"Sorry, Cane, can't help you. Never heard of him." Twist sighed, then moved the message to her trash archive. Another dead end, just when she thought she was getting close. Who was this Clairvoyance? It was understandable he would use a temp alias for his meeting with her, but there was more to a pony than the avatar name. Everypony, even the best, left pieces of information behind. With enough knowledge and access privileges, one could gather those pieces, examine them and come to a conclusion.

Twist had spent the best part of an hour going through trash records of the Conglomerate's travel data database. Every avatar that moved from one sector to another had its ID stored there. Usually the data was purged every hour, to keep the system from getting cluttered, yet not before parts of it were copied by third parties for data mining and analytics purposes. What few, even within the Conglomerate, knew was that there were other corporations storing travel data, namely FireStar — the Web-game giant that had created Bolt. As long as one got a precise time-print and location from the Conglomerate database, it was foal's play to find the IDs of all avatars connected there and then. Matching the time and place with those of her own avatar, Twist had managed to track the movements of the elusive hacker... all five hours of his existence.

Who are you, Clairvoyance? Twist walked casually through the Web-streets of Mirror City. Glistening crystal skyscrapers extended up to the magenta sky itself, covering everything below in soft rainbow-coloured light. A beautiful view, if not quite intimidating with its size.

According to Twist's findings, the hacker had spent his time in the Web between four sectors — Eggheart, Barterzone, Rosesands and here. What he had done before or after remained a mystery. What Twist found more alarming was that he had done everything possible not to associate himself with any hacker group. That, and the fact that three of the four sectors he had set hoof in had ended up infected by the Sombra virus.

"Like music? Be sure to to buy the new Green Aether collection, volume 23!" A sound-blip blasted twenty meters above Twist. "Hear songs from artists such as DJ Pon3, Vioflash, Neon, and also, for the very first time, the rising game idol Sweetie B."

Hearing that, Twist couldn't help but look up with a smile. Sure enough, a dancing image of Sweetie Belle was moving on the giant aether screen floating under the blip. Way to go, Sweets.

"So she finally made it to the big time," a voice said nearby — a strange mixture of male and female features combined so that the identity of its owner remained hidden. "Fancy that."

WingClipper! Twist instantly turned around.

Sure enough, there was someone standing a few steps away. Modified Unicorn build avatar, blue and crimson glow effects — no mistake, one of the top ten hackers for hire was there, smiling at her.

"Thought it would take her at least a few more years." WingClipper approached, his attention seemingly focused on the blimp. "Personally, I prefer the classics — Rara, Sapphire, maybe Hoof Movement. Sweetie is just too tacky."

“Why are you here?” Twist asked, instinctively readying both legal and illegal protocols. She knew that the location was considered a high-priority sector, so at the slightest hint of trouble, ICE would fill the streets like a blizzard. That didn't make her feel better one bit.

“Should I need a reason?” the hacker snickered. His front left hoof slid along the pavement, causing a code breach to appear on its surface. Just like scarring living flesh, Twist thought.

“Maybe I just wanted to hang with my favourite glomer?” He tapped his hoof on the ground. The breach instantly disappeared. “You are my favourite glomer, aren't you Cane? Always punctual and precise. So very,” his hoof moved to touch Twist's cheek, only to be stopped by an aether bubble, “predictable.”

“What?” Twist asked firmly.

“Relax.” WingClipper moved beside her. “Never good to make a scene. You never know what the consequences might be. Besides, I'm here to lend a hoof. Arête knows you can use it!”

Rich of you to use Web myths. You believe in Web lore as much as you do in mercy. Rogues like you never offer help for free.

“Really, now, is that the way to treat somepony who's come to help?” He looked at the blimp above. A split second later the advertisement suddenly stopped. The images on the aether screen were replaced by a clip of rather graphic nature. Dozens of ponies stopped, gasping in at the scene they were witnessing. The phrase “Corrupt and Cheating” appeared in large italic letters over the clip, partially covering the content.

Twist could only frown. How easily he had hacked the blip's commands. The new encryption protocols hadn't remotely slowed him down. Sadly, in part she way to blame, along with all the other Conglomerate operatives that had dealings with him.

