The Adjutant–General of the Hive examined the model of a rainbow–haired cyan pegasus in her hooves. Whoever made it was a master of the craft; not only were the proportions correct, but the pose was very lifelike, and the colors of the pegasus's mane were even arranged by their prismatic order. The cutie mark on the pony's flank was miniscule, but drawn with enough precision that she could tell it was a cloud with a tri–colored lightning bolt coming out of it. This was a perfect scaled–down model of the famous Rainbow Dash.
She put it back where she had found it, on a large map of Ponyville, the size of a small tablecloth. It joined several other clay figures, Twilight Sparkle and her friends among them. It was quite an impressive effort at depicting the residents of Ponyville.
How much did it cost? Adjutant frowned as she ran the numbers in her head. Resources were short in the hive, and they could ill afford to divert workers and supplies away from food production or infiltration. Who had the time to make several hundred models and then paint them? What was the point of this chamber, anyways?
A grey pony model, surrounded in a green telekinetic field, slowly floated past Adjutant's eyes and was slowly lowered onto the library, where it joined the models of Twilight, Rainbow, and Spike.
"I don't like that one," a venomous voice hissed. "He knows too much."
"I agree, my Queen." The drone studied the models on the map. "But at least we will have a chance to rectify our mistake. He is vulnerable, and can be easily dispatched."
"Our mistake?" The temperature in the room dropped several degrees as Queen Chrysalis stalked around the table until she loomed over her drone. "Do you mean to imply that it was my fault that he escaped our wrath? Need I remind you, Adjutant, that he is only alive because one of your operatives lost his nerve?"
"No, my Queen," Adjutant dropped to her knees and laid her head at Chrysalis's hooves. "Forgive me. When I said 'our', I only intended to refer to the warrior caste. I would not dare to impugn your glorious leadership."
"Good." Chrysalis laid a lazy hoof on Thunderball's figurine. "I trust that there will be no more mistakes. The grey one will die. After that, we move on to the stage two. How many changelings did you say are in Ponyville right now?"
"A few dozen. Enough to justify our excursion."
"Excellent." Chrysalis raised her hoof and swept Thunderball, Twilight, Spike, and a good portion of the townsfolk off the map in one blow, showering Adjutant with figurines. "Pick those up for me, will you?" she cooed sweetly as she stepped out of the room.
There was no sun in the basement of the Golden Oaks Library, but that did not stop Thunderball's biological clock from sounding its alarm at exactly six AM. He bolted upright, panting wildly as his eyes scanned the room, only to slowly calm down as he realized he was alone. He turned off the various lamps that he had gathered around himself the previous night before walking up the stairs into the library. Bright rays of sunshine streamed through the windows and into the empty building. The sight inspired him to open his mouth in a yawn and drink in the light as if it were water.
Thunderball made his way through the library to the kitchen, with surprisingly little noise for a pony wearing horseshoes, and opened a window to let in the fresh country air. He put a pot of water on the stove to boil for oatmeal and scrambled half a dozen eggs on the stove. The eggs had just heated to perfection when something crashed into the side of the library hard enough to shake the tree trunk. The eggs were launched high up into the air, and he dove after them, barely managing to catch them in the skillet before they hit the ground.
"What in Celestia's name was that?" he mumbled though the handle in his mouth.
"Probably the mail," Rainbow Dash answered nonchalantly as she walked into the kitchen. "Mmm, do I smell eggs?"
Thunderball looked at her incredulously. "What kind of mail crashes into the library?"
A gray pegasus stuck her head into the library through the window. Thunderball stared into the strangest set of golden eyes he had ever seen in a pony; one was pointed directly at him while the other looked Rainbow Dash in the face. "'Morning Rainbow Dash! I've never seen you up this early before!"
"Hey, Derpy! I got stuck with a morning shift today. Bleh, can you imagine clearing clouds at this hour?"
"Well, I hope you have a good day anyways! By the way, I got some mail for Twilight." The mailmare ruffled through her bag before dropping a mouthful of letters into the kitchen sink.
Rainbow gathered them up and stacked them neatly on the countertop. "Why don't you come in for a bite to eat? Thunderball makes great scrambled eggs!"
