“So this is everything you have so far?” The white mare spoke with disappointment in her voice. “It’s a lot less data than I had come to expect. Your officers are getting sloppy, Flex.”

“The case has been slow,” Steele grunted, staring back at the pony who couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye.

“I’m going to rip that unicorn’s tail off if anything happens to my Scarlet out there. And what about Locks?”

“I had him check up on Lada and see if we could get any more leads out of Nixie’s case, but nothing’s come up since then.”

Mystery Hart strode about Steele’s office, tired of sitting and reading through the stack of reports written by both detectives. “You won’t get much from Lada at this point,” she chuckled to herself. “My information should be more than enough we need from that angle.” She turned back to Steele’s desk, “Speaking of poor mares, did you look any further into Helm’s disappearance following Locks’ investigation?”

“Of course,” Steele growled with aggression in his voice. “Tanita Helm is as mysterious as the pony we’re looking for in Ponyville. No one knows where she ran off to after Nixie passed away.”

“So your detectives ended up coming back dry?”

Steele leaned back in his chair. “Unfortunately. How about you, Hart?”

She turned to a nearby bookcase, tracing her hoof along the shelf while reading the names. “What about me?”

“Celestia’s taken extra interest in you, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t either.” He pushed off of his chair, landing on all fours and walking around his work space. “The Princess and I know that you’ve discovered something interesting lately. I’m pretty sure that I don’t have to spell it out for you. You’re better than that.”

“Oh? Well,” Mysty reached into her saddlebag, pulling out a large, empty bottle of rum, as long as one of her forelegs. “You’re gonna have to run that by me a bit, Flex. I’m just a tad tipsy tonight.”

He cringed at the sight, taking in the inebriated scent of her breath as he stepped up to her. “The Royal Guard, the ‘Magic Police,’ and the Agency do our best to preserve ancient texts and priceless history. We take pride in what gems we’ve been able to protect since the Princesses rise in Equestria.”

Mysty waved off his speech with a hoof. “Get to the point. I have other things I could be doing. There’s still another bottle waiting for me at home.”

“You were close to Conroy. I shouldn’t have to introduce you to the concept of a pony who has become an Artifact.”

Mysty’s stance tightened. She swung her head up and looked back at Steele for the first time of her visit. “Artifacts? Yeah, I know about them. My husband happened to be one.”

“Exactly, and we do our best to preserve Artifacts just as much as any other scrap of history we can.”

Mysty hiccuped. “So it didn’t take you long, did it?”

Steele fanned the air in front of him. “No time at all. I’ll just say it straight: Celestia wants to keep vigil over you at all times from here on out.”

“Is this why you initially called me in, Flex? Because I don’t like it.” Mysty looked back at the bookshelf. “And the thought of being watched by the Royal Guard all day kinda… pisses me off a little. A mare needs her privacy.”

“I’m not entirely fond of the idea itself, but I’m not going to go against the mission the Agency itself aims to succeed in,” Steele sighed. “Celestia’s guards will be keeping an eye on you. Not all day and night, but they’ll be dropping in here and there. I’m just passing the information on to you.”

“This is ridiculous,” Mysty pouted, uncorking her bottle and draining it of the few spare drops remaining. “And if I refuse?”

“I doubt Celestia would take no for an answer.”

“Then fuck the Princess,” Mysty smiled. “I’m just gonna have to improvise, aren’t I?”

Steele raised an eyebrow. “Mysty, what are you talking about?”

His hushed voice delighted the old widow. “I’m an Artifact, Steele. You’re just gonna have to expect anything to happen.” She turned back towards the exit to his office. “In any case, there’s something I’m curious about.”

Steele seemed apprehensive about changing the subject. “Care to share your concern? Damn the Princess all day if you want, but I’d rather the two of us stay on friendly terms.”

She scoffed at the notion. “Friends? Maybe. If we can get through this without any major problems, then perhaps I can put some of it behind me.” Mystery paused, her legs losing their balance. “You were his closest friend…”

“What’s that?”

“You were the one who argued with Celestia to reopen the case, right?”

Steele nodded with certainty.

She chuckled. “I guess I can appreciate the sentiment, even if you dragged my daughter into this mess. Friends is a maybe, Flex.”

Steele’s hardened eyes glistened. “I’ll take whatever I can, Mysty.”

“Anyways,” she moved on, “This missing pony that Scarlet’s pursuing in Ponyville has been missing for decades. I told her that I’d help whenever I saw the chance, and right now, since she’s over in Everfree, I think this might be the window of opportunity I was looking for.”

Steele didn’t waste any breath, “I see. The Ponyville cemetery is small, you know. I doubt you’d find much information there.”

Mysty moved towards the door, swinging it open before turning back to look at her husband’s closest friend. “It’s worth a try, isn’t it?”

“Damn thing!”

She gave it another tap, and the tool flickered to life, illuminating the path.

