As she walked through the corridors of life and death, a morbid fascination descended upon her. A torrent of desire to leave this ephemera behind, to move on, to transcend to other planes. To discover territories anew, where the grip of malevolence was not as firm. A portal came into view of her tortured eyes, inexistent colors marking it in shimmering hues as an escape, a release. A bastion to conceal herself. It was marked with symbols, promising if not freedom then rest, upon a plaque of polished wood.

Janitorial supplies, it read. Twilight Sparkle was confident she might buy herself an hour or two if she hid in there and breathed as quietly as possible.

“Yo Twilight. What’s up? You look all gloomy,” Rainbow Dash observed as she flew to the thoughtful unicorn’s side. So much for that plan.

“Oh gee, you think?” Twilight said, channeling Leaf Stream.

“Yea, totally. What happened? Anything serious?”

Twilight kept walking towards Luna’s room, going as slow as possible, while Rainbow Dash carelessly managed to fly as slow as Twilight walked, a feat which would have left pegasi with an affection for the technical aspects of flight in awe. Twilight held up a sealed envelope in her magic for Rainbow Dash to see.

“What’s that?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“A letter that my mother wrote for Raegdan. I’m doomed.”

“Why?”

Spike chose that moment to appear, running at them from a side corridor. “Hey Rainbow. Hey Twilight. What’s that letter? Want me to send it somewhere?”

“No Spike. Thank you anyways.”

“Who is it for?” the young dragon asked, his little legs easily matching Twilight’s turtle pace.

“That’s what I just asked,” Rainbow said. “Twilight’s mom wrote it for Raegdan apparently, but Twilight hasn’t told me- hey!”

Spike turned round at once and headed the opposite direction, walking much faster than Twilight did. “Sorry Twilight. Good luck,” he shouted in apology behind him.

“Did Spike just run out on you?” Rainbow Dash asked for confirmation, watching the little dragon disappear around a corner.

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“Because he is much smarter than he let’s on.” Twilight ran a critical eye up and down along her friend’s form, looking for signs of distress. “How are you? You’re not still upset over yesterday, are you?”

“Eh, not that much,” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof, feeling a little ashamed over her collapse yesterday. “I mean, it’s sad that the guy died, but I’m glad it wasn’t because of me. Velvet said that even if I had just knocked him out, Raegdan would have killed him on the spot anyway.” Rainbow Dash’s not-so-honest grin faded as she looked ahead.

Twilight took a turn to the left, heading for Luna’s room the long way. Apart from giving her more time until she met her gruesome fate, it also meant that they didn’t have to go past a certain broken window that had been hastily built over during the night.

“I was talking with Cast Iron this morning,” Rainbow Dash suddenly said.

“Really?” Twilight said, surprised.

“Yeah. He’s not a bad guy to hang out with. Turns out he’s had a bit of a hard time coming to terms with the griffin he killed. He’s been feeling pretty guilty about it.” Rainbow Dash spoke quietly, reserved actually. Respectfully. Thoughtfully. Twilight had never seen Rainbow act like that. She seemed to be paying more attention to what was inside her head rather than outside.

Twilight thought back to yesterday. What Rainbow Dash said rang a bell. Her mother had mentioned something about Cast Iron, hadn’t she? She did. She felt ashamed of the fact that she hadn’t been paying enough attention then. She didn’t give the minotaur’s troubles the importance they deserved, too caught up in her own.

“He talked about it with my mom too,” Twilight noted.

“Yeah, he told me about it. He hadn’t been meaning to do it you know.”

“Talk to my mom?”

“Kill that griffin,” Rainbow Dash explained, still looking forward. She flapped her wings harder for a second before folding them in the air and landing softly next to Twilight, walking alongside her. “He never used a bow before. He was actually trying to aim for a wing. It was blind luck he shot him.”

“I wonder if he can be a Lunar guard after all,” Twilight contemplated.

“He’s been asking that himself, but he says he wants to go through with it. Mostly, he really wants to do the training now. He says he wants to learn how to handle himself, how to use weapons, the whole thing.”

“That’s weird. I would have thought the whole experience would have turned him off.”

Rainbow nodded fervently, pointing at Twilight with her wing. “Right? I thought so too, but you know why he still wants to go through with it? So next time he can actually aim right or know where to hit, stuff like that. He doesn’t want to leave Solid Charge on his own, not when Solid Charge followed Cast Iron all the way to Equestria and they ended up poor on the streets trying to make a living because of him.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Twilight said, finally understanding his reasoning. “Proper training and practice would definitely reduce the potential for accidents.”

Rainbow Dash nodded again in agreement. They kept walking slowly, almost crawling, in amiable silence until Rainbow Dash broke it with a bang.

“I want to join them in as much of their training as I can,” she declared.

Twilight almost physically fell down due to Rainbow’s conversational trip. She had to force her tongue and jaw to cooperate. They seemed to be stalling quite a bit.

“What do you mean?” Twilight breathed out, still in shock.

“You know, when they go into the Everfree Forest and stuff like that. Look, Cast Iron’s got the right idea. I mean, I could have been the one who killed that stallion,” Rainbow said. Twilight forcefully closed her mouth and kept her expression neutral, careful not to reveal anything, but Rainbow Dash wasn’t paying attention luckily. She looked forward instead, gesturing wildly with hooves and wings.

“I’ve gotten into a few scuffles, and I think I’ve been doing well for myself. That’s not what worries me though. I mean, remember the tournament? Those two pegasi that fought before Raegdan came out? They were pros, they weren’t trying to kill each other, and one of them almost cut off the other’s wing. Do you know how many times I’ve kicked somepony? Plenty enough,” Rainbow Dash said, suddenly ashamed as she realized what that meant about herself. “Point is, I think I’m awfully lucky I haven’t broken anypony’s neck, poked out an eye, or sent anypony to the hospital yet.”

Rainbow Dash turned to face Twilight, worry and fear in her eyes. “I got hold of Raegdan after I talked with Cast Iron. I asked him if something could go wrong if you hit somepony on the head for example. Turns out it totally can if you don’t know how, or hit at the wrong spot, or too hard.” Rainbow Dash’s voice trembled with the heavy burden of knowledge and hindsight. “Did you know you can make somepony deaf if you hit their ears wrong? That they could try to dodge, and you might hit their throat and their windpipe could collapse, or their eye could actually dislocate, that if you hit hard enough you can damage their brain and- and- There is no end to what might happen to them then. They might end up unable to use or feel limbs, see, hear, they could have problems for life that you can’t even imagine!”

“He really got to you, didn’t he?” Twilight said, sympathetically.

Rainbow nodded wholeheartedly. “He gave me a few tips when he realized that I got sca- worried. He told me to avoid hitting soft tissue too hard or deep, or simply go for the limbs if I don’t want to kill anypony. Break somepony’s leg and the fight’s over. He told me to avoid hard hits on the chest near the heart, or the head and neck if I don’t actually want them dead. He told me however that if somepony actually tries to kill me and I can’t run, to forget all that stuff and go for the throat, joints, eyes, wings if they have them so I can have the advantage, and if I get a good chance to really kick their ribcage from the side I should take it. He said since I can fly I should try to hit their spine from above, stuff like that.”

