Tempest pulled her newly repaired sedan alongside the curb in front of a modest two-story home. She got out and looked around. A typical housing development neighborhood. Most of the houses on the street were of the same basic design and color scheme. The only real difference was a few of the houses had opted for xeriscaping; decorative rocks and a couple of low maintenance potted plants filling in for the more usual lawns and flower beds.
She took off her sunglasses and made her way up the walk to the front door. She took a moment to make herself presentable, then rang the bell. The door was answered by a handsome woman with glasses.
“Yes? Can I help you?”
“Shiny Stars?” Tempest asked. She produced her ID. “My name is Tempest Shadow. I'm with the Specialized Taskforce Overseeing Remarkable Matters.”
The woman frowned. “What's this all about?”
“I'd like to talk to you about your daughter's disappearance.”
“I'm sorry,” said Shiny Stars. “This isn't a good time.”
“I'd be happy to come back when it's more convenient for you,” Tempest began.
“No. I'm sorry but – “
“Who's at the door?” came a male voice.
Tempest didn't give Shiny the chance to respond. “Agent Tempest Shadow with the Specialized Taskforce Overseeing Remarkable Matters, sir! I'd like to talk to you and your wife about your daughter, Firecracker Burst.”
Shiny's expression hardened. “I've told her this isn't a good time.”
“It's fine, Shiny.”
The door opened wider, revealing a tall, haggard looking man. He held out his hand. “Blazing Spark.”
Tempest shook it. “My pleasure. I understand this is a difficult time for both of you and I don't want to take up too much of it. I'm currently investigating a series of strange events which have been happening around this town for the last year or so. I believe your daughter's disappearance may be connected to them. I'd like to talk to you about it, if you have a few minutes to spare.”
Blazing nodded. “I think we can spare Agent Shadow a few minutes, don't you, honey?”
“Are you sure that's a good idea?” Tempest noticed the slight quaver in the woman's voice.
“If it will help find Firecracker, I think it is.” Blazing Spark's statement sounded odd. A strange emphasis on “find Firecracker.” Tempest filed the interaction away for later.
Blazing put a hand on his wife's shoulder and stepped back, guiding her out of the doorway. “Won't you come in, Agent Shadow?”
None of the girls had been to Principal Celestia's house before, and were extremely surprised to find that she and Vice-Principal Luna lived in a luxurious house in the ritzier section of town. A large curved driveway rolled through a vibrant lawn to the house itself, which was largely composed of white brick, with a rocky foundation.
Fluttershy had borrowed her parents' minivan again, and she, Sunset Shimmer, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle got out. Applejack helped get Rarity out of the van. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had shifts at their jobs at the mall and couldn't make it.
“You sure you don't wanna use the chair?” she asked, as Rarity pushed herself to her feet on her canes.
“Tough Love said it would be best if I use the canes as much as possible,” Rarity replied.
“Didn't he also say not to overdo it?” Applejack replied.
“Pfft-tsk-tch! I'm perfectly fine, Applejack, darling. If I get too tired, I'll let everyone know and someone can get my chair from the back.”
“As long as you're sure,” Applejack said, concern evident in her voice. Rarity smiled at her.
“I am, but thank you, darling. It's so nice I can rely on you to keep an eye on me.”
Rarity gently brushed a hand against Applejack's cheek before making her way toward the front of the house, causing the farm girl to blush. She put her own hand up against her face, staring after Rarity.
“AJ?” Sunset Shimmer called, causing Applejack to blink. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah!” Applejack said quickly. “Sorry. Just woolgatherin'!”
The girls gathered on the porch and Twilight rang the bell. After a moment, Luna answered the door.
“Hello, girls,” she said, smiling. She stepped aside allowing access to the house. “Please come in. My sister is waiting for us out on the patio.”
The girls entered the house and marveled at the interior. Hardwood floors, tasteful decorations on the walls, comfortable looking furniture. Applejack caught a glimpse of a huge ultramodern kitchen as Luna led them down a hall and through the living room. Sunset blinked as she saw a variety of video game consoles stored in a decorative set of shelves. Everything from all three major current generation consoles to a really old one with a wood grain finish and clunky looking joysticks.
“That's an impressive collection,” she said aloud. Luna looked over her shoulder to where Sunset was pointing.
