Author's Notes:

Hey everypony, here it is! Episode 09! This may seen at first like a minor one, but believe me, it is HUGELY important to the future of the story. The updates to the adjoining page (including new character bios and all) will be up asap. I really hope you enjoy this one, and would love love love some feedback.

The vociferous whistling of the Friendship Express violently echoes throughout the southern-most tip of Ponyville. The thirteen car train speeds along the tracks towards Ponyville Station, returning from it's trip to the capital city of Canterlot earlier in the day. Over the past week, the capital has been undergoing reconstruction, and many of Ponyville's citizens have been going to lend a hoof whenever they've been needed. Princess Aurora has even contracted ponies from Fillydelphia, Manehattan, and Prance to help. With the amount of destruction suffered just recently, the damage is so extensive that it's taking longer than they originally thought, and now the day is reaching it's end. All of the ponies from around Equestria have either taken up in one of the standing hotels, or have returned to their own towns for the time being.

Almost all of the ponies from Ponyville have decided to return home to their families and friends for the night, as their trip isn't as far as some of the others. They can return to help within the coming days, and make sure to assist the capital in getting back on it's hooves in no time. And amongst the generous, helpful ponies on the train are three specific mares, and three specific stallions. All tied together by destiny, and kept together through friendship, they too felt called to help the city in any and all ways possible. It was they who were directly involved in the protection of Canterlot only one week ago. And now, following a hard days work, they feel fulfilled as the train pulls into a stop at the station.

The compartment doors open, and the six of them trot out onto the platform. At the flank of their group is the smallest of their companions, Chupa Cabra. She remains more weary than the rest. Her young age and underdeveloped body has caused her to feel the strain of the work more so than anypony else. Despite this all, she has bravely soldiered on, keeping her head and spirits high. It's always been her wish to get up the nerve to help somepony else, and now, she's been given the chance. Until she met her five new friends, she was a quiet loner who kept mostly to herself. The only real friends she had were Mr. Greenhooves and all the plants in the greenhouse. Now she has many friends, and wishes to make as many more as she can. As Star has put it, she's definitely grown into a wonderful young mare. However, while the assistance that her and her friends have given raises her spirits, it also dashes them in the same foul swoop.

"I still just can't believe it," she quietly says to the others, looking solemnly down at the cobblestone street below as she slowly trots onward, "it's just terrible. Canterlot is the capital of all of Equestria, and now it's mostly in ruins because of the ursa attack. It's already been a week, and everypony has barely put a dent in all the work that needs to be done."

"Yeah, and the worst part is that it's probably not going to be anywhere near done for months yet," Agelian sorrowfully replies, looking over at the mountain on which the destroyed capital sits. Not much can be seen from this distance, but they can all tell that it's not what it used to be. The once tall, beautiful, regal city now sits there destroyed. It's completely different than when they went up to meet Princess Twilight Sparkle's family.

Trotting beside Star, Bri sighs as she too looks downtrodden, suddenly speaking up, "I asked around while we were there. I asked everypony I could, but no one seemed to have ever seen or heard of Pinkie Pie being there at any point in the past fifteen years."

"I still maintain that this note is all a trick set by Oblivion to throw us off of his trail. He wants us to focus on something else for some reason."

Rolling his eyes, Terra gruffly replies, "No Star, do you not remember what Fluttershy said? Oblivion's previous actions have all been direct, forcing us into these arduous situations. It's as if he has been testing our resolve, and more importantly, our limits. This letter that's only led us into false hope is NOT the kind of approach that somepony like Oblivion would take. We know that by now. Because of these facts, we can only assume that this Babe Chenko guy is behind everything. For some reason, he wants us to believe that Pinkie Pie has been spotted in Canterlot. The only question we have now is why?"

The six of them ponder this, and whatever the case may be, it's now obvious that Babe's letter had been a lie, and that the party pony was never in Canterlot at all. It makes them wonder, however, if something must be up. If not at the hoof of Oblivion, and if it truly is Babe Chenko, what intentions could possibly be fueling this? Is he controlled by the dark stars as Cobalt Sky had been? Or is there something far more sinister going on here? Along with their mission to find the remaining Elements of Harmony, as well as their duty to defeat Oblivion and the controlled Sevulva Star, they know that they need to figure this all out, and quickly. Whatever the reasoning behind the letter, it can't be good.

