An Epitaphby TimeSolidMetalChaptersPrologueChapter 1: Learning to CountChapter 2: A Dead Pony and Holy Matrimony.Chapter 3: Mapping out the Starry KnightChapter 4: Celestial InterventionChapter 5: Sun rise and Golden Skies.Chapter 6: Silent Lies and Earth Rise.Chapter 8: Old Scars, Fresh BodiesChapter 9: Try and keep up!Chapter 10: Swift as the WindChapter 11: Shining ThroughPrologue“I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state. What I am grateful for is the gift of intelligence, and for life, love, wonder, and laughter. You can’t say it wasn’t interesting.” -Roger Ebert Prologue The Canterlot senator looked down at his chest; his eyes began to shut as the life sank from his body like a rock to the bottom of the dark ocean. His thick, red blood pooled on the hardwood bedroom floor as he lied there, inert on his side by his bed. The lights were out, aside from the hallway lamp illuminating into the room slightly. He could feel a gushing wound left in his own chest, precisely over his heart. He twitched his hoof in an attempt to move, but he was ultimately too weak and lacking of strength to stand. He managed to cock his head up slightly, looking at a pony standing over him. The pony wore a grey hooded trench coat, with two white, angelic wings hugging tightly to his back, and the metal mask of the devil himself; it was a mechanical masterpiece. It had the features of a pony’s skull, with two adjustable lenses in the empty, cold, metal eye sockets. The poor senator couldn’t believe what he was seeing, in the sanctity of his own home. He was seeing his own murder… “Why..?” Chapter 1: Learning to CountChapter 1 The sky was a golden hue; the sun began to set on the horizon of Canterlot as a unicorn named Mixed Number, a sky blue pony with a light silver mane, finished his first day of work at his new job in Canterlot Castle. He’s the assistant to the head of the treasury, a pony by the name of Gold Coin. And although this was only Mixed Number’s first day working in Canterlot, he’s already taken quite a liking to the new job. “Hey, can you close the safe for me?” Gold Coin asked from behind his thick wooden desk, behind his rather cluttered desk was a large, round, metal safe door used to store the Castles physical money. “I forgot to close it again…” He would close it himself, but he was too busy looking over a pouch of golden bits. “Um… sure.” Mixed Number replied. He, too, was sitting behind a desk, a little off to the side, perpendicular to Gold Coins fancy work table. “So are you that in focus with that pile of bits?” He smiled lightly over at his new friend, and then looked over to the large metal door behind Gold Coin. His horn glowed a cool blue color, and the safe door began to close. The turn wheel on the safe door spun shut, locking the gargantuan door in place for the night. “Yeah, shush, I’m trying to work…” He whispered passively, his light blue eyes still glued to the pile of bits, analyzing each individual one under a magnifying glass attached to a positionable stand. Gold Coin was a rather dashing white coated pony, with a light golden mane that went down to the middle of the side of his neck. “Hm…” Gold Coin cocked his head to the side once. “These coins are good… Good. It’s too much trouble having to report a counterfeit bag of bits.” He yawned into his hoof and pushed the bits off aside, along with the pouch they came in. “You can tell just by staring at it?” Mixed Number looked almost slightly impressed; smiling at Gold Coin, then back down at the book open on his desk. “Good for you.” “Ahaha, smart ass…” He snapped back, dusting off his hooves as he rolled his eyes. Gold Coin hasn’t been around Mixed Number for very long, but they already behave like a married couple. “It’s almost time to go, are you ready?” Mixed Number closed his book and hopped off of his desk chair, his hooves making a light clop on the furnished wooden floor. “I’ve been ready, just waiting on you so I can lock up.” Mixed Number said with a yawn, walking towards the double doors that led to the Treasury, the room they are in is the size of a school classroom. “Oh! One more thing, before we pack up.” Gold coin exclaims as he hops out of his chair. He pulls open one of the drawers with his hoof and pulls out a small plastic tub with his mouth. “Mnf…” He sets it down on his work table. Mixed Number lets out a sigh and walks back over to his boss’s desk. “What’s that for..?” He groans lethargically. He rests his chin lazily on the desk, looking at Gold Coin with a blank stare. “Just need you to go down to the morgue and collect the unclaimed jewelry from the coroner. He’s a friend of mine; just tell him I sent ya.” Gold Coin instructs, flashing Mixed Number a white smile. He reaches up with his hoof and pats Mixed’s back. “Don’t take too long.” “Right…” He replied with a raised eyebrow. He lifts his chin up and picks up the tub with his mouth, and through his teeth, he says. “Back in a sec.” “Oh, it’s worth mentioning: My friend down in the morgue is quite the character; he prefers to be called Schizo Phrenia.” Coin said with a smile, waving bye to the new assistant. “Uh… a-right, Schiza Phrenia.” Mixed number gave Gold Coin a puzzled look, his words a bit distorted from the tub still being held in his mouth. Gold Coin nodded with a smile: Kinda glad I don’t have to go down THERE anymore, too many dead things. Coin thought to himself as Mixed Number walked off to the morgue. Chapter 2: A Dead Pony and Holy Matrimony."I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try." -Roger Ebert Chapter 2 Mixed Number carefully treaded down the cobble stone spiral staircase to the morgue. The stair case was dimly lit with a few torches, of all things, and felt unnecessarily wet and dank, like that of an old sea ship's brig. "Oh, jeez..." He murmured to himself, carefully stepping down each step, his horn is glowing a cool blue again while he uses his magic to hold up the plastic tub for the jewelry. His hooves make a light clopping noise every time they come in contact with the cold cobble. "Could it be any more unsettling down here?" He looked around, squinting, trying to see into the dim lit area once he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Let's see..." He quickly spotted a wooden door, light was coming out from under the thick entrance way and a pony could be heard on the other end, although it's impossible to make out what he's saying. Mixed Number tried to shake off the damp feeling on his light blue hooves, but realized it was ultimately futile, and continued on towards the door. "Body #1 is... oohhh, who knows how long he's been dead? One... two weeks?" A cheery voice piped happily from behind the door. "Let's see, what could have killed you...? Could it be THIS?" Mixed Number flinches lightly at a quick, wet, organic sound that emanates from behind the door. "Hm... that WOULD do it. Better keep looking." "Uh... hello?" Mixed Number called out nervously, pushing the door open with his hoof and peering in. Inside was a small room, the walls were comprised of smooth stone brick and metal body storage freezers lined up the wall on the right and left side, and a single body furnace at the back of the room, with a small rectangular window in the top of the room to shine a bit of natural light in. In the middle of the room was an autopsy table with a bright posable lamp over it. Next to the autopsy table were multiple trays of medical items and some... miscellaneous items, like whisks and wooden spoons. But what was even odder than that was the pony on the autopsy table, who was alive and well, lying next to the corpse of a dead pony, who, unfortunately, was not in the same condition. The living pony seemed to have a video camera strapped to his grey hoof, aimed towards him and the body he's lying next to. He had ruffled dark gray hair and a light grey coat over his back, plus he wore a surgeons mask and lab goggles, which were idly resting on his forehead until they were needed. Besides, he wouldn't want to cover his beautiful light green eyes. "Hm, yes. Hello?" The odd, cheery pony looked over at Mixed Number and smiled. "Aha! A visitor." He smiles even brighter and looks back up at the camera. He presses a button on the side of the camera with his free hoof, then smiles at the body next to him. "Uh... Oh, boy. Um... Well, Gold Coin upstairs sent me to come down and collect the unclaimed jewelry." Mixed Number stuttered nervously, feeling a bit uncomfortable in the current scenario. "I'm guessing you were the pony he was talking about?" "Oh, Gold Coin sent you? Wonderful!" The pony said with a smile, he hopped up off the table and clopped down onto his four legs. "I'm Phrenia. Schizo Phrenia. The Canterlot Coroner/Mortician/Medical Examiner, at your service." He gives Mixed Number a polite bow, then once again smiles brightly at him. "Oh, yes the Jewelry, I- Oh, for the love of- Give me one second." Schizo Phrenia gives him an apologetic smile, then turns and looks at a body furnace that's built into the wall, the metal door is slightly ajar. "Shut up already, honey! I can't give you anything right now, I'm not done examining the body. And also I'm not going to feed you when we have guests. Don't be ridiculous!" He walks over to the Furnace and shuts the door it tightly with his hoof. "Just let me talk to this pony, he's friends with Gold Coin." He cleared his throat and turned back around, facing the dumb founded Mixed Number. "I'm very sorry, my furnace and I love each other a lot, but she just doesn't know when to give it a rest." He said sincerely, even apologetically. "Mares, huh?" "Er... Look, can I just get the jewelry so I can leave?" Mixed Number asks, his eyes a bit wide from the 'argument' he just witnessed. He hovers the jewelry tub over to Schizo Phrenia and wiggles it lightly. "Oh, absolutely." Schizo Phrenia replies with a smile, walking over to one of the counters at the end of the room. "Let me just gather the box..." He swishes his tail as he searches under the counters, opening and closing several cupboards before finally pulling out a small cardboard box with his teeth. "Nf... Got it!" Mixed Number let out a sigh of relief at the sight. "Phew, thank you..." "Don't mention it, skip." He quipped back with a smile. Mixed Number walks over and begins to gather the few pieces of jewelry from the box and place them in the tub, but his eye catches the body that was lying on the autopsy table. "Wait... is that..?" "Senator Iron Sides? Yep, he was killed by a sword wound to the chest. They found him in his apartment a few days after it happened." Schizo Phrenia remarks, he walks over to the metal autopsy table, which is lightly stained by blood and other bodily fluids. Mixed Number stares at the body for a few moments, he's never seen a dead pony before, and it's becoming hard to stomach. "I-I should get going." He murmurs, picking up the tub of jewelry with his magic horn. Before Schizo Phrenia had a change to reply, Mixed Number hurried out of the room and shut the thick wooden door behind him. "Huh... what a strange pony." Schizo Phrenia smiled, then looked over back at the Furnace. "Oh, quit hollering, I'm sorry I told you to shut it, it's just... Oo, you just get too 'pushy'." He trots over to the closed furnace and opens the door slightly. "There, better?" Chapter 3: Mapping out the Starry Knight Chapter 3 Starry Knight was a commander of the Lunar Guard. With a white, beautiful smile on her face, she sat at her usual table in the Canterlot Castle tavern, where she would usually spend her nights drinking alcohol and arm wrestle her fellow ponies. The bar is run by a friendly, rather young, pony named Frosty Mug, but ponies call him Frost for short. The tavern was filled with the sound of a beautiful guitar, where the music was coming from, she couldn't see. Starry Knight had a grey coat of fur, which was very clean and well kept, along with a rather tom boyish blue mane and eyes seemingly glowing with a bright gold. But one of her most distinct features was her bat like wings, which helped signify her place in the Lunar Guard. Inside the tavern were many flaming torches, illuminating the large room with a hue just bright enough to be able to read a menu, and in the middle of the room was the rectangular counter used to serve drinks, along with barrels of mead, rum, whisky, beer, and wine. Frost smiled at Starry Knight as she walked in, waving to her rather shyly while he prepared her usual drink of spiced rum. He ran his hoof through his long white mane, then quickly examined his sky blue coat and sighed contently. "Just go up there and talk to her." He mutters to himself. He takes a drink serving saddle out from behind