The Dragon and The Changeling

by SlowMoBrony

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Other, Daring Do, Adventure, Pinkie Pie
Length: 10443

Detective Duo Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie must solve the case of a murder in the Canterlot Castle library at the time of a prestigious party hosted by Princess Celestia.

Accepting an invitation to a party hosted by Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie hope to gain some new clients in the chance they might be offered new cases to work on. But just as the party is about to get under way in the Royal Gardens, a murder is committed in the castle library, and one of the party guests is found dead under mysterious circumstances. While solving the case, the detective duo must also try to figure out why the mysterious thief known only as "The Dragon" has never been heard of outside of Canterlot.

Published 2015-01-24 18:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-04-13 17:44:50 UTC

The Party

“Get the professor's baggage. Look lively.”

Professor Plum Tart relieved his magical grasp on his bag, passing it to the unicorn bell hop. With an open smile, he greeted Princess Luna at the front gates of Canterlot Castle with a long flowing bow. “Your grace.”

“ Hello Professor, old man.” A cute smile etched itself on her face, the two ponies welcoming each other as old friends and laughing before they could stop one another. “Ah, Princess Cadance! Got the invitation, I see?”

The young alicorn trotted up from the left of the pair, a small smile greeting them. “Lovely day, isn't it? Princess Celestia has made such an effort, all looks right with the world.”

“Indeed. My sister has requested that guests make their way to their rooms. The young bell hop here will take any and all bags you have in due course. She requests you make yourselves comfortable before the gathering later tonight. I have been told refreshments will be made available in the Royal Gardens before the evening begins.”

“Thank you, Luna, but I must make a quick stop the library first.”

“Oh, Professor,” chuckled Princess Luna. “All this work will be the death of you. It's supposed to be a party, a gathering.”

“I understand, but if Princess Cadance and yourself would excuse me, I must check a few things. This is important to my research.”

“Very well. I'll let my sister know that you'll be in the library for the moment. Although I can't stay for the festivities, I'm sure you'll have fun.” And with that, Plum Tart made his way quickly to the library. Having been a close friend to Princess Luna, the professor was familiar with the layout of the castle and finding the Royal Library was an easy feat. Finding the books he needed weren't so easy, on the other hoof.

A few bookcases later, and he was no where nearer to the book he needed. Where's a guard or librarian when you need one? He thought to himself. Suddenly, his face lit up – he'd found what he was looking for. Almost immediately, he began flicking through the pages, the light blue of his magic working overtime.

“I was right. Kept secret all these years. It's unbelievable. But why didn't they ask me? By Celestia...” His excitement was unbound, as he failed to notice he wasn't alone in the library. A small hoofstep echoed against the stony floor, bringing the professor back to reality. He swung round, trying his best to hide the book behind himself.

“Oh, it's you. I was just doing some research, no need to worry anypony. I say, what are you doing with that shovel?” His curiosity soon turned to a look of fear as a loud buzzing noise soon filled the room. If the professor wasn't sweating from the sudden intrusion beforehand, he certainly was now.

“But that's impossible! NO!”

“Smell that air! That sweet, sweet lemonade! And the mint!” Once again, Pinkie Pie was bouncing enthusiastically all over the party scene, with Twilight Sparkle struggling to contain her partner's enthusiasm. The Royal Gardens were full of sophistication in comparison.

“Pinkie, please!” pleaded Twilight. “We've been invited to this party as guests of Princess Celestia. We rarely get invited to these types of events and when we do get invited, you usually put off any potential clients we may meet!”

It was true. For years now, both Twilight Sparkle & Pinkie Pie had been the go-to ponies for all things a hired Canterlot detective could not do, ever since the duo solved Pinkie's own mystery aboard the Friendship Express and saved the Cakes famous entry for the baking competition that year. Together, they had captured disappearing ponies avoiding capture and solved mysteries of all shapes and sizes to find lost items or killers that weren't on the run.

“But Twi... frosting!” Pinkie pulled off the largest pair of puppy dog eyes she could. Even after all these years together, she still held her uniquely childish charm. Twilight let out a sigh, and said “Fine, but don't do anything I wouldn't do.” And with that, a pink outline was left where her assistant once stood, a pink blur over by the buffet table.

With a roll of her eyes, Twilight made to mingle with the other guests of the party. As this was a high-standing party, all of the guests knew the host Princess Celestia in one way or another – the upper crust of Canterlot society was awash with such ponies. The sunlight shone brightly, keeping the air clear and fresh. There wasn't a cloud in the sky either. The Canterlot weather pegasi must be on special orders to keep the sky clear for the Princess, mused Twilight. Her attention soon turned to the other party guests in her near vicinity.

Ponies of various professions all stood about chatting to one another. Here and there, one could see the occasional pegasus or earth pony but the majority were unicorns, as was common in Canterlot. Almost every unicorn, much like Twilight, were levitating a small champagne glass full to the brim with the bubbly drink. The sunlight glinted off the smooth shiny surface every so often. If a pegasus were to look down on them, they would probably think they were looking at a small lake in the middle of the Royal Gardens. A Royal Guard stood at the entrance, announcing the guests that had made their way down from the rooms. As Pinkie Pie was too busy stuffing her face, Twilight thought best to introduce herself to any pony that came through the entrance to the gardens.

“ May I announce Lady Upper Crust.” said the guard. In the wake of his announcement, a yellow unicorn with flowing greying hair walked in, the air around her living up to her name. Twilight made her way over to the high society pony.

“Lady Crust” Twilight a hoof to shake, but Upper Crust did not accept.

“Forgive me, but who exactly might you be, and what are you doing here?”

“I'm Twilight Sparkle, & with my assistant & close friend Pinkie Pie, we -”

“Good afternoon, my lady. Had a go at the scones yet?” Pinkie had appeared out of nowhere, almost as if by command of mention of her own name and was speaking in an atrociously posh accent. Before she could continue her tirade, a purple hoof was stuffed into her mouth followed by a short exclamation of “no” by Twilight. Once Pinkie had calmed sufficiently, Twilight continued her introductions.

“As I was saying, my assistant and I are detectives, and we are friends to Princess Celestia. I'm actually a pupil of hers. But we are here on official business.” Almost immediately, the tone of Upper Crust's voice changed to something more friendly.

“Oh, of course!” she exclaimed. “Detective Sparkle, how could I forget you? The friend of the host! But one must be careful with the Dragon on the loose.”

“A dragon? Cool! Where?” shouted an excited Pinkie Pie. Upper Crust was forgiven for giving her a few confusing looks, as did Twilight to Upper Crust. Lady Crust saw the lack of recognition on her face and elaborated.

