The House

Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Applejack apprehensively walked through the everfree forest in the direction of the house. Not one of the mares present spoke a word to one another. They all merely continued to walk forward toward their intimidating goal. With a small sigh, Applejack finally spoke up.

"So...what are we gonna do when we get there?" She asked her friends. "It hasn't been the most welcoming entity around the past two times we've been there."

"I've actually been thinking about that." Twilight said, continuing to look ahead. "Perhaps if we present ourselves to it as allies that only want to help..."

"Why are you two referring to Spring Moon as an it?" Rainbow asked with a frown. "Just because she's dead doesn't mean she's lost her being as a pony."

"Well Rainbow, she's dead. That's the point." Twilight said. "I don't think she'd care about what she was referred to as."

"I still think its awful." Rainbow said. "How would you like it if I was dead and someone referred to me as an it?"

"Okay, okay. I take your point." Twilight said. "We'll call Spring Moon a she from now on. Right, Applejack?" The farm mare nodded.

"Yeah." Applejack replied. "Sorry for hurting your feelings, Dash."

"It's fine." Rainbow said. "I just...I feel connected to her now that I've gone through what she did...And I just want to...help her, you know? I want to avenge her."

"Now Rainbow, don't go doin' anything stupid." Applejack said. "Odds are, the stallion that killed her is long dead of old age. But if it turns out he's not, Ah don't want ya goin' off to kill him or anything like that."

"I get it." Rainbow said. "I'm not some vigilante. But he deserves whatever's coming to him." The pegasus then looked ahead and furrowed her eyebrows, beginning to walk with a newfound determination toward the house. Before long, they arrived at their destination. The house stood just as intimidatingly as ever. It towered over the three mares with its two stories. The door still laid broken off its hinges on the front porch. The sun shined on the house, illuminating it to look like nothing more than an abandoned old building, incapable of harming anyone.

But it was what was inside the house that did harm.

"Wh...what if Spring Moon...doesn't want help?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow, her eyes widening slightly. "What if she just attacks us again?"

"Applejack, if she didn't want help, she wouldn't have put me through her experience." Rainbow said. "And I don't think she attacked us. I think she was just defending herself. Remember, the last pony she associated with murdered her."

"But for all we know, she's just going to do it again." Twilight said. "She might kill us."

"Now is the time when you two have reservations?" Rainbow asked the two mares. The cyan mare moved forward and addressed her friends. "Look, you both said you'd help me out with this. Now if I have to go in there alone, I will. But we all had an agreement."

"We know that, Rainbow." Twilight said. "But after what happened last time we were in there, can you blame us for having second thoughts?"

"You're the one who...felt...whatever Spring Moon went through." Applejack said. "It's hard to have the same kinda passion about this that you do."

"Well are you coming or not?" Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow. Twilight pursed her lips and Applejack looked to the side nervously. Rainbow continued to look at her friends for a while before turning back around and walking toward the house.

"I'm coming, okay?" Twilight said in slight irritation, moving to catch up with Rainbow Dash.

"Me too." Applejack said before stepping forward. "Let's go." They walked up to the front porch and through the front door of the house. The floorboards squeaked as they walked, each hoofstep feeling as if it would send the mares plummeting through the floor.

"Don't worry!" Rainbow called nearly immediately. "We're not here to harm you. We're not here to take anything from you. We only want to help." No sounds came from anywhere in the house and nothing moved. The three mares waited for minutes before Rainbow Dash spoke up again.

"We know you're here! You showed me what you went through for a reason! Show us how we can help you!" Rainbow Dash said, furrowing her eyebrows. She became even more agitated when no answer came yet again. "Spring Moon!"

The entire house seemed to rumble and it made an unbearable sequence of cracking and scraping sounds. Caked on dust fell from the rafters, and a candlestick sitting on the fireplace mantle inexplicably fell to the ground and broke in two. Rainbow, realizing now that she had the spirit's attention, breathed deeply before continuing.

"You showed me what happened to you. I want to help you...to avenge you." Rainbow said. "Tell us what to do. Please."

