Chapter 1

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The gate was left unlocked, just as promised. I slowly opened it, turning my head at the last second to make sure no one was following me.

I was nervous. I had the right to be. I mean, it wasn’t my first time feeding from an asset, but I wasn’t in Fillydelphia, my territory. I was in Star Track, in someone else’s Cluster territory. And I was hungry.

Looking up, I saw the sun setting, giving the sky a red-orange tint. I could see ponies already on their way home, probably back to their families, walking through the narrow side streets. They would enjoy their organic food, very much oblivious to what surrounded them, to those that were starving.

I stared hungrily at one of the passing ponies, an earth pony mare. She met my eyes. I unconsciously sent out a little of my emotion, my need, towards her. She responded with a little blush before trotting away.

I shook my head. Now is not the time to lose your focus, Lumi, I mentally berated. Right now, you have to get enough Love to feed your Cluster. So, eyes forward, and do your job.

My foreleg took one step, before I felt a tingle of energy cascade across my back. I took another look back, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. However, I was pretty sure someone was watching. They hid themselves well enough, but I could still feel them.

No, I wasn’t paranoid.

I had my suspicions, but even if they were proven right, it was nothing I should worry about. An agreement was made, and I was given permission to feed from an asset in their territory. If they had any problems now, they should have made it clear before I even entered town.

Once I entered the gate, I was greeted by a small lush green garden, with the grass perfectly trimmed and flowers of differing colors standing upright, as if happy to greet me.

Stupid flowers.

The aesthetic was a little alien for me, though. The ponies here didn’t usually waste resources in making a fence or a garden; they would rather have a bigger house. In the end, I concluded that the design was from the relatively new aliens the Equestrians had discovered—the ‘humans’.

I think it was five years ago when I first heard about the discovery, when a portal connecting our world to theirs was created by accident. Now these bipedal ape-like beings were slowly becoming a common sight in the big cities in Equestria, like Manehattan, Canterlot, Las Pegasus, and Vanhoover. Unsurprisingly, they were also recently showing up in larger numbers back in Fillydelphia—the city where I built my Cluster.

Honestly, I wasn’t too curious about them. Around the time of discovery, I was too busy forming up the aforementioned Cluster, so the news was inconsequential and unrelated to my work. Even when the human influence began to spread, like their ‘magic’, their technology, I never really felt the need to study the race. However, I did appreciate them distracting the ponies, taking their attention away from us all these years.

Considering I was about to feed from one of said humans, though, maybe I should have been more curious. Most of what I knew of them were either from other ponies, fellow cluster-mates, or from human customers from where I work. Honestly, I felt that these humans were a lot like ponies, and yet quite different at the same time. Those that I personally met on my cover-job, at the bookstore, kept mostly to themselves, but seemed friendly enough for a supposed predatory species.

Shaking those memories out of my head, I approached the house and proceeded towards the front gate, extended my foreleg, and felt for the doorknob. It easily turned. Pushing the door open, I was greeted by a narrow hall and a small, rectangular carpet down the floor in front of me, with the word “Welcome” written in Equestrian. Horseshoes and human shoes were placed on the side, all in an orderly fashion.

I didn’t wear horseshoes. There was no real need when I could control how thick the carapace on my hooves was, so I simply wiped them over the welcoming carpet before proceeding inside.

I was less than half-way crossing the hall when I stumbled upon a large mirror attached to the wall on my left. Staring at it, I saw my current form: a light yellow pegasus with red mane and tail. Beside the mirror was a small desk with a picture frame above it, showing a human, pinkish-yellow in color, with a short cut brown mane, and the very same pegasus, both smiling.

Actually, now that I had a better look, the pegasus in the picture had a darker coat than mine. Not really a big difference in terms of shade, but I wasn’t going to risk that. Spending more precious energy, I concentrated for a moment, picturing the color in my head, and spreading that all over my coat. A familiar tingle of energy washed over me, from head to hoof. My true form shimmered for a moment, my current pale yellow coat turning ebony with shades of green, then to the darker yellow shade.

Satisfied with the image, I continued on my way. The hallway led to the living room area, complete with very comfortable looking couches, a small coffee table, carpeted floors, and even a nice fireplace. I thought for a moment before deciding that this would be a good place to feed. With a little adjustment, the room would be spacious and comfortable enough for the act. Plus, looking around, with all the windows, this place had a lot of escape routes. There was little chance of something wrong going on, but knowing the quickest way out of an enclosed area would avoid the hassle of getting stuck in an unfavorable position.

Being hungry and low on energy was no excuse for being careless. Changelings didn’t survive to this point by acting stupid. Well, most of the time, at least.

The windows were made with a wooden frame, splitting the pane into nine individual squares. Not bad. All it needed was good outward push, and I could escape with minimal damage. I walked towards the unlit fireplace and craned my head to check the inside of the chimney. Nope; there was a small grate halfway out, blocking the way. There was no way I would be able to escape from there.

Moving out of the living room, I made my way towards the kitchen. The first thing I noticed was the smell, a sweet lingering scent of cooked meat and spices. It was interesting, definitely something I would never have expected to smell in a pony home. The kitchen itself, though… wow. It was bigger than the living room, which made sense. It was fully equipped, having one of those new expensive ‘fridges’, which were slowly replacing the iceboxes the ponies had been using, a stove with an oven, and a small table with a basket of fruits on top. I took a moment to appreciate the design of this room—clean, spacious, which allowed for comfortable movement, and was painted with bright colors.

Show-offs, I thought darkly, thinking of my own small kitchen in my rather dingy apartment. I couldn’t blame them though. The whole design was efficient, and very practical as well. Combining both the dining area and the cooking area made it easier to see if the asset was getting enough sustenance and made the place a comfortable conversation-setting.

Opening the oven revealed the source of the smell: a large white oven plate that had juicy roasted meat in the middle, lightly charred and browned to perfection, with baked potatoes around it. The smell was amazing, which only reminded me of my hunger. It was times like these that I get jealous of the other sapient species that rely only on organic food for their sustenance. Sighing, I glanced at the clock revealing that it was already past six. I was told that the human asset usually got home soon after that.

I felt the stirring of excitement in me, the need to feed.

“Just a little more, Lumi,” I said to myself.

Looking around, making sure no one was looking in from the windows, I spent a bit more precious energy to prepare everything. I floated the dish out of the oven and placed it on top of the table. I extracted a plate and a few utensils from the cupboards—a small knife and fork on the plate, and a bigger knife near the roast. I added a little flair to make it look a bit more enticing.

Next, I went to the fridge, shivering as a cold gust of air escaped as I opened the door. My eyes passed over the eggs and other preserved food stock and searched for a marked bottle of cider. Finding it, I extracted that out as well, opening it, and took a whiff. The sweet scent of the cider hid the almond-like smell of the metaboliser, while the yellow shade of the drink hid the presence of the booster. I placed that on the table and made sure I got a glass out to go along with it.

Making my way towards the living room again, I ensured that no one was around before magically beginning closing the drapes around the windows and moved the couches and table around the living room, just to get more space. While I saw the stairs leading upstairs, towards the bedrooms, I didn’t trust myself to feed there. Call me paranoid, but I'd rather stick in relatively larger open spaces where there were many escape routes available.

As a finishing touch, I also used a firegem to light the fireplace.

All of that had me left feeling more drained, and even hungrier than before. When was the human coming home? I walked towards the draped window and peeked outside. There were a few ponies around, but no human.

Sighing, I walked back towards the hallway and looked at myself in the mirror, staring at the picture frame beside it. With nothing left to do but wait, I practised my smile, making sure it looked close enough to the one the pictured pegasus was using. Then, I worked on my voice, making sure I had the correct pitch.

Once I felt I had gotten both just right, I studied the human, drinking in his features. He wasn’t exactly handsome, in a pony sense. However, he wasn’t unattractive either. His arms looked strong, hugging around the pegasus’ shoulder, his cheek touching her neck. The pegasus herself was holding one of the human’s arms with her hoof, encapsulated by his digits—his fingers. Probably the most attractive part of him, for a changeling like me at least, was how full he looked. There was an evident bulge in his stomach and his cheeks were a little puffy. And most of all, his eyes sparkled with life.

He was happy with the pegasus. He was in love with her.

I took a deep breath for I felt myself stirring. Hunger and arousal were powerful emotions that ran deep within a changeling. It didn’t help that the two were almost indistinguishable. And I was one very hungry changeling.

I sighed. Lumi, you aren’t a rookie on working an asset, I thought. Remember your training. Let them come to you. Make them want you.

I blinked as I heard a click at the door. I sat on my haunches, looking towards the entrance as it slowly opened, and spreading my wings just a bit. I watched as the human in the picture made his way in, dressed simply with white short-sleeved shirt and long brown pants.

I had to reel myself in. I could feel the complexities of his emotion being emitted—tiredness, frustration, and relief as he finally closed the door. And when he saw me… oh, wow. It came a little sweet, with a warmth almost as strong as the sun on a new day.

“Hey, honey,” he called.

I smiled, feeling a little light-headed, before mentally shaking my head. I reminded myself that I was playing the part of Wind Chaser, one of the weather pegasi for the town. I was easygoing and friendly, and was currently in a relationship with the human Brad for almost a year. So, how would she respond?

“Welcome home, sweetie. How was your day?” I asked.

The sweetness receded a bit as frustration came forth. Did I make a mistake? Trepidation ran through me, but I squashed it before it could show to my face.

“Not so good,” he replied, approaching me. He knelt to one knee and hugged me close, almost squeezing. Oh, wow. He smelled really good. And from the way he was burying his face on my neck, I smelled good too.

“Hmmm-hmm,” he muttered. He separated from me, giving me a confused smile. “You put on some perfume or something?”

Okay, so I didn’t smell exactly like her, but that was fine. One of the most common mistakes a new changeling makes was giving up immediately. However, I smoothly played my part, nodding as I asked, “Do you like it?”

“Its very soothing,” he replied. Standing up, he sniffed the air again. “Is that… roast?”

I softly touched his thigh, poured a little of my want into him. Suddenly, that sweetness became a bit spicier as a little excitement poured in. I gave him the best smile, the one I’ve been practising for the past few minutes, while adding my own touch of smoldering gaze, blinking softly. “I cooked a little something special for you.”

The human laughed, and the mixture of flavors of his emotion surrounded me. Oh, Stars and Light.

I licked my own lips, my hunger telling me to take him, but I held it off. Now wasn’t the time. The asset has been hard at work and wouldn’t be able to offer much in his current state. Still, I didn’t need to pretend to add a little more to the next statement. “And maybe afterwards, we can…?”

His smile got wider. The emotions were circling around me so rapidly, I was almost panting.

Lumi, focus!

Unaware of my thoughts, the human said, roughly, “Yes, ma’am.”

I led him towards the kitchen, making sure my tail swished just a bit, and shuddering when more of his lust blanketed me. He was definitely focused on me, which was good.

“Oh wow,” the human muttered as he entered the kitchen, spotting the roasted meat on the table. He sat down in place, and began to slice the roast with his knife and fork, putting a modest amount on his plate.

“Get some more,” I insisted, sitting across from him. “And some potatoes too.”

The human readily obliged, putting more potatoes and meat on his plate, and taking a bite. I felt the sweet bliss coming out in waves. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold myself.

Longing must have shown in my expression because he immediately frowned, the heat and sweetness almost fading completely, replaced with the dry sourness of worry.

“Have you eaten?” he asked, and immediately added, “I mean, not this of course, but do you need me to prepare a sandwich for you?”

“I ate earlier,” I lied.

His frown deepened. “I… look, I’ll try harder to change my diet. So that you and I can eat together, you know.”

I shook my head. “As long as you are happy, I am happy”—what was his name again?—“Brad. If food like this makes you happy, then I’m okay with it.”

He gave me a sad sort of smile. “I’m a very lucky man to have you, Windy. I don’t know how you put up with me.”

“Well,” I began, heat escaping my voice, “I can think of a way for you to pay me back. I’m... a little hungry for something else.”

I gave him a little wink, which got him to swallow. He immediately went towards the bottle of cider. Opening it, he poured a good amount in his glass, and slowly drank it. The effect was immediate. He began to eat more and more of his food, slicing even bigger portions of the roast, while swallowing the potatoes almost whole. The metaboliser seemed to be working.

“I, wow,” the human muttered as he swallowed his last bite. “Why does your food always make me want to pig out? You don’t even eat meat. That’s not right.”

I chuckled, making a move to go right behind him. His eyes followed me for just a second, before turning back to his plate. With his back facing me, I sat on my haunches and moved my forelegs to his broad shoulders, weakly massaging a few specific places. He groaned, his pleasure, a mix of sweetness and saltiness almost erasing the sourness of his worry.

I leaned closer, enjoying the flow of his emotion, trying to absorb as much as I could. It wasn’t a direct transfer, but in my hungry state, I took what I could get. Plus, feeding off of him made him happy, at peace. Even his arousal got stronger as he drank a bit more from the cider. My hooves stopped massaging, instead, surrounding his chest as I placed my lips at the back of his neck, kissing. I hugged a little tighter as he began exude out more heat as his emotions began to shape into something more familiar and tangible.

He tasted a bit of citrus, like lemon juice mixed with sugar—strong yet smooth at the same time, with just a hint of sourness. As I absorbed all of that, filling me with a little more energy, and used said energy to expand my wings and stretch them further than normal, just enough to reach his thighs. I felt him take a deep breath before coming out ragged. His arousal was getting stronger and stronger, almost barely contained.

“Brad, finish your food,” I ordered.

“You… really can’t expect me to finish with… you… like this.”

I kissed his cheek. “Finish your food.”

I held him close, wings teasingly touching his forming bulge as he ate in rapid pace. The food had him brimming with energy and his arousal was priming it for release. I shuddered to think on how much of that I would take in, how much I’d be filled.

By the time he finished the whole roast and potatoes, and half-finishing the bottle of cider, I released my hold on him. Standing by his side, I let him approach and kiss me. It was a practised motion, familiar, and filled with memory, emotion, and energy. I kissed him back, letting my senses try to absorb everything he was giving me, my tongue automatically entwining with his.

“Living room,” I whispered, rather huskily.

“Yes, ma’am.”

We slowly made our way towards the front of the fireplace, the human finally shedding his clothing, displaying his erection to me for the first time. I moved my wing, lightly touching it, grazing it with a downward motion, only for it to jump back up forcefully as his eyes locked onto mine. I gave him my most sensual smile, lying on my back, and spreading my hind legs for his viewing pleasure.

“Oh, God,” he muttered with a sigh. He knelt down and lowered his head. When his lips touched mine, I felt a jolt, like electricity on contact. It spread all over my lower regions and upwards, making my wings ends stiffen.

Oh, wow. Not a lot of stallions did that. I shuddered, my hind legs resting on his shoulders as I felt him almost nibbling me down there. In his current emotional state, energy trickled out with every kiss and suckle that had my spine and wings tingling. “Oh, Windy… you are beautiful.”

He began kissing my belly, enjoying my scent, my arousal and hunger, as he climbed towards my neck. He used those hands of his to cup my cheeks, his fingers leaving hotspots as more energy poured into me. He made me look into his brown eyes. He wanted me. He desired me. He...

“I love you,” he whispered.

“Show me, Brad,” I whispered. He was so close. I just needed him to come even closer. “Show me how much you love me.”

As he entered me, so did the full brunt of his emotions. We connected directly. For the first time, I felt a human’s Love… and it was amazing. Primarily lust, joy, and need, the citrus taste of his emotion came at full force, seasoned with a bit of saltiness. Then, more surprising emotions came to temper it: frustration and anger of his current day gave it a slight spicy note, and a smoky tinge of regret for taking his frustration out on me.

My forelegs snaked around his head, pulling him closer to me. I needed him closer to me, feeding from his Love, from his emotions. With every pump, I moaned as more energy filled me, which in turn encouraged him to go faster and faster until I heard him scream. His physical and emotional essence began to fill me, which warmed me everywhere, from the tip of my ears, to the tip of my tail.

The human—no, Brad—collapsed on top of me, breathing hard. His energy dimmed a bit, but with the hearty meal he had, I suspected he would be okay with two more feedings. And with the booster in his system, he wasn’t going to stay down for long. I patted him, whispering how much I enjoyed him, how I wanted to feel him again. Sweet warmth engulfed him in minutes, followed by the salty yet smooth flow of his arousal coming to me.

I stood up on all fours, lifting my tail, caressing his groin with a slow tickle. He grunted, his hands roughly slapping my rear, before he grabbed my tail and mane. Waves of more energy came forth, his frustration and anger now stronger as he took me like a wild stallion, pumping me with such speed and ferocity that had both of us screaming. He didn’t last much longer, but still filled me once more with the verisimilitude of his Love that electrified me.

“Holy,” Brad muttered as he plunked down on the carpet, his breathing a little ragged. “Wow, Windy. Oh, wow. God that was…” he gave me a weak smile.

I approached him, kissing his cheek. “One more, Brad. Please?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know if I can last one more.”

I placed my two front hooves on his shoulders and slowly pushed him down on the carpeted floor. I gave him a wicked smile as I moved my tail over his member, caressing him gently. He let loose a deep groan as I felt him harden from my ministration.

“I think you can last one more,” I said. “Let me do the moving this time, sweetie. Just enjoy it.”

Brad nodded, groaning as I teased him a bit more, touching his aching member with my stomach, sliding back and forth.

“Oh, God, Windy…”

After one last slide, I adjusted a bit and guided him into me. I concentrated towards my inner walls, controlling their movement as I caressed him in ways no other lover of another race could. I wriggled around him, upwards and downwards, while adjusting my tightness, trying to find the best way to control his arousal.

This was going to be the last feeding, and I needed him to endure as long as he could.

With every jerk, I was able to absorb more and more energy until it started to wane, which only made me more aware of the flavor of his Love. He was already gritting his teeth, about to cross the threshold.

“Windy,” he whispered. “Oh, God, Windy. Windy. Yes...”

I leaned down, sealed his lips with my own, and whispered, “It’s okay Brad… come into me. Give me everything you can. Love me.”

He couldn’t shout as he came, only grunting with effort as he tried to raise his hips. I grunted as I let my walls move in fast waves that had him shuddering as he lost himself inside me.

I laid on top of Brad, hugging the wonderful asset as he slowly gave into exhaustion. I kissed him on the cheek and neck, rubbing his shoulders as I thanked him for that act and for loving me. I don’t know if he heard my words. He couldn’t even keep his eyes open, slowly drifting to sleep.

It was a minute later when I heard him snore. I checked on him, his breathing, his heartbeat, and made sure that I hadn’t accidentally taken too much of his energy. No, he was safe. A little rest, and a big breakfast tomorrow, he would be alright.

I stayed in position for a while, enjoying the glow and bask of the energy that had me running hot, filled to the brim. There was enough energy inside of me to keep my Cluster fed for… well, three days, if we rationed.

Earth and Stone. Wow. No wonder they started obtaining human assets. The taste of their emotions were so different and balanced, not as overly sweet as the Equestrian Ponies, which made it easier to obtain their energies. Usually, I needed to feed on two pony assets to get this much.

A dark thought entered my mind. What if I stole this human, Brad, away? With the amount of energy he put out, he could potentially be worth risking the ire of the changelings in this Hive and Cluster. I could invent a story on why we moved, or maybe hit him with a memory potion and rebuild him as our own asset. If all else fails, and only if all else fails, we could also just put him in a pod, and extract his love from there. I shuddered to even think that.

I sighed. Okay, maybe it wouldn’t be—

I blinked as I felt eight strong bursts of anger in the room. I immediately went to all-fours, turning around to see eight changelings from the local Cluster, from another Hive, surround me. Judging by the way they shed their hair and showing off their glossy thick carapace, they were prepared for a fight.

“Luminous Firefly,” all of them declared, synchronized, “you have overstayed your welcome.”

Chapter 2

View Online

First thing I did was close off my emotions from emanating outwards; second thing I did was remind myself not to panic. That wasn’t going to do me any good, and I was pretty sure they were expecting it.

Remember the basics, I thought. Assess the situation, know the layout, calculate risk of fighting and running, then decide.

I was surrounded by eight battle-ready changelings, all from the same Hive. If I had to guess, they were the guards of this cluster. I couldn’t get too much of a read from them as they hid their emotions pretty well. I didn’t even know if they were running hot as I was.

In the end, I felt the smart move was to be as neutral as possible. I dropped the pegasus disguise, returning to my Primary form, before slowly walking away from the sleeping Brad.

“I am protected by your Hive’s Word,” I stated. “I was allowed to feed from your asset for one night, this was promised to us.”

“You lost that right when you entertained the thought of stealing from us,” one of the changelings said.

“Your emotions and thoughts betray you, Chrysalis-liege,” another declared.

I growled. “It was a stray thought. Nothing more.”

“Be that as it may, Luminous Firefly,” the third changeling said, “we do not take kindly to such conjecture.”

The fourth spoke up. “Brad is one of our long term assets. We took pity to your starving, mewling Cluster—”

“—and this is how you repay us?” finished the fifth.

The three other changelings hissed, showing off their sharp fangs. I narrowed my eyes at that. Their Cluster territory or not, I did not allow myself to be threatened, especially not by some overprotective chitin-rots. I was running hot, full of energy; I could take them on.

However, a calmer part of me had me taking a deep breath. I was surrounded, fighting against eight to one odds. And even if I overpowered them, it would just be a waste of energy—valuable energy that I needed to feed my Cluster.

In the end, I decided to give them a conceding nod. “My apologies,” I said softly.

Their stance changed, turning less aggressive. Five of them began to surround Brad, with three of them nuzzling him before all five horns glowed. They slowly, gently, lifted him up to the air, before moving out of the living room. I heard a flutter of wings, telling me they were moving him towards the bedroom.

“Why are you still here?” one of the three changelings left in the living room asked. I gave her a quick glare before walking towards the hallway, and made my way towards the exit.

Halfway there, I saw the reflection of my Primary body in the mirror on my right. I paused for a moment, staring at the changeling image in front of me. My mane and tail, dominantly green with shades of light blue, looked like it needed a good brush. The coat of ebony mixed with shades of jade around my wings and near my hooves hid the chitin underneath, as well as the holes at the bottom of my legs. My horn, I had been told, was unique as it was almost as straight as a unicorn’s.

A feature of being a spawn of one, I’m guessing.

I heard a few steps coming from right behind me, then a soft hiss. I rolled my eyes. As defiance, I took another look in the mirror and lifted my foreleg to my chin, as if pondering over something. Then, very slowly, I nodded before sitting on my haunches, picturing my usual cover image.

My ebony horn was the first to change, transforming bone-white before taking a bright yellow tinge, which slowly darkened to a more tasteful shade. My coat followed. My mane and tail fluffed slightly, the green parts transforming a bit brighter, while the blue highlights took a darker shade. My wings receded from view before five stars, arranged into an oval shape, appeared on my flanks.

Satisfied, I gave the the three changelings one last look before making my way towards the door and exiting the house. I slammed it shut once I was out, just to make sure they knew exactly what I thought of them.

Stars shimmered in the velvet sky, darkening the area. It wasn’t really a problem for me; changelings could see clearly in the dark. That allowed me to notice a figure standing under a streetlamp after leaving the gate. It was a leaf-green earth pony with curly bright brown mane and tail. I looked at him for a moment, finding his presence odd, when his eyes glowed bright green for just a second. I glared at him as I approached, to which he replied with a loose smile.

“Hopper?” I asked.

The disguised changeling nodded.

“Your Cluster has a good way of showing welcome,” I muttered, just loudly enough for him to hear.

“Peace, Luminous,” he replied, raising a hoof. “They are just being protective. After all, Brad is one of our most precious assets.”

“And I said it was a stray thought,” I said.

He turned his head slightly. “You must have realized why they acted that way, right? Being a Cluster-leader yourself, how would you react when a changeling infiltrator from another Hive seemingly formed an idea to steal a valuable asset from you?”

I took a breath, then released it with a loud huff. He was right. I was thinking of stealing Brad away. It didn’t matter if I was going to actually do it. I mean, feeling that energy I had fed off from him today, a substantial amount from just one night, I could fully understand why they were very protective of him. If my Cluster had an asset like Brad, I, too, would take somewhat extreme precautions in keeping him safe and where he belonged. In harsh times like now, we would do everything we could to stomp out any risks.

Sighing, I gave him a nod. “Just so we understand each other, Hopper, I had no real intention of stealing your asset.”

“Risk was too great?” Hopper guessed. I nodded, and he pursued his lips thoughtfully. “Surprising, considering who your Queen is.”

I felt my lips narrow as I gave him a glare. He wasn’t fazed.

“That was a long time ago,” I muttered.

“And we are all still paying the price,” Hopper replied unemotionally. He shifted slightly. “Do not take offense, but we weren’t too sure if we were going to give you our aid, especially when we realized where you were from. The reputation of Chrysalis’ Hive isn’t exactly stellar.”

“Then why did you still allow me to feed from one of your assets?” I asked.

“Gypsy Fly has vouched for you,” Hopper replied. “She says you are not your mother. And I am quite glad that has proven to be true.”

I didn’t know if I should have taken that as a compliment or not. Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, I went for the former. He seemed friendly enough, even going out of his way to see me off. I’d never have done that. Then again, he probably had more practise in that regard. No other changeling would be caught dead visiting my Cluster.

So, I just gave him a nod. “Thank you for allowing me to feed on your valuable asset, then.”

He smiled. “You are welcome. And between us Cluster-leaders, know that when times are desperate once more, you are quite welcome here to feed. It has been a pleasure meeting you, Luminous Firefly.”

I felt a little wrench from my heart as I gave him a smile. Hopper paused.

“Have I upset you?” he asked.

I shook my head, trying to discipline my emotions once more. “No. It’s nothing,” I muttered, half-turning. I was about to walk off before curiosity struck me. “Were all those eight changelings sharing Brad?” I asked.

Hopper gave me an unreadable smile. “That would be telling.”

“Bet they were,” I muttered before I took off, towards one of the main roads. I was already a ways away when I thought back on his statement. “When, eh?” I asked softly to myself. While I was very sure he worded it by accident, it was an accurate summation of my Cluster’s current position.

I then felt a bit happier, realizing I was bringing something my Cluster has been desperately needing since a week ago. I didn’t even want to waste it. With the energy I had, I could have flown back to Fillydelphia. Instead, I decided to walk towards the train station.

Late at night, there weren't a lot of ponies around. The few that were present were, I guessed, more changelings, judging by the way they were keeping watch as I bought my ticket and rode the first train bound to Fillydelphia. I didn’t even glance back at them, not even when I took a window seat.

A few minutes later, there was a soft whistle, followed by an earth pony barking out that the train was about to leave—really unnecessarily, in my opinion. No one else seemed interested in boarding the train and after a slight chug, the coach began to move forward, slowly. After a while, it built up speed until it was traveling onward at a fixed pace.

I wasn’t in the mood for talking to either the unicorn guards that patrolled the hallways, or even the trolley mare that was selling organic sweets and food. Once I had the conductor stamp on my ticket, I closed my eyes and feigned sleep.

It was a good two hour ride, passing through Ponyville and underneath Canterlot Mountain, hitting a wide stretch towards Fillydelphia. Three-fourths of the way, I overheard a few unicorn guards announcing that they might have seen some diamond dog movement, but it later turned out to be a false alarm.

“Five minutes to Fillydelphia!” the earth pony, the same one in Star Tracks, barked. My eyes flew open and I checked out the window.

The city was brighter than Star Tracks, seemingly glowing in warm yellow light. Two white shining towers pointed up high towards sky, surrounded by smaller square structures of varying shades of black and brown. Houses of various designs hopscotched between the buildings, which if under daylight would have displayed their bright warm yellow walls supporting brick-red rooftops.

Slowly, the scent of the air changed, from the earthy tones of the woodland area giving way to the salty sea air. I took a deep breath.

I was home.

The train stopped exactly six minutes after the earth pony barked his warning, and I got off on the almost-empty platform. A picture of the city’s symbol, a big brass bell, was displayed on a brick wall beside the doorway that led towards the station. The station itself was barely lit and was only occupied by the few fellow-passengers I had. I also spotted a unicorn magically mopping the floor, dragging a yellow bucket beside her. The smell of citrus clashed a bit badly with the salty air, which thankfully disappeared by the time I exited the the building.

The fellow passengers I didn’t interact with began to climb on a pony-pulled wagon. Giving it one last look, I turned to the left and walked towards the one of the side-streets, turning towards a darkened alleyway. Making sure no one was around, I dropped my disguise, returning to my Primary form once more.

A little energy-saving always went a long way, Gypsy Fly once taught me.

There was barely any light, but that didn’t really stop me from dashing from one alley to another, crossing the narrow streets while avoiding the main ones. Any visitor would have been lost with so many ways to cross the tight city spaces, but this has been my home for years. In no time, I found the way towards my Cluster, passing through a playground, then stopping in front of a broken street-lamp.

For many years, the local government of Fillydelphia had somepony fix it. For many years, it remained broken. Smiling, I placed my hoof into the cold metallic surface, and let out a little energy that glowed purple with a tinge of green.

A green circular light formed on the concrete floor in front of the broken street-lamp. Stepping into the circle, I took a deep breath before the whole energy surrounded me in a second flat and whisked me underground.

The cold night air was gone, replaced with the warmth of the cavern walls of my Cluster. Croach, a green-glowing and pulsing material that kept the caverns well-lit and warm, had been well-spread along the walls, indicating the drones have been busy. They placed a good thick layer covering any rock or plants that were naturally occurring in an underground cavern. I had to say, at least the putrid smell of effluent—caused by a drone accidentally puncturing a sewer pipe last week—was gone, replaced with the scent that reminded me of dark chocolate and mint.

Walking forward, I spotted a changeling guard, eyelids half-closed. When he saw me approach, it took him a moment before he could respond.

“Milady?” he asked.

Nodding, I replied, “Come. I have brought Love for all of us.”

“Thank the Stars,” he muttered weakly. He took a step forward before shaking his head. “No, I’m sorry, milady, but I have to guard the entrance.”

“Come with me. That’s an order.”

He shifted uncomfortably before nodding. “Y-yes, milady.”

Going deeper into the cavern, I felt as if a claw had taken ahold of my heart. Thin, hungry bodies that looked even more sickly against the green light laid around as far as my eyes could see. Most of them didn’t even maintain a coat anymore, shedding it to reveal chitin that was slowly peeling off, revealing pinkish skin. Their legs were so thin that the holes near their hooves looked even larger than usual.

As I walked forward, a few began to point towards my direction.

“Milady?” some asked.

“Come!” I called. “I have Love for all of us! Follow me to the Feeding Chamber!”

I called out repeatedly, waiting for them to respond. Slowly, everyone began to stand up and stumble after me as I led them towards the the innermost chambers of the cavern. We reached a semi-transparent green bubble, which slowly spread open, revealing an older changeling, a little healthier-looking than the rest. She broke into a smile once she saw me.

“Lumi!” she exclaimed, slowly approaching me. Our necks touched in greeting for a moment before she pulled back. “You are filled! I am guessing Hopper came through.”

I nodded. “Yes he did, Gypsy. Hit a small snag, but he was willing to help us out more.”

She wanted to say something, but paused and shook her head.

“What?” I asked.

“We can talk later,” she said. “Right now, we need that Love spread. Go ahead, Lumi.”

Gypsy moved out of the way, revealing a large blue orb in the middle of the chamber, and began to arrange the changelings in a circle. I took a breath and moved towards the center, circling the orb for a moment, admiring the reflective glossy finish of its surface. I looked back at Gypsy and she gave me a nod.

I placed my forelegs on the orb, lowering my head until my horn touched the surface. Energy came forth from inside, channeled through my horn and spilled towards the orb. Brad’s Love, the life of his emotions, and the memories associated with it, played through my head. His taste, his warmth, and the joy of partaking of what he had offered overtook my senses that had me recalling the moments almost perfectly.

I separated myself from the orb, leaving only some energy to spare for myself, and carefully backed away as it slowly began to spin. When its surface split, like petals of a blooming flower, changelings around breathed in anticipation. Once the orb fully opened, it slowly released sparkling white dust. Heads held high, the horns of hungry changelings began to glow, willing the dust to fly towards them to be absorbed.

Changelings groaned and shuddered as the energy flowed through them, filling them up. As they hungrily absorbed more and more, their bodies began to respond: chitins thickened, taking a much healthier look as their legs bulked up to a more stable size.

They also began to smile more, which warmed me. It didn’t last, as Gypsy tapped on the central orb, causing it to close.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Gypsy muttered.

An ugly mewl spread into the air as a few changelings got back on all fours.

“Gypsy, please,” one of the changelings protested.

“A little more, please, for my youngling!” another begged.

“Not enough… not enough,” a third mumbled.

Gypsy’s eyes took a dangerous glare, which was enough for most of the changelings to sit back on their haunches. It didn’t stop the whimper of protest, though, until she shouted, “Quiet!”

Everyone obeyed, no one protested. I’d like to think it was because they respected Gypsy and her position as the Den Mother. She was the one that ensured well-being of everyone in the Cluster, especially when I was away. And no one was stupid enough to openly defy her.

“I know you are all still hungry,” Gypsy began, her voice soft yet strong enough to be heard. She walked among the sitting changelings. “We just had the worst week ever since Queen Chrysalis needed our infiltrators. And that is why we have to save as much Love as we can. With this, we can survive three days, maybe four if we are smart about this.”

The changelings turned their eyes towards me, waiting to see if I would agree. I looked at Gypsy, who was giving me a neutral look. I didn’t know what to say, really. She was right. We needed to conserve as much Love as we could. It was a logical decision.

However, looking around, I reminded myself that we had a hard week. Add to the fact that a few of them had younglings of their own to take care of. Would a little more hurt?

I sighed. Like I said, no one would protest against the Den Mother. Except the Cluster-leader. “Give them a bit more, Gypsy,” I ordered.

