Apple Bloom did her best to keep her morning routine as close to normal as possible. Even as she calmly stretched as she stepped out of bed, her mind raced.
Okay, she thought to herself. Assuming that what I just heard wasn't just a crazy dream - and I admit, I've had some strange ones in the past - then the Changelings are preparing to make a major assault on all of Equestria, and one of Applejack's friends has been replaced. She flinched as another thought hit her, but managed to keep moving. I don't know when one of the Harmony Bearers was replaced! It could be Applejack. She kept herself from crying as she thought that. I have no way of knowing who I can trust. Anypony could be a Changeling. She carefully went over what she'd heard, hoping to find some way of knowing as she checked her reflection in her mirror, her bow sitting in the top of her mane. Then she smiled. Wait a minute! Chrysalis said Twilight was hers! If it was real, then I know Twilight ain't a Changeling! But...how do I tell Twilight without telling her I'm a Changeling? She sighed. I don't even know if it was real, and I'm in a real spot of trouble!
She walked calmly down the stairs, frowning. Applejack walked up to her. "Hey there, sis!" Applejack said happily, pulling Apple Bloom into a quick hug and ruffling her mane. "How ya doing today?"
"I'm okay, Applejack," she replied, hugging her back, hoping this was her real sister she was hugging.
Applejack looked down at her. "What's wrong, sugarcube? Did you have a nightmare?"
Apple Bloom suppressed the urge to grin. That's it! "I did," she said, managing to sound sad and worried, which, given what she suspected, wasn't difficult.
Applejack smiled down at her. "Well, wanna tell me about it?"
"It wasn't the nightmare that's bugging me," Apple Bloom said, thinking fast. "When I've had nightmares before, since the Summer Sun Celebration, Princess Luna showed up to help me deal with them. But she didn't show up last night, and I'm worried about her!"
Applejack frowned, looking worried, glancing up at Apple Bloom's bow. Apple Bloom relaxed a bit. If she was right, this was a sign that Applejack was actually Applejack, as she was worried about Luna finding out about Apple Bloom being a Changeling from Apple Bloom's dreams. "Well, I was gonna visit Twilight today," Applejack said with a smile. "How about you come with, and ya can ask Twilight if she knows what's up with Luna. How's that sound?"
Apple Bloom grinned hugely. This couldn't have worked better. "That would be great!" she said happily.
"Alright then," Applejack replied with a smile. "Let's go!"
Apple Bloom walked happily down the road into Ponyville with her sister. As they walked, she noticed that several ponies they passed seemed to have a green glow behind their eyes that she'd never seen before. Applejack didn't seem to notice. Alright, she thought to herself, either I've gone completely mental, or those ponies with the green glow are Changelings in disguise. No real way of knowing, but it's something to go on. She did her best to ignore the green glow, but she kept track of those she noticed with the glow. She also pulled closer to Applejack, who did not have the glow, trying to feel safe. Applejack nuzzled her mane.
Arriving at the library, Apple Bloom saw each of Applejack's friends, along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. She carefully examined each one's eyes, trying to determine if there was a green glow. Only Rainbow Dash's eyes possessed the phantom light.
Apple Bloom suppressed a shudder as she embraced her friends and followed her sister into the library. Twilight smiled, folding her wings she had been preening as she turned to face them. "Hey everyone! Glad you could all make it."
"Of course, Twilight!" Pinkie said, bouncing happily. "Wouldn't miss it for a cartload of cupcakes!"
Twilight chuckled. "So much excitement over a tea party?" she asked with a smile.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with a groan. "If it weren't you, Twilight, I wouldn't even be here," she said with a sigh. Twilight only chuckled in response.
Applejack cleared her throat. "Before we get started, though, Apple Bloom'd like to talk to ya about something, Twi," she said. "Go ahead, Apple Bloom."
Apple Bloom nodded. "Well, I had a nightmare last night, but Princess Luna didn't show up to help me with it. Is she okay?"
Twilight chuckled. "It's nothing to worry about, Apple Bloom. Luna's just become quite a bit more popular recently, and those seeking her aid more numerous. As such, her schedule is quite a bit more full. She probably just didn't have time to find your nightmare."
Apple Bloom lowered her head. "Oh. Well, I'm glad she's okay..."
Twilight knelt down. "Want to tell me about your nightmare? Maybe I can help you with it."
"Well..." Apple Bloom gathered her thoughts, trying to figure out how to present this. An idea occurred to her. "I dreamed that the Changeling Queen was gonna eat me! I kept running and running, but she kept chasing and chasing, and I woke up just before she got me! And now that I'm awake, I keep thinking I'm seeing Changelings everywhere!"
Although Twilight nodded in sympathy, Apple Bloom saw Applejack, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo look sharply but discretely at her. "I can see why that would bother you," Twilight said calmly. "I have no idea what could have caused such a dream...but maybe I can help with 'seeing Changelings'. I happen to have a spell I developed recently that will strip away a Changeling's disguise. That should help you feel safe, right?" Closing her eyes, Twilight raised her head, her horn glowing.
