ONE MONTH LATER

A large, ominous building stood tall against the street that ran along its side. The blades of dying grass covered by a thin veil of snow. A chilling gust swept along the empty path to the structure, twisting and turning a Canterlot flag nearby in the wind. Ponies did their best to keep out of the freezing temperatures, plumes of smoke rising from many of the residential areas to keep their inhabitants warm in the coming season.

Canterlot winters were notorious amongst Equestrians. Anypony caught in the middle of the city sported a thick scarf or a heavy jacket to keep the freezing temperatures at bay. Savvy unicorns opted for barriers that blocked the cold from touching their coats.

On the inside of the Agency, one would be greeted with silence. Documents were piling over on many of the working desks in the front lobby, with several dozen more scattered along the ground. Aside from the excess of paper, many of the typical tasks assigned to the janitors were no longer necessary. Gone were the marks of ink splattered along the hallways, and missing was the lemonade or the tea that would magically replace the brewing coffee in the break room. The archive was neat and incredibly tidy; a reality check to anypony who had worked longed enough under Steele to know that somepony in particular was missing.

Through the trailing hallway in the back of the lobby were the three rooms of the top detectives. Two were empty, one untouched for an extended period of time. The older, gray pony boss would occasionally wander in, waiting for something special to happen.

Steele’s office was occupied. Four ponies were kept strangled by the tension carried between their stares. The sounds of their voices could be heard far beyond the hallway that would take them back to the entrance. Every other detective that day was busy. Nearly every agent was off on duty.

One particular duty, ordered by the boss himself.

“Any news today?” The elder, ivory pony spoke, looking up from a copy of a fresh report. Her colleagues heads were all looking down at their own paperwork, their eyes draining with fright at the news that had been sent their way.

“I sent Twilight Sparkle a letter today, asking about her,” Steele gulped. “Scarlet’s still struggling to get out of bed.”

Mystery Hart clenched her teeth, slamming the report on the floor. “If she did anything to Scarlet…”

“I doubt that much,” Locks’ eyes didn’t move away from the report “Jessica doesn’t seem like the type of pony who’d hurt Scarlet. She’s fond of her, from what I can tell.”

“I wish I could believe you maggot, but you can understand why I’d hesitate to agree.” Steele leaned back in his chair, tapping his hoof against the desk nervously. “Jessica Scrawl… a thousand years old. You ever hear of such a thing before?”

“Nothing like it,” Mysty picked up her copy. “I want to get my hooves on her.”

“One month now,” Steele growled. “An entire damn month.”

“You think anypony has the necessary skills to catch her? She was the strongest mage here at the agency, sir,” Locks shook his head. “It could take them years to find Jessica, or more.”

“I’m aware of that,” his hoof hit the desk harder than intended. “I know that it’s near impossible to catch her, but for as long as I’ve known her, I’m aware that even she isn’t flawless.”

Locks caught his boss glancing over to Amethyst.

“If she makes any kind of mistake, we’ll grab her on the dime.”

“So what happens now sir?” Locks tapped the document in front of him. “Gemini’s news bodes well for the case, but..”

“What about Scarlet?” Mysty stood up from her seat. “My Scarlet is trapped in Ponyville. She’s been unable to move out of that spot for more than a few hours. We need to bring her back.”

“I agree with Mrs. Justis. She needs help,” Locks added, “and she’s not going to get any of it while she’s in Ponyville.”

“I’ve already discussed the matter with Princess Celestia,” Steele replied with a hard frown. “She’s doing everything she can, but we can’t bring her back yet.” He rubbed his exhausted eyes with his hooves. “That she was still able to send this report now is impressive.”

“She’s her father’s daughter, Flex. She’ll do what she needs to do to finish the job,” Mysty looked at the report. “I know that Celestia mentioned using the Elements of Harmony, but they haven’t done anything for her.”

“The Elements of Harmony are the strongest band of magic that Equestria has, and even then, it’s only keeping her strength up.” Steele lifted himself off of his chair. “In the report, Gemini said that this ‘Scars’ might have some intelligence to it.”

“Scarlet said that Gemini called them ‘sentient,’” Locks eyes glistened. “I can’t be the only one who gets chills when I think about it. What exactly does she mean by that? How can a disease be self-aware?”

“If the claim is legitimate, then it’s too dangerous to bring her back here right now. Hell, it’s dangerous for the Elements of Harmony to even be near her. Bringing her into a larger town with a population that nearly triples that of Ponyville, and you’re asking for more trouble.”

“Damn it,” Locks stomped the floor in frustration. “Where the hell did Jessica go? We need her more than ever.”

“I imagine that she thinks we’re dangerous right now. Scarlet mentioned that Gemini and Jessica are connected.” She turned to the boss, “I want to go to Mount Ignis. I need to see if I can talk to her.”

“Absolutely not,” Steele immediately barked.

“And who said I needed your permission? I’m not one of your little employees anymore, Flex.”

“You think you can make your way through Everfree?” Steele locked eyes with the older mare. “Pull through the Plains of Woe, as a magic-less, flight-less earth pony? And dig through the remains of that damn mountain?”

