Come As You Are

"...Everypony is the star of their own story, and it's not just the main characters in our stories that make life so rich. It's everypony, those who play big parts and those who play small..."

Creatures were staring.

Kevin had tucked himself in the back of the room, trying not to draw much attention to himself. To an extent, it'd worked, as most were more concerned with the jack and jenny at the front of the hall than with him, but that hadn't stopped some of the other guests from recoiling, and a number of foals climbing over one another to get away from him. His heart was pounding, but he forced himself to stay put and be a good wedding guest, sitting quietly and attentively.

All the love in the air didn't hurt. He was able to drink it in passively as he sat there, watching his first friend finally tie the knot with the jack of her dreams. If changelings had tears, he may have cried at the sight. After all, she'd told him of that Gala, so long ago...

There was so much love, in fact, that he couldn't feed on it all. Then he watched what had originally looked like flowers explode into fireworks, and the joy of the stallion who leaped up in response was something Kevin could taste from way over here, adding a new layer to the flavours.

In fact... those fireworks seemed like a good cue to skedaddle. He'd come, he'd supported his friend, he'd been a model guest, and now he could head home with a clear conscience. Kevin looked around briefly, slowly stepped down from his chair, and, trying to minimize the 'click click' of his chitinous hooves as much as possible, headed for the door.

"Excuse me... Kevin, was it?"

He froze, and slowly turned his head.

He'd seen a few pictures of Princess Luna before. As under a rock as the town he'd settled down in could be, her return had made a lot of waves, and her images had been all over the newspapers, especially when her first public appearance on Nightmare Night followed. Briefly cancelling a beloved holiday would do that.

Still, nothing was quite like seeing an alicorn up close. She radiated power in a way that he couldn't fully describe, but just being near her made it feel like a cold weight had been placed on his back, making it harder to breathe. Her mane and tail were mesmerizing, looking like a portal to some kind of starlit realm as they flowed in an almost liquid-like manner.

And she... didn't seem angry. He sensed calm curiosity, along with a hint of hope.

"Yes, that's... me." His own buzzing voice sounded alien, with how much he'd been altering it for years.

The other, larger alicorn spotted the two of them and approached as well, and Kevin found out that it was possible to both feel too hot and too cold at the same time. He felt like the desert sun was beating down at him at the same time he was being weighed down by ice. Watching the colours dancing in Princess Celestia's mane threatened to somehow make compound eyes cross themselves.

"We won't keep you too long," Celestia assured, and he wished he could trust that smile. "But we did hope to talk to you. Matilda's told me a lot about you. Though, until now, she'd neglected to mention your..."

"Species?" Kevin finished for her, and received a nod. "If it helps, I didn't enter Equestria illegally. I checked 'other' in that section of the paperwork."

He wasn't sure if he imagined that wince. He couldn't get an emotional read on the elder alicorn at all, and suspected she was deliberately countering his empathy. "And at the time, 'other' would have been most species, something we're working to correct." Celestia smiled at him again. "But this isn't about that. You aren't in trouble."

"We would, however, like to speak to you," Luna added. "Given... recent events."

His ears drooped slightly. Spending time as donkey made them prone to doing that. As he looked past the two looming ponies, however, he caught Matilda's gaze, who offered him an encouraging smile, and the hot and cold suddenly felt a little less oppressive.

"Okay... let's talk."

"You want me to what?"

The ride to Canterlot could have been politely described as tense. Kevin had been allowed to take on his usual dsiguise form, despite the fact sky chariots were at so high an altitude that few creatures would be able to see that the princesses had a passenger at all, let alone what species that passenger was. It'd simply been more comfortable that way, even if, under the circumstances, he had started pretty far from comfortable in the first place. And so, when they'd touched down by the palace, there had been two princesses and one very nondescript donkey stepping out and going to Princess Celestia's private study.

The room was a bit cramped with three creatures, especially when two of them were alicorn-sized, but Kevin had done what he'd done at the wedding, which was take his seat and do his level best to take up as little space as possible as he sat quietly and listened. He'd nodded, occasionally, when polite to, throwing in the occasional "yes your highness" when it felt appropriate, and but he'd otherwise not spoken, simply waiting for the moment when the horseshoe dropped.

