The paramedics arrived within 20 to 25 minutes. I sat on the ground with her the whole time. Just holding that paper towel onto her injured head. Whoever it was that attacked her really did a number on her.

When they arrived, Zecora was hurriedly strapped onto a stretcher and loaded into the emergency carriage. As they were taking her away, I saw Applejack just look down in disgust. With her Stetson covering her face. Before the paramedics arrived, Apple Bloom was told by her big sis to go and tell Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle what was going on. And seconds before she was taken away, here they came. Looking just as worried as Apple Bloom and Applejack were.

Now, it was just all five of us standing outside Zecora’s hut. Me thinking who could’ve done this.

Suddenly, Apple Bloom looked up at me with a worried face.

“M-M-Mister Shadow, I-Is Zecora g-gonna b-b-be alright?” She asked with a few shutters mixed in, as well as some tears welling up in her eyes.

I felt so sorry for this poor filly. This Zebra was her friend, and she found her beaten to within an inch of her life. She must be so scared of what she saw, and terrified that her friend could possibly be dead.

I shouldn’t come to that conclusion, but after what I saw, this Zebra mare would be lucky to be alive after that.

I sighed. “I don’t know, kiddo. She looked in pretty bad shape.” I said.

She whimpered a little bit. Thankfully, Sugar Belle pulled her into a hug to comfort her. I heard a few choked sobs from the little filly.

I lowered myself down to her level. “Hey, the paramedics came within good time.” I said to her, as she looked back at me. Tears still very much fresh in her eyes.

“She’s in good hooves now. Maybe her life will be saved. Just don’t lose hope now, okay?” I told her.

She sniffled a little bit, wiping her eyes with a her forehoof.

“Who coulda done this? Was it a Manticore or something?” Sugar Belle asked, sounding concerned.

I saw Big Macintosh shake his head. “Eenope. If it was, we woulda heard it from here. Manticore attacks are pretty loud. And Zecora’s hut and Sweet Apple Acres aren’t to far from each other.” He told us.

“Not to mention” I started to say “There would’ve been a huge claw mark or gash in her side. As well as more blood then what I found. Plus, Zecora was found inside her hut. If it was a Manticore, she would’ve been found outside somewhere.” I said.

Applejack, who had her Stetson tilted down for a few moments, now tilted it back up.

“Well, looks like we got a mystery to solve, eh Shadow?” She asked me.

“So, that means you wanna work with me on this case?” I asked.

She nodded. “I’d be happy to help, partner. Zecora’s ma friend too. And I’d like to get the varmit that did this.”

Varmit? Wow. She sure is a country gal if I’ve ever known one.

“Alright. Good to know.” I said.

“Hold on a minute.” Big Macintosh said. Oh great. He’s probably gonna not want her too.

“AJ, are you seriously considering partnering with this guy? Y’all barely know him.” He said in a scolding tone. I saw the looks on Apple Bloom and Sugar Belle’s faces. They knew this wasn’t gonna be good. And I did too.

She furred her eyebrows. “I know Detective Shadow Haze well enough. And I know he’s a good stallion, who will work his flank off to find justice for a pony. Or any type of creature in Equestria.”

“How do y’all know that?” He turned toward me with an untrusting look on his face.

“How am I supposed to know y’all will protect ma little sister? How am I supposed to know you won’t fuck up and get her killed?” Big Macintosh asked me in one of the most hostile tones I’ve ever heard.

“BIG MAC!” Sugar Belle exclaimed, while Apple Bloom looked scared. I guess these two, mostly Apple Bloom, have never heard Big Macintosh use the F word before.

Good thing they aren’t around me that often.

This motherfucker is asking for it. Just as I was about to tell him off, Applejack stopped him.

“That’s Enough Already!” She hollered at him, her face looking as furious as ever.

Big Macintosh, however, wasn’t looking intimidated.

“Big brother, I told y’all about the deal that Detective Shadow Haze and Princess Celestia made. Any one of the Elements of Harmony, and Spike, can team with Shadow. If he wants too that is. And I’m an adult now. I’ve saved Equestria many times. I don’t need y’all trying to protect me. So, whether y’all like it or not, I’m working with Detective Shadow Haze. So deal with it.” She ranted at her brother.

He just snorted in anger, trying to keep it in. I guess he knew her mind was made up. And there was no stopping her.

