//------------------------------// // Fact Finder // Story: Fact Finder: The Show Must Go On // by Zombi //------------------------------// Fact Finder: The Show Must Go On -Chapter 1: Fact Finder- "So how many are we at, now?" inquired Fact Finder. A pale green aura surrounded her horn as she ignited the cigarette that rested between her lips. As the officer consulted his notebook, the grey-coated mare thought back to when she had first arrived in this city. Canterlot. She remembered the moment she first laid eyes on the towering buildings, the looming golden spires and the rising sun, as it elevated over the palace of Princess Celestia herself. She remembered being so awestruck by the beautiful mountain-side city, that she had to grip the rim of the flying chariot to prevent herself falling out and plummeting into the mountains below. Fact Finder had initially thought nothing could go wrong in a city such as this, and that her transfer from Fillydelphia could be counted as a vacation. Then she woke up to reality. The shining decor was only a mask; covering the darkness that lay beneath. Crime rates in Canterlot were high, ranging from petty theft to all out murder. Which was exactly what the unicorn detective was investigating here. Though it seemed to be that the inhabitants of Canterlot were completely oblivious to such activity, it was likely they chose to be ignorant of it. And who could blame them? At last the officer spoke, shaking Fact Finder back to the present. "Sixteen, detective... Though it's hard to keep track; It's like there's another murder every day..." Fact knelt down, pulling back the cover so she could inspect the face of the unfortunate victim. It was a mare, not much older than she was. Her coat was originally turquoise, yet now it was stained crimson with blood, and her bright pink mane was matted in the dried fluid also. The wound was large, but it was it was obvious the mare had died quickly, so she was luckier than some of the other victims. Fact struggled to contain her blazing fury. What kind of monster would do this? She thought solemnly. She covered up again the corpse and looked up at the officer. The blue stallion had been watching her, not daring to speak. Fact Finder had built up quite a reputation as having a short fuse. In fact, the chief had this to say about her: "I've seen a lot of things that would make your tail twist; from brutal murder to Griffon gang-wars.... But I tell ya, none of that is as scary as a pissed off Fact Finder.". "Still no witnesses...?" She asked him. The stallion shook his head. Fact sighed and rose to her hooves. "sixteen victims, all with the same wounds, but we don't even know what the culprit looks like..." She cradled her head, wanting nothing more than to go home, feed the dog and sit reading her favourite book. "When I took this job, I never expected it to be so damn hard..." The blue coated earth pony patted her shoulder. "You're doin' all you can on this case, Miss Finder. I'm sure you'll crack it eventually." He smiled reassuringly. "You head home now. It's getting late..." Fact Finder nodded and attempted to smile back, but ultimately gave it up as a bad job. She turned and began to walk away, deep in thought. As she left the cordoned off area, she had to wonder... Why? Why had these murders suddenly taking place? Why is the culprit doing it? Why is he so elusive? These were just some of the many questions whirling through the unicorn's mind as she made her way through the busy street. It was late,and the streets were illuminated by the lamplight, yet the city was still bustling. It was as if nopony in Canterlot slept. At first, Fact found that she stuck out like a sore hoof. While the other ponies in Canterlot went about their day in expensive, classy clothing, she was wearing, well, nothing. Nothing, but her favourite tie. This bothered Fact Finder for about an hour after her arrival, but she soon became accustomed to the snobbish glances and snickers from the "upper class" inhabitants of the city. Before long, the weary mare reached her apartment block; Nothing fancy, but it was a place she could call home. Exhausted, Fact Finder dragged herself up several flights of stairs until she reached her apartment. As soon as she unlocked the door, it was flung open by a furry hurricane. This hurricane's name was Ace. "Whoah!" Fact cried out, as she was tackled to the floor by the bundle of energy. "Down, Ace! Down boy!" She forced the dead weight of a dog off her chest and sat up, scratching him behind the ear affectionately. Ace's tail thumped on the hard floor repeatedly, which roughly translated as "You're home. Now feed me." Smiling, Fact rose to her hooves and entered the apartment, closing the door behind her. "You hungry, Ace?" Ace followed, wagging his tail in anticipation. After feeding Ace, the grey coated unicorn settled into a comfy chair and pulled out one of her favourite books: " 'Daring Do and the Maze of Scorpio'. Although, while she was reading the book, she found it impossible to concentrate on the words before her. Her mind was only on the case. How is it... She thought. ...That the murderer has managed to claim 16 victims in the space of 9 days, without ever being seen? She was alerted by the sound