“Sorry, thought I'd combine work and fun,” he chuckled under his breath. “Meet Business Tact,” he pointed at the aether screen. “Humble bureaucrat who opened his own practice. Not a particularly bad stallion, if you don't count his habit of cheating. Not a problem in itself, if there weren't a few clients who wanted a share of his business. Oh, and he's also married and a father of four. Six, if you count extramarital children.”

“I can tag you, WingClipper,” Twist put a few of her Web-protocols on standby. A single command and they were ready for launch. “All the ICE in the sector will come pouring down on you.”

“Oh, I'm shaking,” he openly mocked her. “Doubt you'd want to do that.” His avatar's eyes glowed cobalt blue. “Anyway, I've been paid, so consider today a freebie of sorts. Stop searching for Clairvoyance.”

“Even you'll have a hard time in a Conglomerate sector.” Twist held her ground. She knew WingClipper's type all too well. Hackers like him reacted to fear like sharks to blood. It was no accident FLT had coined the phrase "they like killing you after you're dead" — it described them perfectly. Twist hadn't spent all this time earning herself a reputation by backing down. “What do you want for your client's name?”

“Way beyond your means, Cane,” he laughed. “And this isn't a threat. I'm just saving you time. The pone is a ghost. Outside the few hours he was stalking you, there is no record of him ever existing.”

“You're losing your touch. I've already tracked his ID, and—"

“Completely missed the obvious,” he interrupted. “The Web-gear linked to the ID was purchased a few days ago by some old geezer in the Crystal Empire. His name is Sunny Ray – a pegasus made deputy weather coordinator of the area, though you might know him better as SmokeScreen.”

The name sounded familiar, but Twist never relied purely on instinct. Immediately she sent a backdoor query to the Conglomerate security database. It didn't take long for a response to come back. WingClipper was right — SmokeScreen was an unaffiliated hacker, who seemed to focus on conspiracies. So far his snooping had caused some minor embarrassment among low level managers, although he had managed get access to classified records on two occasions. Starswirl classified him as a minor nuisance, which was odd in itself. From what Twist had seen, his skills were far superior to those of the average hacker.

"He was pretty good," WingClipper said reluctantly. "Possibly as good as FLT, although our paths never crossed. What should interest you is that the Royal Crystal Guard found him unconscious six hours ago. Some kind of self-induced coma." He paused, turning towards Twist.

Dreamlocked? Twist shuddered. It was supposed to be nothing more than an Web myth — ponies whose minds were locked in the Web, while their bodies were cast out in the real world. So far cases had been few and far-between, a total of five since the creation of the Web, but with ten times more suspected.

“Quite an interesting coincidence, don't you think?” WingClipper scratched his horn. “Less than a day after talking to you he ends up dead and three sectors are collapsed.”

“I strongly doubt that is the reason.” Twist said, despite thinking it. WingClipper didn't know what had been said at the meeting. If he did, he would already be roaming the Web, trying to make use of the info to his advantage.

“Well, at least you aren't a self-centered buck, like the other wannabes.” That's right – call me a wannabee. What would you think when you learn that Conglomerate Cane is nothing but a high-school filly who bakes sweets in her free time? You really are lucky that Silver Spoon isn't a Webber.

“If it was Harpy, she'd be flooding the forums with spam, as if she were MaDster himself!” WingClipper snorted. “Clairvoyance had one more meeting during that time period. He also sent messages to half a dozen other individuals. You, Cane, were at the very end of the list. It's actually a miracle he ever got to you at all.”

“Lucky me,” Twist said bitterly. Any chance of her real life getting even an ounce of attention had been swept away. There was no way she could let this go now, even if she wanted to. “And you are just telling me this like that? No barter, no future favours? That's very unlike you, WingClipper.”

“Maybe I like you?” He shrugged. “Or maybe you should just shut your trap when you get a gift?”

There he was – the WingClipper the Web knew and feared. It wasn't so much that he was the best of the hackers, or the most extreme. The problem with him was that he was most unpredictable. With hackers such as FLT, AeroFlux or even MaDster himself, ponies knew they wouldn't be targeted unless they had serious connections with the Conglomerate. With WingClipper it was a roll of the dice – one day he infiltrated Starswirl clusters, the next — he committed avatar theft of totally random Web-users. Worst of all, he could be hired by absolutely anypony and for any purpose whatsoever.

