//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: The Belonging Herd 
// by GaPJaxie 
//------------------------------//

Ruby Rails disappeared on Thursday evening, some time between 9:44 PM and 7:43 AM.

The exact time she vanished could not be determined from the available evidence, nor was it determined where she had gone. The last confirmed sighting the Manehatten police department had of her was on the subway. She’d been out at dinner with her coworkers after a late work night. She took the Celestia line home, and sixteen minutes before ten, got off at her usual station. The pony at the ticket stand saw her pass.

She was not seen again.

Shortly before eight the next morning, the security guard at Lucky Horseshoe Systems observed a bright blue pegasus mare enter the building. She presented Ruby Rail’s ID card at the front desk, and was granted entry. When later asked how he mistook a bright blue pegasus for a dark red unicorn, the desk guard could only recall that the ID card seemed correct at the time.

This unknown mare then proceeded to Ruby Rails’ desk. Over the course of the next twenty minutes, she collected Ruby’s personal items, submitted a notice of resignation with Ruby’s name at the bottom, and stole a large number of pens from the office supply cabinet. Then, she left.

Company officials contacted the police after an investigation by management into the incident, initially believing it to be a case of industrial espionage. Police located the blue mare living inside Ruby’s apartment, where she was arrested. Under interrogation, she repeatedly claimed to be Ruby Rails, though she had no explanation for the alleged change in her appearance, including a different cutie mark.

A standard blood test confirmed that the blue mare was not a changeling, and magical analysis by the Manehatten Institute of Thaumic Studies showed no traces of transformation magic upon her. After some consideration, the police decided to classify the incident as a case of identity theft and kidnapping. They might, if things had gone on longer, have pressed charges.

The second case appeared on a Tuesday. Shale Strike was recently married to his wife, Rose Quartz. They had only been home from their honeymoon for two weeks. She sent him out to fetch some groceries from the corner store. A different stallion came back.

Two more cases came the next day. Then four the day after that. Then ten more over the next week. Rumors started to spread around Manehatten, and the start of a panic.

That was when the Princesses got involved.