//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 - Experimentation 
// Story: Iron Eyes 
// by Dramaro 
//------------------------------//

Morning came and I quickly ate breakfast before heading out to find Shining. He was at the command center, talking with another lawyer pony, this time the DA. She was a tall pegasus mare, a bit shorter than Shining. With a pair of thick rimmed glasses sitting on her muzzle, she had tailored her attire and appearance to fit a studious look. I guessed that she was my age, if these ponies aged at the same rate as humans. Just like Blueblood's attorney, she had a briefcase attached to a side belt that sat under her outfit and behind her wings, as to not ruin the whole ensemble. On her flanks was the image of a small earth pony mare wearing a toga and a blindfold around her eyes. In her teeth was the well known scale of justice. When she stood, it was balanced but when she turned her leg, the scale would alter a bit.

Shining quickly noticed me. "Oh, let me introduce you to our consulting detective, Lt. Roya Sayid."

"Oh! So this is the Lt. Roya I've heard about. I've already been briefed about your predicament here in Equestria. My name's Guilty Verdict, Crown Prosecutor of Canterlot," said the attorney mare.

"The pleasure is mine." I shook her hoof and gave her a warm smile. "I wanted to talk to you and Shining about Blueblood. I've found some important evidence that will change this case."

"Really?" Do tell."

"Back where I'm from, we have our own specialized forensics team and coroners. They would be the ones collecting evidence and the crime scene and determine how the murder took place. Now, normally as a detective, I'd follow leads and whatnot, but sometimes I'd look at the bodies myself to have my own opinion. I had requested the body to be brought back and I checked something. Apparently, the coroners had concluded that Crystal Clear was stabbed while standing on her hind legs."

"Yes, that's what they have thought. Blueblood charging upwards and killed her."

"That's not the case. Both Shining and I had found her body on its side which meant she was standing on all fours when she was impaled. Because of Blueblood's height, if he had murdered Crystal Clear, he'd have to aim downwards, not upwards."

Both Shining and Guilty Verdict were surprised at my explanation. They looked at each other before Guilty asked me an important question. "So the murderer is still out there and now we have no weapon?" asked Shining.

"Not quite. I wanted to try a test actually. I just need a few things," I told them.

"What do you need?"

"A slab of meat. Different piercing weapons... and a horn or something to emulate one."

"What?"

"It's a stab test. I'm going to strike the meat slab with all of them and compare the wounds they create."

Guilty Verdict thought for a moment. "That actually... sounds reasonable. I'll get Blueblood released and get this processed. Just do that experiment and find out what our murder weapon is and who could have been able to do that yet make it look like Blueblood was the one who ran. Shining, check every guard that has a natural white coat and a blonde mane."

"Yes, Mrs. Verdict!" Shining gave a quick salute before leaving.

"Thank you Lt. Roya. I'm surprised that you found this out. How did you do it?" asked Guilty Verdict.

"Blueblood's responses in the interrogation were what threw me off. Normally, if I continued accusing the suspect of doing the crime, and they had a history of short tempers, I'd have an outburst reaction no matter what. Blueblood only reacted the first time, but he wasn't purely angry... The second time, he became deeply saddened by something."

"So his emotions showed you the way... If you were a pony, I'd wish you were working for us full time."

"Thank you for the compliment, Mrs. Guilty Verdict. I should head off and get that experiment set up. Considering that you ponies are herbivores and the fact that many animals, that in my world would be consumed, are sentient and thus protected, I presume my chances of getting a slab of meat are pretty low."

I was surprised to see Guilty Verdict shaking her head. "This castle receives numerous ambassadors from other countries, including members of the predatory races, such as griffons. Because of that, we keep a storage of meats for them so to respect their customs and not have any diplomatic incidents on our hooves. We also hire griffon chefs to cook them."

"That's good news. I just need a meat that can emulate pony flesh. Chest muscle would be the most appropriate."

