Original Link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ugJOgEQkBwJ_h53Lf6gwHcEh-usaySDRTviJ5GiAYks/edit?usp=sharing

The police officers of Manehattan had every reason to celebrate. All their detention cells were full of cultists. So far, they were pretty successful in fighting back these reckless and brutal Nightmare Moon worshipers. Today alone, they caught a whole group of them, who were just about to attack some innocent mares. If it hadn’t been for Babs Seed’s commitment, one of them might have gotten hurt.

The young police trainee was the talk of the night as the work shift for the daytime officers ended and they met up with the night shift officers. Everypony could only agree that Babs had a lot of talent and did everything with all her heart. She was very eager to learn and worked very hard. In fact, they actually had to slow her down sometimes, which is why they let her go home early today. Little did they know that this decision just saved her life.

Right in the middle of the meeting room, one officer suddenly started bleeding from his chest, falling over dead moments later. While the other officers watched in shock, three more suddenly got their throats slit.

Everything happened very fast. Batons and knives swung through the air. Blood splattered on the walls. As it got quiet again, only five blood-soaked ponies were still standing.

“This is what you get, heretics,” one of them spoke.

“Good. Now get the keys,” another ordered.

Calmly but keeping a good pace, the five officers went to the detention section. On their way there, they were met by a reaper, blocking the path. This, though, was something they knew would happen. He had been watching the cultists ever since the BloodClaw Cult started showing itself.

The reaper lifted his scythe to strike, but the officers just kept standing there calmly. Suddenly, a long arm with bladed claws grew out of the back of the frontmost officer, pinning the scythe against the wall. Out of this moment of distraction, the other officers charged him, forcing the cursed stallion into an unarmed battle. It didn’t take long for them to pin him down and shackle him.

As the reaper struggled to break free and looked up, he saw a huge fanged mouth opening at the stomach of the disguised skin-walker who disarmed him. Directly after, it bit his head off.

While the demon was busy devouring the reaper, the undercover cultists opened the detention cells. None of the cultists were surprised about this rescue mission. They knew Nightmare Moon would send one of her children for their protection. As soon as the last cell opened, the cultists gathered up in front of the skin-walker, bowing down before it.

“Thank you for saving us, my lord,” one of them spoke.

Not replying to them, the demon took the form of the reaper it had just devoured. The four cultists who had been participating in the rescue mission changed their outfits and gathered shackles, which they then put on their fellow cultists front legs.

“The transportation cart is waiting on the back door. Just act as if you would be going to your execution and we will get out of here no problem,” an officer spoke.

“We should kill Babs Seed, too. The less police ponies there are around, the easier it is for us,” another suggested.

“We have use for this pony. Ignore her,” the skin-walker commanded.

“As you wish, my lord,” the officer responded.

---

The weather patrol of Manehattan had been clustering up clouds above the city all day long and waited for the sun to set before they would unleash the rain. Twilight and her friends arrived at Babs’ apartment just in time before the storm began. The teenager did not lie when she claimed to have plenty of space. The apartment consisted of six rooms and she still had very little furniture, leaving most of them nearly empty. The only room which was relatively stuffed was the living room, as there were pictures, notes, newsletters and red strings connecting everything hanging everywhere.

“C’mon in! Make yaself at home!” Babs Seed invited.

“Thanks, sugarcube. Wow... Land sakes, Babs! How can you afford this place? Is the pay really that good?” Applejack wondered.

“Well, no... Let’s just say some ponies thought they owed me a favor,” the teenager explained.

“A favor? What kind of favor?” Rarity wondered.

“A while ago, I saved a little colt from some robbers in a backstreet. Turns out he was the son of some rich guy from Las Pegasus. I told him I didn’t need any reward and that I was just doin’ my job. But when he heard that I wanted to move out, he insisted on givin’ me a check. So, yeah. He gave me enough to pay the bills until I’m done with training and get the full paycheck,” Babs summarized.

“Is that legal? Taking such a large amount as a police officer?” Twilight questioned.

“My employer said, as long as I made sure it was a one-time-only thing and there’s no deal involved, it doesn’t fall under bribing. Guess the laws in Equestria support generosity,” the teenager answered with a shrug.

