The House

Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle sat in the dining room of the Sweet Apple Acres farm house in near silence. They all munched on their meager breakfasts of hay oats with milk slowly and methodically, thinking about the task that lied ahead of them. Applejack had expressed her regret to her friends that they didn't have anything better than the cereal, but they dismissed it and took the hay oats gratefully. All three mares were still extremely tired from their efforts the previous day, but they knew that there was much more work to be done that day. None of them had any reservations on it, for it absolutely had to be done. It was now obligatory for them, considering that they had already buried Spring Moon's remains in the cemetery the previous night.

"So..." Applejack said after she had finished her cereal. "Just to recap, we're all gonna get the mayor to call a town meeting and have her yak about bull for half an hour, just so we can try to find the murderer of Spring Moon and bring him back to her?" Rainbow Dash looked at her friend and nodded.

"Yeah. That's the plan." Rainbow Dash said. "Doesn't sound too effective when you say it like that though..."

"But what's going to happen to him?" Twilight asked, a tinge of worry in her voice.

"I don't know for sure." Rainbow said. "But I know it won't be good. And whatever it is, he deserves it."

"Rainbow..." Twilight said.

"What, you deny it?" Rainbow replied. Twilight pursed her lips and looked down, seeing Rainbow's point.

"So how exactly are we gonna find him?" Applejack asked.

"We're gonna use the tooth." Applejack looked at her friend with widened eyes.

"Please tell me that ya didn't bring that thing to the table." Applejack said. Rainbow giggled quietly. The small laugh seemed out of place in their situation.

"Of course not." Rainbow said. "I have it in a small purse in the living room."

"Good." Applejack replied, sitting back in her chair. Twilight and Rainbow finished their cereal at virtually the same time and pushed their bowls away slightly as a sign of this.

"I'd imagine that getting the mayor to call a town meeting wouldn't be too difficult." Twilight said with a small sigh. "I don't think she'd refuse a request from a princess."

"Well we still have to tread lightly, Twilight." Rainbow said. "Even though it was mostly my fault, we almost wore out our welcome with her last time."

"I understand that, but the Mayor is a good pony." Twilight said. "She'd have to listen to reason, especially if she knows we're going to find the killer."

"What killer?" Spike asked groggily as he walked into the dining room, surprising the three mares. Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash all looked at each other frantically, searching for a logical explanation to describe their perfectly illogical task.

"Uh, uh...The killer in our novel we're writing on the side!" Twilight quickly said. "We've been writing a mystery novel, the three of us."

"Really?" Spike said, raising an eyebrow. "I've never seen you writing a mystery novel."

"Okay then, what do I usually write about?" Twilight asked.

"I dunno...Princessy stuff?" The baby dragon replied.

"Aha. That's where you're wrong. About half the time you see me writing, I'm writing the novel. I don't have as much work as you think I do. Applejack and Rainbow have helped me work out the plot of it all. Isn't that right, you two?"

"Totally." Rainbow said with a smirk. "I've been giving her all kinds of advice to keep it edgy and suspenseful."

"And Ah've also been givin' her pointers to keep it grounded in reality." Applejack added with a genuine smile. After looking at the three mares, Spike shrugged his shoulder and sighed.

"Fair enough." He said before regarding Twilight. "How did everything go yesterday?"

"Things went well." Twilight replied. "I'm afraid that we're going to need one more day though, Spike. You can go stay with Rarity if you'd like and play with Sweetie Belle." Spike groaned before exhaling through his nose.

"Oh, fine." Spike said before looking at Applejack and raising his hands. "It's not that I don't like Applebloom..."

"It's fine, sugarcube." Applejack said. "Ah can barely stand to spend more than a couple days in here anyways before gettin' out for some fresh air. And we all know how much you're in love with Rarity." Spike blushed and indignantly looked at the three mares who giggled at him.

"No, I'm..." Spike said before sighing. "Screw it. I am."

"Spike! Language!" Twilight said to the baby dragon who groaned once more.

