While I stood there with my food still encased in my magic, I noticed there was another pair of hooves underneath the male zebra in front of the Castle of Friendship. The pair of hooves looked smaller then the adults. And when I saw a head peak out from under the male zebras legs, I was even more surprised then when I first looked at him.

It was a little zebra filly. She had a black coat with white polka dots. A rare type of coat for a zebra. She even had a little pink bow on her. It kinda looked like Apple Bloom’s bow. This must be Zakwani’s daughter.

So, that must mean this is Zecora’s niece. The one Apple Bloom said Zecora mentioned in passing.

The zebra filly hid her face a little bit behind her fathers black and white tail. I’m guessing she feels intimidated of me. Can’t say I don’t understand why. She’s a little girl looking into a stallion who looks like a demon from hell.

Zakwani then looked down at the zebra filly and spoke to her.

“It is okay sweetheart.” He said, now turning his head up to look at me.

“Are you Detective Shadow Haze?” He asked me.

I nodded. “Yes. I am. You must be Zakwani. Zecora’s brother.”

“That I am. I’d also like you to meet my daughter, Zara.” He said, presenting her to me. And even nudging her over to me with his muzzle.

When I saw the filly up close, I realized that Zara looked to be about the same age as Apple Bloom. Maybe she can make a new friend.

I kneeled down to be at her level. “Nice to meet you, little filly.” I said to her, extending my hoof.

However, she quickly backpedaled over to her daddy, hiding under his legs again.

Zakwani chuckled a little bit. “I apologize that she doesn’t much reply. She’s very, very shy.” He said, apparently rhyming. Odd.

Any way, I did look over at Zara, and I could see a little red hue on her face. She looked embarrassed. Poor thing probably doesn’t even know what this place is. Or is not used to pony’s like me.

“Did Detective Angel Blossom send you?” I looked up and asked Zakwani.

“That she did.” He said while nodding with a smile on his face. “Although, I am quite surprised that you live with The Elements of Harmony. To live in such a Castle, it must fill you with such glee.”

He rhymed again. Weird. “Well, I wouldn’t say it fills me with glee, but it’s a nice place to stay. My old crappy apartment would prove that.” I told him. Okay, I think I should get down to business.

“So, I take it you and your daughter are here because of what happened to your sister Zecora?” I asked him.

After I did that, I saw that pretty warm smile go away and turn into an ice cold straight faced look. It felt almost unsettling. The keyword being almost, because I’ve had that look on my face almost all the time.

“Where is the hospital? We need to see her.” He told me. He seems really worried about her. I wonder how close they are. Could they be like how close me and Melody Rays are? Or my other sisters?

I sighed as I walked over to the front door of the Castle of Friendship. “Follow me.” I said, motioning him to follow me. He did.

However, Zara didn’t follow at first. She looked scared to go into somepony else’s home. Who she doesn’t even know.

Zakwani reassured her it was okay, and Zara walked into the Castle of Friendship with us. Slowly, I should say.

“It is an honor to be in such a castle. I just hope me and my daughters’ presence is no hassle.” He said, following me into the big room with the map of Equestria on it.

And there he goes rhyming again. What is that?

“I don’t think the Elements of Harmony would have a problem with you or your daughter her, Zakwani.” I said to him.

Before I began to ask him what I wanted to ask him, I saw Zara looking around the room in amazement. She looked so infatuated with this Castle. It was like she was a princess in one of those old fairy tales. She even looked amazed at the Cutie Map.

And if I’m speaking for anypony who would see this right now, she looked so adorable.

“Zakwani, I have some questions for you. Regarding your attack in New Colt City 7 months ago. Also, about Zecora as well.” I told him.

I saw him nod his head at me. “Yes. Detective Angel Blossom told me everything about what you had discovered when that evil creature attacked my little sister.” He said, as he sat down on a chair next to me. Looking at the chair, this looked like the chair that Rarity sat in. I took the seat next to him.

“Now, when you were attacked, did you see your attacker?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “No. The coward attacked from behind. And yelled things at me that were most unkind.” He said, again rhyming. I’m thinking I’m gonna have to get used to this.

“What kinds of things did he yell at you? Also, can you describe the attack itself?” I asked him.

He snorted in anger before he retold the series of unfortunate events. “The coward hit me with an object that felt to be metallic. And the things he yelled, you would believe he was quite manic.” He told me, looking upset. He was probably more upset now than he was 7 months ago.

Another rhyme again.

“The things he yelled were offensive to my kind. And the way he spoke them, let’s just say he was quite defined.” He said, rhyming again.

