Not needing to sleep meant that null and Wind Chaser didn't need to find a place to hole up to lay low. They could simply be adrift, changing their appearance when no one was looking and meandering about town, reconnoitering. After their murderous getaway, they weren't eager to slip back in to deal with the black crystal users. Security would be too tight, risks too great, and there wasn't an objective in mind to pursue.
They had tried checking out the dumps, but by the time they got there, I was gone and Mirror's situation was stable. So they searched for whatever vehicle might have taken me away, hoping for some sign, like a bloody bumper, that would give it away.
They spotted a bloodied bumper in a back alley, at the same moment they spotted two pairs of ponies, talking in front of that rear bumper. They kept walking out of sight, pretending not to have noticed. Wind Chaser loitered nearby, looking bored, while null looped around, managing to squirm his way under the truck unnoticed. He was getting quite experienced at sneaking under undercarriages.
The ponies nearest the truck were a small but confident looking earth pony stallion, and a twitchy looking pegasus mare, probably a lookout. The others were a couple of unicorns, looking generally nervous about the whole thing. The others were clearly adults, but the unicorns looked young, like adolescents. One didn't even have her cutie mark yet.
"You're sure this will work?" the blank flank asked. "It'll give me the confidence to go up there on stage?"
"Stage fright? Pfft. No problem. With just a snort of this powder, you'll be ready for facing off with dragons! Here, you can have a free sample, but only one. Don't waste it," the earth pony claimed, offering a small packet of something.
null was close enough to hear, but he couldn't see much from his position, and getting a clear view risked being clearly in view. They weren't sure if this drug deal had anything to do with them, but there weren't that many trucks in Manehattan, or Equestria in general, and there was a bloody bumper. So null affixed himself to the bottom of the truck, committing to find out where it went.
The drug deal concluded fairly quickly, as this time it was just a free sample, to get the buyers hooked. That meant whatever it was was probably highly addictive, on top of its desirable properties. The unicorns left the alley, walking right past Wind Chaser without paying her any mind. The changeling was in the form of a unicorn as they passed, and quickly slipped open their saddlebags and floated the packet into her own hoof without alerting them.
Meanwhile, the engine roared to life, and the truck made its way off, its driver oblivious to the dead changeling affixed to the undercarriage. They stopped several more times in various alleys, making similar deals before heading for a warehouse down by the docks. null quietly traced their movements, patiently listening in on each deal with the boredom-proof patience of a machine.
Opening the packet, once she was clear, Wind Chaser realized what they were peddling instantly. The dark crystals from the mines, ground up, perhaps enchanted in some way. A single snort would remove fears temporarily? A larger dose, or repeated exposure was probably what caused the crystal growths on our adversaries' snouts, and the ability to instill fear in others. Their fearlessness helped make them dangerous, but also foalish. And now they were trying to give it to others, more or less at random? But why? Was it just for the bits? Some kind of recruitment?
We didn't have answers yet, but we did have a spy in their warehouse now. And as we listened in, somepony else found their warehouse as well. "I found you! I need more. Give me another hit! I've given you more than enough already, give me what I need!" The pony sounded desperate, at a guess he was suffering some form of withdrawal symptoms.
"I told you already, no bits no powder. Come back when you have the bits," one of the other ponies replied.
"If you won't give it to me... I'll just have to take it from you!" the pony replied before a brief altercation. Moments later, the pony's head was on the ground, staring right at null with disturbingly dilated pupils until they jerked about randomly, not seeming to focus on any given thing for long.
"Brave enough to attack us, huh? Little shit!" several harsh kicks rang out with the sound of snapping bone. "Maybe the boss will have a use for you after all. Drop him in the pit, boys!"
null watched the pony dragged off into the interior, quickly losing sight of him. When the ponies were out of view, he checked quickly, finding himself free of observers and quickly moved from the undercarriage into the warehouse, moving from hiding place to hiding place as silently as he could.
null was able to catch up to the ponies while hiding atop a high shelf, watching as they got their new victim to 'the pit'. It was a hole in the ground, perhaps ten feet deep, but considerably wider, covered by a metal grate with a single locked portion in the middle that could be opened.
"Guess what time it is?" the shorter drug dealer asked, as he got over the grating. "That's right! It's promotion time. We got a newcomer going in, so one of you can come out and start training as one of our soldiers. All you got to do is beat everypony else down there into unconsciousness. Last pony standing 'wins'. We got plenty of powdered courage for our soldiers, and good food too. So? Who wants to train?"
The fighting that broke out was brutal. The few ponies who hoped to simply stay locked up rather than fight for the dubious honor were left alone until only one real fighter was left, who then pummeled them into unconsciousness quickly. And as promised, the winner was lifted out of the pit, while the newcomer was dropped into place roughly. So this was their game then... recruit addicts as some kind of soldiers? null followed after them, hoping to take the new recruit's place and find out what all they were up to.
He explored a bit, but the narrow corridors they had gone into left no cover for sneaking, and it made it too risky. Conferring with the others mentally, he came up with a suitable plan though. The opening to the pit latched shut, but didn't have a proper lock. So he opened it as quietly as he could, descended into the pit in the guise of a pegasus, grabbed one of the unconscious earth ponies and carried him out. He dragged the pony out to the street, where Wind Chaser was able to take him away to the nearest hospital, then dropped back into the pit, pulling it closed behind him and magnetically pulling the latch back shut. Then he dropped to the ground, disguised himself as the earth pony and collapsed onto the ground, feigning unconsciousness.