Scarlet Trace felt relieved, her eyes finally able to make out shapes and sizes through the cave’s darkness. Her flashlight fired a beam of radiant magic outward, spreading against the walls, floor, and ceiling. The floor slowly climbed upward, twisting around itself like a spiral up ahead. Nervous, Scarlet continued her march deeper into the cave.

She felt alone, terribly so. The sound of her hooves kept her company, her body straining to keep her pace after her endeavors on the Plains of Woe. She was already sweating, letting a stray cough burst out into the area and echo against the walls. She would freeze whenever she heard something in the distance, usually a rock or two that simply fell from a cracking formation, or perhaps a small critter skittering away from the light.

“It just keeps going,” Scarlet turned her head around a corner. The path was slowly closing in; turning into a tight tunnel up ahead that still rose higher. She cleared her throat with another cough, doing another check that her mane was still secured in its ponytail. Tucking her tie into her outfit, she moved through the tunnel.

Scarlet lowered her head as she walked, feeling the fatigue catch up to her.

“Never did anything like this back at the Agency,” she took another step. She recalled the countless days of just sitting at her desk, filing reports from other detectives and policemen, not caring to read through them with any sort of curiosity: she had lost that kind of urge in her first month. Jessica would float about, toying with her while she completed her work, before heading off on her duties, if any.

“Locks and Amy were always the ones out in the field,” she kicked a spare rock towards one of the walls of the tunnel, “Steele said it himself: I wasn’t made for traveling like they were.”

She felt another cough coming. Leaning against one of the tunnel walls, she heaved, feeling her chest burn with a sharp pain. She gulped down air after her cough, her eyes shut, not wanting to see the fluid she spat against the wall of the cave. She cleared her throat, wincing as another sensation seared through her head.

“This is bad. I’m getting tired,” Scarlet felt her muscles protest with each step. Her light flashed back against the tunnel ahead, seeing it open again into another room. The heat in the cave was starting to drain away the small reserves of strength she had left. She took a quick drink from her canteen and pushed on, breaking the threshold and stretching her body before looking ahead.

Her exhausted eyes strained as the light shined over the first obstruction in her way. A steep incline blocked off the remainder of the path above. She shined her light upwards but couldn’t make out anything else above the ledge. She backed up against the tunnel and lifted to her hind legs, clenching the flashlight with her teeth while she scoped the area around her.

“No place left to go,” Scarlet muttered through the light, “except up.”

She leaned against the wall, letting her hoof grip against it as hard as she could. Several pointed or jagged rocks stuck out of the wall, and the grip at the bottom was stable enough for her to lift herself a few inches off the ground.

“The ledge has to be a least twenty feet…”

Scarlet looked up at the roof of the cave. It extended far above the incline, only making her dizzier. She closed her eyes and sunk the rest of her hooves into the wall. Wrapping a hoof around one of the jutting rocks, she lifted her body further upward. She did this again with another rock, slowly followed by another while she took the time to cough into her surroundings.

She looked up, her flashlight still in her mouth. There were only two places left to grip against higher on the wall: a small formation right next to the ledge at the top.

Scarlet lifted herself up past the last two footholds, reaching as best as she could for the closer stone between the two.

“It’s… just out of reach,” she vented in frustration, retreating her hoof. “I’m gonna have to jump, or something.”

Her breathing was short and stunted. She didn’t have much stamina left. Her desire to reach the top of the cliff urged her on, and with a single bound, she jumped from the foothold. The height from the jump was just enough to wrap a solitary foreleg around the rock.

She watched on as the frail rock crumbled under her weight, stealing her balance and forcing her into a short tumble. The flashlight immediately fell from her mouth in a gasp, and she slammed into a few of the stones before landing in a mess against the tunnel entrance she had come from. Her hat, still hanging by the thread along her neck, fell off her head and covered her face as she fell. The light spun about the cave before flicking off, leaving the mare in complete darkness.

“God dammit!”

She picked herself up, shaking before falling to her knees coughing. She spit once more, groaning as the aches from the fall throbbed within her body.

“Nothing seems broken. Where’s the flashlight?”

She slowly shifted against the ground, picking her hat up and letting it sling against her back. The room was amazingly tall, but definitely not massive. Knowing that the light couldn’t have wandered far, she fumbled around with her hooves. She bumped into something against the floor, hearing it roll back to the wall she failed to overcome. She felt the familiar shape of the object, as well as some of her own spit. Scarlet shrugged and picked up the tool, smacking it again until the room flashed bright with magic.

The gray pony turned her attention back to the wall with a frown. The step she jumped to was now lying with her in pieces on the ground.

“Locks is stronger than me,” she thought aloud. “Amy could just fly over it. Jessica would just teleport.”

She felt her shoulders sag. “What do I have?” She felt around in her pockets, mentally listing off everything she had by feeling them in her hooves.

