Deep in the colourful rolling mists of Dream Valley, Gonzo the Griffon and I sat with our backs to a rock and plotted our course. That we had waited until this late moment to do so perturbed me greatly, but he was in the one in charge.

"Now here's what we're gonna do, dollface," he said, smirking. "You're gonna use that pretty little horn of yours to light up some of them gems under that there ground, so we all can see them all clearly like. As I explained before, the little critters love gems. A nice lightshow'll bring them here in droves."

I shivered at the tone of his voice, but nodded my compliance. "And if I do what you ask, then you'll let my sister go free?"

"I guarantee it, little lady."

There was no worth in his guarantees, but having one was better than having nothing. "Very well then."

My shaking forehooves clasped the top of the rock we stood behind, and I peered at what little ground I could see through the mists. There was a patch of bare earth just ahead of us, and even before my spell was cast, something deep inside me already knew of the gems buried beneath it.

I took a few deep, measured breaths, calming myself and focusing my energy in the way my mother taught me. My horn glowed with its gem-locating spell, and soon the earth before me was alight with the brilliant reds, greens and blues beneath it.

"Good, good," I heard Gonzo say behind me. "Our little friends should be here any moment now."

Eyes peeled, I focused on the glowing ground.

"Any moment now. Keep the magic steady."

A current of mist drifted over the glowing ground, and then something quite peculiar happened. The current seemed to break off from the rest of the mist and hover for a moment as a lonely cloud. It grew more and more opaque, and its hazy edges became defined. The mist drifted down to the ground and took the form of a little round creature with four stubby legs. It hopped animatedly around the glow beneath it. I swear I could hear it whooping and chirruping.

"Excellent. An a-grade for sure." In the corner of my vision, Gonzo's wings unfurled. He clutched a fine net between his talons. "Three... two... one..."

With astounding speed, Gonzo leapt into the air and pounced, his net ensnaring the helpless little creature between my startled blinks. It yelped for an instant before falling silent.

The creature hadn't any eyes, but it felt like its back was staring right at me, with my glowing horn and wide-eyed stare. I shivered.

Gonzo stuffed the net in a pack on his back before grabbing my forehoof with a rough talon. "Mission accomplished. Now we go."

With a mighty flap of his wings, Gonzo lifted up into the sky, muffling my screams with his other talon.

---

Sweetie Belle had been under a sleep spell the entire time. The poor dear woke up in her own bed the next morning, completely unaware of what she had been through. When she looked at the calendar, she wondered at having missed two days, but I told her she was just being silly. I don't think I was very convincing.

I was relieved that Gonzo had kept his word. Neither he nor his associates had laid a talon or a hoof on Sweetie Belle, and true to their word, they released her once I had fulfilled the task given to me.

Still, a criminal is a criminal. Gonzo had the nerve to offer me a position as his full-time partner. He just chuckled when I didn't even dignify such a request with a response.

The little creature from Dream Valley was sold to a pair of shady unicorns in dark suits and even darker glasses, probably for an exorbitant fee. I try not to think about the part I've played in all of this. At least Sweetie is safe.

I think I should at least tell my friends about what's happened--maybe just Twilight. But I'm scared. Gonzo's still out there, and he's got ears everywhere.

Or maybe it just feels like he does. I keep seeing him around town, but he disappears as soon as I blink. It's probably the sleep deprivation.

I haven't been able to sleep a wink since I helped captured that little mist creature in Dream Valley.