The Den Mother frowned, but nodded. She looked at the rest of the changelings and said, “A little more, then.” She tapped the orb once more and let it bloom. A small cheer broke from the crowd as the white sparkling dust danced in the air, and I wondered if I made the right decision.

Gypsy allowed the Cluster to feed for another ten minutes before closing the orb for good. There were fewer protests this time, with most of them feeling much better and fuller. A few of them even approached me, thanking me for gathering enough Love for all of them. I smiled, and talked with those present before Gypsy began to order them out of the Feeding Room.

“Good job,” she commented once the doors of the chamber was closed.

I blinked. “For getting Love? That was actually pretty routine,” I replied. “Not really any different from feeding from a mare or stallion.”

Gypsy chuckled. “No. For ordering me to give them a bit more.”

“Really?” I asked. I frowned. “I was actually wondering if I did the right thing.”

“Yes, you did.”

That was surprising. “I… wow. I thought you were against it, saying how we need to save energy and all.”

Gypsy gave me a small smile. “A good leader knows what her followers need. And her followers needed a bit more Love. They also needed to know that they had a leader who would fight to take care of them.” She looked outside. “There have been a few murmurs wondering if you were a worthy Cluster-leader. Tonight, you silenced them.”

I blinked once more, a few thoughts coming to my mind. When I saw Gypsy smile, I realized something.

“You played us,” I muttered. “You wanted them against you, and on my side.”

“A simple gambit, I must admit,” Gypsy replied with a nod. “Easy enough to play. But I wonder if you have caught on to my other gambit.”

What other gambit, I wondered, thinking back on on Gypsy’s reaction and expression. It took me a moment to realize what she meant.

“You were also testing me.”

Gypsy’s smile widened. “And I am glad to see my teachings have not gone to waste. Lumi, dear, you make a fine leader.”

I sighed, shaking my head. “I… don’t know about that, Gypsy. Honestly, I think you’re the reason why this Cluster is still surviving.” She looked towards the semi-transparent green barrier. “I met Hopper. He told me the only reason why he considered allowing me to feed on his Cluster’s asset is because you vouched for me.”

“Ah, well, he always had a good heart, even when he was a youngling,” Gypsy replied. “Even without my influence, you would have convinced him to help.”

“He said we could ask him if we needed more,” I continued.

That had Gypsy shaking her head. “As your advisor, I’m against it. We must never show that we have become dependent on him, or any other Hive or Cluster, for our needs. It won’t bode well to depend on others for charity.”

I nodded. “I know. It’ll make us look weak, and therefore easy to subterfuge.” I sighed again. “But what can we do, Gypsy? Queen Chrysalis took our infiltrators.”

“We can obtain human assets of our own,” Gypsy said. “With what you obtained tonight, it is logical to start investing more into developing them.”

I shook my head, walking around her. “That was an invested asset. And even if good fortune shines down on us and gives us a human tomorrow, I am just one changeling.”

Gypsy’s eyes narrowed. “We can put the human in a pod.”

I shuddered. “No. We’re doing this right, like you taught me.”

“Tradition can be excused in face of need,” Gypsy countered.

“Except if we do that, we may make the same mistakes Queen Chrysalis did,” I replied. “Our methods of replacing taken ponies are something Equestrians watch for, and we’ve seen how they reacted. I don’t even want to know what humans will do if we took one of theirs. No, taking one by force will just bring down a lot of attention that we don’t need.”

“Fair enough,” Gypsy conceded. “Then maybe its time to have more infiltrators.”

I stopped on my tracks and looked at her. “You have someone in mind?”

“Silverfly.”

“What?” I scoffed. “Silverfly’s a youngling.”

Gypsy raised her foreleg. “She just finished her final metamorphosis. She is an adult.”

I frowned, pondering over that for a moment. “Is she familiar with the city?”

It was Gypsy’s turn to scoff. “She spends more time there than at the Cluster. She still disguises herself as a filly.”

“Can she even live a life of an infiltrator?” I asked. “Does she know what she’ll have to do? The double-life, the secrets?”

“You can be the judge of that, Lumi,” Gypsy replied. “All I know is that she came to me and said she wanted to be an infiltrator.”

I found myself sitting on my haunches, moving my forelegs over my face and hair. Part of me didn’t want to train someone still so young as an infiltrator, but another part, the practical one, told me that my Cluster wasn’t going to survive if I was the only one who kept them fed.

“A little goes a long way,” I muttered, looking at the Den Mother.

“A teaching you got from me, I believe,” Gypsy replied, smiling.

“Your teaching always seems to be a variant of something little going big,” I countered, with a smile of my own. After a moment, I nodded. “Tell her to meet me at my apartment in the morning. Let’s get her a job with potential assets, and see if we can teach her to be an infiltrator.”

Gypsy nodded. As I made towards the barrier, she cleared her throat, which got me looking back at her. “Lumi?”

“Yeah?”

“I meant what I said earlier,” Gypsy said. “Good job.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

The trip back to my apartment was a little slower. Unlike my Cluster’s entrance, which was placed at the back-alleys, my little second home was near the center of the city. Halfway there, I had to transform back to my unicorn form, even when there didn’t seem to be anypony around.

I’d rather not take unnecessary risks.

I passed the the townhall, a building with a white-washed finish and dark red tones, literally the center of the city. It held the historical bronze bell that rang the warning of the incoming Gryphon invasion a little more than a thousand years ago. The building was newer, though, as the old one had been burned down during the war. Most of the day, it remained open and filled with ponies, but at this time of night, it was a tall, ominous structure that scared little colts and fillies. For me, it reminded me that I was just a few blocks away from my destination.

My apartment complex was not something to scoff at. It was a rather tall, well-maintained building with two working lifts. Taking one towards the tenth level, I made my way towards my apartment door, unlocked it, and went inside.

First thing that greeted me was the sweet scent of dry lavender. Closing the door behind me, I walked down the short hall towards the living room and kitchenette area. I inspected the placement of my throw pillows, then towards the closets situated near the western wall. I checked to see if the strands of hair I placed between the openings were still there and intact before moving towards the kitchenette.

Nothing seemed out of place. The box of flour that I accidentally spilled hadn’t been touched, nor were there any marks on the spilt powder on the marble counter surface. I checked the plate placement lastly before moving towards my bedroom.

I didn’t have a guest room, just one bedroom with a barely used bathroom inside it. I placed my foreleg on the door and pushed a little of my magic inside it. The energy passed through the wooden panelling that disguised the metallic core and immediately worked on the lock. In a second, it clicked, and all it took was a slight push to get it to open.

My bed, king-sized with lots of pillows on top, looked inviting. Now that I was in the privacy of my room, I just jumped on it, bouncing a few times before finally going to sleep.

I wish.

A little more work to be done, Lumi, I thought as I went towards my study desk, which was filled with various of documents. One of them, I magically grabbed, as well as one of those human ballpoint pens, and began to write on the smooth surface of the parchment.

It was an hour later before I finally accepted my bed’s soft embrace. I didn’t even get to bounce much.

Night wasted, I thought before finally going to sleep.

Chapter 3

View Online

I had just finished watering the plants that were hanging near the windows when I heard a knock on my door. Glancing at the wall clock in my kitchen, I saw it was six in the morning. I have to say, as much as I found Silverfly too young for this life, she was at least punctual.

Opening the door and seeing her, though, I was reminded once more of her age, of her inexperience. She took the form of a very highly stylized, if not ridiculously and horrendously fantastical, image of a pegasus. Her coat was chalk white and her feather tips seemed to be dipped in gold. Her mane and tail were carrot red, cut and curled so unnaturally. She had too-bright green eyes that made her very long lashes even more ridiculous.

“Earth and Stars,” I muttered and gave way. “Get in here before you give old Gentle Rock an eyesore!”

Silverfly looked at me for a moment, eyes a little unsure how to respond. Thankfully, she quickly walked in my apartment. That’s when I noticed her rump.

“Are you kidding me?” I whispered, noticing how round and large it was, not proportionate to her whole body. And her Cutie Mark? One large red heart. “Seriously? Forget an eyesore. You’d have given him a heart attack.”

“Um, who’s Gentle Rock?”

I closed the door. “Earth pony neighbor I have, three doors to the left.”

For some reason, that seemed to affirm the young changeling. “Okay, so, what’s his story?”

I blinked. “Who? Gentle Rock?” When she nodded, I replied, “Not much. He’s a retired rock farmer.”

“Does he have a herd?” Silverfly asked.

“Uh, he had. He outlived all of his mares,” I replied, trying to recall more information about him. “His children moved to different cities. None of them really were interested in rock farming. They sometimes visit him, bringing his grandchildren along, though.”

“Then this’ll be a cinch!” she said, moving towards the door. I blocked her way.

“Whoa, whoa,” I said. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Silverfly looked at me, confused. “I, uh, thought you wanted me to feed from him?”

“What?” I looked at her quizzically. “Feed, from Gentle Rock?”

She nodded.

“No! You’re going to kill him if you do!” I massaged the side of my head with my hoof. First day, and she goes after the retired elderly pony? This might be more difficult than I thought. Worse, she now looked more lost than ever, even leaking out some emotion.

“I—okay,” she whispered, looking down. Uncertainty surrounded her, tinged with a bit of regret. I sighed, took a breath, and approached her, patting her foreleg. She looked at me.

“Look, sorry if I seem a little strung about this,” I said. “Being an infiltrator is no joke, and I made it clear to the Den Mother that I think you’re too young for this.” A pang of disappointment and anger flashed, but quickly receded when I added, “However, she says you were willing to work for it. Are you?”

Silverfly nodded quickly. “Yes! I want to help the Cluster!”

I nodded. “Then you’re going to have to accept the fact that I’m going to be hard on you. An infiltrator is not a job for just anyone. You will be thrust in the frontlines, scouting, obtaining, and maintaining assets. You will also be called upon, on occasion, to ensure the survival of the Hive by gathering information from the other races. You will be forced to lie, steal, deceive, and maybe even give up your life and freedom.” I paused, watching her take in what I just said. “Can you do that?”

She swallowed. “I will try.”

“There’s no try if you want to be an infiltrator,” I replied. “For the next three weeks, I’m going to show you the life of one, and we’ll see if you have what it takes to live it. For now, we have a lot of work ahead of us.”

“Um… okay.”

“First off, your cover form,” I started.

Silverfly blinked blankly. “Uh, what about it?”

“Are you aware that your coat is a rather unhealthy shade of white?” I asked. “Not even the most daring unicorn noble would dye their coat like that.”

“O-oh?” Silverfly asked, gently rubbing her coat.

“And what is up with your eyelashes? They’re as long as my horn!”

She blinked. “What? No they aren’t!”

“Yes they are. Why is your rump so big? And really, gold highlights on your wings? Also, why is your mane and tail bright orange-red? It looks like bad dye job.”

“I-I just thought this was the best way to get attention from stallions…” she muttered, just loud enough to be heard.

“Well, you’ll get the wrong kind of attention,” I replied. I softened my tone. “What gave you the idea of this form?”

“Um, well, I’ve mixed a few looks from the Marepolitan models,” she replied.

“That’s the fashion magazine, right?” I asked. When she nodded, I sighed. “Silverfly, one thing you’ll learn is that not everything you’ll read from those magazines are actually true representations of beauty. For example, in this form, you may attract a few stallions. However, I can guarantee, you’ll most likely drive them away. How are you going to help the Cluster like that?”

Silverfly seemed to have taken the last bit to heart. She pouted, and I could feel some of her anger coming in small waves, but at least now she looked like she was paying attention. “Do you have any suggestions, then?” she asked.

“A few,” I replied. “Gypsy said that you have a filly form.”

She just nodded.

“Show me.”

Silverfly nodded, closed her eyes and glowed green. Her form slowly shrunk to pegasus filly on the verge of becoming an adult. The color coordination was much better this time, with light brown coat and dark brown mane and tail. She also had a more practical Cutie Mark: a crossed feather.

“Nice,” I admitted. “Very nice. Now, I’m going to try that form, give it a more adult look.”

An image of Silverfly’s filly form formed in my head. I felt pricks of pins and needles as I transformed, elongating my mane and tail while adding a few more curls for effect. My coat was given a slightly ‘brushed’ look, while I made my rump a little rounder, still proportionate to the slender frame that most pegasi had.

Silverfly’s eyes widened. I moved a few steps from side to side, made sure she studied my adult rendition of her form. For the finishing touch, I added small lashes that still waved gently as I blinked.

“Wow,” was all she said, her voice pitched a little higher to match her young cover-image. Not bad, actually. She was aware enough to change her voice to fit with her form.

“This is attractive enough to get a stallion’s attention,” I declared. “Seductive enough without giving the impression of being desperate.”

“B-but I can’t use that form, though!” Silverfly said, panickedly. “Dusty will recognize me!”

“Who’s Dusty?” I asked.

“He’s a colt,” she replied.

I nodded. “And this Dusty… are you grooming him to be an asset?”

“What?” Silverfly looked at me. “He’s a friend. Is that even allowed?”

“Anypony and anyone can be an asset,” I advised. “First rule of changelings. We can’t afford to be choosy where to get and build assets from. However, it helps if those assets are friends or lovers. We can easily be part of their lives and ensure that they’d belong to us.”

“So… I should stop looking at him as a friend, and look at him as a potential asset?” Silverfly asked.

“No, no,” I replied, shaking my head. “The two are never mutually exclusive. Why can’t he be your friend and an asset?”

“We feed from them,” Silverfly replied quickly, automatically. “They are food.”

I nodded. “Yes we do, and yes they are. However, they are also much more.” I paused. “We feed from them, those that have emotions, who have their own lives. How they live, how they act, who they are, is unique to every one of them. And when you feed from them, you’re not just partaking energy, but also sharing in their lives. Do you understand?”

Silverfly nodded a few moments before I raised an eyebrow. She immediately shook her head.

“Have you ever obtained Love personally, or from the Feeding Chamber?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Just from my mother.”

“When you do, you’ll understand,” I said sagely. I transformed back to my unicorn form, and motioned her to follow me. “Come.”

I led her towards the living room area and told her to sit down on one of the couches. She made herself comfortable before looking at me, some trepidation emanating from her. I then pointed towards the coffee table and the papers on top of it. She looked at that, then back at me in confusion.

“These are papers which I’m currently forging,” I said. “These will allow you to live as a responsible Equestrian Pony. You will work for a living and pay your taxes. You’ll be considered an Equestrian Citizen, given all the rights that it entails.”

Silverfly’s face blanched with distaste. “Work?”

“Yes, work,” I replied with a smile.

“B-but that doesn’t seem like a job for an infiltrator!” she complained.

“Did you expect to be assigned to build certain assets and letting the gatherers take care of the rest?” I asked, chuckling as she nodded uncertainly. “As you are, I doubt you’d be able to do anything of the sort. You have to know how the world and the culture works. You have to understand what will work and what won’t for whoever you will build. And the best way to do that is to be out there.”

Silverfly shifted uncomfortably, which made it hard for me considering she looked like someone who ought to be outside playing with other foals and younglings, not yet ready to be thrust into the world to provide for the Cluster.

“I will give you all the help I can to prepare you,” I continued. “But you can still change your mind, say no. You can still stay as the young filly, hang out with Dusty and other foals a bit more. Enjoy the life of an Equestrian youth that you still have.”

I honestly thought she’d agree to that. Her emotions were definitely coming out in rolls, conflicted with doubt and unsureness dominating everything around her. However, something changed. Determination and anger spiked, reining in her doubts until the conflict and turmoil slowly disappeared.

She sat up straighter, eyes gaining more assuredness as she gave me one sharp nod. “I want to be an infiltrator,” she declared. “I want to help out the Cluster.”

I looked at her for the moment, her eyes defiant as she sat still, waiting for my reaction. Maybe Gypsy was right in bringing Silverfly to my attention. I mean, she definitely had a lot to learn, but she seemed motivated enough to succeed. I trained less motivated changelings, all who just wanted a bigger piece of Love.

“Then let’s get you ready,” I replied. “Question: what makes the changelings dangerous?”

“We can turn into anypony we want,” Silverfly immediately responded.

“Nope.”

Silverfly frowned. “Uh, we can change any part of our bodies? We can get sharp claws when we want?”

“Not that either.”

“We can fly and use magic at the same time?”

I just smiled whilst shaking my head.

Silverfly pouted. “Okay, what then?”

“Information, and our ability to share said information through Conjoining,” I answered. “Physically, we are weaker than any of the races we’ve met, so we try not to fight anyone head-on. We gather information, we share that with our Cluster and Hives, and exploit any weaknesses we find.” I looked at her. “Which also means you have to ensure no one can read any information from you. The first thing I need you to do is to hide your emotions. You’ve been leaking a lot since you came here.”

“Got it,” Silverfly replied, closing her eyes and concentrating. After a moment, she became almost unreadable.

“Good,” I said. “Try to keep your emotions to yourself.” My thoughts traveled back to Star Tracks. “The less you give off, the less advantage you give enemy changelings.

“Now, next question: do you know what Conjoining is?”

Silverfly nodded. “That’s when we share thoughts and memories, right?”

“Correct. Have you Conjoined with anyone?”

“My mother,” she replied.

“Anyone else? Like outside of your family?” I asked.

She shook her head. I nodded.

“It’s… uncomfortable,” I said, “but it is something you have to be ready for. As an infiltrator, you are the the bridge for the gatherers to feed from assets. They need to know who the asset is, their likes, dislikes, and private, intimate moments so they can maintain cover.” I approached. “Right now, I’m about to give you some memories on my life in Fillydelphia. It’ll give you knowledge to fill that form, maybe even get ideas on how to build your cover-life. Are you ready?”

Silverfly paused for a moment before nodding. She closed her eyes, trembling slightly as I closed the last bit of distance between us. I felt a small hiccup of hesitation as I gently touched my forehead with hers. I concentrated my thoughts on my life in Fillydelphia before exerting some will to start the Conjoining.

It was a little hard to describe. As all assets are different, so are all changelings. Silverfly’s short life flashed in my eyes, scattered and unorganized. Like her bouts of accidental leakage of emotion, all memories of her came rolling to me like a wave.

The first thing I saw was her younger siblings, all still younglings and neutral genders, crying as they starved from Love. I saw a young mother changeling, the very same one who begged for more Love yesterday, trying to give them all equally. Emotions, not mine, began to roar around me: helplessness, anger, and motivation.

The scenery changed quickly, seamlessly, and unbelievably natural. I was in the streets of Fillydelphia, feeling thrill, joy, happiness and… something a bit deeper. It all centered around a young earth pony colt with a dark orange coat and dark yellow mane and tail. When he smiled, everything else seemed to glow.

Then, everything faded. In front of me was Silverfly, who unconsciously returned to her Primary form, eyes wide with disbelief. I hoped she didn’t get overwhelmed. I specifically tried to only communicate my cover-life to her, but Conjoining wasn’t an exact science.

“Wow,” she muttered so quietly I could barely hear her. “You’ve… I mean… a bookstore? You work in a bookstore?”

I nodded. “It is a public enough place to meet potential assets, yet not too public that relationships can’t be forged. Plus, it allows me to stay on top of current events.”

“And your cover name… Illuminating Starburst?”

“One thing you’ll learn is once you get a cover job, you have to keep little details as close as possible to what you’re used to,” I explained. “For example, the Cluster knows me as Lumi. The ponies I know from my cover-job know me as Lumi as well. That way, when someone from the Cluster accidentally calls me by my name while I’m in cover, it won’t raise too many questions.”

“Oh.” Silverfly nodded. “So, if I’m going to make a name, it’d be Silverfly or something close?”

I nodded, then pointed towards the papers on the coffee table. “Okay, now that we got that out of the way, can you fill this form?”

Silverfly nodded. “Yeah! It’ll be a cinch. You wrote a lot of these.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “One thing you’ll learn with getting memories from Conjoining is that there’s a difference between being shown how to do it, and how to actually do it.”

“I can do it,” Silverfly insisted.

“Show me then,” I challenged.

I have to admit, Silverfly was a fast learner. She got a bit stumped on inventing details when filling the form, but after a few tips, she became a fountain of ideas. She settled with the name Silver Lining, kept her pegasi form and gender, saying she identified more in being a mare than a stallion. We listed her temporary address as mine before we worked on her cover image. She began to cycle through a few colors and mane styles, hoping to find something that wouldn’t cause eyesores or heart-attacks.

“This is hard,” Silverfly complained after her third try, which I had shut down immediately. There was no way I was walking beside a changeling who turned her mane into shining gold.

“You’re still trying to be flashy,” I said. “Why not use an adult version of your filly form?”

“No,” Silverfly replied immediately. “It has to be somepony different.” She concentrated again. I expected another form to pop up, but her shoulders just sagged. She looked at me. “Was it hard to choose your cover image?”

“A little bit, yeah,” I replied. “It was either this or another form that I had in my mind: light purple coat with a braided blonde mane, with the same colored tail.”

“Why didn’t you use that?” she asked.

“I guess I like the color yellow a bit more,” I replied with a shrug.

In the end, she settled on a yellow coat, and reddish mane and tail. It was a little inspired from the current Wonderbolt Captain, but thankfully, she went with a longer mane and tail, and, for a unique touch, she added silver streaks. To finish the look, she used a silver feather as a Cutie Mark.

She may have chosen the form, but it was another thing to be comfortable in it. Once the paperwork was done and we hit the Fillydelphia streets, the usually five-minute walk towards the Town Hall turned into ten minutes of stuttering steps and a lot of assurances for my part.

“You look great,” I said for the fifth time, watching Silverfly shifting uncomfortably and looking at one of the the reflective glass pane windows that displayed furniture. One of her hooves touched her mane, avoiding the neck pouch I had given her to place the papers.

“There’s something off,” Silverfly kept muttering. “I know there is.”

“There’s nothing wrong with how you look,” I insisted. “It’s just the form you’re not used to.” I looked around for a moment, making sure there weren’t any wagons traveling nearby before dragging Silverfly across the street.

The Town Hall was relatively empty, with a few ponies waiting in line. I dragged Silverfly to the Registry section and waited while the two ponies ahead of us finished.

“Remember,” I whispered, inaudible to everypony but Silverfly, “I can’t speak for you. Once you submit those papers, the mare in the registry will be asking you questions, just to make sure you are who you say you are. If I were you, I’d remember the details you put in your paper.”

“I—o-okay,” Silverfly muttered. One of her hooves went towards her neck pouch and extracted the whole roll. She began to meticulously read her cover history, which had me shaking my head and smiling a bit, as I watched as the pony in front of us as he walked towards the counter. After a few moments, he left.

“Next!” the earth pony mare behind the counter, mint green coat and silver hair, called.

When Silverfly hadn’t moved, I gently prodded her with my hoof. She almost jumped.

“W-what?” Silverfly asked. I pointed towards the counter, where the mare was waiting impatiently.

“Come on, honey,” she declared. “I ain’t got all day.”

Silverfly blushed and slowly approached. I followed suit, keeping enough distance to watch and listen to her work.

“H-hi, my name is Silverf—Silver Lining,” Silverfly began. I thought she was about to say more, her mouth opening, but she closed it immediately, handing the paper with a full blush on her cheeks.

Again, I felt her leaking out emotions. She was nervous, on the verge of panic, really.

“And where are you from, Silver Lining?” the earth pony asked, unrolling the papers and reading from them.

“I-I’m from…” and she mumbled the last part.

“Excuse me?” the mare asked.

“From… Baltimare,” Silverfly finally replied.

“Ah! I have a friend in Baltimare. Did you hear the news about the diamond dog raid last week?”

“Uh, no,” Silverfly replied.

“No?”

“I wasn’t there last week,” Silverfly explained. She kept her eyes straight, trying to hide the fact that she was shifting her forelegs. “I was traveling to… uh, Cloudsdale! Yes, I was traveling to Cloudsdale to get the rest of my papers.”

I mentally nodded. That was a decent recovery.

“Everything seems in order,” the mare behind the counter declared, rolling the papers to a close. “Now, just a few standard questions. Who is your mother?”

Silverfly shifted uncomfortably. “Um… my mom is Cl-Cloud Fluff.”

“Father?”

“Golden Line,” Silverfly replied, a bit of confidence creeping back to her.

“What’s his job?”

Nervousness replaced her confidence. Silverfly looked at me for a moment. I kept my face as neutral as possible. “He’s… in the weather team,” she replied.

The mare turned her head slightly to the side, confused. “Your unicorn father is in the weather team?”

Silverfly’s mouth opened, panic now surrounding her. She shifted her forelegs, scratching the carpeted floor with her hooves. She looked at the mare one more time before nodding.

“Well, at least you answered,” the mare at the counter replied before unrolling the papers once more and stamped on them. “You need work, little one.”

“Huh?” was all Silverfly could say.

“She’ll learn,” I said, finally approaching the counter. “Most of them just run.”

“Yes they do,” the mare replied, rolling the papers once more. “Hey, Lumi. About time you started training infiltrators.”

“Wh-what?” Silverfly whispered, looking between me and the mare. I chuckled.

“Silverfly, meet Honeybee,” I introduced.

Honeybee’s golden brown eyes turned green for just a moment. Silverfly’s mouth dropped open.

“Though I prefer Mrs. Muffins,” Honeybee said. “Although you can just call me Honey.” She looked at me. “I heard you obtained a bit more Love now.”

“Yes. Had to outsource. This week showed us that we can’t just rely on Tithes,” I replied. “It was also brought to my attention that humans may be reliable assets.”

“I’ll keep a lookout,” Honeybee said. “Is Silverfly going to groom one?”

“No, I may have to do this myself.” I looked at Silverfly. “No offense, but you do need a lot of work.”

“I-I…” Silverfly stuttered.

Honeybee nodded. “I can see that.” She leaned a little closer to the young changeling. “Silverfly, word of advice: listen to Lumi. She won’t steer you wrong. You have my word on that.” She then went back to a more comfortable position behind the counter. “Silver Lining is now an official Equestrian citizen.”

“Thank you, Honey,” I replied with a slight bow. I gave a Silverfly a look. “Come, let’s set you up with a job.”

We were outside the Town Hall when Silverfly finally found her voice. “Who was that?” she asked.

“Like I said, she’s Honeybee,” I replied easily.

“No, I mean, I don’t recognize her from… home.”

I smiled, glad she was aware enough not to say Cluster. “She’s an Independent.”

“Independent?”

I nodded. “Yes. They don’t want to really join the community, but are given permission to stay around as long as they pay their Tithes.”

“Tithes?”

“They have their own assets, and once a week, they provide some… help to the community.”

“Ah,” Silverfly said. She paused for a moment. “It seemed like she knew you.”

“She should,” I replied, looking at her with a slight smile. “I ensured that her asset made her First Mare. In return, she gives a bit more than the usual Tithes.”

“Wow,” Silverfly muttered. “It’s like… you’ve been there.”

“I’ve been there a lot of times,” I said. “Soon enough, you’ll realize that, as an infiltrator, you’ll be keeping a lot of secrets and memories. Sometimes, they’ll get jumbled up. Cover names, cover jobs, they all start mixing. Three things happen after that: you’ll either seamlessly keep your covers separate or you’ll start blending them together—which happens most of the time.”

“And the third?”

I smiled. “You go mad.”

Silverfly swallowed. “What happens if I get the third?”

“I assign someone else to cover you, and place you on recovery,” I replied, shrugging. “Burned out infiltrators happen. My advice? Have at least one very basic, very stabilizing, cover. It can be Silver Lining, or it can be that filly that likes to hang around with Dusty.”

Silverfly blushed at that. My smile got a little wider.

“I was serious when I said that the best assets are those we personally know,” I advised. “I know you like him. I saw it when we Conjoined.” I paused for a moment. “You can groom him to be ours.”

“Maybe.” Silverfly sighed. “I don’t think he likes me that way, though.”

“Trust me, Silverfly,” I began, “living as Silver Lining, you’re going to learn a lot of things. Things that no filly will usually ever learn until they become adults. That will be an advantage when you switch to your filly-cover and start grooming him.”

“Maybe it’ll be better if I groom him in this form,” she said. “Silver Lining is prettier than Amber Cloud.”

Amber Cloud must have been her filly cover name. I thought about what she said for a moment before saying, “That’s possible, but you’re going to have to play a few gambits to make it work.”

Silverfly looked at me curiously. “Like what?”

“Well,” I began, “the fastest way to groom him is to probably announce your interest in him to his parents, considering he isn’t of age yet. Then you have to consider the fact that you start befriending him as a stranger. Honestly, I think it’s much better if you just take whatever you learned from Silver Lining, and apply it to Amber Cloud. The fact that you are in a relationship with him, even as friends, is a huge edge. Play it right, he won’t be able to resist you.”

That seemed to energize the young changeling. Nodding repeatedly, she began to quicken her trot to follow me.

“So, what are we going to do next?” she asked.

“We’re going to get you a job,” I replied.

“Where?”

“Somewhere I can keep an eye on you, public enough to have you interact with others, and a good place to keep you up to date on current events,” I replied. I looked at her and gave her a smile. “So, Silver Lining, how do you feel about books?”

Chapter 4

View Online

Silverfly hadn’t stopped grinning ever since Book Keeper, a stalwart ocean-blue unicorn with dark green mane and tail, began studying her from head to hoof. It wouldn’t have surprised me if her cheeks and jaw were frozen in place. She was trying to give him a good impression, but knowing Book, he was trying to find a legitimate reason to refuse her. I even spotted his mouth opening and closing a few times, as if trying to figure out the right words to tell Silverfly that she wasn’t going to cut it.

Not that it was going to happen, of course.

Silverfly and I were inside Book’s office. Like the rest of the building—well, other than the storage room—it was well-lit thanks to the strategically placed glass panes that let sunlight in. Other than that, it was a rather unimpressive squarish room that had a desk, metal file cabinets, and large stacks of books filed neatly in one corner. I guess that says something for Book’s passion for the written work, and it’s probably one of the reasons why Keeper’s Tomes was the success it was.

It didn’t excuse his prejudice against pegasi, though.

“Well, come on, Book,” I said with exaggerated loudness. “We don’t have all day.”

He glared at me, and I returned it with a small, knowing smile. He rolled his eyes, went back behind his desk, and sat down on his haunches. He gave Silverfly a small glare. “Leave us.”

Silverfly looked at me unsurely, and I gave her a small nod, motioning towards the exit. It took her a moment, looking back at Book, before she took a few tentative steps and left the office.

Once the door was closed, Book sighed. “Lumi, Lumi, Lumi. What am I going to do?”

“Say thank you?” I offered. When he gave me a look, my smile widened. “‘Thank you, Lumi, for going beyond the call of duty to find more help for the upcoming peak season’? Or maybe, ‘Thank you, Lumi, for making an effort so that we don’t get swamped again’? Any of those will work, Book.”

His lips thinned. “I will admit, having you bring in more help is a welcome boon,” he replied. “However, a pegasus?”

“Hey, help is help, Book,” I countered. “You do remember what happened last year, right? We were short on workers, got overworked, and you shelled out nightmare overtime pay rates? Tartarus, I even remember a unicorn running out, never coming back.”

“Bah, she was never going to cut it in this business anyway,” Book said.

“That doesn’t change the fact that we are in need of more ponies,” I replied.

“But a pegasus?” Book repeated, sighing. “Pegasi don’t belong in book stores. They belong in the sky, making it rain and creating lightning bolts. You know what books don’t like? Water. And you know what lightning bolts cause? Fire. Books don’t like fire, either.”

I laughed at that. “Okay, the fact you’re saying that means you’re seriously considering her.” I slowly approached the desk and gave him a meaningful look, turning my head just slightly towards the left. “Now, Book, let’s stop the pretenses. Is she in or not?”

Book gave me a resigned look before nodding. I smiled.

“Thank you, Book.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he said. He pointed a hoof at me, punctuating it after every sentence. “You make sure she doesn’t cause a disaster! And I don’t want her flying too high or causing wind funnels!”

“Relax,” I replied, chuckling, taking a few steps back. “She’s in good hooves. I promise.” I gave him a wink, and half-turned to make my way towards the exit when I felt a spike of worry emanating from him. I frowned, then looked back towards Book.

“Celestia, I hope so,” Book muttered, almost inaudible. His staunch body language seemed to have withered, his shoulders sagging.

I took a moment, curiosity getting the better of me as I slowly walked back towards the desk and sat down on my haunches as well. “Book, what’s wrong?” I asked, gently placing my hoof on top of his.

He didn’t reply immediately. He just looked at his desk, at my hoof over his. Before he spoke, he took a breath. “Lumi, you’ve been working for me for three years already, right?”

I nodded, wondering where this was going.

“And I know you frequent other bookstores, right?”

“Occasionally,” I replied.

“Then, be frank, Lumi,” Book began, “Is Keeper’s Tomes old-fashioned?”

My eyebrows raised at that. “What?”

“I mean, is it not connecting with the younger generation?” Book continued. “Is the bookstore no longer relevant?”

“No longer—hold on, Book,” I said, raising my free hoof to stop him from talking. “Our facilities are up to date. We even have those new telephones. Where are you even getting the idea that we’re old-fashioned?”

Book sighed, taking a deep breath. He opened his mouth, but immediately closed it afterwards. I let Book gather his thoughts, getting a little worried myself. It was unusual to feel sadness, dipping almost to depression, from Book. Or him being so quiet. He was the type of pony that always spoke his mind, whether it was his dislike for pegasi in general or giving honest opinions of the books he sold.

After a few more minutes, I felt his resolve surfacing.

“Purple Quill canceled her appearance,” he finally said.

My brows furrowed. “She what? I’ve never heard of this. When?”

“Of course you wouldn’t have heard,” Book replied. “It was around yesterday, after lunch. Her agent came over.”

I frowned. Yesterday was my day off, and I never really expected to worry about anything more than how convincingly I acted as Wind Chaser to Brad. “Okay, that is a bit annoying,” I replied, remembering how the whole staff spent the last few days promoting Purple Quill’s appearance. “We’re going to have to pull down her signs immediately, maybe have floor associates give customers a friendly reminder that Purple Quill won’t be making her appearance. Still, I don’t see why her cancellation is making you all mopey, Book.”

