"Can't I at least do something to prove my innocence? I mean, even if you kill me, your ponies will know you that you lied sooner or later as the murders will just continue." Spike said trying to squirm out of the guard's grasps.

"True, but a small reprieve of their constant whining is better than having my home bombarded by the rabble of hysterical ponies." The lord said as he started to get up from his seat and make his way out.

"Wait! What if I try to find out what happened? I'm no stranger to solving mysteries."

"I hardly see how this might benefit me or my town at all. For all we know, you might just go on a rampage as soon as you're free. I can't afford that, I'd rather just execute you and be done with it."

"If you let me find whoever, or whatever is responsible maybe I'll be able to stop it and prove my innocence! Worst case scenario I fail and you execute me or I find out who or what it is and they finish me off. Best case would be finding the culprit and you can present them yourself. You'll be the hero without any of the work! Just give me a chance!"

"I do like the sound of being a hero without any of the hoofwork… Fine, I'll give you a chance to prove your innocence. You have three days and four nights to find the culprit. If you fail to do so, then you'll be executed regardless of possible leads. True Shot!"

A brown-furred pony in armor came to his side immediately at the mention of his name and knelt down before Swain. "Yes, Milord?"

"You'll accompany the beast, at the first sign of him running or a possible rampage I want you to shoot him. There should still be some of those enchanted bolts left behind from the war centuries ago. Check with the armorer for their potency first then take them with you. It should be more than enough to pierce dragon hide."

"At once my liege." He sprang up from his position and disappeared down the corridor. A door could be heard being opened and slammed shut with the sound of his hoofsteps dissipating the further he went.

"The bolts may be old, but they were enchanted by unicorns themselves to specifically fight against dragons. It was during their attempt to expand into dragon territory, foolhardy as it was, long ago. Never did find a use for them, but at least if it doesn't kill you they'll knock you out long enough for the execution to take place." Swain smiled and continued up the stairs "Your start tomorrow so rest, True Shot is a bit of an early bird." He laughed as he disappeared from Spike's view.

The guards on top of him chained him to the wall once more and left the guard that was in charge of him alone with his prisoner once more.

"Is he always such an ass?" asked Spike

"Yea, but for good reason. Wait, why am I answering a beast like you? Go to sleep, it makes my job easier."

Spike sighed and tried his best to get into a comfortable position. It was going to be a long day tomorrow. Not only did he need to find a murderer, but he needed to do it in at least four nights or he'd die. It was times like this he wished he'd pay attention to Twilight's lectures on proper puzzling and mystery solving 101. It was funny how everything she taught would come in handy somehow… if only she wasn't such a bore of a teacher.

With the sun came a downpour or at least Spike thought it was a downpour as the water seemed to come out of nowhere. He coughed and spit any of the water that got into his mouth and looked around for the source to see his favorite guard pony holding an empty bucket.

"You could have just poked me or something."

"Where's the fun in that?" replied the guard as he put away the bucket and unlocked the cell once his colleagues arrived.

With two extra guards holding on to the chains and his best pony friend bringing up the rear with a spear, they marched upstairs and outside the building. Once the door opened Spike was assaulted with the smell of morning as a breeze blew past all of them. The sun blinded him temporarily and before he had time to adjust the guards pulled him along. It was a rough walk as his eyes were slow to adjust and the spear kept poking him from behind.

"You don't have to do that every time you know. I'm not going to run or rampage."

"Can't trust a dragon. Just keep it moving."

As his eyes finally adjusted to the light, Spike saw the town for the first time. The streets were paved with cobblestone and the houses were of modern design. There was nothing denoting that they were lacking in modern technology, but at the same time the atmosphere felt completely different. The brisk morning air was full of the scent of earth and vegetation as they walked past the market area. Spike saw ponies setting up shop stop as he walked past, they hid or stared wide-eyed at the sight of him.

