Running Out of Time

“Well, the head wasn’t removed by a blade such as a knife or a sword.”

Shetlock grimaced while the Mortician, Foul Play, poked and prodded the decapitated head with a scalpel. Lieutenant Strike looked equally as disturbed, the five other guard officers sharing the morgue all lacking the enthusiasm that the Manehattan-based specialist possessed.

“What was it then?” Strike questioned, looking at the dark-grey mare wearing the white lab coat instead of the head that she was suspending with her blue magic. Foul Play turned the head on its side, so that the neck area was plain to see.

Shetlock almost lost his lunch when he realised that he could see up the throat.

“Look at the flesh and skin; see how there’s still tendons and fibres of differing lengths, as well as the ripped edge of the skin? This head wasn’t cut off, it was pulled, or rather torn, off.”

“Torn off,” Shetlock muttered. “What could possibly tear the head off a creature like that, and still go undetected in the town?”

“I have no clue,” Foul Play replied, placing the head back down in a metal tray on the morgue bench. “What I can tell you is that, thankfully, the victim was already dead by the time of the decapitation.”

“How did he die then?” Lieutenant Strike inquired, with a green tinge to his face. Foul Play tittered and trotted over to a set of metal cabinets, the mare selecting one and levitating the draw open.

“Normally we wouldn’t be able to store a body like this one so easily, but with its current condition it’s a simple matter.” Foul Play lifted the white sheet, revealing the torso. Well, most of it. “It took some work, but I manage to find the fatal wound.” With her magic, she tapped the tip of her scalpel against a small cut on the pale skin. “Right where his heart was, there’s a very fine incision that goes straight through to the other side. Now, this was certainly caused by a blade, but I’m unable to tell what metal it’s made out of. All I can tell you is that the killer knew exactly where to strike, and judging from the lack of defensive marks managed to get up close without notice or suspicion.”

Shetlock forced the bile down and stepped closer. The cut in the skin was, strangely, just below a teat of some sort, and it was so small he doubted that he would even be able to see it if it wasn’t pointed out. What kind of blade could possibly make a cut so small?
“I thought this was a male?” a guard inquired, the mare staring at the torso.

“It most certainly a male,” Foul Play confirmed, tilting her head towards an unopened body-draw. “The remains in that draw are more than enough proof.” The Mortician went to open it, before Shetlock stepped in with a wave of his hoof.

“No, that’s fine, thank you very much, we believe you.”

“Fine then,” Foul Play shrugged, before turning back towards the mare that had asked the question. “Why did you think that this wasn’t a male?”

“Well, he has teats,” the mare pointed out. “I mean, it’s not part of basic training, but I was fairly certain that all males don’t nurse young.”

“Oh, those, they don’t produce milk.” Foul Play used her hoof to prod one, causing a few of the guards to look away. “In fact, I have zero clue as to why they’re on here. When they flew me down from the city, I was expecting to work on a corpse, not lead a biology class. That’s a job for other ponies, I just have to find out what killed the stiff.”

Shetlock could understand the Mortician’s callous manner, after all, he’d met a few of them in his line of work during accidental death investigations and all of them were a little odd. Still, he felt like the victim, not ‘stiff’, deserved some form of kindness.

“What’s going to happen to the body?” he inquired, Foul Play looking up to the white ceiling in thought.

“Well, I’ve got somepony coming in to take photos for the records, and another to help me prepare the pieces for transport. We’re shipping them to Canterlot tomorrow; the ponies up there want to have a look at the evidence themselves. Typical Canterlot really, no offense,” Foul Play nodded towards the guards.

“But don’t you think his people would want the body back?” Shetlock continued to question, Foul Play shaking her head.

“So far they haven’t said anything to my knowledge. Why, did they make any requests when you saw them and acquired our latest piece of evidence?”

“Yeah,” Shetlock remembered, checking his notepad to make sure. “Their leader, ‘Simon’, asked that the belongings we found with Alexis be returned.”

“Alexis?”

“That was the…” Shetlock paused before he glanced towards the torso. “Victim’s name. It’s a strange one, but they are very different from ponies.”

“Oh, they’re not really too different,” Foul Play remarked while recovering the torso with the sheet and sliding the draw back in. “They’ve still got a spleen, liver, heart, brain-“

“Thank you, Doctor,” Shetlock interrupted.

“Anyway,” Foul Play continued on with the slightest hint of a smile. “All of the items we found were taken to the local library, where Princess Sparkle has set up a crime centre. Well, except for the clothing he was wearing at the time, that’s all been incinerated.”

“Great, thanks,” Shetlock mumbled before flipping his notepad shut and putting his pencil back in his vest pocket. “I’d better be going, I’ve got to pursue other matters. Thanks for the help and please keep me updated.”

A chorus of the same was echoed by the other guards, everypony almost stampeding towards the exit of the morbid room. Shetlock managed to be one of the first out, and that moment when he emerged out of the cold hospital basement into the warm sunlight was one that he cherished.

“Library, library, library,” he muttered to himself while looking around. He had to admit, the small town was pretty nice and quaint, even though it was deserted at the moment save for armed guards and the occasional brave pony. He couldn’t blame the villagers; having such a gruesome murder like this one would shock even the hardest and most experienced detectives back in Manehattan, the worst city for violent crime in Equestria.

His eyes ran over houses and shops until they settled upon the large tree growing near the middle of the town, windows dotting the unusual structure. He recalled a few of the guards mentioning that the local Princess lived in the tree which served as her home and the local library, so he set out to head there.

In all of the confusion and shock of the day, he had forgotten to even ask where the local inn was, but while he trotted along on the cobbled stone he decided to leave it until later. Finding the items that Simon had requested returned was his top priority, and if they were as dangerous as the human implied then it would be better if ponies didn’t start touching things that could cause harm. On that topic, Shetlock didn’t even know if he should return such dangerous items. It was still possible that one of the other humans was the killer.

He soon approached on the library, easily identifiable as the location of the makeshift police centre thanks to the large groups of guards standing outside or resting on benches. To the left he spotted a line of tents set up in the space between the tree and a row of houses, evidently the guards wanted to stay as close as possible to the centre.

Shetlock went to tip his hat to the two guards guarding the door, but of course he had left it in Manehattan. Settling for a nod instead, he halted when they blocked his path with their spears.

“Your name and purpose?” one stallion asked, Shetlock levitating his badge out of his vest pocket.

“Detective Shetlock, Manehattan Major Crimes. I’m here in regards to the investigation and-“

“Say no more, sir,” the guard interrupted, he and his fellow removing their spears. “You’re on the list and you’ve been permitted access to all areas. Go right on through.”

“Oh, thank you,” Shetlock replied, the guard opening the door for him. Well, this was certainly the first time that Canterlot had ever been organised.

“One more thing, sir,” the guard whispered. “Watch out when talking to the Princess, she’s rather… emotional about the murder. She had a habit of talking to the humans, apparently.”

“Thanks again,” Shetlock acknowledged with a smile, however he was feeling less than pleased. While Princess Sparkle’s grief for the creature was understandable, and even a little admirable, it would mean that he’d be unable to ask her many questions about the humans. At the current time, she was the pony with most contact with them and any information she had would likely be worth its weight in gold.

Stepping into the library, his senses were assailed by a cacophony of noise. The door shut behind him, locking in him with a mass of guards swarming all over the main floor. The library appeared large, but when packed with desks, chairs, tables, blackboards, and armoured ponies, it was a chaotic disaster zone.

In other words, it felt just like the muster room of his police station back home.

With a genuine smile on his face, Shetlock spotted Major Bastion by a large table and blackboard. Dodging guards as they rushed about on their own business, Shetlock began to advance on him. Drawing closer through the crowd, he could see that the Major was talking with Princess Sparkle, three other guards and a yellow unicorn mare wearing a white lab coat. Their focus of attention was a plain metal lockbox sitting on the table, the unicorn scientist’s horn glowing a bright blue. Shetlock quietly joined the group and withdrew his notepad, receiving a nod from the Major.

