HiE: Jack Is Back

Ronnie's POV

I was awakened from my sleep by the sound of a bell. I slowly sat up and looked around. I saw a unicorn guard ringing a small bell of the type that schoolteachers used to have. Standing behind her was Shining Armor. He strode forward as the other humans and I woke up and looked at the two ponies in the room.

"Good morning everypony. I'm sorry if I interrupted your sleep, but I have some news I think you're going to want to hear." I noticed that Mary and the kid (Rich I think his name was?) both looked expectantly at Shining. "You are all to be released soon. We're still finalizing all the paperwork, but that shouldn't take ore than a day or two. I will ask that you stay within the settled areas of Equestria. There are a lot of dangerous places in and around it. Other than that, you're free to go. We will be checking up on you every once in a while though, just to make sure that nothing's wrong," he said.

"It's about time!", Mary said. "We've been in here for nearly three weeks. Tell me, have you had any luck with finding us a way back home?" I noticed that the drunk (still don't know his name) nodded, though whether it was about being freed or wanting to know about a way home was unclear. Shining shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid that with all that's been going on we've only recently started to look for a way to return you all to where you came from. It may be a while before we can do anything to get you home. These types of spells are very hard to pull off, and we'll need to try and account for all of what could happen and what could go wrong before we even attempt to cast the spell," Shining said. It looked like he had something else on his mind, but he left it unsaid. "Just hang tight for a bit longer. Once the paperwork has been filled out you'll be free as birds."

Having finished what he came here to do Shining turned around and left, though with the notable difference of there no longer being a guard staying just outside the door. I turned towards the others, deciding to make a bit of conversation since we were now awake with nothing to do. We were all too excited by the news to go back to sleep.

"Hey, Rich, how about that? Soon we'll be free to do as we please. What are you thinking of doing when you get out?" I asked. He frowned as he turned toward me.

"My name's Rick, not Rich. Also, why are you taking an interest in my plans now? We've been locked up together for a few weeks now and this is the first time you've spoken to me. You usually spend your time talking to Mary or the ponies," Rick said. The sad thing was that he was entirely right. I had talked with a couple of the others, but never with him.

"I'm sorry for calling you Rich. I'm also sorry for not talking to you until now. I didn't feel like there was need to, but that's no real excuse to ignore you. Still, we're talking now, aren't we?" I silently hoped that would be enough to quell him.

"Yeah, I guess that's true," he said. Afterwards there were a few moments where nothing was said. I felt like that might've been the end of us talking, and it would be the last time we'd ever have a connection to each other. Then, as I turned to walk away Rick spoke up. "So, where are you from, if you don't mind me asking?" I turned and looked at him. There was no signs of ulterior motives in his eyes, just a strange sort of curiosity. It took me a while to answer because of how abrupt the question had been. I decided that there was no harm in telling Rick a little about myself.

"I'm originally from Muswell Hill in London, England, though I've lived in the United States since I was eleven," I said. I figured that would be enough to satisfy him. "Why are you asking?"

"Oh, I just wanted to learn a little about everyone. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?" Rick asked.

"Of course not, I was just asking for curiosity's sake. I'm sure you can understand that," I replied. That seemed to clear everything up, and Rick moved on to one of the others. Thus ended my time with him. I sat back down on the floor of the cell and wondered what the rest of this place would be like, and if the ponies would be welcoming or not.

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We were all awake when Shining Armor came down to us two days later. He looked at us with a smile, likely feeling happy for us now that we were going to be free, and him free of us. I can only imagine that this hasn't been easy on him. He and a few unknown guards escorted us out of the dungeons, through elegant and opulent halls, and through a set of large doors. It seemed that we had been held in a castle of sorts. I wondered who might live in it and who the rulers were, but not for long. Not long after we made it out of the castle a group of ponies galloped towards us with notebooks and cameras.

"Well,it looks like someone tipped off the reporters that you all would be getting out today," Shining said. "I'm sorry in advance if any of them bother you too much." With that Shining and the guards helped us move past the ever-moving wall of reporters trying to get a scoop. Multiple voices yelled at us as we went by.

