Royal Canterlot Investigative Services

by Micro-song

Rating: teen
Tags: Gore, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Dark, Drama, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery, Horror, Other, Romance
Length: 7229

Andreah Reigns is imployed by Celestia to solve homicides

Andreah reigns (pronounced An-dRAY-uh) Is Canterlot's head forensic hippologist. Imployed by Princess Celestia, she is sent around Equestria, solving gruesome homicides via the skeletal system. Given the most difficult case yet, can she, alongside with her partner from the RCIS, solve it, or will the unsub get away?

Published 2017-07-26 14:50:11 UTC
Last updated 2017-07-31 03:26:30 UTC

Case: The mare with the missing flank

Author's Note

Hello, thank you for choosing to read my story! I am not a very good writer, but I'm doing my best. My work is inspired by the forensic life, and novels, of Kathy Reichs. Also, I'm taking my basic understanding of human psychology and injecting it into these ponies. Enjoy!

Case: The mare with the missing flank

I stand Infront of the tent that is covering at least a twenty hooves by sixteen hoof spot in the middle of a field. It's pouring rain, mid day. My blood red hair a pathway for the rain to the ground. This is always the part I hate the most. Walking up to the remains I'm sent to examine. It's always the adrenaline rush and wave of fear that hits me hardest. Sadness and sympathy second. Walking up to what I know it's going to be a half-decayed, a waterlogged, or a completely skin baked on bone, pile of bones, always sends a shiver of fear up my spine.

I sigh, stretch out my Chestnut brown wings, and step into the tent. The first thing I notice is that, oddly, Princess Celestia is in the corner of the tent. Second noticable thing, is the smell. The smell of rotting flesh washes over me and I gag. Once I get over that, I take a deep breath, adjust my trench coat so that it looks tidy for the princess, and stops rubbing the base of my wings. I take a second deep breath. Overcome the instinct to gag. And walk over to Celestia.

"Princess." I say, giving her a bow.

"I've told you, Dr. Reigns, no need to bow, stand yourself up." She says to me. I stand up as she demanded so.

"I'll stop bowing when you stop addressing me so formally. You can call me Andreah." I tell her, giving a little giggle, then I get another waft of what's in the pit a yard away.
"Why did you call me in? I can already tell there is too much flesh for my expertise. Can't the M.E. handle it?" I inquire, walking over to a crate a couple hands away, picking up a respirator, dampening the smell.... Somewhat.

"Take a look and you'll understand why I called you in. And can you grab me one of those masks aswell, please? This oder is starting to get to my head." She tells me, knowing I know it wasn't really a question. I grab one by my right wing and carry it over to her that way. I drop the mask on her back, laughing as she struggles to grab it.

I continue to the pit, and an orange colored female comes into view. I look down into the pit, examining the flank first, or rather, what's left of the flank. Even though the corpse is lying on it's left, I can still make out the outline of a missing flank on that side aswell. Looks like this unsub didn't want us to find out her Cutie Mark. As my eyes scan up the rest of her body, I stop at a very disturbing three words, carved into her side, aswell as a very familiar Skull with a paper behind it. My Cutie Mark. Alongside 'I WANT REIGNS'

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!!" I yell, while wearing a path in the floor from my paseing. I've never found my Ponyville office very comfortable, but I'll take it over NOT having guards here 24/7. I dunno who's after me, but it's scary as hell.

"Knock knock!" I hear my partner vocally announce at my door, instead of actually knocking.

"Who is it!?" I yell, sounding more agitated than fearful, thankfully.

"The diet soda servent." He says as soon as the door opens. I watch my partner walk in. His stunning yellowy-gold body, almost shiny silver mane. His Cutie Mark, I've always found a little border line inuendus, was a pair of hoofcuffs. He is in law inforcement, but still.

"Why thank you, sir." I say and start to walk over to him. He bows down and holds the soda up to me by his bubbly silver magic.

"For you, Miss Reigns." He says gallantly. I walk up to him and in the process grab the soda with my right wing. He stands up and faces me. "Now, how 'bout a kiss?" He inquires Cooley.

"Silver Colt! You did not just ask that!" I scoff and turn around, walking to my desk.

"No? Ok.... Anyway, I heard what was found at the last crime scene. News travels like wildfire. Who would send a massage like that?" He asks, sitting in the client chair on the other side of my desk. I sit in my office chair, crack open my Cola, take a sip, set it down. Than open a drawer on the bottom left of my desk.

