A Dance With Death

by Dee Pad


Chapter 7 - A Grave Robbery

Following the instructions she'd received on her spellphone, Samba lead Limbo and Bubble Gust around to the back of the stage where Mango Career had held his presentation. The dancer trotted ahead with an extra spring in her step, humming a jaunty tune the whole way and drowning out the rest of the noise in the convention center.

It was odd to see her friend this perky, so Limbo couldn't help but smirk a little teasingly. "Geez, Samba, you're like a kid in a candy store, aren't you? You wanna dial it back a touch?"

"I can't help it!" she exclaimed excitedly. "We're gonna meet the princess! How are you not more excited?!"

Limbo just shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I just never really saw meeting celebrities as a big deal. Not one for autographs and that sort of thing. I suppose you could say I'm not a 'material girl.'"

"Says the mare with a coffee mug collection," Samba deadpanned in retaliation.

"Did you see any signature's on them? In any case, I'm coming with you to see Career, not the princess. And not to get his autograph."

"Luster Dawn just invited you to meet Princess Twilight, ya?" Bubble Gust reiterated. "That does not guarantee we will meet Career."

"She told me to come backstage," Samba said, doublechecking the text she'd received to make sure. "I have to imagine Mango Career is back there too."

"Also, she invited you," Limbo pointed out. "Is she expecting you to bring an entourage?"

Samba's pace slowed a little, looking a little nervous now. "Um... I mean, I'm hoping Princess Twilight is accommodating enough to be okay with it. Luster Dawn said she loves meeting new people, so..."

"And presumably Leaf will be back there too," Gust mentioned. "Surely, he could vouch for us."

Limbo shrugged again. "Guess we'll see."

The backstage area was partitioned off from the rest of the convention center by thick, black curtains, giving the crew ample room to work without interruption. Cables and wires were running all around the place, connecting many computers and switchboards to the tech used for the presentation. At the moment, things were still busy, despite the presentation having ended. More than likely the crew were preparing for other less pertinent presentations for later in the day; nothing Limbo, Samba, or Bubble Gust would likely be interested in.

More importantly, Princess Twilight was indeed present. She and Luster Dawn were already engaged in conversation with Mango Career, pleasant smiles on all their faces.

"I'm sorry for springing that on you out of the blue, Your Highness," Career apologized to the princess with a chuckle.

"It's fine," Princess Twilight assured with a giggle of her own. "It made the most sense to ask me. And I'm happy to help you out once again."

"I could have done without all the eyes on me, personally," Luster Dawn sighed. "It was a little nerve-wracking."

"That's my fault. I'm sorry, Luster," Twilight apologized with a sympathetic smile. "I'll make it up to you after the convention. Hayburger, on me."

Her student smirked knowingly at her. "You sure that's not more for you, Princess?"

Twilight blushed, awkwardly breaking eye contact. "I-I don't know what you mean." The alicorn's slight embarrassment dissipated quickly, because by looking away, she spotted three unfamiliar people standing nearby. Twilight smiled knowingly. "Is this the new friend you mentioned, Luster?"

"Hm?" Luster Dawn locked eyes with Samba, the dancer giving her a rather sheepish wave in the presence of the princess. "Oh, yeah, that's her. Come over here, Samba!" she beckoned cheerily.

Samba, Bubble Gust, and Limbo approached the princess, the former two bowing respectfully.

"I-It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty," Samba stammered nervously with a shaky smile.

"It's nice to meet you too," Twilight greeted casually. She glanced between the earth pony and breezie accompanying her. "Are these friends of yours?"

Samba straightened up quickly, a deeply apologetic look on her face. "Y-Yes, I'm sorry I didn't ask if I could bring friends! But if it helps, they didn't come to meet you." Samba suddenly tensed at what she'd just said. "I-I mean, not that they don't like you! I-It's just that—"

Twilight laughed at her overreaction, gesturing with her hoof for her to calm down. "Relax, it's fine. What's a couple more friends? No biggie. So, Luster said your name is Samba, right?"

Samba nodded rapidly, her face beet red with nervousness.

"And your friends?"

Samba turned to Limbo. "Th-This is Limbo."

Limbo offered a casual wave. "'Sup."

"And this is Bubble Gust," Samba introduced, gesturing to the tiny breezie floating beside her.

"It is my honor," Gust greeted with another bow.

"It's nice to meet all of you," said Twilight. She looked at Bubble Gust in particular. "It's pretty rare to see a breezie in Equestria outside of migrations. Not to sound patronizing, but you're brave to live a world of giants," she chuckled.

"I like to think I am a particularly tough cookie," Gust boasted jokingly.

"I can vouch for that," added Limbo.

"It's been ages since I've been to the Breezie Realm," said Twilight wistfully. "Maybe I should consider paying another visit in the near future."

Luster Dawn looked up incredulously at her mentor. "You've been to the Breezie Realm, Princess?"

"Just once, a long time ago. I've only ever made contact since then with representatives to negotiate allegiances and immigration. Travel to and from the Breezie Realm isn't easy."

"Princess Twilight is a highly revered figure in the Breezie Realm," Gust told them. "Apparently, she and her friends are among the only outsiders to ever visit our lands."

"Guess it should be no surprise that she managed to unite all the different kingdoms of the world," Samba uttered in awe.

"Well, there's still work to do on that front, but I'm doing my best," Twilight said modestly.

"Ahem."

They all turned to the source of the interruption. Mango Career was staring at them, curious, yet perhaps a little annoyed.

Twilight's ears perked up. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cut our conversation short, Mr. Career."

"I'm just feeling a little left out, that's all," he joked with a chuckle. "Mind if I butt in?"

"Not at all. Everypony, I'm sure you know Mango Career," Twilight introduced.

"Hard not to," said Samba. She tapped the spellphone strapped to her leg. "Everypony knows the inventor of the spellphone."

"Well, actually, as I mentioned during the presentation, I didn't technically invent it," he reminded them, gesturing to Twilight. "That was our princess here."

"Even then, I can't really take all the credit for it," Twilight claimed. "I actually got the idea from a friend of mine who lives... let's just say, 'far away.' I just came up with a way to circumvent some of the limitations—such as range and battery life—by incorporating magic."

"Still, though, you two created something revolutionary together," Luster Dawn complimented.

"I just want to do anything I can to benefit Equestria as a whole," Career stated humbly.

"Is that why you are running for mayor?"

Career quirked an eyebrow at Bubble Gust's question, eyeing up the breezie with scrutiny. "I had a feeling I knew who you were. You work for Mayor Highstrung, don't you? Leaf mentioned that he worked with a brazen breezie at the town hall."

Gust just smirked. "'Brazen,' huh? Well, he is not wrong. I was hoping to get a chance to ask you some questions, Mr. Career."

Career sighed with exasperation, flicking a hoof. "Sorry, but I didn't come here to talk politics, especially not with the competition. I figured Leaf would have said as much."

Bubble Gust grimaced at his dismissiveness, but begrudgingly backed off.

"Speaking of which, where is Leaf anyway?" asked Limbo, looking around, but not spotting the stallion in question amongst the crew.

"He's busy keeping track of things in the storage room. He should be back shortly," answered Career.

"And can I ask why you came, Ms. Limbo?" inquired Twilight. "Luster said Ms. Samba was eager to meet me, and Ms. Gust apparently wanted to discuss politics with Mr. Career. What about you?"

Limbo straightened up, clearing her throat to put on her professional voice. "I'll answer that by telling you that I'm a private detective. In particular, I came here today to investigate suspicions I have about the Ghost of Baltimare."

"That's the serial kidnapper, right?" Twilight inferred. "How are they related to the Magi-Tech Expo?"

"Well, initially, I simply came here on a small hunch, but now that I've seen the..."

"Spellmet," Samba said for her.

Limbo discreetly rolled her eye. "Yeah, that. After seeing that and taking into account all of the information I've gathered about the Ghost, I have reason to believe that they may be after the..."

"Spellmet," Samba said once more.

"Yes, whatever."

Career tilted his head, curious, but concerned. "You think so?"

"The function of that device lines up with my theory as to why the Ghost is targeting specific people. Just let me ask something: what's to prevent somepony from stockpiling a bunch of powerful spells and abusing the thing?"

Career grinned reassuringly. "Oh, that. Well, you don't have to worry about that sort of thing. The final product is going to have storage limits to prevent that. As of right now, the plan is for every individual spellmet to only be capable of storing a few spells at a time, as well as other safety and security features."

"The final product, sure, but what about your prototypes?"

"Oh, well, we haven't implemented any sort of security like that on the prototypes just yet, but that shouldn't be an issue, right? All of the prototypes are stored safely in the R&D department back at H.Q."

"Except one."

Career blinked, but quickly caught onto her meaning. "You mean the one I just unveiled."

"You think the Ghost might be planning a heist?" Princess Twilight inferred.

"It's possible," answered Limbo.

Career simply waved off her concern. "I'm not worried about that. Our security guards are always at the top of their game. No creature is going to sneak by them."

"I hope you're right."

"Oh, hey, guys," suddenly came the voice Loose Leaf as he sauntered over, his chores apparently finished. "I see you've met the ponies of the hour."

Twilight nodded. "Yes, apparently Ms. Samba was eager to meet me."

Samba grinned goofily, her wavy tail swishing like a happy puppy.

