Tempest Norad II, among reaching maximum intensity during its path across the southwest gulf of Eternity's Crossing, decimated the entire town of Fillydelphia, wiped out entire stables, and turned the village into a barren wasteland. The ponies that fled are flummoxed by the apocryphal hurricane, for all weathering are created and strictly regulated in Cloudsdale. The Confederacy of Equine has tightened the security of all outlying settlements, and the neighboring town of Ponyville will likely be lock-downed as well. Captain Spitfire of the Cloudsdale Wonderbolts ordered Ponyville's local weathermare R. Dash to immediately relocate the town's colonists to the outlying Everfree Forest. “Now I know there won't be any problems with these new arrangements” are Spitfire's words in the imperative letter.
“I can't believe we're being sent to the Everfree. These Confederates thinks they can push anypony around,” complained colonist Cloudkicker. Dash didn't answer her, instead she's deep in thought. "What is with Cloudsdale's sloppy job with containing the weather? If Cloudsdale didn't make that hurricane, then what is that thing? Hurricanes don't move on their own,"
As Dash guided the few colonists through the forest, she suddenly felt the ground beneath her hoofs tremor. A belligerent dark creature just smaller than a pony's size with a tattered pair of wings, insect-like fangs, and hollow, punctured legs unburrowed from the soils in front of Dash. Immediately it charged towards her.
Dash, staggered by the sudden contact, flapped her wing to propell herself upward and dodged the creature, while swiftly landing behind it and gave the unidentified creature a counter-buck, the recoil sending it over several bushes. It quickly disintegrated.
“What the hay?” Before Dash even finishes, hundreds of green eyes glowed all around them.
Taking a critical glance at her surrounding, Dash clopped her hooves. “Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way!” She bolted at a dark creature, only abruptly stopping as she realized she herself is standing right in front of her. Counfounded, she blinked; it blinked. She examined it closely; it mimicked. Then, with a smirk, it duplicitously bashed her face, knocking Dash on her back.
“How did you-” As if answering her question, the surrounding creatures one by one, with a green flash, all transformed to the symmetrical image of Dash; some even took the form of Cloudkicker and the colonists.
Dash was dumbstruck by what she was witnessing, the thought of shapeshifters masquerading her form was creeping her out. She wanted to just high-tail and fly out of here, but she couldn't leave the refugees behind. Her head swirled, feeling her confidence draining just from the presence of the dark creatures.
Suddenly, a flash of moon light fell from the sky, a surge of magical energy followed. The creatures are blasted away by the impact, their disguises vanishing. An alicorn figure elegantly descended.
“Good evening, Dash. My name is Luna, and I am the Princess of the Night. You should be familiar with the Confederate's propaganda surrounding me., but your reputation suggests you'll see past it. It's never been my practice to stay in any one place for long, but these... changelings don't look like they're going to wait.” She chuckled.
Surely, Dash knew who Luna is. According to the Confederates, she was banished because of “treason”, but there seemed to be something more to it. Distances away, some seismic disturbance detected, suggesting more changelings are inbound.
“I'm going to make you an offer, Dash,” Luna spoke. “I'd like to help you out by teleporting you and your refugees to safety. You know, of course, that I operate outside the bounds of Confederate law – that's why they spread their lies and... misinformation. If you decide to accept my help, you'll be branded as an outlaw as well. But it's a chance to save these ponies. Time to make a stand, Dash,”
With changelings lurking around unchecked, Dash didn't have much of a choice. “Alright, just get us the hay out of here!”
Luna concentrated for a brief moment. At the edge of Dash's eyes she could see an advancing changeling posed to attack. Then everything went black.
...
Dash blinked. She found herself and the colonists on a rather large drifting cloud. From there she could see the Confederate's base of operation – Whitemont. Other than Luna and the colonists, there was also another unicorn mare with a light velvet coat and
a violet-crimson mane whom Dash didn't recgonize. A certain perspicacious keeness surrounded the mare that Dash can't put her hoofs on.
