Two Years Earlier.......

Sparkle Manor was abuzz with activity as ponies gathered to celebrate the Birthday of one of the Princesses of Equestria. Many guests included friends old and new, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and a few others.

Today was the birthday of Twilight Sparkle. While she would have had it in Ponyville, her parents had asked for it to be back home in Canterlot. Twilight decided that it would be good for her birthday party to be at Sparkle Manor, her birth home.

Of course, Pinkie Pie helped planned the party with Twilight's Mother, Twilight Velvet, directing it. Soon enough, things were ready, the decorations were up, the guests all in and the cake already made (with Applejack and Luna keeping Pinkie and Celestia from going after the 25 layer cake early.)

Everypony was having a good time. Celestia was talking to Night Light and Twilight Velvet, who were old friends of hers. Cadence was talking with Fluttershy about a pet for Furry Heart after she got older. Shining Armor was blindfolded, trying to wack the Pinata while Rainbow Dash was drinking a glass of Cider. Applejack was still keeping Pinkie from going after the cake and Rarity was talking to Fancy Pants, with Spike busy eating a Aquamarine beryl.

In a corner, Twilight was talking to five other ponies. Her Student, Starlight Glimmer, Princess Luna, Her old Friends, Moondancer and Lyra Heartstrings and one of Lyra's friends from Ponyville, the Candy Maker known as Bon-Bon.

"Sure is one great party. Twilight." Lyra commented, while drinking her cider. "Your Mom and Pinkie sure pulled a nice job at getting your 25th B-day going."

"Thank you, Lyra." Twilight said, smiling, "They worked really hard on this party and I am glad for it. Starlight helped a little."

Starlight blushed a bit, "It was not that big of a deal." she said, "I only helped with the invites along with Spike."

"Which I thank you for helping him with that." Twilight said, smiling.

"So, you have done many great things in the past few years." Luna said, "What studies have you planned to do now?"

"Well....." The purple Alicorn said, a bit unsure of her self. "I don't know if you may want to know."

"Of course," Luna said, "It is ok if you don't want to discus what your research is about."

"Well, I can tell you all a bit of what I am looking into." Twilight answered. "I have been researching the theory of one Doctor Split-Mind."

"I have not heard of him." Luna said, "but I guess he was around when I was...in disposed." It was a polite way of her stating her exile on the Moon when she was the dreaded 'Nightmare Moon'.

"I have." Moondancer spoke up, a serious look on her face, "and I would be careful about looking into his later research and theories."

"Why is that?" Starlight asked, wondering why Moondancer had said that.

"Split Mind was a well known Psychologist." Lyra said, looking at Starlight. "He was well known for studies and research on metal illness and behavior in ponies and other beings. That was until he started getting a few crazy ideas."

"How Crazy?" Starlight asked.

"About as crazy as Lyra's belief in Humans." Bon-Bon answered.

"Hey!" Lyra exclaimed, glaring at Bon-Bon's suggestion that her ideas were crazy.

Twilight giggled a bit at this, as she knew that Lyra Heartstrings was well known for her ideas that the mythical human race was once real and that Equestria was built on the remains of a grand Human Global Empire and that some humans were still alive somewhere. Many thought such ideas were crazy and Pseudo-Science.

"Well, some of his ideas are kind of crazy," she continued, "but I find one of his later theories quite interesting."

"Which one?" Moondancer asked, her left eye brow raised inquisitively.

"His Dual-Pony Theory." Twilight said.

"That one?" Lyra questioned.

"What is this 'Dual-Pony Theory'?" Luna asked also, curious at this idea.

"Well, Dr. Split-Mind had a strange idea when he was thinking about why some ponies acted the way they were, like why a murderer killed or why somepony would give their own belongings to a stranger in a act of kindness. The old idea that some ponies have still is that some ponies are born good or born bad."

"I have heard that idea before." Luna said.

"Same here," Twilight stated, "But Split-Mind had another idea; What if the very mind and soul of a pony was not one, but two ponies inside one body. One half was pure good, harmonious and light while the other half was evil incarnate, pure chaos and Darkness. Split-Mind thought that these two sides warred with each other to be the dominant pony."

"To be honest I have trouble believing it." Moondancer stated, "Many professionals have disregarded his idea for a very long time, along with that other idea in his Dual-Pony Theory."

"And what was that?" Starlight asked, her head tilted in a bit of confusion and wonder. She herself never even heard of Dr. Split-Mind. Then again, she was busy with enslaving ponies and taking their Cutie Marks and then planning revenge on Twilight, so she never heard about him.

"He did a thought experiment; what if it was possible to split he two halves apart, which the good side would be allow to walk the high path, doing good. The Evil half would be allow to walk its own dark path, which in Split-Mind saw as a way to end the struggle between the two sides."

"Which got him shunned by most of the magical and scientific community." Moondancer said, "Many thought he was already a mad scientist, even saying that he was going mad from his research. Many even called it dangerous."

Luna decided to ask a question. "What happened to Split-Mind?"

"Three week after he presented his Dual-Pony Theory and it being rejected, he disappeared!" Lyra said, looking around before whispering to the others. "Rumor has it that he was a victim of a serial killer that was going around Canterlot at the time."

