Internal Changeling Affairs

by Caddy Finz

Rating: teen
Tags: Random, Adventure, Dark, Romance, Comedy
Length: 20429

An action packed film-noir style story in which Twilight Sparkle and Friends are appointed with what may be their most important task yet. Investigating the attempted murder of Shining Armor and putting themselves on the line to save Equestria.

An action packed film-noir style story in which Twilight Sparkle and friends are appointed with what may be their most important task yet. Investigating and solving the attempted murder of her brother Shining Armor and putting themselves on the line to save all of Equestria from it's biggest threat in their nation's history. Full of drama, action and maybe even a bit of romance once in a while, it WILL make the reader laugh and cry.
Rated T for violence, language, drug references and some strange 1940's lingo that nopony uses anymore.

*This story is currently undergoing a complete overhaul*

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-15 22:36:07 UTC

The Heat Is On

Chapter One:

The Heat Is On

It was a not so nice but oh so abnormally hot summer afternoon in Equestria’s royal city of Canterlot.  Unlike most days such as this, it was turning out to be one of the hottest, most uncomfortable days on record.  Such a high temperature in fact, that just about everypony in the bustling metropolis that is Canterlot, was starting to feel very, very irritable.  To everypony’s surprise, crime was going up along with the temperature.  The recent acts of violence that have been taking place were almost unheard of to this otherwise crime-free city.  Many ponies even stated in newspaper articles that the spike in crime could even be compared to that of Las Pegasus or even Manehatten.  Aside from this hopefully temporary issue that was gripping this capital city, other aspects of life here were still normal,  some may even say better than normal.  The local economy was thriving and what was really putting everypony’s minds at ease was that because of this, the Canterlot Royal Guard was able to begin adding several new recruits to their department.

It seemed that just about everything was under control, however the traffic was a different story.  The whole city was dealing with traffic disputes of all kinds from the common cut-off to the all out brawl between coach drivers after blaming the other for their collision.  The problem was so frequent, that all hooves were needed on patrol in order to quickly resolve the disturbances until the new recruits were trained enough to start work.  Even the most respected and highest ranking officials were not exempt from being dispatched.  Of these officers who usually dealt with extremely important matters, such as keeping the entire department and the city in check, included Captain Shining Armor.  Although he was the head of the royal guard however, these kinds of tasks such as chasing, apprehending and even if necessary, taking a suspect down to the ground by means of force was nothing new to this young stallion.  After all, he didn’t start as the captain.  He was recruited as a patrol officer whom through determination and love for his job, was able to work his way up the ranks.  It had been quite some time since Shining Armor needed to use force on resisting perps and even longer since he was required to draw his service pistol to make his point more clear.  Nevertheless however, he had not gotten rusty.  It had been like he had been subduing irate ponies whom of which the heat wave was taking it’s toll on everyday.  The late afternoon was approaching and it seemed that the ruckus was beginning to die off a bit.  Princess Celestia was nearing the time to end her workday and her sister, Princess Luna was preparing to begin hers, this bringing somewhat of a much needed break in the record high temperatures.  This break however was a bit too late and didn’t come soon enough to prevent another traffic dispute that was creating a disturbance just a few blocks down from where Captain Shining Armor and a new trainee were on patrol.  The pair of law enforcers were sitting in one of the city owned steam driven coaches that was used for getting to crime locations more quickly that on hoof when a dispatch from a mare who worked at the headquarters  broke the long silence.

“Attention nearby units”….As quickly as the radio had received the signal, the captain, in the driver’s seat picked up the microphone with a glow of his horn to wait for further instructions.  “We have reports of a coach accident located on South Lunar Street”…there was a short pause…”Two mares involved are looking like they are about to really do some damage to each other.  Any units to handle code 3 identify”...Shining Armor had just taken this new recruit named Silver Badge under his hoof and had been waiting for just the perfect opportunity to show this rookie the ropes…

”This is Captain Shining Armor, coach 59…we’re just a couple of blocks away from there and we are en route” the somewhat overly excited captain said into the mic as he shifted the coach into gear.  “ok rookie”  Shining said, looking over at his new student sitting in the passenger seat trying to hide his feeling of nervousness.  “I’m about to show you how to kick ass and take names.  We got a live one, so hold onto your seat”.

Upon pulling out of the parking lot of the now closed for the night doughnut shop that he and his little sister, Twilight Sparkle would go to hang out everyday after school when they were younger, the captain driving the swift moving guard cruiser, flipped a switch to turn on the siren and flashing light bar in order to disperse the traffic that would hinder their arriving in time.  Fortunately enough however, the route they needed to take was just one straight shot to the scene and they arrived in just under a minute.  The accident was right smack in the middle of a four way intersection just under a traffic light.  After finding a safe spot to park the coach, Shining Armor and his new partner exited to the sight of a unicorn mare and a pegasus mare both looking like they were about to destroy each other.  A mere few feet away from the two arguing ponies sat two coaches that appeared to be almost fused together into one due to the collision.

Thinking quickly, Shining Armor turned to his sidekick to give him instructions.  “Ok, I need you to try to break up those two mares and try to calm them down.  I’ll need to direct this traffic.  And while I’m at it, I’ll call for some more back-up so we can have everypony moving again” the captain ordered now in a more serious, like a boss kind of tone.

“Yes Sir!” the rookie replied to his superior officer.  The task at hoof was going exactly as the two had hoped.  Silver Badge’s excellent “pony skills” added together with his handsomeness and the now more tolerable temperature seemed to work and quell the argument between the two mares.  Shining Armor was doing equally as well, standing at the nearest street corner directing traffic with constant blowing of his whistle and pointing his hoof in the direction to a safe detour.  Witnesses of the incident were giving reports to other guards just arriving at the scene to aid in removing the two disabled coaches from the street.  Over all, it seemed “just another day at the office” for the guards.

Just as another one of Shining Armor’s colleagues, Lieutenant  Speeding Lead stepped next to him to assist him in directing other lanes of drivers to safety, Shining Armor couldn’t help but notice a sudden wiff of something familiar.  It was the smell of something…or somepony that he had smelled before.  He couldn’t quite put his hoof on it, but it was something he remembered not exactly what it was but rather how negative of an experience he was associating the odor with.  It was a very unnatural type of smell.  One that may be found in an unkempt coach repair shop after a chemical spill.  Just turning his head to his right towards the street corner revealed what he somehow just knew was the source of this scent.  It was a pony wearing a trench coat and a wide brimmed hat slowly, but very suspiciously, almost as if putting in too much effort trying not to be detected, strolling down the sidewalk.  This, coupled with the smell was more than enough to convince the captain now distracted from his task at hoof, that something was wrong.  He still was not sure what or how things were wrong at this point.  He just somehow knew.  It was a rather large and slender pony but that’s all he could see.  He couldn’t tell if it was a mare or a stallion, however he figured more stallion due to the size.  Thinking to himself that he can’t let this suspicious individual go out of his sight without being investigated, he signaled with his hoof for another one of his squad members to take his place with the traffic job while he took care of other matters.

“Take over for me, Officer Flintspark” the captain said.  “I gotta check out a suspicious character”.

“Yes Sir!” the officer replied.  No sooner than that, the pony in question had just begun to disappear around the other corner of the block.  Shining Armor hurried to try to catch up but not too quickly as to alarm the pony of interest and break into a chase before he was able to get much closer.  He was soon a safe distance of approximately ten yards behind when he had begun to slow his pace and more closely match the speed of the other pony.  The pony had then looked over his or her shoulder to just catch a glimpse of the captain very slowly decreasing the distance between the two.  He knew that the other pony knew that he was on to them.  Slowly, the one who had brought on the suspicion of a uniformed officer onto his or herself began to break into a trot, thus confirming the captain’s gut feeling.  The captain did the same, again matching the others pace.  Noticing this, the suspect then gradually started trotting faster and faster until both parties were almost at a gallop.  Captain Shining Armor was mentally preparing himself for what he knew was going to become a hoof pursuit.  Any honest, law abiding citizen would have had no problem stopping to talk to a law enforcement officer to clear up what may have been a misunderstanding.

“HEY YOU!” the captain shouted.  “I WANNA TALK TO YOU!”  No sooner did he finish his sentence did the inevitable chase begin and the suspect break into a full gallop.  Using the magic from his horn, he levitated the two-way mic attached to the shoulder of his uniform closer to his face all the while galloping at what was now full speed.

“I’ve got a 10-34 on West Sunset Avenue!  Ongoing Hoof pursuit!  I need back-up NOW!”  shouted the captain into the mic.  The two galloped down the entire block, across the next street and onto the next block.  The captain was starting to get annoyed at the individual he was chasing after and showed it by levitating a standard issue baton from his belt.  looking around a bit while still at full pace, Shining Armor realized that it was taking longer than he would have liked for his help to arrive.  Again, he levitated his mic.

“I COULD REALLY USE SOME ASSISTANCE RIGHT ABOUT NOW!!!  WHERE THE HELL IS EVERYPONY?!”  the now furious guard captain screamed into his two way radio.  A few more gallops later, he started to become desperate.

“GET THAT GUYYYYYY!!!” he shouted to bystanders who were minding their business just up ahead of his suspect.  Although the extreme heat was gone for the day, it was still not a comfortable temperature to be galloping as fast a one is physically capable of down what had now become five city blocks.  This was beginning to take it’s toll on even Shining Armor who was one of the most, if not the most athletic member of the royal guard.  Fortunately for the captain, this was also working in his favor as well.  The distance between the two was starting to decrease, first gradually but then getting faster and faster still.

To Shining Armor’s pleasant surprise, his suspect made an abrupt turn into an alleyway.  A move that seemed quite bold and even half-witted on the suspect’s part.  It was the break that the captain had been waiting for seeming how that almost every alleyway in the city leads to a dead end.

“I’ve got you now!” the captain yelled as he followed the now cornered trench coat sporting pony into the alleyway and now began backing her up against a chain link fence.

“Keep your hooves where I can see ’em!” he demanded, thinking for sure he would be ending the chase with an arrest.

”Muahahahahahah!  So, Shining Armor!  It’s been a while.  How’s your wonderful wife?”  the suspect said to the captain in her familiar hissing voice that could be compared to nails on a chalkboard.

This pony took off her hat to reveal who she was.  An all too familiar face that Shining Armor hoped and prayed before, that he would never have to see or hear from again.

He stood frozen in horror and pure shock, thinking to himself “I don’t understand!  After all mine and my guards’ hard work to keep her out of Canterlot, she still managed to get in?!”  All of a sudden, his mind began to race, thinking about everything and everypony he held near a dear and how he could have lost it all in the past because of who stood before him.

His expression of shock turned into that of blind rage.  “I’m not gonna let you screw up my life again!!!” the captain shouted now foaming at the mouth.

With a glow of his horn, he reached for his custom gold plated, jewel encrusted .45 caliber pistol and started to levitate it from his holster.  What took mere seconds felt like decades to Shining Armor, as if the whole scene was stuck in slow motion.  The captain intended on removing Equestria’s biggest threat from the equation once and for all.  Then out of nowhere, the target throws another curve-ball and reveals a large caliber revolver she had already drawn a few seconds before but had kept it hidden under the trench coat.  With both of their pistols rising pointing towards each other, seemingly at the same exact speed, was almost stuck at a complete freeze with all the adrenalin going through the captain…BLAM!

One of the combatants was able to fire their’s first and took the other down.  Nearby witnesses had seen the two run into the alleyway before, and upon hearing the gunshot, they took a look into the dead end hoping to see the captain of the royal guard emerge victorious.  What they saw was that the pony he was chasing after was no longer there seeming to have escaped somehow and from that, they found out who had won the battle.  There on the ground lay Shining Armor in a pool of his own blood.  As the good Samaritans approached to try to render aid until medics arrived, they would try to talk to the fallen officer to get him to respond.  He was still breathing, but barely, as his eyes slowly shut and he slipped out of consciousness. End Chapter One

Breaking The News

Chapter Two:

Breaking The News

“pull!” Twilight sparkle yells, causing a large hoop to be shot up for her to fly through with master precision and her newly developed alicorn wings.

“not half bad, Twi!” said Rainbow Dash who was on the ground pulling the lever on the hoop launcher.

Since Twilight had grown these wings the day she mastered her studies in the magic of friendship, Rainbow Dash had very enthusiastically convinced her to start training for flight.  Dash was especially thrilled by her new set of feathers once mentioning how awesome it would be to have yet another “flying buddy”.  All the days after that event, Twilight could not have possibly been more happy and optimistic and felt like everyday yet to come for the rest of her life, nothing could ever go wrong again.

“Twilight!” shouts a familiar voice from the ground that of which was not Rainbow Dash.  “You need to come down and read this now!”  said the voice getting higher pitched and squeakier with every word.

Twilight could tell that the source of the voice was in a state of sadness and it sounded like it was not something that could wait as she swooped back down to talk to a concerned Spike clutching a letter from Princess Celestia in his claw.

