It was early afternoon when Twilight finally pulled herself away from the elephantine stack of books she'd been reading. She'd spent all morning trying to research the Circle of Sorrow, but she didn't come up with a single shred of information. Mostly due to the fact that any of the books that might have contained anything helpful were missing.

According to the library's records, nearly a year ago, they'd been officially sent to the Canterlot Library. Twilight gave a stiff groan of frustration. Transferring books was a common occurrence between kingdoms. She'd overseen several transfers in the past and expected to see several more in the future. But her timing couldn't have been any worse. They were all gone. All the books she was hoping for that could shed some light on this mystery were all back in her hometown. It was almost funny in a sickening sort of way. If her friends weren't all in danger, or she wasn't being repeatedly raped. The entire trip had would have been a waste of time, if not for some of the clues she stumbled across last night. Unfortunately, discovering the operation was based around Ponyville, meant her friends were in danger, and she was somewhat safe. Safer at least. There was still Cadence and her weird behavior and... No. That was paranoia. That's what they wanted. Twilight shook the thought from her mind. She was put to sleep, and Cadence was right to do so. That was all that happened. She'd been insanely tired, and her mind just wouldn't stop turning and tumbling. She almost felt like she owed Cadence for the spell, even if it was against her will.

She casually flipped a page in the book she was reading, already going over departure times, in her head. If she left early enough, she could get back to Ponyville by nightfall. She'd meet up with Rainbow Dash and discuss what they'd learned. Preoccupied as she was, Twilight didn't miss the little folded piece of paper that was tucked in between the pages. A note somepony had left behind. She giggled to herself. If anypony were to look through the books at the Canterlot Library, they'd find dozens of little folded notes like that. She had a habit of writing things down and accidently forgetting the note card in the book she was reading.

The paper, however, simply contained a list of names:

~~Rainy Days~~
~~DarkStep~~
~~Wing Clipper~~
~~Razzler~~
~~Strike Silent~~
~~Flash Fire~~

All of which had been crossed out. For some reason, it was the hoof-writing that caught Twilight's attention, not the list. It was terribly familiar, and it nagged at her conscious. She knew that hoof-writing from somewhere. But her attention was pulled away from the paper by the sight of guards walking past the door. It only took a second before Twilight realized what she was looking at, and her heart leapt into her throat. Those weren't Crystal Guards patrolling the halls. Those were batwinged ponies, it was the Lunar guard!

Even if she didn't know quite why, Twilight's better judgment directed her to duck underneath the table. They hadn't seen her ( she didn't think) and she wanted to keep it that way. She was getting a bad feeling about this, and it got even worse when she overheard the conversation outside in the hall.

"Ahhh, Prince Shinin' Armor! Just the pony ta help me out with something,'" came the first voice. A scrappy, squeaky little voice she'd heard before. The same voice that she'd heard from Midnight Castle. Princess Luna's servant girl.

"Oh, joy. It's you. What does Luna want?" A second voice called out. A voice Twilight loved more than any other right now. Shining Armor. Prince of the Crystal Kingdom, and her big brother. No matter what happened, she was sure she could count on him- and that was quickly turning into a blessing.

"I'll make this short. As you know, I'm Luna's courier and she sent a message, which is more or less a warrant for one miss Twilight Sparkle. Train records say this was her destination, and she ain't in Canterlot or Ponyville. So Princess Luna sent us over here to find her and return with her. Hand her over," the first voice snapped. There was a sound of shuffling paper, and then a grunt of annoyance.

"Wanted for questioning huh? That's a little vague for a warrant. And you think you'll just walk in here and we'll hand her over? Cute. What does Princess Celestia think about all of this?" Shining Armor growled.

Twilight had crept as quickly as she could to the door, and braced herself up against the wall. There were eight armored bat ponies standing in a smallish circle in the center of the room. Shining Armor stood on one side, and Luna's minion was on the other, obscured by a standing pillar, but still loud enough so that Twilight could tell she was standing there. Shining Armor was frowning, and glaring quietly at a piece of parchment under his hooves.

"Celestia is in Saddle Arabia dealin' with oil issues or somethin', so that means Luna's in charge, and Luna says she wants Twilight Sparkle. Now. I don't care if she's your sister or not, what Luna wants, Luna gets, capiche? Where is she?!" The voice snapped. Twilight frowned. Now she knew something was wrong. Celestia wasn't in Saddle Arabia. She'd just talked with her the other night! Celestia wouldn't just abandon her in a time of crisis for some sort of oil meeting.

Shining Armor read and re-read the warrant and sighed. He quickly glanced up, and for a brief, ghost of a second, he made eye contact with Twilight. There was no way he could have known she was there. She hadn't even talked to him since she arrived (on her to-do list for today) Twilight ducked back behind the door and held her breath, waiting for Shining Armor's response.

"Haven't seen her. You, honey?" Shining Armor asked someone out of view. The voice of Cadence picked up next.

"I haven't seen her. She arrived in town late last night, said something about the mines and then took off, I haven't seen her since. She probably went there," said a flippant voice. Twilight loved her family. So, so, so very much.

"Cute. Alright. Okay. Sure. We'll play your game. Thats fine. Just remember: what Princess Luna wants, Princess Luna gets. Personally, I wouldn't wanna be the pony gittin' in the way of that," the voice retorted. Twilight held her breath, wincing at the silence that filled the room. She didn't dare peek out around the corner. She had no idea where the Lunar guard was positioned. She couldn't take the risk to peek out, and didn't want to attract attention. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a sudden, very boisterous laugh from Cadence.

"You know, the Crystal Empire is somewhat short on funding. We've been gone for one thousand years. As a representative of Luna, I'm sure we can come to an agreement. After all, Luna gets what Luna wants, right? Come right this way, and we'll negotiate terms. I mean, really, how much is one unicorn worth? " Cadence cooed quietly. There was another shuffling sound. "I mean, you wouldn't want Princess Luna to know you had the chance to bargain for information on Twilight Sparkle, and you let it slip through your hooves, right?"

"Uh...W-Wait, what? I'm just here to find Twilight! I'm not, uh, I mean I ain't so good with numbers, and-"

"Surely Princess Luna trusts you to make massive financial decisions, I mean, you're her personal courier, right? It's up to you
to accept messages and bargains on her behalf!!"

"W-Wait, no! I mean, yes, I am, but that's not what I'm here for. Uh, P-Princess Luna has advisors and accounts for that sort of thing, I just deliver the messages!" the voice plead. Twilight had to stuff her hooves into her mouth to keep from giggling.

"Oh, that's just because you're not used to crystal customs!! Oh, Shiny, I don't know why we haven't been treating Luna's esteemed guest the way we should! We'll fix that right now, come come, there are proper traditions and customs to be held!!" Cadence called in a sing-song tone that echoed through the room. There were more shuffling sounds and thick thumping hooves, along with the whine of a servant in way to deep over her head. The room was empty.

Twilight slipped out of the library and peered around. The library was adjacent to the throne room, and one of the giant, standing, crystal pillars acted at as her only cover. She was about to make a mad dash for the front doors when something wrapped around her head and wrapped something around her mouth to keep her from crying out.

"Gotcha."

Author's Note

Again, my lil Oc shows up. Again, she has no major role, (I pander to myself) and this may be the only appearance she makes in this series of stories. (references not included.) Mystery is gettin' deeper. ;)