Morning Meir Mysteries: Case 1: A Mad Mare Affair

Chapters

Chapter 1: "Morning Meir,MD, PhD and PBP"
Chapter 2: "Who Done It?"
Chapter 3: "Under Judgement."
Chapter 4: "The Call From Nopony."
Chapter 5: "Following The Trail."
Chapter 7: "A Fallen Marquis."
Chapter 8: "Death Of The King."
Chapter 9: "What Lies Beneath."
Chapter 10: "Conspiracies."
Chapter 11: "Enemy Of My Enemy."
Chapter 12: "Sapiens Timet Veritatem."
Chapter 13: "The Evil Beneath."
Chapter 14: "Whispers."
Chapter 15: "Shadow Over Mareiposa."
Chapter 16: "Silver Linings."
Chapter 17: "Dark Skies."
Chapter 18: "Evil's Finest Hour."
Chapter 20: "Epilogue."
Chapter 6: "The Mare In The Picture."
Chapter 19: "Morning Comes Before Dawn."

Chapter 1: "Morning Meir,MD, PhD and PBP"

Chapter 1: "Morning Meir, MD, PhD and PBP"

Mareiposa.

The City of Dreamers, Artists and gifted creators.

So they say. And I would most certainly agree! Its just that since that day, when I was called for the Mareiposa Intelligence Summit, I've been a little well...anxious. I won't deny that I'm smarter than most other ponies, but...

"The Smartest Pony In The World?"

"The Greatest Mind In Equestria?"

"Equestria's most brilliant scholar?"

I don't know about that....after all:

I'm just a doctor.

Mareiposa (Summer)

The summers of Mareiposa were always enchanting, at least from what I had read in books (In all honesty, this was the first time I had ever traveled outside of Equestria, Let alone to another country.) But I wasn't outside at the moment. I was standing there inside the great Palae De Mareiposa, the place where the summit had been arranged. I was the only pony not dressed formally, as for some reason, my invitation had said there was no need for it. Yet as I looked around at the curious, well-groomed faces in the room, I saw I was the only one not in some form of fancy attire.

You see, I'm a fairly neat and proper looking young mare. I wore my teal and light purple mane the same as I always had: With a large swirl hanging just slightly down my brow and the rest in two smaller swirls below my ears, that always stayed in the same spot, no matter what I did to them.

I didn't wear a dress, and instead had on my simple white lace blouse and my favorite bow tie which resembled a small blue butterfly. My cutie mark was a cross of hearts, though I never quite understood what it had meant. I had never really payed much attention to it, and simply done what I had always loved doing: Studying medicine.

As I looked back at it, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, that caught me by surprise.

A mime, of all things was looking at me with a large smile and painted face, from across the room. Incidentally, as soon as he saw me looking at him, he trotted over to me and began to perform his act.

I'm not the biggest fan of mimes, but I'm not one to be rude or impolite to others either. I humored him and watched his act. He put his hooves up in a manner that simulated he was behind a door, then motioned for me to knock on it.

I chuckled and humored him, pretending to knock on the invisible door. He opened it, and bowed to me as I trotted through.

I clapped my hooves in applause, and he tipped his little bowler hat then trotted off to entertain the other guests.

"That was odd. But it was also kind of fun!" I thought, as I saw him act out for a group of other ponies. Noticing them, I realized a recognized a few of them. Like me, they had been invited to the summit as well. Unlike me, they were all dressed in fancy attire, that seemed to make me stand out more than before.

The tall red unicorn stallion in a pressed tuxedo and thick glasses was Doctor Aerospace. He was the senior director and scientist at the Equestria Space Administration (ESA). He was very smart and rumor has it, he's the pony who will send the first ponies into space, someday!

The white Pegasus mare with the golden colored mane and sundress was Sunshine Delight. She was known for her upbeat attitude and her fantastic academic record. An Academic genius, Scholar and successful Author, She had not only graduated The Royal Canterlot University in only a year, but had gone back to teach the same classes she aced. She probably knew way more than I did, about lots of stuff.

The cream colored unicorn mare with a caramel colored mane and half moon spectacles was Dr. Seastone, an absolutely brilliant scientist and the creator of some of equestria's greatest inventions. She actually wore a lab coat, making her and me the only ones not wearing something fancy (which made me feel a lot better!) I smiled, as she laughed joyfully at the mime's routine.

And the silver earth pony with the bronze mane and stiff glare, was Sleuth Maregold, The head inspector for the police in Mareiposa. He was taller than most and had a look like he didn't care about...well anything, honestly. He only grunted at the mime's act, then trotted away to the other room. Even though he wore a suit, he hadn't taken the time to tie his bow tie, which showed he didn't care about where he was or why he was here. He was certainly not the friendliest pony around. It occurred to me, he might've only been here for security reasons.

I suddenly heard gasps as a elegant and stunning mare in a royal gown entered the room. She was Pompous Regal, the wife of one mister Alphonse Regal: Entrepreneur, Business pony and the host of our little get together. Miss Regal was quite young and very beautiful. Her gold mane was in the fanciest updo I 'd ever seen, and she wore more diamonds and jewelry than I thought a single mare could wear.

She rolled her almond shaped eyes at the commenters in the room, and strutted elegantly over to one of the servants who was busy serving sparkling cider to the guests. As she engaged him in what I heard was a scolding on not charging bits for drinks, I decided to introduce myself to her.

I trotted up to her and smiled, but before I could say even a single word, she sighed.

"Yes, what is it?" she said, speaking in a smart and annoyed tone.

I ignored her rudeness and introduced myself. "Hello, Miss Regal. My name is Morning Meir. I want to thank you and your husband for inviting me to this event! Mareiposa is such a beautiful city. It's a pleasure to meet you!" I smiled warmly at her, extending my hoof in friendship.

Unfortunately, my politeness was not returned.

"Yes, I'm sure." She replied giving me a blank and uninterested look. Miss Regal was known for being as cold as ice, hence why many ponies referred to her as "The Ice Queen." as she brushed me off, I could see her reputation was well earned.

She gave me a sideways glance as the servant trotted uncomfortably away. " As for your previous comment, I did not invite you here. I know little of my husband's business affairs, and I care even less. It was he who invited you and your ilk to my home, not me. If you want to thank someone, then go and bother him and instead of me."

With that she turned on her hoof and left the room. I stood there for a moment, before breathing a sigh of relief. I was glad she had left. She made me feel so...inadequate, for some reason.

I decided to take the Ice queen's advice and go see Mr. Regal. Perhaps he would be more open to conversation than his wife.

I left the room and made my way to Mr. Regal's office, trotting through lavish halls of statues and various paintings. The Palae De Mareiposa is a truly amazing site to behold, especially from the inside!

Approaching the office door, I heard Mr. Regal's gruff voice behind it. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but it sounded like he was arguing with someone.

I delicately knocked on the door.

"Bah-what!? Who's there? What do you want?"

"Oh...I" (I had been so taken back by how startled he sounded, that I didn't know what to say to him.)

"Go away! I came in here to be alone!"

"Alone?" I thought. "Then who was he talking to?" Something didn't feel right.

"Mr. Regal? My name is Morning Meir. I'm a doctor from Equestria. I just wanted to thank you for inviting me to this summit." I said as delicately and politely as I could.

I didn't hear a response from him. I was about to knock on the door again, when I heard the sound of breaking glass. A vase had fallen and broke, from what I deduced from the delay of time between the breaking and the shards hitting the floor.

"Mr. Regal, are you okay?"

Again no response. I began to worry.

"Mr. Regal, I'm coming in, okay?"

If he was hurt or injured, it was my duty as a doctor to help him. Plus my instincts told me something bad had happened.

When I entered the room, I muffled a scream as I saw that my instincts were indeed correct.

Laying on the floor was the dead body of Mr. Regal, sprawled out on the floor, with shards of broken porcelain around him. It seemed as if he had been killed by a fatal blow from the now shattered vase. But something was off...

Before I could dictate what had happened, I caught a barely audible hoofstep behind me. Whoever it was, they most certainly were trying not to be heard. The intruder suddenly lunged at me from behind, but I was not as helpless as they had probably thought.

I ducked to the side, and saw that the intruder was none other than the mime. The same mime from before! He was attacking me!

He grabbed my arm, but I easily locked his in my other. He tried to push me away but I tripped him from behind. I may not have been a fighter, but I'd always had a knack for catching details of the world. When fighting, all one has to do, is examine these details in order to successfully defend themselves. I could easily anticipate attacks and how an opponent would defend themselves based on the details of the situation. I could then use that to fight.

For example, he stepped forward on his right hoof, indicating he would then throw an attack from his left. His breathing was rapid, meaning he was in a hurry. He didn't want to be caught here. Lastly, his attacks were very strong and well placed, indicating that he was most definitely not a mime. No mime was as well trained as this.

He squared off with me for but another second before a voice down the hall, made him panic. He pushed me away then jumped clear out the window.

Ms. Regal and a number of ponies arrived into the room, and all responded exactly as you would imagine: They all freaked out, at the sight of the now deceased Mr. Regal.

"Um...I can explain!" I said, quickly getting up off the floor.

though to be honest...

I'm not sure where I could've even started.

Chapter 2: "Who Done It?"

Ms. Regal sat in the chair, her head in her hooves, completely distraught. Nothing anyone could say would help her calm down. But I had to tell her what I saw. The whole chateau was a buzz with word of what had happened.

"Ms. Regal, there was another pony in the room. It was the mime, from before! He attacked me, then dove out the window!" Believe me, it sounded crazy to me, too. but it was the truth.

She looked up at me with tear stained eyes. " a mime? You expect me to believe, that a mime, killed my husband?!"

"I'm not saying that, Ms. Regal. I'm informing you that there was someone else in the room, and as they attacked me, they didn't want anyone to know they were there. This means they are a suspect!"

"And how would you know anything about that? You're not a detective, are you?"

"Well...no, But."

It's true. I'll admit. One of my most frequent hobbies is aiding the equestrian police in solving particularly complicated cases, that according to them are "Unsolvable." I've always done it, and I've enjoyed helping solve mysteries, and aiding the police in their investigations. But again, I'm no detective. I'm a doctor. I always have been. and I'm very good at it too!

"But I am a doctor. The least you could let me do, is examine the body with your blessing, so I can help the police in the investigation."

Ms. Regal looked at a loss. Finally she said "Fine. Do what you want. I don't care anymore."

The poor mare was clearly heartbroken. It would do her well, for me to investigate her husband's death. It could at least give her some closure.

'Now wait just a damn minute!" A loud voice suddenly called from Mr. Regal's office. It was Sleuth, who had immediately locked down the whole chateau and kept everyone out of the room. Beside him was his lieutenant, Goldbloom, a pretty and smart looking mare who looked positively filly-sized in comparison to Sleuth's hulking frame.

To my surprise (and fear), He was yelling at me, as he got in my face and glared down at me.

"I'm not about to let some nobody doctor from another country stick her muzzle in the business of my city, or my investigation! I'm the cop here, filly, not you!" he yelled. Sleuth seemed like the kind of pony, who's voice button was stuck at its highest volume. With every word, I swear the ground shook.

But his lieutenant stepped forward and looked me over with a glint in her eye.

Then she smiled at me. "What did you say your name was?" She asked.

"Morning Meir, ma'am."

"No way! The Morning Meir!? The Genius?"

My cheeks turned pink. "Well, I wouldn't-

"Sir! She's Morning Meir, from Equestria! She's a total genius! She can help us with this case!"

I was flattered of course. But it seems Mr.Maregold had other ideas. I got the feeling he didn't want anyone in that room. Which of course only made it more clear that I should investigate.

He looked off to the right and grumbled angrily under his breath. Goldbloom once again stood up for me. "Give her a chance. She is a doctor, Sleuth. So, she has the right to examine the body, at the very least." She said in a friendly tone.

Sleuth didn't look happy. But nevertheless he agreed, and stepped aside, letting me into the room.

Investigation (Palae De Mareiposa, 11:35 am, Mid-morning)

The scene was exactly as I had first seen it. Mr. Regal's body was in the exact same sprawled out position, and the porcelain shards of the broken vase were still around him. As far as I could tell, the crime scene had yet to be examined by anyone.

First, I examined the body.

Time of Death: By the slight discoloration of the victim, and general sag of the eyelids, I placed the time of death roughly 30 minutes ago. He had been alive when I first went to his door, and spoke to him. But what was the cause of death?

I examined the body further. His lifeless eyes stared blankly at nothing. I closed them out of respect for the poor stallion.

I looked down and saw the bloodstain, which had soaked deeply into the white collar shirt he was wearing. The wound was distinct, and narrow. he had been fatally stabbed in the abdomen, from the front as I could see.

Cause Of Death: Fatal Stab wound, Just below the abdomen. Died from Blood loss in approximately....3 minutes? He had been talking to me through the door,for no more then a minute, and I was already in the room in less than a minute after. Which meant, he had been stabbed and spoken to me, while he was bleeding out? I knew there was something off about this.

I saved the image and information in my mind, then continued to investigate.

Patting down the suit, I found he had a small object in his coat pocket. A ticket stamped "Beteaux de la Conciergerie." I had yet to hear of such a place, and taking the ticket, meant I would've tampered with the evidence.

Luckily, I completely memorized the name of the place, and had no need for the ticket at all.

That's actually another quirk of mine. I never forget anything that I memorize. It's one thing to never forget anything period, But Ive always been able to remember everything that Ive ever chosen to remember. I'm rather proud of it, myself. I'll never forget the day I have to return a book, but I can forget all about that terrible day I had last week. I remember all the letters of the zebrican alphabet, But I can forget all about that unfortunate mistake of getting on the wrong train to Manehatten a few days ago. It most certainly comes in handy.

I moved on from the body and examined the rest of the room. The window was still open from where the mime had jumped out of it. Looking out I saw that it was at least a ten story drop. He hadn't been a Pegasus, so he could've have flown. Where had he gone then? I ducked back into the room and moved onto the vase.

It was a knock off of a traditional Ming dynasty vase. From the placement of where the shards fell, I saw it had been been dropped from about 6 feet off the ground. They had raised it up over there head, and smashed it. A distraction. For what? If the stabbing was the cause of death, why did they need a distraction? What else could they have been trying to distract from?

I looked around the room a little more, but found nothing else of interest. There were clues to this murder, I could feel it. But they were not in this room. I decided to try and look around the chateau, and hopefully try to get some answers from Ms. Regal. I hated to trouble a grieving widow, But she had to know something. She could help. Though she probably wouldn't bee too open about it.

Questioning (Ms. Pompous Regal, Wife of the Victim, 11:45 am)

Ms. Regal looked shocked. But still every bit as hostile.

"Excuse me, Ms. Regal?"

She looked up at me, her eyes sad and lost. But still had a fierce icy glare in them.

"Oh its you. What do you want?" She sounded like she didn't know what to think anymore. I didn't blame her.

"I am so sorry for your loss, Ms. Regal." I said concerned. And I meant it. She wasn't the nicest mare in the world, but still, seeing her like this, made me feel sorry for her.

She looked away. "I'm not some damsel in distress. I don't need your pity."

"Its not pity. It's called having a heart for somepony else." I said sternly. "Perhaps you should try it sometime." I added briskly. This mare was as cold as they came, and I wasn't going to get anywhere by being nice. I hated to do it, but I had to make her realize that she wasnt helping anyone by being the way she was.

She glared at me, as I expected. "How dare you! I just lost my husband!"

"And yet here you are, acting as cold and mean as ever. I'm trying to help you, and still you act like you want nothing to do with anyone. Is that how you expect to find the one who did this?" I questioned her, trying to sound even more aggressive.

She looked down at the floor for a minute. "Oh no, did I go too far?" I wondered.

Then I heard her sigh. "What do you want to know?"

Question One: "What was your husband's involvement in the summit?"

She dabbed her eyes with a small embroidered cloth. "I have no idea. His business was always just that: his business."

"He never told you anything?"

"No. And to be honest, I preferred it that way."

Interesting. For husband and wife, they didn't tell each other much. Of course she could always be lying, but I had already taken the time to study her face and looked for any involuntary body movements that would indicate she was lying. a twitching lip, rapid blinking, a slight tapping of her hoof. Nothing. As far she she knew she was telling the truth.

I decided to log the info into my memory, and asked her my second question.

Question Two: "Did you know anything about the mime?"

She looked at me for a moment, as if she thought I was joking. But she sighed again, and looked solemnly at the floor. "Alphonse had many enemies. Half the stallions in Mareiposa for example." She chuckled to herself. "But a mime? Ive never liked them, but neither me nor Alphonse had ever been so much as glared at by a mime. I can't imagine why one would want to kill my husband." She said plainly.

And I agreed with her.

"Do you want me to call anyone Ms. Regal? Friends? Family?"

She looked away from me again,as if I'd somehow offended her. "No. I have no friends nor family. Alphonse was...all I had." Tears welled up in her eyes, and she began to cry. "Not much to go on, was it?" she sobbed.

My heart went out to her. I sat beside her and comforted the grieving widow. "Ms. Regal. I know it isn't much, but you can get through this. You'll meet someone else, I know it. And your husband will rest easy, knowing you're happy again."

She continued to cry but spoke with breaking words. "Why would anyone else want me? You said it yourself, I'm mean and cold. What stallion would want a mare like that?"

"You don't have to be that pony. You can change, and meet someone new. It may take some time, but grieve now. Then someday you'll find someone else. You have to try. Have faith in yourself." I said warmly. and I smiled at her, putting my hoof on her shoulder. Deep down,I think Ms. Regal, just wanted someone she could talk to. And I was ready to listen.

She wiped her eyes and looked up at me. "W-why are you being so nice to me? After how i treated you before?"

I smiled at her again. "Because I think if things had happened differently, we might've actually been friends."

"Friends?"

"Yeah. Y'know maybe?"

She looked down at the floor for a little while, her tear stained handkerchief clutched in her hooves. Then she looked up at me. "Then I want you to do it."

"I'm sorry?"

"Find them. Whoever took my beloved Alphonse away from me. Find them and bring them to justice. I want you to do it, not the police or anypony else."

"B-but, I'm just a doctor! I can't-"

"No, Ms. Meir. You are not just a doctor. I could tell by that spark in your eye and the brightness in your heart. You're special. Unique. A natural born and true genius. You can solve this. I know it."

"But-

"Please. For me. and for Alphonse."

She was right. The police would take weeks to find the killer, and in that time, Ms. Regal and Celestia knows who else would be in danger. I had to take the case. I had to bring this killer to justice. For the both of them.

"......Okay. I'll do it. I'll take the case."

"Thank you Ms. Meir. I trust so few ponies anymore. But I know you will solve this. I know it."

And then she smiled at me. As I smiled back she handed something to me. A key.

"This is the key to the Drawing Room- next to the library at the end of the hall." She said lowering her voice. "it was Alphonse's room. You should be able to find more clues there. Anything, that'll help find his killer. I never went in there. I was...afraid at what I'd might find."

My eyes widened. "Afraid? Afraid of what, Ms. Regal?"

"I don't know. Perhaps that's what I was afraid of: Not knowing what was in there."

She shook the thought from her head then looked at me again. "If you find anything in there that can help you, please use it however you can."

I thanked her for her time, then went to go investigate this mysterious Drawing Room. I trotted down the hall making my way to the door next to the library. I checked to make sure no one was watching, then I unlocked the door and slipped inside, closing the door shut behind me.

Investigation (Drawing Room, Palae De Mareiposa, 12:04 pm)

The room was dark but even in the absence of light I saw that it was very beautiful and must've cost a fortune. The furniture was covered up but the paintings and drawings of maps that hung on the walls were still clearly visible. The faintest pinprick of light shined in through the heavy curtains over the window.

My eyes wandered to the large painting on the wall, and I quickly found myself investigating it, looking for anything that looked off or out of place.

The painting showed the Regals together, in love. As the poet once said: "The past is a different country." I scanned the frame and found a small switch embedded in the frame.

I pressed it and heard the faintest of clicks, as the painting opened like a door, and revealed a sturdy looking safe behind it. a model Mariner A276 Crack bolt Finance safe. For storing items of extraordinary value as well as large amounts of currency. They are said to be nearly impossible to crack.

Luckily I didn't need to, as shortly after the painting had opened, the safe had opened as well.

Inside, I found a strange stone cylinder. There were strange symbols on its surface. It looked like a large printer block used by artists or printing press machines. It was also very old, as the wear of the surface and visible cracks along the bottom, suggested that it had been through quite an ordeal over the past 100 years.

If there was one thing I knew about symbols...they are always important. But these symbols- scratched into stone- were impossible to read.

I needed to find a way of printing them. Perhaps there was something in here I could use? I was in a Drawing Room after all.

I spotted some unfinished maps and beside them a large stack of graph paper. Beside that was a large jar of ink.

"Perfect!" I said to myself.

Working rather quickly I layered some paint onto the cylinder and rolled it across a large sheet of graph paper.

It had worked, as a large design was left on the page. A secret coded message of some kind. I could make out only a single phrase across the top in extremely complicated looking calligraphy: "Sub-Judice."

Latin. It meant "Under Judgement."Interesting...

Below the phrase was a sequence of letters that were obviously some sort of code. An early Caesar Cipher, If my brief knowledge of cryptography was to be correct: "SDSSDSS."

I then remembered that the ticket in Mr.Regal's pocket had been stamped with exact same phrase, just below the name of the place: "Sub-Judice." Perhaps this place held some sort of connection to this mysterious message, and with it, Mr.Regal's death.

I decided I would follow this lead, and hope it would lead me to some answers. I logged it all away in my memory, than used some water from the sink to wash away the message. I had to make sure that no one else found this. After all, it was hidden for a reason. (Plus I felt self conscious about using this stuff without permission, even if the owner of these things was dead, it still bothered me somewhat.)

I locked the cylinder back in the safe, closed the painting, then left room, locking it as I returned to the hall.

Investigation complete. (12:53 pm) Result: One of the most important stallions in the world, had been murdered in his own home. At the request of his wife, Ms. Regal, I have taken up the case, and began investigating the scene. I found a clue which would lead me to a place that Mr. Regal had recently attended: The Beteaux de la Conciergerie. It had some sort of connection to all of this, and I decided to locate the place and continue my investigation.

Still so many pieces of this puzzle left. But I was determined to find them all. Why had all this occurred? And why today on the day of the Mareiposa Intelligence Summit? This was no mere coincidence. This had been all planned out, from the start.

But by who? And more importantly: Why?

Chapter 3: "Under Judgement."

Returning to the hall, Ms. Regal still sat, though she seemed to be feeling better, her eyes still held sadness. As I approached the mare, she seemed to perk up a bit.

"Did you find anything useful?" she asked hopefully.

I had indeed. "Ms. Regal, do you know anything about the Beauteux De La Conciergerie?"

She raised an eyebrow. "The courthouse? What does that place have to do with anything?"

"Courthouse?"

"Yes. The Beauteaux De La Conciergerie is the largest and oldest courthouse in the country. Its been around for centuries."

"Where can I find it?"

"Downtown I believe. Its a massive building, almost as big as this chateau. You cant miss it, or the sign in front of it."

"Thank you."

"What does all this have to do with my husband's killer?"

"I think there may be a connection between the two. I may find more clues at this courthouse."

"Really? I can't really see how, but if your sure-

"I am Ms. Regal. I promise I will do everything I can, to find your husband's killer."

"Thank you, Ms. Meir. That means the world to me."

She smiled at me and I smiled back. I turned and walked out into the hall to collect my thoughts.

A courthouse? So that's what the message had meant by "Sub-Judice." Under Judgement, literally meant under judgement. As in something was beneath the courthouse!

I had to find a way under there. I decided to head downtown and search the water ways around the area, for an underground back entrance.

With my destination in mind I made my way to the front door of the chateau.

"Hey! Hold It!"

The sudden shout made me jump.

It was Inspector Maregold. He huffed his way over to me with a glare in his eye.

"Well?" he said. "What'cha find?"

I'll be honest, I didn't know what to tell him. Ms. Regal had made it clear that she wanted me to handle this case and no one else. But I couldn't lie to the police either!

Then again, to them I was still just a doctor. They didn't need to know about my investigation, just the medical details about the victim.

So that's what I told him.

"The victim was killed by a fatal stab wound below the abdomen. Trauma to the epidermal region suggests it was done with some force."

"What about the vase?"

"The vase was dropped as a distraction."

The inspector looked quite puzzled now. "Distraction? Distraction from what?" He asked.

I simply shrugged. "I believe that's for you to discover Inspector. I'm just a doctor, after all." I said curtly.

Leaving him with his eyes wide, I left through the door without another word.

Mareiposa Waterways (Downtown, 1:34 pm)

Being outside in the warm summer was a delightful change from the polished lavish furnishings of the Palae De Mareiposa. Even if I was now standing below the bridge in the dank waterways, it was still beautiful to see the city above and the boats along the river.

I examined the dankness of the waterways, and thought for sure that Mr. Regal wasn't the type for messing around on the river.

No. He was up to something down here. Something that got him killed.

If I was right about the meaning of Sub-Judice, then the answer should've been somewhere down here on the quayside. I just had to find it.

I tried every gate but they were all either locked or had rusted shut from the moisture in the air. That was until I saw a large gate at the end of the waterway that had been locked up with two very new looking locks. From what I could see, it led directly underground.

I approached the gate and examined the locks. They were indeed new and very sturdy. Someone had been in there recently, and did not want anyone going in. I was no lock pick, but I knew mechanics of applying pressure to the right place. It wasn't the locks I had to crack, it was the wall holding the gate.

The walls were very old and had suffered sufficient water damage. They easily cracked and fell apart when I applied a little pressure to a few bricks. With the walls keeping it place cracked apart, the gate then simply fell from its place onto the ground within.

I gathered my courage and slipped through, hoping I wouldn't find anything too bad down here. I came into a large water drainage pipeline. Thankfully sunlight poured in from the nearby grates, and I was still above ground. Perhaps I didn't need to go underground after all.

I looked around the dank place, hoping to catch sight of something out of the ordinary. It was then that I spotted a large ancient looking stone door on the other side of the room. Approaching it I saw it was locked with an odd sort of mechanism.

It looked like a cipher of some kind. "Wait...a cipher?"

"The code from the ticket! It must be the key to getting through here!"

I recalled the code, and entered it onto the wheel, as if I had just seen it: "SDSSDSS."

It was too short to be more than one word, but on their own the letters didn't make up anything, but other letters.

SDSSDSS translated to LRLLRLL. What could that mean?

Then I got an idea. A simple one, that seemed too easy to be correct. Nonetheless I gave it a shot.

I carefully input the code again, and turned the small wheel at the bottom.

Left, Right, Left, Left,Right and finally left then left again. With a loud rumbling sound the great stone door slowly descended into the floor, and allowed me to enter this mysterious new room.

Hidden Temple (2:15pm)

My eyes grew wide as I gasped aloud at the sight of a large stone temple, that had been hidden underneath the courthouse. The walls and ceiling were ancient looking, clearly marking that this place had been here for centuries. But someone had also been in here recently. Scuff marks on the stone floor were a tell tale sign that a tripod had been set up, then moved across the floor. Along with these marks were a set of faint hoofprints in the dust, suggesting that whoever was in here, had been here at least a few days ago.

Following the hoofprints I came to a large inscribed plaque on the wall.

The inscription read: "Ut lex vel ut nex summito."

More Latin. It meant " To the law, or unto death, submit."

Just what in the world was this place? And why was it down here, hidden behind the waterways?

It was then, at the very bottom of this plaque, that I saw a button. Without even thinking, I pressed it.

Behind the old stone walls, I could suddenly hear some kind of mechanism groaning to life. The walls of the temple vibrated as I could hear the sounds of grinding stone. Clouds of dust fell from the ceiling as I stepped back to avoid it falling on me (or anything else that might've fallen on me.)

I yelped as the stone door to the outside suddenly slammed down and took away my only way of getting back outside. I would've panicked if another, secondary door hadn't opened up right behind me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Another secret room? Somebody definitely had something to hide. But was it what I was looking for?

There was only one way to find out.

Mysterious Room Beneath The Beauteaux De La Conciergerie ( 2:17 pm)

I walked through and found myself in a darkened grand hall of some sort. Through the darkness, I could see that this was a state room. But for what purpose? And how did it tie in with Mr. Regal? What is it that he had down here?

First things first: I had to get some light in here. I couldn't make out anything in this darkness. Nearby, I spotted an old looking throw switch on the wall. I flipped it upwards and was greeted by the room lighting up like the daytime. I saw that room was much bigger than I had thought, and was possibly used decades ago for various state affairs and Judicial acts.

The room was a true sight to see. There were several rows of official looking tables and podiums, from where in days past, important and powerful ponies of justice would make their court and settle things in a grand manner befitting such an elaborate place. Princess Celestia proudly looked over the room in the form of a massive stone statue at the end of the room. In her hooves she held two perfectly balanced scales: A symbol of her power and fairness, even in the courts. Simply magnificent.

Under her watchful eye, I examined the room, being careful as to not touch anything unless I had too. The desks were covered with a layer of dust. Clearly nopony had worked here for years.

You can imagine my great surprise when I came to a desk with an open drawer. This was no mere coincidence either. It had been opened deliberately by someone who wanted whatever was inside to be seen. Naturally I honored their wishes, and took a peek inside.

In the drawer was a small photograph. It was very old, but there was no mistaking the stallion in the foreground: Mr. Regal. This was the connection I had been looking for! But what was it doing down here? I examined the photo further.

Behind Mr. Regal, were several members of the Mareiposa Royal Guard, a quaint looking village and a background of a tropical forest of some kind. The photo had been cropped on the right hoof side. Someone obviously didn't want to be in the picture anymore.

