Author's Notes:

Sorry for it being late. It was a long one and I had a lot that kept me from getting to it in time. Since season 4 of MLP:FiM is over, new episodes of this story will now be released on Saturdays by 6pm est time. I hope you all enjoy this fun little romp.

The shrill howling of the bitter nighttime winds pass throughout the dark, foggy woods. The sounds of unidentified animals lurking around every tree, and their calls biting through the thick air, pierces into the ears of the eight ponies who slowly trot along, hearts beating faster with every step. The six friends, finally reunited in full with the recent return of the long missing Bri Happer, slowly continue along the path. They're joined in their stride by Agelian's bubbly and cheerful fiancée Dinky Hooves, as well as the newest friend of their circle, and founding member of the Brotherhood of Silent Pathfinders, Scatter Brain. It's been a couple of weeks since Bri had returned, seemingly rescued by Star, who had gone previously to find her. With Scatter by her side, she finally came back home to tell all of her friends and family where, and why, she had gone.

Following a much needed time of celebration and the enjoyment of spending time with those she missed so much, Bri finally felt at ease again. She remains upset at not being able to find Pinkie Pie, even with the help of Babe Chenko and Scatter, but in the end, she brought smiles to an entire village, and that's what truly matters. She even earned the Element of Joy, which naturally all of her friends were ecstatic to learn about. She only wonders who that monk who gave it to her is, and why Pinkie entrusted her with the Element in the first place. This makes the third of the six Elements they have found by this point. They're halfway there, and now the only ones left to find are those belonging to Devlin, Terra, and Star. If they can find them soon, they can stop Oblivion before he returns to full power.

For now, however, the eight of them continue to slowly walk through these mysterious, dark woods. The smallest of noises surprise them, and keep the ponies on edge, for even a sound as simple as the snapping of a twig beneath them causes the entire group to jump. Even Terra, who is normally as calm, collected, and unnaturally brave as can be, shows a nervous side at this point. An owl calls out from a tree somewhere, and the wicked sound of a timberwolf's howl breaks through the fog. None of them know what might be only feet away from them. And with Terra already in a sour mood, the feeling given by their location does not help. A grumble passes over his lips as he leads the group.

"We should have never left Ponyville," he angrily complains, almost seeming to stomp down the path as he goes along, "what if Oblivion attacks while we're gone? What if this was all a trap in the first place to get us to leave? This was a bad idea."

"Stop being like that Terra. Captain Everglade stationed some of her elite unicorn soldiers in town to keep watch and protect the citizens from any and all threats, especially Oblivion, remember? Besides, the rest of the task force are still all there, and the Ponyville Police as well. Not to mention, if anything were to go really wrong, then with Canterlot not too far away, the Princess would make sure that nothing were to happen," Star reminds the antsy stallion as she cautiously steps over a gaping hole in the middle of the path, and then jumping slightly as she crunches down on a dried leaf on the other side.

"Princess Aurora? What the Hell is she going to do if Oblivion attacks? Why is she even an alicorn princess in the first place? I mean, her marriage to that louse of a prince Blueblood is enough to give her a royal title, but why is she an alicorn? What has she done to deserve that power? How does she deserve that?"

"It was Princess Celestia's decision. She was the one who turned Princess Aurora into an alicorn prior to her and the other three princesses disappearances. She had faith in Princess Aurora, and because of that, so should we. Princess Aurora has never let us down. She fought against the Ursas who attacked Canterlot, and during the EgT Incident, she even attempted to fend off Oblivion before Chupa and Agelian had. She's more than able to hold her own in any battle that could come upon Ponyville. Oblivion isn't at full power, and Ponyville has great security. I doubt he would try to attack right now. He'll be biding his time. Let's just try and enjoy this trip, and focus on spending some fun time with each other."

As he bows his head in defeat, Terra finally gives into Star's argument and lets out an exasperated sigh. In the end, maybe he is just being a little too worrisome. He doubts that Captain Everglade and her soldiers would falter. He trusts her, much more than he trusts Princess Aurora. It's strange though. He had served her for many years before this all started. Yet only now has he begun to question her. It must be his stress. Everything that's been going on lately has just put him under so much of it, and it's certainly been affecting his attitude as of late.

"I agree with Star," Chupa suddenly pipes up, her young, high-pitched voice echoing through the woods, "let's just have fun. I entered this contest to visit Transylmania because I wanted us to be able to get away and just relax. I wanted to bring some real peace to everypony. We're almost there now, and all everypony seems to be doing is complaining and arguing. Can't we just make this the best trip we can?"

"Agreed," Dinky happily replies, which gets a nod from the other mares as well as Scatter, Agelian, and Devlin. Terra still shows resistance at first, but gives in and agrees to do his best to make it a fun trip. The dark, spooky scenery around them seems to almost melt away as their moods change. They talk of what they're going to do while in town, from checking out the old castles, trying the local delicacies, and visiting the 40 Year War Museum, chronicling the longest lasting war in Equestrian history, which was started by Prince Vladimir Trotes III of the Hooflacian province. He was the powerful general most known for impaling ponies on wooden spikes and posting them around Transylmania for all of his subjects to see. That was a long time ago though, thousands of years before the Celestial Sisters even came to power. It was even before this land had been officially claimed as Equestria.

The eight of them continue to discuss their plans, excited for these next two days. They have so many plans, and so many ideas. There's probably so much they hadn't even considered as well. As they trot along, laughing and actually forgetting about their troubles for the first time in a long time, they soon come to the edge of the woods. The path continues on, and in the distance they can see a large, old style town that must be Transylmania. However, their attention is brought right before them to a large mansion, built in the old Germanic Gothic style and covered in a melancholy ambiance that reminds them of their previous fear. The building itself is covered in thick vines, and gargoyle statues line its balconies. Hedges sit in the dark yard outside, cut into perfect blocks. The gates appear to be old and rusted, and as the wind howls through them, a creepy whistling sound is heard.

