The moment Mute stepped off the train in Ponyville, Holy Vow had met him on the platform. The white pegasus had worn a severe expression and carried a letter from Lieutenant Sword that instructed them to travel to Manehattan. They were ordered to investigate reports of disappearances and strange sightings near the harbor. These anomalies had at first drawn the attention of the Manehattan police and so they increased the number of officers patrolling the harbor. However, not long after officers began going missing as well. Witnesses spoke of shadows hiding in alleyways and of suspicious individuals hanging around the harbor at night. The situation was untenable and Zarathon's magic was needed.

Not that Zarathon agreed.

The ever-burning pebble had at first demanded to stay in Ponyville. He argued that his abilities were needed closer to the Blackpit. But any objections he had were overruled. Holy Vow made it clear that they had not been asked to investigate the disappearances but ordered to do so by the princesses.

So before they had even had a chance to sleep they were back on the train going east. And it had Zarathon grumbling.

"We don't have time for this Mute," Zarathon said from the seat opposite the changeling.

They had been given a private cabin away from prying eyes and Mute had to admit it certainly made the experience of traveling by train less strenuous. The green cushioned seats and clean wood furnishings gave Mute a refreshing feeling and the baggage holders above them allowed Mute to store his saddle bags. Though he kept his notebook and charcoal pen by his side.

Mute shrugged at Zarathon's words and looked at the hills and fields that rolled by. He picked up his notebook and wrote. 'We can not let them control a whole city. Imagine if they get onto a ship and infect places across the sea. What do we do then? Travel even further away from the Blackpit?'

"I know we can not let them get access to the sea! But we can not leave the Everfree to its own devices. The shades will know that we're gone and once that happens they'll become far more bold. Imagine another elder shade daring to attack Ponyville while we're gone. What happens then? They die, Mute, that is what happens."

The door to their private cabin slid open and Holy Vow walked inside, taking a seat next to Mute. He held a sandwich with one of his wings and threw a pink vial to Mute with the other. "You shouldn't discount the guards that quickly, Lord Zarathon. And Lady Will can certainly handle herself."

"You believe so? That any of you could survive an elder shade without me and Mute? Your confidence in your abilities is awe-inspiring, private."

Mute caught the pink vial in surprise and he bit around its cork lid, pulling it off with an audible 'plop'. He opened his maw and the liquid inside began to swirl before turning into a misty form. The pink mist flowed into his mouth and down his gullet and soon nothing remained of the liquid love. Mute gave Holy a thankful nod but he couldn't help but wonder how the pegasus had managed to acquire it. He quickly wrote into his notebook and turned it around for Holy to read. 'How did you get this?'

"Miss Pie sends her regards. When I told her you had to travel east she gave me that thing and told me to give it to you," Holy said and took a bite out of his sandwich.

Mute scoffed in amusement and tapped his charcoal pen against the notebook before writing. 'I don't know how she is able to produce it. Only changelings are able to do it.'

Holy sighed and massaged his temple with his left wing. "Don't question things when Miss Pie is involved, Mute. She can make things appear out of thin air."

'Fair enough. Back at the task at hand then. I think we should seek out sailors and dockworkers once we're in the city. They'll know what goes on in the harbor far better than police mares several blocks away.'

"Good point, Mute. But I believe such effort will not be necessary. We won't have to look far to find shades. All of this feels too deliberate and public," Zarathon mumbled, his flame swaying back and forth in thought.

Holy took a bite out of his sandwich and eyed the pebble with worry. "What do you mean?"

"It is all too unclean, private. They've taken any and all types of pony, from beggars to harbor workers to police officers. They are concentrated on one area rather than taking ponies from around the city. If they spread out the disappearances they could make them appear less suspicious. They are drawing attention to themselves. I fear they are baiting us in for some sort of trap. I want you both to be ready for anything," Zarathon said firmly.

Holy made a slow salute with his wing and took another bite out of the sandwich. "Will do, sir."

Mute just gave Zarathon a nod and held out his hoof, conjuring a tentative flame. He would be ready.

"Good... Good... Let us hope we are done quickly and can return to our duties in the Everfree before the week is over. I fear we shall never earn the trust of the element bearers or the town if we are constantly pulled away by the princesses."

'That was always going to happen, with or without the alicorns' orders. We are not long for Equestria after all.'

"Perhaps not. But I would like to make allies before we must leave," Zarathon said.

Holy eyed Mute's writing and looked at him suspiciously. "And where exactly are you going?"

"That is between me, Mute, and your princess, once I am certain of some things. Do not worry, private Vow, we will not leave in a week. Just be aware that to fight the shades and win, Mute and I will have to leave Equestria for a time."

