Time seemed to pass in slow motion for the detectives. For what seemed like hours they sat there while the distraught Firefly mourned for her friend. Neither of them knew what to say to her. Not that it would have done them any good; years of experience in situations like these told them it was best to wait and just let them compose themselves before they started talking to them, talking which consisted mostly of questions that would hopefully get them a lead on whoever killed their loved one.

Finally, Firefly's sobs began to lessen and finally stopped. Silver Shield winced when she removed her head from her hooves. She looked like a real mess; her cheeks were stained with tears, her eyes were red and puffy, and her face bore a pained expression that Silver Shield had seen too many times from ponies who she had to inform of the often brutal death of a loved one. If she were the one calling the shots, she'd hand Firefly her business card and let her cool off for a day or two before she started asking her questions. But that wasn't an option; they needed to start picking her brain, as painful as it would be for her, right then and there if they were going to get any solid information to go on. It was Police Work 101, and Nightstick wasted no time getting to it. Better to get it done and over with.

"I understand this is a difficult time, ma'am." He said. "But, we're going to need to ask you a few questions." Firefly looked at him and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I'll do my best." She said, her voice cracking slightly as she tried to hold back further tears. The snap of a button on her jacket and Silver Shield brought out a small, leather-bound notebook. Out of habit, she completely cleared her mind of any and all distracting thoughts. No time for any of that; first rule of interviewing, whether talking to witnesses or interrogating a suspect, was to keep a clear head.

"We'll start at the beginning. Did anything seem unusual about Cloud Dancer's behavior when you last saw her?" She began, starting off with a simple question. Firefly pursed her lips in thought for a moment.

"Two days ago? No, I wouldn't say so. She came in for the day shift at 8:30, clocked in and waited for her shift to start, took a lunch break at noon, went home around five. Nothing really out of the ordinary. Hell, nothing really noteworthy happened that day, which is really surprising." Silver Shield's eyes remained locked on Firefly the whole time. Her training and experience had given her a valuable skill; she could tell when someone was lying almost by looking at them and listening to them. It had helped her numerous times during her career. Though she saw no obvious signs of deception from Firefly, her gut told her that there was more. She decided to dig a little deeper.

"Well, she did seem kind of... distracted lately." Firefly said. Here we go, Silver Shield thought.

"Like something was on her mind." Firefly said. "You could see it in her eyes. Something was bugging her, but every time I tried to talk to her about it, she insisted everything was OK. I didn't push it because I figured she'd open up on her own about it." Firefly sighed. "Now I wish I had." No deception again. Firefly was telling the truth. Silver Shield decided to pursue the angle of what was bothering Cloud Dancer.

"Had she been having any problems at work?" She asked. "Say, a co-worker she was having issues with?" Firefly nodded.

"Yeah, there was one." She replied, sinking back into her chair. "Miserable little creep."

"His name's Gale." She explained. "The little worm used to work in cloud production before he pulled some strings and get sent here. He decided he wanted the better pay, but didn't want to actually work for it." Her expression made it clear that she did not care for whoever this "Gale" was, and furthermore it was a lead they could follow.

"What was the problem with him?" Silver Shield asked. Firefly looked over the production floor at the mare workers and scowled.

"He flirted with the mares who work here more often than he actually did any work, and he was insubordinate." She said. "I would have fired his flank a long time ago if he weren't the Director's nephew." She snarled, the idea of nepotism going on at the factory clearly making her angry. "I especially wanted to after I learned what he did to Cloud." Silver Shield looked up from her notes at the mention of their victim's name.

"Boy did he ever." She began. "It was about a month ago, while I was down in mixing area checking the pools. The weasel thought it would be a great time to go and cop himself a feel... no offense on the use of the word 'cop'." She said. Silver shield smiled.

"Cloud had finally had enough, and told me about it, and I decided to go my boss hoping against hope that I could finally send his flank packing." She scoffed. "Nothing came of it, though they did end up reassigning him from processing to mixing. Besides that, nothing serious was done about it, or the threats. Before you ask, yeah, he threatened her about it. Nothing specific, though he did say she was going to pay for trying to get him canned." She paused as a horrible realization sank in. "You don't think that creep killed her, do you?"