“Her agent said she’s never going to book an appearance here anymore,” Book said, finally sagging completely, almost lying on top of his desk.

“Wait, what?” I couldn’t believe it. “Purple Quill made her name here. Why would she do that?”

“Apparently, she’s getting more advertisement in Paged Crossroads.”

I frowned. “That bookstore?” I asked, unable to hide my disbelief. “The only thing it has is that it’s newer and sells stationery.”

“I did my research,” Book began. “They have been getting increasing visitors for the past few weeks.”

“Yeah, because it’s almost the start of the school year,” I replied. “Most of the visitors there are mothers who are buying things for their foals. And like I said, it’s newer. Once the appeal wears off, Purple Quill is going to come crawling back here, Book. I promise you that.”

He beamed slightly. “You think so?”

“We have a coffee shop,” I replied. “I don’t see this Paged Crossroads offering that.”

“Maybe,” Book said. “Thanks, Lumi.”

“No problem,” I replied, giving him a gentle smile. What a big softie. “Now, just because one prolific author is cancelling doesn’t mean we can’t have another make an appearance. I’ll write some letters, make some calls. Let’s see who we can manage to whisk away from their precious schedules.”

“I, um… actually did that already,” Book said.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Book replied. “He was already going to do an appearance after Purple Quill. I called his agent, who said that he wasn’t busy and was willing to take Purple Quill’s place.”

He was scheduled to make an appearance after Purple Quill? My mind raced, trying to remember dates and names. I did recall another author who was going to promote his new book, and in the haze of my memory, I tried to remember why I considered him special. Then, it hit me.

“R. S. Bradley?” I asked. “The human writer, right?”

Book nodded. “I know, it’s a risk, considering how dark a lot of their fiction is.”

“And Purple Quill’s Mare Pack series wasn’t?” I countered, eyebrows raised and a small smile on my lips. “Feral mares kidnapping young, barely-of-age stallions? Tartarus, its selling point was lots and lots of sex.”

“Okay, point,” Book conceded. “However, Purple Quill is a known name. I mean, have you even heard of R. S. Bradley? The name doesn’t even flow well with our tongue.”

“What has he done?” I asked, curious. “Have you read his work?”

“A bit,” Book admitted.

“What does he write?”

“Thrillers, mostly,” Book replied. “His older works are well written, I admit, but definitely geared for humans. There are some terminologies there that I’m not too familiar with, and he seems to include a lot of machines that you could only find on Earth.” He paused. “His… new novel is a little different.”

“You got an advanced copy, right?” When he nodded, I asked, “So, how different is it?”

“Well, his new series is set in Equestria,” Book said. “He’s still maintaining that thriller genre, but he’s been concentrating a lot on the romantic aspects of it.”

“Well, that could be interesting,” I admitted. It could also be helpful, I added silently. A deeper look at human romance could potentially help me groom a human asset. “Have you met him?”

“His agent said he’ll drop by tomorrow,” Book replied. “Apparently, he wants a feel for the place.”

“Well, we’ll be ready to welcome him then,” I said. “And who knows. Maybe his new series will be successful, and he’ll owe his allegiance to Keeper’s Tomes.”

Book snorted. “Yeah, and maybe some newer bookstore will steal him away, too.”

“That’s what I love about you, Book,” I replied with a small wink. “You’re always so positive.”

“Hmph. Get back to work, Lumi.”

I gave him a nod. “Yes, boss. Going to work,” I replied, turning around and walking away.

As I opened the door, I heard him say loudly, “And tell that pegasus she only has three strikes! No rain! No lightning! No anything!”

I rolled my eyes. Book always wanted the last word. And if the new hire, who he reluctantly just added to the staff, was there to hear it, the better. Unfortunately for him, Silverfly wasn’t even waiting in the office entrance, but was chatting away with a rather handsome earth pony stallion—grey coat, black cropped mane and tail, and a castle tower Cutie Mark. Judging the way she was blushing, he was laying it pretty thick.

“Bastion,” I called, getting both their attention. The stallion gave me a wide smile.

“Lumi, my sweetest, my most delightful—”

“—pain in the rear if you don’t drop the sweet talk,” I finished with a wide smile. “Corrupting the new hire, I see.”

“Oh, this?” he waved a dismissive hoof towards Silverfly that had her raising an eyebrow. “Lumi, ‘tis nothing! You know I only have eyes for you.”

I shook my head, chuckling. I approached, looking at Silverfly. “I see you met Bastion?”

“Yes…” she slowly replied.

“Don’t believe a word he says,” I said, good-naturedly. “He likes to think he’s Celestia’s gift to mares, but for some reason, has trouble keeping one.” I looked at him. “Who was the last mare you chased away? Pegasus, I believe. You know, I do remember seeing tears.”

Bastion scoffed. “Lumi, why do you have to spoil my fun?”

“One, because Silver Lining is my little pet project,” I replied. “Two, she’s already on probation. Book is having one of his episodes again.”

“Ouch,” Bastion muttered with a shake of his head. “You did convince him with your silver tongue, though, right?”

“Nope,” I replied. “Book knows we need more staff. I didn’t need to convince him. However, I’d like to keep Silver Lining on his good side. So unless you want me to use that silver tongue of mine to convince him to reassign you to the back and reorganize the book storage…” and I trailed off.

Bastion rolled his eyes. “Got it. No touchy-feely.”

“Good,” I replied. “You’ve heard of Purple Quill’s cancellation?”

“Yeah,” Bastion said, his face now losing that easy-going smile. “Honestly, I think she is going to regret that.”

“Regret or not, we have to keep working as if its business as usual. Have you heard that we’re going to get a human writer instead?”

He nodded. “Orders, boss?”

“Have the floor associates remove the Purple Quill signs. Anyone asks, just advise them that there was an unforeseeable change in schedule. And for the love of Luna, don’t have them say ‘cancelled’.”

The stallion nodded. “Should I also have them advise about the human writer?”

“Yes, thank you for reminding me,” I replied.

“Anything for you,” Bastion said before turning around and walking towards the floor.

I turned and looked at Silverfly and motioned her to come with me as I followed Bastion’s path. He was already directing the other floor associates into action, leaving me to teach Silverfly which shelves held which genres. I advised her that all the books were arranged in alphabetical order, using the writer’s name.

“And upstairs is the coffee shop,” I finished. “Drinks are strictly to be kept up there, though. If you see any customers here with a mug, floating via magic or held by hoof or wing, tell them, nicely, to take it back upstairs. Practise your charm. If they won’t move or if they turn aggressive, call for me or Bastion. Questions?”

Silverfly nodded. “Um… about Bastion.”

I looked at her. “Yes?”

“Are you grooming him?” she asked.

“Tried,” I replied with a small smile. “Unfortunately, one thing you’ll realize is that while we can’t be choosy who to groom as an asset, not all of them are going to be cooperative. Bastion likes to be single. I think it has to do with his father having a traditionalist as a First Mare. He was almost married off, once. He ran away.”

“Huh. And Book? What do you know of him? Like why was he...” she trailed off.

“Oh, that’s very easy. His first love was a pegasus. Broke his heart to pieces.”

“Wow,” Silverfly whispered.

“Don’t sound too impressed, Silver Lining,” I advised. “What makes us dangerous?”

“Information,” she answered immediately.

“Yes. So make sure to gather as much as you can, whether from your neighbors, coworkers, friends, or lovers.” I looked around, noticing a few customers coming in. “Your first assignment: discover any interesting news or gossip while maintaining your cover. Then report back to me later before the end of your shift.”

Silverfly nodded, then began to walk around the area. I stood by for a few moments, watching her strike a conversation with a stallion. Later, she was directing him towards a row of shelves. There were a few moments where she hesitated, but recovered well enough that the customer didn’t mind her stumbles, smiling as he picked up a book from the shelf and brought it to the cashier. Silverfly even looked towards me, beaming. I smiled back and approached her, about to ask how that went when somepony caught my eye.

She walked in, her rose-colored eyes shifting from side to side, looking a little lost. Her two-toned blue mane looked even more frazzled than usual, while her mulberry coat looked like it hadn’t been brushed for a few days.

What really got to me was her depression. It was leaking out in sickly, sticky waves that even had Silverfly looking at me. She closed the distance, looking towards the source of the negative emotion.

“Who’s that?” she asked.

“Sea Swirl,” I replied immediately. “A friend.”

“Asset?”

“Potentially,” I answered. I looked at Silverfly. “I’ll take care of this. You go and find another customer. Remember your assignment, okay?”

Silverfly pouted, but nodded as she went back to the floor, finding another stallion to help. I shook my head and approached the disheveled mare, who brightened a bit after seeing me. The sickly feeling of her depression wavered as she trotted towards me, and a second later, we both hugged, laughing.

“Lumi!” Sea Swirl said with a small smile. She offered her hoof, which I gently hit readily with mine. The warmth of happiness encompassed her. “Oh, Celestia. I’m glad to see a friendly face.”

“Me too,” I replied, honestly. “It’s been what? A week, almost? How was Neighagra?”

Just as quickly as it appeared, her happiness faded to obscurity once more. This close, I could even taste the sourness of her emotion, which almost overwhelmed me. Even without reading her emotion, her face said it all. Her smile disappeared, her eyes squinting, as if trying to hold back their tears.

“Oh, Sea Swirl,” I whispered.

“I’m okay,” she muttered, sniffing. “I’m okay.”

I patted her shoulder. “Come on, let’s get you some hot chocolate. You know how those always cheer you up.”

“Oh, no, you’re working.”

I checked around, making sure that there was no additional influx of customers before looking at her. “It’s still morning. We won’t get too busy until later afternoon.”

“Well… if you insist.”

“I do insist,” I assured her. Still, just in case, I looked for Bastion, telling him where he could find me if there were any problems, before leading Sea Swirl up the stairs. And just to be really sure, I checked the floor halfway up the stairs to ensure that customer numbers weren’t overwhelming our floor associates.

So far, so good.

After ordering from Cherry Blend, Keeper’s Tomes unicorn barista, I found us a secluded seat near the corner, a place where I could visually keep an eye on anypony coming up to the cafe, whilst still keeping my attention on Sea Swirl as she began to talk about her trip.

“... and we picked up Tara Fields and her marefri—I’m sorry, girlfriend, Nadia Banks I think was her name, in Manehattan. Berry Punch and and Lightning Bolt really hit it off with them,” Sea Swirl began.

“You didn’t?” I asked.

“Well, not at first,” Sea Swirl replied. “You know how I am with new ponies… well, they weren’t ponies, but you know what I mean, right?”

I nodded, remembering how closed off she usually was. Growing up as an Equestrian Misborn tended to make a mare nervous around strangers.

“But… they were nice,” Sea Swirl continued, smiling. “They really were. We chatted quite a bit during the train trip, and even when we arrived at Neighagra. That’s when I met…”

She sighed, and a tornado of emotions began to stir around her. Hot anger, saltiness of lust, bitterness of disgust, with sourness of distress all rolled together in an almost overwhelming force. I had to brace myself on the table.

Luckily, at that point, Cherry walked towards us, magically lifting a tray on her side and served up two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Sea Swirl immediately partook in hers, the force of her emotions slowly fading, giving way to more of her warm sweetness of happiness.

I smiled a bit, taking a slow sip from my own cup. Changelings really didn’t get much sustenance from biological food, but I always found it interesting that we could still taste it at all. Not as concentrated as emotions, but once in awhile, after a hard day, partaking in hot dark chocolate was sometimes as enjoyable as a little feeding.

I looked back at Sea Swirl, who was already halfway finished. I called the Cherry’s attention, signalling her to make another mug. She gave me a nod. I concentrated back on Sea Swirl.

“Did you meet someone you knew? From the old days?” I asked carefully.

Sea Swirl shook her head. “No. Well, maybe not that day. But… I met”—she shifted uncomfortable as her lust came back in full force—“him.”

“Who’s ‘him’?”

“A human. He introduced himself as Harry,” Sea Swirl said. I could see a hint of blush forming in her cheeks. “H-he gave me a Noble Greeting.”

I whistled. “Pretty daring.”

“Well, he said he didn’t know what it meant, that he was new,” Sea Swirl whispered. “But even if that wasn’t true… I can still feel his lips on my hooves.”

I blinked. “Even what wasn’t true?”

Anger—hot anger spiked as one of her forelegs began to shake on top of the table. “He is a liar. A deceiver.”

I spotted a human climbing the last few steps up the stairs. He was firmly facing an open book that he held with his hands, deeply engrossed in what he was reading. He only looked up when Cherry called his attention.

Shaking my head, my eyes went back to Sea Swirl. “What do you mean he was a deceiver?”

“He wasn’t new to Equestria!” Sea Swirl almost shouted. “He was a Gentleman! Can you imagine that?”

Gentleman… Gentleman. “Aren’t those…?”

“Human comfort horses,” Sea Swirl seethed, once more her emotions spinning around her—disgust, anger, lust, and... longing. “I should have known! He was so good in—ugh!”

Sea Swirl drank until she drained her cup. She turned to call the barista, who was now approaching us with a fresh mug. When Sea Swirl got ahold of that, she gave me a nod of thanks.

“Okay, so, he sounds like a jerk,” I offered. “But it’s not like you’re going to see him again, right?”

“I don’t know about that,” Sea Swirl replied. She took a gulp. “He was actually in Ponyville once, to service Cheerilee.” Seeing my confused face, she added, “She’s a teacher there. Anyway, she seems to have even convinced Rarity to give him a call.”

Rarity… the Element of Generosity, if I remembered correctly. She and her other friends, the Elements of Harmony, helped stave off the invasion Queen Chrysalis planned all those years ago.

Before I could even wonder the implications of what I was hearing, Sea Swirl drained her cup again, and slammed it down hard on the table, loud enough to even get the attention of Cherry. Oddly, the human hadn’t even spared a glance, now apparently concentrating on deciding on his order.

“Whoa!” I raised my hooves. “Calm down.”

“Sorry,” Sea Swirl muttered, fuming. “Its just… I’m mad, you know. I mean, Cheerilee is nice but biased. I mean, she dated Macintosh before, so she might like them. Comfort horses, I mean. She talks about Harry like they connected. Obviously they didn’t. He was paid to be her companion. And she’s now convincing Rarity too. And she accuses me of being…” and she finished with a sigh. “Am I a bad pony?”

I shook my head. “You aren’t.”

“Oh, you’re just saying that,” Sea Swirl replied, trying to smile and failing. I couldn’t blame her. She felt a little too wired, anger and sadness barely contained. Clearing out the table, I leaned a little closer, forelegs spread, offering her a hug she readily accepted.

She came forward, hugging me tight. She sniffed, most likely trying to hold back a few tears. I gently patted the back of her neck, feeling her emotions slowly balance out to something more palatable. Anger and sadness tempering as relief flooded in her, happy that she had someone supporting her.

Our hug caught Cherry’s attention, looking at us curiously before turning back to her work. The human was once more looking at his book, and oddly seemingly deciding to wait on his order. I didn’t know whether to be glad that he was minding his own business, or angry at his apathy.

“I’m not returning to Ponyville,” Sea Swirl muttered after one more sniff. She made a move to separate, and I let her, leaning back to my side of the table. “Well, not yet anyways. I don’t want to be anywhere near that place. Especially when that deceiver gets hired and goes there.” She sighed. “Actually, I’m thinking of moving here.”

I shook my head. “Moving here because of one human?” I asked. “Come on, Sea Swirl. That’s silly.”

“Yeah, maybe I am being silly,” she admitted, chuckling a bit. “I mean, its not like I’m going to see him again. And if I do, well, I can always just…”

Another spike of lust and longing emanated from her. Wow, he must have been very good to leave Sea Swirl so conflicted. Ignoring the invitation to partake and feed, I just grinned, and suggested, “Buck him in the face? Strong enough to knock his teeth out?”

Sea Swirl giggled back. “Tempting,” she said, “but I’ll probably just hide, and hope he doesn’t see me.”

I patted her hoof. “Well, whatever the case, how long are you staying?”

“Maybe just a few more days than usual,” she replied. “I’ll be hitting the beaches tomorrow. Maybe take a nice trip to the Dolphin Islands.”

“Well, you’re always welcome here,” I said. “Heck, maybe we can hang out more if you’re staying here longer.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Sea Swirl looked at the wall clock hanging above the barista counter. “Hey, I’m going to start making arrangements with the ferry. What time do you usually get off?”

“Around five. Why?”

“To take you up on your offer,” Sea Swirl declared with a smile, slowly standing up. I followed afterwards, and we hugged again. I could feel the warm sweetness of her happiness leaking out, almost filling me as she hugged me tighter. “Maybe I’ll visit someday this week.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” I replied with a wink.

Sea Swirl giggled, floating a small bag of bits until I told her I’d take care of the bill. She shook her head. “You’re always good to me.”

“Considering you were the first to commend me to Book three years ago, it’s the least I can do,” I replied easily.

“And look at you now, floor manager,” Sea Swirl said whimsically. “Time flies, doesn’t it?”

Both of us walked towards the stairs, with Sea Swirl insisting that she could let herself out. “Besides, you still haven’t finished your chocolate,” she said, smiling. She looked and felt happier than when she had entered the bookstore. I couldn’t help but feel happy too.

“Fine, but we’re definitely going to hang out, alright?” I called. She just nodded before trotting down the stairs. I watched as she made towards the exit, waving at me from the door. I waved back.

Once she disappeared from view, I shook my head slowly, turning around. It seemed that the humans were getting more widespread than I had thought. Spending more time to research the species would probably help us in the long run. Once we could feed ourselves, I could—

Something hard hit me, strong enough to make me back away. Hot liquid spilled towards my fetlocks, and the smell of strong coffee surrounded me. I blinked softly, seeing the human, book in hand and mug in the other, curse as he looked at his white shirt, stained in brown liquid.

“Bloody hell,” he muttered. I felt anger and annoyance expanding outwards. His face slowly lifted. “Would you watch where you’re… Five Stars?”

Chapter 5

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There were two thoughts running through my head: one, he had quite an interesting accent; and two, who was Five Stars?

I gave him quite a confused look, which allowed me the opportunity to study his face. He was a little paler than Brad, with very brown curly hair that seemed to have a life of its own, springing up in different directions. His black-framed square spectacles displayed his blinking light-sea-green eyes with a little sparkle as he studied me further—my face, my mane, and finally, my horn. Seeing that, I felt confusion flowing out of him. He leaned towards his left, balancing on one leg to check on my flank.

“You are not Five Stars,” he said with some sort of finality.

When his eyes lingered, I moved my hind leg just a bit, subtly putting some emphasis on my curves. Heat escaped from him. Interesting. “Really?” I asked, giving him a small smile. “Is it my Cutie Mark that is telling you that, or my rear?”

His cheeks bloomed red, and for a moment, I felt the peaty tingle of his embarrassment as he immediately balanced on his two legs once more, looking slightly away, his finger scratching his chin. That gave me the opportunity to study him even further.

Unlike Brad, this one didn’t have that healthy look changelings like me wanted. He was thin, a little too much so for my tastes. He had some muscle mass, but he didn’t strike me as the type who would work them. However, his clothing was particularly interesting.

He wore pants humans called jeans and brown shoes. It was his stained white shirt that caught my attention, however. It had a drawing of what looked like a stylized crown and some human words written under it: Keep Calm and We Will Rock You. The wording was simple enough to translate, but the context was lost on me.

“Sorry about that,” he said softly.

I looked back at him and replied, easily, “Don’t worry. I’ll take it as a compliment.”

He laughed, and his genuine amusement warmed the area. Oddly, the sweetness of his emotion tasted almost like the coffee that was spilled, and along with the smell, it had me yearning to feed once more. I don’t know if this was because there was something seriously addicting about human emotions, or because I had been bombarded with quite an amalgam of them since yesterday. Either way, it was making me think of a few… things.

If I was going to turn him to an asset, I’d have to prepare him. He seemed interested enough in the Equestrian Pony form, but how far would he go with that? Trying to make him an asset on my current body would be useless if he couldn’t commit himself to it. While I could probably get around that, it would take a lot more material than I had absorbed from Brad last night to change my Primary body close enough to mimic human form. Plus, with my Cluster starving, spending an enormous amount of energy to complete the process seemed foolishly frivolous.

On the chance that he would be willing to go far with an Equestrian Pony, I had to prepare him physically as well. Was he thin because of his diet choices? If so, I’d have to study them, see if I could get around it. Probably start with a lot of carbohydrates and fat, just to lessen the strain on his body during feeding. Or maybe he was just thin because he was naturally like that? If that was the case, that would take more potion preparation.

I’d also never seen him before, and while I might not have the best memory in Tellus, I had been around here long enough to know most of the humans in Fillydelphia. So, was he new to the city or just the bookstore? It would definitely be easier if it was the latter, but if it was the former, did he just move in? Where did he live? Was he just visiting, and if so, what could I do to make him stay?

The last question was important in deciding how I was going to work on him. If he was just here temporarily, I could probably feed from him as Illuminating Starburst until he left, which meant breaking out all my charm to get his lust rolling. Though if he did decide to stay, investing him slowly would be the smart move, which meant I had to lay off giving him the impression of being easy.

So many questions, yet so little information—time to rectify that.

“Let me take care of that,” I said, using a bit of energy to cast a simple cleaning spell. The brown stain on his shirt disappeared, along with the liquid on the floor and on my hooves. The smell of the coffee didn’t really fade, but I wasn’t going to complain about that.

“Ah, thanks,” he replied. “Didn’t really want to change out of this shirt.”

“It is a nice shirt.”

He gave me a small smile. “Ah, you’re just saying that.” He extended his hand. “Shaun Rhys.”

I extended my foreleg as well. He gently grabbed it before bending over a bit, which caused me to widen my eyes. Was he about to give me a Noble Greeting? He might have asked himself the same thing because he suddenly paused, his emotions turning to embarrassment and surprise, which mixed to something quite strong. It tasted like strong cider that was given a bit of lemon, if that made any sense. I think I held my breath, wondering if he was going to continue, but he settled for just shaking my hoof. I gave him a knowing smile, and his cheeks reddened a bit more.

“You were about to give me a Noble Greeting,” I said, a slight chuckle escaping my lips.

“Uh, yeah, sorry,” he replied as he released my hoof.

“No, it’s fine,” I said, giving him a half-lidded smile. I lowered my pitch a bit when I added, “Especially when it comes from a nice looking stallion like you.”

A little lust began to seep out of him, and I think he knew because his lemony embarrassment bloomed even stronger. I was actually impressed when he kept his face still as he replied, “Why thank you.” He looked at me for a moment, then shook his head and chuckled. “I almost forgot how forward Equestrian mares were.”

“I’m not coming on too strong, am I?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, no. You’re fine. Though I didn’t quite get your name.”

“Oh, sorry,” I replied. “Illuminating Starburst.”

My name caught him off guard so strongly that he forgot what he was going to say. He looked at me, confusion rolling around him, mixed in with a little sweetness of his mirth. I gave him a mock stern look.

“You’re about to make fun of it,” I said.

“Of course not,” he said, jovially indignant. “Milady, I’m insulted—insulted and wounded that you’d think so little of me, a stranger you have just met.”

My only reply was to raise an eyebrow, a small amused smile creeping on my face. He held onto his offended look for just a few more seconds before he started chuckling, his emotions warming me all over, like being wrapped in a blanket. I couldn’t help but feel a bit happy as well.

“Okay, maybe I was going to make a little fun of it,” he finally said, his voice turning a bit more serious as he shook his head, “but only because it’s a mouthful.”

“That’s why my friends call me Lumi,” I introduced myself.

“Very creative,” he said dryly.

“Oh? And what do others call you, Mister Shaun Rhys?”

He chuckled. “Just Shaun for me, thanks.” His eyes twinkled. “Unfortunately, I have nary a creative bone in my body to creatively shorten a somewhat ridiculous name into two syllables.”

I smiled. “I don’t know. A single syllable name from a man of mysteries is pretty creative, I think.”

Shaun raised an eyebrow, but I knew he wanted to laugh. He was enjoying himself in the conversation, the rich wave of his emotions affecting me more than it normally should have. That warm blanket? Gone, now replaced with the kind of heat that had me tingling all over, making me feel the desire to Feed. The cumulative emotions were just right, making his energy ready for the picking. It was very tempting to any changeling, so strong and distracting that I was half-willing to just drag him somewhere private to…

I shook my head. I was so glad that Silverfly wasn’t here.

“Here,” I offered, magically levitating the cup away from his hand, “let me replace this.” I slowly turned around.

“Hold on,” he began, “you don’t have to—” and went completely silent as I turned my back completely, waving my tail a bit left and right, just enough to show, but not enough to fully expose myself.

A burst of his lust—spicy with a mix of salt—returned, this time in full force. It mixed with his peaty embarrassment and the lingering sweetness of his enjoyment. I was not an expert on reading humans yet, but I recognized the emotions well enough: he was enjoying the view, but at the same time, he felt the need to look away. He didn’t, though. His gaze was unmoving as more of his lust washed over me.

Well, that answered the question in regards to his attraction to the pony form.

“Hey,” I told Cherry, “I need another cup of what he ordered.”

“Sure thing,” Cherry replied. “You want anything as well?”

I shook my head. “Nah.”

“Alright, I’ll bring it to your table.”

“I appreciate that.” I turned around, just in time to see him avert his gaze, face somewhat unreadable. I gave him a small smile as I walked beside him, gently biting his hand to lead him towards a table. He reacted with a bit of surprise, but in the end, got comfortable being led forward.

After we sat across each other, he looked at me. “Hmmm, you ordered coffee for me, and led me to a table. So, should I worry?” he asked.

I chuckled. “Well, considering how I inadvertently spilled your first cup, I felt it was just fair to replace it.”

He scratched the back-part of his head, embarrassed. “Well, it wasn’t solely your fault.”

I smiled. “Well, if you put it that way, then how about paying me back by satisfying a mare’s curiosity?”

“Oh? And how can I do that?” he asked, returning the smile with his own.

“Tell me a bit about yourself?” I offered. “You have me a bit curious, you know.”

“How so?”

“I’ve haven’t heard an accent like yours before,” I replied. “Most of the humans I met don’t sound like you.”

“You probably haven’t met a proper Englishmen, then,” Shaun replied.

“And who are those?” I asked.

“People from the United Kingdom,” he said, “Queen and Country, all the good stuff. You should come visit. We have rain all summer.”

“I’ll pass,” I replied, giggling. “I’d rather have my coat nice and dry, thank you very much.”

He chuckled. “I don’t know. You could probably pull off the wet look.”

“You think so, eh?” I leaned a bit closer and gave him a small smile. “How about you, Shaun? Do you work the wet look?”

“Oh, no,” he said, shaking his head vigorously. “Once you get my hair wet, all you’ll see is my bony skull. And I’d rather not scare the little foals when it’s not yet Nightmare Night.”

I laughed, poking his forearm gently with my hoof. “Hmm, I’d have to see that,” I replied with a wink.

“Tempting,” Shaun said, “but I’ll take a rain check.”

“Well, I had to try at least.” I grinned at him. “I’m guessing you’re not new to Equestria.”

He nodded. “Very true. I was lucky enough to be one of the first thousand humans to visit Equestria three years ago. And I’m glad to get the opportunity again.”

“Oh, so you're only visiting?” I asked.

“You can say that.”

My mind began work. Short-term asset, or invested? “Just a nice vacation?” I continued.

Shaun hesitated. “Well, not exactly. I guess you can say I’m here because of my obsession.”

“What would that be? Beaches?” I offered.

Shaun gave me a small smile, head shaking, amused. "You are one very curious mare."

"They say it’s my charm," I replied easily, winking.

He laughed, gently and softly. Shaking his head, he placed the book he still held on the table, and offered it to me. It had a soft worn cover of an odd design. On the foreground, it had a silhouetted man with a setting sun over a city as the background. Bold and engraved letters were written on top and bottom of the book.

It took me a moment to read it. "R. S. Bradley: Daunting Steele." I looked at him. "You're here for his appearance."

"Yup," he replied.

“And obsession? With him?" I asked. “That's a pretty strong word. A mare can get jealous," I added teasingly.

“I wouldn't worry too much," he replied, returning with a wink of his own. "You are far prettier than he." Then, he frowned, strong bitterness of disgust began to seep out. I almost jumped at how fast his mood changed. "I guess I want to see the bloody bloke one more time before he disappears from the face of the Earth. Literally."

"What do you mean?"

Shaun paused, looking like he was gathering his thoughts. His emotions also began to wane, as if he was forcing them down, with only trace amounts lingering. That in itself was a pretty interesting experience.

"What do you know about Bradley?" he finally asked.

“Almost nothing, actually,” I admitted. “All I know is that he’s doing an appearance here to promote his new book.”

He nodded. “That he is. Here’s to hoping it’ll be a success.”

I leaned a little closer. “What do you mean?”

Shaun was about to reply when the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted in the air. Both of us looked at the same direction, watching as Cherry slowly trotted towards us, magically levitating a small tray with a steaming mug on top of it. When she placed it on the table, the human took a deep breath, warmth exuding out of him in droves.

“I needed that,” he muttered. He looked at Cherry. “Thank you.”

She gave him a smile. “Anytime, sir,” and she walked away.

Shaun’s eyes lingered at her retreating form for a moment, and judging by the small burst of lust, I knew what he was looking at. When he finally averted his gaze, he removed his spectacles, which gave me a better view of his eyes. He looked back towards his coffee mug, blowing onto it, spreading more of the scent to my direction, before taking a sip. He closed his eyes, more warmth and sweetness almost humming around us.

Earth and Stars.

"You must really like coffee," I commented.

"Well, it could be the company," he countered.

I laughed. "I have a response for that, but unfortunately, it might scare you off."

"Heh. I'd say I'm a big boy, but then again, Equestrian mares have a tendency to surprise."

I leaned a little closer once more. "Should I take that as a compliment, or maybe as a challenge?" I asked softly.

He just grinned, taking more sips from his cup. I was actually glad he didn't answer because I knew I was absolutely getting worked up. His emotions were solidly telling me he was liking our little flirting, which in turn tempted me to go even deeper. However, still unsure whether he could be convinced to stay, or if he was just going to leave after the Bradley event made me stay my hoof. If I went really forward, and he decided to stay, that could complicate the life of Illuminating Starburst, who earned the reputation of being a respectable professional, and not somepony who would shamelessly flirt with a customer during her work hours.

“You went all quiet-like,” Shaun declared after another sip from his mug.

I looked at him, biting my lip for a moment. “It might have occurred to me that I might be a bit too… forward,” I confessed.

“Honestly, I’ve met more forward mares,” he replied. He took another short sip before he added, as if he realized it at last minute, “and no, that wasn’t a challenge.”

It was my turn to laugh. Shaking my head, I mocked a cough, and began to sit up straight in a dignified fashion. “Okay, Shaun. I’ll try and rein myself in, but you are making it hard.”

“How so?” he asked, amused.

“The more I know about you, the more curious I get.”

He took another sip. “Oh? About?”

“Well, first, about this author of yours,” I began. Shaun’s mood seemed to dive, losing almost all the high spirits he had built up.

“Ah, yes,” he muttered. His mood improved then when he winked at me. “Why, Lumi, have I lost my charm and you’re moving to a more famous human?”

“Please, Shaun,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. “At this point, I know more about you than him. It’s just… well, I’ve never really met human authors, or even read any of their works. And I heard only a little bit about him, just enough to make me curious.”

“Fair enough,” he responded. “Okay, Bradley is a somewhat famous writer back on Earth. His long-standing ‘Steele’ series follows the eponymous protagonist, Brandon Steele, an MI6 traffic analyst who gets caught in a conspiracy to take down the government, and slowly expanded with his new status as a field agent.”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. MI6? Traffic analyst?”

Shaun paused, embarrassment expanding. “Oh, yeah. Uh, MI6 is an intelligence agency in the UK—uh, United Kingdom, I mean.” He paused again. “Basically, in a word, spies.”

Okay, that got my attention. Human spies? Interesting. “So, what’s a traffic analyst, specifically?”

“Well, they are basically people who analyze any information that they found, or was given to them, and separate what’s useless and what’s useful.” Shaun then pointed towards the book. “In the series, it starts out with Steele accidentally intercepting a conspiracy to bring the UK government down. He was discredited and forced to run as the bad guys tried to kill him. In the end, he was cleared of any wrongdoing, and given how he’d shown competence in the field, he was discreetly given more field assignments.”

“Okay, that sounds rather interesting,” I said, truthfully. Maybe I ought to ask Book to lend me those novels. “This Bradley, was he a former spy or something? I mean, how accurately does he portray human spies?”

“Well, he seems to have done his research. Some say he even has a few sources inside the agency itself,” Shaun acknowledged. “There are things in his story that not a lot of regular people are privy to, but he usually favors entertainment over procedure. But then again, that’s what writers do. I mean, what’s the good of showing that research if the readers can’t follow, right? I guess that was a good move because in return, readers responded well, bought the book in droves, which had the publishers quite happy. They gave him a book deal, and boom! Bob’s your uncle.”

Bob’s your uncle? I thought, confused. Shaking my head, I said, “That sounds like he’s well-established on Earth. Even if he doesn’t succeed here, he’ll probably do well over there.”

“Yes, well that would be the case if his new book will be published on Earth,” Shaun replied neutrally.

“What? It’s not getting published on Earth? Why?”

He sighed. “When Neo Equinenox appeared, and so did ponies, he thought he could bring forth Equestria’s presence in his book as well.”

“Okay…?”

“Brandon Steele was supposed to meet with an Equestrian mare spy.”

I mentally scoffed. Equestrian spies? If they did exist, I had yet to meet a good one. “Okay,” I began, “I still don’t see the problem.”

