From Equestria with Love

by Juntao112

Chapter 4

Twilight grinned wickedly as she stepped out of the Carousel Boutique. "So I hear you have a hot date later this week."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Thunderball came out from behind her with a scroll bearing Goldengrape's contact information in his mouth, which was discretely deposited into a nearby trashcan. "The Equestrian army appreciates your open–mindedness and commitment to the issue of LGBT rights."

Twilight giggled and skipped towards the town market, where she spotted a beautiful yellow pegasus with a basket under one wing and a money pouch under the other. She walked past them serenely until Twilight called her name, causing her jump straight up into the air and drop both of her possessions.

"Hey Fluttershy!" Twilight said as she gathered the pouch and basket for her friend. "I have somepony I want you to meet. Thunderball's a royal agent Celestia sent to watch over my personal safety while we make sure Ponyville is safe from changelings," she whispered. "I've been showing him around Ponyville all morning and introducing him to my friends."

Thunderball narrowed his eyes as he recognized her. "...I remember you from the Gala."

Fluttershy blushed as red as Big Mac as she babbled almost incoherently. "Oh! Oh my, I...I...Were you there? I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to upset the animals. It was just...I hadn't seen them before and they were all so...!"

Twilight's tail twitched. "Fluttershy—"

The pegasus paled under her fur. "Please tell me Celestia isn't secretly angry at me for that! She won't banish me, will she?"

"Fluttershy..."

Fluttershy began to hyperventilate. "Oh no! What about the moon? What if she decides to send me there? I can't live on the moon for a thousand years! I can't! There's no air on the moon!"

"Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy’s coat turned a deep crimson as she realized what a spectacle she had made of herself. "Oh! Um...Yes, Twilight?"

"What are you up to today?"

"I...I'm buying food for the animals," she murmured as she blushed again. "W–Would you like to accompany me there? Applejack's set up a stall today; maybe you can introduce Thunderball to her as well?"

Twilight sighed happily seeing that her friend was back to normal. "Sure, Fluttershy!"

The two mares moved next to each other and began talking, which gave Thunderball a chance to think by himself. So far, it seemed that Ponyville was fairly secure despite the presence of changelings, but that just meant that their plan had not yet come to fruition. What were they up to? Assassination or kidnapping seemed unlikely, given that they had had ample opportunity for months. Whatever it was, it was likely a great deal more sinister and subversive. At an educated guess, based on what he himself would do if put in charge of a cell of changelings, they would—

Thunderball collided with something soft and cream–colored, which squeaked as it fell to the ground.

"Thunderball?" An earth pony mare stared at him in shock from the ground.

He immediately reached for her foreleg and pulled her up. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you — Wait, do I know you?"

She looked down and pawed at the ground nervously. "We, uh, met in Canterlot last year..."

"Oh Celestia...Not the Grand Galloping Gala?" Thunderball cringed at the recollection of the worst Gala in years. While Princess Twilight’s friends had ruined most of it, but he himself was far from blameless. "I didn't make an ass out of myself or anything, did I? I swear, I've got some kind of a drinking problem."

"No, no, we just talked," she laughed skittishly as she backed away from him. "Well, um, it was nice running into you again! See you around!"

The mare dashed off before he could respond, and he kicked himself mentally for not getting her name. At least he had seen her cutie mark; three blue and yellow striped pieces of candy. He would probably be able to find her if he asked Pinkie Pie. It would only be polite to send her something to apologize for his behavior last year — whatever it was. Judging by her attitude, it had been pretty bad; perhaps a baker's dozen of cupcakes would be appropriate.

Thunderball saw that he had fallen far behind his royal charge and trotted up to Twilight as a brisk pace. "There are certainly a lot of strange ponies here, Your Highness."

Twilight shot him a look of exasperation. "Can you please dispense with the formalities and just call me 'Twilight,' like everypony else?"

"Yes, Your Highness." Twilight could have sworn she saw Thunderball's cheek muscles twitch as he subverted the request.

