//------------------------------//
// Follow that Coin 
// Story: Friendship is Forever 
// by fabrosi 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 2: Follow that Coin

When Twilight awoke the next day, there were a few blissful, fleeting moments in which she thought she had just experienced a terrible nightmare, and that life would carry on as it always had. However, as the room resolved into focus and she fell sharply from spaceless, timeless sleep and onto her bed, she knew this was not to be. Someone really had died the day before at the Gala, and he had been trying to kill Celestia, and she still hadn't the slightest idea why.

She tried to pretend she was still asleep, even though there was no one else there. When it became clear she wasn't fooling anyone, she got up and slowly ate a light breakfast of hay and celery, as much to preoccupy herself as to fill her stomach. It was a bright, mostly clear sky outside, just as scheduled, and the scene through her window gave no hint of what had transpired the night before. She briefly considered waking Spike up so she would have someone to talk to, but he needed his sleep after a night like that. When she had finished her meal and there was still nothing to do, she went outside.

Fewer ponies than usual walked the street, and those who did were quiet and subdued, not looking at anything more than a few yards away. Before she even knew where she was headed, Twilight found herself outside Applejack's barn. Here she was, in Ponyville, where she had spent the past several months and made the closest friends she'd ever known… and yet, she had never felt more lost. When she noticed Applejack and Rarity standing outside, though, her mood brightened.

"Twi?" asked Applejack. "What're you doin' here?"

"Well… I kind of feel like we need to talk about… last night at the Gala."

Rarity and Applejack looked at one another. "Yeah, us too," said Applejack. The three of them walked down the road together, still not sure where they were going.

"It isn't really over, is it?" Twilight asked.

"I don't see how," said Rarity with a shrug. "That zebra killed himself, right? So there's no one left to cause us trouble."

"Well… that's just it," said Twilight as they passed into a large field of grass on the edge of the Everfree Forest. "Why would he kill himself? The worst punishment for any crime in Equestria is banishment, and he didn't even seem to be from Equestria… so why kill himself, unless he was afraid they would find out who sent him? Someone else is still out there, plotting against Celestia."

They stopped. Up ahead, Fluttershy was talking to Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash outside her cottage. Applejack, Twilight and Rarity greeted them, passing through the gate.

"Twilight says that zebra must've been workin' for someone else," said Applejack.

"But who?" asked Pinkie Pie. "Who could possibly have anything against Princess Celestia?"

"I don't know," admitted Twilight, "though it must have been someone from outside Equestria—someone with something against ponykind." She noticed that Pinkie Pie's hair was straight, and suspected it had been that way since the moment she had seen that dart hit the Princess's neck.

"How've you been holding up?"

She shrugged. Twilight suspected that she felt the same way they all did, and simply had a more obvious way of showing it.

They looked at one another in silence for a few seconds. Then, Twilight said, "You know what? How about we contact Princess Celestia and find out what she thinks about all this?"

"That's a brilliant idea," said Rarity. "Why, I'm sure the Royal Court has been investigating this matter quite diligently. Maybe they can tell us something."

As they returned to the library, Twilight silently hoped that Princess Celestia would know exactly who had wanted her dead and that she would assign her star pupil the mission of apprehending the villainous filth. Together, she and her friends would track down whoever it was, fighting their way through whomever or whatever they had to. They would bring the villain to Celestia and to justice, and she would shower them all with praise for a job well done.

Inside Twilight's house, they gathered around a table, watching intently as Twilight wrote a letter to the princess asking if there was any way the six of them could help with the investigation. As an afterthought, she also asked why Celestia hadn't used her magic to protect herself from the poison, something that had been nagging at her.

"Spike!" called Twilight. He stepped somewhat gingerly down the stairs as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. "I need you to deliver a letter," she explained.

He raised an eyebrow, but said "Sure thing", and, after clearing his throat, blew the letter out the window.

"What was that about, anyway?" he asked with a yawn.

"We need to find out what Celestia can tell us about last night at the gala," said Twilight.

Spike fidgeted slightly as the six ponies stared at him in apprehension. After a minute or so, his cheeks puffed up, eliciting a couple soft gasps, and he regurgitated Celestia's reply. Twilight snatched it from the air and opened it on the table:

My dearest student Twilight,

I appreciate your concern, but I feel the matter of my attempted assassination is rather morbid business for you to get involved in. Rest assured that we have the situation under control; the zebra appears to have come alone, and I have agents hard at work trying to determine who sent him.

As for your other question: The poison muddled my thinking so quickly, I couldn't have concentrated hard enough to light a candle, let alone save myself. I suppose that's what I get for letting my guard down after centuries of peace. It's a lucky thing that zebra didn't count on you being there, Twilight.

That reminds me—I want to thank you again for saving my life last night. That was some very quick thinking you did, and, I'm told, some extremely intricate magic.

