//------------------------------// // Speedy Breeze // Story: Fact Finder: The Show Must Go On // by Zombi //------------------------------// Fact Finder: The Show Must Go On -Chapter 6: Speedy Breeze- Fact Finder's bright green eyes began to open hesitantly, as the first rays of the morning sunlight pierced the crack in the drawn, black and white pinstriped curtains. The beams of light illuminated each individual raindrop on the window, making for a simple, yet fascinating sight. The scruffy-maned mare smiled brightly, slightly addled in her sleepy state, pushing the covers back and preparing to rise from the warm, comfortable matress. This was the best weather Canterlot had recieved in weeks and she was not going to waste it. She froze. A foreleg had moved across her stomach, preventing her from leaving the bed and pulling her towards the owner of the leg. She turned her head slowly; her heart skipping a beat, until she saw who the gentle limb belonged to... then she grinned broadly, her cheeks growing warm as a slight blush painted her pale grey face. The previous night had been... different to say the least. Hot Pursuit's spirits had certainly risen once Fact had released her softer, more caring side after so many years... Truth be told, the detective had no real idea of what she was doing, and ended up heavily improvising. But that obviously proved more than satisfactory to the stallion, who possessed far more experience in that specific area. Fact snuggled up close to her partner, nuzzling his chest softly, causing him to chuckle quietly and mutter something incomprehensible in his sleep. The unicorn mare giggled, caressing the stallion's shining coat with a caring hoof... But something irritated her... In the very depths of her mind, Fact Finder began to doubt herself. Thinking back, the whole event was spontaneous, without any time taken for careful consideration. Did she really love him? the young mare's smile wavered as she thought about it. It was true that she had been extremely flattered by the revelation of Hot Pursuit's warm feelings toward her; but were the feelings really mutual? It was impossible to be certain, as Fact had never experienced any form of romance in her life: She just wasn't that kind of pony... In all honesty, she did not believe now was the time to be developing such a relationship either. Given the dire situation, it was imperative that the detective remained focused; with absolutely no distractions. She sighed deeply, clinging to the larger stallions body, listening to his steady heartbeat. Fact closed her eyes again; allowing the rythmic beating to soothe her and wash away all of her doubts. Yet they still remained. The red-headed unicorn opened her emerald eyes again... and she was met with a surprising sight. Ace had clambered onto the bed, and was currently pressing his wet muzzle against her neck, sniffing curiously. "Ace!" She chuckled, attempting to push hound away."Get off! Down boy!" Ace ignored her and settled in between the ponies, staring at her with round, innocent eyes... Like Zombi's were before... Fact shook her head vigourously, trying to dislodge the thought of Zombi from her already crowded mind. No... She told herself, sternly as the rays of Celestia's warm sun cut across the comfy, yet undeniably untidy bed. Don't ruin the moment for yourself... Just close your eyes and enjoy life for once! But the queries persisted, filling her head. What is Zombi? Where did he come from? What happened to him that resulted in him becoming so... malicious? Suddenly, the grey-coated unicorn's train of thought ground to an unexpected halt, as the stallion she was clung to began to stir, alerting Ace, who leapt from the matress and scurried through the open door hurriedly. Pursuit turned his head, groaning, until his nose brushed against Fact Finder's, causing his sapphire eyes to flicker open in confusion. "Unngh..." He moaned quietly; his brain still only half-aware. "Fact...?" The detective's cheeks warmed in a gentle blush the moment her name left the golden-maned stallion's lips. "I'm here, HP..." She whispered, running a soft hoof across his reddening cheek. Pursuit chuckled, relief evident in his facial expression; as he had feared that the previous night had all been a product of his imagination. He gazed, deeply and lovingly into her eyes, brushing her mane out of her smiling face. "Damn, Fact... I wish I could start every mornin' like this!" Fact Finder smiled and treated the stallion to a light peck on the nose, making him turn a brilliant crimson colour. "Play your cards right and maybe you can!" She laughed, dragging herself into a sitting position and stretching, releasing a gargantuan yawn. "But first thing's first; how about some breakfast?" She cast her eyes toward the stallion expectantly, who retruned the stare with a blank expression. Obviously he had not realised what she was hinting at. Only when Fact had cleared her throat, rather loudly, did the drowsy unicorn see. "Oh!" He gasped, slightly surprised by the feisty detective's implied demand. "You want me to...?" "Yup." "Ah..." Fact Finder raised an inquiring eyebrow at her partner, resting her hooves on her hips. "There a problem, Pursuit...?" She asked, icily, daring the caramel colt to refuse her. Pursuit tapped his hooves nervously, trying not to meet his partner's eyes. He was about to say something... something he would most definitely regret at some point in time. "W-well..." He began, failing to restrain the fearful stammer in his ususally confident voice. "I- it's... your