Once the crowd died down from the original introduction, Swift Sr. went on an on about his plans to deal with the changelings. He laid on the changes rather heavily; The entire unicorn population of the guard was going to go through additional training in order to learn this new spell that was being discussed.

It was a fairly telling experience, for Kestral. Swift Sr. managed to skirt his way over and around his entire plan without divulging any real information to any changeling that might have been trying to find a hint of useful intelligence. He used phrases like 'south of the noble district' rather than specifying which district changelings had been spotted in, meaning that they could have seen a changeling anywhere from the lower district to the business district.

There may have been some other details that pertained to the changelings, but they were, at best, glanced over by Kestral. His sudden spike in paranoia caused a shift in focus; Instead of taking in all the details that he could, he was mentally reviewing everything he knew was exposed about himself.

They knew his name. They knew his looks. They knew what he did, and, at least partially, how he did it. What else did they know, though? By now, they knew he liked both meat and sweets.

“Heh heh.” A reminder of the pitiful 'bait' the ponies set up for him allowed for a momentary pause in his worry. It was well needed, as his situation seemed to be going south for the time. Really, though. He thought. What the hell were they thinking? Did they really think I'd fall for something like that? It's like they hired someone that only knew of humans from a children's book.

...hmm......

His mental detachment was stopped short, once he picked up on Swift Sr.'s speech again.

“In light of the previous weeks, we have also formed a coalition of researchers to reexamine all known information about the human race!”

Another wave of cheers sounded out, once again bringing energy and movement to the lively people around him. He adjusted his focus back to the present, knowing that he had become the subject once again. He stood rigid, ready to assess all the plans about to be given to him.

“As many of you know, the human known as 'Kestral' has been stalking the streets of Equestria. So far, we know that his greed is admired among dragons! And his blood-lust, not even the coldest of hearts could hope to match!”

The crowd became violent, with mob mentality quickly taking over those that were present. He could almost feel the collective heartbeats skyrocket as pent adrenaline released. Swift Sr. waved his hoof in a calming, almost hypnotic fashion, and the crowds were calmed, as if they had never been riled up in the first place.

“The human has, so far, stolen from and assaulted ponies! He has not, however, shed our blood....yet! Once captured, the human will face an extensive trial for all his crimes!” The stallion pointed below him, presenting six mares that.....

….wait, is that the yellow one from Ponyville?

“I have asked the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony to stay in our city for the time, so that you all may sleep well, knowing that your heroes are here to protect you and your city!”

There was another outbreak of cheers. This one, though, trumped the previous ones. As the six Bearers made a bow, several people jumped and shouted in excitement. He was pretty sure a stallion feinted, as well.

“In addition!” The stallion said, gathering everyone's attention. “A few affluent families have made generous donations towards the guard! We will be retraining several brigades of the Solar Guard to assist the Lunar Guard on nightly patrols and missions. The Militia Training Center will also be open for twenty hours a day, with subsidized training for low income households!”

He paused, and took a drink of water from his podium. “The best defense against the human is to remain vigilant! We have had several close encounters, which could have ended in our favor! Do your country well, and report suspicious activity! Do yourself and your family well, and learn how to take up arms in defense!”

The stallion gave a final wave, and the crowd cheered him on. He made his way down the walkway, then down the staircase, with Rapid Shift in tow. One of the Bearers, the purple one, walked past him, making a small exchange with the stallion. He paused, the gave a curt nod, and they parted ways.

The purple one walked along the risen platform, and stopped herself at the podium. She pulled a few note cards out of her saddlebags, and held them in front of her. The crowd hushed from its talk, and listened, though a few of the ponies in the back were already making their exit.

“Citizens of Canterlot!” She said. Again, a round of cheering went on, before she continued. “I want to thank you all for the warm welcome back to our Capital! We know that there are dangerous people out there that would see the citizenry hurt, but I can promise you this: Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, and Captain Swift are all doing everything they can to protect you!”

