As Twilight and her friends arrive in Canterlot, the first thing they notice are the guards standing at the ready for anything that might try and sneak past. "Ummm… can any of you help us?" Twilight asked as a guard stepped back to stand next to them.

"We've been waiting for you princess." The guard replied. "We can take you and your friends to the last attack location if you want."

"Ummm… would it be ok if I talk to the witnesses?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"I'll get some rest before doing a look around town tonight." Rainbow announced.

"Very well. The witnesses are at the castle. It'll be easier if you rest here so you can get moving sooner." The guard announced. He gave a quick nod to the other guards before leading Twilight and her friends down the street.

As Rainbow went over to a mat for a nap, Fluttershy flew to the castle.

Twilight and her remaining friends went with the guard to the most recent attack location. As they got close to the guards that were keeping an eye on the sight, they were introduced to a unicorn who was looking over the bloody sight.

"Ummm… who are you?" Twilight asked.

The stallion turned and glared at the guard. "I told you to keep suvilions away from the crime scene! What are you good for if you can't even follow a simple instruction?!"

"This is-"

"I don't care who it is. Get them out of here." He snapped.

"She's Princess Twilight Sparkle." The guard groaned. "And Princess Luna requested her to investigate."

The stallion snarled. "Sorry. But I didn't know that PRINCESS Twilight was a detective. If they insist on investigating. Then they can go to the castle and investigate the guards that were expected to protect this town at night."

"Our friend is taking care of that." Twilight said as she stepped forward. "And I know a few things about these types of insurances. And don't worry about the night shift. We have a friend handling that."

"And as a mare of culture. I have a rather skilled eye at spotting whatever may be out of place." Rarity added much to the stallion's annoyance.

Applejack looked around thoughtfully. "Question. Could I see where the other ponies were attacked?" The guard nodded and led her down the street.

Pinkie sat back with a calm smile. "And why are you here?" The stallion asked.

"My Pinkie Sense." She giggled.

The stallion turned to Twilight as he was about to force them to leave. "Her twitches are never wrong." Twilight explained as her and Rarity looked over the body.

"Twilight." Rarity gulped. "Do these marks remind you of something?"

Twilight gulped and stepped back in fear. "That… can't be possible." She quickly turned to the guard. "I need to check Canterlot's wildlife logs. NOW!"

The guard nodded as the group made their way down the street. Leaving the stallion to plink in confusion before looking at Pinkie. "Aren't you going to go with them?" He asked.

"Nope." She giggled. "But I am going to go check out that snack shop." As she was about to bounce away she added. "Oh. We're done looking at the body. Have fun!"

At the castle logs, Twilight and Rarity quickly scanned the records as they looked for anything that matched what they saw.

"This shouldn't be possible. Those marks look like an animal attack. But the reports I saw had different marks." Twilight panted.

"I know what you mean." Rarity agreed. "Something isn't right."

The two stopped as they turned to the pile of pictures of marks and the animals that caused them. "This isn't good." They said at the same time. They looked at the window and saw Celestia had already started to set the sun.

"We may be too late." Twilight gasped.

As the sun set, Rainbow got up and stretched before looking over at the guards as the night shift took over. "Ok guys. I'm heading out. Wish me luck." She announced before taking off.

She didn't really have a destination in mind. But from what Twilight tried to explain on the train. It seemed that ponies went missing in one spot. And appeared in another. With this information, she decided to start at the slums.

It was both going to be her best and worst decision she ever made.

As she flew down over one of the side streets, something hit her and caused her to crash into the alleyway injuring her wing. "Dam! Why does this always happen to me? Fuck!" She snapped as she tried to get up. Seconds later she fell and looked in horror at her leg. "Fuck." Her leg had a large gash in it. Looking back she saw a broken window she was nearly impaled on. "Fuck…" her ear twitched at the sound of growling. "OH COME ON!"

Author's Note

Yes. Things are starting off with a bang. But I promise, things won't get too mushy for a while. And ponies will still likely keep dieing.