My fanon (Yes, I know the meme… this is more fun) :
The clutch-master had her guard the eggs as soon as she passed the grub stage. It was all she ever knew. It turns out that going “skittlebug” is the last step of maturation for Changelings in their natural stste, and she was too young.
She “escaped” from the “monsters” with a single egg. The egg was recaptured/rescued, but she was not. She wandered, purposeless, until a farmer Pony found her hiding in his wheat-field. He persuaded her to come inside. Eventually he figured out from her whimpered words (mostly to herself) what her great ‘failure’ was.
She wept with joy when he presented her with another ‘clutch’ to guard.
The clutch-master had her guard the eggs as soon as she passed the grub stage. It was all she ever knew. It turns out that going “skittlebug” is the last step of maturation for Changelings in their natural stste, and she was too young.