Twilight awoke with a cold sweat running down her back. The dream she had just awoken from had not been a pleasant one. She had been trapped in a dark room filled with the bodies of dead ponies. In the middle of the room there had been a blood-covered Rainbow Dash holding the decapitated head of Aaron.

"Do you still deny it?" they had said to her. It was when Rainbow Dash had exploded into a cloud of rotting flesh that Twilight finally woke up.

"You okay, Twilight?" asked a familiar voice. Twilight looked to find a concerned Spike looking down at her. "You were screaming in your sleep."

"I was? I'm sorry," she groaned.

"Bad dream?"

"You could say that. What time is it?"

"Seven o'clock in the morning."

Twilight pulled herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom.

"I'll make you some breakfast while you take your bath," Spike said.

"Thanks, Spike," Twilight yawned as she shut the door. Spike made his way downstairs where he began work on a batch of pancakes.

Spike had just finished a set of pancakes when there was a knock on the door. He quickly ran to the door and opened it.

"Good morning, Rarity," Spike said happily.

"Morning, Spike. Is Twilight awake yet?" Rarity asked.

"She's upstairs taking a bath. She should be out soon so you can just wait if you want to."

"No problem."

Rarity entered the library and Spike shut the door behind her.

"Do you want some pancakes?" he asked.

"No thank you. I already had a bite to eat earlier," she replied.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Since five in the morning at least. I just couldn't sleep. There was a loud ruckus last night."

"What kind of a ruckus?"

"Well...Storm-"

"Hey, Rarity," said the tired voice of Twilight Sparkle. The lavender unicorn descended the stairs and approached her friend. Her mane was still straight and damp from the bath she had just taken.

"How are you feeling, Twilight? You look a bit...out of it," Rarity stated.

"I am out of it. Too many bad things have happened recently. Rainbow Dash, Aaron, and now there's that burial ground at Sweet Apple Acres! I'm almost at my breaking point!"

"Here you go!" Spike said as he placed a plate of pancakes in front of Twilight. She smiled and began to slowly consume one of the pancakes. "So, Rarity, you wanted to see Twilight about something?"

"Yes," Rarity sighed. Neither Twilight nor Spike liked Rarity's sudden, depressed tone. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but...something else has happened."

Twilight nearly choked on a bite of pancake.

"WHAT?!" she snapped.

"Was it another murder?" Spike asked as he nibbled on his claws.

"No...but it was an attempted murder," Rarity said.

"An attempted murder?" Twilight asked as she slowly regained her breath.

"Yes. Stormflower returned to Ponyville last night. She ran into Fluttershy and Irena and, as she prepared to head off to Rainbow Dash's house, the murderer attacked her."

"Is she okay?"

"She's alive...but it was a nasty attack. The killer sliced her throat open."

"How is she still alive?!"

"The killer may have cut her throat but they failed to cut her windpipe. That's what kills you if your throat's slit. As long as the windpipe is intact, you have a chance to survive."

"So she just barely made it out of there! Incredible!"

"There's more. The killer attempted to finish Stormflower off but Irena got in the way. The knife was driven deep into the right side of her chest."

"Irena...what's her condition?"

"Surprisingly, she's in a better state than Stormflower. Irena regained consciousness a couple hours after the attack. Stormflower, though, is still unconscious. The doctors had to perform some minor surgery on her neck in order to save her life. She was bleeding quite profusely."

"But she's alive?"

"Yes. She should wake up pretty soon."

"Where did you hear about this?" Spike asked.

"I heard it from Lyra. She and Bon-Bon actually ran into Stormflower immediately before she ran into Fluttershy and Irena. Lyra directed me to the hospital and Fluttershy filled me in on the rest."

"Fluttershy," Twilight breathed. Twilight sat there and thought about how horrible is must have been for Fluttershy to witness such a brutal attack. "Is she, Fluttershy, still at the hospital?"

"Yes. She's waiting to see Stormflower and Irena. I tried to see them but the doctors and nurses wouldn't let me."

"Why don't we go there now? Maybe they're letting visitors in now."

"I'm not sure but it's worth a shot."

"Good. You coming, Spike?"