Another round of applause, and she continued. He didn't really pay her mind, though. He got caught up in his thoughts, so whatever she kept talking about, he wasn't listening.

His eyes glided down to the yellow pegasus he remembered, the one that was almost a patsy to a changeling. She wearily smiled towards the crowd, hiding one side of her face behind her pink mane. The blue pegasus next to her did what she could to hog any attention, but the yellow one still acted like she was uncomfortable.

He looked down around him, not really paying attention to the speech anymore. Mostly everyone was captivated by whatever the purple mare was saying, but luckily, he spotted a mare next to him that seemed rather bored, and was using her magic to play with her hair.

He leaned down, and grabbed the navy-blue mare's attention. “Excuse me.” He said. “I don't mean to bother you, but I'm new around here. Do you mind telling me who these Bearers are?”

She stopped playing with her aquamarine hair, and looked at him. “Yeah, sure.” She said, almost happy to have something to do. She pointed at the purple one. “That's Twilight Sparkle. She's like, super smart, and is Princess Celestia's student. She bears the Element of Magic.” She pointed her hoof down at the other five, and talked about them in order. “That one's Pinkie Pie. She bears laughter, and she's a baker, or something. That's Rarity. She bears Generosity, and owns a really great clothing shop!” She paused, getting over an apparent burst of excitement. “The next one is Applejack. She bears honesty, and owns a really big farm out at Ponyville. Fluttershy is the yellow one. She's …. a vet, or something. I don't remember. She bears kindness. And Rainbow Dash is the last one. She's the fastest pegasus ever, and is trying to get into the Wonderbolts. She's got loyalty.”

Kestral nodded, pretending that everything the mare just said made total sense. “What do the elements do?” He asked.

“Oh, not much, really. I think Celestia has them collect dust most of the time, but every once in a while they pull them out to save the world and stuff.” She said nonchalantly.

“Uh, huh.......” He paused. “...and how do they save the world?”

“Well,” the mare started. “they just get them together, put them on, and..... use them.”

“They just 'use them'?” He asked. “How do they do that?”

After a moment of silence, the mare shrugged. “I don't know, they just think 'fix everything', and it does!” She said. “It worked the last two times.”

“Well, what happened the last two times?”

“They purified Luna after she tried to make night last forever, then put Discord in stone again.”

At this, Kestral gave a massive pause.

“....wait, Luna tried to make night last forever?”

“So, may you all have a good night, and a safe trip home!”

Suddenly, the crowds around him shifted around, as if awakening. The mare looked towards the exit, then to him again. She started walking away, delivering one last sentence. “Yeah, she did!” She called over the loud ponies around them. “You should totally read about it in the newspaper archives!”

He stood there, a little dumbfounded at what he had just heard. Why would she....? He kept thinking over and over, trying to formulate some kind of answer as to why she did it, but none came. It was truly mind-boggling to him why she would do such a thing, but..... perhaps it didn't matter. Or, if it did, it didn't matter much.

He shook his head, trying to detach from the enigma. He'd ask about it later. He began walking, joining the quickly-thinning crowd of people that were present. His eyes went towards the bar, where several groups of ponies were entering at once.

He turned his body to the nearer entrance, and went in, brushing through a group of ponies that were drinking and smoking together just outside. The haze of smoke entered his vision, but it wasn't nearly as thick as on a typical night. He walked past the felis that was always smoking his hooka in the corner.

He passed by several tables, each full to the brim with gamblers and drinkers in equal amounts. A few of them he recognized, though they didn't pay him any mind as he passed. Barkeep sure noticed him, though. He snatched a seat in front of the sink, where the griffon cleaned an overwhelming pile of glasses. She leaned on the counter, eying him with interest. “Hey Hunter.” She said. “What can I do for you?”

He adjusted his seat to his liking. “I'll have a 'Tropical Drunkard' with a basket of cheese fries, for now. Please and thank you.” He said.

She gave a curt nod, and went to telling the cooks right away.