“Fine.” Big Macintosh said. He then turned back to me again.

“But make sure she survives this in one piece.” He told me.

“Hmph. No problem, Happy Hayburger.” I insulted him. It probably was a dumb insult. I just thought of that fast food place in town. Hayburger Hut. And the main color was red. Like Big Macintosh right here.

He didn’t look angry, but he did give a big sneer as she shook his head at me.

“Come on Sugar Belle. Let’s take Apple Bloom back to tha house.” He said, now turning to his youngest sister.

“Come on kiddo. I’ll make ya some dinner.” He said, now gently guiding her out of the Everfree Forest. Sugar Belle followed him, before she mouthed “Good Luck” at us.

Now, it was just me and Applejack. Us alone. Working together to find out who attacked Zecora. And why.

“I’m a might sorry, Detective. Big Mac ain’t normally like that. He’s usually one of tha nicest ponies ya’d ever meet.” She said, looking disappointed in her big brother.

I just snorted. “I guess I understand why. I mean, he’s your big brother. He’s supposed to be over protective. Especially with somepony who looks like a demon from hell.” I said.

Her face scrunched up in a frown. “Y’all don’t look like a demon. Y’all are just a normal pony like me.” She said.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “What is “normal”?” I asked her. She just snorted in annoyance.

“Alright, it’s time to get serious.” I told Applejack. She appeared to agree with me, due to her nodding her head and putting on her game face. Whatever the hell that means.

“What do we do first?” She asked.

“First, we need to go over the crime scene. The scene of Zecora’s assault.” I said, now turning toward Zecora’s hut.

Almost immediately I noticed something. The front door showed signs of breaking in. There were some signs of damage to the door, mainly it looked like somepony was beating on the door with their bare hooves.

I walked inside and looked at the other side of the door. There appeared that Zecora was trying to hold the door from being broken into. Maybe she tried to find some things to barricade it with, but the assailant must’ve overpowered her, broke in and beat her to within an inch of her life.

Overall, Zecora did NOT know her attacker. Was this just something that happened at random? Feels kinda odd that somepony would sneak into the Everfree Forest just to beat up somepony. Then again, there are some fucked up ponies out there. So, maybe it WAS some random attack.

“Zecora didn’t know who her attacker was. Signs of breaking in are evident on the door.” I told out loud to Applejack, who was still outside for some reason.

“I think I found something, Detective.” She now called out to me.

I walked outside and saw Applejack a few yards away from me. She was looking at the ground. I wondered what it was, until I saw it.

There were hoof tracks in the ground. Those probably belong to Zecora. Or the suspect.

“I think Zecora knew somepony was following her and ran for it.” She said, still looking at the tracks.

“Huh?” I asked, sounding surprised she thought of that. “What gave you that idea?”

She put on a big smile. “Ah used to be a filly scout. We learned all about animal tracks when we were out in the wilderness. And types of movement in the tracks.”

I raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Movement in the tracks?”

She nodded, and then motioned for me to follow her. I did. It was only about 10 feet away from where Applejack called me over the first time.

“Look. These prints here are pony prints. Or possibly zebra prints.” She showed me. They did look like prints that you’d see from a pony. Or a zebra.

“These prints show that Zecora must’ve been walking home from wherever she was. Y’all can see it by tha texture and tha space in tha ground.” She told me, showing me the hoof tracks. I took out my camera and took a picture of it. Definitely could be useful later on in the investigation.

“Okay.” I said. She motioned me again to follow her, which I did. She was walking slowly this time. It was here I started to notice the texture and shape of the hoof tracks started to change.

“Now, when ya look at the hoof tracks, you can see that they change instantly. The tracks look closer together, because Zecora must’ve seen something or somepony who spooked her. Then she took off running back to her hut to get ta safety.” She explained to me.

I looked back at the tracks where Applejack showed me before and the ones she showed me now. It appears she’s right. Due to the shape, texture and distance between the hoof tracks, Zecora was walking home, saw somepony was following her and then started running away. I took more pictures of them with my camera.

“Hmmm. It does make sense. Good work, Applejack.” I told her. She just smiled all humble like and crossed her front legs together.

“Here’s the problem though.” I said, now causing Applejack to look at me.