Mysty hesitated, but refused to give Steele any indication that she agreed with him. “There’s gotta be something. We can’t rely on catching Jessica for our answers.”

Locks turned to Amethyst. The large pegasi nodded her head, blowing a whistle that grabbed the room’s attention.

“The last part of Scarlet’s report identifies what might be the final lead to Conroy’s murder, sir. Scarlet’s resting, and Amy and I haven’t found a single clue here in Canterlot. Why don’t we go to Ponyville and-”

“Out of the question, rookie.” Steele snapped. “Do I need to repeat myself?”

Locks’ eye twitched.

“Trace’s something of a bomb right now,” Steele turned to Mysty, who unsurprisingly shot him a violent glare. “We don’t know exactly what this disease does. Even Gemini, who survived it, couldn’t actually tell Scarlet what happened. It could send out a fatal magic discharge that wipes ponies out for miles. It could spread the disease around. We don’t really know what her condition is capable of.”

The gray pony’s eyes felt heavier, “I don’t want to throw the Agency’s strongest asset into a minefield. It’s far too dangerous right now.”

Locks snorted, “So we just leave Scarlet to rot?”

“We find a cure first,” Steele growled. “That’s our safest option.”

The room fell into a long period of silence. Mysty fidgeted, making her way towards the door after the group clearly lost interest in pushing the discussion further.

“My daughter is stuck in a small town, sick with a disease that Equestria has never heard of. I’m going to see her. You aren’t going to be changing that decision.”

Locks stood up to Steele, supporting her. “Sir, I agree with Mrs. Justis’ sentiment. To put it into perspective: That ‘bomb’ of yours is living with the Element of Magic. If something were to happen, my death should be the least of your concerns. Scarlet Trace is my friend. I need to help her.”

Amethyst lifted into the air, following Locks towards the white mare at the door. They turned away, twisting the knob and hearing its eerie creak echo down the empty hallways.

“No.”

Locks, Amy, and Mysty froze where they stood. In that instant, Steele’s voice had changed. The impact it left on Locks; the harsh, caring, wise, raspy sound was pushed to the wayside. In its place, for the first time, was the sound of genuine aggression. A violent tone that was completely alien to the rookie detective. The cobalt colt turned back towards his boss.

Steele was back on his chair, his hoof scribbling away at a document. He quickly finished his writing, keeping the trio’s attention on him, before rolling it up. Attached to the center of the letter was the royal insignia. Holding it with one hoof, he opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out a small vile. The bottle held a wispy aura, tinted in emerald, sparkling against his lamplight. He opened the bottle, letting the aura trickle gently against the scroll.

The paper immediately combusted into a flame, evaporating into a mist that was quickly sucked out of the room and through the front door.

“You will do nothing. You will stay in Canterlot.”

Locks felt his heart beating against his chest, sweat forming on his forehead. Amy immediately fell limp to the ground, her wings stiff and her body slowly shrinking towards Locks. Mysty lowered her head, breathing deeply while taking another step back.

“What the hell was in that letter, Flex,” Mysty calmly asked him.

“Domino Locks, Lily Sheen,” Steele’s stare locked onto the pair, “As of now, you are off duty. Your mission is on hold until I say so. The three of you are now under full surveillance.”

Mysty nearly shoved the rookies aside. “What!?”

“I’ve alerted the Royal Guard. You are not allowed to go out of Canterlot’s boundaries. You are not allowed to send anything outside of Canterlot. Any guard catching you doing so has the authority to arrest you under treason. There will be no second chances.”

“What the hell are you doing!?” Locks snapped at the cold pony on the other side of the room.

“Scarlet Trace has enough to deal with as it is. Your meddling is only going to make everything worse. The conditions of you three will be lifted when she is finally able to return to Canterlot. Is that understood?”

Mysty’s body started to burn red hot. Without saying a word, she turned back around, quickly leaving the room. She grabbed the door, slamming it as hard as she could on the other end. Amy and Locks both flinched as the glass from the center of the door shattered on impact, leaving small shards littered along the exit.

“Watch your step on the way out,” Steele grabbed the report and turned his chair away from the detective.

Locks and Amy sat on the couch, cringing at the sound of glass breaking in the kitchen just feet away. Mysty came back out, holding an entire bottle of whiskey in her hoof. Her throat skipped with every gulp, her mane swinging with her head when she brought the head of the drink to her lips.

“Who the FUCK does he think he is!? I can’t even see my own fucking daughter!”

Locks winced, watching the ivory mare slam the half emptied bottle against the counter. The whiskey splashed against the entire kitchen-top, smothering it was a light brown color.

“There’s nothing we can do now,” Locks sighed, gripping against the couch tight.

Amy blew her whistle.

“Nice try, but Locks has us completely surrounded here in Canterlot. We can’t set hoof out of the city without raising a big red flag.” He shut his eyes, “There’s gotta be some way to get in touch with her. We can’t just sit around while she’s like this.”

The wind whistled a heavy tune while Mysty paced crooked steps up and down the single hallway of her home. She grumbled to herself, obscenities leaking out about the colt’s boss.

