It had been months after that fateful day, the day where the princess fell, the day the caribous came. Equestria had changed since then, a new order were established. But there are and always will be people that disagree with the status quo, this is their story.

The police arrived at the crime scene in less than ten minutes. Normally they weren't so fast, but the infamous heroine Nighthawk had been involved, making it top priority. The new rulers cannot tolerate a 'heroine' running rampant in the city.

The very existence of this masked heroine goes against everything the caribou held dear, it's against their culture and everything they believed in.

Some says the caribou feared her, that's why they had taken so much measure to caught her, yet all had failed. Bounty had been made, hunter teams were sent, even the army were involved. But in the large metropolis, finding a single mare is hard.

Nighthawk had always appeared without warning, there's seldom report of her flying, despite flight being her main form of escape and travel. Usually, reports came in long after her crime's done and her long gone. Perhaps the ponies were hiding information from their new overlord, or perhaps luck just favored the heroine.

Star Chaser, the newly appointed deputy of Manehattan, had been first to reach the crime scene with his team. The attack had took placed in an apartment on the twelfth floor, a stallion next door had reported it. The window of the room was broken, pieces of glass scattered across the room.

In the center of the room, a single red Pegasus stallion laid dead on the ground, with six crossbow bolt embedded in his back.

In the corner, there's two empty metal cage. Judging from the well worn rags inside, it's safe to assume it was occupied prior to Nighthawk's interference.

Following standard procedure, Star Chaser cast a few detection spell, one to check for hidden item, another few to check for residual magical signal. As usual, there's only the weak magical radiation leftover from Pegasus flight.

A small black feather was placed in front of the cages. It was Nighthawk's calling card, it's her way of taunting the government and the new laws. With a sigh, Star Chaser picked the feather up with a tweezers and stored it in an evidence bag.

Another bolt was found near the window, this one being heavier and have a bunt end. It was likely what smashed the window. Picking up the bolt with his gloved hand, Star Chaser stored it in another evidence bag.

“Where does her get those bolts from?” Golden Shine, one of Star's underling commented, “Caribou control all high-grade steel manufacturers. Even we don't have access to such weapons.”

“Don't know. We can only hope she runs out of them soon.”

“Do you think it's the reb-”

“Shush!” Star Chaser silenced him with a glance, “Watch your tongue. Now go take a statement from the neighbors.”

After issuing command to another of his subordinate to run ballistics analysis, Star went back to inspecting the dead stallion.

“I wonder what you had done to earn her attention...” Star Chaser said as he began inspecting the dead stallion. The stallion's pants were pulled down, leaving his private parts exposed. There were no signs of injuries on his front. The evidences easily painted a clear picture on what happened. The stallion was probably having fun with one of his slaves when Nighthawk attacked. Using the surprise, Nighthawk managed to shot him in the back with her crossbow, killing him before he can react.

A quick search around the pants reveals a wallet with identification. After finding it, Star sent another one of his subordinate to run background check on the victim. Nighthawk had always targeted cruel sadistic stallions or strike at crucial targets. Often the victims would have criminal record, although there's still a few case of 'innocent' victim. Innocent by the new law, but a major crime in the old law.

The bolts that killed him was made of steel with feather fetching, the bolt looked worn down. The black feather fetching was likely made from Pegasus feather, comparing it with her calling card proved they came from the same source. The arrow head consisted three steel blade, allowing it to cause massive bleeding on its target. Of course, that would make removal harder, probably why it was left behind by Nighthawk.

“Boss, Governor Arvid is here.” Golden Shine announced, having most likely encountered the governor on his way out.

Star let loose a sigh, before quickly recomposing him, turning his face into a neutral mask. No matter how much he disliked his boss, he must avoid angering the ironfisted governor. Memories of what happened to the last four deputy was still fresh in Star's mind.

Arvid was a well built caribou, he had took part in invasion and were given Manehattan to rule for his valor. Being the governor, Arvid commands the caribou army stationed here, as well as hold total power over the city. He was not someone a pony should piss off.

“Good morning, sir.” Star Chaser greeted, however, Arvid only answered with a short nod.

However, before Star can report the situation, Arvid spoke, “I'm not interested in what happened, nor in your little reports and excuses. I care only about when you can caught that bitch.”

“Sir, we're working -”

“Be quick. My patience grows thin.” Arvid cut him off before Star could finish his sentence.

Once Arvid finished speaking, he turned around left, leaving a frustrated Star Chaser. The caribou governor never had much love for forensic reports, he cared only about result. Fair trial had no meaning here, it mattered not to Arvid who was guilty or not, only his city be rid of this heroine.

But, Arvid's own troops had already failed him before. It's madness to expect police to fare better than well equipped army, but no one had the guts to point out the absurdity of it. At least not to his face.

Turning back to his men, Star addressed them, “Alright, you heard the boss. Golden Shine, I want a report detailing the victim's past on my desk before lunch. Ballistic team, you guys too. We'll hold a meeting at 2 PM today. I want everyone present, inform those on holiday too, they're recalled.”

“We'll catch her soon... We must.”

Author's Note

This chapter is completely optional. You can skip it if you want to get to the juicy bit asap.