The three walked into the town market, which was bustling with activity. Fluttershy made a beeline for a well–built wooden stand that had obviously been there for years. The stall was filled with baskets and barrels overflowing with apples, but the proprietor was nowhere in sight.

Undeterred by the lack of management, Fluttershy set her basket down on the ground and peered over the counter. "Hello, Applejack. Can I have some apples?"

A tall cowpony hat poked up from beneath the counter, followed by an orange earth pony with a basket of apples in her mouth.

"Sure thing, Sugarcube." Applejack gently emptied the contents of her basket into Fluttershy's. "Here you go!"

"Thank you, Applejack. I hope you have lots of sales today! See you later!" Fluttershy waved to her friends and then wandered off in search of more food.

Thunderball licked his lips as he approached the stall. The shining red and green fruits smelled amazing. "How much do they cost?"

"Depends on the cultivar. Why, we got all sorts here; why don't you browse around and see what you like? Take a free sample if you want; there's plenty more where those came from."

Applejack tossed an Ambrosia apple at Thunderball, who caught it in his mouth and crunched into it with one bite. The crisp fruit released an explosion of juice and flavor in his mouth. Thunderball closed his eyes and savored the tasty treat.

Applejack winked slyly at Twilight. "Friend of yours, Twi?"

Twilight rolled her eyes at the implication. "It's not like that. His name is Lieutenant Thunderball. Celestia sent him to look over security in Ponyville."

"Can't say I meet many ponies named 'Lieutenant' round these parts — is that a Canterlot thing?" Applejack smirked, to Thunderball's amusement and Twilight's mild irritation.. "Well, Lieutenant, how long's the inspection supposed to take?"

Thunderball quickly chomped down on the apple core and swallowed. "It could be a while, actually. There’s no telling."

Applejack’s face lit up with excitement. "Well then, why don't I show ya some Ponyville hospitality and invite you and Twilight to dinner at Sweet Apple Acres?"

"It's not going to involve confetti, is it?" he asked apprehensively.

Applejack gave him a knowing look. "Ah, so you've met Pinkie. No, it's just going to involve a lot of apples. And Apples."

Thunderball cautiously looked over at Twilight for permission to accept the offer. "We wouldn't be troubling you, would we?"

Applejack smiled from ear to ear. "No sirree. It's always great to have guests over. Why, Twilight and I ain't had a chance to catch up in a whole stack of blue moons."

"Ponies keep telling me that; I guess I've been spending more time with my royal duties than I thought," Twilight chuckled. "Applejack, it would be my honor to have dinner at Sweet Apple Acres tonight."

Thunderball licked his lips at the thought of more apples. "Me as well, ma'am."

Applejack let out a whooping cheer at the news. "Well, if that ain't the best thing I've heard all day. Come by at around six and I can promise you the best apples this side of Canterlot!"

Twilight leaned over the counter and hugged her friend. "We're looking forward to it. Take care in the meantime!"

"That goes for you too, Sugarcube. And you, Thunderball."

Thunderball bowed his head politely. "Yes, ma'am. I will."

"Well, looks like you're fitting right in," Twilight commented as the two walked away from Applejack's booth.

"Your friends certainly seem quite...enthusiastic. Did they welcome you the same way when you first arrived?"

"You have no idea. AJ made me eat through a bushel of apples, and Pinkie threw me a surprise party in the library, among other things. Of course, back then I was too wrapped up in my studies to appreciate the gestures of friendship they were offering me, but then we teamed up to stop Nightmare Moon, and we've been friends ever since."

"That sounds very touching. Certainly better than how I spent the Summer Sun Festival night — stuck in the barracks because Nightmare Moon had magically imprisoned us there. Longest night of my life; I thought Princess Celestia would never come back."

"Yeah, it wasn't the best night, but so much good came out of it. I found my friends, Celestia and Luna were reunited, and you..." Twilight trailed off uncertainly.

