Good morning, and thank you for tuning into the Voice of Equestria. I'm your host Rainy Meadow, and today we have a special report on the new changeling colony in the Everfree Forest.

Princess Twilight Sparkle has kindly sent extensive documentation on the colony's operating procedures to Canterlot this morning, and we were lucky enough to obtain access to a copy. The Voice of Equestria will do our best to pass the information onto our listeners.

It appears that the colony will be run as a joint project between the Equestrian government and the changelings themselves. The changelings have elected to choose one of Queen Chrysalis's former advisors as their leader, while Equestrian interests — feeding volunteers, supplies, infrastructure — will be overseen by a director appointed by Princess Sparkle.

Currently, the director is Captain Thunderball — a controversial choice given his background and involvement in the House Argent scandal, but one which the Princesses and changelings both have a great deal of confidence in.

Stay tuned, and we will bring you more updates as we work through Princess Sparkle's writings.

Thursday morning began like usual for Ace. He got out of bed, did a quick series of stretches, and then adopted his favorite unicorn form — unkempt purple mane, ice blue eyes, grey coat with just a hint of mauve, and a lavender shirt collar tying it all together. There was no cutie mark, however. Ace had yet to settle on one that truly satisfied him, nor could he entirely shake the feeling that he should earn it.

Next, he made a quick breakfast for himself, and went outside to check the mail and morning paper. If the paper was a little further away from the house than it had been before he had revealed himself to be a changeling, and if the mailbox was left open due to the mailpony's hasty departure (it was a pity that Derpy was on a different route), he showed no sign of it.

Ace walked back into the house to see that a dull grey pegasus with mustard yellow hair and eyes was already helping herself to the breakfast — oatmeal and toast, with plenty of Golden Harvest's carrot juice to wash it down with. Skeleton Key maintained that she was a growing mare and needed all the nutrients she could get.

"Bills." Ace tossed the mail onto the table. "Looks like the cost of living's going up again. Stupid economy."

"Eh, it's not so bad. There's two of us to split the cost, remember?" Skeleton Key pushed a plate of toast across the table. "Stop worrying so much and eat. You look like you've lost a few pounds ever since you came out."

"Well, it's hard to deal with the fact that half the ponies in town have started avoiding me."

"Yeah, that sucks, but eventually they'll realize you're the same pony on the inside. It just takes some ponies a bit longer to come around." Skeleton Key flipped through the pages of the newspaper until she came to the local events section. "Why don't you take a day off and relax? I hear they're re–opening the swimming pool today."

"Really? I thought they'd never fix what the Cutie Mark Crusaders did to it. I'd never seen so much peanut butter in my life."

"Apparently they took the opportunity to expand the pool, and hire a lifeguard to make sure nothing of the sort ever happens again." She showed Ace a picture of a tan pegasus with a lengthy azure mane flying over the pool. "Life Preserver looks like she's a pretty well–built pegasus — you still have a thing for those, right?"

Skeleton Key laughed devilishly as Ace turned a bright shade of red and snatched the newspaper out of her hooves. It flew across the room and landed in a wastebasket as Ace made a hurried departure from the house. The streets outside were quiet this early in the morning, except for a slight periwinkle unicorn waving at him from outside of a shop that was vacant yesterday.

"Good morning, mister!" Two sea green eyes twinkled as she flipped her pink mane behind her ears flirtatiously. "Can I interest you in any hoofwear?"

Ace ran a hoof through his mane and fixed her with his best smile. "Sure! If anypony's up for shopping, it's Ace Gambit, retail worker for hire!" He looked past her and into the shop. It was empty, save for some boxes. "You must be new in town."

"Yup! Decided to leave home and get my start in live by opening up my own business! You're lucky enough to be here for the grand opening, so I can work in a first customer discount if you buy anything!"

Ace let the mare babble on about her business as she pressed boxes of shoes and boots into his forelegs. He had to admit that they were fairly well crafted, though not name–brand designs. Looking about the shop, he spotted a set of cobbler's tools. She had clearly made her wares herself. Odd; this was the sort of shop normally found in the bigger cities.

"So what made you decide to come to a little town like Ponyville, miss…"

"Stiletto." She turned and showed him a pair of high heels crossed together on her flank. "I know Ponyville isn't exactly Manehattan or New Yoke, but I have to admit, being close to a fashonista like Miss Rarity has been something of a dream of mine. Truth be told, I was hoping to learn a few things from her."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "So you set up a business here?"

"Well, I was originally going to ask if she needed an apprentice, but she gets along fine as–is, and I thought it might be better if I tried to approach her as an equal." She paused and looked around her shop. "But I'm sure this'll work out. I mean, boots are in this year, and the rent's really low. If that bookstore across the street that never gets customers can stay in business, I'm sure I can too!"

Ace's expression became downcast as she mentioned the bookstore's lack of patronage. "Well, I'm sure you'll make a sale, Miss Stiletto. I actually have an appointment at the bookstore, but it's been nice getting to know you."

"Oh, well…same to you," she replied, visibly disappointed at having lost a sale.

Across the street, the lights of the Open Book came to life, signalling that the store was ready for business. The lighting illuminated a sign in the display window: Book Buzz — A Reading Group for All Ages. Wednesday 6:00PM – 10:00PM. Behind the sign were rows of bookshelves, lined with a veritable collection of reading material.