I couldn't place the location just yet. It was possible that I would need the other half of the photo to identify where it had been taken. But one thing was clear: This photo had once shown two ponies. Whomever this other pony was, had a connection to Mr. Regal. An old one. They might've even been the killer I was searching for! But It was too early to jump to such conclusions.

I had to find the other half of this photograph.

I examined the desk itself. It was clear from the lack of dust that someone had been working very recently at it. On its surface were newspaper clippings, notes, folders and....Dear Celestia.

My heart stopped as I looked in shock at...me.

It was a photo of me, taken only today, by the time stamp. In a folder with this photo, I found lists of information and personal details on myself!

Everything from my favorite food, to my date of birth and even my dress size! (They were right about chocolate cake, But c'mon guys...I'm a size ten.)

There were even photos of me in the Chateau, talking to Ms. Regal, and even one of me when I had fallen asleep in the lounge, waiting for more guests to arrive to the summit. Mr. Regal wouldn't have taken these pictures himself. This was big. And organized.

And I was part of it. I had been all along. Mr. Regal was a victim of it, and how many others were in the crossfire? What did I have to do with any of this? I had only been in Mareiposa for a few days! What could they possibly want with me!?

I took a minute to calm down. I could never think clearly when I got flustered like that. Taking a few breaths, I investigated everything else on the desk. The more clues I could gain from this, the better.

I spotted an article detailing a murder investigation from several months ago and detail of some extremely dangerous and elaborate mastermind called "The Phantom."

The investigation was as follows: Two powerful buisnessponies had been killed- One in Italia, one in Japan. In each case, "The Phantom" had impersonated both of them so flawlessly, that their deaths had only been officially documented a month ago. When questioned, not a single pony could give any hindrance as to the victim's identities. They had acted exactly as they always had, without doing or saying anything to give away that they were an imposter. It was like they truly were the victims.

The most interesting detail of this was the fact that one victim had been a mare, and the other a stallion. This meant that "The Phantom" Had been able to perfectly impersonate a male and female pony without anyone ever suspecting them at all. Astounding! Just who or what was The Phantom?

Below this article was a card that had a hastily scribbled message on it. It had been addressed to Mr. Regal. The message was as follows:

"Alphonse. Full report to follow. But this is too urgent to wait. Arno and Yamaha both dead. This is not a coincidence. Indeed it seems that all of us who came together in July are in danger. Take great care. X."

I wasn't the only one to have made the connection between Mr. Regal and these murders. That was why he had been so scared when I had talked to him. He was being hunted, and he knew it! Then why host the summit? Not for exposure. But witnesses.

Of course, it all made sense! Why else would you gather the greatest minds in the world in one room? But to solve the murder of the most powerful buisnessponies in the world. He had done it all, because he knew if he was to die, he could at least make sure that one of the most brilliant minds in the world would investigate it.

My photo. My information....He had wanted me. He wanted me to solve this! No pony else could do it, or at least that's what he had thought.

And I was not about to disappoint him. "Don't worry, Mr.Regal. I will solve this. All of it. You have my word." I said softly to myself. But in a way I felt I had really said it to Mr. Regal. Like he was there saying "Thank You."

I had no time to waste. I had to take all of this somewhere I could study it in more detail. I decided to take it all back to the hotel I was staying at. The summit's board had payed for everything including travel and stay expenses. I had my own hotel suite, where I could study all of this in private.

I just hoped there was still a trail to follow, from all of this.

For Mr. Regal's sake. And for mine.

Chapter 4: "The Call From Nopony."

I must've sat there for hours, pouring over the numerous articles and stories relating to the murders. And about this "Phantom" character. My suite had been a truly welcoming sight after such a strange and surprising day. I had quickly changed into my nightgown and settled in at my desk to begin going over all that I had taken from the State room underneath the Beuteux De La Conciergerie.

The low dark clouds and occasional rolls of thunder told me that a storm was coming. I watched from my window as the gentle rainfall began.

I had just turned back to the articles on my desk, when suddenly the phone rang. I had never in my life felt hesitant to answer a phone before. But this time I think I had a good reason to. But after a minute of ringing, I decided to answer it, purely out of a desire to know who it was. Even if it was someone dangerous, its not like they could get me over the phone.

I picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" I asked gently.

A low and deep voice came from the other end. It sounded quite ominous. "Ms. Morning Meir?"

I hesitated,but answered truthfully. "Yes, this is her. To whom am I speaking to?"

"My name is Argyle. I have something I must discuss with you in person." He sounded serious.

"What for, Mr. Argyle?" I asked.

"I have information regarding the identity of Mr. Alphonse Regal's killer. And I know it has something to do with "The Phantom."

My eyes widened. "The Phantom? The same one from the newspapers?"

"The very same."

I was surprised. I had not expected The Phantom to be involved in this. Still, now that I was thinking about it, it made sense. Who else but a master of disguise could infiltrate the summit, without being noticed. But had they killed Mr. Regal? Somehow, I didn't think so. It seemed too...simple. Why put on a disguise in that case? If one is already at the party, just do the deed and leave. The killer would have no need for disguises at such a grand event. But then what was The Phantom's involvement here?

"Mr. Argyle? What does The Phantom have to do with all this?"

"We cannot speak about it over the phone, Ms.Meir. Tomorrow morning. 8am at the Cafe De la'artois. At the corner of Rue and Hample. I will be wearing a grey overcoat. You must not speak to anyone about this."

I was confused. But understood perfectly. This wasn't something we could discuss over the phone. We could have no idea if the lines had been tapped or not. It was best to play it safe. "I understand." I said clearly. And I did.

"Thank you. Do not be late." With that the receiver clicked and there was silence. I hung up the receiver, and simply sat at my desk. This whole thing had only gotten stranger. This pony, Argyle...Could I trust him. Could I trust anyone?

I decided to meet him tomorrow. Even if this did turn out to be trap, I could handle myself, and at least then I would find out who was behind this. If it was genuine, though. I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

My mind was racing so fast, I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep, until the next morning.

Early Morning, Cafe De La'Artois (9:58 am)

I sat at my table patiently. The waitress had brought me my Chocolate Mochachino and Caramel swirl like I'd asked. She had even put extra cream in it for me. Perks of being a tourist, I suppose. I sipped it, as I periodically looked around for any sign of Argyle.

I looked at the clock above the doorway. It read exactly 8 am. Where was he? I glanced back to see a tourist enter the cafe. It wasn't Argyle.

Disappointed, I decided to head back to my suite and go over the articles again. After I finished my latte of course. I was very surprised when I saw the same tourist I had seen just moments ago, suddenly gallop out of the cafe, at full speed, with a briefcase in his teeth. Where in the world was he off to in such a hurry?

I got up and looked into the cafe. It was then that I saw the package he'd left on the seat.

I stood there for a moment.

Then my mind put the pieces together instantly. I had only just managed to duck down when the explosion happened. I was flung from my spot as the whole street, rocked from the shockwave of the explosion. Broken glass and debris flew in every possible direction, as a massive fireball engulfed the whole place. My senses struggled to catch up with me, as I laid there for a few minutes, before I finally passed out.

2 Hours later

When I awoke, the scene had been cleared out. Any ponies that may have been around, had been escorted away by police. I picked myself up to see the once lavish Cafe now completely in ruins. Smoke billowed out from the shattered windows, and debris from the building could be found all over the street. Luckily no one outside the cafe had been hurt. (Apart from me getting knocked out, I seemed to be okay as well.) The streets around me were deadly quiet. Not a single soul around. It was then that I heard crying from inside the Cafe. Someone had survived the blast.

Judging by the police tape all around, the inspector and his forces had already combed the place. The only ponies around were curious witnesses or survivors of the explosion, being asked questions by police. The cafe had looked so beautiful before. Now it was just a smoking debris riddled mess. I hoped that they would be able to rebuild it.

Over in the bar area I saw the waitress who had given me my latte not more then a few minutes before the explosion. She was visibly in shock, and had her head in her hooves, trying her best to calm her random shakes and heavy breathing. I decided to try and calm her down, while also getting a few questions in.

Questioning (Buttered Scones, Waitress at Cafe De La'Artois, Witness, 10:02 am)

I approached her calmly and spoke in a soothing and friendly manner. Her name tag read Buttered Scones.

"Ms. Scones? My name is Morning Meir. I'm a doctor. I wanted to see if you were alright, and also to ask you some questions if you'd be willing."

She looked up from her hooves. She was pretty, but very scared. Her voice trembled a small bit when she answered. "I-I I'm alright. Thank you Ms. Meir. I'm just a little shook up. I-I...I don't even know where to begin."

"Just take a breath and try starting at the beginning. Take as much time as you need."

She took a deep breath, and that seemed to calm her down. She could speak clearly now, as she retold the events of what had happened.

"I had brought you your mochachino, then I went back into the cafe. A stallion in a grey overcoat asked me for a small coffee."

My heart skipped a beat. A grey overcoat! Argyle...He had been here. He must've been early, and taken a seat inside. I decided not to tell Ms. Scones. It would only upset her more. I let her continue.

"I got him his coffee, then went out back to take the trash out. That was when...the explosion happened. I fell on the ground and woke up with police questioning me, and a splitting headache."

So she had been knocked out as well. And the police had questioned her after she woke up. With a splitting headache, and having to answer questions? No wonder she was all flustered.

I asked her my next question.

"Did you see a tourist enter with a package?"

Her eyes widened. "Y-yes I did. A dark looking stallion with a hoof shaped scar. He was wearing a tacky Hawaiian shirt, cap and a camera. He had a package in his arm. He set it down on a chair next to the grey overcoat stallion."

So it had been the same tourist that I had seen before. He had set the bomb directly beside Argyle. He had been targeting him, specifically. But why a bomb?

"Did he talk to the grey overcoat stallion?"

She shook her head. "No-he just smiled at him. Then he grabbed his briefcase and ran out the door."

So it had been Argyle's briefcase he had had with him, when he ran off. What had been inside of it, that the tourist had wanted so badly? and why had he killed Argyle for it?

"Did the stallion try to stop him?"

Again she shook her head. Her eyes dropped sadly. "He...He didn't have a chance. The tourist dropped the package and ran out the door."

She was right. Argyle wouldn't have had a chance to react. He had been killed instantly by the explosion. This couldn't have been a coincidence. This had been because of our meeting. Someone wanted to silence him before he could talk to me about The Phantom.

The Phantom. Was information about them this dangerous? Was it worth killing someone over? I had more questions for Ms. Scones, and she may know something about Argyle. Maybe he was a regular here.

"Did you know the stallion, Ms. Scones?"

"No, ma'am. I had never seen him before today."

"Was he acting...strange?"

"He...kept looking about him- at the door, at his watch. As if-

"As if he was waiting for someone."

"Yes, ma'am. He was worried about something, that's for sure."

She brushed back a lock of her mane. "If you ask me, he looked like he was on the run. Someone was after him. He had that look in his eyes. Like he knew he was being hunted."

I agreed. He was most certainly being hunted. And they had gotten to him. But who were they? Was it the same killer who killed Mr. Regal? Or...was it The Phantom themselves? So many questions, I almost forgot to ask Ms. scones my last one.

"Did the stallion have anything with him beside the briefcase?"

Ms. Scones looked puzzled for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "Yes, actually. He dropped a note when he sat down. I picked it up and was going to give it to him when I came back from outside." She reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a small note, and handed it to me. "I didn't read it. Out of courtesy of course."

I looked over the note. It read " Salah-A'dinn 1345." A reminder? An address? Either way, I now had my next lead on this case. I locked it in my memory, then ripped up the note. I didn't need this killer to find out where I was heading. Plus, it had no further use to Mr. Argyle.

I thanked Ms. Scones, and told her to go home and get some rest. She had earned it. She thanked me back and wished for me to stay safe. I wished I could've taken her advice.

I walked out of the ruined Cafe and onto the sidewalk. Besides the explosion that had rocked the streets, the quaintness of the small avenue was truly one of splendor. Everyone was going about there business, and the day was sunny and warm. Peaceful.

I hadn't even taken a step when a voice suddenly shouted "Freeze!" I yelped and shot my hooves up immediately. I didn't want to be arrested (Plus, I had been given quite a start.)

"Turn around and drop your weapons on the ground!" the voice shouted.

Weapons? What weapons, my hooves were already up!

I turned around to see a rather portly colt in a police uniform, glaring at me with a club in his left hoof. He was wearing his uniform on backwards, and he looked like he had just got done eating, by the crumbs all over his muzzle. Who was this guy?

I put my hooves down. I wasn't about to let myself be intimidated by this joker. "There's no need for this, officer. I'm a doctor, I was just making sure one of the survivors wasn't in shock." I explained politely.

He looked at me menacingly. From the way he was licking his lips, he was either eating the crumbs off his face or thinking about eating me. I didn't like either scenario.

"Knock it off, Moose. She's not a suspect." A familiar and rather loud voice called. "Yet."

Inspector Maregold and his lieutenant, Goldbloom, trotted up to us. Goldbloom smiled at me. "Nice to see you again, Ms. Meir. Are you alright?" she asked.

I smiled back. "Yes, Liutenant, I'm fine. Ms. Scones was just leaving to go home. She was shaken up a bit, but uninjured. Did you identify the vict-

Maregold interrupted me. "I'll ask the questions here, Meirs."

"It's... actually just Meir, Inspector-

"What were you doing here?" He demanded. What was with this guy? Did he just not like me for some reason? Why was he so suspicious of me?

Again, I couldn't lie to the police. But again, I didn't have to tell them anything. I told them what I had been doing while I was here in the cafe.

"Having lunch." I said simply.

He scowled at me. He knew I was hiding something. But he couldn't prove it.

"Am I under arrest for having lunch?" I asked, trying to sound tough. It seemed to work as he backed down a bit.

Goldbloom chuckled to herself. "No, Ms.Meir. We just wanted to ask you some questions."

Questions. They wouldn't be interrogating me for anything. They were just going to ask me if I had seen anything or had been injured or anything like that. I would answer truthfully. But again, I didn't have to tell them everything.

I nodded. "Okay then. What did you need to know?"

Goldbloom took out a notepad. "Were you close to the cafe, when the explosion struck?"

"Yes. ma'am. I was sitting right outside, at the tables."

As I expected, her eyes went wide in surprise. "Right Outside?! Your lucky to be alive, Ms. Meir!"

I smiled. "I know how to take care of myself, ma'am."

she nodded. "Clearly."

Inspector Maregold, however, showed no reaction to my remark. He just stood there, looking angry.

Goldbloom looked back at her notepad. "Did you see the deceased enter the cafe?"

"No."

Goldbloom flipped a page. "Did you see anyone else enter the Cafe?"

I had to tell them. At least with the police looking for him, it would make it easier to find him.

"Yes. At 8:01, exactly, a saw a tourist. A dark colored stallion with a Hawaiian shirt, cap, camera, a hoof shaped scar under his left eye, and a small mail order parcel. He entered the cafe, left the package then ran out with a briefcase. I believe the parcel he had been carrying was the bomb." I explained, recalling it all from memory. Perhaps I spoke too fast, as poor Goldbloom nearly broke her pencil, trying to scribble it all down.

"Well, that's...quite a statement, Ms. Meir! Did you see him afterwards? Where he ran off to?" She asked, a little winded.

"No. I didn't. I checked to see the bomb, then ducked for cover."

"Of course."

She put away the notepad. "Thank you for your time Ms. Meir. We will take your statement and do everything we can to find the bomber. Don't worry. We won't rest until hes brought to justice." She assured me.

With that all three of them simply left, following one last angry glare from Maregold. They were certainly odd. It seemed to me, that despite his position, Maregold did more scowling and accusation then actual detective work. From my impression of both the inspector and Moose, lieutenant Goldbloom seemed to be the only officer who actually cared about solving this case. The rest were either quick to judge or just suspicious of everyone.

I decided to keep Maregold in my mind as a suspect. He didn't act like a detective. (Plus, I may have been a little sore with how much of a jerk he'd been. But hey, he was still a suspect, regardless.)

I stood there for a moment to make sure they weren't suddenly going to turn around and arrest me for standing in one place for so long.

After I was sure they were gone, I put my mind back to tracking my next lead: Salah-A'dinn 1345. Besides that I had to find out where the killer had fled. I could picture the scene perfectly in my mind. Just before I had turned my head to look into the cafe, he had galloped down an alleyway, beside a motel. I quickly retraced his steps and found the alleyway. I began Investigating the area, to see if I could pick up the bomber's trail.

Investigation (Back Alley, Late Morning, 10:27am)

The alleyway was small, cramped and didn't smell as nice as the rest of Mareiposa. There were trashcans and junk piles in few spots and and I spotted a large ladder on the side of the building.

At first I suspected he must've gone up the ladder and escaped via the rooftops. But upon further inspection, the ladder had been broken for years. He certainly hadn't used this to flee the scene. I examined a nearby window, but it had been barred up and sealed off. Not this way either.

Then I saw the sewer hatch at the end of the alley, and my heart sank. Oh no...please tell me I don't have to go down into a sewer!

Upon inspection though, I clearly saw that the hatch had been opened recently, using a tool of some kind to lift it up, as I could see by the scratch marks on the surface of the lid.

I tried to weasel out of it, by telling myself that I didn't have the tool to open it. But then I saw that the tool was right in front of me, resting against the building. The bomber had forgotten to retrieve it.

I sighed as I realized I had no other option. The bomber had to have gone down this way, there was no other way he could've gone!

Deciding to just get it over with, I used the tool to lift the lid, and held my breath as I made my way down.

Chapter 5: "Following The Trail."

Even with my hooves covering my muzzle, I was accosted by the most foul smelling stench I'd ever smelled in my life. Tears welled up in my eyes as I struggled to see the rungs of the ladder as I made my way down into the dank sewer. I somehow made it to the bottom and tried my best to keep from breathing more of it in.

There's no nice way to describe a sewer. Its exactly how you think it is: Dank, open spaced and wreaking of Celestia knows what. I was so scared of stepping in sewage and ruining my blouse, I almost didn't notice the vibrant colored tacky Mareiposa Maulers cap, simply tossed aside in the muck. As I picked it up from the ground I immediately knew who its wearer had been: The bomber had worn this cap as part of his "innocent tourist" getup.

The cap had only been bought today. The price tag was still on it: Hat's Off Hat Shop, Mareiposa. I'd have heard of the place. The big hat shop downtown. It was famous for being in the shape of a top hat. The bomber had bought this cap from there, and used it as part of his disguise.

I now had two leads on our bomber. Yet I still had none on the mime who had attacked me, or Mr. Regal's killer. Not to mention the mysterious photograph. I was skipping to conclusions. I knew I had to be patient. Answers don't come that easily. I had to keep looking. Pick one lead at a time and go from there.

I ascended up the ladder on the opposite side of the sewer, thankful to be leaving the awful place.

I emerged in front of a grand looking hotel. I appeared to only be one street over from the cafe. Climbing out of the hatch, I quickly checked to see if my blouse was okay. Thankfully I had made it through the sewer without getting anything on myself. Probably because I had basically acted like I was trotting on hot coals. I don't think Ive ever stood on my hooves that much before.

Glad to be out of the sewer, I trotted over to the hotel and saw a young bell hop colt opening doors for other ponies. As far as I could tell, no one payed any mind to the strange mare who had just climbed out from the sewer.

I was set on one goal: Finding Mr. Regal's killer. That bombing had been done to get something from Argyle. Something that shed light on the killer, and that tourist had been sent to eliminate him, and take that info away. Why didn't they just destroy it? It meant whatever was in that case had been important to both Argyle and the bomber. I needed to investigate more into this. I needed more pieces for this puzzle.

But in order to do that I had to use a piece I already had: Salah-A'dinn 1345. I had to find out what this was. I decided to see if anyone at the hotel knew anything. It was worth a shot, and I couldn't say that they didn't know anything unless I asked. I approached the colt in the bell hop's uniform.

"Excuse me, Sir?"

He smiled warmly at me. "Yes miss? What can I do for you?" He was very friendly and polite. Good. Maybe he'd be willing to help me.

"Forgive me, for bothering you, but...does the name Salah-A'dinn, mean anything to you?" I know it seemed a little brash to just come out and say it, but there was no point in not getting to the main question. I was quite surprised indeed by his answer.

"I should think so, ma'am. He's staying at the hotel, right now. Not a very friendly guy, but-

"Wait! You mean he's a guest staying at the hotel?"

"Yes ma'am. Why?"

That was him. The Bomber's name had been Salah A'dinn. And he was staying at this very hotel. I had to know more.

"I need to speak with him. Its very important that I do." I wasn't lying. And he didn't need to know the real reason. Odds are it would've put him in danger.

"Well...it certainly sounds like its important. If you head inside, the guest book is on the concierge desk. His name should still be under there, if you want to find him. Just please don't cause any trouble, okay?"

I was ecstatic and I could feel my eyes lighting up with anticipation. But I remained composed as I thanked him for his help, then entered the hotel.

Trottingham De La Grand Hotel Lobby, 10:52 am

I had sworn I had walked into a palace, rather than a hotel. The whole place was the very picture of grandeur and luxury. Finely decorated silk curtains hung over the windows, the floors were of the shiniest marble I'd ever seen, and a statue of a proud looking stallion in armor stood in the center of the lobby beneath a gigantic silver crystal chandelier. Ambient piano melodies wafted throughout the place, making it even more cozy and luxurious. There's no way I could've afforded to stay here. I was lucky that my suite and trip had been covered by the Mareiposa Intelligence Board. I wouldn't have actually wanted to stay here, anyway. (The gleam from the chandelier was practically blinding me!)

I looked over to see a bow tie clad mare playing the piano. She was quite good, but didn't seem to be much in the line of conversation. I looked over in the armchair by the fireplace, and gasped aloud as I saw a familiar face sitting in it.

It was Dr. Seastone! The genius inventor who I'd seen at the Intelligence summit. It didn't really surprise me, that she could afford to stay in this place. Her inventions got so much funding, she probably could've bought the place if she wanted to. I trotted over to her, and saw that she was fast asleep in the armchair. She snored quietly and had forgotten to take her glasses off. She also still only wore the lab coat she had worn at the summit. Unbuttoned, and laying around her shoulders, rather untidily, with her arms slumped in the sleeves.

I didn't want to disturb her, but to have a chance to talk to the most scientifically brilliant pony in Equestria? I couldn't pass up the chance. Plus, maybe she could've helped me. To have her help in this investigation, would be more than invaluable.

I lowered my voice and gently nudged her shoulder. "Dr. Seastone?"

She didn't wake up. I nudged her shoulder again. "Dr. Seastone, I'm sorry to disturb you but-

Suddenly her eyes shot wide open, and nearly scared me to death. I yiped in a manner that I'm sure a mouse would've coughed. Despite scaring me half to death, Dr. Seastone acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. She yawned loudly then rubbed her eyes. I had only just noticed her mane hadn't been messed up at all. She must've only just fallen asleep. But why did she react the way she did?

She looked at me with sleepy but insightful eyes, behind her glasses. "Hmmm?" She said, sleepily.

"Oh, um...sorry to bother you but-

"Hey! I know you! You're Morning Meir, from the summit, right? The one who found Mr. Regal?" Amazingly, Dr. Seastone had gone from barely awake, to fully alert in less than 5 seconds flat. She looked at with a warm and friendly smile.

I smiled back and nodded."Yes, Dr. Seastone, my-

"Oh don't bother with the whole doctor thing! Just call me Seastone! I don't care much for titles. Or do. Doesn't really matter to me."

"Really? Well, um, okay. I just wanted to ask you a few things is all. You see-

"You need help solving Mr. Regal's murder?"

I was literally speechless. How had she known?

"I-I How did?-

"I overheard you and Pompous Regal talking."

"Plus, I am a genius, y'know." She said with a confident grin.

(Not a very humble one, though is she?) Nonetheless she was right. Dr. Seastone was a brilliant and amazing mind, and an incredible inventor. If anyone could help me on this case, she could.

She stood up from the chair and stretched her legs. Then looked at me with a sparkle in her eye."Alright Doc. What do you need?"

"You mean you'll help me?" I hadn't actually expected her to say she would. I mean she was the most famous scientist in Equestria. maybe the world! Why would she help a mere doctor, like me?

"Of course I will!" She said, putting her arm around me like I was her best friend. "We geniuses have to stick together, after all!" She exclaimed brightly.

My face went red. "Oh, well... I appreciate the compliment but, I'm not a genius."

"The heck you aren't! I've heard all about you! You're the smartest pony in the world! The things you can do with that brain of yours, you make me look like a dunce, in comparison!"

"What? Dr. Seastone, surely you can't be serious."

She laughed gleefully. "Oh, I'm never serious, Meir. Except when occasions call for it. And this situation definitely calls for it. You need my help? You got it!"

I was confused. I wasn't a brilliant inventor like her or a genius scientist! I was just a doctor from Equestria. I never thought of myself as being better than any other pony at anything. I've always known there were plenty of others smarter than me.

But that didn't matter right now. I now had the most brilliant scientist in the world helping me with this case. That was all I needed to know.

Dr. Seastone has joined the Investigation!

I decided to show a few of my leads to her. Maybe she could deduce more from them than I could.

"Do you know anyone named Salah-A'dinn?" I asked.

Dr. Seastone rolled her eyes. "Pfft, that jerk? Yeah, he's staying here at the hotel same as me. In room 1345, I think. He keeps to himself, and isn't too fond of anyone. Except his sister."

My eyes went wide "Sister!?" I blurted out, far too shocked to be subtle. "He has a sister?"

"Yeah. Don't know her name, but she visits sometimes. She's a lot nicer than her brother. But a lot crazier too."

"Crazy? Crazy how?"

"Asking weird questions to guests, reading books upside down, going to sleep on the couch standing on her head-

"Wow."

"Yeah, see? Crazy."

So the bomber has family. And she's nicer and more approachable than her brother. But she didn't sound too mentally stable. Or she at least sounded a little out there. Still, I now knew what 1345 meant. It was his room number. What did this mean? Why did argyle have his name and room number?

Then I got it: Argyle was after Salah. He was going to go to his room at this hotel and confront him. For what reason, I couldn't be sure, But I knew it tied together with everything that's been happening. If I had the chance, perhaps I could ask Mr. A'dinn himself.
(Or maybe his sister would be safer.)

"When did you last see him?" I asked.

"No more than an hour ago. He came downstairs, talked to that stuffy upper crust desk clerk. They handed something off- I couldn't see what."

My mind went to my first suggestion. "A briefcase?"

"No, smaller than that- I think it was his room key. The clerk put it on the rack behind him, and then A'dinn just left."

No briefcase? He must've put it in his room, after he stole it. Why would he give the clerk his room key?

"Any ideas on why he would give the clerk the key to his room?" I asked curiously.

"Not really. But he didn't want anypony getting their hooves on it. He acted pretty serious when he gave it to him. He's hiding something in that room. I bet my 357 IQ on it."

I thought for a moment. He must've given the key to the clerk to keep it safe. He didn't want to walk around with it, so he obviously felt that whatever he had in that room, was too important for him to lose the key to it. I would need to talk to the clerk and see if I could persuade him to let me borrow it.

I glanced over at the clerk. A tall, stuffy looking old stallion. He wore a disdainful expression, like he'd been born with it. He did not look like a friendly guy, and most certainly wouldn't let me just have a room key belonging to a guest. How was I going to get it?

As if she had read my mind, Dr. Seastone trotted over to the clerk and engaged him in a conversation.

"Yo, Puffy shirt."

"Yes, madame?"

"I want to deposit some bits in my safe back there."

"Of course madame. How much would you like to deposit?"

Dr. Seastone smiled as she took out a huge bag of bits and dropped it onto the counter.

"Count em, and see."

"Oh, eh...yes, very well madame."

With that, the clerk took the bag of bits with him into the backroom and began counting each one as he put them in a labeled safe amongst several others.

Dr. Seastone motioned for me to come get the key. And I did, plucking it from the wall and hiding it in my blouse pocket. We then made our way up the stairs and into the elevator, trying our best not to laugh the whole way.

As the elevator closed I could still hear the clerk counting the money.

13th floor, 11:09 am

Getting off the elevator, we made our way down the hall, glancing at each door as we approached the room belonging to the bomber. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. I had never gone into anyone's room without them knowing, let alone one belonging to a killer. I was happy to not be alone in this situation, as Dr. Seastone pointed out that were there.

In front of us was a polished mahogany hotel room door with "1345" laid in gold on the front of it. I took a deep breath, calmed my nerves, then used the key to enter the room.

Room 1345, The Bomber's Room, 11:10 am

There wasn't really anything too terribly remarkable in the room. It was a normal suite. Nothing fancy. The small nightstand had no drawers, but a single door. Looking it over, I wasn't surprised to not find anything incriminating on top of it, nor inside it. The bomber had been too smart to leave incriminating evidence beside his bed. The bed was several times larger than the one in my suite, where I was staying. (But I didn't need a king size. I was happy with what I had gotten.)

I began to examine other parts of the room, while Dr. Seastone searched the bathroom (She insisted he may have hidden something in there. Not that I wanted to know.) I examined the bed. It was freshly made, and the crisp white sheets told me nothing of the bomber's habits.

Then I saw it. It had been tucked underneath the bed, and only barely stuck out of place: It was the briefcase that had belonged to Argyle, before it was stolen by the bomber. My heart was going a mile a minute as I opened it to reveal....

Nothing. The briefcase had been cleaned out. Not a single scrap of evidence in it. I searched the interior for a secret panel or something, but as I half expected, I found nothing of the sort.

"It's empty?'

Dr. Seastone returned from the bathroom, having fully studied the sink to ensure it held no secrets. "What's empty?" she asked.

"The briefcase. This was supposed to have some evidence of Mr. Regal's killer. But its been cleaned out."

"Maybe he took it with him. To exchange with a contact or something."

"Maybe. I think we should-

I stopped mid sentence as we heard a sound at the door. A conversation between two ponies. One had a deep and arguably handsome voice. The other was clearly female, and was light, sweet and erratic. Like she was extremely excited. They were coming into the room.

My stomach suddenly shifted, as I began to panic. We spotted the wardrobe next to the dresser, and quietly slipped inside, keeping it just open enough to see into the room.

The door swung open and in stepped two identical twin ponies. One was the bomber. He was tall, aggressive looking and had a hoof shaped scar under his left eye. His mane was slicked back and he wore a frightening scowl on his face. The mare that entered alongside him, was almost an exact duplicate of him. Except the opposite. She was shorter than him, very pretty, and seemed to have a bright and cheerful disposition about her, while also remaining quite dangerous. She bore the exact same hoof shaped scar under her right eye. They looked so similar, they had to be brother and sister. They were both dark colored silver, and had sleek looking black manes. The sister wore hers in a pretty side wave that came down over the left side of her head, and swayed gracefully along with her. The brother had his short and slicked back, as if he was the proper one of the two, so to speak. They both wore full body pressed black suits and pants with decorated red silk ties.

The sister sat in the nearby chair, before jumping up and sitting back down on her head, so her feet hung over the back end of the chair.

"But you got the job done, bro! Isn't that what matters?" she asked, in a sweet and concerning voice. (Concerning, because she sounded way too happy talking about a bombing.)

Salah merely scowled again. "As I've told you Ralah, the client is what matters. And according to them, the job's not done yet. There's still the mare who saw me. She has to be taken care of." He said, making me quiver at the words.

They were after me! I had been a witness, and now they wanted to silence me as well. I was freaking out, but Dr. Seastone patted my shoulder and told me to try and keep quiet. She was right. I couldn't lose my cool now. Especially when the bomber was right there in the room.

Ralah sighed childishly, as if her brother's remark, just bored her. "Fine. But I get to do it right? You said I could!"

"Yes. I know. Do not worry. You'll get your chance."Salah answered, pulling out a torn in half photograph from his pocket.

My mind flashed back to the torn photo id found in the state room: That was the other half of it!

"But first-" He tore the photo into pieces and threw the pieces onto the floor.

"That takes care of the evidence."

He walked out the door, and motioned for his sister to follow, which she did, skipping and smiling the whole way.

As soon as they were gone, we listened to make sure they had left the floor, before we stumbled out. I went over to the photo scraps and gathered them up, and began trying to put them back together. He may have destroyed the photo, but it could be put back together. I could still find out who had been in the picture with Mr. Regal.

It took only seconds, before I had done it. I took out my half of the picture and put it beside its twin. I looked at the other face in the picture.

And gasped as I saw who it was.

Chapter 7: "A Fallen Marquis."

For a moment I was tempted to run. Or simply yell for help. But I knew better. I was done running. I was prepared to defend myself, however I needed to. But then...

"We need to talk."

I was taken aback a bit by his sudden change in tone. But I played along. "I'm listening."

He sat down next to his sister, who smiled and hugged him affectionately. He showed no sign of returning affection, save for lightly patting her arm, and dropping his scowl ever so slightly.

He closed his eyes and sighed. He seemed to be collecting his thoughts. I was doing the same.

This entire time, I had thought he had been the one who bombed the cafe, and killed Argyle. But his sister had revealed the truth to me at last. They had not been chasing after Argyle. They had been working together. They had been friends.

But with that truth revealed, a bigger, perhaps the biggest question of all had reared its head: Who did blow up the cafe? Who had killed Argyle? And most importantly, why?

For a while, we all just looked at one another. It wasn't too surprising. We had been enemies, for the most part. But now, what were we?

Ralah broke the silence. She had a confused look on her face. "Wait. Morning Meir?"

I didn't like lying. And though I had thought I had to, I still felt bad for lying to her. In all honesty, Ralah actually was very friendly and nice.

"Yes. I'm sorry for lying to you, but I had a good reason."

Ralah tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "What was the reason?"

I simply told her the truth, in as polite a way I could. "I thought you and your brother were trying to kill me."

For a moment they just looked at me, in a way that a curious child looks at something that fascinates them. Then Ralah smiled.

"Well, yeah. That is a good reason, then!" She laughed.

Salah even gave the slightest chuckle at the notion. It seemed like I had been wrong about them after all. As we sat there, it became apparent that we had become allies now. But my curiosity continued to linger. I simply had to know what was going on now.

Luckily this is exactly what Salah provided next.

He looked at me with a look of mixed curiosity and approval. As if to exchange a gesture to a friend or ally. "We'll we are not killers. That I would like to make abundantly clear. We were hired by Marquis for our services."

"And what services are those?" I asked, my curiosity now seeming unbearable.

Ralah and Salah exchanged side glances before he answered. "Have you ever heard of...The Phantom?"

The look on my face said it all. He couldn't possibly be saying what I thought he was saying. "You...you don't mean....You're The Phantom?"

They both smiled at me. "No." They said. "We both are."

Questioning (Salah and Ralah A'dinn, The Phantom(s)?, 12:16 pm)

As I sat there, with a look of shock and bewilderment on my face, I realized it had all made sense. The newspapers had stated that The Phantom was capable of appearing as both a male and a female, when taking on someone's identity. It had been Ralah and Salah taking on the identities of the mare and stallion, of their own accord. Then somehow they were able to perfectly impersonate the two victims, to the point where they could not be mistaken as an imposter. But how had Ralah and Salah accomplished this? And to what end.

I was brought out of my thoughts by Salah's laughter. Not cheerful, but Cold and calculating just like the rest of him. "I'm sure you have many questions for us, Ms. Meir." He said with a slight smirk.

I certainly did. But I knew better than to just ask outright. I smirked back. "But you'll only tell me, If I tell you something. Right?"

Again he laughed. "You truly are a brilliant one, Ms. Meir."

I ignored the pompous tone of his voice. "What do you want then?"

His eyes shined as he narrowed them. Not at me, but only in my general direction. "What we want, Ms. Meir...is your help."

I blinked. "My...help?"

He nodded, and something about his manner also changed. He was no longer intimidating, but seemed to have softened a slight bit. As if to reveal a more open side to his personality. To be able to switch emotional paradigms at the drop of a hat? I guess this was to be expected from one side of the infamous Phantom.

I was confused, but curious. If they needed help, then obviously they were facing a problem. One that they believed I could help them solve. If this worked out right, perhaps I would even gain them as allies in my investigation. "What do you need help with?"

Suddenly, Ralah stood up from her chair, and had shifted from sweet and cheerful, to quite scary and dangerous looking indeed. She eyed me with a serious and flaring look. I would've been terrified, but I saw it in her eyes. This was not anger aimed at me. But sadness masked as anger. She was extremely upset about something. "We want you to help us get some answers from Marquis, for killing our friend!" she exclaimed.

Their friend?....Argyle.

Salah easily calmed his sister, who sat back down with great sadness and anger still peeking though her teared up eyes. He looked over at me, with the softest look I'd ever seen him wear. Almost friendly. "Argyle was more than just our friend. He was our partner, our companion. He was like family to us. Like a father in a way."

I sat and listened to Salah's explanation. He spoke in a soft and sad tone. Argyle truly did mean something to him and his sister. "We had known Argyle for quite some time. He had practically raised me and my sister since we were foals. Keeping us off the streets. Teaching us how to fend for ourselves. Without him, we would be nothing. He's the one who made us who we are proud to be today. He made The Phantom."

"Why did he contact me, then?"

"I'm not completely sure. Odds are he had found out something from Marquis that he knew he couldn't keep to himself. He called you to talk to you about it, but Marquis silenced him before he could."

"Marquis is the one who blew up the cafe? How?"

"Marquis is a powerful criminal who has contacts all over Mareiposa, and most of Europa. It wouldn't be hard for him to have a bomb planted in a public place, like a cafe. Broad daylight or not."

I thought back to the conversation I had had with Argyle over the phone. "No. He had said something about having information on The Phantom. He seemed to allude that it was important."

"Really?" Salah thought for a moment before giving his theory. "Then it might've been as simple as he wanted us to work together. Perhaps he was going to reveal to you who we were, so that we may work as one against Marquis."

Against Marquis. It seemed whoever Marquis was, he had been the mastermind behind all this all along. But why? I asked my next question."What did Marquis want from you guys? What does The Phantom do, exactly?"

Salah smiled as if I'd just complimented his suit. He was clearly proud to be talking about his and his sister's roles as The Phantom. "The Phantom is meant to be a living enigma. It can appear anywhere at anytime. And always as someone else. Never the same pony and never being able to tell as an imposter. As you can see, me and my sister have built up quite a reputation for ourselves. We usually take on jobs for clients who want something stolen for them. A valuable of some sort, information that only that particular pony could access, or to track someone."

Then Salah got serious again. "But we don't kill. We never have, and we never will. The Phantom has no need for bloodshed. It is a shadow, that cannot be caught and leaves no marks of its presence. We may rough up a pony or two, but beyond that, we have no need to kill anyone."

Upon seeing my eyes narrow at him, Salah blinked. "Oh yes. Sorry about that."

"So it was you! You were the mime, who attacked me!"

"Yes, I was the mime. But my job was to simply restrain you and keep you from uncovering evidence. But I was never going to hurt you. When I saw you were able to fight back, I simply ran. I dove out the window, was caught by my sister and we left the scene."

"You were at the scene of the crime? Then...did you see-

"No, Ms. Meir. We did not see who killed Augustus Regal. We were simply told to keep an eye on the body. And to throw off whoever came to investigate."

Keep and eye on the body?! "Are you telling me, that Mr. Regal was dead before I even talked to him? That's impossible! How could a dead stallion talk to me?"

Ralah suddenly giggled to herself. "Heh. Yeah. That wasn't Mr. Regal you were talking to: It was me!" She laughed.

My eyes nearly bulged from my head. I was almost speechless. "You!? B-But how?"

Ralah cleared her throat then spoke to me. But not as Ralah A'dinn. The voice that now occupied the body sitting across from me, was the voice of Augustus Regal. Indistinguishable from the real one's own.

"Hello, Ms. Meir. A pleasure to meet you. I am Sir Augustus Regal. Welcome to my humble abode." said Mr. Regal's voice from Ralah's muzzle. She sat up straight and wore a soft spoken manner on her face. Exactly as Mr. Regal had. She even nailed the slight twang of French, he had had in his lowercase syllables. If I had not been looking directly at her, I would've sworn that Mr. Regal was now sitting across from me, having a conversation.

I was utterly amazed, and my face showed it. "How in the wide world of Equestria did you do that?"

"It's a talent I've had since I was a filly. Not sure how it works, but all it takes is one word spoken from someone, and I can imitate their voice more that perfectly. Argyle said it was some new kind of magic, but I just think its raw talent. Or at least that's what I'm calling it!" Ralah explained, with great enthusiasm.

So it truly had been Ralah who had spoken to me through the door. Which means I had been right all along (In a way) I had placed his time of death roughly 30 minutes before I had gone back to speak with him. And I had been bewildered as to how he had been able to speak to me while he had been bleeding out from his wound. And I now knew, that he hadn't: He had already been dead by the time I had gone back to speak with him, and it was Ralah and Salah's job to clear the scene of evidence. Ralah had impersonated Mr. Regal to make it seem he was still alive.

"But wait...why did you smash the vase?"

Salah shrugged. "For some reason the old stallion had hid the photograph in a vase. The photo was what we had been sent to get from the office. We had known Regal was dead, before we entered. We were told not to interfere with his body in any way."

It all came together in my mind like a series of pictures: Salah had been the mime, and had kept an eye on the party while Ralah snuck into Mr. Regal's office, of which, he had already been dead, 30 minutes before I went back to talk to him. As soon as I had gone back to talk to Mr. Regal, Salah had slipped from the room and snuck into the office the same way that Ralah had. The conversation I had heard was Ralah and Salah talking with each other, with Ralah speaking in Mr. Regal's voice. Perhaps as practice. When I came back, they knew they had to think up something.

Ralah spoke to me through the door, while Salah smashed the vase, to get the part of the photograph with Debelle Divine that had been hidden within it. Ralah left first, but before Salah could leave, I came into the room. I had seen the body, so he knew he had to restrain me and keep me from screaming or alerting anyone. But he hadn't expected a fight, and fled, leaping from the window, where his sister had caught him. And then they left.

But something was still off.

"But wait...what had been in Argyle's briefcase? If it hadn't been the photograph?" I asked.

Salah reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a large sealed envelope. It had been addressed to Mareiposa General Hospital, and the name of the addressee had been blackened out. He handed it to me. "This was to be delivered to Marquis at the hospital, by Argyle. It's important medical documents that Argyle had on file of him. Odds are, these were supposed to be destroyed in the explosion. But I suppose marquis hadn't thought about our exchange."

Why would Marquis want to destroy his own medical records? And then I knew: His records would have all manner of details about him and his physical health. He didn't want anyone finding out about him. That was why he had blown up the cafe and killed Argyle. Not to stop him from talking to me, but to erase his medical history.

I looked at the envelope in Salah's hoof. "So, what do we do with them?" I asked.

Ralah and Salah looked at each other and smiled. "We're going to go to the hospital, and use these as leverage, to get marquis to come clean. We want to know why he killed Argyle. Why he betrayed the three of us. If he wanted these records, all he had to do was ask. Why did he have to betray us and kill our friend? We want answers! Same as you."

I looked at them in surprise. "You guys want me to help you infiltrate a medical hospital, and help you squeeze information from one of their patients!? I can't do that, I'm a doctor!"

Salah smiled at me. "Which is exactly why you're just the one who can help us. With your reputation, we'll have no trouble getting to Marquis. Plus: Marquis is not some ordinary patient. He's a ruthless criminal, who murdered our friend and blew up a public cafe to do it. We wont kill him. But we deserve to know why he did what he did. And so do you."

I couldn't argue with Salah's reasoning. They did deserve to know why Argyle had been killed. And whoever Marquis was, he was clearly the one who had arranged for Mr. Regal to be killed and then set up Salah and his sister to take the fall for all his crimes. And it had almost worked. Patient or not, Marquis was a criminal who had to answer for his crimes, and he was the one who could lead me to Mr. Regal's killer once and for all.

I nodded in response. "Alright then. I'll help you guys."

By Salah's pleased expression, he had already discerned that I would agree to help them. Yet his only reply was a simple "thank you."

I couldn't possibly have known what I was getting myself into. As I listened to Salah and Ralah explain there plan for getting into Marquis's room at the hospital, my mind was more or less calm. After all, I was a simple doctor who would be paying visit to a hospital. Nothing out of the ordinary.

So of course I had no way of knowing that I would be stumbling into possibly the most dangerous conspiracy Europa had ever seen. And that this case would make my name both famous and infamous throughout, not just Europa, but the entire world.

Chapter 8: "Death Of The King."

Its hard to explain exactly what I was feeling as I stood outside the front doors of Mareiposa General Hospital, adorned in a white doctors coat that Ralah had "borrowed" for me.

Here I was: A doctor, enlisted by the two most infamous thieves in the world to sneak into a hospital and help them locate and interrogate a dangerous criminal, who had not only killed their friend and mentor, but had been the one behind Mr. Regal's death as well.

I should've felt perfectly fine with it. After all Marquis was a criminal. But I was a doctor, and I'd taken an oath to never harm a patient. I hoped desperately that Salah and Ralah meant what they said about just getting answers from him. I didn't have it in me to even look the wrong way at a patient, let alone hurt them. I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach it.

I took a moment to calm myself, and went over the plan Salah and Ralah had laid out for me: All I had to do was make my way through the hospital to room 221A in the south wing. Salah and Ralah had already infiltrated the hospital in disguise to keep an eye on things. They had said that Marquis knew we were coming for him, and probably had guards posted all over the place to protect himself. I wouldn't have to worry about them, as long as I kept to myself and stayed out of their way. I just had to get to his room.

I took a deep breath and told myself everything would be fine, as I opened the door and went inside.

Mareiposa General Lobby (1:15 pm)

The lobby of the hospital resembled a vast and luxurious greenhouse combined with that of a regal palace. The sparkling tiled floors and healthy looking plants growing amongst the windowsills, filled me with a feeling of relaxation and comfort. Just the feeling I would expect from a place meant to heal the sick and tend to the injured. It made me feel pride for the position I had taken as a doctor.

I brought my attention over to the secretary's desk. She would be able to tell me where Marquis's room was.

I trotted over to her desk.The mare had her back to me as she was managing to do a great job of looking over worked and hassled, though she didn't appear to be doing anything.

"Excuse me, miss?" I asked politely.

When she turned around, it actually took me a minute to realize who it was. Everything about her had completely changed. Her mane was now a light shade of auburn and her coat was the color of lilac. Her eyes were now bright green, and she wore a small pair of glasses that balanced on the tip of her muzzle. My brain could scarcely work out that I was talking to Ralah.

"Hey, Meir! I like your disguise." She said cheerfully, with a bright smile.

I wasn't wearing a disguise exactly. i just put on a few things to make sure I wasn't recognized.

"I-I'm not wearing a disguise! But you-I didn't even recognize you!"

"Thanks! It didn't take long to work this one out. The secretary was nice enough to let me borrow her desk for a while. All it took was a little makeover, and now Ive been asked to take calls from 5 different doctors!"

"Must be a lot of work."

"Not really. I just have to stand here and look busy for a bit. If anyone asks me anything I just point them to the secretary in the north wing."

"We'll can you give me directions to Marquis's room then?"

"Sorry, you'll have to ask the secretary in north wing about that."

'What!? Ralah its me! You don't have to act with me."

"I'm not acting! I actually don't know where anything is in this place."

What? Then how does anyone not know your an imposter?"

Ralah just smiled at me. "Cause apparently, the real secretary wasn't very good at her job." She laughed.

I laughed too. It was good to know I didn't need to worry about finding Marquis by myself. I had Ralah and Salah to back me up.

Ralah continued to smile at me. "If it helps, I do know that my brother went looking for Marquis's room too. I saw him go that way." She pointed with her hoof down the corridor to the left side of the lobby. Looking at the sign above it, I saw that it read South Wing. The wing that Marquis had been staying in.

I turned back to Ralah and smiled. "Thanks Ralah. I think I know where to go now."

"Really? Awesome! I'll meet you guys in Marquis's room later on. Good Luck, Meir!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

I thanked her again, then trotted down the south wing corridor. I strolled past many other doctors as I made my way through the wing. Most of them paid me no mind, labeling me as just another doctor working at the hospital. Others turned and smiled at me, a few others wished me good afternoon. I replied in kind so as not to blow my cover. (Plus, I'll always return a polite manner when someone is speaking to me.)

I passed by several rooms, but none of them had the large 221A that marked it as Marquis's room. Crossing into a large medical bay I saw that every bed had a patient who was being carefully attended to by a nurse. I looked around for Marquis's room number in the ward dossiere, when a nurse approached me.

"Good afternoon, doctor!"

"Good afternoon, nurse." I replied instantly. I was used to being called into medical rooms and hospitals to aid in surgeries or perform lectures form countless eager medical students. I didn't need to think of a response to being addressed by a nurse, as I'd been addressed this way hundreds of times before.

She smiled at me. "The patient is ready for your inspection, doctor. You can begin whenever you desire."

I was taken back for a brief moment. I was a doctor, but I had not come to this hospital to do any medical procedures. Still, there was no way I would leave a patient unattended. I had to do my job, regardless of the situation.

"Thank you nurse. I'll be attending to them shortly." I replied.

She nodded and gestured to the bed at the very end of the row. Nestled comfortably beneath the covers was a small school-age grey filly with a cobalt mane. She didn't look sick, and judging from the large cast on her suspended hind leg she must've sustained some injury and ended up here.

I nodded to the nurse who took her leave. Taking a breath, I put on my friendliest smile and trotted over to the filly's bed. She looked up at me with large brown eyes. "Who are you? You're not my usual doctor." She said with a light and cute sounding voice. Yet her face showed that she was confused and a little annoyed.

I wasn't about to lie to her. "My name is Morning Meir. I know I'm not your usual doctor, but I'm here to help you. What's your name?"

She looked at me for a moment. Then she smiled. "Soapbox." She said, clearly still suspicious of me. "Why are you in disguise?"

The question threw me off. I had only threw on a small pair of red glasses and done my mane up in a small bun, but I hadn't expected to be discovered so soon. Especially by a patient.

I stammered for a minute. 'What do you mean?" I managed to let out. I was nervous now. I didn't need to alert the entire medical community that I was here. I would be swamped by every doctor in the place, and marquis would definitely here about it.

Soapbox smiled at me. "You think just cause I'm young, that I don't know who Morning Meir is? The smartest pony in the world?"

I blushed. "Oh, I know that's what a lot of ponies say, but...well, I guess I'm smarter than most, is what they mean."

Soapbox rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Why are you in disguise then? Did you do something bad?" She asked eagerly.

"What? No! I...well I'm looking for somepony."

"Who?"

"I'm pretty sure you don't know him."

She smirked at me. "You were pretty sure I didn't know you either."

Soapbox was clearly very clever and smart. I decided to tell her why I was here. Maybe she really could help me.

"Alright then: Do you know a stallion named Marquis?"

"Yep. He's in that room back there." She gestured with her hoof to a well guarded door, that had two very unfriendly looking hench ponies guarding the door. The door had 221A inscribed in bold on its surface.

She turned back to me. "He's been here longer than me, But I've heard lots of things about him from other doctors."

"Would you mind if I asked you about him?"

"Why? Do you know him?"

"I have to see him. He's a dangerous criminal, and he might be planning something."

"No way! really?"

"Yes."

"Cool!"

"So...can you help me?"

She thought for a moment but her eyes were sparkling with excitement. Finally she said "Sure thing!"

Questioning (Soapbox, Patient at Mareiposa General Hospital, Has information about Marquis, 1: 34 pm)

I felt a little uncomfortable asking information on a dangerous criminal from a filly. Let alone a patient in the hospital. But Soapbox had proven to be very clever and easily could've overheard a few things from marquis's room. I decided to go ahead and ask my first question.

"Have you seen anyone go into Marquis's room?"

"Nope. Hes under strict quarantine. Nopony goes in. Not even the nurses."

"Why is he under quarantine?"

"I don't know. The doctors haven't talked about it outside the room. All I know is that his room is off limits to all but, like, one team of doctors."

A room that was off limits to every doctor save for a small team of them. Was Marquis that dangerous? I asked her my next question.

"Do you know why Marquis is in the hospital?"

"He's sick. Like really,really sick. They give a bunch of medicines to him every hour, just so he can stay awake for more than five minutes."

"How long has he been here?"

"Longer than me. Longer than a lot of ponies actually. No one talks about when he first checked in, but it must've been years ago."

"He's been here for years??"

"Pretty sure."

So Marquis had been here in the hospital for a long time. And his room had been off limits to all but a few doctors. It wasn't hard for me to piece together what was going on: Marquis had been using his room at the hospital to run his criminal operations. And the doctors had been payed off to keep everything quiet. It made me sick to know there were doctors out there who were dishonoring the title by affiliating themselves with dangerous criminals. (Yes, I know I was a doctor affiliating myself with criminals. But Ralah and Salah were just thieves. Not killers or criminal warlords.)

"How can I get into Marquis's room?"

Soapbox thought for a moment. "Ordinarily a super famous doctor like you would be able to get in no problem. But they don't let anyone but those few doctors in there for anything. But..."

"But?"

"I might be able to distract the doctors. And those two goons go to the cafeteria at 2 every day. While there gone, you could get into his room!"

"You'd do that?"

"Sure. I'm bored laying in here all day, anyway. Its about time I have some fun!" She laughed.

I hated to involve her in this, but Soapbox clearly wanted to help. And she'd be helping to bring a dangerous criminal to justice. I wasn't about to turn it down. "Alright, but only if your sure."

Soapbox nodded. "Oh, I'm sure. Wait for me to start the distraction, then when the goons leave, head into the room."

"Okay. Thank you for your help."

"Don't worry about it." She said with a smile.

Around two, Soapbox had been right as the two goons guarding Marquis's door, left to go to the cafeteria.

She smiled an winked at me, then put her plan into action.

"Hey, doc."

A tall beige stallion in a lab coat came over to her bedside.

"Yes, Soapbox? Do you need something?"

"My pillow's not soft enough."

"I shall fetch you a new one."

"And I'm hungry too."

"I can get you something from the cafeteria?"

"I'm not feeling all that good either."

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I think I'm losing....."

With that she pretended to pass out, alarming the doctor and every other doctor in the room. They swarmed her bed and began trying to wake her up.

I didn't wait another second. With the doctors distracted, I quietly slipped myself into Marquis's room, and closed the door.

Marquis's Room, Mareiposa General Hospital, 2:02 pm

The room was surprisingly large for having a single patient. It looked average compared to th rest of the hospital. Not at all what I was expecting. The curtains were drawn back, and the only sound in the room was a steady beeping. I easily placed this as the sound of a heart monitor.

I looked over and there laying down in his bed was the oldest and most sickly earth pony stallion I'd ever seen. His eyes were sunken in, his coat was dull grey, and most if not all of his mane had fallen out. He looked terrible, in every sense of the word.

My doctor's instincts came running, as I wanted desperately to treat the poor old pony. But I stopped myself, begrudgingly. I had to get some answers from him.

I trotted over to his bedside, and sat down beside him. "Are you Marquis?" I asked softly.

He looked up at me with nearly lifeless, cold eyes. Then smiled. "...Yes. I am Marquis." His voice sounded as raspy and dead as he looked. I couldn't believe this stallion was an infamous criminal warlord, who had orchestrated this entire conspiracy.

He blinked slowly. "Ive...been expecting you."

I was taken back. My eyes grew wide. "You-You've been expecting me?" I asked, unable to understand what was going on now.

He nodded. "I knew you would come for me eventually. Go ahead and get it over with!" He lurched into a coughing fit, as I instinctively caught him from falling over.

He looked up at me in surprise. "You....You are not one of The Hashashin." He managed to say.

I shook my head."No,I'm not. My name is Morning Meir. I'm here to get some answers from you about Augustus Regal. And why you had him killed."

He chuckled, then coughed again. "Oh yes. Augustus."

"So...Why? Why did you have Mr. Regal Killed?"

He looked up at me again. "Why...do you care? He coughed again. "This has nothing to do with you. You're just a doctor from a foreign country. Why do you care about the death of a self-made bureaucrat?"

I didn't need to think of my answer. Why was I risking my life to solve this case? Why was I teaming up with infamous thieves and sneaking around hospitals? Why didn't I just go home and leave it up to the police? Simple. "Because I have to. He entrusted me to solve his murder. No one else. Regardless of what you think, I made a promise to his wife and to him. And I intend to keep it."

"Oh my...so he knew after all."

"Knew what?"

He was silent for a minute. Then smiled up at me again. "You have done very well Ms.Morning Meir. I will answer any questions you have for me."

"You will?"

"I am a dying stallion whose already prepared his death bed. I have nothing to hide anymore."

Questioning (Marquis, Criminal Warlord, Instigator Of Augustus Regal and Argyle's Deaths, 2:15pm)

My first question was obvious. I had come all this way, and searched high and low for Mr. Regal's killer. Now here I was talking to the very pony who arranged the whole thing. It was time to find out the truth.

"Why did you have Augustus Regal killed?"

He inhaled silently. "Because he was planning to expose us."

"Expose us? Whose us?"

Marquis chuckled again. "There are more players in this game than just me, Ms. Morning Meir. I had no choice in the matter."

My eyes went wide. "You mean you were ordered to do it?"

"No. I simply had to protect our organization. We have been hiding our secrets from the world for so long. I was not about to let that fool ruin centuries of prestige and building influence."

I could stand it no longer. The anticipation was painful enough, without Marquis purposefully dodging the big answer. "Just who in the world are you? What organization are you talking about?" I asked desperately.

This time Marquis erupted into full blown laughter. He threw his head back as he laughed and choked at the same time. It wasn't a pretty sight.

I was angry now, and he knew it. He looked up at me without a care. "Oh Ms. Morning Meir. When I said I had nothing to hide,that didn't necessarily mean that I would tell you everything.

I glared down at him. "You have alot to answer for. You killed Mr. Regal and Argyle. You blew up a cafe! You endangered the lives of innocent ponies!"

Marquis suddenly lurched forward, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. "AND I'D DO IT AGAIN!" He shouted. He fell back and began coughing violently. When he stopped, he looked up at me. "I would do anything for my organization, Ms. Morning Meir. And as for who we are...I'll be taking that secret to the grave."

Then before I could stop him, he suddenly reached over and yanked out his life support from the wall. "Nooo!" I shouted.

But it was too late.

As I sat there, in that empty hospital room, the only sound being the flatline of the life support machine, all I could do was think.

Marquis had orchestrated Mr. Regal and Argyle's deaths to cover up something. To stop them from telling the world about something. And when he had finally been confronted for his crimes, he had chosen death over revealing even the name of the organization he represented. I hadn't gotten any answers from Marquis, and instead of clearing things up, this case only became more twisted around than it had ever been.

Just what in the wide world of Equestria was going on this city?

When Ralah and Salah arrived, and I saw the looks on their faces...I didn't have an answer for them.

Chapter 9: "What Lies Beneath."

The next day, Marquis's death was all over the news. But not in the way I had expected. Instead of their being an investigation into the death of a dangerous criminal, there was a front page commemorating the life of a wealthy and hospitable philanthropist, whose influence was spread all throughout Europa.

It would seem that the public never learned the truth. But the police, on the other hoof, had all manner of questions for me.

Polizia De Mareiposa 9:32 am

I sat there in that dreadfully uncomfortable chair, under the cold glare of Inspector Maregold, and the concerned stare of his lieutenant Goldbloom. I didn't dare say a word. I was just glad that Ralah and Salah had managed to avoid the police when they arrived. They had told me to meet them back at their hotel room, once I had done what I needed to with the police. I had promised them that I would keep their identities a secret from the authorities.

And I was not about to break that promise.

"This is your last chance, Meirs. Tell us what you know!" Maregold yelled, nearly blinding me with the table lamp he had in my face. I squinted and shielded my eyes, but I remained silent.

Goldbloom came to my defense. "Sir, there's no need for this. Ms. Meir was simply a bystander in this." She said, trying to calm him down. Unfortunately, the inspector wasn't listening.

He turned and glared at Goldbloom. "She's a suspect! For all we know, she's the one responsible for the victim's death!" He shouted, loud enough for the other police outside the door to hear.

At this Goldbloom finally lost her patience with Maregold. She narrowed her eyes at him "Do you even know what your saying!? For Celestia's sake, Sleuth, she's a doctor!" She exclaimed, further drawing the eyes of the police officers outside the door.

"Don't take that tone of voice with me, lieutenant!"

"No, you know what? I've had it with you accusing Ms. Meir for everything! First Regal's death, then the cafe bombing, and now this! What in the world do you have against her?" Goldbloom demanded.

"All she's been doing is sticking her muzzle where its not wanted. She's been disrupting this case!"

Both of us laughed.

"She's been solving this case! Without her, this whole thing would just be logged away in your "Unimportant Cases" file. She's the only one of us who's done any real police work!"

Maregold went quiet, but his scowl only got meaner. With a huff he left the room, slamming the door hard enough to shake the table I was sitting at.

Goldbloom, now looking quite flustered, sat down in the chair across from me. Needless to say I was looking at her like she'd saved my flank from being eaten by a lion. I was amazed that she'd stood up for me as much as she had.

I looked over at her and gave a sort of apologetic smile. "Are you alright, lieutenant?"

She looked up at me and smiled back. "Oh, I'll be fine, Ms. Meir. This isn't the first time we've gotten into it, because I've "spoken out of line."

"Spoken out of line? You stood up for me! How is that speaking out of line?"

"Yeah I know. But in Sleuth's book, his word goes. And mine, well...is just heard, But not really acknowledged."

"You're word does mean something, lieutenant. Your the best out of all of them! You should be in charge of this case, not him!" I meant every word of it. Goldbloom had been the only police officer I'd met in this city, that actually cared about the case and had helped me plenty of times when Maregold had come after me. There was no one better to lead the case then her.

She looked at me with surprise, then smiled warmly at me. "I appreciate that, Ms. Meir. Perhaps someday, that'll be the case."

She wiped her eyes, and got out of her seat, regaining her composure. "But for now, I guess its just you and me on this one." She said with a smile. She went over and opened the door, scattering the officers who had grouped around it like cockroaches.

Shaking her head, she looked over at me. "Feel free to go home, Ms. Meir. Sorry to take up your time."

"Don't be silly. I'm glad I was brought here. It gave us a chance to talk about things."

"Good luck out there, ms. Meir. I'll be rooting for ya!"

With that we parted ways. As I left the police station, I began to wonder more and more about Inspector Maregold. Here he was, finally called out on his behavior towards me, and he gives no answer, but simply storms off, like an angry toddler. Why did that stallion have it in for me so badly? What was there to gain from being so suspicious of me?

I decided that i would be keeping an eye out for him, as I made my way to the hotel, to discuss with Ralah and Salah with what to do next. I also wanted to talk with Dr. Seastone. After I'd told her about Ralah and Salah she decided to do some digging on Marquis, and this mysterious "Organization" he had been so loyal to. I only hoped they were getting along.

Trottingham De La Grand Hotel, Ralah and Salah's room, 9:44 am

The scene that awaited me as I opened the door to Ralah and Salah's room was one of typical dead silence that I had expected.

Salah sat in the kitchen with a glass of cider, and his jacket off. He said nothing as I walked in. Just stared out at nothing. He hadn't spoken since Marquis had ended his own life. I couldn't place whether it had been because he was too angry or too shocked to say anything.

Ralah, though, had not been able to stop talking. But not in the usual bubbly and crazy way she did. She spoke in a defeated dead tone. Like for her the whole world had unraveled, and all she could do was keep whispering to herself "why?"

She sat, upright, in the couch and stared down at the ground. I couldn't tell if she was going to cry or throw something through the window.

Dr. Seastone simply sat in the far chair near the bookcase, not daring to say a word. Not even to me. I didn't blame the twins for feeling the way they did. Marquis had been the one who had killed the pony they looked up to like a father, and instead of them getting answers from him, Marquis had chosen to keep his secrets to himself. Permanently.

So what was next for us? Marquis had been our best lead to solving this whole thing, and now...he was gone.

What could we do now? Where was the case going?

The answer, came sooner than I expected.

There was a knock at the door, and everyone in the room quickly looked over at it, each one of us silently debating on who should answer it. In the end I decided to answer it. I was quite surprised to see Lieutenant Goldbloom, breathing like shed ran all the way over here from the police station without stopping.

"Lieutenant? What's wrong, you look exhausted!"

Goldbloom tried to take a breath, but her words came out first. "Ms. Meir! You-You have to come with me, right away!"

"What's wrong, Lieutenant?"

She finally managed to take a breath, and got out what she had to say.

"It's Sleuth!"

"What about him? Is he still blaming me for all of this?" I asked in a slightly annoyed tone. I could only imagine what that stallion was doing now, especially after Goldbloom had stood up to him like she had. he was probably searching around for some other obscure reason to frame me for everything.

But Goldbloom's answer...was definitely a shock to me. And everypony in the room.

"No, Meir! He's disappeared! I think he was kidnapped!"

Questioning (Lieutenant Goldbloom, Mareposa Police Lieutenant, Witness to Maregold's disappearance)

I did'nt really know what to think. Yes, Maregold had been a thorn in my flank from day one, and yes he was rude, angry and didn't now how to speak at a tone that didn't make you jump out of your skin at every word. But if he really was kidnapped...then I had to find him. Hopefully Liutenant Goldbloom could provide enough information that we managed to locate him quick enough.

My first question was obvious. "When did you last see him?"

"At the station. When he came back, I was ready to beg him to let me keep my job, and he just went straight into his office. Didn't say a word to me."

"What was he doing in his office?"

"I don't know. But he must've found whatever he went in for, cause after he came out he just left the station. He never spoke to anyone at all."

"Do you know where he went?"

"I'm not sure but I think it was near the river. At first I thought he might've gone downtown to the bar or something. He likes this one pub downtown that serves drinks in these kind of crystalline glasses. But when I radioed him, he didn't pick up. And when I took a look at his communications with our network, I saw that his walkie had been disconnected!"

"What? Why would he do that?"

"I don't know! Half the force is out looking for him, and no matter what we do he won't pick up! Something must've happened to him!"

I knew that Goldbloom wasn't lying, and she clearly sounded concerned for the inspector's well being, in spite of his...issues.

But something shined through in this. A small glimmer of what the real explanation was. I couldn't quite place it, but I had never trusted Maregold. At one point I had respected him as an officer of the law, and only saw him as a minor nuisance. But the clues matched up to well.

I had to find Maregold. There was no question.

I smiled at Goldbloom in a caring manner. "Don't worry, Lieutenant. I'll find the inspector."

"You will? Oh thank you,Ms. Meir! I knew you would. Please get him back to us, as soon as you can."

"Of course. I'll let you know as soon as I've found him."

She thanked me again, and left, now completely relieved.

I closed the door and turned to my companions, who all now had their curious eyes on me.

Dr. Seastone got close and flashed me a sly grin. "Well, C'mon Meir! Don't keep us in suspense. We can't read minds like you can...wait...can you actually read minds?"

I shook my head. "Not as far as I know, but that s not the point. I think this whole thing is a trap."

Salah spoke up. "A trap? You think the good inspector faked his disappearance, to lure you out, right?"

I nodded. "That's exactly what I think. He was finally called out on his behavior towards me, and instead of just explaining his actions, he just kept quiet. Why couldn't he even say anything at that? at the very least he could've just called me a "suspicious filly" and we would've taken it. But instead he kept his mouth shut. Almost as if he didn't want to say something that would reveal his true intentions."

Ralah suddenly jumped up. "Aha! I knew it was him, all along! He's behind everything, isn't he?!" She exclaimed.

I wasn't sure of the answer. But i knew one thing: Maregold was hiding something. Something that he didn't want anypony finding out about. He had been keeping secrets this entire time. I didn't know if he was necessarily behind everything. But it was clear he was connected to the case somehow.

No longer as a inspector of the Mareposa police. But to me, he was now a prime suspect.

I had no time to lose. I had to go to the river and see if I could track Maregold down. I only hoped I wasn't too late.

Mareposa Reservoir, 10:00 am

Dr. Seastone had decided to accompany me to search for Maregold. I was glad to have her along, but part of me hoped that we wouldn't run into a dangerous situation. As we carefully slipped behind the gates of the reservoir, I had a sudden flashback of my time in the sewer that made my tail stand on end.

Dr. Seastone looked over at me. "Hey, you alright? You looked spooked for a sec there."

I nodded and smiled. "Fine. Just a little...nervous is all."

In fact I was very nervous. I had no idea what we would find in those tunnels, and had I known, perhaps I would've rethought my decision to enter the locked room I found just at the other end of the tunnel. Except, it had been opened. Recently.

As Dr. Seastone and I entered the place,w e saw it was some sort of underground boating dock, with a little boat tied to one of the posts. I suspected it was used for maintenance work. On the boat, was a winching machine.

We trotted over and carefully inspected the boat. But found no way of activating the winch. It seemed to have fallen into disrepair, over the years, and was no longer usable.

Dr. Seastone sighed in disappointment. "Aw, man.I was hoping we could take this boat out for a ride."

I chuckled. "That would've been relaxing, but I think our business down here should come first."

"Heh. Yeah, true. But where do you think Maregold went down here? This tunnel is the only service tunnel in this district. There's no other way to go but back up!"

I looked around. There had to be something down here. Some clue that could tell us where Maregold had gone to.

And then out of the corner of my eye, I spotted three archways, each with an inscription labeled on the great stone doors.

I smiled as I studied them. "Those look promising." I trotted over an tried to read the inscriptions on the door. But the writing was indecipherable.

The walls were cracked and malformed, I couldn't tell if it was from water damage or just age. And as far as I could see, there was no way of reading any of the inscriptions on the doors.

Dr. Seastone came over and began eyeing the walls suspiciously, tilting her half moon spectacles down to the tip of her muzzle, as she examined them.

It was then that I spotted what had peaked her interest: An ornate design of what appeared to be a rosary cross tipped with four diamonds at each one of its points. From the indentation, I could see that it was also meant to be pressed.

So I did.

Suddenly the room began to quake as we heard ancient machinery come to life behind the walls around us. The wall gave way then slowly descended into the floor, opening up a secret passage into a large cavern.

We took one look at each other, then cautiously stepped inside.

Mysterious Underground Caverns ,10:17 am

We followed a set of stairs down until we reached a vast labyrinth, illuminated only by several rows of torches that dotted the paths leading down each tunnel. My brain started calculating which way we should go to avoid either traps or capture by any unsavory ponies.

Then I heard it: a deep voice, almost melodically chanting a sort of mantra, and several other voices chanting along in almost perfect sync. The chanting was coming from the northern most tunnel and after gesturing to Dr. Seastone to follow me, we followed the chanting down the tunnel, until we came behind a series of pillars that stopped us from going any further. But we could still hear the chanting behind them, and peeking out from behind them, we spotted a group of well dressed aristocrat ponies gathered in a circle, around a large vessel of flame.

They continued to speak that strange mantra, but now that i was so close, I could finally make out what they were saying.

A mysterious hooded figure towered over the group, draped in a long black cloth, he spoke in that same deep drone. "In the beginning, was the end."

The other ponies recited. "An end wrought by our enemies, began our darkness."

The figure continued. "In the end will be a beginning."

Once more the other ponies chanted. "An end to our enemies, heralds a new day."

The figure gave no indication that the mantra had been performed correctly, and instead gave the slightest of head turns to the portly pony dressed in a white tux and sporting an oversized top hat. "Report."

The tux pony bowed as low as possible, to the point his hat almost fell from his head. "The military establishments are teetering on accepting our proposal. With a little more pressure, I know we can break them." He spoke in a thick southern drawl, that seemed unbefitting of the suit he wore.

Once more the figure gave no clear sign of how they felt about this, and simply turned to the next pony. A young looking mare adorned in numerous jewels and diamonds. She was even wearing a tiara. "Report." The figure said.

The jeweled mare bowed as well. "Business practices in Europa are at an all time high. My group controls approximately 48% of all economic trades and business practices in the country. While Marquis's death was a setback, we've already claimed all properties he owned as compensation for his sacrifice." She spoke in a tone that was so stuck up and snotty, I could tell Dr. Seastone was using every ounce of willpower she had to keep herself from leaping out from behind the pillars and decking her in the muzzle.

The figure gave a slight nod. Then as he turned and spoke to the next pony, I felt my breath get caught in my throat. Now it all made sense..

He stood there for a moment, silently waiting as the figure spoke to him, and then after taking a breath, Maregold spoke, this time at a volume that was so much lower than I was used to, that it didn't even sound like him.

"Regrettably, it would seem the doctor from Equestria, has proven herself to be...a much bigger threat than what we had realized. She's been suspicious of my actions from the beginning, and I fear even my lieutenant is beginning to see through my ruse. If I am to do as you've instructed, Grand master, then...I will need help."

The figure, who I now knew was known as the Grand master, simply looked at him from under their hood. From the look Maregold now had, I was certain it must've been a truly terrifying sight to behold. "You know your orders, Maregold. If you cannot distract this foreigner from our plans...then she must be eliminated. No exceptions."

"But-

"And you, must be the one to do it."

"Y-yes, Grand master."

"However...

"Y-yes?"

"In light of your recent failures, I believe you will need some assistance with this matter. Very well: I will assign two of the Hashashin to aid you in eliminating this foreigner as a threat. And any whom she may have told of our endeavors."

"Yes, grand master. Thank you grand master."

"But, should you fail this time...the consequences will be severe. Is that understood?"

"Yes. I understand, grandmaster."

The figure gave another half-nod. "This meeting is adjourned. You all know your parts to play. Our time is nearly upon us, my brothers and sisters. Soon Europa will be ours, and then...we will move to the rest of the world. May the scholars grant us clarity."

The other ponies bowed. "And may clarity grant us peace."

With that they left, single file ,as the grandmaster simply vanished from the spot. when the room was clear, we emerged from our hiding place.

I felt my blood run cold as I struggled to stand on my own hooves. I could scarcely contemplate what I had just seen. He was one of them. He had been all along. And now...he was going to kill me.

I sat there for awhile, remembering how this had all started. I had never wanted any of this. I was just a doctor, visiting from Equestria as a guest at an intelligence summit. I wasn't a hero. And I certainly couldn't hope to beat this mysterious cabal that had apparently been behind everything from the beginning. Any other pony would've fled at this point. I should've gone home. I should've given up on all of this.

But, call it what you will. I refused.

I had not come all this way to give up now. I had not survived through all this and watched an elderly stallion kill himself to protect his organization, just to be scared off by that same group. I had made a promise to a grieving widow, to my friends Ralah and Salah and to myself. I wasn't running. Not anymore.

No. I was going to finish this.

And I dared anyone, whether they be secret society, corrupt cop, or Hashashin, to try and stop me.

Chapter 10: "Conspiracies."

This case had been a roller coaster from the beginning. But now...things were almost getting to be too much for me. Beneath the streets of mareposa, in the water reservoir tunnels, me and Dr. Seastone had uncovered the existence of a mysterious cabal of wealthy and influential ponies with, not only aspirations of world domination but were now after me. And Inspector Sleuth Maregold had apparently been in league with them the entire time.

I knew explaining all this to the others would be quite a challenge indeed.

Ralah And Salah's Room, Trottingham Le Grande, 10: 00 am

"I'm...I'm sorry Ms. Meir, I must've misheard you. Can you please say that again?"

Lieutenant Goldbloom had "misheard" me about 3 times before she finally got it. But it didn't sound like she believed it any less than I would have. And who could blame her? She had been Maregold's partner after all. Now hearing how he had been in league with the ones who had assassinated Mr. regal and Argyle? It was probably too much for the poor mare.

"I know this is hard to believe, lieutenant. I scarcely believe it myself. But...we know what we saw. Dr. Seastone can confirm it."

Dr. Seastone nodded her head. "I know an evil secret society when I see one. " she said seriously.

The Lieutenant wasn't the only one in the room who had trouble understanding us. Ralah and Salah both had their own opinions on the situation.

Ralah was excited and amazed, and wanted to hear more.

Salah either thought we were either lying. Or hoped we were lying.

He got up from his chair and rubbed his eyes as he struggled to get his thoughts together. "So...lets say your right about all of this, Meir." he said, sounding as if he still had trouble believing it.

"That would mean we would suddenly be up against not only the good inspector, but a secret cabal of insane bureaucrats, their allies, any contacts that they have, including surveillance agents, and to top it all of the Hashashin."

I felt that he needed to hear a simple answer. "Yes." I said in an almost apologetic way.

This was not the answer he wanted though as he sat back down on the couch in a huff and sighed in defeat. "Perfect."

Goldbloom stood up. "But this is insane, Ms. Meir! I know Sleuth wasn't the nicest pony in the world, but...H-he's not a criminal! I've known him for years."

Then she sat back down. "At least...I thought I did." Then she went silent. The poor mare was clearly confused and hurt, and I felt it was best to just leave her to her thoughts for now. The rest of the ponies in the room followed her example, as the room went silent.

Ralah piped in from her place at the mini bar, as she swirled around on her stool. "So...where do we start?" she asked the room.

Unfortunately the room didn't have an answer. But me on the other hoof...

Don't get me wrong. I had never encountered anything like this before. I mean, a secret society? Corrupt cops? Dangerous orders of assassins?

I was a doctor, and not meant to go up against any of these things. I was made to fight diseases, not megalomaniac bureaucrats.

But still, I knew what we had to do here. It was simple: "Find out whose part of this secret society and take it down from the inside."

Half the room gave me a concerned look, but Dr. Seastone just smiled. "That's brilliant! We find out whose running this thing, we can take them down before they even know its us." she exclaimed excitedly.

Ralah cheered as well. "Yeah, go team!"

Salah stood back up. "As long as we don't get killed in the process. But who do we start with?" he asked me, specifically.

I recalled the faces and mannerisms of the members of the society from memory. "I remember a very snobby mare with a tiara. She wore a ton of diamonds and jewels and said something about her group owning property."

Salah raised an eyebrow. Then sighed. "Gold Digger. Of course she would be involved in all of this."

The name rang a bell, but I wasn't entirely sure which bell it rang. "Who is that?" I asked.

Salah poured himself another glass of cider. "Only the richest, greediest and most disgustingly snobbish mare in Europa. She owns the Gold Group, which basically owns everything else. At least property wise. She's as rich and spoiled as you can get. Probably more so."

That sounded like the mare I had seen in the tunnels. "Where can I find her?"

"Depends on what your planning on doing once you find her."

"I'm going to get some answers about this society of theirs, and either convince her to stop working with them..."

"Or?"

"Or I'm going to make her." I said gravely.

Salah laughed. But not in a mocking way. In a way that seemed like he would love to see Gold Digger be taken down a peg.

"Alright then." He said with a smile.

He trotted over and joined his sister at the mini bar. "The mare's got penthouses all over the country. And each one's basically a fortress. But there is one in particular that she favors most. Its a little villa out on coastline of Mareposa: Villa De Vasconellos."

He took a sip of cider. "When she's not busy ruining pony's lives or buying up everything in sight, she usually stays there to unwind after a busy week of being filthy rich and spoiled. That's where you'll find her."

"Thank You, Salah."

He smiled again. "You can thank me once you've taken Goldie down. Believe me, Europa will be happier for it."

I turned to leave but Salah stopped me." Another thing, Meir."

"Yes?"

"You should go alone. Too many ponies with you will draw attention. And this place ain't exactly easy to get into even by normal standards. Keep on your guard at all times. And if you have to sneak in, don't get caught."

I nodded. "Right. Thanks, Salah."

As I left I heard Dr. Seastone and Ralah call out to me. "Good Luck Meir!" Said Ralah.

"Give her a shot in the muzzle for me!" Said Dr. Seastone.

I closed the door and made my way down the stairs, all the while collecting my thoughts.

The coast wasn't too far away. But the real problem would be getting into the place. I had never once broken into anywhere, and I didn't plan on doing so now. But If I had to, I'm sure I would be able to find my own way in.

After all, I'd gotten this far, right? But then there was the thought of the inspector. And the assassins that he had gunning for me. When would they make their move? Where would they come from? And how would I fight them off?

All questions, that I hoped, I wouldn't need answers to right away.

Mareposa Coastline, Outside Gold Digger's Villa, 12:02 pm

The taxi trip had taken two hours to reach the coast. But as I stood outside the enormous gates of the even more enormous manor, it sunk in just who I was trying to get face time with.

In front of me, an enormous palace of grandeur to make even Princess Celestia jealous loomed in front of me, built into the cliffs of the coast like a floating castle on water. The entire place was fenced off by an enormous gleaming golden gate, that clearly had several magical security measures on it, as even the birds were avoiding taking a rest on it.

The place made me feel so small. It was quite an uncomfortable feeling. I decided to just try my best to get it over with. Maybe if I was nice and courteous, i wouldn't have to worry with Gold Digger as much as I thought. She was a pony, like everyone else, despite her wealth and reputation.

This line of thinking calmed me as I knocked on the massive mahogany doors of the villa, which were engraved in several fancy and intricate wood work designs.

I jumped as the doors suddenly swung open, and a butler stood in the doorway. "May I help you, madame?" he asked politely.

I smiled, appreciating his manners, especially when I was so nervous. "Sorry to bother you, but may I speak to Gold Digger?" I asked as politely as i could.

He raised a carefully groomed eyebrow. "Do you have an appointment?" he asked, studying me closely.

I froze as my anxiety went up another notch. "Um-well....no, but I need to speak to her! My name is Morning Meir and-

A very pretty, yet very snobby sounding voice cut me off.

"Who is it Poncy?" it asked.

Poncy turned his head slightly to speak to the voice. "A miss Morning Meir, young mistress. She claims to be needing to speak to you."

To my surprise, Poncy was suddenly pushed briskly to the side, and I was now standing face to face with Gold Digger, herself.

Although she was beautiful, she had her eyes slightly narrowed as she studied me. She knew who I was, and that the Grand Master wanted me dead.

But she didn't know I knew that.

Suddenly her eyes lit up. "Oh! The famous Morning Meir of Equestria! How lovely to meet "The Smartest Pony In The World", at my very own doorstep!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm. She suddenly threw her arms around my neck , pulling me against her in a tight embrace before stepping back and giving me a warm searching smile.

It wasn't the greeting I'd been expecting.

On the way here, I had gone through an arduous, hour-long plan in my head about what I should expect upon reaching the villa. Being patted down by guards, standing in endless lines, and waiting in antechamber after antechamber just to get a short five minute audience with Gold Digger.

Gold Digger, however, was apparently less formal than all that.

Her eyes were a vivid, haunting blue, lined with kohl and shadowed with gold, and they and a kindness behind them that took me by great surprise. Yet as I looked into them I saw greed unlike any I'd ever seen, reflect back at me from them. Her mane was woven of gold and layered in several elegant patterns that came down behind her head and one large swirl that hung over the front of her head, arched just slightly to the left, putting emphasis on her seemingly flawless face. The elegant pink robe she wore, matched her dark pink coat and had several jewels woven into the silky fabric, along with a fluffy white fur trim that bordered the sleeves and neck area.

"I can't believe I'm finally meeting you," she said. "I was so excited when I heard you were in town for that Intelligence thingy or whatever."

"Oh, well thank you, but I just needed to-

"You simply must come in!"

"Huh??"

Almost without warning, Gold Digger suddenly pulled me hard by my hooves into the entry way. I would've no doubt asked why she had done that, but I stopped thinking completely as I saw the extravagance of the manor I now stood in.

I saw my reflection gaping at me from the gleaming gold floor, as I looked around. The main hall of the villa was magnificent, but there was a surprising coziness to it too. The walls were lined with deep maroon wallpaper speckled with flecks of gold, and the lounge we stood in had several plush velvet couches overflowing with throw pillows. Freshly polished ornate end tables stood with carved oak chairs upholstered with soft leather. From the golden diamond-shaped tiles on the floor, to the crystal chandeliers, to the lush exotic looking plants sprouting brilliantly at several corners of the room, it felt luxurious and elegant, but warm and welcoming as well.

"What do you think?" Gold Digger asked with a sly grin. She clearly already knew I was blown away by it all. It almost felt like she wanted me to be impressed.

"It's very nice," I said, as if I saw beautiful, grand things all the time and this was just another one of them. "You must certainly do well for yourself."

"Yes, well, I suppose it's to be expected for the wealthy to live in absolute luxury." she said with a painfully snobbish undertone that seemed to bite my ears at every word.

"Anyway, what is it I can do for you, Ms. Meir? Surely you didn't come all this way just to admire my house." She said jokingly. "Of course, if that is why you're here, well, I can clearly understand why." she added snobbishly.

I thought for a moment. I had planned this out as well on the way over. I only hoped she would take it. "I was hoping to ask you about the Regal murder case. The inspector said you recently had some investments in the Regal family's affairs. Since I'm helping out with it, I thought you wouldn't mind if I came to ask you a few questions." I said as politely and calmly as I could.

She paused for a moment. "Is that so?" she stated with fake surprise. She didn't hide the fact that she knew about the murder all that well at all. I saw her eyes flash as she faked a worried look. "Well, by all means! I'll of course do everything I can to help find who did this to one of my closest friends!" She exclaimed.

"Closest friends, my flank." I thought bitterly.

Gold Digger's Tea Room, 12:31 pm

I sat in a squashy armchair as Poncy poured me a glass of lemon and ginger tea from a fine china teapot, and set it down elegantly in front of me. He did the same for Gold Digger, then left the room with a courteous bow. The tea room was a small, yet cozy little place with a lush couch, coffee table, several tables and chairs for sitting and enjoying tea, and a large sun roof that allowed light to pour into the room, as well as through the windows. It was all quite relaxing and enjoyable.

Gold Digger held out a small pot with several sugar cubes in it. "Do you take sugar with your tea?" she asked politely.

To be honest I never drank tea without sugar in it. But I wasn't too keen on taking sugar from a pony who was supposed to be my enemy.
I know it sounds paranoid, but I didn't want to take any chances on her poisoning me, to get in the good graces of The Grand Master.

"No thanks." I said, politely waving the pot away. She smiled and added sugar to her own tea before setting it back on the table and taking a sip. (Good. At least now, I know she wasn't trying to poison me.)

I took a drink of my own tea. It was very good, not too hot and the tangs of lemon and ginger mixed perfectly. I didn't even think it needed sugar.

As we set our cups back down, Gold Digger looked across the table at me. "So," she said. "What is it you want to know Ms. Morning Meir?"

Questioning (Gold Digger, Owner and President of Gold Group, Subordinate of The Organization, 12:32pm)

This wasn't going to be like my other questioning sessions. This time I knew that the pony I was talking to was guilty of something. Gold Digger was conspiring with The Organization. I had seen her with my own eyes, as she talked about how her group had seized control of the holdings that Marquis had once owned. She was working with them. But why? I needed to get some answers from her. I just had to make sure not to ask more than I should logically know.

I thought for a moment then asked my first question: "What sort of business arrangements did you have with Mr. Regal?"

"Well, I had made some arrangements to invest in several media outlets that Regal Enterprises owned. He was very generous about all of it." Gold Digger spoke in a manner like she was being interviewed for a magazine, rather than being questioned on behalf of a murder case.

I ignored her, as it was more important to get information at this time, but I made yet another notch on Ms. Digger's Snob Rating within my mind. "Did you ever speak with Mr.Regal directly?"

Gold Digger took another sip of her tea. "Only once. He was quite generous, but his wife was quite a shrewd one. I suppose she was jealous of me. Thought I was there to steal her man. Ha! As if I would ever consort with an aging bureaucrat." She said shrewdly.

I wasn't any closer to getting information about the organization. She kept making the conversation all about her(Which I of course expected.) So I decided to change my questioning to a way that would make her talk about The Organization. Or at least one of its former members.

"Did you by any chance know one Mr. Marquis? It was found out that Mr. Regal had business dealings with him in the past. I thought I might as well ask you if you and Mr. Regal ever talked about him?" I asked, putting every attempt to make it a simple, nonchalant question like any other.

Gold Digger looked at me, her eyes flashing once more. Something had clicked in her brain, that she had to lie. She couldn't risk exposing The Organization. Especially not to me. She said nothing for a moment, then quickly answered: "No. I had never done business with the stallion myself, but I know Augustus and him knew each other for a long time. Old rivals I suppose." she said with a faint height in her words.