“That’s what he told you?” Twilight said, aghast. “How to kill ponies? Rainbow, I’ll have a talk with him and-”

“No, no!” Rainbow said quickly. “That’s exactly what I need! I didn’t know this stuff and that was off the top of his head. Way I figure it, and Cast Iron says that’s what Solid Charge told him too, if you know what to do to kill somepony then you also know what to avoid doing. Some actual training wouldn’t be amiss either,” Rainbow admitted. “I should have taken a second to look at the guy instead of just charging in and kicking him like I always do. I know some martial arts, but all it amounted to is fancy kicking. They never told me all that stuff.”

“I don’t know what to say Rainbow. This isn’t really my field. If you think that’s a good idea…”

“I do!” Rainbow said instantly.

“Then go ahead. It sounds reasonable enough the way you explain it.”

“Thanks Twilight. That means a lot. Do you, uh, think you can help me convince Raegdan to let me tag along when they start their training?”

“I’ll… try. Sure. I’ll do everything I can,” Twilight promised.

“Thanks Twilight. You’re the best. Raegdan will probably agree if you tell him so. Speaking of which, what’s in that letter?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh, come on. You can tell me.”

Twilight didn’t say anything else on the matter, despite Rainbow Dash’s insistence. It was hard, but she managed to resist the majestic siren call of “oh, come on, tell me,” repeated every five seconds. They finally reached Luna’s room, where Twilight believed there could a little peace for a few minutes.

It was a circus.

Hewn Laurel, the lone doctor allowed to treat Luna, was covered from horn to hoof in dust, and his chest and front hooves were smeared with a grey paste. He kept his eyes downcast and often enough he would turn to the side and take long, deep breaths, his eyes on the verge of tears. His lips trembled as he put his whole being into keeping his hooves steady. Luna’s cast on her leg had vanished, and the doctor pony was currently working on setting a new one.

Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Applejack stood aside, looking on thoroughly amused, yet trying to keep themselves quiet. Except for Pinkie Pie. She was rolling on the floor without the slightest sense of embarrassment.

Perhaps she should have understood something was going on when she spotted the thestral guards outside forcefully twist their own wings in an attempt to remain stoic.

Luna was lying on the bed. Her coat and mane were slightly damp and the sheets beneath her had taken a darker, wet tone. She was covered with a thin film of the same white paste the doctor was, only in her case she was drenched in the stuff. Her coat had taken a strange, blue-gray hue. She did not look happy, though the only hint was the furrow of her brows. Her mouth was busy clamping down on Raegdan’s wrist.

Raegdan was also wet and covered in the filth. He was talking to Luna, trying to calm her down. His attempts were not successful enough, going by the small lines of red that ran down his wrist.

“What did we miss?” Twilight asked. For some reason, extremely peculiar as it may be, she wasn’t that astounded from the sight that welcomed her in. As surprises go, she had bigger ones recently.

“This fool,” Luna said as clearly as possible while maintaining a toothy grip on Raegdan’s bleeding wrist, “allowed my cast to get wet and it dissolved in the water.” The reason the doctor had been covered in the stuff became clear as Luna’s hoof escaped his hold to point at Raegdan, spraying her surroundings with unsolidified plaster.

“I didn’t do anything of the kind,” Raegdan protested. “You are the one who let herself fall whole into the bathtub!”

“Dare not blame this on me. I was getting comfortable! It was your responsibility to look after me, was it not?”

“I thought your cast was either waterproof or, I don’t know, maybe it had a spell on it?”

“It- it did have a spell on it actually,” the doctor said, struggling to keep his voice even.

“See? Not my fault!” Raegdan said, feeling justified.

“I do see. Remind me, what happens when spells come into contact with your person?”

“I forgot, ok? I’m sorry, but I forgot. Please let go now?”

“No. If the bone’s setting gets displaced and I have to recommence my healing you shall accompany me at once,” Luna growled, her teeth biting into his flesh.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a real bitch sometimes?”

“Has anypony ever told thee thou whine like one?”

Twilight stopped paying attention to the bickering couple. “I suppose somepony spoke to the reporters? I haven’t seen any of them outside for a while.”

“Solid Charge. He told them a fan tried to sneak into Luna’s room and fell out of a window while running away from security,” Rarity said.

Twilight frowned. “What if the nurses or doctors say the truth?”

“They don’t mind.” Rarity carefully stepped back to make sure she was outside Luna’s splash zone. “Not as long as they have a day or two to have some results first instead of admitting they know absolutely nothing.”

The doctor tending Luna had a knowing smirk on his lips. “May I ask princess, how did your guard come into contact with the cast while it was in the water?”

Luna’s cheeks flamed, and Applejack put a hoof over her lips to choke her guffaws. “Just… an unfortunate mishap. A bad moment,” Luna said.

“Right, of course,” Hewn Laurel said at Luna’s declaration that voided all her previous claims. “Not my place to ask after all.” He coughed, glancing at Raegdan and openly winked at him. “Your cast is ready princess. May I suggest you hold off on any… extraneous activities until it has sufficiently dried at the very least?”

“What? No, you misunderstand, we didn’t-” Raegdan tried to say.

“Will you need stitches for that bite sir?” The doctor asked. “Or perhaps any others not in plain view?”

“Uh, no, but listen, we-”

“In that case there is no poundi- I mean pressing need for me to di- stick around. Princess, by your grace.” The poor pony didn’t actually wait for dismissal. Seeing the stunned look of realization on Luna’s face he opted for a quick getaway instead, biting on his lips all the while.

Luna sank back into her bed with a pained groan.

The door opened again almost immediately. Leaf Stream, Solid Charge, and Cast Iron walked inside with four thestrals behind them. Twilight and the girls backed up a bit. The room was large, meant for plenty of patients, but it was starting to get crowded nevertheless.

“So, is there a reason your doctor was choking on his own spit out there or are we better off not knowing?” Leaf Stream asked.

“The second one,” Raegdan answered. He was wrapping a new bandage over the one that Luna’s teeth had shredded. “You couldn’t wait until we got cleaned up a bit, could you? Are these the ones joining?”

“Yep,” Leaf Stream said, slapping one of the thestrals in the back. “Kind of green as thestrals go admittedly, but Silverwing says they’re good material nevertheless.” Raegdan and Luna answered her with blank stares. “I mean rookies. Green. Not very experienced. They’re still fresh, you know?”

“Ah. A modernism.”

“I’m... not that familiar with Equestrian military jargon.”

Leaf Stream cleared her throat, disguising a small laugh. “Ok then. We all learned something today. Let me introduce the kids. This is Echo,” she said, pointing at a youngest stallion. “This one’s Duskblade.” A young mare saluted, her mane uncharacteristically white. “This sweet thing here is Cutting Wind.” Another mare, this one had the dark grey-blue coat that almost all thestrals had, and a dark blue mane, with a self-assured smirk. “And last but not least, Skullcrusher. That name’s kinda weird to any of you or is it just me?” she asked, presenting a stallion with a small beard and red mane.

