Crossfire

Blackened Roses - Part 1

A knock at the door jarred me from my sleep. Sunlight was pouring through the dusty window that stood next to the bed on which I lay, and I guessed it was about ten or eleven o’clock in the morning. Rubbing my eyes, I stretched my wings and put on a ratty old T-shirt before going to the door.

Jack’s apartment was dirtier than usual, but that could be blamed on me. Years of living on the streets hadn’t exactly instilled in me good manners, or indeed, good personal hygiene. The floor of the apartment was littered with pizza crusts, hay, cider cans, and other pieces of trash. The TV was muted, and onscreen fillies and colts danced along with a griffon in clown makeup. I didn’t want to know what that was all about, and whoever was at the door was in for a surprise.

Jack had already left for work, leaving a note on the bed. As his junior detective, I could come in around noon to assist him in cases, and when I looked at the clock I was surprised to see that it was only nine o’clock. Then I remembered it was Sunday. My day off. As usual, I had nothing to do. Maybe whoever was at the door would change that.

Yawning, I unlocked the door and swung it back. Standing in the hallway was an old purple unicorn with mauve and pink hair, dressed in an oversized green sweatshirt, her purple eyes confused at the sight of the dirty pegasus in front of her.

At first, I didn’t realize who I was looking at, so I said, “Yeah? Can I help you?”

“Ummm…” the unicorn said steadily. “Scootaloo? Is that you?”

“Who’s asking?”

“It’s me, Scootaloo! It’s Twilight Sparkle!”

“Twi…” And before I knew what was happening, we were hugging and laughing, locked in an embrace of joyous reunion.

“By Celestia,” I gasped. “Twilight Sparkle! I haven’t seen you in years!”

“Nor I you, Scootaloo,” she replied, chuckling. “It’s been a while.”

“Well, uh…I’m not sure if you want to come in, this place is a mess right now…”

“Oh, I’ve been in worse. It’ll be OK.”

I smiled, hardly daring to believe that one of my old marefriends was here. I led her to the couch, brushing aside cans and trash heaps and turning off the TV.

“So,” I said as we settled down. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, it’s funny, actually, I was on my way to Equestria City on a dragon flight when the darned thing had to layover here in Manehattan. Dragons, Scootaloo. Can’t ever trust them as transportation.”

“But you had a dragon!”

“Spike was different. Besides, I haven’t heard from him in months. He’s probably punch-drunk somewhere on Draconia campus. But anyway, I came here because a little bird told me you had joined the police force.”

I blushed. “Well, maybe not joined, but I’m certainly a part of it. After the Cake fiasco…”

“Oh, I heard,” Twilight said, her face growing dark. “Poor Cakes. I never thought…”

“Yeah, well, neither did we.” I interrupted. “So what can I do for you?”

“Well, see, the next train to EQC leaves in about an hour, and to be honest I’m kinda scared. I know I’m grown and can take care of myself, but the streets are no place for a pony like me, especially not now.”

“Why not now?”

“What, you mean you haven’t heard? I’d figure you’d be the first to hear about it.”

“About what?”

“It was in Equestria Today, it’s probably on the news…”

“What?!”

“Oh, for pony’s sake!” She magicked the remote into the air and turned the TV on, changing it to ENN. Onscreen was Trixie, and Twilight let out a small gasp.

“She’s an anchormare now?”

“Yup,” I replied as she turned up the volume. Trixie was standing in front of crime scene tape and was flanked by dozens of police ponies and medics.

“…third death in less than two weeks. The victim’s name has yet to be released, but we have confirmed that it is a pegasus, and that the cause of death is the same as the first two killings. Yes, people of Equestria, it seems a serial killer is loose in Manehattan.”

“HUH?!” I cried as Twilight shushed me.

“With the first double homicide of a pegasus and earth pony in Whitetail Park less than two weeks ago, a great deluge of panic has flooded the city of Manehattan. The Pegasus Poacher, as the killer has become known as, has struck again, leaving a young pegasus dead in the streets of Manehattan with, like the other victims, her wings torn from her body.”