“The Dragon. The jewel thief? Nopony knows who he is. He's just struck again. Snatched Lady Fleur Dis Lee's pearl necklace from right under her muzzle.”

This piqued Twilight's interest. A jewel thief stealing from well known ponies in Canterlot? How had she not heard of this in the past few weeks? Such a high profile criminal would have the subject of many a rumour or conversation during her travels over Equestria. Before she could ask any more further questions, Upper Crust was well on her way to meeting somepony else, and the guard pony was busy announcing the next guest.

“May I announce Jet Set, and his guest for the evening, Colonel Soarin of the Wonderbolts.” Again on cue, the pair walked in, with the noticeable exception of Jet Set, who wheeled himself in. It was odd to see a pony in a wheelchair, let alone see one outside of a hospital. Upper Crust quickly left her current conversation to make way to her husband.

“Forgive me for not rising,” said Jet Set. “Never been the same since my accident a few months back.”

“My word, you are a super lady.” commented Soarin to Upper Crust.

“Oh, I like the cut of his jib.” said Pinkie.

“Hello. I'm Detective Twilight Sparkle, & this is my assistant, Pinkie Pie.” The two shook hooves, nodding heads slightly in greeting.

“Well, I trust?” Twilight nodded.

A waiter came up to Soarin, an earth pony offering a small drink on a platter. “Your usual, sir?”

“Ah, thank you. Just the way I like it.” Soarin took the drink in his hoof & moved over to join Jet Set in conversation with his wife.

“Ribbon Setter,” said the guard. A thin unicorn with a pearly white coat & flowing blonde mane sauntered in, her light blue eyes landing their gaze on every pair of eyes in the room.

“Ah, the hit of the social scene! Miss Setter.” Upper Crust greeted the young unicorn with an almost envious glint in her eyes.

“Glad to meet you at last, Lady Crust. What super fun.”

“Her highness, Princess Cadance.” came another announcement.

Cadance? Twilight's brain went into overload at the prospect of catching up with her old foalsitter again, to find out what she has been doing all these years and if -. No. She was a professional. She must keep her cool at such a high profile event.

“Princess Cadance.” Upper Crust was quick to greet her first. “How are you? I heard about your residence last night. Those ruffians breaking in.”

“You apprehended them, I hear.” Soarin made his move into the conversation now, leaving Jet Set on his own nearby.

“As my aunt has taught me, we must forgive those who lose their way. Quite literally.” she calmly replied.

“Some of these young rapscallions should be taught a lesson, a decent thrashing.” snorted Jet Set.

“Couldn't agree more.” said Soarin. “Now, what's this special guest you were on about?”

“Why, she's here. Our friend needs no introduction.” Upper Crust once again pounced to the next guest to enter the gardens, but she wasn't the only one to get closer to the entrance now that the special guest had turned up. Daring Do wasn't wearing her trademark outfit but a flattering red dress that contrasted sharply with her brown coat and grey mane. Nevertheless, she made a brilliant impression just by walking in.

“No, no, please, don't. Thank you, Lady Crust, but there's no need.” Twilight was at a loss for words when Daring Do came over to greet her.

“Daring Do.” The author outstretched a hoof, a charming smile coming along for the ride. Twilight struggled to find words before she out-rightly accepted the gesture.

“Yes. Daring Do. I was just talking about you the other day to my friend Rainbow. I said, I bet she's brilliant. I'm Twilight. This is Pinkie Pie. Oh, I love your stuff.” Twilight's inner fan-girl had broken free and had broken her own code of conduct. “What a mind. You fool me every time. Well, almost every time. Well, once or twice. Well, once. But it was a good once.”

“You two make an odd pairing.” said Daring Do.

“Oh, we're not -”

“We're partners, all right!” shouted Pinkie Pie, cutting off Twilight's reply.

“Well, of course. The famous detective & her eccentric assistant. Who doesn't know you?”

“Oh. Oh, you don't miss a trick, do you Miss Do?” asked Twilight.

“Keep together. The thrill is in the chase, not the capture.” She smiled towards the detectives once last time before returning her attention back to Upper Crust.

“Miss Do, I'm so glad you made it. Why, I knew I must come to this party if you were going to make an appearance. I'm one of your biggest followers, I've read all six of your current series of novels. I must ask though – why have you moved from adventure stories to mysteries?”

“What's wrong with that?” She asked in return. “Can't a mare make her own way in the world?”

“Don't give my wife ideas.” said Jet Set. Rapturous laughter broke out amongst the group. But something was niggling in Twilight's mind. Why hadn't she heard of this so-called “Dragon” before tonight?

“Whatcha thinking there, Twi?” Pinkie Pie broke Twilight from her slumber.

“Sorry Pinkie. It's just that I can't recall ever hearing anything about this Dragon before.” Twilight explained.

“I say, where in Equestria is that professor?” asked Soarin. “He would love to meet Miss Do.”

“I believe he said was off to the library.” said Princess Cadance. “Guard, would you mind collecting him? He is the last guest to arrive after all.”

“At once, milady.” And with that, the guard left his post by the entrance and moved to the wing of the castle where the library sat.

“Never mind the Dragon, Twilight.” said Pinkie Pie. “What about the mystery of the missing Princess? As a party pony, I think it rude the host wouldn't be here for her own party!”

“Pinkie, I explained this to you before. While the Princess may be the host, and invited us to indulge in the activities, she is away on official business to the Griffon Kingdom. As much as I think a bit of time off would do her some good, distracting herself with the problems of organising a party isn't in the best interests at the moment. Besides, Princess Luna is here in her place, so I wouldn't worry too much.”

It was on the train to Canterlot that Twilight had received the message explaining why Princess Celestia couldn't make it to the party that had been organised at the castle. But Twilight wasn't too bothered by that. She still didn't know why she had never heard of the Dragon before tonight and racked her brains trying to find one snippet of information that might help her understand the situation.

All of a sudden, the guard returned, breathing quickly as if he had been running.

“Professor! The library! Murder! Murder!”

The Interviews

On the floor of the Canterlot Castle library lay the still body of Professor Plum Tart. His dark purple coat lived up to his name, shimmering lightly as the suns rays illuminated his body from the nearest window. His glasses lay askew upon his face, and his deep black mane ruffled slightly, a far cry from how he had looked only an hour before. One might have thought he'd passed out or decided on a peculiar place to have a quick nap. The sudden rush of ponies running in through the only entrance didn't wake him from his slumber – it only confirmed the account of the guard pony.

