Mirror: Book I - Mind

Sunshine strayed past the window, landing on Amethyst’s face and onto the flower petals lying next to her muzzle. For the dream had only lasted mere minutes yet the many hours of the night were over with in a fraction of the time, and so she blinked the bleariness from her eyes as she sat up, the scent of the flowers remaining to her nose. She looked out the window for a moment letting the memories of yesterday flood her mind, and then she looked to her desk. There the letter sat, unchecked, unopened, and so after a minute of consideration Amethyst sought to change that. She worked at the sealing with her horn and pried away at the parchment. She began to read, and her eyes grew wide with realization. She looked outside, looked to her flowers and then back outside. The scent sung to her.

She rode down the stair rail like she used to when she was younger, hopped and rocketed out the front door, saddle bag slung across her chest, the envelope tucked securely within. The pegasus in the kitchen had been startled by her daughter’s sudden outburst of energy this morning, and so she stuck her head out the window.

“Amy!” Her mother called. “Where are you going?”

“To the train station!” Amethyst hopped over the fence.

“What about breakfast?”

“I’ll be late!”

“For what?”

“My job~!”

A flock of white doves spread to the air and gave way for the mass of purple speeding through the scenery. The unicorn rounded the corner and swung around the lamp pole to maintain her course. She slid beneath the celebratory gong, cleared a row of petunias and catapulted off of the new spring sofa the sofa dealer was putting on display. She soared high and over the empty fountain space where the statue of Caerus once stood, the ponyfolk left in the dust to watch with agape jaws and shaking heads as the unicorn breezed past the buildings and made a beeline for the station. To her dismay several plumes of smoke rose from behind the station, and the “all aboard!” signal echoed across the platform. She would have to take drastic measures, and so Amethyst veered right and began to run alongside the accelerating locomotive. Her eyes dashed across the cart windows. The curved horn, the curved horn, where was it?

“Ronin!” She finally located.

The colt jolted, it was the first time she had called him by his name. He threw up his window.

“Jump!” She yelled.

“What?!”

“Just jump!”

All of it was against his better judgment and he just knew it. For a long time then from that point on, Ronin would not understand why he decided to throw his bag over his back, hoist himself up to the window sill, and jump. Amethyst would never understand why.

“Wait!” Her eyes bubbled. “I meant teleport-”

The full weight of the stallion plus his bag came crashing down on the poor mare, their bodies tumbling and flailing through the grass and flowers as the train puffed and chugged on. Silence overtook the scenery as the carts rode the rails and receded down the horizon, the chugging of the train disappearing little by little into the distance. A gust of wind blew by as a series of groaning emerged from the couple of ponies picking themselves up off the ground. Amethyst spat a mouthful of flowers onto Ronin’s face.

“Way to stick the landing, hops.” She rubbed her temple.

At that, the familiar sound of cricket chirps accompanied their scene. The same, green-black cricket from before hopped up on top of Ronin’s horn and clicked twice. Amethyst stared and blinked at the cricket.

“That’s not gonna happen every time we meet, is it?”

“Forget the cricket.” The colt grumbled. “Why did you tell me to jump?”

“What I meant to say was ‘teleport’.” She corrected.

“So why didn’t you?”

“It’s a three syllable word and I was running. Sheesh, gimme a break.”

“Look, whatever you dragged me out of my train home for better be important.” Ronin demanded.

The mare blinked and placed a hoof to her saddle bag. She flipped the cover open and produced the letter, the item still fairly intact from the fall. The young foreigner stared at it for a moment before returning to Amethyst and allowing her to do the explaining.

“I was wrong. I admit it, I’ve been rude, selfish, and a pretentious...bitch.” She paused. “I wasn’t going to say it in front of my mother, but you’re hearing the real deal now.”

“I’m not sure whether to thank you or make you buy me another ticket home.” Ronin replied dully.

“See, that’s the thing. I know you came here for a reason and the least I can do is help you, because you helped me.” Amethyst told him. “I can’t do this without you.”