“Well, for the record, you can tell me what he said. Even if it is offensive.” I told him.

He turned his head to see Zara looking at us. She appeared to not want to hear what it was that the attacker said to her Daddy.

So, he motioned me to bring my ear over to him. He whispered that word in my ear. The word that has been said by quite a bit of ponies, as well as other creatures too, toward Zebra’s. The word that, unfortunately, has been around maybe even before Princess Celestia and Luna themselves founded Equestria.

“I see. And is it true that he threatened to hurt your family as well?” I asked him.

He nodded again. “He tell me he can get away with what he has done. And if I report him, me and my family, the next time he see us, he will have a gun.” He told me. I guess now I’m getting used to his rhyming.

“Did you know your attacker?” I asked him.

“No, never met him before. And other than what I know now, I don’t want to know more.” He said.

I wrote down what he said on my notepad. “Side question, did you smell motor oil on him? We found traces of a smell of that when we found Zecora.” I told him.

He thought for a moment, and then made a quick realization. “Yes, I did! I did smell that very oil. And I thought, regarding my belongings, he was going to despoil.” He told me. Do all Zebra’s rhyme all the time when they form a sentence?

While he was telling me everything that happened to him, I saw Zara walking around the large room we were in, just taking in the view. She looked starstruck.

Man, she looked so cute.

“Okay.” I said to Zakwani. “Now, did you report your attack to the police when it happened?” I asked him.

He nodded. “I did. I reported it to Angel Blossom. When she saw my injuries, I saw she was quite numb.” There goes the rhyming again.

“So, what happened with this case? It just went cold?” I asked him.

“No. They found the creature who did this. They just couldn’t capture him. Because the coward fled New Colt City.” He told me.

Oh, that is interesting. “What’s the suspects name? Did they tell you?” I asked.

“They say his name is Gavin.” He said.

Okay. So, the suspects name is Gavin. Originally a New Colt City native(like tour’s truly), he commits an act of brutal assault. Then, flees his hometown like a little bitch.

So, he moves here to Ponyville. Small, quiet town. Tries to start a new life.

Possibly, with a new name. Not to mention, with all that happened to Zecora, he’s probably planning to flee Ponyville now too.

I better hurry up and figure out who this “Gavin” guy is.

“Alright, thanks Zakwani. You’ve been a big help. And I promise I am gonna find the racist fucker that did this to you and your sister.” I told him.

He smiled at me. “Thank You Detective Shadow Haze.” He said, extending his hoof to me. I accepted the hoof and shook it.

“Detective Angel Blossom did say some good things about you. Although, I got the impression she liked other things too.” He told me, kinda showing a teasing glance.

I lowered my head. I liked a few things about Angel too. Her physical features were quite nice.

“Uh, thank you. Anyway, would you like me to escort you and Zara to the Hospital now?” I asked him.

He looked excited. “I would like that.” He said. He called for Zara to come. She did.

As we walked out of the Castle of Friendship, I grabbed my food. I guess I’ll just eat it in the way over to the Ponyville Hospital.

-/- Ponyville Hospital -/-

I had to look away when Zakwani and Zara looked through the glass window of the room where Zecora was staying in. Her being in a medically induced coma brought out tears in there eyes.

“Auntie Zecora.” I heard Zara softly utter with a bit of a small sob coming from her throat.

Zakwani, however, didn’t say anything. He just stood there. Looking at his younger sister in the state that she was in. Tears ran down his face. His lip quivered. Sniffles ran through his nostrils.

Nurse Redheart did tell them that Zecora was gonna be okay. However, that didn’t stop them from feeling the way they felt now.

As they continued to look on, I heard voices coming down this way. I looked in the direction at which it was coming from.

It was the Apple Family. This time, all of them. Big Macintosh(whom I call Happy Hayburger), my partner on this case, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Sugar Belle(Big Mac’s wife), and Granny Smith.

I had no idea all of them were gonna be here. I guess, Zecora is a great friend to the entire Apple family. Not just Apple Bloom.

“Howdy, Shadow.” Applejack said, as they approached us. I saw Zakwani and Zara look over at them as well. While me and Zakwani turned to face them, Zara hid behind her father again.

“Hello every pony.” I greeted them. All of them, except Big Macintosh of course, greeted me with a warm smile. Even Sugar Belle and Apple Bloom. He frowned a little bit when he saw me.

It was then, they noticed the two zebra next to me.

Applejack saw the tears in their faces and got a concerned look on her face.

“Who are your friends here, Shadow?” She asked me.