"I see... Just, be sure to tell us before you go. We are going to need a heads up," Holy said and chowed down on the rest of the sandwich.

"We will, Private Vow, we will," Zarathon replied and turned his flames towards the window.

Holy Vow looked out towards the rolling landscape and he gained an anxious expression. "I had a cousin when I was younger. He had some kind of illness and was always weak. But he always smiled. Even as the disease ate away at his flesh and bones he smiled. In fact, the sicker he got the wider he smiled. He flossed his teeth and used all manners of things to keep them white, all so ponies would only see was his smile, not his dying body. Ever since the elder shade attacked, I look out at Equestria and I swear it is smiling just like my cousin. And I am wondering what I am missing as I stare at the teeth."

Mute frowned at Holy's words and he watched as the nightly landscape rolled by. For a second he imagined the fields, forests, and hills forming a terrifying black smile and he shuddered.

Manehattan was exactly like Mute remembered it. Ponies rushed past and pushed them aside when they walked down the street. Fast carriages rolled by so close to the sidewalk that it was a wonder no one got hurt. Above them all rose steel-glass behemoths that towered over the skyline. They reminded Mute of the Spire at home. Yet unlike the organic and comforting feeling of the Spire, these skyscrapers only made Mute's chitin crawl with discomfort.

"Cities are too big these days. I remember when a hundred thousand souls in a city was a great accomplishment. Now they can have a million and it is treated like it's ordinary," Zarathon said from behind Mute's horn.

"I agree, it is a bit too large for my tastes as well..." Holy mumbled and did his best to bump into any of the ponies rushing past them. "But it is impressive how many ponies can live in the same place without it all burning down once a week."

"The city might have a much worse fate than a great fire if we're too slow. Please hurry to the police precinct, Mute."

Mute hurried his steps and took them to a stone building a few blocks away from the harbor. Its towering monolithic presence lent to an oppressive air over the street. The pillars that held up its triangular roof gave it the feel of a temple, though the many mares rushing in and out in police uniforms certainly lent to a different feel.

"The detective we were supposed to meet is in there somewhere, let's go find her," Holy said and ascended the stairs to the gigantic police station.

Once inside they were met by an officer who pointed them in the direction of an office on the second floor. Past several cubicles, crooked hallways, and side doors they found a red door with the name 'Hard Case' printed on it in bold letters. Mute opened the door and went inside, being met by a cluttered and cramped office with overflowing filing cabinets, stacks of papers, books on various subjects such as history and medicine, and empty pizza cartoons all over the room. In the center of the office sat a wooden desk that was an oasis of cleanliness and neat organization with properly filed documents and no trash. And behind the desk, asleep on a cot beneath a draped window, laid a red, rotund, and snoring unicorn mare.

"I expected a stallion known for professionalism and staunch beliefs in organizing. I have found a fat mare that likely doesn't return borrowed books to the library," Zarathon said dryly.

Mute choked a laugh at that but composed himself just as quickly. He had to try and have manners if his friend wouldn't.

Holy couldn't help but side-eye the pebble "I thought you were all about acting proper, or at least pretending to."

"I do. But I also have little patience for things such as this when we are dealing with creatures that can cause catastrophe," Zarathon said and his flames flared, giving Mute a temporary crown of fire, "Now wake up, detective!"

Hard Case shot up out of her bed and looked around in panic before her eyes landed on the three of them. She yawned and grumbled, rubbing her eyes for a second before getting up. "What do you want?"

Holy stepped forward with a polite smile. "We are from Ponyville, ma'am. We were sent to help investigate the disappearances?"

Hard Case eyed them for a second before her eyes widened. "Oh by Tartarus, you are the ones with the evil cursed rock everyone was talking about."

"Cursed!?"

Holy smiled. "Yes, we do indeed have that rock with us. Though he has a name—"

"And that name is Lord Zarathon Holtham! Remember it, you cretin! Calling me cursed what a damn travesty this city is I ought to leave you to the shades!" Zarathon yelled.

Mute tried really hard not to laugh and he bowed his head in greeting to the detective.

Hard Case eyed Mute for a second. "Not often I see a changeling without his disguise. It is hard enough to deal with them when they want to hide. If they're willingly showing themselves then you know something is really wrong."

Mute pulled out his notebook and gave the mare a polite smile. 'Nothing is wrong. I am not here on behalf of my hive. I am afraid I suffer from a debilitating injury that prevents me from using ordinary magic. If I could take a shape more affable to pony sensibilities I would. Trust me, I would.'