Ronin spared a glance in the direction the train had gone to which he saw nothing but the empty railroad shrinking away into the woods, his only way home. The weight of his coin pouch felt sparse already, and this was only day two in this land away from home. He wasn’t even sure if he had enough Equestrian bits left to buy another train ticket home, let alone buy himself a proper meal for tonight. Perhaps this was one of those signs his uncle was talking about, a test. There were many a trials he was destined to face on his journey abroad, and though many of them had already been more brutal than this, short as they were, it seemed as though this one was going to consume the majority of his time spent here. It seemed now that the real test had begun, a test of faith. He turned back and stared into Amethyst’s eyes, pupils of sincerity and apology looking right back at him.

“Was I wrong, uncle?” Ronin muttered to the air. “Is this not the place I am meant to be?”

“What about your uncle?” Amethyst wondered.

“C’mon.” He beckoned, picking up his belongings. “Somepony at Town Hall is waiting for you.”

The young duo climbed the steps to the plaza’s central building and brushed past the double doors, a wave of office noises and the smell of strong coffee immediately flooding their senses. Employees were on the double passing from one office space to the next, trading paperwork and clicking away at their typewriters, for whatever had them busy as a hive had caught them by surprise. Last Amethyst had checked, or anypony for that matter, Town Hall staff was almost never this busy. There were no more laid back and relaxed workers in all of Ponyville besides the Weather Patrol team, and they were a subdivision of Town Hall anyways. A spiral of staircases laid before their next course as they neared the pony behind the receptionist’s desk whom informed them that a substitute was taking Mayor Mare’s place for the time that she was in the hospital recovering. As to how long that would be, nopony could make any promises except for the Mayor herself, and she had yet to get back to them.

“Do you still feel bad for what happened to her?” Amethyst asked Ronin.

“It was not my fault.” He replied dubiously.

“Not so fast, you’re in on this too.”

There they stood in the vacancy in the hallway inches away from the Mayor’s primary office doors. The air felt dreadful and the stillness of the room alone gave opportunity for any amount of tension to release itself all at once. Ronin felt a strange aura in the moment, something close, something on the other side of the door…

“Whether you like it or not, we’re in this together now.” She finished. “Don’t forget that.”

In a swift, unprecedented series of motions the double doors swung open and swept an imaginary gust of wind down towards the center of the chamber following the scarlet carpet within. The desk’s occupant spun around in his chair, eyes piercing, grin growing. Mikado.

“Omae…” Ronin sneered.

“Kore wa ureshī odorokide wanaideshou ka?” Mikado stood from his chair.

“Kondowa nani o shimash'taka, hebi?”

“Son'na, kibishī kuchō. Anata wa mada, onajidesu.”

The lone mare of the room stood herself at an awkward angle and shared glances between the two, sparing their incomprehensible tongues and she wasn’t quite sure why. Was this another tradition of theirs? Were they just tired of speaking Ponish? Whatever was being spoken between them, Amethyst could read something of hostility and rivalry, and thus she felt the need to butt her way in.

“Why does it feel like I just walked into a kung fu movie?”

Their private conversation blinked out like a light switch, and both pairs of eyes locked onto her. Mikado held his grin and made his way around the desk to address the two. Up close now, Amethyst was able to get a better look at the older stallion. His winter-white coat complimented the icy blue of his slicked mane and chiseled beard, provided to the certain sting in his frost-bitten eyes. Every part of this pony seemed cold to the touch, staring at him alone gave one the chills.

“Please forgive us, it would seem we’ve gotten ahead of ourselves.” Mikado apologized. Immediately then, Amethyst studied his tone and rhythm of speech. Despite being pure Neighsian he spoke Ponish very well as compared to Ronin. His pronunciation was on spot, even better than some native Equestrians she had heard before. Furthermore, despite his icy appearance, his demeanor and overall tone was graceful, warm, alluring even.

“I imagine a far more important occasion has summoned you here?” Mikado finished.

Ronin recalled their happening to Town Hall in the first place, and as soon as he got done sneering at Mikado he turned to his companion. “Give him the letter.” He told her.

Amethyst flared her horn and opened her satchel to levitate the item in question forward. With a polite nod, Mikado took the letter in his own magical grasp and opened it, scanning it over with a harsh squint and distressed gaze. “Oh, dear…” He frowned. “Young mare, you must understand that written Ponish is all but gibberish to a foreigner such as myself. Would you be so kind as to read this for me?”

