Author's Notes:

Hey everyone. Per usual, I'm sorry it took so long. I hope you enjoy this one, as it's my personal favorite for numerous reasons.

The sun begins to set over the tall hills on the outskirts of Ponyville, casting an ethereal glow upon the nearly cloudless skies. All of the birds and animals begin to retreat to their nests, dens, burrows, and in general, homes; ready to sleep away the night with hopes of another good day to come. In the nearby town, the various ponies of all shapes and sizes do the same, locking up for the night in order to rejuvenate their tired bodies. It's a beautiful end to a beautiful day.

Down on a fairly large rock farm seated on a patch of land outside of town, the Pie family begins their last loads of the day. The heads of the family, Igneous Rock and Cloudy Quartz, tend to the granite in the north field right by the house. It's a tough job for even the strongest of Earth Ponies, but these two have been working the fields for many years now, and have more than enough physical capacity to handle the labor. Over in the west field, the youngest of Igneous and Cloudy's children, Limestone, hauls a cart filled with metaquarzite to bring to the barn. The smallest and physically weakest of the family, she's been given an easier job than the rest. Simply transporting rocks doesn't take much effort, thanks to the wonders of simple machines.

With her in the field is her sister Marble. A little older than Limestone, Marble is also small in stature. However, unlike her sister, she has an amazing amount of physical strength she claims to have inherited from her father. So, working alongside Limey, she does most of the heavy lifting and actual labor. The two switch between the west and east fields day by day. She enjoys working with schist the most, though will do near anything her parents ask of her.

Finally, the last member of the family on the farm, Maud Pie, breaks down a large pile of breccia rock in the south field. The eldest and strongest of the sisters, Maud has a deep admiration for her work, even to the point of studying the field to earn her rockterate in rock sciences. Her true passion, however, is the physical labor of tending the fields at home. She can think of no better joy than doing her job, even if it means having to miss the occasional party her younger sister Pinkie invites her to.

Pinkie, the final member of the Pie family. Though not living at the farm, she's as much a part of their family as any other. Though honestly it did take some time for the rest of them to realize this. At first, the idea of Pinkie leaving the rock farm to move to town and take an opening at Sugarcube Corner as an apprentice baker, as well as pursue her passion for throwing parties, was just strange. They didn't understand it and only saw her leaving as abandoning the family. However, to keep relations within themselves good, they remained on good terms with Pinkie, despite their feelings.

Everything ended up changing that one day though. The rock farm was in trouble, and they had to go into town to seek help from Princess Twilight Sparkle, only to realize in the end that it was Pinkie who held the answers. Because of her and the awesome party she threw, business with the farm began to boom, and they've been better off than ever before. Since then they see her every now and again, and they definitely respect her lifestyle choices much more. But still, they remain on the farm while she stays in Ponyville. Not much in that way has changed.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Maud looks out towards the large windmill on the property and gives off a very subtle smile. Her thoughts were of Pinkie, the sister she always connected with the most. It's around that time of year again. She and Pinkie make rock candy necklaces and send them to each other. In only a few days, they'll be continuing the tradition per usual. The very thought of receiving the edible jewelry warms Maud's heart. She may not like the candy itself, but she does love Pinkie Pie.

Suddenly, as she stands there, thoughts of her sister's wild antics running through her mind, the sudden shouting of her youngest sister, Limestone, awakens her. Running towards her, the young mare with straight, light grey mane and tail seems panicked. Something isn't right. Instantly Maud begins to worry about Boulder, whom she left in the care of Marble and Limey today. Rocky, Pinkie's pet rock, is over there as well, always wanting to join Boulder in whatever he's doing.

"Maud!" Limestone yells as she reaches her elder sister. Sweat cascades from her face and her breathing is labored. She's been running non-stop this entire way. Maud gives her some time to breath, then asks what's happening, subtly asking about both Boulder and Rocky.

"Pinkie's here! She just suddenly arrived without any warning, but...but.."

"But what?" Maud asks, her normally stoic and emotionless voice cracking in fear, "what's wrong with Pinkie?"

"We don't know. Father saw her coming up to the farm, but when he tried to greet her, she began to cry and ran into the house, locking herself in her room."

Without a second thought, the older sister enters full gallop, worry eclipsing her face as she runs as fast as possible to the house. Pinkie's never sad, certainly not enough to act like this. Something happened; something absolutely mortifying. She soon reaches the rest of her family, standing outside and talking to each other with concern. Limestone runs up soon after, having fallen behind her sister on the journey back.

"Father, mother, what's happening!?" Maud yells out, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she automatically fears the worst.

Igneous and Cloudy look to their daughter, and the former replies with a gloomy tone, "She won't answer us. We try knocking on the door to her room; calling out to her, but she doesn't answer. Marble here says she heard sobbing coming from inside, but we don't know anything else."

"What did you say to her, when she returned?"

The question catches Igneous off guard, but with a sigh, he tells Maud, "I simply asked her how her friends back in Ponyville were doing. That's when she burst into tears and ran off. Can you please try and talk to her, Maud? She might answer if she knows it's you."

Nodding, the eldest sister enters the house and slowly trots up the staircase leading to the bedrooms. She stops in front of Pinkie's, and checks the handle. It's locked, as her parents had said. Giving the door a short, sharp rap, she calls out, "Pinkie, it's me. Is everything alright?"

Inside the room, the pink mare lays on her bed as countless tears flood from her eyes. Her head buried in a pillow, she hears Maud's voice come through the locked door and considers answering back. But her voice locks up, replaced by moans of anguish. First, Twilight and the other princesses disappeared without a trace. She hoped it was just a sudden duty that had called them all away, but now she knows better. As only two days later, she stopped hearing from Applejack as well. She didn't think much of that either, as AJ was usually quite busy. So she went on with her life.

Then Big Mac, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash all seemed to disappear. She figured at that point that something was wrong. When she went to Sweet Apple Acres though, the horrible truth began to unveil itself. Applejack...died. She had apparently bucked a weak tree. Apple Bloom found her a few hours later, crushed underneath. Because of this, Big Mac committed suicide a few days later, hanging himself in the main barn. This news devastated Pinkie. Applejack wasn't just one of her best friends, but extended family. She looked into Rarity next.

Hondo Flanks, Rarity and Sweetie Belle's father, hadn't heard from his oldest daughter in days. Pinkie offered to help, and that night, they discovered her remains in the Everfree Forest. She had been mauled to death by a wild creature. If it weren't for her saddlebag, they wouldn't have been able to even recognize her. It was too much for the young mare to handle. Her fear overcame her, and she began screaming as she ran through town, trying her best to find Rainbow Dash. Though she was currently in a relationship with a stallion named Scatter Brain, she always felt a certain connection to the daredevil mare. Only now was she brave enough to admit her feelings, even if just to herself.

But she was too late there as well. She learned that during a routine Wonderbolts exercise, Rainbow was thrown by a rogue tornado and impaled on a weather rod. It was Spitfire who told her this, and who helped her back home after she threw up from grief. It's been six days since then. She couldn't stay in Ponyville any longer, it hurt her to hold those memories. Fluttershy was her only friend left, and after she had learned of her friends deaths, she locked herself in her home and hasn't been seen or heard from since. So she ended up coming back home, hoping that things would be better. But it wasn't. Her pain was only worsened as her father asked about the friends she had lost.

Now, as she hears her worried sister calling for her, she cries into the soft pillow. She's never known sorrow like this before, and she never wants to again. Suicide comes to her mind. She could easily do it. All she'd need to do is go to one of the fields and loosen a rock at the top of a large pile. It'd fall down onto her head, ending this misery in an instant. Suddenly, the door to her room explodes, sending shards of wood in every direction. The loud sound causes the pink mare to jump, a loud scream escaping her as her head swivels as if on an axis, and her eyes focus on the threshold where Maud now stands.

A vein rests on her elder sister's forehead. Tears stream down her cheeks. She gnashes her teeth and stomps over to the bed, grabbing Pinkie and pulling her into the biggest, most comforting hug she possibly can. The feeling of her sister's body held against hers calms the mare, and she hugs Maud back, crying into her neck. The rest of the family runs up the stairs to see what the commotion is about, but stops as they see the two embracing each other. A few minutes later, they release each other and begin to talk.

Later that night, Pinkie lays back on her bed again, staring at the ceiling. She had told her family everything. They understood of course, and comforted her all night. Now she just wants to rest before she begins working on the farm again in an attempt to calm herself down following this horrible tragedy. Then, with no warning, a new thought comes to the forefront of her mind. What if she just left? Not only the farm, but Ponyville as well? What if she just ran away and left everything behind? She could begin anew somewhere else, where ponies don't know her.

"No," she quietly tells herself, "I can't do that now. I can't just leave my family behind."

She pushes the thought from her head, but as the minutes pass by, it keeps coming back. Over and over again, and each time the impulse to act on these ideas grows stronger. A voice is speaking to her in her mind, telling her that she needs to go, that it's her only option left. This voice scares her; it's not her own. Foreign, intimidating, and yet, somehow entrancing. She trusts it, and doesn't understand why. But for some reason, she does indeed trust it. Her family must be asleep by now, she could easily sneak away. They'd never be the wiser.

And so, Pinkie Pie climbs off of her bed and begins to pack up the small amount of things she had brought back to the farm with her. She wonders where Gummy ran off to, as she hasn't seen him since she returned and ran into the room. Knowing him, he's probably with Maud. He's always loved to sleep beside her for some reason. Tears fall from her eyes again as she slowly begins to leave the room and head downstairs. However, as she reaches the bottom step, the living room light turns on.

Sitting there on the armchair is Maud, Gummy seated on her lap with his expressionless face staring right at his owner. Staring at Pinkie for a moment, she quietly pleads, "Don't go," and says nothing more. Pinkie sees her sister begin to cry, but turns to the front door and walks out anyways. She takes one last look back at her sobbing older sister before turning her eyes away for the last time, and leaving behind the last of what she has to care about.

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(Current Day)

Darkness encapsulates the whole of Ponyville as the bright sun falls beneath the horizon, replaced with the soothing shine of the night time moon. Only a short week ago, the entire town was abuzz with the sudden disappearance of mailmare Derpy Hooves. Four teams of ponies had gone out to search for her, and eventually found out exactly what happened. In the end it was nothing more than a simple misunderstanding and lack of communication; a definite relief for the bubbly grey mares remaining daughter, Amethyst Star. And now, Ponyville's gone back to normalcy.

Everypony has returned to their everyday lives as if nothing had ever happened, because that's just how Ponyville works. Something happens, the issue gets solved, and everyone moves on with their lives. Things have been like this for many years now. Yet, despite this truth, the town's militant task force have kept their ears and eyes focused, listening and watching for any news on the whereabouts of the still missing Princess Aurora; Equestria's last remaining princess. If it weren't for the Canterlot Grand Council, ponies would have begun panicking over this too. There would be no more changes from day to night. However, working together, the council have continued to change the celestial bodies of the sky.

In this week, the task force has begun to receive assistance from both Derpy and Amethyst, who are eternally grateful for the willingness to help by the citizens of the town, and even those who were only guests in Ponyville. The former of the two has even agreed to outright join the ranks of the task force in order to seek out vengeance against the monstrosity that killed her darling Dinky. Then there's the Apple Family, headed by Apple Bloom and her husband Fuji. They two have agreed to lend a hoof when needed, utilizing their connections to family members in other towns across Equestria.

Unfortunately for the task force, these new additions haven't been of much assistance as of yet. Granted it's only been a week, but that's one more week that Equestria is without a princess on the throne. Not even a glimmer of a clue has led them to where Princess Aurora could be. They've truthfully begun to lose hope by this point. And their most recent meeting led long into the day, causing its members to become irritable. Two of them, Bri and Scatter, have just stepped out as the meeting finally came to an end. Now they just have to get home and relax for the first time all day.

