23
*Turncoat*
If a god of death has seen a pony at least once before and knows his or her name and lifespan, the god of death is capable of finding that pony from a hole in the Shinigami Realm.
Twilight Sparkle was not by nature a vindictive mare. It wasn’t that she lacked the will or the ability; being blessed from a young age with enough magical strength to turn anypony who bothered her into a potted plant had proven useful during her early days at school. But after a single stern talk from Celestia about responsibility, she’d quickly discovered that most (if not all) of her problems could be solved through the power of books. Whether they possessed vital knowledge, happy distractions, or the ability to be stacked up into an impenetrable fort, these limitless tomes of wonder had always seemed a much better resort to Twilight than taking out her problems on another pony.
At least, until now.
Twilight clenched her teeth, slowly counting down from ten for the twelfth time that morning. She ignored Spike as he stood beside her, once again trying and failing to calm her down. “L,” she said as calmly as she could, “I’m not going to ask you again. Give me back my horn!”
L looked up distractedly. "You're going to stop? That's good to hear." As Twilight scowled, she turned away again.
Apparently overnight, L had dismantled her wall of stratoscreens and scattered them back across the edges of the base's main chamber. She now sat in the opposite corner from the one that she usually occupied, idly watching the local news on mute. She ate gumdrops three at a time from a bowl, always making sure not to pick up more than one of the same colour in each mouthful. Twilight ground her teeth as the candies floated through the air, held up by the glow of the detective's magic. "I can't see why you don't think this is a big deal," Twilight tried. "You know I'm not a threat to you. Why would you keep something like this locked away?"
"Insurance, Twilight. Insurance." L made a sucking noise on her candy before swallowing loudly. "Even if you are free from Kira now, that doesn't mean you won't be in the future. It's your mind that I value, not your ability with magic, and until the true Kira is found I would feel much safer having you bound to me in this way."
"Ugh." Twilight rolled her eyes and sat down, putting her head in her hooves grumpily. She listened to the clacks and barked instructions behind her as Jazz led Rainbow Dash through another exercise with Minty. The pegasus darted up and down across the abacus’ face, her forelegs shooting in and out like pistons as she pushed and pulled beads into place. "When's Colgate getting back?"
"She's still on leave. Given the amount of stress she's been under lately, she's retired to Fluttershy's cottage until she feels capable of rejoining us." L gestured vaguely behind herself without looking back. "Locket will be taking her place here until she returns."
"Oh." Twilight couldn't help her face falling a little. "Her." She glanced back in the direction the detective had waved. Locket perched uncomfortably on a chair near the abacus, looking nervously around as though waiting for somepony to tell her what to do. She seemed terribly out of place in the complex facility, even more so than Rainbow Dash, who was at least doing something. "Fine. I’m sure she’ll be a great help in an emergency."
"Hey, don't be too hard on her," Spike said. "You're only free now because of her. L came up with the plan, but she was the one who talked us into trying something different."
“Really?” Twilight looked back at the blue mare again with new eyes. Locket caught her gaze and looked away, blushing. Twilight watched her thoughtfully, regarding the twin horseshoes on her flank. I guess L keeps her around for a reason, she thought. It’s always the quiet ones, isn’t it? I wonder what her special talent is?
And speaking of the quiet ones... Close to Locket, Fluttershy was sitting at a nearby table, sipping delicately from an oversized cup. Bon Bon spoke to her gently from the other side of the table. The pegasus still seemed to be in a state of shock, only nodding occasionally with a wide-eyed, childlike stare. A small bandage covered her left ear where Spike had cut her. She looked thin and pale, her face gaunt and sunken after a week of captivity.
Spike caught Twilight's gaze and sighed. "You're really worried about her, huh?"
"Yeah," Twilight said. She looked at her hooves. "She's taking this all pretty hard. I should have known that we couldn't just get out of prison and keep going like nothing's changed, but..."
"On the contrary," L interrupted without looking back, "I think she's doing remarkably well. Most ponies would have much more difficulty adjusting after a week of forced confinement, at the hooves of some of her friends, no less. She must trust you a great deal, Twilight."
"Yeah, about that." Spike gave the detective a hard look. "Did you really know that Twilight and Fluttershy were together this whole time?"
"Of course."
"Is there a reason you didn't feel like telling us?"
"Because I made a promise." L finally looked back and, unexpectedly, smiled at Twilight. "That seemed like reason enough to me."
Twilight smiled shyly. "Sorry, Spike," she said. "I would have told you myself, but... there was just never a good time."
"Don't worry about it," Spike said, shaking his head. "It's in the past now." He wrinkled his nose. "Feels kind of weird, though. I mean, you and Fluttershy? What do we even call that? Flutter Sparkle? Twilightshy?"
Twilight was spared some of the ensuing awkwardness as Derpy skipped by, her eyes half-closed and a blissful smile on her face. “Good morning, Derpy,” Twilight said quickly, eager to change the subject. “I see you’re in a good mood today.”
“Good morning, Twilight.” Derpy nodded cheerily and waved. “I’m almost done my big job,” she explained. “I’m saving the best for last. Just one more bag and I get to go to Stalliongrad!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Stalliongrad? That frigid colony up north? Why would you want to go there?”
“Um... no reason.” Derpy looked down, then immediately brightened up again. “Oh, yeah! I got something for you, Twilight!”
“Really? That’s nice.” The two ponies stared at each other for a few seconds. “So... where is it?” Twilight prompted.
Derpy opened her mouth, then paused. She froze in place for a few seconds like a filly who had forgotten her lines, then turned around and ran back into the nearest hallway. Twilight stared after her. "Well, that was weird," she said, then shut her mouth when Derpy returned a few seconds later with a cardboard box on her back.
"This one's for you, Twilight," Derpy said, dropping the package at Twilight's hooves. It was a perfect cube and around the size of a foal, but made very little noise as it hit the ground. "It's from Pinkie Pie."
Twilight's eyes widened. "From... Pinkie Pie?" she echoed.
"Uh-huh." Derpy nodded. "She sent letters to everypony in Ponyville. But not you. She sent you a box." If it were possible, the mailmare suddenly brightened up even further. "Oh! I got one for Fluttershy, too. Just a sec."
Twilight stared down at the package before her as Derpy zipped back to her room. She waited a few seconds as nothing happened, then realized that she was trying to lift the box with magic. Sighing, she picked it up in her hooves and turned it over. It was surprisingly light, and made no noise as she moved it about. Tied to a string on one side was a tiny purple envelope with 'for Twilight' scrawled on top in pink crayon.
Spike, too, appeared to be in awe. "I bet it's something really special," he said. "I saw some of the other letters she sent."
“Hey, is that from Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash ceased her flying up and down the face of the abacus and dropped to the ground, dashing over to Twilight. “Whoa! I just got a letter.”
The others in the room joined Dash in crowding around Twilight. She looked around at each of them in turn, her heart leaping into her mouth. “She wrote letters to... everypony?”
“Yeah.” Spike nodded, then smiled wistfully. “She told me to always keep my friends in my heart, no matter how far away they are. And I plan to.”
“She told me about some awesome stunts she was planning,” Rainbow Dash said. “She said I can use her pranking supplies however I want.”
“She gave me a whole set of stamps for Appleloosa,” Locket said quietly. “I didn’t think she even knew who I was.”
“She sent me a set of advanced mathematical riddles,” said Jazz. “I spent several enjoyable nights puzzling them out. Personally, I wasn’t even aware that we’d met.”
“I don’t understand,” Fluttershy said, looking around. “Why did Pinkie Pie start sending these letters to everypony all of a sudden?”
A cold silence fell across the group. Fluttershy shrunk down as everypony turned to face her, their eyes widening with shock and horror. Even L broke away from her stratoscreen and stared at the confused pegasus, causing her to take a nervous step back. “What is it?” Fluttershy said, fear rising as everypony refused to speak. “Did... did something happen?”
Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped. “You mean... you don’t know?”
“Know what?
It was at this moment that Derpy skipped back into the room, a golden envelope raised proudly in her mouth. Oblivious to the stunned stares of the others, she barged into the middle of the group and held out the letter to Fluttershy. “This one is for—”
“I’ll take that, thank you,” Bon Bon interrupted, quickly snatching the letter away. Before anypony could say anything, she put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder and whispered into her ear. “Everything’s all right, dear. I just need you to come with me for a little while. Is that okay?”
Fluttershy glanced around nervously, but under Bon Bon’s touch some of the fear fell away from her face. Hesitantly and with several glances over her shoulder, she allowed the creamy mare to lead her away from the group. Twilight and Rainbow Dash started to follow them, but stopped when L shook her head. “Bon Bon can handle her,” the detective said quietly as Fluttershy vanished down the nearby hallway. “She has much experience in helping ponies through bad news. Let her tend to her responsibilities so you can tend to yours.”
Twilight shuddered. “It’s for the best, I guess,” she said. “I didn’t want to be the one to tell her. But how can she not know? I know we captured her not long afterwards, but...”
“Twilight, can we not go back to that right now?” Rainbow Dash snapped. “Just open the freaking box already.”
Refocusing, Twilight nodded. The group’s attention shifted back to the unopened package in front of them. Trying not to rush, Twilight tore open the envelope on the top, getting a feel for using her hooves and mouth again instead of constantly relying on her magic. She pulled out the letter within and read it aloud. “Dear Twilight. I thought you might need this. Lots of love, your most bestest friend in the whole wide world, Pinkie Pie.” She flipped the note over once, but there was nothing else. After the messages her friends had described, it didn’t seem like much of a farewell. “Huh.” She put this aside and looked to the pony who’d delivered it. “What did she send you, Derpy?”
Derpy blushed and smiled. “The best thing in the world.”
Yes, Twilight reflected, that seems to be a running theme. Everypony gets what they want the most. She looked over the package inquisitively, an old birthday habit dating back to when she was very small. What do I want the most? A new spellbook? Something to do with the Princess? No... this isn’t the same as my birthday. What would Pinkie Pie give me if she knew it was the last thing she could ever give me again?
Spike gestured impatiently, habitually sighing to break Twilight out of her trance. “Go on, Twilight, open it!”
Twilight nodded. With a sharp tug of her teeth, the packaging tape tore away from the box. The flaps on top sprung open, releasing a smell of dust. White fluff filled the interior, insulating whatever lay within from jostling. Hooves trembling, Twilight brushed aside this barrier and, as carefully as she could, pulled out Pinkie Pie's final gift to her.
It was a bag of potato chips.
There was another moment of silence. “That’s it?” Locket blurted, then immediately covered her mouth with her hoof.
Frowning, Twilight held up the bag and examined it from all angles. It was a generic brand, apparently genuine and untampered with. “That’s it?” she muttered, shaking the bag up and down. It made no noise but the faint rustle of chips. She tore it open, hoping against hope that there was something else inside, but all that met her eyes was layer after layer of dusted red foodstuffs.
A powerful smell washed out from the open bag. Spike sniffed the air, then stepped back and covered his nose. “Eww! Horseradish flavor?”
“Hey!” Twilight retorted. “I like horseradish flavor.” She looked down again, sighing inwardly. Now that she’d opened it, the bag showed signs of Pinkie Pie’s tampering. It had been filled right to the top, removing the inches of empty space that normally plagued such containers. Instead of being thrown in randomly, the chips were stacked in vertical layers by size and shape, optimizing their use of space and allowing for the greatest number of chips per bag. Twilight pulled one out and examined it. It was a flawlessly cut slice of potato, roasted to perfection with just the right amount of horseradish flavoring baked into both sides. She ate it. It was perfect in every way.
It was, without a doubt, the best bag of potato chips ever. Twilight started to tear up. "This is the worst present ever," she sobbed.
Rainbow Dash stepped forward. "Hey, don't say that," she said gently.
"It's true!" Twilight shook the bag. "You all got exactly what you wanted, and I got this? Is this some kind of joke? Is that what our friendship meant to her, just one big joke?"