On a large arch above the front gate sits the mansion’s address. Star looks at it, and then pulls a slip of paper from her saddlebag. She notices that it matches the address listed on the note for where they are to stay during their trip. They had expected a hotel, one in the heart of the town itself. A mansion on the outskirts of a dark wood had never even crossed their minds, and for good reason. Just looking at it almost makes them want to go into town, forgetting about free boarding and just paying for some nice, comfortable, safe hotel rooms. However, even with all of their combined bits, they do not have enough if they are to truly enjoy their stay here. So they approach the large gates, prepared to push them open. However, they suddenly swing forth on their own, granting entrance to the eight ponies.

Dinky, Bri, and Chupa all suddenly jump in fear as this happens, then tightly grip onto Agelian, Scatter, and Star respectively. Star looks down at the young filly holding onto her leg and gives her a comforting smile, patting her head gently to tell her that it's all going to be alright, though she herself is unsure of this. Walking alongside everypony else, she then follows Terra into the yard, looking around at the hedge garden around them. Suddenly, the gates slam to a close behind them, causing all eight of the ponies to jump in surprise this time, a few even letting out terrified shrieks. However, Terra and Star comfort them with calm words and kind eyes. They slowly trot on, walking towards the large, ornately designed front doors.

Just as the gate had done before, the large wooden doors now swing slowly open, basking them all in a bright, beautiful light. Inside they can see gorgeous rugs and a grand staircase, but from their perspective, not much more at the moment. An elderly pony steps into sight, greeting them with a courteous bow. His silver mane is well kept, and he wears a dark suit coat made of the highest quality fabric. He nods to them and motions for them to come inside. The eight of them exchange glances, but accept the stallion's invitation and slowly enter, their eyes being met with the most magnificent sight they had ever seen. Those rugs and staircase are only the bare minimum of what they had seen. Beautiful vases, delicate oil paintings, golden decor and gem-encrusted drapes. The walls are old, made of an older material, though in seemingly great condition. Their attention returns to the stallion, who bows once again in a respectful manner.

The stallion then proceeds to introduce himself, saying to the visitors, "Greetings to you all, I am the butler of this estate, Snooty Shoes. Your host, Mr. LaDix, has retired himself to his quarters for the remainder of the evening, and has asked that I help you all to do the same upon your arrival. It would have been quite the walk from the train station, and I am sure you are all weary from your trip. If you follow me, I shall bring you to the set of rooms requested in your letter."

As Snooty Shoes begins to slowly walk towards the grand staircase, the eight friends quickly follow, keeping up with the butler's stride without much of a problem. They keep going up, past the second and third floor, and finally reach the very top of the grand staircase on the fourth and final floor. Turning left, the stallion then begins to head into the east wing, continuing on with a steady pace. All around are more of the gorgeous decorations and paintings. Flora line small side tables, and even the lights above are encased in small golden chandeliers. It makes them wonder how somepony could amass a fortune this grand.

The nine of them soon arrive upon a long, narrow hallway. Doors line both sides, each one emblazoned with a number. Snooty Shoes tells them that these are the guest rooms, and that it's where they shall be staying while at the mansion. Reaching into the pockets of his suit, he pulls out five old keys and hands them out to Agelian, Star, Devlin, Terra, and Scatter, telling them, "Mister Agelian, you and your fiance Dinky shall have room G02, Miss Star, you and the young filly shall take room G03, Mister Devlin shall have room G04, Mister Terra gets room G05, and Mister Scatter and Miss Briance shall have room G06. Breakfast shall be served in the main dining hall at eight am sharp, and your host shall hope to see you there to welcome you to the mansion and Transylmania. Are there any other questions I may assist you with?"

"Yeah," Agelian suddenly speaks up, seemingly confused as he raises an eyebrow and steps towards the stallion, "I understand myself and Dinky sharing a room of course, and even Chupa being with Star since she's only a filly still. But why are Scatter and Bri together?"

Before Snooty Shoes can even begin to respond, Star walks up to Agelian with a gentle smile upon her face, and places a solitary hoof upon his shoulder. She chuckles a little and tells him to simply leave it be. Turning to Scatter and Bri, she then nods and tells everypony that it's about time they all got some well deserved rest. So with a courteous bow, Snooty retires to his own quarters, and the other eight do the same, unlocking and entering their assigned rooms to turn in for the night. They can only hope that after such a rocky night, tomorrow morning will start off well and get better from there. They wonder what kind of pony this Mr. LaDix is, and what he might say at breakfast. They pray that this trip turns out to be as good as they could ever dream.

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The bright morning sun rises as it always does, and the birds begin to chirp noisily outside of the windows. The eight ponies from Ponyville awaken from a peaceful sleep, well rested and more than excited for the day to come. They meet each other in the hallway outside of their rooms, all ready to head down to the main dining hall for breakfast. The halls are long and winding, but they eventually reach the grand staircase and begin their descent. They begin to talk to each other, sharing what they hope to do in Transylmania over the course of the day.

"Dinky and I are going to go around the town and check out the area and shops to see if we can get some inspiration for our wedding," Agelian speaks up first, telling the others with a smile and a kiss to his fiancée, who giggles.

Bri smiles over and replies with a laugh of her own, "Scatter and I are gonna get some party supplies and begin inviting everypony to a big party that we're going to throw tonight, hopefully with Mr. LaDix's permission we can even have it here!" She begins to excitedly bounce up and down as she goes down the stairs, Scatter grinning as he trots down alongside her.

Chupa is the next to speak up, noting that she wants to examine the flora around this part of the country, and maybe collect some samples to bring back home to the Greenhouse. Star adds that she'll be accompanying and helping the filly, who's too young to just go off on her own. Devlin tells them that his main goal for the day is to see the new musical Sweeny Trot at the Transylmania theater, and that otherwise he'll probably just be going around town helping out anypony who might need it. Terra goes last, explaining that he wishes to keep his mind on the important tasks at hoof. So he's going to ask around town to try and get any information he can on Oblivion and hopefully even the Elements of Harmony.