"Captain Armor, can you tell us what these creatures are?" "Can they talk?" "Who and what are all of you?" Captain Armor, is it true that these are just a mutant breed of Diamond Dog?" "Where do they come from?" The questions were as redundant as they were endless. Cameras flashed in our faces everywhere we looked. Shining Armor looked at them all and prepared to tell them something.

"Attention everypony, please listen up. The individuals behind me have been through a lot, so I would appreciate it if you could kindly leave them be for now. I'm sure if they ever want to give interviews then they'll seek you out, but for now can you just agree to calm down and go back to your respective offices?" Shining looked over them all, waiting for nods and words of agreement. One by one the media ponies left, albeit with frowns on their faces. Well, most of them left. One who had been stuck in the back of the crowd stayed behind and made his way toward Shining Armor.

"Captain Armor, can you tell me anything about those murders from a few weeks ago? I've been holding off on writing anything about it in case there was a bigger story there," the pony said.

"I have nothing to say about any criminal investigations at the moment. The moment that we have something worth telling I or another member of the Royal Guard will make a statement to the press. Now, if you'll please be on your way my group here needs to get going," Shining replied.

"Well, could you at least tell me why one of our photographers managed to get a picture of Princess Cadence on what seemed to be a date with somepony other than you? Our readers would really appreciate it." At this Shining's expression darkened a bit. He stepped forward, closing some of the distance between him and the reporter.

"What's your name, sir?" Shining asked in a calm polite tone. Somehow that made the question more threatening than if he had said it in a angry voice.

"It's um, it's Yellow Factfinder, Captain Armor," the reporter stammered back.

"Well, Mr. Factfinder, I would remind you that what Princess Cadence does in her private time is nopony's business but her own. She can see whomever she wishes. As for me, I'll be happy as long as I'm not being antagonized by rumor-seeking ponies that work for newspapers that push sensationalist stories that barely have room for the truth," Shining said in a quiet voice, his eyes gleaming with dark thoughts. It was strange to see him like this after so long of only seeing him being nice and kind, as if a strange inverted version of him had stepped in for a minute. "This conversation will of course remain off the record, correct?"

"Yes, of course Captain Armor." Yellow was starting to sweat. You could feel the tension and nervousness in the air.

"Well, if I can't help you any further then we need to be on our way. Have a nice day." With that Shining and the guards led us off the castle grounds and to a nearby hotel. It was a quaint little place called the Gallop On Inn, and was owned by a kind looking mare with a ruby coat and light-purple mane.

"This is where we'll leave you. As you're a group of innocent creatures who most likely don't have any legal Equestrian currency on you the ruler of our land, Princess Celestia, has seen fit to give you each two hundred bits. These should allow you to live for a month or two while you try and find a stable source of income while you're here. Of course, we hope that you aren't stuck here long enough to need long-term employment, but we simply have no idea how long it'll take to get you all home, or even of we can. So, take these bits as not only a way to obtain goods without money of your own, but also as an early apology if things go wrong." He looked solemn as he said this, as though he had already given up on the hope that we might return home. However, no one else took notice of this and gratefully took one of the bags of money. "I hope that none of you run into trouble, but if you do just try and find one of the nearest guard stations. Other than that, just try and adjust to your current situation," Shining finished. He and the guards left the hotel, and we were left on our own in a strange world far removed from our own.

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Celestia's POV

Another day had gone by, another two hours of listening to the nobles debate governmental disputes amongst themselves without coming close enough to a resolution. Total executive power meant nothing if everything just went in circles and never made it to you. Then would come another four hours of listening to petty squabbles and disagreements in court. Most ponies didn't visit the Day Court for help anymore because of the attitudes of said nobles. The nobles would come in, lay out their accusations against the others, tell all their arguments, then leave before I could do anything, their conflict to be forgotten and then started anew within the week. Those who did visit Day Court usually came for the same reasons as the nobles. It took all the strength and control I had not to interrupt them and offer simple solutions that they had overlooked. I did not want to become rude and unsympathetic in their eyes. So, day after day, four more hours of arguing, yelling, and waiting patiently for it to end. When the end came I waited for any ponies occupying the throne room to leave before stepping down from my throne, laying down, and simply relaxing for a few minutes. Today, however, was different. I had just started descending from my throne when I heard I knock on the door.