More silence followed Rainbow's words. The eerie stillness crept into the three mare's senses until it was nearly unbearable. A moaning suddenly came from the kitchen, making Twilight and Applejack jump.

"Th-that's the same moanin' Ah heard when Ah w-was first here with Rainbow." Applejack whispered, trembling. "Oh, Goddesses, it's happening again!"

"No." Rainbow said. "It's not. We have to follow it."

"Are ya crazy?!" Applejack asked in a hushed tone. "She'll kill us!"

"No she won't." Rainbow said. "She knows we want to help now. Come on, just follow me."

"We should trust Rainbow's judgment, Applejack." Twilight said. "She's the most connected to Spring Moon out of the three of us. I know this is hard for you, but we need to be there with her in case something happens." Applejack sighed and nodded slowly.

"Ah don't trust this one bit, but Celestia help me, Ah'll come with y'all..." Applejack said. "Ah just hope we're makin' the right choice."

The three mares steadily approached the kitchen, the moaning growing louder and louder the closer they came. It seemed pained and woeful, full of regret. As they entered the kitchen, it escalated to a scream, sending chills down their spines before dying down to a muted moan once more. Nothing moved in the kitchen. The cabinets all stayed shut and in their proper places, the sink did not turn on. Even the table, which sported a sickening dark stain on the edge that the mares had not noticed before, did not budge an inch.

"Ah-Ah don't like this." Applejack said.

"Stand your ground, AJ. This'll all be over soon." Rainbow Dash said to her friend comfortingly. "Alright! We've followed your signs, Spring Moon. What do we do now-" The cyan mare stopped in the middle of her speech, straightened and went wide-eyed where she stood. Confused by this sudden development, Twilight and Applejack slowly approached Rainbow Dash and saw her face.

"Rainbow Dash, are you okay?" Twilight asked.

_____

Rainbow Dash saw blackness...empty blackness. But something in her gut told her that she'd be seeing something that would give her some sort of direction of where to take her friends next. A vision of a cave suddenly flooded her sight. It had a peculiar look to it, seeming to be lopsided to the right. But the entrance of the cave remained intact and clearly defined. Rainbow knew in her being that she and her friends had to find that cave. Inside the cave, she saw a skeleton in a deep hole that seemed to be freshly dug. The vision seemed to focus on one of the teeth in the bottom jaw.

Hold a town meeting... A garbled and distorted voice that seemed to fade in and out of her hearing told her. Bring it... Rainbow knew the voice was referring to the tooth. Her vision suddenly went black again. She waited for another vision to come, but none came. Instead, a series of blurred colors and a faint voice called her name.

"Rainbow Dash..." It said. Before long, Rainbow's friends began to appear among the blurs. "Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" Twilight Sparkle lightly shook the pegasus. She shook her head and put a fore hoof on her forehead lightly.

"Ugh...I'm...I'm alright..." Rainbow said, stumbling to the side slightly before gaining her footing. "How long was I gone?" Twilight looked at Applejack briefly before turning back toward Rainbow Dash.

"About five seconds." Twilight said. "We just though you were having another seizure or something."

"I just...Spring Moon showed me..." Rainbow looked up and nearly dropped her jaw at what she saw. Burned into the rotten, wooden wall of the kitchen was-

FIND HIM

BRING HIM

Applejack gulped before looking at Twilight and Rainbow Dash.

"Ah suppose 'him' is the murderer. Well that's all fine and dandy..." Applejack said. "But how're we supposed to 'Find him and bring him.'?"

"I don't know, Applejack." Rainbow Dash said. "But...I know what we need to do next. She showed me." As soon as the words left Rainbow Dash's mouth, the door leading to the backyard flew open with such force, it cracked, nearly breaking off its hinges.

"I think...she wants us to go that way." Twilight said as they began walking toward the door. Rainbow Dash nodded at Applejack as they moved out of the door and onto the back porch. "Well, Rainbow...what did she show you?"

"She showed me...a cave." Rainbow said. "I think it's where her bones are."

