Murders of Canterlotby Castok the ShadowChaptersRoyal MeetingLack of informationAnalysing the Second and the ThirdThe FirstRoyal Meeting"This is awful" The princess of the night said as she read the local newspaper. The princesses was having their breakfast in their diner hall before one of their servants gave them the newspaper with the front page's title reading 'Murder!' Already the princesses was shock to see this, more so for the princess Celestia. Who ordered the guards to keep public order as well as keeping her citizens calm. "Murder, right in our city! There hasn't been a crime like this in ages, and even then they were all accidents!" Luna ranted on, stuffing her face in with waffles covered in honey. "I know, lulu" Her elder sister nodded her head as she took a slip of tea out of her mug with the words 'Best Sister' on it. "I've already sent the guards to keep order and the best of our detectives to find the culprit of this crime" "You sure they are up for the task?" Luna raised an eyebrow whilst still reading the newspaper. "You doubt their abilities?" Celestia asked. "Not at all, I'm just wondering how long it'll take them to find this murderer" Soon a guard opened the door that leads into the diner hall and bowed his head to the princess. "Pardon me, your majesties. But Detective Glowing Fact and Detective Glare Fair wishes to speak to you about the crime" "Good, send them in" Luna ordered as she put the newspaper down on the table with her magic. The guard bowed once more and did what the princess commanded. A few moments later, Detective Glowing Fact and Detective Glare Fair entered the diner, bowing their heads respectfully. "We are grateful for giving us your spare time for us, your highnesses" Glare spoke gracefully. "You have something on the crime?" Luna asked. "Have you found the culprit?" "No, your majesty" Fact answered as she and Glare raised their heads and looked at the princesses. "This is something else. You see, when I was scanning the area of the crime, trying to find clues on who did the murder, I had nothing and more stranger is that there was no magical trace of the victim neither" "No magical trace?" Celestia confusedly said. "What are you saying, detective? That the area and the victim is drained of their magics?" "That's exactly what I'm saying" Fact conformed. "Whoever did this had completely drained every magic- living and non-living- thing in the scene of the crime" "What kind of pony would hold that kind of power to drain any magic around themselves?" "Well, your highnesses, that's another thing" Fact said as Glare got out his notebook. "We'd ruled out ponies for one thing; the killer seemed of strangled the victim before ending her life, meaning that, despite the ability of draining magic all around the culprit, it's nothing we've seen before" "Are you saying that..." Luna said as she got up from her chair and walked up to the detectives. "that we've got an unknown creature walking among us?" "I'm saying, that we've got a monster among us" Every citizen of Canterlot was gathering at the castle to hear the announcement that their princesses would have to say about the recent murder of Bell Ring. Everypony was still either in shocked, scared or confused from the crime, but they wanted answers and getting an announcement from the princesses might answer some of their questions. The princesses were standing in front of the castle with a role of guards protecting them. Detective Glowing Fact and Glare Fair was standing next to the princesses, Fact next to Celestia and Glare next to Luna. The crowd of ponies were having small, quite talks on what the announcement is going to be and how important it could be. Once the last pony was gathered, Celestia began to speak. "Friends, as you may know of the horrible crime that happened in our fair city" Celestia spoke loud enough for her subjects to hear her. "I'm hear to tell you that whoever is behind this... Is no pony" Ponies gasped in shock and fright. The murderer wasn't pony. "Even more worrying is that we don't what this being is, not yet at least" Celestia went on, trying to tell the truth and also to keep her people from going into a panic. "But we are doing our best to find this killer and bring justice upon its head" The crowd cheered in the princess' determination and confidence on catching the murderer of Bell Ring. Detective Glowing Fact looked at the crowd, looking at all their faces and seeing how many she must defend from the killer, whoever it was. "But we need to be careful" Celestia explained to the crowd. "Which why I ask you all to remain in your home after nightfall as the royal guards -as well as the finest detectives- will be pretroling the streets for the killer. If you are needing to go out at night, do not travel along, bring a friend along with you" The crowd nodded their heads, to them this was a good idea. Rather than walking alone, they'll their friends with them, more safety in numbers. "This meeting is now over" Princess Celestia said with a smile, though it lasted for a short while. "Stay safe" The crowd began to disband and was heading back to their daily businesses, leaving only the local guards, the detectives and the princesses. Princess Luna turned to face the detectives. "Where will you start, detectives?" The lunar princess asked. "We're not sure" Fact answered seriously. "We'll try and find any relatives of the victim for any information on her. But for now, we'll keep a watchful eye over the city for anything unusual" "Good luck, detectives" Celestia said as she nod her head. The detectives bowed their heads and went off on their mission to find this murderer before another it claims another victim. Far away, watching from a bell tower that had a perfect view of where the announcement held place and hidden in the shadow, stood a bipedal being watching everypony spreading out across the city. The being chuckled wickly as it grind its white teeth. "Everypony must stay indoors when it's nighttime?" the being chuckled. "Well it'll make my job a bit more easier" the being looked at the detectives that was heading east of the tower. "And they believe those two will safe them?" The being said as it narrowed its eyes. "Well, this should be interesting to say the least" the being took something out of its pockets and brought it into the sunlight. What it was holding was half of a horn, much like that of a unicorn and analysed it before placing it back into its pockets. It then walked in further into the shadows before vanishing into thin air. Lack of informationGlowing Fact was stationed in her office as she looked through her files on pervious crimes that were ruffly similar to the one she's working on. Her office was an average size room with selves filled with criminal records and files that took place in Canterlot. She was just next door to Glare's office, although his office was completely filled with notes that are all over his right wall, which Fact calls 'the mental wall'. She made contact with some of her clients and fellow detectives on the crime and if any of them had seen anything like this. Some mentioned that it could of been dark magic, but that would of left a magical trace, though corrupted and tainted. Beside that, none of them has ever seen this before, making Fact's and Glare's job a lot more harder. Knocking came from her door before being opened by Glare. "No relatives" Glare sighed in defeat. "She was a lonely filly in her family, no brothers, no sisters and no cousins" "What about those she'd worked with?" Fact asked without looking away from her file. "Even they didn't know her that well, mostly because she