//------------------------------// // Rearranging Ideals // Story: Social Engineering // by Damaged //------------------------------// Sharp Mind was confused. She had stayed in perfect cover, she had even helped and been helped by the ponies she was with and they hadn't noticed a thing. She had also helped defeat what would likely become a menace to Equestria. She had also had… fun. The train ride 'home' was immensely satisfying, she sipped gently at the ponies with her, tasting happiness and exultant joy at having saved the day. She struggled with the concept and realized she had to just go with it, since the others might pick up if she wasn't actually feeling it. Taking a deep breath she focused on how good it felt to have helped. And it felt good! "Hay Twi, is that thar a changeling?" Applejack lifted a hoof and pointed at the sad-looking little drone getting on the train. "Shouldn't we, you know, attack?" Every instinct shouted at Sharp to defend her kin. "Well, that wouldn't be very friendly, would it?" She got up, rustled her wings and started to walk over. "Hi there, can I ask who you are?" The 'ling looked up. He wasn't an infiltrator, he could barely take a form and every time he did it slipped off moments later. He shouldn't have been sent on a mission like this! "Uh, I am Neat Pile." He looked up and suddenly wet himself with shock. Twilight Sparkle. THE TWILIGHT SPARKLE. Princess of Friendship. Banisher of Changelings. Destroyer of Hives. Crusher of Nymphs. Twilight Sparkle was right in front of him. "Please don't kill me!" Twilight Sparkle, both the doppelganger and the invisible one watching, were shocked at the poor changeling. The fake Twilight reached out a hoof to gently stroke the little drone's cheek. "I am not going to kill you, I was wondering if you might want to be friends?" What was the Queen up to? This drone was NOT the kind you send on a mission like this. "Would being your friend mean you don't kill me?" Neat was still shaking but having your cheek rubbed like that was something changelings knew. It was instinctive. It was how they shared pheromones from their queen. "Of course not, silly." Pinkie Pie pronked up and had the little 'ling cowering again. The changeling disguised as the pink pony rubbed her chin. "This won't do at all, we are going to need to have a party for our new friend!" She loved her role, really loved it. Making ponies happy was just about the best thing a changeling could do, it was practically farming! "Right, a party for our new friend, then you can tell us all about who you are." Twilight kept rubbing that cheek, knowing it would sooth a worried 'ling. Neat Pile leaned into the rubbing, giving happy little clicks. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad infiltrating Ponyville, particularly if all the ponies there were as kind and tasty as their princess. "Phew! Thanks for helping me get them so fresh and clean, Twilight." Fluttershy was admiring her friends, looking around at the gloriously clean animals. She had always had a thing for creatures, even in the hive, for some reason they just tasted better to her than ponies did. "No problem, happy to do it!" Sharp was filthy, her mane full of gunk and she loved it. Helping her friend not only made her feel better, but Fluttershy was just so happy when around her pets. The yellow mare grinned. "You probably can't wait to get back to your castle and take your own bath, huh?" It was getting late and nice as it was to have the nerdy alicorn around she really just wanted to climb into bed and have a good sleep. Panic set in to Sharp, she looked around. "Aren't there more animals that need cleaning?" She really wanted to keep helping, it had become a bit of a nervous habit. Besides, it wasn't like helping wasn't in character for her disguise. "I think you and I are the only ones left, and I can't wait to get the mud out of my mane." Fluttershy was dropping all the hints her soft-natured guise would allow. She watched as Twilight knocked Angel Bunny into some mud. Princesses… "Oh, no! Angel got dirty! I'd better stay longer to help give him a bath too!" Twilight thought her deception had gone off without a hitch, after all, this was Fluttershy and definitely not another 'ling. She was sure all the other former Element bearers were real ponies, they just acted so… nice. The real Twilight was feeling the strain of her magic. The day had been an amazing one but keeping herself invisible for days at a time was becoming a stretch. She would need to visit the 'camp'. Leaving her doppelganger to stumble around getting a clue, she trotted off to get speed and then took to her wings. Soaring, she flew north over town and out into the countryside. The moment she was within the bubble of no-sight, she saw. Ponyville. Well, it was MOST of Ponyville. Everypony was being paid for their time, some had even scattered further deciding it was a full holiday. "Password?" A gray mare flew up with mighty flaps of her wings, confronting Twilight. "Uh, Muffins, it is me… oh, uh, Pinkie Pie Pastes Pony Plots." Twilight sighed when the pegasus relaxed her pose and leaned in, grabbing her from the air. The alicorn was shocked at how strong Muffins seemed to be. "It's good to see you, Princess!" Muffins gestured down. "The other Princesses are here!" Twilight followed the outstretched leg, spotting Celestia on the ground among the townsfolk. Spiraling down, Twilight landed nearby and ruffled her wings a little, getting them to close. "Twilight!" The loudest whisper ever was shouted and a yellow mare was suddenly hopping from hoof to hoof right in front of Twilight. "How are my friends, is Angel okay? Are they feeding them all right? They seemed nice but-" "Fluttershy, the changeling who took your place is doing a wonderful job, I just left her after she was washing everyone." Twilight decided to leave out what her own doppelganger had done, it would only panic the pegasus. "Oh, okay…" Fluttershy looked heartbroken but lifted her head back up from the slump when a purple wing hugged her. "It is amazing to watch, she is showing the highest percentage of integration of anypony. In another few weeks we could probably go back and enter phase three with her, and you could take her place." Twilight gave her friend a little squeeze. "Twilight?" The voice addressing the purple alicorn of friendship could not be denied. "What do you have to report?" Celestia had blindsided