"Geez Terra, you're too serious sometimes," Bri tells him, gaining a laugh from all the others. They continue down the staircase as Terra rolls his eyes, thinking to himself that they're not taking this threat seriously enough. However, as they reach the bottom, they can instantly see that something's wrong. Servants and maids are running about. Some crying, some simply hysterical and confused. None of the eight can even tell what's going on. Deciding that they need to find out, Terra approaches one of the nearby maids, a middle aged mare with thick-framed red glasses, a pearl necklace, and a bow on her head. He stops her in the middle of her apparent panic attack, and tries to calm her down enough to talk.

"Ma'am, take a deep breath. Tell me who you are and what's going on here," he tells her, his voice echoing with honor and respect. She does as she's told, calming herself down with some deep breathing. She wipes the tears from her eyes and looks at the stallion with a thankful expression.

"My name is Madame Rosa Infante, I'm one of Mr. LaDix's maids. I'm in charge of cleaning the first floor."

"It's going to be ok, Madame Rosa," he assures her, smiling as he continues to calm the mare down, "I need to know what's going on here. Why is everypony panicking and running about, and where is Mr. LaDix?"

She begins to tear up again and falls into Agelian, hugging him tightly as she sobs out, "Oh poor Mr. LaDix. He's such a nice pony. Why does this have to happen to somepony as good as him? He...he woke up this morning as usual, and he came downstairs to meet with Mr. Snooty Shoes before breakfast. But...but...he found Mr. Snooty Shoes dead in the kitchen! Murdered by somepony!"

Eyes widening, Terra gallops in the direction that most of the others are heading, thinking that it must be the way to the kitchen. The others quickly follow, and soon catch up to the stallion as he's entering the doors to the main dining hall. Inside, a group of maids and servants have gathered in bunches, staring into another set of doors on the other side of the room. Terra and the others rush over, pushing their way through. They reach the doors and burst in to find a fancy, important looking stallion and a few other ponies standing over the corpse of who they all recognize as the same butler who let them in and showed them to their rooms just last night. He lays there, motionless with the ghost of his last scream etched upon his face. His eyes are widened, and his throat is slit, a pool of blood beneath him.

The stallion, noticing the intruders who had suddenly come into the kitchen, turns to them with an irritated expression on his face as he yells out, "Who are you!? What are you doing in my mansion!?"

"Sir," Madame Rosa says as she runs up, "these have to be the contest winners, the ones who are staying for a few days."

"Oh, I had forgotten. I apologize to you all for my anger, but you can understand my feelings at this time. I'd have rather given you all a proper welcome with breakfast this morning, but you're instead welcomed to this grisly act of evil. It would be rather inappropriate to do anything at this point."

"Mr. LaDix I presume," Terra says, face stern and focused, "I am Terra Lionmane, former captain of the Canterlot elite royal guard and current head of the Ponyville Militant Task Force. I have worked on murder cases on many an occasion, and if you will allow me, I could take a hold of this investigation to find out exactly who murdered your butler."

Sighing, Mr. LaDix gives Terra the ok, and so the stallion steps forward, carefully leaning down to examine the lifeless body of Snooty Shoes with precision, so as to not tamper with any evidence. As he had planned to leave following breakfast, the stallion has his saddlebag on. Reaching inside he pulls out two latex boots and puts them on so that he can move and examine the body closer. Turning it over, he takes a look at the slit throat, examining the deepness of the cut and comparing it to the amount of blood on the floor below him. He checks the rest of the body for stiffness to tell the time of death, and announces to everypony that he had to have died at around seven this morning.

"I have coroners coming from town to do an autopsy on him," Mr. LaDix tells Terra, "though as you can see, it does seem pretty open and shut. Somepony murdered my friend here by cutting his throat open."

"It certainly appears that way, though I'm not sure that it's that simple. The amount of blood throws me off, as does the deepness of the cut. He should have bled out more than this with a wound like that. I need to meet with every member of this mansion’s staff and residents right away, so that I can figure out who could have done something like this."

Once again Mr. LaDix gives Terra the go ahead, and calls out to the large group gathered in the main dining hall to meet in the front hall and make sure everybody is there so that they can be questioned regarding this terrible act. Terra then turns to his friends, a serious glare in his eyes, and tells them to head into the lounge area for the time being. Naturally they understand how big of a deal this is, and agree to wait in there. So without another word, they leave the kitchen, and their friend, and head out. Passing in silence through the main dining hall, and into the main hall, they head to the other side of the hall and into the large, luxurious lounge area. Snacks and drinks are set out, though don't seem that fresh. They can assume that Snooty Shoes had placed them in there prior to his death. Taking seats, they all just sit there and absorb what they had just witnessed, unsure of how to react.

"I can't believe he's gone," Bri says, quietly and calmly unlike her normal demeanor, "and he was so lively just last night."

Thought he can't see what she means by lively, as he had seen Snooty as kind of boring, Agelian is the next to speak up as he holds a scared Dinky close, "I know. For something like this to happen, it's just horrible," he quietly says as he too begins to tear up. Everypony there understands Agelian's feelings, as he had lost his own mother when he was young, and even witnessed the passing of Trixie Lulamoon at the EgT Incident. He's faced death before, more so than anypony ever should. It's a hard subject for him to take, and switching roles, Dinky now comforts her fiancé with a gentle hug as he remembers his mother, whom he loved with all his heart.

Star understands probably the most out of them, having lost both of her parents at a young age. Even Chupa had lost a good friend and mentor in Mr. Greenhooves. Scatter lost Pinkie Pie, while not to death, it still has hurt him a great deal in his life, and even cost his freedom for a good amount of time. Bri, Dinky, and Devlin, however, haven't lost anyone close to them. And to their knowledge, neither has Terra. As the seven of them continue to talk about it all, a blonde-maned mare suddenly walks into the lounge, appearing as if she had just filled an ocean with her tears. Tall with a purple coat, the unicorn slowly walks in and fills up a mug with the old coffee, kept warm through the maker. She takes a seat alongside the others and takes a drink of the black coffee, not having even bothered to put in any cream.