Chills ran up and down my spine, and Twilight’s eyes were wider than her hooves.

“Authorities have yet to comment on whether they have any leads, as the previous suspect, a unicorn by the name of Midnight Madness, was cleared of involvement after being arrested last Tuesday. The Manehattan Police Department and the Manehattan Investigative Agency urge all ponies, not just pegasi, to caution themselves. Travel in numbers and in well-lit areas. Tell other ponies where you’re going. These are the official remarks of the two departments, and rumors that the Equestrian Bureau of Investigation is now involved in the investigation are unconfirmed. Live from Clopperton Avenue, downtown Manehattan, I’m G.P. Trixie. Back to you, Chuck.”

Twilight turned off the TV. I was still shaking. My wings had frozen. The unicorn tried to comfort me.

“I’m sorry, Scootaloo. I didn’t mean to…”

“No,” I interrupted. “Don’t be sorry. Thank you, I should say. If I hadn’t known about these killings, I’d…well…living on the streets was tough enough, Twi, but with a serial killer…”

“Hey, it’s alright,” she said comfortingly, placing her hoof on my shoulder. “You’ll be safe with me.”

“Yeah. It’s just that Jack’s only let me on small cases so far. Nothing big.”

“Jack?”

“Jack Hoover. He’s a detective, MHPD. MIA Branch. This is his apartment. He’s the one who got me off the streets.”

“Jack…Hoover?”

I nodded, trying to make sense of Twilight’s incredulous expression.

“Hmm,” she said, looking thoughtful. “Why does that name sound so familiar?”

“Well, he was with me for the Cake shooting, does that…?”

“No, no, I’m thinking way back. Something to do with…I dunno. You’ll have to ask Shining Armor when you see him. He’ll probably know, as captain of the Canterlot…I mean, New Canterlot Guard.”

“Wait. We’re gonna see Shining Armor?”

Twilight nodded happily. “Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, their son, and a whole bunch of other ponies. They’re having a party up in my brother’s estate, and he wanted me to come. I’m sure he remembers you from the wedding.”

“Doubtful, all I did was throw flowers down the aisle.”

“Yes, but you did a wonderful job.”

We both snickered, and then I straightened. “So you’re inviting me to go with you to New Canterlot?”

“Well, you’re the only pony I know in Manehattan besides Big Macintosh, and I haven’t been able to get a hold of him. Shining Armor said I could bring my friends, but they all have other things going on. I thought, maybe, but if you don’t want to…”

“Well of COURSE I want to!” I yelled, beating my wings excitedly. “I’d be honored to be your bodyguard!”

“Bodyguard?!” Twilight snapped, looking surprised, but then she smiled. “Oh, okay. We’d better get going, then. You’re about my size, so I have some clothes for you if you need anything.”

“Alright. Oh, wait a second…” I found a piece of paper and a pen and jotted down a note to Jack:

Jack,

Going with Twilight Sparkle to New Canterlot. It’s alright, she’s a friend. I’ll be back soon. Good luck with whatever it is you’re doing.

Scooter

I looked up at Twilight, who was grinning.

“Alright, then. Let’s be off.”

/*/*/*/

What an excellent day for a homicide investigation, thought Jack Hoover to himself as he and his unicorn partner, Sable, exited their car and made their way toward the crime scene. The media ponies had already flocked the edges of the alleyway off of Hoofshire Street, where the body had been found. Police and crime scene investigators dotted the interior of the alleyway, and Jack could see a tarp-covered form next to the dumpster, lying in a pool of blood.

Jack adjusted his leather vest which he so often wore over his unassuming gray sweatshirt. He wasn’t the most professionally dressed of the detectives of MIA Branch, but he got the job done nonetheless, so unless he was bare naked, his superiors didn’t give a buck about the way he dressed.

