Equestria's Most Wanted

Do you ever get that feeling where you're sleeping soundly on a bed?

Just peacefully resting your eyes as you wander deep inside your slumber without a care of the outside world?

That feeling where you're like flying in the sky, feeling the comfy breeze in the clouds as you soar through the heavens?

Ah, what a wonderful sensati—

"Attention scary stranger!"

Yeah, how wonderful indeed...

"Ah know you can hear me in there!"

What a thoughtful alarm clock.

"Look, we don't want any trouble, okay?"

Me neither.

"If you could kindly just show yourself, then maybe we could settle this peacefully!"

Well, I don't feel peaceful anymore.

"Please! Spare our town from your evil!"

Disrupting one's sleep is evil.

"Hello?"

...

"Ah know you can hear me!"

Ughhhh...

Cipher couldn't take another word from that annoying megaphone any longer and stood up from his bed. He felt displeased from having his sleep interrupted by a living alarm clock. He rubbed his eyes, feeling the itch from the dried rheum that formed in his corneas overnight. He looked over the bed that he slept on and sighed.

"What a great way to start the day..." Cipher trotted to the desk and grabbed the pouch that held the scroll holder. He walked to the giant hole on the wall to see the 'annoying alarm clock' outside, tapping the ground with his hooves.

"Huh. I assume that's the sheriff of this place..." Cipher observed the appearance of the pony. He wore a brown cowboy hat with a bronze-colored star at the center. He had a sepia-colored skin wearing a blue denim vest with a yellow scarf and had a bronze-colored star for a cutie mark.

"Let's get this over with," Cipher gave another sigh and trotted down the staircase. As he was walking downstairs, he noticed that the other rooms were silent.

"They must have known about my presence and immediately left the place," Cipher thought, carefully observing the rooms when he noticed a large brown poster on a wall that grabbed his attention.

"What the..."

It was a wanted poster with his face on the center of the paper. The name given to him was—

"The Milkshake Thief?"

The surprised unicorn read the written information that was on the poster.

WANTED: Dead or Alive

"Huh. I mean I don't care if they want me dead or not..." Cipher said as he rubbed his chin. "But what are they gonna do with me if I'm dead? What could they possibly want with me?"

Cipher shrugged off the possible ideas and continued to read the poster.

THE MILKSHAKE THIEF
Wanted for: Scaring the local ponies, roaring loudly at night, stealing valuables, and destroying local property

"I did none of those! What the hell?" Cipher exclaimed at the false claims about him that was stated on the poster. Cipher tried to recall the events that happened last night that could potentially prove or disprove the said accusations.

Scaring the local ponies

"I guess I did scare the locals, but that was unintentional!"

Roaring loudly at night

"Roaring? That was my stomach!"

Stealing valuables

"I didn't steal anything! The bartender just gave away that milkshake and ran away. He even told me that I could have it for free, and I PAID HIM AFTERWARDS! Besides, it was just one milkshake! I mean I know it was like the best one they had but it's not like they ran out of it."

Destroying local property

"Okay now that, I have no idea where they got that accusation from..."

Cipher narrowed his eyes at the specific claim for a while only to come up with a conclusion that—

"Okay, now that's just downright untrue! I didn't destroy that room!" Cipher was taken aback, thinking that they accused him of causing the damaged part of the inn—the room where he slept at. "That room was already in bad condition before I even went inside the inn!"

APPROACH WITH CAUTION:
Suspect's origin is unknown and based on what the locals have seen, it could pose a huge threat to anypony who stands in its way. Suspect's magical abilities are powerful and destructive. Please contact the authorities, preferably the royal guards or even Princess Celestia if the suspect is nearby. Do not attempt to engage.

REWARD: 10,000 Bits and a Lifetime Supply of Dodge Junction's Special Supreme Truffle Milkshake for Free!

Cipher stared at the poster, completely speechless. He didn't know how to react or what to say after reading the poster.

"Attention scary stranger, are you there?" a voice powered by a megaphone announced outside.

Cipher turned his head around to where the voice came from and then turned his head back to the poster. He carefully studied the contents of the poster when a sudden revelation came to his mind.

"I knew something was up with that bright light that flashed in my face when my stomach growled in the street. Somepony took a picture of me..." Cipher pondered at the surprising fact that his mind came up with after piecing the details together. "If my picture was taken and my face is on a wanted poster, that would only mean..."

He quickly ran through the corridors of the inn, only to be proven that what he thought about was correct.

"Heh. Now I'm actually impressed..."

Numerous posters had his face and having the same contents of the poster he first saw.

"Seriously though, how were they able to print a lot of these in a short time? I mean I was only here last night. And really? A lifetime supply of milkshakes? Who the hell came up with this dumb idea? And also, they could've at least put some effort into making all these. It all seemed like they just inserted a picture with me in it and lazily printed it along with the poster itself."

"Scary stranger Ah repeat, are you there?" the same voice outside called out to him, this time it was louder than the last one.

"This is the sheriff of Dodge Junction speakin'! If you won't come out there, then Am afraid Am gonna have to force you to get out!"

Cipher grumbled as he couldn't bear to hear that annoying voice from that megaphone any longer. And now, he was being forced to get out of the inn. Not that he had a choice anyway.

He took a deep breath and kept his stoic expression. He was kinda annoyed by everything that just happened—getting interrupted in his sleep, somepony repeatedly calling out to him with a very distorted megaphone, and now he was accused of several criminal acts.

It wasn't that it bothered him to the degree of flipping a table in rage or destroying glass bottles to let off some steam. He was known to be very calm and collected, and stoicism is one of his specialties.

But sometimes when it was just too much, he just gotta do something about it. His patience wasn't infinite and he still does get mad, like any other pony.

"This is the sheriff of Dodge Junction, Sheriff Bronzestar! And Am callin' your attenti—" the megaphone was cut off due to it instantly breaking to smithereens. It was done by a powerful spell—a spell that came from the unicorn who was now standing outside the inn, looking at him.

The ponies who were around the sheriff screamed and ran away to their homes.

The sheriff suddenly trembled in fear. Nopony had ever approached him that way. Being a sheriff of the town, he was highly respected and admired by the locals. But now, a pony who stole a glass of milkshake and managed to scare everypony by doing nothing at all destroyed his megaphone like it was paper.

"You were saying?" Cipher asked, raising a brow as he continued to stare at the trembling pony.

"A-A-Ah ain't scared of ya!" the sheriff said, shivering as he tried his best maintaining his posture.

"Uh-huh, sure you're not..." Cipher replied sarcastically.

He was still annoyed at him for disturbing him in his sleep, but he knew that scaring him off won't do any good. He was a wanted criminal and he could get arrested at some point. He was standing in front of the sheriff of the town face to face. Who's to say that the sheriff or his deputies won't try to arrest him even if they're afraid of him? And getting arrested is the last thing he wanted.

Cipher sighed and approached the trembling sheriff slowly.

"Look, officer. This is all just a big misunderstanding..." Cipher stated, slowly walking towards the sheriff.

"S-stay where you are, monster!" the sheriff warned, going back a few steps, still visibly trembling.

"Can you at least let me explain a few thing—"

"B-back off!"

The tension suddenly increased. Cipher stopped walking immediately when the sheriff pulled a revolver from his vest. The sheriff was now pointing a gun at him.

"A-Ah said back off!"

The indigo unicorn stood still. He didn't know what to do or how to react at that point. The sheriff, despite being extremely terrified, had a revolver on his hoof. Even if he had scared him, that wouldn't stop the sheriff from shooting him.

