Despite how wonderful Ponyville was, her hometown still fascinated Twilight Sparkle. It always had, almost as soon as she was old enough to realize that there was a much bigger world outside the walls of the Sparkle manor. She had been to other major cities, of course. Manehatten and all of its glamor. Las Pegasus and its thriving night crowd. But none even came close to touching Canterlot. And it wasn’t just because the princesses had made this place their seat of power. No, what really made Canterlot stand out was its unity. There were parks everywhere in the metropolis, ranging from little expanses of grass with a pond to full blown acres of land that looked magical even in the winter. Earth ponies could be seen tending these gardens, performing basic upkeep and helping things grow. Then came the contribution from the pegasi: airships, of all shapes and sizes that glided through the skies majestically and often casting brief shadows on those below. Then if that wasn’t enough, there came the unicorns and their ceaseless duties. The entire city reeked of unicorn magic, and for good reason. It was unicorn spells that helped the pegasus weather teams keep the skies clear. It was unicorn spells that helped keep the parks orderly, gave strength to towering structures, and generally kept everything running as smooth as glass. It was all three tribes working together that made Canterlot as awe inducing as it was.

No sooner had Twilight Sparkle entered the palace proper, she was approached by two royal guards. “Lady Twilight, her Royal Highness Princess Celestia would like you to meet her in the Day council chamber. I believe she wishes you to join in on the discussions concerning the possible new threat.”

“I’ll head there right away,” Twilight replied, sighing mentally. The two guards nodded and resumed their patrol. Twilight headed in the opposite direction, already knowing what this was about. She had hoped, no matter how foalish, that she would be able to just forget about her brother’s first attempt at a wedding. Despite the obvious signs of heightened security and the routine changeling sweeps throughout the entire nation, Twilight had even done a good job of it too, shoving those memories into the deepest recesses of her mind. But now, a discussion needed to be had. They needed to decide exactly what to do in response of this threat. If Twilight had to guess, this meeting was going to primarily focus on foreign policy, in addition to thoughts on how to react when the changelings make a reappearance. As the princess’ right hoof in all but title, it was only natural that Twilight attend.

Twilight nudged open the door to the chamber and darted inside, making a beeline for the chair to the right of Princess Celestia. A couple of committee leaders paused their conversations to wave and greet the mare, which the unicorn returned. She was much more at ease during meetings like this, probably because the civilian and military advisors weren’t a bunch of posturing nobles. Twilight took her seat and glanced around idly. Her mentor sat at the head of the round table, surveying those gathered before her serenely. She gave a small smile to Twilight before her gaze continued on. To Princess Celestia’s left sat none other than Rainbow Dash in all her prismatic glory. Just looking in the general direction of the mare sent shivers down Twilight’s spine and caused her heart to beat faster. Dash flashed the unicorn a half lidded smirk before her gaze could continue on. Four more spots next to Rainbow Dash were designated for the other Elements of Harmony; while the Elements weren’t forced to attend meetings like these, the princess strongly encouraged it. Usually one or two of the seats were filled, but today they were all empty. Twilight’s other friends were busy in Ponyville this day. The only reason Dash was here was because she refused to miss meetings like this, no matter how important they were. The Wonderbolt sergeant even went so far as to put in a requested day off to Captain Spitfire, to make absolutely sure she could make these discussions. Even though Twilight could never get a straight answer as to why, she was pretty sure it had to do with being the Element of Loyalty.

Naturally, right next to the four vacant spaces sat Captain Spitfire. As commanding officer of the Wonderbolts, and by extension the Royal Air Corps, Spitfire’s military branch would be focused on securing Canterlot airspace in the event of hostile changeling action. Continuing down the line was Major Steelhorn representing his Equestrian Rangers, and Adept Shimmersilk representing the Arcane Brigade. On the other half of the table were the civilian advisors. Whisperer Gentle Touch was in charge of the hospitals and emergency response teams, while Fancy Pants was in charge of Home Security. The only other missing pony was Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. Noticing this, Twilight turned to Princess Celestia.

