Private Swift Volley stood in front of the Castle of Friendship’s large golden entrance doors. In the polished surface he could see the reflection of Private Rhapsody Reprise standing behind him, using her hoof shoe as a mirror to check her teeth. Rolling his eyes, he lifted a front leg and knocked firmly. A moment later the door cracked open and a green reptilian eye peeked out at them.

“Oh, hey,” said the small purple dragon who opened the door fully and whom Swift assumed to be Spike, Princess Twilight’s assistant. “If you're looking for Twilight she went to check on Starlight back at the school. Did something happen?”

“No sir,” said Rhapsody who moved in to step beside Swift. “Lieutenant Silverspark sent us to offer aid to Thorax’s changelings.”

The little dragon snorted, covering his mouth with his claws to stop from laughing. Swift and Rhapsody looked at each other, the unicorn seeming confused and the Pegasus a little annoyed. Spike cleared this throat and composed himself.

“Well, you just missed them,” the dragon said, “they asked for some bits and went off into town to get supplies.”

“Supplies?” asked Rhapsody, “for what?”

“I’m not sure,” shrugged Spike. “But they asked where they could go to get lumber and paint.”

“Why would they need lumber and paint?” queried Swift.

The dragon made a noise, kind of like a hum, that would have sounded like ‘I don’t know’ in words and shrugged his shoulders again.

“Well, could you tell us where we should look for them?” said a slightly exasperated Swift.

“I told them to check over at Trees and Timber and Paints and Palettes, “said Spike. “If you hurry you should be able to catch up with them.”

Private Sunlight Spring rapped on the door of a quaint little cottage and waited with her two fellow guards, Luminous Blaze and Sharp Coldsteel. After waiting for almost a minute the pegasus mare lifted her hoof to knock again but stopped when the door creaked open. Standing just on the other side of the portal was a light yellow earth pony mare with green eyes and a light orange mane.

“Oh, can I help you?” the mare asked, looking nervously at the three guards.

“Good afternoon ma’am,” Sunlight said to the mare, “is your name Junebug?”

“Yes,” confirmed the mare, “that’s my name. Is there something wrong?”

“We just have a few questions for you ma’am,” Sunlight said, “and we would appreciate your cooperation.”

“Er, well, I suppose I can do that,” Junebug said, shifting her weight from one hoof to the other.

“Would you be able to tell us were you where yesterday when the changelings attacked the School of Friendship?” asked Sunlight.

“I was out collecting blue columbine flowers,” the mare answered, “thank goodness too. I’d hate to have been here when that happen.”

“Did anypony see you while you were out collecting flowers ma’am?” asked Private Coldsteel, an earth pony stallion, who stepped beside Sunlight.

“I um… let me think,” Junebug said, biting her bottom lip. “I left early in the morning and I remember waving to Miss Cheerillee while she was standing outside the school house.”

Sunlight looked back at Luminous Blaze as the unicorn stallion took notes with a pad of paper and pencil he levitated with his magic. She also noticed that the pony who tipped them off to check on Junebug, a light dusty purple coated mare with the blue mane, was watching them closely from her cottage.

“Wait, do you think I might be a changeling?” Junebug asked in an annoyed tone.

“We’ve received a report that you’ve been acting strangely since yesterday ma’am,” said Sunlight, looking back to Junebug.

“Exactly how have I been acting strangely?” the mare demanded to know, looking from the guards to the pony across the way.

“You were spotted sneaking around carousel boutique last night,” said Coldsteel.

“That’s right, and so what if I was?” Junebug said indignantly, loud enough for ponies nearby to hear.

“Well, could you tell us why?” gently pressed Coldsteel, trying to defuse the situation.

“If you must know, I was picking up this,” the mare said, reaching to a squat cylindrical box and throwing off the lid to reveal a flower adorned bonnet. “It was going to be a surprise birthday gift for my supposed friend behind you.”

“I’m sorry ma’am, we’re only checking up on this for the safety of the town,” said Sunlight.

“Yeah, well, Happy birthday Berry Frost!” Junebug shouted out to her neighbor with both anger and hurt in her voice. “I hope you like your gift.”

Suddenly Junebug thrust the gift into Coldsteel’s hooves before slamming the door shut. The three guards looked at each other, slightly ashamed.

Trees and Timber was an odd mix of a shop that Swift and Rhapsody entered. Half of it devoted to lumber of assorted sizes from various species; while the other was dedicated to a range of potted saplings and the supplies needed for their nurture. A large chestnut brown earth pony stallion stood behind the counter, looking over a sheet of paper while a petite earth pony mare with a cherry blossom colored coat carefully watered the young plants.

“Howdy there,” said the stallion, “Names Clear Cutter an’ that tha’rs ma wife Tree Tender, how can we help y’all today?”

“Ah, we’re actuality looking for some changelings, sir,” Swift said and then added, “the reformed kind.”

“Ya just missed them,” the mare said after setting her watering can down. “Gave us a bit of a fright at first when they came in, with what happen yesterday an’ all.”

“But they was a good bunch,” cut in the stallion, “didn’t cause no trouble. A bit curious about everything but very polite.”

“Oh yes,” agreed the mare. “Wish they could a stayed an’ told me more about their hive. Sounds lovely with how in tune with nature they described it bein.”