"Alright, alright." Spike said before turning around. "Fine." As the baby dragon walked out, Twilight called after him.

"Get ready! We're leaving in ten minutes!" She said before sighing to herself. "I swear, that dragon..."

"Ah get it, Twi." Applejack said. "Applebloom's gettin' to be at that age too."

"I suppose we'd better get going." Rainbow said with a small sigh. "With any luck, we can end this by tonight."

"We'd all be so lucky." Applejack said as the three of them stood to embark on the second day of their nobile task.

_____

"Twilight! Rainbow! Applejack! This is unexpected." Rarity said with a small smile. "What brings you three here today?"

"We still have some research left to do so do you think Spike could stay the night here?" Twilight asked, raising her eyebrows nervously. "I know it's sudden and unexpected..."

"Oh, nonsense!" Rarity said before looking down at Spike, who leaned coolly on the doorframe. "My little Spikie-Wykie is always welcome here!" Spike struggled to suppress a goofy laugh as he looked up at Rarity and blushed heavily.

"Hey, Rarity..." Spike said, enamored with the prim white unicorn.

"And I see Applebloom's here too." Rarity said. "I assume she wants to stay here as well."

"She can stay for a bit and walk home from here." Applejack said. "She knows the way. Ah don't wanna inconvenience ya, Rarity."

"Oh, don't be silly! Sweetie Belle is up in her room playing." Rarity said kindly. Spike and Applebloom moved past the adults to the staircase leading to the second floor of the boutique. When Rarity saw that the dragon and the filly were out of earshot, she turned back to her friends and smiled, but her expression was much more serious. "Would you three like to come in for a cup of tea? I have some made."

"That sounds great, actually." Twilight said with a small nod. The trio followed Rarity into her parlor and took their seats.

"I'll be back in a moment." Rarity said before ambling quickly to the kitchen. Rainbow Dash looked quickly at Twilight and Applejack.

"Should we tell her?" Rainbow asked. "Y'know, about yesterday and what we plan on doing today?"

"I honestly don't see why not." Twilight responded. "Rarity has always been a bit of a gossiper, but she hasn't told anypony about the house as far as we know."

"Still, do you think we can trust her with this?" Applejack asked. "Ah mean, we don't know what Spring Moon is gonna do to the murderer when we bring him to her. What if Rarity goes off and tells somepony about it? We could be arrested."

"We don't know what she's going to do to him." Twilight said. "So I say we trust her."

"Well Ah'm against it." Applejack said. "Rainbow Dash?" The pegasus looked at her two friends and thought a moment. It could be good to tell a friend about the plan, but it could include dire consequences, depending on how Rarity would handle the information.

"We tell her." Rainbow said. "We might regret it...but what the hay. I don't think she'll tell anypony besides Pinkie or Fluttershy." Applejack sighed and shook her head as Rarity walked into the room, clutching a tray of teacups. She gingerly laid them down on the coffee table and sat down next to Applejack.

"So how has everything gone?" Rarity asked. "I haven't heard from any of you since you started."

"Well, we've come pretty far, that's for sure." Rainbow Dash said. "We went and questioned the mayor and found out that the murder happened a long time ago, back when Granny Smith was a little younger than us. The mare who was murdered was called Spring Moon. She was a well-respected baker and many ponies loved her before she just up and disappeared one day. You know what happened to her. The police covered up the murder in an attempt to keep Ponyville alive, and they never found the killer."

"Gracious..." Rarity said. "How did covering up the murder save Ponyville?"

"Because back in those days, Ponyville was a fledgling town and far from self-sufficient. It depended on ponies staying to keep the town's economy in check. If anypony found out that a murder took place around Ponyville and that the murderer was still loose, the town would have become deserted and died." Twilight Sparkle said with a small sigh.

"I understand why they did that." Rarity said. "But I can't help but think they went about it in the completely wrong way by covering it up."

"I agree with that completely." Rainbow Dash added.

"What did they do about the murderer?" Rarity said. "They never found him?"

"No." Rainbow Dash said to her. "They increased security around the town, but there hasn't been a murder in Ponyville since."