“Shouldn’t Shining Armor be here, Princess?”

The regal white alicorn turned towards her student. “Under normal circumstances, yes. However, I forbade him from participating in this gathering. He had been under the direct control of the changeling Queen, and despite my assurances otherwise, he still blames himself for all that happened. I didn’t think having him here would be a good idea, with so many painful memories.”

Twilight nodded thoughtfully. “It seems like blaming ourselves for everything runs in the family.”

Princess Celestia gave her student a knowing look, one that made the unicorn squirm uneasily under her gaze. “I never would have guessed.”

At this point in time, Spitfire cleared her throat. Loudly. As though struck mute, the entire room fell devoid of conversation. “Now, I know all of you understand why we’re here. For starters, what do we know about changelings in general?”

The other ponies in the room regarded each other silently. It was obvious that they didn’t know much of anything at all, and one by one they slowly turned towards the most learned pony in the room. Twilight mentally prepared herself before replying. While she was quite familiar with committees and politics in general, she still had to watch what she said. “Sadly, I’m afraid our knowledge is rather lacking. As far as a vast majority of us knew before that day, changelings were nothing more than a legend. What little texts we do have about them are mythical in nature and have no real historical value. The ones we saw during the invasion seemed rather mindless, but does that speak for all changelings, or just those? Are they really insects, or is that just their appearance? We simply do not know.”

“What should we do, then?” Major Steelhorn addressed the room with a slight scowl. “How do we combat an enemy we know nothing about?”

“Why can’t we do what we’ve been doing since the invasion?” Rainbow Dash asked. “We’ve been doing checkpoints and random sweeps throughout all the cities.”

“Think for a moment, sergeant. Running the checkpoints and sweeps of all of Equestria’s cities takes a lot of ponypower. And not only does it potentially cripple our military, it also disrupts the lives of our citizens. We need a long-term solution that’ll keep us relatively safe but won't cost a lot of resources, and shouldn’t cause any problems for the average pony.” Spitfire took care to avoid being too harsh to Dash.

“Why not have the Arcane Brigade and the Home Security deal with it?” Shimmersilk contributed. “The spell to reveal changelings is rather easy. Why don’t the civilian departments pool their resources and ward buildings against changelings? It would be a simple matter to cast the spell over doorways and windows. This way we could keep our ponies safe without having to try and have the military everywhere at once.”

Spitfire rubbed her chin with a wing. “That could work, actually. It would leave the military free to start training against another possible invasion. Especially the Royal Guard. Most of our combat personnel are still occupied in the Twisted Forest area, and since the guard is mainly just a police force its a small wonder they managed to hold out as long as they did. No offense to your brother, Twilight.”

The scholar half-shrugged. “None taken. Shining tries as hard as he can, but I imagine its a little difficult to mount a defense against an invasion on such a short notice.”

“All in favor of the presented motion?” Princess Celestia asked. The hooves of everypony present shot into the air. “Very well. I’ll leave it to you to decide how to best proceed with this plan. This meeting is adjourned.”

The princess was the first to exit the chamber, which wasn’t surprising. She had a lot of other things that needed done today. One by one the other ponies filed out, until it was only Twilight and Rainbow left. The chromatic Wonderbolt wasted no time in approaching her favorite egghead, a small smile lightening her features. She brushed a cheek against Twilight. “So how did it go with the Royal Featherbrains?”

Twilight giggled, partly at Rainbow’s display of affection, and partly at her nickname for the Arcane Board. “About as well as could be expected, really. I’m pretty sure their only goal in existing is to make life miserable for those they deem ‘below their station’. I’m really glad that Princess Celestia already gave me her approval. Even if the Board rejects the idea, its not like my work will end up being shunted off to one side and ignored.”

“I can go in there and ‘offer’ them some words of encouragement. I don’t like them just blowing off my mare.”

