"Cutie Mark Crusaders, bug hunters!" Three small fillies swung in from nowhere, hanging onto ropes (despite not having hands) and crashed into me, sending me flying a few feet. It was the most adorable beatdown I'd suffered so far.

Spike peered at them. "Hey guys, could you not beat my friend up?"

Apple Bloom stopped her forward charge and peered at Spike. "Did ya say yer friend? That's a changeling!"

Scootaloo bobbed her head. "Uh huh, and Rainbow Dash says beating one up is only for ultra cool people."

Sweetie Belle put a hoof on her chest. "And we're very cool."

I stood up, shaking myself off. I knew these three. It was impossible to live in Ponyville and not know of these three. "I thought you three already had your marks?"

They turned as once to show off their cutie marks. Apple Bloom, their unspoken leader, smiled brightly. "Sure do!"

Spike rolled a claw. "So why are you doing things like this?"

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "To be helpful, of course. Besides, there aren't any cutie mark related problems at the moment."

Scootaloo approached me and reached out a hoof. I flinched back and she hesitated. "Hey, if Spike says you're alright, you probably are. Can I see you turn into something?"

Apple Bloom bobbed her head at that, bouncing up beside Scootaloo. "Do me, do me!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the implications of those words, as innocent as they were intended. "I can try, but, really, I have no idea what I'm doing."

Spike shrugged from behind them. "They aren't likely to leave us alone until you try. What's the harm?"

What's the harm? Well... I took a slow breath and sat down. "Alright, I'll try, but no promises. I wasn't a bug yesterday."

Sweetie Belle looked perplexed. "What were you yesterday? Oh! Were you shapeshifting?"

I put a hoof over my face without falling over. Baby steps! "Not exactly. Alright, um..." I looked to Apple Bloom and tried to take in everything about her. "Maybe if I just want to be you..." Small, adorable, a filly, bow in my mane, and looking so hopeful. I mean, no, I didn't want to be a filly, but looking like her for a few moments wasn't going to hurt anything.

I felt a warmth building inside of me, but when I got distracted by it, it went away. "Shoot, I think I was getting close."

Apple Bloom tilted her head. "Ya didn't do nuthin'."

"It's all inside, one second..." I stared at her and kept thinking about her. The heat started to tickle at me, but I tried to ignore it, and just kept staring and thinking about being her. The heat got more and more intense, and flared up. I could see fire for a moment and jerked back, just to notice the whole world suddenly got bigger.

The three began to cheer and dance around me. Scootaloo reached and grabbed me. "You look just like her!"

Sweetie Belle clopped her hooves. "Do me next! You're pretty nice, for a changeling."

Spike clapped his claws loudly. "Break it up, break it up. I have to get him to Twilight so she can fix this."

I felt a hoof go over my little snout suddenly and Scootaloo dashed off with me as the other Apple Bloom stepped forward. "Alright, Ah'm ready."

Spike blinked. "Wow, that disguise is good. It even got the accent."

"Ah know, crazy ain't it--" She was still talking, but I was too far away to hear the rest. Sweetie Belle came charging after us. My squirms did little, as awkward as they were in a new body. How did I change back?!

Before I knew it, we were in a tree house. Scootaloo put me on a stool as Sweetie Belle closed the door. Sweetie sauntered towards me with a seductive (?) strut. "No reason to be in a hurry. We're going to play. You'll have lots of fun."

Was this what my dirty mind thought it was? "Uh..." I sounded like Apple Bloom. "Ya do know Ah'm the changeling, right?" Oh god, it really did copy her accent.

Scootaloo grinned. "Of course we do!"

"Alright... So, why are we here?" I glanced around the small treehouse. "I really should get to Twilight's."

Sweet clopped her hooves, sitting down. "We're going to have some fun first, then we'll take you to her, promise! Scootaloo, get the photo book."

Scootaloo saluted and dashed off, returning with a thick leather-clad-looking book. She flipped it open and revealed a picture of Rainbow Dash, rainboom exploding behind her. "Do her!"

"Ah'm not sure it works on pictures..."

Sweetie Belle smiled at me. "Oh, come on. I'm sure you've seen RD before. Just imagine her."

It was true, I had seen RD before. Maybe if I became a larger pony... Actually. I started picturing the largest pony I knew, picturing him from every angle I had seen him from.

The look of concentration seemed to be noticed and they started giggling with anticipation, though that turned to shock as I swelled up with a fresh gust of flame. I clopped the wood with a heavy hoof and gave them all a glaring at.

Scootaloo shook her head. "That isn't RD at all! You messed up."

"Nope."

Sweetie Belle pouted. "Aw, come on. We just want to have a little fun."

"Nope."

Scootaloo rubbed one foreleg with the other. "You aren't mad at us, are you?"

I shook my head. "Nope, not if you let me go. Ah got places t'be."

Sweetie Belle sighed on her way to the door, and with a glow of her horn, had it open quietly. "Sorry... We just wanted to play a little."

I put a big hoof on her head and mussed up her mane a little. I wasn't really angry at them, especially now that I didn't feel intimidated.

So I just had two challenges. How do I find Spike, and how do I stop looking like Big Mac?

Author's Notes:

Noah, big castle, dominates the horizon? Why aren't you listening to me?!

Ah well, he'll have to figure it out himself.