"Yeah? Why's that?" Leaf asked. "I mean, I know she's a princess, but judging by the look on your face, I'm assuming you have a specific reason."

"It's for your daughter, right?" Luster Dawn answered for her.

"Mostly, yeah, but I also have a ton of respect for you myself, Your Highness," Samba clarified.

"I didn't know you had a kid, Samba," Leaf said with mild surprise.

"Yeah, her name's Pirouette." Samba frowned. "I don't get to see her as much as I'd like because of the divorce, and I'll admit that I'm not a very reliable mom, but I still love my daughter more than anything." She managed to smile again, staring up hopefully at the princess. "But right now, me and her father are trying to get her into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. That's the big reason I wanted to meet you, Your Majesty."

"It sounds like you're in a complicated situation," Twilight said with a soft, sympathetic smile. "But it's a noble endeavor to want to help your child get into a good school. And Celestia's school is one of the best. I should know, having gone there myself," she giggled.

"Pirouette must be good with magic, then," Luster presumed.

"Oh, yeah, she's very talented for a filly her age," Samba stated proudly.

Loose Leaf quirked an eyebrow. "Really?"

Samba nodded, though there was a hint of uncertainty as she stared at the princess. "But, uh, I don't know whether or not it's enough to get into the school."

"Oh, don't use me as your bar," Twilight reassured her with a chuckle. "I was an... unusual case."

"Yeah, it's not like the school is training people to become royalty," Luster joked.

"Does your daughter know many spells?" asked Leaf.

"Uh, it's not that she knows many spells, it's just that her magic is unusually powerful for her age," Samba explained. She lowered her head in shame and regret. "I just wish I could do more for her on that front, but I can't help her practice at all because of my funnel horn."

Luster Dawn frowned sympathetically. "Oh, geez. I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's rare for an adult unicorn to have funnel horn," added Twilight. "But if it makes you feel any better, I used to have funnel horn as a filly."

Samba stared in disbelief. "Seriously? You? One of the most powerful ponies in Equestria had funnel horn?"

"Well, I guess it's debatable whether or not it could be considered funnel horn since I was still young, but even at the age I was, it was uncommon to be unable to use magic in any noteworthy capacity. It wasn't until my entrance exam for Celestia's school that I received the shock that unlocked my latent power. So, clinically speaking, you could probably argue that I had funnel horn."

Leaf chuckled quietly. "But if you want somepony a little more relatable, it might be worth mentioning that I used to have funnel horn too."

Once again, Samba was flabbergasted. "You did? You're not gonna say it was when you were a kid, are you?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Had it until a few years ago."

Limbo eyed him up interestedly. "Really? You never mentioned this to me at any point."

"What, we're not married. I don't have to share every little detail about my life with you," he responded with a playful smirk.

"What about me?" Gust interjected with mock hurt, fluttering close to him. "I thought we had a close working relationship, dear."

Leaf backed up uncomfortably. "Can you not? I don't need people starting rumors."

"What was it that triggered your magic, then?" asked Samba curiously, wondering if it was perhaps something she could try herself.

Leaf grinned, turning to his brother, who was smiling back. "Actually, I have Mango to thank for that. At least in part."

They all turned to Career, awaiting an explanation.

"Well, to be fair, it was an accident," he started. "It was actually when we were testing the very first prototype for the Spellmet."

"Oh, I think I get it," Luster interjected. "Your brother's funnel horn must have been one of the factors that inspired the Spellmet, right?"

"In a sense," Leaf answered in his brother's stead. Strangely, he cast a slight scowl at Career. "The Spellmet was actually my idea. I guess Samba's the only one here who'd know what it's like growing up as a unicorn who can't use magic. F.Y.I., it sucks, and I was sick of it."

"So why are you looking at me like that?" Career countered. "The Spellmet is the reason you can use magic now."

"How's that?" inquired Limbo. "I've seen him use magic without that thing."

"Considering the point of the Spellmet was to help people like me, I offered to be the first to test it," Leaf explained. "Turned out, channeling the magic that was stored in it triggered something, and once I took it off, I could use magic."

"Really? That's fascinating," uttered Princess Twilight. "So the Spellmet can not only allow people to use magic when they otherwise couldn't for varying reasons, but it can outright cure funnel horn? Why didn't you mention that during your presentation, Mr. Career?"

Career looked away, some uncertainty in his expression. "Because we don't know if it's something we can replicate. Obviously, I didn't want the Spellmet's existence to be leaked, but there was nopony else involved with the development that had or knew somepony with funnel horn. I don't want to advertise a feature that might not be part of the final product."

"Then why not test it now?" Twilight suggested with an eager grin, glancing at Samba. "We have somepony with funnel horn here now, right?"

Samba's eyes widened. "Wh-What?! Y-You want me to wear it?"

"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Career agreed.

"What's the harm?" asked Limbo with a shrug. "Worst case scenario, you still have funnel horn. Not like you have anything to lose."

Samba was quiet for a moment, mulling this over. If it turned out that the Spellmet could cure her funnel horn, then she would actually be able to help Pirouette prepare for Celestia's school. It'd just be irresponsible to not at least try. She smiled shakily, though her nervousness was evident. "O-Okay, I guess I can give it a shot."

"Great, just a second. Hey, Hotwire!" Career gestured to an orange stallion with a black mane amongst the crew.

"What's up, Boss?" Hotwire asked as he trotted over.

"Go grab the Spellmet for me, would you?"

"Sure thing."

Hotwire trotted off again to retrieve the item.

"I'm a little nervous," Samba admitted sheepishly. "You've gotten my hopes up. Now it's gonna be even more disheartening if it doesn't work."

"We won't know if we don't try," Twilight told her comfortingly.

"It's not gonna hurt, is it?" she asked, looking to Leaf for an answer. "What was it like when you did it?"

"Honestly, it was kind of a rush," he answered with a grin. "Feeling all my magic flooding to the fore was a pretty stimulating experience. It's like taking your first deep breath after getting over a cold. A cold you've had your whole life. Well, obviously it's more than that, but you know what I mean, right?"

"She might in due time," said Luster with an eager and optimistic smile.

"Not to compliment the opposition, but it is a pretty amazing stroke of luck that your invention can do such a thing, Career," Bubble Gust commented.

Leaf glowered slightly at his brother. "Yeah, well, don't give him all the credit. It wouldn't exist in the first place without me."

Career groaned, sounding rather exasperated. "Leaf, can we not do this here?"

"I just don't get what's so hard about giving me a little recognition," Leaf argued. "You went out on that stage and talked up how revolutionary the Spellmet is without so much as a mention of my name."

"You got to be onstage with me, remember?" Career pointed out.

"Oh, right, as your product model," Leaf sneered. "And, what, I'm supposed to be grateful just to share a stage with my own brother for all of thirty seconds?"

"Weren't you the one who said that you want to make a name for yourself on your own merits?"

"And you're showing everypony exactly why!" Leaf blurted indignantly. "And this is not really even about that. It's about giving credit where credit's due. You'll credit the princess for giving you inspiration before you'll credit me—you know, me, the one who came up with the idea for the Spellmet in the first place. Oh, and thanks for including me in the naming process by the way," he snipped sarcastically. "Seriously, you couldn't even be bothered to run that name by me before going out and announcing it. It sounds as ridiculous as it looks."

"Thank you," Limbo muttered to herself in validation.

"You know that's not the final design, Leaf," Career reminded him.

"Then why even announce it now? You're supposed to be this super savvy businessman. Seems like a pretty poor decision, if you ask me. Oh, and let's not overlook the fact that you arranged this presentation without me too. When exactly were you planning to tell me about this, or were you just waiting for me to find out on my own?"

"I was busy!" Career argued defensively. "I never got around to it, that's all."

Leaf glared at his brother through narrowed eyes. "Right, so I'm something you need to 'get around to' now, am I? Real nice thing to hear from your own brother."

"Now you're just twisting my words."

"So is that also why you haven't been keeping me posted about new updates? Can't even get a spare minute to send me a quick text. 'Hey, Bro, wanna come over and see some of the changes we've made?' It'd take six seconds, but no, can't even be bothered to do that. You've gone through three entire revisions since the last time you asked for my input!"

"I figured you had your own stuff going on, what with your job at town hall. And now that I think about it, is that why you decided to work with my opposition? To spite me?"

"First off, no. Second, you've got no business getting into politics. You've already got a gargantuan, multi-million bit company to run. You can't even make time for your little brother! How are you going to run a whole city?!"

Luster Dawn leaned discreetly over to her teacher, whispering quietly. "This is uncomfortable, right?"

"Super uncomfortable," Twilight agreed.

"Maybe we should go," Samba suggested.

Limbo balked at her. "What? No, no, I still got stuff I need to ask Career."

"This obviously isn't a good time, Limbo," Samba told her through clenched teeth.

"And I might not get a better time."

The subtle whispering amongst their company didn't slip by Mango Career. He put his argument with his brother on hold to address them with an apologetic frown. "I'm sorry, you all shouldn't have to listen to our bickering, least of all you, Your Highness."

Leaf sighed, finally remembering that they weren't alone. "Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't mean to go off like that in front of you guys."

Twilight offered an accepting grin. "It's alright. I know a thing or two about sibling rivalries. You love 'em to death, but that's why even the little things feel like they cut so deep sometimes. I remember being pretty miffed when I learned about my older brother's wedding at the last minute."