The door chime rang happily — the first time in a week — as Ace was oiling the cash register. He looked up and saw a large brown draft horse walk in. "Hey there, Creme! Any interest in discussing the great works of Equestrian literature every Wednesday night?"

"Um, maybe?" Creme looked around the empty shop. "Who else is coming?"

"Well, I sent Princess Twilight an invitation, but she's really busy. Rainbow Dash got one too, of course, as did Rarity– "

Stiletto poked her head into the shop. "Miss Rarity's joining your book club?"

As big as he was, Creme found himself startling and jumped sideways into a rack of postcards. He cringed as souvenirs of ‘Princess Twilight Sparkle's Friendship Rainbow Kingdom Castle’ scattered about the floor.

"Oh my," Stiletto gasped. "I didn't mean to scare you!"

Creme straightened himself bashfully. "I wasn't scared, I was just…surprised."

"I'm so sorry about the accident, let me help you clean that up."

Stiletto reached out towards the cards, but Ace quickly arrested her hooves. "No need, I have that covered." He pointed his horn at the mess. "Go Go Gambit Sorting Algorithm!"

The postcards flew off of the ground and arranged themselves neatly on the rack, waiting to be purchased once again. Stiletto plucked one of the less gaudy ones out and laid it on the counter, along with a bit. "I didn't mean to upset anypony, I just got excited when I heard about Miss Rarity. I don't suppose I could join the book club as well?"

Creme opened his mouth to point out that Rarity had only been invited, but Ace quickly cut him off. "Of course! The signup sheet is on the counter."

"Perfect!" She smiled as she jotted down her name. "In the meantime, I don't suppose you have any tips for a new small business owner like myself?"

"I'm afraid I couldn't tell you," Ace shrugged. "The only real sales we've made since I've been here were a large order of general reading material for the Friendship Castle library and two copies of The Doctrine of Chances."

Creme raised an eyebrow. "What does Twilight want all those books for?"

Stiletto tapped her chin with the pen. "Probably because Princess Twilight's going to open up the castle library since Ponyville no longer has one." She paused, and Ace nodded to confirm her suspicion. "Truth be told, I'm more interested in why two ponies wanted a book on probability theory."

"Yeah, that was a weird day. Big McIntosh had his heart set on it for some reason, and half an hour after he buys it, this pinto comes in looking for the exact same book. Well, I didn't have another copy, so I placed an order for it and told her I'd let her know as soon as it came in." Ace tapped his chin, "By the way, how do you send a telegram in these parts?"

"The post office, I imagine." Stiletto pointed down the street. "Well, I'm very glad to have met you two. I look forward to the book club, and do drop by if you ever need anything sewn, stitched, or cobbled."

She grabbed the postcard and went back to her shop, with Ace gazing longingly at her retreating form. "You know what, Creme? I really like this town."

Creme sighed. "She's bound to find out about us sooner or later."

"But we made a great first impression, and that's what counts, right?" Ace nudged Creme between the ribs. "Gotta go on the offensive in this public relations campaign!"

"I hope, for Celestia's sake your relations don't become too public," Creme grinned back. "Otherwise you might scar the kids for life."

Prince Blueblood lounged on a sofa in his mansion, idly tossing grapes into his mouth. Normally, Thursdays were spa days, but Bella Donna had decided to pay him a social visit. It was her first since their meeting at the Garden Party, which had concluded with an intriguing discussion on changeling demographics in Equestria. Blueblood was rather interested in seeing if she would pick up where she left off, but Bella Donna instead regaled him with tales of her adventures in the Crystal Empire.

"And you would not believe the sheer abundance of crystals, dear," she cooed. "Why, I fear Miss Rarity will soon face some stiff competition from up north. Why, I was practically tripping over gemstones when I was up there — even digging the foundations of my new summer home on the outskirts of the city uncovered a small fortune in jewels, as you can see."

She adjusted the absurd, jewel–encrusted hat she was wearing, which took up most of her head. Blueblood was beginning to wonder if Bella Donna was even a unicorn at this point. She certainly kept her head fully covered at all times, and he had never seen her use magic. If it were not for the testimony of her friends, he would have assumed she was an earth pony bluffing her way to the top of society.

"And, of course, I saw the crown jewel of the Empire, the Crystal Heart! They say it broadcasts hope and love all over Equestria!"

"Indeed, I do." Blueblood nodded with a smile. "Auntie Tia was telling me about it just the other day, and of how she hoped to use it to help feed changelings."

Bella Donna's face darkened. "How scandalous! It would be such a shame to see such a beautiful jewel bent to such base purposes. I trust, Prince Blueblood, that you did not approve?"

Blueblood shrugged. "What could I say? Auntie is Auntie, after all."

"I suppose so; it is such a pity that a real pony isn't leading us." She fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Somepony strong, wise, and brave enough to do what must be done."

A faint smile graced Blueblood's lips. "Did you have somepony in mind, Bella?"

"And more." Her voice was husky, and full of passion. "Let us talk no further here, but if you should wish to learn more, come to my humble abode next Wednesday."

Prince Blueblood took her hoof in his and kissed it lightly. "Bien sûr, mademoiselle."