"Yeah. I want to see if they're alright," the dragon replied. They were about to leave when Twilight instantly remembered something. She walked over to the couch and reached underneath. She pulled out a small cardboard box and placed it in a satchel (which she proceeded to place over her back).

"What's that?" Rarity asked.

"A gift for Stormflower," Twilight replied.

"You're giving Stormflower a gift?" Spike asked.

"It's not from me. It's from Rainbow Dash."

Spike and Rarity exchanged uncomfortable glances before following Twilight out of the library.

This had to be one of the most active mornings Twilight had experienced in her entire time in Ponyville. Almost everypony was up and about, talking about the attempted murder of Stormflower. Lots of ponies were making their way to the hospital but found their path blocked by a militia of Canterlot guards.

"By orders of the Princesses, nopony shall enter this hospital until further notice!" announced a unicorn guard.

"Oh dear! How are we going to get in now?" Rarity groaned.

"I think I know a way," said Twilight with a deceptive grin. There was a bright flash of light and suddenly Twilight, Spike, and Rarity were standing in a hospital hallway.

"Good thinking, Twilight!" Spike exclaimed.

"Strange, I expected some type of magical barrier to be put in place to prevent any unicorns from teleporting in."

"Then why did you try teleporting inside in the first place?"

"Just for the hell of it. Fortunately there wasn't a barrier."

"Excuse me, but what are you three doing in here?" asked a stern, familiar voice. Twilight, Spike, and Rarity turned around to see none other than Brutus standing behind them.

"Brutus," Twilight said with a guilty look plastered on her face.

"The Princesses have forbidden anypony else to enter this hospital unless it is an absolute emergency."

"Please, Brutus. I'm a friend of Stormflower and Irena. I just wanted to make sure that they're alright. I also want to make sure that my friend Fluttershy isn't too traumatized by the event."

"Rules are rules, Ms. Sparkle. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask you and your friends to leave."

"Come on, Mr. Brutus. Can you let this slide for just once?" cooed Rarity as she gave Brutus a look that would make any stallion's knees buckle.

"I...well...I'm sorry! You must all leave! Now!"

Brutus turned away from Rarity and beckoned her, Twilight, and Spike out of the hospital. Twilight sighed with defeat and was prepared to leave when a familiar figure appeared before them.

"Come now, Brutus. You can at least let my student check up on her wounded friends," said Princess Celestia.

"If you say so, your majesty," Brutus replied as he gave a quick bow. Twilight smiled as Celestia winked at her. Brutus disappeared down a nearby hallway and Twilight, Spike, and Rarity sighed with relief.

"Thank you, Princess," said Twilight.

"It was my pleasure, Twilight. Stormflower and Irena are not able to be visited yet but you can wait in the waiting room with the others who have already arrived," Celestia replied. The Princess then led Twilight, Spike, and Rarity down the hallway and into a fairly large waiting room. Fluttershy was there and she was accompanied by her pet rabbit Angel, Sunkick, Scootaloo, Princess Luna, Thunder Storm, and Caroline.

"Twilight!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"Hey Fluttershy. How are you feeling?" Twilight asked awkwardly.

"I'll be fine...I hope."

"She's still a bit shaken from what she witnessed," said Luna.

"I'll bet," said Twilight. She then turned to face Sunkick, Thunder Storm, and Caroline. "I heard that Stormflower's going to be okay."

Caroline's eyes were puffy and red. It was obvious that she had been crying recently. Both Sunkick and Thunder Storm had stone-cold looks. Twilight didn't need to ask how they were feeling because it was pretty obvious. Sunkick exhaled deeply and turned to face Twilight.

"I...I can't believe that I almost lost another sister," he said.

"I heard it's because of Irena that she was able to survive the attack," said Spike.

"She was so brave. I would never have been able to do what she did," Fluttershy admitted.

"We owe her a huge debt. She prevented our family from suffering anymore grief," said Caroline. Thunder Storm patted her on the shoulder and then turned to Twilight.

"Are you still continuing your investigation?" he asked.

"My participation in the investigation has been somewhat rocky since Aaron passed away," Twilight replied. She fell silent. She hadn't thought about Aaron for a little while. She then remembered that his funeral was the following day. The discovery at Sweet Apple Acres and the attack on Stormflower and Irena had made her forget about it.

