-Rainbow Dash – Private Correspondence-

Hey Twilight,

Val really, really didn't want me to talk about this with anypony. He got really serious about it. He had this super mean look and everything. So don't read this if he's around!

I told him I wouldn't tell anypony but... I don't know. I can't stop thinking about it. I've never seen anypony lose it like that before. You remember he said he was claustrophobic right? Well, he wasn't kidding.

I thought that since he lives with you that you should probably know how big of a deal this is. That way you can make sure it doesn't happen or maybe you can find a way to help him.

Okay, I know this probably seems silly but I'm not joking around. Look, here's what happened.

So you remember when Val and I got sealed in that little tunnel right? It really didn't take you and Princess Cadance that long to get us out but a whole lot happened!

When that big slab slid down and sealed us in I... look okay I admit I wasn't exactly cool with it either. My heart started to beat a little faster but I tried to laugh it off and I turned to joke with Val just to get my mind off it. Before I could say anything though he walked right past me.

He seemed alright at first. Once he reached the slab he pulled out that extendable metal thing he has and knocked on it. "Twilight?" he said loudly but he was still calm.

Then he knocked a little louder. "Cadance!?" he shouted.

I started to tell him that I didn't think you guys could hear us but he cut me off.

"Twilight!" he barked loudly, he sounded angry. His arm snapped out and the metal thing extended. Then he started banging it against the stone slab really hard.

"Twilight!" he roared. I mean like a manticore or something. He banged harder and harder on the slab with that metal thing.

He started to get even more wild and he kept screaming for you Twilight. Sometimes he wouldn't even use the metal thing. He'd just ball up his hand and bang on the slab. He'd strike it with his hand too.

"Let me out! Let me out!" he started to repeat over and over and he started to just throw himself at the slab. His voice was cracking too.

If I wasn't nervous before then I definitely was then. It was like being trapped with a wild beast. But at the same time it was my buddy Val there freaking out. I knew what it felt like too, being trapped, but he was feeling it on a whole other level.

Okay look, I was really scared alright. I was scared Val was going to hurt himself the way he was throwing himself at that slab. I mean I was sure you and Princess Cadance were doing everything you could to help us but...

I knew I had to get him to calm down because he was going to seriously hurt himself. I got close to him and reached out with a shaky hoof.

I just barely touched him and he whipped around. Remember how I said it was like being trapped with a wild animal? Well that's pretty much what he looked like there for a second. His teeth were bared, that metal thing was raised over his head. His eyes were narrowed at me and those thick eyebrows of his were knit hard.

Everything in me was screaming to just fly away fast. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it was going to burst. But I couldn't bolt away from Val when I saw tears just pouring out of his eyes and the way his body was trembling.

His eyes widened when he got a good look at me and he roughly chucked the metal thing off to the side of the tunnel. His breathing was getting really rapid and his eyes were darting all over the place.

"R-Rainbow... I..." he choked out. I'd never heard him sound so... anything! The Val I knew was always super chill! I needed that Val!

"Val! Buddy!" I flew right up in front of his face and put my hooves on his shoulders. "Y-you gotta chill out okay? Everything is gonna be fine. Twilight and Princess Cadance will have us out of here in no time!" I said. I tried my best to sound confident but my voice was cracking just a little.

I think it helped though! His eyes really started to focus on me and he reached up and grabbed my front legs with those hands of his. When he had a good grip on me he closed his eyes and took some really deep breaths.

"Sorry, Rainbow... sorry," he whispered.

"I get it Val, It's fine," I told him.

He took a few more deep breaths and his hands found their way up to my face. Then he started grabbing and pinching my cheeks which was kind of confusing.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Pinching your chubby pony cheeks," he said. His eyes were still closed.

"Chubby!?" I shouted, pretending to be angry.

We both sort of laughed. It was really awkward.

That's when you and Princess Cadance got the slab up. Val did a really good job at pretending he was okay after we scrambled out of there. I don't know if you noticed but the whole rest of the time in the tunnels he was hanging back and had take deep breaths every once in a while before he could keep going.

I keep trying to talk to him about it and he keeps telling me not to worry about it. But I keep remembering his face when he turned around, how scared he had to be to look like that and act like that.

He lives with you, you've probably been asking him about all kinds of human stuff. Maybe he is okay, or maybe talking about it wouldn't help. I thought you'd probably be all over what makes a human tick by now so I thought maybe you could think of a way to help him.

I'm probably going to keep trying.

Talk to you later,

Rainbow Dash

-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-

We were stuck in the tunnel maybe ten minutes or so. There was a loud stone clacking noise before the stone slab glowed purple and lifted up. Getting out of there was a big weight off of my shoulders. I stood with my back to the other ponies while they tried to figure out why there was a slab poised to seal off the tunnel. My anxiety had shot straight up.

Rainbow Dash pulled herself away from Twilight and Princess Cadance and stood in front of me. She was looking up at me with big eyes full of worry.

"I'm fine," I whispered. I wasn't exactly able to hide my anxiety about being trapped in that tunnel with Rainbow Dash. I didn't want her to worry and I especially didn't want to worry the Princesses. There was still an investigation to complete and it didn't need my anxiety complicating things. "Just don't bring this up with the others," I said.

Rainbow was still just looking up at me.

"I'm serious," I said as quietly and sternly as I could. She looked away but nodded.

After a few more deep breaths I was able to steel myself and turn back to Twilight and Cadance who will still trying to figure out why there was a mechanism in place to seal of the tunnel.

"It's an unfinished tunnel. Probably there to seal it off in case they dug into a pocket of poisonous gas or something," I said.

Before they could even respond another glowing gray specter bolted out of the leftmost tunnel. We all bunched up next to Cadance at the sight of it. It sniffed around us for a while before darting towards the exit.

"Well, I guess we know which tunnel to go down!" said Princess Cadance optimistically.

