//------------------------------// // return to normalcy // Story: Time to lay your sleep head: Murders in ponyville // by starfox64x //------------------------------// Days passed quietly. The citizens went about their days in silence. The schoolhouse closed as students were kept in their homes, mourning the loss of their classmates. Twilight kept the cutie mark crusaders close while the Apple family and Rarity were questioned. Finally Twilight got some good news from the police chief; a letter telling her that the Apple Family and Rarity were being released from custody due to a lack of evidence. “Great… Thank goodness.” She muttered, turning to the girls who were currently playing dress up with Spike… using Spike as the mannequin. It was clear he wasn’t exactly enjoying himself, but considering it was either this, or dealing with three little girls in mourning, this was the better option. “Girls, good news, the police are letting your sisters out today… they’ll be heading to Sugarcube Corner around noon.” The girls turned to her, their eyes gleaming with happiness, “Really? That’s great!” Applebloom was the first to begin jumping with joy Sweetie Belle was just as eager to hop into the joyous moment, “Thank goodness! I was worried about Rarity” Scootaloo looked over at Twilight curiously, “Is Rainbow Dash still with them?” Twilight shook her head, “She’s been at home for a few days I think… She was pretty shaken up when… her old friend got hurt…” “You mean when Gilda was killed…” Scootaloo said softly, shifting in her seated position. The other girls didn’t seem to flinch at the words. They all knew what really happened, and even though it hurt their hearts they had come to accept the facts…not to mention Gilda wasn’t exactly the one they were mourning. Twilight was a bit surprised by this… at their age she had no concept of death… but with Applebloom’s and Scootaloo’s parents leaving this world at a young age for them it became clear how they knew about death. Although it clicked in her head the Sweetie Belle was the odd one out. As far as she knew she didn’t have a death in the family… but, perhaps being friends with the others gave her this knowledge… “That’s right girls…” she said softly, “Come on, let’s go ahead and get to Sugarcube Corner. Spike, go ahead and send a letter to Dash and Fluttershy to meet us there.” “You got it!” he said, quickly pulling the dress off and scribbling a note to the other friends while following Twilight, who led the girls to the bakery. The bakery quickly became filled with happy faces and cheerful laughter. The little girls were reunited with their families and loved ones, hugging and kissing each other lovingly. Twilight smiled as she watched the scene of happy loving family and friends gather together. The Apple’s all in a group hug, Rarity snuggling with her little sister, And Rainbow Dash hugged Scootaloo as Fluttershy ruffled her hair, all happy to be reunited. She did notice a missing piece to their little get-together. “Anyone see Pinkie around?” “I’m up here!” called out a tired voice along with the sound of footsteps, “Sorry Twilight, Mr Cake is out of town and Mrs. Cake had to go see a friend, so I’m watching the babies… whew! It’s exhausting work.” She said as she arrived with the others, “I’m glad everyone is okay.” “We all are... it’s good to be back with people we care about.” “Why don’t we all celebrate by baking some cupcakes? Maybe send some to Princess Celestia?” she suggested with a big smile. Anything to get her mind off of the workload of being a babysitter was good for her. The group cheered, happily agreeing to the idea and moving onto the kitchen. With almost a dozen ponies in the kitchen one would think things would get hectic, but with the large area to work, everyone had plenty of space to make their own treats for themselves and Celestia. Everyone seemed to dip their hooves into every part of the process, from the batter to the frosting, to baking and cooling. Before long the group had a tower of cakes and pies and cupcakes all prepared and ready for consumption. “Alright! Who’s up for taking our share before we send the rest to Celestia?” The group cheered before making their approach on the tower and plucking various treats from the pile. “What’s in this?” Applebloom wondered, looking at pastry filled with dried fruit. “Figs, I doubt you’d like them” Sweetie Belle warned, pushing it away. “Eh, no, I don’t think so… I think I’ll just have a cupcake!” “Oh! I forgot!” Pinkie exclaimed, “I meant to put on some special sprinkles for the Princesses cupcakes, hold on.” She left the room and headed upstairs. “I wonder why she leaves her special sprinkles upstairs.” Fluttershy mused, still nibbling on a cookie she made. “Are you honestly trying to