A faint ticking sound reverberated around a large room filled with many strange apparatuses and machines. Walking underneath countless copper spheres hanging from the ceiling, a young unicorn was making his way towards an old wooden desk covered with strange trinkets and baubles. The young researcher sat down, inspecting a scroll filled with strange writings that only made sense to him. A perplexed look on his face, he spoke to himself.
"It happened this morning again. Three seconds late, this time. This is beyond the realm of coincidence, now... But why?"
With a sudden yellow flash, the unicorn summoned a large book to his side. He began quickly flipping through the pages, hoping he had missed something in the past: a detail, an anecdote, a reference to another book. He searched for an hour, painstakingly obsessing over every single sentence, before putting down the tome with an exasperated sigh. His eyes glossed over the title, The Complete History of Equestria - Volume V, then laid his head on it. He felt exhausted, to the point of considering treating this book as an impromptu pillow.
"I'm probably overthinking. Maybe Celestia's just getting old. Doing the same thing over and over again for centuries... Can't blame her for not caring about being on time anymore."
He let his eyes wander across the room, the familiar sight of the orrery comforting him. Feeling cozy in this well-lit room, his head rested upon a large hard-cover book, he yawned. He then glanced through the window. Raindrops were slowly dripping down, slightly blurring the view. He could still make out the overgrown walls surrounding the mansion and the forest that spread seemingly endlessly around it. Even further away, above the tree line and atop a cliff, he was able to see the outline of Canterlot. This view always felt unnerving: the mansion was technically in plain sight of its main enemy. According to his father, this was by design. Celestia would never expect the Crescent Pact to hide so boldly, that is if she even believed the organization still existed.
Feeling his neck becoming sore from resting on such a hard pillow, if it could even be considered one, the unicorn stood back up. He stretched for a while, then began walking towards the door. Having worked for so long today, he could now only think about the warm, soft bed waiting for him. As he was about to open the door and leave, he turned back. Something felt off. Narrowing his eyes, he scanned the room, searching for the source of his unease. Quickly, he found it: one of the copper orbs depicting the Canis Major constellation was smudged. Being a perfectionist, the unicorn knew he would not be able to sleep knowing that his instruments were dirty. Levitating a small, enchanted rag next to him, he walked towards the sphere and quickly cleaned it. With only a few passes, the metal was spotless, reflecting the unicorn's image back to him: he could see his gray coat and teal mane, left completely unkempt. He smiled with satisfaction, letting the rag float back down to its place. Suddenly, he could hear a loud knock at his door. A stern voice accompanied the knocking.
"Aphelion, are you still in there?"
"Yes, father. It's open, come in," answered Aphelion, his smile vanishing.
The door was opened by a large indigo unicorn with a graying mane. Aphelion barely looked at his father, wishing he had been gone on another of his so-called business trips. While the manor belonged to him, Aphelion saw him as an intruder. Especially in this room. Out of habit, Aphelion bowed to his father. The intruder nodded, then spoke up. "Have you made any progress on your... Research?"
The disdain in his father's voice was clear as day, but Aphelion had learned to pay no mind to this tone. "Not quite. The raising of the sun has maintained its growing latency. While I do have a few leads, I still need more time to figure out what's going on," he lied. No progress had been made in the past week.
His father groaned, putting a hoof on his face. "You only have one job, son, and you can't even do that correctly. I will have to report your inadequacy to Lord Comet. You do know that, right?"
"Y... Yes. I understand," Aphelion hesitated. "Though, I do have a more substantial lead... However, I am afraid you won't like it."
His father sighed. "Well, then, let us hear it. Why has Celestia been struggling to raise the sun for the past few months?"
"I believe Nightmare Moon may have something to do with it."
For a moment, the only sounds in the orrery were the ticking of the machines and the rain outside. Aphelion's father looked stunned. "Nightmare... Moon? As in..."
Feeling the need to argue his case more, Aphelion continued. "Yes, that Nightmare Moon. From the fairy tale. But there is mention of four stars playing a role in her release, which could have been affecting the cosmic forces at play when Celestia raises the sun."
The look on Aphelion's father went from stunned to disappointed. "You have spent too long stuck inside and you've gone mad. All this machinery, the finest clockworks that the Crescent Pact could afford to buy with its very limited budget... And you're using it to investigate a damned fairy tale."
Feeling his anger rise, Aphelion attempted to not let himself be affected by his father's insults. He decided to backpedal, not wanting to face his father's disappointment any longer. "I can assure you that my mind is sane. Besides, that's just a single theory amongst many others. I just believed it was something worth mentioning."