the counter and adjusts it in place on his back, then flips up the tray on the side of the saddle and places the mug of spiced rum he's prepared onto it. He smiles over to Starry Knight, who's currently tapping her hoof on the table in boredom, resting her chin on her other free hoof. He takes in a deep breath and trots on over to her, a big smile on his face. "Uh... Hey, Frost. Oh, is that my drink?" Starry Knight sat upright, smiling at her friend. "Awesome." "Hehe, yeah. I didn't drug it or anything." He says awkwardly as Starry Knight takes the mug off of the tray with her hoof. "Oh...Um... okay, thank you." She replies, staring at him with this look of awkward puzzlement. "Yeah, I don't do drugs. Unless you do drugs, in that case I do all of them, all the time." He says, rather panicked and smiling awkwardly, he laughs a few times before going silent and walking off. "Oh, Okay." Starry Knight watches him walk off, a puzzled look remained on her face. But she passes it off as Frost tasting some of the alcohol again and begins to chug her own drink. "What a awfully strange pony..." A couple of minutes later, Mixed Number shows up and takes a seat in front of Starry Knight, looking rather tired after his first day of work. "Hey, Starry..." He yawns out, covering his mouth with his light blue hoof. "Hey, dude. What's up? How was your first day of work in 'Big Shot Canterlot'?" Starry Knight asked with a smile, sipping occasionally from her mug of spiced rum. "Well, it was pretty good, but...I got to meet an interesting pony." "Oh yeah? Who was it?" "Well, the Canterlot Coroner." "A coroner, huh?" Starry knight cocked her head to the side, a bit confused. "Yeah, Gold Coin, the treasurer, had me go down to the morgue and collect the unclaimed jewelry from him. His name was Schizo Phrenia, of all things..." He responded, waving over to Frost, who walks over, still wearing the tray saddle. "I know who Gold Coin is, I'm friends with his brother." Starry Knight pushes the mug over to Frost for a refill. He takes the mug and Mixed Number's order quickly, then scrambles off back to the counter. "He's a nice pony, I'm happy to work for him." He began. "Thanks again, for setting me up with the job." "No problem, guy." Starry Night smiled back. "Well, I also saw my first dead pony, too." Mixed Number rubs the back of his neck, sticking his tongue out. "You know the senator who was murdered, right?" "Yeah, of course I do. His name was... Iron Sides, right? Oh, don't tell me you saw that pony's dead corpse." Starry Knight leans back in her seat, resting her fore hooves on the chair, between her hind legs. Frost scurried on back with the drinks, and quickly places them on the table. "Yeah, he was definitely murdered, I'll tell you that much." Mixed Number spoke as he took his first sip from his mug. "Stabbed right through the heart." "That's crazy... think it's part of some sort of scandal?" "I don't know, I don't pay very close attention to politics." "Well... could be some sort of affair, I don't know. Hopefully the police figure it out, and stay away from my princess." Starry Knight smiled and chugged her second drink in seconds, then slammed the wooden mug back down. "I'm quite good at what I do, if you didn't catch on." Mixed number laughed and nodded in agreement. "Hehe, I know, Starry." He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hoof and his elbow on the table. "I know." Chapter 4: Celestial InterventionChapter 4 The murder of Senator Iron Sides was immediately brought to the attention of Princess Celestia, who was troubled greatly by the news. Not many people are killed in the city of Canterlot, and the news of the senators death was very shocking to her. She sat patiently in her throne, awaiting the return of a letter sent to Prince Shining Armor requesting that he returns to Canterlot immediately, stating that his services are needed once again. As if on cue, a letter spawned from a flash of light blue magic, landing on the red carpet in front of the eager princess. "Is this him?" She asked herself, her horn glows a calming celestial yellow as she lifts the scroll from the ground and to her throne. Unraveling the scroll, she reads aloud: "Dear Princess Celestia, At your request, I shall return to Canterlot Castle to fulfill my duty as Captain of the Royal Guard once again. I'm tremendously sorry for what happened to Senator Iron Sides, and I promise I'll do everything within my power to see that the murderer is brought to justice. You can expect my arrival within the next couple of days. Best Regards, Prince Shining Armor Celestia scrolled the note back up, and with a sigh, whisked it away to her private mail room for safe keeping. As she did this, her younger sister, Princess Luna, approached her own throne beside Princess Celestias. "Is something the matter, sister?" Luna asked solemnly, she walks up and sits in her own throne of equal stature beside her sister. "You didn't hear? The murder of Senator Iron Sides was announced the other day." "Oh, I did not know..." Luna looked down at the ground, she's often quiet, but never this brooding. "Forgive my drowsiness, my sleep schedule has not been very satisfying to me lately." "I understand... Are you still having those nightmares, Luna?" Celestia spoke softly, the throne hall was very large, and a mundane quietness filled the room to the brim. Luna did not speak, the only acknowledgement of the question asked was a slight nod. "I'm very sorry to hear that... you're always welcome to sleep with me in my room, dear sister." "It's okay, Celestia. It's nothing I can't handle." Luna reassured, still fixing her sight to the ground. It was unclear to Luna who she was trying to reassure; her sister, or herself. "You know I hate seeing you like this." "I know, Sister..." Meanwhile, down in the morgue, Schizo Phrenia was still hard at work analyzing the body. He still wore his surgeons mask and grey overcoat, but his goggles were now over his golden eyes, too. "Let's see here..." He murmured to himself, he stood on his hind legs, with his fore hooves on the operating table. "No, Honey, I'm not going to feed you this one." He spoke to the furnace once again, a stern tone in his voice, as if the question is asked a lot. The chest of poor Iron Sides was opened up for examination, revealing all of his innards. "Seems like this was very strategically executed, the only damage I can see is a clean cut to the heart. Barely even a tear from the entrance and exit... No, I don't know who could of done this, honey. Please stop pestering me while I'm working. This is EXACTLY why I shut you when that silly pony came down here. Whoever did this was obviously someone very skilled." He pushed his goggles up with his hoof and stepped away from the table, walking on all four hooves. "Hello, Mister... Phrenia?" A female voice spoke out from the door way. The ajar door pushed open all the way, revealing the magnificent Princess Luna. "Schizo Phrenia, yes? I've come to see the body. I... Oh, am I interrupting you?" "Oh, no no Princess! Of course not." He said with a smile. "Um.. one second, please." He trots over happily to the counter and slides over a large bottle of prescription medication, which he promptly uncaps and swallows about one or two pills. "Let me just clear my head." "Uh... yes, please do?" She replied to him with a quizzical look, unsure of who he is or what exactly those pills are for. And suddenly, as if under some magic influence, Schizo Phrenia seemed very mellow and, for lack of a better term, more stable. "Uh... yes, anyway. You wanted to see the body? Fair warning, he's... not in the best shape right now." He spoke calmly, leading her to the autopsy table. "Yes, it's fine, I can handle it. First off, a few questions. When exactly did he die, and what caused it?" "A knife wound, which seemed to be stabbed almost impossibly accurate, through his heart killed him. He must of died in about 60 seconds or so after the wound was inflicted, which was probably a week or so ago." "I see... do you think it'll be easy to find the murderer?" Lunas gaze was fixated down onto the corpse of the Senator, she sighed and looked over at the coroner. "Possibly... it takes lots of skill to make a knife wound this precise, so hopefully we'll have a few suspects rounded up soon. "Right... could you keep me posted about all of this?" Luna sighed out. "Yes, of course. I'll send you a report once I'm done examining the rest of the body." "Thank you." Luna nodded her head and looked back down at the body, and, after examining it for a couple of minutes, headed out abruptly, closing the door behind her with her magic. Chapter 5: Sun rise and Golden Skies."Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Chapter 5 Gold Coin sat in his chair, it was early the next morning and the sun had just barely risen from beyond the horizon before he began working. He diligently looked over several loan requests from various ponies in the area, it's hard to believe one pony is capable of maintaining such a stable economy with nothing but the help of one other pony. He gazed over at the table clock on his desk, it was 8:00am now. "Jeez, I've been here for two hours already." He groaned to himself, setting the loan request forms down. "You over work yourself, you know." Gold Coins white ears twitched as he looked up from his desk, seeing a white pony in beautiful gold, glimmering armor walk up to him from the open double doors in the front of the treasury. "Sorry, I'll leave that to you, Golden Sky." Gold Coin said while he sat back in his chair. "What's up with you? You rarely come down here anymore." "I'm on my way to guard duty, but I have another 10 or so minutes, so I thought I'd stop by and say hello." Golden Sky's blue eyes were fixed to Gold Coins, he was a very intimidating pony, even when he didn't mean to be. "Well, I'm doing great today. Like you heard, I've been here for two hours already. Just waiting for my assistant, is all." He brushed his own white hoof through his gold mane, then yawned about halfway through it. "You want to meet him?" "I don't very much care for other ponies, you know that." Golden Sky looks over at Mixed Numbers desk, then back at Gold Coin. "Wouldn't hurt to try." Gold Coin quipped back, his fore hooves crossed over his chest. "Wouldn't hurt to try what?" Mixed Number stepped into the scene, ready for his days work. He trotted up to his desk and placed a manila folder down onto the wooden table top. "Who's this?" "Oh, speak of the devil. Hey, Mixed, this is my brother Golden Sky." Gold Coin smiled, waving his assistant over to say hi. "Oh, well, it's nice to meet you." He walked over to the guard pony, who just rolls his eyes at the new accountant and walks to one of the benches lining the wall near the double door entrance. "Well, it's nice to meet you, too." "Sorry, he's not very social..." Gold Coin spoke with an apologetic tone in his voice and a small frown on his face. "He's been through some tough times lately." "Right, well... I should get to work, anyway." Mixed Number nods and walks back to his desk, with Golden Sky sitting on a bench not 2 feet away. "So, Golden sky, have you seen Starry Knight in a while?" Gold Coin pipes up from behind his desk in an effort to break the silence. "I was drinking with her the other night, other than that, I haven't seen her." He replies. He reaches up with his hooves and takes off his golden helmet, revealing a pale yellow mane in a rather longish pony tail. A small picture slips out of his helmet and floats gently down to the ground. In an effort to get on Golden Sky's good side Mixed Number picks up the photograph with his blue, glowing magic. Golden Sky notices and quickly snatches the photograph out of the air and slides it back in his helmet. "Yeesh, sorry..." Mixed Number groans with a surprised expression on his face from the sudden snatch. Golden Sky sighs and stays silent for a few moments before hopping up off the bench. "Look, I should get going." He mutters. Gold Coin nods and waves as Golden Sky heads off to his post for the day. "Hmph... What's his problem?" Mixed Number whispers to himself before waving it off as nothing and returning to work. "I'm sure he's fine once you get to know him..." Chapter 6: Silent Lies and Earth Rise. "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." -Ernest Hemingway Chapter 6 Princess Luna stood on the lunar surface, there was total silence, not a sound in the infinite vacuum of space. The void was completely black, aside from the Earth rising off in the distance, taking the shape of a thick crescent against the black back drop. She looked left, then right, no sound traveled through space. She was