I tilted the corpse's head, scanning the tips of the slash marks around where here horn had been. She might have been pretty before she was beaten up; the eye that wasn't bruised shut was a startlingly bright green, and her coat was almost flawlessly black. Her lip was split by a bright red line, evidence of a smack to the muzzle. The tips of her ears were newly ragged, possibly bitten, and her whole body was speckled with bruises.
"Add another one to the list, Kikuri."
Behind me, I heard the scribble of a pencil on paper. A mare, her coat a pale blue and her mane a loose ponytail of pink, trotted up to stand beside me. She peered at the body over the edge of her clipboard, her horn faintly sparkling green as she added a few notes to the sheet.
"How old do you think she is?" Kikuri asked, gingerly lifting the mare's lips with the butt end of her pencil to examine her teeth. "Oh, looks like she had braces, so that age test is out."
"They all have to be perfect in Canterlot," I muttered absently. "Put her down as about twenty."
"That puts her at the top end of the age range for this string, doesn't it? Other than the first victim." The mare went to use her pencil again, but glanced over at the body and magically incinerated it instead. She pulled a new one from her back, tapping it on her lips. "Although the first one could have been misaged. The body was in pretty bad shape."
"No, no, chances are that it was a test. If we could have identified that first body, chances are that it would have been someone close to the killer. The more recent killings have more diversity, so it's probably a pony attacking lone mares on the way home."
"I apologize if I couldn't catch the aura of a body that was buried in a dumpster for a week," Kikuri snapped, pushing a lock of pink mane from her purple eyes. "What a disgusting way to die."
I nodded, gesturing for her to close up the bodybag. She did so with a quick spark of magic, looking over at me.
"I can sense your discomfort. Do you want to be off the case?"
"No, no, that's not it," I pricked my ears, checking to make sure there was nobody else in the room. Lowering my voice just in case, I continued, "she's here."
"Lou, you're kidding." Kikuri's eyes widened. "Can you reach her? Should we go up to the roof?"
I felt the nagging in the back of my head, as if something was pulling at my mane. "She's going to come through. Have you got a pencil ready?"
Kikuri nodded, but her eyes were filled with blue-flecked worry. I shook my head faintly. She shouldn't let it drop now. I saw the blue flecks recede before I allowed the young mare to enter my mind.
Memories flooded my mind, hot and vivid. Pressing against another pony, my mouth filled with another's tongue. The touch of feathers on my coat. An overwhelming feeling of fullness. I pushed away the lewd memories, trying to find something more helpful. Bar lights, flashing against black tile. Bitter alcohol in the back of my throat. Something tasting off, and the world dissolving. Hooves that felt gentle pressing bruises into my sides. Another's heat on my muzzle. Heat everywhere; in my mouth, pouring from my numb forehead, in the pressure of the other ponies' hooves, deep in my body. The other pony was suddenly gone, but I was still there, dimly aware that when I weakly wiped the tears from my eyes there was something my hoof should have bumped into that was no longer there.
The memories receded as quickly as they had come, and suddenly the interior of my skull was a pitch black room. I lost feeling in my hooves, instead feeling something similar to stone as I settled in the false world. The other mare was there, too, her eyes wide with fear. I noticed, absently, that her body language was much younger than I had estimated.
Who are you? Where am I?! Her mouth moved, but the sound didn't reach me through my ears.
I reached out with a hoof, trying to offer friendly contact. I'm Ringer. I'm a detective. We found you behind a bar off Main Street.
W-what do you mean? Did something happen to me? She took my hoof, gingerly, and shook it. My coltfriend, did you see him? He went out without me, but then he went to the bathroom and I went outside for some air. He's not worried about me, is he?
I winced as I remembered the orange-coated colt bursting into my office, his yellow mane disheveled and deep bags under his eyes. He might have been worried about her, but seeing as he was in the bathroom so that she wouldn't see the other mare, love was not the reason. He knows you're here, I fibbed. How much do you remember from that night?