"We can't be certain of that yet, but we would like to talk to him." Silver Shield explained, putting her notebook away. "Can you tell us where he is working?"

"Yeah, follow me." Firefly led them out the door back through processing until they got back to the mixing area. "Twerp should just be coming in. Another thing I can't stand about him, always late." As if on cue, a yellow pegasus stallion arrived, his green and red striped mane looking greasy like it hadn't been washed in a week. His work wear was wrinkly and covered with stains of what appeared to be beer and food. His calloused hooves were on the large size. All in all, he looked like the stereotypical slovenly worker who no one wanted by couldn't get rid of. Most would recognize such a character on sight, and Silver Shield did almost immediately. She had put away plenty of them during her years as a patrol cop on the beat. "That's him, right there." Firefly pointed him out.

"We'll take it from here. Sit tight." Nightstick instructed. Him and Silver Shield descended the steps leading from the processing building to the mixing area. Both detectives steeled themselves for the confrontation in case Gale decided to bolt or they needed to draw their weapons. Gale had by now picked up a mixing tool and was busy mixing some of the rainbow solution, surpisingly doing a good job at it.

"Hey! Are you Gale?" Silver Shield called out. Gale held a hoof to his face to block out the sun that glared down on him like a flashlight in his eyes.

"Who's asking?" He demanded in a gravely voice with a noticeable "East Cloudsdale" accent. Silver flashed her badge.

"Cloudsdale Police, we'd like to have a word with you." She said sternly. Gale's expression switched from annoyed to fearful, his eyes darting around before finally deciding to use his mixing tool to splash spectra in their direction.

"Gah!" Nightstick yelped, rubbing the concoction from his eyes. "That creepy prick is getting away! Go after him, I'll try and cut him off!" Silver Shield wasted no time in taking wing after the fleeing Gale. The stallion hastily took to wing in a bid to escape, but his flying was clumsy compared to the well trained cop, who quickly gained on him and prepared to tackle him out of the air. At the last minute, a desperate Gale kicked out at her, missing but screwing up her flight pattern enough that he could get back to the ground and try on foot. Silver Shield growled and lined up to tackle him again, only for him to dodge and force her to land. Gale's trickiness ended, however, when Nightstick appeared around a bend and pointed his gun in Gale's face.

"How you doing?" He asked. Gale turned to run, only to be grabbed by Silver Shield, who looked like she was about ready to sock him. She didn't, thankfully.

"So why did you run?" Silver Shield asked. Nightstick took up position beside him in case he decided to bolt again. The petrified stallion clammed up. Silver Shield could instantly tell that he was hiding something.

"Are you deaf?" Nightstick asked. "My partner asked you a question. I suggest you start cooperating, because from what I saw up there you're looking at two counts of assaulting a police officer." He glared at Gale, who gulped and began to shake from sheer nerves. Neither detective showed much sympathy.

"What do you mean, what are you talking about?" Gale cried. "I tell you, I didn't do anything!"

"Do you know a Cloud Dancer? Maybe you do, she used to work here, and from what we here you couldn't keep your hooves to yourself when you were around her." Silver Shield said.

"Yeah I knew her," he said. "She almost got me fired. I haven't seen her for days though, not since I got sent down to mixing. Why are you asking me about her?"

"She was murdered last night, lunkhead", Silver Shield said. "You know anything about that?" Gale's eyes widened as he gasped in a display of genuine shock.

"Whoa, whoa whoa whoa, back up a minute," he said. "Murdered? You think I killed her over trying to get me fired? Do I look like the kind of pony who would do that?" Nightstick smiled.

"And trying to run from us doesn't help him." She said. Gale looked like he was about to crap out an entire brick and mortar shop.

"No way! I never killed anyone!" He cried. "Alright, I didn't run because of that, I ran because... because I got some wacky backy in my coat pocket." He said, hanging his head.

