Puzzle Piece is the premier information broker in the infamous nation of Freeport, leading one of the most powerful and wealthy organizations in the islands. However, after months of absence from Freeport, he returns to find everything he built in shambles and his lieutenants fighting over the remnants. With chaos reigning in the streets, the Council tells him to get his house in order or see his life’s work swept away. Unfortunately for Puzzle, there are forces in Freeport that don’t want to see him succeed. Nobody can be trusted, nothing is safe—not even his deepest secrets.

A chronological sequel to Northern Venture.

This story is a sequel to Northern Venture

When Sunset Shimmer's father shows up in Freeport chasing the infamous warlock Steel Rose, the last thing she wants is to get involved. She's still recovering from the madness in Northmarch and her battle against the dragon Blackfyre, and her father's obsession with capturing Steel Rose drove him to effectively abandon his family.

However, as the magus of Freeport Sunset can't ignore a dangerous warlock running loose in her city's streets just because of personal baggage. Once she finds herself reluctantly dragged into her father's obsession, she discovers there's far more going on than she's been told.

Sunset Shimmer originally went to Freeport to escape Celestia's influence, and to make some progress towards becoming an alicorn princess. She's certainly done her share of good in the infamous city of rogues, but after almost two years away from Canterlot she doesn't feel any closer to achieving her big goals. At this point, any reasonable pony could wonder if they made a mistake...

Faced with the unpleasant prospect of possibly going back to Canterlot in order to advance her goals, Sunset finds herself with one last option to preserve her independence: the great dragon Argentium the Runescaled, far to the north, wants to meet with her. However, her journey becomes far more than a simple social call, and Sunset has no idea just how much danger she and her friends will face.

Or how much she'll have to sacrifice—not just for her dreams, but survival.