“There’s a way,” the homeowner bluntly answered Locks.

He turned to her, “Really? What would that be?”

“That little bottle the bastard had?” She rolled her eyes, aggravated. “That’s a special kind of magic he used. It’s for emergencies only.”

“It sends letters I assume. We could send something to Scarlet.” Locks shook his head, “That won’t do though. The Royal Guard will catch anything we send out of the borders, wouldn’t they?”

“You’re missing the idea here,” Mysty walked over to the den. “That spell is special. Letter sending spells like that exist in the general market, and anypony can buy them, but that green bottle was different. That bottle contains a type of spell that’s specified for use only by Steele and Princess Celestia herself. No other weaker letter-sending spell can get through the barriers set up at the royal castle. It’s high priority magic.”

“So the barrier at the castle doesn’t trap the spell from that bottle.”

“That’s what I said,” she hiccupped.

“So if we can get a hoof on a bottle of that stuff, then we can possibly send Scarlet a letter. Tell her everything that’s going on up here. Even if we can’t physically do something, we need to let her know that something’s been done.”

Amy whistled in agreement.

“Only one problem,” Mysty replied. “You can’t buy that kind of quality on the open market. That’s the first bottle I’ve seen outside of the Royal Castle, and it’s in that fucking room of his,” she stumbled back to the kitchen.

Locks stayed quiet, listening to the mother’s glasses clattering in the kitchen. He turned back to the pink haired pony, “Are you expecting us to…?”

She poured a tall glass of wine. She turned to Locks, giving him a quick smile before taking another chug of drink into her mouth. “You make it sound like it’s going to be hard, sweetie.”

A loud bang interrupted Locks’ response, blinding the group’s sight for a moment. The room was shrouded with a black mist that covered the center of the den. Mysty winced at the light, taking another drink before putting her glass down. Amy instinctively jumped in front of Locks while he took a step backward, rolling off of the couch.

The smoke cleared, leaving a shadow of a pony still hiding in the remainder. Atop her head was a mane of orange that stretched down below the base of her neck, straightened out and kept tidy. Her tail matched the length of her hair, barely managing to hover above the ground. Her black horn cackled with a brilliant orange aura that mirrored her beautiful irises. The darkness of her raven black coat swallowed up the attention of the three ponies in the room.

Jessica Scrawl, the Agency’s scribe, shook her head, dusting some of the smoke from her fur. She caught Locks’ curious expression and smiled. Two fangs, easily distinguishable against her body, poked out of her mouth. Far longer than that of a Changeling, nevertheless a feature that didn’t belong to a pony.

“Locks baby, you look as tasty as ever,” she smoothly greeted the detective. “It’s been too long.”

The blue pony moved to the side at the sound of a mother’s angry steps. Mysty’s pink mane whipped by him, her form closing in on the black mare.

Jessica skipped back, waving her horn towards the sky. A large aura of orange encapsulated the apartment, each of the walls surrounding them pulsing the same color as Jessica’s long mane.

“Not too close Mrs. Justis,” Jessica’s tongue slid across the surface of one of her fangs, “These babies aren’t just for show.” At the sight of the resigned older mare, Jessica continued, “I have the entire compound hexed right now. You try anything, and I can tear the whole place down.”

“Jessica,” Locks followed Mysty’s lead, backing away to give the black witch her space, “where have you been for the past month? Does Steele know you’re back?”

“Flexing my spells,” she answered without a care, a sly eyebrow rising. “Leveling them up, if you catch my drift.” Jessica moved towards a seat on the other side of the couches, her eyes never leaving the trio. “As for the Agency: No. You three were my first stop on my way back into Canterlot.”

“The Agency’s been trying to hunt you down all this time. They put disposition-identifying barriers all around Canterlot,” Locks explained.

“That’s true,” Jessica nodded, “But I’m not some tacky little magician. After the last month I put myself through, even I was surprised by how easy it was to sneak past the border.” Jessica relaxed her body, leaning against the couch for cushion. “So, one month, huh? What have I missed?”

“What did you do to Scarlet?”

Her orange eyes turned towards Mysty. “How’s she doing?”

“She’s bedridden. She can barely move throughout the day,” Locks replied. “Steele won’t let us go to investigate.”

“Still in Ponyville? That makes sense, considering.”

“You have answers, Scrawl,” Mysty growled. “What happened at Mount Ignis?”

“Nothing that was particularly my doing,” she flashed another fanged smile. “Whatever’s going on with Scarlet now is completely from her disease and nothing more.”

Mysty turned to the cobalt pony. “Locks?”

He nodded, his eyes glistening in the light. He kept his sights on Jessica. He turned back to the ivory pony with a shake of his head.

“To answer your question earlier, Jessica,” Locks started, “Scarlet just sent in the Ignis report a few hours ago. We just read through it ourselves.”

“Has she started on the lead with Slate then?”

“Steele’s having us wait until her condition improves,” Mysty finally started to loosen up, grabbing her half empty bottle and downing another generous gulp.

“I see,” Jessica licked her lips again. “Well, it was nice seeing you all again, but,” she kicked herself back onto her hooves, “I think I’m gonna jet now.”