“This item here appears to be some kind of weapon,” the scientist informed, a black object that had a barrel and same general shape matching Simon’s in her magical grasp. “From the limited time that I’ve had with the item, it seems as if these little metal devices here serve as ammunition, like crossbow bolts, for the weapon,” the mare levitated up a number of small, pointed cylinders of metal. “I haven’t tested the actual device yet, but we believe that these projectiles are loaded into this metal strip here,” a metal rectangle with a gap in the top was held up. “Which is then placed into the weapon via another slot in what we believe serves as a grip.”

“That’s correct,” Princess Sparkle spoke up with strain evident in her voice. “They use their hands to hold the guns, that’s what the weapons are called, and the barrels at the end are where the projectiles exit. Apparently, they were the primary weapon of their homeland’s military and law enforcement and they acted like they were superior to anything we have, telling me to never touch or let another pony try to us one, for our own safety.”

“Superior, huh?” one of the three guards unknown to Shetlock snorted. “If the two the human had on him are so ‘superior’ to anything we have, then why are we investigating his death? Some weapon.”

“The victim was taken by surprise or didn’t fear his attacker,” Shetlock added, the group’s attention turning onto him. “I just came from the Mortician; he was killed by a single thrust through his heart from an unknown blade. There were no signs of defensive wounds or other marks on the body indicating that he never saw an attack coming.”

“What, a big guy like him got stabbed in the heart?” the guard continued. “Princess Sparkle told us that they’re all fairly tall, at least double the height of a pony, and I don’t see any minotaurs running around town. It’s pretty clear that one of the humans is to blame.”

“We can’t rule anypony out,” Major Bastion warned. “Look at Researcher Bright Spark, she’s able to easily levitate a blade up above five times her height. I bet she could just as easily stab forward as well.” Shetlock stayed out of the conversation, something that the Princess had said was grinding the gears in his brain.

“I’d never kill anything though,” the Researcher defended, appearing pale at the very thought of such a cruel act.

“I know that,” Major Bastion reassured. “And I have faith that most ponies wouldn’t either. But I’m a guard; I’ve seen some ponies that would be more than capable. While I personally think it’s unlikely that it’s a pony, we must act professional and examine all angles, isn’t that right Detective Shetlock?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes it is,” Shetlock hurried out after being dragged from his thoughts. “There is one thing that’s bugging me though,” he glanced towards the Princess, formality forgotten in the heat of the moment. “Princess Sparkle, when you were talking about the human’s weapons, you said that they ‘were’ the primary weapons of their homeland. Why the past tense?”

Princess Sparkle swallowed a lump in her throat, the short alicorn seeming to stare at nothing in particular while talking. “When I was talking to them, I noticed that they used past tense a lot when describing their people. I tried to ask them why, and they refused to answer. I wrote everything down if you wish to see it.”

“Thank you, that would be of much help, Your Majesty,” Shetlock bowed his head slightly. “I ask because when I myself tried to interview them, they weren’t the friendliest group.”

“They don’t seem to want to talk to us,” the Princess admitted, a tear building in her eye. “I still enjoyed the moments I had with them, and they seem to know so much more than we do.”

“You didn’t notice them pointing their weapons at you all the time, or glancing around all of the time?”

“I did at first,” Princess Sparkle answered. “But they soon started to relax and… act more annoyed than scared.” She smiled slightly, the tear still in her eye. “I admit, I can be a little overenthusiastic sometimes, and they’re so different…”

Shetlock gave her a moment before continuing; evidently she was indeed affected by the death.

“One last thing, if I may.” Everypony paid him the utmost attention, Shetlock flipping his notepad’s pages back to his conversation with the humans. “When I talked to them, they seemed skittish and acted like they were being watched. Now, I didn’t get the impression that they’re afraid of us, but there was one thing.”

“The head in the box,” the Major guessed.

“That right, Major, but it’s more to do with what was on the box itself than what was in it. Now, the head itself is certainly a sign that our suspect is not… ‘normal’, but it was more of the note that was the real interest.”

“Note?” Researcher Bright Spark questioned.

“It was a note from whoever had left the box,” Shetlock elaborated. “It had, let me see here, ‘Innsberg Sorting Accountants’ written on it as the sender, and Simon-“

“The leader of the humans,” Princess Sparkle interrupted for the others, before giving Shetlock an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

“No problem,” Shetlock replied. After all, she was a Princess and he did tend to say things without explaining them properly. “So, Simon looked into the box and saw the head, and then without a change of expression he asked me who it was from. I answered him, and he told me in his own words that we should just ‘give up’, and that they were ‘dead men anyway’, as well as ‘there is nothing you can do to stop it.’ That tells us something incredibly important.”

“They know who killed the victim,” Major Bastion clued in. “And it seems like they believe that the killer will strike again.”

“I think they will too,” Shetlock added with a nod. “I take it you’ve all seen the picture on the box?”

“We have,” Bright Spark confirmed. “It’s chilling, to say the least. However, with all of the guards present striking again will be suicide.”

“I agree with Bright Spark on this,” the Major voiced. “We’ve got a force of fifty guards on this already, and Princess Celestia has made it very clear that all resources are open for us to use. Ponyville is no longer a quaint little country town, it’s more fortified than a border checkpoint with the Griffons.”

Shetlock still wasn’t convinced that it was over, but he had stated his opinion and the Major was the one in control of the guards. There wasn’t much he could do besides try to solve this before any more deaths.

“The fact that they seem to know the killer and aren’t telling us is irritating,” Bastion continued. “I say we press them for details, but still try to act with some tact.”

“I can talk to them,” Princess Sparkle offered. “I’ve spent the most time with them out of anypony, and I-“

“Excuse me for the interruption and for what I’m about to say,” Major Bastion cut in. “But that won’t be a very good idea. You’re obviously emotional about this, Princess, and trying to get information out of them will likely end in failure.” Bastion tilted his head towards Shetlock. “I say that Shetlock goes in. He’s used to this kind of work and he’s already managed to get a large amount of information from them.”

“You’re… you’re right,” the Princess nodded sadly. “I just, I just can’t deal with this. One day you’re talking to somepony and the next they’re…” She trailed off, leaving the sentence hanging. Nopony seemed willing to speak in the wake of such a comment, so Shetlock stepped up to the plate.

“I’d prefer to ask them the questions,” he informed. “I think the Major is right, they may be a little more open to me than to a random guard in armour. There is something I need though.”

“What is it?” the Major inquired. Shetlock pointed towards the box of items, as well as the gun that was resting on the table.

“They requested that I returned their companion’s items to them.”

“No, we can’t,” Bright Spark refused. “Most of these items are still unknown in nature and I haven’t had time to learn anything useful. Besides, should we really be giving them back weapons?”

“They already have more weapons in their inn room,” Bastion pitched in with a glance towards the table. “And to be honest, if we’re wrong and the killer is after them, maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll take care of the problem in defence.”

“Or they end up hurting a pony,” one of the other guards pointed out.

“I doubt they would, and for the chance to catch this murderer I’m willing to take the chance.” The Major glanced around at all of them. “Who’s to say the killer won’t move on to ponies if he’s denied access to his prey? We can’t know for sure. Our best bet it to let Shetlock return the items and hope that it eases their tongues.”

Shetlock looked to Princess Sparkle, with her approval he would be able to get something done. She was deep in thought, and he felt a twinge of pity for the newest edition to the royal ranks. No pony, not even alicorns, should have to deal with a crime like this.
“Go ahead,” she ordered. “A chance to stop whoever has done this is something we have to do.”

“I promise you all that I’ll do my best,” Shetlock reassured, Bright Spark grimacing when he used his magic to put the gun in the metal box and shut the lid. Lifting it off the table, he tested the weight and then balanced it on his back.

“I know you will,” Major Bastion encouraged. “I’ve only heard good about you, Shetlock, and so far you’ve lived up and beyond my expectations.”

“Thank you sir,” Shetlock nodded, before turning to make his way back through the chaos and towards the library door. “I won’t let you down.”