I was just drinking and started feeling kind of woozy. I'm a bit claustrophobic, so I asked the bartender if he could take my name and number in case I had to go home and take my meds. You know, so that I could pay the bill. And I already checked with my doctor, the anxiety pills don't react to alcohol. She was looking calmer as she talked. I was surprised by how much she had controlled the situation. Most times, they did have a slip-up with medication.
I nodded, silently wondering if I had misjudged her pretty exterior for some daft bar drifter. She seemed to sense it, too, frowning slightly and standing a bit taller.
I remember that a colt saw me near the door and asked if I was alright. I... I think it was a colt, their voice was quite masculine. I said I just needed some air, and he said he'd come out with me in case I needed medical help. I'd heard of drugged drinks before, so I was quite grateful. I wrote down his information on a piece of paper in my purse, pretending to use my magic to only take out a bottle of water. She nodded, tapping a hoof on the ground. If I had passed out, my purse would have been nearby. Did you find it?
We'll go looking as soon as we're done talking, I promised. For now, can you tell me what he looked like? In case we can't find your bag.
He was about my height with my horn, but he was an Earth Pony. Yellow coat, but brown mane. Brown eyes, white freckles. Looked like he could have been wearing contacts, but I'm not sure. He Cutie Mark was of... a clover of some kind.
Lucky, a bar patron that frequented anywhere that served alcohol. He was incredibly nice, even when drunk out of his mind. Of course, the night before this mare's coltfriend had come in, Lucky was found dazed in the alley behind the bar, with a goose egg on his forehead and no memory of what had happened the night before. It couldn't have been him.
We went outside, and he talked to me for a while as I tried to calm down after being inside for so long. He was... great, really. Really nice, even though he could barely stand. I remember that there was... someone else. Another stallion, sitting down somewhere down the alley. He was wearing a dark coat of some kind, and looked pretty messed up. Coat dirty, mane unbrushed. His mane was... a warm color. She shook her head. I-I'm sorry, it's kind of fuzzy.
That's alright. Just tell me what you remember.
She sat down, closing her eyes. The other stallion walked up to us. He was yelling, but he kept saying things as if there were other ponies there. Telling them to be quiet and stuff. The colt from the bar tried to stand up to him - I was having another panic attack - and the stallion took him out with a hoof. He slammed against the wall, out like a light. The stallion came up to me, and he... he started yelling at me. He started touching me, too, but I had started going into shock without my meds, so I couldn't really know what he was saying or doing.
I nodded. Is that all?
I... I think so. She opened her eyes. Did he... use me?
I walked closer to her, wrapping a hoof around her shoulders. She leaned into me, her body shaking. What's your name?
I'm Ebony Flare. You know, for my mane.
I hugged her tighter, the words catching in my mouth. Ms. Ebony, that stallion is evading arrest. You're not his first victim. When we're done here, I want you to go to Canterlot Castle and find a Nocturne Guard named Vigil. You'll know him when you see him. He'll help you from then on, okay?
She pulled back, concerned. Why? Why are you telling me to do this?
Ms. Ebony... that stallion killed you. My name is Dead Ringer. I... I talk to ghosts.
"Are you back?" Kikuri asked, drawing a small flashlight from her bag. She shone it into each of my eyes, squinting as they reacted accordingly.
"I'm back. Kikuri. In full."
"Did you learn anything?"
"She was raped. Lucky was trying to help her when he was attacked. I'm pretty sure it's the same stallion we've been tracking." I closed my eyes, remembering. "Her name was Ebony Flare, so she's the same mare that colt was looking for. You should inform him of her... end."
"Do you want the med team to do a semen sample?"
"If they can find anything, let them. I got some of her memories directly, and I'm pretty sure he pulled out. Check her hindquarters for any evidence. Other than that, there was nothing else he did that would have left anything for us to track. Tell Lucky he did a good job next time you see him. Buy him a drink, you know, the usual."
Kikuri nodded, taking notes. "Do you want a notepad so you can record the information you got?"
I shook my head. "Most of it was unrelated, or things I'll remember. Look, I need to go get a glass of water. Can you, uh...?"
"I'll go get the med team." Kikuri replied sofly.
