SkyFlight
Ugh, another typical weekend with nothing to do. No shift for the weather team for the next two days, everypony away or catching up on their to-do lists...all Dash could do was lie on her cloud and stare, bored out of her wits. What was the point of practicing? There had to be something interesting to do, somepony to hang out with. It was time to fly!
She soared slowly at first, looking down at the lack of activity in Ponyville. There wasn't even a single grandmare out buying groceries - was it the heat, or were did they all just decide to be boring? The summer heat was intense, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet...
Landing. Quick look around the alleyways. Nothing. Not even a shred of life, let alone activity. Sometimes the young hotshot spotted ponies indoors, doing chores, or briefly tending to their gardens. Even Lyra and Bonbon weren't up for anything, answering her request to hangout with, "I wanna go back to bed!"
Taking to the skies again. Clouds scattered throughout. Sun beating down on her wings, her body starts to sweat a little. A black spot darting behind that cloud, 2 o'clock...wait, what?
"Gotta investigate!"
Rainbow Dash accelerates faster, curving to approach the back of the cloud, eyes open to see what was lurking behind the fluff of moisture. Nothing outside, but something definitely moving inside the cloud. She stopped herself from kicking it - what if it was one of Fluttershy's creatures?
Then it darted out like an angry eagle. A changeling! The creature reached out with its hoof and punched Dash in the gut. What the hayseed was this thing doing here?!
"Gotta...stop it..."
Dash barely gave herself enough time to catch her breath before speeding off. Reaching nigh-impossible speeds for other pegasi, she sped off in pursuit of the bug-like creature. Dodging this cloud and that, always with a keen sense of maintaining her speed, she started gaining on the changeling.
Then it turned around and spotted her. Like it could do anything! Dash closed in, lips stretching from the g-force, when the invader shot up in a beautiful arc, putting itself right in front of the sun. Avoiding the blinding light, Dash zipped around and came hit the bottom of its leg.
Bam! The changeling went careening off, but not before glaring at the young pony. Was that a challenge?
It shot off through the mountains, dodging rocks and trees by a hairsbreadth. Dash followed, speeding up, in pursuit. Thwack! A falling branch, broken by the wind created by the chase, fell down, ignored by both fliers. No time to be distracted by the scenery!
The pursuit took them both away from the Everfree Forest and far away from Ponyville. Was this a trap? Dash shot ahead and overtook her enemy, kicking it in the face! The changeling fell to the ground, then recovered instantly, and shot down a small cave.
It had disappeared, but somehow Dash felt both regret and triumph. True, she had won the battle, but what was it doing so close to the ponies, all by itself? Or had it returned to its dark queen, only to regroup and report?
Tired, Rainbow Dash flew home, took her favorite pillow, and set it up in her favorite tree, so ready to take a nap. When she woke up she could worry about it later.
About an hour later, she awoke to the sounds of pets playing with...her friends?
"Hey, Rainbow!"
"What is it Applejack?"
"Nothin'! Just wanted to see if you're asleep!"
Ugh. Whatever.
"What's going on, you guys?"
Twilight stepped up to her and said, "We were just getting together to play with our pets! We didn't know you were taking a nap here."
"Yeah, it's cool. I was just resting up from all that flying I did. Never did find him."
That caught Twilight's attention. "Find him? Who? What were you doing, Rainbow?"
"(yawn) I was flying around looking for something to do, when I saw a changeling! And when it ran away, I chased it down some hole!"
"A changeling, Twilight?" Rarity said, "Why are there changelings in Ponyville?"
"I don't know, Rarity. But whatever the reason is, I don't like it!"
Meanwhile, deep in Canterlot Castle, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and the top brass of the Royal Pony Army were meeting in the Strategy Room.
"But, sister!" Luna cried, "We cannot allow any potential invasion to befall our subjects! It is against our royal duty -"
"I understand, sister. But if we play our hoof now, our enemy, whoever it is, may discover our intent and succeed in their plans. At this point, we only know that a few changelings have been spotted around Ponyville, and yet the whereabouts of Queen Chrysalis remain unkown..."
Captain Fourhoof stepped slammed his coffee down on the ovular desk and nearly ruined his stacks of papers with the stains. He was practically screaming when he said, "We have to increase the defense of Canterlot and Ponyville! The enemy will not catch us off-guard!"
"No, Captain," said Celestia, "We must wait. I will put my special agents on the task right away to gather intel. In the meantime, there is nothing we can do."
It was in a dark mood that Princess Luna left the meeting. She walked by herself, until she came to the Old Library within the castle, filled with darkness and the smell of musky, old books. It was a place she frequently came to when under stress, and wanted to be away from others.
Yet she would not be alone this day. She spied the pony within the Research Division of the Royal Pony Army who was helping to develop new technology to allow pegasi to maintain dominance of the skies, and he approached her slowly.
"Princess Luna," he said, "It is ready."
Twilight couldn't sleep easily that night. She tossed and turned in her bed, unsure of what to do, or even what to think. Her letter to her mentor was still unanswered - and there were rumors, from others, of something that may have been changelings, in Ponyville...
Spike leapt up and belched out a letter before going back to bed. She quickly lit a candle and read it - a mission!
"Dear Twilight," she read, "I am sorry to reply so late, but I must humbly ask that you gather your friends and investigate the rumors of changelings that you have written to me about. There is indeed something going on, my student, and I leave it to you to investigate. Pursue whichever path you think most appropriate, and when you find anything, you must inform me immediately. Princess Celestia..."
"That means I have to take Spike with me. Oh, it's going to be hard convincing everypony to go, this late at night, but the Princess ordered it! I'll have to show them the letter..."