"Well what happened after that?" Rarity asked. "It doesn't seem like that's all that happened yesterday."

"Oh, we're just gettin' started, sugarcube." Applejack said. "Things are about to take a turn for the weird."

"I doubt at this point that anything will surprise me." Rarity said with a small sigh. "The things we saw in that house..."

"Upon examining the case file in town hall, which was kept under lock and key away from the public files, we read that it was in fact Spring Moon that was murdered. They found one of her earrings at the scene. Her husband confirmed it." Twilight Sparkle said. "The police found the kitchen counter drenched in blood and they found a partially eaten piece of cooked meat...suggesting...that the killer at least partially cannibalized her." Rarity seemed to go green immediately as she covered her mouth with a fore hoof.

"Oh, Goddesses..." She said. "I...I don't..."

"Ah think she's surprised." Applejack said to Twilight and Rainbow Dash, attempting to make light of the situation. Her attempt failed miserably, as her friends sent angry looks her way. The tension in the room was almost a solid presence among the four mares.

"After reading the case files, the three of us went back to the house..." Twilight said. "You take it from here, Rainbow Dash." The pegasus nodded before beginning.

"We went inside and began talking to Spring Moon. She suddenly showed me a whole bunch of visions. After I came to...and Twilight told me I'd only been catatonic for about five seconds, it was like I knew exactly where to go and what to do. She wanted us to find the killer and bring him to her. There were burned words in the wall that said 'FIND HIM. BRING HIM.' So I lead Twilight and Applejack to a cave hidden in the Everfree...Inside we dug and found Spring Moon's bones. We took her to the cemetery and gave her a proper burial and headstone."

"Today, we're going to call a town meeting so we can find the murderer." Twilight said. "Rainbow Dash has worked out a way with Spring Moon to find him." The princess decided to spare her friend the grisly details of finding the killer, as to avoid making her vomit completely. "After that, we'll take him to the house."

"What will Spring Moon do to him?" Rarity asked. "Will she kill him?"

"We're not sure." Rainbow said. "She didn't tell us."

"Well if she does kill him, good riddance." Rarity said with a small huff. "What an absolute monster."

"Rarity, it is absolutely imperative that you don't tell a soul." Twilight said. "No one outside our group of six."

"Why in the world would I tell anyone?" Rarity asked, slightly indignant as she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes.

"Well, you've always been kinda a gossiper, sugarcube." Applejack said.

"That's always only been about trivial things like 'I heard that Roseluck has a crush on Big Macintosh.'. I would never speak of this to anyone. I haven't told anyone about that day, if that is what you're implying." Rarity said, hurt by her friend's statements.

"That's not it at all." Rainbow Dash said. "We're not saying you're some kind of bimbo who can't keep secrets. We just can't take any chances at all." Rarity sighed and nodded.

"Alright. I understand." Rarity said. "When are you planning on doing this?"

"The town meeting is going to be held later today." Twilight said. "Hopefully we can end this thing for good before tonight."

"We would all be so lucky." Rarity said with a sigh.

"Hey, Ah said that earlier too!" Applejack said with another attempt to lighten the mood.

The farm mare once again failed.

_____

It had taken quite a bit of convincing, and even a small threat to expose the secret from Rainbow Dash, but Mayor Mare eventually agreed to hold a faux town meeting. The general consensus among the group would be that she would talk about renovations to the town that had already been announced sometime prior. If anypony inquired why the meeting was being held, the mayor would explain that it is just to cover all the bases in conjunction to the renovations in case anyone happened to miss any details. The mayor had stipulated a condition that the three mares found hard to refuse. Princess Twilight Sparkle was to address the crowd halfway through the meeting to alleviate the pressure from her shoulders. Since Twilight was a naturally gifted speaker, and the job of finding the killer could be easily done by Rainbow Dash and Applejack, they took the deal and began to prepare for the town meeting as the Mayor sent out messengers to go door to door. They were to express the mandatory nature of the meeting. Twilight Sparkle regarded Rainbow Dash as they walked through Ponyville toward the town square. The meeting was about to begin.

