Lone slammed his fist into the wall of his office. “How’d she get away from there?”

“I’m more interested in why she came to Canterlot,” a unicorn stallion with bone white skin and hair wearing dress pants and short sleeved black shirt said. “Manehattan, right?”

“Los Pegsaus,” Shade answered. “Doubt she came because of the nightlife here, or the corruption.”

“Thrill of it, maybe,” Mist asked. “She did kill the guy next to a bar she knew was occupied.”

“You get a look at the mare, Lone?” the stallion asked.

He shook his head. “No, she looked like the average mare you’d see there. Nothing to remember on a first glance unless you were looking for her.”

“You can’t raise her victims?” Mist asked.

“Tried that,” the stallion replied. “They’d be nothing but mindless husks. Nothing to get from ‘em.”

“Damn it,” Shade said, rubbing the base of her muzzle.

“One bright side to this,” Mist said. “It narrows the suspect pool.”

“Hopefully,” Lone said. “We know she’s intelligent. For all we know, she walked here from Los Pegasus, or took an airship to Manehattan, followed by a name and appearance change, then a train to Ponyville, repeat step two, then a train ride to Canterlot.”

“And she knows ponies will be after her,” the albino stallion commented.

“What I want to know is why we didn’t get any files on her when she was captured,” Mist said.

“We didn’t know it was her,” Lone said. “Whoever this is, either it’s a copycat, or she is one of the most devious buckers on the face of this planet.”

“No activity from the group that tried to kill Twilight, either,” Shade said. “Both of them are smart.”

“They aren’t Sunbeam, though,” Mist said. “We’ll take them down before something exciting happens.”

The four were silent for a time before the stallion spoke up. “You guys remember what Sunbeam’s last words were?”

“What are you talking about, Cross?” Mist asked. “She didn’t say anything.”

“Maybe not to the level you could hear,” Cross replied. “But I’m a necromancer. If anyone can hear one’s last words, it’s me.”

“What’d she say?” Lone asked.

“I don’t remember the exact wording, but it was along the lines of this.” Cross cleared his throat. “‘I might be gone, but you can’t stop my plans. Only a fool does not plan for their death.’ We all know how much she loved long stretching plans.”

Lone, Shade, and Mist looked at each other. “Cross? You aren’t suggesting-”

“That Sunbeam Sparkle planned this?” Cross asked. “There are many forms of death. All experience the death of the flesh; most experience the death of the spirit. Few have a second death of the flesh. And must I point out the points of mystery in the Sparkle house’s past since Sunbeam’s death?”

“Even if that’s the case, why now?” Shade asked. “Why not fifty years ago, when most ponies alive during our hunt for her would have died of old age or forgotten what she did.”

“I don’t know,” Cross said. “I’m a necromancer, not a Spirit Caller.”

“Sunbeam did dabble is seeing,” Mist commented.

Lone squinted at this. The killings beginning when Twilight became a Princess, Sunbeam’s skills. The Sparkles. . . “We need to bring in Twilight’s parents.”

The other three looked at him. “Lone, without any solid evidence, we can’t arrest-”

“Screw the rules,” Lone said. “The four of us are outcasts. Cross is a necromancer, Mist is a changeling, and Shade’s a vampire. We agreed when we started this guard that we wouldn’t let red tape stop us. Are we going to go back on that now?”

Shade sighed. “Lone, it’s not just that,” she said. “We need to consider if Twilight’s mom is in on this.”

Cross nodded. “The Sparkle matriarchs have always had incredible power, hidden or no.”

“And not taking that into consideration, no way Celestia will let us near Twilight’s family as long as she thinks we’re biased,” Mist commented.

“Then it’s a good thing we don’t give a shit what Celestia thinks,” Lone said. “Mist, time to break out one of your old disguises. Shade; find Velvet.”

“And what am I to do, Lone?” Cross asked. “Better question: what are you going to do?”

“You’re going to make sure Twilight doesn’t get involved. I don’t care what you have to do,” Lone replied. “As for me? I’m going to talk with Celestia.”

Celestia’s study-one hour later

“Absolutely not,” Celestia said. “I heard what you said last night, Lone. I highly doubt the Sparkle house is capable of what you think is going on. I taught Sunbeam myself; not one lesson included seeing the future.”

“Doesn’t mean she didn’t learn it herself,” Lone countered. “Of course, we can’t find out now.”

Celestia glared at Lone. “Even not taking Twilight into consideration, Lone, the Sparkle household have been paragons since Luna’s banishment, Sunbeam being the only exception. Unless you bring me concrete evidence of them being involved, you won’t have me backing you.”

“And since when has that stopped us?”

Celestia let a small smile loose. “Of course, I couldn’t do anything if I never found out you disobeyed me. But I know you’d never do that.”

Shadow Guard headquarters-meanwhile

Twilight looked around the library nervously, as she had gotten a message to report here for her next lesson, and had been waiting for ten minutes and twelve seconds. Fourteen. Fifteen. Six- “Ah, you must be the new recruit.”

“Gah!” Twilight shouted, jumping in the air at the voice behind her, as she heard nothing to indicate a pony coming up behind her. When she turned to face the pony, she was met with an albino earth pony.

“My apologies if I scared you, Miss,” the stallion said, bowing. “Holy Cross is my name, and Lone has instructed me to educate you on the basics of dark magic.” Twilight was a little confused by this, as Cross-she doubted he’d like being called Holy-wore the robes of a priest in Celestia’s church; yellow robes with red and orange ribbon. At seeing her confusion, he elaborated. “I was once a Father in our majesty’s church, but events led me to meeting Lone years ago during one of his adventures,” he said. “I had already learned of my skill at the talent for which I am now a member of this guard, and Lone simply helped me see the good it could do. I was excommunicated at my behest so I would not sully the church or Princess Celestia’s name with further use of my talent.”

“Oh,” Twilight said. “Wh-what exactly can you do?”

“Ah, now that would be telling, Miss Sparkle,” Cross said, with a slight hostility in his voice only the three closest to him would know. “Would you like it if somepony were to come up to you and ask what secret ability you have?” At Twilight’s silence, Cross said, “Yes, I thought so. Any other questions?”

“Just what are we going to be doing first,” Twilight nervously replied.

“An easy one for one of your power,” Cross said. “Conjuring one’s fears. Which is why I brought help you might very well know,” he said as, to Twilight’s surprise, Starlight came around a corner, a book in her hand and head down.

“You know, you could have just told her and ignored the question?” Starlight said. “I’ve been waiting there for ten minutes.”

“Hush, you.”

Author's Notes:

So, and one wanna guess what's going on?