- Bob Marley

Princess Luna POV
Roughly 1000 years ago…

“It’s looking bad your highness,” Putnam said glumly. “We quickly lost the advantage when they sent in reinforcements. We’ve not been able to get it back since, and I’m afraid we’ll have to pull back.”

I left Putnam’s side for only a moment so I could look over the battlefield myself. A small improvised barricade was the only thing keeping my sister’s forces from destroying the rest of my army stationed here. If they were able to break through, then it would be a slaughter. It was time to deploy the secret weapon.

Years in the making, and here we are. This will be glorious.

I floated back down as I heard the shouts and screams of my army. The injured were being healed close by, but if the solar guard managed to storm the fortress, they would have to be left behind. Hopefully it would not come to that though. Putnam was already calling for a full retreat, but a gently placed a hoof in front of him ceased his orders. My appearance had changed somewhat to fit my new sense of being. My eyes perfectly matched my son’s, my mane was more sparkly and wavy than before, and I generally felt bigger.

“Putnam,” I said quietly, but loud enough so he could hear. “I want you to order the troops to stay away from the barricade. We are about to win this battle, but not by conventional means.” He didn’t do anything at first. He just looked up at me as if I was insane. But when I sharpened my glare, he wasted no time in barking out my order.

Confused faces filled the field. Ponies began to mutter among themselves, but I paid them little attention. Behind me, a large wooden crate was being pulled carefully. Inside… was our weapon. The small hanging torch inside had likely done it’s work at that point, and the constant shaking and snarling coming from inside confirmed my suspicions. Putnam looked at the box in confusion as it was dragged towards the gate.

“Your majesty. What on earth is…?”

“… That?” I finished with a mischievous grin. “Well, how familiar are you with my son?”

“Carnage? Well I’ve been training the colt since he was six, but I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

I looked over to the box being placed just in front of the barricade. The enemy forces were demanding us to surrender, but we paid them no heed. Upon my orders, they began to remove the hastily made block.

So much time we’ve wasted. Finally, he will prove to be of use to us.

Yes, but, he is still our colt. We must never forget that. He is not just an instrument of war.

Of course.

“Putnam, when we created Carnage, it was for the strict purpose of him being a monster that would annihilate the enemy. But alas, we didn’t even know if he could bring forth his blades until he was five. But on that day, everything we had worked for had proven to be worth it. That foolish assassin’s blunder would lead to a great discovery. The monster inside of him.”

Putnam was beginning to work out what I had told him. I was not being subtle about it. I would have thought him a fool if he could not figure out what I was talking about. Fire, my son always hated fire. If he was forced to look at it for too long, or he was in its proximity, something would awaken in him. Just like something was inside me.

He is our son, in more ways than one.

“I would like to thank you, Putnam. Your efficient training has made our son an excellent warrior, and he’s only fourteen. You have been a loyal follower. It is a shame you will have to retire.” As the last remains of the barricade were being removed, Putnam blinked a couple of times. He was likely trying to process exactly what I had told him.

“Your majesty, I believe you’re ill-informed. I have no plans to retire.”

“Oh? So you plan on going to the dungeons then?”

“D-D-Dungeons!?” He could not hide his shock, but surely he was expecting this. “What is the meaning of this!?”

“You failed me. Dusk would have never allowed the amount of land you have single hoofedly lost. If you do not retire, you will be jailed for the rest of your life. So, are there any other objections to your graceful leave from the military?”

“…”

“I didn’t think so.”

While I left the broken stallion to think over his failure, I signalled for the ponies by the gate to be ready for the storm we were about to unleash. I slowly approached the crate. The closer I got, the more the snarls and growls were audible. If anypony else had approached, they would have assumed there was a wild beast inside this crate. The fact it hadn’t been broken was because the pony inside had nothing to attack. Yet.

The smell of mud and blood filled the air, the sky was darkened as my guards prepared to meet their demise. But not this day. Today they would live, and have a new icon to follow.

