That night, Phillip dreamed that he was in the middle of an earthquake. He woke up to find that somepony was shaking his shoulder.

"Piss off, Daring. It's not morning yet," he muttered into the bedsheets.

"Tell that to the sun," Daring answered. Reluctantly opening his eyes, Phillip was displeased to see that the bloody sun was indeed fully above the horizon. With a groan and a stifled curse, he pulled himself up out of bed, his joints cracking.

"We'd better get moving if we're going to take a look at Dr. Scribe's house," Daring said, pulling the blue coat over her green shirt.

"Let's get breakfast first," Phillip grumbled, zipping his vest up and shrugging his shoulders.

"Sounds good," Daring nodded. She suddenly winced, reaching up to massage her bandaged shoulder. Phillip paused, noticing this.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied through her teeth. Phillip stared at her for a moment longer, his eyes wrinkled in concern. "Phil, really, I'm okay," Daring sighed. "I've been through worse."

"I know, it's just..." The words stewed in Phillip's mouth for a second, then he swallowed them back. "Nothing. Come on, I need a coffee and a toasted bagel."

Within thirty minutes, the pair were at the four-way, walking back to the scene of last night's fire. Even though the flames had been put out long ago, the scent of smoke clung to the still air like a bad houseguest who refused to leave. The odor caused Phillip's stomach to turn, his breakfast recoiling within him in fear and disgust. Unbidden, the memory of last night's fire flew to his mind, and he remembered how he could only stand outside, frozen in terror, while Daring Do charged into her death.

She had escaped...this time. But if it hadn't been for the aid of another, she might not be beside him now. What happened next time, when it was only him standing between her and the Reaper, and he was unable to act?

Concentrate, he ordered himself. You need to focus on the task at hoof. Worry about that later.

Taking a breath, he forced himself back to the moment. Turning the corner, the two ponies found themselves at the end of the short, dead-end street. The burned-out shell that had once been a house was still standing at the end of the cobblestones, faint whispers of smoke occasionally reaching up like spirits rising to heaven.

Unfortunately, standing in front of the building was a squad of City Guards, including a steely-eyed unicorn corporal, who was glaring at them.

"Oh, boy," Daring sighed in exasperation. The two detectives proceeded forward, stopping in front of Corporal Shield, who gave them both his iciest glare.

"I knew you two would show up sooner or later," he growled.

"You gonna tell us to piss off again?" Phillip asked wearily.

"Not at all," Shield replied, his voice suddenly calm once more. "I'm going to tell you that Dr. Scribe is dead. He was killed in the fire last night." He paused, observing his suspects' impassive faces. "That doesn't seem to surprise you."

"We were here," Daring admitted. "I tried to save him, but—"

"Really?" Shield interrupted. "Strange that you two should show up at that time, Ms. Alibi."

Daring took an aggressive step forward. "If there's something you'd like to say, why don't you go ahead and say it?" she dared.

"Fair enough," Shield replied coolly. "Phillip Finder and Irene Alibi, you both are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can—"

"Corporal!" a voice suddenly barked. Every head turned to face the broad-shouldered unicorn with a bushy brown mustache and squinting blue eyes walking out of the burned-out building. His City Guard armor was as polished as the sun itself, and a silver bar was clearly displayed upon his collar. "Is this them?" he asked Shield as he approached.

"Yes, lieutenant," Corporal Shield replied, drawing himself up. "I was just about to place these two 'detectives' under arrest."

The lieutenant turned his narrowed gaze upon Corporal Shield. "And why?"

"These two have shown up at every crime scene in the past two days, and interfered with our investigations," Corporal Shield replied. "I believe that Phillip Finder is a fraud who commits crimes so he can 'solve' them later with the aid of accomplices like Irene Alibi."

Phillip's jaw clenched and his eyes darkened, but before he could react, the lieutenant spoke up. "Interesting theory. Do you have any tangible evidence to back up your accusations?"

Iron Shield's only answer was a stewing silence and a furious glare at his superior officer. "Corporal, perhaps you should go down to the morgue and speak to the pathologist, see if they found anything useful," the lieutenant suggested in a tone that made it clear that it was not a suggestion. Scowling, Iron Shield shot off a brief salute and stalked away.

"You'll have to forgive him," the lieutenant sighed as soon as Shield was out of earshot. "He's got excellent instincts, but he doesn't like admitting when he's wrong." He extended his hoof towards Phillip. "Lieutenant Coonhound. Truth be told, I'm glad for any help; this is getting far out of hoof."