“Inhibitors, flashlight’s in my hoof,” she felt a flimsy material, “notepad and pens… hoofcuffs.”

She paused, pulling out the last item on her list. She flashed a light back at the wall, staring at the highest ledge above her, then back at her cuffs.

Feeling her brain jump start, she made her way back to the wall, getting past the first few feet with more ease, now that she remembered the pattern of steps. Sweat drained her of her strength, staining her face with her grime. Balancing herself on top of the previous hold before slipping off, she pulled out her cuffs again.

“This is stupid,” she growled to herself, knowing that she was out of options. She took a deep breath and jumped, tossing one end of the cuffs around the rock. The girth of the protrusion made the hoofcuff wrap easily around it. Scarlet landed back on the step below, taking a breath before jumping again. She pushed the cuff together, locking it in place around the structure.

The detective cuffed a forehoof on the other end, taking in a long breath. She pulled roughly against the cord, wincing at the pain the metal made when it dug into her coat.

“This is going to hurt.” She turned, looking for any possible signs. There was no other way around the formation.

She clenched around the light in her mouth. “One. Two.”

Scarlet pulled herself up with her hoof, using her other to grip the wall as best as she could while her hind legs did what they could to scale the wall. The pain shot to her head like a bullet, causing her to nearly shout while the metal sunk into her leg. The sting of the cuffs was nearly overwhelming for the detective. Scarlet gritted her teeth against the smooth tool in her mouth. She took a breath, yelling through her teeth as her body slowly lifted up towards the final step. Punching into the air, her free hoof wrapped up against the ledge of the wall.

“Just a bit more to g-”

The step cracked, giving her just enough time to realize that the rock had broken at the ledge, breaking the grasp of the cuffs.

She felt all of the energy leave her, along with the stinging of the tight material of the cuff. Her body fell against the wall, her only grip that of her hoof on the ledge. Sweat painted her face as her strength disappeared, she felt her hoof slipping away.

Suddenly, a light came from the ledge of the cave, fierce and quick. A great force sucked her in, pulling her over the ledge with ease.

Scarlet panted as her body was nearly tossed over the steep wall, falling to her back while struggling to catch her breath. Her eyes saw nothing but blurs as her flashlight fell from her mouth. She strained to focus on the image hovering above her against the brilliant fire that burned against the walls.

“Hi!”

At the sound of the friendly voice, Scarlet felt her world vanish.

The cold embrace of Ignis’ caverns stood outside of the spell radiating from her horn. Jessica silently gave thanks to her tool's thick lighting, gently stroking her already, somewhat justified ego. She kept to herself for the entirety of her excursion, not particularly a pony who enjoyed alone time. She crawled around mounds of solid rock and avoided bumping into formations and tumbling into craters as she continued to descend.

The murky atmosphere thickened the closer she drew to the juicy core of the cave. She shuddered, constantly reminded with each echoing hoofstep that she was alone on this assignment. Every step served as an illustration for how much further she was drawn from the entrance to Ignis, and towards the rays of light graciously offered through Celestia's work.

Jessica shook her head, doing her best to keep on track. She swung her light around to spot any openings in the walls, anything that could shed some more light on the environment. Such a straightforward tunnel filled her with curiosity, a twisting concern that bubbled at the bottom of her gut.

'The path hasn't deviated even once,' her voice cooed in her mind. 'No twisting mazes, nothing. Just a long, jagged tunnel.'

Her hoof bumped into a pebble on the black road, kicking it down the way. Jessica heard the snapping of the rock for a few seconds as it tumbled before coming to a stop somewhere further into the darkness.

The little filly wandered the sand, eyes half shut as the sandstorm thrashed around her. She huddled into a spot in the ground, whimpering as the winds slashed at her coat with an uncaring roar.

Orange eyes fluttered, and the unicorn couldn't help but wipe at her face, as if something had caught itself in her eyelash. She looked around, curious at the looming presence she could feel within the cave.

'I told her that it had been too long,' Jessica reminded herself, thinking back to the night with Scarlet in Everfree. 'Stupid.' She ran a hoof across her other foreleg before continuing her crooked march. She straightened her posture, regaining confidence with each step.

'Keep it together.'

The flutter of several pairs of wings overloaded her dull senses. The filly cracked a single eye, catching a glimpse of a spotted sky raining down upon her.

Jessica paused, cringing at the sound of another small rock tumbling in the distance. She lowered her head, quickly aiming her horn at the sound. She pulsed more magic into her horn, strengthening her light. Up ahead, another rock was rolling on the ground. It jumped, rolling one way, then the next. It budged towards Jessica's direction, this tiny sentient piece of earth, before skipping into a cavern entrance up ahead.

'There was a magical aura around it,' Jessica flooded more light beyond the previously invisible threshold. The cavern was tall, and the trail she followed smoothed into what she could compare to a marble road, much like the ones built in Canterlot north. The path continued to drop, but as her light shined, she saw it flatten out ahead.

