An alarm startled Film Reel awake.

*yawn* Dang, I stayed up way too late last night. At least I got some great pictures from the premiere. Sapphire Shores’ dress was absolutely stunning!

She hopped out of bed and trotted over to the kitchen.

I’ll have plenty of time to dig through my haul at the office. Right now its breakfast time and I’m famished!

Film Reel opened the, Magic Powered Food Preserver™, and began digging through the mix of leftovers and juices. She eventually decided on a simple cup of orange juice and some, Apple Family Apple Fritters™. She placed the box of frozen treats by the stove while she filled a pot with oil.

Nothing beats freshly fried fritters on a Friday morning! Alright, I’ll let this heat up while I run and put on my face. I’ll just set a timer for 5 minutes aaaannnnd…
Film Reel rushed out of the kitchen and into the bathroom, she quickly glanced over at the mirror and…

“Wow Film Reel, your mane is a mess! Just the way I like it~” she cooed to herself. “Eyelashes looking good, tail a healthy orange. Hah, it’s even styled the same way right out of bed. Yup this attractive mare is ready for a day at the presses!”

The timer began beeping and she rushed back to the kitchen. She dumped the fritters in and reset a different timer for 10 minutes. Once she was satisfied that they were all happily floating in absurdly hot oil she went to the counter. She picked up the newspaper that her roommate left there for her.

I have the best roommate. She leaves the paper open to the part I don’t write for me! Let’s see, another scandal in Ponyville, the obituaries… *GASP* Photo Finish is in town?! Oh man I gotta keep my camera ready at ALL times today! What else exciting is in here?

Film Reel continued thumbing through the pages until she got to the police reports. She normally skipped it since it was usually “Crazy Mare shoplifts again!” However, lately there have been worrying things in this section.

Yup, another mare has gone missing. That’s the third one this week. I hope they’re ok, that they’ve just left town without telling their families but… *DING*

She jumped, turning around to look at the timer.

Nope, still another 5 minutes. Was that the doorbell then? Another *DING* quickly followed.

“Who is it?”

Weird, I don’t think I planned for anyone to visit this early. A stallion’s voice answered.

“Film Reel, did you hear? Photo Finish is just down the street! C’mon you’re gonna miss her!”

Omigosh omigosh omigosh omigosh!

“I’ll be right out!”

Film Reel quickly grabbed her camera and fedora. She ran to the door, heart ready for another exciting day of adventures in Manehattan. She opened the door and saw a larger than average stallion moving towards her.

*FLASH* several suited pony investigators illuminated the room with their cameras.

“Report!” said a gruff looking, pale-green furred stallion with a dark-blue mane. His cutie mark was a scroll with a sword on it. A pink furred mare rushed over to him. She had a violet mane and her cutie mark was an indigo briefcase.

“Marshall! I’m glad you could make it.”

“Cold Case. It’s my job to ‘make it’. So what do we have here?”

“Alright everypony, we’ve got things under control now! Marshall Law is on the case!”

“Case!”

“Sorry, I’m just trying to keep my mind off of it. At 3:30pm a mare rushed into the station shouting about a murder. We arrived on the scene ten minutes later, and that -" she motioned toward a tarp on the floor "- is what we found.”

“Do we think it’s linked to the other cases?”

“It’s the same method, Marshall, right down to the… details.” The stallion gave a concerned look at his uneasy subordinate.

“So she was conscious while it happened?” Case nodded in response.

“Sir, I don’t think we can keep this under wraps any longer, there’s a witness to the crime scene this time.”

“We have to, Case. If the population finds out that there’s a serial killer in Manehattan, we’ll have citywide panic.”

“I know sir but…”

“No buts! I made this decision after the first murder, and nopony will know these mares died until we catch this killer! Understood?”

“Yes sir, understood.” She looked back at the tarp, saddened.

“I know it’s hard , but it’s necessary. Now, please tell me we have some evidence this time. I need some good news today.” He gave her a somber look.

“Yeah. The victim owned a camera; we’re analyzing the film at the station. We believe she managed to get a picture of the…” A hoof blocked her mouth, an intense look in its owner’s eyes.

“Get that film analyzed pronto! That camera could be the evidence we need to blow this case wide open!”

“Sir yes sir!” Cold Case briefly looked energized, then remembered something and stared at the floor saddened. “What about Film Reel sir?” Marshall also drooped.

“We need to keep this quiet.” He let out a long sigh, staring at the ceiling for a moment. “Get the parasprite.” He slowly turned around and left without another word. A single tear ran down his cheek as he thought about what he just ordered.

Case lifted the tarp. She stared at the pile of chopped up pony flesh. It was arranged to write Film. Next to it were bones, arranged to write Reel.

How must it feel to watch your body be chopped up like this, all you can do is struggle helplessly. Now you have to be fed to a parasprite so nobody knows that you were killed. I swear to you, Film Reel, and to all the other ponies this murderer has killed. I will find him and make sure that he’s punished for this sin!

Author's Note

Thank you for reading my first story on fimfiction! I hope it was enjoyable to read. I'm open to any constructive criticism you guys have to offer.