"We'll do what we can, lieutenant," Phillip promised, shaking his hoof. "Have you put security on Dr. Exhibit?"

"Considering that two of her colleagues have died in as many days, we found it prudent to put a squad at her place right away," Lieutenant Coonhound replied.

"Good. Let's take a look at this." Phillip walked up to the burnt house, with Daring and Coonhound following. The building still smelled of smoke, and the floorboards creaked and groaned beneath their hooves. As they passed the dining room, Phillip paused and looked inside. The small table was set for one, with the remains of a partially-eaten meal on the cracked plate. The chair was toppled over and lay on the floor about two feet away.

"We found Dr. Scribe's body in his bedroom," Coonhound explained, pointing up the stairs. "Watch your step going up." The trio trotted up onto the second floor and followed the lieutenant to the bedroom. In the hallway, a heavy grandfather clock was lying facedown across the floor. Phillip paused, crouching over the heavy clock, examining the scorch marks on the fine oak.

"Can you lift that up?" he asked. Lieutenant Coonhound lit up his horn and carefully raised the clock up off the floor with his magic, revealing the face, which was mostly undamaged. "That was already on the floor before the fire started." He signaled for the lieutenant to set the clock back down and they continued down the hallway.

The door to the bedroom had been knocked down by several ax strikes and was lying splintered before the threshold. A chair lay on its side next to it. The room itself and all the furniture therein was fully blackened with scorch marks and the only remnants of the mattress was a shriveled husk.

"The firefighters say that the chair was apparently barricading the door, so they had to break it down," Coonhound told them. "We found Dr. Scribe's body in the far corner. We think...well, hopefully, he suffocated before the flames got to him. The fire started here," he continued, pointing to the floor in front of the bedroom threshold. "We found part of what appears to be part of a flare, and from the shape of the burns, it looks like whoever started the fire poured out some combustible chemicals outside the door and dropped a flare on the pile."

"Scribe had barricaded the door shut and there was no other way in," Daring said. "So whoever it was decided to burn him out."

"Yeah," Phillip agreed. "Someone or something spooked him while he was eating dinner, and he ran up here, pushing the clock over to try to slow him down. When he got here, he barricaded the door and tried to wait for help, but our intruder was apparently determined to kill him." He pulled out his loupe glasses and leaned over the door, peering at the damage. "I see scratch marks...looks like the intruder tried to claw their way in." Pulling a small tape measure out of his vest pocket, he carefully measured the marks. "Hmmm...not a griffon, too thin. Some kind of dog, I think, but they're awful deep."

"Are you sure? What kind of dog could set a fire?" Coonhound asked doubtfully, chewing his mustache in thought.

"A smart dog, or somepony with the dog," Phillip answered, standing back up and exiting the room, instead examining the floor around the source of the fire. For the next half hour, the trio conducted a careful examination of the house and the grounds outside, but found nothing: any further clues had either been destroyed in the fire or trampled by responders. Finally, Phillip returned his loupe glasses to their carrying case with a sigh.

"What do you think, Phil?" Daring asked.

"What I know is that somepony is killing ponies that are related to the Taverneigh Blue, and there's only one left." He turned and faced Coonhound. "Lieutenant, with your permission, Irene and I would like to help with the security for Dr. Exhibit."

Coonhound squinted at them both for several seconds of silence. "You two are private operators, not City Guards. How do I know I can trust you to work with us?"

"Lieutenant, I understand," Daring cut in, removing her glasses so that Coonhound could see her eyes. "Ponies in your city are dying, and you're trying to do everything you can to keep them safe. And you need as much help as you can get." She stepped forward, her stature proud but her eyes humble. "We're here to help. That's all we want. You work with us, we'll work with you. We'll do what you tell us, cooperate fully, if it means keeping Dr. Exhibit safe."

Coonhound chewed on his mustache for a few moments more, considering his options. Finally, he nodded, pulling a pen and a sheaf of paper from his saddlebags with his magic and writing down a brief note. Exiting the building, he signaled a pegasus Guard over and gave him the note. "Escort Mr. Finder and Ms. Alibi to Dr. Exhibit's house," he ordered.

"Thank you, lieutenant," Phillip said, raising his hoof in salute. "We'll do everything we can."

"I'm counting on it," Coonhound replied softly, watching the two detectives follow the Guard back up the street.

Dr. Main Exhibit lived in a stone cottage in a patch of trees just past Century Park. The fields of trees cast the building and grounds in shadows that seemed to reach out towards the house.