“MARES AND GENTLECOLTS! YOUR SALVATION HAS ARRIVED!” The royal Canterlot voice rang out across the field, drawing the full attention of my soldiers. “Remember this day well my loyal subjects. Remember the stallion who saved you all from certain destruction. Let his power, and his abilities, serve as something for you all to reach and aim for. Remember that you were saved, by Prince Carnage Moon!”

I gave the final signal for the gate to be opened, and at the right moment, before the solar forces even had a chance to mobilize, I used my magic to rip the box apart and a blue figure dashed off through the gate at frightening speed. As soon as he departed out of the gate, the doors were shut again. Then we waited.

We began to hear screaming.

They were faint at first. Tiny yells of pain and anguish. But soon the chorus of mortal cries rang out behind the gate, and my imagination began to play up.

Visions of bloody limbs and inward body parts scattered across a carved up meadow. Each scream gave off its own sense of finality, as if it would be their last. Confusion and horror filled the faces of the ponies around me, as they could only hear the damage my foal was bringing to our sworn enemy. They would sing songs and tell grand tales about this day, I was certain of it.

The screaming became louder as louder, and a few new sounds began to fill the air. The sounds of running hoofs and the order of ‘retreat.’ The stomping grew louder, as a few stray lightning bolts rained down from the sky. And then all of a sudden, the last, blood-curdling, cry of terror came from behind the gate.

“GGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH”

Then there was silence again. I raised a hoof so my guards would not open the gate. Carnage was still probably under the effects of his savage state.

“Remain here. I will investigate.”

I shot up into the air and looked down at a sight most horrific. Random bodies had been torn limb from limb, charred corpses had been fried by lightning, the green grass was now a blood red, and in the middle of it all, my colt was kneeling in the centre. Due to his calm and mellow state, I knew he was no longer under the effects of his savage alter ego. The wind bended to my whim as I floated down and took my first steps onto the red grass.

He made no sounds or sudden movements, but I knew he had heard me. He could hear a pin drop a mile behind him with perfect clarity when he focused. Step by step, his tense posture lowered, and then completely lowered when I was in front of him.

He looked like he had bathed in blood. His blue coat was stained with the liquid of his fallen enemies, till his fur was more red than blue. His breathing was steady, as he appeared to be affected only slightly by his actions. His blades had yet to be detracted, and bits of random flesh were hanging off the edges. Most ponies would have wretched or turned away at the sight, but I refused to. I was strong enough to not let this get to me.

His head tilted slowly upwards, and our eyes met each other. Both unnatural, unnerving eyes. A smile crept on to his face as I extended a wing to him.

“Did I do well, mother?” He asked hopefully. I draped my wing over him and pulled him into a reassuring hug.

“Yes my little moon. You did great.”

Mimic POV
Present Day…

“I want to live here…”

The words tumbled out of my mouth with ease. There was something truly heavenly about this town. Every place I had been to in my life was the equivalent of a city. Tall buildings that blocked the sky from bathing the ground below in its light and warmth. Here though, the sun was able to highlight the beauty of the town and the surrounding area. Even the Everfree couldn’t spoil the scenery. Why didn’t more ponies want to live in places like this?

“This place smells like shit,” voiced an annoyed sounding Fade. My head craned towards the others in total shock.

He was complaining about the smell? There’s nothing wrong with the smell. I sniffed at the air and was greeted by the scent of fresh flowers and honey all around me. I very rarely smelt those things in the city, or the hive. I knew I shouldn’t, but my temper got the better of me. I marched over to the others and got right up the floating coat and hat.

“You’re wrong,” I said without a hint of doubt in voice. “This place smells lovely. Why would you-“

“Easy there, Mimic,” Silver stopped me with a hoof on my shoulder. “Fade there just has a city nose.”

Fade had barely paid me any attention. Well I think he did, I just couldn’t tell because I couldn’t see his face. But what Silver said about a city nose didn’t make any sense to me. What did that even mean?

“City nose?” I questioned.