"A-Ah have a gun with me and Ah ain't afraid to use it!" the sheriff yelled, vigorously shaking while pointing the gun at the unicorn.

"With the way he's holding it though, he could miss..." Cipher thought as he analyzed the situation he was at. A lot of ideas ran through his head. He could run away and put on a defensive barrier around him. He could also try conjuring a quick light flash to temporarily blind the sheriff and retaliate. Or he could—

The sheriff tried to pull the trigger, but the trigger got stuck mid-way, producing a loud audible click. The sheriff tried to pull again, but the trigger wouldn't budge.

"I don't know if this is plot armor, extraordinary luck, or the sheriff just being plain stupid for having a jammed gun," Cipher mumbled to himself.

Cipher approached the sheriff to see what went wrong with his firearm, making the sheriff flinch and taking a few steps back.

"D-didn't you hear me? A-Ah said back off!" the sheriff warned, once again pulling the trigger, only to get it stuck from where it was again.

Cipher continued to walk while the sheriff continued to back off, pulling the trigger of his gun and getting it stuck mid-way in the trigger guard repeatedly.

"W-why isn't mah gun firin'?" the sheriff asked himself, trying to shake the gun he was holding. He was getting irritated by his gun being jammed at the worst possible time. He soon realized that the indigo unicorn was already in front of him.

"Did you check if the primers were placed correctly in each bullet case?" Cipher asked casually as if he wasn't terrified of being at point-blank range from the gun.

"T-the what?" the sheriff asked, suddenly surprised by the unexpected question from the unicorn.

"The primers, were they placed correctly in each case?"

"What are these primers you speak of?"

Cipher blinked his eyes in shock.

"You have a gun and you don't know what a primer is?"

"Are you just makin' up words so you can stall me from shootin' ya?"

Cipher blinked his eyes again. His mind suddenly went blank. He felt like his mind experienced a 404 error and it's desperately trying to reboot itself from the massive collateral damage it just took (in short, he got negative brain cells).

"Well, your petty tricks won't work on me!" the sheriff yelled, suddenly breaking Cipher from his confused trance.

The sheriff was about to pull the trigger when the unicorn suddenly grabbed the gun with his magic. Cipher opened the cylinder of the revolver and pushed the extractor rod, revealing a single bullet with its primer not pushed down completely inside the bullet case.

"I don't know if I should be glad that his gun didn't kill me or if I should be mad because this sheriff is a total idiot who doesn't check how his gun got jammed, better yet he doesn't even know what a primer is!" Cipher rolled his eyes, sighing from the sheriff's foolishness. He pushed the primer down properly in the bullet case and loaded it in the cylindrical chamber. "Also why is there only one bullet? Is he playing Russian Roulette but with another pony's head?

Cipher closed the cylinder of the revolver and gave it a spin. He then gave the loaded gun back to its owner.

"There, I fixed it for you," Cipher rolled his eyes and sighed.

The sheriff looked at the gun and then back at Cipher. He didn't know what to do when the menacing monster quickly grabbed the gun from him. The fact that the unicorn fixed his jammed gun, completely surprised him. He didn't expect for the unicorn to fix his gun for him and had the guts to even return it, despite him attempting to shoot the unicorn.

"Now if you'll let me explain," Cipher stated, still trying to recover from his previous trance. "First, I didn't mean to scare the locals, I had no intentions in doing so and they were mostly terrified of my appearance. I didn't try to purposely scare them away. Second, the roar I made was overly exaggerated. It was my stomach grumbling and it wasn't that loud! Okay, maybe it also did scare the ponies who heard it but that wasn't on purpose either! Third, I never stole anything. The milkshake in the bar was given to me by the bartender because he was scared of me. Again, I didn't scare him on purpose and I paid him afterward. Finally, the big hole on the top floor of the inn wasn't my doing. It was already like that before I even entered the inn. If you want, you can talk to the receptionist mare to prove my point."

"B-but the townsponies, t-they said—"

"I don't care what they said! You should be thankful nopony was actually harmed. As if I'd even harm anypony..."

"Ah-Ah don't buy it! How would Ah know if you're tellin' the truth? You could be lyin' to me!"

"Why the hell would I lie?"

"B-because a pony like you would lie just to get ponies to trust you! Ah've seen these kinds of tricks from ponies like you before and Ah ain't fallin' for it!"

"Ponies like me? How are there ponies like me? And what do you mean by 'these kinds of tricks?'"

The sheriff said nothing after hearing the question. He didn't know what to say because he just made all those stuff up. He had never actually seen ponies like him before because nopony was as intimidating as the pony in front of him, and by foolishly believing all the fake claims, he was terrified to tell him the truth.

Even if he believed that they were all fake claims, he wouldn't let this opportunity be taken away from him. This was his chance! He was finally going to catch a criminal!

He once tried to prove the townsponies that he would be a worthy sheriff and a good leader to all of them, but all he ever did was make stories of him catching bad guys and defeating evil and all those kinds of junk. He wanted the town to know that he was capable of doing great things.

But now that he was actually in front of a possible criminal—let alone the scariest criminal he had ever seen in his entire existence, he was put on the spot.

The citizens left him alone because they were scared, diminishing all the support he could have in facing an intimidating foe. And now this foe of his was questioning him as if he'd be dead on the spot if his opponent knew he was lying.

Cipher didn't want to wait for a response. If the sheriff won't believe him then there was no point in further discussing anything. He walked away in the opposite direction. He needed to find shelter and this sheriff wasted so much of his time already.

As Cipher was walking away, he sensed a strange disturbance tingling in his horn. Before Cipher was able to identify what it was, a loud gunshot permeated through the air with its piercing noise in a loud bang. The two of them immediately stood still from their current positions and looked at each other with different reactions.

"Did you just try to shoot me?" Cipher asked as he raised a brow, showing no fear that he would've died on that point as if death meant nothing to him.

The sheriff widened his eyes and quickly went through his vest to grab more bullets. As if the unicorn read his mind, he quickly grabbed the revolver with his magic. The gun was now floating in his azure-blue magic, the muzzle pointing at the sheriff.

"And... he's a lousy shot," Cipher said to himself. "Why did he only load one bullet in his gun if he had more of them in his vest? Or did he forget to load the gun? Now I'm confused about how this guy became this town's sheriff."

Indeed he became even more confused. The town was very organized and civilized. The townsponies were certainly intelligent with how Cipher observed so far. Sure they're a scared bunch, but that didn't fully affect their intellect for one bit. From what he observed so far, everypony he met was as normal as a citizen can be and some were even impressive—he remembered the amazing tray slide that the bartender did despite being extremely terrified.

But now, he was looking at probably one of the dumbest beings he had seen so far. And that specific being is this town's sheriff—a position townsponies respected and adorned because of their good leadership and mental preparedness.

But this town's supposed leader was the exact opposite. Not only did this pony not know how his gun got jammed or what a primer is, despite wielding a firearm, but he couldn't even afford to shoot his target which happened to be only a few feet away from him.

Cipher slowly approached the stupid sheriff. The gun still levitated in his magic while pointing at him. The sheriff was already too scared to even move and remained motionless where he stood.

Cipher magically materialized a bullet and loaded it in the gun. He then pulled the trigger. The bullet, nearly hitting the officer, passed by him, hitting an empty can placed on a fence that was very far away from where they were.

"Tell the townsponies to learn how to recycle empty cans, they're all over the place. And as for you, tell your deputies to teach you the different parts of a gun," Cipher told the officer, grabbing his collar. "Then maybe after you learn how a gun works, tell them to teach you how to aim, capiche?"

The officer, who was now intensely shaking for being grabbed by the collar and by being too close to the pony who almost killed him, gulped and nodded. Cipher let go of his collar and resumed his walk.

