Prologue

The unicorn was lavender, with a pair of lovely purple eyes, and a dark indigo mane that had a bright stripe running through it, cut like a schoolfilly's. Magenta light swirled around her body, emanating from her horn in a grand display of magical skill. All in all, it was a good illustration.

"Twilight Sparkle…"

A gloved hand turned the page, skimming over the detailed descriptions. The next entry was that of a dark blue pegasus, with an unruly bright blue and white striped mane and tail. She was wearing a clawed bracer made of black metal on her right foreleg, the blade on the bottom folded back. The bright blue eyes had been meticulously painted, each iris daubed with ink. There was a three-pronged, menacing face with red eyes stamped on the top right corner.

"Blizzard Gale…"

After making a few notes in the lexicon, Grimm turned to the final entry that she needed to see that day. The entry of Princess Celestia, the daytime ruler of the world known as Equestria. For sure, that one had a powerful and energetic soul, to have lived so long. And it was probably rare, too.

Now, how to get at it….

Grimm closed her lexicon with a snap, carefully tucking it into a yellow portal. She stood up, all eight feet of her. For someone who had been serving for over fifteen thousand years, Grimm was not the most patient person. Most operatives of that age either began to become unhinged, or were stopped from going out into the outer realms due to the sheer amount of guilt that might have accumulated, or at least until Nightfall was done with them.

If Grimm had still had a mouth, she would have smiled. She was possibly one of the eldest officers in the Grand Master's active service, and was still as effective as she had been four thousand years ago. She still made the occasional trip into the outer realms, finalizing deals and the such.

The officer glided over to a crystal set in the wall and spoke into it in a lilting tongue that disguised the true nature of the message.

Within moments, a cloaked and hooded figure with absurdly long coat-tails came into the study.

"You wanted to see me?" it asked. "Is it time?"

Grimm stared back at it, savoring the feeling of having the answer to a question.

"Very soon. What's the news from the Court?"

The being in black shrugged. "Not much, to be honest. Just the usual about Razioth's search for a new manager, and not much else. Oh, and Sirmyurin is not making much progress in counseling. At this rate, Nightfall may need to keep him longer than four months."

Privately, the being in black sometimes wondered about Grimm. Her entry in the lexicon was very…vague. It hoped that one day, Grimm herself would tell it a little about herself. But all these thoughts, the hooded one never voiced. It was best to stay on Grimm's good side; stories were whispered about clients who got on her bad side. There weren't a whole lot of them, but the ones that existed were often intensely messy.

"Excellent." Grimm said, running a gloved finger over a nearby bookshelf, caressing the spines of every volume. "I do feel sorry for Nightfall, but it's imperative that every operative is up to standard. Did you manage to acquire what I requested?"

The hooded being reached into an inside pocket and drew out a small, egg sized blue orb.

The officer took it with care, tucking it away in her long sleeve.

"Then we have nothing else to discuss. Have a good day, Graygan. You've done very well."

"Thank you, Grimm."

Once Grimm was alone, she took out the orb once again. It was the final piece of her latest project, but thanks to Faedran and his team, she would now have a place to test it.

Grimm removed her segmented metal mask, setting it on the table and walking over to the large mirror set in the wall, her knee length black hair billowing down her back and around her high collar, the glowing ball of light set into the front of her dress illuminating her front.

Her reflection had no face, no head, no shoulders, no visible body at all.

But then again, neither did she.

Author's Notes

If you haven't read "The Long Journey Home", then the rest of this story will probably be a little confusing. Make sure you read that one first, okay?

Otherwise, please leave a review! Ponies in the next chapter, I promise.