Canterlot Castle, Weeks later...

Time passed rather solemnly in Canterlot for Celestia as she eagerly waited for Levi's response. In the meantime she spent her days as she usually did by teaching Twilight, taking care of her son, and spending time with Cadence. The worst part of it all was the waiting and the court sessions that drag forever on.

She also enjoyed the occasional laugh at the essence of her annoying pompous nephew Blueblood as he kept trying and failing to get Michigan to sing in public. This usually ends with the bullfrog stuck to his eyeball via its tongue causing the stallion to run around in circles yelling at the top of his longs. The guards had gotten rather used to it by the end of the first three days after Cadence and Twilight had had a similar incident happen to them with a stallion in the marketplace not far for the Sparkle's home.

Celestial really did like that frog, and to say Michigan wasn't smarter than he let on was a vast understatement. He'd even been caught by many of the castle staff on some days. He would pull his occasional routine of singing one sang and then croaking some form of snidey remarks at the ponies before either hopping away or just sitting there for them to try and take him home for a get rich quick scheme. Michigan had actually become a bit of an urban legend of the castle. The 'Song Frog' is what many of the teenage ponies called him and they'd come to solely try and catch or just catch a glimpse of him to see if he would sing and dance. He did when only one pony was watching or he did behind their back when they weren't watching him. Safe to say, the frog was a dick but he was the dick that made you laugh.

Southern Boarders...

The Survey Corps was here after hearing a lead on their target. They weren't paid to seek this individual out. They were in pursuit out of revenge. A few members of the Survey Corps had been returning from a recent assignment from the grandmaster and were taking it easy. It's always said you honor your agreements in the Corp but what you do in your off time is your own. Many of them actually have a high moral code and couldn't ignore a cry for help. Upon returning home they heard such a cry and found a mare being pursued by dark-cloaked masked ponies. They intervened, especially after she offered to pay the Survey Corps with everything she had, naturally they accepted.

The Corps held their own against the ponies and took a few of them down until a pony clad in all black stepped in and fought with them. Truth be told he enjoyed the fight and had there been more Crops ponies he would've lost, but he didn't. The surviving Survey Corp members used a special type of old magic to transport themselves and mare away to safety. Once in the grasp of their home base he mare was questioned about what she knew. The black-clad pony took a patch from one of the bodies as they spontaneously combusted as a trophy.

The mare's was name Lemon Twist. She had a bright yellow coat with an organ cream mane and tail while her eyes were a vibrant red and her cutie mark was a bowl of lemons. She explained she didn't know who put a hit out on her but that she has been running for weeks having left a small town outside Manehattan because of hid pursuers and that's how the Survey Members found her. She didn't know much about the pursers either only that they were called The Unknown. Once she told her story the Corps said as part of her contract they'd look after her until The Unknown were dealt with but she would be put to work instead of lazing about to which she graciously agreed.

The Corp kept her in their base of operations. Lemon always had a supervisor with her but she didn't mind. They had her doing laundry or working in the kitchens usually. She was also tasked with watching the colts and fillies from time to time or with helping in the nursery with the youngest foals.

The Survey Corp in the meantime turned their sights on The Unknown. They had been paid, though most of the members were dead and the other in critical condition. They were looking after the mare but they couldn't just let a massacre of their own, their family, go unpunished.

They searched, chasing every lead they caught wind of on The Unknown. They quickly found that this was an organization that was said to be little more than a myth, much like themselves but much older. The leads eventually led the Survey Corps to low-level dealings and those, in turn, had led to others members. Eventually, they found members that had been a part of the group that had been chasing Lemon Twist. The pony fled as soon as they caught wind that the Corps was hunting The Unknown, any and all members. The survey Corps was out for blood. Their patriarchal grandmaster and founder of the Survey Corps was seeing to this personally...

Southern Mountains...

In the southeastern borders of Equestria's high in the wooded mountains, rain fell hard and felt like knives upon the green cloaked masked ponies, The Survey Corp, as they pursued their target undeterred. They had been on the trail of this target for some weeks having chased him from the Macintosh Hills near a new homesteading settlement called Dodge Junction that high had hopes of one day becoming a true town and not just another abandoned site. The masked ponies paid it no mind and instead conducted their dealings with the local buffalo tribe who they had been bartering with for some years now.

The Unknown member galloped at high speed as they climbed and bounded across trails and streams to get away from their pursers. They kept an eye on the trees above them as the ponies that were pursuing them seems to fly through the air with very little to no trouble whatsoever, no matter the obstacles set before them. At least as long as they saw it. The pony got to a ridge above the tree line. Smirking under their mask they sparked a match and lit a stick of dynamite. They quickly placed the dynamite and hurried to get several leagues above where they threw their last-ditch effort at escape.

"Damn it all," they hissed in a multitone voice. "How could any creature be so tireless in pursuit of me? How'd they even find out who I am?" They shook their head and started to walk away as there was a large explosion below them. "Doesn't matter. That will keep them busy for a bit. They'll be digging their own out for weeks," they chuckled.

*DINK*

"What was that?" they looked over their shoulder and saw a line of some sort above them. "What in the world?"

Suddenly there was a zipping sound as the line was pulled tight. There was then a whizzing sound as something was being pulled through the air on the line. A figure shot above the pony and then landed in front of them startling them. The figure was draped in a dirty aged green cloak adorned with the Survey Corps wing symbol on the back. The figure smelled heavily of fresh blood as it landed behind the Unknown. This lets the member know that they had at least injured this pony.

"You are wounded," the member pulled a knife from their saddlebag. "I will make this quick."

The pony stood up with a bit of a stagger but it wasn't a pony but something on two legs. The figure towered over the Unknown member. They turned to face the member with a bolt of lightning flashing to reveal a severally cracked mask, blood dripping from the cracks and running down to the chin.

The member staggered back stumbling over their hooves in fear.

A noise could be heard as the cracks spread across the mask. The figure approached the pony and a jingling could be heard from under its cloak as it walked forward. It held something out and slightly above its head with its right

"Get back!" the member yelped as they threw the knife hitting the figure in the face knocking the hood off its head.

The figure stopped and a crackling noise was now heard and then a low thud was heard. The member looked up. The member's eyes shrank with utter terror at the bloody face of a myth, a human, that glared down at the pony with one open eye. Blood flowed from a cut in the human's forehead flowing down a gash on the right side of its face.

"W-w-w-w-w-what are you..." the Unknown reached the edge of the mountain.

"A Butcher..." It said in anger as the member saw a bright blue light and felt a surge of pain run throughout their body as they proceeded to hit the ground and everything faded to black.

Author's Note

BOOM! The return of our boy!