“Yep, which means he can’t tell a bad smell from a good one. When he comes to the countryside, the whole area smells like crap to him. He’s used to smog and fumes filling his nostrils.”

“Leather, actually,” said the hat and coat.

“…”

A sudden silence filled the air. The others who had been surveying the area quickly turned around with shocked expressions. Minus Guardian who didn’t really seemed bothered.

“Wait, that was meant to stay in my head,” said the invisible pony. The silence would have continued if not for Carnage clearing his throat to get everypony’s attention.

“May I remind all of you that we’ll be spotted soon if we don’t move? We need to split up so we can cover the area, and I’d like to be here for a maximum of three days.” We all huddled up as we were paired off.

“Right, Guardian wants to visit his tree. I have no issue with this, but I think you might find something while you’re over there. So, I want you to take Fade and the Doctor with you. Since Vinyl is a former resident of Ponyville, I want you and Ulysses to check out the town for anything odd. I don’t think they’ll be that bothered about your mask.”

I noticed Vinyl lower her sunglasses and wink at her new partner. Ulysses didn’t respond. Spitfire, similar to what Carnage did a moment ago, cleared her throat.

“If I could make a suggestion,” she said with an air of confidence. “I happen to know one the residents, Rainbow Dash. Rainbow is ridiculously fast and she constantly practices over the town and its edges. She might have seen something.” Carnage nodded at her.

“Alright, you should pay her a visit then. However, keep it low profile if you can, especially since she’s one of the elements. Make sure she doesn’t go spreading anything around. Also, nopony is going alone, so take Shadow with you. I suppose that leaves Silver and I.”

The mare in question feigned shock, but Carnage only rolled his eyes at her dramatic display. I was really confused. I thought they like each other, but Carnage seemed pretty annoyed at her. Did something happen on the train?

“But we also have Mimic, in case you’ve forgotten. Perhaps we should take her along,” suggested Silver who winked at me. I felt my cheeks go a little hot.

“Good idea,” Carnage agreed, “we should keep an eye on her. We’ll go together to find this, Question Mark. Alright everypony, you know what you should be doing. Let’s roll out.”

Mr. Carnage POV
12 minutes later…

This place sure was… colourful. I hated it. There was something unnatural about this town, and it wasn’t just the creepy forest nearby. I decided not to voice these opinions though when I saw the look of pure amazement on Mimic. It was obvious to even to the casual observer that she had never been to the countryside before, and I didn’t want to get in a fight with her over nothing. Besides which, when Fade had insulted the towns smell, she looked ready to tear his damned head off. If she could see his head, that is.

It was still early in the morning and our search had barely begun at this point. I knew we wouldn’t find this changeling today, but I was hopeful we would make some serious progress. Silver had suggested we take a look at the outer edges of the town first, since nopony was covering that area. The logic was sound enough so I raised no objections. I had asked Mimic to try and detect him, but sure enough, just as she had said before, he had spread his scent all over the place, thus making it impossible to find him that way. I was seriously questioning her usefulness but I decided to let it go for now. I still had to have words with Silver about last night.

Perhaps it was the fresh air and the sunshine that was putting me in a decent mood, despite my anger towards the hooded mare in front of me. The temperature was just right, the town beside us was beginning to come to life, the grass under my hooves felt heavenly to walk on, and I was feeling surprisingly good after that massage. What was odd though, was the fact the sun wasn’t bothering me. That’s why this town was unnerving me slightly. The fact that it’s proximity was making me giddy with happiness.

Silver, unsurprisingly, noticed my discomfort.

“Remember what I said on the train? You just need to relax a little,” she assured me with a smile. An annoyingly lovely, deceitful, sincere smile that only she had. I was sick of looking at it as of last night.

“You’re probably right. I just can’t seem to shake this feeling of unease.” To better emphasise my point, I shook my wings and head.

“Let’s just have fun with this,” she replied, “treat it like a game of hide and seek.”