“Pretty sweet names I think,” Rainbow Dash piped up.

Raegdan was looking thoughtfully at the new recruits, especially Skullcrusher, with the back of his hand rubbing against his chin. He bent down to whisper in Luna’s ear, making her laugh. He addressed the thestrals in front of him.

“Alright, show of hooves. Which one of you gave your actual name?”

The thestrals glanced guiltily at each other. None of them raised their hoof. Leaf Stream glared at them, muttering about being made an idiot. The spectators in the back, meaning Twilight and her friends, laughed as silently as possible.

Minus Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie of course.

“Ok then. Real names?” Raegdan asked.

“Drum Beat,” the former Echo said.

“Night Lilly.”

“I’m, uh, Broken Gust…”

The ferociously named Skullcrusher bowed his head. “...My name’s Cradle Song…” he whispered.

Luna was snickering in her bed while Raegdan was rubbing the ridge of his nose, looking discouraged. “You will serve adequately,” Luna said, her words bringing a semblance of life back to the new recruits. “Due to current events,” Luna said while lifting her new cast a little higher, “real training will be delayed for a few weeks, but we will try to arrange something nevertheless. For the time being you will mostly serve under Solid Charge’s command.”

“Excuse me,” Night Lilly said, raising a hoof. “The, uh, this one is the commander right?” She pointed at Raegdan. “Does that make Solid Charge captain or…”

“That makes Solid Charge Commander of the Lunar Guard,” Luna cleared up. “You are dismissed for now. We shall have need of you later. Oh, and please, do not try something similar, even as amusing as it was.”

Properly chastised, and under the not-so-quiet snickers of a few ponies, the newest members of Luna’s guard marched out, looking hopeful once more and with eyes that played scenes of glory and worthy battles. Twilight hoped fervently it would turn out as they imagined in their dreams.

The memory of the last Lunar Guard’s fate was still fresh in her mind.

“How come you didn’t want to keep the thestrals Silverwing suggested?” Leaf Stream asked.

“I am not comfortable with taking their most experienced ponies at this time, and since you all will need training anyway, they shall do,” Luna answered.

“Ok princess. Oh, I forgot. I told Eventide we saved a spot for her.”

“How is she?” Luna asked, concerned.

“Like an anvil fell on her. Won’t let that slow her down though, I tell you that. Some cracked ribs, a little internal bleeding, a ton of bruises, and a couple painful gashes. She needs some time but we could take her with us to Manehattan as long as we don’t push her until she heals.”

“Good. I was impressed by her fortitude and strength of will. Yes Solid Charge? Do you have something to say?”

Solid Charge approached Luna. “I believed that by this point Raegdan would reassume the role of commander. How long am I supposed to continue to serve in this capacity?”

Luna smiled craftily in her moist bed. “How does “for the foreseeable future” sound? Don’t be so surprised. Now that our cards are a little more open you can see that Raegdan is not the best possible choice to lead, while you have proven yourself steady and resolute in your duties. You will be having some help of course. We do need a captain I guess. Leaf Stream will take this role.”

“Wait, what? No, no, no-”

“This is not negotiable,” Luna continued, smirking. “I’ve been told of your superb performance while the Leviathan attacked Baltimare-”

“I bucking knew that would bite me in the flank!”

“Quite. Raegdan and I will be giving our aid whenever possible of course. Any questions? Before you ask Leaf Stream, no, I won’t be changing my mind any time soon.”

Leaf Stream lowered her hoof, grumbling.

“I have two,” Solid Charge said, raising two digits of his thick fingers. “Why the change Princess Luna? You said before that Raegdan was going to be the commander.”

“True. I did. Considering that he has… hmm… how to put this?” Luna gazed upwards, scratching her chin.

Raegdan sighed. “Considering what has happened twice so far we decided it’s better this way, and you make a much better public face than I do.”

“I have no experience as an officer,” Solid Charge countered.

“Wing it. I did the same thing the first time I ordered an army around. We’re not going to be anything like the Royal or Solar Guard. We’ll be figuring out a lot of things as we go.”

“Your second question, my Commander?” Luna asked, playful.

“What is he going to do then?” Solid Charge asked, pointing at Raegdan.

“What he has done so far,” Luna said. “He will help train you, relay my own orders, defend me, take up his own tasks, but mostly stay by my side and serve me.”

Leaf Stream muttered something under her lips. Twilight heard a couple of words and it was easy enough to understand what she meant in context. She ignored it entirely, choosing to believe she only heard gibberish.

Solid Charge worked his jaw as if trying to dislodge something nasty that had stuck in his teeth. “I’d like to put it on record that while I understand the wisdom of this decision, I do not agree with my appointment in this position.”

“We don’t keep records, do we?” Luna asked Raegdan, confused. “Either way, to work. We have a number of tasks to undertake.”

Leaf Stream tilted her neck, working off a few kinks with a cracking sound. “About time. I’m so seriously sick of being stuck in here, and if that ain’t ironic I don’t know what is. What are we doing? Are we beating somepony up? Did we find who tried to mess with us yesterday?”

“In some capacity. Celestia did not refrain from aiding us in her own way. She has identified the culprit.” Raegdan gave a thin folder to Luna. The princess briefly opened it to take a short look. “She has also sent the Royal Guard to search his abode. Unfortunately there’s nothing to help us on both accounts. The attacker was a former Royal guard named Split Second. He served in the local regiment for six years. He was removed from the Guard and found an occupation as a dockworker a few years ago.”

“Why was he removed?” Twilight asked.

“I believe the cause was multiple counts of inebriation.” Luna opened the folder again, removing one of the sheets inside. “Yes, he repeated the offense eight times in the three months before his expulsion. Aside from that he served gallantly.”

“What about his family?” Applejack asked. “Don’t they know anything?”

“Divorced,” Raegdan said. “His ex-wife and two kids left for Fillydelphia couple of years back. No one else. Didn’t even have friends. So that’s a dead end. I doubt the family knows anything.”

Luna nodded along. “Indeed. The search of his belongings left us with almost no clue either. No letters or any signs of communication, no signs that he was planning anything, no hidden stash of bits. It was almost insulting in its lack of evidence of any wrongdoing. There was nothing incriminating in the slightest.”

“You want to explain that “almost no clue” bit a little?” Leaf Stream asked.

“It was too clean. To make a point; We know he was an alcoholic, yet there was not even a single bottle there. In our opinion somepony already went through there to make sure we would not find anything at all.” Luna glanced at her own coat. “Which reminds me, maybe we should have done this later. I must look like a quarry worker.”

“You’re fine,” Raegdan said. “We’ll clean up later before I go.”

“Too bad you killed the guy,” Rainbow Dash said. Twilight felt Applejack go rigid next to her, same as she did. “He could have told you everything.”

Raegdan shrugged. “That bomb would have killed him too. He was either a fanatic or an idiot. I’d never trust anything he said either way.”

Solid Charge brought them back to the matter at hoof. “I refuse to believe there is nothing we can follow through. The stallion, this… Split Second was obviously a tool, not the mind behind the attack. Someone cleared his house of all evidence, someone helped him subdue one of the thestrals, and someone supplied him with the bomb.”

