//------------------------------//
// Aftermath 
// Story: Lucid Dreams 
// by Jumping Jack 
//------------------------------//

Shanty sat inside of a diner booth at the far end. The City of Baltimare being bleak and grey due to the scheduled rain from the pegasi. Something that Shanty grumbled quietly to herself. Her white Rarity blouse and dress a little soaked from the sudden rain. From across her table, Pickle Rind's gluttony made for an unsavory sight for the mare. Three hayburgers, a basket of fries and three glasses of water stacked to the side. Pickle hungrily dug in, getting a bit of food bits onto Shanty's dress. The mare disgustedly brushed her blouse off and pushed her salad away from her, any appetite lost.

"Honestly, Pickle, treating a mare out to lunch in such a manner is very uncouth." She frowned. Pickle blinked and wiped his muzzle with a napkin.

"And honestly, Shanty, you should eat a little less yourself. Your dresses are beginning to hug that posterior of yours." He said casually. Shanty took complete offense and kicked his knee under the table, causing him to reel forward in pain and rub his knee.

"I swear, you stallions are savages. Cannot go one second without pointing out my physique. Lechers, all of you!" She snapped. The sound of somepony clearing his throat silenced them. A unicorn stallion in a cerulean hide, handsome curly sandy mane and stubble. Wearing a rolled up white shirt with a caramel pin stripped vest over his black trench coat. He eyed the two.

"I see that you two are still in high spirits, despite a botched job." The pony said. Pickle took a long sip of his water, patting his chest before replying.

"Merely enjoying the last bit of royalty we have. I have lined up some contacts for when you give us the news." He said. The pony nodded.

"Indeed, I have both good and bad news. Which would you rather hear?" The pony asked. Shanty snorted.

"It should always be the bad news. Because the good news is never good to begin with." The mare replied, poking at her partially eaten salad. The pony sat on his haunches, pulling out a square container which he proceeded to pop a tablet out of the container and popped it in his mouth.

"Bad news is that you two are going back to Ponyville. The Duke is still vying for Honeyfield and since the orphanage still stands despite the disaster, you two are to monitor Amber Wisp, daily and nightly, without drawing any attention to Princess Luna or any other... mishaps." He explained. Shanty balked.

"I beg your pardon!? We are going back to that hick valley? I can't stand the sight of all that gallantry and neighborly society that place is. That village is lucky that the Princess of Friendship and the others are protecting it. Otherwise, that place would have been eaten over by the parasprites years ago." Shanty said with a disgusted stick of her tongue. The stallion shrugged.

"A mare of your tastes certainly does better among the elite. But unfortunately, you are in no position to truly complain. You are just as much a beggar after your family-" he began but was silenced immediately by Shanty with a venomous hiss.

"Do not speak of my ill-gotten family to me!" She hissed. The stallion didn't skip a beat.

"Then be thankful The Duke is ensuring that your family remains in debt to him. Otherwise, the things you've been ridiculed by the stallions of this profession would have been true." He stated. Shanty growled. With a "hmph" and a cross of her hooves, she looked out the window to the dreary weather. Pickle cleared his own throat.

"Speaking of. We are still a pony down. How are we going to tackle the Honeyfield job with only two of us?" He asked. The stallion shook his head.

"That's where I come in." He said. Shanty scoffed.

"You?? Did you get demoted to grunt work again?" She asked with annoyance. The stallion waved a hoof.

"Perish the thought. They felt I was better... suited to have my aid elsewhere." He said. Pickle took a smaller sip of his water as the pony continued. "Yes, from now on, I'll be working with you two to... acquire somethings that would allow The Duke to begin buying off the nanny." Shanty sighed and rubbed her temple.

"Why are we wasting our time on that damned property? What is so special that one of Equestria's wealthiest elite family to go so far as to do so much espionage?" She said tiredly. The stallion shrugged.

"All I know is that The Duke believes the fields to be his heritage. Something his ancestor had found special as well." The stallion replied. Pickle gave a small scoff.

"Hmph. He has the wealth and power greater than the two sisters combined. What's preventing him from marching in with his goons and evicting them? He has the lawyers, the papers, friends in high places." Pickle said. The stallion shook his head.

"Because that would make him a tyrant that the princesses can deal with magically. And I'm sure The Duke is not looking for an afterlife in Tartarus." Shanty sighed and stood up.

"Very well then. What do you suggest we do aside from watch a nanny and some brats." She asked. The pony withdrew a chain watch from his vest and looked at it briefly before stuffing it back in.

"We spend the remaining time we have here to prepare before we set off early in the morning. The Duke was kind enough to have spoken with Mayor Mare about a vacant house in Ponyville that has been abandoned for ten years. With a little cleaning here and there, it's a perfect little hideaway. Away from the Castle of Friendship, tucked into a nice corner with a good view of the valley. We'll go over more details when we get settled." He explained. He then leaned forward. "I will head to the Ponyville Funeral Home and talk to the employees there to see if I can study the body of our late companion. Perhaps there is something I can learn from what we are getting ourselves into." Pickle narrowed his eyes.

"What are you implying?" He asked. The stallion closed his eyes.

"What happened at the orphanage wasn't natural. The princess of the night hasn't released an official statement about the incident. I want to know the facts rather than rumors. As for you two, do not draw attention to yourselves. We do not want attention from the element barers, or worse, Princess Luna herself." He replied. The two ponies stood up and left the diner with the third pony leading the front.

Back at the outskirts of Ponyville, a lone orphanage stood in the rain. All was quiet as the ponies were occupied with their own free time. Yet, further and deeper into the woods, something dark had begun to stir. From the shadows, a foggy clear mist began to flow through an opening. From the center, a silhouette emerged. Veiled by the misty fog, the figure stepped elegantly through the clearing. All was quiet.

Save for the haunting hum of a lullaby.





Princess Luna, the CMC and Ghost Pepper will return in The Moon’s Shadow