Career bowed respectfully. "Thank you for your understanding, Princess. Now, I hope you're not all in a hurry to leave because of this. After all, Ms. Samba here still needs to try out the Spellmet."

"Still a dumb name..." Leaf muttered under his breath.

"Speaking of which, that Hotwire guy's taking his sweet time," Limbo commented impatiently.

"The storage room is kind of a mess right now," Leaf told her. "People have been coming and going through there all morning, so there hasn't been much opportunity to keep things organized."

"But you would think something as important as the Spellmet would be easy to find," remarked Bubble Gust.

As they were talking about it, Hotwire returned. His gait was rather hurried, and he notably did not have the Spellmet with him.

"There you are. What took so long?" Career asked with a hint of annoyance at his tardiness.

Hotwire gulped nervously. "Um, well..."

The stallion leaned in to whisper something to Mango Career, and the business pony's eyes widened worriedly. "Are you sure?"

Hotwire just shrugged uncertainly.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Career?" asked Twilight with concern.

"Uh, well... It seems the Spellmet is missing..." he uttered, though it was hard to tell if he was in disbelief, or if he was just being surprisingly nonchalant about it.

"What? Are you serious?" Leaf exclaimed in shock. "How can it be missing? I was in there just ten minutes ago and I know it was there then."

"I don't know what to tell you," said Hotwire defensively. "I looked and looked, but I couldn't find it."

"Well, go double-check!" Career demanded aggressively, eliciting a wince from Hotwire before the stallion took off back to the storage room. Upon noticing the looks his company was giving him, Career took a breath to steady himself, readjusting his glasses. "Sorry, this is just a little alarming."

"Hate to say I told you so," Limbo stated, her single silver eye exuding focus and seriousness. "Looks like we might have a theft on our hooves."

Without any warning, Princess Twilight lit up her horn and a pulse of pink magic expanded outward, catching everypony off guard. The group could even hear the crowd in other areas of the building becoming confused and concerned.

"What was that?" Samba asked the princess worriedly.

"I cast a barrier around the convention center," she answered promptly and seriously, her voice radiating authority as opposed to the casual tone she'd used up until now. "If the Spellmet has been stolen, then the thief could still be nearby. Mr. Leaf mentioned that it was still in the store room just ten minutes ago, so if they are still here, they're stuck here now."

"I, uh..." Mango Career started, looking a little frazzled by this news. "I suppose we should figure out who's been to the storage room since Leaf was there."

"It's been so busy that that wouldn't even narrow it down much," Leaf mentioned.

"And I don't think it would do a lot of good anyway," Limbo informed him.

Career cocked a puzzled eyebrow. "Why not?"

"If our thief is the Ghost of Baltimare like I speculated, I have a strong hunch—as much as I hate to say it—that our culprit may be a changeling."

"Which means they could have disguised themselves as a member of your staff to get access to the Spellmet," Samba added. "And they probably would have switched disguises by now too, assuming they're even still here."

"It would be pertinent to search the immediate area first," Twilight suggested. "If they've already left the building, then our chances of finding them are slim. Let's just do what we can for now. Luster, contact the authorities and inform them of what's happening."

"Uh, yeah." Luster Dawn shakily took out her spellphone, stepping away to call the police.

"I'll try to keep the crowd calm and under control," the alicorn continued, noting the increasing confusion and panic coming from the convention center now that everycreature was trapped inside. She turned to Limbo. "Detective, this is your wheelhouse, so I'm leaving the investigation to you."

Limbo saluted the princess confidently. "You can count on me, Your Majesty."

Twilight offered a trusting smile and a nod before promptly taking her leave.

With the impromptu investigation underway, Limbo rolled her shoulders eagerly. "Alright, let's crack this nut. First thing's first, Mr. Career, I'm gonna need to see this storage room."

"Of course," he agreed, though still a little shaky.

"I'll see if the crew noticed anypony acting suspiciously," said Leaf as he headed off as well

Limbo and Career were about to head on their way, but before they could, Samba tugged on Limbo's leg to grab her attention. "What should I do?" she asked.

Limbo gave her a somewhat concerned, yet corrective look. "We've talked about this, Samba. You should probably stay here where it's safe."

"Oh..." Samba backed off, her ears drooping dejectedly. "Uh, yeah, okay..."

Limbo knew why she looked like that, but she really didn't want Samba putting herself in danger anymore than she needed to. So, having gotten her assistant's compliance, Limbo followed Career toward the storage room, leaving Samba alone with Bubble Gust.

The breezie took notice of the quiet sigh escaping from Samba's lungs. "Something the matter, Samba?"

"It's just... The reason I wanted to work with Limbo is because I wanted to make myself useful for something for once in my life. I mean, I know she's right. Putting myself in harm's way is a dumb and reckless idea. It might have worked out once, but there's no guarantee that I wouldn't get hurt if I tried it again." She shook her head, accepting her role, but still not feeling great about it. "I should just listen to her. I'm just going to get in the way if I try too hard..."

Bubble Gust frowned sympathetically. She was about to say something, but was interrupted when Luster Dawn came back.

"Okay, the cops are on their way. We just need to sit tight," Luster said, breathing a deep sigh.

"Are you okay, Ms. Dawn?" Gust inquired, noting the somewhat nervous look on her face.

"Uh, well... I've just never been in a situation like this before," she admitted with a sheepish blush. "I know that sounds weird considering that Princess Twilight is my teacher, but I'm not exactly fighting off super villains on a regular basis like she did back in the day. This is just a simple robbery and I'm honestly pretty shook."

"But having Princess Twilight here in the first place is a stroke of luck," Gust said with a confident grin. "If you are asking me, our thief chose a bad time for a heist."

Luster grinned awkwardly, a little embarrassed by her reaction to this. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. I just gotta have faith that the princess and Detective Limbo can catch the thief. I mean, there's also the chance that they're not even here anymore, right? That would suck if they got away, sure, but at least the people here would be safe."

"I'd rather we catch them here and now," Samba asserted. "There's no telling what kind horrible things they could do with the Spellmet."

"Fair point. Being able to use any spell without effort is kinda scary if it's in the wrong hooves. But the Spellmet's only got the princess's similo duplexis spell, doesn't it? The thief's not gonna be able to just ask people to donate spells."

"But if they're the Ghost of Baltimare, they already have that handled. They've already kidnapped a dozen people who know complex spells. They just have to threaten them and force them to put their spells in it."

Luster held a hoof to her mouth in worry. "Oh, shoot, that's bad. But I guess it's a good thing we have you and Limbo here, huh? Pretty lucky to have a couple of experts around to deal with this."

Samba looked away, feeling worthless again. "I'm not really an expert. Limbo's the one who's been trailing the Ghost from the beginning. I'm just tagging along because I want to do something worthwhile to prove to myself that I can be useful."

Luster's ears drooped slightly at the defeated look on Samba's face. "Oh... Uh, well, I hope that works out for you?" she said awkwardly and uncertainly.

"There are ways you can help without putting yourself in danger," Gust mentioned.

Samba's ears perked up. "You think?"

"Ya. Leaf is asking around to see if anypony noticed any suspicious activity. Why not do the same?"

Samba mulled the suggestion over. When she first started working with Limbo, their first task together was information gathering because Limbo figured that was something Samba could handle without any risk. So maybe Bubble Gust had a point. It may have been safer for Limbo to investigate the scene of the crime, but what was the harm in searching elsewhere for information? Still, there was always risk that she could inadvertently bump into the thief, so she wanted to take some precautions.

Samba smiled at Gust and Luster. "That's a good point. We should talk to people and see if we can figure out anything useful."

Luster blinked. "Uh, 'we'?"

"Well, yeah. I... think I'd feel safer if I had somepony with me. I had a... a 'friend' watching my back last night when I was in a similar situation. I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to, but I think it would be for the best if we stick together until this is sorted out."

Bubble Gust had no objections, but Luster Dawn still looked a tad nervous.

However, after some hesitation, the young mare smiled, though it was still a little uncertain. "Y-Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Princess Twilight is probably a little busy on crowd control right now, so I'd rather not get in her way."

"We should probably start with the staff back here," Samba recommended. "If anypony saw anything, this is likely where it'd be."

"Sure. Lead the way, Boss," said Luster, putting her confidence in Samba.

A small grin appeared on Samba's face. It was certainly an odd feeling to be considered the one in charge, but she had to admit, it actually felt a little inspiring to know that somepony else was putting their faith in her for once.

***** ***** *****

Mango Career promptly guided Limbo toward one of the convention center's storage rooms. Most of the people showcasing something at the expo kept their supplies and whatnot safely tucked away when it wasn't in use or if they needed backups in case a particularly grabby attendee decided to maul something with their grimy hooves like a cat with a toy mouse. Standing outside the door to the room Career's people were using was a burly earth pony stallion with a golden coat and light blue mane. He seemed pretty tough on the outside, with his chest puffed out intimidatingly, but the moment he saw Career approaching, he noticeably deflated, looking rather ashamed.

"'Pologies, Boss. I didn't notice nopony s'picious, I swear," the stallion apologized surprisingly meekly.

Career responded with a frustrated sigh, but raised a hoof dismissively. "We're not throwing around blame just yet, Quad. We need information first. Is Hotwire inside?"

Quad hesitated. "Uh... Hotwire's the..."

"Orange coat, black mane," Career told him.

"Oh, yeah, he's here."

