Private Swift Volley stood in front of the Castle of Friendship’s large golden entrance doors. In the polished surface he could see the reflection of Private Rhapsody Reprise standing behind him, using her hoof shoe as a mirror to check her teeth. Rolling his eyes, he lifted a front leg and knocked firmly. A moment later the door cracked open and a green reptilian eye peeked out at them.
“Oh, hey,” said the small purple dragon who opened the door fully and whom Swift assumed to be Spike, Princess Twilight’s assistant. “If you're looking for Twilight she went to check on Starlight back at the school. Did something happen?”
“No sir,” said Rhapsody who moved in to step beside Swift. “Lieutenant Silverspark sent us to offer aid to Thorax’s changelings.”
The little dragon snorted, covering his mouth with his claws to stop from laughing. Swift and Rhapsody looked at each other, the unicorn seeming confused and the Pegasus a little annoyed. Spike cleared this throat and composed himself.
“Well, you just missed them,” the dragon said, “they asked for some bits and went off into town to get supplies.”
“Supplies?” asked Rhapsody, “for what?”
“I’m not sure,” shrugged Spike. “But they asked where they could go to get lumber and paint.”
“Why would they need lumber and paint?” queried Swift.
The dragon made a noise, kind of like a hum, that would have sounded like ‘I don’t know’ in words and shrugged his shoulders again.
“Well, could you tell us where we should look for them?” said a slightly exasperated Swift.
“I told them to check over at Trees and Timber and Paints and Palettes, “said Spike. “If you hurry you should be able to catch up with them.”
Private Sunlight Spring rapped on the door of a quaint little cottage and waited with her two fellow guards, Luminous Blaze and Sharp Coldsteel. After waiting for almost a minute the pegasus mare lifted her hoof to knock again but stopped when the door creaked open. Standing just on the other side of the portal was a light yellow earth pony mare with green eyes and a light orange mane.
“Oh, can I help you?” the mare asked, looking nervously at the three guards.
“Good afternoon ma’am,” Sunlight said to the mare, “is your name Junebug?”
“Yes,” confirmed the mare, “that’s my name. Is there something wrong?”
“We just have a few questions for you ma’am,” Sunlight said, “and we would appreciate your cooperation.”
“Er, well, I suppose I can do that,” Junebug said, shifting her weight from one hoof to the other.
“Would you be able to tell us were you where yesterday when the changelings attacked the School of Friendship?” asked Sunlight.
“I was out collecting blue columbine flowers,” the mare answered, “thank goodness too. I’d hate to have been here when that happen.”
“Did anypony see you while you were out collecting flowers ma’am?” asked Private Coldsteel, an earth pony stallion, who stepped beside Sunlight.
“I um… let me think,” Junebug said, biting her bottom lip. “I left early in the morning and I remember waving to Miss Cheerillee while she was standing outside the school house.”
Sunlight looked back at Luminous Blaze as the unicorn stallion took notes with a pad of paper and pencil he levitated with his magic. She also noticed that the pony who tipped them off to check on Junebug, a light dusty purple coated mare with the blue mane, was watching them closely from her cottage.
“Wait, do you think I might be a changeling?” Junebug asked in an annoyed tone.
“We’ve received a report that you’ve been acting strangely since yesterday ma’am,” said Sunlight, looking back to Junebug.
“Exactly how have I been acting strangely?” the mare demanded to know, looking from the guards to the pony across the way.
“You were spotted sneaking around carousel boutique last night,” said Coldsteel.
“That’s right, and so what if I was?” Junebug said indignantly, loud enough for ponies nearby to hear.
“Well, could you tell us why?” gently pressed Coldsteel, trying to defuse the situation.
“If you must know, I was picking up this,” the mare said, reaching to a squat cylindrical box and throwing off the lid to reveal a flower adorned bonnet. “It was going to be a surprise birthday gift for my supposed friend behind you.”
“I’m sorry ma’am, we’re only checking up on this for the safety of the town,” said Sunlight.
“Yeah, well, Happy birthday Berry Frost!” Junebug shouted out to her neighbor with both anger and hurt in her voice. “I hope you like your gift.”