“what’s wrong, Spike?  Why are you crying so much?”  Twilight asked her assistant, trying very hard to be as calm as she could as to help Spike do the same.

“This letter!”  spike said with tears streaming down his face.  “it’s just”…”it’s horrible news!”  The young Dragon’s stuttering was no longer audible as he fell to his knees and tried to hand the letter to the now extremely concerned Twilight with Rainbow Dash stepping closer to the two now becoming worried herself.

Twilight Sparkle used her magic to lift the letter out of Spike’s claw.  She knew that it was not like him to read letters from the Princess before she was able to do so, but upon levitating it in front of her she could understand why he did this time.  The rolled up scroll had “Urgent.  Open Immediately!” written on the outside.  Twilight, sympathizing with Spike’s curiosity getting the best of him began to unroll the letter and started to read it.

“My most faithful student Twilight Sparkle:

I am writing to you today to inform you of an event that occurred yesterday evening here in Canterlot.  It was a difficult decision for me to make weather I tell you upon arrival or not but I felt that the suspense of not knowing would be too much.  Your Brother, Shining Armor was gravely wounded in the line of duty while trying to arrest a criminal.  He is currently being treated in the Star Swirl Memorial Hospital.  Please make your way to Canterlot as soon as you receive this.  Be brave, Twilight Sparkle.

Your’s Truly:  Princess Celestia”

“what’s all the hubbub about?” asked Rainbow Dash to her newly winged friend.  Twilight did not respond and was still holding the letter in front of her face, her pupils beginning to fill up her eyes causing them to twitch uncontrollably.

“Twilight, say something!  Please just tell me what happened!” The usually tomboyish Pegasus said in a squeaky voice, now starting to show signs of tears in the corners of her eyes.

Twilight had begun to bleed slightly from biting her lower lip with the uncontrollable river of tears flowing down her face.  She had then started to hyperventilate, causing Rainbow Dash to become even more concerned.  As the rainbow maned Pegasus reached over to place her hoof on her mortified friend’s shoulder to show support though she still didn't know what the problem was, Twilight Sparkle perked up her ears and teleported.  She disappeared in a bright purple colored burst of light that startled Rainbow Dash and left the letter to slowly float down to the ground right in front of her.  Finally, Rainbow knew what was bothering Twilight and what she had to do to support her friend who has always been there for her.

Twilight’s destination of choice to teleport to was the Ponyville Train Station.  Upon arrival to the depot, she hastily purchased a ticket and hopped on the one-way express to Canterlot without going back to the library to pack anything or tell anypony.  All she could think of was her brother.  Her big brother best friend forever, who was at risk of making his untimely departure to the afterlife and she needed to be by his side to say goodbye if she needed to.  The very thought made the frantic alicorn sick to her stomach as she rushed to the on-board rest room where she could not stop herself from vomiting into the toilet.  When she had finally passed up the entire lunch she had eaten just an hour before she had gotten the letter, she had another thought, although not as important, cross her mind.  The though that everypony else who was on the train, was seeing everything from her crying, hyperventilating and vomiting.  Coupled with the more important issue and the fact that Twilight Sparkle was actually the only one on the train during the slow time of day however, this thought was very brief and did not last very long.

The usually quick ride to Canterlot on the train seemed to take days for the distraught Twilight Sparkle.  If the train had not recently received and engine overhaul thus increasing it’s power and speed, the ride may have seemed almost never-ending.  Finally the train had gotten through a tunnel that Twilight knew was close to the next station that was in Canterlot, meaning that they would be arriving momentarily.  Twilight was at long last beginning to take long, deep breaths and eventually started to calm down.  As the train came to a halt and the exit door slid open, the loving sister of Shining Armor frantically burst out.  Though she was still thinking of the possibility of her saying goodbye to her brother, or worse yet, his passing before she could get to the hospital to do so, she knew she had to slow down and gather herself.

“ok Twilight” she said to herself.  “you can do this.  You’ll be wasting more time running around in circles if you don’t stop and think of where I need to go”.

Twilight Sparkle didn’t know where the hospital was but a stroke of good luck had come her way.  Since she had just exited the train station, she remembered that there are almost always yellow checkered taxi coaches driving nearby looking for fares in need of a ride.  After looking around for a moment, it didn’t take her long to find one and flag the driver down.  As she entered the backseat the friendly driver began to say “where can I take you young la-”  Twilight cut him off in mid sentence.

“Star Swirl Memorial Hospital and step on it!”  she said with urgency.

The green stallion behind the wheel obliged to her request.  It did not take a genius to figure out that if someone needs to get to a hospital, the ride there needs to be cut as short as possible.  As the yellow cab wove in and out of traffic and the driver seeming to be quite the professional, the young unicorn stallion glanced at his distressed passenger through the rear view mirror.  He was not much older if not almost the same age as Twilight.  He had a light colored mint green coat and a black mane with a thin white stripe and wore thick framed “Clark Kent” glasses.  While he was passing other drivers at full speed glancing at his mirror, he finally had worked up the courage to ask her what was wrong.  Even though he had never seen Twilight before in his life nor did he have a clue what was bothering her, he could not help but be concerned.

“miss, if you don’t mind me asking…why do you need to go to the hospital?” the driver asked.  “Are you hurt?  If you are, it would be faster and safer if I called an ambulance for you.”

Having lived in Canterlot herself, Twilight knew that it was not an every day occurrence for a complete stranger to show such sympathy and concern for somepony, especially to a customer in the backseat of a taxicab.  She felt a sudden feeling of comfort begin to set in.  After the seemingly never ending ride on the train it was a breath of fresh air to be able to talk to somepony about her troubles and to top it all off, she could tell that the somepony she was talking to actually cared.

“oh I’m not the one who is hurt”  said Twilight.  “it’s my brother.  You see, he’s the captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard and he was wounded on the job”.

“oh my gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that”  said the driver, still trying his best to concentrate on the road and his passenger’s woes at the same time.  “I hope he’s ok.  What kind of condition is he in?”

Twilight Sparkle began to well up with tears again as she recalled what the letter from the princess had said.

“I…I’m sorry, miss.  I didn't mean to bring up a soar subject.  I’m truly sorry if I upset you” the driver said feeling guilty for what he now thought may have been a poorly timed question to ask.

“no it’s…it wasn’t you.” Twilight replied to the driver, trying to reassure him that she was not upset by his comment.  “it’s just that…his condition is grave and there’s a chance I may lose him.”

No sooner did Twilight finish her sentence, did the sensitive stallion in the driver’s seat begin to shed tears of his own.  It had never happened to this stallion before and he had noticed it.  The sight of this young mare who he had never met before sitting in the backseat going through what she had been was deeply troubling to him.  It was almost as if he was feeling her pain just as she was.

At last, the cab was now pulling up to the entrance to the hospital.  Before the cab had even come to a complete stop, Twilight bolted out without thinking.  Before she was about to open the door to enter the building however, she realized that she had forgotten something.

“oh my gosh!”  Twilight gasped.  “I forgot to pay him!”

She quickly spun around to make her way back to the taxi where the driver was sitting just about to shift into gear and leave.  After this stranger had been so kind to her on their way to the hospital, she felt she would never have been able to forgive herself had she stiffed him.

“wait!  Twilight yelled.  “I forgot to pay you for the ride!  How much do I owe you, sir?”

The stallion looked back at Twilight, revealing his now tear soaked eyes.  “this ride is on me, miss” the driver replied.  “I won’t accept any payment for emergency transport”.

Twilight Sparkle could not believe what she had heard him say.  This wonderful, and not to mention handsome stallion had listened to her sad story about her brother, drove her to the hospital to see him as quickly as he could and then waived the bill for his services.

“Thank you!” Twilight replied with tears streaming down her face at full force.  “thank you so much!  I can’t thank you enough for how kind you have been to me!”

“no worries!” replied the stallion.  “by the way, I’m working a late shift tonight.  If you need a ride somewhere to stay the night after you’re done here, feel free to call the cab depot and ask for me.  My name is Steel Piston”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle” she replied.  “I will definitely keep that in mind.  Thanks again!”

Twilight’s new friend shifted the steam powered yellow coach into gear, pulled out of the cobblestone parking lot and drove down the road out of sight.  After she could no longer see the coach, Twilight made here way back to the entrance to the Star Swirl Memorial Hospital.  Looking up at the massive skyscraper that was the medical facility where her big brother best friend forever was being cared for, she took one deep breath and entered the building in search of her injured loved one. End Chapter Two

Life Support

Chapter Three:

Life Support

“Excuse me, ma’am” said Twilight Sparkle to the mare sitting at the receptionist desk.  “My name is Twilight Sparkle and I’m looking for a patient being treated here named Shining Armor”

“Are you a member of his immediate family?” asked the unicorn mare at the desk.

Twilight replied “yes, I’m his younger sister.  I’d like to find the room he’s in”

The receptionist then reached her hoof over to one side of her desk and pressed a small green button in a line with 9 other ones.  “Doctor Studsward” the mare said into a microphone attached to a pager.  “A family member is hear to see guard captain Shining Armor.  Could you please send a pair of guards to escort a miss Twilight Sparkle to his room, number 211?”

“thank you, ma’am” said twilight to the mare at the desk.

The mare replied “certainly, miss Sparkle.  Your brother is going to be ok.  He’s being cared for by some of the best doctors in Equestria”

A stern voice spoke up from behind.  “Twilight Sparkle?” a Stallion wearing a dark blue guard uniform standing next to another asked the purple alicorn.

“yes, that’s me” she replied.

The guard then said “my partner and myself will escort you to your brother’s room.  I will explain why we need to do that when we get there”

The trio then entered an elevator and the stallion who had not yet said anything pressed a button for the 12th floor, the very top floor.

After the door closed and the elevator began to scale the building, the guard who pressed the button began to speak.  “I have worked alongside your brother for quite some time” the Pegasus stallion said.  “he’s a fine guard captain and I can’t think of anypony I would rather have the pleasure of working with”.

“thank you, sir” Twilight replied.  “he’s always been a good brother to me as well.

“I can tell” the stallion said.  “he’s always spoken very highly of his little sister”

The other guard then interrupted “we’re approaching the top floor”

As soon as he had finished, the door slid open and there was another pair of guards standing there waiting for them.

“you’re probably wondering why all of us guards are here, miss Sparkle” said the guard in the elevator.  “the event involving your brother pertains to a matter of Equestrian security.  We don’t know who exactly his assailant is yet but we know it wasn’t just some small time thug.  We understand it was somepony who plans on compromising the safety of Equestria on epic proportions”

Twilight was speechless and too mortified for words.

“that’s enough!” retorted one of the guards to the one who told twilight about the threat.  “this poor filly has been through enough already!  Just shut up let her see her brother!”

Walking down towards the end of the hallway, Twilight, bracing herself for what she was about to see, they approached room 211 with yet another pair of guards standing on both sides of the door.

“he’s in here, miss Sparkle” one of the escorting guards said.  The guard reached his hoof over towards the door and placed it on the knob.  Before unlatching the door and pushing it open, he looked back at Twilight.  “be brave, miss Sparkle” he said to her no longer able to control the tears from rolling down his face.  Slowly pushing the door open, the guard revealed a room occupied by four different ponies.  The first one was Princess Celestia, next was Princess Luna and then Princess Cadence all standing at the side of a bed with the fourth pony laying in it.

“Twilight!”  the frantic Princess Cadence exclaimed, running over to her, embracing her in a hug.  They both stood there in their embrace for a moment soaking each other with their tears.  It was not like them to neglect to perform their secret hoof shake upon greeting each other, but they both would agree that now was not a good time for that.

Twilight sparkle could no longer let anything get in here way.  She was going to do what she came to do and nothing was going to distract her.  She let go of her sister in-law and looked at the hospital bed in which her brother lay in.  what she saw was what her big brother best friend forever had been reduced to.  The once strong and proud young stallion was now a nearly lifeless body accompanied by a heart monitor, a fluid iv inserted into his left foreleg, and an oxygen mask hooked to his face with a hose leading to a machine with bellows moving up and down in a clear glass cylinder.  That machine was keeping Shining Armor Alive.  On his chest, was a large scar approximately four inches long with a smaller half inch long scar just next to it both stitched shut.

“wha…what happened to him?”  Twilight Asked turning to Princess Celestia.

“He was shot, Twilight” the Princess replied.  “He was rushed here for an emergency surgery afterwards.  They removed a .38 caliber slug from his chest”

“has he improved at all since the surgery?” Twilight asked, desperate for answers.

The princess had then done something that Twilight Sparkle had never seen nor ever thought the princess would do.  The Princess looked twilight right in the eyes and began to shed tears of her own.  being well over one-thousand years old and probably dealt with the deaths of more friends than anypony else in the world, Princess Celestia did not cry often, but attempted murder was not something she was willing to accept as a normal occurrence.  Judging by what Twilight saw in Princess Celestia’s eyes, she knew that the answer to her question was no.

“does anypony know who did this?” twilight asked, each word after the other becoming less and less audible.

Princess Luna answered “we don’t know who did this to him.  He is not able to tell us either because he is in a coma.”