kitchen, r-right...?" Fact glared at him meaningfully, warning him to tread carefully. "Yeah, so?" "W-well... Shouldn't you make breakfast...?" There was a long, dreadful silence as soon as the words had tripped off the stallion's careless tongue.There was still so much he needed to learn about this young mare. After an excrutiating pause, Fact spoke, her voice sickly-sweet, which feebly disguised the venom and impatience in her tone. "Pursuit..." She said, in a sing-song voice that sent shivers rushing down the caramel-coated officer's back. He gulped audiably and brought the untidy covers up to his blushing cheeks, in a pathetic attempt to conceal his fear. "Y-yeah...?" He responded, trembling: while the fearsome, scarlet-maned mare's terrifying stare intensified. "I want my breakfast..." Pursuit opened his mouth to protest, but quickly snapped it shut as common sense kicked in. He nodded and clambered off the bed hastily, dashing through the door in a similar manner to Ace, not long ago. Fact Finder grinned broadly, lying back and releasing a relaxed sigh. Female dominance is victorious once again. Although it was not long before the mare's moment of triumph was interrupted by a harsh knocking on the front door; which sounded as if the source of the beat had something extremely important to say. Fact glared at the ceiling hatefully, wishing she could just lie back and allow the pony at the door to keep knocking, until they eventually give up and leave her in peace. The unicorn detective knew, however, that was not going to happen. Groaning loudly, she dragged herself out of bed, and towards the door, with a face like thunder. The knocking came again; much louder this time. "Alright!" She growled viciously, hastening her journey through the mess of a kitchen, where a certain caramel-coated stallion was struggling to locate the milk. "Relax will ya!? I'm coming!" With more force than was actually necessary, Fact flung the door open and glared at the slender pegasus who awaited her on the other side, whose face seemed equally as grim. The weary detective recognised this winged mare as the pony who had rushed past her on the way out of the commissioner's office... Not that she actually cared much. The pegasus wasted no time in conveying her point to Fact... She was clearly a pony who did not mess around. "My name's Speedy Breeze," She began, almost too quickly for Fact's still drowsy mind to comprehend. "The Commissioner wants to see you right away!" Speedy's face was fixed in a constant scowl, pyres of fury burning behind her eyes, as if the unicorn had dealt her a rather personal insult. Fact Finder leaned against the door, resting her head in her hoof and regarding the pegasus with a severely irritated expression pasted across her face. "Now..?" Speedy Breeze's eye's narrowed to slits and her tone became almost threatening for such a small, seemingly harmless pony. "Now." Pursuit had abandoned the tedious task of searching the wasteland his partner called a kitchen for some cutlery, trotting over to join the conversation, despite his lack of an invitation... "What's going on, ladies?" He inquired, attempting to use his charms to calm the situation. It appeared to be successful, for as soon as Speedy laid eyes on the rather handsome stallion, her expression and voice softened considerably. "Oh, good morning Pursuit..." She breathed, almost dreamily, leaning against the door frame, which caused Fact to cast the slender pegasus a glare that could crush even the bravest souls. While she may not have been entirely certain of her feelings for Pursuit, she sure as heck wasn't going to let another mare speak to him like that until she found out. "Boss wants to see us..." The unicorn mare grunted abruptly, her gaze flicking from Speedy to Pursuit threateningly. Hot Pursuit nodded in response; trotting back to the bedroom to retrieve Fact's tie. Almost as soon as the caramel stallion had left; Speedy Breeze's harsh attitude had returned. "So..." She began; a light sneer crossing her lips. "Are you and him... Y'know... Together?" There was a hint of envy in her voice; making it rather apparent that the pegasus had had her sights set on the officer for some time now. The air between the two mares practically rippled with tension as Fact Finder mulled over the question in her preoccupied mind. After a considerable amount of time, she shrugged; which ruffled Speedy's feathers considerably. "Maybe." She answered; as blunt as an old mallet. The Pegasus mare was not pleased... Not at all. "'Maybe'?" She hissed. "'Maybe'!? If he was mine, I would bloody well appreciate him you stuck-up bitch!" She prodded the scarlet-maned detective in the chest; earning a look of pure hatred for her troubles. Fact opened her mouth to come back with something that would send this troublesome pony packing, in floods of tears; but at that moment, Pursuit returned, handing Fact Finder her tie. An emerald glow surrounded the crimson tie, wrapping it around the detective's neck; who never once stopped glaring at the pegasus before her with blazing hatred. "Thanks..." Pursuit shuffled anxiously. He was fully aware that the two ponies were an explosive mixture; and he did not want to get caught in the middle if sparks began to fly. "So, uhhh... L-Let's get goin' shall we, girls?" The stallion smiled, running a hoof through his golden mane sheepishly. "Don't wanna keep the commissioner waiting, right?" "No need." Speedy growled; her stare fixed on her nemesis. For once she wasn't interested in Pursuit. "He's coming here..." Those four