Journey Into Darkness

She decided to start the furthest out from Ponyville and gradually work her way back, picking up her friends as she went.  Fluttershy, who lived in a cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest, was the general animal guru and tended to all of the animals, both feral and domestic, of the local area.  Her small cottage was always flooded with all kinds of animals.  The din was incredible but it never seemed to bother the yellow pegasus.

Tapping on the door, she called out, “Fluttershy, are you home?”

Hoofbeats sounded on the other side of the door and a pink-maned head peered out, “Oh, good morning, Twilight.  Is there something wrong?”

She smiled, “No but I need you to come with me.  It's very important.”

“Uhm, okay.  What's this all about?”  She asked, coming out and closing the door behind her.

“It's about the missing ponies.  The Princess sent somepony to help and he's assigned me to put together a team.  I want all of you on that team.”

“Where are we going now?”

“To Sweet Apple Acres to pick up Applejack.”

Twilight told Fluttershy about the events of the night before while they trotted down the lane that led up to the barn.  Applejack was usually out amongst the apple trees checking the produce or bucking the apples but the farm pony was nowhere to be found.

“Where could she be?”

Fluttershy's ears drooped, “I think I know.  She might be visiting her parents.”

“Her parents?”

The pegasus led the way to a secluded corner of the farm that Twilight had never been to before.  The trees surrounding it looked well-maintained but unharvested.  From the hill above the corner, she could see Applejack sitting in front of a pair of gravestones, her hat resting on the grass beside her.  She seemed to be talking quietly, occasionally wiping a hoof across her eyes, “Are those her parents?”

“Yes.  Haven't you always wondered why we've never seen either of them?  Her father died in an accident. He was making a delivery up to Canterlot and was on his way back when he slipped and fell.  His name was Applebuck, she told me. She told me her hat was his and he had given it to her right before he left.  Her mother, Honey Blossom, died in foal with Apple Bloom around the same time.”

Twilight started down the hill but stopped when Fluttershy appeared and blocked her path, “No.  Leave her to her privacy.”

Applejack wiped her eyes once more and picked up her hat.  Putting it on her head, she turned and spotted her audience.  She trudged up the hill towards them, her face set in a grim mask.  As she reached the top, she sat down in front of her two friends but ignored Fluttershy, “So now, you know.”

“A.J., I'm so sorry.  When?  How?”

“Right after Apple Bloom was born.  Papa was on his way back from Canterlot when Mama went into foal.  Ah was really young so Ah don't really know what happened.  Granny put me and Big Macintosh in a room so we'd be out of the way.  There was a whole lot of noise and running around but, then, everything got really quiet.”  A tear ran down her cheek and dripped off of her jaw, “The doctor said that the foal was fine.  A perfectly healthy foal, he said,...but Mama was gone.  We had a new baby sister but we had lost our Mama.”  She began to whimper as she shook with silent sobs.

Twilight and Fluttershy wrapped their forelegs around Applejack and held her as she wept.  The world was completely silent.  The birds seemed to stop in their singing in respect for her grief.  Finally, after a long moment, she calmed enough to continue speaking.

“About a week later, we learned what happened to Papa.  In less than a month, we had lost both of our parents.  Poor Bloom never knew Mama.  She's never heard her voice or her singin'.  Sweet Celestia, Ah miss her singin'.  And his voice, he had the best voice.  He always told us bedtime stories when we were growing up.  Ah remember not being able to sleep for a month after he died because he wasn't there to tell me mah stories.  Oh, Granny tried, she tried her best, but it wasn't the same.”

Twilight bit her lip to keep from crying as Applejack waved a hoof, “But that's enough of mah bellyachin'.  What did ya need?”

She sniffled, trying to regain her composure, “The princess sent somepony to help with the investigation into the missing foals.  He's asked me to put together a team of ponies I trust to help with that investigation.”

I-I-I-I

With all of her friends in tow, Twilight returned to the library.  She hoped that Sherloch had enough sense to take his pony form so as not to terrify her friends, who, she was fairly sure, had never seen a creature such as him before.

Pushing the door open, she entered, “Hello?  Anypony here?”

She was relieved to hear the slow clop of hooves that signaled Sherloch's arrival.  He looked exactly as he had the night before.

He eyed the six dispassionately, “Are these them?”

“Yes.  This is Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy.  Girls, this is Sherloch, the pony the princess sent to aid in the investigation.  Sherloch, has the Princess arrived yet?”

“She's waiting for you upstairs.  Both of them, as a matter of fact.”

Twilight's heart quickened, “Princess Luna is here as well?  How long have they been waiting?”

“Not long at all.  They got settled right before you returned.”

