Scarlet removed the band from her hair. She shook her head a few times, letting her mane bounce back into its natural shape, wrapping around her forehead and covering her eye. She turned towards Jessica, signaling that she was ready to enter the plains with her guardian.

"Since there's no wildlife here, I suppose it doesn't really matter whether or not you keep your hair managed," Jessica shrugged as they took their first step. The two ponies held their breath, expecting some kind of attack to clash against their bodies.

Instead, they felt their legs lose some of their weight. As they walked deeper into the dry, near-empty abyss of the desert, they could feel the same featherweight sensation coat the entirety of their body mass.

"I-Is this some kind of magic?" Scarlet shook a hoof. She stamped it back into the ground, surprised when she saw the earth underneath her hoof crack on impact. "The ground here is starving."

"I've only read about it," Jessica shook her body. "It has a terrible vibe to it. We expected this much coming here."

Scarlet nodded. "What've you read about the Plains?"

"There's not really a book about it," Jessica admitted as she picked up the pace. "We should hurry. The sooner we're at the mountain, the better." She turned around to Scarlet, their walk turned into a trot. "The content about this place is mostly written in small scrolls and warning letters towards other ponies about entering the place.

"A lot of ponies end up going insane if they stay here too long. The letters say that the longer you stay here, the stronger the Plains become."

"And these letters come from?" Scarlet plopped her hat on her head.

"Asylums," Jessica responded with a curious hum. "Going deeper also intensifies the plains' affect on ponies. We're sorta kinda doing both of those things, and most of the ponies that I've been to see or read about barely make it more than a few days."

"You said it'd take us two or more days to get there," Scarlet pointed her muzzle at the mountain still looming far beyond.

"I did, which is why we should keep moving. I can feel a strange kind of magical presence here."

"What kind of presence?" Scarlet asked.

"It's not welcoming," Jessica shook her head as her pacing sped up. "They say that painful memories spawn and linger about here. I'm not sure what to expect, and I'd rather not stay around too long to find out."

'She's spooked too,' Scarlet gulped down. 'This isn't good.'

The detective could feel the same entity that Jessica had mentioned. The weight of their bodies kept jumping around, bouncing between feeling as light as a feather, and as heavy as a boulder. The pace they kept themselves at would constantly jump from the deceptive strength of gravity on their bodies.

Scarlet let out a quick series of coughs, doing her best to stick behind her unicorn guard. She shook her head and continued on, her bout grabbing the attention of her living shield.

Jessica's discerning eye took a quick gander at her cargo. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, just an itch," Scarlet did her best to clear her throat.

"You sure?" Jessica turned completely around, floating in the air in front of Scarlet. "You've been coughing ever since you got to Ponyville. It sounds like it's getting worse. You were coughing up a storm the night we were attacked, too."

"I-I was?" Scarlet raised an eyebrow.

"While you slept, love." Jessica took a quick spin in the air. "If you're getting sick, then it's only going to be a burden on us. If you want, I could probably sent you straight back to Ponyville with a spell."

"No," she sternly snapped at the dark coated pony. "I need to finish this. You said it yourself: The sooner, the better."

Jessica silently agreed, turning back around. She took several seconds, but quickly fell back to the ground at a complete stop.

"What is it?" Scarlet asked.

Jessica took a moment to take in the sight in front of her. "You didn't see any other ponies walking around in here from the edge of Everfree, right?"

"Not that I know of," Scarlet responded. "Why?"

Jessica moved to the side. "I think the Plains of Woe are starting to act up."

Scarlet gasped at the sight in front of her. Two ponies stood in the path in front of them. One pony was only marginally smaller than she was in height, and was wearing an extremely similar black coat around her body. A fedora covered the mess of bright red hair underneath, and faded green eyes were filled with disappointment.

Another pony was trying to comfort her, a colt of bright blue hues on his coat, with an ivory mane decorated with a black stripe that tore through the center. His eyes throbbed with a passionate crimson color that grabbed Scarlet's attention almost immediately.

"L-Locks?!" Scarlet took another step towards the two ponies. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in Canterlot?"

"Stop!" She felt a tug at her tie, pulling her back. Jessica lined up besides her. "This must be what the letters talk about. Take a look at that delicious looking filly. Recognize her?"

Scarlet walked around the pair, coming in contact with the eyes of the gray coated mare. "That's... that's me."

"Yeah."

"How is that possible?" Scarlet took a few steps around the two ponies, making sure that she wasn't just imagining the moving portrait.

Jessica snuck up to the two ponies, whom had since been paying no mind to the detective and her partner. She walked up to the duplicate Scarlet, who was holding an unrolled scroll in her hoof. The wicked mare got a quick read of the parchment, and then turned to Scarlet.

"Interesting," she mulled. "Scarlet, you got a C-Rank at the Agency when you first came on board full-time, right?"

Scarlet's ears almost immediately sagged, a spare hoof kicking at the cracks in the dirt. "Yeah." She took another look at the images in front of them. "Oh..."

"Memories," Jessica looked about the scene. "Perfect memories of," she looked back at Scarlet, "very upsetting times. I think I understand now." She crept around the pair, raising a hoof.

"Jess, what are you up to?"

"This is some convincing mirage," Jessica complimented the lands. "And some intense magic." Her hoof came down hard, slapping against the clone-Scarlet's behind with a firm clap. The real Scarlet's eyes swelled with disbelief, another rogue cough rose up her throat.

"Jessica! What the hell are you doing!?"

Jessica rubbed her hoof, looking at the image. The younger Scarlet had a flush of red running down her face, while the Locks that was with her looked straight at Jessica in disgust.

