Rainbow Dash breathed into her clasped forehooves, rubbing them together to warm them up. The weather was chilly enough this time of year, worse so at night. Tugging her jacket around her she glanced down both sides of the alleyway she was in, hoping her partner would arrive soon and they could get their business underway. Soarin had advised her against going out that night, she had a meeting with the Mayor the next morning after all, but Rainbow wasn’t about to ease up on her work. How could she rest knowing her humble little town was tainted by the presence of organised crime?
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth; suddenly the cold wasn’t bothering her as much. She was so distracted by the thoughts of her enemies that she almost didn’t see the shadow darting across her peripheral vision. Almost, but Rainbow Dash never let her guard down. Quick as a flash she tackled her would be assailant, her foreleg already whipping out the set of hoof cuffs she kept tucked away, latched to her belt.
“Rainbow Dash, it’s me!” the tiny figure squealed, instinctively raising her forelegs to shield her face as the older Pegasus bore down upon her.
Rainbow relaxed, taking in the orange coat and fuchsia mane of the teenage filly.
“Sorry Scoots,” she said in a low voice, helping her back onto her hooves. “But you should know not to creep up on me, especially when we’re in the middle of work.”
“Sorry Rainbow,” Scootaloo replied awkwardly, glancing down the alley to make sure she hadn’t drawn any unwanted attention with her shout. “I guess I’ve been a little distracted lately.”
“Well get your head in the game then,” Dash reprimanded firmly. “We can’t afford to slip up, not at this point.”
“I know,” Scootaloo murmured, looking away uncomfortably.
“Right,” Dash began again after checking her own end of the alley for eavesdroppers. “What news have you got for me?”
“I managed to overhear two of them,” Scootaloo said, brightening up slightly as she relayed her information. “They were talking about pinning something on Berry Punch, she must have done something to upset the family.”
“Were you able to get close enough to see who they were?” Dash asked eagerly.
“No,” Scootaloo admitted, shaking her head sadly. “And I couldn’t identify one of them from just hearing their voices.”
“One of them?” Dash repeated quirking an eyebrow.
“Yeah, the other was definitely Flim or Flam,” Scootaloo confirmed with an affirmative nod. “I’d recognise the way they talk anywhere.”
“Well it’s no secret Flim and Flam have been associates of the family for years,” Dash said, pondering the information. “Still, if we could catch which ever one it was in the act of framing Berry Punch… What else did you hear? Any details about the time of the framing?”
“Yeah, from the sounds of it they’re planning to…”
Scootaloo never got to finish that statement, as at that moment an extremely out of breath Soarin burst into the scene, causing them both to snap into self-defence mode.
“Soarin!” Dash snapped. “What are you doing here?! You’ll blow our cover!”
“Sorry Rainbow,” Soarin said in between pants. “But there’s something you ought to come see.”
Rainbow and Scootaloo shared a brief glance before both took to the skies after Soarin. He led them far from the alleyway, further still from the outskirts of Ponyville. They were just brushing Apple territory when he finally began his descent near the edge of the Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash spotted the other Pegasus lookout, Thunderlane, examining a dark shape sprawled out on the ground.
Her eyes widening, Rainbow sped past Soarin and landed down beside the lookout and the body. She immediately took in the lavender coat, straight purple mane with its single pink streak, and six pointed star cutie mark.
“She’s alive,” was the first thing Thunderlane said upon seeing Rainbow Dash approaching. “Seems to have suffered some kind of head trauma.”
“Has a doctor been called yet?” Dash asked, crouching down to examine the body herself.
“Not yet,” Thunderlane replied.
“Go get Fluttershy,” Dash instructed. “She lives closest to here.”
With a single nod, Thunderlane took off in the direction of the caretaker’s cottage.
“Who is she?” Scootaloo asked, approaching from behind.
“Not a clue,” Dash admitted. “No townspony I’ve ever seen.”
It was at that moment the unicorns eyelids began to flicker open, revealing a glazed expression beneath. She groggily turned her head so she was looking straight up at Rainbow Dash, her mouth opened slightly but no sound came out, only a confused expression could be identified on her face.
“It’s okay,” Rainbow assured her, resting a hoof on her shoulder in case she tried to sit up. “You’ve had an accident, but help is coming now. Can you tell me your name?”
“I…” the unicorn croaked, a distressed look in her eyes. “I don’t remember.”
She sounded ready to cry, so Rainbow just began quietly shushing her and gently rubbing her back.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she repeated. “We can deal with that later; right now just take it easy while we wait for the doctor to arrive.”
The unicorn gave a small nod and Rainbow relaxed. She may be set back in her fight against the mafia, but the night wasn’t completely wasted. Tomorrow looked like it was going to be an interesting day for the town of Ponyville.
Author's Note
With the exception of this prologue and the epilogue, the entire story will be written in diary format. This is not going to be a murder mystery in the same regards as my previous stories, it will probably be quite clear to the readers who is doing what, but still feel free to comment any theories or ideas you might have.
Day 1
Day one… That’s what it feels like, the first day of my life.
I do not remember who I am or where I came from; I don’t even have a name to latch on to. I don’t know how I came to be outside that forest last night, but I thank my lucky stars that they found me. No, I may have lost my memories, but I am alive, and for that I am thankful.
This day has been a blur, so many new faces; it’s hard to match the names and voices. One pony I do know well already is the doctor who’s been looking after me. She’s the loveliest of pegasi, her name is Fluttershy. She lives on the outskirts of this town, Ponyville, apparently quite close to where I was found which was why she was the one called to the scene. While I spent most of the morning there having my injury tended to, we’ve since moved to her other apartment closer to the town centre.
Apparently she rents it out as part of a little side business, but seeing as how it was vacant she’s allowing me to stay in it, free of charge no less! I was a bit sad at first when I learnt I wouldn’t’ be staying with her, but as she reasoned, her cottage is very cramped what with the large number of animals she shelters, not the sort of place anypony should be recovering in. She assured me that she would check in on me as often as possible though, I’m very glad to have her as a friend.
It was actually Fluttershy who suggested that I keep this diary; she said it might help trigger my memories if I get my thoughts onto paper. I’m a little doubtful, it really feels like I have no memories to remember, but I guess it can’t hurt to try. Besides Fluttershy, I’ve met several other ponies who heard about my arrival, seen even more just in passing. There was one particular pony who sticks in my mind, quite exuberant and a bit overwhelming. Her name was Pinkie Pie, she seemed overly happy to see me; I barely got a ‘hello’ out before she was planning out my welcome to Ponyville party.
Fluttershy was very quick to send her away, justifying her behaviour by saying ‘she’s like that with everypony, probably best that you don’t get involved with her’. A strange thing to say, especially for somepony as kind as Fluttershy, still she knows this town and its residents far better than I do. Another pony I remember well was Soarin, he stopped by the flat while Fluttershy was helping me get settled in, apparently he was one of the lookouts who discovered me and wanted to check in and see how I was doing.
I don’t remember a lot from last night, it was all a bit hazy, but Soarin pretty much filled me in. He and his friend Thunderlane were doing their usual rounds when they came across me; he flew off to find help while Thunderlane watched over me. He came back with the town Sheriff, Rainbow Dash, who ordered them to fetch Fluttershy. That part I vaguely remember, looking up at the figure with the rainbow coloured mane, hearing her tell me it was going to be alright. Soarin said that Rainbow Dash wanted to check in on me herself, but was apparently very busy with her job, so she asked Soarin to pass on her best wishes.
I was sure to thank Soarin profusely for helping me, and I’ll be sure to find the Sheriff first chance I get and thank her too. The rest of the day was rather uneventful, the town librarian stopped over to see how I was doing, but I’m ashamed to admit that I completely forgot her name, I’ll have to ask Fluttershy next time she’s over. Beyond that Fluttershy just made sure I was comfortable and healthy. This really is a wonderful town; I don’t think I could have been luckier. And while I don’t remember who I am, I’m sure that in a town as peaceful as this I’ll recover my memories quickly enough.
Diary of Applejack
Tuesday 8th November
The Queen is dead… Long live the Queen.
It is official now, with the passing of our dear Granny Smith, I have been declared the new head of the family. The funeral was held in the earliest hours of the morning, it was a quiet affair, only relatives were permitted to attend. I did notice Rainbow Dash skulking about during the burial, but I decided to ignore her, she didn’t stick around long anyway. Not sure if I should be touched or suspicious that she was there.
The rest of the Family’s associates and members arrived shortly after the funeral to ‘pay their respects’, but everypony knew full well the only thing on their minds were business. I had half a mind to tell them all to sod off, to have just one day where we could mourn in peace and not have to worry or think about Family matters. Mac talked me out of it though, made sure to put me in my place and keep me in line. Sometimes I wonder where I’d be without somepony as stalwart as him to lean against from time to time.
I made sure to send Applebloom away after the funeral; I didn’t want her about when the associates arrived. She wasn’t happy about it in the slightest, still insisting she wants to do more for the Family, but I put my hoof down. I felt bad about it afterwards; I’m supposed to be comforting my little sis on a day like this, not sending her away so I can conduct business in secret. Still, I knew her old friend Sweetie Belle was back in town, and sure enough when she got back this evening she looked much better.
The Family meeting proceeded predictably; I had been acting as head of the Family ever since Granny fell ill all those months ago, the whole thing was nothing more than a formality. Speaking of formalities, the position was briefly offered to Big McIntosh, but to nopony’s surprise he refused. After that I was nominated, then everypony cast their votes, which in itself was a waste of time since nopony even tried to stand against me, and very quickly I was declared the new Matriarch of the Apple Family and all the associates were declaring their loyalty to me.
Once that was out of the way we moved onto the usual stuff, everything from finance to framings. There was a small issue regarding Flam’s job to deal with Berry Punch. Apparently after he met up with Caballeron last night, he received a little visit from the town’s bicycle, Cloudchaser. Mac was sure to make it clear to him what would happen if he opted to forgo work in favour of sleeping around again, I doubt we’ll have that problem again for a while.
I was content to just call it a day once the meeting was finished, but Braeburn happened to mention something to me as he was leaving. It seems Ponyville has a new resident, a unicorn mare of unknown origins, discovered by the town lookouts near the Everfree Forest. I asked around, and in typical fashion word of this mystery mare had travelled fast. It would seem she had been found injured and completely lacking any memory of who she was or where she came from, a most peculiar event in a town like this. I may have to pay her a visit personally in the coming days, see her for myself and, if need be, let her know exactly who was in charge of this town.
Diary of Rainbow Dash
Tuesday 8th November
Well today has just sucked balls!
Have I ever mentioned I don’t like the Mayor very much? I feel like I’ve mentioned that a few… dozen times in this diary. Seriously, I can’t tell if AJ is paying her off, or if she really is just as incompetent as she appears. Fleetfoot and I may have a laugh about her while sitting in the office, but when I have to sit through whole meetings with her that seem to go on and on and on, and I haven’t had a wink of sleep… Yeah I know Soarin told me not to be out last night, but hay, even he can’t complain after the incident with that mare.
I never did get a chance to check in on her today, Soarin said she was doing well, but I’d still like to see her myself, maybe have a proper talk with her and see if we can’t figure out what she was doing out there. Last night I was sure the Family had something to do with it, but the more I’ve thought about it today the less I really believe that. It just doesn’t feel like something Applejack or her cronies would pull off, not nearly as clean or efficient as their usual stuff.
I went to Granny Smith’s funeral this morning before my meeting with the Mayor, I didn’t tell Soarin as I knew he would have lost his head with me. I couldn’t just waltz on over to the grave itself, it was strictly a family only deal (that is to say, family by blood, not family by business), so I just watched from the trees for a few minutes. I don’t even know why I went; it just made me feel weird seeing the coffin sink into the ground, seeing AJ…
It doesn’t matter, she’s gone, and AJ’s probably been elected as the new Godmother or whatever they call her. That’s why this is my one shot, my chance to finally bring them down, while they’re weakened by their loss I can put an end to their crimes once and for all…
That felt weird to write, I feel weird now…
I checked in on Berry Punch today after my meeting, I don’t know if Scootaloo’s info was bunk or what, but everything seemed to be fine, as far as I could tell she hadn’t been targeted by Flim or Flam, not yet at least. I’ll have to tell Soarin to keep a watch on her house these next few nights, I’m sure he won’t mind too much, it’s not like we’re going to have any more excitement like last night.
Again, I’ll have to see about visiting that mare tomorrow, I hope her and Fluttershy are getting along. Ah what am I saying, I don’t think it’s possible not to instantly become best friends with Fluttershy.
Diary of Scootaloo
Tuesday 8th November
So today was pretty interesting, although that might be mostly to do with everything that happened last night. An unknown mare appearing out of nowhere with no name or explanation as to how she came to be where she was, if that isn’t interesting I don’t know what is. Truth be told I didn’t stick about for too long, once Fluttershy arrived on the scene there wasn’t exactly anything for me to do. Rainbow Dash let me go on, saying we’d pick up where we left off the next day (as in, today), although I didn’t see her at all today, but I knew she had something on with the Mayor so it might have been for the best that I didn’t run into her, she probably would have been in a crappy mood.
Naturally I slept in this morning, being out so late last night. Cheerilee wasn’t happy about it, but she’s cool enough not to try and stop me from helping Rainbow Dash out with her work. I was pretty late at meeting up with the old Crusaders, Sweetie Belle got back from Canterlot yesterday so we agreed to meet up at Sugarcube Corner today and catch up. I wasn’t expecting Applebloom to come today at all, what with her granny’s funeral, but apparently her sister wanted her out of the house. We ended up spending most of the day together cheering up Applebloom and I think we did pretty well.
I think she’s taking the whole thing pretty well since they knew it was coming, in fact I’m pretty sure she’s secretly a little happy that she’s not suffering anymore. Of course Sweetie Belle was absolutely full of stories from her new life in Canterlot, I zoned out through most of it, higher education never really interested me. I was surprised when she actually stopped talking about herself to ask what I was doing these days, which as where things got slightly awkward.
I had sort of decided that I would tell Sweetie Belle the truth, but the fact that Applebloom was there complicated matters. Rainbow Dash had strongly advised against letting her know what I was doing, particularly since neither of us knew if she was aware what her family was really involved in. After all, how could I let her know that I was actively trying to bring her whole family down from the crimes they were committing, perhaps without her even knowing? Instead I opted to lie for Applebloom’s sake, and told Sweetie Belle that Rainbow Dash was training me for the Wonderbolts.
I hate lying to my friends, and I hate working behind Applebloom’s back, but her family is dangerous, she might even realise that if she heard the things I had, but she would never forgive me for the part I’m playing in bringing them to justice. When we finally parted ways late evening, I decided to pay Fluttershy a visit, hoping to see the mare we found last night. Turns out she was staying in Fluttershy’s flat in the town centre, not her cottage. Still, it gave me a good opportunity to stay and chat with Fluttershy anyway.
She knows about me working with Rainbow Dash, so I was able to tell her my concerns about Applebloom. She didn’t exactly have any advice for me, but it felt good to get it off my chest to another pony, I’d never tell Rainbow Dash in case she asked me to stop working with her, and I don’t want to burden Cheerilee with the details if I can help it. Anyway, Sweetie Belle is staying with her sister for a couple weeks, so we might be able to hang out more in the coming days, and if Applebloom starts to feel better soon it’ll be just like the old days.
Diary of Rarity
Tuesday 8th November
Today has been just wonderful, a slightly rocky start admittedly but I was able to look past that. The weather for a start was simply divine, it is quite clear that we are now coming into winter, I woke up to find my whole garden covered in the most dazzling layer of frost. While the frost melted all too quickly, the weather stayed cool enough all day so that I was able to justify showing off my latest winter ensemble. Quite a few ponies in the streets were stopping me to put in commissions for their own outfits, so that they may look even a fraction of how fabulous I was today.
I had a lovely lunch at my favourite bistro with my good friend Cloudchaser, who of course had all the latest gossip for me. At the end of our lunch I managed to charm some hapless stallion into covering our bill, poor fellow was only passing through town so I doubt I’ll be expected to hold up my end of the arrangement. Even if he does come looking for something in return I can always send him the way of Cloudchaser, she would hardly object. Sweetie Belle was also out of my hair all day, off visiting her old friends. I love her dearly, but even a day with her and I’m already remembering why I was so relieved when she moved off to Canterlot to carry on her education.
I suppose since I mentioned the rocky start I should go into more detail. Well I was expecting a visit from my beloved Soarin first thing this morning, he informed me yesterday that our dear sheriff would be tied up all morning in a meeting with the Mayor, how unfortunate for her. However while I eagerly awaited Soarin in the back yard as per usual, I was instead approached by a pair of Applejack’s goons, kindly reminding me that I was late in paying the Family their ‘protection fee’. Being the good standing lady I am, I forced myself to smile as I hoofed over the bits they seemed to think I owed them, all while mentally taking note of their faces and cutie marks so that one day I might teach them what happens to foolish ponies who attempt to extort me.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Soarin never did show up! I waited outside for an hour, and as beautiful as the weather was it was impossible to enjoy it then knowing that my time could be better spent wrapped in his hooves. I eventually gave up, accepting that it was too late for him to make an appearance, that was when I went into town in the hopes of cheering myself up. It certainly accomplished that, considering I actually ran into Soarin outside of Fluttershy’s flat. At first I was angry with him, and I nearly blew our cover with my outbursts, but he quickly explained why he hadn’t been able to attend.
It would seem that last night while he was on his rounds, he came across an unconscious mare in dire need of assistance. Of course being the noble stallion that he is he took the time to help her, this whole morning he had been wrapped up making contacts to other towns to see if anypony knew who she was, poor dear had lost her memories in whatever accident landed her in my beloved’s path. Of course I couldn’t stay mad at him for that, and I knew he wasn’t lying to me as I later ran into his partner Thunderlane who was able to confirm it, and of course the appearance of this new mare was all the rage in Ponyville, everypony seemed to be talking about it.
Soarin assured me he would make up for his absence first chance he got, apparently Rainbow Dash has been staying out these past few nights and it’s harder for him to sneak off while on duty. I should probably feel bad that I’m taking Soarin away from his work, but he works himself ragged all the time, he’s allowed to break off once in a while to have some fun. Besides, what does Ponyville even need two lookouts for anyway? Nothing bad ever happens in this town.
Day 2
I really should have seen this coming…
How lucky of me, to be taken in by such nice ponies and welcomed into such a pleasant, peaceful town, the kind of place where nothing bad ever happens. Of course something bad was going to happen, but for a pony to be murdered…
I’m still very shaken up by it, even now. I suppose it all started when Fluttershy came to visit me this morning, I had expected her to be here before I was even awake, she had said yesterday that she would check in on me as early as possible. I wasn’t too put off, she probably had plenty of other responsibilities, so I decided to curl up in the armchair with one of the books the librarian lent me while I waited.
When she finally did arrive near midday, I was horrified to see her in tears. She could barely get the words out, but when she finally did I suddenly felt very empty. I never did meet the other lookout who helped me the night I was discovered, I never got a chance to thank him for what he and Soarin did, and now it seemed I never would.
Thunderlane was dead, found brutally murdered in his home. Fluttershy was distraught while I was merely in shock, but we both snapped out of it when the Sheriff arrived at my door. I shouldn’t have been surprised that I would be her first suspect, after all a new mare appears in town and suddenly a stallion dies, I know who I would interrogate had I been in her shoes. She seemed fair enough about the accusation, and Fluttershy stuck up for me the whole time. Eventually the sheriff, Rainbow Dash, decided to drop the questioning, I could tell the whole incident was weighing down hard on her, she did work with the victim after all, they might have been friends.
Rainbow Dash informed us that there was going to be a town meeting in the square, and everypony was expected to attend, even me. Of course I obliged, Fluttershy wasn’t happy about it, believing I shouldn’t be out and about so soon after my injury, but I was already feeling much better and I didn’t want to make myself anymore of a suspect in the townsfolks eyes by opting not to show up.
Turns out the town meeting amounted to little more than a lynch mob on a witch hunt. Rainbow Dash briefly addressed the town, informing them of the facts of the case, how Thunderlane was killed at unknown hours of the morning and that the killer used a knife. The Mayor tried to keep the resulting discussion as ordered as possible, but everypony was content enough to start shouting over one another, desperately declaring their own innocence while firing baseless accusations at each other. I was occasionally dragged into the shouting match, several ponies, none of whom I’d encountered up to that point, accusing me of doing the terrible deed.
Rainbow Dash was decent enough however to tell them off, making it very clear to everypony that she had already spoken to me and found no evidence to suggest that I was responsible. It didn’t help my case that the pony from yesterday, Pinkie Pie, kept whispering benign things to me. Anytime she did, I could see ponies throwing suspicious looks our way. Eventually the Mayor decided to call an end to the ‘town meeting’ after Rainbow Dash strongly suggested we weren’t getting anywhere. Fluttershy and I were just about to leave, wanting nothing more than to get back to the flat and gather our thoughts, when we were approached by two ponies.
They were both earth ponies, a large stallion wearing a yoke and chewing on a stalk of wheat, and a younger mare wearing a Stetson. The younger one introduced herself as Applejack, and her brother Big McIntosh, I was worried she was going to start accusing me of being the murderer, but she didn’t even hint at it. Indeed she was very polite, commenting on my injury and welcoming me to the town. I was a little confused as to why she felt the need to do so when their appeared to be more pressing matters, especially when I noticed Fluttershy trembling slightly beside me.
It was almost as if she was assessing me through small talk, it was a wee bit eerie, particularly as her brother never spoke. She finally broke off the conversation, claiming that she needed to go have a word with the Mayor. I was about to ask Fluttershy what that was all about, but she just shushed me and hurried me back to the flat. I tried again to press her for details, but she just said that I should watch myself around Applejack and her family. First she had warned me against Pinkie Pie, and now Applejack, it feels like there’s a lot more to this town that I’m not aware of.
