//------------------------------//
// The Kill 
// Story: The Age of Hunting 
// by SwordTune 
//------------------------------//

Falling into her role became easy with her connections with Marblestop's remaining officers.

"You all have your tasks," Marina's voice echoed in her new workshop, a gift from Cooper. "Let's show our so-called competition what Marblestop craft is about."

"Hora-ora-ora!" Fifteen ponies shouted the popular Marblestop warcry. They were tanners, weavers, carpenters, wood carvers, and blacksmiths.

"Do you really think we can keep up?" Marina turned to her apprentice, a young Marblestop mare named Sun Birch.

She meant the northern trade fleet. Five ships carrying hundreds of merchants and their goods had docked in just days ago. They came from a number of villages further up north. The Crystal Veil, Ironmarsh, and Citrus Hills had coalesced into the largest flow of merchants Marina had ever seen during her six months in Riverfork.

She looked at her apprentice, a short but muscular mare. Without a horn or magic, she was forced to work iron with her own hooves, sculpting her limbs like a marble statue. She wasn't bulky, like Ferron, but her lean muscles were no weaker. 

"Have we ever failed?" Marina asked.

"There was a fire two weeks ago," Sun Birch replied bluntly, pointing to a forge across the workshop. "It's still broken."

Marina sighed. "Small things like that can't weigh us down. I've come a long way since this place opened, and we've overcome a lot. We can fill each and every order on time."

Sun Birch nodded and smiled confidently. "Alright then." She gave an envelope to Marina. "A new priority order arrived in the letterbox. The Crystal Veil needs six-hundred spears."

Marina took the paper out and scanned over it, her eyes widening the more she read. It seemed life consisted of never-ending work.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The market just outside the docks had transformed with the clamour of northern merchants. The influx of refugees from Marblestop had filled the stores with stone statuettes, gold and silver jewellery, and religious icons paying tribute to their Four Spirits of Stone.

And now northern merchants fluttered eagerly to buy the increasingly rare crafts of Marina's kin. The fall of Marblestop had dramatically raised the value of its products, and clearly, the northern villages felt this change as well.

"What are you thinking of buying?" Esilis asked Marina as they strolled through the market together. "Last time I went to Cooper's, I heard Ferron saying he was thinking of buying you a crystal flower. You might want to get him something too."

Marina shot a grin at her friend. "You're lying. It's not a holiday, why would he buy me something like that?"

"Why indeed," Esilis smiled wolfishly back. "All you do is work together all the time, and before Cooper put you in charge of the new workshop, you two practically lived under the same roof. I know you must've watched how he hammers iron."

Marina ignored her implications and turned her head toward a Crystal Veil merchant. She could identify him by the chains of gold that ran along his hat, showing off the small crystals hanging on it.

"Ferron, huh?" she pointed Esilis's sight toward the merchant. "How about getting something for Reiter? He really likes northern outfits, because they put magic crystals into their clothes."

"Don't play around, Marina," she replied, slapping away her pointing hoof. "In case you forgot, he spends more time helping Lunti anyways."

Marina tilted her head as if remembering, but in truth she never forgot. Because of her, Lunti was disinherited by her father, and rejected by Chevron when he found out she could no longer influence council member Gentry anymore. She was a permanent guest at Reiter's townhouse, a fact that, despite how much she tried to hide it, dirtied Esilis's magic with negative emotions.

"Fine," Marina relented. "Then why don't you get Ferron something, since you think he's so great. His favourite pastime is reading, but he doesn't own any northern literature."

"Bookstores are on the other side of the market though," Esilis whined. "Do you really want to walk over there?"

"No," Marina said, patting her friend's shoulder. "You can walk over there. I have to meet with Seiris for lunch."

Esilis's eyes bulged and her jaw dropped. "Wait, are you two toge-"

"Okay that's enough from you," Marina cut her off. "Go live your own romances, and stop projecting your feelings onto me."

Esilis tried pressing for more but eventually gave up and disappeared into the crowd, fluffing her wings happily thinking she had discovered something about her friend.

"That mare..." Marina sighed to herself. "If her love wasn't so sporadic, she'd make a good catch for the hive."

She made for the docks, turning to a storeroom she had recently bought for all the iron the council rationed to her after Marblestop blacksmiths started seeking her out. Word of her involvement in getting the council to lift the ban turned her into a local hero, and there were even ponies who claimed they knew her when she still lived in Marblestop. They, of course, sought to elevate themselves, but she let those rumours run about and solidify her position among the ponies.

The storeroom was kept tightly sealed with thick walls to protect the iron ore from oxidizing with the moist river air. It was a curse and a blessing, for the poor location was exactly why the storeroom wasn't already owned by Quillion and Ricasso. It was reinforced to ensure nothing seeped in. And thus, kept many things from coming out.

She unlocked the front door, made from heavy lacquered pine, and stepped in, closing and locking it behind her immediately. The storeroom was cramped, stuffed with crates of raw materials her workshop needed.

"You could show up anywhere at any time," Marina spoke, turning her head to follow her nose. "Why here?"

The lieutenant from her packed assigned to watch over her crawled down from the rafters above in her natural shape, silently bowing once on the floor. "This place is your domain, your highness."

"How is the nest?"

"Still secure, princess." The lieutenant raised her head. "The combined militia of Riverfork and Marblestop may be larger now, but the fusion of the command structure has made it a liability for them."