“I had fun once, it was awful. And you should be taking this more seriously. While I may be stressing too greatly, you are acting as a foal would. You have no discipline, Silver. You are clearly a very poor assassin.”

I was met with a furious glare.

I had never seen her angry before. My intentions have been to push her buttons slightly. I wanted to get an emotion from her that I knew was genuine. I got my wish in the form of rage. All it took was the right sentence to infuriate her, the right moment to get something I knew was real and not a clever lie from a silver tongued vixen. Perhaps it was too real though.

Her white irises were beautiful, but at the same, rather unnerving. Her athletic body made a fire rise in me, and would be rather painful if she put it to use. She took her hood off and her messy mane was open for all to see. I was more concerned about the death glare and the grinding teeth. She pawed her hoofs on the ground, perhaps so she was ready to fight, or a desperate attempt to calm herself. She then turned around and wouldn’t face me. She began to continue walking, but I wasn’t done with her just yet.

For years I have been a strategist. In the battlefield, I always fought with a clear mind. I never did anything without purpose. I would never allow myself to purposely jeopardise a mission. Despite how nonsensical it would be to antagonise her further, I was finally getting an emotion from her that I knew was real. An emotion I knew for certain was not being displayed so she could win my trust.

“I didn’t get you at first, but now I do. You acted nice to me, a little too friendly. You’d flirt with me, then pawn me off to somepony else. I know what you are now. You’re a failure of an assassin… and a whore!”

Silver’s usually subtle Poman accent suddenly snapped. Yet another lie she had created. It turns out she had a very thick accent.

“Fottuto bastardo ignorante. Come osi dire che non appartengo a gli assassini stupido pezzo di merda. Ho ucciso il cazzo di papa sugli ordini di mio padre. Potrei farti proprio qui vi mostro genetico!”

“I’d be more insulted you dumb bitch if you actually spoke in a language I understood. Yet another reason why you’re a failure I bet.”

Her eye began to visibly twitch as the usually calm and collected Silver looked ready to explode. Steam left her nostrils with a powerful snort and she marched straight back to me.

“Alright, I’ll gladly tell you in a language your simple brain will get. I am an assassin. They don’t give charity cases the title and uniform. I have killed ponies that I am not proud to have killed, and I have manipulated others in the past, but don’t you DARE try and imply that I do not deserve the title of Assassin. I worked my flank off for this.”

“… Yes, I imagine you did work you flank off as it were.” Her cheeks went a scarlet red that matched her mane. Another real emotion, embarrassment.

“And what the hell are you implying?”

As she began to close the gap between us, I met her halfway till are foreheads collided together like a pair of minotaur’s about to face off. We both looked ready to kill.

“You know exactly what I’m implying. From day one you have manipulated me. The only reason you were paired up with me today was so I could keep an eye on you for a change. You’ve said it yourself, you can read ponies like a book. You put me in a position where I would take charge and be declared leader. Do you remember on the rooftop? When we were investigating the changelings in the warehouse?”

“Silver, you’re in charge. I don’t know what you’re coming to me for.”

“Hush you. I only came here to get your opinion.”

“Opinion?”

“Yes, I mean you know strategy right?”

“You deliberately placed me there, knowing full well everypony else would hear. Then you messed with my head with your constant flirting. Just like you did on the train, only to pawn me off on Spitfire to frustrate me further. This is just you trying to wrap me around your hoof, but I’m smart enough to see the signs. You’re job wasn’t for your skills, it was to seduce me into joining. Probably like every other pony you’ve fucked and then left when your mission was over.”

“…”

That one stung. The hurt in her eyes was the only other thing I knew was real. It was a shame, really, that the only emotions I was positive were her own were the negative ones. Since it stung, I knew that it had to be true, but also was something she felt great shame for. I was beyond caring though. She had been playing me for a fool, using my inexperience with the opposite sex to her advantage.