At that moment, a thought comes to Bri's mind and her head pops up like a jack in the box. Smiling widely, hope shining in her eyes, she suggests to the others that Pinkie might have been in Canterlot after all, and that maybe nopony knew about it. The others all seem unconvinced by this explanation, but the adventurous young mare reminds them that the letter they had been given stated that Pinkie was hiding out these past fifteen years in a village somewhere. She then adds that maybe Pinkie had to go to Canterlot for some reason, and wanted to remain hidden and in secret. So she disguised herself or stayed in the shadows so that nopony would recognize or notice her. The others certainly see it as a possibility, but at the same time, it's so farfetched that Star can't help but point out that...

"It's just a ridiculous notion, Bri. Somepony would have had to have noticed her at some point! I've seen the pictures of her, she kind of sticks out you know!"

"Um...everypony?"

"Not if she were in disguise Star!" Bri retorts, "She could have been wearing a cloak! Or maybe she had her coat and mane dyed different colors so that she'd look like somepony else!"

"Everypony?"

"No, that doesn't make any logical sense! Somepony, whether it's Oblivion or Babe Chenko, is trying to throw us off of our game! Pinkie Pie was never in Canterlot! Can't you see that!?"

"HEY! EVERYPONY!"

The sudden, eruptive outburst of the young filly snaps both Star and Bri out of their frustration-building argument. The little mare has joined them in the front of the pack, and seems concerned. She points out that there's only five of them there right now, and that Devlin seems to be missing. The two mares leading everypony else begin looking around in confusion, freaking out at the revelation. Where could he have gone? He hasn't told them anything about going either. He doesn't seem to be the kind of pony who would do something like that. But then again, since meeting him back months ago, they haven't really known much about Devlin. The only thing they know is that he prefers manual labor over the usage of his magic, and that he always works hard around Ponyville to help the others. It's not really a lot to go off of.

Suddenly, Terra steps forth and lets out an exasperated sigh as he tells the others, "Devlin left a little bit ago, before you two began arguing. He told me that he had something he had to do, and not to worry you all about it."

Grunting, Star complains about this now, demanding to know why he never said anything. But Terra just reminds her that he said that Devlin told him not to worry them all about it. Star then returns the focus of her complaints to the letter, Pinkie Pie, and the reconstruction of Canterlot. That's when the others begin confronting her, arguing with her over all of her problems and whining as they all continue to trot onward into central Ponyville. That's when Chupa notices something attached to the nearby wall of a building. Trotting over, she looks at the flier in interest, grabbing it and rushing back to her friends in excitement.

"Everypony, take a look at this!" the filly yells out to her friends, once more capturing their attention. Without even so much as a word, Star grabs the flier right out of Chupa's hoof, scanning it over with curiosity and lingering frustration. Her mood suddenly seems to improve, and an actual smile spreads across her face as she continues to read.

"Oh, that's right," she quietly says to herself while everypony else walks up to her, "I had completely forgotten about that."

Her head cocking to the side in confusion, Bri asks, "What? Did something happen? Did you forget about something that you had to do?"

"Well, no. It has nothing to do with me specifically. With Canterlot now out of commission, all it's upcoming events had to be reassigned to other cities around Equestria. The high council considered canceling them altogether, but Princess Aurora insisted that at a devastating time like this, the ponies needed something bright to look forward to. She felt that a little entertainment would be nice after so much pain and misery. According to this flier, Ponyville was chosen to be the new host of Equestria's Got Talent in two weeks, and look who was hoof-chosen by Princess Aurora herself to judge! Trixie Lulamoon, Sweetie Belle, and DJ-Pon3!"

"Wha...wha...WHAT!?" Bri suddenly screams out, her voice reaching legendary octaves as she leaps into the air in pure shock and elation, "ARE YA SERIOUS, MATE!? THIS IS FANTASTIC! Two of the best musicians in all the history of Equestria are coming 'ere, to our little hamlet!? This is unreal! It's bloody brilliant!"

