From the moment when Sharpshooter's blast had gone through Fluttershy, to the moment when the yellow pony hit the ground and gave up her proverbial ghost, time itself seemed to stand still. The princesses watched everything with eyes not of their own making. It seemed as if some type of apparition had possessed them and the entire world around them, causing things to slow down and creep along at a sloth's pace.

But when Fluttershy hit the ground, time suddenly sped up once again. A great commotion occurred in the marketplace. Ponies ran this way and that, trying with great urgency to find the pony who would dare commit such a crime. Everypony loved Fluttershy, and they all wanted to catch whoever it was that shot her.

Up on top of the building, the princesses hurled themselves onto Sharpshooter and held her down, refusing to let go. "YOU WITCH!" Sunlight screamed in a blind rage, "HOW COULD YOU?! FLUTTERSHY WAS THE NICEST, KINDEST, SWEETEST PONY EVER! SHE NEVER DID ANYTHING TO HURT ANYPONY! WHY?! WHY?!"

"I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN MYSELF!" Sharpshooter screamed back

"OH, YES YOU DO," Flurry yelled, "WE ARE PRINCESSES OF CELESTIA, AND IF YOU DON'T WANNA END UP IN TARTARUS OR WORSE, YOU'D BETTER START TALKING!"

Sharpshooter gave them both a murderous stare and fired up her horn. "If you ask me to talk one more time," she threatened, "I'll put both of you in the same grave that revolting yellow Pegasus now sits in!"

When she heard the term "revolting" being used to describe one of her closest friends, Sunlight flew into an absolute rage. Her power was just as great as Midnight's had been, and soon, she was calling on storm clouds to come from Cloudsdale. Lightning flashed around them and she directed it to strike the now frightened sniper beneath them.

"NO!" Sharpshooter yelled, "please! I'll do anything! I'll do anything!"

"THEN…TALK!" Sunlight screamed in a voice so demonic, it nearly knocked Flurry over. "Sunlight! Stop this!" She said suddenly. Sunlight turned and saw her cousin's panicked look and immediately dropped everything. "Do you really wanna stoop to HER level?!" Flurry asked as she pointed to Sharpshooter.

"No…I guess not," Sunlight said, "but still. I want her dead! She's killed Pinkie, Applejack, and now Fluttershy! She needs to pay with her life, and I'll take it myself if I have to!"

Flurry shook her cousin. "You've got to calm down and let Celestia, Luna, and our moms deal with her! All we can do is take her back to the castle and lock her in the dungeon."

"Oh…I don't think you'll be taking me anywhere," Sharpshooter sneered, "see ya!" With that, she prepared to teleport herself away from there and to her next target. But the two fillies held her down. "Oh, no, you don't," Flurry said, "I'm gonna be the only one doing any teleporting around here."

So, she grabbed Sunlight and Sharpshooter and teleported them into the Castle of Friendship's throne room. She guessed that Twilight, Flash, and their friends would be gathered there to discuss their recent losses. After all, good friends lean on each other in times of great crisis. This seemed like an opportune time for Twilight to have called a meeting.

Flurry guessed correctly. They suddenly appeared in the throne room. Twilight was a bit surprised by the sudden intrusion, but she smiled at her daughter and niece. Then she noticed Sharpshooter. "Who, may I ask, is our guest?"

"Mommy, this is Sharpshooter," Sunlight said, "she's the one who…who…who just killed three of our friends."

"Three?!" Twilight asked, "but…I thought only two had died!"

"Fluttershy…" was all Sunlight could say before bursting into tears. The mood in the room turned even grimmer then it had been. "No…" Twilight said as tears rolled freely, "…not Fluttershy…" She turned and buried her head in her sister's shoulder, crying freely. Starlight patted her on the back, trying her best to be comforting but fighting through tears of her own.

She peered around Twilight's throne and noticed with shock that it was the same pony she had known back in Sire's Hollow. She gave Twilight an understanding look, got up and walked over to the sniper. "Tulip, what the heck are you doing here?"

"Starlight!" Sharpshooter suddenly said. Gasps were heard. "You KNOW this pony?!" Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief. Starlight nodded. "Yes, I do. We were…friends back in Sire's Hollow."

"I was never your friend!" Sharpshooter said defiantly, "you sold me out! You screwed me over!"

"I did the right thing!" Starlight said as her anger mounted, "and now here I find you, still offing ponies for a living! It breaks my heart, Tulip. You did your time!"

Sunlight and Flurry both looked at Sharpshooter. They were in such a hurry to get her back here, they hadn't even bothered to ask her name. "By the way," Flurry said, "what is your name?"

"My name is Sharpshooter!" The evil mare responded.

"Oh, no, it's not. Your name is Tulip Mane." Starlight said. A fit of giggles burst out in the room. "Tulip Mane?!" Rainbow Dash asked, "wow…what a name for a killer!"

"MY NAME IS SHARPSHOOTER!"

"It doesn't matter what your name is," Twilight said as the mood returned to seriousness, and she wiped her tears away. "What matters is what you've done. You've committed evil and heinous acts against the ponies of Ponyville. You've killed my friends!"

"You ain't got one shred of proof! You've got nothin' against me!"

"My daughter's word is proof."

"You need concrete evidence to throw me in jail! You know that! It's against Equestrian law for a princess to imprison a pony without such corroboration, and nopony, not even you, is above that law!"

"I agree, which is why we've been busily studying the string my niece and my daughter left here." Twilight turned and looked at Sunlight sternly, before continuing. "I'm a little disappointed that they continued their investigation after Flash had warned them not to do so, but on the other hoof, I'm proud that they've helped bring a killer to justice."

"Mommy," Sunlight suddenly said.

"Yes, darling?"

"I'm sorry we were dishonest with you and Daddy. But we knew things. We needed to catch this evil mare. My conscience wouldn't allow me to rest until she was in custody."

"I know, Sunlight. I'm proud that you've done this. But next time…please be honest with your father and I. You know Applejack would say that honesty is always the best policy."

"I know," Sunlight said as her tail drooped.

"Look, you two. We forgive you for the dishonesty, but Sunlight, I want you to do a bit of extra homework as punishment. Flurry, I'll leave your punishment up to Cadance and Shining Armor."

"Yes, Auntie Twily"

"Good. Now, then. Let's take Tulip or Sharpshooter or whoever she is to the holding area of the castle. I'll contact Princess Celestia and she and Luna can decide what to do with her."

So Sunlight and Flurry followed as her father took Sharpshooter and threw her into a jail cell to await trial. But before they were able to leave, Sharpshooter grabbed Sunlight's tail. "Let go of me, you insolent devil!" Sunlight squeaked. Flash quickly removed his daughter's appendage from her grasp. "What's the big idea?" He asked angrily, "you're already in more trouble than you could imagine. Why make it worse by assaulting a princess?!"

Suddenly, Sharpshooter fired up her horn. "What the hay are you doing?" Flash asked. "I won't go to Tartarus, or prison, or whatever god forsaken place you put me! I'll go out on my own terms!" She then proceeded to shoot herself through the heart.

"NO!" Flash said, "SOMEPONY GET ME A MEDIC!"

"It's too late for that," Sharpshooter gasped as she began coughing up blood. "But I leave you with this. The pony I was working for is more powerful than anypony. The Summer Sun Celebration…beware the Summer Sun Celebration…and beware the rage." With those words, she convulsed a few times and was still.