On paper, Redacted was a private company owned by ‘Sunny Skies’ that had existed for ‘a few decades’ and handled the disposal of sensitive documents on behalf of Canterlot Castle. This was what any foreign entity or nosy pony would discover if they tried to look into things.
In reality, it was a group founded by Celestia over a thousand years ago to handle the fallout of Starswirl’s damage to the Dimensional Fabric of Equestria.
Redacted wasn’t any one operation. They were a multitude scattered across Equestria, with several main facilities that handled major aspects of Malformant containment. Each of the primary buildings had two main functions: a mode of containment for a particular Sin category and a major infrastructure component.
Canterlot Castle Garden Pavilions contained Hatred Malformants and was the administrative center of Redacted, headed by both Princess Celestia and Raven Inkwell.
The Evening Watch cafe contained Feast Malformants and acted as the main hub for Agent deployment throughout Equestria.
However, Moonlight Raven did not care about these other facilities, just the one that she found herself trapped working in. The Hollow Shades Mires.
It was Redacted’s informational hub, with agents that specialized in gathering pertinent intel on active Malformants, locating open Rifts, and providing in-field strategies to Agents on how to neutralize Malformants.
As for containment, their method was known as the Drench.
“Like, wow, Moonie. That’s a big one,” Moonlight’s twin sister, Sunshine Smiles, said.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Moonlight looked in the direction of Sunshine’s gaze.
Their vantage point was from within one of the Mire’s domes. A massive glass sphere built on wooden stilts. Through its one-way windows, Moonlight could see the Wallowing Mire spread out before them. A massive expanse of wet grasslands with a long series of interconnected docks built upon it.
On one portion of the dock was the newest addition to be added to the Mire’s depths.
The Malformant had many of the key features of a Wallowing Sin type: oppressive blue aura, a form that wobbled like gelatin, and vibrating, white eyes. This particular specimen took on the rough shape of a pegasus made up of cassette film, with a head replaced with a tape deck. Despite its smaller size and based on the number of Agents nearby to subdue it, this Malformant was on the stronger side.
Agents bound the Malformant in thick white ropes made up of a material that Moonlight preferred to not think about. Once the Malformant was unable to do anything, they attached one end of the rope bundle to a hook hanging from a tall wooden lamp post.
One free Agent began to turn a rusted crank, slowly dunking the helpless screeching abomination into the watery depths. With no way to break through the heavy magic of the Mire, that would be where it would remain indefinitely.
At least until the Princess of the Sun decided what to do with it.
“Wowie. Haven’t seen that many Agents needed for one Malformant in, like, forever,” Sunshine remarked. “Was it one of the ones from our Forecast?”
“Yes,” Moonlight replied. “We foretold it two weeks prior. The Manehattan Bar District one.”
Sunshine nodded her head and returned to staring out the window. Moonlight took a sip of the tea she had prepared earlier as she surveyed their lodgings.
Herbs and plants grew all along the interior edges of the room. Plush furniture made up most of the living space, as well as a multitude of vinyls and books. A small, elevated, curtained-off space was their shared bunk bed, and two blocked-off locations were the kitchen and bathroom respectively.
She brought her tea cup back down with a clink. It was cold and had been seeped for too long. Just as she liked it.
“One of the Agents told me there were no casualties in subduing the Malformant,” Sunshine said. “That means it was, like, a perfect mission!”
“Some imperfection would have been better. A few deaths to keep them cautious,” Moonlight remarked.
“That’s horrible!”
“But certainly well-deserved.”
“How could you say that?”
Moonlight glared at Sunshine.
She bit her lip. “They’re not all bad.”
“Only the majority.”
Sunshine declined to respond.
It was not the first time they’d disagreed like this. They were both very different ponies. Moonlight preferred a gothic aesthetic to match her off-white coat and dark blue mane, while her sister Sunshine favoured a preppy look with her bubblegum pink fur and blonde mane.
She liked pop, Moonlight preferred opera. She wanted everything sweet, Moonlight wanted it bitter. Sunshine spared pity toward their captors, Moonlight did not.
Despite their differences, they got along well and held to their one core belief that no harm will come to the other sister.
“...Isn’t, like, Grim running late today?” Sunshine asked.
“Probably held up by the containment of that new Malformant,” Moonlight replied. “I expect the mare to show up—”
The doors to their abode slammed open. A mare of large stature trotted in with the precision of a military march. She had dark blue fur, cyan mane tied into a tight bun, and the expression of a drill sergeant ready to break in the new recruits. She was dressed in the uniform of a Redacted Agent. Black suit, cyan-coloured tie to signify the facility she worked at, and metal plates covered vital parts of her body.
She stopped just short of their table, towering over them with her grim countenance.
“Good day, Grim Steward,” the sisters greeted in unison.
“Good day, sisters,” Grim greeted back.
