New Trottland Yard Case 05 - Silver Cross and Sweet Potato

Silver Cross

and Sweet Potato

Chapter 3

After Dancing had helped me to extract the filly from between my legs, she was now sleeping peacefully on my back. She hadn't stopped shivering until the stallion had disappeared around a corner, so I could only guess that she was afraid of him. I was currently sitting the doctors office, the filly still on my back. Dancing had disappeared somewhere again, so I didn't have any backup in this situation.

“Ok Doc, what can you tell me about the filly on my back? The stallion that came to get her seemed to be quite the brute.”, I said, pointing at the filly with my good hoof. The doctor fidgeted a little before answering me.

“I... I am sorry Inspector, but there is not much I can tell you. All I know is that she was brought here four months ago with a serious head injury. Somepony seemed to have tried to beat her to death. We treated her as best we could, and achieved a certain level of recovery. She did, however, suffer some brain damage that prevents her from speaking. Tests showed, that her ability to think has also been affected. My co-workers and I are in agreement, that she will most likely never be able to live a normal life again. The long term effects are unknown yet, but we think she will need special care for the rest of her life.”, the elder Unicorn stallion explained.

“You still haven't told me her name Doc. That stallion called her Potato, but I doubt that this is it.”

“Her full name is Sweet Potato Pie, but the mare that brought her in just called her Sweet or Sweet Potato.”

“So do you have any idea why that mare didn't come to pick her up? I mean that this guy is actually working in an orphanage seems hard to believe.”, I said, looking back at the filly sleeping on my back. Walking on three legs with the additional weight on my back was tricky, but I managed somehow.

“Well... you see.... As far as I know, she's dead. She attacked one of her co-workers, and was killed in the fight. I've seen the body myself, and I can tell you that she didn't look good. If you ask me, she was beaten to death on purpose, but the police here labeled it as self defense....”, the old stallion said in a hushed tone, as if the walls were listening to every word we said.

I put my good hoof up to my chin as my thoughts started to race through my head. This filly had been severely injured, and crippled because of it. A mare had brought her here and had attacked one of her co-workers, getting killed in the fight. This sounded more then fishy! A mare that brought an injured filly to the hospital personally, instead of waiting for the ambulance, painted the picture of a mare that cared. It didn't fit a mare that would get involved in a fight to the death...

Then there was this big stallion that had wanted to pick up the filly earlier... He was certainly strong enough to inflict such injuries, and didn't seem like the cuddling type either... A sigh erupted from my muzzle as I caught myself already considering to investigate this case...

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“Can't you just go on vacation, without causing a ruckus?”, Gruff Tone reprimanded me as I called him from my suite, while the filly was sleeping on my bed. Ever since she had curled up on my back, she hadn't woken up once. My boss wasn't very happy about me wanting to investigate this case, but there wasn't much he could do about it. After a long while of explaining, discussion and actual begging, Superintendent Gruff Tone actually gave me all necessary authorizations. Sweet Potato was now officially in protective custody. He was would call the local police station, ordering them to support me in any way they could.

He was unusually forthcoming, when he even allowed me to stay in the suite. After the call was over, I looked over to the filly again. She had her eyes open and was silently watching me. It was creeping me out a little but there was nothing I could do about it. She didn't cringe away from me when I wobbled to the bed and lay next to her. All she did was follow my every movement. I wanted to check something that I had brought along with me on my vacation, which was now officially over, when a small snout buried itself in my side.

The little Pegasus filly was cuddling up to me, careful not to touch my injured right leg, as she curled up there. Her amber eyes fixed mine, and I just couldn't help but smile a little. Instinctivly, my tail wrapped around her and I started to stroke her mane carefully with my right hoof. As long as I moved it slowly, I didn't feel any pain while doing so.

Sweet Potato rested her head on the right side of my barrel and soon dozed off again. When I was sure that she was fast asleep, I pulled out the folder my boss had given me, reading it for what felt like the millionth time. I had to memorize every detail if I wanted to do something about it. Somehow I just knew that telling Dancing how she would die, wouldn't be enough. I needed to be there and do something about it!

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The next morning, I ordered a big breakfast after Sweet had pointed at her muzzle with her hoof. She was certainly incapable of speaking, and didn't seem to understand most of what I said, but as long as I was in her sight, she stayed calm for some reason. Only once did I leave her alone, when I had to go to the little fillies room. It was a mistake that I would never commit again. The otherwise slow moving filly had wrecked part of the room in her panicked search for me. Even when she had to go later, I had to stay in front of the open door, facing the other way. It was starting to dawn on me that I might have bitten off more then I could chew.

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Carrying Sweet Potato on my back, while she had her forelegs and chin on my head and observed everything that was going on around us, I walked intro Crudena. Several of the Ponies were looking at me strangely, and some even disappeared into the buildings once they saw me. I couldn't blame them. I must have looked like a grim reaper Pony to them, wearing a 9mm pistol on both of my forelegs, and an assault rifle strapped to my left side. I felt uneasy coming here armed that way, since it was still an orphanage, but the boss had insisted on it. My broken right foreleg had been put into a sheath to make it possible for me to walk normally, at the cost of great pain later.

