I woke up with a sudden start to the sound of Rarity City Radio, blaring in my ears. "This is... uh... Rarity City Radio! Uh, with your wake up call, Canterwealth, if... if you're even listening, I mean..." I groggily pulled myself out of bed, grabbing my leather trench coat and worn fedora, before hearing my assistant shout to me from outside the room.

"Likely, you got a case that came early this morning! I told the stallion he should wait for you at the Home Plate, but he was pretty instant on waiting for you to wake up! He's waiting at your desk now! It's another missing persons case!" I heard Dusk Gleam's voice pipe, before I heard her quickly trot away. I coughed, pulling my coat on and glancing in the mirror to fix my tie. My reflection showed my black exoskeleton skin and light blue cobwebbed mane. My solid sky eyes glistened in my reflection. "Another one... what is the Academy up to?"

After a few more minutes, I stepped out of my room and headed from my office. I could hear Dusk, talking to a stallion, trying to press him for information. After turning in, I could see the poor guy. He was a tall, yellow earth pony in a rugged, blue stable-tech jump suit with a large 19 stitched into the fabric. He was the first stable-dweller I've seen in a long time. He turned to me, giving my a frightened look. "Mr... Story?"

"Likely- Likely Story, but call me Likely. And what? Never seen a changeling before?" I gruffly responded, heading to sit down at my desk. He stared at me uncomfortably for a few more moments before I broke the silence. "What's your name and your missing person?"

"I'm... Mr. Cake." He answered apprehensively. "And I'm looking for... my twin foals. They were taken from my... wife... a few days ago. They're very young, only a few months old. Their names are Pumpkin and Pound Cake."

I coughed nervously. Of all the cases you could get as a private I, cases involving a foal were always the most tragic, and this one involved not one kid but two. "When and where did the foalnapping take place, Mr. Cake? And what exactly happened?"

Mr. Cake looked down. "When- I don't know for certain, but I was in the stable up north- Stable 19. I remember sirens blaring as my decontamination unit suddenly woke me... I saw some ponies... two unicorns. One was wearing a hazmat suit and the other was carrying a huge pistol with his magic. She... the hazmat unicorn... opened up my wife's unit, which had Pound and Pumpkin Cake in it and tried to take them from her... Ms. Cake... she fought back... and the burly unicorn with the handgun... fired..." He stopped, covering his face.

"Maybe Panflute is right..." I muttered under my breath. "Maybe the Academy of Laughter really is taking ponies."

He looked at my confused. "Did you see where they went, exactly?" I asked him, quickly, trying desperately to change the subject. He hung his head again, shaking it.

"No, they kicked on my unit again and everything went white..." He explained to me that the stable in question- Stable 19- was a sort of freezer for ponies, full to the brim with cryopods. Apparently, he and his children are the last survivors. If what he's told me is true, then he also predates the war. He was alive during the golden ages of Equestrian science and magic.

"Hmmm... I think I know where we can begin... but first, we should stop by Panflute's Newspaper Print... I need to ask her something first." I stood up, heading for the door, turning over my shoulder. "Are you coming or what?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This is only a testing out the waters. Its been absolutely ages since I wrote something and I wanted to see if I was even capable of it still... If I continue this, I promise the actual chapters will be much longer. This was only a test run.