"You know," Bri sighs as the two trot along the cobblestone street, "I just wish that we were able to do something more. I feel so worthless with how things have been going."

Though their home is only a short walk away from the task force headquarters, it seems to be taking forever tonight, only adding to Bri's frustration and sorrow. Smiling gently, Scatter rests a hoof on his friends back and hugs her for a moment before they continue on, replying, "Don't worry, we'll figure something out eventually. Think about it this way, what good does it do Oblivion to keep us in the dark? It can definitely throw us off of our game, but it'd be better for him if we are able to find something more."

"Why's that?"

"Well, it's simple. Anypony can hide somepony else away and allow for panic to build up. It's unoriginal and honestly lazy. I don't believe Oblivion is either of those two things. He'd want us to continue to prevail, because then when he defeats us in the end, it's harsher on us. To build us up only to knock us down again and again. It's like a sick game of chess, and right now, he's got us in check."

"So all we have to do is make a move he isn't expecting?" Bri asks, perking up at the very idea.

"Exactly. We have to throw Oblivion off. We need to do something he isn't expecting. And what is it that he's expecting us to do right now?"

"Continue looking for Princess Aurora?"

Laughing, Scatter slaps Bri on the back and yells out, "Now you're getting it! In order to catch him off guard, we have to make a completely different move! Something really unexpected and impactful! Now we only need to figure out what that is."

A confident laugh bursts out from Bri suddenly. She's been filled with a new hope for the future. They can do this, they just have to figure out where to move their piece to! Ever since returning from the mountain monastery, she's felt so useless. What has she really done to be able to help with all the troubles that has been plaguing them? Her duty as a member of the Brotherhood has been pretty much non-existent lately, and in terms of her work with the task force, very little has happened. Most of her time has been spent throwing parties or quietly hiding in the background and watching her friends do everything. What right does she of all ponies have to hold the Element of Joy; the Silver Element? She's done nothing to deserve an honor as great as this lately. But now, all that can change.

She doesn't know how yet; nor what to do. But she does know what to look for. Some kind of big, surprising action. As these thoughts swirl around in her head, she looks over to Scatter with a smirk, who smiles back sweetly. He appreciates her confidence, and believes she can do wonders to help Equestria in the future. Nodding, he tells her, "At this point, let's get home and have some dinner. We'll begin looking for that elusive impacting act tomorrow. How about this, I'll make you your favorite cinnamon apple salad."

"Sounds great."

Suddenly, the mare reaches out and hugs her friend. She doesn't even think about it, just wrapping her hooves lovingly around the stallion and holding him close to her own body. The action surprises Scatter, much like his plan for taking down Oblivion. For a moment, he just stands there on the spot, unsure of how to respond. But then, as if his body moves on it's own, he hugs her back. Holding the mare in a calming embrace, without a word spoken he tells her that he'll always be there for her. Whenever she's sad, whenever she's hurting, and whenever she's in any kind of trouble; He'll always be there.

The two break apart after a short time and continue to walk along the path in relative silence. They reach their location only a few minutes later and unlock the door, walking in. As Bri turns on the lights, the two of them find that the house....is exactly how they left it this morning. Nothing out of the ordinary, and to be honest, both kind of wish something had happened. Just so they could make some kind of move against the enemy. If they do truly need to make that unexpected move, they need something to trigger it. To give them some kind of idea at least. Just the chance to do something. For the past fifteen years, Scatter has felt this way. Ever since Pinkie Pie just up and vanished, he wished he had been able to do something. Something to cheer her up, to bring out that joyous smile he so loved.

But Pinkie Pie is gone. She's been gone for fifteen years now, and though the Brotherhood are trying to find her, he honestly doubts they'll find her at this point. But on the positive side, he does have somepony else to watch over these days. Somepony new he cares for, and he will do his absolute best to make sure she keeps smiling no matter what. As they continue on into the house, closing the door behind them, Scatter smiles and says, "I'll get to work on the food. You need to go into the living room and get nice and relaxed. Tonight, I'm going to treat you. You've been asking to hear about my past with Pinkie Pie. Well, I've got some stories for you."

Laughing, Bri skips over to the sofa in the living room, taking a seat and sighing with relief from being off of her hooves. Laying back, she glances over to the kitchen and calls out to Scatter, "You know, ever since you moved in, we've been acting like one of those old married couples or something."

The words had just come out, and right as she finished, instant regret set in and her face began to grow red. Of course, she meant it as a simple joke, but the way it came out...the teasing tone to her voice...he has to have heard it. Over at the kitchen counter, Scatter stops for a quick second and looks out into the living room. He sees her laying there, hiding her face, and shakes off the feeling that had just come over him. Smiling, he laughs back, "Yeah? Well I hope I've been the ideal husband then."

A snorting laugh echoes from the living room as Scatter too now begins to glow. She's right though. He's seen the parallels himself, and kind of wishes it were true. The security and joy that'd come from marriage. It'd be a lot more comforting right now. But that just makes him think of Pinkie. He wanted to propose to her too. Suddenly, a loud knock at the door breaks both of them from their awkward thoughts and conversation. Sighing, Bri climbs off of the sofa and begins to head towards the front door, assuring her friend that she'll get it while he continues working on the food.

As she approaches the door, a letter suddenly slides in from the mail slot at the bottom of the door. Naturally this is strange. Mail never comes this late. Trotting up, she picks the envelope off the floor and looks for a return address, only to be disappointed by the lack of anything of the sort. The only thing on the envelope is her and Scatter's names and the word "URGENT!" written in red at the top. Nothing more, not even an address. She assumes that it means someone specific must have dropped it off, and not the mail ponies.

Bri opens the door and peers out, but sees no one and closes it again, making sure to lock every latch. As she sighs, Scatter calls out, "What is it?"

"It's a letter, but it doesn't say who it's from or anything," she responds, trotting back to the sofa, where she returns to her seated position. A minute passes as Scatter continues to mix the salad. He begins humming a little tune to himself, but is broken out of it as Bri suddenly shouts out to him, "GET IN HERE NOW!"

Dropping the apple slicer he had just picked up, Scatter bolts out of the kitchen at top speed, tripping at one point and flying into the wall. He runs over to where Bri is waiting, finding her seated there with the letter opened. She seems to be reading through it again, and as she sees him approaching, she begins again, reading aloud this time.

"Bri, Scatter, this is of the utmost importance and secrecy. Burn this letter after you read it. Our agents in the Brotherhood have tracked down the party pony Cheese Sandwich in Manehattan. He is said to hold the key to finding Pinkie Pie. I implore that the two of you prepare to leave for the city immediately upon receiving this letter. Take the first train to Manehattan in the morning, find Cheese Sandwich, find out what he knows, and whatever you do, BE CAREFUL! The city streets have eyes. Sincerely, your friend Babe."

Upon finishing her reading, Bri immediately follows Babe's instructions and takes the letter over to the fireplace. She throws it in among the logs and lights a flame, watching as the parchment begins to burn and shrivel down. She then turns to face Scatter and with the straightest face possible, asks him, "Who's Cheese Sandwich?"

"Wait...seriously? You've studied Pinkie Pie and you don't know who Cheese Sandwich is? He was a party pony like Pinkie, and one of her good friends. He was actually inspired to become a party pony because of her. One time they had a Goof Off to see who would be the one to throw this awesome party for Rainbow Dash. It did end with Pinkie forfeiting, but that was mostly due to the fact that she wasn't doing it for Rainbow's sake, but for her own selfish reasons. The two made amends and even began working together. But what I'm concerned about is the last part of Babe's letter. He said that the city streets have eyes. Does this mean that the Agents of Oblivion are watching us?"

"That’d be my only guess. Or at least somepony on Oblivion's side, like a scout. Either way, we know that he can possess ponies, right? So anything's possible at this point. I'd be careful about who we talk to during this trip. Finish the salad, I'll begin packing. We have no clue how long we'll be gone, so I'll bring more than enough just in case. I'll pack for both of us, so we can head right to sleep after we eat. We need to be up in time to make the train. We've found our move, Scatter. Something Oblivion won't be expecting. Let's find Pinkie Pie, the bearer of the Silver Element's true magic."

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A painting crashes down to the floor, the frame breaking. The frantic clopping sound of the hoofsteps against the wooden floor of the house scream out in the quiet morning. The sun has yet to rise, yet Bri and Scatter already have. Running around their house, the two grab everything they had packed the night before, adding more to it, and even taking some away. Since they received the letter from Babe, they've been on edge. The very idea of possibly finding Pinkie Pie is too much for them both, though for entirely different reasons of course. Scatter wants to find the mare he once loved. And Bri wants not only to find her idol and inspiration, but knows of the importance of the Silver Elements powers that are said to still reside within the former party pony. This is necessary for bringing down Oblivion.

They've decided after some confliction to not alert their friends of where they are going. Of course they'll leave a note to let them know they'll be gone, but no details. Babe's note was meant to be confidential, and they aim to keep it that way. Running to the front door, Scatter throws it open and rushes out, grabbing the cart Bri had bought a few weeks back from beside the house. Pulling it up to the door, he calls for Bri who begins to bring out their bags. Scatter joins in helping her, and within only a couple minutes, they head out towards the train station.

After galloping the entire way there, the exhausted duo step onto the platform leading to the tracks. Unlatching themselves from the cart, Bri and Scatter sit down. Between heavy breaths, Scatter tells his friend, "I'm gonna head over to the ticket booth and maybe get a smoothie from the snack shop. Do you want anything?"

"Ooh, maybe some roasted kale chips?"

"Gotcha," Scatter replies with a grin as he rushes off, leaving Bri seated there alone with the bags. More ponies soon begin to file onto the platform, including a few unicorn mares Bri is all too familiar with.

"It's going to be great to get back home," the mare with the straight red and purple mane says, straightening her glasses with her magic.

"You just want to get back to your books, Moondancer," one of the others, a blue coated mare with a blue and white mane, replies with a laugh.

"No," Moondancer replies with a sigh, looking downward, "it's just...every time we come back here, it kind of hurts, you know? It's never been the same since Lyra...or Twilight..."

"...We know," a third pony quietly interrupts, her coat as bright yellow as a lemon, and mane as blue as the ocean, "we all miss them too. But that's why we come back here."

"Yeah, to be with Bon Bon. Lyra was very close to her too. And to check in with Fluttershy and Spike, both of whom dearly miss Twilight as well. It's not only the four of us who lost friends," the last of the mares replies, her coat a beautiful alabaster with a mane of different hues and shades of purple. She nudges to the other two, who nod in agreement.

"Thank you Twinkleshine," Moondancer says with a smile towards the most recent speaker, "and thank you too Minuette, Lemon Hearts. I guess it's just harder on me. You four had been friends for longer, and were easy to accept Twilight's apology. I came to the party late, after so much anger and apprehension. I lost two ponies who meant a lot; one who helped me realize the importance of friendship, and another who I hadn't even gotten the chance to know as much as I would've liked."

"I guess you're right," Minuette replies, "and we're sorry."

"No, it's not your fault. It's just...Twilight and Lyra. I'm worried that one of you might be next. I don't want to lose any more friends."

The three other mares suddenly hug Moondancer, who returns the favor as Lemon Hearts assures her, "We'll never leave you."