“There’s only one set of hoof tracks. Looking at them, they all look the same. They all must belong to Zecora. Even if she was running from something, there’s no proof of somepony ACTUALLY there.” I told her, causing her to sport a glum look.

“Unless….” I started to say, before I walked back to Zecora’s hut. With Applejack close behind me.

I looked around to see if there were any clues to find during Zecora’s running away from whoever spooked her.

When we made it back, we walked inside to look around. It was small, so we had to make as much room as possible.

There was a table that was tipped over on its side. Maybe the suspect flung it over to get at Zecora. I also looked in a few jars that were on some shelves. There appeared to be bits in here. A decent amount from the looks of it. I’m starting to think robbery might not have been the motive here. Cause if it was, the suspect would have ransacked the place. And while there was a sign of a struggle, it didn’t look like the suspect stayed too long to take some of her things.

Then, I noticed a window open. I guess I didn’t catch that when I first walked in and saw Zecora on the ground.

I walked over and looked outside the window to find any clues. I mainly just saw a bunch of trees, branches, leaves, and birds.

Then, I looked down in a little flower bed that was outside the hut. I saw a single purple feather. I levitated it with my magic and took a close look. There’s only two types of creatures in Equestria that have feathers. Pegasi and Griffins.

I remembered the markings on the door that faces the Everfree Forest. It looked like some creature was punching and banging on the door to be let in.

Griffins have both wings and are the only creatures in Equestria, that I know of, that have claws. Dragons have claws too, but not feathers. They have scales. Griffins DO have feathers. From their wings.

Not to mention, Griffins are known to be pretty grumpy, if not angry, creatures in Equestria. Not all of them, but quite a bit of them. Could a Griffin be driven to murder though? I don’t think I’ve heard of a lot of stories about Griffins murdering other creatures that pissed them off or something.

Also, with both Griffins and Pegasi having wings, they could fly and not leave hoof tracks in the dirts. Back outside, there wasn’t another set of them. Only Zecora’s, possibly.

I put that feather in a plastic bag. I’ll send it to Cadaver in a little bit.

“Shadow, come here.” Applejack said aloud. I looked and saw she was standing next to some type of desk. Apparently, Zecora must like to write down some things. For spells, or possibly a diary.

She motioned me to look under the desk. I did so, and found what appeared to be some type of tool. I levitated it out from under the desk, and almost dropped it due to the shock of what I found. Applejack stumbled back a little bit.

It was a socket wrench handle. There was blood on the top of it. So, it appears this was the assailants weapon of choice. The assailant attacked Zecora with it, then threw it under the desk to get rid of the evidence.

Or, maybe he was in a hurry. I just thought that right now.

As I put the socket wrench handle in a bigger bag, I said a loud to Applejack, “I’m thinking I might know what happened.”

“Yeah? So, what’ve ya got?” She asked, looking interested.

“Some pony or creature was following, if not stalking Zecora on her way home. She notices it, then starts running home. The creature chases after her. She makes it inside, tries barricading the door while the suspect is trying to break it down. The suspect overpowers her and manages to break in. He proceeds to beat the ever loving shit out of her.” I explain to her.

Applejack shuttered. “That’s crazy.” She said.

I nodded. “Yes. However, there’s two things I’m also thinking.”

“What?”

I showed her the jars on the shelves. “One, robbery wasn’t the motive. If it was, he would have taken all her bits.” I said, now putting the jar back where it was.

“Okay. What’s number two?” She asked.

“I’m thinking your little sister unexpectedly saved Zecora’s life.” I said.

She looked surprised, her eyes widening. “What make’s ya say that?”

“When I was here with Zecora before the medics arrived, I saw that her wounds looked recent. Very recent. Like, it happened just now.” I said.

She looked shook. “So, y’all are saying…”

I nodded. “I’m thinking the suspect must’ve heard Apple Bloom coming, and fled the scene to not be discovered. He might have had an intention to murder Zecora, but flew away when he heard her coming from outside.” I showed her the purple feather. “Judging from this feather I found, the suspect is either a Pegasus pony or a Griffon.”I told her.

She took a quick look at the feather. “Hmm. Y’all ‘r right. And I’m leaning toward a Griffon.” Applejack said.

Again, I raised my eyebrow. “What makes ya say that?” I asked.