alone in silence once again on the lunar surface. She began to panic, stepping forward shakily and looking over at the Earth. She opened her mouth and tried to scream, straining herself in an effort to make a sound. But no noise came out. She stood there, her four legs trembled with fear, with anger. She tried to scream again, shutting her eyes tight. But all was silent. She stood there shaking for a few moments before collapsing to the dusty lunar ground beneath her, sobbing silently into her fore hooves. "Relax." Princess Luna looked up, her eyes shut with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please, open your eyes. Do not speak, think." Luna opened her eyes, but her vision was blurred with tears. What she could make out was a shining entity, bathed in light, standing before her. The voice she heard was not with her ears, but with her mind. Who are you? She thought to herself. "That's not important." Luna wiped her tears away quickly with the back of her hoof, then shakily stood up, digging her hooves into the grey rock and dust. Why am I here? I DON'T want to be HERE! "Your prison, Princess." The entity spoke with a very monotone female voice. The entire setting was very melancholy, a sense of dread washed over Luna. Please, I don't want to be here. Am I... Dreaming? I'd know if I was dreaming! Luna snarled at the entity, her fear quickly replaced with anger. Stop bringing me back here! "You know full well why you're here." I don't know what you're talking about, bring me back! Luna shut her eyes tight, clenching her teeth, the tears began to roll down her cheeks yet again. She was unsure what this entity wanted with her, nor why the entity would not let her leave. If this was a dream, she'd be able to wake up due to her ability to control not only her dreams, but the dreams of others. "Beyond this door is what you seek." As the entity spoke, a white painted door emerged upright from the lunar surface, completely wrapped in chains and locks. "You must open it." W-what? How? I don't understand. The entity stood there silently, as if it was processing Lunas words for the first time. "Then you're not ready..?" I... don't know. The sun began to hide behind the Earth once again, slowly casting the Moons surface in shadows. And as Princess Luna was swept up in the blackness of space, she awoke in her bed, bolting upright with sweat and tears running down her face along with a sporadic panting. "What's happening to me..?" Chapter 8: Old Scars, Fresh Bodies Chapter 8 Princess Luna gasped for breath, cold sweat dampened her brow as her anxiety strengthened. She felt hopeless and confused as she stumbled out of her bed and onto her four legs, it was 4am, nearly time for the sun to rise. She took in a deep breath and exhaled a few moments after, trying to regain her composure. "I'm okay, I'm okay..." She reassured herself, she closed her eyes and took another deep breath before walking to her balcony doors, her horn glowed a dark blue and the doors swung open, revealing the fresh, damp open air of her high up balcony; dark storm clouds began to pool in the sky above, as scheduled by the local pegasi. "I have to tell Celestia about this, these... 'dreams' are getting worse and worse..." She rested her fore hooves onto the stone railing and gazed down at the Canterlot streets below. Even at this early hour, many ponies were already in the streets on their way to their work. She sighed quietly and thought to herself: In an hour or so Celestia will be awake to raise the sun, I'll see if I can't speak with her then..." And down below, along the streets of Canterlot, Mixed Number trotted along to the Castle, wearing a light grey poncho to protect himself from the coming rain. The first few drops of rain began to fall when Mixed Number noticed an unusually large crowd gathering in front of a fancy red bricked apartment building, yellow crime scene tape blocked off the area as to keep ponies from wandering in too close. I wonder what's happening over there? He tilted his head to the side and wandered over, nudging lightly through the crowd. "Alright, everyone, stand back!" A grey guard pony in golden armor was working his best to keep the prying eyes of the public and the press away from the scene. "We need to conduct the proper protocol for this, please, everypony take a step back!" "What's going on over here?" Mixed Number piped up, hopping up occasionally to try and see over the heads of the ponies. "They found a body!" "Yep, looks really familiar, too... is it an actor, or some TV talk pony?" "No, you idiot, it's Senator Feather Quill!" Mixed Number raised an eye brow and shoved through the ponies in front of him to get a glimpse of the scene. It was true, the body of a female pony was lying on the stone steps up to the apartment complex's lobby. Her green eyes were wide and her light red coat was matted with blood, an open wound was caked with blood on her neck and her dark red mane was frizzy and dirty from lying out all night. Standing by the body was a green pony with a short brown mane, he wore a collar and tie around his neck, along with a blue poncho with the word POLICE written in bold yellow on the back. "That makes two bodies in the past week." He notes to himself, seemingly unfazed by the gruesome entailment of the crime scene. "Where are we on that Medical carriage?" "It's on it's way, sir." One of the guard ponies responded, there were a total of 5 ponies and 1 carriage on the scene. "The wounds inflicted here are similar to the wounds on Senator Iron Sides. The stab wound is an inch in length, stabbed past the shoulder blade and straight to the heart." The blue poncho wearing pony bent down to examine the body further. "And there seems to be impact damage to the spine, it's snapped by the 3rd and 4th vertebrae, did she fall onto the stairs from a window?" He looked up at the 6 story apartment building, it was more than likely that there was more evidence up there. "I'm going to head upstairs, what apartment number was she in?" "Uh... room 409, Mr. Lense. That's what the receptionist said, anyway." One of the ponies responded. "Alright, thank you. Make sure the coroner examines the body right away." "Yes, sir." Mr. Lense walked up the stone stairs to the front door of the apartment, his hooves clacking lightly against the hard surface; at this point the rain was falling at a light, but constant, pace. The door swung open easily to the now completely empty lobby, there wasn't even a pony behind the counter. Mr. Lense did not waste any time, he quickly walked over to the elevator and pressed the button with his hoof and, once the elevator had arrived, stepped inside and proceeded to the fourth floor. The hallway of the fourth floor was just as quiet as the lobby, aside from the pitter patter of the rain outside against the windows. The doorway to room 409 was not forced open, nor was it unlocked, in fact, there appeared to be no signs of a break in at all. What, did she just stab herself and jump out a window? Unlikely..." He looked left, then to the right, then nudged the doormat to the room aside with his hoof, and, as he had figured, a bronze key was taped snugly to the furnished wood floor. Using the key, he opened the door and stepped inside. Upon entering the apartment, he noticed that everything was very clean and orderly, there was a short hallway that led to the main living room, and in the corner was a very updated kitchen and across from that was the doorway to the bedroom. There was a heavy draft, and upon further inspection, Mr. Lense noticed the large window in the living room was wide open. "Aha." He approached the window, the wind was blowing through and dampening anything in the area with the cool rain. Best be careful not to contaminate anything. Let's touch as few things as possible. He pulled the hood of his poncho down and quickly shut the window before wandering off to examine the crime scene, but to his surprise, it was as if this place has never been touched before. The bed was made, the dishes washed and put away, the only thing that stood out were small droplets of red blood staining the otherwise white carpet in the living room by the window. Mr. Lense crouched down and examined the blood stain close, squinting his eyes. There were 5 large droplets of blood crusted into the fibers, along with dozens of smaller satellite droplets around them. A very clean wound... He thought to himself. A few minutes after the start of his inspection, a rather shy looking, grey furred guard pony poked his head in, his golden armor riddled with droplets of water. "Sir, did you find anything? And uh... the coroner's here, he took the body back to the morgue for an autopsy." He spoke out lightly from the doorway. "Hm? No, no just looking. I'll talk to the coroner later..." Mr. Lense snapped back to reality, standing back up and rubbing his eyes. "Just give me a moment." "Yes, sir." The pony nodded once and closed the door on his way out. Mr. Lense nodded once more, then looked out the window, at the rainy streets below. An odd, yet familiar, feeling began to accumulate inside of him. He scratched the back of his head with his hoof lightly, then turned around and scanned the room once more. He couldn't help but feel as if he was being watched. Chapter 9: Try and keep up!Chapter 9 Mr. Lense took a step forward, peering through the window to the rainy city outside. The feeling just couldn't be shaken. And it turns out his suspicion came with cause; on the roof of the apartment across the street stood a pony in a grey trench coat and hood, wearing the metal mask resembling the skull of a pony, and a telescopic lens in the right eye. Mr. Lense noticed right away and burst through the window, standing on the sill with perfect balance in the rain. "You! Stop right there!" He shouted across the street. The pony on the roof looked down at Mr. Lense, then turned and galloped off along the roof tops. "Well, I should of known better than that." Mr. Lense dashed back indoors and with great haste burst through the door to the apartment, the door slammed shut behind him and he dashed for the stairs up, galloping madly to the roof. He burst through the metal door and appeared on the concrete floored roof, the buildings in this part of the city where nestled close together, and the roof of the next buildings were not far. The mysterious masked pony could still be seen galloping away across the street, jumping from roof top to roof top. Mr. Lense hustled off, his hooves clopping against the hard surface below him. With one great leap he jumped over the edge of the roof, risking a fall 6 stories below, and landed with a slight skid on the other roof. "Stop right there!" He ran to the other side of the roof and without hesitation jumped to a taller brick buildings fire escape, he slammed with a loud metallic clank against the side rail, his fore hooves folded in over the railing. With a few loud grunts he pulled himself over and rushed up to the top of the fire escape and continued the chase after the winged mask pony. The Masked pony dashed along the roof tops, jumping from building to building with expert precision. He approached the edge of a building a few stories taller than the one he currently stood on, and with a powerful flap of his wings, he jettisoned upwards! He shot into the air like a bullet and landed with a powerful thunk on the top of the next building. "Dammit, get back here!" Mr. Lense shouted. At this point the two racing ponies were neck and neck with each other, but on opposite sides of the street. But to Mr. Lenses luck, up ahead was a skyway to the building across the street, the perfect bridge between the gap. Mr. Lense jumped from building to building, never cutting down on his speed, and then took a hard right and jumped through the rain, onto the triangular shaped shingled sky way. He galloped along the wet tiled surface and quickly climbed up to the building, his poncho hood was blown off of his head and left to flap in the wind, his brown mane was soaking wet against his head. The masked pony skid to a stop at the edge of the last building before the street below and he spread his wings, preparing to take flight. But before he could even shoot off the ground, Mr. Lense tackled him to the ground, the small puddles splashed water upward as the two ponies wrestled on the concrete floor. "You're under arrest for fleeing the scene of a crime!" Mr. Lense hollered to him, pinning the masked pony down. But the masked pony wasn't giving up, he kicked Mr. Lense in the stomach with his hind legs, sending him skidding along the wet surface. Then he stood up, revealing something Mr. Lense has never seen before. An odd archaic