"Too soon? That's fine with me," Jessica teased the duplicates. She quickly floated over towards her Scarlet before coaxing her to move away from them.

"They... they're solid," Scarlet stated the obvious.

"Worse than that," Jessica quickly scooted Scarlet along, creating distance between them and her clone, "They're completely aware of their surroundings. You saw how they reacted to my wonderful flank-spank."

"I can't believe you. Anything to get closer, huh," Scarlet glared at her.

"I regret nothing," Jessica quickly chirped in satisfaction. "But that helped me understand this place a lot better. I can understand why somepony could lose their shit here."

Scarlet looked back. "Jessica, they're gone."

Jessica turned at the observation. The spot that the two ponies had stood was vacant of all kinds of life. "I see, I see."

"See what? Jessica, can you explain?"

"Easily," Jessica cleared her throat, "but let's pick up the pace. If they're self-aware and solid, then that means that they can get to us just like we got to them."

Scarlet's trot sped up alongside Jessica's. The dead trees that they perpetually passed started to dwindle even further than what they saw from the peak of Everfree, passing only fragments of dead roots every few minutes.

"I get it now," the witch commented. "The Plains of Woe. They force you to re-experience upsetting memories again and again."

"Like my C-Ranking."

Jessica nodded her head in acknowledgment. "And it's only going to get worse the deeper we go, and the longer we stay. With the magic that's coating us jumping around here and there, I can understand why some ponies might just croak after exposure to it all. They get exhausted from running away from their memories here. It's not a stretch to imagine that some ponies just up and gave in to the strength of the desert."

"And if they die here..."

"Right," she continued. "Their disposition must get absorbed by the plains. Their deaths only make this place stronger. And with magic strong enough for an Earth pony like you to feel, that means that the number of ponies that have died must be in the thousands."

"Thousands?" Scarlet gulped.

"Easily. No wonder nopony has the balls to stay here. This place is more toxic than Las Pegasus."

The two let the song of their galloping hooves take over, doing their best to ignore the emptiness of the land surrounding them. Scarlet turned around, unable to see much of the greenery of Everfree from the distance they were at.

"Don't turn around," Jessica scolded her. "This place spouted those two right in front of us last time. Never know when to expect a curve ball."

Scarlet could make out forms spawning from around them that would take shape, and then easily dissipate as they passed through the dry landscape. The mountain grew taller the closer the pair came to the base, forcing Scarlet's head further and further back whenever she tried looking at the peak.

She heard a quick chuckle from her teammate. "Something wrong, Jess?"

"I'm just remembering our friends back there," Jessica mused. "This place brings back the worst memories you could ever have experienced, and it brought back a C-Rank in the Agency for you."

"S-so what," Scarlet stammered for a second. "It was very upsetting at the time!"

"How sheltered were you as a filly? Were you locked in your room all the time? If that's one of the most painful things you have, then there's not much else for you to worry about here."

"Go ahead and laugh," Scarlet snorted. "It sucked."

The magic around the pair twisted the air around them, bending and forming itself into two large balls that quickly started to take shape. Scarlet and Jessica turned to their sides, both watching as the spells started to create more living ponies.

"Run faster!" Jessica ordered as they picked up steam.

Scarlet felt her joints start to burn as they peaked out at their top speed. She turned back to her right, gasping at the magical ball taken shape. It was the form of a stallion, with a frame that completely towered over Scarlet's. He was running alongside the group, his head turned and facing Jessica.

Scarlet started to slow down, her energy starting to dwindle. She turned to her partner, who was completely smitten by the look the stallion gave her. She was licking her lips, giving him a wink that was overly eager and starving.

"J-Jessica! Focus!" Scarlet shouted at her guard.

"Hey, handsome," another sly voice came from behind Jessica. Her eyes shot open, slowing her pace to allow the other creature to pass her up. Scarlet and Jessica turned to see a complete, one for one copy of the wicked mare, racing to keep up with the tall form of the colt near Scarlet's side.

Scarlet and Jessica only stared at the scene unfold in front of them, as the clone-Jessica made her advances on him. The detective turned to her friend, upset to find the same hungry face on Jessica as was on her duplicate.

"I thought you said this place was full of painful memories," Scarlet scolded the dark mare.

Suddenly, the colt in front of them turned his head in disapproval, making a sharp turn that caused him to bolt off in another direction. Jessica made a complete stop at the sight, forcing Scarlet to back up.

The colt vanished in the distance of the plains, leaving the copy of Jessica behind. The alternate scribe fell on her haunches with a tear in her eye, and a genuine frown that Scarlet had never seen on Jessica's face in her entire life. Scarlet's guard walked up towards the sobbing copy.

"Jess!"

"That's low," Jessica scolded at the open plains. "That's low, god dammit! This isn't funny!"

"What's going on?" Scarlet couldn't help but ask as Jessica ran a hoof across the back of the crying pony's neck. "I don't understand."

"Tch," Jessica raised a hoof in the direction of the colt. "Turn me down!? The hell would turn down a pony so voluptuous and willing!? Who?!"

The truth of the matter came to Scarlet almost immediately, and as guilty as she felt about it, she couldn't help but allow a smirk to spread across her face. A snicker escaped her lips.

Both Jessicas turned to her, "It's not funny!"

Scarlet busted out laughing. "Th-The mighty Plains of Woe, a place that destroys you from the inside-out with painful memories," her booming laughter quickly turned into another wave of coughs, "and one of yours is being denied?!"

