//------------------------------//
// Spearheading the operation. 
// Story: Lucifer 
// by Ghost Warrior 
//------------------------------//

Lucifer and his two lady companions were in the map room of the castle, talking with the Mane Six, minus Pinkie until she gets back with Spearpoint. Lucifer was having a very interesting conversation with Rarity about fashion, while Maze was teaching Rainbow some tricks with her knives. Chloe, deciding to try and get something useful as they waited, went over to Twilight to see if she knew anything about Beetle Juice. " Twilight, do you know anything about a changeling by the name of Beetle Juice?"

" Not really, Spike might know since he usually speaks with Thorax." The two went over to Spike, who was listening to Lucifer talk about the designs he modeled for over the millennia to Rarity. " Spike, do you happen to know a changeling by the name of Beetle Juice?"

" Yeah, he was part of Chrysalisis's invasion party until Thorax came into power. Last I heard, he was acting as a diplomate between the kingdoms."

" Were you also aware that our Mister Juice has been working as a male prostitute before his head was removed from his shoulders?" All of the ponies and dragon in the room gawked at the information that Lucifer so bluntly put to light. " By your expressions, I'm guessing that would be a no."

" That's horrible, who would do such a thing like that?"

" Well, Fluttershy, we don't have any solid evidence, but we do have a lead on a suspect."

" And when the pink one gets back," Maze started to do a few slashing motions with her knives to illustrate a point. " we'll have a little chat."

" Maze, darling there is no need to resort to violence. I'm sure that whoever you need to talk too will cooperate fully." Rarity's statement got Maze's eyes to roll 'cause she knew the immutable law when it comes to bounty hunting. They always try to escape.

A moment later, Pinkie came in with an earth pony stallion with an orange coat, a green mane, and a scar across his left eye. When Pinkie saw that there were no balloons or streamers, she let out her disappointment. " What kind of party is this?

At that point, Maze walked over to the two and pinned the Stallion by his neck with her elbow against the doorframe. " The kind that involves capturing and torturing a murderer." She held the tip of her hell-forged blade under his chin to demonstrate her point.

Luckily for the poor sod, Chloe was able to defuse the situation. " Maze put him, you know there's a protocol to this." Without taking her eyes off the ex-guard, she lowered him to the ground and removed her knife, letting off a small ringing noise. Once he was free from her grasp, she went over to the others who were watching the scene unfold. Chloe turned her gaze towards Spearpoint and pulled out her badge. " Detective Decker, EPD, we have some questions for you."

" What could you possibly want from me? I haven't done anything." 

" Uh, do you know how much of a cliche that is? You might as well just use the other ones while you're at it." Lucifer announced while he lounged in Twilights chair.

Chloe, as usual, ignored Lucifer and went for the questions that have served her well in her career as a detective in the LAPD. " Do you know a Changeling by the name of Beetle Juice."

" Yeah, I know him. And before you say anything, I told him to stay away from my wife, so whatever harassment charge he has on me, he can just shove it right back up his ass."

" Knowing his line of work, he probably did have something shoved up there." The girls all gave Lucifer a look telling him they weren't amused. " Also, it would be unprofessional to jam anything up a corpse's behind."

At the mention of the word corpse, Spearpoint gained a look of shock, and then he smirked. " So that bastards dead huh? That's the best news I've heard in a long while."

Chloe controlled her anger and proceeded with her questions. " So this is the first your hearing of his death, is that right?"

" That's right, I tell ya, having him out of my mane is for the best."

" Really, well from what Miss De Lis has told us, you were the one who constantly came up to him and threatened for him to stay away from your wife, Clearskys."

" Don't even mention her to me, she left me two months ago. She can rot in Tartarus!" The mane six were appalled to hear a stallion talk about his wife like that.

Lucifer came back with a witty quip. " Not surprising, seeing as she had to go to someone else to get satisfied." Spear stared daggers over at Lucifer. " Well don't blame me for your inadequacy blame yourself."

Spear looked ready to take Lucifer on but Decker found what Spear said interesting. " Hold on. If your wife left you two months ago, then why did you confront Beetlejuice three weeks ago?"

" Perhaps the little bugger wanted his wife back and wanted to get rid of the competition by scaring him off, of course when that failed he went with the more direct approach and cut his head off." Lucifer got closer to Spearpoint with every word he said.

" I didn't kill him." He started backing away once Lucifer kept getting closer. He couldn't put his hoof on it, but he felt a powerful aura he gave off that he only felt when around Celestia. " Look, I got really drunk that night and just decided to scare him."

" You're lying." Both Lucifer and Applejack looked at one another as they both said that.