“Well, in every Steele novel, Brandon Steele is always on the job when it comes to the females,” he replied. When my confused expression continued, he expounded, “He—uh, what’s that Equestrian term?—tucks them in.”

“Oh!” I realized. “So, he was going to write Brandon Steele and a mare…” I trailed off.

“Yes,” Shaun said. “When he put the draft out, the editors and publishers shut him down. I guess they didn’t want to promote bestiality. Or was it xenophilia? Apparently, it was… inappropriate. So, yeah, he still tried to get it published, but failed to convince them otherwise. I guess as some act of vengeance, he decided to just kill off Steele.”

“You mean end the series?”

“Well, the main character dies,” Shaun clarified. “So, technically, yeah, he ended the series.”

“He killed his own character?” I asked, shocked. “Don’t writers usually just end the series with a bit more leeway? Like, main character grows too old, gets crippled, or just disappears mysteriously?”

“He wanted to make it permanent, without shadow of a doubt,” Shaun replied. “The last few chapters of Daunting Steele had him seeing his dead wife as he slowly drowned in his own blood.”

“Ew,” I muttered.

Shaun laughed. “Okay, maybe it was overkill. Anyway, the draft he wrote, the one that the publishers rejected? He used that to create the new book, found a publishing company here in Equestria who would be willing to publish it and see how it sells."

I looked at Shaun for the moment, realizing he had actually meant the word obsession. He seemed well versed in Bradley’s work and much more informed than any average fan. In fact, I was beginning to suspect something. “Are you Bradley’s agent?” I asked.

He gave me that smile again. His emotions were acting up around him, mischievousness, embarrassment, and a little shame. “I’m not.”

Liar. However, if he wanted to play that way, I could accommodate. “If you say so,” I replied softly. “I’m actually a bit relieved.”

“Why?”

“Because there’s a possibility that you’re going to stay here longer,” I said.

“That will really depend on circumstances,” he said whimsically. He went silent for a moment, taking more sips from his cup. Then, like earlier, his mood changed, turning to the better. “Well, I hope I satisfied the mare’s curiosity.”

“Not completely,” I teased, “but I think this is enough for one day.” I paused for a moment, then nodded. “I like you, Shaun Rhys.”

Shaun chuckled. “I like you too, Illuminating Starburst. Except for the name. Honestly, it really cotton-balls the mouth.”

I rolled my eyes, hoping to return with a quip of my own when I felt a strong and sudden burst of sourness. It was so forceful that I had to look behind me, see if I could find the the source.

“Is something wrong?” Shaun asked, his own worry adding to the mix of distress.

I shivered, and before I could even answer, I heard running hoofsteps coming up the stairs. A few seconds later, the source of the distress made herself known—Silverfly. She appeared on top of the stairs, her eyes searching towards the barista counter, a few tables, then at me.

“Lumi!” she called.

“A friend of yours?” I heard Shaun ask. I looked back at him and saw him studying Silverfly.

“You can say that,” I replied, then looked back at the changeling. “Yes, Silver?”

“Can I talk to you, please?” Silverfly asked. She looked around nervously, which got my attention. She then added, “Privately?”

I looked at Shaun, who raised his cup. “Go ahead.”

“Hopefully I’ll see you again?” I asked, slowly retreating away.

“Sure,” he replied, smiling. “Next time, I’ll ask the questions.”

“I’ll be ready,” I said, winking. I turned face Silverfly before I motioned her to follow me. We went down the stairs, then passed by a few customers and other floor associates. I did a quick scan, noticing we had a slight increase in patrons, but not enough to swamp us. Still, as always, I asked another floor associate to tell Bastion that Silverfly and I were in book storage.

“Okay, what is this about?” I asked as we exited the floor. We went past the break room area and neared Book’s office.

“Um, that assignment you gave me? I found something,” Silver replied, following my hoofsteps.

I stopped and looked at her, eyes narrowing. I felt my anger slowly build up. Silverfly looked uncertain. I had no idea if it was because my emotions leaked out or because my face was showing the obvious.

“Um, was it a bad time?” she asked.

I opened my mouth, but snapped it closed instantly. I took a breath, controlling my temper. “Silverfly, I know you are very eager and enthusiastic, but the assignment was due after work. What you did was interrupt me from gathering information to groom a potential asset.”

“I-I’m sorry, Lumi, but this couldn’t wait,” Silverfly replied softly.

I turned away harshly, went past by Book’s closed office and opened the large oak doors at the end of the hallway, the entrance to the book storage. I entered the darkened room, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness, and once I made sure no one was inside, I looked back at the entrance. Silverfly was still in place, looking at me unsurely. I sighed.

“Get in here, Silver,” I said loudly. “If it is that important, let’s hear it.”

“O-okay.” After some hesitation, she joined me in the darkened room. Once she passed by the doorway, I used a little magic to slam it shut, a bit loudly to show off my displeasure. Silverfly jumped a bit as the veil of darkness completely surrounded us.

“Alright,” I began, trying to keep my voice steady, “spit it out.”

Silverfly looked at me unsurely. “Please don’t be mad,” she whispered, barely audible even in the enclosed area.

“Just… hurry up, Silverfly.”

She took a breath. “Okay. Um… I had an older customer trying to find books about changelings.”

“No such book,” I replied immediately.

“Um, yeah, that’s what Bastion said as well.”

I sighed. “Please tell me you didn’t disturb me for that.”

Her eyes widened. “No, no! It’s the reason why the customer wanted a book about changelings!”

There was a pause. I tapped on my left hoof impatiently. “And what was the reason?”

“Um, he said he has a friend living in Dodge Junction,” Silverfly continued, “who sent him a letter via dragonfire.” She looked at me, the sour taste of her distress coming back so strongly that it overrode her fear of my anger. “Lumi… they found a dead changeling there.” She shivered. “Somepony broke his neck.”

Chapter 6

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Of all the things I expected her to tell me about, the death of a changeling was not one of them. Whatever anger I felt immediately faded from my mind as I worked on Silverfly’s words, worked through their implications. In those moments of silence, I could feel Silverfly’s gaze on me as she awaited my response. It was short.

“Okay,” I replied and made a move towards the door.

Maybe a bit too short for her as she moved to block my way. “Wait,” Silverfly said. “That’s it? Okay?”

I nodded, taking a sidestep to avoid her. “Yes, that was interesting enough—” I built up just enough energy to open the door, flooding the room with sunlight “—to justify you cutting my inquiry on a potential asset.” Looking back, I saw Silverfly staring at me, a little crackle of anger bubbling in the surface. “What?”

“Just interesting enough?” Silverfly almost shouted. Worry and anger was evident in both her facial expression and the emotion leaking out of her. “Didn’t you hear me? They found a dead changeling!”

I looked down the hall, making sure nopony was around, then steadily back at her. “I heard you,” I replied. “Now’s not the time to worry about it, though. The day is just starting, and we’re going to get a lot of customers. We need to be on the floor.”

“Forget that!” she exclaimed. Now, the coldness of her fear permeated the air around us. “Do you even care about the implications of the news, Lumi? Because I do!”

I looked at her for a few seconds. “You’re angry and afraid.”

“Yes I am, and—”

I cut her off. “It's leaking out. Control it,” I ordered, staring at her hard. “Now.”

Silverfly looked at me with confusion until she closed her eyes and concentrated. After a moment, her emotions began to mute. I nodded, glad that the coldness and sourness had begun to disappear. The young changeling still looked rebellious, but she held her tongue. I gathered my thoughts, rechecking on the hall to see if anyone had been attracted by the shouts, before looking back at her.

“Silver,” I began, “I don’t like you assuming that I don’t care about the implications of the news. I do. But right now, I need you to realize that there isn’t really anything we can do about it.”

“But—” and I raised my foreleg to silence her.

“I’ve told you that information is a weapon for the changeling,” I continued. “But you’ll have to learn that a changeling should also know when and how to use said weapon. You want to know why I seem to be unconcerned?”

Silverfly took a moment before she nodded.

“Because it’s all third-hoof information,” I said. “I’m not too sure if I can trust such sources. We don’t know whether the customer that gave you that information was lying or not.”

“He wasn’t,” Silverfly quickly interjected. “I felt him. I read him. He was concerned—genuinely concerned. Even scared.”

“Okay, even if he wasn’t lying,” I continued, “we don’t know how reliable the source is. He could have misheard or misinterpreted. You don’t need to lie to be wrong,” I added quickly when Silverfly opened her mouth. “And then there are more factors than just the accuracy of the information. For example, this changeling death took place in another town. And last I checked, Dodge Junction was another Hive’s jurisdiction. We don’t know if the Cluster of that city is already taking care of it. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Silverfly looked towards the ground for a moment, probably to digest what I was saying. I gave her time, making sure nopony was in the hallway. She then looked at me and sighed. “Yes, I understand what you’re saying, but…” she trailed off.

“It still bothers you?” I completed her sentence.

Silverfly nodded, biting her lower lip. “I… remember my mother’s stories. About how life was before and after the Canterlot Invasion.”

“Ah,” I said, understanding. I motioned her to follow me back to the book storage, and once we entered, I looked for the tumbler switch and magically flicked it upwards. The area was flooded with artificial light. I closed the door behind us and I looked at her. “You’re afraid of another Purge?”

Silverfly nodded. “We’re already living uncomfortably. Not that I’m blaming you,” she added quickly, “but my mother told me stories on how changelings before rarely starved. Then after the Purge…” she trailed off. She looked towards the ground before looking at the ceiling. “What was it like before, Lumi? Before the invasion? Was it as good as my mother said?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I replied. “I wasn’t alive then.”

Silverfly looked at me, surprised. “Really? But that was just ten years ago. How old are you?”

“Younger than I look,” I replied with a hard tone that surprised even me. Silverfly looked at me with a slight frown. I sighed. “Sorry. It’s a long story,” I continued. “However, I do remember the last year of the Purge.”

That perked her up. “Really?” When I nodded, she asked, “What was it like?”

I looked towards her for a moment, my mind recalling the little bits of information and the memories I had of that time. I shuddered.

Silverfly frowned. “Was it that bad?”

I shook my head. “It... wasn’t a good time for me. Not just because of the purge, though I guess that in itself wasn’t something you’d want to witness.”

Silverfly leaned closer. “Why?”

“Remember how hungry everyone was in the Cluster the past week?” I asked. When she nodded, I continued, “Well, imagine that on a bigger scale. I was still at our Hive when I saw them: changeling refugees trying to come in. They were grouped just outside the cavern entrance, which in itself was larger than our Cluster.” She smiled sadly. “Yet, with the numbers, it was far too small. Thin and emaciated changelings squeezed together, too weak to even cry, their chitin almost completely falling off.”

Silverfly shivered. “How were they able to chase out so many?”

“Equestria put up a citizenship system,” I replied. “Subtle and quiet enough that we didn’t really think much of it. However, the census was actually the best move they made against us. They used family trees to look for any anomalies in the population. The older and more settled changeling families didn’t have problems, having created family trees of their own, but the newer and younger ones had to abandon their covers as the Royal Guards came for them. That alone cut off almost a third of the assets all Changeling Hives had obtained.”

“A third? That’s a lot,” Silverfly commented.

“Yup,” I replied. “It took a few years, but we recovered. We started playing smarter as well. Remember what we did earlier this day?”

Silverfly nodded, catching on quickly. “I was registered as a Equestrian Citizen.” Then she paused. “But won’t they find out it’s a forgery if they investigate?”

“Maybe, but the process is so tedious that without a real reason to look closer, they won’t discover that Silver Lining doesn’t really exist.”

“Without a real reason, huh?” She looked at me wryly. “Like maybe a dead changeling?”

“Or a floor associate and her manager not reporting to work,” I countered, which got Silverfly to snort. I gave her a small smile. “I’m not omniscient, Silverfly, but I know that worrying about something we cannot control is useless and unhelpful.” I gave her a solemn look. “Later, we can gather a bit more information about the dead changeling in Dodge Junction. But for now, I need you to put this out of your mind and be Silver Lining, the new floor associate. Can you do that?”

Silverfly looked at me for a moment before taking a deep breath, then nodding. I gave her a wider smile and patted her shoulder.

“Good,” I said. With a little effort, I magically opened the door and revealed the hallway, still empty. I gently flicked the switch of the lights off as we both made our way out the storage room and towards the floor. Before Silverfly could go any further, to look for a customer, I called her. “Silver.”

She paused and turned to me. “Yes, Lumi?” she asked.

I gave a nod. “Good job on obtaining that information.”

Her face lit up. “R-really?”

I nodded. “Yes. However, you’re not yet done with the assignment I gave you. So you better have some more interesting things to tell me later.”

Silverfly pouted, but nodded just the same. She trotted out towards the floor, and I followed afterwards, watching her spot a customer trotting around a shelf. I had to commend her, I thought she needed more time to play her part, especially when I seemed to have downplayed the news she uncovered. However, she only needed a moment before approaching the customer, asking if he needed help.

Shaun must have left because I didn’t see him again. I was actually pretty glad. While I’d love to continue our conversation, I doubt I would have been able to continue it for much longer, especially now that I needed to look out for the floor associates as the day was finally hitting its stride. More and more customers were walking in, and while the rest were experienced enough to handle multiple customers at the same time, Silverfly was having difficulty adjusting. It came to the point that Bastion approached me in the cafe during our lunch break.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to have someone help her?” he asked after he dropped his bag, which I assumed contained his lunch, on top of the table and sat down across of me.

I set down my mug of hot chocolate. “You’re talking about Silver Lining?”

Bastion nodded as he unwrapped his lunch: two sandwiches and lots of hay fries—a misnomer, considering they were made from potatoes rather than hay. Before he took a bite from his sandwich, he replied, “She froze up when she had a customer approach her, while she was already assisting another one.”

“Leave her be,” I said. “She’ll learn faster this way.” I took another sip. “If I remember correctly, that was how you learned the ropes around here when you first started.”

Bastion swallowed what he ate. “I always thought you just did that because I started hitting on you.”

I smiled. “Well, not only.”

Bastion snorted before taking another bite, his expression and emotions turning inward. I said nothing, knowing him well enough that he’d express what was bothering him soon enough.

“Purple Quill fans were not happy about her non-appearance,” he began.

I looked at him. “The nice minority, or the Foals of Discord we had last year?”

Bastion chuckled. “You are not going to let that one go, are you?”

“Should I?” I began to recount how the fans acted last year on Purple Quill’s appearance, emphasizing it with a tap on the table after each sentence. “They deafened customers when Purple Quill showed up. They made a mess of the place, throwing papers and flyers to the ground. And don’t get me started when they began doing those weird moaning chants when she was reading a particular excerpt from her book—”

“One particularly hot excerpt from her book,” Bastion interjected. I gave him a glare, and he easily returned it with a smile. I rolled my eyes.

“Are you going to tell me that the moans were also particularly hot?”

“Psh, please,” Bastion muttered. “They sounded like they hadn’t been tucked in for years.”

“I am not even going to ask about that,” I declared. “Back on topic, if the disappointed fans are those types, then my don’t-give-a-buck bug is acting up.”

Bastion grinned. “They are still customers, Lumi.”

“Yeah,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Customers that are now going to Paged Crossroads. Their problem now, eh?” Bastion chuckled, and took another bite out of his sandwich. That gave me the opportunity to swirl the remnants of my cup around. As he chewed silently, a thought entered my mind. “Have you guys started promoting R. S. Bradley yet?”

“Yes,” Bastion replied.

“And?” I asked.

“Well, the reactions are mostly positive,” Bastion said with a slight shrug. “It helps that he’s human. Just being one makes him interesting. However, add to the fact that he is a male human, also writing stories about human and pony love?”

“I guess he’s a hit with the mares, then,” I concluded.

“Well, we’re probably not going to have a revisit of the Foals of Discord,” Bastion said, “but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a star in the making.”

“Book thinks Bradley’s risky,” I remarked.

Bastion snorted. “He thinks a lot of things. He got an advanced copy of the new Bradley book, right?” When I nodded, he added, “Did he hate it?”

“He didn’t say, specifically,” I replied, knowing what he was talking about. “If he didn’t say he hated it—”

“—that just means he liked it,” Bastion finished, nodding. “Bradley will be fine.”

Well, I personally hoped so. That could mean his agent, Shaun, would extend his stay, and I could finally work on grooming our first human asset. Happy that the odds were favourable, I finished off my mug of hot chocolate when another thought entered my mind.

“I’m going to need you to close for me,” I said.

Bastion looked at me. “Why?”

“I’m going to help Silver Lining hunt for an apartment,” I lied easily.

“Huh. She is your pet project,” Bastion replied. I could feel the curiosity blooming around him. “Who is she to you, Lumi?”

“I’m her godmare,” I said, with a roll of my eyes. “She’s a daughter of an old friend of mine. His father asked me to help her out when she moved here.”

“Ah,” he nodded. “Okay, if I do close tonight, what do I get in return?”

“I’ll close for you whenever you want,” I answered simply. “Deal?”

Bastion shrugged. “Why not?” and ate a few hay fries. He was still chewing when a thought entered his head. “Mhm-hey!”

“Don’t talk and chew at the same time,” I advised. He rolled his eyes, which got me to chuckle. “What?” I asked.

“Did you give Silver special instructions?”

I blinked. “Like?”

“Like… only entertain stallion customers?” he asked.

I frowned. “Didn’t I see her helping a mare earlier?”

“Three of them, yeah,” Bastion confirmed, “but they are the ones that approached. She only moves towards stallion customers, so I was wondering if you instructed her to do so.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Were you watching her the whole time?”

Bastion frowned. “Well, most of the time. Just watching out for the new associate, you know.”

“Stalker much?”

“Hey, I’m serious here,” Bastion replied, shaking his head. “Did you?”

I shook my head. “No. But I’ll talk to her about it.” I looked at him with a small smile. “That’ll help you do more of your job and less looking at her rear.”

Bastion smirked. “Well, it is a mighty fine—”

“I seem to recall an idea of talking to Book about assigning somepony to storage,” I cut him off, my smile widening.

“Bah, you always play dirty, Lumi,” Bastion muttered, then concentrated on his lunch.

After another hot mug of chocolate and telling Silverfly that mares need love too, I went back to work, getting a bit more involved as more and more customers came in and began to overwhelm the associates. We also had a few more wild Purple Quill fans, all of whom raised their voices when informed that their idol was not going to appear as scheduled. Bastion was quick on his hooves and settled most of the disputes. Those he missed, I had to resolve. Silverfly even approached me just before the end of our shift because she got one that was in hysterics.

“Wow,” Silverfly muttered as we exited Keeper’s Tomes. “I never knew there were ponies that are so… passionate about books.”

“That’s not the word I’d use,” I replied, directing her towards the the left. Making sure there were no wagons, we crossed a few streets before going into deeper into the north-west area of Fillydelphia. The shining buildings and bustling businesses were all slowly replaced with antiquated-looking settlements, two to three stories tall.

Silverfly watched everything around her, so fascinated by her surroundings that she had bumped into three ponies, each time imbalancing her. I chuckled, weaving through the streets that got even more crowded the deeper we traveled.

“Where are we going?” she finally asked as she finished recovering from a fourth bump.

“We’re going to get more information about that news you uncovered earlier,” I replied, sidestepping a colt. “We’re going to visit an Independent who lives here.”

We passed a few more blocks, my eyes scanning my surroundings. The north-west area had a way of being confusing to anyone not from around the area. Almost all its houses were built out of one mold, designed as a low-cost housing to alleviate the sudden boom of population at one point. Then, I saw it.

It didn’t look so different from the rest of the collection of houses that were in the area, except for one critical detail: telephone wires, thinner than the power lines, converged towards the square mismatched structure of light-yellowish walls and green roof, surrounded by almost-similar colored houses.

“Alright, Silver, I found him. Let’s go,” I said, looking back towards the younger changeling. I blinked, seeing her watch fillies and colts playing the in the playground. She didn’t seem to hear me. Approaching her, I nudged her shoulder with my foreleg.

“Um, what?” Silverfly asked absently, looking at me. “Oh. Sorry, Lumi.”

I motioned towards the playground. “Something bothering you?”

Silverfly’s worry began to leak out, but that immediately faded quickly. I inwardly smiled. It seemed like she was finally learning. “No… it’s nothing,” she replied.

I took a guess. “Dusty?”

Silverfly gave me a look. “Am I that obvious?”

“No,” I replied, smiling slightly. “I’m just very good.”

“Hah,” Silverfly muttered, looking back towards the playground. “I just realized I just spent a day without talking to him or seeing him. I wonder if he noticed my absence.”

“If we’re quick with Mantid, you may have some time to see him,” I replied, urging her to come with me. She easily gave way, and we both made our way to the house. “Although you may have to think of a reason why you’re going to show up less and less, Silver.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Silverfly said.

“Spoken like a true infiltrator,” I whispered, earning a smile from her. Walking towards the front door of the house, I slowly knocked on the door thrice and waited. The noise from the outside barred me detecting anything going on inside. I wasn’t even completely sure if Mantid was there, until I heard the familiar clicking sound of the door unlocking, and was greeted by a very handsome looking orange unicorn with a rather wavy dark yellow mane. His sleek rectangular spectacles didn’t really hide his green eyes, which narrowed as he saw me.

“Lumi,” he spoke in a rather efficient tone. Not exactly warm and welcoming, but if one knew Mantid, they would know he was being courteous. “Come in, come in.”

“Thank you, Mantid,” I replied a bit more warmly, entering his home. When Silverfly came to view, he didn’t even blink.

“And the infiltrator-in-the-making, cover name Silver Lining,” he said.

Silverfly’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”

“I have eyes and ears everywhere, youngling,” Mantid said, closing the door behind her.

“I’m not a youngling!” Silverfly protested.

“Technicalities,” Mantid replied neutrally, almost coldly as he brushed past her. Silverfly flushed, and I felt her emotions slowly bubble out once more. Mantid glanced at her direction for a moment before looking at me. “You have your work cut out for you, Lumi.”

“It’s her first day, Mantid,” I replied. “Be nice.”

"Am I not?" he asked back, seemingly oblivious. Behind him, Silverfly stuck her tongue out to him, desisting when I gave her a sharp look. "What brings you to my humble abode?" he continued.

I looked around for the moment. The apartment was pretty bare, with only a few pieces of furniture. On my left was the living room area with a few couches and a coffee table, while on my right was the dining area and kitchenette. Mantid wasn’t much of a housekeeper, but did try to at least keep his place clean enough to entertain guests, which made me wonder about the travel bags near the living room area.

"The usual," I replied, looking back at him. "It has come to my attention that something has happened to Dodge Junction. I need to know more about that."

Mantid looked at me. "This is a first," he commented softly. “I'd ask how'd you found out about that."

“That's not important," I said. “What is important is whether you have good information on it."

"Of course," he replied. "All reports, including pictures. Let's talk about price."

Before I could stay negotiating, Silverfly interjected, "Price? She allows you to stay in our territory."

Mantid stared at her for a moment, his face blank, before looking back at me. "Well, I'm glad she's”—he motioned towards her—“not Cluster Leader."

I gave Silverfly one hard look that silenced whatever scathing remark she was about to give before I looked back at Mantid. "What do you need? Love?"

He shook his head. "Bits," he replied. "One thousand bits to be exact."

I gave a low whistle. “That’s a very steep price, Mantid.”

“I had to pay as much to obtain the said information,” he explained. “Local government of Dodge Junction has been absolutely relentless in stamping out any leaks, not even letting anyone without sufficiently high clearance in on the investigation. That’s why I was so surprised you asked about it so soon. I was lucky to even have a informant who had access.”

I frowned. “How about the local Cluster? Are they having any luck getting inside?”

“Not yet,” Mantid replied.

A thought entered my mind. “And this information… how sure are you that no one else has it?”

Matid scoffed. “Lumi, you know me. The information I have is the best in its current time. No one else has what I have.”

That clinched it. “My offer is three hundred bits.”

Mantid scowled. “Oh, come on, Lumi. That’s even less than half of my asking price. I know you drive a hard bargain, but I’m not going to agree to that!”

“Mantid, if I pay you a thousand bits for that information, I’ll be forced to go to Dodge Junction myself and sell this information to the local Cluster there just to keep me afloat,” I said. “And you wouldn’t like that, considering you’re going to sell them the same information.”

Mantid’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I smiled. “Oh, my mistake then.” I turned to Silverfly. “Silver, be a dear and buy me a ticket to Dodge Junction. I’ll follow you shortly after I settle the deal.”

Silverfly, bless her, looked utterly confused, but nodded. “Sure, Lumi.”

She made a move towards the door, causing Mantid to react. “Wait,” he said towards Silverfly. She stared at him for a second before giving me a look. I gave her a nod, making her stay. Mantid looked back at me. “You’re bluffing. Chrysalis-liege aren’t welcomed in Dodge Junction.”

“I’m pretty sure they’ll make an exception if I sell this information below the price you gave them,” I countered.

“You don’t know my price,” Mantid countered back. “For all you know, it could be as much as I’m charging you.”

I smiled. “Then convince me.”

Mantid sighed. “Seven hundred.”

“Four hundred,” I said.

“Five hundred. That’s as low as I can go.”

I thought about that for a moment, then nodded. “Done.”

Mantid shook his head. “Earth and Stone, Lumi. You’re cutting my throat here,” he muttered, motioning us to follow him. Silverfly and I were on his heels as he led us upstairs.

“You were cutting mine at a thousand bits, Mantid,” I replied, smiling. “Especially since you were probably going to get even more from the Cluster in Dodge.”

“Yes, but they actually need it,” Mantid countered. “You’re just curious.”

“Hence why I deserved a lower price,” I said.

Mantid didn’t reply as we reached the second floor of the house. He led us to a door, placed his hoof on the surface, and pushed a bit of his magic to it. Not dissimilar to the security measures I use in my own room. The door opened soon afterwards, revealing his workroom.

Unlike mine, it wasn’t a bedroom. Mantid had more money to spare to keep both his bedroom and workroom secured and separate. I was proud to say, however, that my workroom-slash-bedroom was not as messy as Mantid’s. There was a mesh of wires criss-crossing the ceiling and little pieces of metal scattered around the floor. The walls were covered with machines of various functions, and from different sources. There were some Equestrian tools, Minotaur’s more complex machinery, and even a few appliances I had rarely seen outside big businesses.

“Wow!” Silverfly exclaimed, looking around. She approached a telephone bulkier than the usual size. She pointed her foreleg at it. "What's that?"

“Don’t touch anything,” Mantid ordered, earning a glare from the younger changeling. “Humans call them fax machines.”

"Looks like a big telephone," Silverfly muttered. "What does it do?"

“You can send documents over large distances without the use of dragonfire gems. It’s almost as fast, and doesn’t need those special flame retardant papers.”

When Silverfly looked at me for confirmation, I nodded. "That's true. Book almost bought one." I looked at one of the fax machines that lay there in pieces. I turned to Mantid. “Trying to figure out how it works, eh?”

Mantid looked away. “Yes,” he mumbled.

I whistled. “You aren’t making any progress. Now that’s new.”

“I can tell you how the paper is fed in,” he replied stiffly, “and I can even tell you how the paper is written. However, how the information crosses through the telephone lines is a mystery to me.” He looked at the machine almost admiringly. “Humans are fascinating creatures.”

I remembered Brad and Shaun, agreeing with Mantid’s sentiment, but for other reasons. Shaking my head, I changed the subject. “About the dead changeling in Dodge Junction?”

“Ah, yes!” Mantid nodded, and led me towards his work table. He had quite a few folders stacked on top of each other, and an empty storage gem nearby. He magically grabbed one of the files and brought it to me. Using my own magic, I opened it and peeked inside.

Mantid was right about having the best information. Inside were civil reports pertaining to the investigation of the dead changeling, photos, and even a doctor’s report of the corpse. There was also a map of the facility where they were keeping the changeling body, most likely something for the local Cluster to use.

Basically, it was everything we’d need to launch a recovery mission. As always, Mantid had solid intelligence to work with. Any competent Cluster leader would be able to plan something out to break into the place. However, one letter caught my eye. I reread it twice, just to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding the contents or jumping to a wrong conclusion, but in the end, I felt cold fear running through me.

“Canterlot’s getting involved,” I whispered.

Mantid looked at me, frowning. “Yes,” he replied, nodding. “Yes they are.”

Chapter 7

View Online

“Is it bad?”

I looked at Silverfly, before looking back around at the alley, making absolutely sure it was empty. “Is what bad?” I asked back, placing my hoof on the pole of the broken street lamp and pouring a little energy into it. A second later, a green bubble surrounded the both of us before we were whisked away underground, to the entrance hallway of our Cluster.

“Canterlot’s involvement,” Silverfly replied after we got back our bearings. Green light surrounded her, and a second later, she shrunk slightly in size as she changed back to her Primary body.

I followed suit, then looked around as we walked in. The croach covering the ground, walls, and ceiling seemed to glow a little brighter than yesterday, which I hoped was indicative of improvement. It was, much to my relief, evident when we passed by a much healthier and much more alert-looking guard who greeted us enthusiastically.

“Lumi?”

I turned to Silverfly, who was looking at me with an annoyed expression. I smirked slightly. “Well, it could be worse.”

“Really?” Silverfly asked. “Could be worse? What is worse then, Lumi?”

“Canterlot actually deciding that changelings are attacking once more,” I suggested. “Thankfully, it’s not at that stage yet.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Well,” I began, “for one, you’d see an increase of Royal Guard and Civil Officer activity in all cities, and that would raise alarms. Two, we’ll probably hear an announcement by the Princesses. So far, there’s nothing.”

“That’s good, then,” Silverfly said, nodding.

“Not completely,” I disagreed. “They finally have a changeling corpse to study, and even if the local Cluster is successful in retrieving it, reminding the Equestrians that we are still amongst them complicates things. Nevermind the fact that we may have gotten the humans’ attention too, and they are a neutral party so far.”

“Oh,” Silverfly said, unsurely.

I smiled. “Don’t worry about it now. Just concentrate on your training,” I said. “Now, other than the news of the changeling, what other information have you gleaned from anyone you helped so far?” Silverfly made an annoyed sound, which made my smile grow larger. “You didn’t think I’d forget, did you?”

Silverfly sighed and began to relate on a lot of random and unrelated things, which were pretty consistent of any information you could get from a simple conversation. Most were useless, but some of them caught my attention. For example, Silverfly heard that the rates to the Dolphin Islands had been reduced by twenty-percent. With what was going on with Sea Swirl right now, I felt that having a small degree of comfort, like a reduced fare to her favorite place, would do her wonders. The last bits of information I already knew, like the anger of Purple Quill’s fans, and the increasing interest in Bradley’s appearance.

“Good job,” I finally said, earning a beaming look from Silverfly. “I need you to continue this every day when you work. Even if you think the information is useless, try and remember it. Which now brings me to your next assignment.”

Silverfly straightened. “What is it?”

“I want you to apply what you learned from them,” I replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Whatever you learn from a certain customer, use it to try and interject a few personal touches here and there,” I clarified. “Basic example, if you learned that they have foals, ask about their well-being.”

Silverfly blinked, confused. “Why?”

“Because it’ll help you develop the right mindset when it comes to developing assets,” I replied, turning towards the left. Silverfly paced a bit faster, trying to get her shorter legs to catch up.

She frowned. “Right mindset? We entice them enough to allow us to feed on them. Isn’t that how it works?”

I shook my head, smiling slightly. To be young, I suppose. “If we want to help the Cluster, we have to aim for assets that are invested. The more invested they are, the more Love they give.” I looked at her meaningfully. “I told you earlier that you’d understand once you obtained Love directly.”

“Directly or from the Feeding Chamber,” she added.

I mentally nodded. It was nice that she retained details. That would definitely be something that would help her immensely. “Then I think it’s time we gave you a small taste. Take a break. Visit Dusty if you want. However, I need you to be back before Communal Feeding. I want you to experience what that invested Love feels like.”

“I… okay,” Silverfly replied, nodding.

I watched her leave, chuckling as I noticed a slight hop in her step. She probably thought I didn’t see her break to a gallop once she rounded the corner. I waited for a few more moments before I finally made my way deeper in the Cluster to look for Gypsy.

I found her directing the drones in excavating deeper in the tunnels, probably to make sure none of them would accidentally puncture another sewage line. Once I got her alone, I extracted the files that I got from Mantid and showed them to her.

“This is problematic,” Gypsy finally said after reviewing the file.

“Obviously,” I replied. “Mantid left to sell this information to the Cluster in Dodge Junction. From what you know of them, would they be successful in retrieving the body?”

“As much as I dislike the chitin-rots there,” Gypsy began, which had me smirking, “I don’t doubt their capabilities. They will be able to recover the corpse. However, I don’t know if retrieving will the smartest move here.”

“Oh?”

“If it were me, I’d rather douse the corpse with a Putrefaction Potion,” Gypsy said.

I frowned. “Why?”

“If a corpse under the watchful eye of the local government is stolen, how do you think the Equestrians will react?” Gypsy asked. “It’s much better to have them think that the changeling corpse decomposed quickly rather than wonder who stole it, correct?”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t they discover that a potion was used?” I challenged.

“Ah, the beauty of the Putrification Potion is that it’s not that common,” Gypsy replied easily.

“We use it everyday,” I said.

“We use it to clear organic debris as we expand the Cluster, yes, but for Equestrians?” Gypsy smiled, shaking her head. “They’ve had no real use for it ever since they discovered it a hundred years ago.”

I nodded, understanding. “So it’s not something they would normally look for. Huh. Simple.”

“Sometimes, there is subtlety in simplicity, making it the best solution,” Gypsy said sagely. “Though that doesn’t mean the Equestrians won’t be suspicious.”

“I’ve thought the same,” I agreed. “In your opinion, how would they react?”

“Well, cautiously, but I believe they’d be more curious than anything,” Gypsy replied. “If things go well, this will be a forgettable incident for them.”

I looked at her. “How about the humans?”

Gypsy frowned. “Ah, that I can’t comment on.”

