"What's this all about?" Shifty Eyes had only recently taken this role. Foals were not usually his thing, fillies even less so, but when the opportunity arose he was up for the challenge. After all, the alternative was making his way back to the hive and telling his Queen he had failed. Shuffling about, the changeling tried to act as he had seen the filly known as Sweetie Belle act, which was usually a little clueless.
"Oh, nothin'…" Gray Sleek, well into her role as Apple Bloom, had the voice of the filly she replaced down perfectly. "Except this letter from Babs Seed sayin' she's got her cutie mark!" She had been pen-pals with the other filly for over a month now, she knew Babs' life almost better than she knew Apple Blooms. And she knew Apple Bloom very well indeed.
"What?" Both the other fillies scream at once, staring at Apple Bloom. Each knew that the filly that was referred to was a friend of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and was one herself, if in another city.
"She says it's a pair of scissors!" Apple Bloom poked at the place on the letter where it said just that. Gray's heart actually felt a tingle of happiness for Babs, she knew cutie marks were important to ponies, but to a filly yet to get one, it was the most important thing in the whole of Equestria.
"So… she's good at cutting stuff?" Black Terror, disguised as Scootaloo, had been a member of the CMC for a full two weeks, and was still trying to work out just how important a cutie mark was, or how it affected a pony. She certainly was not minding this role, but not a shred of information had filtered down to her and it left her a little confused as to what she was doing.
Gray's mind drifted a little, it wasn't so much of an act anymore as just another side of herself. She knew full well that the best of infiltrators could slip a role on and merge themselves into it in days, she wasn't that good, but this was certainly good practice.
Hush now, little sister
You're loved by all you know
Gray could certainly feel that, Applejack practically pulsed with the love she held for her little sister.
You'll never lose their friendship
No matter where you goThere ain't no call to worry
So don't you cry or fret
A cutie mark won't change you
No matter what you get
For some reason the words felt heavy, full of meaning for Gray. She looked up at her 'big sister' and smiled, even as the light turned off and she was alone with her own thoughts. Giving a yawn, the drone squirmed into her bed a little more soundly. "No matter what I get…"
Gray's head snapped up, the sound of a rooster crowing breaking the oddly thick dream-memories from her head. Yawning and stretching, she twists her spine in just the right way to make a little filly's muscles stretch. "Hoo-ee! Nothin' like a good night's sleep." Slipping from her bed, the changeling—still in her disguise of course—trotted to the kitchen.
"Breakfast!" The yell of her sister came moments before Apple Bloom reached the kitchen and she trotted in. "You were right, Applejack! I feel much better. I don't know what I was so worried about last night."
"See? Now what did I tell you? A good night's sleep'll fix just about an-" Applejack tilted her head, looking around her little sister's body. "Well, no wonder you were so worked up!"
Gray was in shock, she looked around outside the windows, seeing nothing out of order. "What… what is it?"
"Looks like somepony got her cutie mark!" As soon as Applejack said it Gray felt terror slip over her. This was really wrong, really really really wrong. REALLY WRONG!
Marshaling her senses, Gray Sleek quickly pulled excitement and shock onto her face like a mask. Even if a changeling shouldn't have this happen, didn't mean it actually couldn't… she hoped. "I can't believe it! I got my cutie mark!" It was exactly the response she knew the real Apple Bloom would have. "I got my cutie mark!" She got entirely carried away with even more cheering but then froze and turned to her sister. "What is it?"
"I have no idea what it means." Applejack studied the cutie mark that looked like some kind of pump contraption.
Coming out of nowhere, like the corniest jump-scare from a bad play, a masked pony shoved his head into the kitchen, over the half-open dutch door. "I know what it means." The sound of rasping breath through the big mask was heard. "It means I retire!" The mask was yanked off, revealing an old stallion, his teeth old and bent, cackling like a foal.
As the stallion explained to Gray exactly what was required of a 'Pest Pony', she couldn't help but shudder, but not at how odd it seemed. Images of giant robot ponies, driven by Pest Ponies, sucking up all the changelings in Equestria had the drone terrified.
