Cadance was surprised by the number of people who had gathered in the auditorium.

She had thought that this was a military installation of some kind, but it seemed that there were just as many staff assigned to research and other work throughout the underground complex. If Cadance hadn't arrived with Twilight, she doubted she would have even had a chair to sit in. As it was, an orderly had brought her some new shoes and a change of cloths. Cadance wasn't about to wear the uniform of some shady government agency she knew nothing about, but the socks and boots were welcome given the loss of her shoes. As she was lacing up her new footwear, the presentation started.

There was a whir and a click as a PowerPoint presentation appeared projected on a large silver screen. The image was a familiar one, and Cadance grimaced as she recognized CHS before it had burned down. It seemed this image was taken from that faithful night, as the presentation continued images of flames, and then students flooding out of the building followed.

But there was something wrong about the students...

" Canterlot High School, nearly one year ago. While this was not the first incursion into this dimension from the alternate plane known as 'Equestria', it was the most damaging, and the one that inspired our organization to act." Twilight spoke as if she were reading a prepared statement, but the only thing in her hands were the controls for the projector. The images clicked past, and Cadance could see now what she could only make out vaguely before. While some of the students were clearly running from the flames, others were attacking them. These children were horribly deformed, and seemed to be coated in the same 'candy flesh' that Camp Everfree had been.

"Code named the "Candy Curse", this plague you see here was brought to our world by an entity that referred to herself as the "Candy Mare", referred from here on as SCP-22639. While 22639 has a physical body, she also exists as a semi-memetic being of unique energy. As near as we can tell she came to our world with the express purpose to corrupt, devour, and destroy it."

The images changed now to a picture taken of six teenaged girls, apparently CHS students. "A small group of students and myself attempted to halt this tragedy before it could spread further. This directly led to the destruction of my parents summer home, the death or prolonged coma of the majority of the CHS student body, and the need to cover up to protect the public at large from potentially spreading the memetic effect of 22639." The slide changed again, this time highlighting a single girl with red and orange hair. "While she may appear human, Sunset Shimmer, from here forward referred to as Patient Zero, is actually an Equestrian. She comes from a realm where 'magic' is common place, and the laws of physics as well as cause and effect are only limitedly enforced. Since 22639 hailed from a similar dimension, Patient Zero crossed over using a machine of my own design in an attempt to destroy the source of energy that fueled 22639."

The slide clicked back to CHS, where the small fires in the building suddenly erupted into a full blown conflagration. "While Patient Zero was successful, her gambit was not without cost. The Candy Curse was burned away. Many students who had been partially converted perished as parts of their bodies were likewise vaporized. Those who had merely been infected by 22639's memetic effect lapsed into an unconscious state... puppets with their strings cut." Here Twilight's voice loses some of its official quality. "We thought that would be the end of it, but the Candy Mare is nothing if not resilient. Sunset... Patient Zero, unfortunately, became the new carrier of the Candy Curse. 22639 had apparently created a hybrid flesh form while in our universe that was able to survive the destruction of the Candy Curse. In the process of eliminating this quasi-human entity, Patient Zero became infected. Though 22639 now lacks a physical presence, the energy that created her in the first place is now bound to Patient Zero. Should she die, or succumb to the memetic effects of the curse, her body will become a new vessel for 22639 and the events at CHS will start over again, reaching a global scale in a matter of days if not contained."

Again the slide changes again to a news article, the headline of which reads 'CHS Halloween Massacre'. "To prevent this, a cover story was fabricated and Patient Zero was taken into custody. As I was the only survivor with contacts with the agency with first hand experience with both Patient Zero and 22639, I was recruited directly by the council and later put in charge of this facility with the purpose of containing Patient Zero and researching a means to neutralize the 'Candy Curse'. With the assistance of Agent Butterfly, a special operative who also crossed over from an Equestrian dimension, we began work on isolating and eliminating the memetic entity based on prior experimentation conducted in her home realm. These measures were thought to be adequate to maintain containment. We were wrong."

These were familiar images now. Camp Everfree, corrupted and rotting under mounds of fetid candy. "We initially thought that the Everfree event was a possible second incursion from an alternate Equestria. Given Agent Butterfly's origins it wasn't as remote a possibility as we might hope. It would seem that while lightning striking in the same place is rare, that's not the case if in the metaphor you happen to be a lightning rod, which unfortunately does seem to be the case with our world. But as I said, we *thought* the Everfree event was a secondary incursion. Now that we've had time to further observe the entity that caused that event, we have instead decided to give it the designation 22639b. We suspect it is in fact the remains of the body that 22639a which we thought was destroyed by Patient Zero. After the vaporization of the candy flesh, the fumes appear to have seeded clouds in the upper atmosphere which in turn became a storm that moved away from the city and into the wilderness. It is unknown what attracted the liquefied flesh to the Everfree Forest, but we do know that it attempted to convert a large swath of biomass in that area."