I nodded, expecting as much. Still, remembering Shaun, I could probably get some insights from him on how they might react to the news of a changeling corpse. If I ever saw him again, that is. “Thanks, Gypsy,” I said, magically arranging the file to be put back in my saddlebag. Then, I also remembered something else. “I’m letting Silverfly into the Feeding Chamber. I think it’s time she felt the full weight of an invested asset’s Love.”

Gypsy’s head shifted slightly. “This soon? It hasn’t even been a day.”

“I need to impress upon her what it means to build an asset,” I said. “She clearly has strong enough motivation to see the training through, but it’s that same motivation which limits her.”

“Oh?” Gypsy asked, looking interested. “Do tell.”

I gave her a lopsided smile. “Why does it sound like you’re giving me a test?”

“When my inquiries stop sounding like a test,” Gypsy replied, with a smile of her own, “fire me as your advisor.”

“Fair enough,” I said, chuckling. “Okay, Silverfly wants to be an infiltrator because her family starved pretty badly. She feels that she could alleviate their suffering. That is what drives her. However, like I said earlier, that is also her weakness. Earlier at work, she mostly concentrated on stallions, seemingly uninterested with helping out mares until I ordered her to do so.”

“So?”

“Silverfly and I had a chat before we submitted her Citizenship papers,” I continued. “Her first cover disguise was an overly sexualized and idealized pegasus. And just earlier, she said that we only need to entice assets enough to feed on them.” I frowned. “As an infiltrator, she is responsible for obtaining Love for the whole Cluster. But the way she thinks? It’s only good for the short-term, or if you only need to feed a small group. That’s why I think showing her, letting her feel what a vested Love feels like, would be the first step to make her grow as an infiltrator.”

Gypsy nodded. “While your argument is solid, there’s a reason why we don’t feed unadulterated Love to younglings.”

“She isn’t a youngling anymore,” I countered. When Gypsy seemed to smirk, I raised my hoof in surrender. “Okay, yes, I said that she was too young to be trained. And while I still feel that, I also know she can work hard and listens well enough to make me think she’s ready for this.”

“I’ll defer to your judgement, then,” Gypsy said, before looking at my rucksack. “How much did you pay Mantid for that information?”

“Five hundred bits.”

“You could have bargained for less.” Gypsy scowled at me. “You should have bargained for less.”

“I felt the price was enough to keep Mantid's favor," I replied. "Having an information broker near our cluster is worth more than the price we just paid."

"You give the Independents far more freedom than is strictly necessary," Gypsy said.

I smiled. "Considering how much they’ve helped us for the past few weeks? I think the little additional allowances were worth it."

Gypsy huffed, annoyed. She didn’t even bother hiding her emotion, but said nothing more. Leaving her to continue leading the drones, I made my way towards the exit, disguising myself as Illuminating Starburst once more before exiting the Clusters and making my way to my apartment.

After making sure that nothing was amiss, I went towards my room, and once safely inside, extracted the files I bought from Mantid. I placed them all on my desk and slowly began to study everything in detail, concentrating on the words used, as well as the numerous grainy pictures they had taken. The report had been wonderfully comprehensive. They detailed the place where they found the dead changeling, the pose it had been in, and any strange items or even magic around the area.

Nothing really caught my attention until I went through the autopsy. Everything had indicated that the changeling’s neck was broken, and while that was particularly hard to accomplish, considering changeling bodies were very flexible, it was certainly not impossible. However, what caught my attention was the fact that whoever examined the corpse noticed a small puncture wound at the back of the head. Upon inspection, it was deep enough to reach the changeling’s brain.

Nasty.

There were a few eyewitness accounts, though none of them bore any fruit. I suspected a few of those witnesses were changelings of that Cluster, trying to spread disinformation, to confuse the local government and keep them busy. That’s what I would do if a corpse was found here.

I spent a good few hours studying the file such that when I looked up from my desk, everything was dark. I looked at my wall clock, and it was around eight in the evening. Communal Feeding, with the exception of yesterday, would usually start thirty minutes from now. Putting everything back in an orderly manner, I locked my room and inspected my place once more before I exited my apartment, only to spot a peculiar sight: Silverfly, in her young filly cover, listening to the very animated Gentle Rock.

Blinking, I wondered what that was all about before I approached the two. Silverfly spotted me first, and relief was obvious in her expression. Gentle Rock followed her gaze, and when he saw me, waved.

“Why, hello Lumi!” he greeted, smiling. “Happy evening to you.”

“Good evening as well, Gentle Rock,” I replied with a smile of my own. I looked at him and Silverfly. “Hello, Amber Cloud. You two look like you’re having fun.”

Silverfly subtly shook her head, which contrasted with Gentle Rock’s enthusiastic grin. I had to suppress my chuckles.

“Ah, so you know the little missy,” Gentle Rock said. “She did say she was waiting for you, but I never would have imagined that you have a little filly, Lumi.”

“She isn’t mine, Gentle Rock, and you know it,” I replied, smiling. “She’s the daughter of a friend of mine. I’ve been asked to take care of her for tonight.”

“Ah,” Gentle Rock nodded. “Though, Lumi, you really ought to settle down and have a herd of your own. A pretty mare like you shouldn’t end up alone.”

“Oh, that’s sweet, Gentle Rock,” I said, patting him gently on the shoulder. “Maybe one day, I’ll find a stallion as nice as you are.”

“Except with less grey in his mane, eh?”

“Or have less mares to compete with,” I replied with a wink. That had him laughing. “When are your grandfoals visiting?”

Gentle Rock’s smile faded slightly, and I could feel a little sourness escape from him. “Soon, hopefully,” he replied. “But I understand that school year is about to start. Education should be the top priority.”

“Even so, I'm sure they’ll find time, Gentle Rock,” I assured. “After all, they’d all want to visit their favorite grandpa, right?”

The sourness strengthened as he said, “Maybe.” Gentle Rock smiled. “It was very nice to see you again, Lumi.”

“You too,” I said, watching him open the door of his apartment. After one last wave of goodbye, both Silverfly and I walked towards the staircase and descended. The younger changeling seemed to breathe a little easier, finally making me chuckle out loud.

“It’s not funny,” Silverfly muttered.

“I think it is a bit funny,” I said. “I’m surprised at how lost you looked, though. Was chatting with Gentle Rock that bad?”

“Not exactly,” Silverfly muttered. She stayed silent until we had left the building and crossed a street. “It was… confusing. He was happy with me, with my presence. But it was different from how the stallions usually reacted when I talked to them back at the store. I… I don’t know how to describe it.”

“Affection,” I replied. “You probably reminded him of someone he knew.”

“He did call me Tangerine,” Silverfly said, frowning a little.

“His eldest grandfilly,” I supplied. “Though she’s an earth pony, not a pegasus. I guess it’s the color of your coat.”

We were at the entrance hall of the Cluster when Silverfly spoke up again. “Was he was hiding something?”

“Hmmm?” I asked absently, waving at a guard greeting us.

“Gentle Rock,” Silverfly replied. "When he talked about his grandfoals, his emotions were... conflicted.”

“Yes, I noticed,” I confirmed. "He could be hiding something." I turned towards the right and looked at her. "You’re curious.”

She avoided my gaze. “Maybe,” she said. After a moment, she added, "Are you?”

“Not really,” I said truthfully, turning towards the left and spotted changelings slowly gathering near the entrance of the Feeding Chamber.

Silverfly must have spotted her mother because she suddenly bloomed with happiness and ran towards a changeling who looked surprised to see her.

“Silverfly!” the changeling greeted, a little confused. The two of them hugged, which had me smiling as I approached. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m going to feed,” Silverfly replied simply.

“But you’re too young!”

Silverfly’s face scrunched with annoyance. “I’m not! Besides, it was Lumi’s idea.”

When Silverfly’s mother saw me, she approached. “Milady?” she asked, a little worry escaping her. There could have been an undercurrent of anger, but if it was present, it was well-hidden.

I gave her a nod. “I believe Silverfly is ready, and the experience will help her grow as an infiltrator,” I replied. I gave her a gentle smile. “If she, by chance, gets overwhelmed, we will evict her from the Chamber. You have my promise on that.”

Silverfly’s mother looked a little sad as she faced her daughter. She said, “Oh,” and hugged her daughter tight. "You are growing up so fast."

“Mom!” Silverfly protested.

I just chuckled, moving away as she tried to extricate herself from her mother. She must have succeeded because she joined me soon after. "You should have accompanied her," I suggested.

"She tried to comb my mane," Silverfly replied, looking over her shoulder. I did the same, spotting her mother waving at them. Silverfly huffed. "Who knows what she would have tried next."

"She's a caring mother," I said. "Not every changeling will have a parent like that. You're quite lucky."

"Yeah, right," she replied with a sarcastic tone.

I looked at her somberly. "You are, Silverfly."

She frowned, looking at me in silence. Before she could say anything, the chamber opened, revealing Gypsy. When she saw me and Silverfly, she gave me a nod.

"Everyone, inside," Gypsy said.

I looked at the younger changeling. "Gypsy and I will be close by, just in case you react badly," I said.

"Why is everyone acting like the feeding is going to break me or something?" Silverfly asked. "I mean, I have tasted Love before."

"Direct Love is quite different from what you are used to," I replied. "Usually, the changeling who is responsible for feeding younglings filters it, removing the weight of emotions behind it."

"Why?"

"Love can be addicting," I said, letting the other changelings pass us by. Silverfly's mother gave the young changeling one last assuring pat, much to the latter’s annoyance, and sat nearby.

“Mom…” Silverfly muttered.

“Be nice, Silverfly,” I chuckled.

“You are enjoying this far too much,” she said.

I just smiled, watching Gypsy look beyond the entrance of the Feeding Chamber, to see if there would be any late-comers. When no more changelings appeared, the chamber doors began to close. I watched Silverfly blink, shifting uncomfortably as a bit of her emotions leaked out.

Anticipation can get the best of most of us, I guessed.

Gypsy gave me and Silverfly one last look before she tapped on the central orb. Like yesterday, it began to unfurl like a blooming flower, and white, glowing Love slowly dispersed like dust in the air. Silverfly looked at the dancing lights for a moment before she concentrated, willing Love to come to her.

When one touched her horn, her eyes immediately opened. She shuddered as her emotions poured out—shock, happiness, lust, and longing. Not all of the emotions were of her own.

“Silverfly?” I asked, gently.

“I-I’m fine,” she whispered. “I—wow. I didn’t expect that.” She shook her head before lifting it higher, willing Love to her once more. When another touched her horn, she shivered, but didn’t react as badly as the first time. The leakage of emotions was kept in check. In fact, the only thing that indicated that she was having slight trouble were the tears in her eyes.

Silverfly’s mother approached, her hooves gently rubbing the younger changeling’s coat. “Silverfly, it’s okay. Just… drink it in. Let it flow around you.”

“It’s beautiful, mom,” Silverfly whispered, shuddering.

Silverfly maintained some composure throughout, but needed help moving once the orb closed, ending the ceremony. Her mother took on the task, and I readily let her. What the younger changeling needed now was the support of family and plenty of rest.

After seeing Silverfly off, I made my way towards Gypsy and we both talked about the improving state of the Cluster. Some Independents had actually given their Tithes earlier than expected, which extended our supply of Love.

“Isn’t that nice?” I asked, looking at Gypsy meaningfully.

She rolled her eyes, before noting, “You didn’t feed.”

I shook my head. “I have enough to keep me active.” I looked at the exiting changelings. “Besides, they need it more.”

There really wasn’t much to do afterwards. Going back to my apartment, I paused a moment at Gentle Rock’s door, recalling what Silverfly had mentioned earlier, before I shook my head and continued my way towards my apartment door.

After another preliminary check, I went to my bedroom, enjoyed a few well-earned bounces on my bed, before finally closing my eyes and getting some sleep.

I awoke just a bit before sunrise. After a little stretching, I began the usual morning routine, making sure that everything was in place before watering my flower pots. I wasn’t even finished I heard a knock on my door. Opening it revealed Silverfly in her Silver Lining cover.

“You can take a day-off,” I said. “We can have a Gatherer take your place in the Keeper’s Tomes while you get your bearings.”

“I’m fine,” Silverfly replied, her tone of voice suggesting she had been saying the same thing for a while. She entered through the doorway, muttering, “Why does everyone tell me to take a rest?”

“Because we care,” I replied, smiling a bit as I closed the door and followed her to the living room area. “There’s no shame in taking a rest when you need it.”

“I don’t, though,” she insisted, taking a seat in the couch. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Are you really?” I asked. When she gave me an annoyed look, I continued, “I know how addicting it can be to taste direct Love. And you weren’t exactly okay last night.”

Silverfly kept looking at me for a moment before sighing. “There was a lot to take in,” she finally said, moving her hoof through her mane. “I’ve never felt emotions that were so… flavorful. And the energy, wow, the energy. It felt abundant. It felt—” she looked towards the ceiling “—alive.”

“That’s a good way to look at it,” I said, earning a confused look from her. “When I said you’d understand when the time comes, that’s what I meant. What you felt, what you experienced, was an asset’s life that they fully shared. This is why they aren’t just food to us. This is why they are much more.”

Silverfly frowned thoughtfully. After a while, she asked, “So, when I feed from an asset… does it come like that?”

“Depends,” I replied. “What you felt yesterday was Love from an invested asset, one who is fully committed to a changeling cover. Along with the fuller taste of their emotions, the energy they give out is amazingly abundant. In just one night, I was able to collect enough to keep our Cluster alive for almost three days. That’s Love you cannot obtain with just simple enticement, or even using a Pod. This is the type of Love you must strive for.”

“But… that takes a long time!” Silverfly said, a little warily.

I nodded. “Yes it does,” I replied. “It is also difficult. You can imagine the time wasted on trying to build an asset, only for it to not work out as you wanted. Or even trying to maintain multiple covers you built around them if your gatherers aren’t able to maintain the character. But that’s why Hives need infiltrators, Silverfly. We have to ensure that assets commit to us. We have to ensure that they belong to us. If it were that easy, then we wouldn’t need infiltrators, now would we?”

Silverfly opened her mouth, but closed it immediately afterwards. She looked thoughtful once more, pondering over my words. I let her stew over them for a bit, continuing to water my plants. I had to admit, it was a bit funny when I came back to see Silverfly still in the same position, as if she hadn’t moved for the past five minutes. However, she impressed me once more with the determined look she gave me after I called for her attention.

“I can’t take a break,” she said once we exited my apartment. “I have way too many things to learn.”

Not one to dissuade enthusiasm, I said nothing as we both began our trip to Keeper’s Tomes, which surprisingly looked quite busy, considering it wasn’t open yet. Floor associates seemed to be peeking through the transparent glass, murmuring amongst themselves.

“What’s going on?” Silverfly asked.

“I don’t know yet,” I whispered my reply. I spotted Bastion with the crowd, who upon seeing me, waved at me to approach.

“Lumi!” he called, somewhat excited.

Both Silverfly and I drew nearer, and when he spotted the younger disguised changeling, he gave her a friendly smile. “Hello, Silver Lining. You look nice.”

“Thanks,” Silverfly replied, a little neutral. Good girl.

“A little too early to be flirting,” I announced, a little loudly. Normally, I’d expect him to look a bit annoyed, maybe start saying a few more flowery things to garner favor, which I prepared a sarcastic reply in return. However, he suddenly went all business-like. I frowned. “What is it?”

“Book is meeting with Bradley’s agent,” Bastion said, motioning towards the store.

I blinked, surprised. “That’s… early.”

“Very early,” Bastion acknowledged. “I mean, we expected it today, but before opening? And get this… Bradley’s here too.”

Huh. “Wow.”

“More than that, Book wants you to meet them,” Bastion finished. “He asked me to bring you in once you arrived.”

“I… well, let’s get to it, then,” I said. This was… well, pretty unexpected. I mean, usually the agents would appear by lunch, or maybe late afternoon. That’s usually the time we expected the agents. And for the writer to personally come as well?

Still, that meant seeing Shaun once more, so I couldn't really complain too much.

Silverfly frowned when Bastion told her she wasn’t allowed in yet, but as a pegasus, all she had to do was hover to see everything through the clear glass window. Bastion then led me in through the door, before directing me towards the open area where the cashiers’ counters were located. I spotted Book talking with a familiar-looking grey-white mare unicorn with a two-toned violet mane and tail and a directory Cutie Mark.

“... I guess it was a little unexpected,” I heard Book say with a smile on his face. “Not at all unpleasant, mind.”

“Bradley’s very grateful,” the mare replied. “He heard why he was bumped up, and he appreciates any opportunity that is given to him. He knows your bookstore could have gotten any other replacement, and wanted to show his appreciation.”

“Well, I guess we can wait for him to finalize the agreement with—” Book spotted me. “Lumi! Nice of you to join us. You are familiar with Miss Index, I believe?”

I nodded, remembering now where I’d seen her before. She was the agent of a lot of authors that also made their appearances here. Her presence did confuse me, though. Why was she here? Instead of asking, I just gave her a small smile and offered my hoof. “Hello again!”

“Ah, Starburst!” Index exclaimed, smiling in return. “It’s nice to see you haven’t run away from Mister Miserable here.”

“Now, now, Miss Index,” Book began, chuckling. “Lumi is one of my most loyal employees.”

“Only because he keeps me well-fed with hot chocolate,” I countered jokingly. Index chuckled and gave Book a knowing look, which he replied by rolling his eyes. “I’m surprised to see you here though,” I finished.

Index blinked. “Why should you be?”

Book interjected. “Lumi, dear, Miss Index here is Bradley’s agent.”

What? “Oh? Really? I thought Bradley’s agent was—” I paused, my suspicions aroused. When I saw Book looking at me, confused, I finished with, “I mean, how nice.”

“Isn’t it?” Index smiled widely. “I’m probably the first Equestrian agent to snag a human writer. Which also means I am completely out of my depth. Authors, as you know, can be a wee bit… temperamental. However, human authors? Well, let’s just say you’ll get quite a few shares of headaches.”

“What do you mean?” Book asked.

She looked at me, Book, and Bastion conspiratorially. “For example, yesterday, I thought I lost him. Poof, vanished, without a word. I thought he learned teleportation, but I realized I was being silly. And when he came back yesterday, he was carrying books. He said he just bought them, for references.” She looked at Book. “He was carrying them in paper bags with your logo on them.”

Book’s eyes widened. “He was here yesterday?”

Okay, now that just rang alarm bells in my head. “Really?” I asked.

“I don’t know if it’s because he’s human,” Index continued, “but he is a bit… weird.”

“Oh, come on, love,” a voice—a very familiar voice—interjected. “I’m not that bad, am I?”

All of us looked at the source of the voice, the hallway entrance that led directly towards the storage room and Book’s office. It was a humanoid figure, draped in silhouette for a few seconds, until he walked through the light. His features were exactly as I remembered—pale tone, a little skinny, wild curly brown hair, and light-sea-green eyes behind his black-framed spectacles. His clothes were a little different, though most noticeable was his shirt. He wore black this time, with the words Bangers, Beans, Mash written in white.

Shaun took a confident step forward, only to stumble when his gaze found me. Surprise registered immediately, his mouth opening before closing almost instantly. He gave me a blank look before his face broke into a small smile, as if he finally understood a joke he was told yesterday. I think I returned with a smile of my own, shaking my head as an emphasis.

“No, Bradley, you are worse,” Index replied, chuckling as he finally approached.

“I come from the loo, and I hear my agent scheming against me? Index, I’m so very much hurt!”

Index just giggled. “Come on, Bradley. I want you to meet Illuminating Starburst, Book Keeper’s Floor Manager.”

He looked at me, studying me once more from head to toe. He offered his hand. “You know, you look bloody familiar.”

I gave him a knowing smirk as I shook it with my hoof. “I can say the same thing to you, Mister Bradley. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

He smiled. “The pleasure is all mine, Miss Starburst.”

Chapter 8

View Online

The morning was busier than yesterday, and it was mostly because of Index. Shaun’s agent spent the better part of the morning bringing in promotional banners and posters, all advertising R. S. Bradley’s new novel, Allure.

Speaking of the author, I wasn’t able to talk to Shaun because we both became very busy, very quickly. Index dragged him away after we re-introduced ourselves to each other, probably to finalize the arrangement they had with Book, while it fell to me to manage the floor associates on how to put up the posters and banners she had provided. Not that it was a hard job; all I did was tell them to arrange it like the Purple Quill ads we had painstakingly planned weeks before. The unicorns did the rest.

The harder part came later, when the customers came in droves to inquire about the new book and about the human author, asking for the date of his appearance and reading. The advertisement did its job. While the blend of warm colors such as yellow and orange garnered attention without being eyesores, I was willing to bet it was the embedded quotes in the posters that sold Bradley. Most came from well-known reviewers and some Equestrian authors, with inviting words such as witty, sexy, and even delicious.

Speaking of Bradley, it was during my lunch break when I finally saw him again. With Index nowhere in sight, it really surprised me that he was still here. But then again, most authors I knew didn’t hang out in the bookstore for too long, being required to be somewhere else. I guess that was the advantage of being relatively new and unknown.

Ordering a cup of hot chocolate, I stole a glance at him as he just sat in his place, looking absolutely normal. Well, normal for a human in Equestria, I supposed. There was a steaming cup—coffee, I wagered—right beside a small stack of books, along with what looked like some glazed bun. Concentrating on the book he held, he honestly didn’t look like a famous author, but just another customer enjoying the ambiance.

“Well, Mister Bradley,” I announced, only softly enough to get his attention, when I came by his table.

He smiled at me, closing the book with both hands, covering the front. He placed it down the table, putting the plate of glazed bun on top of it. “Hey, Lumi.”

“Ah, so we’re friendly again?” I teased, easily settling down opposite of him. “No more cool formalities?”

“No one can stay cool with you around,” he replied, smile getting wider. Once more, the coffee-like taste of his emotion blended well with the steaming mug he had. Delicious. “Sorry if I pretended that I didn’t know you.”

“It’s fine,” I said, taking a sip from my cup. “I’d like to think that when you saw me, you were caught completely off guard.”

“Flabbergasted, actually,” he corrected, which had me rolling my eyes.

“Writers,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “Always looking for the sexier synonym.”

“Oh, if you think that is sexy,” he said, smiling, “prepare to be amazed by my astonishing vocabulary. A list of words, spoken with such exuberant verbosity, so stunning that it will leave you shocked and absolutely staggered.”

“Show-off,” I replied, prodding him with my hoof. That earned a laugh from him. “Well, can’t blame you, with all the praises you’re receiving.”

Shaun’s ears reddened and a bit of embarrassment emanated from him. “Yes, well, I owe Index a lot,” Shaun said. “She called in a lot of favors in such short notice.”

“Now, now, playing the modest card?” I asked, smirking. “Unless you are accusing of Index in paying off the reviewers and authors.”

“No, not at all!” Shaun exclaimed, earning a smirk from me. He shook his head, chuckling. “I’d like to think I’m good enough that Index doesn’t need to do something so drastic. However, I’m still not completely sold on the quotes made by the other writers.”

“Why?”

“Well, we’re notoriously busy,” Shaun explained. “Most of the time, the writers would probably just praise it without completely finishing the book, if they actually read it at all.”

I poked him again. “You did that once, didn’t you?”

He grinned, embarrassed. “Yeah, not my proudest moment. However, to my credit, I did sit down and read it once I got free time. You can imagine my relief when it was actually good.”

“Don’t want to be called on your mistake?” I asked, smiling.

“No one does,” Shaun replied. “That’s why I’m a writer. Any mistake you see, you can blame it on my editors.”

I giggled. Pointing towards the books, the cup, and the pastry on the side plate and said, “You seem to be making yourself comfortable, considering how notoriously busy writers are supposed to be.”

“Okay, yeah, normally, I would be busy,” he conceded. “However, having just submitted the draft of my second book to the editor and publisher, I have some time to relax”—he winked—“and enjoy the view.”

I raised my eyebrow at that, which got him to smile. A few seconds later, I broke into one too, and both of us started chuckling. He lifted his mug again, and said, “Cheers.” My own cup clinked with his, and we both enjoyed our own little pleasures.

“So, what are you reading?” I asked as I put my hot chocolate down. Shaun lifted up the books in the pile, and at a glance, I realized they were English versions of Equestrian books. “The Knight and Stallion series,” I began, recognizing the titles of the third and fourth novels covers. “Classic romance.” When I saw the next two books, I looked at him. “The Mare Pack series, really?”

“Not a fan?” Shaun asked with an amused expression.

“Not a fan of the fans,” I clarified. “The books themselves… well, there’s a certain appeal to them. You?”

“I find it fascinating because both series actually encompass the contrasting differences of human and Equestrian culture,” Shaun said, tapping the Knight and Stallion series. “Classic novels, set before the period of cultural change of gender equality. Strong mare lead with a supporting stallion. You can find a lot of classical stories back on Earth similar to this.” He then pointed towards the other series. “And there’s Mare Pack, using a strong-willed stallion whilst still keeping the gender roles as not to jar the readers. I can give you a few examples of modern Earth novels that follow the same principles, but with the genders reversed.”

I nodded, understanding. “So, you’re reading them to take cues on how to write your stories?”

“A little bit,” Shaun admitted. “Mostly, I read the series because they are interesting to me. I try not to let anyone else influence how I write, because being human, or more specifically, my take on stories, will stand out among the Equestrian’s. At the same time, I’d rather not stand out too strongly that no one—I mean, nopony, will be interested in it.”

“Well, I can safely say, ponies are interested,” I assured him, and he gave me a small knowing smile.

“I’m glad they are,” Shaun replied. “It makes the trip here worth it.”

I gave him a smokey look that got a little spice of lust rolling around him. He replied by wiggling his eyebrows, and that got me to snort in laughter. He grinned before his mouth opened suddenly, as if he realized something.

“Are you hungry?” Shaun asked.

I could be. “Why?”

He motioned towards the bun. “The serving is a tad larger than I’m used to,” he said before taking a butter knife and a fork, moving the plate in front of him, then cutting it into neat pieces. “And leaving it unfinished seemed wasteful.”

I nodded. “Sure.” Then, remembering his thinness, I added, “Though in all honesty, you could use some more food in you.” Shaun hummed as a reply, smiling, his eyes and concentration on slowly slicing the bun. I gave him a bit of space, my eyes straying towards the newly uncovered book, and upon reading the title, I frowned. “Please tell me you aren’t reading that.”

Shaun looked at where I was motioning, then asked, “What, this?” When I nodded, he made a show of lifting it from its place, turning it around as if to study it completely. “Well, I was. Not a fan of this work?”

“Nope,” I said bluntly.

“Ah,” Shaun nodded, looking at the book. “I was hoping it was the type of book that would get better the deeper I read into it.”

“You know, I can convince Book to give you a refund.”

Shaun blinked. “That bad, huh?”

I looked around for a moment, making sure no one was listening in, I leaned forward conspiratorially, motioning Shaun to do the same. I then said softly, “That book is something you’d normally find in the nonfiction section in other bookstores. Book read it, and found it so bad that he felt that putting it in the fiction section made more sense.”

Shaun’s eyes widened a bit, then looked towards the book. “Well… that explains the rather odd narrative. Well, too bad. The title was a bit catchy, being the one thing that got my attention. Proselytization Directive. I thought it was some sort of thriller novel, but still… the idea of transforming to another species is a bit intriguing.”

“That in itself is a good reason to put it in the fiction section,” I said.

“How so?”

“Well, it’s impossible to transform to another species,” I replied.

“Considering that you guys have magic,” Shaun countered, “I’d like to think impossible isn’t really a term that should be used casually.”

“Magic isn’t a fix-all,” I said. “It’s not an all-powerful thing, that you can just think of something and it will happen. If that was the case, we wouldn’t have so many problems.”

He gave me a small grin. “Well, then explain this.” His arm moved towards the empty chair beside him, and I heard the rustle of paper. He lifted a newspaper and unfolded it in front of me, displaying the front cover news: Changeling Death at Dodge.

I inwardly frowned, not knowing how to respond. He was a little giddy, revealing the news to me. That could mean two things. Was he happy because of the changeling death, or was he happy because he was one-upping me? I hoped it was the latter. I mean, he doesn’t represent his whole race, but I was viewing him as a gauge on how the humans would react to the news.

Still, playing my part as Illuminating Starburst, I asked, neutrally, “Explain… what, exactly?”

“Changelings,” Shaun replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “They transform to ponies, right?”

Before I could stop myself, I said, “It doesn’t work that way.”

Shaun blinked. His hand moved towards his chin. “What do you mean?”

I mentally berated myself and began to think of a good excuse to downplay my apparent knowledge of changelings, knowledge not really common to anypony else. “What I mean is, I don’t think they actually transform. I think it’s really more on mimicking the other species.”

Shaun popped a piece of the glazed bun in his mouth, then offered me another piece to partake. I gave him a small smile, magically lifting a slice to my mouth. We both stayed silent for a moment, chewing thoughtfully, him most likely thinking of questions to expand on the subject, while I just tried to make sure I wouldn’t slip again.

Once Shaun swallowed, he continued. “You sound so sure that it’s mimicry.” He gave me a small smile. “It makes me wonder.”

I gave him the best innocent face I could muster. “Wonder what?”

“On why you sound so sure.”

“Between the two of us, who’s the unicorn?” I asked, smirking. He chuckled.

“You,” he replied. “But, what I mean is that I’ve done some research. I know transforming ponies to something else, like say, a potted plant, has been documented. There’s also transforming fruits, like apples to oranges. Those alone makes me open to the possibility for ponies to transform other species to theirs.”

“Okay, Mr. Bradley, time for some lessons in Basic Magic,” I began.

Shaun winked. “Oh, yes, Miss Starburst,” he said. “Educate me, please.” The way he spoke, the teasing tone with his intriguing accent, almost made me want to take him somewhere private.

Almost.

“Okay, first, it has to do with energy,” I replied. “Transformation magic takes a lot of energy, and even then, it’s impossible to permanently maintain the form. The more complex the subject, the more energy it needs to keep the effects. And there’s nothing more complex than a sapient being.”

Shaun’s demeanor changed. “I wish I had my bloody notebook,” he muttered, his lust muting slightly as he looked at me with a bit more academic interest. “Okay, but what if they did find a way to make things more permanent? Is it possible then?”

I motioned to the book. “There’s actually a small chapter in regards to the viability of permanent transformation. Starswirl the Bearded had created a spell that allowed mares to transform to stallions. It took a lot of magical energy, but was able to keep the effects permanent because it wasn’t as complex as changing to another species. All they needed to do was drink a potion that kept the effects up.”

“Huh, cool.”

“Except that book doesn’t tell you that the reason why the spell isn’t widely used,” I continued. “As you can see, we don’t have the same gender ratio as the griffins or humans.”

Shaun nodded. “So, what, it didn’t work?”

“Well, depends on what you mean by work,” I replied. “The transformation was actually successful. Mare volunteers were able to maintain their stallion forms with the potion supplements. However, they were sterile, which Starswirl was working on when he discovered a more pertinent problem as the spell lasted longer.”

“Like?”

“Well, loss of identity, change in personality, confusion of memories,” I began, “which then slowly transformed to aggressiveness and… well, madness.”

“Ouch,” Shaun said, wincing, taking another piece of his bun. He offered me another piece once more, which I took.

“They tried transforming them back,” I continued after swallowing. “Some returned back to their normal selves.” I then added, “Well, relatively normal. Most, though, didn’t recover.”

Shaun frowned, taking another piece of his bun. “That was very educational,” he said. I nodded, raising my cup of hot chocolate to drink. I felt a bit trickle down from my lips, which Shaun noticed as I placed down the mug. “Hey, you got cocoa on your chin.” His finger came forward, flicking it gently upwards. It must have been some sort of automatic response, a human thing, because all he did was spread the chocolate on my coat. When he realized his mistake, he said, “Oh, damn it. Sorry about that, Lumi. Let me just get—”

Before he could remove his hand to grab the tissue dispenser, I licked his finger. A jolt of eroticsm flowed through me as that one contact had me tasting his emotions fully. There was salty sweetness, heat, and a slight bitterness. When I licked again, creaminess burst all around me, not completely taking out the bitterness, but mellowing it enough to enhance the depth of the flavor.

I felt my hunger and desire raging forward, asking—no, demanding I feed from him. A bit of that seemed to transfer to Shaun because he sat absolutely still, his hands unmoved as I licked for the third time. His lips thinned, eyes getting that hungry gleam as more and more of his emotions began to spiral around us. I was sorely tempted to nibble on his finger, but I held back.

Make them come to you.

I gave him my best smile. “Thanks,” I said. “Waste not, right? Though…” I pointed towards my chin. “I got chocolate everywhere, don’t I?”

“It’s not bad,” Shaun replied, not even looking at my chin. He swallowed, then his lips formed a slightly strained smile, quivering. Part of me felt a little bad when I sensed him trying to tie down his emotions, the hotness of his lust trying to settle down. Another part of me wanted him to go with it. After what seemed to be a torturous minute, he seemed to finally recover. His smile turned a bit more natural as he offered the tissue dispenser in the table. “You got just a little on you.”

Magically taking the soft paper out of the dispenser, I wiped my chin gently, then continued to a safer conversation. “So, yeah, you can see why I think changelings don’t really transform to ponies, but disguise themselves. If a simple gender change can irrevocably damage the pony in question, what more if you convert them to another species? Then there’s a question on why try and convert species.”

Shaun nodded. “Well, it’s not uncommon to have people believing, even strongly, that converting to another species is some sort of transcendence, or an evolution. You know, to be a better species.”

That statement struck me as odd. While I could understand the idea of being better, with some days wishing changelings could get by on organic sustenance, the idea of wanting to convert to another species gave an odd message of self-hate.

Or maybe I was thinking about it too deeply.