The sun was shining in the cloud-free sky, but the alley that held the body was still dark. The flashes of cameras distracted him, but once he lifted the crime scene tape and allowed his partner through, he felt shut out from the media. Smiling grimly, he approached the first responder. It was an earth pony with a three-day stubble, not unlike Jack’s, and when he spoke he sounded like a parasprite had gotten stuck in his throat.

“Morning, detectives. I’ll fill you in. Around ten last night this guy Joe, who owns the donut shop next to this alley, hears a commotion in the alley. He goes outside but sees nothing. A few minutes later, another commotion. This time he catches sight of what he called a ‘really big pony without wings or a horn, completely covered in black.’ Joe thought it was just a tramp, so he let things be. Next morning, he goes to open up, smells somethin’ fishy…finds this poor fella deader than dead.”

“By Celestia…” Sable gasped, and Jack felt her shock. Another officer had gingerly lifted back the tarp to reveal the body.

It was a pegasus, or at least, had been one. Like the other victims, its wings had been brutally pulled off. Not sawn or cut, put pulled. There was a deep incision on the throat, just like the other victims, but its flank was devoid of a cutie mark, as it seemed that the killer had actually bitten the skin off around her flanks. She had several cuts and bruises, most likely from a struggle, and the blood around her body came mostly from her torn-off wings, but as an investigator pointed out, there was also a very deep, very ragged-looking cut on her right foreleg.

Jack’s heart skipped a beat. The pegasus had been pretty. She had a flank of gold and a mane of auburn hair, and her eyes, now gray and pallid in death, were once vibrant and full of life…

He noticed that Sable was clutching her chest. She was a hardened unicorn, and a pretty one at that. Her opal eyes went very well with her light-blue skin and silver mane. Now, however, her face was a tinge of green. Jack didn’t want her to vomit on the evidence, so he got her to step away for a moment, to catch her breath.

“Is this Joe our only witness?” He asked the officer.

He nodded. “Cameras across the street ain’t working, and nopony else was around at the time.”

“Well, let’s go talk to him, eh?”

Sable joined him when she had regained her strength, and they went into the donut shop, where, among the rows of pastries and cakes, a very scruffy looking pony was being interviewed by another officer.

“That’ll do, Shinebeam. We’ll take it from here,” said the first officer. The second left, and Jack turned to Joe.

“Mister…?”

“Joe. They call me Joe. Nothin’ else, really.”

“Ah. Well, Joe, I’m Detective Jack Hoover, and this is Detective Sable. We’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“But I already told the cops everythin’!” the donut pony protested.

“It’s alright,” Sable said soothingly. “You’re not in trouble. We just want you to tell us what happened.”

Joe breathed. “Fine. Around ten last night I heard some kinda shufflin’ goin’ on in the alley. I thought a dog or somethin’ might’ve gotten into the dumpster, so I went to check. Nothing was out there, so I came back in. Few minutes later, before I was gonna close shop, I hear it again and go outside again. That’s when I saw the pony.”

“You’re certain it was a pony?”

Joe nodded. “Oh, yeah. It had four legs and a tail. Wasn’t a dog or anything. Definitely a pony.”

“Earth pony? Unicorn? Pegasus?”

“Earth pony.”

“And what did the pony look like?”

“I didn’t see much of him,” the donut man continued. “Or her. I couldn’t tell if it was a mare or a stallion. Seemed like a stallion, though, it was pretty big. All I know is that other than its tail, it was covered in some kinda black thing. The really weird thing is, the black thing was, like, reflective. I remember the light shining off of its body like it were made of…glass, or something. Oh, and its tail was pokin’ out, and from what I could see it was dark, maybe brown, maybe black.”

“Interesting,” Sable said, writing down Joe’s words. “When did you discover the body?”

“This morning. Actually, a coupla hours ago. I’d just gotten from home and was gonna open shop when I smelled something bad…I mean, worse than usual, comin’ from the dumpster. I went to check and…I saw the body…”

Joe stopped talking, and he looked like he had seen a ghost.