He noticed that the road that led him out of the Badlands stretched even further. He also noticed the train station he saw yesterday the first time he got into this town.

"I could go for a train ride," Cipher considered the idea in his head. "But then again, I would most likely scare off more ponies and I think I already scared too much."

Cipher neglected the train ride idea. He certainly would frighten more ponies and he didn't want to materialize any more bits for his gain. He was also a wanted criminal and he had no idea how many ponies knew of his so-called malicious acts.

Somepony took a photo of him and probably had help from others in making the wanted posters. Who knows where they could have gone and who knows how many places they've been to, giving away the posters and warning ponies about him. He could very well be infamous at some point and it wasn't like nopony would try to track him down. Sure the sheriff wasn't able to subdue him but that would just make matters even worse.

If the ponies knew that he was an escapee, who managed to escape the town he was first wanted at (he was first seen in Dodge Junction), that would cause incredible amounts of problems. Ponies would be very scared and would even think of evacuating from their towns. Ponies would also try contacting for help. He could attract the attention of the royal guards as if he was their bounty. Oh wait, he was technically already a bounty. He could even attract the attention of—

"AGH!" his thoughts were interrupted again by one of his signature mind jolts. Cipher shook his head and tried to go for the alternate route—or rather the route he took to get out of the Badlands.

When Cipher left the town, the sheriff couldn't bear it any longer and passed out, collapsing on the ground.

A pink engine-powered train was passing through the railroads, heading south of its origin. Among the ponies who were boarded, five of them were looking down anxiously.

"I hope this lead doesn't turn out to be a dead end," Rainbow Dash said worriedly. "I don't want to go home empty-hooved after promising we'd find her."

"How do we explain this to her family?" Fluttershy asked her friends, hoping for a reassuring answer.

"I-I don't know..." Rarity replied in a distressing tone.

"Let's not be negative about this girls," Twilight assured her worried friends. "The pony in the stadium pointed us in this place and I trust her with it."

"Where are we heading again? Dodgeball... something?" Rainbow Dash asked, trying to remember the name of the place they were going to.

"It's Dodge Junction," Twilight sighed, thinking how Rainbow Dash immediately forgot the name of the place when she just told them where they were going to just a while ago.

"How long is the next stop? I don't know if I can hold it much longer!" Pinkie Pie shouted, trying her best to stay in place on the chair she was sitting on.

The train horn blared, indicating for the passengers that the train will stop to the next station. Luckily for them, it was the station they were heading to.

"Next stop, Dodge Junction!" the train conductor announced, notifying the passengers about the next station. The train stopped beside the Dodge Junction train station.

"This is it girls!" Twilight turned to her friends with a smile. As they were about to leave the train, Pinkie dashed out of the train door, looking for a restroom.

The four remaining mares chuckled at the silly gesture showed by their humorous pink friend as they stepped out of the train.

"Okay, let's fan out and find Applejack," Twilight spoke as she looked around the town they were in. It was a Western-style town similar to the town they visited once—Appleloosa. It had the same kind of houses that Appleloosa had with only one difference—there were no ponies.

"Is it just me or does this town look a little empty?" Rainbow Dash asked her friends while observing the town in front of them.

"A 'little' sounds like an understatement, Rainbow Dash. This town is desolated!" Rarity commented, surprised to see the town devoid of life.

"Oh dear, where are the townsponies? Are they okay?" Fluttershy asked in concern, getting a bit frightened by the silent atmosphere.

"I don't know..." Twilight replied in uncertainty. "Let's go find Applejack first, then maybe we could ask her about this."

As the four ponies walked in the quiet town, Pinkie Pie was able to find a restroom. She tried to turn the knob when a gamboge-colored earth pony suddenly pounced at her. The pink mare widened her eyes by the sudden attack when she realized who the pony was that pinned her down.

"A-Applejack?" Pinkie asked, fully recognizing her friend.

"P-Pinkie Pie?" the gamboge mare asked the pink mare below her. She was surprised to see one of her friends in the vicinity of the town.

"Umm... yeah... it's me, Pinkie..." Pinkie replied, unsure how to respond. "Could you umm... tell me why you pinned me down like this? I know I look attractive and all but I didn't know you'd want to do it with me..."

"Do what with you?" Applejack asked curiously. Her eyes suddenly widened after realizing what Pinkie meant. Her face instantly turned red in embarrassment after hearing Pinkie Pie's naughty statement.

"W-what?! N-no! That's not why Ah pinned—" Applejack quickly retorted as she tried to hide her embarrassment. "Ugh, never mind!"

Applejack got out of her 'awkward position with Pinkie' and quickly glanced at her surroundings.

"What are you looking around for?" Pinkie asked, slowly standing up from the ground.

"Shhh..." Applejack quickly put her hoof on Pinkie's mouth. "Be quiet and follow me!"

"Alright, but first I gotta tell everypony—" Pinkie immediately stopped talking when she realized that she had forgotten why she was there.

"GOTTA GO TO THE RESTROOM FIRST!" Pinkie yelped as she quickly opened the restroom door, slamming it shut.

"Shoot. They found out where Ah am. Ah gotta do something quickly before they—"

"Applejack!" Twilight called, interrupting Applejack in her thoughts. Applejack's eyes widened at the sudden mention of her name.

"Yep, too late..."

"I swear I think I just lost some of my brain cells every time I looked at him," Cipher cringed, remembering the dumb sheriff that failed to shoot him over a short distance. Sure, he was kinda glad that the shot missed, or else he'd be dead right on the spot. But of all the ponies that could've been the sheriff of a well-organized town, it had to be a pony who didn't even know how to use a gun.

He was disappointed at the town's officer and he couldn't bear another second looking at him. He was dumb, cowardly, and worst of all he couldn't even shoot him when he literally was like a few feet away from him. Heck, he even had the guts to disturb him in his sleep but when he confronted him face to face, he was whining like a complete idiot who thought they saw a monster under their bed.

The indigo unicorn shrugged off his thoughts about the sheriff and continued to walk on the road. After everything that happened to him, he was still determined to look for a new home. He just didn't how to react when ponies see him, considering a town would be the most likely place he'll live in.

He was very skeptical if he even wanted to live in a town. He could technically just find a random spot somewhere far away from civilization and just live there all by himself. He would be totally isolated—in a place where it is silent and far away from the disturbances of others. He could do whatever he wants and nopony would be there to scream at him, discriminate him, or annoy him.

That sounded too good to be true and he could just imagine happily living there. But as all imaginations come by, they are all just his imaginations. Even if he was alone by himself, that wouldn't guarantee that he was totally away from any disturbance.

He was no longer a foal who believed in fantasies and foal stories where characters are able to find their deepest desires and their wishes becoming true and now they live in some sort of paradise or a lovely home or stuff like those. Sure he could find a peaceful place to settle in, but how long would it stay that way?

As a citizen of the Badlands, it was common for him to be very skeptical and he always doubted the good side of things. He always believed that nopony can always get what they want and that bad things will always happen to anypony no matter who they are. As much as he wanted to live alone in peace, it all just came down to a simple answer—no place is ever peaceful.

He also remembered that he was now a criminal apparently. Sure, ponies were scared of him at first, but there would come a time where they would hunt him down. They wouldn't just let somepony like him be free, and given all the bad things that he was accused of, he certainly wasn't safe from whatever act of justice they have in store for him. Of course, being a pony who surely had rights, he could try to convince them that he didn't do those malicious acts on purpose. He had no intentions in doing anything bad and he never harmed anypony, even if he wanted to.