Limbo quirked an eyebrow at that odd exchange. She glanced between the lanyards around both of their necks, noting that both bore the logo of Mango Incorporated. "He a new hire or something?"

Quad scratched his head with an awkward blush. "Uh, nope. Been working with Boss for five years. I 'members faces real well, but I'm not so good with names."

"Guess that means we can skip introductions and get straight to investigating the crime scene," said Limbo as she and Career entered the store room.

The inside of the room was pretty much as Leaf had described it. In fact, he may have been downplaying it. The store room was an utter mess. Nothing was organized, many objects were just left on the floor because the shelves were already overpacked with doodads that Limbo wasn't even going to attempt to identify, and loose extension cords were laying around all over the place, posing a very realistic tripping hazard. It was a wonder they could even see Hotwire digging around in there like a wild dog searching for scraps at the dump.

"Sheesh, maybe the Spellmet wasn't stolen after all," Limbo quipped with a grimace at the mess. "Might just have to hire a team of archeologists to unearth it or something."

"Yeah, sorry about this," Career apologized ashamedly. "Unfortunately, this is commonplace at my company. Our stores and products might be minimalistic, but our offices are a disaster most of the time. You'd be forgiven for thinking we ran a daycare with how much junk is laying around at H.Q. Not that my personal office is in any better a state. I'm almost as bad honestly."

Hotwire pulled himself away from his search to shake his head dejectedly. "It's really not here, sir. I swear we wouldn't have misplaced something so valuable."

Career rubbed his temple, visibly holding himself back. "Whatever the case may be, we have to get the Spellmet back. If somepony really plans to abuse it and people get hurt, everypony is going to pin the blame on me. It's not only going to hurt my reputation, but my company, and my chances in the upcoming election."

Limbo just stared bemusedly at him. "I mean, personally, I'd be more concerned about the people who got hurt before myself, but, you know, different strokes."

Career cast her an impatient glare. "Well, let's hope we can avoid that conundrum altogether. Now, are you going to start your investigation or just stand here lollygagging?"

"Loosen up the bridle, will ya?" Limbo sneered, growing tired of Career's attitude. "Just take a few deep breaths and let a professional do her work, yeah?"

Career backed off, keeping his mouth shut to let Limbo take charge.

"Now then..." she started, glancing around at the mess. "I think the most important info right now would be to figure out who's been in and out of here since the thing vanished. Leaf claimed it was still here when he was last in here. Might need Mr. Muscles to help out on this."

"Me, ma'am?"

"Gyah!" Limbo jumped with a start, finding the hulking security guard standing right behind her. "Geez, how'd a big lug like you sneak up on me like that? Well, whatever. What's your name, big guy?"

"Quad Blast, ma'am."

"Okay, question: when was Loose Leaf last in here?"

Quad blinked blankly.

"My brother," Career elaborated. "Light blue coat, white mane..."

"Oh, okay. Uh, that musta been fifteen minutes ago, or somthin'."

"And how many people have been in here since?" asked Limbo.

"Not countin' you guys, like, ten."

Limbo arched an eyebrow, staring up authoritatively. "'Like, ten'? Is it ten or isn't it?"

"Nah, nah, it was 'xactly ten, ma'am. Positive," Quad stated assuredly.

"And you remember all their faces?"

He nodded proudly. "Sure do, ma'am."

Limbo grimaced. "Okay, stop calling me that. I'm not an old mare."

"What should I call ya, then? I ain't good with names, 'member?"

"Just call me 'Detective.' Although this little tangent doesn't fill me with confidence for my next question, I'm gonna ask anyway. You wouldn't happen to remember the names of the people who've been through here, would you?"

Quad clammed up, his cheeks flushing awkwardly as he broke eye contact.

Limbo turned to Career. "Why'd you hire this guy as a security guard?"

"A physical description of a person is better than nothing. Besides, he's done a stellar job up until now. We've had whack jobs try to break into H.Q. before, and Quad here didn't let them get ten feet in before he jumped them. He's a gentle giant most of the time, but when it comes time to do his job, he's not afraid to break some dumb sap's leg."

"The sound of bones crunchin' makes me feel sick, but I gotta do what I gotta do," Quad said with a shrug.

"Pleasant. So, do you remember anything other than a person's coat and mane color?" Limbo inquired. "Like, if they're wearing anything, or whatever?"

"Yeah, I 'members 'em all wearing their passes." Quad held up his own lanyard. "They all looked like mine."

"Which is to say, they all worked for Mango Career."

Quad tilted his head. "Who?"

Limbo shook her head with a sigh, pointing to Career. "Your boss, bucko."

"So we can safely say that the thief is one of my employees," Career assumed with a disappointed sigh. "I suppose that makes sense considering only they'd have access to this room."

"I only let 'em in if their pass looked like mine," Quad reaffirmed.

"Well, I don't know how much help that actually is," Limbo expressed doubtfully. "Even if we were to assume that the thief isn't a changeling, your guy here only remembers faces. Would he remember if somepony does or doesn't work for you?"

"How do you mean?" Career asked curiously.

"Well, if he was identifying everypony solely by what lanyards they were wearing and couldn't remember anypony's names, it's entirely possible that the thief could've just stolen somepony else's lanyard. But, like I said, we might also be dealing with a changeling who could've disguised themselves as one of your employees, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure changelings can also imitate clothing and accessories."

"So would the best course of action be to have Quad give us a description of everypony who's been to the storage room since Leaf was here and interrogate each of them?" Career presumed.

"Probably. If we are looking for a changeling, then one of the people chunky here saw will say they haven't been in here during that time frame. It'll be nothing concrete, but it's all we've got to go on right now. We just have to hope Princess Twilight trapped the thief in here with us. Alright, brutus, round up those ten people, would ya?"

"My name's Quad Blast, Detective," he corrected with a furrowed brow.

She cast him a deadpan stare. "Really? Wanna call the kettle black while you're at it?"

***** ***** *****

"So you haven't seen anything?"

"Nope. Nothing I'd called 'suspicious activity,'" a mare working for Mango Inc. told Samba.

"And you didn't go into the storage room at all today?"

"Only briefly this morning to grab an extension cord, but that was before the expo even started."

Samba sighed with disappointment. "Alright. Sorry to bother you."

The mare shrugged and went on her way to get back to her work.

"This isn't really going how I planned," Samba muttered in defeat. "We've asked a dozen people already, and nopony's been able to give us any information."

Luster Dawn placed a sympathetic hoof on her shoulder, trying to smile reassuringly. "Don't beat yourself up, Samba. Princess Twilight once told me that sometimes no progress can be progress. It's a process of elimination. As you whittle down the incorrect answers, you'll eventually get to the correct answer."

Samba managed an envious grin. "I wish I had somepony as smart as the princess to teach me when I was growing up."

Luster blushed modestly. "Yeah, well, I more or less just lucked into it."

"If nothing else, we are just killing time until Limbo finishes her investigation, ya?" said Bubble Gust, fluttering above them.

"I guess..." Samba breathed, Gust's words not doing much to make her feel better. "I just wish I could walk away from this feeling like I contributed something a little more meaningful."

"Well, maybe Leaf has found something out by now," Gust mentioned. "Perhaps we should find him as see what he knows."

Luster nodded in eager agreement. "Yeah, that's a good idea. He was in the storage room recently too, right? Maybe he has something that could help and doesn't even realize it himself."

Samba managed a more genuine smile. "Okay, that sounds like a plan."

"I will get a breezie's eye view of the place and see if I can spot him in the crowd," said Gust as she flew up towards the convention center's high ceiling.

While they waited for their scout, Luster cast a friendly grin at Samba. "Hey, if it means anything, we might not have gotten much useful info, but this has still been kinda fun. You know, baring the uneasiness of dealing with a potentially dangerous criminal."

Samba quirked a doubtful eyebrow, figuring she was just trying to cheer her up. "Really? All we've been doing is wandering aimlessly and talking to random people."

Luster shrugged, blushing slightly. "I don't know, I'm still a little new to this 'friendship' thing, so just hanging out with somepony who isn't Princess Twilight is still kind of a new experience. I guess I was worried that I was coming off as a bit awkward. Have I been awkward?"

Samba blinked, a little confused. "What? No. Actually, you've been coming off as pretty sociable, if you ask me."

Luster breathed a sigh of relief. "Really? That's a relief. I thought maybe my attempts at small talk sounded a little forced."

Samba shook her head. "Not at all. If anything, I feel like I've been the awkward one with my pessimism."

"No way," Luster assured her. "Acknowledging your weaknesses is a sign that you want things to change. That's something else Princess Twilight and the professors at the School of Friendship taught me."

Samba didn't say anything, she just mulled over the younger mare's words. It was a little strange how somepony so young could be so wise, but then again, she was Princess Twilight's student. In any case, she thought that Luster might have a point. For as pessimistic and defeatist as she was being, she wouldn't be doing what she was doing right now if not for a desire to change the things about herself that she didn't like.

But before they could continue their conversation, Bubble Gust glided back down. "I found him. He was wandering around near the back of the convention center," she told them, pointing toward the main stage, but indicating the area beyond it.

"Still questioning the crew himself, I guess," Luster surmised.

"The area was actually pretty barren. Only him and a few other ponies," Gust mentioned. "But at least it was easy to find him. Hopefully we can catch up before he heads somewhere else."

"Then let's hurry," Samba suggested as the three followed Bubble Gust's lead.