"I dunno." I reply. "I know I've pissed some ponies off in the past. But this is extreme. The unsub kn-" I'm unable to finish my sentence before Silver butts in.

"I know you keep explaining, but I keep forgetting. What the hell does 'unsub' mean?" He asks, blinking his green eyes at me.
I sigh before responding. "It stand for unidentified sssssss" dragging out the s in the word subject as I remember something. "You remember the case where I first used that word? Some Colt chopped up his special sompony because he caught her cheating? What was his name? Name name name!!" I shout at Silver. It takes him a second to process all I just said.

"Oh!!! Ohohoh!!!" He yells exidedly. Clopping his front Hooves together. "Ummm..... Thunder.... Noooooo... Uhh." He slumps sadly into his chair, realizing he had no idea.
We sit in silence for a couple minutes trying to remember they pony's name. Silent, save for my slurps of diet cola. All of a sudden Silver shouts.

"DUKE WING! Worked at the department store!"

"That's him!" I respond, equally as loud. "I remember some verbal threats he made to Celestia and I when we caught him. I'm gonna go over to headquarters over in Canterlot, I'll check the records on him, see if he's still serving time or not. Good job recalling his name, that case was a couple dozen moons ago." I say to him. Hopping out of my chair, I grab my bag and start to walk out.

"Andreah!" Silver beckons me.

"What?" I ask turning to him.

"Right here, wouldn't hurt." He says, tapping his lips with his hoof.

"Keep dreamin'." I tell him, just as I get to the door, I finish off with a "bud." Than walk out. Hearing Silver heave a deep sigh.
I climb into a flying carriage I requested for.

"Where to?" The Colt on the left asks me.

"Off to Canterlot to follow a lead!"

(Chapter 2) case: The mare with the missing flank

I step off the carriage and thank the two gentlecolts who brought me here. Silver does the same. When I left the office he managed to catch the carriage aswell. I look in front of me, not wanting to count the stairs. For Silver's sake, I'm just going to fly. The amount of stairs leading up to the RCIS headquarters could easily rivel a court house.

"I have to walk up these damned things, again." Silver sighs, starting to walk up the stairs.

"See ya in the archives!" I chuckle at him, extending my wings.

"Wait! No don't do that!" He protests, watching me fly up to the entrance. I land with excellence in front of the doors. I pull open the right door and trot in. A security guard stops me.

"Badge please." He says, with a flat tone, but still finding a way to be intimidating.

"Really? Cmon you know me, I've come through here more than the secretary." I protest, pointing towards the mare with a pair of thin framed glasses.

"Standard procedure miss Reigns." He says, his voice still flat. I sigh and reach into my trench coat and pull out a synthetic leather bifold badge holder. I flip it open, he closely examines my gold badge. It's quite simple, about four inches big, it's a round, aluminum peice, slightly convex. Ingraved on the top is RCIS, in the middle my name, and under my name says 'forensic hippologist'.

"Welcome back." He says, his voice a cheerful tone, quite a difference than last time he spoke. I give him a smile and walk to the secretary. Nice lady, in her sixties, I think. Green in colour, purple mane.

"Hello mizz....." I look at her name plate "trotsworth, first day?" I ask her, per me not recognizing her.

"No" her voice gravely "I've worked here thirty years, Andreah." She says, not once looking up from her type writer. A blush of embarrassment raises to my checks.

"O-oh, I'm so sorry!!" I franticly apologize. All that she retorts with is a gruff 'hmm'.
"Anyway..... Which way is the archive? The thirteen years I've been here, not once have I been there." I tell her.

"Go down that hallway." She, still focused on her type writer, points to a hallway to my left. "Than there is an arrow plaque on the wall, follow those."

"Thank you..." I shamefully thank her and start walking that way.

"ANDREAH!!" I hear sompony shout at me. I turn to see Silver trotting over to me.

Once he makes it over to me I say to him: "you made it, I didn't need to call the paramedics." I start walking down the hallway, Colt by my side.

"You wouldn't even know, you ran ahead." He scoffed at me, blowing a raspberry.

"Very mature. Keep that up and I'll think about a date." I mock at him. He has no witty retaliation, so he stays silent. The halls towards the archives are like a laberynth, forever twisting and turning. But I suppose that could be said for most office buildings. I make it to a solid wooden door with the word 'archives' on a golden plaque on the top center of the door.