“Right on all counts,” Raegdan congratulated him. “And normally we would really have nothing to follow on, but…” Raegdan knelt behind Luna’s bed and lifted up a large metal sphere, two times the size of his fist. He laid it at the bottom of Luna’s bed, where everypony could see it. The bed groaned at the added weight.

“...That’s the bomb, isn’t it?” Leaf Stream asked in an even tone. Fluttershy eeped and took cover behind Pinkie Pie.

“No need to worry everypony, it is safe,” Twilight said, trotting forward. She pointed at the runes that covered the entirety of the sphere. “I know it looks complicated, but these runes are a repeating pattern that collects and stores ambient magic. The repetitiveness of the runes is what made it gather magic so fast and store so much. The real danger comes from the fact that there is nothing shunting the magic off. The pattern forces the magic to keep collecting until it becomes too much. Fortunately we were able to identify the startup runes and remove them.”

“And this,” Luna said, pointing with her hoof, “is what we have left to find them with.”

Pinkie Pie quickly stepped up and grabbed the metal sphere in her hooves. “Oooh, I gotcha princess. Don’t worry, old Pinkie Pie knows exactly what to do. Ahem.” Pinkie Pie cleared her throat and set to shaking the sphere up and down. “Oh magic rune bomb, who tried to make Luna a jigsaw ghostie?”

Pinkie Pie looked at the top of the inert bomb. “All signs point to Ix-Crie Rune.”

“Ok little pink, enough playing around.” Raegdan took the sphere back and pushed her back towards the rest. Pinkie Pie happily rejoined her friends. Raegdan watched her go, suddenly looking quizzically at the sphere in his hands. “How did she know that rune is called- never mind. Anyway, we got this left. Someone made it, and whoever it was, was good. There can’t be many that can do this kind of work.”

“So if we can find who can craft this…” Twilight said.

“Then we can find those responsible,” Luna finished. “However, I do not hold hope that we will. In fact, I expect them gone already. We will give it a try nevertheless, but I have more in mind for you rather than set you all on hunting a ghost. Raegdan will take Cast Iron with him. The two of them will directly search for the bomb’s creator.”

“And the rest of us?” Solid Charge asked.

“I have a special task for you. You will take Leaf Stream with you. You are going to… audit a few ponies’ assets for me.”

Leaf Stream raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, hey, I didn’t sign up to be a taxpony. There are some depths I refuse to sink to.”

“This is not a joking matter,” Luna said, suddenly stern. “We shall give you a list of names. You are to visit each one and put pressure on them. Search their homes. Intimidate them.”

“What exactly is our objective here?” Solid Charge asked.

“Information. Some of them are under our suspicion for having a connection to various attempts of my life. Some of them might be involved in the latest scheme. You will scrutinize them to the best of your ability. You should keep the exact reason you are there clouded. Keep it unclear whether we actually have something on them. Keep them guessing at all times while you look around.”

“Are they looking for things like poison ingredients?” Cast Iron asked, unexpectedly.

“Cast?” Solid Charge asked, turning to face his friend.

The minotaur lowered his eyes at the sudden attention. “Well, any poison that was used had to come from somewhere and Baltimare is one of the largest- was one of the largest trading hubs, so someone must have bought it from someone else…”

Luna brightened, her smile transforming into a far more sincere one. “Excellent catch Cast Iron. Indeed, that is one of the things I expect you to be looking for. Yes, I want copies of every transaction they have in their books, public or private. Some ponies have seemingly nothing to do with anything shady, but I want them to feel threatened nevertheless. I want them to worry, and I want them to worry their allies in turn. I seek to create ripples, and you will be my stone. If possible, I wish for Rarity to accompany you. Her knowledge of the Canterlot nobility might prove useful when you ransack through their homes in search of connections-”

“Not just Rarity,” Twilight said, stepping forward. “We’re all going along with both Solid Charge and Raegdan.”

“We are?” Applejack asked.

“Twilight? I don’t see the point in-”

Twilight cut Luna off before she could continue and manage to stop her from going forth with her plan. “Ten pairs of eyes are better than four. If this is important, then we should do our best right?”

“I do not see any reason why not to allow this Raegdan. Yes, that will work Twilight.” Raegdan passed Luna a notebook and she continued. “Let us proceed. The first one used to be the primary spice merchant in Baltimare-”

“-you will deliver these messages to those two. It is imperative you do not talk to them any further. We are putting up a show, understand? Look threatening, deliver the according envelope, leave. Any questions?”

“`Bout a few,” Applejack said. “What are we shaking ‘em all about? It seems you want us to just scare them.”

Raegdan leaned back on his chair to snatch an apple out of a fruit bowl behind him. “What happens when you shake an apple tree?” he asked.

“Apples fall down,” Applejack answered.

“Exactly.” He threw the apple in an underarm throw and Applejack caught it with her teeth. “That’s what we are doing. Shake tree, get results.”

Luna spoke up. “Celestia has the Royal Guard inspecting everypony coming and going out of Baltimare, keeping records. If they try to leave the city after your visit we shall know.”

“And if they don’t?” Leaf Stream asked.

“The apple might still fall, though not in Baltimare.”

Leaf Stream struck her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “See now, the little problem you have here is that you expect that apple to fall in Canterlot then. How does that help when all of us are here?”

“Eh, we’ll figure something out. It beats standing around,” Raegdan said, suspiciously nonchalant.

“It all seems pretty vague,” Twilight said, thoughtfully. “You haven’t given us anything explicit to do apart from delivering these two letters. What’s in them anyway?” Twilight lifted them up in her magic.

Raegdan grabbed the sealed envelopes mid-air, the faint purple glow bursting like a bubble at his touch, and gave them to Solid Charge. “A little something to frighten them. A made up ghost story, you can understand. Look, the reason we’re not telling you outright what to do is that we don’t know what you might find or what you see. You’re all smart and have a mind of your own. Use it. Do what you think you have to do. We won’t bog you down with orders.”

Applejack stopped chomping on her snack. “Not that we don’t appreciate the freedom y’all, but really? Just do what we want, all willy nilly?”

“I, for one, work better under unrestricted conditions,” Rarity said. “Though, this isn’t going to take a turn for the worst like last time, will it?”

Rainbow Dash flapped over her. “What are you talking abo-” She glanced at Solid Charge and Cast Iron, looking down in shame. “Oh, right. Gotcha. No worries Rarity, we’ll all stick together.”

“Actually, we can’t. Who’s going with whom?” Twilight asked.

“I think you should all go with Solid Charge,” Raegdan said. “Cast Iron and I will be fine on our own, and truth be told I intend to intimidate a lot of ponies for answers if I think they’re trying to hide anything. I’ll do much better if all I have with me is a minotaur instead of a few mares telling me to be nice all the time.” He turned towards Luna. “Perhaps I could take the new guys with me too if you don’t mind.”

Twilight had her doubts. “Do you really think that’s wise? Scaring ponies?”

Raegdan shrugged. “I could easily just bow my head and apologize for the intrusion every time someone tells me they don’t know anything, but you might not like that very much if they make another bomb and this time it works.”