We left the room, turning down different hallways. As soon as Kikuri was out of sight, I slumped against the wall, taking deep, shuddering breaths. I felt tears rising unbidden, and started shaking. This was always how it was after a particularly violent memory. I could almost feel the murderer's body against mine, hot and dangerous. I tucked my head between my forelegs, curling into a ball against the wall. If Kikuri returned before I could get a hold of my fear, she would make sure I was off the case.
Why did she have to be so damned kind?
I whimpered, wishing - not for the first time - that I had my mother's wings around me again. There was something incredibly comforting about wings around you. Maybe it was their fragility, the trust that had to go into such a vulnerable action. It made me wish I had wings as well, some days. If not to trust, than to escape.
I felt the sensation of lifting, and the air around me grew warmer. I lifted my head, seeing nothing but a thick coat of black and tan hair. Whoever it was took a deep breath, leaning against the wall.
"You should really wait for backup before you try to contact victims, Lou. You know that."
I allowed myself to relax, leaning into the furred chest. "I know, Mutt. But we need to solve this case."
"You could have waited for Soul Stone. He's got more safety nets than you do. What if the victim struck out?" Mutt placed a heavy paw on my neck, rubbing my mane.
"She wanted to talk to me. I could feel it." I shook my head, sighing. "If talking to the dead is my special talent, why is it so hard to recover from it?"
"Because you refuse to wait for backup," Mutt teased, setting me down. He smiled down, his short muzzle displaying pale yellow teeth. "Where's Kikuri?"
"She went to go get the med team. We need them to do more DNA swabs."
"It was one of those?" He frowned. "Disgusting. I checked for scent earlier, but that stallion must be so grubby he merges with the trash. You know, Lou, you should really get this tested. I might not be able to hug you back to health one day."
"No," I muttered, "but hopefully I'll be out of this career by the time that happens."
"Diamond dogs don't live as long as ponies do, Lou. I have an excuse to put myself in danger. You have a lot of time ahead of you." He ruffled my mane with one paw, sighing. "Try to get checked out after this case. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I'll... try, Mutt. Promise."
He nodded, patting my head awkwardly before loping away. I leaned against the wall, shaking, and took a deep breath. The walls weren't closing in, there was nothing here to hurt me. I put a hoof on my chest, feeling my ribs expand as I took another breath. Yes, this was me. This was my breath, my hooves on the tile, my own mind racing.
I took another breath. Liquid steel in my veins, not mortal blood. I was powerful, towering, and I didn't need to be scared of some ghost.
Almost against my will, I curled up against the wall again.
It was hard to be powerful.
"Are you okay?"
I blinked, wiping my muzzle with the back of my hoof. Had I fallen asleep? Dumb question, I'd been drooling. For how long?
"I'm fine, Kikuri." I sat up, finding that my coat now shared the same creases as the badly-installed tile. "Just a little drained."
She frowned, but changed the topic anyway. "They caught him, you know. Eagle Eye went out with Pathfinder and tracked him down from the sky. He's in prison now, solitary confinement. We're not sure if he's going to evoke the death penalty or not."
I nodded. "I'm glad."
"Look, the interns called me down here because they were afraid to wake you up." Or, the unspoken thought lingered, if the stress had finally done you in. Was that the subtext? I wasn't sure. "They're closing up for the night. Come on, let's head home."
I rolled over in bed, turning my back to Kikuri. She let out a small whine of protest, but was too tired to do anything more. I closed my eyes, hearing the familiar crackle and feeling the warmth she let off that always meant she was drifting off. I looked over my shoulder, just to check that she was actually drowsy.
I ran my hoof down her gray muzzle, carefully avoiding her fangs and her curved horn. She muttered something unintelligible and pressed up against me, her thin wings extended carelessly across her half of the mattress. "Sweet dreams, sweetheart."
"Don't let the Changeling bite," she giggled quietly, resting her muzzle in the gap in front of my shoulder. "Do get some sleep, Ringer."
"I will," I promised. "You don't need to worry about me."
I do enough of that for myself.
"Did you sleep at all?"