Unable to find anything else to say, the four alicorns all embraced each other in a group hug.  As the tear soaked princesses held each other tight crying for their fallen friend and loved one laying in the hospital bed being kept alive by machines, a hospital security alarm broke the silence. End Chapter Three

Find Out Whodunit

Chapter Four:

Find Out Whodunit

“Attention, security”  the voice from the mare at the receptionist desk blared from the intercom.  “we have five mares at the lobby causing trouble.  They are demanding to see a heavily guarded patient.  I need guards sent down here to remov-…hey!  Give that back!”  there was a pause.

Again the receptionist’s voice blared.  “This blue Pegasus mare with a rainbow colored mane is getting belligerent”

Suddenly there was a high pitched metallic screech caused by interference with the intercom.  After the brief and unpleasant din, a familiar voice began to speak.

“Hey Twilight!  It’s us!  Where are you?!”  the voice yelled.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight gasped.  “my friends came to visit my brother with me!” she exclaimed now emitting tears of joy.  “Princess Celestia, please tell the guards to allow them to come up here.”

“certainly Twilight” the princess answered.  She then levitated the hospital  room’s telephone with the magic from her horn to page her guards.  “security, disregard that last message” the princess’ voice was now echoing throughout the entire building over the loudspeakers.  “instead, please escort those five mares up to room 211”

“on second thought, Twilight” Princess Luna said softly.  “I think it’s time we all get going and let your brother continue to rest.  The hospital will let us know if there is a change in his condition.  We will meet your friends half way”.

Princess Celestia then said “I agree, sis.  I don’t think right now is the best time to have ten visitors at the same time”

Twilight Sparkle then out of nowhere said “I will find out who did this to you, Shining”.  she was standing at the side of her brother’s bed, her eyes tightly shut and her right hoof shaking like a fist.

The other three noticed her, understanding what she was going through.

“Twilight, I think we should all go now” Princess Cadence said concerned that her sister in law would have a brain aneurism if she didn’t calm down soon.

Twilight then abruptly turned to Cadence her eyes now glowing with rage.  “I’m dead ~squee~ing serious!” Twilight cursed, surprising the other three whom had never heard her use such language before.  “if anypony thinks I’m going to let this crock of ~squee~ go unpunished, they are sadly ~squee~ing mistaken!”

"Twilight, please!"  Cadence begged her.  "That vein in your forehead is about to burst!"

“we need to get her out of here.” Celestia said.  “she’s seen enough for now”

The four ponies made their way out the door Twilight last in line behind Cadence.  She looked back at the door being slowly shut by the guard standing next to it staring at her brother lying on the bed until the door was closed and he was out of her sight.  They proceeded to the elevator at the end of the hallway.  As Princess Celestia reached for the button to call the elevator, it opened before she could press it revealing it’s occupants.  From left to right was Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and a guard.  The guard who was with them sported a more decorated uniform than most of the others indicating he must have had a higher rank.

“did you want me to bring this purple lizard thingy up too?” the guard said with a tone of rude sarcasm as he lifted spike up by the tale with his wing.

“I told you like ten times already, I’m a dragon!  Put me down!” spike demanded, showing he was angry but at the same time in pain.  The Pegasus guard let go of the young dragon’s tail in midair letting him hit the floor with a loud thud.

“Sergeant Goldstripe!” Princess Celestia yelled mortified at how the usually kind guard was treating spike.  “what has gotten into you lately?!”

All eyes were now glaring at the sergeant.  Rainbow Dash began to sweat profusely putting in her best effort to keep herself from leaving the building with a felony assault charge while Rarity held spike in her fore hoofs rubbing his back in attempt to comfort him.

“uuhh actually guys” spike said apparently enjoying Rarity’s embrace.  “I feel fine just as long as I get to stay right where I am.  No harm done”

“Listen, I don’t have time for this ~squee~”  Sergeant Goldstripe said, seeming like he couldn’t care less.  “I’ve got ~squee~ to do and I’m not waiting here all day”

“now you listen here, pal”  Rainbow Dash said still shaking from controlling her urge to throttle the uniformed officer.  “I've already got two strikes on me now but the more you talk, the less that fact is starting to matter to me"

“I think you had better leave right now, Sergeant” princess Celestia said.  “And I swear if you don’t shape up I will personally see to it that you are demoted to handing out tickets at parking meters!”

“all right, Princess” the guard replied.  I’ll get outta your hair, but before I do, I got some words for you kid” the officer said turning to Twilight Sparkle.

“me?” Twilight said surprised.

“yeah you” the guard replied.  “in the case of your brother, I understand that you may want to try to find answers here, right?”

“ you got that right and nothing is getting in my way” Twilight retorted.

“well if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay outta my way.  Watch your bac-”

“GO!” Princess Celestia cut him off.

Without saying another word, the guard finally left bringing much needed relief to Rainbow Dash.

“I would say that he’s a mean ‘ol meaniepants”  the normally talkative Pinkie Pie stated finally breaking her long silence.  “but I think that’s an understatement.  I’ll try to think of something to call him that would suit him better”

“how about one lucky ass~squee~” mumbled Rainbow Dash under her breath.

The group all entered the elevator and made their way down to the lobby.  The door slid open revealing the mare sitting at the front desk glaring at Rainbow Dash.  As they all walked towards the exit the mare’s eyes were following Rainbow the whole way.

“uhhh, about earlier, miss” Rainbow began, seeming apologetic.  “I’m sorry I took the microphone from you and smashed it.  I just wanted to be here for my friend”

“eh whatever” the receptionist replied.  “it’s not like it was mine anyway.  The hospital will pay for a new one so it won’t be coming out of my saddlebag”.

As the group walked out the door, Princess Celestia Remembered something that she had forgotten to mention.

“Twilight Sparkle” the princess said softly.  “you and your friends are more than welcome to stay at the palace while you are all investigating this case.  I don’t care what the sergeant says.  We’ll need all the help we can get and I can’t ask you to not intervene”

“thank you Princess” Twilight replied.

“certainly Twilight.  But um.  There is one problem here”

“what’s that?”

“well lets see” the princess began counting all the ponies in the group.  “we don’t have any way to transport all ten of us right now.  The palace is on the opposite side of the city and the stretch coach that princess Luna and myself used to get here had to be towed to the repair shop because the engine overheated.  the abnormally hot weather we've had lately hasn't helped it."

“you mean I have to walk the whole way?” Rarity whined.

“Oh heaven forbid she has to use her hoofs fer the very reason she has ‘em”  Applejack said sarcastically.

“I think I’ve got this covered, girls” Twilight said.  “all I need to do now is go to that payphone and make a call.  I’ll be right back”

As Twilight trotted over to the phone booth to arrange transportation for the group, Princess Luna pulled her elder sister aside to speak in private.

“now, about Sergeant Goldstripe, sister.  Aside from his attitude being different from the norm, I noticed something else.”

“what’s that, sister?” Celestia asked seeming confused.

“well, I always thought he had amber colored eyes.  Why are they green now?”

End Chapter Four

Everypony On The Bus!

Chapter Five:

Everypony On The Bus!

“hello operator” Twilight said after levitating the phone to her face.  “put me through to the Canterlot Cab Depot”  the other line then began to ring.

“thank you for calling Canterlot Cab and Bus Company, this is Swifty Movin speaking, how can I help you?” a not so swift and very monotone voice answered.

“yes I was wondering if I could have a coach sent to the Star Swirl Memorial Hospital” Twilight said, trying her best to avoid snickering at the contradiction she was speaking with.

“ok, how many passengers need to be picked up?”

“ten including myself” Twilight answered.

“ok, I can send a full sized extra seated coach.  It will be there in fifteen minutes”

“oh and one more thing.”  Twilight said.  “Could you send Steel Piston to drive it?”

“sure, he’s available”  the monotone pony answered.

“thanks a lot”  click!

After finishing with her phone call, Twilight rejoined the group who were all standing just a few yards away.

“I’ve arranged for us all to be picked up” Twilight said.  “I just talked with Ben Stein on the phone and we will be on our way back in fifteen”

“who in the hay is Ben Stein?” Applejack asked.

“never mind that” Twilight chuckled now sporting a more optimistic attitude.  “we’ll just have to wait till the coach gets here and start making our plans when we arrive at the palace”

The group then stood waiting in awkward silence without anypony uttering another word.  The only sound that could be heard was that of Rarity using her magic to reach for a cigarette and strike a match to light it.  Otherwise, one may say that a pin dropping could be heard.

“Rarity!” the usually meek Fluttershy exclaimed.  “since when?”

“why since Sweetiebelle moved in with me of course” Rarity answered.  “how else would I be able to keep my sanity?  I know it’s a dirty habit and I’m sorry to dissapoi-”

“you’re the element of generosity” Fluttershy interrupted.  “what disappoints me is that you didn’t offer me one”

“I…I didn't know you smoked, Fluttershy”  Rarity said.  “judging by the sudden change in your demeanor, I’d say it’s been a while since **you’ve** been able to.”

As fluttershy lit her cigarette, Princess Luna interrupted the conversation.

“pardon me, girls” she said sounding concerned.  “but if we could all wait just a bit longer to smoke, I would really appreciate it.  My sister is starting to have her old cravings”

“forty years” Princess Celestia said, staring at the two lit cigarettes as if she would die without one.  “it’s been forty years since I’ve had one of those.  It smells so good.  I wonder if I-oh my gosh!  are those Manehatten lites?  Oooohhh those were my fav-”

“the bus is here!” Twilight said trying to snap Celestia out of her day dream.

Pulling up to the sidewalk in front of the hospital the group was waiting on was a large yet short for what it was yellow transit coach with a black and white checkered stripe going down the side.  It was a bulky flat-faced coach approximately 20 feet in length and the tiny little wheels on the front and rear axles placed so close together on each side caused Pinkie Pie to bust out in laughter at the very sight of it.  The vehicle finally came to a stop and the two-pieced door opened to Twilight’s new friend sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Miss Sparkle!”  Steel Piston said happy to see Twilight and anxious to hear about how her hospital visit went.  “I didn’t expect to be transporting royalty.  I’m glad I brought the newest, most comfortable coach we have”

“Twilight” Rarity began to blush.  “you know this stud?”

“yeah, he drove me here earlier.”  Twilight replied giving Rarity a disapproving look for her awkward comment.

One by one, everypony entered the coach and took a seat with Twilight in line behind Rarity.

“Oh my goodness!” Rarity said with her eyes lighting up as she was standing in front of Steel Piston.  “you have got to tell me where you get your mane done!  I just love love loooove the do! And those glasses!  Do tell where you got those frames!”

Twilight nudged Rarity from behind.

“the longer you’re standing here, the longer it will take for us to get going, Rarity” Twilight said.

Rarity took a seat in the fourth row.  As soon as her backside hit the seat, spike rushed in and seated himself next to her.

The only seat left was the one just behind Steel Piston which Twilight had no problem taking.

“I take it that our destination is the Palace?” Steel asked.

“you got it” Twilight answered.

Steel pulled a lever closing the door, stepped on the clutch and shifted the giant twinkie with wheels into first gear.  The acceleration was dead slow but the engine began to roar as if the driver had floored it.  Rainbow Dash began to get impatient since she was not a fan of low speeds.  Finally, the vehicle had gotten up to the local speed limit and they were headed in the right direction.

“so, Miss Sparkle” Steel asked unsure if he should continue asking what he was about to ask.

“Twilight” she said.  “Call me Twilight, and I think my brother is going to be ok”

“Oh that’s great news!” he said with a sincere tone with his eyes once again shifting between the mirror and the road.  “I’m glad to hear that.  You seem more chipper than before, yourself.”

“thank you so much for your kind concern, Steel” Twilight said focusing on his bright teal colored eyes in the rearview mirror.  “that’s very sweet of you”

Steel began to blush and unwittingly put less focus on his driving.

“watch the ~squee~damn road!” Fluttershy shouted.  “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!  This isn’t like me at all.  I just need a cigarette so bad”

“my apologies, miss” Steel replied to Fluttershy and began to concentrate on his task at hoof.  “you’re right though, I should be paying more attention to getting everypony to the palace safely”

“heh heh.  Sorry about her, Steel”  Twilight said now starting to blush herself.  “she really doesn’t act like that often.  If this coach didn’t have the air conditioning on though, then we would really all be doomed”

“um, I’m sorry I used your name like that, Princess” Fluttershy said to Celestia.

“c’mon, Shy-Dawg” Luna said.  “that’s Tia we’re talking bout.  She’s cool.  She’s hip with it”

Upon hearing Princess Luna of all ponies speaking the way she was, everypony else on the bus, even Celestia burst out in uncontrollable laughter.  Princess Luna, the one who until a few years ago spent 1000 years on the moon had just made her first real and very awkward attempt to use her more modern vocabulary.

At last the coach was making it’s way up the long cobblestone driveway after passing through the palace gate and came to a stop at the loop in front of the entrance.  Steel Piston used his unicorn magic to shift the coach into neutral gear, lift the lever to activate the parking brake and flipped the switch to open the door.

