“Is it bad?”

I looked at Silverfly, before looking back around at the alley, making absolutely sure it was empty. “Is what bad?” I asked back, placing my hoof on the pole of the broken street lamp and pouring a little energy into it. A second later, a green bubble surrounded the both of us before we were whisked away underground, to the entrance hallway of our Cluster.

“Canterlot’s involvement,” Silverfly replied after we got back our bearings. Green light surrounded her, and a second later, she shrunk slightly in size as she changed back to her Primary body.

I followed suit, then looked around as we walked in. The croach covering the ground, walls, and ceiling seemed to glow a little brighter than yesterday, which I hoped was indicative of improvement. It was, much to my relief, evident when we passed by a much healthier and much more alert-looking guard who greeted us enthusiastically.

“Lumi?”

I turned to Silverfly, who was looking at me with an annoyed expression. I smirked slightly. “Well, it could be worse.”

“Really?” Silverfly asked. “Could be worse? What is worse then, Lumi?”

“Canterlot actually deciding that changelings are attacking once more,” I suggested. “Thankfully, it’s not at that stage yet.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Well,” I began, “for one, you’d see an increase of Royal Guard and Civil Officer activity in all cities, and that would raise alarms. Two, we’ll probably hear an announcement by the Princesses. So far, there’s nothing.”

“That’s good, then,” Silverfly said, nodding.

“Not completely,” I disagreed. “They finally have a changeling corpse to study, and even if the local Cluster is successful in retrieving it, reminding the Equestrians that we are still amongst them complicates things. Nevermind the fact that we may have gotten the humans’ attention too, and they are a neutral party so far.”

“Oh,” Silverfly said, unsurely.

I smiled. “Don’t worry about it now. Just concentrate on your training,” I said. “Now, other than the news of the changeling, what other information have you gleaned from anyone you helped so far?” Silverfly made an annoyed sound, which made my smile grow larger. “You didn’t think I’d forget, did you?”

Silverfly sighed and began to relate on a lot of random and unrelated things, which were pretty consistent of any information you could get from a simple conversation. Most were useless, but some of them caught my attention. For example, Silverfly heard that the rates to the Dolphin Islands had been reduced by twenty-percent. With what was going on with Sea Swirl right now, I felt that having a small degree of comfort, like a reduced fare to her favorite place, would do her wonders. The last bits of information I already knew, like the anger of Purple Quill’s fans, and the increasing interest in Bradley’s appearance.

“Good job,” I finally said, earning a beaming look from Silverfly. “I need you to continue this every day when you work. Even if you think the information is useless, try and remember it. Which now brings me to your next assignment.”

Silverfly straightened. “What is it?”

“I want you to apply what you learned from them,” I replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Whatever you learn from a certain customer, use it to try and interject a few personal touches here and there,” I clarified. “Basic example, if you learned that they have foals, ask about their well-being.”

Silverfly blinked, confused. “Why?”

“Because it’ll help you develop the right mindset when it comes to developing assets,” I replied, turning towards the left. Silverfly paced a bit faster, trying to get her shorter legs to catch up.

She frowned. “Right mindset? We entice them enough to allow us to feed on them. Isn’t that how it works?”

I shook my head, smiling slightly. To be young, I suppose. “If we want to help the Cluster, we have to aim for assets that are invested. The more invested they are, the more Love they give.” I looked at her meaningfully. “I told you earlier that you’d understand once you obtained Love directly.”

“Directly or from the Feeding Chamber,” she added.

I mentally nodded. It was nice that she retained details. That would definitely be something that would help her immensely. “Then I think it’s time we gave you a small taste. Take a break. Visit Dusty if you want. However, I need you to be back before Communal Feeding. I want you to experience what that invested Love feels like.”

“I… okay,” Silverfly replied, nodding.

I watched her leave, chuckling as I noticed a slight hop in her step. She probably thought I didn’t see her break to a gallop once she rounded the corner. I waited for a few more moments before I finally made my way deeper in the Cluster to look for Gypsy.

I found her directing the drones in excavating deeper in the tunnels, probably to make sure none of them would accidentally puncture another sewage line. Once I got her alone, I extracted the files that I got from Mantid and showed them to her.

“This is problematic,” Gypsy finally said after reviewing the file.

“Obviously,” I replied. “Mantid left to sell this information to the Cluster in Dodge Junction. From what you know of them, would they be successful in retrieving the body?”