Well, it wasn’t really important. Shaking my head, I realized how far off course we went with our conversation. Talking to Shaun was… well, an interesting experience. Looking at the wall clock, I couldn’t believe we spent a good ten minutes going over basic magic with discussions of species transformation. Still, with where we left off, I felt this was a good time to gather some useful information.

“So,” I began, motioning towards the newspaper, “you’re interested in changelings?”

Shaun looked towards the newspaper before nodding, facing me. “Fascinated, actually.”

“There you go again,” I said, “using more attractive synonyms.” He chuckled for a moment, which for some reason, had me smiling. I also felt a bit relieved, which had me reminding myself that he was just one human, not a representative of the whole. However, his answer? I liked it so far. “What’s so fascinating about them?”

Shaun shifted slightly, leaning forward. “The mystery of it all,” he replied. “Changelings are the only race that no one really knows about. I mean, other than they tried to take over Canterlot, maybe Equestria.”

“Well,” I said, acting on my Equestrian character, “Some say that’s enough.”

“Maybe to act cautiously around, yeah,” Shaun admitted. “But come on. No one knows about their race or society, or has even captured one to talk to. The species itself is so unknown that even Canterlot is basically just scrambling to learn more about them from a corpse. Ignorance on that kind of scale is bad.”

“How so?” I asked, curious.

“Okay, take for example, this changeling they found dead in Dodge,” Shaun began. “The article says that Canterlot is trying to learn anything new. However, they also added a fear of a changeling attack. I mean, there’s some sort of weird jump of logic for me. A changeling is dead. No one knows what happened. And the first thing that is speculated is that there’s an attack incoming instead of actually investigating why he or she is dead.”

“Well, not to be obvious, but they did attack before,” I countered.

“Okay, granted, but circumstances now are very different,” Shaun said. “What was the story then? Why did they attack last time?”

Greed, but I wasn’t going to say that. Quickly deciding to keep Illuminating Starburst’s knowledge of changelings only as far as most Equestrians know, I replied, “Well, apparently, it had to do with Love. They feed on it, presumably.”

Shaun nodded. “That in itself is an interesting notion, but let’s say that’s true. If they do feed on love, then the attack could only mean three things: one, they were starving; two, they were greedy; and three, the whole ‘love’ thing was nothing but something to throw Equestrians off.”

I raised an eyebrow. Those were pretty good speculations.

“And what happened afterwards?” Shaun continued. “Changelings disappear, poof, gone, for what, ten years or so?”

I nodded, leaning a little closer. Technically, it was less than ten years, but I wondered where he was going with this.

“Ten years of silence,” Shaun continued. “No movement, no attacks, and no suspicious activities. Then when they reappear again, instead of asking why the changeling died, you guys are, in my humble opinion at least, prematurely thinking this is a declaration of war.”

I stared at him for a moment, a little awed at his view. Maybe it was because I grew up in the time when we had to fear the Equestrians discovering us, or witnessing Canterlot warning their allies about us. I could still remember Gryphon soldiers assisting Royal Guards as they scoured around city after city to hunt us. I couldn’t believe I was hearing someone from a race that was becoming another of Equestrian’s allies talking about us neutrally.

Shaun must have misunderstood my expression because he raised his hands in a calming motion. “Look, I’m not trying to belittle what happened to you guys. I just want to point out the problem I’m seeing in the response. I don’t believe it’s anyone’s fault. You guys never got closure. You didn’t hear their side and you could only speculate why they attacked. Without any real basis of motive, it’s like being blind.”

I paused for a moment, before muttering, “That’s… refreshing.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Yes,” I nodded. “You think we’d respond better if we knew more about changelings?”

“Of course,” Shaun replied immediately. “Information is one of the best weapons anyone can use. With it, your options of response are more flexible.”

I chuckled, shaking my head with wonderment. What he said sounded very familiar. “Well, well, Mr. Bradley,” I began, smile on my face, “is that the spy I hear in you?”

Shaun snorted before laughing, shaking his head. “Oh, no, no. Not a spy. And the correct term, by the way, is intelligence asset.”

“Right,” I said, drawing out the ‘Is’. “Fooling a poor unicorn into believing you were just an agent, being so secretive you wouldn’t even admit to being the author?”

“Hey, now,” Shaun replied, smiling a bit, “I never said I was an agent. You came up with that conclusion on your own.”

“Such duplicity,” I teased. “And you say you aren’t a spy? Oh, sorry. Intelligence asset. Hmmm, fool me once, Mr. Bradley.”

Shaun’s smile never left his face. “I don’t really have what it takes to live the life,” he said, before he looked upwards, tapping his chin. “Though, I got to say, that could be a good story. UK government, realizing the Yanks are doing everything they can to establish trade and relations, send a spy.”

Yanks? I thought.

“His cover identity?” Shaun continued. “A writer. He is sent to infiltrate Equestria, learn more about their people, and see if they can establish something more concrete as far as diplomatic relations go.”

I raised an eyebrow. “By sending him to Fillydelphia?” I questioned, flatly.

“Ouch, Lumi,” Shaun said, chuckling, “way to be supportive of your home city. And besides, wasn’t this your idea?”

I laughed softly. “One, I didn’t grow up here. And two, I’m just acting as a potential reader of yours would. Fillydelphia isn’t exactly a place of intrigue. It’s too far from Canterlot, too far from the portal to Earth, and too far from the Badlands. Other than the cheapest fare to Dolphin Islands and a nice stretch of beaches, I doubt a government would find this city a place worth sending a spy.”

“Ah, but see, that’s why this is the perfect place to have intrigue,” Shaun insisted.

“Uh-huh,” I said, taking another a drink from my cup. “How so?”

Shaun raised one of his fingers, pointing upwards, his mouth open for a few seconds before he closed it. His hand went down as well. “Still working on that,” he admitted, which got me smiling. “Give me time, though. I’ll be able to create a nice setting for our writer spy, complete with femme fatales, hidden underground society, and all the good stuff.”

I blinked, now wondering if he did know anything more than he was letting on. However, watching him talk animatedly about adding hidden treasures and a conspiracy of taking down the Equestrian government, I realized he just had good imagination. A little too much, though, as he added world-threatening magical weapons along with conspiracy to create war and conflict between races. Still, I didn’t dissuade him. It was enjoyable, watching him talk and expand on the basic idea of the Writer Spy in Fillydelphia with such an animated way.

“Also, um, are you busy tonight?” Shaun suddenly asked.

I blinked, surprised. The question came in suddenly, with him still going on about the underground secret society of Fillydelphia developing some sort of super-potion that made them stronger that it took me a moment to register the question. I slowly smiled. I was about to say “No…” when I noticed Silverfly arriving on top of the stairs. And like yesterday, when she saw me, she called.

Shaun turned around to see the approaching Silverfly. “Huh. Isn’t that your friend from yesterday?”

And like yesterday, this was delaying my grooming of Shaun. Trying to keep my voice even, I replied, “Yes.”

“Déjà vu,” he muttered.

Before I could wonder what he meant by that, my eyes widened when I saw another pony joining Silverfly. It was an earth pony with a light-blue coat and sea-green hair. The Cutie Mark, to an untrained eye, looked like a white butterfly with grey stripes. It wasn’t. It was a very artistic rendition of a gypsy fly.

“Lumi,” the disguised Gypsy began, eyes moist. “Oh, Lumi, thank Celestia we found you!”

I stood up. If Gypsy was here, then something serious was going on. Shaun looked at me, confused, but said nothing as I passed by him. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s your mother,” Gypsy replied, crying.

Oh yeah. Delay was definitely inevitable.

Chapter 9

View Online

While Gypsy’s method was the fastest and most efficient way to allow me to drop everything, such drastic action would presumably have some rather odd consequences down the road.

Shaun seemed to understand that I was in a situation, and easily told me to go and do what I needed to do. Thanking him, Gypsy and I made our way to Book’s office, explaining to him that I had a family emergency. He understood, and gave me a day off, though knowing him, he’d be concerned enough to inquire about it when I returned. I would probably need a solid story by the time everything settled down.

Leaving Keeper’s Tomes (and leaving behind a somewhat annoyed Silverfly, who still had to maintain her cover), we quickly covered ground, almost galloping towards our destination.

“Did she come personally?” I asked Gypsy, a little worried, as we finally took a turn at the last corner, the entrance of the Cluster in view.

“No, just a messenger,” the Den Mother replied. I blinked, but before I could say anything, Gypsy added, “Odd, I know. We aren’t unprepared, however. I’ve taken the usual precautions. New sections of the Cluster have been sealed off, and the messenger is always with an escort. If there’s anything the Queen can use against you, it won’t be coming from her representative.”

I nodded, slightly put off by what was happening. I mean, there I was, building up our potentially first human asset to help alleviate the hunger we’ve been having, and dear old Mother chose that specific time to involve herself in my life again. A paranoid part of me wondered if the old monster had me under surveillance, and just out of spite, wanted to ruin my chances of obtaining a much-needed asset.

At first, the thought seems silly, but then again, there was no reason to discount the possibility. Maybe I could get Gypsy to put a few feelers out there and see if we were being spied upon by our own Hive Cluster.

Once we entered the Cluster, I spotted an increased number of guards, even more than we should have. Maybe Gypsy had some gatherers disguise themselves, which was a good move. The croach also glowed with a brighter intensity than before.

I saw the messenger, quite a healthy-looking, if overtly so, specimen, just outside the enclosed Feeding Chamber. Leave it to dear old mother to try and show me up, but Gypsy seemed to have matched that showing with her own. The central orb of the feeding chamber glowed brightly with Love, and with everything going on, it would give any changeling the impression that this Cluster wasn’t starving at all. Lessons of never showing weakness and always displaying strengths came to mind.

Still, the mere presence of mother’s messenger was definitely a problem. The sooner this was settled, the sooner we could get on with our lives. However, that still begged the question: why was the Queen suddenly getting me involved? We hadn’t been in speaking terms since she drafted my infiltrators two years ago.

“Lady Luminous,” the messenger greeted, his head bowing down just enough to be respectful. “Our Queen sends her greetings.”

I nodded, half-thinking what to say that wouldn’t sound overtly hostile. Quite difficult. “We welcome you to our Cluster, and accept our Queen’s greetings. Forgive me for being blunt, however, but your arrival is a little irregular.”

“I realize it’s a little inconvenient,” the messenger replied, but I cut him off quickly.

“We’re in the middle of a working week, during the day, even. I’d say this is a more than just being a little inconvenient.”

“I understand, Lady Luminous,” he said, in a forced neutrality you’d normally find in any changeling messenger. “But our Queen has called for your presence back in the Hive Cluster.”

I didn’t need to look at Gypsy to know she was finding that as suspicious as I did. And even if I wasn’t, having me, the only active infiltrator in the city, take a day off while we already had a limited amount of Love left was unacceptable.

“Unfortunately,” I began slowly, but firmly, “with the situation of my Cluster, a trip towards the Hive Cluster isn’t feasible for today. Or this week, for the matter.”

“The Queen understands your situation, Lady Luminous, and has generously provided a Gateway Gem for your convenience,” the messenger replied.

My eyes narrowed. Gateway spells were notoriously magic-heavy. This could be a gambit of hers, to show my Cluster that their Queen had enough energy to give such types of spell gems freely. However, I knew her well enough to realize that she wouldn’t spend that amount of magic frivolously.

She needed my presence. Badly.

“What is this about, really?” I asked.

“Things are in motion,” the messenger replied mysteriously. “All I know is that our Queen is in need of your services.”

“I need to consult my Den Mother,” I said, earning a nod from him. Signalling Gypsy to follow, we left the messenger and moved a little bit away from the area, towards a hall extension. The guards immediately positioned themselves to block anyone from following us, and once I was confident we wouldn’t be overheard, I asked her, “Well?”

“I can’t fully say,” Gypsy replied, looking towards the hall. “Things must be desperate if she is offering a Gateway. I can see two things going on: it’s as the messenger says, that your services are needed; or she needs you out of the Cluster for some reason.”

I blinked, realizing what she meant by the second option. “Has the Queen rebuilt her forces strong enough to push for a direct conflict?”

Gypsy shook her head. “We don’t know, actually. Our intelligence on that end hasn’t come up with anything. And even if she hasn’t, this is the Queen we’re talking about. She didn’t survive her tenure by being obvious.” Gypsy said, frowning. “She probably has a few gambits in play.”

“We can worry about those unknowns once they become more obvious,” I replied. “However, let us say it is the latter, then what are her options?”

“I believe we impressed the messenger that attacking us would be costly,” Gypsy said. “If she tries to move in force against us, that could signal to the other Hives that she is being diverted, thus giving them an invitation to take advantage of the situation. Knowing the Queen, we can most likely rule out a direct attack. While subterfuge can still be in play, there haven’t been any anomalies in travelers coming in or out.”

Okay, so maybe no one was spying on us. Yet. Shaking my head, I said, “So that leaves us with the first option.” I sighed. “I don’t know what’s scarier.”

“Consider the cost of bringing you to her Hive Cluster,” Gypsy said. “The possibility that she is out to harm you is minimal.”

“That much is obvious,” I muttered. “However, she isn’t exactly… stable in mind.”

“She isn’t stupid, either,” she countered. “Remember the lesson I gave you about gambits?”

“Yeah. You’re not the only one doing it,” I repeated the lesson.

“Exactly,” Gypsy said. “We have no idea what the Queen plans. Not completely. But it goes both ways. She has no idea what we’re planning to counteract her.”

I nodded. If I had to analyze my options, the best move was to accept the invitation and gather more information on what was going on. If the Queen did need my services, then there was a chance I could make arrangements to ensure some additional help in supporting my Cluster.

If she didn’t… well, safe to say I would have at least gathered enough information to better prepare myself against her. That was if I could bluff my way out again like last time.

“I’m going,” I said to Gypsy. She nodded, understanding.

“I’ll keep the Cluster running and safe, then,” she replied, though worry wormed around her. I couldn’t give her an assuring smile without feeling disingenuous. We both knew the inherent risk of facing the Queen.

There wasn’t really much to say. After that little meeting, I told the messenger that I agreed to the Queen’s request, and thus he handed me the Gateway Gem. I didn’t use it inside the Cluster, though. Gems could be used to hide another spell, most common being an Anchor spell that would basically create a backdoor without my knowledge.

I might have offended the messenger when I activated the Gem on top of a random building. While taking precautions were practical, acting like this towards your own Hive gave the impression that you didn’t trust them. If he was naive enough to believe that I did, then he didn’t know my history with the Queen. No skin off my snout.

Activating the gem bathed both of us in green light. I felt the tug as the spell pulled me towards a destination. Colors changed around me, mixing and mingling until everything was an imploding sphere of sky-blue, brown-earth, and green-leaves. There was a rush of sounds, like singing birds and chattering ponies, except they all mixed together in a cocktail of chaos. It lasted a second, before it all faded.

I found myself standing around muted brown colors, with the heat of the place prickling my coat. The wind picked up, kicking up dust that had my snout twitching and my eyes watering. The new surroundings irritated me well enough to make me cough a few times before I finally adjusted.

Beyond Equestria’s borders, south of Appleloosa, the Badlands was an untamed land extending hundreds of miles. There were a few settlement towns, rare and far apart from each other, and independently governed, usually under spartan rules. Barring those, there were creatures which made their homes in these wild lands, more cunning and infinitely more dangerous than those that settled in the Everfree Forest. Weather ran freely, and the ecology was a mish-mash of dense jungles, wild plains, and unforgiving deserts. That’s where Queen Chrysalis’ Hive Cluster was located—in the driest and most hostile part of the desert region, surrounded by nests of giant scorpions that acted as a natural defense to keep the Hive Cluster safe.

Yeah. The Badlands was not a place you wanted to drop into unexpectedly, especially if you had gotten used to the civilized life of Equestria.

Not really wanting to face the sharp end of one of their stingers, we made our way towards a pure black onyx boulder sitting alone at the bottom of a tall dune. After making sure no one was around, both of us touched the stone with our hooves, and in a few seconds, we were whisked away towards the Hive’s cavernous entrance.

It was as I remembered—a long dark hallway with carved dark-green stone pillars between the two walls, glowing slightly because of the croach. The light intensity was nowhere near as bright as the one back at my Cluster, lending it a more sinister and eerie environment. It didn’t help that in the middle of those pillars were healthy- and menacing-looking, guards, still and unmoving. I kept my eyes on them, watching for any suspicious action as the messenger led me forward.

Nothing happened as the hallway gave way to a large set of stairs. Fire Gem torches were placed in a fanning pattern, as if to welcome me back into the fold, while lighting the area in almost glaring white-yellow light. They gave the ground some color—white-brown, like the desert sands above—which contrasted against the oppressive black and green environment. Climbing up the steps, we came upon the enormous silver-colored gate that was surprisingly left open, though only small enough to allow me and the messenger through.

I half-wondered if it was going to slam shut behind me once I walked through.

Past the gate, there was another smaller hallway traveling perpendicularly to the one outside. This area was also lit with more torches, finally showing off the meticulously designed walls with silver symbols and cut gemstones that sparkled with reflected light. I remembered this area a bit fondly. This was where Gypsy first taught me the changeling ideology, giving me objectives, which mostly consisted of trying to sneak into a certain area as she had a few guards try and find me. When I first got caught so easily, I had asked her what I did wrong.

“Attitude,” she had replied. “Remember, changelings don’t conceal themselves. Instead, they walk among others as though they belonged.”

More memories of my previous lessons came afterwards, making me smile as I took towards the left, knowing that it would lead towards the stairway to the first level. However, I didn’t take even ten steps when the messenger called me back, leading me towards a doorway. That was new.

“Where does that lead?” I asked.

“The Gateway Room,” the messenger replied. Seeing my confused look, he continued, “We’ve been working to improve travel efficiency throughout the Hive Cluster.”

Opening the doorway, he showed me a modestly-sized room with five gems placed in five pillars situated in the middle part of the room. The center one glowed brightly.

“What is this?” I asked.

“We’ve been working on a local Gateway spell,” the messenger said, proudly. “Each gemstone corresponds to a level in the Hive Cluster. From the left, the first and the second pillar should lead you towards the first and second level respectively. The glowing center will bring you to the Throne Wing. And the two beside it should lead you towards the third and fourth level.”

Huh. That was a pretty good idea. “How come the central one is the only thing that’s glowing?”

“We’re still deciding on where on the other levels we should anchor the spell to.”

I nodded. “So, is this a recent development?”

The messenger shook his head. “We’ve been working on this for a year.”

I gave him a look, wondering once more if he was really that naive, but said nothing as I stared at the glowing pillar. Maintaining an active Gateway spell wasn’t exactly energy-cheap, and having five running simultaneously would be almost mind boggling.

While some could say that delaying activating the rest of the gateway spell was a smart way to keep the magical cost down, I knew my mother. I wouldn’t be surprised if she only added the other stones to maintain her little facade of being a fair and wise leader. I wouldn’t be surprised if activating the rest of the gems were delayed by more years until conveniently forgotten. And, yes, I wouldn’t be surprised if the only gemstone active in any transportation room would be the one that would lead to the throne room.

What mother wanted, mother got. Long live the Queen.

We both approached the glowing gemstone, and I let the messenger place his hoof on it first. He did so, readily. I waited for a few seconds before following the motion, and felt the tug of the Gateway spell as the messenger activated it. Before I could consciously be aware of any time passing, I found myself sprawled in the Throne Room, somewhat violently.

“Sorry about that,” the messenger said, also prone beside me. “It usually isn’t that strong.”

I snorted. Would it be paranoid to say mother had something to do with that?

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I looked around me. The Throne Room was everything the entrance hall were not. Thick croach was lathered generously on the walls, glowing brightly enough to leak some energy out. So wasteful, I thought, as Love began to flow around us, energizing and satisfying, yet… cold.

Still, not one to waste any given Love so freely given, I took just enough to not be rude or greedy, and continued to study my surroundings. There were more guards placed, definitely looking satisfied with the energy so abundant in the room. Their chitin shone like smooth cut obsidian, deep black that reflected just a slight tinge of green. They were also much larger than the guards back in the entrance, probably because they had Love readily available for them here.

I looked at the messenger, who took a moment to absorb some Love for himself, smiling rather happily afterwards, and giving me a nod. “The Queen is quite generous to share in her bounty.”

“As you say,” I replied neutrally before he started leading me towards the entrance of Inner Throne Chambers, a golden door with a stylized and intimidating dragon head, its teeth shining with diamonds and its eyes glowing red with rubies.

I waited for the messenger to open the door, but he bowed at me. “The Queen awaits,” he said.

I stared at him. “I am to go alone, then?”

“The Queen wishes to speak with you alone,” he replied.

Well, that doesn’t worry me. Not at all. Glaring at the doorway, I slowly decided that, thematically at least, it was appropriate. Into the dragon’s mouth, I enter. Still, I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me intimidated. Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself as I placed my hoof over the door, pushing forward, and strode in confidently.

I tried not to swivel my head, looking for hidden danger so obviously. Instead, I let my eyes roam around, spotting pillars of different sized pods, glowing brightly green, that surrounded the area. I could see a few Equestrians, earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi trapped inside moderately-sized pods, floating serenely, their faces quivering, smiling in ecstasy. I could see larger pods with writhing diamond dogs almost whimpering, while minotaurs growled softly. Then, I saw small pods, imprisoning cats, each of them sleeping peacefully in bliss.

The last one was new.

All the pods were connected by glowing lines. Some of them led towards the walls, spreading into the croach, feeding it. Most of them, though, connected towards a blooming orb situated at the far end of the room, above a black throne elevated in a platform. The left and right ear formed two large dragon heads, maws open, while the manchettes were designed as dragon arms that ended with open claws. The short, almost crouching, cabriole legs followed the same design, starting with the knees, to the spiked feet.

Occupying the throne was none other than the supreme ruler of the Hive Cluster, sitting in a confident pose of easy, yet dangerous grace. Her sharp eyes narrowed as she saw me, her smile growing more dangerous. She spread her glowing wings wide, and with the light behind her, cast a harsh shadow that fell over me as I approached.

“Luminous,” she called, almost purring.

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to squash down any emotion, before staring back at Queen Chrysalis.

I uttered one simple word: “Mother.”

Chapter 10

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I studied her. She looked a little larger than I last seen her, probably gorging herself with Love day after day. Her chitin shone like black crystal, reflecting the green glow of the croach. Her semi-translucent blue mane was styled in a vain bun, twisted behind her crooked horn and held in place by gem-encrusted pins. Her green eyes shone as I approached, her fangs baring in a twisted smile.

She was genuinely happy to see me, but not in the usual familial terms. No, Mother was happy because when she had called for me, I came like an obedient little puppy.

“Welcome home,” Chrysalis said, words coming out smoothly, still retaining that purring tone. I wondered if all this show of confidence was something to let my guard down, so I gave the room one final glance. Then, she added, with a hint of annoyance, “We are alone, Luminous.”

I stared at her for a moment, feeling slight satisfaction at her reaction before shaking my head. “If that’s the case, then you can drop the act,” I replied. “I would rather not waste my time pretending to play nice.”

Chrysalis snarled, but she too schooled her emotions quickly, and gave me a very unconvincing smile. “Must we antagonize each other, Luminous? Surely we can forgive and forget? It has been years.”

I wanted to laugh at that. “I doubt that even you, Mother, would forgive or forget those who tried to kill you.” I sighed, rubbing my hoof on the ground before lifting it up to study it. “Now, you called me here for something. I am willing to listen.”

“Don’t use that tone with me, Luminous,” Chrysalis growled.

“What kind of tone is that?” I asked calmly, placing the hoof on the ground again before staring at her. “The tone that is implying that I’m doing you a favor?” My eyes narrowed. “Let us get something straight here, Mother. I’m not stupid. We both know that you are asking for a favor. So, either tell me what it is, or I’m walking away.”

When I turned away, she hissed. In a loud booming voice that I felt shook the walls, she shouted, “Don’t turn your back on your Queen!”

Sparing her a glance, I replied, “I have responsibilities that you are keeping me from. Either tell me why you called me here, or I shall leave until you’re ready to do so.”

“Arrogant youngling,” she seethed. “You are walking on thin ice, Luminous. There’s a limit on how much longer I’ll allow you to disrespect me like this.”

I turned around to face her. “If your loyal subjects were present, then you definitely would have to do something about it,” I replied cooly. “However, as we are alone, we don’t need to pretend.”

Her head shifted slightly, as to give my words some thought. “You are right. We are alone.”

I gave her a smile. “If you are thinking of finishing what you started all those years ago—” I exposed my neck, staring at her hard “—then come, if you dare.”

Chrysalis kept still, fangs exposed but saying nothing. After seconds of us staring at each other, she shook her head. There was a hint of amusement and exasperation around her, but as expected, it came out muted as she hid her emotions from me.

“Good,” I said. “So, what’s your reason for bothering me this time?”

She stood up and made her way down the elevated platform, her hooves making a sharp clicking sound with every step. The enclosure magnified the sound even more. “I have a need of your… expertise,” she said, the last word intoned with contempt, her left lip flicking upwards for less than a second.

I shifted towards the side, as if to flank her, making sure to put some space between us. She followed suit, and I continued to speak as if we weren’t circling around each other. “Huh. Imagine that. You think I actually have some talents now.”

Chrysalis ignored the barb. “I am sure you are aware of the situation at Dodge Junction recently? It concerns that.”

I looked at her for a moment, thinking about what she was saying. Was that why she called me here, to admit that she was responsible for the death of that changeling? And she called me to, somehow, cover her rear?

I snorted. No, even Mother wouldn’t be that stupid. Considering there were a lot of Hive Queens poised to remove her from power because of the failed Invasion, it would have been a fool’s errand. She was insane, not stupid.

“Okay, what is going on, really?” I said, keeping my voice neutral.

“I need you to investigate these changeling deaths,” Mother replied, solemnly.

One word caught my attention. “Deaths? There has been another?”

“It’s in a city called Star Tracks,” she replied, which caused me to narrow my eyes. “It hasn’t been discovered by Equestrian authorities, but another changeling has been killed,” she stated. “It was one of Queen Lepidoptera’s, but the Cluster found the body before an Equestrian could discover it. They took appropriate steps, unlike Queen Thysanura’s mindless drones.”

My eyes narrowed. “You made a deal.”

“That much is obvious,” Mother replied.

I scoffed. “I’m surprised any of the other Queens were willing to ask you for help.”

“Lepidoptera is weak,” she replied, smirking. “The changeling that died came from her spawn’s own little Cluster. Better still, it was a close friend of hers. She reacted as expected, closing her borders and ordering all of her Cluster to do the same, scared that the killer may come for her own kin next.”

I hated to agree, but she was right. While caution was understandable, that reaction was a little extreme and could disrupt the changelings in the city enough to make a few Equestrians suspicious. It also made Queen Lepidoptera susceptible to Mother’s own machinations. I half-wondered what was offered. Feeding trades? Share in territory? Whatever it was, it was enough for my presence to be called.

Besides, throwing me to stop a dangerous force that was cunning enough to kill two changelings and leaving without a clue was an opportunity dear old Mother would not miss.

“Just to be clear,” I began, “you are tasking me to investigate these deaths—”

“And stop whoever is responsible, of course,” she interjected.

I stared at her. “Of course. How could I forget? Stop whomever is responsible, and thus earning you a favor of another Hive.”

Chrysalis smiled. “Add the fact that in doing so, you could quell whatever curiosity the Equestrians are currently developing, keeping this… peace that we have.”

“Ah, yes. I’m sure you are doing this out of the goodness of your heart.”

“That’s for idealists like you, Luminous,” she replied.

I shook my head. “You must be one as well, if you think I would do this without compensation,” I said, growling out the last word. I straightened up a bit and gave her a narrow stare. “Make me an offer.”

Chrysalis’ expression soured. “Five filled pods for your Cluster. Newly acquired and still healthy to last you for years.”

“You want me to leave my Cluster, risk me, their leader, for only five measly pods?” I shook my head. “Give me a better offer.”

She stared at me for a moment before asking, carefully, “What do you want, then, Luminous?”

I smiled. “Two years ago, you drafted three of my infiltrators for an undetermined amount of time.”

“You want them back,” Mother realised.

“Yes,” I replied. “However, I don’t think that just getting my own infiltrators back should be a reward for this. In addition of getting them back, I want two more infiltrators.”

“Done,” Mother said, rather quickly.

“Well, since you are feeling generous, I also want an agreement of you not drafting more than two of my infiltrators for… what did you call it then? Emergency situations?”

Her eyes narrowed, but to my surprise, she said, “Fine.” She scoffed. “Any more requests?”

“Is that an offer?” I asked, giving her my own little twisted smile. She growled, glaring at me before shaking her head. Before she could say anything else, I took the initiative. “Then I’ll be off. I’ll send you reports via dead-drops in the usual locations.”

Before I could turn around, she said, “I wonder, Luminous, if you are even able to do this.” I stared at her. “Losing your infiltrators, and not being able to replace them for two years, and coming to me half-starved? Is it truly bravery that makes you put a strong front, and not desperation?”

“And what of you, mother?” I countered. “You look too plump. Has sitting on your throne, doing nothing, dulled your edge? Maybe the confidence you are projecting is but ignorance?”

Her face twisted as she growled out a nasty snarl. For parting insults, that probably got to her. Hard. Then, to add to the insult, I turned my back on her the second time, ignoring her shouts as I moved towards the doorway, posture straight, unafraid.

Only when I finally passed through the doorway and shut the golden door behind me did I finally relax. I shivered with nervousness I dared not show inside the chambers. Half of me wondered whether I overplayed my hoof, the other wondering if I underplayed it. Then my mind began to ponder over this new predicament, this new deal I procured, which had me risking not only my life but also cutting off my time on leading my Cluster and also training Silverfly.

The rewards were too tempting to say no to, though.

However, something odd was going on, and I didn’t want to be caught pondering about it inside Mother’s territory. Taking a breath, I made my way towards the room with the five pillars, meeting the messenger who offered me a rolled up parchment and another Gateway Gem, then blankly asked me how the meeting went.

“Splendidly,” I replied, before I was once again escorted towards the pillars that sped my way towards the entrance cavern. The messenger advised me that he was called back for another duty, thus leaving me with no escort as I exited the Hive Cluster.

The trip back to Fillydelphia was rather unremarkable. Once I was back out in the desert, I was actually half-ready to meet a faction of changelings that, after audibly swearing fealty to another liege, would attack me. Or maybe a confused group of giant scorpions that inevitably traveled where they should not, and come at me with their stingers.

Instead, I found the desert as empty as I came, and after a few steps forward, I activated the Gateway Gem once more, and found myself transported on the very same rooftop I had left earlier. I drained any excess magical energy that was left in the gem before moving quickly towards the markets and sold the drained artifact to a jeweler, who I knew would quickly cut it or sell it to another merchant out of town. While the price wasn’t enough to completely cover up the dent of buying the information from Mantid, every little bit helps, and I didn’t have to worry about Mother’s little gift for treachery anymore.

I left the rolled up parchment to my Guards, telling them to ensure the paper was free of any magic while I met with Gypsy. She was waiting patiently for my arrival, and we shut ourselves in the Feeding Chamber as I began to explain to her my visit in the Hive Cluster, and what Mother had proposed. My Den Mother listened intently, quietly, while I concentrated on recalling every detail by memory.

When I was done, she nodded and said, “Let’s get the non-essentials out of the way first. I have to admit, the local Gateway system intrigues me.”

“Seems to be a waste of magical energy,” I replied, shrugging. “I doubt we can adopt something like that to our Cluster. It isn’t large enough to warrant it, nor do we have the Love to power it.”

“True, but I was thinking more of escape options,” Gypsy said. “Something to bring changelings outside the Cluster, probably in a forest and in a somewhat isolated area.”

I nodded. “We’ll most likely only use it as emergencies, thus keeping the magical cost down. I like it. It’ll be a somewhat heavy investment, but let’s keep that option open.”

“Other than that, I’m pretty sure that the Queen was quite defensive of your visit.”

“I know,” I said, frowning. Mother had only shown me the entrance cavern, the welcoming hall, the Gateway chamber, the Throne antichamber, and the Throne Room. That left me wondering what was going on in the four other levels that I was, subtly, unwelcomed to visit. “Do you think she’s raising an army?”

“Possibly,” Gypsy replied. “Could it be used as another move against Equestria? Or one of the other Hives?”

“Against us?” I added, with a half smile. Gypsy returned it.

“If it was against us, I think she wouldn’t allow you to even enter the Hive,” she said. “Better to keep your target wholly ignorant than partially prepared. I am more concerned, though, about this new assignment given to you.”

“It seems straight-forward. Outwardly, success in the investigation will quell the unrest in Equestria while at the same time, it would garner favors for Mother from other Hives.” I shrugged. “It also benefits her by keeping me busy, in case I was planning any sort of sabotage against her. Either way, she feels that me taking an assignment is worth losing five infiltrators and making an edict that does not allow her to take all of them back at whim.”

Gypsy nodded solemnly, frowning. “I’d rather that you hadn’t blatantly challenge the Queen, but her agreement to your open challenge says a lot.”

“Obviously,” I replied, “she expects me to die while investigating. Nothing new. I’ll just have to disappoint her once more.”

The Den Mother laughed. “It’s what you do best. Though now you have me curious, Lumi. What’s your plan?”

“I’m assuming the parchment given to me will clue me in,” I began. “Once it’s cleaned, I’ll take a look, but I am pretty sure I will need to investigate the cities where these deaths have occurred.”

“Dodge Junction will be difficult,” Gypsy warned. “The Cluster there won’t welcome you.”

“I may not need to,” I said. “Investigating where the second death occurred may be enough to clue me in the right direction. I’m just hoping Hopper doesn’t find it suspect that a death of a family friend coincided with just after my visit.”

“Hmm,” Gypsy murmured. “I am sure he’ll know your involvement, especially since his Hive was the one that dealt with the Queen. I’ll write a letter, giving him a heads up of your visit, though. It’s better to be polite.”

“Agreed.”

