“Okay, everypony, here are the rules,” Spike said to his six pony friends. “The six of you will close your eyes and tap your hooves against the table until I tell you to stop. The tapping will cover up any noise we happen to make.” By “we,” he meant himself and the changeling standing beside him. “Thorax will choose which of you he will try to impersonate. I will escort the pony he chose out of the room. When I tell you to open your eyes, it will look like nothing has changed, but one of your friends will secretly be a changeling.
“For the ponies who remain at the table, your job is to use logic, communication, and sheer gut instinct to determine which of the ponies you see is not who they appear to be. Remember, no bringing up personal details or inside jokes that only the six of you would know. The round ends when four out of the six of you can come to an agreement about who you think is really Thorax in disguise. Then, I’ll bring the dismissed pony back into the room, and the truth will be revealed.
“If you all guess right, you get a point. If Thorax fools you, he gets a point. First side to five points wins the match. Questions?”
“Just one,” said Rainbow Dash. “Not that I’m not totally psyched to beat a changeling at his own game, but, why are we doing this?”
“Because we need to be vigilant against all conceivable threats,” Twilight Sparkle explained. “If a changeling infiltrated our group, and disrupted the harmony of our friendship, all of Equestria could be in jeopardy. Personally, if I’m going to be fooled by a changeling, I’d rather that changeling be a friend than a foe.”
“And besides,” Thorax added, “if I get good at impersonating you guys, I could serve as a decoy to protect you from any other villainous threats.”
“Yes, that too,” Twilight agreed.
“Okay,” said Spike, “now that that’s settled, let’s begin the game of Spot That Changeling! Everypony close your eyes and start tapping your hooves.”
The sound of twelve hooves rapping was surprisingly quiet, Twilight thought to herself. It did make a lot of noise, but it was easy enough to tune out. Plus, Spike could be heard over the noise. “If you feel me tapping you, you are the one who Thorax is replacing this round.” Twilight did not feel Spike’s claw on her. Immediately, her curiosity sprang to life. Who was Thorax replacing? Would she be albe to spot him right away? If she couldn’t ask personal questions, what kind of questions would reveal a changeling? She didn’t want to admit this to her friends, but the suspense was kind of exciting.
“Okay, you can stop tapping your hooves now, but don’t open your eyes,” Spike instructed. “Thorax is in position. I’ll give you just a moment to compose yourselves before you look.”
Twilight took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She could do this.
“Ready, set, Spot That Changeling!”
Twilight opened her eyes, and true to Spike’s word, nothing looked unusual. Applejack sat in her throne immediately clockwise from herself, followed by Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. Twilight looked carefully at each of her friends in turn, as they all did the same. There was a changeling amongst her friends, but finding him was not going to be as easy as eyeballing him.
It was Rarity who finally broke the silence. “Well, I must say, whichever of you is Thorax, you’ve done an impressive job so far. I can’t tell which of my friends you’ve replaced.”
“I know I’m in no position to criticize anyone for bragging,” said Rainbow Dash, as she glared at the pony sitting opposite her, “but that sounded a little self-indulgent to me, Thorax!”
“Excuse me!” Rarity shot back. “How could you possibly think that I’m the changeling?”
“The changeling could be anypony, Rarity,” Applejack said. “Don’t take offense to being doubted.”
“But I’m not the changeling!”
“Not that I don’t believe you,” Twilight chipped in, “but that’s exactly what Thorax would say if we asked him.”
Rarity snorted in irritation.
“Just answer honestly,” Applejack said. “Rarity, are you the changeling?”
“I most certainly am not,” Rarity said flatly.
“Do you think that I’m the changeling?”
Applejack’s second question threw Twilight for a loop. Why would Applejack ask that question?
“Um…well, I suppose it’s possible,” Rarity said. “Not that I’m accusing you, mind you.”
Now Twilight got it. If Rarity were the changeling, she could answer with confidence that Applejack was not. Her uncertainty was a sign that she was still a pony.
