Artist’s comment:
 
Last Thing lay on the hotel bed and brushed her tail while she read her briefing again in my Equestria dreamscape. Scattered on the bed with her was various pieces of equipment she had assembled, or was in the process of assembling. The only other pony in the room was Captain Firewing who was almost done with placing the final blasting cap on bundle of dynamite. Satisfied with it he came over and set it next to the other bundle.
 
“Here you go. Do you need another one?”
 
Last Thing looked at the new bundle, it was the larger of two bundles. 7 sticks of dynamite with simple wooden box holding 1000 nails lashed to it. The mare carefully examined the blasting caps on the most recent bundle.
 
“No captain. These should be adequate. Thank you for your assistance. These should do a very good job of whittling done the opposition if necessary. The mare levitated pencil over and marked some symbols on a map of the Gallop Park. The biggest park in Manehattan.
 
With this task accomplished she looked over at the middle-aged pegasus stallion. “Have sufficient forces been assembled to secure the park perimeter?”
 
The stallion wandered over to window and looked down at the streets below. “Yes m’am. They have been informed that an operation will be taking place this evening in the park and that they are to only act as perimeter security. In the interest of secrecy the exact nature of operation is only known by a small number of ponies.”
 
The dark-colored mare pursed her lips. “That’s for the best. It is very likely that most of the bad apples have been culled from the police force, but it is unwise to assume that is so.”
 
The captain glanced over at wall clock. “If you have no other need of my skills I will be heading out. I want to do one last scouting out of the area before tonight. I want to be sure that everypony will be in the right place.”
 
Last Thing cocked an eyebrow. Although she was only a few feet away her voice seemed to be coming from much farther away. “Scouting? Huh. I thought you were going to be bird watching?”
 
Firewing grinned. At the moment he dressed in casual, civilian clothes. A short sleeve cotton shirt of medium tan was accompanied by a broad brim hat of similar color. Over the shirt he had a set of light panniers which held a bird identification guide, a small note pad and pencil, and a set of field glasses.
 
“Well you may not know it but I am quite an avid birder, and the striped chickadees are nesting at the moment in the Manehattan area and they love areas like the park. So my cover and excuse for stomping, and flying all around the park is that I am try to spot some of these adorable little fellows!”
 
The smallest of smiles formed the mare’s lips. “Well best of luck in your quest. Unless there is a last minute change in plans I will be at the assembly point at 01:30.”
 
“All right then. Good luck.” The brilliant red stallion then got up and left. Last Thing locked the door after he’d departed. She resumed reviewing the notes she’d assembled. These were the suspects she’d most likely encounter tonight.
 
Most of Blank Check’s entourage were what Last Thing considered dangerous but boring. The usually mixture spells, training, personalities, and disposition that made them dangerous but nothing she hadn’t faced before. However there were two wild cards that garnered her attention.
 
First was Blank Check herself. From what intelligence that the Crown had been able to obtain it appeared that the unicorn mare’s special talent was the ability to make ponies or objects go away just by focusing on them for a moment. The exact amount of time and how close she had to be to the target were unknown.
 
However it was well documented that force walls and bubbles seemed to have very little effect in neutralizing her talent. Fortunately she had to very deliberately close her eyes to initiate an attack and she didn’t seem able to do the attack from behind her own force bubble either. Why her own force bubble would be problem was a source of speculation and theories. The most popular was she couldn’t perform her special talent and be concentrating on a force bubble at the same time.
 
Last Thing levitated several items up off the bed for examination. The first was a glass globe filled with a reddish-orange liquid and a detonator. The second item was a locking blindfold and head harness. The final was an inhibitor ring encrusted with crystals.
 
That’s what these are for. Thought the mare as she set them aside.
 
The other pony that concerned her was the mare who went by the name Prophecy. Unfortunately when it came to her talents and abilities it was lot more conjecture and speculation. As her name implied she apparently possessed some form clairvoyance. But beyond that the Crown had very little on her. However information about her foalhood hinted at a pony who’s fate was tied to certain dark and unwholesome things.  
Unlike most foals, Prophecy was born with a cutie mark. A very, very rare occurrence that was made even more unusual when couple years laters her mark was recognized as being a mystical symbol associated with an ancient mystical unicorn cabal.
 
Prophecy’s parents Tarot and Starry Night were mages/historians who were experts in the study of these secret magical cabals or sects that had existed in unicorn society before the unification of the 3 tribes. These secret organizations were connected with the death and sacrifices of ponies. Apparently these cabals used the sacrifices to contact and appease certain mysterious, dark beings. As a reward for their efforts these beings granted the members of these sects access to powerful, alien magic. Eventually these organizations were exposed and wiped out and most information about them was destroyed.
 
However even to this day there were rumors that these cabals still existed and lurked on the fringes of Equestrian culture. Some scholars even wonder if Prophecy’s parents were actually members of one these groups. Especially in light of how they were killed. They were found dead in their bed when she was just 16 months old. Their hearts and livers had been cut out and deposited in the crib where Prophecy was sleeping.
 
The walls of the crib and the room had been covered with strange, alien runes and glyphs written in the blood of her dead parents. Embedded in the side of the crib was a strange knife covered in dried blood. The other baffling bit of evidence was the odd prints and markings on the floor, wall, and the crib. They weren’t hoofmarks, nor did the match the tracks of any know being or creature in Equestria.
 
The assailant, or assailants, were never apprehended and Prophecy went to live with one of her aunts. However odd and strange events continued to surround the filly. If her school records and testimonies of her neighbors, teachers and classmates were to be believed the foal was always just a bit queer. Prophecy’s aunt had commented on several occasions that the filly had an uncanny knack for predicting future events. Also with the filly’s arrival her aunt also began commenting about hearing strange sounds in the home. Unexplained scurrying and clawing sounds that upon examination were not connected to rats or any other vermin. Heavy steps heard at night that would patrols the halls of the house, and the feeling that one was never truly alone in the 2-story brownstone.
 
Violence entered Prophecy’s life again when she was 14. While away on a school trip her aunt’s house burned down killing her guardian in the process. Ponies attempting to fight the fire and rescue her aunt trapped inside said they could hear her screaming inside that none of the doors would open or that the windows would neither open or break. After that the young mare seemed to have bounced from various addresses until she finally vanished at the end of the school year and never returned.
 
Then roughly a year later she showed up at Blank Check’s offices saying she had to speak to one of the most senior members of the Blood Mane Association. To everypony’s surprise the mare that so many ponies dreaded entertained Prophecy’s request. They met behind closed doors. 30 minutes later the two emerged and Blank Check declared that she was beginning the process of becoming the young mare’s legal guardian. From that day the dark bay unicorn has always been at Blank Check’s side.
 
Last Thing pursed her lips. This evening could be very, very interesting.
 
To be continued.