of a light pattering on the window, which proceeded to become a heavy beating. Fact turned her head slightly and saw that it had begun to rain. She sighed heavily, hoping the body had been moved and that the forensics team had gathered up all the evidence they could find on the scene, before it had been washed away. After a few minutes of trying (and failing) to immerse herself in the story, she tossed the hardback aside and scowled. The sound of the heavy book hitting the floor caused Ace to raise his head and tilt it toward his owner inquiringly. Fact Finder picked herself up out of the armchair reluctantly, running a hoof tiredly through her shoulder-length, brushed mane (a habit she had for when she was deep in thought). The unicorn sauntered over to the window and stared out of it, pressing her cheek against the cold glass. "You're probably out there now..." She whispered sadly. "You're probably tracking your next victim as I speak... Waiting for the perfect moment to strike..." Ace came to sit by his master and Fact stroked his fur gently. "What is your pattern? Your motive?" She continued to stare across the illuminated cityscape,her vision partially obscured by the pouring rain. Then she shrieked. Something... Large, had just fallen past the window. It was impossible to tell, at the speed it was falling, exactly what it was, but it looked like it had... hooves. Without thinking, Fact dashed out of the door, slamming it behind her, completely forgetting to grab her raincoat on the way. She raced down the stairs and through the main entrance, into the treacherous rain. It was pitch black, save for the streetlights which illuminated the hoofpaths. As the soaked unicorn galloped around the building towards the alley, she suddenly halted herself. Wait. She thought to herself, forcefully. You are dashing into a dark alley, at night, with a murderer on the loose, because a mysterious object fell past your window? Fact continued on her way, but cautiously now. She was much too curious to leave this be; she was, after all, a detective. She craned her neck, peering around the corner. The alley was dark... incredibly dark. It was impossible to see a thing for the shadow and rain, but she could hear something... a whimpering... Slowly, Fact Finder crept into the alley, her horn acting as a flashlight. She shone the light into the narrow alley as she proceeded, brushing her soggy red mane out of her eyes. "H-hello? Is... somepony there?" There was no answer. The whimpering had stopped, but she could still hear a slight shuffling. Her light skimmed across the trash cans and plastic bags. A couple of rats fled from her, scurrying into the darkness. "A-anypony?" Still no answer. Ignoring the warnings her common sense was screaming at her, she kept going, trying hard not to show her fear. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop her knees from trembling violently. All four of them. What if the mystery murderer was here? What if she was to be his next victim? Or hers? Fact Finder's racing heart sank as she realised she could actually die this night. Something rustled in the blackness behind her and she whirled, about to scream. Her light fell upon the creature, illuminating the pale green eyes... of a cat. Just a cat. The terrified mare breathed a shaky sigh of relief as the brown and white tabby mewled up at her, nestling into the filthy plastic bags. It was obvious the cat was just as frightened as she was. Fact let out an involuntary giggle; mostly due to her sheer anxiety. Without any warning, the unicorn detective's knees gave way, causing her to fall to the ground. "Damn..." She chuckled. She found it impossible to believe that she had been so scared... so terrified over a sweet little cat. She relaxed her tense muscles, taking a moment to calm down and gather her thoughts. Eventually she smiled up at the feline, rainwater beating against her back and running down her face. "You must be cold...Why don't you come with me? I can take you somewhere warm and dry..." Fact rose and began to approach the cat. At first it seemed curious, clambering down from its nest of refuse slowly. But then it stopped. Something had caught it's attention. The cat arched its back and began to hiss viciously, its soaked fur matted against it's back. Fact Finder whispered softly. "It's ok... I'm not gonna hurt you..." This did not help. The tabby only hissed louder, backing away. But it soon came to the exhausted mare's attention, that it was not hissing at her. It was hissing at something else... behind her. She frowned, wondering what it was that was causing the cat to make such a fuss, and turned slowly. She gasped. There was something... something large among the heaps of garbage. Something with hooves. It groaned and struggled to rise, pushing itself up from the pile. "Ohhh.... My leg..." It sounded like a pony; obviously pained. Fact Finder swallowed her fear and spoke. "S-sir, are you... alright?" The pony (if that's what it was) froze. It looked up at her in pure shock and regarded her with what seemed like fearful eyes; though it was impossible to see in the pitch black and pounding rain. She shone the light upon the face of the creature before her... This time, she did scream. End of Chapter