The Awkward Pranks of an Awkward Changeling

by PonyThunder

Thapple Jackorax

Instrumental music. Apply directly to the ears.

Never-ending version

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Thorax hid along with Spike beneath the porch of the Apple family's homestead, waiting for Applejack to leave so that he could return as her in disguise.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Thorax whispered quietly.

"It's fine," said Spike. "It's not hurting anypony. It's more like a trick than a prank, really. They find out, no harm done." Spike shrugged.

They heard the hoofsteps of somepony making their way to the front porch.

"See y'all later," called Applejack as she trotted out the door and onto the front lawn.

"That's your cue," whispered Spike. Thorax took on Applejack's form and carefully made his way out from underneath the porch and into the house. Okay, be Applejack, he thought to himself. He'd spent some time in Ponyville getting to know Twilight and her friends, so he had the general gist of what they were all like, but he still felt a little worried that he didn't quite know enough. Regardless, the wooden floorboards creaked as he entered the house.

"Applejack?" called Apple Bloom. "Is that you?"

"Uh, yep!" said Applejack. Apple Bloom came into view.

"I thought y'said you were leavin'?"

"I uh, forgot my hat."

"Oh, well, here ya go," she replied as she took one of several identical hats from a nearby closet and tossed it to her. Applejack remained standing. "Aren't you gonna go?"

Thorax was wishing Spike's plans were a little more planned now. "Well, I just remembered, I--"

Suddenly, Winona came scurrying from around the corner, her claws scraping against the hardwood floors as she did so. She started barking wildly at Applejack.

"Winona!" exclaimed Apple Bloom. "What's wrong with you? This is Applejack!"

The barking continued. Apparently, dogs were capable of distinguishing between the real thing and a fake. Gotta think quickly, Thorax told himself. What would Applejack do? "It, uh...must be this new perfume I'm wearin'," said Applejack. "Probably thinks I'm somepony else."

Apple Bloom cocked her head and looked at her sister. "You? Perfume? The only perfume you wear is Sweat and Dirt."

Oh, good, thought Thorax. He had taken a gamble assuming that Applejack wore perfume, but Apple Bloom's mention of a particular brand confirmed it. "It must be a change in the formula...er somethin'," she replied.

Thankfully, Apple Bloom took this as a joke and didn't prod any further as she briefly coaxed Winona into another room. Thorax heard a cough come from outside and trotted over to the window. Spike was there.

"Keep it up, you're doing great!" said Spike as he erupted into a series of stifled giggles. "Try using a country-ism!"

Thorax returned to the room to meet Apple Bloom once more. "Dang, that there dog is like a hog-tied...pig in a...buttered biscuit."

"Uh...you okay there, AJ?"

"Yeah, uh, I'm fine. You go on now and play outside."

Surprised she wasn't assigned some kind of chore, Apple Bloom gratefully went outside to play. Thorax vetured further inside, but didn't know the layout of the house, so it felt kind of weird to him. The sounds of monotonous creaking emanated from the living room. Granny Smith was rocking back in forth in a rocking chair. He tried to avoid being noticed, for what reason he didn't know, but nevertheless it was futile. Granny Smith awoke.

"Hwa?" she croaked. "Applejack, is that you?"

Be Applejack. Be Applejack. "Eyup."

"I thought you left to go meet with that Drainbow Rash or somethin'? The blue one. Or is it the yell'er one. Ah, I don't know it's not important."

"Uh, nope," Applejack replied. That's right, keep up with the short word answers to everything, thought Thorax. He had met the Apple family a while earlier, but only for a few minutes. He remembered most of them but he wasn't quite sure which mannerisms applied to which.

"Well alright," replied Granny Smith. "Do me a favor and make some sweet tea, will you?"

"Eyup," Applejack replied. Thorax found his way into the kitchen, after getting lost for a few moments, and looked for the ingredients for sweet tea. I don't know what makes sweet tea, he thought to himself. Maybe Spike will know. He made his way to the window once more.

"Spike?" he called in Applejack's voice. "Spike?"

He was nowhere to be found. I guess I'll have to improvise. Thorax rummaged through the kitchen, attempting to find the ingredients for sweet tea. Changelings weren't really much for the culinary arts like ponies. In fact, up until this point, Thorax had never even set hoof in a kitchen. Sweet tea, sweet tea, he repeated to himself. Well, it needs something sweet, he reasoned thoughtfully. What is sweet? Salt? No. Pepper? No. Honey? Yes!