Shetlock trotted through the town’s market, a noticeable lack of stalls in the area. Spear-armed guards watched over the small number of townsponies while they quickly and nervously did their shopping.

Passing a tan earth pony mare talking with a rose-seller, he was struck with the sudden feeling that something was watching him. Glancing around, he saw only shoppers and guards, the box on his back feeling slightly heavier than before.

‘Must be my imagination,’ he dismissed, continuing on towards the inn. He received courtesy nods from any guards he passed, Shetlock pleasantly surprised that the normally stuck-up Canterlot guards were showing him respect. His previous interactions with them as a police officer had not been as great.

The inn’s bell jingled when he walked in the door, the same innkeeper as before looking at him with a concerned frown.

“You’re not bringing in another box, are you?” she questioned, Shetlock having a moment of befuddlement before he remembered the incident that morning.

“Oh, no ma’am, this is straight from the temporary guard headquarters. I can assure you that there’s no body parts in it.”

“There better not be,” the mare replied with a shudder. “I need all of the business I can get, I don’t need anything… else to go wrong.” Sighing, she gestured upstairs. “I can assume that you’re here to talk to them again? Go on up, they haven’t moved from that room of theirs.”

“Thanks again,” Shetlock acknowledged, not willing to say anything else to the innkeeper if he could avoid it. Instead, he headed straight up the stairs and approached the humans’ room, keeping the box on his back and knocking on the door.

He waited for a few moments, before knocking again.

“Hello?” he asked. “It’s Detective Shetlock again. I’ve got the items that you wanted returned.”

The sound on a lock being undone, along with the scraping of furniture was heard before the door opened. The barrel of a gun and a bloodshot eye stared out at him, the human examining him closely.

“W-w-what do y-you want, p-pony?” the human, a male, stuttered, Shetlock carefully taking a step back while trying to keep his eyes off of the weapon pointed at him.

“I’ve come here because Simon wanted to know if I could return the personal items we found at the crime scene,” he explained slowly. “Is Simon there? I’ve managed to get all of it and I was hoping to ask a few more questions as well.”

“One s-second,” the human stammered before the door shut. Shetlock waited, able to hear muffled whispering before the door was opened again.

This time, the human stuck his gun, and then head, of the opening to look around. He was quite large and bulky, with slightly browner skin than the human that had been killed. He was wearing a heavy grey coat and Shetlock could see that the clothing underneath was some strange green and brown splotch pattern. His head lacked all hair, and both of his blue eyes were incredibly bloodshot.

“C-come in, quickly,” the human ordered with a twitch. Pushing aside his concerns of entering a small inn room with a bunch of armed bipeds, Shetlock swallowed his fear and hurried inside. Any chance to get closer with the humans was one that he had to take.

A multitude of gun barrels met him when he walked inside to examine the room. He counted three humans, making the one at the door the forth. He breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed Simon, the human leader gesturing with a hand and lowering his weapon.

“Sorry for the poor hospitality, Detective,” Simon apologised, the rest of the humans lowering their guns but keeping them at the ready. “But as you can probably work out, we’re a little on edge.”

“Y-you can s-say that agai-again,” the large human who had opened the door muttered, walking over to sit at the small table.

“Don’t mind Aries, he hasn’t slept at all and he’s been hogging the rest of our stimulants.” Simon grumbled the last part, and Shetlock assumed that it was the stimulants that was causing Aries’ twitching, bloodshot eyes and abnormal behaviour. Looking over at the table, Shetlock could just see the bulky biped inject something into an arm before Simon pulled him from his thoughts. “Detective, I thought I told you to leave us alone for your own good.”

“I can’t do that, Simon,” he replied, not knowing any title to address the human by. “My job is to investigate a murder and prevent any more from happening, it’s my duty to ensure your safety.” He tilted his head towards the box on his back. “Also, I brought back Alexis’ things for you.”

“Thank you,” Simon sighed. “I guess you ponies just won’t take the hint. Never mind, as long as I’ve warned you then I’ve done my part. Aries said you wanted to ask some more questions?”

“I do,” Shetlock answered.

“It’ll do us no good, but suit yourself. Hang on; I’ll clear some space for you.” Simon stood up from his crouch and moved to a bag-laden chair meant for ponies. While he started to remove the assorted bags, Shetlock took the time to examine the room.

Two more humans were watching him carefully, weapons still in their hands. One was the smallest out of them, a thin, gangly-looking male with a short-cut brown mane. He seemed more nervous than the others, and scared brown eyes peered out from behind circular glasses. He too was wearing a heavy grey cloak, all of them were, and Shetlock noticed that his skin was a pale white.

The other human was slightly more interesting, a female if Shetlock’s judgment about the softer facial features was correct. She didn’t seem afraid, but rather cold. A sharp noise and piercing blue eyes stood out from her peach-coloured skin, and he noticed a long, thin scar that was over her left cheek.

The room itself was fairly typical of most inns. With wooden walls and floors, it had a single light hanging from the roof, a table, four wooden chairs and a small kitchen area. An unlit fireplace was at the back of the room, and an empty bookshelf was pressed up against it to block off the opening.

An immaculate single bed was up against the left wall, and Shetlock took note of the four bedrolls unrolled on the floor next to it. Adjacent to the sleeping supplies, leaning up against the wall, was a huge mass of metal objects. There were long ones and short ones, and it didn’t take him long to work out that they were more guns. There were also a few open boxes with the same metal rectangles that held the projectiles sticking out.

If Shetlock didn’t know any better, he would think that the humans were preparing for a war.

“There you are,” Simon announced, returning Shetlock’s attention to him. “Have a seat.”

The plain wooden chair was now clear, the bags of what Shetlock could now see were assorted medical supplies and food were stacked on the floor. Not wanting to possibly insult them, he placed the box on the floor and sat down. He noticed that the humans watched his magic warily, and their grips tightened on their weapons when he levitated his notepad and pencil out.

“I assume that is everything?” he inquired, Simon opening the box and rifling through the contents.

“It seems like it,” he answered, a faint smile on his face. “Thank you Detective, we need all of the supplies we can get.”

“It was no bother,” Shetlock replied. “It was the least I could do.”

Simon grunted and sat back on the floor, his coat falling open and revealing a pair of bulky black weapons strapped to his waist. He nodded towards Aries at the table. “You’ve already met Aries, this here is Harriet and Stez.” He gestured to the suspected female and the young-looking male.

“Hi,” Harriet greeted, her voice confirming Shetlock’s initial suspicions about her gender.

“Um… hello,” the other managed out after a brief hesitation, giving Shetlock the impression that Stez was less trusting of ponies than his fellows.

“So Detective, let’s get to the point,” Simon spoke up. “The less time you spend here, the better.”

“I want to ask you an important question, and I only want the truth.” He noticed that Simon grimaced, almost like the human knew where it was heading.

“Ask away,” he grunted, his smile gone.

“It’s obvious that you have a decent idea of who the killer is, so I want you to tell me who they are so we can catch him a lot sooner.”

“We don’t have a ‘decent idea’,” Harriet snorted. “We know exactly which kind of sick Bastard is after us.”

Shetlock had been raised good and proper, but he had spent a year as a city beat cop so he was used to harsh language. In his opinion, these humans had a far more legitimate reason to use it than the gang members he was used to dealing with.

“Who is it then?” he inquired with pencil ready.

Simon held a hand out towards Harriet, adopting a stern look and fixing Shetlock with a steady gaze.

“Once again, the less you know, the better it is for you and all of pony kind. We can’t tell you-“

“Why not?” Shetlock interrupted, snapping at the humans’ vagueness. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re trying to help you here. It’s our job and duty to help you, so stop worrying about us and actually think about things for a second. Already this entire town is too afraid to even walk the streets in broad daylight, another dead human will only make things worse for all of us!” While they stared at him in surprise, he took the chance to take a deep breath and calm down before continuing. “Look, we only want to ensure your safety, all of us including the Princesses. You can help us by telling us what it is that you think is after you, and the sooner we stop it the better.”