Derpy looked around curiously, one eye settling on Thunderball while the other seemed to stare at the ceiling. "Eggs? Not muffins?"
Rainbow scrounged about the kitchen before coming up with a white porcelain jar. "Sorry, the closest we have are some sugar cookies."
"It's okay, I'll just buy some from Pinkie later," Derpy said. "So who's Thunderbolt?"
Thunderball raised his hoof. "Hello. And it's 'Thunderball,' ma'am."
Derpy waved enthusiastically. "Oh hi! So, are you new in town? If you need to set up a mailing address just let me know, alright?"
"Uh, sure. I'll keep that in mind, but I'm only visiting."
"Well, don't discount the idea," she giggled. "Lots of ponies who come here end up staying, like Twilight! And me! Something about this place seems to draw in ponies. All the love and good cheer, I guess!"
"And don't forget the awesome mail service," Rainbow added, before whispering to Thunderball, "Just don't let her help you with anything else, unless you want it destroyed."
Derpy's ear twitched, but she kept smiling. "Well, I need to deliver a package to Caramel, so I'll see you around! Bye Rainbow! Welcome to Ponyville, Thunderbolt!"
Rainbow waved as the mailmare flew off lopsidedly towards her next stop, while Thunderball shook his head.
"It's Thunder...ball..." But by then, she was already out of earshot. "...Are you sure she's good at mail delivery?" he said once she was safely out of earshot. "And please tell me that isn't actually her name."
"Her name's actually Ditzy Doo, but everypony I know calls her Derpy. And she's great at delivering mail, if only because she's a disaster at everything else."
"That's… nice." Thunderball dumped the eggs onto a plate and set it on the table before serving himself up bowl of oatmeal.
He thought over the mailmare as he sprinkled sugar onto the oatmeal; she seemed normal enough — a bit of an airhead, but likely harmless. Then again, working in the post office would give an infiltrator a perfect opportunity to monitor communications in Ponyville among the non–dragon population.
She mentioned that she was an immigrant to Ponyville. From where? How long ago? Had she settled here because of the friendly small–town atmosphere, or was it literally due to the "love and good cheer"?
The train of thought was suddenly derailed by an awe–inspiring belch; Thunderball looked up to see Rainbow was sitting in front of a clean plate that used to hold his eggs.
"You're a good cook, you know? Eggs were light and fluffy, but you seasoned them too lightly."
Thunderball stared at her wordlessly and consoled himself with the oatmeal. Rainbow watched him for a moment before continuing. "Why the cold treatment? Still think I'm a changeling?"
The wary expression on Thunderball's face lightened and became slightly more predatory. "If I did, I wouldn't tell you."
"You let me sit in on your top secret briefing last night, didn't you?"
"Yes. Yes I did." Thunderball leaned in so he was face to face with her and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Now here's the question: how much of what I told you was true, and how much was misinformation to feed to your changeling conspirators?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes at his mindgames. "Change of topic: how was your night?"
The stallion shrugged and tossed a pinch of cinnamon into his oatmeal. "I slept fairly well. Yourself?"
"Stayed up all night with Twilight reading the new Daring Do book and catching up, of course. We really don't get to hang out enough these days, what with my Wonderbolt training and her being a princess and all."
The barest hint of a smile tugged at the sides of Thunderball's mouth. "Isn't that a children's series?"
"Daring Do happens to be written for ponies of all ages!"
"I suppose you read it for the plot." The emphasis on the last syllable left little doubt as to Thundeball's meaning.
Rainbow fumed for a moment before speaking again. "Alright, now it's your turn! "What can you tell me about the Secret Service?"
Thunderball dropped his spoon into the oatmeal as his eyes shot up to meet Rainbow's. "Pardon?"
"How do I get in? Is the pay good? What do they have you do?"
Thunderball stared at her for a long moment. "...Are you seriously thinking about joining?"
Rainbow’s response was to puff out her chest and spread her wings. "Well, that depends on if they can handle a mare as awesome as me."
Thunderball rolled his eyes. "You get into the SIS when they decide that they want you. They typically go after promising fliers in the royal guards or the Equestrian army. I was an aerial assault specialist in the Special Air Service myself when I was transferred. They pay… well, the pay's terrible, they work you to death, and the only medals you'll ever get are kept in a locked room under Canterlot Castle, but the benefits are good, and you will always know at the end of the day you did your part in making Equestria safer."