Nobody had any arguments so the four of us and the two silent guards started down the tunnel. I kept behind a little and Rainbow Dash stuck close to me. To be fair it was a little inconspicuous but I was happy to have her nearby. My anxiety hadn't completely abated and us going deeper on in wasn't exactly helpful. If my anxiety started to push against me I just had to focus on her and take a few deep breaths then push forward.

The tunnel started to widen up after a few minutes which was a relief. It was few minutes after that Twilight and Cadance let out a loud gasp. We rushed to catch up and we were met with the source of those silver ghosts.

-Valentino Brugato – Investigation Report-

The following is my report on the investigation of the magical energy assaulting the Crystal Empire. The investigation was led by Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, referred to as Cadance, with support from myself, Princess Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. We were accompanied by two of Princess Cadance's Royal Guards.

We followed the magical energy, which I refer to as "ghosts", back to it's source in a mine to the northwest of the Crystal Empire. In the tunnels we found a single male unicorn surrounded by several metal pony constructs and dozens of metal bug constructs all crumpled on the floor of the tunnel.

The unicorn had a thick black mane that was mostly pulled into a large braid which was secured with a silver clasp. He still had long locks of black hair that fell across his face. His tail was an unkempt mess of black. His coat was a light gray and his eyes were a dark amber color. His "Cutie Mark" was of a steel beam at a diagonal angle with a yellow spark on each side.

The metal ponies were simple in design and had no distinguishing features. They were a dark gray color and pony shaped. The metal bugs we had previously discovered were enchanted to move around and complete tasks. I speculated that the metal ponies were similarly enchanted. Every metal construct in that tunnel however was immobile.

The unicorn was knelt down on his front legs when we found him. His face was twisted in agony. Just as we approached he let out a loud scream. As he yelled sparks of bright gray magic shot out from his horn and circled back onto him. Magic from within him appeared to pull away from him in the shape of the ghosts that had been accumulating at the Crystal Empire.

The ghost however was pulled back into the unicorn who was left panting and trying to stand up shaky. His shaky limbs however did not allow it. Judging from how there were no other ponies, or corpses of ponies, present in the tunnel I assumed at that point that he was the sole source and had been experiencing this trauma for a couple of days at least.

"Twilight? What is going on?" I asked the shocked princess. She had been staring at the unicorn with her mouth agape.

She stared for a minute longer, watching the whole process occur again with the unicorn screaming out loud again. Princess Cadance was attempting to communicate with the unicorn but he did little more than grunt. She backed away when he started screaming again.

"It's..." Twilight started, her horn lighting up. A purple glow enveloped the gray unicorn. Again the same process occurred and Twilight's face went from shock to horror.

"Some kind of feedback spell, forcing his magic out and feeding it back in," she said. "Painfully creating those things as a byproduct," she added.

"I can see that, but–" I started but was cut off by Twilight.

"To do what this spell is doing, it's not only abhorrent but inefficient! I can dispel it immediately!" Twilight's horn grew in intensity and so did the glow around the gray unicorn.

It only took a moment to see Twilight start to strain harder and harder before a shock of magic struck back at her from the unicorn's horn.

"How?" she gasped.

"Well, I may not be as elegant as your kind," started a deep voice near the back of the tunnel. "But I make up for it with my strength and tenacity, I think," it finished.

"Who's there!?" barked Rainbow Dash.

At the sound of movement I reached for my baton but came up empty handed. I had accidentally discarded it when I was temporarily sealed in the tunnels. Not really confident in my ability to defend myself with a knife I backed up putting our defense purely in the hooves of the ponies.

What crept out of the shadows in the unlit part of the tunnel was what I would summarize as a snake with arms. It had a torso that was vaguely comparable to humans. It's head was a little rounder than a snakes as well. It moved on a very long and thick tail that could easily wrap up three of us at once in it's coils. It's arms ended in long and... moist looking claws. It had a green and yellow spotted pattern to it's coloring. It's underbelly was a pale yellow and it's eyes were a cloudy blue.

"I am Rook," said the snake with a big smile on it's scaly face. He performed an exaggerated bow, lifting himself a little higher on his long tail as he did so.

Princess Cadance had quickly backed up at the appearance of the snake called Rook and was standing beside Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Her guards took up position in front of them and I was well behind all of them.

"Did you do this?" Princess Cadance asked firmly.

"Ah yes, this is my gift," Rook said glee in his deep voice.

"Gift!?" shouted Twilight.

"Oh yes, it will be an end to his pain and better yet it will graciously share it with all others!" said Rook excitedly, making big sweeping gestures with his arms as he talked.

The unicorn growled loudly and then screamed as the magic pulled at him again. Rook slithered closer to the unicorn and bent down near his head.

"Oh please, please accept my gift young stallion. It is for the best, I think," Rook said sorrowfully.

The unicorn jerked his head back and then smashed it into Rook's nose. Rook reeled back with one claw covering his snake snout. But it quickly fell away to show a large long fanged grin.

"Such a spirit he has to create such spirits!" Rook exclaimed and then howled with laughter.

"He's insane," muttered Twilight.

A shiver interrupted Rook's revelry and he took on a distinctly duller coloring. "Ah, my time here is at an end. You all will certainly enjoy my gift, I think," said Rook.

"And just–" Rainbow started but was cut of by another shiver and Rook taking on a much paler and... translucent appearance.

Then he fell over and bounced lightly on the stone floor.

"Is he...?" mumbled Princess Cadance.

Rainbow flew over to Rook and nudged him her hoof. He moved slightly along the stone floor. She pressed into him then with her hoof and it just sank in and Rook flattened where her hoof lightly pushed against him. "It's just... his skin?" she said.

"He must have teleported," said Twilight.

"The skin shed the snake," I said.

We didn't get the opportunity to enjoy my hilarious joke because the unicorn started screaming again, much louder than before.

"So can you get that spell off him or not?" I shouted to Twilight over the gray unicorn.

