The sun leisurely goes about its journey over the land. On this fine afternoon, the familiar forms of Gel and Rhino can be seen strolling down the path from Sweet Apple Acres back to town, having gone on their usual every few days trip to get more milk for the green unicorn's palette. The two walk side by side, their tails curled around each other as they simply listen to nature.

Gel smiles softly, looking around at the trees and the birds fluttering about in the calming breeze. This is just perfect, isn't it?

Rhino nods as he too looks around. Yes... it's times like these I'm glad Ponyville isn't as industrialized as cities like Manehatten. I much prefer this.

She giggles, leaning up against him. So do I...

As they make their way back into the town itself, the two can't help but notice a few machines placed around in various spots.

Gel frowns slightly, staring up at a metallic tower placed near Sugarcube Corner. ...this is really...unusual...they look a lot like the radio towers in Manehattan...

Rhino looks up at it with a curious gaze. "I've only heard about those though... aren't they much larger? These are barely larger than the lampposts... I wonder what they are?"

"They are much larger than these...so these must be something else..." She taps her chin, thinking about this a bit. "...still...so much for Ponyville not being industrialized, huh?"

They continue down the street. "Until they start taking down Whitetail woods, I'm going to remain optimistic..." He mumbles under his breath, "and redouble my efforts into my little surprise..."

One of her ears twitches and she looks at him, curious. "What was that, love?"

He simply smiles at her. "Nothing you need to worry about, love, just thinking out loud."

As the two continue walking through town, they see Twilight quickly exit her library ahead of them. She doesn't see them though, considering her nose is buried in a small device she holds in front of her with magic.

Gel immediately stops in her tracks, an eye twitching nervously. ...Rhino...d-didn't you say Twilight's detector had a...h-hoof-held device?

He nods as his eyes widen. Right... for narrowing down the search once her... network of detectors had found something... He looks up at another of the small towers with growing realization. We need to go, now! He starts pulling Gel nonchalantly through a nearby alley, hoping to not be noticed.

The disguised changeling follows him, doing her best to act natural. Considering her heritage, this is rather simple for her. She notices a broken mirror near the end of the alleyway facing them, bumping his side and nodding towards the reflective surface.

He subtly grabs two of the smaller shards with magic and brings them along without breaking stride.

As Gel grabs one of them, the two look into the mirror and see Twilight pass the far end of the alley. They sighs in relief as they turn back onto the street.

They're walking towards the market when Gel begins to slow down, a small frown on her lips. ...that was...too easy... She quickly glances into her looking glass, groaning softly as she sees the lavender unicorn emerge from the alley they had come from, about a quarter mile away. Of course she doesn't give up. She puts it in her mane and looks up at him, nervous. What are we going to do?

Rhino sees the lavender unicorn try a few different directions for a few steps before starting towards them. I don't know... I don't know the range of it... He looks ahead of them and sees the usual traffic of ponies. We can at least not let her know it's us... They head into the flowing groups of ponies.

Gel tightly holds his tail in hers, not wanting to lose him in the crowd. She glances around, as if looking at the stores around them. That's the thing. We also don't know how accurate it is...

He looks back but can't see the unicorn anymore, his plan to remain unseen works both ways. She seems to have to test directions before going to them... my guess is it's a standard hot and cold sort of detector... The crowd starts to thin and they head down another alley. You could get away you know, give yourself some wings of some sort and fly away, she'd never catch you.

It's clear she's not going to give up the search that easily, and a pony taking off in this crowd would look suspicious. She's going to find me eventually... She shakes her head before pausing, a thought occurring to her. ...but that doesn't mean she has to find Angel.

He turns to her. What do you mean? You're not going to go into you normal form are you?

No, of course not. She pulls him towards a secluded alcove, leaving him at the entrance and smiling slyly at him. I'm just going to give her a different target. As soon as she says that, a blue flame covers her form, white fur giving way to burgundy and yellow mane turning sienna. She looks at him with olive eyes, smiling softly. What do you think?

He tilts his head. Well it's certainly a contrast from Angel's light colors... Do I even want to know how you thought of this one? He notices she has also discarded her horn in favor of wings.

She shrugs, fluttering her newfound wings slightly. A stallion I met in Manehattan. He looked like a mare, for some reason, but I'm not one to judge. She glances at her flank. I decided to avoid the confusion and go full mare, though...I realize that I don't seem to have a cutie mark, but that's fine, I think.

