Even though Twilight’s instincts were right on the money in the previous round, she still felt nervous about this round. Although she was confident that Fluttershy was the changeling, Pinkie Pie cast the deciding vote before Twilight had a chance to explain herself. That scared her. What if, in this round, she expressed mere suspicion in somepony, and suddenly everypony jumped on her bandwagon? She could unknowingly end the round in Thorax’s favor before it even got started. She had to find a way to prevent that.
Twilight’s train of thought was interrupted when she felt a familiar claw tap her on the shoulder. She opened her eyes, and saw the rest of her friends still tapping their hooves on the table with their eyes closed. They had no idea Twilight had stopped. She turned, and saw Spike nod his head in affirmation. This round, Thorax would be replacing her.
Spike pointed to his eyes, then waved his two fingers in the direction of Thorax, bidding Twilight to make eye contact with him. She did so, and saw a small spark in his compound eyes. Then, magic rose around him like blue flames, changing his appearance almost instantly into an exact duplication of Twilight Sparkle herself. Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. Thankfully, the hoof clopping muffled her amused noise.
Twilight stepped down from her throne, and tiptoed over to Spike while Thorax took her place. Spike gently placed a claw on her neck, and escorted her to the double doors of the throne room. Once in the hall, Spike put a claw to his lips, reminding Twilight to be quiet. Unnecessary, Twilight thought, but whatever. Spike shut the doors. Twilight quickly found out that Rainbow had spoken the truth. She could hear everything in the throne room.
“Ready, set, Spot That Changeling!”
“Before we get started, I just want to say one thing,” Twilight heard Thorax say in her voice. “Pinkie, you should not have switched your vote like that. While I appreciate that you trust my judgement, I don’t want you following my instincts blindly, because I could be just as mistaken as anypony else. So, I would appreciate it if you let me explain my reasoning before you decide to agree with me.”
Twilight’s blood ran cold. That was exactly what she wanted to tell everypony right from the start. And Thorax said it exactly the way she would have said it herself. Could changelings read minds? No, that was silly. If he could have read Pinkie’s mind, he wouldn’t have been caught in the first round. But if it wasn’t mind-reading, then Twilight had to admit that Thorax was very perceptive.
“That makes sense, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said. “I’ll try to do that in the future. Wait a minute, you’re not really Thorax, are you?”
“No, I’m not Thorax,” Thorax lied.
“Do you think that I’m Thorax?” Pinkie asked back.
“You might just be. But either way, what I said stands.”
It occurred to Twilight that Thorax’s plan was to say something wise and insightful at the top of the round, to make himself sound like the gentle sage her friends expected her to be. He was getting good at this game. Twilight was impressed and horrified at the same time.
“Let me pose a question to all of you,” Rarity interjected. “Do you think Thorax chose to replace somepony new this round? Or is he starting to revisit some of his previous victims?”
“I think he chose somepony new,” Pinkie said. “If I were Thorax, I’d want to get a good long look at everypony’s behavior before I tried to mimic the same pony again.”
“I don’t know if I agree,” Fluttershy said. “He was pretty upset that he didn’t win the last round. I think he’d try the same pony again, just to see if his plan would have worked.”
“Uh, Fluttershy,” said Applejack, “you realize that Thorax replaced you last round, right?”
“Well, um, yes, but I meant besides me,” Fluttershy answered. “I suspect he picked Rainbow Dash again.”
“No, Fluttershy, I am not the changeling,” Rainbow Dash said. “And to answer Rarity’s question, I think he chose somepony different, like maybe Twilight, or AJ, or you.” Twilight couldn’t see, but she suspected that by ‘you’, Rainbow meant Rarity.
“The way I see it,” Thorax said with Twilight’s voice, “it would be a sound strategy to pick somepony new. However, since it is in his best interest to be unpredictable, any good reason he has for picking a new victim is simultaneously a good reason not to pick a new victim. Therefore, I cannot safely eliminate anypony at this table.”
He’s biding his time, Twilight thought. He doesn’t want to accuse anyone too early, lest the heat fall on him. I hope somepony notices he dodged Rarity’s question. I think he’s trying to muddy the issue. As she thought through Thorax’s plan, Twilight felt the corner of her mouth tense up.