I didn’t leave the house after that, and besides another couple of visits from Fluttershy I was alone the rest of the day. I tried to do a bit of reading, but I was too distracted by the day’s events. I even tried to meditate and remember back to a time before I was found near the forest, to whatever events led me to be here in the first place, all to no avail. Hopefully tomorrow will be better…
Diary of Applejack
Wednesday 9th November
Well this is a fine start to my new job. For generations the Apple Family has been in charge of Ponyville, for generations there has never been a pony foolish enough to commit a crime as grievous as murder for fear of what they would suffer at our hands. That time appears to have come to an end it seems, and now as the Matriarch it is my responsibility to see to it that this killer is found and made aware that the only pony in this town who decides when others die is me!
Thunderlane was the victim, one of the town lookouts. A real shame, because unlike Soarin we were always able to bribe him to turn a blind eye to some of our activities. It was Applebloom who told me of the incident, she found out about it when she went into town to work the stall and immediately rushed back to tell me. Of course I hurried over to the scene of the crime to see what I could find out, but naturally Rainbow Dash was already there and had the whole place cordoned off.
I decided I would have to back off, no doubt she would be looking for a way to pin this on me and I wasn’t about to help her with that by snooping around the crime scene. I had to work fast, contacting as many of associates as I could in as little time as possible, I had to make sure that none of my ponies were responsible for this. By the time the Mayor was calling a town meeting, I was content in the knowledge that this was indeed the work of some lone killer.
The town meeting proceeded as predictably as you’d expect in a town like this, Rainbow Dash gave a little information on the nature of the crime and then everyone exploded into frantic yelling. I was content to just wait it out, but Spring Cushion, the pony who owns Quills and Sofas, was very foolish when he shouted my name in the same sentence as the word ‘killer’. Of course a look from yours truly was enough to silence him. Still, I’ll have to send Mac his way tonight, make sure he doesn’t make that mistake again.
When the meeting was called to an end, when anypony with a brain finally got sick and tired of wasting their time, I decided then would be a perfect opportunity to meet this new mare. It seemed especially prudent as quite a few ponies seemed to suspect her of doing the deed during the meeting, but truth be told, as I spoke to her I saw nothing in her that really screamed ‘murderer’ at me. Her doctor quietly mentioned that the girl had no memories, and I think I believe that. I was satisfied to leave her be, I had to run and see the Mayor, make sure she knew that the Family was in no way responsible for what happened.
If Dash does try to pin this on me, and she will, I’m going to need the Mayor’s backing, lest we see the old town gallows being brought out. Besides the day’s events, business is proceeding as it usually does, Flam should be taking care of the Berry Punch job tonight. As for the killer, we’ll keep our ears to the ground, if our dear sheriff can’t catch them we most certainly will.
Diary of Rainbow Dash
Wednesday 9th November
I can’t believe it; Thunderlane is dead, murdered…
Seriously, the words are right there in front of me and I can’t believe it. I woke up this morning, sure it was going to be a good day, I’d get some work done, make some progress in our fight against the Family. Hopefully I’d be done in time that I could go out for the night with Soarin, try to make up for how distracted I’ve been these last few weeks… or, months. Of course things didn’t work out that way.
I was only in the office a few minutes when Thunderlane’s neighbour charged in, tears streaming down her face. It took a while to get her to explain what had happened, but once she did I flew straight over to his house, and sure enough there he was…
I tried to deal with the whole thing as professionally as I could, but… it was difficult. I’d known Thunderlane for years, true I wasn’t as close with him as Soarin was, but we were still friends. Fleetfoot handled it alright, she always was the toughest of us, but Soarin fell apart when he found out. I tried to be there for him, but I didn’t know what I could say that would make it better. I told him to go home, told him we would take care of the investigation, I didn’t like it but somepony had to.
I wanted so much to believe that it was Applejack’s doing, I even tried to convince myself that was the case, but try as I might I knew full well it had nothing to do with her or her Family. They may be criminals, but they very rarely took lives, and when they did it was always far cleaner than what was done to Thunderlane. When we got everything we could from the crime scene, I went to Fluttershy’s flat. It was Fleetfoot who suggested the possibility, and I knew she was right, if anypony outside the Family was a suspect in this crime, it was the new Mare.
I didn’t like having to accuse her, she seemed nice enough, and Fluttershy definitely believed she wasn’t capable of doing such a thing. I decided to let it go for that moment, although I later instructed Fleetfoot to bring her in tonight for some more questioning, just to be sure. I had hoped my first meeting with her after she was up and about would have been under better circumstances.
Anyway, the Mayor was calling a town meeting, so when my talk with the mare was over we all headed over to the town square. As sheriff it was my job to relay the facts of the case to the town… before they all began squabbling among themselves. It was a complete waste of time, but then I expected as much, this is what happens when the Mayor calls a town meeting on a whim before I’ve even finished my investigation. I did notice Pinkie Pie whispering to the new pony quite a bit, luckily Scootaloo was close enough to overhear them and she told me later that they weren’t saying anything of interest, just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.
When all was said and done and everypony went home, I went back to the office with Fleetfoot. I asked her to carry on looking into the murder while I tried to make up lost ground on the fight against the Family. She wasn’t happy, I could tell, but she didn’t argue. I knew then I wasn’t going to be making up lost ground with Soarin that day either. When I finally did get home near midnight, he was getting ready to head out. I tried to tell him he should take the night off, but he insisted, I guess it was just his way of coping. I didn’t know what else I could do but let him, so I suggested he watch Berry Punch’s house and let him go.
It’s weird, I didn’t even realise how empty our bed has been feeling these last few weeks without him. Between trying to bring down the Family and Soarin’s night shifts as lookout, I can’t even remember the last time we were really together. I have to make this up to him somehow, when this job is behind us I swear I’ll make things right between us, I owe him that for how patient he’s been with me.
Diary of Filthy Rich
Wednesday 9th November
Today has been a good day, not many ponies see it that way, but where others see tragedy I see opportunity, and opportunity to finally make Applejack pay for everything she’s done to me.
Poor Spring Cushion will probably not see many more sunrises, speaking out like that. The fool should have been patient like me; you can’t just shout a baseless accusation and hope everypony goes along with it. You need to cultivate the seeds of mistrust, let them grow big and strong before you attempt to reap the rewards. The Apple Family are notorious, everypony is thinking it, even if only one pony was foolish enough to say it, if there’s anyone behind Thunderlane’s murder it’s them.
But one death is not enough, and that’s where Spring Cushion comes in. Poor fellow, didn’t even realise he was volunteering himself. Applejack will of course send her lackey Big Mac to break his knees or cut out his tongue, that’s where my opportunity lies. At long last, after years of toiling away in poverty, I will be able to exact revenge on Applejack for ruining my business and driving away my family.
Diary of Sweetie Belle
Wednesday 9th November
What an awful day, that nice stallion, Thunderlane died today. Everypony is saying he was murdered, but that just can’t be the case, it had to be some kind of accident or drunken argument. I tried talking to Rarity about it, but she barely pays any attention to me, even now when we haven’t seen each other in so long. These past couple of days she seems really distracted, and I don’t think it’s just with her work like it used to be, I wonder if something happened while I was away in Canterlot.
There was a town meeting today, but it didn’t amount to much. I think the Mayor was hoping the pony responsible would confess or somepony would present some unquestionable piece of evidence. No such luck if that was the intention, all it…
...
Sorry I stepped away for a bit, I thought I heard my sister calling me but turns out she’s fast asleep. It must have been my imagination. Anyway, I’m hoping I can meet up with Applebloom and Scootaloo again tomorrow, I’ve missed them so much since I left and I want to get in as many days with them as I can before I have to head back.
Diary of Cheerilee
Wednesday 9th November
An awful incident occurred today, one of the town lookouts was found murdered in his house this morning. I tried asking Scootaloo about it, I was terrified this had something to do with the work she was doing with Rainbow Dash. She said she didn’t know anything about it however, I hope she’s being honest with me, even after all these years I never know if she really trusts me or not. I swore I wouldn’t interfere with Scootaloo’s life too much, but I might have to have a word with Rainbow Dash tomorrow, make sure she isn’t getting her into anything too dangerous.
School was of course cancelled today what with the obligatory town meeting, although considering what a waste of time it was, the children would have had their time better spent learning something rather than listening to a bunch of grown-ups arguing and accusing one another. I spoke to the Mayor after and tried to reason with her that the foals shouldn’t be expected to attend a town meeting about such a sensitive subject.
She did agree with me and made it clear that they wouldn’t be expected to attend again in future, but they still might as well get the day off school since I as their teacher would be expected to attend. I told her that was fine, but that I hoped we wouldn’t ever have to attend such a meeting again. Seriously, there’s something wrong with a Mayor who puts more thought into what to do after a murder has occurred rather than preventing them from occurring to begin with.
Diary of Mayor Mare
Wednesday 9th November
Well today has been just hectic, first I had to hold a town meeting because somepony went and murdered Thunderlane, then I had to spend the rest of the day trying to deal with the dozens of ponies who weren’t satisfied enough to leave the running of the town and the investigation in my hooves. All time that could have been better spent doing… I don’t know, but I refuse to believe that as the Mayor I should really be expected to listen to everypony’s petty concerns.
Well Applejack did pay me a little visit, just making sure that we were still friends and that there was no doubt in my mind that her Family had nothing to do with today’s messy little incident. She even contributed greatly to my holiday fund, such a nice mare! I’d like to have told everypony that our faithful sheriff had everything under control, but honestly I don’t trust her to catch any killers that don’t have an apple themed cutie mark, seriously the mare is hell bent on opposing Applejack.
Obviously I have no faith in a mare such as her, so I sent a little letter to Canterlot this afternoon asking them to send a real investigator down. They were very quick with their reply, which I do like; apparently the chap will be here tomorrow morning. Now that’s efficiency that our sheriff could learn a thing or two from.
I have complete faith that this nasty matter will be sorted out quickly enough and ponies will stop badgering me over such benign issues, then maybe I’ll be able to fit an appointment with the travel agent into my busy schedule.
Day 3
Things have gone from bad to worse.
There were two more murders last night, a stallion I had never met called Spring Cushion, the owner of a shop here in Ponyville called Quills and Sofas, and one of Fluttershy’s co-workers, a mare named Nurse Redheart. Fluttershy is deeply upset, two of her friends dying so close to one another. The only silver lining of all this is that nopony believes I could be responsible for either of those deaths as I spent the night in jail.
Shortly after I finished writing last night’s entry, I was visited by Rainbow Dash’s partner, Fleetfoot. Her official role is the town jailor and she had me come over to the sheriff’s office so she could conduct a full interview. She told me there was nothing to worry about, apparently Rainbow Dash didn’t’ suspect me, but she wanted to have an interview on record. I wasn’t bothered by this, Fluttershy on the other hoof had some stern words for Rainbow Dash in the morning when she came looking for me, apparently having visited the flat and finding it empty.
Rainbow Dash hadn’t been long in herself, all four of us were there talking, although it was mainly Fluttershy stressing my need for peace in order to recover, when another of Rainbow Dash’s friends arrived with yet more terrible news. I only briefly heard what had happened before Rainbow ordered Fluttershy to take me back home. Fluttershy left briefly to confirm what we had heard; when she came back she was in the same state as she had been when she heard about Thunderlane.
I did my best to comfort her, but I was a bit out of my depth, I felt terrible not being able to do anything for her after everything she had given me. I was almost thankful when another town meeting was called and we were given an excuse to leave the house and proceed to the square. I was fully prepared for a repeat of yesterday, however this meeting went very differently. For starters there were considerably fewer ponies talking out of turn and making accusations, where yesterday there were panicked into a tizzy, today they were terrified into silence.
The next thing that was different was the presence a small, purple dragon wearing a long coat and a fedora; he was standing next to the Mayor, smoking a cigarette. The final thing that marked how different today’s meeting was going to go was the newly built gallows in the centre of the town square. The Mayor began the meeting by introducing the dragon, his name was Spike and he was an investigator called in from Canterlot to help with the sudden murders. I noticed Rainbow Dash didn’t look pleased about this.
Rainbow Dash followed up by informing everypony of the two murders, both occurred in the victims’ places of residence, Nurse Redheart was stabbed in the same manner as Thunderlane, leading them to deduce that the same killer was responsible. Spring Cushion however was murdered very differently it seemed, not only that but there was apparently evidence as to who was responsible. There was some whispering between Rainbow Dash and Soarin, presumably trying to decide how much they should reveal.
While that was happening there was another loud accusation made against me. To my shock and confusion it was made by Pinkie Pie, which struck me as insane considering how much she seemed to like me. Fleetfoot quickly put her down though by explaining to everypony that I couldn’t have been the killer as I was accounted for all night. Eventually Soarin announced that he saw a pony by the name of Flim visited Spring Cushion last night.
The stallion, Flim, immediately panicked. Another stallion I presumed to be his brother, maybe even his twin, began whispering urgently to him, but they were cut off by Rainbow Dash who demanded to know what he was doing there. If he had some lie prepared, he clearly forgot it when he was put on the spot and all eyes were on him. The Mayor then declared a vote open, which confused me, I didn’t even know what we were voting for, but very quickly the majority of the ponies gathered called for Flim to be brought up.
This was where things got very grim, very fast, as I realised that the Mayor was calling for him to be lynched! The investigator also seemed to realise this as he began trying to explain that a proper investigation needed to be carried out before any verdicts were passed. Nopony seemed to listen however, we were all asked to vote yay or nay to the guilt of Flim. He was screaming for mercy, insisting that he didn’t kill him, but at the same time it looked as if he was trying to stop himself from saying who did.
I voted innocent, not because I believed him to be so, but because I agreed with Spike that he should be investigated properly to determine his role in the murder. I was in the minority however, although I was in the majority of ponies who chose to look away as the stool was kicked out from beneath him and his cries for mercy were cut short.
After that everypony was eager to leave, apparently forgetting that there was a second murder that needed solving. Fluttershy and I went back to the flat, very little was said between us, in fact very little was done beyond sitting and staring into space until the investigator arrived. Of course he had quickly heard about the newcomer who had no memories, and despite Fleetfoot’s statement about my innocence, he still wished to question me himself. I didn’t mind as I was already used to it by that point, even Fluttershy didn’t try to stop him.
I could tell he was annoyed about what went down during the town meeting; I imagine Canterlot has a much stricter justice system than Ponyville. He seemed satisfied though that I was nothing more than a simple amnesiac by the end of his questioning; he even thanked me for voting innocent with him before he left. It’s been a harrowing day, and I feel that the worst is yet to come. I need sleep, Fluttershy’s is staying with me tonight to make sure nopony else tries to hinder my recovery.
Diary of Spike
Thursday 10th November
This town is nuts.
I knew my boss was giving me a crappy case from the look on his face, but this… This town is insane; the most level headed pony I met all day was an amnesiac. I honestly don’t know how you would go about pressing charges against an entire town for unlawfully executing a pony without proper trial.
I got into Ponyville around ten this morning, and good thing I did since by the time I arrived at town hall to be briefed another two murders had just been called in, making three in two days. Of course that was going to make it difficult to focus on yesterday’s case, but from what the town sheriff said, one of today’s victims died in the same way as the one yesterday. Could be that this town has a serial killer on their hands.
It seems the other murder was the work of the local organised crime syndicate, apparently one of their agents was spotted visiting the victim in the early hours of the morning by a town lookout. The town sheriff, a hot headed Pegasus by the name of Rainbow Dash filled me in on the whole mafia situation. It would seem Ponyville’s been under the heels of the Apple Family for generations, everypony seems content to just roll over and let them have their way, everypony except the sheriff that is. She appears to be obsessed with bringing the mafia down, so much so that it’s clear her investigation into the serial killer is suffering. It doesn’t take a genius to realise she has some history with the leader of the mafia, a pony named Applejack.
I was able to talk to Rainbow Dash in the morning before we all had to attend a town meeting in the square. I would have preferred not to do so while she was trying to conduct her own investigation, but with three dead bodies I really can’t afford to waste any time. I could tell she wasn’t happy to see me, I guess I can sort of understand that, can’t be nice to have your superior undermine you by calling in an expert to do your job for you. Then again, if Rainbow Dash really is hell bent on bringing the mafia down, it’s probably for the best that I’m here to find the serial killer for her.
Of course I tried to object to the town lynching the agent, a guy called Flim. Heck we only had the lookout’s word that he was there, and that didn’t mean jack shit. He could have just been a nobody who stumbled across the body and was threatened to keep his mouth shut about it. The way he behaved when dragged to the gallows, I definitely believe he knew who the real killer was, if we had taken him into custody and questioned him we could have found out so much more.
Once the meeting was over I tried to get a strong word in with the Mayor, but she was content to brush me off, I’ll have to bring her incompetence up with the boss when I get home. With that avenue closed I decided to start investigating, it was clear that Spring Cushion was killed by the mafia, everyone could agree on that even if nopony wanted to say so out loud. My first move was to talk to Applejack, naturally she didn’t budge an inch, but I expected as much. She strongly suggested that I should keep my efforts focused on catching the serial killer and getting back to Canterlot as soon as possible, and that anything else was really none of my business.
The idea that she can talk openly like that really goes to show how much command she has in this town. My next stop was the newcomer that everypony was raving about, she pops up outside the Everfree forest with no memories and suddenly ponies start dying, even if the jailor exemplified her I still had to talk to her myself. I didn’t have to question her long before it became obvious that she really had no memories, her physician was also able to back her up by showing me her medical record.
I wasn’t able to do much else besides familiarise myself with the facts of the case, most of my work will have to wait until tomorrow. Luckily I was offered a room above the local bakery, the owners already rent out space to another pony, so they were happy to put me up while I conducted my investigation.
Diary of Applejack
Thursday 10th November
Well things took an unexpected turn, my first few days in charge really have been the toughest we’ve seen in a while. I knew things were off to a bad start when Mac rushed back home last night, I could tell from the look in his eyes something had gone wrong. Spring Cushion died, which put us in a bit of a pickle. Mac swore to me that he only roughed him up a little, that he couldn’t explain how it happened, but the next thing the guy was dead. If it had been anypony else I would have called them a liar and had them taken out to the orchard to dig their own grave.
I guess Mac just doesn’t know his own strength, still, we needed damage control and quick, we couldn’t let his death get linked back to us after yesterday’s murder. In retrospect, it might have been better if I had left it well alone. I sent Flim out to Cushion’s shop, told him to clean the body and make sure there wasn’t a trace of evidence that could lead the sheriff back to us. Of course the fool was spotted and naturally got lynched today during the second town meeting.
We even had to vote guilty along with the rest of the town; I couldn’t let him spill his guts to the town in return for walking free. As if Spring Cushion’s death didn’t complicate things enough, the killer struck out again last night, stabbed up a nurse this time. As if she had predicted the situation escalating, the Mayor called for an investigator from Canterlot, a drake called Spike. He must have been talking to Rainbow Dash, because first thing after the meeting he comes looking for me, probably all clued in to what the Apple Family was all about.
I reminded him what he had been called here to sort out, and suggested that he avoid stepping out of his jurisdiction. But his presence and the second murder really highlights the problems at hand, we need to find this killer and quick. I can silence ponies here in Ponyville, even in the neighbouring towns, but if Canterlot get involved we could be in trouble. It pained me to do this, but with all our agents and associates tied up I was left with no other choice but to ask for help from the only other pony I knew I could trust.
Applebloom was thrilled when I approached her, of course I wasn’t about to make her a member of the inner circle and spill all our darkest secrets to her, I just asked her to copy this guy Spike, and do her own little investigation on behave of the Family. It’ll help to have an extra set of eyes and ears on this case, the more we have the sooner we can bring this whole thing to a close. Which reminds me, I’ll have to keep an eye on Flam, I’m not sure how long he’ll stay loyal after we sold out his brother. I hope he knows what’s good for him, he did a decent job last night with Berry Punch and we really can’t afford to lose our framer right after losing our janitor.
Diary of Rainbow Dash
Thursday 10th November
Have I mentioned that I don’t like the Mayor? Because I REALLY don’t like the Mayor. I guess she has so little faith in me that she thought the only way the killer was going to be caught was if a ‘real’ investigator was brought in. There were another two murders last night, Nurse Redheart who was killed in the same manner as Thunderlane yesterday, and Spring Cushion. Turns out the second guy was targeted by the Family, not surprising after he spoke out against AJ yesterday, although even I was a little surprised, I thought AJ was smarter than to have a pony killed while there’s another murderer stalking about.
Soarin managed to spot one of her agents visited Spring Cushion on his way home last night. Funny enough it was Flim, the brother of Flam who Soarin also caught that night breaking into Berry Punch’s house. During the town meeting I gave Soarin the green light to reveal that he’d seen Flim, although I specifically instructed him not to mention Flam, instead I ordered Fleetfoot to arrest him tonight. Of course I knew Flim wasn’t the actual killer, he was probably just there to clean up or plant false evidence after the real killer did the dirty work, but of course the rest of the town jumped on the notion of him being the killer and called for his immediate execution.
The investigator from Canterlot, a stuck up little dragon called Spike, tried to put his foot down, said we should interrogate him and conduct a proper trial rather than lynching him. Ordinarily I would have agreed with him, but I knew how the Family worked, he wasn’t going to talk no matter what we offered him. Besides, what the investigator didn’t know was that we already had cause to bring his brother in for questioning, so let Flim hang I decided, I swore I would see the Family destroyed and that seemed like a good way to kick it all off.
