Fia was worried... very worried.
When Fell Wind had come back from her short flight, she had apparently come across something just outside of the forest. She had told Ancient Scroll, and the old stallion had gathered everyone in the sitting room to discuss the matter.
As it turned out, not only did Fia have to worry about the bad ponies who were trying to foalnap her so they could do... something, but apparently now she had a regiment of Royal Guard actively searching for her outside of Canterlot.
"Why are they searching all the way out here?" Corona asked incredulously from her seat on the couch next to Rouge, "wasn't Celestia supposed to be threatening to lock down the city or something?"
"Apparently not," Trixie replied with a frown. She looked over to Fell Wind, who was lazily sprawled across one of the cots opposite from where the azure filly sat on the floor, "you said they formed some kind of... blockade just outside the forest?"
"More or less," Fell Wind replied, waving a hoof in the air absently, "and there were a few of them spread across the forest's treeline."
"How do we know they're looking for Fia?" Rouge asked, taking a sip of cider from a steaming mug, "if I recall, there was a murderer on the loose in Canterlot not too long ago."
"Wait what?!"
The others all snapped their attention towards a wide eyed Fell Wind, "you said there was a murderer in Canterlot? Nopony said anything about a murderer!"
"Well... technically there might have been three," Fia corrected, shifting uneasily next to Corona at the topic, "we're not sure if was the same two that..."
She trailed off and Corona quickly picked up where she left off, trying to forestall an uncomfortable silence.
"We only heard about it not too long ago," the maroon filly replied, "but why are you so worked up... about... oh..."
Her eyes widened in realization and she winced at Fell Wind's troubled frown.
"Canterlot is supposed to be where the Princess of the Sun is, right?" Fell Wind suddenly asked, turning to Ancient Scroll, "so I imagine it doesn't get a lot of killer ponies... right?"
"None actually," Ancient Scroll replied, shifting in his armchair, "at least, not until recently. Nopony would've dared to commit something even remotely close to murder in the capital city. Nopony would be daft enough."
"Nopony, but my brother," Fell Wind replied, before turning to Fia with a bemused furrow of her brow, "but... you said there were two other killers?"
The rest of the group exchanged worried glances before looking at Fia. The black filly noticed their looks and sighed before turning to Fell Wind with a grim look.
"They were twins," Fia explained sullenly, "they called themselves the Razor Twins, and—"
"The bucking Razor Twins made it into Equestria?!"
Fia blinked in surprise at Fell WInd's sudden outburst, the others responding similarly. It was Ancient Scroll that spoke first.
"Judging by your exclamation I take it you've heard of them," the old stallion surmised before frowning deeply, "and when you say they 'made it into Equestria'... you wouldn't happen to mean—"
"Yeah," Fell Wind interjected with a grave nod, "those two are from the land beyond the barrier like me and my brother," she shook her head, "they're even more messed up than my brother."
"Yeah we... we know," Corona replied quietly as she cast both Trixie and Fia a side glance, "believe me, we know exactly how insane those two are, but how do you know them?"
"Those two were fugitives back in my hometown," Fell Wind answered, sitting up in the cot and staring at her hooves with a frown, "it... wasn't what you'd call a utopia, and most of the townsfolk weren't exactly upstanding citizens..."
She grimaced and looked back up at the rest of the group as she spoke.
"...but even among the worst that town had to offer, those two stood out as the most vile ponies to ever trot the earth.
"Nopony knew why they decided to leave town, but none of us complained or really looked into it," her grimace became a bemused frown, "but how do you all know them?"
"They killed my parents right in front of me," Fia replied dully, "and they foalnapped my brother."
"They killed my mother in an alleyway," Trixie replied, her tone much the same, "and they almost killed me... and... and maybe..."
She hung her head, her ears flattened, and didn't say any more. Fell Wind looked between the two now despondent fillies with a sad, understanding expression.
After a moment she looked away, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.
"Ah, geez," she finally muttered before turning back to the fillies with an apologetic frown, "sorry to hear about that, you two. I... that... that really bucking sucks."
Yojimbo, who had been quietly leaning against the wall by the door, snorted, but didn't say anything more.
Rouge and Ancient Scroll glanced at each other with matching troubled frowns before the Abyssinian spoke, intending to get everyone back on track and away from the grim topic.
"From what I've gathered," Rouge said, turning to Fell Wind, "you believe that your brother might be behind the most recent incident in Canterlot?"
"If he's in Canterlot, then it's a strong possibility," the dark green mare replied with a nod, "especially if she was involved."
"You mean Moon Gazer?" Fia asked worriedly, "do you think it was her that got... y'know..."
"I hope so," Fell Wind answered, her gaze hardening, "if not, I'm definitely gonna make sure the job gets done."