"I'll send a word in to the chefs to bring one out. The horn... may be a problem."

"A drill would work too, or even a simple cone with a spiral etching."

"I'll look into that.... Actually, get one of the guards."

"What? That's... kind of a strange question."

"Trust me, they'll help you."

I returned to my room for a moment and drank some tea before mentally preparing myself. Heading back downstairs feeling ready to take on the day, I found Shining standing in front of the doors leading to the kitchen.

"Good afternoon, Lt."

"Same to you, Shining. So, is the test prepared?"

He gave me a firm nod. "We've set up a rack of pig flesh or what griffons call "pork" and got some weapons you requested, among other weapons. Spearhead, pike, anything that pierces. We were also able to find a horn, an actual unicorn's horn."

"Who donated it?"

Shining shook his head, which confused me for a moment. "A guard will be volunteering for us."

"Really? Kind of strange, volunteering to ram your forehead into a slab of meat, especially if you're an herbivore."

"Don't worry. He'll be fine."

I followed Shining into the kitchen, where a unicorn chef was levitating the slab of thawed meat out for us. I was the only one indifferent to seeing the meat, which was natural. The chef quickly moved it to a rack originally meant for spears with hooks. With a powerful movement of his magic, the chef quickly hooked the slab quite nicely on the rack. It was rib meat, so it curved quite well and the chef had been spot on, giving us the perfect angle to strike.

Turning around, I saw Shining move a cart towards me. On it was an array of weapons we were testing. The first was a spear, which I allowed Shining to try. Grabbing it with his magic, Shining quickly brought his spear to bear. He concentrated for a moment before giving the spear a powerful thrust. The spear did its job and impaled into the pork. Pulling it out, he returned the now bloody weapon to the tray.

The next weapon was a rapier. It looked just like ones I had seen in museums, including the handle. I was confused why ponies would even invent a sword with a handle if they had nothing to grasp. I scratched my head on confusion until Shining demonstrated what it was for. Instead of using his magic, he grabbed the handle in teeth and held it firmly, almost like a skilled swordsman would with their hands.

Given a running start, the immobile slab was skewered by the rapier and slide out with relative ease. I noticed that Shining was squirming upon hearing the sword shred the meat with ease. Once the rapier was cleared, Shining slowly placed it back. I fear for anyone stupid enough to actually fight Shining, now.

"You can do the rest... that really tired me out."

I gave him a nod. "That would be best."

Watching him walk away, a young unicorn stallion with a pale brown coat entered through the doors at the same time. He wore the golden plate armor of a royal guard, minus the helmet. I was curious to see a royal guard that wasn't either a dark grey or a pure white color.

"Are you... the 'human' Shining told me?" he asked.

I gave him an affirming nod. "That I am. The name is Lt. Roya Sayid. I am a consulting detective."

He examined me for a moment until he noticed the badge pinned to my jacket. Instantly, he snapped to attention, treating me as a superior officer, complete with salute. "Private Comedy Mask, ma'am!"

I sighed. "At ease. You're just here to help me as a volunteer, not a drill. Besides, I'm not military, rather I'm a police officer."

"Isn't that... the same thing?"

Again I sighed. "No, Private. Well... not where I'm from. Anyways, I'll be needing you to charge at that slab of meat for me."

Comedy Mask stared at the meat for a moment before getting a queasy look on his face. "Ma'am... Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes, it's a slab of pig meat. I am fully aware."

"Um... may I ask why you're not bothered by it?"

"Humans are omnivores, meaning we eat both meat and plants to a certain extent, though my beliefs are very strict in certain kinds of meats. Swine is off limits for me."

"So... You want me... to run horn first... into that?"

I nodded before speaking with a rousing charismatic voice. "I just need to see how a horn impaling wound would come out as. This is important research, private. You'd be making Equestria proud!" My little words of encouragement seemed to work and he became eager to run head first into the thing. "Before you go... I need to..." Too late, he had already went into full gallop towards the slab while screaming at the top of his lungs.