Simon continued to stare at him, before the leader shook his head and let out a humourless chuckle.

“I’m sorry Detective, I truly am,” he replied sadly. “But you just don’t understand.”

“Help me to understand,” Shetlock pleaded, looking around at the other humans. All were looking towards Simon, except for Aries who was alternating his gaze from blocked off windows to locked doors.

“We can’t,” Simon sighed. “We’re already doomed, we’d only be bringing you down with us.”

Shetlock had to resist the urge to smack the human. He’d had uncooperative interviewees before, but this was taking the cake. He waited for Simon to continue, but he seemed to be staring vacantly, lost in hidden thoughts. Suddenly, an idea hit Shetlock. It was risky and no doubt would be met with resistance, but it may be their only shot at getting some cooperation.

“How about this,” he tried, Simon and the humans focusing back on him. He leaned forward on the chair, pressing his front hooves together. “You move to Canterlot. We arrange for the guards, some with magical shields, to escort you all away from this room and into accommodations in Canterlot castle. You’ll have better food, be in the safest location in the known world and there will be guards everywhere for the entire time. Then you can tell us who’s after you and we can stop them.”

Simon glanced to his fellows, Stez furrowing his brows.

“Are you sure we’ll be safe?” he asked. Shetlock wasn’t sure, but he was fairly certain that the human was only a teenager, barely an adult judging from his mannerisms. He gave the colt, or whatever the human name for it was, a reassuring smile.

“I can promise you that you’ll all be as safe as you can be. Canterlot is the most guarded city in Equestria, and guards will be with you the entire time. I’ll have to run it by the guards and Princess Sparkle of course, but I’ve already been told that I’m to spare no expense in solving this case. In my eyes, your information is essential in doing that and if that means you have to move to Canterlot before talking then that’s what we’ll do.”

The humans all looked at each other, Harriet raising her hand.

“I’m for it, personally. If we’re going to die, then at least it won’t be cramped up in this room.”

Her words caused Shetlock to wince, evidently they were still convinced that no matter what was done, they weren’t going to survive. Simon nodded to himself, the leader deep in thought.

“I trust them,” Stez spoke up. “Besides, how do we know that they’ll stop at us? What happens if they decide to do that same that they did to Apolliana even if we don’t talk? You know the UIP, they’re monsters.”

‘UIP?’ Shetlock mentally questioned, guessing that it was an acronym. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound friendly.

“You’re right,” Simon agreed, lifting his head to gaze at Shetlock. “Detective, if you succeed in moving us safely and you give us protection, then we’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Putting away his notepad, Shetlock nodded his head and slid off the chair. He’d made progress, and now it was time to act.

“I’ll organise it right away, be prepared to leave quickly.”

“We’ll pack up now,” Simon informed while walking towards the door. He drew a short, stubby gun and unlocked the door, holding the weapon out in one hand as he checked the area. “It’s clear, we’ll be waiting.”

Shetlock moved towards the door and exited the room. He turned around and gave Simon a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep you safe and catch this scumbag.”

“Thanks,” Simon replied with a small smile of his own. “We’re relying on it.”

The door shut and the sound of a latching lock was heard. Shetlock turned and made his way back down the stairs, planning out his argument to convince the guards and Princess to accept his plan.

“That could be workable.”

The library was almost dead silent, Major Bastion having ordered all of the guards out while the meeting was ongoing. Shetlock watched Bastion while he considered the idea, Princess Sparkle and Lieutenant Strike also waiting for an answer.

“How would we get them to Canterlot?” Strike asked. “Chariots are out of the question, they’re not exactly subtle and could alert the killer of our plan. They’re easy to track and they could follow them without issue.”

“What about the train?” Princess Sparkle suggested with a tilt of her head. “It goes to different towns and cities, and it would be the last thing somepony would expect.” She trotted over to a table, and glanced down at a pile of papers near a calendar on the wall. “Also, if we move them today then the train is scheduled to leave at eight.”

“Giving us the cover of darkness,” Strike added, the pegasus using a wing to rub his chin. “A team of at least ten guards, with two unicorns to provide shielding should be enough.”

“Princess Luna is also sending us five members of her personal guard,” Princess Sparkle announced. Shetlock and the two Solar guards collectively winced at the news. The bat-ponies were excellent at night with their enhanced vision and hearing, but their fangs and eyes were off-putting to most ponies. In addition, they were often seen as ‘elite’ forces, causing tension between the Lunar Guard and the Solar Guard.

“That’s… amazing news,” Bastion groaned, before remembering that he was in the presence of a member of the royalty. “I mean, they’ll be a great boost to our forces for this operation.”

“They should be here within the hour,” the Princess informed, not seeming to pick up on the collective displeasure with the news.

“Are we doing this then?” Strike folded his wings back in.

“Yes,” the Major confirmed. “It’s risky, but we need that information. They’re holed up in that room with apparently dangerous weapons, so I’m not willing to try and force the information out of them. Transporting them to Canterlot is the best course of action open to us.”

“I sent a message to Celestia,” Sparkle told them, Shetlock remembering that she had stopped to write a letter as soon as he had informed them of the plan. “She also wanted the chance to personally met the humans, and to talk to them about their loss.” Twilight lowered her head. “I think she’s upset that something like this happened to them while they were in Equestria.”

“Understandable,” Bastion agreed, Strike nodding with him. “She’s always been caring like that.”

Shetlock felt like he was the only one who hadn’t interacted with Princess Celestia directly, and it was slightly unnerving. Still, he had work to do so he just ignored it.

“So, we’re going ahead with the plan?” he asked for a final time, Bastion looking at Princess Sparkle before nodding his confirmation.

“Ten minutes to eight is when we move, minimising the amount of time that we spend on the train stationary. I’ll accompany the guards onto the train and then see them off, and we’ll cordon off the town exits so nothing can follow it. That way, we trap the killer in and move the likely targets out. We get the information, and then we use it to put this crazy behind bars for good.”

“I’ll lead the escort team,” Strike volunteered. “If possible, can I get the bat-ponies on the team as well? They’ll be able to see an attack coming much more quickly than us.”

“I have no issue with that. What do you think Princess, can you order them to go along with the plan?”

Twilight seemed a bit shocked. “Why can’t you do it? Surely they’ll listen to a Major?”

“The Solar Guard and the Lunar Guard don’t get along that well,” Shetlock told her. “There are widespread opinions that the Lunar Guard possess the opinion that they are better than other guards.” Bastion and Strike gave him knowing look, likely picking up on the fact that he had encountered them before.

“Oh,” the Princess muttered. “I guess I can ask them then, I’m sure they won’t mind.”

“I’m sure they won’t as well,” Bastion reassured. “I just need to make sure that they are working on the same page as us. Shetlock, if you head back and let them know now, then I’ll organise everything and we can move tonight.”

“On it,” Shetlock nodded, turning away and leaving the library. He stepped out onto the cobbled ground and quickly went back over the plan in his head. It was solid, and he was confident that they could pull it off without a hitch.

Heading towards the inn, he prepared to encounter the jittery humans once more.

Shetlock stood behind the four solar guards and the five lunar guards while Lieutenant Strike knocked on the door to the human’s inn room.

“Are you all ready to leave? We have ten minutes before the train leaves.”

The door unlocked and Simon stuck his head and gun out, the human lowering the weapon once he saw that is was guards. Shetlock noticed a few of the solar guards as well as the five lunar guards peer at the human curiously, obviously the first time that they had encountered the bipeds. The bat-ponies had arrived that afternoon, and after all members of the escort team had been informed of the plain and their charges the operation had been given the go ahead.

Shetlock had requested to come along, mainly because he wanted to personally ensure the safety of the humans. Secretly, he was also there in case the killer tried to strike again, letting him get a first-hoof view of the perp.

“Not just yet,” Simon whispered as if he was afraid that he’d be overheard. “Stez is taking his time packing up the rest of the supplies.”

“We’ve got a limited time frame,” Strike explained. “We can transport anything up to Canterlot later, you need to go now.”

