Thorax, disguised as a different bird (just because he can copy them perfectly doesn't mean he knows what they're called) than the last couple of days to hopefully keep from getting suspicious, was perched on the roof of a market stall.
He wasn't here to collect love, that was best done in the evening, when the hustle and bustle of the day had died down and many chose to stay with their loved ones. It was easy to tell the most lucrative spots were from the air, they were where the little fires burn brightest to his emotional sense. He definitely avoided any too close to the Crystal Heart, though, for there above all else, love is victorious. A few minutes spent siphoning away the love slowly, and their brightness would dim slightly. Not wanting to cause any permanent damage, he would leave for another source as soon as it happened. An hour or so of this was enough to sustain for two days, though it never quieted the gnawing at the darkest parts of his mind. However he disliked it, it was a living.
But that was all that it was, and while it was an excellent use of his transformation skills, it quickly got boring after two weeks of this. He had already learned all the romance hot-spots of the city, could recognize all the landmarks from just about any angle, and even managed to fly into a castle window to explore for a bit before getting herded out another by some guards. The public library was also a no go, as most of that books in there were far enough beyond his reading level to make them impossible to understand.
And so, he was listening to marketplace gossip, having little else to do within the Empire. He did learn some interesting things about the ponies that lived there, like their enthusiasm in seeing what to them the future was like, and doing their best to fit in. They even talked more like normal, too, even if it wasn't perfect.
Most of it was rather inane to him, about the recent exchange rate debacle, how handsome one of the guards were (he couldn't tell them apart even if he tried), and the latest embellished story of how their new royalty stood against tens of thousands of changelings entirely on their own with their undying love. Next week would probably have it include the Gates of Tartarus somehow.
He idly noticed a unicorn walk towards a nearby stall selling various pony foods. It wasn't that unusual, as tourism was picking up and they had to eat, too. Unlike most tourists at this time of day, he was utterly bedraggled, and the merchant seemed to have a passing familiarity to the stallion.
"Have you emptied your refrigerator again, Sunburst?" the mare asked with a business-friendly smile.
Sunburst nodded, though he didn't need to, as his stomach growled loudly enough for Thorax to hear it easily. He sighed and bought a basket-full of various fruits, plus an apple he immediately started munching away at as he walked back the way he came.
Normally, Thorax would have left it at that and continued what he was doing, but not only was he already pretty bored, he also noticed at a glance an emotion he hadn't seen since he arrived in the area: loneliness. The misty, cloying gray was hovering over a brightly shining core of curiosity, which led him to think that this Sunburst might be a kindred soul. So, the false bird followed the unicorn.
The path taken wound through the city, first taking one of the main roads towards the train station, then veering into the side roads at a sharp angle before taking as straight of a path as possible to his destination. By the time the unicorn and his shadow arrived, Thorax had already figured out the best path from start to end, though he did have the advantages of a literal bird's eye view and already having thoroughly looked over the city on the ground multiple times.
Regardless, as the unicorn opened the door to his residence, the not-a-bird flew in without getting detected, figuring that coming in would be the best way to learn more. Sunburst shut the door behind, fished a cabbage at random from the basket he was balancing on his back, and tore away at it as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting that he preferred.
Meanwhile, Thorax flew to a very dusty corner inside the personal library and changed his colors to better match the shadows present all over the room. He settled in place and prepared to stay for a few hours, figuring he could just fly out a window come dinnertime.
...Then again, making assumptions like that for escape plans was one of things he was drilled to never do, so he transformed into one of the smaller lizards found in the badlands, sticking with the dark color palette for camouflage. While the Empire was too cold for such a form to be comfortable for long, it did have the neat benefit of somehow allowing him to cling to even ceilings. All he knew about that was that it had nothing to do with magic.
He proceeded to check every window, starting with the study. Kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, it made no difference: all the windows were tightly shut. Even better, the door was well sealed, and he couldn't shift into anything small enough to fit through the cracks.
By the Queen, he should have thought this through...