"Do not cry, Twilight Sparkle." L lifted up Twilight's head and looked into her eyes. "Pinkie Pie loved you as a friend. It seems to me that for whatever reason, she believed that you would find this bag every bit as meaningful as any of the letters she sent to your other friends. Perhaps it will simply take some time before we see why." Her eyes flicked downwards. "Now, are you going to eat all those yourself?"
Twilight paused. She held the bag a little closer to herself. Cruel as it might have been, this last gift had been for her, and she didn't like the hungry look that L was giving it. "I think I'll keep them for now, actually." She closed her eyes for a second, then sighed. "L, could you..." With a disappointed look, the detective leaned down and applied the tip of her horn to the bag. With a green glow, the tear sealed itself back up. "Oh, Pinkie Pie," Twilight sighed, storing the bag in her chair. "Why did you have to choose now to be random?"
Locket nudged Derpy. Quietly, the two slipped away from the group. Rainbow Dash smiled supportively. "Hey, don't feel bad, Twilight," she said. "Everything Pinkie Pie did was random. Do you know I can't find any history on her anywhere?"
"Really?" Twilight looked up. "You mean she just came out of nowhere?"
"The opposite, actually." Rainbow Dash flicked her tail towards the abacus. "I looked up her official files with Minty. Her family goes back generations, mostly bakers and stuff. But when it gets down to her parents, it says that they... well, that they existed, and not much else. Three fillies, no permanent location, no jobs anywhere after the kids were born. It's like the whole family just disappeared."
"That doesn't make sense..." Twilight rubbed her head. She frowned as another thought occurred to her. "Wait. You were using Minty? You're that far already?"
"Hay yeah." Dash puffed up proudly. "I didn't like it at first — too much nerdy stuff. But once I got into it, it's just like flying a really tight routine. Jazz says I'm a fast learner."
"That's true," Jazz confirmed, nodding. "Rainbow Dash is an excellent student, when properly motivated. That said, her form is inelegant and her rate of errata is far, far above acceptable standards."
Dash glowered at this, but Twilight Sparkle brightened up. She turned back to L. "L, is it okay if we use the abacus for a while?"
L waved a hoof. "Go ahead." She immediately swiveled away and resumed watching crystalvision.
Twilight nodded. "You were right, Rainbow," she said. "This isn't a good time to dwell on the past. The cause of all our problems is still out there, and nothing's going to get better until we catch her." She approached her friend, now smiling. "So how about we put our heads together and find Kira once and for all?"
"Aww, yeah!" Dash flared out her wings and pawed at the ground. "We're back in business now! So what's the plan of attack?"
"Well, first things first." Twilight walked past her friend and smiled up at Minty, her eyes already shining with tables and spreadsheets to come. "Let's see what this baby can do."
Over the next several hours Twilight kept an ear turned to the hallway where Fluttershy had left, preparing to run to her if cries of anguish or despair spilled out. But as long as she listened, the corridor was completely silent.
---
After the unmeasurable crawl of imprisonment, time flew by like a train on wings. Twilight’s heart soared as she found herself back in her element for what felt like the first time since this whole disaster had started, plotting and calculating with glee. She barely slowed as Jazz made them break for lunch, taking distracted bites in between shouting instructions to Rainbow Dash and making crude but recognizable notes with a quill held awkwardly between her teeth.
Unfortunately, constant speed was not the same thing as constant progress. As the hours stretched late into the afternoon, three words began to crop up again and again that never failed to send their work grinding to a halt, requiring several steps of backtracking and recalculating. When Twilight Sparkle sighed for what seemed the thousandth time that day and opened her mouth, Rainbow Dash’s heart sank.
“This isn’t optimal.”
Twilight stared down at the collection of notes that surrounded her. With Dash’s help she’d placed three stratoscreens together near the abacus, each linked to a crystal at the top of the wooden structure by a thin beam of purple light. One of these showed a series of complex graphs, while the others listed row after row of census data. Spike was meticulously copying these onto separate pages, with Locket helping at a much slower pace. “Let’s swap out the age and finance fields again,” Twilight continued. “Then we’ll need to adjust the age parameters, widen our timeframe, and as for those colours—”
“Oh come on, Twilight!” Dash dropped to the ground heavily, panting for breath. “Even I have my limits. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but every time you want to add something new to your list, I have to climb all over this thing like a freaking squirrel. It’s like trying to do math and gymnastics at the same time.”
“You’re doing fine, Rainbow,” Jazz said idly without looking at her. He sat in a chair at Minty’s base, following his student’s movements with a regular abacus of his own. They’d started their project with him yelling corrections every other entry, forcing the exasperated pegasus to slow down and redo her work, but as the hours had stretched into the afternoon these corrections had come less and less frequently.
“Thanks,” Dash sighed. “We’ve been at this for hours, and now you want to start from scratch just because you don’t like the colour?”
Spike put down his quill. “My claw’s cramping up again,” he complained, rubbing his wrist. On Twilight’s other side, Locket nodded but continued writing.
Twilight winced. For some reason, hearing her friends annoyed was making her a lot more anxious than she was used to. “Sorry, Rainbow,” she said meekly. “I’d help if I could, but...”
“But you can’t. I get it. I need a break.” Dash sat down, flexing her aching wings. “Sheesh. I thought you were just going to do some number-crunching. If I’d known you were going to map out the lives of everypony in Equestria, I would have said to leave it to the professionals.”
Twilight sighed. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I guess I just got a little caught up in... everything.”
Jazz stood up. “Shall I resume my duties?”
“No, I’m going to take a break too.” Twilight tapped Locket on the shoulder and the mare looked up, blushing. “Thanks for the help. You can stop now.”
“Oh... um... thanks.” Locket almost started writing again, then at the last second dropped her quill and scampered away.
Stretching, Twilight looked towards the corner of the room. “L, we’re taking a break, okay?” There was no response. “L?”
In the corner of the room, the greatest detective in Equestria was silent. At some point in the preceding hours she’d turned off her stratoscreen and now stared blankly down at her own lap, her candy bowl half-finished on the table beside her. She gave no response as Twilight slowly approached her. “Um... L? Are you all right?”
“Twilight.” L looked up, smiling faintly. “What have you learned so far?”
