The alarm was raised by the Guards, who were still on the verge of panic by their experience. Upon returning to the hospital and finding no sign of either Princess Celestia or any cloaked kidnappers, the responding Guards immediately began a canvass of the hospital and surrounding area. A pair of pegasi found an abandoned cart in a dead-end alleyway nearby, filled with hay and a tarp, and some stray multicolored hairs from Celestia's mane, with a discarded package of heart medicine nearby. A set of wheeltracks in the mud led away from the cart. Unfortunately, the trail ran out before it led anywhere. Even the doctors and other hospital staff proved to be no help, all of them stating that around midnight, they had all developed a sudden dread of the hallway where Princess Celestia's room was.

As dawn approached, Princess Luna ordered a city-wide search to take place. All travel outside of Canterlot, from trains and airships to chariots, carts and hoof travel, was immediately halted and every available Guard was summoned to the Palace at once to join in the search.

Twilight hurried into the main room of the Palace, a bleary-eyed Spike and a hastily-dressed Flash following behind. The other five girls were already there, each of them looking as worried as Twilight felt. All around them, several Guards were gathered into groups, standing as they waited for instructions, conversing with superiors, planning out routes and areas to search. The constant chatter reminded Twilight of the blustery wind before a storm: the mood was grim, almost tense, like a match being held above a set of tinder.

"What are we going to do?" Rarity declared, still wearing a fluffy bathrobe and her hair in curlers.

"We're going to find Princess Celestia!" Rainbow Dash declared, her wings buzzing with nervous energy.

"But Canterlot is huge! She could be anywhere by now!" Rarity said in alarm.

"And she's already hurt!" Fluttershy added.

"Getting your hair in a tangle isn't gonna help any," Applejack said, trying to restore calm to the situation. "Listen, Celestia needs our help now, and we're not gonna get anywhere by panicking." There was a pause while everypony gathered themselves, then Applejack turned to Twilight. "So, what's the plan, Twilight?"

Twilight was tired, stressed and afraid. But she was also a Princess, and had to be able to take control in a situation like this. She could do this: she had once before, during the invasion of the Everfree Forest. Taking a breath, she stilled her emotions, drawing deep in her sense of confidence. "I'll check with Captain Polaris. All of you just stay calm and we'll figure out what needs to happen." So saying, Twilight walked over to the other side of the room, maintaining her mask of calmness the whole way. She could feel the eyes of the Guards on her as she passed, knowing that they were looking to her for guidance; she could not afford to have them lose faith in her.

On the way, she passed by the two Guards that had been assigned to protect Celestia. Both of them were ashen-faced, their heads bent with shame, having already received a stern talking-to from Captain Polaris. Their helmets had been removed and were placed on the floor beside them. The other Guards were all ignoring them. Upon seeing them, Twilight felt a momentary surge of outrage. How dare they abandon their posts, go back on the vow they had taken? Didn't they know what duty meant? Didn't they care if Princess Celestia was in danger?

But when they saw her, both of the Guards immediately knelt, their faces to the floor. "Your Highness, please forgive us," the more senior Guard said in a soft, almost quivering voice.

Hearing the genuine shame and remorse in his voice, Twilight felt her anger dissipate somewhat, but she still gave them her sternest look. "What happened? Why did you run?"

"We were just...so afraid," the other Guard replied, unable to look up. "There was this noise, it got louder and louder, and it just made us so scared."

"And then his face...dear God, his face..." the sergeant added, shivering at the memory.

Seeing the terrified Guards, realizing that their fear had been both genuine and stronger than she thought, made Twilight think of something. Could it be...?

No. She couldn't consider that possibility. The idea of Celestia being in his hooves was too terrible to think about. Just concentrate on finding her and getting her home safely.

"It'll be all right, you two," she finally said. "Just...if you think of anything else, let me know right away."

"Yes, Your Highness," both Guards replied, bowing again. Twilight proceeded over to Captain Polaris, who was deep in conversation with his lieutenants, discussing a plan of attack. All of the officers knelt at Twilight's approach.

"Captain. What is the plan?" Twilight said shortly.

"We're going to divide Canterlot into different sections and go through each one with a door-to-door, asking if anypony has seen anything suspicious," Polaris explained, indicating the map of Canterlot with an overlaid grid. "Any abandoned areas are to be thoroughly searched, as are all train cars and outgoing vessels, and the Investigative Division has got a list of ponies that should be questioned. You and your friends can help by working with our squads on searches."

