Just seven days later, no matter where you looked in the grand city of Canterlot you would always see somepony who was busy.

If you looked at the ponies with businesses, they prepared their shops and restaurants to be clean as could be and fully stocked. There would be some celebrations in the town, drawing tourists in. This meeting was not only going to be important in the long run, but also give a temporary boost to business.

If you looked at the guards, they were on strict schedules, not only to keep order in the city, but to also to try finding Group Misery, the only thing that could turn this entire affair into a disaster.

If you looked at Shining Armor and his troop, they were busy looking for clues. Out of all ponies in the city, they were the ones second closest to apprehend the group. They had found two old hideouts, but Group Misery seemed to always be one step ahead. Shining Armor was getting fed up with the solitude, but he would endure. He knew his friends and family was working just as hard as him. Whenever he let himself relax and spend his time at home, he often talked about trivial things, like his life in the Crystal Empire, or some details about his honeymoon with his wife. He always kept a shallow smile on his face when at his parents' home, despite feeling more lonely than ever.

If you looked at Twilight Sparkle's family, they were busy trying to understand the curse. Velvet was often discussing aspects of magic with Princess Cadence. Night Sky was making so many graphs detailing magical connections that might make up the curse that the entire astronomy tower, from floor to ceiling, was covered in paper. 'Just one more' was his motto in this time of hardships, and he repeated it every time he finished another graph.

If you looked at Princess Celestia and Luna, they were both taking up work to make sure the meeting would be a success. The first few delegates would be arriving in Canterlot that afternoon. Sure, some were technically already in the city, but this one would be the first 'official' arrival, making it very important. Princess Celestia would under no circumstance allow this Mrs. Misery to win. She knew the name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it.

If you looked at Twilight Sparkle and her friends, they were working the most of all. They were working together with Shining Armor's team, coordinating their work. They searched high and low, but they hadn't even searched half of Canterlot at that point. Despite being raised there, Twilight had never found the city of Canterlot to be so foreign. It was less like she was exploring a town, and more like surviving out in the wilderness.

Today, they had finally some time to relax, not that anyone wanted to take some time off. It was an order from Princess Celestia. They were sitting at a table outside a famous café in the middle of the city, drinking several different kind of beverages, or in Spike's case, eating a crumpet. They were there to meet two ponies that were going to be assisting Celestia in the hunt for Misery. They would be informed about the current situation by Twilight. She supposed it was away for Celestia to welcome them to Canterlot. Ponies were constantly busily walking past the café.

"I want to get back to looking for Misery," said Rainbow Dash, drinking the last of her iced tea, basically resting her head on the table.

"I don't think we can actually find them," said Rarity.

"Hey, look on the bright side, we know where they are not," said Pinkie Pie and smiled.

"Unless they have gone back to a place we've already looked in," said Spike.

"Oh, right. Clearly these ponies are masters of strategy," said Pinkie Pie.

"Spike, did you get the report yesterday?" asked Fluttershy. Spike continued to eat his crumpet without answering before he suddenly jumped in his seat.

"Right, right, that's me. Yeah, I got it. Nothing new to report," said Spike.

"Too bad."

"If this keeps up, we're going to have to wait for them to make their move, and I hate waiting," said Rainbow Dash.

"Hopefully it won't come to that. Let's reconsider our strategy. Where do we find our clues?"

"In the really seedy places here, I didn't even know Canterlot had those," said Spike.

"I've noticed a pattern in the reports, and when we go to ask Shining Armor's group ourselves," said Twilight, looking trough some papers.

"And that is?"

"Look at this map," said Twilight and put out a map on the table. She started to make magical marks on it. "Here, here, here, and here, this one, this, another one, and these two," said Twilight Sparkle as she marked bits of the map. "This is every place we've found clues in, whether they are traces, or tips from ponies we've questioned. See anything wrong with this map?"

"Pinkie Pie's trying to eat it for some reason?" suggested Rainbow Dash. Twilight gave Pinkie Pie a glare, telling her to stop.

"Sorry, but I need the fiber," said Pinkie Pie and spat out the corner of the map.