Detective Case gave him an uncertain nod and looked up at his cracked horn, eyeing Zarathon warily. "I've been told you're supposed to be some ancient tyrant or warlord or whatever that the princesses vanquished long ago. I don't want any trouble in my city, do you understand?"

"Certainly. I am not here to add more problems, I am here to take away some of the existing ones. Specifically, I am here to ensure your city does not fall to an infestation of shades. So please, Miss Case, take us to the harbor and show us where ponies have gone missing," Zarathon said with a strained polite voice.

"I have to agree. We need to deal with this as quickly as possible," Holy said.

Mute just stared at the detective, wondering how she had gained so much weight in an active profession.

Hard Case gave them a tired look before she sighed and grabbed a bottle of something from behind her desk. She threw on a jacket and stuffed the bottle into her pocket before nodding towards the door. "Follow me, gentlecolts, and I'll show you where the beasties were seen."

The harbor stank of fish, salt, and industrial oil. Ponies rushed about to deliver cargo to a row of warehouses or to board departing ships. Several vessels were anchored in the bay and Mute couldn't help but marvel at the hundreds of ponies that worked on the deck and the outside of the vessels. For all of his complaints about pony individualism and their chaotic society, he had to admit that the harbor ran like a well-oiled machine. But the state of its cobblestone streets smeared with gull feces and the amount of depraved emotions that flowed from back alley pubs made Mute wish for the cleanliness of the Hive.

They stopped in front of a warehouse near an old tavern and Detective Case waved her hoof over the area.

"The ponies have gone missing around here and just recently a mare contacted us about an attacker with black eyes. She said he had worn dark clothes and glasses when he approached her but when he launched to grab her she managed to knock the glasses off. She claimed to have seen no light in his eyes. Does that description match your shades?" Hard Case asked and looked over her shoulder at the trio.

"That is indeed correct. It sounds like an infected resident trying to lure more unsuspecting victims to the same fate. Though it is being very public about it... I fear all of this might be deliberate to get us here and trap us, or worse. Keep an eye out for possible suspects and warn me if something seems amiss," Zarathon mumbled.

Mute nodded at that and looked around, scrounging his eyes as he tried to discern anything amiss. And much to his surprise, he did notice something. Something staring down at them from one of the upper windows of the warehouse. He grunted and nodded in the direction of the warehouse.

Detective Case turned around and squinted her eyes. "Is someone up there?"

Zarathon growled. "Not someone, something. Mute, get us in there."

Mute nodded and hurried to the large doors of the warehouse, dragging them open. As he did so light fell upon the dusty and packed room. Large wooden boxes stamped for various destinations cluttered the floor and shelves filled with tools and knickkacks were strewn about the place. Mute eyed the room for a second before stepping inside and looking up at the rafters. There was nothing up there.

"It moved. It is hiding somewhere in the room. Find it," Zarathon growled.

Mute hurriedly walked across the room and looked between the boxes and behind the shelves. Holy Vow tentatively followed and looked around in discomfort, his ears flicking and angling themselves to find any noise that seemed out of place. Detective Hard Case entered and gave the building an unimpressed stare.

"Where is your kidnapper, pebble?" the detective said.

"Hiding... Waiting to strike," Zarathon growled.

They spread out over the room and cautiously searched for the creature Mute had spotted. Yet all was quiet and seemingly normal. They found a shipping manifest for the cargo boxes, some miscellaneous notes left by dockworkers, and normal tools. It all seemed like an ordinary warehouse.

That was when a rattling came from one of the large boxes. Mute cautiously approached the box and looked it over as it began to rattle even more violently. Soon more rattling filled the air and Mute took a step back with wide eyes as more boxes began to shake. Zarathon's fire grew in size and cast light upon the shadowed room, revealing dozens of boxes that rattled with excitement.

"Open one of them, Mute," Zarathon ordered.

Mute approached one of the boxes and grabbed onto the side of one of its walls. He pulled on the wood and grunted from the effort. Soon the boards creaked and a small sliver opened up. Mute immediately dropped the boards with a gag and took a step back as a terrible smell of decay and corruption wafted out of the small opening.

Holy Vow eyed the boxes with increasing worry and he squeezed one of his wings around a long dagger he'd drawn from his side. "What fresh Tartarus is this?..."

Hard Case hurried up to Mute's side and telekinetically grabbed hold of the same wall Mute had pulled on. The boxes began to rattle even more violently and the sound drowned out all others in the room. Mute couldn't hear himself think. And then as the wall was ripped from the box the room went silent.

Holy Vow looked at the contents of the box in despair as inside was a wriggling, oily, and fleshy cocoon. "I think we found our missing ponies..."