“With all due respect, we can’t do that. A lot of our things would be dangerous to untrained ponies and we can’t risk it.”

Strike grinded his teeth at Simon’s stubbornness, Shetlock cursing their bad luck. Suddenly Lieutenant Strike raised a wing in the air, Simon watching it with interest. “Okay, okay. How about we split up, I assume you’ve got more of your weapons?”

“We’ve got plenty of guns and ammunition,” Simon answered with a nod. “We’re all trained to use them as well.”

“Good,” Strike replied. “I was thinking that you and the two other humans go with Shetlock and four guards to the train station. Myself and the rest of the guards will stay here and help this ‘Stez’, and then we’ll move out as a separate group. You’ll be able to make up for the loss of guards in your group and we’ll have six. When you reach the train, Shetlock will instruct the conductor to wait until we met up with you, and then we depart for Canterlot.”

Shetlock wasn’t too enthusiastic about the plan to split up, but he kept his mouth shut. It seemed like the only way they were going to achieve anything, and they were already too far in to stop now. Simon also appeared concerned, and his looked around before glancing back at Strike.

“One second.” He ducked back inside of the room, the door closing. There were a few brief moments of muffled conversation before it opened again.

The guards backed up as Simon, Harriet and Aries slowly edged out of their room. All of them kept one hand in their long coats and their eyes on every doorway, Aries still twitching occasionally.

“Go in,” Simon spoke while edging towards the side to allow them entry. Strike nodded to the guards, three solar guards and two lunar hurrying into the room with their sword sheaths in easy wing or magic reach. Strike was last to enter, pausing to look at Shetlock.

“Guards, Detective Shetlock is in charge, follow his commands to the letter without hesitation. You humans, stay with them and we’ll bring your friend shortly.”

“Clear and received,” Simon replied quickly, Shetlock taking a second. He had never been put in charge of guards before, and he had never thought that he would see the day.

“Okay,” was all he could think of saying, his nerves racing. Strike gave him a nod and shut the door, Shetlock swallowing his apprehension and making his way to the stairs. “This way, stay in a group and keep your eyes, noses and ears peeled.”

“Yes sir,” the five guards acknowledged.

“We’re ready,” Simon spoke for his two companions, Shetlock nodding and proceeding down the stairs. Their group carefully made their way down the stairs and out of the inn, the humans bunching up as soon as they stepped foot outside.

“Shield going up,” the solar guard unicorn informed, his horn glowing blue. A slight shimmer appeared around them and Shetlock could make out a transparent barrier covering their group. Good, at the moment they had to hope that the killer would either not risk attacking them or, even better, not notice them at all.

“Good job, hold it steady. Everyone, let’s go.”

He took the lead, with the humans in the middle and the guards to the sides and back. The three bat-ponies were constantly switching their gaze from alleyway to darkened door frame, Shetlock thankful that they were present.

As they traversed the deathly quiet streets, he felt a chill down his spine. It was like something was wrong, and he paused to glance around. Their group was open to attack with their diminished number, and he almost wished that he had been given the six guards instead of Strike.

His rapidly beating heart started to die down when he spotted a few guards watching them in groups, Shetlock glad to see that they weren’t the only ones on the street. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

“Are you okay?” Simon inquired, the human carrying a black briefcase in his free hand instead of bags like his companions.

“I’m fine,” Shetlock reassured. “I’ve just got a feeling that… don’t worry about it.”

“Take an old soldier’s advice and trust your gut,” Simon murmured, his right hand coming away from his cloak. The human clutched a small gun in his hand, the black weapon held at the ready. “Better to be safe than s-“

He was cut off by a clatter coming from their left, Simon whirling to point his weapon at an ornate building. The other two humans dropped the bags they were carrying and pulled out longer weapons from their cloaks. Not to be outdone, the guards withdrew their swords with practiced ease, everyone looking towards the building that had produced the noise. Out of the corner of his eyes, Shetlock noticed that a few groups of the watching guards had noticed their alarm and were making their way towards them.

A purr came out from the darkness, and a white cat walked out from behind a silver trashcan, the feline grinning at them with pride.

“Stupid cat,” one of the bat-ponies muttered, the solider sheathing her sword.

Shetlock was just about to mention that it could’ve been worse, but the silence of the night was shattered by a loud crack.

He turned to look back towards the inn, a bright flash able to be seen through the upper windows. Lights from the surrounding houses flicked on, and Shetlock made a snap decision.

“Back to the inn, on your guard!” he ordered, beginning to gallop back the way they had come. The humans quickly picked up their bags and ran with them, every guard obeying without question. Racing back to the inn, they were joined by another six solar guards, the unicorns and pegasi drawing their weapons and lighting up horns.

“Lieutenant!” Shetlock called out as soon as he entered the inn, the first pony in. He spotted the inn owner peeking out through a crack in the door behind the counter, the mare appearing scared but alive and unhurt. With guards and humans behind him, Shetlock hurried up the stairs.

“Stez!” Harriet called out, none of them receiving an answer. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Shetlock’s blood went cold.
The room door was open, or more accurately it was almost smashed off its hinges. A body pushed past him, Simon racing towards the door.

“Stez!” he yelled, Shetlock hastily following him into the darkened room. The first thing he noticed was the sharp, acidic smell and the thin smoke. The next was far more alarming.

Guards were lying on the floor, none of them moving. Lieutenant Strike was lying beside the busted open door, Shetlock panicking when he saw the blood around his muzzle.

“Strike!?” he tried, leaning down and putting his ear over the Lieutenant’s mouth. He was relieved to hear breathing, but the blood was a major concern.

“Move aside,” a bat-pony ordered, shoving him away so that he could examine the Lieutenant. Shetlock let him be, the soldier no doubt having far more experience with medical matters. Glancing around, he saw that the rest of the guards were all attending to their fallen companions, and thankfully it seemed that all were still alive.

A cold gust of air blew in from a window while he looked around the room for the humans, but he saw none. A few bags were scattered on the floor next to the overturned table, a few guns poking out of the top of one. Evidently, the attacker hadn’t been interested in the weapons, so that only left…

Shetlock strained his ears, a faint sobbing audible over the shouted commands of the guards, more arriving and spreading out over the room. Shetlock ignored them, not even noticing when they started to move the bodies of the injured guards. Instead, he was focused on the wide-open door that led to the room’s bathroom.

The crying became louder as he approached, and with it came a smell that he had rarely smelt until this case.

That smell being the overwhelming coppery stench of blood, a sign of the attacker’s real motive.

Dreading what was to come, Shetlock made his way to the door and walked into the bathroom, spotting the three humans over near the bathtub. Simon and Aries were standing silent, while Harriet sobbed into her coat sleave while slumped up against the wall.

His hoof stepped in something wet when he began to slowly approach them, Shetlock looking down at the tiled floor. Lifting up his left forehoof, he realised that he had stepped in a few small drops of blood. Wincing, he continued on, knowing that he had a job to do. He wasn’t looking forward to it; already his stomach was rebelling at the scent of the blood.

He passed Harriet without notice, the female’s sleave soaked with her tears. Simon and Aries parted, allowing Shetlock to see what was the cause of the sadness.

He barely managed to keep down the vomit.

Stez, the young, nervous human, was lying face up in the bathtub on a pile of bags. His face was locked in sheer terror, his glasses hanging loosely from his nose. His left hand was mangled, a small one-handed gun lying on the bathroom tiles with a few dents in it.

The cause of death was obvious.

He had multiple stab wounds in his chest area, all through the simple grey shirt he wore. A large slice ran down his chest to his stomach, opening his innards for the world to see.

The final edition was that his throat was missing, less cut out and more torn out.

“By Celestia…” Shetlock whispered, turning around and leaving the room. He kept on walking past the awaiting guards until he was back in the hallway. He moved over to the opposite wall and placed a hoof against it, trying to breath in untainted air to get the smell of blood and guts out of his nostrils. He blinked his eyes, trying to get rid of the horrifying image that was stuck in his mind. Time passed, and slowly he found himself calming down.

“Shetlock!”

