“Careful… thlowly…” Twist craned her neck to oversee the languid spill of the molten chocolate onto the cold stone countertop. She straightened her glasses when the angle made them slip. “Thpread it out real evenly.”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo walked backward on the kitchen counter with the metal bowl braced between them as they poured the stuff out in broad zigzags.

“Awethome!” Twist said with a grin. She hopped from her tall stool to the counter, picked up a spatula with her mouth, and then started smoothing out the chocolate.

The other two fillies put down the mostly empty bowl. Scootaloo dipped a hoof and sucked the chocolate off it while Bloom addressed their hostess.

“Okay, so, uh, we’re glad we could help out,” Bloom said, “but truth be told, we didn’t really come ‘round just to make desserts.”

“Yeah,” said Scootaloo as she continued to scrape the bowl. “Wow, this is delicious …”

Bloom shot her a sidelong glare and then spoke on. “Thing is, we’re a little outta the loop because we missed the song earlier. Could you maybe fill us in a bit?”

“Umm …” Twist put down the spatula. “Gosh, I dunno, girlth. I’m not very confident thinging tholo.”

“Oh, you don’t have to sing it!” Bloom waved away the idea. “Just maybe … summarize?”

“A thummary? Okay, I’ll try. Lethee…” She tapped her chin with a hoof. “Well, the grown-upth are all away, to learn about how to thtop making tho much trouble for everypony around here. And while they’re gone, Majethty will keep uth all thafe and thound while we have fun and eat thnackth and tho forth.” She cleared her throat. “Really, it made more thenthe ath a thong. You know how it ith.”

“Everypony really is gone? Even Big Macintosh and Applejack and Granny?” Bloom frowned. “Why didn’t they say anything about this?”

Twist frowned back. “I don’t know. The thong didn’t thay!”

“It’s okay, thanks anyway,” Scootaloo said as she scoured the bowl for more chocolate. “Did Majesty say when the grown-ups will be back?”

Twist shook her head. “I dunno. Maybe you could athk around?” She picked up a scraper and started shaving delicate decorative curls out of the cooled chocolate spread.

“Way ahead of you,” Bloom replied. She hopped down off the counter, and Scootaloo reluctantly followed.

Sweetie Belle and Pipsqueak had just crossed into the schoolyard when the bell rang. The noise was deafening in the silence of the empty town, and both yelped and stumbled in shock.

“What the…?” Sweetie tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

Pip’s face lit up. “My stars! Do you think Miss Cheerilee is still here?”

Sweetie’s expression brightened just as much. The foals galloped for the doors and burst inside.

Half a dozen students turned in their desks to face the newcomers. At the head of the class, Silver Spoon frowned from her perch on a tall stool next to the teacher’s desk.

“Recess ended one minute ago,” Silver huffed. “If you must be tardy, the least you could do is not disrupt class with your arrival!” She gestured at the vacant side of the classroom. “Take your seats, please.”

Sweetie inhaled to object, but the weight of all those staring, disapproving eyes silently squeezed the breath from her lungs. She trotted over to her usual spot and took a seat. Pip sat down next to her.

“Now then,” Silver said as she adjusted her glasses, “shall we continue? We were on chapter two of geography, I believe. We can discuss the chapter after we finish the questions at the end, and then we’ll choose the meal for this evening’s extracurricular home-economics activity. The voting is down to spaghetti or mixed vegetable curry.”

The students all took out their workbooks and opened them to the day’s assignments. A moment later Silver climbed down and headed to her own desk to do likewise. The room fell into a smooth silence broken only by the rustle of papers and the scratch of pencils.

Sweetie sat waiting for a while. She glanced at Pip, who was vaguely hoofing at the geography book on his desk, uncertain whether to proceed. She furrowed her brows. “Silver, we-”

The students all shared a soft gasp and turned scandalized stares in Sweetie’s direction.

Silver cleared her throat. “Ponies who aren’t extremely rude and ill-mannered raise their hoof when they have something to say in class.”

Sweetie scowled for a long moment before swinging her right hoof skyward in a grand gesture, glaring at Silver all the while.

Silver calmly closed her book, got to her hooves, trotted over to the stool, and climbed back up. “Yes, Sweetie Belle?” she said. “Did you have a question?”

Sweetie made as if to speak, paused, and then sagged. When she did speak her voice was a glum mumble delivered with rolling eyes. “May Pip and I be excused, please?”