“Okay, let me ask Twilight.” Applejack turned to face her. “Twilight, are you the changeling?”
“I am not,” Twilight said, hoping her sincerity came across as genuine.
“Do you think I’m the changeling?” Applejack followed up immediately.
“You could be. For all I know, you could be.”
“Do you think that Rarity is the changeling?”
“Rainbow Dash does have a point,” Twilight admitted. “Rarity’s comment might have been self-congratulatory. But honestly, I don’t think Rarity is the changeling.”
“Um, can we please stop calling him ‘the changeling’?” Fluttershy interrupted. “He’s our friend, and he does have a name. I think we should use that name.”
“You’re right,” Twilight said. “Fluttershy, are you Thorax in disguise?”
“No. I’m not Thorax, I just thought we should use his name out of respect for him.”
“Do you think that I am Thorax in disguise?”
“I don’t know. He could be anypony.”
“Do you think that Rarity is actually Thorax in disguise?”
“No. I think Rarity was just trying to be nice.”
“That does seem consistent with her personality,” Pinkie Pie added.
“Yes, and I’m glad so many of my friends noticed that,” Rarity said. “Well, those of you who are my friends, and are not pretending to be my friends.” Rarity narrowed her eyes at Rainbow Dash.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash said, putting both front hooves on the table.
“That’s a good point,” Pinkie said. “Rainbow Dash, are you the changeling?”
At first, it looked like Rainbow was shocked at Pinkie’s accusation. But then, Rainbow scrunched up her face, and composed herself. “I am not the changeling,” she said in an even tone.
“Do you think that I’m the changeling?” Pinkie followed, picking up on Applejack’s strategy.
“I don’t want to believe it, but you could be.”
“Are you still suspicious of Rarity, after all the discussion we’ve had?”
“I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash admitted. “I mean, I guess I see the point you guys are trying to make, but I just can’t rule out the possibility that Rarity might be a changeling.”
“Is there anypony else you suspect, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight jumped in.
Rainbow ran a hoof down her muzzle. “I noticed Applejack has asked a lot of questions, but nopony has asked her anything yet. Applejack, are you the changeling?”
“Nope,” Applejack quickly answered.
“Do you think that I’m the changeling?”
“You have been acting pretty suspicious, but I’m not certain.”
“Girls, I thought we agreed not to call him ‘the changeling’, remember?” Fluttershy said.
“I don’t think Thorax would be offended if you called him a changeling,” Pinkie said, “because that’s what he is.”
“Unless you know something that we don’t,” Applejack said to Fluttershy. “Are you trying to tell us something, Thorax?”
“I’m not Thorax,” Fluttershy said calmly.
“Do you think that I’m Thorax?”
“Not at all,” Fluttershy said. “You’ve been speaking with an honest demeanor that I’ve come to expect from you, Applejack.”
“Fair enough,” said Applejack. “But if I’m not the change…er, I mean Thorax, then who do you think is?”
“Oh, I hate to say it,” Fluttershy said, “but I still think it’s Rainbow Dash. She was just so mean to Rarity over her compliment to Thorax.”
“I disagree,” said Twilight. “Rainbow Dash was just being overly aggressive, nothing out of the ordinary for her.”
“Oh really?” Fluttershy said back. “Then you do you think is Thorax in disguise?”
“Right now, I’m leaning towards Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said. “Pinkie Pie, are you Thorax in disguise?”
Pinkie pursed her lips and shook her head no.
“Okay, do you think that I’m Thorax in disguise?”
“Not at all, your highness,” Pinkie said. “You have a good head on your shoulders.”
“Wait a second,” Rarity said. “Pinkie would never address Twilight by her honor title.”
“That’s it, Pinkie’s the changeling!” Rainbow Dash said, pointing an accusatory hoof in Pinkie’s direction.
“No, I’m not!” Pinkie protested. “I was just trying to be polite!”
“Okay, I’m convinced, it’s Pinkie,” Twilight said, adding her hoof to Rainbow’s.
