In Hippodrome City, life is cheap and chrome is prized. The rich fill their bodies with implants and graft on appendages their species isn't born with, or chop off perfectly good limbs to replace them with upgraded hardware, all in the name of fashion and performance. After all, why bother to save for the future when everything can come crashing down in a hail of gangbanger gunfire or deadly corporate-warfare systems hacks?

Better live life while you can, and on Nightmare Night there's no better way to do that than to go partying in costume.

In the criminal justice system of Hippodrome City, the Chief Cyber Medical Examiner is responsible for forensic autopsies of the deceased found in unusual or suspicious circumstances. This is the story of one such exam.

Written for the 2023 Cyberpunk Nightmare Night Story Contest, where it won second place

Note: This is a side story to "Everyday Life With Guardsmares", but you don’t have to have read that first. All you need to know is that these batponies were created a thousand years ago when Nightmare Moon was banished to the Moon, and developed their own militaristic culture there in anticipation of Her return. They assaulted Royal Guard strongholds during that event, but had to submit when Luna rejoined her sister in peaceful co-rulership. Also, they're Spanish.

After years of poor relations following Nightmare Moon's defeat, a Royal Guard attaché officer sent to improve relations with the batponies and learn more about their alien military culture & traditions is permitted to attend their "Caça de Bruixes": the "Witch-Hunt", a harrowing ritual in which one of their number is willingly given over to a dark power in order to allow other warriors the chance to learn how to fight the possessed monster under semi-controlled conditions. The Maestro Cazador, the Master of the Hunt, presides over the affair and is responsible for the safety of everyone involved.

This story was originally written for the 2022 SPOOK contest.