“For what it’s worth, I have not been the changeling once since we started,” Applejack said. “I think I ought to be insulted by that, but I don’t know what’s going on in that critter’s head.”
“You didn’t answer my question, Applejack,” Rarity said. “By the way, I do believe Thorax would pick a new victim. More specifically, I think you are the changeling!”
Uh-oh, Twilight worried. That’s just the opening he needs!
“I am not the changeling.” Applejack said plainly.
“If it’s not you,” Rarity countered, “then who is it? Do you think he’s impersonating somepony he already impersonated?”
“Okay, I believe he did pick a new victim for this round,” said Applejack. “I know that implicates myself, but I don’t mean myself.”
“Then who do you mean?” Rarity pressed. “Surely you don’t mean Twilight?”
“Well, I don’t rightly know, maybe I do,” Applejack said. “Twilight, are you the changeling?”
“No, I’m not the changeling,” Thorax lied, cool as a cucumber.
“Tell me the truth, do you think Thorax chose a new victim?”
“I could easily be wrong,” Thorax said, “but going by my gut instinct, I think Thorax did choose a new victim for this round.”
What an unusual gambit, Twilight thought. He’s honestly admitting the possibility that he replaced me, and he’s counting on his frankness to cast some suspicion off himself, even though the words he’s actually speaking make him sound more suspicious. Ooh, he is diabolical!
“Wait a minute!” Pinkie Pie interrupted. “Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity all think that Thorax replaced either Twilight, Applejack, or Rarity. That means that whichever one of them is Thorax just admitted that one of them is Thorax. But Thorax would never admit that, because he’d want to try and fool us! But it makes so much sense for him to do that! But it doesn’t make any sense at all!” Pinkie moaned like a banshee. “I don’t want to play this game anymore!” she whined. “It makes my brain hurt!”
“Well,” Rainbow said, “I guess we can safely eliminate Pinkie Pie. Not that I suspected her to begin with, but you know. Okay, let’s try this again. Twilight, are you the changeling?”
“No.”
“Out of Applejack or Rarity, who do you think is more likely to be the changeling?”
“Rarity did start us on this line of questioning, so I think it’s her.”
“Okay, Applejack, are you the changeling?”
“Nope.”
“Out of Twilight or Rarity, who is more likely to be the changeling?”
“I’m convinced it’s Rarity. She did jump on me for not answering her question.”
“Now, Rarity, are you the changeling?”
“I most certainly am not.”
“Out of Twilight or AJ, who is?”
“I still think it’s Applejack.”
“Why?” Rainbow pressed.
“I think her comment about not being replaced was a little forced.”
“I don’t believe you,” Rainbow said. “I’m convinced you’re the changeling.”
“I wasn’t sure before,” Thorax said, “but now I’m convinced it’s Rarity.”
That was three votes for Rarity, who was not the changeling. One more, and Thorax would win this round. It really hurt to think that her friends could be so easily fooled by an impostor. And yet, she couldn’t help but smile at his brilliance.
“Well,” Fluttershy spoke up meekly, “I believe Applejack’s comment was genuine, so I’m going to vote for Rarity too.”
Rarity groaned and grunted with irritation. “Fluttershy, darling, you know I love you, but I am so very upset that you cost us the point!”
“Sorry, Rarity,” Spike said. “But that’s four votes against you. Now, we shall see whether Fluttershy did in fact cost you the point.”
As Spike walked back to the double doors, Twilight found herself standing up straighter, and tilting her head just so, like she was posing to have her portrait taken. Spike opened the doors wide.
“Surprise!” Twilight sing-songed as she was revealed.
The whole room burst out with a mixture of emotion. Pinkie Pie whined, and slammed her head on the table. Fluttershy slouched in her throne, and hid behind her mane. Rainbow Dash screamed “What?” in a very angry tone. Rarity gasped at Twilight, while Applejack just stared with pin-prick eyes.
