An Equine Murder

"Twilight? Where are you?"

Rainbow Dash coughed into her arm, as she looked around the dark plains for Twilight.

The rain came down heavily on her. She would have been soaked if it weren't for her coat and hat.

She wouldn't be out here at all, if it weren't for the fact that Twilight picked this place, at this particular time to talk about something.

Twilight can pick some strange places to talk sometimes... It's quite strange, really...

But then again, this topic IS pretty important...It's best that nopony knows about it...ever...

"Rainbow Dash! There you are!" Twilight's voice rang out behind Dashie, causing her to turn around to face her friend.

"Oh, Hey Twilight...It sure is pouring out, isn't it?" Rainbow said, to get the conversation started.

"Of course! The pegasi called for heavy rain, didn't they?" Twilight said, with a smile on her face. She was wasn't wearing anything to protect herself from the cold winds or the rain, and this was the first thing that caught Rainbow Dash's attention.

"Hey, why aren't you wearing a coat? Isn't it chilly out?" She said, as she took off her hat. "Here, take my hat! A mare shouldn't be letting all this water get in her mane. Don't mention anything about it, I'm willing to risk my own mane for yours!" She said, with a smile. Twilight simply waved it off, and Rainbow shrugged at the gesture. "Alright, suit yourself!" She said, as she placed her hat back on.

"So, why did you take me here Twilight? Other than to talk about... You know..." Rainbow asked. She wanted to know why she was taken outside, into the rain, far from Ponyville... This whole situation seemed just way too...off...

Twilight gave a little giggle. "Well then...Isn't it obvious why?" She said, her voice turning a tad bit deeper.

Dashie gave a confused look at her longtime friend, and squinted through the darkness that her mane produced over her face, and saw her friends pupils unnaturally dilated. That's quite strange....

"Um...Twilight? Are you...feeling alright?" She asked, a tone of worry in her voice.

Twilight let out a giggle, which turned into a chuckle of a madmare. She slowly reared up her face, so that the light could show over it. "Of course Dashie...I'm just fine, compared to you, that is!" She let out a slightly maddening giggle, as her face showed obvious signs of insanity, something that was more than uncommon.

"T-Twilight? W-What do you mean by that?" Rainbow Dash began backing away from Twilight, only to almost fall into a pit that had been dug out by what can only be assumed as a diamond dog, but only by a few hooves... enough to hide a body in.

Twilight slowly closed in on her target, the maddening smile widening on her face, as her horn began glowing a bright lavender, as she worked up her magic. "Don't you see, Dash? I thought the situation I put you in was just enough of a clue to tell you what was going to happen to you!" She explained, as she produced a magical cleaver from thin air.

Rainbow Dash was quick to act, but she wasn't quick enough, as before she was able to fly away, her expanded wing was cut clean off, causing Rainbow Dash to fall on the grass, and blood began to stain its once green color. Rainbow Dash winced and inwardly squealed in pain, as she tried to get up, the wound slowly weakening her like some kind of magic that slowly pushed her down with more strength every second.

"T-Twilight?! W-Why are you doing this?! I...I thought we were friends!" She exclaimed, as she attempted to get away, the wound in her side bleeding profusely in protest.

Twilight sighed in disappointment. "Oh Rainbow Dash... So naive and careless. You barely even noticed the hints of malice in all the nice things I've said to you! Oh well, I guess there will be time for that to improve..."

"...In the afterlife..."

Rainbow Dash was suddenly struck in the neck, causing her to cough up blood, and drop to the floor, as the magic cleaver disconnected from the side of her neck. Rainbow Dash looked up at her friend, only seeing Twilight smile down at her in a sickeningly deadly smile, before she was rolled into the pre-dug grave that was behind her, her coat and skin being ripped against the branches that was there, blood streaking against it, as her hat fell off, falling into the pit under her. She crushed and crumpled it quickly after, as more blood began to pool out from under the body.

Rainbow Dash coughed up the last of the blood that would flow into her lungs, as she weakly tried to sit herself up, looking up at the now fading shadow of her murderer. She coughed weakly, looking at her blood in her hoof, as she slowly began to lose vision, her life flashing before her eyes, the life that Twilight brought with her...

...A life full of *lies...*

~*#*~

The station was unnaturally cold today, and it should be, too. The rain outside was killer for the once sunny temperature it produced in the early morning. Most people say that thunderstorms like this were also the perfect time for killings, if you time your gunshot with the thunder, that is. Of course, rain can wash off quite a bit of evidence, but it can't wash off all of it. I wouldn't know anything about it though, seeing as I've never dealt with such a situation before in my career, and now I never will be.

"Detective Andrew?" I heard my name get called out, and I got up from my seat.