I might have given away that I don’t like the dragon either, that’s because he’s totally condescending. He followed me and Fleetfoot around all morning trying to get caught up on the case, while that was annoying in itself I could shrug it off, but we went back to the office before the town meeting where we talked a bit. And the little shit had the audacity to say that I didn’t seem to care about catching the serial killer, that I was too focused on bringing the Family down and I needed to sort out my priorities!
I made it very clear that this was my town, and those were my friends who had died, and if he dared to question my commitment to catching the punk behind all this then I would make sure he never made it back to Canterlot. Yeah I admit I lost my cool a bit, but he was asking for it. I don’t actually care which of us catches the killer, I just hope it’s soon so I don’t have to see his smug face much longer.
After the town meeting I spoke to Soarin, he managed to catch not one, but two agents of the Family in the act; I wanted him to know I appreciated it. I had half a mind then to take the rest of the day off and just go do something with him, I keep thinking back to last night, to how lonely it’s been, I wonder if that was how he’s been feeling this whole time. I really wanted to take the time off, but I knew I couldn’t with the pony who killed Thunderlane still on the loose. I instructed Soarin to try and cover as much ground tonight as he could; anypony outside at night was automatically suspicious.
After that I spoke to Fleetfoot, I ordered her to bring in Flam tonight, but that I would start working on a list of suspects for us to start working through these next few days. I don’t care if I have to question everyone in Ponyville; I will catch that killer and show that dragon that I’ve got my priorities straight… I’ll even bring the Family down while I do it. I also spoke with Scootaloo; turns out she was able to hear what Flim and Flam were whispering to one another after Flim got outed at the town meeting. Naturally his brother was trying to help him come up with a convincing lie, it didn’t help Flim any but I might make for a good weapon against Flam during his interrogation.
Scootaloo also mentioned something about Applejack bringing in a new agent, but she wasn’t able to tell me much more than that. I wondered if she really didn’t know or if she was actively hiding something from me, I trust Scootaloo though, if she knows anything I know she’ll be honest with me… even if it takes a while.
Diary of Applebloom
Thursday 10th November
Today has been the best day ever…
Actually that might have sounded really insensitive, obviously it’s terrible that so many ponies have died, but Applejack actually asked me to do some work for the Family! I couldn’t believe my ears when she told me, after all these years she’s finally gonna let me help with the Family business, and not just the farm. She asked me to help with the investigation into this killer on her behalf, of course she’s way too busy to do it herself and she cares more about the safety of this town than most of the ponies living here.
I did wonder why she needed me to do this, I mean we have a sheriff and now there’s some detective arrived from Canterlot, by the looks of it that killer will be caught before long. Still, I wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity to show Applejack that I could be trusted to work with the Family. I got to work straight away, I started by going to find Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle and asking if I could practice my questioning on them. Pity both of them were too busy and had to run off, at the time I thought they were trying to hide something from me but the I realised that was just silly.
After that I went and talked with Cloudchaser, I knew she was a friend of Sweetie Belle’s sister, but I didn’t know much more than that. She was really vague when I asked her to tell me about herself, she said she was a professional ‘escort’ which didn’t make a lot of sense, I mean I’ve never seen her escorting anypony around town. Besides, before this killer showed up Ponyville was a perfectly safe town, you didn’t need escorting. She also giggled a lot when I tried asking for specifics, I might have to note her down as suspicious for now.
Course I wasn’t able to do much more investigating as I still had chores on the farm to do, but I think Applejack will be really impressed with how I’m doing, especially after a day or two when I’ve been able to question more ponies.
Diary of Shining Armour
Thursday 10th November
Go to Ponyville they said, it’ll be good for you they said.
It seems no matter where I go I can’t escape the violence, I’ve only been here a couple months and already the criminals are coming out of the woodwork. I thought when I left the army I would find some peace, but it looks like the only thing I’m destined to find is death. So Ponyville has a serial killer, and even the mafia are rearing up, well they can come after me if they want, I’m not about to go down without a fight. If my old officer knew I kept my weapons I could get into serious trouble, but by the looks of it I’d be in more trouble if I was here without something to defend myself with.
Diary of Fleetfoot
Thursday 10th November
Shit’s really hitting the fan now, with three ponies murdered and another executed in the town square, it didn’t even come as a surprise when the Mayor approached me today. While Dash was arguing with the new investigator, our dear Mayor popped in with a little message for me. It would seem that I have been granted full authority as the town jailor and a lawman to jail anypony indefinitely without a warrant and even execute them myself if I believe them to be the killer. That first part might be helpful if we had more than one cell, but as it is I can’t exactly keep many ponies in here indefinitely.
Still, being allowed to perform executions, no questions asked, I can get on board with that. The town already proved today where they stood on the matter of how to deal with criminals, and Rainbow Dash has been upping her fight against the Family recently, with this new power we could really strike a blow against them. Speaking of which, I’m bringing Flam in tonight, Dash wants him to spill his guts, and I might just make it happen literally once he’s told me everything he knows.
I’m keeping this to myself for now; I don’t know if Dash would be for or against it, I’ll find tomorrow if I decide to go through with it. I imagine any issues she has with it will disappear once she sees how the Family crumble as their agents are taken out one by one. She did say she was going to provide me with a list of suspects that I was to jail from tomorrow onwards, I won’t be surprised to find a few of the Family’s associates scattered throughout that list.
Diary of Soarin
Thursday 10th November
Things are getting too hard, I barely see Rainbow anymore, and when I do it’s only to do with work. I feel like she wants to be closer again, but if that is the case she doesn’t seem to want to act on it, she’s still way to absorbed in the mission. Even time spend with Rarity is becoming hollow and unfulfilling, I put on a smile but when I’m with her all I can think about is how things used to be between me and Rainbow and how I want those times back.
I’m not sure that I could break it off with Rarity even if I wanted to; she’s been talking a lot more lately about the possibility of us taking our relationship to the next level, even hinting at me leaving Rainbow Dash. It’s obvious she went into this affair with very different expectations than me and I don’t have it in me to tell her the truth now, but by the same token I don’t have the strength to let go of Rainbow.
The night shifts are becoming more burdensome than ever now that I’m helping with investigations during the day too, and whenever I’m not working I’m sneaking off to Rarity’s. It’s all getting too hard and things are going to have to change soon. I pray this killer will be caught soon, we’ll make him pay for what he did to Thunderlane then just maybe we’ll be able to go back to normal lives… but what if my normal life is working all night while Rainbow works all day, hardly seeing one another as she throws herself into her work and barely notices as our relationship falls apart around her. Something HAS to change… even if that requires me to come clean.
Day 4
Serial Killer…
Someone who kills three or more ponies over a long period of time, well that criteria certainly doesn’t apply to the murderer we’re dealing with, but that hasn’t stopped everyone referring to them as such. I’ve heard them muttering to one another as I walk the streets, seen them huddled alongside those closest to them, viewing anypony else as suspicious. They say we’re being hunted by a serial killer, a pony who won’t rest until they’ve picked us all off one by one, which has everypony asking the same question, who will be next?
True the killer has claimed three victims, the third found this morning, another one of Fluttershy’s co-workers, Doctor Horse, but they were killed in only three days, considerably less than one month. They might have to classify this pony as a brand new type of killer, like a serial killer but much more efficient. So in order to answer the question ‘who will be next?’, one would first have to determine why the previous were chosen, find the link…
I might sound a little strange today, but I’ve had a lot of time to myself, Fluttershy has become quite withdrawn, she hasn’t visited me at all today since she left this morning. I would have been worried but I saw her at today’s town meeting, I know she’s alive and that’s good, but afterwards she went home before I could get a chance to talk to her and make sure she was alright. What am I saying, assuming she was friends with Doctor Horse that means three of her friends are dead, she’s obviously is not alright.
Anyway, because I had so much time to myself, it really got me thinking in more depth about everything that’s happened these last few days. I ended up wondering, not who, but why. Why would anypony want to kill those three ponies? Was it random? Do they really just desire to see us all dead… or is there something that connects those three ponies? I should probably leave these questions to Rainbow Dash or the investigator, but I just can’t help myself from wondering.
I feel this itching in the back of my skull, forcing me to dwell on these killings. Everyday that’s passed, every victim claimed, it’s been growing worse. But what really confuses me is that I’m sure this feeling is linked to the ‘serial killer’, not any of this mafia business or town executions, it’s something about these killing in particular. When I think about them it’s almost as if…
I just stopped and read all that back to myself, I sound like a crazy mare. Maybe Fluttershy is right, I need to stop stressing and let myself recover, maybe the damage to my head is worse than I thought. Speaking of Fluttershy, I really am worried about her; I wondered if she would stay over here again tonight. No such luck it seems, I hope she’s safe at her own home though, more than that I wish I could do something to help her through all this.
With the exception of Doctor Horse, there were no other murders last night, unless you count the brother of Flim, Flam. From what I heard he was executed in private last night in jail. Nopony really drew attention to it, although I could tell that the idea of the sheriff’s office killing ponies off has really frightened folks. Anyway, I’m going to get some sleep, take Fluttershy’s advice and rest. I’m clearly putting too much thought into all this, although it’s hard not to when I could be slaughtered in the middle of the night.
Diary of Spike
Friday 11th November
Today’s victim was a Doctor Horse, the second medical professional in two days. Some would consider that a link, but then those same ponies would discard the link when they realised that Thunderlane was not connected to them. I however was not so quick to drop this lead, and as a result I have now determined the identity of my first strong suspect. A pegasus named Fluttershy, apparently works part time as a doctor as well a vet, a lot of responsibility for one pony.
She was the same pony taking care of the new pony who lost her memories. Turns out Miss Shy worked alongside both Nurse Redheart and Doctor Horse, but more than that, she was a foalhood friend of Thunderlane. I was able to speak with her earlier this evening at her home, she wasn’t in a very good state, but then that’s hardly surprising considering the circumstances. I questioned her for a while, and while I acknowledge that she is under a great deal of emotional stress, her responses really did not line up too well.
But it wasn’t the answers she gave me that really bothered me, but while she was in the kitchen I discovered that she keeps all her medical equipment in her own home, including a great variety of cutting implements. I casually mentioned it to her and she explained it was because of the work with her animals. Still, we haven’t made any progress in finding the murder weapon, and when I was able to examine Doctor Horse’s body first hand this morning I picked up on something very troubling.
The killer is clearly very good with a knife; every wound is very deliberate, severing all the right blood vessels in all the right parts so that the victim is pretty much guaranteed to die… but slowly. I asked the sheriff to show me the other bodies, and the wounds are the exact same on both. Whoever this killer is they have either taken many more lives than the three this week, or they have an extensive knowledge of pony anatomy, perhaps even both.
This suspicion is not entirely leak proof, obviously I don’t know of any motive Fluttershy could have for doing this, all three were apparently her friends, and who suddenly kills three of their friends for no reason? I’ll have to ask more questions tomorrow, find out if ever anything happened between them that might have created animosity. I haven’t approached the sheriff or her partners with any of this, when I learned that Fluttershy was friends with Thunderlane since childhood, I also learned that they were both part of a tight knit group consisted of themselves, Rainbow Dash, Fleetfoot and Soarin.
If I tried to tell them that their oldest friend was a killer without some real, tangible proof… I wouldn’t be surprised if they dragged me straight to the next train to Canterlot and told me never to come back. If I can find something to support my theory, and I present it in a tactful way, I might be able to convince Soarin to watch her for a while and see what she does. Until then I should still consider the possibility that I’m wrong, if I set out looking for something specific, I could miss something right before my eyes.
There were no random lynchings today during the town meeting thankfully, although it appears the Mayor has gotten around that by allowing the sheriff and her crew to execute ponies privately overnight. They jailed another member of the mafia, Flam, brother of the guy who was executed yesterday. Dash told me that Fleetfoot interrogated him; he admitted to his involvement with the Family and even revealed a little useful information, when she was done Fleetfoot had him executed.
I could tell from the way she spoke that Dash hadn’t authorised that and Fleetfoot had done it on somepony else’s orders, probably the Mayor. When I asked Dash to tell me what they learnt from Flam, she told me I was here to catch a serial killer and that I shouldn't be worrying about what the Family say or do, even ending it by telling me to get my priorities straight. As if this case wasn’t difficult enough, now Dash won’t work with me and can’t even keep her own jailor under control.
Diary of Applejack
Friday 11th November
Dash has gone too far. She was annoying before, but that was when she couldn’t really do anything against me, but now she’s actively removing my associates. It would seem getting caught runs in the family as Flam managed to go the way of his brother and get executed after Soarin caught him breaking into Berry Punch’s house. Ordinarily I wouldn’t be sad to be rid of such clearly incompetent agents, but who knows what that fool told them in the hopes of being pardoned.
No further actions were taken during today’s meeting, but I’m sure Dash is already planning her next move. I always knew she wanted to ruin me, but I never truly believed she could. The killer is still out there, claiming a third victim in three nights, the rate they’re working at Ponyville will be a ghost town before long, whoever doesn’t die will most likely pack their bags and flee. I don’t know what to do, I am the Matriarch and I don’t know what to do.
Many under my authority would have Rainbow removed, or at the very least her subordinates. If I even could do that it would be a foolish move on my part, in this climate a direct attack could be the signature on my own death warrant. The killer is taking a life every night, and not my agents, the sheriff’s office or even the investigator from Canterlot have found a lead. This Family is being assaulted on two fronts and I don’t know what to do.
Applebloom is taking to her new role enthusiastically, she is drawing up a list of every pony in Ponyville, attempting to determine whether they are suspicious or not. But she’s only one pony, and she acts like the killer will just admit to everything as soon as she asks them to. As much as I prefer to act slowly and subtly, this situation may call for more rash actions to be taken, as such I have discussed it with Mac and from tonight onwards we will be targeting high profile figures and eliminating them.
We will not stop until the murders do. We’ll go off of the list Applebloom provides us with… after it’s been reviewed by a number of our associates first, after all we don’t want to target Cloudchaser just because Applebloom doesn’t know what an escort is. I love that girl, but she is almost an adult and she is oblivious as a brick. Speaking of Cloudchaser, I approached her in private today, tried to offer her a position in our Family. This new investigator could prove troublesome if allowed to poke his nose into our affairs, and with Rainbow Dash upping her efforts at bringing us down, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to recruit him to their cause.
So I offered Cloudchaser a little pay raise in return for keeping the little guy busy, unfortunately she refused… outright. I tried to make her see that consort had a better ring to it than escort, but she was seeing none of it. When all this is over I may have to send some ponies around her way to remind her who really runs this town. Mac’s going to pay a visit to Filthy Rich tonight, Applebloom spoke with him today, apparently he described himself as an executioner. She didn’t know what to make of that and marked him as suspicious, but truth be told I don’t get it either, we’ll know tomorrow though I’m sure.
Diary of Rainbow Dash
Friday 11th November
Fleetfoot killed Flam last night. I arrived into the office this morning to find her washing the blood off her hooves. The resulting ‘talk’ wasn’t pretty, I said a lot of things, she said a lot of things, but in the end just let it go, partly because we just received word of yet another murder, and partly because I can’t help but feel she was right in doing it. She got him to admit to being a framer for the Family, even getting some details of previous jobs he’d done. On top of that he identified the guy he was speaking to when Scootaloo first overheard him discussing the Berry Punch job, a guy called Cabelleron.
Fleetfoot did some research on him, he’s from out of town, shows up occasionally but nopony knew why… until now. She explained that the Mayor gave her permission, and honestly I’m not sure if I’m happy about that or not, I prepared a list of ponies for Fleetfoot to jail from tonight onwards, but I would have half a mind to remove half of them if I thought she was going to chop their heads off on a whim. She assured me though that she would only do it in extreme circumstances or in cases where it was clear cut.
Anyway, onto the murder. It’s really bad how much of a habit this has become; it doesn’t even have the same impact as the first two did. The last thing I want is to get used to this, I swear we’ll catch the killer soon and put a stop to this. The victim was Doctor Horse; I knew Fluttershy would take that badly since it was the third pony close to her to die in such a short space of time. Spike was hovering about doing his own investigation; he seemed to pick up on something about the stab wounds, even asking to see the other bodies.
I hadn’t even realised it until he pointed it out, which I’m pretty pissed off about, but the victims haven’t just been stabbed in the same way, they’ve been stabbed in the EXACT same way. I asked him what we were supposed to make of that but he said he didn’t know, but I’m sure he did know and was just sore about me not telling him what Flam told us. When I had a moment I went and found Fluttershy to tell her the news, I wanted her to hear it from me in private rather than during the meeting.
She took it really badly, I did my best to comfort her, but short of bringing back the dead I don’t think anything could fix the way she feels. Soarin hadn’t seen anything suspicious last night; he apparently hadn’t been near Doctor Horse’s house last night, so we had nothing to go on for today’s meeting, so no public hangings today. I also got a visit from Cheerilee today, turns out she was having concerns about Scootaloo’s involvement in our work what with the recent murders. I tried to explain to her that I would never put Scootaloo in harm’s way, that I was only getting her to do some eavesdropping and reconnaissance, it seemed to placate her but I could tell she still wasn’t happy about it.
Scootaloo’s proving to be a really useful asset even if she still won’t tell me anything more about AJ’s new operative, I’d hate to lose her, but at the same time I really don’t want her to get hurt or killed on my account. She did however catch Pinkie Pie whispering to Filthy Rich in the streets today, she was talking rather blatantly about who the Family were planning to kill, but apparently Filthy Rich didn’t know what she was going on about. I actually don’t know if Pinkie Pie has ever had any involvement with the Family, I did once hear that she was a distant relative of AJ but I didn’t know it was true. It just sounds like another of Pinkie’s random moments, but it might be wise to keep an eye on her just in case.
Diary of Cheerilee
Friday 11th November
I did something terrible today.
I finally got to talk to Rainbow Dash today about Scootaloo; she assured me that Scootaloo was in safe hooves, that she was only doing some spy work. Honestly I don’t know if that’s good or not, with everything that’s going on, I really don’t want Scootaloo caught in the middle of a war between the Apples and the law. But the terrible thing I did wasn’t to do with that, it was when Rainbow Dash had to step out of the office for a minute to speak to another pony.
While she was gone I began walking about, I was getting too nervous and fidgety just sitting there, but as I walked I came across the sheriff office’s gun cabinet… it was unlocked. I don’t know what came over me; maybe I thought I could protect Scootaloo better or if I just felt unsafe in my own home at night but… I took a gun. I shoved it into my bad along with three bullets and went back to my seat before Rainbow Dash got back in.
She was barely back a minute before I was saying my goodbyes and trying t get out of there as quickly as possible, I’m worried she noticed. Maybe she’ll open the cabinet and realise something’s missing. If I get caught with it I’ll go to jail, I might even go the same way as Flam did. I could return it, but who’s to say they won’t still throw me in a cell. Oh, I should never have touched it, now I feel trapped.
To make matters worse I think Scootaloo is hiding something from me. I noticed it yesterday but it was more pronounced today, something is bothering her. I wish she trusted me enough to open up to me and let me help her, she used to after all. It feels like only yesterday she was knocking on my front door in the middle of the night as the rain poured down. I’ll remember that moment for the rest of my life, as I opened the door to find her shivering, soaked to the bone, her eyes red and puffy from crying.
She turned to me that night, she trusted me… when did that change? I love Scootaloo dearly, as if she was my own child, and I would use this gun to protect her just as readily as I gave her shelter all those years ago.
Diary of Rarity
Friday 11th November
Dear Diary, I am in love!
Yes I know I’ve written that line a few times before, but this time I know it in my heart to be true. Last night Soarin visited me briefly during his shift, the time we spent together was truly bliss. Last night I felt a true connection with him, in a crystallised moment I knew that he loved me back, that he loved me in the way he could never really love that Rainbow Dash. While in the past I was content to wait for him to make the first move, I was filled in that moment with the impulse to do it myself.
I declared my love for him; I got a little emotional so I may have been a little less eloquent than I usually am. I told him that I knew how he felt and that the only thing for it was to make our love known, for him to leave Rainbow Dash for she was not capable of loving him the way I could. The poor dear was awestruck by my declaration; he could barely form the words to respond. He did eventually muster enough strength to say it wasn’t a good idea.
I admit my heart stopped for a second there, but then it became obvious. He was afraid of Rainbow Dash. Of course he loved me and wanted to be with me, but Rainbow Dash was oppressing him and he dared not cross her. After what she had done to that Flam gentestallion I’m not entirely surprised, but it is clear that if Soarin is to be free of her and we are to be together as we both desire, then Rainbow Dash has to be removed.
Luckily I have the means to do so, I may be a little rusty, but I’m sure a few days of practicing should make me fit to carry out the deed. I only hope my beloved Soarin will be able to hold on for a few days, and not be broken under the tyranny of Rainbow Dash.
Diary of Scootaloo
Friday 11th November
Applebloom has joined the Family.
I was always afraid this day would come, ever since Rainbow Dash took me under her wing and revealed to me the truth behind the Apples. She was so happy about it which was the worst part. I’ve been watching her closely since she told me and Sweetie Belle yesterday; true to her word she is just questioning ponies in the hopes of finding the killer. An innocent enough and even virtuous endeavour, but today it’s investigating, but what tomorrow? Now that she’s in how far will her sister drag her down?
I can’t bring myself to tell Rainbow Dash, she might cut me loose, she might see me as a danger to the job due to my relationship with Applebloom. I don’t want that, I want to help Rainbow take down the Family, and I’m doing it FOR Applebloom as much as anypony. I couldn’t even tell Cheerilee, I’m afraid that if I bring her into this, and my involvement becomes known to Applejack, she’ll be targeted.
