Princess Twilight Sparkle – or rather, merely Twilight Sparkle – was done for. It'd only been a few hours before that she was enjoying some quality time with her friends, only for everything to go downhill as soon as the news of the other Princesses' deaths had surfaced in Ponyville. Furious, Equestria shifted the blame to Twilight, knowing that she was the only pony capable of doing such a thing.
She could still remember the shocked expressions on her friends' faces as they heard about the murder as well; being the best friends they were, they defended Twilight like always, but even their friendship wasn't enough to save the former Princess from the solid evidence police had discovered a few hours later.
Her Element of Harmony.
"That's impossible!" Twilight exclaimed in disbelief, eyes fixed on the gold tiara in front of her. "Sir, my Element of Harmony was here in Ponyville all along! This can only be a replica, as there is only one Element of Magic!"
The detective in charge of the case, Detective Silverzap, merely shrugged. "And where is that proof, Ms. Sparkle? You do realize that if you are not able to produce sufficent evidence in time, you will be charged as guilty?"
"Yes, I do understand. Anyways, please follow me, sir. There's no way that the tiara you have there is real, since I've hidden the real one in a secure room all along." Twilight led the detective through the Castle of Friendship, traversing a bunch of different corridors, until they finally came to a stop in front of a door created purely from crystal. To Silverzap's disappointment, the crystal wasn't that transparent as to let you be able to see through to the other side, so he couldn't glean anything from it.
Twilight's horn lit up, disabling the many magical enchantments placed on that door as precautions, before her trademark violet glow faded away and she reached for the doorknob. Twisting it, the two ponies watched as the door slowly swung open to reveal a small, mahogany box.
"Here it is," Twilight informed Silverzap, using her magic to wrench off the box's lid and yield its contents as well.
Silverzap took a few quick peeks inside before his muzzle scrunched up in confusion. "Ms. Sparkle, there isn't anything in here. Perhaps you are mistaken?"
"What?" Twilight snatched the box away from him in one fluid movement before examining the inside of the box as well. "T–This can't be happening! It was still here this morning!"
Silverzap frowned. "Are you absolutely certain you weren't hallucinating, Ms. Sparkle?"
"It was definitely here this–" Twilight broke off as her gaze slid over to the gold tiara being gripped tightly in Silverzap's hoof. "I know this unexpected... disappearance might have rendered me guilty already, but there's still another method that can prove my innocence, Detective! Trust me on this!"
"Interesting. And what is this method that you speak of?"
"It's pretty simple, actually. Since I bear the Element of Magic, my Element will respond to me when I wear it, so I just have to put on the tiara. If it, for some reason, doesn't work when I wear it, it's definitely a replica."
"Very well, then. I do have to warn you, however: if this 'experiment' happens to backfire upon you, you are to be immediately restrained for interrogation. Royal orders." Cautiously, Silverzap hoofed over the tiara, eyeing the mare's expression expertly.
"Royal orders?" Twilight echoed, reluctantly retrieving the tiara from the detective. "The Princesses are dead! Who else can give royal orders?"
"I'm afraid that's classified information, Ms. Sparkle. I've been informed that you are quite the intellectual pony, though, so it should be quite simple for you to figure out who."
Twilight waved a hoof in dismissal. "Fine, whatever. I'll get to it afterwards." Taking a deep breath, she donned the tiara, anxiously waiting for the response that would determine her verdict.
As if on cue, the magenta gem that resembled her cutie mark lit up in a bright flash of light, blinding the two ponies temporarily before fading away.
Silverzap's expression became stony as he hastily rushed forward and hoofcuffed the former Princess before retrieving the Element of Magic from atop her head. "I'm sorry, Ms. Sparkle, but you have commited a severe crime the likes of which Equestria has not seen for many years. By murdering fellow royalty in cold blood, even the Princess that was your own mentor, you have sentenced yourself to the worst punishment of all."
Time sped by fast after that... right up till the point of when she was thrown in one of the dirty, damp jail cells of Canterlot's royal dungeon. Her sentence was already decided: a slow and torturous death as the consequence for supposedly killing the other Princesses. Thankfully, it wasn't to be carried out until a week after, which gifted her with plenty of time to just think about everything, anything that came to mind.
After what seemed like an eternity, even though it was only a few hours, the sound of heavy hoofsteps out in the corridor caught her attention. She perked up slightly but did not raise her head completely, curious as to which pony those hoofsteps belonged to.
"Twilight Sparkle?" The hoofsteps came to a halt in front of her cell, surprising her. A bulky silhouette flickered in front of her, and she slowly lifted her head to see a Royal Guard standing outside the jail bars.
"Y-Yes?" Her voice was hoarse after such an extensive time of disuse.
"According to my orders, I am to deliver some important news to you."
"News? What news?" Twilight shot up from the cold floor, eyes wide with curiosity.
And in that next moment, the guard informed her of the best and worst news she'd ever heard of since her imprisonment.
"Your friends are coming to visit you tomorrow morning."
Chapter 2: Truths and Lies
"My... friends?" Twilight's eyes widened even further. "As in the other Elements of Harmony?"
The Royal Guard gave her a strange look before answering. "Of course. Who else would visit you while you're in the dungeons?"