She brushed some of her orange mane out of her face, moving close to the entrance, and feeling around it with a spare hoof. She stood her ground, allowing more magic to creep into her tool. Waves spread around her, gentle, softly curving to the edgy environment surrounding her, reaching out for the walls with each pulse.

'Nopony. Nothing,' she narrowed her eyes at the entrance. 'It takes a powerful kind of magic to move something like that rock from outside of my radar’s range.'

She cautiously took a few steps towards the entrance, shining light at each angle before finally breaking past the threshold. She had stepped into a large room, rotund and full of paths that webbed the domains deep within the mountain. She shined her light at a few pathways, finding no signs of movement or life. The walls around her had holes drilled through them, made into a firm, solid swiss-cheese looking borders. The marble flooring covered the entire room, but failed to extend to any other entrance around her.

Jessica's light faded a tick, a sign of her fatigue after her and Scarlet's journey.

'Scarlet,' Jessica remembered. 'I wonder how she's getting along.' Without giving second thought to the idea, she channeled more of her magic. 'The spell is still active, I should be able to feel out for her even from here. Jessica, you sexy little mare.'

A cold chill washed over her. Her horn suddenly shut off, and her body fell to the floor in a heap. Jessica gasped, feeling a drunken type of dizziness flood her senses with the haste of a spell. She picked herself back up, feeling her horn with a quick hoof. Stable. She took in a breath and ignited her horn to life once more. The scenery went unchanged around her.

'What the hell was that?' Jessica wondered. 'Scarlet. I couldn't get to her. Something.... Did something block me?'

Another sound cracked in the distance. Jessica jumped away from it, lowering her head and facing the direction with a shine of her light. A shadow from the rocks shifted violently amid the darkness, kicking before zipping away in a flash. Jessica followed its movements, catching a glimpse of the shadow between the holes in the walls. It disappeared with its amazing speed, forcing Jessica back to the center of the room.

“And who are you, little one?” Jessica exhaled harshly, her steady breathing the only sound in the entire cave. 'My spell didn’t pick it up again.'

She heard a faint whisper from the entrance of the room, swinging around to meet the sound.

A pony's face was right in front of her. It charged her, passing through her physical form in a cloud of dust. Jessica audibly gasped as the cloud of shadows blasted around her. It splashed against the hard wall, dripping through several pores before jumping into the darkness again.

The mare's heart was pounding against her chest, her eyes as wide as possible to take in her surroundings. She focused as much as she could, charging more magic into her horn to light up more of the area around her.

The face forced a chill through her veins. It had two piercing lights coming from where the eyes would naturally be. Beyond the room, through the holes, she saw another flash of those eyes peering back at her, this time with caution.

A pang at the back of her head registered. She winced as the pain surged through her. The shadow jumped again, spinning around the outside of the room as Jessica tried her best to keep up. A special noise started to scream, her ears twitching with the pitch of the sound. She grabbed her head with a hoof, now audibly hissing at the ringing inside.

A filly's eyes snapped open. She looked up, finding herself in the shelter of a nearby tree. A small patch of ground around her was green, and soft to the touch. The blades of grass had a unique warmth to them that the sand alone was never able to bring, and the texture massaged her underbelly and hooves as she fidgeted against it.

It was nice to have shade. To have comfort.

Her movements were clumsy and without regard to her surroundings. Her neck swung around, struggling to lift her head into the air. Her eyes wandered the scenery. In the sky, she spotted several unique colors glittering. They flew across the open air, appearing as a transparent paste of endless color. The strokes they painted across the sky attracted her eyes. She reached towards them with her head, falling innocently onto the grass once again. She rolled to her back, her eyes looking for something more appealing.

She had hooves. They were as black as night, contrasting heavily with the blinding light coming from beyond the open sky. A light, fluffy weight bobbled on her head and backside. She moved around, using her hooves to grab at the smooth strings. They were colored a wonderful orange that lit up a type of genuine happiness that she couldn't possibly explain.

She had a tail. It was the same color, and had the same feel.

She brought herself back to her belly, and looked around again. Beyond her small spot of green, and her humble little tree, which bore several swollen fruits at the top, was an ocean of dry, scorching sand.

Jessica exhaled as the sharp sting in her head disappeared. Her eyes struggled to keep up with the zipping entity that surrounded her.

"Why are you back?"

Jessica's body immediately jumped at the sudden voice. It felt distant, each note bouncing off of the walls in the room. She brushed her mane aside and flicked her tail against the ground, standing tall.

"You didn't have to go about trying to scare me," Jessica huffed, slowly regaining her ground. "You did a damn good job though."

The shadow moved again, this time, slowly. It rested beyond the entrance behind her, the bright lights of its eyes softening to give Jessica a better view. She still couldn't grasp the form of her visitor against the shadows of the cave, but having a focus on her target kept Jessica far more comfortable than before.