“thank you for choosing Canterlot cab and bus Company, everypony!” Steel said.

“now about the bill, Steel” Twilight said.  “you gave me a free ride earlier and then you drove ten of us on a full sized coach so I won’t take no for an answer”

“well” Steel said.  “if it were up to me I would do it again but for you I will see if my manager would be willing to work out a-”

“this should cover it” Princess Celestia said as she used her magic to drop 50 bits into the glass payment box.  “keep the change”

Steel’s jaw hung wide open at the sight of not only full payment but also the huge tip he had just received.

“no nice deed goes unrewarded” Twilight said with a smile.  “thanks again, Steel.  See you around”

“no, thank YOU” he replied.  “oh, um, before you go…well I, uh…I’ve been meaning to ask you if…”

With himself and Twilight being the only ones still on the bus he began to blush very heavily as he kept trying to get to his point to no avail.

“um, what I’m trying to say is…eh, well do you think maybe you could use some help with your investigation you were telling me about say maybe start making these plans over a cup of coffee sometime or something?”

Steel Piston was now at full blush and his glasses could not have been more fogged.  He was hopeful but he was mentally kicking himself for asking her what he had.

“stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” Steel thought to himself.  “Steel you moron!  She could lose her brother and you asked her out on a coffee date?!”

“get a suit and have it pressed” Twilight replied also beginning to blush.  “by this time tomorrow, we’ll all be working for the CRGD.  Show up at the precinct tomorrow”

“will do”  Steel answered.  “coincidentally, I start my vacation tomorrow”

“great!  I’ll see you there then”

Twilight hopped off the bus and Steel Piston took his leave with it.  She then made her way into the first room in the palace where everypony else was still waiting for her.  While Fluttershy and Rarity were at long last enjoying their cigarettes that they had so impatiently waited for Twilight looked around at the circle of friends standing around her.

“let’s get some rest, girls” she finally spoke up.  “we’ll all be heading over to the Guard Department headquarters first thing in the morning.  We’ve got work to do!”

End Chapter Five

A Gat In The Garbage

Chapter Seven:  A Gat In The Garbage

Rarity and Fluttershy

"gray?!" Rarity whined in disapproval of her suit color  "of all the colors I have to be seen in, gray had to be the one!"

"oh it's not so bad, Rarity" Fluttershy replied.  "I actually think it suits the both of us just fine"

"Fluttershy, really!  you're going to stand there with a straight face and tell me you like these?"

"I'm sorry.  I was just trying to look on the bright side.  after all, it definitely beats the hel- er I mean heck out of that time we  were gray when discord got out of hoof."

"well, I guess it could be worse but now I have to once again, block out the image of that day my mane was the color of this dreadful suit"

"oh my!  oh no!  I was so mean that day!  please forgive me, Rarity!"

"you do realize that was three years ago don't yo-?"

"Here it is!"  Fluttershy interrupted.  "4922 West Trotten Street!  one of our witnesses lives in this apartment building.  number 7B"

"get your stare ready, dear.  i'll signal you by winking my right eye.  let's go!"

Meanwhile, with Applejack and Rainbow Dash

"just giving you a more than fair warning, pal!"  Dash said threateningly to a random pegasus stallion she had backed up against a wall.  "I will find out if you're bull ~squee~ing me!"

"Dash for pete's sake get a grip!" Applejack said recalling Twilight's warning to Rainbow Dash about avoiding police brutality.  "not everypony around is gonna know about what we're lookin' fer.  it's not like Ponyville where we all know each other.  this place is huge!"

"relax, AJ.  it wasn't like I was gonna beat him up or anything"

"then why were you reachin' fer your baton?"

"just to intimidate is all"

"um excuse me, officers"  the stallion said, still backed up against the wall.  "but, um, c-can I go now? please?  I promise if I see or hear anything about it I'll let you know"

"you're off the hook for now, but remember I've got my ey-"

"you betcha, mister and thanks fer keeping that in mind!  Rainbow, ya better calm your plot down!"

Meanwhile with Pinkie Pie

"hey you!"  Pinkie Pie shouted from the PA on the pedal chopper.  "I saw that, buster!  pick your nose with a tissue next time!  that's gross!"

"ChopperPie!  come in ChopperPie!"  a voice from Twilight said on Pinkie Pie's headset.

"ChopperPie here!  go ahead, coach 45!"

"Pinkie, I'm begging you!  for my brother's sake, please look for things more relevant to our investigation!  you need to be keeping a look out for threats against Equestrian security!"

"oh sorry, Twilight.  but how did you know what I was doing?

Meanwhile with Twilight and Steel

"because you're hovering right over our heads, Pinkie"  Twilight replied.  "still though, I can't wait to tell Rarity that Prince Blueblood was using his tongue to pick his nose.  over and out, ChopperPie!"

"heh heh heh.  your friends are alright, Detective Sparkle" Steel Piston Said while proceeding through a green traffic light.

"thanks, Steel.  I'm glad you like them.  Twilight by the way.  behind this badge, we're all still friends no matter how you slice it"

"OK, Twilight.  so where to?"

"we need to get to the Crime scene that involved my brother.  luckily, the guards still have the area blocked off and nopony without a badge has access to it"

"alright I'm on it"

"excellent!  oh and Steel?"

"yes, Twilight?"

"we'll be able to get there a lot faster if you use the siren"

"oh of course"  Steel then used his magic to flip the switch causing the coach's siren to start winding up and it was soon wailing at full volume.  Very quickly, traffic ahead of the duo began to pull aside and create a straight, open path for them.

"c'mon, Steel!  let's run some red lights!"

Steel proved to be a very talented driver once again showing that he was deserving of his cutie mark of which was a burning tire next to an engine block.  They arrived at the scene in what seemed no time at all and Steel found a perfect spot to park the brand new patrol coach with it's stylish tailfins jutting out of it's rear end.  Steel was the first one to exit and before Twilight could even reach for the door latch, Steel had already made his way over to the passenger side and opened it for her.

"what a gentlecolt" Twilight giggled as she stepped out.

Steel's glasses began to fog again as the pair of rookie cops made their way to the alleyway where Shining Armor had been shot.  At the end of the alley was a fence of yellow caution tape and one lone guard waiting for them.  When the guard noticed the two approaching he greeted the pair with a salute.

"you must be Detective Sparkle"  the guard said.  "Officer Silverbadge at your service!"

"at ease, officer.  my partner and I will take it from here"

"yes ma'am.  I wish you two the best of luck.  several other guards and myself scanned the area but checking it again couldn't hurt"

"we'll leave no stone unturned, Silver"

Officer Silverbadge then out of nowhere hung his head low and a puddle of tears had began to form on the ground.  after an awkward moment of silence he finally began to speak again.

"I was working with him the other day when this happened"  Silverbadge said with a steady river now flowing down his face.  "If only I had stayed with him.  I could have prevented this"

"it's not your fault"  Twilight said finding it difficult to control her own tears.

"I just can't help but let it eat at my gut.  I swear if he doesn't make it, i'll never forgive myself"

before anything else could be said, Silverbadge hastily made his way to a squad coach of his own and took his leave.  there stood Twilight Sparkle thinking of her big brother best friend forever while forming her own puddle of tears.  Once again Steel Piston, without even thinking about it, placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder as if it were a reflex.  Twilight had taken note that every time he did this, she felt an instant feeling of comfort.  Whenever she was depressed around her mare friends, they would do the same but it was no comparison to what Steel was doing for her.  She couldn't explain why but it just felt right.

"you ok, Twilight?"  he asked.

"I'll be fine"  she replied.  "thanks so much.  time is of the essence though.  we can't let anything get in our way from now on.  let's see what we can find"

"sounds like a plan"

They made their way past the yellow tape into the alley and took a few steps in and Twilight cringed at the first thing they saw.  It was a chalk outline of a stallion on the ground with a dried up crimson puddle on the upper torso area.  Twilight was already feeling nauseous at the sight and the fact that the trash cans and dumpsters in the alley had not been emptied after a heat wave did not help, but they still pressed on.

"alright, Steel.  I'll scan every speck of dust on the outer end and work my way in.  I want you to do the opposite and we'll meet in the middle"

"and I'll let you know if I find anything  at all, Twilight.  I won't let you down!"

the two ponies then began to search for clues, both of them examining things from empty cider bottles to paperclips and staples.  After several minutes of pointless sweeping, the two were quickly losing hope.  All of a sudden, Steel began to realize something that had just hit him harder than the stench of the nearby trash cans.  He then began using his unicorn magic to pry every single lid from all the seemingly untouched rubbish containers and began to sift through their contents.  Twilight at first failed to notice and only did so when she heard Steel begin to gag and heave.  she did not think much of it.  The only though that crossed her mind was how bad she felt making Steel do all the dirty work closest to the smelly garbage.  That thought would soon prove to be pointless as Twilight Perked up her ears to the sound of a lid being lifted off of a can and Steel letting out a loud gasp.

"Twilight!"  he shouted with urgency in his tone.  "Twilight, I think you should see this!"

"what is it?!"  she asked, her suspense biting at her more and more with each step she took towards him.

She ran up to her partner staring inside one of the foul smelling trash cans nearest to the chain link fence at the end of the alleyway.

"take a look at this!"

Twilight then glanced at the inside of the can and saw exactly what Steel was on to.

"Steel Piston!  you're a ~squee~ing genius!" End Chapter Seven

Fluttershoot

Chapter Eight: Fluttershoot

"Hmmm...a Jolt Hydra .357 magnum, serial number 1947QC94"  Steel Piston said while studying his unexpected trash find.  He then slowly levitated the shiny chrome plated revolver out and opened the cylinder.

"fully loaded with six shells, only one fired"

"of coarse!"  Twilight said.  "a .357 is a .38 caliber slug with the extra oomph behind it.  that's why it was so powerful"

"alright, Twilight.  lets get this bagged and inform dispatch"

"oh Steel, you can read me like a book can't you?"

"I know, right?  we've only known each other for a few days and I feel like it's been all our lives for some reason"

"heh heh.  no offense but we both can stand here and say mushy things to each other all day and still get nothing done so um..."

"oh right, Sorry!"

"no biggie, Steel.  but there's just this one thing I just can't put my hoof on"

"what's that?"

"a piece like this would go for like...a ton of bits!  why would they throw it in the trash?  Especially after trying to murder somepony with it?"

"beats m-"

"hey! what the...?"  Twilight interrupted as she began to notice something on the side of the gun's barrel.  "there's something engraved on this"  she then used her magic to raise one of many tissues from her suit pocket and proceeded to wipe trash and gunk from the side of the gun.  When the gun was clean, it became clear what the engraving said.

Property of CRGD Sgt. GS

"Steel...  I'm not one to jump to conclusions but I think it's safe to say that we're investigating Internal Affairs"

Meanwhile, With Fluttershy and Rarity

"so, that's...all you saw?"  Rarity asked the mare who had been listed as a witness in the incident report.  "you claimed that you were within mere yards of the two said ponies running into an alleyway and you saw...pretty much nothing?"

"I told you already, Detective, that's all the information that I have for you and to be completely honest, I hardly wanted to get involved in the first place"

Rarity's pony reading skills were paying off as she noticed that the mare she was interviewing was fidgeting and even going so far as to avoid eye contact.

"What are you afraid of, miss?"  Rarity asked with a raised eye brow.  "what do you have to worry about by telling me what I need to know?  May I remind you that the security of Equestria could depend on this interview?"

"I don't need to sit here and put up with these accusations!  I'm not holding out on anything and I'm insulted that you would imply otherwise!"

The mare then crossed her forelegs and turned away from the two detectives as to show that she was going to say nothing more to them.  Fluttershy was staring at Rarity as if she was waiting for something.  Rarity had done what she told Fluttershy she would and looked over at her pegasus partner and gave her a wink with her right eye.

"well then, miss" Rarity said.  "my partner and myself will be going now.  we'll keep in touch.  would you be so kind as to show us to the do-"

"Gladly!" the mare snapped as she turned over to see Fluttershy's glaring eyes piercing into her very soul.  She let out a loud gasp and began sweating profusely and desperately tried to break away from her stare to no avail.

"now I'm going to ask you again"  Rarity said feeling sure that her and Fluttershy had this case by the tail.  "what did you see whe-"

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!  I CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE!!!"

All of a sudden, Rarity and Fluttershy were forcefully thrown back by the shock-wave of a green explosion coming directly from the witness they were speaking with.  The apartment was filled with a green mist that smelled of some type of chemical that would prove difficult to explain.  At the other end of the room was the pair of detectives shivering in each others' embrace while waiting for the mist to clear.  With each passing second, the cloud had begun to disperse and finally could be visually navigated through.  Rarity and Fluttershy sat there with their jaws hung open in shock still tightly hugging each other.  Where the beautiful unicorn mare was standing before stood what she truly was.

"By Celestia's Royal Plot!"  Rarity shouted at the top of her lungs in horror.  "A ~SQUEE~ING CHANGELING!!!"