"One reefer." Silver Shield rolled her eyes. A possession rap would have gotten him six months at most if it was his first offense.

"We'll let it slide," she said, exasperated. "You've got enough problems as it is. Where were you at midnight last night?"

"I was at home," Gale said. "Ask my next door neighbor, he'll tell you I was there all night." He put his hooves on his hips and stared right at them. No obvious signs that he was lying.

"Yeah, my mom," Gale said. "She called me around 12:30 because she forgot her glasses at my apartment the last time she visited." He explained, rolling his own eyes. "Can you believe that? I told her I'd bring them by this morning before I left for work. If Firefly asks, that's why I was late. Traffic was a pain."

"We'll need to verify this," Silver Shield said. "You have a current address and phone number?" Gale supplied the contact information, which Silver Shield jotted down and made a note to check the alibi later.

"Well, looks like you're in the clear, but I wouldn't skip town anytime soon." Nightstick said. Silver Shield grabbed Gale by the scruff of his neck and glared at him with the most intimidating look she could manage.

"But, if I ever get wind of you harassing another female coworker, I'll drag you back to the station by your balls." She snarled before releasing him. She felt a bit of satisfaction when she heard the little creep whimper at the thought of what she had just told him. The detectives returned to a waiting Firefly.

"He's not the guy," She said. "He says he was at home when Cloud Dancer died. We'll of course be checking that out, but I can safely say he didn't kill her." Firefly nodded.

"I didn't think he was either," She said. "He's a complete flank-kisser and a pervert, but I never pegged him for... that." She sighed. Silver could tell Firefly was going to take some time to heal from the news of her friend's death. She wasn't anything if not compassionate, so she reached into her pocket and pulled out her business card.

"Here," She said, hoofing it to Firefly. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call." She said. Firefly took it.

"We'd like to take a look around her place. Can you give us an address?" Firefly nodded.

"1227 Pansy Court, Apartment 213," She replied. "Heavens know I visited her enough times to remember that." She wrote the address down for them. Silver Shield made a note to check out her apartment for clues. "And... if it's possible... she didn't have any immediate family that I know of. I'd like to make arrangements for the funeral." Silver Shield handed her another card.

"You can contact the station and talk to the watch commander. He'll be trying to notify next of kin," She explained. "If no one else comes forward, you can claim the body." Nighstick pat her on the shoulder.

"Thanks," She replied. "Hey, get the son of a bitch, will you?" She asked. Silver Shield nodded before they left. Firefly waved to them as they winged away from the factory before going back into her office. Torque Wrench was fighting processor number four yet again, but she didn't pay any attention to it. She simply did not have the time or the energy. She closed her office door, sticking a note asking not to be disturbed on the door. She slumped down in her chair and took a look at the picture of her and Cloud Dancer in happier times. She remembered the last time she saw her alive. She remembered how harried and harassed she looked. She knew something was bothering her and she tried to get her to talk about it, but Cloud was quiet all during work, only telling her not to worry. She never pushed it. Now she wished she had; she might be alive today if she had.

With her heart heavy with grief and fresh tears stinging her eyes, she picked up her office phone and dialed a familiar number. She waited on the phone, wiping her eyes until the party on the other end picked up, literally.

"What's up?" The voice of her sister Rainbow Dash answered. She could hear music and happy laughter on the other end of the line. Pinkie Pie must be throwing another one of her trademark shindigs.

"Firefly? Are you OK?" Firefly wiped the tears from her eyes and she choked back a sob.

***

Silver Shield felt awful as she took leave from her partner to go check out Cloud Dancer's lodgings. Many times she had seen the tears of pain and loss flow, the pangs of utter despair and grief etched onto the face of every pony left behind after a life cut so brutally short. She never really thought of herself as the empathic type, but seeing that pain never failed to get to her. She guessed she was just more compassionate than she let on.