Twilight, planned it even. She had been trying to help calm Fluttershy, but talking to her had left the pegasus trembling and ordering her to be calm was not right at all. Twilight kept hold of Fluttershy with her wing. "I am happy to report their first adventure was a complete success. None of them dropped their disguise for a moment and even in the face of danger involving having their cutie marks removed, they still pulled it together and saved the day." Presenting her notes to Princess Celestia, Twilight was practically dancing with happiness. "You were not detected?" Celestia reached over to her chariot and opened a hidden side door with her magic. A plate of cheesecake floated out and began serving itself to her. Dealing with half a town of stir-crazy ponies was a test to her leadership that only cheesecake could solve. "I wasn't! They have no clue what is really going on. The first subject is nearing phase three." Twilight finally let go of Fluttershy and the pegasus turned and bolted, her nerves wound too tight to handle the situation. "Then proceed, Twilight, and we will see how well these changelings adapt to pony life. Who is the first subject to be phase-threed?" Celestia took another bite of cake, feeling it calm her down with the cool, soft texture. Twilight beamed, her time spent as the ruling Princess' student had taught her that when Celestia was eating cheesecake, all of Equestria could be falling apart and she would accept it. "Fluttershy, actually." "Perfect." The white alicorn mused that maybe the cheesecake hadn't been needed… scratch that, it was exceptional cheesecake and such was always needed. "You know how much we appreciate all you do for us, and we simply adore having you around... but... we worry you might be," Rarity cleared her voice carefully, "avoiding something else?" Twilight sighed, she had been doing her best to be a good friend, absolutely everything she could in fact. The problem was, she might have been taking it a little too far. She needed an excuse and looked around the room. "Oh, has it been that obvious? I've been… the thing is… I know it's silly, but I… I've been avoiding… this place." Perfect, she had worked out that the castle had appeared recently, anxiety about it would be perfectly in character and explain everything. Rarity gasped. "Why in Equestria would you want to avoid such a gorgeous castle?" The 'ling masquerading as the fashionista gestured around. It made some sense to her, as a changeling, but only because there weren't enough friends in the place. A hive needed more ponies. Changelings. Whatever. "Yeah, this place has everything! Big, tall ceilings that make you feel tiny! Shiny new floors that are cold to the touch!" Pinkie shivered and shuddered. "And it even has long," she stretched out the word as her cover required, "empty hallways!" The echo of her own voice back made the changeling slump a little, getting into her role further. She liked having friends nearby. "Okay, I get it." It took a lot of extra acting to really BE Pinkie Pie, but she was more than up to it! Some conversation among the seven friends later and the decision was made, Twilight was going to the spa to relax while her friends would 'spruce up', as Applejack put it, the castle. Walking out the front door, Spike on her back, Twilight heard singing from inside. "Why do they like singing so much?" She mused aloud, forgetting her passenger. "Don't ask me, ponies are like that." Spike shrugged and shoved another pancake in his snout, chewing it only briefly before gulping it down. He had to keep eating this stuff, it had been odd at first but Twilight had caught him not eating regular food. Keeping up appearances was not easy. "Why do their voices sound different while singing? Am I being too critical, Spike?" Twilight hoped that she wasn't being too nosy. Time to play the trump card. Flicking her magic, the disguised changeling made a scroll and quill appear and start scribing. "Maybe I should make a list of these odd little things." "Oh, uh, sure…" Spike was half panicking. If she started paying attention to the odd little differences, she might just notice him! "But first we need to get a super-deluxe mane blow-out! That will make you feel more yourself again." Sharp… or Twilight as she thought of herself, was delighted at the idea. Feeling more like 'herself' was just what a master infiltrator should do. Twilight was having trouble. Sneaking into the spa was not easy and worse, the steam played havoc with her spell. She sat in a corner watching as her duplicate had the changelings of the establishment fussing over her. Subject Twilight Sparkle settling in well. Had a manic episode the previous day, but such is within norms. Seems well-fed, relaxed and settling in to their new life well. About to add more, Twilight was halted when Spike trotted into the room. "Spike, you're back!" Twilight the changeling turned her head, the odd hair unit maintaining its work on her mane. "How do I look?" The real Twilight almost coughed, blushing and slamming both forehooves over her snout. Surely that wasn't the current 'in style'? "Great!" Spike was lying through his teeth. "And more importantly, how does the castle look?" Twilight turned her head this way and that, spotting her reflection in a mirror. The hair was odd to have, a changeling drone only had a mane-fin, but this was… nice. "Great!" The lie came hard to Spike, the only thing that stopped him from telling the truth was when he remembered his 'soul-mate', Rarity. He gave a little sigh at the thought of the unicorn. Something that reminded him of his actual best friend. But she had been sent out on assignment just before he had. "I can't wait to go home and see it!" Twilight the changeling said, but Twilight the pony was thinking it too. "Great!" Spike said it again before realizing how bad an answer it was. "I mean, no! I mean, uh, I'm not… quite ready to go yet. Uh, why don't we have a massage?" Spike had grabbed Twilight's tail but let it go when he realized what he had done. His claw fumbled behind him for something that might save him. An invisible alicorn gently nudged a brochure just beside his claws. "I was really hoping to get, uh… this thingy!" The real Twilight smiled, maybe their lessons did need a little nudge from time to time. There were so many variables in this experiment, she had no hope of isolating them all and decided to just let it play out.