“I’ve already told you, Dash, doing that will only make matters worse in the long run. And since when am I your mare? Last I checked, I was my own equine and not anypony else’s.” With those words, Twilight left the room at a brisk trot, flicking her tail across Rainbow Dash’s muzzle in the process. With an adorable little squeak of protest, the pegasus clambered after the unicorn. Catching up, she then proceeded to toss a wing over Twilight, who smiled slightly and snuggled further into the embrace. Neither one of them noticed an unfamiliar guard staring after them, his eyes flickering a brief green.

Aquadris picked her way through the dense underbrush with nary a sound. She was currently in her natural form, of course, as the unicorn skin she usually wore was ill suited to true infiltrator work. As she moved, her chitin shifted as well, perfectly matching the backdrop of whatever foliage she was currently in. It took extreme concentration to change different parts of her chitin at will, and it was a skill few other changelings would ever master. While other Infiltrators were perfectly capable of mimicking their surroundings when not in motion, they were rather vulnerable if their cover was blown while in the process of moving to a better vantage point. Aquadris, however, had no such restrictions, using her ‘active camouflage’ to hide her presence while mobile. Since she wasn’t changing swiftly, she was even able to keep the flare of green magic almost non-existent as her form shimmered. She just had to take it slow, and luckily, she had almost unlimited patience-- honed after countless years in this particular line of work.

It was also something of a game to her, at the moment, as the forest she was moving through was literally crawling with other changelings. It seemed every few steps another changeling sentry would materialize from the scenery, and none of them even knew she was there. This was also further aided by the fact that Aquadris was not a part of any Hivemind but her Queen Chrysalis’. If there was one good thing that came out of the events after the failed invasion, it was that the rogue Queens all had Hiveminds of their own. So if Changeling A was not a part of Changeling B’s Hivemind, then Changeling B wouldn't be able to tell where Changeling A was at unless seen. It really made Aquadris’ job even easier; she didn’t have to try and block out the Hivemind.

Aquadris was rapidly approaching a clearing, and decided she had come far enough. All she needed to do was listen, not see, and there were too many changelings ringing the clearing. It would be much safer just to wait where she was. Fortunately for her, her timing was impeccable, and she did not have to wait overly long.

“Quiet!” a voice spoke in a sibilant hiss. It sounded like the voice of Sejuani, head of the old Council. One by one, the multitude of hissing voices died down, making it far easier for Aquadris to hear what was being spoken. “We are gathered here today to plan our next move. Chrysalis has been dealt with and she will pose no threat to us. She has no Hive with which to do so.”

There was a general chorus of snickering laughs, and Aquadris had to fight back a snort of her own. If only they knew what they’re about to get into.

“The overarching plan is to enslave ponykind. They have so much love, and they sit there, squandering it, when it should be rightfully ours! Why should we stick to the shadows, forced to steal what love we can from mindless beasts? Better to enslave them all, so that we can take what we want whenever we desire it. To do this, Canterlot must fall. If Canterlot falls, the rest of the ponies will follow, as they will have no leader to guide them. Does anyling have suggestions for this goal?”

Another changeling spoke up. Aquadris was pretty sure this one was Ylonda. “We’re not going to get far with the Element of Magic impeding progress. She is entirely too cunning for a pony, and if we do not deal with her, she’ll only bring down our plans yet again.”

“So how should we deal with her, Ylonda?” Sejuani sounded extremely eager.

“I propose an assassination. Strike now, before the beasts have time to tighten their defenses. If we wait too long, we’ll never be able to get to her. If we do it today, or even tomorrow, Canterlot will be as good as ours within a week. We still have a few Infiltrators embedded in Canterlot, the best we have.”

“Your idea does have merit, Ylonda. Taking out the Element of Magic will also completely cripple the other Elements of Harmony, in addition to weakening the other princesses. All in favor?”

There was a rustle of movement, probably from other rogue Queens showing their vote.