"Yep, that's me. Ya' free?" I asked the chief of police. I've been waiting to talk to him for the last two hours, but other people were waiting for him first, so I let them talk to the chief ahead of me, just to keep it consistent and polite. No need being rude to my old friends, right?

"Get in here son, you wanted to talk to me, and I'm open for business." He said flatly, as he took out a cigar and lit it, before placing it in his mouth and taking a quick drag of it. He already had lung cancer, so he thought that since he had it, there was no point in not smoking anymore. Of course, he's smoking considerably less and less ever since he began taking those pills. I guess it's helping him with his craving for lung cancer.

I strode over into the Chief's office, and took a seat in front of his desk, waiting for him to take a seat in it.

He quickly sat down in his desk, and gave me a smile, as he folded his hands and puffed out smoke from the side of his face. "How can an old and cancerous man like me help you out here, Andy?" He said, calling me by my nickname like he usually does when we're alone like this.

"Well sir, I'd actually like to turn in my badge and my gun..." I said, as I began reaching into my coat to take out my belongings from them.

"Oh, turning them in already?" He said, with a slight surprise on his face. "I was expecting you to quit on a more sunnier day, at least in my head..." He chuckled, taking another drag of his cigar. "But I digress..."

I shook my head jokingly, with a smile, as I placed my badge and gun on the desk in front of me. I can still vividly remember the NYPD symbol on it. New york was always promising to me, so I always remembered it, especially when it's plastered on a badge in plain sight.

"To be honest, I don't think detective work is really cut out for me. Too many families with lost lives to deal with, you know?" I said, giving my badge a last pat, before slumping into my chair. "Besides, I wanna kinda just start settling down with my family. My ma' has always been worried sick because of me working this job, mostly because I'm out late, or she thinks I was in some shootout or whatever. You know what I'm sayin' to ya' Jhonny?" I said, as I took out my cigarettes from my pocket, putting one in my mouth and lighting it.

Jhonny chuckled, taking out his cigar and bumping off the ashes into a nearby cigarette tray. "Yep, I know what ya' mean Andrew, don't need to tell me twice!" He said, as he got up and walked over to the door, opening it for me to leave. "I guess I'll see you when we die, eh?" he said, with a little chuckle.

I joined his little laugh fest, as I got up, walking over to the door, and then shaking his hands, before turning away to leave. He grabbed me by the shoulder softly, ceasing me in my movement, as I turned back to him. "Listen Andrew, you're a damn good detective, as much as you are a human being. I'm proud of you son, alright?" He said, with a scolding finger.

"Yeah yeah, I know pops, just let me go to ma' and my wife, alright?" I said, with a joking hint of annoyance, before turning again to leave, the door closing behind me. Of course, Jhonny was never my father, but we've always treated each other as father and son, in a way, at least. It was kinda like that in the first place anyway, a rookie being taught by a veteran to follow in his footsteps and whatnot.

On my way to exit the department, I bumped into my partner, Tim. He quickly stopped me in my tracks. "Andy, did you see what happened to Jhonny up there?!" He said, in a quick tone, which honestly started scaring me.

"W-What? What happened to him?!" I said, oblivious to the fact that I just got set up.

Tim brought himself closer to me, talking in a hushed tone. "He was moidured! Didn't ya see?!" He said, almost frantically.

I began to get skeptical. "Alright, who's the suspect?" I said, putting my hands in my pocket and eying him suspiciously.

"The perp is right HERE!" He said, taking a cigar out from his pocket. It took me awhile to get the joke, but when I finally got it, I let out a hearty laugh, before ending it in a sigh, with Tim joining me in it. "I'm telling you though, the more he smokes, the more of a chance he's gonna just drop down. Dead I tells ya! He's already been moidured, it's only a matter of time before it gets you too!" He said, with a warning finger to the chest. Coincidentally, he poked my cigarette pack in the chest pocket of my coat.

I shrugged, and let out a small chuckle, as I began making my exit. Tim shook a fist at me in warning. "I'm tellin' ya Andy, ya keep smoking and you'll really be followin' in his footsteps! You just watch!"

"I know, Tim, trust me, I know!" I said, as I began picking up the pace. I really had to get home, and this weather was definitely going to be in the way. The sooner I get out of the police department, the sooner I can get home.

~*#*~

The cold, midnight air was cool and quiet. I was only two blocks away from home. The normal distance is five, from the police department to my house. I decided to walk to work today, so my car was at home, leaving me to walk back as well.

The rain softly patted against my hat. It was stereotypical in the police department for detectives like me to be wearing this attire, but I don't really care much for original. I honestly liked the fashion that those stereotypical detectives had. Yes, it was flashy, but not too flashy. That was exactly what I loved. Simple with a hint of complexity, you know what I'm saying?