Twilight Sparkle was first to get into the library, with Pinkie Pie close behind. A few seconds later, the guard pony and Daring Do arrived, and so did all the other guests of the party. Voices could be heard, hushed, not raised, almost as if gossiping behind somepony's back when they weren't looking. Twilight immediately made her way over to the body, examining every single detail closely.

“Oh my...” Daring Do held a flabbergasted look upon her face and quickly joined Twilight at the body.

“Bashed on the head.” Twilight explained in a hushed voice. “Most likely blunt. One of the arms of his glasses has broken, most likely when he fell. Time of death wasn't too long ago, probably just under an hour.”

“Hey, Twi! There's a spade over here! That blunt enough?” Twilight looked up from the professor to see Pinkie pointing to a mud stained spade in the corner of the room, excitedly jumping as she did. She nodded in confirmation and turned her attention to the papers near the professor's body. She flicked through them, nothing jumping out if they could hold a clue to his murder. Daring Do moved to a bookcase, Twilight watching closely at her actions. She pawed at something on the floor, a few scraps of paper or something, Twilight wasn't sure. She quickly picked it up and hid the scraps in her dress, further catching the attention of the detective.

“Nothing worth killing for in that lot. Dry as dust.” Twilight turned to the now growing crowd at the library entrance. “I must ask you all to leave the library at once and make your way to the large foyer, the entrance where Princess Luna greeted us all earlier today. I shall question each and every one of you myself.”

“She's right. Come along, now. Leave the room undisturbed.” Daring Do helped usher the gaggle of ponies out of the room, closing the door behind them. From the other side of the wall, the two detectives could hear the sound of worried conversation die down as the crowd moved further and further away.

“Um... shouldn't we get some professionals in? Like, maybe a few of the Royal Guards can help us out about here?” queried Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie, the last thing we need is for somepony uneducated to start rambling about the room and possibly destroying potential evidence. And besides, think how much work this could attract for us once we solve this mystery.” explained Twilight. “I've found something vital already, and that's without a cordon.”

Following the pointed hoof, Pinkie looked towards the floor and saw a gooey liquid of some sorts, a light green in colour. “Ooo, what is that? Ectoplasm? Was the professor murdered by a vengeful spirit?”

“No, Pinkie. As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm in this case, it was not the work of a ghost pony. No, this is morphic residue left behind when a creature changes its form in quick fashion. Judging from the colour, and because of previous encounters, my best guess is we are dealing with a single Changeling.”

“The last time we faced Changelings was when the Secretariat Comet passed over Equestria, but as that lot are currently still locked away in that castle there, I can only think this one was left over from my brother's wedding with Princess Cadance. I just wish I knew what its motives for killing the professor are.”

“Well.” piped up Pinkie Pie. “We're not gonna find out standing about here in mountains of books and dust, are we silly? Let's get to questioning.” Both of the detectives left the library in the care of the recently deceased, with the author Daring Do standing outside waiting for them.

“Ah, Miss Do. Perhaps you would like to help me in questioning the party guests?” asked Twilight, a polite nod given in return. “Pinkie, if you could start searching the bedrooms. Perhaps we can find more clues there.”

“Right on, Twi!” And with that, the pink pony left in a flash.

“Right. Solving a murder mystery with Daring Do. Brilliant.” Twilight's inner fan was rearing its head again, now that the two ponies were alone.

“How like a private detective to have fun in a time of danger.” said Daring Do. “I'll work with you, gladly. But for the sake of justice, not your own amusement.”

“Right. Sorry.” Twilight swallowed the growing lump in her throat and followed the author down the corridor, making their way to the foyer.

The sun was now low in the air, with the moon slowing taking its place in the sky. Even though she was far away, Princess Celestia still managed to maintain her duties in raising and lowering the sun. In the foyer, chairs and sofas were arranged on request of Twilight so that the party guests could get comfortable before the interviews could begin. As Twilight paced from chair to chair, suspect to suspect, Daring Do stood to the side, taking notes as the investigation formally began.

“Now then, just to rule you out, where were you at the time of the professors death, Princess Cadance?” began Twilight. A few hushed gasps could be heard in the momentary silence.

“Let me think. Why yes, I remember. I was in my room. I was unpacking for the night.”

“No alibi then? You were alone?”

“Now, Twilight, how can one be alone in Canterlot these days?”

Twilight took a moment to contemplate the comment, but moved swiftly to Soarin, seated just a few feet away from the Princess.

“And where were you?”

The pegasus spoke in quick bursts. “Let me think. I was – oh, yes. I was taking a constitutional in the gardens. Just taking a stroll, that's all.”

“Alone?”

“Oh, yes, all alone. Totally alone. Absolutely alone. Completely. All of the time.” The sweat that dripped from his head did indicate he was nervous. Either he was the culprit or he was doing something else frowned upon at the time of the murder. “I wandered lonely as a proverbial cloud. There was no pony else with me. Not at all. Not ever.”

Twilight left the pegasus in a cowering sprawl on the sofa. “Miss Ribbon Setter? You?”

“At the time of the murder? I was in the bathroom, freshening up, preparing myself. Positively buzzing with excitement about the party and the super fun of meeting royalty for the first time.”

“We've only got your word for it.” said Twilight.

“That's your problem, not mine.” To Twilight, a snide remark like that usually placed anypony right to the top of the list of suspects. But as this case was different to usual murder mysteries, she couldn't just accuse anyone straight away of anything.

“And where were you, sir?” Jet Set looked up, almost as if interrupted from a daze.

“An hour ago? Dear me, let me think. Ah yes, I remember. I was in one of the castle's study rooms, reading some old fashion magazines. Fascinating stuff. Started reminiscing. Flares, you know. Terrible stuff.”

“And you, ma'am?”

Upper Crust looked towards Twilight, giving the same look she gave her when they first met. “Now, let me see. Yes, I remember. I was sitting in here in the foyer, taking my afternoon tea. It's a ritual of mine before attending such extravagant dos such as this. I needed to gather my strength. I then proceeded to the lawn, where I met you and your assistant.”

“Yes, yes, you can stop now. I was there for that bit.” Twilight acknowledged.

Another few minutes of questioning passed before Twilight drew the meeting to a close. Afterwards, once the party guests had left, Daring Do and herself compared notes.

“No solid alibis.” said Twilight, pacing up and down the foyer quickly. “No solid alibis for any of them. Our secret adversary remains hidden. We must find the motive before too long.”

“For such an experienced detective, you seem to have missed one important clue.”

“Unless you're talking about that scrap of paper you swiped from the library, I have no idea what you're on about.” teased Twilight. A flabbergasted Daring Do looked on in awe.

“You weren't looking.”

“But I looked when you weren't looking towards me.” explained Twilight.