"That's two doctors living in two creepy houses," Daring commented as they walked up the pathway to the door. Two City Guards clad in armor stood outside the door. Their escort handed Lieutenant Coonhound's note to one of the Guards, who read the note, then turned away to speak into his radio. After a minute of quiet conversation, he nodded and opened the door.

"Sergeant Bronze Leaf is with Dr. Exhibit, in her study. He'll give you your instructions."

"Thank you," Phillip said, entering the front hall. They proceeded up the stairs to the second floor and down the hallway to the oak door with another Guard standing post outside. Upon seeing them, the Guard knocked at the door. "Come in!" a voice called from inside as the door magically opened, permitting them entry.

Dr. Exhibit's study was lined almost wall-to-wall with books, neatly stacked up like soldiers upon their shelves. A framed diploma from Pranceton University was proudly displayed on the wall behind the desk at which Dr. Exhibit was sitting, her expression strained and a pair of glasses placed upon her snout, scribbling at a long scroll of paper with a quill. A unicorn Guard with an autumnal bronze coat and dark brown hair and eyes was sitting in front of her. Phillip's eyes gravitated to the sergeant's pin on his collar.

"Detectives, I'm Sergeant Bronze Leaf," the Guard greeted them with a respectful nod. "I believe you both have met Dr. Exhibit already." Dr. Exhibit made no sign of acknowledging their presence.

"If the Lieutenant's reaching out to private operators, he must be desperate," Bronze Leaf continued. "But, my orders are to include you as part of the security team, so that's what I'm going to do. First thing you need to know: I'm in charge. You do what I tell you and only what I tell you to do. Clear?"

"Clear, Sergeant," Phillip replied. Daring didn't answer, instead choosing to give him a stony look.

"Good. Second thing: I want you two with me at all times. That means for now, I want you here in this room with me."

"Fine with me," Phillip shrugged, sensing the distrust in the Guard's voice. He trotted over to the window and looked out into the backyard, speaking quietly with the Sergeant about the details of the security arrangements. Bronze Leaf's answers were short and delivered at the wall rather than at Phillip.

Dr. Exhibit continued to work diligently away, as if determined to ignore her new houseguests. Noticing her tension, Daring walked over to the desk. "Dr. Exhibit?" she asked. The museum director did not react to her voice, instead choosing to violently stab her quill into her ink pot before continuing to write. "Hey, are you all right?"

"Please don't try to reassure me," Dr. Exhibit snapped, refusing to look up. Her voice quivered, sounding as strained as a rubber band being stretched to the breaking point. "I am fully aware that dozens of ponies, including two of my closest colleagues and friends, have been assassinated in the past couple of days and I appear to be next, and focusing on my work is my way of dealing with the fear, so please just leave me alone. This translation of Maorein scripture needs to get done regardless." And with that, she pressed her glasses up against her red-streaked eyes and pressed her nose up against the scroll.

Frowning in thought, Daring turned and began to peruse the books on the shelves. One volume caught her eye: a wide, battered paperback sitting off on it's own. Taking it from the shelf, Daring examined the title: The Complete Jules Vanner Collection.

"I loved Jules Vanner," Daring said enthusiastically. Dr. Exhibit looked up, looking at the book with a long expression, as if she had forgotten that it was there. "Around the World in Ninety Days is probably my favorite story in the world; I've always wanted to travel the world like Foggy Path did."

Exhibit blinked, still staring at the book. "I didn't really like that story," she finally said slowly. "Foggy barely spent any time in any place he stopped. He didn't take the time to appreciate where he was, or the historical significance of any of the sights he visited."

Daring let out a small, ironic laugh. "Yeah, I know what you mean." She sat down on the floor next to the desk. "Sometimes it's like we're always running around, trying to figure out where we're going to go or what to do, and we never take the time to just stop and see where we are. And we don't realize that all around us, there are these...stories, just waiting to be told, all these secrets to be uncovered, adventures to go on...and we're just to self-absorbed to notice." She paused, giving Main Exhibit a small smile. "You ever feel like that?"

Slowly, Dr. Exhibit smiled. "Yes. It's why I became a historian. To uncover some of their stories." She set her quill down, her posture visibly relaxing. Opening up a drawer, she extracted a photograph and showed it to Daring. The picture showed the three museum heads—Main Exhibit, Stone Scribe and Dry Bones—standing in the middle of a village of huts, holding a familiar blue diamond and an intricately carved box. All three ponies had large smiles on their faces. "Like with the Taverneigh Blue," Dr. Exhibit whispered, her voice heavy. She stared at the photo for several long seconds before returning it to the drawer.