I turned, peering over the rim of my coffee cup. "Good morning to you too, Kikuri."
"I'm serious, Ringer. You look like a mess. More so than usual." She trotted up beside me, kissing my cheek and pouring herself some coffee. "When was the last time you showered?"
"Maybe a week or so. I've been busy." I put the empty mug back on the counter, pushing my mane back out of my eyes. "I'll get to it soon enough."
"Why don't you do it now? The detectives are still investigating our next case, so we should have until noon."
"That long?" I lifted my ears, frowning.
Kikuri rolled her eyes. "It's straightforward, so it's an intern day. Chances are they won't even need you to come in; I don't think there was a death."
"Heh, that's a new one." I let the muscles in my back relax. "Jeez, it's been so long since I had a day off..."
"There aren't many ponies with your talents, Ringer," Kikuri whispered, looking back over her shoulder. "Go take a bubble bath or something. I'll go down to the Lanky Mare and pick up some snacks."
"You'll be safe on your own?"
She rolled her eyes, transforming into one of the more burly members of our squad team; a dusky-coated Pegasus stallion that was prone to accidentally knocking things over from leaning on them too much. She lifted one eyebrow, tossing her head to get her mane to fall away from her eyes. "Better?"
"A bit strange," I admitted, "but it's perfect if it keeps you safe."
"I'll be fine no matter what," Kikuri mumbled, leaning forward and nuzzling my cheek. "I can just bite them if they get too close."
"Don't make me have to bail you out of jail." I replied, hesitantly kissing the muzzle of my teammate. "You'll have to come back soon so I can properly show my affection. I don't think Star Spray would be appreciative of me making out with his doppelganger."
"Ha ha, very funny. Now go relax, I'll come back with donuts or something." Kikuri blew me a kiss before trotting out, locking the door from the outside.
Once I heard the elevator doors open, I sunk down to the ground. The tiles under my hooves warped and blurred as my blood rushed in my ears, and I tasted bile in my throat. "I am powerful, I am in control. I am powerful, I am in control."
I slowly rose to my hooves, biting back a wail as a headache took hold. I could hear him hear him hear him feel his hooves on my coat feel his pressure on my bones smell the reek of his breath and the wave wave wave of his body over mine the glint in his eyes as he bit down on my ear the tear of skin and the taste of blood in my mouth
I tilted my head back and let out a primal scream, venting my pain to the empty apartment. I wished I had wings so I could fly away over the city, replace my thoughts with the rush of wind, but all I had were my heavy hooves and the ache of my own muscles. The memories of the mare had dug into my mind like a dragon's claws, and they refused to let go.
I wailed again, feeling my coat stand on end. Tears were on my muzzle, but wasn't sure when they had started. There were needles of agony racing through my bloodstream, stabbing my heart and making my muscles tense with pain. My breath came in rough gasps, tearing through my throat like razor blades. The sense of being pushed down became stronger and stronger until I folded to the tile floor, sides heaving for breath. I stared at the door, willing Kikuri to return and hoping that she didn't so I could get myself together.
My vision blurred, and suddenly I was muzzle-deep in trash, choking on a scrap of fabric as his hooves pushed me down and down and dug round bruises into my shoulders, felt the pain and the pain and the pain
I screamed again, unable to contain my anger and injury. It reverberated, chasing off the demons in my skull. I screamed again, and again, and again, until I was fearful of the silence that would come when I stopped. Howling like a wounded animal, I stumbled to the bathroom and set the shower running with the plug in the bathtub. I let my howling die off and allowed the sound of the shower and the bathroom fan to take its place. Taking a few deep breaths, I dipped my head under the rising water and crouched there awkwardly, allowing the dull pattering of the shower on the water to fill my ears.
For a moment, I considered just exhaling and ending it all, but then I pictured Kikuri coming home to the overflowing bathroom and my body, and I couldn't bear it. I lifted my head from the water, tilting my head up so that the warm water splashed over my face.
"Ringer? Ringer?!"
I opened the shower curtain, dumbly staring at the closed bathroom door. It swung open, revealing Kikuri halfway through transforming back into a Changeling. She blinked one wide blue eye at me before finishing her transformation, surging forward and wrapping her hooves around my neck.
