As Celestia's sun began to set, a train came to a halt at Baltimare station, steam exhaust quickly engulfed the area as various Ponies, Griffins, Zebras, and Diamond Dogs either rushed out of the coaches or struggles through the crowds to get in.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle, a Pegasus mare quickly flew over the crowd and towards the exit. This Pegasus, in particular, had a more slender, thin build, a peach pink coat, a bowl-cut white mane with sky blue highlights, sky-blue eyes, and her cutie mark was that of an open clam with a glowing pearl inside.

Weaving through the skies amongst other fliers the pegasi soon flew across the city to a local cafe, landing as softly as she could. As she entered she couldn't help but stop and take a deep breath, inhaling the rich scents of coffee and other assorted sweets that engulfed the whole place.

She smiled as she sat down at a table and looked at a menu, which displayed various delicious choices.

"May I take your order?"

The Pegasus looked up from the menu as the waiter approached her. He was a short male Griffon with amber feathers and deep brown eyes. "Well... I do have quite the sweet-tooth today. What would you recommend, handsome?" She casually asked, giving the Griffon a playful wink.

"Well um.... we have some delicious Lattes on sale today." The Griffon stammered as he looked at the nearby special boards, caught off guard by her sudden attempt at flirting. "And the doughnuts are at half price today. I-I prefer jelly ones."

"Hm..... then I will have a Caramel Latte with some jelly-filled doughnuts." The Pegasus replied with a smile. The Griffon nodded as he quickly wrote the order down on his notepad before making his way back inside. "Oh, and one more thing?" The Pegasus called out, getting the waiter's attention. "Could you be a dear and put some of that delicious caramel syrup on the donuts as well?" She asked while batting her eyes flirtatiously, causing the Griffon's feathers to ruffle as he blushed for a moment.

Regaining his composure he cleared his throat. "Sure thing ma'am!" He smiled before rushing back inside and heading towards the kitchen.

As she waited for her order she pulled a book out of her saddlebag and opened it up to the bookmarked page. Occasionally she glanced at the passing civilians and couldn't help but notice certain ponies, specifically ones with children, were shooting wary glances at random individuals while keeping their offspring close. She arched a brow at this, while it was common for parents to be protective of their young, these ponies seemed to be on edge to the point where it looked like they expected the sidewalk itself to open up and swallow their foals.

The Pegasus shrugged at this and turned the page... however, her casual reading was interrupted as she heard a few mares gossiping at the table behind her. "...and just recently Amethyst told me she's thinking of moving, and honestly I can't blame her. What with all the foals and colts going missing lately." One of them said with a shiver. "It's just... horrible to think of."

"What kind of freak would think of doing something like that to children?"

"Probably someone horrid I'm sure. Oh dear, what if it's a cult of some kind? I mean I read about-"

The Pegasus Mare slowly tuned them out when it became clear all their gossip was eventually just going to end in theories or just mass guessing. She was brought out of her own thoughts as a waitress, a female Zebra with her mane styled like a ponytail, approached her table carrying her order. "Here you are ma'am, one caramel latte and three jelly-filled donuts with extra caramel syrup!" She started in a perky tone as she placed the plates and mug on the table before handing her the receipt as well.

"Thank you kindly." The Pegasus smiled back before taking a moment to inspect said receipt. She then fished through her saddlebags for a moment before handing the waitress 45 bits.

As the waitress left the Pegasus glanced around before turning over her receipt... and smiling at the address written down. After quickly memorizing it she tore the receipt in the tiny little shreds before tossing them into the trash and enjoying her snack...

Today was going to be a busy day...

Luna's Moon was illuminating the night sky by the time the Pegasus finally arrived at her apartment. Right after fishing out her keys and unlocking the door, she sighed in relief as she stepped inside. "FINALLY...." She said as the door slammed shut behind her... with her voice becoming much deeper than it originally was. Her body immediately erupted into a green flame as her disguise faded away… revealing a black chitin skinned bug-like pony. A changeling.

"So let's see what's on today's agenda..." Stag smirked as he locked the door and made his way to the only room that had any lights on.

