The remaining Elements of Harmony arrived at the Golden Oaks Library just as the morning sun was cresting on the horizon, having collectively responded to the worrying letter with all possible haste. Twilight Sparkle watched their approach from the observation balcony at the top of the hollowed tree. As they neared the library, a detail of two guards met each of them, silently falling in step behind their charges. Twilight watched as each of her friends hesitated for a moment, questioning their escort. Twilight had given specific instructions for the guards to remain silent about the morning's events. These weren't just her friends, they were family; she would be the one to tell them. Twilight watched as her friends became visibly frustrated as they failed to coax any information from their guards. As one, they turned and sprinted the rest of the way, distress plain on their faces despite the distance. Twilight left the balcony and proceeded to the door, reaching it just as a nervous knock sounded from the other side. Before she could open the latch with her magic, the door burst open. A prismatic blur flashed over her head, knocking over several stacks of unsorted books and blowing sheets of parchment into the air with reckless abandon before coming to a stop in the center of the room. The cyan mare left in the rainbow’s wake took an aggressive step toward Twilight, features an equal mix of anger and worry.

“Twilight, what the hay is going on? We’re under guard now?” Rainbow Dash said, voice raised.

Before she could respond, Twilight heard her other three friends enter the room behind her. Turning, she motioned for the escort to remain outside and shut the door. This conversation would best be held in private.

“Everyone take a seat please. I have some … there’s something you need to know.” Twilight's voice cracked as she spoke.

Her friends remained where they stood, beset by a flurry of emotions. Everypony spoke out at once.

Fluttershy, in abject terror.
Rainbow Dash, in frustrated anger.
Rarity, in panicked concern.
Applejack, in somber acceptance.

“No, no, no! Please no, not again! Why is this happening?”
“That's it! We can't stand here and just take this anymore, we have to do something!”
“Oh Celesta, it was one of us wasn’t it?! Where’s Spike? Where is he?”
“... It was Pinkie Pie, wasn't Twi?”

Twilight, who had her mouth open to reply to the verbal bombardment, was stopped in her tracks. Turning to the Applejack, the only communication she could manage was a slow nod.

Oppressive silence dominated the room as this knowledge was processed. Twilight watched her friends' faces, observing each of them reacting in their own fashion as the tragic realization took its hold. Rainbow Dash stomped around in impotent rage. Fluttershy’s legs collapsed underneath her, falling to the floor as she wept uncontrollably. Rarity, wide eyed, shook her head repeatedly as if trying to deny reality itself. Applejack sat down on her haunches, the familiar pain of loss weighing her down. Twilight was far from unaffected herself. Agonizing over the possibility that her own actions contributed to their friend’s loss. Did they blame her for involving Pinkie in the investigation? In a way, Twilight almost hoped they did, as she certainly blamed herself.

The friends spent the next several hours trying to process their grief. Rarity had disappeared to the upstairs area, her soft voice could be heard in congress with Spike’s, both sporadically breaking down into barely audible sobbing. Fluttershy had ceased her weeping and merely sat, her unflinching stare directed at nothing in particular as her consciousness retreated into the relative safety of her mind. Rainbow Dash was alternating between stalking the floor of the library muttering angrily to herself and wrapping a protective wing around Fluttershy’s stoic form, running a hoof through her mane and whispering comforting words. Applejack hadn’t said anything, but was sitting beside Twilight, leg wrapped around her shoulder in support.

As the sun reached its apex in the sky, the ponies once again gathered in the center of the library. Individual conversations died down as Twilight stood to address her friends. Eyes downcast and wings hanging limply by her sides, Twilight spoke. “Listen. I know this is my fault. If it wasn’t for me; if I hadn't asked for Pinkie’s help to catch this killer. She might still be alive today. I guess I just want you to know that I understand if you hate me. In truth, I kinda hate myself.”

“Stow that plot right now, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash stepped forward and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Pinkie was more than our friend. She was family. We are all family. She loved each and every one of us, and we all loved her back. She wouldn't want any of us to blame ourselves. This is not your fault for getting her involved. Anypony could tell you that if Pinkie thought there was any way for her to help this town, you wouldn't have been able to stop her if you wanted to.” All the other ponies in attendance nodded in agreement.