“Are you here for the Forecast?” Moonlight asked.
“We are, like, so ready if you are,” Sunshine added.
A curt nod. She seemed to be in a good mood. That meant they might get off easy this time.
Moonlight and Sunshine joined hooves together to form a circle. Their horns glowed. Blue and yellow energy coursed between them in a loop, colours bleeding into each other as they charged their spell.
A conglomerate of eyeballs appeared within the center of the makeshift circle, with several wings coming out of its body. Chains of gold and silver hung from its form, with small crystal moons and suns embedded inside of some of the links.
Their birthright flooded them with power. Moonlight could feel it within her being, feel it within her sister.
They were one.
“Future is Now,” they both intoned, their voices entwined together. “We seek a Forecast of disasters to come.”
The eyeballs vibrated in place, their Trauma readying to scry into the future. The pupils opened into mouths.
“With rain comes Wallowing to assail the coast of sails,” the Trauma intoned. “Feast prepares for the coming harvest, the young taken to push the old to yield. Desire reforms in service to the Sun. Vanity is found within a young foal, corrupted to overthrow love at its core.”
“Agent Deadly Hunt is active once again then,” Grim remarked. “From past readings, the coast of sails refers to Vanhoover. I’ll have to notify them of an impending Rift. The other two aren’t much to go on. If that’s all—”
The Trauma’s mouths widened, the eyeballs turned red. It screeched, “Warning. Warning. Warning. Desire runs rampant in the big city. Apathy to ruin the domain of dreams. The—” Future shuddered. The sisters cried out as their power wavered. “Brand and Heart. Obsession and Desire. Warning. Warning. Warning. War—”
Moonlight and Sunshine collapsed. Their magic dissipated.
“Wait, what did—!” Grim stepped closer to the sisters. “Do another.”
“One forecast per week,” Moonlight replied weakly.
“That’s, like, our limit,” Sunshine added. “Anymore and—”
Grim stomped one hoof on the floor, rattling the dome. Her face twisted into cold fury.
“I. Don’t. Care,” Grim said. “Do it again.”
“We, like, literally can’t,” Sunshine stressed. “You’ll have to—”
Grim slapped Sunshine across the face. She fell back onto the floor.
“Sunny—!” Moonlight called out.
“No excuses!” Grim grabbed Moonlight by the mane and pulled her up roughly to be eye level with Grim. She snarled. “I won’t repeat myself again.”
Moonlight nodded her head. Grim dropped her. Sunshine dragged herself back up to the table. Moonlight could tell a heavy bruise would form from the hit she took.
They did as before, putting their hooves together and lighting their horns. However, when the coloured loop formed, it wavered and fluctuated unevenly, refusing to stabilize. They could feel the echoes of their connection to each other, but it wouldn’t click into place.
“Why isn’t it appearing?” Grim demanded.
“We, like, told you. We can’t,” Sunshine said.
“We only have enough energy for one Forecast per week,” Moonlight added. “Our Trauma takes a lot of magic to form.”
Grim regarded them coldly, then rifled through an inner pocket of her jacket. She pulled out two vials filled with translucent blue liquid.
“What is—?” Moonlight began to ask.
Before either sister could react, Grim popped off the caps, and shoved a vial into each sisters’ mouth. It tasted… indescribable. Like if a unicorn could eat their own aura. Everything felt fine, until, suddenly, it burned.
They both screamed as magic flooded their systems, overloading them well beyond their capacity.
The connection was made but unlike before, it hurt. They were doing something they weren’t supposed to, calling forth something that didn’t want to be called. Future is Now formed, but wrong. It was more indistinct, its body wavering.
“Warning. Warning. Warning,” Future intoned weakly. “War—”
Grim punched their Trauma. It impacted against the windows, and caused the sisters to scream from the clapback.
“Cult of Brands has formed,” Future is Now declared. “Apathy will soon be deployed in the Crystal Empire. Warning. Warning. War—”
The sisters collapsed, Future disappearing as they did.
“See?” Grim gave them a smug smile. “You could do it again.” She glanced at the vials. “These appear to be quite effective. I should contact Director Introversion about getting more.”
Moonlight struggled to breathe, exhaustion crashing into her as her magic completely drained away from her body. Panic began to settle its way into her mind as she realized that with this success, Grim wouldn’t hesitate to use it again.
“Rest up,” Grim said. “I’ll be back soon for the next Forecast. Possibly even sooner than expected.”
Then she left.
Sunshine looked at her, tears in her eyes. “M-Moon?”
Her sister was afraid. Her sister was in danger. Grim was going to hurt her again.
Unacceptable.
“...We’re moving forward with the plan,” Moonlight said.
“B-but—”
“We don’t have any more time. What we have will have to do. Get ready to leave, Sunshine.
“We’re getting mom back.”