Before anyone could ask, Twilight Velvet announced it was time for the cake. the group soon turned to go to the table.

Before she could go to the table, Twilight felt someone tap her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw Moondancer, looking at her with a very worried look.

"If I was you, I would stop doing the whole research on Dual-Pony Theory." she said in a low voice, "Dangerous and very unreasonable. Looking into that would ruin your reputation. Trust me, no good can come from it."

Twilight could tell that Moondancer was very worried about her. Twilight smiled, "I will be careful," she said, "I won't go too deep into the research, besides, It is not like anyone has ever tried to prove it."

With that, the two friends went to the table to eat some Cake. All Happy and carefree.

Two days Later

Zesty Gourmand was not in the best of moods, which had been almost everyday since that damned Ponyville Hick, Rarity, caused her reputation as Canterlot's premiere Food Critic to go downhill. Zesty was still angry about that stupid dress making mud-pony and that pink party idiot.

"Wait until I get back my standing in Restaurant Row!" She said out loud to her self, as she was alone at this time of night. "I am going to show those two dirt-diggers and all of Restaurant Row that I am not a pony to be messed with!"

Thoughts of revenge filled her head, even ideas of making bad reviews of all the eateries in Ponyville that would be so Negative, no one would come to Ponyville and it's stupid economy would collapse!

Such thoughts were in her head as she walked down the darken street, not hearing the foot steps behind her. Foot steps that were getting closer every second, as if the one making then was walking faster. The sound of fast steps was what caused Zesty to stop and turn.

"Who is there?" she said.

She saw nothing.

Turning back around and walking, she continued on towards her home. As she was doing so, she heard the foot steps again, this time they were closer, almost right behind Zesty.

It was then that she felt the breathing on her neck.

"What The...!?!" Zesty yelled turning again.........

Only to see no one their.

"For a last name like 'Gourmand', I thought you would be a fat pig."

The voice had come from above her.

Before she could look up, something hit the side of Zesty's head with the force of a wrecking ball, throwing her into a near by alley.

Trying to get up, Zesty heard the sound of something landing on pavement. Turning her head, the older mare saw her attackers face.

Two glowing eyes stared at her. A smile full of sharp teeth, almost fang like, shined in the dim light of the alley. The horn on it's head looked more like that of the recently disposed Changeling Queen.

"Well, it seems that you appear to be a very thin pig then." the attacker said, the voice being that of a mare. "I think you should act like a Pig."

The mare kicked Zesty in the side, knocking her back down. The Food Critic soon saw the rest of the mare, namely the two large wings on her back. They were dark colored, more in the shape of some Bird of Prey's wings then that of any Pegasi or Alicorns wing. the mare was wearing a dark colored dress that reached down to her knees and knee high boots, also dark colored. The mane was wild looking, almost unkempt. around her glowing eyes were circles of blue flame, shaped almost like glasses

In her right hand was a walking cane.

"Oink for me." She said.

"W-w-what?" Zesty stammered, before being hit with the mare's cane.

"I SAID OINK FOR ME YOU STUPID PIG!" The mad Mare yelled, her eyes glowing even brighter.

With no choice, Zesty soon started grunting and oinking like a pig, it felt degrading, sickening, which the crazy mare looking down with a sadistic smile on her face.

"Now, go and eat your food!" the mare said, point with her cane towards a pile of rotting hay.

Zesty was now disgusted. This crazy mare was ordering her to eat garbage! She would never do such a thing!

The mare saw this and hit Zesty again, this time with her cane across Zesty's head, knocking her down again.

"I SAID EAT IT!"

Sadly and with tears in her eyes, Zesty was forced to crawl to the pile and start eating it, grunting like a pig again or else get hurt. She ate the rotting hey, her stomach turning in disgust at the revolting things she was eating.

"Well, you are a Pig after all!" the insane mare said, giggling madly at the poor old mare that was eating refuse. "Now, I think it is time for you to get slaughtered!"

before Zesty could react, the mad mare raised her cane into the air, then brought it down right on the Food Critics head, smashing it in. Blood and Brain matter flew all over the place as the mad mare struck again and again and again.

The last sound Zesty heard was the evil laughter of the evil mare.

The News spread across Canterlot like a fire in a forest.

"EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! MURDER IN RESTAURANT ROW! FOOD CRITIC FOUND KILLED!" yelled the paper colts, carrying papers with the Headline 'Murder in Canterlot!' on them.

At the Train Station, two luggage handlers were placing Twilight's luggage in the luggage car carefully.

"I don't want anything in that luggage damaged or broken." She said to the Two stallions. "I want a careful eye kept on them."

The two Stallions nodded and went on their way with the luggage.

"Well, we are heading back to Ponyville." Twilight said with a smile, "It was great seeing my parents again and I hope to do so again in the future."

Spike nodded. "I heard that Pinkie is going to throw a 'Return back from Twilight's awesome Birthday Party Party' in Ponyville." He said, smileing.

The Two soon walked into the passenger car to join their friends that were already inside.

Spike did not see the grimace on Twilight's face when a paper colt ran pass, yelling about the murder.

Author's Note

The end of Chapter one. Chapter two will be out later.