"So Ah'm guessin' we just find her bones and bury her right...and this whole thing'll be over?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know for sure, Applejack." Rainbow said with a small sigh. "But it's a good place to start."

"Well then, Rainbow Dash, she showed it to you." Twilight said. "You have a better idea of where to go than we do. Lead the way." With a small exhale, Rainbow Dash led her friends off the back porch and through the overgrown grass. They walked for a short while and saw absolutely nothing.

"Well, the cave's gotta be somewhere near here." Applejack said. "Ah mean, he couldn't have carried her corpse that far...could he?"

"Why don't we just fly?" Twilight asked. "We could cover the grounds twice as fast."

"Because in my vision, the cave looked like it would be easy to miss." Rainbow said. "It wasn't that big...and it seemed to go underground some."

"Well do you have any idea of where we could possibly look?" The alicorn princess asked. "Because I can't see any cave as far as I can see."

"I...I..." Rainbow began to say that she had no earthly idea where the cave could be. That it could be miles away for all she knew. She began to say that it was probably a fool's errand to attempt to find the cave, especially this deep in the Everfree Forest. But something in the back of her head buzzed very subtly. A sort of extrasensory feeling enticed her to make an immediate left. "Follow me, girls...I think I know where it is!" The three mares, now sped up to a brisk canter, moved through the forest, dodging low reaching branches and overturned logs. The farther they went, the closer Rainbow knew they were coming to their goal.

"I'm almost positive it's straight ahead!" Rainbow said excitedly. But they came upon a rock wall, blanketed in moss, crushing their high spirits.

"Aw, Dash." Applejack said. "Don't worry. We can still try to find it." Rainbow shook her head and moved toward the rock wall.

"It's not what it seems..." Rainbow said quietly as she came closer and closer to the moss.

"Seems like a rock wall to me." Twilight Sparkle said before letting her rump fall to the ground. "Any other ideas on where to g-" The alicorn princess stopped in the middle of her sentence as she witnessed Rainbow's hoof disappear into the wall of rock and moss. Applejack, after doing a double take of her own, walked closer to the moss herself and put her own hoof through. She turned to Twilight and smiled.

"There's an entryway behind the moss. It's just hangin' here." Applejack said as Rainbow moved past the moss. Applejack and Twilight followed her in to behold a hidden oasis; featuring a small lake and, as Rainbow described, a cave. The pegasus looked back at her friends and raised an eyebrow.

"Rainbow, I...You..." Twilight said, stunned at both the beauty of the hidden spot and Rainbow's apparent extra sense. "I can't believe it."

"This is amazin'..." Applejack said. "But...Ah'm pretty sure we're gonna have to go into that there cave..."

"You're right, AJ." Rainbow said as she began to walk toward the mouth of the cave fearlessly. "Come on. Twilight, I'm gonna need you up front so you can provide light." With a nod, Twilight walked in front of Rainbow and performed a simple light spell that illuminated the cave rather nicely.

"Okay. Let's go." Twilight said as they began to move forward. "So, how far in do we have to go, Rainbow Dash?"

"I'm not exactly sure..." Rainbow replied as she took care to step over a rather large rock. "The visions were sparse and pretty vague. But I know for sure that this is the cave I saw..."

"Well Ah sure hope it's not too far in. Ah'm a little claustrophobic..." Applejack said with a small sigh. They continued walking for what seemed like ten minutes, looking at the walls beside them and nothing in front of them. The spell, even as meager and simple as it was, began to put a slowly increasing strain to Twilight the longer she had to sustain it. Rainbow Dash felt a familar buzz in the back of her head...the same buzz she felt earlier. She suddenly decided to look to her lower left.

"Stop." Rainbow said before gesturing toward the spot she was looking at. "We need to stop here. She's buried here."

"Are ya sure?" Applejack asked, unsure of Rainbow Dash's judgement. "The ground doesn't look any different than anywhere else in the cave."

"I'm sure." Rainbow said. "Spring Moon is buried right there. We need to dig up her bones."

"Okay..." Twilight said. "As much as I was expecting you to say that, it's still freaking me out to hear it..."