"Good." She expected Riverfork would expand its security, making it harder in the village for her pack to send prey and information, but in the past few months, the war against her subordinates had increased worryingly. "The northern fleet has made this a good time to strike."

"Everything is still in place," the lieutenant answered. "Their armies won't get in the way."

Marina nodded. "There shouldn't be problems on my end either. Reiter and Esilis have been excellent contacts with the village's wealthy, and it's working class."

The lieutenant crinkled her nose. "Your success does not go unnoticed. I can smell iron and coal in your coat."

"And it's put me in a solid position," Marina returned quickly.

The Changeling bowed to her princess. "So then, how will you execute the final step?"

The final step. Once her hunt was over, she would not see Riverfork for a while. She'd return to the hive, learn new magic from her mother, and move on to see new parts of the world. She would no longer be Marina, leaving that position to the lieutenant who had watched her every move since she arrived in the village. Soon,  six months, the majority of her life, would vanish.

Even if the loss could hurt, it still didn't change the fact that it was a cheap price to pay for power. Her sisters no doubt would do the same, even the one who had failed so terribly in Marblestop would still be fighting for power. Whatever life she built among the ponies was worthless compared to the command she had in the hive.

"Have the captain replace one of the merchants," she gave her order to the lieutenant. "I'll introduce him to my, Marina's, friends, and tell them I owe him an old favour."

"Just a favour?" the lieutenant asked.

Marina narrowed her eyes. The lieutenant had years of experience on the surface, just like the captain. She only asked as a test to ensure she was still being a worthy, and it irritated Marina.

Still, she needed to give the right answer. "Ponies value favours as much as currency. Even if they press, vague details will be enough to cover the lie." She wasn't proving herself to her pack, but to her mother, whose influence still extended this far, without a doubt.

"As you say," the lieutenant bowed.

"In two weeks the trade fleet will return north," Marina continued to explain. "We'll go with them, our prey bound and silenced, and break off from the fleet in the middle of the night."

"A straightforward plan," said the lieutenant. "Your will shall be done."

"Then I'll be off," Marina said, turning away from her hunter-drone. "Have the captain show up tomorrow. We'll start building up our story then."

"And what will you do until then?" The lieutenant inquired.

Marina stopped at the door. "Don't pretend you don't have other hunter-drones watching me, lieutenant. In any case, if you can't find out, I don't think it's any of your business."

She left and locked the door behind her, certain her hunter-drone didn't need a door to escape the storeroom. She headed back into the marketplace, walking up a very gentle slope to the only part of the village that resembled a hill. Mercantile Row, adorned with shops of painted wood and silver-coated iron gates. It was no wonder Seiris wanted to have lunch here.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The restaurant's appearance was nothing to gawk at, from a technical standpoint. It was over a decade old, according to the self-congratulatory plaque above the front door, but sported Marblestop architecture, powered by northern crystal magic. Pristine white fountains spilt water into the air like mist, cooling late-summer air.

But the perfection and order were garish. It was as pristine as the hive was rugged. Every tablecloth was fitted, and every waiter dressed the same, even wearing the same mane style. She wondered if it would do the ponies good to bring some Changeling disorder to the place.

"I'm glad business is well." Seiris's voice took Marina out of her daydreaming. "The Riverfork smiths I keep hearing about, they're stiff competition."

"They're nothing," Marina spat her words. "Their apprentices are nothing but servants. Most of them hardly learn anything new by working with those two."

"Well, hopefully, our ponies rise to the challenge," he said, scanning the menu prepared before him. Marina had already chosen a dish the moment she looked at it, but Seiris seemed impossibly indecisive.

She rolled her eyes. "You have the money and the stomach, why not get it all?"

He snapped his hoof on the table as if it was the sound of the thought hitting his mind. "Wonderful idea."

He turned and waved a waiter over. "We're ready to order, sir."

The two of them swapped small talk about work until the food came. Seiris had ordered with blind abandon, taking three plates of various kinds of pasta in cheese and tomato sauces. Marina ate happily enough with her sections of eggplant and artichoke cooked in four variants of cheese.

Still, after all these months, she couldn't figure out how it held onto magic. It was as if there was a bit of life still inside it to feed on. In any case, it made eating vegetables bearable.

"I'm glad we got to meet today," Marina cut in when they both had comfortably sated their hunger. "I've been thinking about the metalworking business."

"Oh?" Seiris sipped some wine and wiped his mouth. "Taking over Riverfork's market?"

Marina shook her head. "I met an old friend. He knew my family, and help me get a boat and some sales experience after my father passed. We talked a bit, and we agreed we'd be business partners. He just needs my help building a forge and hiring ponies."

"In another village?" Seiris leaned into the table. "You never stop being bold, do you? You won't be the first to try."

"But I'll be the first to succeed," Marina replied. She knew what fear Seiris was referring to. Trading happened easily enough between villages, but shops and services were always important to local ponies. They were like separate hives, adamantly barring other merchants and crafts ponies from entering their economy.

"I will succeed because there is no other avenue for me go," she continued, taking the conviction she felt for her hunt and moulding it to fit her words. "I've reached a wall, one made of a brick that will only break to powerful change. My friend, he's from the north. I help him set up smithies in places like Ironmarsh, creating places where our ponies can travel to and start new lives."

"New lives?" Seiris sounded perplexed. "Riverfork is our closest neighbour. This is the closest thing to home we have, Marina. One day we may even get back Marblestop."

"Maybe," she replied. "But if we don't? Marblestop can't live as Riverfork's permanent guest."