He had a point. No matter how much Twilight wished he could convince him to try more civil ways, ways that would not reflect badly on him and Luna as this might do, they were pressed for time. As her mother had said, Raegdan’s ways got results, and she didn’t want to see a bomb go off successfully. Even if nopony had been near it, the explosion would have caused the collapse of walls and ceilings, causing harm on ponies -sick or wounded ponies- on the lower floors.

They tried to kill a princess. Luna could have easily forced martial law in Baltimare until the culprits were found if she wanted. Simply intimidating a few ponies seemed tame in comparison. Truth be told… they were taking it particularly tame. Princess Celestia spent an hour yesterday storming around and promising to bring swift retribution to those who attacked her sister. The only reason that Princess Celestia didn’t lock down the city itself was that Luna asked her to let her settle this personally.

“You’re only going to scare them, right?”

Raegdan chewed on his lip thoughtfully, pondering his answer. He sighed. “Ok, fine. I’m only going to scare them. Unless I find our guy. That one I’m going to beat to the ground. Then I’ll bring him over so Luna can have a turn.”

“I can live with that,” Twilight said, fairly satisfied.

“What about the griffin captures? Any word from them yet?” Solid Charge asked.

“Nothing. The only thing they say is that their leader knew everything and didn’t tell them much. Celestia is still grinding them. If they said that much, they might say more,” Raegdan said.

“Any further questions?” Luna asked. “If we’re done I need to take this filth off me-”

“Oh, wait, wait!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Twilight here has a letter for Raegdan!”

Twilight covered her eyes with a hoof, wishing the floor would swallow her. She felt she was owed that much since it didn’t swallow Rainbow before she opened her mouth. “I. Hate. You. So. Much.”

“I don’t get it. What’s the big deal?”

“Letter? What kind of letter?” Raegdan asked with a hint of dread for what a part of him must have known was to come.

Twilight didn’t bother explaining. She took the letter out, and her magic surrendered it to her fellow victim. At least she’d always have company in her torments.

Raegdan read the front of the envelope. “Oh fuck me. That’s from Velvet.”

Luna frowned. “That is peculiar. Why did she not speak to you in person but sent you a letter instead?”

“Because she’s a demon from hell and enjoys seeing me rack myself over the coals by my own volition,” he said, ripping open the envelope. “Let’s see what the Lady of the Damned has in mind for me today…” Something white that wasn’t paper slipped out of the envelope. Raegdan instinctively grabbed it in his hand.

It was a small bar of soap.

“Twilight?” Raegdan asked quietly. “What exactly did you do?”

Twilight groaned, her hooves covering her face in despair. “I might have said a couple of words I shouldn’t have in front of her,” she admitted, understating only the tinsiest tiny bit, from the comforting enclosure of her legs where she didn’t have to see anypony’s reaction.

“Heh, that’s a pretty good gag,” Leaf Stream said. Raegdan was looking contemplatively at the soap in his hand. “Hey, you’re not seriously going to do it, are you?”

“Hmm?” Raegdan lifted his face to Leaf Stream. Twilight lowered her hooves away from her own face, feeling a small dash of hope.

“I mean, it’s all fine and dandy if a foal says something really terrible, my own ma did it to me a couple hundred times, but, you know, full grown mare here? Celestia, you’re not seriously-”

“No, no,” Raegdan said, throwing the bar away from him to an empty bed. “It was just a gag, as you said. She is a grown mare now. She’s… not that little anymore.” He glanced at Twilight, his eyes communicating an apology, and, strangely enough, sorrow. Twilight breathed a little easier. This was not as bad as she thought.

Raegdan unfolded the letter that she had not noticed he had taken out. “Let’s see what your mom wants me to do now. I swear, there is nothing worse than what she… already… has asked… oh, no. She’s outdone herself.”

“Am I going to enjoy this?” Luna asked, trying to get a glimpse of the letter’s contents.

Raegdan was struggling to keep his eyes on the page and not turn away in revulsion and shame. He sniffed the envelope theatrically. “I’m getting a whiff of Celestia in this, I swear. You will probably like that too. She wants me to talk to Twilight about -heavens help me- the natural joy of sex and sharing intimate pleasure with- you know what? I quit. I’m not doing this. Velvet can go “have the natural joy and intimate pleasure sharing” with someone else rather than keep exclusively riding my abused- hello Velvet, how are you?”

“Peachy,” Twilight Velvet said. Through the open door behind her the two thestral guards stood still as statues. “Since you said that you’re going to be busy all day out of the hospital today, I made you all an early lunch. I’m here to pick up your little lads so I can make sure they’ve eaten. You two keep running them around so much, I bet they don’t even have enough time to eat properly. You’re finished with them, aren’t you?”

“Yes Velvet,” Raegdan answered, quickly and obediently.

“Good. Twilight, honey, I know that you are going to be busy for a little while longer, but don’t your friends want to come eat with us?”

“Oooh, oooh, we want to stay and listen! Can we stay and listen, please?” Pinkie Pie begged. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were grinning like madmares as they were nodding along, and Rarity pretended not to be paying attention, though she had entrenched herself among them. Fluttershy was weakly trying to escape Rainbow’s hold and make it to the door, mewling for mercy.

Twilight herself wished Raegdan had never thought to brick over the windows. From the twisting of his lips, so did he.

“I’m a firm believer of encouraging learning if you haven’t guessed so already knowing my little angel,” Velvet said, smiling gently at Pinkie Pie. “Of course you can. Raegdan, Princess Luna, you don’t mind of course, do you?”

“No Velvet,” they chorused.

Velvet stepped aside to let Luna’s guards exit, all three of them hurrying out without looking back, like a bunch of traitors. “I’ve made lunch for you too. I’ll bring it over later. You are both too skinny by half. Especially you Princess Luna. At least your sister seems to eat properly.”

“Yes,” Luna mumbled with some resentment. “It is obvious enough from any angle. Especially from behind.”

“In Luna’s defense, she has lost weight without meaning to,” Raegdan said, pointing to her side where she had somehow lost a piece of flesh. Luna immediately slapped him with the side of her hoof.

“I’ll leave you to your teaching. Oh, and Raegdan?”

“Yes Velvet?”

“Is there something you’d like to tell me in person?”

“No Velvet.”

“Really? Nothing about telling somepony that loves you like a mother to go have something intimate with somepony? I must have imagined it. Oh well. I’ll see you later. Toodles.” The door closed quietly behind her. Twilight waited half a minute in silence before even allowing herself to breathe.

Rainbow Dash coughed, trying to clear her ravaged throat. She took deep breaths, slowly rising up from the floor. “Ok. Ok, I think I got it all out of my system. Hoo, oh Celestia, that look on your face. I thought your eyes would pop out,” she said, still laughing. She was the last one to make it up from the floor.

“It was priceless, I’m sure,” Raegdan said, deadpan. “If we’re done here, I think you should all go and eat. We have work to do afterwards.”

“But what about the loooove lesson?” Pinkie Pie whined.

“There’s not going to be one. This is stupid. I have no idea what Velvet was thinking. Even if I wanted to, and I don’t, I’m not the person to tell you about-” He shook Velvet’s letter. “-this!”