“Do you remember which direction the pony ran in?”

“Uhhh…” Joe thought hard for a moment, then led the detectives outside. He pointed across the street.

“Into that alley, I think,” he said. “Gallopin’ at full speed.”

“Thank you, Joe.” Jack and Sable turned to each other as a policemare escorted Joe back inside.

“What do you think?” she asked him.

Jack shrugged. “The forensics team has the body. Why don’t we go check out that alley?”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Sable agreed. Together they dodged the various camera crews and reporters as they made their way across the street into the alley, following a trail of bloody hoofprints left by the killer.

They hadn’t even been looking for more than a minute when Sable found something.

“Jack!”

Hoover made his way toward his partner, who was examining something in a pile of trash bags.

“What’d you find?”

“These,” Sable said, holding up the items in her hooves.

At first, Jack thought Sable had just skinned an animal, as she appeared to be holding a black sort of hide that was covered in blood. When he looked closer, though, he realized that it was a suit. A rubber suit, made specifically for a pony. The suit was covered in blood, but more so in the mouth and hoof areas than anywhere else. Sable also held up bloody hoof covers, which explained why the hoofprints stopped at the end of the alley. The suit had small eye and nostril openings, and as Jack pulled on hoof covers of his own, he noticed a flaccid indentation in the head area of the suit. He examined it. The indentation was actually not an indentation but a piece of the suit that had nearly been poked through by something on the wearer’s head. He propped it up, and it fell sideways.

“This is some kinda bondage suit,” Sable realized disgustedly. “I’ve seen ponies wear these in the Underzone.”

“You’ve been to the Underzone?”

“My brother lives there. He’s…well, I’d rather not talk about him…but you know the Underzone. That’s where the freaks go, like the ponies who would wear something like this!”

“You may be right. However, this suit tells us several things. One, the killer’s a unicorn. Two, the killer’s a weak unicorn. And three, the killer’s a fetishistic unicorn.”

“How the buck do you know that?”

“Think about it,” Jack said, launching into an explanative tirade. “The protruding piece of rubber on the suit’s head was left there by a horn. From what I can tell, this is a male pony’s rubbersuit. If the killer is a unicorn, he could’ve siphoned the blood away from the scene and from his body with magic. But he didn’t! He used this suit while killing and transporting the victim. It provided him with a disguise in the darkness, as well as something to cover his body during the murder. You know how a thief wears gloves to cover his hooves, to not leave any hoofprints? This is the same thing, only the killer put his entire body into the glove. Ingenious, really.”

“Okay,” Sable answered, trying to keep up. “But how do you know he’s a weak unicorn?”

“Horn size,” Jack answered, pointing to the bloody suit. “In the academy, we learned that the size of a unicorn’s horn is like the size of a pegasus’ wings; the bigger they are, the more powerful they are. This is a full-grown unicorn to be wearing this suit, but if you prop the horn up…” He did so. “…you’ll see that its about three inches long. That’s less than half the length of the average male adult unicorn’s horn. Less than half. This could also explain why the killer ran instead of teleporting, and why he’d be using such cruel and crude methods to kill.”

“And let me guess. The unicorn is fetishistic because?”

“Because even the weakest of unicorns can cast an invisibility spell,” Jack answered in fake condescension. “The killer wore this because he wanted to wear it, because it gave him some kind of sick pleasure to wear it as he killed. Fear might be a part of it, too. How frightened would you be if a pony in a black rubber suit was trying to kill you?”

“Depends whether or not I have my gun.”

Jack smiled. “Always learning, this one.”

“Hey! I’m not a rookie anymore!”

“Of course not. I’m just saying, having only become a detective last year…”

“Oh, go soak your head!” But she was grinning, and so was he. They had to grin, for if they allowed the depravity of the murder to consume them, they might never smile again.