The problem was that he wasn't known by anypony. He was a complete stranger—not even the ponies in his old home knew who he was. That was the disadvantage of living alone—nopony trusts you because nopony knows you. They wouldn't just believe him even if he tried to show evidence. And trying to show evidence was hard enough because if he did try to convince them, it would already be too late and they would just get scared of him and not listen to what he would say.

As much as he had any choice though, all he could think for the moment was just to look for a place to live—he didn't care if it was in a town or somewhere else. He just needed a place to settle in, at least for a temporary time until he could find a better place to live in permanently.

Besides, he wouldn't be able to live properly with the injury in his head and the time he wished to spend on the things he wanted to do would most likely be interrupted every time. He desperately needed medical attention and if possible, maybe get help in restoring his memories.

He never thought of ever getting his memories back at all, but it was something he wanted for a long time now. He wanted to know more about himself and find out a lot of things about him. He wanted to know his past, his old life before the injury, and the families he once lived with—if he ever had any. In short, he needed a doctor and as far as he knew, there is a bigger chance you'd find one in civilizations.

He knew that curing for the injuries he had would be a long process and living alone and away from civilization would be a hassle for him for he would have to travel far just to get an appointment with a doctor. It would be very convenient to be living in a town. That way he could visit the doctor anytime with ease.

Cipher sighed in distressed and just began to think of a different topic while walking.

As he was walking, he couldn't help but think some of the things back in the town he was just at. Especially a certain name he remembered seeing at the wanted posters.

"Princess Celestia..." Cipher narrowed his eyes as he deeply focused on the thoughts he was having. "I have heard of that name before from some of the history books I read, but I haven't seen her personally. And the info about her that I got from the books I read were very vague."

Cipher remained focused in his thoughts (again), knowing it would be a bad idea and would probably cause another zapping interruption, but he didn't care because he needed to process a lot of things and it's not everyday he can get an opportunity like the one he had now to think these sorts of stuff.

He read some books about the founding of Equestria and other history-related stuff, but that's all he really knew. Topics about the present days of Equestria were rarely discussed in the books he read. He did know that there were two alicorns who ruled over Equestria and that they were the ones responsible for raising and lowering the sun and the moon, although he did find that information ridiculous.

He also discovered some information he read in some of the books were a bit unfathomable—some even contradict to itself, making it difficult to understand. Growing up with this information, he knew that not all of them were true and accurate, not that he blamed himself nor the books he read—it was hard to buy books in the Badlands due to their rarities and prices. But it's like he only learned how to read the alphabet up until now.

He wanted to find more answers, and the fact that he was holding a scroll that could lead to a possible ancient discovery didn't help him one bit. He was growing a bit impatient, and he still needed to find a home. Heck, he needed a doctor for his brain—

"And there it is..." Cipher shook his head from the sudden brain zap that occurred as if his mind told him that he needed to stop spacing out for a while.

He adjusted his bandana and continued to walk until he saw a small bridge across the nearby river. The road to the other side of the bridge led to a hilltop filled with tall rocks and boulders. He was about to cross when a certain structure caught his eye.

"Is that a castle?" Cipher asked, narrowing his eyes to see the odd-looking structure properly. Cipher made a detour around the forest to take a closer look. As he continued to walk deep in the forest, he began to feel a slight discomfort from the sudden unsettling atmosphere that the forest offered.

"I sense immense amounts of weird magic and energy coming from this forest..." Cipher pondered, internally feeling the weirdness of the forest. "Strange..."

He continued his walk until he finally came across the structure he saw a while back in full view. Cipher marveled at the astonishing sight. It was indeed a castle but in a very ravaged condition. It consisted of damaged towers, uneven wall structures, and a whole lot of moss covering the entire exterior.

"An old castle? I wonder what happened to it..." Cipher raised a brow, intently looking at the infrastructure. "I could go take a look..."

Cipher considered the idea of having a bit of an adventure of another possible ancient discovery and being the pony that he was, he would very much like to do it. He had another opportunity to learn something new, and this time he was doing it outside of his old home.

As much as he loved to go inside and explore the ancient wonders of the ravaged castle in front of him, he still had priorities to attend to. He needed to do those first before doing anything else. The unicorn sighed, feeling a bit saddened about the missed opportunity.

"I need to go look for a place to live first."

Cipher was about to return to the bridge when he thought of an idea. He looked to the ruined castle and used his magic. He planned to perform a spell that can let him remember a certain location by magically scanning the said location using a medium (in his case, he just used his horn), and inputting the exact coordinates in a form of a map that can be conveniently accessed with his mind anytime he wanted.

He knew how to perform the spell in one of the old spell books he learned and he had tried performing the spell more than once, but he mostly performed it on objects when he didn't want to forget where they were located. This was the first time he would use the spell on something large—castle-sized large.

He concentrated on the magic in his horn and began to perform the spell. He tried to outline the structure with his eyes and tried to receive the outline information quickly with his mind in a form of a memory input.

As he was performing the spell, he was having difficulties. The spell was doing fine outlining the structure but the process was very slow. Just right after he had outlined half of the place, his mind began to ache.

"Just a little longer..." Cipher gritted his teeth. His whole body was now trembling, some parts were beginning to spasm. His mind was in intense pain as sweat began to pour over his tired body.

"Just... a... little... longer!" Cipher shouted internally, determined to finish the fatigue-inducing spell as lethargy began to take over his body.

The invisible outline was finally done and the input was then processed into coordinates. His mind quickly received the information and a figure of a map appeared inside his head. The map revealed the location of the ruined castle—like what is seen in a radar showing a red dot.

The magic stopped its flow in the unicorn's horn, replacing the sensation with aggravating pain.

"AGHH!" Cipher grunted, holding his head with his hoof. He had never felt that much pain, not since that large blow he received from one of the bull-serpent creatures that raided his house. He felt very exhausted.

"Okay, let's not do this again, not until I find a doctor," Cipher panted. "At least I know where this place is and I could just visit this anytime I want to."

Cipher silently nodded as he trotted back in the forest. He reached the bridge that he originally intended to go to and trotted forward.

"Hope I don't get more interruptions..." Cipher sighed, trotting towards the rocky ridge.

As if luck despised his existence, multiple pairs of eyes loomed behind the shadows, silently stalking their new unsuspecting prey.

"Hehehe," one of the eyes looked at the others, cackling at their new target. "What do you think boys?"

"What do I think?" one of them answered. "I think somepony's gonna get lost!"

"Or better yet, what's inside that pouch his holding is gonna get lost!"

"Oooohhh... what could be inside that thing?"

"Well, what else could be inside? A heck ton of GEMS!"

"GEMS!!!" all of them said dreamily, imagining the good things they can do with the amount of gems they will soon have.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? That white pony may have fooled us last time, but this time, we won't get tricked easily!"

"YEAH!"

The stalkers cackled maniacally, hiding their eyes behind the rocks.

"Applejack, thank heavens you're alright!" Rarity exclaimed, happy to see that one of her friends was okay.

"We're so glad you're safe!" Fluttershy followed.

"Oh, umm... yeah of course! Why wouldn't Ah be?" Applejack nervously replied, rapidly looking sideways.

"Oh, well, it's just... you didn't come back after the rodeo. We all waited for you but you didn't return. We received your letter about sending the money but it also stated there that you won't be coming back." Twilight answered, a bit saddened when her friend didn't arrive in Ponyville. "Good thing there was a pony who knew where you went after the rodeo and pointed us here. Speaking of which, why are you here?"

Before she could reply, a pink mare busted through the restroom and began to hop towards her friends.