“You crafty mare.” Daring Do revealed the scrap of paper from her dress, holding it in front of Twilight with her hoof. “This was about the only useful thing from the entire group.” From her point of view, Twilight could make out part of a single word. -aiden.

“What is that, the first letter? N or M?”

“M. Maiden.”

“Maiden!” exclaimed Twilight, jumping up high like Pinkie Pie would have done. She soon calmed enough to realise she had no clue as to what it meant. “What does that mean?”

“We're still no further forward. Our nemesis remains at large. Unless your assistant Miss Pie has found something.

The Chase

Pinkie Pie hopped along the hallway, opening each and every door to the bedrooms that she could find. Even when nothing interesting jumped out of the room as suspicious, her smile did not waver from her face. So far, she had gone through fifteen different rooms that guests were staying in. She made her way to the sixteenth door, where a Royal Guard stood outside. She widened her smile in greeting, the guard pony unwavering in his stance, and grabbed the handle to the door. Instead of the usual in-out routine, the door did not swing. It didn't even move.

“You won't find anything in there.” said the guard.

“How come it's locked then?” Pinkie's eyes turned to slits, narrowing to the gaze of the guard pony.

“Princess Celestia commands it so.”

“And I command it to be otherwise. I'm a detective. Pip pip.” And with that, the guard reluctantly cast an unlocking spell on the door, the faint click audible throughout the hallway. “Why's it locked in the first place, anyway?”

“Many years ago, when my father was a member of the Royal Guard, Princess Celestia returned from a diplomatic trip to Saddle Arabia with an unknown illness to our doctors. She locked herself in this room for a few months until she recovered. Since then, the room has remained undisturbed.” explained the guard.

Now inside, the room was small, smaller than the usual guest rooms. A single bed sat in the middle of the room, accompanied by a side cabinet and only a side table for furnishings for the entire room. The curtains were drawn part-ways, a single sliver of sunlight flying in through the gap to illuminate the carpet on the floor.

“There's nothing in here. It's been like this for a number of years now.”

“But why seal it off from the world?” queried Pinkie Pie. “All right, I'll need to investigate. You can go now.”

With a bow, the guard pony left, leaving Pinkie Pie to her own devices. As soon as the door closed, she was up and down, left and right, all across the room at once, in a desperate bid to find anything suspicious. A faint buzzing caught her attention a few seconds once she stopped zipping about, a buzzing coming from the window.

“Even in Canterlot, the bees manage to get caught up in the windows. All right, busy bee, I'll let you out. I shall find you with my amazing powers of detection.” Donning her hat in courtesy, she made for the window, fiddling with the curtains and then the latch, humming quietly to herself. But the buzzing grew louder, and closer. Pinkie stopped mid-unlatching and stared at no bee.

Before her, outside the window, hovered a pony shaped being, big green bug eyes staring through the single pane of glass. Fangs were bared, wings were beating rapidly, creating an almighty buzz, bigger than before. Long slender legs had sprouted to double that of a regular pony, and a thick deep black horn glowed a faint green as it's eyes narrowed onto the stunned detective.

“Oh no. Twilight!” was all the pink pony said, before running away from the window and out of the door. The buzzing grew louder still and the sound of smashing glass followed. Pinkie turned around the find the giant Changeling had made it's way through the window, glass littering the carpet. A green blast of magic shot from it's horn, Pinkie doing well to close the door in time before the blast hit her. Keeping her forehooves against the door in case the beast tried to break through, a face of relieve sprawled onto her face as both Twilight Sparkle and Daring Do came running into view at the end of the corridor.

“Twilight!” Another blast of magic was heard, this time breaking through the top section of the door, the spell leaving scorch marks where it had hit. “It's a giant Changeling!”

“What do you mean, a giant Changeling?” asked Twilight.

“I mean, a Changeling that's giant!” shouted Pinkie Pie.

“It's only a silly little insect.” said Daring Do, a look of disbelief on her face.

“When I say giant, I don't mean big, I mean flipping enormous! Look at that blast radius of the spell!” The pair followed Pinkie's hoof pointing to the blast of the second spell. The door towered above them, but even they could see that half of the door could be easily taken out by such a blast.

“Let me see.” Using her own magic, Twilight pulled the remainder of the door open, flinging Pinkie out of the way a bit harshly. She ran in to an empty room.

“It's gone. Buzzed off.” She turned around to the door, both Daring Do and Pinkie Pie walking in. Twilight turned her attention to the scorch marks at the top of the door, using a spell to examine the traits of the Changeling's magical aura.

“Definitely a Changeling. And giant. Well, many giant insectivorous lifeforms in this world, but none in this area. Question is, what is it doing here?”

“Can we please return to sanity? There's no such thing as a giant Changeling.” pleaded Daring Do.

A blood curdling scream was heard, all ears turning to the broken window. Outside, a pony had fallen, a small statue of Princess Celestia on top of them but broken in two pieces. All three ponies ran.

The pony was still breathing by the time the trio had gotten to them. The pony was identified as the guard that had gone to the library to fetch the professor, ultimately finding the professor dead at the scene. With great difficulty, he lifted his head up slightly and very quietly spoke.

“The poor little child.” He passed his final breath soon afterwards, and looked almost asleep. Before anypony could do anything to sort out the mess, they heard a familiar buzzing noise. Looking up from the guard pony, they saw the Changeling hovering a ways away, it's horn glowing a brighter shade of green before fleeing.

“There! It's gone back into the castle!” shouted Twilight. They gave chase, running through the same door as the Changeling. In it's wake, it had left a very obvious trail of destruction, multiple statues and vases having been knocked over due to it's enormous size. Following the trail up the stairs, the ponies now found the Changeling cornered at the end of a door-less hallway.

“Oh, but you are wonderful. Just stop, stop there.” pleaded Twilight. Her tone didn't quell the anger the Changeling was experiencing. Another large blast of green magic was fired, forcing the detectives to move out of the way and giving the Changeling an exit back out the way it came.

“Don't let it get away! Quick, before it reverts back to pony form!” They scrambled to get up, and gave chase once more. Following another trail of destruction, it led them to the sleeping quarters of the party guests. “Where are you? Come on. There's no where to run. Show yourself!”

An out of breath Twilight shouted the instructions out as loud as she could. All of the doors flew open at once, and all of the exalted guests of the party poked their heads out to see what was going on.

“Oh, that's not fair” said a now distraught Twilight.

They had lost the killer.

Author's Note

Shorter chapter here, but the next one will be back up to par. Busy, busy bee.

The Author

It wasn't too long before a select number of guests were back in the main foyer, the place they had just been interviewed in. Both Upper Crust and one of the guard ponies were in deep conversation by the time Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Daring Do had joined them.