Inside was a single desk and chair, a pinboard on each wall, and many, many, many newspapers and photographs. The headline of each newspaper was focused solely on the disappearances of certain foals in various cities, while the pictures themselves were of certain ponies that had been seen in the area right before the disappearances occurred.

Stag sat down at the table and brushed aside a few of the photos before picking up a folder, his eyes narrowing upon seeing two words:

The Order.

Out of all the Anti-Progress groups Stag despised, they were at the top of his list (Equestria's First were a close second). While this particular organization was somewhat like a more "internalized" version of the others, they were more covert in their actions, yet at the same time more bold in their stubborn racism and bigotry.

The Order was very notorious for their firm beliefs in the "ways of the old", ideals that had been abandoned long after the founders of Equestria came together. The belief that "races shouldn't mix" and "foals should only be raised by same tribe-parents"... as such they had began abducting children from parents that they deemed "unfit" (mixed-race couples) or "impure" (same-gender couples).

"You ponies… you disgust me." Stag whispered with a snarl, glaring at the board. "It's one thing to go after those old enough to defend themselves and can make their own choices. But you go after fillies and colts, children unable to truly understand what's going on, as if this makes you strong? Well... let's see what happens when you deal with someone who doesn't care what your status is or how 'noble' your pathetic stance is." He snarled as he shifted back into his "Seabreeze" disguise before packing a suitcase full of the necessities to make his target more… "cooperative" when he questioned her.

He spared a brief glance at the photo at the center of the pinboard, the Earth pony in said picture had a dark red coat, blue eyes, a curly vermillion mane with pink highlights that covered her right eye, and her cutie mark was a pink lotus flower surrounded by several musical notes.

She was his target, a mare by the name of Silk Serenade. According to his intel, out of all of the members they had identified, she was spotted in most of the areas when certain foals went missing. He was willing to bet his entire salary that she had been the one tasked with tricking innocent children into trusting her with a few sweet sounding words.

"You I'm going to have fun seeing how you break," Seabreeze said with a smile as "she" took her leave to "visit" her target. "It's always the pretty ones that squeal the loudest..."

It had been a half an hour trip since her target resided in the eastmost section of the city, but thankfully this made her job slightly easier since working in the more quiet parts of the neighborhood meant to less possible interruptions.

Eventually, she arrived at her target's residence. The lights were out... yet the window to the living room was wide open, odd.

'Either she knows I'm coming and she's baiting me... or she's too arrogant to be worried about her own safety.' She thought as she climbed in through the window, however, she was met with an unexpected sight. Several chairs had been flipped over, the table on its side with food and liquids littering the floor, the obvious signs of a struggle.

'...or, somepony abducted my target... great.'

She sighed before quickly slipping in and closing the window behind her, no need for an extra draft after all. She quickly scanned the room thoroughly to make sure that any possible investigators hadn't already arrived ahead and contaminated the scene. Any strand of evidence could help her figure out what happened and who took the target. She began inspecting the area, given the positioning of the overturned chair and table, it was fairly easy to deduce that her target had just sat down for dinner before she was ambushed and abducted. Glancing in the direction the chair had fallen, whoever had ambushed her had dragged her into the foyer. 'The shattered vase is the only damaged object here, so this is where the struggle must've ended... and yet there's no sign of any blood, so the kidnapper didn't use lethal force… maybe the used ether?'

Looking over a few more spots she also noticed that the perpetrator didn't seem to have any other way in other than the window. But from the way this all happened there was no magical residue so it ruled out a Unicorn as the culprit and no possible feathers of any ruled, so not a Pegasus. An Earth Pony did this... but to climb THIS far up? It seemed rather impossible for it to happen. 'And yet despite that, there seems to be no other evidence.... so an Earth Pony walks into a room to kidnap someone..... maybe she's being taken away to be silenced… or grew a conscience.... doubt it but anything could happen.'

However, as she made her way back to the living room, something caught her eye, something hidden by the shadows. One of the fragments of glass that lay scattered across the floor had something caught on it.

A tuft of hair.

She quickly shifted her species to that of a Unicorn and carefully levitated it off the glass, plucking the hair out and inspecting it...