“Jessica, wait,” Mysty called. “I have two questions for you.”

“Oh?” Jessica took a step closer to the group. “Please, by all means. I have all day.”

“The Agency’s been trying to hunt you down throughout all of Equestria, and even somewhat beyond the borders and into unclaimed territory. No one managed to catch a single trace of your magical disposition. Where did you go for one whole month?”

“Far.” Jessica chuckled at Mysty’s annoyance with the sarcastic reply. “Really, really far. I couldn’t let the Agency, or anypony for that matter, stumble upon me while I practiced my magics. I need to be at tip top condition. This winter’s going to be exciting.”

“But where?” Locks pressed. “Where could you go to wind up completely undetectable?”

The black mare smiled with glee. “I enjoy this too much sometimes,” she cooed. “The place I go to has no name. It has no recognizable landmarks. No life. I think I might be the only pony, or creature, that even knows of the place. On hoof, I doubt you could ever make it there alone.”

“Not even,” Locks muttered. “That’s impossible.”

“Next question, mama,” she controlled the flow of the conversation with ease.

Mysty cleared her throat. “What’s going to happen now, Jessica?”

The scribe tilted her head. “I’m not sure I understand, love.”

“You go missing for a month. We get put under arrest by the city of Canterlot. Then, out of the blue, you show up with… fangs.”

“And?”

“Conroy and I used to vacation outside of Equestria. We’ve read tons of books and articles about beasts and creatures that prowled beyond the borders of this country. We even confronted some of those bizarre animals.” Mysty looked up and down Jessica’s frame. “You’re not a pony. Nopony has fangs. But you’re not a Changeling either. The Agency makes damn sure to scan each of its employees after the wedding fiasco with Princess Cadence. Locks would also be able to tell right away, and I’m sure you’re well educated on his capabilities.”

“Why of course,” she gave Locks a friendly wink. “Locky, just let me know if you ever want more eye candy later.”

“My question stands, Jessica Scrawl. What’s going to happen now? What are you preparing for? And what are you?”

Another giggle left the mysterious mare’s throat. “To answer all of your questions: I have no clue! All I know is that something huge is going to happen, and it all centers around my lovely Scarley.”

“How do you know that?” Locks asked.

“It’s a hunch at best, sweetheart,” Jessica turned her back to them. “In any case, I suggest you all prepare yourselves as well. I’m all set to go. Now it’s just a matter of time.”

“Prepare for what?”

“Who knows?” Jessica smiled. “Scarlet’s special. It could be anything. Doesn’t that just sound exciting to you?”

The eager tone of her voice put the trio on edge.

“Before I leave, there’s something else I need to let you ponies know,” Jessica’s horn lit up. “Gemini and Scarlet had a nice, long chat on Mount Ignis. I suggest you reread your reports again if you have them on you. The wording she used was very… distinguished.”

Jessica’s magic wrapped around her like a fine ribbon, twisting and turning while her body lifted off of the surface of the apartment. “Now if you ponies can excuse me, I have an appointment with my boss.”

Another flash illuminated the room, and in the blink of an eye, Jessica Scrawl had vanished.

“What do you think, Mrs. Justis?” Locks’ eyes kept themselves glued to the empty space Jessica had just occupied. The aggressive glint in his eye never left.

“Dangerous,” Mysty said with a flat expression. “Absolutely dangerous.”

A heavy cough sounded out into the library, snapping the exhausted pony out of her sleep. Tired, jade eyes opened up to the loft upstairs. Her muscles felt worn, and ached with a fatigue that came with the sickness. The space around her small bed was wide and barren of any books or scrolls, unlike the majority of Scarlet’s stay beforehand.

She grunted, pulling herself up to take another look around, wearily wiping the sleep from her eyes with a spare hoof. A coat of lavender was perched on a desk nearby, her head turned to the mare in response to the creaks of her bed. Scarlet gave her a frail smile before leaning back against her wet pillow.

“Sweating in my sleep again?”

Twilight Sparkle turned her whole figure around. The familiar tiara was nestled atop her mane, sparkling with an extravagant power that lay dormant within. “How do you feel, Scarlet?”

Another cough tore through her raw throat. She groaned, her eye catching sight of the droplets of blood covering the sheets. “I’ve been better.”

Twilight marched over to the bedside. “Relax, we’ve got you.” She turned towards the staircase, knocking on the floor to grab an unseen pony’s attention downstairs. “Applejack, can you come back up here? Just for a minute?”

“Applejack’s here too?”

“Mmhmm,” Twilight nodded. “Everypony else is busy for a while. Us two should be enough for now.” Twilight gave her body a quick look over. “You look like your condition is improving.”

Scarlet picked herself up again. Twilight hurried over, helping her rest her back on the bed frame. “Wish I could say that I felt like I was improving.”

A brown stetson and an orange coat sprouted from the edge of the stairs a distance away. The cowpony from Sweet Apple Acres, the first pony she had met in this new town at the start of Scarlet’s investigation, trotted up to Twilight’s side. The sunlight dropping in from an open window towards the side of the room cast a reflection off of a shiny, orange gem dangling from Applejack’s neck, suspended within a large, golden necklace. It jingled as the apple farmer turned to look at Scarlet.