“Yes, sir.” His tone forced Amethyst to oblige, to which she cleared her throat before beginning. “The date reads yesterday, August 31st. With the power invested in I, Ivory Scroll Mare, the Mayor of Ponyville, I hereby fortify this letter as permission to grant the juvenile delinquent…Amulet Spot…” Amethyst rolled her eyes before continuing. “-Access to uphold the first menial task given to her by the current incumbent of the Mayor’s chair.”

Mikado began to nod slowly, his smirk growing.

“This note is to be delivered to Town Hall no later than the morning of September 1st, lest its concurrency expire.” She briefly eyed the other two ponies before looking back down at the letter. “Her signature is written at the bottom.”

“Thank you, my dear.” Mikado smiled and levitated the note over to the desk. “A pity that neither of us can decipher such text, otherwise you would have stayed on that train, Ronin.”

“Straying from my path home was my own decision.” The colt declared.

“Curiosity can be a luring motive.” Mikado chortled. “But more often than not, it betrays the hopeful. If the Mayor’s letter hasn’t already spelled it out for you, then I as her substitute will say it myself. You are not needed here, boy. Go on and run home, if you still can.”

He clenched back the desire to spit in his face, every word that ran from this big wig’s foul lips was reason enough for him to do so. Alas, Ronin held back and practiced a pause of inner peace, if only for Amethyst’s chances to get any job at all today. Slowly, he nodded to his companion, and turned as a means to head for the door and see himself out.

“Now wait just a moment, mister…?” Amethyst started.

“Mikado is the name.” The stallion bowed gracefully.

“Mr. Mikado.” Amethyst fixed her posture. “I may not know what sort of conflict you two have meddled with in the past, but I believe it has nothing to do with his reason for being here.”

“Amethyst, stop.” Ronin scowled. He was halted by her raised hoof and thus she continued.

“After all, it was me who pulled him from the train, so I’d rather not have his presence go to waste.” She felt a lump form in her throat. “If that is not too much trouble, o-of course.” The young mare then steeled herself to brace for anything the obtrusively tall Neighsian might lash upon her for daring to speak out against him, especially when in neglect to his and Ronin’s past that which she knew nothing about. Ronin himself was bracing as well, though his posture appeared more slack and his eyes were relaxed upon Mikado.

The Mayor’s substitute returned to his smile. “You’re right.” He said.

“I am?” Amethyst blinked.

“Why allow family feudalism to get in the way of business?” Mikado approached Ronin, looking him up and down. “I see now the value you hold in your friend.”

“Partner.” Amethyst blurted.

“Indeed.” Mikado obliged. “A truce shall show our commitment to doing our best in this land away from home.”

“Home or here, I’d never truce with a serpent.” Ronin hissed.

“Then, understandably you jeopardize your partner’s job?”

Ronin huffed with irritation, staring ire and daggers right back into Mikado’s calm expression. He looked to Amethyst, softened his gaze, and returned to the “serpent.”

“Truce.” He muttered begrudgingly.

“That’s what I like to hear.” Mikado held out his hoof. “I am afraid the wheat rye I found in the cabinet doesn’t nearly compare to even the most vile saké. A simple hoof shake shall suffice as our agreement.”

The two locked hooves, bowed for a short second, and returned to their poses. It almost seemed as though every bit of tension in the air escaped through the vents and open windows and Amethyst could breath a little easier from it.

“Now then, on to those ‘menial tasks’ your dear Mayor was talking about.” Mikado quickly strode over to the desk.

“Yes, of course.” Amethyst breathed with a sigh of relief. “I can manage a cubicle center for a few months just as long as the employees aren’t annoying. As for my preferences, I’d like a personal office with my name underneath my title written on the door-”

“Office? No no, my dear, this task calls for the outdoors.”

Amethyst’s mouth held agape as Mikado floated a stack of papers to his desk and cleared his throat, reading the fine print.

“The Garden Raids:” He began. “Several reports of ransacked garden beds throughout the residential district have been plaguing Ponyville ever since the beginning of August. The Mayor has been in search of investigators who might be willing to spend their time on this problem.”