symbol was glowing a wide spectrum of colors on the masked pony's hoof, it was tantalizing, it was an all out whimsical sight. The masked pony then dashed for the edge of the building and, with a large flash of white misty light, he appeared on the street below. It was as if Mr .Lense blinked and he was gone. Mr. Lense stood up, his eyes wide in disbelief. That's not possible, what the hell was that!? He thought to himself, he took a deep, irritated breath. "That was no unicorn." Mr. Lense pulled his hood back up and walked off through the rain, returning to the crime scene and to log his encounter with the masked suspect. Chapter 10: Swift as the WindA bit later that same morning, after the sun was just beginning to rise and the rain was finally stopping, a little pegasus filly was getting ready for another day in kindergarten. She nudges her step stool over to the bathroom sink and smiles at her effort, then stands up on the stool and begins to brush her teeth while continuing to smile in the mirror. To the right of the sink was a window overlooking the streets of Canterlot, about 3 stories down, and behind her was a shower with the curtain closed. She had a grey fur coat and a medium length pale yellow mane, which has been recently washed and is still a bit damp. Once she's done, she rinses her mouth and turns off the water, then promptly leaves the bathroom at the same time she does every morning and walks to the kitchen. Inside the kitchen stood a strong, white coated stallion with a rather longish pale yellow mane and piercing blue eyes was making breakfast, transferring eggs from the sizzling pan to two plates on the counter with a spatula being held between his teeth. Around the colts neck was a necklace with a beautiful blue crystal sliver dangling from it. The colts name was Golden Sky. "Gooooood morning, daddy!" The filly said with a smile, trotting up to him. Golden Sky noticed the girl approaching and put down the spatula with a smile. "Hey, Wind Swift. Are you hungry?" He asked, pulling her close with one hoof. "I made you eggs, sunny side up. Just how you like it, right?" "Uh huh." She replied happily. She gave her father a light nuzzle and quickly detached from his grasp. "Let's eat quick!" "Heh, sure. Are you excited for your field trip today?" "Very excited!" The girl was hopping with enthusiasm, the same big grin on her face. She quickly scurried over to the table in the kitchen and took her seat by the window, there were still clouds in the sky, although the rain had stopped for now. On the table was a newspaper, and on the front page was the murder of Senator Feather Quill. She cocked her head to the side curiously. "Somepony died..?" "Oh, uh..." Golden Sky snatched the newspaper with his mouth and set it aside. "It's just some news, don't worry about it." I should be more careful, I don't want her to see this in the newspaper. That reminds me, I have guard duty today... "It's just a fact of life, Swift. Sometimes things happen and we're not really sure why." "Oh, I understand..." she looks back out the window. "Well... here, eat up. I'll take you to school once you're done, okay?" Golden Sky reaches over and places the plate in front of Wind Swift. Wind Swift nodded and thanked him for the meal before digging in happily, already forgetting the headline of the newspaper. Golden Sky smiled at her, then turned around and began to wash some dishes in the sink while he waited for her to finish. In front of the sink were a series of pictures, ranging from left to right was a picture of Golden Sky and a beautiful mare with a grey coat and shortish white mane sitting on a dock by a river, a picture of the mare and Golden Sky dressed very nicely by an altar, a picture of Golden Sky and the mare holding a new born Wind swift in a luxurious looking apartment, a picture of Wind Swift, Golden Sky, and the mare fishing at the dock from earlier, and the last few pictures only included Golden Sky and wind swift. After a few minutes, Wind Swift finished with her breakfast and Golden Sky placed the dish into the sink. Wind Swift hopped off of the share and trotted over to the front door, where she put on four yellow rain boots to keep her hooves nice and dry. Golden Sky put on a grey coat and pulled Wind Swift close with one hoof. "Ready to go?" He asked. Wind Swift smiled and nodded, then headed off with her dad to school. The school Wind Swift attended is a lovely school in the city, unlike other city schools. It sat on a big piece of land, with grass in the courtyards and a two story school building for grades K-12. All the kids were currently in the courtyard socializing, waiting for the bell to ring to call all the students in. "Alright, Wind Swift, be safe, okay? Don't stray far from the group on your field trip, don't talk to strangers and always stay with the teacher." Golden Sky gets down on his knees, so he's face to face with the little pegasus filly. "Okay?" "I know, Daddy, I know." Wind Swift smiled and gave Golden Sky a loving nuzzle before walking off. "I'll be back at 2:15 to come get you!" He adds before she wanders to far away. "Like usual!" "Alright!" Golden Sky smiled and waved her goodbye, watching till the moment she goes through the front door of the school. He sighed, then walked back to his apartment alone. Starry Knight was once again sitting at the Canterlot bar, which was virtually empty this early in the morning, and was seated on a stool in her shadow guard armor. She was on her way to the barracks for morning exercises, but stopped by to say hello to Frost, who was behind the counter checking the supply of high end liquors behind the counter. It was still too early for a drink, so Starry Knight has her hooves void of a mug for now. A few moments later Golden Sky walks over, wearing the golden armor of the Celestial royal guard. "So, they found another body." He noted, hopping up onto the stool next to Starry Knight. "Well, good to see you walk around with happy thoughts." She quipped. "Yeah, I heard. This is the second one, killed the same as the first. Do you think it's going to be the last?" Starry Knight spoke back, her fore hooves on the table. "I don't think we know what to expect at this point." Frost added from behind the counter, still refilling the kegs. Golden Sky nods in agreement, then motions for something to drink; Frost nods, then slides over a tall glass of water. "What do you think's going to happen next?" "That's a good question, I'm not sure. It seems like the most logical next step would be to tighten security, though." Starry Knight replied. "Well, just remember that whatever happens, I'm sure this guy will be brought in. After all, Canterlot IS one of the most, and best, defended areas in Equestria. Just watch your backs." Replied Frost, filling up the last keg. "And most importantly, watch each others backs." "I always do. But anyway, I'd rather not talk about dead people right now." Starry Knight suggested quietly. "All this murder talk isn't what I want to start my morning with. Hey, Golden, ya eat yet?" "No, but I should be heading off about now, anyway.I just wanted to tell you the bad news, plus I'm on duty, and I'd prefer to be on time." Golden Sky stood up and walked off, disappearing out the door and around the corner. "Jeez, he's always so... solemn. Is he always this serious?" Frost asked with a raised eye brow, he's now moved on to washing some of the mugs from late last night in the sink. "Yeah, he's been like that for a while now." "How come?" "Long story." Chapter 11: Shining Through"If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead to anywhere." -Frank A. Clark Chapter 11 Luna sat at the far end of a long dining table in the grand dining hall of Canterlot Castle. The table was covered in a long white, stainless cloth and had seats all along the sides, seating about 18 people all together. Although, these seats were all empty, for only the two princesses were sitting at the table. "Um... Dear Sister, why are you sitting all the way down there?" Celestia asked kindly, sitting in a seat at the opposite end of the table. Beside her stood a suited pony, standing like a statue, holding a pitcher of tea in his left hoof to refill the princess's tea cups whenever need be. "Oh, it's... nothing, Celestia." Luna had a slight sorrowful tone in her voice as she poked around with her food, refusing to look up from her dish. "There has to be something, I haven't seen you this upset in quite a long time." Celestia took another bite from her vegetarian dish, then sighed. And we all know how last time ended. "It's... nothing I can't handle. I've just been overwhelmed with my dreams. I used to be able to control them very well." "Are you ready to talk about them? Celestia suddenly sounded even more bothered by the statement, knowing that her lovely sister is falling victim to her nightmares. "I'm always here to listen, you know." "... No, it's nothing I can't handle. I just need some time to think about it, is all. I'm sure it's nothing." "Are you sure? Perhaps I could-" "No, I said it's nothing I can't handle." Luna snapped back, irritation flowing through her voice. There was a long pause of silence, then Luna sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry." "No, it's quite alright... but please, if you ever need me-" "I know, you're always here for me, Celestia." "I say it because it's true." "Yes, well, maybe I don't NEED your help!" "Luna, please, I-" "In fact, maybe I'm just fine without you for once!" "You don't mean that." "Yeah? Well I was fine without you for a 1000 years!" Celestia was taken back by this outburst already, but with that last statement from her sister she felt her heart sink. But before Princess Celestia could even respond, Luna sat up from her chair and stormed off. It was obvious something was wrong with Luna, but Celestia just wasn't sure what do do to make her feel better. For the first time in a thousand years she felt disconnected from her sister. But as much as she wanted to dwell on this, Shining Armor was arriving today to assess the situation with the murder of the two senators. Shining Armor's carriage pulled up to the front of Canterlot Castle, it was still a rather rainy morning, but most of the bad weather has past and now only the clouds remain. After a brief few moments of silence the carriage door opens up and steps out the glorious colt in shining silver armor and a blood red scarf loose around his neck. Shining Armor smiled to himself, a pleased grin stretching across his face. He was precisely on time. "Sir, I'll park the carriage here until your return." One of the Pegasi Guards who pulled the carriage along spoke up. "Have a nice visit, sir." "Yes, thank you." Shining Armor nodded to the guard. Still smiling valiantly he galloped up the Castle steps and hurried off to the throne room where the two Princesses were waiting patiently. All the Castle employees seemed happy to see Shining Armor around the castle again, especially with the murders of the two senators still unsolved. After a bit of hasty galloping through the halls he emerged from the two thick wooden doors at the end of the long throne room, the sun began to shine through the colorful stained glass windows as the skies cleared up. "Shining Armor, you're right on time." Celestia spoke quietly from her throne, Luna's throne was left empty. "Please, come over. We have much to discuss..." "Y-yes, Princess." He nods in agreement and walks up to the throne, bowing respectively before returning back to his standing position. "As you know, we mourn the passing of the senators recently killed by the unknown assailant. This opponent most certainly has some experience with combat, their strikes are swift and fatal. We feel as if the Canterlot security should be tighter, for the sake of the congress of Canterlot. At least until we can discover a pattern, we require your forces to watch the residences of these ponies." Celestia spoke with great conviction, Shining Armor could tell she was serious, but she didn't seem afraid. She had great faith in Shining Armor and his equestrian battalion. "Yes, Princess. I'll station the troops tonight..." Shining Armor nodded, his armor glistened lightly as the sun poured through the stained glass windows. "I won't fail." "I know, Captain. I know..." She nodded once, then after a moments pause, spoke again. "I'll have the guards brief you with more details on the matter, plus supply you with a list of addresses. I expect the guards to be at their homes protecting the Senators and Representatives before midnight. "Yes, Princess. I can see to that." He nodded again, then smiled with full confidence of his mission. "There won't be any problems."