“You feelin’ any better, sugarcube?”

“I’ll be fine once Twilight’s spell gives me a kick-start. How are things on the farm?”

“A might busy,” Applejack admitted, “but nothin’ my family ain’t already used to. Preparing for the winter season is always a lotta work.”

Twilight’s horn came to life, a small bulb at the tip of her extension pulsed a soft purple color. Scarlet followed a quick beam that shot from the librarian’s horn, the tiara on her head flashing as it bridged a link between herself and the orange earth pony standing next to her. The gemstone synced up with Twilight’s royal accessory, a small whir brought the magnitude of the spell to a new level of power.

The spell fired at Scarlet, coating her body in a twist of orange and purple hues. It quickly settled, jolts of magical energy springing across Scarlet’s dull gray coat before trailing into minuscule bits of arcane essence.

The young, red maned pony took in a new breath, feeling a rush of energy lift her off of the bed and onto the wooden floor of the tree house. She shook her mane, taking in a quick yawn before looking back at the two ponies across the bed.

Her strength waned for a split second; Scarlet caught herself before her knees could buckle.

“Be careful Scarlet,” the unicorn warned: “The spell is strong, but you’re still sick. Just don’t push yourself too much.”

“Thank you both,” Scarlet cracked her neck before letting out another cough. She covered her mouth with a napkin, quickly brought to her through the air by Twilight. Tiny splatters of blood could be seen in the residue. “It’s still pretty bad. I need to wrap this up and go home.”

“Wrap this- You’re still going to work?” Twilight’s eyes widened. “Even with how sick you are?”

“That’s what I was ordered to do, Twilight. I have to finish my assignment. The sooner I get back home, the sooner I can focus on getting better,” Scarlet gulped. She turned away, feeling a sense of dread fill her. Her mouth quivered with uncertainty, her mind mentally slapping her for being so stubborn. She moved over towards the two ponies, doing her best to ignore her sickness.

Especially so, Scarlet tried her best to forget the words spoken by Gemini on Mount Ignis.

‘I’m still going to die…’

“Twilight, it’s been some time since I asked,” Scarlet turned to her, “I hope I’m not bothering too much, but the census…”

A grin came from the purple unicorn as she signaled the three mares down the stairs. “As a matter of fact, I have some pretty good news for you, detective.” She led Applejack and Scarlet back into the main room of the library, walking through to her private study. She turned and signaled them to wait as she passed the threshold.

“Ponies have been preparing for the winter for the last month or so, and the library has become less busy as a result.” The sound of her magic could be heard, followed sometime later by her hooves as she returned from her study. Hovering above her was a large, purple tome. It swayed before she placed it on a desk just to the side of Scarlet. “Since I had so much more free time, I decided to look into the Ponyville Census and get it completely sorted out.”

“R-Really?” Scarlet waited as Twilight opened the massive book. “You already managed to get it done?”

“Sure did,” Twilight chuckled at Scarlet’s disbelief. “It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it to be. It was mostly a matter of cleaning up several of the earlier years. It was almost like organization hadn’t been invented yet.”

The gray pony licked her lips as she moved through the years on the pages, her hoof underlining numerous names over the hundreds of pages of documents. “Anything stand out, Twilight? Usually when a pony moves or passes on, there’s some kind of note regarding that in their last year of residence. That’s how it’s usually done in Canterlot.”

Twilight motioned her back before the pages starting whirring forward from Twilight’s magic. The sound of dozens of pages flipping rapidly filled the air. “I’m way ahead of you Scarlet. I found it recently too, towards the end of the book. Somepony was listed that didn’t show up at any point with any kind of indication that they had moved. I think the name was ‘Slate.’”

“That’s the one,” Scarlet sat on the floor, feeling her energy drain again. “Without a doubt.” She took a long, deep breath, feeling a bead of sweat already forming on her brow.

“Think ya can hold up for a bit longer? I’m sure Twi wouldn’t mind fixin’ you up again,” said the third pony in the room.

Scarlet looked over to Applejack. Scarlet gave her Element another gaze before responding. “I’m fine for now. Finding the name soon would be perfect. I could go out, investigate, and if everything goes well, I could be back home by the end of the week.”

“That’s all fine and dandy,” Applejack waved her hoof, “but ain’t you supposed to be resting up a bit more? I doubt you’d be able to really move out of Twi’s house lookin’ like that.”

“I appreciate all the help you girls have offered me here, really,” Scarlet smiled, “but I really need to get this done. It’s important to me and my boss.” She turned back to look at Twilight, who was still scanning the pages at an impressive speed. “Canterlot has plenty of doctors who could look into my sickness after I get back.”

Scarlet coughed again, doing her best to forget that she was lying to the face of the Element of Honesty.

Applejack only responded with an uncertain tilt of her hat.