Returning with the chips, smoothie, and tickets, Scatter looks to Bri and notices tears welling up in her eyes. He turns and sees the four she's watching, and smiles, walking up to his friend and giving her the snack. Taking a seat beside the mare, he wraps a hoof around her shoulders and pulls her in, telling her, "Remember how they told us of how Pinkie Pie helped with that party? The one that brought them all together as friends after so long? Those four are why we're going to Manehattan today. Ponies like them who have been impacted by Pinkie and who have become better off because of it. And that's also why Cheese Sandwich is our best bet at finding her. Nopony's been as impacted by her as he has."

Cuddling up against the fluffed up fur on his chest, Bri asks, tears still in her eyes, "You'll never leave me, right?"

"Never."

As they sit there, holding each other close, the loud whistle of the oncoming train captures their attention. Their heads instantly perk up and they look down the tracks to see the large frame of the Friendship Express coming toward them from the direction of the now rising sun. The other passengers on the platform begin to get ready to board, their tickets in hoof. Scatter and Bri give each other one more warm, loving hug and then proceed to do the same.

Bri thinks of her friends and wishes she could've told them where she was going. They could've been there with them to send them off. But she does understand that Babe's instructions wanted them to keep this secret. For all she knows, an agent of Oblivion could be lurking around. From Dr. Strangehooves to that psychopath from Detrot, The Harad. And then there's the agents yet revealed. She's more than sure that the ones they've come to know up to this point are but the tip of the iceberg. Somepony like Oblivion would make sure to have an army behind him before making the kinds of moves he has.

As the train screeches to an ear-splitting halt, she thinks back on everything they've gone through. From the events surrounding the sudden arrival of the dark stars and Oblivion's host, Sevulva Star, to the discovery of the Elements of Harmony they have now. The trip to the mountain monastery, the Detrot City Music Festival and Dinky's death, and the search for Derpy Hooves. Now, despite all of the heartache and trouble they've faced, things have a chance of turning around with the possibility of finally finding the long lost Pinkie Pie.

Her thoughts return to the current moment as she and Scatter give their tickets to All Aboard, the train's conductor. They then grab their bags and head on. As they make their way to their seats and place the bags above them, she looks to her friend with an almost confused smile. When she met him, she didn't know what to think of him, and now...now she trusts him more than anypony else besides her own family. She just feels so comfortable around him. It's as if nothing wrong can happen when they're together, yet she knows that isn't true. Still though; just being beside him helps her feel a little safer.

Suddenly, Scatter turns to face her, unknowing that she had been staring at him for the past minute or so. She blushes as he smirks, then lowers his voice to a whisper and asks, "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Despite him being the one to say this, she can see worry and nervousness in him as well. His voice even cracks and shakes like an earthquake in San Horsay.

"No, I'm not ready for this," she whispers back, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, "I thought I would be. I've always idolized Pinkie Pie and wanted to find her so badly. I always thought that I'd be ready and excited when and if this moment ever came. But now, I just feel uneasy. What if we find her and she doesn't want to come back? What if she flat out refuses and goes even further into exile than before?"

"I've had these fears too. As a long time member of the brotherhood, and someone who knew Pinkie on a personal level, you'd think I'd be more ready for this. I've tried to stay strong for you, to be a rock for you to hold onto. I just feel like I'm failing you by being so afraid. I need to be stronger for you," the stallion tells her, tears falling down his cheeks as he bites down onto his lower lip.

Leaning forward, Bri pulls him in for an embracing and comforting hug, but suddenly feels overcome with a new emotion. It's something she's felt for a long time now, and that's when it happens. Leaning close to him, she kisses Scatter full on the mouth. Not a word spoken between them, but a comforting unspoken assurance that everything will be alright. He begins to kiss her back. Thoughts float around in his head, telling him that this isn't right if for no other reason than their age difference. Yet right now, he doesn't care. He's felt this way about her for so long, and now he knows she feels this way too.

The two break apart after a few minutes of pure ecstasy and stare lovingly into each others eyes. Blushing hard, Bri turns her head and whispers, "So...uh...what's first thing on the list? When we get there...I mean. Should we find a hotel?"

"Oh," Scatter says, embarrassed as well as he finally notices that the train has begun to lurch forward, "yeah, that's probably the best idea. It'll be good to unload our stuff before we begin the search for Cheese Sandwich. I just wish Babe had told us a little more in his letter. Manehattan's quite a large city after all. How are we supposed to find Cheese in all of that?"

"Maybe we should look for a party," Bri suggests as she returns her gaze to the stallion.

"That's a nice idea, but Cheese Sandwich hasn't thrown a party since Pinkie disappeared. On top of that, we just assume he'll even know where Pinkie is. There's no actual confirmation of that. I mean, it's said that he knows something, but that doesn't mean he knows exactly where she is. What if he ends up being like Fluttershy, or myself. We were close to Pinkie, but even we don't have a clue as to where she could've gone, or where she'd be now."

"We've got to try though. We need her help, and the power of the Silver Element within her, to stop Oblivion. At this point, we don't stand a chance without her," Bri notes. Scatter nods, knowing she's right.

Suddenly, a voice sings out from right behind them, "Excuse me, but I couldn't help overhearing your little sitch. You're looking for Pinkie Pie, eh?"

The out of nowhere question catches both of them off guard, causing them to jump as they turn on the spot. Sitting there in the seat behind them is a red-coated pegasus mare. She has a wild black mane with streaks of purple within it. Her tail is held into shape against her flank by a studded black collar, matches her mane in color but not style. Around her neck rests another collar of the same make. Her lower lip is pierced with a stud, and she has eyes of the deepest purple that bares right into their very essences. They can't make out her cutie mark from their current positions however.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" Scatter screams out in a combination of shock and terror, gathering the attention of the other ponies seated around them. The mysterious mare snickers a little as the train passes by a small wooded area. Pulling a granola bar out of a satchel on the seat beside her, she begins to munch on her treat before answering.

"The name's Spades, and I'm gonna get right to the point, k? Just like you two, I'm also searching for Pinkie Pie. You could call it a secret mission. It all goes back twenty years by this point. I was but a filly then. Pinkie threw me one hay of a shindig, ya dig? It was probably the best party I've ever attended. So recently I decided I'd put my special talent of finding things to good use and find her."

She shifts her position in the seat to reveal her cutie mark; a magnifying glass. Bri and Scatter exchange worried looks, but listen close as Spades continues, "I heard from a very reliable source that an old friend of Pinkie's named Cheese Sandwich is in Manehattan. He was inspired by her to become a party pony in the first place, so it stands to reason that he'd at least know something. Even if it ends up being a dead end, it's always better to follow a lead when ya get it, right?"

Shock flowing through their bodies, Bri and Scatter stare open mouthed at Spades, not even the slightest of sounds being made between the two of them. They certainly don't want to tell Spades that the reason they're searching for Pinkie is also because of a tip regarding Cheese Sandwich. They definitely don't want her to know about them even going to Manehattan. She could be the enemy, but at the same time, she seems to know too much as it is. Maybe she somehow already knows. If she is an agent of Oblivion, that'd be very bad.

"Well, either way, maybe our paths will cross during the search, eh? Or you could always join me? It's always better when we search together."

"No, thank you," Scatter replies, still in shock over all of this. He begins to eye the mare in a very untrusting manner and adds, "We've already got everything fully planned out for our journey. Unfortunately that means we can't focus on changing anything by this point. But thanks anyways."

Nodding, the mare sits back against the seat and rests a pair of blue headphones on her ears. As she lays back and begins to jam to her music while munching on the granola bar, Scatter and Bri turn back to face the seats in front of them. Something isn't right about all of this. Spades...something isn't quite what it seems with her. She's a lot more than some random pony who happens to be searching for Pinkie as well. Though, they aren't sure what it is about her. All they can tell for sure is that she clearly cannot be trusted right now.

The train continues to chug along, and the two members of the Brotherhood contemplate the pony behind them. What her goal is, and who gave her the same tip they received from Babe Chenko. That party story is too easy. What could her real reasons for wanting to find Pinkie Pie be? The only thing they know for sure right now is that they have to find the party pony before Spades, and make sure she comes back to their side.

*********************************************************************************************************

(15 Years Ago)

The sorrowful pink mare slowly traverses the dull, dirt-covered path of the Silent Woods. With a mournful sigh, she looks at the unfriendly scenery around her. Trees with hanging leaves, an absence of small woodland critters, and not a song to be heard in the winds passing through. Since leaving her home only yesterday, she had stopped in the hidden town of Hollow Shades for the night. She wanted to go back. Back home to the friends and family she still had. She wanted them to comfort her and let her know that everything would be alright. Yet something inside her told her no. An unknown force that seemed to have more control over her every choice than herself.

Stopping, she pulls out a canteen of water and takes a small drink. The sun beats down heavily on her; a beautiful late summer day. She thinks back to swimming in the lake with Rainbow Dash, drinking fresh squeezed lemonade with Applejack, modeling one of Rarity's fabulous summer garments, and of course, getting Twilight to stop studying and having some fun in the sun. All those wonderful memories of the friends she lost are now just that; memories. It's all she has left of those friends.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Pinkie continues down the path. Judging on the direction she's headed, it's likely that she'll be able to reach Fillydelphia within no time, maybe a few hours. Though she doesn't plan on staying there too long either. She doesn't plan on staying anywhere for any extended period of time. She can't risk anypony recognizing her at this point, and there's only one way to truly do that. Once she reaches the city, she'll hire a ship to take her to Ash Island. She's heard tale of a mysterious mare there who has the power to physically alter one's appearance. If she can get that done, she can form a new life and forget all about the pains of her past.

It's a good thing she still has a good portion of the fortune that her Granny Pie left her when she passed. She should be able to make this trip with fair ease. But some questions still remain; where will she settle down when she has her physical identity changed? What will her new name be? How will she fake legal documents to get a steady job? And when she's done all of this, then what? Will she be willing to make new friends? Find somepony as comforting as Scatter had been to settle down with? Maybe she'll have a foal or two. It kind of reminds her of that crime boss from that awesome story about the girl from the frozen north who became a huge force for the world. But then there'd be ponies trying to equalize everyone.

"Just like that one time," she reminisces, thinking back to how she and her friends went to a small village where a frankly psychotic mare was trying to force other ponies into conformity by stealing their cutie marks and special talents away. She kind of wonders how things are going there these days. Sugar Belle, Party Favor, Double Diamond, and naturally Night Glider. They were an awesome bunch of ponies who did so much to change their small village after they were able to stand up to Starlight Glimmer. They even worked to build an entire town out there eventually. Maybe she could go there after changing herself.

As she thinks over this, another voice suddenly pops up in her subconscious. A dark, eerie voice that she doesn't even begin to recognize. Stopping in mid-stride, she looks around and notices nopony around. She's almost out of the woods by this point, but has yet to even come across an animal, much less another pony. So where did this mysterious voice come from? It didn't say anything in particular, yet she was suddenly overcome with a feeling of regret and sorrow. After a few seconds pass, she shrugs it off and continues on her way.

"They don't care for you," the voice suddenly returns, speaking with terrifying clarity. It's as if she were speaking herself, yet she knows her mouth hadn't opened. Who doesn't care for her? Sugar Belle and the others? She knows that isn't true. Up until she left, she had been receiving constant letters from them all the time. But the voice continues, "Those ponies only act like they care about you because you saved them. You're nothing more than that to them. You're not a friend to them. You're nothing."

"NO!"

This time it was her own voice, shouting out the single word in horror. Sweat dripping down her forehead, eyes filled up with tears. She didn't want to believe it of course. Who would readily admit to themselves that ponies they considered friends had been playing them like that? She continues to walk on, trying to ignore the eerie, deep voice. However, she can't for too long. Unable to block out the sound from her ears, unable to do anything to stop it, the voice returns, and more clear than before.