"You don't have to dig, Twi." Rainbow said to the alicorn. "Applejack and I will do it. You just give us some light."

"Ah hope you're right, Rainbow." Applejack said. "'Cuz if you aren't, Ah'm leavin'."

"That won't happen." Rainbow said. "Trust me. She's here." With that, the two mares began digging in the spot, scraping off deep layers of dirt with their hooves. Thankfully, the natural dampness of the cave kept the dirt loose and easy to manipulate, so the first part of the dig was relatively simple. For Applejack, the task wasn't difficult in the slightest; she was a farm mare after all. Rainbow had some difficulty in excavating, but it wasn't anything the fit and physically adept pegasus couldn't handle. Twilight's nerves began to grate as she continued to hold the spell as time went on. Still only very mildly tired, she continued to hold the spell before looking around nervously.

"Uh, Twilight..." Rainbow said between heavy breaths. "We need a steady light."

"Sorry, Rainbow." Twilight said. "I just heard some noises...I'm kinda nervous."

"Well just stay there a little longer." Rainbow said. "We're getting closer, I can feel it." As if on cue, after the words left Rainbow's mouth, Rainbow's hoof struck something hard; the action produced a loud thump, audible to all three mares present.

"Dear sweet Celestia..." Applejack murmured. "Ah can't believe it..." Rainbow and Applejack, newly empowered by their new find, dug the dirt away with newfound vigor, quickly clearing off the top of what appeared to be a rather large trunk. They continued digging and discovered it to be locked.

"Twilight! Do you think you can lift this out of here?" Rainbow asked before looking up at her friend. The pegasus' jaw nearly dropped as she noticed how deep in the hole she and Applejack were. The hole was almost over their heads. Twilight nodded down at them and huffed.

"Yeah." Twilight said as her horn glowed even brighter than it had already been as she then employed a levitation spell alongside her already draining light spell to lift the trunk out. She grunted as she laid it outside the hole and sighed as she released the levitation spell, going back to only the light.

"It looks like it's locked..." Twilight said upon observing it. Rainbow flew out of the hole and landed next to her.

"Yeah, we knew that." Applejack said, climbing out of the hole with a small grunt. "Don't worry about that, Twi. One quick buck and that thing'll be open like...geez Ah'm so winded Ah can't even think of somethin' snappy to say..." With a heavy grunt, Applejack bucked the lock. It crumpled slightly, but it held fast. This stunned Applejack as she winded up to try again. The second buck did the lock in as it completely popped, causing the trunk to open slightly.

"C'mon, Twilight. I need that light over here." Rainbow said, gesturing for Twilight to follow her to the trunk. All three mares approached the trunk with apprehension. The tension in the air was palpable as Rainbow began to push the lid up. A shriveled skeleton of what appeared to be a female pony laid in the trunk. Its four legs were hideously broken, most likely to help the corpse fit into the trunk efficiently. Applejack gagged and stumbled away from the trunk while Twilight merely looked away. Rainbow stood and stared at the bones, her bottom lip quivering as a single tear fell from her eye.

"Oh...." She mumbled quietly to herself before snapping back into her senses. "Twilight! Come on I need that light!"

"Well forgive me for momentarily retreating at the sight of the bones of a murdered mare!" Twilight said, frustration evident in her voice. "And also, do you have any idea what a strain it is to hold a light spell for two and a half hours, even for an alicorn?! I'm doing this to help you Rainbow!" Rainbow put her forehooves up in a gesture of penitence.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Twilight." Rainbow said. "It's just...I'm under a lot of stress too, and I just want to get this over with..."

"Alright." Twilight said with a small sigh, leaning back over the trunk. Applejack had rejoined them by this point as well.

"That sick monster..." Applejack murmured as they looked the bones over. A sickening odor was present, but it wasn't as strong as a corpse with rotting flesh. The eye socket's seemed bottomless, staring widely at everything and seeing nothing. Surprising her friends, Rainbow Dash reached her two forehooves into the trunk and took a hold of a tooth in the top jaw. The same tooth that the entity had shown her in the vision.