"We made it." I tell my partner, who's, I swear, half asleep. I clop my front Hooves really loud next to his ear and he jumps. I roll my eyes and open the door. I scan the room, boxes filled with tons of papers. "This'll be fun." I Mumble to myself and walk into the room.

"Aha!" I yell. "Duke wing! Here he is." I shout at Silver, who's looking on the other side of the room. I grab the file delicately with my teeth and take it to a nearby table. I set it down then sit down. Silver sits next to me and opens the file with his magic. I pick it up and skim read it.

"Dah dah dah.... Did three years... Dah dah dah..... Released may of last year... Dah dah dah. was killed in a factory accident two months ago. DAMMIT he's not our guy." I yell, agitated.

"Shouldn't you be glad he's not the one after you?" Silver asks while putting away the file.

"No, because now we're at square one. All we know is the perp knows my cutie Mark and requested me personally. Though it would be a lot more polite, and cleaner, to leave a phone call." My attempt at humour, I'm not exactly the best at it.

"Well, I'll call Chief Note and see if they're done with the necropsy, see if you can't go in and examine the bones. Mabey get us closer to an Identity?"

"Sure, you can do that. I'm going to go home, and study the photos, mabey something about the way they carved my cutie Mark and carved the words will trigger something in my brain from a previous case." I tell him. We agree and we both go home. To our own homes, mind you.

I've been threatened before, but not to this extent. I sit on my couch in my little one bed, one bath apartment. With my cat, Ruby. I have current cold cases and solved cases scattered all over my coffee table. As well as the current case. I've been here for an hour, I've just finished a tofu sandwich, Ruby and my favorite.

"Knock knock." Silver, again. Announcing his presence instead of simply knocking.

"Come on in!" I shout so he can hear me. I look over at the door and watch him come in. He closes the door behind him and trots over.

"Homework?" He asks me, gesturing to all the cases on my table.

"Yea, I need to connect the dots!" I exaggerate, jumping up and stomping my front right hoof. "I know there's something I'm missing, I just can't see it. Why did he take the flanks!?" I test Silver, pointing at him with my right hoof.

"Mabey that's the meat he likes most? Simmer in a cast iron pan for an hour, seasoned salt and some cyan." He says.

"Or! More reasonably, he' attempting to hide her Identity. No Cutie Mark, no instant Identific----" I'm cut off by the sound of the apartment buzzer.

"I got it." Silver says trotting over to the intercom. "Hello?" He says in a very, feminine way. He's imitating me. What an asshole! When he doesn't get a response he opens the door with his magic.

"I'll go check. Stay here." He demands.

"No way! I'm following." I say sternly.

"Fine, follow, a couple hooves back." He tells me sternly, unholstering his sidearm with his magic. I didn't know he had one, it's always been hidden under his jacket, I guess. I watch him walk out the door and I follow. We make it to the elevator, we head down. We make it to the entrance. He pushes the door open and looks around, seeing is clear he holsters his firearm. He looks down and sees a package, on the top, written in blood: Andreah.

"I want you to go behind something solid, there's a package here, could be a bomb." He tells me, his voice having a sense of authority to it, it's kind attractive. No! Not the time for this. He's just your partner. Get in that hallway Andreah. I stop talking to myself and run into a hallway. I yell to Silver see he knows I'm good. I hear him open the box.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiit." He drags out the I on that word. "Get over here, Reigns." I comply and trot over. I peer inside and I see two slabs of meat, one having a smiling sun Cutie Mark, the other identical accept three distinct words.

'I want YOU'

(chapter 3) case: the mare with the missing flank

Ponies trotting around the outside and inside of my apartment building. Securing the scene. Barriers up on both ends of the sidewalk, stopping civilians from seeing, or tampering with, the evidence. They made me sit in an ambulance with a blanket around my shoulders. Silver finishes his statement to the police then trots over to me.

"They're going to look at the servalance tapes. And the M.E. said he's sending the box to Canterlot morgue, the morgue with the corpse. Hopefully to be a match." Silver informs me.

"The keep putting this blanket on me, why do they keep putting this blanket on me!?" I ask him, with a tinge of anger in my voice.

"You're in shock."