Prologue“I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state. What I am grateful for is the gift of intelligence, and for life, love, wonder, and laughter. You can’t say it wasn’t interesting.” -Roger Ebert Prologue The Canterlot senator looked down at his chest; his eyes began to shut as the life sank from his body like a rock to the bottom of the dark ocean. His thick, red blood pooled on the hardwood bedroom floor as he lied there, inert on his side by his bed. The lights were out, aside from the hallway lamp illuminating into the room slightly. He could feel a gushing wound left in his own chest, precisely over his heart. He twitched his hoof in an attempt to move, but he was ultimately too weak and lacking of strength to stand. He managed to cock his head up slightly, looking at a pony standing over him. The pony wore a grey hooded trench coat, with two white, angelic wings hugging tightly to his back, and the metal mask of the devil himself; it was a mechanical masterpiece. It had the features of a pony’s skull, with two adjustable lenses in the empty, cold, metal eye sockets. The poor senator couldn’t believe what he was seeing, in the sanctity of his own home. He was seeing his own murder… “Why..?”
Chapter 1: Learning to CountChapter 1 The sky was a golden hue; the sun began to set on the horizon of Canterlot as a unicorn named Mixed Number, a sky blue pony with a light silver mane, finished his first day of work at his new job in Canterlot Castle. He’s the assistant to the head of the treasury, a pony by the name of Gold Coin. And although this was only Mixed Number’s first day working in Canterlot, he’s already taken quite a liking to the new job. “Hey, can you close the safe for me?” Gold Coin asked from behind his thick wooden desk, behind his rather cluttered desk was a large, round, metal safe door used to store the Castles physical money. “I forgot to close it again…” He would close it himself, but he was too busy looking over a pouch of golden bits. “Um… sure.” Mixed Number replied. He, too, was sitting behind a desk, a little off to the side, perpendicular to Gold Coins fancy work table. “So are you that in focus with that pile of bits?” He smiled lightly over at his new friend, and then looked over to the large metal door behind Gold Coin. His horn glowed a cool blue color, and the safe door began to close. The turn wheel on the safe door spun shut, locking the gargantuan door in place for the night. “Yeah, shush, I’m trying to work…” He whispered passively, his light blue eyes still glued to the pile of bits, analyzing each individual one under a magnifying glass attached to a positionable stand. Gold Coin was a rather dashing white coated pony, with a light golden mane that went down to the middle of the side of his neck. “Hm…” Gold Coin cocked his head to the side once. “These coins are good… Good. It’s too much trouble having to report a counterfeit bag of bits.” He yawned into his hoof and pushed the bits off aside, along with the pouch they came in. “You can tell just by staring at it?” Mixed Number looked almost slightly impressed; smiling at Gold Coin, then back down at the book open on his desk. “Good for you.” “Ahaha, smart ass…” He snapped back, dusting off his hooves as he rolled his eyes. Gold Coin hasn’t been around Mixed Number for very long, but they already behave like a married couple. “It’s almost time to go, are you ready?” Mixed Number closed his book and hopped off of his desk chair, his hooves making a light clop on the furnished wooden floor. “I’ve been ready, just waiting on you so I can lock up.” Mixed Number said with a yawn, walking towards the double doors that led to the Treasury, the room they are in is the size of a school classroom. “Oh! One more thing, before we pack up.” Gold coin exclaims as he hops out of his chair. He pulls open one of the drawers with his hoof and pulls out a small plastic tub with his mouth. “Mnf…” He sets it down on his work table. Mixed Number lets out a sigh and walks back over to his boss’s desk. “What’s that for..?” He groans lethargically. He rests his chin lazily on the desk, looking at Gold Coin with a blank stare. “Just need you to go down to the morgue and collect the unclaimed jewelry from the coroner. He’s a friend of mine; just tell him I sent ya.” Gold Coin instructs, flashing Mixed Number a white smile. He reaches up with his hoof and pats Mixed’s back. “Don’t take too long.” “Right…” He replied with a raised eyebrow. He lifts his chin up and picks up the tub with his mouth, and through his teeth, he says. “Back in a sec.” “Oh, it’s worth mentioning: My friend down in the morgue is quite the character; he prefers to be called Schizo Phrenia.” Coin said with a smile, waving bye to the new assistant. “Uh… a-right, Schiza Phrenia.” Mixed number gave Gold Coin a puzzled look, his words a bit distorted from the tub still being held in his mouth. Gold Coin nodded with a smile: Kinda glad I don’t have to go down THERE anymore, too many dead things. Coin thought to himself as Mixed Number walked off to the morgue.
Chapter 2: A Dead Pony and Holy Matrimony."I believe that if, at the end of it all, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try." -Roger Ebert Chapter 2 Mixed Number carefully treaded down the cobble stone spiral staircase to the morgue. The stair case was dimly lit with a few torches, of all things, and felt unnecessarily wet and dank, like that of an old sea ship's brig. "Oh, jeez..." He murmured to himself, carefully stepping down each step, his horn is glowing a cool blue again while he uses his magic to hold up the plastic tub for the jewelry. His hooves make a light clopping noise every time they come in contact with the cold cobble. "Could it be any more unsettling down here?" He looked around, squinting, trying to see into the dim lit area once he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Let's see..." He quickly spotted a wooden door, light was coming out from under the thick entrance way and a pony could be heard on the other end, although it's impossible to make out what he's saying. Mixed Number tried to shake off the damp feeling on his light blue hooves, but realized it was ultimately futile, and continued on towards the door. "Body #1 is... oohhh, who knows how long he's been dead? One... two weeks?" A cheery voice piped happily from behind the door. "Let's see, what could have killed you...? Could it be THIS?" Mixed Number flinches lightly at a quick, wet, organic sound that emanates from behind the door. "Hm... that WOULD do it. Better keep looking." "Uh... hello?" Mixed Number called out nervously, pushing the door open with his hoof and peering in. Inside was a small room, the walls were comprised of smooth stone brick and metal body storage freezers lined up the wall on the right and left side, and a single body furnace at the back of the room, with a small rectangular window in the top of the room to shine a bit of natural light in. In the middle of the room was an autopsy table with a bright posable lamp over it. Next to the autopsy table were multiple trays of medical items and some... miscellaneous items, like whisks and wooden spoons. But what was even odder than that was the pony on the autopsy table, who was alive and well, lying next to the corpse of a dead pony, who, unfortunately, was not in the same condition. The living pony seemed to have a video camera strapped to his grey hoof, aimed towards him and the body he's lying next to. He had ruffled dark gray hair and a light grey coat over his back, plus he wore a surgeons mask and lab goggles, which were idly resting on his forehead until they were needed. Besides, he wouldn't want to cover his beautiful light green eyes. "Hm, yes. Hello?" The odd, cheery pony looked over at Mixed Number and smiled. "Aha! A visitor." He smiles even brighter and looks back up at the camera. He presses a button on the side of the camera with his free hoof, then smiles at the body next to him. "Uh... Oh, boy. Um... Well, Gold Coin upstairs sent me to come down and collect the unclaimed jewelry." Mixed Number stuttered nervously, feeling a bit uncomfortable in the current scenario. "I'm guessing you were the pony he was talking about?" "Oh, Gold Coin sent you? Wonderful!" The pony said with a smile, he hopped up off the table and clopped down onto his four legs. "I'm Phrenia. Schizo Phrenia. The Canterlot Coroner/Mortician/Medical Examiner, at your service." He gives Mixed Number a polite bow, then once again smiles brightly at him. "Oh, yes the Jewelry, I- Oh, for the love of- Give me one second." Schizo Phrenia gives him an apologetic smile, then turns and looks at a body furnace that's built into the wall, the metal door is slightly ajar. "Shut up already, honey! I can't give you anything right now, I'm not done examining the body. And also I'm not going to feed you when we have guests. Don't be ridiculous!" He walks over to the Furnace and shuts the door it tightly with his hoof. "Just let me talk to this pony, he's friends with Gold Coin." He cleared his throat and turned back around, facing the dumb founded Mixed Number. "I'm very sorry, my furnace and I love each other a lot, but she just doesn't know when to give it a rest." He said sincerely, even apologetically. "Mares, huh?" "Er... Look, can I just get the jewelry so I can leave?" Mixed Number asks, his eyes a bit wide from the 'argument' he just witnessed. He hovers the jewelry tub over to Schizo Phrenia and wiggles it lightly. "Oh, absolutely." Schizo Phrenia replies with a smile, walking over to one of the counters at the end of the room. "Let me just gather the box..." He swishes his tail as he searches under the counters, opening and closing several cupboards before finally pulling out a small cardboard box with his teeth. "Nf... Got it!" Mixed Number let out a sigh of relief at the sight. "Phew, thank you..." "Don't mention it, skip." He quipped back with a smile. Mixed Number walks over and begins to gather the few pieces of jewelry from the box and place them in the tub, but his eye catches the body that was lying on the autopsy table. "Wait... is that..?" "Senator Iron Sides? Yep, he was killed by a sword wound to the chest. They found him in his apartment a few days after it happened." Schizo Phrenia remarks, he walks over to the metal autopsy table, which is lightly stained by blood and other bodily fluids. Mixed Number stares at the body for a few moments, he's never seen a dead pony before, and it's becoming hard to stomach. "I-I should get going." He murmurs, picking up the tub of jewelry with his magic horn. Before Schizo Phrenia had a change to reply, Mixed Number hurried out of the room and shut the thick wooden door behind him. "Huh... what a strange pony." Schizo Phrenia smiled, then looked over back at the Furnace. "Oh, quit hollering, I'm sorry I told you to shut it, it's just... Oo, you just get too 'pushy'." He trots over to the closed furnace and opens the door slightly. "There, better?"