Hard Case just stared at the cocoon with an open jaw, fear and awe in her eyes. "What is this thing?"

"How a shade enters the final stage of its evolution," Zarathon replied and his flame shot out to touch the cocoon.

The fleshy structure inside the wooden box lit up like it had been drenched in gasoline. For a second the cocoon moved and unfurled, revealing a grotesque sight. A pony with half of its face made from flesh and half made from shadow crawled out of the cocoon and screamed. But it had no hope of survival as Zarathon's flames reached it. The half-matured shade screeched and trashed in its cocoon as the fire consumed its body. It let out a final pained shriek before it and its cocoon turned to ash.

Mute let out a sigh of relief as the shade died. Holy looked ready to puke and he stepped back to get closer to the sunlight by the entrance. Hard Case just stared intensely at the burning box, her lips pursed tightly. The detective seemed deep in thought, ones that made her eyes fill with fear.

"The labels..." she mumbled. "They're boxes for shipping and shades are their cargo."

Zarathon let out a humorless laugh. "They are creating a pandemic. It is even worse than we feared, Mute."

That was when a powerful shriek sounded throughout the room and a black blur hit Hard Case's side. The mare let out a cry as she was thrown through some of the sleeves and skidded across the floor. Holy grabbed his dagger with his mouth and launched himself towards the blur. Mute in turn quickly faced the attacker with a snarl and jumped the pony-like shade. The changeling bit down around the shade's neck, black oily blood filling his mouth, making him gag. The shade returned the favor by biting down on Mute's cheek, drawing a muffled cry from him. Yet he didn't relent and he bit down harder to keep the shade in place. Zarathon's flames quickly enveloped the shade's head and it screamed. Holy finished the beast by swooping it and lopping off its head with a swift strike, barely missing Mute as he did so. The shade exploded into ash and the warehouse once again grew quiet.

Mute stumbled back and spat the black blood onto the ground. He desperately spat and tried his best to not gag as the taste of death spread around his mouth. Holy Vow on the other hand hurried to help Hard Case onto her hooves. The mare's left hind leg was bent at a weird angle and she hissed in pain as she walked. Mute sighed in relief as he saw the detective was alive. But the changeling was only given a moment of rest.

"Mute there's another one!" Holy yelled and pointed toward one of the corners of the room.

Mute dashed between the horrifying boxes and mundane shelves until he reached the corner. He bared his teeth and hissed, yet he blinked in confusion as he realized nothing awaited him. There was no shade in the corner. Though Mute noticed a small metal grate on the floor. He quickly walked over to it and bent down. However, as Mute got close he suddenly recoiled and gagged. A stank akin to death and decay rose from the grate and Mute desperately shook his head.

"Detective! Private Vow! We have found one of the paths to the shade nest!" Zarathon yelled.

Hard Case and Holy made their way to the corner, Hard Case having one foreleg wrapped over Holy's shoulders. She limped up to the grate and eyed it with a disgusted expression. Holy grabbed a cloth from one of the shelves and placed it over the grate, sighing in relief as the pungent smell was blocked.

Hard Case looked to Mute and Zarathon with a frown. "What do you make of this?"

"The shades here are in the form of ponies, suggesting it has been a while since they infected their hosts. And seeing as one of them was able to fit down that small grate I imagine there is nothing left of the hosts. An advanced stage of corruption is a very bad sign because that usually means there is a well-established nest close by to the creature's hunting grounds," Zarathon said grimly and flickered his flames in annoyance. "If only we had arrived earlier..."

Mute nodded in agreement and pointed to the now concealed grate before pointing outside. He mimicked lifting a heavy lid and descending a pair of stairs.

Holy let out an understanding 'ah' and nodded with the changeling. "He's saying we should find a sewer entrance if I'm not mistaken."

"That is exactly right, Private Vow! You are already understanding the intricacies of Mute's expressions! I am deeply impressed. I must recommend that the good lieutenant promote you when we are back in Ponyville."

Holy let out a scoff. "I don't think understanding charades will give me a promotion, Lord Zarathon."

Hard Case eyed them with a furrowed brow and nodded to the grate. "Why should we follow it into the sewers? That sounds like a dangerous goose chase without end. That thing can get to the other side of the city before we have the clearance to check the sewers. Not to mention how difficult it will be to find it. It is a maze down there. Furthermore, we need to clear this warehouse! If every last box in this room has one of those things inside it then we can't leave them!"

Mute rolled his eyes at the mare and took out his notebook. 'We can burn the boxes rather quickly. Dealing with the nest is far more important. Either the nest is destroyed or there won't be a Manehattan left in a few months, if not weeks.'