They started making their way back to the main stage, cutting through the backstage area where the crew was still busy cleaning up or discussing the missing Spellmet. Beyond there, through the back wall of thick curtains, was a sparsely populated area that was obviously meant to be off limits to ordinary attendees. Only a few convention staff members were around, and considering the three mares only possessed regular passes, they figured they might not be allowed back there. Still, they had a clear view of the area from where they were, poking their heads through the black curtains. There was just one problem...

"I don't see Leaf," said Samba, glancing between the few people in the area.

"We must have missed him. Drat," Gust expressed with a wistful sigh. "That stallion is always playing hard to get."

"He couldn't have gotten far, right?" said Luster. "Just fly up and have a quick look again, Ms. Gust."

Bubble Gust nodded and was about to do just that.

"Wait, hang on," Samba insisted keeping her voice down.

Luster Dawn and Bubble Gust followed her gaze. There were a few doors visible from where they stood, but some ways to their left, one of the doors opened. A brown unicorn stallion with a red mane emerged, however, he didn't immediately exit the room. Instead, he cautiously glanced around as if looking for something. The few staff members that were present were too far away and engrossed in conversation to take notice of him, but he somehow didn't notice the three colorful mares partially hidden behind the thick curtains, as he walked out as if nopony could see him. He was wearing a pair of saddlebags on his back, and, notably, didn't appear to have a lanyard. He began walking off in the opposite direction from where Samba, Luster, and Bubble Gust were.

Without much hesitation, Samba clumsily pulled out her spellphone, snapping a quick, albeit off-center photo of the guy before he disappeared around the corner.

"What are you doing?" Luster asked her curiously as the three of them retracted their heads from the curtain.

"You can't say that didn't look suspicious, right? He was looking shifty as heck," answered Samba.

Too curious for her own good, Samba poked her head out again. The few staff members that had been there were now apparently heading off the other way from the suspicious individual, leaving the area devoid of people. Taking her chance, Samba hurried over toward the door the stallion had come from, Luster and Bubble Gust cautiously following her. Samba tried to open it, but could only jiggle the handle slightly.

"Dang. Locked."

"I wonder what's in there," pondered Luster curiously.

"Can you use your magic to open it, Luster?" inquired Gust.

The young mare balked at the suggestion. "What?! Are you nuts?! That'd be illegal, right? Like, breaking and entering."

"That's weird, though. I didn't see that guy lock the door behind him," Samba noted curiously.

"Maybe it is a one way door," Gust speculated. "Perhaps there is another way in from somewhere else. We should ask a staff member to open it for us."

"That might have to wait. What if that guy was the thief? We have to tell Limbo and Princess Twilight right away." Samba took out her spellphone again. "I'll send you the picture I took, Luster. You go show it to the princess and I'll try and track down Limbo, okay? We can reconvene backstage."

Luster nodded, looking a tad nervous all of a sudden. "Uh, o-okay."

Samba noticed the quiver in her voice. "Um, maybe you should go with her, Gust."

Bubble Gust agreed, guiding a somewhat uneasy Luster back out towards the convention center proper to inform Princess Twilight of the suspicious person. Meanwhile, Samba needed to track down Limbo. If this sketchy guy was the Spellmet thief, then that meant he could also be the Ghost of Baltimare. Limbo was going to want to hear about this.

***** ***** *****

Ten ponies—a mixture of mares and stallions, and earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi—were lined up all in a row. They were all ill at ease, for each of them knew why they were there, but were worried they'd be pinned for a crime they didn't commit. Limbo paced back and forth, eyeing up each one of them with harsh scrutiny as though this were a police lineup.

"So, these are all the potential malcontents, huh?" Limbo uttered as if to intimidate them.

Quad Blast nodded his head. "Yup. I 'members all of 'em goin' in and out of the store room."

"Hmm..." Limbo narrowed her eyes, scanning the group of nervous ponies. Given how much they were sweating, it was difficult to determine which one was actually the guilty party. So it was time to start squeezing them for information. Limbo suddenly slid over to one pegasus stallion in the group, eliciting a wince from him. "When were you in the store room and what were you doing?!"

"I-I don't remember what time!" he stammered in a panic. "I-I just know it was after Mr. Career's presentation, that's all!"

Limbo narrowed her eyes insistently.

The stallion gulped. "I-I just went in there to put away some lights, I swear!"

Limbo glanced back at Quad.

"Saw 'im with the lights. Came back out with nuthin'," the security guard answered assuredly.

The detective nodded, but gave the guy one last warning glare before moving on, letting him breath a sigh of relief. Limbo next turned her attention to a young unicorn mare who was practically quivering. "Looking a little hot under the collar there, miss. Something gnawing at your conscience?" Limbo pressed threateningly.

She forced a shaky smile in a vain attempt to seem nonchalant, but the beads of sweat said more than she could. Her eyes shifted between Limbo and Mango Career, her boss standing quietly nearby and waiting with a furrowed brow for her response. "N-No, of course not. I-I was just doing my job, moving, uh... stuff from... you know... point A to p-point B. Yeah."

Limbo cocked an eyebrow. "'Moving stuff,' huh? You put that on your résumé? Hey, beefcake, what was she moving?"

Quad gave his coworker a suspicious look. "Weren't moving nuthin' from what I seen. Walked in empty-hooved, came out empty-hooved. Was in there an awful long time too."

"Is that right?" Limbo sneered, getting all up in the mare's face. "What were you doin' in there that took so long, huh? Maybe something you shouldn't have?"

The mare's lips began to quiver, and in just a few moments under the pressure Limbo was applying, she cracked. "Okay! I admit it! I did a bad!"

Mango Career took a step forward, surprised, but hopeful.

"We were so busy, and there was no time to step outside!" the mare explained guiltily. "So I... I took a smoke break in the store room!"

Limbo blinked. "A... smoke break?"

"I hadn't had a cigarette all morning. I felt like I was gonna lose it..." the mare whined, falling back onto her haunches, practically on the verge of tears. The pegasus mare standing beside her in the lineup placed a sympathetic hoof on her shoulder to comfort her.

"I thought somethin' smelled funny," Quad muttered. "Jus' thought I was thinkin' too hard again."

Limbo rolled her eye with a groan. "Jeez, you really know how to pick 'em, huh, Career?"

Career sighed in disappointment. "Her nicotine addiction is something we'll address another time. We've more important things to focus on right now."

The mare hung her head in shame, the supportive expression from her coworkers making this look like an impromptu intervention as opposed to an interrogation.

"Well, whatever," Limbo said with a shrug. "Let's just keep moving down the line here."

The other ponies tensed up, their reactions suggesting they had their own little skeletons they were hiding, but Limbo wasn't exactly hopeful at this point that any of these people had the mental acuity to pull off a heist.

"Limbo, there you are!"

The detective's attention was drawn to Samba, who was quickly trotting over.

"I need to show you something," Samba said.

"Can it wait? I'm kinda busy interrogating here," explained Limbo impatiently, eager to drill the rest of her suspects.

"This is important," insisted Samba. "I think you should see this."

Reluctantly, Limbo relented to the request with a quiet groan. "Alright, what's up?"

Samba removed her spellphone and showed her the picture she took of the strange stallion.

"What, you the paparazzi now? This some celebrity who burped in public or something and you're gonna slam them on national T.V. for it?"

"What? No. Me, Luster Dawn, and Bubble Gust saw this guy come out of that door there, and he was acting super shifty."

Limbo took the phone and analyzed the photo. "Yeah? Hmm... Yo, big dude, you recognize this guy?" She showed Quad the picture.

He looked it over quickly. "Mmm, nope. Never seen 'im afore. Ain't even wearin' a pass, so I wouldn'ta let 'im in the store room anyhow."

Limbo looked at the picture again. "Huh. That is weird. You know, you might be onto something here, Samba. Can't say if it's related to the theft or not, but it's not like anypony's going anywhere with the princess's barrier around the place. Speaking of which—"

"Got it covered. Luster Dawn is showing Princess Twilight the picture now," Samba told her with a grin.

"Nice work, Samba," Limbo lauded proudly. "This at least gives me something to go off of. Now it's just a matter of tracking the guy down."

Samba glanced to the lineup of ten ponies, most of them breathing sighs of deep relief, save for one mare he was trembling like she was just traumatized by something. "I thought you were busy. You wanna finish up here first?"

Limbo scoffed dismissively. "Pfft, based on what I've seen so far, I doubt I'm gonna get anything from this lot." She held up Samba's spellphone. "Hey, mind if I borrow this so I can ask around if anypony's seen him?"

Samba hesitated, remembering what Limbo had told her about Poe's phone. "Uh, sure, but just leave the picture open and don't touch anything."

"Gotcha." Limbo was about to be on her way, but the phone suddenly buzzed in her hooves. She stared at it for a moment, then at Samba uncertainly.

"Uh, just... let me." Samba took the phone back, checking her texts. "Oh, it's Luster." She began reading, her eyes suddenly widening. "Oh! Apparently Bubble Gust spotted the guy over in the magic wing of the building!"

Limbo began to trot in place impatiently. "Okay, okay! Uh, get that picture out again and gimme! I gotta hurry!"

"R-Right." Samba did just that and passed the phone back to Limbo.

"Okay, I'll go try to nab the perp!" Limbo briefly turned back to the ten ponies, as well as Quad and Career. "Uh, you guys can just, uh... Whatever, I don't care, figure something out." And that was all she said before she bolted off, Samba's phone between her teeth.

