"We're here, we're here!" Exclaimed Pinkie. I looked out of the window and how have I not noticed this sooner? An enormous, pink, magical shield surrounded Canterlot. As we got close, the shield weakened slightly so that the train could continue through it without a problem. We pulled up to the station to see way too many guards stationed in a single place. So much for subtlety. I hope this intruder isn't disguised as a guard...

"Woah, what's with all the guards?" Asked Rainbow as we all walked out of the train and onto the station.

"I'm sure they're just taking the necessary precautions," explained Rarity, "royal weddings do bring out the strangest Ponies." I groaned and facehoofed. There were dozens more than I'd seen from the window of the train.

"Great job, guys!" I called to them. "You're doing a great job at not drawing attention!" The guards ignored me.

"What do you mean, Cloud?" I sighed.

"Nevermind."

"Where are we goin' first, Twi?" Rainbow asked as Twilight walked past her looking pissed.

"First," she hissed, "I'm going to talk to my brother about priorities and why he shouldn't tell me about important things through letters!" She seems a bit more angry than she did earlier.

"Okay," I responded. "I'm gonna go talk to Celestia about my mis- Uh, about what she wants me to do. I'll get back to y'all later."

"Y'all?" Repeated Vesper with a confused look on her face.

"It's the only word there is short for 'you all' and I felt like trying it out."

"Wha' didja think o' i'?" Asked Applejack.

"Too southern. Anyway, see you later." I summoned a Support Circle and flew to the castle.

I knocked on the door of Celestia's sixtieth study and was soon invited inside. Celestia and Luna were sitting next to an enormous mountain of pancakes, each topped with different combinations of different things.

"Hello, Cloud," greeted Celestia.

"Hey, Celestia," I greeted back. "Hey, Luna."

"Greetings," replied Luna. Wow, she didn't hate me immediately? She must be in a good mood.

"I assume you're here for more details on your mission?" Celestia asked. I nodded.

"Yeah," I responded. "But now I'm more interested in the pancakes." Celestia chuckled.

"Luna and I were going to have a... Competition of sorts."

"In front of us we have ten tonnes of pancakes," explained Luna. "First, we shall split them equally between us."

"Then the first to eat their five tonnes wins and doesn't have to attend the wedding-"

"And can do whatever they wish on that day." How did they know the timing on finishing each other's sentences? Better question:

"How?" I asked. "It's literally impossible to eat that much."

"Alicorn stomach acid," Celestia said simply. Ooh, so much alliteration! "Its destructive power is greater than the surface of my sun." My jaw dropped.

"Seriously?!"

"Yes, it is quite useful."

"B-But that's not possible! Where the buck does all the energy go?!"

"We absorb it. Alicorns have practically limitless energy storage."

"That's-!" I sighed. "You know what? I've seen weirder. Anyway, tell me more about the mission."

"Very well. We believe that the intruder is a high level shapeshifter. They will likely be taking advantage of everypony being stressed from wedding preparations, but you should still be wary of anypony acting strange. I have Shining Asshat casting the shield around the city to make him feel like he's not useless and the rest of the guards are stationed around everywhere because their captain is a bucking idiot that doesn't understand subtlety."

"Is there any kind of spell I can cast to detect shapeshifting magic?"

"Yes, but it would take too long to learn with this level of shapeshifting at hoof."

"Hmm... Okay."

"Have you told the others about your mission?"

"Only Vesper. You asked her to keep an eye on everything that's going on, so I asked her to watch out for weird behavior."

"Good call. You should start by talking to Asshat or Twilight."

"Why's that?"

"Twilight may have noticed anypony acting strange and there's a miniscule chance that Asshat was doing his job."

"Right. Good luck to both of you with the pancakes." They nodded to show thanks and I left. I started up a detect general magic spell and headed towards the one most likely to be Vesper. Wait, can't I just use this to find the shapeshifter? No, they probably have anti-detection spells up. Damn. Wait a minute... Why is there another huge magic signature over there? My brow furrowed. Shit, if I can detect them now it might mean they're starting their attack with the city sealed inside a shield! I've got to get over there, and fast!

I summoned a Support Circle and sped off at nearly maximum speed.

Author's Notes:

So I've run into a problem that I never have before; I have to many jokes to choose from for the Equestria Girls arc. Some of them will change the way the rest o the story will work, some of them require more world building and others won't work at the same time.

I have to choose which to use, but they all seem so good!

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There'll be some major overall plot developments in season three since there's been almost nothing so far and we're halfway(ish) through the story.

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The next comic is an inside joke with some friends, so it probably won't make much (or any) sense: