//------------------------------// // Chapter 10 // Story: Twilight Holmes: The Mystery of Basil Bones // by bats //------------------------------// Rainbow muttered under her breath and glanced around the square.  It was fast approaching dinner time, and she didn’t understand why so many ponies were still wandering around like they had nothing to do except get in the way of her seeing either Basil Bones or Pinkie Pie.  She opened her wings, ready to get a better view, when she heard Basil’s voice off to her left. She nudged Twilight and pointed. “They don’t need to cover all of my eyes, because I only need them for reading.” Basil spat, sitting on a bench and trying to hide from Pinkie behind a newspaper. “Ooh, neat!  How do you read stuff without using your eyes, then?  Can you teach me?” Pinkie crumpled the top half of the paper into Basil’s lap and grinned at him. Rainbow felt torn.  On the one hoof, Twilight’s plan made sense.  On the other hoof, it would be a shame to distract Pinkie from torturing Basil.  She grinned to herself and took a breath to call out to Pinkie, before Twilight grabbed her shoulder. “Hold on.” “All right, cool, this is too good to get in the middle of.” “Not that, the newspaper.” Rainbow raised her eyebrows and looked at the paper Basil yanked away from Pinkie and shook back into shape.  “You think …?” “We have to check.  Take it from him when you pull Pinkie aside.” “What, steal it from him?  Twilight,” she admonished, “when did you start being cool?” Twilight glared.  “Don’t steal it, just borrow it without waiting for an answer.  Anyway, it doesn’t count as theft if you give it right back, I don’t think.” “And back to boring,” she teased.  “Fine, whatever, I got it.” She turned back and called out Pinkie’s name as she trotted over. “Ooh, hi Dashie!” Pinkie bounced up and waved.  Basil’s glasses were pinched into place on her snout.  “You look funny!” “So do you, you look like a grandma in those.”  She looked at Basil, who looked back with a strange mixture of fear and relief.  “Gotta borrow Pinkie for a sec, you don’t mind, right? Also borrowing this.” She bit down on the newspaper and snatched it away from him as she herded Pinkie off to the side. “Hey, I was reading that!” he scoffed. “Not without your glasses!” she called back around the paper.  She pushed Pinkie around the corner of the building and spat the paper out.  “Pinkie, I gotta ask you something.” “Is it if wearing somepony else’s glasses makes you dizzy and barfy?  Because I know the answer to that.” She wobbled and sat down. Rainbow smiled and shook her head.  “Nah, it’s about Basil. Me and Twi haven’t been around, do you know what he’s been up to for the last hour and a half?” “Oh, what hasn’t he been up to?”  She looked at Rainbow cross-eyed through the lenses and tapped her chin.  “Probably flying. Or knitting. Or doing cartwheels. Or knitting while flying in cartwheels.  This game is fun! Now you do one.” Rainbow rubbed the bridge of her snout.  “Pinkie …” “Oh, sorry, you wanted me to answer your question.  It’s hard to think when half of everything is really blurry.” Rainbow reached up and popped the half-moon spectacles off of Pinkie’s face and dropped them onto the newspaper.  “Better?” Pinkie rubbed her eyes and jumped back to her hooves.  “Yes, much! So Basil, huh? What do you want to know?” “Just if you know where he’s been for the last hour and a half.” “Nope!” Rainbow frowned in thought and nodded.  “Okay, then maybe …” She refocused on Pinkie.  “What can you tell me about what he’s been doing?  Me and Twilight saw you asking him questions from the train station.” “Well, I started talking to him when he came into Sugar Cube Corner asking if we had any trifle, and when I tried to sell him a pound of it, he got sad and asked for a cupcake instead.”  Pinkie shrugged and shook her head. “Don’t ask me why he didn’t want trifle all of a sudden. Maybe a whole pound was too much of a hard sell.” “I don’t think he actually wanted any … nevermind, anyway, then what happened?” “He ate his cupcake, which cheered him way up, and he said it was, ‘remarkably constructed and expertly assembled considering the venue,’ which I think was supposed to be a compliment.” Pinkie’s voice yo-yoing between her own and a startlingly accurate impression of Basil made the hair on Rainbow’s neck stand on end. “So then I thought to myself that this poor pony is all alone in a strange town full of strangers and doesn’t have any friends here and that I should be his friend!  And my shift was over, so I decided to show him the sights!” Her grin sunk to a puzzled frown. “Which as I think about it wasn’t so much me showing him the sights as him running through the sights away from me.  He’s a tough cookie to crumble, that one.” “Uh huh.”  Rainbow grinned in amusement.  “Don’t worry, Pinkie, you’ll break him into pieces eventually.  So what time did he come in to get that cupcake? Do you know?” “Yep!  A quarter ‘til five.  I know because my shift ended at five, right on the button.”  She booped Rainbow’s snout. “…So you know where he’s been for every minute of the last hour and fifteen minutes.” “Hour and twenty minutes!  Unless he ran off somewhere with Twilight while we weren’t looking.”  She peeked around the corner. “Still there!” Rainbow groaned.  “But you said you didn’t know where he was!” “For the last hour and a half, silly Dashie.   I have no idea where he was for the ten minutes at the start!” Sighing, Rainbow held up her hooves in surrender.  “You’re right, my mistake. Anyway, thanks, that totally answers my question.”  She turned her attention to the newspaper. Basil’s glasses had landed directly over the headline, magnifying the date to large, easily-readable numerals.  “Aaaaand this is today’s paper. Great.” She scooped the paper and glasses up and turned around. “I gotta go talk to Twi. You coming, too? I bet you softened Basil up real good and he’s ready to snap any minute now.” “Nah, all this cookie-talk’s got me hungry again.  I’m gonna go fix that. With chocolate chips. Have fun figuring out who Diamond Acorn is!” Rainbow stopped dead and whipped around, watching Pinkie hop away.  “What? Pinkie, how did—?” Pinkie shouted back, “I bet it’s the butler, the butler always did it!” as she rounded a corner and disappeared. Rainbow rubbed her face, shoved that tangled nightmare of questions somewhere deep inside, and headed back towards Twilight and Basil. “Hey, Twi, so …”  She trailed off as she got closer.  Basil sat perfectly still on the bench, making a face like he was trying to look dignified but landing somewhere closer to an irritated cat.  Twilight’s horn glowed with magic that slowly shifted colors. “Um … what are you doing?” “Testing,” Twilight replied through gritted teeth.  She floated Rainbow’s mug out of her saddlebag. “I have nothing to hide,” Basil grumbled, trying to move his lips as little as possible, “but nothing can be proven with that mug, madam.  If you recall, I was the one who retrieved it from the tree, using magic.” “The mug … isn’t … the important thing …”  She scrunched her eyes shut with effort. The mug settled on the bench with a clunk, and a tiny silver tray lifted out from inside of it.  “You … only used your hoof … when you … picked this up.” Some of the annoyance loosened from his expression.  “Indeed. Well, go ahead, I’m ready.” Rainbow’s brow knit.  “Wait, did you just tell him everything?  Just like that?” Twilight grunted through grit teeth and her magic wavered. Basil huffed, then said, “I have been made aware that some sort of theft occurred in Canterlot, and have given my consent to be subjected to magical tests in order to clear my involvement in the matter.  I assume more information will be forthcoming afterwards.” “We’ll … see …” Twilight forced out, floating the tray between her and Basil.  Both of them took a deep breath and braced themselves. Rainbow watched the cloud of magic around Twilight’s head stretch out and connect with Basil’s horn.  Both he and Twilight flinched, then resettled. She watched them with her eyebrows firmly raised, then with her brows half raised, then slumped against the wall with her hooves crossed.  “Magic takes too long,” she muttered. Twilight let out a breath and the cloud of color faded.  The tray dropped straight down, and Rainbow shot out a hoof to catch it.  She tinked it back into the mug. “So?” “Yes,” Basil grumbled, “what is your verdict?” “There’s no sign of any magical interaction between you and the tray.”  Twilight rubbed an eye, looking more bleary and bloodshot than she’d looked when Rainbow saw her in the morning, pre-coffee.  “Which, barring something to the contrary from Rainbow, puts you in the clear.” She looked at Rainbow. “Was there anything to the contrary?” “Huh?” Twilight’s eye twitched.  “Did you learn anything interesting from Pinkie.” “Oh.  Yeah, he’s been here the whole time.  Pinkie’s been bugging him since four forty-five.”  She grinned, and glanced at Basil. “Oh, here, take your stuff back.”  She shoved him his newspaper and glasses. He grunted and set the glasses back on the bridge of his snout.  “I don’t know that I could classify it as ‘bugging’ me, though my conversation with miss Pinkie was certainly one-sided.  If anything, I suppose she provided me with a sufficiently trustworthy alibi.” He smiled indulgently. “That’s still a window of twenty minutes, which we know isn’t impossible,” Twilight said.  “We just made the journey from Canterlot to Ponyville in twenty minutes.” Rainbow frowned and narrowed her eyes at Basil. Basil’s expression flipped to sharp and focused.  “I wouldn’t have had the help of a pegasus in peak physical condition, but you are correct, that voyage isn’t beyond the scope of a pony with their mind set to it.  It is certainly a tight window, but not insurmountable. And I suspect that nopony involved was strictly checking the time at every step along the way; the theft could have happened five minutes sooner, and my arrival in one of the finest single-proprietor bakeries in all of Equestria that I have encountered may have been five minutes later.  A half hour trip could be handled by taxi with a generous enough tip.” Rainbow raised an eyebrow.  “The heck are you helping us for?” “Hmn?”  He blinked and his expression softened.  “Ah, well, you must understand that reasoning and conjecture are the crafts of my trade.  I find it quite difficult to, ah, turn them off, as they say.” She shrugged and turned to Twilight.  “And that’s today’s paper, if it matters.” “Not in a way that simplifies anything.”  She sighed and asked Basil, “Is there anypony else who could account for your whereabouts between four twenty-five and four forty-five?” He frowned and rubbed his chin.  “I am uncertain. Before I entered miss Pinkie’s establishment, I had helped a young mare in the marketplace with a case of theft.  Some bits had gone missing from her register.” His ears drooped and he glared. “The resolution being that she had miscounted the drawer.  A rather lackluster use of my talents, standing in as a living abacus.” Twilight nodded and rolled her eyes in Rainbow’s direction.  “Who was this?” “Ah, I’m afraid her name escapes me.  Young mare, with a light tan coat and a red mane, done in a similar style to miss Rainbow’s.  Her business is selling roses and flower arrangements.” “Roseluck,” Rainbow and Twilight said at the same time. “A fitting name.” Twilight tapped her chin.  “How long did it take? And when was this exactly?” “I’m afraid I was not watching a clock, either.  The trifle took perhaps two minutes to resolve, as a recount of her monetary stores was the first order of business, but when those two minutes occurred is up for debate.  I passed by a few other vendors for scant moments between there and entering the bakery, so if that final stop-in took place at four forty-five exactly, I would surmise my assistance with young miss Roseluck occurred between four thirty-five and four-forty.” “Well, that’s a close enough range that it would put you in the clear.”  Twilight smiled at Rainbow. “I think we can settle this pretty quickly. Basil drew his brow together.  “You are free to ask her to corroborate, but I have doubts as to the utility of her testimony.” Twilight raised her eyebrows, and Rainbow swallowed a groan.  “What now?” “Well, miss Roseluck was rather busy managing customers at the same time as I was providing my assistance, and without a landmark in time to compare the event against, I suspect she would be unable to give as finely tuned a range for when it happened.  Had you not told me that I had entered miss Pinkie’s establishment at four forty-five, I believe I would only have been able to narrow down that event to sometime after four o’clock.” The three sat in silence for a moment.  Basil tapped the ashes out of his pipe on the edge of the bench and struck it back to life with the flash of his horn.  “…Yes, thinking it over, I am afraid that is the extent of my ability to defend myself. I could recount further incidents and trifles going back further in the day, but I believe the most recent one where both I and my client could account for the time would have taken place at half past three, which I believe would still give me time to have caught the train to Canterlot alongside you, miss Twilight.  This is as far as the line goes for my defense.” Twilight let out a long breath.  “Yes, I think you’re right.” Rainbow shuffled her hooves.  “So … what do we do now?” Standing still for a moment with her expression firm, Twilight turned to Basil.  “I think it’s time to tell you everything we know.” Rainbow groaned. Twilight glared up at the tree branch, and the gentle snoring drifting down.  She hunkered down in the bush and searched the ground for a rock. She found a small one between the roots and flung it up into the tree. Rainbow jerked, flailing her legs and grabbing back onto the branch. “Augh, I’m awake, jeeze.”  She looked down from the tree branch at Twilight, who grinned up at her from the bushes. “You’re awake now,” Twilight said. “You’re the one who said I should stand guard in a…”  She interrupted herself with a yawn. “In a comfy bed.”  She looked out over the park at the cutie mark crusaders, and Twilight followed her gaze.  Scootaloo whirled around in circles on her scooter, while Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom sat at a picnic table with an odd cluster of objects spread out over the surface.  The whole field was bathed in a red glow from the setting sun. “Plus nothing’s happening.” “Yet.” “Well, cut me some slack, it’s been a long day.” Twilight’s voice grew thin and weary.  “It really has.” She perked up. “But despite that, this plan is a reasonable one, provided we’re both paying attention.” “I guess …” “Paying attention and not drawing attention by making a bunch of noise.”  