Seiris chuckled. It was weird sitting across from him and being able to smell the emotions drifting on his ambient magic because she knew his hidden power. Somehow he could mask it, fake his thoughts and emotions so well that even his body and his magic didn't know what was real. But at least for now, he had no reason for his mask.

"I guess there's only one choice, then," he said, poking into a large, spiralled piece of pasta. "I've been planning the Autumn Fire Festival now that the Marblestop District has been built. I suppose it'll also have to be a farewell party for you."

Farewell. A goodbye. Did she ever really belong in the first place? She skewered a slice of eggplants and twirled it around in cheese. "Father used to take me to those," she smiled. "It sounds nice."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Marina stretched out on her bed. Comfortably padded, she couldn't remember one bad night of rest. Still, the rest of her room was still minimal as ever. No paint on the walls, no pictures hung, just a plain square room with a really nice bed. It was all her body needed. Ponies were so soft on the outside without a chitinous exoskeleton that she couldn't help but wonder how the poor managed to sleep at all.

The unforgiving cradle she was born in had nothing but stone, and it made her stronger in the end. 

Knock. She flicked her head toward her door. Another knock came. 

"If it's about the iron rations, forget about it," she called out. "I talked to a trader from Ironmarsh. He was generous enough to sell his entire inventory."

"And what about our inventory, princess?" The voice behind the door was not the mare that her lieutenant preferred to use. Still, if the stallion had called her princess, then it could be only one.

She jumped out from under her covers and threw on a robe. "I hope you know what you're doing, coming to my house," she said as she opened her bedroom door.

The captain closed it as Marina returned to the warmth of her bed. "You live above your workshop. Plenty of ponies come in and out."

"Not at night," she corrected him.

The captain shrugged. "Perhaps you should ask some of your Marblestop pawns to guard the stairs next time."

"Next time." She sneered at him. "So we're really going to pretend as if I'm staying among these ponies for much longer?"

"No, I suppose it's pointless." The captain ran a hoof through his disguise's mane amber mane as if pushing the hair back as he transformed back into his Changeling form. It wasn't complete, however. His voice still sounded like a stallion's, not the clicking and hissing of his hunter-drone kind.

"Was that the merchant that'll be my business partner?" Marina sat up on her bed. Having him in his natural state disturbed her, even if they could both hear and smell any pony coming to interrupt.

The captain nodded. "I hope you'll know not to make such extraneous orders on the next hunt, princess."

"What?" He called her plan extraneous. Was it so bad that her own drone questioned her about it?

"It took hours finding the right trader, one who frequented Marblestop in the previous years and associated with no pony else in the trade fleet." He plucked a card from the pocket of the tunic his disguise was wearing and showed it to Marina.

It had the name of a company on it. "Even this merchant still has some acquaintances, however."

Marina slumped into her bed. She wanted to sink into the soft mattress. Of course, it wasn't as easy as inserting herself as a stranger into Riverfork. The trading fleet had a roster. One merchant bringing some friends could be passable, but the captain couldn't just take a random form and claim to be part of the fleet.

"It'll serve our purpose for now," she said. "We'll tie up loose ends later by having the merchant killed by some hunter-drones."

The captain licked his fangs. "Wouldn't be too far from the truth."

Marina smirked. "If you wanted your experience to impress, you've done your job," she said. "Now hurry up and tell me where your trader's shop is located. We have a convincing display to put on tomorrow."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The merchant's store was bigger than she expected, but not by much. It was crowded with other traders who had rented out space from the local owners. Still, the array of wares was more than even Cooper could produce. Blown glass hardened with magic crystals seemed to be the popular thing.

"Nice place," Reiter said, pointing Esilis's gaze at a bowl infused with crystals so it would always keep its food warm.

She simply pushed his chin down, tilting his eyes to the price tag. "And an expensive place," she added.

Seiris, with two militia guards waiting outside the shop, took his own survey of the place. "You certainly have an eye for quality."

As Marina's friends took a look around the store, the captain emerged from the back as if in the middle of taking inventory. He grinned at them, showing no sign of the hunter beneath that hungered after their magic. The only tell was a slight scent of predatory desire within his emotions.

"I'm glad to meet you all," he said, shaking hooves with each of them. When Seiris approached, he gave an extra bow of respect. "I was worried Marina would be wasting your time, but I'm overjoyed you're in my shop, Governor."

Seiris gestured to Marina. "She's a friend and an icon of Marblestop. I wasn't going to let a northerner whisk her away without a first meeting."

The captain laughed. "The name's Orous Argentine. Friends call me Oro, and mares call me reliable."

"Sure." Esilis snorted. "We say the same about Reiter."

This time the whole room laughed, at Reiter's expense of course, though he didn't seem to mind. Though once settled, Marina noticed a change in Seiris's scent. Again, it was flat, plain magic with no emotions written on it.

"Marina's put her faith in you, you know?" Seiris patted the captain on the shoulder. "Starting anew in another village is tough."

"We've worked before in worse situations," he replied. "Take only from what you can do, and you'll always gain more. A saying my father used to tell me."

"Oh?" Seiris replied. "I suppose you helped her when she was left on her own."

"Best I could do for a friend." The captain nodded grimly, contorting his disguise's face into a frown at the mention of the death of Marina's father.

"Oro taught me when to sell what at which market, which merchant sold the cheapest, and which one bought the most," Marina added to the conversation.