Rarity used her magic to reach into her coat but by the time she had her .45 drawn, the changeling had burst out the window of the third floor apartment and landed on the sidewalk below.

"Don't let it get away!"  Rarity shouted.

Fluttershy then used her left wing to pull a two way radio of her own out of her jacket.

"all units, all units!  we need help at West Trotten street!  we have a changeling on the run!  I repeat, a changeling on the run!"

"A Changeling?!" Cadence Yelled from the other end.  "I'll send out a dispatch to the others!"

"no need for that, sugarcube!"  Applejack radioed in.  "we heard the call and we're on our way!"

As Fluttershy and Rarity began making their way down the flight of stairs to the bottom floor, they could hear the roar of Pinkie's pedal chopper quickly nearing the area.  Soon after, the wailing of Twilight and Steel's patrol coach siren began to close in.

"girls, Steel and I are almost there!"  Twilight Radioed in.  "remember, we all need to keep in constant communication"

Fluttershy and Rarity exited the building soon followed by Applejack  and Rainbow Dash sliding on their hoofs and coming to a screeching halt in front of them.

"where'd it go?" Rainbow Dash Demanded with her six-shooter already drawn.

"I uh...I don't know" Fluttershy answered.

Princess Celestia was nearing the time to end her workday and Princess Luna was preparing to begin hers as a bright spotlight from Pinkie Pie's pedal chopper began sweeping the area.  The sharp, sleek new Sadillac patrol coach being driven by Steel Piston then shrieked to an abrupt stop to join the group.

"ChopperPie!  Search everywhere until you find this Changeling!"  Twilight said into the coach's radio mic as she exited the door too on edge to notice that Steel had once again beat her to the door latch.  "Fluttershy, Rarity, which direction did it head off to?"

"That ruffian went Eastbound down this very street and kept going until it was out of our sight!"  Rarity answered still trying to catch her breath.

"OK, girls!"  Twilight yelled.  "split up into our teams and fan out!  I want him brought in for questioning if it can be helped, Rainbow Dash!".

"why did you say my name like that?" Rainbow asked Twilight.

"because I don't want anypony to shoot first and ask questions later, that's why!  now move it!"

Pinkie Pie was hard at work shining her bright spotlight through everything from busy streets to dark alleyways in between buildings while the rest of the teams were on the ground searching for their suspect.  The dark of Luna's night began to approach faster and faster so each of the ground units were now using their flashlights.  Everypony would occasionally bump into the other team while sifting through every inch of ground.

"I've got a sighting on the suspect!"  Pinkie shouted over the PA, her voice echoing through the entire district.  One of her countless sideways sweeps of her light had revealed the changeling in an alleyway and Pinkie was now locked onto it not letting it out of her sight.  As the rest of the troop frantically dashed towards the direction that Pinkie's chopper was heading following her target they could see bright green flashes followed by loud bangs whizzing past their hovering comrade.  Again her voice blared out with a massive echo.

"Fallback!  Fallback!  the changeling has opened magic horn fire!"

No sooner did Pinkie Pie finish her sentence did the barrage of green, highly corrosive and explosive acid grow more intense.

"Everypony hit the dirt!"  Pinkie screamed.

"Fluttershy?"  Rarity shouted just noticing that her partner was no longer by her side and must have gotten ahead of them somehow.  "Fluttershy!  where are you!?  where did you go?!"

"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!".....kracKApow!!!

Everypony in the troop had heard the spine chilling shriek that was their timid Pegasus friend followed by the gunshot.  They were all now closing in on the scene expecting to see the worst.  While still sprinting at full speed, Rainbow Dash was the first to notice that the barrage of green had suddenly stopped and Pinkie was now hovering in one spot, her searchlight no longer moving.  The Group of Friends, now exhausted from sprinting all simultaneously made it to their destination through a maze of dark alleys and stopped on a bit.  What they saw was their friend Fluttershy, sweet and innocent little Fluttershy standing there hyperventilating and shedding buckets of tears with a smoking pistol clutched in her right wing.  The light from Pinkie's Chopper then shifted it's focus from Fluttershy and slowly moved the beam a few yards away from where she was standing.  The light revealed the lifeless body of a deceased changeling lying in a pool of it's green bodily fluid.  The entire group was speechless and did not have a clue how to react or what to say to Fluttershy who had never in her entire being ever dreamed of causing harm to another living thing and had just gunned one down.  Upon seeing the pain that their traumatized friend was now going through, everypony began withdrawing their sidearms back into their holsters and began slowly walking up to Fluttershy.  As Twilight reached her hoof out to place it on Fluttershy's shoulder, the mortified Pegasus dropped her pistol, fell to her knees and began to sob at the fact that she had just taken the life of another being. End Chapter Eight

Good News Overdue

Chapter Nine:  Good News Overdue

"Now, Fluttershy you listen and you listen to me good ya hear?"  Applejack said embracing Fluttershy in a hug while stroking her mane.  "that thing left ya no choice!  there was nothin' else ya coulda done!  it was either him or you and Pinkie Pie!"

Fluttershy was hyperventilating to the point where she was about to faint.  Without warning, she broke free from Applejack's embrace and began to heave.

"HINGURP...ACK...BLEAHCKK...WHEEEEEZZZE"

The whole group, trying their best to comfort the distraught pegasus watched in horror as she expelled the entire contents of her stomach.  It was a telltale sign that was all too common within the CRGD or any large city law enforcement agency for that matter.  When a member of such a department is required to make the decision to discharge their firearm resulting in the death of the criminal, vomiting afterward was a common symptom.  Fluttershy's episode of nausea and vomiting were the first signs of a pony who after such a tragic event would never fully be the same.

Twilight, feeling horrible for how things had ended up for poor Fluttershy, still knew that the incident that had just taken place was far from all said and done.  She walked to the farthest point in the alleyway from everypony else and reached for her radio.

"Dispatch, this is Coach 45.  come in, Dispatch"

"this is Control S"  Spike answered from the other end.  "go ahead"

"be advised, spike, that the changeling on the run is now code four.  suspect is down"

"you guys caught it?  way to go!"

"not exactly spike.  that's why I need you and Cadence to inform the city coroner"

"the coroner?  you mean it'-"

"deceased.  the changeling is indeed deceased, Spike"

After talking with spike on the mic, Twilight rejoined the group while Rainbow Dash was taking her turn trying to comfort Flutershy.  Twilight then grabbed both of them in a hug while starting to cry with them.

"Fluttershy, I'm so sorry!"  Twilight sobbed.  "I'm so sorry you had to do this!  I would give anything to have been the one to do it instead!"

While Rainbow Dash and Twilight still hugged Fluttershy, one by one the rest began to join in an effort to calm the timid pegasus and find their own serenity from the rough week they have all been having.  Pinkie Pie had seen the whole thing as well and was able to find a spot to land her pedal chopper to join the group hug and soon even Steel Piston was crying with them too.  After several minutes, Fluttershy's panic attack had finally subsided and she was now even calm enough to light a cigarette.  The sweet moment full of hugs was then interrupted by the consistent beeping sounds of an ambulance coach being backed into the alleyway where they were waiting.

"well, everypony"  Twilight said in a very somber tone.  "the coroner is here.  Officers Apple and Dash, go with Steel and bring Fluttershy back to the Palace and have her get some rest.  Rarity, Pinkie and myself will need to speak with the coroner and we'll be coming back in the chopper"

Without uttering another word, they did what they were instructed to do and were on their way to help Fluttershy get her  much needed rest.  The ambulance had then parked itself and a middle aged stallion with a white mane wearing a black suit and another in a white pressed shirt with an EMT badge on the upper left chest area got out.

"has the stiff been touched since it was shot?"  said the gray stallion in the black suit with even darker gray circles around his eyes.

"no, sir.  so far it was left as it was."  Twilight replied.

"who ended up having to take him down?"

"my friend Detective Fluttershy.  we had to get her out of here and away from the body.  this was actually her first day on the job and she's not feeling too hot about this"

The coroner then turned his head to glance over at the changeling's body.

"Get a stretcher and a body bag out will ya, Red Shield?"

"yessir" the medic replied as he went back to the ambulance.

"I understand where your friend is coming from, kid" the coroner who had a scythe for a cutie mark said to Twilight.  "what she just had to do, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.  I was the CRGD sergeant a few years back and believe me, I've been there"

The two stallions then wheeled the stretcher over to the stiff.  As the medic prepared the bag the coroner put a rubber hoof glove on his right hoof, reached down to the body's face and closed it's eyes.

"I don't know if you'll understand this but I can't help but feel pity for this poor race"  The coroner said.  "just Imagine the horrible, depressing life they must have to live.  always hiding in the shadows with nopony to love or to love them back.  maybe I'm thinking too deeply about this but it just makes me sad that it has to be this way for these unfortunate beings and I think it's wrong to hate them"

While listening to the coroner's speech that actually made a lot of sense, Rarity began to be taken over by the strong feeling of guilt for the way she cursed out the changeling when it revealed itself.

"I...I do understand what you are getting at, sir"  Rarity said while looking the stallion directly into his tired, depressed looking eyes.  "I've never thought of it that way but it does make perfect sense"

"young lady"  the coroner replied.  "please forgive me but I just have to be completely honest with you.  the feeling you get when you have to fire on an armed criminal is worse than the pain from the bullet you take in the process if there was one.  thirty-two years ago I had to gun down a Mentally deranged stallion who had lost his medication and already put one in me first.  I still have nights where I lay awake over it and even go so far as to wish he had killed me before I had to the chance to shoot back.  he wasn't a bad pony...he was ~squee~ed up in the brain and needed help...when this happens, you feel like you've lost your soul and to this very day, I still worry about where I'm going when my time comes"

Meanwhile, in the patrol coach

"I just can't help it, girls"  Fluttershy said trying to relax with a cigarette.  "I feel like I've lost my soul"

"don't even think that way, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash said.  "you're no different than you were before this and you're still the sweet little filly we all know and love!"

"thank you, Dash.  *sniff*  I could never ask for better friends than all of you.  and Steel, I know you've only been our friend for a few days but you're just...you're such a wonderful stallion.  I could never hope for a better guy than you for my friend Twilight"

Steel Piston once again blushed at the topic being brought up.

"uh, well of course!"  Steel stuttered.  "thanks for the compliment but what reason would I have to not be her friend?"

"aw horse apples!"  Applejack said jokingly.  "we see it plain as a barn without a paint-job!  we all know ya got the hots fer Twilight"

"don't feel bad, Steel"  Rainbow assured him as she gave him a light punch on the shoulder.  "she's pretty into you too.  don't tell me you didn't notice how much she stares into your eyes...and between your back legs"

Steel could no longer hide his embarrassment and began to get soaked in his own sweat.

"that's so awkward it's not even funny" Steel said.  "but yes, I admit it ok?  I really, really, really like Twilight"

"I'm glad you do, Steel" Fluttershy said.  "you two have so much in common.  you both talk up a storm when you find a topic that both of you are into.  and you're smart and sweet and caring an-"

"and a total egghead" Rainbow Dash interrupted receiving disapproving looks from Fluttershy and Applejack.

"what?  I didn't mean it like it was a bad thing!  that just makes him all the more perfect for Twilight"

"hey girls, how about some tunes?"  Steel said loudly as he switched on the radio making it clear that the conversation was making him uncomfortable.  He quickly found his favorite station and started to sing along with it.

"The heat is on!  It's on the street!  Inside your head, and in every beat!  the pressure's high, just to stay alive!  whoa whoa!  whoa whoa!  Caught up in the action, I'll be looking out for you!"

Meanwhile, In the Pedal Chopper

"attention dispatch"  Pinkie Pie said into her headset.  "this is Chopperpie, be advised I'm coming in for a landing and parking for the night, you copy?"

"this is Control C" Cadence replied.  "10-4 on the landing, over and out"

Pinkie Pie then slowed down her pedaling and descended the air machine to the heliport runway on top of the highest point of the palace.  Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie exited the cockpit and made their way down the staircase to meet the rest of the group and discuss the day's productivity.

After entering the control room which had been set aside for them to use for their meetings, they were greeted by Princesses Celestia and Luna both with a somber look on their faces.

"Twilight, I heard about what went down" Luna said, again trying to get with the modern day lingo.

"I know you all might think this sounds crazy" Twilight replied.  "but aside from the fecal matter coming in unwanted contact with the rotary blade of an electronic air circulating apparatus, today was actually very, well, we got a lot of work that we needed to do done"

"um Swilight *hic* Tarkle"  Rainbow Dash said while sitting at an office desk with a half empty bottle of cider.  "uhh with all respect due, er, what the ~squee~ are you talking about?"

Twilight let out a disapproving groan at her friend's drunken stupor.

"~squee~ hit the fan, Rainbow.  but listen, everypony I'm serious!  just check out what me and Steel found at the crime scene!"

Twilight then used her magic to reach into her pocket and proceeded to pull out the revolver inside a plastic bag out and held it high for everypony to see.  Everypony except Steel Piston let out a loud gasp and the whole room went dead silent for several seconds until Princess Cadence began to study the pegasus-fit handgun and finally broke the silence.