I thought of telling Fluttershy, but I visited her house today and she wouldn’t open up for me. I even went to Sweetie Belle, a part of me wanted to tell her the truth about what I was doing, though I don’t know if that part of me would have won out if I had got to see her. As it is she wasn’t at her sister’s house and Rarity didn’t know where she was, Rarity actually seemed really distracted. I looked around for a while but I couldn’t find anypony who’d seen Sweetie Belle around.
While I was looking I overheard Pinkie Pie saying some weird stuff to Filthy Rich, she was making out that she was a member of the Family and she knew who they were planning to kill. It sounded like a load of crap, but I reported to Rainbow anyway, that pony seriously has a few screws loose. I don’t know what to do; I could warn Applebloom about her sister and hope that she believes me, but then what? But even getting that far would require Applebloom to believe me, and I think if it came down to between me and her sister, I know who she’s choose to trust.
Diary of Sweetie Belle
Friday 11th November
I can’t sleep…
I can’t make the voices stop.
I hear them whisper during the day, anytime I’m alone. The more I try to ignore them the louder they get, filling my head until it’s ready to burst. If I try to listen to them they become indistinguishable buzzing. It’s worst during the night, it’s as if they’re right beside me, I can almost feel them breathing down my neck as they speak to me.
At night I can understand them, they tell me terrible things… they tell me about the pain, about how it felt to have the knife penetrating their body, or to feel the noose tighten around their neck. I hear the voices of the dead. I can’t escape them no matter where I go. They torment me, won’t let me sleep, they’re going to drive me to madness. I can’t tell anypony, not even my sister. They’d think I was crazy; they’d have me carted off and locked up like Pinkie Pie.
Maybe they want to be avenged so that their souls can rest in peace, but I can’t help them. In all the things they’ve said to me they never tell me who killed them. I don’t know if they don’t know or if they’re incapable of telling me, but even if I ask they won’t tell me. I screamed at them last night, begged them to tell me who did it, but they continued talking about their agony as if I hadn’t said anything at all. How am I supposed to help them if they can’t tell me how?
I’m even hiding from my best friends, afraid that if they ask I’ll tell them the truth. When Applebloom told us she was investigating ponies I made my excuses and ran, terrified that if she got the truth out of me she would see me as some sort of freak. I’d lose her, I’d lose Scootaloo, I’d lose everything I care about, it would all be taken from me until all that would be left is the voices…
I’m so afraid.
Day 5
I can’t believe it… Fluttershy was attacked last night!
She’s still alive, thank goodness, it would seem the killer didn’t stick about to make sure she died and she was able to save herself. Well, she was able to use the medical equipment she keeps in her home to patch herself up, it was apparently a messy job but it kept her alive until she was found this morning.
When I heard the news circulating around town, that Fluttershy was the latest victim of the serial killer, I rushed straight to her house. Rainbow Dash was already on the scene with her team, it seemed she was the one who found Fluttershy as she went to check on her this morning. She wouldn’t let me in to see her, but promised me that she was alive and they were doing everything they could to keep it that way.
I was still worried since two medical professionals had already been killed, but it seems that despite only having a small clinic, Ponyville has a few more nurses and another doctor besides Fluttershy. Beyond that, Rainbow Dash is apparently trained in first aid, so I’m satisfied that Fluttershy will get the care she needs. Since this was the first victim to survive Rainbow told me that she wasn’t about to attend some stupid town meeting when she had more important work to do, I could definitely respect that, so she asked me to relay the latest developments in her place.
All that I was able to tell everypony was that Fluttershy was targeted, she was in critical condition, and as of yet the sheriff hasn’t got a chance to ask her about who attacked her. Nothing very significant happened at the meeting, no more executions at least, with the majority of the town investigative force absent there wasn’t much to discuss without jumping into random accusation territory. When it was all over I tried to go back to Fluttershy’s cottage, but I ran into the Canterlot Investigator on the way and he advised me not to, that they needed peace and quiet to work.
Reluctantly I agreed, but I still felt like I needed to help in some way, I had already carried out one task for Rainbow Dash and it seemed to get me in the mind set. I went over to the Sheriff’s office where Fleetfoot was, apparently she wasn’t needed at Fluttershy’s place anymore so she came back to write up the situation. We talked for a bit, and she told me that she was being tasked with bringing in members of the town each night to question them, a bit like what she did with me the other night.
She said they had taken in a guy called Shining Armour last night, a war veteran who moved to Ponyville after he was injured and couldn’t serve anymore. He was apparently adamant in his opposition to both the serial killer and the ‘mafia’ as he called them; Fleetfoot gave him the benefit of the doubt and let him go in the morning. I asked who she was planning on arresting tonight but she was tight lipped about it, she said it was nothing against me, but that the fewer ponies who knew the less chance there was of it getting out and the pony in question having time to start practicing their alibis.
I asked if there was anything I could do to help; she just said that if in the future there was another public trial, I should vote alongside her and Rainbow Dash. That disturbed me a bit, so I quickly said my goodbyes. With nothing else to do I went back to the flat, I’ve been here all evening and I can’t get Fluttershy out of my head. There’s a picture above the fireplace showing her alongside Rainbow Dash, Fleetfoot, Soarin, Thunderlane and an orange mare I’ve never seen before. I’ve been sitting staring at it for what feels like hours, thinking about the kind mare who took care of me and gave me a place to stay, thinking about the terrible thing that happened to her.
I can’t help but imagine her lying in a pool of her own blood, covered in stab wounds while a dark figure looms over her raising the knife, ready to plunge it down one final time… I can’t get the images out of my head, and the more I think about it the stronger that itching in the back of my skull becomes. I know she’s in safe hooves, but I’m going to visit her tomorrow morning just to be sure, and I don’t care if Rainbow Dash won’t allow me to, I’ll fight my way to see her if I have to.
Diary of Spike
Saturday 12th November
A survivor…
The fourth victim, the one I suspected of being the killer no less, managed to survive the killer’s attack where three other ponies had failed. I know it’s not fair to still suspect Fluttershy after what happened to her, I mean there’s no doubt that those wounds weren't self-inflicted, but still, pretty miraculous how it all worked out.
Rainbow Dash allowed me to sit in while she was being questioned, although rather reluctantly. This was pretty late in the day after she was finally awake and well enough, saying that she was still in a pretty terrible state, Rainbow Dash was surprisingly gentle with her. She couldn’t tell us much, which is where the lingering suspicion comes in, she claims that she got up to investigate why the animals outside were causing a racket. She says the killer struck from behind as she went to the front door, they were apparently already in the house and hiding in the shadows as she claims.
Of course she went down then and there, but the killer didn’t stop, they continued to stab intermittently, taking their time. Again, all the wounds lined up with the previous victims. I asked Fluttershy if she could identify the killer, but she couldn’t, apparently they were very careful not to get into her direct line of sight, and any glimpses she did catch they appeared to be covered in some dark clothing. That annoyed me, why would the killer try to stay hidden from their victim after they’ve already injured them enough that they couldn’t call for help or escape?
I wanted to press her but Rainbow Dash was content to continue on and not let me get a word in. Fluttershy then told us that when the killer was done they simply left. At that point I was ready to stand up and declare bollocks on the whole thing, why the hell would the killer leave before she was even dead? I know those injuries were bad, but that was a huge risk to take, as they’ve just shown. And am I expected to believe that any pony who sets out with the intention to kill others, would be satisfied enough to leave without watching them die first?
The entire thing stinks to me, Fluttershy becomes my only suspect, and suddenly she is ‘almost’ killed and her story ends up raising more questions than it answers. Whatever is going on here, I don’t like it one bit. Earlier in the day while we were still waiting on Fluttershy to wake up, Rainbow Dash mentioned that they arrested a pony called Shining Armour last night. She told me he was a war veteran, something most ponies in the town knew, but that got me thinking.
A soldier could very well have taken lives before, they might know better than most where to cut if they want to ensure death. So while the town meeting was going on, which we hadn’t bothered to attend since we were too busy dealing with Fluttershy, I went over to his house and did a little snooping. When somepony keeps weapons, that raises question marks, but when somepony keeps weapons hidden in a trunk under the floorboards of their bedroom, that raises alarm bells.
The guy was packing tonnes of stuff, rifles, pistols, ammunition and several different blades, god knows how he managed to smuggle all that after he was let go. They all looked to be cleaned and maintained regularly, you know, like you would do if you wanted to hide any evidence of usage. With the exception of one little detail, I was about ready to call in an armed squad from Canterlot and have this guy arrested for the murder of three ponies and the attempted murder of another. That tiny detail was that he couldn’t have been the one to attack Fluttershy as he was in jail all night.
It’s clear from the precision of the wounds that Fluttershy was injured by the same pony who carried out the last three murders, which throws a spanner into that line of investigation. Still, that’s a lot of weapons he’s keeping illegally, I have a feeling I’ll still be having him arrested when this is all over regardless of whether he is the killer or not.
Diary of Applejack
Saturday 12th November
It’s been a strange day. Good, but strange.
The fourth victim was discovered today… alive. Fluttershy, a doctor and a vet, one of Rainbow Dash’s friends, nice girl. From what we’ve heard, from the newcomer with no memories for some reason, she managed to save herself after being attacked and then Dash discovered her this morning and was able to get her proper treatment. By the looks of it, this case won’t last much longer once the girl wakes up and tells us all who the killer really is, although that won’t be necessary as it would appear we’ve already found out who they are.
When I asked Applebloom to sleuth about I had my hopes, but what she told me today was more than I could have hoped for. The clever girl noticed the dragon sneaking out of Shining Armour’s house, at great risk which I did have to reprimand her for; she went in herself to see what he was up to. Turns out the local veteran has been keeping an arsenal of weapons hidden away in his bedroom, including a neat collection of blades that could fit the bill for the murder weapon.
Course the investigator probably found those as well, no doubt there’ll be an armed unit marching into the town and surrounding his house by tomorrow morning, but that won’t do. I can’t have this killer being hauled off to the Canterlot dungeons, no; he needs to know what happens to murderers in our town. As such, Big Mac has gone off tonight to carry out the deed. If that response team does come here tomorrow, they’ll find his body flayed and strung up in front of town hall, there won’t be the slightest doubt in anypony’s mind what we do to killers.
Speaking of Mac, his little visit to Filthy Rich last night didn’t pan out like we had planned. Mac searched, but either he had scarpered or he was hiding pretty thoroughly, either way he’s still alive and walking about. I noticed him at the town meeting today; if he did know what we tried to do he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut about it. Ordinarily I would send Mac back to get the job done right, but since we know who the actual killer is I can let it slide.
It looks like things are finally getting back on track, tomorrow we’ll be rid of this serial killer, the investigator will return to Canterlot and I can focus my efforts on keeping Dash out of our business. I may even give Bloom another job after all this, maybe I’ve been sheltering her too much, she might end up being fit for this line of work after all.
Diary of Rainbow Dash
Saturday 12th November
It’s days like this that make me believe that there’s a god up there.
Fluttershy is alive, she’s alive and she’s gonna be okay according to the doc. I swear, it was personal when the killer got Thunderlane, but this is… REALLY personal. Spike probably thinks he’s going to jail once we catch him, but after what he did to Fluttershy I’m going to make sure he swings from those gallows.
Not much else to say today, Fleetfoot questioned Shining Armour last night, but she gave him the all clear. The new girl was pretty devastated when she found out about Fluttershy, I was sure she was going to trample me down to see her, I’m really starting to like her, it’ll be good when this is all over and we can hang out like normal ponies. She also seems eager to help with the investigation, and while I can’t really let her in too much I did let her take the meeting today in my place, there wasn’t much to report and from what I heard from Scoots it didn’t even last long.
No news today from Scootaloo or Soarin, although Soarin seemed pretty… glum? Uncomfortable? It’s probably just because of what happened to Shy, he did take what happened to Thunderlane pretty badly too. Fleetfoot took care of the office work today while I stayed why Shy, she’s getting ready to jail the town bicycle tonight, who knows what dirty little secrets she’s heard through pillow talk.
When Fluttershy was awake and ready, I asked her a few questions about what happened to her, hoping she was able to identify the killer. Spike asked to sit in, I said he could as long as he let me ask the questions, not that that stopped him from butting in occasionally. I don’t know what his problem is, maybe he doesn’t like Fluttershy or something, but his bedside manner sucks. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to give us any useful information, the killer was apparently pretty careful to stay hidden, remaining out of her sight and wearing something obscuring.
One thing I picked up on was that Fluttershy said the killer was already in the house when she got up. While the doc was treating her I looked about, there were no signs of forced entry, just like all the other victims. It would appear that they just used the front door, you’d think at a time like this ponies wouldn’t leave their doors unlocked. I’ll have to make some kind of announcement tomorrow to make sure everypony takes basic precautions.
Soarin’s out again tonight, he hasn’t had a night off in like a week, and I know he isn’t getting much sleep during the day. Since we have nopony in particular on our radars he’s still under orders to cover as much ground as possible. I hope this ends soon, the distance between us is getting more and more pronounced, how did I let things get this bad between us? Only a guy like Soarin could have remained as loyal as he has this whole time.
Diary of Filthy Rich
Saturday 12th November
They must be on to me! The Apple whore sent her lumbering goon to my house last night; no doubt they’ve discovered my intentions and plan to silence me. Luckily I was able to hide from the oaf, but I won’t be able to keep this up forever. I need to strike soon; I need to cripple her before she can act against me. That mad pony who works in the bakery, Pinkie Pie, she was foolish enough to show her hand to me, she’s revealed her hand and now I have my target.
It only took a little research at the library to find that the Pies and Apples are not so distant relatives; of course she would be a member of the Family, probably quite a high ranking member considering how much they tend to favour those who share their blood. The little tart has been speaking out quite a lot, throwing blame around and drawing attention to herself. It won’t take much to convince the town that she’s doing this because she has been the killer all along.
Applejack will try to defend her, but the sheep outnumber the wolves in this town, if I’m loud enough our votes can drown out theirs. When that pink menace is hanging by her neck, the Apples will be weakened, struck to their very core. I won’t have to take many more steps after that before Applejack is joining her dear cousin in hell, then I shall finally have my revenge.
Diary of Applebloom
Saturday 12th November
Today has been great; things are finally starting to look up around here. The killers still about, but their latest victim managed to survive! It was that nice pegasus, Fluttershy, who looks after the animals, she’s apparently a doctor too which is probably why she was able to save herself. I think Scootaloo knows her pretty well, so I’m sure she’s delighted.
To make things better, we think we might have finally found out who the killer is, and I was the one to have found it out! Applejack was so proud of me when I told her. During the town meeting today, there were quite a few ponies missing, the new mare told everypony that the Sheriff and her partners were too busy with Fluttershy to attend. Applejack whispered to me to scoot on down to her cottage and see what the deal was.
I never did get as far as that, but Applejack wasn’t disappointed, cause when I was on my way I spotted that detective from Canterlot climbing out of the window of somepony’s house. My first thought was he was secretly a burglar, but then I thought, what if he was following a lead and that house was the killers? I took my chances and went in the way he came out, the house belonged to that grumpy old stallion who apparently used to be a soldier.
I saw him at the town meeting so I knew he wouldn’t catch me. I searched around for a bit but didn’t find anything out in the open, so I started thinking about things that could be hidden. I remembered an old trick me and the crusaders used to do, where we would hide stuff beneath the floorboards of the clubhouse. I noticed there was a particularly creaky one in his bedroom so I popped it open and voila!
I was actually pretty shocked when I saw all the weapons inside, I put the board back as quickly as possible and got out of there. I waited here for Applejack to get back from the meeting, and when she did I told her everything. She was angry about me breaking in but she quickly forgot about that when I told her what I found. She was thrilled, told me I did an amazing job and said she would take it from there. I’m not sure what’ll happen now, I imagine Applejack will report him to the authorities, but then she’d probably consider this to be a Family matter.
I hope they don’t try to hang him tomorrow like they did to Mr Flim, I know he’s a killer but he should just go to prison. It looks like this whole ordeal will be over soon, then maybe things can get back to normal. Hopefully the girls will go back to their usual selves, they’ve seemed really off with me these last few days, I hope they’re not mad at me for something.
Diary of Soarin
Saturday 12th November
Fluttershy almost died, my heart stopped dead in my chest at the thought of how she almost went the same was as Thunderlane. But she’s alive, the killer must have slipped up or something but she’s alive. I thought for a while she would be able to tell us who did it, but Rainbow told me she didn’t know anything. Apparently the killer wears dark clothing in order to hide their identity; I’ll have to look out for that during my patrol.
I can’t believe I missed them last night, I know I can’t watch all of Ponyville at all times, but I still feel like I could have prevented this if I’d been in the right place at the right time. I didn’t visit Rarity last night, after our last time together it’s clear I have to break things off. The things she said… she sounded deranged. That’s not love, that’s obsession, and it’s dangerous. I need to buck up and tell her the truth before she does anything foolish.
She deserves to know that I never felt the same way for her, that I really saw the whole thing as just a fling… that lasted a little longer than it was ever meant to. She’s going to be devastated with me, furious I imagine, and I can’t blame her, I pretty much used her, maybe if I’d been clearer from the start things wouldn’t have escalated this way. I’ll do it tomorrow during the day though; I can’t afford to sneak off anymore while on duty.
To think that if I did and Fleetfoot or even Rainbow Dash was attacked, I would have nopony to blame but myself. Rainbow doesn’t have any leads for me to follow up on tonight, she just told me to continue sweeping the town and keep my eyes peeled for the serial killer or the Family’s agents. She really is obsessed, she has been for a long time, if I’d been half the man she thinks I am I would have stuck by her side and helped her overcome her obsession. But could an obsession so deeply rooted even be brought to an end?
Diary of Cloudchaser
Saturday 12th November
Wonderful news, I was at the spa with Rarity today and she told me that she finally confessed her feelings outright to Soarin and told him to ditch that blind as a bat sheriff. Oh it makes me feel giddy to think that someday I could be a bride’s maid at the wedding of Soarin and Rarity… and hey, even if he dumps her she might give me permission to have a go with him, he’s clearly a bit of a cad going with Rarity for so long behind Rainbow Dash’s back.
Nothing makes me quite as warm inside as flashing Dashie a grin that says ‘I know something you don’t know’. Well almost nothing, speaking of which I had a ‘chance’ encounter with that handsome stallion, Caballeron, last night, the one who covered the bill for our lunch the other day. Despite having only been in town for a few days, he stuck about to claim a prize for his chivalry. Of course Rarity sent him my way, she never was one to put out for a free meal… not recently anyway.
Of course he was under the impression that it would make us eve, but after a few glasses of wine I quickly made him tip the scales in my favour, by the time the sun rose this morning he owed me quite a bit of money. Of course he wasn’t happy about paying, but once I reminded him of all the things he told me about his involvement with the Apple Family, he was suddenly a little more giving. He even looked a little queasy at the thought of me spilling my guts to the town sheriff about him dabbling in identity theft; I think the fates of the Flim and Flam brothers were still fresh in his mind.
On that thought, I haven’t heard any more from Applejack, I was half expecting some nice stallions to come around and break my legs for refusing her offer… assuming I couldn’t bed them first. She’s probably waiting until this whole serial killer business dies down, which shouldn’t be long considering the killer left their latest victim alive. I might have to look into booking a vacation to Canterlot soon, just to get off Applejack’s radar. I suppose I could take her advice and pay a visit to the nice investigator from Canterlot, a few nights with him and he might even let me go home with him.
Day 6
I got to see Fluttershy today; she’s already doing much better. Stuck in bed, hooked up to painkillers, heavily bandaged and stitched up, but awake and alive, which she seems to be thankful enough for. Rainbow Dash left me with her this morning as she had to deal with the latest murders, apparently the killer learned from their mistake yesterday and made sure the Mayor didn’t survive. Funny, with every other victim there was always some ponies who were devastated at the news, but I haven’t found a single pony who’s terribly upset over the Mayor’s death.
Fluttershy said she was very unpopular, which made me wonder how she could possibly get elected if nopony liked her. Besides her, another stallion was killed last night; it was the brother of Applejack whom I met after the very first town meeting earlier in the week. This death caused a bit more of an uproar; turns out he visited the house of a war veteran who gunned him down on sight. Applejack was furious during the town meeting, a far sight from the calm, polite mare she had been when I met her.
She accused the veteran, Shining Armour, of being the serial killer, and demanded that he be executed. This did not happen however; as Rainbow Dash quickly explained why he couldn’t have been the serial killer since Fleetfoot had him jailed the other night. I could see the colour visibly drain from Applejack’s face as she heard that, I felt terrible for her. Rainbow Dash wasn’t so sympathetic, saying outright that it was Applejack’s own fault for trying to take the law into her own hooves and if she had just reported him Rainbow Dash could have explained and prevented this tragedy.
There was a very long, very uncomfortable silence following that. I managed to ask Fluttershy about it afterwards and she told me there was a long and bitter history between Rainbow Dash and Applejack, but advised me not to look any deeper into the subject. Tensions are clearly running high in the town; it makes me feel so out of place, here I am a complete stranger in town full of ponies who already have established histories and relationships with one another. I feel like such an outsider.
I brought this up with Fluttershy today and she told me I shouldn’t think such things, that if it weren’t for the terrible events of the past week I would have been welcomed into Ponyville with open arms. I also mentioned the strange itching sensation I’ve been having, although I didn’t mention when it occurs, Fluttershy didn’t know what to make of it, but suggested it might have something to do with my lost memories trying to resurface. I’ve been thinking on that possibility for a while now, but honestly I still don’t remember a thing.
It does feel like something’s there though, every time I get that feeling, it’s almost as if I can reach out and take hold of my memories, but trying just muddles the thoughts up and makes it harder to focus on anything today. Rainbow Dash let me walk with her around the crime scene while she checked some stuff, and the whole time we were there the itching just kept getting stronger and stranger until it felt like I was going to pass out. Anytime I closed my eyes images of daggers and bloody bodies would flash up.