Rainbow edged in uncomfortably close to Thunderball. "So, they must have had you in a field position, eh? Got any cool stories?"
Thunderball shifted his seat away from her. "Uh, I really can't tell you anything."
"Come on, I'm Rainbow Dash! Wonderbolt in training, friend to Princess Twilight, and bearer of the Element of Loyalty. Who could possibly be more trustworthy than me?"
"The Element of Honesty?"
Rainbow threw her hooves up in the air. "One story! That's all I ask!"
The persistent questions were annoying Thunderball; Rainbow Dash reminded him far too much of the army shrinks he had to deal with. They insisted upon asking probing questions about his physical and psychological health until he had become fed up and told them what they wanted to hear so that he could return to doing actual work.
That gave him an idea. His expression became a shade more predatory again as his voice sank low. "What I am about to tell you cannot leave the walls of this library."
–
The sound of cannons roared from the walls and ramparts of the dark fortress. Twenty soldiers of the Equestrian Army's 3rd infantry battalion were pinned down in a ditch by the road leading to the fortress.
"I'm hit! I'm hit!" their sergeant screamed as shrapnel exploded around him.
"Medic!" somepony shouted as the sergeant was pulled out of harm's way by his lance corporal.
"Dammit, where are those reinforcements? We're sitting ducks out here!"
"1st company reports heavy resistance in the hills; they won't be able to make it!"
"Don't worry Sarge, you'll be alright!"
"For the love of Equestria, where are the tranquilizers? Where's my tourniquet?"
Private Bucky, the newest and youngest member of the squad, huddled in fear and flattened himself on the ground in a desperate attempt to find safety from the bombardment.
"It's over, dear Celestia, it's all over," he whimpered as the earth exploded all around him.
"It's never over!" a bold voice shouted over the din. The soldiers turned around to see an earth pony stallion dressed in an uniform seemingly made out of the Equestrian flag, with the image of the sun emblazoned on the shield that he carried. He stood tall and proud despite the carnage around him and extended a hoof towards Bucky.
"Come on soldier! On your hooves! This is no time to be lying about."
Bucky raised a shaking hoof towards the newcomer and found himself pulled upright.
"Soldiers of Equestria, we can't stay here waiting for death to find us! Come, let us take action!"
"Well what do you suggest we do?" the sergeant shouted back.
"Follow me and charge!" The stallion raised his shield to block a burst of shrapnel and jumped into the ditch. He ran through it and towards the fortress. "Come on ponies! Do you want to live forever?"
A mighty cheer rose from the ranks as the men followed the stallion. The cannons could not bring themselves to bear on the rapidly moving charge and the soldiers soon made it to the wrought iron gate of the fortress. The stallion leading them did not break his stride as he raised his shield and rammed it into the gate at full speed.
There was a deafening crash that rang through the air as the gate gave way to reveal the fortress courtyard, and the hundreds of spear–wielding soldiers assembled to meet them.
"So, you zought zat you could just march your little toy soldiers up to mein fortress and conquer it, did you?" Their leader sneered as he made his way forward. Bucky gasped in terror at what he saw; a red unicorn with a skull–like head.
"Yeah, that about sums it up." The stallion shrugged. "Just like last time."
"ZIS WILL NOT BE LIKE LAST TIME, MEIN FRIEND!" the red unicorn shouted. "FOR YOU ZERE SHALL BE NO VICTORY OR ESCAPE FROM MEIN GRASP! TODAY YOU SHALL DIE!"
With that, the unicorn charged forward to meet his nemesis in combat as a frantic melee broke out around them. Though outnumbered, the Equestrian soldiers fought bravely from the gate, where their enemy's numerical advantage would be lessened. Meanwhile, the stallion and unicorn exchanged blow after blow in a battle so furious that none dared approach them. Each kick from the stallion hit upon a magical barrier protecting the unicorn, while each blast of magic the unicorn mustered merely bounced off of the stallion's shield, often hitting one of the unfortunate enemy soldiers nearby.