“Um... well.” Twilight gulped. “Well. The first thing I did was run an analysis on Kira’s killing patterns over the past couple of weeks, to see if there were any sudden changes. And, well... everything’s different. The numbers and times jump all over the place, like it’s completely random. It’s the total opposite of the organized killings from before I was imprisoned.”
Slowly, L nodded. “As if we’re dealing with a completely different Kira than before.” She lolled back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. “Does this worry you, Twilight?”
“No. I know I’m not Kira.”
L muttered something to herself before looking to Twilight. “The murders have been this way since your imprisonment. The fact that this randomness has not stopped after your release may or may not be significant. It seems...” She paused. “Actually, call for the others. I will send for Fluttershy. She should hear this as well.” She spun away and picked up a crystal on the desk nearby, lighting it up with magic and whispering into it.
A few minutes later, Fluttershy emerged. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face still wet with tears, but she kept herself composed as she entered the main chamber. Bon Bon followed close behind, encouraging and occasionally supporting her. She was looking more haggard as well, her mane ruffled on both sides and her head held lower than usual. She stayed behind as Fluttershy approached the cluster where the others had gathered and faced the pony responsible for her captivity over the past week. She meekly bowed. “Hello... L.”
L smiled. “Harpy, please. Call me Harpy Chords.” She looked towards Twilight. “In fact, I’m going to insist on that from now on. We’re all friends here. There’s no need for formal titles.”
Fluttershy rose. “If you say so,” she mumbled, edging a little closer to Twilight.
Twilight stepped closer, placing herself between her marefriend and the detective defensively. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
Fluttershy whimpered. “I can’t stay here.”
“Three days, Twilight,” L broke in loudly. Her expression had returned to its usual blank, penetrating stare. “During your imprisonment, there were three days between the deaths stopping and their resuming, under very different directions. This was not an accident. It was a message. Kira has gone out of her way to show that we are not dealing with the same murderer as before. The killing power has left its original owner, and has been transferred to... somepony else.”
“But... that doesn’t make sense,” Twilight argued. “Are they still trying to frame us? We know that neither of us are Kira.”
“True. At least... not any more.” L spun around in her chair once. “This is what I think. I cannot claim to hold this as fact, not without further evidence, but this is the theory which best fits the facts we have so far.
“Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy. Until you entered this facility, you were not yourselves. It is my belief that both of you were possessed by creatures called Gods of Death who granted you their killing powers — or perhaps just a single entity, alternating between the two of you. It used you as distractions for as long as it was able, then abandoned you once it felt you could no longer be of use.”
“Freaky.” Rainbow Dash shuddered. “So all this was just, what, showing off?”
“Something like that. As of now, Kira has stopped hiding behind a single pony and decided to show us her true nature.”
Twilight frowned. “Can something like that even exist? I’ve read about non-corporeal spirits before, but nothing like this.”
“There are many strange and terrible beings in this world, and a great number of them will not be found in any book. Given that Kira’s killing power is already outside our realm of knowledge, assigning her a supernatural status is not particularly far-fetched. After all... this is far from the first time that a ghost has killed.” L gave Bon Bon a quick glance, but it was so fast that only Twilight Sparkle noticed. “It is less clear what she has to gain from this reveal. Perhaps she means...” L sighed. “To scare us.”
“Creepy.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “But we’re not scared, right?” Fluttershy squeaked, pressing herself against Twilight. Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Okay. But we’re not scared, right?”
Twilight sighed and nodded, but looked uncertain. Locket stared at the ground. Bon Bon and Jazz glanced at one another, but said nothing. Rainbow Dash faltered. “We’re not, are we?”
“I... do not feel fear,” L said slowly. “But this is... a discouraging development. If Kira truly is such a being, then it makes our task many magnitudes more difficult. Even if we are able to track down her new host, there may be nothing stopping her from moving to yet another.” She looked down. “It is certainly enough to make one wonder... if such a creature can ever be caught at all.”
Almost silently, Bon Bon breathed in sharply. Twilight noted this, but didn’t look her way. “You don’t mean that,” she said.
L looked up. Her eyes lingered on Bon Bon before moving to Twilight. “I only mean that our methods will have to change. We will have to be subtle, to get close to the new host without arousing his or her suspicions. Until we find a way to reach the true Kira and destroy her for good, we cannot afford to be as directly confrontational as we have been. That is all.”
The others didn’t appear quite convinced. Rainbow Dash stared at the detective suspiciously, her wings half-raised, and Spike leaned against the nearby desk. Twilight gulped. “Well, I’ve got some other news that should cheer you up,” she said loudly, trying to brighten up her tone. “We found something else during our research.”
Dash looked up, startled. “We did?”
“Yes!” Twilight exclaimed. “Don’t you remember? You did all the calculations yourself!”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I was paying attention.”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight looked back to L. “The obvious murders are spread out so randomly that we can’t get any useful data from them. Criminals reported on crystalvision are generally killed, but never during the same day as their broadcast, which suggests a different schedule than the old Kira, but doesn’t tell us exactly what. But what’s really interesting is when I expanded the analysis to include all deaths. While most rates worldwide have remained stable, the accident rates among certain demographics have skyrocketed.”
L did seem to perk up at this. “Skyrocketed, you say? Interesting choice of word.”
“Yes. Spike, get the finance over occupation report, please.” Spike hesitated, glancing back at the mountain of paper atop his desk. “The blue ones! Go!” Twilight tapped her hoof as her assistant rushed over and picked up a few charts, then smiled gratefully up as he returned. “As you can see,” she said, picking up a pair of pages and spreading them out on the desk, “the rate of accidental deaths has risen by three to five per day in these areas.”
“I noted that as well,” L said. “I expected a slight increase now that the fall rainy season has started.”
“That was my first thought too,” Twilight continued. “But this is sustained well beyond normal limits, and doesn’t match the figures over the last few years. It’s extended beyond the point of mere coincidence. It’s not restricted to any particular region, but for the most part the victims have all been...” She gulped. “Farmers.”
“Farmers?” Spike looked up fearfully. “Any particular farmers?”