He took a deep breath, and stuck a hand down in his satchel. He made two slim books appear, Volume one and two of Vocal Manipulation, and pulled them out, setting them on the counter. He cracked the first one open, letting the fresh pages fold over...

Kestral lazily turned over the back cover of the second volume. He paused, before stuffing them in his satchel, and then his rift.

He found the books both interesting and useful, but his body was quick to let him know that reading for a few hours straight was tiring. His eyes felt fine, but his mind was exhausted from taking in so much technical information.

In about the middle of each book, he felt that burning sensation on his right arm. He couldn't check them in the middle of a bar, and didn't really feel the need to check them anyway, so he simply kept going. Now that he knew he had two more spells under his belt, though, he felt the need to practice them a little. In the very least, he ought to know what he can get away with.

The first volume had gone over changing the sound of what was actually said. It covered different ways to do so, but fully explained altering the pitches of a voice after the sounds had already been created. It also covered directing voices into one direction, or blocking it from a direction. Like many of the spells, it was really only half science, while the other half was just wishing for what you want. It was mentioned at some point that there was no magical difference between adjusting either one's own voice or another's, so he assumed he could do it to anyone around him.

The second spell was a magical form of ventriloquism. The concept itself was simple, but it was mentioned that creating a voice out of thin air was more difficult that it sounds.

He decided to try out the first spell. Kestral turned around in his chair trying to find a good target. He scanned over the different groups in the half-empty bar, until he found a talkative group just a few tables away. He kept his eyes on them only for a second, then faced straight towards the back wall, trying not to draw their attention.

The group of five mares played their poker game with enjoyment, sharing drinks and stories as they did. One of the two earth ponies was making the others break out into fits of laughter, telling all sorts of tales centering around some poor griffon.

“-and then, when she got back to her house,” She let out another giggly snicker, trying to continue.

He focused on her voice, readying himself to change it at a moment's notice.

“her husband just asked-” There. “Why are you wearing our groceries?”

The four other mares roared in laughter, while the story-telling one joined in a bit late, at first confused as to why her voice dropped a few octaves.

He snickered a bit, finding the sudden change to be a little bit comical.

He turned around, facing towards the endless supply of hard liquor again. A few of the bottles had been emptied again, but Barkeep had a knack for replacing them immediately, which made him wonder just how many bottles were stored in the back room. It couldn't be more than the amount of beer they stored, though. The thick stuff was sold by the quart, and there weren't that many people that bought less than two glasses of it while they were there. Some people come in and bought small barrels of it, too.

He spotted the griffon just a few feet down the counter, talking to another older griffon. While they talked away, he put a hand in his satchel, and pulled out a pouch. He dumped the contents, and counted them. He put the pouch away again, leaving the bits on the table, before looking back at Barkeep. He waited a few minutes, until she was done talking to the guy. Then, he focused his magic on the area next to her head, and made a mimic of his voice appear.

“Barkeep.” The voice said.

Cool. He thought.

The griffon turned to him, and he offered a small wave. She walked on over, and leaned on the counter again, resting her head on her claw. “You done reading?” She asked, seeing the books were nowhere to be found.

“Yep.” He said. He motioned to the bits he had placed on the counter. “I've got eleven bits to my name, and I'm hungry. What should I get?”

“A job, probably.” She joked, giving a punch to his arm. Then she shrugged. “The 'Carnivore's Kebabs' are good, if you want anything meat-heavy. If not, there's a bunch of lettuce-wraps, but most of those have hay in them.” She said.

“What's the best one without hay?” He asked.

“Probably the Cajun.” She said. “It's just like a standard burrito, but no meat and extra spices.”

He nodded, grabbing the bits and handing them to her. “Sounds good. I'll try it.”

She counted out the cost, and left the extra on the counter. Barkeep walked into the kitchen, making sure his order was made.

With nothing else to really do, it was his turn to rest on his arms and be bored. He wasn't sure when Discord would find another group of changelings, so really, the only thing he needed to accomplish would be getting enough money to pay for that rune.

Hmm. He thought. Well, I guess I'll get right on that..... as soon as I've eaten, at least.

