Three days passed. Even now, after so much time had passed, the effects of the murders held sway over the citizens of Ponyville. Twilight and her friends tried not to think about it too much, but it was everywhere--they were reminded of it constantly, whether it was passing by a pony with a worried look on their face or seeing one of the royal guards stationed in the town. It seemed more noticeable now than it ever had that the case really was tearing apart the way of life in the small town.
After lunch on the third day, Twilight tried and failed to keep herself from pacing in the library. She had reasoned only a few hours after they had left the other world that the effects on the town would be more noticeable now that there was nothing for them to do to keep their minds off of it. Sometimes, she hated it when she was right.
Spike opened the door rather suddenly, almost making Twilight jump out of her skin. "Hey, Twilight," he said as he entered. "I brought you something from the mayor. She wants you to sign it."
Twilight sighed as she took the paper Spike was holding from him in her magic. It was a sanction to cut down some trees from the Everfree Forest to put up more farmland. It already had Mayor Mare's signature on it, but there was a blank line under that, which Twilight guessed was where she was supposed to sign.
"I can't let this pass," Twilight said, shaking her head. "Don't those ponies know how dangerous it is in that forest? The monsters aren't going to accept the loss of their territory. Besides, we have plenty of farmland as it is." She lifted a quill and wrote the word "denied" on her signature line, then handed it off to Spike again. "Surely we can figure something else out if we really do need the extra space. Send it off."
With a quick nod, Spike breathed a plume of flames onto the paper. It turned into a mass of purple energy and flew away. Spike then closed the door and turned back towards Twilight, finally noticing what she had been doing. "...Twilight, you wore another groove into the floor."
Twilight looked down. Sure enough, her path was marked by a shallow depression in the ringed floor of her home. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I really should have expected this to happen, in hindsight."
"What's on your mind, Twi?" Spike asked, walking over to her. "Thinking about the case again?"
"It's not like I can think about anything else." Twilight stepped out of the line she had worn into the floor and sat down at the table. "Celestia knows how long this is going to take to blow over. It might last weeks...or months...or even years." She slumped, her head resting on the table's surface. "And I'm already going crazy after just a few days. I just want things to be normal again."
"Yeah, I feel the same way." Spike sat down across from Twilight, trying to look more hopeful than she did. "And what the Shadow said as it died...that isn't helping much."
"I can't help but wonder if this is what she was talking about. The way things are now, they'll never find a culprit...so Ponyville still being tense is our fault, even if only a little bit."
"Hey, don't talk like that!" Spike's spirited demeanor became less of a facade as he spoke. "The only reason it ever became tense in the first place is because of that Shadow, and the police were never gonna find her anyway. And there's no telling what would've happened if we didn't manage to stop her."
"...Maybe." Twilight suddenly stood up.
"What're you doing now?"
"I...I know that I shouldn't talk to anypony about what we saw, but...I'm going to try and convince Looking Glass that the case is over." Twilight smiled weakly. "I know it's probably not going to work, but I have to give it a shot."
"Well, in that case, why don't I come with you? They're SURE to believe you if I back up your story." Spike ran over and jumped onto Twilight's back, trying to suppress his eagerness. "So what do you plan on telling them?"
"I'll think of something on the way." Twilight opened the door again and walked out. "I don't like lying, especially to a police officer...but it's for the best. You think so too, don't you?"
"Of course! If Looking Glass knows the truth, he'll go check out the other world, and then we'll have to save him, too."
"...I suppose you're right."
The walk to Town Hall was a silent one. For some reason, Twilight couldn't help but be filled with dread as she got closer. It wasn't an entirely unfamiliar sensation, but this was probably the first time in months that the feeling was this intense. What was normally a matter of minutes stretched on and on, and it felt like hours had passed when she stood before the doors of the grand building. She stopped in front of them, her brain roiling with activity.
"...Hey, uh...Twilight?" Spike asked. "Are you all right?"
"Fine," Twilight replied. "Just...wondering if it's worth the effort after all."
"What could possibly go wrong? If they don't believe us, they just go back to work. No harm done."
"Yes, but..." Twilight tried to finish her thought, but nothing that came to mind seemed justified. She sighed and steeled her nerve. "You're right. Let's just do this quick, before I think of a reason not to."
With that, Twilight opened the doors and entered the building. When she took a look around, she had a strange sense of deja vu. There were papers covering the floor, and several stacks dotted the corners. They were mostly disheveled and chaotic in their placement, as if they had just been thrown off of the desk. When Twilight saw the detectives, however, the sense of familiarity was diminished. Looking Glass was half-asleep at his desk, a sheet of paper that looked as if it had been balled up and then straightened out in his hooves. Siren was laying on her back, all but one foreleg sprawled out. She used her remaining limb to repeatedly bounce a paperweight into the air.
"Uhh, hello?" Twilight said.