Suddenly Junebug thrust the gift into Coldsteel’s hooves before slamming the door shut. The three guards looked at each other, slightly ashamed.
Trees and Timber was an odd mix of a shop that Swift and Rhapsody entered. Half of it devoted to lumber of assorted sizes from various species; while the other was dedicated to a range of potted saplings and the supplies needed for their nurture. A large chestnut brown earth pony stallion stood behind the counter, looking over a sheet of paper while a petite earth pony mare with a cherry blossom colored coat carefully watered the young plants.
“Howdy there,” said the stallion, “Names Clear Cutter an’ that tha’rs ma wife Tree Tender, how can we help y’all today?”
“Ah, we’re actuality looking for some changelings, sir,” Swift said and then added, “the reformed kind.”
“Ya just missed them,” the mare said after setting her watering can down. “Gave us a bit of a fright at first when they came in, with what happen yesterday an’ all.”
“But they was a good bunch,” cut in the stallion, “didn’t cause no trouble. A bit curious about everything but very polite.”
“Oh yes,” agreed the mare. “Wish they could a stayed an’ told me more about their hive. Sounds lovely with how in tune with nature they described it bein.”
“I actually need to get their order together an’ bring it over to the princess’s castle,” said Clear Cutter.
“Would you mind if I asked about what they ordered?” Swift asked.
“Just some two by fours an’ plywood,” the stallion answered, as he began piling up planks on a flatbed cart.
“Do you know where they went?” Rhapsody asked Tree Tender.
“They asked for directions to Paints an’ Palettes,” replied the mare. “Just head down the lane, make a right at the spa an’ continue on. Colorful shop, hard to miss, got a sign shaped like a painter’s palette.”
“Thanks ma’am, sir,” Swift said with a nod to the two before he trotted out with Rhapsody.
“Why do you think your friends a changeling?” Sunlight asked the little grey pegasus colt with a dirty white mohawk.
“He beat me at mare-nopoly,” said the colt.
“Why would that make him a changeling?” asked a confused Coldsteel.
“Because he bought all the train stations,” the colt answered.
“Uhh…” balked Sunlight. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“He landed on all four train stations on his first turn around the board,” the little pagasus exclaimed with the stomp of a hoof. “Baltimare, Canterlot, Manehattan and Fillydephia; All four! Nopony could do that, he has to be a changeling cheater!”
Private Blaze stopped taking notes and used the eraser of his pencil to rub his temple.
“The changelings? You just missed them,” said the mare. “They had such lovely colors!”
The guards had entered Paints and Palettes only to find it devoid of changelings. The only one in the store was the proprietor, Pleasant Pigment, a gentle teal coated unicorn with thick black rimmed glasses who kept her mane tied back in a ponytail. The shopkeeper was going from shelf to shelf, using her magic to lower down jars filled with powder of varying hues and scrutinizing their contents.
“It was inspirational!” she exclaimed while giddily trotting in place. “I might just close up shop early today and go out to collect some gems. Then I’ll have to find some way to grind them up into a fine powder. Oh I’m so excited to see what shiny new pigmentations I’ll make!”
Swift and Rhapsody could only watch helplessly as the mare continued spouting out color theory and the ways she could add tint and shade to match the changeling’s vibrant chitin. When Pleasant paused to catch her breath, Rhapsody used the break to cut off her chatter.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but could you tell us what the changelings wanted?” questioned Rhapsody.
“Oh! I’m sorry,” blushed Pleasant, “I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent. They just wanted a few buckets of darker green paint and some brushes.”
“Green paint?” Swift asked.
“Dark green,” corrected the mare. “I overheard one of them say that it was the queen’s favorite color and it might catch her attention. I had suggested a more vibrate green but-”
“Could you tell us where they went?” Swift pressed.
“They said something about being by Twilight’s castle for when the delivery arrived,” Pleasant said, pushing her glasses back up her muzzle.
“Back to the beginning,” Rhapsody chuckled, “right Swift.”
The pegasus guard just groaned out a sigh and walked to the door.