"get the ~squee~ out of here!"  she said in disbelief at the sight of the familiar looking instrument of destruction that Twilight had brought.

"you want us to leave?"  Pinkie Pie replied.  "but I thought we were supposed to find out who's threatening Equestria"

"no Pinkie, that's not what I meant.  what I'm getting at is that this gun is a dead giveaway as to who has a lot of explaining to do"

"what did I tell you, sis?"  Princess Luna said.  "I told you there was something up with the sergeant!  but did you listen?  nooooooo, you figured your little baby sister was just seeing things or wa-"

"I thought he was wearing new contacts!"  Princess Celestia said obviously feeling foolish for not taking her sister seriously.  As the two sisters continued to Argue, Rainbow Dash was pouring herself another shot of cider of which Fluttershy quickly swiped and knocked back.  While the bickering between the princesses raged on, the telephone that sat upon Rainbow Dash's desk began to ring.  Nopony was paying attention however, and since Rainbow was passed out with her head laying on the desk, Fluttershy was able to answer it after the fourth ring.

"Hello, Canterlot Guard"  Fluttershy answered.  "oh I'm sorry, she's a little busy right now.  can I take a message?...uh huh...ok then...wait, what?...Oh my goodness that's wonderful!...ok I'll tell her.  thank you"  click!  "um, everypony?  good news"

"oh and another thing!"  Princess Luna shouted to Celestia  "I'll have you know that I found that bag of Everfree Forrest happy grass in your not so secret anymore compartment under the floorboards!"

"uh excuse me Princesses but I just got off the phone with the Star Swirl Memor-"

"yeah what of it?"  Princess Celestia retorted to Luna.  "can't I ever take the edge off  without you being shoved up my-"

"why didn't you offer me any?!  you think I'M never stressed out?!"

"SHUT THE ~SQUEE~ UUUUUUUUP!!!"  Fluttershy screamed drawing everypony's undivided attention and even jolting Rainbow Dash out of her drunken slumber.  She then suddenly replaced her expression of rage with a sweet little smile.

"I just got a phone call from the hospital, everypony.  they have good news" End Chapter Nine

Wide Awake And Wired

Chapter Ten: Wide Awake And Wired

"his condition has been upgraded?!"  Twilight Sparkle squealed for joy at the news Fluttershy had just given her.  "th-that's the best news we've gotten all week!"

"I know, I'm glad to hear it too!"  Fluttershy replied.  "did I mention that he no longer needs the breathing tube?"

"this is incredible!  we should all head over there right away!"

"I don't think that's a good idea right now, Twilight"  Spike said.

"why the ~squee~ not?"

"Rainbow Dash is hammered, Fluttershy just killed somepony and has a buzz, Pinkie Pie still looks high on adrenaline, your coltfriend here keeps fogging his glasses up, Rarity doesn't want to be seen out in public wearing gray and the princesses are lighting up some make-up happy grass as we speak"

"He's not my coltfriend!  why does everypony keep saying that?!"

"who are you trying to convince, purple guy?"  Princess Celesta asked as she exhaled a puff of intoxicating smoke.  "everypony else or yourself?"

"teeheehee, lookit, lookit"  Princess Luna giggled.  "it's so cute, he's all nervous and stuff.  he looks so embarrassed.  hee hee, sis I think I'm plastered"

"I think I get the point"  Twilight said.  "I think it's safe to say that everypony could use some rest.  c'mon Steel.  let's get the hell outta here and have ourselves a sober and more intelligent conversation!"

Everypony in the room then burst out in laughter as Twilight Sparkle who was just trying to convince the group that she and Steel Piston were not in a relationship with each other was now grabbing him by the hoof and pulling him out of the room.

"um, Twilight"  Steel said as he was being pulled down a hallway about to buckle at the knees from nervousness.  "don't you think that announcing to everypony else that we're going somewhere private kind of defeats the purpose of-mmmfff!"

Twilight then interrupted Steel in mid sentence by spinning around to face him taking him by surprise and locked her lip with his.  At first he tensed up for he did not see it coming but a few seconds into the passionate kiss, his entire body went limp.  After two whole minutes, Twilight finally broke it off and began to speak.

"Steel, I know I've only known you for less than a week but it's like-"

"we have some kind of connection and it seems like we've known each other all our lives?"

"you see?  that's what I'm talking about!"

"Twilight, when you were in the backseat of my cab in the state you were, I felt like I just had to try to help you"

"and when you suggested I call you to pick me up, I knew that I just wanted so bad to see you again!"

"and when you did call me, I realized that you felt the same way about me"

"and Steel, right now you are way too focused on my eyes to realize that as we speak, I've just used my magic to drag you into this bedroom, place a 'do not disturb' tag on the door, lock it and toss you onto the bed"

Meanwhile, at the Hospital

Beep...Beep...Beep..."Cuppa Irish tea!  Cuppa Irish tea!"  screamed Shining Armor as he abruptly jolted out of his coma.

"hey, look who finally decided to do me the courtesy of taking the necessary step to get the hell outta here so I can do the same"  said the doctor in a rude sarcastic tone as he walked out of the room.

"oh yeah?"  replied Shining.  "well the next time you go cash your paycheck and you get a hefty overtime bonus, remember me you over-paid prick!"  After a little more cursing under his breathe and shaking his hoof at the doctor, Shining Armor paused for a moment to gather himself.

"wh-why the hell am I here?"  Shining asked himself.  "I remember chasing after some flasher or something but that's where it stops"

Shining then began observing the machines he was hooked up to, starting with the heart monitor and then following the fluid iv from his left foreleg to the bag hanging on the rack.

"whoa, somepony must have really ~squee~ed me up"

Looking around a bit more, he then glanced at his upper chest and discovered the reason for his state.

"I wish I didn't see that.  Nurse!  happy pills please!"

The next day

"BBBFF!"  Twilight exclaimed as she bolted into her brother's hospital room.  "You're awake!"

"Twiley!  glad you're here.  what'd I miss, sis?"

Twilight inhaled a deep breath and began to explain.  "my friends and I work for you at the CRGD now, Fluttershy killed a changeling, my col- er, friend and I found out that one of your own tried to kill you and there's a citywide hunt for him ongoing"

"Ok.  and all of this happened in four days?  because I was told that's how long I've been out."

"and a very eventful four days it has been, Shining"

"alright but what do you mean 'one of my own?'  are you suggesting that a member of the Royal Guard is responsible for the hunk of lead ripped out of my chest?"

"as crazy as that sounds yes.  my new friend Steel Piston and myself took it upon ourselves to check out the scene.  being the genius he is, he found the weapon in a trashcan and we matched it with the bullet taken from you"

"well- what kind of gun was it?"

"a Jolt Hydra .357 magnum owned by none other than Sergeant Goldstripe!"

"whoa whoa whoa!  do you mean to tell me that my own sergeant wants me dead?!  that's impossible and I refuse to believe it!  listen, Twiley I don't quite remember what happened but for some reason I just know that can't be the case.  and I know he wouldn't be stupid enough to leave his gun in a trashcan right next to me.  and who the hell is Steel Piston?"

"pleasure to meet you, Shining"  Steel said extending his hoof for a bump.  "Twilight has told me a lot about you"

Shining Armor obliged to the hoofbump and glanced at Steel briefly and turned back to Twilight.

"Twiley, this guy's gay"

"Shining!"  Twilight retorted to her brother's rude comment.  "why would you say that?!  you have no idea how much he has helped all of us in your case!"

"I say that because, well, just look at him.  nopony who's straight is gonna have that kind of mane-do.  and what's up with those glasses?  if he's not gay, he's at the least very, very metro-sexual.  and I don't mean any disrespect, I'm just calling it like it is"

"oh trust me, bro.  he is so not gay"

"oh?  and what is that supposed to mean?"

"SO!" Steel interrupted.  "how about that thing we gotta do and catching the criminal and stuff huh?"

"I'm so glad you're alright, Shining"  Twilight said.  "but we've got ~squee~ to do.  we'll see you arou-"

"whoa, Twiley!"  Shining Interrupted.  "since when do you swear?"

"like I said, it's been a crazy week.  we're outta here"

Twilight and the troop then left Shining alone in the recovery room with nothing but his thoughts.  They were on their way to capture who they thought was the one who tried to kill him, and nothing was going to get in their way.

"It just doesn't make any sense" Shining thought to himself.  "there's just no way it was my sergeant who shot me.  and that changeling that Fluttershy took down, there's more to this.  that can't be just a coincidence.  hmmm...I've gotta do something.  I'll bust outta this joint if I have to!"

End Chapter Ten

A Scandalous Escape

Chapter Eleven:  A Scandalous Escape

"hey, Doc help me out here will ya?"  Shining said.

"what do you want now?"  the doctor retorted.

"I dropped this picture of my wife I've been holding on to and I think it's under the bed.  could you please get it for me?  I'll make sure you park anywhere you want and never get a ticket"

"alright fine"  the doctor said as he knelt down to look for the picture.  "but after this I'm on bre-ack!"

It was a set up.  Shining Armor grabbed the doctor and tightly wrapped his fore-leg around his neck and began to choke him until he was unconscious.  As soon as the doctor was out, Shining took his keys, stethoscope, ID card, white jacket and toupee.  It was difficult for the newly awake guard captain to stand from the bed at first as he was stiff from being motionless for several days and had to take a few minutes to loosen up.  He fitted himself with his disguise, pushed the doctor under the bed and made his way to the elevator with the fluid iv still attached to his leg and the bag in his pocket.  When he got to the elevator, he began studying the map of the building that was on the wall.

"hmmm.  I can't just leave without my hardware belt"  Shining said to himself.  "oh good, the file room is on the 3rd floor"

Shining then pressed the button for his destination and within seconds was there.  The floor was not entirely used for files so he had to find his way to the room where they were kept which took but only a few minutes of searching.

"so far so good"  he said to himself as he approached the door.  upon observing the locked door he then discovered a slight problem.

"Damn!  it opens with a card"  Shining said.  "I don't think I can knock it down in the state I'm in"

Shining's luck had quickly turned back as a card fell out of the pocket of his "borrowed" jacket as he lightly punched the door out of frustration.

Unable to bend down to pick it up without taking on more pain he used his magic to levitate it to the slot and unlocked the door.  He found himself in a room full of filing cabinets that were in alphabetical order and searched for the one that would contain his own hospital records.

"now I know how Twiley's friend Rainbow Dash feels"  Shining said in a very excited tone.  "she was right.  it is fun to try out the wrong side of the law once in a while.  that kid's alright!"

Shining was soon flipping through files in the cabinet labeled "S" and pulling his own out of the folder in no time.

"Ok, so my stuff is in locker num- what the...low testosterone?!  who the ~squee~ do they think they're talking about here?!"

Upon reading the folder containing this insult to his stallion-hood, he threw it to the other side of the room and went back to the elevator and called it for basement floor one in search of storage locker number 1073.  So far he had been able to pull off his escape process without a problem but that soon abruptly halted as soon as the elevator door slid open revealing a confused looking hospital security guard on the other side.  Shining was sure he would have to perform another choke hold or risk being brought back to his room until the guard spoke.

"uhh...Doctor Studsward?"  the guard said.  "what are you doing down here?"

Seeing this as a perfect opportunity to drag the rude doctor's name through the mud, Shining went along with it.

"I'll go where I want when I want, punk"  Shining replied trying to sound as much like the doctor as he could.  "you could do that too if you went to college"

"ya know what, doc?"  the now irritated guard replied.  "you've been treating everypony around here like crap ever since you transferred here and I'm getting pretty damn tired of it!"

"Awww, let me call a whaaambulance for you"  Shining said as he walked towards the locker area.

"Up yours, pal!"  the guard yelled back at Shining while directing towards him an obscene gesture with his two forelegs.

With the oblivious guard now getting on the elevator to go up, Shining was now able to search for his belongings that he needed without further interruption.  He began passing by the numerically ordered lockers one by one.

"let's see, 1069, 1070, 1071, 1072...aha!  here's my stuf-awww ~squee~"  Shining Armor's luck had appeared to run out as he noticed that his locker along with all of the others were secured by combination locks and could not be opened with a key.

"dammit!" Shining yelled out of frustration.  "if I'm going to clear my sergeant's name and find out who really tried to off me, I can't very well do it without my gun!"

desperate to come up with a solution to his predicament, the tired and weakened guard captain began pacing back and fourth to think.

"now what!  how am I gonna get my stuff?  how am I gonna prove that Sergeant Goldstripe is innocent?  why did I take this stetha- Hello!"

Meanwhile, on the Streets of Canterlot

"ohhh Rarityyyyyy"  Pinkie Pie sang out over the pedal chopper's PA system.  "check this out"

Pinkie Pie then focused her Spotlight onto a horrified Prince Blueblood who was once again caught attempting to use his tongue to dislodge something from his nose.

"what do you think of your prince now?"  Pinkie blared out.

