling's reasoning for being in such a terrible shape when they had first met. While she was curious she never made any move to question him, after all, it seemed to be something that still haunted him to this day despite it being a whole year later.

If her friend wanted to tell her why the supposedly mythical creature hardly gave a true smile, then he would tell her in time. Even if it takes another year or two for him to do so.

Realizing that she had been off in her thoughts for a little bit longer than was necessary Zecora waved off 626's thanks with a small chuckle.

"Your praise is not needed for I am just glad my brew succeeded. While Changeling anatomy I did not know, potions of the emotional nature I did bestow. It was quite a simple fix, and it still is, when it comes to solving your internal conflicts."

Way to downplay the only thing keeping me alive Zecora. 626 thought with a dry tone, slightly annoyed at Zecora's insistence that keeping him alive wasn't that big of a deal even though it very much was a big deal.

When a Changeling's magic is cut off from them they lose something far more vital to them than just their ability to disguise themselves. When Changeling's feed they use their magic to harvest and refine the raw emotions they steal into something more edible for changeling consumption. A changeling could just eat the raw emotion directly through their fangs, but the consequences for doing so are best left unsaid.

By depriving a changeling of its magic, you deprive it of its ability to feed. Not even the most desperate of changelings would feed on raw emotions after all, as starvation is a far better fate in comparison. It's why banishment is considered a fate worse than death for most changelings.

At least execution will be quick, starvation...not so much.

626 would have died long ago if it wasn't for Zecora's emotion potions because of this. The potions themselves are, according to her at least, rather easy to make and simply make the consumer feel whatever emotion the ingredients used to create it represented or something like that.

Not real emotions by any stretch of the word since they're purely artificial, but fake bland tasting emotions beat starving any other day in 626's book.

"Seriously Zecora, stop trying to downplay this." 626 began to say with an earnest tone as he lectures her, "These potions keep me from starving, and in turn keep me from dying. So basically, they're kind of a big deal."

"A big deal to you they may be, but I can't help but disagree. The brew's effects never impress, and constantly leave you and me in distress. What would truly fill me with glee, is a solution where you can live carefree!" Zecora rhythmed out with a clear look of annoyance on her face.

626 couldn't help but wince at the reminder of the potion's nature. While the emotion potions do a good job of holding off his hunger for emotions, they're not a permanent solution. A single potion can keep the hunger away for a week at most before wearing off, and as soon as it does the hunger hits hard as if it was never satisfied in the first place.

The artificial emotions were a substitute for his hunger at best, as nothing can truly replace real emotions for a changeling's body. He'll always be constantly hungry no matter what, and with no magic to properly feed with, it was only the continued consumption of the potions that kept the true unbearableness of his hunger at bay.

If only these potions were a little better at keeping the hunger at bay, then maybe we wouldn't have to deceive everyling in the first place. 626 thought bitterly as memories from before his banishment began to surface, though they were quickly pushed down before they could fully register in his mind.

Shaking his head 626 gave Zecora what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he said,

"I know we'll figure something out someday Zecora, with a potion master like you and me as the lab rat I'm sure we'll find some ultra potion to fill me up for good!"

Zecora gave 626 a grateful smile at his reassurance before she rhythmed in a lighter tone,

"I suppose you are right and that things will be eventually alright. Thank you for your kind words."

"Thatta girl! Even this no good bug is capable of cheering you up every once in a while, the Queen knows you've done it enough times for this freak." 626 said brightly with his eyes closed and a small, strained smile on his muzzle.

With his eyes closed, he didn't notice the disapproving frown on Zecora's face at his self-deprecating words and by the time he opened them again the frown was gone and replaced with her usual gentle smile.

"So!" 626 clapped his hooves together loudly as he spoke with a slightly forced bright tone, "What does the good old 'Witch of the Everfree' have in store for today? Anything I can help you with?"

626 was expecting one of Zecora's usual 'you don't need to do anything for me' looks she'd given him in the past every time she let him drink one of the potions for free, and he was fully prepared to restart their usual debate about how he was going to help her after everything she's done for him no matter what she said.

What he did not expect was for her to smile with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she said,

"Now that you have asked, I do have a task!"

626 could only eye the zebra before him wearily as she dug around in her saddlebag before pulling a slip of paper and some strange looking mask out of it. With a small smile, she hoofed over both the mask and the slip of paper to him, completely ignoring 626's questioning gaze as she did. Giving the mask a brief look over before looking over the slip of paper, the changeling's brow quirked in confusion as he looked back at the still smiling zebra.

"A shopping list?"

To his confusion, Zecora’s smile only grew in size, the mischievous nature of it now on full display. 626 could only gulp in slight fear as he thought,

Oh, this can't be good...

I was right, this is a terrible idea!

That was the sole thought running through 626's head as he trudged his way towards the exit of the Everfree forest with as much reluctance that he could muster,

626 had made sure to avoid the little town of Ponyville the entire year he had been living inside the Everfree. With his magic gone so was his shapeshifting, meaning his ugly and buggy changeling looks were out for the world to see and there was nothing he could do about it.

One of the most important teachings that had been instilled into 626 was that a changeling can never expose their existence to non-changelings, for if it was ever found out that changelings were real their entire way of life would be put into jeopardy. Spells would be created to combat changeling magic, hunts would be conducted to sniff out any changelings hiding in towns and cities, and starvation would be all but guaranteed.

To be discovered would be to doom all of the changeling kind. Those who exposed the existence of changelings, banished or not, would not meet a pleasant end. Not to mention what would happen to the poor creatures who witnessed the changeling's true form.

626 couldn't, no wouldn't risk the chance of being discovered now that he couldn't disguise himself. Both for his kind and for those who would discover him.

It's one of the reasons why he avoided the pony town as much as possible, the risk of exposure was just too high. Another reason was because of how they handled new species coming to town.

From what Zecora mentioned about the town, they were all scared out of their minds of the kindhearted zebra for looking different. 626 could easily imagine the kind of panic he would cause if anyone discovered what he really looked like.

So why am I doing this again? 626 thought with an annoyed tone as every instinct in his body was practically yelling at him to forget Zacora and just let her do her own shopping.

Oh right, it's because she saved my life and is the only reason I can keep living. Kinda hard to say no with that on the table huh?

As much as he knew this was a bad idea, he also knew he could never turn Zecora down. He knew she'd never revoke his access to the emotion potions even if he did refuse to help her. He just couldn't turn her down because she was his first real friend, something he never really had in the Hive, and the very idea of doing anything that could cost him that friendship made his skin crawl in shame.

He just...he just couldn't refuse to help his savior out, no matter how risky going into town was.

I hope this mask works, Zecora seemed pretty confident in it but...

To hide his changeling status from the world 626 had taken to wearing one of Zecora's old cloaks, a 'housewarming' gift she had given to him once he was healthy enough to leave her hut and move into that abandoned castle in the forest. It wasn't a house or anything like that, but he still appreciated the gesture.