Pip gasped. “B-But Sweetie…! We haven’t even-”

“Ah-HEM!” Silver didn’t even try to make it a fake cough this time.

Pip fidgeted in his seat and waved a raised hoof urgently.

Silver ignored him. “And why, exactly, do you need to be excused?”

Sweetie narrowed her eyes. “We’ve learned everything we’re going to, here.”

Silver removed her glasses and gripped one arm between her teeth while carefully polishing the lenses with a small silk cloth. She put them back on, adjusted them, and took a slow, deep breath. “You’re excused.”

“C’mon, Pip,” Sweetie said. “Let’s find the others.”

Outside, Pip hustled to catch up with Sweetie’s frustrated stomping. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Why are they in school with no teacher around?”

Sweetie sighed. “When my sister is kinda upset, she makes a big scene. She messy-cries and wails and eats tons of ice cream. But when she’s SUPER upset, she bottles it up and does her work and acts like everything’s okay. It’s really obvious, it doesn’t fool anypony, but she does it anyway!”

Pip frowned. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“Those foals are upset and hiding it,” Sweetie said. “Just like Rarity. And if we push them, even a little, they’ll do what she does — explode.”

Pip trembled a little. “Goodness!” He trotted a little closer to Sweetie and lowered his voice. “Do you mean, ah, literally?”

Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Pretty much.”

“Oh, my …”

“Yeah. We wouldn’t have gotten anything out of them. With any luck, the others have found some foals who aren’t that out of touch with reality.”

“Avast, ye scurvy landlubbers!”

“Uh, okay …” Ruby Pinch set down the paddle. The dinghy-shaped cart rolled to a halt three yards away from the scaled-down galleon sitting on wagon-wheels midway down Stirrup Street.

Dinky Hooves — or rather, The Dink — frowned up at the source of the shout. She cupped her front hooves around her mouth and called out: “Where did you even find that getup? Nightmare Night isn’t for two months!”

The Captain standing on the deck and looking down at them was silhouetted by the sun, but that did little to downplay the opulence of her attire. Rich velvet and brocade and polished brass and gold formed the base. A massive hat emblazoned with a white skull was decorated with both a large plume and a precariously balanced steel diadem on top. The Captain stepped up to the forecastle and out of the back-lighting.

“It’s called inventory, you dummy!” Diamond Tiara snapped. “You think seasonal stock just magically appears in shops every holiday?” She caught herself, scowling, and shook her head to banish the break in character. “Uh, as I was saying, these waters are the domain of Captain Diamond and her pirate crew! We’ll not be sharing our booty with the likes of you!” She let out a boisterous yah-hah-harr laugh, and several less fancy pirate foals popped up into view and joined in.

The Dink turned to Pinch. “I think you’re gonna have to take the lead on this one, Pinch,” she whispered. “Non-ghost pirates aren’t really my specialty.”

Pinch gave a firm nod and stepped forward. She cleared her throat. “Captain, we request parley!”

Diamond huffed. “Fine. Come aboard, but bring any treasure you’ve got with you!”

Pinch gave a salute and then took up the paddle to push the cart up against the galleon. A ladder of rope and planks unfolded down the hull, and the fillies climbed up.

The rest of the crew wore an assortment of accessories — bandanas, eyepatches, torn tunics, sashes, wooden toy swords, and false peg-legs. They gave the captain plenty of space, but eyed the newcomers warily.

“Speak your piece!” Diamond demanded. “You’re holding up our pirate-ing.” She gestured at a pair of colts carrying a basket of fresh carrots down into the cargo hold.

Pinch blew a stray lock out of her eyes. “Nice place you’ve got here. Did Majesty magic this up?”

Captain Diamond puffed out her chest. “That’s right. And I asked for the biggest street-ship in town, so if you want one it won’t be this nice. Not ever close!”

Diamond and her crew indulged in a fresh round of yah-hah-harr-ing.

Pinch nodded. “Oh, yeah. It’s really great. Loads better than that cart we got from the park.”

The Captain beamed. She received praise like sponge cake soaking up syrup. “And don’t you forget it!”

Pinch swallowed hard to push back a pithy retort. “Uh-huh. So, anyway, we’re just stopping by ‘cause we missed the song earlier, and we’re trying to get up to speed on all this.”

“You missed the song!?” Diamond’s shock had pushed her voice up into her usual higher pitch. She cleared her throat and resumed her piratical growling. “I shouldn’t even be surprised. That’s just like you scurvy land-”

Pinch frowned. “Yeah, it’s true. We sure lub us some land. Now what we wanna know is, did Majesty say WHERE all the grown-ups are? Or when they’d be coming back?”