For now, I want you all to try your best to forget about what happened and move on with your lives. The matter is in capable hooves. Yours,

-Princess Celestia

Twilight reread the letter, hoping to spot any accidental clues about the assassin. When she found none, she said "I guess there's nothing we can do."

They left the library, intending to talk as they walked, but immediately encountered a nervous-looking Rose who appeared to have been standing suspiciously close to the door for some time.

"Sorry," she said quickly, "I know I shouldn't have eavesdropped… it's just that… well, I found something at the gala that you might be interested in."

She led them to and into her house, glancing about as if to be sure they weren't being followed. To their astonishment, she withdrew what was unmistakably the assassin's cloak from inside a cupboard, covered with droplets of dried blood.

"I didn't know what it was at first," she said quickly and fearfully, "because it was just sitting out there in the dark, lying on the grass. I wasn't there when the princess was hit with the dart, because I didn't know that everyone had gone inside—you're not going to tell anyone about this, are you?"

"Not a soul," said Rarity immediately.

Rose nodded. "Thank you. Anyway… I heard a thump from the zebra falling, but when I looked, I couldn't see him in the dark, and then I saw the cloak lying on the grass and picked it up... I was planning to find out whose it was and return it after all the commotion was finished, but a few seconds later the guards showed up. Soon they were running around, shouting about 'removal of evidence', and that's when I noticed the body and realized what I'd done…" She swallowed, and then continued: "It occurred to me that if they saw me holding it, it would look like I'd been trying to steal it, so I hid it away out of fear of punishment. I've been wracked with guilt since then, and… well, if I give you this cloak, do you think you could give it to the authorities, or something?"

Applejack smiled reassuringly. "I think this is just what we've been lookin' for."

They proceeded to Twilight's house once again, where they laid the cloak upon the table for all to see, carefully avoiding the stains. Twilight was poring over a book, looking for something she could use to identify the stitching of the cloak, the fabric, anything. (Rarity had determined that it had been made outside of Equestria, though more than that she couldn't say for certain.)

"It all looks like traditional zebra wear," Twilight sighed.

"Maybe we should ask Zecora for help," offered Pinkie Pie.

This made sense enough, so Twilight carefully hid the garment in her saddlebags, making sure to tuck in every corner completely, and they went.

Their trip through the Everfree Forest took them past the field of poison joke, which they remembered to avoid contact with. When they knocked on the door of Zecora's hut, she answered quickly and invited them in. They explained their situation to her, and she gasped when she saw the cloak laid out on the floor.

"You see?" asked Rainbow Dash. "It's just like your cloak, isn't it?"

"It almost is," she said, squinting thoughtfully, "but not quite. The fabric is different, and the colors less bright."

"So… what d'you think that means?" asked Applejack.

Zecora studied the cloak carefully. "In the land where I come from, far, far away, there are certain zebras who act normal by day… by night, however, they sneak off to some unknown place, and consort with wicked creatures of every race."

Twilight felt her coat bristle at the zebra's words. These were the answers she'd been looking for.

Zecora went on: "Nobody says, but everyone's aware exactly what it is they discuss in there. Money changes hooves, and the price is paid—a little up front—and so, dark pacts are made. This, I know, because once, near day's end, I overheard one of them speaking to his devilish friend. They spoke of buying crossbows, poison darts, and knives, and from then on, I knew that their business was taking lives."

There was a deep, thick silence as the ponies took in the true enormity of the situation. Then, Twilight asked "So… is there some way we can figure out who hired this zebra?"

"Assassins die all the time, and we know not his name. Finding out from the source would be too deadly a game."

"Still," Twilight said, "if that's what it takes, we'll do it! Just tell us where exactly these assassins are based and we'll see this thing through, no matter how long it takes."

"I appreciate that you all want no one else killed," replied Zecora, "but I refuse to risk letting your blood be spilled. I will not tell you where they come from this day—please, search for clues some other, safer way."

Twilight could see that Zecora would not be swayed, so she thanked her for the help before packing up the cloak and walking away.

"Now what?" Pinkie Pie asked in frustration once they were inside Twilight's house, away from prying ears. "What else do we know about that zebra?"

"Nothing," sighed Rarity. "He went as mysteriously as he came."

They stayed there for over an hour, weakly proposing ideas that they knew would lead nowhere and impotently wishing that things were different. Finally, they decided that the only thing they could do was sleep on it and recongregate in the morning.

Just as the other ponies were on their way out, Spike walked in with a bag of Twilight's groceries. "What's everyone so bummed out about?" he asked Twilight after they had left.

"Oh… don't worry about it, Spike. We've just… hit a roadblock, is all."

"You mean in finding out who tried to have the princess assassinated?"

She glanced up at him. "Yes, Spike. But I'd rather you not worry about it, alright?"

He frowned for a moment. Then, he said "Maybe I can help. What are you trying to find, anyway?"

