//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Without a Trace // by Kelvin Shadewing //------------------------------// Chapter 6 Trace padded softly through the grass, thankful for the muffling effect it had on his hoof steps. Silence was his only friend now. That, and the crystals that held his next meal inside the cave. His first objective would be to locate the local cerebrate, the changeling specially bred to send long-distance telepathic messages, and eliminate her. The cerebrate would logically be in the mining office where she would be disguised as the camp director in case any real ponies came to speak with the "pony" in charge. Trace kept his head down to avoid focusing on any of his former hive mates. The ground here had less grass from all the trampling, but was also packed down tight enough that one could run on it without kicking up dirt. It was ideal for him here where no one could even see the grass bend under his hooves, and the sound of his steps were drowned out by everyone else's. Not sensing any emotions told him he was as of yet undetected. He opened the cerebrate's door and stepped in quietly. "Hello?" said the chsngeling disguised as a sandy tan mare with a short red mane, "Is somepony there?" Trace was too hungry to indulge in her fear. Quicker than she could blink, he was on her, his hooves on either side of her head. In one swift movement, the oblivious cerebrate's neck was snapped violently to the left with a sickening crack. Green flames errupted from the dead foremare as she reverted to her natural form and slumped like a rag doll to the floor. With their communications and leader gone, the nest would be uncoordinated and unable to regroup properly after an attack. They'd grown too dependant on being able to call for help, and Trace held nothing against exploiting this weakness. The assassin then moved to the sentries. They were the first to notice the disconnection and were trying to re-establish a link. Trace saw them in the trees, and they responded to his gaze. "Unicorn spy!" one shouted. The error of assuming Trace to be a unicorn gave him an opening to fly around. The changelings below him scurried about in search of what they believed to be an invisible pony mage, spitting their silk threads around to ensnare the non-existant equine. The guards were rallied and helped scour the site. In the midst of the confusion, Trace slipped into the mine. The crystal tenders were slain on sight; not one of them even had a chance to scream before their bodies hit the ground. Trace reached the empathite chamber and looked upon the trove of glowing green gems. With no one around, he feasted until his reserves were full, and then found a stone with a particularly strong charge to it. He clasped his mouth around it and concentrated. The stone was soon enveloped in his cloaking field and turned as clear as the rest of him; even its glow was masked. On his way out, he spotted a crate of dynamite. Grinning through the stone in his mouth, he levitated the crate over himself and carried it out of the mine shaft. The changelings on the surface were in a panic. They failed to find the intruder, and were now accusing each other of being spies. Trace shook his head and chuckled. They really are lost without their hive link. He flew to a high point on the hill and settled down to watch the chaos. If only he could pick a few off without them spotting him and returning fire. Still, this would have to do. He telekinetically opened the explosive crate and scattered the sticks around with a burst of force. The unfortunate insects had only a second to register what had been thrown everywhere before Trace shot one of the sticks with pin point accuracy. The first explosion caused a chain reaction only a fraction of a second later, engulfing every changeling in flames and blasting every structure away with powerful concussive blasts. Trace oohed at the spectacle and smirked at the carnage he wrought. It was exciting to say the least. And like the assassination of that pompous dragon, this too would look like a mere accident to anypony who happened upon it. Satisfied with the destruction he'd caused, Trace picked his prize up and took to the sky. My dearest, most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, As you know, Lord Brimstone of the dragon empire recently passed away as a result of an accident at the castle. However, my forensic experts did a resweep of the room and found new evidence: a small flake of chitin from a large insect. We have confirmed that a changeling is in our midst, and all the castle staff are being checked as I write this. I'm afraid we will be out of contact for a while, as I will be leaving for the dragon empire today to see what can be done. If you need anything, write to Luna. She will see to your letters, as well as the kingdom, in my absence. Please be safe, and stay on the lookout. I do not know the motives behind the assassination, but I believe it may be the queen's retaliation for what happened in Canterlot. If you see any changelings, do not hesitate to report them to the guards. The killer may well be in your village this very moment. Your princess and mentor, Celestia Twilight grimly re-read the last letter she'd recieved from Celestia in days. She wrote a letter to Luna each night, just to see how she was and ask about updates, but still missed her teacher dearly. It also shook her to her core to think about somepony going around killing others. Nevertheless, she had a duty to keep Ponyville safe. She would do all in her power to ensure that duty was fulfilled. There were several knocks on the door. Before they could be answered, Rainbow Dash burst into the library with a newspaper in her mouth. She spat it on the table and landed. "Twilight! Have you read the news?" "Not this morning's," Twilight responded, setting the letter from Celestia down, "What happened?" Dash held the paper up and pointed to the headline thaglt read 'Explosion Rocks Neigh York'. "Apparently there was an explosives misshap at a coal mine," Dash said, "No survivors were found, but at the same time, neither were there any pony remains." "What?!" Twilight snatched the paper and read it for herself. ...excavators searched under the rubble for possible survivors, but instead found the bodies of no less than a dozen changelings. The changelings were believed to have been shot with magic at point blank, execution style. A large ammount of yet unidentified green glowing stones were also found on the scene. So far, searchers have found no ponies... Twilight released her magic hold on the paper. A changeling assassin, and now changelings being murdered in a mine shaft? Was the explosion a cover to hide the bodies? "Wh... what is going on?"