Twilight Sparkle ran all the way back to Sweet Apple Acres. She slowed to a canter as she wandered the Apple family's property. Running had cleared her head. Her anger - not anger, really, but extreme irritation - with the investigation had subsided a bit.
She found Applejack pulling a cart of turnips.
"Howdy, Twilight. I'm glad to see you here. I hope the investigation's going well"
Twilight sighed, "It's going well enough, I guess"
"What's the matter? We all know you can solve a mystery lickety-split!"
Applejack, being one of the few innocent parties aboard the train the day the Cakes' cake was eaten, still remembered the ordeal with delight.
"Princess Celestia didn't ask me to solve it. She brought in some specialists."
"Specialists?"
"They're from somewhere far away. Someplace where murders happen all the time. You would not believe how rude and insensitive they are! What's more, they're not even friends with each other! How can they get anything done?"
Twilight bucked the air behind her.
Applejack had never seen Twilight jealous of anypony before. She wasn't hiding it well. Applejack draped an arm over her friend.
"Sugarcube, I know you feel mighty sore about the Princess choosing these 'specialists' over you. It's natural. But we're all in this together so long as there's a pony goin' around killing. I don't want my kin nor my friends to be in any danger"
She tightened her grip on Twilight,
"If they can get the pony that has us all scared, then I say we help them in any way we can. They're helping us, after all."
Twilight looked into Applejack's distinctive green eyes, and felt Applejack's reassuring grip. The image of Patches squeezing Bill's neck flashed into her memory. She cringed.
"As for their not bein' friends and all, it sounds like they're from a rough place. Maybe they just don't know how to be friends."
Applejack was right. There was no point being angry at Patches and Bill. They were trying to save lives.
"I guess I could...go back and work on the mystery with them"
"That's a great idea! I'm sure they'd love help from a smart pony like you."
"And I'll teach them the meaning of friendship! Trust me, they need it."
Twilight vanished in a flash of purple.
Applejack didn't think that last part was a very good idea. Maybe these 'specialists' were friends in a way Twilight couldn't see. Applejack couldn't say without meeting them first. In any case, something about them really seemed to bother Twilight.
She continued about her chores, finishing with the turnips and taking her haul to the farmhouse to be sorted by Granny Smith when she woke up. Applejack moved with her usual brisk pace until she came into view of the barn. She stood still for a full minute, staring at her own brightly painted wooden barn, completely frozen with dread. This had been happening all day. She finally found the resolve to move again. She didn't go close to the barn.
Is the chapter title a lie? You decide!