She shot a pointed look up, then turned her attention back out towards the clearing. Scootaloo continued her circles, and while she wasn’t being clumsy on her scooter, Twilight could tell something was off, even from the distance.  It was completely obvious how wooden she was, with her front legs locked straight on the handlebars and her neck fully extended, eyes darting around the clearing.  And while she rode, she whistled. Whistled in a nonchalant manner. Anypony in the world would guess that she was up to something. Sweetie and Apple Bloom weren’t much better as they looked around the clearing constantly, turning their heads up and down the pathway, stealing glances over towards where she and Rainbow were hidden, and rechecking the table over and over again. Rainbow leaned off the branch and said to Twilight, “I think the CMC could use some acting lessons.” “Shh.” The sound of Apple Bloom’s voice drifted over to them, spoken far louder than necessary for either Sweetie or Scootaloo to hear.  “Sure is nice sittin’ here with all this stuff we like that ain’t worth too much. Wouldn’t make no sense if’n somepony wanted to take somethin’.  An’ if they did, it ain’t like we’d even notice.” Twilight groaned despite herself.  She heard Rainbow snicker. The light grew darker and shifted to purple as Twilight watched.  Scootaloo continued her circles while Sweetie and Apple Bloom fidgeted and pretended to talk.  Rainbow wasn’t wrong that not all that much was happening, but Twilight knew that was kind of the point.  She tried her best to stay focused and ignore the throbbing headache, looking for any signs of something out of the ordinary.  When the sunlight slipped away from the trees and the crickets started up, she could hear squirming from Rainbow, probably trying to get comfortable.  She bit down an admonishment and tried to bury her annoyance. It wasn’t like she was having the time of her life in a bush. Rainbow jutted off the branch and looked at her.  “Please can we talk? There’s nothing here, all I’ve seen is some birds.  I’m about to crash hard.” “No, just stay awake, shh.” “I can’t.  Couldn’t you just cast that silence spell thingie again?” She looked up and pressed her mouth into a thin line.  “Then we’d be sticking out due to a big bubble of glowing magic.  And we wouldn’t be able to see or hear what’s going on with the crusaders very well.  Just try and keep awake for a bit longer.” She turned back to look through the bushes. “We could be here all night at this rate.  Come on, nopony’d fall for this.” Twilight gave Rainbow a flat look, then let out a breath and gave up on the hope for silence.  “If nothing happens soon, we’ll stop and regroup; we can’t be here all night because the fillies are going to need to go home soon.  You’re right that they might not be the ideal bait for Diamond Acorn, but I did promise to keep them up to date with what’s happening, and they wanted to be included.  On the other hoof, we know that Diamond Acorn is messing with the three of us, and that striking now, while we’re specifically looking for him would be one of the best ways to do that.” “Yeah, okay,” Rainbow grumbled, “but how?  It’s so totally a trap from a thousand miles away.  If he’d fall for something like this, Basil’d have caught him by now.  A blind mule listening to heavy metal during a stampede could’ve caught him.” Twilight rolled her eyes.  “It’s the challenge of it that would attract him.  He’d just wait for the perfect moment when we’re all supposed to be paying attention, but get distracted at just the right moment where he could slip in without getting noticed and—” “Ah-hah!” shouted Basil, making them both jump and snap their attention back out to the park. Basil had leapt from his hiding spot on the other side of the crusaders into the clearing.  His horn flashed and Twilight saw a shadow dart away to the west, back towards town. As she scrambled up and out of the bush, she heard a crash and a surprised shriek. Rainbow flew in front of Twilight landed on the path in front of a squirming bundle of blankets.  “Wha?” Rainbow poked the bundle with a hoof and Twilight heard a muffled whimper as she drew to a stop right next to Rainbow. Basil and the fillies joined the group just as Rainbow circled around to the other side, with her brows knit together in confusion.  “Wait, you set a trap? With a rope and bag? Like in a movie?” “Of course I did.  It was part of the preparations.”  Basil straightened his glasses and circled around the struggling pony.  “The preparations I informed you about, during which you were not paying attention.” Rainbow looked over to Twilight, who gave her a look telling her that Basil was right.  She grumbled and rolled her eyes. “Now then!”  Basil hefted in his magic one end of the rope tying the bag up.  “To find out the truth and put this long journey to rest!” He tugged and the knot came loose.  “Careful, don’t let him escape!” He flung back the blankets. Fluttershy shivered in a ball on the ground. “F…Fluttershy?”  Twilight said at the same time as Rainbow. Fluttershy squeaked and moved a hoof off her eye.  “O-oh, it’s you guys.” She uncovered her face. Her gaze moved to Basil, and she hid her face again. “Well, that didn’t work right,” Apple Bloom said.  “So, do we set up again, or—?” “It was you?” Basil snapped.  “Of course it was you! I should have known from the start!” Twilight felt all of the energy drain out of her back and she buried her face in a hoof.  “Oh, good, perfect.” “What’s he talking about?” Scootaloo asked her friends.  Sweetie shrugged. Apple Bloom huffed.  “Does it look like I know?  Pipe down, somepony’ll explain it.” “It’s obvious in retrospect.”  Basil said, ignoring the fillies.  He flashed his horn and puffed his pipe to a thick cloud of smoke.  “Yours was the trifle that initiated my visit here in Ponyville, and is also what brought me directly into contact with misses Twilight and Rainbow!” Twilight drew herself up and shook her head.  “Basil, no …” “To say nothing of the fact that your profession gives you carte blanche to travel across the town, indeed across all of Equestria to taunt me, mock me.  But the jig is up, as they say, Miss Diamond Acorn!” “Basil, stop!” Twilight shouted.  Basil’s mouth snapped shut and his eyes widened at her.  The crusaders snickered and hid their faces. Twilight turned to Fluttershy, who was still cowering on the ground, with Rainbow standing over her and trying to coax her into standing.  She crossed to the other side, placing herself in between Basil and Fluttershy, and offered her own hoof as well. “There’s a logical explanation for this.” “And the logical explanation is staring us right in our faces!  Do you know how many times I have come across ponies staging their own victimhood, arranging the patterns just so, so that they start off on the hoof of sympathy to cover their own involvement?  It is the oldest trick in the book! And further—!” “Basil Bones, Twilight hissed.  “Fluttershy raises animals in a small cottage on the outskirts of Ponyville, where she has lived for the last ten years!  And while I can’t personally account for all of that time, I can say with certainty that she has spent the last two years doing just that, when she hasn’t been running around with me and my other friends trying to save the world!  You being here right now and shouting is terrifying her!” She rounded on him and stuck her snout in his face. “What in the name of Princess Celestia makes you think your insane explanation is more likely than her just being in the park at night for some other reason?!”  She grinded her teeth together as he flinched and fell back a step, igniting more snickers from the crusaders. She stomped back around to Fluttershy, who had uncurled enough to goggle at her in surprise. “Are you okay?” Twilight offered her hoof, which Fluttershy took and clambered back up to all fours.  “Um. No. Yes? I’m not hurt. What’s going on?” She smoothed out her mane and glanced from her to Rainbow. Rainbow blinked and offered Fluttershy a forced smile.  “You were kinda in the wrong place at the wrong time? Don’t worry, though, everything’s under control.  If Twi hadn’t yelled at him, I’d be doing it.” She added, “With my hooves,” under her breath and shot Twilight a look. Twilight shook her head at Rainbow, then turned back to Fluttershy.  “Rainbow’s right, nothing is going on, just … just more stupidity. I’m …”  She grimaced and rubbed the bridge of her snout. “I’m really sorry you got pulled into it again.  Would you like me to walk with you back home?” “N-no, that’s okay, that was more surprising than anything. I should be fine in a mome—” Basil scoffed.  “At least ask her for her explanation!  She might have you fooled, but if you think that I—” “Basil, I have spent all day holding Rainbow back from physically assaulting you, and I am very close to telling her to go ahead!”  She flashed a glare at him and he wilted. She turned back to Fluttershy. “You can go home if you want, you don’t owe an explanation to anypony.” She glanced at Basil over Twilight’s shoulder, then hunched down to block him from view.  “Would an explanation help, though?” Twilight shrugged.  “It wouldn’t hurt, but it’s not like it’s illegal to walk in a park in the evening,” she said over her shoulder at Basil.  “If your answer is just that you wanted to go for a walk, there’s nothing wrong with that.” “Well, I did come here for a specific reason.”  She stepped to the side and pointed out over the cutie mark crusaders.  “The lightning mantises are out tonight.” Twilight looked towards where Fluttershy was pointing.  Down the path, on the other side of the picnic table, nestled into a small grove of trees that blocked out the very last of the light, she saw a small cloud of flashing lights weaving in and out of each other.  “Lightning mantises? Those aren’t just fireflies?” “Oh, no, not at all.”  She walked forward, past Basil and the crusaders, heading closer to the light cloud with the group following behind.  “They’re much more closely related to regular praying mantises, they just light up the same way fireflies do, when they’re looking for a mate.”  She reached out a hoof and one of the bugs landed on it. “Hi there, little missy! Aren’t you just precious!” She turned to show Twilight. The insect reached out a leg towards Twilight’s snout, a thick, curved leg lined with spikes, like a scythe wrapped in barbed wire.  It drew itself up, all angles and points, its face almost ponylike, with large, flat eyes and a tiny mouth at the bottom, its wings still buzzing and its back end flashing pale green light that threw the rest of its form into stark relief.  It was far too thin in most places, swollen fat in others, and it reached for her, grasping, its little mouth a churning chasm of wormy feelers. It was like a changeling figurine fashioned from shards of metal by a blind madpony. Twilight blinked, squeaked, and jumped away. Fluttershy chuckled, then turned to show the mantis to Rainbow.  “Don’t worry, she won’t bite. She can’t bite. Only pinch, and not very hard.  Plus she’s friendly!” Rainbows eyes widened.  “That thing is awesome!”  It looks like it’s made out of knives!” The crusaders crowded around, all chanting “Let me see!” and Twilight shook her head to clear it and stood back up as her breaths got under control. “Hardly an alibi,” Basil said, though too quiet for anypony except for Twilight to hear.  “If she was coming to the park solely to engage in entomological pursuits, why would she approach so clandestinely?  And why would she run when spotted? Those are acts of a guilty conscience, I’m sure of it.” Twilight huffed.  “Gee, I wonder why a timid pony might want to walk through town without being seen on the day she was loudly and publicly accused of being a sex worker, and then would run when her accuser surprised her?  That truly is a mystery.” She narrowed her eyes, then walked towards the others, who were chatting and laughing while the tiny glowing knife-monster crawled around on Scootaloo’s head. Fluttershy smiled at Twilight as another lightning mantis landed on her shoulder.  “See? They’re not scary. Do you want to hold one?” “… No thanks.”  She forced a smile.  “I’m glad we didn’t ruin your chance to see them tonight.  Are they rare?” “Oh, yes, very.  And their mating season only lasts for a few weeks, and they don’t light up any other time of the year, so this is really the only time to see them for what they are.  I was hoping I could maybe convince a couple to come home with me, I’d love to take care of their babies, and they can be very useful for gardens, so—” “Absolutely fascinating,” Basil snapped to cut her off.  “But we are losing sight of the chase, and if you insist that we can take her at her word, than we should set up again and resume the wait.  It might be sensible to move location and try again elsewhere, now that this site has been so thoroughly compromised, if you have any suggestions of a new staging grounds, I would be open to hearing them.  In the meantime, let’s go about cleaning—” “No,” Twilight said.  “No more. The fillies need to get home soon.  We won’t have time to get set up again before they have to go.” “Aww!” Apple Bloom whined.  “We can stay out a li’l longer!  AJ knows I’m here, so she ain’t gonna be worried or nothin’.  And Scoots’ got a later bedtime than I do—” she cut herself off and muttered under her breath, then looked back to Twilight and continued like she hadn’t stopped.  “And Sweetie already asked to stay over with Scoots tonight, so she ain’t gonna be late for nothin’ either.” Twilight sighed, “Well, maybe, if you all really want to …” She glanced over at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to gauge their reaction and see if Apple Bloom was alone in the hope to keep going, and she raised her eyebrows. The lightning mantis transferred itself from Scootaloo’s head to Sweetie Belle’s while they two of them were snout to snout and exchanging a smile that Twilight was not expecting to see.  When the bug had settled in Sweetie’s mane, they turned cheek to cheek, with their hooves around each other’s necks, and Scootaloo shot Rainbow a grin. Eyebrows higher still, Twilight glanced at Rainbow, who returned the grin and nodded.  “Okay, whatever,” Twilight muttered to herself, and turned back to Apple Bloom. “If the three of you are up for staying out a little longer, we can, but we’re not moving to a new place, it’ll take too long.” The only groan of protest she heard came from Rainbow. “Hmph, very well,” Basil said, and turned away from the group.  “The chances are lower still, but not without any hope. I’ll prime the trap again.” Twilight rubbed an eye and looked at Rainbow, who forced away her grimace and smiled at the fillies as they returned the spiky mantis to Fluttershy.  Twilight’s joints throbbed in unison, her eyes felt sticky, and she felt total empathy for Rainbow’s lack of desire to still be on the lookout; she’d need to keep a conversation going while they hid to keep from falling asleep herself.  