Rising Hope sighed as he took in the grizzly scene before him. The flashes of a camera belonging to Polaroid Perfect, a member of the local police force, brightening the rusty, bloodstained room, revealing the pained expression of the Mare locked into the chair before him, needles jammed into her arms and hooked to a now empty IV bag, a small series of letters and numbers printed on the material. Days old froth lined the sides of her mouth, her eyes glazed over and mattered fur paled. He was no doctor, but this mare had most likely been dead for several days.

"I don't know how someone can do this to another Pony. This seemed like such a nice town, too..." Rising Hope said to himself. Another flash of Polaroid Perfects camera lit the room, the shutter echoing in the metal tomb.

"On the surface." Hope looked to his partner and technical superior, a Unicorn mare by the name of Violet Blossom. Her stern expression and the magnifying glass printed on her flank made her role in the investigation obvious: the chief detective. "Deep down, all of Ponykind is capable of things like this. The "why" is not our job. It is the "who." A strand of Violet's light lavender mane came down in front of her eyes. Without even flinching or changing her expression, she simply blew it out of her face and back to the rest of the long, silky strands atop her head.

Though he had been working with her for nearly 2 years, her calm demeanor despite even the bloodiest of crime scenes had always gave Hope some minor chills. Never once did he see her lose her cool, her stoic expression just as much a part of her outfit as the Purple jacket and Pleather gloves she wore on her forehooves.

"The "Who" especially in this case..." Hope and Violet had both been called in all the way from their office in Manehatten by the Mayor of Ponyville. Apparently, this wasn't the first missing persons case turned murder. With no past history of any sort of serial killer, the local police force was ill equipped for the job. Hope still remembered the Mayor's heartfelt plea as she begged the two to end the kidnappings and killings and to keep her ponies safe. The mare strapped to the cold, iron chair apparently the fourth victim of this string of disappearances. "We can't let this go on. None of these ponies deserve this..."

"The Victim, Berry Punch, was found dead in an abandoned storage near the exit of Cloudy Day lane." Violet seemingly ignored her partner, choosing to speak into the tape recorder she was never seen without. "She appears to have been dead for several days, though the insulation of the room has kept the body from decay. She seems to have been hooked up to an I.V bag labeled with the chemical compounds of Ethanol..." She paused as she looked to the floor. "...and next to the chair she has been strapped to, someone appears to have left a tape." Violet looked at the tape. In hoofwriting, the words "PLAY ME" were written across it. Popping out the tape she was using for the investigation, she took the new tape and put it in the recorder, hitting play.

The Harsh, cold steel was the first sign that Berry Punch was not on her couch. She groaned as her eyes slowly fluttered open, to be greeted with a fluorescent light. She closed her eyes again, the unnatural brightness aggravating her hangover.

"What did I do last night..." the mulberry pony tried to remember, but the events from the alcoholic infused romp were simply blurred in her mind. She groaned and opened her eyes. May as well try and make it home from wherever this was. She hoped Pinchy wouldn't be too upset with her. She attempted to get up... and to her horror, the cold of a chain bit into her stomach. Disregarding her headache, her eyes flew open. She had been strapped to a metal chair. A slight stinging sensation made itself known in her forehooves. Looking down, she gasped. 2 Large needles were gouged into her and were placed neatly into her veins, large tubes connected to them and going up into the ceiling. As she followed them with her eyes, she noticed the large bag, slightly bigger than she was, filled with a clear liquid. The letters and numbers printed on it burned into her psyche; the chemical components of ethanol. Was this some kind of sick joke? It wasn't funny!

A loud buzzing suddenly filled the room. She wanted to cover her ears, but the needles made moving her hooves painful to the point she let out a sharp yelp. Looking to the source, she noticed a small radio placed in the rooms corner. A deep, frightening voice, toned with a layer of madness began to speak.

"Hello, Berry Punch. I want to play a game."