What the Illusive Pony had told me before made more sense now. She was drawn to more unusual characters. Not only did that mean she met these ponies or whatever in her line of work, by making that statement, that meant she had enough lovers to make that connection. I imagine there was quite a bit more than just a few. She turned her head away from me, as she failed to look me dead in the eyes.

“… I thought you were different,” she muttered.

“And I thought you were honest. Guess we were both fucking wrong then.” My rebuttal was to the point. For just a second, I thought I heard her whimper, but perhaps I had just been hearing things.

I always valued honesty. That was my favourite element.

“Uh, guys…?” My head snapped towards the voice, to find a very scared looking Mimic. I had forgotten she was there.

“What is… it…?”

Mimic stood by me in her disguise, wide eyed and pointing towards the town. I followed her hoof and found a small group of towns ponies standing around, staring at us. I looked over to Silver who had also spied the crowd, and had quickly pulled her hood over her head.

They must have heard the shouting match.

Most would have turned their heads away from the crowd of onlookers. I knew better. I stared at them back. Quickly they dispersed, none of the onlookers wanting to get into a confrontation and I was thankful for that. There had only been a few there, but for all I knew, our changeling had been in that group. It was a good thing we hadn’t said anything about the mission, but the adrenaline from the argument prevented me from caring. I took a large inhale to calm myself before I heard somepony approach us.

“Is there a problem here?”

Have you looked at somepony and thought you were looking at a mirror image. Sometime in the future you might meet another living creature who looks uncannily like you. Like they were your missing twin. This was one of those moments, and needless to say, it was awfully surreal in more ways than one.

His coat was chalk white, his eyes were an Irish green, his teeth were normal and straight and his cutie mark was a magnifying glass. That was where the differences ended. His mane and tail was a pure black, just like mine. He had a square jaw, our figures were roughly the same, and our mane styles were practically identical. What was also unnerving was the hat he wore. it was a black fedora, similar to my trilby. The one thing he had that I didn’t, was a stylish goatee on his chin.

He looked me over, and for a moment he seemed rather puzzled. It was if he had noticed the same thing I had. Silver turned towards me again, ready to go back at it judging by the renewed fire in her eyes, but froze at the scene before her. I couldn’t see Mimic as she was right behind me, but I imagined her face mirrored Silver’s dumbfounded expression. Much like this stranger’s mirrored mine. On top of all of this, he was a Pegasus too. It was as if I was looking at myself if I had never been born with these powers. A reflection of what could have been. The staring contest had lasted several moments, before my counterpart spoke first.

“Well, this is different,” he surmised. His tone was neutral. He gave off no sense of hostility, but I was on guard. The bizarre nature of the moment was keeping me on edge. My muscles tensed and I prepared myself to jump into a fighting stance any second.

“Yes, indeed.” I gave the best reply I could think of. Then I decided to answer his previous question. “We’re fine by the way, no problems. Just a small argument is all. We’re just tired, you see. Y’know how ponies can get.” I motioned to the assassin beside me. I half expected her to snap and go crazy on me. Instead, she settled for an icy glare and turned away again. “My name is Carnage, Carnage Moon. The mare to my right is Silver Tongue, and behind me is Sun Drop.”

‘Sun Drop’ waved at the stallion and he tipped his hat in response. Silver made no acknowledgement, she simply continued to look away from me. I didn’t really know what I could say next, so I allowed the stallion to make the next move.

“I see. Well my name is Question Mark-“

Lady luck is shining on us after all.

“-and since you’re all new here. I thought I might give you guys a heads up. A storm’s coming your way.” I glared at him slightly.

‘Was that a threat?’ He reacted to the glare with surrendering hooves.

“I’m not threatening you, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he spoke with a Trottingham accent as well. These similarities were becoming more and more unnerving. “I’m referring to the pink blur that’s heading towards you right now.”

He pointed past me and I looked over to where he was motioning. Sure enough, some sort of pink creature was heading towards us at an incredible speed, the likes of which I had rarely seen. It was enough to match Vinyl’s. I prepared for the attack and just before it arrived, I help up my right hoof…

…

…

… And a face collided with it.