\*\*\*\

The train plowed along through the mountains and the fields on our way to Equestria City, and Twilight Sparkle sat across from me in the booth. We talked a lot, talked about Ponyville, about Manehattan, and about our lives.

“So how’s good ol’ Ponyville?” I asked about an hour into the ride.

She shrugged. “Surprisingly, not that different. Ever since Celestia and Luna were deposed, they’ve dedicated themselves to beautifying the Lunacest District. Their only problem is Flimflam Incorporated.”

“Flimflam Incorporated?”

“Yeah. After they knocked Applejack out of business, they began sucking the town dry, almost to the point where the town would’ve been called Flimflamville. But Celestia became governess and appealed to the President, who passed the Lunacest Sanction.”

“Oh, that one about limiting trusts and monopolies?”

“Bingo,” Twilight answered as she stared out the window. “Flimflam Incorporated shrunk after the sanction passed, and we got our town back. It’s nowhere near what it used to be, but it’s a heck of a lot better than what those two brothers had in store for us.”

“Wow,” I said, genuinely interested. “Have you heard from Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle?”

She shook her head. “Last I heard from AJ was a couple of months ago. They’re doing well, but she’s still pretty upset that Big Macintosh left the farm. He’s in Manehattan, right? What’s he doing?”

“He works at a bar.”

Her jaw dropped. “Really?! Wow, I didn’t figure him for a bartender.”

“He’s not. He’s the bouncer.”

“Oh. Well that makes sense. Anyway, I haven’t heard at all from Rarity or Sweetie Belle, mostly because I see them every day in Pony magazine. She’s a real big shot in Los Pegasus.”

“I heard.”

“Rainbow Dash is still with the Wonderbolts, but did you hear? They set up their airfield just outside Ponyville! Dash did that for us, and not only do we get to see her almost every day, but Ponyville’s never seen more tourists than now!”

“Oh…that’s wonderful…” I said, slightly crestfallen. Twilight looked concerned.

“Hey, I’m sorry, Scootaloo, if I’m…”

“You’re not doing anything, Twilight,” I said a little too quickly. “Go on. What’s up with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?”

“Well, you know Pinkie Pie. Hasn’t changed a bit. Opened a party supplies store and is doing pretty well. I’m sure you heard that Fluttershy got married. I’m surprised that you…oh, wait…nevermind…”

Again, I looked hurt, but did better that time not to show it.

“Anyway, Windstopper’s a great guy. He’s perfect for Fluttershy. And guess who moved in next door? Iron Will!”

I sat up. “Really? The minotaur?!”

“Yeah! He’s still doing assertiveness training, but now he’s based in Ponyville!”

“Wow!” I exclaimed, but soon the elation wore off and I began to feel awkward, wondering why she didn’t ask me how I’d been, then remembering that she already knew…

“So, what’s going on with your brother anyway?”

Twilight broke from her staring contest with the land outside. “Oh, well, you know how his son, Rook Bishop, is running for President? Well, after that attack on Freemane two weeks ago, he wanted to make sure the general public didn’t think he had anything to do with it. Although in my opinion, it’s kinda useless, I mean, they already caught the guy who did it…”

I bit my tongue. Because Zecora was still in custody by the EBI, her name and race hadn’t been released to the media, who only knew that the bomber had been apprehended.

“…so he’s doing this charity party thing in New Canterlot, and Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are hosting, and…Scootaloo?”

“Oh, sorry, Twilight.”

“It’s okay. We’re almost there, anyway. You look good, by the way. Much better.”

She had provided me with a simple black dress to wear. I hated dresses, but I didn’t want to upset her, and I figured that’s what most mares would wear to a fancy party, so I wore it. Twilight had also forced me to take a shower and run a comb through my mane, and when I looked in the mirror, other than the dark bags around my eyes and my thinness, I looked like I had never been on the streets.

The train slowed, and the towering buildings of Equestria City loomed in the distance. I got up and followed Twilight out of the car, not knowing what to expect.