"Somepony better find the bitch or bastard that did all this. They've killed my Dashie and have tried to kill my Stormy. The investigators better hope that they find the killer before I do, because if I find them first then there won't be anything else left for the investigators to clean up."

"The killer will face justice. No evil goes unpunished."

A nurse pony entered the room with a grim look on her face.

"You can see her now, but she's still unconscious," she said.

"Thank you," said Thunder Storm. The small group then walked through a nearby door that led into Stormflower's hospital room.

The room looked a lot like the room Twilight had been in following her little episode with Pinkie Pie. Stormflower looked calm and peaceful tucked into the white sheets of the hospital bed. A series of fresh stitches were sewn into the front of her neck but, aside from that, she looked like she was simply sleeping. Sunkick, Thunder Storm, and Caroline sat next to Stormflower and occasionally patted her head.

"Sister, we better go check on the crowds," Luna suggested.

"Of course. We will visit Stormflower once she awakens," said Celestia. The two princesses exited through the doorway.

"You can also visit Irena if you want to," said the nurse pony.

"Thank you," said Twilight. She turned back and looked at the unconscious Stormflower surrounded by her remaining family. "Come on. I think we should give them some time alone."

Spike, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Scootaloo nodded as they followed Twilight out of the room.

"Is she going to be okay?" Scootaloo asked.

"I believe so," Twilight replied. It didn't take them long to reach the room where Irena was staying. They walked in to find Irena talking to Joan. "Joan?!"

"Hey, Twilight," Joan said glumly.

"What are you doing in here?"

"I came to visit Stormflower and Irena. I tried to visit Stormflower but I wasn't able to. So I came to talk to Irena."

"You're allowed to visit Stormflower if you want to. She's still unconscious, though."

"Her family's in there with her," said Scootaloo.

"I better give them some time alone then," said Joan.

"How are you feeling, Irena?" Rarity asked. Irena groaned and fell back on her bed. There was an seemingly-endless amount on bandages wrapped around Irena's chest. There were a few red spots here and there but she appeared to be alright.

"I've been better but at least the pain has gone down," she replied.

"That was a really brave thing that you did," said Spike and Scootaloo together.

"Thanks. It was instinct really. I needed to protect Stormflower from the killer and it appears that I was successful. This wound was totally worth preventing another death in this town."

"Do you remember anything about the killer?" Twilight asked.

"I know about as much as Fluttershy knows. It was a pony wearing a black jumpsuit and a black mask. I couldn't even make out the eyes. It could have been anypony for all I know."

"I wish there was a way that we could identify the killer."

"Hey, Irena. Didn't you punch the killer in the nose?" Fluttershy asked.

"I believe so," Irena replied.

"Maybe we should look for ponies with broken or bruised noses!" Scootaloo suggested.

"That could work," said Joan. "I'll go suggest it to the investigators."

Joan then nodded goodbye to Irena and ran out of the room.

"So what were you two talking about before we came in here?" Rarity asked. Irena chuckled and smiled.

"The usual. He asked me if I was okay and told me that if I wanted anything all I'd have to do is ask him. He'll probably tell the same thing to Stormflower when she wakes up," she replied. Twilight looked at the satchel hanging over her back and began making her way out of the room. "Where are you off to?"

"I have something that I want to give to Stormflower," Twilight replied as she left the room.

Sunkick, Thunder Storm, and Caroline were still sitting next to Stormflower when Twilight entered.

"Twilight," said Sunkick. Twilight walked up next to Stormflower and pulled the box out of the satchel. She placed it on the table standing next to the bed and then patted the unconscious pegasus on the head.

"What's that?" Thunder Storm asked.

"A gift," Twilight replied.

"A gift for Stormflower? Thank you, Twilight," said Caroline happily.

"Don't thank me. It wasn't my idea to have this gift made for Stormflower," said Twilight with a saddened look on her face.

"Who's the gift from then?" Thunder Storm asked.

"Rainbow Dash."

The three pegasi fell quiet as Twilight gave a polite nod and left the room.