Sadly the hood of the cloak didn't completely hide his face, hence the strange mask Zecora had given him. The strange white mask with black splotches covering it was some ritual mask from her old home of Farasi. According to her, it would hide his face, but the black splotches would move around to mimic his facial features.

It was honestly a pretty neat mask all things considered since it got the job done while letting him still convey his emotions in case his words got muffled by the mask, but...

...I can't help but feel like it's more intimidating than anything else, much less a sign of 'inner trust displayed for all to see.'

Sometimes the zebra's culture just confused him no matter what despite having some minor knowledge about it before thanks to his lessons in the Hive.

"The best way to imitate a zebra is by acting and believing in their shaman ways. Don't try to replace a head shaman or one of their witch doctors, others will notice immediately if one were to disappear for too long. It is best to replace a foal or filly, preferably one who is just about to enter their schooling. That way you ca-"

Nope! None of that, leave the past in the past. Those lessons are useless now anyway... 626 thought as he quickly suppressed the memory of his old schooling days. With a sad sigh, he sped up his trot out of the forest.

Let's just get this over with before I remember anything less than pleasant.

After a few more minutes the changeling finally reached the exit of the forest, Ponyville now clearly in front of him in the distance. The brightly colored buildings and clear blue sky hurt the changeling’s eyes for a few moments despite his mask dampening the bright colors slightly. After spending so long in the dark and foreboding forest filled with dark greens and more green the sudden assault of color was a little too much for his eyes to handle.

Gah! Who knew so many colors could hurt this much! 626 thought in annoyance as he rubbed his eyes through his mask in an attempt to rid them of the pain.

After a few moments, the pain from his eyes fades away and 626 can now clearly see the town without any kind of eye irritation.

"Ah come on Zecora, you couldn't mention they were holding some festival for me?" 626 grumbled out in annoyance as he noticed the multiple banners, streamers, and other festive decorations spread throughout the town.

Maybe if I'm lucky the ponies will be so focused on the festival they won't even notice the creepy masked wearing cloaked changeling trotting around looking for stuff? 626 thought with fake optimism as his head lowered closer to the ground as the weight of how much of a bad idea this was hit him.

"Let's just get this over with."

And with that grumble 626 slowly makes his way to the town. With his eyes staring down at the ground before him the changeling failed to notice a chariot flying down from Canterlot and making its way to the other side of town...

Happiness. Excitement. Amusement.

By the queen, these ponies are freaking enjoying this festival huh?

While 626 could no longer harvest emotions to eat, the changeling could still smell the emotions of those around him. Another form of punishment for the banished, being able to smell something delicious and being unable to do anything with it. An added downside makes it so that it’s impossible to tell who is feeling what in large groups like these.

Sure 626 could smell the specific emotions of a single pony or two if they were by themselves, but in big groups like these, it was just overwhelming his senses and nothing more. This was a very uncomfortable experience to go through, but there wasn't much he could do about it so he just soldiered on.

Besides, thanks to the emotion potions the constant smell of emotions around him were not affecting him as bad as they would have without the potions in his system. Even if the smell of all these positive emotions were slightly overwhelming they weren't too hard to ignore. On the other hoof...

Fear. Anxiousness. Weariness.

...the negative emotions, on the other hoof, were far less possible to ignore. After all, it was hard to ignore the foul-smelling emotions whenever they appeared, especially considering how they all seem to be popping up whenever someling saw him walking by.

Zecora wasn't kidding when she talked about how skittish these ponies were huh?

Despite his line of sight being focused slowly on the ground before him, 626 could feel the frightened stares of the ponies around him as he walked by. Whenever he glanced up to make so noling was in his way he saw ponies stiffen in fright or quicken their pace to get by him as fast as possible.

There was an active crowd of ponies surrounding him, all moving to the side as soon as he neared with fear and weariness dripping off them. Whenever he briefly made eye contact with a pony the pure fear he'd see in their eyes would cause him to trip slightly as he tried to move by them faster.

All these negative emotions are making me sick. Why do they hurt so much? 626 thought in confused dread as he sped up his trotting, trying desperately to get out of the growing crowd’s attention.

Nothing can cause a changeling more fear and dread than being the center of attention. All eyes focusing on a single changeling is like an alarm going off, telling them that they're about to be exposed and that their continued existence was forfeit. This was the kind of fear a changeling with all eyes on it feels.

Especially one walking around with only some clothing hiding his true form.

This was a terrible idea, I should have never agreed to help Zecora! 626 panicked as his breathing started to increase rapidly. I should have just gone back to the ruins and slept the day away! Nothing is worth this much attention, nothing!

Eventually, the panicking bug turned a corner onto a much less occupied street, slightly elevating his growing fears and allowing him to catch his breath.

I...I gotta get out of here. 626 thought, his need for self-preservation taking over all of his attention.

I just have to tell Zecora I couldn't find anything because of the festival. Yeah, yeah that'll work. Now let's-

Anger. Protective. Determined.

"HEY CREEP!"

626 jumped in fright, so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the angry-looking cyan pegasus in the air right above him. She had a rather nasty glare on her face, which only twitched slightly when she got a look at 626's mask when he looked up at her in fright.

-curse Faust above and hope its a quick death dang it!

With a fearful gulp, 626 managed to find his voice as he nervously stuttered out,

"A-are you talking about me?"

The cyan pony just scoffed in annoyance before she crossed her front hooves and sarcastically said,

"No, I'm talking to the other creep walking around in a dingy cloak and freaky mask that's been freaking ponies out."

"Oh, well in that case I'll let you be then. Have a nice day and all that!" 626 quickly said, desperate to take any out he could get, as he started walking away from the rainbow maned mare as fast as possible.

"Thanks, you to-HEY WAIT A MINUTE!"

Before 626 could even blink a cyan blur suddenly landed in front of him, causing him to quickly stop before he could run into the suddenly appearing mare.

Gah! How did she get in front of me so fast!?

The mare's angry face was now only a few inches away from his masked one. The rainbow maned mare growled in anger as she said,

"Alright, nice try bub but you aren't getting away that easily! Now tell me why some creepy looking guy like you gets his jollies off freaking everypony? Are you a spy or something, trying to ruin the Celebration for everyone with your creepy...creepiness!?"

Trying not to let it show how much being called a creep by some random pony stung more than it should 626 tried to even his hoofing as he said with an even tone,

"Look whoever you are, I'm not trying to freak anypony out! I'm just here to do some errands for my friend, that's it. They're the ones freaking me out with their staring if I'm being completely honest."

"Oh please," the rainbow maned pony once again scoffed, "You expect me to believe that you decided to dress up like some sort of stalker just to do some shopping? Heck, I've never even seen you in town before, so that makes your whole 'shopping' spiel even more suspicious!"