This one seems good.

Kestral looked over the small mansion, taking in its unique design.

Instead of the traditional rectangular base with however many floors the family could afford, the building had an 'L' shaped base, with only two floors. He stared at it from behind a fence, taking in every detail. A pool took up most of the back yard, with a hedge separating it from the home, and stone paths separating the hedge from the others. There were torches set high at each corner of the pool, though they were unlit. Slim passage ways fitted themselves between the house and the fencing around it at the most narrow points, looking just wide enough to walk through with both arms grinding against each side.

There was a balcony just above him, on the shorter end of the mansion, where the pool, home, and fence all met. There were two more on the other side as well, with the one on the left being open. An odd light was traversing across the windows on the lower floor, though. He tried to see what exactly it was, but it was too obscured. His best assumption was that it was someone moving around with a candle.

He shook his head, and hopped over the fence. He waited a few seconds, until the light had gone behind the walls, and made his way along the stone wall. He got right under the edge of the balcony he wanted, and teleported up. He latched onto the edge, and hoisted himself over, taking off his boots as he did.

He landed quietly, and turned towards the doors. He walked out of the moonlight, and into the barely-lit room. Toys surrounded him, littering the floor with pieces of wood and cloth. Crude art pieces decorated the wall; Some were paint, some were crayon, but they were all stereotypically feminine colors, barring what looked like a fairly well-done caricature of a pony skeleton.

The furniture was sparse; A few toy-chests were lined up against the wall, with a wardrobe near the end, but a large bed took the center of the room, and the center of his attention. He walked towards it, and saw a pile of children on it.

No, really, a 'pile of children' was the best way to describe it. Five or six fillies were laying all over eachother, with the covers tossed to the side, all of varying ages from perhaps five years to surpassing tween-age. A young colt laid to the side, seemingly unwilling to join the child-pile. Instead, he was writhing in his sleep, matted with sweat.

He shook his head, and headed to the door at the opposite side of the balcony, deciding it was best not to linger. He slowly turned the handle, cracking the door open, and made sure that whatever wandering pony was in the house was not right there. He pressed onward, closing the door behind him, and stood in the dark, empty hallway.

clop cl-clop cl-clop cl-clop

Kestral snapped his head to the side. Down the hall, where the house made a corner, there was a staircase, where he could see a light source slowly strengthen.

Uh oh.

He spied around him, looking for a way out. There were a few doors to his right, and none to his left, but, conveniently enough, there was one directly in front of him, already open. He lit a flame inside the doorway, seeing what it was, then extinguished it again. It was a bathroom, albeit one that was spacious enough to fit a whole family in the shower at once. He bolted in, and moved the door enough to hide his form, then peeked from behind the frame.

The light moved to the top of the stairs, hidden from his sight, then came back around. The most he saw was the amber aura of a unicorn before he pulled his head back. He just kept forward enough to watch the glow reflect off the walls, slowly closing in as the clopping of hooves grew louder.

He stood behind the door, quieting his breath as best he could. He stood rigid, listen to each hoofstep grow marginally louder. They kept going, but as the pony came right next to the door, hr or she stopped.

Crap. Was his first thought. His second thought was that he heard another, softer set of hoofsteps. A moment later, the door across the hall opened, and the unicorn, apparently a mare, spoke.

“Seeth?” She asked, sounding worried. Her voice was a calm, smooth tone. Motherly, almost. “Are you alright? This is the second night in a row.”

The young colt spoke up. His voice seemed to be a constant half-mumble, like he was about to cry, or perhaps, wasn't sure if he should speak at all. “I....” He paused. “....I can't sleep.”

“Seeth....” The mare said. “...is this about what your mother said?”

A moment passed, and the colt still didn't respond.

The mare gave a sigh. “How about a glass of warm milk, huh?” She asked. “Maybe we can talk it over?”

The smaller set of hooves moved on, somewhat slowly, and the larger set of hooves joined. The two walked down the hall, and Kestral poked his head out. He spied the amber glow of magic, now descending down the steps, where it first came from.