She turned to Fluttershy and smiled again. “Thanks, and, uh, sorry again?” “I’m okay, it’s all okay, Twilight.  I know you’re working on figuring out who was in my house.  I’m the one who should thank you for caring and worrying about things.”  She turned towards the other mantises flying in wobbly circles through the air.  “And these little guys could cheer me up any day, couldn’t you?” Twilight chuckled and shook her head, leading the crusaders and Rainbow back towards the picnic table.  “It’s still getting pretty late, so we can’t be out here too much longer.” “I know,” Apple Bloom said.  “I’m just dyin’ to know what the heck’s goin’ on!” Scootaloo circled around the back of the group and came up on Rainbow’s side.  “It is really strange, I’m super curious now, too.” Rainbow turned her head slightly towards Scootaloo and spoke low, though Twilight could still hear her.  “Looks like everything worked out.” “Yeah,” Scootaloo returned in a conspiratorial whisper.  Twilight frowned in confusion and wondered if she shouldn’t give them some space for privacy.  “It was just like you said. I talked with her, and she was worried about a lot of the same things I was, and after we were feeling better about stuff, we talked with AB, and she totally understood, just like you said she would.” “Awesome.” Twilight shook her head, and shoved the growing army of questions out of her mind as they approached the picnic table.  “Okay, we don’t have a ton of time left, so let’s just get everypony in place.” She looked between the three as Sweetie and Apple Bloom climbed back onto the bench and Scootaloo righted her scooter.  “Although, maybe this time it would be better if you three just did the sort of things that you would normally do together.” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.  “Wasn’t that what we were doing before?” Rainbow covered a laugh with a cough. Twilight forced a smile.  “Yyyyyyyes. But I mean, maybe play a game together?  Or have a conversation about something specific, like a movie you’ve seen recently?  Something that you all can focus on.” Sweetie tilted her head.  “But if we’re focusing on stuff, how’re we supposed to be on the lookout, too?” Basil returned from his trap and said without missing a beat, “Misses Twilight, Rainbow, and myself shall be on the lookout, young Miss Sweetie.  The truth is, the more comfortable our prey feels that he will not be noticed, the more likely he is to act, but so long as somepony is vigilant at all times, there is no possible way he could slip by us all unnoticed.” “They’re gone!” Scootaloo shouted.  Everypony turned towards her. Scootaloo had climbed up on the bench and was looking down at the table.  “My marker set! It was right here!” She pointed at a gap in the random assortment of knickknacks, art supplies, posters, and paraphernalia that has been stripped from the crusader’s clubhouse.  In the empty space sat a single acorn. “What—” “How could—” “You mean—” “When we—?” They all fell silent, and Basil, Twilight, and Rainbow exchanged looks.  They all grimaced and groaned in unison. “Of course the window directly after a false entrapment, when all players are well embroiled in the confusion, would be the opportune time to strike!”  Basil flared a thick, roiling cloud of smoke from his pipe, like a train’s stack. “This is a vulgar, base level of the psychology at play, it’s practically elementary.”  He stomped over to the table and slammed his hoof down on the acorn, crushing it to powder and causing everything else on the table to shake. “Wait!” Twilight yelled, then kicked the ground and yelled again in inarticulate frustration.  “I could have used that! I could’ve—you know what? I’m done.” She turned around and stomped over to Rainbow.  “I need to go home. Please take me home, Rainbow.” Apple Bloom sputtered.  “But ain’t we gonna—” “Surely you jest,” Basil said.  “We have the fresh scene of a crime, now is when we need to act quickly and methodically!  Evidence may have been planted, intentionally or not, and ignoring our leads—” “You follow them, Basil Bones,” Twilight shot back.  “If there is anything worthwhile there to find, after you destroyed the acorn.  Which I could have used as the focus of a tracking spell if it hadn’t been crushed.  As far as I’m concerned, everything can wait until tomorrow, but to be perfectly honest, right now I don’t care.  I hope you do find something without me, and I hope you solve it all by yourself and it makes a lovely article, and I can find out the solution to everything then, because I am tired Basil, and I am going home.”  She turned back to Rainbow. “Please. I don’t want to have to walk.” Basil raised his eyebrows, then clenched his teeth and slapped his hoof on the table again, bowing his head.  The crusaders fidgeted uncomfortably, and Basil let out a long sigh. “You are correct, that was … foolish of me.”  The muscles in his jaw flexed. “I have attempted many spells on many acorns to no avail, and they have become a particular sore spot for me.  