As if to test me, she asked the question I knew she would. "You don't think he had anything to do with this do you, Ms. Meir? I heard what had happened at the hospital with him. Being so sick and helpless, he couldn't possibly have had anything to do with it, right?" she asked as if she was interrogating me. But I had planned this out already, and she wasn't going to get the best of me yet. She knew who I was. What I was doing. So she was taking this opportunity to try and get some answers from me. But unlike her, I had nothing to hide.

"It would certainly make sense for this to all be the result of an old rivalry. But I'm sure the police have already worked that problem out." I said simply.

Gold Digger looked skeptical. "Perhaps your right. Best to leave these things to your betters, I suppose."

I would've laughed at that remark. If anything, I was the police's betters. At least in this case. Nonetheless I nodded and asked my next question. Something that I was sure Gold Digger would love to talk hours upon hours about: "Do you mind if I ask you about yourself? Like your company for example?"

At once all trace of suspicion and callous vanished from Gold Digger's person, as she smiled like she had just won a fabulous prize in a beauty pageant. "Oh, of course! I would be delighted to tell you the story of how yours truly became the wealthiest and most powerful mare in Europa."she exclaimed with great enthusiasm.

I, of course, ignored the long and rambling speech that took place at this point, not necessarily caring how Gold Digger managed to become the most snobbish pony I'd ever met. Instead, while she spoke at great length about how life was so hard for a poor filly with barely a bit to her name, I put my brain to work on what I could ask her next. It was time to stop messing around and get what I came for. Gold Digger was a conspirator with The Organization, that much was already known. But there was so many pieces in play that I couldn't see. What reasons did these ponies have to be working with The Organization? Why was Maregold apart of it, and how long had he been working for them? And last, just who in Equestria was The Grand Master? Why were they doing all of this? I had to have an answer.

It was then that the question I needed to ask, burst from my brain, and out my mouth. "Who are the Hashashin?" I asked suddenly, stopping Gold Digger in mid sentence.

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"The Hashashin. Mr. Regal had received numerous letters talking about them. Who are they?" I asked again, more sternly this time.

Gold Digger's entire face changed. Her cheerful expression dropped like a rock, her eyes flared up like fire. She had narrowed her eyes almost to slits as she stared at me menacingly. "I don't think I should answer that, Ms. Meir." she said gravely. This was a warning. Not to dare ask that question again.

Unfortunately, I hadn't come all this way for nothing. "Why is that, Ms. Digger?"

Her scowl curled into a strange smile. "Because, we never sent Regal any letters with the name Hashashin. They're elite assassins. We'd never actually put the name into the letter. They're supposed to be a secret, you see."

I leaned back in the chair. " Oh, I already knew that Ms. Digger."

"Then why would you lie about finding letters with their name in them?"

I smiled. "To get you to talk about them."

I took a sip of tea. "And you just told me who they are: Elite Assassins."

Gold Digger sat back in her chair. Then she laughed, but not sarcastically. She seemed genuinely impressed . "Well done, Ms. Meir. You truly are The Smartest Pony In The World." She complimented.

Then I saw her eyes shift over to the window, as she kept that strange smile. "But not smart enough to see a trap."

At those words, I turned all my attention to the window. Down in the gardens I saw Poncy, trimming the hedges, his horn telekinectically moving the shears along each bush.

Once I noticed it, my blood ran cold: The Poncy that had answered the door had been an earth pony.

Gold Digger looked out the window and waved to Poncy, whom waved back. "The Hashashin are very good at what they do. Poor Poncy's been out there all day, just so we could have that Hashashin pretend to be him, while we lured you in."

I was speechless. I was going to kick myself later for not noticing the trap earlier. If I survived, that is.

Gold Digger was very much enjoying my mix of confusion and shock. She giggled as I stood there, opened mouthed at my own stupidity. I heard the door close behind us, and as I turned around, "Not Poncy" was now standing near the door, smiling at me with kind eyes. But it was false kindness. For these eyes, had nothing in them at all. They were the eyes of a killer.

Suddenly Gold Digger put her hooves up to him. "Hey, hold on. We don't have to kill her just yet. I think she might actually be able to-

He took a step towards me. Then, like a flash of lightning, he moved in for the kill. My hooves had already moved of their own accord, but they hadn't needed to: He hadn't been coming after me.

I was in utter disbelief as I saw him pin Gold Digger to the wall by her throat. "I don't take orders from you, mare. I still haven't decided if I should kill you for pushing me out of the way earlier." His voice had dropped all trace of manner and politeness of a butler, replaced by a low, sinister growl.

I tried to get my hooves to move, but my brain was firing neurons left and right. Why in the world was he attacking Gold Digger? I asked myself.

Then it suddenly clicked in my brain what was happening. He wasn't letting her go. I saw her face begin to turn blue, as she struggled to release the killer's hoof from her windpipe. But she could only grasp at air, as tears began to well up in her eyes.

He was going to kill her. For no other reason than because she had asked him NOT to kill me. Both as a doctor and as a decent equestrian, I was not going to let that happen.

"Hey! I'm the one you're here for! Let her go. She has nothing to do with this." I yelled, much braver than I thought I could manage.

But the killer didn't relent. Instead he laughed. A cruel chortle from a villain. "Oh well....we can just say it was an accident. She got too intoxicated by her luxurious lifestyle and fell out the window. Drowned at sea. Tragic, really. Don't worry pumpkin, I'll get to you here soon. But thanks for asking!" He said as casually as if I'd asked him if he wanted to go take a walk in the park. This stallion was a monster.

I narrowed my eyes at him, as he turned back and continued to strangle Gold Digger. "I wasn't asking." I said menacingly.

By the time I knew what I had done,I had already done it. I leapt onto the stallions back, tucked my hooves under his then flipped him over me, using my momentum with his own, countered by that of the floor, I managed to suplex him hard into the ground.

I heard Gold Digger take a massive breath of air, as she started coughing and sputtering, trying to regain her composure. I looked over to see if she was alright. She looked up at me, with her eyes now slightly bloodshot and welled with tears. She didn't seem to know how to react. I turned back to face my opponent.

I had readied myself for a fight I was probably not going to win. But I didn't care. All my brain power had been directed to one course of action: Kicking this guy's flank.

Not Poncy got up off the ground and wiped a fleck of blood from his lip. "Heh. All right then....

"You're first."

He moved like a flash, as he kicked a large table across the floor which nearly smashed into my stomach, but I leapt over it just in time, only to be drop kicked hard out of nowhere.

I hit the far bookcase with a loud smash, as books fell all around me. I struggled to breathe, as my vision blurred. Pain was shooting all over my body, but I stood back up anyway. Even with my vision blurred I still saw the kick aimed for my head.

I ducked under it, and caught him by his other leg. I pushed with all my strength sending him over the top of the table. I breathed heavily as I tried to keep myself from falling over. But he was already up, and slammed hard into my side with his body, sending me into the wall. I barely managed to stay up as everything had become a blur. Pain was the only thing I could feel right now.

This was no easy fight. I was fighting a highly skilled and ruthless assassin. If I was to survive, I couldn't just think my way out of this, or use normal fighting tactics: It was time to be creative.

At once, time seemed to move in slow motion as my brain worked like a supercomputer. Details all flew at me, syncing up with each thought like a piece of a large puzzle. My breathing slowed as everything came into focus.

Combat Analysis

My opponent: A highly dangerous and skilled killer of The Hashashin. Strengths: Extremely quick movement speed, Superior and brutal fighting style, Ruthlessness.

My eyes scanned every inch of him, mapping out different points that stood out the most to me. Weaknesses: Overconfident, Egotistical, Recklessness, Ruthlessness. My eyes zeroed in on the injury on his left leg. A large gnarled scar that had been cut by a serrated weapon of some kind. A sword possibly, judging by the angle and depth of the cut. It had also been recent, as the tissue had yet to fully form over. This meant it was still sore. This was his weak-point.

I moved like clockwork, every action already programmed into my body to react accordingly. I reached behind me, grabbed the vase and threw it hard at the assassin's face. I heard it smash into his head, as I slid across the floor and delivered a hard kick to the injury on his leg.

The assassin screamed in pain, and dropped halfway to the floor, before getting back up and throwing a wild hay-maker at me. But I dodged it as I grabbed the front of his arm, spun it around, then broke it on the edge of the table. Before he could even yell out, I delivered a hard kick to his diaphragm. He toppled over and smashed through the table, sending chunks of mahogany across the floor.

He got back to his feet, as his eyes now fumed at me. He screamed in anger as he rushed towards me, but his injury had taken its toll, and as he was much slower, it made it easy for me to spin around him then break his left leg from the back. With two broken limbs, he was unable to fight now, no matter how skilled he was.

He fell hard to the floor, howling in pain as time now returned to its normal pace. Final Analysis: One broken arm, one broken leg, severe hemorrhaging in the left leg due to injury, physical trauma to diaphragm, Possible injury to eyes and face from glass shards. Recovery period: 6 weeks at best, with possible extension due to elongated injury. Capacity to continue fighting: Neutralized.

End Of Analysis

The assassin laid there in a heap on the floor before he finally passed out from the pain in his leg. As a doctor I had sworn to do no harm, but this stallion had to have been an exception to that oath. If I hadn't decided he was, It was more than likely that neither me or Gold Digger would have lived to tell about it.

I turned around to see Gold Digger staring at me from the ground where she still lay with wide eyes, her mouth gaped in shock as she looked at me with utter and complete bewilderment.

I smiled at her. "So...can we talk for real now?" I asked sincerely.

She didn't answer me. But her eyes seemed to agree.

Chapter 11: "Enemy Of My Enemy."

Gold Digger said nothing as I tended to our wounds. I had used the first aid kit in the bathroom to mend the cut on my side, as well as tend to the bruising I had on my stomach from where I was kicked.

Gold Digger had a light bruise on her neck from where she had been pinned to the wall by the assassin's hoof. She flinched a bit, as I dabbed it with medicine. We still didn't talk to one another as we moved the unconscious assassin downstairs and "gently" tossed him on the couch.

I mean I could clearly understand why. Up until now, she had caught me in a trap with a Hashashin, and had been acting friendly to lower my guard. This had all been one big setup.

But still...she had tried to stop the assassin from coming after me. And other than her obvious snobbish attitude, she wasn't as bad as I had originally pictured. Although, I suppose I hadn't really given her a chance to be just yet.

It was then that Gold Digger finally turned and spoke to me. "Thanks...for...y'know." The way she said it, was like she had some great amount of difficulty saying the words. As if she wasn't sure if she should say anything at all.

I turned and looked at her kindly. "You're welcome." I answered, putting the medicine back in the first aid kit.

"Why did you save me?" she asked suddenly. I turned back and looked at her in surprise, as if the fact the question was even asked seemed ridiculous. I decided to humor her. "Why did you have an assassin pretend to be your butler?" I retorted.

She chuckled to herself. "Heh. An answer for an answer. Okay, well, to put it simply: I didn't."

"Huh?"

"Somepony else sent him over. Not sure if it was The Grand Master, or one of those other nut-jobs."

"Nut-jobs? So you don't even want to help them rule the world, or whatever?"

Gold Digger laughed as if I'd told a very funny joke. "As if! I mean, not to sound stuck up or anything....

(I stifled a chuckle)

"But look at me! I've got money to burn and my company has no problems financially or with keeping up with demand. I'm perfectly fine on my own! So why help a group of maniacs with their ridiculous world domination plots? What risk was ruling the world, when I already have my own little slice of it?" She stated, with so much pride it practically emanated from her.

I raised an eyebrow. "So...why are you working with them, then?"

Gold Digger's eyes glittered with delight. "Oh, why simple Ms. Meir! For the money of course!" she said enthusiastically, as if the answer was simple to guess.

I stared at her in disbelief "What?! You just said you have no problems with money!" I exclaimed.

"Oh I don't. But come now, is there really such thing as too much money?"

I was in awe at the kind of mare Gold Digger was. Salah hadn't been lying at all. She was as greedy and spoiled as they came. What could anypony possibly want with so much money? Then again, perhaps this was just who Gold Digger was. And even with her greed, I still saw some kindness in those eyes when I first met her. Perhaps she wasn't as bad as she wanted others to think.

She paused for a minute as her smile dropped a bit. "So...Why did you save me?" she repeated.

I didn't need to think of my answer. "Because I would never just let someone die. Not if I could stop it. I'm a doctor, Ms. Digger. When push comes to shove I will always do everything in my power to make sure somepony keeps breathing. Including you."

She smiled whimsically. "Huh. Good answer." she said satisfied.

She turned to me. "I guess you want answers too don't you?" she said, simply.

"Yeah, I do."

She sighed. "We'll....I owe you one, so...fine. What do you wanna know?"

Questioning (Gold Digger, Owner and President of Gold Group, Possible Ally?)

We decided to sit down in the other couch as we talked. Poncy had returned and made us glasses of ice tea, as he was sure to keep an eye on the assassin, who was still knocked out. For a moment, it actually looked like we were just having a normal conversation. After setting my glass down, I asked my first question. "Alright, so first off....just who is The Grand Master? What does he want?"

"He's some evil mastermind in a cloak who wants to rule the world, apparently. Not just him now either. Those other ponies in The Circle-

"The Circle? That's the name of your organization?"

"Of their organization, yeah. I'm just in it for the money. But them....they're all serious about taking over everything. They're crazy!"

"How long has The Circle been around?" I asked.

"No clue. Must be really old though. The way The Grand Master talks sometimes, it's like he's ancient or something!"

I raised an eyebrow."How so?"

"He goes on about how in ages long forgotten, the dark ones ruled....or something. He's definitely off his saddle. I usually try to ignore him, but...

"But, what?"

"He knows, somehow! He knows when I'm spaced out and ignoring what he's saying. I can't see his face, but I....feel him staring a literal hole through me. It's creepy as heck!"

My thoughts raced to put this new info into storage in my brain. The Grand Master was very intimidating indeed. But the way he sounded, he sounded like a literal monster out of a fairy tale. But, that was ridiculous. He was just a pony under that cloak.

Wasn't he?

I paused as I took another drink of my tea. I was amazed at how well this was going with Gold Digger. Even though she was a member of this "Circle" she was only apart of it for her own (albeit, greedy and selfish) reasons. If she wanted to, maybe she could actually help us! Who better to have as an ally in this, then somepony who's actually apart of the group behind everything.

But I wasn't stupid. I knew that Gold Digger may not be evil, but she wasn't exactly a saint either. If I wanted her as an ally, I needed to appeal to her base desires. And I had a good idea of what that was.

I decided to ask her to help us later on. I had to get a few more answers for a few more questions in the meantime. "Who are the other ponies in The Circle?" I asked setting my glass down again.

Gold Digger paused a moment. "Let's see....besides yours truly, of course, there's the casino mogul, Tycoon Tex."

"Who's that?"

"This fat big city earth stallion in an oversized top hat. Talks in this real thick southern drawl. I can never understand him, with all his jaunty, Texan babble, but The Grand Master apparently does. Or at least pretends to."

"What's his story?"

"Don't know, don't care. All I know is he's rich (Not as rich me, but...still) and he's on board for The Grand Master's world domination plan."

I sighed. That wasn't anything to go on, but it was still something at least. I decided I would look into Tycoon Tex a little later. Once my business with Gold Digger was through.

"Who else?'

"Other than me and Tex, just a bunch of stuffy bureaucrats who are too scared of The Grand Master, to not do what he wants....and then there's Nair."

"Nair?"

"Grand Master's right hand mare. Just as scary as he is. Maybe even more so. Never shows up to meetings, never talks to anypony. Never needs to. It's way too weird."

Interesting, I thought. Nair must be his assistant or advisor of some sort. And she apparently has just as much clout in The Circle as the Grand Master does. If I could find her, she may be able to tell me more about the Grand Master. Though from how she sounded, it wouldn't exactly be an easy task to find her, let alone be able to speak with her.

I moved on to my next question. "What sort of work do you do for The Circle?" I asked. I had heard her talking about acquiring properties from Marquis and controlling economic factors, while they were in the tunnels. But I didn't want to let her know that just yet. In case she went back to the Circle after this. I was just here for information. There was no need to give away information she didn't need to know. Not just yet.

She took a sip of tea, before answering. "Real Estate. I buy properties that can be used by The Circle for their own purposes, in exchange I get a nice monetary exchange from the previous owners, plus a bonus from the members of the circle, as payment for me keeping the deal under wraps."

"Sounds shady." I said disapprovingly.

Gold Digger only shrugged. "Business is business, sweetie. But there is one particular property that The Grand Master has more interest in than any other property for some reason. And he's angry that I haven't been able to get it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Which would that be?"

"The Mareposa Cathedral. For some reason, he keeps getting on us about the importance of the place. About how its the central linchpin in our entire operation. About how I need to obtain it for them."

"The Cathedral? What does he want with an old landmark?" I asked.

"No idea. He keeps saying once we get it, we'll find out. Except it's owned by the city of the Mareposa. Even I'm unable to just buy the place!" Gold Digger explained.

I thought for a moment. For The Grand Master to make such a high demand, for a single building, there must be something of great importance hidden there. Something that The Grand Master needs, desperately. Which means If I got it before him, I would have leverage over him...and The Circle. My mind was made.

"Alright then, lets go." I said hopping off the couch.

Gold Digger looked confused. "Uh...go where?"

I turned and smiled at her. "The Mareposa Cathedral. That's what The Grand Master wants so badly, so there must be something hidden there. Something he wants. So, It's something I want." I explained. "So come on, lets go."

"Whoa, hey! Hang on." Gold Digger hopped off the couch. " I've answered your questions. So I'm done. We're done." She said sternly.

I turned back to her. "So you're just going to keep doing what some insane cloaked maniac keeps telling you to do? You're going to let the Circle just take over the world?"

Gold Digger scoffed. "Not my problem, sweetheart! I have my own world to look after."

But as she turned and started trotting away cheerfully, I knew then how to get her on my side. "If The Circle rules the world....then what's left for you?"

She stopped in her tracks. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell I'd gotten to her.

I kept pushing. "Once The Circle has what they want, they won't need you anymore. They'll take over everything. Everything you own or ever have owned, will be theirs. And there would be nothing you could do to stop them. Is that what you want?"

Still she said nothing. But I saw her hooves shift a little, as she thought it out.

After a minute, she finally turned to me. "And whats in it for me if I help you, then. Hmm? What could you possibly offer me in return, Ms. Meir." She asked snarkily.

I only smiled as I answered, "If The Circle gets taken down, that means you can snatch up all the properties they own when they lose custody of everything. And....you'll make plenty of money in the process." I said with an equal touch of snark in my voice..

Gold Digger looked down as she put a hoof to her chin in thought. I couldn't have cared less if Gold Digger was only doing this for herself. If she needed money to be influenced, then fine. Once The Circle was taken care of, I had every intention on letting her have all the spoils. I had no interest in it, and she didn't want to rule the world anyway. So why not?

Then a wide grin spread across her face as her eyes glittered brighter than ever before. I could practically see the gold coins sparkling in her field of vision. "Hmmm...Heh, I like the way you think, Ms. Meir." she said in a very excited tone. "Alright, then!"

Without warning, She suddenly wrapped an arm around my neck and pulled me close to her, so our faces were squeezing one another. "Then from here on out, you and I are besties! We'll take down The Circle, then reap the rewards that come with it!" She exclaimed.
"Or at least I will." She added softly.

"Uh, great." I said awkwardly, as my cheeks squished against hers. Not exactly what I had expected the outcome to be, but nevertheless, I had gained a new ally in my mission to take down The Circle. Gold Digger was no saint herself, but she only cared about money. As long as she knew she was getting it, she would be as saintly as I needed here to be.

And in the long run, that was good enough for me.

Chapter 12: "Sapiens Timet Veritatem."

The calm summer breeze, mixed with the sweet perfume scent of the various bushes of lilac that grew along the park's hedges, gave me a feeling of tranquility. Even with Ms. Gold Digger sticking so close to me, her hooves were practically up my back.

Ever since we had returned to Mareposa, she had been on edge. She tried to mask it with her normal snobbish chit chat, or some random inquiry about the weather. But I could tell; she was nervous about something. No...more than that.

She was scared.

I turned to her, causing her to suddenly jump back a few feet, as if I'd suddenly turned around brandishing a butcher's knife.

"What in the world's gotten into you, Ms. Digger? You've been on edge ever since we arrived back in Mareposa." I asked with genuine concern.

She looked at me, with wide alert eyes. "Of course I'm on edge, Ms. Meir! I may not believe in their whole world domination ideals, but I'm still a member of The Circle. If any of their contacts sees me out here with you, who knows what they'll do!" She exclaimed in a worried tone.

"I agree that you should take some caution. But jumping at the slightest sneeze and duck taping yourself to my backside will raise far more suspicion than simply trotting alongside me." I explained.

She sighed and nodded her head. "You're right, I know, but....

She trailed off, as after a long walk through downtown, we had finally come to the great gates of The Mareposa Cathedral.

Mareposa Cathedral, Outer Gates, 2:15 pm

It stood massive, surrounded by great iron bars that towered over us. As it loomed over the area, I couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. Perhaps it was because this place now had some great significance to itself, other than being a mere landmark. Something about this place held something within. Something that drew the interest of a maniacal pony (Or other) bent on a goal of dominating civilization. Of course it didn't help that the whole place resembled a castle from a horror movie.

As we stood and stared at the Victorian grandeur of the place, I suddenly noticed something. The great gates were closed, and locked up tight. As well as several parts of the cathedral were in disrepair. Shards missing from windows, pillars missing portions and parts of the roof had caved in. What had happened here?

I then saw a rather portly construction pony standing at the gate, enjoying a sandwich. A can of brass paint lay opened at his hooves. Perhaps he would know something about the cathedral being in such a state, I thought.

"Excuse me, sir?"

He turned and with his mouth full, and spoke in a thick Manehatten accent. "Whatchu wat?" he said. He swallowed to make it easier to talk (And in my opinion, it's just rude to talk with your mouth full) "This area's off limits, missy." he drawled.

"I just wanted ask you some questions is all."

He rolled his eyes at me. "Fine, whateva. Just's long as I don gotta get back to my work." He snorted. My opinion of this guy dropped lower and lower, the more I stood in proximity of him. Nonetheless, he had to know something about what was going on.

Questioning (Greasy Bolts, Construction worker, May have details regarding the disheveled state of The Cathedral, 2:23 pm)

I took a moment to calm my nerves as I asked my first question. "What's going on with The Cathedral? Did something happen?"

"Yeah, sometin happn'd. These rich nobodies started excavati'n the place. Hired me to clean up debris and wat'not."

"And the paint?"

"For touch'n up any of dem brass ornaments that mighta gott'n damaged in the process."

"You said their excavating? What are they looking for?"

"No clue. Tell you what though, I'm surprised at the sort of ponies that are so interested in this thing."

Me and Gold Digger both raised an eyebrow. "What do mean? What sort of ponies?" I asked quickly.

"Heh. None of them look like archaeologists to me." he scoffed.

"And...what do they look like?"

"Three piece suits, cuff links, fancy shoes, black fezzes."

"But no archaeologist dresses like that!"

He smiled. "I know. See? It's all mighty suspicious I tells ya."

So something was definitely going on at the Cathedral. That much was clear. But was it The Circle?

It certainly sounded like it.

I thanked the construction worker and went around the corner to think things over. I had to get into that excavation. I had to see what was going on. Whatever it was, It sounded like The Circle had made their move on the Cathedral. Rather than just buy the place, they had decided to take what they wanted from it personally. And I had to find out what it was. And stop them, as well.

"Gold Digger, you stay here." I told her.

"W-What?? You...you can't just leave me here!"

"Relax. I'm going to find a way in. It's better if you stay out here in the open. It's me they're really after. They'll worry about me, before you."

"I guess that's true. Fine...just, don't get caught."

"Thanks."

"Or killed."

"Yes, thank you."

I left her at the corner and began to study the area. I surveyed the gates. Very well maintained, and quite intimidating from the ground. I wasn't a Pegasus, and I wasn't very good at climbing over iron bars, so that strategy was out. I walked around the corner and spotter a back entrance into the place. It was guarded of course, but there was only one.

A light blue, skinny earth pony in a guard's uniform , stood near the door that led into the back of the Cathedral. He was clearly a young colt, and seemed rather nervous given to how he kept looking left and right. He was on the lookout for something.

As I approached him, I hoped it wasn't me.

"Hello sir. How are you doing tod-

I yelped as the young guard suddenly, rounded on me. "Not another step! Who are you, what are you doing here? Explain. Now!" He shouted.

I was so rattled by his outburst that I hesitated before answering as quickly and calmly as I could. "My name is Morning Meir. I'm a doctor, and I just wanted to ask you about the excavation going on here. That's all."I said softly. The poor colt was clearly quite on edge. I wondered what had him so alert...and paranoid.

His expression softened a bit, but his eyes remained locked on me. "I've heard of you. Famous doctor from Equestria. We'll we don't need a doctor around here, so you can just move along. This site is restricted to the public."

I raised an eyebrow. "On who's authority?"

"The ones paying me, miss. They've made it clear I am not to allow anypony through this door. No exceptions." He said sternly.

He was doing a very good job at acting serious. But he didn't fool me. The way his eyes were darting around slightly, trying to keep a good look at everything at once. The shakiness of his hooves and the slight quiver of anxiety in his voice. The way he tried to put space between him and the door, as he pretended to look around. He wasn't scared. He was terrified. Not of something that was going to show up at the door. But of what was already inside the Cathedral.

"What's your name?" I asked kindly.

His act didn't falter. "And why should I tell you?"

I sighed. "I know you're afraid of something. But I can't help you if you don't tell me anything."

His eyes softened, as he backed up a bit. The stern tone in his voice began to waver. "What are you talking about?"

I smiled as I tried to calm him down. "I'm a doctor. I know when someone is in distress. Be it physical or otherwise." I explained. "I can help you. Just please, tell me: What is it your so afraid of?"

He paused for a moment, before his eyes suddenly grew to the size of dinner plates. "Y-You...You don't wanna go in there, miss. They...They said I had to guard this door. I have to...or else." The panic in his voice was now completely clear.

"Just calm down. Take a deep breath. Collect your thoughts, and tell me what's going on."

There was a long pause where the guard said nothing. Then after taking a deep breath, his voice calmed down a bit as he explained what he could.

"These...aristocrats. They payed off a huge construction firm to start excavating in the basement of The Cathedral. It's been condemned for years, so no one thought anything of it, but..."

"But??" I urged.

"I'm sorry I don't know any details. But...the noises. The things they were talking about. I...didn't want to be in there anymore. I asked if I could leave. Then they ordered me to guard the door while they "worked."

"Worked? Worked on what?"

"I don't know anything else Ms. Meir. I-I....I have to guard this door. I can't let you in. At least if I do what they ask, I know I'm safe."

"Listen, I know your scared. I am too. But, I have to get in there. You don't know whats at stake!"

"I'm willing to risk it, Ms.Meir. I have to get back to work. Sorry."

The somber look in his eyes told me, he had made up his mind. He couldn't let me in. And I didn't want him risking himself just to let me in, either. I had to find my own way in. That way, at least they wouldn't blame him for letting me through.

I turned my back to him as I analyzed my surroundings. Nothing of use was around here. Then a few feet down from where we stood, I saw a bathroom. It had a sturdy lock on it as well. Probably to keep others from using it when the Cathedral wasn't open. I saw several cans of what seemed to be wall plaster sitting near the door as well.

Then I got an idea. I only hoped it would work.

"Excuse me, sir?"

The guard turned away from me. "I already told you, miss. I can't let you-

"Can I please have the key to use the restroom? It will only be a moment." I said simply.

"Oh, well yes. Of course." He took his key ring off his belt and handed it to me. "The brass one with the letter R on it."

"Thank you!" I said, taking the keys and making my way over to the door. I used the brass key, and heard the lock click on the other side. I opened the door and closed it behind me.

Mareposa Cathedral Restroom, 2:34 pm

The restroom was, to put it nicely, nothing fancy. A closet with a toilet and (hopefully) working sink. Chunks of the wall were missing exposing the various piping and wiring beneath. Even the bathrooms in the Cathedral were not spared from its current state. I was amazed that it managed to at least smell half decent. (Then again, perhaps my sinuses were still singed from my time down in the sewers.)

I knew I didn't have much time, so I got to work. I went over to the sink and picked up a bar of soap left on the edge. I took out the guard's keys and started going through them. Unfortunately for the guard, they had all been labeled accordingly, so I had no trouble finding the right one.

I stopped at the one that said "Cathedral Maintenance Key" and firmly pressed it hard into the soap, so when I removed it, it left a near perfect indentation of the key in it.

Setting the keys down, I spotted the cans of plaster left over by the wall, and moved over to the opened one. Very carefully, I dipped the mold into the plaster, then tilted it to make sure no extra plaster stuck to the soap.

I examined it, and it had worked! The plaster had created a perfect replica of the key!

I took the mold over to the hoof dryer on the wall, and turned it on, letting the heat speed up the process. It had taken a while, but a few minutes later, I had made myself a completely unconvincing plaster key.

Being made of plaster, this thing was too fragile to use on any lock. But that's not what I had made it for: I planned to substitute it for the real one.

But of course, the key looked like plaster, not metal. I had an idea to fix that as well, but I needed help to do it. In the meantime, I had taken up enough time in here. I had to return the keys to the guard.

I gently pocketed the plaster key, then exited the restroom.

I handed the keys back to the guard, who thanked me quickly before turning away. I went back out to the park, to see Gold Digger waiting for me on a park bench.

"What happened? Did you get in?" She asked.

"Not yet. I have to use a phone."

"A phone?? What do need a phone-

"It's important. Is there one out here."

Gold Digger looked very confused and a little annoyed. But she pointed to a phone booth down the pathway, near the park fountain.