"Interesting..."

"Wakey-wakey~!"

*SPLASH*

"AGHAA!!" Silk Serenade gasped as she was startled awake by a splash of ice-cold water. The mare shook her head as she tried to move... only to realize she was tied to a chair. "Wh-what the..... what in Tartarus?!" Silk yelped as she struggled to get free but to no avail. "H-hey what's going on?! Is this some kind of sick prank or something?! Because it's not funny! Let me go!"

"Oh, this is no prank, ma'am..." A deep voice stated.

Silk looked up to see a pony wearing a hooded cloak and a ski mask holding an empty bucket. "I pull pranks when I want to make ponies laugh. And right now?" The masked Pony leaned in close. "...I want to make you scream."

"...pl-please, I don't even know what you want." Silk begged as they seemingly started sniffing her. "Just... just let me go and.... and I can pay you! Y-yeah you look like a pony who wants payment. Just tell me how much and I'll double it-no TRIPLE it! Just please don't hurt me."

"Hurt you? I haven't even started yet you cow." The Masked Pony snarled at her. "I'm gonna ask you something... and if it's a lie or I just plain don't like a thing about it? I'm gonna make sure you HURT."

Silk gulped, her eyes darting around, desperately hoping there was some way to escape this lunatic. Sadly for her all she knew was that she was in someone's basement, it was very likely that no one would be able to find her in time if this pony got impatient. "W-what do you want to know?" She asked nervously, deciding that her best option at the moment was to stall if only to avoid incurring her wrath.

"OH! Well see that wasn't too hard wasn't it?" The pony said as they brought out a chalkboard and pulled out a stick of chalk from… somewhere. "Now then. You're going to tell me exactly WHERE your little buddies are and where they're keeping the good little fillies and colts… or else, this is about to become murder on your ears." They grabbed the chalk... and with a long drawn out drag let loose an almost UNHOLY sound from the chalkboard.

Silk gritted her teeth in agony as her ears were assaulted by the screeching noises. "STOP! FOR THE LOVE OF FAUST, STOP!!" She screamed in aggravation as she struggled against her binds. The pony abruptly stopped, earning a sigh of relief from their captive. "Pl-please... you don't realize the mistake you're making..."

".... MY mistake?" They said with a snarl as they got up in her face. "MY mistake?! You kidnap CHILDREN. You take them from their loving families in the middle of the night and act like this is some noble duty! YOU'RE the one who's too stupid to realize her mistake." They took a deep breath and backed off, picking up the chalk again. "Now. WHERE. Are. The Children?"

A feeling of dread spread throughout Silk's mind as she realized that this pony knew about that particular line of work, despite this she quickly attempted to regain her composure. "N-now l-listen, I've only served under the Order, I-I'm not as high on the totem pole as you think!" She hastily explained, hoping that downplaying her involvement with the group would at the very least trick her captor into thinking she wasn't worth interrogating. "I m-mean, we've been ordered to liberate so many children, we couldn't possibly be expected to remember them all-OW!"

The pony gave her leg a quick stab with what looked like a REALLY heavily sharpened candy cane on their left foreleg. "See, you REALLY should stop lying or downplaying how involved you are... I've been watching you... studying you... I know you're much higher then you're trying to imply. In fact, I think you're one of the worst ones... lowering those poor children's guard... trying to make them think that they're living in something so horrific that they should want to leave because YOU say so. Oh, I've studied you for a while you pompous NAG."

'This weirdo was STALKING me!?' The Earth Pony thought to herself, mentally panicking upon realizing that she was in hot water. "L-l-let's not be getting ahead of ourselves! I-I wasn't lying when I said we've liberated many children! We have many safe houses for the foals, but I'm not in charge of keeping track of them all!" She verbally back peddled, hoping to buy herself more time, or at the very least manipulate her captor to an extent.

"...alright. Since you don't seem to get the picture." The masked pony said with a snarl before unfurling a small leather fold. Within the fold was a number of sharp objects, one of which was a curved sharp knife. "I'm gonna start cutting the moment you tell me a lie now. So skip the bullshit. You're going to tell me where those safehouses are and how many children are in it. If you resist then it's on YOU how much the cut's gonna hurt."