In a moment of clarity, Thorax left through the front door in search for a source of honey to mix with some water to make the tea. Feeling giddy about his solid acting skills so far and ability to improvise, he managed to find a hive of honey bees in a nearby tree. Disguised as Applejack, he kicked the tree with his hindquarters, sending the hive crashing the the ground. Instantly, hundreds of bees swarmed out of it with a vengeance. They surrounded his body and attempted to sting him multiple times, but their efforts were pointless. A changeling's skin was very hard and brittle, like an insect, and their stingers couldn't penetrate it beneath the ruse of his disguise.

He grabbed some honey and made his way back into the kitchen, mixed it with some water and ice cubes, and brought it to Granny Smith.

"Thank you, kindly," she said as she took the glass of honey water, taking a sip. Her mouth puckered ever so slightly. "Uh, Applejack? I think it's time we got some new tea. This tastes like it's been expired for months."

Thorax took back the glass of "tea" and returned to the kitchen. Feeling a little discouraged by his lack of knowledge, he decided that the prank was over and left the house, making sure to leave the hat he borrowed in the closet. But as he came onto the front lawn disguised as Applejack, Rainbow Dash reappeared once more.

"What are you doing here?" said Rainbow Dash, landing in the grass next to him. "I thought you said you were gathering up everypony for Twilight's surprise party?"

Surprise party? Thorax thought to himself.

"You know," Dash continued, "the party to help cheer her up? You should have seen her earlier. She didn't really seem herself."

Suddenly, things were beginning to become complicated. "Oh, that," he replied as Applejack. "I uh...forgot my hat."

He turned around and trotted back into the house and grabbed the hat. Twice now, that excuse had worked beautifully for him.

"Well, hurry up then," Rainbow Dash continued. "Pinkie and I are working on the surprise party and we've only got a few hours left."

She rose to the air and flew away in the opposite direction, leaving a contrail of rainbow behind her. For a moment, he thought he would be forced to remain disguised as Applejack and to tell all their friends about the impromptu surprise party, but then realized that the real Applejack was likely doing that right now. So, after looking for Spike to no avail, he returned to the castle after finding a suitable place to lose his disguise.

Once again, Spike was waiting for him. "Sorry I had to leave you hanging," Spike said. "I saw Apple Bloom coming down the road and didn't want to blow your cover."

"Well, I think I've had enough of pretending," said Thorax. He did thoroughly enjoy being Applejack, and was quite proud of his accent, but the complications that arose out of his actions were starting to seem daunting. "They think Twilight is having a really bad day because of me," he continued.

"Pssh, that's fine," Spike said. "They throw her a surprise party, everypony has fun, no harm done!"

"Hmm, I guess you're right," Thorax replied. "Who am I going to disguise as next?"

"Well..." said Spike. "That's the thing. I was trying to think of that myself, and then I thought of something...interesting..."

"What's that?" Thorax inquired innocently.

"I was thinking you could disguise as...Rarity?"

That seemed harmless enough. Thorax quite enjoyed Rarity's calm and charming demeanor. "Sure," he replied. "Where does she live again?"

"Well, that's the thing," said Spike. "You wouldn't even have to leave the castle."

Thorax cocked his head. "What do you mean? Who am I going to prank then?"

"Well, you wouldn't be pranking anypony, necessarily..."

Thorax seemed quite thoroughly confused, but obliged nonetheless. Spike was the pranking mastermind. He took on the form of Rarity, with her glowing white coat and gracefully flowing purple mane. Her eyes sparkled in the shine that refracted off the crystalline walls and floors of the castle, basking in the sunlight shining in from the outside.

"How do I look?" said Rarity.

Spike smiled excitedly. "Perfect..."

Comments

[Black_Knight]

Spiiike, beware where you're going with this. Cause Rarity will make you pay dearly if she... Oh who am I kidding, she will found out.

[OmniFox]

Keep in mind, Spike DOES NOT swing that way.

[Maze Tail]

Bahahahaha That's good. The prank is perfect.

[PonyDragon]

Spike smiled excitedly. "Perfect..."

Is he drooling?

I hope the bees forgot who destroyed their hive till Applejack returns home. Otherways...

[Nox Knock Jokes]

"I thought you left to go meet with that Drainbow Rash or somethin'? The blue one. Or is it the yell'er one. Ah, I don't know it's not important."

Oh Granny!