How many times had she had to do it? How many times did she have to tell somepony that their wife, husband, child or friend wasn't coming home? She had lost count. She hadn't been attached to the equicide squad for very long, but she had seen plenty of death. Cloudsdale was one of the safest cities in Equestria, but that didn't stop ponies from taking each others lives, and it was often for the most pointless and shallow of reasons. She often wondered how she could stand it for so long, not the picking through the entrails and blood of corpses or dealing with the media or any of that, but that pain of loss she saw in each face of those left behind.

Her train of thought ended when she finally arrived at her destination. Sunflower Towers was a low-rent sort of place, mostly for those who couldn't afford the more expensive lodgings, but it was new and boasted the best amenities a small budget could buy. It wasn't stylish, but she could tell from entering the lobby that it was comfortable. As far as she was concerned, if someone was able to put a roof over their head they were well off. The landlord was manning a desk at the moment, reading a copy of the Cloudsdale Examiner sports section and humming a tune to himself. She trotted right up to the desk and tapped on the bell to alert him. He jumped at the sudden intrusion and fumbled as he dropped the newspaper. The elderly gray pegasus scowled at her.

"What in the hay was that for?" He asked curtly. Silver Shield took her badge out and flashed it at him, causing his expression to drop. It was very much considered the height of rudeness to mouth off to a police officer among Cloudsdale's older residents.

"Detective Silver Shield, Cloudsdale Police," She said. "I understand that Miss Cloud Dancer recently started renting an apartment here?" She said. The landlord nodded.

"Yeah, about six or so months ago. Said she came from Hoofington," He said. "She was down on her luck, and I hate to say I almost had to kick her out because of late rent. Then she got a job at the weather factory and everything's become great." He paused for a moment, and then his eyes widened. "Oh, don't tell me something's happened to her." Silver Shield sighed a bit.

"I'm sorry to have to say this but, she was murdered last night," Silver Shield said. "Her employer told me I could find her lodgings here. Would it be possible for me to take a look around?" He hesitated for a moment. Silver figured he was going to ask her to get a court order; most folks did. However, he simply nodded.

"Yeah, follow me." He said. He led her toward the elevators, not saying a word. Pressing a button for the top floor, the doors to the elevator shut with a heavy clunk. Soft muzak began to play as they rode up. The whole time, neither of them spoke. Now wasn't the time for questions. There would be plenty of time to ask those when she had finished searching.

When they finally arrived, the owner led her down the green-carpeted hall to Cloud Dancer's apartment. Silver Shield took note that the door appeared to have extra lock attached.

"Why is there an extra lock?" She asked. It seemed awful paranoid of her, but then again if she was being stalked or something, it would explain it.

"She asked me to add that a few weeks back," The owner explained. "I asked her about it, but she never told me why. There were a few burglaries in the area, so I assumed she was just nervous." He fished the keys to the locks out of his vest pocket and unlocked them. "Here you go. There's not much here, but I hope it helps."

"Thank you." Silver Shield replied. The room was sparsely decorated. The walls were paneled with oak over the cloud walls, and carpeting of a rather ugly shade of green covered the floor. The living area contained little more than a sofa, a television set, and a computer. Lucky for Silver Shield, as any Ponynet search history or other computer data could give them something to go on. She started her search, however, with the desk itself, opening one of the drawers and examining its contents.

The drawer mostly contained bills, all of which appeared to have been paid on time. Nothing especially helpful here, so she moved on to the next one. The first thing she noticed was a familiar business card.

"Cloudsdale Citizen's League for the Protection of Children," She read. "I never pegged her to hang around these guys." The League, as most called it, was an activist group dedicated to providing up-to-date information on convicted sex offenders in the city, as well as pushing for new laws and measures against crimes involving children. A few Academy classmates of hers working over in Sex Crimes frequently complained about them, thinking they interfered in their work more often than they helped, but Silver Shield appreciated them. The group had helped put away more than a few repeat offenders during their existence.

"Yeah, she's been with them for a while now," The landlord explained. "Gotten a real activist streak going. She's been out keeping tabs on the local kiddy diddlers almost every night." Crucial information, she thought. It certainly would give a creeper a motive to kill her, if she figured out he or she was up to their old tricks.