"I'm pretty sure that you've completely worn out any favor you had with the mayor with that little threat, Rainbow Dash." Twilight said, raising an eyebrow at the headstrong pegasus, who merely shook her head and smirked.

"She was about to say no, Twilight. Couldn't you tell?" Rainbow said. "Anyways, who cares? I'm best friends with Princess Twilight Sparkle, so I doubt that I'm gonna need to be in the Mayor's favor any time soon."

"Still, Rainbow Dash, it's good to be couth about these kinds of things." Twilight said. "You didn't have to threaten to blacken her family name forever. I think we could have convinced her otherwise."

"Would you have wanted to take that chance?" Rainbow Dash asked. "If the mayor didn't get the town together today we were never going to find the killer."

"She's got a point, Twilight." Applejack said with a small sigh. "While Dash could have gone about it better, we now have a much better chance of findin' him than we did before."

"Exactly." Rainbow said. "With everypony in Ponyville assembled, the tooth will lead us to him...somehow..."

"That sends chills down my spine." Applejack said with a heavy frown. "Our whole entire lives, we've been livin' with a sick murderer among us."

"He's extremely old at this point." Rainbow Dash said. "You've seen how slow Granny Smith is."

"Now, you just choose your next words carefully when you're talkin' about my Granny, Dash." Applejack said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Sorry. I didn't mean any offense by it." Rainbow said. "What I meant was that we all know that Stallions age worse than mares, so he's gonna be extremely frail, whoever he is. Unless he's immortal or something."

"I actually wouldn't be too surprised if that was true." Twilight said. "It'd be in keeping with the rest of the weird stuff we've been through."

"Let's just hope that he's skin and bone." Applejack said with a small sigh as they assembled in the town square close to the small stage that was set up. Most of the ponies in Ponyville were assembled, including their three friends who were not taking part in their investigation. A podium stood in the center of it, signifying where Mayor Mare and eventually Twilight would be speaking. They approached the mayor, who stood preparing her useless speech. The mayor turned to them and frowned.

"I hope this is all worth it." The mayor said in a frustrated tone. "I'm having to throw together this completely worthless speech. I actually can't believe this is happening. You had me assemble this town meeting based on a hunch you three had." The trio hadn't bothered to tell the mayor about Rainbow Dash's vision because, in all likelihood, the mayor probably would have immediately had them escorted from her office.

"Don't worry, Mayor." Twilight said. "We'll have found him by the time we've finished the address."

"Well, we have ten minutes." Mayor Mare said. "I'd suggest that you make them count. I don't want to be up there for any longer than I have to be." Rainbow Dash looked behind them to see that Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy were assembled and waving them over.

"Uh, guys, we have something we have to do real quick." Rainbow said, gesturing to their friends. Twilight and Applejack acknowledged the statement and turned back to the mayor.

"I'll be back in five minutes." Twilight said.

"Where are you going?" The Mayor asked, slightly panicked.

"Don't worry about that." Twilight responded as they walked over to their friends.

"Okay, I told Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy everything and we want to help in any way possible." Rarity said with a small nod. "Just tell us what to do to make this easier for you three."

"Alright. Applejack and I are going to try to find the murderer. While we do that, we need the three of you to buy us some time to do our work. I figure we'll need ten minutes...fifteen tops. Spread out in the crowd and when Twilight gets up there, ask her some really loaded questions to keep her talking. Odds are that quite a few ponies will have something to ask about, but when all the questions are out, we need the three of you to jump in and keep it going if we haven't found him yet. If everyone goes home, we might as well consider the murderer lost."

"Alright, that sounds simple enough." Rarity said. "Twilight, I'll be asking you about the fountain and whether or not there is going to be an expansion." Twilight regarded Rarity with a nod.

"I suppose I'll ask if renovations will be made to the pet shop." Fluttershy said with a small smile.

"And I'll ask about Sugarcube Corner and ask if the paint is going to be redone! Because the paint is really starting to fade super duper fast!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly.

