Trixie dreamt of her imprisonment. The Vivisectionist made her draw portraits of the ponies he flayed to death, sculpt them in painstaking detail and paint them in gory, sickening color. Her dreams were vague now, after so long removed, and were interspersed with images of stalking the fake-Trixie, the one that insisted others call her The Great and Powerful Trixie and spoke in that stupid third-pony fashion. She dreamt of Twilight briefly for some reason, though she barely knew the pony, but the dream quickly dissolved back into images of her imprisonment which, while horrific, bored her after a while. You can only be frightened of a pony being ripped to bits by blades so many times after all.

In the waking world, Twilight dusted the remaining swirls of dreamstuff off her legs with magic and looked around the little hotel room Trixie was staying in. It was dark, of course, and filled with artistic implements as much as clothing as far as Twilight's burning mane illuminated, with some large bundles wrapped up near the bathroom. Judging from the view outside, they were somewhere in Lower Manehattan and it was approximately two in the morning. Trixie rolled over in her sleep, muttering. She was small and slim, but seemed to be reasonably well-off. The cyan mare sported a network of criss-crossing and swirling designs across her fur that moved while she watched, and her mane had a sort of punkish flare to it that was appealing, but a far cry from the usually elegant mane of the showmare Twilight had shown up in Ponyville. Still, it was Trixie, no doubt about it, and she was a changeling, which made things a little more complicated.

Twilight nudged the sleeping Trixie, who seemed to be in the grip of some nightmare. Trixie opened her lavender eyes enough for Twilight to see there were no pupils, then groaned and rolled over to go back to sleep. She woke up more fully when Twilight levitated her in the air upside-down a few inches from her face, “Oh holy sunlight! I'm up I'm up! Put me down!”

Twilight glared at the lavender-eyed unicorn, “Not until you tell me why you were interrupting my mail.”

Trixie goggled at Twilight, still thrashing to break free of the telekinetic hold, “Are you insane?! Is that what this is about? Come on! I didn't do anything with it, it's all stored carefully!”

“Where?” Twilight asked urgently, and promptly dropped Trixie when she indicated the bundles nearby. Sure enough, when Twilight walked over she could see they were bundles and bundles of letters, carefully wrapped in canvas and secured with twine. All labeled neatly with the date range for each bundle of letters. “Oh thank Celestia, now then what-...” Twilight turned to find the door swinging, and the sound of running hooves retreating down the street. She sighed and teleported to the alleyway where Blackboard had been waiting in case Trixie tried such a tactic.

Sure enough, Trixie was pinned physically by Blackboard, with her gaze held pointedly in another direction so she couldn't cast at him. The red unicorn grinned, “Evening Twilight, fancy seeing you here!” At the sound of Twilight's name, Trixie thrashed harder, telekinetically flinging debris blindly towards her and swearing in a colorful and instructive manner. Several of the words were new even to Twilight, who very calmly picked up Trixie in a telekinetic bubble, gently nudging Blackboard aside in the process, and floating the cyan mare over to herself.

Twilight's mane lit with quiet fury as she spoke dangerously softly to the captive mare, “Trixie, you are going to tell me right now what you were capturing my mail for, or so help me Luna there are going to be consequences.”

Trixie flinched at Twilight's tone, then shook herself and tried to glare back with moderate success, “You abandoned your people, Lady Sparkle, I had to do something!” At Twilight's surprised look, she hurried on, “Always working away for the normal ponies, for Celestia and this damn place, when there are changelings that need you! Need your guidance!”

Twilight frowned, “But then why steal my letters, why not approach me yourself?”

“I...” Trixie blushed, she actually blushed, “I didn't... Well I was afraid to. So I diverted your letters by pretending to be your sister,” she continued quickly, before Twilight could comment, “In the hope that you would drift away from your old friends and find... New... Ones...”

She trailed off as Twilight's mane started to very slowly become an inferno of violet light filled with words of raw fury, and the shadows writhed up her legs, whispering of anger and death. Twilight's voice however, was very controlled, which made it somehow worse, “You were trying to break my friendship with the others, with the Elements of Harmony as part of some boneheaded scheme to make me pay attention to the changelings? When you could've just asked? I wasn't even aware I was important to the changelings until last night, how could I possibly have known? How?”

Trixie tried for words despite the terror rushing through her veins at being so close to an angry Twilight, “Wxfglp,” she shook her head and shrugged, then tried again, “I... I... I am sorry, Lady Sparkle, I... I didn't know what else to do.”