I quickly trotted over to it, and dropped a bit into the coin slot. Putting the receiver to my ear, I dialed in the number to Ralah and Salah's suite in the Trottingham Le Grande.

It rang for a few minutes until a familiar, and extremely cheerful sounding mare picked up the other line. "Hotel Salah! Salah speaking." she said happily.

"Salah? It's Meir. Listen, I found out a few things you guys need to hear, but right now I need you to do something for me, kay?"

"Ooh, is it a secret mission?" She asked eagerly.

"Uh...sure."

"Awesome! What do you need me to do?" She asked.

I looked back to see if the construction worker was still at the front gate. He was still there, and was now eating a rather large box of powdered donuts. (What did they pay this guy for again?)

I turned my attention back to Salah. "I need you to distract somepony for a few minutes. Can you do that?"

Salah laughed on the other line. "You know who you're talking to? This is what I was born for! You just do what you have to, and I'll keep em on the line for days if you need me to!" she said confidently.

"Great! You stay on the line, I'll go get him."

"Will do!"

I put the receiver up so the call wouldn't end, then made my way back over to Greasy Bolts. He had his muzzle halfway into the doughnut box, and hadn't even seen me until now.

He looked up from his box. "You again? Watta you want now?"

"There's a phone call for you in the park booth. It sounded really important."

"Me? You sure?"

"They said they wanted to speak to a "Greasy Bolts." You know anyone else by that name?"

Greasy suddenly straightened up and looked out at the booth. "Yeah. Yeah okay. I'll go see what they need." With that he put on his hat, and made his way over to the phone booth in the park, leaving his can of brass paint completely unguarded.

Keeping an eye on him, I quickly took out my plaster key then dipped it into the brass paint. I let it work for a minute or two, before pulling it out. The plaster had completely taken to the paint, and it now looked to be made of brass. It still felt like plaster though.

I went back over to Gold Digger, who looked at me like I was out of my mind. But what did it matter? My plan had worked so far. Now for the next step.

I went back to the guard, who seemed to immediately put his guard mode at full power as I trotted towards him. Gold Digger merely watched from the corner.

"Miss, I already-

"I have to use the bathroom again!"

"What?? But it's only been-

"I forgot to wash my hooves."

"Oh. well....alright. Fine."

He handed me the key ring again, and I went over to the bathroom once more. Once back inside, I swiftly removed the real key and replaced it with my plaster copy, pocketing the real one in the process. I waited a few minutes to make it seem like I was actually doing anything in here, then went back outside.

I held my breath, and hoped that he wouldn't notice the substitution, as I gave him back the keys. "Thanks. Here's your keys back." I said thankfully.

To my great relief, he didn't so much as hesitate taking the keys back, and put them back on his belt without a second thought. I simply trotted back over to Gold Digger, who desperately needed some form of explanation, so she could at least know that I wasn't insane.

"Meir. I'm begging you. Please tell me this is all part of your plan."

"This is all part of my plan."

"Oh, thank Celestia."

"And now I need you to do something for me."

"Me?? What?"

"I need you to go distract the guard, so I can unlock the door into the Cathedral."

"And just what am I supposed to say? I don't know him!"

"You're Gold Digger! Richest Mare in Europa! You don't need to know him: He only needs to know you."

The mere thought of talking to anypony below her class, seemed to make Gold Digger slightly ill. But she nodded anyway. "Fine. I'll grace the poor colt with my presence. Just...don't make me regret this!" she said anxiously, as she flipped back her mane and made her way over to the guard.

I couldn't hear what she had said to him, but not more than a second later, she had led him away from the door, into the park. I stopped to see Greasy still in the phone booth, and he was crying his eyes out for some reason. I decided to not think about it right now, and get on with what I came here for

I returned to the now unguarded back entrance into the Cathedral, and rather then going straight in, I...stopped. My instincts suddenly flared up, alerting me to the extreme danger that was behind this door. Something about all of it, it felt....wrong. Anxiety gripped my body as I turned the key, then against my better judgement, slipped inside the Cathedral, shutting and locking the door behind me.

Mareposa Cathedral, Back Lobby, 2:56 pm

The scene that awaited me was certainly not what I had expected. I came into a large empty room, with a massive gaping hole in the floor, that extended an unknown amount of feet down into the depths of the Cathedral's basement. A ladder, connecting to several platforms led the way down.

A strange feeling arose in my stomach. An incredibly strong sense of foreboding suddenly accosted my nerves like a freezing cold wind. Everything in my brain was screaming at me to leave. That I shouldn't go down there. But I had no choice. I had to get to the bottom of all this. What were The Circle after down here? And what had both me and that poor guard so...uneasy?

I ignored the terror that crept up my spine as I made my way down the series of ladders and platforms, taking a lit torch in one hoof, to light my descent.

The further down I went, the colder it seemed to get. The silent terror didn't go away. It moved itself around inside me. Trying desperately to get my attention. I had never in my life felt so scared, without even knowing why. And that just scared me even more.

As I finally reached the bottom, my brain decided to ignore my fear, and focus on making out the image of the nightmarish creature that now faced me in the shadows.

I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out. As I waited for the worst, I realized to my great relief that what I was facing, was merely a statue. I managed to catch my breath as I felt my heart ready to fly right out of my chest.

I took several minutes to calm myself, before studying the statue.

It towered over me, carved of some type of black stone that gave off a rough texture in the dim light of my torch. It was straight out of a nightmare. A true nightmare. One that your brain forces you to forget come morning, as it would terrify you into shock if you didn't. Except this time, I wasn't asleep. And the nightmare was all too real.

A disturbingly tall, bipedal creature with several appendages jutting out from its bulbous torso, and no head. But it had eyes. Too many. Huge glaring orbs that dotted every inch of the creature's body, that seemed to all be looking directly at me. It looked like a huge puzzle of several sea creatures, that had been carelessly put back into some distorted, random order, creating a new, all too unsettling abomination in its place.

I struggled to comprehend just what I was looking at, but It was all in vain. Never in my life had I ever seen a creature as horrible and disturbing as this. Questions began flaring up in my mind like thousands of unstable fireworks. And I didn't have an answer for any of them.

I suddenly felt that I was being watched. I felt eyes, not in front of me. But behind me.

Then I heard a gasp behind me, and spun around, ready to strike whoever was trying to get the jump on me. But I stopped mid swing, as I saw who it was.

"Hey!! Whoa! Take it easy! It's me, alright!" Gold Digger exclaimed, putting her hooves up in defense.

For a moment I was very happy to see her. Something about being down here by myself. With only this.....thing, to keep me company. It made one very glad to see another pony down here. I had now entered a glimpse of a world I knew I shouldn't have. But at least now I didn't have to go alone.

As my senses returned to me, I now had many questions for her. But she asked first.

"What in the name of Celestia are you doing down here?! I came in to see if you were in trouble, and-W-What in.....WHAT IS THAT!?"

She nearly fell over backwards as she spotted the statue behind me. She tried to scream but no sound came out. Mostly because I had cupped my hoof to her mouth, as I heard voices down the hall.

"It came from down here!" A rough voice said. I heard hooves coming down the hall, and knew we had to hide. Unfortunately, there was only one place we could hide.

I grabbed Gold Digger by her hoof, and managed to get both of us behind the statue just as the two stallions entered the room. We held our breath as we had to stand on our hind legs to safely hide behind the statue.

"I could've sworn..."

"Forget it, we have work to do down here. Now, come on! You don't want to disappoint The Grand Master."

When I was sure that the coast was clear, we came out from behind the statue. Well, I did. Gold Digger unfortunately had apparently tuned out, and was now curled up behind the thing. Apparently too scared to move from the spot. I didn't blame her.

Now that I had a chance to look around, I saw that we were no longer in the Cathedral, but were now standing in the rotunda of a large temple, that had apparently The Cathedral had been built over top of. But why was it so far underground? How long ago was the place built?

As I looked around, Gold Digger came out from behind the statue, although she didn't look any less terrified. "W-What are you doing?" she asked me.

"This temple....it's strange. Clearly this place was built to serve some sort of purpose. These symbols...I've never seen anything like them before. What could they mean?" I wondered aloud, examining rows of bizarre glyphs that stretched around the base of the statue.

"Who cares what they mean! Let's get out of here!" Gold Digger whispered loudly.

"No! We can't leave yet, didn't you hear? The Grand Master might be down here!" I replied.

"Yes, which is exactly the reason we need to leave!"

I could tell she was scared. As was I, but I hadn't come this far just to turn tail now."This could be our only chance to really find out who....or what The Grand Master is. Are you even a little curious as to why they're really doing all this? Who they really are?"

Gold Digger looked quite annoyed at my question, but I could tell she was taking it into thought. As much as she wanted to leave, if she had the chance to find out who The Grand Master was, then she shouldn't pass it up.

Finally, she agreed (albeit reluctantly) to stay with me as we explored this place. But if things would get too dangerous (for either of us) we would leave as soon as we could. There was no point in finding out anything about The Grand Master if we just ended up getting killed doing it after all.

I had no idea at that time just how dangerous things would soon be getting for us. And I couldn't have possibly imagined the horrifying truth we would discover down there. A truth that not only changed the entire spectrum of this case.

But the entire scope of what I thought could be real.

Chapter 13: "The Evil Beneath."

It was an odd sensation being down here. The air felt strangely cool, and there was a great lack of dust anywhere. As if this place had been preserved somehow. Trapped in time, not aging a day since it was unearthed. But the question was, who unearthed it?

The only sounds we heard echo off the walls, were our own hoofsteps. And then we stopped.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I noticed something in front of us: A large makeshift campsite had been set up in a clearing. At first I thought it was the campsite of whoever else was down here. But then I saw what kind of shape the place was in. Tents were torn down, tables overturned and pieces of rubble scattered across the stone floor. This camp had been abandoned for a few years now. No way it was set up recently.

But then it hit me. "If this isn't their camp...that means someone else was down here, before them. Someone discovered this place, before they did!"

Gold Digger prodded a destroyed tent with her hoof. "Well they weren't very good at setting up a campsite." she scoffed.

I rolled my eyes at her. "They didn't do this themselves! It must've collapsed on its own after being down here for a few years, unattended." I explained.

"Well...maybe this can tell us something."

She had found a small tattered looking journal nuzzled under a path of destroyed fabric from the tent. Its pages were worn and damp with water damage, but I could still make out the very neat and proper looking hoofwriting in its margins.

It read as follows.

Thursday, 8th of February, X002.

Cape Cold, aboard SS Wakeful

Were finally away. Our parents came to see us off. Well...me off. They couldn't know about Debby. After all what was the point of running away if your parents ended up dragging you back the moment they caught sight of you? They'd drag her back to Ponywood, and have her stay the prissy little star they've always wanted. But there is so much more out there! Adventure to be had all over the world.

And they'd have her stay in that city, and act out for a bunch of rich, nobodies.- Poor kid.

They think I'm crazy. Obviously. They wouldn't be my parents if they didn't think the daughter who travels all over the world hunting for treasures in old ruins was in the least bit sane. I know what they think of me. and I don't care. Just because I never became as pompous, and stuck up as them, that makes me second best.

But this will change everything. This time I'll be back with proof that even they wont be able to deny.

And Debby's along for the ride!

- Do,welle Divine

The name struck a chord with me so strongly I could swear it actually hit me over the head. My eyes swelled as the realization came to me. "Divine!? I knew I'd heard that name before!" I exclaimed.

The whole thing rushed to the forefront of my brain. Debby had been De'belle Divine, the starlet who had gone missing 15 years ago. The one who had been standing with Mr. Regal in that torn up photograph.

And the year this passage was written: X002. That was exactly 15 years ago! She had gone missing that exact year. And she had run away from home to go with her adventurous sister on some sort of trip. And had never been seen again.

My hooves shook as I read through the next passage, eager to finally uncover what had happened to the starlet from the photo.

Saturday, 10th of February, X002.

In the Atlantic, aboard the SS Wakeful.

The weather is fine and the captain promises a quick crossing to Lisbon. The red tape involved in organizing this expedition tried my patience almost to the breaking point, but Debby is enjoying herself. Shes been talking non-stop about how excited she is to finally be going on a real adventure with her awesome sister. The Omani authorities shouldn't give us much trouble. I can only hope that my sheaf of documents (and ready cash) will be enough to placate that aristocrat when I arrive.

Wednesday, 21st of February, X002.

The western Mareiterranean, Aboard the SS Wakeful.

So far so good. Uneventful crossing. Melanin was waiting for us in Lisbon with the aristocrat- with the welcome news that he had perfected his electrical sensing apparatus, which is now safely on board in its crates. If it works as well as he claims, this may save us weeks or even months of excavation work.

Monday, 5th of March, X002.

Alcalti, Just outside Mareiposa Bay.

Still waiting to finish hiring our team of diggers. I am trying to keep Debby together, but she's so excited to start digging, she insists we should dock now and start digging ourselves. She hasn't grown up at all. Still just as bright eyed as ever.

We are so close now- but patience is a virtue. And we both need to have it. We'll find what we came here for. I know it.

Wednesday, 14th of March, X002.

Mareiposa, Warehouse 13A.

Finally! We docked yesterday and have been unloading at a feverish pace. Any more delays and we will be in danger of having to postpone until the summer heat has passed. I couldn't do that to Debby. Not when shes stayed positive all this time. We both need to do this. There's no more time to waste.

Friday, 16th of March, X002.

Mareiposa Cathedral, Collapsed basement.

Removing the rubble was easy. Dealing with those paper-shuffling bureaucrats to get legal permission to start digging under the Cathedral though, that was hard. I really don't get it. This Cathedral has been closed for years. People visit to take tours and junk. No one actually goes to it. But it doesn't matter. Me and my sister are finally here, and nothing stands between us but the earth.

Thursday, 29th of March, X002.

Cathedral Excavation.

The dig is going well. Our diggers are bringing up rubble from the excavation to make way for the equipment, so we can start moving rock with the dozers. I keep hearing our diggers talk about getting chills down there, but I sum it up to them just needing to wear a coat. Tomorrow, we see if Melanin's apparatus works. Debby's excited to see it. So am I.

Saturday, 30th of March, X002.

Cathedral Excavation.

Melanin's apparatus has been balky- rocks in the delicate workings no doubt- but he has obtained favorable readings down further below. Heat during the day is tremendous, even for us Ponywood folk. Its amazing how these Mareiposians get along so well with it. We'll set to work tomorrow and see what we see.

Monday, 2nd of April, X002.

Cathedral Excavation.

Nothing yet. Melanin swears that it wasn't a false reading. 2 more days and I might have to grab a shovel myself.

Tuesday, 3rd of April, X002.

Cathedral Excavation.

WE FOUND IT!! A few minutes ago, our diggers struck worked stone. Carved stone. Apparently the edge of a large circular structure. As excited as I am, I cant help but notice how uneasy everpony's feeling now. At first it was just chills, but...call me crazy, but the more we seem to dig, the more odd the air seems to feel. I doubt its much of an issue, but I'll keep my eyes open.

Friday, 6th of April, X002.

Cathedral Excavation.

I'm now convinced we have found Ubar itself! We've uncovered several fragmentary inscriptions, with runes that match the ancient texts. We've made excellent progress clearing part of what appears to be a monumental plaza, but it seems to go much further down. Looks like we still have a ways to go.

Wednesday, 18th of April, X002.

Cathedral Excavation.

All work has stopped - One of our diggers has gone missing. He was surveying one of the deeper parts of the site, and was last spotted studying a set of glyphs on the wall. Hopefully the poor fool just activated a trap door and we'll need to get him out of a pit of snakes or something. Everpony is uneasy due to the disappearance. I've assured them that we would find him soon. I hope I'm right.

Friday, 20th of April, X002.

Our guys grow restless, as our missing digger has yet to turn up. The guide is becoming very troublesome - some of the diggers are beginning to listen to his tales of ancient curses and forbidden secrets. Even I'm beginning to believe there is more down here than we had thought. Debby's excited of course, but I can't shake the feeling that we may not be prepared for what we find.

Saturday, 21st of April, X002.

Debbys Gone. She went into the site to look for that missing digger. I'm going in to find her. I don't expect anyone to stay here anymore, and I don't care. All that matters is my sister.

To my dismay, the rest of the journal was blank. This had been Do'welle's final entry before she had gone to search for her sister. The pieces all fit together: This temple had been discovered by Do'welle and her team. Her sister had tagged along, and was subsequently lost in the ruins, causing her sister to go and search for her. I was desperate to learn more, but I knew the only way I would get more answers was to explore this place myself. I had to go deeper into the ruins. Needless to say the idea made me very uneasy.

I heard my sigh echo off the cavern walls. "So that's what happened."

Gold Digger only looked at me in confusion. I knew she had no clue what I was talking about. But that didn't matter. I had discovered what had happened to De'belle Divine all those years ago. And we were now standing in the very place she had gone missing. The thought of going any further was the last possible thing on my mind. But I had to. Whatever was happening down here, I wouldn't be finding out just standing here.

"We need to get moving." I said out loud. I couldn't tell if I was telling Gold Digger or myself.

As we made our way even further I began to wonder. Everything I had seen, all this insanity I had been through: Did it all center around something? Was all this apart of The Grand Master’s plan? But now this...It felt different.

I had no idea why, but I had the strangest feeling that The Divine sister’s disappearance held some sort of great importance in all this. I had to find out what really happened to them. To this expedition.

And I wouldn’t stop till I knew the truth.

Chapter 14: "Whispers."

I’ve always been cautious by nature. Never going into most things, without fully thinking it all through.

I would play the scenario in my mind, going over every detail in sync with how I predicted it would play out. This way, I could at least find some solace in the fact that, having analyzed the situation, any surprises would be definite surprises.

But not this time. My mind was far too flustered to bother with anything like that at this point.

As we made our way under the large stone archways, slowly descending further and further into the temple that now clearly made up the environment, I found it suddenly very comforting that I wasn’t by myself down here. Gold Digger was still very much on edge, if not more so. She trotted closely behind, making sure that she was right behind me at all times.

We came into a massive room, a corridor meant for a giant, that stretched forward for what seemed like miles. But I could make out the exit on the other side. Huge unidentifiable statues stood like rows of soldiers along the path to the other side of the room. They were tall hooded figures with their long arms raised up in front of them, as if offering something out. I looked to see that disturbingly, they had no hooves, but long gangling appendages that curled up like snakes. It was unsettling to say the least.

I heard Gold Digger groan rather loudly behind me. “Ohhh...I’m not sure how much more I can take. All this walking is bad for my complexion!” she moaned.

I laughed. “Actually, walking is good for you. Keeps the body from producing lactic acids that make you lethargic....and overweight.”

I heard her verbally gasp at the notion that she could ever possibly be overweight. But as I laughed, I heard it. Subtle and quiet, hidden just underneath Gold Digger’s voice and my own. But it was still there.

Whispering. A low guttural rasp that shook me to my core. I knew that I wasn’t hearing things, as Gold Digger suddenly looked around and asked me If I could hear that. And indeed I could.

I looked all around the room, but as chilling as it sounded, we were completely alone in a room that suddenly had more than a thousand ghostly voices all whispering like they were right in my ears.

It was a whisper, but it was also something like a song, too. It was like all the pain and sorrow in the world was being dredged up from the bottom of the earth and was twisting itself into a horrible silent melody.

We stopped walking, suddenly quivering with fear. I tried my hardest to block it out, but as strange as it sounds, the whispering grew louder. Not in tone, but it quickly became the only sound we could hear.

“I-I...I don’t like this, Meir.” Gold Digger said, her face turned pale. “not one bit.”

I had to give her credit for putting it so mildly. Sometimes ponies you think you know well can still surprise you. She was being brave. Or, at least, she was trying.

I wasn’t sure if I was capable of the same. Everything in my body was telling me to run away. Back up to the cathedral, back to the hotel. Back to Equestria, even.

But when I turned around, I now saw that there was no way back. The entryway we had come through was now a series of hallways, all forking out in several unfamiliar directions. Some force wanted us to pick one in hopes it would lead us back to the cathedral.

I had a feeling none of them would. In all those stories you read by the campfire, or during a huge thunderstorm, when a dark force wants you to do something that badly, it’s best to do exactly the opposite.

I looked ahead. The light from the exit now seemed a million miles away, shooting out into the room like a golden knife. We had to keep going. It was the only way out.

“Come on,” I said.

Gold Digger looked at me like I had lost my mind. But when I took a step forward to show her it was possible, she knew I was right.

“Come On,” I repeated, firmer this time. I took another step. Then Gold Digger took one, too, still shaking. We moved slowly across the room, and as we got closer the whispering reshaped itself into something else: A scratchy, violent squall so loud that my whole skull vibrated from the force of it. My senses were knocked out of me as everything in me could only process the horribleness of that screaming.

We both doubled over as it hit us, covering our ears in pain. It was inside my brain rattling my very sanity apart. I felt that this was it. I had come all this way, only to lose it all to a room full of weird statues....

Wait.

The Statues...

As horrible as the sound was, I heard something else within it. A small voice, still whispered a few mere words, that somehow reached my brain.

It said: “Seeing Is Hearing.”

At first this could not have made less sense to me. But seeing as how I was going to die in a few minutes anyway, I decided to put all my brain power into processing this one small clue, thrown out to us. A small message of hope. A way to save ourselves.

Then I looked over and saw through tears that the statues were all the same: Blind. They could not see though the cloaks covering their heads. Seeing Is Hearing. So if you don’t see...then.

“Digger, close your eyes now!” I yelled, my voice just barely reaching over top of the screaming.

Gold Digger didn’t say anything, but I knew she had heard me. She shut her eyes tightly, and so did I.

And then...nothing.

Not a single sound. No screaming. No whispering. Only the sound of my heart beating out of my chest, and Gold Digger’s stifled sobs.

“Lets...Lets go. Take my hoof.” I said out loud, offering my hoof to Gold Digger behind me, who instantly latched onto it, like a terrified child to their mothers arm. She said nothing as she squeezed it tightly. But I still heard a few short breaths and sobs between moments of silence. I had to get us out of here. Now.

Seeing nothing but the inside of my eyelids, I slowly made my way forward, reaching out in front of me, feeling for anything that may get in the way. My rational mind had given up at this point. All that was left was to keep going forward.

It felt like hours. Moving slowly through this evil place, not being able to even open our eyes to see where we were going. It was terrifying. More than that, was it really Gold Digger who had grabbed my hoof just now?

But I kept going, and then I heard the doors close behind us. I dared myself to open my eyes, and in doing so, saw that we were now in an entirely different room. And judging by the horrific splendor of the place, it was the last room in the temple.

Ritual Altar Room, Unknown Time, Unknown Place

We stood in a massive rotunda that seemed to float on an endless murky sea, covered in fog. I saw past the many stone pillars that held the roof of the rotunda up, that there was seemingly no wall to signal where the mysterious out of place ocean ended. It seemed to go on and on without end.

A massive statue of some horrific abomination I couldn't even try to describe stood in the center of the place. A disturbing, horrific mistake of some unknown force that simply cobbled together whatever limbs and body parts it had on hand. Its appendages all spread out each holding something in its grasp. I couldn't see what they were, but they seemed to be various idols of some sort, with startling grotesque faces all carved into them.

It was then that I realized to my horror, that they were not idols. But heads. Not living heads of course, but they were still meant to resemble the heads of living creatures.

And then I noticed something else. There was somepony kneeling in front of the statue. A tall dark ,cloaked figure that I instantly recognized as The Grand Master.

I wasn't completely sure what I was about to say. Would I confront them? Demand to know whats going? Or maybe I should simply throw tactical thinking out the window and just try to jump them, hoping to catch them off guard and subdue them before any of this madness happens.

Unfortunately I didn't get the opportunity to do any of these, because as soon as we had noticed The Grand Master kneeling before the statue, we were jumped from behind. My hooves were pinned behind me so quickly I had no time to react. Gold Digger was far too occupied with the fact the Grand Master now stood before us to even try fighting back.

They towered over us, as they peered their head down and I heard what I could swear was a cold chuckle. As if the fact we were now at their mercy brought The Grand Master some measure of amusement. Which it no doubt did.

Almost immediately, Gold Digger began to beg for her life, clearly scared out of her mind. "Grand Master, please! I-I...I brought her here to you! I've been working against her this whole time! I- "

"Be silent."

And she was. The Grand Master's voice was as cold and foreboding as I had last heard it. If not more so in this place. He had no need of some supernatural power to shut Gold Digger up. She was scared enough already.

The Grand Master moved towards us. A towering black shadow that clearly had ill intentions for us.

Or more specifically: for me.

I struggled and squirmed as hard as I could but the thug's grip was surprisingly strong even for a pony of his size. "Whatever you're planning, just leave Digger out of it. She has nothing to do with any of this!" I sounded braver than I felt. If not for my sake then at least for Gold Digger's.

I knew she was just saying what she thought she had to. If she was going to betray me, she would've done so back when that Hashashin tried to kill me. But she stopped him. She clearly had intentions of her own, and she didn't want me dead for it.

The Grand Master didn't lean in, but curved down, as if he had no way to kneel down at all. I felt a cold smile beneath the hood, as he curved down to meet my face. "There is no need to worry, miss Morning Meir. You are indeed the one I'm the most interested in."

"So...what are you going to do to me then? You got me. Just get on with it." I was of course scared out of my wits, but I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of seeing me afraid. I'm sure he got more than his fill of ponies being afraid of him.

The Grand Master turned away. "First, a question for you: What do you believe really happened to miss De'belle Divine when she came down here? Get it right, and perhaps I'll let you live."

"What??"

"Answer quickly."

What game was he playing now? It was obvious that De'belle had disappeared in these caves. But...she was never found. And the rest of her sister's journal was blank. I had no way of knowing what had happened to her. So, this meant he wanted me to guess. He wanted me to get it wrong. That was his game.

I decided to give it a try. After all, all I had to lose at this point was my life. (No pressure.)

Strategic Hypothesis

What did I know so far?

15 years ago, Do'welle and De'belle Divine went missing in this mysterious temple that was found underneath the Mareposa Cathedral.

De'belle had known Mr. Regal and had taken a photo with him.

The image of the photo once again surfaced in my mind as clear as if I had just saw it. There was Mr. Regal smiling and standing next to the beautiful movie starlet that was De'belle Divine. It was the same scene as I had ever saw it, and yet...something else now caught my attention.

A change was now visible in the photo, one that up until now had been all but invisible to me: A hoof on Mr Regal's left hoof shoulder. Somepony else was in this picture. Somepony was standing next to Mr. Regal, hoof on his shoulder and was posing for a picture with him and De'belle.

But who? Who could it be??

Then...I had it. I not only knew the answer to his question.

I now knew the true identity of The Grand Master.

"I know what happened to her." I heard myself say out loud, before I was fully aware.

He was in my face before I could even react. "Is that so?? Then by all means....indulge me."

He was trying to scare me. He was trying to intimidate me. But I knew the truth now. I knew who he was.

Or rather....who she was.

"You're her aren't you? You tried to find your sister down here, but instead you found something else. A mysterious power you couldn't explain, that you didn't understand, but you were drawn to it anyway. Perhaps you thought it would help you find her."

I narrowed my eyes at The Grand Master. "But you didn't find her. Not because you weren't looking hard enough. But because you stopped caring. This new power changed you, took control of you. And now it hungers for more...so you intend to satiate it by taking over the world. And you're getting terrified bureaucrats and ponies of influence to do it for you. And, of course, anypony who says no or tries to stop you must be dealt with. That's why you had Mr. Regal killed. And Argyle. And...why you want me dead."

I waited for her to say something. To confess to all of it. For her to at least take off that ridiculous cloak. But she just stood there.

I was getting impatient. I just wanted her to admit to all of this. "Am I wrong, Do'welle!?" I demanded.

Gold Digger looked over at me. I couldn't tell if she was either amazed or horrified by what I had said. But I didn't care. I had to hear Do'welle say something here. I waited....

And then.....I heard a chuckle from beneath the cloak's hood. Low, cruel and deep as a bottomless pit. The Grand Master was chuckling. And it built quite quickly into nearly hysterical laughter. The room echoed with it to such a degree, that I swore I heard other voices laughing along with her.

"W-Why are you laughing? Explain dammit!" I demanded. My ears stung at the curse, but I was in no mood for games. I had been through too much. Just what in Equestria was so funny now!?

"Oh, Meir....You really are a smart one aren't you? A mare fit for her title as "The Smartest Pony In The World." she said, her voice though was still as deep and ominous as ever.

She looked up and I saw the red hot glowing coals that were now her eyes, and below them...a terrifying sharp toothed smile. "Thing is...you're only half right!"

She tore the cloak from her body and I watched as it fizzled out into nothingness in her hooves. Then she looked up at me.

I froze on the spot. It wasn't Do'welle.

She took a step forward and threw back her golden mane, which was still as perfect as it had looked in the picture. Her gleaming green eyes still shined as they ever had, and she was even wearing the same soft smile as she wore in the photo.

I had no words, as she took a step towards me." De'belle Divine...charmed I'm sure." she said politely in a soft and gentle voice that came off as a relaxing summer breeze.

She tilted her head to the side and smiled sweetly. "Welcome to my little party, Miss Morning Meir. I've been waiting for a good while now, but I suppose now that your here...

Her pupils suddenly shrunk as a very evil, manic smile spread across her perfect face. "We can finally begin."

Chapter 15: "Shadow Over Mareiposa."

The shock had yet to fade away. How could I have missed something like this? Was it true? Had it been De'belle Divine under that cloak the whole time? Or was this some sort of trick being employed by The Grand Master? Was all of this just some illusion, he had cooked up?