I’d like to say the town meeting ended with Rainbow Dash and Applejack’s face off, but unfortunately something terrible brought it to a close. There was actually a third death today, as the town help another lynching. I’m a bit confused as to how it all kicked off, but somehow Pinkie Pie ended up being accused of being the serial killer. That struck me as ridiculous but suddenly it started escalating, random ponies jumping in on it until she was standing up there just like Flim had been.
She objected of course, throwing her own accusations out. I was so confused with what was going on, I tried to whisper to Rainbow Dash to let her go for now and jail her later and get to the bottom of it, but Rainbow said they already had various pieces of evidence suggesting Pinkie Pie was involved in Family criminal activity. From her tone I could tell she didn’t entirely believe it, but even if she had agreed with me it wouldn’t have mattered. Anyone who thought she was innocent or should be investigated further were drowned out and she quickly went the same way as Flim.
She wasn’t even dead before she began laughing, even as the noose cut off her air supply. I had no idea what was going on, nopony seemed to, she was dying and yet she laughed as if she had just achieved some great victory. Dash tried to step in and cut her down, clearly realising something was amiss, but it was too late for her. A diary was found in her bag, its contents were… disturbing. Long story short, Pinkie had not been the killer; in fact she hadn’t harmed anypony ever.
She had been sectioned for a long time due to mental health concerns, and had only been released back into the general public a few months earlier. This was known to some of Ponyville but wasn’t exactly common knowledge, it turns out that was the reason Fluttershy had warned me against associating with her. Her diary revealed that she had been going through… a lot of emotional and mental trials in her life; it ended up driving her to suicide… by our hooves.
Once this information was revealed ponies began making their excuses, they had seen her acting suspicious near crime scenes, she had a habit of accusing obviously innocent ponies, but nopony cared about the excuses. The simple fact was that we helped euthanize a pony who was in serial need of psychiatric help. Rainbow told me afterwards that I shouldn’t feel guilty, that as one of the few ponies who cared enough to want to vote her innocent, I could not be to blame for what happened.
I really don’t know how I feel about it, I wouldn’t say guilty, certainly not as much as most of the other ponies I saw leaving the town meeting today, but I don’t feel good. I was planning to stay with Fluttershy tonight, but Soarin said he would watch out for her and I should just focus on keeping myself safe. So now I’m sitting here, locked up tight inside Fluttershy’s fat, wondering if we’ll ever catch this serial killer… and trying to ignore the itching in my brain anytime I think about the serial killer.
Diary of Spike
Sunday 13th November
Even without the Mayor being generally useless, this town still finds ways to tear itself apart, like putting an innocent but sick mare to death on the most fragile evidence, or a veteran gunning down a high ranking member of the mafia and basically signing his own death warrant. It feels like I’m just here to watch everypony kill each other, I thought when I took on this case it wouldn’t take more than a couple of days to catch a killer in a tight knit town like this.
It’s safe at this point to throw out any suspicions regarding Fluttershy or Shining Armour. Fluttershy is definitely not in any state to have dragged herself out of bed and all the way into the centre of town to kill the Mayor, and Shining Armour was… accounted for I guess. Applejack will take revenge for sure, which makes it all the more important that I get Shining Armour arrested for the crimes I know he’s committing and get him far away from here. I approached him after the town meeting today since I didn’t get a chance to bring it up during all the arguing, and told him that he had still committed a crime by keeping all those weapons.
He seemed pretty apathetic about it, told me to go ahead and call in the guards, but until then he was going to continue defending himself. I wasn’t stupid enough to try and confiscate the weapons myself, and when I brought it up with Rainbow Dash she told me to leave it. She seems to think it’s better to leave him be, I’m pretty sure that’s just because he really helped her in hurting the mafia. She also informed me, upon request, that they jailed a prostitute last night by the name of Cloudchaser, but she was only able to give them info relating to the Family, nothing I’d find interesting according to her.
The execution at the town meeting was an interesting one, some guy accuses this chick, Pinkie Pie, suddenly everypony is ganging up on her, and all on the most ridiculous basis. Apparently she’s been drawing a load of attention to herself, whispering loudly about the crimes she’s going to commit, floating around the houses of the victims, stuff that only a stupid criminal would do, and we are definitely not dealing with a stupid criminal. It wasn’t long before she was having the noose tied around her neck, I knew she wasn’t guilty, at least not of being the serial killer, but I knew there was nothing I could do to stop.
I’ve already accepted that this town is twisted; actual legal processes don’t seem to factor into their psyche. If I’d known how things were going to pan out I might have actually stepped in and put a stop to it by force. I honestly didn’t see it coming that she would end up being some jester tricking us all into giving her the death she longed for, I imagine plenty of the townsfolk are feeling pretty shit right about now. Hats off to Rainbow though, for actually trying to cut her down when it became obvious something was up.
The bakers who offered me the room to stay in are pretty devastated, of all the ponies in this town, they had no idea about Pinkie’s mental problems, apparently she tried very hard to hide it from them. Anyway, I have a feeling that guy Shining Armour won’t last long, but I’ll still call for a squad tomorrow, maybe they’ll get here before it’s too late. As for the serial killer… well I’m completely at a loss, I think tomorrow I’m just going to have to swallow my pride and ask Rainbow Dash to let me work with her, because neither of us are getting anywhere alone.
Diary of Applejack
Sunday 13th November
Big McIntosh is dead… Shining Armour killed my brother… Shining Armour is a dead man.
My brother is dead… I sent my brother to his death… I’m a terrible pony.
I should probably stop drinking, Applebloom was just at the door, but I didn’t have the guts to face her. Maybe she blames herself; I should go see her, tell her it’s not her fault. All she did was report the facts, Shining Armour had a fuck ton of weapons, I was the one who was stupid and jumped to conclusions. He had even been cleared of suspicion by Rainbow Dash, I could have found that out if I had just held off for one night and did some research.
When she told me during the meeting that he had been jailed the other night, I wanted nothing more than to run up and punch her in the face, and punch her again and again and cry and cry…
Sorry, I need to get my shit together. I want to kill Shining Armour so badly, but it would be suicide, he knows I’ll want revenge, I bet he’s sitting right there, shotgun aimed right at the front door ready to kill anyone who walks in. As much as it pains me, I have to wait; I’ll avenge Mac someday, but not today. And to really rub salt in the wound, we’re still no closer to finding the real killer, although I wasn’t sad to see the Mayor go. I told Applebloom I didn’t want her investigating any more, I think that hurt her most of all, the idea that I blamed her, that she let me down.
I really should go talk to her; I should tell her the truth… Granny always said I should have told her from the beginning, like me and Mac had been, but I couldn’t do it. Ma asked me to take care of her, and that’s what I promised I would do, I would take care of Applebloom and protect her from all the evils outside… and inside this Family.
I wonder if Rainbow is laughing at me right now, I wonder if she’s feeling like she’s won. I remember when I saw her at Granny Smith’s funeral, was she there to sniff out my weakness, testing the waters to see if the time was right to strike… or was she there to pay her own respects, for old time’s sakes? Is she planning her next move to destroy everything I’ve helped to build… or is she sitting in her own house, a glass of cider in her hooves, remembering the old days?
I should speak to Rainbow…
No! That’s stupid; she made her choice a long time ago. I’m loyal to my family until the end… that’s why I need to go talk to Applebloom.
Diary of Rainbow Dash
Sunday 13th November
How am I supposed to feel right now? This is what I wanted isn’t it? To hurt them, to break them… but never to hurt HER.
Fleetfoot said Big Macs death marks a significant victory in my mission, but then why am I sitting here drinking a glass of cider to his memory? He was my enemy, they all are. It’s been a long time since they were anything but. I still remember those cold winter nights, when there was no heating at whatever house I was squatting in, the Apple’s doors were always open. I still remember the way they would greet me by offering me a warm glass of this very cider, they’d let me sit closest to the fire and we’d all talk and joke and laugh. I still remember those times when it felt like I had a Family of my own.
Everyone in Ponyville called Granny Smith ‘Granny’, but for me it was as if she was the real deal. Whenever I didn’t have a bed or a roof over my head, she was there. Whenever I was hungry she gave me food, and whenever I was too proud to accept she gave me a few bits in return for helping around on the farm. She cared for me like nopony ever did, along with Applejack, Big Mac and little baby Applebloom they were my family, the only one I ever knew.
And I still remember when that world came crashing down around me, when I learned the truth about the Apple Family, about the things they did, monstrous, horrible things. I saw how they pushed ponies into the dirt and walked right over them, how they cheated and stole, and how they hurt those who got in their way. And even to this day I can hear Granny Smith’s words, “that’s just the way it is, the strong will always feed on the weak”.
I ran and ran. I ran until I couldn’t run anymore. It felt like a knife had been driven right into my heart, and it left a wound that I’ve felt to this very day. I ran to Cloudsdale where I found knew friends, a new family… no, nothing could ever replace what I thought I had, but they were special, they still are. They knew some details, but I’ve never told anypony the whole story, even now I can’t believe I just wrote it out.
When they talked about moving to Ponyville I wanted to stop them, but I was afraid of being left alone again… but I was more afraid of my new friends becoming victims of my old ones. So I swallowed my fears and went with them to the town I grew up in. I barely recognised the town, the Family had more power than ever, they were at the top of the food chain, they had fed on so many weaklings until they were the strongest all around.
That was when I swore to bring it all to an end; I knew what it was like to be the weak one, constantly in fear of the strong. I wasn’t going to let monsters like that reign anymore, so I began my mission, I dedicated my life to bringing the Family down; to making them pay for the crimes they had committed. It always hurt me, constantly reopening that wound every time I acted against those who had once meant so much to me.
There was a time I wished for nothing more than for Applejack and Granny Smith to see the error of their ways, to change their behaviour so things could go back to the way they were. But they never did, and that dream eventually faded away all that was left was a bitter, obsessed sheriff…
Granny Smith and Big Mac are gone, I don’t think I can see Applejack and Applebloom go to; maybe it’s time to stop, time to make peace with the past. Maybe… maybe it can wait until tomorrow; I don’t think I have anything left in me tonight.
Diary of Shining Armour
Sunday 13th November
The mafia have got it out for me; my days could be numbered here. The fools broke into my house and found my stash, of course they jumped to all the wrong conclusions and now they’ve paid for it. Still, even if I can fend them off, the law are onto me all the same, the little dragon from Canterlot is sending for an armed force to come and take me into custody. Can’t say I’m surprised, he seems to be the only one left in this town who gives a damn about upholding the law after what happened today with the pink pony.
Poor girl, I’ve seen plenty of soldiers who come out of war not quite the same as when they went in. I’ve known ponies who couldn’t take life anymore, not after the things they’d been through… the things they’d done. depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, all this shit that hurts us from the inside out… it’s not nice, that girl deserved better, she deserved to be helped, not enabled by a bunch of blood thirsty peasants.
Still, if these are my last couple of days, life’s been a blast. I’ve done so much, and yet there’s still so much I never got to do, the accident certainly saw to that. If death does come knocking on my door, I’m ready for him, but it doesn’t mean I won’t go down without a fight; I am a soldier after all.
Diary of Filthy Rich
Sunday 13th November
What have I done? An innocent pony is now dead because of my unholy quest for revenge, a pony who was simply a victim of their own mental health. I can’t even justify it as bringing me closer to my pointless revenge, she was never in the Family, she was probably never even friends with Applejack. No, I was so blinded by my immature desire for revenge that I helped sentence an innocent pony to death in order to achieve it.
All this time I blamed her, cursed her name for how her Family ruined my business and drove away my wife, taking our daughter with her. I placed the blame on Applejack because I was petty and couldn’t accept that I was at fault this whole time. Never did I attempt to do anything useful, never did I attempt to revive my business or contact my wife. I was so focused on blaming Applejack for everything that I never even wrote my daughter a letter.
But it’s all so clear now, my family are gone and I live in squalor, not because of Applejack or her Family but because I allowed this to become my life. And now I’m a murderer, even if I somehow restored everything I’d lost, I could never look in Diamond Tiara’s eyes again knowing the monster I’ve become. I have taken an innocent life, how does one ever go about making up for a sin such as that?
Diary of Applebloom
Sunday 13th November
This is all my fault… Big Mac is gone and it’s all my fault. If I hadn’t followed that stupid dragon… If I had never found those weapons… If I’d just gone straight to the sheriff… but I didn’t, I went to Applejack just like I was supposed to. But why did Big Mac go there? Did he think he could bring Shining Armour into custody himself? Did Applejack send him over there? Why didn’t they just wait? I would have even preferred if he HAD gone the same way as Mr Flim, anything but this.
Applejack told me she didn’t want me investigating anymore, that was all she said to me before she locked herself in her room, she hasn’t come out since no matter how much I beg her too. To think that I could ever have made her and the Family proud, all I’ve done is make matters worse, and now I’ve lost my big brother. Sweetie Belle came over today after the town meeting, she said she wanted to talk to me urgently, but I ignored her. I couldn’t face her after what I did.
My whole life I wanted nothing more than to do more for the Family, to show Applejack that I could be just like her and make her proud. I finally got my chance and I ruined everything…
...
Applejack just came in there, we had a little talk about what happened to Mac, she told me it wasn’t my fault and that she could never blame me for it or love me any less. Things got pretty emotional, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Applejack cry like that, even at Granny’s funeral she was the strong one, it felt so weird and yet… It made me happy to know she really did care, although I think she’s been drinking a lot. She told me the reason she didn’t want me investigating anymore wasn’t because I messed up, but because she could never forgive herself if I had been the one he shot.
She said the blame lay in her and nopony else, I asked her why she sent Big Mac there in the first place; I asked her what they had been trying to do. She didn’t answer me; I think that scared me more than anything else. Right before she left she told me that maybe I should aspire to something other than the Family, that it wasn’t everything I thought it was… I still feel terrible, I know Applejack told me not to blame myself but I still do a bit, but now I feel scared and confused on top of everything else. What did she mean about the Family not being what I thought it was? What was Big Mac gonna do to Shining Armour? Do I even want to know?
Diary of Soarin
Sunday 13th November
I finally did it, after months I broke the affair off with Rarity. She… wasn’t happy about it. There was a lot of shouting and things being thrown around her shop. She tried to say that I wasn’t thinking straight, that I was just scared of Rainbow Dash; I told her that Rainbow Dash was the only one I ever truly loved.
I pretty much had to flee after that, I knew breaking things off wouldn’t go down well, but I never thought she would take things that badly. But I did the right thing, after what happened last night to Big McIntosh, I knew Rainbow Dash needed me now more than ever. We never really knew all the details about what happened between her and Applejack, we knew she lived in Ponyville before she moved to Cloudsdale, and I gathered that the pair of them used to be close.
While she never went into details about what drove them apart, we all agreed not to pry, if she was going to tell us she would in her own time. When I heard the news today I wasn’t sure how she would take it, a part of me thought she would see it as a great advance in her mission to bring down the Apple Family, but when I saw her confronting Applejack at the meeting about Shining Armour’s innocence I knew that behind the mask of professionalism, she was hurting just as much as her enemy was.
This… vendetta has gone on too long, it will never bring Rainbow Dash the peace she seems to think it will, and it’s only going to hurt her more if she carries on. Rarity will probably try to get back at me for deceiving her, and I imagine telling Rainbow Dash what I did will be one of the first things she does. I have to tell her myself, she deserves to hear the truth from me. I honestly don’t know what she’ll do after that…
If she gives me another chance, I’ll beg her to leave with me, move back to Cloudsdale, maybe even take Fluttershy and Fleetfoot with us, it could be just like the old days. I’ll beg her to leave Ponyville behind and all the bad memories it holds for her. I’ll beg her to let go of whatever past she once had with Applejack and try to start afresh. I’ll promise her that I’ll stand by her side like I should have done this whole time. And if she doesn’t give me another chance… well I guess I wouldn’t blame her for that.
Diary of Rarity
Sunday 13th November
Soarin left me… he left me… HE LEFT ME!
He thinks he can just have his fun with me then run back to that whore Rainbow Dash and they can be all lovey dovey together. I gave him my heart and he crushed it! He says he only ever loved Rainbow Dash; well I’ll make him pay! I’ll make him suffer! Come tomorrow morning he will know exactly what happens to those who cross me… and by tomorrow afternoon him and his little whore will be together forever.
Day 8
It’s over… It’s finally over…
The serial killer is dead, it seems she killed the wrong pony and cornered herself. I’m not sure how to even begin describing everything that happened today, I suppose finally being able to reveal who the killer was would be a good start. It’s completely maddening, I even met her on my very first day here, I wrote about her in the very diary after she came to visit. I never did get around to asking Fluttershy what the name of the librarian was, once the murders started happening it completely skipped my mind.
Trixie was her name; the librarian of Ponyville was the serial killer all along. Some might think we finally caught her as a result of expert investigative work, but the truth is it was just dumb luck. Her final victim last night was Fleetfoot, I don’t know if that had been who she planned to target, but Fleetfoot had arrested her last night and at some point during the night Trixie decided to make her the last victim, not that she realised it at the time I’m sure.
It was Spike who discovered Fleetfoot this morning dead at the office. He had probably gone straight there to see if anymore victims had been reported in, ironic actually. Of course Trixie hadn’t stuck about, and she might still be running free were it not for something I contributed. It would appear keeping diaries is common practice here in Ponyville, I found Fleetfoot’s and it told us what we needed to know. Somewhere along the way between the sheriff’s office and the library, a whole mob had formed and by the time we arrived we were ready to take Trixie into custody without much trouble.
The one thing I still find bizarre is that she never tried to fight or argue, she never denied anything, in fact she followed us to the office rather calmly. Spike searched the library for any evidence, while he couldn’t find the murder weapon or any documents that might shed some light; he did come across a strange list of past dates and locations from all across Equestria. I didn’t get to see it very long so I couldn’t make much sense of it, Spike said he would examine it closer later. While the last town meeting, or at least what I seriously hope to have been the last, was set up, I ran to Fluttershy’s to tell her the good news.
She was still in very bad shape, but she refused to stay put any longer. I could see there was no arguing with her so I just did my best to help her get to the square. There were actually two other deaths last night, a guy called Caballeron who was apparently an associate of Applejack’s Family, the whispers were that he was killed by Applejack herself, so everypony agreed not to pay him any heed. The other death was that of the tailor Rarity, the one who Soarin had accused yesterday of being involved in Rainbow Dash’s death.
This was a slightly more interesting affair, as the local school teacher broke down into tears and confessed to the murder. She alluded to having reason to believe Soarin had been telling the truth and that Rarity had been practicing dark magic, some ponies didn’t believe her, and plenty were suspicious as to where she learned this information and how she got a hold of the gun she used. But Spike stepped in and revealed that Rarity had indeed been practising dark magic, he had discovered it yesterday while investigating her.
He said that while Cheerilee’s vigilante actions were illegal, she was in the right when she targeted Rarity. With that pretty much everypony was willing to turn a blind eye to what she had done; I think most of them were horrified by what they had done to Soarin as a result of Rarity’s deception. With those two deaths cleared up all attention was turned to Trixie as she was brought up to the gallows. She confessed to each one of the murders, showing absolutely no emotion towards being caught or what fate awaited her. Spike probed her with questions, like what had she done with the murder weapon to which she just responded that she disposed of it.
She refused to go into any more detail on that and wouldn’t answer any more of Spike’s questions like why she had suddenly started taking lives, or why did she target the ponies that she did. Lots of questions that I too was interested to know the answers too, but Ponyville didn’t care. She had admitted to the murders and that was good enough for them to sentence her to death and finally be rid of her.
Trixie died just like the others, hung by the neck. One thing that still really bothers me is the moment right before the stool was kicked away. It might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn that for the briefest moment she stared directly at me. I really can’t be sure, but when I think back to when I though our eyes met, I can feel that damn itch in the back of my mind, worse than ever before. It feels like it’s spreading throughout my whole brain, making me feel dizzy and causing me to see…
Stuff.
But it’s over now. It’s over and the rest doesn’t matter. Spike mentioned afterwards that with his job done he would probably be heading back to Canterlot soon, he definitely sounded pleased to be able to put Ponyville behind him. He also mentioned that he had called for two response teams to deal with Rarity and Shining Armour, although now one of them wasn’t required. Since they were due to arrive tomorrow he asked me if I could direct them to Shining’s house, he said he was trusting me with it as I was apparently one of the few sane ponies in this whole town.
I spent the rest of the evening with Fluttershy in her cottage, she’s very drained. While today may have been a victory for the town, it was a hollow victory for Fluttershy; she had already lost everypony close to her. She did mention that I was pretty much in tip top condition, and even if my memories did take their time coming back, or not at all, I would now be able to start a proper life here in Ponyville.
I suppose I like the sound of that, but it doesn’t feel right me being able to live a normal life while she’s left all alone to mourn all the friends she’s lost. If this is the start of a new life for me, I want Fluttershy to be there with me, she’s the only true friend I’ve got. I only got back to the flat a little while ago, some ponies are out celebrating in the streets, many are locked up in their homes quietly mourning everyone who died. I heard that the town would probably be burying the bodies tomorrow; they’ve all been in cold storage up until this point.
No doubt Trixie and probably Rarity and some other ones won’t be given proper burials, they’ll be lucky if the town doesn’t chuck their corpses into a ravine somewhere. I’m going to get some sleep, today has been pretty draining and I think I feel the itch returning.
Diary of Spike
Tuesday 15th November
Trixie, librarian by day, serial killer by night.