"Um, you do realize that both Sweetie Belle and Vinyl Scratch are from Ponyville, right?" Star asks her hyper friend as she rolls her eyes and smirks slightly, forgetting all about the argument they had just been having, "it's not like they've never been here before."

"I know, but still! I absolutely adore their music! I can't believe this! This is a glorious day! I can't wait for this!"

"Bri, hold on a moment. Take a look at what it says here," Star quietly responds, seeming confused and surprised, flipping over the flier again and again to make sure she's reading right, "this notes some of the featured acts and contestants that will be performing in the competition...this says...that Devlin is one of them."

At first, none of the other four react. It's hard to be sure if they had heard Star correctly. Does she even realize what she said? Devlin, of all ponies, competing in Equestria's biggest talent competition? How could something like this be? What kind of talent could a workhorse like him possibly have? Well, to tell the truth, they have no real idea. They barely know anything about the stallion. Since the six of them originally met months back, Devlin has always been the quiet one. A valued member of the group, true enough, but one who's always stuck in the background and stayed silent most of the time. He helps everypony out, and joins in their adventures and all they do around Ponyville, but in all this time he has barely ever talked to them about himself. Could this possibly be why he ran off earlier? Did he need to begin preparations for the competition?

The five of them stand there, filled with confusion and thoughtful pondering. They wonder exactly what could be going on with this, and their biggest question is simple; what else do they not yet know about their own friend? To have someone this close to them and not even truly know them is a scary thought. How can they consider a friendship like that to be real? They realize that they need to investigate this matter, and find out what they can about him without letting him know. They don't want to seem like those kinds of friends. So talking it over, they all come to agreement and decide to split up, asking around to try and get any and all information that they can. Without another word to each other, the five of them simply nod and head in different directions, all focusing on a different sector of Ponyville.

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Hastily entering the northern sector of Ponyville, Agelian is ready to act and instantly begin his search. However, he finds himself lost on what to do at this point. He hadn't thought this far in advance, and on top of that, he knows little to nothing about his friend. He doesn't know who else Devlin happens to know in Ponyville, and who he communicates with on a regular basis. He could always ask around town, but then who would he even speak to? Would it be the right thing to do to just begin asking everypony he can find? What if those he asks have never even heard of Devlin. Wouldn't he just be causing himself unnecessary embarrassment? No, he has to at least try. No level of embarrassment is as devastating as being ignorant to who a true friend is. He has to act now, and have faith that everything will go well. Faith is what he builds himself upon, and it will not fail when he calls upon it. And so without another second of hesitation, he trots right on up to the nearest pony around.

"Excuse me," he confidently calls out to the stallion, stealing his attention away from what he had currently been doing. With a coat that is bright green in color, lined with white stripes and a matching muzzle, a messy green and white mane, and a tail that sticks out and up, he is certainly not the kind of pony one would ever forget meeting. Naturally, the stallion seems quite annoyed by having been interrupted from his work, and generally caught off guard. But Agelian isn't even quite sure what he was doing. He had an empty cart and seemed to be walking around aimlessly, as if bored or waiting for something to happen.

The pony turns to face the pegasus, grunting out if he can help him with anything. Smiling and trying to keep polite, Agelian retains his confidence as he asks, "Would you by chance be acquainted with a unicorn named Devlin Speedster?"

"Hold up a minute," the stallion suddenly asks as he looks over his questioner quizically, "don't I know you?"

Suddenly, the pony's eyes widen as instant realization seem to come to him. His mouth drops slightly and he stares at the pegasus for a good long while until Agelian can't take it any more. Getting frustrated at this point, he demands to know what is so fascinating all of a sudden, and that's when the stallion replies, "Oh...my...Aurora. You're Agelian Wingblade, aren't you? You won the Cloudsdale Young Flier Competition."

"Yes, but..." Agelian begins, his voice now echoing with confusion added to the still remaining frustration. However, he doesn't get a chance to finish, as the stallion continues for him.

"...I knew it! Pleasure to meet you! My name is Shan Mul! Oh, that competition must have been a sight to see! I really wanted to attend ya know, but I had just so much to take care of that day. Is it true that you're dating Dinky Hooves, the daughter of Ponyville's own head mail mare Derpy?"

"What are you, some kind of reporter!?"