Sucking up her terror and shoving it down inside, Gray made it through the stallion's training and, well, it felt right, good. It was like there was a light inside her and this was the thing it was pointing to, that she would be the best at. She was shocked as the stallion seemed to make a hasty retreat, but more shocked by the voice she heard. "Well, well, well! Look at the new bug pony!" Spinning, Gray could see it was Diamond Tiara staring at her, her flunky Silver Spoon tittering behind a hoof.
"It's 'Pest Pony'!" Gray felt terror at being called 'bug pony'. Did they know?
"Ew, it sure is! Ew!" Silver Spoon walked past the horrible excuse for a pony that was Apple Bloom.
"I might've known you'd end up with the worst cutie mark ever!" Diamond Tiara paid extra emphasis to the word 'worst', knowing just how to drive the nails in. Both the bullies chortled at this, finding much mirth. "But look on the bright side, whenever you need a friend, you can just go out and catch one!"
Gray felt tears welling in her eyes. It was so mean what some foals did to others and what was worse, sunk into her role as she was, it hit her really hard. "That's not funny…"
"Heeeere, friendfriendfriendfriendfriendfriend!" Diamond Tiara lifted a hoof to her snout, miming yelling the hurtful words out, barely stopping herself from laughing at her own jest.
"Stop it…" Gray felt something tighten in her spine, Apple Bloom wouldn't take this quite so hard. She tried to stand a bit straighter.
"Here, bug! Here, bug!" Silver Spoon was in fine form, but her particular phrasing of the hurtful joke bit extra deep. "Will you be my friend, bug? Because nopony else will!" Both the bullies were once more consumed in gales of laughter.
"You know what?" Gray felt tears in her eyes now, real ones. Why did it have to hurt so much? "My cutie mark isn't the worst! You two are!" She turned and ran, shucking off the Pest Pony gear, wanting it all to go away with the nasty fillies. Their laughter chased her far and soon she was in a forest, not knowing how she even got there. "I hate to think that Diamond Tiara is right, but…" Giving a deep sigh, Gray looked back at her own flank, at the much-anticipated mark. "This cutie mark sure isn't what I… or Apple Bloom, was hoping for." Gray fell to her belly in the small clearing, tears running hot down her cheek.
"Why should you have to keep it, then?" The voice was raspy, creepy. Gray lifted her head to look around, seeing only shadows moving through the trees.
"Who's there? What do you mean?" Gray shuffled up to her hooves, hoping against hope that the stranger didn't hear her break her disguise when she mentioned what should be her own name.
"If your cutie mark bothers you so much, get rid of it!" The voice sounded sharp, derisive. Gray looked back to herself and willed her body to shift. To heck with it all, she thought, time to give up. But no flames came, no cleansing green fire to burn away her disguise. Trapped, she was trapped!
Gulping, Gray tried to ignore the real terror she felt at the possibility of being stuck as a filly for the rest of her days. "Well, if you know how to wave a hoof and erase a terrible cutie mark, you go right ahead!" Still in her role, still clinging to the one raft she had left, Gray stomped one of her little hooves.
"As easily said as done." The voice sounded pleased and there was a rush of wind around Gray and, when she looked back, the hated cutie mark was gone. Looking around, she couldn't see where the odd creature in the woods had gone.
"Huh. Now that is some serious magic." Gray turned and blinked, freezing. Somehow she was on the edge of Ponyville, no forest around, but there were ponies bolting in all directions, panic rising from them as their ingrained herd-mentality spread the madness to others. "Hey! Where's everypony goin'?" She had to shout and before her eyes a house practically got destroyed in a blast of electricity. She spotted a pony who should be in charge. "Mayor! What's goin' on?"
Mayor Mare was barely keeping herself together, now she had a filly to worry about. "Apple Bloom, you've got to get your family out of town!"
Just as Gray was about to mutter some very un-filly-like words regarding not answering questions, she saw the answer. "Twittermites!" She found herself gasping dramatically. She spotted just what she needed, though, the disguised changeling pouncing onto the Pest Pony gear and quickly shucking into it. Just like her training, she chased around the smaller swarms of twittermites as they seemed to lead her to Sweet Apple Acres. Every time she got close, however, Gray got zapped by the bugs.