The real Jessica patted her crying clone before approaching Scarlet. "You don't understand, girly. Nopony has ever denied such a sexy body before," Jessica made sure to show off some of her poses in the process, "That colt has no idea what he missed out on!"

"I-I'm sorry Jessica," Scarlet continued to cough, "b-but it's just funny! You can't deny that!"

Jessica grinded her teeth a bit. "Keep laughing Scarley. My hooves might get a little touchy-feely tonight if you keep it up."

Scarlet did her best to calm down at the threat, wiping a tear from her eyes and readjusting her tie and hat.

"Good. Had you kept it up, I'd have given you a painful memory that would take three of these stupid Plains of Woe to fill," Jessica turned back to her clone. "Listen sexy. You're hot and you know it, and no stupid stallion is going to ruin that streak you've got going."

Jessica looked left and right, her ears perked straight up at the thought of an idea she had always wanted to try. She looked back to Scarlet, spinning a hoof, "Love, can you be a dear and look the other way?"

"Wh-what ever happened to not messing with our copies? What are you up to?"

Jessica rotated her hoof in place, easing the detective into her order. Scarlet couldn't understand the request. She nodded and did so anyways, giving Jess and her duplicate what little privacy the plains allowed.

“I can put a smile on that face.”

Scarlet cringed at the sound of lips smacking together.

=====

SEVERAL HOURS LATER

The sun was already starting to set in the direction of Everfree and pony civilization. The plains brought forth a severe chill that slowed down the pace that Scarlet and Jessica maintained for the rest of the day, bringing them from a trot to a brisk walk.

Images and forms continued to follow them as they neared the mountaintops. Scarlet took a moment to drink another generous gulp of water from her canteen before continuing their journey. Jessica hadn't taken in a single bit of nourishment all day, but remained as energetic as she was when they had found the plains that morning.

"We've made a ton of progress, Scarley," Jessica noted with a bounce in her step. "We might be able to reach the mountain by tomorrow if we can get back to a trot for another hour. Think you can handle that?"

Scarlet gave another heavy cough. "Damn it," she looked at Jessica, "I... Yeah, I can do it."

"Excellent. And don't worry," she gave Scarlet a wink, "I can give you a bit of help if you get a little tired."

=====

A tent was pitched against the thirsty, cracked ground. A small campfire had been set up, and Jessica and Scarlet were busy enjoying their small dinner before bed. Scarlet was exhausted beyond belief, and the weight jumps of the plains burned away at what little energy she had to stand. Rings formed around her eyes, and from a distance, she could spot the forms of ponies that huddled together in the darkness. She could barely make out the eyes of the forms that stared at her. The figures were content standing from that distance, patiently watching their prey from across the field with anticipation.

"Think that they'll attack?" Scarlet asked Jessica, who didn't seem to mind the attention of the plains.

"I doubt it," she took a bite of an apple. "If the plains wanted to physically tear us limb from limb with the forms, then it would've done so a long time ago."

"That... makes sense," Scarlet shuddered. "They just keep appearing... and gathering around the tent."

"Yeah," she licked her lips of the juice. "It's creepy, and they'll probably keep building up, too. We're just gonna have to will ourselves through them during the night. I have sleeping spells that'll do the trick."

"That'd probably be for the best," Scarlet coughed again.

"Have you been taking any kind of medicine for that?"

"Of course," Scarlet nodded. "I packed some tablets that would help keep the cough down, but it just won't go away."

"Strange."

"Either way, I'll focus on that as soon as we get the heck out of here," Scarlet said, a hint of aggression in her tone.

Jessica caught her glare. "...Still on about that one?"

Scarlet gave her a quiet, solitary shake of her head. "I really don't understand how this place learns about us like this, but I really wish there was a way to block it out."

"I can't fully explain it either," Jessica tilted her head, looking at the core of the apple that had been exposed from her last bite. "It's like this apple, really. The magic of the plains just bites at you over and over again, until it finds a goldmine underneath your skin. Memories that are hard to deal with that it just exposes to the world," she dug into the fruit with her hoof, popping out a few seeds, "and then it just flashes them in your face."

Scarlet huffed. "I hate this place." She recalled the forms that appeared as they galloped along the plains. A copy of her boss and her father both appeared before her. Steele's face was full of anger, while Conroy gave Scarlet a stern look of disappointment that carved her up into a husk.

"Steele called me a joke," Scarlet pouted.

"I was there," Jessica took another bite. "You know how he is. He's a tough bastard."

"It was more of the look my dad gave me anyways," Scarlet replied. "I know I floundered through the case, but I had forgotten how much... it hurt."

"To be honest, I doubt many of the Cs and even some of the Bs would've been able to complete it," Jessica tried her best to comfort the gray pony. "It just wasn't that easy, and it was as much Steele's fault for assigning a rookie that kind of case."

"It doesn't really matter whether or not he screwed up," Scarlet looked at the ground. "My dad trained me. My parents raised me to be a great detective, and I won't lie," she looked up at Jessica, "even I expected myself to do great things. But being out there, actually on the job..."

Jessica sighed.

"It was too much. I couldn't handle it. I was scared. I screwed up so much. The look of frustration on his face when I had to return to the Agency... it was too much."

"Scarlet, don't let it get to you too much," Jessica reminded her. "The Plains of Woe want you to feel like this."

"I know," Scarlet returned, "but it's just a huge part of my career, I guess."

"Your first failed case?"

"Well yeah," she replied immediately. "Nopony has ever had a 100% success rate, right?"

Jessica tapped her hoof. "Nope. Not even me. Everypony makes mistakes, Scarley."