“As much as I dislike the chitin-rots there,” Gypsy began, which had me smirking, “I don’t doubt their capabilities. They will be able to recover the corpse. However, I don’t know if retrieving will the smartest move here.”

“Oh?”

“If it were me, I’d rather douse the corpse with a Putrefaction Potion,” Gypsy said.

I frowned. “Why?”

“If a corpse under the watchful eye of the local government is stolen, how do you think the Equestrians will react?” Gypsy asked. “It’s much better to have them think that the changeling corpse decomposed quickly rather than wonder who stole it, correct?”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t they discover that a potion was used?” I challenged.

“Ah, the beauty of the Putrification Potion is that it’s not that common,” Gypsy replied easily.

“We use it everyday,” I said.

“We use it to clear organic debris as we expand the Cluster, yes, but for Equestrians?” Gypsy smiled, shaking her head. “They’ve had no real use for it ever since they discovered it a hundred years ago.”

I nodded, understanding. “So it’s not something they would normally look for. Huh. Simple.”

“Sometimes, there is subtlety in simplicity, making it the best solution,” Gypsy said sagely. “Though that doesn’t mean the Equestrians won’t be suspicious.”

“I’ve thought the same,” I agreed. “In your opinion, how would they react?”

“Well, cautiously, but I believe they’d be more curious than anything,” Gypsy replied. “If things go well, this will be a forgettable incident for them.”

I looked at her. “How about the humans?”

Gypsy frowned. “Ah, that I can’t comment on.”

I nodded, expecting as much. Still, remembering Shaun, I could probably get some insights from him on how they might react to the news of a changeling corpse. If I ever saw him again, that is. “Thanks, Gypsy,” I said, magically arranging the file to be put back in my saddlebag. Then, I also remembered something else. “I’m letting Silverfly into the Feeding Chamber. I think it’s time she felt the full weight of an invested asset’s Love.”

Gypsy’s head shifted slightly. “This soon? It hasn’t even been a day.”

“I need to impress upon her what it means to build an asset,” I said. “She clearly has strong enough motivation to see the training through, but it’s that same motivation which limits her.”

“Oh?” Gypsy asked, looking interested. “Do tell.”

I gave her a lopsided smile. “Why does it sound like you’re giving me a test?”

“When my inquiries stop sounding like a test,” Gypsy replied, with a smile of her own, “fire me as your advisor.”

“Fair enough,” I said, chuckling. “Okay, Silverfly wants to be an infiltrator because her family starved pretty badly. She feels that she could alleviate their suffering. That is what drives her. However, like I said earlier, that is also her weakness. Earlier at work, she mostly concentrated on stallions, seemingly uninterested with helping out mares until I ordered her to do so.”

“So?”

“Silverfly and I had a chat before we submitted her Citizenship papers,” I continued. “Her first cover disguise was an overly sexualized and idealized pegasus. And just earlier, she said that we only need to entice assets enough to feed on them.” I frowned. “As an infiltrator, she is responsible for obtaining Love for the whole Cluster. But the way she thinks? It’s only good for the short-term, or if you only need to feed a small group. That’s why I think showing her, letting her feel what a vested Love feels like, would be the first step to make her grow as an infiltrator.”

Gypsy nodded. “While your argument is solid, there’s a reason why we don’t feed unadulterated Love to younglings.”

“She isn’t a youngling anymore,” I countered. When Gypsy seemed to smirk, I raised my hoof in surrender. “Okay, yes, I said that she was too young to be trained. And while I still feel that, I also know she can work hard and listens well enough to make me think she’s ready for this.”

“I’ll defer to your judgement, then,” Gypsy said, before looking at my rucksack. “How much did you pay Mantid for that information?”

“Five hundred bits.”

“You could have bargained for less.” Gypsy scowled at me. “You should have bargained for less.”

“I felt the price was enough to keep Mantid's favor," I replied. "Having an information broker near our cluster is worth more than the price we just paid."

"You give the Independents far more freedom than is strictly necessary," Gypsy said.

I smiled. "Considering how much they’ve helped us for the past few weeks? I think the little additional allowances were worth it."

Gypsy huffed, annoyed. She didn’t even bother hiding her emotion, but said nothing more. Leaving her to continue leading the drones, I made my way towards the exit, disguising myself as Illuminating Starburst once more before exiting the Clusters and making my way to my apartment.