To 626’s immense discomfort the mare’s shouting was starting to draw attention to them, or more specifically him. Already feeling the twitching urge to just make a run for it 626 tried to ignore the new eyes watching him as he stared down the angry pegasus.

“Look, I know I look suspicious wearing all this, but it’s for a perfectly good reason. I’m just here to shop, nothing more or less I swear.” 626 said in the calmest voice he could manage given the situation.

Trying to speak calmly wasn’t the best idea as the mare just glared at him with more distrust than before.

“And the reason why you’re wearing all that is because...” the mare drawled out, clearly waiting for the cloaked Changeling to give her a good enough reason to attack.

626 shifted uncomfortably at that, though whether it was because of the mare’s question or the increasing number of ponies watching them he couldn’t tell.

“L-look it’s personal alright! Just...trust me when I say I mean no harm to anypony here. I’m just here to shop and that’s it.”

626 tried to give a trusting smile after he said that, but he had a feeling the mask made it seem more intimidating then friendly if the mare’s sudden flinching was anything to go by.

The angry mare’s suspicious frown only seems to worsen at the drone’s attempt to de-escalate the situation. The mare starts to eye the panicky bug horse up and down, most likely sizing him up to see how much effort it would take to bring him down.

It is as she is doing this that something on the changeling catches her interest, causing her eyes to widen slightly and for her frown to lessen slightly. 626 sadly doesn’t notice this, too lost in his increasing panic to pay much attention to the rainbow mane mare.

I need an escape plan and I needed it yesterday! There’s got to be some way to get out of here, maybe I could throw some dirt in her eye and make a run for it?

626’s panicked thoughts only seemed to worsen from there, but before he could do anything he’d most likely regret the mare before him suddenly sighed in annoyance and flew up back into the air in front of the changeling.

“Sheesh man, enough with the shaking already! You’re making me feel like the bad guy here.”

The mare’s words manage to snap 626 out of his panicked thoughts, and its only then does the changeling notice just how much his hooves are buckling beneath him.

“A-ah sorry a-about that. I, um, don’t do well with crowds.” 626 tries to say in a calm tone, but it just comes out as a very nervous stutter.

The mare arches a brow at that before looking around, apparently only now noticing the crowd of ponies that have been attracted to her little interrogation of the creepy pony before her.

Usually getting this much attention would do nothing but stoke the cyan mare’s ego, but for some reason this time she only feels uncomfortable from all the stares.

The fact that the creepy pony before her was still shaking like a leaf was probably why, but the mare just shook off that reasoning and focused back on the shaking stallion.

“Okay look, I’ll take your word for it and leave you alone so you can ‘shop’ or whatever.”

At the mare’s words, 626 could feel some of the tension leave him, only to return full force as the mare glared suspiciously at him once again.

“But if I even hear or see anything that shows your up to no good you’ll gonna have to deal with me! Got that?” The mare threatened, punching her two front hooves together menacingly to further emphasize her point.

“Y-yeah I got it.” 626 stuttered out after gulping in fear.

Suddenly the mare’s mood turned a complete 180, emotions and all, as she suddenly gave a cocky smile to the terrified drone.

“Good!” She said cockily before letting out a yawn and stretching, “Welp I’ve got a cloud with my name on it waiting for me. See ya around Jitters!”

With that said the mare seemingly disappeared in a blink of an eye, flying quickly away from the crowd she had gathered. Taking advantage of the distracted ponies watching her fly off 626 quickly made his way out of the crowd and down the street.

After a good couple of moments and seeing none of the ponies following after him 626 slumped against the nearest building and let out a relieved sigh.

By the Queen that was nerve-wracking! Zecora owes me big time for this. I swear I thought I was-

“Oh by the way-”

“GAH!"

Jumping back in fright 626 couldn't help but shout as the rainbow maned pegasus once again suddenly appeared before him. The mare just rolled her eyes at his reaction before giving him a cocky look as she said,

"Just so ya know, the name’s Rainbow Dash! The fastest pony in all of Equestria has her eyes on you, so like I said don't even think about causing trouble Jitters. Cause I'll be there to teach ya a lesson in ten seconds flat!"

Before the shocked changeling could even say anything in response Rainbow took off in the blink of an eye once again. 626 could only blink owlishly at the sudden introduction from the brash pony who had threatened him not even a few seconds earlier.

Eventually the fear and panic subsided and the changeling was left with a single thought regarding the whole incident.

Did...did she just call me Jitters?

Clearly, his day was not going to get better any time soon.

After the incident with Rainbow and suffering more from the wave after wave of negative emotions from the ponies around him 626 had taken to using the alleyways and shortcuts around town to get to the shops he needed to go to for Zecora's list. While it would have been far easier to take the main roads, not to mention not as time-consuming, he just couldn't handle the crowds of ponies anymore.

The negative emotions they were emitting when they saw him were getting harder to ignore, and he wanted to avoid another Rainbow situation as much as possible. Even if it meant sneaking around the town to do so. Of course, this had the backlash of even more intense negative emotions when ponies saw him leaving the alleys, but he would rather have only a few ponies freaking out over him than a whole cluster of them.

Thanks to the map and bits Zecora had provided him, 626 had little trouble reaching the stores he needed to, despite the added difficulty and time consumption sneaking around gave him. Sadly, the same amount of ease of finding the shops did not extend to acquiring the items themselves.

I swear if I have to see one more pony faint... 626 thought to himself angrily as he bobbed and weaved his way through the colorful town.

He had managed to make pretty good progress on getting the stuff Zecora wanted, only needing a couple more things before the list would be finished. However every time he would enter one of the shops the same thing would always happen.

He'd enter the shop, and the pony inside would think he was robbing them. He'd calmly explain how he was here to buy something and not rob them, they'd freak out over his mask moving to match his expressions. He'd try to explain how the mask worked, but by then the pony would have either fainted or run out screaming.

Then 626 would just sigh in annoyance, ignore the slight sting he felt with the ponies' reactions, and then leave the right amount of bits on the counter for the item he needed before leaving.

At this point, I think coming into town without the mask would have caused fewer problems.

626 briefly stopped his sneaking around as he tried to picture what would have happened if he came to town without any kind of mask hiding his changeling face. The image of the town on fire with ponies running around in a panic screaming for their lives while a bunch of guards started blasting at him or poking him with spears appeared in his mind, causing him to quickly shake his head.

"On second thought, maybe the mask was the better option of the two." 626 grumbled to himself as he continued his sneaking around.

He had been making his way towards one of the last shops on the list when a sudden swarm of ponies started rushing towards the alley he was in. 626's eyes widened in pure fear as the rushing mob, in his mind, started rushing at him with ill intent in mind.

OH BUCK! 626 mentally shouted in fear as he desperately looked around for some means to escape the pony horde.

Having no time to really think or even question what was going on he quickly dived into a nearby barrel and quickly slid the lid back on it. Thankfully it was empty and even had a convenient peephole for him to look through. As the mob of ponies rushed by his hiding spot 626 tried to figure out what was making everyling act so crazy, and a quick sniff of their emotions gave him a slight hint to go off on.