“This is Zakwani.” I introduced him. “He’s Zecora’s brother. He was told to come here by one of my old partners back when I was on the force.” Zakwani, while still having visible tears on his face, did wave a little bit to them. Every pony, even Big Macintosh, looked to show sympathy toward him.

Then, I pointed toward the little zebra filly. “And that’s Zara. Zakwani’s daughter.” I said. He showed her to them. All she did was just grab her father’s tail and just hide from them.

“She’s very shy. I apologize.” Zakwani said to them.

Apple Bloom approached Zara and said to her in the most friendly voice possibly, “Hi. My name’s Apple Bloom.”

Zakwani looked down at Zara. “Sweetheart, don’t you want to say hi to the little filly?” He asked her.

Zara shook her head, her eyes looking up at her father, while still hiding behind his tail. Apple Bloom looked a little hurt at that.

“You’re not afraid, are you?” He asked her in a teasing voice.

Suddenly, her expression changed. She went from a scared looking filly, to a serious look, as she shook her head No.

He pulled his tail away from her and nudged her toward Apple Bloom. They were now face to face. With Zara looking terrified as ever.

The Apple filly looked at her with a nice, warm smile on her face.

“It’s okay, sugarcube.” Applejack told the shy zebra filly in a gentle voice.

“Yes. Just say hello.” Zakwani told her.

Zara looked at both Applejack and Zakwani before turning her attention to the Apple filly who, by my estimation, did indeed look the same age as her.

She avoided eye contact with her as she uttered out a barely audible…

“….hello.” She said to Apple Bloom.

That made every pony here smile. Including me, a little bit.

“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Zakwani said to her.

Zara looked down and blushed in embarrassment.

After all that, Big Macintosh and Sugar Belle approached Zara and wanted to say “Hi” to her too.

But, she quickly ran over to her father’s legs and hid under them again. I saw him give a sigh of disappointment.

She still has a long way to go before coming out of her shell, apparently.

“Okay, Applejack. I need to speak with you alone. I have some info regarding Zecora’s attacker. As well as Zakwani here.” I told her.

“How about we all go to the cafeteria?” Sugar Belle asked in a sweet voice. “We can get to know each other, Mr. Zakwani.”

“I think I would like that.” He said, now looking down at his shy daughter. “Come on, sweetie. After quite a trip, you must be hungry.”

Almost immediately after that, Zara’s stomach rumbled. She blushed in embarrassment again.

Apple Bloom giggled. “Ah think y’all would like the food here. It’s actually not bad.” She said. Zara avoided eye contact with her again. It will probably take a bit for Zara and Apple Bloom to become friends.

“Come on.” Big Macintosh said. “Ah’ll lead the way.” He then lead every pony, except me and Applejack, down to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat.

I motioned for Applejack to sit with me in one of the chairs in the waiting room.

“So, uh, what’s up?” She asked, before sitting down next to me.

“Well, it turns out my theory was right. This WAS a hate crime.” I told her, with her eyes closing in anger, while she snorted through her nostrils.

“How do y’all know?” She asked.

“Before we arrived here, Zakwani told me what his attacker said to him.” I said.

“Which was?” Applejack asked, looking intense.

I hesitated before I whispered what Zakwani told me. And after I did, Applejack looked pissed.

“That racist mother fucker.” She muttered silently.

“I do have good news, however. I happen to have a name.” I told her.

Her pissed off nature went away and was replaced by interest.

“Ya do? Who? Who is it?” She asked.

“His name is Gavin. And he has to work at some auto shop here in Ponyville. Do you know of any in the area?” I asked.

She nodded instantly. “Yeah. There’s a place called Grease Monkey. It ain’t too far from here. Ah get tools there whenever something breaks on tha farm.” She told me, now sounding excited.

“Well, let’s go pay this place a visit.” I said, getting up from my seat.

She nodded as she sat up.

-/- Grease Monkey -/-

“Welcome to Grease Monkey, how can I help you?” Some overweight looking, older pony said to us as we walked inside. He was bald, had a dark blue coat and a wrench for a cutie mark. He also looked pretty older. Guess he’s been working here for years. Maybe even owns this place.

I flashed my badge. “I’m Detective Shadow Haze, this is my partner Applejack. We’re looking for somebody named Gavin. Possibly, he’s a Griffon.” I told him.

He thought for a quick moment before responding. “Well, we do have a Griffon who works here. But his names not Gavin. It’s Gunner.” He said.

Damn it! Gavin must’ve already left town!

….unless….

“Is he here right now?” I asked him.

He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll show you.” He said, leading us to the back. It was pretty noisy, with all the tools, manual and electronic, working on this and that. Guess that’s to be expected when you’re in the auto business. That and getting your hooves dirty.

Or talons in this case.

“There he is.” The overweight older pony said, pointing toward him. And that’s when I saw him.

There was a Griffon working on a crankshaft on a table, with his back turned to us. He looked about 23 years old. Pretty young guy. However, there was one distinct feature about him that made me think this was the guy.

He had a purple coat. It looked exactly like the one we found at the scene.

Applejack looked about ready to go after him, before I stopped her.

“Quick question, sir.” I asked the overweight pony.

“Please, just call me Rod.” He said. At least, I know his name now.

“Okay, Rod, did Gunner over there, by any chance, tell you he lost a tool? Particularly, a socket wrench handle?” I asked him.

He thought a moment again. “Yeah. Yeah, he told me he couldn’t find it. Which is weird, because he ALWAYS had that on him. His daddy gave it to him when he was a kid. Apparently, like some last gift before he died. Something like that.” Rod told me.

I raised my eyebrow. “Gunner’s father is dead?” I asked him.

Rod nodded with a depressed look on his face. “Yeah. Apparently, his daddy was murdered by a zebra when he was like 5 or something. Really sad, man.” He told us.

Applejack suddenly stepped toward him. “Did he ever give ya an impression that he might be prejudiced toward zebra’s when he was working here, Rod?” She asked him.

“Not that I’m aware of.” He told us. “But, I do remember this one time. That zebra mare Zecora, I think her name is. She came in one time to have a wheel fixed for a cart. She comes here, and I ask Gunner to fix it for her. He takes one look at her, and then says he’s busy with something else. Then goes back to what he’s doing.”

“How is that weird?” I asked him.

“Because he’s always willing to help any creature out. I seen him help Yak’s and Hippogrif’s. But when he see’s this zebra, he says he’s too busy. Not to mention, he’s always a pretty laid back guy. So, seeing him look all mean and shit just felt unsettling, man.” Rod told me.

Okay. Now I’m starting to get it. I thanked Rod and started toward Gunner.

Or, is that really his name?

“Gunner!” I shouted out. I saw him turn his head toward me.

“Detective Shadow Haze! You’re under arrest!” I shouted at him.

And then, of course, he has to run. The only issue now is that when he gets outside, which looks pretty close, he could fly away from us. He could have a chance to flee town.

He ran away from us, knocking over a few tables with tools on them in the process. As I chased after him, I saw Applejack digging at something. It was only a moment later that I saw she got out…

No, I am not kidding you…a fucking lasso. Yes. This farm girl also had a lasso. Guess, she’s a rodeo girl too.

She ran in another direction outside. Was she lying in wait?

“Leave me alone, fucker!” I heard Gunner(if that’s his real name)scream at me as he was headed for the door.

Suddenly, Rod blocked the door, trying to block his employer from leaving.

That was when the Griffon slashed his boss’s face. He went down like a stack of bricks, with his face looking carved up like an animal in the Everfree Forest.

I felt like I needed to get Rod some medical attention, but I couldn’t risk losing the Griffon.

Thankfully, I have a great partner. Because, as soon as the Griffon attempted to fly out of the door, I saw his body being pulled down to the ground.

I walked out the door and saw the Griffon slashing at the lasso that was tied around one of his back legs that looked like a leg of a lion.

Applejack held the lasso in her mouth with a grin on her face.

I mounted his back and cuffed him.

“Gunner, you are under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…” I continued reading him his Miranda rights as I stood him up and walked him over to the Detention Center. Thank Celestia it was pretty close to this auto shop.

“Just ta let ya know Gunner” Applejack said with a sly tone. “Zecora ain’t dead. She’ll live. And she’s gonna pick you out from a line up.”

The Griffon snorted angrily. “The fucking mud pony would be dead if that fucking little cunt filly…” He continued to rant angrily, until Applejack punched him in the stomach.

“DON’T YA’LL DARE CALL MY LITTLE SIS THAT!” She yelled at him. I had to motion her to step back. She did, although with anger on her face.

We stood in front of the Ponyville Detention Center.

“Let’s go inside, you racist piece of shit.” I told him as I proceeded to walk him inside.

“Fuck both of you.” He muttered under his breath.

Author's Note

Hey everyone. Sorry this is late. Work has been crazy lately.

Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter, make sure to like, comment, favorite and follow for future updates.

Thank you all and goodnight everybody.