"I'm not in shock!" I persist to Silver. "I need to go to the morgue and check the corpse. And yell at that M.E. for not cleaning the bones out of the body." I tell him, standing up and taking the blanket off with my right wing.

"You're going now? It's like, eleven. Are you crazy?" He asks me, standing by my side.

"I'm not crazy" i inform him "I'm in shock." I say, throwing the blanket on him.

I walk up to the Canterlot morgue, taking in the smell of midnight freshness, preparing myself for the smell of rotting flesh I'm going to have to endure. The morgue looks like an old police station, standing next to the RCIS headquarters. Inhaling a second deep breath, exhaling, I walk into the building. Silver didn't want to come, it being so late. I look around the reception area. It's bland, no decorations, no chairs, no waiting tables. Just an empty room with an empty clerks desk at the far end. I make my way over, flash my badge to the clerk, he nods, and I walk through. I make it to the fun part of the building, starting with plastic swinging doors big enough to push a gurney through. Making way past those doors is a freezing room, I shiver, looking around. The whole left wall nothing but roll out freezers for the corpses stored here. In the center of the room, is a row of three medical tables, two inch walls on the edges of the tables, to catch blood and lead it to a drain at the edge of the table.

"Knock knock!" I yell, immediately regretting it, feeling my partner's Idiocracy finely rubbing off on me after working with him for six years.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" I hear a male voice respond from behind another door directly in front of me, on the other side of the room. A couple seconds after, the doors swing open, and a yellow Colt walks through. He's wearing a mask over his muzzle, and a white lab coat. Due to said coat, I am unable to see his Cutie Mark.

"Mr. Shade, I presume?" I ask, walking towards him.

"Please, call me Alex. And, let me guess. Celestia's head hippologist, Andreah Reigns?" He says walking over to The table closest to him.

"You guessed it. Has the flank meat arrived yet?" I inquire, going to the opposite side of the table.

"Not yet. But, you want to look at the corpse again?" His horn lighting up yellow as he asks that. He opens the door with his magic as soon as he hears me agree. The freezer door opens with a hiss, and the tray rolls out. He picks up the tray and levitates it over to the table in front of us. He sets it down and I'm looking at the taunting message I saw just yesterday. I slip on gloves over my front Hooves and delicately feel the carvings. They're deep, all the way. Meaning that the perp wasn't scared to do this.

"I dunt think that this was his first killing." I say to Alex.

"What makes you think that?" He asks.

"Look at the way these carvings are. They're deep, no hesitation marks at all. Showing they weren't scared to do this." I tell him. This might not be my field of knowing, but I sure as hell know that much. Then, from behind me I hear wheels squeek and push through the plastic doors. I turn and see a green apple coloured mare push a gurney with a cardboard box on it.

"Yes yes!!" I shout with Glee. "Put it here." I say turning around to another table. The mare does so. I thank her and open the box. I see the slabs of meat I saw only a couple of hours earlier. Alex levitates the unmarked one from the box and setting it in place on the mare on the table. It fit, he replaced it in the box and levitates the other slab. With my help, he flips the mare over. He attempts to refit the flank.

"It's too big, it won't fit. Wait, it seems there's something imbedded in the flesh." I watch him take a scalpel and cut into the meat side of the flank. Using his magic, he removes a bloody, trifolded note paper. He hoofs it to me.

"For you, I assume." He says. I grab it and unfold it, written very sloppily is the words: 'you took EVERYTHING from me now I'm going to take EVERYTHING from you'. Under all that is a photo of me walking next to my partner.

"Send it to the lab, examine everything for DNA that could be left by the killer."

I sit in my Canterlot office at headquarters. Silver in the client chair.

"Aside from getting those items tested, I'm stumped on what to do next." I tell him.
I made a mistake making the client chair one with wheels.

"Well." Silver says, rolling the chair my way, stopping next to me. "How 'bout a date? Hmmm? Your stressed, and I've got the bits. Just name the restaurant." He says, like it's a normal, everyday thing to say. I'll admit, I've had a sneaking attraction to Silver Colt for about a year. I've tried to keep it platonic, due to the fact that he's my law inforcement partner. But, I guess I'll let it slip this ONE time.

"This one time." I tell him.

"WHOOOOO!!" he shouts, holding both hooves in the air rolling his chair across my office.