Looking Glass's reaction was immediate--he sat up, all traces of weariness gone from his features. He then got up from his seat and cleared his throat. Siren, meanwhile, simply lifted her head up to see who had spoken. "P-Princess!" Looking Glass said, his voice panicked. "I'm...we, uh...I wasn't trying--"
"You're fine, don't worry about it." Twilight took a few steps forward. "So, um...how are things going?"
"'Going' is a strong word," Siren said. She put her head back down and sprawled out her active foreleg, allowing the paperweight to land on her chest. "I'm BORED! We've run into a wall made entirely of mythril and dragon scales in this case, but we can't just leave it be, or more ponies might get murdered. So now we don't have much choice but to read over every little detail over and over in the hopes that we'll find some discrepancy or something."
"As much as I hate to say it...I have to agree," Looking Glass added. "I could probably tell you all of the information we've gathered just from memory by now. I've been very thorough, but nothing new has come to light."
Spike grinned, stood up and struck a pose on Twilight's back. "Then it's a good thing we know exactly who did it!"
Siren sat up so fast that the paperweight on her chest flew across the room and bonked Twilight on the head. "WHAT?!"
After rubbing her forehead for a moment, Twilight shook her head back and forth and cleared her throat. "Uh...yes. Yes we do."
Looking Glass stared at Twilight, his eyes narrowing. "Princess, I don't mean to sound rude...but I need you to tell me everything."
"Well...we actually caught a black pegasus mare in the act. Her name was...um..." Twilight tried to think of a name for a moment, but it was never her strong suit. Looking Glass and Siren exchanged a glance as they waited for her to respond. She tried to keep from sweating.
"Her name was Black Star," Spike chimed in, just a little bit too quickly. Looking Glass either didn't notice or didn't think much of it, because he said nothing. "We confronted her and chased her into the Everfree Forest."
"Was it just the two of you?" Siren asked.
"No, it was all seven of us. You can ask any of them, they'll say the same."
"All right...go on."
Twilight spoke up again, much less nervous about what to say now. "We ended up cornering her at the edge of the ravine under the bridge near the old castle. She..." Her brain worked fast, trying to think of a reason why this Black Star would no longer be at large. A thought came to her, and she grasped it with all of her considerable mental power. "...started talking to us about destiny, and how we were all slaves to it. How she had been trying to free us from it."
"Then she just cuts off her own wing and jumps in!" Spike exclaimed, spreading his arms for emphasis. "We tried to bring the wing back to Ponyville as evidence, but we got jumped by timberwolves on the way back and lost it."
"What about the rest of the body?" Looking Glass asked. "Surely, if she fell into the ravine, there would at least be bones left over."
"We don't know about that either! We went back for the rest of the body after we lost the wing, and it was just gone!" Spike spread his arms again. "Poof!"
"...So what you're saying is that the culprit is a pegasus--who cannot cast memory charms--and that she not only committed suicide when confronted, but also that every piece of evidence that she ever died was vaporized or eaten?"
"...Well, uh...anything sounds bad when you put it that way..."
"I expected better from the two of you." Looking Glass turned and walked back to his desk. "We want the case to be over as much as anyone else does, but you of all ponies know that we can't close it without something conclusive. And certainly not with a lie."
Twilight wanted to protest. She wanted to lash out at Looking Glass. She wanted to run away. Despite all of this, however, she just stood still and hung her head in shame. "I'm...sorry."
Siren gave Twilight and Spike a concerned look. She studied them for a moment, almost as if she knew something else was going on. Still, she said nothing.
"It's all right, I suppose." Looking Glass sat down again and shuffled through more papers. "I'm sure you didn't mean any harm. But for now, I have work to do."
Spike climbed onto Twilight's back again as she left Town Hall. She sighed heavily as soon as the doors closed behind her.
"Well, uh...no harm done, right?" Spike asked sheepishly.
"No good done, either." Twilight's hoofsteps were heavy as she began her trip towards home again. "This was a complete waste of time."
"Well, it's not like we were doing anything else today."
Twilight turned her head and glared at Spike, and he responded with a nervous chuckle before looking around for a moment, trying to find something else to set his gaze on. He settled for a passing butterfly.
"And what's got YOU so down in the dumps?"
Twilight fell over in her shock. Spike stayed in the air for a moment, but as soon as he realized he was no longer on Twilight's back, he joined her on the ground.
"For pony's sake!" Twilight exclaimed. "Can I go one day without somepony sneaking up to me on the street?!"
"Oh, silly Twilight...you should really know that I'm not a pony."
Twilight looked up at the source of the voice. She knew who it was before she looked--the voice was quite a distinctive one. It seemed to be coming from the butterfly, and as Twilight got a closer look, she saw its distinctive snaggle tooth. "Discord."
With a burst of white light, the butterfly was gone. In its place was something Twilight was all too familiar with by this point. It was three to four times a pony's length, but with no extra thickness to match. Its head was like that of a horse, with the same snaggle tooth that the butterfly had, bushy white eyebrows and a goatee of the same color. It had a goat's horn and a deer's antler, a bat's wing and a bird's wing, a snake's tail with a white tuft at the end, a lion's paw and an eagle's leg for arms, and a lizard's leg and goat's leg lower on its body. The whites of its eyes were yellow, and its irises were red. It wore a smile that always seemed to dance on the line between goofy and sinister. Discord lifted Twilight in his arms and gave her a tight embrace. "It's so good to see you again, friend!"
