//------------------------------//
// 10 - Diana Thorpe 
// Story: Chasing Treasures 
// by Yukito 
//------------------------------//

"Is that the place?"

Gilda nodded, shivering as she watched the congregation of robed figures walking into the building across the road from where they were parked. "I hate cultists… Are you sure our girl is here?"

"Yes," Cadance confirmed, looking down at the file in her lap. "Diana Thorpe, a receptionist at a strip club owned by Tirek's group and new member of this order. Our informant in the club has told us that her salary is pretty generous for a mere receptionist role. No doubt she's carrying out other duties in secret, which means we can probably get a lot of information out of her."

"So," Sombra began, looking across the road at some of the cultists conversing outside of the building, "What is this place?"

"They call themselves the 'Order of the Pony'," Cadance explained. "Seems our target leads an interesting life outside of work. Sombra, you stay in the car with D'Coolette and St. John. Gilda and I will enter under the guise of investigating a call about a bank robber hiding out here."

"We might not have to," Gilda said. "Looks like something's happened."

Cadance turned to look, and saw three people leaving the building, two of them carrying the third around their shoulders. She noticed that the third person's arm was bleeding, and he seemed to asking people to take as much blood as they wanted.

"Well, that works, too," Cadance said, exiting the vehicle along with Gilda. "Remember, don't attract too much attention. We don't want to alert the target."

"I think we might stand out," Gilda replied, noting their casual clothing in stark contrast to the dark robes of the cult ahead of them. An ambulance arrived to pick up the bleeding man, and as the girls approached one of the figures standing outside of the building, Gilda asked, "What's going on over here?"

Cadance pulled out a forged police badge and showed it to the group. "We just happened to be passing by when we saw the incident here. Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything is fine," one of the robed figures said, gesturing to the bleeding man being loaded into the ambulance. "He does this at every meeting. We've become fairly well-acquainted with the police around here thanks to that, and they never even show up anymore." The man tilted his head. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of it yet."

"We're traffic control," Gilda explained, taking a moment to glance around at the various persons gathered around them, trying to catch a glimpse of their target under those hoods. "So everything's really okay over here?"

"Well, our brother's blood did draw the attention of the purple jabberwok, the most deadly of the jabberwoks, so I am afraid that our meeting will have to be cancelled tonight."

Gilda resisted the urge to punch this guy in the face. "Right, of course. You mind if we just take a quick look to make sure there's nothing else here?"

"… Didn't you say that you're traffic control?"

"It would only take a moment of your time," Cadance said. "Please, we just have to be sure there's no need to call for backup."

The robed figure simply shrugged. "I suppose, if it means that much to you. No offence, but you police folk are weird."

Gilda's fingernails dug into her hand as she clenched her fist. "Thank you," Cadance said, pulling Gilda away and into the building.

Many disappointed cultists were hanging about and talking, whilst some were starting to leave, filing out of the building in as organized a manner as how they entered.

The two approached the area where the man seemed to have cut himself and took out their cameras, taking photographs from many different angles as they subtly glanced about, examining the faces of everybody gathered.

As Cadance caught the face of their target in corner of her eye, she gasped, but did not turn to face her. Instead, she looked over to Gilda and said, "I think that's enough for now. Looks like we don't need to call in support."

Gilda nodded her head. "Yeah, seems that way."

Together, the two left, entering their car and starting the engine, but not moving right away.

"So did you find her?" Sombra asked.

Cadance nodded. "Yes, she's in there. But there's no telling when she'll leave. We'll pull back for now and come back later."

"Do we have the time for that?" Gilda asked. "Tirek's not gonna wait forever."

"We can't let her think that we're onto her. We took a big enough risk just pretending to be traffic officers."

Sombra nudged St. John beside him, and said, "Hey, I want to see what our little bird looks like."

"Do ya now, mate?"

"If I'm going to be of any help on this mission, I need to know who we're hitting."

"We're not 'hitting' her," Cadance said, frowning as she reached for the file and turned to face Sombra. "We're just going to ask her some questions, civilly."

"Hey, she's comin' out now!" Gilda announced. "She's got her hood down, so there's no mistaking it. Do we follow or not?"

Cadance handed the file to Sombra and turned back to look across the street. Indeed, their target was there, walking away from the building with her face visible to the entire world. "It is tempting, but… What would Shining do?"