I admit, I probably never would have thought to question her; I didn’t even know this town had a library. It was Fleetfoot’s death that set us on the right path, I discovered her this morning, stabbed just like all the other victims. I was setting about the usual process, examining the crime scene for anything that could identify the killer, hair, hoof prints leading too or away from the building, stuff like that. That was when the new mare arrived, once she had gotten over seeing the body she came up with the idea of checking for records of who Fleetfoot had jailed last night.
There was nothing of the sort around the office, but the mare thought to search her house. I didn’t know what kind of official documents she expected to find there, but what I didn’t realise was she was referring to Fleetfoot’s diary, and sure enough it was right there in black and white. Fleetfoot had arrested Trixie. Rainbow Dash’s deputy, or spy or whatever she was, Scootaloo showed up, I explained what we had discovered and asked her to lead us to the library.
As we walked there, she mentioned it some other pony who asked where we were going, they mentioned it somepony they knew and very quickly we had a mob following us, just short of wielding pitchforks and torches. Not that we needed them all, I was expecting a fight to break out but Trixie was pretty docile for somepony who had just been caught after murdering several other ponies. She came back to the jail with us without any fuss and there I questioned her for a bit while the new mare ran off to tell Fluttershy the news.
She admitted to the murders but wouldn’t answer any of my other questions, just remained stoic. I searched the library for the murder weapon or anything that might shed light on a motive, like a diary or something, after that mare put the idea in my head. There was nothing of the sort, but I did find an odd list of different towns and cities across Equestria alongside dates spread back over the last several years. I told the new mare I didn’t know what to make of it, but I had a slight idea. I had previously hypothesised that the serial killer either knew a lot about pony anatomy or they were well practiced.
Was it possible that this list was proof that Trixie had been killing for years, perfecting her art? At the moment it’s just a thought, I won’t be able to find out until I get back to Canterlot and check the archives. Once I was done the town were readying their daily meeting, looks like it was their last for a long while too. Another two bodies surfaced up, the first being an agent of the mafia, dead as a result of infighting. If Applejack’s ponies are turning on each other now, I don’t think anypony’s going to be too concerned. The second was the witch Rarity; I guess we won’t need that team of mages after all.
It was killed some vigilante who confessed to the act during the meeting. While she didn’t go into specifics, she seemed to have reason to believe Soarin was telling the truth yesterday before his untimely death. Of course nopony believed her until I stepped in and revealed what I had learnt about the dress maker. After that everypony seemed a bit more forgiving to the teacher. Once that was all out of the way, Trixie was brought up to answer for her crimes.
Again she admitted to murdering the ponies, and again I tried to grill her for information. Still she refused to answer, I don’t understand the point of that, she knew the town was going to kill her, what was there left to gain from staying silent? I really didn’t want to see her die there and then; I know I’ve said that about all the ponies who have been executed, but I know there was still way more we could have learnt from her.
But nopony else cared, she had tormented them for long enough and they wanted payback. One minute she was the phantom serial killer, feared by all of Ponyville while she systematically picked them off one by one, the next minute she was another limp body hanging from the gallows. With that it was over, my job here in Ponyville was at an end. This place still has problems, the mafia being a big one and the fact that most of the ponies living here are backwater idiots being another, but they weren’t my problems.
Maybe they’ll hire another sheriff who cares enough to actually try and fix things about here; maybe they’ll elect a mayor who knows what they’re doing and gives a damn about other ponies. Maybe Applejack won’t be able to fix all the damage that has been done to her increasingly little Family, all things that I’ll probably never find out. This is my last night here at Sugarcube Corner; I’m getting the first train back to Canterlot as soon as the sun’s up. I asked the new mare to point the armed squad in the right direction when they come to confiscate Shining Armour’s weapons.
I never did get her name, but then I don’t think anypony ever did. I wonder if she’ll ever recover from the injury that landed her here in the first place, I hope so, she was definitely one of the few ponies here I could see myself liking. And with that I hope to never write another diary entry from Ponyville again, if shit goes down here a second time… I’ll pass the case on to someone else.
Diary of Applejack
Tuesday 15th November
It is finally over, the murderer, Trixie has been put to death. She was caught, not by me or the efforts of the Family, but by Spike the investigator and the newcomer of all ponies. She confessed to her crimes, and as much as I would have loved to have dealt with her myself in private, the rest of the town was determined to hang her and I was willing to take what I could get.
This may have been the darkest week in Ponyville’s history, I don’t think anypony has made it through without losing someone they knew or cared about. And where does the Family stand after this week? The organisation that has held Ponyville in its grips for generations, the one that I was elected to lead before all this started, where does it stand?
It stands on the precipice of destruction. Not only did we lose a number of our best agents, my own brother perhaps being the best this Family ever had, the whole town saw us get into a fist fight with the sheriff’s office. The opponent may have lost, but we still bled and everypony saw it. We may still be standing, but that won’t mean a thing if ponies here realise that they don’t need us, and they certainly don’t need to be afraid of us. Rainbow Dash’s job will be completed by those she left behind, and the Family will crumble until only memories remain.
I can’t let this happen, I can’t be the one to allow everything my family built to be destroyed. Even if it has lost me almost everything I cared about, I have to restore it, I have to make everypony realise that the Family is still strong, and I know just where to begin…
Spike’s leaving tomorrow, good riddance, but he’s called in some other officers to take Shining Armour away. That won’t do, he still has to pay for what he did to Mac. Things are pretty precarious at the moment, the town might still be willing to send a few more ponies to the gallows, as much as I’d like to make a spectacle of it, I’m going to have to carry out the deed very carefully. Luckily I have a patsy in mind who will take the heat for what I’m about to do…
My only concern about what I’m about to do, is that it might end up being the final nail in the coffin that turns Applebloom away from me. Do I really have the strength to get vengeance for Big Mac, knowing I could lose the only one I have left? But can I let it go, miss my chance to have the final word in this murder mystery and risk allowing decades of work to be destroyed?
I did kill Caballeron last night, I wasn’t sure if I would or not, but after I had pulled all his teeth and cut out his tongue, I knew he wouldn’t be much use to the Family. But even as I worked, and now as I think back, I’m left wondering if Rainbow Dash was the one in the right the whole time. Am I really the monster she saw me as? And if so, is decades of work really worth saving if this is what it’s turned me into?
It’s getting late, if I’m going to go and deal with Shining Armour, it has to be soon. Strange, in all my years of service to the Family, I have never had as much doubt over any job as I do now.
Diary of Cloudchaser
Tuesday 15th November
Well, today was certainly interesting. Four ponies died, and by the looks of things they all got what was coming to them. First there was one of my recent clients, Caballeron. A shame really, he seemed like such a nice guy, paying for our lunch like a true gentlestallion. Of course he told me all his dirty little secrets so I know that he was in bed with the Family as much as he was in bed with me that night, so it’s probably good that he’s gone.
Next was the town jailor, Fleetfoot, the latest victim of the now not-so-mysterious serial killer. I’m pretty sure she was some kind of sadist the way she was said to treated her prisoners, and the fact that her death lead to the capture of the serial killer, I’d say it was a win-win situation. As for the serial killer herself, turns out it was Trixie, the town librarian. I barely knew her, she seemed like such a loner so it’s hardly a surprise she turned out to be the psycho who was killing everypony off. Of course she got what was coming to her, making her the third pony dead today.
The fourth was a bit more awkward, it was Rarity. As devastated as I was when I heard, I quickly learned there was a lot my ‘dear friend’ had not been telling me, like her study of dark magic and witchcraft, or the fact that Soarin really had been controlled by her and he hadn’t just lost his mind. She was killed off last night by Cheerilee of all ponies; I never thought she had it in her to do something like that. When she first admitted to it I assumed she had finally snapped and retaliated after how Rarity and I used to treat her in school.
It gives me shivers to think that I was so close to somepony like her; she was clearly unstable, forcing Soarin to kill Rainbow Dash just because he dumped her. I hate to think what she would have done to me if she knew half the stuff I had down behind her back. So that’s the four ponies who died today, pretty much all of them deserving their fate, what’s more is that with Trixie finally dead things can get back to normal around here.
Business has been hard this last week with everypony so spooked, but now that that’s a thing of the past I might actually be able to start making a proper living again. Heck, I might even be able to make a bonus in the coming days, I’m sure there’s quite a few ponies who needed a little comforting after all the loss they’ve suffered. So in conclusion, the guilty ones are dead, and I might come out of this whole ordeal on top, I do love being me!
Diary of Cheerilee
Tuesday 15th November
Today has been harrowing, but it’s all over now. Rarity’s gone, the serial killer is gone, we’re safe now.
I honestly didn’t expect to be writing todays entry after how I left things last night, and indeed my confrontation with Rarity wasn’t nearly as easy as I expected. I was able to enter the boutique using the key I had taken from Sweetie Belle’s bags, I had hoped I could get in and carry out the deed without Rarity waking up, unfortunately she was already well awake. She was right there in the middle of the shop, looking like she was ready to pounce on me.
It seemed she had been waiting up Sweetie Belle to come back. She began demanding to know why I was there and what I wanted, but when she noticed the key I had just used things got bad. She lashed out at me, throwing anything she could lay her magic on at me, screaming and demanding to know what I had done to her sister. I lost my temper at that; I shouted back that her sister was safe, far safer than she would be with her.
I wiped out the gun and told her what I had learnt from Sweetie Belle, Rarity was shocked and furious, but she quickly calmed herself. She began trying to talk her way out of it, saying that Sweetie Belle didn’t have a clue what she was talking about, after all how could she know something like that? She also said that I wouldn’t shoot her, that I was much too good to do something like that. I could read between the lines, I knew what she really meant was I was too weak to shoot her, and a part of me believed her.
Rarity was clever, using the lights in her boutique to hide the glow of her horn, but by pure luck I noticed it and realised what she was up to. I was able to throw myself out of the way of all the needles she had floated up behind me, a few managed to nick me as they shot right through where I had just been standing. As I hit the ground, instinct took over and I pointed the gun straight at her, firing without aiming.
The bullet hit her squarely between the eyes and she dropped like a sack of bricks. The next while was a bit of a blur as I ran from the boutique and made my way back home, Scootaloo was waiting for me as I entered the house, she could tell from the look of me something terrible had just happened and she demanded to know what. I couldn’t even bring myself to lie, I told her and waited for her to call me a monster and run away, but she didn’t do any of that. As I lay snivelling on the ground she just came over and hugged me, saying that I did the right thing under difficult circumstances and that she could never hate me for that.
Sometimes I forget just how much she’s grown up. The truly difficult part came several minutes after when Sweetie Belle came in, she had been asleep when I got back and I had been freaking out over how I was ever going to tell her what I had done. Before I could say anything however, she just said that she had spoken with Rarity and she knew what I had done, she finished by saying she needed some time before she walked out of the house.
Scootaloo said she’d keep an eye on her and make sure she was okay; the sun wasn’t even up at this point so it was still dangerous to be alone. The rest of the morning I spent lying on the sofa, overcome with guilt. The truth was I still didn’t know for a fact that what Sweetie Belle had said was true, if it wasn’t I was nothing more than a cold blooded killer, if it was… well then I was still a cold blooded killer, only I had the moral high ground.. When the town meeting was called, I knew I had to come clean and face the music.
Neither Scootaloo or Sweetie Belle were at the meeting which worried me, but Mrs Cake told me they were both in Sugarcube Corner talking out whatever had happened. When Rarity’s death was inevitably brought up I completely broke down, I must have seemed so pathetic, sobbing like a foal while admitting to the murder of one of the most respected members of the town. I tried to explain that she had been responsible for what happened to Rainbow Dash, but I dared not reveal where I got my information for Sweetie Belle’s sake.
As a result hardly anypony believed me and were already screaming for my death. Imagine my luck when the investigator from Canterlot steps in and reveals that he found evidence to support my claim. He stated that what I had done was illegal, but considering the circumstances it wasn’t the most pressing matter. I was pretty much let off the hook after that, Sweetie Belle had been right and I was being allowed to live, it was as if there was an angel looking after me.
I wonder if what I had done would have been as easily forgotten if the serial killer hadn’t also been caught this morning. It turns out the killer slipped up by killing the town jailor Fleetfoot, allowing Spike to identify her as the town librarian Trixie. Honestly I was taken completely by surprise, I visited the library often and while I wouldn’t say I was close with Trixie, I always found her to be a friendly enough mare who I could always have pleasant conversations with. I was sure there was some sort of mistake, but she openly confessed to all the murders as well as the attempted murder on Fluttershy.
She refused to explain any motive, but pretty much everypony was satisfied enough to see her hang. And hang she did, the horrors of this week dying with her. I returned to my home to find Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle waiting for me there, Sweetie Belle told me that she understood why I did what I did, and while she couldn’t forgive me for it, neither could she hate me for it. I offered to let her stay here with us after that, she was still in Ponyville for about another week before she was due to head back to Canterlot, she accepted my offer quite gratefully.
Things are awkward between us, I’m not surprised, but we’re both attempting to make it work, at least until she has to return to Canterlot. We spent the rest of the evening here in the house, Applebloom came over to visit and together we all quietly celebrated the end of such a horrific week as well as mourned the ones we lost. I know Scootaloo is particularly upset over Rainbow Dash, I am as well, I always appreciated how close she was with Scootaloo, and despite my concerns when they started working together, I did like her.
Applebloom just left half an hour ago, and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are both asleep. The day’s been stressful for everyone; we’re all a bit tuckered out. I’m going to bed now too, tomorrow is the first day of everything getting back to normal.
Diary of Scootaloo
Tuesday 15th November
Cheerilee killed Rarity, I stayed up all night going through a list of horrible possibilities that might occur while she was out, and that was the one that cropped up the most. When she came in this morning, shaking like a leaf, I knew exactly what she had done. It was hard to hear, but I knew she had done the right thing and I made sure she knew it too. I was more worried about Sweetie Belle, she had fallen asleep a while before Cheerilee got back, but I couldn’t have slept even if I’d wanted to.
When she appeared in the room and said she had spoken to Rarity my heart stopped. She sounded so empty when she said she needed time to think, I didn’t want to leave Cheerilee, but I was worried about what Sweetie might do. Cheerilee was cool with me going after her though; I think she knew that Sweetie Belle was the more pressing case at that time. I followed her all the way across town; I stayed back and kept my eyes peeled for any killers who might try to jump her.
I knew exactly where she was going; I’d walked the same route many times going to visit her. When she got to her sister’s shop I expected her to go in, but she just sat outside it and stared. I waited for a while, but once the sun was up and she still hadn’t budged an inch I decided it was time to go over and talk to her. She was really torn over what happened, she loved her sister but couldn’t accept what she had done to Rainbow Dash and Soarin.
She said she knew what Cheerilee had done was probably the right thing, but she just wished there had been some other way. We left the shop after a while; I noticed somepony making their way in the direction so I knew it wouldn’t be long before the body was discovered. We went to Sugarcube corner and I bought her a vanilla milkshake, I always preferred chocolate but I knew vanilla was her favourite. We talked a bit more about what happened, but she was more concerned about herself.
Not in the self-centred way, I mean she was concerned about the way she could hear the voices of dead ponies. I told her that I honestly didn’t know how it was possible but that she should go see someone in Canterlot about it, somepony who knows a lot about magic and stuff. I knew she wasn’t keen on the idea, it had taken a lot for her to tell me and Cheerilee the truth but I still think she was afraid of being labelled a freak and being locked up or something crazy.
When the town meeting finished we overheard some ponies talking about how the serial killer was finally dead, a part of me was afraid they had killed Cheerilee, thinking she was the killer. But Sweetie Belle told me she was still alive, she said she just knew it in her gut. I really don’t know how Sweetie Belle’s power works but I was definitely willing to trust her on that. We rushed home and waited for Cheerilee to return, which she did thankfully.
Her and Sweetie Belle talked for a bit first, during which Cheerilee offered to let her stay here with us which she thankfully accepted. After that Cheerilee filled us in on what happened during the meeting and confirmed that, yes, the serial killer finally was dead. Turns out it was somepony called Trixie who lived in the library; I never really went there so I didn’t know her. We were happy, although there was still plenty to be sad about.
Applebloom came over and Sweetie Belle told her the truth about what she could do. I was tempted to come clean as well about what I had been working on with Rainbow Dash, but I didn’t know where I stood in all that now that she was gone. Was I supposed to take over and finish the job myself? Applebloom didn’t disown Sweetie Belle either which really helped her confidence, after we all tried to make her feel better about her abilities, I even asked if she could talk to Rainbow Dash for me and Applebloom wanted to hear from Big Mac.
It was nice, all of us there together, it felt like things were finally right for the first time in a long time, and while we had all lost so much, we knew the bad times were finally over and things would start looking up soon. We made plans for Sweetie Belle’s final week here in Ponyville and discussed what we’d do after that. We talked about me and Bloom going up to Canterlot to stay with her for a bit, Cheerilee even suggested that I could try and get into higher education like Sweetie Belle. Honestly it still doesn’t really appeal to me, I never was very academic, the only reason I did any good in school here was because Cheerilee helped me so much.
Applebloom suggested that I train for the Wonderbolts; I did like the sound of that. I knew Rainbow Dash used to want to join them when she lived in Cloudsdale; she was even friends with the captain. Applebloom mentioned that she was thinking about doing something education wise, which took us all by surprise since she always seemed so satisfied living here and helping about on the farm. I hope nothing bad has happened between her and the Family. She left a little while ago and Sweetie Belle just fell asleep, I’m going to hit the hay now too. We’re all going to go out tomorrow morning for a picnic, so I want to be rested up enough that I can practice my flight moves.
Day 9
The serial killer is gone, but it would seem we were sorely mistaken in our beliefs that things would calm down around here. When I got up this morning, I was content to believe that today would be fairly subdued, I’d help bury the bodies and spend time with Fluttershy, a quiet day to de-acclimatise from all the stress of the last week. Instead however I was greeted by the sounds of screams, upon investigating I found that Shining Armour had been murdered in his house last night.
I wanted to scream with fury, just when I thought things were going to be alright, somepony goes and does this. Of course I offered to help organise another town meeting, turns out yesterdays wasn’t the last after all. There it was left to me to inform everypony that Shining Armour had been shot in his house last night, and from there we had to figure out who was responsible. Of course there were some panicked ponies who were afraid it was the serial killer still alive, that Trixie had just been a decoy.
I was quick to remain everyone that Trixie had stabbed her victims very specifically, whereas this killer used a gun. I almost wished I hadn’t said those exact words, because it might not have resulted in somepony replying with ‘just like Cheerilee did to Rarity?’. I didn’t blame her for what she did to Rarity, it was the act of a desperate mare, and in the end she was right in her actions, Rarity had been a threat which had only been removed by Cheerilee’s quick and decisive actions.
But once one pony had brought up Cheerilee, the evidence began flooding in. Ponies claiming they saw her out and about late last night, ponies who pointed out that she killed Rarity with no solid proof, ponies who theorised that she lost her mind over the guilt. She objected to all this, she said she had never left her house last night, but when Applejack asked what she did with the gun she used to kill Rarity, she reluctantly admitted to still having it back at her house.
It wasn’t long before the town was ganging up on her; my heart absolutely broke when Scootaloo broke from the crowd to stand protectively in front of her. I never would have realised the two were related, but Scootaloo shouted the crowd down fiercely, furious tears streaming down her face. When the first murmurs of hanging began, that’s when I put my hoof down. I had had enough of this mob mentality, it could have been a necessity during the serial killers killing spree, but now that that was behind us we should deal with accused criminals more justly.
I felt like I had gotten through to some of them with my reasoning, but anything I thought I had accomplished was crushed when Applejack stepped in. She reminded everypony that I was an outsider and I didn’t know the first thing about Ponyville or its citizens, she spewed a load of nonsense that lynching criminals had served the town well during the last week and that they would be wise to continue it in order to deter any future murders.
And the fools ate it all up! Applejack, that scoundrel, proposed executing a mother for a crime in which there was no strong evidence of her having committed, and everypony just went along with it. Applejack called for Cheerilee to be brought to the stand and offered her a chance to speak in her defence. Cheerilee looked terrified as she was dragged up; Scootaloo had to be restrained by a couple of stallions. She insisted that she never left her home all night, that was watching over Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s younger sister.
She explained that she only stole three bullets along with the gun, and that if she was allowed she could produce two bullets that had not been fired. Applejack however argued that there was no way to tell if she hadn’t stolen four bullets and was now lying, she also brought up the point about how Cheerilee killed Rarity with no real evidence of her guilt in Rainbow Dash’s death. I was really shocked when she remained silent on that, but when Sweetie Belle interrupted I understood why she was so desperate to protect her source.
Sweetie Belle told everypony that she was the one who had told Cheerilee about what her sister had done, she tried to continue explain but Cheerilee interrupted her, explaining that Sweetie Belle found Rarity’s spell books. I don’t know if anypony else noticed the lie, but Cheerilee was obviously still hiding something for Sweetie Belles sake. Whatever she was hiding might have doomed her, as ponies remained sceptical about the whole thing, wondering why Sweetie Belle didn’t just go to the authorities with that information, why she only trusted her old teacher with it.
Applejack called a vote, naturally I made it clear that I voted innocent, I wasn’t the only one either, many ponies voted along with me including Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and about a dozen others. But far more voted with Applejack, declaring her guilty. I couldn’t believe it, it was insane to execute a pony without proper trial during the last week, but desperate times had called for desperate measures, this was quite simply unjust and immoral.
With the votes counted Applejack was the one to sentence her to death, acting like she was the Mayor already. Scootaloo broke free of her captives, she was absolutely savage in her attempt to get to Cheerilee, but about half a dozen ponies tackled her and pinned her in place. I think it was her screams of emotional agony that triggered my reaction, but something exploded inside me, something animalistic.