"That will be very helpful. Thank you." She said. She barely heard his reply as she continued her search, turning up another business card. This one was very intriguing. The card was plain white except for a gold infinity symbol in the center, with words printed under it in fancy script.

"The Infinity Society?" She wondered. "Who are these guys?" The landlord shook his head.

Everything I have on these guys is in the safe in my closet. To open it, remember the day of the birth of the sun.

"Ok, this is officially getting weird," She said to herself. "I've never met a murder victim who left such cryptic messages." She shook that from her head, however. Whatever was in that safe, it was important enough that she didn't want anyone to get a hold of it. But what the hell did this mean? The day of the birth of the sun? What kind of passcode reminder was that?

Hoping that she left something that would help her figure it out the clue, she made her way to the bedroom. Same ugly green carpeting and oak paneling, with the exception of the furniture; a simple bed made up with white bedding and pillows. A small nightstand contained photographs of herself and Firefly in happier times, along with some other coworkers from the factory. One in particular, of a handsome looking colt, was marked with X's and O's. Firefly didn't mention her having a coltfriend, Silver Shield thought. Either she didn't know or Cloud Dancer never got the chance to talk to him. She honestly hoped it was the former. The latter was simply to sad to contemplate.

Opening the closet on the far side of the room, Silver pushed aside what few items of clothing she apparently had and found what she was looking for. It was a simple safe with an electronic lock. You could get such a thing at practically any store in the city. The rest of the closet was bare, save for a blue leather book resting on top of the safe. It was the only item in the closet that appeared to have been touched in some time. Silver Shield picked it up, trying to suppress the chill that ran through her as she took a closer look.

The blue leather was etched with fancy gold patterns, and in the center was a personalized engraving of her name in old-style script set in the center of a heart. The lock was made of brass that shined with regular polishing that had been lovingly applied by its former owner. A few frayed spots and some fading indicated that it was fairly old. It was as though she were holding a family heirloom in her hooves.

This was precious to her, Silver Shield couldn't help but think as she worked out how she was going to open the journal. Her eyes scanned the room for a tool that she could use. Seeing nothing immediate, she starting searching the nightstand. Some sputtering after bumping her hoof into the drawer's locking mechanism, and she found a flat-head screwdriver. Just the perfect tool for picking an equally small lock.

"Perfect." She said, turning her attention to the journal. There was no need for finesse. She just needed to force it. She felt terrible having to break something so obviously treasured, but whatever secrets it contained could go a long way in helping her to solve the case and track down Cloud Dancer's killer. Trembling with anticipation, she opened the journal and began to read. The first one was dated to when she first began to work at the weather factory.

I start my new job today! Firefly really stuck her neck out to help me get it. I really ought to show her some more appreciation than I do. At least I feel I should.

I hope I do good. She tells me that working in mixing is pretty easy, but knowing my luck of late I'll mess something up. At least Firefly is understanding. I really do appreciate that.

I'd better get ready. I refuse to be late on my first day! Good luck to me, I guess!

"Nothing of note here." She said. She flipped through the other pages, which contained similar entries, none of which were helpful. She would have continued, but for her phone suddenly sounding. Irritated that her investigation was interrupted, she answered.

"Hey Silver, Cap wants us back at the station," The voice of Nightstick answered on the other end. "Forensics has something for us and Ducky wants us at his place." Silver nodded. That could only mean one thing; Technical Services and the coroner found something for them.

"I'll be right down." She said. She sighed, and was about to call Technical Services to come and take the safe when she noticed a piece of paper sticking out from between the back binding of the journal. Only the very edge was visible. She flipped the back binding open to reveal that it was a folded piece of paper. A smile crept to her face as she gently unfolded the paper.

To her surprise, it was not another code or cipher, but a page taken from what appeared to be an encyclopedia. A picture of Princess Celestia as a much younger mare, drawn in woodcut holding a sword with her magic and standing on the battlements of the old castle in the Everfree Forest. She was wearing elegant armor and standing in front of the newly redesigned flag of Equestria, made to represent a reborn nation risen from the ashes of chaos. Such imagery had been produced for years after the end of Discord's reign, to swell the hearts of ponies with pride and joy at the memory of a day that would ever be forgotten.