Diamond’s face took in the questions like a big bite of lemon. “Why? What’s your big hurry? Everypony’s overdue for a vacation — us and the grown-ups! Just like the song said! They’re fine, and they’re gonna learn to stop letting so much crazy stuff happen in town. They’ll all get nicer. Everything will be better! And in the meantime, we’re all free to have fun and eat ice cream and sail the open seas!”

The Dink stepped forward. “Look, Cap’n. Just spill it, okay? When is my mom coming home? TELL ME!” She gave Diamond a hoof-nudge for emphasis.

Even that light contact made the top-heavy filly stagger. She caught her toppling hat while she stumbled, but her tiara slipped off the top and bounced on the deck. Diamond lunged too late; the next bounce sent it sailing overboard.

The crewfoals all froze in terror.

Pinch ran a hoof down her face. “Oh yeesh, Dink. Yeesh.”

Seething fury consumed Diamond’s horror. She turned on the visitors and fixed them with a stare made of blue ice, sharply contrasting with the deepening red of her face.

“Y-You filthy BARNACLES!” she shrieked. “Seize them!”

The Dink and Pinch turned to flee, but a mass of mateys pounced and piled on top of them. In short order they were hobbled with ropes and hustled toward a thin board jutting off the deck.

“You’ll rue the day you crossed Captain Diamond!” The pirate gripped her wooden cutlass in her teeth and started prodding the two Unicorns off the plank.

“Hay, cut it out, Diamond! It was an accident! Ow! Quit it!” The Dink wriggled in her bonds and shuffled to stay upright as Diamond poked her over and over with the dull blade.

“Not good, Dink,” Pinch said grimly. “Looks like there’s only one way out of this one.”

The Dink sighed. “I’m just glad I don’t have any rare comics on me.” The next poke pushed her up alongside Pinch. Both of them teetered near the end of the board.

“It’s been a privilege,” Pinch said. The pair shared a silent nod, and then leaned and fell off the plank. An instant later a loud splash echoed off the shopfronts.

“Hmph!” Diamond sheathed her cutlass. “That’ll teach you!” She turned to her crew. “Hoist the mainsail! We’re plotting a course to the candy shop!”

The pirate foals scurried busily and soon the ship creaked and rolled its way down the street.

The Dink burst up in the public water trough and spit and sputtered for breath. Pinch appeared right after.

“That coulda gone better,” Pinch said as she clumsily squirmed out of the loose ropes, splashed her way out of the trough, and fell in a sodden heap on the dirt.

“I told you,” The Dink replied. “I’m better with ghost-pirates.”

The ice cream in the town square was all gone save for a sticky sheen on the tables. Cake was the order of the day now, with towering tiers and layers casting shadows like the Manehattan skyline.

Scootaloo chomped on a slice of double-chocolate devil’s food cake. She hummed in bliss. “Wow,” she said after gulping it down. “It really is better when you make it yourself.”

“We BARELY helped,” Apple Bloom reminded her. The comment didn’t stop her from munching on her own piece of the cake, however.

Scootaloo shrugged. “Either way, we got nothing.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Same here. School was no help. What about you two?”

The Dink pulled her heavy wool blanket closer to arrest her shivers. She shook her head.

Bloom frowned. “This just doesn’t feel right. Somepony woulda told us. Applejack would never leave me alone without explainin’ things.”

“It’s quite unusual, definitely,” Pip said with a nod.

Sweetie frowned. “This wouldn’t be the first time the grown-ups in this town did something surprising. My sister’s ALWAYS freaking out about fashion stuff. Fluttershy’s so kind and nice, but she almost got the town eaten by those freaky bugs! Princess Twilight did that crazy magic with the stuffed toy. Even Applejack got kinda weird when she wasn’t sleeping for a few days.” She sighed. “I know it feels strange, but are … are we SURE something’s wrong?”

“Of course …!” The Dink said. “It’s gotta be something! A conspiracy! A front! As far as I’m concerned, nothing is ruled out — not even the flying monster!”

“Ugh! How many times do we hafta go over this?” Bloom groaned.

“The truth is out there!” The Dink pressed. “You’ll see! We could be in huge danger! All of us!” She waved broadly at the nearby foals.