Chapter 3: Mapping out the Starry Knight Chapter 3 Starry Knight was a commander of the Lunar Guard. With a white, beautiful smile on her face, she sat at her usual table in the Canterlot Castle tavern, where she would usually spend her nights drinking alcohol and arm wrestle her fellow ponies. The bar is run by a friendly, rather young, pony named Frosty Mug, but ponies call him Frost for short. The tavern was filled with the sound of a beautiful guitar, where the music was coming from, she couldn't see. Starry Knight had a grey coat of fur, which was very clean and well kept, along with a rather tom boyish blue mane and eyes seemingly glowing with a bright gold. But one of her most distinct features was her bat like wings, which helped signify her place in the Lunar Guard. Inside the tavern were many flaming torches, illuminating the large room with a hue just bright enough to be able to read a menu, and in the middle of the room was the rectangular counter used to serve drinks, along with barrels of mead, rum, whisky, beer, and wine. Frost smiled at Starry Knight as she walked in, waving to her rather shyly while he prepared her usual drink of spiced rum. He ran his hoof through his long white mane, then quickly examined his sky blue coat and sighed contently. "Just go up there and talk to her." He mutters to himself. He takes a drink serving saddle out from behind the counter and adjusts it in place on his back, then flips up the tray on the side of the saddle and places the mug of spiced rum he's prepared onto it. He smiles over to Starry Knight, who's currently tapping her hoof on the table in boredom, resting her chin on her other free hoof. He takes in a deep breath and trots on over to her, a big smile on his face. "Uh... Hey, Frost. Oh, is that my drink?" Starry Knight sat upright, smiling at her friend. "Awesome." "Hehe, yeah. I didn't drug it or anything." He says awkwardly as Starry Knight takes the mug off of the tray with her hoof. "Oh...Um... okay, thank you." She replies, staring at him with this look of awkward puzzlement. "Yeah, I don't do drugs. Unless you do drugs, in that case I do all of them, all the time." He says, rather panicked and smiling awkwardly, he laughs a few times before going silent and walking off. "Oh, Okay." Starry Knight watches him walk off, a puzzled look remained on her face. But she passes it off as Frost tasting some of the alcohol again and begins to chug her own drink. "What a awfully strange pony..." A couple of minutes later, Mixed Number shows up and takes a seat in front of Starry Knight, looking rather tired after his first day of work. "Hey, Starry..." He yawns out, covering his mouth with his light blue hoof. "Hey, dude. What's up? How was your first day of work in 'Big Shot Canterlot'?" Starry Knight asked with a smile, sipping occasionally from her mug of spiced rum. "Well, it was pretty good, but...I got to meet an interesting pony." "Oh yeah? Who was it?" "Well, the Canterlot Coroner." "A coroner, huh?" Starry knight cocked her head to the side, a bit confused. "Yeah, Gold Coin, the treasurer, had me go down to the morgue and collect the unclaimed jewelry from him. His name was Schizo Phrenia, of all things..." He responded, waving over to Frost, who walks over, still wearing the tray saddle. "I know who Gold Coin is, I'm friends with his brother." Starry Knight pushes the mug over to Frost for a refill. He takes the mug and Mixed Number's order quickly, then scrambles off back to the counter. "He's a nice pony, I'm happy to work for him." He began. "Thanks again, for setting me up with the job." "No problem, guy." Starry Night smiled back. "Well, I also saw my first dead pony, too." Mixed Number rubs the back of his neck, sticking his tongue out. "You know the senator who was murdered, right?" "Yeah, of course I do. His name was... Iron Sides, right? Oh, don't tell me you saw that pony's dead corpse." Starry Knight leans back in her seat, resting her fore hooves on the chair, between her hind legs. Frost scurried on back with the drinks, and quickly places them on the table. "Yeah, he was definitely murdered, I'll tell you that much." Mixed Number spoke as he took his first sip from his mug. "Stabbed right through the heart." "That's crazy... think it's part of some sort of scandal?" "I don't know, I don't pay very close attention to politics." "Well... could be some sort of affair, I don't know. Hopefully the police figure it out, and stay away from my princess." Starry Knight smiled and chugged her second drink in seconds, then slammed the wooden mug back down. "I'm quite good at what I do, if you didn't catch on." Mixed number laughed and nodded in agreement. "Hehe, I know, Starry." He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hoof and his elbow on the table. "I know."
Chapter 4: Celestial InterventionChapter 4 The murder of Senator Iron Sides was immediately brought to the attention of Princess Celestia, who was troubled greatly by the news. Not many people are killed in the city of Canterlot, and the news of the senators death was very shocking to her. She sat patiently in her throne, awaiting the return of a letter sent to Prince Shining Armor requesting that he returns to Canterlot immediately, stating that his services are needed once again. As if on cue, a letter spawned from a flash of light blue magic, landing on the red carpet in front of the eager princess. "Is this him?" She asked herself, her horn glows a calming celestial yellow as she lifts the scroll from the ground and to her throne. Unraveling the scroll, she reads aloud: "Dear Princess Celestia, At your request, I shall return to Canterlot Castle to fulfill my duty as Captain of the Royal Guard once again. I'm tremendously sorry for what happened to Senator Iron Sides, and I promise I'll do everything within my power to see that the murderer is brought to justice. You can expect my arrival within the next couple of days. Best Regards, Prince Shining Armor Celestia scrolled the note back up, and with a sigh, whisked it away to her private mail room for safe keeping. As she did this, her younger sister, Princess Luna, approached her own throne beside Princess Celestias. "Is something the matter, sister?" Luna asked solemnly, she walks up and sits in her own throne of equal stature beside her sister. "You didn't hear? The murder of Senator Iron Sides was announced the other day." "Oh, I did not know..." Luna looked down at the ground, she's often quiet, but never this brooding. "Forgive my drowsiness, my sleep schedule has not been very satisfying to me lately." "I understand... Are you still having those nightmares, Luna?" Celestia spoke softly, the throne hall was very large, and a mundane quietness filled the room to the brim. Luna did not speak, the only acknowledgement of the question asked was a slight nod. "I'm very sorry to hear that... you're always welcome to sleep with me in my room, dear sister." "It's okay, Celestia. It's nothing I can't handle." Luna reassured, still fixing her sight to the ground. It was unclear to Luna who she was trying to reassure; her sister, or herself. "You know I hate seeing you like this." "I know, Sister..." Meanwhile, down in the morgue, Schizo Phrenia was still hard at work analyzing the body. He still wore his surgeons mask and grey overcoat, but his goggles were now over his golden eyes, too. "Let's see here..." He murmured to himself, he stood on his hind legs, with his fore hooves on the operating table. "No, Honey, I'm not going to feed you this one." He spoke to the furnace once again, a stern tone in his voice, as if the question is asked a lot. The chest of poor Iron Sides was opened up for examination, revealing all of his innards. "Seems like this was very strategically executed, the only damage I can see is a clean cut to the heart. Barely even a tear from the entrance and exit... No, I don't know who could of done this, honey. Please stop pestering me while I'm working. This is EXACTLY why I shut you when that silly pony came down here. Whoever did this was obviously someone very skilled." He pushed his goggles up with his hoof and stepped away from the table, walking on all four hooves. "Hello, Mister... Phrenia?" A female voice spoke out from the door way. The ajar door pushed open all the way, revealing the magnificent Princess Luna. "Schizo Phrenia, yes? I've come to see the body. I... Oh, am I interrupting you?" "Oh, no no Princess! Of course not." He said with a smile. "Um.. one second, please." He trots over happily to the counter and slides over a large bottle of prescription medication, which he promptly uncaps and swallows about one or two pills. "Let me just clear my head." "Uh... yes, please do?" She replied to him with a quizzical look, unsure of who he is or what exactly those pills are for. And suddenly, as if under some magic influence, Schizo Phrenia seemed very mellow and, for lack of a better term, more stable. "Uh... yes, anyway. You wanted to see the body? Fair warning, he's... not in the best shape right now." He spoke calmly, leading her to the autopsy table. "Yes, it's fine, I can handle it. First off, a few questions. When exactly did he die, and what caused it?" "A knife wound, which seemed to be stabbed almost impossibly accurate, through his heart killed him. He must of died in about 60 seconds or so after the wound was inflicted, which was probably a week or so ago." "I see... do you think it'll be easy to find the murderer?" Lunas gaze was fixated down onto the corpse of the Senator, she sighed and looked over at the coroner. "Possibly... it takes lots of skill to make a knife wound this precise, so hopefully we'll have a few suspects rounded up soon. "Right... could you keep me posted about all of this?" Luna sighed out. "Yes, of course. I'll send you a report once I'm done examining the rest of the body." "Thank you." Luna nodded her head and looked back down at the body, and, after examining it for a couple of minutes, headed out abruptly, closing the door behind her with her magic.
Chapter 5: Sun rise and Golden Skies."Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad." -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Chapter 5 Gold Coin sat in his chair, it was early the next morning and the sun had just barely risen from beyond the horizon before he began working. He diligently looked over several loan requests from various ponies in the area, it's hard to believe one pony is capable of maintaining such a stable economy with nothing but the help of one other pony. He gazed over at the table clock on his desk, it was 8:00am now. "Jeez, I've been here for two hours already." He groaned to himself, setting the loan request forms down. "You over work yourself, you know." Gold Coins white ears twitched as he looked up from his desk, seeing a white pony in beautiful gold, glimmering armor walk up to him from the open double doors in the front of the treasury. "Sorry, I'll leave that to you, Golden Sky." Gold Coin said while he sat back in his chair. "What's up with you? You rarely come down here anymore." "I'm on my way to guard duty, but I have another 10 or so minutes, so I thought I'd stop by and say hello." Golden Sky's blue eyes were fixed to Gold Coins, he was a very intimidating pony, even when he didn't mean to be. "Well, I'm doing great today. Like you heard, I've been here for two hours already. Just waiting for my assistant, is all." He brushed his own white hoof through his gold mane, then yawned about halfway through it. "You want to meet him?" "I don't very much care for other ponies, you know that." Golden Sky looks over at Mixed Numbers desk, then back at Gold Coin. "Wouldn't hurt to try." Gold Coin quipped back, his fore hooves crossed over his chest. "Wouldn't hurt to try what?" Mixed Number stepped into the scene, ready for his days work. He trotted up to his desk and placed a manila folder down onto the wooden table top. "Who's this?" "Oh, speak of the devil. Hey, Mixed, this is my brother Golden Sky." Gold Coin smiled, waving his assistant over to say hi. "Oh, well, it's nice to meet you." He walked over to the guard pony, who just rolls his eyes at the new accountant and walks to one of the benches lining the wall near the double door entrance. "Well, it's nice to meet you, too." "Sorry, he's not very social..." Gold Coin spoke with an apologetic tone in his voice and a small frown on his face. "He's been through some tough times lately." "Right, well... I should get to work, anyway." Mixed Number nods and walks back to his desk, with Golden Sky sitting on a bench not 2 feet away. "So, Golden sky, have you seen Starry Knight in a while?" Gold Coin pipes up from behind his desk in an effort to break the silence. "I was drinking with her the other night, other than that, I haven't seen her." He replies. He reaches up with his hooves and takes off his golden helmet, revealing a pale yellow mane in a rather longish pony tail. A small picture slips out of his helmet and floats gently down to the ground. In an effort to get on Golden Sky's good side Mixed Number picks up the photograph with his blue, glowing magic. Golden Sky notices and quickly snatches the photograph out of the air and slides it back in his helmet. "Yeesh, sorry..." Mixed Number groans with a surprised expression on his face from the sudden snatch. Golden Sky sighs and stays silent for a few moments before hopping up off the bench. "Look, I should get going." He mutters. Gold Coin nods and waves as Golden Sky heads off to his post for the day. "Hmph... What's his problem?" Mixed Number whispers to himself before waving it off as nothing and returning to work. "I'm sure he's fine once you get to know him..."