Nervousness. Panic. Annoyance.

What in the heck has got these ponies so freaked out!? Did Rainbow round up some sort of mob and their all going hunting or something!?

626's paranoid thoughts only spiraled down from there as he continued to watch the mob of ponies pass by. Eventually, the mob rush of color came to an end, much to 626's relief.

Thank that Queen that's over. Guess sneaking around town was a better idea then I thought if these ponies are that excited for bug squashing.

With a slight shiver at his wording, 626 attempted to leave the barrel he was hiding in, but to his confusion, the lid above him refused to budge.

What the?

Trying to put some more force into lifting the lid only made the lid shake slightly. 626 let out a hiss of irritation as he started pounding on the lid in an attempt to get it off the barrel.

You have got to be kidding me! Did one of those crates fall on it when that mob ran by?

626 was not expecting a response of any kind, after all, he had thought that question and it was one made more out of annoyance rather than a want for an answer. Yet despite that...

"*Giggle* Of course not silly! I'm not a crate, I'm Pinkie Pie! The pinkest, partiest, laughiest pony of ponies!"

...a response he did receive.

If he had the room for it 626 would have stumbled backward in shock. Not because of the sudden voice or the realization that he had been captured accidentally of all things by a pony. No, what would have caused his stumble was the overwhelming amount of positive emotions that suddenly assaulted his senses.

HAPPY! EXCITED! CURIOUS! GIDDY! HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!

"Wha-ho-uh...."

So surprised by the sudden wave of intense emotions 626 could barely speak, nothing but a bunch of gibberish escaped his snout in his shocked state.

Apparently, the pony, Pinkie, found the gibbering mess that was 626 amusing as she giggled to herself.

"Wowie! I don't think I've ever made a pony stutter in a barrel before! Actually, I've never even talked to a pony who was in a barrel before! I mean sure I've talked to plenty of ponies while I was hiding in a barrel before, but I've never had somepony do that to me!" The mare suddenly gasped dramatically before she said, "Wait a minute! This just gave me a great idea for a 'Hiding in a Barrel' party! We could have everypony hide in barrels around town and host a hide and sneak game night or-"

The mare began to go on a long rant about parties and barrel themed games that 626 just couldn't focus on. The longer the mare talked the more her intense emotions seemed to grow and the harder it became for 626 to stay focused on...well anything and not lose himself to the pleasant emotions before him.

Realizing that he had to do something soon or he'll never get his senses back, or get out of the barrel, 626 put all his energy into regaining his voice as he tried to get the mare's attention.

"Pink-ie!"

"Oh! Maybe we can test all these games out at that unicorns welcome party, then put them in full force for your welcome party-"

"Pinkie!"

"But then again I wouldn't want to ruin the new unicorns party if some of the games don't work. I know, maybe we could do some practice runs after her party and hold your party after the Celebration-"

"PINKIE!"

Thankfully it seems third time’s the charm as the mare finally stops talking, and the intense wave of emotions coming from her also seemed to decrease as well with the end of her chatter. If 626 didn't know any better he could have sworn she had been ranting that long in one breath, but he discarded that ridiculous idea off in favor of getting out of his current situation.

"Listen, Pinkie, I would very much appreciate it if you could get off the barrel I'm. I have things to do and I don't want to be stuck in here any longer."

Nor be near the emotion bomb that is you apparently. 626 added dryly in his thoughts.

There were a few moments of silence after he said that and for a moment 626 thought the mare was going to refuse his request and keep him trapped in the barrel. Thankfully that doesn't come to pass as the barrel shakes slightly, presumably because the mare had just hopped off it as she said,

"Oh, sure thing! I wouldn't want to be stuck in some small enclosed space during the Summer Sun Celebration either! Now being stuck in a super-sized extra-large chocolate supreme cake, however, is a whole different story! Much more fun, trust me! *squee*"

While that last statement would have caused 626 to question the sanity of the mare his focus was instead on the bit of information Pinkie had dropped.

The Summer Sun Celebration? Is that the festival that everylings been decorating for?

Now 626 was by no means ignorant to the various pony costumes and holidays celebrated in Equestria. After all one couldn't successfully blend into a whole new identity if they did not know of a holiday that was common knowledge amongst the ponies. So he knew what the Celebration was all about, what caught him off guard was the timing of the event.

Has it already been that long since I was banished? I knew it had to have been at least a year, but...

Before any memories could spawn from that line of thought 626 quickly cut it off with a shake of his head. With a small sigh, he made to remove the lid to the barrel to get out but froze as he remembered that Pinkie was still in front of him. Remembering how all the other ponies had reacted to his appearance, and taking into account that the mare was some sort of emotion bomb waiting to blow, the changeling couldn't help but hesitate to leave the barrel.

"Uh...Pinkie? Could you do me a quick favor?"

"Sure thing Stitches!"

"Uh, great. Could yo-wait a minute." 626 cuts himself off as Pinkie's words register in his mind before he continues in a questioning tone, "Did...did you just call me Stitches?"

"Yep!" was the mares cheery response.

"Okay....why?"

"To bring the reference full circle silly!" Pinkie said with a tone screaming 'duh' and as if what she said made perfect sense.

"...What?" 626 replied with a deadpan tone, and Pinkie could feel the blank look he was giving even with the barrel blocking his face.

"I said cause when I took a peek inside your barrel I saw a bunch of stitching on what you were wearing, so I figured I should call you Stitches to match!"

What is wrong with this pony? 626 couldn't help but think of the mare before what Pinkie said fully registered in his mind.

"Wait...you've already seen what I look like!?" 626 exclaimed in shock with a slight bit of hope dripping in at the idea of one of the ponies not freaking out over his appearance.

Yes! Finally, someling who isn't freaking out for no reason! Even if she's an emotion bomb waiting to go off it's nice to know someling isn't sca-

"Nope! It's really dark in there so all I saw was those stitches I mentioned! But I'm sure you look just like any regular pony with no reasons to freak out over!"

...and that's what I get for getting my hopes up. 626 thought bitterly before letting out a tired sigh.

"Well...okay then. Look, can you just promise me not to freak out when you see me like everypony else has?"

If a dose of your positive emotions is enough to make me almost lose my sense of self, I'd rather not find out what any of your negative emotions bring.

A sudden shift in Pinkie's emotions catches 626's attention as her unending happiness is suddenly combined with confusion, which 626 assumed made sense since asking someling to not freak out over how you look does sound a little weird without any context.

However just as quick as that sense of confusion appeared it just as quickly disappeared as Pinkie's emotions returned to their unending happiness state.

"Okie Dokie Loki! I don't get why I would freak out, but I promise I won't! In fact," there's a sudden addition of determination among her emotions as Pinkie continues, "I Pinkie Promise that I won't freak out when I see you!"