"Hey, everypony! I found Applejac—" she stopped when she saw that her friends were already with Applejack. "Oh nevermind..."

"Applejack?" a Southern-accented voice was suddenly heard by the six mares, coming from a pale yellow mare with a curly crimson mane and a brown mole on her face, wearing a pink ribbon scarf around her neck. The yellow mare looked at Applejack and turned to the other ponies around her who she assumed were her friends.

"Oh howdy there! You must be Applejack's Ponyville friends!" the pale yellow mare beamed at them.

"Psst!" Applejack suddenly called the yellow mare's attention, lowering her eyebrows and gesturing the yellow pony for them to come inside.

"Oh my, Ah almost forgot," the yellow mare gestured the mares to come to her house. "Come inside, it's dangerous out here. We'll discuss further in mah house."

The five mares looked at each other in surprise and followed the stranger to her house. Applejack, who was already at the door, was suddenly approached by the pale yellow mare.

"Why didn't you tell me that you're friends we're goin' to visit?" the pale yellow mare whispered to Applejack.

"A-Ah didn't know that they were goin' to visit," Applejack whispered back, looking at her friends.

"You didn't? Well that explains that," the yellow mare replied, quickly changing the subject. "W-wait... were you spotted by—"

"No, Ah wasn't. Ah promise," Applejack quickly interrupted, smiling sincerely to her worried friend.

"Well okay, if you say so. Anyways, let's come inside. We don't want your friends to be in danger now, do we?" the yellow mare stated, looking at Applejack's friends who were now looking at them strangely for leaving them out with their whispering.

"O-oh... right..." Applejack replied, nervously glancing at her friends. "Come on in everypony!"

The four mares looked at each other, confused at what the two were whispering about. They also found it odd that the yellow mare mentioned that it was 'dangerous' to be outside.

Rainbow Dash, who wasn't paying attention to what Applejack said, saw something that caught her eye. She flew towards it and took a look. It was a brown wanted poster. Her interest was suddenly piqued and she decided to read its contents.

WANTED: Dead or Alive

THE MILKSHAKE THIEF

[Photo of Cipher Emblem is located here, I didn't want to use the same photo in Chapter One so I apologize that I don't have a photo in here (maybe I'll have one soon)]

Wanted for: Scaring the local ponies, roaring loudly at night, stealing valuables, and destroying local property

APPROACH WITH CAUTION:
Suspect's origin is unknown and based on what the locals have seen, it could pose a huge threat to anypony who stands in its way. Suspect's magical abilities are powerful and destructive. Please contact the authorities, preferably the royal guards or even Princess Celestia if the suspect is nearby. Do not attempt to engage.

REWARD: 10,000 Bits and a Lifetime Supply of Dodge Junction's Special Supreme Truffle Milkshake for Free!

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened like silver plates. She felt a bit of fear and a bit of excitement within her. She was officially staring at a wanted poster of a possibly dangerous criminal—or rather a villain! For some reason, despite having a bit of fear, she wanted to catch the criminal.

"The dude looks intimidating!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Hell yeah I'd capture this menacing no-good thief! For doing all those bad things, he deserves to be punished! Seriously though, for a dude that looks like a terrifying monster in a horror movie, they could've at least given him a cool name."

"I mean 'MILKSHAKE THIEF?' Seriously? They made it sound like this punk's a joke, but clearly, he isn't! I mean look at that scar! It looked like something literally struck across his face. And dang, those eyes! Why are they in different colors? And why is he wearing a bandana? It was even written here that they should preferably call the royal guards. Hell, even Princess Celestia? Seriously, what did this punk do in this town, besides making it look like a ghost town?"

She glanced around to see the town empty and devoid of any forms of life. She looked around to see if the 'criminal' was nearby. She was very eager to capture him. Heck, if she did, not only would she receive the honor of capturing a high-level threat criminal by herself and possibly saving Equestria from the threatening pony, but she would also be rich thanks to the reward money. And who wouldn't say no to—

"A lifetime supply of Dodge Junction's Special Supreme Truffle Milkshake for Free!?" Rainbow Dash gasped. "FOR FREE?! HELL YEAH I WANT A LIFETIME SUPPLY FOR FREE!"

Rainbow Dash could already feel the glory of apprehending a dangerous monster and saving everypony from its evil wrath. She could see herself standing up in an awesome posture facing against the milkshake thief who was staring at her, ready to attack. She could feel the intense pressure of the wind and the piercing gaze of her opponent as he charged at her at full force. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash already knew he would charge at her and kept on a savage smirk on her face while uttering the words: "Omae wa mou Shindeiru!"

Then her opponent replied with a big "NANI!" Then suddenly, faster than a blink of an eye, Rainbow Dash goes 'ultra instinct' and teleports at his back and does a 'Falcon Punch' move on him, completely killin—I mean completely erasing her opponent out of existence.

Then she'll use her 'Infinity Gauntlet' and rewind time with the 'Time Stone' and do it again, just because she thought it would be cool. Then right after that, everypony who saw the mind-blowing event will have their mouths agape in shock. Then, everypony will cheer for her name as her friends lift her in victory shouting her name in joy: "RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH!" The princesses will then arrive and praise her for her courage and strength in defeating the evil thief.

(the last three paragraphs make no sense, I know...)

While Rainbow Dash was busy fantasizing, the other ponies went inside the pale yellow mare's house.

Applejack motioned her friends to sit down.

"Thanks for inviting us to your house Miss..."

"Oh, Am Cherry Jubilee!" the pale yellow mare replied at Twilight's remark. "Am the boss of Cherry Hill Ranch. It's a pleasure to meet ya'll!"

"The pleasure is ours, Miss Jubilee!" Rarity said smiling.

"Applejack told me a lot about ya'll!" Cherry Jubilee chirped. "Oh, that reminds me! Ya'll shoulda seen Applejack compete in the Equestria Rodeo! Never seen anypony win so many ribbons in all mah life."

"Aw shucks Miss Jubilee, you don't have to go in all that," Applejack smiled at the compliment.

"Oh, you're so modest Applejack!" Cherry Jubilee grinned, giving out a soft chuckle. "Anyway, when Ah was askin' for some help from the ponies in the stadium, Applejack was the first to approach me. Ah needed a pony who could do well with heavy work. At first, Ah wanted to make sure if she was up to the task but she kept on insistin' me anyway."

"Wait, she accepted what heavy work?" Twilight asked, her curiosity was piqued after hearing Cherry Jubilee's remark.

"Oh, Ah was lookin' for ponies who would like to volunteer to work in mah ranch temporarily," Cherry Jubilee replied. "Only for a temporary time because mah workers are on vacation this week. Ah was surprised that Applejack immediately accepted to volunteer. Ah never even explained to her yet what she will be workin' on but she told me that she was perfectly capable for whatever job it was. Ah asked her why but all she told me was that she needed a change of scenery."

Cherry Jubilee was about to say something when she remembered something important.

"Oh my, how rude of me to not even prepare ya'll some treats!" Cherry Jubilee gasped. "Am so sorry, Ah'll head to mah kitchen right now to see what I could serve ya'll. You are mah guests after all! Oh, and Applejack! Ah'll let ya catch up with your friends!"

Cherry Jubilee trotted out of the living room, leaving a nervous Applejack with her friends.

"A change of scenery?" Rarity asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah... Ah thought that maybe Ah could work with somethin' else for a change," Applejack answered, wearing her best poker face.

"What?" Pinkie Pie asked in surprise. "But we thought you were going to return to Ponyville in a week. Wait, it already has been a week, right?"

"But Applejack, we traveled all over Equestria looking for you," Rarity said with a concerned tone. "We were really worried about you and we promised your family that we will come find you."