"I'm not here to hurt anypony either, so you can stop with the threatening demeanor," Jessica's horn flickered. "I'm not afraid to defend myself, but I'd rather not fight. There's far too many things I could be doing instead."

The shadow didn't find her quips as amusing as her coworkers.

"Why are you back?"

"And by the way, going through me doesn't count," Jessica giggled. She let her playful attitude take hold of the situation. "But I'm curious. What do you mean by that? I've never been here in my entire life."

The silence crept by, the shadow remaining idle as the words sunk in.

"Lies."

The shadow shifted, dripping closer to the mare with each passing second. Jessica stood her ground, unafraid of the movement. The form moved like a breeze, gently brushing up against Jessica's coat and mane, to which the unicorn didn't back down from. Her horn sparked, facing towards a blot of the shadow that moved.

"This spell is heavily advanced," Jessica spoke to the shadow, analyzing it with her magic. Attracted by the light of her aura, the creature swept around her horn, grazing it with flicks of its black tendrils. "Who are you? Are you from the outside world?"

"Your horn," the voice hummed. "What frightening power."

Jessica, proud to hear the praise from the source of the eerie spell, cleared her throat. She could feel the shadow's presence strengthen, as though it were becoming solid. A firm grip wrapped around her horn.

"Your lips might hide the truth, but a horn never lies."

A wave of nostalgia swept through the mare like a violent gust. "Do I know you, sweetheart?"

The shadow retreated beyond the room again. "You've learned so much. I feel it all."

Jessica's horn shorted again, leaving the entire area blind to the pony. The only visible sign were the two orbs that belonged to the essence nearby. They vanished as they passed behind walls, blinking back when it crawled near the pores of the cavern.

"You keep disrupting my light spells," Jessica squinted with a grin. "You know me quite well, don't you? But I know nothing about you."

The essence dropped back, still ingesting the information it collected. "So much knowledge. Incredible."

"When you've lived as long as I have...it kinda comes naturally," Jessica bragged.

"And so many you've hurt."

"...That's true too," Jessica regrettably sighed. "It's a price that comes with my job."

Another long silence filled the cavern.

Jessica's eyes jerked wide. Without giving it a thought, she instinctively rolled to the side. A loud crash boomed out in the cavern, a great heat brushing up against her coat. She landed roughly against a wall, turning back to the spot she had been on. A small, concentrated fire burned against the marble on the floor. It didn't vanish.

"That fire's not natural," Jessica spoke into the darkness. "And what the hell was that?"

The spirit retreated beyond the room. The unicorn braced herself as she stared at the entity. The black color of its body that naturally blended with the darkness grew to a tint of red. The borders of the shadow came to life, burning like the flame in the center of the room.

"Silence. You've ruined too many lives."

The voice's omnipotence was quickly draining away, its tone far more natural than Jessica was prepared for. Feeling more confident, she charged up her horn with a spell as she waited for the shadow to make a move. It started to resemble a ball of fire, giving a faded, red light to the room, stretching towards the cavern paths all around.

The ball of flames ignited, the bright light completely exposing the damp cave. The idle flame on the ground reacted, retracting to become one with the source.

"Allow me to test your new strength."

“Hello? Miss? Are you there?”

Scarlet’s muscles ached all over. She groaned, pulling herself up to look at her surroundings. She was in a wide tunnel inside of Mount Ignis, which stretched for an eternity in one direction. She turned to the figure nearby while her vision focused, spotting the familiar ledge she took a plunge off of right behind it.

“Miss?”

Scarlet’s ears perked up at the sound of another voice. She turned around and saw a pair of brown eyes staring back at her, with a sharp light behind him that hurt to stare at. She scooted back as her mind raced, rummaging through her pockets for her hoofcuffs. She hit the wall opposite of the cave, and after failing to find her cuffs, pulled an inhibitor from her outfit and held it as comfort.

The pony in front of her was engulfed in light. His mane was a bright clash of orange, red, and yellow, and moved of its own accord, filling the room with heat akin to that of a campfire. His tail burned in the same fashion, and his coat was of a dark maroon. Scarlet, her curiosity brought on by this strange creature, tilted her head towards his flank.

“No cutie mark.”

The taller pony sat on his haunches. “Miss, are you okay? You almost took one hell of a fall.”

His voice was thin and light, giving Scarlet a reason to shudder. She hesitated to reply at the strange pony before putting her inhibitor away.

‘Wouldn’t work on an Earth pony anyways,’ she slowly tucked it back into her pocket.

“You can talk, right? It’d be awkward if you couldn’t.” The pony smiled at her, the fire of his mane and tail illuminating the hue of his eyes.

“I can,” Scarlet replied. She jumped immediately to the next question on her mind. “A-are you… Gemini?”