"Is that a good idea, though?" Corona asked, frowning thoughtfully, "if you start murdering ponies in the city, Celestia is gonna notice, and then it's over for all of us."
"Not only that, little filly," Ancient Scroll replied with a thoughtful frown of his own, "if they've got an entire regiment of Royal Guards wandering about outside the city, they might not just be on the lookout for Fia."
"And who's to say they don't have more Guards searching other parts of Equestria?" Yojimbo chimed in, "it's like Rouge said, they might not even be looking for Fia at all."
"Yojimbo has a point," Rouge replied, "in the state Canterlot is in at the moment, I wouldn't be surprised if that addled Sun Princess commanded a country wide search for the culprit—assuming they got away and made it out of the city."
"Maybe they're looking for Fia, maybe they're not," Corona interjected, looking between the two adults, "but just sitting here wondering about it isn't gonna help us get past the Guards posted outside the forest."
"Maybe we could go around?" Fia suggested, "they can't cover all of the exits, the forest is too big."
Ancient Scroll nodded in agreement.
"That it is, filly," he turned to the pegasus mare, "well Fell Wind, how about it? Is there another way around? Preferably somewhere northeast?"
"It ain't gonna be so simple," Fell Wind answered with a shake of her head, "they've got a ton of magic barriers and detection spells set up all across the forest's edge."
"What kind of barriers and detection spells are we talking about here?" Ancient Scroll asked, "and just how do you know? I can understand the barrier spells, most can spot those a mile away, but most detection spells are nearly invisible to the naked eye."
"I was a Hunter," Fell Wind responded with a simple shrug, "I was trained to spot these kinds of things," she then frowned, "but I don't recognize the spells they're using."
Ancient Scroll leaned back in his chair, humming in thought and stroking his beard contemplatively. The others all remained silent, each wracking their brains for a solution to their current dilemma.
"Why not just... pass through like normal travelers?" Trixie finally said, "it's not like we're wanted fugitives."
Corona cleared her throat and Trixie rolled her eyes.
"You're a runaway filly, not a fugitive, Corona."
"Knowing Celestia, I just might be," Corona shot back with a scowl, "and there's also the matter of a certain missing lavender unicorn filly."
"Well, she's not lavender now, is she?" Trixie retorted, "you're both disguised so Trixie thinks it shouldn't be a problem if we just waltz right through and tell the Guards we're just small town ponies on our way to see the big city."
"The problem with that," Fia said, turning to Trixie, "is that we don't know if their detection spells can see through our disguises."
"And they probably can," Corona added, "I remember Celestia telling me once about the extensive anti-espionage courses Royal Guards go through during training. It's one of the main reasons I'm worried about going to Canterlot even with these disguises."
"And you didn't mention this earlier because?" Trixie growled in annoyance.
"It slipped my mind!" Corona cried, throwing up her hooves, "I had completely forgotten about it the last time we had talked at the tavern."
"I could always just take 'em out," Fell Wind offered, cutting the two arguing fillies off, "I could probably do it without being detected."
"That might be a bit too risky for a go-to plan," Ancient Scroll replied, shaking his head, "no, we'll save that for a last resort. I know a few dispelling spells that might be able to break through their barriers and detection spells, but I need to know what I'm working with before anything."
"Is there some way we can get close enough to see the wards without getting caught?" Fia asked, "if we could do that, then maybe we might be able to find a way around them and you could use those spells."
"Maybe... but we'll need to be careful," the old stallion replied with a slow, thoughtful nod. He turned back to Fell Wind, "think you could use your fancy Hunter training to find us a discreet path to one of the focal points of the barriers?"
"Yeah, I can do that no problem," Fell Wind replied with a shrug, "you want me to go now?"
"If you don't mind," Ancient Scroll replied, "the sooner we get this planned out, the better," he lit up his horn and pulled a few books from the bookshelf, "I'm gonna brush up on a few spells that might help."
"What about us?" Fia asked, "what do we do?"
"Continue your studies for now," Ancient Scroll replied, placing the books on the table and flipping on open, "I'll let you girls know when I have something worked out."
FIa went to say something else, but Corona interjected, pushing her and Trixie towards the door
"Alright, Uncle Scroll," she replied, "we'll get right on it, just let us know if you need us to do anything else."
"Will do, little filly," Ancient Scroll replied distractedly.
Deciding that the conversation had been concluded, Fell Wind hopped down from the cot and trotted out the door after the three fillies, making her way to the platform outside.
Rouge and Yojimbo opted to stay and help Ancient Scroll figure out a solid plan of action for when they reached the forest's edge.
There was still more than a few hours before they were close and Ancient Scroll would not be caught up in another mess if he could help it.