kept to herself" Glare answered as he sat down on the couch on the left side of the room. "Do you think that's why the killer went for her, Fact? Because she had nopony to turn to?" "Interesting theory, but probably not" Fact replied as she closed the file and put it back on the top self with her magic. "By the way the victim has been murdered, most likely it was just a mindless attack" She got up from her chair and headed towards a window that had a good view of the city. She stood there watching the city as the sun was slowly setting down on the horizon whilst the moon was rising from said horizon. She contemplated on where the killer will strike next or better yet, when the killer will strike again. She also contemplated on the killer would be hiding, where would an unknown creature hide in this city? Fact sighed softly. "How many ponies are on patrol, Glare?" "About a dozen, six guards in each patrol, most of them are patrolling around the higher classes and nobles" "Thought as much" Fact narrowed her eyes. "When there's trouble in this city, the rich and noble ponies gets protected whilst the rest of the population defends themselves. Well, we'll send our ponies to patrol the rest of the city tonight" Glare nodded his head in agreement. "I'll rally our troops" he chuckled. Fact smiled from her assistant little joke. But when said assistant left her office and closed the door, her smiling stopped and was replaced with a angry and serious face. "Whatever and wherever you are..." Fact whispered to herself. "We'll find you and we'll bring you in with chains over your whole body to the princesses for this murder" It was a cold night, much like the last night. Guards patrolled the streets, looking for anything strange or unusual. Though they were ready for anything, they were -much like the detectives- uncertain who was the culprit. All they were told was that it wasn't a pony. One of them was ready than any other. A unicorn stallion by the name of Sharp Drops, newest recruit in the Royal Guards. He looked like your average day guard but with green eyes and a very confident attitude. He was with group of six guards, including himself, that was tasked with guarding the western side of the noble district. They stood next to the enterance to the district and rest of the city, keeping a watchful eye on anything that'll catch their attention. "So" Sharp Drops spoke to break the silence. "How long do we have to stand till another group takes our place?" "Bout another hour" said the Pegasus captain that's in command of the group. "After that, we'll moving to the centre of the district" "Alrighty then!" Sharp saluted. "Just checking that's all sir" "How long have you been in the guards, Sharp?" One of guards asked. "Just got in about three weeks ago" Sharp answered gladly. "Mind you, it took nearly three weeks for me to learn the basics in the-" His sentence was cut short when his captain raised a hoof to tell him and rest to be quiet. What he and the rest of the group heard was sounds of things being knocked over in a nearby alleyway. "Private Sharp Drops and Private Ring Blink" the captain called. "Check out what's making those noises. If you need backup, Sharp use a flare from your horn" "Yes sir!" The two unicorn guards saluted as they headed towards the alleyway. Sharp Drops lead the way as Ring covered from behind. As they entered the alleyway, they saw bins, rubbles and other trashes all on the ground like a stampede of wild animals rushed though here. Something didn't feel right, and the two guards knows it. "Stay close, Ring" Sharp said in a serious tone. "Something's not right" The guards headed deeper into alley. As they went further in, the more narrow the spaces between walls were getting. But when Sharp reached towards a dead end, he found something odd. At the end of the path rested what looked like a horn... A blue unicorn horn. Sharp picked it up with his magic and looked into more detail. "Um, Ring?" Sharp said with confusion and concern in his voice as he turned his head around to face his friend. "Got any idea what...this..." Private Sharp Drops' face dropped when Private Ring Blink was not behind him. He didn't like this all. Where did Ring disappeared to? What happened to him? Sharp Drops looked for Private Ring throughout the tight alleyway, hoping he was either falling behind or found something important. It was hard for Sharp to see thanks to the dark shadows of the buildings along with the moonlight being blocked by said buildings. After looking for Ring for a short while, Sharp Drops began to feel like he's being watched and so he was about to summon a flare to call for the rest of his group. Suddenly something landed behind him like whatever jumped down from the tall buildings. "Don't turn around, my friend" Came a voice from behind the pony guard. "It'll not be in your best interest or your life" "And what if I do?" Sharp asked, defying the voice's warning. "Do I really need to explain why?" The voice spoke more deeper and more threatening. "If you do, you'll never find your friend again" "What makes you think I believe you?" A moment of silence came before something hit the ground in front of Sharp Drops... A guard's helmet, much like Private Ring Blink's. Sharp gasped in shock, seeing the helmet had a bit of blood nearly where the horn should be. "You friend's horn will make a fine addition to my collective" The voice chuckled. "Much like the one your carrying with your fancy magic" Sharp Drops now knew this was the murderer, it must be. He may not be the smartest stallion in the guards, but this was all the evidence he needs. Not concerned about his own safety, Sharp quickly shot a magical flare in the air, making a loud bang as well as being bright enough for every guard in the noble district to see. The being's shadow was visible for Sharp to see before he heard an angry grunt. "How heroic of you..." It was early morning. Ponies flooded to read the latest newspaper, with the title reading... Two more murders, this time; Royal Guards! Analysing the Second and the ThirdGlowing Fact and Glare Fair arrived at the noble district just minutes after the newspapers and rumours got out to the public. This time however, Fact was not in a good mood. Just a day went by with one murder and now today not one, but two more ponies have be murdered brutally like the last one. Heart Dawn and her team was already doing their part when the detectives arrived. She was analysing the corpse of one of the guards, whose horn was cut in half and had a silt throat. The detectives looked at the victim, this murderer must be found. "Dawn I hope you've got answers" Fact cleared her throat, trying to keep her anger under control. "Because I sure got some questions to ask you" Dawn didn't lift her head to look at the detective, she was more curious about the guard's slit throat. "Cause of death was a quick slash of the throat. By the way it was cut, I guess the culprit was waiting for them like a spider on its web, waiting for its next meal" "Explain" "The murder must of been waiting between the gaps of the buildings as the alleyway got narrower, this guard named Private Ring Blink was the luckiest one as his death was not so brutally than Private Sharp Drops" "Sharp Drops?" Fair asked as he wrote in his notebook. "What happened to him then?" "Well Mr Drops' death isn't a topic I don't want to think about" Dawn's stance shifted awkwardly to the left as he eyes looked away from Blink's corpse. "His legs were snapped, providing his escape. He looked like he was dragged by the neck where his face was beaten to the point where we could see his bones. But