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// First case: Envious Apples Part 8 
// Story: Equestrian Judges! 
// by Zeno the Masked Writer 
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After Makos meeting with Silver Platter, he was making his way to the Rich's home. After learning more about Silver Locket, he realized that the next best place to learn more about the motive for the murder would be the last place he worked. 


However, after arriving at the riches private estate he felt......pretty annoyed. 


"Damn, I hate these kinds of people! I bet they're the type who like to throw around money like it's going out of style." Mako thought while making his way to the front gate.


He pressed a button and after a few minutes, he heard what sounded like static coming from a speaker placed next to the wall.


"May I help you?" A posh sounding voice asked as Mako snuffed out another cigarette. 


"Yes, I need to talk to someone regarding a past employee who worked here." He explained, however, there was no response. 


Suddenly the gate opened. Mako hesitated for a moment before walking inside. After making his way to the mansion, he noticed how the garden was well kept and bent down to look at the roses. 


"There beautiful aren't they?" 


Mako looked over to see an old stallion wearing a finely tailored suit staring at him. He had a gun metal grey coat and mane color which Mako made a contrast to Silver platter. 


"Yeah, I can tell they were expertly grown. However, I didn't come here to admire the flowers." Mako explained as the old stallion sighed and walked over to a bench to sit down. 


"You are here to ask me about my grandson, right?"


Mako noticed how icy the old man's voice was the second he said, grandson. He nodded while the old man sighed and looked around at the garden. 


"Silver worked on this garden himself with his little sister Silver spoon. He put his blood, sweat, and tears into this garden, and I was so proud of his work to the family. The Apples have truly committed the ultimate crime." 


"That's funny, I had thought that everyone in town believed she was innocent?" Mako asked while the old man sneered.


"Ignorant youth believe in the most convenient answers." 


The two sat in complete silence for a moment. Mako had thoughts swirling through his mind while the stallion stared at him with an icy glare. 


"Say, old man, when did Silver Locket leave?" 


The stallion hesitated for a moment, which Mako quickly picked up on, and after a moment, he quickly explained. 


"Silver Locket left for the Human world a few years ago. I can't remember exactly when he left." He explained while Mako turned towards the garden. 


"Well, do you, at least, remember WHY he left?" 


"No, and Unfortunately, I didn't delve too deep into my grandsons personal life."


Mako took out his cigarette case and saw that he was down to his last smoke. Once again he cringed at the idea of how he used so many of them so wastefully. He turned to the old man with a smile on his face which caught the old stallion off guard. 


"I almost forgot to introduce myself! My name Is Mako Shamrock, and its a pleasure to meet you." He said while extending his hand. 


"My name is Silver cane and the pleasure is mine."


The old stallion shook his hand and for a split moment, both of their true natures were made bare to one another. Mako laughed and let go of his hand. 


"Say, old man, do you mind if I take a look around the estate?" 


The old stallion shook his head and Mako walked off towards the Rich's mansion with a grin still on his face. 


"Geez, that guy has some serious issues."


 

Two Nights Ago: Appleblooms Testimony 


"Well, I got up around.....I think around 7 because I could see the sun rise in the distance. Anyways I went downstairs and got myself some water. Then out of nowhere I heard this weird sound coming from the orchard." 


"I looked out the window and thought I had saw something moving in the bushes. So I made my way outside to make sure nobody was stealing nothing from our orchard. Thats when I saw them!" 


"They were shady felers! I couldn't see their faces but I could tell they were up to no good. Especially that guy with the weird thing on his back! He was.....really scary." 


"B-But I wasn't scared! Not a bit! Anyways I snuck up on those two, but I didn't get close enough that I could hear what they were talking about. However, I did hear one thing!" 


"They said, 'He shall arrive in that barn in exactly thirty minutes' And right after that, the guy with the thingy on his back walked into the barn. I wanted to go and tell someone, but I suddenly got really sleepy." 


"Then I woke up in my bedroom and Big Mac and Granny were calling me down for breakfast. I'm pretty sure that was around 9:20."





Applebloom finished her explanation of what she saw while Shiro seemed to be thinking of everything that had been just been explained and how they fit into the time frame.


"Applebloom?"


"Y-yes!" She stuttered while Shiro smiled softly at her. 


"Thank you for your hard work." He said before ruffling her hair and walking outside. 


Shiro entrusted the guard to take her back to her family while he made a final sweep of the area. He walked into the apple orchard towards the place the carving knife was left behind. After a few minutes of walking, he found the tree which was outlined with police tape. He looked at the hole left by the knife and the area around it. 


"Well then, whoever was here last used a spell to cloud the area in an illusion. It's very powerful, I'm not too surprised that no one found this." He thought before drawing his sword and running it into the dirt. 


Suddenly the ground began to break like glass until it completely shattered. The area around the tree now looked VERY different. For starters, there were scars running through the trees from some kind of blade.


Shiro traced his hand across the cuts on the trees and felt the bloodlust left behind by the culprit. Suddenly he felt something wet touch his fingers and found a grey liquid. After feeling the texture of it, he realized something.


"This is....melted silver?"


Shiro took a sample of the liquid and placed it in his pocket before walking back out of the orchard and into the barn. Shiro felt the aura of agony and hatred left behind by the killer and Silver Locket. He felt sick but continued to press on and looked around the barn for any more clues. 


After a few minutes of looking at the crime scene, he realized that nothing seemed out of place except for one thing. At a workbench in the corner of the room, there was an outline of a missing tool.


After closer examination he realized that the missing tool was likely the carving knife. Suddenly he saw a small light shining on the table he followed the light back to Silver Locket and found what looked to be a small cross hung around his neck. 


Shiro sighed knowing that he now had to loot a corpse. He swiftly took the cross from his neck and examined it carefully and saw a small engraving on the back. 


"On wings of god we soar." Shiro recited before he put the cross away. 


Soon after a group of guards had come to take the body down and Shiro left without a word. Now with some more evidence to work with he made his way back to ponyville where he hoped his partner had found something constructive.


TO BE CONTINUED