Silver Shield felt just such a since of joy, having promised herself never to take the freedom she now enjoyed for granted. She sighed again, but it was then that she noticed something. The caption had been underlined.

Princess Celestia stands triumphant on the battlements of the former Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters in Everfree Forest after sealing Discord in stone, March 23, 986

Further inspection revealed that the date had been circled. It was though she had taken the page from a school's copy where a student doing research had highlighted an important piece of information. It was puzzling, to say the least. Sitting back, she pursed her lips and rubbed her chin with her hoof.

She slapped her forehead and groaned. "The great detective Silver Shield." She muttered as she withdrew her notebook. It was so simple now that she figured a first year rookie could have gotten it. She scrawled the date in numbers.

03/23/971

The "day of the birth of the sun", March 23, 970. Sixteen years before that fateful day in the Everfree Forest when the princesses sealed Discord away. A heck of a birthday present for the young pegacorn.

She took a look at the lock on the safe. Simple really; one just pushed the numbers into the lock and the thing opened. The trick was figuring out how many numbers she needed. She punched random numbers into the keypad. Five of them flashed up in red LED until a beep sounded and "CODE NOT CORRECT" flashed across the display. She looked again at the date and crossed out the zero in the month space and the nine in the year space and jotted the result down.

32370

Perfect, she thought, pressing the numbers in. A click sounded as the door swung open. Silver Shield trained the thing beam of a flashlight into the safe. All she found was a simple manila folder like the kind one would find in nearly every office in every city in Equestria. It's ordinary looks weren't about to fool Silver, who slipped it out anyway. Feeling that she wasn't going to find anything else of any particular importance, she turned her attention from evidence to interviewing the landlord.

"Has Cloud Dancer had any problems with anyone in the building?" He shook his head.

"Nope, not here," He said. "She mostly kept to herself." Silver Shield noticed no signs of deception from him.

"What about anyone outside the complex? You mentioned that she was involved with a group that tracked sex offenders."

"Yeah, she was really into that," He explained. "She loved foals, always did. It killed her to know that there were creeps out there who would hurt one."

"Nope, none in particular," He replied. "Like I said before she mostly kept to herself. She never really discussed what she was up to with me. You might have better luck talking to her boss about that, they were good friends so I hear." Silver got the feeling that the landlord wasn't going to be any help, so she decided to return to the station. She made sure to take her discoveries with her, the journal included.

"Here's my card," She handed him a business card. "If you do happen to think of anything else, give me a call." She said.

"Will do," He said. "I hope you find the bastard." She thanked him before she left the way she had come and took to wing back toward Central Station. She took a moment to contact dispatch over her portable radio.

"Dispatch, I need uniforms and Technical Services at 1227 Pansy Court, Apartment 213. Have them search the apartment and canvas the neighbors" The radio crackled to life.

"10-4, Detective." The dispatcher replied. "Be advised, Captain Lucky Charm is waiting for you with the coroner."

"10-4." She answered, turning the radio off and turning on the wing toward the Coroner's Office.

***

With the sterile white hallways, harsh fluorescent lights and the scent of disinfectant filling the air, the Coroner's Office could pass for any hospital in the city. Even the coroner's staff wore the classic hospital green scrubs that would be familiar to anyone who was about to go into surgery. But this was no place of healing. It was the last stop before the funeral and burial of those who died under unknown circumstances, or in this case, were the victims of murder. It was here that the dedicated staff examined the remains and sought to learn all they could to determine the cause of death. In this case, they would be helping Silver Shield to uncover any details about the victim's death that would help them to find her killer.

Silver Shield hated the place. Despite the rather pleasant smell of the hospital disinfectant, the air still seemed to stink of death. It wasn't something that most could pick up. It was mental; just the knowledge that this place was one of the last stops for victims of crime before they were buried was enough to create that aura. Silver Shield had been down here plenty of times to speak to Ducky, and she had never failed to be overwhelmed by the sense of death and despair.