"The thing is, that these points are too... look, they are in a pattern, a pretty exact grid-pattern. The odds of that happening is just so unlikely. Also, every single one of these spots only had a single pony or clue leading us further. Remember that bar? Despite there being so many ponies in there, only one of them said he knew anything. Just one."

"What are you saying?" asked Fluttershy.

"I'm saying that it's possible that Misery has been leaving fake trails. It's possible that we haven't gotten anywhere in the last week," said Twilight.

"But how did they know we would look there?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Maybe this grid is actually all over town? I mean, why plan for something so specific when you can just do everything at once?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"Hm, you know, maybe that's true? I say we go to a few places that would be in this grid, and if we find something there, we might know for sure," said Twilight.

"So? Everyone we've talked to have actually just been lying to us? Why?" asked Spike.

"Let's find out! Let's make a visit to one of these places on this grid-thing," said Rainbow Dash. They payed for what they had ordered and then hurried away from the place. They had all forgotten about the meeting with the two ponies. It wouldn't have mattered, this was too important.

***

It had taken less than an hour for them to reach a place that would in theory hold a false clue. And they had indeed found something. It had been an old order in an old warehouse, with a signature from a certain Random and an address. They ignored it, however, as it was not much more promising that previous clues. Just another false lead. They had then kept going to the next point in the grid. This time, it was another bar just like half a dozen they had visited during the week in search for Group Misery. It was in an alley, and the roofs above them blocked out much of the sunlight, making the entire place feel ominous, it was nothing new, most of the places they had visited had given a similar vibe.

"Rainbow Dash, could you wait out here with Spike?" asked Twilight.

"Oh, come on! You always make me wait outside!" said both Rainbow Dash and Spike in unison.

"Well, this here requires some tact, and Spike is too young to go in and out of bars all day," said Applejack.

"Just be patient, we won't be long," said Twilight. They walked inside the bar. Usually Canterlot could pride itself on class, but the only classy thing in this dump was the fireplace, and even that had frankly foul writing all over it. The building was old, and had a low roof. The walls made from old bricks and the floor from old wooden planks that made for a frankly uneven walking surface. There was only two windows, facing the street out front, but with the already poor light from outside and the degree of filth covering the glass, they might as well not have been there at all. The only thing that was even remotely pleasant about this bar was the fact that it the air was dry, which Twilight got the impression was a rare thing in there.

"Wow, this place is glummer than most others we've been in. New record holder, that deserves a price!" said Pinkie Pie with a smile and put up a diploma on one of the walls. 'Finest dump in business' was written on the diploma in golden cursive letters. It might have been a bit harsh from Pinkie Pie at first glance, but with everything else that was hanging or was written on the walls, such as swears, dirty paintings (in more than one way) and insults, the diploma was probably the highest compliment this particular establishment was due.

"Hey, not a lot of customers this time of day. Don't mess up the floor, I just cleaned it," said the bartender. Twilight had been out in the dirtiest streets in Canterlot just a few minutes ago, and she still got the distinct impression that walking on this floor with her muddy and dirty hooves actually made it cleaner.

"Okay, we get it, the place is a mess, get on with it!"

"So, do you want a drink... or?" asked the chubby red coated bartender. Twilight noticed he was missing a tooth, making a distinct slight whistling sound at the end of his sentences.

"Actually, we would want some information," said Twilight.

"Yeah, we heard that some strange pony has been in here recently," said Applejack, just like they had rehearsed. They were basically just making guesses.

"There's plenty of strange ponies that come in here. That one in particular," said the bartender and pointed at Pinkie Pie who was hanging up some party streamers to liven up the place.

"We're looking for a particular pony who likes to gamble," said Applejack, going over to the bar desk and leaning on it, clearly wishing that she hadn't touched the sticky wood, but she didn't react. She kept a straight face.

"Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?"

"She's about my height and indigo," said Applejack. The bartender looked surprised.

"She?" Applejack leaned over the desk towards him. "Now, why would that surprise you? Did you expect me to describe someone else?" asked Applejack, smirking. The bartender looked at her, trying to not look nervous.