“That sounds suspicious,” Fluttershy whispered to her mentor.

“Indeed. I will pay her police station a visit and see what is up with this. You stay with your friends and guard them,” Crystal whispered back, then turned to the group. “Apologies for leaving you so suddenly now, but I have some tasks I need to take care of. Expect me back in two hours.”

“Alright then,” Twilight replied, then started walking to the living room.

While the elder reaper left again, Rarity finally got to finish her newspapers. With a bit of disappointment, she used her magic to neatly fold it back together.

“They don’t even have anything interesting in the gossip column. How boring,” she commented.

Just as she was about to place it down, the papers caught Babs’ attention.

“Hold on... Are ya done with that?” she wondered, walking over to Rarity.

“Oh, yes. You can have it,” the white mare replied, handing the newspapers over by magic.

Babs quickly read through the headline. Then she suddenly ran to the living room, picked up a pair of scissors and began to cut it out.

“What’s all this anyway?” Twilight wondered as she looked around.

“Something I’m doing in my freetime. As part of my training, I sometimes get to help in ascertainments. I started my own little investigation for practise,” Babs mumbled with the scissors handle in her mouth.

“And what are ya tryin’ to find out, sugarcube?” Applejack wondered.

“There’s been a series of celebrity disappearances goin’ on for a while now. From what I could track so far, it seems to have started with the top model Fleur De Lis and her friend Fancy Pants,” the teenager answered.

“Wait, what?! Fancy Pants?!” Rarity shouted in shock.

“Yeah... That poor guy was found stabbed to death in the dark streets of Canterlot. They still couldn’t find any trace of Fleur De Lis, though,” Babs explained.

“Fancy is... dead. Oh my stars. I... I had no idea...” the white mare stated speechlessly with tears in her eyes, covering her mouth with her right front leg.

“Ya were friends with him, weren’t ya...?” Babs wondered.

“Yes... It had been a long time, but we planned to meet up again... So that is why he never replied to my letters... I just thought he wasn’t interested in talking to me anymore... I got so upset with him...” Rarity answered, using her magic to let a napkin fly over to her.

“Sorry...” the teenage filly spoke meekly.

A moment of silence passed while Fluttershy, Twilight and Applejack embraced the fashion diva, trying to soothe her again. Babs at first didn’t really know what to do, but then decided to pin up the cutout along with her other notes.

“Well, as I said, that was just the beginnin’. Several more famous ponies disappeared all over Equestria and aside of Fancy Pants, only one turned up again so far: Soarin from the Wonderbolts. He got stabbed as well,” she continued.

“Not even the Wonderbolts are safe... Shoot...” Twilight commented.

“Yeah... So far, this whole case confuses me. At first, I thought whoever is behind this was only after famous male ponies. But then I found out about Fleur. It doesn’t add up,” Babs stated.

“Perhaps she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” the purple mare figured.

“Maybe...” the teenager replied.

While Babs sunk into her notes and Rarity tried to get a hold of herself again, Twilight went to her luggage and opened it. Using her magic, she made her pill bottle fly out of it, opened the lid and let two pills levitate out, which she then swallowed with a small bottle of apple juice. Twilight was about to pack up again when she saw something outside.

As the purple mare stepped to the window, she went wide-eyed at the sight presented to her. Playing in the rain, there were two little fillies and a colt wearing Cutie Mark Crusader capes.

“Girls! Look at this!” she announced.

Everypony became curious now and clustered up at the window. Babs Seed was the only one not deeply surprised by these children.

“How can there be Cutie Mark Crusaders here?!” Applejack wondered.

“Hehe. Some things can become pretty successful here in Manehattan. When I was a filly, I looked around for more members. The idea of a club of blank flanks helping each other discovering their destinies became a great hit! Now, there are crusaders all over Manehattan and I heard it’s spreadin’ on other cities, too! Man... that sight makes me nostalgic,” Babs explained.

The expression of positive surprise suddenly vanished from Applejack’s face. She knew exactly what the teenager would be saying next.