After making sure that nothing was amiss, I went towards my room, and once safely inside, extracted the files I bought from Mantid. I placed them all on my desk and slowly began to study everything in detail, concentrating on the words used, as well as the numerous grainy pictures they had taken. The report had been wonderfully comprehensive. They detailed the place where they found the dead changeling, the pose it had been in, and any strange items or even magic around the area.

Nothing really caught my attention until I went through the autopsy. Everything had indicated that the changeling’s neck was broken, and while that was particularly hard to accomplish, considering changeling bodies were very flexible, it was certainly not impossible. However, what caught my attention was the fact that whoever examined the corpse noticed a small puncture wound at the back of the head. Upon inspection, it was deep enough to reach the changeling’s brain.

Nasty.

There were a few eyewitness accounts, though none of them bore any fruit. I suspected a few of those witnesses were changelings of that Cluster, trying to spread disinformation, to confuse the local government and keep them busy. That’s what I would do if a corpse was found here.

I spent a good few hours studying the file such that when I looked up from my desk, everything was dark. I looked at my wall clock, and it was around eight in the evening. Communal Feeding, with the exception of yesterday, would usually start thirty minutes from now. Putting everything back in an orderly manner, I locked my room and inspected my place once more before I exited my apartment, only to spot a peculiar sight: Silverfly, in her young filly cover, listening to the very animated Gentle Rock.

Blinking, I wondered what that was all about before I approached the two. Silverfly spotted me first, and relief was obvious in her expression. Gentle Rock followed her gaze, and when he saw me, waved.

“Why, hello Lumi!” he greeted, smiling. “Happy evening to you.”

“Good evening as well, Gentle Rock,” I replied with a smile of my own. I looked at him and Silverfly. “Hello, Amber Cloud. You two look like you’re having fun.”

Silverfly subtly shook her head, which contrasted with Gentle Rock’s enthusiastic grin. I had to suppress my chuckles.

“Ah, so you know the little missy,” Gentle Rock said. “She did say she was waiting for you, but I never would have imagined that you have a little filly, Lumi.”

“She isn’t mine, Gentle Rock, and you know it,” I replied, smiling. “She’s the daughter of a friend of mine. I’ve been asked to take care of her for tonight.”

“Ah,” Gentle Rock nodded. “Though, Lumi, you really ought to settle down and have a herd of your own. A pretty mare like you shouldn’t end up alone.”

“Oh, that’s sweet, Gentle Rock,” I said, patting him gently on the shoulder. “Maybe one day, I’ll find a stallion as nice as you are.”

“Except with less grey in his mane, eh?”

“Or have less mares to compete with,” I replied with a wink. That had him laughing. “When are your grandfoals visiting?”

Gentle Rock’s smile faded slightly, and I could feel a little sourness escape from him. “Soon, hopefully,” he replied. “But I understand that school year is about to start. Education should be the top priority.”

“Even so, I'm sure they’ll find time, Gentle Rock,” I assured. “After all, they’d all want to visit their favorite grandpa, right?”

The sourness strengthened as he said, “Maybe.” Gentle Rock smiled. “It was very nice to see you again, Lumi.”

“You too,” I said, watching him open the door of his apartment. After one last wave of goodbye, both Silverfly and I walked towards the staircase and descended. The younger changeling seemed to breathe a little easier, finally making me chuckle out loud.

“It’s not funny,” Silverfly muttered.

“I think it is a bit funny,” I said. “I’m surprised at how lost you looked, though. Was chatting with Gentle Rock that bad?”

“Not exactly,” Silverfly muttered. She stayed silent until we had left the building and crossed a street. “It was… confusing. He was happy with me, with my presence. But it was different from how the stallions usually reacted when I talked to them back at the store. I… I don’t know how to describe it.”

“Affection,” I replied. “You probably reminded him of someone he knew.”

“He did call me Tangerine,” Silverfly said, frowning a little.

“His eldest grandfilly,” I supplied. “Though she’s an earth pony, not a pegasus. I guess it’s the color of your coat.”

We were at the entrance hall of the Cluster when Silverfly spoke up again. “Was he was hiding something?”

“Hmmm?” I asked absently, waving at a guard greeting us.

“Gentle Rock,” Silverfly replied. "When he talked about his grandfoals, his emotions were... conflicted.”

“Yes, I noticed,” I confirmed. "He could be hiding something." I turned towards the right and looked at her. "You’re curious.”

She avoided my gaze. “Maybe,” she said. After a moment, she added, "Are you?”

