Spike waited to the side as the Captain talked to the landowners about the investigation and as to why there was a dragon with him. They appeared to agree and head for their house immediately; leaving the Captain alone with his captive. As Spike waited for the captain he looked around the fields of flowers and vegetables that consisted of the land and wondered just how large of an area was actually hidden in the mountain.

"I've let them know that there is going to be an investigation conducted here and to answer any question you might have."

"I'm surprised they're so willing to talk to a dragon."

"They aren't, I agreed to be ready and defend them by having my crossbow on you while they answer."

"Lovely. Before we continue, I had a question pertaining to this investigation for you. Being a Captain means you would have access to far more than I would."

"Fine, make it quick. I want us to reach the next site before sundown if possible."

"Don't worry it'll be quick." Spike reached into his coat and pulled out a small leather bound notebook and let one of his released one of his claws from his index finger.

True shot jumped back and readied the miniature crossbow. He loaded one of the magic bolts that was given to him and aimed at Spike. "Stand down!"

"Relax." Spike said with his arms raised slightly. "I'm only going to write. I've modified this claw to release ink when I need it. It was a painful process but it saves me bits on ink and quills."

"Likely story. Put it away now!"

"Look I can show you." Spike put his arms down and threw the notebook down with the paper facing upward. He knelt down and used his claw to write his name on the pad; all the while keeping his eyes on the Captain.

True Shot watched the feat. The bolt still aimed at the dragon that he perceived as a threat. He inched closer as he saw that the claw did indeed release ink onto the paper. He lowered the weapon and took off the bolt; releasing the lock that kept it in it's lethal form.

"Fine, it's obvious you're telling the truth. However, the next time you do something like that I'll shoot first and ask later."

"Got it, sorry about that." Spike picked up the notebook and stood up, dusting his coat as he did so. "Now, let's try this again. Who was the first to discover the body of..."

"Lunar Blossom and it was the father that discovered her while visiting the southern field. They hadn't seen her for a full day prior to that and filed a report at the guard station as they were visiting the village."

"Alright, and tell me, did you or any of the guards find anything peculiar once you arrived and saw the body?"

"Other than the hardly recognizable burnt body of a mare? No, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Sarcasm aside, are you one hundred percent certain that nothing was strange about the body or it's surroundings? Anything that you can remember will help me figure this out faster."

The Captain took a minute to think about the events of that day and if anything did seem out of the ordinary. The body itself was hardly recognizable save for the flank which was left relatively untouched. It was the only way the father recognized it was Lunar Blossom he had found. Other than that, the area was just a mass of burnt earth and flesh. The smell alone would be enough to upset the stomach of any veteran guard.

"Wait..." True Shot realized that there was something strange when they collected the body that day. "The smell was very strange. It was earth, flesh, and fire mixed together in a loathsome way. However, there was a trace of a fragrance I've never smelled before in all my life."

"That could help. Do you have any clue as to what it was? Anything that it could be?"

"Give me a minute."

Spike waited as the Captain was lost in thought. He looked around to see if anything might have led him to a clue for the investigation. He saw nothing except for fields of grass, flowers, and vegetables. The only other things that stood out were the house and barn in front of him. One of which, the house, had somepony peeking through one of the windows at him. He waved only for whoever was at the window to shut it and disappear inside. He was used to it, which was sad, even after everything he'd gone through there was nothing he hated more than having to deal with being hated for what he was, a dragon.

"Metal! It was the smell of some kind of metal. I'm not sure what kind or if it really is a metal. What I do know, is that the smell was metallic despite everything else. As if the body was melted with molten steel or the like."

"Metal? At least that's something to go on even if it just makes this case even stranger. Oh well, let's see this murder scene." Spike finished writing the note and put away the book. He adjusted his pack and followed the Captain's directions.

It wasn't long before they were close to the spot of the murder as the scenery changed from the vibrant life and smell of vegetation to blackened soil and the lingering smell of burnt earth. Spike took a moment to breath deep and found himself suppressing a gag as the smell was worse than True Shot had described. Easing his breathing he tried to sniff out the metallic scent possibly lingering in the air only to come up short. It was only natural as the event had taken place before his arrival and would have time to dissipate.