I had seen other unicorns do magic, but I had never known the first thing about it. I saw foals able to do basic telekinesis while I couldn’t even shoot sparks from my horn, but my anger at the injustice of what was happening brought it forth. The initial explosion sent several ponies flying from the square, the rest I barely remember as I was in a blind rage. I just kept throwing pony after pony aside in my desperate attempt to reach Cheerilee and rescue her. I remembering being so close when I felt something crack the back of my skull, my legs gave out and my vision clouded over.
I never saw her die; I don’t think I would have been able to handle it. I woke up back in the flat, Fluttershy was there with me. I asked her what happened, if Cheerilee was alright, but the look in her eyes told me everything I needed to know. I didn’t stay long, Fluttershy was naturally more worried about the pain I might have been in rather than the pain she was clearly in after forcing herself all the way in from her cottage.
I couldn’t stay though, I needed to… I don’t really know, I just knew I couldn’t stay put. It was getting late in the afternoon by that point, I had awoken just in time to help with the last of the burials. Hardly anypony spoke to me, most didn’t even look at me, opting to go somewhere else if I came near them. Maybe they were afraid of me, not that they needed to be, after I woke up I lost any ability to cast spells. I wanted to find Scootaloo, but nopony could tell me where she was, apparently she flew off after Cheerilee had died.
Apparently the officers from Canterlot had also come and gone while I was passed out, I don’t know who relayed to them that they’re weren’t required, I wonder if they were annoyed at coming all this way for nothing. With nothing else to do I volunteered to help with the burying of the bodies, but there was only one that needed any attention, Trixie. I was instructed to take her outside the town and bury her somewhere obscure, she wasn’t to get a headstone and I was not to tell anypony where I buried her. I decided to take her to the place where Soarin and Thunderlane had first found me, Fluttershy had shown me it a while back in the hopes it might trigger my memories.
Speaking of which, something very peculiar occurred, or ‘didn’t’ occur to be more precise. The itching has completely stopped, it was definitely still happening on and off this morning before the trial; anytime my thoughts swayed to Trixie or the ponies she had killed. But as I was burying her, and even now, I feel nothing. Instead my head just feels constantly light, and have this odd feeling. I think it might have happened because I got hit in the head again, maybe it triggered something. If it did it certainly wasn’t my memories, I still don’t…
Or, I don’t think that…
I…
Diary of Spike
Wednesday 16th November
I must say it’s good to be home, even if my apartment is cramped and the heating’s broke. I’m just glad to have seen the last of Ponyville, the Cakes were nice, even gave me some sapphire cupcakes for the train ride back. I did receive a call from my superiors, apparently the team sent down to Ponyville to deal with Shining Armour arrived in time to learn that he was dead and his killer had been hanged.
So much for things being back to normal down there, maybe that is normal for them. My superior asked me to write a report on what I observed while in Ponyville, particularly all the regulations and laws they disobeyed. This diary should help with that, because I’m already starting to block my experiences down there from my memory. I did actually get a chance to examine that list we found in the library, and my suspicions were correct.
All the dates and locations match up with unsolved murder cases all across Equestria, some I found no record of and I think they might refer to bodies that were never discovered or reported. What’s more, in every case they were stabbed in almost the exact same way, the earliest cases were definitely more sloppy. It certainly seems that Trixie was perfecting her technique, but this does raise one more question.
Not a single one of these murders occurred in Ponyville, Trixie was clearly very careful to carry out her killings far away from her home. So then why did she suddenly start killing ponies in her own town, and not just one but five? She was being so careful for so long, why go on a reckless killing spree now? I’ll have another look into it tomorrow, but now I’ve got to focus on this report. I imagine Ponyville will be examined by the highest authorities for all the crap they pulled this week, Applejack won’t know what hit her.
Diary of Applejack
Wednesday 16th November
It turns out… I made the wrong decision.
So I killed Shining Armour last night, put a bullet straight through his chest, stood over him and watched him bleed out slowly. Once the deed was done, there was no going back, I had to pin the act on somepony else, somepony who had already admitted to stealing a gun and using it to kill another. All I had to do was pay a few visits before the body was discovered, pass a few bits, call in a few favours, then when the time came… speak a few lies.
I knew what would happen if I went through with it, and still I did. I let Cheerilee take the fall for my crime, it was necessary; I had to show everypony that I had power over them, over their lives. It might have saved the Family, but it destroyed my real family. Applebloom knows now, I figure Scootaloo was the one to tell her, but she knows everything. She confronted me not long ago, it crushed me to see her in tears and to know I was responsible for them.
She demanded to know the truth, she begged me to say it wasn’t so, but when I couldn’t lie to her anymore she… she said I was a monster. She turned her back on me and she ran. Everything I feared came to pass; I’ve lost Applebloom the same way I lost Rainbow Dash. Suddenly saving the family, saving generations of tradition and work doesn’t seem all that important. Suddenly sitting here in this fancy office, in my comfortable chair with my expensive whiskey… all feels meaningless.
I made my choice, I couldn’t let go of my hatred, I couldn’t let go of my obsession, I couldn’t let go of the past… now I’ve lost the last thing that really mattered to me. I tried to run after her, but these legs aren’t what they used to be. Funny, I used to be able to run with the best of them back when I mostly worked the farm, back when working for the Family was just a side thing, back when Rainbow was still here. I spend so much time now sitting behind a desk, dolling out the honest work to others. I look in the mirror and I barely remember the pony I used to be, I don’t see Applejack the farmer, now all I see is Applejack the Matriarch.
No… Applejack the monster!
There’re no questions left in my mind, Rainbow Dash was right, Applebloom is right… I am a monster. I allowed an innocent pony to die today in my place, even as her adopted daughter watched. But how many other innocent ponies have died by my hoof or by my order? How many lives have I destroyed just so we could stay on top? The worst part is I genuinely can’t remember, I know it’s so many that I’ve lost track. But hay, the Family is safe, the Family is secure. After our little spectacle today, I’m sure we’ll remain strong for many years to come.
Whoop dee fucking doo!
This Family wasn’t worth saving; it wasn’t worth losing my true family over. I don’t even know what to do now; I don’t think I’m capable of making good decisions anymore. Applebloom won’t stay, wherever she is now she’s probably already preparing to leave Ponyville, just like Rainbow Dash did all those years ago. I could stay; ride this ship until the day I die like Granny did. Or I could go…
Just go, leave it all behind. All my memories, all my crimes, all my regrets, I would go and they wouldn’t follow me. I imagine there would be a lot of celebrating once I’m gone, finally the oppressor would be gone and the town of Ponyville would be free. Maybe I would pay for my crimes down the line, without the protection of the Family I would be vulnerable to the many ponies who have been made to suffer because of me.
Or maybe I could… go. As in, leave, exit, depart…
Just end it!
Once and for all…
This whiskey really is expensive.
Diary of Applebloom
Wednesday 16th November
I just can’t believe it, everything I’ve ever lived for, everything I’ve dreamed of and aspired to…
Scootaloo… Scootaloo told me everything. I tried to comfort her after what they… after what Applejack did to Cheerilee. She was my friend, I wanted her to know I was there for her, but she turned to face me and…
It was awful, the things she said, I cried and cried and begged her to stop talking, to take it all back, but she kept on going. She told me how she had been secretly working alongside Rainbow Dash, about how it was their mission to bring down the Family. She told me they were monsters, they were criminals and killers. I told her she was wrong, I told her she didn’t know what she was talking about.
She told me about the things they did, the things they do… awful things. She told me about the ponies they’d hurt, the ponies they’d pushed and bullied. Good ponies, ponies I knew and cared about. She told me Applejack, my own sister was a murderer. I couldn’t take it, I tried to run away but she pushed me to the ground, she held me there and made me listen to every terrible thing the Family had done since she started working with Rainbow Dash and even long before that.
I didn’t want to believe her, I truly didn’t… but deep down in my heart, I knew it was all true.
When I finally escaped I ran home, I went to Applejack. I told her I knew everything, and begged her to tell me it was all a lie, that the Family wasn’t the horrible things I’d been told it was. She didn’t even try to lie to me…
I couldn’t believe it, my own sister, the only real family I had left, she was… a monster.
I ran and ran. I ran until I couldn’t run anymore. It felt like a knife had been driven right into my heart. When I finally stopped running, I was at Cheerilee’s house. I stood there for the longest time, trying to bring myself to knock on the door. When finally I lost all my strength and I turned away, the door opened, Scootaloo was standing right there, her look was so cold. She just said ‘I’ve been waiting for ages for you to knock and now you’re going to leave, some friend you are’.
I was so confused, but her look melted and she was my friend again, inviting me to come in. When I got in I found Sweetie Belle already there, it was just the three of us, all alone. I tried to tell Scootaloo I was sorry but she wouldn’t let me, she told me she never blamed me for what my sister did. I kind of broke down again after that, but this time I had my friends to hold on to.
We stayed like that for the longest time, curled up on the floor in each other’s hooves, crying softly. Finally it was Scootaloo who broke the silence, she said we should leave. I thought she meant leave the house… she did not mean leave the house.
Diary of Scootaloo
Wednesday 16th November
Cheerilee is gone… my mother is gone.
I never knew my birth mother; she died when I was only a few months old. I was told she was ill, but I don’t believe that. For the first several years of my life I was raised by my… my old man, it was a dark time. He didn’t work except for the occasional job for the Family, so we never had a lot of money. What money we did have was mostly spent on drink, oh yes, he was a heavy drinker, and a violent one too.
That’s why I don’t believe my mother died of illness, because I’d seen what her husband had been capable of… I’d been the target of it many times growing up. I wasn’t much better off outside of home; I was picked on a lot at school. I barely knew Applebloom at the time and Sweetie Belle was home schooled for a long time before she moved into our class, so at the time I didn’t really have any friends. The only one who stuck up for me was my teacher, Cheerilee.
I was never very smart, I struggled a lot in school, but she always took the time to help me, even giving me afterschool classes. I particularly enjoyed those because it meant less time at home. When she learned I had no money to buy lunch with, she would always bring in extra and we’d share it. I never had it in me to tell her I didn’t have breakfast or dinner either. When she noticed the cuts and bruises, I told her the other kids were bullying me, while that was true they weren’t the ones responsible for the injuries.
Cheerilee made the bullying stop, although the injuries kept on appearing. When she learned I didn’t have any friends she approached Applebloom who mostly just hung out with Twist and asked her to spend time with me. At the time I was difficult to be around, I didn’t like the idea of somepony being my friend out of pity, but I eventually put my pride aside and allowed myself to get close to Applebloom. She was my first real friend and we’ve been friends ever since, it was the main reason I could never have disowned her today even if I did blame her for what happened.
It was a cold night when I finally couldn’t take anymore, I ran away from home into the horrible pissy weather and ran straight to Cheerilee’s home, to the only pony I trusted enough to keep me safe. I told her everything, about my troubles at home, about how the only real food I got in the day was the lunch she gave me, about how sometimes I sleep under the bed if I’d known he was drinking because I’d be so scared.
When he came barging into the house, ready to drag me back home by my tail, Cheerilee stood between the pair of us. He was twice her size and yet she didn’t even flinch as he bore down upon her. It was a horrible fight; Cheerilee came out of it much worse, but she still gave it everything she had. It was only when she smashed a ship-in-a-bottle across his head that he finally got the message and left. She later told me that the bottle had been the last present she ever received from her father, I felt so guilty but she never regretted breaking it to protect me.
The guards were called in and they took him away, I never saw him again. I was going to be taken into foster care, but Cheerilee insisted that she would look after me. It was a lengthy process, but eventually we were living together, a real family at last. Sweetie Belle transferred to the school not long after and quickly became friends with me and Applebloom. When I was struggling to fly, she asked Rainbow Dash to teach me; from there we became really close until one day she told me I was pretty much a sister to her.
I really had a great life for the longest time… but now it’s all gone, it ended when they kicked that stool from beneath Cheerilee and let her hang.
I don’t blame Applebloom, I may have lost my head with her, but I will never blame her for what her sister did. She was my first friend, she’s a part of that family I built, and I will never cast her aside. It’s strange, the sisters of my two best friends destroyed my life, and yet I still love both of them, they’re all I have now, it’s more important now than ever before that we stick together. That’s why I suggested leaving Ponyville together. Applebloom has decided to cut ties with her family, there’s nothing left for any of us here.
It was Sweetie Belle who said we could stay at her place in Canterlot, she said there was no reason she couldn’t go back a week early. So that seems to be it, we’re packing our bags tomorrow morning and hopping on the first train to Canterlot. We’re leaving everything behind but each other. None of us can sleep; the other two are just sitting in the living room, just thinking to themselves by the looks of it. I’m just walking about the house in between writing this down, it’s going to feel weird leaving it behind, it was my home for the best years of my life.
No, it was a house. My home was wherever Cheerilee was, but she’s gone; now my home is wherever I go as long as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are with me. I miss her so much already, all these years she’s been the only mother I even knew, I always wanted nothing more than to call her ‘mum’ to her face, but… I could never find the strength to get the word out, now I never will.
Diary of Sweetie Belle
Wednesday 16th November
Things were supposed to be finished; we were supposed to have won. Rarity was gone, Trixie was gone, why did the killing have to continue?
Now Cheerilee is gone to, executed for a crime she didn’t commit. A small part of me feels like I should be happy, that she got what she deserved for killing Rarity… but I don’t, I just can’t. One of the stupid reasons they used to justify pinning the blame on her was that she never had any evidence for going after Rarity. She could have told them all the truth, but she stayed silent, even though it could have cost her life she refused to reveal my secret.
I knew then that I had to come clean, I had to do something, but even as I tried she still stopped me, still lied on my behalf. It was so terrible, Scootaloo was screaming and crying, it took several ponies to hold her down. That new mare, the one who was helping Rainbow Dash and Spike tried to stop them, it was an impressive if slightly scary attempt, I really thought she was going to make it before they…
One pony restrained me although I hadn’t tried to fight back, I was so afraid that I couldn’t bring myself to act like Scootaloo or the mare had. As Cheerilee dropped and the noose tightened, I began screaming up to her, if I couldn’t stop it I could at least let her know that I forgave her before she went. I don’t know that she head me though, I think I left it too late.
Scootaloo flew off and I was unable to follow her, I decided to wait back at Cheerilee’s house for her to return, although I didn’t know if I was still welcome to stay. It was getting late when Scootaloo finally got back, she was in a terrible state, but I could see she was more angry than anything else. We waited there for what felt like the longest time, even though I had been on the same end as her I had no clue what to say in order to comfort her.
After a while Scootaloo got up and began waiting by the door, as if she were expecting somepony. Eventually she opened the door to reveal Applebloom about to leave, the way she spoke to her… I wonder what happened between them. Whatever it was it didn’t seem to have any lasting damage as the pair quickly made up. We spent a long time just lying with each other, crying over all the ponies we’d lost.
It was only when Scootaloo suggested that we leave did we stop. I had been thinking it myself, I was only staying at Cheerilee’s house under her invite, but now she was gone. I didn’t know if Scootaloo would inherit the house, just like I would probably inherit Rarity’s shop. If that were the case would I still stay, would she even stay? I always had my place up in Canterlot to go back to, but the idea of leaving the girls behind again, knowing they had nowhere else to go…
So when Scootaloo proposed the idea, I suggested we all go stay at my place, at least for a while until things became clearer. I had already been planning to head back early before Cheerilee allowed me to stay here; it seemed that was still going to be the case. We agreed to pack our stuff tomorrow morning and hop on the earliest train out of here. It would be strange leaving this place behind, perhaps for good, we’d all lived here our whole lives, but I knew it would be for the best, we needed a fresh start.
I don’t know what I’ll do with Rarity’s shop; I could probably sell it to one of her associates in Canterlot, Fancy Pants or one of his friends. I remember when our parents first passed away, Rarity gave me the majority of the inheritance to help towards my education, but I guess it will all be mine now. Who would have thought that you could become so rich from losing your entire family?
Day 10
Day ten… the tenth day of my new life, but what of my old life?
I do not remember who I am or where I came from; I don’t even have a name to latch on to. And yet it feels as if the answers to all my questions are right there in front of me, waiting for me to reach out and take hold. That infernal itching has finally ceased, and in its wake I feel only a strange sense of clarity. It feels as if the mare I once was has stirred inside of me, that the life I once had and the life I built in these last ten days are threatening to collide.
Today has been subdued, no murders, no executions. There are whispers of a formal investigation into the running of Ponyville from Canterlot. I haven’t seen Fluttershy all day, she’s locked herself away again, the events of the past week or so weighing heavily on her. So how did I spend my day? I left the flat and I walked out of town, I walked to an obscure area just outside of Ponyville, on the border of the Everfree Forest. The place where my old life ended and my new life began… the place where Trixie was buried.
Strange how I was drawn to it, I spent hours just staring at the patch of earth that separated her from me. As I stood there I felt a most peculiar sensation in my heart, I felt an intense pain as if I were mourning the death of the pony who had murdered so many. But why would I care about such a monster? Why would I miss a pony I hardly knew? Why would I feel as if my mind is threatening to split apart just thinking about it…
Who am I really? Who is this mare who appeared from thin air with no memories? What is my name? Where did I come from? How did end up in that spot that fateful night? And why… why did Trixie suddenly start killing as soon as I showed up? It feels as if all the answers to these questions are before me, but the more I reach out the further they seem to be…
No… they’re not far at all. They couldn’t be closer in fact. They are right there, nestled in my forelegs, on the forefront of my mind and perched on the tip of my tongue. I know who I am… and yet I do not know.
This is maddening!
My thoughts have become a maelstrom inside my own head, waiting for one last little push to allow all the pieces to settle into place. Just… one… little… push…
Diary of Spike
Thursday 17th November
I just discovered something deeply concerning, I’m not sure, but if I’m right… the implications could be catastrophic.
I was reviewing the old cases again, the ones I believed Trixie to be responsible for, and I noticed a certain theme emerging. In most, almost all cases in fact, the officers investigating them believed the act to be carried out by multiple assailants. And in the majority of these cases, the agreed upon figure was two. There were two culprits, two serial killers, but that just doesn’t make any sense. I investigated those deaths in Ponyville myself; there was absolutely nothing to suggest Trixie was working with anypony.
But if that was true, and she really had been working alongside somepony else in all those past incidents, then why did she suddenly start killing solo in Ponyville? Could it have something to do with why after all these years of killing ponies in other towns, she suddenly start murdering in her own neighbourhood? If she really had a partner all these years, where were they these last several days? Had they died, and the grief driven Trixie to kill all those ponies on impulse?
Or was Trixie doing it to get the attention of her partner? Maybe they went their separate ways and Trixie wanted to prove she could do it on her own. Honestly I have no clue, but this raises the very dangerous possibility of there being a second serial killer still at large out there. They might even still be in Ponyville, waiting for the dust to settle before striking again. If that is the case, then who on earth could it possibly be, I barely found Trixie and that only happened by pure luck.
As much as I hate the idea of getting involved with Ponyville again, if there really is another serial killer out there, then it means my job isn’t over yet. I can only pray I’m wrong about this, at the very least I might get lucky and the other killer has started a clean slate and stopped their evil ways. But in all seriousness what kind of pony could just forget being a serial killer for so many years…
Wait a minute…
Diary of Applejack
Thursday 17th November
It’s official, Applebloom is gone. I don’t know if she waited intentionally for me to be out of the house, but when I got back, her room was cleaned out and there was just a single note saying ‘goodbye’. I ran as fast as I could, but I was too late, I reached the station just a second too late. Although I was there right in time to be able to watch as the last pony I cared about sped out of my life.
I didn’t want to believe it, but the ticket sales pony was able to confirm that he saw her get on that train. She’s gone, my little sister is gone. I returned home to find a letter waiting for me in my office, apparently a formal inquiry is being conducted into Ponyville after the events of the last week. They are particularly interested in issues involving ‘organised crime’. So that’s it, I sacrificed my last real family member for a chance at restoring the Family… only for it to fall apart anyway.
Most of our associates are jumping ship, changing their names and swiping whatever money they can from our accounts before fleeing the town. Braeburn is begging me to come stay with him at Appleloosa until the heat dies down, I don’t know that I’ll go, can’t see much point in it. Once the inquire gets underway, any influence we have will be purged from Ponyville and I’ll be forced to start from the bottom up, and I know full well that once the ponies here are rid of us, they will not lie down again to allow us to come back.
It’s over, the Family is finished. I’m sorry Mac, sorry Granny, I let you all down, but most of all I’m sorry to you Applebloom, the one I let down the most. If I do leave, what will there be for me? I won’t be the Matriarch of jack shit anymore that’s for sure. I could do a little underworld business, but… do I even want to anymore. Braeburn’s got a farm of his own, a lot like this one, I could always just go back to working the fields, the way things used to be. No scheming or conspiring, just… farming.
Funny, after all the effort I went to protect the Family, after all I gave up… just going back to my roots and doing some real honest work sounds more appealing than anything. I guess my mind’s made up, I know I’ll miss this place, but without a real family under this roof… this just isn’t a home anymore. I wonder if Braeburn will be mad at me throwing in the towel, if he is I can always threaten to tell his ma about the things I caught him doing with Caramel in the barn last family reunion… or something less… monstrous.
Diary of Scootaloo
Thursday 17th November
We’re on the train now, shouldn’t be long before we arrive so I thought I’d write this entry a bit earlier than usual. Really there isn’t much to say, it’s just that I’m planning on starting a new diary when we get there, you know, fresh start and all that. Don’t know what I’ll do with this one, a small part of me wants to destroy it as some stupid symbolic act, but the smarter half of me, the half I owe to Cheerilee, knows that years down the line I might be glad I kept this.