“Then it is settled. We’ll attack tonight. Any Infiltrators still in Canterlot will receive this directive: Dispose of Twilight Sparkle. At any cost.”

“I do have a question.” This was a queen Aquadris couldn’t recognize, but her ears perked as she heard her name. “Has there been any word from Aquadris? She’s still the best Infiltrator the old Swarm has ever seen, and having her on our side of the conflict would be a great boon.”

Sejuani answered. “Aquadris has went dark, even before the invasion started. My own spies suspect Chrysalis banished her, and labeled her as a traitor. Likely because Aquadris opposed the idea of an all out invasion right from the start.”

Aquadris almost couldn’t keep herself contained. Oh, the delicious irony. I was banished, you fools, but because I opposed trying to conquer Equestria instead of finding peace. Stupid insects.

This other news though, was dire. The Infiltrator needed to warn Chrysalis of the impending attack, and soon. Ever so slowly Aquadris began to back away. Fortunately for her, most hostile eyes were facing inwards, and not outwards. Still, it was slow going, even slower than when she first snuck into the forest. The changeling simply could not afford to be discovered now. Every few steps she paused, making sure that no wayward eyes were pointed in her direction. Then finally, at long last, she managed to make it far enough away to safely teleport.

Shifting into the familiar form of Trixie, the Infiltrator pulled her mana reserves to the forefront of her mind. Then all at once, the world shifted, and she found herself outside the Badlands. Pausing for a moment, the disguised Trixie panted heavily. Even though she was powerful by unicorn standards, such a long range teleport took a lot out of her. Still this news she carried was of utmost importance and needed to be relayed to Queen Chrysalis as soon as possible. Gathering her strength, Aquadris then proceeded to hop teleport several times in rapid succession. She estimated that she was halfway across the desert and was close enough to use the hive mind.

She sent an urgent priority through the link, and felt her weakening monarch immediately open her mind to Aquadris. What is it, child?

Even now her mother's mind was soothing, curbing a bit of the Infiltrator's fear. It also helped that once more, they were mother and daughter and not queen and subject. Aquadris could feel the change within the mind, even though neither one had addressed the new feeling. Chrysalis had not viewed her changelings as daughters and sons for a very long time. It took a moment for Aquadris to formulate a reply, despite her initial haste. Mother, we have a problem. A big one. The other Queens aren't waiting. They're moving tonight. They still have changelings in Canterlot, they're planning on assassinating Twilight!

Chrysalis only asked three words. Are you certain?

Yes. I heard them directly. What are we to do, mother?

Return home. Immediately. We'll discuss this more when you arrive. We need to formulate a plan, and the Hive Mind is no place to do so. Not until we know for sure that enemy Infiltrators can't trick the Link into believing they are allies.

And so Aquadris flew, shifting once more into her changeling skin. She was close enough now another teleport would be pointless; she wouldn't be able to make it past the wards that kept her home safe. She ignored the burning ache of under-used wings and their muscles. She ignored her body's request to slow down, to rest. Time was of importance, and nothing was going to deter her.

She blew by the boundary to the city without being interrupted. Normally there would be sentries at the very least, but with only a tiny handful of changelings it was as pointless gesture. The infiltrator immediately set her sights upon the castle in the distance. With her goal in sight, she let herself slow down a tiny bit. As she approached the castle, four changelings fell into formation around her. With a simple nod to her brothers and sisters, Aquadris entered through the courtyard. Although she did not know the names of the changelings accompanying her, even she could recognize the insignia that the Queen's elite wore. These were her Mechakorps. The elite Troopers left the Infiltrator as soon as she reached castle proper. Aquadris continued alone heading directly for the center of the capitol building. As she approached the doors leading to the throne room, the closed portals read her magical signature. With a muted hiss they opened, revealing Chrysalis curled up on a sleeping mat before the now restored throne.