“Oh, those? That's my sister's collection. She's kept every console we've ever had since we were kids. I prefer PC gaming.”
The vice principal opened the glass doors leading to the backyard patio and the girls stepped back out into the sunshine. A vast lawn spread out from the patio and a large greenhouse could be seen in one corner of the yard. Celestia, dressed in a white blouse and jeans, stood up from the patio table. She smiled as the girls approached.
“Thank you for coming, girls,” she said. “I'm sorry we had to reschedule our meeting. Please have a seat.”
Everyone sat down around the table and tea was served. Applejack looked around the backyard, approvingly.
“Y'all got a lovely home here, Principal Celestia.”
“Yes, indeed,” Rarity agreed. “It's truly luxurious.”
“I didn't know school principals could afford a ritzy place like this,” said Twilgiht. She blinked and blushed as she realized what she had just said. “I mean, from what I understand, most educators are severely underpaid so... No, I just meant that... your house is very nice! I'm going to shut up now!”
She picked up her teacup and began drinking, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Celestia and Luna looked at her for a moment, then giggled.
“It's all right, Twilight,” Celestia said. “Most teachers and administrators wouldn't be able to afford a house like this.”
“I know I certainly couldn't on my salary,” said Luna. “That's why we still live together in our childhood home.”
“Childhood home?” Sunset asked. “You grew up here?”
“It's been remodeled a few times,” Celestia admitted. “But we inherited the house from our parents after they passed away. Luna and I realized that it would be cheaper and easier on both of us if we both lived here full time rather than keeping two separate residences.”
“Plus, neither of us really liked the idea of selling it to someone else,” Luna added.
“I can understand that,” said Applejack. “Our house has been in the family since Great-Granddad Jonathan built the place. Granny says she's got no interest in livin' anywhere else.”
Sunset put down her teacup and looked at the two administrators. “I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but you had something to tell us last night?”
Celestia sighed and put down her own cup. “Yes, we do. Luna?”
Luna nodded. “I'm afraid that, in my attempts to help you girls be ready for Agent Shadow, I made a mistake.”
“What kind of mistake?” Sunset asked.
Luna sighed. “When I was about your age, I was heavily into computers. Especially getting computers to do what I wanted them to do when other people would rather they do something else.”
“You were a hacker?” Twilight's eyes were wide behind her glasses.
Luna nodded. “I once roamed the early internet under the name of 'NightmareMoon.'”
Sunset's eyebrows raised, but she said nothing. This wasn't the time to note another strange parallel between this world and Equestria.
“The ForeverNight virus!” Twilight cried. “The one that caused the three day blackout in Manehattan! That was you?!”
“The blackout wasn't intended!” Luna insisted. “What it was supposed to do was hijack the Jumbotron screens in the center of the city and show NASA's live feed of the moon for those three days. My coding wasn't perfect and the next thing I know, I'm watching reports of the blackout on every major news channel. I decided then and there to retire before I did something worse.”
“But you came out of retirement for us, didn't you?” Fluttershy asked.
Luna nodded. “I still have some contacts in the hacker community, but one in particular is very good about keeping his identity a secret. Well, I say 'he,' but I don't even know if he's a man or a woman. That's how good he is. He taught be a few things back in the day and I knew he was still active. So I logged on as NightmareMoon and with his help, I was able to get the information on STORM and Agent Shadow we gave you girls last week. But something went wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Sunset frowned, leaning forward in her seat.
Luna sighed again. “I logged on to a dark web chatroom where some of my old cronies meet. My friend saw 'NightmareMoon' was in the chat, and got hold of me privately. Except there was both a government plant in the chat room and an invisible bot in the private chat that neither I or my friend were able to detect.”
“And NightmareMoon set off some warnings to the agent in the chat room,” said Twilight.
“Plus the bot apparently flagged the conversation my friend and I had about STORM,” Luna continued. “He contacted me Friday night to warn me that STORM knows 'NightmareMoon' was asking about them.”
“But surely, they won't be able to link you to NightmareMoon,” said Rarity. “You must have been a teenager when the ForeverNight incident happened. The records would be sealed, wouldn't they? Assuming you got caught, that is.”
“I convinced her to turn herself in after everything that happened,” said Celestia.