Before she could think about anything else, Scarlet’s eyes caught onto the three apples painted on the orange pony’s coat. The discussion the two had the first time they met replayed in her head. Echoes of the red alicorn’s words on Ignis burned themselves back into recent memory.

“Hey Applejack, can I ask you something?”

Her blonde mane swung behind her as she turned, her attention caught by the purple dragon in the kitchen, cleaning the counters. “My pleasure, Scarlet.”

Scarlet felt a twitch in her head, as if something blunt had struck her between the eyes. She looked down at her cutie mark, the magnifying glass still as visible as ever. “What do you think about cutie marks?”

“Beg pardon?”

Scarlet cleared her throat. “Sorry. I mean, the idea of cutie marks. I’ve always been raised on the fact that cutie marks were an indication of your special talent. The one talent that defines yourself.”

“Sounds about right to me sugarcube,” Applejack replied. “Why?”

Scarlet’s ears were hungry for another pony’s perspective. “What about ponies to don’t find their cutie mark? What becomes of their destiny?”

“Didn’t we talk about somethin’ like this sometime ago?” Applejack moved on without waiting for Scarlet’s answer. “Well shoot, a pony without a cutie mark just rubs me the wrong way. Everypony I’ve ever known has gotten one sooner or later. We Apples were always late bloomers ourselves.”

Scarlet felt her gut twist. “And what if a pony had a cutie mark that was wrong?”

The farmer gave her a double-take. “I… I don’t know, Scarlet. That doesn’t sound right.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just as I’ve never seen a pony without a cutie mark, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pony not like their own. It just doesn’t sound any natural to me.”

Scarlet gave her cutie mark another glance. “So what would you say to a pony like that? A pony who believes that their mark is wrong?”

Applejack fixed her hat, giving herself a moment to think. “Nopony can figure out what they love on their own. That’s what I think. As long as a pony has good friends and is livin’ a proper life, I would imagine that cutie mark or not, it’d be a life worth livin’.”

“I suppose. It’s just that so much importance is put on finding your cutie mark,” Scarlet answered back. “I can’t imagine what it must do to ponies who don’t have a clear mind at the time…”

“Don’t sweat it sugarcube. I reckon I might’a been in a spot like that before I met Twi or Rainbow, or any of my friends here in Ponyville.” Applejack spotted one of Scarlet’s hooves quivering against the floor. “Ya’ shouldn’t be puttin’ too much thought into that kind of thing anyways. That type of stinkin’ thinkin’ is only gonna hurt everypony around you, including yourself.”

Scarlet agreed with Applejack. It all sounded so simple, such an easy idea to grasp for somepony like her. A buzzing sound rang in her mind, leaving behind a painful sting that rivaled that of an agonizing migraine. Scarlet hissed, rubbing her temples with her eyes shut.

Ever since Mount Ignis and the Plains of Woe, her mind had been playing tricks on her. Cruel games whose only end was to make Scarlet more miserable by the day. The coughing and weak sensation was the first to intensify. Nightmares had quickly followed, and now, as per Gemini’s own words, she could feel a sinking feeling dragging her down into the deepest hells: A negativity that kept her from accepting any sentiment of hope or faith.

Applejack’s words were just another example of her Scars’ sick, twisted tricks. The detective understood her words, incredibly so. She was well aware of the message Applejack was trying to illustrate, but every single time she tried to acknowledge it, another sharp pain rattled in her mind.

A whisper echoed in her ears. Incomprehensible, but the sickly feeling her body felt at the sound kept her from thinking too hard about Applejack’s words.

With another jab in her head, Scarlet dropped the subject, no longer desiring to accept the farmer’s perspective.

“Sentience,” Scarlet whispered. The fur on her neck stood up at the word, her entire body quivering, grabbing the farmer’s attention again.

Before Applejack could respond, Twilight slapped the book with one of her hooves.

“Aha! Scarlet, I found it!”

The detective rose, shaking her head of all thoughts but her task. She approached the tome, following Twilight Sparkle’s hoof to a single name. The name stood out, the words ringing in her mind like a fresh memory.

“Blank Slate, Ponyville, Equestria,” Scarlet read off. “That’s all it says?”

“Blank Slate,” Applejack repeated. “Don’t think I’ve ever heard that name before.”

Twilight moved her hoof down more. “Not quite, Scarlet. Here’s his last recorded address. It’s here in town. It’s a bit of a walk though, not too far from here.”

“Awesome,” Scarlet turned. “That’s the name I was told of. How long has he been here, just to make sure it’s the same guy?”

Twilight’s tail whipped around in a frenzy while she read his information off. Several page flips filled the air. “About twenty years, give or take. Seems like he lived most of his life here.”

“Perfect,” Scarlet braced herself. She hastily started back up the stairs.

“Scarlet, where are you going?”

“Twilight, can you write down that address for me?” the eager mare returned to her bed. She slapped on her fedora and grabbed hold of her coat. “I need to check it out as soon as possible.”

Curiously, Twilight watched as Scarlet stumbled her way back down the stairs, careful not to trip over her weak legs. “Are you sure about that? You still need to rest.”

“I can rest when I’m in Canterlot,” Scarlet repeated herself. “I need to find this Blank Slate’s house as soon as I can.”