As the sun slowly set, the young Ponies were settling down for more relaxed pastimes. Some played board games at the sticky tables, some drew with crayons, and others napped on pillows liberated from Davenport’s quill and sofa store. A filly yawned wide, and then snuggled up with a patchwork donkey toy.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “Uh, all of this is weird, definitely. But we’ve seen some pretty freaky stuff. This barely measures up. I mean, Majesty IS pretty nice. Maybe Sweetie’s right? Maybe the grown-ups really are just on a friendship retreat?”

The Dink lowered her brows and her voice. “That’s not a chance I’m willing to take.”

Pip shrank back. “Really, it’s terribly off-putting when you do that!”

“We can’t NOT take that chance, though!” Scootaloo countered. “Nopony knows anything, and we tried talking to Majesty already! If we ask any more, we’ll get nothing outta her.”

The Dink raised an eyebrow. “Oh? How do you figure?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “If she really is nice, or she’s like, a pawn or whatever, then she doesn’t know anything big. And if she’s more in on it than that, talking to her will get her suspicious and maybe even make her mad!”

The Dink gave an approving nod. “Atta girl.”

Scootaloo blushed faintly. “It’s nothing. I borrowed some Daring Do books from Rainbow Dash, and Daring’s always thinking ahead like that.”

“Oh, I love those books!” Pinch said. Her own blanket dropped as she eagerly perked up. “I always used to get them outta the old library, before it burned down. Did you read the latest book, yet? I hear it’s amazing!”

Bloom cleared her throat. “We’re gettin’ off track.”

Pinch smiled sheepishly. “Woops. Sorry!” She firmed up her expression. “I dunno if we’re gonna make any more progress today, though. We can look around again in the morning. If something’s wrong, clues have gotta come up.”

“IF?” The Dink snapped. “Et tu, Pinchy? How could you?”

Pinch leaned to stare The Dink down. “Shadow Chaser says never let yourself get ahead of the evidence. The truth is never clear until-”

The Dink sighed. “... Until the last piece of the puzzle is in place. I know.” She huffed. “I lent you those comics, you jerk.”

Pinch pulled her into a hug. “I miss my mom, too, Dink. I’m not ruling anything out, either. But that includes exactly what Majesty and the other foals said.” She drew back and turned to face the others as well. “There’s still the train explosion. Even if the grown-ups ARE on a retreat, that’s not normal. So, we’ll keep it up. Follow the evidence — wherever it takes us. Together?” She thrust out a hoof.

The Dink smiled and put in her hoof as well. “Together.”

Scootaloo joined in. “Together.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie nodded silently as they did likewise.

Pip sighed. “Oh, very well.” He put in his hoof as well.

The foals raised their hooves in unison and then clacked them against the tabletop in solidarity.

“Right,” said Bloom. “Guess I’ve got some farm chores comin’ in the morning, and we’re ALL gonna have some big empty homes … so, how ‘bout we camp at the CMC clubhouse tonight?”

The other two Crusaders agreed readily.

“Finally,” said The Dink. “A headquarters!”

“A secret base!” added Pinch.

“Have you got enough pillows and blankets and such for six Ponies...?” Pip asked.

Bloom’s eager smile faded a bit. “Oh. Uh, right. New plan: everypony bounce home and grab some bedding, and THEN we camp at the clubhouse!”

Sweetie Belle’s shadow stretched out ahead of her as she trotted back toward her empty home to fetch her pillow and quilt. With the day’s festivities winding down, the streets were once again utterly silent. She heard every crunch of gravel under her hooves as she moved.

The wind stirred, and a broad shadow flickered across the street ahead. Sweetie paused.

“H-Hello…?” She looked over her shoulder. The street was still vacant. She swallowed hard and then walked on.

She didn’t make it more than ten strides before the shadow returned and a grey mass swooped down on her from above. Flapping wings stirred the street dust, and scaly talons seized her tightly.

Sweetie screamed and flailed. “Help! Monster! Flying monster!” She batted with her hooves and struggled to recall the mental rites to call forth a zapping spell.

The creature landed and reared up on its hind legs. It held Sweetie at arm’s length and cringed away from her frantic swings and glowing horn.

“Hey…! Cut it out, Sweetie Belle! It’s just me! Relax!”

Sweetie snuffed her horn and squinted through tears at her captor. “...Gabby?”

The grey Griffon set Sweetie down and gently smoothed her mussed mane. “Sorry I scared you. Last time you got a surprise hug you were a lot more okay with it!” She chuckled awkwardly. “It’s just been a while, and I had another letter from Gilda to deliver to Rainbow Dash, so I figured I’d stop by and check in on my fellow Crusaders!” She stiffened and gave a sharp salute.