Coming from nowhere, Applejack tried to stop her, pulling on her and shouting arguments at her. But Gray could see what was going on, the bugs were spreading out, just like the Pest Pony warned. Spreading out and…
ZAP
The house, the barn, most of the surrounding land. All gone.
A rooster call sounded and Gray shot upright, her heart beating a million miles an hour. She closed her mouth, realizing she had been yelling. It was all a dream, a bad dream, a really bad one for Apple Bloom. Gray sighed and relaxed a little.
"Breakfast!" Applejack's voice was coming from the kitchen and Gray shot out of bed and began to trot down.
"Applejack, you are not gonna believe the dream I just had!" Gray reached a hoof up to rub the last of the sleep still there, from her eye. "I guess I just needed more sleep than I thought."
"See? Now what did I tell you? A good night's sleep'll fix just about an-" Applejack tilted her head, looking around her little sister's body. "Well, no wonder you were so worked up!"
Gray was in shock, she looked around outside the windows, seeing nothing out of order. "What?"
"Looks like somepony got her cutie mark!" As soon as Applejack said it Gray felt terror slip over her. This was really wrong, really really really wrong. REALLY WRONG! The moment the thoughts cleared her head Gray shook herself. Something was indeed really wrong.
"Again? I mean…" Gray felt a chill pass over her. "I did? Woo-hoo!" She examined her own flank this time, looking and seeing the flask filled with bubbling liquid. "Potion making! Now that's more like it!" And it was. Gray had been learning a lot of amazing stuff from Princess Twilight, it had been a huge catchup at first, but the drone was nothing if not a quick study.
"More like… what?" Applejack narrowed her eyes, looking suspicious.
"Never mind! I'm just glad Princess Twilight's lessons finally paid off!" Gray did a little dance of joy, turning in circles. If nothing else, this was a skill she could take back to her hive, teach other drones.
"I expect you want to run off to the clubhouse and tell your friends all about your new cutie mark. But-" Applejack was talking to herself, of course, Gray was already racing out of the house, breakfast ignored as the filly that she was living as wanted to share her new amazing cutie mark with her friends. Gray mentally closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of just being happy.
"Well, you can't be a Cutie Mark Crusader if you've already got your cutie mark." Scootaloo looked to the side, having the good grace to at least look a little ashamed at herself.
The ground fell away from Gray. The filly part of her was left almost numb, in shock. "Oh, yeah…" She fell back on her more stiff acting to get by. "Just like Babs Seed… Well, I could just sit quietly in the corner 'till you two figure out what you're gonna do…" It was just about the most stiff and wooden Gray had been in weeks.
"Well…" Sweetie Belle clearly had a new nail, ready to drive home. "Technically, the clubhouse is for Crusaders only."
The fact it was her treehouse, on her sister's farm, went right past Gray. Then something odd distracted her from the shock of betrayal by her friends. She really thought of Applejack as her sister…
Slamming behind her, the clubhouse door was not only closed, but boarded up. "What…" She turned again and was in that forest.
"More trouble with cutie marks?" This time the voice had a slight chitter to it. Gray turned and looked at her flanks.
"No… I mean… well, I don't know what I mean." As Gray said the words something seemed to jolt and twist, the world felt a little off-kilter. "Well, I got mine, but my friends didn't get theirs, and now there's all kinds of trouble." Her heart wasn't in this anymore. Gray liked her friends, really liked them. It hurt when they hurt her. Why did they hurt her?
"Sounds to me like cutie marks and trouble are two peas in the same pod." The voice was a little different, less chitter and more derision. It was enough for Gray to lift her little head.
"I guess so… I mean, if I was a blank-flank again, there wouldn't be a problem!" Gray curled around herself, gently brushing her snout over the cutie mark. It had seemed like such a good one, too.
"Your command is my wish." The voice had the chitteriness back in it and a chill wind blew past Gray, causing her to look up.