The concern on the librarian’s face caused Scarlet to falter for a moment. She turned back towards the kitchen. “Spike, can you watch over the library for a while?”

“What?” A whine came from the other room.

“I need to take Scarlet somewhere for a bit. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Twilight, what are you doing?” Scarlet turned her head.

“Princess Celestia told me to use the Elements of Harmony to help restore your strength. You’ve been nothing but exhausted for the entire month since you got back from the Everfree Forest. I’m not going to let you just walk out into Ponyville. What if you collapse?”

Scarlet had considered such a possibility. “I know, Twilight, but I really need to do this.”

“Applejack, do you think you can come along with us?” Twilight turned to her friend. “The spell is more potent when more of the Elements are nearby. I could use an extra hoof or two.”

The farmer winced at the idea of being away from her work for longer than she had to. She turned back to Scarlet, noticing the small, dark bags under the detective’s eyes. “Sure, Twi. I’ll go.”

Applejack started heading out the door.

“Wait, aren’t you gonna go with us?” Scarlet held out a hoof.

“Twilight just said that the Elements make you stronger. I’m gonna go look for the rest of the girls. The more of us that show, the healthier you become, right?”

“R-Right,” Scarlet understood.

“Okay then, I’ll see y’all in a bit.”

“Applejack, wait,” Twilight called out. A small note floated from her desk and into the earth pony’s hooves. “That’s the address. We’ll meet up there as soon as we can.”

With a wave, Applejack lowered her hat on her head and bolted for the center of town.

Scarlet pulled her coat over her body, hearing Twilight’s steps approaching her from the side. Another note containing the same information Applejack had been given was floating in the space above the pair. A pair of blue bags shot above Twilight and landed neatly on either side of her body. The note was quickly tucked into one of the saddle bags.

Twilight focused on the door. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

The roads were far emptier than they had been when Scarlet had first come to Ponyville. Any of the citizens still hanging around were taking care of simple chores, from brushing the falling leaves off of their trees, to stockpiling food for the harsh winter months.

A cold chill swept through the air, a constant reminder of the brittle season that was quickly approaching. The sun was shining through a blanket of thin clouds, poking out at angles that allowed several shadows to blot the ground around the town.

Twilight and Scarlet had made a quick stop down at town hall. Twilight’s saddle bags were left open, several pages of documents left flapping up and down with her pace. The detective looked at the handful of papers Twilight had levitating in front of them, keeping a small space open in her line of vision so as not to bump into any unsuspecting ponies.

Scarlet was shuffling her eyes through the documents nearly as fast as Twilight was. Frustrated, she sighed. “Nothing about him at all. Just a name and a location. Didn’t Blank Slate do anything here in Ponyville?”

“Maybe he just kept to himself?” Twilight shrugged, licking her lips as she turned towards another sheet. “We have some residents here in town who don’t come around often. They just stick to themselves most of the time.”

“I know, but it still surprises me how little else we’re finding here. No pictures, no job description,” Scarlet read off, “not even any local stories about him.” She turned towards the lavender pony, “We pinpointed the year he went missing back at the town hall. Anything special happen that year?”

“Hold on, Scarlet,” Twilight shoved everything that was floating in the air into an empty saddlebag on one side before grabbing everything out of the other. Each document flattened itself out in front of the ponies as they continued down the road.

“Oh, left here,” Twilight split the papers apart. The road split into three more roads, each leading a different direction. Scarlet fidgeted, starting a light pant as she turned the corner with Twilight.

“I,” Scarlet was losing her breath, “Might need a recharge when we get to the house. How far is it?”

“Not much further now,” Twilight brought the papers back. “The year he went missing… No major events here… or there…”

Scarlet was looking at a chart on her end of the documents. A line followed in a relatively straight path down the center of the document, vertical lines cutting into it. Each vertical line indicated a different year.

The detective nudged Twilight when the line suddenly spiked straight up, several blocks higher than anything else on the page.

“Twilight, look here,” Scarlet motioned. “This graph monitored the distribution levels of magic above Ponyville during the years leading to and from Blank’s disappearance. Check it out.”

“That’s strange,” Twilight followed the line to an alarmingly high peak. “The year he disappeared there was a huge disposition spike.”

“Gemini had a headline from Ponyville’s newspaper talking about a magic surge. She said it reminded her of him. Think it means anything?”

“I don’t know.”

Scarlet turned back to the change. “Look at the numbers. A surge of magic that strong could do anything.”

Twilight agreed with a shake of her head. “Says here that the source of the influx was never found.”

“Where do you think it went?”

Twilight shrugged, “I have no idea, but magic of that magnitude doesn’t just vanish without somepony keeping track. This doesn’t make any sense. Somepony should’ve written something more about this. There’s no way it could’ve happened without catching Equestria’s interest.”

“That’s what I’m thinking too,” Scarlet followed the line. It plummeted back to average levels before the next week hit. “It didn’t fade away naturally either. Look Twilight: It drops just as fast as it rises.”

“Which means whatever caused that spike, used all of the magic that was conjured up. But I have no idea what any ordinary pony could do with that much magic.”