As Apple Bloom flinched back, she saw the wave of purple light pass over everything...and noticed her ribbon glowing strangely for a brief moment. Then Rainbow Dash fell back with a hiss, and the disguise was stripped away, revealing a Changeling. Before anyone else could react beyond shock, Apple Bloom acted. Spinning around, she bucked the Changeling as hard as she could. One hoof struck it at the base of its horn, while the other caught it in its throat. With a chocked hiss, it dropped to the floor, unconscious.
Apple Bloom quickly stepped back and out of the way as the big ponies started to panic. Eventually, Twilight managed to get control of herself. "Spike!" she yelled out over the hub bub. "Lock the Changeling up in the basement! We'll interrogate it when it comes to, to find out what they've done with Rainbow Dash!"
"But..." Fluttershy began, "but what if the Changelings have Rainbow Dash and find out the deception was...found out, and they hurt Rainbow?"
Twilight thought for a moment. "You're right. We need to find her. We split up and search for her. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, you two stay together and search high up. Applejack, Rarity, you two search the town, house by house. Be discrete, all of you. And above all, no one go anywhere alone! We don't want to give the Changelings a chance to capture anyone else. And if you see Changelings, don't try to be heroic. Come straight back here."
The others nodded as they headed out in pairs, Pinkie mentioning they needed to stop by Sugar Cube Corner so she could pick up her candy cane copter.
Apple Bloom headed upstairs, closely followed by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. As soon as the door was shut, Scootaloo metaphorically pounced. "You knew-"
"Shh!" Apple Bloom said, glancing around. Off in the distance out the window, she could see the occasional flare of green that she now recognized as Changeling magic, but there was none in the room. "Okay, we're clean. Go ahead."
"You knew Rainbow was a Changeling," Scootaloo finished. "How? And why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't know it was her until I saw her," Apple Bloom replied. "I saw green light in her eyes. I can see a Changeling in disguise when I look at them. ...it doesn't seem like they can see me, though. And...that nightmare I told you all about? I heard Chrysalis giving orders to her entire swarm. They're planning a major assault on all of Equestria, and Chrysalis herself is somewhere in Ponyville! And I learned that one of the Harmony Bearers had been replaced, but I didn't know which one."
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stared at her, shocked. Then Sweetie Belle spoke up. "Well, what's our next move?"
"Next move?" Scootaloo asked.
"Our?" Apple Bloom added.
"Of course," Sweetie Belle said happily. "You're the secret weapon against the bad Changelings. That means the three of us can save Equestria from them if we try! We just need to know what we're going to do next."
"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "Yeah, I like it! We'll be like...secret agents or something!"
Apple Bloom smiled, and raised her hoof with the others as they quietly shouted, "Cutie Mark Crusaders Secret Agents! Yay!"
As they grinned, Scootaloo spoke up. "So, like Sweetie said, what's our next move?"
Apple Bloom smiled. "Finding out where Rainbow Dash is so we can save her. I'm gonna see if I can tune into the hive chatter again." She closed her eyes, sinking into her mind as she sought out the voices at the edge of her awareness.
-mean, our agent was found? Chrysalis was demanding.
We have just discovered that the Changeling posing as the Element of Loyalty was discovered by the other Bearers and captured. He is currently locked up in the Library basement, guarded by Twilight and the dragon. The others have split off in pairs of two to search for Rainbow Dash.
Chrysalis choice of vocabulary left Apple Bloom blushing, wishing she didn't hear the meaning of words along with the words themselves this way. At least tell me we have her hidden somewhere secure?
No concerns there. The hidden chamber built into the cloud house is completely concealed.
Apple Bloom pulled out of the chatter, closing her mind to the discourse. "They're keeping Rainbow in her own cloud house!" she whispered quietly.
"How are we supposed to get up there?" Scootaloo asked. "I can't fly that high, and neither of you can walk on clouds."
Sweetie Belle smiled. "Wait right here," she said, leaving the room. She came back with three purple outfits. "Twilight and Rarity have been working on these, weaving all sorts of enchantments into the fabric...including the cloud walking spell." She unrolled three Mare-Do-Well outfits. "And...Rarity taught me her resizing spell," she continued, blushing with pleasure.
Apple Bloom gazed into Sweetie's eyes, glad to not see any sign of unnatural green. "Alright," she said. "We'll wear these costumes and hop across rooftops and the clouds that are still out and about to reach Rainbow's house. Then we'll bust Rainbow out of there and bring her back here. But we can't let anyone find out it's us three." Her friends nodded. "Alright, let's go!"
They donned the outfits, and Sweetie Belle resized them to fit. With the hats and capes on, no one could tell what sort of pony each of them was. With silent nods, they leapt out the window into the tree's branches, and from there towards Rainbow's cloud house.