The slide changed to show the same area, now scoured of all life. A wasteland for as far as the eye could see. "The body is weak without the curse that drives it, and incapable of maintaining the cell division necessary for mass replication. Based on our original theory that this entity might have been a secondary "Candy Mare" we observed it, hoping that since it had difficulty surviving in our world that it might lead us back to its point of origin. During this time of observation, we learned much about the entity: It cannot convert matter to pseudo candy flesh, and instead is reliant on metabolizing large amounts of organic matter to simply subsist. It also seems that it requires a secondary source of nourishment, that of fear and suffering. We were able to observe it attempt on several occasion to try to attach to a host, unsuccessfully, instead creating puppets we have designated 22639c. While a piece of the body is present inside of these individuals, occupying the skull cavity, the individuals are still more or less human. Caution should be taken in dealing with them, but they should prove to be as vulnerable to conventional weapons as any normal human combatant."

With that, the screen goes black. Then a video feed starts to play. This is footage Cadance hasn't seen up till now, but it shows a clearly maniacal creature tearing through a small contingent of guards like they were paper. Despite the cackling laughter, tendrils and claws, she can see that underneath it all is a familiar looking teenager. "As of thirteen hundred hours, Patient Zero escaped her cell. She has since injured or incapacitated at least forty personnel, including those specifically outfitted to subdue her. We suspect that she is not operating completely under her own will, instead succumbing to the memetic effect mentioned previously. Since this effects both judgement, inhibition, and equilibrium, we hope it will prove to be a vulnerability that Agent Butterfly can exploit. She is currently in pursuit of Patient Zero, but as of now she has breached containment and is on route to escape into the cities sewer system."

A new video feed appeared, and this one made Cadance's blood run cold. Crystal Prep, was not burning, but a familiar pink slime seemed to be dripping from every window. In front of the school she could see students fleeing from adults with long pink tendrils whipping out of their gaping mouths and eye sockets. They were dragging the students back into the school. Cadance had a sickening feeling she knew exactly why. "At the same time, 22639b has begun a mass slaughter similar to the one that took place at CHS last Halloween. We have deduced that the outpouring of fear, terror, and suffering from this event is being used directly to fuel the Candy Curse. While it is uncertain what effect this may have on Patient Zero, we can only assume that it is no coincidence that she is heading directly for Crystal Prep at this moment in time."

Cadance was absolutely drowning in information as the rest of the gathered personal murmured and whispered among themselves. Things were much more complicated than she suspected. She had no idea how this creature was connected to the one that had devoured Diamond Tiara, but it seemed that things went much further than a simple monster attack on a school. As fanciful as that notion had seemed previously, it was positively mundane compared to what Twilight would have them believe was really going on. Other dimensional invaders? Candy monsters that survived on flesh as well as the torment and fear of its victims? The destruction of CHS caused by some trans-dimensional backlash that was apparently necessary to defeat this creature the first time? And then the revelation that all it had managed to do was potentially to have split the evil entity in two? It was all too much for her to process.

"So what does this mean for all of you?" asked Twilight, as if she was reading Cadance's mind. "It means we are moving up Operation Wilde Jagd. We must neutralize both the 'body' and 'soul' of the Candy Mare. This will mean that we must eliminate or neutralize all instances of 22639c as well as 22639b to prevent them from coming into contact with 22639a. In the meantime, Agent Butterfly will do what she must to re-acquire 22639a. While this is a containment operation, lethal force has been authorized and specialized weaponry will be provided to each and everyone of you. This is an all hands on deck situation. We do not have time to wait for re-enforcement from central, nor are we currently able to fully deploy this facilities garrison of combat operatives. Should 22639a re-unite with 22639b, it could result in a K class scenario, and may even lead to an XK class end of the world event."

"Again, I can't stress this enough, neutralization of 22639 is our primary goal. However," Twilight pauses to raise a small device. While the crowd had clearly been on the verge of revolt, the sight of it seemed to calm them. Cadance has no idea what it is, but it seems that what Twilight holds in her hand is of great import, and possibly a game changing advantage. "If we must eliminate Patient Zero to neutralize the Candy Mare, then so be it."