"Well, you found me. That doesn't mean Ah have to come with you," Applejack replied in a somewhat cold tone. "Although Ah appreciate your concerns about me but ya'll have nothin' to worry about. If it makes you feel better, ya'll can tell mah family that Am doin' okay. But Am not goin' back to Ponyville."

"But Applejack, can you at least tell us—"

"But nothin'! There's nothin' else to tell you and Am not goin' back to Ponyville!" Applejack retorted, interrupting Twilight. "Now if ya'll excuse me, Ah have some work to do!

Applejack hurriedly rushed out of the living room, leaving her friends extremely bewildered.

"That... was... unexpected..." Pinkie Pie commented as she turned over to her friends.

"Yeah... the way she instantly changed her expression," Rarity concurred at Pinkie's comment. "It's like she felt mad and not at the same time..."

"Hmm... and the whole 'change of scenery' excuse..." Twilight noted as she rubbed her chin. "I don't know about you guys but I think Applejack's not telling us something!"

"Ooohhh... Are we going to solve some kind of mystery?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "I love solving mysteries!"

"Hey guys!" Rainbow Dash yelled, suddenly slamming the door open. "Look what I found!"

"R-Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked, confused about the sudden appearance of her friend. "But h-how... what? I thought you were already inside with us?"

"Oh... no, I was outside," Rainbow Dash replied. "Anyways, look what I found! Apparently, there's this some sort of criminal in this town!"

"A criminal?" the four mares asked in unison.

"Yeah! And from what I've read, this guy did some pretty nasty stuff!" Rainbow Dash said, showing the poster she was holding to her friends.

The four mares read the wanted poster, each having a different reaction after reading what was written.

"What?" was all the words that came out of Rarity.

"A-a-a c-criminal?" Fluttershy stuttered. "Oh no, the poor ponies! How could he do such mean things?"

"Milkshake Thief?" Pinkie Pie asked, suppressing a laugh. "That has to be the funniest criminal title I've ever heard!"

"I know right?" Rainbow Dash concurred, also suppressing a laugh. "From all the bad things he did, they could've at least given him a name that would suit him. I mean just look at him!"

"Pinkie Pie! Rainbow Dash!" Rarity declared, calling their attention. "This isn't something to laugh about! This is a serious matter and having a loose criminal in a town like this isn't a joke. Although I do admit that 'Milkshake Thief' is a very ridiculous title for somepony who did all these horrible things."

"Wait, did it just say that they want him dead or alive?" Pinkie Pie asked. "That's a bit weird. And why did they just put the photo of the criminal on the poster, shouldn't the face of the criminal hand-drawn or something? They must've felt really lazy in making these..."

"Eh, I think that's just how wanted posters work," Rainbow Dash replied. "I mean this kinda reminds me of one of those cowboy movies I used to watch where there's this wanted criminal and the sheriff challenges him to a standoff or something like that."

"OMG! The reward is ten thousand bits and a lifetime supply of Dodge Junction's Special Supreme Truffle Milkshake for Free!" Pinkie Pie squealed in delight. "I WANT A LIFETIME SUPPLY OF MILKSHAKES!"

"A lifetime supply?" Fluttershy asked. "Isn't that a bit too much?"

"Ohhh... Fluttershy..." Pinkie Pie said, stroking Fluttershy's mane. "If only you knew the joy of having tons of milkshakes for a lifetime!"

"Yeah... and who would say no to ten thousand bits?" Rainbow Dash asked, crossing her hooves. "That's a whole lot of money that you could buy almost anything you want!"

"That is a lot of money..." Rarity said as she began to daydream the things she could do with all that money at her disposal.

"Rarity are you daydreaming again?" Pinkie Pie asked, noticing the weird look that Rarity was giving her.

"Huh? What?" Rarity asked, snapping back to reality at the mention of her name. "What was that, dear?"

"Yep... you were definitely daydreaming..." Pinkie Pie remarked.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself," Rarity replied, scratching her mane with a hoof.

Twilight, who remained silent, carefully studied the wanted poster that Rainbow Dash showed them. There were some very interesting details from the poster that she noticed.

"Hmmm..." Twilight pondered, rubbing her chin as she analyzed the poster. "It's a good thing that they used an actual photo instead of a drawing. It makes it more detailed."

"Now that I think about it, I remembered Miss Jubilee saying that it was dangerous for us to be outside. Is this the reason why?" Rarity asked.

"It could be!" Fluttershy gasped in shock, suddenly becoming terrified. "I mean that would explain why there were no ponies in this town the moment we got here!"

"You're right!" Pinkie Pie agreed. "But wait, the criminal managed to scare all of them to the point that there are no ponies left in the town?"

"Well... Miss Jubilee is still here," Rarity answered. "So is Applejack, but I think she just got here or I could be wrong..."

"Maybe we could ask Miss Jubilee about it," Fluttershy suggested.

"Ask me about what?" Cherry Jubilee asked as she made her way to the living room; holding a tray that consisted of six glasses of juice, a stack of paper plates, and a large pie on a plate.

"Miss Jubilee! Didn't see you there..." Rarity blinked in surprise.

"Oh, s-sorry Ah hope Ah didn't scare ya," Cherry Jubilee smiled sheepishly. "Well here ya go fellas! Ah hope ya'll like some cherry juice and our signature cherry pie."

"Oooooohhhhh! Cherry pie, I love cherry pie!" Pinkie Pie shouted with joy.

"Well, ya'll can go grab a slice!" Cherry Jubilee said as she placed the tray at the table. "Anyway, what were you gonna ask me about?"

"Oh, it's about this wanted poster that—"

"W-where did you get that?!" Cherry Jubilee asked in a panicked tone, interrupting Rarity while pointing at the poster that Twilight was holding. "How did you get that? Why do you have that?"

"Oh... I got it from the—"

"WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT?!" Cherry Jubilee shouted in fear. "Did you go outside? Why did you go outside? Did he see you? Were you spotted? Didn't Ah tell ya'll that it's dangerous outside?"

The mares widened their eyes in surprise after seeing the mare panic frantically.

"Woah woah woah!" Rainbow Dash approached the hyperventilating mare, trying to calm her down. "Calm down... Miss?"

"Jubilee. Miss Jubilee," Rarity answered, putting a hoof on her face. "Honestly Rainbow Dash, how do you easily forget names?"

"Hey, it's not my fault I forget stuff!" Rainbow Dash defended, crossing her hooves. "Besides, I didn't even know her name, I just knew it after you told me."

"But I literally just... never mind," Rarity sighed, putting a hoof on her face.

"Anyways, Miss Jubilee..." Rainbow Dash said, emphasizing the mare's name. "You don't need to worry about anything. I found the poster before I even went in here. And no, I didn't see the criminal nor did he see me, I think..."

"A-are you sure?" Cherry Jubilee asked, trembling in fear.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Rainbow Dash answered. "Or else he would've stopped me from entering your house and tell all of you about this poster I found. I assure you that nothing bad happened to me."

"Ah suppose you're right..." Cherry Jubilee said, trying to calm down. "Am sorry about all that. Ah didn't mean to get really paranoid. Ah usually don't panic on these sorts of things. Ah guess Ah got a bit carried away there."

"Oh, it's fine Miss Jubilee," Fluttershy reassured. "I mean I got scared too after reading the poster and learning the mean things that this criminal did."

"Speaking of that, that's what we wanted to ask you about, Miss Jubilee," Rarity followed. "We already read this poster and learned about this so-called criminal that did all these terrible things in your town. But we want to know how all of it really happened and since you live in this town, we were wondering if you could tell us what you know if that's okay with you."