“Oh please, you underestimate yourself,” Rarity said in encouragement. “I bet a stallion like you has had, ah, plenty of occasions to absorb the subject.” Rainbow chortled behind Rarity.

Raegdan looked at her darkly. “What, sex? Oh, I’ve had loads of that. Would you like to take a guess how much of that was consented?”

The humor was ejected out of the room in an instant.

“Not so funny now, is it? Kinda soured the mood, didn’t I?”

“Er, you mean, you have…” Rainbow was more hesitant than anypony had ever seen her, regretting even starting the question.

“I have what?”

“Er, forced-”

Raegdan leaned back in genuine surprise. “What? No! At least, I’m pretty sure I haven’t... Have I? I’m certain that- Ok, what the hell am I doing? Forget all that. Look, the point is I never even really thought about it enough to care about that stuff. I had other things on my mind most of the time.”

Rainbow, and the rest of her friends were immediately relieved, as did Twilight herself. Rainbow Dash wasn’t giving up though and looked awkwardly around, trying to figure out a way to go back to teasing again.

“Ok, well… Uh, what about Princess Luna? I bet she knows a lot?”

“What exactly are you implying?” Luna asked, half lidding her eyes in anger.

“I just, uh, you’re, you know, all about the night…”

“Yes…” Luna prompted.

“And, uh… guys some help here? No? Really? You’ll just leave the Element of Loyalty high and dry? Very swell of you. I mean, that… You know, the whole night thing and… and what happens during that…”

“How is “that” the reason that I should know a lot?” Luna sternly asked, making Rainbow sweat. “Are you saying that I was, what? Watching ponies during their private moments? Is that what you mean? Or are you by any chance trying to insinuate that I was whoring myself?”

“No, no! I meant you got- that you- you had a lot of- I’m really hungry all of a sudden, see you guys later!” Rainbow Dash was out of the room before the words had even registered.

Luna burst in chuckles, joined by Raegdan, with no trace of the anger she had shown before.

“Ya were pulling her leg on purpose, weren’t ya?” Applejack asked, greatly amused.

“Indeed,” Luna answered, wiping her eyes, still laughing. “I have to ask, is that a belief that ponies could have about me?”

“Don’t rightly know,” Applejack said. “It hasn’t come up. Ah got no idea how Rainbow Dash came up with that notion.”

Luna moved her pillows so she could lie lower. “Hmm. An amusing presumption considering I’ve only ever laid once with anypony before my banishment.”

Rarity’s jaw slacked open. “Really?”

“To quote Raegdan; I had other things on my mind most of the time. You girls should really seek counsel elsewhere,” Luna said, mirthly.

The door opened again, and Rainbow Dash creeped back inside, her face a frozen rictus. “Velvet is outside,” she simply said.

Raegdan sighed in defeat and bent almost in half as he slouched on the chair. After a few seconds he slowly stood up in defeat, moving like a broken old pony, holding Velvet’s letter. “The natural joy of sex and-” He paused his mocking speech to glance at the letter on his hand. “-sharing intimate pleasure with your lover. Heavens have no mercy for me, do they?”

He brought his fist in front of his face and coughed, in parody of a lecturer. “Everyone does it, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, most of the time it’s pretty fun, when you love each other you should do each other with the purpose of making both of you feel good, and don’t be a selfish bastard. End of class. Now get the hell out before I demonstrate how to make a noose and then I hang my sorry ass.”

It was quite clear that somepony was reaching the end of his patience, at least temporarily. Twilight and the girls walked out, most of them still snickering, and with Rainbow and Applejack carrying Fluttershy who by this point resembled a cherry red wooden board.

“Ah really don’t get this mare sometimes,” Applejack muttered.

“Not everypony is as open to certain issues,” Rarity said behind them in Fluttershy’s behalf.

“Yeah, but have you been to her cottage?” Rainbow said, moving Fluttershy’s leg a little higher on her back. “Look out a window and you’ve got a pretty good chance of getting an eyeful of action.”

“That’s crude,” Rarity said with a grimace, opening the door for her three friends. Twilight followed behind everypony.

“But true!” Applejack laughed.

Twilight followed behind them until they were halfway to the stairwell. “Girls, I’m heading back to my room real quick. I’ll catch up to you in a little while, ok?”

“Sure Twili,” Applejack said. “Mind if we start without ya? Ah’m kinda starving.”

“It’s alright. Go ahead, I might be a while.”

Twilight waited a few minutes to make sure her friends wouldn’t come back. She quickly trotted back outside Luna’s room, walked between the two thestrals, and knocked before quickly entering.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said with a welcoming, tired smile. “I hope for Raegdan’s mental health you did not return to ask for more in depth instructions.”

“Twilight?” Raegdan stepped out of the bathroom. Twilight heard rushing water for a moment before he closed the door. “Please tell me your mother didn’t send you back.”

“No, it’s not that,” Twilight said. “I wanted to speak with you in private. If, that is, you don’t mind princess-”

“Fine by me. You will have to do so elsewhere though. I am in no position to get up and leave the room.”

Raegdan opened the bathroom door. “We can speak in here Twilight. I’ll be right back Luna.”

“Please do. This itches like you wouldn’t believe.”

Twilight followed Raegdan into the bathroom, closing the door behind her to prevent Luna from overhearing. Water was running from the spout over the bathtub, echoing in the small tiled room. Raegdan sat on the edge of the tub, put his elbows over his knees and rested his weight on them. He looked not tired, but empty, drained of all effort.

“Are you ok?” Twilight asked, suddenly feeling very concerned. “The salves are still working, right?”

“Yeah,” Raegdan said. “About as much as they always did. Give me a minute, please?”

“Of course.” Twilight waited patiently. Raegdan didn’t do anything. He just sat there, looking at nothing, completely still. If it wasn’t for his open eyes and the slight movement of his chest she could almost think he was dead. He inhaled deeply after a couple of minutes and lifted his eyes.

“Ok Twilight. What do you need me for?”

“That can wait. You don’t look so well all of a sudden. You two have been acting like happy doofuses these last few days, and now…”

Raegdan put a finger inside the water collecting in the bathtub. He messed with the valves a little, increasing the hot water output. “Yeah. We have, haven’t we?”

“...Raegdan, what is going on?”

He massaged the back of his bandaged head. “Nothing. Not really. It’s just that… Luna isn’t doing that well. I’m worried. Tired too, but mostly worried.”

“She seems fine to me. She’s laughing and making jokes even.”

Raegdan nodded. “Yeah. She does.” He rubbed his eyes with the bottom of his palms. “It works for the most part too. Velvet helps a lot. She knows how to really shift the attention to silly things. Luna’s feeling trapped Twilight. She’s injured, helpless, and she feels useless. That fight with Celestia didn’t help, and neither did the bomb. She’s scared, and the fact that you and the rest know she’s no longer as powerful as she used to be scares her even more. All that silliness is-”

“You’re doing all that you do so you can keep her mind off everything, don’t you? That’s why you’re acting like that all too often. You didn’t get her cast dissolved by accident, did you?”