“That’s where it gets interesting.” Twilight placed a hoof over the second page. “I looked at families and finances to see if anypony would be benefiting from all these deaths. At first, there didn’t seem to be any connection; very few of them are in the same business, and they’re spread over every corner of Equestria. But eventually... and I need to do some more research to see if this is correct, but... I found that one way or another, every one of these ponies is or was in competition with just one group.” She tapped a line at the bottom of the page. “The Apple family.”
As a group, there was a slow intake of breath as the meaning of this sank in. Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, then narrowed. Abruptly, she reared up and slammed her front hooves together. "Applejack."
Twilight shifted uncomfortably. "Now, let's not jump to any conclusions," she said quickly. "These are just preliminary results. We need to do a lot more work to confirm this before we can start pointing any hooves—"
"No!" Dash leaped into the air, hovering angrily. "Think about it! Applejack's a Kira supporter. She's been acting weird ever since the funeral."
"She's acting weird because she misses her friends," Twilight snapped. "We're all in a weird place right now."
"It's not like that! Don't you get it?" Rainbow Dash shook her head. "She's the only one left! Kira's been going after the Elements of Harmony, one by one. We've already lost two, and three of us are here. She's the only one who hasn't been dragged into this yet."
Behind Twilight, Fluttershy made herself as small as possible and put her hooves over her ears. "Make it stop..." she whispered.
Twilight glared. "Dash," she said sternly, "calm down. We need to think about this."
"I am calm!" Dash shouted. "And I am thinking! You're the one who's not thinking! If Kira's taken Applejack, then we need to act now!"
L spoke up, silencing the pegasus instantly. "Rainbow Dash, stop. You are embarrassing yourself."
Dash froze up. She slowly floated down to the ground, staring numbly. "Embarrassing myself?" she repeated.
"Yes." L's tone became a little harsher, but her expression didn't change in the slightest. “We are a team of professionals. If you wish to make such wild, foalish accusations, you should at least have something to back yourself up with besides unfounded paranoia.”
Rainbow Dash glared. "Are you seriously telling me that?" she snorted. "After you spent weeks hunting Twilight on nothing more than a hunch?"
"A hunch and a solid speculative case, of which you have only one. Kira's goals are now different than they were at the start of the investigation; she's more familiar with our methods, and will be trying harder to deceive us. Even if this elimination of competition is not a mere red herring, the Apple family has branches all over Equestria. Picking such an obvious target would be folly when there are plenty of equally valid candidates spread from one coast to the other."
"She's right, Dash," Twilight said gently before her friend could respond. "I know at this point it's easy to think that Kira's going after us, but Applejack just wouldn't make a good host. She spends most of her time in the fields or in Ponyville, and a big family like hers would make hiding herself impossible."
"Are you even listening to yourselves?" Rainbow Dash looked around angrily. "One of our friends might be in trouble! Shouldn't we be looking out for her?"
"Are you even listening to yourself?" Locket said. Her voice was quiet, but it cut through the conversation like a knife. "Are you really so jaded that you can't imagine something might be okay for once?" Everypony stared at her. Locket looked down, blushing. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I don't know why I said that."
"Regardless," L said quickly, "what's important now is that we make no rash moves. Now that we know Kira can move from one host to another, she will likely not hesitate to do so again if she feels threatened. It is vital that the new host does not learn that we are on his or her trail until the last possible moment. That means not singling ponies out, and not leaping into action at the first sign of danger.” She turned to Jazz. “Jazz, you may resume your duties. These figures will need further analysis.”
Rainbow Dash sighed in resignation. “I think I’m good to go again,” she said.
L shook her head. “That will not be necessary. Jazz can perform that role far faster and more efficiently than you.”
“...Oh.” Dash frowned. “So what do you want me to do?”
“Anything you like.” L shrugged. “Just don’t be a nuisance.”
Another ripple of anger flashed through Dash, rising high on the afterglow of the first. “Is that what I am to you?” she snapped. “A nuisance?”
Twilight quickly tried to reassure her, but L continued talking. “More like a tool with no apparent function. Your strengths, such as they are, are apparent. But, as you have just made abundantly clear, they have no place within this room.”
Dash felt her breath leave her. She looked around desperately. Her friends were staring at the detective in open-mouthed shock, while the others avoided her gaze. Jazz glanced at her, but his expression was as unreadable as L’s. “F-fine,” Dash said, frustration overwhelming her. “I know when I’m not wanted.”
In a sudden flurry of motion, Rainbow Dash whirled around and soared across the room, slamming her hooves down on the lever for the trapdoor. “Rainbow, wait!” Twilight yelled, but she was too late. With a blur of coloured light the pegasus vanished to the world above, leaving the iron door hanging open.
As the sound of Rainbow’s dramatic exit faded, the pony behind Twilight straightened up. "Um. This might be a bad time," Fluttershy said, "but I can't stay here."
L fixed her gaze on her. Fluttershy whimpered, but continued. "I'm sure this place is very nice. If Twilight can live here, it must be okay. But... I just don't think that I can help you." She bit her lip, looking down. "I don't know what to think about Kira any more. I used to think I supported her, but... if she really did kill... my friends... I just don't know any more. I just don't. I'm not sure if I want you to catch her... but at the same time, I don't want to hold you back by forcing you to watch over me. I just..." She started to tear up. "I just want to go home."
Slowly, L nodded. "I believe that we can find an acceptable compromise," she said calmly. "Wait ten minutes. Find some food for yourself if you like. Bon Bon..." Her gaze landed briefly on Bon Bon, who was listing slightly to the side. "Hm. Locket, prepare to escort Fluttershy home. I will write some instructions for when you arrive. Twilight may join you, if she wishes."
Locket looked up, startled. "Oh, um... okay." She looked at Fluttershy, but neither was quite able to meet the other's gaze. "Um... want to get some food before we go?"
Meekly, Fluttershy nodded. They turned and started towards the kitchen, both looking at the ground. Bon Bon and Jazz drifted away and towards the far hallway as well. "One moment, Twilight," L said as Twilight started to follow them. She beckoned the unicorn close. "How has your relationship with Fluttershy been of late?" she said in a lower voice.