"You many enter," I said. The door to the throne room opened to reveal a mail pegasus with a package in her mouth. She walked up to me and gently dropped the package to the ground.

"Delivery for you, Your Majesty," she said in a chipper manner. I tried to thank her but she left before I could. I looked down at the package laying on the floor. It was a yellow shipping envelope with my name on the front in bold letters. There was no return address or anything else that might've helped me determine where it came from. I backed up a few feet and picked it up using my magic in case it was anything dangerous. It opened with relative ease, and inside was a letter. The letter was sloppily written, as if the writer had been rushed, and there were numerous spelling errors.

"Dear Prinsess Celestia,

I am writing to let you know that Im sorry for those killings. I am sory that I couldnt do more to their bodies but if I had stayed longer I mightve been caught. Dont worry though Ill make up for it on the next one. Ill also try and collect more souveneers to add to the one I already sent.

Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper"

I found myself both terrified and baffled by the letter. On the one hoof this meant that the killer was going to strike again. On the other, I had no idea what this 'Jack' meant by souvenir. That's when I thought to look in the package. Inside, shoved into the bottom corner where it could barely be seen, was something dark and bloody. It was somepony's womb! I felt the dandelion salad I'd had earlier start to come back up.

"Guards! Guards come quickly!" I yelled. Immediately the sound of many hooves pounding their way towards me could be heard. The throne room doors burst open as a large group of guards clambered inside. They ran up and surrounded me, standing together in a defensive circle. One of the guards turned to me.

"What happened Your Majesty? Where's the trouble?" He asked.

"There was a package delivered to me that contained the womb of a dead pony. Though, I must ask how this package managed to get to me without someone checking it," I said, trying to calm my strongly beating heart. "Never mind that. I believe that something bad is going to happen soon. Please send out some extra patrols tonight. Also, could one of you please go grab Captain Armor for me? The rest of you can leave, and if you wouldn't mind taking the package with you I would greatly appreciate it." One guard broke off from the others, to rouse Shining. The rest left the throne room to dispose of the package and go on patrol. Shining Armor showed up about a half-hour later, looking slightly agitated and very tired.

"Good evening, Your Majesty. I heard that you had some trouble earlier," he said drowsily.

"Shining Armor, I've told you time and time again to just call me Celestia. Yes, there was a problem, and I fear there might be a much bigger problem before the night is through. Earlier I received a package containing this letter." I gave him the letter and waited for him to read it through. His eyes grew wide as he finished reading.

"Celestia, do you know this means? That murderer from a few weeks ago is back. We have a serial killer on our hooves!" Shining exclaimed. I understood what he said about the murderer coming back, though one thing confused me.

"Shining Armor, what is a serial killer?" I asked him. He looked at me sheepishly and responded.

"Oh, that's just a term I picked up while talking with the huemans. It describes someone who kills multiple people over a prolonged time period, or something like that. I was horrified when they suggested something that horrible could be happening here, but now I'm not so sure." Shining took a deep breath and continued. "The thing we need to focus on though is that there might be a murderer on the loose. I just hope that this letter is a hoax."

"I don't think that this is a hoax. Something else arrived in the package that proved that it really is the same culprit come back again. I told the guards to dispose of it after I saw it. It was the womb of one the victims," I said. I blinked, saw the womb again, and gagged again. Shining looked at me with concern, but I waved it off.

"Okay, so the murderer sent you a letter and a body part. That doesn't mean that they're going to strike again. It could just be a scare tactic." I narrowed my eyes. Shining seemed to not understand how serious this could be.

"Shining Armor, we need to be prepared if they kill again," I said, trying to get him to realize the danger that may be lurking. "We need to warn the guards about this threat so they can look out for--"

"And we will, we'll be prepared no matter what happens. Please just calm down, I don't want you to have a panic attack, or worse," Shining said, cutting me off mid-sentence. "I'll go and tell the guards right now before they go out on those extra patrols that you ordered." Shining then turned and left the throne room before I could get another word in. I just hoped that this would be enough to prevent any further tragedies.