"Uh, Rainbow, what're ya doin'?" Applejack asked her friend. Her eyes widened heavily as Rainbow pulled the tooth loose from the jaw, producing a sickening snapping noise. This caused her two friends to jump back and scream.

"Rainbow Dash! What the hay?!" Twilight exclaimed in disgust. "Why would you do that?!"

"Guys..." Rainbow began.

"Rainbow, that's sick!" Applejack cried.

"Guys!" Rainbow said louder.

"I just can't believe you'd-"

"GUYS!" The pegasus nearly screamed, producing a deafening echo that shut her two friends up. "I pulled this tooth out of her jaw for a reason."

"And...what might that be?" Twilight asked as she rubbed her ear.

"When Spring Moon gave me the vision, she also showed me her bones and...told me to pull her tooth out." Rainbow said.

"Why would she tell you to defile her bones?" Applejack asked.

"I'm getting to that." Rainbow said. "She told me that we need to call a town meeting and bring the tooth. If we do this, we'll find her killer."

"Hm..." Twilight said. "This seems so strange and unorthodox..."

"I know it seems weird and depraved, but I'm only doing what she told me to do." Rainbow said, raising an eyebrow and smiling at her two friends. "We're getting closer, guys. I can feel it!"

"So he really is still alive...This just keeps gettin' better and better..." Applejack said with a sigh. "But Ah'll take your word for it, sugarcube...But just one thing."

"Yeah, what's that?" Rainbow inquired.

"What do we do with the remains?" Applejack asked.

"We should bury her properly in a cemetery." Rainbow said. "I figured it'd be the best thing we could do with them."

"Well I could have guessed that." Twilight said. "Thank Celestia it's only bones in there. Otherwise I'd say we have a monster task ahead of us."

"Yep." Rainbow said. "Applejack and I will tag team the trunk. Twilight, when we get to the cemetery, could you find a rock and make her a tombstone?"

"Sounds reasonable enough." Twilight said. "You guys need help putting the trunk on your backs?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, hun." Applejack said as she stood right beside Rainbow Dash. Twilight lifted the trunk with her magic and placed it on their backs.

"Now let's get out of here." Twilight said with a small gulp, looking up at the ceiling of the cave. "I really don't like this place."

"Agreed." Applejack said. "Oh, and another thing, what if somepony sees us buryin' bones in the cemetery? Seems awfully suspicious, doesn't it?"

"We'll have to be real quick about it, I guess." Rainbow said with a sigh. "By then, that'll officially be the end of the hard part of this investigation of ours."

"You say that now." Twilight said to her friend. "I still have to get the mayor to organize a town meeting. How am I supposed to do that?"

"That's a really good question..." Rainbow said with a small huff. "Just be honest. Tell her that this has something do with our investigation, and that she just needs to lie about renovations to the town or something."

"Ah don't have a problem with that." Applejack said with a small laugh. "Ah wouldn't mind hearin' some straight-up honesty right now..." Twilight Sparkle nodded at her friends.

"Alright, its settled then." Rainbow said. "And it's not like you're going to have to do this alone, Twilight. Me and Applejack will be with you." The three mares continued to move through the caves until they finally began to see the moonlight at the entrance.

"Oh, thank Celestia!" Twilight said as she finally stopped her light spell after a full three hours of use. "Great...now I have a headache..."

"Sorry, Twilight." Rainbow said with a small smile. "We could stop and get you some asprin."

"No, we shouldn't bother..." Twilight said with a small sigh. "The sun's already set and by the time we get to the cemetery, it's going to be completely dark. Might as well just get it done."

"Sounds good to me." Applejack said. "Y'know, now that we're really gettin' into it, Ah'm gettin' more and more tired of this. Ah just want it all to be over."

"We're already in it, AJ." Rainbow said. "We can't just stop."

"Ah know, Ah know..." Applejack said, looking to the side. "Ah just want for it to be done."

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Twilight asked Rainbow Dash who nodded.

"Yeah. We're on the right track. Don't worry." Rainbow said. "I got us here and I can get us out."