rationalize how Pinkie works?” Rainbow Dash asked before chuckling, “She’s crazy, you know that.” “Oh come on, don’t say it like that, that sounds mean.” “I didn’t mean it like that! She’s still my friend… just crazy.” Meanwhile, Applejack relaxed with her family, glad to be back with them and not locked up in a cell, “I can’t believe they honestly thought we had anything to do with that…” Granny huffed, still a bit ornery about the situation “If those dern brothers weren’t so stuck up and dirty, none of this would’ve happened in the first place!” Big mac bit his lip, quietly speaking to his grandmother, “Granny… You shouldn’t be that way… We should be respectful to the dead… Especially around Applebloom” he made sure to emphasize the last part, motioning to the littlest girl who was eating with her friends. Granny huffed again, but said nothing. Applejack poked in with her two cents “Granny, I know what yer saying, they weren’t nice people… but that’s why we’ve got to be better than they are…” “Ah’ know…” Granny grumbled, taking a bite of a bran muffin. Pinkie returned and decorated a few of her cupcakes before tucking the special sprinkles away, “Okay! So then, Why don’t we send these off to the castle?” Twilight gave a little nod, turning toward Spike, “Spike! Would you mind?” Her little dragon assistant gladly walked up to the pile, cracking his knuckles. “Can he even send all that?” Applebloom mumbled to her friends. “I’ve heard he’s been training with bigger stuff.” Scootaloo mumbled back. Spike inhaled deeply before breathing a huge flume of flames against the desserts, engulfing them before making them disappear before their eyes. There was sparse applause for Spike and his abilities, to which he bowed graciously, “Thank you! Thank you! I’ll be here all week.” “That was pretty neat there Spike! But we’d best be heading back home.” Applejack said as she took a stand, “The apple trees haven’t been touched in days! Sorry we can’t hang around much longer.” Applebloom hugged her friends before waving at them “Bye Sweetie Belle! We’ll see you tomorrow! Come on Scoots! You can sleep at our house tonight!” The two girls rushed out with the rest of the Apple family, talking about their plans for the night. Rainbow Dash sat up and took to the air, “I should be heading home too. The weather team has been nothing without me around.” “I’ll fly you home” Flutterhsy commented as they flew out together, “I don’t think it’s safe out there alone.” Pinkie smiled as she watched the two leave, “They’re really good friends, aren’t they?” Twilight smirked a little, “Yeah… Very good friends…” she snickered at the thought, apparently Pinkie didn’t know… Rarity looked around, seeing their mess still evident in the kitchen, “Well… it certainly would’ve been nice if they had offered to clean up a bit…” Pinkie just giggled at the comment, “Nah, they’re busy, it’s okay! I don’t mind cleaning up a bit!” “Well you certainly shall not take on such a task by yourself. Twilight, grab a broom, we’re going to make this place spotless! And we won’t take no for an answer.” Without asking she magically summoned a washcloth, wetting it in the sink before wiping the counter. Twilight grabbed a broom and dustpan, sweeping up while Pinkie and spike worked on putting away the extra supplies. “What can I do?” Sweetie Belle asked, grinning widely at the group. Rarity hesitated, “U-uh… Well… Why don’t you relax in the other room? You’ve helped out plenty today.” Sweetie Belle frowned, “But I can do something!” “You’ve helped out plenty today cooking… Go on; relax for a bit. We’ll be done in a moment…” Sweetie Belle huffed, grumbling as she headed back to the other room. Twilight moved over to Rarity’s side, “Why aren’t you letting her help?” Rarity sighed, washing out the cloth in the sink, “she’s still struggling with her magic… she’s desperate to use it but… she can’t do it… it’s… heartbreaking really.” Rarity rubbed her hoof against her skin, her eyes starting to get misty, “I’ve tried teaching her… I’ve been thinking about taking our savings and putting her into a special school, but… I don’t know if it’ll even help…I-I’m worried that she’s disabled…” Twilight moved close, stroking her back with a gentle touch, “Hey, don’t worry about it… maybe I can pull a few strings and ask the princess about getting her into a special program…” Rarity’s face brightened up, “You’re too sweet Twilght… thank you…” Suddenly the front door’s bell rang, signaling a guest. “Hello Mr Cake!” Sweetie Belle called out before the tall orange pony walked into the kitchen, “Hello girls! What’re we up to in here?” Mr Cake asked as he walked in, seeing the clean kitchen. “This place is awfully clean! I’m sure the misses is happy about this, huh?” “Oh! Misses Cake is actually