28 Days To Armageddon

After getting their first good night’s sleep in a few days, the ponies began the investigation in earnest. Mist and her friends were made honorary detectives for the occasion, as their knowledge of Twilight could prove invaluable. Applejack continued her stay in jail, and with every second that past, her anger grew exponentially. Some even began speculating that Twilight might have infected her with Lycantropy. But all the bloodwork came back negative. Still, though, Applejack’s rage was frightening to behold.

Back at the crime scene, the investigators, quite literally, left no stone unturned. Nothing was done halfheartedly or with laziness. The rubble took a few hours to dig through, but they kept going until they’d uncovered everything. The clues were all there, and unfortunately, all pointed to Twilight. Claw marks on a board matched the prints taken from The Everfree Forest. They put a strand of hair into a new portable DNA analyzer, which matched it to Twilight. But there were also burn marks on some of the trees. This was very puzzling, as the symptom of fire breath was not in the list Stethoscope had given the sergeant.

“So…does this mean Twilight’s innocent?” Fluttershy asked hopefully.

“I’m afraid not, my dear,” the sergeant said with truth and compassion, “remember, we must look deeper. Some burn marks on a tree won’t convince a jury of your friend’s innocence. There’s got to be something we’re not seeing. Keep searching, everypony!”

So, the group fanned out and swept through the area once again. Some began to doubt their own adequacy in such a task. After all, they were simple ponies. They had not been to the same police academy that the officers had. But, a friend would always come through and encourage them. Their efforts stretched on into the late afternoon, when the sergeant finally called them off and declared that they’d wait to do more. He wanted them all to get some food in their stomachs, because he knew that it would be a very long night.

They trotted back into town, some with their tails drooping. It seemed like all their attempts at unearthing Twilight’s innocence were being destroyed. There were terrible thoughts running through some minds…thoughts of the monster she’d become. It was certainly within the realm of possibility that she had committed these crimes. But none of them wanted to believe it, especially Mist Dawn. There just had to be another explanation, and as they sat down to dinner, she decided to ask the sergeant about it.

“So…what do you think?”

“I think I need some food, Mist,” the sergeant responded, “but if you’re asking me about the case, I just don’t know. Twilight’s DNA and…er…claw marks were at the scene. But those burn marks on the trees…”

“I thought you said they didn’t matter,” Mist ventured.

“No, my dear, I said they couldn’t prove Twilight’s innocence,” he said, “they definitely matter. They’re clues, all the same. But we’ll have to find a hell of a lot more if we want to clear Twilight’s name.”

A moment passed before Mist spoke again. “So…have you ever…you know…had a friend who might have done something terrible?”

The sergeant backed away from the table as a waiter set a plate of food in front of him. He gulped down a bite or two before responding. “Yes, Mist, I have. My old partner on the force, Snap Shot. He was an incredible police pony, and the best damn crime scene photographer this side of Canterlot. The stallion could tell you where a criminal had been by a smudge on the photograph!”

“He sounds amazing!” Mist breathed, “so…what happened?”

“He got caught…”

“Caught? Doing what?”

“Pony porn, my dear Mist,” the sergeant said.

“Wait…he took pictures of ponies having sex with each other?”

The sergeant nodded. “Yeah, he did. Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with exploring one’s sexual wants. But…it doesn’t look good for the force. That’s why partaking in it is strictly against regulations. Worse, when the chief caught him, he was in the middle of making love to a hooker mare.”

“Oh, my Celestia!” Mist exclaimed, “did he get any jail time?”

“You bet your ass he got jail time!” The sergeant suddenly thundered, “I saw to that. He broke, not only our force rules, but Equestrian law! He also…destroyed our friendship.”

The look on the grizzled veteran’s face was horrible to behold. Pain unlike anything Mist had ever known was painted there. It became apparent that the sergeant and Snap Shot had been incredibly close. So, Mist decided not to press further and just let the officer explain as he wanted to. But, even without her asking, he seemed to want to talk about it, for he launched into a story. He spoke of meeting Snap at the academy, of double dating with their marefriends, and of joyous times past. Buckball games mixed with studies to create a world that immersed Mist. She saw them laughing and enjoying each other’s company, engraining a friendship that should have stood the test of time.

“Wow,” she said when he finished, “it sounds like Snap was an amazing pony.”

“Yes, he was,” The sergeant said, “we graduated at the top of our class. I always thought we’d be on the force together forever. We’d even agreed to be best stallions at each other’s weddings. I fell in love with this gorgeous mare named Tulip, and he loved a mare named Daisy. Unfortunately, I had to break the news to her of his messing around behind the scenes.”

“What did she do?”

“She broke down. I never saw her again…”

“Don’t tell me that she-“

The sergeant stopped her with a sad nod. It became apparent that Daisy had committed suicide after learning of her lover’s unfaithfulness. Mist felt her heart break on behalf of the mare. She certainly would never allow a stallion to treat her so badly. But, I guess sometimes, you don’t have a choice, she thought, sometimes…even your closest friends can lie to you.