“My faithful companion, this is terrible.” said the high class mare to the guard. She shook her head in disbelief as the news of another death sunk in.

“Excuse me, my lady, but he was on his way to tell you something.” said the guard.

“He never found me. He had an appointment with death instead.” She shooed the guard away, and turned to face the detectives at work.

“He said, the poor little child. Would that mean anything to anypony here?” asked Twilight, opening the conversation quickly.

“There's been no child present in this castle for years, millennia. Highly unlikely there will be.” answered Upper Crust. “Miss Do, you must have twigged something. You've written simply the best detective stories.”

“Yes.” Princess Cadance had now joined from out of the blue, intriguing all of the ponies in conversation. “What would your own creation do? Celestia's sake, cards on the table. You should be helping us.”

“But, I'm merely a writer.” Daring Do was taken aback by the sudden centre of attention at a time like this. Twilight too. Ribbon Setter now joined in as well.

“But surely you can crack it. These events, they're exactly like one of your plots.”

“That's what I was thinking!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “That's got to mean something!”

“But what?” Daring Do held an anguished look upon her face, staring at each and every one of the questioners in the turn. “I've no answers. None. I'm sorry, all of you. I'm truly sorry, but I've failed. If anyone can help us, then it's the true detective here, not me.”

And with that, she stormed off, out into the gardens.

Daring Do stood under a gazebo, the white paint glistening in the mid-afternoon sunlight. A moment of peace was all she needed to reclaim herself in the madness of this mystery. None of the other ponies would ever understand that just because she wrote crime novella didn't mean she was an immediate expert in the field of criminology.

“Do you know what I think?” Daring Do looked up to find Pinkie Pie staring enthusiastically with a big grin. “Those books of yours, one day they could turn them into films. They could be talking pictures.”

“Talking pictures? Pictures that talk? What do you mean?” asked a baffled Daring Do.

“Oh blimey, I've done it again.” realised Pinkie Pie, waving a hoof for her to forget what she had just said. “Listen, ponies love your books, some much more than others to a certain extent. They really do. They're going to be reading them for ages to come!” Daring Do let out a small laugh.
“If only. Try as I might, it's hardly great literature. Now that's beyond me. I'm afraid my books will be forgotten, like the mare in the moon.” She let out a sigh and looked out towards the garden, the rows upon rows of elegant flowers and trees catching the sunlight. All was peaceful in this place, except for the row in front of her.

“Hello, what's this?” She made her to the flower bed, Pinkie Pie close behind. “These flowerbeds were perfectly neat earlier. Now some of the stalks are bent over.”

Her observation was correct. All around her, the flowers and trees were perfect in stature, as well as everything else about them. In front of her though, the red roses were droopy and knocked about by something. Digging further, a small box covered in reddish-brown leather could seen poking its head out from the disturbed earth.

“There you go. Who'd ever notice that? You're brilliant, Daring Do!”

The small case now sat on a table in the royal kitchen. Having been presented to Twilight, it was opened quickly.

“Ooo. Someone came here tooled up. The sort of stuff a thief would use.”

“The Dragon.” said Daring Do. “He's here.”

“The Dragon and the changeling.” quipped Twilight.

“Your drinks, ladies.” The guard pony held up a small silver platter, glasses of lemonade sitting perfectly still on it.

“Ah! Very good, sir.” thanked Twilight. The guard bowed his head and left the detectives to their work.

“How about the science stuff. What did you find?” asked Pinkie.

“Changeling magic, for certain. This one is definitely a splinter from the group we encountered at my brothers wedding. Its magical trace matches that of Queen Chrysalis herself.” explained Twilight. “But for some reason, this one is behaving like a character in one of your books.”

“Come on, Daring. What would Miss Mareple do?” She'd have overheard something by now, because the murderer thinks she's just some harmless old mare.” yapped Pinkie Pie.

“Clever idea. Miss Mareple? Who writes those?” asked Daring Do.

“Er, copyright Pinkie Pie.” giggled the pink pony.

“Pinkie.” said Twilight blandly.

“Oh OK, we'll split the copyright.”

“No. Something's inhibiting my magic.” Twilight was drawing small short breaths and shaking slightly before a dark green aura took a hold of her horn. She screamed out in pain. Pinkie scrambled to her side, her giggles replaced by the sound of worry.
“That's dark magic.” noted Daring Do.

Painfully, Twilight stood up and walked into the pantry, if just barely. She shouted “Cider!”

“I beg your pardon?” asked Daring Do.

“I need cider!” Twilight managed to shout out before grabbing a glass of pre-prepared cider for the evening.

“You've gone mad. Any expert in magic, especially you, should know there's no counter spell to this. It's fatal to your magic.”

“No!” argued Twilight. “No, I can stimulate my inhibited magic into reversal. Protein. I need protein.”

“Walnuts?” asked Pinkie Pie, holding a bowl of the nuts.

“Brilliant.” Twilight grabbed a hoof-full and shoved the group into her mouth, a look of relief about her. With a full mouth however, the next thing she needed would have to be mimed out. She shook her hoof up and down.

Pinkie did her best to decipher her friends clues. “I can't understand you. How many words? One? One word. Shake. Milk shake. Milk? Milk? No, not milk? Shake, shake, shake. Cocktail shaker. What do you want, a Mare-vey Wallbanger?”

“Mare-vey Wallbanger?” splurted Twilight.

“Well, I don't know!”

“How is Mare-vey Wallbanger one word?!”

“What do you need, Twilight?” asked Daring Do.

“Salt. I was miming salt. It's salt. I need something salty.”

“What about this, Twi?” asked Pinkie holding up a small jar.

“What is it?”

“Salt.”

“Too salty.” Twilight said, shaking her head.

“Oh, that's too salty.” Pinkie put the jar back.

“What about this?” asked Daring again.

“Anchovies. Perfect.” Twilight downed the entire contents of the jar, just enough to even weird out Pinkie Pie ever so slightly. “Next. Shock. I need a shock.”

“Right then, Big shock coming up.” And with that, Pinkie Pie moved towards Twilight and kissed her deeply on the lips. Twilights eyes flew open wide at her friends movements. Pinkie released Twilight from the embrace after a few more seconds of kissing as the surprised mare tried to comprehend what had just happened. She hadn't realised it yet but the pain she had felt from the magic was gone, the dark green aura leaving her horn had disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Thank you, Pinkie.” Twilight let go of the breath she didn't realise she was holding on to.

Night had descended on the castle. The moon shone as brightly as the sun upon the Royal Gardens but its beauty could not be appreciated by the party guests that night, for it was not just the moonlight that was falling. The Canterlot weather ponies had organised a heavy downpour for the night. Needless to say, the everypony was on edge tonight.