626 quirked his brow in confusion at that, but before he could question the strange mare Pinkie suddenly started saying,

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

There's a few moments of awkward silence after Pinkie's chanting which is eventually broken when 626 hesitantly spoke up and asked,

"So...you won't freak out?"

Pinkie nodded her head in determination even though 626 couldn't see her. It took a few moments for Pinkie to realize this fact, and when she did she quickly spoke up once again.

"Yep yep! After all, breaking a Pinkie Promise is the best way to lose a friend..." Suddenly 626 is overcome with immense dread as she finished with a semi-threatening tone, "...forever!"

The word seemed to echo throughout 626's mind as if it was some sort of hammer banging against his skull to constantly remind him of its existence.

Okay...there is definitely something wrong with this pony. 626 couldn't help but think as he gulped with dread. With a few calming breaths 626 started to psych himself up to open the lid, putting his trust into Pinkie to keep true to her promise.

Alright, you can do this bug! It's just one pony with super high levels of emotions, nothing you can't handle. She promised not to freak out, so just trust her. You can do this, you can do this...

As 626 was busy with his inner mantra Pinkie's eyes started to twitch rapidly, followed by her mane deflating and reflating and then her nose itching. The sudden muscle spasms cause Pinkie's eyes to widen in horror as she let out a loud gasp.

"Oh no! I'm late for setting up that unicorns party and I only have a few more hours to get ready! I need to go go go now before her first time in Ponyville is ruined, forever!"

Seemingly forgetting about the 'pony' in the barrel the pink pony went off like a rocket, leaving nothing but a dust cloud of her body behind. It is then that 626 finally burst through the barrel with his front hooves thrust into the air and his eyes closed behind his mask.

"Surprise!"

When 626 was met with silence he slowly opened his eyes prepared for the worst. What he was not prepared for was the sight of a pony shaped dust cloud to be slowly fading away in front of him.

626 could only stare dumbly at the dispensing dust cloud as he rubbed the back of his head in confusion.

"Did...did I just make that whole situation up?"

His question was met with silence, and the changeling was left questioning his sanity and the effects of long term exposure ponies had on undisguised changelings.

After sorting out his thoughts 626 came to the conclusion that the, what he dubbed 'Pinkie Incident,' was just some strange dream he had after passing out from seeing the pony horde coming at him. He also decided to never think about the strange dream again, and that Zecora must never find out about it. The teasing would be unending if she did, and he knew he wouldn't be able to survive a week if she found out.

Speaking of Zecora, 626 was very happy to see that he had gotten the last of items on her shopping list. Only two ponies fainted this time, and while it was getting close to sundown he was just happy he could finally leave this town!

At least, he would be if he hadn't gotten so lost.

He had to hide from a few more mobs of galloping ponies, who were thankfully not on a bug hunt. Apparently, something had happened that freaked out a whole bunch of ponies earlier, and those ponies had gone to hide out in their homes. Of course, by doing this the ponies indirectly caused the preparations for the Celebration to go behind schedule since some were too scared to leave their homes, so now ponies were going around rushing to catch up or convince the others to get out of their homes to help.

626 had a feeling he knew just what, or rather who had caused so many ponies to freak out. So he did feel a bit guilty for everything, but he didn't let that get in his way of finishing Zecora's list. After all, he reasoned, the faster he got all her stuff the faster he could leave, and the faster the ponies will stop freaking out over him.

Hence why he still went around buying Zecora's stuff, and hence why he lost his map of the town to one of the rushing pony mobs. He had just gotten the last item on the list and was checking the map for a quick exit out of town when the mob appeared out of nowhere. He dived into a nearby alley as per usual, but sadly his map was dropped in the process and was trampled on by the rushing ponies.

By the time the mob had left the map was torn to shreds, and 626 was left to find his own way out of town. Which you'd think would be easy since Ponyville isn't exactly the biggest of towns, but trying to sneak out to not cause any more panic is much harder to do when every exit has some group of ponies standing around it.

Whether they were painstakingly trying to finish their tasks on time or were just hanging out, either way they cut off any exits 626 found unless he wanted to give them an unintentional scare. Which would cause them to panic more, which would get the attention of the local guard, which would lead to his exposure of being a changeling, and then end with him starving away in the Canterlot dungeons.

So out of options and getting tired of carrying so many purchased items, 626 decided to say 'screw it' and started exploring the town for any kind of exit not occupied by any ponies. Or at the very least someplace to hide out until most of the town is distracted with celebrating the Summer Sun Celebration so he could make a clean break.

Eventually, he found himself in an area of the town that looked vaguely familiar to where he had first entered it. There were no ponies around to freak out so 626 felt it was okay to move around normally instead of hiding in every other alley he could find. There wasn't any noticeable exit he could see, but at this point 626 would take a sewer entrance if it met getting out of the town sooner rather than later.

Come on exit, where are you? Here exit exit exit...

With that mantra in mind, 626 continued on his way and would have succeeded too if a pony didn't suddenly shove him to the ground as he walked by an overly classy looking building that stood plainly out compared to the much more subdued looking buildings surrounding it.

"Oof!" 626 let out a small grunt as he landed on the ground flank first. The pony who had hit him didn't even notice they had hit him as they continued to gallop away.

Getting up and rubbing his sore flank in annoyance the changeling turned to glare at the fleeing lavender pony, who was now too far away from him to get any hint from their emotions on why they were in such a rush. He wanted to shout his annoyance at the pony, but he held himself back. Getting in a shouting match with somepony was only going to draw attention to the mostly deserted part of town, and he rather not give Rainbow an excuse to nab him for arguing with some random unicorn.

Of course, this fact didn't stop him from letting out a hiss of annoyance as he thought angrily,

I swear the ponies of this town make me question how in Celestia's name this place is considered the 'friendliest town in Equestria.'

While 626 was busy ranting in his head he did not notice a white unicorn with a purple mane exit the town hall looking in the same direction the other unicorn had fled to.

"Well that was rather rude," the white mare hmphed out in annoyance as she watched the lavender pony flee, "I was oh so looking forward to discussing Canterlot with her, and I had just found the perfect ruby to-OH MY WORD!”

The sudden shriek from behind the changeling causes him to fold his ears in slight pain at how high the pitch was. Turning towards the source of the shriek 626 couldn’t help but wince at the sight of the horrified mare before him.

Horror. Disgust.

Her emotions did little to comfort 626 either.

Geeze, I know I'm scary to you ponies but I don't think my appearance warrants that kind of response! 626 thought gloomily as the mare continued to stare at him in horror.

Looking around 626 noticed that there were surprisingly still no ponies in the area, which he was thankful for since the mares shout would no doubt have caused any nearby ponies to freak out even more than normal, or worse fetch Rainbow to beat the changeling out of him with a mob of ponies cheering for his demise.

Closing his eyes and shivering slightly at that mental image 626 took a deep breath to try and calm his nerves down.