"Well, Ah guess that would be fine..." Cherry Jubilee replied. "But why would you want to know?"

Twilight, who was too busy analyzing the poster, finally spoke. "Because we want to know if the claims that were written here are all true and accurate. I did find some pretty interesting details just by looking at the photo and from what I and my friends observed so far when we got here."

"And also because we're very curious about how it all happened..." Rarity followed. "I do want to solve a good mystery! A crime scene even!"

"Heh, I've always wanted to capture a criminal!" Rainbow Dash said with a determined look. "Dang, I feel like I'm in one of those cowboy movies now! And that reward money though."

"Don't forget that if we captured him, we'll get a lifetime supply of those delicious milkshakes!" Pinkie Pie giggled, taking a bite of the pie on her plate. "I mean who would say 'no' to all those milkshakes?"

"Yeah, but first we have to know everything there is to know about this criminal if we want to know how to capture him," Rarity stated. "That's why we need all the information we can get. And having an eyewitness is very helpful for providing us important details."

"Well... Ah suppose Ah could tell you what Ah know..." Cherry Jubilee said, rubbing her chin. "The problem is, Ah actually haven't seen him personally."

"Wait what?" Rarity asked, blinking in surprise. "So you're not an eyewitness then?"

"No Am not, sorry..." Cherry Jubilee replied.

"Well... so much for 'convincing evidence'," Rainbow Dash remarked. "Wait, how is it that you never saw him?"

"Ah don't know, Ah just never saw him," Cherry Jubilee shrugged. "Ah only heard stories from mah neighbors about this thief and some of the things he did. Ah wasn't there when the criminal showed up, in fact, Ah only just heard about him a while ago."

"That's because the criminal showed up late at night," Twilight stated.

"Y-yeah, that's what mah neighbors told me!" Cherry Jubilee widened her eyes in surprise. "How'd you know?"

"Well, if you look at the photo carefully, the bright light that's around the pony is actually just the flash that came from the camera of the pony who took the picture," Twilight responded. "I figured it was night time because of the moon on the right side of the photo. It is very small from our perspective though, but you can kinda see it from here."

"Wow, you got all that just by looking at the photo?" Rainbow Dash asked, raising a brow.

"I didn't just look at it, I analyzed it," Twilight replied. "So I'm assuming that you were already asleep the time that the criminal showed up, that's why you only knew him a while ago, correct?"

"Uhh... yes, Ah told Applejack that she needed to rest early if she was goin' to work in the ranch," Cherry Jubilee concurred.

Rarity pondered as she tried to come up with something in her mind. "And since you said that you never met him, that would mean—"

"He already left this town..." Twilight interjected.

The four mares, including Cherry Jubilee, turned their attention to Twilight after hearing her fascinating statement.

"What do you mean he left?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah? I mean he could still be in this town, hiding somewhere, I think..." Pinkie Pie followed.

"Highly unlikely..." Twilight replied, narrowing her eyes. "I doubt that he'd just hide somewhere in this town, at least that's the most appropriate conclusion I can think of."

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, think about it. If the thief is still hiding there, the sheriff would've already caught him." Twilight replied. "It sure wouldn't take the sheriff and his officers that long for them to find a criminal around this small town. They would definitely look out for every corner around the town and it would be an easy task for them, considering that they know every spot in the town very well."

"But we're not sure about that..." Rainbow Dash objected. "I mean, there are no ponies around the town."

"Exactly! There are no ponies around town because they know that the criminal could still be out there," Twilight remarked. "That means that nopony caught him yet, and if he did get caught already, the sheriff would've notified the townsponies about it."

"Ohhh... that makes a lot of sense!" Rarity replied. "If the sheriff caught this criminal then the townsponies would know it. But since he hasn't been caught yet, the locals are probably still hiding in their homes. Wait, are the townsponies really hiding?"

"Yes, we all are," Cherry Jubilee responded. "That was the sheriff's announcement this mornin'. He told us to stay in our homes until they are able to arrest the wanted criminal."

"Yeah if so, then that means that the sheriff and his officers could still be scouting around town, looking for the guy," Rainbow Dash stated.

"Well, the sheriff did confront him," Cherry Jubilee said as she tried to remember something. "But..."

"But?" Pinkie Pie asked, waiting for Cherry Jubilee to finish her statement.

"From what Ah heard from mah neighbors, it didn't go well," Cherry Jubilee continued.

"They weren't able to capture him because he escaped?" Fluttershy asked.

"No... the sheriff was found unconscious on the ground..." Cherry Jubilee answered.

The five mares widened their eyes in shock.

"H-he killed the sheriff?" Pinkie Pie asked as she devoured the pie on her plate. "Mmm! By the way, this pie is really good! You guys should try some."

"What? No, the sheriff didn't die," Cherry Jubilee replied. "He was just found unconscious, but the local medics already took care of him in a safe place. Don't worry he's safe. Mah neighbors told me that he was actually unharmed."

"Unharmed? Then how did he become unconscious?" Rarity asked.

"Ah don't know, Ah wasn't there," Cherry Jubilee shrugged. "Ah just listened to everything mah neighbors told me."

"So Twilight's right, he hasn't been caught yet," Rainbow Dash said as she narrowed her eyes.

"And a smart thief wouldn't just stay in one place if somepony already tried to confront him," Rarity followed. "Huh. Guess Twilight's right all along. The thief had already left the town. That's the most logical answer to it."

"Yeah but still, we don't exactly know how this criminal did all these things," Twilight commented. "We do know that he scared the townsponies away and now they are forced into hiding. At least we know that the townsponies are safe, I think? But what about these other claims? Miss Jubilee, I know that you aren't an eyewitness and that you haven't seen how this criminal did all these things in action, but I'm sure your neighbors must have told you something about these claims. Can you tell us what they told you?"

"Well, Ah can try. Let's see." Cherry Jubilee tried to recall the things that her neighbors told her. "Ah guess you don't have to know when he showed up since you already know that."

"Yes, we do," Rarity concurred.

"Hmmm... Well, they told me that the criminal managed to scare a lot of ponies. Ah don't how or why but they mentioned something about a frightening roar..."

"The second claim," Twilight thought out loud. "Roaring loudly..."

"Ooh ooh ooh! How did he roar?" Pinkie Pie asked, taking a sip of cherry juice. "Was it a like a lion's roar or like a dragon one?"

"Ah don't know..." Cherry Jubilee shrugged. "They just told me that it was a very scary roar."

"What about the 'stealing valuables?'" Rarity asked. "Don't tell me that all he ever stole was some glasses of milkshakes..."

The five mares suppressed their laughter, trying so hard not to make fun of the title that the town gave to the suspecting criminal.

"Ah do admit that Ah also—" Cherry Jubilee also suppressed a laugh, but failed, letting out a small giggle. "Find the title hilarious!"

"MILKSHAKE THIEF?!" Pinkie Pie gave away to laughter. "Sorry, I just can't! It's too much!"

"I know right?" Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Of all the names you could think off, it had to be something as ridiculous as 'Milkshake Thief.'"

"I do admit that it's very funny," Fluttershy laughed softly. "But is there anything else he stole?"

"Not that Ah know of," Cherry Jubilee replied. "Mah neighbors don't even know what he stole exactly. But since he's the 'Milkshake Thief,' Ah could only guess that what he stole were milkshakes."

"How about the 'destroying local property?'" Twilight asked.

"That, mah neighbors don't know about," Cherry Jubilee answered. "Ah far as Ah know, Ah don't think anypony knew what the criminal destroyed. You could try askin' Applejack if she saw somethin' that looks destroyed around town. Ah mean, she did wander around the town a while ago."