syllables made both the unicorns freeze; their jaws dropping open. It was evident from Speedy's victorious smirk that she was relishing the distress and utter shock the pale-coated detective was currently experiencing and loved to watch her squirm in this tight spot. The room was filled with a long, agonising silence as Fact and Pursuit gaped in disbelief. However; the silence was eventually broken, when the Hot Pursuit summed up the collective thoughts of he and the mare, in a single, overly basic word. "Buck." Whilst this news was somewhat surprising; it was only to be expected. After the events of the previous night, the two ponies should have reported directly to the station to provide accounts of what they had seen but, obviously, they had not. They had been far to tired and frightened to deal with such a procedure. The fear that clenched tightly around Fact Finder's innards only continued to intensify as the entrance of the apartment block opened and slammed shut audibly. It was apparent the commissioner was not in the best of moods at this point in time; and had come to direct his fury... at her. Heavy hoofsteps thundered up the staircase, emphasising her superior's bottled rage with each thud. As the approaching steps grew louder; Speedy Breeze's smug grin widened. "You're in for it now, detective..." She smiled, mock-sweetly. "Wish I could stick around to watch the fireworks, but I have places to be; ponies to see..." She turned, pivoting on her hooves and casting a sneer back at a quaking Fact, who was barely managing to contain the blazing anger within her. "See you around... You too Pursuit." She winked at Pursuit and fled hastily, just as the commissioner reached the door. He was not happy to say the least. "What in Celestia's name did you two think you were doing!?" The heavy, coal coated stallion rumbled; clearly infuriated. "You should have reported directly to the me after last night! The guy could be anywhere in Canterlot by now!" Fact and Pursuit cast their eyes to the ground guiltily. They were completely aware that they were in clear violation of protocol... But of course, Fact Finder could not keep her mouth shut, which surprised nopony at all. "But... Hot Pursuit's team, sir... They.. We saw..." Pursuit cut her off bluntly; there was no point in sugar-coating an already terrible truth. "They're dead sir. We saw them die." A foreboding silence fell upon the room, aside from Ace's pitiful whimpers as he sensed the slowly increasing tension in the surrounding air. The commissioner regarded Hot Pursuit with a mix of emotions, unsure how he should react to this sudden statement. "They were all slaughtered... My- My closest friends... I..." The sapphire eyed officer swallowed and shook his head; the gruesome images returning to terrorize his shaken mind. Fact stroked his back in an attempt to console him. Unfortunately, offering emotional support was not something the detective excelled at. Stars sighed; his expression softening significantly. He stepped forward and placed a large hoof on Pursuit's shoulder. "I know son..." He spoke gently; rather surprising due to his bulkiness and age. "I... I understand but... but you... Ahhh, forget it..." He stepped back again, looking from one pony to the other. "I get what you experienced, Pursuit... What you both experienced. And I understand how you feel... But an occurrence like that makes you think doesn't it?" He began to make his way back through the open door, nodding at Fact and Pursuit in turn. "You think about the things you are afraid to lose. About the pony you want to spend your days with." He chuckled quietly, shaking himself. "But enough of that, eh? I'll leave you two to uhhh... whatever it was you were doing. Just make sure this never happens again. I let you off this time, but only this time..." The commissioner winked and grinned broadly, causing the Scarlet-maned mare to blush fiercely, her cheeks becoming almost as vividly red as her hair. She would have to try to keep a lid on this whole relationship affair... At least until she was absolutely certain she loved him. Just as the large stallion began to close the door, he called through. " Just make sure this never happens again. I let you off this time, but only this time... Oh, and you might wanna close that window! There's a bit of a chill coming through." As soon as the door closed, Fact and Pursuit froze. They cautiously cast their gazes towards the window beside the bedroom door, a deep and foreboding fear rising within them. The window had been flung wide open, the sun had been drowned within a sea of threatening storm clouds and the rain, that had only just begun to fall, fell upon the soft cream carpet, the bedroom door left slightly ajar... "D-did you...?" Fact began, even though she already knew her companion's reply. "No..." They gulped in unison, edging towards the door with great care, the chilling breeze from the open window gnawing at their weary bones. Fact's horn glowed dangerously, as if it were engulfed by a changeling's emerald flame, preparing to retaliate in case whatever lay on the other side of the door turned out to be hostile. Which, given the current chain of events, seemed more than likely. Pursuit nodded, pressing his caramel hoof lightly against the wooden door; tensing as it opened with a long, painfully loud creak. The two ponies' jaws dropped and an untold terror clawed at their insides. For there, sat on the bed, before their very eyes... Was a monster... murderer... a psychopath... a sadist... He was in her home... End of Chapter