Gypsy nodded. “Also, Lumi, one more thing.”

“Yes?”

Instead of verbally replying, she looked towards the glowing orb at the center of the Feeding Chamber. I followed her gaze, wondering what she was trying to convey when I understood her silent message.

“There’s no need,” I said.

“Lumi, you are probably working at a half-capacity,” Gypsy declared. “I’d rather have you operating hot than have you disabled if things go wrong.”

“I’ve been okay so far,” I countered.

“Only because you operate mostly within the Cluster Territory.” Gypsy shook her head. “You aren’t going to another city to feed under protection this time. You are now going against a party that, so far, successfully killed two changelings without giving themselves away. Even your mother feels the danger is warranted. Don’t be foolish.”

My lips narrowed, eyes closing for a moment before I nodded. Gypsy’s reasoning was justified, all things considered. However, I was not about to let my Cluster starve away again. Looking at the Den Mother, I said, “I’ll feed before I start my investigation.”

She seemed satisfied with that answer. “Shall we set up a letter to Keeper’s Tomes as well, set up a leave of absence? Or will you assign a gatherer to maintain your cover?”

Ah, I haven’t thought about that. “I’ll let you know before I leave.”

“Then I’ll make that letter, just in case,” Gypsy said with a small smile. She made her way towards the semi-translucent barrier of the Feeding Chamber, deeper into the Cluster, before looking back at me. “It doesn’t need to be said, but be careful, Lumi.”

The sun was reaching its highest peak when I exited the Cluster. That gave me a good nine, maybe ten, hours to prepare for my trip. The scroll that Mother gave me, finally clean of any lingering magical energies, was tucked cleanly inside my rucksack for reviewing later. I was just glad that the investigation was at Star Tracks, which meant I didn’t need to scout the city structure. That left me more time to scout any potential assets for short-term feeding.

The city was bustling, with a lot of ponies going towards their favorite cafes or restaurants to eat lunch. I half-wondered how Silverfly was holding up. This was going to be her first day without my guidance and I dared not show myself in Keeper’s Tomes yet. Not until there was a solid cover for my upcoming absence, at least.

Besides, it was time for a little hunt.

I made my way east, the increasing salty smell of the air indicating my approach towards the pier. Waters crashed weakly against the shore, with foals and fillies chasing each other in the less rocky areas, coats wet with water. I saw peddlers selling sandwiches, trying to reach a few passengers on a boat leaving towards the Dolphin Islands. I ignored them, my eyes roaming around to look for a stallion available to feed on. Personally, I was hoping to meet Aqua Spiral, a nice, young pegasus who felt more at home in the waters rather than the skies. I occasionally fed on him at times, and he was a solid asset.

However, imagine my surprise when I spotted Shaun inside a nearby white stone gazebo, sitting at a provided seating mat, staring out in the sea. His arms were behind his head, leaned towards one of the gazebo’s pillars. He was oddly missing his usual cup of coffee, and instead had a clear bottle of cold water, judging by the condensation on the surface. The books I saw with him earlier were gone as well, replaced by a brown, worn journal. I watched him for a few moments, his emotions surprisingly delving inward, as if he was deep in thought. He seemed to alternate between looking towards the blue horizon, then opening his book and writing on it with some sort of writing utensil that had been stuck on his left ear for safekeeping. He did that twice before I decided to approach him.

I slumped my shoulders a bit, making my walk less provocative. “Shaun?” I called, keeping my voice slightly lower than normal, adding a slight quiver to it. The reaction was immediate; he looked up at me, surprised and wary.

“Lumi?” he asked, softly closing his journal with both hands. He looked at my face for a moment. “Hey… are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I replied, smiling a bit. I made sure the action didn’t reach my eyes, hoping he noticed it. Judging by the way I felt a slight pang of worry escape him, he did.

“Bad news?”

I looked away slightly before giving him a short nod. “I’m being called back home,” I replied simply, hoping it was vague enough for his mind to fill. I was surprised when I felt his emotions turn, the sour tingle of his embarrassment and distress slowly flowing outwards.

What an empathetic reaction.

“That bad, huh?” he asked, frowning.

“I’m hoping it’s something that can easily be resolved,” I said. I looked at him for a moment, then towards the grey box. I shook my head, putting some life in my posture before smiling once more. Pointing at the box, I asked, “So, what are you doing here?”

“Trying to catch my muse,” Shaun replied, relaxing slightly. He gave me a small, reassuring smile, as he jokingly added, “She’s quite a fickle mistress.”

I laughed softly. “And here I thought you wanted to relax, having just submitted your last draft to the publishers.” I paused a moment, reading the mood around us before deciding to poke fun at him. “My, my, Mister Bradley. You are such a glutton for work?”

He relaxed even more, his emotions turning warmer and sweeter. “Why, Miss Lumi, I’ll have you know, writing is my passion.” He gave me an accusing look. “However, it is thanks to you that you prematurely shortened my time of rest!”

“What?” I shot back with amusement. “How’s that my fault?”

“All this talk of me being a spy,” he replied, shaking his head overtly. “I had hoped to sit somewhere, read a nice book, when a certain Floor Manager suddenly began planting ideas in my head. Now, I have to suffer trying to express my ideas before they forcefully explode out of my head, and for that, I blame you.”

I rolled my eyes, the edges of my lips twitching upwards. “Oh please, Mister Bradley. The solution is quite simple: don’t write.”

His eyes widened so over-dramatically I almost laughed. He sputtered, as if indignant, “Wha—how dare you, madam?” he demanded. “I am insulted. Thoroughly and utterly insulted that you’d even suggest that I should—! Words cannot describe—!”

Okay, that definitely got me laughing. And my reaction got him to smile, though he didn’t lose his supposedly affronted look.

“Laugh at my suffering as well?” He pointed at me in what I could only assume was mock condescension. “I shall warn you, Miss Lumi: do not meddle in the affairs of writers, for they are subtle and quick to anger.”

I was able to tone down my laughter to slight giggling. “Oh, did I anger the great Bradley?” I teased.

“Of course!” he exclaimed exuberantly. “However, the great Bradley is a benevolent writer. He shall generously receive any heartfelt apologies. The sooner, the better.” And he faked a huff, arms crossed his chest, looking away almost snootily. His smile, though, never left his face. Mine only widened.

“Then, would the merciful Bradley acquiesce to my humble request to treat him to dinner?”

“The lofty and kinglike Bradley accepts your… wait, what?” He blinked, arms dropping to his side, looking at me, slackjawed. I could only smile wider.

“Good,” I said with a bit of relish. “It’s a date then.”

He could only stare at me with incredulity.

Heh, gotcha.

Chapter 11

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I locked my front door as soon as I entered, smiling. I actually surprised myself by being in a good mood. Usually, I would have considered this day spoiled since I had to visit dear old mother. Nevermind the fact that she was also sending me to risk my life to stop a killer who, apparently, had it out for changelings. However, with just a few words, I was able to secure a small date with Shaun. Caught him by surprise too, if I judged his near silence when I left him to be indicative.

Plans for my investigation were, thankfully, put on hold. Instead, I concentrated on my current strategy for grooming Shaun into a viable asset. I ran a few scenarios in my head, trying to see how things would branch out from here. I had to admit, I was taking a somewhat huge risk by accelerating my plans. Normally, I’d have taken a few more days of talking, gauging, before calling for a date. After all, tipping your hoof too early was the difference between making a short-term asset and an invested one. And I was definitely aiming for the latter.

However, there were a few things working in my favor with my current gambit. First, there was no doubt in my mind he was attracted to me. It could have been because I looked like somepony he knew, and had most likely been intimate with. While normally I’d be wary of that, the second point made me sure what I did was a good move: we clicked. For some odd reason, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company. Even with the limited time we spent together, I felt something—a connection, if I have to be cliché—that made us comfortable with each other.

There were also advantages to going with this route. He was relatively new in Equestria. Not new enough to be culture-shocked or a little leery of being intimate with a pony, but just enough to be a blank slate. Judging by the positive response to his upcoming novel, he would soon attract other mares to his attention. He was already friendly with his publisher (and I was still unsure if he was intimate with her; I’d have to subtly ask about that), and the less competition I had, the easier it would be to obtain him.

Then there was also the fact that I needed energy for this investigation I found myself undertaking. If things went well tonight, I could start my first step toward making Shaun ours, while enjoying a little splurge feeding for myself. There was, literally, no downside to my current direction. Unless it spectacularly failed, of course. Bad luck sometimes found a way.

Then again, I was a changeling infiltrator. I made my own luck.

I left the file in my room. There was no safer place for it. After that, I grabbed a few small blank spellgems and made my way out, meeting Gentle Rock as he came out of his apartment for his daily walk. We made small talk as I accompanied him out the building, and once he left, I made my way towards Embarr Corner, the restaurant I told Shaun to meet me at a few hours from now. Making my way to the rear entrance, I knocked on the door, waited for a few minutes before someone asked, “Password?”

“It’s Lumi,” I replied.

“Sorry, that’s not the pass—”

“Wasp, open the door.”

There was a slight creak as the metallic door opened, revealing Wasp, a light-grey unicorn with curly black-striped yellow hair. Her horn glowed slightly, a scowl in her face. I just gave her a winning smile.

“You know, Lumi,” the unicorn began, the glow of her horn subsiding, “I could argue that you ignoring my password system is an abuse of my Independent status.”

“Please,” I replied, “you only use the password system to know if whoever you're dealing with is either new, or someone who skimped on you. I’m neither.”

“I recall such a moment a year ago, when you left my restaurant without any payment.”

“Okay, I’d never skimp on you without valid reasons,” I amended. “Besides, I paid you double when everything got settled. So, can we get down to business, or do I have to pull out embarrassing stories of your first year here?”

Wasp rolled her eyes. “Sure, whatever. Come on.” She then motioned me to follow. As we entered her kitchen, my eyes wandered, assessing where the exits were, just in case anything went wrong. While Wasp rarely changed anything in her place, thus keeping evacuation points somewhat constant, it didn’t hurt to make sure. True to form, the familiar sights of metallic sinks with shining gold accents greeted me. The white tiled walls were patterned with a simple design of colorful flowers. The plates were stacked up straight, along with bowls and glasses.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Wasp cleaned the place herself, this being her pride and joy.

She led me to a counter, which had a notepad and one of those human pens that were slowly replacing quills as instruments of writing. It was also near where the numerous iceboxes were placed against the wall, though I was surprised to see three new fridges.

“They are actually cheaper in the long-run,” Wasp said, seeing me look at her new acquisitions. “They maintain constant temperature, keeping a lot of my easily spoiled food fresh. I’m also investing on those new fridges specific for cakes and pastries.”

Squashing the jealousy of not having those things in my own poor kitchen, I magically took out a bag of bits from my slim rucksack and placed it in the counter.

“I need a table reservation with the usual,” I began.

“I’m guessing it’s for today’s dinner?” Wasp asked. When I nodded, her horn glowed, and the notepad and pen began to float in the air, the latter writing on the former. “I’ll reserve a table. One asset, right?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “But no flower sandwiches. He likely won’t eat those. Do you have omnivore options?”

“Ooh, having a griffin, are we?” Wasp smiled. “I’ll get you a private room, away from the other ponies. No sex, though. I just had it cleaned.”

I snorted. “I’d rather take a bed than your floor, thank you very much. And for your information, my asset is not a griffin.”

Wasp blinked. “Oh-kay. Young dragon? Minotaur?”

“Human,” I replied with a small smile. Wasp whistled, impressed.

“Very rare,” she said. “Luckily, humans can eat almost anything. We have the usual game meats and pork. I’ll add a few bottles of apple cider as well.”

“Less pork, or at least the less fatty cuts,” I said, remembering Shaun’s thinness. If he wasn’t used to fatty foods, a sudden increased intake would upset his stomach, and that would kill the mood, booster or not. Speaking of which… “Also, the booster needs to be diluted to quarter of standard strength. I have no idea if he has taken a booster before, and I’d rather not disrupt his next day too much because of a bad reaction.”

After a few more pen strokes, Wasp nodded in understanding. “It’ll be ready and to specification.”

“Thanks, Wasp,” I said. With the transaction done, there wasn’t really anything else for me here. Giving her one last nod, I was about to turn when she called back my attention.

“Lumi.”

“Yes?” I asked, half-turning to her. She gave me a nervous look.

“Lumi, you’ve heard about what’s happening in Star Tracks, right?” she asked. When I nodded, she swallowed, as if afraid to speak the next part. “Are you going to lock down your Cluster activity here?”

“I’m… working on something,” I replied. “Everything will be business as usual, so don’t worry about that. I may not have a lot of guards to spare, but considering the distance, I doubt we’d get into the same situation as Dodge Junction or Star Tracks. However, I am going to ask you and the other Independents to keep your eyes and ears open.”

“You can count on us,” Wasp replied with a small smile and nod. “Okay. I’ll set everything up for your date.”

“Thanks.” And with that, I left.

There wasn’t really much to do after that. I spent the next few hours having my spellgems recharged with the essential spells for any infiltrator going to another city. Gypsy always called them the quick-and-dirty—spells that are considered too unrefined for combat, but respond immediately when activated.

Disorienters and Jumper spells were the staple. After all, you really didn’t need a lot of power to keep yourself alive, just enough to get you away in a fashion that will leave your enemies confused, dazed, and lost.

“Never fight a losing battle,” Gypsy once taught me.

Wise words.

Coming home again, I placed the recharged gems into placeholders outside my rucksack and grabbed a few spare waterbags. You never knew when you’d be stranded in a place without water, and instead of spending energy to make some using the air, this nifty little tool would help you with all your water needs.

I had just finished packing when I heard knocking on my door. I blinked. For a wild moment, I thought it was Shaun, but immediately dismissed it. I was pretty careful in my movements, making sure I wasn’t followed. Going to the door, I looked through the peephole and saw Silverfly waiting beyond. She was nervous, shifting slightly and biting her lower lip. I found that a bit adorable.

“Shift is done?” I asked after I opened the door.

“Y-yeah,” she replied. I motioned her to come inside, and she followed. Once we both settled in the living room, she continued, “So… about earlier.”

I looked at her, which seemed to make her quiet. When she didn’t continue, I shrugged asked, “What have you learned today?”

Silverfly blinked slowly. “Seriously?”

“What?”

“You’ve been called by the Queen, to the Hive Cluster,” she began, “and all you can ask is what I learned today?”

“You are studying to be an infiltrator,” I countered. “And I find your training is more important than whatever business the Queen has with me. Now… what have you learned today?”

Silverfly looked rebellious, but didn’t pursue the subject. She began to enumerate what she’d learned, which was basically about more mares trying to find out more about Shaun. The fact that she memorized the commonly asked questions had me more amused than the questions themselves, which were also amusing on their own—especially when one asked whether Shaun was just a stallion impersonating a human for more attention.

“It’s not funny,” Silverfly muttered, unamused by my chuckling. “It’s bad enough that I had survive questions from overzealous fans of what’s-her-face, now I’m getting more questions about a human I know nothing about.”

“You’ve met him twice,” I said, smiling. “Interrupted my intelligence gathering, I believe.”

“You’re not going to let that go, are you?”

“Well, as long as you don’t interrupt me tonight, I’ll probably forget about it for a few months, maybe a year,” I replied.

Silverfly blinked, looking at me. I could almost imagine miniature changeling drones circling around in her head, trying to understand everything I just said. I waited patiently for her catch on. I wasn’t disappointed.

“What’s happening tonight?” Silverfly asked, a few seconds later.

“I’m taking Shaun out for a date,” I replied. “I don’t know if you’re completely aware of the situation, but I’m going to be absent from Keeper’s Tomes for a few days, investigating the changeling deaths.”

“Deaths?” Silverfly asked, apprehensive. “There’s more than one?”

“Yeah,” I replied. “Star Tracks’ Cluster discovered one of their own dead, but responded faster than the ones in Dodge Junction. The Queen is asking me to investigate, hopefully stop it from happening again.”

Silverfly frowned. “Why should we be concerned with the problems of other Clusters? Or the Queen? They didn’t do anything to help when we starved.”

“Not completely true, Silverfly,” I countered. “Remember that the Star Tracks Cluster generously gave us the last batch of Love from an invested asset. And while the Queen and I are having some problems, we came to an agreement that allowed me to secure a few infiltrators that will make our lives easier.”

“Okay,” she muttered, doubt in her voice. Thankfully, she changed the subject. “So, a date with this human writer that likes changing his name, eh?”

“Yup,” I replied, smiling. “Normally, I’d wait a few more weeks, but with my impending absence, I think you’re ready.”

“Ready for what?” Silverfly asked.

“To learn how to feed.”

Silverfly blinked, her mouth opened in shock before she quickly closed it. Her wings fluttered slightly, with a smile beginning to tug on both sides of her lips. If it wasn’t obvious enough, she began radiating happiness.

“You’d… teach me how to feed?” she asked, almost breathless.

I smirked slightly. “I don’t think Shaun is ready for that yet. After all, feeding is all about enjoyment. Pointing out what to do during the act tends to reduce said enjoyment.”

Silverfly scowled. “You know what I mean.”

“Fine, yes,” I replied.

Her happiness burst out, almost forgoing the usual slow and steady buildup. She tried to hide it, but in the end, her emotions overwhelmed her. I couldn’t blame her. While, physically, she was of age, the first feeding would always be, mentally, the first step into adulthood. In a way, it was the most special moment of any changeling growing up. Offering her a chance to observe and learn from my feeding was a close second.

Parents would tell stories of their firsts, making their stories sound special and something to be proud of. Even Mother—before she deemed me useless—regaled me with her first feeding, calling it her First Conquest, where she drove her asset to the brink of insanity.

Yeah. Honestly, I always felt that they were tall stories. My first feeding wasn’t anything particularly special. Looking back, I always recalled the many mistakes I made, and half-wondered how I even got Peach Heart to my bed. Nevermind the fact that I stumbled a lot during the feeding itself, which had me apologising to the earth pony mare.

Thankfully, Peach was understanding, and even taught me a thing or two.

Maybe if I had younglings, I’d fascinate them with a well-made story, maybe include bursts of magical explosions. Though I think I’d rather teach them to make their first better than mine, memorable even. Looking at Silverfly, I realized who I could practise on.

“We’re going to treat this as a small asset acquisition operation,” I declared, making her sit straighter, shivering slightly. I smiled at her nervousness. “It won’t be any different from what you’re used to. You will observe and note everything—how I talk to an asset, how they respond, that kind of thing.

“I will tell you now that feeding from an asset, and how much energy you can obtain from them, is all about how well you prepare them before the act. Focus on my body language and movements. See how he reacts to them.”

Silverfly kept nodding, as if she were writing everything in her head.

“Also,” I added, “and this is going to be new for you—I want you to follow us as discreetly as you can. How you do that, I leave to you. Use your surroundings. Blend in the environment. I’m going to convince Shaun to bring me to his apartment, and I want you to make note where it is and any weak points where we can infiltrate. If you’re up to it, check on his neighbors as well, in case of any competition.”

“Uh, wow…” Silverfly muttered. “This is considered to be a small operation?”

“Normally, it would be a three-changeling team,” I amended, “and you’d usually have a companion which you could split assignments with. However, it’s not unusual that you’ll find yourself short of partners. It happened to me countless times.” I looked at her. “I’m not expecting you to complete all the tasks given, but I’d be pleasantly surprised if you did. However, do not overextend yourself. I want you to focus on blending in with the crowd, to not call attention to yourself. Can you do that?”

Silverfly nodded vigorously.

“Good,” I replied, magically taking my bitbag from my rucksack, opening it, and giving her some bits. “I’ll give you this much to buy what you think you’ll need for the operation. Spend it wisely.”

The young changeling hid the money on her own bitbag. She seemed to breathe fast, making kneading motions with her forelegs. However, her eyes were determined.

“When do we start?” she asked softly.

Chapter 12

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While the nightlife of Fillydelphia wasn’t as active as the other Equestrian coastal cities, it wasn’t boring by any means. Even after the sun had finally set, the beach scenes were still full of light and life, occasionally letting loose a colorful array of exploding fireworks that lit the velvet sky. Behind that were bar scenes, the usual haunt for the Independents and my gatherers.

Embarr Corner was beyond that, a little closer to the heart of the city. It was quieter, much less distracting—something I felt was necessary with my first date with Shaun. I wanted his whole attention on me. Plus, the area had fewer ponies roaming around, which would force Silverfly to really try and blend in.

Speaking of Silverfly, I spotted her ten minutes after I arrived in front of the restaurant. After she had taken the bits I offered her, I told her the address and left her on her own. Right now, she was a nondescript unicorn sitting on a public bench, reading today’s paper. It was a good disguise too, until she gave herself away when she looked in my direction once too often.

I would point that out to her later. For now, though, I paid her no mind as I stood patiently beneath a street lamp. My eyes roamed around, looking for a lone human walking my way. It was a few minutes later that I spotted one crossing two blocks away.

Shaun was looking a little confused. He was reading from a little roll of parchment he held in his left hand. It was probably the one I gave him this morning, the address of Embarr Corner. After crossing a street, he stared at the next corner post, reading the street names. That was when he was near enough to spot the restaurant’s name board.

I raised my right foreleg, waving to get his attention. He must have seen me because he waved back. Crossing the final street, he smiled at me before looking at Embarr Corner, whistling. “Wow. That looks a little fancy. Am I underdressed?”

I looked at him, from head to foot. He wore a dark green shirt, which matched with his eyes, as well as brown trousers and some type of brown strapped footwear. And as with any of his shirts I’d seen him wear, his current one sported a few… well, words. Maybe it was a human thing, but what did Ooga-Chaka Ooga-Ooga Ooga-Chaka mean?

“They’re from a song,” Shaun said, which brought a smile to my face.

“Are you reading my mind, Shaun?” I asked.

“Well, it’s particularly telling when your eyes are on my chest,” he replied, now smiling as well. “Now, if I were female, I could probably think of another reason, but so far, it’s pretty damn obvious.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ll take your word for it. As for your question, if you haven’t noticed, we ponies don’t dress much. So, technically, you’re overdressed. But if you want to correct that slight”—I winked at him—“you could just remove your clothes.”

Shaun just rolled his eyes, though his smile never left his face. “Not that enthused to face the elements, to be honest. Though if you bring me somewhere nice, warm, and private, we can renegotiate the undressing.”

That got me giggling. “We’ll work that out later,” I replied before putting on a wistful look. “Hey,” I added.

“Yes?”

“You know, you can cancel if you want,” I replied. When Shaun looked at me, confused, I clarified, “I was a little forceful in getting a date with you. If you’re uncomfortable…”

He looked at me with amusement. “Giving me the option to turn away while putting yourself in a better light, thus making me more malleable in your hooves, Lumi? Very subtle.”

I hit him with my hoof right in his side, making him jerk away and laugh. “Stop that, I’m serious,” I said.

He waved me off. “Okay, okay… If you’re going to be frank, then let me assure you that I’m fine with the date, Lumi. Completely, one-hundred percent okay.” He smiled. “After all, how am I supposed to gather information on you if we only interact for ten, maximum fifteen, minutes a day?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Am I that interesting, Mr. Bradley?” Shaun’s growing smile was his only reply. I rolled my eyes. “Since we’re being candid, then do know that I am planning to lock you in a room and not let you out until tomorrow.”

“Ah, you probably should not have said that,” he said.

“And why is that?” I asked.

He winked. “Because it will only make the undressing negotiations much harder.”

I gave him a sultry smile. “Don’t underestimate me, Mr. Bradley.”

“Perish the thought,” he replied jovially. He offered his hand. “Shall we, milady?”

As I placed my hoof on his hand, he went to one knee and gently kissed it. I felt my cheeks warm up as the slight contact once more immersed me in the taste and scent of coffee. Heat then began to spread all over my foreleg as his emotions, happiness, lust, and excitement stirred up my hunger. His very essence seemed to call out my baser emotions. I had to take a deep breath to relax.

“You keep doing things like that, there won’t be any negotiations,” I warned.

“That sounds like it’ll be fun,” Shaun replied easily as he released my hoof and stood up. We both turned to enter Embarr Corner, and he gave a low whistle. “Wow. This place looks good.”

Wasn’t that the truth. Though as a changeling that followed the old ways, I preferred the kitchens—the place where a well-prepared diet could be made to maximize the energy obtained in feeding—the front of Wasp’s business was something I could still appreciate. The place was bathed in warm yellow light, which meshed well with artful zebra-designed carpets and khaki-colored brick walls. Square tables were spread around in three rows, spaced far enough apart that they allowed servers, waiters, and hosts to move around comfortably with guests. Music played softly in mellow tones that seemed to combine with the lazy chatter in the air.

After telling my name to our host, we were directed towards the far end of the room. Shaun seemed a little confused at first, especially when our host revealed a private room that was slightly more sophisticated than the scene we had just passed. Instead of brick walls, the room had glossy wooden finish. The table in the center was circular, complete with sets of silverware, glass goblets, and ceramic plates. At a side, there was an ice bucket containing a bottle of hard cider.

“Wow,” Shaun whispered after the host finally had us seated. He looked around once more. “This is… wow.”

“I hope the room is to your liking,” our host, a personable unicorn stallion, said as he popped the cork of the cider bottle.

“It is,” I replied. As he poured the drinks in our goblets, I added, “Thank you.”

“Your dinner should be served in five minutes,” our host said. With a bow, he quietly exited the room. I looked at Shaun, who seemed to be staring at me with a curious expression.

“What is it?” I asked.

“A private room?” He shook his head. “Should I be worried?”

“I’m sure you can survive five minutes alone with me,” I replied teasingly, which got a chuckle out of him.

“Still, Lumi, this is amazing,” Shaun said. “I mean, to get a reservation for a room like this must have been expensive.”

I gave him a small smile. “Actually, cheaper than you might think,” I replied. “I know the owner. She owes me a few favors, and I called one up. Besides, I thought you’d appreciate it more once the food comes.”

Shaun didn’t ask what I meant, though he looked like he wanted to. Instead, we spent the next few minutes drinking the the cider and by the time the server arrived with a large floating, covered tray, Shaun had drunk two-and-a-half glasses. Judging by his hungry expression, the metaboliser started doing its work.

The server asked to be excused for not opening the tray. I didn’t mind. Not a lot of ponies were comfortable with meat, cooked or not. Waiting for her to close the door, I used my magic to lift the cover off the tray, finally allowing the sweet scent of the food waft through the room.

Shaun blinked, his eyes widening at the selection of different types of pork cuts, all cooked in different ways. I gotta hand it to Wasp, she knows how to prepare them. Shaun looked at me for a moment, confused. I just motioned him to dig in. With his new-found hunger seemingly stopping whatever question he had in mind, he grabbed a plate and some human eating utensils, and began to sample everything.

I settled for eating a few hay fries and vegetable sandwiches, enjoying the sight of him feeding, feeling a little happy that he was enjoying himself. His emotions were coming out sweet and warm as the minutes flew by. The metaboliser was definitely working its magic as he began to eat an uncharacteristically large amount. It didn’t keep up forever, though, and after a good long moment, he began to slow down.

“Okay, you are awesome,” Shaun said after swallowing. “Just saying. I don’t know how many ponies would actually stay in the same room with someone eating meat and all.”

I waved him off. “I got used to it. Dated a griffin once.”

“Well, that explains a few things,” Shaun replied. He began slicing his meat into bite-sized pieces. “You must live an exciting life, Lumi. You've dated a griffin, are friends a trendy restaurant owner, and date famous authors.”

“Really? Famous authors? Like who?”

Shaun grinned. “Ouch, Lumi. That hurts,” and he pointed towards his chest, “right here.”

I laughed. “Right. I’m sure you can heal your broken heart with your fans and many conquests,” I replied.

“Conquests? I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.”

“Don’t you? How about Index?”

Shaun blinked. “Index, as in my agent, Index?”

“Yes, Index,” I said with a sage nod. “She seems quite friendly with you.”

“I owe her a lot,” Shaun replied, a little solemnly. “Maybe if she wasn’t my agent, and she had asked, I might have taken her offer.”

I poked him playfully with my hoof. “Is that some sort of vendetta against agents?”

“Just speaking from experience.” When I gave him a curious look, he added, “I dated my agent once, back on Earth.” He shook his head. “Yeah. Unmitigated disaster, that one.”

Well, that cleared that up. “Okay then. How about Five Stars?”

Shaun gave a small, reminiscing smile. “She was my first pony.”

“She must have been very good if you mistook me for her,” I teased.

“Well, you two look so much alike,” Shaun said. “Stupefied me, swear to God. I actually still think you are related to her in some way.” He gave me an appraising look. “Are you?”

“Yes, Shaun, I’m Five Star’s unknown sister, who was sent here to convince you to marry both of us, so we can live happily ever after, and have many cute foals by exhausting you each and every night.”

His eyebrows rose. “I’m impressed you actually said that in one breath.”

“Practise,” I replied simply. “In all seriousness, though, I don’t recall anyone in my family with the name Five Stars. Speaking of which, how about you?”

“I too don’t have anyone in my family named Five Stars,” he replied.

I gently slapped his arm, smiling. “I mean do you have any family, brothers, sisters?”

When the words left my mouth, I knew I asked something wrong because the warmth around him seemed to retreat back into him, making me involuntarily shiver.

“Yeah… family,” Shaun began, voice a little weary. His face was now devoid of the smile that had been there since the start of the conversation. It came back after a second later, though. “Well, I don’t know who my parents were. I do have an older brother, though. He’s… well, let’s just say he’s a career man working for a government-run company that deals in exports.”

There was a weird turn in his emotions, but it was too quick for me to pin it down. “Bad blood?” I guessed.

“Not really bad blood, honestly,” he replied. “We just view the world differently. And it doesn’t help that he’s constantly busy. You can imagine the Christmas Dinners—sorry, Hearth’s Warming Eve dinners—when he actually has the off-time. However, he did help me during my start as a writer, and I owe him for that.”

Warmth began to ebb out of him once more, and I felt that changing the subject to a lighter note was the best move. Wondering for a moment on what opening to use, I let Shaun eat a little bit more before saying, “So, seriously, you’re not a ‘new mare in every city’ kind of guy?”

Shaun shook his head, smile once more back in his face. “Nope. I’ve only been in two Equestrian cities.”

I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean.”

He laughed. “While I would love to meet willing and able single ladies—and mares,” he amended, “my job doesn’t allow me to fool around too much.”

“But you do travel a lot,” I countered.

“True, but it has to do with timing,” Shaun replied. “I always have to get to the next city soon afterwards, and I don’t like to mix my professional life with my personal one.”

“Because of the unmitigated disaster?” I asked.

He just nodded, chuckling. “How come I heard those two words in italics?”

“What’s italics?”

“It’s a human writing format,” Shaun replied, chuckling even louder. When he placed more meat on his plate, he shook his head. “Wow. I must have been really famished to be eating this much.”

“Just make sure you have room for dessert,” I said.

“Dessert? Really? What’s for dessert?”

I smiled at him, seductively, while giving him a little shot of my growing lust. I was pretty sure he got the picture.

I kept close physical contact with him as we exited the restaurant. The booster did its job, and I enjoyed the steady outflow of his emotions—sweet, hot, salty, and with a slight bitter tinge. That last part had me wondering why he would feel disgust, especially when it was directed mostly inward, but I latched on, tasting his mix of emotions. He was primed and ready, just like me. It was time to seal the deal.

“Are you sure my house would be better?” he asked as we crossed the first street.

“Hmm-hmm,” I nodded. “My house is a mess right now. I spilled some flour on my kitchen counter, and I don’t think I have cleaned it up yet. Plus my room is also my workroom, and I haven’t organized that for months.”

I felt his hesitation for a moment, but that quickly muted as he nodded, leading me towards his house. I took that moment to scan the area, looking for anything off, and found somepony following our steps. He was a brown stallion earth pony with dark hair, his eyes looking at us intently until they met my gaze; he quickly looked away.

I mentally rolled my eyes, noting this for my next lecture with Silverfly.

Unsurprisingly, Shaun’s apartment was located in an area populated by the more well-to-do citizens of Fillydelphia, with streetlamps brightly lighting up the area and sidewalks lined with trees. The building itself was unassuming, light-beige with brown accents on its corners. We took a lift to the top floor, and once he got the lights to his apartment turned on, he invited me in. I whistled.

“Nice place,” I commented. And it was. The doorway revealed a small receiving chamber, and to the right was a large living room area that seemed bigger than my whole apartment.

“Thanks,” Shaun replied with a smile. “I have something to admit.”

I raised my eyebrow. “What?”

“My room’s a bit of a mess too. I’ll just clear out a few things.”

“Now you have me curious about your messy room,” I replied.

This time, he rolled his eyes. “Make yourself at home.”

Shaun went straight through the living room area, through another door, and closed it behind him. I was half-tempted to chase after him, but opted to look around. Stealing a glance to my left revealed a small corridor that led to the kitchen. I reminded myself to take a look at that later, and made my way to the living room, to try and get the feel of the place.

There was a collection of couches circling a rectangular coffee table, a dinner table with a lot of seating pads. All of the furniture looked well made and high in quality, which meant money. The area was also clean. Too clean, if I had to be critical. It was as if no one had been using the room for anything, at all.

Something caught my eye as I looked farther in the room. There was a small area seemingly cordoned off from the rest of the living room; its entrance was the small space between two bookshelves made into two sections of walls. Walking through the opening, I was amazed to find a small, intimate study. There was a beautiful tall desk made of polished mahogany, the design of which was like nothing I’ve seen ponies make. On top of that was a silver rectangular metallic box with a glowing white apple in its center, and the books Shaun had bought from Keeper’s Tomes. On the floor was a well worn carpet, with some open books scattered atop of it.

One of the walls had an odd black glass seemingly attached on it. Around that was a layer of cork, with small pieces of paper pinned to it. Curious, I approached the black glass and touched it, only for it to suddenly brighten. That had me yelping for a microsecond before I composed myself.