the frightening and the most disgusting part was that his horn looked like it was pulled straight out of his skull like a gorilla pulling out plants from the ground" Fair shook his head to get the image of a monster pulling a unicorn's horn out. But Fact didn't show any signs of emotion, as her brain gathered up the information. It was awful she admitted to herself, but it gave her more evidence that the monster had claws and maybe walk on two legs. Gathering up her thoughts, she went on. "Where is the body? I need to see it" "I'm afraid that you can't see it at the moment" Dawn informed the detective. "We already taken the body for further examination, if we can find a DNA or something from body of the murder, we might also find out what it is" Fact surprisingly nodded her head, dispute her anger telling her to protest. "Very well, did the guards had a team with them or were there only two of them?" "They were in a team, yes. Their captain is waiting for you" The detectives said their goodbyes and their lucks for Dawn as they headed out of the crime zone, where the captain was waiting for them. The Pegasus stood near the crime scene, looking shocked by the lost of two of his guards. He held something in his left wing, but it out of view thanks to his feathers. His head turned to face the detectives as they showed him their badges. "Captain, my name is Detective Glowing Fact and this is my assistant; Detective Glare Fair. My sympathies for your guards" Fact spoke with some support for the captain's loss. "But we need to ask some questions about what happened, can you do that?" "I understand" the captain said with a hint of fright in his voice. "It was late in the night when my team heard something causing noises in the alleyway. So I sent Sharp Drops and Ring Blink to investigate what was making those noises. 'Bout half a minute went by before we saw a flare going up into the air, requesting aid. We went in and that's when..." The captain stopped talking, his eyes derated about. The detectives watched in confusion. "That's when what, captain?" Fair asked, trying to get the captain to continue talking. The captain shook his head and looked at the detectives dead in their eyes. "I saw it" the captain whispered. "I mean I didn't get a good look at it, but I saw its figure in the shadows of that alleyway. It stood on two legs and held Sharp Drops in its claws, it dwarfed us as if we were still foals. I guessed it saw us because it started to climb up the buildings' walls like a monkey. That was all we saw of the beast" Fair wrote everything the captain said down in his notebook, writing as fast as he could whilst Fact had all the evidence to support the fact that there is a monster in Canterlot doing all the killing. She must write a report to the princesses, telling them about the discovery. "What else can you tell us?" Fact asked the captain for more information about the monster."Anything else that could help us in our investigation to find this murder?" "There is one thing that might help you" the captain muttered as he brought out a dagger under his wing. "This fell off the beast as it climbed the walls, maybe it help you find it" Fact picked the dagger up with her magic and analysed it. It was craved iron blade with a steel handle, it had detailed symbols around the handle and where it connected with the blade, it was shaped like a eagle's head. "I know those daggers" Fair gasped when he looked up from his notebook. "A griffin sells those in the Marketing Square" "Then we got some interesting questions about who this griffin was dealing with" Fact acknowledged as they galloped towards the Marketing Square. "Maybe also show this griffin what this blade as done already" Somewhere, in the old industrial district of Canterlot in the east, a factory blows out smoke from one of the eight brick chimneys. Doors tall, yet reinforced with iron bars and locks. This once mighty factory was closed down for nearly five hundred years... Until less than four months, the factory came back from the dead. Inside still had its original mechanical engineering. But instead of making armour, or having pony labourers, it was filled with diamond dogs wearing protective masks and yellow suits. The furnaces burned bright, making the inside of the factory looked more of an underground organisation than a honestly living. The dogs were being watched by axe-wielding minotaurs, keeping a lookout for anything out of the ordinary or anyone lacking off. They watched on the balconies on the upper floors, where their bosses work. In a room overlooking the whole factory through dark tinted windows, was a reasonable size office. It had, like that of the factory's enterance, reinforced doors with iron bars and locks yet it was built more differently, like it was made in another part of the world. Inside the office held a enormous desk, on one side had folders of charts and diagrams of how business is doing, whilst the other had a paperworks that need to be finished soon before an incoming shipment of their products. There were pens and pencils from smallest to largest placed nicely and in order. The owner of the factory had his hands together and was leaning back into his chair, watching his factory workers doing everything according to plan. That was when his doors to his office opened. Coming into the office holding boxes were two intimating minotaurs. Holding the box filled with office related items was a hulking brute with one of his horns broken off in a fight. A red scar covers his right eye whilst the rest of his face was covered in tribal tattoos. His muscles was big enough to be mistaken for a prop place in front of fitness gyms, not as if he never been into a gym before. His fur was a murky brown whilst his hooves were more greyish. On his back rested a giant maul mace, with an steel handle for him to hold onto. The other minotaur was more slimmer but yet still have enough muscle to looked imitating. This female minotaur had in her head a box filled with golden Equestrian bits, whilst having a smirk looking grin across her face. Her silvery hair was held in a ponytail, her eyes were purple and her horns craved like that of rams. Her greyish fur shined in sunlight and her yellow hooves are often mistaken for gold. On her thighs were two axes, formed in the most barbaric way possible that it was too brutal to be true. The two minotuars placed the boxes on the factory's owner's desk, who was still watching the work below him. "We've got everything you need, boss" the female's surprisingly eloquent voice spoke to her boss. "Is that so, Morrgain?" The boss's deep yet sinsterly hypnotic voice questioned. "Absolutely, boss. Whilst Wreav here got the necessary equipment you wanted, I went around selling Zims in the 'local' market to all of our private customers" "All of them?" Morrgain shifted to her left and darted her eyes around. "Well?" The boss impatiently waited. "All, except for one, boss" Morrgain admitted. "That 'Hush Wing' prick wasn't there, nor did he had the money for the last time here was there" "Thought as much" the boss sighed disappointedly, not by this Hush Wing, but by Morrgain's falseness. "There always is one buyer that needs to know his deadlines" he took something out of his jacket pocket. It was a golden watch, ticking the time with its arrows. The boss merely looked at its arrows passing by. "Wha' would you want us to doing 'bout this, boss?" Wreav's rusty voice crooked. "Wha' 'bout that griffin git, wanna make his littl' ol' shop his grave?" The boss didn't answer, not did he turned around to face the minotuars. A few moment of silence went past