The stalemate continued until the unicorn quickly cast a spell on the courtyard floor, turning the dirt under his opponent into a sticky pit of mud. As the stallion struggled to gain his balance, the unicorn formed a magical sword overhead and brought it down to bear at the stallion's head.
An energy blast caught the unicorn in the chest just before the spell could finish and launched him across the courtyard into a flowing marble fountain, which shattered into a thousand pieces from the force of the impact.
Everypony looked up to see what appeared to be an alicorn in a suit of red and gold armor slowly descending from the sky, though the wings and horn were part of the armor itself. The powerful thrust provided by the suit's wings seemed matched only by the jets of energy that it emitted from its hooves.
"Now isn't that just like you to start a party without me, Captain?" The pony in the suit laughed as she —
–
"Hold on one Celestia–forsaken minute!" Rainbow Dash pounded the table with her hooves. "You're just telling me a Captain Equestria and Iron Mare story!"
Thunderball grinned like a colt who had been caught with his hoof in the cookie jar. "Guilty as charged! How do you know so much about comics?"
Rainbow Dash blushed. "Well… Well… How do you?"
Now it was Thunderball's turn to be flustered. "Don't change the subject!"
They stared each other down and Rainbow Dash flicked her tail in annoyance. "Why won't you just tell me about what you do?"
Thunderball threw his hooves up in the air. "Fine! I sit around in an office all day reading reports, alright?"
"You're telling me the Secret Service recruited an aerial assault specialist to read reports?"
"Yes, that is exactly what I'm telling you!"
"Of all the—"
"Rainbow Dash! Are you pestering Lieutenant Thunderball?"
Both pegasi looked at the entrance to see Twilight walking into the kitchen and exchanged glances.
"Uhh...no?"
"Everything's fine, Your Highness. We were just having a...conversation about superponies."
"Oh! I didn't know you liked comics," Twilight said brightly as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. "Who's your favorite superpony, Thunderball?"
The stallion looked distinctly uncomfortable at being referred to so informally. By a princess asking a personal question, no less. "Er...Deadpony, Your Highness."
"Really? Mine's Dr. Weird, the Sorcerer Supreme."
"Ooh! Ooh! Mine's Nightwing! She is, without a doubt, the coolest superhero ever!"
"Well, you would like her, wouldn't you?" Twilight chuckled as she sat down by the table. "So, what's the plan for today, you two?"
Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof on the table. "I've got weather management this morning, followed by a Wonderbolt training session in the afternoon."
"Well, that would be something." The enthusiasm in Thunderball's voice earned him an odd look from Rainbow Dash. "I wanted to join the Wonderbolts when I was younger, but I didn't make the cut."
The other two ponies looked at him in surprise. Rainbow seemed particularly sympathetic. "Sorry to hear that. It sucks when you can’t live out your dreams."
"No regrets." Thunderball's voice suggested the opposite, but not even Rainbow Dash was tactless enough to point it out. "I ended up in the right place in the end, so it all worked out for the best. Speaking of which, I was hoping we could perform a cursory examination of Ponyville. Perhaps meet with the other Bearers to make sure they haven't been replaced by changelings? Though I can't imagine we'd get very far zapping them. That spell you used on me last night was unpleasant, to say the least."
Twilight waved her hoof casually. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. The tensor field equations still need some fine tuning, but I can use my Element to sense if any of the others are still in harmony with their Elements. If they are, we'll know they aren't impostors."
Thunderball looked at Twilight thoughtfully. "Seems reasonable. Can I see how it works?"
"Certainly!" Twilight's horn glowed as she summoned the tiara bearing the Element of Magic. She held it close to Rainbow Dash, and it briefly pulsed deep purple. "It doesn't technically have to flash visibly. So long as it's connected to me I can feel it without much trouble."
"Cool! I didn't know they could do that! Does mine come with any special features?"
Twilight scratched her chin. "I don't know. Do you think you can stick around for me to run some tests?"
"Nah, it's almost time for my shift. Maybe later, Twi. Hey, thanks for letting me stay over and everything."
"Not a problem, Rainbow. See you later!" Twilight hugged her friend before Rainbow Dash flew out the window and up into the sky.
Twilight donned the tiara and walked towards the door. "Well, it looks like we've all got a busy day today. Come on, Lieutenant; let me introduce you to my friends."