The pony’s form immediately shifted, straightening up the slouch in his form. “Princess Gemini? Of course not! Not to say I’m not flattered. The resemblance is uncanny.”

Scarlet finally picked herself up, feeling no immediate threat from this stranger. “Resemblance? Are you related? Much less, how are you even here?”

The colt lifted a hoof to put Scarlet at ease. “Calm down sweetheart,” the voice sent another chill up Scarlet’s back, “I can answer everything for you, but you need to give me the chance. But first, who are you, and how did you get here?”

Scarlet looked at the burning figure. Her trust in him was still limited to petty information. “My… My name is ‘Laya,’” she complied. “I’m an officer from Canterlot. I’m here to see Gemini.”

The stallion’s flames lit up with his face. “Well, that shouldn’t be too big of a problem. She’s just another hour or so up this path. You should rest for a bit though. You look like you took a nasty spill.”

The pony’s voice was creepy to hear, as though it were an impersonation. “I’ll keep that in mind. I should get going soon.”

“I insist,” he gave a coy smile.

Scarlet felt the exhaustion oozing through her joints, and decided to take his advice. She made herself comfortable, lying on her belly. “Fine. Answer my questions while I rest then.”

“That’s a fair trade,” he started with a chuckle. “To start off, I’m a servant of Princess Gemini.”

“That’s nice, but what about your name?”

He looked back at Scarlet, puzzled. “Name?”

The mare cocked her head. “Y-Yeah? As in, what do ponies call you?”

“A name,” he wondered. “I guess I don’t have one!” He replied with another faux smile. “I mean, I had one, but it’s been a long time since I’ve heard it…”

‘Bad start.’ “W-well…how did you get here…and better yet, why do you look like you’re on fire?”

“Oh, that’s easy,” he said. “I came from Equestria. It’s a land quite some time away from here, past the Everfree Forest, I believe.”

Scarlet narrowed her eyes in frustration, feeling lectured like a child.

“As for my outlandish appearance,” he beamed, “It’s a gift from Princess Gemini. She makes us all in her image.”

Scarlet froze. “What?”

“She recreates us in her likeness. It’s a way of showing everypony else that someone is willing to give us a second chance.”

“Second chances. I’m sorry sir, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I see.” He looked around before turning to her with a shine in his teeth. “Is this your first time on Mount Ignis?”

“Yes,” she quickly responded.

“Oh. Then it makes sense. You’re clueless.”

Scarlet growled at him.

“A-about the mountain I mean! Sorry,” his apology felt distant. “Ignis isn’t the same like Canterlot or Manehatten. It has its own rules, made by Princess Gemini herself.”

“Okay,” Scarlet stretched a leg out before retreating it, getting comfortable, “then tell me, what exactly is this place, since you know so much?”

“Can’t say much myself, darling,” he started, “but I’ll give it a shot.

“Mount Ignis was put under Princess Gemini’s control when she founded this place. It was a safe haven away from the Plains of Woe, and with her powerful magic, she was able to create a steady supply of food and water on the outskirts of the mountain. Over time, ponies would come from Canterlot to check up on the Princess, but here and there, we’d find a colt or mare who chose to stay under Gemini’s rule.”

“Stay, in a place like this? It’s completely dark and damp, and you have to trek outside just to find any semblance of food,” Scarlet wondered.

“The Princess gifts each pony who wishes to stay with her likeness. My body wasn’t always on fire like this. I looked normal, just like everypony else when they first showed up.”

“The Princess changed you?”

“Yup! She gave everypony control over their own flame,” his mane grew for a moment to display his strength, “and let them live in this mountain for the rest of their lives. The flames help light the dark paths this cave has. We still haven’t mapped out the entirety of the mountain. It’s deceptively large.”

‘This is too strange.’ Scarlet looked at the pony, drinking in his information. “What kind of ponies would come out here outside of Canterlot officials? I’m sorry, but I don’t see how people would choose this life over what Equestria has to offer.”

The colt frowned.

“N-no offense,” she hastily added.

He let the apology go and smiled again. “Nothing to it! It rarely happens, but we get ponies coming in every so often. They just show up at the base of the mountain, and if our Princess likes them, she invites them in and changes them just like the rest of us.”

“A-And… how many are you now?”

“I’d say about a dozen or so.”

Scarlet gulped.

The colt nodded in reply. “I’m afraid our numbers are a tad small. It usually takes quite some time before we see anyone new. Most ponies rarely make it past the Plains of Woe. Poor souls usually die out there and are swallowed up by the magic. It’s brutal. You’re dead meat if you go it alone.”

‘Please come back Jess,’ Scarlet tugged her tie. She stared at the other pony as he continued to speak. “Can you continue?”

“Well sure, what else do you want to know?”

“Umm,” Scarlet hesitated, “How did you get here? Why did you pick this place?”