“Don't worry, non-Pegasi won't fall through the cloud.” Luna said. “My Lieutenant Twilight will explain the situation to you.”
The unicorn mare that Dash was examining began to speak. “The creatures that you have confronted are minions of a changeling queen – I'm not sure who she is yet. As their name suggests, they can take the form of anypony they see. I'm sure you're aware of the hurricane at Fillydelphia. Unlike artificial cyclones, they are sentinental beings called Tempests that can detect large masses of changelings. I believe Fillydelphia was exposed to a large 'immigration' of changelings that caused the Tempests to-”
“Purge them?” Dash interrupted. “But those hurricanes are pernicious! That thing can easily kill ponies that has nothing to do with changelings or Tempests!”
“Yes, I know.” Twilight resumed. “And the problem is Confederate's inaction, or rather, delayed action to stop it. Confederates has been running a program for gifted unicorns, and they found out that the changelings are attracted to the magical emanations of-”
“So the changelings are here for you, darling?” Dash yet again interrupted. “This keeps getting better and better,”
“Oh shut your muzzle, Dash'ry,” Twilight continued. “Normally the emission is too low, but the gifted unicorns has been able to siphon the energy into crystals that broadcast a much larger magnitude of magic,”
“The Confederacy used these crystals to lure the changelings into isolated areas,” Luna broke in. “Ponyville, Ms Dash, was one such location.”
Dash was shocked. “What are you saying?”
“I'm saying the changelings are a secret weapon accidently developed by the Confederacy,” Luna said. “And they'll use it to get rid of renegades, such as myself.”
“Hold on just a moment,” Twilight interrupted. “I sensed another pony on a nearby cloud,” She pointed to a small altostratus.
Alerted, Dash and Luna quickly flew to the cloud in question. A pegasus with an injured wing was taking cover there.
“Spitfire!” cried Dash after seeing the battered Wonderbolts Captain.
“You're about the last ponies I expected to show up,” grunted Spitfire. “What are you trying to pull off, Luna?”
“The Confederacy is moribund, Spitfire. The changelings are rampaging unchecked – you were just having a dogfight with some of those insects that shape-shifted into you, right?” Luna explained. “Well I'm more than happy to tell you that changelings are the product of Confederate's doings. What would have happened here today if we hadn't shown up?”
“Your point?” scoffed Spitfire.
“I'm giving you a choice,” replied Luna. “You can join us and help stop this infestation before it gets out of hoof, or you can fly back to Cloudsdale with a broken wing,”
“All right, Luna,” Spitfire gave in. “You've got a deal,”
Dash lent Spitfire a hoof and helped her fly back to Twilight's cloud. Luna followed shortly.
“First we have to overthrow the Confederates to gain central authority,” Luna explained her strategy. “Then we can let the Tempests finish the job. And I know just the way,”
...
Spitfire knew Whitemont's structures inside out, which proved to be a valuable asset.
In Whitemont, Chrysalis, Heart of the changeling Swarms, was lured by the magical emanations from Twilight's crystal-star. It has been planted there surreptitiously by Spitfire, carefully escorted by Dash in their two-pony covert task. Changeling aerial pods began to fall near the proximity.
Tempest Hyperion generated at Neighargra Falls, its course intercepting Whitemont in mere minutes. “Behold - Queen Chrysalis - for you have yet to witness the true power of the Tempests,” Hyperion's voice omniously sounded.
By the time Queen Chrysalis descended, Whitemont was oddly desserted. Trepidated by Hyperion's threat, She channelled a beam of dark energy from her horn, aiming to severe the Tempest before it reaches maximum intensity. Hyperion easily absorbed the beam, then feedback the energy into a much more powerful psionic storm.
“So long as you continue to be so predicatable, I need not face you at all-” Hyperion taunted. “-you are your own worst enemy.” The Tempest vanished, leaving nothing but a twister behind.