before the big arrow on the watch hits twelve and the small arrow hits nine. Once it did, the boss placed the watch back into his pocket. "Alive, but make sure Mr. Wing and his shop has marks that'll remind him to pay up next time, because I may not be in a generous mood otherwise" The FirstCanterlot. The capital of Equestia, homeland of the Pony race. It's the place of ponies' dreams coming true, where one may find luck of starting a business, meeting royalty or even meeting one's true love. Be it night or day, the city contains all one would desire. Tonight was a cold night, clear sky and small breeze throughout the city. Where one mare was walking home from a night of partying. This mare was a mid-class unicorn with a pretty pink dress. Her blue coat and amber mane and tail would attract almost all the stallions, especially if one gets lucky enough to stare into her ruby eyes. Now she had a bit too much to drink and thus she'd managed somehow to find herself lost in a small alleyway one might use to get from the marketing square and into the highest of noble sociality. She swayed a bit, creating enough noise to scare an alley cat from out of a bin. She stopped for second to think straight. "Come on, Bell Ring" The mare said as she shook her head quickly. "You don't live with those stuck up nobles, and you most certainly don't go down a dirty old alleyway" She chuckled at her stupidity and turned away, heading back out of the alleyway. She would of moved on if she didn't felt like something was wrong, as if she was being watched and what creeps her the most, being followed. She turned her head slowly to see what is standing behind her. She didn't want to, but she felt like she must, like she didn't have a choice. She turned and turned her head until... Until she saw nothing. There was nothing out of the normal bins and dirt. She sighed happily, knowing it was just her mind playing tricks. She then once again walked out of the alleyway, about to sing a little tune when... "Pardon me" a voice was heard from behind the mare. She stopped dead from her walking, eyes widening from hearing the voice. "But I request some help, would you be a dear and help?" The voice sounded male and in a friendly tone. The mare didn't turn her head, nor does she wanted to anyway. She just swallowed nervously. "And w-what help might that be, sir?" The mare asked nervously, frightened from the sudden voice from behind. "Just some questions, that's all my dear" the voice replied, in the same friendly tone as before. "Like are you a unicorn? My eyes are just terrible" the voice chuckled warmly. "Y-yes I am" the mare chuckled with the voice, unsure if chuckling with the voice would keep her safe. "The other one is why are you doing here alone in the night? Don't you have a friend?" The voice asked, concerned on the mare's safety. "Well I... I just came out of a party and now I'm heading home" the mare said as she tried to slowly walk away without the voice noticing her action. "Ah good, good" the voice warmly said. "Just one more question, my dear" the mare was overjoyed in her mind when she heard the voice requesting one last question. She wonder what it could be. "Won't you please turn around?" The mare's face dropped. She began to sweat. She didn't want to, in the back of her mind she wanted to leg it, run as fast as she can. But the voice was being friendly and innocent, all he wanted to know is if she okay and what race she was. She did what the voice said and turned her head slowly, sweating still as her mind began to wonder who it is. She turned her head to face where the voice was coming from. What she saw made her skin pale. "That's a good unicorn" Morning arrived and the city of Canterlot was in shock. Murder, there was a murder in this fair city and it happened over night. Early morning was when the body was found and where guards arrived to settle down the panicking city ponies. It was only eight o'clock when the detectives arrived at the scene of the crime. Detective Glowing Fact, a orange coat unicorn mare wearing a grey coat that covered most of her body. With her was her assistant Detective Glare Fair, a yellow coat earth pony stallion carrying a notebook in his bag that was on his back. They got past the local guards with their badges and went in the alleyway with some ponies watching them, concerned on what had happened in that alley. Already inside was a group of ponies wearing masks over their snorts and was analysing everything that happened in the alleyway. One of them- a green earth pony mare- was analysing the corpse that was laying flat on her back with stab wounds in her chest and a half broken horn. Her eyes was still open, showing nothing but dread and fear in this once beautiful pony. "Greeting" Detective Fact called the mare as she showed her badge. "I'm Detective Glowing Fact and this is my assistant; Detective Glare Fair. I take it that you are in charge of your little group?" "That I am" The mare answered with a nod. "I'm Heart Dawn" "Give us what you know so far" Fact said with a serious tone as Glare Fair got out his notebook and begins to write. "Well" Heart Dawn began as she went back at the body. "The attack happened late in yesterday's night, around one or two o'clock. Victim we believe is one miss Bell Ring, local worker of the Tea Rest Café in the marketing square" "Cause of death?" Glowing Fact asked as she raised an eyebrow whilst Glare continued writing. "Multiple stab wounds indicates that it was a quick but painful killing, although she might of struggle or dodged a lot that'll explain why her horn got broken off" Dawn examined the body even more as well as close the mare's eyes. "Multiple stabbing and killing quickly" Glare said as he finished writing. "What you think Fact, magic or physical?" "Let me see" the detective replied with her horn glowing a crimson red, scanning the area for any glue on who the killer could be. She scanned and scanned, but couldn't find anything. "Strange..." Fact muttered as she put a hoof on her chin. "What is it?" Her assistant asked. "Nothing" Fact answered in confusion. "I got nothing, no magical trace. It's like, nothing happened here" "But that's impossible" Glare looked through his notebook. "Every living thing has a magical trace. Ponies, Griffins, heck even stones and sticks has got one" "Umm, detectives?" Called Heart Dawn. "You may wanna see this" The detectives headed towards Dawn, who was waiting for them to see what she spotted. She pointed at the corpse's neck, where she and the detectives saw it. There was what looked like someone tried to strangle the life out of the mare. Bruises and cut mark was all over the neck, barbarically to say the least. "What are we looking at, Dawn?" Glare asked with a worry yet serious tone in his voice. "The victim's throat seemed to be the most brutal beside the stab wounds, meaning that the killer went for the throat first before anything else, probably to cut off oxygen and to provide her from calling for help" As the two chatted. Glowing Fact decided to scan the corpse, trying to get enough information before investigating. She scanned the body... Nothing. She scanned twice to make sure she wasn't dreaming or making a mistake. The result was the same. This was serious, more than they realised. "Detective Glare" Fact said with the most serious voice she could muster. "She doesn't have a trace on her neither" "What?" Fair gasped in disbelief. "That's impossible, that completely breaks all the rules of magic" "Which is why we need to see the princesses at once" Fact said as she and Glare headed out of the alleyway. "For whatever that thing is, is something that even Tartarus wouldn't even want in its cells"