She eyed him carefully, trying to judge whether or not it was a good idea to involve him, but then again, the damage was already done. "The zebra that shot that dart at Princess Celestia was wearing a special cloak that symbolized his membership in a guild of assassins," she explained, "but he didn't have anything on him that would distinguish him any more than that… just the cloak."

Spike looked thoughtful. "Y'know, when we arrived at the Gala—right when everyone split up—I found a weird coin lying on the ground. I can't remember the design, but it wasn't like any coin I'd ever seen before." Twilight's eyes widened. "I tried to find it later that night, but I guess I must've spent it by accident. I didn't say anything before because I didn't think I could help without remembering what the coin looked like, but… now that I think about it, maybe we could try to track it down."

"Spike, that's brilliant!"

She rushed outside. Her friends hadn't gone far yet, so she called them back together and explained Spike's idea.

"Why, of course!" said Rarity. She looked at Spike. "Where exactly did you spend the coin?"

"At Applejack's stand," he replied, and Applejack smacked her face with her hoof, prompting everypony to look at her.

"O' course!" she exclaimed. "When I was countin' up the day's earnin's, I noticed one coin that looked differ'nt from all the rest. It was copper-colored 'stead o' gold-colored, and there was a crown on it. Shoot, how could I have forgotten?"

"Well?" asked Pinkie. "Where is it now?"

"Uh… I think it's still at the barn. Let's go!"

With renewed drive, the ponies galloped straight to Sweet Apple Acres, leaving Spike behind. They encountered Applebloom on her way out of the barn.

"Applebloom!" said Applejack. "Did you see an odd coin lyin' around?"

"Oh!" said Applebloom, and she bit her lip. "Well… I did find a coin lyin' around all by itself, but I didn't think there was nothin' odd about it…"

"What did you do with it?" asked Applejack, though she was afraid she knew the answer already.

"I… I spent it." The other six ponies groaned. "I didn't know it would be so important!" she said defensively.

"It's alright, Applebloom," Applejack said to her sister. "Just tell us where you spent it, alright?"

"At Sugarcube Corner," she said. "I bought some donuts there a couple hours ago." The ponies looked at each other, nodded, and dashed away without a word.

"You're welcome!" Applebloom shouted indignantly as they disappeared in the distance. She rolled her eyes as she continued on her way.

…

When they arrived at Sugarcube Corner, they barged into the store, out of breath.

"My, my!" said Mrs. Cake from behind the counter. "What are you all doing here in such a hurry?"

"Applebloom…" Twilight panted, taking a few seconds to catch her breath. When she had, she started over: "…Applebloom said she bought a donut from you earlier today. She paid for it with an unusual coin. Do you still have it?"

"Well," said Mrs. Cake, racking her memory, "I don't recall an unusual coin… but I suppose I can check for it." She lifted up a strongbox from behind the counter, laid it down before them, and opened it, causing them all to lean in close.

"Let's see…" she muttered as she picked through the coins inside. "None of these look unusual."

The other ponies looked at Applejack, since she was the only one among them who had actually seen the coin. She scoured the box's contents with her eyes for several tense seconds, and then let out a sigh. "It ain't in here."

"You know," said Mrs. Cake, "after Applebloom stopped by, I did spend some of the money on a new rug…"

…and so it went. The six friends ran as quickly as they could to the store Mrs. Cake had gotten the rug from, only to find that the owner had given it to his son, who in turn had traded it for a yo-yo, and so on. It seemed the elusive coin was always one step ahead of them. Still, they pressed on, until finally they arrived at a blacksmith's shop. Just as they were about to enter, they saw that the pony who owned it had closed shop for the day and was on his way out.

"Excuse us," said Twilight, "but we believe you might be in possession of certain unusual coin."

"Ah, yes," he said immediately. "Somepony tried to pay me with it by mistake, and I didn't notice 'till after he'd left. I'm not a collector, and I didn't want to leave it lying around and end up spending it by accident, so thought I'd melt it down for copper." He stopped, confused by their horrified expressions. "Is… there a problem?"

"Don't worry about it," sighed Twilight. "Thanks for your time."

As Rainbow Dash opened the door and they began to depart into the growing darkness, the smith said "Wait!" They turned around. "I should've been clearer: I didn't actually get around to melting it down—it's still here."

They froze, nearly breathless as he withdrew a dull, copper-colored coin from somewhere behind the counter. They started at it, breathless and unblinking, as he set it down for them to inspect.

As they'd expected, it was unlike any coin they had ever seen. On the front was a design of a crown, and on the back, two crossed stalks of wheat. Engraved in an arc around the stalks were the words Long live the emperor. Holding it to the light, they saw on the front a date and the letters "SE". Twilight brimmed with anticipation, sensing that in this tiny piece of metal, no larger than a button, lay the answers to their questions about the deadliest and most serious mystery she and her friends had encountered in their young lives.