"Um..." Star speaks up, confused by the mares appearance.

Looking up at the seven others, who she hadn't even seemed to notice, the mare blushes and cries out, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't notice you all in here, I just...just...I just needed some time. Are you the contest winners? My name is Esmerelda St. Cainan, I'm LaDix's wife."

"I don't mean to sound rude, Misses Esmerelda, but shouldn't you be with the others so Terra can interrogate you?" Star asks.

"I was the first to be called in," she explains sorrowfully, "I still just can't understand who would kill Snooty. I'm sorry that this had to happen while you all were here. I'm the one who actually made the contest you won. You see, I absolutely love Transylmania. I was born here, and have never even considered living anywhere else. It's always been my goal to show it's beauty and wonder to others, so I held the contest to be able to do so."

She begins to cry harder than ever, and continues, "Snooty Shoes was my friend since childhood, a sort of second father to me, and honestly, more of a father than my real one. After I married LaDix, I insisted that Snooty be allowed to work here in the mansion. He was so kind and helpful, and even saved my life on multiple occasions. I just can't believe he's actually gone." The others try to comfort her, but before they can she just gets up and walks right back out of the room, crying. As the door closes behind her, the seven still there just sit back, quiet after hearing how powerful of a connection this stallion had made with a pony who truly loved him more than life itself. They hope, for her sake, that the murderer can be caught and punished before long.

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"Madame Rosa Infante, can you please come into the main dining hall please," Terra calls out from the room. Nervous and terrified, the maid nearly breaks down as she slowly walks in. Sitting at one of the tables is Terra. He has a serious expression on his face, which is illuminated by the desk lamp he has set up, giving it an eerie, intimidating feeling. The mare approaches cautiously and takes a seat across from him, holding her hoof in front of her face to block out the brightness of the light. The stallion points the light directly at her, staring carefully as he holds in his hooves a notepad, obviously to write down the testimonies of everypony. For a moment he says nothing, only stares at her and watches her body language. After not too long, however, he nods and asks, "so, where were you this morning from six to eight am?"

"I only woke up at around seven thirty," she pleads with him, breaking into tears, "I wake up at that time every day to begin my daily routine of cleaning the first floor. When I met you this morning, I had just learned of the death myself."

"What is your relation to the deceased?"

"My...my relation? To Mister Snooty Shoes? He was a friend, someone I could rely on. When I was new here, he helped me get used to everything. He taught me tricks on how to clean faster and more efficiently."

"Did you have any connection to the deceased outside of your professional work?"

"Well...we would sometimes talk to each other, and we went fishing a couple of times, but nothing more. I viewed him mostly as a mentor to me," she insists. Looking closely at her, Terra can see that she's telling the truth. Though nervous and twitchy, she's not hiding anything. She couldn't have been the murderer. Excusing her, he asks the mare to return to the front hall to await him to finish the interrogations. Quickly leaving, Madame Rosa heads back out as Terra now calls for the next pony. Having finished with the mansion's staff, he now moves on to the residents. And by the list given to him, there's only two ponies he has to question.

The first of these is a temporary resident named Vale Kaid, who's only been at the mansion for a week and has taken up quarters in room G01, in the same hallways as he and his friends. A moment later, the stallion enters the hall. His coat a deep shade of brown, he wears a black bandana over his dark blue mane and a matching leather vest. He has a scruffy beard and thick, but not overly so, mustache. He enters the room with more confidence than Madame Rosa had, trotting in and taking a seat. His body language, from what Terra can gather, paints him as being very sure of himself, and very tough. He seems like the kind of pony who would be good at hiding things. He's going to be a tough nut to crack, no matter if he ends up being the guilty party or not.

Staring into Vale's deep green eyes, Terra asks the same first question as he had with everypony, "so, where were you this morning from six to eight am?"

"Sleeping," the stallion grunts out, his voice rough and raspy, filled with years of hard experiences.

"Is there anypony who can confirm this?"

"No."

These straight, simple answers are harder for the former captain to read. He's faced off against many suspects in his time in the guard, but none who were so straight and calm like this. It could mean that he's so confident that he won't be found out, or maybe that he really didn't do it and knows that he has nothing to hide. No matter what it is, he has to find out more.

"What was your relation with the deceased?" Terra asks him.

"None."

"Can you elaborate please?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Nothin' to elaborate on. I've been here a week. Didn't know the guy. Saw him around. That's it," Vale responds in an almost cold tone. Yawning, he leans back in his seat and rolls his eyes. The actions frustrate the stallion, but he can't see any lying. He's so hard to read, he can barely see anything in his expression, or hear in his tone. So he decides to change the line of questioning a little bit, moving instead to the pony himself.

"Vale Kaid, why are you staying here at the mansion?"

"My house in town burned."

"What caused the fire?"

"Don't know, don't care. Doesn't matter to me. What's done is done."

"How did you end up coming to live here?"

"I was invited by the mansion's owner."

"Why were you invited? Did you know Mr. LaDix before this all happened?" Terra questions, trying to pry deep into this all, thinking that if he is the culprit, maybe he did it to get back at Mr. LaDix for something.

"No."

"You've never met Mr. LaDix before a week ago?"

"Seen him around, never actually met him."

"Ok, this is getting ridiculous," Terra quietly says so that the pony can't hear him. He then leans back and excuses him. He can't read anything from this stallion, and he's already had better leads that he should focus on. One more pony to interrogate, then he can put everything together. He excuses Vale, who seems to be happy to finally get out of there. However, Terra asks that he have Mr. LaDix come in next. As the mysterious temporary resident heads out, Mr. LaDix walks slowly in. Unlike the other stallion, he seems uncomfortable. As he takes a seat, he shifts around a bit before finding a comfortable position. He then seems to be trying to avoid eye contact with the interrogator, who notices this.