Scarlet sighed. "Everypony talks about how their failures help them get stronger, or how it helped them learn something important about themselves."

"Mm-hmm," Jessica agreed. "What did you learn, Scarlet?"

Jade green eyes rose, linking directly with those bright orange. "I learned that I suck at the one job I was raised from birth to do."

Jessica huffed. "The hell, Scarlet? That's a shitty attitude to have, you know."

"But it's the truth."

The looming forms inched closer to the group.

"Well, yeah." the unicorn took to her surroundings, noticing the pairs of eyes moving closer. "Look Scarlet, I understand that it's not what you wanted, but right now, you need to just... well..."

Jessica grabbed Scarlet's head and picked it up, showing the dozens of eyes staring at them. "These things aren't friendly. They want to kill us, and they easily have that kind of power right now. All of this negativity you’re radiating is attracting them. It's okay to be upset, but there's a time and place for that. The Plains of Woe are not a good place to start moping and sulking about the past."

Scarlet sniffed, wiping her face and letting out a weaker cough. "S-sure, Jess. Sorry."

"You can thank me better when we're out of here and in your bed," she tried to lighten the mood. "Besides, I'm your guardian, aren't I?" Jessica smirked. "This place is a monster. We can't let it destroy us. As long as we help each other out here, then we'll be fine."

Scarlet sat in silence, eying her last piece of fruit. 'I know we need to hurry and get to the mountain as fast as possible, but... Jessica's been burning me out the entire time we've been out here,' she thought. 'She's even used some spells to carry me along, or numb out the exhaustion. There's gotta be a reason for it.' Scarlet narrowed her eyes at a concerning thought, 'Is there something else out here that even she's afraid of?

'If Jessica’s afraid of something, then I suppose it's best to listen to her, and get out of here as fast as we can. Getting emotional isn't going to help.'

Scarlet sunk her teeth into her apple, letting the crunch fill her ears. She looked back at Jessica, who was busy admiring the flames.

"Spookies and lack of water aside, this place would make an awesome camping area," Scarlet said.

"A good hike up a mountain in the afternoon, a fresh drink of water against the hot sun," Jessica listed off, "and even a daring trek into Everfree. This place has a lot. It could even make for a spicy little love nest."

"I wonder if we'd be able to find a way to tame this place. You know," Scarlet ignored her comment, "make it habitable."

"If you could purge the toxic magic in the area, you could totally do it," Jessica stated. "It's not too difficult for small places. I, for example, can detox an area the size of a small house if I wanted to."

"Doesn't that burn a pony out though? Detox involves shifting massive dispositions from one place to another, and the absence of it in the atmosphere can really screw with the local flora and fauna," Scarlet asked.

"Of course I'd be exhausted," Jessica laughed. "Getting the disposition safely away from the region burns you out and kills your body. I did it once for a pony back when I was a filly, and I was on bed rest for the next two days."

“When you were a filly? How did you do something so complex?”

Jessica’s smug face scooted closer to her partner. “I’m just that good, Scarley.”

Scarlet shared a giggle with Jess. "You know something, this is nice."

"What's nice?"

"This," Scarlet waved her hoof towards her friend. "When we're at the office, you're always gluing my hooves to things, pissing people off by changing the coffee into cider, and flirting with everypony in sight. Here though," Scarlet paused, "You haven't really... screwed with me too much, so to speak. I'll be honest, I'm kinda surprised to see you acting so normal for a change."

"Well, I'm glad you're happy," Jessica made a fake frown. "I hate being in a place I don't know completely about. I have to keep on my hooves. Gotta expect anything to happen at any time. We ARE in a dangerous place."

"I know," Scarlet looked at the eyes around them, which had fallen several yards back from where they had spawned. The silence amidst all of the spectators sent chills through her body. "It was just an observation."

"Nice detectiving," Jessica joked. "If I didn't know any better, this all sounds like an invitation more than anything else."

Scarlet let out another cough. "As long as you don't act on it, then I'm okay."

Jessica vanished, reappearing right in front of Scarlet. "Whatever you say, loves," she pulled on Scarlet's tie with her hoof. "We could always spice it up if you want. I didn't expect you to be the kind of mare who was into voyeurism." She looked up at her face, expecting a flush of red, or the expression of discomfort that she loved from the younger pony. Instead, an interesting, quizzical stare was drawn about her, staring off behind Jessica.

"Jess, one of them moved," Scarlet finally spoke. Jessica pulled herself up, looking through the reflection in Scarlet's irises.

She quickly turned around, her mane swishing about before falling in place. Scarlet was spot on: A pony had approached the two, with an innocent face and a tender, friendly smile.

The pony had a pale, yellow-brown coat that seemed smooth to the touch, with curves and hips that gave away her gender effortlessly. Her hair was done up in a fancy western style, with the peak curling about the top of her head. Her forelock draped over the top of her eyes in a neat strip, and had an interesting palette of orange and yellow stripes strewn about it. The pony continued to close in on the group, the campfire they had started illuminating her form.

She was an older mare, easily within the same range as Mystery Hart. Her eyes were a powerful emerald color, with a dozen brown freckles adorning both sides of her face. Her breezy tail, long and well kept, swished around, coiled around on the ground next to her hind legs.

She halted as the fire exposed her, eyes wandering towards Scarlet. The earth pony kept her breath while the older mare took her appearance in. She gave her a friendly, slow little wave, which the confused Scarlet returned in full.

The pony's eyes wandered over to Jessica, and almost immediately, her body turned, facing directly at the unicorn. Jessica took a step back, her wide expression taking in the form of the pony.