Vinyl Scratch POV
Meanwhile…

“We must be cautious. The hunter knows that his prey is always on the lookout. We must make no sounds or actions that will alert…”

“GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING PONYVILLE!”

Aw yeah, I haven’t done that in ages. Man it was good to be home, I forgot how much I missed this place. Canterlot was awesome. The club scene was hot and the job offers kept rolling in, but Ponyville always had that certain something you couldn’t get anywhere else. Tavi is gonna freak when she hears where I’ve been without her.

That reminds me. I better get her something while I’m here.

“You have compromised our situation.” I looked lazily over to Ulysses who was giving me a death glare.

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked.

“You’re shouting. You have the attention of the residents around us. In turn, they have noticed me as well.”

When I turned my head around, I saw a bunch of old faces smile and wave at me. There were also others who kept looking over to us, or rather the dude next to me. I knew they were just curious is all. Celestia knows the ponies of this town have learned their lesson on jumping to conclusions when weird looking ponies come to visit. Ulysses just glared at anypony who was looking at him, and they didn’t stick around after that.

“You could try to be a little nicer y’know. It won’t kill ya.”

“You’d be surprised,” he muttered darkly.

We were in the town square, and close by, the markets were opening for the day. Ponies had already started lining up to buy food and other essentials. The thought of food made me look over to Ulysses, or more specifically, his mask. I squinted at the holes and pipes and other weird shit in it. The idea of wearing something like that all the time was something I could relate to. I mean I wear my shades all day, but I can still take them off when I please, and I rarely feel uncomfortable with them on. But he had to have that piece of junk on all day, every day. I still hadn’t seen the guy eat or drink anything. I guess he just didn’t do it in front of other ponies.

Speaking of food though, I began to feel a familiar rumble in the pit of my stomach. The dreaded munchies had returned, and probably wouldn’t leave until I got some food in my gut. The lines in the markets weren’t very big, but we did have a mission. Plus, Ulysses would probably be pissed if I tried to grab a bite to eat.

“You have lived in this town before, have you not?”

“Huh?” He was looking at me again, scanning me up and down with his eyes. If it was any other stallion, I could take a good guess as to why they would be looking me at my body like that. But with this guy, who knows. His dreads were pretty awesome, in fact the whole distant traveller thing he had was pretty rocking, but this dude just seemed messed up. Every time I saw that wing, I felt slightly sick to my stomach. “Yeah, I lived here before. What’s it to you?” That came out a bit more confrontational than it was meant to.

“I have had little experience with hunting changelings. But they would likely want to hide in plain sight. We must go to a place that has constant visitors. This market will do, unless you know someplace better?”

Oh, I know someplace better alright, I thought, barely hiding my grin.

“Well, how about Sugarcube Corner?” He didn’t say anything, he just kind of glared at me. “I-I-I mean nearly everypony goes there. And don’t bugs like sugar and stuff? It’s a bakery after all and I don’t know anypony in this town who has never visited. There’s also this baker that works there and she’s got this weird sixth sense thing. She might be able to help us out… so yeah, let’s go there… please?”

He kind of just looked at me blankly for a moment before pawing at the ground. He looked around us but I didn’t really know what for. He gazed at the buildings, and the ponies, and the sky before looking at me again.

“The Divide… this place reminds me of it. It’s a town still taking young breaths before corruption sinks in.”

“… What?”

“Nothing, it’s not important. This Sugar cube Corner sounds like a place to start if you were telling me the truth. I hope your hunger wasn’t clouding your judgement.” My cheeks felt a little warmer. Of course he would figure it out. “We should leave this town soon. I would not like to see this place fall as well.”

Several minutes later…

“Yo Pinkie! You in here?” When we entered the tasty looking building, I thought a waterfall was gonna pour out of my mouth from looking at all of those treats. It had been too long since I had last been to this place. Ulysses followed me in. He didn’t seem particularly impressed or disgusted, he just scanned the room with meticulous eyes. Maybe he was expecting an attack or something but who knew what was going through that nutters head.

