"...yep," I said calmly, though my mind was racing with thoughts that were anything but calm. "She's definitely been back here."

The hotel room that Diamond and this stallion - whose name, I learned, was Wood Chipper - were staying in was decently-sized. It had two beds, with a bedside table in between them both, and a bathroom to one side that had all the necessities and nothing more. There was a window with a neat view, as this room was on the fifth or sixth floor. Oh, and the walls were now all covered with mad phrases and mantras in varying colours of paint.

Pretty good room, aside from that last part. Though if I'm being honest, the graffiti actually gave the room a feel of-

"Are you narrating out loud?"

I blinked. "...no. Shut up and help me examine these writings."

Chipper sighed and started looking them over with me. "Keeps talking about something always watching...and cake...and death."

"Cake and death, never a good combination. Anything that might be a clue as to where she's gone?" I looked around. "...or where she's getting all this paint from?"

"I can answer that second question now. We were doing some Hearth's Warming shopping, and she picked up a painting set for her little cousin. Guess she still had it on her when we found that box."

I winced, suddenly reminded of the holiday the very next day. I looked at my watch and saw that it was already ten PM. "Hopefully we can finish this up in time for tomorrow to not be screwed up..."

Chipper looked at me, confused. "What, you had plans for tomorrow?"

"I don't just gather supernatural objects, you know. I do have a life that I like to live."

"That wasn't what I-"

I shut him up with a glare, then returned to looking over the graffiti. Of course, none of it was helpful. It was all just ripped directly from the Rat Man's scribbles from Portal. Nothing about where she was now.

I sighed. "Alright. Chippy, you're the only one of us two who actually knows Diamond. You need to put yourself in your horseshoes, imagine that you've gone paranoid and even home doesn't feel safe, and figure out where you'd go."

"How am I supposed to do that?" he asked. "Aren't you, like...a professional, or something? Don't you know where-"

"What do you think I am, a GPS?" I snapped. "I don't have some magic device in my brain that homes in on articles! I just hear about them, find them through pure luck, and collect them!"

"You're supposed to be good at this, though!"

I snorted. "I am good at this. I'm just not perfect. I don't know where your girlfriend's gone, because I don't know your girlfriend. And since all this particular article seems to do is cause paranoia in one pony, I can't start asking guards about recent murders or destruction of property to try and track her down."

Chipper blinked. "But...how do we find her then?"

"Use your brain! You know her! Think of what she'd do!"

"I don't know what she'd do! I've never seen her in a situation like this!"

"Then you aren't ever going to see her again!"

My shout echoed in the suddenly quiet room for a bit. Chipper was staring at the floor now, and I couldn't see his face.

I started to realize the impact of what I said. I had literally just told him that he was never going to see his (girl?)friend ever again, unless he could find a way to think in a way that he had no idea how to do. It was like telling someone that they would flunk out of school permanently and never get a job unless they could complete a test on a subject they had never studied. He was racking his brain for answers, but they simply weren't there.

Finally, I spoke up again, much quieter. "...it's a long shot...but I think...I think I might know what to do."

He looked up at me, listening intently.

"If this article is working the way I think it is...then it's talking to her. It's telling her things...because it's trying to help her." I looked at the graffiti once again. "It thinks she's in danger, so now she thinks she's in danger. But she isn't...but she doesn't know that, so she keeps hiding and running."

Chipper blinked, and I realized he was a step away from crying. "...how does that help?"

"Because if we want to draw her out..." I sighed, closing my eyes. "...we need to make it happen."

"Make what happen?"

"The cube is trying to help her out of danger that isn't there...so we need it to help her out of danger that is there."

We put our plan into action throughout the night. The moon passed overhead, and soon went out of sight as the sun came up. It was nearly nine in the morning when we were ready.

Chipper looked like a wreck, and not just because he hadn't slept. He was more worried about this plan than I was worried about melting when standing next to an open flame. And I can't really say that I blamed him.

"...are you sure this will work?" he asked for what must have been the millionth time. That I can blame him for.

"If it does work, she'll play right into our hooves, safe and sound. If it doesn't work, she'll be easier to find and all she'll need is a hospital trip," I reassured him.

"That doesn't help!"

"Would you rather leave her alone with her insanity forever?"

"...no..."

"Then shut up."

Our plan was simple, but no less dangerous. We had spread word around town that a pony with an odd box was going insane and needed to be taken dead or alive. There had been no sight of her throughout the night, which caused the ponies to grow even more restless; now, stallions and mares were arming themselves with whatever weapons they could find, just in case she were to appear.

If the cube was doing what I thought it was, then she would never be in danger; it would warn her of any incoming threats, and a big enough scene would be caused that Chipper and I would be alerted as to her whereabouts. Then we just had to swoop in and bag the box.

If it wasn't doing what I thought it was...well...maybe my reassuring of Chipper was partially false.

Nevertheless, all we had to do now was wait. And try not to fall asleep while doing so, which was actually a moderately big challenge. Even though I was an insomniac as a human, that trait had vanished for the most part, and now I just wanted to go home and cuddle up with Asylum and sleep.

"...how do we know anypony's going to find her?" Chipper suddenly asked.

"Huh?" I lifted my head, which I had not realized was resting on the table we were sitting at. "We've got at least half the town looking for a mare with a weird box, most of whom are actively searching for her. Somepony's bound to find her, no matter where she's hiding."

As if on cue, we heard a commotion all of a sudden, and turned our heads to see the mare Chipper had described darting down the street, a very familiar box on her back.

"Told you." I stood up, cracking my neck. "Come on, let's-"

Our eyes widened as, out of nowhere, an arrow shot out and pierced her side. She collapsed.

"Shit!" I cursed, rushing over to her. "Stop! Everypony stop, now!"

All eyes looked over to me as the commotion stopped. Chipper and I knelt by the downed mare's side. He reached for the cube, but I grabbed it first and shoved it into my saddlebags, ignoring the brief whispering that I heard while doing so.

"Somepony help me take her to the hospital, now!" I yelled, checking her breathing. She was still alive.

"But...isn't she wanted dead or alive?" one bystander pointed out.

Before I could retort, however, Chipper rounded on them and beat me to the punch. "HOSPITAL. NOW. OR YOU WILL GO INSTEAD."

That got them going, and within seconds, a couple of stallions were carrying her on their backs in the direction of the hospital while other ponies walked and flew around them to make sure she didn't slip off. I started after them, but Chipper grabbed me and pulled me back.

"You don't go near her," he growled. "You've 'helped' enough."

With that, he galloped off after the crowd, leaving me shocked and slack-jawed in the middle of the slowly emptying street.

Author's Notes:

Arrell starts realizing the reputation he's earned for article-hunting, while one indirect victim realizes how false the reputation is. And to top it off, they both realize just how bad the ideas the former has when he's working alone. He got the article, but will there be no casualties? Find out in the conclusion next chapter.