They, as well as the detectives and Daring Do, were busy dining in the great hall, a room usually reserved for Princess Celestia's own dinner arrangements. A hot serving of soup was laid out for each and everypony, its smell intoxicating. Candles lit up the room. Thunder and lightening crashed overheard and could be seen through the large windows of the room. Twilight sat at one end of the table, opposite Upper Crust. Pinkie Pie and Daring Do sat to her left, both eating their meal heartily. Twilight, not so much.

“A terrible day for all of us.” she said. “The Professor struck down, the guard that discovered him taken cruelly from us, and yet we still take dinner.”

“This is Canterlot, detective. What else must we do?” asked Upper Crust.

“And then somepony tried to poison me, rid me of my magic. Any one of you had the chance to spike my drink. But it rather gave me an idea.”

“And what would that be, my dear?” asked Princess Cadance inquisitively.

“Well, poison. Drink up. I've laced the soup with pepper.” revealed Twilight, sitting back in her chair.

“Ah, I thought it was jolly spicy.” chuckled Jet Set.

“But the active ingredient of pepper is piperine, traditionally used as an insecticide by farmers all over Equestria. So, anypony got the shivers?” Twilight said, staring at each of the guests during her sentence.

As if on cue, one of the windows were blown open by the storm, extinguishing any light inside the room. Darkness filled the room, only illuminated by a flash of lightening every so often.

“What the -”

“How?”

“Listen!”

"It can't be."

Twilight hushed the group, despite the obvious noise from the storm overhead. Nopony except Twilight could hear it at first but one by one, they all started to notice it, all of them looking one way or the other eventually. All of them noticed the buzzing.

“Nopony move! Stay where you are!” ordered Twilight.

On the next flash of lightening, the large form of the changeling could be seen hovering above the dinner table, its buzzing more noticeable once the source was found. As soon as the lightening died down and the darkness took over the room once more, chaos ensued. Pangs of destruction could be heard, cries for help mixed in with it. It soon died down, and light flooded the room once more.

The guards that were stationed on the outside of the hall had entered, closing the blown upon window and re-lighting the extinguished candles. In a few short seconds, the room had been overturned. Soup bowls were shattered and no longer on the table, the table itself actually having been broken. Ponies were scattered, Jet Set had fallen out of his wheelchair and Upper Crust was clutching at her dress.

“My jewellery!” she shouted. “The Firestone! It's gone! The Dragon!”

“Soarin, my friend!” shouted Jet Set.

In the far corner, the party guests and the detectives could see Soarin lying face down in an unbroken bowl, a large knife sticking out of his lifeless back.

The Flood

Author's Note

It's finally here! Enjoy!

The Flood

The castle was silent. Not even Pinkie Pie was emitting her usual excited air about her as she opened the doors to one of the many drawing rooms of the castle, where both Twilight Sparkle and Daring Do were waiting, quietly.

“That poor pony. Soarin's dead and he can't even mourn him.” she said quietly.

“Did you enquire after the necklace?” asked Daring Do.

“Princess Celestia bought it back from her trip to Saddle Arabia, and gifted it to Upper Crust a while back.” replied Pinkie Pie.

“This thing can use magic, it can fly. It could wipe us all out in seconds. Why is it playing this game?” contemplated Twilight.

“Every murder is essentially the same. They are committed because somepony wants something.” explained Daring Do.

“But what does a Changeling want?” Daring released a large sigh.

“Twilight, stop it.” she said. “The murderer is as equine as you or I. There's no way that- ”

“You're right!” cut in Twilight. “Ah, I've been so caught up with giant beasts that I've forgotten.”

Twilight had now broken out of her concentrated stupor and extended a hoof towards the author, an excited look upon her face.

“You're the expert!” she exclaimed. Daring Do guffawed.

“I'm not. I told you. I'm just a purveyor of nonsense.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Because of plenty of ponies write detective stories.” she explained. “But yours are the best. And why? Why are you so good, Daring Do? Because you understand. You've lived, you've fought, you've had your heart broken. You know about ponies. Their passions, their hope, and despair, and anger. All of those tiny, huge things that can turn an ordinary pony into a killer. Just think, Daring. If anypony can solve this, it's you.”

For the final time in twenty four hours, the party guests were once again called to meet in the main foyer, the time having gone well into Princess Luna's night. With the loss of Soarin, as well as the pony guard, the list of suspects had dropped, with only four in contention for the title. Twilight stood before one of the massive entrances to the foyer, it's doors sealed.

“I've called you here on this endless night, because we have a murderer in our midst. And when it comes to detection, there's none finer. Ladies and gentlecolts, I give you, Daring Do.”

Twilight moved to her left, allowing the doors to open wide. And from the doors came Daring Do, looking as exquisite as she had done twelve hours earlier when arriving to the same crowd. Only this time wasn't accompanied with a chorus of applause. She walked calmly, her eyes closed, towards the centre of the room. She opened her eyes the moment she spoke.

“This is a crooked castle.” she began. “A castle of secrets. To understand the solution, we must examine them all. Starting with you, Miss Setter.” She pointed a hoof towards the young model.

“But I'm innocent, surely?” asked the young mare.

“You've never met these ponies, and these ponies have never met you. I think the real Ribbon Stter never left Trottingham. You're impersonating her.” proposed Daring Do.

“How silly!” laughed Ribbon Setter. “What proof do you have?”

“You said you'd been to the toilet.”

“Oh, I know this!” piped up Pinkie Pie. “If she was really posh, she'd say loo.”

“Earlier today, Miss Pie and I found this on the lawn, right beneath your bedroom window.” Daring retrieved the locksmith's case from her persons, holding it up for everypony to see. “You must have heard that Miss Pie was searching the bedrooms, so you panicked. You ran upstairs and disposed of the evidence.”

“I've never seen that thing before in my life.” Ribbon Setter said defiantly.

“What's inside it?” queried Upper Crust.

“The tools of your trade, Miss Setter. Or should I say, the Dragon!” accused Daring Do. “You came to this house with one sole intention. To steal the Firestone.”

The two mares stared each other down, neither gaze nor smile faltering until Ribbon Setter slowly rolled her eyes round slowly.

“Oh, all right then.” Her accent had changed swiftly, from the upper class tones of Canterlot to the harsh hitting notes of Trottingham. “Fair cop. Yes, I'm the bleeding Dragon. Ever so nice to meet you, I don't think. I took my chance in the dark and nabbed it. Go on then, you knobs. Arrest me, sling me in jail!”

