Monochrome Mystery and the Lost King

It had been a few weeks since Monochrome's meeting with the strange mare, but she still had not contacted him. His mailbox was slowly gathering dust, and when he went to the same tavern in which he had met, nobody approached him.

He sat in his home, quietly going through his conversations with her. In his mind, he had assigned the name 'Sleek Secrets' to her, as he found it hard to constantly call someone 'her' or 'them' - it just didn't seem right in his mind.

"So... she said she would meet me, and yet she didn't even ask where I lived," he thought out loud. "And yet she seemed adamant she would find me. Maybe Sleek Secrets has friends around town? Come to think of it, she didn't seem like the type to make friends."

Monochrome knew that talking to yourself was frowned upon in social conditions; However, he felt like it really helped him think. For some reason, he also enjoyed having debates and arguments with himself, and his thoughts gradually ended up doing so as he began to doubt Sleek Secrets would ever find him.

It was at just that moment that the bell on the inside of his door rang. Secretly, he had set up a trip wire at the end of the path to his house, as he had made many enemies in the past, and knew many would attempt to assault him if they found out where he lived. He grabbed a small, sharpened knife and proceeded towards the door. The door creaked open as he cautiously opened it...

"Monochrome Mystery?" Stood at his door was the very mare he had been thinking about just minutes ago.

"How... how did you find me?" he said, obviously astounded she was stood there at his door.

"I know people." As she replied, she strode past Monochrome and walked into his living room.

"Now then... I've been told to give you more information on the case we've talked about. Come, sit down. We have much to discuss."

"Hey, you can't just strut around my house like you own it!" Monochrome cried out, but decided to sit down anyway.

"OK, so here is what we've found out so far...

"Have you noticed that all of the stories from the past involve 'Princess' Celestia, Luna or Cadence? Discord, Sombra, Nightmare Moon - all defeated by one or more of them using the Elements of Harmony to solve everything. We found it suspicious that all this happened with one or two alicorns, and yet in the present the power of the Elements can only be harnessed by six ponies.

"One of our researchers found an old, tattered book in Twilight's library, with many pages torn out. However, thanks to some of my people, we have deciphered the remaining information and located a tomb under the Canterlot mountains. Our evidence suggests that this is the final resting place of the King of Equestria, but Discord was never buried in a tomb, and Celestia and Luna have ruled for as long as anyone can remember.

"We had a team of adventurers journey to there, but we lost contact the second they were out of sight. We found you because of your detective skills - surely you'll be able to make sense of anything you find down there. We are aware you are not an adventurer, but I'm sure you can handle yourself. So, are you in?"

Monochrome closed his eyes, and began to look at the situation in his head. If he were to take this opportunity he could discover one of the most interesting conspiracies to ever happen and bag himself a large amount of money, but on the other hand he knew that if he went into the tomb, he could suffer the same fate as the other adventurers - lost to the shadows.

"Yes, I am aware. You do realize you think in the third person?" It took a few seconds to register that he been thinking out loud again, and he quickly glanced at Sleek Secrets with an apologetic look.

"Well, I guess I can do it. On one condition: I never caught your name." he said quickly, attempting to move the conversation on from him thinking out loud.

"Excellent. I'll leave a map on the table. And I think you know my name - Sleek Secrets."

"Wha- what?" Once again, Monochrome Mystery was left astounded.

"Its easy to plant an idea in someone's head. Maybe it wasn't even you that agreed to doing this. Maybe I made you." With a knowing smile, she placed a neatly folded map on the table and stood up slowly. "I've had a nice chat with you today, Monochrome. I hope you survive this, and maybe we could talk again." As she spoke, she opened the door quietly, and let herself out.

"Such a strange character... Well, it won't hurt to look at this map." Monochrome said, and as he did, got up, and started to unroll the map. He sighed, and tutted to himself, as the house became silent once again.