Javanner turned towards the officer, who continued.
“It's...it's very important, sir.”
Without a word, what tiny presence of a smile was on Javanner's face instantly vanished. He nodded towards the officer and walked past him and back into the rain. He didn't have to look far to find the nondescript carriage sitting on the roadside, surrounded by the night guards.
The guards said nothing as one opened the door for him to enter. Javanner removed his hat and stepped inside. Though he already knew who was waiting for him, Inspector Javanner waited until he had sat down and had a chance to look at his superior with his own eyes.
“Your Highness.”
Princess Luna nodded slightly from her place opposite of him in the small carriage. Her dark robe may have protected her from the cold, but did little to hid her identity.
“Inspector. We trust thy skills continue to serve thee well. Prithee, enlighten us as to what thou hast found so that we relay to our sister what is known.”
Inspector Javanner, with his eyes as neutral as he could keep them, look directly at the robed figure.
“We do not know anything yet, Your Highness-”
“Thine eyes can withhold many things from many a pony, but they cannot deceive us.”
Javanner closed his eyes and, with a rare glimpse of emotion, sighed. Luna leaned forward in her seat and placed herself directly in front of him.
“Thou knowest something. Prithee, recall thy Princess of the Day and her grave distress. How can we return to her with nothing? Canst thou truly be so cold? Art thou not aware of the relationship betwixt the two?”
Javanner opened his eyes an nodded.
“I am aware that Her Highness was the pupil of Princess Celestia.”
“Theirs is not some simple relation of student and master, nay, our sister has raised the young Princess Twilight since long before our return. Since the young Princess was but a mere foal, she has been at thy Princess's side, ever learning, ever loving. I tell thee the truth, thou shalt not find a more loving mother in this land than the maternal spirit that has manifest itself upon our sister's brow. She weeps, e'en now she weeps, in fear and despair for the one that would be her daughter. How can we go back to her with nothing to report? With nothing that might bring even the smallest release unto her burdened heart? Prithee, tell me, what dost thou know?”
Javanner's face hardened again as he looked out the windows to both sides, as though he were afraid that somepony might hear him.
“There is little we can say for certain at this point, Your Highness, however I can, in...decent confidence, give you this: Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle, is almost certainly still alive.”
Luna's eyes widened as she leaned in closer.
“Truly? Art thou certain? How canst thou be certain?”
Javanner paused momentarily in order to put his words together as carefully as he could. He had dealt with enough families to know that a loving aunt could be just as passionate, and just as dangerous, as a loving mother.
“Your Highness, I am sorry, but I do not wish to reveal any more until I know more. Speculation now could do far more harm than good.”
Luna's eyes narrowed in on him, trying to pierce the hardened gaze of the inspector that had so often pierced into other ponies.
“Inspector Javanner, As Princess of the Night I hereby command thee to render unto me what thou dost hide.”
“We have found...evidence of...foul play.”
Luna's eyes dilated rapidly.
“What dost thou mean foul play? Dost thou mean to imply that some rogue has...has...to what end doth such misery come upon us?! Wherefore would any pony lash out against so noble and innocent a soul as young Twilight?!”
Inspector Javanner began to doubt his word choice as tears began flowing from Luna's eyes.
“Your Highness, I do not yet know why, only that some pony has taken great lengths to enact this plot. Because of the efforts made by her captor, I can only believe that their intention is to keep her alive.”
Luna said nothing as she finally leaned back into her seat. Inspector Javanner slowly replaced his hat and reached for the carriage door.
“I will not rest until she is found, Your Highness.”
Princess Luna wordlessly nodded as the Inspector opened the door and left. The cold night suddenly seemed all the more chilling as he hurriedly walked back toward the castle.
Inside, Officer Constable was waiting for him.
“Inspector, we've found something you might find interesting.”
Javanner looked to the officer calmly, his face hiding all of the emotion from his recent meeting.
“Go on.”
Constable nodded and held up a small sheet of paper.
“We have a small field kit on hoof. It can't get into too much detail, but we thought we would run a sample through it anyways.”
“Get on with it, Officer.”
Constable gulped as she stepped back. Though Inspector Javanner's tone never changed, she could easily sense that his meeting had not gone well.
“You were right. There are sleeping agents and natural depressants mixed into the tea's remains. They were probably used to render the Princess unconscious.”
Javanner nodded as Constable continued.
“It's quite possible that the same substance was used on the dragon, if all three of them were having tea.”
“I am aware of that, Officer. Tell your ponies to wake up every drugstore and pharmacy owner in town. We need to know who has purchased any form of sleep aid in the last week.”
Constable saluted and she turned to execute her orders, but she suddenly stopped and turned back.
“Sir, there is also...well, two things really.”
Noticing the fidgeting appearance of the officer in front of him, Inspector Javanner took a slow breath and began walking with Constable towards the door.
“The more, the better. Please, continue, Officer Constable.”
Constable nodded and produced a small bag with a strand of hair in it.
“First, we found a stray hair in the trash. It's quite red and doesn't match the highlights in Princess Twilight's mane. It probably belongs to the perpetrator.”
Inspector Javanner's eyes glowed a deep crimson as he took hold of the bag with his magic and held it in front of his eyes.
“Very good, Officer. And the second?”
“Second, as I mentioned earlier, we found a number of herbal components in the tea, components like what you would find in the Everfree Forest.”
Javanner's eyes returned to normal as he passed the bag back to Constable.
“I see. Is there a known herbalist who frequents the forest?”
“Yes sir, it's just that, she lives rather deep in the forest. We might not...be able...to get...”
Constable's words trailed off as she looked into the stern gaze of the inspector.
“It will be difficult to get to her tonight, sir.”
“Is it doable?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then we leave at once.”