Silk bit her lower lip in terror, she was running out of options here. 'Start small, give her a minor location.' She thought to herself. Sure they'd lose a few foals, but it wasn't amongst the more valued ones scheduled for the big move. "W-well, w-we have at least thirteen foals being kept in our safehouse half a mile away from Hollow Shades…"

"See? Now we're getting there. Wasn't that easy?" The pony said with a calm attitude. Silk relaxed herself a little bit. Maybe this won't get too bad, they looked easy enough to mislead at least. "Now then... tell me everything you know about that safe house in Hollow Shades. Where the foals are being kept and what kind of guards are watching over them. After all, you seem to know quite a bit about it."

"It's hidden under a false hill close to a valley, there are at least two entrances, one hidden in a cave behind some trees and the other that leads to the bottom of the valley." She began, keeping her composure. "The foals are all kept in a special room three floors down. We only stationed eight Pegasi there because of how far off the main path it is..."

"Hm... alright then… now tell me about the one I know for a fact you've gone to. The one hidden in Ghastly Gorge?" The pony asked, holding the knife over their right eye, the blade reflecting her now once more ruined composure.

"...wh-what safehouse? I-I don't know about a safe house th-AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She screamed as the pony her gave a quick slash on her right hoof.

"DON'T LIE TO ME! I hate, hate, hate, HATE liars!" The pony snapped with a previously unseen rage. "SO! Let's try this AGAIN! What about the one in Ghastly Gorge?!"

Silk started shivering again, this was bad. That particular safe house was one The Order was very proud of, mainly because it had been set up sometime before Twilight established her Empire, and had gone unnoticed afterward. "Okay, okay! We set that one up near the center so that the Quarry Eels would drive any intruders out of their territory, and have specific tunnels structured with metals they can't burrow through for safe travel!"

"Mind telling a concerned citizen what kind of security is in there?" The hooded pony asked with a false calming voice. "I mean it would help do a good and noble thing after all." They said, lowering a curved knife around her leg. "So then... tell me. What kind of guards am I looking at, besides the Eels."

"F-fifteen Pegasi, ten Earth Ponies, and twenty Unicorns." She explained, her eyes following the knife the entire time."I-I don't know for sure, but I think they've been planning to cast a spell that agitates the Eels, driving them closer to Princess Twilight's Empire…"

"Hm... I thought this would be more fun." They said in an agitated tone. "I mean the stories all make it seem like it'd take longer for someone to crack. But then that just speaks more of how cowardly you are. In that case..... what's so special about Manehattan then? After all, you and a few others seem to really like hanging out up there."

Silk could've sworn she felt her heart stop. 'Why Manehattan of all places?!' She thought to herself. 'No one is supposed to even suspect that place!'

"I... I don't know what you mean-AAAHHH!" She shrieked as her captor slashed her right cheek.

"FINALLY a lie. You know I'd be fine getting all the info but I was wondering when I'd get a chance to play with my toys." They said with a dark chuckle. "Now then. Let's try-"

"I SWEAR! I swear on my li-AAAAH!" Another slash this time across her left hoof with the knife then digging in a bit.

"Don't get ahead of yourself." Her captor scoffed as they pressed the blade against her neck. "Your life is already on the line, but don't think I won't make your trip to the grave as painful as possible..."

"Pl-please, I'm not lying this time!" Silk protested as the pony made their way to a table covered by a cloth.

"Oh don't give me that bullshit. I know you're lying." They said as they looked through their tools. "I know you after all. You wouldn't buckle down this way when you're telling the truth. You do it when you're lying... and see now? Now, this gets FUN." They turned around and Silk could only stare in abject horror at what she saw in the masked pony's grip. "Now here's where things get entertaining... for me at least." The pony said as they casually raised a rusty icepick over their head. "Now this will only hurt... a lot but only for a few seconds!" They said as they slammed the ice pick into her leg, earning another agonized scream from Silk.