"Avoided the night flying session and got a three day weekend out of it?"

"Sounds like a win to me!"

"Well, I guess being stuck with the guys wasn't so bad either. We had a great game of cards that night. Pity I haven't seen them since I transferred into the SIS."

Twilight looked contemplatively into the distance. "Would you say you have a lot of friends, Thunderball?"

He frowned at the question. "I have enough for my purposes. I'm usually busy with work."

"Hm." Twilight furrowed her brow as if deep in thought, and Thunderball felt a shiver run up his spine. "You know, I have some princess business to attend to before dinner. Why don't you take the afternoon off?"

"...Are you sure about this, Your Highness?"

Twilight looked him straight in the eyes with as much royal authority as she could muster. "Do I need to make that an order?"

"...No, Your Highness. Enjoy your afternoon."

"You too, Thunderball. See you at Sweet Apple Acres!"

Twilight teleported away with a flash of magic, leaving Thunderball alone in the town square. The pegasus sighed at the unsubtle attempt to encourage him to have a social life. For an agent like himself, work would always come first. Friendship was, at best, a pleasant distraction, and at worst, a liability. Of course, things had been different when he was with the SAS, but it had been over a year since he had been recruited by military intelligence, and when the spooks came knocking, refusal was out of the question.

His time with the army was in the past; he had to focus on the present, and that meant looking for changelings in Ponyville. Simply picking one out of the crowd would be too much to ask for, so he decided to simply walk around town and observe the citizens for suspicious activity. Most ponies he saw seemed to just be going about their day, although he gradually became aware of a large draft horse with a caramel–colored coat, dark brown mane, and three blue horseshoes on his flank was following him.

He spun around to face his shadow, hooves tensed and ready for a fight. "Can I help you?"

The draft horse towered over Thunderball and spoke in a deep baritone. "Excuse me, my name's Creme Brulee."

Thunderball regarded the horse with no small amount of suspicion. "...Nice to meet you. I'm Thunderball."

Creme Brulee frowned at him. "I know. I heard you're going out with Goldengrape now."

"What?" Exactly how many ponies had Rarity spoken to in the hour since he had left the Carousel Boutique? If the wrong ponies heard her talking, he would be out of a job before dinner.

Creme Brulee patiently waited for Thunderball to recover before continuing on. "I just want you to know that I have nothing against you, and I respect Goldengrape's right to date whoever he wants."

Thunderball tried to speak, but his voice came out very strained. "That's great, however—"

"I just don't want him to get hurt by going off into a rebound relationship!" Creme Brulee flicked his tail in frustration. "You understand, don't you?"

"I know, but I'm—"

Creme Brulee stamped the ground hard enough to leave dents in the dirt pathway. "I just don't know where we went wrong! It's been so hard relating to him lately, like he's an entirely different pony now!"

"That can happen, but you don't need to worry because—"

"I know they say true love will win out in the end, but what if we were never in love in the first place?" Creme Brulee began pacing the ground frantically. "When I first met him, I thought he was my special somepony, but maybe I was just fooling myself. Oh Celestia, I need a drink!"

Creme Brulee dashed off towards the nearest bar, leaving a very confused Thunderball wondering if Goldengrape was a changeling or, more likely, going through a rough period in his love life. Changelings did not get into lover's quarrels — ponies were a food source, not love interests. From Thunderball's experience, changelings would either maintain the relationship to leech nourishment, or mentally dominate their victim.

So at least two members of the civilian population could be discounted from the list of potential suspects. That only left slightly under three thousand ponies to investigate. At this rate, he would be done in time for retirement.

Author's Note:

High in the misty Highlands,
Out by the purple islands,
Brave are the hearts that beat beneath Scottish skies.
Wild are the winds to meet you,
Staunch are the friends that greet you,
Kind as the love that shines from fair maidens' eyes.

Comments

[Hilltopper2]

Um. You were aware chapter 4 is essentially chapter 3 reposted?