Canterlot Royal Palace - The Next Morning
Celestia and Luna were waiting in the throne room for Twilight and her friends to tell them about their little "problem". The elder sister was still thinking about that horrible nightmare she had and wanted to talk to her sister about it.
"Luna, I had... a nightmare last night," Celestia said.
"I had a lot of nightmares to deal with last night, sister. I was unable to get to you before you woke up from it, so I'm terribly sorry," Luna said sincerely. "If I had gotten rid of the other nightmares sooner, I would've been able to help my own sister."
"It's okay, Luna, but I wanted to talk to you about it. I saw someone in that dream last night."
"Anyone we know?"
"Yes. A killer... in a yellow rabbit costume."
That reply made Luna's widen. She remembered the individual Celestia was speaking about. The "Canterlot Kid Killer" as the newspapers called him. They were investigating a serial killer that was killing children in Canterlot. At first, they weren't getting anywhere with the investigation until they were tipped off to a suspicious figure spotted inside the abandoned hospital, where they confronted the killer after he killed another innocent victim. They and the guards managed to put an end to the killer and the killings stopped after that. The fact that Celestia was having a dream about that psychopath was suspicious to her.
"What happened in this dream?" Luna asked cautiously.
"I was walking through the halls of the palace when that madman opened the doors and showed me your head mounted on a spear before stabbing me to death," Celestia replied. "It was the most horrible dream I've ever had in my life."
Luna stood there for a long time with her mouth agape. As sorry as she felt for letting her sister endure that bad of a dream, she was also curious.
"I'm sorry that you had to endure that, sister, but why did you have a nightmare about the Kid Killer just now after all these years?" Luna asked.
"I don't know, that's why I want us and Equestria's heroes to look into this matter. I want us to go back to the old hospital and make sure the Kid Killer is really dead," Celestia replied. "I won't sleep easy until I make sure the killer's dead."
"Well, I'm sure we can wrap this up easily enough," Luna said.
The doors to the throne room opened to reveal none other than Twilight and her heroic friends including Starlight. They all trotted into the room with Twilight looking worried.
"Princess! I got your letter and it said you had something urgent to talk about with us?!" Twilight asked.
"I did indeed, my faithful student. I had a premonition in my dreams last night, and I may need your help with this matter," Celestia said. "Let me ask you, have you ever heard of the Canterlot Kid Killer?"
Starlight was the one to answer that. "Wasn't that the serial killer that was killing children around Canterlot for nearly ten years until you and Luna killed him?"
"Indeed, he was. We both confronted him in an abandoned hospital where he met his demise," Luna said. "After that, we sealed off the hospital to make sure no one got in. And Celestia had a nightmare about him last night."
"But the Kid Killer died 30 years ago, so why are you worried about a dead serial killer?" Applejack asked.
"The nightmare I had about me left me with a dreadful feeling. I want to make absolutely certain that the wretch is dead," Celestia said. "Which is why all of us are going to the old hospital where the killer's body was left."
"You left his body there?" Rainbow asked incredulously.
"A monster like him doesn't deserve a proper burial, so we left him there to bleed out and die," Luna said. "All we're going to do is make sure his body is still there."
"How will we know if it's his body?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, you'll know it when you see it. The killer was wearing a bright golden rabbit costume," Celestia said. "Now then, let's get going."
*****
With Anon
Anon got up when the last beams of sunlight disappeared from sight. Smiling underneath his mask, he got up and looked around for something to use as a weapon should he run into trouble getting his revenge. He went into the pizzeria's kitchen and looked around for a weapon. Opening one of the drawers, he found the perfect weapon: a large kitchen knife. From the looks of it, the blade was still razor-sharp.
"Perfect! No one will stop me!" Anon announced aloud.
The sound of a child sniffling alerted Anon immediately. He shot his head around and saw a little foal standing in the doorway to the kitchen.
It was a little girl from the looks of her. She had long green twin pigtails and pink fur and lavender eyes. She was looking at Anon with a sad and scared expression. This was the first interaction Anon had with a living thing after he died, so he was unsure of how to talk to her.
"Is she going to scream? Is she going to alert the others that I'm here?" Anon thought. "Come to think of it, what is a child this young doing in an abandoned place like this?"
"Are you... are you here to help us, mister bunny?" the girl asked.
The eerie hollowness to her voice was something that Anon didn't expect. There was a wrongness to it somehow, like the voice was coming from an echoed room. At the same time, there was something oddly familiar about her. It was as if he were looking at something just like himself. Anon kneeled down to look at the girl more directly.
"Excuse me, little one, but are you... alive?" Anon asked.
The little girl just looked at him with a sad look. "No. I'm just like you, a spirit. But you seem to have a physical body."
"Why are you haunting this place?"
"Me and my friends were here for my birthday party when one of the employees took us to one of the backrooms, promising us to give us special prizes. Instead, he got a knife and killed us all. I was the last one he killed."
"I... I'm so sorry to hear that. I too was unjustly murdered."