Thorax, for his part, cackled mightily with Twilight’s laugh, and cheered his victory. “All hail the Princess of Deception!” Suddenly, all five of them turned and stared daggers at Thorax. He dropped his glamour and smiled sheepishly. “Hey, hey, take it easy, girls. It’s just a game, remember?”
Twilight made her way back to her throne. “If my friends don’t feel like saying it, then I will. Thorax, you played that round expertly, and I’m very proud of you.”
Thorax smiled at Twilight. Then, he immediately hissed and flicked his tongue out. Twilight jumped back in alarm.
“Sorry,” Thorax apologized. “Old habits are hard to break.”
“Tell me about it,” Twilight mused as she resumed her place.
“Thorax wins this round,” Spike announced, “and we are tied once again. Next round starts…”
“No!” Pinkie Pie protested. “No more mind games! I’ve had all I can take, and I don’t want to play anymore!”
“But you can’t quit now!” Rarity said. “The game’s finally starting to get interesting!”
“But it’s so har-ar-ard!” Pinkie whined. “How am I supposed to tell who’s a changeling and who’s not just by asking ‘are you the changeling’? All of you are only going to give me the same answer!”
“That’s true,” Applejack said, “but only one of us is lying. Ponies, and changelings, always act differently when they’re lying than when they’re telling the truth. You just got to go with your gut.”
“But how do I know for certain if my gut is right?”
“You don’t!” was all Applejack had to say.
Pinkie Pie straightened up in her chair, and puffed a few breaths. “Okay, that works for me.” Pinkie Pie shut her eyes and started to make the “night noise” with her hooves. The rest of them just shrugged, and did the same.
And then... PLOT TWIST! Twilight was an actual changeling the entire time!
Plot twist; He goes Twilight again.
That was a very well executed chapter, keep up the amazing work.
That was a very interesting twist to it. Nice.
Oh, that is clever. And you're putting out a chapter a day, which is nice! I like this story more and more as I read it.
Everyling is a changeling!
Nice chapter. This fic sure is original.
Gotta say: this idea for a story is quite the CHANGE of pace.
I want to use more puns but I guess I'm just not fluent enough in English for that.
I want more! Why aren't there more chapters yet!?
7575133 That pun was bad, and you should feel bad.
7575173 You know what they say: sorry, not sorry!
One of these chapters is gonna be thorax himself going into the hall.
What do you mean by 'night noise'?
7575335 I mean the part where they tap their hooves on the table to muffle any accidental sounds made by Thorax while he's getting into position.
lol it's going to end in a tie unless somepony wise up lol
It's a really nice idea for a fic. I like the premise a lot, and dialogue-heavy is fine. But if I may offer some blunt criticism:
1. The constant asking of the same questions, as others have already begun pointing out, is boring and pointless. The answers will always be the same, they reveal nothing despite assertions, and they eat up pagetime that could be spent on more interesting interactions.
2. The hoof-tapping on the table thing is kind of ineffective. There is such a thing as directional hearing. One would still hear if the pony immediately to their left or right stopped making the tapping, or they'd hear their hoofsteps, or something like that (e.g. Twilight's chuckling in that last round). The senses are much better than this gives credits for. A much better way to do this would be to put the players in six separate rooms, and then have five of them plus Thorax exit out into another to play.
And 3. Not nearly enough contractions in the ponies' speech. "I am not the changeling," for one, sounds far too formal for any of these characters but Rarity. Getting the voicing right is paramount in a fic where we're meant to be guessing which characters are impostors.
I also really don't know how to feel about the ponies not being allowed to bring up personal anecdotes or ask questions to trip up Thorax. I get why you have this rule, because it makes the game more about logic, and that's interesting. But at the same time, it does seem like a massive disadvantage to them, and completely unlike how they would hypothetically weed out a real changeling infiltrator. Take that for what you will.
Otherwise, I do like this. Do some more work on it, and I think you'll have a real winner here.
7573187
Hanging around in the same subspace void that she always disappears to between Starlight episodes.
I could just imagine Spike and Thorax pulling a prank on the mane 6 by having Thorax disguise as Spike, and the real Spike wouldn't even go into the hall. He'd just stay there, and the mane 6 would go through the game for a while until one of them notices there's two Spikes.