"A stallion like you must be excellent at strategy," Seiris grinned. "Ever play chess?"

Marina and traded a glance at the captain. Why chess? She noticed the captain's face; his expression didn't even flinch.

"The game's a good start for strategy," he said. "It teaches long-term planning and caution, but assumes an even playing field."

Seiris raised a brow. "Oh? And what's wrong with an even field? It makes things interesting."

"Because in my experience," he replied, "the battle is won in the preparation. By the time I see my enemy, I've already won."

The conversation between the two isolated them from every pony else. Esilis and Reiter, the few customers looking through the store, they all watched as two minds tried to size each other up. Marina didn't like being unable to smell Seiris's emotions, and she could tell it was something that threw the captain off as well. Regardless, he had more experience reading ponies through his other senses.

Seiris laughed, even as his inquisitive eyes quickly focused on the captain again. "And do you think you could beat me in a game?"

"This will be fun," Reiter inserted himself. "My father always beats me in chess, so I'm always trying to learn new strategies."

Marina raised a brow at that. "You don't seem to have a strategic fibre in your body."

Esilis laughed. "He did say he always losses."

Reiter glared at the two mares but turned back to Seiris. "I bet you must be good, huh?"

The Governor shrugged. "To be honest, Iridi beats me more often than not. But, I'd like to think that I've picked up enough."

"I'm afraid I don't have a board with me, however," the captain replied to Seiris's challenge. "I'm not sure if you mind..."

Marina smelled, only for a second, a spark of excitement dancing around in Seiris's magic. "Oh not at all. In fact, it probably makes things easier." Reiter stepped back and looked at the both of them, watching with the others with wide eyes of amazement.

As the challenged, the captain gave his first move. "Knight to F3."

"Pawn to D5."

"Pawn to G3."

Reiter whispered into Marina's ear. "How'd you meet a pony like this?"

"It just happened," she whispered back absent-mindedly, her focus on the two ponies who were now waging a game of chess at a store counter. The few ponies coming in and out to shop or browse were now intruding on the meeting as well, listening as the game unfolded.

Marina could smell their emotions. Some were genuine fans of the game, trying to track the movements in their mind. Others boasted lies to their friends, trying to explain what happened as if they too were as good as Oro and Seiris. Still, amidst those savoury emotions, Marina couldn't pick out anything from Seiris.

"Bishop to E6" Seiris replied to the captain's move. Marina barely knew the rules of the game, but her hunter-drone played as if each move was breathing.

Oro's eyes narrowed, and Marina could tell by the scent of humbled pride that he was forced to take a retreat. "Queen to C1."

"Bishop to D5."

They traded more moves, shifting pawns around a couple more times, as far as Marina could tell. Reiter listened intensely too, his eyes flicking around as if he was trying to place each piece on the board.

"Bishop takes Knight," Oro said. A sharp scent in his magic told Marina he had gone offensive, even if only slightly.

"Queen takes bishop."

"Pawn to A5."

Now their moves were a blur of words. If she couldn't sense the captain's magic, she would've guessed they were simply bluffing, putting on a show for the customers to see. But, each move was genuine, and they were made all the more frustrating because she couldn't guess how Seiris was feeling.

The only thing she knew was that this wasn't just a social visit. Seiris may have trusted her well enough, but he wasn't a fool. Of all the ponies she knew, he was the only one she should have expected this display from. This was all a test to ensure that he was putting his faith into the right trader. Were they not both Changelings, she would have congratulated him for such caution. But no matter what the outcome of the game, he'd never be able to stop her hunt.

The captain paused only for a second, before making his next move. "King to G2"

"Pawn to G5."

"Pawn takes pawn," attacked the captain.

"Queen takes pawn."

"Pawn to E5." 

The traded for smaller moves again, taking pawns and exchanging their queens in an attempt to close on the other's king. By the time they stop calling out their moves, the store was silent.

"So, who won that?" Esilis asked, rightfully as confused as Marina was.

Seiris smiled and started laughing, and then turned to Marina. "You have a good friend, Marina. Even if we did run out of pieces to call checkmate, he knows his stuff."

"I see now what kind of mind it took to change the council's mind," the captain added. He winked at Marina. "Keep an eye out for this guy, and be glad you're friends."

Marina nodded to them both. "I'm glad you two get along. We should get together later this week for some games, if we have the time, of course."

Esilis chuckled. "I barely play checkers."

"We'll talk about it later," Marina said. "But before that, Oro and I have some planning to do."

Seiris nodded and motioned Reiter and Esilis to follow. "I think we can entrust Oro with our friend. They do have important business, after all."

They continued on the way out, Seiris pulling Reiter in to share an idea. "Speaking of which, Reiter, I wanted to ask a favour involving a festival I was planning in a few weeks."

They both nodded and waved farewell to Marina. They were planning to sample some northern desserts, including flavoured cream frozen in bowls of magic crystals. Marina was excited to go with them, only to see if the cream in the dessert held onto magic the same way cheese did. They were, after all, both made from dairy. But she did need to plan with her captain and organize which lieutenants would take replace them once they took off with their prey.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"Ready to go?"

Lunti slipped a pin into her mane, holding it as a bun. She turned around and looked over her dress in the bathroom mirror. The dress was mostly Riverfork in style, though decorative frills and a tight belt around the waist were replaced by a Marblestop sash, made of tightly woven cotton and dyed light blue and violet.

"I used to go to events like these with my father," she sniffed. 