"Thank you guys." Twilight said. "Now that I know your questions, I can start thinking of some long, drawn-out answers."

"Looks like the meeting is starting!" Applejack said as she pointed toward the Mayor stepping up on the stage. "You'd better get over there, Twilight!" The alicorn hurried to stand behind the stage. She smiled up at the mayor as she turned around to look, checking to see if she had fulfilled her end of the bargain. With a heavy and deep breath, the Mayor began.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts!" She said. "Thank you for attending this short town meeting, and I apologize for any inconvenience caused."

"What's this all about, Mayor?" A gruff-sounding stallion inquired. "I've gotta get back to work quick." The statement did nothing to ease the Mayor's already faltering composure.

"This meeting is to go over and discuss new renovations that will be made to Ponyville in the coming weeks." She said. Grumbles and dissenting speech was heard among the crowd. "Now I am aware that this subject has already been covered at a previous time, but this is to 'Cover all the bases' so to speak and make sure everypony knows exactly what is going on because several safety issues are involved." As the mayor began to dive into the meat of the speech, Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack and smirked.

"Let's get this started." She said, reaching into the small purse hanging around her shoulder. Slowly and carefully, she pulled the tooth out, making sure that nopony was watching her and her friend. She held it for a moment and sighed lightly.

"Well?" Applejack asked. "What's it supposed to do?" Rainbow looked at her for a moment and placed the tooth on the ground in front of them. Applejack sighed and turned away, raising a forehoof.

"Ah knew it! How could Ah have trusted a tooth to help us out with this? Ah mean really, Ah-"

"Applejack." Rainbow said, gaining the attention of her friend for a moment. "Look." Applejack's jaw nearly dropped as she witnessed Spring Moon's tooth begin to tumble over the ground on its own. Rainbow looked at Applejack's stunned expression and smirked.

"Tarnation..." Applejack said, completely aghast.

"Right." Rainbow said. "Let's go catch a murderer." The tooth moved slowly but surely along the ground. Thankfully, the ponies attending the meeting were focused on Mayor Mare, who was mid-speech, nervous in her bones.

"And new roofs will be added to the bowling alley, as there has been a noticeable deterioration there." She wiped the sweat from her forehead as she continued. The tooth began to pick up speed, causing Rainbow and Applejack to pick up theirs as well. It began moving toward a concentrated crowd of ponies. Alarmed to the dilemma, Rainbow quickly turned to Applejack.

"Quick, AJ! You go around, I'll go through the crowd." Rainbow said.

"Are ya sure about that?" Applejack asked. "There's quite a few over there..."

"Yeah, I'm sure." Rainbow said with a small nod. "I can make it through. We just cannot lose focus on that tooth!" With a gulp, Rainbow moved forward before diving into the crowd, hunkered down low and trying her absolute hardest to avoid knocking into any others.

"Oh! How rude!" One mare exclaimed.

"Sorry!" Rainbow said, not taking her focus off of the tooth, which continued to pick up speed. This caused her to lose much of her caution in her attempts to keep up with it and bump into even more of the attending citizens. "My bad! Excuse me!" The tooth moved faster and faster, rolling and tumbling faster than Rainbow could get past the ponies. Suddenly, the tooth disappeared. She had lost sight of it.

"No..." She whispered to herself as she moved as quickly as she possibly could, almost knocking a stallion over.

"Hey, watch it!" He yelled.

"Sorry!" Rainbow said quickly.

"And furthermore, I...I..." The mayor trailed off as she saw the center crowd get disrupted by Rainbow Dash. Ponies began to turn around toward the commotion, and the mayor knew she had to create a diversion. "And due to a sudden rise in town revenue, the interest payments for loans for small businesses will be decreased by fifteen percent!" This gained the attention of most of the ponies at the town meeting as they applauded happily. The mayor hadn't made the announcement before, but it was a plan that had already been put in motion by herself and the town administration. It decrease was originally going to be ten percent, but she was sure she could swing fifteen with the proper persuasion. As Rainbow Dash came forth from the opposite side of the crowd. Applejack met her where she stood.