Poor kid. He thought.

He stepped out of the bathroom, and turned to the left, away from the stairs. He made his way down the hall, with a small flame hovering in front of him. The first door he came up to was on his left. He grabbed the handle, and cracked it open, revealing a darkly lit artistry room. Cloth covered the room, with a pedestal in the center, and splotches of paint everywhere. He closed the door again, taking a mental note to check the room more thoroughly if he shouldn't find anything valuable later.

He moved on down the hall, coming up to a door on his right. He opened it to find another bedroom, though it was fairly empty. There was basic furniture, but it was quite simple. The doors to the balcony were there, but they were closed.

He shrugged, and pulled the door closed. He went down the hall again, coming to the last door at the end of the hall. He went in, and saw row after row of flowers on tables, with tall windows at each side of the room, and skylights at the top. Gardening supplies were stacked along the back wall, bringing a weak but foul smell in the air.

Kestral closed the door, and went back towards the stairs. He passed the children's room, and exited the hall. He arrived at a junction, where the only options were to go down the stairs, or into another hall on the left. He decided it was best to go down the other hall, as it may allow him to avoid the awoken ones.

He went down the hall, and only saw two doors. He went to the nearer one, on his right, and opened it up. A quick peek inside let him know that it was nothing more than a cramped storage closet.

He shook his head, and closed the door. He aimed towards the final door on that floor, and walked towards it, trying not to make a sound on the stone floor. He passed along moonlit windows, which gave him a small amount of anxiety, given that the mare and colt downstairs could pop up and give him away at a few seconds' notice.

He hurried his way to the far door, and opened it slowly. He took a long pause as he entered the dimly lit room. Wardrobes lined the far wall, with clothing overflowing. Two doors directly to his right were left open. A large bed took up the center, as he suspected. On it, lay another pile of mares, though the stallion of the group was seemingly the object of the mares' cuddling, rather than being tossed out by himself.

Kestral walk in extra carefully, and left just a crack between the door and the frame as he walked in. He immediately made his way to the nearest of the other doors, teleporting his was across most of the distance. A quick look inside, and all he saw was a bathroom. He went to the door after that, and saw a massive walk-in closet.

He smiled a little, and went in, closing the door behind him. He winced when it creaked at the end, but decided that it wasn't too loud, and moved on. He flicked on a flame, looking around at the endless supply of clothing. Towards the back, there was a transition from clothing to armor, though nothing really stuck out as valuable to him.

He turned over pile after pile of clothing, seeing if there was anything worth grabbing, but he couldn't find much. There was a small pile of jewelry, worth maybe a few hundred bits, but it was by no means an impressive find. His scouring for anything more left him dry, so he concluded that he was done in there.

He exited again, and teleported twice, getting back to the entrance of the bedroom. He looked over at the wardrobes as he went out. He wanted to rummage through them, but the more paranoid part of his mind made him realize that it was too risky; They could wake up at the slightest sound, for all he knew, and he may have been quite lucky to even sneak past them.

He closed the door, and went down the hall. He killed his flame, reached the stairs, and began slowly descending. The first thing he saw was the massive living room below him. On the shorter stretch of the house, it bordered an open study-room. On the longer end, it turned into a dining room, then ended in a wall, where an opening led to a kitchen. Besides the kitchen, there were a few doors, though he couldn't tell what they led to from that distance.

The amber light was in the kitchen, with only shadows to let him know that the unicorns were both there. He turned towards the study, and hopped over the rail, landing on the carpet below. He made his way to the paper-covered desk, but kept an eye towards the kitchen as he did, at least until the wall corner came between him and them.

He slowed his pace a bit when the carpet turned to hard wood. First, he checked under all the rugs, hoping to find a safe in the floor. He didn't to his dismay, but he didn't lose hope. He walked to the end of the bookshelves behind the desk, and leaned up against the wall.

No. He thought. No secret entrance here....

