(no subject)

[multaekappae]

Caine Nine considered the shaken shifter. "There is no scent of kelpie present. Unicorn Stompson was referring to ... the title of an article or other written piece, I think?"

In truth, it was difficult for the diamond dog to smell much of anything over the aromatic scents of this 'coffee' he was confronted by. Observing the other patrons at the shop, he noticed  what he assumed was the general protocol for consumption: bring the cup up, blow to cause enhanced heat exchange on the beverage's surface, and then take a measured sip.

He tried such.
...
His tongue immediately informed him that he was consuming the boiled remains of burnt beans. The taste, while shocking and a little unpleasant, seemed to be extremely complex, intriguing almost. And there was something more, some sort of neurochemical reaction... a stimulant effect?
Obviously this required further investigation.

He sipped again.

---

Agent Blue streak shook his head with a grunt, "Dear Celestia, talk talk talk talk... how can anypony, or griffon, or huge dog-thing manage to keep talking for so long?" The blue unicorn laughed at his own observation, "I mean like there was this one time when...", it belatedly occurred to the agent that this was normally when his partner would have snorted or otherwise called him a hypocrite.

He looked away from the binoculars, "Goldie?" he called. She hated that.

No answer, in fact there was no sign of her anywhere.

'No, no way she was dumb enough to go confront the targets now.' He shook his head. 'Impossible'. He was running by the third step.

---

Golden Dawn trotted back to the 'observation point' or 'conveniently placed shrubbery', depending on how technical one wanted to be.
She hurried a little, starting to feel guilty about not having said anything before taking a bathroom break. 'I mean, I left a note... and who in Equestria wouldn't notice something taped to their own horn?', the empty observation post answered the earth mare's question.

A gentle hush

[multaekappae]

 The Inspector readjusted his cravat, "I don't like being snuck up on, ok?" he grumbled.

Jack nodded, "Hardly anypony does, Inspector." The blue pegasus turned to look at Agent Noise, "I think we're ready to leave, can you cover this many ponies?"

The unicorn's eyes darted as she made a quick calculus, "Not if they're all going to be wandering around... but if we can all stay within about fifteen strides it should be ok." She closed her eyes and began the new spell.

"Ok everypony, you heard the lady... and that's about eleven metrics for those of you far from home today."

The magic descended like the quiet hiss of snowfall, the air around the group seemed slightly leached of color, but otherwise there was no sign of the spell's effect.

Two minutes went by before Captain Harness realized the others seemed to be waiting for him to say something more. "Uh, Inspector, this is your show now, I think. Please find us someplace away from here where we can regroup and catch our breaths."

The kelpie, meantime, had discovered by experimentation that she seemed to have retained some of Noise's initial glamor, allowing her to range further from the rest of the group. As was the spell's apparent effect, the others failed to notice this.