He walked closer to the middle of the area where the body was found and Spike witnessed just how powerful the amount of heat needed to be to leave a circle that could easily be three times his size. The middle of the circle had only one indication of what used to be there due to a shape resembling the flank and legs of a pony. It was a sight he'd rather not imagine and was glad to be too late to witness.

"Cripes, what in the name of Nightmare Moon could have made this?" Spike asked as he carefully crouched to search for anything he thought could be a clue.

"None of us have a clue. That is until you came along when you did."

"Lucky me." Spike searched along the imprint of the body hoping to find something to indicate how this had happened but turned up nothing after a few minutes of searching. "Nothing here. I take it the rest of you already searched around for tracks?"

"Yes. We failed to find anything along the lines of hoof prints or claw prints that might give us a lead."

Spike stood up and looked around the black circle. He couldn't find anything other than burnt grass, and dirt. It was as if, whatever did this, knew not to leave any clues as to it's identity. "That can't be right..."

"What?"

"Nothing, just talking to myself."

The Captain failed to give a response and continued to watch as Spike walked towards the outer edges of the circle. Spike stopped a step short of leaving the circle and began to walk the edge. He kept his sights on the ground searching for anything that might stick out. When he failed to come up with anything, he decided to do another walk. Only this time, he used his thermal vision to see if anything stood out. It was a long shot due to how long it had been since the body was removed but it wouldn't hurt to try.

"What are you doing? You've already walked around enough to find nothing. Don't you think it's time to question the family?" The Captain was getting impatient as Spike continued to walk around.

"In a minute, I just... hold on." Spike crouched and focused his eyes on a tiny bit of dark blue embedded in the ground a few feet away from the edge.

He dug it out to find a shard of what could be ice the size of a marble. He switched back to his regular vision and picked it up to find it burned. The finger he used had a slight mark of frostbite the same size as the object; he took his pack off and dug out tweezers and a piece of burlap. He picked the marble up again with the tweezers and put it on the burlap. Putting away the tweezers, Spike repositioned his pack and walked over to the Captain.

"What do you make of this?" Spike asked showing the marble to True Shot.

"It looks like it's letting off a trail of something..." The Captain reached for the marble only to be stopped by Spike pulling his claw back.

"Don't touch it. This thing is like dry ice, you'll only hurt yourself if you touch it with your bare hoof." Spike motioned for the Captain to stick out his hoof and place the burlap on it along with the marble.

True Shot looked at the object with wonder. He'd never seen something so small and cold survive out in the sun like this. He certainly didn't expect to find it at the scene of a murder. He passed it back to Spike who had gotten a small box out and placed the object inside.

"Why the box?"

"It's got a preservation spell on it. Whatever I put inside will keep and decay at only one-fourth the regular rate." He put the box away in his pack and adjusted it once more on his back. "Another thing to add as a clue. Now let's go talk to the family."

"How did you find it?" True Shot asked as they walked back to the house.

"I can see in thermal vision when I need to. The only problem is, that I can't maintain it for long as it'll dry out my eyes and damage my vision."

"Another thing you've augmented about yourself?"

"No, I was born with it. Being a dragon has a few benefits; I just have to not mind the occasional rotten fruit or terrified scream being thrown my way."

True Shot said nothing to the last comment. Spike didn't blame him; it wasn't every day one would meet a dragon that felt horrible for being what he was. They approached the house after a couple minutes of walking and the Captain told him to stay put as he walked up to knock on the door. A red-furred foal with a short black mane answered the door only to call for another resident and vanish inside. The Captain said a few words and pointed a hoof to Spike when the pony he was talking to retreated further inside. It took a while before the Captain managed to get them to come outside and Spike met the farm's owner for the first time. He wore a beaten and dusty brown scarf that was in tatters towards the end that floated in the breeze. His coat was a fair brown and his mane a light blue and styled in a rather shaggy fashion. His cutie mark looked to be a small collection of flowers which might have signified his talent for growing them and farming.

The pony stopped a couple meters away from Spike as True Shot walked ahead and a little past the dragon. Spike turned to look what the Captain was doing only to see him ready the crossbow he had on his back and aim it straight at him. The Captain nodded slightly towards the farmer and received one back from his target. Spike walked a bit closer only for the farmer to back away slightly.