“Be sure to thank my benefactor then,” Twist said cautiously, protocols still at the ready.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” he waved a hoof. “Our business is done.”

That was her cue. Not waiting another second, Twist activated her all blocking protocols, then logged out. WingClipper very much loved combining assignments. Who was to say she wasn't his next target?

Upon returning to the real world, Twist felt slightly sick. Ironic, that she would be of the .001% to experience nausea after a Web use. It was slightly better now, thanks to the medicine Silver Spoon had procured for her — at least Twist wasn't throwing up every time.

I really need to stop with those sudden log outs. She took her Web-gear off, breathing heavily. Slow breaths. Slow breaths and everything will be all right. Gradually, the feeling faded away, rendering Twist fully functional again.

"At least that work’s done," she said out loud and put the gear neatly in its place on the shelf. She had a party to look forward to, and that meant preparing the food. Actually, it meant starting to. Upon seeing as there would be complications, she had sent a Web-scroll to everypony inviting them to a 'cooking-party'. If it were anyone else, they would have laughed, but since it was Twist, most had found the idea appealing. It also helped that Apple Bloom had gotten Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to agree early on — one was a riding pop idol, the other a Bolt champion. Surprisingly, Diamond Tiara had also quickly responded she would be attending, and had done so in relatively calm fashion.

"Mom." Twist put on her glasses and left the room. "Mom, do we have enough flower petals? A lot of the girls love them, so—" She suddenly stopped. Her mother was smiling in the corridor, a pair of saddlebags by her side.

"Mom," Twist sighed. "We've been through this. There's no need for you to leave. Everypony would be perfectly ok with—"

"Twist, dear." Her mother shook her head. "The last thing you need is for me to be here. You are always concentrating on your studies and work so hard that you are letting life pass you by. It has been weeks since you last went out to enjoy yourself, let alone have a party."

"Please not the whole foals talk again." Twist did her best not to groan. She had enough thoughts on the matter, to have her mother remind her.

"Well it's not like you are doing anything about it! Look at you — you are beautiful, smart, healthy, and instead of chasing stallions you waste all that time working something I can't even understand."

"Mom, I have invited my class," Twist sighed. "This is a friendly get together, not some wild party."

"Maybe you need it to be wild! The only time I've seen you with anypony was when you were with Truffle, and that was way back in middle school—"

"I am not having this argument with you." It took an extraordinary amount of effort for Twist to remain calm. If there was one thing they nearly got in fights about, it was her mother's over-eagerness to have grandfoals.

"That is precisely why I'm spending the night at Lily's." Shimmy Shake put on her saddlebags. "I won't be back till tomorrow evening."

"Lily's?" Twist blinked, confused.

"My Lily, not yours," her mother smiled. "And don't worry about a thing." She went to Twist and gave her a parental hug. "It's okay to break a few things. Be a little naughty."

"Mom!" Twist pulled away. I really hate it when you do that! Before she could say anything more in response, her mother had already left, leaving her standing in the corridor. Definitely an awkward way to start the evening. 'Be a little naughty'. Twist so much wished she could, but it was extremely unlikely it would happen. Besides, it wasn't a good time right now. The Sombra virus issue would require her full attention.

Fortunately, Twist didn't have to wait for long. Half an hour after she started transforming her living room into a semi-functional kitchen, and a full hour before the official starting time, Apple Bloom arrived. The way she was breathing, it was obvious she had been galloping at full speed.

"Here." She literally dropped her saddlebag in front of Twist, with a loud clung. "Ah... Ah... Ah need to catch mah breath."

"Hey, now, filly." Twist looked at her alarmed. "What happened?"

"Ya remember how ah said I'd sneak a jar of zap apple jam?" Apple Bloom managed to utter, still breathing heavily. "Well, Granny Smith got me."

"I told you it would happen." Twist moved aside, so her friend could enter. "I bet you grabbed it anyway and ran here."