“Not really,” I said truthfully, turning towards the left and spotted changelings slowly gathering near the entrance of the Feeding Chamber.

Silverfly must have spotted her mother because she suddenly bloomed with happiness and ran towards a changeling who looked surprised to see her.

“Silverfly!” the changeling greeted, a little confused. The two of them hugged, which had me smiling as I approached. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m going to feed,” Silverfly replied simply.

“But you’re too young!”

Silverfly’s face scrunched with annoyance. “I’m not! Besides, it was Lumi’s idea.”

When Silverfly’s mother saw me, she approached. “Milady?” she asked, a little worry escaping her. There could have been an undercurrent of anger, but if it was present, it was well-hidden.

I gave her a nod. “I believe Silverfly is ready, and the experience will help her grow as an infiltrator,” I replied. I gave her a gentle smile. “If she, by chance, gets overwhelmed, we will evict her from the Chamber. You have my promise on that.”

Silverfly’s mother looked a little sad as she faced her daughter. She said, “Oh,” and hugged her daughter tight. "You are growing up so fast."

“Mom!” Silverfly protested.

I just chuckled, moving away as she tried to extricate herself from her mother. She must have succeeded because she joined me soon after. "You should have accompanied her," I suggested.

"She tried to comb my mane," Silverfly replied, looking over her shoulder. I did the same, spotting her mother waving at them. Silverfly huffed. "Who knows what she would have tried next."

"She's a caring mother," I said. "Not every changeling will have a parent like that. You're quite lucky."

"Yeah, right," she replied with a sarcastic tone.

I looked at her somberly. "You are, Silverfly."

She frowned, looking at me in silence. Before she could say anything, the chamber opened, revealing Gypsy. When she saw me and Silverfly, she gave me a nod.

"Everyone, inside," Gypsy said.

I looked at the younger changeling. "Gypsy and I will be close by, just in case you react badly," I said.

"Why is everyone acting like the feeding is going to break me or something?" Silverfly asked. "I mean, I have tasted Love before."

"Direct Love is quite different from what you are used to," I replied. "Usually, the changeling who is responsible for feeding younglings filters it, removing the weight of emotions behind it."

"Why?"

"Love can be addicting," I said, letting the other changelings pass us by. Silverfly's mother gave the young changeling one last assuring pat, much to the latter’s annoyance, and sat nearby.

“Mom…” Silverfly muttered.

“Be nice, Silverfly,” I chuckled.

“You are enjoying this far too much,” she said.

I just smiled, watching Gypsy look beyond the entrance of the Feeding Chamber, to see if there would be any late-comers. When no more changelings appeared, the chamber doors began to close. I watched Silverfly blink, shifting uncomfortably as a bit of her emotions leaked out.

Anticipation can get the best of most of us, I guessed.

Gypsy gave me and Silverfly one last look before she tapped on the central orb. Like yesterday, it began to unfurl like a blooming flower, and white, glowing Love slowly dispersed like dust in the air. Silverfly looked at the dancing lights for a moment before she concentrated, willing Love to come to her.

When one touched her horn, her eyes immediately opened. She shuddered as her emotions poured out—shock, happiness, lust, and longing. Not all of the emotions were of her own.

“Silverfly?” I asked, gently.

“I-I’m fine,” she whispered. “I—wow. I didn’t expect that.” She shook her head before lifting it higher, willing Love to her once more. When another touched her horn, she shivered, but didn’t react as badly as the first time. The leakage of emotions was kept in check. In fact, the only thing that indicated that she was having slight trouble were the tears in her eyes.

Silverfly’s mother approached, her hooves gently rubbing the younger changeling’s coat. “Silverfly, it’s okay. Just… drink it in. Let it flow around you.”

“It’s beautiful, mom,” Silverfly whispered, shuddering.

Silverfly maintained some composure throughout, but needed help moving once the orb closed, ending the ceremony. Her mother took on the task, and I readily let her. What the younger changeling needed now was the support of family and plenty of rest.

After seeing Silverfly off, I made my way towards Gypsy and we both talked about the improving state of the Cluster. Some Independents had actually given their Tithes earlier than expected, which extended our supply of Love.

“Isn’t that nice?” I asked, looking at Gypsy meaningfully.

She rolled her eyes, before noting, “You didn’t feed.”

I shook my head. “I have enough to keep me active.” I looked at the exiting changelings. “Besides, they need it more.”