The air in Scarlet's lungs escaped her, watching in disbelief as Jessica took several quick, hasted steps away from the mare, almost as if she was afraid of the creature. Jessica pushed against Scarlet, trying to get to the opening of the tent.

"Scarlet, let's get inside," she ordered, "This place is starting to get worse."

"Wait, how?" Scarlet couldn't help but continue, "Who is she? What's she doing?"

The older pony took several steps back, past the fire, but still within its warm glow. She continued to stare straight at Jessica, lifting one of her fore hooves from the ground. Her smile weakened, her hoof raised into the air next to her head. She began waving at the unicorn, slowly shifting her hoof left and right against the darkness of the night, never stopping to say a word, or to move any closer or further from Jessica.

"She's waving," Scarlet said. "She's… saying goodbye?"

She turned to Jessica, who was unzipping the front flap to their tent.

"Don't worry about her," Jessica snorted. "It's just the Plains playing another game with us."

Scarlet was entranced by her waving. "Jessica, she just keeps going."

Jessica froze as the tent opened up. She could feel the presence of the pony still standing there, indefinitely waving at her. She sighed, lifting herself to her feet and turning to face the pony again.

"Who is she?" Scarlet repeated.

"Scarlet," Jessica started, inching closer to the mare. She walked right up to the figure, who had stopped its waving momentarily once Jessica was within inches of its body. The yellow pony just looked at her as Jessica explored every angle of the mare's body. She reached up, touching the pony's back and sides, feeling the rich coat as she ran her hoof down her back.

Scarlet, half expecting Jessica to take a turn back into her lewd-nature, watched in awe as Jessica's hoof rose up to the pony's face, pressing against her cheeks and underneath her chin. Jessica's expression softened, turning to the flank to spot the cutie mark she had recognized from days long past.

The cutie mark was that of a rich, thick pumpkin, which covered nearly the entirety of her hind leg, its vines stretching out, illustrating the riches of a harvest.

"This mare was a pumpkin farmer years ago," Jessica claimed. "She lived in Dodge Junction, with a bunch of other ponies." She took several steps away from the pony, back to Scarlet's side.

"Her name was Jacqueline O'Curbi," Jessica strained to say the entirety of the name. "Everypony called her Jackie for short."

"Jacqueline," Scarlet looked at her, then back at Jessica. Scarlet felt a shiver crawl through her at the pained expression hiding behind those typically energetic orange lids. "Jess...is she?"

"Of course," Jessica withdrew herself into the tent. "Jacqueline O'Curbi was the name of my mother."

The dark mare disappeared into the tent. "We should get some sleep. These things are going to keep screwing with us until morning. Come on."

Scarlet turned to the tent, then back at the pony, who begun to wave again despite Jessica's absence. The mother's eyes locked onto the spot within the tent that Jessica was laying herself down at. 'A farmer in Dodge? That's impossible,' Scarlet shook her head, 'That place is barely fertile enough to hold more than a cherry orchard nowadays. It hasn’t really been a crop-yielding locale for ages. If she farmed pumpkins in Dodge, then she'd be well over...'

"Scarlet, come on," Jessica's sternly ordered. Scarlet nodded, crawling into the tent herself.

"I have a sleeping spell active in this tent. It'll help us crash in no time," Jessica quickly said. "I'll wake you up when it's time to go."

Scarlet rested in her bag, quickly feeling the magic of Jessica's spell lulling her closer to sleep.

'Jessica's face,' Scarlet shut her eyes harder, 'If this place can upset somepony like her that much...'

Scarlet's eyes opened one final time. The sound of an infantry shuffling briskly across the plains filled the air. She could see the silhouette of several ponies walking around the outside of the tent, finding spots to watch anxiously for their prey to reappear. At the front of the zipper, she could still spot Jacqueline's figure, her hoof still swaying gently in the air.

'...Then what can it do to somepony like me?'

=====

“Scarlet, get up,” a stern voice commanded. The synapses started to fire in her head, the cringing sensation of sunlight flooded her sockets. The shadows keeping the couple company throughout the night had stepped a significant distance away from the tent. Same as before, the plains remained deathly silent, with the exception of an occasional, unnaturally cold breeze. The dry atmosphere inside their nest contributed to the sensation of dread that filled Scarlet’s senses, shuddering at the soulless vibe that emanated from her surroundings.

Finally on her hooves, Scarlet’s attention was stolen by the unicorn pacing about the tent, her horn pulsing with her familiar aura. Their belongings gathered into an unkempt cluster one bit at a time, and with a flash, vaporized them safely, back to where she had originally summoned them from.

“I’m not sure if it’s toying with us or not,” Jessica started, taking another quick glance outside of the small opening in the tent’s zipper, “but the numbers of the copies outside are dropping. Now’s the best time to move on. We can get to the mountain by early afternoon if we hurry.” The black enchantress opened the tent completely, bouncing out and scanning the area. Scarlet quickly followed. The copies all lined up around the tent, save for several pockets of space that were scattered among the swarm. At the front of the pack, the detective could spot the colors of the particularly brazen spirit of Jackie O’Curbi.

“Keep a steady trot with me Scarley,” Jessica called while she hastily packed the tent, “I’m burning through a lot of my magic this morning.”

The gray pony following behind nodded, puzzled at the stark contrast in Jessica’s shift after the night’s events. Nevertheless, she trailed several feet behind, heading for one of the pockets of open space that lead straight to the mountain ahead.