If I had stopped to consider my current resources … you have my apologies.” Twilight grimaced, and looked at Basil, then at the fillies nervously shuffling in place.  The spark of anger went out and was replaced by more exhaustion. “I appreciate that, Basil.  Were it a different day, I would probably be more willing to keep going, but I’m throwing in the towel now.  I … We …” She looked at Rainbow again and searched her face, and Rainbow sighed and nodded. “We’ll be available again in the morning, if you still need our help.” Basil grunted in reply.  Apple Bloom scuffed the ground.  “Umm. Sh…should we, uhh …?” Twilight smiled weakly at Apple Bloom.  “My promise still stands, girls, and tomorrow morning you’re welcome to rejoin us and help, if things are still a mystery then.  It was about time to stop for the night anyway.” Apple Bloom bit down on the protest written over her face and nodded.  “All right, we understand, I guess.” She turned to Basil. “Could we maybe help you for a bit, Mr. Basil?” “Hmn?”  He turned to Apple Bloom, and the surprise shifted to discomfort.  He shot a glance at Twilight’s stony expression, then cleared his throat.  “Oh, um. That’s rather valiant, little madam, but I’m unsure what, if anything, I might find, and miss Twilight is right that it’s getting rather late.  Perhaps it is best if we regroup in the morning.” He turned to the other girls and sucked in a breath of shock when he saw Scootaloo reaching for an old hat with a rainbow-colored mane of yarn on it, making Scootaloo jump.  “Ah, yes, I am, ah, hesitant to ask you to leave your belongings in my care overnight, but it’s very important not to disturb the scene more than necessary. You all have my word that all objects shall be returned in the morning when we reconvene.” A series of complaints broke out and Twilight shut her eyes tight and turned back to Rainbow.  Rainbow had wordlessly turned around and sat, offering her back. Twilight hugged onto Rainbow’s shoulders and let herself be pulled up into the sky. They flew silently through Ponyville and Twilight closed her eyes and let the rat’s nest of the day fall from her thoughts, feeling less wound up but more tired than ever when they touched down on her balcony.  Her bedside lamp had been left on, but the rest of the room was dark. She pushed open the door and climbed the stairs. Spike had made the bed, leaving it crisp and clean, and then by appearances took his bed downstairs to sleep somewhere else.  Twilight inhaled the smell of fresh linen and relaxed her shoulders, letting her neck droop. “Umm … Twilight?” Rainbow said, and the uncertainty in her voice dug into Twilight, like a claw wrapping around her heart.  Twilight turned around and saw a mix of panic and discomfort in Rainbow’s expression, the same expression she’d seen each time Rainbow had run off earlier in the day, and the claw squeezed, straightening Twilight up to full attention.  “Listen, I gotta—” “Wait!” she shouted, then snapped her teeth shut, cleared her throat and lowered her voice.  “Wait, Rainbow, before you run again. Just. Let me talk first. Please?” Rainbow’s expression flickered through more discomfort and unvoiced objections as she weighed options, until finally she nodded. Twilight took a deep breath.  “I know that … the stuff earlier today really upset you.  And I know, in my head, that we need to talk about it, and that you don’t want to.”  Rainbow opened her mouth, but Twilight pushed forward. “And right now I don’t want to, either.”  Rainbow snapped her teeth shut again and blinked, her expression growing impassive. “I’m tired, my head hurts, today has been one of the longest days of my life, and all I want to do right now it to crawl into bed with you and fall asleep.  I know you want to go home and not talk about anything with me, and I know I probably should be fighting against that, but I just can’t right now, and I want you here. If you still want to run, that’s …” She felt her voice crack and she cleared her throat.  “I understand. But if you stay, I promise, we don’t need to talk about anything, it can all wait until later.” Twilight swallowed and shifted weight from one pair of hooves to the other, trying to not scuff them against the floor like a little filly.  “Will you stay? Please?” Rainbow’s expression didn’t shift from its unreadable neutral position.  Without a word, she walked over to the bed, slid under the covers, and spread her forelegs wide in welcome.  She gave Twilight a timid smile. Twilight felt all the stress leave her body in a jolt so strong her ears flopped sideways.  “Thank you,” she said weakly and returned the smile. She snapped off the light and climbed into Rainbow’s embrace.  Hooves wrapped around her, warm and strong, and she felt a kiss against her forehead. She pressed in and returned the kiss on Rainbow’s neck, smelling soap and sweat and shampoo.  “Thank you.” “Course, Twi.” Twilight closed her eyes and was taken by sleep.