"I don't know! It should have dispelled already! This spell is..." She said as her horn lit up again. It was as bright as her strongest attempt from before but centralized on the unicorns head.

Instead of fading out this time the magic seem to concentrate to the tip of the unicorns horn and then quickly ark back to the tip of Twilight's. She let out a screech when it hit her and then it streaked back into the gray unicorn. He shrieked as the magic in him pulled even more violently against him before ripping off entirely.

In the act of ripping away from the unicorn stallion it sent arcs of energy back at the stallion. This energy did not try to gestate into a magical ghost instead it scorched the coat and skin of the stallion who fell onto his side while he howled in pain.

Princess Cadance and Rainbow Dash looked on in horror. The guards were examining Rook's skin. Twilight groaned as she got back up to her hooves. The ghost rushed at Twilight before Cadance's horn lit up and a field of love magic expanded outwards and pushed the silver specter away. I half expected that break the spell on the unicorn. But even as Cadance filled the tunnel up with her love magic the gray unicorn's horn sparked and jolted.

"A feedback spell operating at this level should have already fallen apart on it's own or..." Twilight trailed off and her expression went dark.

"Or?" I asked, my tone tinged with impatience.

"I... I don't know how anypony could have survived this being torn at like this," she said grimly.

"Hm," I mumbled looking at the unicorn stallion panting on the stone floor.

His body showed no signs of damage aside from the recently received scorch marks.

I took a closer look at the metal constructs scattered around in the tunnel. Besides lacking the magical enchantment of the construct we found back in the main hub of tunnels the each showed some minor signs of damage. Those nicks and scratches were scorched around the edges.

"Could he have been... uh..." I started but was less than confident in my knowledge about magic which gave me pause. Twilight regarded me with some curiosity in between concerned glances at the unicorn stallion.

"Well, if all of these things were enchanted before but now they're... dead and damaged, could he have–" I was then cut off by Twilight.

"He managed to get the spell to cycle through them! But if he could transplant the effects of the spell why is it still on him!?" she said,

"Tenacity," I muttered, recalling what Rook said.

"If I can't sever it's connection to break the spell then maybe..." Twilight muttered and her horn lit up again.

I watched a little closer as Twilight performed her magic. In the purple glow I could barely make out something green latched onto the unicorn stallion's horn near the tip like a vice. It was long, extended down and coiled around the stallions neck before reaching back up and coiling back around the base of his horn. The snake had a pretty obvious signature.

Twilight's magic looked like it was trying to push the two ends together. But it didn't take long for her magic to start sparking back and her magic cut off while she let out another yelp. "Ah! Again!? How did–"

"Focus!" shouted the unicorn stallion in a raspy voice, cutting Twilight off. He started to slowly get back onto his hooves, wincing every time his magic arced and fed back into him. "Focus through the pain," he growled, locking one open amber eye on Twilight while the other winced shut.

Twilight seemed stunned for a moment and stared blankly at the unicorn that just pulled himself off the ground. But I think it only took that moment for the unicorns words to sink in because she suddenly looked determined and her horn lit up again.

Violent sparks of magic shot between the two of them. The gray unicorn growled and flinched but stood fast. Twilight similarly flinched and yelped but her magic didn't cut out.

It took a long few moments. The tunnel was filled with dancing silver and purple lights. All the rest of us could do was watch silently as Twilight fought on to dispel the horrible curse on the gray unicorn.

Eventually the silver and purple lights were replaced with a blinding green one. The green haze that had coiled around the gray unicorn was made very visible without the aid of Twilight's magic on it. It jumped away from the unicorn and formed a single ring in the air. One end was latched onto the other, it started to surge with energy that arced out and back into itself.

It then started to spin rapidly in the air before it shrank in on itself and then erupted with a wave of energy. The energy passed through us, went down the tunnel and potentially phased through the tunnel walls.

"Finally..." groaned the gray unicorn before he collapsed onto the floor.

After a brief examination we determined that the stallion was in stable condition and had him carefully moved out to the carriage. I stayed behind to keep an eye on him while Twilight, Princess Cadance, Rainbow Dash and the guards swept the tunnels for the snake called Rook. I also asked Twilight to retrieve my baton for me which she did.

There was no sign of Rook. Just the dead skin he vanished out of.

After catching our breaths we made the return trip to the Crystal Empire.

We speculated on the nature of Rook, who was an unfamiliar species of snake to both the ponies and myself. We were not able to glean any answers from our speculation.

When we returned to the Crystal Empire we were not greeted by an army of magical ghosts but a crowd of ecstatic Crystal Ponies.

-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-

The gray unicorn was given medical treatment and left to rest. Shining Armor was eager to hear about what happened, luckily for me he looked more to Twilight and Princess Cadance. After that time spent in the cave I was exhausted so I ducked out to find a bed. If anyone cared about what I had to say on the matter I would have a written report ready for them.

As I walked down a long crystalline hallway, looking for a good place to nap, I managed to find Fluttershy. She was heading back towards where I came from.

"Hello Valentino," she said with a smile, her voice gentle as usual.

"Yo," I said with a short wave. "The others are back that way, they're going over what happened and can catch you up. I'm tired, gonna get some rest," I explained before moving to leave.

"Um!" Fluttershy squeaked, stopping me in my tracks. "Are you okay?" she asked when my eyes locked back onto hers, her face clearly expressing her concern.

I thought briefly about the best way to brush off her question and keep on my way but... I found myself just staring into her light blue eyes. With a sigh I relented, just a bit.

"It was a rough trip. I guess I'm not really feeling that great," I said.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, taking a few eager steps closer.

"Not really," I said, breaking eye contact.

"Oh... is... is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.

I hummed a little and tilted my head to the side in thought. I already had something in mind but I wanted to savor that adorable sweet and eager look on Fluttershy's face.