Twilight looked at Rainbow in amazement. The Element of Loyalty. Rainbow stuck by her friends no matter what. But looking into her eyes, Twilight knew she was lying about one thing. Rainbow Dash did blame someone for Pinkie's death; she blamed herself. For not being there for Pinkie when it mattered most. Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty. Twilight prayed that she deserved such friendship.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Twilight smiled for the first time that day. “Thank you Rainbow Dash. I just … thank you.”

As Rainbow stepped back to join the others, Applejack spoke up, “Well, Ah think we can all agree that this has gone on long enough. We need to git a plan together on how we’re gonna take care of this creep once and for all. Ah lost enough friends, Ah don’t wanna lose any more.” Nods of agreement accompanied Applejack's words as she continued, “Did y’all find anything out Twi? Anything at all that we ken use?”

Applejack, The Element of Honesty; cut right to the heart of the matter despite her grief. She was always willing to put forth the effort needed to solve a problem. no matter the size. Twilight was touched by the sentiment, but shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t put any more of you at risk. I’m going to continue the investigation on my own from here on out.”

“Darling, I’m afraid that just won’t do,” eyes turned to Rarity as she chimed in, still visibly shaken but attempting to regain her composure. “As Rainbow said, we are a family. I … we, if I may speak for everyone, simply cannot allow this injustice to continue. I’m afraid you will have our help whether you like it or not.”

Twilight shook her head as if to resist the words, but she knew it would do no good. Rarity, Element of Generosity; Twilight doubted even she had the power to stop her friend giving from herself to help others, no less her best friends. In the end, Twilight acquiesced with a grateful nod.

Taking a deep breath and daring to feel encouraged for the first time that day, Twilight looked at her friends. “Thank you. Thank you all. Together, I know that we can put a stop to this murderer. Nopony else is going to get hurt on my watch.” Murmurs of agreement filled the room.

“So, did we find out anythin we can go on Twi?” Applejack repeated her earlier question.

Twilight shook her head sadly. “This killer has been very careful. He always attacks in highly trafficked places during off hours. That makes any physical evidence we find circumstantial at best. But there was one thing that I noticed at …” Twilight hesitate for a moment. Bottling up the sadness that threatened her calm, she continued. “... I noticed this morning. I’m certain that the murderer is using magic to kill their victims. I think we’re looking for a unicorn.”

The new information sunk in over a moment of silence.

Rainbow Dash left Fluttershy’s side, hovering over to the center of the room. “OK, so we have a magic baddie. What's the plan?” she said, clapping her hooves together in determination.

Twilight considered for a moment before speaking. “Well, Ponyville is fairly tight-knit and there aren't too many unicorns living here. I suppose we could bring them all in for questioning, see what they were doing during the murders. Who knows, we may get lucky.”

Rarity’s eyes furrowed in thought for a moment before brightening. “Hmm, I have a bit of magic that may help in that regard. It's not something I’ve done successfully before, but maybe if I could enlist Spike’s aid. He’s actually coming along quite well with his magical studies lately. The unique nature of dragon magic may be just what I’m missing. Together, I’m sure we can get it to work.”

Twilight hesitated, “I don’t like the idea of Spike being a part of this, Rarity.”

“Don’t worry my dear, all I need is help perfecting the spell, he won’t be near any danger I assure you. Just give us a day or two and I’m sure we will be ready.” Leaning in, Rarity added, “Besides, it's probably best for Spike not to be alone right now.”

“Well… as long as he agrees. The little guy has been through a lot lately.” Twilight said.

Nodding, Rarity took her leave and headed back upstairs.

“As for rounden up the unicorns, ah reckon ah could get that done. Probably take a few days to bring everyone in though,” Applejack said, stepping forward.

Twilight nodded in agreement. “I’ll send a squad of royal guards to assist you Applejack, just in case.”

“What about me?” Rainbow Dash said, still hovering above the others heads.

Twilight thought for a moment. “We need to do something a little more proactive before someone else gets hurt. Think you're up for that Rainbow?”

“Heck Yeah! Whaddya have in mind?”

“Get as many weather ponies as can be spared from regular duty. We are going to form patrol teams to keep an eye on the city streets at night. I’ll send as many pegasus guards as I can spare to join you. All the attacks have been at night as far as we can tell. If we keep watch from the sky maybe we can spot the killer without being noticed and catch him in the act.”

“On it!” Rainbow said as she made ready to bolt away.

“Hang on a second Rainbow, there's one more thing,” Twilight halted the pegasus before she could make her exit. Twilight turned, raising her voice to address all her friends, “this is for everyone. I’ve assigned two royal guards to each of you. They have orders to never leave your side, not even for an instant. I don’t want to take the chance that something else may happen to any of you.”