Alright drone, let’s try and be diplomatic about this. It's just one pony, no crowds in sight, the perfect situation to try and ask for directions out of this town.

With a sigh of relief, 626 opened his eyes and looked at the still horrified mare with newfound determination.

Just treat her like one of the practice drones back at the Hive and you'll be all good. Who knows, maybe you can even get a 'friend' outside Zecora!

With a humorless chuckle at the thought of ponies befriending a changeling of all creatures 626 took one last deep breath before he said,

"H-Hi! Sorry for scaring you like that, I know the cloak and the mask can be kinda scary hehe..." 626 scratched the back of his head nervously at that attempt at humor to calm the mare down, which is met with lackluster results as the mare continues to look at him in terror.

Well, that didn't work. 626 thought bitterly as his mask mirrored the small frown forming on his face, At least she hasn't fainted yet like those shop ponies. Maybe that's some progress?

"Anyway! I'm new in town if you couldn't tell, and I sorta lost my map of the ar-EA!" 626's request is cut off as a blue aura of magic suddenly pulls him to the white mare. Who was now sporting a chilling determined look in her eyes, much to 626's panic.

What's with that look all of a sudden!? Oh no, did my cloak tear and she saw my body!? She knows I'm a changeling and now she's going to lock me up for the local guard to finish me off isn't she! Nooooo-

"Darling, just what in the name of Celestia herself are you wearing!?"

ooooooo? 626's panicked thoughts quickly change to ones of confusion at the mare's sudden question.

It is now that the changeling noticed that the blue aura that was once surrounding him had dissipated and she had just used her magic to drag him closer to her. Almost uncomfortably close in the changeling’s opinion, which only strengthened as the mare slowly began to circle him as if he was a wounded seal and she was a hungry shark.

"I mean seriously Darling, that cloak color went out of style ages ago! And all these stitchings," the mare lifted one of the stitched areas on the back of his cloak with her magic closer to her face as she continued, "not to insult the mare who did them but they are simply abysmal! All practical yet no style makes them stand out so much!"

Well, excuse me if I never mastered the art of stitching fancily! 626 thought in irritation as he tugged back, pulling the part of the cloak the mare was holding out of her magical grasp before she lifted too much and saw underneath the cloak.

The mare, apparently not perturbed at all from the hostile gesture, simply walked back to her original spot and looked at him. Or more specifically, his mask if her intense staring was anything to go off of.

"Now that mask! Darling if I may be so bold to say, it is simply...exotic!" The mare spoke excitedly, her rather sophisticated accent seemingly thickening as she went on, "It gives off this magnificent mysterious feeling, yet at the same time seems to instill some unease within its fabric. And the way those ink splotches move, such a divine idea I am rather miffed I didn't think of it myself!"

626, utterly baffled by the mare's rapid shifting mood, could only let out a confused "Thank you..?" at the mare’s words. Said words seem to go over the mare’s head as she appears to be lost in thought. Not knowing what to do in this situation the changeling could only cough awkwardly into his hoof before he said,

"Uh...well it was nice meeting you and all. But I'm gonna go now so....yeah."

Before 626 could begin to walk away the mare before she suddenly spoke up with a delighted tone,

"Idea~!"

Why do I have a bad feeling about this? 626 thought with a deadpan as he saw the mare's eyes gain literal sparkles as apparently inspiration hit her.

"You, my dear stallion of mystery, have just given me an amazing idea for a new fashion line-up!" The mare spoke excitedly, the sparkles in her eyes seemingly growing as she went on, "Oh you must come with me as a model! I can even give you a proper looking cloak that'll go wonderfully with that mask while we're at it!"

The mare goes to grab 626's hoof, but he quickly backs away from the mare before she could. The mare gives the changeling a confused look to which he just ignores as he quickly says,

"O-oh I would love to do...all that....but I can't! I just spent the last of my shopping Bits earlier you see, and I don't want to waste any of your time."

Instead of simply accepting his rejection and moving on like a normal pony would, something this town is severely lacking considering all the ponies 626 has 'met,' the mare instead simply scoffed and rolled her eyes before earnestly saying,

"Oh please darling, I'm not going to charge you for fixing this crime of fashion. If anything you can see it as payment for modeling for me for a few itsy, bitsy minutes."

That last part was said with a fluttering of the mare's eyes, something that would have caught 626 off guard if it wasn't blatantly obvious that she was only doing it to make him agree with her.

"That's rather...generous of you Ms?" 626 trailed off as he waited for the mare to respond.

The mare's eyes widened in surprise before she gave an embarrassed chuckle as the realization hit her.

"Oh my, where are my manners? It begets a lady such as myself to forget something as simple as introducing oneself, truly these preparations for the Celebration have taken more out of me then I thought." She said with flushed cheeks before she coughed into her hoof and gave an exaggerated bow.

"My name is Rarity, owner of Carousel Boutique where every garment is chic, unique, and Magnifique!"

Guess that's the building that purple pony ran out of. 626 thought as he looked behind Rarity to look at the overly fancy building behind her. Figures the only fancy building in this town would belong to the fancy talking pony.

Leaving his thoughts to himself 626 looked back at Rarity and spoke with a polite, albeit strained, tone,

"Well Ms. Rarity I appreciate your offer but I'm rather fond of this cloak and I'd rather not be rid of it. So I'll have to decline, sorry."

Rarity grew a disappointed frown at that, her emotions much more mellow now than before as she let out a sad sigh,

"Far be it from me to replace something with sentimental value from somepony else, even if its looks leave much to be desired."

626 ignored the look of cringe on Rarity's face as she looked over his cloak once more as he gave the mare a small smile.

"I appreciate the offer none-the-less Ms. Rarity. Now if you'll excuse me I have some more errands to run in town, so I'll just be on my way."

There's a nice alleyway with my name on it where I can cower away in for a while since apparently noling in this whole town likes to be away from the exits for too long for some reason.

Once again keeping your thoughts to yourself you start to walk away from the marshmallow white mare determined to find some hiding spot or cleared exit, but before you get too faraway Rarity calls out to you,

"Wait, sir! It's rather ungentlecolty of you not to give a mare your name after she introduced herself is it not?"

626 could hear the teasing tone in her words, but the serious emotions coming off the mare made any attempt to just brush her off and get out of there pointless. So with a heavy sigh, he turned around to look at Rarity and gave her the first thing that popped in his mind.

"The names Wanderer, nothing more or less. Have a good Celebration!" He responded with a faux tone of cheerfulness before he quickly turned around and continued on his way.

"Nice to meet you Wanderer darling! Be sure to stop by the Boutique after the Celebration, inspiration is best used when it's fresh after all!"

626 gave a half-hearted hoof wave back at the mare, his focus more on finding someplace to hide now that leaving the town wasn't an option.