Royal Meeting"This is awful" The princess of the night said as she read the local newspaper. The princesses was having their breakfast in their diner hall before one of their servants gave them the newspaper with the front page's title reading 'Murder!' Already the princesses was shock to see this, more so for the princess Celestia. Who ordered the guards to keep public order as well as keeping her citizens calm. "Murder, right in our city! There hasn't been a crime like this in ages, and even then they were all accidents!" Luna ranted on, stuffing her face in with waffles covered in honey. "I know, lulu" Her elder sister nodded her head as she took a slip of tea out of her mug with the words 'Best Sister' on it. "I've already sent the guards to keep order and the best of our detectives to find the culprit of this crime" "You sure they are up for the task?" Luna raised an eyebrow whilst still reading the newspaper. "You doubt their abilities?" Celestia asked. "Not at all, I'm just wondering how long it'll take them to find this murderer" Soon a guard opened the door that leads into the diner hall and bowed his head to the princess. "Pardon me, your majesties. But Detective Glowing Fact and Detective Glare Fair wishes to speak to you about the crime" "Good, send them in" Luna ordered as she put the newspaper down on the table with her magic. The guard bowed once more and did what the princess commanded. A few moments later, Detective Glowing Fact and Detective Glare Fair entered the diner, bowing their heads respectfully. "We are grateful for giving us your spare time for us, your highnesses" Glare spoke gracefully. "You have something on the crime?" Luna asked. "Have you found the culprit?" "No, your majesty" Fact answered as she and Glare raised their heads and looked at the princesses. "This is something else. You see, when I was scanning the area of the crime, trying to find clues on who did the murder, I had nothing and more stranger is that there was no magical trace of the victim neither" "No magical trace?" Celestia confusedly said. "What are you saying, detective? That the area and the victim is drained of their magics?" "That's exactly what I'm saying" Fact conformed. "Whoever did this had completely drained every magic- living and non-living- thing in the scene of the crime" "What kind of pony would hold that kind of power to drain any magic around themselves?" "Well, your highnesses, that's another thing" Fact said as Glare got out his notebook. "We'd ruled out ponies for one thing; the killer seemed of strangled the victim before ending her life, meaning that, despite the ability of draining magic all around the culprit, it's nothing we've seen before" "Are you saying that..." Luna said as she got up from her chair and walked up to the detectives. "that we've got an unknown creature walking among us?" "I'm saying, that we've got a monster among us" Every citizen of Canterlot was gathering at the castle to hear the announcement that their princesses would have to say about the recent murder of Bell Ring. Everypony was still either in shocked, scared or confused from the crime, but they wanted answers and getting an announcement from the princesses might answer some of their questions. The princesses were standing in front of the castle with a role of guards protecting them. Detective Glowing Fact and Glare Fair was standing next to the princesses, Fact next to Celestia and Glare next to Luna. The crowd of ponies were having small, quite talks on what the announcement is going to be and how important it could be. Once the last pony was gathered, Celestia began to speak. "Friends, as you may know of the horrible crime that happened in our fair city" Celestia spoke loud enough for her subjects to hear her. "I'm hear to tell you that whoever is behind this... Is no pony" Ponies gasped in shock and fright. The murderer wasn't pony. "Even more worrying is that we don't what this being is, not yet at least" Celestia went on, trying to tell the truth and also to keep her people from going into a panic. "But we are doing our best to find this killer and bring justice upon its head" The crowd cheered in the princess' determination and confidence on catching the murderer of Bell Ring. Detective Glowing Fact looked at the crowd, looking at all their faces and seeing how many she must defend from the killer, whoever it was. "But we need to be careful" Celestia explained to the crowd. "Which why I ask you all to remain in your home after nightfall as the royal guards -as well as the finest detectives- will be pretroling the streets for the killer. If you are needing to go out at night, do not travel along, bring a friend along with you" The crowd nodded their heads, to them this was a good idea. Rather than walking alone, they'll their friends with them, more safety in numbers. "This meeting is now over" Princess Celestia said with a smile, though it lasted for a short while. "Stay safe" The crowd began to disband and was heading back to their daily businesses, leaving only the local guards, the detectives and the princesses. Princess Luna turned to face the detectives. "Where will you start, detectives?" The lunar princess asked. "We're not sure" Fact answered seriously. "We'll try and find any relatives of the victim for any information on her. But for now, we'll keep a watchful eye over the city for anything unusual" "Good luck, detectives" Celestia said as she nod her head. The detectives bowed their heads and went off on their mission to find this murderer before another it claims another victim. Far away, watching from a bell tower that had a perfect view of where the announcement held place and hidden in the shadow, stood a bipedal being watching everypony spreading out across the city. The being chuckled wickly as it grind its white teeth. "Everypony must stay indoors when it's nighttime?" the being chuckled. "Well it'll make my job a bit more easier" the being looked at the detectives that was heading east of the tower. "And they believe those two will safe them?" The being said as it narrowed its eyes. "Well, this should be interesting to say the least" the being took something out of its pockets and brought it into the sunlight. What it was holding was half of a horn, much like that of a unicorn and analysed it before placing it back into its pockets. It then walked in further into the shadows before vanishing into thin air.
Lack of informationGlowing Fact was stationed in her office as she looked through her files on pervious crimes that were ruffly similar to the one she's working on. Her office was an average size room with selves filled with criminal records and files that took place in Canterlot. She was just next door to Glare's office, although his office was completely filled with notes that are all over his right wall, which Fact calls 'the mental wall'. She made contact with some of her clients and fellow detectives on the crime and if any of them had seen anything like this. Some mentioned that it could of been dark magic, but that would of left a magical trace, though corrupted and tainted. Beside that, none of them has ever seen this before, making Fact's and Glare's job a lot more harder. Knocking came from her door before being opened by Glare. "No relatives" Glare sighed in defeat. "She was a lonely filly in her family, no brothers, no sisters and no cousins" "What about those she'd worked with?" Fact asked without looking away from her file. "Even they didn't know her that well, mostly because she kept to herself" Glare answered as he sat down on the couch