I got down onto my knees, getting closer to her level and looked at her with a serious expression. After that I calmly extended both of my arms out from my sides. "Hug," I said simply.

There was no hesitation at all. As soon as I got the word out she had her front legs wrapped gently around my chest. I was so surprised that I let out a short huff of a laugh before I brought my arms around Fluttershy to hold her in a tight embrace. She was as soft as I remembered.

After just a couple moments I released her and she dropped down onto her hooves with a small smile on her face. I got back up to my feet with a similar smile of my own.

"I hate to hug and run but I really am exhausted. I'll see you later," I said to Fluttershy.

"Okay, have a good nap," she said with a little more cheer in her soft voice.

-Valentino Brugato – Dream Log-

The clock was still there, still ticking, still getting closer to five all over again.

My anxiety was at a peak. Sweat was dripping down my face as I watched from my chair.

The chimes started.

One.

Two.

Three.

I was out of my chair, running at the grandfather clock.

Four.

My fist collided with the glass covering the clock face. The chiming stopped. The hands of the clock started spinning backwards.

I felt relief, unbelievable relief.

-Valentino Brugato – Private Record-

I was shaken out of dreamland by my favorite purple princess. I turned my head to the side of the bed she was standing at and grumbled at her questioningly.

"The unicorn we saved is awake," she said.

That seemed odd to me and I sat up in bed. He probably had only been asleep for a couple of hours and was likely dealing with that ghost magic loop spell for a couple days at least. I expected him to be out for a lot longer. I brought a hand up to my eyes and rubbed them. I felt awful.

All my thoughts halted when I noticed the window was completely dark.

"How long have I been asleep?" I groaned.

"I'm not sure... maybe six hours?" Twilight guessed.

I grumbled loudly as I threw the blankets off of me. I still had most of my clothes on since I only planned on a quick nap. Instead I got six hours of restful god damn sleep and felt like I was half out of my mind.

"So did you guys... uh..." I rolled my hand around in the air while I tried to find the right words. "Question him?" I settled on.

"Well Princess Cadance and Shining Armor went to bed early," Twilight started.

"They're probably doin' it," I interrupted and gave her a sly smile.

Twilight just gave me a very unamused glare before she continued. "So I thought maybe you and I could go talk to him," she finished.

I climbed out of bed and stumbled over to where I threw my coat. I picked it up off the ground, almost falling over as I did.

"Whadda ya need me for? Haven't I stuck my nose in more than I shoulda'?," I complained as a pulled my coat on.

"But you helped so much!" Twilight defended.

I barked out a laugh. "You and Cadance did all the work," I argued.

"But you figured out that Cadance could keep us safe from that wild magic and you figured out how he cycled the spell through those enchantments," Twilight was very insistent about my contributions.

"Oh Twilight, you're a smart cookie, I'm sure you would have figured it all out," I said and before she could argue again I teasingly added, "eventually."

Twilight shook her head and gave a quiet laugh before her magic started gently pushing me out of the room.

--

The stallion was pacing in his room when we walked in. He stopped in his tracks when he saw us, or rather Twilight and bowed his head slightly. "Princess," he said politely. His voice was a wreck, who knows how long he was screaming and howling in that tunnel.

Then his eyes got to me and they narrowed a bit. It took him a couple of seconds to place me, "You... were in the mine?" he said uncertainly.

"Yep," I said, not really meeting his gaze. I was wondering if there was someplace in the castle I could get something to eat. Breakfast maybe, like an omelette. Would they let me raid the kitchen? Were there guards near the kitchen? Maybe if I offered to feed the guards too.

"What are you exactly?" he asked.

I let out a loud groan while I threw my hands up in the air and turned to plant my face on the wall. "I'm starting to get sick of that question," I complained. At least most ponies had the decency to ask me directly.

Twilight sighed. "His name is Valentino, he's a detective and he comes from a very far away land," she simplified. "It's because of him that we were able to get to you as quickly as we did," she added. Which in hindsight was a genius little diversion.

"Oh! T-thank you!" said the stallion, suddenly flustered.

"No problem," I said as I pulled my face away from the wall and flipped around to lean my back against it. "So what's your name?" I asked.

"Steel Spark," he coughed out. I probably should have guessed.

"Well Steel Spark, where are you from?" Twilight asked.

"Baltimare," he answered. I tried my best to shove away another influx of unnecessary thoughts.

"And what brought you out here to that mine?" Twilight followed up with.

"Well, uh, my family has had the mining rights in that area for a while. I was just out here to inspect the place and test out my constructs," the tone of Steel Spark's raspy voice turned depressed fast.

"Those metal ponies and bug things?" I asked.

"Yeah, I made them myself to help save on labor costs in the mine," he answered, getting a little excited before quickly falling flat again. "I didn't really get a chance to test them much before I ran into that snake thing," Steel Spark's eyes went straight to the floor and he shifted uncomfortably.

"Where did you first see the snake?" I questioned.

"At the back of that tunnel while I was hanging up lanterns."

"The tunnel we found you in?"

"Yes,"

"And you didn't see him at all before then? Or anything out of the ordinary?" I asked. Steel Spark just shook his head, his heavy braid swinging a bit as he did.

I let out a sigh and closed my eyes in thought. Unlike the incident with Cronus there were no fatalities which was great. Much like the incident with Cronus however we we lacked a culprit, at least lacked one in custody. Rook's motives were vague at best and we were coming up empty handed... hooved? Whatever. We were coming up empty handed when it came to a solid lead. The ponies were unfamiliar with his species which gave us even less to work with. Tracking him down was going to be nowhere as easy as I'd have liked.

"Did he say anything at all to you?" Twilight asked while I mulled over my thoughts.

"Um... something about how he was giving everypony a great gift. That everything was going to be so much better. When I tried to subvert his spell he just kept repeating that it was only a matter of time. Over and over again," Steel Spark's head drooped lower and lower as he spoke until his big braid nearly touched the floor.