I coughed into my arm, the beginnings of a cold settling in. It was going to happen eventually... That's what I get for not watching the news. I sighed, as I reared my head into the sky, my hat protecting my eyes from the rain that could have blinded me temporarily.

In the sky, I saw the strangest moon I've ever seen. It's known for having dark spots, but I swear it could have looked like there was some kind of image there. Like some kind of...Unicorn? It was probably my imagination. I didn't have time to be fooling around with the moon right now, I had to get home as fast as possible! Ma's gonna be worried sick about me!

I began a small and gentle sprint. I needed to catch up on lost steps and time, so what better way to do that then go faster?

My endurance soon caught up to me, just a few steps from home, and I found myself breathing heavily, as I walked up the steps to my house, the stone cracking slightly beneath my feet as I got up the last step. I knocked on the door, and leaned against its edge so that I wouldn't fall through the doorway when the door opened. I sighed, as I began to regain my breath.

Thankfully, I was out of the rain, thanks to the roof that my porch provided for my family. It kept many things from getting us any kind if disease when we lounged outside. Skin cancer, Hyperthermia from rain, and one very rare time, a sick bird that died in the air, but that's not important.

Soon after, the door opened, and my ma' greeted me with a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Oh, come in dear! You're missing out on this new cartoon your kid's watching! It's a lot better than the one I was watching when I was younger!" She said, with a wink. Of course, my son was in the next room, with his door open, he could hear us a mile away.

"Alright, what is it?" I asked, out of curiosity, of course.

"Oh, just something called 'My Little Pony'...Strangest darn name I've ever heard!" She said, as she walked over to the next room, a cane in her hand helping the old woman do so.

I looked to the living room doorway, the door being wide open, I could see my son, huddled up in front of the small T.V. on the rug that I recently bought a month ago. It was still bright with color, for my sons sake. I chuckled, as I casually walked over to him, my hands in my coat pocket. I quickly picked him up, and gave him a hug. My god, he was getting heavy!

"Oh man! Someone's been eating their vegetables, 'Ey sport?" I asked, as I gave him a tight little squeeze. He protested in response with squirming and the likes, and I let him down again, before he hugged my leg. I ruffled up his hair and looked to the T.V. he was watching so closely. It was pretty colorful. "Hey, whatcha' watchin' there Mike?" I asked, as I took a seat on the couch.

"Oh, It's this new show dad! Come on, we can watch together!" He said, excited that I came home. I let out a small sigh, as I got up, and went over to the door, where the light switch was located. I turned off the lights, and quickly went back to sit by my son, who was eagerly watching the show.

Me and him sat together, watching the show like father and son did. To be honest, this 'My Little Pony' show wasn't half bad! It was quite colorful, and looked more like a girls show than anything, but it was still pretty good! The characters were well developed and loveable, with their own little quirks and whatnot. I decided halfway through to make them all look like they had a dark secret that made them a murderer on the inside! It was quick for that to happen to the 'Mane 6', as my son Mike had called them. Soon, I hadn't even realized my son had fallen asleep in my lap. I chuckled, as I adjusted for him to get some more room. I laid back, and watched the rest of the episode.

Soon, the intro rolled around again, starting up a new episode and whatnot. This was the time that thunder began to roll in. Strange, the news never said anything about thunderstorms... Oh well, I was sure it was perfectly fine.

I began watching the show unfold. It started with this rainbow pegasus, who was known as 'Rainbow Dash', walking on a dirt road, with rain pouring all around her. She soon ran out of road, but continued on. I watched closely, and chuckled. "Watch it turn gorey..." I said, with a slight sarcasm in my voice. Of course, no one really heard me, except maybe my son, but he was a heavy sleeper.

Rainbow Dash continued into the plains, where she waited. It was incredibly dark out, the scene only being illuminated by lightning bolts, both in the real world and the cartoon world.

"Twilight? Where are you?" Rainbow Dash called out. She was referring to...I think the purple one, with all the smarts...

Suddenly, A hoof stepped in front of the camera, only illuminated by a lightning bolt streaking across the sky. A purple hoof, before the T.V., and all the electricity went out. Zap, just like that. Strange...

I quickly got up and looked outside the window. The entire neighborhood just went out! Some other neighborhoods, far out into the distance, still had their electricity, the city surrounded by said neighborhoods included. I sighed, as I looked to my son, still sleeping on the couch, one arm dangling off of it as he snored. I let out a small sigh, as I went out of the living room, as I made my way to the kitchen, where my mom took all of her time. There she was, sitting in that old rocking chair she loves so much, rocking back and forth, asleep. I smiled, glad that everyone was still asleep...

Well, maybe not everyone. I'm still not asleep, and my wife is nowhere to be found. Maybe she's still out, partying or doing something with her friends. I'll just wake up in the morning and see her, still asleep, and then staying asleep until the afternoon, like she usually does.