"Kiki? What is it?"
"The neighbors heard screaming and couldn't get in because the door was locked. They were out in the hallway yelling for you. Dear Celestia, Ringer, I thought someone had broken in. I thought you were..."
I reached out, carefully settling my hooves on her back. I pressed my head into her shoulder, blocking out the rest of the world. She rested her chin on the top of my head and slowly climbed into the bathtub behind me, letting me sink down into the warm water while she ran her hooves through my mane. She smiled sadly as she looked down at me, her mouth opening slightly as she tasted my emotion in the air.
"Ringer, I would have stayed here for you if I knew it was that bad. I'm always here for you, sweetheart."
"I didn't want to be a burden." I replied softly, reaching a hoof up to rub my eyes. "I've been able to deal with it before, so why couldn't I deal with it now?"
"Just because you run every day doesn't mean a marathon isn't hard." Kikuri said, levitating the shampoo from the side of the tub and massaging the foam into my mane. "You're allowed to ask for help."
I leaned back into her, breathing in the scent of citrus and her own soft honey smell. "I thought I should be strong for you."
"If you saw me in the same state that you are, even if I was hiding it well, what would you do?" She rubbed my favourite spot, behind my ears, and I let out a quiet moan. "I don't think you would ignore me. Treat yourself the way you treat me, Ringer."
"I couldn't," I mumbled, looking away. "You're my everything. I'm... nothing."
Kikuri tapped my forehead with one hoof, pulling me further up into her lap with the other. Not for the first time, I felt the shivering under her skin of her muscles, and I wondered how she had gotten so strong while I had grown weaker. "You're my everything, hun. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Find someone better." I replied.
"There is nobody better than you, Ringer. Who was the pony who pulled me out of the club when I was ready to go home with a stallion I didn't know?"
"I was."
"Who was the pony who found me in a back alley, freezing half to death and in my true form, and wrapped me up in a blanket and carried me to her apartment?"
"I was."
"Who is the most perfect marefriend I could ever ask for?"
I smiled thinly, closing my eyes. "I am."
Kikuri leaned down and kissed my forehead, pushing my soapy mane back towards my ears. "And don't you forget it."
We sat together, quiet in the rising water, breathing in the smell of bubbles and each other. After a while, when the water rose too high, Kikuri leaned over me and turned off the tap, stepping out and drying herself with a flash of green flame.
"I'm going to go and talk to the neighbors and put the groceries away, alright?"
"Yeah. I'll be out soon."
She trotted out, closing the door softly behind her. The small gap under the door glowed green as she changed shape, and then she continued down the hall. The bubbles enveloped me as I sank lower into them, and eventually dipped completely under the water. Air bubbles slipped up from my mouth as I shook the leftover suds from my mane.
The bathroom air was cold when I climbed out, making my coat stand on end before I could wrap a towel around it. Ugh, I hated the cold. I pulled on Kikuri's green bathrobe as well, hoping she wouldn't mind me getting it wet. I stepped cautiously into the hallway, hoping my wet hooves wouldn't slip on the hardwood.
"Are you dry?" She called from the kitchen.
"No."
"Are you wearing my bathrobe?
"...Yes?"
"Ringer, baby, I told you green wasn't your color! Can't you go buy your own, maybe in yellow or blue?"
"I hate yellow because it's too bright and I hate blue because it's too sad," I explained, turning into the kitchen. "Green? Green is nice and neutral. Happy, but not overpowering. You get me?"
"So what you're saying is you want neutral. So like... gray."
"Gray is boring too."
Kikuri rolled her eyes, turning around with a plate of warm cookies in her magical grasp. "Is there any color you like other than green?"
"Yes! Avocado, leaf, pine..."
"Stop being annoying and eat something sugary. You need a kick in your system."
"What flavor are these?"
"Cookie." Kikuri deadpanned, pouring the milk. "Just kidding, it's cricket."
"You put cricket in my food?!" I replied, staring at the tray.