I sighed again, rubbing the bridge of my nose. This was rapidly becoming a tremendous chore.

"Did you spend any time here in the Crystal Empire before heading off to the mine?" I asked, my fingers still pinching the bridge of my nose.

"I just did some shopping. I needed some extra supplies and a cart to haul it all through the snow. After that I left straight away," he said, picking his head up a little bit.

Well, that was something. "Can you get us a list?" I asked.

"Huh?" he tilted his head to the side and looked at me quizzically.

"A list of the places you got your supplies and the cart from," I clarified.

"Oh! Yes of course!" He said and started frantically looking around the room.

"It doesn't have to be right now," I said calmly.

"Yes, it can wait until morning," Twilight added.

"R-right," Steel Spark stuttered as he stumbled to a stop. "Sorry..." he said looking down again.

"You don't need to worry. You're safe now and we have everything under control," Twilight said reassuringly.

Steel Spark stared at Twilight for a moment then up to me. I gave him a nod.

"Okay... Thank you," he said, a small smile showing on his face.

"Why don't you go back to bed, we can talk more in the morning," Twilight suggested.

Steel Spark nodded so Twilight and I politely made our exit.

"Alright, action plan," I said as soon as the door closed behind us.

Twilight looked up at me, a little surprised by my sudden enthusiasm.

"We get that list of places from Steel and start asking around about that sneaky snake. If those shops turn up nothing then we start working out from that area and just question any pony we can. We'll sweep the whole Crystal Empire to dig up a lead if we have to. Sound good?" I announced confidently.

Twilight gave me a blank stare that quickly turned into a smile. She nodded firmly at me.

I let my face drop as I let out a large, exaggerated sigh. Twilight tilted her head and looked at me with some confusion.

"I was hoping you would tell me that we didn't have to go through all the trouble and that you could just... do a magic or something," I said, bringing up my hands up to my temples and firmly rubbing them.

Twilight looked at me for another second before she burst out into laughter. I waited patiently for a couple of seconds for her to stop. When she didn't I started to walk away.

"Wait! I'm sorry!" Twilight shouted after me between fits of giggles.

I stopped and turned back, giving her a flat stare. She quickly trotted over to me, failing to stifle her continued giggles.

"Don't you think if I could just 'do a magic'," she said with a laugh, "that I already would have."

"Well I don't know, if one of you can put the sun in the sky then maybe you could put a snake in front of us," I halfheartedly argued.

Twilight shook her head with a smile. "It's not that simple," she said.

"Of course not," I said. I guess even with magic it rarely ever was.

"Well I'm going to bed. It sounds like we have a big day tomorrow," Twilight said in a chipper tone.

"Yeah," I groaned. I pulled out my pack of cigarettes and noticed that I only had two left. Normally a pack would last me half a week at best so I guess I managed to ration them a bit longer than normal but I still felt like I failed to do it significantly. Well I was just going to have to quit sooner rather than later. I thought that maybe I would save the last one for a special occasion.

"I think I'll wander a bit," I said.

--

The cool evening air was refreshing and my cigarette was relaxing. There wasn't a whole lot of activity just outside the castle. The sky was brilliant with more stars sparkling overhead than I could have ever seen back home. Different stars probably, but who cares it was still nice.

I exhaled out a puff of smoke and could hear the sound of flapping wings getting closer to me.

"Hey Val," said Rainbow Dash, a little less enthused than normal.

I lifted a hand up high and waved back over my shoulder without turning around. "Yo," I said.

The sound of flapping wings got even closer to me until I could feel air hitting the back of my neck with each flap of her wings.

"How ya feeling buddy?" she asked, trying her best to sound casual.

"Oh, I'm fine," I said calmly before I took a long drag off of my cigarette.

"Val..." she said, her tone dropping a little.

I let out another breath of smoke before I turned back an looked at Rainbow. "Dash, really, I'm fine," I said a little more firmly.

"But!" she nearly shouted.

"Dash," I calmly interrupted, keeping my expression soft. "I'm sorry," I said.

"N-no, I'm just–" she started but I raised my hand up to stop her.

"I'm sorry for losing my cool on you in there. I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I'm sorry for worrying you like this," I said evenly. Dash kept her eyes locked on me but still fidgeted awkwardly with her hooves. "But I'm fine Dash, I really am. Talking about it, thinking about it, that's what is going to make me... well, not fine," I said, flicking my cigarette and letting the ash fall to the ground.

"Oh," Rainbow Dash said, her eyes looking down.

I suddenly had a very opportunistic thought pop into my head and I wasted no time in acting on it. "I really didn't expect you to be this worried over this. I'm pretty sure I mentioned I was claustrophobic. But if you're really worried about how I'm feeling I think I know a way you can help me," I said. At that her eyes shot right back up to me.

I took one last drag off of my cigarette and blew the smoke off to the side. I let the cigarette drop out of my hand to the ground and extended my arms out from my sides. "Hug," I said simply.

Unlike with Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash hesitated and just stared at me for a moment. After that brief hesitation however she shot like a rocket into my chest, her legs wrapped around my torso and she squeezed me as tightly as she could. Her weight shifted onto me but thankfully she wasn't as heavy as Pinkie Pie. The death grip she had on me was pretty insane though. I gently returned the embrace, not even bothering to try and match her force.

A few moments passed and Rainbow's grip on me did not lessen any. "Rainbow," I said, trying to get her attention. She just grumbled and somehow managed to hold onto me even tighter. "Rainbow I can't breathe," I said loudly.

She finally released me from her death grip and scrambled off of me. She gave me an embarrassed glance though she had a small smile on her face. "Sorry," she said.

I reached over and aggressively ruffled up her mane. "It's fine you goof," I said playfully.

She giggled and shoved me away. "You're the goof," she retorted.

We casually argued about who was, in fact, the goof for a little while before we went our separate ways.