A game? This... this torture was a fucking game to this madpony? Berry tried to struggle against her bonds, the intense pain in her forehooves being the only thing keeping her from struggling harder.

"Over the years, your drinking habits have only grown. You drink your life away, and those who depend on you are suffering for it. Your husband left you because of this, and instead of seeking to improve yourself, you only hit the bottle harder. Imagine if your daughter found out where those child support checks have been going, hmm? You let her sit alone, hungry and afraid, while you drink to forget about your husband, your old life... and her."

"That isn't true!" Berry yelled at the machine. "I love my daughter more than anything!" But whoever was keeping her here either didn't hear her, or didn't care.

"Today, I offer you a chance of redemption. A chance to free yourself from the poison that has claimed you... or let you drown in it. As you have noticed, 2 needles are firmly placed into your hooves. These are of my own creation. Not only are they thick and durable, but their barbs can hold them in place quite easily. It takes a lot of force to pull them out..." Whatever put her in here thought that must of been funny and chuckled a bit. "But it is not impossible."

"These needles are hooked into... let's call it a giant IV bag. In it is the vile fluid that has controlled you all your life. Enough to dull your senses and put you into a deep sleep... forever. If you want it, you simply have to wait, as in 3 minutes starting now, it will begin pumping into your veins, giving you the ultimate, final high you so crave."

Berry began to panic, and screamed, hoping anyone could hear her. No such luck, this building was soundproof.

" But if you want to live, want to see your daughter again;" The voice continued. "You must fight against your binds, and pull out the needles that continue to drive you into your drunken state. Live or die, Berry Punch. Make your choice." The radio cut and only static played.

Berry screamed, hoping someone, anyone could hear her. No such luck. Tears welling up into her eyes, she eyed the needles in her hooves. With a whimper, she took her right hoof and started to pull on the needle in her left.

The searing pain caught her off guard, and once again she screamed. Not for help, but in pain. But she had pulled it a little, and blood started to drip onto the floor. Taking a few deep breaths, Berry steadied herself and tried pulling again, this time pulling the needle out to where she could see a few of the barbs. She almost puked when she saw bits of muscle and vein were caught on them. Blood starting pouring onto the floor, and into the chair, her own rump being wetted with her crimson lifeline.

Berry kept tugging, but found herself getting weaker and weaker as more blood dripped onto the floor. She began to feel tired, and her right hoof dropped into her lap. A loud buzz filled the room, and she felt the tubes connecting her and the bag begin to fill, her last thoughts being of her sweet, innocent daughter she would never see again.

In mere seconds, Berry Punch was no more.

Rising Hope was pale. Polaroid Perfect, who had finished with his job, was paler. Violet Blossom simply stared at the tape recorder, her expression unreadable.

"I- I uh. Your photos." Polaroid stuttered. "Pick them up in the office tomorrow. They'll be done by then. Polaroid quickly excused himself outside and promptly released his lunch onto the pavement.

"She... she was a mother." Hope said, his expression still one of shock. "He knew that. He knew that and he left that foal alone and orphaned."

"She still has her father." Violet said, so cold it almost seemed like she didn't care. "Hope, If you do not want any other foals to be left by themselves, we will catch this monster, and let the courts see him hang." Violet responded, her monotone voice almost showing a small amount of emotion. Cases involving children always seemed to get to her the most. Hope thought it best not to ask why.

"But there is something I am curious about." Violet continued. "Berry Punch died here, and the only way for this tape to have left the radio was for it to have been moved by someone else. You and I did not approach it, and Polaroid was standing back the whole time. This tape was moved here by someone else."

As the pieces began to place themselves in Hope's mind, his eyes widened.

"He wanted us to find this."

Author's Note

The two main characters are based off of protagonists of a different series, and Twilight's character tag will be relevant starting the next chapter.

This is my first time writing in a long while, so it's probably not all that great, but I want to get better so feel free to point out any errors. Also my first time putting anything on fimfic, so forgive me for any formatting errors.