"For Equestria!" I looked away a bit, hoping I wouldn't see a glory blinded colt crash head first into the wall after piercing the slab. Luckily, he stopped right when he impaled the thing. Unfortunately, he got stuck.

"Um, ma'am? Could you kinda help me? Pretty please?"

I could only allow my face to meet my hand. With haste, I walked over to him and grabbed his collar before pulling as hard as I can. It took some finesse but after some struggling, I was able to dislodge his horn. He fell onto his rump, rather comically, and gave me a weak smile.

"Let me get you a towel." I grabbed a wash cloth that came with the weapons and wiped the blood and pig flesh off his horn. He was grossed out by it, but after making sure I got into the grooves, he seemed happy that he at least helped to "Serve Equestria."

"Thank you, Private Comedy."

"You're welcome, ma'am!" He gave me a firm salute, which made me smile. I dismissed him so he could get a proper shower, hoping to thoroughly clean his horn properly. With a sigh of relief, I returned to the cart to try the last weapon. This was wasn't a normal standard issued weapon, rather it was a museum piece of some kind. I didn't really know why Shining would give me an artifact that belonged under a glass case instead of inside a pig's side.

The "dagger' in question was some sort of large black thorn or something. Flicking it, I noticed that the top portion was quite sharp, ending at a sharp hook point. It reminded me of a horns on bugs like beetles or something. The thorn or whatever it was had been bonded to a handle and guard with string and some metal clamps, turning it into a dagger.

Seeing that there was nothing else, I quickly put on a pair of gloves before handling the dagger. It was light in my hand, with most of the weight coming from the handle itself. I walked up to the abused slab of pork and looked for a spot. Seeing a clear area, I pulled my arm back before giving it a powerful thrust with a slight uppercut. The dagger went in cleanly. I pulled the now bloody dagger out and quickly cleaned it, hoping I didn't damage it.

After placing the museum piece on the cart, I returned to the meat and began my examination. The spear had created two slice marks opposite of each other, which meant it wasn't a spear. The sword was too thin and made a slit, not a circular wound. The horn was close but it lacked the top gorging line.

I moved to the last wound and examined it with a detailed eye. The wound was circular, given that the dagger had a thick cone like fuller. Upon exiting the dagger had pulled some flesh, which gave the wound the characteristic top gouging mark I was looking for.

Satisfied with my findings, I quickly used a notebook nearby, probably to remind chefs and whatnot, and wrote them down. The sound of the doors opening caught my attention and I turned to see Shining, looking better than before.

"Did you finish everything?" Shining asked.

I nodded. "Yes. What dagger is this anyways?"

"That would be a changeling dagger. It was made from the broken horn from one of those... things." Shining didn't seem happy to mention the name of those creatures. It was like he had a grudge against them.

"I see... Well, it's the dagger that passed the test."

"What? Don't you know what that means?"

"Yes. A changeling had killed Crystal Clear and.... wait..." Something clicked in my mind. Changelings were natural shape-shifters, able to morph into the perfect image of any pony they see and can imitate their voice and even behavior after observation. When I had first met Blueblood... he had a white flower on his collar. The next time I saw him, his collar had a red rose, which was what probably caused his shirtfront to be pink. What about when Blueblood ran out of the room? "Shining! Where's the maid that saw us chase Blueblood?"

"You mean Squeaky Clean?"

"Whatever her name is, I need to talk to her."

"Hmm, I'll get a schedule report." Shining leaned over a bit to look at the meat slab. "What are you going to do with that? Eat it? I know you humans eat meat."

I shook my head. "No. My religious beliefs state that I cannot eat swine." Shining raised his eyebrow at me, confused to, what probably sounded to him, were strange belief structures. I shrugged. "Who's going to deal with the cart?" I asked.

"I'll get somepony to do that. Come with me."

The two of us left the kitchen and went to find this Squeaky Clean mare.