"Were you killed by the Purple Stallion, too?"
"Purple Stallion?"
"That's what we call our killer. He was wearing a purple security guard uniform."
"Can you remember anything else about him?"
"He had pale fur and a big scary smile. That's all we remember about him."
"Your friends, are they here now?"
"Yes. They're a bit shy."
"Can you introduce me to them? I'd like to talk to them."
"Follow me."
The little ghost filly led Anon out of the kitchen and into the main dining room, where three other ghost children stood waiting, two colts and one filly. They all had the same sad expressions as the first one. Anon's decomposed heart ached at seeing the ghost children. He stood in the center of them as they seemed to regard him with curiosity, murmuring in the same dead voices.
"Who is he?"
"He's like us."
"How does he have a physical body?"
"Is he our new friend?"
"Can he help us?"
Anon stood there with curiosity helping him forget about his eternal pain. As he thought about what the first ghost girl said, he got this disturbing feeling that the deaths of these kids and his own death were somehow connected. Thinking back 30 years, he remembered hearing another pony in the same hospital as him before he ran into the Princesses and their guards. That had to be the same pony who killed these kids. He had to tell these ghosts about it.
"Kids, I have something I need to tell you," Anon said. "I was framed for the crimes of your killer. The Princess thought I murdered you and killed me in response, sentencing me to this eternal pain and torment. That's why I'm here: to get my revenge."
"You were framed for crimes you never committed?" the first ghost asked.
"I was. And I know the actual killer was in the same building as me when I first showed up," Anon said. "I think we can help each other out with this."
"What do you mean? How can we help?" one of the colts asked.
"I want to get revenge on the ones who killed me, and you want to get justice for your deaths. If you help me with my goals, I'll help you find your killer and bring him to justice," Anon said. "We both win in this deal."
The ghost children looked to each other in thought. After a few moments, one of the colts raised a small hoof.
"How can we help when we have no physical bodies?" he asked.
Anon put a finger to his chin in thought. "I think I can help with that. I'm pretty good at building things, so I can help you with getting temporary bodies. Leave everything to me."
The ghost children all smiled in gratitude and excitement. The first ghost girl looked at Anon with a happy smile.
"Thank you so much, mister! By the way, what's your name?" she asked.
Anon thought about it. After everything he'd suffered for the past 30 years, he was no longer the same being he was before thanks to those horrible Princesses. He had to use his new name to match his new form. He smiled underneath his mask as he replied.
"You can call me... 'Springtrap'," Springtrap replied. "Nice to meet you all. Now then, time for me to get to work on building bodies for you."
This was perfect. He felt bad for using ghost children for helping him get his revenge, but he would make good on his promise to deliver their murderer to justice. Right after he killed the Princesses, of course.
*****
With Celestia and the Main 6
The group made their way to the old hospital with fervor. The Princess had to make certain that the Kid Killer's body was right where they left it, if only to assuage Celestia's dire worries. Once they finally arrived, Celestia and Luna looked up at the old building with dark thoughts.
"To think, the last time we were here, we stopped a brutal murderer," Luna said. "Doesn't bring about happy memories."
"I know, but we have to see if the Kid Killer's still there," Celestia said.
"What do we do if his body is still there?" Twilight asked.
"We leave it there where it was," Luna said.
"And what if the body's not there?" Rarity asked with a trembling tone.
"I... actually don't know," Celestia replied. "I suppose we'll have the city garrison search the entire city for the body."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Rainbow said.
The group walked past the gates and onto the grounds when Pinkie Pie noticed something right off the bat. She pointed to one side of the building.
"Are those doors over there supposed to be open?" Pinkie asked.
"What?!" Celestia and Luna asked at the same time.
Everyone looked over at where Pinkie was pointing and saw that a pair of the double doors were wide open. Celestia and Luna were shocked to see that the doors were open. They made sure to seal off all entrances to the building to keep vandals and urban explorers out of the Kid Killer's makeshift tomb. If the door was open, then someone had to have broken in.
"Well, at least we have a way of entering the building, now," Starlight said.
The group entered the building and the Main 6 had to follow the Princesses throughout the building until they stopped in front of an old operating theater. The Princesses looked to each other and then to the closed doors with anxiety plastered on their faces. Celestia used her magic to open the doors while Luna used her magic to illuminate the room. They were met with a dreadful sight.
The body wasn't there. There was only a humungous bloodstain where the body once lay. Starlight looked at the pool of dried blood and noticed something.
"Are those... bloody footprints?" she asked nervously.
Sure enough, there were clearly bloody footprints leading from the pool of blood and heading up the stairs of the theater until they stopped at the door. This meant that no one came in and took the body away, but it meant something even worse.
"If there are bloody footprints, doesn't that mean that the killer...?" Twilight asked before trailing off.
"How?! How is this even possible?!" Celestia shouted. "How did the killer survive?!"
"What do we do now?" Fluttershy asked fearfully.
"He didn't do it, you know," a quiet said from the darkness.