--

We got the list of businesses that Steel Spark visited when he got to the Crystal Empire first thing in the morning. Next we got a map of the Crystal Empire and went over the plan with just about everyone. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were all present as well as myself.

We were to split up and tackle first every shop Steel Spark visited when he arrived and see if any of the ponies had seen sign of a the snake Rook. We would then reconvene at the Castle to share information. There were three businesses so the ponies split into groups of two and I went with Twilight and Applejack to where Steel Spark bought his cart. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were both going to talk with Steel Spark some more.

To my endless frustration we all came up with nothing. Not one shop owner or employee saw anything snakelike in the least.

So we went on to phase two. Splitting off chunks of the Crystal Empire and delegating them to individual ponies to go door to door asking if anyone saw anything. Luckily we got the two guards who went with us to the mine to help ask around which lessened the work load. Still I spent the rest of the day with Twilight going door to door asking about snakes. Not to mention answering that same old question about what the hell I was over and over again.

After half the day went by with only a short break for a meal and no results I was about ready to scream. The special occasion I saved my last cigarette for was keeping me sane through the last of that days tedious questioning.

Twilight and I were the last to return to the Crystal Castle. We were greeted by a group of exhausted and depressed ponies. I groaned just at the sight of their faces.

Not one, not a single sighting of a single scale in the whole damn empire. It was possible that Rook had been stalking Steel Spark since before he came to the Crystal Empire. Which gave us what option? Question every pony in every town and city that was between the Crystal Empire and Baltimare? The very suggestion earned a collective groan from every tired pony in the room.

It wasn't very realistic anyways. How was Rook supposed to know that Steel Spark was going to be perfect ambush material without watching him trek off into the snowy wilderness by himself. It's not something you can pick up on just by seeing a guy on a train.

So the last option was Baltimare. But before we started getting more maps and making more plans we had another round of questioning with Steel Spark himself. Where and when he discussed his plans to go out to this mine with his family. If he discussed it with friends or anyone else. If there was any sort of documentation about what he was doing and where he was going.

Yet again we came up empty. He discussed it with his family in the privacy of their own home. He was so excited that he left first thing the next morning without so much as a word to any friends. He spent a few days in transit and while he did talk excitedly with a few ponies he did not mention the specifics of where he was going. Not out of any sense of secrecy, he was more interested in discussing his enchantments and constructs.

Wait and see was starting to seem like our last course of action, much to the chagrin of everyone. We were all exhausted and we couldn't come up with a single good plan. Pinkie Pie had a few plans, most of them involved coaxing Rook out of hiding with some kind of party or something. At least she helped lighten the mood, if just a little bit.

The only thing we all managed to agree on was that we needed to report all of this to Princess Celestia. Since Canterlot was on the way back and given the nature of the situation we decided we would do it personally.

We all decided to pick up and leave that night, bringing Steel Spark and a written report from Princess Cadance. Princess Cadance and Shining Armor were very thankful for our help. Shining Armor even went so far as to thank me personally, saying that he admired my quick thinking and planning. I insisted it wasn't really worth writing home about.

We got Canterlot about the middle of the next day, sleeping through the entire train ride. Or at least I slept through the entire train ride. I cannot account for the ponies.

--

We were all sitting around that same casual meeting room, though it was far more packed than before. Rarity and Twilight managed to get some tea. They all were chatted about something or another, I wasn't really paying attention.

Steel Spark was a wreck. The mere thought of meeting with Princess Celestia had him quaking in his seat.

"You don't need to be so nervous Steel," Twilight said reassuringly. I don't know if it was for Steel's sake or for hers since she seemed to be a little nervous herself.

"Yeah! Bruggie met Princess Celestia not too long ago and he had a great time!" Pinkie Pie said with a giggle.

"R-really?" stuttered Steel Spark.

It had been an exhausting couple of days. Lot's of work with no payoff. I saw what Pinkie was trying to set up but I don't do repeat performances. Also I had another bomb I wanted to try dropping in that room.

"Look Steel, there's only one thing I can tell you about Princess Celestia for certain," I said. Steel's eyes were glued to me, so was Pinkie's.

"Yeah?" Steel asked eagerly.

"And it's that she has a great butt," I said, my expression and tone dead serious.

Twilight sputtered and nearly spat her drink out, instead coughing on it. Every other pony was staring at me in wide eyed silence.

"W-w-what?" Steel said in a tiny voice.

When her head managed to catch up with what I just said Pinkie Pie looked like she was about to explode with laughter. Rainbow Dash also was trying to fight a fit of her own. Twilight and Rarity were shocked and appalled. Applejack was just plain stunned and Fluttershy was hiding bashfully behind her mane.

"Look, there are a lot of anatomical differences between humans and ponies. Don't worry, I get it. But even by human standards her butt stands out like no other. I don't think that there is a sapient species alive that could deny that she has one terrific tush," I said, pushing the issue to see who would crack first.

Pinkie Pie was rolling on the floor with two hooves covering her mouth, trying desperately not laugh. Similarly, Rainbow Dash had her face pushed into a throw pillow. Twilight looked like she was about to have an aneurysm. Rarity's jaw was on the floor. Applejack was still stunned and Fluttershy's pink face matched her pink mane. Steel was similarly stunned and embarrassed.

"Now I don't mean to sound crude. Her butt is quite honestly a piece of art, sculpted perfection. A masterpiece to which there is no human comparison at least. Ultimately what I'm trying to say is," as I neared the end of my last little speech about Celestia's ass I had to pause. I noticed the faces of all the ponies watching me had changed. Every pony had a new look of horror on their faces and they were no longer looking at me but past me.

I kept my expression flat, turned around casually in my seat and saw Celestia just staring at me wide eyed. Who knows how long she had been standing there, I could have assumed that she had only just arrived and didn't hear me talking about her butt. I could have tried to play it off.

Now what fun would that be.