Rarity, standing only fifty yards or so away and seeing the whole thing reached for her two way mic.

"put me on speaker, darling"  Rarity said to Pinkie.  "I want the whole city hearing what I have to say"

"will you two stay focused?!"  Twilight yelled on the frequency causing Pinkie Pie to get distracted.  "we're looking for a rouge cop to bring him in on treason charges!  and for his sake, you better hope you find him before I do!"

"awww"  Pinkie groaned.  "you made me lose him.  I was going to take a picture and send it to Celestia"

Back at the Hospital

"heyyy Doctor"  said a mare's voice behind Shining as he was just about to walk out the front exit with his belongings.  Shining turned around to see the receptionist giving him a seductive stare.  "are we still on for tonight?"  the mare asked.

Seeing this as another chance to get back at the lousy doctor, Shining trotted to a nearby telephone on the wall, picked it up and pretended to dial a number.  "just a minute" he said to the mare.

"hey, Blueblood!"  Shining said loudly with nopony else on the other end.  "how's my sexy lover?...oh yeah last night was awesome!...haha yeah we were so gay with all our gayness and stuff!...uh huh...yeah I just wanted to let you know how gay I am for you...hey I gotta go now, some mare here is bugging me"  click!

The very second he hung up the phone and turned around to see the mare's reaction to his fake call, Shining was met with a barrage of office supplies flying at him.  Still in his wounded and recovering state he trotted out the door as fast as he could go until he was home free.

shining then stopped and turned to look back at the hospital and to his good fortune was able to dodge a stapler that otherwise would have knocked his horn off.

"How could you lead me on like this?!"  the teary-eyed mare shouted still shooting pencils at him with her unicorn magic.  "I loved you, you bastard!"

As the mare was still ranting and raving, Shining proceeded to hobble his way down the street away from the hospital while laughing hysterically until she was finally out of his sight.  He was quickly growing tired due to his nearly fatal wounds just a few days prior so he paused for a breather and began forming his plan.

"HA HA HAoh damn!"  Shining laughed as he wiped tears from his eyes.  "I needed a good laugh but that ~squee~ hurt!  alright, so I should really get on with saving the day.  phew!  gotta.  huff. catch my puff. breath."

End Chapter Eleven

The Jig Is Up!

Chapter Twelve:  The Jig Is Up!

"Captain?!" gasped a surprised Officer Silverbadge who was standing guard at the front door of a crime scene that was Sergeant Goldstripe's home.  "how did you get them to release you so quickly?!"

"long story" Shining replied.  "not very important either.  where'e the sergeant at?"

"we're still looking for him, sir.  rest assured we will catch that traitor!"

"the hell we will, Silverbadge!  listen, I know this sounds crazy but I just know he's not the one who shot me"

"he's not?  then who did?"

"well, I really don't remember.  but you've all gotta trust me on this.  I am still your superior officer by the way"

"oh yes, sir!"

"alright, so bring me up to speed.  what's the situation so far?"

"well, sir, we have searched the premises for the sergeant but he's nowhere to be fou-"

"wait listen!"  the both of them paused for a moment.  "you smell something?"

without saying another word, Shining hobbled into the house to look for the source of the smell of body odor that can only be caused by heat and lack of the ability for a stallion to shower.  The two guards then stepped into the living room and Shining came to a halt on a throw rug when he heard his own steps landing on a hollow sounding floor.

"lift up this rug, rookie" Shining commanded.

Silverbadge obliged to his boss' request and shoved the rug out of the way revealing a closed secret door with a handle and hinges on the opposite side.

"Silver, we've really gotta review how thorough our department's searches are"  Shining said.  "this shouldn't be so easy to miss"

"I understand, sir.  I feel bad enough that I left your side last week.  I've actually been reviewing weather or not I'm cut out for this job"

"hey c'mon, kid don't worry about it.  I actually see true potential in you.  that's why I specifically chose to work with you.  kinda like how Princess Celestia chose my sister as her personal protege"

upon hearing his boss tell him that he was comparable to his sister who he had always spoken so highly of, Silver stood there looking his superior officer right in the eye and began welling up with tears.

"y-you really mean that?"  Silver asked in a very squeaky voice.

"you bet"  Shining replied  "now lets get this thing opened and see what's in there"

"that padlock looks pretty tough, sir.  shall I go get a set of bolt-cutters?"

"nah, not necessary.  I've always wanted to do this anyway"

Then out of nowhere, Shining, with his magic pulled his signature custom, gold plated, jewel encrusted .45 caliber 8 round magazine pistol out of his "borrowed" white jacket and blasted the padlock open with one well placed shot.

"let's open this bitch up!" Shining said.  "I need to hurry up and get into an outfit that makes me look more like a cop and less like a criminal"

Both of the guards then proceeded to heave at the heavy door with their magic until the door was completely turned on a 180 hitting the floor with a loud thud.

"holy crap, a light!" exclaimed a voice from the bottom of the cellar.  "I died!  oh praise Celestia, I finally died!  I'm free!  but it still stinks here!"

Meanwhile, Back on the Streets

"all units!  all units!"  Pinkie pie said on a dispatch from the chopper.  "I've sighted our suspect just over the intersection of Harmony Street and Crystal Boulevard!  he's heading northbound on wing!"

"copy that, chopperpie!"  Twilight replied on the other end.  "take him down by any means necessary!"

"10-4 on that, coach 45.  Chopperpie over and out!"  Pinkie Pie then flipped a switch for the chopper's PA and after a brief electronic screeching sound began shouting at her target.  "you're completely surrounded, pal!  give up!"

her suspect then paused to turn around and face Pinkie Pie and then made an obscene gesture by crossing his forelegs as if saying "up yours" and then proceeded to dash away.

"I need more sky support!"  Pinkie blared out.  "somepony help me get this guy!"

After hearing Pinkie's request for back up on the PA, the sergeant stopped in the air on a bit and then turned back to face his pursuer again.

"who are you calling a guy?!"   the suspect yelled.

Ignoring her target's bizarre comment, Pinkie began closing in on "him" and began turning her demands into threats.

"this is your last chance, mister!" Pinkie shouted.  "put your hooves up, slowly sink down to the ground and give your self up or we'll use force!"

"I swear if I get called a 'male' word one more time I'm gonna drag you out of that thing and rip your f-"

"hey, tough-guy!"  Rainbow Dash Interrupted as she sneaked up to about ten yards just behind him.  The sergeant turned around expecting to be choking somepony but instead was met with a rainbow maned pegasus cocking back the hammer on a fully loaded revolver aimed directly at "his" face.  Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were certain that the whole thing would finally be over and justice was about to  be served until to their surprise  "he" started laughing at both of them.

"hahaha!  you don't have the guts, punk!"

"If you make one wrong move, I won't hesitate!"  Rainbow Dash replied.  "don't think I won't fill you full of holes before you even hit the ground!"

"hmmm, tell you what, kid.  let's back up a second and assess our little situation here.  so you've got a gun I see.  well guess what?  ME TOO!!!"

As fast as an eye could blink, the rouge guard sergeant whipped out a standard issue pistol and pointed it right at Rainbow Dash.

"DROP IT!"  Rainbow screamed at the top of her lungs.  "DO IT NOW OR I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

kraKApow! BLAM!

A shot was fired from the ground leaving a hole going straight through the sergeants left rear leg in turn throwing his aim off balance and making him miss Rainbow Dash by inches.  Since the suspect had opened fire on her, Rainbow Dash was now certain that there was no other way to deal with him but to do what Fluttershy had to just a few nights before as she began emptying her .38 into the sergeant.  More shots from Twilight, who had fired the first along with the rest of the troop who had caught up with them on the ground began to join the firefight.  Within seconds, everypony's magazines had run dry and they were all expecting to be sending a code four message to dispatch informing them their suspect was down until, they had realized that he was not only alive, but conscious and still hovering.  The entire group looked in horror as he was looking over himself and at all of the completely bloodless holes in his body.

"ha!  was that supposed to hurt?!"  the criminal taunted.  "I already had plenty of holes in me.  you think I'm going to worry about a few extras?"

"holy ~squee~!"  Pinkie Pie yelled.  "this guy's loco in the ~squee~ing coco!"

"apparently you all still have no idea who you're shooting at"  the sergeant said as he pulled a two way of his own from his belt, brought it up to his face and pressed the button down.  "proceed with operation ICA!  Equestria is ours!"  he yelled into the mic.  Seconds later, hundreds upon hundreds of ponies on the ground below began disappearing in puffs of green mist along with an equally large number of pegasi soaring up and swooping back down to do the same.  Fluttershy and Rarity remembered the same type of event from the other day and knew what was happening and soon, everypony else was to find out.  As quickly as the green mist appeared, it faded leaving an infestation of changelings in it's place.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!  time to lose this guy's disguise!"  the sergeant laughed as he too emitted a poof of the foul mist to reveal his true self when it cleared.  The entire task force that was Twilight Sparkle, her friends and her coltfriend gasped in horror and screamed in unison.

"QUEEN CHRYSALIS!"

End Chapter Twelve

Government Property Pileup

Chapter Thirteen:  Government Property Pileup

"Attention citizens of Canterlot!"  Princess Celestia said over a hyper-amplified PA system from the top of the highest point  on the royal palace.  "this is not a drill!  I repeat, this is not a drill!  please clear the streets, return to your homes and bear arms!"  After her emergency announcement, the princess began winding up a loud siren and proceeded to blare an attack signal.

Just a few floors down, Princess Luna was operating a headset in a control room communicating with nearby municipalities.

"All Equestrian cities, we have a code nine!"  Luna said to mayors from all over the nation on the headset.  "sound all air raid alerts for a three minute attack signal and dispatch all law enforcement officers!"

Within seconds, sirens could be heard wailing from Cloudsdale, Ponyville, Appleloosa and soon every major city and small town in the nation.  Following the sirens winding up, long distance spotlights could be seen sweeping the early evening skies.

Meanwhile, With Shining Armor

"I've been trapped in that filthy ~squee~ing cocoon for days!"  the real Sergeant Goldstripe said while in the shower to Shining and silver both stading outside his restroom.  "all of the sweating and the itching!  It was agonizing!"

"hurry the ~squee~ up, sergeant!"  Shining yelled through the bathroom door.  "we're under attack!  we've gotta gather up the entire force and defend Equestria!"

"no disrespect, sir but I'll be out when I'm damn good and fresh.  you have no idea what it was like in that thing!"

"do you have the slightest idea what I've been through?"

"Captain, whatever happened to you, I'm sure I have that topped"

"alright, Sergeant.  try having a half inch hole blown through your chest and when the medics arrived, they thought you were dead so after ten minutes of drawing a chalk outline around you, they find that you're clinging to life by a thread.  and on top of that, when they're on their way to the hospital, one of the noobs forgets to latch the door on the ambulance so your stretcher goes wheeling down the street!"

In the middle of Shining's rant describing how his week had been, Shining and Silver could hear the running water being switched off and the sound of a shower curtain being opened.  Sergeant Goldstripe then slowly opened the bathroom door and stepped out wearing a towel around his flank.

"you got shot?"  Goldstripe asked.

"and that's not even the half of it"  Shining replied.  "on top of all of that, everypony thinks you're the one who did it.  I don't remember exactly what happened but it's all coming back to me little by little.  I just knew you weren't the one who shot me and now seeing that you were trapped in that changeling cocoon, it all makes sense now.  And I'll have you know that I broke out of the hospital to try to prove your innocence."

"everypony thinks I tried to kill you?  and you knew it wasn't me the whole time?"

Though the sergeant was a high ranking member of the CRGD, second in command to be precise, Shining Armor was still his boss.  Goldstripe and Shining however, did not have the typical boss and subordinate relationship.  They would act professional most of the time but they were actually the best of friends.  Almost like brothers.  Because of this, they both had the utmost trust and respect for one another.  While on duty they would act as if they were co-workers but after their shifts, they would often go have a drink and talk about their favorite sports teams.  The sergeant was relatively new to his rank as he had been promoted only a year ago to replace the retired Sergeant Sharpen Scythe who was now working as the city coroner.  Twilight Sparkle had known most of her brother's friends and colleagues but had never met Goldstripe so she was unaware of their friendship.

"now you're getting it"  Shining replied.  "but we've got some ~squee~ we gotta take care of.  first things first, we have to get to the headquarters and get some more firepower.  there's no way we can take all these changelings down with just our sidearms"

"Oh I've got that covered, pal"  Goldstripe replied.  "follow me"

Goldstripe, still wearing nothing but a towel, then trotted up the stairs to his attic with Shining limping his way up and Silverbadge behind him keeping him from falling.  When they got to the top, Goldstripe lead them to a door with an odd looking keypad and a strange scanner device of which he lowered his head in front of and allowed it to scan his eyes.  the small screen then began to read in green text "Access Granted" and the door made a series of clicks and soon slowly began to open.