"Mr. LaDix, where were you this morning from six to eight am?"

"I woke up at six am, and took a shower. A little before eight I came down to the kitchen to talk to Snooty about the day’s menu, as I always do. I found him dead."

"Besides him working for you, do you have any relation to the deceased?"

"He was a friend," Mr. LaDix tells the stallion, a phrase that he had been hearing from almost everypony, "a good friend. He was never a mere butler for me. Butlers don't console you when you're in a depression. They don't do things for you just to see you smile. They don't show you unconditional love. Snooty never once even argued with me. He never spoke against me or acted in any ill way. I myself never gave him orders. When something needed to be done, I would politely ask him. It seemed wrong to order around a friend."

"Understandable," Terra replies, smiling, "can you tell me though, have you ever done anything with Mr. LaDix outside of professional responsibilities?"

"All the time. We've gone fishing, had archery practice, even built things together. Oh, we loved building. From stages to simple little chests, we'd craft so many things. Sometimes we'd sell them, some of them remain in this mansion."

"You call Snooty Shoes your friend. How far did that friendship go?"

"Snooty ate with my wife and I. His quarters are beside our own, by his choice. As I said, I never considered him a butler. He only did that stuff by choice, because he wanted to serve us. I told you that I never once gave him an order, and I meant it. We never even forced him to stay. He's been free to go out whenever without needing to tell us, go on vacations, and more. He never did though. For some reason he just kept being the most respectful, helpful, kind pony I'd ever met. His friendship was magic for me and my wife."

"Just one last question Mr. LaDix. How long has Snooty Shoes been working here, and why did you decide to hire him into your staff?"

"He's been in my service for ten years now. It was just after my wife and I got married. It was actually her request. At first I wasn't sure of bringing a friend in to serve me, but I gave in and never regretted it."

"Ok, thank you Mr. LaDix, you can go now."

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With interrogations having ended, and following some basic investigating done by the stallion, Terra gathers the entirety of the mansion's staff and residents in the center of the front hall. As they all stand there in front of the grand staircase, he makes sure that everypony is present, including his seven friends who stand off to the side of everypony else. Since he had begun his interrogations, the coroners had come, done the autopsy, and given the report to him. He now stands there on the fifth step of the staircase, holding the report in his hooves as he reads with interest and curiosity. The results are surprising, and definitely not what he had expected to come across. Though what he found now makes a little more sense.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," he speaks out as he closes the folder with the report in it, "I now know how Snooty Shoes died, and it wasn't by his throat being slit as we originally had believed."

Curious chatter fills the room, but soon subsides as Terra continues, "He was murdered in a much different way, by poison. The coroners discovered trace amounts of the substance in his body, and have come to the conclusion that it was introduced through ingestion. This means that somepony here drugged something that Snooty Shoes ate or drank."

"This also means that the slit throat occurred after death, which is why the amount of blood did not match up properly to the wound. The slit throat was to throw the trail off of the poison, which was a very lethal substance that normally leaves no traces. However, this wasn't the poison in it's purest form, and as such was still detectable. Mr. LaDix, can you please shed some light on something for me? What would Snooty have been doing prior to his untimely death?"

"At that time?" Mr. LaDix questions, "well, I guess he'd have still been preparing breakfast."

"Did Snooty ever taste the food he made?"

"Of course he did, every time he cooked. Snooty would always taste the food he made, so that he could be sure it was perfect for my wife and I. But where are you going with this?" Mr. LaDix asks the stallion. Over to the side of everypony else, Terra notices Dinky being comforted by Agelian, still nervous after everything that had transpired. He hates that it has to come to this now, especially after seeing the two holding each other. He notices that Scatter's done the same for Bri, holding her tight as she seems visibly upset. All around the room ponies have begun to comfort each other, trying to keep calm in this moment.

"Vale Kaid, you moved here a week ago after your Transylmanian home burned to the ground, correct? And Mr. LaDix, whom you've seen before but never interacted with, just let you stay here?" Terra asks, curious about this since he had heard it in his interrogation.

"Mr. LaDix, no. It was his wife who let me stay here. She heard about my situation and insisted I come to stay," the gruff pony replies, speaking in an almost matter-of-fact tone. Terra thinks for a moment. To be honest, he's trying to stall at this point, but if he does it any longer, it'll only be harder in the end.

"I know who the murderer is," he sighs. Reaching into his saddlebag, he pulls out a cerulean feather and quietly adds, "this was found in the kitchen trash can, along with a bagged substance identified as the same poison that killed Snooty Shoes. The owner of this feather was the one who killed him."

Everypony looks around, and find quickly that only one pegasus in the entire room matches that color; Agelian Wingblade. Agelian stares at Terra in shock and confusion, but remains quiet as the stallion continues, "We also found trace amounts of the poison in with the pancake batter. I assume, Mr. LaDix, that Snooty Shoes had planned to make pancakes for breakfast. Am I correct?"

"You are," Mr. LaDix replies, himself surprised by the reveal of Agelian's feather, "we always plan out breakfast one day ahead, so he was going to make this without a doubt."

"We've already confirmed that Snooty Shoes tries the food he makes. The pancakes were what he was going to make for today’s breakfast, and the poison was discovered in the pancakes. This feather was found at the scene along with a bag of the poisonous substance. This case is cut and dry and far as I can tell...Agelian, you're the number one suspect, and as of now, I suggest preparing yourself for arrest."

"I didn't do anything!" Agelian shouts out angrily, breaking away from Dinky, "I would never do anything to hurt anypony! I couldn't have done it anyways! I was in bed with Dinky all night, and never left the room until I did so with her in the morning!"

"Dinky, is what he said true? Was Agelian in bed with you all night long?" Terra asks the nervous and confused mare. She begins to come to tears at this question, not wanting to believe that he could have done it. Terra asks her again, and so she answers, telling him that she believes it is true. She then adds, however, that she fell asleep sometime around one in the morning, and only awoke shortly before they came down this morning, so that she doesn't really know.