With a sigh, his father continued. "No matter. That's not why I came. Lord Comet himself has a new task for you."
Aphelion raised an eyebrow. "Really? He gave a task to me specifically? I thought the surveillance of Celestia was supposed to be my sole focus."
"Consider this mission more important for now. Lord Comet needs you to go to Canterlot tomorrow. You will need to find a middlepony and exchange a package with this person. Once the trade has been made, come back to the manor and deliver it to me. I will take care of the rest."
It took Aphelion some time to fully process the information. "Lord Comet wants me to... Act as a courier? And to go directly inside Canterlot?! Father, are you sure this is what he wants me to do?"
"Yes. Do not bother with the 'why', just focus on the 'how'. He gave you orders; your only goal is to follow them. Besides, this will be greatly beneficial for you. You've been stuck indoors for too long and your mind has begun to consider fiction and fairy tales as facts," The disdain in his father's voice was palpable.
Aphelion felt his temper rising once more, but took a deep breath. "I am above his pettiness," he thought to himself. Not letting his emotion show, he nodded. "...Very well, father. What shall I deliver, and to whom?"
"Your role is only to make the trade, not to worry about what you are trading. You must not under any circumstance check the contents of any of the packages. Lord Comet left you a letter with more detailed information about where exactly you need to go."
With a flash of a sickly green light, his father conjured the letter in front of his son, dropping it on the floor. He then turned around and began to leave, leaving Aphelion with some last words of wisdom. "Do not mess this up."
"I will not, father."
The door slammed shut. Confused, Aphelion began to wonder about this strange task. Why did Lord Purple Comet need him specifically to play mailpony? What was he going to deliver? Shouldn't he focus on tracking Celestia's every move from the manor instead, in case she rediscovers the Crescent Pact's existence?
Aphelion made the letter float in front of his eyes and began reading the instructions left for him. "Well then. Guess I need to prepare for tomorrow.
The following day, Aphelion was walking along the capital's busy streets. Surrounded by what felt like a swarm of ponies in every direction, he felt incredibly out of place. Aphelion focused on standing out as little as possible, which wasn't very hard. He looked at his saddle bag, which contained a large rectangular package, slightly poking out. Despite being told not to worry about its contents, Aphelion wondered what could be inside. Classified documents? Money? Drugs? A weapon to take down Celestia's reign of terror? His imagination running wild, Aphelion began to look around. Many ponies were going about their businesses. Some were shopping, others were visiting. A few were guardponies, which made Aphelion nervous, but they paid no mind to him. All in all, this seemed to Aphelion like a regular day.
"Are we really living under a reign of terror?" he wondered, his voice drowned in the capital's many other voices. "...No, this must be a trick. This is the capital, after all, Celestia probably ordered the citizens to act all happy and stuff. To keep up appearances. That's got to be it," Aphelion thought. He himself wasn't convinced, but he trusted the Crescent Pact more than his own judgment. And yet, he could feel a seed of doubt appear in his mind.
Taking a deep breath, he focused on his task. While Lord Comet's instructions were vague and cryptic, Aphelion did his best to follow them. As they led him through less crowded streets, he made sure to observe every single sign as he was passing in front of the many shops, restaurants and boutiques of the capital. Eventually, he found the 'meeting point' mentioned in the letter: a relatively small café named The Rainy Brew. He thought the name a bit odd, then stepped inside.
As Aphelion pushed the door, a small chime announced his entrance to the almost empty café. Looking around hesitantly, he headed towards one of the tables furthest away from the windows. Aphelion quickly glanced at the other ponies inside: two mares, a yellow earth pony and a pink unicorn, were having lunch and gossiping, barely paying attention to him. On another table, there was an older crimson-colored pegasus, reading a journal while drinking coffee. The pegasus was keeping an eye on Aphelion, his face not betraying any emotion. "Either he's my contact, or he's suspicious of me", thought Aphelion. Proceeding with his instructions, he sat down and pretended not to pay attention to the other ponies around him. He placed his saddle bag on the chair next to him.
Aphelion began reading a menu, trying to look inconspicuous. Waiting for somepony to come to him to take his order, he hummed a tune. Soon enough, a waiter came to his table to take his order. Aphelion smiled, then uttered the 'password phrase' as per his instructions. "I'll have verbena tea with six sugar cubes and a bit of milk, please."
