I'm trying to work part of an idea out, and I'm having trouble thinking my way through what the best option would be for part of it.

Short-form scenario: In the aftermath of the "Want it, Need it" disaster, Bon Bon is trying to replace Applejack temporarily. What possible options does she have to do this, given the following restrictions?

1) Bon Bon has to maintain 'cover' for the entire evening, possibly overnight.
2) Bon Bon can't just transform herself; she has to actively capture AJ (part of maintaining cover).
3) As of A Canterlot Wedding, Applejack didn't know about Changelings - so Bon Bon has to capture her in a way that doesn't give away that she's a shapeshifter.

Any suggestions?

4451613
Get Applejack trapped in a pit in the Everfree and then 'go for help'?

I think the method in this case will be determined by the particular scenario. What kind of changelings are you writing? (Pure hive mind, hive mind with individuals, individuals with telepathy, purely individual, insectoids with pony-like features, mammalians with insect-like features, etc.) What's the overall plot? (WHY does AJ need to be temporarily replaced?) What are BonBon's resources? Is your version of BonBon in a relationship with Lyra?

There's just too many possible options from what you've given us so far.

4452656

I apologize; I will try to spell the situation out a bit more understandably.

Changeling type:
Individuals, with Telepathy. (They are capable of telepathic communication with one another; no 'meeting of the minds' effects except in certain special cases/conditions which do not apply here.)
Primarily mammalian, superficially insectoid. (Capable of partial interbreeding with Ponies, if that helps any - 'partial' because the resulting offspring will always be normal ponies.)
*Are capable as a species of some level of mind control.
*Are capable as a species of producing 'gel', the goop used to trap the guards at the wedding and create the sealed 'cocoon' that Princess Celestia was trapped in.

*These abilities are subject to being weakened by Bon Bon's current condition as described below in the 'Reason for replacing AJ' section.

Individuals in the Ponyville Changeling Nest:
1) Bon Bon (Changeling Doe)
2) Dinky Doo (Changeling Nymph)
3) Amethyst Star (Changeling Doe - distant cousin (3rd/4th) of Dinky)
4) Derpy Hooves (Pegasus Mare - adoptive mother of Dinky)
5) Aloe (Changeling Doe)
6) Lotus Blossom (Earth Pony Mare - half-sister of Aloe.)

As can be seen, Lyra is not present on this list. Bon Bon and Lyra are friends, and Bon Bon does, in fact, live with Lyra - she's renting the spare bedroom in Lyra's house and has been for years - but Lyra does not know at this point in time that Bon Bon is anything other than the Earth Pony she appears to be.

Reason for replacing AJ:
The setting is Ponyville the evening of 'The Doll Incident', aka Lesson Zero (S2E3). Looking at the scene where Celestia dispels the 'Want it, Need it' effect, both Amethyst Star and Bon Bon are visible in the crowd. They've both been not only afflicted by a desire/lust inducing spell, but in the presence of several others also so afflicted, whose compelled love for the doll filled the air around them. For a creature that feeds on love, I imagine the results would be similar to a human being swimming in contaminated or poisonous waters.
In order to avoid 'Toxic Love Syndrome', Star and Bon Bon need some way to either purge or dilute the effects of the compelled love - basically, it has to be replaced with real love. And although Aloe has some reserves of love available, and both Derpy and Lotus are willing to help, between them they can only safely produce enough usable love to do the job for one. One of the two victims has to find another source to draw from.
Reason why Applejack specifically: Applejack has a reasonably-sized, loving family with strong intra-family bonds. Of the known families in Ponyville at this time, only Rarity's matches in size (a younger sister and both parents vs. a younger sister, an elder brother, and a grandmother) - and the fact that Rarity has moved out indicates that Rarity's personal bonds with her family are somewhat weaker than Applejack's. This isn't to say that Rarity's love is lesser or weaker - it's merely more diffuse, where the love shared among the Apple Family is concentrated.

Resources available:
Bon Bon has her own wits and intelligence, naturally.
Bon Bon has her own natural abilities as a changeling at her disposal, although using them will speed the course of her Toxic Love Syndrome.
Bon Bon runs a confectionary (candy shop), and may reasonably be assumed to have access to the shop, its equipment and products, and her own personal and business finances.
Bon Bon may be assumed to have access to any easily-portable items of equipment or products from the Day Spa - while Lotus and Aloe will be busy dealing with Amethyst Star, there's no reason for them to deny Bon Bon any other tools that might help her.

Sorry for the delay, life still happens, ne?

So, first off you'll want this to be a bit of campy comedy. For the kind of writing I'd suggest going for, I'd recommend reading War Games Ponies Play by Mind's Eye. I can't really see this being pulled of as a darkfic or drama. (Dramedy, on the other hand...)

With the genre determined, your choices become much more fun. You could have the changelings trying to disguise themselves without using their magic ("Pony style") and have Applejack just kinda playing along out of amusement. You could go for absurd and do a Monty Python style fic. A Douglas Adams homage fic would also be perfect here, with Applejack playing the Arthur Dent character, almost on the verge of going insane from the events around them without fully committing to it. You could do it straight forward for the abduction (probably have to knock AJ out cold, I don't think she'd go quietly otherwise) only to find herself in a fool's gang. (Think British crime comedy, where the "victim" can't quite believe the criminals are pulling it off because they're so inept.)

If you go with dramedy, you'll have to have a good romcom subplot, I'll leave that to your discretion.

Here's how I'd pull this off, in synopsis form:

The local changeling cell in Ponyville, led by Bon-Bon, may not be the most successful members of Queen Chrysalis' hive...as point of fact, they're the "Omega Company," the Queen's dumping grounds for those changelings who are inept at their jobs, uncreative, or just plain dangerous to the changelings around them. Ponyville's resident candy maker is just fine with that, however. Being a failed pod commander "promoted" to lead the cell, she prefers to let the 'lings under her command do as they want so long as they meet their quotas of love energy and don't do anything too stupid...and DON'T reveal, under ANY circumstances, that there are changelings in Ponyville!

When Princess Celestia's "prize" student sets off an emotion bomb in the form of an ill-conceived "Want It, Need It" spell, much like poison being dumped into the local water supply, the love reserves of the changelings are tainted. They have enough un-spoilt reserves between them that they can save the cell...except for one member. It falls to Bon-Bon to find a solution, and that solution is to find a pony who is the recipient of a LOT of love that would be fairly easy for the motley crew of screwup changelings to imitate. Applejack it the mare to replace, as she's got a loving family that has strong bonds, is usually busy with some task or the other from sunup to sundown, who's habits and patterns are not only regular as clockwork but also well known to the entire town.

The plan is hatched when Bon Bon ambushes Applejack while she's working out in the orchard alone. Of course, an out of shape candy maker, changeling or no, has difficulty knocking out Applejack, but succeeds after several tries owing ONLY to Applejack's trusting nature. The swap is made, Bon-Bon's underlings taking Applejack to a secure location. The only problem? That "secure location," the most secure place the changelings in Ponyville a.) know about and b.) have ready access to is Bon-Bon's home...which is also Lyra's home...who isn't a changeling...and doesn't know her roommate is a changeling.

Since Bon-Bon is fairly high-profile and has a business of her own to run, she can't take Applejack's form by herself, so when she gets back home and discovers an unamused Applejack bound and gagged in her bedroom, she may just wish to take death by Toxic Love Syndrome.