"But, as you said, I choose where we eat." I interject before he accedently breaks something. He turns the chair to face me. .

"Of course madam." He tries to act proper. Which is completely broken by his goofy smile.

I get up and grab my stuff.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, mister." I say, and walk over to the door. He opens it for me, I thank him and he nods. As soon as I exit he closes the door and shouts a really loud 'YEAAAH!" I just roll my eyes and smile.

Author's Note

Oooooh, getting toasty in here!

(chapter 4) case: the mare with the missing flank

I've never been one for dresses, but I made an exception. I hadn't had a date in a while, so along with being nervous, I dunno what to wear. So I decided on a simple black dress I had in the back of my closet. It's the only dress I have, so it's not really an option to change. It's nothing special, my dress, is just solid black, with white ruffles at the bottom of it. I examine myself in my vanity mirror, the back of the dress had two wing shaped lumps under it.

"This is why I never wear this." I say to my cat, who's laying on my bed. She meows at me as if to say 'why?' "It's because I can't use, or move, my wings at all. They're going to be cramped." I tell her, she gives a half-hearted meow than rolls over to go to sleep. She's a black cat, so I'm not worried to much about her fur getting everywhere, but it's still noticable if you look close enough. I heave a nervous sigh, flip my mane to the other side of my head, and head out the door, locking it behind me. I exit my apartment building, seeing everypony back to normal after yesterday's events. I head to the edge of the sidewalk, and hail a cab carriage.

"Now you, look beautiful!" Silver compliments me as I walk up, half hour later.

"And you... Rather dashing." I return the complement in a Royal Canterlot accent. He's wearing a tux, with a silly snowman tie. "But what's with the tie?" I ask him, as we walk into my favorite restaurant, nighttime view, only open for dinner hours, pure glass ceiling to watch the stars.

"Don't like it?" He asks me.

"Don't get butt hurt." I say, bumping into him, pushing him a little." It's just silly."

We reach the counter and wait to be seated.

"Table for two?" The maroon waitress asked us, I nod. "Right this way." She tells us, guiding us towards the back. I walk behind silver as we get to our table. We sit across from eachother in a corner. Silver took the corner side so he could watch the room. I ask for a cup of water but Silver starts off heavy with a cup of cider. The waitress nods, writes it down on a pad of paper she's levitating with an orange glow. She sets down our menus and walks away.

"Cider? We don't even have our food yet and you're gonna get drunk?" I say, sounding almost like a repremand.

"You havvvvve noooooo idea how well I cannnnnn handle! Alcohol..." He answers, acting drunk. The waitress sets down our drinks a couple seconds after he said that. Breaking the momentary silence I thank her for the drink, as does my partner. I order a haygrass and Daisy salad and silver got something in some other language. We hoof the waitress our menus and she walks away.

"You know what I'm confused about?" I ask Silver soon after the lady left.

" No tellin' " he replies.

"How the M.E. found that piece of paper in the flank meat. That paper wasn't nearly big enough to portrude enough to be noticable." I say, not caring about the others around me eating.

"Mabey he saw where the killer cut the flesh to put the paper? I dunno, I'll ask him sometime." He says, taking a drink of his cider after. We sat in silence for a bit, I sat admiring the hansom Stallion in front of me. In my staring I noticed in-between sips of cider he would look beyond. But not a wondering eye looking around. A 'I see my target' look. I lean in closer and ask him.

"What's going on?"

He leans in closer aswell.

"I can't tell if that guy's really fond of this corner, or he's watching us." He tells me. I lean back and Silver watches the guy 'fond of the corner'. It seems Silver doesn't like the looks of him. He gestures a hoof at him and I turn around and look. Two great big stallions get up, pick him up, and drag him out of the restaurant. I turn back around to Silver.

"Are there fucking agents watching us?" I anoyingly ask him.

"The two that got up where, the one they grabbed was not." He tells my coldly.

"Why the hell are there agents!?" I yell at him as quiet as I can.

"You're being stalked and targeted. I had to make sure your safe."

"That's sweet of you, but why didn't you t-" I'm cut off by the waitress coming over and putting our food down. I thank her then turn my attention back to Silver.

"Why didn't you tell me!?"

"Because this is a date, i'm doing my best not to let anything stop that. And besides, those where the only two, they voluntarily did this." He tells me, starting to eat, whatever it was he got.