We didn’t end up packing very much, Sweetie Belle’s place isn’t huge and we didn’t want to stuff it full of every item we own. So we just grabbed the essentials, and my scooter, I wasn’t going to bring it since I doubt I’ll get much opportunity to ride it around Canterlot, but the girls persuaded me to. We spent so long trying to get our cutie marks; it would be insane to leave behind the thing that helped get me my own.
We’ll probably end up selling most of the stuff we left behind, along with Cheerilee’s house and Rarity’s shop. Sweetie says there are people you can hire to do that sort of stuff for you so we don’t have to go back to do it personally. As the train was driving away, we noticed somepony running after it. Applejack.
Applebloom was a bit emotional after that, but she didn’t try to turn back or anything. I wonder if maybe someday she’ll be able to forgive her sister, I never will… but I wouldn’t stand in her way if she wanted to. Both of them are asleep now, none of us got any last night. I should probably get a few winks myself, but I can’t stop staring back the way we came, remembering everything we left behind… and everything that was taken from us.
It really is over now, not just the stuff that happened but our old lives, they’re ending just as much as this diary, and likewise we’re starting new ones. We’ve all lost so much, we all lost our parents and were orphaned at a young age, we lost our brothers or sisters, anyone who we ever loved, and now our homes. But we’ll make a new home, and we’ll make it together, because no matter how much we lost, we still came out of it with each other. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, best friends together until the end.
Diary of Fluttershy
Thursday 17th November
Is it over yet? I honestly can’t tell anymore. Anytime things seem to be getting better another wave comes crashing into us, dragging us from our tiny rock of safety back into the unforgiving ocean. Spitfire came by today, news of what happened is finally spread across Equestria. She was predictably devastated; she wondered why I apparently wasn’t. Oh I am Spitfire; it might not look like it because I have no tears left to cry. I’ve been hit over and over again, made to suffer so much these last days, so much so that there simply is nothing left in me.
I feel so empty, so hollow. We went to visit their graves together, I’ve recovered enough that I was able to make the journey without too much pain. It felt strange to be standing there, the last two of our old group. We used to say that we would all grow old together, that we’d be the best mares and stallions at each other’s weddings. We would stay together and watch as our children all grew up together the same way we did.
Now that dream has been extinguished, Spitfire has dedicated her life to the Wonderbolts; she couldn’t even stay for very long today. And me… I know I’ll never have any of those things for myself. The newcomer… I really wish I didn’t have to call her that, I wish I knew her name. Anyway, she came over again today, she tried to talk to me but I wouldn’t let her in. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, it feels like she’s the only friend I have left and I’m just shutting her out.
Of course it’s hard to say you’re friends with somepony you don’t know a thing about, who doesn’t know a thing about themselves. I still remember when Soarin first came to in the middle of the night, telling me about this mare they discovered, he said she was injured and needed my help. Now, ten days later I still know nothing about her. Well, I know one thing… she’s the only friend I have left. I wanted her to make a good life here; instead her new life was filled with death and tragedy.
I should make thing right between us, I shouldn’t have shut her out the way I did. I’ll go see her tomorrow, I need to make sure her head's alright anyway, also I’m concerned that second hit affected her memories even further. She had mentioned an itching sensation before which I thought might be signalling some recollection, but when I saw her after she woke up she seemed… different. Spitfire suggested before she left that I get out of Ponyville for a while, take a break and travel or something, it might help me recover. Maybe when I go talk to her tomorrow, I’ll ask if she wants to come with me, it might be the fresh start we both need.
She put the pen down as she heard the knocking on the front door. Absolutely perfect, just when she felt like she was about to make a real breakthrough. The mare stood up from the desk and made her way across to the front door of the flat. She didn’t open it up immediately, still wary that the towns killings were not yet at an end.
“Who is it?” she called out, hoping that if they were dangerous her magic would obey her like it did before Cheerilee’s execution.
“It’s Cloudchaser,” the voice called back. The mare quirked her eyebrow, she didn’t know any ‘Cloudchaser’. “I live nearby I wondered if you were okay, if you needed some company.”
Wary but curious, the mare reached out and opened the door to find a pegasus she vaguely knew by sight. In her time here in Ponyville she had seen Cloudchaser around and about, but the two had never been introduced or interacted with one another.
“Sorry, I know you’re probably still on alert after everything that’s happened,” she said apologetically, giving an awkward smile to the mare.
“No, no it’s okay,” she replied, even though it wasn’t really.
“I just wondered if maybe you were feeling a bit… lonely,” Cloudchaser continued, giving a sly little smile.
“Lonely…” the mare repeated, confused by what she meant.
“Yeah,” Cloudchaser said, quickly stepping through the open door. “I mean, after everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were feeling a tad lonesome here in this flat all by yourself.”
Cloudchaser was getting awfully close to the mare, she could feel her heart racing, was she trying to get close enough to attack?!
“I… don’t really know,” the mare said honestly.
“Oh you poor dear,” Cloudchaser said with a little titter. “You don’t have to be shy around me.”
Her face was now very close to that of the mares, who was now feeling utterly confused. Cloudchaser moved her mouth up to her ear as if to whisper something, but instead she began flicking her tongue into it before giving it a small nibble.
“Oh…” the mare said, understanding dawning on her.
“That’s right,” Cloudchaser replied, covering her mouth to supress her laughter at the mare’s naivety. “Now why don’t you and I go inside and get more comfortable?”
“Um… sure,” the mare said, still not entirely sure if this was something she wanted or not.
Cloudchaser walked passed her and she closed the front door, when she turned she saw Cloudchaser sprawled across the sofa in a very seductive position. But the mare’s eyes were drawn to a package that sat between them on the coffee table.
“Oh that?” Cloudchaser said, following the mare’s eyes. “I saw that outside your door, it must have come in the mail and you didn’t notice it.”
“I never get mail,” the mare said, picking up the package and eyeing it curiously.
She carried it over to kitchen counter where she set it down, examining it for anything that might suggest where it came from.
“You know I’ve heard a lot about you,” Cloudchaser said from where she lay on the sofa. “You were all the rage back before all the nasty business started, a mysterious mare showing up near the Everfree Forest with no memories.”
The mare was barely listening to Cloudchaser as she began unwrapping the package. Her guest stood up and began walking slowly over to her.
“I do love a little mystery,” Cloudchaser continued as she walked up to the mare who still had her back to her. “But I would like to know your name at the very least.”
The mare still didn’t reply as she finished unwrapping the package and stared at its contents.
“Or can you not even remember that?” Cloudchaser asked. “If so, what should I call you tonight? It only seems like a common courtesy to call you something while we…”
“Twilight.”
“Pardon,” Cloudchaser said, stopping just a few feet behind the mare.
“My name,” she continued, still looking down at the open package. “Is Twilight Sparkle.”
“Oh, so you do remember,” Cloudchaser said, sounding almost giddy.
“Yes,” Twilight said, turning around to show the knife levitating before her. “I remember everything.”
Day 7
Some terrible happened today… Rainbow Dash is dead, she was murdered by Soarin.
She was discovered before the sun had even risen; a neighbour heard screams and ran over to check if everything was alright. Her name was Flitter, and she told everypony what she saw during the town meeting, not that I needed any reminding. Rainbow Dash lying in a pool of blood, her face mutilated beyond recognition, and Soarin standing over her, striking her over and over with a hammer. She ran into the streets screaming for help, I was one of the ponies who was woken by her and ran to help, I saw…
It took three stallions to drag Soarin away from Rainbow Dash; he refused to stop hitting her even though her head had been beaten to a pulp. He was dragged to the sheriff’s office and thrown into jail where Fleetfoot watched over him while we all tried to collect ourselves. The jail was empty last night because the pony Fleetfoot had intended to jail had committed suicide, a guy called Filthy Rich. I went to fetch Spike from Sugarcube Corner, the bakery he was staying at, he was the only one left who could be trusted to investigate this.
I… didn’t go with him to help; I couldn’t bear to see Rainbow’s body again. While Spike dealt with that, I was left to try and keep the rest of the town calm, which also meant having to deliver the news to Applejack when she arrived. I don’t know what I expected, but from everything I’d heard I figured she would be pleased that her ‘nemesis’ was gone, but the look on her face when I told her… it still sends a chill up my spine.
She pushed past me to go see for herself, I wasn’t about to try and stop her. I went back to the sheriff’s office to see if Fleetfoot had got anything out of Soarin, when I arrived he was a completely different pony, sobbing and begging for forgiveness. He kept insisting that he wasn’t in control, that his body acted against his will, that he could see everything he was doing but was powerless to stop it. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing; I might have been feeling more sympathetic had I not seen it personally.
Fleetfoot looked like she wanted to execute him herself, but it was at that moment that the latest victim of the serial killer was reported, a busker called Lyra. When the town meeting was called, hardly anypony paid much notice to Lyra or Filthy Rich’s deaths; everypony was focused on what had happened to Rainbow Dash. The cry for death was fairly unanimous; Soarin was dragged shackled and screaming up to the gallows.
He was still insisting that he had been controlled, and out of nowhere he began accusing some random mare called Rarity, saying that she must have been responsible. He sounded completely deranged. Spike was still trying to put a stop to the whole thing, but when even Applejack and Fleetfoot voted him guilty, there was nopony who sided with him. Even I had to give in, as much as it pained me to do so, Soarin had been so nice to me, but I had seen him murder Rainbow with my own eyes.
With Soarin’s execution, there was a grand total of four deaths today; the most there’s been all week. When the dirty deed was done, I went to visit Fluttershy who was still unable to leave her house; she hadn’t been informed of what had happened. The task was left to me and it wasn’t easy, there was a lot of screaming and sobbing, I tried my best to comfort her but she asked me to leave. When I tried to insist she screamed at me to leave.
I went back to the sheriff’s office to see how Fleetfoot was doing; I’m seriously beginning to think she’s a sociopath. Fluttershy’s reaction to Rainbow Dash’s murder and Soarin’s subsequent execution was fairly normal, but Fleetfoot seemed to be taking the whole thing unusually well considering they were all childhood friends. She told me that if Fluttershy wanted to be alone, I should just give her space, she would come around eventually.
When I asked what I could do to help, she just said there was nothing left for me to do. I went back to the flat and I’ve been here all evening, the itching has been a little more subdued today, perhaps it’s because my mind has been so focused on Rainbow Dash’s death rather than Lyra’s. Still, I keep thinking back to what I saw when I entered Rainbow’s house this morning and I can’t help but think that it was so… messy.
Strange, but messy is the word I can’t get out of my head. I just keep picturing it and seeing how brutal and barbaric the whole thing was, and how Soarin could have done it a lot more cleanly…
Oh my lord! What did I just write?! Oh god now the itching is back! I need to sleep this off…
Diary of Spike
Monday 14th November
Rainbow Dash is dead, murdered by her own partner, Soarin. I know we didn’t see eye to eye, but I still respected her tenacity, she definitely did not deserve to go out like that. Neither did Soarin though, poor guy, executed by all his friends and neighbours. He tried to tell us that he wasn’t in control and nopony believed him, heck even I thought he was talking shite, but I still thought we needed to take more time to question him on why he did it. If I’d known then what I know now, I think I would have run up and physically stopped them from hanging him.
I knew something was up though when he fingered that mare Rarity in his defence. He specifically said he didn’t know how she did it, but she must have been responsible. Of course everypony else probably just though he was a nutter, but I thought something was up so when everypony dispersed, I followed the mare back to her house, a boutique near the edge of town. After delaying for a few minutes I knocked on the door and asked if I could have a word.
Of course she claimed complete ignorance, insisted that she barely knew Rainbow Dash or Soarin, and that she was taken completely by surprise when he accused her of all ponies. She was a good actor I’ll give her that, I had pretty much bought her story and was ready to leave when I noticed it. She was out of the room, fetching tea, and I found an old scrap of paper torn a book. I only had to take one look at it to know everything Soarin had said was true, he had been controlled, and Rarity WAS responsible thanks to the dark magic she was practicing.
Of course I had to hide my discovery, I know from past experience that you have to be very careful when dealing with witches. I accepted the tea and chatted amiably for a bit, made it sound like I believed her and I thought Soarin got what he deserved. As soon as I was clear of the boutique I ran back here and wrote an urgent letter to my superiors calling for an armed response team to deal with Shining Armour and a team of mages to deal with Rarity. Mr Cake was able to direct me to a pegasus courier who promised to get my letter to Canterlot as quickly as possible.
I hope they are able to respond quickly, things here have gotten bad enough without another explosion. Before they arrive I have to catch this serial killer, besides the increasing pile of bodies, it’s going to look really bad for me I don’t put a stop to them soon, and I still have to worry about Applejack retaliating for her brother. Things just keep getting worse in this bloody town, I won’t be sad to see the last of it when all this is over. Fleetfoot mentioned something Rainbow Dash had been looking into, how the killer was entering the victim’s homes.
I had thought on it myself but came to no conclusions; it appears though that the late sheriff had theorised that the killer was using magic to unlock doors or teleport into the houses. If that’s true then it greatly narrows our list of suspects, particularly since there aren’t many unicorns in Ponyville.
Diary of Applejack
Monday 14th November
Rainbow Dash is gone, after all these years she’s finally and truly dead. I could scarcely believe it when the newcomer told me; I just had to see it for myself. My stomach wishes I hadn’t, it was a right mess. When I saw her I just collapsed to my knees, all my strength left me. Spike said it was Soarin, smashed her head in with a hammer. I felt so empty as a I left that house, like a piece of me died.
When I stood there in the town square and saw Soarin dragged up to the gallows, I felt I fury inside me akin to that I still feel against Shining Armour. I wanted that son of a bitch dead; I wanted him to suffer for what he did. Caballeron whispered to me when Spike announced her death, he said good riddance. I made a mental note to have him killed later on, I’m expecting my boys to pick him up soon and bring him here to me, I’ll make him eat those words, a fairly difficult task once I remove his teeth one by one.
Rainbow Dash is gone, for the second time in my life she’s gone… why does she always have to leave?! No, she made her choice… But why did it have to be the wrong choice?! First Granny, then Mac, now Rainbow, who’s next? Applebloom? Am I doomed to see everypony I care about die?! Is everything I’ve built going to crumble around me?
Applebloom asked me today if I had anything to do with what happened to Rainbow, I told her I could never have hurt her. She then asked me why we were enemies if I cared about her so much, I said it was because Rainbow Dash was once family. She thought I meant the Family; I told her I meant real family. When she asked what changed I didn’t know how to answer that, the truth? Rainbow Dash learned the truth and she ran, leaving me afraid that if Bloom ever learned the truth she would run to.
She’s asking so many questions, about why I sent Mac to Shining Armour’s house, about why Rainbow Dash opposed the Family, about what the Family really did… I can’t keep lying to her, but I can’t lose her the same way I lost Rainbow all those years ago. Maybe Granny was right, if we had raised Applebloom right, told her right from the beginning what it was we did… then maybe she wouldn’t be so horrified when she finally learns the truth.
This has to end the way it began, with that blasted serial killer, if I can just stop them then maybe… maybe I can save all that I have left.
Diary of Fleetfoot
Monday 14th November
It would seem there isn’t going to a town left to save before long. Dash is gone, Soarin followed her shortly after. The serial killer got Lyra, and Filthy Rich was already dead by the time I went to arrest him last night. It would seem he took Pinkie Pie’s death pretty hard, probably because he was the one who first publically accused her of being the killer. Ah well, just means I can tick him off the list. Speaking of which, I’m really glad Dash made this before she went; it’ll give me a solid plan to follow from now onwards without her being around to give orders.
Yes I’m devastated by what happened to Rainbow, and yes I feel furious and betrayed at what Soarin did, but no I will not turn into a blubbering heap like Fluttershy. I still have a job to do, no point crying over the dead while there’s still living ponies counting on me, there’ll be plenty of time to mourn when all the murdering scum in this town is dead. I wonder how Applejack’s taking Dash’s death, probably delighted that the only pony brave enough to stand against her is finally gone. Well I may have no personal beef with Applejack, but if I get a chance to take done another one or two of her minions then I’ll do it gladly in memory of everything Rainbow Dash wanted to accomplish.
Dash said the killer was probably a unicorn from the way they were able to infiltrate houses, so I should probably take that as my best lead. I also mentioned it to that guy Spike, Dash never wanted to work with him, but I’m not exactly spoiled for choice when it comes to partners. It’s the dragon or the amnesiac, and as much as I like the latter, it’s the former I trust more in this situation. Anyway, I’ll leave it to the little guy to work the crime scenes while I continue to bring in suspects and beat them down, and if I don’t have a suspect then I’ll refer to the list Rainbow gave me.
If I go down the list to the next unicorn, then it looks like I’m arresting the town librarian tonight, Trixie.
Diary of Sweetie Belle
Monday 14th November
Oh Rarity, what have you done…
I can’t stop crying, Scootaloo just left to check on some stuff. All I wanted was to know who had been responsible for their deaths, so that I might be able to help them rest and silence their voices, but now I know far more than I ever wanted to. They’re getting louder, and clearer, I can even make them out during the day now. I heard his voice; as soon as he died I could hear his voice joining the ever growing sea in my mind.
He told me… terrible things. I didn’t want to believe them, but he wouldn’t stop begging until I finally gave in. I found… the books; I found those horrible magic spells hidden about Rarity’s room. I didn’t want to believe it but it was right there, she really did make him kill Rainbow Dash. I ran as far away as I could, I couldn’t bear to see Rarity knowing what she had done. I didn’t know where to go, I didn’t know what to do, did I tell ponies the truth? Would anypony believe me?
I was so lost, running with my eyes shut, only when I opened them and found myself outside Scootaloo’s house did I know what I had to do. I told them everything, about the voices, about what my sister had done. I waited for them to call me a freak and throw me out into to street or to call the jailor to come and lock me up. They didn’t do any of that, they both just hugged me and held me while I cried and cried. Cheerilee said it was going to be alright, that she would look after me and that I could stay as long as I needed to. She left a short while ago; I think she’s going to tell the sheriff… or whoever is filling in for Rainbow Dash after… after…
Scootaloo’s been with me ever since she left, she asked me why I wasn’t honest with her, she told me that nothing I could say would ever make her stop caring about me and being my friend. That just made me cry even more. I’ve been so self-absorbed I completely forgot that Scootaloo is probably hurting just as much as me right now, Rainbow Dash was like a sister to her, she should hate me right now, but she doesn’t. Instead she’s staying strong for me.
When she comes back I’ll tell her how sorry I am for what happened. I don’t know what’s going to happen now, will Rarity be arrested? Or will she… I know what she did was wrong but I still love her, I can’t bear the thought of her ending up like Soarin or Pinkie Pie.
Diary of Scootaloo
Monday 14th November
Rainbow Dash… I can’t believe she’s gone.
When I heard what Soarin had done, I was furious. I ran straight to the office with the intention to kill him myself, Fleetfoot held me back though. I eventually tired myself out fighting against her and just started crying in a ball on the floor, I looked so pathetic, Rainbow Dash would have been ashamed of me. Cheerilee came and took me back home; neither of us attended the town meeting even though I desperately wanted to.
Even if I couldn’t be the one to do the deed I still wanted to watch him die. All I could think about was revenge… until Sweetie Belle arrived and told us the truth. I feel so hollow, so empty. Soarin had been like a brother or a cool uncle to me for years, and in a single instant Rarity turned me against him and murdered my sister and hero. I could never blame Sweetie Belle for it, no matter what she thinks. She wasn’t the one to pull the switch, or cast the spell in this case; she had nothing to do with what her sister had done so I will never resent her.
Cheerilee’s been gone for a while now, I’m starting to get worried. What if she ran into the serial killer while she was out?! I don’t know what I’d do without her; she’s the only real family I’d ever known before Rainbow took me under her wing. She was the one who always looked out for me when the other kids bullied me, she was the one who always spent extra time with me in class because I was struggling so much, and she was the one I ran to when I finally couldn’t take any more of the pain.
She was the only pony who ever stood between me and my… and him. Even when he tried to take me back by force she refused to move. And when the guards came and took him away, she was the one who offered to take me in. She became the mother I never had, the family I always thought I didn’t deserve. If she gets hurt out there…
…
Sorry, I almost left there, I was about to go out and find her myself, just to make sure she was okay. But then Sweetie Belle spoke to me… she needs me right now. I’ll just have to trust that Cheerilee will be safe on her own. Please get back home soon Cheerilee…
Diary of Cheerilee
Monday 14th November
This entry is important, as it may be the last one I ever write. I’ve just stopped at a park bench to write this on my way to the Carousel Boutique.
Rainbow Dash is gone, murdered by her own boyfriend Soarin, all because Rarity made him. Sweetie Belle told us, her sister is a witch; she used dark magic to take control of Soarin and make him do the unspeakable. It seems Sweetie Belle is somehow able to commune with the dead, I won’t pretend to understand how that’s possible, but I know it in my heart to be true. Most ponies would think she was lying, or perhaps insane, but I’ve known her since she was just a child, I taught her and watched her grow, just like Scootaloo.
She’s scared and deeply hurt, she needs help, she needs someone to care for her. If I survive tonight I will try my best, but if I don’t… Rarity is clearly dangerous; she might even be the one responsible for all the murders up to this point. Somepony has to stop her before she can harm anypony else, and I did steal this gun. I swore I would do whatever it took to protect Scootaloo, and since Scootaloo cares about Sweetie Bell, that promise applies to her too.
If I fail, and Rarity is still alive tomorrow, I trust that the ponies of this town will see to it that she faces justice for her crimes. If I fail, and I die… I hope that Scootaloo is taken care of and… And please let her know I love her, and what I’m attempting to do is all in order to build a better world for her and her friends to live in. Even if I live and go to jail or worse for it, I stand by what I’m doing, I’m sticking my hooves into the mud so others don’t have to.