“Oh, that,” he brushed off the question. “That’s an easy one. I was exiled by Celestia.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Celestia of Equestria banished me to the Everfree Forest, so I just kept walking until I found Ignis and Princess Gemini.”

Scarlet started to take the chills her body gave off from this pony more seriously. “Why were you, if you don’t mind…?”

The pony smiled, “I killed a few ponies.”

The detective’s eyes grew big.

“It was only a dozen,” he shrugged.

Scarlet got up to her feet, taking a step away from him.

“Oh relax. I’m not gonna hurt ya!” His fire burned bright. “Unless the princess says it’s okay.”

“What… What the hell?” Scarlet’s sweat turned ice cold, her body instinctively screaming at her legs to move.

“Did you want to talk about that?” He gave her the sweetest smile a slasher stallion could give, “I could go into detail if you’d like.”

The ground beneath them started to quiver with energy. The colt frowned. “Oh. How lame. The ground’s shifting again. I think it’s time for us to go!”

Scarlet didn’t give him a chance to continue. She grabbed her light, popped it on, and darted as far down the tunnel as she could go, the ground beneath her trembling the entire way. She welcomed the cold atmosphere of the cave with open hooves, praying that the stallion, and the ledge behind him, weren’t the only way back to the entrance.

The caverns rumbled with power as another spell ripped clean through the stone. Flames were scattered about the multiple paths, splashing against another spell. Embers rained down onto the ground, some fizzling out against the body of the black mare.

Jessica backed up against the wall of the circular room, sweat running down her face. She sucked in more air as her magic exploded again, her form disappearing moments before another pillar of flame could incinerate her. She appeared on the other end of the room in a gasp.

Another stream of flames burst from a cavity in the wall behind her. Quickly, a bubble appeared around the unicorn, colliding in a flash against the fire. The walls trembled under the pressure of the spells as Jessica was lifted from her hooves. Jessica's bubble popped, absorbing the fire but sending the pony across the room, slamming against the floor in a heap. Her body crumbled, a chuckle and a groan confirming that she was still very well alive.

"Stay down, for everypony's sake."

A stifled laugh came from the mangled pony on the ground, slowly turning into a labored giggle. She lifted herself back to her feet with more ease than the figure had expected. A trickle of blue ran down her forehead, shrouded by her black coat.

"Sweetie, if I stayed down after a lick or two, I'd have never come so far," Jessica chirped. Her blood was rushing through her body, and she could feel a surge of adrenaline that she hadn't experienced in years. Putting her life on the line here, with little regard for the environment around her; the fight was cathartic, and she moaned in pleasure as the flames from the entity flooded the room again.

"I came here as a favor for a friend," Jessica dodged another, admittedly weak flame. She looked towards the source of light in the cave. "I don't give a damn about any of this 'returning' and 'hurting' bullshit you keep talking about."

The fire weakened, reflecting on her words. The voice had since their introduction become far less controlled as the fight waged on.

"You'll never change," the words stung Jessica's ears. "You'll just keep smiling. No matter how many ponies you destroy."

Another burst of magic erupted from the fireball. The attack crashed against another hastily made shield on Jessica's part, sending her flying back into a wall. She winced as she fell again, but just as before, picked herself up without much trouble.

"If I knew you would be so rough, I'd have brought my fuzzy cuffs," Jessica rocked her hips before planting her hooves on the ground. Her horn exploded with life, her hooves digging into the ground. Her eyes were illuminated by her powerful aura. The blue fluid running down her face made its way to her muzzle. Her tongue lapped it up greedily as her spell started to form.

"Ready to dance, sweetie?"

Scarlet's world continued to tremble. The tremor from earlier erupted into a full scale cave in. She tumbled about against the walls of the cave, having no opportunity to reflect on the strange encounter she had with the stallion from before. The wall opposite of her vibrated violently before a part of the roof crashed down onto the floor, forcing a yelp from the frightened young mare. She popped the light back in her mouth and plunged herself deeper into the mountain, staring at the roof and moving away from portions that started to crack above her.

The steady incline of the path quickly started to take its toll on her still exhausted body. Scarlet barely managed to dodge a falling stalactite as it crashed against the floor. She turned back from her path, making sure that no other source of light was following her at the reminder of that chilling character.

The path ahead of her shook so viciously that Scarlet lost her balance. She tumbled against the ground and watched in horror as the roof of the path ahead completely caved in. The symphony of crashing rock deafened her ears as she backtracked, moving away from the massive heap of mountain that had just collapsed in on itself.

She was trapped, and the only way back was towards the direction of the crazy colt.

Scarlet crouched at the sensation of another light earthquake. A strange, drilling sound came from one of the walls nearby. The detective winced at the sound of gnashing and crushing rock being thrown aside.

A large hole appeared next to her, rocks falling in from the other side. It was plenty large and wide to fit through. She flashed her light at the entrance, taking into account any possible surprises hiding on the other end. The floor beneath her trembled again.