out at the moment, has been all day” Pinkie said with a cheerful smile… But her smile was not met with the same enthusiasm… “Oh… did uh... she mention what she was doing?” “Nope! I figured she needed some time alone, so I’ve been watching the babies all day. Speaking of which, I should check and make sure they’re not up to any mischievous, hehe.” She hopped past him and headed upstairs. “hmph, They’re not the ones I’m worried about being ‘mischievious’…” he mumbled as he watched her head up the stairs, only to recall that the other two were in the kitchen. “So! Uh… had a good time I hope?” he grinned widely, clearly forcing it. Both Twilight and Rarity glanced at one another, their curiosity piqued, but their minds telling them that it would be best not to ask… Instead they nodded happily as Twilight spoke, “Yes Sir! Had a wonderful time. We made some sweets, had some for ourselves and sent some to the Princess.” “Great! Well why don’t you two take Pinkie to relax and enjoy herself for the rest of the day… I’ll take care of the kids and wait for Mrs Cake.” He said before heading out to the main room, finding Pinkie sitting on the couch with them and Sweetie Belle. “Hey Mr Cake!” Pinkie called out cheerfully, giving him a wave. “Hey Pinkie, I bet you’re exhausted being alone with the kids all day.” He said as he walked over to her. She chuckled moving some loose hair from her eyes, “Yeah… But it’s nothing I can’t handle…” “Well then, why don’t you go and enjoy yourself for the rest of the day? I’ll watch the babies…” Her face brightened up a bit. She loved the babies but they were a lot of work for the young girl, and the idea of a break was a huge relief for her. “Okay! I have some errands I need to run anyway…” she kissed the two babies on the head before standing up. “Hey Girls! What’re you up to for the evening? Not heading home yet?” she asked, looking at Rarity and Twilight. “Not yet… but I should be heading off soon, Trixie is still hiding in the library…” she said softly, “I want to make sure she’s still okay.” “Are you sure that’s wise?” Rarity chimed in, a worried look on her face, “I mean… What if someone tries to hurt her?” “I put an invisible bubble around the library. It’s very hard to break, and if any other life forms enter it I’ll know and Trixie will get a warning. I’m comfortable in these precautions.” She said with a confident smile. Rarity nodded, tapping Sweetie Belle to usher her out. “Alright then… Let’s head out.” Rarity, Twilight, Sweetie Belle, Pinkie Pie and a sleepy Spike began heading out of the bakery… only to bump into Mrs. Cake. “Girls! Well its’ good to see you! What brings you around here?” she asked before noticing Pinkie in the group, “Pinkie, why are you heading out? You’re watching the babies!” “Oh! It’s okay Mrs Cake!” she said with a cheerful smile, “Mr Cake is back!” she responded with a big smile. Mrs. Cake was not as enthused as she was, “O-oh… Well that’s great!” she said, forcing a smile, but it was clear she had a bit of a nervous look on her face. Mr Cake arrived at the door, seeing her and smiling, “Hey Sugar Bear… Pinkie says you’ve been out all day…” “Yes sweetheart… I was just hanging around with some friends…” she said with an innocent look as she walk passed, her eyes moving off to the side as she walked. However Mr. Cake suddenly jutted his head toward her bag, plucking a large orange feather from its contents… Everyone was silent… the tension could be cut with a knife… Mrs. Cake had a look of pure guilt on her face, bits of shame and sadness sprinkled across her face. Mr. Cake glared daggers at his wife, one could imagine steam spewing out of his ears, and it seemed like he would scream at any moment… finally he glanced at the group of ponies, who seemed to be making assumptions on the situation before them… “Lets talk inside…” he said in a low voice before turning to the girls, “You all stay safe.” He said before heading inside with his wife, closing the door behind them…. Rarity bit her lip, shifting awkwardly, “Weeeelll we uh.. had best be off. Would be rude to stick around…” Inside they could already hear raised voice, but they ignored it. Twilight nodded, rubbing her hoof nervously, “Yeah,um, lets get along Spike.” She looked back, seeing he was already sleeping on her back. “Rarityyyy!” Sweetie Belle cried, hopping around with a pained look on her face. “I gotta go pottyyyyyy.” She cried out, holding her hind legs together. Rarity glanced down the road seeing their house in the distance, “Well then we should head on back before-“ “No I gotta go noooow!” she whined, “I’ll just run inside and run back out.” She said, heading for the door “Sweetie! I don’t think that’s such a good id-“ before she could speak the door opened up and closed behind her. Rarity