“DIDN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO-” Twilight broke off as Blackboard put a hoof on her shoulder. She looked at the red unicorn, sighed and nodded, “Fine. I'm still angry about this Trixie, but since the letters are fine, I'll let it go for now.” She set the blue mare down on the floor of the alley, where she almost collapsed, “Next time you have a problem, talk to me about it Trixie, and never. Never,” Twilight fixed the cowering Trixie with a glare, “Never come between me and my friends, are we perfectly clear?” Trixie nodded mutely, shivering with terror, “Good.” With that Twilight called for a couple of guards to carry her letters from the hotel room back to the library, leaving Trixie with Blackboard in the alleyway.

Blackboard snorted and helped Trixie back to her hooves. Trixie shrank back from him at first, but he just guided her upright anyway, gently but firmly. He sighed, “Look Trixie, I know you meant well, but seriously, she was already under a lot of stress without all your doing.”

“She needed to-” Trixie began,

“See the changelings,” Blackboard finished for her, “which she has, at the cost of almost going totally insane. Her friends are her life, Trixie, I don't think you realize that.” At Trixie's thoughtful silence, Blackboard nodded, “Good. Now, about that double of yours...” Trixie suddenly looked panicked, which made Blackboard smile his vulpine smile, “Killed her, didn't you?”

“Uh... I don't know what... Um... Yes.” Blackboard smirked, but Trixie continued, “I mean come on, The Great and Powerful Trixie? She hurt so many ponies, clopped and stabbed her way to the top and still managed to account for almost nothing. She was arrogance personified! She spoke in the third pony, I mean who does that?! And-”

“And she wore your face.” Blackboard finished softly for Trixie again, cutting off her rant to her mild annoyance, “And it hurt to see your face on another creature, didn't it? So then you...” The red unicorn stallion laughed at Trixie's expression, “No, it's alright, I'd have done the same thing, but most ponies, especially the authorities, would probably still consider it murder. So here's my proposition,” Blackboard leaned in close and whispered softly into Trixie's azure ear, “If you keep Twilight from harm when I'm not here, your secret dies with you. I'll not tell anyone, and I'll even cover the evidence for you. All you have to do is protect her. Not as a bodyguard mind you,” Blackboard added, seeing Trixie's body tense, “No, but keep anypony from doing what you did, coming between Twilight and her friends or trying to ruin their friendship. If you do that, I'll keep my peace.” Blackboard whispered softer, “If you don't, well... You harmed Twilight, and I'm well within my rights to exact retribution on her behalf and that of my injured honor.” Trixie gulped, “So do we have an accord, Trixie Stargazer?” The sound of her last name made Trixie pale, and she nodded shakily, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.

Twilight returned to the library to find Spike organizing a large pile of papers that had somehow filled the room in her absence. “What are these?” Twilight asked curiously, to which the little dragon shrugged.

“Not a clue Twi, they just showed up while I was sleeping, figured the guards had left them. You know, for the case.” Twilight took the top sheet and found it to be a detailed description of a thin, grey pony that was hauling a body up the side of Canterlot Castle, invisible to the guards. The next one was similar, same description and a complete account of the pony's movements, including one particularly gruesome account of the sounds coming from Diamond Ring, the first victim, from outside the warehouse.

“Spike, these are witness accounts! Details of each crime! What... You're sure you didn't see anyone bring them in?” Twilight looked through the accounts and found piles and piles of data, it'd take months to sort it all. Some of it was concise and to the point, while others were written in the form of poems. Some had pictures, some were just pictures, it was mind-boggling.

“Nope, no one came in or out that I could see. Well, except for Owlouicious, he came in with a letter from Princess Luna a little while ago. It's on the desk.”

Twilight grabbed the letter from the desk and unrolled it.

Lady Twilight Sparkle,

Please attend me in the throne room immediately, there are important matters to discuss.

Her Royal Highness,

Princess Luna

Twilight flipped the scroll over, scanned it with magic, but no, that was it. It seemed a little odd to send so short a message, but Princess Luna was far more direct than her sister. “Spike!” Twilight called as she walked wearily back to the door, “I'm going out again, I've been called to the palace!”

“What? But you just got back! You need sleep, Twilight!” Spike glared at Twilight around the piles of slightly organized paper. “You're going to be running on empty soon Twi, can't have you passing out during an investigation.”