The two see Sparkle at the end of their alley and quickly make their way into the crowd, having to stay at a distance from each other so Gel can slip away. Unfortunately, they are forced to walk to avoid suspicion, while Twilight has upped her speed to a trot.

Gel glances over her shoulder, noticing the mare quickly closing in on her. I guess that it's about that time. She sighs and slows to a stop in front of a shop, staring at it in confusion. ...who sells only quills and sofas?

Wait, you're not giving up are you?! Rhino tries to find her in the crowd but can't.

It's not like she's going to take me away, right? She moves forward and enters the hat-shaped shop next to it, curiosity getting to her. I'm just going to see what this store has for...wow, that's a lot of pranking supplies...

Rhino's concern easily shows in his mental voice. Gel...

Suddenly, Twilight enters the shop and looks around before turning back to her device. She slowly starts walking up and down the aisles, looking at the few ponies present with suspicion.

Gel holds a strange blue sphere in her forehooves, wondering what it does. Have you been in here before, love?

His voice is almost frantic but he is keeping it in check. I don't know where you went! How are you so calm right now?!

Twilight actually passes next to Gel in her disguise, going onto the next aisle before tossing a look in her direction and checking her device before nodding to herself.

I'm in that joke shop next to Quills and Sofas. She picks up a hoof buzzer, smiling softly. ...I might just buy some of these...they're not that expensive...

The unicorn puts her device away as she plants her hooves, narrows her eyes, and charges her horn with a spell. She fires a beam of purple light at the disguised changeling, her cover melting away to reveal her true form. "I've got you now, changeling!"

Gel squeaks, eyes wide in horror. She holds up a hoof, nervously smiling. "C-can't we just...t-talk this out? P-please?"

Twilight's horn lights up as she advances on the exposed nymph. "I'm not falling for any of your tricks! You're coming with me!"

She looks around, trying to find a way out. Then she notices the sphere still in her hoof, immediately throwing it on the floor. "Smoke bomb!" As soon as it goes off, she runs past the mare, tossing five bits onto the counter as she flees the store. She quickly flies away, heading towards the Everfree Forest.

Rhino breaks through the crowd just in time to see ponies running out of a smoking store, Twilight included. Not seeing Gel with them, he sighs in relief. Love... can you hear me?

Yes. I think I'm just barely in range. She peers out of the tree she took refuge in, panting softly. Bad news is, I just lost a few bits. Got a hoof buzzer out of it, though. She giggles, shaking her head.

Joy buzzer... why would you... nevermind. He quickly performs a quick series of Blinks and ends up at the house. Think you can make it home?

I think so. She slowly climbs down the tree and turns back into Angel, sighing softly. That was really...close... She trembles as she walks, trying hard not to think about it too much.

Soon enough she arrives at the back door, pushing it open with a shaky hoof. "R-Rhino, I'm...h-home..." She falls to the floor and covers her face, sobs racking her form.

Rhino is almost instantly at her side, picking her up and embracing her. He strokes her mane as she cries into him. He doesn't say a word, just letting her cry it out.

She hugs him tightly, not wanting to ever let him go. ...s-she...I-I can't...

The stallion's heart hurt as he sees her cry. Shh... it's alright, love... you got away... I've got you...

...but... She looks up at him, tears streaming down her face. ...h-how long until...s-she catches me?

He doesn't respond for a minute, just continuing to hold her. He finally responds. I won't let that happen.

Gel gives him a small, sad smile and kisses him tenderly. ...I'll take your word on it...

He gives her a smile back, but his eyes betray his worry. We'll find a way to get through this... at least the house seems safe for now...

She nods, thinking about this a bit. ...from what I saw...the towers were built every thirty yards...but there isn't one within fifty of our house... She scratches her head, starting to calm down. ...maybe...we're out of range?

It seems that way... He gently picks her up, brings her to the couch, and sits beside her. It looks like we're out of time... I'm not sure we can risk you going out anymore... I'm sorry... I just don't want to lose you...

She gapes at him, shocked. "W-what? Y-you really think she'll keep me away from you?" She frowns, taking one of his forehooves in her own. "If anyone is capable of that...it's the..." She trails off, shaking her head before turning to him. "N-never mind about that. I just...I don't think Twilight will keep me from you..."

