“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.”

Author's Notes:

Well, there you go. Usual thanks to coandco, shira, Permanent Temporary, Ponyboy245, TownCrier, Jack-Pony, and Denim_Blue.