Nearby, Spike fidgeted. "Uh... should I go?" he asked.
"It's fine, Spike," Twilight reassured him. She turned back to L. "We're in about the same place as we were the last time you asked. She's all dependent on me now, and... well, I do really care about her, but I don't know if I feel the same way about her. I think she knows this, but she seems okay with it."
"I see," L said. "And are you... 'okay with it'?"
"I... I guess so. For now." Twilight sighed. "The first time she told me how she felt, I lost control. I really hurt her. If she forgave me after that, then even if things don’t work out in the long run, I at least owe it to her to give it a shot.”
“I see.” L nodded thoughtfully. “And how far would you be willing to take this relationship if it meant protecting her?”
“Huh?” Twilight blinked and stepped back uncertainly. “What are you talking about?”
“Twilight, we are in a very delicate position. Regardless of the events of the recent past, Fluttershy is the one under the most danger of falling to Kira’s influence. However, her love for you appears to be genuine. You may be our only hope of keeping her on our side. Obviously, the more attached to you she is, the easier it will be to get information from her. If you agree to increase your level of intimacy with her, I can arrange for more frequent opportunities to visit her, and possibly—”
“Stop right there, Harpy.” Twilight shook her head. “I know what you’re asking me to do, and the answer is no.”
L sighed deeply. “I do not wish to be difficult. You know I would like to trust you.”
“Then trust me on this.” Twilight stomped emphatically. “I care about Fluttershy’s feelings. Maybe I don’t love her, not in the same way that she loves me, but she’s my friend and I don’t want her to be hurt ever again. To me, breaking her trust by telling her that I love her when I don’t would be just as bad as anything that Kira could do to her.” She glared. “In fact, I’m already pretty ticked that you’ve lied to her about what really happened to Pinkie and Rarity. Maybe it’s ‘safer’ in the short term if she thinks Kira killed them, but she was their friend, too. Don’t you think she deserves to know the truth?”
L shifted uncomfortably and looked down. “I only—”
“And that’s on top of you brushing Rainbow Dash off all the time. Maybe she’s not the pony you would have chosen for this team, but can’t you see that she’s doing her best to help you? You had no excuse to hurt her feelings like that. I mean...” Twilight sighed in exasperation. “Don’t you know anything about friendship?”
L stared at the floor for several long seconds. “I think you should go,” she said, even more flatly than usual. Twilight huffed, then spun around and marched after her friends. Sighing almost inaudibly, L spun around in her chair and levitated a quill and piece of paper towards her.
“Hey, Harpy?” Spike said quietly, tugging on the detective’s leg. “Earlier, you said there was no way Twilight could be possessed without her being aware of it. Does this mean you’ve changed your mind?”
“I haven’t changed my mind, Spike,” L said calmly. She stared after the retreating unicorn. “I only wonder if Twilight Sparkle has changed hers.”
---
For Fluttershy, seeing the sky again was like finding the ground for the first time. Her face lit up with wonder as the trio emerged from the base. It wasn’t a particularly nice day; the sky was grey and overcast, a prelude to the light showers scheduled throughout the following weeks. But compared to the inside of a blindfold, even a faded glimpse of sunlight was enough to brighten up much of the fear and sadness that had built up in Fluttershy over the past week. Twilight gave her a minute to bask in the sun’s limited warmth before nudging her and gesturing for them to move on.
“Please don’t... you know, try anything,” Locket said as she walked towards the edge of the park, Twilight on her left, Fluttershy on her right. “I mean... you could probably get away from me pretty easily, if you wanted to. But then I’d have to tell L, and she’d probably have to lock you up again. She has ways of hunting ponies down.”
“You don’t have to worry about us,” Twilight laughed. Fluttershy nodded, but didn’t say anything. They walked a minute in silence. “Hey, Locket?” Twilight asked. “How did you get involved with L, anyway?”
Locket blushed. “Oh, you don’t want to hear that story,” she mumbled.
“No, really, I’m interested. You just... seem like kind of a weird choice. No offense.”
“It’s okay. I know I’m... nothing special.” Locket blushed. “It was kind of an accident. I first met L about five years ago. I’d moved here from Vanhoover just a while ago, and I was having trouble finding work. I’d been having a bad day, so I went for a walk in the park, just to... you know, get away from it all.
“I was just sitting on a bench — pretty close to here, actually — when this strange mare came up and sat next to me. Except she didn’t sit normally, she slouched on her back with her legs dangling. I didn’t give it much thought at the time. The weird thing, though, is that nopony else seemed to notice her. I was... kinda used to nopony paying attention to me by then, but nopony seemed to give this mare who looked like she was trying to show off a second glance either. It was like as long as she was with me, everypony just looked through her. She didn’t say anything to me. We just sat there for about half an hour, watching everypony go by. Then, completely out of the blue, she stood up and offered me a job."
Fluttershy slowed down and signalled that she needed to rest; she was still struggling to walk more than short distances at a time. The trio sat down and waited for her to catch her breath. "I wasn't a spy or anything," Locket continued. "I didn't even learn who I was working for until almost a year later. I just walked around town and listened. It's amazing what ponies talk about, even in public, if they think nopony's listening. Once a week we'd meet in the park, and I'd tell her about what I'd heard. I never thought I'd told her anything important, but she always thanked me and gave me some money. A couple of times she told me to go somewhere at a certain time, but when I got there there was never anypony around. She never looked disappointed or anything when I told her what happened.”
"Huh," Twilight said. "That's strange. Why would a world-famous detective suddenly take an interest in Ponyville?"
“I can guess. See, around that time Ponyville wasn't quite as peaceful as it is now. It was still a nice place, but it had some problems, like any small town. There were a couple of gangs that were starting up, and some peddlers selling Moon's Tears. That's bad magic."
"I remember those," Fluttershy said. "Somepony broke one of those open near my cottage, and some little animals got into the shards and got really sick."
"Yeah." Locket nodded. "It wasn't really anything out of the ordinary, the sort of stuff we expected the police to handle. But that was before Colgate came here full-time, and the police ponies before her weren't as... on the ball, I guess. But then L showed up all of a sudden, and in less than a year she got everything completely cleaned up. I think she did some work in Canterlot as well, but I’m not sure."