The duo passed up the shadows of their past with great ease, not a single body willing to chase down the prey they surveyed for the entirety of the night. Scarlet looked up at the mountain nearby, taking in its size with an intimidated stare. The base of the mountain, visible from their distance, had changed from when they spotted the mountain at the edge of Everfree. Vegetation grew on the edges of the base, grass covering the sides and running up the mountain a generous distance before changing back to bare rock. The lumpy, bumpy texture around the base was covered with grass, and vines traveled about boulders and several nearby trees like veins, each of which, from the distance they had been at, lead back to the base of the mountain.

“You think it’s some kind of magical barrier?” Scarlet asked the unicorn, who undoubtedly already noticed the scenery.

“Most likely,” she agreed over her steps. “Might be a defense mechanism. I wouldn’t be surprised if the mountain was the center of the Plains’ magic.”

“The source,” the gray mare muttered.

“It would give Gemini a place to live if the outside of the mountain has vegetation like this. Now come on, we have to pick up the pace.”

Scarlet looked behind her. “Speed up?”

“Haven’t you noticed yet? The Plains haven’t attacked us yet today,” Jessica noted. “They’re definitely more dangerous than they were when we came here.”

“Aside from just getting closer to the possible source of the magic?”

“That, and the Plains had an entire night to look into our memories,” Jessica added. “I can’t focus on barriers and whatnot while I’m asleep too, and it’s not a stretch to assume our resistance is much weaker when we’re unconscious.”

Scarlet took another look around the two ponies. The dead trees and cracked, dry ground continued for miles all around, with not a single form of life in sight.

“It’s not too hard to understand this place once you experience it,” Jessica said. “It gathers your thoughts and tries to break you. It had all the time in the world to dig out our memories while we slept.” Jess turned around to her partner, motioning her to speed up once more. “And yet there’s nothing around.”

“It’s… planning?” Scarlet tried to finish Jessica’s thought.

“Exactly. The closer we get to the mountain, the better.”

A dooming idea swept through Scarlet’s mind. “What if the mountain isn’t safe from the copies then?”

Jessica’s near-run slowed a bit as her mind clashed with the idea. “It’s possible, but I doubt that it’s as bad as the outer edges of this place. There’s life at the base of that mountain, you’ve seen the green,” Jessica explained. “This place absorbs all elements of life. If there IS a threat in that mountain, then odds are it’s not related to the plains.”

Scarlet gulped. “Then wh-”

“Let’s stick to taking care of each problem as it comes,” Jessica’s suggestion cut her off. “Let’s just focus on getting there. I’d rather not be lunch for the Plains.”

Another chill swept through the air. The hollow sound of the wind put Scarlet on edge, and after silently agreeing with Jessica, she focused her attention on the ever-growing mountain straight ahead.

==========

The mouth of the cave was visible, a sight that filled the sweating Scarlet with comfort. The pair had stopped to catch their breath, and the Plains’ presence filled the air with a tense, icy atmosphere. The ground beneath their hooves was lush and green, a perfect indicator for the relief Scarlet felt at getting so much closer to the mountain. Jessica teleported their goods back, grabbing a snack or two for the ponies to eat while they rested.

Jessica stretched her legs out and bounded from boulder to boulder, taking in the sudden change of scenery. Looking back on the path they came from, Scarlet shuddered at how empty and devoid of life the plains felt. She turned around, finishing her food off before following Jessica’s example, and stretching out before their next run. Jessica walked out of view, marveling at the lush trees and the mossy rocks that crawled up the mountain’s side.

Scarlet’s ears perked at the subtle whisper she heard coming from the direction of the mountain. She froze in place, her ears twitching every few seconds to try and recapture that distinct voice that stood out against the rest of the silence. Cautiously, she stepped closer to the mountain’s base. The path curved, blocked by the flora in a way that mirrored Everfree. The voice came again, a tad more distinct, but there was still not enough to distinguish it.

“J-Jessica?” Scarlet called out to her guardian. The unicorn failed to respond. Scarlet’s ears fluttered at a third noise, the same voice, growing in volume and coming from the base of the mountain. Scarlet inched closer to the mouth of the land mass, taking snail-like steps towards the direction of the voice.

Hoofsteps could be heard coming from behind her. She panicked, moving to the side of the path behind another moss-covered rock. The steps came in a hurry, almost frantic. The earth pony focused her ears on the distinct sound.

“There’s too many hitting the ground at once,” she said. “More than one.”

Two shadows zipped right by her hiding spot, tearing down the path and towards the mountain. Scarlet wasted no time, poking out of the side of the boulder to get a better look at the ponies. One was of a smaller build in comparison to their companion, and was wearing a black coat Scarlet instantly recognized as her own. The other was a pony, masculine in body shape, with a cyan colored coat.

“That’s…me and Locks,” Scarlet looked back. No sign of Jessica. She called for her one more time, but upon hearing silence in response, she started to follow the trail of the copies.

She didn’t have to travel far. The mouth of the cave was only one hundred yards away upon a quick examination. Scarlet peeked at the forms beyond a bush, swatting away at several smaller insects that took quickly to her outfit.

‘That’s the first sign of animal life out here,’ Scarlet realized while brushing off the small creatures. ‘That, or an illusion. Where did Jessica go?’

The black mare, almost upon mention of her name, dashed above Scarlet, landing gracefully in the clearing that lead to the mouth of the cave. Afraid to break cover, the gray mare only watched as Jessica darted around, scribbling notes on a parchment with vigor as she moved about the field. A crowd of ponies, whose features appeared indistinguishable from one another, was huddled around a small area several feet away from the other her and Locks. Scarlet narrowed her eyes and tried her best to focus on the actions taking place in front of her, but the crowd of ponies continued to block the path to a specific spot on the ground.

