The police station was only three blocks away from Café D'amour, but in the crazy city of Manehattan, walking there was not an option. It would take as much time to walk that distance as it would to walk three miles. I hailed a taxi and prepared myself for the meeting with the detective ahead of me.

The police station was fairly new, and I expected as much. I did a little research about the station and its ponies, as all good detectives should do, and learned that the it had been a victim of arson a few years ago. It was rebuilt bigger and better, standing as the station I looked upon then.

I pushed the large metal doors open, entering a beige-brick hall that led to a larger room, where the personnel's desks were. It didn't take me long to find Detective Lass; I simply had to follow the sound of shouting.

The steely grey-coated detective stood on a crate, as to be taller than the officers he was addressing. He was yelling orders, pointing to various ponies as he gave them. Before long, he told everyone to move out, and jumped off the crate to join them. I stepped in front of him, causing Detective Lass to roll his eyes and scowl.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Murder." His voice dripped with a faint venom.

"No, my name is Cristal Blanc." This got me another look, more dangerous than the first, but I felt proud of hitting one of his nerves. I didn't like the detective very much. "You told me to come here for the information on my case."

"Right." Detective Lass pointed to a hall behind him. "Go talk to our lab guy. I've got a copy of all the papers you'll need on my desk. Don't touch anything else."

He walked around me, making an effort to bump into my shoulder as he did it. I walked over to the detective's desk, seeing a frighteningly short stack of documents. It contained Sunny Side's police file, her medical records, and the report and pictures on the crime scene. I was almost positive that the detective wasn't giving me everything they had, but I was a stubborn mare, and a dedicated detective. Lack of information wouldn't shake me.

I slipped the documents into the special pocket on the inside of my jacket dedicated for evidence. After taking note of the cat picture peeking out from under a separate pile of papers on the desk, I began my little walk to the crime lab.

The lab was rather small, but they made the most of the limited space. Tables were covered with beakers and chemicals, lab reports and computers, evidence bags and rubber gloves. I carefully crept through the chaos, looking for a pony anywhere in the room.

The door to the lab swung open. I turned around quickly, wanting to see if it was the analysist. I was taken aback when I didn't see anypony come through the door.

I cautiously walked up to the door, readying myself for whatever might happen by taking out the pepper spray that I keep in my coat. Holding the can at eye level, I peeked around the final table--

"Why, hello there, ma'am! What can I help you with?"

I yelped and accidentally pressed down on the pepper spray. A cloud came forth from the can. I regained my composure and stopped spraying, but I still didn't see anypony. "Bonjour?"

"Oh, I took Prench in high school! Um... let's see... je suis ici!"

I looked down to see a little green Pegasus stallion smiling and waving at me. His white and yellow mane was crazed, as if he had been struck by lightning. His cutie mark was concealed by his long lab coat, which had various notes and used gloves sticking out from its many pockets.

"En quoi puis-je vous aider?" The stallion asked politely. He didn't seem the least bit fazed that I spoke Prench, or that there was a random pony walking around in his lab.

"Don't worry, I can speak Equestrian just fine," I said, smiling when the analysist wiped a hoof across his forehead. "My name is Cristal Blanc--"

"Oh, I know you! Well, not really, but Detective Lass came in here with the hair and began ranting all about you! I didn't know he could talk that much until he went off on you!" The stallion laughed at the memory.

I couldn't hide the amusement that bubbled up inside me. I playfully raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Oh yeah!" The analysist threw his hooves in the air as he continued. "He was all like, 'She's so egotistical' and 'She thinks she's so smart' and 'Thinks she's above the law just 'cause she's new'! I secretly think he likes you, since he never talks that much about anypony. Not even himself."

"Well, I wish I could say I was flattered, but I rather dislike the detective." I looked around the disorganized lab again. "Do you have the results on the hair, Monsieur?"

"Of course I do!" As the Pegasus flew around the lab, he added, "My name is Dr. Bang, but you can call me Bang. Or The Bang, if you really want."

I smothered a giggle as the analysist came back to me with the report document. "I don't wanna burst your bubble, but there was no follicle on the hair, so I can't tell who's it was."

I mentally scolded myself. A detective forgetting to look for a follicle on a hair is like a chef not caring whether they use salt or sugar in a recipe. It doesn't happen often, and when it does, it's a complete embarrassment. "Was there anything to find out about the hair?" I asked.

"Why, yes there was!" Bang said. "The hair was not naturally yellow! It had been dyed!"

"What was the original color?"

"Purple!" he cried, shoving an evidence bag in my face. Sure enough, the hair inside was a light shade of purple, not the screaming yellow it had been yesterday.

"Thank you," I said, carefully pushing the bag from my face. "Was there anything else?"

"Um, yes, one more thing," Bang said, skimming over the report. "The pony who had this hair had a common gene that causes hair to grow thin."

"Common gene..." I pondered aloud. I had been hoping for something that would narrow my suspect list down a little more, but this would have to do. "Once again, thank you for your help, Bang."

"No prob, Miss Blanc!" He said happily, handing me a copy of the hair's report. "J'espère vous revoir bientôt!"

"Moi aussi!" I said. Just before I left the lab, I turned around. "You can call me Cristal."

Author's Note

Translation Notes

• Café D'amour (Paragraph 1)- Love Coffee
• Bonjour (Paragraph 14)- Hello [or Good Morning, but Hello was used in the story]
• Je suis ici! (Paragraph 15)- I'm down here!
• En quoi puis-je vous aider? (Paragraph 17)- What can I help you with?
• Monsieur (Paragraph 22)- Mister [Mr.]
• J'espère vous revoir bientôt! (Paragraph 32)- I hope I see you again soon!
• Moi aussi! (Paragraph 33)- Me too!