“I thought he couldn’t read Ponish…” Amethyst whispered to Ronin.

“Locate the culprit or culprits and report them to both the guard and Town Hall. Simple enough, is it not?” Mikado smiled ear to ear. “What do I care if these ponies’ precious gardens have been soiled? That’s Ponyville’s problem, not mine.” He leaned back in his chair. “Oh, and it’s also your problem now too.”

The room was silent.

“How much are we getting paid for this?” Amethyst asked.

Descending the steps to Town Hall, both ponies were at a complete loss as to what they should do or where to begin. Agricultural estate and development was Ponyville’s number one endeavor, and unsurprisingly, gardening, whether it be produce or floral recreation, came in second place. Just as it was easy for an earth pony to get lost in a big unicorn city, the same could be said for a couple of unicorns roaming a country town, one of them being from a completely different country to boot. Fate had it however that this young colt was somewhat adept in the field of floral expertise, to which Amethyst had high hopes of getting as much use out of him as possible, and it made her a little more glad that she went through the effort of skipping breakfast to catch a train this morning. Still however, the conversation prior left the mare amiss of certain details, and her concern got the better of her.

“So uh, what was up with you and ‘rice master’ back there?” She asked.

Ronin furrowed his brow. “Do not mock my people or their culture.”

“What, you got a soft spot for that guy?” She tilted her head. “Your ‘bamboo banter’ didn’t sound all that friendly. If I were in your hooves, I’d oblige the insult.”

“Your focus is too narrow.” He retorted. “Maybe one day you will understand.”

“Well, duh! Only because you didn’t answer my question.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not in the mood to talk about him. Yes, we’ve bashed horns in the past, but that is all you need to know.” He huffed and trotted off. “Let’s just get this job over with, before I regret having jumped out of that train.”

“Then I won’t waste my breathe.” Amethyst grumbled and caught up with him.

It was only late morning and yet the sun appeared to be in all the wrong places to Ronin. He couldn’t make heads or tails of the weather patterns, as the patrol pegasi weren’t quite up to par with their job just yet, but that seemed to be the least of his worries. He wondered how he would fit into the harmonics of this new land, how he’d be able to tell when it was dinner time without a second glance, or when the hedges needed to be trimmed at just the right height and at just the right angle. Routine always called for the simple things back in his home land. Good food, and the stewardship-like care of the plant life surrounding him. Now, however, it seemed almost as if an entire town’s collective gardens were under his supervision, along with a certain, slightly annoying, slightly useful partner.

“I’m no floral enthusiast.” Amethyst started. “But even I can tell a nine-petaled flower is something out of the ordinary.”

“Where?” Ronin looked around.

“Duh, your cutie mark.” She pointed to his withers. “I was wondering when you were going to tell me all about it.”

Ronin wasn’t sure if she was actually complimenting his cutie mark or just trying to needlessly prod again. Nevertheless the young stallion always sought the need to refresh himself on his lineage, and teaching it to others was the best way to do it as he learned. “It is a symbol of my family’s heritage.” He explained. “It is more than just my cutie mark alone, it has belonged in my bloodline for generations.”

“A family cutie mark, huh?” Amethyst tapped her chin. “Like the Apples?”

“I don’t think apples have cutie marks.”

“No no, there’s a family here in Ponyville we call the Apples. They run an orchard south of here and they harvest for the whole town, basically. I’ve only seen their marks a number of times, but each of them have something to do with apples, even the youngest one with her weird shield thingy.”

“Living on an orchard, I’d find that inevitable.” Ronin added.

“And I suppose your family’s mark follows the same principle?”

“Perhaps, but there’s more to it-”

“So, are you a floral expert?” Amethyst interrupted.

“I’ve…had training.” His eyes darted nervously, a bead of sweat formed.

“So you’re an apprentice?” Amethyst squinted at him, closer and closer. “Say, do you really know anything about flowers or what?”

“I believe I do.” A mare’s voice spawned in between them. “After all, nopony in town knows their flowers better than I do, and that’s a title I aim to keep.”