“Pinkie,” said Rarity.
“Pinkie,” said Applejack.
Pinkie slammed a hoof on the table and pouted.
“That’s four votes for Pinkie Pie,” Spike announced. “This round is over. If I can direct your attention to the door, I will reveal the missing pony.”
Everypony watched as Spike walked over to the entrance to the throne room. He threw the double doors open wide, revealing Pinkie Pie (the real Pinkie Pie) out in the hallway.
“Super job, you guys, I knew you could do it!” Pinkie said as she bounded her way back to her throne. “Sorry, Thorax, but you picked the wrong pony to mimic. There’s nopony quite as Pinkie Pie as Pinkie Pie!”
Thorax dropped his glamour and glared at Twilight with his compound eyes. “I thought we said no personal stuff. How was I supposed to know Pinkie didn’t call you by your title?”
“None of my friends address me that way,” Twilight explained. “It makes me feel uncomfortable.”
“And it’s not her fault the matter got into the conversation,” Rarity pointed out. “You were the one who said it, after all.”
Thorax snorted. “All right, fine. But don’t expect me to make the same mistake in the next round.” He stepped down from Pinkie’s throne, and walked back over to Spike. Pinkie took her seat.
“That’s one point for the ponies,” Spike said to cheers from his friends. “Ponies lead one-nothing, playing to five. Next round, eyes closed, hooves tapping, now!”
Quite interesting, I look forward to future chapters in this. a small suggestion though is you may want to find different ways of phrasing things instead of writing the same thing over again.
Awesome concept!
You might want to work on spacing your paragraphs out a little more though, since it feels like a wall of text more than anything.
Looks like Pinkie has a new party game now, too!
More, good sir! Another!
Lord knows Thorax needs to work on his lying; first changeling we get to properly meet and get to know, and he's just as terrible of a liar as your average stammering, nervous pony.
That's funny! I'll follow it.
You really need an editor for this. You should also work on space between different scenes as it helps reading it.
Also one glaring point: "Thorax will choose which if you he will try to impersonate. "
Aside from that it is an interesting story. Looking forward to more.
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Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I have fixed it.
I know you’ve mentioned why the story’s dialogue-heavy, but I think a bit of fleshing out the scene wouldn’t hurt. Regardless, I’m liking this game they’re playing – it’s a creative and original idea.
7566915 Indenting the start of each paragraph (as Inspector Brown has done) is actually one of the two ways of differentiating paragraphs, the second being the addition of a space between each paragraph. Indenting to mark new paragraphs is virtually universal in printed books, though I agree that it might not be as readable online.
There’s a link here if you’d like to read more about it.
While I’m on this subject, a small hint for the author: the first paragraph of each chapter doesn’t need to be indented because it’s not necessary.
To me, this scenario strongly resembles the Turing Test; I wonder if Queen Chrysalis uses a similar method to train her subjects...
Interesting...but, I actually pegged it was Pinkie Pie FAST...
Pinkie's too distinctive in her speech, and Thorax didn't even TRY to mimic it.
Does that mean she suspects Twilight a bit?..
Reminds me of Secret Hitler.
Personally, I prefer Friendquisition.
Now they just need to recruit two more defectors to play Secret Changeling. Or maybe they would call it Secret Queen?
OH MY.
REAL GOOD AY.
It reminds me of the game 'Werewolf' (or 'Mafia').
Only reason being you choose someone and tyen you deceive everyone else.
BUT GOOD GAMAMAE!!!
Loving it.
I see we're using "Werewolf" rules, fair enough, fair enough.
I feel like they were IMMEDIATELY at each other's throats when the game first began, very strange for a friendly game or exercise. Going around the table like eight times saying "are you the changeling? Do you think I'm the changeling?" seemed rather wasteful, as you would always get the same answers regardless. Fake Pinkie's answer broke the chapter open, to me. It could've happened right out of the starting gate, or twenty minutes in. As an independent event, it just sort of fizzled the chapter out instead of becoming the reveal it was supposed to be. Also, "no personal stuff?" Isn't that the BEST way to spot an impersonator? Seems like a huge handicap for the pony team to be unable to ask simple questions only the REAL pony in question would know.