The changeling monarch smiled gently at her best agent. "It is fortunate that I sent you on this mission, Aquadris. I doubt any other would have been able to obtain this information."

Aquadris frowned a bit. "I just wish I were bringing better news."

"Worry not, my child. What is important is that we have some advanced warning. Did they specify who is going to perform the attack?"

"No. I think the general plan is to tell every changeling still in Canterlot to kill Twilight Sparkle."

"Hmmm. On one hoof, that just makes our job more difficult. Too many potential threats to keep track of. On the other hoof, this shows that our enemies are overconfident. As far as they're concerned, there's nothing that can stop them."

"So what do we do, my queen? I doubt we can just march right into Canterlot and warn them of the immediate danger. They have no reason to trust us, for starters."

"I had planned to wait a little longer, bid my time. That's no longer an option. We'll have to move as fast as the traitors are. I want you to take a team of my Mechakorps into Canterlot. Find Twilight Sparkle and shadow her. Don't let her out of sight for even an instant. When the assassins go on the attack, kill them and rescue her. Get her to accompany you back here by any means necessary. Convince her that we are allies, appeal to the scholar in her, something. But it is obvious that she is entirely too vulnerable right now. I want her in a place where I can keep an eye on her. If she falls before I have a chance to pass on my power to her, it'll all be over. Are your objectives clear?"

"Crystal, mother." Aquadris was already moving back towards the chamber doors as she spoke. "I'll return once my mission is complete."

Aquadris kept to the shadows, stalking her target. Getting into Canterlot had been surprisingly easy; however, judging by the informational posters everywhere, that was going to change, and soon. Despite what other changelings might like to believe, ponies were rather tenacious; putting changeling detection spells on buildings would make it virtually impossible for an undercover agent to do much of anything. However, the old swarm didn't have the time to wait for these security measures to be implemented. Their future queen was going to be attacked tonight.

Aquadris shifted slightly, her active camouflage mimicking the inky black shadows she was crouched in. She frowned slightly. The addition of Rainbow Dash complicated matters. The two were obviously on a date of sorts, generally enjoying each other's company and having a good time. Aquadris actually felt bad that she was eventually going to be the bearer of bad news in an otherwise blissful evening. But what bothered the Infiltrator more was the fact that Dash has not left the side of her unicorn companion at all today. And if the traitors decided to attack with Rainbow Dash still around, there was little doubt in Aquadris' mind that the chromatic pegasus would end up embroiled in this conflict that really didn't concern her. It was highly unlikely that the Wonderbolt would abandon her marefriend at the first sign of trouble. Unless something else happened, it looked like Rainbow Dash was going to end up following Aquadris back home. Losing a second Element of Harmony really wasn't an option.

A flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye caught the Infiltraror's attention. The first of her personal tracking rules echoed throughout her mind: If you think you saw something, don't immediately turn to look for it. Even with her camouflage, it could be possible for her to be seen if she moved suddenly. So the changeling stood completely still and expanded her awareness. There. Almost directly across from her current position. One, two, three, four, five, six. They were pathetically easy to spot; it was obvious they were not skilled in the art of stealth. Unfortunately, they were behind Rainbow and Twilight, and not even the unicorn's magic would detect them until it was too late. Aquadris moved forward a bit more, keeping pace with her two objectives. As she did so, she noticed five more changelings on the rooftops above her. This was not looking good. Eleven enemies was not a fair fight, no matter how good the four Mechakorps were. Hopefully the element of surprise would even out the odds a bit.

Another issue was the location. They were all in the middle of the main street leading to the palace with dozens of other ponies around them. Not only was there a high chance of more casualties than needed, there was no chance that the changelings would go unnoticed. Undoubtedly this was what the enemies wanted. What better way to demoralize ponies, than to murder such a figurehead in their midst? There! Aquadris was so wrapped up in her musings she came close to dooming her entire race. She was moving before she even realized it, galloping to intercept the first attackers.

