Sharp Sight was awoken by the trill of a morning bird. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up from his place on the roof. He had always preferred to sleep outside. It had always gotten him in trouble when he was a kid. He would sleep outside and it would rain and he would come in the house tracking muddy hoofprints and dripping water everywhere. [What!? I'm not supposed to be an omniscient narrator? Ugh, fine.].
Anyway. Sharp Sight got up, stretched, yawned and began to trot in place. After a few moments, he ran and jumped off the roof. He used his levitation to slow his descent. He hit the ground rolling, chuckling as he did so. He stood up, trying to regain his balance. He shook his head and everything came into focus.
He walked into town square, alone. It was too early for anypony else to be up. However, he knew for a fact that the three physician unicorns were working hard on composing a post-mortem report. He looked around and saw nothing of note. Then he remembered. He still needed to tell the Changeling what he found.
He raced to the alley way where he had first met him. He looked around, seeing nothing. Then he heard something whistling behind him. He ducked, just in time for the knife to sail over his head. He whipped around and caught it as it came in for another swipe.
It gave him ample time to study who the assailant was. It was clearly a pony (as he had come to start questioning who and who wasn't a pony), who wore a cloak to cover his or her face and body. Though he could almost instantly figure out who it was. The cyan coat, the bulges on her side that gave away the fact that she had wings.
He wrenched the knife away and through off her hood. She turned around before he could get a good look. He already knew though. The rainbow mane gave it away. Rainbow Dash.
He gave chase. She was much faster. He cast a spell that every guard pony on the squad knew. It put a pair of hoofcuffs on her legs, causing her to trip and fall flat on her face. She grunted as she landed. Before she could extend her wings and fly away.
"Hey, what's going on over here?" shouted a voice from the distance. He looked over to see who it was. It was...Rainbow Dash. She was flying towards him and whoever was on the ground. He looked down and threw the hood off of the pony on the ground. It looked exactly like Rainbow Dash.
"Woah," said the other Rainbow Dash as she approached, "That's super creepy. Who is this?"
"I don't know," replied Sharp Sight, "But I have some notion."
He cast a spell. It was a simple lie detector spell, but he changed it a bit. All at once, the pony on the ground turned into a Changeling in a flash of green fire. It began to flutter it's wings, but before it could lift off, Rainbow Dash trotted up and put a hoof on it's chest, preventing it from moving.
"Nice work kid," said Rainbow, looking back at Sharp Sight, "I'm glad you caught this creep. Would've been bad if there were another one of me going around."
Sharp Sight only nodded. He levitated the captured Changeling up, noticing that it was the Changeling from before. He and Rainbow brought the Changeling to the guard house nearby in town.
"So," Rainbow spoke up, "What are you doing up this early?"
"I should be asking you the same thing," said Sharp Sight.
"I was just getting ready to set up a few rain clouds," she responded, then blushed, "It-uh was actually supposed to start up a few hours ago. Heh. Woops."
Sharp Sight merely shook his head. He had known a lot about Rainbow Dash, but looking at her now, he knew by the way she moved, she seemed to be on edge. She was probably put off by the recent news of the murders. He took the chance to question her.
"So, have you seen anything strange lately?" asked Sharp Sight. "Maybe somepony wandering out of town, or even somepony who looked out of place. Uncomfortable in the crowd. Anything like that?"
"Now that you mention it," said Rainbow, putting a hoof to her chin, thinking, "Yeah, there was that one pony. I think her name was Midnight something. She was kind of weird, not from around here. Little taller than me."
"Do you know where I might find her?" asked Sharp Sight.
"Yeah, she lives just north of here on the outskirts of town," replied Rainbow Dash.
"One last thing," said Sharp Sight, "Do you know anypony who might want to murder another pony? Somepony who always seems angry or dissatisfied."
Rainbow was put off by his words. After a moment she replied, "If there's anypony like that, it'd be Midnight."
"Thanks," said Sharp Sight, "You've helped out more than you know. Take it easy out there."
Rainbow Dash nodded and flew off, a rainbow trail following behind her. Sharp Sight began to gallop to the edge of town where Rainbow had pointed him. He looked around, spotting a house that was all by its self. It was a dilapidated abode that looked like there hadn't been maintenance on it in years. It was different than all the other houses near there.
Sharp Sight approached the home and knocked three times. No answer. He knocked again, thinking they might be sleeping. This time the door opened. In the doorway stood a mare that stood a head taller than he, who had a dark blue coat with a purple mane and tail. She was an Earth pony, and she looked...good. Well groomed. She even smelled nice. It was a strange contrast to her house. She probably spent more bits on herself than her own home.
"Good morning mam," said Sharp Sight, "My name is Initiate Sharp Sight, I'm with the Canterlot Royal Guard. We are here investigating a series of murders that I'm sure you've heard about. I'd like to ask you a few questions if it's alright with you."
"Absolutely," she said. She opened the door, allowing Sharp Sight in. He bowed and walked in. The house was decorated with an assortment of incense and candles. The living room was dimly lit, but somehow cozy and creepy at the same time. There were pony dolls lining shelves on a wall. There was a doorway with a padlock on it.