Reiter smiled. "You look too beautiful to be sad tonight. I helped Seiris plan Marblestop's Autumn Fire Festival. It's the opening night of the Marblestop District's main plaza, and Marina's farewell party."

"You're such a good friend," Lunti said, looking down at her dress, trying to even out some wrinkles. "I hope she realizes how much you do to make every pony happy."

"Marina has her own worries." Reiter put his hoof around her and led Lunti out to their carriage. "I can't imagine what it's like, reviving their village after the destruction you all faced."

Lunti stepped into the carriage first, and then Reiter. The drivers were personally chosen by Cedar Pine, Reiter's father, to take the two to the Marblestop ball. They were representing the wealthy families of the village and needed to arrive with no delays or complications.

"Esilis will be there, won't she?" Lunti looked at Reiter.

He gave her a funny look. "Of course, she's one of the ponies representing the Shopkeeper's Union."

Lunti didn't say anything else, but that made her question seemed weirder to Reiter. "Why ask?"

"It's nothing," Lunti said. "You two just spend a lot of time together."

"Look, Lu-lu," Reiter said. He never used it around any pony else, but he knew she loved hearing that nickname. "I can't help you with whatever happened with between you and your father until you're ready to tell me, but for now, I'm here for you. All the way."

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning closer to him. "I'm glad I at least have you."

The carriage bumped as they went off the dirt road leading out of Riverfork. The path almost instantly transformed into a hard-paved road. The soil around Riverfork was too soft and fertile to build stone roads, nor did it have the limestone needed to make the mixture Marblestop used for caementine, a sort of liquid that could harden back into stone.

But Marblestop crafters were famous throughout the river villages for their skill. Even with the limited resources, they found a way to build their neighbourhood as if it was Marblestop itself. From the carriage, Reiter could see its organization. It was made of circles within circles, shrinking toward the plaza at the centre of their district.

Caementine houses reflected the orange setting sun with their plain white walls, making the district like one giant sunflower. Lunti gazed out of the window, amazed at how brightly colored the festival was. Ropes stretching over the streets hung painted lanterns, and every house placed a set of incense sticks by their windows.

"It does look like a village of fire," she said, amazed.

At the centre was the plaza, though not as Lunti expected it. Riverfork's plazas packed their shops in close. The ponies of Marblestop spread their stores around the park's rich green grass, crisscrossed with smooth paths of caementine.

Spaced throughout were fountains with large crystals embedded inside the bricks, glowing with magic that probably controlled the water spewing into the air. Though this evening, the fountains only sprayed a mixture of oil that ignited by some hidden enchanted gemstone.

"The Governor's here to greet you, Reiter," one of the drivers shouted from outside the carriage.

Reiter extended his hoof to Lunti. "I know things are still hard with your father, but I'm going to need to ask a favour of you tonight."

She took his eyes in hers. "What is it?"

He flashed his teeth in a wide grin. "Enjoy yourself."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Marina twisted her face, and Esilis laughed.

"I can't believe you've never drunk your own village's wine before," she said, patting her on the back to help the wine go down.

Marina coughed, swallowing the bitter citrus liquid. "My father never drank," she wiped her mouth. "So after he died, I didn't really know anything about it." She looked in her bowl. Unlike the curved blown glass Riverfork used, Marblestop ponies preferred porcelain pots of various sizes, made from a variant of the traditional caementine mix.

Riverfork wine was nicer too, though just barely. Thinking on it now, she had grown somewhat accustomed to its taste. And the relaxing effect afterwards, when she had enough, was also pleasant.

The two mares started up small talk with other ponies. Some were friends of Marblestop's officers from other villages. There were plenty of northern traders, excited to spend one last day in Riverfork before leaving with their trade fleet tomorrow. Others were from farther west of the river, beyond Marblestop. And even fewer still were the eastern ponies who had come from the fishing villages near the sea.

Eventually, they spotted their friend. Reiter, as expected, walked through the plaza with a hoof around Lunti. She could smell all the emotions in the air from the party, but Esilis's cut through the air like a spear point. She kept it hidden, even from herself, but somewhere were feelings too conflicted for just a friend.

Marina wished it was more refined, not a chaotic soup of insecurities, but she let it lie. Because she too felt something. This mare, a traitor to her father and secret mistress of council member Chevron, was taking her pawn. Friendship wasn't close to heart as it was for Esilis, but Marina could not deny how useful meeting Reiter had been. His family controlled the village's transportation on land, and he freely used his wealth and power to help his friends.

That mare, Marina thought to herself, is no better than I am. She feeds on others' affection for her own gain. Chevron's, her father's, and even Reiter, they were all pieces of a chess match to her. 

Suddenly, Marina brought herself to focus on the task at hoof. Like a chess piece being sacrificed to initiate the winning strategy, she'd let Lunti have Reiter for the night. If she wants to play at Changeling, then I shouldn't disappoint her tonight.

Esilis grabbed her hoof and pulled her aside toward the edge of the plaza. The jolt of motion shook her wine and made the lanterns blur around her head.

"Marina, what was it like when you first met Reiter?" Esilis asked.

Marina raised a brow. "Well, he invited me to eat at his house as an apology for insulting me. I accepted it because he was rich and I needed a place to stay for the night."

"I see," Esilis lowered her head and let go of Marina. She slumped against the corner of a store. Its alley stretched behind her like a bottomless vessel for her emotions.

