Sunkick's eyes shot open. He was lying down on a patch of grass across the road from Sweet Apple Acres. He didn't remember how he ended up there. In fact, he hardly remembered anything he had done following leaving the hospital earlier that afternoon. A pain in the back of his skull caused him to groan slightly as he sat up. His vision was a little blurred but it cleared up within seconds. He tried to remember what had happened that afternoon but all he could remember were vague images: a single tree in a field, a happy griffin, a glowing female creature, a straight-haired Pinkie Pie, an unconscious Stormflower, a cardboard box, and Scootaloo sitting next to him in a train car. A familiar chill ran down his spine, though this didn't signify the arrival of a spirit. This signified the return of a memory. A recent memory that had escaped his focus for reasons that not even Celestia herself would be able to figure out.

He could remember sitting in that train car with Stormflower, Joan, and Scootaloo. That familiar chill had returned to him and the muffled voice of Rainbow Dash had given him a message. For some reason, he had forgotten about the message. Now it was back in his mind and was as clear as a glass lake. It had been a fairly short message but only two words stuck out to him.

"Pinkie Pie," he breathed. That's what she had said. Her message had something to do with Pinkie Pie. What could she have been saying? Was she telling him to do something for Pinkie Pie or...was she saying that Pinkie Pie was her killer? Sunkick didn't want to think about the latter but that was slowly becoming the realistic conclusion. His recent spiritual trips to the afterlife and his visions of the sad Pinkie hiding away in the dark void were pretty much spelling it out for him: Pinkie Pie was the killer. "I don't want to believe it...but...is it really true?"

"Whatcha doing?" asked a familiar voice. Sunkick turned to see Scootaloo sitting next to him.

"Oh...hey Scootaloo."

Sunkick looked across the road towards Sweet Apple Acres. Yellow police tape was stretched across the fence and a group of investigators were standing in front of the barn where Aaron was murdered. Sunkick and Scootaloo looked up towards one of the upstairs windows of the farmhouse. Apple Bloom was looking out of the window. She looked incredibly sad. She saw Sunkick and Scootaloo and waved; they followed suit. The group of investigators looked up at Apple Bloom suspiciously which caused her to recoil back into the room.

"I feel sorry for her," said Scootaloo. Sunkick nodded and sighed with agreement. The Apple family definitely wasn't doing so well at the moment. The recent murder and discovery of the boxed up bodies had caused work at the orchard to come to a grinding halt. Applejack and her family were practically prisoners in their own home as most of the town, including some of the investigators, were casting suspicion on them. "You don't think the killer's one of them; do you, Sunkick?"

"No. I know for a fact that the killer is not one of them," he replied.

"You know? Does that mean that you know the killer's identity?!"

"I'm not sure. Hopefully the discovery of the bodies will shed some more light on the killer."

"Aren't you going to say it?"

"Say what?"

"That I'm too young and that I shouldn't be worrying myself with stuff like this."

"No."

"Really?!"

"You may be young but I think, in a sense, you're kind of mature and brave for your age. I don't see any reason to hold back some of the details from you. Just don't expect me to go into any type of graphic details."

Sunkick was met with a warm hug.

"If I had a brother, I wish he were you," she cooed. Sunkick could only smile and hug her back. He hadn't known the filly for that long but he still felt a sort of connection to her. She pulled away from him and jumped into the air. It took Sunkick a moment to realize that she was flying. She wasn't that high, though. She was only levitating about one to two feet off of the ground, but Sunkick was still impressed. "Stormflower's lessons have helped me out a lot."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see that you're improving," he said.

"If only Rainbow Dash could see me fly."

Sunkick sighed. The name of his sister was pretty much followed by a wave of awkward sadness nowadays. Tomorrow it will have been one week since her funeral. It was incredibly ironic since Aaron's funeral was also tomorrow. Sunkick wanted to chuckle at the irony of the situation but this wasn't the type of irony that he found to be chuckle-worthy.

Then he heard it. That familiar, happy-go-lucky sound that nowadays made his hairs stand up with fear. An oblivious, humming tune that signified the arrival of a certain pink mare. And, sure enough, there she was, trotting her way down the road.

"She hasn't seen us yet!" Sunkick whispered to himself. He quickly grabbed Scootaloo and hid her and himself behind a large bush. Pinkie Pie came to a halt in front of the gate leading into Sweet Apple Acres. The door to the farmhouse opened and out walked Brutus and Applejack.

"Thank you for your time, Applejack," he said as he approached the gate.

"Have ya found more of them?" she asked. Brutus lowered his head sadly and nodded.

"Loads. It's an earthly sea of bodies. It sickens me that so many ponies could be murdered and it's not until now that their disappearances have been noticed."

"Smart killer, ah guess."

"Or dumb town."

"What did ya just say?!"

"Sorry...I had no right to say such a thing."

"Damn right you didn't! Aaron may have been an ass at points but at least he didn't insult my town!"

"I apologize."

"Good day, Brutus."

Applejack snorted angrily and made her way back to the farmhouse.

"What's got her bitch switch turned on?" Brutus asked himself.

"Hi there!" said Pinkie happily. Brutus jumped slightly but became relieved at the sight of the pink earth pony.

"Oh. Hello, Ms. Pie. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing great! You don't have to call me Ms. Pie! Just call me Pinkie Pie or Pinkie! Whatever floats your boat!"

"Okay, Pinkie Pie. I better be on my way."

"Okie-dokie-lokie!"

Brutus passed through the gate and walked past Pinkie Pie. Sunkick and Scootaloo watched as a dark smile appeared on Pinkie's face. She turned away from Brutus and looked towards the orchard.

"What was that face about? I've never seen Pinkie Pie smile like that before!" Scootaloo whispered. "That was a scary smile. It seemed almost...almost-"

"Pure evil," Sunkick finished. Pinkie turned away from the orchard and continued on her way.

Just as she passed the bush concealing Sunkick and Scootaloo, she snickered, "That poor bastard is nothing to worry about."

Sunkick and Scootaloo were blown away by Pinkie's comment. It didn't even sound like it had come from Pinkie Pie. The tone was different, the voice was almost different, and it was definitely not something Pinkie Pie would normally say to herself.

"What did she mean by that, Sunkick?!" Scootaloo whispered as she and Sunkick emerged from the bush. Pinkie had already become a speck in the distance. Sunkick remained silent. Scootaloo looked up at him with a confused and slightly scared look on her face. "Sunkick?"

He was certain about it now. The message was perfectly clear. It was a hard truth to accept but he had no choice but to heed his dead sister's warning and make haste. There were many questions in Sunkick's mind at the moment but one thing was certain: Pinkie Pie was the killer and, if he didn't do something, there would be more boxed up bodies to dig up from Sweet Apple Acres.