Whatever it was, it looked like an investigative board. On top was a straight line with slanted perpendicular branches on top, each of them having some box of text above each one. Below that, there were four columns of more text. If I read them correctly, they were labeled Victim, Suspect, Items of Interest, and Witnesses. Each column had drawings of either pony, human, or jewels.

Below that was another column, central to the four, labeled simply as Characters. My hoof hovered over a male human with short, wiry hair. Tapping on it, everything on the glass changed, putting the picture of the human (now labeled with a name: James Keel) at the center, and surrounded by more pony pictures, as well as a new line below him.

I felt Shaun before he even spoke, which probably saved me from yelping or jumping up embarrassingly.

“Well,” he began. I turned my head to look at him. He was smiling. “I did tell you to make yourself at home. Enjoying yourself?”

“This room is amazing,” I admitted, then looked around the room once more. “And this glass… it responded to my touch!”

“One of the biggest touchscreens I could afford and bring here,” Shaun replied, pride in his tone. “Don’t ask me how it works, though. I’m a little stupid with inner workings of technology. I just know enough to use it.”

I nodded. “This room… this is where you work, right? I mean, the living room seemed too impersonal. Here, though…”

“My playground,” Shaun replied. “Well, more like workroom. You should have seen me a month ago. I was behind schedule, so I just got stuck here everyday trying to meet the deadline. First time I went out to actually enjoy Fillydelphia was when I finally submitted my draft.”

“That’s when we first met, right?” I asked.

“Nope, we met three days after.” He smiled. “I see you’re trying to spoil my story for yourself.”

“This is for Allure?”

“Actually, its for my third book, Provocateur,” Shaun answered. “So, unless you get more context, you won’t understand anything useful.”

“It looks professionally done,” I commented.

“I hope so,” he said with a smile. “I was taught how to make them from a retired investigator. I started making them for my previous books, and ever since then I’ve found it very useful in keeping track of everything.”

“Someone with a passion for their work,” I said, smiling as I approached. I gave his hand a tentative lick. “Very alluring.”

He looked at me for a moment, somewhat forlorn and conflicted. His emotions, which had been nearly constant, took a more bitter tinge. That got me frowning.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“It’s…” he paused.

“Was it me?” I guessed. “Something I did or said?”

After a tense moment, Shaun finally asked, “Are you sure you want this, Lumi?”

“Yes,” I replied almost immediately. “Why do you ask, Shaun? Am I giving you an impression that I don’t want this?”

Shaun moved his hand, pushing his hair up his forehead, all the way until his hand reached the nape of his neck. “No. It’s just… remember earlier that day? When I agreed on the date?” When I nodded, he continued, “Well, and this may sound a bit silly, but I feel like I’m using you. You’ve just come from what sounded like a rather bad situation, and I can’t help wonder if I’m just taking advantage of it. And don’t get me wrong, Lumi, I was telling the truth earlier. I was okay with the date, and I have been enjoying our time, but—”

I didn’t let him finish. Standing on my hind legs, I pinned him with my front ones on the wall and gave him a mild kiss on the lips. My mind began to plan how to save the situation. He was right in a way. I may have overplayed my family difficulties earlier that day when I set up the date, but normally, that wouldn’t have troubled any stallion. For Shaun to feel that badly about it, enough to feel some form of self-disgust was… well, noble.

I decided to use a little honesty on my next move. Looking at him with a gentle smile, I kissed him again on both cheeks, this time letting some of my relief cross over to him.

“You are a kindhearted soul, Shaun,” I replied. Then my smile turned a bit wry. “Naive, but kindhearted.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Naive?”

“If anyone is using anyone, Mr. Bradley, it would be me,” I admitted. I added, softly, “I’m going to file for leave tomorrow. Something has come up, something I can’t quite ignore.”

“Does it have to do with your family emergency?” Shaun asked, just as soft.

“Yes,” I replied. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. Maybe that’s why I seemed to be moving a little quick. Maybe even seem desperate to you. I just want this date to be special enough that you won’t forget the floor manager you had met just yesterday.” I gave him a small frown. “So I won’t just be another face in the crowd.”

My reasoning was a little general, a little open to interpretation. And for a good reason.

“That’s why you asked those questions?” Shaun asked gently. “About Index, about my ‘conquests’?”

Yup. Give them a little leeway, they’ll start connecting the dots, whether true or not.

“I’m sorry, Shaun,” I said. “I like you. A lot. And I… I guess I was just really worried with this whole thing coming up, just when we were getting to know each other.”

“Well, we can fix that,” was all he said before he initiated the kiss this time. And it wasn’t a mild one like I gave earlier. This one was passionate, backed with his emotions, making it rather hot and sweet. And wet. I wasn’t actually ready for it, and it took me by surprise, but a pleasant one at that as his energy began to mingle with mine.

My heavy meal and metaboliser investment was paying off. Too bad that the booster was a little mild, but there was something nice about an asset being more controlled, and leading the feeding.

Whatever trepidation Shaun had felt had almost vanished, and he put himself into the kiss, which slowly turned to an embrace. The contact with his fingers, the skin in his arms jolted more energy into me, leaving me a little delirious.

“Oh, wow,” I muttered. I looked at him. “Not angry that I was using you, even a little?”

“Well, you can always make it up to me,” Shaun replied, gently snaking his warm arm around my neck. He gave me another kiss, and this time, I returned it with hunger.

It took a while for us to get to his bedroom since we both kissed and touched each other every ten steps (maybe less as I wasn’t really counting). By the time we were finally inside, I was very reluctant to let him go, the taste of his emotions stirring my hunger in a way that had me breathing shallowly. That seemed to turn Shaun on even more, as the taste of coffee and now hints of chocolate began to permeate through me.

I tried to calm myself by looking around the room. As large as it was, it still followed the basics, with a bed at the center, a large closet on one side, and a desk at another. It also reminded me a bit of his workroom—used, though less messy. Judging by the small pile of clothes in the corner, his little ‘clearing out a few things’ was basically to pile them all in one corner. I didn’t mind though.

It was when I jumped onto the bed that I fell in love. Shaun apparently wasn’t shy about using money for his comforts, and his bed was part of that. I felt like I was lying on a fluff of cloud. For all I knew, I was. Maybe this bed was made in Cloudsdale.

I rolled around on the bed once, twice, before settling in to watch Shaun slowly undress. I gave him a sultry smile, which he returned with almost the same effect. “I told you I’m good with the undressing negotiations,” I commented, which got him laughing.

“I let you win,” he replied.

“Uh-huh,” I said, giggling. As he continued, I took a glance outside the window, and spotted Silverfly on the building across. She waved her leg at me, which almost caused me to face-hoof. Yes, it was dark outside, but that doesn’t mean you should do something to give away your position.

That’s another lesson for her.

Shaun’s fingers rubbed my coat, making me groan softly as more of his energy poured in. I looked at him with a small smile before kissing him on his naked chest, enjoying his smell and taste, both emotionally and physically.

“Should we take it slow?” I teased. “It must have been a while since you got a taste of mare.”

“Let me get re-acquainted, then,” he replied, and with surprising force, pushed me backwards to my bed, exposing my belly to him.

My eyes widened as I saw him smile, shivering as his lips kissed me at the base of my horn, then my snout, and my lips, each place feeling like it was on fire. The lower he went, the more shallow my breath got. The anticipation finally mounted to something unbearable, until I felt his lips on my sex.

Wow. Seriously, wow. Shaun still knew what he was doing, and if I was a more suspicious changeling, I’d have said he had some practise. I was left doing nothing but trying to hold myself steady as I felt electricity spread throughout my lower regions, going up to my spine. His energy flowed readily into me, abundant, delicious, and hot. His throat grunted with pleasure as he tasted me, his lips exploring me slowly. Sensually. Excitingly.

I moaned a little louder as he went faster, pressure inside me wanting to be released. Shaun seemed to be able to read my mood, sometimes slowing down enough to keep it from exploding. When he did that twice, I growled. I didn’t receive a reply, except for his tongue to go faster and faster.

I buckled as I felt the pressure finally release, my hips gyrating on Shaun’s face as he continued to lick, leaving me panting, loudly. Seconds passed, and he finally slowed down, kissing upwards. I felt myself twitch every time his lips touched me, while aware of his length touching my sex. My hips moved automatically, wanting to take him whole.

“You are insatiable, Lumi,” Shaun teased.

I smiled. “Quiet, Mr. Bradley, and get to work.”

“Oh, I intend to,” he replied.

It felt like a few hours before he finally gave me what I wanted. I felt a slight pressure as he entered me before the flood of his emotions and energy came rushing in like a tidal wave. Whatever gratification I derived from skin and lip contact, it was nothing compared to the sheer euphoria of what I felt now.

He moved slowly, rhythmically, and in control. However, I knew the truth. His lust was the strongest, most forefront of his emotions. Heat escaped in waves, almost uncomfortably so, with a blend of citrus, sweetness, and spice. There was still a little bitter tinge, but that was more of an aftertaste as I felt him trying to engulf me with his whole being. He wanted nothing more than to take me, hard and fast, which, deep inside, was something I wanted him to do.

However, he paced himself, enjoying the expression of my face as much as I enjoyed his. We were locked in bliss as we enjoyed the sensations that we gave to each other, his grunting mixing well with my moans. Slowly, he began to build speed, moving his hips faster and faster, until I saw him struggling to keep his composure.

I helped him along, moaning louder now that I also felt myself close once more. That was enough for Shaun as I felt him shiver, thrusting at me with all his strength. I felt his essence mingle with me, filling me to a brim. That set me off as well, my hips doing its final shakes, hungry for more, leaving him to collapse on top of me. I gently hugged him, whispering how good I felt as he gasped and groaned into my coat.

It took him a bit to recover, and even then, he was feeling the strain of the feeding, so I took the lead. I rolled him over and pinned him to the bed, and as he had me at his mercy of his lips and tongue, I did the same. I began to kiss him, his neck, his lips, his chest. I let my tail brush his inner thighs, making sure they didn’t touch his growing length. His breathing began to hitch when I slowly approached it, and began to kiss around it. He moaned slightly, which had me giving him a teasing smile in return.

Then I licked him, slowly, twirling around him, as if I was testing some new ice cream cone flavor. He groaned in pleasure as I continued my ministrations for a few more minutes, enjoying the taste of him and myself, before finally climbing on top of his length and pushing myself downwards.

He grunted as he felt himself embraced by my warmth. His hips were still moving, though no longer with a steady pace and rhythm, but with a sudden hurriedness that had me feeling his energy coming out in odd spurts. My hooves began to grope his torso area as I tried to match his movements, slowly turning the up the speed.

We got louder the faster we moved. I licked his left nipple, circling it with my tongue, and that got a loud reaction from him as he gave his final push, flooding me once more with his essence and a last burst of energy before he finally collapsed beneath me, panting softly.

I smiled, letting myself stay in position for the moment while nuzzling his neck in thanks. I felt for his energy, made sure he wasn’t drained enough to develop any complications, before slipping off of him and moving to his side. I wrapped my forelegs around him in a warm hug.

“Wow,” he whispered. “That was… wow.”

“Definitely a wow for me, too,” I said. I kissed him on the neck, earning a shiver from him.

“I swear, I usually last—” he yawned “—last longer than that.”

“Get some sleep, love.”

“Will I still see you,” he mumbled, “in the morning?”

“Promise.”

He murmured something I couldn’t quite catch before his breathing slowed. It was a few minutes later when he did finally fall asleep. I hugged him a little tighter, wondering what his kitchen looked like—considering the place, he should have a pretty good one—and whether I was going to be able to cook breakfast for him, or if I would have to ask Silverfly to order out.

One thing was sure, though: as far as assets went, Shaun was definitely a keeper.

Chapter 13

View Online

I dozed off.

I wasn’t surprised. In fact, I had expected it. As paradoxical as it sounded, feeding was quite an exhausting experience. Back when I had been at Star Tracks, it took a lot of willpower to keep myself awake after feeding from Brad, as I was in another Cluster’s territory. However, since I was currently in my Cluster’s territory, and knowing I had someone standing guard, I let my mind wander free to enjoy the sensation of being satisfied and filled.

Too bad I met Mother earlier. I expected good, warm dreams. Instead, a memory began to play.

I was back in the Hive Cluster, though different and more familiar. I was smaller, younger, and more eager to please. In the center of the small flat area, I grunted as I began to expend magical energy to form a dark blue-green barrier in front of me. It took me a few seconds before the spell stabilized.

I could see Gypsy give me an encouraging smile. Beside her, Mother held no expression. No, actually, she held a more subtle form of curiosity and a dash of eagerness. Around me, I saw a few changeling guards, looking at their Queen for the signal—a sharp nod which was given mere seconds later.

I felt the magical energy wash around me as the guards lifted wooden balls, a little larger than hooves, around them. One by one, they launched them against me at blurring speeds. They hit my barriers with enough force to make me wince, the surface of the magical wall blazing with short-lived lights on impact. As more balls began rain down at me, I began to feel the familiar numbing sensation on my horn as I tried to hold on the spell, praying earnestly to keep it up until the end.

Then, it finally stopped. I looked around, breathing out a sigh of relief as all the guards smiled, their magic slowly dispersing away in the air. None of their smiles were as big as Gypsy’s, though, who looked at Mother with proud conviction.

“As you see, my Queen,” she began, “she seems to share the same potential for shield spells as her progenitor. At such a very young age, too.”

I looked at Mother with an eager expression, hoping for some small praise. Instead, I received a withering gaze.

“Marginal improvements aren’t reasons to be proud,” Queen Chrysalis replied. She looked around towards the guards. “Run the test again. This time, make it ten seconds longer.”

Gypsy looked alarmed. “My Queen, Luminous will need some rest. Her magical reserves are near exhausted.”

“Nonsense,” Mother scoffed. “I could expel more magic than that display without having been fed for days. As she is my spawn, she can undoubtedly do the same.”

“You can’t expect a youngling to be as capable as a fully grown adult, my Queen.”

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, as Mother glared at her venomously. “She’s physically an adult. I did not risk resources into the project so we could treat them the same as every natural brood.” She stared at the guards. “Again!”

The guards stared at the Queen, then back at me. I felt their magical energy wash over the thrown balls, making them return to their owners. I swallowed, closing my eyes as I tried to delve inwards, to grab any available magical energy to me.

“I’m waiting,” Mother hissed.

I almost moaned as the wooden balls launched themselves at me before I could form my shield up, but I was still able to repel the first two waves. The tingling sensation of my horn had spread throughout my head though, leaving me feeling dazed, confused, and exhausted.

One of the balls punched through the shield, deflecting slightly from the impact. It hit my knee so strongly that my concentration faltered. Excruciating pain came in next as the rest of the balls hit true to the targets. One of them hit my snout. I screamed in pain, my eyes watered. I bent down to cover myself, to be a smaller target. I shouted, “Mother! Mother!”

There was a momentary pause. Then, a cold statement. “Why are you stopping?”

I heard Gypsy beg, “My Queen, she’s exhausted. You can’t possibly think she can continue!”

There was a snort. “Pain is a good teacher. She is the only survivor of the project. She is my spawn, and a spawn of a strong unicorn who could cast a shield big enough to cover an entire city.” There was another pause. “You are too soft on her, Gypsyfly.” And finally, there was a bark of order. “Continue!”

It was a second later before the pain came again. Then darkness.

I woke up a little more violently than I liked. Phantom pains of the dream lingered slightly, but were soon replaced by an overwhelming warm sensation draping all over me. Blinking, I noticed one of Shaun’s arms hugging my side. I couldn’t help but smile. Shifting slightly, I turned over to look out the window, see if that would give me a clue on how much time had passed since I fell asleep.

It couldn’t have been that much. The velvet skies were bright with glittering stars, and below that was Silverfly in her Silver Lining cover, gazing inside and eyes wide. I blinked for a few seconds before sighing, then giving her a glare. She straightened slightly as I magically lifted Shaun’s arm out of the way, earning a small sleepy groan from him, before I slowly made my way towards the window. Slowly, I mouthed to meet me at the entrance. She immediately nodded before flying away.

It took her a moment before she finally knocked on the door. I let her in, and whispered, “I told you to stay in place.”

“No one was around!” Silverfly weakly protested. “And I wasn’t in my Primary form.”

“Great. So, instead of getting caught being a changeling, you’ll be caught for being a voyeur.” When she pouted, I smiled. “Enjoyed it that much, have you?”

She blushed. “It… it was fascinating. And the emotions… they were so different from the one in the Feeding Chamber!” She blinked. “Does feeding really expand Love that far?”

I shook my head. “I projected a little emotion so you could feel it a bit. However, when you feed, I recommend you contain them so you won’t broadcast it to any potential enemy changelings around.”

She smiled. “When I feed?” She looked over me, some excitement escaping her. That got me chuckling.

“Slow down there, Silverfly. You have a long way to go before getting there. So, what are your observations? Any questions you need answered?”

Silverfly pondered for a moment before nodding. “It was… longer than I expected.”

“What, the feeding?” I asked.

“No, the thing before that,” she clarified. “The whole dinner thing. You certainly took your time there.”

I nodded. “For a lot of good reasons. Primarily, I wanted to give him the metaboliser and the booster.” I raised my hoof before Silverfly could interrupt. “And yes, I could have dosed him here, but this is where understanding ponies and humans come into play.

“Feeding is different for them. A lot of the act ties down to socialization and cues. It’s something I realized the hard way: being overly eager or overplaying my hoof had scared off most of my potential assets. I still feel embarrassed thinking about those times, let me tell you.”

Silverfly nodded. “So basically, take it slow?”

“Yes, but more importantly, connect,” I replied. Seeing her blank stare, I sighed. “Love is basically all their emotions put forward during the act of feeding. The more connected they feel to you, the more energy they give out. And to connect to an asset, you have to be an important part of their lives.”

The young changeling nodded. “Does that mean this human writer thinks you’re important to him?”

“Right now, Shaun’s feeling me out, and likes me well enough. However, he isn’t completely invested.” I looked at her. “Didn’t you notice how small the energy felt, compared to the one in the Feeding Chamber?”

Silverfly gave me a flat look. “I thought that was because I was, you know, a little farther away.”

I chuckled. “True, but even if you were a bit closer, you would have felt the difference.”

“Okay, so, is that normal?” she asked. “Feeding on him, even if he isn’t invested?”

“In a way,” I replied. “Like I said, the act is part of their social culture. It’s a good indicator if the two subjects are compatible. In fact, it’s used to find out whether the potential asset is a keeper, to see if developing them further and making them invested, is worth the time.”

Silverfly frowned. “So, the first feeding is important?” When I nodded, she asked, “But what if it was… well, not a good feeding?”

I smiled. That was a good question to ask. “It’s not the be-all and end-all. But you’ll have to work harder if the first impression wasn’t too favorable.”

“So, be very good at feeding?”

I snorted. “No. Well, yes, but not only. Talking to and spending time with them will help endear you to your assets.”

Silverfly seemed to sigh. “All of this seems… hard.”

“Worthy things usually are,” I advised sagely.

She frowned a moment before nodding. “So, the date was to help establish a connection between you two, which is part of their cultural thingies. And sleeping with him is actually part of a step to make him feel invested in you.”

I nodded. “That, and it was also a good way to recharge since I’m about to investigate the changeling deaths.”

She seemed to ponder over that for a moment before nodding. “You always seem to do things for multiple reasons.”

I smiled. “I like to be efficient. While not exactly necessary when being an infiltrator, Silverfly, it’s something you should learn to do as well.”

She frowned, once more going to a pensive mood. “Okay, so… what’s next?”

“Next step is for me to evaluate your performance.”

That got her blinking.

“I spotted you six times, with three different disguises,” I continued. “Let me tell you why.”

Silverfly spent the next fifteen minutes frowning as I pinpointed exactly how I spotted her, complete with examples on what would have happened if a hostile changeling or an Equestrian spotted her. I may have oversold it a bit on the consequences (and I was pretty sure she knew I was selling a bit of horse apples to her), but never let it be said that pinning the destruction of all the Hives in Equestria on a poorly disguised changeling was not an effective method in getting a point across.

“So, work on the posture, and always ensure that you don’t appear too obvious in your observation. A good disguise is a first step, but it’s the attitude that will sell it,” I finished. Looking at her, I could tell she was slightly annoyed. Whether it was because she was recognizing her own failures or because I was laying it rather thick on the lecture, I couldn’t be completely sure. “You understand?”

Her head snapped up and she began to nod quickly. “Yes, yes!”

“Good.” I nodded. “Now, as punishment for your poor performance—”

“Punishment?! That’s not fair—” Silverfly protested immediately, before I pinned her with a hard stare that quieted her once more.

Satisfied, I continued. “Now, as for your punishment, I need you to go back to Embarr Corner after sunrise. The place will be closed, so go knock on the back door. Ask for Wasp, and tell her Lumi needs a breakfast special.”

“Why can’t you do that?” she whined.

“Well, one, it’s your punishment; and two, I need to stay close in case Shaun wakes up.”

“Um… why?”

I smiled. “Connection.”

Silverfly stared at me for a moment before huffing. “This whole culture thingy is really complicated.”

“You’ll learn fast, Silverfly,” I replied honestly, leaving out the fact that her dreams of being an infiltrator were gone if she couldn’t.

Once she was out of the door, I slowly made my way back to Shaun. I wondered if I should have warned her about Wasp’s penchant for passwords. I could almost imagine Silverfly and the Independent fighting.

Ah, well. It would be another good lesson for Silverfly. Not everyone, not even allies, will agree with you.

Sliding on to his bed, I was surprised to feel him stir. “Hush,” I cooed softly, extending one of my forelegs over him. I rubbed him gently, making him murmur before he settled down, back to sleep. I took note that he could potentially be a light sleeper, which could add to some difficulty when I started exploring his place in the near future. Maybe I should just do that when he was at work?

Instead of answering my own question, I just concentrated on studying him. I fixed in memory everything I could—the feel of his skin, the pitch of his light snores, and any murmur of his dreams. Surprisingly, his emotions were also pretty strong even in slumber, but were chaotic at best, shifting from one spectrum to another; from palpable fear, to warmth of familiarity with a hint of exasperation.

Part of me wondered what his dreams were.

Oddly, the statement ‘stupid brother’ was repeated. I may have smiled at that. I guess we both had problems with family, though I hope that his brother wasn’t plotting his demise. Unlike Mother.

Before I knew it, I felt the first ray of sun, its warmth blanketing my back. Strangely enough, when the light hit Shaun, he too stirred. He grunted a series of sounds, which I have absolutely no idea what they were supposed to mean. It took him a moment to open his eyes, which then focused on me. He blinked slowly, then let out a breathe.

“You’re still here,” he whispered.

“Is that a subtle way of throwing me out, Mr. Bradley?” I asked, smirking.

“Huh. Oh. No, no. I just thought last night was a dream.”

I raised my eyebrow at him for a moment, my smile widening. “Okay, that was a good line.”

“Hmm, I thought so too,” Shaun replied softly. “I was going to add that last night was too good to be true or something along those lines.”

“Are you complimenting me to have another repeat performance?” I asked naughtily, nudging his side gently. He chuckled, weakly.

“I would love another go if I didn’t feel as weak as a baby,” he muttered. He sighed. “I’m a bit… disappointed.”

“Was I that bad?”

“No. You were… perfect.”

That statement would have been trite if it wasn’t for the fact that he was being perfectly honest. And as a changeling, I took whatever compliments I could get, especially in that area.

I kissed him in the cheek. “I think you were perfect too.”

He smiled before shaking his head. “I thought I would have given you a much better performance. Maybe next time I’ll play more of my strengths.”

“Which is?”

“Linguistics.”

I giggled. “Your accent does give me the shivers. And you do have a rich vocabulary to wow me with your never ending adjectives.”

“I do occasionally get praised for the talents of my tongue.”

“Which is well earned,” I interjected before kissing his chest, which made him shiver. “In fact, I consider myself talented in that area as well. I am sorely tempted to see who’s actually better at it: you or me.”

He groaned. “You’re evil.”

“Call it incentive for next time,” I replied with a wink.

“Hmm, sounds good,” he muttered, his arms surrounding me before he gave my neck a small kiss. While it wasn’t scorching hot as last night, it made me want to hug him tighter.

We stayed in each other’s embrace for a moment, basking in the warmth of the sun and of each other before Shaun shifted slightly.

“Not that I don’t want to stay with you, but I think one of us should be making a bit of breakfast.”

“Don’t worry,” I replied. “I had that taken care of.”

He looked at me with a raised eyebrow before he sank back to bed. I smiled as he went back into my embrace. “Is there anything you can’t do?” he asked.

“That would be telling.” And before any of us could say anything, I heard the doorbell ring. “And I think that’s breakfast.”

“Good, because I’m hungry,” he said. He extricated himself from my embrace, sitting up, allowing me to admire the skin of his back. There was a pause before he turned to me. “Aren’t you supposed to get up?”

“Yes.” I smiled wickedly. “But I had this fantasy, you know. I was always curious how a human dresses.”

I heard him snort. “Minx,” he said.

“Yes. Yes I am.”

He laughed, but obliged soon afterwards as he stood in front of me, fully exposed to Celestia’s light. I made a show of licking my lips. He in turn made a show of putting his clothes on very slowly.

Needless to say, Silverfly was not amused when I finally opened the door much, much later.

Chapter 14

View Online

“We are arriving at Star Tracks. Please ensure that your belongings are secure. Do not leave your foals unattended. We are now arriving at…”

I blanked out the announcement as I made my final item check, most especially the spell gems. Some of them were old and had some risk of leakage that would leave me with useless and expensive paperweights. Granted, I did that back in Fillydelphia, but it never hurts to double- or even triple-check everything.

As the steady chugging rhythm of the train slowed, a high-pitched whistle pierced the air. I secured the bag around my barrel and waited for the passenger car to completely stop, then mixed in with the exiting crowd.

I didn’t even take ten steps on the platform before I felt ice surround me. It was projected emotion coming from three sources. Looking around, I spotted three disguised changelings, not exactly hiding. They stood out in the crowd, standing all stiff and staring at me, one even openly glaring. I rolled my eyes. I guess they hadn’t forgotten that I entertained the thought of stealing an asset from them the last time I was here.

They followed me with the crowd, keeping a bit of distance. That was fine for a minute or two, though once I exited the platform, I wondered what they were waiting for. If they were the greeting party, they should have done or said something by now. That made me a bit nervous, especially once I reached the exit of the train station. I began to call on my magic and linked it with a Jumper Gem, ready to activate it when I spotted a familiar face.

“Firefly!” Hopper shouted his greeting from the nearby crowd awaiting the arrivals. He smiled widely before looking at the amused ponies around him and said, excitedly, “She's here!”

One amused mare from the group chuckled, shouting, “Well, go get her!”

The crowd seemed to laugh at that and began to make way for Hopper to excitedly trotted towards me. He smiled shyly and rubbed my neck with his in affection. Snorting, I kissed him enthusiastically, much to the crowd’s glee. Some even began stomping their hooves in appreciation. Whatever story Hopper told them must have been darned good to get that kind of reaction because usually, that just happened in sappy romance books.

As we left, I took one last look at the happy crowd before looking at Hopper. “Was that necessary, building the crowd like that?”

Hopper just smiled. “Well, we did need to establish a public reason for your visit here.”

“Please,” I scoffed. “I didn’t need a reason to visit here last time. Plus that little show gathered more attention than having me just anonymously slipping in.” I paused before looking around, spotting three changelings that still kept their distance but were now following us, establishing an unseen perimeter. The one that was openly glaring now looked furious. “Was that actually a way to try and humiliate me?”

He shrugged. “Perhaps.”

“Failed spectacularly, if that was the case,” I replied. Another thought hit me. “And maybe a test?”

“Maybe.” This time, he grinned.

“If it was, I hope I passed.”

“You’ve been doing this for a long time, Luminous. Only you can answer that.”

I rolled my eyes at that as we exited the station. “I must say, this is a warmer welcome than the last time. So, either this visit is more important than a sharing feed, or you are subtly luring me to imprisonment.”

Hopper looked at me for a moment giving me a soft, sad smile. “Sorry to disappoint, Luminous, but we aren’t exactly in an imprisonment mood. Odona, one of my mother’s oldest friends and former Den Mother, is dead. Over here.”

He directed me towards a small wagon waiting for us a block away from the station. I looked at the earth pony pulling the vehicle, feeling no emotion coming from her—another changeling, I guessed.

“Can I take your bag?” Hopper asked.

“I’ll keep that, if you don’t mind,” I replied before hopping into the wagon.

“Understandable,” he replied before entering as well. We sat opposite to each other, my back on the rear of the wagon. Hopper took a moment to settle, tapped the front wall of the wagon, signalling the pony to start cantering away. He looked at me. “You have questions?”

“First off, where are we going?”

“I thought you’d like a look at where we found her.”

I nodded. That was a good start. “So,” I began, “former Den Mother, huh?”

“She was my advisor when I took over this Cluster. She retired three years ago to stay with her… private asset.”

I didn’t blink at the pause but thought on the statement. If she was still the Den Mother when she was killed, then I would have entertained sabotage or infiltration—and a number one suspect in mind. However, if the changeling had stepped down from her seat of power, then this could have just been a random opportunity for the killer.

Maybe they didn’t know who they killed. They probably saw an older changeling that had settled down, living a life of predictable rhythm. Three years living like that was a good way to rust any good changeling from fieldcraft, making her an even easier target.

Of course, this was all speculation. Her identity could probably still have been known, and her retirement only made for more opportunities in catching her.

“How about the asset she was living with?”

“I assigned a gatherer to maintain cover,” Hopper replied. “He’s not involved.”

“For certain?” I insisted.

“I investigated him myself.”

I looked at him for a moment. “Did you write down your observations?”

Hopper nodded before giving me a look. “Doubting my skills?”

I raised my foreleg in defense. “Just being thorough.”

“I’ll have it ready at your request,” he said.

While I didn’t hate working with or training Silverfly, I did miss working with a professional and experienced changeling, and Hopper was looking to be one. Out the window, I spotted more and more ponies moving around, chatting and generally ignoring the wagon moving down the road.

We came to a small alley that had a few foals playing what seemed to be a castle or fort game. They had a propped up a few boxes and even a garbage can at the entrance of the alley. When the wagon stopped, the nearer colts spared us a glance. When Hopper jumped off, they gave him a subtle nod.

“Shall we?” he asked.

I nodded and jumped off, walking with Hopper as we approached the pretend fort. One of the colts suddenly stood straighter.

“Halt! Identify yourself!”

Hopper just smiled. “Just a messenger, sir knight. I have a message for your liege.”

The colt nodded. “You may pass!”

The other foals began to move the boxes away, a little too efficiently to just be a pretend-play. My suspicions were also aroused when I saw them looking at me with quiet intent.

As Hopper and I entered the alleyway, I looked around, taking in the smells of garbage and the muffled noises in the street. There was a flutter of wings, and looking up, I saw the three changeling guards from the station now on the rooftops, on the lookout.

“Nice setup,” I commented.

“Thanks,” Hopper said. “We’re here.”

I saw it immediately. The whole alley had a vaguely brown and black colored ground. The one in front of me had an almost blotched white-washed spot, where the Putrefaction Potion did its work.

I blinked. We didn’t walk far. I did a quick calculation to see how exposed the body would have been. I doubt there was a pretend-fort at that time to cover-up the corpse, and I appreciated how quickly Hopper’s Cluster responded in keeping this a secret.

I expanded my senses, trying to get a feel of the place. I saw Hopper look at me for a moment, feeling the energy around me work.

“Trying to find magical traces?” he asked.

I nodded, concentrating on the white-washed floor. I could recognize the small amount of traces the Putrefaction Potion left, as well as the neutral magic in the air.

“We also did that,” Hopper said.

I just nodded before checking the walls and the rest of the area, and I blinked in surprise. “Huh,” I muttered.

“What is it?” Hopper asked.

I rechecked again. Same results. I looked at the spot once more before asking, “Was there no way to recover the body?”

Hopper shook his head. “One of my gatherers found her just before the sun rose. We didn’t have enough time to hide the body before the rest of the ponies began to walk this place. Mornings are pretty much busy, and I felt if we delayed, we’d expose her to the rest of Equestria.”

There was a subtle defensive tone on his voice that made me shake my head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to imply any wrongdoing on your part by that. It’s just…”

He looked at me, worried. “What is it?”

“You said you had your changelings scan the area as well, right?” When he nodded, I continued, “Have they spotted anything wrong or odd?”

Hopper thought on that for a moment before shaking his head. “They said the area was clean. There wasn’t anything odd around the area.”

I nodded. It may have been a day or two, but any odd magical signatures wouldn’t have disappeared so fast. “Your former Den Mother, would you say she’s helpless?”

“Of course not,” Hopper replied immediately. “Odana may not be the best fighter I had and she was already getting old, but—” and he trailed off, probably realizing the point I was making.

“We probably won’t win any straight fights against a pony or a griffin, but we’d still have fought,” I pointed. “There should be traces—magical attacks, blood, anything. Instead, what we have is a body of a changeling, with her neck snapped. I couldn’t comment on the changeling that died in Dodge, but knowing that it’s your former Den Mother that laid here, I doubt anything got the drop on her.”

Hopper nodded. Den Mothers were experienced advisors for Clusters or Hives, mostly with vast experience compared to young Ladies, such as myself, or even Queens. Mother had been quite miffed when I got Gypsy from her hooves. To tell me that someone got a drop on a former Den Mother, broke her neck, and left no traces was something I could only read in the most ignorant fictions.

“There is also the fact that there’s no evidence of any magical scrubber,” I added. “Other than the potion traces, everything else appears normal. Nothing out of place.”

“Which means what exactly?” Hopper asked.

I looked at him. “Your former Den Mother was killed elsewhere. And until I can find where, we won’t get anything.” I paused. “I’m going to need those files.”

Changeling Roun

by Demon Eyes Laharl

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14