In Plain Sight

by Diamond Sparkle

Chapter Two-Swapping Silver

Silver Spoon looked at Diamond Tiara with horror. No marefriend should have to see that sort of look on her loved one's face, the sort of look that Diamond normally reserved for the Cutie Mark Crusaders when she was about to tease them. "Silver, I know we are a secret couple and have been that way for a long while, but I am just not ready to tell everyone yet, and least of all my parents. And you are taking things a little too fast for my liking. I mean, you are a great kisser, but I am just not ready for more then kissing and cuddling quite yet. That will change in time but...maybe we should see a little less of each other for a while."

Silver felt her mouth drop wide open at the thought. "Di, surely you can't really mean that? You know how much being with you means to me. What if....what if you plan to have a secret relationship with another pony behind my back? I mean, you are the best, richest, most attractive pony in all of Ponyville. Other ponies would love to be with you."

Diamond rolled her eyes and her reply was not what Silver wanted to hear. " Silver, I look so attractive to you because you love me to a rather unhealthy degree. And of course I don't plan to cheat on you just because I want to have a few days apart from you. You can be so insecure at times. My love for you is solid enough to take a dragon's weight. I just want us to have a time out for a few days, that's all." And she turned her back on her marefriend and headed back to her mansion, Silver watching as her marefriend walked out of sight. Maybe it was a bad idea to try and lick her cutie mark the last time we made out and I took things too fast She decided to just take things slow and wait for Diamond to be ready for going further then making out together.

When she got home she found Shining Armour, the Captain of the Royal Guard, waiting for her in his full uniform, and curtseyed. Her family was rich, but it was very rare to have a pony of this rank come to see them.

With him there was another pony and her mouth dropped open for the second time that afternoon. The filly was her age, and an apparent double of her down to the glasses and braid of silver hair and the silver spoon for a cutie mark. Shining Armour told her, after throwing a small magical shield around them " Silver Spoon, you have to leave now. You are to be taken in a closed litter to Canterlot where you will be told what is expected of you."

"What? For how long? And who is this fraud who dares to dress as me?"

"An agent of Canterlot Intelligence, but the rest is classified information."

Silver's tail flicked from side to side, her ears went right back and she snorted with anger at the hated double who was going to take her place. A horrible thought came to her. What if the double ended up going out with her precious Diamond-kissing and cuddling her or worse, making love to her in Silver's place?

"I am not letting that...that whorse seduce my Diamond, she's mine."

"Diamond Tiara will also be sent elsewhere, so you need not worry about her being seduced by the agent. "

"You expect me to let this...horrible false me sleep in my bedroom and steal my life? NO."

"I can have you shackled and muzzled and dragged into that closed litter if I have to, to keep you safe and preserve our operation's confidentiality."

Silver let a kick out at him that dented his armour.

*****
"Mmmmmpphh!"

Silver Spoon screamed through her leather muzzle but not much sound got out. She could barely move her hooves, trapped in padded iron hobbles as they were. "Be fortunate it is me stallionhoofing you and not the Equestrian Mafia. The Mafia would most likely maim you or worse. I don't care what happens to you, you spoiled little brat ; but I do care that my mission against the Mafia is a success." Her parents held her close in their hooves and kissed her forehead lovingly again and again. He father told her "I will so miss you, princess, and this faux daughter that has been forced on us means nothing to us. As soon as you are back we will throw a huge party for you with Pinkie Pie's help, as large as your cutecenara was." Her mother was almost crying and said "I too will miss you, Silver. As soon as the Mafia are caught you will be the first to know."

As she was placed in the pegasui-pulled closed litter she wanted to wipe her forehead as her parents had planted what felt like thirty kisses on it, but her hooves were trapped in the hobbles so she had to leave it alone. She imagined her Diamond finding her like this, kissing and hugging her and then setting her free, and they would run away together. This might cause it's own problems, but even if they had to sleep under a bridge and beg for bits at least she would have her glorious Diamond by her side. She let out a deep sigh and sat there bored until at last she landed and two unicorns took her using her magic to a spa that seemed better and bigger then any spa she had ever been to. Two spa ponies came up and to her horror they began to paint her body a copper colour, smoothing it all over her and ignoring her muffled protests. They dyed her mane and tail blonde and placed mane extensions in her mane after unbraiding it and red contact lenses in her eyes, removing her pearl necklace that she had worn since she was a very small foal. A red ribbon was tied into her tail and then they brought over a mirror for her and ungagged her so they could paint her muzzle.

Looking at her in the mirror was a beautiful copper pony with fine red eyes, who as yet had no cutie mark. "At least you took my gag off. I am hungry and thirsty and stiff. When will you take these hobbles off me?"

"Copper Mine, as that is your name now, when the paint has dried as it will soon do. Then Princess Luna herself will speak with you."

After she was unhobbled and allowed to stretch and the last of her silver fur painted over, she bowed when Princess Luna came forward. Despite everything that had happened to her she still had the deepest respect for the Royal Princesses like any loyal Equestrian should.

"I am sorry for what you had to go through, and it must be very traumatic for you to be forcibly taken from your family, renamed and restyled, but if the Black Hoof Gang had grabbed you they would have cut off your ears and Diamond's too and sent them to your parents with the ransom demand. They are very nasty ponies indeed and have done this twice before. One of their victims was a young model who can now never model again, as none of the modelling agencies want a pony with stumps for ears. They also sliced through her cutie mark. Come in, Pretty One."

A pony came in with bright white fur, a yellowish mane and tail, and barely healed stumps where her ears used to be. Her cutie mark, one of a golden cup, had two healed cuts in a cross over it and she looked very unhappy. "Look what they did to me! I was a model, tipped by Fancy Pants to be the Next Big Thing. Until they kidnapped me, sliced up my cutie mark and cut off my ears which they sent to my parents. My parents had to pay a hundred thousand bits to get me back, and our house was repossessed as we could no longer pay the mortgage on it. I don't want what happened to me to happen to you. I will never be able to be a model again as none of the model agencies would want to hire a mutilated pony. I now have to work at a market stall."

Princess Luna said "It is vital to our operation that you not only be kept safe, but that the kidnappers don't know that anything has changed. When they make their move we will be waiting for them. For now a family of rock farmers who recently lost a daughter to death are willing to take you in. You will have to get used to not being rich, but I feel sure that they will look after you. Diamond Tiara is going through much the same as you are. Tomorrow you will have a false cutie mark tattooed upon your flank to complete your disguise, and you will spend a while teaching your double what she needs to pass properly as you. And as soon as the kidnappers are caught, you will have your pearl necklace back, will be restored perfectly to your silver self and brought back to your family."

"This would be much easier to bear if I had Diamond with me."

"You'll be alright. I watch over all colts and fillies in their dreams and perhaps I can send you some sweet dreams of your true love, although I cannot be everywhere at once. Tonight you will sleep in a fine bed in the Castle, as good as your bed at home. But first you will have a fine meal fit for a Princess." Soon, her belly filled with the finest food, "Copper" fell asleep thinking of her gorgeous marefriend, wondering what Diamond looked like in disguise.

Comments

[deadpansnarker]

So, let me get this straight...'Copper Mine' is forced to have copper fur, a yellow mane and tail, not to mention the red eyes, hair extensions and the bow in her tail... And 'Apple Turnover' has... Green curly everything, no added accessories and still gets to keep Tiara's blue eyes?

I think I know who's got the better end of this deal...

[Diamond Sparkle]

6891575 Poor Silver Spoon.