"Pinkie Pie. Oh, Pinkie Pie. Why do you fret over your friends? Rainbow Dash found you annoying. She tried to run away from you every chance she got. Rarity didn't have time for you. She was far too busy with more important things. Applejack was the same way. With the farm and her family, you were the last thing on her mind. And don't forget Twilight; the Princess of Friendship. Do you think with such an important role in Equestria she cared about you in the slightest? That's why she disappeared. That's why the others killed themselves, and why Fluttershy locked herself away after. They were sick of you Pinkie Pie. They wanted to get away from you by any means possible."

"NO!" Pinkie sorrowfully restates, crying harder than ever, "Rainbow Dash accidentally flew into a weather rod after being thrown by a tornado!"

"She put the tornado there herself. She flew into it on purpose. She could've stopped herself before hitting the rod, Pinkie Pie. But she didn't. She couldn't stand being around you any longer."

"But...but...Rarity...she got mauled by a wild creature in the Everfree Forest!" the pink pony pleads, grabbing her head in frustration and deep misery.

"She went off the path to Zecora's house. She purposely sought out the creature that killed her, and stood there open hooves as it tore her apart."

"APPLEJACK WAS CRUSHED BY A TREE SHE BUCKED! SHE DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS WEAKENED!"

"Yes she did, Pinkie Pie. She bucked that tree knowing it'd fall on top of her and kill her. She also knew it'd lead to her brother's suicide. She did it all because of you."

Screaming out at the top of her lungs, Pinkie falls down to her back hooves and cries hysterically. The very thought of her friends having killed themselves on purpose to get away from her is too much to handle. This voice, one she had never heard before, speaks these horrible things to her. She tries to tell herself that they are nothing but lies, but can she really be sure of that? The voice begins to laugh, and she continues to scream.

She wants it gone! She wants the pain, the misery, the guilt to just go away! And this mysterious voice that has suddenly invaded her consciousness, she definitely wants that gone as well. So she continues to scream, trying her best to drown everything out. But it doesn't work, and the voice keeps getting louder. It tells her, "You can't run from your problems, Pinkie Pie! You can't just become somepony else and think everything will be fine! Everything that happened was because of you, and you'll never be able to escape that fact! If you want to get rid of all the pain, misery, and guilt, then you know what you have to do!"

Sobbing, she looks forward and notices that right outside of the woods is the ragged cliffs of foal mountain. She could just climb up to one of those cliffs. She could jump off, and make sure she fell in the right way. Her head could hit the ground and her neck would snap. She could jump from higher up and land on a sharpened rock, impaling her. She could cause a rockslide to be crushed beneath and buried away from the cruel world. She could end it all today, and there would be no one who would even care if she did.

*********************************************************************************************************

(Current Day)

A screeching cry echoes within the metropolitan city of Manehattan, brimming with excitement and packed with ponies of all trots of life walking around. The large steam-powered train slows to a stop at the stations platform, doors opening soon after. Gathering her bags from the overhead, Spades turns to face Bri and Scatter, bidding them a farewell with a bright and cheery smile on her face. Returning it with a nervous smile of their own, the two friends nod and turn to their own gear, pulling it down and quickly escaping the awkward and uncertain situation.

Stepping out onto the platform, they begin to head out onto the city streets. All around them stand monumental buildings dwarfing them in size. The streets ring out with the voices of the ponies all around them, and the taxi cabs going in every direction. The overall feel of Manehattan is definitely far from that of Ponyville. Luckily, both have been to the city before; Bri during various explorations into the rest of Equestria, and Scatter during his work with the Brotherhood. However, today they have to focus. Finding Cheese Sandwich, and using his knowledge to find Pinkie Pie must be of utmost importance. As they pass down the streets, having decided to walk to the hotel, Bri looks around for a moment, then begins to relay some pent up thoughts to the stallion.

"I'm worried about that Spades mare. She knew way too much."

"I agree, but we don't know her angle right now. She could easily be one of the Agents of Oblivion, but at the same time, she could just as easily not be. It's practically impossible to discern if she was lying about her reasoning for trying to find Pinkie or not," he replies with a sigh, uncertain himself about what their next move should be regarding the mysterious mare.

"Well, let's worry about Cheese Sandwich then. All we have to do is find him first and get any information we can," Bri adds, garnering a swift and confident nod from her friend.

The two reach their hotel within a short time, and meet the concierge as they walk in. A young stallion with messy brown hair, he welcomes them to the Hoofington, and guides them to the front desk. There, they check in and get their room key, handing their bags to the friendly young stallion who then proceeds to guide them up to their room. They get everything in, and with a generous tip for the concierge, they head inside and close the door behind them to begin planning things out.

Laying down upon one of the beds, Bri looks up at the ceiling and asks, "So now what? How are we going to find him in this big city?"

"Don't worry, we just have to wait a little bit. That concierge is a member of the Brotherhood. I slipped him a note asking him to look into the matter."

"Oh, and as a member of the Brotherhood, he can just access our resources in the city to locate Cheese, right?"

"Correct! Hopefully he doesn't take too long though. In the meantime, let's begin unpacking," Scatter says as he heads over to his bags. Nodding, Bri gets back up and follows suit. For the next hour or so, the two spend their time in the room, waiting and waiting for news to come. Scatter tells Bri of some of his stories involving Pinkie Pie, and in response, she tells him of her many journeys across Equestria. They read from one of the books they brought along, and even listen to the hotel radio for a short time. Eventually, they begin to lose hope that they'll get the news they're looking for before dark.

However, to their surprise and joy, a knock rings out at the door. Nearly falling from the bed they had been laying on together, Scatter runs up and pulls the door open with a mighty gusto. Standing there is the same concierge, who with a smile presents a tray on which sits a small folded note. Thanking the stallion, Scatter levitates the note in and leaves another tip on the tray for the stallion before heading back in. Still sprawled out on the bed, Bri smiles and asks what the note says.

"Stripe Vale Hall, Valentine Ballroom, Private Party, 6pm," Scatter reads aloud, not at all surprised at the short, simple nature of the response. Laughing, he adds for Bri's sake, "Stripe Vale Hall is not too far from here!"

"It's just a couple blocks down, right? I went to an event there last time I was in the city," the mare responds with a laugh, excited about the prospect of getting the necessary information.

"And on top of that, six is only fifteen minutes from now. We got this right in time."

"Wait, I just thought of something," Bri says, her voice dropping solemnly, "how are we going to get into the ballroom is it's a private party?"

"Not a problem, our friend got us two tickets as well," the stallion laughs, holding up two small slips of paper granting them admission to the party. "One thing though. These are couples tickets, so we need to act like we're together."

"Hey, we're the ones who do act like an old married couple, remember?" Bri laughs. Laughing back, Scatter nods and extends a hoof to help Bri from the bed. Then, after putting on some high-end clothes they packed just in case, the two head out. It naturally doesn't take them too long to arrive at the large, impressive looking hall. An ancient architecture of olden times decorates the outside of the building. As they enter, they see that the inside is much different, more resembling that of a 5-star restaurant or political office.

They eventually find themselves at the entrance to the Valentine Ballroom, where they come face to face with a large, bald stallion securing it. Scatter levitates the two tickets to him, and after looking them over for a quick second, and eying the "happy couple", he opens the door for them to enter. Without breaking their characters, Scatter and Bri slowly walk in and take a look around. The party going on inside is much more intricate and fancy than they would've ever expected from somepony like Cheese Sandwich.

Everything is bright white with a slight gold trim around it. Ponies of all kinds are standing around with their wine glasses, chatting about various business things that Bri just can't understand. Though she does pick up on two ponies saying something about the upcoming Fall fashions.

Walking further in, they begin looking around for the elusive stallion, but are unable to see anyone matching the description they've both heard. So, they decide that their next best option is to ask somepony else. Approaching a rather fancy looking stallion with a perfectly quaffed blue mane, Scatter introduces himself with the most convincing Canterlot accent he can muster, "Good evening sir, My name is Scatter and this is my wife Briance. We were looking for the party planner to give him our deepest thanks for putting on such a delightful soiree. Would you happen to know where he is?"

"Enchanted to meet you, Mr. Scatter. I am Frills Baroque," the stallion replies with a smile, bowing with politeness, which both Scatter and Bri return, "I believe Mr. Sandwich is over at the hors d'eourves table chatting to our lovely host."

He points them in the direction of the aforementioned table. Thanking him graciously, Scatter nods to Bri and the two begin to head in the direction given. After pushing their way past several groups of ponies, they manage to set their sights on exactly what they were looking for, or rather who. Dressed in a faded light purple jacket with a black shirt underneath and fancy sunglasses, Cheese Sandwich stands there chatting with who they can only assume is the party's host that Frills Baroque mentioned.

The host herself is gorgeous. A light striped blue mane nestled underneath a white hat with a black bow wrapped around it. She wears a matching jacket and purple shirt, with a couple pearl necklaces to hit the entire outfit off. Bri feels kind of inadequate even being in her presence. However, she retains her smile as she and Scatter approach the two ponies.

"Thank you ever so much for helping me with this party," the host says to Cheese, her voice surprisingly sweet and innocent sounding.

"Not at all. I know I've been out of the game for a while, but when you sent me that letter I just couldn't say no. I mean, it's not everyday that somepony is named Manehattan's number one fashionista. You're on every street corner! Every clothing shop is clamoring for your newest designs."

Blushing, Miss Pommel turns away and shyly replies, "I wouldn't have been able to make it as a designer if it weren't for Rarity. She showed me such generosity with her friends, and helped give me the courage to leave Suri Polomare's tutelage. I finally got up the nerve to go out and do my own thing. So it's all because of her."

"I know how you feel, Coco" Cheese laughs, "for me it was Pinkie Pie though. If I hadn't stumbled upon her party when I was but a colt, I would've never become a party pony in the first place. Even though I'd recently left that business behind and began to work at my family's law firm, I still lay awake at night and think back to all those great times I had because of her."

"Excuse us," Scatter suddenly says, walking up to the two. Bri nervously follows suit, staring more at the ground than either of these two. Both Cheese and Coco turn to face the two ponies approaching them. Right away, Cheese notices the nervous expression on Bri and walks up to her. Lifting her chin up, he smiles.

"Cheer up little filly. This is a party, is it not? Have some fun."

"Thank you, Mr. Sandwich," she replies, "but unfortunately we can't enjoy your party today."

Cheese gives them a confused look for a moment, but soon comes to understand. They've come for a reason, to find him. Ushering them over to a nearly abandoned corner of the room, he leads the two, as well as Coco, and asks them what's going on. Breathing in, Scatter proceeds to tell him everything. Who they are, why they've come, and what they need his help with. They tell him how important Pinkie Pie is to the defeating of Oblivion, and the powers of the Silver Element within her. He adds that somepony else is also looking for her, and that they suspect her to be one of Oblivion's agents.

After about half an hour, Scatter finishes telling Cheese everything. However, it's Coco Pommel who suddenly speaks up, telling him and Bri, "I know Pinkie Pie as well. She was one of Rarity's friends. They helped me so much, so if you need anything from me as well, I'd be honored to lend my hoof."

"As would I," Cheese adds, his expression having become deathly serious, "she meant everything to me. She inspired me, and helped me break out of my shell. When she disappeared, I lost that light she had given to me. I quit my passion, and settled for a job with my family. I'll do anything I can to help. Unfortunately, I don't really know where she might be."

Nodding, Scatter and Bri exchange hopeful glances. They've at least got a much larger chance now. However, Bri then suddenly notices something out of the corner of her eye. Entering the room is Spades, dressed up in a fancy ball gown. Nudging Scatter, she tells the others that they have to get out of here quickly. Nodding, Coco leads the other three to a back door hidden behind a curtain. As they head out, Cheese turns to face Scatter and Bri and tells them, "Thank you, for finding me. Now let's find Pinkie Pie!"