"No." Apple Bloom did not move from her position. "When ah told her we were to be having ourselves a party, she gave me two more. Then, as I was leaving, quick-like, I bumped into Applejack."

"And she insisted on coming with you to make sure you were safe?"

"No," Apple Bloom whimpered. "She gave me two more, and an apple pie, and two bottles of cider. Then Big Mac came... and did the same! Ah thought I would die carrying this load!"

"Well," Twist was trying her best not to laugh, quite unsuccessfully at that, "at least that takes care of the major part of the cooking."

"Well colour me surprised." Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Ah need to take a shower," she went right past Twist. "Please scroll Sweetie Belle. I can't have my mane looking like a deep fried haystack."

Quite the interesting description, Twist thought. She did send a message to Sweetie Belle, of course. For a moment she reminisced about old times, when the Cutie Mark Crusaders were still searching for their marks and would occasionally drag her in all sorts of trouble. The days before the Web. Somehow things seemed so simpler back then.

"Dagnabit!" A shout came from the bathroom. "Twist, are ya using dye shampoo?"

"That would be my mother's," Twist replied innocently. I am so cruel sometimes. A series of screams and curses followed, most of which made Twist chuckle. Cheerilee would probably have a fit hearing them, but compared to the ones in the Web, these seemed like little more than a greeting. "Relax, AB. That's just the mane softener. And even if it were dye, we have the same mane colour."

No response followed. Twist heard the sound of the shower stop shortly after, followed by the opening of a door. An extremely furiously, covered in towels Apple Bloom marched into the living room. She went in front of Twist, glaring at her with level eyes.

"You. Are. Twisted!" she whispered. "Where in tarnation is ya bathrobe?"

"Oh, guess mom must have taken it by accident." Either that, or it’s one of her 'reminders' to start thinking about coltfriends. I am trying to find one, mom! "Go to my room, I should have a spare."

Grumbling and stomping loudly, Apple Bloom did just that. Hardly had she disappeared, then there was a knock at the front door.

"Come in, Sweets," Twist yelled, as she placed the apple pies on the table. Apple Bloom wasn't exaggerating when she said her saddlebags were heavy — two pies, five bottles of cider, four jars of apple zap jam, and about a dozen apples. Pity they wouldn't last ten minutes once the party started. "Door is open," she added loudly.

The creak told Twist somepony had come in. Yet, even she wasn't expecting the crowd that suddenly stormed the living room.

"Hey, Twist, where's the emergency?" Sweetie Belle asked hurriedly. She was, incidentally, wearing her official gamer clan wear — an elegant black vest covered in rainbow flames. Behind her were the rest of the Rainbooms — Button Mash, Archer, Shady Daze, and of course Scootaloo. All of them were wearing identical vests, the only difference being the gamer tags embroider on their backs.

"Err, my room." It took a moment for Twist to react. Then she remembered — they had had a tournament this afternoon.

"Right!" Sweetie Belle quickly trotted forward. "One thing, though," she added as she passed by Twist. Her horn flashed, summoning a pair of stylist combs. Without warning, each shot at Twist's mane. "A loose wave suits you way better," Sweetie said, as she changed Twist's mane style completely. "Just a slight touch. At least you take care of your mane. Unlike some disasters I know! Anyway, I'll be right back, once I deal with the catastrophe that awaits." And she trotted on, combs levitating behind her.

"Sure," Twist blinked. The other ponies in the room looked at her with sympathy. "Let me guess, you've been through the same?"

"Media coverage," Scootaloo grumbled. "Belle insisted we look our best for our victory press conference after the game. Let's just say you got off easy."

The image popped in Twist's mind, making her chuckle and tremble at the same time. The more Belle was growing up, the more she started behaving like her sister — which made it all the more alarming WingClipper had expressed interest in her. Twist's earlier conversation wasn't the first time it had come up. In effect, nearly every time there was business to be done with the hacker, Sweetie Belle's name happened to be mentioned. Normally, that wouldn't be a concern, yet there was one huge difference — Sweetie Belle's virtual and real life persona were linked.

"Make yourselves at home, guys," Twist invited. "Just two things — don't finish the jam and cider before the rest arrive, and no Web! At least tonight I want to have an old fashioned party."