She was nice...kinda. If I ever come back to this town for whatever reason, at least there'll be one friendly face...well as long as she never sees under the cloak and mask. 626 thought to himself, a somewhat bitter smile growing on his face as he did.

With the sun starting to set and the preparations for the Celebration coming to a close despite the setback thanks to 626's appearance there was no doubt in the changeling's mind that he'd be able to escape the town soon. He had been moving from hiding spot to hiding spot since his encounter with Rarity, constantly keeping a lookout for when the townsfolk were all in one place to celebrate the Summer sun Celebration.

He would have preferred hiding in just one single spot if only to take a nap to pass the time, but time and time again the very real emotion bomb that was Pinkie would get close to his hiding spot. Forcing him to run away least he scares the mare like he does everyling else and causes some incident.

At least he assumed he was Pinkie, given how the mare who constantly found his hiding spots was so...well...pink.

He doesn't know how that, apparently real, mare keeps finding him or why she keeps tracking him down after bailing on seeing what he looked like, but he wasn't taking any chances with the mare. He wanted to put his trust in that Pinkie Promise or whatever she had made, but being a creature of deceit made putting faith in strangers harder than it needed to be.

Eventually, after moving to his fifth hiding spot he had heard ponies gossiping about the local library and how it had been abandoned after its previous caretaker vanished months back, and 626 knew he found the perfect hiding place that not even Pinkie would go to.

If she was anything like the other ponies in town, she wouldn't be caught dead near a 'haunted' library after all.

626 didn't believe the building was haunted for one second, but that didn't make it any less the perfect hiding spot. Hence why he booked his way to the west side of town where the library was and prepared to hide there...but of course things were never that simple for the banished bug.

"By the Queen, these ponies really like reading in this town huh?" 626 grumbled to himself in annoyance as he watched another group of ponies enter the supposedly abandoned library.

626 had been hiding out in a nearby alleyway for the past twenty minutes, and in that time no less than at least six groups of ponies had entered the building. None of them ever left, yet more and more ponies just kept going in.

This was a complete bust, 626 thought angrily, Also what is with these ponies. A 'pony' comes into town dressed in a cloak and a mask and they freak out. But heading into a 'haunted' library and their right as rain!

626 couldn't stop the snort of annoyance from leaving him as he left the alley and made his way away from the library, making sure to avoid any ponies heading his way as he did.

I'll never understand how these ponies work. Heh, guess that's another thing to add to the list of 'reasons why you're not a real changeling' huh? 626 thought bitterly to himself, his eyes looking forward but not truly seeing anything.

After all, a real changeling can understand their target family dynamics and life after a few days of study. 626 continued to grumble mentally, his bitterness only increasing with each thought, Meanwhile, I can't even figure out why a whole town of ponies can be scared of one thing and then be perfectly fine with another 'scary' thing.

With 626 continuing to stew in his bitter thoughts he fails to notice a familiar purple unicorn heading his way with a look of annoyance that could rival his own. Unlike before the pony wasn't alone, as on her back was a small purple creature with another pony following behind her.

The creature on the purple ponies back and the other pony seemed to be having a detailed discussion about something, though 626 does not notice what its about so lost in thought that he was. The purple pony herself seems to be lost in her own world of annoyance, not noticing the creepily dressed stallion in front of her.

"...So then Twilight had to put a fishbowl on my head to stop my hiccups from burning down the whole house! Cause, we dragon's breath fire when we hiccup if ya didn't know."

"Oh my, that seems a little...extreme if you don't mind me saying."

"Nah it was all good, fire-resistant scales and all that. It did not, however, help contain my morning breath. Which is not fun to have in my face all the time." The purple creature said, waving off the other ponies concerned with a wave of his claws.

"Oh, how interesting! But, um, still I thi-Eep!"

It was around this point in their conversation that the purple pony had bumped into 626, both too equally lost in their thoughts to realize they were walking into each other. The small collision caused the creature on the ponies back to shake slightly and he gave 626 an annoyed look, but that was it.

The bump knocked the both 626 and the purple mare out of each other’s thoughts and, while the mare did give him a curious brow raise at his state of dress, she made no comments about it nor did her emotions freak out as she said,

"Oh, sorry about that."

Slightly surprised at the rather nonchalant reply considering all the other ponies reactions to him, 626 couldn't help but raise a brow of confusion of his own before shaking his head and saying,

"It was nothing, I wasn't paying att-Urp!"

626 suddenly collapses to his knees as he holds a hoof over his mouth as a sudden wave of nauseousness hits him, shocking the purple pony and the creature on her back.

"Sir!? Sir are you okay?"

You can barely hear the pony’s question as your vision starts to go fuzzy. You can't even think with how nauseous you currently feel, and the reason why was pretty obvious.

TERROR!

The ponies' fear of him, Rainbow's animosity, even Rarity's disgust at his clothes could not even begin to match the amount of pure, primal fear that had suddenly assaulted 626's senses. If positive emotions had a pleasant scent that made a changeling hunger, negative emotions were a foul stench that drove them away in swarms. Usually, with their magic, they could block out such emotions, but with 626's gone...

He could only feel the full force of it, and while usually, he could ignore how sick it made him feel like with those in town there was just so much of it that it was impossible for him to not feel it.

Where...where....where?

626's thoughts were a jumbled mess as he desperately looked for the source of the tidal wave of terror before he lost consciousness from the overwhelming foul stench. His eyes darted everywhere, ignoring the concerned look of the purple pony kneeling next to him as he did.

Eventually, he found the source, and it struck him to his core where it was coming from.

The pony who was so avidly talking with the strange creature on the purple ponies back before was now crouched to the ground, almost curling into herself. She was shaking like a leaf during an earthquake and her eyes were full of fear. Fear...of him.

626 had unknowingly struck so much fear into the pony before him, and knowing that fact suddenly made any positive feelings he had earlier hallow. Suddenly memories assaulted his mind, memories he tried so hard to suppress for so long...

"Just do it Drone 626! We're running out of time!"

"I...I can't! Can't you see, can't you sense how scared they are!?"

"I could care less about how scared they are! Just do your job for the Hive and Queen!"

"I...I refuse! I won't do this, I can't!"

"You dare to betray your Hive!? Your Queen!?"

"I...I...I-"

"Sir! Sir get a hang of yourself! Sir!"

Suddenly 626 is thrust out of his memories as the concerned voice of the purple pony reaches him. Blinking to try and clear the fuzziness he sees her and the creature on her back both looking at him in concern. The other pony had stopped her shaking as well, now just hiding behind her mane while staring at him. But he could still feel the terror coming from her, and combined with the sudden assault of his memories he could only do one thing.

626 forced himself to stand, and he ran. He ran past scared ponies, past the entrance he came from, past a confused looking orange pony, past everything. he ignore the shouts of concern and everything else and only focus on one thing, and one thing only.

He ran....he ran and ran and he doesn't look back.