The investigating amateurs blinked simultaneously and led their sights in the direction of the voice. There was a small shop away from them, and there standing in the stable door window behind a pretty row of yellow daffodils and carnations was a scarlet maned mare with a creamy vanilla coat and vibrant green eyes. The building in question consisted of deep-green framing with grass-green walls and pink little hearts and roses painted all over the struts and edges, complete with a blue and white flower painted onto a pink, wooden sign hanging above the entrance. The roof was of golden hay, like most buildings in the area and several potted flowers adorned the vicinity. Their eyes returned to the mare standing at the entrance of the small shop.

“Can I help you two with anything?” She asked politely. There was a cheery, welcoming smile to her face.

“No thank you, we’re just looking.” Amethyst quickly deduced.

“Uh, yes actually.” Ronin interjected.

Amethyst delivered a grunt and a scowl, and the mare in the window looked on curiously.

“My name is Ronin, and this is my friend-”

“Partner.”

“Assistant, Amethyst Star.”

“Oh, charmed.” The mare curtsied. “My name’s Rose Luck. I welcome you both to my flower shop.”

“Thank you, it’s beautiful.” Ronin replied curtly.

“Well, come on in and see what’s inside!” Rose Luck beckoned them in. She held open the door for the approaching duo and calmly let it close behind them as they got busy taking a gander around the scenery. “Welcome to the Lucky Rose.” She announced, blushing slightly.

The young stallion smiled gracefully at the decor and allowed the aroma of the various plants on display to enlighten his senses. Having always been one to follow his nose he wouldn’t had been surprised if it was for that fact alone that had made them gravitate towards this shop in the first place. An extravaganza of floral products, pottery and plants filled the front room with vine woven streamers hanging above and a skylight to provide extra sunlight to the plants below. All the while, Amethyst was busy rolling her eyes over the shop’s name. The Lucky Rose. She soon found that there wasn’t a single place in the shop where you could look and you wouldn’t find roses. The roses accompanied every shelf, every nook and every cranny, they even grew on the walls. Amethyst hadn’t a clue as to how such a feat was possible and simply hoofed it over to the expertise of earth pony magic.

“Lily, if these two need anything let them know you’re here to help.” Rose called across the room.

A timid Lily poked out from behind the shelves and gave a quick smile and nod before trotting off back to her work.

“That’s Lily Valley. She can be quite shy but she knows her field well.” Rose turned back to the two. “Is there anything in particular you two were looking for?”

There was only a short pause before a lengthy groan filled the silence, and Ronin had assumed Amethyst was having another fit only to turn and see that her face had flushed a furious red, almost as red as the roses surrounding the shop. Ronin cleared his throat and returned to Rose.

“We were wondering if-”

There was another groan, this one louder than before.

Ronin blinked and began again. “We were wondering if you could-”

Another groan, so loud it cut out his words.

“If you could-”

Another groan.

“We’re looking for-”

And yet another groan.

“Some…brunch?” Rose chuckled.

“What?” Amethyst shrugged harshly, and there was another groan.

“A little breakfast to go, ma’am?” Rose teased.

“I’m fine, I just-” The next groan cut out Amethyst’s own words, and she hid the bright blush of her face behind her hoof.

“She must not have had anything to eat.” Ronin explained. “You see, she likes to chase trains for breakfast.”

The unicorn glared at her companion, but began to wobble where she stood.

“Oh dear, you’re looking quite pale.” The floral mare studied her face. She leaned over towards the checkout counter and scooped up a bundle of daisies lying inside of a woven basket. Rose then approached Amethyst and dropped the bundle into her hoof. “Here you go, these are on the house.”

“No, I can’t-” Her next groan thought otherwise. “Um, thank you…Rose.” Amethyst felt defeated. The unicorn was embarrassed to the point of excusing herself to the outdoors to confine herself to her daisy munching. Now that she had thought about it, she was too angry to touch a morsel of her dinner last night and the fact that she had completely skipped over breakfast hadn’t helped much either.

Ronin swiveled back around and prepared yet another apology, but the floral mare was too delightful to interrupt, too welcoming and friendly.

“Make sure you feed her well, you’ll want her nice and plump when the time comes to ask her the big question.” Rose guffawed and grazed Ronin’s shoulder. “Oh, I’m kidding, my mother always made that joke and I just couldn’t help myself.”