I had no response to what he said. So I ate in silence. The next hour we were there I had three glasses of cider. Bad idea, I dunt handle alcohol well.

I was walking completely off balanced the way home. Silver had to basicly carry me. Which he could because he only had that one thing of cider. He got me to my apartment and he tries to open the door.

"It's locked." He tells me.

"Shhhiiiit!" I manege to get out. "I leeeeeft my key in there!" I point to the door.

"Dammit, well, looks like you're crashing at my place. Come on!" He says, pulling me along.

"Buuut my kiiiiiiiiiity." I stumbley say. Staring at the door as he pulls me down the hall.

"He'll be fine." He reasures me.

"Itsssss a she!" I yell.

"Okay okay." He says

We arrive it his place, I think about twenty minutes later.

"Soooooooo, I dunt have a couch or spare bed. So you can have my bed, I'll sleep on the floor." He says, guiding me to his room.

"Nuh uh." I remark, stumbling to get in front of him and stand in his way. "I wanna sleep with you!" I say, poking his nose.

"Nah it's good. I can take floor." He says, puting his head under me, than picking me up, putting me on his back. I dazily look around as he carries me to his room. He places me on his bed and starts to walk away.

"Nuh uh." I say again. He turns to me and walks back over

"What?" He asks

"Nuh uh." I say for the third time. "I wanna sleep with you." I poke him on the nose again.

"No, really I got fl-" I cut him off.

"No silly, sleep with me." I say, pulling him in and forcing my lips on his. I feel his face burn.

I can't remember anything else after that.

Author's Note

This chapter was mostly a filler to get that stalker into the plot. 😆

But wow Andreah, somepony hasn't gotten laid in some time

(chapter 5) case: the mare with the missing flank

My head. It feels like I've been hit with a brick. Hangover, that's what they call it. And now I'm experiencing it. I open my eyes and see darkness. I realise is because I have a blanket over my head. I push the blanket off my head and light floods over me. It's extremely bright and it takes a bit to adjust. Once I can see, the first thing noticable is the feeling of the bed. There's no way this is my bed, it's too soft. Secondly. Be everything else. This is a completely different room. I sit up, rubbing my temples. I look around and notice my dress on the floor. And Silver's clothes strewn about.

"Sonovabitch. Does this mean..."

" Yes it does." Silver interjects walking into the room. "Mornin'." He says, like it's just a normal day.

"What the fuck!? We actually!?" I angrily yell.

"Hey, you're the one who initiated, I just had fun." He says, smirking.

"How drunk was I?" I ask him getting out of the bed and lazely walking over to him.

"Oh you were soooooooo loud, we're just lucky the people next door didn't call the cops. I mean really. You----"

"Okay!" I yell pushing by him. "Just shut the hell up. I need coffee." I say, heading to his kitchen

"Oh I don't drink coffee, so there's no coffee machine." He says, following me.

"Your such a dick. You know that?"

"I bet you know that." He says slyly, smirking.

"Just fuckin' go back to bed or something."

------------_----

I sit in my Canterlot office, nursing a cup of cheap black coffee. The Locksmith doesn't open for another hour so I can't go home yet. I have to go to watch the interrogation of the stalker now, but I don't know if I want to.

"Knock knock!" Silver announces. Then letting himself in. "There are results on the DNA testing on the box. Same guy in the interrogation room. Come on." He says, turning around and walking out. Not giving me enough time to voice a response. I chug the last of my coffee and toss the cup into my small trash bin. I grab my coat and run out, not bothering you shut the door.

I arrive at the interrogation room a couple of minutes later. The room it's only one floor under my office. I walk into the observation room while Silver's already in the room with the suspect.

"Why where you there yesterday, watching my." He coughs. "Objective." He asks, sitting across from the suspect.

'i wasn't watching her, I was eating dinner, jackass." The Colt says, his voice low but Shakey.

"Alright, than why IS YOUR DNA on the box that was delivered to miss Reigns!?" Silver yells. I've never heard him this authoritative.

"Alright! Alright" he gives in. "A stallion came up to me and payed me 500 bits up front to place that there. Another 300 yesterday to watch you and learn about you." The suspect says.

"What'd he look like!?' Silver yells angrely, slamming his front Hooves into the table.

" I dunno! I dunno!! He caught me off guard. Just box with a bag of bits with an address on it then he walked away. He was cloaked!" The suspect yells. Silver shakes his hoof dismissively and walks out of the room. He heads straight back to where I am and stands next to me.