Twilight pondered this. Inspiration struck. "That was five years ago, right?"
"A little less than five, yeah."
"I see. Just in time for the Summer Sun Celebration.” So it was all Celestia’s doing. When Luna returned, she wanted her first view of Equestria to be a town that was the best it could be...
Fluttershy stood up on thin legs, and the three ponies carried on. Locket continued talking, the confidence in her voice building. "The money was pretty good. It wasn't a lot, but it was a lot more than I was used to. But the real payment was right at the end, just before the Summer Sun Celebration. L told me she had one last mission for me. I just had to go to a restaurant and talk to a pony there. She didn't tell me anything else. And when I got there..." Locket blushed deeply. "I saw the most gorgeous stallion I'd ever seen in my life. And he talked to me, and... she'd set me up on a blind date. That was the most wonderful night of my life." Locket sighed, smiling. "I don't know how she knew. Green Grapes had no idea who she was. He just said a weird mare had asked if he wanted to meet her friend, out of nowhere. He's the best gift she ever could have given me."
Fluttershy smiled. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. We haven’t seen each other much since he moved to Appleloosa, but we still write to each other.”
“It sounds nice.” Twilight tried to imagine what a long-distance relationship would feel like, but failed. The notion of that kind of romantic love still eluded her, even with her so-called marefriend close by. She glanced back at the mark of interlocking horseshoes on Locket’s flank. “So what’s your special talent, after all that? Is it shoemaking or something?”
Locket’s smile faded, and her blush darkened. “Running,” she said briskly, eyes now focused firmly on the ground.
“Oh. Just running?”
“Yes.” After that, they were strangely quiet.
They had to stop twice more to allow Fluttershy to rest before reaching her cottage. When they finally reached the door Colgate took a minute to answer, eventually appearing with a bundle of fuzzy shapes nestled in her mane. Her eyes widened in delight. "Twilight! What are you guys doing here?"
"Um..." Locket pulled out a piece of paper she'd tucked behind her ear and unfolded it, passing it to Colgate. "Fluttershy's moving back in here. L left some instructions for you."
At the same time, Fluttershy rose up and rushed through the doorway to Colgate's side, some of her old energy already returning to her. "Now, Martin Mouse, what have I told you about making holes in ponies' manes?" she scolded one of the tiny creatures attached to Colgate's head. There was a faint, penitent squeak in response. "There are plenty of places for you and your family to live without bothering others. Move it, mister, and don't make me tell you again!"
With a rustle, a line of white mice untangled themselves from Colgate's mane and scurried down her side to the ground. She shook the last traces of fluff off her head, smiling gratefully. "Thanks, Fluttershy. They've been there all day, and I didn't know what to do with them." She glanced at L's letter, then at the two ponies still outside. "Do you want to come in? I was just going to put some tea on."
Locket shuffled in place. "We're really only here to drop her off..."
"We'd love to," Twilight interrupted.
A few minutes later they were grouped comfortably in Fluttershy's front room, sipping from steaming mugs. The pegasus greeted all of her animal friends warmly as they welcomed her home. Colgate stared at Twilight's forehead, frowning. "Hey, Twilight? Why hasn't L given your horn back yet?"
Twilight sighed. "I don't know. I feel like she still doesn't trust me, for some reason. It does mean I probably won’t be going outside much... I guess if anypony notices, I’ll just say I’m running an experiment or something. I'll just have to live with it for now."
Colgate rolled her eyes. "Ridiculous," she muttered. She sat and fumed for a second, until a delighted squeak from Fluttershy snapped her back to reality. She sighed and relaxed again. “Sorry. I’m trying to stress over things less.”
“It’s okay, Colgate,” Locket said without looking at her. “We’ve all been under a lot of stress lately.”
Colgate gave Locket a sideways glance, then turned her attention to the note she’d been given. She alternately nodded and frowned as she read it over. “I guess that makes sense. Fluttershy, you’ve read this, right?”
“Yes.” Fluttershy nodded, absorbed in cuddling a pair of squirrels. “You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”
“No, it’s fine.” Colgate shook her head, sighing. “I honestly don’t see why L still doesn’t trust you... but if this will keep her happy, then I guess this is a compromise we can live with for now. Is it okay if we use your rope?”
Fluttershy nodded again. Putting down her tea, Colgate rose and rummaged through a drawer nearby. A smile came to her face as she pulled a smaller object out first. “Oh hey, I almost forgot. Twilight, catch!” Without thinking, she tossed the wristwatch towards Twilight, who had to awkwardly scramble to move her tea with her hooves as it bounced off her front. “Oops. Sorry.” Colgate put a hoof to her mouth, hiding a giggle. “We searched your house again while you were detained, and that was on your desk. I thought you might want it. L looked it over, and she said I could give it to you when you got out.”
Twilight put her tea down and picked up her watch, slipping it around her ankle with a well-practiced flip. “Thanks, Colgate. This’ll be helpful underground.” She smiled, but inwardly frowned in puzzlement as she stared down at the device. When did I start wearing this? I remember picking it up, but... why?
Colgate returned to the drawer, this time producing a long, thin length of rope. “There we go. Fluttershy, are you ready?”
“Yes.” Letting her animal friends go, Fluttershy walked over and stood in front of Colgate. At a blue glow from the unicorn’s horn, the rope flexed and writhed along the ground, stretching towards the two ponies. Fluttershy shivered as the end coiled around her ankle, but didn’t move. Colgate muttered something under her breath, and with a pulse of light the rope finished its transformation into a pair of long hoofcuffs, linking the two of them by the ankle with a thin and faintly glowing chain.
Staring intently, Colgate lifted her hoof and shook the chain back and forth. It hummed lightly with magical energy. “There. That should last us as long as we need it to.” She consulted the page Locket had given her again. “Looks like Bon Bon recommended an exercise program, as well. I hope this won’t get in the way of that.”
“She said it wouldn’t.” Fluttershy gasped. “This won’t keep you from your work, will it?”