With everything that had happened 626 decided to just give Zecora her stuff tomorrow. His mind was overcome with everything that happened, the look of pure fear in the yellow mare's face never leaving his thoughts for a second. Not even once he got back to the ruined castle he had made his home.

626 tossed the stuff he got for Zecora off to the side of his makeshift bedroom, his breath deep and shallow from his long run back.

"That...that was a terrible idea." He growled to himself as the events of the day played in his mind once more, "I'm never going near that town, any town, ever again! I don't care if Zecora begs me to, it's not worth it!"

The fearful stares of the townsponies 626 tried so hard to ignore suddenly begin to appear in his mind, surrounding the yellow mare's terrified face. Joining them are two ponies faces he never wanted to see again, increasing his guilt ten-fold as the fear in their eyes drilled into his soul.

"No no no no! Get out of my head dang it!" 626 screamed as he slammed his hoof into a nearby wall.

His anger seems to do the trick as the faces of fear flee his mind, leaving him with nothing but hollow anger. Looking outside the ruined window near him at the night sky 626 couldn't help but give a tired sigh.

"This day has been the worst. I'm...I'm just going to sleep it away and get it over with."

Moving sluggishly towards the worn-out mattress 626 flopped down onto the bed, not even bothering to take off his mask or cloak. He just laid there, eyes screwed shut as he tried to force himself to sleep.

Regret nothing, don't look back, and keep moving forward... 626 recounted his mantra in his mind, over and over again until he eventually drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

If he had stayed awake any longer, he would have seen the Mare in the Moon suddenly vanish in a flash with haunting laughter following it...

...

...

...

"Ugh!"

626's eyes snap open as he suddenly finds himself falling off his bed. No, not falling off, it would be more accurate to say he was forced off his bed. This confused the changeling greatly, so much so that his earlier depressed mood from before his slumber seemingly was forgotten in favor of his immense confusion.

What the hay? Why does it feel like someling kicked me out of bed?

Turning around to see what was going on 626 was stunned to see the sight before him. Towering over him was an alicorn, of all things, wearing blue armor with a coat as dark as the sky, and a mane made of stars. The alicorn glared down at him with her blue slitted pupils, her mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth that could pierce steel... The impossibility before him left the bug speechless as he stared down the impossible alicorn.

What the...I must be dreaming or something! How else can an unknown alicorn of all creatures show up in my house! 626 thought in shock.

Neither of them said a word to each other for what felt like hours until eventually, they both spoke up at the same time,

“Why are thou in my castle?”

“Why are you in my house?”

The changeling and alicorn both stared at the other in wide-eyed shock, but that shock quickly turned into immense confusion on both their parts as they each gave the other a questioning gaze.

“Your house/castle?!” They both say in surprise, and the simultaneousness of it only adds to their growing confusion.

Quickly getting up from where he had been kicked to 626 put his hooves up in a calming manner as he quickly explained,

“Now hold on, I found this place first! I’ve been living here for the past year and I've not once seen you around here, and trust me I think I would notice a freaking alicorn living here if ya did!”

The alicorn standing before 626 glared at him before she growled out,

“This castle was built for us and our glory hogging sister over a thousand years ago!”

I didn't know my dreams could be this creative. Got a backstory and everything for this figment of my imagination. 626 thought with a deadpan tone.

“And what proof do you have?” 626 asked with a raised brow, clearly not believing the fake alicorn's words.

“The tapestries depicting two alicorns?!” She growls out pointing to a nearby tapestry.

626 could only blink owlishly at that before he dumbly responded,

“You mean the spare blankets?”

The fake alicorn’s eye twitched in pure anger before she reared her front hooves up and slammed them into the ground. The force of it sends a whirlwind flying around the room, causing 626 to move back slightly from the force as the furious alicorn roared,

“THOU HAS BEEN USING THEM FOR WARMTH AND COMFORT?!”

Despite knowing that this was a dream 626 gulped slightly in fear as he hesitantly said,

"Uh...yes? It gets cold around here during the winter okay!?"

The fake alicorn simply growled at that before her horn lit up with her magic. 626 gave her a confused look at that before he felt a sudden pressure around his neck. His front hooves flew towards his neck in a desperate attempt to remove the pressure as he felt his neck get squeezed by an invincible force.

She's...she's choking me! What...what kind of dream is this! 626 thought in panic as he was lifted into the air and brought towards the cruelly smirking alicorn.

"If thou finds it necessary to mock thou's true ruler, then thou shall pay the consequences of thou's foolishness!"

626's eyes widened as the pressure around his neck increased, causing pain to shoot throughout his body as his bottom hooves desperately struggled in the air.

Wait, pain!? Your...your not supposed to feel pain...in a...dream. This...this is...real!?

That realization hits him hard as his efforts to break free from the strangling magical grip of the mare before him increased. 626's pitiful attempts to escape only seem to amuse the alicorn as she chuckles darkly before whispering smoothly into his masked covered ear,

"Perhaps if thou was willing to beg for mercy, we might be inclined to spare thou's pitiful life."

With his vision fading 626 had little choice in the matter as he struggled to say,

"M...mer...."

"Hmmm? Did thou say something?" The evil mare teased cruelly as the changeling's efforts to escape started to lessen as he felt his consciousness slipping away from him.

"Mer...mercy!"

The black alicorn smiled in sadistic glee as the magical grip around 626's neck disappeared, allowing you to fall to the floor taking in as much air as possible. Staring down at his cowering form the alicorn began to laugh in full volume at his display of weakness.

"Let that be a lesson to thou! We, Nightmare Moon, are the true queen of Equestria! Any who stand opposed to us shall meet a quick end, or bow before our might! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

As an eerily convenient lighting bolt flashed behind the now dubbed Nightmare Moon, 626 could only think one thing...

Whose bucking castle have I been living in!?

Author's Note

And thus we end with 626 questioning just where the hell he's been living in, and Nightmare crackling like the hammy villain we know and love she is.

Hey everyone, DWC here!

I hope this chap reached your guys expectations! I warned you all it was a long one, and I hope I did a good job with all the interactions between 626 and the others. Though on that note I have sooooooo much regret making Zecora his friend.

Rhyming people, it hurts, it hurts so much.

But I won't be discouraged by this! If anything I shall take the challenge of making Zecora rhyme head on! I may go crazy and start rhyming everything I say as I do, but it will be worth it in the end for decent character representation!

Also for any of you worrying that I'm just going to copy paste 626 into the cannon stuff, well lets just say I've always been a fan of cannon being more a guideline and less of a rule to be followed. So things will be a bit...different down the line if ya know what I mean :pinkiecrazy:

And yes I will be trying to make a bug pun out of every episode title, and none of you can stop me! Mwahahahahaha!

Ahem, besides that I do hope you all enjoyed the chap, and as always I appreciate any kind feedback you can give me! What did you like about this episode? What do you think I could improve on down the line? All the essential questions ya know?

This has been DWC, signing off!