“It’s what friends do,” Raegdan answered.

“And what about you?” Twilight asked. “Don’t you need somepony to help you forget too?”

Raegdan grinned for an instant, a moment of genuine happiness on his face. “Trust me, she looks after me in her own way. There are moments where you want to forget, and moments where you want to wallow. She knows which is which.”

Twilight turned towards the closed door. “I’m surprised she hasn’t seen what you’re doing to be honest.”

“Who says she hasn’t? She knows exactly what I’m doing. She’s simply following along.”

“So… she’s pretending she’s fine then?”

Raegdan tilted his head to the side. “Not… the right wording exactly. Just do your best out there Twilight. She needs to feel there is some progress done.” He sunk lower, almost getting his head in between his knees. “Velvet or no Velvet, find them or not, we need to get out of here before another attempt. I didn’t expect a bomb. I did not expect a freaking bomb. This… is not the same as the others. What else am I going to miss?” he muttered. He raised his head again. “As soon as Luna can stand and walk we’re heading for Manehattan. Staying for so long in one place is not good at all.”

“What about you? Are you going to be ok?”

“I’m fine. Nothing wrong with me. The main concern is Luna. That’s all that’s in my mind now. As much as I pretend to know what I’m doing, this isn’t my field Twilight. I need your help.”

“I see… I’ll do what I can,” Twilight promised. “I won’t let you down.”

Raegdan finally smiled. “I know you won’t. Ah hell, you came to talk to me and I go on about my problems. What is it you wanted Twilight?”

“Nothing. No, that’s not true. I- I simply wanted to ask you… why did you kill that pony? Not that I’m- I’m not sure if…” She took a deep breath and started over.

No more a little filly. Grown mare, sheltered as buck, but grown. He tried to kill a princess. He brought it on himself. It was ugly, admitting that this was the only way was sick, but as long as she couldn’t think of another way, a way that kept everyone alive and healthy, she was going to… she didn’t know what she would do. Probably nurse that nausea in her stomach and the ache in her head.

“The point is that if you hadn’t, if he managed to survive his injuries, you might have had some idea on who is behind everything.” There. That- that was it.

Raegdan shook his head in understanding. He leaned sideways to check the water’s temperature again. “If he survived. If he knew. If Rainbow hadn’t pushed him off, if he was conscious enough to speak before I killed him, if Rainbow was able to stand the guilt, if, if, if, if.” She felt like she was almost being mocked by his tone.

“Most probably it was a huge mistake, I know it, Luna knows it. I sent Leaf Stream to ask permission first you know. We don’t… I’m not sure how to describe this. I do certain things that I believe have to be done when the time comes. It doesn’t… mean that I want you to do them in turn, or your friends. Because then… then...” His fingers tapped against the tub as he thought intensely. “I can’t quite explain it. Maybe Luna can. It’s just that- when… Some things shouldn’t break.”

“So… you and Luna threw your chance away and killed him so Rainbow Dash wouldn’t feel guilty? Just for that?”

“It’s what friends do.”

For more than one reason, this made Twilight shiver in alarm.

They stood across the street, watching the impressive set of doors that would allow them -or not- entry to their first name on their list. Ponies walking on the street slowed down to wave or nod jovially at them, easily determining who the minotaur and the wingless pegasus were. They were mostly ignored by the focused group, except by Pinkie Pie who waved back at all of them.

“Alright ponies- and minotaurs,” Leaf Stream said. “Game face on. We’re the biggest, meanest, most nasty ponies -and minotaurs- around and we gotta look the part- drop that ice cream and focus!”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie said, throwing the whole cone into her open mouth. “Hof’s thiss?” she asked through pyramidal cheeks.

“Not… better at all. Stay in the back, please, and try not to be seen. Ok boss, I think it’s all up to you. Show them what fear’s all about,” Leaf Stream said to Solid Charge.

The massive minotaur nodded. He lifted his arm, testing it. He had the cast taken off today, and had his forearm covered with a black cloth tied around it to hide the pale discoloration. He lead them up the short stairs leading to the entrance. His broad knuckles struck the door three times loudly, ignoring the brass knocker.

A white earth pony in servant attire opened one of the doors. “May I help you?”

“Lunar Guard. We wish to speak with Mr. Crimson Thread. Is he present?”

The brazen way Solid Charge talked shook the servant. “Ah, yes. I shall notify him immediately. What is the purpose of this-”

Solid Charge pushed him aside and walked in. Leaf Stream followed through immediately, and the girls rushed behind them.

“We will “notify” him personally. Would you be so kind as to lead us to him?”

The way Solid Charge spoke and acted made it clear that the pony had no other choice but complying. The way he noticeably kept his hand near his axe probably helped too.They were led through a side door and a corridor until they reached a door that had been left ajar. The shivering pony gestured for them to go through. Solid Charge pulled the door open all the way and marched inside, followed by the rest of the group.

A unicorn, dressed in finery and smoking a cigar, rose from behind a clean desk at their sudden invasion. “What is the meaning of-”

“Lunar Guard,” Solid Charge rumbled. “There have been rumors about your person and we are here to investigate them. We would welcome your cooperation.”

“What kind of rumors?” the spice merchant asked, aghast.

“That is not for me to say. We don’t spread rumors. I’m only here to perform my duties.”

“And if I don’t cooperate?”

“Your cooperation is welcome. However, it is not required. We will ask you a few questions,” Solid Charge said, taking a step towards the stammering pony. “We will question your staff.” Another menacing step. “We will search the premises.” He stood right in front of the low desk. He leaned downwards, bringing his face close to the pony’s muzzle, smiling wickedly. “We will also check your bussiness books. Have you been current with your taxes?”

Leaf Stream cringed behind him.

“I do have rights you know, you can’t just barge in here!”

“Yes ma’am, you do. So do we, and so does Princess Luna. It just so happens that she used her rights to give us the right to do this. Open the door.”

“I refuse.”

“Miss Sparkle, if you would be so kind as to blast this door open? Ma’am, for your own safety, I’d recommend that you step back.”

“What is this about then?” the unicorn asked, stepping out of his home.

Solid Charge presented one of the two envelopes. “Princess Luna has bid us to deliver this to you.”

“Princess- why? What is it for? Why me?”

Solid Charge shrugged and pushed the envelope against the pony, forcing him to take it. “I only obey the princess’ commands, and I advise you to do the same.”

The unicorn used his magic to open the envelope. They couldn’t see what it was he took out from it, but from the glimpse of a small, thick paper rectangle, Twilight figured it to be a photograph. The unicorns gray coat was not enough to hide the whitening of his skin underneath. His eyes bulged and he gasped in sudden fear.

“I’ll- yes, yes! I’ll do the same! Thank you, thank you. Oh Celestia, oh heavens…” He stepped back into his home and slammed the door in Solid Charge’s face.

“Well, that was bucking ominous,” Leaf Stream said.

“Hey, Twili, come check this out!” Applejack shouted.

“Found anything Applejack?”

“Maybe. Does this seem normal to ya?” Applejack held up a stack of ledgers.

“Yes… What’s wrong with them?”