"We can do that," Twilight nodded. "What about Luna? She could be a target as well."

"Don't worry. Silent Knight will make sure that she stays in her chambers. He's one of the few ponies that she'll listen to in times like this."

The plan made, Polaris walked to the center of the room to address the Guards. The chatter died almost instantly as the soldiers snapped to attention, all of them facing their grim-faced leader.

"Who here is afraid?" Polaris said, looking around the room. His voice was even and soft, but carried into every ear as if he was standing next to everypony, speaking directly to them.

Fluttershy raised her hoof almost instantly, followed by Spike's claw. After a moment, to everyone's surprise, Polaris raised his hoof. Encouraged, several other Guards raised their hooves.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Polaris said, his blue eyes sparking with emotion. "Fear gives you strength. Fear keeps you going. Use your fear. Harness it. And do your duty to your Princess and to Equestria! We will find Princess Celestia if we have to turn this city inside out! Right?!"

"YES, SIR!" the entire room chorused in one voice. "FOR PRINCESS CELESTIA AND FOR EQUESTRIA!"

The Guards hurried out of the Palace and into the streets of Canterlot, with Twilight and her friends following them. Above them, the sun began to slowly rise above the horizon, it's light crawling up towards the sky. From her balcony in the castle, Princess Luna looked out over the city, eyes watering with tears as she struggled with the sun.

Sister, where are you?

"Well, if you see anything suspicious, please let us know right away," Flash said for the umpteenth time several hours later as he, Twilight and Spike exited the Sofa and Quills shop, the worried clerk watching them leave.

As they walked out into the empty cobbled street, Spike sighed. "This is getting us nowhere!" he declared, throwing his claws up in frustration. "There's no telling what's happening to Celestia now!"

"Spike, I know this looks bad," Twilight said, trying to keep calm. "But we're doing what we can. We—"

She was interrupted by a crashing noise from up ahead. Two pegasi were just emerging from a jewelry store, their hooves laden with stolen jewelry. Upon spotting an alicorn and a Guard up ahead, they immediately took to flight, soaring into the sky with their ill-gotten gains. "Hey!" Flash shouted, starting to chase after them.

"Leave them," Twilight said reluctantly, causing Flash to trip and land on his face. He gathered himself back up, briefly glad that the streets were mostly empty. "We have other things to do," Twilight said. The trio continued down the street, pausing at every door to question the inhabitants if they had seen or heard anything suspicious. Always, they were greeted with wide, frightened eyes and quivering voices. Always, the answer was no, they hadn't seen anything, and they were really worried about Princess Celestia and what was going to happen if they didn't find her?

As if they needed reminding of it.

The hours crawled on, the sun trailing across the sky as if mocking them. They passed the Canterlot Courthouse, which had a message graffitied in bright red paint sprawled across the white marble mall: "NEVER ANOTHER SUNRISE." An abandoned can of spray paint lay on the ground next to the still-drying paint. Down a side street, a burglar alarm rang incessantly, the bells echoing endlessly down the street. Nopony responded.

Up ahead, they saw a squad of Royal Guards marching down the street. With a surge of concern, Flash noticed that all of them were equipped with riot gear, including batons sheathed at their sides and reinforced plastic shields across their backs.

"ATTENTION!" the squad leader was shouting through a megaphone. "BY ORDER OF PRINCESS LUNA, A DOOR TO DOOR SEARCH IS TAKING PLACE. PLEASE REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE AND REMAIN CALM. THE ROYAL GUARD ASKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION TO MAINTAIN PEACE—"

The sergeant was interrupted when a glass bottle came hurtling out of a nearby alleyway, striking him on the side of the head and knocking his helmet askew.

"You can't keep us safe!" a young unicorn shouted from the alley, hurling another bottle at the Guards. "You can't even protect your own Princess!"

Two of the Guards broke off from the group and chased after him, forcing him to turn and run down the alley. The rest of the Guards continued down the street, spreading out to knock at doors.

"This is bad," Flash said as he led Twilight and Spike down another road. "The way things are going, sooner or later somepony's going to do something stupid and all hell's gonna break loose."

"Why would ponies act like this?" Spike asked.