The somber reminder quashed any levity the group had gained. Her friends each left to their assigned task, escorts in tow. Fluttershy had hung back, waiting for everyone to make their exit. When it was just her and Twilight left, she approached the alicorn.

“Twilight, I was thinking, I mean … if it's OK with you, I was going to go visit Pinkie Pie’s family on the rock farm. Just in case they need anything. Would that be alright?” Seemingly alert and aware for the first time since hearing the news, her unsteady voice was barely heard as she spoke.

Twilight felt a warm smile grow on her face as she nodded. The Element of Kindness. She really was blessed with the best friends in the world. There was nothing they couldn't accomplish when they were all together. After a moment the smile on her face soured. Almost all of them were together. That would have to be enough.

It took three days for all the preparations to be made. The weather teams, bolstered by the pegasus guards, kept the entire town under constant watch after the sun fell. Twilight joined them each night, not content with remaining idle as the others completed their projects. Rainbow had initially given half-hearted objection to being slowed down by her personal guards, but had deferred to her friends request in the end.

Applejack had contacted the resident unicorns of Ponyville, asking them not to make any trips out of town and informing them they will be brought in for questioning. Twilight had expected them to give more resistance to the idea, but the squad of guards accompanying the message, as well as ever present fear of the murders, had made most very compliant. Twilight was glad that Applejack had taken the lead in this assignment; her rapport with the people of the town had no doubt helped ease the unicorns' concerns. It would have been even better if Pinkie was still with them. Twilight stilled her thoughts quickly, lest grief overwhelm her once again.

Fluttershy had arrived back in town on the third day. She hadn’t spoken to anyone since, instead locking herself up in her cottage with her animals. Twilight was surprised to find that it was Fluttershy who had given the most resistance to being accompanied by her bodyguards, insisting that they not enter her home. Twilight was concerned at this unusual behavior from her friend, but knowing how hard she was taking recent events decided not to press the issue.

The last piece to fall into place was Rarity and Spike’s mysterious spell work. As the sun fell on day three, Rarity and Spike finally emerged from Twilight's old laboratory, looking haggard but triumphant. Their royal bodyguards followed, looking every bit as exhausted as their charges. Spike proceeded directly to the library’s second floor without saying a word and dropped heavily into his bed.Twilight hated seeing him like this. She wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. Her heart broke for the little dragon. Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted as Rarity approached her, whispering softly, “Don’t worry dear. I know you're protective, but he has a lot more strength that he lets on. He’ll be alright in time.”

Sighing, Twilight nodded to her friend. Of course she was right. Thoughts returning to the matter at hand, Twilight nodded toward the floating chest held by Rarity’s blue aura. “So, what do we have here?”

Rarity's eyes brightened as she set the case down on the table. When she spoke, it was in a rapid fire fashion that Twilight had difficulty keeping up with. “Possibly the best piece of spell work I’ve ever accomplished to be completely honest. A want-it-need-it spell, as you know, takes a pony’s desire for the enchanted object and magnifies it. My theory was that this spell could be converted so that it merely reflects the pony’s feelings in general instead of intensifying them on an object. Then, using a modified version of my detection spell, this reflection could be recorded in some form of medium. The issue was that combining two different enchantments in one medium had never been done before without destroying said object due to the intense magical frequencies involved. That is where Spike’s assistance was invaluable. We agreed that the only way it was possible to bond the spells together was by finding a gem which had a high enough resonance for magical energy. I cast the enchantments while he anchored them to the gem, which is a beautiful fire ruby by the way, and it was a complete success!”

Twilight shook her head as she attempted to decipher the deluge of information from her friend. Giving up, she shook her head and repeated, “so what do we have here Rarity?”

Beaming, Rarity used her magic to open the case revealing a dazzling heart shaped fire ruby set on a silken cushion. With a gleam in her eye, the white unicorn motioned her friend over. Twilight approached and they both took a seat at the table. “How are you feeling today Twilight?” Rarity asked, voice bordering on the theatric.

“Umm, honestly? Frustrated, angry, and worried for my friends.”

Furrowing her brow as if she hadn’t received the answer she wanted, Rarity thought for a moment. Looking down at herself, her eyes brightened once again. “Would you mind telling me how I look this morning, Twilight? I feel absolutely dreadful,” she said.