Infuriated, Agelian turns to Dinky and screams at her, angry as he thinks she's betrayed him. The already nervous mare turns ghost white and completely breaks down, sobbing hysterically and running from the room. As she gallops into the lounge, crying out in sorrow and confusion, Bri, Star, and Chupa all go off to comfort her. Meanwhile, Agelian shows instant regret in his expression and drops to a seat there on the step, ashamed at what he had done. However, Terra approaches the pegasus and whispers for him to follow him into the dining hall.

Having given up, Agelian obeys and gets to his hooves, slowly going in alongside his friend. As they close the doors behind them, Terra looks to Agelian and says, "Look, I know you, and you certainly wouldn't do this. But I also know that this is your feather, and that means that somepony is setting you up. Can you tell me what you did last night after we went into our separate rooms?"

Sighing with exasperation, Agelian nods and recounts, "Dinky and I were cuddling and watching movies all night. At around one, while we were in the middle of one, she fell asleep. I went to bed shortly after, wanting to finish the movie first. We both woke up at the same time because of the alarm clock. I know it's not a very good alibi or anything, but it's the truth, I swear it is Terra."

"I know, but we need to find out what really happened, and why you've been cast as the scapegoat. Do you know anypony who might be responsible? Anypony at all?"

"What about Missus Esmerelda?" Agelian suggests, thinking of how her story had seemed off to him. Terra asks who that is, which confuses the pegasus, who replies, "the first pony you interrogated, Mr. LaDix's wife. She's got a purple coat, blonde mane, and is a unicorn."

"Um, Agelian. The first pony I interrogated was a male servant named Jeeves. I never interrogated anypony named Esmerelda, or anypony matching that description at all."

"Wait...I just remembered. When we were in the lounge earlier, she told us that she was the one who held the contest that brought us all here. She apparently never went in for interrogation, and wasn't on the list given to you. Also, I remember her saying how she and Snooty Shoes were life long friends," Agelian tells him.

"And she also invited Vale Kaid to stay here," Terra adds, remembering the tough pony mentioning that just minutes ago, "I think I'm beginning to see what's going on here. I think that Esmerelda is the one behind this all, and this contest was a ruse from the beginning. She needed a scapegoat, and it just ended up being you."

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"I'm sorry Dinky," Agelian apologizes as the eight friends meet back up in the lounge, "I was just frustrated and confused. I didn't mean to take it all out on you."

"I understand," she replies, going to hug him. The two embrace for a moment, kiss each other, then turn their attention to Terra and Agelian, who are at the head of the rest of them. Within the next few minutes, the two stallions tell their friends what they discovered, and how Esmerelda might just be the murderer, and that if so, she would have framed Agelian for the act. Terra tells them about how he believes that since she set the contest up, it might have been a ploy from the beginning to find somepony to pin the blame on, but that it still leaves one question hanging.

"What's her motive?" the former Captain of the elite royal guard asks, "why would Esmerelda want Snooty Shoes dead? They were best friends according to multiple sources, and never had a bad thing to say about one another. We learned that Esmerelda had also invited Vale Kaid to live here after his house burned down. While it's good information, it doesn't give us the answer we need. So, I believe that we need to investigate further. We need to get into her room, and this means that she needs to be distracted. Somepony needs to keep her occupied while Agelian and I look for any kind of clue as to why she'd do this."

"Bri and I can take care of that," Scatter says, volunteering for the distraction team, "we'll keep her away with ease."

"Good," Agelian speaks up. He smiles at Dinky and asks her to stay with the others, explaining that having any more than him and Terra investigating might become too much of a risk. He then turns to his friends again, and specifically Devlin, and asks, "Can you ask some of the staff about Snooty Shoes and his connection to Esmerelda? We need any information we can get, and these ponies would know the most."

Devlin agrees to the plan, and with that, the eight ponies all split up, going their separate ways. While Terra and Agelian head upstairs, Dinky, Chupa, and Star remain in the lounge to await everypony else's return. Devlin heads to find some of the staff to question about the connections between the deceased and the suspect, and Scatter and Bri go off to find Esmerelda. They have little trouble doing so, spotting her through one of the windows to the outside. As they go out to meet with her, they find the mare sitting in the gardens, seemingly trying to relax and get all the horrors off of her mind. The two ponies approach her, and take seats beside the mare on each side.

"Sooo," Bri says with a smile, "can you tell us more about how you first met Snooty Shoes? Focusing on the good memories will make things easier." Esmerelda smiles back and sighs, remembering that day well. It was such a long time ago now, yet it feels like just yesterday. She tears up as she recounts it to the two ponies. Not tears of sorrow, but of joy and happiness from the memories she still holds deep in her heart.

On the upper floor of the mansion, Terra and Agelian slowly and quietly walk down the hallowed hallway. Doors on each side of them make it almost hard for them to figure out where the master bedroom could even be. The hardest part of all, however, will be searching the room but leaving no traces of such. It's not only Esmerelda's room, but Mr. LaDix's as well. They don't want to push their limits with this investigation, and break the trust Mr. LaDix has for them. It'd be better to stay in his good graces, especially with everything that's happened lately.

They soon reach the end of the hall and come upon a pair of large, mahogany doors lined in intricate gold designs. If this isn't the master bedroom, then nothing is. They slowly open the doors, hoping that Mr. LaDix didn't decide to come and lay down for a little. Luckily, they find the room empty. As they intrude, they notice the odd separation of the room. One side seems to be Mr. LaDix's things, and the other, Esmerelda's. Not the typical design for a married couple. Fortunately for them, however, this will make their search that much easier.