Samba hesitated. She may have helped, but she had a bad feeling in her gut. So, even if it meant another scolding, she decided to discreetly try and follow Limbo.

***** ***** *****

Limbo zigged and zagged her way through the crowd on her way to the west wing of the convention, bumping into many people in her haste and earning more than a few irate glowers. Her rushed movements did have an unfortunate effect of making her look suspicious when everypony was on alert because of the princess's shield, so she'd had to slow down every now and then to explain that she was a detective to more people than she cared to. That meant lost time, which meant the suspect could be somewhere else by now.

She spent the better part of five minutes just clumsily weaving around and keeping her single eye open for her target, occasionally rearing up to get a better view of her surroundings—what she wouldn't give to be a pegasus right about now. But seeing as she was having difficulty spotting the guy in the crowd herself, she decided to show the picture on Samba's phone to some random strangers in the hopes that they had. No luck there, unfortunately.

However, Limbo could see Princess Twilight's head poking up above the crowd. It might behoove her to ask for the princess's aid in weeding out the suspect, but she looked like she was still busy keeping the attendees calm and under control.

Samba's phone suddenly vibrated again, shuddering between Limbo's teeth and sending uncomfortable vibrations through her skull. She shook it off and looked at the phone. A notification on the screen said that she'd received another text from Luster Dawn, but Limbo hesitated. There was a big button on the screen that said, "Open," but Limbo was reluctant to press it in fear of somehow ruining Samba's phone. But given the last text Luster sent, this could be pertinent. So, taking a chance, Limbo held a shaky hoof over the phone, closed her eyes, and prayed to Celestia that she didn't botch this with her tech-illiterate hooves. She heard the clack of her hoof against the screen, didn't hear the ominous beeping of a self-destruct protocol, and reopened her eye.

Much to her surprise and relief, Luster's text was now open on the screen. Limbo took a moment to compose herself before reading it.

Gust saw him again over by the bathrooms.

Limbo glanced around in the airspace above the crowd. Apparently, Bubble Gust was doing some reconnaissance for them, but she couldn't spot her anywhere at the moment. She was a pretty tiny person in a very large venue, and there were plenty of signs and banners hanging from the rafters that could obscure a little creature like her. But Limbo didn't have time to waste, not even bothering to reopen the photo on Samba's phone, but mostly because she didn't want to push her luck. She wasn't about to let this lead slip away, so she quickly asked somepony which way the bathrooms were and hurried off like a bat out of Tartarus, at this point looking more like somepony who was desperate to use the toilet more than anything.

She eventually found herself in a less populated area of the convention, away from the booths and displays in the magic section. Only a few staff members were hanging around near an emergency exit—not that it did much good with Twilight's barrier in place. However, there was one other person within sight: a low-flying breezie. Bubble Gust was hovering about twenty feet from the ground—still some distance from the ceiling, but close enough to the ground to be within reasonable earshot.

Limbo was about to call out to her, but Bubble Gust spotted her as well, holding a hoof to her lips to sign to Limbo to stay silent. The breezie then pointed down the way, towards the hallway leading to the bathrooms. There, Limbo spotted him; the stallion from Samba's picture with the brown coat and red mane. He was just standing there as though waiting for something. Limbo tried to stay out of his line of sight for now, signaling for Bubble Gust to fly down to her.

"What is your plan?" Gust asked in a hushed tone.

"Still figuring that out, but at least I've got a bead on the guy now. Here." Limbo held out Samba's phone to Gust. "Can you get this back to Samba?"

Gust cast her a deadpan stare. "Really? I cannot even wear a lanyard. How am I supposed to deliver a spellphone across the building?"

"You're resourceful, figure it out. I've got bigger fish to fry right now," Limbo said, keeping her eye trained on her target.

Gust rolled her eyes with a groan. "Fine. I will try and drag it over to where Luster Dawn and the princess are and try not to get trampled on the way."

"Yeah, yeah, you do that," Limbo muttered dismissively.

The detective started making her way over to the suspect. She decided to act casual, hoping that he wouldn't see her as a threat and was just heading for the bathroom, then she could maybe jump him when she got close. Then again, she couldn't even be entirely sure if this guy was even doing anything wrong. Maybe trying to strike up a conversation could yield some results.

However, she didn't even get close enough to say hello before he happened to turn in her direction. The moment the stallion's eyes landed on her, a look of panic came over him and he bolted down the corridor towards the bathrooms.

And that was all the evidence Limbo needed. She galloped after the guy as fast as her legs could carry her. In his panic, he'd essentially cornered himself by running this way, and she caught a quick glimpse of his red tail disappearing into the stallions' bathroom. Limbo couldn't care less about the social ramifications of chasing him in there when she was in such hot pursuit. He wasn't getting away from her now.

Limbo charged through the door, keeping her guard up in case he was waiting to ambush her, but the stallion was frantically looking around for something on the other end of the room, perhaps an escape route like a vent or something. But, unfortunately for him, he was trapped like a rat in a smelly cage.

Seeing no other way out, the perp had no choice but to face off with Limbo. The two stood in silence for a few moments, their glares clashing as though this were to be a fated battle. And Limbo knew why. This had to be them; the person Limbo had been chasing tirelessly for the past few years. A random stranger wouldn't have reacted to the sight of her like he did.

"So, we meet at last. Again," Limbo stated dramatically. "Not gonna lie, this is bittersweet. It's like the end of an era. Whaddaya say we make this a day to remember, 'Ghost'?"

The stallion just continued to glare, staying silent.

"Really? Nothing?" Limbo grumbled in frustration. "We finally have our big face off after all this time and you've got nothing to say? No long monologue? No quips about how you've killed me once already? No threats towards Poe?"

Again, he just glared in silence.

Limbo breathed a disgruntled huff through her nostrils. "Geez, you're such a buzzkill. Fine, whatever, let's get this over with, then."

The perp threw his saddlebags on the ground, quickly reaching a hoof in a removing a short dagger.

"Ooh, you came prepared. Musta been a hassle getting that past security," Limbo remarked fearlessly, flashing a challenging smirk. "Let's see what good it does you."

Limbo suddenly rushed toward him, the knife doing nothing to deter her. The stallion thrust the blade forward to meet her head on, but, putting her police training to good use, Limbo expertly batted his hoof away and countered with a firm chop to the side of his head. The stallion staggered over to the sinks, using the counter to regain his balance.

"Well, that's disappointing," Limbo sighed as her opponent recovered. "I was hoping you'd offer just as much a physical challenge as you did mental, but in the end, you're just another thug."

Seemingly taking offense to the comment, the thief lunged at her, tackling her to the ground and wasting no time plunging the dagger into her chest.

Limbo winced in pain, but cast another cocky smirk up at her attacker. "Gonna have to try harder than that this time."

The stallion seemed a little surprised by her nonchalant response to being stabbed through the ribs. So he removed the knife and jammed it right back in, but into the side of her neck this time. But, again, Limbo's smarmy grin still showed through whatever pain he was inflicting. Seemingly taking her lackadaisical reactions as a challenge, a sinister smile stretched across his muzzle. He grabbed the blade's handle with both hooves, pushing it all the way to the hilt and dragging it across her neck. Limbo's partially rotted flesh split rather easily against the sharp edge, peeling her head off like the lid of a tin can. She let out a loud, exaggerated gurgle, her single eye rolling back into her skull.

Her body went limp as the stallion finished decapitating her, her coagulated blood not leaving much of a mess thankfully. The thief released the knife as he stood up, staring down at the unmoving, headless corpse on the bathroom floor. Curiously, he picked up Limbo's severed head. Her tongue was lolling out of her mouth almost comically, and the silver of her eye could barely be seen from how far back it had rolled.

Obviously he couldn't just leave a dead body on the floor, but there wasn't exactly much he could do to dispose of it right now. So he dragged her corpse over to one of the stalls, propping her up against the toilet seat so that somepony who happened to come in might just think it was a sick pony vomiting. Then, to add insult to injury, he dropped Limbo's head into the toilet bowl, causing a wet splat as she landed face down in the dirty water.

The stallion gently closed the stall door, then took a moment to recompose himself. But before he even had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, the stall door suddenly burst open again, striking him violently in the backside and knocking him over. Glancing back quickly, his pupils shrunk as he witnessed the horrifying sight of a headless mare standing over him, the knife wound in her chest healing over before his eyes. He attempted to scramble back to his hooves, but Limbo's body jumped on top of him, wrestling him back to the ground and effectively pinning his hooves and immobilizing him despite not being able to see what she was doing.

Limbo would have liked to make a snarky comment right about know, but that desire was stymied by the toilet water in her mouth. Unfortunately, she was too busy holding down her perp to retrieve her head, so even though she had him incapacitated, she was still in a bit of a predicament. Suffice to say, the next person to walk through the bathroom door was going to be witness to quite the sight.

***** ***** *****

Samba hurriedly weaved through the crowd in search of Limbo. She'd unfortunately lost sight of her in the sea of people, so tracking her down might be a chore. She wasn't exactly concerned for her well being—honestly, she was more worried about getting her phone back intact—but Samba knew she felt the same way. Limbo's own safety wasn't a concern to her, so Samba expected her to be a little reckless. And in a densely populated area like the convention, that could be risky. So it was in Samba's best interest to keep her eye on her partner.

"Samba!"