"Because they're afraid," Twilight responded. "Ponies will act irrationally when they're scared."

"There's somepony here that Investigative Division wants us to talk to," Flash said, checking his notebook. He pointed at a large shop sitting between two apartment buildings. The wooden sign hanging above the door, swinging creakily in the breeze, read "Dirt Nap, Undertaker."

"This is a shady character," Flash said as they approached the shop. "We've suspected him of being involved in smuggling for years, but haven't been able to prove anything. However, he's known to take the heart medication that was found near the cart."

"What kind of smuggling?" Spike asked.

"Drugs, weapons, contraband...ponies," Flash added quietly. Twilight and Spike both blanched as Flash opened the door to the undertaker's office and entered.

For a funeral parlor, the place was well-maintained. There was a crystal chandelier hanging from the roof and flickering lamps and candles provided further illumination. There were pots of brightly-colored flowers on both sides of the door, and expensive-looking, exquisitely carved coffins on display on raised dais' all around the wide room. In the very center of the room was a very large white coffin, carved with images of roses. A sign next to it read "Service tomorrow 12:00 for our dear departed friend, White Rosebud."

"Can I help you?" a voice croaked out. Spike leapt off of Twilight's back with a yelp and hid behind her as Dirt Nap, a skinny pony with muddy brown fur and greasy midnight black hair with a mustache sauntered up behind them. His tombstone gray eyes glittered as he smiled, revealing several golden teeth. He wore a formal black suit and bow tie with a rose in the buttonhole, and his cutie mark was a gravestone.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle," he said in a low, slimy croak, affecting a bow. "How can I help you—" Then he saw Flash scowling at him and frowned. "Ah. The Royal Guard come snooping around again."

"Mister Nap, I am Corporal Flash Sentry," Flash said formally, trying to look down his nose at the undertaker. This was not very effective, as Flash was actually a bit shorter than Dirt Nap. "I need to ask you a few questions regarding Princess Celestia's disappearance. Where were you last night?"

"Right here," Dirt Nap replied. "Working on Mrs. Rosebud. The funeral is tomorrow at noon, after all, so I had to be ready for the final viewing."

"So you don't know anything about her disappearance?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know who took her, or where she is," Dirt Nap shrugged. A grin spread across his face once more, his eyes glimmering rather nastily. "I only know where she and everypony else is going..." He gestured to the coffin with the roses in the center of the room. Behind Twilight, Spike swallowed nervously.

"Well, if there's nothing suspicious here, you won't mind if we look around," Flash said coldly.

"Be my guest," Dirt Nap said through a forced grin.

The three ponies began a thorough search of the premises. They checked inside all of the coffins, beneath the tables and inside the closets. Nothing at all. They went downstairs into the cold basement where Dirt Nap prepared the bodies. A vicious concoction of chemical smells assaulted their noses as they entered the room. A metal table sat in the center of the room; the body of a tiny, elderly mare with white hair, yellow-white fur and a cutie mark of a rose was stretched out on it, respectfully covered with a plastic sheet. Cabinets were spread across all the walls, which contained nothing but chemicals. There was no sign of Princess Celestia anywhere.

"I think you've intruded on my work long enough," Dirt Nap finally said. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave so we can both get back to work."

Flash scowled, glaring suspiciously at the undertaker, but Twilight gently touched his shoulder, encouraging him to leave. The trio exited the funeral parlor, Dirt Nap bowing them out with a glittering smile. "I do hope you find her safe and sound," he called after them as he shut the door behind them.

"We should get back to searching," Twilight said, starting away. But Flash hung back momentarily, frowning in thought. Something was nagging at the back of his mind, like a splinter in his skull. Something that he had missed...something wasn't right...

"Flash, come on."

Called back to duty, Flash reluctantly pulled himself away, following Twilight down the still empty streets.

Back within the funeral parlor, Dirt Nap watched them leave through the curtains, a smug smile on his face.

Darkness. All Celestia knew was darkness, hovering on the edge of sleep and wakefulness. She couldn't see or hear. She tried to speak, but no sound came out. She tried to move, but her limbs seemed to be encased in lead: likewise, her horn seemed disconnected from her body, leaving her magic useless.

Where was she?

What was going to happen to her?

Author's Notes:

There is something that Flash missed...did you spot it?

More soon.