“How’s Applebloom doin’ by the way? I’m surprised you didn’t tell me anythin’ about her, yet,” Babs wondered.

Immediately, Applejack hung her head and let out a sigh.

“Ah suppose I can’t avoid that topic forever...” she started, turning around to the teenage filly. “Well... Babs...”

“Don’t tell me she...” Babs started.

“I’m sorry... but yeah... She passed away...” Applejack finished.

“H...How? When?” the teenager wanted to know.

“About three years ago... Sorry nopony told you sooner... But believe me, sugarcube. Ya don’t wanna know the details...” the orange mare explained.

She was about to give Babs a hug when the teenager pushed her front legs away. She had tears in her eyes and a very angered expression. Then suddenly, she turned around started and walking aimlessly across the room.

“Oh for the love of Pete! How I hate the darn poor communication in Equestria! It’s so easy to miss out on big events! I can’t believe I never got a letter about Applebloom after I got all those other letters!” she started shouting.

“Other... letters?” Applejack wondered, not sure if she truly wanted to know more.

“See? That’s just what I’m talkin’ about!” Babs screamed while the tears rolled down her face. “Three days ago, I got one tellin’ me Uncle Apple Strudel was killed by somepony, right in the middle of the street! The next day, I find out the same thing happened to Apple Dumpling and Braeburn! Those got to me in just a few hours! But to find out about Applebloom, I had to wait three years! What the hay is goin’ on with Equestria?!”

Everypony except of Fluttershy had shock written on their faces. Applejack needed a moment for this information to sink in. But once it did, she suddenly began to breathe very heavily in a mix of panic and desperation.

“Wha... What? B-Braeburn? Apple Strudel? Apple Dumpling?!” she spoke in disbelief.

“Oh no... Those are too many to be just a coincidence...” Fluttershy commented.

“What do you mean, Fluttershy?” Rarity wondered.

“The cult is openly attacking Equestria now... But for so many members of Applejack’s family to get killed so soon... I’m so sorry, but this can’t be just bad luck... The cult is trying to root out the apple family...” the yellow mare explained.

“No... No... This can’t be happenin’... Not mah family... “ the orange mare spoke, shaking all over.

“Now let’s not jump to conclusions like tha-” Twilight started before getting interrupted again.

“Big Macintosh!” Applejack shouted and jumped back up on her legs. “Ah need to get back to Ponyville right this instant!”

She was already running to the front door when she became stopped by Fluttershy and Rarity.

“Darling! Don’t rush it like that! Us splitting up and becoming easy prey is just what they want!” the fashion diva tried to reason.

“Ah don’t give a damn right now! I just need to get back to Sweet Apple Acres and check on my brother, stat!” Applejack shouted, struggling to get past.

“Please, Applejack. This is a very bad idea. Knowing the cult, they probably set up an ambush,” Fluttershy spoke.

Applejack did not respond and just kept fighting against her friends grips. Twilight’s eyes jumped between her and Babs Seed, who still was walking up and down with tear trails and a furious, desperate expression on her face. She seemed to be more stable than Applejack right now, so Twilight teleported in front of her friend.

“Applejack. Please, snap out of it. We can’t afford to be this irrational right now! How about this? You stay here and calm down for a moment while I send an express request to Princess Celestia and ask her to let Derpy check on your brother,” she suggested.

Now, Applejack stopped struggling and slowly sat down to the ground, though she was still crying and shaking all over.

“Okay... But please be quick, sugarcube. Ah won’t be able to sleep tonight if ah don’t know if my brother is alright,” she agreed.

---

Not even half an hour after the letter was sent, Twilight already got a reply from Princess Celestia. Applejack was so worried, she nearly tore the letter out of Twilight’s grip. But soon, the purple mare could sigh in relief.

“Okay. Don’t worry, Applejack. Your brother is fine. Everything is quiet and peaceful in Ponyville. No signs of cultists anywhere. Princess Celestia also promised to increase the security in all cities with still living members of your family in. She even sent another reaper to Ponyville to make absolutely sure your brother stays safe,” Twilight announced.

Applejack instantly collapsed to the ground and sighed loudly.