“No, it’s fine. It’ll be good for both of us.”
Locket cleared her throat. “I guess... we should go.” She swallowed the last of her tea and put her mug down, standing up. “It was good to see you again.”
“Yeah. I guess you have some settling in to do.” Twilight stood as well. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” Fluttershy tried to walk towards Twilight, but quickly reached the limit of the chain and nearly tripped as the hoofcups snagged her leg. Twilight rushed forward to catch her, and the two fell into an awkward embrace. Colgate was pulled forward at the same time, stumbling slightly. “Sorry!” Fluttershy called, steadying herself against Twilight while nuzzling her mane.
“It’s okay,” Colgate said, taking another step closer. “Just something we’ll have to get used to, that’s all.”
The pair held on to each other for just a little longer than anypony except Fluttershy felt entirely comfortable with. Finally, the unicorn straightened up and pulled away, helping her marefriend stand. “Twilight?” Fluttershy whispered. “You meant what you said earlier, right? About Applejack?”
Twilight paused, then nodded. “I think, if I were Kira — if I were Kira — then I wouldn’t have chosen Applejack to be my successor.”
Fluttershy nodded as well. “Twilight... please be safe. Please come back to me.” With sudden quickness she leaned forward and planted a kiss on Twilight’s cheek, then darted back and stood beside Colgate, waving shyly.
The world glazed over in front of Twilight’s eyes. She barely registered as Locket gently pulled her towards the door and pushed her outside, only coming back to reality as a hoof was waved in front of her face. “Come on,” Locket said. “It’s time to go.”
---
The weather was exactly as it should have been.
Stuck underground, Rainbow Dash had only made occasional jaunts above the surface to stretch her wings and check that Ponyville’s weather was being handled smoothly. As it was, everything had been laid out perfectly according to schedule; given Dash’s propensity for leaving on adventures at the drop of a hat, the rest of the weather team had long since learned to manage without her. Now, Dash shot across the dimming sky, scattering clouds in her wake only to turn around and carefully push them back. She searched high and low for one cloud out of place, one wind too weak, one rainbow misaligned, any sign that Ponyville was worse off without her. Any sign that she was needed.
Coming to rest on the wide bank of an impending drizzle, Dash rested her wings and glared down at the fluffy, compliant surface. With a few well-placed kicks, she allowed water to condense into a puddle in front of her, the fading sunlight shining her sour reflection back at her. “I’ve saved the world before,” she told the shadow of herself in the puddle, trying and failing to make herself feel better. “My skills and talents saved Equestria in its times of need. We would have lost everything if it wasn’t for me. Just me...” She sighed. “And my friends.”
Dash dipped a hoof into the puddle and sipped at the cloudwater, grimacing at the icy cold taste. With another touch the indentation vanished, the waters disappearing back into the cloud. She rose into the air and bucked downwards as hard as she could, blowing a hole straight through the grey surface and sending a ripple across the entirety of the gathering storm. In the world below, all across Ponyville, it started to rain.
Dash looked down and paled. A blanket of familiar, red-spotted trees lay beneath her. In her vain rush across the sky, perhaps by habit or instinct, she’d flown directly to Sweet Apple Acres. A red farmhouse turned up in the corner of her eye and Dash leaped back, hiding herself atop the storm. I shouldn’t be here, she thought, squirming against the fluffy surface. If anypony finds out I came here on my own, they’ll think I... they’ll think...
Unexpectedly, resolve tightened in her. And why shouldn’t I be here? Applejack doesn’t know I’m after Kira. There’s nothing suspicious about visiting a friend. Silently, Dash lifted herself up and swooped down through the hole she’d created, the rain masking the sound of her wingbeats. Applejack trusts me. I trust her. If she’s got something to hide, I’ll know it.
The Apple house was unusually dark. While the family would usually have the house lit up brightly as they played and talked together in the shadow of the storm, now all the windows were dark save one. As Dash circled around the building once, she caught the glimmer of a naked flame in what she recognized as Applejack’s bedroom. Curiosity building, she dove down and hovered closer to the window. As her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness within, she heard a faint sound from within, muffled by the rain: a slight, choked-back sobbing.
As Dash inched closer, the view inside became clearer. She could make out Applejack with her back to her hunched over the desk beyond her bed, a candle illuminating the papers upon it. The orange mare held a hoof up to her mouth, silencing herself as her shoulders shook in regular intervals. Her ponytail was undone, her normally tidy mane splayed out all along her back, and her hat was nowhere to be seen. The papers on the desk came into sharper view as Dash squinted, almost pressing her nose against the glass. They seemed to be a list of something, with pictures beside them. Pictures of faces.
She recognized them. It was made up in the same format as L’s criminal documents.
Dash gasped, then quickly threw up a hoof to silence herself. This turned out to be a mistake, as her leg knocked hard against the closed window as she raised it. If the first noise hadn’t alerted Applejack to her presence, the second certainly did. She backpedaled in the air as the farmer’s head snapped around, her eyes wide with fear. “Rainbow?” the farmer mouthed, then jumped up and ran to the window as Dash launched herself into the sky. Applejack opened the window as a hole appeared in the cloud cover above her, letting a small circle of the red sky shine down on her. Thunder echoed across the sky. All around, the sound of the rain increased from a light hiss to heavy pounding. “Rainbow Dash, wait!” Applejack screamed, but the pegasus was already halfway across Ponyville.
---
Dear Princess Luna,
Colgate is away on official leave, so I’ve been asked to carry on her reports to you while she’s gone. I hope that’s okay.
Both Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy have been released, but I feel like L still doesn’t entirely trust them. I don’t fully understand her reasoning, but I trust her judgement. She’s started work on identifying potential new candidates for study, but she’s asked me not to make any definite claims about Kira’s nature for the time being. I just wish she would tell us what she’s really thinking. We’ve had some more arguments within the group, and I think at this point it’s only the search for Kira that’s keeping us all together.
I’ll send reports whenever I’m able. I apologise if they aren’t as formal as Colgate makes them. I promise to do my best to keep you informed.
Your faithful servant,
Locket
Next episode: Guards!