"Well...yes actually. I work for the Ponyville Free Press under the leadership of Miss Hooves. I know, it's not nearly as fancy or big as Canterlot's paper, The Equestria Daily, but I find it superior. We actually report on the truth and important stories, not things only the elite care about."

"Listen!" the pegasus yells out, having gotten more than frustrated by this point, "this is not about me, and it's certainly not about you or your job! I need you to tell me if you know who Devlin Speedster is, and what you know about him!"

"Devlin?" Shan asks, thinking it over for a second, "Oh, yeah, I know him! He helped me out the other week. Miss Hooves asked me to deliver a case of papers to the general store in the central sector. I know, a menial job for a reporter like me, but she's the boss. Anyways, my cart broke down. Devlin happened to be near and he fixed it up for me, no charge. Such a great carpenter. Didn't say much though, and he left before I could even begin to thank him."

Sighing, the pegasus turns away from Shan Mul, who has begun to ask for an exclusive interview about the competition. However, he ignores the reporter and begins to trot away in the complete opposite direction, heading towards where the day spa is. Maybe Aloe and Lotus know something. Then again, Devlin doesn't seem like an avid spa goer. But this measly bit of information isn't nearly enough to even start on. It hasn't revealed anything about his friend that he didn't already know. Quiet and a hard worker who'll help anypony out when they need it. That much is obvious. He's known this about Devlin the entire time.

There isn't many places in the northern sector to go. There's the hospital, retirement village, and a few other places. Granted, if Devlin is as helpful as he knows he is, then these might be the perfect places to check. He could've been helping out with the retired ponies or the hospitalized ones. It's hard to say at this point. He has to keep trying though. Somepony is bound to know something about Devlin that he has yet to. He just has to keep his faith that this plan will all work out, and that he and his friends will figure out why somepony like him is competing in Equestria's Got Talent.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern sector, Chupa Cabra is trotting along the street, asking everypony she can. Time seems to be passing quickly, and everypony she could even think of has already been asked. She visited Grace's house, and even met with Fluttershy at her cottage to see if she knew anything. Unfortunately, both of them only knew the same little bit that she does. This side of Ponyville is mostly residential, apart from a shop here and there and the famous Ponyville Tower, which is just a landmark and nothing more.

At this point she's at a complete loss of who to even begin to ask, when suddenly, her luck seems to change. Passing through, hauling a cart filled with odd mechanical pieces and the such, is a grey unicorn stallion with brown mane and tail. On his flank is a cutie mark depicting a stop watch. She's not sure of what it could mean, but judging on his cart, she can only assume he might be a watch maker or something. She shadows him for a while, to see what he might be doing. She hasn't seen him around Ponyville before. But then again, she doesn't normally pay too much attention.

Following him for a while, she soon finds that her suspicions are correct as the stallion enters into a watch shop, brining in all the mechanical pieces with him. Why else would somepony like that enter a watch shop with all that stuff. She needs to be brave here and act out. She's asked so many ponies already, where's the harm in one more? So taking in a deep breath, Chupa enters the shop. The inside is filled with all kinds of wacky and strange clocks and watches. There's a sound coming from a back room, and no one standing at the counter. However, Chupa sees a bell there, and decides to ring it for service.

A loud crash now comes from the back room, and the same grey-coated pony from before soon emerges. He wears a strange hat that has a magnifying glass attached to it and situated over his eye. As he notices the young filly, however, he removes it and trots up to the counter with a smile. Without a word, he shows her his collection of children's watches, thinking she's there to purchase something. However, she soon explains the situation to him, and how she needs to find out more about her friend Devlin.

"Devlin Speedster you say? Yeah, I met him a few times actually. When I get new parts in for my inventory, I sometimes have a hard time hauling it all to the shop in a reasonable amount of time. So he's agreed to help me on restocking days. He comes by every Saturday to help haul the new materials in. He remains quiet most of the time though. I can barely get a word out of the guy."

"Oh, well, thanks anyways then," the little filly says, defeated and crestfallen.

"Now just wait a minute little filly, I said he barely says anything. That doesn't mean he NEVER says anything. He did tell me last week, right after that horrible incident in Canterlot happened, that the destruction might have put a damper on this talent show thing he'd been preparing for. Now, I don't know what he was planning, but he had showed me this weird circular shaped whistle. It's something I'd never seen before. Alas, he wouldn't let me take it apart though."