"I put cricket in my ones." She said casually, lifting a smaller plate. "Yours are honey carrot."
"Thank you, sweetheart."
"You'll just have to do me a favor later." She sat down beside me, placing the two cookie trays on the table and setting down the glasses of milk. "Mine aren't cricket. They're just honey."
I glanced over at her, smirking. "I had no idea you were messing with me. Not a fan of healthy foods?"
"You have no idea how much sugar I put in both of these. If you are deluding yourself with healthy, you might as well just put a slice of apple on a triple fudge sundae and call it a diet."
"Don't dampen my spirits," I grumbled. "I like carrots."
"I know. Why do you think I baked you cookies with carrots in them?" Kikuri lifted one of the cookies up and hovered it in front of my face. "See that orange stuff? That's compassion."
Someone knocked on the door, cutting off my possibly funny retort. "I've got it."
"You've got what?" She replied, blinking in confusion.
I trotted out of the kitchen, opening the door but leaving the lock chain in place. "Who's there?"
A tan Pegasus stallion looked back, his eyes reddened and his feathers matted and... falling out? Someone's feathers were in his messy red mane and tail, at least. He looked me over, frowning. "Green ain't your color, man."
"Why are you knocking on my door?"
"I heard some crazy voodoo guy who could talk to ghosts was here." The stallion rubbed his eyes, knocking a feather out of his forelock. "You homin' a guy like that?"
"Why would you want to talk to him?"
The stallion looked around, making sure the hallway was empty. "Me and my girl, we had a bad run-in with the Downtown Dogs. They took her 'way down their crazy tunnels and I got all messed up trying to follow 'em. Nearly tore my wings off. I've been worried sick ever since, man, can't sleep, feathers fallin' out, can't even go outside without these crazy panic attacks. I need to know if my girl is dead."
Hesitantly, I unlocked the door. I looked back at Kikuri for her acceptance, and she gave me a strange look before going back to the kitchen. The stallion walked in cautiously, his legs wobbling. He nearly collapsed on the couch, looking incredibly pitiful.
"Look, sir...?"
"Flame Trail." He said quietly.
"Flame Trail, do you need a doctor?" I said, placing my hoof on his. "I know people that won't ask for names or ID. They can get you fixed up without getting you in trouble-"
"No!" He screeched. "No doctors!"
"Okay, okay, no doctors. It was just a suggestion." His hoof was frigid under mine, and his eyes suddenly seemed deep and dark. "What did your marefriend look like? What was her name?"
"She's white-coated, with a golden mane and tail. Blue eyes. A... Pegasus. Her name is Arrowhead." He closed his eyes, shuffling his wings so that a few feathers shedded onto the couch.
I nodded, taking a deep breath. For a second, it was as if an entire network of invisible threads around me suddenly flickered and thrummed, and the vague shape of a mare began to take form in front of the couch. Parts of her blurred in and out of vision, patches of white and gold against the soft browns and reds of the apartment.
"Trapped---------help---afraid----alone," the inconsistent spirit said, flashes of eyes wide with terror. "You can---------save-------------help."
"I can't hear you. Are you still alive?" I prompted.
She nodded jerkily. "Alive----------but----------not-------------------------------too strong---------------too strong!"
I tried to reach out to comfort her, but she flickered and disappeared. I turned to the colt, his eyes blissfully unaware to the vision. "She's alive. I'll take the team out to try and find her as soon as I can."
"I... I'll go." He whispered, hopping off the couch and trotting back outside. I turned away to wipe the feathers off of the couch, only to find them gone. When I turned around to ask him about it, he had gone as well. Had I missed the sound of the door closing?
"You're exhausted, Ringer." Kikuri called from the kitchen, her voice oddly shaky. "Let's just stay in bed today, okay? We can go out for dinner later."
"A day in bed?" I teased. "That's more time than you usually let me have with you."
"Shut up, sweetheart." She replied. Her eyes clouded with worry as she glanced towards the couch, but she quickly hid it by heading to the bedroom.
Did she think I shouldn't help this colt? She had to understand what I was doing. I would do it for her in a heartbeat.
So why would this be any different?