"It's just, I rarely hear of mares that gamble," said the bartender. The girls looked at each other, and then to the wall next to the bar. There was a large board there with different photos. Above the photos was a sign that read 'Our big winners' and at least half of the photographs depicted mares of varying ages playing and gambling in different games. Applejack turned to the stallion again.

"Your story is like your best drink: there's no way in heck I'm buying it. Tell us the truth, chubby!" demanded Applejack and smacked the bar desk with her hoof.

"Alright, the pony you are looking for was in here a while ago and he talked to some other ponies about a meeting in the airship harbor," said the bartender. Applejack bashed the desk again, this time with both her hooves.

"Don't lie to me! And don't do such a poor job of it too! We haven't said who we're looking for, so how would you know? Tell us the real truth! Who told you to lie to us!? Was it that Random-fella?" asked Applejack, clearly intimidating the stallion. He started to shake a bit, and then whistled loudly before diving behind the counter. Down the stairs five large stallions came rushing down. They were covered in leather.

"We don't want no trouble, but if you don't leave, there will be," said one of the stallions.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing. Your numbers don't scare us," said Applejack. They readied themselves for a fight, even Fluttershy tried her best to look intimidating, which she failed spectacularly at.

"Oh, this is just a warning," said the stallion. He himself whistled and their numbers basically quadrupled as more ponies rushed down the stairs.

"Aha, well, maybe, maybe we should try another place," said Applejack, slowly backing away. They were brave, but not stupid. The door closed and one of the stallions stepped in front of it.

"I think you might have stepped over a line here. When you mess with the bull, you get the horns," said one of the large stallions. One of the less humongous ones pointed at the pony behind the bartender.

"He's the bull, by the way, in, in case that wasn't clear."

"Get them!" said the stallion in charge. They were surrounded, the ponies were closing in, Twilight was ready to get some bruises, and give a few as well, and then the fun started.

Twilight waved with her horn, making at least two of the ponies fall over by a sudden force. Applejack kicked one, who was knocked into a second, who was knocked into a third. Pinkie Pie and Rarity used streamers to tie a few one up with tidy knots Fluttershy was actually running around terrified, but still somehow managing to knock several of them over. Twilight created an expanding magical field, pushing several of the stallions away, creating some space to breathe. It didn't take long for them to get back into the chaos, however.

***

It didn't take long for the last stallion to fall. The bartender was still cowering behind the desk. Twilight walked over to the bartender and pulled him up with her magic.

"Who told you to give us fake clues?" asked Twilight.

"Please, I can't tell you. She'll, she'll kill me," said the bartender.

"She? So it was a she? Was her name Mrs. Misery?" asked Twilight, raising her eyebrow.

"Did she pay you to give false information?" asked Rarity, giving a mean glare towards him.

"N- No, of course not," said the bartender. Twilight rolled her eyes and started to shake him in the air. "Alright! Alright! She didn't tell me her name, but she gave me a list of ponies to lie to, and a lie to tell. She gave me plenty of bits to do so," said the pony, almost in a panic from all the shaking.

"Did she say anything else?" asked Twilight.

"No! Nothing! I swear, that's it. It was good money!"

"Where did she get the money from?! How much was it?!"

"The bag had a Mariam Mare mark on it! It was 3000 bits! That's all I know about it!" yelled the bartender. Twilight strong doubted she could get much more from the pony and released him. She walked out with her friends to the street.

"Well, this might be a better lead. Assuming everyone has been bribed, that's quite a lot of money."

"What's Mariam Mare?" asked Applejack.

"It's bank, sweetie," said Rarity. Fluttershy looked around them.

"Where is Rainbow Dash and Spike?" she asked, concerned.

"Hey girls. Did you find out anything?" asked Rainbow Dash, walking down the street towards them with Spike in tow. They each had an ice cream cone they were hungrily eating.

"Rainbow, where were you?" asked Rarity.

"Me and Spike went for ice cream. I mean, it's not like anything exciting ever happens out on these things anyway, right?"