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Ronnie's POV

It had been a few hours since we arrived at the hotel. I was lounging in my room. It was too early in the day to go to sleep, yet too late to do many thing. Well, except for shopping perhaps, but I wanted to make these 'bits' last for awhile in case of emergency, so that was out. So, I was just sitting there with nothing to do when there was a knock at the door. I got up quickly and walked over, relishing the chance to do something. Standing there with a worried look on his face was Shining Armor.

"We need to talk," he said. "There's a bit of a situation that seems eerily close to things you've said."

"You're not implying that I have anything to do with anything incriminating, are you?" I questioned.

"No, of course not. It's just that a there's something you told me that may be important to a current investigation I'm a part of. I just wanted to talk about a few things with you that might help me out." His eyes shifted behind me to the room I was in. "So, may I come in?" I moved aside and let Shining into the room. He walked in and, finding there were no chairs, sat down on the floor. In an attempt to be courteous I decided to join him on the floor. "Firstly, I need you to make a vow that what's said here won't leave this room without my permission." He looked me dead in the eye as he said that.

"Of course. I won't spread word of anything you may tell me unless you give the go ahead," I replied.

"If you don't mind I'd like some kind of leverage in case you try to break my trust. So' I'm just going to take back those bits Celestia gifted you. I'm sorry to do this, but I don't know you well enough to warrant complete and utter faith that you won't betray me. This should ensure that you at least have a reason to stick with me, because otherwise you might not get enough to feed yourself or afford a roof over your head." Shining levitated the bag to himself using his magic.

"How do you know I won't just get a job?" I rebutted.

"A lot of ponies here in Canterlot are a bit too upper-class for their own good. They hardly even give work to other ponies if they're not unicorns, so they won't even consider you. You'd have to take the train somewhere else, which would cost you money. This ensures that you'll stay here and help me," Shining Armor explained. "I don't like doing this, but I don't exactly have the most trust in you. I hardly know the type of ponynality you possess. If you work with me you might be able to win me over and get the bits back."

"Alright then. Guess I have no choice," I said. "So, what's so important that you had to take all my money in order to trust me?"

"Right, well it turns out that your little theory about that killer from a few weeks ago may not have been that far off. I'm not sure that the murderer's returned, but Princess Celestia seems to think they've returned, so we're going to ere on the side of caution. A letter was sent to the castle today that was supposedly from the killer. It said there was going to be another murder. I'm of the mind that the letter is a hoax that was meant to frighten whoever received it," Shining said.

"Well, why are you telling me all of this? I'm not sure why you're being so trusting to an outsider to the case, as well as the law enforcement system around here and this world." Shining looked me straight in the eye as he responded.

"You guessed that the killer might come back, so if it is true that means you might know other things that could prove helpful to us. Also, you said you were a criminologist. I'm guessing that that's somepony who studies criminals and the like, just based on the words I can hear within it of course. If this is true then you might be able to help us with the investigation and give us some advice n this type of killer." He explained in such a precise and deliberate way that I wondered if he'd rehearsed this. "Either way, if word gets out about a mysterious killer that hasn't been seen ponies might start to speculate and start to distrust any non-ponies. So, it may just be safer for you to stick with me," Shining Armor concluded.

"Wait, if there may be a danger to me because I'm different than what about the others? Won't they be in just as much danger as me?" I wondered if Shining wasn't just making up the paranoid tendencies of the ponies to make me comply.

"Look, I'll try and see if I can spare a guard to look after your friends here, alright? I can only afford the one though, and even then I might not be able to do that," Shining said downtrodden. There sounded like there was a touch of something else mixed in with those feelings, though I don't know for sure. Still, there was little I could do and nowhere I could go.

"Alright, I'm in. I'll help you out, though I have no clue how much help I'll be," I said.

"Thank you, and don't worry I'm sure you'll be of help in some way," Shining said, a small smile starting to form on his face. However, I could see shadows in his eyes, notes of worry, and perhaps more.