He recognised the voice of Major Bastion, the guard officer coming from the stairs with another two guards at his side.

While their hooves galloped towards him, Shetlock turned around to meet them. It seemed like their plan had failed, and know they had to deal with the consequences.

“Major,” he greeted, Bastion wincing at the sight of his face.

“What in Tartarus is going on, Shetlock?” Bastion questioned, his two guards moving to help their fellows secure the area. “We’ve got six guards wounded!”

“And another human dead,” Shetlock added, Bastion sighing and shaking his head.

“Where?”

“Bathroom, it’s not pretty.”

Bastion left him and entered the room, the Major returning a few moments later. Even the veteran was a little green, although he managed to maintain his composure.

“Well, this plan certainly went teats up,” Bastion muttered. “Celestia won’t be happy.”

“There was nothing we could do,” Shetlock replied with a glance towards the room. “How could we have known that the killer would attack the guarded room?”

“It was a risk, and this time it didn’t pay off. Now we’ve got to pick up the pieces. I take it there was no sign of the killer in the room?”
Shetlock shook his head.

“There was a broken window, which I assume was the exit point, but with all of the guards down we didn’t stop to preserve the scene.”

“You made the right choice,” Bastion reassured, placing an armoured hoof on Shetlock’s withers. “I’d gladly sacrifice any clues to ensure the safety of as many ponies as we can.”

Shetlock was going to reply, but was cut off by a unicorn guard racing up the stairs. The soldier headed straight to Bastion, giving the Major a salute.

“Sir, Lieutenant Strike has awoken in the hospital.”

“Good work soldier,” Bastion acknowledged. “We’ll head over right away.”

Shetlock gave him a nod, if Strike saw the attacker then all might not be lost.

“Inform the rest to escort the humans to the command centre at the library,” Bastion continued, the guard nodding.

“What about the body?”

Bastion grimaced. “Take the entire bath tub to the morgue. Don’t touch the body but try to keep it concealed. Inform the Mortician that she has work to do.”

“Yes sir,” the guard responded grimly, before making his way into the room. Bastion gestured towards the stairs, Shetlock following him.

“Shetlock, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Major,” he answered with a lie. “It’s just a little unsettling.”

“Shetlock, I’m a Major in the guard and that bathroom made my stomach churn,” Bastion informed while they trotted down the stairs, passing more guards heading up. “There’s no need to act like a super-stallion, what you saw is something that nopony could walk away from without feeling ill.”

“I guess,” Shetlock mumbled in reply, the pair exiting out onto the cobbled street. Guards had blocked off the entrance, lifting their spears to allow them to exit. Pegasi patrolled the night sky, searching for any sign of the attacker. Heading towards the hospital that was just opposite the inn, Shetlock paused and glanced towards the dark alley leading around the side.

“Has anypony checked that alley?” he inquired, the guards all shaking their head. Major Bastion picked up on the idea, and jumped into action.

“You guards, with me,” he ordered to a unicorn and four pegasi. They nodded and advanced with spears at the ready, the unicorn’s horn lighting up to provide light. Shetlock led the group into the alley, making sure to check that nothing was waiting to tear out his throat. It seemed clear, and the unicorn guard walked beside him.

“Heading in sir?” the guard asked, Shetlock nodding. Major Bastion and the rest were right behind them, the thin alley not providing much room. Carefully and with his eyes darting to doorway to trashcan, Shetlock soon made it to the spot he was after. Looking down, he spotted shards of glass and a few shards of wood, all likely from the shattered escape window. A few smears of blood also covered some pavers, and he carefully stepped around them.

“We need a sample of the blood,” he started to order, one of the pegasi heading back out to grab the needed equipment. “This area needs to be sealed off, but remember that the suspect could still be in the a-“

“Shh!” Bastion cut Shetlock off, the Major tilting his head with one ear cocked. “Hear that?”

Shetlock strained his ears, and heard the last sound that he was expecting.

The sound of a mare sobbing.

All of them turned to the large pile of old boxes behind them, the sobbing coming from behind them. Shetlock gave the guards a warning look before he slowly approached the boxes, levitating his badge out of his pocket while the guards readied their weapons.
“Hello?” he called out, the sobbing cutting off. “I’m Detective Shetlock with the police.”

“P-police?” the hidden mare asked, terror evident in her voice.

“Yes ma’am, and I have some royal guards with me as well” Shetlock answered softly. “You can come out, it’s safe now.”

A box moved out of the way, and a shaking mare with a yellow coat looked up at him with glistening blue eyes. She sniffled and glanced around at the guards, before her mouth quivered. Shetlock moved towards her and the mare pulled him into a hug, sobbing into his withers when he sat down.

“It was so scary!” she bawled. “There was a loud bang, and yells, and then a scream. I looked up and this huge… thing jumped out of the window and landed on the groud.” Shetlock began to pat her back to calm her down, the mare still shaking with fright. “It stood up on two legs and I barely had time to hide before it looked around. Then it disappeared down that way!” she pointed towards the opposite end of the alley.

“Are you okay here Shetlock?” Bastion asked, Shetlock nodding an affirmative. “We’ll chase this scumbag down, you help the mare and we’ll meet at the hospital to talk to Strike.”

With those words, Bastion and the guards dashed off down the way that the attacker had fled. Shetlock continued to hug the mare until she had stopped shaking, and it was only then that he pulled away to look at her. “What’s your name, ma’am?”

“Mellow,” she sniffled. “I’m staying in this inn, and I was just walking home from a friend’s house."

“That’s a brave thing to do, for a nice mare like you with all of this going on,” Shetlock tried to comfort. She shook her head in reply, her tan mane messy and tangled.

“No, it was a stupid thing to do,” she mumbled, Shetlock finding it hard to disagree. Still, what was done was done, and at least she may be able to provide a description of the suspect.

“Come on, let’s get you out of the alley,” Shetlock directed, helping her to her hooves. She continued to embrace him, and even when they were standing she pressed up close to him. Feeling concerned for her, Shetlock led her back to the alley entrance, the pair emerging into the guard-infested street. Looking towards the inn and remembering the scene within, he winced.

“I don’t suppose you know of another place to stay?” he inquired, also thinking of his own sleeping arrangements that night.

“I think the local bar has a few rooms for rent,” she replied, nodding towards the saddlebag she wore on her left flank. “I’ve got money, so I’ll just go there.”

“Let me walk you,” Shetlock offered, however Mellow shook her head.

“No, thank you though, Detective. I should be able to make it there by myself; all of the guards are around now anyway and you probably have work to do.” Shetlock glanced around and sure enough the guard presence was strong, with armed ponies investigating every alley while pegasi flew overhead.

“Are you sure?” he asked, and she nodded in confirmation.

“Yes,” she sniffed a final time before smiling. “Thank you, Detective. You’re a good pony.” Shetlock gave her a farewell nod before she turned and quickly trotted down the road, guards keeping an eye on her. Shaking his head at her decision to walk out alone after what had just happened, he returned to his original goal.

The hospital.

“It just came out of nowhere.”

Shetlock and Major Bastion stood around the hospital bed and waited for Strike to take a sip of water before continuing. Strike’s face was bandaged, the Lieutenant having received a broken nose, a few loose teeth and some singed fur.

“What happened?” Bastion asked, Shetlock holding his pencil and notepad at the ready.

“Well, we were helping that human pack up the rest of their strange things,” Strike explained, holding onto the glass with his wing. “He was nervous but nice; I don’t think he was even a full adult. Anyway, everything was going well and you’d just left. Then, there was a knock on the door.” Strike winced at the memory, Shetlock guessing that the Lieutenant felt responsible for everything.

“Go on,” Bastion urged, Strike sighing and shaking his head.

“We took up defensive positions and I asked who it was. The voice, male, said that he was part of Shetlock’s group and that it had been ambushed, with the attacked on their way. He sounded so young and scared, so I...”

“So you opened the door,” Shetlock guessed, Strike lowering his head and nodding.