He frowns as he sighs. "Gel... Twilight was in the center of the invasion... I wouldn't put it past her to hold a grudge... but who else did you think of? I want to know all possible threats to us."

She shrinks in on herself, nervous. "...t-the Elite..."

He shifts and she ends up with her back against his chest. "Maybe it's time you tell me about them... you have mentioned them a few times..."

She sighs, shaking her head. "...what is there to say? Even I don't know much about them...just their elements..."

He sets his head on hers. "Elements?"

"They've each mastered one of several elements." She lights up her horn, bringing a journal down from their room. She flips it open, pointing to one of the earlier entries. "See, these are what they use - wind, metal, water, and...one I honestly don't know..." She scratches her head, upset. "...the General always did seclude himself from the hive..."

He looks curiously at the journal. "General? How high ranking are these elite?"

"Honestly?" She turns to look at him, frowning slightly. "They're all above me...and all different ranks of Generals..."

He nods. "Ok... and why do you think they would be the ones to keep you away from me?"

She gives him a grave expression. "Because they're all stronger than I am." She puts the journal down, sighing quietly. "...ranks are given based on strength and experience."

"Well, I figured that..." He says. "But I meant, why would they keep you away... I mean, the previous changeling were after me right?"

"They were..." She gently nuzzles his cheek. "...but they know I love you...and that I'm staying here of my own will...to them, that's deserting...a crime, in the military..."

"Oh..." The two are silent for a time before Rhino decides to try a change of subject. "So... been keeping up with your journals huh?"

"...yes...I-I have..." She squirms a bit, remembering some of what she wrote in there.

He notices her discomfort. "Something wrong?"

"...I...I just..." She goes silent for a moment before sighing, turning to a drawing of Sweet Apple Acres. "...there's something you should know..."

He hugs her around her midriff. "What is it, love?"

"...I...I may not want to go back...but I still did what I was sent to do..." She flips the page, showing a list of observations on Ponyville's nightlife. "...and that was...collect data..."

He doesn't show a particular reaction to this. "Ok..."

"...so...I-I need you to hide this..." She closes it and shoves it in his arms, nervous. "I-I may have given them my word to collect data, but I never said anything about giving it to them!"

He looks at the books curiously. "Well... two questions... could you ever see yourself using this information yourself... and how damaging could it be in their hooves?"

"I-I don't need the information. I-it's all in my mind. But if they got it..." She drops her gaze to the floor, somber. "...then Ponyville would be lost..."

He regards the books again. "Well, you could always just destroy the books. Simple and definite."

She leaps up, her hooves placed on his chest. "N-no!" She blushes softly, slowly lowering herself back onto her side in front of him. "...t-that would be like going back on my word...I-I never go back on my word...e-ever..."

"Wow... You really mean that, don't you?" He stays quiet before speaking again. "I think I could find a box in the far back of some closet where they can be forgotten and their pages erased by either time... But this at least gives me some comfort..." He kisses her on the cheek. "Because you said you'd never leave..."

She blushes even more, tapping her forehooves together. "T-thank you, love..." She stays quiet for a moment. "...c-can we...c-cuddle for a bit, Rhino?"

"Always..." They shift until they are cuddling snuggly. Did you want to just sit here quietly or was there anything else on your mind?

...there is one thing... She wiggles back a bit more into his embrace. ...what are we going to do about work?

I think you and the pets will just have to stay here. We can't test our luck and hope the clinic isn't on the grid too... so we have to take what we can get. If anypony asks, I'll just say you're at home sick. He sighs. I wish I could stay here with you, just to make sure nothing happens... maybe I could send a last minute letter to Mane and Manila...

I'll be fine Rhino. She places a hoof over one of his, tracing small circles in the soft fur. You can go ahead and work. I'll be here when you come back, okay?

A thought occurs to him about something big that he has planned that is about to come to fruition. Ok... but just to let you know, I'll probably be a few minutes late getting home. There's something I need to pick up after work.

She smiles, her ears twitching slightly. You have me intrigued...may I ask what it is?

He nuzzles her fondly. You can ask, but all I'll say is that it's a surprise... and I know you'll love it.

She sighs softly, a small blush on her face. I'll take your word for it, Rhino.