And boy had it.

Princess Celestia offered a sympathetic smile. "I know it may come as a shock, but given the circumstances--"

"Shock is an understatement." He held up a hoof, trying to find the words. "I'm... You have to understand, here. I was worker-caste. Basic physical labour. I didn't even know how to read and write until Matilda taught me. She had to help me with my immigration paperwork." Another hoof joined the first, and started to wave about. "There is absolutely no way, no how, that I'm suitable for running a government department."

"Then who would we appoint instead?" Princess Luna cut in, her voice even.

The flailing of the hooves increased in speed. "Anybuggy else!"

Princess Luna's voice and emotions alike stayed even. "...I repeat. Who would we appoint? Do you know of anybuggy else who has been peacefully living in Equestria for decades?"

The hooves froze. Slowly lowered. "...No," he admitted softly. "All this time, I've been..."

Alone. Alone, with only Matilda knowing the truth.

"...The only one I know of," he finished, quietly.

"You're also the only one we know of, Kevin," Princess Celestia continued, voice radiating empathy. "There may be more, and they could be in danger from overzealous, paranoid ponies. There may even be changelings who ended up in our borders after the invasion who want to defect. We don't know. And if they are out there, and they're found, we don't have anyone to help them. You'd be a friendly face, to greet them."

A friendly face. Creatures who would see his natural face, and be happy to see it.

Kevin's shoulders slumped. "...Will I have to move to Canterlot? I've been in Galloping Gorge for so long..."

Princess Celestia smiled, shaking her head. "No, we'll send for you when we need you. We don't want to uproot you, Kevin. The more that you can maintain your normal life, the better."

A slow sigh escaped him, his body slumping all the more. "Okay. I'll do it."

Princess Luna smiled as well. "Thank you, Kevin. You have no idea how much we appreciate this."

"They want you to what?"

The home was small and spartan. It always had been. Houses in Galloping Gorge tended to be small, squat, sturdy dwellings, and Kevin had seen no reason to deviate from the standard, in that or any other way.

The town was a earth pony majority, with the population of donkeys a close second. The natural result of that was the number three most common demographic, mules. There were a few pegasi who kept their own modest cloud dwellings above the rest, one small herd of cattle, and, lastly, three unicorns. It made his preferred form of a donkey fit right in, utterly unremarkable among the populous.

How bare his house was could strike as odd, however. For one thing, nearly every home in town would have its interior covered in photos, of family both immediate and extended. He only had a few, with only a single other donkey in them. The same jenny who was now sitting on his couch with a teacup between her front hooves.

"You had no idea?" Kevin asked as he sipped lightly at his own tea.

He'd had some time to process this, only inviting Matilda to come see him after she'd had her honeymoon and settled back into her life in Ponyville. He wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if he interrupted her trip with his worries.

Matilda shook her head. "I thought they might have some questions to ask you, and I knew they were worried about the safety of other changeling citizens. But I didn't know they were planning to dedicate that much creature power to it."

"Department of Changeling Affairs," Kevin recited, then gave a weak laugh. "I'm thinking my first official act is going to be to come up with a better name." He sighed, looking down at the cup again, cradled in one of the holes in his leg. He shifted his position, watching the liquid swish in the cup. "...Do you really think I can do this, Mattie?"

"I do." The answer came without a hesitation. "You're a good creature, Kevin. I think for somebuggy who's confused and scared, you'll be able to put them at ease."

He didn't look up, still looking at the tea. "I hadn't even really considered that there may be others. But now it seems obvious, that there must be. Others who got separated, or took on a role and just... never put it down."

Were some of them right under his nose? Even right here in Galloping Gorge? Neighbours who he'd passed by a hundred times, never knowing that he had much more in common with them than he'd ever thought? Who he could have helped feel less alone in a crowd?

Matilda reached out a hoof, resting it against his foreleg. "You can do this. I believe in you."

He looked up, at his first friend, and for a minute, the nerves settled. "Thank you. You've always had confidence in me when I couldn't find my own."

It didn't matter how nervous he was. Changelings in Equestria needed him, and he'd rise to the challenge.

He'd help them like Matilda had helped him, and show them that they had friends.