on the left side of the room. "Do you think that's why the killer went for her, Fact? Because she had nopony to turn to?" "Interesting theory, but probably not" Fact replied as she closed the file and put it back on the top self with her magic. "By the way the victim has been murdered, most likely it was just a mindless attack" She got up from her chair and headed towards a window that had a good view of the city. She stood there watching the city as the sun was slowly setting down on the horizon whilst the moon was rising from said horizon. She contemplated on where the killer will strike next or better yet, when the killer will strike again. She also contemplated on the killer would be hiding, where would an unknown creature hide in this city? Fact sighed softly. "How many ponies are on patrol, Glare?" "About a dozen, six guards in each patrol, most of them are patrolling around the higher classes and nobles" "Thought as much" Fact narrowed her eyes. "When there's trouble in this city, the rich and noble ponies gets protected whilst the rest of the population defends themselves. Well, we'll send our ponies to patrol the rest of the city tonight" Glare nodded his head in agreement. "I'll rally our troops" he chuckled. Fact smiled from her assistant little joke. But when said assistant left her office and closed the door, her smiling stopped and was replaced with a angry and serious face. "Whatever and wherever you are..." Fact whispered to herself. "We'll find you and we'll bring you in with chains over your whole body to the princesses for this murder" It was a cold night, much like the last night. Guards patrolled the streets, looking for anything strange or unusual. Though they were ready for anything, they were -much like the detectives- uncertain who was the culprit. All they were told was that it wasn't a pony. One of them was ready than any other. A unicorn stallion by the name of Sharp Drops, newest recruit in the Royal Guards. He looked like your average day guard but with green eyes and a very confident attitude. He was with group of six guards, including himself, that was tasked with guarding the western side of the noble district. They stood next to the enterance to the district and rest of the city, keeping a watchful eye on anything that'll catch their attention. "So" Sharp Drops spoke to break the silence. "How long do we have to stand till another group takes our place?" "Bout another hour" said the Pegasus captain that's in command of the group. "After that, we'll moving to the centre of the district" "Alrighty then!" Sharp saluted. "Just checking that's all sir" "How long have you been in the guards, Sharp?" One of guards asked. "Just got in about three weeks ago" Sharp answered gladly. "Mind you, it took nearly three weeks for me to learn the basics in the-" His sentence was cut short when his captain raised a hoof to tell him and rest to be quiet. What he and the rest of the group heard was sounds of things being knocked over in a nearby alleyway. "Private Sharp Drops and Private Ring Blink" the captain called. "Check out what's making those noises. If you need backup, Sharp use a flare from your horn" "Yes sir!" The two unicorn guards saluted as they headed towards the alleyway. Sharp Drops lead the way as Ring covered from behind. As they entered the alleyway, they saw bins, rubbles and other trashes all on the ground like a stampede of wild animals rushed though here. Something didn't feel right, and the two guards knows it. "Stay close, Ring" Sharp said in a serious tone. "Something's not right" The guards headed deeper into alley. As they went further in, the more narrow the spaces between walls were getting. But when Sharp reached towards a dead end, he found something odd. At the end of the path rested what looked like a horn... A blue unicorn horn. Sharp picked it up with his magic and looked into more detail. "Um, Ring?" Sharp said with confusion and concern in his voice as he turned his head around to face his friend. "Got any idea what...this..." Private Sharp Drops' face dropped when Private Ring Blink was not behind him. He didn't like this all. Where did Ring disappeared to? What happened to him? Sharp Drops looked for Private Ring throughout the tight alleyway, hoping he was either falling behind or found something important. It was hard for Sharp to see thanks to the dark shadows of the buildings along with the moonlight being blocked by said buildings. After looking for Ring for a short while, Sharp Drops began to feel like he's being watched and so he was about to summon a flare to call for the rest of his group. Suddenly something landed behind him like whatever jumped down from the tall buildings. "Don't turn around, my friend" Came a voice from behind the pony guard. "It'll not be in your best interest or your life" "And what if I do?" Sharp asked, defying the voice's warning. "Do I really need to explain why?" The voice spoke more deeper and more threatening. "If you do, you'll never find your friend again" "What makes you think I believe you?" A moment of silence came before something hit the ground in front of Sharp Drops... A guard's helmet, much like Private Ring Blink's. Sharp gasped in shock, seeing the helmet had a bit of blood nearly where the horn should be. "You friend's horn will make a fine addition to my collective" The voice chuckled. "Much like the one your carrying with your fancy magic" Sharp Drops now knew this was the murderer, it must be. He may not be the smartest stallion in the guards, but this was all the evidence he needs. Not concerned about his own safety, Sharp quickly shot a magical flare in the air, making a loud bang as well as being bright enough for every guard in the noble district to see. The being's shadow was visible for Sharp to see before he heard an angry grunt. "How heroic of you..." It was early morning. Ponies flooded to read the latest newspaper, with the title reading... Two more murders, this time; Royal Guards!
Analysing the Second and the ThirdGlowing Fact and Glare Fair arrived at the noble district just minutes after the newspapers and rumours got out to the public. This time however, Fact was not in a good mood. Just a day went by with one murder and now today not one, but two more ponies have be murdered brutally like the last one. Heart Dawn and her team was already doing their part when the detectives arrived. She was analysing the corpse of one of the guards, whose horn was cut in half and had a silt throat. The detectives looked at the victim, this murderer must be found. "Dawn I hope you've got answers" Fact cleared her throat, trying to keep her anger under control. "Because I sure got some questions to ask you" Dawn didn't lift her head to look at the detective, she was more curious about the guard's slit throat. "Cause of death was a quick slash of the throat. By the way it was cut, I guess the culprit was waiting for them like a spider on its web, waiting for its next meal" "Explain" "The murder must of been waiting between the gaps of the buildings as the alleyway got narrower, this guard named Private Ring Blink was the luckiest one as his death was not so brutally than Private Sharp Drops" "Sharp Drops?" Fair asked as he wrote in his notebook. "What happened to him then?" "Well Mr Drops' death isn't a topic I don't want to think about" Dawn's stance shifted awkwardly to the left as he eyes looked away from Blink's corpse. "His legs were snapped, providing his escape. He looked like he was dragged by the neck where his face was beaten to the point where we could see his bones. But the frightening and the most disgusting part was that his