*****************************************************************************************************

Back in the hotel room, the four ponies gather around one of the two beds. Spread out before them is a map of Equestria as well as a train schedule for each of the major cities. They also each have some notebook paper and quills to note down the different ideas they come up with regarding the search. Cheese is the first to speak up, continuing from where he left off at the party before they had to leave.

"As I was saying, I really don't know where she could be. Back when she first disappeared, I tried to find her as well. I specifically took on party jobs everywhere throughout Equestria just to try and find her."

"Well, right now I don't think that matters," Scatter replies, trying not to sound too harsh, "I mean, let's think about this logically. By the fact that nopony's been able to find her for these fifteen years now, we can assume she's constantly moving from one place to another."

"By that logic though, couldn't that mean she could've also outright left Equestria?" Bri asks, a worried expression spreading quickly over her face.

"Not likely," Cheese adds, "I knew Pinkie all too well. As long as she still has good friends here, she wouldn't just leave the entire kingdom. Even if she is trying to avoid them. It'd kill her to even consider doing so."

"I think so too. I'm sure Pinkie's still somewhere in Equestria. The problem is that she doesn't want to be found. So what do we do?" Scatter asks.

The others begin to think for a few minutes before Bri suddenly proposes, "We need to search everywhere, even if we've searched there before. If she is on the move, then that's our only option."

Smirking, Scatter nods and says, "Exactly. I'm going to message the Brotherhood tonight and tell them to spread their search throughout all of Equestria at once, allowing us to focus our to a smaller amount of space. We'll be working directly with the rest of the Brotherhood in our search, but we still need more. Cheese, are you sure there isn't anything you can tell us? Did Pinkie ever mention any specific locations to you?"

"Specific locations? Well besides the obvious one being Ponyville...oh, wait! There was that one time. We were hanging out after a party and we exchanged our top vacation spots. She mentioned that she always loved visiting both Fillydelphia and Trottingham, and wouldn't mind living in either at some point."

"Excellent! That's a huge clue Cheese, thanks. Now, we'll break into two teams and head to both of these cities to search. We need to check places she'd most likely be willing to visit. Bakeries, party stores, music shops, the like. But also check out places that'd mean a lot to her. Anything to do with rocks and the like as well, being that she comes from a family that's huge into that kind of stuff. Also check places that instantly seem like Pinkie would never be anywhere near them. She might be trying to act unlike herself, and because of this, might be purposely going to places like that. I suggest that you, Cheese, and you as well, Coco, head to Trottingham while Bri and I go to Fillydelphia to..."

"...BUT I WANNA GO TO TROTTINGHAM!" Bri suddenly yells out, surprising the other three. Thinking about it, he completely forgot that Bri is from Trottingham. It never even crossed his mind that she might want to go back. With a sigh, he smiles and nods, agreeing to that. Assigning Cheese and Coco to go to Fillydelphia instead, he suggests that they all get a good night's sleep and get on the train as early as possible."

"What do we do if we find Pinkie though?" Coco asks the others.

"If you find her, keep on her. Try to contact her, but also send the other team a letter right away. Cheese, Coco. If you guys find her, send the letter from the post office. Ask for Speedy Delivery. She's in the Brotherhood and will be able to get it to us with relative ease. I know someone in Trottingham as well, so it'll work out both ways," Scatter tells them.

In full agreement, Cheese and Coco head out to begin packing some necessary supplies, assuring their new friends that they'll all meet up at the station at around seven thirty in the morning. After they head out, Bri and Scatter begin to get to work as well. Packing all of what they brought back up so they can be completely ready when they wake up. Upon finishing, Scatter writes out the note to the Brotherhood and heads down to the lobby to find the concierge, leaving Bri in the room alone to think about everything they've experienced thus far, and everything they're going to experience on this next leg of the journey.

*****************************************************************************************************

Breathing in the fresh Trottingham air, Bri beams as she steps off the Friendship Express and back into her beauteous hometown. Unlike Manehattan, Trottingham is a lot smaller in terms of scale, a not so metropolitan city, with a lot less skyscrapers. The buildings within the town are more olden style. Red bricks and white lining at each corner of every house and business. The streets, like in Ponyville, are made of cobblestone with bits of grass poking up from the cracks. Instead of loud ponies and rushing taxies, the sounds of Trottingham are much more relaxed. Birds chirp as they flitter along, small animals scurry around town, and the ponies going from place to place stop and chat with each other, smiles spread across their faces.

Scatter turns to face the mare, who just stares at the town before her with a big grin plastered upon her face. A smile soon finds him as well. He knows this must be a great moment for her. She was born in Trottingham, and spent a lot of her young life here. Though, now that he thinks of it, he really doesn't know much about all of that. Why did she move to Ponyville in the first place? Does she still have any family living here? What were things like for her back when she lived in the town? Stopping, he decides to ask her all these questions and more.

Looking back at Scatter, Bri chuckles a little and leads him over to a nearby bench. They take a seat as a rabbit hops past, and she tells him, "It's amazing. Everything looks just like it did when I was but a foal. The buildings, the ponies, everything. I have so many memories from back then. You see, when I was born, my parents were living with my father's mother. They were never that well off, and only barely could afford bringing me into this world. Eventually though my father got a job at the mayor's office. He used to tell me the story all the time about how he helped the mayor one day when he was out strolling along. Mayor Birdwatcher was traveling down the street and started getting harassed by some angry ponies. He saw it and came to the mayor's rescue. According to him, he was offered a job on the spot as the mayor's personal security."

"Wow, that's impressive. Your father had a good heart," Scatter softly responds, smiling over at her.

"Yeah, but it all went south only a couple years later. Mayor Birdwatchers term was coming to an end. He was running for re-election, but was against a candidate named Hay Harps. The townsponies loved Harps, and voted her into the position. Naturally, this left my father without a job. He settled for working at the local Hayburger, but once more, we were barely scraping by. I was around five at this time. My mother finally decided to get a job as well, against my grandmother's old fashioned beliefs, and found employment at a dress shop. She worked and worked long hours every day, barely coming home at all on some occasions due to her bosses strict policies. But it gave us the money we needed. Between both of my parents working constantly, I felt alone. My grandmother noticed this and began to take me to the park to play. She'd read me stories of adventurous ponies and even play pretend with me."

"She sounded amazing."

"Oh, she was," Bri nodded, "she was everything to me. But she died. My parents told me it was from an illness she had contracted. I didn't care. I felt betrayed, and heartbroken. She was the only pony there for me when not even my mother and father could be. I didn't have any friends, and now, I had no one at all."

"I assume that changed?" Scatter asks, tearing up at the sadness of Bri's tale.

"I was eight years old, yet to even discover my cutie mark. One day, while I was home with the foalsitter, I decided to sneak out. I hated Miss Stocks. She was so harsh on me, and wouldn't even let me play when she was watching me. So I left when she wasn't looking and began to explore around town. I remembered the story my father told me of how he met the old mayor. I remembered the adventures my grandmother and I would go on in our minds. I wished something like that would happen. But instead, I nearly died."

"Wait, WHAT!?" Scatter suddenly shouts out, grabbing Bri and staring into her eyes, "what do you mean you almost died!?"

Shaking him off, she sighs and continues, "I was walking along when these teenagers approached me. They told me that my parents were hurt and I needed to follow them. I was eight years old, and naive. I believed them, and went with them into a back alley. You know how these kind of stories unfold. I don't know what I did wrong, or why they did what they did. But I woke up in the hospital two days later, my body covered in cuts, bruises, and two casts. I had two broken legs, several broken ribs, and was in horrible condition. I was told that when I was discovered, I was bleeding out so badly that if I hadn't been found within another ten minutes, I would've died."

Cupping his hooves over his mouth, tears running down his cheeks, Scatter stares at his friend with worry and sorrow etched onto his face. Bri notices it and assures him, "I was fine. I obviously survived after all. But my parents...I figured they would be furious. I thought I'd get grounded for running off like that. But no. When I woke up and saw them, they were crying. They blamed themselves for this, for not being there for me. That was when my entire life changed. Over the following months, as I was healing, my parents began to work less and spend more time at home with me. Family friends would visit as well, and soon, ponies from my school even came to check on me. I felt more love during that time than ever before."

Laughing, Bri smiles over at Scatter and says, "when I finally finished healing, I had already turned nine and was well on my way to ten. I had made quite a few new friends, though one stood out among them all. This other mare named Goldie Grass from my class. She would come every day and talk to me. She'd make up adventures about the two of us going all across Equestria, and it made my heart leap with joy. When I was finally all better, she was the first to visit me. She threw me an entire party to celebrate my recovery, and she gave me the greatest gift I've ever received."

"Friendship?" Scatter asks.

"Heh, no. She did give me that, but she also gave me this book. It was called The Oddish Sea, and was about a stallion who adventured to some amazing places, even Tartarus. He poked out the eye of an Arimaspi, had escaped a vicious pony-eating whirlpool, and even fought monsters the likes of which we can only imagine. It wasn't just an amazing tale of adventure, but it was the first book my grandmother had read with me from all that time ago. Goldie didn't even know about my grandmother when she gave me that story. But she saw how thankful I was for it, and that's all that mattered to her."

"A year later, I found out two secrets my parents were keeping from me. First, my mother was pregnant. And second, they were planning on moving us to Ponyville. While I didn't mind the idea of a younger brother or sister, I was devastated that I had to move away from my best friend. But one day, when we were hanging out, she talked to me about it. She encouraged me to not look at this as leaving her behind, but as a new adventure. She told me that I was just like Oddisheus, and that I'd be taking on a fantastic journey to an unknown land. I couldn't help what happened next. I didn't even think about it, or what it would mean. I kissed Goldie, and she kissed me back. And it wasn't just a friendly kiss on the cheek. We loved each other."

"Wait...so does that mean you're a..."

"A lesbian? Heh, no. Well, maybe I was back then. I don't know. Like I said, I didn't really think about it. Either way, we did indeed move, and right after, my sister Honeysuckle was born. I loved her so much. I would spend every day with her, playing and laughing and having fun. Then I met Star Rider, and my love for adventuring was rekindled. We would go around town having fun and even on occasion pulling pranks on ponies. I even got to go on vacation with her one year to Winsome Falls. I realized soon enough that she had become a replacement for Goldie. I mean, Goldie and I would write each other letters since I moved, but eventually they became more and more sparse. I used Star as a new Goldie for myself. One day I told her this, and she ran away. Her parents were terrified, and for days she didn't reappear. I had to help. It was my fault she ran off anyways."

"Did you find her?"

"After a long and perilous journey," Bri replies, "I left Ponyville and began to head towards White Tail Woods. I had remembered she had talked of wanting to explore them, so I thought she might've gone there. I was right. I found her within a couple days. She was starving, having refused to eat anything, and was in bad health due to sleeping in the cold. When I first found her, she didn't want anything to do with me. But I pulled out my book, and began to read to her Oddisheus's journey. Her smile soon returned, and we walked back to Ponyville. Naturally we were grounded, but I didn't care. I went on the adventure of a lifetime to help someone important to me. That was what mattered. And when I realized that, the day after we returned, I realized what my destiny was. I got my cutie mark right then, and knew that I was going to explore all of Equestria."

Sniffling a little, Scatter hugs her and says, "That was amazing. You've gone through so much in your life. I only asked about how you got to Ponyville, though I'm glad you were able to open up to me. Do you...do you think Goldie might still be here?"

Before Bri can answer, a voice calls out to her that causes the young mare's eyes to widen and tear up. Though clearly different from when they were kids, she recognizes it in an instant, as Goldie calls out to her, "Briance Happer! Oh my Celestia, is that really you!?"