“It’s far too much for a single pony to use,” Scarlet said. “Think this has something to do with Slate?”

“A missing pony and a missing spell? That’s not enough to form a correlation Scarlet,” she started, “but it’s definitely worth looking into. We might find something that connects the two together.”

The air around her was thick and soupy, taking effort to breathe in and out. The deathly chill running along with the wind was welcomed more than ever as it passed through her long, pink mane. Her hooves traveled around the dirt road, enjoying the ambiance set by the weather. Tombstones all around her had been her only company for some time since she broke free from her home.

Mystery Hart let her mouth lock onto her bottle again, chugging more than she ever had that morning. She broke free moments later, letting out an unladylike growl, feeling the burn of the alcohol tear through her throat. Her heavy, drunken eyes swayed from one end of the graveyard to the other, watching as the graves stretched on for miles in every direction.

She heard the flapping of wings against the air, turning around just in time to see the dirt kick up from the large, brown pegasus’ landing. Her precious blue partner stood right next to her, a foot shorter, but far more intimidating to look at.

“Isabout time you showed your faces,” Mysty hiccupped. “D-Don’t worry about me. I’ve only had this many to drink!”

Locks sighed. Mysty’s hooves stumbled on the ground, two gallons of emptied hard cider clattering together underneath her. “You should probably ease up, Mrs. Justis. All this poison can’t be good for your liver.”

“Why don’t you mind your own business?” she turned back, leaning on Amy’s back.

Locks groaned. “I think it’s time we discussed what we’re gonna do about Scarlet. You got the area around here sealed off right?”

“Y-Yep,” Mysty shook her head a bit too vigorously. “I got a few of these cool dudes to take care of it,” she motioned.

The lantern hanging above her head jingled as she turned to point. Locks and Amy followed her over to several graves nearby. Standing above each one was the familiar appearance of a pony specter, each one branding a horn on their ethereal, white bodies.

“They won’t hold it for long,” Mysty reminded them, “And I’m sure the guards watchin’ us figured that they couldn’t get through the moment they bounced off of the barrier. S-So we don’t,” she burped, far more like a lady than earlier, “have much time.”

“We need to get to the Agency, but if Amy and I get anywhere near it, the guards around us will just inform Steele and Celestia. We can’t get anywhere close unless we can find a way to sneak past them.”

Amy whistled in agreement.

“N-Not a problem,” Mysty responded. She pointed in another direction, Locks and Amy following her there as well. Locks eyes widened at the sight in front of him.

Dozens of spirits floated idly, chatting with each other to pass the little time they had left on the earth. Each one a unicorn, and each one willing to help out Mysty in her cause.

“How did you summon so many?”

“A bit of Daniels and plenty of push-ups, Locky,” her lantern bobbled with her crooked steps. “I have a whole bunch of talented fillies and gentlecolts here to help us out. I just gotta give ‘em the word and they’ll take care of the rest.

Locks mind played around with several ideas, looking at the new recruits. “Can they make us undetectable? Invisible perhaps?”

“S-Sure can.”

“Excellent. We don’t need much.” He motioned to Amy, who quickly pulled out a small letter hiding in the depths of her mane. “We already have the letter set up. All we need to do is grab the bottle and we’re fine. The spell would need to last long enough for us to get in and out of the Agency.”

Amy gave Locks a quick reminder through her whistle. Several spirits nearby took an interest in the mute mare.

“Steele isn’t a problem. He’s always out of his room and talking to Celestia about future assignments around this time. Shouldn’t be difficult.”

“I can provide a pretty long distraction here at the Cemetery,” Mysty called out. “The barrier got their attention, and the unicorns over there,” she pointed to the waiting spirits, “Are gonna keep the spell fortified for as long as possible.”

“What about you?”

“I,” she hiccupped, “I’ll be fine. I should be able to hold ‘em p-pretty long. They’ll think you’re still with me here too. By the time they comb the graveyard in full, you should be out of the Agency with the letter delivered.”

Locks let the information sink in, a twinkle in his eyes dancing in the faint sunlight. “So, this is really happening, Mysty.”

“Yeeeeeeeeep,” she slurred.

“This is your last chance to back out. If we get caught before we can get to the bottle, then it’s to the dungeons for who knows how long.”

“Don’t care,” Mysty’s eyes narrowed. “Scarlet’s safety is my number one priority. I’ll fight the Princess herself to protect her.”

Locks sighed, “I share the sentiment.” Locks turned to the large pegasus. “Ready to go? You having any second thoughts?”

Amy shook her head with certainty before blowing her whistle.

“Of course,” Locks smiled. “She’s my friend too.”

“You guys can start heading back out of the graveyard now,” Mysty turned to look back at the dead ponies floating nearby. “The veil should kick in the moment you leave the barrier. Good luck!”

“Never thought we’d be playing the bad guys,” Locks sarcastically coated his words. The two ponies sped off in a sprint towards the exit of the cemetery, heading straight for the direction of the Agency.

Author's Notes:

Another day, another chapter. Please enjoy!

- G. R.