"I actually preferred Thirty Thousand Leagues Under the Ocean," she changed the subject. "When I first read it as a child, I wanted to go on a submarine voyage myself!"

The two mares began an excited conversation discussing the exploits of Vanner, smiles across both of their faces. Sergeant Leaf watched them with a surprised expression, then turned to Phillip, who was careful to smile only with the side of his face that Leaf couldn't see.

The night came on far too quickly, the sun setting beneath the horizon to bring on the darkness, enveloping the woods and cottage. The forest became malevolent in the dark, the wind sending threatening whispers through the leaves, accompanied by the gentle chorus of night animals.

Dr. Exhibit retired to her bed at nine. Two hours later, Bronze Leaf, Phillip and Daring were still standing in the hallway outside her bedroom. Sergeant Leaf was leaning against the wall next to her door, his eyes shut and breathing slow in the semi-sleep of one waiting for danger. Phillip and Daring stood sentinel on the wall opposite. A draft passed through the hallway and a shiver traveled up and down Phillip's body.

"You cold?" Daring asked, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, shrugging his shoulders and pulling his vest up. A moment later, he felt a wing being draped over his body, pulling him in close. "Daring, not in front of—"

"Forget about him." Daring nestled him against her chest. "I can't have you getting hypothermia, now can I?" She smiled. "Besides, it's not the first time we've curled up to keep warm."

Phillip managed to smile in return, relaxing into Daring's embrace. "Remember that snowstorm in the Macintosh Hills? When we had to stay in that cabin for three days?"

"Three days in a cabin in the snow, just you and me around the fireplace." Daring chuckled once, very softly. "It would have been romantic if you hadn't almost frozen to death."

"I never did thank you properly for saving me," Phillip admitted.

Daring glanced up to make sure that Bronze Leaf's eyes were still closed, then kissed Phillip on the top of his head. "What're friends for?"

Something fluttered in Phillip's chest: something held back, some word that couldn't be said. He looked up at those rosy eyes, so bright in the dim hallway, and found himself being drawn in close...

"Sniper three has movement," a voice came over the Sergeant's radio. Instantly, Bronze Leaf snapped awake, cradling the radio in his hoof. At the same moment, Phillip and Daring pulled away from each other, pulling themselves to their hooves as they awaited the inevitable confirmation through the radio.

"Never mind. Just a deer," the voice declared a second later. Everypony slowly relaxed.

The next moment, there came a piercing scream from inside the bedroom. Bronze Leaf kicked the door open and the trio burst inside. The light from Leaf's horn revealed that Dr. Exhibit had fallen out of her bed and was huddled in the corner away from a dark, four-legged shape clad in dark robes in the center of the room. A tile was missing from the ceiling, providing a clue as to the burglar's entry method.

The intruder reacted immediately to their presence, snapping a limb out towards the trio of ponies. Daring grabbed her two companions and pulled them down just in time for them to dodge three throwing knives launched at their heads. With a furious yell, Sergeant Leaf launched himself at the intruder, bringing them both to the ground. A set of claw-like blades extended from the killer's sleeve and buried themselves into Leaf's unarmored stomach, ripping into the flesh like paper. The killer kicked Leaf off of him and into Phillip and Daring, knocking them all over, then leapt back up and dove through the window. Agilely rolling when it hit the ground, the figure began to race towards the line of trees before any of the Guards could react.

Leaf groaned, clutching his bleeding stomach. "I'm fine!" he growled through gritted teeth. "Get after him!"

Spreading her wings, Daring flew out the window after their quarry. Phillip jumped out, tucking and rolling when he hit the ground and immediately sprinting after her into the woods. A squad of Guards came right on his tail, their flashlights struggling to pierce the dark.

"Where'd he go?" somepony shouted.

"Everypony fan out!" a dark blue unicorn corporal ordered, sweeping the trees with her flashlight. "Search every inch of these woods and—"

Her orders were interrupted by a sound, a sound unlike any night creature: a strange, whooping giggling that rose with the wind, echoing through the darkness.

"Oh, no," Daring whispered, slowly turning in midair as she searched for the source of the insane laughter. The giggles became louder, coming from the shadows surrounding them, echoing in everypony's head.

"Everypony stay together!" Daring exclaimed, landing next to Phillip.

"What the hell is that?" he hissed, drawing his baton.

Daring swallowed, her eyes struggling to pierce the enveloping darkness. "It's a hyena."

Author's Notes:

Things are going from bad to worse...and the bodies haven't stopped falling yet.

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