" Seem's we got another lie detector to help us. And a sexy one at that too." Maze snapped her teeth over towards AJ, making the mare jump a little.

" Yes well, aside from the possible threeway, let's get down to business." Lucifer directed his attention back over to Spearpoint. " So, my lying friend, if you didn't kill the beetle then tell me. What was it that you desired?"

As Spearpoint stared into Lucifer's eyes, a force beyond his understanding pulled his deepest desire to the front of his mind and with a little added charm from the Devil, he felt the urge to say it out loud. " I...I want...I want Beetlejuice to be alive."

This greatly confused Lucifer as well as everyone in the room. " What kind of answer is that? A minute ago you were thrilled to hear about the bugs death, and now you want him alive? What game are you playing at?" Spearpoint came out of his trance while Chloe stepped in.

" Hold on Lucifer, let me take over for a bit." Lucifer gave a weary look to Spearpoint before joining the others. The detective went and focused on the ex-guard. " Why would you want Beetlejuice to be alive when you showed great hatred towards him?"

Spearpoint let out an agitated huff before answering. " I want him alive so he could take care of my wife's bastard child." The whole room, save for the three bipeds, let out a shocked gasp. " It's the reason she left me, and why I confronted him, so he would take care of the kid."

Lucifer went ahead and jumped to a conclusion. " And when the bug refused to take care of the unborn child, you went and chopped his head off!"

" He didn't refuse, in fact, he was over the moon when he was told he had a kid on the way. After I told him that, that was the last I saw of him. You have to believe me."

This time it was Maze who spoke. " We would, but your hoof print is on the murder weapon." She then walked over to him and placed her blade along his throat. " So unless you want a Columbian necktie, I suggest you come up with a better excuse."

Before anyone could talk Maze down, the doors to the map room opened, revealing Ella in a sushi t-shirt. " We got the wrong guy!" She yelled out everyone as she came in with some papers and following behind her, was Clearskys, a light purple pegasus with dark purple mane and tail. " I just talked with Clearskys and found that Spearpoint did have contact with that sword."

" See even more reason to suspect he's the killer."

" Normally yes, but Clearskys informed me that her ex-husband only made contact with the sword once, and it was a week before Beetlejuice was decapitated."

Fluttershy held in her vomit while Rarity went and asked: " Could you please stop bringing that up, please Ella?"

" Sorry, anyway, she also told me she knows who the sword belongs to."

At this point, Clearskys spoke up. " It belongs to my brother, Sharpenedsword. He came by the day after I told Spearpoint I wanted a divorce. He told me they were going to do a guards vow to always be friends and keep in touch even though Spear and I would be separated."

Spearpoint quickly cut in. " And one of the ways to make our vow was to touch the other's weapon. So when he had me take the vow on his sword-"

" He was able to get your print while levitating the sword and being able to frame you." Ella had finished where the investigation train was going.

Twilight then voiced her thought. " Why would he want to kill Beetlejuice and then frame his brother-in-law?"

" I might have an answer to that." The gathered group gave their attention back to Spearpoint. " During the wedding invasion, he was one of the guards that got captured and put in a pod before the shield went up and blasted all those bugs away. When he got free from that pod, he was a changed pony."

" How so?" Decker inquired.

" Whenever he would go after a thief or some punk writing graffiti on the wall, he would always suspect them of being a Changeling, which they never were. On his days off, he would roam all over Equestria, hunting down any lead he could about them, it became his obsession, he even invited me on a couple of his hunts."

The story was then taken over by Clearskys. " When the Changelings turned over a new leaf, Sharp was less than thrilled that the very beings he hunted, were now allies to Equestria."

" And when he heard you had a bug in the oven, he was less than thrilled?"

" He nearly trashed my house with how angry he got."

" Okay, thank you for the information. Lucifer, let's head over to where he lives, Ella, do you have the address?"

" Right here, girlfriend." She handed Chloe the address before continuing her conversation with Pinkie.

" Coming detective. Maze, care to join the hunt for a rogue guard?"

Maze spun both her blades before making a pose. " Like you really had to ask." She followed the two before looking at Ella. " You coming? Might be a little bloodshed."

" Actually, if you don't mind, I think I'll stick around here for a bit." She went back to listening to the story Pinkie was telling her about her childhood while Maze went to catch up with the other two.

" So. Do you expect Sharpenedsword will cooperate or should we just let Maze have at him?"

" Lucifer, you know we have to follow procedure." Chloe then gave him a sly smile. " And when that fails, then we let Maze have her fun."

Lucifer looked a little shocked. " Detective, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think your turning into a bad, influence." He then put his signature grin back on. " I like it." With that said, the trio headed for the train station for the next train to Canterlot and their next suspect.