"When I first met him, Reiter tried to make me fly," Esilis told her, chuckling as she looked at her incomplete wings. "He tried everything. Wing extensions, catapults, fake 'sky magic' crystals, he bought them all for me, just because he thought I looked too sad."

Marina bit her tongue. It stung as the alcohol left in her mouth seeped into the wound, but she needed something to take her mind off how savoury Esilis's emotions were. There was love with confusion and sadness and anger, and it was just wandering aimlessly in her mind.

"I know he and Lunti have something more than friendship, and she's gone through a rough time too, but," Esilis put her hoof around Marina and hugged her tight just for comfort. "But, it's wrong to want their relationship for myself."

It's too much. Marina wanted to shake off the feeling but it'd ruin the moment and saturate her emotions with confusion. All Marina wanted, needed, was a taste of this magic.

"I don't know what to say, Esilis." Marina pulled the hug apart, just enough to look into her friend's eyes. "There are feelings I can't understand either, but when I feel them, I just know I must have it."

She rushed in and pressed her lips against Esilis's, stealing away just a drop of magic. She craved more suddenly, her appetite ignited by her friend's feelings, and she almost took too much.

A burning struck her cheek suddenly. Marina looked at her friend and realized she had been slapped across the face.

"What in the name of the Spirits was that?" Esilis clutched her ram's head necklace. It was the same silver-painted brass idol she wore to work, but she had managed to give it a bright new silver chain.

"I just-" Marina started, but she honestly didn't know what excuse to use.

Esilis shook her head. "I was talking about Reiter and you--" she paused. "Nevermind. I'm in no position to judge some pony else's feelings." 

But her body language spoke differently. Now, Marina noticed, she was on the defensive. She leaned back and avoided eye contact.

"It was a bad idea to bring up our feelings," Esilis continued. "Let's just go see what Seiris and Voxa are up to."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Only a few. Six months of living among the ponies, and she wanted only a few. The captain grinned at his princess' caution. Princess Spectra. He wondered how comfortable she felt around her real name now. It didn't matter. 

He clicked and chattered to his hunter-drones at a frequency the ponies' primitive ears would not be able to hear. He ordered them to quickly take the place of the servants and security, commanding them to move slowly around the party until the pack surrounded both targets.

The first and primary one was out in the open, and even the princess had taken notice. The other was not as easy. Though his scent carried a unique pattern of wistful wishes, knowing where the prey was at all times didn't matter when he was surrounded with a randomly selected group of security. It made infiltrating his protection very difficult. 

Tonight, he had managed to randomly choose guards that had not been replaced by the pack, forcing them to scramble this new tactic.

The captain clicked a high-frequency order, sending two young drones to switch positions with a patrol unit. If they followed the same path, then within the hour the secondary target would be in reach.

He clattered to the princess' personal lieutenant. "I leave it to you to switch places with our princess. Do not get caught."

"Of course not," she snickered, her voice already slightly altered to some pony's vocal cords. "You really should reconsider your disguises. In Riverfork, it's easy for females to go unnoticed."

"Not my style, lieutenant," the captain replied. "Now go, your window of opportunity's getting smaller."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The four of them walked down to the statue of a bird in the centre of the plaza. It was made of solid bronze, with barely noticeable pipes that blew oil from its wings.

Reiter nudged Marina as approached its light. "I thought the phoenix spirit meant death."

"It means rebirth, life after death," she corrected. "With autumn already on its way, the festival is one huge prayer to the phoenix spirit to bring back life after winter ends."

Marina wondered if it were true. Her distant memories implanted by her egg-dreams didn't include much details on the forces that controlled the seasons. If such spirit existed, were there others that the hive could also appeal to? She leaned over and looked at Esilis. It wasn't coincidence she decided to let Reiter and Lunti stand between them.

"Hey Lunti, would you like to come with me to the powder room?" Marina asked, casting a glance at Esilis. "Lipstick tends to stick to these porcelain cups more than glass."

"Uh, sure," she replied, letting go of Reiter's hoof. "If you want, I could show you a combination that really helps it hold its place."

"You two go on and try the olives," Marina said to Esilis and Reiter. "They're especially nice with the bread."

She tossed a furtive wink to Esilis before taking Lunti with her to the public townhouse at the edge of the plaza. For all public events, that building was where the organization took place. Dinners, receptions, and wine tasting were held around the townhouse before moving to the open space, and any private business could be taken care of in one of its many rooms.

Unlike Riverfork construction which mixed lumber and stone, the townhouse's walls were made of polished stone bricks. The floors tiles had been glazed over in unrefined Marblestop glass, which was filled with impurities that sparkled like the stars. It took less work than Riverfork glass, and in Marina's opinion, looked much better.

As the two looked for an empty powder room, Lunti grazed her hoof against the heavy tapestries that draped the walls. They were gifts from villages from every part of the river, each with unique patterns of fish, forests, grasslands, flowers, and so many more she couldn't count.

"So, Reiter said he worked with Seiris to make this festival possible," Lunti started chatting up the stairs. "When our carriage was ushered by the guards, Seiris was there to greet us."

"He is the host after all," Marina said.

Lunti grinned. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him. But, now I know why you spend so much time working with him."

"What?" Marina stopped, right outside a room with its door wide open. "I don't like what you're trying to imply here."

"Ease up," Lunti raised a hoof up between them in defence. "Not trying to spread rumours, just wanted to say I'm happy for you and your village. Being with Reiter has made me appreciate other ponies' lives."