"OH FAUST! FAUST PLEASE WAKE ME UP! THIS HAS TO BE A BAD DREAM! PLEASE LET THIS BE A HORRIBLE DREAM!" Silk screamed with utter agony and fear. The pony only snarled as they twisted it.

"Y'know, two loving parents thought the same thing when their foals went missing..." The pony growled as they yanked the icepick out of her leg, Silk could only groan in pain with tears streaming from her eyes. "...all because your lot couldn't be bothered to leave their family alone."

"I was SAVING them! Their parents were unfit! How could a unicorn understand what an Earth Pony needs or a Pegasus know how to handle a Unicorn foal?! I... I-I..."

Whatever else Silk was gonna say died in her throat as she saw the glaring eyes of her captor through their mask. "You really want to be digging that grave deeper? Because trust me. I can help with that."

Silk shivered at their tone as the pony grabbed the back of her chair and dragged her over to the opposite end of the room. "Y'know, I can't help but wonder how important that particular safe house must be if you're this dedicated to keeping it a secret..." They mumbled as Silk was dragged in front of a tub full of water, the hooded pony tipping the chair over just enough to push her close to the waters surface. "...and just how much it'll take for you to finally spill the beans..."

"....wh-wh-what are-" Silk started before the pony forced her head under, humming a little song as they held her head down.

"So giggle at the ghosties, chuckle at the spookies..." Were some of the lyrics they hummed before letting her back up air a few seconds later. "So then, ready to talk? Or do you need to take another long drink?"

"I don't... know... anything..." Silk gasped between coughs.

"Aaaand back into the drink we go!" They sighed before shoving her head back into the water, their captive struggling and thrashing in fear despite being bound.

They kept her under for a while longer before pulling her back up again. "You ready to talk yet you baby snatcher?" They asked with a sneer.

"Please! Please I don't know anythiiiiing!" Silk whimpered after coughing up the water that was in her lungs.

"I wonder if you just get off on being dunked you-"

"You know that's not a helpful way to handle these things." A voice said from behind the masked pony. The pony immediately pulled a knife out from under their cloak and hurled it at the intruder... only for said intruder to catch it with her magic seconds before it hit her face. "Tsk tsk tsk, such a rash reaction..." Seabreeze sighed as she stepped out of the shadows.

Upon seeing the Unicorn, Silk immediately felt a glimmer of hope. "Please! You have to help me! This Pony is completely insane-" The feeling of the knife pressing against her skin quickly silenced her.

"Considering not many know this place's location and you're doing nothing to clarify who you are right now? I say it's a very obvious choice." The pony said with a glare before pulling another knife and putting it to Silk's throat. "If you're here for her then I'm sorry but get in line.... and if you're here to rescue her then trust me, you won't get far."

"Oh relax, honestly I'm impressed. You've done about half of my job for me..." Seabreeze smirked as she casually inspected the knife held in her aura. "...but, while I understand your need for information, your torture methods are somewhat lacking..."

"Is that right? I mean how is this not scaring her?" The pony asked, her voice filled with a hint of anger but also some real confusion.

"It's simple. You're going to make her say ANYTHING to get her to make you stop doing this.... so how about I help you out." The Unicorn chuckled as she approached her.

Any hope Silk had of being rescued was immediately shattered the moment she said that. 'I'm going to die here...' She thought to herself, tears streaming down her cheeks as she was forced back into her chair.

Seabreeze cast a spell on Silk's injuries, healing her up before she turned back towards the captor. "Just to make sure doesn't bleed out… now then, let's try MY little idea... I call it: Cooked pony."

Silk's widened as she heard those words and she quickly attempted to flee, pitifully throwing herself off the chair and flopping onto the ground, attempting to crawl away like a caterpillar. The hooded Pony tilted their head at this as they casually stepped on one of the loose ropes attached to her binds, preventing her from getting too far. "...I'm not familiar with that..."

"Oh, it's a fun little thing." The Unicorn said before leaning in, their voices barely above a whisper and much too quiet for Silk to hear. The cloaked pony then started giggling at hearing this little plan and nodded.

"Ooooh. Oh, that sounds REALLY fun. I'm in."