“The judge showed mercy on me since I was still a minor and I hadn't actually intended to unleash the chaos the virus caused. And you're correct, Rarity, the court records are sealed. But there was a detective here in town who suspected that I might be NightmareMoon. His reports aren't part of the sealed record and presumably are on file with the Canterlot City Police Department. If STORM finds those records, it's possible Agent Shadow will try to use them as leverage.”
“So what do we need to do?” Sunset asked.
“If any of you still have those copies of the information we found, you need to destroy them as quickly and completely as possible,” said Celestia. “Luna's friend was a little... overzealous when getting the information she asked for.”
“Some of those documents are actually classified and are not meant to be in civilian hands,” Luna elaborated. “Just having them in our possession opens all of us to the possibility of arrest.”
Fluttershy clasped a hand to her mouth and let out a distressed squeak. Rarity put a hand on her back and made slow circles.
“It's all right, Fluttershy, darling, just breathe.”
Sunset's frown deepened and she glared at the vice-principal. “You put us all in danger.”
Luna nodded sadly. “Yes, and I am so sorry about that, Sunset. I had no idea how far my friend would go. I just wanted to try to keep you girls safe from what was coming.”
Sunset closed her eyes and let out a deep breath through her nose. “I know. And we appreciate it, Vice-Principal Luna.” Her eyes opened again and she looked at her friends. “Does everybody know where their copy of that file is?”
There were sounds of assent. Sunset looked back at the administrators. “Thank you for telling us all this. We'll make sure our copies are destroyed, including Pinkie Pie's and Rainbow Dash's.”
“I'm sorry about this as well, girls,” said Celestia. “We were trying to help.”
“And you have,” said Sunset. “But I think, for your sake, you better stay on the sidelines from now on. I don't want you winding up on Agent Shadow's bad side either.”
“Then we better talk about what's going to happen at school tomorrow,” said Celestia. “Because it's not just the incident at the mall she's been investigating.”
“And you haven't seen Firecracker since?” Tempest asked from her seat on the sofa. Across from her, the distraught parents were seated in armchairs.
“No,” said Shiny Stars. “We're not sure exactly why she ran away. She and her girlfriend have had fights before, of course, but they were usually sorted out in a couple of days.”
“Her girlfriend, yes,” said Tempest. She scrolled through the notes she had taken during the interview. “This would be Gardenia Glow, right?”
“That's right,” said Blazing Spark. “She and Firecracker started dating at the end of Gardenia's senior year. They kept up their relationship while Gardenia was at college.”
“Did either of them know a girl named Rarity?”
There was a pause before Shiny spoke again. “I don't think so. Maybe in passing at school, but I don't think Firecracker ever had a friend by that name. Right, dear?”
There was another pause before Blazing replied. “No. No, I can't recall Firecracker introducing anyone by that name to us.”
Tempest kept her expression neutral, but she had noted the awkward pauses. “What about a girl named Sunset Shimmer?”
Another awkward pause, but the STORM agent noticed something. Blazing's hands gripped the armrests of the chair tightly when he heard the name. Before she could ask, Shiny answered.
“Firecracker mentioned her on occasion. Apparently she was a bully at school, but I guess something happened because Firecracker stopped talking about her about a year ago, I think.”
“Any particular reason why?” Tempest asked.
“We have no idea,” said Shiny. She smiled. “But, you know, teenagers. You're never quite sure what's going on with them.”
“Very true,” Tempest agreed. She shot a glance at Blazing, who was still gripping the armrests firmly. “I'd like to talk with Gardenia Glow. You mentioned she was going to college in Baltimare?”
“Yes, but she came back a couple of months ago.” Blazing's hands finally left the armrests. “I think she has an apartment somewhere.”
“The Paddock Hills apartment complex on Lewis Street,” Shiny offered. “Apartment 532, I think.”
“Thank you.” Tempest stood up. “I think that's all I need for now.”
As Blazing and Shiny also stood, she reached into her inside pocket and produced a business card. She handed it to Blazing, making sure she made eye contact. “If there's anything else you remember or would like to speak to me about, you can reach me at that number. I'll be in town for the foreseeable future. I still have a few other things to look into.”
Blazing looked at the card then back at the agent. “Thank you, Agent Shadow.”
Tempest gave the parents a smile as they led her to the front door. “Always happy to help, Mr. Spark. Have a nice day.”