Joan woke up with a searing pain in his forehead. It quickly went away though and he gave a loud yawn as he pulled himself out of bed. He was back in the guest bedroom that he was staying in at Edgar's farm. The door opened and Sunkick entered. He was followed by a somewhat elderly gray mare with a neat gray mane, half-moon yellow spectacles, a black and white striped collar, and a cutie mark of three rocks. She was pushing a moveable table with toast, eggs, and orange juice.

"Good," sighed Rachel Cross. "You're awake!"

Joan smiled as Sunkick and Rachel approached him.

"How are you feeling?" Sunkick asked. Joan sat back down on the bed and scratched his head.

"I'm fine. Woke up with a few pains though but they're gone now," Joan replied. Rachel pushed the table up next to Joan and smiled. "It's been a long time since I last saw you, Mrs. Cross."

"Oh yes. It's certainly been a long time indeed. It's a pleasure seeing you again, Joan. Now only if Irena and Pinkamena would drop by for a visit every once in awhile," she said.

"What happened to you yesterday?" Sunkick asked. "Stormflower and Mr. Cross didn't give me much of the details."

"I...I just had this pain in my head and I passed out," Joan replied.

"That's it? You just passed out?"

"Pretty much."

"Well that's disappointing," said a voice from the doorway. Scootaloo entered with her head cocked at an angle. "I expected there to be more to it than just a pain in your head."

"Did you want it to be something more?" Joan asked.

"I dunno."

"Where's Stormflower?"

"I haven't seen her since last night," Rachel replied.

"Same here," said Sunkick. "Maybe she's still asleep."

"It's pretty early. I wouldn't be surprised if she is. She did stay up pretty late."

"I'll go check up on her."

"I'll come with you!" said Scootaloo. The two pegasi then disappeared down the hallway.

"She was really concerned about you," Rachel said as she turned to face Joan.

"I'll have to apologize to her later for making her worry," Joan said with a slight chuckle.

"Damn it, Stormflower!" echoed Sunkick's voice from down the hallway. Joan and Rachel ran out of the room and down the hallway towards Stormflower's room. They walked in to find Sunkick and Scootaloo, but no Stormflower. The bed was made, the window was closed, and Stormflower's bag was gone. Sunkick was standing next to the bed, reading a note that had been laid on the pillow. "This is so like her! Running off without telling anypony!"

"Where is she?" Joan asked. "Where's Stormflower?"

Sunkick turned towards Joan and Rachel and sighed.

"She's gone. She's gone off to talk to a certain pony," Sunkick replied.

"Who?"

"Bellamina's killer."

Meanwhile, many miles away, Stormflower was sitting comfortably in an empty train compartment. She was still somewhat sleepy due to having woken up at around four in the morning. She munched her way through a bag of crackers as the train rolled through the lush countryside. The dead plains and dark forests of the rock farms had been left far behind her. She felt bad about leaving Joan, Mr. Cross, and the others on such short notice but she felt that she had to do this by herself. Something was telling her that this killer, Rufus, was the key to everything. Maybe he could prove useful in revealing Rainbow Dash's killer's identity. Who could prove more handy in finding a serial killer than an actual serial killer? It was a long shot but Stormflower was willing to try.

Stormflower gave out a loud sigh and thought about the death of Mr. Cross's daughter, Bellamina. Was she really going there just to find Rainbow's killer or was she going for another purpose? Could it be curiosity. Curiosity about seeing the colt who went out of his way to kill innocent young ponies? Stormflower wasn't completely sure about her reasoning of seeking out the filly killer but something was telling her that this was the right thing to do at the moment.

"Maybe this...meeting with him will help me move on in some way," she said to herself. "But how? How will meeting Bellamina's killer help me find Rainbow's killer in any way? Is this all just one pointless goose chase? Am I just going because of what Mr. Cross told me? No. There has to be more to it. That shack was telling me something. I couldn't sense it completely then but I do now. Joan sensed it. His lost memories are starting to return to him. This all can't be just one large coincidence. I'm positive that it's all connected. Bellamina, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and all the murders in between. They're all connected. They have to be. They just have to be." An image of Rainbow Dash appeared in Stormflower's mind and a tear rolled down her face. "I'll avenge you, Dashie. I'll avenge you."

Stormflower looked out the window and examined the changing landscape passing by outside. She then sighed and closed her eyes.

"I should be in Canterlot in a few hours," she said as she gave a big yawn. She then drifted off to sleep as the sound of train wheels rolling on train tracks reverberated throughout the compartment.