“I need to keep moving,” she panted, deciding quickly to make her way through the wall.

Light. Scarlet winced at a new source above her. As her eyes focused, she gasped at the room she was in. It was gigantic, rivaling the party rooms seen at Canterlot Castle. To her left was a staircase, crudely chiseled out of the formations surrounding her that spiraled up towards. She felt a great, massive heat burning through from a cavern sitting at the top of the path.

A light poking out of the room lured her closer. She flashed her tool against the room. There was no other way to the room besides the staircase. Scarlet cautiously jumped towards the stairs and made her ascent to the top.

The floor had stopped shaking for the time being, leaving her alone to her steps once more. She continued to shiver at the thought of the murderer that stalked the mountain.

“Why is somepony like that roaming around here? I don’t understand. Jessica, where are you?”

Lost in her mind, Scarlet barely realized that she had already reached the top step, staring down into an open room. The light faded, along with the heat the room gave off. Scarlet tucked her tie in and put her hat back on, wiping a hoof’s worth of sweat from her head. Her hair and tail felt matted to her body, and her coat hadn’t been brushed in days.

“Almost there,” she muttered. She walked into the room, which had been completely engulfed by the darkness yet again. She reached for her light, hitting it. The magic churned in the bulb, but was immediately fizzled out before it could start.

“What the-?” Scarlet paused, “What happened? That wasn’t normal either.”

“I got it,” a voice said in the room.

Scarlet jumped, her fur nearly flew off of her body. Light starting to slowly pour in from a small block against the wall on the other end of the room. Scarlet squinted, realizing that the rays were coming from the sun. The sky was visible from the hole in the wall, making it look more like a window.

Scarlet heard the rattle of chains. She kept alert, her eyes adjusting to the sunlight. Against the wall near the window on the other side of the square room in front of her was a large shadow, sitting in a prone position. It stared at the window through a white slit in what appeared to be a face.

“What are you?”

Light from the sun outside flared into the room, the barrier that shrouded the mighty frame lifted by the sun’s spell. The shadows shriveled up as the darkness in the corner of the room vanished inch by inch, revealing her body.

A scream nearly breached the lips of Scarlet’s mouth. It was a mare, nearly double her size, with wings spread up against the wall. Her wonderful horn would’ve been pristine and unchanging had a large fissure at the base not stolen the detective’s attention. The horn ached, ready to completely split in two with any small movement. One of the mare’s ears was missing, something resembling teeth markings scarring the base of her skull that attached the missing organ. Her mane reflected the exact same pattern as the pony she had met by the steep wall, but there was no fire to give, nor heat to exert. The flame Scarlet expected was nonexistent, and the fiery colors illustrated by the stallion were faded, resembling a pile of smoldering coal over an honorable inferno.

Her face was mangled, a scar stretched from her cheek to the bottom of her chest, and the sheen of her soft, yellow eye weakened as the light reflected it's laughable color.

Her hooves were covered with shoes that were worn and torn well beyond their years, shoes that hadn't been cleaned for ages. She focused on Scarlet, turning her head completely to face the young detective. .

Scarlet's jaw dropped in shock.

The alicorn’s left eye was gone, healed over messily by a hasty spell that left behind layers of folded and damaged flesh. Her eyes continued to blink in unison, the folds shifting into the empty socket with each shutter. Wounds, some fresh and bleeding, covered her body, bruises decorating the pony from the chest down. The large mare’s tail mimicked her mane in disgrace, and her legs twitched helplessly against the cold, hard rock.

Most disturbing, however, was the spot of her flank. A large crater, one that tore into the meat and sinew of her backside, replaced her mark. No folded skin was here as was on her eye, and blood dripped carelessly down her flank and onto the cave floor from the wound. A wisp of magic continuously swirled about the gash in her flank, consecutively healing the rotting flesh, but never stopping the slow blood flow. A piece of meat fell from her body, her eyes and face wrinkled with pain as it hit the ground. The magic gathered around the muscle, and quickly repaired it, placing it back into her scar with haste.

"It's... healing,” Scarlet nearly lurched.

"Yeah. Not a pretty sight, huh?"

Scarlet almost doubled over, instead opting to back up against the wall near the exit. "Who... What happened to you?" The corpse looked back at her. She felt the gaze coming from the older pony, even from the emptied socket.

“I’m what you get when you combine a naive foal and ignorant faith,” she spoke again. Her voice was calm, collected, completely disregarding the terrible condition its body was in, with the exception of a friendly rasp. She motioned towards Scarlet, sending off a rattle of chains that had been buckled to her ankles. Her wings fidgeted against their own chains, spread out and bolted to the cave wall.

"Hey Scarlet," she blinked, "I'm Gemini."

Author's Notes:

Apologies for the wait. Been on a hiatus as of late. Enjoy the chapter!
- G. R.