I was beginning to doubt even my own reasoning, although in fairness, It would seem reasoning had left quite awhile ago.

Debelle looked at me with soft, yet cruel eyes. "I'm sure you have many questions, Ms. Meir. By all means go ahead and try one of your little "questioning" sessions on me. See where it leads you."

I narrowed my eyes at her. She was mocking me. Daring me to do what she asked. I wasn't stupid: I knew there was something more here. I just had to find it. I had to get her talking, and keep her talking while I worked out what was really going on here.

I smiled at her. "Fine. Go ahead and tell me, how you became The Grand Master. Tell me all about your insane plans to take over the world. Tell me-

"What happened to my sister?" Debelle finished for me, with a curt smile. "I would love to!" she exclaimed happily. The more I got to know this mare, the more disturbing she became. What had happened to make her like this?

Debelle walked back to the statue and looked up at it, with soft, awestruck eyes, as if she was seeing it for the first time. "Years ago, back when I was stupid, cheery and had not a single inkling of what I was truly meant for, I came to this place with my sister. I was amazed by the splendor of its architecture, by the adventure, by the feeling of getting out of the miserable city, where those sheep fonded over me like obedient dogs."

"One day, a digger went missing down in the tunnels, and I wanted to help him. To save him. To show my sister I could be of use. I went further into the temple than any of them had, and found this room. I was lost, scared and alone. Powerless."

"It was then that I heard them." she said her voice dropping to a near whisper.

I looked over at her, actually curious. "Heard what?"

She turned to me her eyes glossed over, as if she was in a trance. But as she said the next words, they lit up again like fiery coals, just as menacing as The Grand Masters had been.

"The Dark Ones."

Gold Digger had told me in our conversation at her home about that. About how The Grand Master would talk about The Dark Ones. About how they used to rule the world or something. But was that true? And what exactly were they anyway?

I didn't have to ask to find out as Debelle continued her story.

"They seemed to talk to me from everywhere at once. A million soft voices from nowhere, all saying the same thing. They told me not to fear. Told me to listen. I was hesitant at first, but soon I gave in and heard what they had to say."

Debelle turned back to me, a strange smile on her face. "Let me ask you something Ms. Meir: How do you think Mareiposa was built? How do you think such a lustrous and vibrant city was created?"

I looked at her. "What does that have to do with anything?"

she chuckled to herself. "Everything." as she said it, her voice dropped to that of The Grand Master's once more, her eyes once again red hot coals, before fading back to soft green.

"You see, Meir, in the days before Mareiposa was built, a group of miners discovered this temple. And found entities they called The Dark Ones. They spoke to the townspeople, offering them prosperity and wealth to their city, in exchange for...payment."

My eyes widened. "Payment...

"Blood."

Debelle clapped her hooves in mock applause. "Very good, Ms. Meir! Yes. In order to keep favor with The Dark Ones, in order to keep the city rich and vibrant...a sacrifice had to be made to appease their hunger."

I kept listening, looking for anything that may give away what was really happening here. There was something off about Debelle (Besides the obvious I mean) It was like not all of her was really there. Like half of her was asleep or...dead.

The notion shot a chill up my spine as Debelle continued to explain.

"The townspeople did as they were told, and Mareiposa and its citizens prospered, the most elite of which formed a group dedicated to the worship and servitude of The Dark Ones, ensuring they always got their sacrifice. They called themselves-

"The Circle" I finished for her. So that was how it all started. The townspeople had found The Dark Ones and in order to keep favor with them. In order to keep the city rich and plentiful...they offered up some poor soul as a sacrifice to them.

To say I was disgusted would be a gross understatement. This beautiful city, this bustling rich metropolis....had literally been built on the blood of innocents. And had always been. But something had changed...The Dark Ones had lost their power.

"Correct Ms. Meir." Debelle said confirming my suspicions that she could somehow hear my thoughts.

"You see, after a time, some townspeople had a change of heart. Decided to go against the will of The Dark Ones. Decided to end their reign of evil once and for all. They set off bombs in the temple, burying most of The Circle and The Dark Ones beneath the rubble, and built the new Mareiposa Chapel over it." Debelle said spitefully. As if she was mad somepony would dare make a move against The Dark Ones.

She smiled at me again. "But then me and my sister came along! She dug up the temple, and reawakened The Dark Ones. They were starving, desperate for food. They began to take the diggers as sacrifices, and when I followed...they left me alone. Instead they shared their knowledge with me. Taught me their language and runes. Said if I did as they told me, they would give me power beyond anything in our weak universe. I just had to keep them fed."

It was then I realized to my utter and complete horror, what had happened to Dowelle Divine. "Y-you....you didn't....

She didn't answer. Instead she turned and trotted over to me again. "Augustus and Argyle were quite troublesome. When I found the remnants of The Circle, it didn't take much to convince them The Dark Ones had chosen me to lead them. Most of them were overjoyed. But those two. They were against me from the start. They acted loyal, but The Dark Ones revealed their deception to me. I knew I had to dispose of them. So I did just that."

My breath caught in my throat. It had been her...she had been the one who killed Mr. Regal. Ordered Marquis to have him disposed of, then brought Ralah and Salah into the frey to get Argyle's attention, and draw him out. Two birds with one stone.

I couldn't contain my anger, my frustration, my disbelief. "You're a monster." I spat at her. "You toy with ponies lives and kill them when they go against your will. You did all this...and for what? Power? Respect? Or was it a chance to prove your not just some scared little starlet from Ponywood whose gotten herself into a situation her tiny brain can't think her way out of." I snapped.

Debelle chuckled, then inhaled a deep breath, and as she did so I felt all the air leave my lungs. I struggled to breathe, but it was like I had forgotten how to take a breath. My chest was on fire, as I tried desperately to taste air, but even with my mouth wide open, air did not enter my body. I began to panic.

Debelle smirked at me. "You're lucky that we need you for the final part of the plan, Meir." she said cruelly. Then exhaled, and my lungs screamed out as I finally took in air, coughing and sputtering as life returned to me. I didn't bother trying to reason how she had done that. As I already knew, reason had no place here.

I gasped as I struggled to speak. "What....What do you mean?"

She smiled. "Its obvious isn't it? You're the one who will open the gate to let The Dark Ones out to feast on the cattle above. The one to usher in the beginning of The Dark Age...The Catalyst."

"The Catalyst?" The word obviously meant that there were higher plans for me, besides just killing me. I had another purpose in this grand plan of hers.

Debelle clearly had no intention of elaborating any further. She just smiled that evil smile and turned her attention to Gold Digger, who had been frozen to the spot, watching intently, hoping not to be noticed by The Grand Master.

"And now....Gold Digger." Debelle said dropping her cheerful voice to a deadly tone.

Gold Digger looked absolutely terrified, as she stood up on her hooves shaking and quivering like a leaf. "Y-yes sir? I mean- ma'am?" she whimpered. It was unsettling seeing such a confident and extravagant pony as her reduced to resemble a quivering child lost in the woods, with a vicious wolf staring her down. I felt bad for her.

Debelle trotted slowly around her. A shark circling its prey. "You have been very loyal to me up until now..."

"No! I'm still loyal! I-I....I brought her here! I brought her to you." Gold Digger pleaded. Her ears tilted down

Debelle shook her head. "No. She found this place on her own. You were too terrified to even set foot near the cathedral. To do anything, but hide in that posh mansion of yours. You preferred to stay in your comfort zone and let your money do all your work for you. I was once no different." said Debelle in an almost sympathetic way.

Then her eyes lit up. "But then I found this place. I talked with The Dark Ones, and they...enlightened me."

She turned around and I saw the power growing in her eyes, clouding her green eyes like a fog. Her smile like that of a jackal. She was no longer that beautiful starlet I had seen in that picture. As she spoke It became clearer on just how much she was lost.

"I could feel the currents of magic all around me, the wonderful currents churning inside my own body. With a gesture I could create new life, give it breath....

And do to it what I wished."

The way she was talking was....off. As if it wasn't really her talking. A terrible pride had taken her over. It made Gold Digger's greed seemed positively tame in comparison.

"I was the most powerful thing that ever existed....and the most bored. I never had to work hard for anything anymore due to my power, just think it and it was done. I wanted more...That's when I decided to give The Dark Ones what they really deserved."

"I didn't age, get sick, or suffer injuries. Even my own form was malleable, and I had tweaked it to my own ideal of beauty, grace, and strength. I had lost track of what I originally was, but I felt that I had always looked like this, that it was....right."

"You're wrong." I said suddenly. "Nothing about what you've done is right." I spat at her.

She turned her head suddenly to glare at me, But I didn't care. Those eyes didn't scare me anymore. "You've toyed with and murdered innocent ponies to get your way. You've terrified them into doing what you wanted. And all for your precious Dark Ones?"

With newfound strength (and probably some luck) I wrenched myself from the henchponie's grasp and delivered a strong kick to his diaphragm, knocking him out cold.

As I turned back I now found myself face to face...with the Mad Mare.

"You talk as big as you want, Debelle.' I said. "In the end you're still nothing but a little lost starlet who decided she would rather be a puppet with power than a pony with freedom."

Debelle's anger was apparent. She clenched her teeth as she glared a maddening gaze towards me. A black aura emanated from her as her eyes burned hotter than fire, as if trying to burn into me. But I didn't back down.

She said it herself: She couldn't hurt me. She needed me. No....better.

The Dark Ones needed me.

Chapter 16: "Silver Linings."

For a while we just glared at one another, letting the hatred fume from our eyes like fire.

She couldn't kill me, and at the same time I didn't dare make a move against her. As much as I hated it, I had to know more. I had to get her talking again. So I had everything I needed to fill my friends on back at the hotel when I escaped from here.

I decided to play along. If I could convince her I had been won over, perhaps by The Dark Ones influencing me from behind the scenes, and she never knew about it. She just wasn't worth their time of explaining the whole plan to her. It was a serious bluff to pull off, but...I had to try.

Not just Mareposa, but the entire world was counting on me. I wasn't about to give up. It was time to use some of the techniques that I had picked up from watching Rala at work. I only hoped I could do half as good a job as her.

Phantom Techniques: Perfect Mimicry

I slowed my breathing, calmed my nerves and altered my tone of voice, to a scarily calm yet composed and focused version of my own. As if another voice was speaking through me now. I had to make it seem like The Dark Ones were influencing my words now.

I softened my look towards De'belle and...smiled. Not manically, but calmly. She caught it almost instantly.

"Oh? And what seems to have you in such high spirits all of a sudden, Ms. Meir?" She asked mockingly.

I spoke so calmly it came out as if I was asleep. "What makes you think that I haven't been apart of all this from the beginning?"

She laughed jokingly, but I caught the slightest waver of unease in her voice now. "Is that right? Don't think you can outsmart your way of this with that excuse!" she snapped.

I chuckled to make even the most diabolical of movie villains proud. "So naive...you've really had no idea at all have you? This whole time, you were never told by the masters. Pathetic."My voice was now chillingly cold.

I had gotten to her. Her eyes softened a bit, as the slightest bit of fear was now visible on her face. "What are you doing? If your trying to trick me-"

I brought home the performance with a sudden evil laugh that scared even me with how wicked I could truly make myself sound. "You idiot! Don't you get it!? You were nothing but a puppet! A toy, that the masters twisted around in their fingers. You played the part you were given, but now its done. I am the one who The Dark Ones have truly chosen. I am The Catalyst who will bring about their new glorious age, and you....You are nothing!" I snapped at her with manic glee. I heard her henchponies flee in terror behind me.

I wasn't myself anymore at this point. If you weren't me, you would truly have believed I had been the ringmaster behind everything from the beginning. And that's exactly what De'belle was now thinking, in spite of herself. She could act as powerful as she wanted, but the truth was always clear: She was weak and scared, and knew to disobey the Dark Ones meant a fate worse then death. She had no choice but to believe me now.

At long last her perfect and smug voice was shaking with fear. "You....you can't....YOU CAN"T FOOL ME! I-I know what you're doing! IT WON"T WORK!" She screamed with desperation. I returned the favor by upping my "Descent Into Darkness" routine.

"YOU'VE FOOLED YOURSELF! Thinking you were anything more then a tool for The Dark Ones to motivate me. And yet...you continue to deny it. Because you're weak." I said gravely.

De'belle's eyes had tears running from them, as her already broken mind struggled to comprehend what she should believe. She began breathing rapidly as she shook her head in frustration. "No...no, no its not possible! Its-Its a trick, it has to be....I am The Grand Master!" She shouted.

I chuckled evilly again. "Not so Grand anymore now, huh?" I mocked her.

"SHUT UP!!" De'belle screamed hysterically, her eyes glowing hot enough to burn wherever she cast her gaze, as she snarled at me.

"MAKE ME!! SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU!" I screamed back, with a wide evil smile on my face.

De'belle took a step back as I heard her breath get caught in her throat. She was scared of me now. Good.

She said nothing as she continued to study me, looking for any sign that I was acting. But I had learned well, and covered every inch of my person with this "Dark One Persona" I was using at the moment. Morning Meir was nowhere to be found, no matter how hard she looked.

Debelle now looked at me with absolute fear and also...loyalty. "I.....I shall go to the Arrival Point then. The Eclipse will signal the beginning of the ritual, and then you, My...My Catalyst, shall take your place on the altar and bring our Lords onto our plane." She said in a defeated tone.

I understood none of that, but nodded my head anyways. "That's better. Now leave this place, and I shall meet you at The arrival. We have delayed this event for long enough!"

Debelle hesitated before speaking back. "But...what about her?" She motioned towards Gold digger who, if she could, would have literally pulled up the limestone floor to hide under it at this point. I have never seen a pony so terrified in all my life. I felt horrible for doing this to her, but I would make it up to her after we had escaped.

I chuckled one last time. "She has served her purpose. I will dispose of her personally." I said, feeling shame at the look Gold Digger was now giving me. Utter and complete hopelessness. I felt so bad, that just to reaffirm her that she would be alright, I managed to give the slightest wink to her, without Debelle noticing. At once, her terror faded, but was replaced with bewilderment.

I turned to Debelle suddenly, masking my face in one of rage. "WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE, YOU IDIOT!? YOU'VE WASTED ENOUGH TIME ALREADY!" I bellowed.

She jumped back."I was just!-

"NOW!!"

At once, Debelle vanished from the spot, without another word.

With The Grand Master finally gone, I dropped my act instantly. I rubbed my throat as it hurt from all that yelling. "Jeez, how do all those villains do it? Screaming everything all the time." I wondered aloud. "It's really exhausting."

Gold Digger stared at me, with her mouth agape, unable to say a single word. She didn't even blink.

I smiled at her. "What?" I asked innocently.

Chapter 17: "Dark Skies."

We managed to find our way out of the Ritual chamber via a tunnel that had yet to collapse, that reached the outside. As we took our first steps out into the warm sunlight, we took a moment to thank Celestia that we had made it out alive.

We now stood in an alleyway that led out into the main street. Apparently the tunnel we had gone through was an old mainline for water treatment back before the Cathedral was built. Luckily, the tunnel had yet to have been connected and simply stopped at an alleyway, several blocks down the street from The Cathedral.

Now safe and more than happy to get away from the horrors we had witnessed, I turned to Gold Digger who was looking immensely relived to be out of that place. "Are you alright?" I asked.

She looked over at me and gave a weak smile. "Yeah...I've been through worse."

"Really? Well, you can tell me about it on the way back to the hotel."

She tilted her head in confusion. "Hotel? What are we going to a Hotel for?" She asked.

I looked back at her as we started walking out into the main street, and smiled. "I have some friends I'd like you to meet." After what we had been through she seemed just fine with that notion, and followed closely behind. The hotel was a ways into town, but if we stuck to the main streets, we would make it there soon enough. I had absolutely no idea how I was even going to begin to explain everything to them. But it was going to be one heck of a story to tell. That I had no doubt.

Ralah and Salah's Hotel Room, 8:15 pm

I finished my story, hours later, while I rested my aching hooves in the plush leather couch and enjoyed a glass of Iced tea, which Salah had personally ordered for me from room service. I never thought that I could love a couch this much in my life. I doubt I would've been able to get out of it.

As expected, eyes were staring intently at me from all sides, other than Gold Digger who was now asleep on the opposite couch, exhausted. (And rightfully so. Though I couldn't imagine her being able to sleep well, with all the horror she had experienced.)

Dr. Seastone was the first to voice her summary of the situation. Unlike everypony else, who had what seemed like an infinite amount of questions, she only had one. "So...Gold Digger's a good guy now?" she asked, adjusting her glasses.

Out of all the things she could've asked me, it was that. I was so exhausted from everything that I simply said, "Yep."

I could hear everyone talking, but I was losing my fight to stay awake. De'belle said that an Eclipse would signal the beginning of The Arrival of The Dark Ones, but she needed me as The Catalyst to do it. Besides a solar Eclipse wasn't going to be happening this late at night, and it seemed like a hadn't had a moments rest in weeks, despite all this happening in a day. I would worry about things tomorrow, when I was awake and alert.

With that I fell asleep so suddenly, that I didn't realize it until I woke up the next day.

The Next Morning, 12:35 pm (10 Minutes Till The Eclipse)

A solar Eclipse is quite the astronomical phenomenon in itself. With the Celestial Princesses having jurisdiction over both the sun and the moon, an eclipse in itself is quite rare. And yet it can in fact happen. Though they control the phases of the sun and moon, they don't control the direction of orbit of the earth. And in the rare instance an eclipse does occur, they are never the ones to make it happen. It simply just happens.

But this time a solar eclipse was happening today. And it had nothing to do with circumstance. It was an omen, crafted by powers higher and more sinister then anything in our world. An omen to tell the world that our time is over, and that the age of The Dark Ones has finally begun.

It was do or die time, and we had next to nothing to go on. Where was this arrival happening? Would the rest of the circle be there? And just what was my part in all this? What really was The Catalyst?

I had hoped that somepony would have some answers for us. Luckily, Dr. Seastone, who had been up all night doing research on our situation, did.

A large whiteboard stood in the center of the room, as Dr. Seastone, with her mane in quite an untidy state from lack of sleep, paced the floor and explaining the situation. "The situation is this: I've calculated that in 10 minutes time, a solar eclipse will occur. This event is not being created by the Celestial Princesses, but by mysterious and dark forces that defy our capabilities of logic and reason. And this...is how The Dark Ones will return. The eclipse itself isn't the issue. Its stopping De'belle while the eclipse is happening.

She pointed a hoof towards a marker drawing of an eclipse with a line going from it to large tower. "I've determined that with the current path of earth's orbit, the solar eclipse will align perfectly with this structure in the upper most part of downtown: The Tower Of The Sun. Mareposa's most beloved landmark, built supposedly in honor of Princess Celestia when she visited Mareposa 30 years ago."

Dr. Seastone shook her head. "But this is not the case. This tower's design is built like a giant reflector, and the windows are made of a special polymer glass that reflects high capacity UV rays." She pointed to a diagram of sun rays being reflected back into the sky by the windows.

"To top it all off, guess who commissioned most of the funding to have the tower built?"

Ralah raised her hoof. "Ooh! It was Marquis!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

The rest of the room turned to look at her, dumbfounded, as Dr. Seastone nodded. "Exactly. There's no doubt in my mind that this is The Arrival point that De'belle was talking about. And where we have to go in order to stop her and save the world."

Dr. Seastone gave a curt smile. "Sooo...no pressure!"

Except there was indeed pressure. Our chances of success against an eldritch god empowered lunatic and a race of dark beings that we as ponies had no possible idea of comprehending, were suffice to say, slim if at all possible.

Nevertheless, myself and everypony else prepared ourselves. Except for Gold Digger, who had yet to say anything to anyone. Instead she just looked on, as if she was...ashamed. I went up to her, but she looked away quickly.

"Whats wrong? Are you scared?" I asked.

"Of course I'm scared! But....that's not all."

"What do you mean?"

"I....I shouldn't even be here." she said sadly.

"What?? Of course you should, why would you say that?"

She turned and looked at me with her eyes narrowed, but I saw the tears building in her eyes."I'm not a good guy, Meir! I was part of The Circle! I was going to let a homicidal maniac have her way with this city! And for what? Money!" she exclaimed. "You guys are the heroes here. You should all go and stop her. But...I'm just going to go home. Let me know once you've saved the world."

She started to the door, but I swiftly grabbed her hoof before she could take another step.

"H-Hey! What gives?!"

"You are not a bad guy, Digger. A bad guy wouldn't have saved my life like you did back at your mansion. A bad guy wouldn't have distracted the guard to let me into The Cathedral. And they wouldn't have stuck by me through all those horrifying things we went through in those chambers." I said sternly.

Gold Digger looked me, unsure of what to say.

"You can put yourself down all you want later. But for now: Quit complaining, get your flank in gear, and come with us so we can save the world!" I exclaimed, holding my hoof out to her. "As a team."

Gold Digger was blushing furiously, and it looked like she was going to leave anyway. But after a moment's hesitation she sighed and smiled. "I guess I can't argue with that." we shook hooves and rejoined the group, who had prepared themselves for whatever we were going to be facing. There was no turning back now.

Main Street Mareposa, 12:45 pm (5 Minutes before the Eclipse)

As we gathered outside, we noticed the skies begin to darken.

Sure enough, as I looked up to the heavens I saw a large pitch black circle had made its way partially over Celestia's sun, darkening the skies somewhat, as ponies all around us looked up at the phenomenon in awe. If only they knew what was at stake.

The Tower Of The Sun was a good ways away, and we couldn't afford to waste any time, so we all took a taxi carriage to the highest part of downtown. The closer we got to our destination, the more the skies darkened, and looking up we saw that the sun had now been completely blocked out by the depthless black hole that was the moon. A pitch black eye now stared down at the world, blackening the skies and casting shadow over all of Mareposa. It was truly a sight to see, and I would no doubt have been joining the many crowds that were convening on sidewalks to watch such an event unfold. Had I not known that it was nothing more then a message to the world that our way of life...was over.

We had to reach the tower soon, but even when we did I had no idea how we would proceed. And I had yet to find out what my role was in all of this.

I only hoped that we would make it there in time.

Chapter 18: "Evil's Finest Hour."

The taxi carriage dropped us all off in the large courtyard that bordered around the gigantic crystal glass tower. We looked up in amazement at the structure's beauty. A gleaming stadium sized spire made entirely of sparkling nearly translucent glass that ascended up into the heavens. Through the glass, I saw a staircase that lead to the top of it, and numerous if not hundreds of rooms from which visitors could've seen all of Mareiposa and looked down and felt like they were floating in the air.

It would've been a truly beautiful sight. If an insane lunatic wasn't about to use it as a conduit to end the world.

I looked up, as the eclipse was now directly over the spire, I felt a sudden rush of dread in the pit of my stomach. It was starting. "We have to get up there!" I exclaimed.

"Then get going! Me and my sister will stay and watch your back." Salah yelled over the commotion starting, as hundreds of ponies began to flee the tower in terror. He looked over at Dr. Seastone and Gold Digger."And you two go with her. Make sure that murderer gets whats coming to her!"

I looked at him surprised. "We can't just leave you out here!"

He smiled. "Don't worry about us, Meir. Me and Ralah have seen plenty of worse things then this. We'll be here when you've saved the world. On my honor...as a thief."

"Mine too!" Ralah added cheerfully.

I wanted to at least give them a hug, but they insisted I go now. With no time to lose, we ran into the crystal spire and began climbing the staircase within, desperate to reach the top before it was too late.

As we ascended up the tower, Dr. Seastone called out from behind me. "So, uh, what exactly are we planning on doing here?"

"You mean you never came up with a plan!? I thought you were a genius!" Gold Digger exclaimed as we passed another floor of the tower. The top was still a ways up.

"Hey, I'm a scientist! But this supernatural stuff is way out of my element!" Dr. Seastone retorted. Then she called up to me. "So, Meir!"

I looked back at her. "Yeah?"

"You're the real genius here. What's the game-plan, coach?"

I'm sure at this point I could've said anything to make myself sound like I knew what I was doing. But this time around, I had no idea what I was doing. And I had no intention of wasting time making plans. "We wing it." I said simply.

Dr. Seastone and Gold Digger both had different opinions on that answer.

"Alright then!" said Dr. Seastone cheerfully.

"We're gonna die." said Gold Digger in a defeated tone.

Tower Of The Sun, Top Level, 1:34 pm

As we rounded the corner of the top floor of the tower, we heard fighting in the next area. We all stopped running as I peeked around the corner and gasped aloud at seeing none other then Maregold fighting off two burly henchponies.

He had one in a choke-hold, as one came around and attempted to catch him by the neck. But Maregold swung around and delivered a hard hay-maker to the henchpony's jaw, sending him to the floor. Then picked up the other by the scruff of his neck and suplexed him hard onto the glass floor. So hard in fact that he smashed clean through onto the lower floor.

Panting, Maregold looked up at me. "Meir..."

"Maregold, I-

"MOVE!"

Without warning, Maregold slammed hard into my side, nearly knocking the wind out of me. But I looked back, just in time to see the thrown knife bury itself in Maregold's chest.

"NOOO!"

Maregold fell back onto the floor, as I turned back to glare at Maregold's assassin: It was her. She threw back her perfect blonde mane as she took a step forward. "Ohhhh, did I do that? My bad. Klutzy me, I guess." Debelle said mockingly.

Dr. Seastone and Gold Digger made a grab for her, but with a wave of her hoof, she froze them in place, as if they were paused in time.

I knelt down to check on Maregold. The knife had been thrown with such precision, that if I so much as breathed on it, it would've pierced his heart. Blood began to pool beneath him, as I diagnosed he only had minutes to live. And there was nothing I could do to save him.

I felt anger boil inside me as I glared over at her. "Why? WHAT POSSIBLE REASON DID YOU HAVE TO DO THIS! HE WAS ONE OF YOUR SUBORDINATES!" I shouted. I could've rung my hooves around this maniac's neck at this point.

"N-no."

I looked down in shock, as Maregold began to speak. His words came out weak, and slow. But I heard them anyway. "I....I was never one of them...I...pretended to be....in order to get close. F-find out what...they were planning."

I felt tears well up in my eyes. "You saved our lives....why? Why would you take a knife for me?" I asked, trying to keep myself from sobbing.

He coughed up a small bit of blood, then smiled. The first smile I'd ever seen him wear. And I could tell it was genuine. "W-we....we were always on the same side, Meir." he sputtered. "Different causes...but a common enemy."

"You mean The Circle?"

Maregold lurched forward. "Don't call them that!....The real Circle was a noble, ancient order, that my ancestors served with. They built this city, not on blood, but hard work and dedication to its citizens."

He coughed again. "These....monsters, have no right to use that name!" He exclaimed suddenly. He moved to glare at Debelle, who only smiled in return. "These ponies are no better than the demons they worship." Maregold spat at her.

I got him to focus again. "Maregold! What is she after? Who are the Dark Ones?" I asked frantically.

Maregold smiled again. "N-Not what she thinks. Or what you think. They are like a weapon....but a weapon, that our enemies will find difficult to wield...a double edged sword....O-older than Celestia....then Luna...they are beyond our abilities of comprehension...and The Goddess's enemy."

"The Goddess?"

Maregold coughed again. More blood this time. "S-she....is the one who came before. Before The princesses...before Equestria. Before the world....the mother of it all." He coughed once more. "The Dark Ones seek to undo what she created."

"W-we can stop them! You, me and all of us! Together!"

He chuckled. "No, Meir. M-my journey ends here, I'm afraid."

As I was about to protest, he suddenly pulled me in close and whispered in my ear. "This tower represents a colossal energy...caused by the alignment of The sun and Moon. They wish to use this energy...to tear open the veil of our world, and let the Dark Ones in...But you...YOU are The Catalyst....the one who will direct The Dark One's final decision for us. Only you...can show them the truth."

With that he laid back down. My heart lurched as I began to see the light leave his eyes. "Tell....Goldbloom...I'm sorry, and that she's...the Head Inspector now...I-I...I know she'll do great."

He looked up at me and smiled. "Will you do this for me, Meir?"

"Of course I will!"

He chuckled one last time, then closed his eyes. "May The Goddess guide you on your journey, my....friend..."

With those final words, he died. Died to save me. To save his city. To save the world. This whole time, he had been the good guy all along. And his sacrifice would not be in vain.

I stood up and turned around. Of course she was gone. Run off like the murderous coward she was.

Dr. Seastone and Gold Digger got up off the floor in a stupor. "Wha...what happened?" Dr. Seastone asked, as I walked past her.

"You two go back and check on Ralah and Salah."

"What?? What about you?"

I turned and looked at her, my eyes blazing like fire. "I'm going to finish this."

They didn't even question me as they looked at one another, then nodded. "Go get her, Meir!" Dr. Seastone said confidentially, patting me on the shoulder.

Gold Digger smiled at me as well. "Put an end to this madness. For good." she said seriously.

I assured them I would, and they left, going back down the stairs we came. I walked over to the stairs to the roof and, after giving one last look at Maregold, I gathered my courage and made my way to the roof.

Everything I had been through. The deaths. The danger. The fear and terror. The madness. It all ended here.

No more games. No more tricks.

Debelle knew I was coming for her. Dear Celestia, I hope she did.

Because I wanted to see the look on her face when I finally beat her.

Chapter 20: "Epilogue."

I settled into my chair with my tea. I had been dying to finally put my hooves up in my hotel room, since the party we threw over at Gold Digger's mansion to celebrate. She had told me that she would stay in touch, and hugged me as she thanked me for being her friend. I knew I would see her again.

Dr. Seastone told me she would be returning to Equestria with me, and that she had a lot of new research to go through concerning the supernatural. She laughed as she assured me she would let me sleep on the flight home.