“Uh…” Twilight looked her friend over. She obviously hadn’t slept, possible for days. Large bags hung under her sea-blue eyes and her usually perfect curly mane hung limply down her side. “You look … great, Rarity, as usual.”

As the words left her lips, the fire ruby on the table suddenly brightened, giving off an intense flare of red light before returning to its usual luster. Startled, Twilight lept off her chair before realization set in.

“Rarity! Is that what I think it is?”

The weariness apparent in her friend's demeanor melted away as pride took its place. “It is indeed. I trust that it will come in handy during your investigation.”

Twilight shook her head in amazement. She had no idea her friend was that proficient in magic, or that creative. Crafting a lie detector by modifying and combining enchantments, and then using Spike’s dragon magic to fasten them to a gem, she hadn’t even thought of it.

Twilight stepped forward, wrapping her legs around the white unicorn. “Thank you Rarity. You may have just saved a lot of lives.”

“It's nothing my dear. Although if you excuse me, I think I’m going to get some rest.” Twilight nodded, hugging her friend one more time. Rarity motioned to her royal escort and made her exit, looking every bit the refined mare she was despite her exhaustion.

Hope taking hold over her again, Twilight turned to one of her own guards. “Go find Applejack. Tell her to start bringing the unicorns here for questioning. We are finally going to get to the bottom of this.”

Bowing deeply, the pegasus guard took flight and headed toward Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight took a deep breath. She finally had a plan. She finally had a means to protect her town. Heartened, she turned and started preparing the Library to hold the interrogations.

Two days later, Twilight's high spirits had once again sunk into desperation. Dozens of unicorns had been rounded up and sent to the library. Every single one had a reasonable alibi for the nights of the murders. Every single one of them had been completely cooperative. Not once had the fire ruby lit up to signal that someone was being untruthful. By the end of the second day, Twilight had questioned every last unicorn in Ponyville. Twilight felt despair settle in. She had been so sure that Rarity’s enchanted gem would be the key, but they were no closer to a solution than when they had started. The only condolence was that the killer had yet to strike again. The weather patrols may be having an effect. They were a temporary measure however, and did nothing to solve the root of the problem.

Just as she had given up on hope, a royal guard burst in through the doors of the Golden Oak, panting as he rushed to the Princess and bowed at her feet. “Your majesty! Miss Applejack has found one last unicorn that we have yet to question. She isn’t coming in quietly, Miss Applejack requests your aid immediately!”

“Where?”

“Just on the outskirts of town your majesty, near the entrance to the Everfree!”

Determination and worry gripping her in equal measure, Twilight took flight and rushed out the door, not waiting for her escort. Rainbow Dash would have been proud of the short time it took for her to cover the distance. As she approached, she began to see bright flashes of magic as a squad of guards converged on a lone unicorn. Many of them were stumbling about, blinded by the flares of magic. Others seemed to be in a daze, chasing some illusion only visible to themselves. The renegade unicorn responsible for this was certainly powerful. Shielding her eyes from the blinding pulses, Twilight identified Applejack wandering about the field. She looked as if she was attempting to find her way through a maze despite the open grassy field surrounding her. Flying up to her friend, Twilight concentrated for a moment and dispelled the illusion afflicting her friend with a touch of her horn.

“Applejack, What’s going on here?”

“Twilight? Twilight! You have to do somethin! We can’t stop her, every time we get close she disappears in smoke or makes us see things or—”

“It's OK Applejack, just rest. I’ll take care of this.”

Twilight stood and turned to face the brilliant corona surrounded by incapacitated guards. Closing her eyes, Princess Twilight Sparkle concentrated, focusing all her incredible magical power through her body and into her horn. When she opened her eyes, they were a glowing pupiless white.

“Enough!” A dazzling purple wave erupted from the alicorn’s horn as she shouted, breaking the illusions afflicting her guards as it passed over them and dissolving the enemy’s sphere of blinding light with ease. Focusing, she reigned in her explosive energy and condensed it, forming unbreakable bonds which closed around her adversary.

Assured that the her friend and the royal guard were recovering from their stupification, Twilight approached the captive unicorn. Upon reaching her target, Twilight’s eyes widened in recognition. Her surprise was so great that she nearly fumbled her binding spell.

“You will unhand me, you witch! The Great and Powerful Trixie demands it!”

Author's Note

Chapter 3, keep those comments coming!