Marina focused her nose on Lunti's magic. "I'm not like that with Seiris."

"Well, you should try being more outgoing, then." There was a shift in Lunti's emotions. What was once some shallow amusement became a selfish, personal joy. But Marina didn't show anything in her expression. If by now, she still hadn't learned her lesson, then she deserved what was coming.

She motioned into the powder room. "Let's talk about stallions when we look the part for it."

The room made space for four seats along a countertop where dishes of makeup powder and mirrors had been left as a courtesy for all the mares attending the festival. From scent alone, Marina could tell Espera Voxa had selected them. A good thing too, because she couldn't imagine Iridi or Seiris trying to choose a mare's makeup.

A knock came on the door just as they sat down. Lunti whipped her head back and shouted. "We just got in here. I'm afraid you'll need to find another room."

"Oh don't be like that, Lunti," Marina countered, getting up and going for the door. "We're all mares here, and there's still two more chairs for them. Besides..."

Lunti's eyes bulged in fear, but her body tensed up so much she couldn't reel back from what she was looking at.

"...we're pretty close acquaintances with them." Marina smiled as two ponies who looked and moved exactly like them walked into the room.

"Now please hold still," said Lunti's copy. "We wouldn't want that lipstick to smear all over our pretty face."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Council member Chevron walked along the paved road around the plaza, enjoying the wines and foods offered by the stores that surrounded the green centre. All night, the six guards followed him. They wore brigandines, thick and well-woven cloth armours with plates of bronze riveted to the fabric.

But to the captain it didn't matter how well he equipped his guards; weapons were banned from the festival. The rest of the pack was in position, waiting for the captain to give the signal. Watching from the night-shrouded rooftops, he clicked his vocal cords as soon as Chevron approached a table with Marblestop wines.

"I so sorry!" exclaimed a mare as she tripped and spilt a bottle onto the council member. The store's owner rushed out to see what was the matter. His voice raised, hissing scalding retorts at the mare.

Chevron waved them both away. "I was likely to smell of wine by tomorrow, one way or another." He motioned to his guards, signalling that he was moving on.

"Please, sir, everything is on the house tonight for the celebrations," the store owner said. "Why don't you let us get out the best vintage for you and your companions?"

Even from so far away, if he focused hard enough, he could smell excitement in the guard's magic. Ponies had such weak desires but still seemed to struggle to control their urges.

"I didn't hire them to get drunk," Chevron said sternly. "Even now, Changelings are out in the forests, hiding where they can't see us. So excuse me if I take my safety very seriously."

The captain grinned. "Smart pony," he whispered to himself. But it didn't matter. Ponies were feeble and weak of will. 

"The Governor has troops all over the district," the store owner said while the mare prepared small porcelain cups on one of the tables. The smell of the wine took the guard's attention.

Seeing it was better to satisfy their appetite just a bit, Chevron accepted the hospitality. "Only one," he told his protection. "I want you all walking straight for the rest of the night."

They drank, including Chevron, and they all coughed as the bitter drink burned their mouths. The burning was the trick, masking a small dose of poison that would lull them to sleep. Or, if they were overly sensitive, send them running for the latrine. Either way, they would be intoxicated long before the festival was in full swing. He just needed to wait.

I got mine. The captain's ears stood up at Spectra's voice. Her high-pitched clicks confirmed she was out of the district and able to at least alter her vocal cords without being interrupted. That meant she had succeeded in taking the primary target, and ahead of schedule too.

If a lieutenant had beaten him to the prey, he would have felt insulted. He may have even killed the Changeling as a show of dominance. But with the princess, there was nothing but pride. She was certainly capable and would be no worse a leader for the hive than the Queen.

Now he watched the crowd with curiosity, taking his time to wait for the poison to settle in. Marina and Lunti, masqueraded by other the other lieutenants, rejoined with their pony friends as if nothing was the matter. After half an hour there was the Phoenix Dancers, a display of fire and agility by a troupe of Marblestop performers. Afterwards, the musicians invited the crowd to try a simpler dance, filling the park with couples swing around in each other's hooves.

Funnily enough, the vigilant council member was the first to collapse, most likely helped on by the effect of the other wines he had had. Slowly and sloppily his guards dragged his sleeping body to the plaza's townhouse. The captain chattered to another drone waiting there, making sure the room they had set up was still unoccupied.

He followed along the roofs, finally sneaking into the townhouse by going down through a waterway behind the building. He rushed to his position under the room on the first floor, Chevron's room, and waited. Ten seconds, then a minute. Two minutes had passed when a hatch above him finally spun open, dropping the council member down along with his bed.

The captain caught the stallion with magic but let the bed thump onto the ground.

"One of you, take his place," he chattered back up to the drones. "Have the rest clean up here and meet at the docks." They clicked in response, confirming his orders.

The captain then hoisted the council member onto his back. The trap was sprung with a little less grace than he would have liked--there wasn't even time to test trap door before the festival--but it still worked. 

"Alright council member," he strained as he carried the stallion through the waterways to the other side of the district. "I hope you like your well-earned vacation. We went through so much work to put it together."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Spectra woke up on the other side of the river. What happened last night?

She shielded the sun from her eyes as she looked back to Riverfork. Ships from the north were leaving, and on it, was a copy of her and a hunter-drone playing as Oro.

Her eyes widened. "What am I doing here? I have to get Lunti before the ships sail out of reach." The princess scanned her eyes for a rowboat she could load Lunti's sleeping body onto. A pony her size was too heavy to carry across the river.