"Fine, I'll just talk loudly. Good Afternoon, my name is Spike and I have a few questions about the murder that happened here if you don't mind." he said readying his pad and claw.

"F..fine, p-please make it quick." the pony stammered as he kept looking to the Captain.

"May I have your name?"

"Watson. Watson Meadows."

Spike wrote it down and a cough came behind him. He looked back to see the Captain make a motion that wanted him to speed things along. Spike sighed and looked back to Watson.

"How did you come to find the body?"

"I was working those fields a few weeks ago in the morning due to the field rotation and saw the slight traces of smoke rising. When I got there and saw her body I went to tell the rest of the family."

"Was there anything that stuck out to you when you arrived at the scene?"

"Other than the burnt circle and my daughter dead? Nothing stood out that I could recall."

"Great, more sarcasm..." Spike mumbled. "I heard that she went missing just a day prior to the incident. Any idea where she might have gone?"

"No idea. When she usually disappeared it would only be for an hour or two. We didn't see her for the full day and thought she might have just gone to the village. She has friends there that she only saw during our trips to sell and stock."

"Before she went missing, was there anything strange in her behavior or did anything out of the ordinary happen around that part of your land?"

"No. Everything was the same as every other day."

"One last question." Spike pulled out the small box that contained the marble he found and opened it. He looked back to the Captain motioning to take the box to Watson.

True Shot came forward switching to his miniature crossbow and keeping Spike in his sights. He grabbed the box in his mouth and moved backward towards Watson; stopping short of bumping into the stallion. The Captain put the box down and opened it to reveal the marble.

"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Spike asked watching the scene with slight amusement.

Watson stepped closer to the box and looked inside to get a better look. His eyes went wide and he ran back inside the house. He emerged less than a minute later with a small pouch in his mouth. He stopped and set it down next to the box; opening it to reveal a similar looking marble.

"Where did you get that?" asked True Shot as he looked down at the identical object.

"My daughter found it. She had plans to sell it on our next market day."

"Where did she find it then?" Spike asked inching his way closer and watching True Shot for when he should stop.

"I don't know... I'm guessing she found it the same place she disappears to for those hours. I'm sorry that I can't help more than that."

"We'll be taking it along with us. Please put it in the box." The Captain said as he watched Watson do as he was told.

True Shot picked the box up again and walked it to Spike who looked at it briefly before putting it away. Spike walked back as the Captain walked towards him. When they were enough of a distance away the crossbow was put away.

"Thank you for the help. We'll be back if we need to ask anything else." Spike yelled and turned towards the direction True Shot pointed.

"Wait!"

Both Spike and True Shot turned around to find Watson coming up slowly and stop a bit closer than he did before.

"Yes?" replied both the guard and his prisoner.

"You're conducting the investigation of the deaths right?"

"Yes. Captain True Shot should have explained everything."

"If... if you find whoever is responsible... please do everything possible to make them face justice. My daughter was a gentle mare... she didn't deserve to die like that. She wouldn't hurt even the most annoying of mosquitoes." Watson seemed to shake where he stood. Whether it was from anger, fear, or remembering the way he found his daughter not even he knew.

"Don't worry, I'll find out who or what was responsible for this." Spike smiled only to see Watson take several steps back at the sight.

"Th..thank you." Watson said before running back inside his house.

"It's the only way to prove your innocence, so I doubt you'd half-ass this whole thing." True Shot said as he got Spike moving forward again.

"That's true, but if I can do something to ease their minds then I'll be glad to do it. No father should have to find their daughter in that state. Pony or not, I'll find the one responsible."

They walked towards the northwest as clouds seemed to cover more of the sky. The walk was pure silence as the next place they were going to visit still had the most recent victim of the string of murders. If that was any indication of what was to come then Spike had his work cut out for him.

Author's Note

Two days it took me to write this. Two days of going back and forth on it and watching longplays of arcade games. Man, oh man did I ever feel like having achieved something. It usually takes me longer to even write something close to 2,000 words, but now I'm getting used to putting one word after the other and getting that count up. I'll be working on the next chapter soon just have to work on the next chapters for The Scout and Paradox Scholar.

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