You received a letter in the mail, and inside it was a map and a letter. Hello, I have heard of your monster hunting abilities, and the town of Appleloosa needs your help. We have a changeling in our midst, and it has been feeding nonstop on our emotions. We are willing to pay you whatever you want to get rid of it. Sincerely, Braeburn.
Riposte took his blade out of a dead chimera. He reached into his saddlebag, and took out a disinfecting cloth, and started wiping the rapier clean. He then discarded the cloth, and took out another one, this time scrubbing his leg. A messenger pigeon landed on his shoulder, a rolled up piece of parchment tied to it's leg. He untied the paper, and read the contents. "Hello, I have heard of your monster hunting abilities, and the town of Appleloosa needs your help. We have a changeling in our midst, and it has been feeding nonstop on our emotions. We are willing to pay you whatever you want to get rid of it. Sincerely, Braeburn." A changeling would be tricky. Luring out changelings made Riposte's primary skill, stabbing things, a little more complicated. Nevertheless, he set out for Appleloosa.
Dark looks around the small town, grinning. Today was supposed to be the day that Chrysalis would come... She would bring her army and they would take this pony orchard for themselves, feasting on the love that went into the trees, with no distractions. He turns into a small colt in a flash of green fire, walking down the main street... Noling ever paid attention to pony nymphs, they were practically invisible.
Riposte got off the train bound for Appleloosa. The heat was blazing. He shielded his eyes from the sun with his prosthetic limb, and got some strange looks. He looked down at the map, which he was levitating with his magic, and it had an x over the Sheriff's Office. "Huh. They have a Sheriff here. Reminds me of A Hoof Full of Bits." He came upon a wooden building with a porch out front and an arched sign reading, "Sheriff" painted yellow. He walked through the half-doors, and came upon an orange, muscular earth pony. "I assume you're this Braeburn?"
Braeburn looks at Riposte, nodding. "And I assume you're here to help with the changeling problem?" He asks, looking him up and down. Dark trots through the Main Street, wondering when his Queen would arrive. It had been a while since he had any contact from his hive, so... He didn't know, they could be arriving at any minute.
"Aye." Riposte sat down, and showed him his Hunter Liscense. There was an impressive, if not legendary kill list recorded on it. 1x Elder Dragon (Jormag, the Glacial Terror.) This line drew much attention. He didn't like showing it to his clients, but it was required to show his entire liscense. "Now. Do you have any leads on this Changeling?"
Braeburn raises an eyebrow when he looks at the Liscense, obviously impressed. "Well, we've only recorded various disguises it's been in... It's usually a young colt, but the problem is, when we single it out... It always loses us in the crowd, no matter how scattered out... It's just plain weird."
Braeburn shrugs. "Well... We want him dead or alive, so... Anyway you want to catch it is alright, as long as there isn't much property damage, and no injuries, of course."
"It will be done. While I'm searching, can you pull up the file of that colt he disguises himself as? Also, block all routes out of town. I don't want anyone going out." Riposte walked out of the office, and approached town square. He got up on the platform, and pulled the microphone up to his mouth. "Would every colt please report to town square for a... Physical examination."
Braeburn nods, pulling up an artists sketch of the colt. It looked like a younger version of Doctor Whooves. He passes the file to a pony, who brings it to Riposte. After that, Braeburn got his deputies, sending them out to block the streets. Some colts looked at the odd pony at the square, confused. "Why?" One of them asks.
Riposte thought of a response quick. "It's part of Princess' Celestia's movement to get colts active. I'm the examiner. If you are deemed healthy, you will be visited by the Princess herself!" Riposte thought his response was believable. All he had to do was hope that changeling would be present. He looked at the portfolio, which included the sketch and the colts personal information.
"Why not us too?" A filly asks. The colts line up, but a few roll their eyes, staying where they were. The colt in the file was actually a real colt, it seemed the changeling just imitated him whenever it wanted.
"You'll get your turn next! I need to get seperate data for both genders!" Riposte would have to end up giving the test to them next. He turned to the line, and told them to do some simple endurance excercises. While doing, this, he covertly analyzed them with his magic, making sure they weren't Changelings. "No luck." He thought to himself. He dismissed the colts, then called the fillies up. He ran them through the same excercises, but no results either. He ran out of uses for the analyzing spell for the day, but he was still determined to find the Changeling. He opened the file, and read off his address. 0093 Cherry Street. He popped by the house on the way back to the office. He used the simple brass knocker and waited for some pony to come out.
A tired looking mare answers the door, looking at the odd pony. "Yes?" she asks, yawning. She looked completely worn out, with bags under her eyes, and an occasional yawn. The house looked fairly standard, in need of a few repairs, but it functioned well. From what was visible from the door, it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a few days, possibly a week.
"Hello ma'am. I am the monster hunter hired to remedy the changeling problem. Now. I have evidence to suspect the Changeling has been disguising as your son often. Tell me. Is he home?"
"He has been home for the last week, he ran into some poison joke, and I'm waiting on the cure to arrive." The mare says.
"Thank you ma'am. And if you don't mind me asking, what are his normal hangouts? The changeling might try to seem more like the real thing by hiding in those places."
"Thank you. Give your son my regards." Riposte headed back to the Sheriff's Office. "Braeburn! I got some more information on this kid!"