Samba halted, recognizing Luster Dawn's voice through the cacophony of other voices. Both she and Bubble Gust could be seen hurrying over to her.

Luster held out a spellphone—Samba's spellphone. "Here."

Samba received it, but cast a confused look back at her. "I gave this to Limbo. Where is she?"

"She chased the thief into the bathroom," Bubble Gust explained.

"Is she okay?"

Gust shrugged. "She did not come back out before I left to find Luster."

"Where's the bathroom?" Samba asked urgently.

"Are you sure it is a good idea to follow her?" questioned Gust. "It could be dangerous."

Samba hesitated. "I-I know. But... who else is gonna help her if something happens?"

Bubble Gust observed the concerned look in Samba's eyes, then began fluttering off. "This way."

Samba and Luster hurriedly followed Bubble Gust to the west wing of the building and to the corridor leading to the bathrooms. They briefly glanced between the stallions' and mares' bathrooms.

"Uh, which one did they go into?" asked Luster, hoping for one answer over the other.

"I did not see," answered Bubble Gust.

Samba just decided to swallow her dignity for the time being, placing her hoof upon the door to the stallions' room and cautiously pushed it open. But the sight she witnessed on the other side immediately prompted her to slam it shut once more, startling Luster and Bubble Gust before they had a chance to see inside. Samba just stood there momentarily, eyes wide and unblinking.

"What's the matter, Samba? You look like you saw a ghost," Luster commented, not realizing how close that actually was to the truth.

"Um..." Samba flashed a very forced and shaky grin in an effort to hopefully deter any further curiosity. "I-It looks like Limbo has things under control. Uh, I'm gonna go in and see if she needs any help. You two stay out here, okay?"

The other two mares shared puzzled looks at her strange behavior, but stepped back silently to let her do her thing.

Samba carefully slipped inside, taking a moment to process the scene in the bathroom. She certainly wasn't expecting to be staring straight at the open neck of Limbo's reanimated body as she kept a guy pinned to the ground. But the question was: where was her head?

"Limbo?" Samba called out.

She received a response in the form of wet and aggravated burbling. Samba followed the sound to one of the bathroom stalls, recoiling at the sight of Limbo's head face down in the toilet bowl. Limbo continued to gurgle desperately into the water.

Samba groaned quietly, knowing what she had to do, but not being too chuffed about it. "I really wish I could say this was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in a public bathroom..."

With no lack of hesitation, Samba reluctantly reached in and grabbed Limbo's wet head. This was one of those moments were she really wished she could use magic, but she managed to soldier through it for Limbo's sake.

Once free from her porcelain prison, Limbo immediately spat the water out of her mouth in disgust. "Ugh. I know this is rich coming from me, but that was gross. Guess I should at least be thankful the last guy in here remembered to flush. Thanks for the rescue, Samba. I owe you another one."

Samba flipped the head around to look Limbo in the face, the detective's mane sopping wet with toilet water. "You were just lucky it was me that happened to show up. Luster Dawn and Bubble Gust are right outside."

"Then what're you waiting for? I can't keep this guy down all day."

Samba carried Limbo's head back to her body, making sure to hold her at leg's length to avoid as much of the dripping water as possible. Being careful not to get too close to the struggling perp underneath Limbo, Samba positioned Limbo's head over her neck, letting the necromancy spell do its work and reconnect the flesh and sinew.

Limbo rolled her reattached head around with a relieved moan. "Much better." She then shot a cocksure smirk down at her adversary. "Kill me once, shame on you. Kill me twice... Uh... Well, you couldn't, that's the point."

"So this guy really is the Ghost?" Samba inquired, looking him over from a safe distance as he squirmed.

"They have to be. They definitely recognized me when they saw me. All things considered, they didn't have quite the same reaction you did when you found out about my 'condition.' Even went so far as to completely decapitate me." Again, she smirked triumphantly. "Guess you couldn't get Poe to talk, huh? Had to learn the hard way that me and her fell from the same stubborn tree."

Her attacker didn't say anything, just continuing to wriggle beneath her.

Limbo grimaced. "You know, you're really sucking the satisfaction out of this for me. Samba, you wanna go get something to tie this guy up with?"

***** ***** *****

Having apprehended the culprit, Samba enlisted the help of Quad Blast to carry the Ghost back to the backstage area, the perpetrator tied up with several spare extension cords. Most of the Mango Inc. staff were told to vacate the area for the time being, while Luster Dawn and Bubble Gust went to inform the princess of what happened. That left Limbo, Samba, Mango Career, and Quad Blast gathered around the bound criminal. But even now, all the Ghost did was sit quietly and sneer back at them—primarily Limbo.

After a short time, Luster Dawn and Bubble Gust returned, and following behind them was Princess Twilight and a few police officers, including Sergeant Night Owl.

"I've lowered the barrier and the police are escorting the attendees out of the building," said Princess Twilight.

Night Owl cast an inquisitive look at the captured stallion, then gave Limbo an indifferent glare. "Eventful day?"

Limbo shrugged. "Beats a night at the movies."

Owl sighed with some slight annoyance. "Alright, the princess explained what was going on, but I'm gonna need some details for this report."

"Guy stole something, tried to attack me, got his butt whooped. That good?" explained Limbo with a grin.

"What'd he steal?"

"My Spellmet," answered Career.

Owl arched an eyebrow. "Your what?"

"A device that lets any magic-using creature copy spells that are logged into it," Twilight elaborated concisely.

After hearing that description, Owl's eyes widened, turning to Limbo.

The detective flashed him a toothy and victorious grin. "You heard that right, punk."

Owl glared at the stallion wrapped with extension cords. "You really think this guy's the Ghost, huh?"

"You still doubting me?"

"Just a little hard to believe that it would be that easy."

Limbo closed her eye for a moment. "You're not wrong. Something is definitely still off here."

"Can we focus on what's important right now?" Career insisted, snarling at the criminal. "Where's the Spellmet?"

The stallion didn't respond.

"They've been like this the whole time," Limbo told him. "Lips zipped tight. Kind of annoying, honestly."

"It's probably in his saddlebags," said Samba, holding up the bags she'd retrieved from the bathroom.

Limbo took the bags and dumped their contents out on the ground. However, all that came out was a bunch of cables, batteries, and other spare gear for electronics, but no Spellmet.

Career growled at the stallion, grabbing him furiously by the shoulders. "Where is it?! What'd you do with it?!"

His anger didn't get any sort of reaction from him.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to back away from the suspect, sir," Owl warned Career tersely, prompting the incensed businessman to back off reluctantly.

"It must still be here somewhere, right?" assumed Luster Dawn.

Samba's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh! That's right! We saw him coming out of a room out there," she said, pointing toward the black curtains in the back of the area. "The door was locked when we checked, so maybe he hid it in there."

"Quad, find a staff member and have them unlock the door," Career ordered.

The burly stallion nodded and hurried off.

While they waited, Owl eyed up the criminal one more time. "So, you haven't been able to get anything from him, huh?"

Limbo shook her head. "Nope. Like I said, there's something weird about this whole thing."

"How so?" asked Twilight.

"Well, not only have they not made a single sound the whole time, but they came at me with a knife held in their hoof. Guy's a unicorn, so why hold it with your hoof, right?"

"Maybe he has funnel horn," Luster Dawn speculated, casting a quick glance at Samba.

"I doubt it. I'm confident this person's the Ghost of Baltimare. And as I stated earlier, I have my suspicions that they may be a changeling." Limbo eyed the perp in vexation. "But it's not just that. Everything about their movements was clumsy and reckless. And we haven't really gotten them to react to anything at all since we apprehended them. Can barely get them to look at us when we're talking to them."

Princess Twilight hummed in thought, staring analytically at the stallion. Then, without any warning, she loosed a bolt of magic from her horn. It struck the criminal square in the chest, and his body immediately began to disintegrate into pink, magical dust, the extension cords falling to the ground.

Everypony else reeled in horror at the sight.

"What the hay?! What was that?!" Owl blurted in shock.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh," Samba uttered shakily. "Sh-She just... killed him!"

"What the frick are you doing?!" Limbo bellowed at the princess. "That was the Ghost! We didn't get to find out where they were keeping the victims!"

"That wasn't a real person," Twilight stated calmly.

Everypony blinked blankly as they let their brains process that.

Luster Dawn stared quizzically at her teacher. "It wasn't?"

"No. That was a copy created using the similo duplexis spell."

"How did you know that?" inquired Bubble Gust, amazed by the princess's perceptiveness.

Instead of answering, Twilight turned to Mango Career. "Mr. Career, can the Spellmet replicate a spell with the same effectiveness as the original caster?"

Career hesitated, still a little shaken by what he'd just witnessed. "Uh, well, yes, it should. It can only output so much power, but most spells are more about technique rather than power, and that's what the Spellmet emulates. Anypony—even somepony with funnel horn—should be able to cast the spells logged within."

"Why is that important, though?" asked Samba. "Doesn't this just mean the culprit is somewhere else wearing the Spellmet? The one you used in the presentation had similo duplexis recorded, right?"

"Based on Detective Limbo's description, the version of similo duplexis that this person used was an imperfect version. The spell can be difficult to perform due to how overwhelming it can be on the senses."

"I can attest to that," Luster interjected. "It was like I could see, hear, even smell everything twice. It was super weird. I couldn't even concentrate on maintaining the spell it was so disorienting."