Twilight rubbed her foreleg in embarassment. "I g-guess nopony else."
"Indeed. I suggest you get some rest for tomorrow morning, as it's already quite late. Your friends will be escorted here for their visit, so fear not."
Twilight nodded, watching as the armored guard turned around and left. The sound of a heavy door being slammed shut echoed throughout the desolate dungeon wing soon after, leaving Twilight to bask in complete silence.
Sunlight filtered into the cell through the narrow slits carved into the wall, intended to be replacements for proper windows. Twilight rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before slowly getting to her hooves, her gaze instinctively traveling over to the deserted corridor outside as she mentally replayed the brief conversation she'd shared with the Royal Guard last night. If her sense of time was still reliable enough, then that meant that her friends would be there in a few minutes.
She dreaded it.
What would her friends say when she saw here there, imprisoned in a dark jail cell? Would they believe that she was a cold-blooded murderer? Were they supportive of her death sentence?
Many thoughts raced throughout her head, some crushing her hopes of pleading her innocence and some raising it yet again. It was an endless cycle, one that would repeat second by second...
Just like the sun and the moon every day.
Twilight swallowed, her thoughts shifting to the Royal Sisters. She couldn't believe that Equestria was so intent on blaming her for the death of her own mentor. She'd been Princess Celestia's personal protégé for many years, sharing so many memorable experiences with her! How could she be the one to kill the pony she loved with all her heart?
Suddenly, a bunch of faint hoofsteps from nearby aroused her attention. One pair of them sounded heavier than the rest, which meant it could only be a Royal Guard due to their armor weighing quite a lot. The hoofsteps grew louder and louder until they stopped, the door to the dungeon wing opening once more before closing.
"My, oh my, this is quite the disaster. No wonder these are called dungeons," Rarity's voice could be heard as she expressed her displeasure of the place.
"Whoa, check this out! This entire place looks totally awesome, just like in the Daring Do books!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, presumably now investigating all the other cells to satisfy her sense of adventure.
Applejack snorted. "All ya ever think 'bout is Darin' Do, Rainbow. Take a break, will ya?"
Although Twilight couldn't see it physically, she was pretty sure Rainbow was rolling her eyes at that. "How could I not think about Daring Do? She's like the most awesomest pony ever! Well, besides me, of course."
The group slowly approached Twilight's cell, chattering all the way, until at last they came to a halt in front of the rusty bars. All noise immediately ceased to exist as they gazed in horror upon the broken alicorn. Only the Royal Guard that had escorted them there made any sounds as he stayed behind, carefully supervising them in case something undesired occurred.
"T-Twilight?" Fluttershy's meek voice asked, which prompted said mare to glance up from where she had just been staring at the floor in shame.
"H-Hi, girls," Twilight greeted weakly, waving a hoof.
"Hi, Twiliiiiiight! Are you okay in there? It sure doesn't look that comfy to me!" Pinkie Pie teased, still managing to maintain her humor even in the worst of times.
Twilight cracked a slight smile. "Yeah, living down here definitely doesn't offer you a lot of opportunities."
She paused when she noticed that they were all shuffling awkwardly, clearly uncertain of what to say. She couldn't really blame them; it wasn't every day that they visited a friend who'd apparently been thrown in the dungeons for a major crime.
"Look, Twi," Applejack finally said, breaking the tense silence that'd descended upon them, "Ah really don't wanna believe that yer the one who killed the Princesses, but at this point, Ah'm not that sure anymore."
Twilight remained quiet, her eyes downcast as she waited for the farmpony to continue.
"So, Ah guess what Ah'm tryin' to say is that... did ya really kill them?" Applejack stared straight into Twilight's eyes, trying to scour for any sort of deception.
"Do you think I killed them?" Twilight answered, her voice barely audible.
"What'd ya say? Ah didn' really hear ya, Twi."
"Do you think I killed them, Applejack?"
Applejack – truth be told – flinched at the sheer force in those words, but nonetheless gulped as she tried to think of a proper response. "Ah... uh..."
"Do you think I'm guilty?" Twilight pressed on. "Tell me, Applejack. Honestly, after everything that's happened to me after the Princesses' deaths, nothing surprises me anymore, so I wouldn't be surprised if you say yes."
"Ah don't... Ah don't really know anymore," Applejack admitted. "Yer one of my best friends, and Princess Celestia was yer own mentor, so of course Ah doubt ya bein' the murderer. But on the other hand, there really isn't any other pony better suited for the job of murderin' all three Princesses than ya. Ah guess ya can say it's how powerful yer magic is an' the fact that yer an alicorn now."
Twilight pursed her lips. "You just said it yourself how I could not be the murderer. And quite frankly, since there are more reasons for me not being the murderer than reasons for me being the murderer, do you still think that I'm the one who killed all three Princesses?"
Applejack averted her gaze. "No... not really when ya put it like that."
Twilight nodded before turning to the other four. "So, girls, do you think that I'm the one who apparently murdered all three Princesses in cold blood, with one of the victims being my own mentor?"
Three nos and one yes sounded in response.
Author's Note
I'm so sorry about the delay! I've actually had this chapter in the works for a while now, but I didn't really get the inspiration to complete it until now. Hope you enjoy! 
