WARNING: THE AUTHOR'S NOTE FOR THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR MAKE YOUR MARK CHAPTER 5. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.
The six ponies (that is, Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, Zipp, and Misty) had gathered at the Brighthouse, which was considered neutral ground for the purposes of discussion. This was because it was where the four of the six lived, and as they were each members of each tribe they could be considered to be impartial in their findings. But you already knew this.
Already, Zipp was getting the slideshow set up whilst Hitch and Izzy were pushing the sofas together. "These sofas are heavier than I remember!" Hitch said.
"That's probably because Pipp is sitting on one!" Izzy ventured.
"Are you calling me fat?"
"No. Just the addition of a pony on top of an object will make it heavier, that's all. Basic science." Izzy smiled. "Besides, I've already made some snacks for us during the presentation."
Hitch sighed. "Izzy, this is a serious conversation about an accident, not a movie night. I somehow don't think that popcorn fits the mood very well."
Izzy grinned again. "I didn't make popcorn! I made brownies!"
Hitch rolled his eyes. "Sometimes, I really don't get you, Izzy."
Sunny popped out of the kitchen with her notes. "This is really bad!" she said.
"What's happened?" Pipp asked.
"I accidentally blew up the blender!" Sunny answered. "This latest strain of pearnana is too stough for the blender blades. We need to get a softer version made pretty soon."
"Interesting," Pipp answered.
Just then, Misty arrived. "Uh, sorry I'm late. Anywhere you want me to sit?"
"You can sit with me!" Izzy said, inviting her up next to her. "Two unicorns together!"
Everypony got seated, the lights went down, and Zipp began her presentation. "Greetings, everypony. As you probably know there was an accident on the railroad a few days back. A train fell off a bridge and caused some damage." She noticed Misty looking about and generally behaving oddly, but decided not to comment yet. "This may seem like a bold statement, but I have reason to believe that this was no accident. It was an act of sabotage."
"Not an act of sabotage!" Izzy said dramatically. She then noticed the others were looking at her in confusion. "What? I'm trying to make it dramatic!"
"I took some photos inside the cab of the wrecked engine, and this is the smoking gun, so to speak."
"I can't see a smoking gun," Hitch said.
"It's a metaphor," Zipp sighed. "It means the critical piece of evidence. The regular handle is tied in place with rope."
Izzy looked closer, and spotted something interesting. "Those knots can't be tied by hoof, as they'd get all tangled up," she said.
"What are you saying, Izzy?" Sunny asked.
"They were tied in place using magic. I didn't do it, and I have no reason to think Sunny did it, so another unicorn must have tied them."
Just then, the sofa springs bounced up, and there was the sound of galloping before the main door burst open.
"What the?" Pipp asked.
Zipp saw the empty space. "After her!"
Pipp and Zipp took to the skies and flew along, spotting Misty speeding down the coast road. Zipp switched on her radio. "Misty is heading into town. You guys keep following, Pipp and I will try to get ahead."
The two pegasi sped up as Sunny whizzed out of the Brighthouse in her skates, racing down the path after the fleeing unicorn. Hitch followed a bit slower, but at least the animals were helping him keep an eye on what was happening ahead.
Izzy, however, was following along a bit slower, suspecting there was more to this case than met the eye. And it wasn't that she thought Misty was a Trotformer, because she most certainly did not, but there was something about Misty's behaviour that was pretty super weird, even by unicorn standards.
At the other end of the chase, Zipp dived down into town to try and get a better visual. Misty was sprinting for the nearby streetcar. "Trying that trick again? Not so fast."
She turned and dived in at speed, slamming into Misty with considerable force. This caused both of them to bounce into an alleyway before abruptly stopping near a garbage can.
Misty was the first to recover, and immediately ran for the end of the alley. Only for it to be a dead end.
She stopped and turned around to try and double back on herself- only for Zipp to be right on top of her. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Misty! Now then, we can do this the easy way... or the hard way. And trust me, you don't wanna know the hard way."
Misty immediately curled up and made herself as small as possible. "Alright! I'll tell you everything! Just don't hurt me!"
Zipp was confused. "Wait, what? I never said I was gonna hurt you. What are-"
The others had arrived at this point, and were confused by the sight in front of them. Misty was their friend, right? So why was she seemingly so terrified?
"Zipp, what did you do?" Pipp asked, with a quizzical eye.
"I only said I wanted to know the truth! I have no idea why she's reacting this way."
Misty unravelled herself, and looked in confusion. "Wait. You're not gonna hit me?"
"Why would we do that?" Sunny asked. "We're your friends, right?"
"It's just that I thought all ponies hit one another when they're mad with each other. And you guys seem pretty mad at me."
"Who taught you this?" Hitch asked.
Misty sighed. "Well... the truth is, this entire time I haven't been honest with any of you. I've never lived in pony society. I'm not from Bridlewood. I have no idea where I'm from, actually, or if Misty even is my real name. Opaline's all I've ever known."
"Who's Opaline?" Izzy asked.
"Well, it's a long story, but I guess we got a long day. I've been trailing you guys as a spy..."
A few days later, Misty was testifying in front of the third Zephyr Heights Grand Conference on the Restoration and Reunification of the Trans Equestrian Railroad and Subsidiary Branchlines. Her friends were there as well to support her, as what she was doing a lot of guts to say the least.
"So, in an attempt to divide you all, Opaline ordered me to derail a train and cause damage so you'd all start fighting again."
"Hah!" Phyllis said. "I told you a unicorn did it!"
"Phyllis, either shut up or get out!" Alphabittle snapped. "Go on, Misty. Why did you do this?"
Misty turned to one side, and rubbed her flank with her hoof. The butterfly image there vanished, revealing a blank flank.
"She's a blank flank?" Queen Haven said in surprise. "Most ponies get their cutie marks pretty young!"
"Opaline promised me a cutie mark if I did this," Misty continued. "I know. I'm probably the oldest blank flank in existance right now. All my life I've just wanted to fit in, like I belong, like I actually have a purpose in my life. Now I know that's a fool's errand." She sighed, and hung her head. "I'm so, so sorry for what I did to all of you. I'll accept whatever punishment you give me."
There was a moment's silence. Then Izzy piped up. "We can fit another bed into the Brighthouse, right?"
"Yeah, we've got plenty of space," Sunny said. "And if it doesn't work I'm happy to sleep on the couch for a bit whilst we expand the upper levels a bit. Besides, Izzy, doesn't your bed float?"
"It can do. Of course! We fit it in under there!"
Misty was very confused. "Err, what's going on?"
"What we're saying is we don't think a punishment is appropriate given your circumstances," Queen Haven said. "It's clear, to me at least, that the manipulation you endured means you cannot be truly held responsible for your actions. To this end, it's probably best for you if you spend time in the presence of other ponies. And I'm certain my daughters will be more than happy to help you on that front. Right, girls?"
"Of course, mom!" Pipp and Zipp said in unison.
"And Izzy will happily get you up to speed on unicorn culture, right?" Alphabittle asked.
"All the movies, food, other things... possibly even jinxies as well!"
"Jinxies?" Misty asked.
Phyllis rolled her eyes. "Honestly, all this is ridiculous. Can't she get even the slightest of punishments?"
"You mean like your son did?" Hitch said. "Oh wait, no, because I distinctly recall you used all your political clout to ensure he basically got a slap on the wrist for vandalism and civil disorder- both of which carry jail sentences, if memory serves."
Phyllis grumbled to herself whilst the other leaders turned to one another. "I consider that case closed," Alphabittle said. "Now then, let's get this railroad over the finishing line! Though do remind me what the function of a junction is?"