A clue! Chupa thanks the man, and asks for his name. He tells her that his name is Clever Contraption, and invites her to come back to The Contraption Time Shop anytime. Happily walking out the door, she looks out to the sunlight blaring in the sky. She's finally found something out about Devlin and his plans for Equestria's Got Talent. It has something to do with an odd circular whistle. She had never heard of such an object before, and this isn't really a whole lot to go on. But with her persistence paying off, she can't quit now. There has to be more to learn.

In the Western sector of Ponyville, trotting quickly along the street, the former captain of the elite royal guard, Terra Lionmane, has just exited the Carousel Boutique. Unfortunately, Grace hadn't been there today, but he was met by her assistant. Unfortunately, he didn't know anything about Devlin. Vigilance is the key now though, and he cannot give up no matter what. He was the one that his friend told before leaving, and he agreed to keep it a secret from his friends until the moment they ended up finding out anyways. Of course, he has to believe that Devlin knew they would. As he continues on, searching for somepony who might know, he comes upon a flatware shop run by Silver Spoon.

Walking to the door, he finds it open so as to let a cool breeze into the shop. Instantly as he enters, Silver Spoon herself runs up to greet him, right away wishing to show him her new premium dinner set. Her mane is let down in a new style, and she dons a new pair of red glasses today. Of course, this is not why he's there, and he tells her so promptly. Explaining himself, he tells her that he's looking for information regarding Devlin Speedster, and needs it post-haste. She seems disappointed at first that he's not there to buy anything, but begins to think about the question he had posed to her.

"Devlin Speedster? I don't recognize the name, sorry."

So, without hesitation, Terra reaches into his saddlebag and pulls out a picture he has of Devlin. He has a hobby of collecting photographs of all the ponies he knows. It's an old habit from his days in the guard. It helps him keep their faces fresh in his mind. He shows the picture to Silver Spoon, and she seems to recognize him right away by appearance, telling the stallion, "Oh, of course! I know him now!"

"What can you tell me about him, ma'am?"

"Well, Devlin is a very considerate and helpful pony. He's helped customers carry out their orders all the time, and has even helped me in here with stocking and sales. One time when I had to go meet someone about a new variety of silver, he took charge of the shop for me. I came back and he had made over 800 bits in sales! Can you believe that!? I was only gone for an hour!"

"Ma'am, I understand that Devlin is a very helpful pony. Is there anything else you might be able to tell me about him. Did he mention anything about hobbies, or what he does in his free time?" Terra asks, standing firm and unmovable. His expression is stoic and unemotional. He has learned to keep focus for long periods of time, and to not let things cause him to react in any way.

"Well," she says, having to think about it for a minute, "in south Ponyville there's a mare I know who might be of help. Her name is Mad Munchkin, and she often helps out at the Ponyville Pet Center. She had mentioned something to me once about a pony fitting the description of Devlin. He never talked much to me, so I really don't know anything else myself, but I'd definitely suggest Muchkin to you."

"Thanks, I appreciate the help ma'am."

Down in southern Ponyville, Star Rider sits on the steps outside of Agelian's house. She's searched and searched and searched, but hasn't found anything. She even stopped over at the Princess Twilight Sparkle Memorial Library to see if Spike knew anything, and even he was clueless. Her research won't help her now, and she honestly doubts going to the train station or joke shop will turn up any leads. Maybe someone at the bowling alley might know something. She could see Devlin bowling from time to time.

Trying to raise her spirits, the mare climbs to her hooves and begins to head in the direction of the alley. Despite Ponyville being small in comparison to many other cities in Equestria, it's still quite large in size. So the walk takes quite a bit just to get close to the alley from her friends small home. However, she soon reaches it, only to find that it's closed due to repairs. Only one place she hasn't yet visited, the Ponyville Pet Center. She wanted to save this place as a last resort. She knows that Devlin like to help other ponies, but what about animals? Whether or not he lends a hoof there is completely up in the air for her, but there's no harm in checking anyways.