“Thanks for the help ma’am,” said Rhapsody to the fellow unicorn.
“My pleasure,” she said before calling out to the exiting pair, “and thanks for stopping in to peruse Pleasant Pigment’s Paints and Palettes!”
“Then he forgot the anniversary of our first date,” the elderly pink mare said, as she squinted at Coldsteel through her thick purple rimmed glasses.
“What?” loudly asked the old light sea green stallion at her side who held a hoof up to his ear.
“And after forty years he still thinks my eyes are blue,” complained the mare. “My eyes are sky blue.”
“What?” the old stallion leaned closer to the elderly mare.
“Sky blue!” she shouted to him.”
“Fondue?” he asked, “sure, we can go out to that fondue restaurant. I love cheese.”
“You can’t have cheese, it gives you gas!” the elderly mare said back to him.
“Sure we can see if they have sassafras,” the old stallion said. “I know how much you love sassafras tee.”
“Well at least after forty years you can remember that,” chuckled the elderly mare.
Sunlight and Coldsteel could only frown at each other and Private Blaze had given up taking notes and mumbled about a migraine.
“We should be out searching for the bad changelings, not tracking down the good ones,” mumbled an annoyed Swift as he walked next to his fellow guard.
“Relax, I can see them just up ahead,” Rhapsody pointed with her hoof.
In the middle of a field of grass behind the Castle of Friendship worked a trio of changelings. A mint green mare with solid ruby red eyes hovered in place on her see through rose colored wings. She held a long piece of wood in her hooves and was being directed by a light turquoise stallion who had a dark blue elytra and deep amber eyes. The third changeling, a mare with a lime colored carapace and deep amethyst colored eyes, was using her hoof to knock some nails into the planks to keep their creation together.
“Excuse me,” called out Swift, getting the changelings attention. “We’re from the Canterlot guard, we’re here to help you with your search for rogue changelings.”
“Oh!” the turquoise changeling said, his voice friendly and chipper. “That would be a big help! My names Tarsus.”
“I’m Maxilla,” said the lime colored changeling who had trotted up to Swift and was rapidly shaking his hoof up and down.
“And I’m Cricket,” said the mint green changeling.
“It’s nice to meet you all,” said Rhapsody, whose hoof was now captured and being shook by Maxilla.
“So, ah, what are you working on?” Swift asked, rubbing his shoulder. “Some kind of trap?”
“Oh no,” Tarsus said, “this is something Princess Twilight and Thorax came up with, we’ll tell you all about it.”
Oh lord they actually are building the sign
The elderly couple was cute!
Pure delight this chapter is
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Yep, they are actually building a sign.
I mean from a certain point of view, when dealing with a hostile force of shapeshifting infiltrators, having a subtle plan probably won’t work anyways. So might as well be as transparent as possible with your intentions and motives.
And nothing is more transparent then writing it out on a billboard. Especially when all their spies tell them, that this is actually their plan.
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Now it would be funny if when chrysalis sees the sign she just says with a strate face " wow subtle "
9535142
Now I want one of the guards to sarcastically recommend they add giant flashing lights to it, and the changelings to reply with "Ooh! Good Idea!"
9535036
"the sign"?
And the impression I got was a Trojan horse gambit.... although probably about as successful as the rabbit was in Monty Python's Holy Grail.
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Remember when twilight said she sould build a giant neon sign but thorax missed her sarcasm
oof poor berry frost she was only worried her friend might have been replaced by a changeling.
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Changelings tend to take instructions literally. Remember Ocelleus talking about Changeling Hearths Warming, they literally do exactly what the instructions say.
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On the other hoof he also said Chrysalis probably wouldn't go for it.
More please
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I don't, actually.
Guess I need to freshen up on some things.
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Sometimes it is best to go forward with a half-assed plan then with nothing.
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But it might be just dum ehough to work
I get what you're going for, but this paragraph kinda feels clumsy. I've seen the phrase "made a noncommittal noise“ used to similar effect. Maybe try something like that?
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Although I wonder what will happen when Twilight explains that she was being sarcastic.