“LET ME GO!” A voice suddenly screamed out. Scarlet jumped at the sound, her attention pulled back to the pony that represented herself.

The copy of Scarlet was struggling against Locks, as well as a few other ponies, doing her best to try and break past the barrier.

“HOLD HER DOWN!”

Scarlet’s heart skipped a beat. Her eyes shot open at the realization of what was happening before her.

“This was when,” she muttered, horrible memories and emotions bursting forward. She took a step forward, breaking cover from the bushes. The copies didn’t seem to mind her presence as the memory continued to play. Another gray hoof moved towards the scene, Scarlet’s eyes focused on the point beyond the crowd that her copy was trying to overcome. Her body moved slowly, inching closer in a trance-like march towards the center of attention.

She felt a burning sensation in her stomach. “He was right there,” she stumbled, straightening herself out before moving forward. She walked around the group, who had since started to overcome the clone of the young detective. The screams coming from the pile of ponies sounded foreign to her ears. “I just need to,” she saw a pony from the group in front of her, blocking the view. She caught a glimpse of something on the floor, large and dark blue in color.

Another vicious chill swept through the air. “Just need to move around this one…”

Scarlet felt a terrible sensation rush up her throat from her gut. A loud ring filled her ears, scratching against her eardrums with a painful pitch. She doubled over from the surge of raw agony, bursting into a fit of terrible coughs. She fell onto her forelegs, bending them against the dirt to keep her lower body standing. Each cough ripped at her throat, sending a jolt with each sharp burn that came with it. The scene continued to play in front of her until a flash blinded her sight. She clenched her eyes, still coughing as the majority of the crowd nearby had vanished, leaving only a handful of ponies left in the area.

Scarlet heard sobbing coming from behind her. She turned her head, seeing her copy pitifully collapse on the floor, pulling off her favorite hat. The image moved the fedora closer to her lips.

‘What do I have now?’ Scarlet’s mind let the words repeat themselves, matching perfectly with the lips of the actor behind her. With a surge of energy, the hat was tossed aggressively into the sky, falling into a heap on the floor below.

Scarlet shivered, remembering how carved and empty she felt on that night. The ponies standing nearby turned their attention to her, attracted to the negativity seeping out of her body. Magnetized, by the mark of a shattered pony, they inched closer to the helpless mare.

“Scarlet!!”

The detective’s attention shot straight up at the sky. Another mare landed in front of her, holding off the copies of the ponies from getting to their prey. Her orange mane and tail swung around as she landed, and with an enchantment, her horn started to charge with arcane enchantments. The copies stood opposing the unicorn for a few moments before turning away, realizing that their opportunity for a feast was gone. Defeated, the majority of them broke up into fragments in the air, swept away by another breeze of freezing air.

Jessica’s magic faded with the threat, and she quickly turned to her friend.

“What the hell, Scarlet!?” She yelled, “What happened? I came back to our break spot and you weren’t there.”

Scarlet opened her mouth, but only a heavy cough came out. She choked up, holding her breath and turning away from Jessica. She spit into the ground next to her, wiping her face and sighing with fatigue. Her eyes were welcomed by a blot of red covering the grass below.

‘…That’s not normal.’

“Hello? Scarlet?” Jessica grabbed her attention. “What did you do? I got here and I saw a bunch of ponies moving towards you.”

Scarlet wiped her mouth and cleared her throat. The burning along the walls of her throat was slowly disappearing .”The… the Plains,” she started. “They got me.”

“Not with me around,” Jessica moved up to her precious cargo. She pulled her close, her eyes darting about Scarlet’s body, searching for an injury of any kind. “Good. It doesn’t look like they managed to get their hooves on you.”

Scarlet exhaled, her body still shaken by the experience.

Jessica paused, feeling the mare before her trembling in her hoof. “Scarlet,” she lowered her head, “What did you see?”

“It was the night that my dad….” Scarlet couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Shh,” Jessica moved a spare hoof down her mane. “Don’t worry. I get it.” Jessica stayed with Scarlet in the clearing, looking around in case any spare illusions stuck around. “I’m sorry.”

Scarlet looked up into those orange eyes. “You’re sorry?”

“I got carried away and wandered off,” Jessica closed her eyes, shaking her head in disgrace. “I was looking around the mountain to see if there were any other distinguishing features strewn about it. There’s a lot of magical energy surrounding this place. You’d think something would show up.” She looked back to Scarlet, “I should’ve told you to keep following me. You wouldn’t have been attacked if I were around.”

“Don’t worry so much about it,” Scarlet took a breath of relief. “You saved me either way. I’m… I’m fine.”

Jessica gave Scarlet some time to catch her breath. “So you’re still good to go then? We can rest if you need more time.”

“No, Jessica,” Scarlet tried to get back on all fours and stumbled back down. “Just give me a few moments.”

Jessica took a step back. “Good. If there’s a silver lining that came from this,” she pointed towards the cave, “then it’s that.”

Scarlet followed the direction. The mouth of the cave was only a few yards away. “Wh-what? How?”

“The Plains must’ve dug deeper into your memories than we thought,” Jessica explained. “I guess having the entrance to the mountain here would’ve distracted you from the memory, so the plains probably hid it from sight.”

“So we’re finally here?”

“Finally here. We made excellent timing,” she looked up at the mountain. “This sucker’s huge, too. If the Princess says this ‘Gemini’ is in here, she could be anywhere. Now get up,” Jessica gave her a generous pat on the flank. “As much as I enjoy seeing you on your knees, we still have a job to do.”