Looking around the room, the two cautiously go through drawers, cabinets, and jewelry boxes, looking for something that might help establish a motive for Esmerelda to have killed Snooty Shoes. Of course, they wish it weren't true, but somepony has to be responsible for this murder, and right now, they have no choice but to focus on her. So much makes her suspicious, especially the fact that she avoided the interrogations and wasn't even on the list given to Terra by Mr. LaDix. Of course, now that they see the room, maybe the two are simply having marriage troubles, and he didn't even consider putting Esmerelda on the list. That's the best case scenario though. Suddenly, Agelian quietly calls out that he found something, and as Terra goes over to see what it is, he knows that this could be the clue they were looking for.

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An hour passes, and with the help of his friends, Terra has once more gathered all the staff and residents in the main hall. As he stands on the grand staircase, looking down at everypony else, the guard sighs. He knows that this is going to be hard to do, especially with Mr. LaDix being right there in the front. Next to the mansion's owner is a mare that Terra can only assume to be Esmerelda. Though he had yet to really meet her, she matches the description Agelian had given to him earlier. Who knows how she's going to react to the accusation. Of course, they have motive now. They have everything they need to key her as the murderer, so no matter how she reacts, he knows he has found the right pony.

"Everypony," he begins as he gathers the attention of everyone there, "the lead we had received before was proven to be a ruse. Agelian is not at fault here, and was instead framed for the murder by another. To dissipate any doubt, I am not just saying this because Agelian is my friend. I have found proof to the real murderer's identity, including a sound motive for the murder itself."

"So who is it?" Mr. LaDix asks, looking at the stallion with a questioning look. He still has tears in his eyes from losing his friend. Those tears will be doubled when he learns the truth.

"Through investigation that was given the go ahead by our host, we have discovered evidence through the diary of the murderer herself! I have discovered that the murderer is in fact...Esmerelda St. Cainan!"

At once everypony in the room gasps, and turns to the mare, who shows a confused and scared expression. Mr. LaDix puts a hoof around her and comforts his wife while glaring up at the stallion. A piercing look that burrows into the very soul of its victim and speaks out for clarification on such a horrible accusation. Terra sees this and swallows hard. He knew this wasn't going to be easy, but it has to be done.

"We have learned that Esmerelda had been stealing money from her husbands private account. She didn't want extra jewelry or anything, because her husband could have easily gotten her anything she wanted. She needed this money to keep somepony quiet. You see, about two months ago, she was practicing archery in the woods with Snooty Shoes. It's something she's taken part in often, nothing out of the ordinary. However, an arrow went astray, and a passerby was killed as it hit him right in the head. Esmerelda and Snooty discovered the dead unicorn, but the mare was too scared to go to anypony and tell the truth. Instead she buried the body and hid any evidence that she and Snooty had been there."

"However," he continues, looking down at Mr. LaDix and Esmerelda with sorrowful eyes, "Snooty wasn't keen on keeping this a secret. He felt it would have been better to go to the authorities and explain what happened. So Esmerelda began using her husbands money to keep her own friend from telling anypony. This develops a clear motive for the murder, especially with what we found out happened next. Snooty had stopped agreeing to the pay off, not being able to live with the guilt anymore. He was planning to tell the authorities of Transylmania. We can assume that Esmerelda would not have wanted them to find out, and would do anything to keep this quiet, even murder her own life long friend. However, we can't just assume this without evidence."

Terra then begins to tell everypony what he had learned about the mare. How she was the one who started the contest days after the accidental archery murder took place. She didn't show up at the interrogations earlier, and even lied outright to his friends, claiming that she was the first to be interrogated, despite her name never even showing up on the list. She also allowed Vale Kaid to stay here after the burning of his home, a probable back up plan if she believed that none of us who won the contest would be a suitable scapegoat. It's obvious that it's all this contest was, a way to find somepony to pin Snooty's eventual murder on. Sighing, the stallion adds that he guesses Snooty was going to tell the police today, and that's why she had to kill him today, why he and his friends stay began last night, carrying over to this morning when it happened. It all fits together.

Letting go of Esmerelda, Mr. LaDix turns his head away as tears form in his eyes. He can't believe this. He doesn't want to believe this. Agelian then flies off to get the Transylmania police, knowing that he'd be the fastest. Then, Esmerelda suddenly steps forward, towards the grand staircase and Terra. She too has tears in her eyes as she looks quickly to her husband, then back to the stallion who had figured so much out.

"It's true, I did accidentally kill somepony back then. I did want to hide it and I even paid my own best friend off with my husbands money. And you're right that he did stop agreeing to take the hush money, and planned to tell the police today. But you're wrong about one thing. I didn't kill Snooty. I had given up when he told me he was going to tell. I had no way to keep him quiet anymore, so I just gave in and prepared for it. I was going to go with him to the station, and reveal the truth. I understand that everything points to me, and rightfully so. It would have made sense, but I swear to you, that it's the one thing I never even considered," the mare tells Terra, having even given up on hiding anything anymore.

This doesn't make any sense though, for he can tell when somepony's lying, and she isn't. She's not hard to read like Vale Kaid, and so it's obvious that she's telling the truth. She didn't murder Snooty Shoes. But then who could it be. Who could have done this? Fortunately, Mr. LaDix steps up, tears in his own eyes as he tells Terra, "I can't hide it any longer. I know who really murdered Snooty Shoes...because I saw it happen." Another audible gasp echoes throughout the crowd of ponies, and the host and owner of the mansion continues sorrowfully.

"When I woke up this morning, I came downstairs as normal to talk to Snooty about the rest of the days meals as well as tomorrows breakfast. It's something we'd always do right away. I was early, so I was going to get myself a glass of juice while awaiting him. I couldn't believe what I saw when I arrived at the kitchen. Snooty indeed wasn't down yet, but somepony else was in there, and I saw him in there. He wasn't doing much of anything, just putting out the pots and pans and everything for Snooty Shoes. I didn't feel it was bad or anything, so I went to take a shower, deciding that I'd talk to Snooty after. When I returned, I saw Snooty in the kitchen, and the other pony gone. My friend was making the pancakes, and he went to taste a bite of one. I was about to enter and greet him when I saw my friend suddenly collapse."

