//------------------------------// // Wedding Notice // Story: Wedding of Deception // by Shadowed Rainbow //------------------------------// "Well, well, well... it seems that things are about to change around here." There are, of course, many changes in a pony's life. Sometimes it's a day-to-day difference like that of the weather, and sometimes it's a big change which leaves a lasting impact on a pony's life. There are many events like these which have importance - weddings, births, holidays, causes of celebration and good tidings. And along with the importance of these events comes others bringing it up as their topic of current discussion. The speaker was talking about a major event such as this - a wedding. And not just a wedding of two ordinary ponies, but a grand union of Equestrian royalty. With royalty, a momentous occasion is never shared with simply a few close friends and family. The celebrity status of the ponies in question guarantees that the entire surrounding area will be alerted about the event sooner or later. Especially the celebration that was fast approaching for the citizens of the equine nation known as Equestria. Seeing as the country was ruled by Princess Celestia, an alicorn who possessed the power to raise the sun itself, the news of her niece's wedding spread like wildfire all over Canterlot, as well as extending to the surrounding communities. It wasn't long before everypony was talking about the news, eagerly discussing their plans for the royal wedding and whether or not they would be able to attend for the festivities. There were two separate groups of ponies, however, who were interested in the wedding for a very different reason. Rather than legitimately caring for the well-being of the two ponies who were to be wed, their plan was all for their own business. They weren't scouts for nothing. Despite their similarity in goal and nature, however, neither group had any idea that the other was around in the large city. The first of the two congregations consisted of a trio of unicorns. The three of them sat together in one of the city's small coffee shops, reading the newspaper. To be specific, they were eying a public notice, a headline that everypony in Canterlot had quickly become aware of, ignoring the more mediocre blurbs that were printed in the day's papers. The trio jostled around to gaze at it evenly, focusing on the image of the two ponies upon the paper's surface The tallest of these - a mare with an azure coat, black mane, and blue eyes, with a saw adorning her flank - was the one who had spoken as she tore the advertisement from the rest of the parchment. "So, these two have known each other for several years, then?" She arched her brow, curious. "The love between them must be strong." "Must be," a colt agreed, his purple front hooves propped up on the table. "They do look pretty together." He tilted his head slightly to get his short white mane out of his face, allowing his ruby-red eyes to peer at the paper in interest. "Of course they do, blank-flank, it's a wedding," snapped the tall mare, using her magic to lift the paper from the table's cold surface and fold it neatly before walking off. The other two followed closely behind as they exited the premises of the small shop. "And if they've been together for a while, there's sure to be plenty of love between them." A slow smile. "Their marriage isn't arranged, so there's got to be a strong emotional connection. It's just as it should be in a marriage... at least, for our purposes." The third unicorn of the group was another mare, slender and sporting a bright yellow coat with a flowing orange mane, lime green irises intently focused on the pair depicted. Her flanks were adorned with a musical note, which she appeared to exemplify with an eager bout of humming. "Not for long though," she said with a chuckle. "Yeah," the colt added eagerly, "we're gonna have an interesting event to report! There's always plenty of love at weddings!" The blue unicorn glanced at the colt's flank, devoid of any mark. "Your mark should be 'C.O.'" "C.O'?" "Captain Obvious," the lean mare stated with a roll of her eyes, clearly irritated with him. The colt glared up at her in annoyance, not taking kindly to the insult to his intelligence. "Well this isn't even my-" Suddenly finding himself on the receiving end of a warning glare, the pony stopped short and closed his mouth, having nearly let their secret slip out. "Just shut it before we get in trouble," the lemon-colored unicorn whispered. She glanced around, making sure nopony else was around to observe them before continuing. "We can't just stand around here and discuss this in the city for much longer. The Queen will definitely want to hear about this. We haven't had an opportunity like this is a long time." She unfolded the paper briefly to steal another glance at the two ponies, gaze lingering on the stallion. "If the Queen approves, she might be able to... find a use for him..." The other two gave her brief nods of agreement. And then, with another quick glance to make sure their talk had went unseen, the trio began to change. Green flames quickly sprung up around them, engulfing their forms, and within seconds their appearances were altered completely. Gone were the three ponies