She made it to the two Elements of Harmony just in time to parry a magic bolt with her magic resistant chitin. There were shouts and screams at the sudden appearance of changelings. Rainbow and Twilight whirled in time to see four more deadly magical bolts impact an unfazed Aquadris. Dash, being a member of the military, grasped the sudden danger a bit quicker than her lavender love. Lightning arced from her flared wings, completely ignoring the Infiltrator and causing the struck foes to falter for a moment.

"I was honestly expecting you to strike at me first." Aquadris didn't need to turn her head to know that the two ponies were slightly behind her, staring down the eleven rather healthy changelings before them.

Dash snorted. "I dunno what game you're playing, changeling. But I saw you take those shots meant for Twilight. Right now, I'm just as likely to blast you as I am to thank you."

"Fair enough. Twilight. Can you make it to the palace from here?"

There was a brief pause. "No. Something is blocking my magic."

Although the unicorn did her best to keep her voice level, it still wavered with uncertainty. "Then get ready to run. I've got reinforcements of my own en route, but its going to take them a while to get here. I can hold them off for a while. Dash, you should follow her."

"You've got a lot of explaining to do later, changeling. But we're outnumbered here. C'mon Twi. We've gotta make a run for it." The pair promptly took the advice and fled. The enemies in front of her hissed, infuriated that their target was escaping. They all rushed the Infiltrator, who beat them back with hoof and magic. Other ponies had long since fled, allowing Aquadris to only focus on the assassins. They came on again, forcing the defender to slowly give ground. However, her concentration was shattered when Twilight Sparkle cried out in pain.

Aquadris flew back and away, frantically looking behind her. Another six changelings surrounded the two important equines, one standing over the unicorn with a bloody dagger in its magical grip. Dash was distracted by other enemies, fighting desperately on two fronts. Even as Aquadris began to flit over to the battle, more buzzing wings heralded the arrival of her own reinforcements. The four elite troopers fell upon the one that had stabbed Twilight, ending its life quickly. More traitors rallied, however, and the fight began in earnest.

The six defenders stood easily against the skewered odds; not only were these foes not good at stealth, they weren't overly good at combat either. However, things began to quickly go wrong. A lucky shot clipped one of Dash's wings, and while she was distracted trying to put some distance between her and her foes, a particularly suicidal changeling charged her and ran it's horn through her throat. The Wonderbolt went down, and was promptly swarmed by a sea of black.

Aquadris rushed forward, clearing the immediate area, but not before two of her own fell. By this time there were only four enemies left. They turned to flee, believing their work to be done. They were each struck down by an enraged Infiltrator. Off in the distance came a great pounding of hooves; the Royal Guards were likely on their way, and Aquadris was left with two mortally wounded Elements of Harmony and two lightly wounded Mechakorps.

Aquadris bent over Twilight, checking the mare's wounds. She had been stabbed twice in her chest and once in her barrel. Her forelegs were both broken and her breath was raspy. Aquadris then checked over Rainbow Dash. The neck wound didn't seem to be all that deep, but it still seemed to be restricting her airways. Both of her beautiful wings were mangled, and she appeared to have some internal bleeding. Neither one of them was going to last much longer without some sort of help, and the guards were getting closer. Aquadris made a snap decision and motioned the four Mechakorps closer and outlined their plan to them. The two wounded ones nodded their assent to their roles while the other two made other preparations. Aquadris only hoped this stupid plan of hers worked.

Author's Notes:

So, I'll just save you all the trouble and say the meme here: Well, that escalated quickly.

Honestly, that was kind of my intention. Really needed to get the ball rolling so I can get this one where it needs to be. I promise, things will slow down a bit in future chapters. Also please note this release is unedited. I've not updated so long I don't think I have any editors, and I actually finished the last half of this chapter on my Galaxy S3 while at work. I'll give it a proper edit pass when I get home.

As always, likes, dislikes, complaints, and praise is welcomed. Just no hate please. Hate is counter productive and helps nothing.