"Of course I was terrified, and I began calling for help, but he was dead by the time anypony else arrived. I hadn't thought that he would've been responsible, but I now see what he had done. The pancake mix wasn't poisoned. He never touched it while in there. He was handling the fork that Snooty used to taste the food though. I believe he had poisoned the fork. Enough for it to be fatal, but not to be instantly noticeable, especially by someone like Snooty, whose age had gotten to his eyes a bit."

"Are you sure about this?" Terra asks him, surprised by this sudden revelation, "this is vital evidence."

"I'm sure, and the kitchen does have security cameras that I'm sure will confirm this. The pony who murdered Snooty was somepony used to the act, Psycho Joe, the serial killer who escaped from Canterlot's prison just a couple of months ago, the same time Vale Kaid moved to Transylmania."

Everyone looks to Vale, who seems surprised by this, almost as much as Esmerelda had been when she was accused. However, he doesn't hide it. Smiling, the stallion nods his head and replies, "I'm impressed you knew it was me. I mean, dying my mane and tail and growing out my facial hair wasn't the best disguise, but I hoped it would work well enough."

"Wait," Chupa suddenly says, "I remember! When we were in Canterlot to meet with Princess Twilight's family, it was mentioned that Psycho Joe had been caught!"

"I escaped not long after that," the murderer laughs, "it was surprisingly easy. Sometimes I wonder whether or not Canterlot's royal guard is even that elite after all. I didn't account for cameras in the kitchen, a mistake on my part. But then again, this place has few cameras on the inside as it is. I guess that the police will be arriving soon. There's only one last thing I have to do before they get here."

Smirking, the murderous stallion pulls out a sharp knife from the pocket of his vest, brandishing it around menacingly. He then moves with amazing speed, grabbing Esmerelda and holding the blade of the knife to her throat, pushing with force, but not enough to break through just yet. Everypone else begins to back away, not wanting to get in the middle of this or set the murderer off any further. However, Terra remains there, slowly inching his way towards Joe and Esmerelda. He doesn't want to move too fast and possibly cause Esmerelda's untimely death, but he needs to stop the killer.

"Joe, please just put the knife down," he says calmly, "it doesn't have to end like this. It will only make things worse for you."

"Worse? I was sentenced to death, awaiting my euthanasia shot back in Canterlot. With everything I've done, there is no worse. At this point, it's free game, is it not?"

Another wicked laugh escapes the stallion as he prepares to take the mare's life. However, one of the front windows suddenly crashes in, taking his attention away. Everypony turns as Agelian flies back into the mansion at full speed. He rams right into both Psycho Joe and Esmerelda, knocking the blade away and sending the two ponies down to the ground. Mr. LaDix runs up and grabs his wife, helping her to safety while Terra joins Agelian in holding Psycho Joe down as the Transylmanian pegasus police force fly in as well, instantly seeing the serial killer and taking him into custody.

They begin to attempt to arrest Esmerelda as well, as Agelian had told them she was the one to murder Snooty Shoes, but Terra steps forward, informing the cops that she was set up by Psycho Joe, and is innocent of any crimes. She thanks the stallion, but shakes her head and tells him that it's ok before telling the cops what she had done two months ago, and how she's tired of keeping it a secret, even if it was accidental. She asks to be taken away as well, and the cops, hearing her confession, place her in hoofcuffs.

Running up to her, Mr. LaDix begs her to not do this, but she just smiles and after giving her husband a kiss, tells him, "I have to. I can't live with the guilt any longer. The pain of hiding it made me want to help others more. It's why I invited Vale Kaid to stay with us. I indirectly caused Snooty's death by bringing Psycho Joe here, all because of the guilt I was feeling over accidentally taking another pony’s life. I need to face the consequences of my actions, or I'll never be able to live with myself again. I have to do this honey."

"I'll wait for you to get out then, and I'll visit you every day. It won't be long once they know it was accidental. They can't lock you up for that long for something you didn't even mean to do. I swear to you Esmerelda, I will make sure you come home again, and we can live together in love."

She smiles as the police take her and Psycho Joe away, headed for the Transylmanian police station to be booked. Terra stops them for a moment, and tells them to keep Psycho Joe from being able to possibly escape again, even if it means putting him in the the most confining cell possible with a straight jacket on. The police assure him that they will make it impossible for the murderer to get out. They then fly away, leaving everypony else standing there in the front hall, in shock of everything that had just happened in front of them.

Within the next couple of hours, the eight friends tell their host that they've decided to cut their trip short, and will be heading back in the morning. This isn't what they had expected, and after an ordeal like this, they feel it'd be best to just be at home with their loved ones. Though saddened by his wife's willing arrest, Mr. LaDix thanks them for doing what they could to help, even if it led them to falsely accuse two different ponies, one of which being Esmerelda. He tells them that he'll prepare dinner himself in Snooty's memory, and then in the morning, bring them to the train station in one of his carts.

They all then begin to head to their rooms, wanting to just take a bit of time to rest before dinner. All of the mansion's staff begin to disperse as well, exhausted from this terrible ordeal. The only one left in the hall is Madame Rosa, who looks around at the mess everypony had caused and sighs. It's her job to clean this floor, so she might as well get to work now. She trots over to the broken window, having decided to get that figured out first. She looks down at the broken glass and leaves, returning with a paper bag to put all the shards in. As she begins to clean up, however, two dark hooves reach in through the window, grabbing her. A chloroform cloth is brought to her face, and she feels herself begin to fade. Right before she passes out, the stallion kidnapping her laughs and says, "Hello Madame Rosa, I'm J.D. Gumila, and I'll be your chauffeur today. Let's go and meet Lord Oblivion, shall we?"

Preview for Episode 17
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Somepony's luring ponies into the Everfree Forest. We've found half-eaten victims strewn throughout the forest, and believe this to be the work of somepony very powerful, very crazy, and very dangerous. You can't go alone though, not with this kind of a threat. Let me introduce you to Equestria's Minister of Chaos.