"What do you think? He lying or telling the truth? " He asks me..

"I don't know, my head hurts too much to think."I tell him, receiving a chuckle in response. My phone rings and I answer to the locksmith. I tell him I'll be there in a bit and head out with Silver's as well as the chief's approval.

My walk home really made my thoughts wander. I make it to my apartment building elevator, good, let's push th-- THUD!

I walked up facing the ceiling. Wait, that's the floor. I'm hanging by my back hooves. My head is splitting. Theres a puddle of blood, just under my mane. The blood is coming from my head and running down. I can't even see any blood in my name because the color is so close. KERCHUNK somepony releises me and I slam into the ground . I manage to look up to a pony with a surgical mask over their face.

"This is your punishment. Shhhhhhhhhh" he says to be, running his hoof through my mane.

--_------------

Why won't she pick up?

This is the third time that rang, next time it rings I'm gonna-

"Hello?" I answer my partner's office phone.

"Hello, this is hooves and handles locksmith, we need miss Reigns at her building to show us where her apartment is." The voice on the other side answers.

I slam the phone down on the receiver and run over to the chief .

"Chief!" I shout running into his office.

"Yes, mr.colt." he replies.

"I just got a call from the locksmith saying that Andreah isn't there!" I tell him worriedly.
"She's not responding to her phone either!"

"Its him now, isn't it? The maiming perp you two are working on?" He asks, picking up his phone and dialing a number.

"That's what I'm afraid of sir." I tell him.

'Andreah, please be alive'

"You're the reason I did what I did." The Stallion towering over me says.

"What did I do?!" I shout.

"You took him from me." He states. Taking a scalpel and placing it on my left forearm.
He pushes it down and pain strikes emediatly. Then he drags it down my forearm. Getting a loud scream from me.

"I enjoyed what I did, he didn't judge me, he helped me!" He yells, taking the scalpel and making another line down my leg., Earning another tell from me and a few tears.

"W-who helped you?' I drag out, Whimpering.

"My father, he sympathized, he knew what I had to do. He knew what I felt. He KNEW my impulses, and you took him. And now you're going to pay." He says. He takes the scalpel and shoves it deep into my leg. My vision clouds, then blacks out.

(chapter 6) case: the mare with the missing flank

"Chief, Reigns has been missing for a day now, we need to find her."

"Interrogate that 'messanger' he probably knows more than he thinks. Now go, Colt."

"Yes sir"

I'd open my eyes if I weren't so exausted. My front leg has gone numb, but I still have a fine range of motion. Mr. asshole didn't hit anything important.

I rest for a bit more, than muster up the strength to open my eyes. I'm in a chair, tied in the sitting position. My back hooves tied to the chair legs. I tug at the restraints, but to no avail. My mane caked in blood. I can feel it. I look around, not seeing anypony. It seems I'm in an old celler or basement. One single light aluminated the whole room. Aside from me, it's completely empty. No equipment of some kind, no garbage, nothing at all.

CLANK CLACK. The sounds of a metal door opening. I hear hooves clopping on the other side of the door, than it opens.

"Oh good, your awake." The figure says. Coming into alumination I get a good look at him. He's yellow with a pale orange mane. His Cutie Mark, a couple of envelopes, I make a guess at him working at a post office. "I've been waiting." He says.

"An wha you wan wi me?" I say, finding myself incapable of making hard consinent sounds.

"I'm here to get even." He states coldly. Scraping the scalpel across the cement walls. "For what you did to me!" He yells, throwing the scalpel, landing it in my leg, I hear it squelch before I feel the shock shoot up my body and I stifle a scream.

"Wha---- wha did I ever do you? I don recognize you." I say, not trying to hide the fear taking me over. He walk over and Yanks the scalpel out, a stream of blood emediatly running down my leg. I flinch as he swipes the blade about.

"You don't recognize me? Of course you don't." He scoffs, throwing the scalpel again, i squeeze my eyes shut, expecting a surge of pain, but I notice it hit the wooden chair, stuck. I open my eyes.