I did not for one second break eye contact and I calmly opened my mouth to speak. "Your butt is fantastic!" I said, as clearly as a I could.

I only wish I could have turned to see the ponies behind me.

"I," Princess Celestia started but hesitated, her eyes darting to every other face in the room.

"I'm flattered..." Princess Celestia said before shyly averting her gaze. I almost choked.

She started taking tentative steps into the room, closing the distance between me and her slowly. It was everything I could do to keep my expression. This went beyond what I was expecting. "I wish I could reciprocate. Yet, sadly, you seem to keep your anatomy so often hidden from me..." she said with a pout.

I had underestimated the Sun Princess. She wasn't just taking what I had said in stride, she was running with it. I could see the laughter in her eyes and I returned that with a grin, hidden from the ponies behind me.

"A human compulsion I'm afraid," I said with a forced sigh. Turning back in my seat. Rarity had fainted and the rest were just staring on in abject horror. "We are only comfortable sharing our bodies with those we deeply care about," I clarified.

"So you do not care deeply for me?" Princess Celestia said dejectedly.

"Oh I certainly respect you Princess, but I think we'll need to go on a few more dates to get to that level," I said.

"If only I had the time," she responded wistfully. She sauntered over to her empty couch and rested regally upon it. "As it stands I believe you all have something very important to discuss with me," she said, her tone growing more serious. I was so tempted to continue our little back and forth but put it aside.

"Of course, why don't you start Twilight?" I said, turning my gaze to the flabbergasted princess.

"Huh?" she said, mind still reeling.

"Our report," I urged.

"Oh! Um..." it took her a couple of moments to pick the pieces of her brain up off the floor but eventually Twilight started into the lengthy report of our adventures in the Crystal Empire and our encounter with the snake creature Rook. Eventually the other ponies managed to catch their breath as well and add into the report. Steel even managed to tell his side of things with little trouble.

Celestia took it all in without comment and a serious expression on her face. The only time she spoke was to guide the flow of our exposition. Once we had told all there was to tell she sat in silence for a good few moments.

"That the snake creature Rook has been so elusive is worrying," she said, distress clear on her face. She hid it away quickly with a warm smile. "But I must say, Steel Spark, your thoughtful actions and persistence under such an awful ordeal is an inspiration," she complimented.

Steel Spark smiled and looked away in embarrassment. "It... it wasn't that big of a deal Princess. I mean, I used to get headaches as a young colt so..." he trailed off, awkwardly knocking his front hooves together.

"Headaches?" Celestia asked, slightly confused.

"Um, yes, it would really worry my mom and dad and, uh, aunts. They would always fuss over me. I didn't want to be a burden, I didn't want to miss out on anything and I wanted to do stuff for myself. I started pretending I was okay a lot of the time and just pushing through the pain. So I mean... dealing with the uh... spell he cast isn't really worth any praise..." Steel elaborated, not able to keep eye contact with anyone. His statement managed to spark a thought.

"Do you still get headaches?" I interjected.

"S-sometimes. They aren't nearly as bad though," Steel answered.

I hummed thoughtfully and leaned back in my seat. I wasn't given a lot of time to order my thoughts however.

"Thoughts Valentino?" asked Princess Celestia.

"Well... It could be related to motive..." I managed to mutter before trailing back off into my own thoughtfulness.

"Motive?" Celestia questioned.

I made vague circular gestures with my hands in the air. "I was operating under the assumption that Steel Spark was targeted because he was isolated. He'd be under that spell and it would run it's course before anyone could track it down. But..." I said, making more vague gestures as I tried to organize my thoughts in a coherent way. "Rook talked a lot about pain when we encountered him. Ending Steel's and spreading it around. Might have been targeting him for that and was just waiting for a good time to strike," I continued. After which I finally reached a conclusion.

"But that's speculation. I can't say one way or the other since there's no real pattern to base this off of. Might be more than a coincidence though," I stated firmly. "Doesn't really help us in tracking him down either. Might focus our search on Baltimare, if Rook's been stalking him for a while it's more likely he could have been seen where Steel lives," I said.

There were nods with approving mutters from Twilight and her friends which were cut off by Princess Celestia clearing her throat. She maintained a warm and gentle smile.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm my little ponies," Princess Celestia started with, speaking gently. "But I believe that all of you already have a mystery to solve," she said, her eyes fixating on Twilight. I raised an eyebrow at that. "I can promise that I will have guards dedicated to Steel Spark's safety and tracking down the snake creature Rook. But barring another emergency Twilight I think you and your friends would be better suited focusing on unlocking the secrets of that chest," I lifted my eyebrow a little higher.

What on earth... Equestria? Whatever. What chest were they talking about?

Twilight nodded and lowered her head a little. The other ponies muttered in agreement. As tiring as all of this nonsense was I don't think any of us felt that great about being pulled off of it. Especially after we expended so much time an effort. It must have been a damn important chest. Probably magic. Hm.

"Now I think you all have earned some rest, why don't you stay here at the castle and you can go home in the morning," Princess Celestia offered. The rest of us all nodded. I certainly wasn't eager to get back on a train. "Steel Spark, I'll have a special escort prepared for you," she added.

"Um, please, you don't need to worry about–"

"I insist," Princess Celestia gently interrupted. Steel just nervously nodded.

After that we all started making our way out of Celestia's sitting. I was the last to get my lazy butt off of the couch but just as I turned to leave with the others Princess Celestia stopped me.

"A word, Valentino?" she asked.

By the looks on the faces of the other ponies, they probably thought I was about to be severely punished for my earlier comments. I gave them all a sly smile and a shrug before finding my seat again. After a brief moment of hesitation they continued on their exit and the door shut quietly behind them.

"If this is about those things I said about your butt then I should tell you I meant every word of it," I said firmly.

Princess Celestia started to laugh. Her laughter was soft, evenly sustained and she held up a hoof to politely cover her mouth as she laughed. She went on like that for a good few moments until it faded into a wistful sigh.