"Applejack! I've lost track of the tooth!" Rainbow said in dismay.

"Ah haven't. It's right there." Applejack said, pointing to it. It was moving faster and faster, causing the two mares to break into a slow gallop after it. At this point, Twilight Sparkle took the stand and began speaking.

"Citizens of Ponyville! It has been an honor to be your princess and to oversee these new renovations. I will now be taking questions."

"That business about the small business loan interests!" A stallion called. "Is that true?" Twilight looked back at the mayor, and upon seeing her nod, turned back toward the stallion and nodded herself.

"Yes, I am quite happy to confirm that it is true. As the overseers of this great town, we feel as if it is our duty to make it easier for small businesses to thrive. They are, after all, the backbone of our town. Any others?"

Not a soul stirred. And it appeared that Rainbow and Applejack were still following what looked to be the tooth around. Suddenly, Rarity raised her hoof.

"I have a question!" Rarity called, sending a quick wink toward the princess.

"Yes, Rarity?" Twilight responded.

"I've noticed that the town fountain is somewhat lacking in design and tone. Are there plans to renovate and expand the fountain? If not, why?" Rarity said. Twilight smiled and gave a small nod toward her friend.

"At this point in time, the administration does not believe that the fountain is in need of an expansion. It looks perfectly fine as it is. Perhaps at some point in the future, some new design choices may be implemented, but for now, we do not currently have the funds to add the fountain to our list of changes." Rarity nodded.

"That is all from me, thank you!" Rarity called. Twilight nodded.

"Alright, any other questions?" Twilight called. After a few seconds of no replies, Fluttershy hovered over the crowd and raised a hoof.

"Yes, Fluttershy. What is your question?" Twilight asked. What followed was a nearly completely unintelligible series of words from the timid pegasus. "Fluttershy, please state your question more clearly. I can't hear you."

"Come on! It must be getting closer!" Rainbow said to Applejack. Seemingly arbitrarily, the tooth began to slow down. This confused Rainbow Dash and Applejack until they saw where the tooth was leading them. Several senior ponies stood together, most likely from the nursing home. Eight in all, the ones that could stand and move around. Three of the seniors were female, so they were immediately out of the running. The tooth then made a turn toward another unseen senior and knocked into his right fore hoof. He stood alone and completely quiet. He seemed to be completely emotionless, staring ahead blankly. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at him with disdain and horror. Before them stood a sick and twisted murderer, responsible for the tortured soul residing back in the house in the Everfree. The stallion looked at them and grunted before kicking the tooth back toward them. He didn't even inquire as to how they had acquired it. Scowling at the old stallion, Rainbow picked up the tooth and placed it back into the purse.

"That's him?" Applejack whispered to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus nodded, her anger never leaving her expression.

"Yep." Rainbow said, eyeing the same racetrack cutie mark that she saw in the vision. "That's him."

"We can't take him now." Applejack said. "Come on, let's get back to Twilight, so we can come up with a plan." Rainbow stayed focused at the stallion, staring at him intently for a few moments before snapping out of her trance and nodding toward Applejack. As they returned to where they started, Rainbow looked at Twilight and gave her a nod, signifying that they were finished.

"...So yes, Pinkie Pie, the paint on Sugarcube Corner will be renewed, as per the prior arrangements. Thank you all for your cooperation. I'll no longer be taking questions. You are all dismissed." Twilight sighed as she turned away from the podium toward the Mayor.

"You seemed to stop pretty suddenly." The aged mare said with a scowl, not quite directed at Twilight.

"We've done what we needed to, so you didn't hold the meeting for nothing." Twilight said. "I guess it's just too much of an inconvenience to see that justice is achieved for the mare your grandfather chose to forget about all those years ago." The mayor, guiltily lowered her head. "Thanks for your help." Twilight said in contempt as she passed the mare and stepped down from the stage to meet her friends.