He had also insisted on the three Constables that were walking in line behind me. All three of them were Unicorns , so I couldn't help but think that they were here to restrain me just as much as any potential suspect....

The little “town” of Cruneda was completely run by orderlies and orphans, financed by donations and government funding. I could clearly see that this was the case, seeing how run down many of the houses looked. It only then hit me that there were hundreds, if not thousands of orphans here in Equestria, and all of them were shipped here for an eventual adoption... I couldn't fathom how growing up like that must be for these foals.... It was that moment that I really appreciated the fact that I had grown up with both parents.

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I was “standing” in the office of the mare running this place. A pink Earthpony mare with a yellow mane by the name of Rough Buck. I could certainly see a resemblance between her, and the stallion that had tried to pick up Sweet from the hospital. It was something worth investigating.

“I believe that is one of our foals you have on your head there. Thanks for bringing her back, even though I dare say that she didn't need an armed escort like that. You could have just hoofed her over to my son.”, the mare said, extending a hoof towards Sweet, who shrank back to hide behind my head. Her mentioning her son, also confirmed my earlier deduction.

“This filly is clearly scared of you, Miss Rough, as she is scared of your son. Seeing as your son didn't seem nor acted like he would handle her with the appropriate level of love and kindness, I took her into protective custody. And before you say anything else, she will remain in our custody, until I deem it safe to release her. But that is not why I am here. I am here to investigate the injuries this filly suffered, as well as the murder of a mare named Dusty.”, I clarified. The mare sat down behind her desk again, putting her hooves together in front of her face.

“Miss Dustys death was regrettable, but it was an accident. She attacked my son and he defended himself, easy as that. As for this fillies injuries... I doubt that it's anything to worry about she certainly seems to be alright. Must have been a simple fight between kids. You wouldn't believe how often we get something like that here.”

“You might doubt my suspicions, but your opinion is not what matters here, is it? I've been in a fair amount of fights in my youth, and I can tell you that a fight between kids usually ends when one is crying, or when blood flows. The other thing is, that no filly or colt her age would have the strength to beat her like that.”, I argued, feeling a rage well up in me as Sweet began to shiver on my back.

“And one more thing. What triggered the attack on your son? What did he do to make a mare that could be my mother attack him? She surely wasn't in best condition. According to her medical report, she had beginning arthritis and her magic was impaired by a rare kind of internal hornrott, making her horn hollow from the inside and disturbing her magical circuit. You want to tell me that a mare that felt pain each time she used magic, or moved fast, willingly attacked a young and capable stallion like your son?”, I elaborated, and I could see her grimace behind her hooves. It was like a spoon full of honey for my mood.

“So you won't return custody of this foal to us and insist on sniffing around this place?”, she finally asked after a long moment of silence, to which I nodded. It brought a grin to her face that made my mane stand on end.

“Very well. You may investigate in this place. But in case of that filly, you also have to abide by our rules. Paragraph nine section three of our orphanages rules declare that, should you keep the foal for more then forty-eight hours, you agree to adopt her. Unless of course... you want to return her to us after all....”, she said, the grin never leaving her face. I gulped. She had me there. I knew about that rule beforehoof, but hadn't prepared for her pulling that card on me. I took a final look back at the filly that was shivering on my back and sighed. I was really too soft for my own good.

“OK, where do I sign?”, I simply asked, and her jaw dropped. Rough Buck apparently hadn't expected that response from me. She began to sputter, and her muzzle opened and closed a few times before she had collected herself enough to speak.

“You... Are you even aware what you are saying, Miss Cross? She is disabled and will most likely never be able to live on her own. Adopting her, will be a lifelong commitment. And what happens if you get killed during your work at the Yard? She will simply end up here again, even more broken then she is now.”, she tried to reason with me.

“And you wouldn't be able to convince anypony to adopt her anyway, would you? I mean, who would willingly adopt a disabled foal? She would cost your institution a whole load of bits, until she would be old enough to be sent into an insane Asylum. Well, I'm telling you, that won't happen. She obviously doesn't want to stay here, and I seem to be the only Pony she is comfortable to be around. Therefor, you won't be able to talk me out of it. Now, if you would be so kind?”, I clarified, leaving no room for argument. I was quite aware that she had a point. Whenever I was sent out to investigate a case, I ran the risk of being shot. Not only that, but Broken and the Nightmare were still after my head as well... But I was quite sure that, if something happened to me, my parents would take Sweet in.

Seeing that she had no way to talk me out of it, the mare produced the necessary papers out of one of her desk drawers. About ten minutes later, I left her office not with a victim I had in protective custody, but with my new daughter....