There really wasn’t much to do afterwards. Going back to my apartment, I paused a moment at Gentle Rock’s door, recalling what Silverfly had mentioned earlier, before I shook my head and continued my way towards my apartment door.

After another preliminary check, I went to my bedroom, enjoyed a few well-earned bounces on my bed, before finally closing my eyes and getting some sleep.

I awoke just a bit before sunrise. After a little stretching, I began the usual morning routine, making sure that everything was in place before watering my flower pots. I wasn’t even finished I heard a knock on my door. Opening it revealed Silverfly in her Silver Lining cover.

“You can take a day-off,” I said. “We can have a Gatherer take your place in the Keeper’s Tomes while you get your bearings.”

“I’m fine,” Silverfly replied, her tone of voice suggesting she had been saying the same thing for a while. She entered through the doorway, muttering, “Why does everyone tell me to take a rest?”

“Because we care,” I replied, smiling a bit as I closed the door and followed her to the living room area. “There’s no shame in taking a rest when you need it.”

“I don’t, though,” she insisted, taking a seat in the couch. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Are you really?” I asked. When she gave me an annoyed look, I continued, “I know how addicting it can be to taste direct Love. And you weren’t exactly okay last night.”

Silverfly kept looking at me for a moment before sighing. “There was a lot to take in,” she finally said, moving her hoof through her mane. “I’ve never felt emotions that were so… flavorful. And the energy, wow, the energy. It felt abundant. It felt—” she looked towards the ceiling “—alive.”

“That’s a good way to look at it,” I said, earning a confused look from her. “When I said you’d understand when the time comes, that’s what I meant. What you felt, what you experienced, was an asset’s life that they fully shared. This is why they aren’t just food to us. This is why they are much more.”

Silverfly frowned thoughtfully. After a while, she asked, “So, when I feed from an asset… does it come like that?”

“Depends,” I replied. “What you felt yesterday was Love from an invested asset, one who is fully committed to a changeling cover. Along with the fuller taste of their emotions, the energy they give out is amazingly abundant. In just one night, I was able to collect enough to keep our Cluster alive for almost three days. That’s Love you cannot obtain with just simple enticement, or even using a Pod. This is the type of Love you must strive for.”

“But… that takes a long time!” Silverfly said, a little warily.

I nodded. “Yes it does,” I replied. “It is also difficult. You can imagine the time wasted on trying to build an asset, only for it to not work out as you wanted. Or even trying to maintain multiple covers you built around them if your gatherers aren’t able to maintain the character. But that’s why Hives need infiltrators, Silverfly. We have to ensure that assets commit to us. We have to ensure that they belong to us. If it were that easy, then we wouldn’t need infiltrators, now would we?”

Silverfly opened her mouth, but closed it immediately afterwards. She looked thoughtful once more, pondering over my words. I let her stew over them for a bit, continuing to water my plants. I had to admit, it was a bit funny when I came back to see Silverfly still in the same position, as if she hadn’t moved for the past five minutes. However, she impressed me once more with the determined look she gave me after I called for her attention.

“I can’t take a break,” she said once we exited my apartment. “I have way too many things to learn.”

Not one to dissuade enthusiasm, I said nothing as we both began our trip to Keeper’s Tomes, which surprisingly looked quite busy, considering it wasn’t open yet. Floor associates seemed to be peeking through the transparent glass, murmuring amongst themselves.

“What’s going on?” Silverfly asked.

“I don’t know yet,” I whispered my reply. I spotted Bastion with the crowd, who upon seeing me, waved at me to approach.

“Lumi!” he called, somewhat excited.

Both Silverfly and I drew nearer, and when he spotted the younger disguised changeling, he gave her a friendly smile. “Hello, Silver Lining. You look nice.”

“Thanks,” Silverfly replied, a little neutral. Good girl.

“A little too early to be flirting,” I announced, a little loudly. Normally, I’d expect him to look a bit annoyed, maybe start saying a few more flowery things to garner favor, which I prepared a sarcastic reply in return. However, he suddenly went all business-like. I frowned. “What is it?”

“Book is meeting with Bradley’s agent,” Bastion said, motioning towards the store.

I blinked, surprised. “That’s… early.”

“Very early,” Bastion acknowledged. “I mean, we expected it today, but before opening? And get this… Bradley’s here too.”

Huh. “Wow.”

“More than that, Book wants you to meet them,” Bastion finished. “He asked me to bring you in once you arrived.”