The three mares continued to walk through the Everfree Forest, every single strange or out-of-place sound scaring them or making them uneasy. The bright moonlight provided just enough illumination to light the three friend's ways through the forest, showing them sticks and logs they could've possibly tripped over had they not seen them. The house eventually came into their view, and the sight of it repulsed the mares as they passed it, preferring not to enter it. They were all too exhausted and drained to face the entity that resided within the decaying place. Now that all of the mares were fully aware of where exactly they were, it was exceedingly simple for the three of them to find their way back to the outskirts of Ponyville.

"There's the cemetery..." Twilight said with a small tired smile. "Thank Celestia that this is almost over..."

"We've still got a bit to do, sugarcube." Applejack said with a raised eyebrow. "Not to mention potentially bein' found buryin' a corpse and sent to jail..."

"Don't worry, guys." Rainbow said. "If there's even a possibility we've been seen, Twilight will teleport away and I'll fly you out of there. It'll be fine."

"Yeah, ya say that now." Applejack said as she rolled her eyes subtly. It didn't escape Rainbow's attention.

"Have a little faith, Applejack." Rainbow said, furrowing her eyebrows. Applejack merely huffed and looked forward at the cemetery, continuing to walk. Twilight Sparkle giggled at the two friends.

"Even in this situation, you're butting heads like a married couple." Twilight said.

They reached the cemetery before very long and found a vacant spot. It was an older cemetery, so nopony would likely notice the new headstone. Rainbow and Applejack put the crate down on the ground and began to dig as fast as they could with their hooves. As they dug, Rainbow Dash regarded Twilight Sparkle, who stood and watched them.

"Twilight, I need you to make a headstone for her, remember?" Rainbow said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh! Oh, yeah. Sorry." Twilight said. "I must be really tired."

"We're almost done." Rainbow said. "Just a little longer and we can stop." As Rainbow and Applejack dug, Twilight moved through the cemetery, looking for any kind of large stone that she could possibly use for Spring Moon's headstone. Not believing her luck, Twilight managed to find a medium sized boulder that would fit perfectly over the grave. She levitated it and carried it back to her two friends, who had already made a decent dent in the ground.

"Wow, you guys are working a lot faster than you were in the cave." Twilight said with an approving smile.

"Yeah, well, the risk of bein' caught and arrested kinda accelerates the urgency of the thing." Applejack said. Twilight sat before her stone and began to employ an engraving spell to do her work. Her horn lit up with magic as a small beam shot out and pierced the top layer of the stone, creating a perfectly smooth groove. After appraising the nature of the small start, she smiled and continued, slowly carving out letters in the stone. Rainbow and Applejack continued to dig, now up to their knees.

"My knees are killin' me." Applejack said between breaths. She looked over to see that Rainbow was sweaty, but continuing on with her normal speed. "How are ya still goin' so fast?"

"I don't know..." Rainbow said, as she kept digging. "I'm just...getting these sudden bursts of energy."

"Ah don't know how you're doin' it." Applejack said. "Ah'm got-dang exhausted..."

"We don't have much father to go, AJ." Rainbow said. "C'mon, let's get this done." Shaking her head and exhaling deeply, Applejack resumed digging with her pegasus friend. Time passed by seemingly slowly for the three mares, the nature and situation of their work taking a toll on their morale.

"How's it coming down there?" Twilight asked from above, as she finished engraving the headstone.

"We're pretty much done." Rainbow said with a small huff. "What about you?"

"Same." Twilight said. "Now that's what I call convenient." Rainbow and Applejack climbed out of the hole, which came up to the bottom of their necks, and placed the trunk inside. Twilight easily picked up the dirt and buried Spring Moon in her grave before placing the headstone on it. It read,

Here lies Spring Moon

A Baker

A Family Mare

Gone but not forgotten.

"Good job, Twi." Applejack said with a small smile. Twilight, upon looking at Rainbow Dash, noticed she merely stood wistfully at the headstone. This caused worry to bubble up within the alicorn.