Silk was immediately lifted up by Seabreeze's magic and promptly placed on top of a table on her stomach. Her legs were then stretched out and the ropes were tied to the legs of the table. "Originally I had plans to hang her from the ceiling, but make do with what you can I suppose..." She heard the Unicorn chuckle.

"And you're sure this method is guaranteed to make her talk? The hooded Pony asked.

"Oh trust me. By the end she'll sing like a canary." Seabreeze replied before leaning in and getting a good long whiff of Silk's hair. "Aaaah. Apple Cinnamon... I love that smell."

Silk shuddered as the hooded pony rolled their eyes. "Way to make it creepy..." The hooded pony scoffed before the Unicorn casually levitated a rather large suitcase into the room. As she opened it, the captive Earth pony heard the hooded pony gasp. "Is... is that a blow torch?"

"I did tell you it was called "cooked pony" right? You didn't miss that part?" The Unicorn asked in a sarcastic tone. "I assumed you knew I had fire with me or something to start one."

"I assumed you'd be using magic...." The nodded pony stated as Silk started struggling again. Smirking under their mask, they turned their attention to the thrashing Earth Pony. "So... care to give our guest a heads up on what's coming next?"

"Oh, it's rather simple." Seabreeze said with a chuckle. "You see.... this torch? It's burning at a temperature of 1,430 degrees celsius. It's enough to turn flesh into butter. And they say you can even smell it.... oh it's a delectable smell." She explained with a glint in her eyes... an almost green one. "And all you have to do to earn this amazing smell is to tell a lie or a half-truth and trust me... I'll know."

Silk was sweating buckets as the Unicorn trotted behind her. "Please... please have merc-"

"Ah-ah-ah, we're way past the begging point..." The hooded pony interrupted.

The moment the Unicorn was out of Silk's line of sight again, she reached into the suitcase and levitated out two plates, one had a slab of raw meat in it, and the other had a single popsicle.

"Last chance Silk," The hooded pony whispered. "You gonna spill the beans or not?"

"P-please I... I don't KNOW anything else!" Silk lied, hoping that her panic and fear could convince them to back off and not go through with the torture. "L-let me go and I swear I won't tell an-"

"Mmm. Sounds like a lie. I think she deserves to feel a burn." Sea breeze smirked.

"Don't worry though, it won't hurt... not at first anyway." The Unicorn continued as she ignited the blowtorch while holding it over the meat. "Y'see, the flames are so hot that they'll sear the nerve endings shut, killing them. You'll immediately go into shock... and then all you'll feel is... cold."

"Well, I sure am learning a lot tonight..." The hooded pony chuckled as Seabreeze levitated the popsicle over Silk's back before lowering it at the same time as the blowtorch. "Isn't science fun, Silky?"

"Wait! I don't-AAAAGGGHHH!!" She screamed as she felt a cold sensation hit her back while the sound and smell of burning flesh assaulted her ears and nose.

"Oooooh! Just hear that meat SIZZLE! Just sounds downright juicy, doesn't it? And delicious too!" Seabreeze cackled in delight. "I mean after all it IS you that's cookin'! So then. Care to try your little lie one more time?"

"Please say yes." The hooded pony smirked as the Unicorn dragged the popsicle down her back in a zigzag formation, coming dangerously close to her rear. "I wanna see some of your fat get burned off!"

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT!!" Silk screamed as tears erupted from her eyes. "I'LL TELL YOU ANYTHING, ANYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW!!! JUST PLEASE STOOOP!!"

"Awwww. What a spoilsport." Seabreeze sighed as she put the popsicle away. "Alright, then you bitch, start talking. What's going on in Manehattan and what security do you have guarding your base? Talk now. Or we'll burn you enough to disfigure your own face."

"Th-th-thirty ponies.... ten from each r-race... we w-w-were using... a certain hotel... as a cover..." She explained between gasps. "...th-he higher-ups are p-p-planning to move... all of the children once they've been t-t-transferred from the other safe houses... then relocate them to p-proper families outside of Equestria..."

"And now... WHY. You piece of utter GARBAGE." The hooded one asked with a primal growl. "Why are you cowards doing this?! Why do you steal the kids from their families?! From happy and well off families?! What sick kick do you pathetic cowards get from doing this?!"