"Old fashioned party." It felt weird using those words. Celestia, I sound like my mother. There were a few snorts, but thankfully her friends understood. Twist also suspected that right now browsing the Web wasn't among their priorities either. Being a professional Bolt player was by far more difficult than ponies made it out to be. Twist herself had participated in a few amateur tournaments, but quickly quit. Time and stamina were key to make it pro, and she didn't have enough of either.

Thirty minutes later and the other guests began to arrive. First was Diamond Tiara, of course, who got into a row with Scootaloo the moment she set hoof in the house. After a few snarky remarks, the two went into the kitchen to shout it out. This had become so common that it barely registered at all. Dinky came next, accompanied by her sister, Amethyst Star. Muttering a quiet hello, she went to an empty corner of the room and sat down, while Amethyst bombarded Twist with enough questions to fill a book. From what Twist could make out, Dinky was suffering from digestion problems again, and as such was on a strict diet. There was to be no cider, no zap apple jam, nothing overly sugary, and absolutely nothing spicy.

Some party it will be for Dinky, Twist thought, as she nodded to each of Amethyst's demands. Apparently, that was enough to calm Dinky's sister, who then left for a party of her own, although not before shouting an embarrassing "Have fun, little sis", making everypony but Dinky snicker.

"Poor Dink," Sweetie Belle sighed beside Twist, as Amethyst was leaving. "At times I wonder what happened to her. She was always bursting with joy as a filly. Remember how envious we were that Derpy was her foalsitter?"

"All too well," Twist chuckled. "And Apple Bloom came up with her ingenious plan. 'If we act irresponsible-like, bet ya horseshoes we'll get her as our foalsitter for sure!'" She did her best to imitate the accent. "I got grounded for a week."

"Oh, stars!" Sweetie Belle started laughing. "Rarity gave me the talk. Followed by an hour of apologies, how her work was important, but she would do the impossible to spend more time with me. She honestly was worried I would replace her with Derpy!"

"And Apple Bloom got AJ and Big Mac so worried, they took turns watching over her... for a month!" Twist joined in. "That was the worst plan ever! How stupid we were to think it might work."

"Everything is possible for a filly. Look at us now, though. In less than an year we might never see each other again. There has been a lot of pressure to have us move to Manehatten to be closer to the gaming scene. Half the class want to go to Canterlot to make something of themselves. And then, there's 'love'," Sweetie Belle sighed.

"Well, you were lucky to find Button," Twist whispered. There was no question — the two had turned out a perfect match, remaining an item despite their schedules. Twist's own school romance hadn't turned out so good. At least she was in speaking terms with her ex again.

"Sorry it didn't work out between you and Truffle." Sweetie gave her a brief comforting hug. "I really thought you had something going on there. That's why I'm all the more happy you found somepony new!"

Yes, Sweets, I thought it would work out with Truffs as well. I guess I believed that... What?!

"Sweets, what do you mean?" Twist arched a brow.

"Oh dear." Sweetie Belle covered her mouth with a hoof. "Me and my big mouth. I spoiled it for you, didn't I?" The look on Twist's face urged "just tell me". "I got a special request to perform during the party. Usually I ignore those, but the stallion was very insistent. Also I found it too cute to turn down. He asked me to sing We Are One In The Web, and dedicate it to you. An apology, for not being able to come, he said."

"Oh." Twist tried to present her fear as disappointment. "Such is life in the real world, I guess."

"Sounds like a keeper to me," the unicorn smiled. "Most would just send a quick message and be done with it. Also, there's always something about the mysterious types that always gets me. Haven't seen him in real life, that Web name, though."

"Web name?" Twist felt a cold chill pierce her.

"Clairvoyance," Sweetie Belle replied. She went on to say more, but Twist was no longer listening. One single thought occupied her mind right now — how in Tartarus had her real life identity been uncovered by a dead pony?

Author's Notes:

WingClipper - unaffiliated black-hoof hacker, responsible for multiple accounts of avatar theft. If spotted, Web-users are suggested to immediately log off and report to the nearest Conglomerate Office.

Confidential
Is to be given free reign, by authority of the Board of Directors and the Star Chamber.