“I actually need to get their order together an’ bring it over to the princess’s castle,” said Clear Cutter.

“Would you mind if I asked about what they ordered?” Swift asked.

“Just some two by fours an’ plywood,” the stallion answered, as he began piling up planks on a flatbed cart.

“Do you know where they went?” Rhapsody asked Tree Tender.

“They asked for directions to Paints an’ Palettes,” replied the mare. “Just head down the lane, make a right at the spa an’ continue on. Colorful shop, hard to miss, got a sign shaped like a painter’s palette.”

“Thanks ma’am, sir,” Swift said with a nod to the two before he trotted out with Rhapsody.

“Why do you think your friends a changeling?” Sunlight asked the little grey pegasus colt with a dirty white mohawk.

“He beat me at mare-nopoly,” said the colt.

“Why would that make him a changeling?” asked a confused Coldsteel.

“Because he bought all the train stations,” the colt answered.

“Uhh…” balked Sunlight. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“He landed on all four train stations on his first turn around the board,” the little pagasus exclaimed with the stomp of a hoof. “Baltimare, Canterlot, Manehattan and Fillydephia; All four! Nopony could do that, he has to be a changeling cheater!”

Private Blaze stopped taking notes and used the eraser of his pencil to rub his temple.

“The changelings? You just missed them,” said the mare. “They had such lovely colors!”

The guards had entered Paints and Palettes only to find it devoid of changelings. The only one in the store was the proprietor, Pleasant Pigment, a gentle teal coated unicorn with thick black rimmed glasses who kept her mane tied back in a ponytail. The shopkeeper was going from shelf to shelf, using her magic to lower down jars filled with powder of varying hues and scrutinizing their contents.

“It was inspirational!” she exclaimed while giddily trotting in place. “I might just close up shop early today and go out to collect some gems. Then I’ll have to find some way to grind them up into a fine powder. Oh I’m so excited to see what shiny new pigmentations I’ll make!”

Swift and Rhapsody could only watch helplessly as the mare continued spouting out color theory and the ways she could add tint and shade to match the changeling’s vibrant chitin. When Pleasant paused to catch her breath, Rhapsody used the break to cut off her chatter.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but could you tell us what the changelings wanted?” questioned Rhapsody.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” blushed Pleasant, “I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent. They just wanted a few buckets of darker green paint and some brushes.”

“Green paint?” Swift asked.

“Dark green,” corrected the mare. “I overheard one of them say that it was the queen’s favorite color and it might catch her attention. I had suggested a more vibrate green but-”

“Could you tell us where they went?” Swift pressed.

“They said something about being by Twilight’s castle for when the delivery arrived,” Pleasant said, pushing her glasses back up her muzzle.

“Back to the beginning,” Rhapsody chuckled, “right Swift.”

The pegasus guard just groaned out a sigh and walked to the door.

“Thanks for the help ma’am,” said Rhapsody to the fellow unicorn.

“My pleasure,” she said before calling out to the exiting pair, “and thanks for stopping in to peruse Pleasant Pigment’s Paints and Palettes!”

“Then he forgot the anniversary of our first date,” the elderly pink mare said, as she squinted at Coldsteel through her thick purple rimmed glasses.

“What?” loudly asked the old light sea green stallion at her side who held a hoof up to his ear.

“And after forty years he still thinks my eyes are blue,” complained the mare. “My eyes are sky blue.”

“What?” the old stallion leaned closer to the elderly mare.

“Sky blue!” she shouted to him.”

“Fondue?” he asked, “sure, we can go out to that fondue restaurant. I love cheese.”

“You can’t have cheese, it gives you gas!” the elderly mare said back to him.

“Sure we can see if they have sassafras,” the old stallion said. “I know how much you love sassafras tee.”

“Well at least after forty years you can remember that,” chuckled the elderly mare.

Sunlight and Coldsteel could only frown at each other and Private Blaze had given up taking notes and mumbled about a migraine.

“We should be out searching for the bad changelings, not tracking down the good ones,” mumbled an annoyed Swift as he walked next to his fellow guard.

“Relax, I can see them just up ahead,” Rhapsody pointed with her hoof.

In the middle of a field of grass behind the Castle of Friendship worked a trio of changelings. A mint green mare with solid ruby red eyes hovered in place on her see through rose colored wings. She held a long piece of wood in her hooves and was being directed by a light turquoise stallion who had a dark blue elytra and deep amber eyes. The third changeling, a mare with a lime colored carapace and deep amethyst colored eyes, was using her hoof to knock some nails into the planks to keep their creation together.

“Excuse me,” called out Swift, getting the changelings attention. “We’re from the Canterlot guard, we’re here to help you with your search for rogue changelings.”

“Oh!” the turquoise changeling said, his voice friendly and chipper. “That would be a big help! My names Tarsus.”

“I’m Maxilla,” said the lime colored changeling who had trotted up to Swift and was rapidly shaking his hoof up and down.

“And I’m Cricket,” said the mint green changeling.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” said Rhapsody, whose hoof was now captured and being shook by Maxilla.

“So, ah, what are you working on?” Swift asked, rubbing his shoulder. “Some kind of trap?”

“Oh no,” Tarsus said, “this is something Princess Twilight and Thorax came up with, we’ll tell you all about it.”