Chapter 6: Silent Lies and Earth Rise. "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." -Ernest Hemingway Chapter 6 Princess Luna stood on the lunar surface, there was total silence, not a sound in the infinite vacuum of space. The void was completely black, aside from the Earth rising off in the distance, taking the shape of a thick crescent against the black back drop. She looked left, then right, no sound traveled through space. She was alone in silence once again on the lunar surface. She began to panic, stepping forward shakily and looking over at the Earth. She opened her mouth and tried to scream, straining herself in an effort to make a sound. But no noise came out. She stood there, her four legs trembled with fear, with anger. She tried to scream again, shutting her eyes tight. But all was silent. She stood there shaking for a few moments before collapsing to the dusty lunar ground beneath her, sobbing silently into her fore hooves. "Relax." Princess Luna looked up, her eyes shut with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please, open your eyes. Do not speak, think." Luna opened her eyes, but her vision was blurred with tears. What she could make out was a shining entity, bathed in light, standing before her. The voice she heard was not with her ears, but with her mind. Who are you? She thought to herself. "That's not important." Luna wiped her tears away quickly with the back of her hoof, then shakily stood up, digging her hooves into the grey rock and dust. Why am I here? I DON'T want to be HERE! "Your prison, Princess." The entity spoke with a very monotone female voice. The entire setting was very melancholy, a sense of dread washed over Luna. Please, I don't want to be here. Am I... Dreaming? I'd know if I was dreaming! Luna snarled at the entity, her fear quickly replaced with anger. Stop bringing me back here! "You know full well why you're here." I don't know what you're talking about, bring me back! Luna shut her eyes tight, clenching her teeth, the tears began to roll down her cheeks yet again. She was unsure what this entity wanted with her, nor why the entity would not let her leave. If this was a dream, she'd be able to wake up due to her ability to control not only her dreams, but the dreams of others. "Beyond this door is what you seek." As the entity spoke, a white painted door emerged upright from the lunar surface, completely wrapped in chains and locks. "You must open it." W-what? How? I don't understand. The entity stood there silently, as if it was processing Lunas words for the first time. "Then you're not ready..?" I... don't know. The sun began to hide behind the Earth once again, slowly casting the Moons surface in shadows. And as Princess Luna was swept up in the blackness of space, she awoke in her bed, bolting upright with sweat and tears running down her face along with a sporadic panting. "What's happening to me..?"
Chapter 8: Old Scars, Fresh Bodies Chapter 8 Princess Luna gasped for breath, cold sweat dampened her brow as her anxiety strengthened. She felt hopeless and confused as she stumbled out of her bed and onto her four legs, it was 4am, nearly time for the sun to rise. She took in a deep breath and exhaled a few moments after, trying to regain her composure. "I'm okay, I'm okay..." She reassured herself, she closed her eyes and took another deep breath before walking to her balcony doors, her horn glowed a dark blue and the doors swung open, revealing the fresh, damp open air of her high up balcony; dark storm clouds began to pool in the sky above, as scheduled by the local pegasi. "I have to tell Celestia about this, these... 'dreams' are getting worse and worse..." She rested her fore hooves onto the stone railing and gazed down at the Canterlot streets below. Even at this early hour, many ponies were already in the streets on their way to their work. She sighed quietly and thought to herself: In an hour or so Celestia will be awake to raise the sun, I'll see if I can't speak with her then..." And down below, along the streets of Canterlot, Mixed Number trotted along to the Castle, wearing a light grey poncho to protect himself from the coming rain. The first few drops of rain began to fall when Mixed Number noticed an unusually large crowd gathering in front of a fancy red bricked apartment building, yellow crime scene tape blocked off the area as to keep ponies from wandering in too close. I wonder what's happening over there? He tilted his head to the side and wandered over, nudging lightly through the crowd. "Alright, everyone, stand back!" A grey guard pony in golden armor was working his best to keep the prying eyes of the public and the press away from the scene. "We need to conduct the proper protocol for this, please, everypony take a step back!" "What's going on over here?" Mixed Number piped up, hopping up occasionally to try and see over the heads of the ponies. "They found a body!" "Yep, looks really familiar, too... is it an actor, or some TV talk pony?" "No, you idiot, it's Senator Feather Quill!" Mixed Number raised an eye brow and shoved through the ponies in front of him to get a glimpse of the scene. It was true, the body of a female pony was lying on the stone steps up to the apartment complex's lobby. Her green eyes were wide and her light red coat was matted with blood, an open wound was caked with blood on her neck and her dark red mane was frizzy and dirty from lying out all night. Standing by the body was a green pony with a short brown mane, he wore a collar and tie around his neck, along with a blue poncho with the word POLICE written in bold yellow on the back. "That makes two bodies in the past week." He notes to himself, seemingly unfazed by the gruesome entailment of the crime scene. "Where are we on that Medical carriage?" "It's on it's way, sir." One of the guard ponies responded, there were a total of 5 ponies and 1 carriage on the scene. "The wounds inflicted here are similar to the wounds on Senator Iron Sides. The stab wound is an inch in length, stabbed past the shoulder blade and straight to the heart." The blue poncho wearing pony bent down to examine the body further. "And there seems to be impact damage to the spine, it's snapped by the 3rd and 4th vertebrae, did she fall onto the stairs from a window?" He looked up at the 6 story apartment building, it was more than likely that there was more evidence up there. "I'm going to head upstairs, what apartment number was she in?" "Uh... room 409, Mr. Lense. That's what the receptionist said, anyway." One of the ponies responded. "Alright, thank you. Make sure the coroner examines the body right away." "Yes, sir." Mr. Lense walked up the stone stairs to the front door of the apartment, his hooves clacking lightly against the hard surface; at this point the rain was falling at a light, but constant, pace. The door swung open easily to the now completely empty lobby, there wasn't even a pony behind the counter. Mr. Lense did not waste any time, he quickly walked over to the elevator and pressed the button with his hoof and, once the elevator had arrived, stepped inside and proceeded to the fourth floor. The hallway of the fourth floor was just as quiet as the lobby, aside from the pitter patter of the rain outside against the windows. The doorway to room 409 was not forced open, nor was it unlocked, in fact, there appeared to be no signs of a break in at all. What, did she just stab herself and jump out a window? Unlikely..." He looked left, then to the right, then nudged the doormat to the room aside with his hoof, and, as he had figured, a bronze key was taped snugly to the furnished wood floor. Using the key, he opened the door and stepped inside. Upon entering the apartment, he noticed that everything was very clean and orderly, there was a short hallway that led to the main living room, and in the corner was a very updated kitchen and across from that was the doorway to the bedroom. There was a heavy draft, and upon further inspection, Mr. Lense noticed the large window in the living room was wide open. "Aha." He approached the window, the wind was blowing through and dampening anything in the area with the cool rain. Best be careful not to contaminate anything. Let's touch as few things as possible. He pulled the hood of his poncho down and quickly shut the window before wandering off to examine the crime scene, but to his surprise, it was as if this place has never been touched before. The bed was made, the dishes washed and put away, the only thing that stood out were small droplets of red blood staining the otherwise white carpet in the living room by the window. Mr. Lense crouched down and examined the blood stain close, squinting his eyes. There were 5 large droplets of blood crusted into the fibers, along with dozens of smaller satellite droplets around them. A very clean wound... He thought to himself. A few minutes after the start of his inspection, a rather shy looking, grey furred guard pony poked his head in, his golden armor riddled with droplets of water. "Sir, did you find anything? And uh... the coroner's here, he took the body back to the morgue for an autopsy." He spoke out lightly from the doorway. "Hm? No, no just looking. I'll talk to the coroner later..." Mr. Lense snapped back to reality, standing back up and rubbing his eyes. "Just give me a moment." "Yes, sir." The pony nodded once and closed the door on his way out. Mr. Lense nodded once more, then looked out the window, at the rainy streets below. An odd, yet familiar, feeling began to accumulate inside of him. He scratched the back of his head with his hoof lightly, then turned around and scanned the room once more. He couldn't help but feel as if he was being watched.
Chapter 9: Try and keep up!Chapter 9 Mr. Lense took a step forward, peering through the window to the rainy city outside. The feeling just couldn't be shaken. And it turns out his suspicion came with cause; on the roof of the apartment across the street stood a pony in a grey trench coat and hood, wearing the metal mask resembling the skull of a pony, and a telescopic lens in the right eye. Mr. Lense noticed right away and burst through the window, standing on the sill with perfect balance in the rain. "You! Stop right there!" He shouted across the street. The pony on the roof looked down at Mr. Lense, then turned and galloped off along the roof tops. "Well, I should of known better than that." Mr. Lense dashed back indoors and with great haste burst through the door to the apartment, the door slammed shut behind him and he dashed for the stairs up, galloping madly to the roof. He burst through the metal door and appeared on the concrete floored roof, the buildings in this part of the city where nestled close together, and the roof of the next buildings were not far. The mysterious masked pony could still be seen galloping away across the street, jumping from roof top to roof top. Mr. Lense hustled off, his hooves clopping against the hard surface below him. With one great leap he jumped over the edge of the roof, risking a fall 6 stories below, and landed with a slight skid on the other roof. "Stop right there!" He ran to the other side of the roof and without hesitation jumped to a taller brick buildings fire escape, he slammed with a loud metallic clank against the side rail, his fore hooves folded in over the railing. With a few loud grunts he pulled himself over and rushed up to the top of the fire escape and continued the chase after the winged mask pony. The Masked pony dashed along the roof tops, jumping from building to building with expert precision. He approached the edge of a building a few stories taller than the one he currently stood on, and with a powerful flap of his wings, he jettisoned upwards! He shot into the air like a bullet and landed with a powerful thunk on the top of the next building. "Dammit, get back here!" Mr. Lense shouted. At this point the two racing ponies were neck and neck with each other, but on opposite sides of the street. But to Mr. Lenses luck, up ahead was a skyway to the building across the street, the perfect bridge between the gap. Mr. Lense jumped from building to building, never cutting down on his speed, and then took a hard right and jumped through the rain, onto the triangular shaped shingled sky way. He galloped along the wet tiled surface and quickly climbed up to the building, his poncho hood was blown off of his head and left to flap in the wind, his brown mane was soaking wet against his head. The masked pony skid to a stop at the edge of the last building before the street below and he spread his wings, preparing to take flight. But before he could even shoot off the ground, Mr. Lense tackled him to the ground, the small puddles splashed water upward as the two ponies wrestled on the concrete floor. "You're under arrest for fleeing the scene of a crime!" Mr. Lense hollered to him, pinning the masked pony down. But the masked pony wasn't giving up, he kicked Mr. Lense in the stomach with his hind legs, sending him skidding along the wet surface. Then he stood up, revealing something Mr. Lense has never seen before. An odd archaic symbol was glowing a wide spectrum of colors on the masked pony's hoof, it was tantalizing, it was an all out whimsical sight. The masked pony then dashed for the edge of the building and, with a large flash of white misty light, he appeared on the street below. It was as if Mr .Lense blinked and he was gone. Mr. Lense stood up, his eyes wide in disbelief. That's not possible, what the hell was that!? He thought to himself, he took a deep, irritated breath. "That was no unicorn." Mr. Lense pulled his hood back up and walked off through the rain, returning to the crime scene and to log his encounter with the masked suspect.