Ralah had to practically be pried off of me as she hugged me nearly to death. Salah even gave me hug and congratulated me on a job well done. When I asked, If they were done being thieves, they both laughed quite heartily. They assured me that I would meet The Phantom again some day.

Lastly was Goldbloom, who had just gotten done speaking at Maregold's funeral. She had been promoted to Head Inspector, and told me she was glad that Maregold had been a good guy all along, and that she would miss him, along with the rest of Mareposa. She hugged me as she told me she would be seeing me again, and when it came down to it, that she knew she could count on "The Smartest Pony In The World" to help her crack the case.

So now here I was, sitting in my room, my bags all packed, enjoying a hot cup of tea as the rain slowly came down outside. Finally, everything was normal in the world again.

At least until I heard a knock at my door.

I got up and answered it without even thinking. In the doorway stood a tall and beautiful unicorn mare, a coat the color of cream, and no mane nor a tail. She was adorned in a pressed striped beige suit with a red pocket square. Her smile was haunting, as if she held behind it, secrets I couldn't even begin to imagine. She was tall and slim bodied, and looked at me with absolutely piercing crimson eyes that never widened even once, appearing half closed, and making her look quite disinterested in anything.

"Ms. Morning Meir. It's a pleasure to finally meet with you."Her voice was deep and elegant. The kind of voice that addressed politeness, mystique and absolute mannerism.

I set my cup down on the table. "T-Thank you...and you are?" I asked, already suspicious of my mysterious visitor.

She bowed her head slightly in respect. "Of course, how deeply rude of me."

Then she smiled at me. "My name is Nair. And, yes, Ms. Meir you have indeed heard of me."

Gold Diggers words resounded in my ears like I had just heard them. "Other than me and Tex, just a bunch of stuffy bureaucrats who are too scared of The Grand Master, to not do what he wants....and then there's Nair."

"Grand Master's right hand mare. Just as scary as he is. Maybe even more so. Never shows up to meetings, never talks to anypony. Never needs to. It's way too weird."

My breath caught in my throat, as I moved to close the door, slamming it in her face and locking it as many times as I could. I took a step back and breathed a sigh of relief.

"This is quite the room you have, Ms. Meir."

I spun around, and my jaw nearly hit the floor as I now saw Nair standing in the loft of my hotel room looking around like it was a perfectly normal evening.

I struggled to speak. "D-did you just teleport into my room?"

Nair gave a small chuckle. "As if I would need to use such parlor tricks, Ms. Meir." She then approached me slowly, making me back up nearly against the wall. "Look I'm warning you-

"Save the hostilities Ms. Meir. Despite what you have heard, I am not your enemy."

"Yeah? And why should I believe you?"

"Because I was a friend of Maregold. We both had gone undercover to ensure that Debelle and her ilk did not succeed. I was.....quite sad to hear of his passing."

I studied her face, and she chuckled. "There is no need for that, Ms. Meir. I have no reason to lie to you." Her body language did not waver even slightly. She was very much telling the truth.

I lowered my guard as I backed out from the corner. "Who was Maregold really? Who are The real Circle, if Debelle and her cronies only stole the name? And who is this "Goddess" that Maregold was talking about?" I asked, relaying far too many questions to keep track of.

Nair smiled at me. "I don't have to tell you who The Goddess is, Ms. Meir. You already know her."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You don't remember? She spoke to you in the ruins. Told you how to block out the whispers of The Dark Ones. And again on the rooftop, do you recall a voice telling you to remember the blind statues?"

My mind flashed back to the rooftop, as my body was being manipulated by The Dark Ones, I had indeed heard a voice. A soft voice, as gentle as spring, but more powerful then I thought even Celestia could've spoken. It had come from nowhere, yet I heard it like somepony was standing right over me. It had overshadowed the maddening voice of The Dark Ones. Overshadowed the pain and the fear. For that instance, she was all I heard and felt.

Had that really been her?

"I...I don't understand. Why would she talk to me like that? I don't know anything about her. I'd never even heard of her until Maregold talked about her."

Nair shook her head and smiled."You didn't need to. You have more than proven yourself. You are ready." She said confidently.

I was only more confused now. "Ready? Ready for what?"

Nair put a hoof on my shoulder and softened her intense gaze. "All in good time, Ms. Meir." She smiled at me again as she made her way to the door. "For now, though, you should return home to Equestria. Enjoy your time to relax, and when the time comes...you will hear from us again. And when we do...the forces of evil will once again have risen. And will need to be stopped. Until then take care."

As she opened the door I stopped her. "Hey! wait a minute!"

Nair turned to look at me. "Yes?"

"I won't deny that what I did was amazing. But I'm still only a doctor. I'm not some supernatural crime fighter or something! I can't save the world on a daily basis." I exclaimed.

I gestured to my cutie mark: A cross of hearts. "This means I was born to be a doctor. Its my special talent! So unless it magically transforms into a picture of me punching a demon in the face...sorry. But I'm not the mare you think I am."

Nair suddenly laughed. Not chuckled, but full blown laughter like I had told the funniest joke. "Hey!' I yelled, "What's so funny?"

Nair stopped laughing and beamed at me. "Are you sure that's what your cutie mark means?" she asked slyly.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Yeah. What else could it mean?"

At this, Nair turned and lifted up her suit jacket so I could see her cutie mark. My eyes nearly popped from my head, as words failed to function for me anymore.

She had the same cutie mark. But hers was much more elaborate, with large silver hearts instead of small and pink, and emblazoned on a gilded looking golden cross on a shield.

I was utterly speechless.

"There is so much you don't know, Ms. Meir. So much you don't know about yourself. What you can really do. This was only the beginning for you."

She put her jacket back up and straightened the creases in it. "Now then, as I said, you will be contacted by us again when the time is right. Until then....Have a pleasant evening Ms. Meir."

And then she left, leaving me just standing there, with more questions then anything in this case could've brought up.

I had no idea at the time how right she was. This had only been the beginning for me. And it was only going to get stranger from here on out.

THE END

Chapter 6: "The Mare In The Picture."

As I looked down at the pieced back together photograph, Dr. Seastone leaned in to see as well.

"Who's that?" She asked.

I collected my thoughts, as I came to a reasonable answer:

"I-I...I don't know."

I had no idea who this pony in the picture beside Mr.Regal was. I'd never seen her before in my life.

I was surprised at not seeing Ms. Regal in the photo with him. I mean, who else would be in a photo with Mr. regal besides his wife?

Instead the mare looking back at me from the photo was a beautiful starlet looking unicorn mare. She had gleaming green eyes and a thick wavy blonde mane. With the sequined gown and scarf, she looked just like a movie star. She smiled out at the world from film, but I saw something that didn't seem right.

Her eyes didn't match her smile. Though she smiled warmly and full of life, her eyes, though beautiful were locked away from the light. Cold and unfeeling, like she held a great sadness or worry in her heart. I found myself feeling sorry for the mysterious starlet mare. What secret was she keeping that made her eyes turn away from the world like that?

Examining the rest of the photo, I saw that Mr. Regal was standing proudly beside her. They must've know each other well. Looking into his eyes, I saw no trace of doubt or worry meaning, whatever secret the starlet had, she had not told Mr. Regal.

We kept looking at the picture, as if expecting the starlet to confess her secrets then and there. But unsurprisingly, she stayed silent, and we said nothing as we took our leave from the room, both too lost in thought to even bother with conversation.

Trottingham De La Grande Lobby, 11:25 am

We sat across from one another in the posh hotel lobby, conversing our own thoughts as to to reason behind the starlet.

Dr. Seastone tapped her glasses in thought. Iv''e never seen that mare before. Do you think she could be the killer?"

I shook my head. "I don't think we can say so for sure. Not until we find out who this mysterious starlet is."

"But who would know?"

Dr. Seastone had a valid point. Who would know the identity of our mysterious starlet? Ms. Regal probably knew nothing at all of her as I'm sure she would've mentioned it before. And obviously, Mr. Regal was beyond asking anything. Then I got an idea.

"What about the police? They should have records of every citizen in Mareiposa. Perhaps they have something on our starlet."

Dr. Seastone looked puzzled. "You wanna ask the police? I don't know, from what I've seen the police aren't very reliable in this town."

She was right. The inspector was not the greatest at his job. Nor the nicest. But Goldbloom was. She was the only one of them all, who actually cared about solving this case. She would help us. I knew it.

"I have a friend in the police. She's not like the rest of them. Shes one of the good ones. She can help us find info on our mystery starlet."

Dr. Seastone still looked a little perplexed, but shrugged and said "Fine by me. Lets go then!"

Both set on the same goal, we left the hotel, heading for the police station.This case now had one giant piece added to the puzzle. The identity of this mysterious mare, could be the clue to finally put this case to rest, and bring Mr. Regal's killer to justice.Goldbloom would be able to find out who she was. I was sure of it.

Polizia De Mareiposa 11:32 am

The police station was surprisingly vacant. Either every cop in the station was out working on Mr. Regal's case. Or they didn't care enough to even show up the the station. Both were an incredibly likely possibility. The only police in that station that I could see, was Goldbloom herself.

She sat at a tiny desk on the far end of the station, busily working on a computer, with her desk covered in files and papers. She looked up from her studies, and smiled at us.

"Oh, Ms. Meir! I wasn't expecting to see you come to the station. Did you need something?" she asked with a smile.

I smiled back at her. She was so nice, and seemed like she would definitely help us. "Yes, actually Lieutenant."

We walked up to her then assembled the picture once more on her desk. "Do you know the mare in this picture? Maybe have any record of her in your cabinets?" I asked politely.

Goldbloom's eyes scanned the picture as we stood there patiently. It wasn't a lot to go on as it was ripped up, but we had pieced it back together as best we could and you could clearly see the starlet standing beside Mr. Regal.

"Hmmm...

"Well?"

"Let me check the files."

Goldbloom suddenly scooted her chair across the station at break neck speed, stopping at the filing cabinet and began rifling through it at amazing speed and efficiency. Goldbloom was clearly very good at her job. In many instances, she moved so quickly, I lost track of her, not realizing she had already returned with the file we were looking for.

"Her name was De'belle Divine. She was a very famous movie starlet back in the early days of cinema. Why she is in this photo with Mr. Regal, well, I can't say."

Goldbloom set the file down on her desk, and opened it for all of us to see. Within was every detail the public had on Ms. De'belle.

She was of average height and weight, with a blond mane and a sunshine color. She had no known criminal record, but did have a few affairs here and there. Though not one mention of Mr. Regal.

She was very famous in her day, and starred in many of cinemas most legendary films. Stallions Prefer Blondes, Midsummer Nights, The Princess and the Chauffeur and more. (I had personally seen Manehatten Jungle when I was a filly.)

Wait...was?

Then I saw the file stamp: MISSING. Ms. Divine had gone missing 15 years ago. She had not been seen since.

I looked up from the file. "Lieutenant Goldbloom? Do you know how she went missing?"

Goldbloom nodded. "She vanished from her hotel suite, late at night. No witnesses, and no one had any idea where she had gone off to."

"They searched for her for years, but they finally had to give up. She has never been found, dead or alive."

Dr. Seastone and I looked at one another. Both of us were thinking the same thing. Whether she was missing or not, Ms. Divine had something to do with this case.

The more pieces of the puzzle we uncovered the more pieces of it there seemed to be. This whole thing was connected somehow. Mr. Regal had been killed in his own home by an unknown assassin. Then Argyle had been killed by a mysterious bomber, and now I was next on their list. But how did Ms. Divine fit into all this? She had been missing for years. Why did the bomber have the other half of the photo?

There was no doubt now. Debelle Divine had a major part to play in this whole thing. And I had to find out what.

"Thank you for your help, Lieutenant."

"Hold on Meir. You can't be thinking that she has anything to do with this case, do you? She's been missing for years. Why would she have anything to do with all of this?"

"That's exactly what I would like to know, Lieutenant."

With that me and Dr. Seastone left the station, after thanking Goldbloom for her help one more.

This case had just become more complex than it ever had. And I couldn't shake the feeling that Ms. Divine was at the center of it. she had known Mr. Regal. So could that mean she could've killed him? I wasn't sure.

Dr. Seastone decided to head back to the hotel. She said she would keep an eye on Salah and his sister for me, while she did some more digging on them herself. They also played a crucial role in all this, as well. After all, Salah had been hired to take out Argyle before he could talk to me about the Phantom.

And there it was again: the Phantom. Who were they? What role did they play in all of this? How did Argyle have information on them, and why did he feel he needed to tell me, specifically? Why not go to the police? I should think info on the most famous master of disguise in history would be more valuable to the police than an ordinary doctor from another country.

I had discovered the identity of the starlet in the photo. Now I needed to fit her with the other pieces of the puzzle.

I decided to investigate my next lead. I had found the Mareiposa Maulers cap in the sewer, that Salah had used as a disguise. The cap had come from the Hat's Off Hat Shop, downtown. If I went there I may be able to find out exactly what Salah had done there, and maybe find out where he would be heading to.

I was prepared to face him, if I had to. I couldn't run from him forever. And he was after me anyway. If I was to get answers from him, it would be face to face. But I didn't have to go at it alone. If I found out something, I could tip off Goldbloom and she would bring a squad to arrest him. Then I could get my answers from him safely, while he was in hoofcuffs. Not to mention, I had Dr. Seastone looking out for me too. If he did anything, she would let me know.

With my plan in mind, I headed downtown by the sidewalk, and after a few minutes, could easily spot the large top hat shaped building nestled between a dress store and a candy shop. The sign read "Hat's Off Hat Shop" in bright friendly letters. I took a minute to compose myself before I let myself in the door.

Hats Off Hat Shop, Downtown Mareiposa, 12:00pm

The scene before me was like the inside of a young foal's toy-box. Every wall was lined with every kind of costume and hat you could name (as well as many that you probably couldn't.) The walls were painted in bright inviting colors, that matched the personality of its colorful proprietor. A smiling young mare with a fluffy white mane and colorful suspenders with an array of buttons, stood behind the counter. Even her purple eyes seemed to smile at me, from behind her tiny glasses perched on top of her muzzle.

"Hello miss! Please come in, make yourself at home." she said, speaking in a friendly and warm tone, that caused me to smile back.

"Thank you, miss?"

"Oh, call me Top Shelf, ma'am. What sort of costume were looking for today?"

"Forgive me, but I was actually just looking for some information."

Top Shelf's warm and friendly demeanor didn't drop an ounce as she nodded her head. "Of course. How can I help you?"

Questioning (Top Shelf, Proprietor of Hats Off Hat Shop, Possible lead on Bomber's client, 12:01pm)

"Did a dark stallion with a hoof shaped scar come in today?"

"Yes, ma'am. He came in and bought a Mareiposa Maulers cap from the rack over there. As well as a Mime costume."

The words hit me so hard, I actually lost my balance for a second. "A-A Mime costume? Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. He bought one from behind the counter here. A size L if I'm not mistaken."

She looked at me with great concern. "Are you alright ma'am?"

I was breathing heavily, and my mind was now flooded with thoughts. The bomber had been the mime! He had to have been! He was the one who attacked me back in the chateau! My face clearly showed what I was feeling. a mixture of shock, realization and nausea all at once. It didn't feel great.

I took some deep breaths, and calmed myself, as I asked her my next question.

"Did he have anyone else with him?"

"Yes he did. His sister. Had to be, with how much they looked like one another."

"What did she say?"

"Nothing really. Just said she liked the place, and tried on a bunch of costumes. Then she asked me what my favorite thing to eat for breakfast was, and left with her brother. Strange mare, that one."

"Did either of them say anything about a client? Or where they would be heading?"

"Now that you mention it, the sister was going on about something like that. But the brother kept shushing her. Must not have wanted her to be talking about it."

So his sister knew about it as well. Ralah, was her name. I knew she was after me as well. but she'd never actually met me. Maybe if I found her and told her I was someone close to her brother, she'd tell me everything. It was risky, but I had to give it a shot.

"Did she say anything at all about herself specifically?"

"Not really. Just that she would be going for ice cream later on today. Her brother said he hated ice cream. Now that's just plain crazy: What pony doesn't like ice cream?"

"Did she say exactly when?"

"Some time around noon, I think. Should be there about now. The place is right down the street a few blocks over, if your looking for her."

"Thank you! You have no idea how much you've helped me!" I exclaimed happily.

"Don't mention it. I can tell you're one of the good ones. Go see what those two characters were up to. And tell them I want my costume back. Jerk didn't even pay for it properly."

I thanked her one more time, as I departed the colorful place, after giving back the Mareiposa Maulers cap. I didn't need it anymore, and it was hers to begin with.

I was now heading to the local ice cream parlor to have a friendly chat with the sister of a serial bombing terrorist. I knew it wasn't the best plan, but she knew about the client that had hired Salah in the first place. He had been the mime. Were they the ones who hired him for that as well? So many questions buzzed around in my head, but I made quick order of them as I came to the parlor.

Gelatoteca Nico Ice Cream Parlor,12:14 pm

I saw none but a few customers sitting outside enjoying their ice cream. I took a seat and tried to make sense of my thoughts. Salah apparently hated ice cream, so that meant he wouldn't be coming if his sister did show up. According to Top Shelf, Ralah was to be coming here around this time for ice cream. And yet it was now 12:14 and I saw no sign of her. Where was she?

And sure enough, as the thought had just entered my head, did Ralah come strolling out of the shop, with a mountain of ice cream resting on a small cone, and took a seat right beside me at my table.

I couldn't think anymore, as my whole mind went totally blank. My breath caught in my throat as she looked over at me.

"Hiya! This seat taken?"

I couldn't speak. All I managed to do was shake my head slightly. This seemed to be a reasonable answer to her, as she smiled cheerfully.

"Okay, thanks!" And then she took a huge bite of her ice cream, spraying sprinkles and chocolate pieces all over the table. It ran down her chin as she looked up at me again.

"What's your name?" she asked with a mouthful of dessert.

She didn't know who I was. Good.Maybe this would work after all.

I steeled my nerves and tried my best to seem intimidating. "What's yours?" I asked. Would she actually reply?

"Ralah A'dinn." (Apparently, yes.)

I thought of the names of my favorite authors, and picked the name of the one who I had read the theories of unicorn horn growth: Dr. Forceps.

"Forceps. I'm a doctor." I replied, keeping my stern demeanor up.

Ralah took another bite of her ice cream. "That's cool. I'm a designer."

"Designer? Like clothes?"

"Nah. Costumes and stuff. I design them for my brother and me to wear, for our...um, hobbies."

"Hobbies? Like what hobbies?"

"Oh, I shouldn't say. My brother would get mad, cause its a secret. Between him, me and our client."

I had to push her for more. But I couldn't risk saying something that would reveal me as her target. I instead decided to pour on the charm. She seemed nice enough, so it shouldn't have been too hard.

"Do you have any friends that you've told?"

"Yeah. A few. Why?"

"Well, I thought since we were friends now...

"We...we're friends?"

"Why not? You tell me your secret, I'll tell you mine."

"You have a secret?"

"Yep. And I'll tell you, once you've told me yours."

She sat there with a glassy stare for a minute or two. Just watching with her face covered in ice cream and sprinkles. Finally she smiled and scratched the back of her head. "Well...I guess since we're friends, I could tell you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Okay?"

It had worked! I was finally going to get some answers. I nodded and smiled back. "I promise."

She looked around to make sure no one over heard us, then leaned in and brought her voice down to a whisper. "Okay. Here it is."

"Me and my brother were hired by this guy called Marquis. He paid my brother to retrieve a briefcase from someone. As for me, he paid me to track this mare, named Morning Meir. Something about her messing around in things she doesn't need to ,or something."

I got nervous at the mention of my name, but I continued to listen to Ralah's explanation.

"So we track the briefcase down to this pub. And we wait while a friend of ours picks it up. Then while I went back to our suite to wait for my brother, he went to exchange the briefcase with our friend, and give him his payment."

Suddenly the happiness in her eyes dropped,as she suddenly looked quite solemn. "But then...the whole place went up. My brother made it out, but...Argyle."

I couldn't hide the surprise on my face. My heart was now beating out of my chest as the whole scenario finally laid down around me. It was next to impossible to believe, but here was his sister telling me everything. And she was not lying either. The tears in her eyes were truthful enough.

I struggled to speak proper words. I was nearly in shock from what I had just heard. "Y-You mean, your brother didn't bomb the cafe?"

She looked at me with a mixture of both suspicion and anger. I had clearly upset her. "No! Me and my brother are thieves, not killers! We would never hurt anyone, let alone kill them! Especially our friends."

"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean-

"Hey, wait. Why would you think my brother bombed the cafe?"

She had found me out. There was no point trying to fool her any longer. I had to come clean. If Ralah and Salah weren't killers than I had nothing to fear from them anymore. I owed her an explanation.

"I-um, well...I have a confession to make."

Just as I was about to speak, another much more mean sounding voice spoke directly behind me.

"And what sort of confession, is it?" the voice said.

I slowly turned my head to meet the scowling angry face of Salah. Who had trotted up directly behind me.

He smiled. "Morning Meir. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Chapter 19: "Morning Comes Before Dawn."

As I approached the door at the top of the stairs, I began to hear chanting from the other side. The Circle, no...Debelle's Followers, were up here with her, praising her as she was about to bring their gods to them.

I hurried up the last of the stairs and burst through the door.

The Roof, 1:53 pm

The roof of the tower was crowded with several ponies wearing black robes and hoods that concealed their faces. But Debelle stood above them next to a makeshift altar, no longer wearing any disguise. She looked over at me and smiled. "Morning Meir! So glad you could make it! You're just in time to watch your world fall to ruin." She mocked.

I charged at her, but I was caught and restrained quickly by the crowd. I hadn't actually expected them not to catch me, as needed to make it seem like I was helpless, in order to allow Debelle to think shed won. But she hadn't. Not yet.

Debelle laughed as she looked down at me, clearly happy that I'd been dealt with for now. "Now, that that's out of the way...

She turned back to the crowd. "Brothers and Sisters! We are gathered here, to witness the return of our gracious masters! The ones who ushered in a new age for us and our predecessors! The ones who bestowed greatness onto our Circle. The true creators of Mareposa."

The crowd cheered as she continued. "With the Dark Ones leading us, we shall lead the people to a new order, under which, all borders will dissolve. All will be united under The Circle!"

The crowd cheered once more, as the black skies suddenly lit up as lightning ripped across the heavens, and clouds began to encircle the sky above the tower. As the storm began to rage, the crowd cheered louder then ever.

Debelle raised her hooves to the heavens, a manic smile on her face. "A NEW AGE, BEGINS NOW!!" She screamed, as a moment of silence cut through the air.

Suddenly I heard myself scream as a bolt of lightning struck Debelle from the skies. I watched in horror as her body contorted and flailed in a sick rhythm with the crackling electricity. Then as quickly as it had struck, it was done, and Debelle stood there lifeless in her place.

I heart was beating out of my chest, as I looked around for a reaction from somepony. I mean their leader was just killed in front of them! That should've raised some emotions at least! But the crowd was deadly silent and simply watched. And waited.

Then she moved. Twitched really. But then she moved more. Her body moved unnaturally as she stood on her hind legs, her head bowed.

Then as Debelle raised her head, I saw them. No longer green. Not even red like when she was The Grandmaster. No. Now they were...nothing.

Black. Darker then black. Two bottomless holes where her eyes once were. They didn't shine. And in them revealed absolutely nothing. I was too horrified to scream, as the crowd let go of me, and bowed.

Then she...no...IT spoke to me. And I felt my heart stop with every word.

Morning Meir. We have watched your efforts to stop us with respect.

The words seemed to drive a nail through my brain, as they came into my ears from all directions. Nothing I could do would block them out. I just had to bear through it. It was a horrible, wretched sound. Barely a voice at all. A guttural, stomach churning growl that could've only been the voice of one thing and one thing only: Evil.

Despite my obvious pain at hearing it, the evil thing continued to speak to me. But surely you realize that you have been misled by our enemies.

Both of us want a better world. Fortunately, no harm has been done.

We need determined and Brilliant minds like you. Join us Morning Meir.

Join us and become a god over this world.

I was in tears by this point, and nearly on the ground in pain. But I was done running. Done hiding. And I was done being scared of these things. It was time to fight back. And If I happened to die trying....so be it.

I stood up on my hooves and glared at it as I told it exactly what my answer was.

"Join you? I'll see you in Hell first." I spat.

Ah, Morning Meir. We had great hopes for you.But you see, you are The Catalyst. You will obey us, no matter what you feel.

Suddenly my legs started moving of their own accord. I struggled and squirmed to get control but my body refused to listen to my mind. As I got closer to "Debelle" I found it harder and harder to resist. And to breathe.

This thing was going to kill me just like Debelle. And take possession of my body. That was my role as The Catalyst. With me as their vessel, they will finally be allowed to walk the earth again.

I felt like I was trapped at the bottom of a well, and no matter how hard I screamed, I couldn't ever be heard again. I couldn't breathe anymore, as I just stood there, being strangled by invisible arms. No one to save me. No hope left. I had lost....this time for good.

Remember

I blinked. Had I just....heard somepony? Or was I already losing my grip on my sanity. I looked around, but there was nopony else on this rooftop. And the robed ponies in the crowd hadn't said a word.

The statues. In the hall. Remember the statues

The statues in the hall?......!

The blind statues from before! We had to-

I didn't even need to think it through as I shut my eyes as tight as I could. I felt control of my body return to me, and the invisible arms let go from around my throat. So that was it. Sight.

The Dark Ones got into your head through sight. If you cant see them, they cant do anything to you. That's why the statues were blind. That's why the crowd wore their hoods over their faces. And that's why Debelle lost her eyes when she was possessed. "Seeing Is Hearing." I said aloud.

Now free from the Dark One's hold, I began to do what I do best: Think my way out of this. I calmed my nerves and took a deep breath. All of the detail aligned in front of me, and in them I could see the answer.

Special Situational Analysis

My Opponent: Possessed Debelle Divine. Supernatural threat. Controls people's actions and minds through sight, able to remove ones ability to breathe. Extremely Dangerous.

Situation: Need to stop The Dark Ones. Extremely powerful eldritch entities, but severely weakened in terms of abilities due to lack of sacrifices from The Circle over the centuries.

Weaknesses: Extreme Arrogance, Unable to control victims who cannot see them.

Source of Power: The Tower Of The Sun is magnifying the power of the sun and moon to rip a tear in the fabric of our world to let The Dark Ones through. If its destroyed, The Dark Ones have no hope of ever returning.

Conclusion: The Tower must be destroyed. Then The Dark Ones cannot ever return. And who better to do that then The Dark Ones themselves.

End Of Analysis

And that was my plan. With my eyes still shut I called out to Debelle. "O great and powerful Dark Ones. I see now the error of my ways. I shall join you...if you will still have me." I said, trying to sound as brainwashed as possible.

So now you see its pointless to resist. Very well. We will have yo-

"But first, I have a question!"

....Very well. Proceed

"If you're all so powerful and great....why do you need this dumb tower to enter our dimension? Surely, beings as indescribably mighty as you can enter this world without need of some pathetic pony-made structure to sustain you."

We have no need of your worthless architecture. This building served a purpose and it has fulfilled it

"Then...why keep it here? Why not destroy it, to show these miserable creatures your true power! This place was build for Celestia, why not prove how much mightier you are, by destroying it completely? Leave nothing in your wake!"

You humor us, Morning Meir. Then, this world shall bear witness to its true masters

I opened my eyes as I saw a ball of black lightning gather above the tower, and watched as it grew larger and larger.

Without thinking, I broke through the crowd, and began to run down the steps as fast as my hooves could go, if not faster. I didn't even have time to stop and see that Maregold's body had vanished without a trace.

I continued to practically fly down the steps as the hooded ponies from the roof were now fleeing the building in terror. I finally reached the bottom and burst through the ornate front doors, to see Ralah waving at me with Salah by her side. Dr. Seastone and Gold Digger looked relieved to see me alive and well. "Hey, there's the hero! whats-

I didn't slow down for even a second. "RUN!!" I shouted, as I sped past them. This was all they needed to hear as they joined me, as we all ran away from the courtyard, and down the street, not slowing down for several blocks.

We only looked back when we felt the earth beneath us practically buckle, as a massive black bolt of energy smashed clean through the Tower Of The Sun, sending the whole thing to the ground as it rained atom sized bits of glass and crystal all around us.

And then, like a gift from Celestia herself, the sun shined brightly through the dissolving black clouds, reflecting off the falling bits of crystal and illuminating a rainbow for all to see. Ponies from around the streets looked up in wonder.

I had done it. It was finally over. Not only had I caught Mr. Regal's killer, but I had stopped the return of an evil race of eldritch monsters and saved the world in the process.

Huh. Not too bad for just some doctor from Equestria.

As the most immense feeling of relief washed over us, I was surprised to see, of all ponies, Ralah, looking over at the destroyed remains of The Tower, looking quite unhappy.

"Ralah? Whats wrong? We did it! We saved the world! aren't you happy?" I asked concerned.

Ralah looked over at me and sighed. "Yeah. But I'm still sad that Celestia's Tower got destroyed. She didn't deserve that!" Ralah exclaimed.

Salah stifled a cough. "Ralah?"

"Yeah?"

"You do know that tower wasn't actually made for Celestia. It was literally built for the sole purpose of bringing about the end of the world. Celestia would never have had something like that made." Salah explained simply.

Ralah's eyes widened. "Ohhh. Well, in that case, Good Riddance!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

With that we all laughed as friends, happy to be alive. And happy that the world was safe from the Dark Ones. And this time...it was for good.