It doesn't take too much longer, and she reaches the center in no time. Unlike the bowling alley, the building is open and she enters to be met with the sounds of rowdy, wild animals barking, mewing, and growling all around. The inside of the center looks more like a zoo than an official establishment, but that's not too unexpected. It was probably Fluttershy's doing, knowing how she can be with animals. And these ones are all abandoned, lost, or just without a good home, so of course she'd do the best to make them feel comfortable since taking the center over.

At the front desk there's an intriguing looking mare that she has never seen before. A light blue coat with a faded muzzle that learns close to being white. She has long dark teal hair and pierced ears. A large plaid hat and scarf adorn her, and her cutie mark is...well...she's not quite sure what it is. She walks up to the counter and greets the unknown mare, asking if she might know somepony named Devlin Speedster, and if she does, if she can tell her anything about him.

"Devlin Speedster?" the mare asks in a thick Trottish accent, "yeah, I know 'im. He's given us a hoof here many times in the past. He's a wonder with the animals he is, very calm and relaxed. He don't even need to talk to them, and that's good as he stays quiet most of the time. It just seems like he has an instant connection with them."

"Wow, I would've never thought," Star says in surprise. She did already know that he was quiet and didn't talk a lot, but never would've imagined him as an animal lover. She wonders what else she can learn from the mare, and so Star prods further, asking if she's ever known anything else about him. At the same time, she asks the mare her name, to which she laughs out.

"Oh, the name's Mad Munchkin! I thought ya would've remembered me Star. I mean, it's been a while, but you should still at least recognize the mare who foal-sat you when you were just a little thing."

Star nearly chokes out, she can't believe it! She had completely forgotten about that time in her life. It was prior to her parents death that Mad Munchkin foal-sat her and her sister. Afterwards, they mostly spent time with Fluttershy. Of course, Grace was old enough by that point to watch her herself. Smiling, the mare once again greets her old foal-sitter with glee, now remembering all the good times they had in the past, playing games like Battleclouds and Trotopoly.

"Oh," she suddenly says, remembering why she came in the first place, "I'm sorry, but I need to find out anything I can about Devlin. Is there anything you can tell me? Did he say anything about himself to you when he volunteered here?"

"Not too much. Like I said, he was very quiet. However, one time he did come in with a fancy suit and bow tie on. Not sure what it meant, but he claimed he was practicing for something. That was...two weeks ago now. Haven't seen him back since. Guess whatever he's been practicing for has been taking up a lot of his time."

Thinking, Star knows that this is definitely something to consider here. This suit and bow tie must be relevant. If he was practicing for something, it must be important and possibly formal based on his attire. On top of that, it could be Equestria's Got Talent, considering they now know he's to be competing in that. But what was he practicing? That's the question. Thanking Munchkin for her help, Star insists that they catch up again sometime before heading out. She's one step closer now, and has to keep trying. With only two more weeks until EGT comes, they need to get all the information they possibly can.

Right back where everypony started, in Central Ponyville, Bri hops around happily. She's already met quite a few ponies who knew a lot about Devlin. She had learned by this point that he'd been seen helping Mayor Mare out at City Hall, has lent a hoof at the marketplace, and even worked a few shifts at Sugarcube Corner with the Cake family. Plus, while at the sweet shop, she even got to talk to Pound and Pumpkin for a little about their past with Pinkie Pie. It was great to hear more about the pink party pony and how she used to be. She only wonders where Pinkie could be now.

She visited the Hayburger, the book shop, Quills & Sofas, the hardware and jewelry shops, and even the Ponyville Cafe, where Star works. She's learned a lot of what Devlin's done around town, but not really too much about his personality or talents. Soon reaching the fountain in the direct center of town, she decides to take a break. Sitting down on a bench, she leans back and relaxes for a moment. She's already spent all day searching for information, and she just needs a rest now.

However, she seems to be out of luck as a sudden outcry surprises her, causing the mare to nearly fall from the bench. Not far away is a white-coated unicorn stallion with a tidy blue mane. He seems confused and almost terrified by something. Without a thought, the mare gets up and rushes over to help. In one of the stallions hooves is a carrot dog, and in the other, a picture. He seems distraught and stares at the photograph with a mortified expression on his face. So naturally, Bri asks him what's wrong and if she can help.