"My compatriot speaks the truth. If you let the shades fester down below they will slowly spread their influence into every aspect of life. They will replace mayors, police chiefs, representatives of the princesses, and many more. They clearly have replaced dockworkers. Once they're powerful enough they will harvest your population and create even more powerful and deadly monsters than before. Then their darkness will spread from here to the entire country," Zarathon said. "In fact... I am worried we might already be too late in stopping the infection from spreading..."

"What do you mean?" Hard Case asked nervously and looked around the warehouse. "We have stopped it at the source, no? All we have to do is search the ships on the shipping manifest we found and remove the infected boxes."

Holy swept his eyes around the large building as if shadows would jump him any second. "I thought we just had a nest to burn and some shades to kill. This is far more than that..."

"The shades have had weeks to prepare their special cargo. These ships leave every day. Even if we purge the corruption from Manehattan, even if we find every single contaminated box on the ships in the harbor, it might only be a temporary measure. Look at the shipping manifest again and tell me the dates," Zarathon said darkly.

Holy looked at Zarathon in confusion before he looked at the boxes and grew pale. He leaned Hard Case against one of the shelves and hurriedly found the shipping manifest. Holy looked it over with wide-eyed terror. "You mean..."

Mute nodded and held out his hoof to mimic a ship sailing over the waves.

Hard Case quickly grabbed the shipping manifest from Holy and her face paled as she read it. "They shipped boxes as soon as yesterday, and they have sent several before that as well... We... We need to quartine the harbor. We have to tell the higher-ups to search every ship for these things!"

Zarathon scoffed at the mare. "While a sound idea, a quarantine now won't do anything to stop the spread of the disease. We can stop the spread of more shades, but the ones that have already been shipped? They will settle down in other lands, either laying dormant waiting to strike, or immediately corrupting the population. And these foreign lands have no protection against shades with the exception of sunlight, and even that can only do so much against more powerful shades."

Hard Case swallowed thickly and eyed the covered grate in slight fear. "If what you're saying is true, then how do we stop it?..."

"No one can stop it. My ancestors learned that the hard way, as did I. We can contain it, minimize the damage caused, and teach others how to treat the symptoms. But the shades never had access to harbors in my time. My people always contained them on this continent. Manehattan is a stepping stone, Miss Case. Their real goal is the world, and your harbors have given them the best means to reach it."

The detective stumbled back and leaned against one of the shelves, her eyes wide in shock. "We must warn other nations, tell them to keep an eye out for these things!"

"Have your superiors write to the princess and let her deal with the ramifications. We first have a duty to fulfill here in Manehattan. We purge the shades in the sewers while your colleagues destroy the ones hiding on the ships. Then, and only then, can we discuss measures to secure the harbor and ships for future shade activities," Zarathon said.

Mute nodded towards the exit and wrote it into his notebook. 'Let us burn the cargo and prepare. We'll need a lot of ponies to check all those ships. However, we are also going to need ponies in the sewers. There is likely more than one nest.'

"Yes... Yes, I can scrape together a team to go with you. Let us return to the station and explain everything to the chief. Ponies must know what has happened here."

Holy eyed one of the boxes in contempt and nodded at it. "After we burn these things to Tartarus and back."

Mute could only nod at that and drew a glowing red rune onto the ground. A fire opened up underneath the wooden box and a terrible shriek filled the air. The muffled sound of a fleshy cacoon unraveling and a matured shade throwing itself against the box's walls sounded throughout the warehouse. The rattling grew weaker and weaker until the box crumbled into glowing embers, nothing but ash remaining of its contents. Mute growled at the remaining boxes and nodded at the exit.

"Do as Mute says! We must burn these boxes and be on our way!" Zarathon said briskly.

Once they all made it to the entrance of the warehouse Mute drew several runes in rapid succession on the ground. Fire after fire started to consume the boxes and screams from dying shades filled the air. Nearby dockworkers hurried to see what was happening and many stopped dead in their tracks as they saw grotesque monster-like figures writhe in the flames. A few demanded answers as to what was happening and a few ran to fetch the fire department. Mute just watched with a glare as the shades died.

Hard Case eyed the burning shades with wide eyes and she took out her liquor to take a quick swig. "Celestia save us all."

Holy snagged the liquor from the mare and downed some as well, shaking his head at the awful shrieks that filled the air.

"Indeed," Zarathon said sardonically. "Ember save us all."

I hope you all have a pleasant evening and that you enjoyed the chapter! I am still busy with school but I had the urge to write this small arc in preparation for bigger things in this story. The next chapter will wrap up Mute's adventure in Manehattan followed by another storytelling chapter about the Quirans' history.