"We're going after her," Sombra said, staring at the file as Cadance and Gilda turned to him in unison. "We're following this girl, 'Diana Thorpe'… Her real name is Radiant Hope."





The group watched as Radiant Hope rounded a corner, entering into an alleyway between two apartment buildings. They waited for thirty seconds before following, hugging the corner and peering inside very carefully.

"This's getting risky," Cadance said. "We'll have less cover in there."

"We had to abandon the car a few blocks back," Gilda said. "If we get ambushed, it won't be easy to get away."

"Relax," Sombra said, rounding the corner and glaring down the alleyway whilst his escorts followed closely behind. "She's hasn't noticed us yet, and we're not being followed. Let's go."

"How could you possibly know that?" D'Coolette asked, pressing the muzzle of his gun into Sombra's back.

"Instinct," Sombra replied, turning to Cadance. "Your husband must have told you some stories, I imagine."

"He's not my husband," Cadance said as she followed Sombra around the corner, passing him and taking the lead. The others followed her. "But yes, he has told me enough that I trust your judgement on this matter."

"Well I don't," Gilda said. "Isn't it just a little too coincidental that the girl we're after just happens to be your friend from when you were kids?"

"Fate has a strange way of working," Sombra said with a shrug. "Honestly, I had forgotten all about her until recently, when certain events caused me to gain the memories of Equestria's Sombra. His experiences with Radiant Hope were… less pleasant, to say the least. Meeting her now, while she is working for the enemy, it feels as though that Radiant is asking me to help her."

"So what happened between the two of you?" Cadance asked. "In this world, I mean."

Sombra considered whether or not he should answer, before a voice ahead of them forced the group to scatter and hide.

"The meeting was cancelled early, but I was there long enough to get what I needed."

Sombra's eyes widened. Her voice hadn't changed in all these years. Slowly, he leaned his head out from the side of his cover. Before him, he could see the kneeling form of Radiant Hope. And infront of her, a tall, regal-looking woman in a brown robe, surrounded by meowing cats, was viewing something on a tablet device.

"The solvent that Tirek seeks is not held by the Order," Radiant Hope reported. "Though they do have many interesting trinkets, but not what our master is seeking."

"I see," the woman said, sighing as she put the tablet away. "A shame. I was hoping to finally surpass that Hydia as Tirek's favourite."

"Lady Catrina, surely you don't think that Tirek values her more than you?"

"Tirek is counting on Hydia to supply him with magical weapons once we reach Equestria. I have to one-up her by being the one to bring him the key to Equestria!" Catrina reached a thumb to her lips and bit her nail. "It's the only way I'll be able to secure my place during the invasion."

"Lady Catrina, what is my next assignment to be?"

Catrina thought for a moment, and then said, "For now, lay low. I'll contact you later when I have another solid lead."

Cadance motioned for the group to move away slowly, and while Gilda was quick to obey, it took a few moments for Sombra to turn around and leave with the others.





Radiant Hope returned to her apartment just a few minutes before midnight. She frowned as she fumbled around in her bag for her key, thinking on Catrina's final words before she left.

"Radiant Hope, the time that we fight is approaching. When that time comes, I trust that you will be by my side, as you always have been."

It was true that Radiant had performed some horrible deeds over the years, under Catrina's direct command, but a war? She still didn't really understand what 'Equestria' meant, but she knew that, soon, it would be too late to turn back.

Radiant Hope sighed. "Who am I kidding? I passed the point-of-no-return long ago." She turned the key in the lock, and the door to her apartment opened.

Suddenly, the tip of something metallic was pressed to the back of her head, and Radiant slowly raised her hands.

"Good call," a female voice said behind her. "Now enter slowly. There's someone inside who wants to talk to you."

Radiant obeyed, stepping slowly into the dark room with her assailant following behind her. Once inside, the person holding a gun to her head closed the door, and then flicked the lightswitch, illuminating the apartment.

Her eyes widened, and her jaw fell slack. Standing before her was a man from her past. Somebody that she thought she would never see again. Somebody who had abandoned her, and set her down the path she was currently on.

Suddenly, Radiant Hope wasn't sure if she was happy or angry to see Sombra standing before her.