The group hurried up the stairs to her apartment above the library.  Sitting before the dark fireplace were both Princesses.  They turned as the others bowed.  Sherloch mimicked the bow, but a fraction of a second too late, which earned him strange looks from the others.

Celestia smiled, “Twilight, it's wonderful to see you again, although I wish our meeting was with better circumstances.”

“Good morning, Princess.”

“Time is of the essence so we must be brief.  You've been made aware of what has been occurring in Ponyville.  We have discovered that these events aren't specific to Ponyville, ponies have been disappearing from all over Equestria.”

“Do we know how many?”

“Hundreds.”  Celestia replied with a shake of her head, “Too many to number.”

Twilight shuddered.  This was far worse than she had anticipated, “Thank you for sending Sherloch to assist me.”

“Ah, yes.  Thank you for coming so quickly, Master Sherloch.  How soon can we begin our investigation?”

“We've already begun, your Majesty.”  He replied, “This morning, Twilight went out and gathered together a team to assist us in this investigation.  They've only just returned and we were going to discuss their potential involvement with us.”  He turned to the others, “What say you?”

“Ah'm sorry,”  Applejack replied, “Ah'm afraid I don't really understand what's going on here.”

“Girls, we need your help.  For close to a year now, fillies and colts have been disappearing without a trace.  Princess Celestia assigned me to look into the disappearances but I have made no headway whatsoever.  It seems like the more I find out, the less I know.  She sent Sherloch here to help me and he asked me to gather you together and see what assistance you could render.  Please,girls,” Twilight pleaded, “help us.”

The five began to shuffle uncomfortable.  Finally, Rarity spoke, “I'm sorry, Twilight.  I don't have any experience in investigating.  I just don't see what assistance I can offer.”

“Me neither,”  Applejack said, “Ah know about apples, not foal-nappers.  Ah think Ah would get in the way, more than anythin' else.”

In turn, each insisted that they had nothing to offer the group.  Twilight's heart sank further with each statement, “Girls, please, we need your help.  They need your help.  If only you could-”

Sherloch held up a hoof to silence her, “Thank you for your honesty and please let us know if you see or hear anything unusual.  But, because of the sensitive nature of what we are about to discuss, I'm going to have to ask you to leave now.”

The mares all nodded and turned to leave.  “He's very handsome,” Rarity murmured to herself, causing Sherloch to grin.

“Master Sherloch, what are your first impressions?”  Celestia asked.

“I haven't had the chance to do any actual investigating.  I really only know what Twilight has told me.  She's informed me that nopony has seen any of the actual crimes.  There are no reports of strange ponies in town, none of the guard have reported seeing anything.  It's as if they've simply disappeared.  Unfortunately, it seems that there may be outside influence.  I suspect Eurekarian slavers or Evangelian poachers, those are the two closest systems and most-likely suspects but that really doesn't mean anything.  With the new Hyper-gate system, they could be coming from, literally, anywhere.”

Twilight's confusion was beginning to give her a headache.  Only a few hours ago, she had learned that there was life on other worlds.  Now, she had just learned that life wished her and her fellow ponies harm, “What do they want with us?”  She dreaded the answer.

“I told you before, Twilight.  There is a thriving illicit slave trade in the galaxy.  The Eurekaians don't keep the slaves but sell them to other races as workers, pets, or...food.”

“What?”

“Pony flesh is considered a delicacy in many systems.”  Luna informed her.

A wave of nausea nearly knocked her to the floor as her mind called the unbidden mental image of a table set for a feast, it's centerpiece a steaming unicorn with an apple in it's mouth.  She groaned, “I think I'm going to be sick.”  Glaring, she turned to Sherloch, “And you, you're supposed to be some kind of galactic law-enforcement type.  How can you let these...monsters...do what they've been doing?”

“We've known for years but, the way our system of law works is that, in order to bring criminal charges against an individual or a race, we must first have indisputable proof of their crimes.  This prevents innocent beings from being falsely accused, tried, and convicted.  Unfortunately, though we may know that they are committing these atrocities, we have no actual proof.”

“But you know.”

“Knowledge and Proof aren't the same thing.

Celestia cleared her throat to get their attention, “The fact of the matter is, something is taking my youngest citizens and using them in its terrible deeds.  Go forth Princess Twilight Sparkle and Master Sherloch of Ganymede.  Find who has been committing these atrocities and stop them by any means necessary.”  She turned to Luna, “Come, sister.  Let's leave them to their work.”

Luna followed Celestia to the door but paused a moment, turning to the pair, “Good luck and godspeed to the both of you.  The might of Equestria is behind you.”

The two sat alone and silent long after the two royals had vanished.  Finally, Sherloch sighed and stood, “Come, we have a lot of work ahead of us.  I need to fetch the equipment from my shuttle.”