“It was only a small gap,” Strike explained softly. “Barely enough to fit a hoof through. I went to peer out to see whether it was a guard, when something bounced off the door above me and into the room.” Strike touched his face with a wing before continuing. “Like a rookie, I turned to look at it. The next thing I know, there’s a deafening bang and a blinding flash. I felt heat on my face and that was it, I couldn’t see anything but white and there was just this constant, painful ringing in my ears. Then, something hit me in the face, hard.” He laid back in the bed, letting out a sigh. “And then I wake up here.”

“The same thing is confirmed by the other guard that’s awake,” Bastion informed Shetlock and Strike. “A young male voice at the door claiming to be a guard, then a silver canister of some sort landed on the floor. After the flash and the noise, she was also incapacitated; however she was hit so hard in her helmet that she’s got a concussion.”

“Celestia that’s hard,” Shetlock muttered, writing it all down on his notebook. “It seems we have a general description of the suspect though, a mare in the alley near the inn said that it was tall and a biped. It looks like it’s possibly another human.”

“Undetected in the town?” Strike questioned. “Impossible, we combed every alley and hiding spot today.”

“We can’t make judgements right now, anything is possible,” Bastion told them. “From the way the humans were acting, and going off the crime scenes, we’re dealing with something that we’ve never seen before.”

“About the humans,” Strike spoke up. “Is Stez okay? Did you get there in time?”

“No,” Shetlock replied softly. “He didn’t make it.”

“Oh,” Strike lowered his head, all three sharing a moment of silence for the latest victim.

“Well, we can only move forward,” Bastion broke the silence, the Major nodding towards Strike. “It’s not your fault Lieutenant; you followed everything by the book. We’re going to have to reassess what it is we’re dealing with. I doubt this is a normal murderer, something about this attack seems too military-like to me. The humans have been moved to the library, and we’ll question them in the morning to finally get some darn answers.”

“Shouldn’t we go now?” Shetlock pressed, putting his notepad away. “This attack only proved that the killer isn’t afraid of guards.”

“Princess Sparkle has cast a shielding spell around the library, blocking access to it.” Bastion tilted his head towards Strike. “Besides, I think we could all do with some sleep. We’ll continue in the morning with fresh minds, and hopefully we’ll get somewhere.”

Shetlock didn’t think he’d ever sleep again, but he could see the Major’s reasoning. With a nod, he turned and left, leaving Bastion alone to talk with Strike in private. Leaving the room and passing the two guards at the door, Shetlock made his way down the hospital corridor. He entered the reception area and passed the nurse, the white mare glancing around nervously.

Stepping out into the cool night air, Shetlock sighed before starting to trot towards the library. He hoped to borrow a tent for the night, and he doubted that he could ever return to the inn.

He passed houses with darkened windows, his thoughts plaguing him. Surprisingly, he didn’t blame himself for what had happened, Bastion was right. There was no way they could have predicted an assault on a defended room when they had a group out in the open. Still, the image of the body in the bathtub was burned into his mind, and it lurked in his vision.

A bright source of light drew his attention, and upon looking up he noticed that the town’s bar was open. Shetlock had never been one for drinking, but suddenly he longed for a drop to force the images away. Making a decision, he headed straight towards it and pushed open the double doors.

Looking in, it was practically deserted. The brown unicorn stallion tending to the bar looked up from a mug, and he nodded a greeting to Shetlock. A few ponies were sitting at tables in the back corner, and two were sitting at the bar itself.

He made his way over and sat on a stool, levitating out a coin pouch from one of his vest pockets.

“A glass of your strongest,” he requested, not knowing the particular names of the beverages. Golden coins fell from his pouch onto the counter, but a green glow took hold on them and shoved them back in. Looking up, Shetlock found the moustached-bartender smiling at him.

“You’re that Detective working on the case?” Shetlock nodded, the bartender setting a glass down on the bar. “Your money’s no good here, think of this as medicine and not a drink.” A brown bottle was soon emptying into the glass in front of him, Shetlock blinking his eyes a few times.

“Thanks,” he acknowledged, the bartender nodding before taking the bottle away. Shetlock took a swig of his drink, grimacing at the burn it produced in his throat. Still, the images were still there, so he toughened up and took another.

“Hey.” He looked beside him when a mare spoke to him, and he saw Mellow climbing up the stool beside him. She had a glass held in her hoof, only a small amount of brown alcohol remaining.

“Miss Mellow,” Shetlock greeted. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

“Yeah, well I needed a drink,” she muttered with a slight slur, evidently having already had more than one. “The same with you?”

“That’s right,” Shetlock confirmed, finishing his glass and setting down to face her. “How are you coping?”

“Pretty good now that I’ve got another room and some booze,” she answered, Shetlock smiling lightly. She grinned at him, and he noticed her eyes give him a once over. “So, you’re from the city?”

“Manehattan,” he told her, a clunk drawing his attention. Turning back to the bar, he saw that the bartender had refilled his drink. The brown unicorn gave him a wink and went back to cleaning the counter, Shetlock hesitating before lifting up his glass again. He took another swig, and he noticed that the images plaguing him were starting to get a little blurry.

“So, that means you’re staying in that inn, correct?” Mellow asked, moving her hoof on the counter in a circle. Shetlock was a little wary of where this was going, but he answered anyway.

“No, I was actually going to head back to the guard camp and borrow a tent after this drink.”

“Oh,” she murmured. He took another drink, and he felt better, a lot better. In fact, he was so caught up with the fact that he could no longer remember the bathroom that the next question from Mellow took him by complete surprise. “Um, Detective Shetlock, did you… did you maybe want to share my room with me tonight?”

It took his addled mind a few seconds to process what she was asking, and when he looked at her she had a light blush on her cheeks. He was lost for words, the question out of the blue. She wasn’t the worst looking mare, and she was likely seeking more comfort than drinking could provide. He had to admit, he did find the ideal of not sleeping alone to be a decent one.

“Are you sure?”

“I am,” she answered, her nose twitching. Making up his muddled mind, Shetlock finished his drink and nodded at her.

“Okay then.”

“Hrrbhf.”

Shetlock snorted and woke up, feeling soft sheets on his fur. After rubbing his eyes with his forelegs, he looked around. He was lying in a bed, a small and plain room around him. He slowly remembered what had happened last night, and he felt equally sorrowful and guilty. However, he had to admit that spending the latter part of it with Mellow had improved his mood, and he felt incredibly refreshed.

Glancing around for her, he didn’t see her anywhere. The black travel bag that had been against the wall was gone, and the side of the bed she had been in was only occupied by messy white sheets. He spotted a piece of paper on the bedside table, and using his magic he lifted it to his face. The first thing he saw was his name, and so he read the rest of the letter.

Shetlock,
I’m sorry for leaving without telling you, but you looked so peaceful and I thought that you needed all of the sleep you could get. By the time you’re reading this, I’ll already be on my way back to Manehattan. I’m sorry for not telling you last night, but with the alcohol and other things it slipped my mind. However, I want you to know that last night was great, and I’d like to thank you for helping me at the inn once again.

I wish you good luck with the case, and I hope that you make it back to Manehattan safely.

I also hope that we see each other again someday.

With love,

Mellow.

Shetlock smiled while he searched around for his vest, finding it draped over the back of the solitary wooden chair. He levitated the letter into the pocket before leaving the bed. Looking around, he spotted the door leading to the bathroom and started to move towards it with his smile still on strong.

Despite everything that had happened, at least one good thing had come out of it.

“Listen here, it’s too late to go back now. We’re sorry for your loss, but I’ve got six good ponies in the hospital and you’ve got another one dead. Stop being so darn elusive and tell us what you know!”

Shetlock, Bright Spark and Princess Sparkle shared glances while Major Bastion quizzed the humans sitting down in the middle of the floor. Guards were arrayed around the room, with a full six guarding the main door.

The humans were looking worse than yesterday, and apparently they hadn’t slept at all during the night. Sitting down in front of them with his notepad at the ready, Shetlock doubted that they had much more left in them.

Evidently he was correct, Simon looking towards the jittery Aries and the blank-faced Harriet before he sighed and looked down at the floor.