“Thank Celestia... Ah can’t believe it... Mah family is dyin’ out there and Ah am sittin’ here, twiddlin’ mah hooves...” she commented.

“As much as you would like to, you can’t just run off and try to solve this on your own. You will only get killed. The best way to help your family is by stopping the BloodClaw Cult with us,” Fluttershy explained.

For a while everypony just became silent. By now, Babs Seed calmed down a bit and just sat down on the floor, staring at it sunken in thoughts with an angry expression. Then, Crystal Blossom finally returned. She was about to speak out her findings in front of the entire group, but after seeing the scene in front of her, she decided to instead wave Twilight over to her.

“What is it?” the purple mare wondered.

“The situation is getting out of control. I just paid Babs’ police station a visit, only to find a massacre. All of her colleagues were murdered and the captured cultists freed. I even found the remains of a reaper,” Crystal whispered.

Twilight sighed in response. This all started to weigh on her heavily, too.

“More great news... We just found out that the BloodClaw Cult is erasing Applejack’s family. They really try to tear apart Equestria’s organization and lure us out of our reserves,” she spoke.

“I hate to say it, Twilight. But this has officially become too big for us to handle. Just the few of us will not be enough to stop the cult. We need help,” the elder reaper mare stated.

“I completely agree with you. Thanks for handling this information so discretely. They badly need some good news now,” Twilight spoke, then turned to her friends. “Alright, girls. Enough is enough! The cult really crossed the line now! If they want to play this out Equestria-wide, then we will do just the same! I will request Princess Celestia to host Tripudium Messōrum again. We are going to get every support available!”

“Now that sounds like a plan. Right, Applejack?” Rarity spoke in a motivating tone.

Applejack nodded in response, not yet able to speak freely again after that shock.

“Tripudium Messōrum...?” Babs wondered in the background.

“The dance of the reapers. Basically, a giant meeting of all reapers in existence on top of Death Rock Mountain,” Twilight explained.

“That sounds interesting... Wished I could come with ya. I badly would need some distraction, but I have to work,” the teenage filly commented.

“I can arrange things for you. We would be honored to welcome you on our dance,” Crystal suggested.

“Really? Ya could do that?” Babs wondered, getting a bit excited again.

“Certainly. In your current emotional state, you would not be able to give your all at work anyway. I will arrange you a few days off. For what I understand, you exceed their expectations anyway. It will not be a problem,” the reaper mare explained.

“Wow... I gotta get some reaper friends, I think,” Babs spoke, smirking a bit. “Thanks for the invitation. Do I need to prepare for anything?”

“Leave the preparations to me. For now, I would suggest all of you to rest. You seem exhausted,” Crystal spoke.

“Sounds like a good idea. Come on, darling. Let us set up our beds,” Rarity spoke.

The fashion diva lifted Applejack back on her legs and walked off with her, followed by Babs Seed. As soon as they were out of hearing range, Twilight turned to Crystal Blossom.

“How do you plan to work this out with Babs?” Twilight whispered.

“She is very adult for her age and nothing hurts more than being lied to by those you trust. I will tell her the truth, but not now. Let her regain some strength first,” the light blue mare explained.

“You know, the more time we spend together, the more I have to say I am very glad you joined us,” the purple mare commented.

“Your words are honoring me, Twilight,” Crystal replied, bowing down.

Twilight smiled lightly in response. She, too, was about to turn around and walk away, but she found herself sinking in thoughts again. Twilight just couldn’t help herself. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t figure out why Crystal felt so familiar to her. Even though they just knew each other for roughly a month by now, it felt like she had seen this mare before.

It just wouldn’t let her go. At some point very soon, she would have to ask Crystal about it. But not today anymore. The purple mare had heard enough shocking things for one day. She needed some recovery herself.

“Well, I will go and write that letter then. I should also make sure Big Macintosh is guarded during the absence of the reapers. While I’m at it, I also should write to my parents. I don’t think the cult would dare to get this close to Canterlot Castle as they are living, but you can’t be too careful as long as they are around. Good night, Crystal,” Twilight spoke.

“Good night,” the reaper mare replied.