The Dragon removed her necklace from her neck, the Firestone glinting wildly, the orange shade of the precious jewel catching everypony's eyes. As harsh as her words hit the ear, she threw the necklace towards Twilight, the unicorn catching it with her magic just before it struck her face.

“So, is she the murderer?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Don't be so thick.” said the jewel thief. “I might be a thief but, well, I ain't no killer.”

“Quite.” said Daring Do. “There are darker motives at work. And in examining this household, we come to you, Jet Set.”

The accusatory hoof came to a halt just before the wheelchair stricken pony, the colt nervously looking from one pony to another, looking rather irritable.

“Damn it, mare. You and your perspicacity. You've rumbled me.” He let out a lengthy sigh and rose from the wheelchair, walking as fit as any other pony that night.

“You can walk? But why?” asked Upper Crust.

“My darling, how else could I be certain of keeping you by my side?” He explained further as he registered the look of confusion on his wife's face. “You're still a beautiful mare, Upper Crust. Sooner or later some young colt will turn your head. I couldn't bear that. Staying in the chair was the only way I could be certain of keeping you. Damn you, Ms Do, how did you discover the truth?”

Upper Crust was not the only pony to be confused by the scene that had just unravelled.

“Er, actually I had no idea. I was just going to say you're completely innocent.” she said.

“Oh.” Jet Set suddenly turned a bright shade of beetroot. “Oh.”

“Sorry.”

“Should I -?”

“Sit down?” Daring Do finished for him. “I think you'd better had.”

“So he's not the murderer?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Indeed not. To find the truth, let's return to this.” Daring Do took the necklace from Twilight, holding it high for all to see. “Far more than the Dragon's object of desire. The Firestone has quite a history. Lady Crust.”

“I've done nothing.” the mare said simply.

“You bought it back from Saddle Arabia, did you not? Princess Celestia was not the one who travelled all those years ago. You came home with an unknown illness, and confined yourself to that room for six months, at the request of the Princess herself. In a room that has been locked ever since, which I rather think means -”

“Stop, please.” interrupted Upper Crust

“I'm so sorry. But you had fallen pregnant in Saddle Arabia.” concluded Daring Do. “Unmarried and ashamed, you hurried back to Equestria, with confidants in tow, both young waiters later to become royal guards. The one who stood guard outside said room, and the guard murdered by our culprit.”

“My dear, is this true?” asked Jet Set. Streaks of tears had started to fall from her eyes.

“My poor baby. I had to give him away. The shame of it.”

“But you never said a word.”

“I had no choice.” She explained to her husband. “Imagine the scandal. The family name. I'm from Canterlot. I carry on.”

“And it was no ordinary pregnancy.” continued Daring Do. The tears came to a halt.

“How can you know that?” she asked.

“Excuse me Daring, this is my territory.” interjected Twilight. “But when you heard that buzzing sound in the dining room, you said, it can't be. Why did you say that?”

“You'd never believe it. It was forty years ago, in the heat of the Saddle Arabian capital, late on night. I was alone, and that's when I saw it. A dazzling green light in the sky. The next day, he came to the house. Golden Wheel, the most handsome colt I'd ever seen. Our love blazed like a wildfire. I held nothing back. And in return he showed me the incredible truth about himself. He'd made himself look like a pony, to learn about us. This was his true shape.”

Upper Crust's horn shone brightly, projecting the shape of a Changeling onto the ceiling of the room. The image covered the entire thing, the green aura of her magic projection coating the entire room eerily. She let go of the spell and continued her story.

“I loved him so much, it didn't matter. But he was stolen from me. That year was the year of a great monsoon, an exceedingly rare occurrence for Saddle Arabia. The city's central river rose up and broke its banks. He was taken at the flood. But he left me a parting gift. A jewel like no other. A jewel like no other. I wore it always. Part of me never forgot. I kept it close, always.”

“Just like any male.” snorted the Dragon. “Flashes his family jewels and you end up with a bun in the oven.”

“A poor little child. Forty years ago, your guards took that newborn foal to an orphanage. But Professor Plum Tart worked it out. He found the birth certificate.” deduced Daring Do.

“Oh, that's maiden.” shouted an excited Pinkie Pie. “Maiden name!”

“Precisely.”

“So she killed him?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“I did not.” said Upper Crust.

“The murdered guard feared that the professor had unearthed your secret. He was coming to warn you.”

“So she killed that one.”

“Lady Crust is innocent.” stated Daring Do. “Because at this point, Twilight.”

“Thank you.” Daring bowed in appreciation before letting Twilight take hold of the reigns of deduction. “At this point, when we consider the lies and secrets, and the key to these events, then we have to consider it was you, Pinkie Pie.”

“WHAT? Who did I kill?” said a quite shocked Pinkie Pie.

“No, but you said it all along. The vital clue. This whole thing is being acted out like a murder mystery, which means it was you, Daring Do.”

“I beg your pardon, ma'am?”

“So she killed them?”

“No, but she wrote them.” explained Twilight. “She wrote those brilliant, clever books. And who's her greatest admirer? The moving hoof points at you, Lady Crust.”

“Don't.” wailed the mare. “Leave me alone.”

“So she did kill them.”

“No. But just think. Last night, what were you doing?” asked Twilight.

“I was in the library, reading my favourite Daring Do, thinking about her plots, and how clever she must be. How is that relevant?”

“Just think!” Twilight turned to the ever-so-quiet Princess Cadance. “What else happened last night?”

“I'm sorry?”

“You said during the party, earlier this afternoon. Some ponies broke into your house.” Cadance nodded.

“That's correct. I did. I discovered the two of them. Thieves in the night. I was most perturbed.” she explained. “But I apprehended them.”

“Really? A student of Princess Celestia against two strong crooks in the night? A mare in her forties? Or should I say forty years old, exactly?” accused Twilight.

“Oh, Celestia...”

“Lady Crust, your child. How old would they be now?” asked Twilight.

“Forty. She's forty...” Upper Crust could barely make coherent words.

“Your child has come home.” presented Twilight.

“Oh, this is poppycock.” laughed Cadance.

“Oh? You were taught by Princess Celestia, raised by her practically after she found you in an orphanage.” explained Twilight further.

“My daughter, can it be?”

“You found those thieves, Princess, and you got angry. A proper, deep anger, for the first time in your life, and it broke the genetic lock. You changed.” explained the detective. “You realised your inheritance. After all these years, you knew who you were. Oh, and then it all kicks off, because this isn't just a jewel. It's a telepathic recorder. It's part of you, your brain, your very essence. And when you activated, so did the Firestone. It beamed your full identity directly into your mind. And, at the same time, it absorbed the works of Daring Do directly from Lady Crust. It all became part of you. The mechanics of those novels formed a template in your brain. You've killed, in this pattern, because that's what you think the world is. It turns out, we are in the middle of a murder mystery. One of yours, Ms Do.”