Looking over, Bri sees the golden coated mare with a curled brown mane trotting up. Glasses resting upon her face, Goldie has the biggest smile that Scatter's seen since Pinkie Pie. Leaping off of the bench, Bri runs to her old friend and envelops her in the biggest hug possible, both mares crying in surprise and joy. Scatter himself can barely believe the coincidence. Just as he was asking if she might still be around, she comes walking up? That's almost too amazing to believe.

The two eventually release each other from the loving embrace and take a step back to look over their old friend. Laughing almost hysterically, Bri asks, "Wow, it's been so long! What are you up to these days!?"

However, Goldie's response isn't quite what she expected, "Uh..wow...what happened to your...voice?"

"Oh! I actually forgot about that. I've kinda lost my accent after living in Ponyville for so long. Granted it only really happened more recently, but I've been adapting to the Ponyville accent for a while. I'm sorry if I took you by surprise."

"It's alright," Goldie assures her with a laugh, "but let's talk about that flank of yours. I see you've got quite an interesting cutie mark. What's your special talent? Playing horse shoes?"

Laughing, Bri responds, "No, it's actually something a lot more meaningful. It's adventuring, exploration, the joy in discovering new places and meeting new ponies."

"Just like Oddisheus, that's awesome! Mine," she says, flashing her flank to Bri and showing off her cutie mark of a book, "is writing. I work at the local paper, writing an adventure story column every week. Right now I'm releasing this little story about a pony from Tokyoat traveling to the Eastern country of Japony that the city is named after."

"That's awesom...oh, wait. I'm sorry Goldie, I'd love to be able to catch up with you more, but my friend Scatter here and I are in town on business. We kind of need to focus back on that and get to a hotel. Maybe we can come visit sometime in the future though and hang out like old times."

"Sorry Bri, I can't let you do that," Goldie smirks. Scatter looks over in surprise at the statement, and then to Bri who seems more confused than anything. Grinning widely, Goldie explains, "You will not be going to any hotel. If you're staying here in Trottingham, you're staying with me!"

"Oh!" Bri shouts, the statement having caught her off guard, "thanks, but I don't want to put you out or anything."

"No worries at all. We'd love to have you stay with us...my family and I, I mean. Cross Cut and I even have a newborn foal now. I bet she'd love you. You wouldn't be putting us out or anything either. You and your friend are more than welcome to stay for as long as you need."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Bri asks, her face still showing a worried expression.

"It's not a request Bri," Goldie laughs, "you two are staying with us."

"Ok, well then thanks. This really helps. And congrats on the foal. What's her name?" Bri excitedly asks.

"Well, I named her after the friend I hadn't seen in forever. Briance Honeyoat. Now come on, everypony's gonna wanna meet ya. So follow me."

Tearing up again, Bri smiles and nods, leading Scatter out. However, before they get much further, a falcon swoops down at them, landing atop Bri's back. Both she and Scatter recognize the bird as being Babe Chenko's, and know that something must be going on. Walking up, Scatter notices a note tied to the bird's leg, which he quickly undoes. He then thanks the falcon, who flies off again, and unrolls the small scroll. Bri and Goldie look at him with confusion and anticipation, the former of them finally asking after a minute what the note says.

Smiling, Scatter reads aloud, "Scatter, Bri, keep up the search. There is some good news I wished to relay to you on the homefront. Princess Aurora has been recovered. She was suddenly teleported into Canterlot Castle, though has no memory of anything that happened since she last disappeared. The guard is now keeping extra watch over here, and she's been fitted with a specialized collar that cancels out any magic used on her. I am trusting that with this recent development, you will be even further inspired on your own task. Sincerely, Babe Chenko."

*****************************************************************************************************

Upon arriving at Goldie Grass's small, homely cottage at the south end of town, Bri and Scatter set their things down and begin to talk to each other about the mission at hoof, Goldie having gone into the other room to fetch her family to show off to her friends. Seated there in the living room, the two ponies go over everything that's happened one more time. From the moment they left Ponyville to meeting Goldie here in Trottingham. As of now, this is their biggest lead to Pinkie Pie, though honestly it isn't much. It was Cheese Sandwich who suggested both Trottingham and Fillydelphia as both were places that the party pony liked to visit. It's their only lead though, so they have no choice but to follow it as far as they can.

The sound of hoofsteps alerts them that Goldie's returning, so they quickly quiet themselves to avoid anypony else hearing of their mission. Not even a good friend of Bri's like Goldie can know, unfortunately, despite the possibility of it being a huge help. Trotting into the room, Goldie is followed by another mare with a black coat and dark blue / light blue striped mane and tail. The later of who carries in a specialized saddle bag style foal carrier, the newborn daughter that Goldie had mentioned saddled within it.

"Bri, Scatter, this is my wife Cloud Shadow and daughter Briance."

The word wife catches Scatter off guard, but only for a second as his attention is captured by the immeasurable speed of Bri as she runs up to greet them both. With a gentle smile, she shakes Cloud's hoof and then turns her attention to the little filly in the carrier. Little Briance giggles, causing Bri to tear up and laugh, making faces as she greets the baby with joy. It's wonderful for her that an old friend she hasn't spoken to in years would name her daughter after her. Even Scatter can see that it really speaks volumes to the quality of the friendship they had.

"So," Goldie suddenly speaks up," I told Cloud about you needing a place to stay while here, and she's completely fine with it. We only have one guest room though, so you will have to share a bed. If that's alright with you."

"That's perfectly fine. Thanks again," Scatter replies as Bri continues to make funny faces at the baby.

"We have breakfast ready around 6am, so if you wanna join us for that too, you're more than welcome," Cloud says, her voice raspy and lower than Goldie's. She then excuses herself, telling them that she has to get back to her own work, and heads off back into the other room. Goldie explains that Cloud is a carpenter, and is in the middle of an important project for a client.

"Oh, but I shouldn't keep you two any longer. You said you have something to do, right?"

"Yes, we do," Bri replies with a joyous smile, "we should get to that. We've only got half a day left. Come on Scatter. We'll be back a little later, alright Goldie?"

"I'll be here!"

As they head out the front door, Bri and Scatter turn to each other and agree to begin their search right in the southern end of town, as they're already there. The town certainly isn't as large as one like Manehattan or Fillydelphia, but it is bigger than Ponyville by a good amount. It won't be an easy task to search it all, especially when it's only the two of them. They can only imagine the difficulty that Cheese and Coco are facing. But just thinking and talking about it won't help either. They need to take action and begin their search throughout town, their eyes peeled for anypony fitting the description they have of the mare.

Pinkie Pie is, well, pink. Both in coat and mane/tail. Though the former is of a much lighter shade. Her cutie mark is of three balloons, and she's known for being very happy and goofy, often bouncing around instead of just walking. However, they also know what happened fifteen years ago. It's very unlikely that she'll be her normal, happy-go-lucky self. She won't be bouncing, but probably walking slowly down the road. She won't be laughing and having fun. Instead, she'll probably look downtrodden, quiet, and depressed, even fifteen years later. She'll be the opposite of how she used to be.

Unfortunately, that isn't a lot to go on. And if they were to ask around and see if anypony's seen someone matching that description, they could be led to some other pony. Though the cutie mark would be a more defining feature. Unsure of where to take their search, Bri asks her friend if he has any ideas. In reply, he suggests doing exactly what they had both been thinking of; asking around. It may not be the most reliable act, but it's all they've really got other than just staring everypony they see down.

"But that won't work," Bri suddenly tells him, "what if we come across one of Oblivion's agents without knowing it? We can't just give this information out all willy nilly."

"You're right. It probably would be a very bad idea, and just place a huge target on our backs. If that Spades mare really is an agent, then she's definitely going to be quick on our trail. I wouldn't be surprised if she were in town already. We have to be covert about this. I suggest we act like tourists, going around town and just enjoying ourselves while inconspicuously keeping our eyes peeled for any sign of Pinkie."

"Right. So, what first then? Maybe we should go get some lunch, I'm kind of hungry."

"Sounds like a plan," Scatter nods in agreement. Heading out, they stop over at a taco shop and enjoy a nice meal. No signs of Pinkie there. So, upon finishing, they decide to head to the market and see about picking up some fun little trinkets, all the while making sure they check every pony they pass, and everyone who passes by them. Still nothing. They head downtown and enjoy the live music, and then even to the mall. Nowhere they go show any sign of Pinkie Pie. Not even anypony who looks slightly like what their description states.

Eventually it reaches eight o'clock and the two decide that they've searched as much as they can tonight. They stop by a restaurant for dinner, still no Pinkie, and then begin their trek back to Goldie and Cloud's home. Apparently the night is when things get really interesting in town as well. As they trot down the cobblestone path, a brown coated stallion runs out from a back alley, right in front of them. A bow tie around his neck, and a determined look on his face, he swivels his head around for a moment before asking them, "Have either of you seen a big metal pony walking around?"

"No, we haven't" Bri answers, confused but at the same time kind of amused by the stallion.

"Blast, I guess I'll have to keep looking. Have a good day. Allons-y!"

And with that, the stallion is gone. The two look at each other and just laugh. After everything today, they needed that. Just something fun to take their minds off of the failures they've had. Not to mention, it gave them inspiration. Like them, this mysterious stallion had been searching for someone. And like them, he didn't seem to be having any luck. Yet despite this, he kept searching. He didn't give up no matter what, and that's exactly what they have to do as well. Tomorrow they'll expand their search into the rest of town and go all day.

As they continue along their walk, the two soon reach Goldie's house. Right away they know something's wrong. A unicorn police officer is standing outside of the front door, a TPD cop wagon parked outside. He's talking to Goldie and Cloud, and seems to be telling them something while showing some pictures. The two walk up, wondering what's going on, and that's when the police officer turns on them. In one swift motion, he pulls out a gun with his magic and holds it towards the two, yelling to them, "GET DOWN! HOOVES ON THE GROUND NOW!"

Goldie freaks out and tries to stop him, tears in her eyes, but Cloud holds her back as Bri and Scatter do as the officer had told them. Confusion passes between them as the officer walks over and handcuffs them both. Confused and angry, Scatter tells the officer, "You have to tell us why we're being arrested! We've done nothing wrong!"

"Why is this happening!?" Bri cries, hyper-ventilating as she realizes this could mean the end of their mission.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" Scatter yells, his frustration overflowing as he begins to wonder if this could be one of Oblivion's agents in disguise, trying to stop their search.

"My name is Officer Montes, and you two are under arrest for ponynapping a stallion and a mare from Manehattan. You were seen boarding the train this morning to come here, so we were notified to be on alert. In the meantime, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can..."

"BULLSHIT! We didn't ponynap anyone!"

Scatter looks over in surprise to see Bri uncharacteristically angry. She gnashes her teeth as a vein pops out on her forehead. Her eyes are widened, and brows arched down. The cop seems quite taken aback as well, but simply begins to levitate them towards the police wagon to take them in. Goldie and Cloud watch in shock and fear from the house, and Bri screams out in rage as she continues to argue against this.

"Cheese Sandwich and Coco Pommel came with us of their own accord! They are helping us with something!"

"Oh yeah?" Officer Montes replies with a cocky smirk, "then pray tell, where are they?"

"They went to Fillydelphia on our request," Scatter calmly tells the officer, trying to keep his anger in at this point, despite being as enraged as Bri is, "the four of us are working together to try and find a friend of ours. We don't know where she might be, so we split up to search multiple cities at once."