“Of course.” Ronin wasn’t quite sure how to respond, as small talk was never one of his allies even in his homeland. He simply sought to get straight to business. “Rose, I must tell you that we’ve come to ask you a few questions.”

“Well don’t let me dampen your mood, hun.” Rose giggled and wiped a tear away. “Ask away.”

"Our investigation lies on behalf of the garden raids that have spawned around Ponyville, I’m sure you-"

“Garden raids?!” Rose pounced backwards and stood on end like a spooked feline, quickly dashing back up to Ronin and holding him by the shoulders. “What do you know about them?”

“Nothing! I-I mean.” Ronin reconsidered. “Not enough, really.”

Without another word the skiddy floral mare quickly surveyed her surroundings, hauled the stallion back behind the counter and into the next room where they stood alone. The slivers of sunlight from outside shot through slits in the shutter windows, and it only took a matter of glancing at the plants displayed to guess that this room was intended for special kinds of plant life that needed little to no sunlight whatsoever, and were in most cases better off without it. Shaded willows and shadow flowers stood around them like little lights in the night, and as soon as the frightened mare was sure nopony else was in earshot she whispered to him carefully.

“Who’s the culprit? Have you caught him yet? What’s his name?”

“Easy now.” Ronin blinked in realization. “Him?"

“I simply assumed.” Rose covered up. “Surely you know more about this situation than I do, right? I mean just look at me. I’m a simple town mare and my poor little flower cove is at stake here, nopony knows where or when this maniac is going to hit next. It’s been one garden after the other and I can barely sleep at night knowing full well my entire shop could be next. If that were to happen I would go out of business! How would I pay may bills? How would I eat? Where would I sleep? Are you-?” Rose stopped mid-rambling. “Are you…writing this down?”

A few more etchings into the little notebook that he held in his magic and Ronin looked up at the mare with an oddly focused expression, a glint of confidence in his eyes.

“Yes.” He replied.

“That’s…good. Very good, actually. I know I can trust you then.” She said.

“Trust me to do what?” He readied his notebook again.

“You’re an investigator, aren’t you? And so is your friend.” Rose nodded reassuringly. “You guys are going to put a stop to this, right?”

Upon this remark Ronin realized the reliance and responsibility the ponies of this town were already beginning to impose upon him and Amethyst. It was that instinctual call to duty and a care for flowers of all sorts that inspired Ronin to puff his chest proudly and project to the worried shop owner with ease. “Ma’am, I will not rest until this garden ravaging maniac is behind bars."

Rose Luck began to swoon dramatically as she leveled a hoof over her forehead. Ronin would have attempted to catch her, but the call to duty was still strong going.

“That is why I’m going to need your help.” He stated.

“Me? What could I possibly do to help?” Rose wondered.

“Well, you do own a flower shop. Surely you know a fair amount of ponies who have been hit by these raids?”

“Hey, you guys are the investigators, not me.” Rose crossed her hooves. “It’s not like I’m keeping tabs on the poor fools who let their gardens fall into ruin.”

“But, surely you keep tabs on your customers’ purchases? I’d imagine an owner so adamant on keeping her shop afloat would have some records lying around.” Ronin noted, and he knew he had her there. There was little chance she was going to back out of what she had said prior especially when she made such a dramatic fuss over the whole ordeal. With that, Rose huffed and told the outlander to wait at the counter while she went to fetch her documents. He stood staring at the basket of daisy bundles and the cash register with a broken ring-up screen and quickly jotted the details down into his notebook. As he calmly did so, a flurry of dust layered onto his page, and he looked up to find Rose had indeed fetched her documents, the entire stack of them twice as thick as his skull. He stared at the intimidating stack of papers while Rose simply said nothing.

“I hope those are ordered chronologically.” He shuddered.

“I dropped them on the way down stairs.” Rose informed.

“Souka~…”

A lonely little filly sat at the curb of the floral shop nibbling away at a daisy hanging off of her lip, and her thoughts would not cease to mock her. She felt as though she were the one who was meant to be in charge, to make the right decisions when the time called for it and be a leader to those in need. In a matter of a few hours she found herself at the receiving end of a generous stranger, and what was worse was that she had caved. So many challenges had faced her all at once and she barely had the wits or intellect to asses them properly. Her thoughts would not cease, the nibbling continued, and the daisy dangled from her lip.