He paused for a second, then checked behind all the paintings that were on the wall, but found nothing. The bust on the desk was completely normal, and there were no secret levers or buttons. In a final attempt, and pulled open all the drawers, hoping to find-

Aha!

He pulled up on a false bottom, revealing.... small paintings, a rusted dagger with tooth grips, and piles of letters.

Hmm. He though, disappointed. Just memorabilia. He put the false bottom back, leaving the objects where they were. Maybe I should have checked those wardrobes....

He made his way towards the wall's corner, and stole a glance. The amber light was still there, and he still didn't have direct line of sight to the ponies, so he began making his way towards the doors next to the kitchen. He went along the wall, trying to keep his shadow far away from the kitchen's nearer entrance.

“....I just don't think.....like this.....”

He heard the mare speak as he got closer. The colt mumbled something, but it was too soft for him to hear. He closed in, getting close to the second walkway into the kitchen.

“I know you want to learn it, Seeth, but your mother worries about you.”

He teleported across the gap, and reached for the door handle of one of the three doors around him. He paused, though, letting his curiosity getting the better of him.

“She thinks I'm just going to hurt ponies, doesn't she?” The childish voice mumbled.

“I'm not sure it's about other ponies.” She said. “I think your mother doesn't want to see you get hurt.”

“I'm not going to hurt myself!” The voice carried a little more frustration, but was otherwise the same. “The spells are really safe!”

“It's not me you need to convince.” She said. “I know how safe being a mage is, but your mother is set on you being a stay-at-home husband.”

The colt became exasperated. “But I don't want to do that! I want to be a mage!”

The mare sighed. “Well, they're not mutually exclusive....”

Kestral shook his head, and opened the door in front of him. It revealed a set of steps leading down. Poor kid. He thought, as he descended, closing the door behind him. At least he's got someone helping him out.

He lit up a flame, and went down the steps. Wooden boards lined the walls, setting the room apart from the rest of the stone house. He reached the cobblestone floor, and looked around. Caskets of alcohol were on one wall, while blocks of wood were on the other. He looked towards the side, and there was a workbench covered in sawdust and tools. He walked around, and looked under the stairs, spotting the safe he was looking for.

Jackpot.

He grabbed his lock-picking set out of thin air, and got to work. He set pin after pin, and after a full minute's work, the door to the safe opened up. He put his tools away, and pulled it out all the way. He smiled at the dozen or so gold bars sitting there, along with even more silver bars, and several bags of bits. He snatched eight of the gold bars, half of the silver ones, and two bags. He closed the safe, deciding he was finished with his work there.

He hopped up the steps, putting his flame out as he reached the door. He cracked the door open, keeping an eye out for the two unicorns. Oddly enough, the amber glow from the kitchen was gone. There wasn't anyone talking, either.

I guess they left. He thought. He opened the door wide, and stepped out, but froze at the sight before him.

Seeth, the little unicorn colt, with his pale coat and dark hair, stood rigid on his back hooves, reaching up for the knob on the door across the hall. The colt's eyes were pinpricks, and his mouth kept opening, as if to say something, then shutting.

Kestral stood there, with a completely blank expression, wondering if he should say something, or just book it out the door next to him.

The silence ate away at the both of them, but soon enough, Kestral took the first step towards the door. The colt did the same, though his movement could be more accurately described as 'accidentally breaking the sound barrier on the way towards the stairs'.

“Crap!” He said, panicked, as he fumbled with the doorknob.

He opened it, and bolted out as fast as his legs would carry him. He hopped over the fence, and kept going, not looking back. He teleported over fence lines and open yard, when he could at least. The constant use of his magic began giving him a headache, but by the time that happened, he was already three quarters of a mile away. He slowed down, and hid away in an alley for a few moments, letting himself recover from the sudden sprint.

Though he got caught, he still got away with the loot. That's all that really mattered, he supposed, but he'd be happy not to have that happen again.

Ah, well. He thought. The night is young-ish.... Hitting a couple more houses wouldn't hurt....

Author's Notes:

Nope, still not dead.