"Help!? Help!? This is beyond help! I got ketchup on my only photograph of her! I can't believe I ruined it!"

"Photograph of who?" Bri asks, carefully taking the picture from his hoof. As she sees it, the mare falls back. Sweat begins to build up on her forehead, and she forgets all about Devlin. Her mouth agape, and eyes widened in shock, she stares at the photo, not speaking for a good, long time. She just can't believe it. It's as if fate had brought her to meet this stallion today. Her search for information on Devlin has led to somepony who might know something about the one pony she truly wants to know about; Pinkie Pie.

Just staring at the ketchup-stained picture of the pink party pony, Bri shakes her head and looks up. The stallion is giving her an odd look, and takes back his photograph. As he begins to turn away, the mare stops him and begs him to tell her all he can, explaining that she idolizes Pinkie and is trying to find her. She describes all of her adventures and travels to him, and how she's been trying to find out as much as she can. For some reason, she even tells him about the mysterious letter, despite having promised her friends to keep it a secret. She just can't help it. She needs to know if this guy knows anything.

"I...I once dated her," he reveals, tearing up as he remembers the bitter-sweet past, "back in the good old days. We had gone out once, but then she just ran away. She didn't tell me anything, and this is the only picture I ever had of her. Now it's ruined. I miss her every day, and wish so much that she'd just return for me."

"Do you know anything? Have you found out anything about where she might have gone?"

"No, I haven't. I gave up on that a long time ago. This letter you mentioned though. You said that it said she was living in a village somewhere? Would you...would you like to find that village with me? I want so badly to find her again, and I can tell that you do too. You mentioned going on all these adventures. How about one more? I think I know where this village is."

Staring at nothing in particular, Bri thinks about it. Her friends need her help here, to find out more about Devlin. And she just can't leave on a moments notice. What if something occurs with Oblivion? But then again, this is Pinkie Pie he's talking about; the mare she's idolized all of her life. If he knows where she might be, and was a former very special somepony of hers, then this could be the one chance she has of finding her. Can she really pass this opportunity up? It's such a hard decision for somepony like her to make.

"My name is Scatter Brain by the way, nice to meet you. To tell you the truth, Miss Bri, I...I kind of lied. It's true that I haven't looked for any information on Pinkie Pie in a long time, but that's because I hired somepony to do it for me. An old friend of mine. We should be able to catch him in Trottingham if we leave right now. I'd very much like for you to meet him. His name...is Babe Chenko.

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About an hour later, as the clock tower strikes six at night, everypony reunites in the center of town, right around the fountain. Star, Chupa, Terra, and Agelian all run in at around the same time, as the five of them had agreed upon earlier in the day. However, Bri is not amongst them. Of course, Star is the first to give leeway to her friend, knowing her all too well. She tells the others that she'll arrive soon, but after another hour of waiting, even she admits to the three that something isn't right here.

"Where...where could she be?" Chupa quietly asks, beginning to tear up. Star goes to comfort her, knowing that the little filly just doesn't want to lose any of her friends. Neither does she. None of them want to lose their friends, and are all worried. Bri would never be this late, something must have happened. The four of them begin to talk to each other about this, trying to figure out where the mare might have gone off to, when Devlin suddenly walks up.

"Hey everyone, is everything alright?" he asks, noticing the concern and worry on their faces. Star tells him everything that had happened. She explains how they went their separate ways to find out about him, and how when they met back up, Bri never showed. Thinking to himself, Devlin wonders why they didn't just ask him about it in the first place. He could've saved them all the trouble. But he realizes that it isn't important right now. Finding out where Bri went must be their first priority.

"Ok, we have to find her. I don't think she would've left Ponyville. Star, you said before that she never goes off on one of her adventures without telling you first, right?"

"Yeah, she'd never just leave like that. Why? Do you think she might have?" Star asks, worried even more now. Devlin shakes his head, explaining that he also believes that she wouldn't have just left town. Taking charge, he has everypony split up once again, this time in search of something far more important than a little information on a friend; the friend herself. As they go their separate ways, headed back to the different sectors of town, they're oblivious to the cloaked figure watching them not far away. A cloaked figure, with a pink coat.

Preview for Episode 10
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We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and for one day, we're back.