The purple unicorn sighed and smiled, “I'll get some sleep soon Spike, I just have to see the Princess, I doubt I'll be long.” Spike rolled his eyes as Twilight set about putting a few of the papers in a set of saddlebags and pulled them on. He went back to cleaning up, muttering irritably about ponies taking Twilight for granted. Twilight walked over and kissed him on the top of the head, making him blush with embarrassment, “I'll be back soon, Spike. Don't worry.”

“Aw go on, get going Twi, Princess Luna can be pretty persnickety about punctuality.”

Twilight chuckled at her assistant's choice in words, then frowned, “Spike, there're going to be guards arriving with bundles of mail for me soon, set it up by my bed, will you?” She smiled at Spike's crisp salute and set out for the Royal Guard bastion nearby for transport to Canterlot.

The castle was pretty much as Twilight remembered it, though the guards seemed surprised to see her. She was let through with no issue once she was recognized, but to Twilight, something seemed off. She looked around the moonlit main hall a little warily, causing one of the guards to give her a quizzical look. She smiled and continued up the stairs to the throne room, her hooves clicking on the marble. A sense of wrong-ness began to assail Twilight as she reached the door, where she hesitated.

“Is something wrong, Twilight?” Twilight nearly screamed at Princess Luna's polite inquiry. She turned around and saw the Princess at the foot of the stairs, levitating a cup of tea in front of her.

Twilight bowed politely, “I've come in response to your letter, Princess.” At the princess's blank look she added helpfully, “The letter you sent with Owlouicious a little while ago?”

After a moment, Princess Luna levitated her tea over to a guard, who fumbled with it for a moment before managing to balance both cup and saucer on his nose. The princess walked up the stairs and stood next to Twilight beside the door, “Twilight Sparkle, I have never written thee before,” she said softly, her archaic speech pattern slipping in, “And this night is no different. Dost thou still have the letter?” Twilight nodded, confused, and pulled the letter out of her light saddle bags. The princess unrolled it, then looked hard at the door, “I did not send this letter, though it is an excellent forgery of my signature. Let us see what important matters needed to be discussed.” With that, the Princess of the Night opened the throne room doors... Into the scene of a massacre.

Six guards protected the throne room at all times. They were masters of their craft, the best of the Equestrian Royal Guard. Now they were dead, and more guards swarmed around the gruesome scene, taking pictures and conferring with experts. The guards were intact, save for their chests, which were a bloody mess. It looked like somepony had ripped their ribcages open and removed their hearts without harming any other organs, though it would be hard to tell. The bodies of the guards were arranged as the points on a six-pointed star, which was painted in their blood on the marble floor. The hearts of the guards were arranged in a pattern around the star much like the mark adorning a certain purple unicorn that prowled the scene grimly, directing a photographer to take pictures and collecting statements from guards that had been nearby.

Another poem was written in blood in a perfect circle around the gory scene, its script more elaborate than the last.

Six little guards,

Six points on a star,

Six elements they say,

Five more, and there will be no day.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood together by the entrance, watching mutely, their faces blank as stone. Celestia seemed particularly affected, watching over the scene with the ferocity of a mother that has lost a child. Guards and investigators alike shrank from her gaze, while Princess Luna looked merely grim by comparison.

“I'm afraid I cannot explain how I had fallen asleep,” One guard, who had been supposedly on guard in one of the halls was saying woodenly to an investigator, his face a chill mask that barely concealed his fury and sorrow. “I woke only after my guard partner struck me in the face, once Lady Sparkle raised the alarm and he found me in the hall. I felt no magic, but that sleep was not natural.”

Twilight overheard and walked over, “Guard Cobble? If you'll permit, I'd like to see if I could trace the source of the sleep.” The guard looked like he was about to refuse, but a look from Celestia made him nod shortly. The guards had never really believed that Twilight had changed, and many of them treated her like a loaded crossbow. Twilight sighed and started the spell wearily, she was too tired to care about the guard's suspicions. Soon the investigator was writing down the results of the spell, which showed he'd been slipped a sleeping agent of some kind, then a subtle power kept him from waking.

They were still quietly debating about what agent it might have been and how it could have been delivered when a guard called out to Twilight. “Lady Sparkle?” Twilight turned around, “I think you should come see this.” Twilight trotted over wearily, wishing for a cup of coffee or strong tea. The guard was indicating a section of the floor far to the side of the scene, almost lost in the pre-dawn shadows. Something white glinted in the darkness, which, when Twilight brought some illumination, proved to be a tooth.