"B-Because it's how things should be! It's how things were meant to be before the tribes united!" She cried out. "Ponies of different races were never meant to mix! They were never meant to raise those that weren't of their own race! We're doing these foals a service by giving them better parents that would raise them properly!"

"So your motive is fueled by hatred, fear, and cruelty, the very things that HARMONY stands against to be what you teach them all? You'd rather the world just spiral into chaos?!" The hooded pony says with a snarl. "What did mommy and daddy not love you enough?! Did you see a mixed tribe couple and kids and saw how happy they were instead of you?! What tipped your stupid brain over to make you think THIS was a good idea you pathetic waste of Equestrian air! And you know what the best part is?! Everyone's gonna remember the kids when they're found! AND NO ONE! WILL EVER! CARE ABOUT! OR REMEMBER! YOU!"

"Well, you're right about that... especially since she'll be very hard to recognize once I'm done with her..." Seabreeze smirked as she activated the blowtorch once more. "Say goodbye to that pretty face of yours!"

"NO WAIT! PLEASE-AAAGGGHHH!!" She screamed as she felt the cold sensation slowly moved up her back until it finally reached her shoulders, her neck, her cheek, and then she felt... the taste of strawberries in her mouth?

"Thanks for the info." The Unicorn chuckled as she turned the table around, revealing the burnt slab of meat. "Don't worry, I alerted the Royal Guard ahead of time, it should be here to pick you up in about... an hour tops."

Silk could only stare in utter shock at what just happened. She saw the popsicle in her mouth but she couldn't believe it... no no no this.... she couldn't have been played. No, it just wasn't.... she was smarter than that! SHE WAS SMARTER! "MMMMMPHH!" Silk shouted from her popsicle gag, which she spat out moments later and then gave a better yell. "YOU PSYCHOPATHS! YOU'RE BOTH PSYCHOS! I'LL SEE YOU BOTH TORTURED A-A-AND HUMILIATED LIKE YOU HUMILIATED ME! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Yeah sure," The scoffed as they left the room, paying little attention to her empty threats. "Lemme know how that works out for ya in prison."

With that final statement, she slammed the door shut, leaving Silk to rant to herself until the guards picked her up.

"I've got to say, I didn't expect that kind of kind of torture to be as effective as it was." The hooded pony said as they trotted up the stairs.

"You were thinking with your emotions. A fine tool but it makes you easier to either manipulate or push into killing your suspect. You need to not think like a wild beast. But an oiled machine." Seabreeze replied with a smile. "To break them mentally. To let YOURSELF be the one in charge of your little cat and mouse game."

The hooded Pony put a hoof to their chin, thinking over her advice. "Huh... that's actually a good point... it's just... I have a very personal stake in all Mr. Changeling." The Unicorn immediately turned to her with a puzzled expression. "Just because you fool most ponies doesn't mean you can fool me."They replied with a smirk."

".... heh. That's fair enough." Seabreeze said before dropping her disguise and revealing his true form. "The name's Stag by the way. As you can tell I'm here to help you find the missing foals. Scum like them don't deserve those young ones."

"I appreciate the help..." The pony replied, their voice taking a more feminine tone as she removed her hood and cloak, revealing the skintight bodysuit underneath with green-lensed yellow goggles covering her eyes.

"My oh my. Someone came prepared." Stag said with a chuckle. "I supposed I'll let you help me this time. After all. You seem like you'll be fun to work with."

"Oh trust me, that's an understatement..." The Earth Pony giggled a quickly, feeling a small bit of pride upon being told this, but she quickly stopped herself. She had to be serious if she wanted to stop The Order. "Anyway, we need to get to Manehattan quickly. The "movement" Silk mentioned must be big if they're willing to pull it off in the city..."

Stag smirked. "Well then. I suppose we best get moving then shall we?" He said before shifting his form to that of the Pegasus. "Let's go have us a blast."

"Oh, it'll be a party to remember." The pony said with another giggle as they head off to the train. "Heheheheh. Party."

Author's Note

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