She tried to shake the feeling as she passed through the steel doors to the autopsy room. Ducky was already there, hunched over one of the cold steel slabs that the poor deceased was laid out on. Dressed in his smocks, his gloved hands tracing over the body and examining every detail and his eyes behind the plastic face shield focused on the task at hand, he looked every part the doctor conducting an examination. Alongside him was Lucky Charm, who's eyes had locked on to her the second the entered the room. Silver Shield felt her stomach heave. Even without the deep red stains of blood, the wounds inflicted were gruesome to behold. It was truly only the kind of violence that a truly sick person could inflict on another pony.

"Detective, you're just in time," Lucky Charm greeted her. "Ducky and I were just going over his findings from our poor victim." He said.

"It would appear that my earlier observation about the cause of death was inaccurate," Ducky explained. "During the course of the autopsy I discovered evidence of hypostasis in both the muscles and organs. Our victim still had blood in her before she died. It is now my belief that this poor mare died from a combination of blood loss and shock."

"Unfortunately no. At least, nothing that you haven't found already. I can, however, tell you more about the weapon that was used." He gestured toward the wounds. "What I first took to be cuts from a knife turn out to be tearing injuries. Notice how jagged and uneven they are." He explained. Silver Shield leaned in for a look.

"Also, some of these wounds on the side appear to have been caused by our fiend's weapon being driven into the flesh and then wrenched back out," He mimicked the action. Silver Shield winced at the thought of it must have felt like. "From these observations, it is most probable that the murder weapon had a sharp, curved blade. My best guess would be a gardening tool of some sort."

"Precisely." Ducky replied. "Silver Shield was correct in her observation that the eardrums were also mutilated." He said. "During the course of the autopsy I discovered a bruise pattern indicating that a hoof had been pressed into the flesh. Despite all of our wishes, the victim was alive when the mutilations occurred." Silver Shield felt like she was going to vomit. Her legs wobbled and she had to fight to keep her balance. Her head began to swim and she had to grab the table, and she even felt tears begin to form in her eyes. The very thought of the torture their victim experienced in her final moments of life.... nopony deserved that.

"Are you alright, Detective?" Lucky Charm asked. Silver Shield waited for the nausea to pass before she answered.

"Yeah," She said. "Go on, Ducky." Ducky looked at her sympathetically but continued.

"The eardrums were destroyed by inserting a sharp object and then pounding on it," He said. "A screwdriver or ice pick was most likely used." He pointed at the mouth. "The tongue was surprisingly cleanly cut out, and from he amount of clotting around the wound, it was the first thing to go. The same object used on the ears was also likely used on the eyes."

"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," Lucky Charm remarked. "All these violence tells me this was personal." He turned to Silver Shield. "Your thoughts, Silver?" She took some deep breaths to quell any lingering nausea.

"Agreed," She said. "Going on the fact that her eyes, ears and tongue were all mutilated, she saw something she wasn't supposed to see and was killed to cover it up. All this violence... the perp wanted to send a message. 'Don't mess with us, or else'." Lucky Charm nodded and turned back to Ducky.

"I don't think we can learn much more from her." Ducky began preparing the body to go back into the cold chamber. "Silver, are you sure you're alright." He asked. "You looked distressed back there."

"It's just.... I thought about what she went through, what she must have felt.... all that pain and fear," She said. "I just got overwhelmed. Lucky looked at her with an almost fatherly expression.

"I understand," He said. "But remember, we have to fight our way through these feelings. Maintaining a cool head is one of the most important rules of police work." She nodded. He gave her a smile. "Rest assured, this fiend will be found, and they will pay the price for their sins."

"Speak to Lab over at Technical Services. She'll most likely have something for you." He said. She nodded and left the dread confines of the autopsy room. Her brow furrowed as she thought of what kind of monster it would take to commit a murder so heinous, so violent. She gritted her teeth as she felt her blood begin to boil.

Rainbow of Blood

by knightcommander

On the Trail of a Killer