"Do all humans have your courage?" she asked with a bright smile on her face and laughter in her voice.

"I don't know if courage is the right word," I said with some confusion.

"Well, rarely are my little ponies are so..." she trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Outrageous? Disrespectful? Handsome?" I threw out.

"... Comfortable, around me. Certainly not enough to talk so frankly about my... behind. Not to my face at least," she said, smiling slyly.

"Well there isn't anything I enjoy more than being comfortable," I said, further dodging the question.

"Is that all?" Princess Celestia asked, pressing further.

I rolled my eyes and heaved a sigh. "I'll admit to being slightly intimidated before I first met you here. But then we met and you seemed nice and that's it," I said simply.

"That's it?" Princess Celestia asked, surprised.

"I have no standard to really hold you to. Princess of the Sun and all of Equestria doesn't really mean anything to me. So, we met, you seem nice and you have authority. You haven't ordered me to cut it out so, that's it," I explained.

"It's refreshing," she said with a warm expression which was interrupted by a long and loud yawn. Once it ceased the Princess was left with a wide eyed expression, surprised by herself.

"I hope you haven't been losing sleep thinking about me," I joked to which she gave a short chuckle.

"No, unfortunately I have been busy far into the evening this last few days," she said, lowering her gaze.

Her expression was turning grim fast. I had only a guess at what she was thinking about. "That mess with Cronus?" I asked.

Her expression turned sour at the mention of it and she did not readily respond to me. "Yes, and I'm afraid I have nothing to show for my efforts," she said, her tone falling with her expression. I regretted bringing it up. Compared to Rook and Steel Spark the incident with Cronus was a disaster. Two dead, three including Cronus, and it clearly weighed on the Princess.

"I guess we're all having things not go the way we'd like," I said rising to my feet. Celestia looked up to see me take a few steps closer to her. "I do know of an ancient human method to help lift spirits though," I whispered, acting secretive.

Celestia's eyes brightened a little at my words. "Really? What is it?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

I lifted my arms and extended them out from my sides. It had worked twice before but it was a bit more of a gamble with a Princess of the Sun wasn't it? Not that I really considered it at the time.

"Hug," I said simply.

Celestia looked at me only in confusion for a second while I stood at the ready for hug delivery. Then her eyes soften and a big smile slowly grew on her face.

Her horn illuminated with a brilliant golden light, one that enveloped me and pulled me over closer to the Princess. Once I was in reach her front legs came up and pulled me into her. My face rested against her neck and her chin rested on the top of my head. Her embrace was gentle, her coat was soft and more than all of that she was so comfortably warm. I almost felt like I could have drifted off there and then.

"I like this human method," Celestia said softly.

I hummed a little in response. I was so distracted that I didn't notice her hooves travelling down my back. I did notice, however, when her hooves pressed gently against my butt.

"Hm, firm," she said teasingly.

I quickly pushed away from Princess Celestia who then started giggling. Once again I had underestimated the Princess and was left with only a blush of embarrassment to show for it. Anything I could have said after that would have been a vain attempt to cover up my own embarrassment. No point in being a poor sport.

"I'll give you this round Princess Celestia," I said, scratching at my blushing cheek. The one on my face anyways. "But after this the gloves come off," I stated seriously.

"Gloves?" Celestia asked as she tilted her head quizzically.

I looked from my hands to her hooves and let out a little sigh. "Human term, means things will get serious," I clarified.

"Oh but I'm very serious," she countered, glancing downwards and giving me a very devious smile.

I groaned internally. I couldn't remember the last time I had been in such a poor position. "If that is all, Princess," I grumbled, motioning towards the door.

"Oh!" Celestia perked up, her impish expression leaving her face. "Actually, I had wanted to ask if you had given any further thought to your citizenship," she said.

I must have had a dumbfounded expression on my face, since I had completely forgotten about it. "Uh, honestly I haven't had a lot of time to think about it," I said.

"Oh, I suppose that is true," Celestia said, a little bit of disappointment in her voice.

"Why? You don't need me to be a citizen to feel me up do you?" I asked.

"No, but there are other fun things I can't technically do unless you are a citizen of Equestria," she shot back. Damn, catching her off guard was difficult.

"Well, unless something else comes up I'll go over it with Twilight next chance I get," I promised.

"Thank you. Actually that was the other thing. How was it that you got involved in all of this?" Celestia asked.

"Oh, I just insisted on it. Twilight was getting ready to run off in a hurry. I caught her in the middle of packing and she told me she had to go help some dangerous situation. I didn't like the idea of being left behind and worrying about my brand new pony friends," I explained.

"I see," she said, smiling warmly. She seemed pleased, for whatever reason. "Well that's all I wished to know, Valentino," Celestia continued, rising off of the couch. The door at the front of the room opened with a glow. "I hope to see you again soon," she said.

"It's been fun Princess," I said, making my way to the door. "Don't work too hard, maybe stay in here and catch a nap," I suggested.

"If only I could," she responded with a sigh.

"I don't think there's a pony who would tell you that you can't," I said, stopping just in the doorway.

"You would be surprised," she said through gritted teeth and giving a sidelong glance.

I shrugged and turned away, giving a short wave of my hand. "Until next time," I said before stepping out.

We all spent the rest of the day in Canterlot. It was a relaxing time, plenty to keep the other ponies from getting bored. I just needed a bed and a pony to mess with every once in a while. I spun tales about my excessive punishment at the hooves of Princess Celestia in between naps. I think we all managed to wind down a little and before we all knew it Steel Spark was heading off and we were all heading home.

Hm.

Home.

Author's Note

Whew! For some reason it felt like this chapter took a lot out of me!

Feels like a lot of stuff is happening though, at least it feels that way to me!

Whether you love it or hate it though, if you've managed to make it this far then,

Thanks~
For~
Reading~!