She then sensed a presence to her left and looked accordingly to find a moonlight-blue unicorn surveying several bouquets of flowers on display both inside and out of the window. The unicorn took little notice to the little filly on the curb munching on her daisy bundle, and when she would not stop staring, the blue one grunted and glared over to her.

“Didn’t your mother teach you not to stare at strangers?”

“Not unless they look suspicious.” The daisy still dangled from Amethyst’s lip.

“Beat it, kid.”

“You’re under arrest.” Amethyst snarled.

“Excuse moi? You dare accuse the Great and Powerful-”

“Garden raider!” And they were off. Amethyst charged the frightened magician whom was off like a shot, turning the corner to evade her pursuer, and turning the next for good measure. One more corner turn and surely she would lose her on the next. Trixie turned around to see that the crazy purple mare was still hot on her tail, and so she rounded another corner in an attempt to shake her. Onlookers wondered how long it would take the two to realize they were going in circles around the shop.

Their game of Ring around the Rosie came to a screeching halt as Ronin opened the door just in time for Amethyst to slam against the two-way swivel door, an invention that apparently had unforeseen benefits up until this point in time. A half-eaten daisy would forever stick to the door, and the entire conclusion of the run left Amethyst a shriveled, defeated heap on the ground. Trixies and daisies sung circles around her head.

“I see you’ve kept busy.” Ronin commented.

“Don’t you worry, Ronny boy, I’m gonna get that job in no time.” Amethyst slurred and struggled to stand. “As soon as I arrest our culprit here. Oh, pony feathers, now there’s two of her! Say, who’s your brother?”

Ronin grabbed his partner with his magic and shook the rest of the daze out of her, to which Amethyst blinked and stared at the souvenir resting in his left hoof.

“Do you always carry a bouquet of flowers around or something?” Amethyst complained.

“I didn’t want to be rude so I bought something from her.” Ronin admitted. “But never mind that, I got a list of leads we could start on. Well, actually they’re just customers who’ve shopped here recently, but at least it’s something.”

“Why didn’t you say something? You’re not supposed to do all the work.” Amethyst pouted.

“You were hungry, you need your energy.”

Amethyst sighed drearily. “I know, but you can’t just jump out of a moving train and then go above and beyond for me, that’s not a fair trade.” She slumped to her haunches and stared ahead into the plaza. “I’m just causing more trouble for you and others again, aren’t I? Crud, things weren’t supposed to go like this.”

“You said you couldn’t do this alone.” Ronin reminded.

“I can’t, but it doesn’t help when I feel so disorientated.” The young mare pressed her hooves to her temples. “I can’t seem to organize anything, and that’s what I’m supposed to be all about. I used to be Ponyville’s top organizer, y’know? Supervising events, telling ponies where to go and what to do, and I planned to make it all official when I finally got that job at Town Hall. So much for that dream, I guess.” She shook her head. “You’re not the problem here, Ronin, and I hope you know that. No, I really believe everything went downhill the day she showed up.”

“Who?”

“Twilight Sparkle, that’s who!” A magician barked. “If there’s anything far worse than that hairless chimp she’s sheltered into her big, stupid castle, it’s the face of Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. Honestly, she was a bit less insufferable without her wings.”

“Princess Twilight…?” Ronin repeated to himself, carefully prodding his chin until the realization hit him like a moving train. “Wait a moment, the Princess, that’s it! Amethyst, we’ve been looking in all the wrong places from the start, I’ve got an idea that could get this job done faster than rat poison in a bowl of udon.”

“That saying concerns me a little. Did you grow up with thugs or something?” Amethyst asked.

“Thank you, miss blue unicorn ma’am, these are for you.” He turned to Trixie, swung his bouquet of flowers in her face, and trotted off in the opposite direction with Amethyst in tow. The magician watched with quieted bewilderment as the purple unicorn who had been chasing her only a moment ago was being dragged away by the young stag’s magic, a bundle of flowers levitating by her side. Trixie sniffed the flowers, gave a satisfactory shrug and went about her business.