"gentlecolts"  Goldstripe said.  "feast your eyes on my hardware collection!"  He then swung the door wide open revealing a room completely packed with an arsenal of weapons and ammunition fit to fully equip a squad of fifty.  On one wall, there were high powered revolvers, pistols and even a few fully automatic sub-machine guns including a Trottson with a drum style magazine.  hanging up on the next wall were several shotguns and rifles ranging from .30 caliber bolt actions to 10 gauge magnum twin barrels.  The wall on the other side of the room caught Shining and Silver's interest the most as it contained pieces of heavy artillery that the very sight of caused the two to drool.  there was a tripod mounted high caliber machine gun with butterfly style triggers.  Next to that there was a six barreled, chain fed minigun.  The last one and the most destructive of the bunch sat in the last corner of the room.  It was a rocket propelled grenade launcher capable of taking out three choppers in one shot provided that they were close enough to one another.

"you two got a coach?"  Goldstripe asked the other two to which they replied by nodding their heads hard enough to splatter their drool on the floor and ceiling.

"good.  now let's suit up and load this ~squee~"

Meanwhile, With Twilight and the Task-force

"Cadence! Spike!  Dispatch the entire department!"  Twilight screamed into her mic.  "we've got a changeling invasion!  set the entire city on lock-down!"

Twilight then paused for a moment but received no answer.

"control, this is coach 45!"  She said even louder this time.  "do you copy?!"

Again, there was silence.  Twilight was now beginning to worry that not only would it be difficult for her to receive assistance, but that something may have happened to Cadence and Spike.  She then turned to her comrades who were all taking cover underneath the massive Sadillac coach.

"Everypony get in the patrol Coach!"  she commanded.  "we need to form a base at the castle where we have more cover!  MOOOVE IIIIIIT!"

As everypony was springing up to enter their vehicle, Twilight noticed that somepony was still hiding under the coach next to her as she was just about to make a gallop for it.

"fluttershy, what are yo-"  Twilight said, cutting her sentence short when she noticed something was wrong with her pegasus friend.  "Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy was not responding to Twilight.  She was hyperventilating worse than the night before and she was clutching her chest and going blue in the face.  It was now clear to Twilight that things were only getting worse and Fluttershy appeared to be suffering a stress induced heart attack.  Using her telekinesis, Twilight lifted the ailing pegasus out from under the vehicle and gently placed her in the back seat and joined the rest of them.

"Steel!  Floor it!"

Back With Shining Armor

Shining Armor and Goldstripe were on their way to the heart of the city where most of the invaders were occupying with Silverbadge in the driver's seat of a large paddy wagon style coach with a full load of weapons in the back.  They were going 70 miles per hour down an unusually empty street with the siren wailing at full volume when an unlucky changeling crossed paths with them.

"Luna'a Plot!"  Silverbadge cursed as he stomped on the brake pedal.

SCREEEEEEEE-SPLAT-EEEECH!  THUD!

Silver's reaction proved not quick enough as the large guard van plowed the creature over and tossed it up the street before finally screeching to a halt.

"Oh Celestia, what have I done!"  Silver yelled as he shifted to park the vehicle and jumped out, the other two following behind.

"I tried to stop" Silverbadge said as he removed his guard cap.  "I didn't mean for this to happen"

"it's not your fault, silver"  Shining Armor assured while leading his upset partner back to the coach.  "but listen, we don't have time to fu-"

"Hit the deck!" Goldstripe yelled.

Shining and Silver didn't question their comrades warning and ducked down to the ground not knowing what was going on.

BLAM!

"all clear!"  Goldstripe spoke again.

Shining and Silver both got back up on their hooves and turned around to see the sergeant with a pistol in his wing and a few yards in front of him, the same changeling that the coach had collided with.  The changeling was not killed by the collision and tried to charge after Shining and Silver when they were distracted to end up being finished off by the sergeant.

"I've always got your back, Captain"  Goldstripe said with a salute.  "It's the least I could do since you had mine!"

"much obliged, sergeant!"  Shining replied.  "now let's go!  we've got a nation to defend!"

soon they were all back on the road with the sergeant behind the wheel to give the shaken Silver time to gather himself.  they were now going over 100 miles per hour down the street preparing themselves to engage in combat with the invading changelings and they were quickly approaching an intersection when suddenly, another patrol vehicle was speeding through in their path.

"OH ~SQUEE~!" the sergeant yelled as he reacted.

Back With Twilight and Friends

"Cadence and Spike!"  Twilight once again yelled trying to get a hold of her dispatchers.  "answer me!"

"hey, look out!"  Pinkie Pie shouted over the radio from the chopper.  "you're about to get hit by a-"

SCREEEEEEEE-SMASH!

End Chapter Thirteen

A Sadillac For A GTFO

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Tasks And Teamwork

Chapter Six:

Tasks And Teamwork

Early the next morning, the group of friends sat in the assignment room of the CRGD headquarters each of them with a small desk of their own with Twilight Sparkle at the front of the room at the podium.  It much resembled a school classroom with a blackboard at the front.  Instead of math equations however the blackboard was covered in all kinds of writing pertaining to recent crimes and a map of the city clung to the wall just to the left of it.  Twilight stood motionless staring at the clock on the wall.  The moment the clock struck 8:00 am, a guard with a briefcase opens the door, enters the room and takes a seat at a desk in the first row.  He was a unicorn stallion with a bright saffron coat and navy blue mane with a flaming bullet for a cutie mark.

“thank you for coming, lieutenant Speeding lead” Twilight said to the guard.

“anything at all I can do to help, Twilight” he replied.  “ya know, your brother saved my plot once.  It’s the least I can do”

“excellent” Twilight said.  “OK now that everypony is here, without further ado let’s all sit down and shut the ~squee~ up!  The lieutenant has some things he would like to present to us so listen up!”

“thanks, Twilight”  said the lieutenant as he got up from his seat carrying the mysterious briefcase with his unicorn magic.  “alright, everypony.  It was a tall order to have this stuff ready on such short notice but I was able to make it happen”  Speeding Lead said as he opened the case and levitated seven all different suits and uniforms and let them hover at the front of the room.  “Detective Sparkle” he said turning to Twilight.  “would you do the honors?”

“glad to, lieutenant” she replied.  “OK, girls!  We all know why we’re here and it’s time to get down to business.  We’re all going to be working as a team but be splitting up into a few smaller separate ones with it’s own tasks.  Rarity with your attention to detail and excellent pony skills and Fluttershy with your famous stare, I can think of no better pair for investigations and if necessary, interrogations”

Twilight then used her magic to place a gray suit with a fedora hat in front of each of them on their desks along with a badge, a pair of hoof cuffs and a holster each containing a semi-automatic pistol, Fluttershy‘s having a larger trigger guard.

“Rainbow Dash and AppleJack!  I think you two would do well being our go-to girls if things get rough so you are both going to be our first responders!”

Again Twilight issued uniforms this time being the standard issue dark blue with a matching police style cap and badge as well as a fully equipped utility belt containing batons, hoof cuffs, two way radios and a .38 revolver for each.  One with an enlarged trigger guard to accommodate the wing of a Pegasus for Rainbow Dash and the other with a mouthpiece fit for an earth pony in place of the standard handle for Applejack.

“Spike and Cadence!  We’re going to have the two of you handling dispatch at our call center that we are setting up at the palace”

Again she used her magic to present to each of them a telephone headset.

“Pinkie Pie!  You the only one I know who is a qualified pedal chopper pilot so you’ll be our eye in the sky on aerial support”

Twilight then presented Pinkie Pie with a pair of aviators and a pilot helmet with a built in headset.

“Steel Piston!  After seeing how kick-plot you are at driving, I’m assigning you the task of handling the patrol coach that the department is letting us use.  You’ll be teamed up with me.  And seeming how you have already picked up a suit, it looks like we’re ready to kic-”

Rarity suddenly started to giggle catching Twilight’s attention.

“you find something funny, Detective?”  Twilight retorted.

“oh nothing at all dear.  Er, Detective Sparkle”

Shrugging off the awkward interruption from Rarity, Twilight looked around at everypony around the room.

“congratulations, everypony” Twilight said.  “we are all now working for the Canterlot Royal Guard Department!  Any questions?”

As soon as Twilight finished her question, a hoof from every single pony in the room shot up in the air.  Twilight Sparkle sighed and shook her head in disapproval and began to answer questions one at a time.

“yes spike?

“uh yeah, two questions.  Why don’t I get a gun and why didn’t you team me up with Rarity?

“because you’re too young for a gun and Rarity will be better off interviewing witnesses with Fluttershy.  Whose next?  Fluttershy?"

“um yes, Twilight.  Well, uh…is there a chance I may have to shoot somepony with this?”

“well if somepony threatens you with one and leaves you no other choi-”

“I don’t think I could get myself to do it!”

Rainbow Dash then interrupted “uh, so did everypony forget that I’m a felon or has my record been cleared somehow?"

“sheesh!  If your arrest record didn't involve firearms then you can-”

“ooh!  Ooh!  Pick me!  Pick me!  Pinkie Pie said.

“what, pinkie?”  Twilight answered.

“don’t we need like some kinda super official ultra professional training before we can be cops?”

“we’ll be fin-”

“I’ve never even used one of these!”  Fluttershy screamed in horror.

“Ya shoulda pared her up with me, Twi”  Applejack said.  “I’m probably the only pony here who can fire an’ reload any piece ya send my way”

SSSSSSSCCCRRRRREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!  the blood curdling shriek of lieutenant Speeding Lead dragging his hoof down the blackboard to get everypony’s attention was enough to turn the darkest coated of ponies as white as Rarity.

“everypony suit up and head down to the indoor firing range!”  he shouted.  “You’ll all be pro snipers within the hour!  Move it!”

The Lieutenant was not joking as it did not take long at all for everypony to be able to hit their marks and reload in record time.  Fluttershy and Rarity were the two least experienced with firearms but they proved to be quick learners.  It had been years since Pinkie Pie had used a shotgun on her parents’ rock farm but she preformed as if she had just fired it yesterday.  Applejack had always used anything and everything and was a natural with the six shooter.  Rainbow Dash started off somewhat rocky but had quickly gotten back into the groove.  Steel Piston used to work security at the Glowplug County power plant so he was accustomed to such hardware.  Twilight Sparkle, being the sister of the guard captain had taken advantage of countless opportunities to practice while spending quality time with her brother and was even going so far as to fire at multiple moving targets simultaneously.

“damn!”  Rainbow Dash said.  “check out special agent Sparkle!”

“Thanks, Raninbow” Twilight replied as she twirled her .45 M1911 before re-holstering it.  “ok!  Does everypony feel confident that they can handle their gat?”

“this is way more fun and intimidating than my party cannon!”  Pinkie Pie squealed with delight.

“wow, Twilight” Fluttershy said staring at the glock 9 in her wing as if it were the love of her life.  “I never knew how it felt to hold one of these.  I just feel so…so…powerful”

“okayyyyyy” Twilight interrupted apparently weirded  out by Fluttershy’s comment.  “I think it’s a safe bet that we’re all ready to check out the reports and get to work.  We’ll go back to the assignment room to go over the clues”

After an hour of reviewing witness reports and crime scene photographs they were finally ready to take a look at the only physical evidence that could be found.  The projectile that was removed from Shining Armor’s chest.  At the very sight of the now mushroom shaped hunk of copper coated lead that could have been, or still may in fact be the reason for Shining’s death, Twilight could not help herself from needing a paper bag to breath in and out of.  After Twilight had finally calmed with the help of Steel Piston rubbing her back to comfort her, they removed the slug from the evidence bag to study it.

“so this is a .38 caliber” Steel pointed out.  “this caliber was standard issue where I worked for security.  But the amount that the hollow point has expanded isn’t consistent with a standard .38 revolver.  It mush have had a lot more power than that”

“well, since we don’t have the actual weapon used, this is all we have that we can work with”  Twilight said.  “but it’s time!  Everypony team up!  Here’s the plan.  Officers Apple and Dash, you two go take to the streets and talk to everypony you can and see if you can find any information that could help”

“yes ma’am! Rainbow Dash replied.

“and for heaven’s sake, Dash, don’t be too rough on anypony!  Twilight warned.

“I can’t promise that, ma’am!” Rainbow replied as she brought her right hoof up in salute.

“Spike and Cadence!  Report to the palace call center.  You two are our means of communication and dispatch.  Look for any leads you can find and inform us as soon as you do!

“you got it, boss!”  spike answered.

“Detectives Fluttershy and Rarity!  Here is a list of witness names and addresses from the reports.  They haven’t been interviewed yet.  Get any and all information out of them that they have!”

“you can count on us, dear- er, Detective Sparkle” Rarity replied.  “we will not let you down!”

“Pinkie Pie!” hit the chopper and get a hold of the other teams if you see anything suspicious!

“yes, ma’am sir ma’am!

“Detective Piston!  You and I are going to take the patrol coach to double, triple and quadruple check the crime scene!  Let’s move it!”

Each team exited the front door of the CRGD headquarters and went their own separate ways to find the identity of the pony behind the trigger and the sinister plot to compromise the entire nation’s security. End Chapter Six