For the second night in a row Celestia’s sleep teemed with nightmares and visions of those eyes, those cold, hard, calculating eyes that pierced her and looked into the very depths of her soul. No those weren’t the eyes of her student that she remembered, they were of another’s but in a maternal sense she recognized them as Twilight’s but it pained her to see how much they've changed. The unicorn she remembered was amiable, affectionate, kindhearted and brimming with potential; this unicorn was forbidding, indifferent, sadistic and had seen things they never should have.
Just like Celestia said to herself the day before, at the cusp of dawn she would begin her search. She arose from her bed with bloodshot eyes and a filthy sweat saturated mane. “So much for sleeping last night, perhaps it would have been smarter to stay awake…” she thought wearily. “Anyway, time to plan the day.”
Obviously Celestia knew she would have to disguise herself, someone of her regal status walking among the streets of everyday commoners would cause every pony to grovel at her presence and make every question she asked become a royal decree that required an answer. While that could be beneficial to her search, predominantly it would just lead to false information to have the opportunity to speak to the princess, ponies were very desperate at times. So Celestia went with something simple, a unicorn with a pure white coat and a pink sun-kissed mane that draped slightly past her shoulders, her cutie mark was a simple fiery disc. Celestia still was the definition of perfect but now in a mortal body “Damn I’m sexy, stallions could be a problem but then again it could be useful.” she thought humorously as she checked her body out in a nearby mirror.
She then pulled out her gold framed checklist, a habit she picked up from Twilight, and checked the disguise part off from it. Next was to teleport to the market and question her ponies. Her horn ignited with a pale yellow magic and off to the Canterlot market district she went.
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Unfortunately never requiring to go to the market to purchase food had made her unaware of what was there and due to the teleport, Celestia or rather Sunlight, now ended up in a dumpster filled with half-eaten hay and some rotten apple cores. Fortunately to her luck it was in some of the back alleys of the market so nopony saw her climbing out of a dumpster.
After several minutes of aimlessly wandering Celestia somehow made it to the central plaza wasting no time at all she walked up to a nearby guard and asked “I’m afraid I’ve lost my friend, have you seen a large cloaked mare?”
“Sorry ma'am can’t say I have, but if I see have her I’ll make sure to find you, it ain’t too hard remembering a pretty filly like you.”
“Well then thank you for your time.” Celestia said a light giggle and quickly trotted away, she knew that would be the answer before she even asked but what she wasn't expecting was the first stallion she talked to already attempting to hit on her.
She quickly located her next pony, and pony after pony all questioning them with a simple, broad question. “Have you seen a large cloaked pony recently?” the answer she always got was.
“Sorry miss, I haven't” or “Can’t say I have” or more attempts to hit on her. This continued on for the majority of the day, she went from enthusiastic approach to hopeless one, It was like that at least until one of the ponies she asked answered differently.
“Sorry I haven’t but if you're looking for a place that has a lot of rumors n’ ponies that are quite informed I suggest you go to The Canterlot Secret, it's a nice little old tavern that's just down the street over there” the mare said as she lifted one of her hooves up and pointed towards a large house off to the side of the central plaza with no windows but with a sign on the lintel of the door with “THE CANTERLOT SECRET” on it.
“Thank you very much!” Celestia cheered to the mare and started to run off towards the building only to remember that currently she was of noble status and couldn't afford being seen running, so a fast trot was what she had to make due with.
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“The Canterlot Secret” from the moment she walked in was probably the last place to be, It was basically a brothel with a few other things to it. “How did I not know this existed.” Celestia thought but almost facehoofed herself when she remembered its name. “Well, of course it's a secret.” The various moans coming from nearby rooms were already making herself feel uncomfortable and awkward “It would be best not to stay here for long with this body and its urges.” A mare dressed in some rather suggestive pieces of clothing walked up to her.
“How can I help you today ma’am?” the mare asked licking her lips making Celestia feel even more uncomfortable.
“My name is Sunlight and I heard there's ponies here who could give me the whereabouts of another pony.” Celestia answered.
“Oh you're here for that...” the Mare responded with a disappointed look on her face “follow me.” Celestia followed the mare down a hallway, the mare excessively waving her hips to room with almost no lighting, the room was ominous and forbidding but she continued to walk until the mare lead her to a seat.
“Please sit down for a couple of moments, he'll be with you soon.” the mare walked away and locked the door.
Celestia knew the why the atmosphere of the room was like this, she used it in her own interrogation rooms, it was to make them fear and answer truthfully, “Just what have I gotten myself into?”
Eventually a click could be heard from the opposite side of the room she came into and a door opened a faint outline of a pony could be seen.
“So what do you want to know?’ the pony said, clearly a stallion.
“The whereabouts of a pony.” Celestia replied
“How rare?”
“Pardon me?” Celestia responded confused
“How often are they seen?”
“Ponies have rarity now!” She thought perplexed and then answered “First time in a decade, the pony is large and with a cloak and strange eyes, presumably a female.”
“Luckily for you I heard about something like that last night, buts that going to cost you a fair amount but you nobles are rich so don't worry about it.”
“How much.”
“Oh about 60,000 bits.” Celestia eyes snapped wide open, shocked at the high price but what the pony said was true she could afford it but still….
“Or if you can’t pay it we could always find other ways of payment if you know what I mean you are quite the jewel.”
“No, I’ll send you a check, now tell me what you know.” Celestia disgusted at what the stallion proposed.
“Damn you mares and your money, but anyway it ain’t much but that pony was last seen walking into an alley just across the street, now get laid, buy something or get out, I trust you'll have my payment soon unless you to want to have a miserable life, I have plenty of people that can arrange that.” Celestia laughed in her head a little “Yeah ruin your immortal ruler’s life, I could have you in chains before you even knew it.” Celestia got out of the chair and walked out of the now open door and left “The Canterlot Secret.”
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Just like the pony said there was an alleyway across the street but there was nothing in it at least not to the naked eye there wasn’t but to a trained unicorn like herself there was. It was very minute but it was a magic marker with a trail attached to it leading to somewhere. The signature of it was one she recognized, it was Twilight’s but with it being so minute Celestia quickly came to the conclusion that she left it there for her, but only for her to find and follow it but was only triggered when during the time of twilight. So with nothing better to do Celestia followed it.
The path was obviously well planned out because when she finally arrived at the end of the trail it was night and the trail’s magic dispersed. The trail’s end location leaded her Celestia to small bar at the corner of a street in what could be considered the “ghetto” of Canterlot. Although it was where the majority of the middle class lived in and nicknamed the “Ghetto of Canterlot” by some foolish nobles. The bar itself seemed to be okay, just some place where some pony could get a drink or two along with some food like hay-fries. But what stuck out the must the dark corner where a large hooded figure was seated drinking some hard-cider, easily strong enough to knock out an earth pony and a large cigar the pony was smoking, blowing some smoke rings into the air. The moment Celestia saw the hooded turn their head in her direction she saw its eyes, those eyes, Celestia couldn’t anymore sure of herself that this in fact was Twilight Sparkle and that Twilight saw through her disguise like it wasn’t even there. Twilight was back.