Chapter 10: Swift as the WindA bit later that same morning, after the sun was just beginning to rise and the rain was finally stopping, a little pegasus filly was getting ready for another day in kindergarten. She nudges her step stool over to the bathroom sink and smiles at her effort, then stands up on the stool and begins to brush her teeth while continuing to smile in the mirror. To the right of the sink was a window overlooking the streets of Canterlot, about 3 stories down, and behind her was a shower with the curtain closed. She had a grey fur coat and a medium length pale yellow mane, which has been recently washed and is still a bit damp. Once she's done, she rinses her mouth and turns off the water, then promptly leaves the bathroom at the same time she does every morning and walks to the kitchen. Inside the kitchen stood a strong, white coated stallion with a rather longish pale yellow mane and piercing blue eyes was making breakfast, transferring eggs from the sizzling pan to two plates on the counter with a spatula being held between his teeth. Around the colts neck was a necklace with a beautiful blue crystal sliver dangling from it. The colts name was Golden Sky. "Gooooood morning, daddy!" The filly said with a smile, trotting up to him. Golden Sky noticed the girl approaching and put down the spatula with a smile. "Hey, Wind Swift. Are you hungry?" He asked, pulling her close with one hoof. "I made you eggs, sunny side up. Just how you like it, right?" "Uh huh." She replied happily. She gave her father a light nuzzle and quickly detached from his grasp. "Let's eat quick!" "Heh, sure. Are you excited for your field trip today?" "Very excited!" The girl was hopping with enthusiasm, the same big grin on her face. She quickly scurried over to the table in the kitchen and took her seat by the window, there were still clouds in the sky, although the rain had stopped for now. On the table was a newspaper, and on the front page was the murder of Senator Feather Quill. She cocked her head to the side curiously. "Somepony died..?" "Oh, uh..." Golden Sky snatched the newspaper with his mouth and set it aside. "It's just some news, don't worry about it." I should be more careful, I don't want her to see this in the newspaper. That reminds me, I have guard duty today... "It's just a fact of life, Swift. Sometimes things happen and we're not really sure why." "Oh, I understand..." she looks back out the window. "Well... here, eat up. I'll take you to school once you're done, okay?" Golden Sky reaches over and places the plate in front of Wind Swift. Wind Swift nodded and thanked him for the meal before digging in happily, already forgetting the headline of the newspaper. Golden Sky smiled at her, then turned around and began to wash some dishes in the sink while he waited for her to finish. In front of the sink were a series of pictures, ranging from left to right was a picture of Golden Sky and a beautiful mare with a grey coat and shortish white mane sitting on a dock by a river, a picture of the mare and Golden Sky dressed very nicely by an altar, a picture of Golden Sky and the mare holding a new born Wind swift in a luxurious looking apartment, a picture of Wind Swift, Golden Sky, and the mare fishing at the dock from earlier, and the last few pictures only included Golden Sky and wind swift. After a few minutes, Wind Swift finished with her breakfast and Golden Sky placed the dish into the sink. Wind Swift hopped off of the share and trotted over to the front door, where she put on four yellow rain boots to keep her hooves nice and dry. Golden Sky put on a grey coat and pulled Wind Swift close with one hoof. "Ready to go?" He asked. Wind Swift smiled and nodded, then headed off with her dad to school. The school Wind Swift attended is a lovely school in the city, unlike other city schools. It sat on a big piece of land, with grass in the courtyards and a two story school building for grades K-12. All the kids were currently in the courtyard socializing, waiting for the bell to ring to call all the students in. "Alright, Wind Swift, be safe, okay? Don't stray far from the group on your field trip, don't talk to strangers and always stay with the teacher." Golden Sky gets down on his knees, so he's face to face with the little pegasus filly. "Okay?" "I know, Daddy, I know." Wind Swift smiled and gave Golden Sky a loving nuzzle before walking off. "I'll be back at 2:15 to come get you!" He adds before she wanders to far away. "Like usual!" "Alright!" Golden Sky smiled and waved her goodbye, watching till the moment she goes through the front door of the school. He sighed, then walked back to his apartment alone. Starry Knight was once again sitting at the Canterlot bar, which was virtually empty this early in the morning, and was seated on a stool in her shadow guard armor. She was on her way to the barracks for morning exercises, but stopped by to say hello to Frost, who was behind the counter checking the supply of high end liquors behind the counter. It was still too early for a drink, so Starry Knight has her hooves void of a mug for now. A few moments later Golden Sky walks over, wearing the golden armor of the Celestial royal guard. "So, they found another body." He noted, hopping up onto the stool next to Starry Knight. "Well, good to see you walk around with happy thoughts." She quipped. "Yeah, I heard. This is the second one, killed the same as the first. Do you think it's going to be the last?" Starry Knight spoke back, her fore hooves on the table. "I don't think we know what to expect at this point." Frost added from behind the counter, still refilling the kegs. Golden Sky nods in agreement, then motions for something to drink; Frost nods, then slides over a tall glass of water. "What do you think's going to happen next?" "That's a good question, I'm not sure. It seems like the most logical next step would be to tighten security, though." Starry Knight replied. "Well, just remember that whatever happens, I'm sure this guy will be brought in. After all, Canterlot IS one of the most, and best, defended areas in Equestria. Just watch your backs." Replied Frost, filling up the last keg. "And most importantly, watch each others backs." "I always do. But anyway, I'd rather not talk about dead people right now." Starry Knight suggested quietly. "All this murder talk isn't what I want to start my morning with. Hey, Golden, ya eat yet?" "No, but I should be heading off about now, anyway.I just wanted to tell you the bad news, plus I'm on duty, and I'd prefer to be on time." Golden Sky stood up and walked off, disappearing out the door and around the corner. "Jeez, he's always so... solemn. Is he always this serious?" Frost asked with a raised eye brow, he's now moved on to washing some of the mugs from late last night in the sink. "Yeah, he's been like that for a while now." "How come?" "Long story."
Chapter 11: Shining Through"If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead to anywhere." -Frank A. Clark Chapter 11 Luna sat at the far end of a long dining table in the grand dining hall of Canterlot Castle. The table was covered in a long white, stainless cloth and had seats all along the sides, seating about 18 people all together. Although, these seats were all empty, for only the two princesses were sitting at the table. "Um... Dear Sister, why are you sitting all the way down there?" Celestia asked kindly, sitting in a seat at the opposite end of the table. Beside her stood a suited pony, standing like a statue, holding a pitcher of tea in his left hoof to refill the princess's tea cups whenever need be. "Oh, it's... nothing, Celestia." Luna had a slight sorrowful tone in her voice as she poked around with her food, refusing to look up from her dish. "There has to be something, I haven't seen you this upset in quite a long time." Celestia took another bite from her vegetarian dish, then sighed. And we all know how last time ended. "It's... nothing I can't handle. I've just been overwhelmed with my dreams. I used to be able to control them very well." "Are you ready to talk about them? Celestia suddenly sounded even more bothered by the statement, knowing that her lovely sister is falling victim to her nightmares. "I'm always here to listen, you know." "... No, it's nothing I can't handle. I just need some time to think about it, is all. I'm sure it's nothing." "Are you sure? Perhaps I could-" "No, I said it's nothing I can't handle." Luna snapped back, irritation flowing through her voice. There was a long pause of silence, then Luna sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry." "No, it's quite alright... but please, if you ever need me-" "I know, you're always here for me, Celestia." "I say it because it's true." "Yes, well, maybe I don't NEED your help!" "Luna, please, I-" "In fact, maybe I'm just fine without you for once!" "You don't mean that." "Yeah? Well I was fine without you for a 1000 years!" Celestia was taken back by this outburst already, but with that last statement from her sister she felt her heart sink. But before Princess Celestia could even respond, Luna sat up from her chair and stormed off. It was obvious something was wrong with Luna, but Celestia just wasn't sure what do do to make her feel better. For the first time in a thousand years she felt disconnected from her sister. But as much as she wanted to dwell on this, Shining Armor was arriving today to assess the situation with the murder of the two senators. Shining Armor's carriage pulled up to the front of Canterlot Castle, it was still a rather rainy morning, but most of the bad weather has past and now only the clouds remain. After a brief few moments of silence the carriage door opens up and steps out the glorious colt in shining silver armor and a blood red scarf loose around his neck. Shining Armor smiled to himself, a pleased grin stretching across his face. He was precisely on time. "Sir, I'll park the carriage here until your return." One of the Pegasi Guards who pulled the carriage along spoke up. "Have a nice visit, sir." "Yes, thank you." Shining Armor nodded to the guard. Still smiling valiantly he galloped up the Castle steps and hurried off to the throne room where the two Princesses were waiting patiently. All the Castle employees seemed happy to see Shining Armor around the castle again, especially with the murders of the two senators still unsolved. After a bit of hasty galloping through the halls he emerged from the two thick wooden doors at the end of the long throne room, the sun began to shine through the colorful stained glass windows as the skies cleared up. "Shining Armor, you're right on time." Celestia spoke quietly from her throne, Luna's throne was left empty. "Please, come over. We have much to discuss..." "Y-yes, Princess." He nods in agreement and walks up to the throne, bowing respectively before returning back to his standing position. "As you know, we mourn the passing of the senators recently killed by the unknown assailant. This opponent most certainly has some experience with combat, their strikes are swift and fatal. We feel as if the Canterlot security should be tighter, for the sake of the congress of Canterlot. At least until we can discover a pattern, we require your forces to watch the residences of these ponies." Celestia spoke with great conviction, Shining Armor could tell she was serious, but she didn't seem afraid. She had great faith in Shining Armor and his equestrian battalion. "Yes, Princess. I'll station the troops tonight..." Shining Armor nodded, his armor glistened lightly as the sun poured through the stained glass windows. "I won't fail." "I know, Captain. I know..." She nodded once, then after a moments pause, spoke again. "I'll have the guards brief you with more details on the matter, plus supply you with a list of addresses. I expect the guards to be at their homes protecting the Senators and Representatives before midnight. "Yes, Princess. I can see to that." He nodded again, then smiled with full confidence of his mission. "There won't be any problems."