who had been discussing the wedding like everypony else, as they were now replaced by beings that were unlike any ordinary pony. The creatures - known as changelings - were a dark gray color, nearly black, possessing large holes in their legs and eyes of a a bright, shimmering blue. The three changelings wore small armor casings on their backs of a navy blue color, though only one - the one who had once held the form of the yellow mare - sported a helmet of the same dark blue shade. The helmed changeling glanced at the other two, gaze lingering once more on the newspaper announcement. Her gaze focused on the blue-maned stallion for a moment before rolling the paper up, securing it carefully. And with that, the trio flew into the air, wings buzzing, and set off toward their destination. The Hive where their swarm resided. Yet they were unaware of the other group within the city's walls that, like the three of them, were not at all what they seemed. In another sector of Canterlot, four ponies were gazing at the same notice in an alleyway, concealed from everypony else. One of the cluster, a tangerine-colored unicorn, was using his magic to levitate the poster into their view, looking carefully at the bride and groom shown on the paper. "Well what do you know," the lanky pony said inquisitively, "if the King is informed of this, it might work out well for us." "Do you think that it could work?" murmured one of the others, a bulky lavender, blue-maned pegasus. "There's bound to be tight security when the time comes for the wedding." He moved closer, scrutinizing the poster with an analytical gaze. "Though, they do seem to have a strong bond, considering how long they've known each other." A tilt of his head. "And the mare is quite pretty to boot-" His speech was interrupted with a sudden light cuff to his back by one of the others, causing him to turn and glare at the one who had struck him. The one who had delivered the light blow was a red-maned earth pony with a peach-colored coat, his strong hoof now settling firmly onto the ground. "For Circe's sake," he hissed, invoking the name of their Goddess, "you're not one to think about flirting with the bride. This wedding is the perfect way to get the kind of energy that we deserve." Despite his earlier scoldings, he too couldn't help but glance at the bride-to-be. A smile crept upon his face, orange eyes glinting at the thought. "... and what our King desires." The stallion chuckled, gently placing a hoof on the picture. "He'd probably like her." "At least more than-" The red-maned stallion directed a sharp glare toward the speaker, a brown earth pony with an hourglass for a cutie mark. He moved his head closer. "I think I know who you're gonna mention," he said in a warning tone, "but don't even think about it. You know how the King gets when that topic is brought up." "But he's not here right now." "Doesn't matter," the fourth of their assembly pointed out in a stern voice, a light gray stallion with a darker-shaded mane. His wings beat in irritation. "Don't you have any respect? It's better if we just focus on getting back to the Hive and stop debating on the King's relationship status. That's his own thing to be concerned with." Following a steady glance on all sides, scrutinizing every corner for unfortunate witnesses, a burst of green fire briefly concealed the pony's form before revealing his true self. He too, was a changeling, similar looking to those in the other group, also sporting a large helmet to signify himself as a lieutenant. As the others transformed into their ordinary appearances as well, it was clear that there were a few differences from the changeling's in the first group. While their they still retained the dark gray coloring that was characteristic of their species, there were no holes visible in their legs, their limbs instead having took on a full-bodied appearance like that of a normal pony. In addition, rather than the electric-blue eyes of the first group of changelings, the eyes of these four were a light green, not quite as vibrant as the shade of the flames that surrounded their bodies when they switched appearances. Their armor was different as well, being metallic coverings of a forest green color in contrast to the navy blue of the first group. The four changelings rose into the air, rising over the city while making sure that nopony was looking up at them to catch a glimpse of the mysterious creatures above. Once they had assured themselves that their viewpoint was clear, away from the observing gaze of any pony, the small platoon sped off toward their own place of residence. Caught up in their own intents, neither of the two assemblages had caught sight of the other, unaware that they had all heard news of the same celebration. With that ignorance, each congregation was reporting back to their ruler on this potentially grand opportunity for them, considered now the only point of interest on their minds. They had no reason or knowledge to report of any suspicious activity, certainly not another group of changelings from a Hive other than their own. Perhaps that was for the best. The two rulers, after all, would likely not have been all too happy to hear of one another. Not after they had broken ties with each other long ago.