“So she killed them, yes? Definitely?” asked Pinkie Pie one final time.

“Yes.” Twilight put simply. Cadance only smiled the entire time, before standing up to leave.

“Well, this has certainly been an interesting evening. Really, you can't believe any of this surely, Lady Cruzzt.”

“Lady who?” asked Twilight.

“Lady Cruzzzzt.”

“Little bit of buzzing there, Princess.” teased Twilight.

“Don't make me angry.” warned Cadance, a green tinge covering her irises.

“Why? What happens then?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Damn it, you poniezz, worshipping your tribal sky godzz. I am so much more. That night, the universe exploded in my head. I wanted to take what wazz mine. And you, Daring Do, with your railway station bookmark romancezz, what'z to stop me killing you?”

“Oh, sweet Celestia. My child.” whispered Upper Crust.

“What'zz to stop me killing you all?”

An unearthly force ripped the form of Cadance from the floor, her body ascending into the air, her eyes now a pure green. Eventually, the same green covered her entire being before shattering to reveal the Changeling hiding inside. Floating, not moving a single wing, it opened it's eyes slowly, and bared fangs for all to see. The wings followed suit, a familiar buzzing filling the room before it screamed an all-mighty roar that shook the very foundations of the room.

“Forgive me.” said Upper Crust.

“No, no, my dear, come back. Keep away, keep away my darling.” Jet Set struggled to keep his wife from walking straight into the jaws of death.

“No. No more murder.” said Daring Do. “If my imagination made you kill, then my imagination will find a way to stop you, foul creature.”

Still holding the Firestone, Daring Do placed the jewel back on her persons, and ran out of the room. The Changeling screamed louder than ever and followed the author out of the room, causing most of the ponies to duck out of the way of it's massive size.

“Come on, Pinkie! We need to catch them!” ordered Twilight.

The detective duo gave chase, struggling to keep up with the massive Changeling. It wasn't long before they had made it outside into the castle gardens, the visible green aura of the Changeling shining brightly against the cool blue night sky.

“Over here! Come get me, Princess!” Daring Do's taunting could only just be heard by Twilight and Pinkie Pie. From off in the distance, they could make out that Daring Do had changed direction, the Changeling hesitating in which direction to follow.

“Daring, what are you doing?” shouted Twilight as best she could.

“It's all my fault, Twilight. If I started this, then I must stop it.”

Making their way to where Daring Do was last seen, Twilight could immediately tell where the author was going. On a sign to the left of the path were the words THE LAKES written neatly into the wood.

“Come on! She's heading for the lakes! What's she doing?”

The two ponies continued the chase. Elegant flowers of all shapes and sizes lined the path to the lakes, the huge pools of water noticeable the moment they turned another corner. At the centre lake, Daring Do stood at the side holding the Firestone aloft, the Changeling hovering nearby, a large magical aura enveloping its horn.

“Here I am, the honey in the trap. Come to me, Changeling.” The detectives were now by her side, the Changeling angered ever so more at the sight of the two.

“She's controlling it.” observed Pinkie Pie.

“It's mind is based on her thought processes. They're linked.” explained Twilight.

“Quite so, detective. If I die, then this creature might die with me.” said Daring Do. The Changeling roared once again.

“Don't hurt her!” shouted Twilight. “You don't have to do this” You've got the wrong template in your mind!”

“It's not listening to you, silly.” said Pinkie Pie.

In a flash, Pinkie Pie grabbed the Firestone from Daring Do and threw the precious jewel into the centre lake. As if playing fetch, the Changeling gave chase and plunged into the lake after it.

“How do you kill a bug? Drown it, just like it's father.”

“Pinkie, that thing couldn't help itself.” said an astonished Twilight.

“Neither could I.”

The lake was now bubbling slightly, the Changeling drowning as it dove deeper and deeper into the lake. A purple light shone from the depths, lighting up the lake.

“Death comes as the end, and justice is served.” said Daring Do.

“Poetic.” said Pinkie Pie.

Daring Do had time to give one glimpse of a smile before she doubled over in pain. Covering her body was the same purple light as the one in the lake.

“Ah, the Firestone!” shouted Twilight, grabbing Daring Do before she could fall. “It's part of the Changeling's mind. It's dying and it's connected to Daring!”

Slow moments passed as both Twilight and Pinkie Pie could do nothing to help Daring Do. Before too long, the purple lights disappeared from both the mare and the lake. Unlike the breath of the Changeling, Daring Do was still alive and well.

“Let her go. Right at the end, the Changeling decided to save somepony's life.” said a relieved Twilight.

“Is she OK though?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“I think so. She's out cold so she probably just needs to rest up a bit. Come on, let's get her back inside the castle.”

3 DAYS LATER

“Do you think anypony will ever know what happened a few nights ago?”

Both Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie were on the train back to Ponyville, their stay at Canterlot Castle now at an end. Although the case had officially closed the night the Changeling had sacrificed itself to save Daring Do, it was off the books. No professionals were at the scene, and who would believe such a story?

“No one'll ever know, Pinkie” said Twilight. “For the high class guests, it's too shameful a story to tell. Too Canterlot. The Dragon managed to slip away, who knows where to but I don't think she'd blab about it. As for Daring Do herself...”

“Yeah, any word on how she's doing?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“I did check in with her at the Royal Canterlot hospital before we left. Health-wise, she's doing well. Unfortunately, she's developed amnesia of the entire event. As far as she is concerned, she's never met us nor has she ever met the Canterlot ponies before. I don't think she has entirely forgotten what happened though, kept complaining about a buzzing noise. The biggest thing to sort out was breaking the news of Soarin's death to the Wonderbolts. I won't be forgetting their emotions any time soon. Don't know if I should explain it to Rainbow Dash or just leave it the press conference they hope to hold soon.”

“So, we solved the case of The Dragon and The Changeling, saved perhaps a dozen, if not more, pony lives, and discovered that Princess Cadance was in fact a hidden Changeling all along.” finished Pinkie Pie.

“Actually, Princess Cadance is still Princess Cadance.” started Twilight. “The Cadance we encountered was the same case as Queen Chrysalis, a Changeling all along. When Cadance was attacked that night, the Changeling was in fact the one that had broken into her house on the same night it had awoken. Once it had subdued her, it took on her form and paraded around for the next twenty four hours as the Princess of Love.”

“So, case solved?”

“Yes, Pinkie. Case solved. Onwards and upwards.”