"Who said that?" Starlight asked, whipping her head around.
"Who said what?" Twilight asked.
"Didn't any of you hear that?" Starlight asked.
Now, she had everyone's attention. They looked at her with curious expressions.
"Hear what, Starlight?" Luna asked.
"You didn't hear the voice saying 'He didn't do it'?" Starlight asked.
That changed the mood of the group instantly. They all looked at Starlight with serious looks, with Celestia putting a hoof on Starlight's shoulder.
"Starlight, you heard a voice saying 'He didn't do it'?" Celestia asked.
"Yeah. It sounded like it came from the hall," Starlight said.
"Starlight, we need you to go out into the hall and see if you can respond to the voice," Luna said.
The Unicorn did as she was told and walked out into the hallway where she looked around a bit before she saw someone standing at the far side of the hall in front of one of the operating rooms. It was a small Pegasus filly with blue fur and a green mane and tail looking at Starlight with sad colorless eyes. The others joined Starlight and looked where she was looking.
"Can you see her?" Starlight asked.
"See who?" Rarity asked.
"The little filly in front of one of the operating rooms," Starlight replied.
"Starlight, we can't see anyone. Can you try talking to her?" Celestia asked.
Starlight walked up to the little filly and spoke with a smile. "Hi. My name is Starlight Glimmer. What's your name?"
"My name is Lily Petals," the girl said. "I heard you talking about the rabbit guy. The one that the Princesses killed."
"That's right. You know him?" Starlight asked.
"He wasn't the one who did it, you know. He was innocent," Lily said.
"How do you know that?" Starlight asked.
"I saw the one who killed me and it wasn't him," Lily replied.
That reply struck a chord with Starlight. She was talking... to a ghost. An actual ghost. And she was saying that the guy in the rabbit costume wasn't the one who killed her. Starlight had to know more.
"Did you see who killed you?" Starlight asked.
"Yes, and it wasn't the rabbit guy. This guy wore a purple suit and had a big smile," Lily said. "Princess Celestia and Luna killed an innocent being."
This information was not looking good. Then this "rabbit guy" was framed for the murders, and if that was true, then the real killer was still out there somewhere. Starlight had to know more.
"But what about the rabbit guy? Where is he now?" she asked.
"He died, but his spirit never moved on," Lily said. "His spirit possessed the suit he died in and he became angry at his death. He wandered these halls for the past thirty years, stewing in his hate and rage. When the homeless pony opened the doors, he left immediately. You won't find him here."
"Do you have an idea of where he could be?" Starlight asked.
"The Princesses are the ones he's after for revenge, so he'll still be in Canterlot," Lily replied. "What are you going to do once you find him?"
That was something she hadn't thought about. If this being was truly innocent, she'll have to find a way to reach out to him and help him. Though, Lily said that the rabbit guy was out for revenge against the Royal Sisters, which would make things difficult for them. More than that, she had to know more about the girl's killer.
"Can you tell me about the one who murdered you?" Starlight asked.
"I didn't get a good look at his face, bit he was tall, skinny, and had white fur with a big smile as he was stabbing me," Lily replied. "He ran off once he noticed that the guards were there. When he saw the rabbit guy, he knew he could frame him for killing me."
"I promise that we'll do everything we can to bring your killer to justice," Starlight promised.
"Thank you. Me and the rabbit guy have been lingering here for so long, and he's so angry, so please help him," Lily said. "I could feel his hatred and pain all these years."
"I also promise to help the rabbit guy," Starlight said.
Lily vanished into thin air with a smile after that. Starlight went back to the group and relayed everything that Lily had told her. After she was done, Celestia and Luna's faces were masks of shame and despair. They had killed an innocent being and inadvertently let the real killer roam free. And now, the vengeful spirit of the innocent they killed was looking for them to exact revenge. The sisters broke down in tears after hearing this.
"Well, what do we do now?" Applejack asked. "This is a lot to take in."
"I wanna try to look for the 'rabbit guy' and try to help him. According to Lily, he's been consumed by hate and pain for the past 30 years," Starlight said. "It's up to us to help him."
"How can we help him if he's a vengeful spirit?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah, it's not like an apology and a hug can make things better," Rainbow said.
That made the sisters cry even harder. They knew that they made a mistake, and they had to make it right. After pulling themselves together, they stood up and put on their best leader faces.
"Me and Luna will help look for him. We made a mistake, so it's up to us to right our wrongs," Celestia said.
"Are you sure that's safe? The ghost said he wants to kill you," Twilight said.
"It doesn't matter. We have to make things right with him," Luna said. "Besides, it should be easy for us to find him if he's after us."
"And what about the real Kid Killer?" Fluttershy asked.
"We'll have to reopen the investigation and look for him, too," Celestia replied. "The victims need justice."
"Alright, sounds like we need to do some investigating," Twilight said.
The group left the building and set about looking for the "rabbit guy" and the real Kid Killer. They had to make things right for him and the victims of the real killer. Hopefully, the Magic of Friendship would help them with this.