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Or it might work in a different way than they initially thought.
This demonstrating how little help it can be to ask locals if they've seen any spies.
The sign will work! We just have to have faith!
Keep going! ;)
It's not really that odd. Lots of home improvement stores include both a lumberyard and a landscaping/yard & garden department.
Now, if their products were animal rather than vegetable, it'd be weird. You don't usually buy baby chicks or live pigs from the meat counter at the supermarket, after all... that would be awkward.
Anyone else think the unreformed changlings are disguising themselves as reformed changlings?
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I was kinda going for a 'Clear Cutter chops down trees, his wife replants them' harmony with nature thing
this is a vary good story that i will be watching close for updates.
I have a idea as to how the young six could get Sandbar out. They would have to locate Chrysalis's hive first but once they do they could recreate the pudding disaster from Best Gift Ever inside the hive thus creating a large enough distraction for them to get out with Sandbar. Of course they'd have to leave behind the exact ingredients necessary to neutralize the pudding so it doesn't cause any real damage or hurt Pupa but the end result would be Chrysalis's hive getting an enormous amount of delicious pudding and the young six getting their friend back.
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Send Chrysalis et al a pallet of mane and coat (chitin?) care products.
That should keep them occupied for some time.
O my Luna... There will be a huge wall message for Chrysalis hanging soon...
Great story , I can not wait to read more, one of the best stories that involve the reformed changelings, although I must admit that I do not like the reformed changelings and it is because their transformation was totally and completely beneficial and convenient. They did not have to sacrifice nothing by their decision, no side effect or loss of ability, there was no equivalent exchange, they won everything and lost nothing. The truth will be furious
I really hope that the police dog plan does not work at first, after all it's not like you can say to a trained dog "Very good boy now that you smelled the colorful insect looking for someone who smells similar or okey boy you already smelled the pony now looks for someone who does not smell like a pony" you can only ask a sniffer dog to look for a specific smell and only if you have a good sample (the father of a friend has a hunting dog and they told me that it is a lie that a dog can find you for having touched something a few seconds, it takes a while for your scent to permeate something, that's why the clothes are perfect for tracking the we use a lot of time and sweat makes it better, since the smell will not fade soon) If you are looking for someone who does not smell like a pony, you could get confused with those who work with animals, cooking food or chemical products (medicines included) as there are odors that can permeate you.
I cross my fingers for the plan of the sign to work, the Changelings are a race of spies and strategists, I guess the honest and direct approach is the only thing that they do not expect and I feel that it is the only thing that could get them out of balance. (Occam's razor)
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Or just send her a can of milk concentrate. XD watch her stare at it for hours. “I don’t get it”....
Jeez, ponies have horrible taste of they think the skittle moose look good.
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Pheromones don't fit. It don't work as Thorax confirmed.
I feel so sorry for the Royal Guards They get send to the worst jobs... Overpowered Main bosses or the most random madness there is...
Wonder if Discord watched this comedy with some popcorn and Softdrinks
his throat
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Wholesome couple
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Its so dumb that it can only be called genius. If it works...
The difference between a Lunatic and a genius is there success. If it works your a genius, if not your just crazy/mad/ a idiot.
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Indeed
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Indeed. If it works than its fine. If not...? Next attempt
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Would work body chemistry dont work.
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I share the same oppinion Its the challenge of there lifestyle/diat that makes em so special.
And the Shapeshifting
Are they making a trojan pony?
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If not for Changelings emotion detection it might work...
Friend's
Lose this extra quotation mark
Simpel and sly but effectively doing its purpose. For once, good job Thorax...
The difference between crazy and brilliant individuals are there success.
Thorax is there for brilliant
Until he fails... Than he is
Hmm... I somehow doubt that CHrysalis will be fooled by... whatever they will make.
Canterlot's finest, everyone!
“In the Equestrian justice system, ponies are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the Royal Guard who technically investigate crime, and the Princesses who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.” *bong-bong*
Law and Ponies, Canterlot
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There a mlp Videos like that on youtube, but the royal sister are not the judges.