"Right," Pinkie Pie stated flatly, her tone clearly indicating that she wasn't buying it in the least. "So your name's the Mastermind, eh? Well then, how'd you know my real name? If I've actually met somepony with a name like yours, I'd definitely have remembered you."

The Mastermind chuckled. "Quite the sarcastic one, I see. Let's just say I have rather helpful resources that I consult with."

Pinkie merely grunted in response, still not believing this so-called "Mastermind" pony.

"I presume I'm allowed to continue, yes?" the Mastermind questioned politely, to which Pinkie gave a brief nod of assent. "Very well, then: Pinkamena, it is in my best interests to form an alliance to you. Rest assured when I say that we will both benefit greatly from this one-time alliance. Do you accept?"

A harsh laugh escaped Pinkie's lips. "An alliance, Mastermind? You should know as well as anypony that I work alone. I've already lasted up to now, so what makes you think that I won't be able to carry out future murders?"

"The dangers of working alone are great at this time, Pinkamena. Your friends are hunting you down like a predator does with their prey, unrelenting in their quest to end your reign of terror. Without an ally, you will not succeed in uncovering the true identity of Rarity's murderer."

Pinkie drew in a sharp intake of breath, the Mastermind's words having set off the alarm bells in her head. "How did you know that I was looking for Rarity's killer? I told absolutely nopony except my fri- former friends!" She could tell she'd struck a nerve, judging by how long it was taking the Mastermind to respond.

"Like I've said before, I have resources, Pinkamena," the Mastermind finally answered, breaking the tense silence that'd descended upon the alley. "I suppose it hasn't crossed your mind yet that you still haven't provided a satisfactory answer?"

"Yes, I'm perfectly aware," Pinkie snapped, pausing for dramatic effect before continuing, "that I've already told you that my answer was no."

"Very well... if that is your answer, then so be it. Be forewarned though, Pinkamena Diane Pie, that you are dooming yourself by rejecting my assistance. You can still regret your decision right now and reverse your fate, but it depends on whether that little pink menace is actually influencing your outlooks. Am I right, Pinkamena?" The shadows shifted as the two glowing eyes from before once again appeared, this time narrowed to slits.

"Don't you dare mention her, Mastermind," Pinkie hissed, her voice now as menacing and warped as it'd been during Pinkie's last encounter with her friends.

The eyes widened in mock fear. "Oh, and what can you do about me if I do, Pinkamena? Isn't existing alongside the complete opposite of your personality enough to enlighten you already? Would you derive pleasure from murdering me in cold blood?"

The dark pink mare's eyes flashed dangerously. "Indeed I would," she sneered, "and I'd make sure you feel every last ounce of pain."

The Mastermind chuckled darkly. "But you cannot, is that not true? You have no idea who I truly am, even more so no idea what degree of danger I present to you."

"Danger?" Pinkie snickered. "You, a coward that hides in the shadows and refuses to speak face-to-face, a danger? Please, even Fluttershy would be more dangerous than you!"

"Fluttershy, eh? An interesting choice of words...," the Mastermind rumbled. "Well, I shall extend my stay here no longer. If you ever happen to have any regrets, you'll know where I'll be. The shadows surround you, my friend."

Pinkie frowned; there was something strange about the way the Mastermind had said "friend". Nonetheless, she watched as the eyes disappeared into the shadows, no longer demanded of to stay unless required.

"Might as well get to where I was going all along," Pinkie muttered, her voice having returned to normal. With quick steps, she made her way to the end of the alley, an evil smirk creeping onto her face as her destination loomed in front of her.

The Golden Oak Library would be expecting a visitor soon... especially Spike the dragon.

Applejack facehoofed. "So yer tellin' me that ya don't remember where the screams were comin' from?"

"Hey, it's not my fault that they stopped all of a sudden!" Rainbow Dash protested in response.

"Um, girls," Fluttershy said softly, a discarded object on the ground catching her eye, "you might want to take a look at this."

Immediately, the two rivals whirled around, upside-down smiles plastered on both of their faces. "What the hay is that?" they exclaimed in unison, only to shoot each other a glare as they realized what'd just happened.

"Don't even bother, Rainbow," Applejack grunted, holding up a hoof just as Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, presumably with a snide remark, "Ah've had just enough of yer crazy antics; this ain't funny no more."

Magenta eyes rolled in irritation. "Yeah, I've had just about enough of you too, AJ."

Applejack bit back a harsh remark, knowing that it wouldn't have done anything good nonetheless. "Maybe ya wanna consider listenin' to Fluttershy for once? She looks pretty annoyed with ya if ya ask me!"

Rainbow gulped, slowly rotating her head to look at Fluttershy. Sure enough, the yellow pegasus was glaring at her, lips pressed into a thin line.

"Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy stated flatly, her tone completely devoid of any emotions, "you're in big trouble, miss."

Rainbow immediately averted her gaze. Hearing Fluttershy speak with emotions was bad enough already, but hearing her speak without them was the scariest thing of all. It was like a nightmare come true for the rainbow-maned pegasus. "Um, y-yeah, I guess?"

Fluttershy sighed, placing a hoof to her forehead. "Anyways, like I was saying before, you should probably check this out." She gestured at the object, its silver surface shimmering in the sun.

"Is that... Pinkie's knife?" Applejack exclaimed. "She lost her killin' weapon?"

"Wait a minute," Rainbow mused, a thoughtful expression on her face, "if she dropped it here, does that mean the screams we heard before were from whomever Pinkie just killed with this?"

"Ain't that likely," Applejack replied, inspecting the knife. "The bloodstains on here aren't recent, that Ah know. It looks like it's from a few days ago also. Otherwise, there's no proof sayin' that this caused all the screamin'."

"Wonderful," Rainbow muttered under her breath, "another dead end."

"Um, girls... I think I found something else." Fluttershy's panicked gasp caught their attention as they whirled around as quickly as they could.

And gasped as well.

There, lying on the ground with blood pouring out of a wound in her side, was Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Author's Note

Yay, this got released three days early!

Anyways, fortunately for you, you get way more in this one chapter than what I originally planned. Still, I aim to please!

EDIT: For those of you who are still confused why Pinkie speaks in a distorted voice one second and then back to a normal one, it's because whenever she does that it's technically Pinkamena taking over and talking.