“I… well, let’s get to it, then,” I said. This was… well, pretty unexpected. I mean, usually the agents would appear by lunch, or maybe late afternoon. That’s usually the time we expected the agents. And for the writer to personally come as well?

Still, that meant seeing Shaun once more, so I couldn't really complain too much.

Silverfly frowned when Bastion told her she wasn’t allowed in yet, but as a pegasus, all she had to do was hover to see everything through the clear glass window. Bastion then led me in through the door, before directing me towards the open area where the cashiers’ counters were located. I spotted Book talking with a familiar-looking grey-white mare unicorn with a two-toned violet mane and tail and a directory Cutie Mark.

“... I guess it was a little unexpected,” I heard Book say with a smile on his face. “Not at all unpleasant, mind.”

“Bradley’s very grateful,” the mare replied. “He heard why he was bumped up, and he appreciates any opportunity that is given to him. He knows your bookstore could have gotten any other replacement, and wanted to show his appreciation.”

“Well, I guess we can wait for him to finalize the agreement with—” Book spotted me. “Lumi! Nice of you to join us. You are familiar with Miss Index, I believe?”

I nodded, remembering now where I’d seen her before. She was the agent of a lot of authors that also made their appearances here. Her presence did confuse me, though. Why was she here? Instead of asking, I just gave her a small smile and offered my hoof. “Hello again!”

“Ah, Starburst!” Index exclaimed, smiling in return. “It’s nice to see you haven’t run away from Mister Miserable here.”

“Now, now, Miss Index,” Book began, chuckling. “Lumi is one of my most loyal employees.”

“Only because he keeps me well-fed with hot chocolate,” I countered jokingly. Index chuckled and gave Book a knowing look, which he replied by rolling his eyes. “I’m surprised to see you here though,” I finished.

Index blinked. “Why should you be?”

Book interjected. “Lumi, dear, Miss Index here is Bradley’s agent.”

What? “Oh? Really? I thought Bradley’s agent was—” I paused, my suspicions aroused. When I saw Book looking at me, confused, I finished with, “I mean, how nice.”

“Isn’t it?” Index smiled widely. “I’m probably the first Equestrian agent to snag a human writer. Which also means I am completely out of my depth. Authors, as you know, can be a wee bit… temperamental. However, human authors? Well, let’s just say you’ll get quite a few shares of headaches.”

“What do you mean?” Book asked.

She looked at me, Book, and Bastion conspiratorially. “For example, yesterday, I thought I lost him. Poof, vanished, without a word. I thought he learned teleportation, but I realized I was being silly. And when he came back yesterday, he was carrying books. He said he just bought them, for references.” She looked at Book. “He was carrying them in paper bags with your logo on them.”

Book’s eyes widened. “He was here yesterday?”

Okay, now that just rang alarm bells in my head. “Really?” I asked.

“I don’t know if it’s because he’s human,” Index continued, “but he is a bit… weird.”

“Oh, come on, love,” a voice—a very familiar voice—interjected. “I’m not that bad, am I?”

All of us looked at the source of the voice, the hallway entrance that led directly towards the storage room and Book’s office. It was a humanoid figure, draped in silhouette for a few seconds, until he walked through the light. His features were exactly as I remembered—pale tone, a little skinny, wild curly brown hair, and light-sea-green eyes behind his black-framed spectacles. His clothes were a little different, though most noticeable was his shirt. He wore black this time, with the words Bangers, Beans, Mash written in white.

Shaun took a confident step forward, only to stumble when his gaze found me. Surprise registered immediately, his mouth opening before closing almost instantly. He gave me a blank look before his face broke into a small smile, as if he finally understood a joke he was told yesterday. I think I returned with a smile of my own, shaking my head as an emphasis.

“No, Bradley, you are worse,” Index replied, chuckling as he finally approached.

“I come from the loo, and I hear my agent scheming against me? Index, I’m so very much hurt!”

Index just giggled. “Come on, Bradley. I want you to meet Illuminating Starburst, Book Keeper’s Floor Manager.”

He looked at me, studying me once more from head to toe. He offered his hand. “You know, you look bloody familiar.”

I gave him a knowing smirk as I shook it with my hoof. “I can say the same thing to you, Mister Bradley. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

He smiled. “The pleasure is all mine, Miss Starburst.”

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the delay guys.

Usual thanks to coandco, shira, Permanent Temporary, Ponyboy245, TownCrier, Jack-Pony, Denim_Blue (sorry for not crediting you last chapter!), and WolfeTrax.

Enjoy!