"Put me down! I'm not in the mood right now."
Discord put Twilight down where she was and crossed his arms. "Well, of COURSE you're not in the mood! When are you EVER in the mood?" He put on a pouty expression. "No time for old Discord, I see. And all I wanted was to help you with that dark cloud over your head." As he spoke, a small thundercloud with polka dots in multiple colors appeared above Twilight, and after a few seconds, it started raining apple juice. Despite drops of the stuff landing all over Twilight's back, she stayed completely dry.
Twilight sighed. "Fine. What do you want?"
"Well, I just told you what I want!" Discord snapped his fingers. Twilight was suddenly sitting in a rocking chair, wearing reading glasses and a bathrobe. Discord and Spike both wore fuzzy blue pajamas, and were sitting in front of Twilight. Spike plucked at the cloth in confusion as Discord held his chin in his hands. "By all means, tell me what ails you."
Twilight was silent for a moment as she wondered how Rarity would react to seeing Spike in those pajamas. She probably would never get over it. Nevertheless, she removed the garments she had been given and teleported them away. She didn't know exactly where they had ended up. "Fine, if it'll get you to leave me alone."
"Oh, goodie, it's story time!" Discord picked up Spike and gave him a forceful noogie. "Aren't you excited, little Spike?"
"Get me outta this thing!" Spike exclaimed as he tried to fend off Discord's talons. "It feels like it's made of cacti!"
"Why, thank you for noticing! Mama Discord taught me that when I was barely even as old as you."
Twilight's eyes widened at that statement. "You have a...wait, don't change the subject!" She glared. "Do you want to listen or not?!"
Discord gazed sourly back at Twilight. "Oh, fine. I'll just stop having fun for a moment." He snapped his fingers again, and Twilight was suddenly walking again subconsciously, the rocking chair gone. Spike was on her back again. She got a hold of herself, walking on her own power.
"As for what's bothering me...look around." Twilight gestured with her hoof. "The townsponies are still hung up on this murder case, and they probably will be for Celestia knows how long. I'm sure you don't mind, but I don't know how long I can wait for things to go back to normal."
"I'm no barbarian, Twilight. I prefer to think of myself as more of a knight." Discord was suddenly dressed up in a suit of armor, holding a sword in one hand and a tower shield in the other. He scrutinized his weapon for a moment, and with a snap of his tail fur, the blade turned into a silly straw. "I don't enjoy watching ponies suffer. Unless I'm more than a little bored, that is."
"You? A knight?" Spike asked. "Yeah, okay. The day you protect someone is the day I dye my spines pink."
"What, you don't think I can?" Discord's expression became much more sly all of a sudden. "Why, the nerve! I could certainly do it better than you do in the other world."
Twilight stopped suddenly, her eyes bigger than dinner plates. "How do you know about--" She stopped herself and blinked a few times, returning her eyes to normal. "I mean, umm...what are you talking about?"
"Oh, please, Twilight. Do you really think I don't know about that place? I have eyes everywhere." Yellow eyes with red irises opened on several buildings and trees nearby before closing again and disappearing. "Even if I didn't, though, you could never keep the secret if I pressed you on it. You're a terrible liar."
"Well...okay, but...why bring it up now?"
"Normally, I would just say it's because it's directly related to your little murder case, but I think I'll be merciful today and give you a little hint."
"A hint? What are you talking about? Like I said, the case is over."
Discord didn't seem to hear what Twilight had said. He simply looked into her eyes, and while he still wore his regular smile, she could've sworn she saw just a bit of a grave look in his eyes. "You've already found your culprit, and they have watched your powers grow. In the coming days, be wary of the ones you already know."
Before Twilight could open her mouth to ask what he meant, he was already gone.
"What a load of horse apples," Spike said, rolling his eyes. "How many times do you have to tell him something before it sticks?"
Twilight didn't respond. She simply stared into space, facing where Discord had just been, her eyes betraying the activity in her mind.
"Twi?" Spike asked, waving a hand in front of her eyes. "You okay?"
Twilight took another moment to respond. "...The ones you already know." Twilight turned her head to look at Spike. "We didn't know the Shadow before we fought her the other day. Why would Discord tell us to be wary of the ponies we've met?"
Spike crossed his arms, an annoyed expression on his face. "Honestly, Twilight, you're reading too much into this." He stopped himself before continuing, wiping away his disillusionment. "Are you sure you're not just trying so hard to find something about the case that you're looking for things that aren't there?"
"...Maybe I am."
Twilight's thoughts kicked themselves into overdrive as she continued walking. Spike looked over her with concern. It wasn't unlike her to overthink things, but when it came to this subject, it could easily become self-destructive. The library appeared on the horizon after what seemed like an eternity, and the awkward silence between Twilight and Spike would persevere long after they got there.