New Trottland Yard Case 05 - Silver Cross and Sweet Potato

Silver Cross

and Sweet Potato

Chapter 1

Dusty was cleaning up after the foals once again. It came as no surprise that none of them had put away their toys when they were called to the dining hall. She thought the little ones deserved a little happiness in their young lives, after ending up in a town that was one big orphanage, Crudena. Way too many Ponies died in skirmishes with the Griffins, Zebras and the Ponies from Saddle Arabia...

Why couldn't the council finally negotiate peace with them? Were  the gemstones they wanted really that important? Equestria barely used them, and she got the feeling that their government only fought to prove a point. The gray Unicorn mare was still thinking that, when she spotted an orange tail that stuck out from behind one of the toy chests. Sighing, Dusty trotted over to the hiding foal.

“Still up Sweet Potato? I've missed you at dinner as well, what's the matter?”, she asked, stepping closer to get a better look at the filly. The foal didn't answer. It was nothing new either, since Sweet had always been a bit of a recluse.

“Aww, come on Sweet... Come out of there please. I gotta go over to the sunshine residence and help with the younger ones. Can you come out like a good little filly for me?”, Dusty singsonged. She knew that Sweet liked her best out of all the orderlies, so she hoped she wouldn't have to drag the filly to bed by her mane. When there was still no answer, Dusty started to get angry. Stepping around the toy chest, Dusty was about to launch into a tirade about responsible young fillies, when a lump formed in her throat. Sweet Potato, the young filly with the dark green coat and orange mane, couldn't answer her.... The foals empty amber eyes looked up at her from her bloody face.

“SWEET POTATO!?”, the Unicorn mare screamed. The young Pegasus fillies wings were hanging limply at her sides. To Dustys eternal relief, the fillies sides were rising and falling shakily. But... her pretty face... Somepony had vented a great amount of anger on the filly, and Dusty only hoped she survived the gaping head injury. She almost vomited when she noticed that she could see part of the foals brain in the fading light....

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Half a day had passed since Dusty had found Sweet Potato and rushed to the chariot station with her. She had applied first aid as best as she could, wrapping bandages around the foals head before flying to Los Pegasus with her. The other orderlies had looked at her in shock as they saw her levitating a bleeding foal by her side, and running as if Nightmare Moon herself was after her tail, but she couldn't have cared less.

The doctors at the hospital had said, that the foal had only a very small chance to survive at all, since she had suffered severe brain damage. Even if she survived, she would most likely never be the same little filly she had been before the incident had happened. Right now, Dusty was pacing up and down in front of the operation room. She had been doing that non-stop for the last twelve hours. Her hooves hurt, her muscles ached, but she just couldn't sit still for more then five minutes.

Dusty was unable to conceive a foal of her own, so she and her husband had considered adopting one. Working in Crudena, she had the perfect opportunity to see how the foals behaved, and decide carefully. Sweet had been one of her personal favorite candidates. The quiet filly had been smart, polite and always helpful. Maybe a little too reclusive, but she had been able to speak up for herself if she had too...

Dusty couldn't help but blame herself a little for what had happened. Had she adopted the filly sooner, this might have never happened... But... there was another urgent question bothering her. Who had done this? To hurt a foal so bad that it almost died? That seemed quite extreme. She herself had slapped a foal once or twice, but never without reason and never hard.

Thinking about the other orderlies that had been on duty with her that night, she could only imagine one Pony who could have done it. She had caught him with one of the underage mares of the Peach residence once, but hadn't said anything since the young one had claimed that he didn't force her.

This time however, she would not only report him, but drag him to the police station herself if she had to....

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Dusty stomped towards the front door of the Carrot residence, where she usually worked. The foals that usually came up to the gentle mare, noticed that something was wrong and scrambled away in fear this time. Nurse Gentle Touch was standing in the doorway, waiting for her.

“There you are Dusty! We've been worried sick! What happened to Sweet Potato? Is she alright? By the way, the boss wants to see you.”, the blue Earthpony mare said in a worried tone of voice. Dusty took a deep breath, trying not to unload her fury on the other mare.

“Somepony beat Sweet within an inch of her life. It's still uncertain if she will survive or not, but the doctors didn't give me much hope. And even if she does, she won't ever be the same again. Say.... You wouldn't happen to know where Rage Hoof is?”, she asked as casually as possible through her grit teeth.

“Ehm... I think he is in the kitchen, preparing the snacks for the little ones, but I really think you should go see the boss... She sounded as if it was urgent.”, Gentle Touch replied, stepping out of the way as Dusty stomped past her without another word.

Only a minute later the door to the kitchen flew open from a burst of magic from her horn. Indeed, there he was with a knife between his teeth. The bulky Earthpony was cutting fruits with such a ferocity, that one could think they had offended him somehow. He turned around to face her, but couldn't complete the motion. A gray field of magic surrounded him, throwing him into one of the kitchens cupboards.

“What did she do, Rage Hoof? Why did you do it?”, Dusty screamed, with tears in her eyes. Rage spat the knife out, after he extracted himself from the wreckage of the cupboard, seemingly not noticing the cuts on either side of his barrel.

“I don't know what you're talking about you crazy bitch!”, he spat, murder in his eyes.

“Oh you know exactly what I'm talking about!”, the mare said in a low tone, as she advanced on him. “Sweet Potato! You almost killed her!”

“Almost? Damn, and I thought I had finished her.”, Rage admitted calmly. The statement made Dusty freeze in her tracks. Cold rage began to replace the burning fury that raged through her body. Igniting her horn again, she sent the pink stallion flying again. This time he collided with the back door, and flew out into the back yard where they usually put up the laundry to dry in the sun.

“WHAT THE BUCK RAGE?”, she screamed as she charged at him with her head lowered. Dusty wanted to impale him on her horn, but she never got the chance. As soon as she was in his range, his left foreleg connected with her horn, breaking it cleanly in two. The mare only had a moment to scream in pain as her horn rolled over the ground, before the massive stallion knocked her over. Blood was running down her face and seeping into her eyes. One of the stallions bulky hooves connected with her forehead, once, twice, thrice....

When both of her eyes had popped from precise hoof-strikes to her eye-sockets, her jaw was broken in multiple places and her skull was barely holding together, the stallion stopped his barrage. Rage brought his muzzle close to her ear, starting to whisper.

“You want to know why I crushed the little bitch? I'll consider it your last wish. She found out that I was having a little fun with some of the younger fillies here. She thought I didn't see her when she walked in on me, so she didn't expect a thing when I came up to her. It was really her own fault. She threatened to report me, after my first hit, so I had to finish her off. And thank you for making this so easy for me. They won't even be able to charge me for your death because I'll kill you in self defense!”, he whispered in his deep voice.

Dusty began to weep silently. She had failed. She had let her own rage overtake her, and tried to take on an opponent that was out of her league. Her last thought, before Rage brought both of his front hooves down on her skull, was of Sweet Potato....