“I guess you’re already in too far,” he muttered, fidgeting with his fingers. “A shame, you seem like good people…”

“What’s after you?” Bastion pressed, sensing that they were about to break.

“Something far more dangerous than a simple murderer,” Simon answered. “Last night only proved it. The ISA sent an agent after us.”

“ISA?” Shetlock twitched at Bastion’s question. Something about the letters seemed familiar…

“Let me start from the beginning,” Simon explained sadly. “We’re not from this planet, we’re originally from a world called ‘Apolliana’.”
The human’s eyes seemed to stare at a distant place. “It was a beautiful world, and ever since Lazarus gifted our ancestors with sapience we had lived in relative peace. Sure, we’d have a few border skirmishes with other, less evolved, species from time to time, but we never fought each other. We were happy.”

“What changed?” Princess Sparkle asked, her eyes filled with concern.

“We found out we weren’t alone in existence,” Simon snorted. “One day, right in the middle of the planetary parliament, a single human in a plain suit just appears in a blue flash. He referred to himself as ‘Diplomat Vasquez’, and represented an empire called the ‘United Imperium of Planets’.

Naturally, our ministers all panicked until the Prime Minister calmed them down and addressed the visitor. We expected him to bring greetings, or to establish trade and relations.” Simon’s mouth twitched, the human’s fingers stopping their fidgeting for a moment. “What we got instead was a simple offer. Surrender or die.”

Shetlock felt a chill run down his spine, imagining how it would feel to be on the receiving end of that offer.

“Our government at first refused,” Simon continued. “They argued that peaceful co-existence would be preferable, and that the UIP had no right to take over the planet.”

“And…?” Bastion asked when Simon paused.

“They blew up one of our moons.”

Silence descended over the room, every single pony shocked speechless.

“They [l]destroyed the moon?” Bright Spark breathed. “How is that even possible?”

“A fleet of starships,” Simon answered. “The tidal changes alone wreaked havoc upon coastal cities, and we had no weapons that could possibly hit them. The government surrendered soon after that, with unconditional terms.”

“How horrible,” Princess Sparkle commented, her eyes quivering.

“It gets worse. With the surrender, their main forces came down from orbit and quickly secured everything. Our military was practically disbanded, lockdowns, curfews, street executions for the slightest offence.”

Everypony collectively winced at the last part, all picturing the mentioned scene.

“They took control of the economy and instituted a ration system, and implanted everyone with tracking chips under the skin.” He thrust out his arm and pulled up his sleeves, showing them all a long, messy scar on the underside of his forearm. “We’ve had ours cut out by one of our resistance cell’s doctors, but most people don’t have that option.”

“So, you’re resistance fighters,” Bastion observed, Simon nodding. “I assume that’s why you have weapons.”

“The group did provide us with supplies,” Simon answered. “I myself was a member of the army, Thirty-First Infantry Division. Harriet was a bank manager, Aries a government worker, Alexis was a painter and Stez… Stez was in his last year of university.” A moment of silence was shared around the room, the loss of the teenager still incredibly raw.

“I take it that fighting a resistance war was bloody.” Major Bastion seemed to be the only pony able to process the information without paling, hence he being the primary questioner. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re in Equestria.”

Simon patted the briefcase at his side, the strange lock on it glowing a faint green.

“To cut a long story short, we were given a task to protect this by one of the resistance leaders. The UIP was somehow closing in on our HQ, eliminating safe houses and killing our fellow fighters. I’ll never forget the amount of times a safe house would go dark, only for us to walk in and find corpses strung up from the roof.

One day, out of no-where, HQ was hit hard. A few scientists that had defected from the government, now the UIP’s pawn, were reverse-engineering a captured ISA sub-space teleporter. This brief case contains those plans,” Simon tapped it again. “We managed to use the captured one to get away, but we suspect that everyone else is dead or worse. So we’re stuck here, and we thought that we’d be safe. Obviously, we were wrong.”

“And that’s where this ‘ISA’ comes in,” Shetlock guessed. Simon nodded, and he noticed that the humans sneered at the acronym.

“The Internal Security Agency,” Simon spat. “More monsters than human.”

“T-that bad?” Bright Spark stammered, the sheer hatred that radiated off the humans nearly tangible.

“Normal UIP troops are evil Bastards, but they at least act within a standard military doctrine,” Harriet sneered, her fists clenching. “ISA agents…”

“Will cut you, gut you, record it and then send it to your loved ones,” Simon finished. “For fun.”

Shetlock shuddered, his pencil stopping. He hoped, really hoped, that this was all just over-exaggeration to make their enemies look worse. If not, then it all was utterly terrifying. To do all that must need a very wicked being.

“What makes you sure that the suspect belongs to this ‘ISA’?” Bastion questioned, giving Shetlock concerned glance. “From what you’ve described, it could be any number of-“

“It’s an ISA agent, no doubt,” Simon interrupted. “Look at what’s happened so far, everything points to them. They thrive on using fear, and they all take sick enjoyment from toying with people and watching them break down. A head in a box, killing us one by one, even the attack last night was a message. They’re able to get us at anytime, anywhere, no matter how many guards are around us, but they’re choosing to slowly kill us off one-by-one.”

No one spoke while Simon gripped his briefcase tighter, a look of defeat in his eyes.

“For the last time, it’s ISA. There’s nothing you can do, we’re finished. Soon we’ll all be dead and our mission will have been for nothing.” Simon looked up at them, shaking his head. “You already may have tried to do too much, and soon you’ll receive your very own ‘diplomatic offer’ from those godless demons. Let us go into the forest away from the town, and hopefully when we’re dead the ISA will leave you alone.”

Guards shifted awkwardly, Major Bastion and everyone else not knowing what to say to that. Shetlock hadn’t written anything down for minutes, too shocked to put pencil to paper. His mind was still churning over all of the information, a part of him regretting even asking for it. He was okay with it being a ‘normal’ murderer, now they were apparently facing a sadistic serial killer with military training who enjoyed their job.

Wonderful.

“No.”

Princess Sparkle’s voice surprised them all, humans included, the sniffling unicorn the last pony expected to speak.

“We won’t let them hurt you anymore,” she announced, anger showing through the sadness. “We won’t let you go and let yourselves die. What would be the point of sacrificing you to save ourselves? That would only make us as bad as them.”

“Princess, with all due respect-“

“No!” she shouted, cutting off Simon with fire in her eyes. “This is how it’s going to work!” She appeared to be unravelling, some strands of hair poking out from her normally straight mane. “We’re going to get the chariots, we’re going to stop anypony from leaving the town and we’re going to take you straight to Canterlot where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna will protect you!”

“I agree,” Bastion sternly imputed, the Major’s face locked in a frown. “I’m sick of this creep getting the upper hoof on us, we need to unbalance them. If what you say is true, and I have little doubt that it is, then this UIP already knows where we are. It’s not just about you humans anymore, we ourselves need all the information we can get to prepare for any attack.”

“If we didn’t manage to stop them, what makes you think you have a chance?” Harriet scowled after spitting the question out at Bastion. Simon’s free hand patted her on the back, the female still not looking at anything but the floor in front of her.

“We have you,” Bastion answered. “You were resistance fighters, so you should know a lot about their tactics, equipment and weaknesses. Work with us, and we’ll take this killer down first, then we’ll prepare for any counter attack.”

“Trust us,” Shetlock pleaded. “We’re your last chance, and we want to help you with everything we have.”

Simon looked up at him, the human’s eyes showing many conflicting emotions. After a few moments, he ran his face and sighed in defeat.

“Fine,” he answered softly. “It’s digging your own graves, but fine. We’ll cooperate with whatever you want to do.”

“Good,” Bastion nodded. “We get you to Canterlot, and then we end this. Once and for all.”

Author's Note

So, some character development, some more backstory and things are heating up.

Shetlock and Major Bastion now know the nature of their suspect, but will they be able to find safety in Canterlot and stop him?

Or, will he achieve his goal of killing every last human on the planet?