I like the fun and easy concept of this story, but I feel you seriously dropped the ball of what could've been a great, even humurous dialogue exchange.
i wonder when temper shall flare?
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I agree with the other points, but I think the 'no personal stuff' rule works well if you intend to spot replacements of ponies you just met later on. That wasn't really stated at the beginning though.
Able.
This seems like a nice game, although I'm curious how things would end up if Thorax waited outside the door or if two of the ponies swapped places.
This is pretty fun!
Somehow, from that paragraph, I'm getting the impression that one of them is already a changeling in disguise, and not Thorax.
That's the sort of twist I'd use if I were writing this, I mean.
Hah! That's what a changeling would say, Thorax!
Buuut it's also what Fluttershy would say. Never mind.
How would you know what Thorax finds offensive or not, Pinkie, if that is your real name?
Haha! Thorax's first sentence (after he transformed) was a dead give away, but I guess you had to make the first round easy for us. Bring on the next round!
I wish there was a board game version of this. Its sorta like 2 trues and one lie. You have to be careful to spot what could be the lie.
This is fun. Can't wait to see where this all goes.
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Werewolves of Miller's Hollow. It's a good game.
7572769 Same, but not from her speech but how he acted as her. Namely, you can't predict Pinkie. When it got to focus'd on Pinkie tho, she didn't act wild, crazy, or giggily. She was calm, and talking normal.
Mainly tho, I knew the second she spoke.
Would Pinkie Pie EVER say something that... Logical? Formal? Intelligent? I would have expected something like: "*Giggles* Yeah, Rarity always does that!"
I always love a good psychological manga/anime/game/story.
This is going to be good.
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I got that feeling too and it makes sense why it came up at all if it is how infiltrators are trained
It should be "would she be able to spot him right away" instead of "would she be albe to spot him right away"
This is interesting and a fun fanfic, can't wait to read the next chapters!
Oh... this is gonna be fun.
Playing the game along with story is already exciting, and its just the first chapter.
I do hope it gets heard, I called out pinkie when she said thorax wouldn't mind being called the Changeling since that's what he is... Pinkie not insisting on using someone's name is just not right.
On to round two.
7623945 well the ones impersonating Twi friend whee aweful at their jobs Can't imagine how bad the nes replacing Tia and Luna where
CONSTANT VIGILANCE
I knew it as soon as Pinkie (Well, Thorax) said "consistant" doesn't sound like Pinkie
Nice job, by the way, I already love this
This reminds me of The Thing (The horror film).
Knew it!! Pinkie Pie was too silent for most of the chapter to be her
One question: HOW AM I ONLY LEARNING ABOUT THIS STORY NOW???
Related question: when did this 'Board Game Fics' area come into existence, and who added the stories I made? Also, how was I never notified. (Having said that, I'm thrilled to see it happen.)
...It's Pinkie.
It's Pinkie?
It's Pinkie!
Ooo...a game of Ultimate Werewolf, except with ponies and changelings! Maybe Ultimate Changelings could be the name? Heh, should be fun to read all the same!
i knew it was pinkie: she was silent and not random
It’s pinkie. That’s my five cents. “Consistent?” pfft, no.
I thought Pinkie was kinda silent, and using the word "consistent" gave it away for me.
Here in 2022; this is giving me Among Us vibes. Not to mention, I just discovered that this was posted BEFORE Among Us even existed.
This Fimfiction was posted in 2016
Among Us was released at 2018
This just goes to show that we subtly predict the future without even knowing it.
11151740
Predicting the future is not a supernatural power. It is a learnable skill.
It would have been better if Spike had been replaced first.
So in other words?
There's a changeling Among US?
But seriously, I'm loving the flow of reason and logic with this already; excited for the rest of the rounds! It feels like something the reader can play along with as well.