"We've got him, Twilight." Rainbow Dash said with a grim expression. "The murderer."

"Who is he?" Twilight asked.

"No one we know." Applejack said. "Just some really old guy. Older than Granny Smith, Ah know that for sure. But he can still move around it looks like, so there shouldn't be any trouble moving him."

"You know for sure that's him?" Twilight asked.

"The tooth rolled right up to him and knocked into his hoof." Rainbow said. "We're sure."

"We need to form a game plan." Applejack said before turning to Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. "If y'all wanna go home, now's the time. Whatever's gonna happen tonight to that stallion...it ain't gonna be nothin' good." Rarity nodded.

"Please come and see me tomorrow so I know you're alright." Rarity said.

"I'll be there too." Fluttershy said. "Rarity would you mind if I stayed with you tonight?"

"Not at all, Fluttershy." Rarity said. "Pinkie would you like to come too?" The pink party pony jumped up and down excitedly before regaining her grip on the grim situation at hand and nodded before laughing nervously.

"Sure." Pinkie said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Remember, come see us tomorrow, or we'll come looking for you." Rarity said as she turned back to Applejack, Rainbow and Twilight. The friends all said their goodbyes and separated. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash and Applejack all came to a rest at a bench in the quiet side of Ponyville.

"So, how are we gonna do this?" Rainbow Dash said. "We can't just waltz in there and take him away."

"Maybe we can say we're gonna do an interview." Applejack said with a raised eyebrow.

"But that wouldn't explain why he would suddenly go missing." Twilight said.

"But we don't know for sure if he's going missing." Applejack said to the alicorn.

"He's about to come into contact with the mare her murdered in cold blood years ago." Twilight responded. "I think we should presume that he's going to go missing."

"We should make it look like he escaped." Rainbow Dash said. "Find him in the middle of the night, open his window and take him."

"That seems kind of brutal." Twilight Sparkle said in worry.

"He's a murderer Twilight." Rainbow Dash said, narrowing her eyes and furrowing her brows. "He deserves whatever he's getting, remember?" Twilight sighed and nodded slowly.

"How...how do we do it?" Twilight asked. Rainbow thought for a moment and smirked.

"Okay, Twilight, you and I will fly up to his window. Applejack will cut the power to the building and while the lights are off, we take him, in and out as quickly as we got there!" Rainbow said.

"What about the security guards?" Applejack asked. "They're patrollin' the place like guard dogs."

"The power outage will take them off guard." Rainbow said. "As long as we get him out and make as little noise as possible, we should be okay."

"That sounds pretty risky..." Twilight said.

"You got a better plan?" Rainbow asked her friend flatly. Twilight thought for a moment. If they did "borrow" him, they'd expect them to return him by at least the next day. They would have to make it look like he escaped to pull it off to where they wouldn't be sought out in any way. Twilight Sparkle sighed and nodded slowly.

"I...I suppose that its our only option at this point." Twilight said. "We'll be arrested if we're caught. I would lose my title as princess...Applejack would probably lose her family business...and you would never be a Wonderbolt...Are we all sure we want to take that risk?"

"Ah...well..." Applejack said, putting a fore hoof on her mouth. "Ah'm ready to get this over with. We can pull it off."

"I'd rather lose my chances of being a Wonderbolt than let Spring Moon continued to live in her torment forever." Rainbow Dash said with a serious look. Twilight Sparkle looked between her two friends for a few brief moments. Serious risks were involved in this venture...but was she willing to let an innocent soul suffer for all eternity?

"I...Well, I guess I just can't leave the two of you now." Twilight said with a sigh. Rainbow smirked and nodded.

"Alright." Rainbow said. "In fifteen minutes, we're gonna go catch ourselves a murderer."

Obligatory End-Of-Chapter Author's Note: Things are about to get really good, ladies and gents. With the next chapter comes the daring operation where Rainbow, Applejack and Twilight take the murderer from his nursing home, it also includes the reunion of Spring Moon and her killer, plus several new exciting revelations! I'm extremely excited! Cheers!