"Rainbow?" Twilight asked, gaining her attention. "Are you okay?" Rainbow Dash immediately nodded and smiled.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Rainbow Dash said. "It's great, Twilight. Let's get out of here."

_____

Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack moved through Ponyville slowly and tiredly. After their long day's work, they were all completely and utterly exhausted to their very core. Every step felt like it was up a staircase for them. Applejack groaned as she moved forward, her eyes droopy.

"Ah can not wait to drop down in my bed." Applejack said with a sigh. "Ah'm more tired than a rabbit tryin' to escape a timber wolf. Y'all doin' okay?"

"I'm alright, I guess." Twilight said. "I certainly am not opposed to getting in bed now. Rainbow Dash?"

"Tired. That's for sure." Rainbow said, raising an eyebrow. "You know...I think it's best that it's just the three of us doing this, and not Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity."

"Why do you say that?" Twilight inquired.

"Well, Pinkie Pie's always cheerful and happy, so this might put her into a pretty bad funk like when she thought we were ignoring her...Rarity's a prim little fashionista, so none of this would be her cup of tea...And Fluttershy...No explanation needed." This caused Twilight and Applejack to giggle. The three friends felt guilty for laughing, but they couldn't help it. After such a long, grim day, a little laughter was needed.

"That's true." Applejack said. "Ah mean, Ah love 'em to death, but they wouldn't be much help."

"Yeah." Twilight said, just getting over a binge of laughter. "Could you imagine what Rarity would do if she got dirt in her mane?"

"Probably go absolutely crazy until she could get a shower." Rainbow said with a smile.

"Hey, y'all just want to crash at my house tonight?" Applejack asked. "Ah don't really have any beds available, but the couches in the living room are mighty comfy."

"Yeah, I think I will." Twilight said with a small nod. "Spike's there right now, so it'd make sense."

"I definitely don't feel like going all the way back to my house right now." Rainbow said. "So I'll sleep there too." Suddenly, they saw a police officer, making his normal rounds on the streets. His flashlight illuminating the area in front of him.

"Act natural." Rainbow whispered to her friends. "He's seen us. If we run, he'll chase us down." They all stood and began talking about different things, like shopping and different ponies they would be interested in. They all prayed that the cop wouldn't notice the excessive dirt on their bodies, but sure enough, he stopped them. He was a rather large black earth pony with a white mane and a handlebar mustache.

"Evening, ladies." He said. "Would you mind telling me why two of you are caked in dirt?"

"Why we're caked in dirt?" Rainbow asked before looking at herself and then at Applejack. "Oh...Oh we we're wrestling."

"Wrestling?"

"Yessir, wrestling."

"At three-thirty in the morning?" The question made Rainbow's eyes widen momentarily before she continued and nodded.

"Yeah, we're all kinda night owls." Rainbow said with a smile. "Just ask Princess Twilight." The police officer looked past Rainbow and Applejack to see Twilight, who waved somewhat sheepishly.

"It's true, officer." Twilight said.

"Alright, then." He said with a small smile. "You girls have a good night. And try to get some sleep."

"You got it, sir!" Rainbow said as they continued walking. Once they got a significant distance away from the officer, they all relaxed at their close call.

"Glad we made it out of that one." Applejack said with a small chuckle. "Now, let's get to my house so Ah can shower and get some sleep."

"Save us some hot water." Twilight said to her friend with a smile. Sweet Apple Acres came into their views, an inviting beacon of rest and recuperation from the day's activities.

"Ah just can't believe that as soon as we wake up, we're gonna be back at it again, tryin' to solve this ridiculously entangled mystery." Applejack said. "And that we're really gonna find out who did this...At least we hope we will."

"Don't worry, Applejack." Rainbow Dash said. "We're getting closer. I can feel it." The pegasus adjusted the wing she kept Spring Moon's tooth nestled in as she felt it digging into her skin.

Obligatory End-of-Chapter Author's Note: Okay, there's that one, guys! I must admit, I've been in the biggest horror mood lately because I've been playing the horror video game Outlast. Its freakin' terrifying! There's still plenty of twists and turns in this horror mystery to come! Stay tuned. Cheers!