Scarlet’s mind was brought back to earth with Jessica’s gentle spank. A quick wipe down her face removed the light flush before she lifted herself back up. The two ponies quickly made their way to the mouth of the cave.

“Look Scarlet,” Jessica signaled to the entrance. “Can you see it?”

Scarlet squinted her eyes at the cave entrance. Two distinguishable paths immediately created a fork against the cave walls. The floor of one path rose up higher into the mountain top, while the other dipped into the darkness in the caverns below.

“Zecora said that a path would rise and another would fall, but I half-expected that to be her Zebra-talk,” Jessica admitted. In addition, at the front of the cave was a sign with jagged writing, crudely written against a wooden plank.

Scarlet and Jessica’s eyes read down the panel:

Mount Ignis
Property of Princess Celestia of Equestria

Scarlet and Jessica let the message sink in.

“Property? What the-”

“-hell is she doing with something like this in the middle of fucking nowhere?” Jessica finished Scarlet’s thought. The two ponies vented their frustrations before looking back at the vertical fork at the mouth of the cave.

“So we’re going in?”

“Well, we have to,” Jessica replied, “But we can’t be out here forever.” She paused, her mind clearly struggling to make a decision. “I want to split up.”

“Split up?” Scarlet turned to her guardian. “But I barely survived out there on the Plains.”

“I know, but the danger of the Plains is behind us,” she said. “This place is supposedly owned by Celestia. Perhaps there are actual borders or barriers set up here that keep ponies protected.”

“That’s too generous of an assumption,” Scarlet huffed at her partner.

“True, but there’s no way in hell we’d be able to scour this place fast enough otherwise. Remember Scarlet, we don’t have all day to spend screwing around out here. The Plains of Woe can wait forever for us to come back out of the cave, and the longer we’re out here, the more exhausted we’ll be for the run back to Everfree.”

Scarlet stamped at the ground. She knew that Jessica was right, and their supplies couldn’t handle more than another day or two at best, not to mention the return trip would require a second travel through Everfree to get back to Ponyville after a final trek through the plains. “I get it. So we split up and cover as much as we can, as fast as we can?”

Jessica took another step toward the mouth. “That’s about it.” She turned to the red mane pony, “You have a flashlight on you, yes?”

Scarlet nodded, patting the small flashlight nestled in one of her pockets on her outfit. “I also have handcuffs, a few inhibitors, and my notepad.”

“Good. Then it’s settled,” Jessica motioned. The two started towards the entrance. “We’ll meet back right here,” she scratched into the ground with her hoof, then pointed in the direction of the mark with her horn. A faint glow of magic surrounded the marking. “Wait here and go nowhere else. If you get back before me, just stay put.”

Scarlet raised an eyebrow, watching Jessica stare back at her. “What?”

“If I don’t come back within a day, then leave without me, okay? Once you step on this mark, some supplies should appear for you. Just enough for the exit, got it?”

Scarlet gulped at the implication.

“You ready for this? Find Gemini, jot down what she has to say, and get the hell out of there. We don’t know what, if anything, is waiting for us in here,” Jessica let Scarlet walk out in front of her. “And after reading that sign, I’m not sure what exactly to think of it out here.”

“I know,” Scarlet nodded without turning back towards the path. “The only ponies allowed to officially claim landmarks in the name of Celestia or Luna are the Royal Guard. They would’ve had to have come out here at one point or another.”

“Exactly. And if this place has value, then it’ll be kept safe from outsiders. Stay alert in there Scarlet, and focus. If you act in any way like you did on the Plains, you’ll die.”

Scarlet shuddered. “I know. I’ll just keep going.”

“Take the upper path,” Jessica motioned. “I’ll take care of the lower caverns.”

Scarlet stood at the base of her path. Jessica lined up next to her, facing the decline. Scarlet turned to Jessica with a hoof extended. “Good luck, Jess.”

Jessica stared at Scarlet’s gesture. She smiled, bumping Scarlet’s hoof with her own. “You too. Come back in one piece. You still need to repay me for saving your life.”

Scarlet laughed off the comment before trotting up her path. Jessica kept her eye on the gray mare until she vanished from sight. She sighed, relieved that Scarlet was safe after nearly failing to protect her. A final piercing wind came from outside of the cave, forcing the lewd mare to shudder in place.

Right as Jessica was about to take her first step down her path, she heard a cry. It was faint and meek, choking on itself. Her ears jumped and her head lowered, instantly recognizing the sad melody of the suffering source. Her head turned, eyes resting on a small lump of black mass huddled on the ground. It quivered, a pathetic mess that couldn’t even form words, continuously crying out to the unicorn.

It looked at her with large, round blue eyes, its fanged mouth twitching in pain as it choked on a mysterious source. Its webbed wings skittered against the grass, kicking up small blades while lashing its tail towards her. The creature tried its best to lift its head, the tiny jagged horn dragging across the ground.

A single hoof struggled to rise from the floor. It fell back to the ground, kicking up dust that puffed through the dark holes scattered in its leg’s length. It cried out one last time, staring Jessica straight in the eye with a pained, betrayed glare.

It fell motionless, its eyes and mouth hanging open against the dirt, forever looking over at the wicked mare.

The pony struggled, but pulled herself back to the caverns of the mountain. She slowly covered her eyes, taking in a shaky breath. She lowered her head, taking one step closer to the caverns. The baby Changeling’s body slowly dispersed into the wind as the black unicorn disappeared into the basement of the mountain.