The place was pretty empty today. I hadn’t looked at the back tables yet, but there was nopony at the counter or on the other tables. I guess it was still early and all so that’s to be expected. Actually, I can’t remember the last time I got up this early. The quiet atmosphere wasn’t what was bothering me though, or, it kind of was.

Pinkie wasn’t here. That mare was a magnet that got drawn to anypony who mentioned her name, or who had just arrived in town. Even if Pinkie wasn’t in the shop, she nearly always appeared from out of nowhere to find out what you wanted. But she didn’t show. That meant she was either busy, or she was depressed, and Pinkie depressed is a sight that nopony should endure. Then a blue mare came in through the kitchen and noticed me straight away.

“Oh, hello there, dearie. I didn’t know you were coming back.” Mrs Cake greeted me with a smile like she always did.

“Yo, Mrs Cake, how you been?” I trotted up to the counter, but Ulysses stayed behind. I didn’t care though, it was just nice to see an old face.

“Oh, I’ve been good dear. Is Octavia with you?”

“Nah, I’m here on other business. Ya ain’t seen Pinkie Pie have you? I’d like to say hi.”

“She finished her shift a little while ago. I think she said she had a feeling there were some new ponies here and speed off towards the edge of town…”

Oh brother, I’d hate to be the guys who have the pink nightmare heading towards them.

“… But I think she’s missed him, judging by your friend there.” She pointed a hoof towards Ulysses who I had expected to see sulking to the side. Weirdly, he was approaching a couple I hadn’t noticed were on the table at the back. Even weirder was I recognised one of the ponies as Twilight Sparkle.

The other one was a pegasus that I had seen on the weather team several times before. I didn’t really know her, but I knew her name, Cloudkicker. She had a greyish blue coat and a blondish mane. She kind of looked like Ditzy, except a lot less cute and more… beautiful, I guess. She wasn’t my type though. Then alarm bells suddenly went off in my head when I realised that Ulysses was going to TALK to ponies. This could not end well. The pair didn’t even notice the guy until he marched straight up to their table.

“Are you Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic?” Both Twilight and Cloudkicker let go of the others hoof as I rushed over, leaving a very confused Cup Cake at the counter. For some reason, Cloudkicker didn’t seem to want to stick around.

“Oh, uh, hey look at the time. I’ll see you later, Twilight.” She bolted out of the door, looking very confused at Ulysses.

“Um, yes I am. Can I help you?” I made it to the table, making sure I didn’t go super speed in front of Mrs. Cake. Then Twilight noticed me, and her face brightened up. “Vinyl Scratch!” She pushed past Ulysses and wrapped her hooves around my neck. “How are you? What are you doing here?” She asked as we broke the quick hug.

“Good to see you Twilight, I see you’ve met Ulysses.” As usual the lug didn’t say anything. Twilight just politely nodded at him. “I’m kind of on a business trip with a couple of new friends. It’s not important but it’s good to see-”

“She can be of help.” Both Twi and I turned to look at Ulysses. I was amazed that Twilight hadn’t asked about the mask yet, but I guess she was too intimidated too.

The most powerful unicorn in Equestria. And a pony with a weird mask had scared her enough to not ask any questions. Wow.

“What the heck are you talking about, Ulysses?”

“She has connections. Also, she has experience.”

“Would somepony please tell me what’s going on?” Pleaded Twilight, and Ulysses was the one to answer.

“We are here searching for a changeling that is hiding in this very town.” Twilight held up a hoof over her mouth. “Does your town keep records of everypony that takes up residence here?”

“Yes, the mayor keeps them in town hall.”

“Would you be able to give them to us?”

Author's Notes:

So here we are, another chapter, and a continuation of this tale. I intend to upload another chapter before the end of the year so expect it in late December. I've not much to say today so simply let me know what you think of the story so far.

- Infinite