"Wait, she wandered around town? But I thought you said it was dangerous to be outside?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Ah didn't know back then," Cherry Jubilee replied, scratching her mane. "Ah only knew when Ah noticed that there were no ponies outside and Ah came to ask mah neighbors what was goin' on. Then Ah only knew the reasons why, and Ah was too late to warn Applejack because Ah wasn't able to catch up to her."

"Then why the heck don't we ask Applejack?" Rainbow Dash asked her friends.

"Yeah... about that..." Pinkie Pie said.

"Oh yeah... where is Applejack?" Cherry Jubilee asked. "Ah didn't even notice that she isn't here? Where did she go?"

"She told us that she had work to do..." Fluttershy replied.

"Wait, Applejack isn't here?" Rainbow Dash asked, realizing that her friend Applejack wasn't in the room with them.

"Work?" Cherry Jubilee asked when she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Ah almost forgot! Ah still have to tell Applejack how to operate the conveyor. Excuse me girls, but Ah have to go. If you need me, just head to the back of the ranch."

Cherry Jubilee rushed out of the room.

"Oh yeah, we forgot about Applejack!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"We were so caught up learning about this criminal that we forgot the main reason we came here," Twilight followed. "We still have to know why Applejack is here and what she is not telling us."

"Wait, Applejack's not telling you something?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Sorry, I don't know what's going on, did something happen to Applejack?"

"It's a long story," Twilight replied.

"Yeah, it's really long! Actually no it's not that long," Pinkie Pie said as she came over to the large plate of pie, grabbing another slice. "Oh yeah, are you guys gonna eat or what? Miss Jubilee's cherry pie is really good!"

"May I please talk to your captain, this is really important!" a brown unicorn pleaded at the guardsponies who were patrolling outside the castle gate.

"We're sorry, but the captain is very busy right now," one of the guardspony stated. "Did you somehow schedule an appointment with him?"

"Well... err... no... I didn't," the brown unicorn replied sheepishly.

"Then if you have no appointment, we cannot let you speak with him," the guardspony remarked. "The captain is not to be disturbed. If you wish to speak to him, you will have to wait for another time."

"But I need to talk to him about something!" the unicorn implored. "It's really important!"

"Talk to me about what?" asked a voice that came above the castle gate. It was the captain of the royal guards, wearing his usual violet battle armor.

The guarsponies raised their hooves in a formal salute after seeing their captain. "My captain! We apologize for the disturbance but this unicorn wanted to speak with you about something important."

"Yes, please!" the unicorn pleaded.

"Let him in!" the captain announced, gesturing the guardsponies to open the castle gate. The unicorn entered the castle grounds to meet up with the captain of the royal guard.

"Y-y-you are the captain of the royal guard! This is a great honor, sir!" the unicorn said as he bowed to show respect.

"Okay then, no need to be incredibly formal," the captain smiled at the unicorn's respectful gesture. "You wanted to speak to me about something important?"

"Y-yes! I do!" the unicorn answered. "I came here to ask for your help!"

"My help?" the captain asked. "For what?"

The brown unicorn opened the bag that he was carrying and took out the stack of papers that were inside.

"Are these... wanted posters?" the captain asked.

"Y-yes they are!" the brown unicorn nodded. "I came from Dodge Junction and the sheriff told me to distribute these posters all around Equestria! I already distributed some in other towns and villages and now I arrived here in Canterlot to distribute some of these as well. I came to warn you about this criminal..."

The captain grabbed one of the posters from the stack with his magic and read its contents.

"So... you came from Dodge Junction, right?" the captain asked, turning to the brown unicorn.

"Y-yes!" the brown unicorn responded. "Since I'm now in Canterlot, I thought that it would be wise to seek help from the royal guards or the royal princesses!"

"I understand, but why should it concern the princesses?" the captain asked, raising a brow. "It's only one petty thief that did some bad things but it's not like what he did are that alarming for it to be the princesses' concern. These are some very common claims for a criminal."

"B-but he isn't just any ordinary criminal!" the unicorn exclaimed. "He is very powerful in using magic! Here, I have evidence to prove it to you. I was too scared to confront the criminal myself but I took photos of some of the things he did with my camera."

The brown unicorn gave the camera that he was wearing over his neck to the captain and showed numerous photos of the criminal doing destructive things with his magic and scaring ponies. The captain widened his eyes in surprise after seeing the destruction caused by the unicorn.

"What the..." the captain stared at the photos, completely shocked. "H-he did all of these? That's crazy! I've never seen anypony, much less a thief, that's this powerful before..."

"T-that's why we need your help," the unicorn said in a worried tone. "The townsponies were too scared that they hid in their homes and nopony was strong enough to take him on. Not even the sheriff and our deputies were able to apprehend him. That's why when I got here to Canterlot, I thought that maybe I could tell you about this and maybe seek help from you and the royal guards."

"Well... okay then. I'll see what I can do," the captain sighed. "Thanks for telling me this and also for taking the risk to get evidence about this thief. You have no idea how much lives you will be able to save because of this."

"T-thank you sir..." the unicorn said as he came over to grab the stack of papers when he was halted by the captain.

"We'll take care of distributing the posters for you. It's the least I can do for giving us valuable information," the captain said as he levitated the stack of papers with his magic. "I'll tell the guardsponies to distribute this around Equestria so that we can warn the ponies from other places about this criminal. And we'll make sure that everypony is safe. But I will have to talk with the other officers and maybe I could tell the princesses in regards to this matter."

"O-oh, that's fine, yeah... we do need all the help can get," the unicorn concurred. "Oh, and you can have my camera if you'd like to review my recording of the thief."

"Wait, are you sure?" the captain replied in uncertainty. "You might need this camera."

"Nah, it's fine. Presenting this evidence is much more important than any of the things I could do with it," the unicorn replied. "Besides I have more than one of these. Well, I guess I better get going then. I don't want to further disturb you from what you are doing."

"Oh no, it's fine!" the captain reassured. "In fact, I'm glad you even talked to me about this. Don't worry, we'll take care of this."

The brown unicorn nodded as he went out of the castle gate.

"W-wait, is your sheriff..." the captain trailed off after realizing that the brown unicorn was nowhere to be seen.

"I didn't even get to ask if something bad happened to their sheriff and his deputies. Were they really not able to apprehend the criminal? And why did they gave him the title 'Milkshake Thief?'"

The captain suppressed a laugh from the silly name as he went inside the castle.

Meanwhile, in a place far away from civilization, a brown unicorn magically appeared behind a rock.

"That was harder than I thought!" the brown unicorn thought as he clenched his teeth. "Convincing the captain required me to use my magic! Well, at least the illusion magic worked on him, otherwise, he'd realized that the photos were actually blank."

The brown unicorn wiped his forehead as he gave an exasperated sigh.

"Well at least I did it... I already used too much of my power already. I don't know how long I can keep up this form."

The aura around the brown unicorn suddenly darkened, a wide grin formed in his face.

"Now I'll just have to wait a little longer. I'll let you off by yourself for now!"

Author's Note

Yeah I did say that the story will take place mid-way of season 2 in the series and it will continue up until the end of the series I guess? (I'm not sure yet but I do plan for it to be like that). Also even if Cipher's story will coincide with the story of the show, there will be a lot of rewritten context and there will be a lot of changes I will make, so don't expect the whole story to follow the one on the show. Also I won't include all the episodes, I might skip some for the sake of 'good' progression (idk I just won't include all of 'em).

A big thanks to 'Kujamih' for helping me proofread!