"Sorry, but I've heard it all before. There are eyewitnesses who saw you forcing both Cheese and Coco out of a party they had been putting on. I've got to take you both in, and unless you can prove your innocence, you'll be going away for quite some time," he tells them as he levitates the two of them into the wagon and closes the doors behind them, leaving the two friends in a darkness they had not expected during their journey. Not only literal, but emotional. This is the end of their search for Pinkie Pie.

********************************************************************************************************

Sitting quietly in the holding cell of the Trottingham City Police Department, Bri and Scatter begin to contemplate what could've went wrong. Was it Spades that set them up; the supposed eye witness? She had just arrived at Coco's party when they, Coco, and Chesse ran out. Granted it could've been anyone who was there, and if so, it could be a simple misunderstanding by one of the guests who just didn't know what was happening. Outside of the cell sits a rather tough looking guard stallion, sitting at a small desk in the corner of the room right across from them. A copy of the local paper in his hooves, he hums to himself as he reads. However, they're more focused on who's inside of the cell with them.

Also being held by the police is some bald, gruff looking pony sleeping on the hard cot over at the other end of the cell, as well as a large, bulky stallion with a lot of tattoos and a few missing teeth. Their worry stems from the fact that this pony is staring directly at them, his eyes widened and threatening. They try as hard as possible to just ignore the stallion, but his glare bears right through them, as if piercing their very souls, and eventually, they can't help but strike up a conversation.

"So...hehe, what are you in for?" Scatter nervously asks, chuckling and trying to seem as friendly as possible.

The stallion's eyes swivel in their sockets to focus directly on Scatter alone. They narrow as the stallion grunts, his mouth stretching into a vile grimace. He then turns his eyes to Bri, who weakly smiles over at him, not wanting to show her fear. Though she's sure he can smell it on her. A few minutes pass and relative silence encapsulates the cell and all within it. The only slight sounds they can hear are the light snoring of the sleeping inmate and the occasional turn of the newspaper pages by the guard. However, after a short time, the bulky stallion finally responds.

"I'm in for murder."

Laughing, Scatter turns away in fear and curls up into a ball. However, Bri's attention remains fully on the stallion as she tells him, "My name's Bri, what's yours?" Instantly, Scatter flips out, grabbing Bri and angrily whispering for her to not aggravate the killer.

"The name's Cupcake," the bulky stallion replies, leaning back against the stone wall behind him, getting into a restful position. Scatter and Bri exchange looks at the unexpected name, but choose not to question it. Sighing, Cupcake looks up at the ceiling and adds, "But I didn't kill anypony. I know that might seem like the one thing every prisoner would say, but it's true. I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Cupcake. I'm sorry to hear about your situation," Bri says with a smile. Cupcake smiles back and recounts his entire story to them. He was a tattoo artist prior to his arrest, but had been obviously fired by his boss due to all of this. He notes that he had discovered the body, but was soon found by the police who assumed he was the one at fault, and that he's now in the holding cell awaiting his trial. He even mentions his wife and daughter, who are worried sick over all of this, but have been coming by every day to support him.

"So then, why are two nice seeming ponies like yourself here?" he asks Bri and Scatter, the latter of whom has begun to warm up to the big guy, "I doubt you could murder anypony."

"We don't really know. According to Officer Montes, we ponynapped two high profile ponies from Manehattan. But in reality, they were helping us look for somepony," Scatter replies, looking solemn as he remembers how bad this arrest is going to affect their search.

"So you were falsely accused as well. If you don't mind me asking, who were these two ponies from Manehattan? You see, I actually trained in tattoo artistry in the city and met a lot of ponies there. I might be able to help vouch for you."

"Coco Pommel and Cheese Sandwich," Bri answers him, wondering to herself how well an accused murderer could vouch for them when their crime is so much lesser.

"Wait, I know Cheese Sandwich! He planned my daughter's fifth birthday party!"

"Same here," a sudden voice calls out. The three of them, as well as the on-duty guard, turn their heads to the door of the room to find the police chief, a pony by the name of Aurus Skye, trotting in. He walks over to the cell and glances at the three of them, a raised eyebrow at the sight of them holding a normal conversation.

"Please!" Bri shouts out, "let us out! We're innocent! We didn't ponynap anyone! Cheese Sandwich and Coco Pommel are in Fillydelphia helping with out search, we swear!"

Rubbing his temple, Chief Skye grunts, "Enough. I'm not interested in your stories right now. I came down here to tell you two that you have a visitor. She'll be here in a minute, after she's checked for weapons or other such things. I'd suggest you behave yourselves, or you'll just end up in even further trouble."

"But...we didn't do anything," Scatter quietly says, his hope diminishing despite a small curiosity at who could be visiting them. He assumes it'd probably be Bri's friend and her wife, and naturally, Bri herself believes that herself. Sighing, he adds, "Officer Montes was wrong."

"Officer Montes? Listen kid, don't buck with me. There is no Officer Montes at this station. Now get yourselves up, your visitor's about to come in."

The statement from the chief surprises them both. That can't be right. They know that the officer told them his name was Montes, but what could this...wait, this sounds wrong. Turning to each other, both Scatter and Bri come to the same conclusion, and though not saying it directly, they can see in each others eyes that they have the same thoughts. This Officer Montes framed them, because he needed them out of the way and off the search. Officer Montes is an Agent of Oblivion!

Suddenly, as they contemplate this, a hooded pony walks in to join them; the visitor. It's obviously not Goldie or her wife, that much is instantly clear. Yet both feel as if they know who this is, despite not being able to see any discernable features due to the cloak and hood. The pony slowly walks up and stares at the two for a quick second before nodding silently to the chief. The chief nods back, and then the visitor turns back to the imprisoned ponies and approaches the cell. A sigh escapes the hood and a solemn, feminine voice soon follows.

"Are you two alright?"

Scatter's mouth drops. Eyes widening, his pupils shrinking, he stares at the hooded pony with tears beginning to run down his face as he falls to a seated position. Bri jumps back and stares at Scatter, then turns back to the mysterious mare. A sudden realization hits her, and she knows right then why Scatter was so surprised. Why he was in tears. She looks at the mare, who proceeds to pull back her hood. Straight, dark pink hair falls out, covering a faded pink coat. Bright blue eyes glazed over by the ghosts of her past shine out on the mare's face as she soberly looks at the two. They did it. After fifteen long years, Pinkie Pie has been found.

Both Scatter and Bri sit there, speechless. Even Cupcake seems surprised by this, showing that even he knows of the former party pony. Everypony in the room just stares back and forth at each other for what seems like forever, confusing the ever loving hay out of the police chief, who doesn't seem to know who Pinkie Pie is. Realizing that neither Scatter nor Bri are going to say anything, Pinkie Pie sighs and goes first.

"Why are you ponies so insisting on searching for me? With your little group looking all over the country, it's been very hard for me to stay in hiding. And now, with everywhere suddenly being searched at once, and you two happening to come upon the place where I'm staying at the moment, I find it impossible to have any peace. So tell me, why are you doing this? Can't you just leave me alone?"

"But...Pinkie...don't you..." Scatter begins.

Sighing, she interrupts the crying stallion, "Of course I remember you, you dolt. That isn't the issue right now though. I want you ponies to give up. I'm not coming back with you, so stop looking for me. Just leave me to my solitude, for ponies sake."

"It's....it's been so long Pinkie. I still...I love you...."

"GET A CLUE!" the pink mare snaps, being uncharacteristically angry from the stories that Bri had heard, and the memories held by Scatter, "IT'S OVER! I'M DONE WITH PONYVILLE! I'M DONE WITH FRIENDSHIP! AND I'M DONE WITH YOU!"

The last statement sends an arrow right into Scatter's heart, shattering it upon impact. Retreating to the corner of the cell, he begins to sob uncontrollably to himself. Glaring at the mare, Cupcake turns and goes to comfort his new friend, leaving Bri and Pinkie staring at each other. The latter of the two is gnashing her teeth and seems to be more infuriated than anypony she had ever seen before. It's terrifying to see the pony she's always wanted to meet reduced to something like this. That's when she sees it. A tear welling up in Pinkie's eye as well, and soon falling down her cheek. She's doing this for some other reason.

Bri takes the moment to calmly explain everything that's happening. She tells Pinkie about the Dark Stars and Oblivion's reign, and how so many ponies have already died because of him. She tells her that the power of the Silver Element still resides within her, and that she's essential in the defeat of these evil forces. However, Pinkie doesn't seem convinced. Shaking her head, she insists, "I can't help anypony. It's worthless to try and put your hope in somepony like me. Now please, just have your little Brotherhood leave me alone...please."

"Miss Pie, we need you. You can do amazing things if you only believe in yourself," Bri tries to reason with the mare.

"NO!" Pinkie yells, the tears falling harder than ever, "You don't get it! The disappearances of the princesses and Twilight! Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash's deaths! Fluttershy becoming a bucking recluse! It's all my fault! All of this is because of me! Three of my best friends died! I can't put anypony else in danger! I can't be close to anyone ever again! Just leave me the buck alone!"

Shaking her head, Bri reaches through the bars to try and comfort Pinkie, telling her, "It's not your fault, it's Oblivion's. He's the one behind the disappearances of the four princesses, and the deaths of all of your friends, and mine. That's why you need to help us stop him, so you can avenge the friends you clearly miss so much."

Suddenly, behind the sobbing pink mare, a chuckle comes from the guard at the table. Everyone turns to face him, at which point a black aura surrounds him. His form changes, and instantly Bri sees that everything was planned from the start. Standing there in front of the desk, Montes laughs maniacally at his plan having come to fruition. Scatter and Cupcake, the latter having calmed the former down, walk up to the bars to see this as well, surprised by the sudden revelation. Naturally, Chief Skye is taken aback, and draws his gun, pointing it at the Agent of Oblivion.

"Put that away, chief. It'll only get you hurt!" Montes cackles, the gun suddenly exploding. Chief Skye falls to the floor, unconscious and not in good shape. Screaming, Bri retreats towards Scatter, who holds her close and tries to comfort the mare, despite the immense fear overtaking him as well. Montes, keeping his body in the same position, unnaturally turns his entire head around to face them, a wide-eyed, maniacal grin spread on his face.

"See what happens? I'd suggest you ponies not make the same mistakes as the esteemed chief of police there. Now, back to the topic at hoof. You're quite right, Joy, it was Oblivion who did all of that. Sorry Miss Pie, but you're not the one to blame here unfortunately. Oblivion had been planning those murders for years. Naturally he had to make them look like accidents, so that ponies didn't begin to suspect foul play. Couldn't reveal ourselves right away. The original plan was to kill all six of the past Element bearers though. You see, kiddos, that's where things got complicated for our lord and savior, Oblivion. The sudden disappearance of Princess Twilight Sparkle, threw him off."

"Wait...so then you guys aren't behind the princesses disappearances?" Bri and Scatter both ask at the same time, surprised by this.

Cackling, Montes shakes his head and continues, "Well, that's not quite right. We did indeed ponynap Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. But we had nothing to do with the disappearance of Twilight Sparkle. We have no idea where she could be at all. Because of this, Oblivion had to make some rash moves by killing those three. Fluttershy, as well as you Miss Pie, were going to be the next victims, but something was preventing him from acting."

"What could've stopped someone of his power?" Pinkie asks, causing Montes to laugh even harder.

"Oblivion didn't have all this power back then. He was still weakened enough and could only affect non-sentient objects and unintelligent creatures with his powers. In example, the apple tree, tornado, and monsters of the Everfree Forest. Anything with a clear capability of forming full thoughts were beyond him at that point in time. All he had to do to take those other three out were to weaken the apple tree's bark, causing it to fall apart when bucked and fall onto the bucker; manipulate the path of the tornado and how it threw Rainbow Dash into the direction of the weather rod; and of course, he influenced the timberwolves into attacking poor Rarity as she was on her way to Zecora's."