sighed, shaking her head, “I pray she doesn’t bother those two…” “What’s wrong with those two anyway?” Pinkie queried, obviously not sensing what was obvious to the others… “Uh… Well… Pinkie…” Rarity started, trying to think of a way to explain things, “You uh… you know about Mrs. Cake’s um…. ‘summer fling’ last year?” Pinkie cocked her head, obviously not getting what she meant. “The summer where she and Mr Cake had some… ‘issues’… And Mrs. Cake went off to Hoofington for a week?” “Sorry, I can’t recall a specific time when she went off to hoofington… She went there a lot last year!” The two unicorns glanced at each other… fearing that the reality was worse than the rumors, “Uh… w-well… You know how Mrs Cake gave birth to a unicorn and a pegasus… and Mr Cake is neither of those…” “Yeah! But his great-great-great-great grandfather was a unicorn, and Cup Cake's great aunt's second cousin twice removed was a Pegasus!” Twilight couldn’t help but twitch… the logic behind that was so flawed it made her head spin… The unicorn MIGHT make sense, but the probability was astronomically small… then there was the pegasus who had no bloodline relation to the stallion… but she didn’t dare try and pop Pinkie’s innocence, “Sure it does, never mind what Rarity is saying.” She gave Rarity a look, as if telling her to zip her lip… “So why would that be a problem?” “N-nothing… don’t worry about it… you go on and relax for the evening and we’ll see you another time…” Rarity cooed, waving her away. Pinkie shrugged, “Okie Doki Loki! I think I’m gonna go get some more party supplies, I got a doozy of a party planned next week.” She trotted off with a big smile, unaware of the fight raging on inside… Sweetie belle suddenly popped out, allowing the sounds of fighting out of the enclosed home, before closing the door behind her, “What’re they fighting about in there?” she asked curiously, hoping for an answer from her big sister. “I’ll uh… explain it when we get home… we should be on our way…” she prodded her along, forcing her to get moving toward their house. Twilight looked about, finding herself alone with Spike, still resting on her back… “Say, Spike… You awake?” Spike muttered, apparently awake enough to understand that he was being spoken too. “Well, I was hoping I could ask you about the night at the library… you were hiding right?” “mmph, I don’t wanna talk about that…” he grumbled, shifting a bit, “Bad memories.” “I know I know… but… still…” she couldn’t help but think about that night… someone snuck into her home and murdered two boys, while spike was hiding upstairs and Sweetie Belle in the kitchen… “You say you didn’t hear anyone or anything?” “No… just you screaming… I came down to help but I only saw them…” he muttered, shivering a bit at the memory. “Hey… didn’t you put a barrier up?” he asked, rubbing his eyes as he stared at the library. Sure enough, there was no a barrier to be seen. Twilight blood ran cold, “Wh-what? But I would have felt something!” she broke into a run, with Spike gripping onto her mane as he attempted to stay on her back. She broke through the door, looking around desperately. Everything seemed normal; nothing was out of place… “TRIXIE! Where are you?” she cried out, rushing up the stairs. The door swung open to the bedroom, and in her bed in the dark room was a lump under her covers. A lump was caught in her throat. She could only imagine what terrible scene lay beneath, “Oh gods… Trixie…” “Mmph, what is it?” a voice groaned as the lump moved. A figure rose, and looked her way, “You’re interrupting Trixie’s post-dinner nap…” she groaned, rubbing her eyes. Twilight let out a sigh of relief, “Trixe… I thought you were dead…” “Aw, that’s so sweet…” she cooed in a tender voice “You care about Trixie.” She fluttered her eyelashes at her, giving her a sultry smile. Twilight rolled her eyes, knowing the deeper meaning behind it, “But something is still wrong… someone turned off the barrier I put around the house.” “That was Trixie’s doing… the light was coming in through the window and Trixie couldn’t sleep.” “WHAT? Trixie! That was the only thing protecting you from murderous ponies!” “Trixie has her priorities…” Twilight groaned, using her magic to throw a pillow at her head before heading back downstairs, getting a book out in hopes of taking the time to relax and enjoy herself… A few hours passed, and the sun descended into night… Twilight casually read through a novel, enjoying the little romance story… When a frantic knocking on the door caught her attention. Twilight quickly got to her feet and rushed to the door, opening it to find Pinkie, her eyes filled with tears and her hair no longer it’s usual poofy self. “Tw-Tw-Twiliiiight!” she cried out, grappling onto her with both hooves, “Mr Cake