horn looked like it was pulled straight out of his skull like a gorilla pulling out plants from the ground" Fair shook his head to get the image of a monster pulling a unicorn's horn out. But Fact didn't show any signs of emotion, as her brain gathered up the information. It was awful she admitted to herself, but it gave her more evidence that the monster had claws and maybe walk on two legs. Gathering up her thoughts, she went on. "Where is the body? I need to see it" "I'm afraid that you can't see it at the moment" Dawn informed the detective. "We already taken the body for further examination, if we can find a DNA or something from body of the murder, we might also find out what it is" Fact surprisingly nodded her head, dispute her anger telling her to protest. "Very well, did the guards had a team with them or were there only two of them?" "They were in a team, yes. Their captain is waiting for you" The detectives said their goodbyes and their lucks for Dawn as they headed out of the crime zone, where the captain was waiting for them. The Pegasus stood near the crime scene, looking shocked by the lost of two of his guards. He held something in his left wing, but it out of view thanks to his feathers. His head turned to face the detectives as they showed him their badges. "Captain, my name is Detective Glowing Fact and this is my assistant; Detective Glare Fair. My sympathies for your guards" Fact spoke with some support for the captain's loss. "But we need to ask some questions about what happened, can you do that?" "I understand" the captain said with a hint of fright in his voice. "It was late in the night when my team heard something causing noises in the alleyway. So I sent Sharp Drops and Ring Blink to investigate what was making those noises. 'Bout half a minute went by before we saw a flare going up into the air, requesting aid. We went in and that's when..." The captain stopped talking, his eyes derated about. The detectives watched in confusion. "That's when what, captain?" Fair asked, trying to get the captain to continue talking. The captain shook his head and looked at the detectives dead in their eyes. "I saw it" the captain whispered. "I mean I didn't get a good look at it, but I saw its figure in the shadows of that alleyway. It stood on two legs and held Sharp Drops in its claws, it dwarfed us as if we were still foals. I guessed it saw us because it started to climb up the buildings' walls like a monkey. That was all we saw of the beast" Fair wrote everything the captain said down in his notebook, writing as fast as he could whilst Fact had all the evidence to support the fact that there is a monster in Canterlot doing all the killing. She must write a report to the princesses, telling them about the discovery. "What else can you tell us?" Fact asked the captain for more information about the monster."Anything else that could help us in our investigation to find this murder?" "There is one thing that might help you" the captain muttered as he brought out a dagger under his wing. "This fell off the beast as it climbed the walls, maybe it help you find it" Fact picked the dagger up with her magic and analysed it. It was craved iron blade with a steel handle, it had detailed symbols around the handle and where it connected with the blade, it was shaped like a eagle's head. "I know those daggers" Fair gasped when he looked up from his notebook. "A griffin sells those in the Marketing Square" "Then we got some interesting questions about who this griffin was dealing with" Fact acknowledged as they galloped towards the Marketing Square. "Maybe also show this griffin what this blade as done already" Somewhere, in the old industrial district of Canterlot in the east, a factory blows out smoke from one of the eight brick chimneys. Doors tall, yet reinforced with iron bars and locks. This once mighty factory was closed down for nearly five hundred years... Until less than four months, the factory came back from the dead. Inside still had its original mechanical engineering. But instead of making armour, or having pony labourers, it was filled with diamond dogs wearing protective masks and yellow suits. The furnaces burned bright, making the inside of the factory looked more of an underground organisation than a honestly living. The dogs were being watched by axe-wielding minotaurs, keeping a lookout for anything out of the ordinary or anyone lacking off. They watched on the balconies on the upper floors, where their bosses work. In a room overlooking the whole factory through dark tinted windows, was a reasonable size office. It had, like that of the factory's enterance, reinforced doors with iron bars and locks yet it was built more differently, like it was made in another part of the world. Inside the office held a enormous desk, on one side had folders of charts and diagrams of how business is doing, whilst the other had a paperworks that need to be finished soon before an incoming shipment of their products. There were pens and pencils from smallest to largest placed nicely and in order. The owner of the factory had his hands together and was leaning back into his chair, watching his factory workers doing everything according to plan. That was when his doors to his office opened. Coming into the office holding boxes were two intimating minotaurs. Holding the box filled with office related items was a hulking brute with one of his horns broken off in a fight. A red scar covers his right eye whilst the rest of his face was covered in tribal tattoos. His muscles was big enough to be mistaken for a prop place in front of fitness gyms, not as if he never been into a gym before. His fur was a murky brown whilst his hooves were more greyish. On his back rested a giant maul mace, with an steel handle for him to hold onto. The other minotaur was more slimmer but yet still have enough muscle to looked imitating. This female minotaur had in her head a box filled with golden Equestrian bits, whilst having a smirk looking grin across her face. Her silvery hair was held in a ponytail, her eyes were purple and her horns craved like that of rams. Her greyish fur shined in sunlight and her yellow hooves are often mistaken for gold. On her thighs were two axes, formed in the most barbaric way possible that it was too brutal to be true. The two minotuars placed the boxes on the factory's owner's desk, who was still watching the work below him. "We've got everything you need, boss" the female's surprisingly eloquent voice spoke to her boss. "Is that so, Morrgain?" The boss's deep yet sinsterly hypnotic voice questioned. "Absolutely, boss. Whilst Wreav here got the necessary equipment you wanted, I went around selling Zims in the 'local' market to all of our private customers" "All of them?" Morrgain shifted to her left and darted her eyes around. "Well?" The boss impatiently waited. "All, except for one, boss" Morrgain admitted. "That 'Hush Wing' prick wasn't there, nor did he had the money for the last time here was there" "Thought as much" the boss sighed disappointedly, not by this Hush Wing, but by Morrgain's falseness. "There always is one buyer that needs to know his deadlines" he took something out of his jacket pocket. It was a golden watch, ticking the time with its arrows. The boss merely looked at its arrows passing by. "Wha' would you want us to doing 'bout this, boss?" Wreav's rusty voice crooked. "Wha' 'bout that griffin git, wanna make his littl' ol' shop his grave?" The boss didn't answer, not did he turned around to face the minotuars. A few moment of silence went past before the big arrow on the watch hits twelve and the small arrow hits nine. Once it did, the boss placed the watch back into his pocket. "Alive, but make sure Mr. Wing and his shop has marks that'll remind him to pay up next time, because I may not be in a generous mood otherwise"