Twilight blinked, then called back to the medical examiner, who was carefully inspecting the corpses of the guards, “Examiner?” The medical examiner, a light grey unicorn in a white coat jumped a little and turned, “Are any of the guards missing a tooth?” The medical examiner frowned and checked his notes, then shook his head before going back to the corpse of one of the guards. Twilight stared at the tooth, hope starting to kindle in her breast once more. “Then... This is his, and... Princess Celestia!” Twilight called back to her mentor, who looked up sharply, “I need access to the Warcaster Library, I need to find a ritual!”

The warehouse was completely surrounded by a full complement of Royal Guards. Princess Celestia stood in her regalia beside Twilight, who was levitating the tooth taken from the scene at the palace, which pulled steadily towards the doors of the building. “No doubt about it, Princess. The owner of this tooth is inside.” Guard Cobble, who was leading the force that would push in, almost growled and started forward. Twilight put the tooth away, “Guard Cobble, hold.”

“He could be killing somepony else in there Lady Sparkle, we have to press now, while he's still off-guard.” The guard gave Twilight a steely glare, “Unless you want another dead pony, Lady I suggest-”

“That's enough, Cobble.” Celestia said firmly, “Twilight, please explain.”

“Well, the perpetrator has already shown significant skill with magic, it's possible he's set up wardings, or other magical traps.” Twilight advanced, the guards parting to let her towards the door. Twilight gently probed the building with her magic, then stepped back, looking horrified and trying not to gag.

“What is it, Twilight?” Celestia asked in concern, “Are you alright?”

Twilight spat, then shivered, “I'm fine Princess, but... He's used zebra blood sigils. Powerful magic,” She added for the guards' benefit, “That uses the blood of a still-living being. It means either he's bleeding himself for extra protection, or there's somepony in there being bled for protections. If I'm right in my estimations, any attempt to breach the perimeter would be disastrous.”

Guard Cobble snorted derisively, “So how does he get out to kill ponies then? Are we supposed to wait there until whoever's in there dies?”

“No,” said a new voice from behind the group. Celestia turned to find four ponies all decked in armor, each one with some strangeness about them, bowing. The red unicorn stallion seemed to be bowing only for show, while the other three were more sincere in their genuflections. The red unicorn, wearing some sort of lacquered armor, looked more out of Luna's time, provided Luna had come from Neighpon. They rose at Celestia's gesture and the red unicorn smiled, “Blackboard, at your service your Highness, and this is Vinyl and Octavia Scratch, newly married, and Trixie Stargazer, once known as the Great and Powerful Trixie.” Trixie tried to hide from Twilight's gaze, while Vinyl and Octavia nodded to her comfortably, “We know another way in, your Highness.” He winked at Twilight, whose eyes widened when the penny finally dropped. He turned his attention to the Princess once more, “Our way would bypass all the defenses, but only we five could go in.”

Guard Cobble rolled his eyes, “Five ponies against one who defeated six elite guards? Begging your pardon Princess, but this is madness. And if they could get in, why couldn't we?”

Princess Celestia frowned, “It seems improbable, and while I welcome the support, I have no reason to-” A loud cracking noise cut her off, followed by a loud thump. A charred pegasus body in half-melted guard armor landed on the ground by the building. Celestia and the others dashed over, while the guards formed a tighter perimeter around the building. “What happened?”

Guard Slate, the head of the aerial portion of the guards surrounding the building talked with a few other guards then flew down, looking quietly furious, “Shale thought he could break through the window apparently, be a damn hero. He said he saw somepony in there, in pain, then dashed off like an idiot.” Medical ponies finally arrived, but it looked like it had been instant death. They found tremendous magical residue on the body though, it was still sparking occasionally, causing the body to twitch a little. Celestia looked on grimly, as did Slate. Shale had been his brother, Twilight remembered suddenly, but before she could offer condolences, Slate fixed her with a hard look, as if this had been her fault.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said softly, “I would like permission to launch a small mission inside to capture the perpetrator before he harms any more ponies.” Celestia looked sharply at her student, then her gaze drifted back to the smoking body of Guard Shale. She nodded a little, and Twilight turned to the others. Blackboard bowed crisply, grinning, while the others stood a little less cocksure, except possibly Octavia, who just smiled serenely.

“Hey Trixie,” Blackboard called back, making the blue mare jump a little, her saddlebags clanking, “Get that combat outfit you made for Twilight out here, if we're gonna do this, let's do it right.”