"How about this? Stallion kidnapped ten mares. Tortured them to death. Chopped them up, bagged the appendiges and dumped them around Canterlot." He says, throwing the small blade again, missing again. "Along comes this eager, off the press detective, with his over the top partner. And go and ruin his fun. Send his thirteen year old to the Foster system. Then they go home and sleep well. Content with themselves." He says angrely. Grabbing the scalpel, throwing it, and clipping my cheek. I can feel a little bit of blood ooz out of the spot on my cheek.

"I had fun maiming and dismembering those corpses." He says grabbing the blade again and walking back to the front of the room. "I'll have more fun dismembering you!" He throws the scalpel hitting me square in the shoulder. I stifle a scream, biting the inside of my cheek, and the metallic taste of blood fills my mouth.

"Wait." I say, panting. I wiggle my left hoof in it's restraint and manage to get it free. I keep it there, holding a façade that I'm still tied.

"Your father's not dead." I say to him. "Go visit him. In The prison." I stall for time.

"You think I didn't do that? I watched him during his lethal injection." He says considerably closer, but not close enough.

"I watched them bury him." Almost

"I watched them fill in the hole with dirt." Closer

" I watched th--!" I cut him off by socking him in the side of the face. He's shock long enough for me to untie myself. I do so then run out the door. Ending up in field. I can't go to far with this limp. My wings! He didn't touch them! I extend my wings and fly towards the nearest hospital, as I see were still in Canterlot

I walk in and two nurses run over and catch me. I'm a mess. Three, bloody slices in my right foreleg. My right back leg two slices. My mane caked in blood, and a scalpel stuck in my shoulder.

"Pick her up and put her on the gurney there!" Someone yells before I faint.

RING RING. I hear my desk phone ring, I pick it up with my magic and bring it to my ear.

"RCIS Detective Colt speaking." I say into the phone.

"Mr. Colt, I have a Dr. Reigns here at the Canterlot hospital, she ca-"

"I'll be right there!" I yell into the receiver, slamming it down and running out.

----_--------

"Get rid of that light." I say, not knowing if anypony is there. I can't open my eyes due to the bright light. I hear the distinct sound of blinds being shut and it gets darker. I force my eyes open to see who shut the blinds for me. I look around the room and see Silver in the corner by the window.

"Well hello there Mr. Colt." I say to him, making myself sit up in bed. He hops out of his chair and trots over to the side of the hospital bed.

"Good to see yoummph-" I cut him off py planting a kiss on his lips. I pull away.

"I thought I'd never see you again." I say, tears welling in my eyes. Dammit Reigns. He's your partner, not your lover. I sigh. "Forgive me for my, outburst." I feel one of the tears fall. I wipe it away with my left hoof, the only one working properly at the moment.

"U-uh, forgiven?" He says, unsure of what to do.

"On the other hoof, I'm, I think I know who's doing this. Get my the case file of our first case. Please?" I say.

"Anything for you." He says, poking me on the nose and walking out the door.

Silver walks up to the archives. Taking a deep sigh hoping he won't get lost, he opens the doors. It was a quick in and out. He remembers the day he met the one sided love of his life. But, he's been making good progress. With the file floating behind him he walks across the taxi lot. He watches a personal carriage slow down in front of him. Then he sees the barrel of a firearm. What he thought was to late.

The distinct Clop clop clop of Silver's hooves is something I've become used to. But this time they sounded different. There was a quick clop in the middle of the regular rythim. Sounds like he's limping. He rounds the curtain separating me from the other pony in this room. I notice a bandage around his right shoulder.

"Fuck! Silver, what happened!?" I push, worryingly. I sit up some more, sending a shock up my back leg.

"Some prick just got a lucky shot. I'm fine. Here's the file." He says, levitating the file onto my lap.

"Come here." I say, pushing myself into the left side of the bed, leaving enough room for him. The move making me wince due to my front leg.

"Oh no, I've got a chair ri-"

"SILVER COLT! You get your ass over here." I yell demandingly, probobly too loud.

"Okay, okay." He says, smirking a bit. He sits down next to me, I put my left hoof on his good shoulder and push him down so he's laying next to me.

"Rest." I tell him. Then turn my attention towards the file that lay on my lap. I open it and skim read. I see that the father died of lethal injection nine years ago. And the boy would be, 24, now. About that stallions age. Ok I know what to do next, well, once I get out of this damned hospital.

Author's Note

Okay, I am completely confused on the whole colt/stallion thing.

(chapter 7) case: the mare with the missing flank

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.