The FirstCanterlot. The capital of Equestia, homeland of the Pony race. It's the place of ponies' dreams coming true, where one may find luck of starting a business, meeting royalty or even meeting one's true love. Be it night or day, the city contains all one would desire. Tonight was a cold night, clear sky and small breeze throughout the city. Where one mare was walking home from a night of partying. This mare was a mid-class unicorn with a pretty pink dress. Her blue coat and amber mane and tail would attract almost all the stallions, especially if one gets lucky enough to stare into her ruby eyes. Now she had a bit too much to drink and thus she'd managed somehow to find herself lost in a small alleyway one might use to get from the marketing square and into the highest of noble sociality. She swayed a bit, creating enough noise to scare an alley cat from out of a bin. She stopped for second to think straight. "Come on, Bell Ring" The mare said as she shook her head quickly. "You don't live with those stuck up nobles, and you most certainly don't go down a dirty old alleyway" She chuckled at her stupidity and turned away, heading back out of the alleyway. She would of moved on if she didn't felt like something was wrong, as if she was being watched and what creeps her the most, being followed. She turned her head slowly to see what is standing behind her. She didn't want to, but she felt like she must, like she didn't have a choice. She turned and turned her head until... Until she saw nothing. There was nothing out of the normal bins and dirt. She sighed happily, knowing it was just her mind playing tricks. She then once again walked out of the alleyway, about to sing a little tune when... "Pardon me" a voice was heard from behind the mare. She stopped dead from her walking, eyes widening from hearing the voice. "But I request some help, would you be a dear and help?" The voice sounded male and in a friendly tone. The mare didn't turn her head, nor does she wanted to anyway. She just swallowed nervously. "And w-what help might that be, sir?" The mare asked nervously, frightened from the sudden voice from behind. "Just some questions, that's all my dear" the voice replied, in the same friendly tone as before. "Like are you a unicorn? My eyes are just terrible" the voice chuckled warmly. "Y-yes I am" the mare chuckled with the voice, unsure if chuckling with the voice would keep her safe. "The other one is why are you doing here alone in the night? Don't you have a friend?" The voice asked, concerned on the mare's safety. "Well I... I just came out of a party and now I'm heading home" the mare said as she tried to slowly walk away without the voice noticing her action. "Ah good, good" the voice warmly said. "Just one more question, my dear" the mare was overjoyed in her mind when she heard the voice requesting one last question. She wonder what it could be. "Won't you please turn around?" The mare's face dropped. She began to sweat. She didn't want to, in the back of her mind she wanted to leg it, run as fast as she can. But the voice was being friendly and innocent, all he wanted to know is if she okay and what race she was. She did what the voice said and turned her head slowly, sweating still as her mind began to wonder who it is. She turned her head to face where the voice was coming from. What she saw made her skin pale. "That's a good unicorn" Morning arrived and the city of Canterlot was in shock. Murder, there was a murder in this fair city and it happened over night. Early morning was when the body was found and where guards arrived to settle down the panicking city ponies. It was only eight o'clock when the detectives arrived at the scene of the crime. Detective Glowing Fact, a orange coat unicorn mare wearing a grey coat that covered most of her body. With her was her assistant Detective Glare Fair, a yellow coat earth pony stallion carrying a notebook in his bag that was on his back. They got past the local guards with their badges and went in the alleyway with some ponies watching them, concerned on what had happened in that alley. Already inside was a group of ponies wearing masks over their snorts and was analysing everything that happened in the alleyway. One of them- a green earth pony mare- was analysing the corpse that was laying flat on her back with stab wounds in her chest and a half broken horn. Her eyes was still open, showing nothing but dread and fear in this once beautiful pony. "Greeting" Detective Fact called the mare as she showed her badge. "I'm Detective Glowing Fact and this is my assistant; Detective Glare Fair. I take it that you are in charge of your little group?" "That I am" The mare answered with a nod. "I'm Heart Dawn" "Give us what you know so far" Fact said with a serious tone as Glare Fair got out his notebook and begins to write. "Well" Heart Dawn began as she went back at the body. "The attack happened late in yesterday's night, around one or two o'clock. Victim we believe is one miss Bell Ring, local worker of the Tea Rest Café in the marketing square" "Cause of death?" Glowing Fact asked as she raised an eyebrow whilst Glare continued writing. "Multiple stab wounds indicates that it was a quick but painful killing, although she might of struggle or dodged a lot that'll explain why her horn got broken off" Dawn examined the body even more as well as close the mare's eyes. "Multiple stabbing and killing quickly" Glare said as he finished writing. "What you think Fact, magic or physical?" "Let me see" the detective replied with her horn glowing a crimson red, scanning the area for any glue on who the killer could be. She scanned and scanned, but couldn't find anything. "Strange..." Fact muttered as she put a hoof on her chin. "What is it?" Her assistant asked. "Nothing" Fact answered in confusion. "I got nothing, no magical trace. It's like, nothing happened here" "But that's impossible" Glare looked through his notebook. "Every living thing has a magical trace. Ponies, Griffins, heck even stones and sticks has got one" "Umm, detectives?" Called Heart Dawn. "You may wanna see this" The detectives headed towards Dawn, who was waiting for them to see what she spotted. She pointed at the corpse's neck, where she and the detectives saw it. There was what looked like someone tried to strangle the life out of the mare. Bruises and cut mark was all over the neck, barbarically to say the least. "What are we looking at, Dawn?" Glare asked with a worry yet serious tone in his voice. "The victim's throat seemed to be the most brutal beside the stab wounds, meaning that the killer went for the throat first before anything else, probably to cut off oxygen and to provide her from calling for help" As the two chatted. Glowing Fact decided to scan the corpse, trying to get enough information before investigating. She scanned the body... Nothing. She scanned twice to make sure she wasn't dreaming or making a mistake. The result was the same. This was serious, more than they realised. "Detective Glare" Fact said with the most serious voice she could muster. "She doesn't have a trace on her neither" "What?" Fair gasped in disbelief. "That's impossible, that completely breaks all the rules of magic" "Which is why we need to see the princesses at once" Fact said as she and Glare headed out of the alleyway. "For whatever that thing is, is something that even Tartarus wouldn't even want in its cells"