"Easy lass." A rough hoof grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back from the shore. It was the groundskeeper but dressed in a Marblestop militia armour. "Fleet's leaving sooner than expected, so you won't be sneaking the prey out of the cargo after all."

"What's going on, and what are you wearing?" she asked him.

"The captain said it fits nicely." He frowned. "As for what happened, all I can say is try remembering what happened after you drained that mare of most of her magic."

Drained? She only remembered tying up Lunti and stuffing her into a bag before dragging her through the narrow waterways Seiris had built to supply the Marblestop District with water. They arrived on the ship, but Lunti wouldn't stop squirming around, and almost woke the other traders already sleeping on Oro's ship.

How did she get her to shut up? Spectra wracked her brain for the memory, running through her whole night again. There was wine, she talked to her friends, then lured Lunti away. But one memory stuck from that night. Spectra touched her lips.

"I have to say, that's an interesting way to drain magic," the groundskeeper commented. "I don't doubt some ponies might even like being hunted if they knew that's how you like to do it."

And she had done it again with Lunti. She had pressed her mouth against Lunti's and sucked the fear and desperation right out of her. Spectra licked her lips. She still tasted a hint of hope that some pony, Reiter or Chevron or her father, would save her.

Spectra snarled. She had drained enough from Lunti to render her unconscious, but having tasted so much of her emotions, she wanted to end the mare. She realized she was wrong to compare her to a Changeling. Lunti was nothing but a parasite, a leech that could do nothing if it wasn't biting on another unsuspecting creature.

"After I drank her magic," Spectra said to the groundskeeper. "How'd I end up here?"

"You just showed up," he answered. "Always happens to Changelings. Happened to me, to every captain, and even to the Queen when she was your age."

"What happened, exactly?" she pressed for clarification.

"Had your first drink," he said. "Came back slurring your words around, raving about parasites or something. I couldn't tell a thing you were saying."

"The captain showed up," the groundskeeper continued, slowly walking with the river to keep the trade fleet in view. "Said he put the other pony in the ship with your target. Don't know why you didn't just take them to the nest."

"Too heavy," Spectra replied, following closely behind him. "And the rest of the pack wasn't around to help carry. They had to clean up any loose ends and make sure no pony suspected we had infiltrated them."

"Smart." Spectra expected the groundskeeper to say something else, but that was all.

He turned and looked back to the river. "When you fell asleep I had the captain order some hunter-drones to carry out the last step." He pointed to the ship in the middle of the trade fleet.

It was Oro's ship, and it had split off from the rest of the fleet toward the centre of the river. Two rowboats launched off and made its way to the shore with haste. The ship would cover their escape so no pony in the fleet would see them leaving and raise questions for the lieutenants who had taken the role of Marina and Oro.

"Come on, we're to meet them at the shore," the groundskeeper said, already starting to gallop.

Spectra followed. "And then it's a march to the hive?"

"It's your march to the hive," he laughed. "I'm taking a nap back at the nest."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"I'll have you all killed!" 

"How exciting."

"The council, the whole village, I control them!"

"My fears have been realized."

"You're nothing but monsters!"

"Uh-huh."

The captain grunted through gritted teeth as he and the remaining hunter-drones in the pack dragged the two ponies onto the shore. They were far from the fleet now, but nevertheless, they wanted to get into the tree cover as soon as possible.

The female was dead silent, and twice the captain thought to check her pulse to confirm she was still actually alive. The male was annoyingly active, however.

"Don't tell me it takes a few words to weigh you down, captain." He caught sight of the princess with the groundskeeper, waiting for them just behind the trees.

The captain saluted them both. "We're ready for the flight home, your highness."

Spectra raised a brow. "The pack just left the village. I don't want anyone dropping the prey, so get some rest and be ready within the hour."

The hunter-drones nodded and laid down their captives, rushing into the shade of the trees to find a place to sit and a trap full of prey.

"You?" Chevron growled at Spectra. "You were that Marblestop girl that Seiris brought with him to the council meeting."

He struggled with the ropes tightly binding up his limbs. "Is he one of you? Were the refugees all a ploy to destroy my village too?"

Marina looked into his eyes and flashed him a wolfish smirk. "It doesn't really matter. For you, nothing will matter anymore."

"You'll have to kill me before I let you take me," he struggled, but given his position, every word only seemed more and more humorous.

The groundskeeper nudged Spectra. "Could just save us all the suffering and drain him to sleep, lass."

"Probably for the best," Spectra said, though looking at the stallion one more time made her hesitate. "Though I'm not putting my mouth on that."

"What do you mean-" Chevron's face twisted from anger to pain as Spectra gripped him with levitation and pulled his magic directly from his flesh. His screaming should have been loud enough to be heard across the river, but the groundskeeper reacted with lightning speed and shoved his head into the sand of the riverbank before he could make a peep.

"For your sake," the groundskeeper relaxed as Chevron's body went limp. "I hope he doesn't wake up on the flight back."

Spectra nodded and noticed Lunti staring at what they had done to Chevron. Her eyes shouted in terror, but there was another mix of emotions along her magic, so strong everything was too jumbled to read.

"I should probably knock you out again too." Spectra took Lunti's face in her hoof. "But it's been so soon, and I don't want to lose you after all this."

She hoisted Lunti onto her hooves and shoved her roughly towards the forest. "So you'll want to start moving because, trust me, it's a long way to the hive."