"So then, why couldn't he do the same kinds of things against Fluttershy and me!?"

"Simple, Miss Pie," the agent continues, taking a seat on the desk and waving his hoof around with no clear purpose, "after causing Rarity's death, Oblivion found himself unable to summon up the full extent of his magic anymore in order to off the two of you. So, instead he decided to give possession a try. He entered your mind Miss Pie, made you believe things you normally wouldn't have. You were his host, and he, your parasite."

"So that was the voice I kept hearing back then," she replies quietly, coming to a terrifying realization at the events from fifteen years ago.

"Exactly! And now that his powers have begun to fully return, he's ready to make his long-awaited comeback to Equestria! Luckily, you've been worthless as a threat to him since then, and Fluttershy is the least of his worries, her remaining Elemental power being near non-existent. However, Miss Pie, when things boil down to it, you can take some blame in all of this. I would think that after Princess Twilight's disappearance, you'd be more watchful over your friends. Yet you did NOTHING to protect them! You went on with your merry little life and let them be slain at the hooves of the enemy you didn't even know existed!"

Breaking down, Pinkie falls to the ground, crying hysterically at what the agent had told her. Angry, Bri begins to try and smash through the cell, screaming at Montes in rage. Scatter watches her, as well as Pinkie, but then turns to notice the downed Chief Skye. On his belt is a keyring. He carefully activates his magic, stealthily grabbing said keys and levitating them over just out of Montes' sight. As he tries to begin and figure out which key will unlock the cell, Bri starts to try and comfort Pinkie.

"Don't let him get to you! Fight back! You have the power of the Silver Element within you Pinkie! Avenge Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash!"

"Sorry, but I can't let that happen," Montes sneers, "the chances of you becoming a threat again are too high, Miss Pie. Good thing these two helped me find you. Don't worry though, you'll be seeing your friends again real soon."

Summoning up the unnatural dark magic of the agents, Montes begins to charge up a huge blast of pure magical energy. Bri and Cupcake watch in terror, Scatter rushes even faster to try and find the right key, and Pinkie, she just sits there still crying over the thought that she let her friends be killed. Laughing psychotically, the agent releases the energy, which shoots right at the pink mare. Everyone screams in horror, but right as it's about to hit her, it suddenly disappears, as if sucked into an invisible vortex that had come out of nowhere. Standing in it's place, right in between Pinkie and Montes, is a red-coated pegasus mare with a wild black mane streaked with purple; it's Spades.

No longer laughing, Montes glares viciously at Spades and attempts the attack again. However, before he can even summon the dark magic, the mare has rushed him, ramming into the agent and pinning him against the wall. Bri and Scatter stare in shock, and a little embarrassment considering that it was Spades who they had originally expected to be an agent. As the mare holds her victim against the wall, he laughs and tells her, "I'm impressed. You're another member of the Brotherhood, correct? Your power is great, but from where does it come? I can tell it's not the power of an Element. Plus, I know you're not a bearer. Yet you have abilities that rival those of the Elements of Harmony? Interesting."

"It's not for you to worry about," she tells him, her voice sounding much more intimidating than when she had been on the train, "you're not going to be around much longer to even care about the origin of my powers."

"Sorry hon, but it's not yet my time," Montes laughs, creating a shock wave and forcing her off of him. Standing there, he laughs again, when suddenly another magical force begins to illuminate beside him. Noticing this, the agent rolls his eyes and lets out a sigh as he tells them all, "You're lucky, you know? Looks like Oblivion's sending somepony to pick me up. But don't worry, we'll take care of you all within time."

Suddenly, from within the extra magical force, to the horror of Bri and Scatter, steps a winged, blood red stallion with glowing green eyes. He smirks at everypony watching, but focuses his attention on Montes. They all watch as The Harad whispers a message into Montes' ear, glancing every few seconds towards the cell, and those within it. Nodding, he then backs off and waves condescendingly towards Bri and Scatter.

"Sorry everypony, I've got to head out. See ya'all soon," Montes tells them as both he and The Harad disappear into the magical portal. Right at that moment, Scatter discovers the exact key he needed and unlocks the cell. Right away, he and Bri both run out and wrap Pinkie Pie in a large hug, soon joined by Cupcake as well.

Crying, Pinkie hugs them back, yet asks, "Why are you doing all of this for me? Even if I came out of hiding, what could I possibly do? I was useless against that stallion there. Who's to say I wouldn't prove useless again?"

"I'm to say," Scatter tells her, kissing her lovingly on the cheek, "you were scared, and broken by his words. You need to believe in yourself Pinkie. You can help stop them, and give peace to your friends. We need you, Equestria needs you. You have the power of the Silver Element within you, and if you could harness it, you can help us to save the world."

"Exactly," Spades suddenly pipes up, "that's why the Brotherhood has been searching for you all this time. But not only because you're useful. Equestria misses the pony who could cheer everyone up with ease. The pony who made friends with everyone, and gave hope to us all. We all miss you Pinkie Pie. Can you please come back to us?"

"Wait, who are you?" Scatter suddenly asks before Pinkie can even respond. Walking up to Spades, he adds, "If you're a member of the Brotherhood, why haven't Bri or I heard of you?"

"I'm new actually," she laughs, "but I can understand. You probably thought I was an agent with all I had said on the train ride. I'm Babe's little sister. He asked me to watch over you two, as well as execute a search of my own. I wasn't to tell you though. Not sure why on that part. Probably could've gone a lot smoother, ya know? Either way, Babe's coming here soon. I received a note shortly before coming here. Well, it was a reply really. I found Pinkie and had let him know. So he's going to be coming with Cheese and Coco to discuss our next move. He'll be here in the morning, so let's head out. Bri, Scatter, you two return to Goldie's. Pinkie Pie, you go with them."

She then turns to Cupcake and asks, "What about you, sir?" Smiling, Cupcake trots over and closes the cell door, remaining inside. He explains that even though he's innocent, he's not going to leave prison. He'll stay and wait for his trial so he can prove his innocence and get out the right way. Nodding, Spades then looks down at the unconscious Chief Skye. "Well, about him. He should still be fine when he wakes up. A little banged up, but no serious injuries. The video cameras will let the officers know exactly what happened. We need to head out though. This task of the Brotherhood is now over."

****************************************************************************************************

As the four of them (Bri, Scatter, Spades, and Pinkie Pie) walk up to the platform of the Trottingham train station, they see the large train pulling into the station, the brakes screeching to a halt and the doors swinging open. It's hard to believe on such a beautiful morning that they were confronted by an agent of Oblivion just last night. It was such a harrowing experience for all of them, especially Pinkie Pie. She was forced to confront the demons that had been plaguing her for fifteen years. She had to realize that this wasn't her fault, and that there was nothing she could do to stop what happened.

It was hard for her. She DID blame herself for fifteen years. She had come to believe that the deaths of her three friends, and the disappearance of another, were because of her. Because she didn't do anything to stop them. But with the help of these new friends, and even a long missed old one, she came to understand that it's now her mission to help avenge these friends and save the world from an evil force threatening to destroy it.

Now she walks alongside these other three, going to meet two more old friends, and one she had never even met before, but only heard of. As they continue forward, they see the three ponies they're meeting hop off the train. Babe Chenko leads the group, draped in his typical attire. Following him is Cheese Sandwich, who's dressed in a similar way to when he and Pinkie competed in the goof off. Then there's Coco Pommel, who's dressed in a beautiful pink chapeau.

As the three walk forth, Cheese runs to Pinkie and the two embrace in a loving hug. The others walk up to Spades, Bri, and Scatter, greeting them respectfully. After Cheese and Pinkie release each other, they join the group as well. Looking between everypony, Babe smiles and tells Spades, Bri, and Scatter, "Thank you all, you've done well." He then turns to Pinkie Pie and gives a courteous bow, to which Pinkie blushes and shakes her head violently, telling him to stop.

"Um...Babe?" Bri suddenly asks, gathering the attention of the Brotherhood's leader.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you tell us about Spades before? We thought she was an agent of Oblivion."

"Honestly?" he asks, doing something they've never seen him do before and laughing, "I wanted to test you. I kept her identity secret to see if you'd always be on your guard, and keep the secret I asked you to. Per Spades report, I can see you did very well. And by the fact that Miss Pinkie Pie is here with you three, I can see it worked out well in the end."

"Wow...well, alright then," Bri replies, confused but at the same time really pleased that they've done a good job in their mission.

However, Babe suddenly interrupts her and adds, "But, there's something I need to discuss with you. Actually two very important things. First, Scatter and Bri. You two passed my test and have more than proven your ability to follow instructions and even take charge when the need arises. At the same time, despite proving yourselves to be valuable followers AND leaders, you don't act distant from emotion. You let everypony know how you're feeling. You fight for what you believe in, and care about others in a very healthy way. So, I want to promote both of you. You are now the leaders of the Brotherhood's Ponyville Guard. You will be tasked with running a group of the Brotherhood within Ponyville, as well as protecting Pinkie Pie. The forces of Oblivion will not give up on trying to take her from you. I'd suggest getting some very strong followers."

Bowing to Babe in respect and thankfulness, Bri and Scatter nod in agreement, the latter telling him, "We've got a good set of friends who can do a lot for our cause."

"I'm glad. Now, onto our second matter of business," Babe notes, turning serious once again, "our members have seen the various agents of Oblivion across all of Equestria during this recent search. They're getting much more active, and this means that Oblivion's preparing to make his move. I surmise that within the span of only two weeks, he will attack. We need to be ready to make our stand as well. Obviously this goes into your first task as leaders, to gather an army of members to fight for Ponyville. But also, we need you to find the last remaining Element of Harmony. It will be essential in taking Oblivion down."

"I've got an idea, sir," Bri says, stepping forward. Babe smiles and nods, giving her permission to speak, at which she explains, "Ponyville currently has a militant task force. Their main goal was to protect the town and help find Princess Aurora. They would be perfect members of the Brotherhood. If we were to merge their forces into ours, we would definitely have a hometown advantage."

Laughing, Babe nods and replies, "Excellent idea. Now, before we head out, there's one more thing to take care of." Turning to Pinkie Pie, he walks up to her and stares into her eyes. She can see pain, but gentleness. Sorrow, and yet determination. This is a stallion who has seen some shit, yet he comes back from it and works to protect others from the forces of evil. He does what's right, even when it's hard for him. Suddenly, he extends his hoof to Pinkie and asks, "Pinkamena Diane Pie, bearer of the magic of the Silver Element and multiple time hero to Equestria. Will you join our cause? Will you fight for your kingdom to not only save your remaining and new friends, but the world as a whole?"

The platform goes silent. Though there is still the large, loud train beside them, and the ponies walking and talking about, it's as if the entire world as been muted as they watch the pink mare, awaiting her answer. Cheese Sandwich, Coco Pommel, Spades, Bri Happer, Scatter Brain, and Babe Chenko. All of them stand there, smiling at the former party pony with a smile. Then, closing her eyes, Pinkie Pie thinks back to the fun times she had with all of her friends. She remembers making dresses with Rarity, racing Rainbow Dash around town, and helping Applejack harvest the apples. She remembers the tea parties with Fluttershy and the late night study sessions with Twilight. Spike, Lyra, Bon Bon, Berry Punch, Cranky, Matilda, Sugar Belle, Party Favor, Gilda, the CMC, and so many more ponies that she had loved and cherished all those years ago. Some are gone. Some remain. All those memories...and all the ones she wants to make again. Smiling for the first time in fifteen years, Pinkie Pie raises her hoof and firmly presses it against Babe's. A determined smile expression stretches across her face as she nods, and with conviction in her voice, tells them all, "PARTY ON!"