//------------------------------// // Sniffing out the imposter // Story: Things might not be what they seem // by The Force //------------------------------// Fluttershy's eyes widened as she stepped into the company headquarters. She was both filled with awe and anxiety as the security guard ushered her through. "You must be the new employee hired on by our boss," the guard said. "She had stated there was great promise from you." Fluttershy nervously walked through, her heart pounding as she took in the sight of her new and exciting workplace. It was an amazing opportunity, but she felt a bit overwhelmed and nervous. But she was determined to make the most of it. Fluttershy had been tasked with finding the culprit who was stealing secrets and bits from her big sister's company. She had three suspects on her list, but she was in for a challenge. She had been thrown into a maze-like and unfamiliar place and was given no map. She exhaled a sigh of stress and exasperation. "Today is going to be a long day," she muttered to herself. Fluttershy took a deep breath, determined to tackle the task at hoof. She gathered herself and her courage and began to explore her surroundings, searching for her first suspect. As she wove her way through the confusing maze of hallways and cubicles, she grew more and more frustrated. She soon realized that searching for the culprit was going to be much more difficult than she had imagined. But she resolved not to give up. She knew she could crack this case, no matter how long it took her. She had just better hope she could find the right suspect before the next theft. Fluttershy's determination to find the culprit drove her to press onward and search for the first suspect on her list. She carefully studied each person she came across, looking for clues or mannerisms that could link them to the theft. As she went deeper and deeper into the company, her frustration grew as the search felt more and more hopeless. She cursed herself for accepting this ridiculous case and being thrown into this confusing mess. But as she paused to catch her breath and recompose herself, she spotted a potential lead. As Fluttershy was just about to throw her hooves up in defeat, she spotted something that caught her attention. A person matching the description of one of the suspects was walking down the hall. She followed them closely, trying to keep her distance without being noticed. As they entered one of the office rooms, Fluttershy tiptoed up to the door and peeked through the window, watching closely as the potential culprit entered the room. Fluttershy's eyes narrowed as she observed the potential suspect through the window of the office. They seemed to be browsing through a file cabinet, seeming to be searching for something in particular. Fluttershy watched with a frown and bit her lip nervously. "Is this it? Could this person be the thief I've been searching for?" She wondered. Fluttershy continued to observe the Secretary as they searched through the filing cabinet, seemingly having a hard time finding what they were looking for. As she watched, her brow creased in confusion. Why would the Secretary be having so much trouble finding what they were looking for? They should be well organized and capable at their job, not bumbling around like a moron. As Fluttershy continued to watch, her suspicions about the Secretary grew. Maybe this wasn't the person she was looking for after all. Maybe they were just a dimwit, not a thief. Carol Carol's ditzy and dumb disposition may not be immediately apparent from her professional looking attire. She wears a white shirt with buttons and a tie, along with black pants. However, while she may appear put together on the outside, her loose and messy bun may be a hint at her tendency to forget things or be distracted. Despite her air-headedness, Carol still remains dedicated to her job and works hard to ensure everything gets done. Fluttershy watched as the Secretary shuffled through more filing cabinets, seemingly still searching for something. She was beginning to get frustrated with the stupidity of this person. "How stupid do you have to be to not know where you put something?" She scoffed. But then a thought crossed her mind. Maybe this was all an act? Maybe the Secretary was acting incompetent to throw Fluttershy off the scent. As these thoughts ran through her mind, her curiosity grew. Maybe there was more to this Secretary than she had previously thought. She decided to observe the Secretary a little longer. Fluttershy was getting increasingly tired and frustrated as she watched the Secretary struggle with finding the file they were looking for. But then, her kind instincts kicked in. As the Secretary continued to fumble around, Fluttershy decided she couldn't stand it anymore. She was the element of kindness and it was her duty to be nice and help others. "Here, let me help you," Fluttershy offered. "It seems like you're having a lot of trouble finding the file you're looking for. Let me take a look." The Secretary jumped in surprise as Fluttershy spoke, caught off guard by her sudden offer to help. They stuttered and sputtered, trying to regain their composure. "Oh, w-well...ummm..." the Secretary said nervously. Fluttershy could tell that they were caught a bit off guard by her kind gesture. They were probably expecting her to make fun of them for struggling to find something, not offer to help. But she was just trying to be kind, as was her duty as the element of kindness. Fluttershy smiled comfortingly at the Secretary, trying to put them at ease. "It's okay, I'm just here to help. I've just noticed that you seem to be having a hard time finding the file you're looking for. I thought I could assist you." She said in a soft and soothing voice, trying to put the Secretary at ease. She hoped they would be grateful to her help and not see her as a threat or competition. Fluttershy approached the desk, trying to help the Secretary find the file they were looking for. She noticed that the files seemed to be very chaotic and disorganized. Many were scattered across the desk in piles, while others were neatly stacked in file folders. It was a bit of a mess. Fluttershy had a feeling that this was the reason why the Secretary was struggling to find the file they were looking for. She wanted to help them out, but first, she needed to reorganize everything to make it easier to find the file. Fluttershy started reorganizing the files, putting them into neat piles and sorting them by date of importance. As she worked, she noticed that the files were not labeled very well, which was most likely another reason why the Secretary couldn't find the file they were looking for. Fluttershy spent some time organizing and labelling the files properly, so they would be easier to find in future. By