7575455 Because lots of people read, comment, and vote on it.
7575455
7575486
Nah, its sole reason for existing on the feature box is literally just to spite Swash. As soon as he bitches about a fic, it's off to the front page with you!
7575498 Damn! That was my second guess!
7575067 plot twist, he turns into twilights' throne
plot twist he pulls off pinkie pie perfectly.
7575051 Plot twist! They're all changelings! Except Thorax who's a unicorn with an identity disorder!
7575346
Honest question: Why do you call it a "night noise"?
I couldn't figure out what that meant either.
7575724
...and the table is actually Chrysalis.
7575740 I've heard it called that in games of Werewolf, and it seemed to fit.
7575772 Wouldn't it only be called that in the game because of the whole "werewolves are creatures of the night" thing?
(Disclaimer: I've never played Werewolf and know nothing about it besides what I've read in the comments here.)
Honestly, I'm not trying to be critical. That line just confused the heck out of me, is all.
7575449 I want to see that now
Why do I get the feeling there will be a double bluff round? That is, Thorax replaces no pony to prove that it's just as bad to assume there is a changeling and get suspicious.
Ah ha! 'Night noise' has given you away! You did base this off a real game!
I love it more now
And please don't do what everyone is suggesting and make Thorax not replace someone. That would just be cheating and would probably annoy everyone in the room.
7575955
I think it'd be funny if he didn't replace anyone, but when the doors opened he was disguised as one of the main 6.
7575772
7575792
HalflingPony is right. It makes sense in Werewolf (but not even as everyone plays it) because the noise is made during the 'night' phase of the game. In this fic it only makes sense to readers who've played Werewolf with the house rule that says you must make noise; that's probably not even the majority of Werewolf players.
You know what's funny? *Contains Spoilers* Right before I read a single word of this chapter, I thought "If Twilight is the POV character, wouldn't that mean if she gets chosen, will I view the game from an outsider's perspective?" And what do you know! Wish Granted!
7575724
Have you read this story: Turns Out We're All Changelings by naturalbornderpy? I think you'll get your answer for the first part of that twist. ;)
Another tie.
Ah, I love this concept - mostly because I'm a fan of mafia games. I have to ask, are you using rng for this, or coming up with who is picked and if they get caught... sorry I just really love playing the game so I wanna know. What would be interesting is if a roleplay consisted of them as characters, and each round was a chapter where the reader had to figure it out... heh. But thats just me who would like to seee that idea in play based off of this one.
When will the next chapter be up?
Side note: I think He should re impersonate a pony next round.
I think there should be a round where Thorax replaces nopony, just to spice things up
7576032
I can't help but notice that your default avatar is backwards.
7576014
Or have him replace Spike, since no one has thought of that possibility yet.
Who's the real Spike?
That's easy peasy , Rarity?
Spikey poo? I need my little precious scales...
One smooch is all it takes fer ol loverboy
indeed Apple Jack indeed
This round was fun. Feel for Pinkie though.
Let the Mind-bucking continue!
7575571 plot twist: he was the cat, all along.
7576372 Against the rule, so it want happen.
7575449 That should be the Coup de grâce, maybe with a little speech about how it's good to be aware, but not to the point of paranoia.
7577312
That's pretty much just Town of Salem
The objective is for them to figure out which of them is the changeling.
But what if none of them are the changeling?
Does he have the option of choosing not to choose?
Or would that be considered cheating?
I hope you will made one round where Thorax won't disguise as any one
You could so have rarity pull a seananners! Saying she is when she isn't or having thorax say he is but no one will believe the third cry for wolf. T doesn't have to be rarity, i just can't decide who else would fit.
Oooh, this one is fun, me like.
Its gonna be hard to wait for new chapters.
(P.S. This comment is the same one I deleted, just posted on an actual chapter, since I recently learned that comments posted on the table of contents page are buggy.)
7575397
I can totally see that happening.
Also, Pinkie would notice the second Spike immediately but not say anything for a while, and then nonchalantly point it out when they're about to vote.
Loving this fic. Straight to the "tracking" folder with it.