“Pegasus feathers are pretty small. Griffon feathers are pretty bigger. This feather looks bigger than a Pegasus.” She said.

“The Pegasus could be a bigger pony then normal ones, ya know.” I said.

She nodded. “True. True.” She said.

“Alright.” I said. “Let’s head back to your farm. I need to ask Apple Bloom some questions.”

“Why?” She asked.

“Well, one, I need her statement at what she found. And two, I need to ask her any little things she might’ve seen or heard while on her way to Zecora’s. Not to mention, anypony Zecora has had some history with recently. Any troubles or concerns. You know what I mean.” I told her.

She sighed. “Ah guess. Just go easy on her Shadow. She’s my baby sister.” She said.

I nodded in agreement. “Not to worry. I won’t hassle her. Now, let’s get outta here. This place is starting to creep me out.” I said.

She smiled all sly like at me as we walked away from Zecora’s hut. With Applejack leading the way.

-/- Sweet Apple Acres -/-

Applejack and I eventually made it back. As we walked through the back of the farm, a border collie came running out toward us. She started jumping over Applejack all crazy like. Barking and yipping. Guess, she was wondering where her owner was.

“Heh-heh-heh-heh, good girl Winona. I’m okay, ole’ girl.” She said, petting her loyal companion.

Next thing I knew, Winona came running at me and starting jumping on me. Pretty much asking me to pet her.

“Down girl.” Applejack said, which caused the dog to stop.

After that, we walked into the house and found Big Macintosh, Sugar Belle and Lady Smith(or Granny Smith as she was apparently called now, due to her being a Grandmother) in the living room consoling Apple Bloom. The little filly still looked worried out of her mind for Zecora. Poor thing.

Big Macintosh looked over at us walking in. I saw the look of distrust in his eyes.

“Ah see you two are back. What’d ya find?” He asked.

“Well, me and your sister found quite a bit. However, I need to ask Apple Bloom some questions.” I said.

The filly looked up at me with an intimidated expression. It was bad enough she was scared for her friend, but now she had to talk to a guy she didn’t entirely trust? I guess I can’t blame her for looking at me like that.

Big Macintosh, however, didn’t look like he liked that.

“Don’t ‘cha think she’s scared enough already? Ya can’t wait a little bit?” He asked, rather rudely to me.

This asshole is starting to piss me off. Big time.

“BIG MAC!” I heard Granny Smith exclaim to her grandson with a cross expression on her face.

“This stallion here is just doing his job. It’s basic protocol. There is no need ta be rude as you were just now.” She scolded him, which got a smile out of me.

Big Macintosh looked dejected. “But, Granny, Apple Bloom just-“ He started saying but was interrupted. By my partner.

“Why don’t y’all shut yer big mouth, before I do it myself, big brother. And y’all better watch yer tone, Mister.” Applejack said in a loud voice, showing she wasn’t fucking around.

Heh. That shut the bastard up.

Then, his wife spoke. “Sweetheart, he’s just doing his job. We need to do what he says, okay?” She said in a kind, gentle voice.

He snorted in defeat as he stood aside and allowed me to sit in front of Apple Bloom.

Applejack sat next to her little sister with an arm around her for comfort.

“It’s alright, little sis. Detective Shadow Haze wants to find out who hurt Zecora. I know he’s a bit scary looking, but he won’t hurt ya, I promise.” She said, in the most warm voice I’ve ever heard. Talk about sibling love.

Apple Bloom got a confused look on her face. “Didn’t you do the same thing with Zecora when she first came to Ponyville?” She asked.

Then, in a moment where I had to suppress a laugh, I saw Applejack get red in the face and pull her Stetson hat over her eyes.

“Ah thought we were past that.” She said in a low and embarrassed voice.

I’ll have to ask about that later.

“Apple Bloom?” I said, getting her attention. She turned to me, while still showing a bit of intimidation.

“All I need from you is to tell me what happened, as well as just a few questions about Zecora recently. Can you do that for me?” I told her.

She slowly nodded her head while not looking me in the eyes.

“Ah wanna help.” She said in a low, quivering voice.

I smiled and pulled out my notepad. Time to get stated on this case.

Author's Note

Hope ya like the chapter. Be sure to comment, like, favorite and follow for future updates. Thanks to all of you and goodnight everybody.