the time she was done, the file cabinet was much more organized and the files were in neat and easy-to-find folders. Fluttershy smiled at her work and turned to the Secretary once again. "That's much better, don't you think?" She said cheerfully. "It was all very disorganized before, which was probably why you were having such a hard time finding what you were looking for." The Secretary nodded and seemed more confident now that they had a more organized work environment. Fluttershy was glad that they could get on with their work quickly and efficiently now. Carol seemed to be unaware that she was making Fluttershy uncomfortable with her overly friendly behavior. She introduced herself, excitedly waving her arms in the air and getting a bit too close to Fluttershy. Fluttershy was a little alarmed by this overly friendly behavior. She was used to being more shy and reclusive, not a loud and outgoing person like Carol. She didn't want to come off as rude or unwelcoming, but Carol was quickly invading her personal space and making her uncomfortable, and she didn't seem to realize or care about Fluttershy's feeling. Fluttershy looked away from Carol, uncomfortable as her personal space was being invaded. She mumbled a little and tried to be more polite and delicate with her words as she spoke. "Um, w-w-well, Carol. I'm happy to have helped. But, could you please maybe give me some space? I-it's just a bit uncomfortable and scary being this close to someone I'm not very familiar with." Fluttershy said nervously. Fluttershy noted with a tinge of trepidation that Carol's overly friendly behavior was similar to that of Pinkie Pie, and she hoped that Carol would be understanding of Fluttershy's shyness, just like Pinkie was. Fluttershy didn't want to hurt Carol's feelings, but she also didn't want to sacrifice her own comfort in order to cater to Carol's extroverted nature. She needed to find a way to communicate with Carol and set some boundaries. Fluttershy took a deep sigh of resignation as she realized that her day was most likely going to get a bit more complicated. Coral Carol had just rushed off to a meeting, leaving Fluttershy to deal with both the mess that she had made and the files that she had dropped. Fluttershy was growing weary of constantly getting involved in these sorts of messes, but she knew that she couldn't just leave things the way they were. She quickly picked up the file that Carol had dropped and decided to take it to whoever was going to be expecting it for the meeting. She was hoping that Carol wouldn't get into too much trouble and that this Fluttershy was hoping that Carol wouldn't get into too much trouble and that this wouldn't cause issues for her. She quickly made her way to the office of whoever was expecting the file for the meeting, hoping that she could drop it off before anything too bad happened. However, as she approached the door to the office, she could hear loud and angry voices from inside. It sounded like the person in the office was arguing with someone. Fluttershy froze, not sure if she should enter and drop off the file now or wait until things calmed down. Fluttershy's eyes widened in surprise and curiosity. It sounded like the person in the office was in the middle of a heated argument. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to drop off the file now, or if it would be better to wait until the argument settled down a bit. She knew that her boss was likely expecting that file for the meeting, but she also didn't want to step into an uncomfortable situation. Fluttershy took a quiet breath, deciding it might be better to wait a few moments until it sounded like the argument in the office had died down. Fluttershy quietly took a peek into the office and saw that the Resources Director had just left. The Resources Director is a well-groomed stallion with a calm and collected demeanor. He exudes authority and leadership, but remains friendly and approachable. He is dressed in professional and sophisticated clothing that reflects his position. When dealing with the public or other town leaders, he presents himself with confidence and authority, yet also humility and openness to feedback. Overall, he presents himself as a competent and capable leader, while remaining grounded and relatable to those around him. She took a moment to check and make sure that no one else was in the office. Then, she dropped off the file that Carol had been looking for and noticed a voicemail message on the phone. Curious, she pressed a hoof to the phone and listened to the message. Hearing a female voice on the other side, Fluttershy felt a tinge of fear and alarm. "Did you get the secrets yet? This all depends on you," the voice on the phone said. Fluttershy's eyes widened as she listened to the voice on the phone. It sounded like the person was talking about getting secret information, possibly even confidential information about her boss' company. She felt the blood drain from her face, as she understood that she may have just accidentally walked into a big problem. The voice on the phone continued speaking, talking about sticking it to her boss, and suddenly things made sense. Apparently, she had just dropped off that file to the person who was planning to steal the secrets. Fluttershy felt the realization wash over her, this had indeed been a huge mistake. She realized that she had just dropped off confidential company information to the person who was planning to steal it from her boss. She felt a surge of panic and fear as she realized what she had done. She quickly decided that she had to do something to remedy this situation immediately. Without wasting any time, she picked up the phone and called her boss. She needed to warn her about the situation and tell her what had happened, before it was too late. Fluttershy quickly placed a call to her boss, anxious to warn her about the situation as soon as possible. She took a deep breath and waited as the phone rang for a few moments. When her boss finally answered, Fluttershy filled her in on the events that had taken place. She explained that she had accidentally dropped off the file to the person who was planning to steal the company secrets. Her boss was understandably frustrated and upset by this news, but Fluttershy felt relieved that she had at least given her a heads up and a chance to address the situation. Fluttershy's boss, who happened to be her older sister, told her to meet up with her in person to discuss a plan for addressing the situation. Fluttershy felt relieved that her boss was taking this matter seriously, and she quickly agreed to meet up with her in person. At least they could work together in order to resolve this problem. She wondered how they were going to fix this situation, and what other consequences might come from this slip up.