left!” she wailed, hugging her tightly, “and he took the babies!” Twilight blinked, “Wh-What? Pinkie! Slow down! What’s going on?” She sniffled and backed up, taking a long breath before speaking again, “They had a fight… Mr Cake said that she cheated on him again and he wasn’t going to stand for it… so he took the kids to his mother’s house so he could file divorce papers…” Twilight stared at her, feeling her heart sink, “Pinkie… I’m sorry… Maybe we should comfort them…” She felt bad for Mrs Cake, even though she brought it upon herself… “Sh-She said she wanted to be alone… she kicked me out and locked the door.” She sniffled, rubbing her eyes, “c-can I sleep here tonight?” she asked softly, her voice cracking and her body shaking. “Of course… I’ll make you a bed…” she said, stroking her shoulder before going around the house and gathering up some extra pillows and sleeping bags. Time passed, the night continued on without hesitation, the two girls sleeping in bags, Spike in his little bed between them, and Trixie slept upstairs in Twilight’s bed… Twilgiht was unable to sleep though, the events of the past few days rushing through he mind… trying to piece together the events that had been going on… Gilda was stabbed in an alley after confronting with Rainbow Dash. The twins were destroyed by their own machine. Surely anyone who could overpower a griffon as well as a pair of skilled unicorns would have to be powerful. But then there were the colts, Snips and Snails… how could anyone want to kill a pair of innocent children. Perhaps… they were witnesses What if they came in on the killer and were taken out… What would they be doing here then? Were they here to kill her? Was Twilight the target before the kids came along? Maybe… But… the victims… Gilda, the Flimflam brothers and the boys… they had all caused a lot of trouble in town… Maybe not purposefully, but they did cause a lot of trouble in town… perhaps this person was a vengeful and misguided person who thinks they’re being a hero by ridding the world of these people… but surely the children didn’t deserve this… but who would be next? Trixie was certainly a topic of interest… After her original trip to ponyville an ursa major attacked, although that was mostly due to the boys. Although her second trip was much less devastating to the city itself, it certainly shook many ponies’ hearts… But why has she not been attacked yet? She was left alone all day and was unprotected… Surely that would have been the time to strike… maybe it wasn’t a good time for the murderer… He concentration was blown away as the door to her home swung open, and magic laser fired into the room, hitting her, Pinkie and Spike, freezing them in place, making them unable to move. She could hear more magical blasts from upstairs, and voices in the kitchen. “WH-What’s going on?” she cried, seeing the ponies flooding into her home… they were royal guards, dozen of them. “Main room is secure.” “Kitchen and basement clear” “We have one more in the bedroom, the rest of the house is clear.” Two of the guards opened the front door, allowing another unicorn into the room… the captain of the guard, Shining Armor, Twilight’s brother. “What’s the situation?” he asked, looking at his second in command. “Three ponies and a baby dragon have been incapacitated.” “Shining! What’s going on?” Twilight cried out, feeling a bit panicky. She wasn’t in control of her own body movements and having ponies raiding her house. “We’ll set up base here. Reform the basement to contain the suspects, Take readings of everything, look for diaries, and send out a squad to gather any and all witnesses.” “SHINING! What is going on???” Twilight demanded, getting more frustrated. She began to concentrate, making an attempt to break the spell over her. Shining used his own magic to strengthen the barrier around her, “Twilight if you try and get out of your bindings we’ll consider you a threat and treat you as such…” Twilight blinked, stopping her magical attempts. Shining seemed detached from the situation… like he wasn’t putting his sister under arrest, “Twilight Sparkle, Pinkamina Diane Pie, Spike, You are all under arrest for the attempted murder of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and high ranking Royal officials.” Twilight's jaw dropped, her words caught in her breath… did she hear him right? Was this really happening? "As well as a resident of ponyville" she blinked... was she being charged for one of the previous murders? or.. .god forbid... someone new... “You have the right to remain silence… Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” “Shining… What happened?” “You have the right to an attorney…” he continued, unmoved by her words, “If you can’t afford one, one will be provided for you…”