Sweetie sniffled and wiped her eyes. “It’s okay. It’s just been a really weird day, is all. All the grown-ups are, um, kinda missing.”

Gabby frowned. “Missing?”

“Or maybe on vacation. We’re not sure. But they’re all gone for now. Well, almost all of them, anyway. There’s still Majesty.”

The Griffon tilted her head. “I don’t think I’ve met her, before.”

“We hadn’t, either. I think she might be from another city. Canterlot, maybe.” Sweetie nodded for her to follow as she resumed the walk home. “She’s nice. A train blew up, and some of the foals are acting strange, and The Dink says something’s off, but Majesty seems pretty —”

The Unicorn in question called from around a corner up ahead: “Bedtime, my little colts and fillies! Bedtime! Time to find a spot to snuggle up in and have a nice rest and some lovely dreams!”

Sweetie shrugged. “See? Still wish we’d been there for the song, though. Stuff always makes more sense when you sing about it.”

Majesty came into view up ahead, crossing their path sidelong. She turned to face them both. Her smile faltered slightly. “Oh, Sweetie Belle, was it? I heard you shouting earlier. Would you like to come talk about it?”

Before Sweetie could answer, Gabby was grabbing her all over again — this time to shove her back as she leaped to interpose herself. “NO!” Her wings spread wide and her plumage flared. Her chest heaved with her breaths and her pupils were pinpricks.

“Gabby…?” Sweetie reached out a hoof. “What are you doing?”

Gabby trembled as she gulped down a whimper. “It’s… i-it’s her, Sweetie Belle. It’s her! She’s real!”

“I’d very much like a moment of your time, Sweetie,” Majesty asked again. “If you’re … too sleepy to make the walk, would you like me to come fetch you?”

Gabby’s tail lashed the air behind her. Her claws dug into the dirt. “N-Never! You hear me? She’s my friend! I WON’T LET YOU TAKE HER!” She was shaking all over.

Sweetie pushed at the Griffon’s feline flank. “Gabby, what’s going on? You’re freaking me out!”

Gabby finally took her eyes off the mare and focused on her friend. “It’s HER, Sweetie Belle! Prey-That-Hunts! Pale Death! Blue Flowers Five!” She looked back at the plump, pleasant Unicorn. Her feathers ruffled. “She’s real!”

“Oh, my. What a racket! Is that creature upsetting you, little one? Don’t you fret. I’m here.” Majesty’s tone remained as warm and soothing as a freshly sun-dried blanket, but her eyes followed every move the Griffon made.

Sweetie looked over at Majesty. “What...? Pale … Gabby, what are you talking about?”

Majesty took a step forward. Gabby clenched her beak and then lunged to pick Sweetie up. “I’m sorry!” she cried. “Just run! Save yourself! I’ll hold her off!” She turned, reared, and hurled Sweetie at an open window down the street.

Drapes billowed as Sweetie sailed into the window and landed on an unmade bed. A hawk-like shriek echoed in the evening air, followed by impacts, grunting, thrashing, and then a deafening crash of cracking wood and breaking glass.

Sweetie got her bearings and then leaped off the bed and scampered back to the window. She leaned out. “Gabby! Gabby, are you okay?”

Gabby sat alone, hunched and panting to catch her breath. Behind her, the frontage of a house was smashed into a yawning, ragged hole. She looked up and gave a shaky wave.

“Sweetie! I think she’s out cold! I made it! I really really made it! I’m okay!” She slapped her talons over her beak and stifled a sob of relief. “Pinfeathers, I was so scared!”

“Wait right there! I’m coming down!” Sweetie turned and galloped down unfamiliar stairs in search of the front door.

Gabby spread her wings. “Don’t bother, I’m coming to you! We —”

As Sweetie raced out into the street, a purple-white flash brighter than the sun at noon blinded her. She cried out, stumbled and fell.

When she sat up and rubbed the dust and tears out of her stinging eyes, the first thing Sweetie saw was Gabby, with her wings spread in triumph, her face a mask of relief and exhaustion … and all of her, head to tail, nothing but grey, solid, lifeless stone.

Sweetie Belle’s jaw dropped in silent horror.

Majesty staggered out of the ruined building, magicking aside debris into tidy piles and carefully wiping up a drop of blood from a tiny scratch on her forehead.

“Don’t be scared, my little Pony,” she crooned. “You’re safe now.”