The streets were devoid of anypony save for the ponies whose job it was to keep them clean. However, they too ran at the sight of him coming down the street. Spike didn't see any cloud homes as he looked to the sky and still couldn't make out what was responsible for the producing the supposed sunlight for this place. He kept looking around to try and catch a glimpse of at least some pegasi or unicorns but never saw anything other than earth ponies. It took an hour and a change of guards to reach the outskirts of the town, the entrance to the town itself was guarded by a tall stone wall and metal gate.

The gate began to open as soon as the entourage got close enough for the lead guardspony to hail them. As the gate lifted the view and scent of grass was beautiful and calming, if it wasn't for the fact he was being dragged about he'd take the time to enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case as they pulled him along once again outside the gate.

"Captain True Shot, we've brought the prisoner." Said the lead guardspony.

The brown furred pony from yesterday came into view without the armor he wore last night. He wore a modest steel chest plate and had his jet black mane and tail braided in, what Spike guessed, the traditional style for the place. The thing Spike took special notice of was the rather recurve crossbow. The one point that truly caught Spike's interest was the strange bracelet the pony wore on his right hoof.

"Ah, yes. The dragon, good work stallions return to your posts I'll take it from here." True Shot said, walking towards Spike and undoing the chains once the guards were back inside the wall. "I trust you won't do anything stupid seeing as how sapient you seem to be for a bloodthirsty dragon."

"We're all sapient, it's just that most of my kind prefers the more violent approach more often than not," Spike replied rubbing his wrists as the chains fell and True Shot stacked them near the gate by some saddlebags and Spike's bag.

"Listen dragon"

"Spike"

"Very well, Spike. Captain True Shot, at your service. Or at least I would be, were you not a prisoner and a dragon. Regardless, my task is to keep you in line should anything happen during the investigation that I deem unsavory from you. I have my crossbow ready in case of serious emergency and for anything else." He tapped his right hoof and click could be heard. The bracelet he was wearing that looked like a pair of rather large wings moved and the wings parted to form a compact crossbow.

"Impressive design, though, kind of tacky at the same time. Does it work though?"

True Shot took a moment to line up the compact crossbow, he loaded a wooden bolt and fired in the direction of the wall. It traveled faster than Spike could catch with his sight, but he felt it slice through the air. On impact, the bolt left a dent on the stone structure, and all at once, twelve different ponies with crossbows at the ready popped up from the top.

"False alarm, continue your patrols!"

"Aye, Captain." Shouted the guardsponies as they disappeared back into the wall.

"Alright, no funny business. Got it." Spike said adjusting his coat and moving to collect his bag. Once he got his one he handed the saddle bags to the captain and waited for him to adjust them.

"So, where do we start captain?"

"The first murder is an hour's walk from here so we'll start there. Once you've looked at the scene we can continue to the newest death as they have yet to collect the remains due to… not finding all of her…"

"Geez, that bad huh? Well, no reason to question it, I'll be seeing it for myself once we arrive. Which way is it?"

"To the southeast, I'll be a few steps behind you, but let you know where to go. Let's move out."

Spike moved towards the direction the captain pointed to, the mention of the latest victim being in pieces did not sit well with him. If whatever was murdering ponies, was tearing them apart and burning them then it was more than likely a carnivore. As to what could possibly live in such an isolated place full of ponies was something he couldn't even imagine. Especially, if they've lived in this place for so long without previous incidents. What was the cause? Why now? Of course, the biggest question he had was whether or not he could contact anypony outside this place. He made a note to try as soon as he could get time away from the captain. For now, there was a case to solve, lives to save, and he was the only one willing to do it.

"Sweet Celestia, where's Twilight when I need her?"

Author's Note

Part 2 is out! Once again, the quote that reminds me inspiration is not needed to write has helped me produce this chapter. I have the video on my favorites and watch it when I think I can't write. Thanks to that kind of motivation I feel like writing more than ever!. Next on my plate is another chapter on a different story and a random short story I've been meaning to write. Look forward to it in the future.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Please leave a comment or critique as any critique helps me grow as a writer. Have a great day!