"This is certainly an...interesting design choice," said Sharp Sight, "Would you mind if I took a peek inside whatever's behind that door?"
"I would mind," said the mare, "What was it you wanted to ask me?"
"It has come to our attention that there is somepony out there in this town killing ponies," said Sharp Sight, "Whoever they are, they are very strong. Earth pony strong."
"What are you suggesting?" said the mare with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm not suggesting anything," said Sharp Sight, "I'm merely stating facts. As we speak, a post-mortem is being composed on the two victims, with a third possibly on the way. We are trying to stop it before it begins."
"Where is this going?" asked the mare.
"Would you happen to know the two victims?" asked Sharp Sight, "Either of them. Their names are Silver Sky and Quilt. Do either of those names ring a bell?"
"Yes," said the mare, "Quilt was a customer of mine a few days ago. Actually, they both were."
"Okay," said Sharp Sight, "What do you do?"
"I'm a psychic. I read the fortunes and futures of ponies," said the mare, "Many ponies call me a scandal, but it's true. I had predicted misfortune for the both of them. Though I hadn't expected them to die."
"What kind of misfortune?" asked Sharp Sight.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you that," said the mare, "Once I read a ponies future, it is lost to me."
"And now they are dead," said Sharp Sight, putting emphasis on the word dead, "So please, try to remember."
"And I'm sorry about that," she said, clearly becoming agitated, "But I cannot help you."
Sharp Sight sighed in defeat. He wasn't going to get anywhere at this rate. He decided now would be a good time to study her. He looked at her face. There was a slight twitch in the corner of her mouth, and her eyes never focused on the same spot. She lifted a hoof to her face and rubbed her nose and sniffed. Sharp Sight began to put the pieces together. These were textbook signs of nervousness.
"Mam, may I ask your name?" he asked.
"My name is Midnight," she replied, "And if you have nothing else, I'd like to see you out of my home."
"Midnight, please, I don't think you understand the scope of the situation," said Sharp Sight, looking directly into her eyes. They were old eyes. "Two ponies are dead, and I don't want to see a third. Their families are devastated. If there is any information, please, share it."
Midnight stared at the ground and sat. After taking a breath, she spoke. "I had fortold their misfortunes. They were identical. I told them they would fall at the hands of their friend. That's all I can say."
"Thank you, Midnight," said Sharp Sight. "Thank you very much. I can see myself out now."
Sharp Sight left without another word. He had to get this information back to Finder. It was only a hunch, but if it proved to be true, then it narrowed the scope of the investigation by a fair margin. He got to the guard house and looked around. Another guard walked up to him.
"We arrested the Changeling you captured," he said, "It has been taken in for questioning, but it has refused to speak."
"I can get him to talk," said Sharp Sight. The guard nodded and took him to the Changeling, who was in an interrogation room. Sharp Sight walked in. He sat down at the table where the changeling was.
"So," said Sharp Sight, "Why did you try to kill me?"
The Changeling said nothing. It just looked at him.
"Do you know of the murder victims?" he asked.
The Changeling again said nothing.
"Is there something in that alleyway that we shouldn't know about?" he asked.
The Changeling shifted slightly. Gotcha, Sharp Sight thought to himself. He studied the Changeling's movements, but was surprised to see that the slight shift was the only thing it did. It didn't even blink. If Sharp Sight hadn't seen the shift, he'd have swore he was looking at a propped up corpse.
"What's in that alleyway?" asked Sharp Sight, "Maybe the Alpha you mentioned?"
The Changeling moved again. Differently though. It was more of a twitch. He did it again. Sharp Sight stood, confused. Blue liquid began to pour from the Changeling's mouth. Sharp Sight shouted and jumped back. A massive knife shot from the Changeling's chest. The blue liquid was Changeling blood. Sharp Sight couldn't concentrate enough to see who was behind the blade, but he caught a glimpse of something rush past him, so quick he couldn't even make out what it was.
"What the fuck is going on!?" shouted Sharp Sight, "Someone get in here!"
He turned and slammed the door open, shouting for a medic. Two of the physician ponies came rushing, as well as about seven other guards. The physician ponies began to cast healing spells, but nothing was happening. One of them walked up and tried to find a pulse. He stood up and shook his head. The Changeling was dead. Or so they had thought.
Suddenly the Changeling gasped and rasped only two words: "She lies." Then it collapsed, this time truly dead.
"Dammit!" said Sharp Sight, "What just happened?"
"Looks like someone was telling stories outside of school," said Finder. Everypony turned to look at him.
"What do you mean?" asked a guard.
"Obviously, somepony didn't want him to talk," he said, "So somepony is tying up loose ends."
It made sense. But who? Who could get into the guard house, kill the Changeling with another pony in the room, and leave undetected?
"Whatever's going on, several things are definite," said Sharp Sight, "We've three dead, a lot of questions, and little time to answer them. This is going to be tricky."