"Precisely. This is why there are lesser versions of the spell that reduce sensory overload by removing certain functions from the copy. For example, the ability to speak or use magic."

"So how does that help us?" questioned Limbo. "They just used the lesser version, then, right?"

"Technically speaking, the different versions of the spells are considered separate spells. That is to say, the lesser version wasn't logged in the Spellmet's memory."

Limbo tapped her chin in thought. "So what you're saying is that the Ghost already knew that version of simplo dupli-whatever?"

"That's very possible. But even then, it can still be difficult to maintain a spell like that without practice, as the copy will mostly just mirror the caster's movements unless they have great concentration. Studies have shown people can have better control if they close their eyes, or restrain their own movements somehow."

Limbo and Owl exchanged knowing glances. "You know what that means, right, Owl?" said Limbo seriously.

Owl simply nodded. "It had to be the Ghost. One of the victims knew a similar spell."

"But that doesn't make sense, does it?" Samba interjected. "How would the Ghost be able to use the spell if they didn't have the Spellmet until now?"

"We don't know how adept with magic the Ghost actually is," Owl answered. "If a middle-aged librarian can use the spell, maybe the Ghost can too. They just had to force her to teach them the spell. But this also means the criminal is still at large."

Twilight hung her head remorsefully. "I guess I let my shield down a little prematurely. The real Ghost may have very well escaped by now. I'm sorry, Sergeant."

Owl waved off her apology, though not without a hint of frustration. "Don't blame yourself, Your Highness. Could've happened to anypony."

"Boss!"

Everypony turned to see Quad Blast returning, and leaning against his shoulder was Loose Leaf, looking more than a little haggard. Everypony hurried over to find out what had happened, noticing a few bruises forming on his chest and legs, but, more curiously, the inhibitor ring on his horn.

"We opened that locked door, an' your brother was lyin' on the floor, conked out," Quad explained.

Bubble Gust placed her tiny hooves on his muzzle, deep concern in her eyes. "What happened to you, Leafy?!"

"And what about the Spellmet?! Do you know where it is?!" Career asked hysterically.

Leaf groaned, casting his brother a weary, deadpan glare. "I'm fine, thanks for asking," he grumbled sarcastically. He removed himself from Quad's shoulder to stand on his own, rubbing his head and looking a little woozy. "I was asking around, figured I'd check as many nooks and crannies as I could, but when I opened the broom closet, some guy jumped me."

"That closet was a real mess, sir," Quad commented. "Musta been quite the struggle."

"Was kinda one-sided, if I'm being honest. It was pitch black in there, so I didn't even have a chance to see the guy before he knocked me out."

"And he slapped that ring on you to prevent you from magicking your way out if you woke up," Limbo presumed.

"Huh?" Leaf turned his eyes up to his horn. "Oh. I didn't even notice that."

"We can help you get that off back at the station," Night Owl offered.

"We should have you checked for any injuries while we're at it," suggested Twilight.

"I think I'm alright," Leaf claimed, though with noticeable exhaustion. "Just some bumps and bruises. I can tough it out."

"I am sure you can," cooed Bubble Gust, admiring his will.

Career let out a long groan, scuffing up his immaculately gelled mane in frustration. "I was hoping that the Ghost was simply hiding in there with the Spellmet..."

Leaf scowled. "Sorry, Mango. Just your unconscious little brother. Nothing important."

"Don't start, Leaf. You just said you were fine."

"Well, this explains a lot," Limbo sighed. "The copy was obviously a distraction. They must have intentionally made themselves look suspicious by not wearing a lanyard, even though they could've taken Leaf's after knocking him out, then just waited for me to find them outside the bathrooms. And I took the bait. They let the fake get caught, because, let's face it, that spell would likely make handling oneself in a fight kinda difficult, if Princess Twilight's description is anything to go by. Their capture then prompted the princess to lower the barrier, at which point the perp made their escape, blending in with the crowd that the police were evacuating."

"Which unfortunately means they got away with the Spellmet," Twilight reiterated regretfully.

"You shouldn't put so much pressure on yourself, Princess," said Luster Dawn with a reassuring smile. "You can't hold yourself responsible for every little thing when you've got a whole kingdom to run."

Twilight grinned back. "You're right. I should just have faith that the local law enforcement can handle this. Still, I must admit that today has been more exciting than I was expecting. It's been a long time since I've been involved in a good mystery. And one that doesn't just revolve around pastries," she giggled. "Even if the criminal escaped, I dare to say this has even been kinda fun."

"For you perhaps..." grumbled Career.

"Still, I do feel guilty," Twilight repeated. "So if there's anything I can do to help, just—"

Princess Twilight was interrupted by a buzzing sound, followed by a rather odd song.

"I'm the T to the W-I, L-I-G-H-T. And ain't no other pony break it down like me. I'm Twili—"

Twilight fumbled to remove her spellphone, desperately cutting her custom ringtone short. She glanced at the crowd of people staring at her with puzzled expressions, save for Luster Dawn, who was struggling to contain her laughter. Twilight grinned very awkwardly, her lavender face practically glowing red. "I, uh... I have to take this. Excuse me." She turned to step away, but briefly turned back with a harsh, authoritative glare. "And you'll forget you heard that."

As the princess stepped away to answer her phone, Limbo looked at Owl. "So, still think I've been grasping at straws?"

"You got lucky," he sneered. "But at least this gives us a place to start."

Career cocked an eyebrow. "A place to start? Where exactly is that?"

"Mango Inc.," Owl stated upfront.

The businessman balked at his insinuation. "What? Why?"

"The evidence is piling up, Mr. Career," said Owl, pointing to Leaf—specifically his horn. "This is the second case in two days where an inhibitor ring has been used, and I know your company is the leading manufacturer in Baltimare."

"On top of that, you'd have a hard time convincing me that this theft was not premeditated," added Limbo. "The Ghost clearly had inside knowledge about your invention, so the culprit has to be somepony who works at your company."

Career drew back, biting his lip as he clearly did not want to believe that. "As much as I'd like to argue otherwise, I suppose that makes some sense."

"And I've mentioned a few times already that I believe the Ghost is a changeling," Limbo reminded him. "You have many changelings working at Mango Inc., Mr. Career."

"Of course I do. I take pride in the diversity on display at our company," he answered defensively. "But you can't actually expect me to single out our changeling employees because of this. That would be profiling and discrimination."

Limbo shrugged. "I don't like it any more than you do, but if you want to help our investigation progress and get that prototype back, it'd be a way you can help."

Career grumbled reluctantly. "I'll... see what I can do."

After that, Twilight returned to the group with an exasperated sigh.

"What was that about, Princess?" asked Luster.

"That was Spike. He was in a panic over something. He was just rambling something about Discord, and goldfish, and hyperspace." Twilight ran a hoof through her mane with another sigh. "I swear, I can't leave the castle for a single day off without disaster striking. I'm sorry, Mr. Career, it looks like I'll have to cut my visit short. I wish I could help more."

Career flicked a hoof dismissively, though not without some disappointment. "That's fine. You were plenty help. Thank you for coming, Your Majesty."

"It was an honor to meet you," Samba expressed with a courteous bow. However, she jerked back up as a thought occurred to her. "Oh! Uh, before you go—and this is gonna sound kinda selfish—do you mind if I take a picture with you? F-For my daughter, obviously."

Twilight grinned accommodatingly. "Sure."

Samba gave Luster her spellphone to snap a quick pic of an exuberant Samba standing beside the princess.

"Alright, then." Twilight looked down to her student. "You ready to head home, Luster?"

The pink mare nodded with a grin. "Sure. But, uh, you go on ahead. I'll catch up in a minute."

Twilight smiled herself as she made to leave. "It was nice meeting all of you. Good luck with the investigation."

Luster Dawn looked to Samba with a big smile as she passed her spellphone back to her. "I gotta say, this was a pretty crazy day. Not gonna lie, I was kinda mentally rolling my eyes when the princess invited me to come out here with her. I knew it was just because she wanted to geek out at the stuff here. But it was pretty fun. You know, the scariness of the situation notwithstanding. I don't know if I could've handled it nearly as well if you weren't here, Samba."

Samba blushed, a little caught off guard by that comment. "R-Really? Uh, well, I'm glad I could help? Sorry, I'm not sure what to say in response to that."

"Well, in any case, it was great meeting you. I'll give you a text if I'm ever in Baltimare again so we can hang out. Or, you know, if you ever wanna just chat. You have my number."

"Okay. I'll stay in touch."

Samba was expecting a hoofshake before they said goodbye, but instead, Luster gave her a friendly hug. When the younger mare noticed the slightly bewildered look on Samba's face, she blushed nervously. "Oh, too much? Sorry, like I said, still kind of a newbie to this whole 'friendship' thing."

Samba waved it off with a smile. "That's okay. I'm not that experienced myself, if I'm being honest."

"Well, catch you later." Luster waved goodbye, hurrying off to catch up to the princess.

With that exchange over, Limbo gave Samba a coy nudge. "What, recruiting sidekicks of your own now? Gonna start your own agency to give me some competition?"

Samba's ears drooped. "I didn't overstep again, did I? Sorry, I just wanted to help."

Limbo shook her head. "Nah. You did good. And it looks like you learned a thing or two in the process."

Samba tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

The detective shrugged, but her smirk never faded. "You'll figure it out. Come on, let's put a bow on this whole thing and head home."