According to his instructions, this specific order would indicate to the middlepony that Aphelion was ready for the trade. After the waiter left his table, Aphelion attempted to see if anypony had reacted to his order. The only thing he had noticed was the pegasus standing up after finishing his coffee, leaving a couple of bits on the table and exiting the café. "So, I suppose it's not him?" Aphelion wondered. "I suppose that all I have to do, now, is to be patient."
A short moment later, his tea arrived. Aphelion thanked the waiter and floated the cup to his lips taking a sip. He put it down immediately, the taste reminding him how much he hated tea. He had no choice, however, as his instructions were quite clear on that point: he had to order this specific kind of tea and he must finish it, as leaving it untouched will raise suspicions, at least according to Lord Comet. Ignoring what felt like a disgustingly sweet assault on his taste buds, Aphelion kept taking sips of his poison over the course of fifteen long, agonizing minutes, during which he kept an eye out for anypony that would come to him.
After finishing his cup, Aphelion took a sigh of relief. He had survived the overly sweet trial of his verbena tea. However, he was still sitting alone. Nopony had come for the exchange, leaving Aphelion to wonder if he had gotten the right place. Maybe he misremembered his instructions and went to the wrong café? Or maybe his contact was unable to reach him? Just about to call it quits and going back to the manor, Aphelion noticed that one of the two mares had stood up and was headed towards him. She was a yellow earth pony, her orange mane covering one of her eyes. He stared at her, finding her attractive, then spoke to her.
"Uh... Hi. How can I help you, ma'am?" Aphelion asked, quickly glancing at the rest of the café. The other mare, the pink unicorn, was still sitting on the other table, alone. She was looking towards the café's windows.
The yellow mare sat down at Aphelion's table, right in front of him and answered his question with a soft voice.
"Heya. Couldn't help but notice what you ordered there. Seems like you've got quite the sweet tooth," she smirked. Her gaze felt like it was piercing directly into Aphelion's soul.
"I, uh... Yup, I sure do enjoy some very sweet tea," he answered. The tea had left a sugary aftertaste in his mouth, still taunting his taste buds. "Wait, are you the..."
"I think you have something for me," she winked. Blushing, Aphelion felt his heart beating faster. Being stuck indoors most of the time, he had very little experience with other ponies his age. Especially with the pretty ones.
"Y-Yes, I've got the thing right here."
The package floated from its bag and onto the table, enveloped by a yellow glow. The mare in front of him quickly inspected the package while Aphelion stood still, silently waiting. After a few moments, the yellow mare nodded in her friend's direction. Lifted by gray energy, the package floated towards the other table, in front of the pink unicorn. Her eyes were still fixed on the windows, scanning the street.
"Right, then," continued the yellow mare. "Now's the matter of our part of the trade."
"Uh, yes. I believe you have another package for me?" asked Aphelion nervously.
"We have a... Slight issue with that. You see, our supplier decided to double the price. So, we're doubling ours as well. Meaning you need to go back to that Comet guy and ask for another set of those," she nudged towards the package. Aphelion felt the blood drain out of his face.
"Wait, what? Are - Are you serious? I... I can't come back empty-hoofed!" panic was clearly audible in Aphelion's voice, as the prospect of a failed mission dawned on him. "Is there anything I can do to... Smooth this over? I can, uh, I can pay for the rest! Just tell me how many bits... Please?"
"I'm sorry, honey, but I doubt you've got that kind of money," she answered. The pink unicorn on the other table stood up and was about to leave as well, before her friend raised a hoof. She sat back down, a curious look on her face.
The yellow mare continued. "But... Maybe there is something you can do for us. Something that would basically set us even."
Suddenly, Aphelion stood up from his chair. "Yes! I'll do it, whatever you need."
Aphelion had barely finished his sentence and he was already regretting it. He had no idea what he'd be getting into. It would probably be wiser to come back to the manor and explain the situation, he thought. But then, he would have to basically admit defeat on what seemed to be a very important task given by Lord Comet himself. If he could solve this on his own, he would most certainly gain the respect of his father and of Lord Comet, right? Besides, the two mares in front of him seemed normal enough. Surely, what they'll ask of him will be a very reasonable task.
The yellow mare chuckled. "Wonderful. By any chance, would you happen to be good at sneaking around?"
Aphelion gulped, hesitating for a moment. "Sure, I may know a spell or two that would fit the bill."
"Awesome!" she leaned closer to Aphelion, whispering directly in his ear. "We need you to sneak inside Celestia's castle."