Applejack put them on a table. “Not much at first glance. Ah mean, ah don’t have the head to go over all that’s written inside, but they seem kinda thin to me.”

“Thin?”

“Yeah. See, we gotta keep books for the farm too. We ain’t got anything like the trade deals this fella here is supposed to have -or had, ya know, on account of the bay- anyway. Thing is, mah own books of the year’s thicker than them all piled together, and they’re supposed to cover one year all said and done.”

Twilight opened one of them at random. She went back and forth around the ledger. Nothing seemed out of order at first glance. Of course, that’s because it was all written down in the most convoluted way possible, making Twilight very suspicious. She silently added numbers, breaking through the repeats and take backs that were spread throughout as she quickly flipped through the pages.

“What an amazing coincidence,” Twilight said sarcastically.

“What?”

“It’s the strangest thing. The profits always seem to be barely higher than the losses.” She made a few quick calculations in her head. “Only three percent in a quick glance from what I see. Every time.”

Applejack let her eyes wander around their opulent surroundings. “Now, ain’t that just dang weird?”

“Pinkie Pie, we’re leaving darling,” Rarity said. “What are you- oh my!”

“What? What? Do I have a booger?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I’m sorry dear, it’s just that I wasn’t expecting to see you so dedicated to… reading a book,” Rarity said, getting over her surprise.

“Oh? It’s a cooking book. I like cooking books. This one’s kind of a puzzler though. Do you think that “two drops of arsenic, and a dash of mercury,” was a misprint or is this really how you make-” Pinkie flipped the page back. “-Essense of Liver Degradation?”

“I’m sure it’s wonderful Pinkie, but the rest are waiting for us- could you repeat that last part please?”

Fluttershy stood in the middle of the hall, looking up at a painting. Solid Charge approached her.

“Miss. Your friends have been looking for you.”

Fluttershy looked distractedly at Solid Charge, and immediately covered her face with her mane. “Oh, I’m sorry for putting you into the trouble of finding me.”

“It’s no trouble, really. So, found anything?”

“I- maybe. No. Yes. I was looking at the painting.”

“What about it?”

“N-nothing. It’s just that… the mare on it really looks like Honest Serenade.”

The minotaur frowned as he thought. “Isn’t that the one that…”

“Y-yes. That’s the one.”

Solid Charge turned to look at the painting too, attempting to make out the pony’s cutie mark. “Huh.”

“Rainbow? What are you doing in the library?”

The pegasus was flying high, searching between the stacks, shoving her hoof between the empty spaces. “I’m being an awesome detective. See, Applejack and Pinkie Pie found something while looking at books at some of the other places, right? So I figure, the libraries have to be full of clues.”

“Are you really going to read every book here? That doesn’t sound like you.”

“Huh? No! Don’t be such an egghead. I’m looking for secret books.”

“Rainbow you are not going to find secret books in-”

“Aha! Got one!”

Twilight mumbled to herself. “You’ve gotta be bucking kidding me…”

Rainbow opened the book she found, and started flipping through. She stopped at the very first page, blushed furiously, and slowly began to turn the rest of the pages after a few seconds.

“Well?” Twilight asked, impatiently.

“Uh, nothing. False alarm.”

“What do you mean nothing? You found something! What is it?”

Rainbow closed the book and kept it near her chest as she landed. “Yeah, it turns out it’s just a… porn stash.”

“What?”

“Here, look. Hey, do you think that’s real by the way? Look how bendy it is. It seems fake to me.”

“I don’t want to look. Put it back.”

“But it might be a clue. Oh my gosh, there are drawings too, or comics, whatever. Is that… There’s Princess Celestia porn? Is that a thing? I never saw any before.”

“Now I really don’t want to look. Why did you even have to tell me that? Put it back or burn it. In fact, let me burn it.”

“Let me show it to Leaf Stream first. I bet she’ll get a hoot out of this. Hay, she might let me keep it.”

“Rainbow, no. Put it back. Come back here!”

“That one’s a real cutie, ain’t he?” Leaf Stream said, shoving her head deep into the manticore’s mouth. “Hey, if I curl up I think I can fit all the way into his mouth. Yeah, that’s right bad boy. Eat me. Eat me whole.”

“I thought we were supposed to be the scariest ponies and minotaurs around,” Solid Charge said, deadpan.

“We are. See? I’m getting eaten by a manticore and I don’t give a buck. You don’t get any harder in your core than this.”

“It is very lifelike,” Twilight said, fascinated, walking closer to the large statue that Leaf Stream was playing around with. Pinkie had already climbed on top, claiming to be a beastmaster hunter, which sounded like an oxymoron to Twilight.

Rarity was infatuated with the artwork around her. “It is a masterpiece! Look at the amount of detail. The fur looks ready to move in the breeze, and the leathery wings, oh my Celestia, you can actually see the veins.”

Rainbow Dash bent down for a second to look beneath the statue. “Yep, he sculpted every little detail. Very vividly. I just wonder where he got the reference from.”

Applejack had only glanced at the statues for a few seconds before turning her eyes to the manor in front of them. “Fella seems to be doing well for himself. These statues must sell for a pretty bit.”

Fluttershy flapped her wings to gain some height and get a better look inside through the windows. “There are a lot of statues inside too. They’re all scary… doesn’t he make any nice things? Like bunnies?”

“Sharp Chisel is known widely as an artist that has devoted himself to exploring the darker, less known side of familiar territory,” Rarity said, making known her respect. “In the case of nature he prefers to create realistic portrayals of monsters. I remember I once saw a sculpture of a Wonderbolt. It was breathtaking. Seen from the right side it was a pegasus in the middle of a routine maneuver. Viewed from the left however transformed it. The grin became the face of fear, and you realized it was no mere maneuver, but a pony caught mid-fall. Inspiring!”

“I heard about that one,” Rainbow said. “Rapidfire of the Wonderbolts tried to smash it. He got grounded for half a season because of it. He broke his leg.”

“Does it seem weird to anypony else that all the ponies we have gone to so far have been rich or have political connections?” Twilight asked.

Leaf Stream carefully climbed out of the manticore’s mouth with Fluttershy’s help. “Why should it? Who else would try to off a princess or have the means?”

“Split Second was just a dock worker though.”

“That, my little idiot, is what we call a poor scrub. I bet you that they promised him a huge pile of bits for his ex and kids in return for a suicide attack.”

“Hold on,” Twilight said. “That means we do have a way to find the ponies responsible. We only have to watch the family.”

“Wait, you seriously believe they’ll do as promised? Hah, good luck on that. Anyway, are we getting in or not? I’m so bored, I’m this close to drawing a moustache on this thing.”

“Already ahead of you,” Pinkie Pie said, holding a pink marker.

“Nopony must be here either. We’ve been knocking for five minutes straight. That’s the third pony we can’t find,” Rainbow Dash said. “I can check through the upper windows if you want, see if somepony’s hiding.”

Solid Charge thought over Rainbow’s suggestion, looking calculatingly at the setting sun. “No. We’ve been at this for too long, and we’ve already gone through most of the list anyway. We still have a few more to check, but it’s getting late. Let’s head back. We will continue tomorrow.”