Smiles at Night

by Kingsley

Case File #1: Murder in the Shadows

Chapter 2

*Alarm clock goes off*

Lilith wakes up and turns off the alarm quickly, stretching her hooves and yawning. She looks over to Grimm, noticing her still deep asleep and drooling all over her pillow.

"Even an earthquake wouldn't wake you up..." Lilith said, chuckling to herself and petting Grimm's mane. "I'd better start getting ready to go to work, but first I have to make breakfast for Grimm for when she decides to wake up."

Lilith walked out of the bedroom and into the living room, picking up and putting on her Commander Armor that she tossed there last night. She continued on into the kitchen and noticed that the plates were still there emitting an undesirable odor.

"Ugh! I knew I had forgotten to do something last night..." Lilith said, picking up all the plates with her magic and putting them in the sink, letting them soak in cold water. She continued on and opened the fridge, but to her dismay is was mostly empty. "It looks like I'll have to go grocery shopping... or in Grimm's case, I'll have to go hunting since the stores around here don't exactly sell what she eats."

Lilith looked at the time and realized she didn't have time to go shopping, or hunting, at the moment.

"Hmm... It looks like I'll have to go after work since I barely have any time now." Lilith pondered, getting out a piece of paper and a pen. "I'll leave her a note, hopefully she'll be able to wait until then."

Lilith looked at the time again.

"I'd better start going, don't want to be late." Lilith said, quickly taking a granola bar and munching on it. "It's a good thing I bought these in bulk."

Lilith walked out of the house and ate as she trotted to the castle.

- 2 Hours Later -

Grimm tosses in bed until she finally wakes up.

"...Man, I slept real good last night HeHe." Grimm said, climbing out of bed. "But wait... something feels off today HeHe..."

Grimm ran out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, and a feeling of grief overtook her.

"THIS IS HORRIBLE! THERE'S NO BREAKFAST ON THE TABLE! HeHe!" Grimm said, about to burst into tears. "Wait what's this HeHe?"

Dear Grimm,

Sorry that there isn't any food on the table for you like there always is. The fridge was empty and I didn't notice we were running low. I didn't have enough time to go "shopping" for you because work started really soon for me, but I'll try to take off early today and then head down to the forests in Ponyville. I should be back by nightfall so just try to hold out till then okay?

Love, Lilith

"Nightfall HeHe!?" Grimm yelled. "I don't know if I can hold out that long... I'm already so hungry and it's still the afternoon HeHe!"

Grimm looked at clock, seeing that it's still fairly early.

"...I might have to resort to something drastic HeHe..." Grimm said, with an eerie tone.

- Canterlot Castle -

"So Lilith, how are you enjoying your position here in The Royal Guard?" Princess Celestia said.

"I like it Princess, and I'm very grateful to have it." Lilith said. "A pony like me shouldn't even exist honestly..."

"Don't think like that, you've come a long way and I'm very proud of you!" Celestia said. "I'm sure Twilight would be too."

"I would hope so..." Lilith said. "But princess, I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?" Celestia asked.

"I've finished most of my work for today and I was wondering if I could take off early." Lilith said. "I'm sorry to say that it's for a personal reason, but I'd be very grateful if you'd let me."

"I think you definitely deserve some time off Lilith." Celestia said, giggling. "Go ahead and take the rest of the day off, I'm sure nothing of great importance will come up, but if something does I'll contact you."

"Of course, thank you very much Princess!" Lilith said, turning to walk out of the castle.

"Oh wait Lilith! Before you go, I have to ask... did you authorize for a withdrawal of a... quite large sum of money to be given to one of the Shopkeepers?" Celestia asked.

"Oh yes I did, it was from my personal account so there's no problem right?" Lilith said.

"Well that's just it, I thought it hard to believe because it was from your personal account." Celestia said. "But it did have your signature and seal of approval so we gave her the funds."

"It was all correct, I just wanted to make sure that she'd be able to get her shop back up and running again after that unfortunate incident." Lilith said.

"...I can see why the citizens of Canterlot look up to you so much." Celestia said, smiling. "Now you go on ahead, I'll have your pay increased to help you cover the donation you made."

"Oh that really isn't necessary Princess! I mean I-"

"Lilith, don't worry about it." Celestia said. "You've definitely earned it.

"...Thank you Princess." Lilith said, as she continued to walk away. "I very much so appreciate it."

Lilith left the castle and made her way to the train station. The time was about 6:30 P.M. and the sun was starting to go down.

"I'd better hurry to the Everfree forest, I only have so much time." Lilith said. "I wish I could pay a visit to Twilight, but I guess it'll have to wait for now."

- Ponyville -

Lilith stepped off the train and made her way towards the forest, but it wouldn't be that easy when she went through the Town Square.

"Look! It's the High Commander!" A Townpony exclaimed.

Shortly after, a crowd of happy and frantic ponies surrounded her, asking her questions and expressing compliments.

"T-Thank you all so much, really I do appreciate it but it's just what I do." Lilith said, trying to get away from the crowd.

"Lilith? Is that you?" A familiar voice said.

Lilith looked in the direction of the voice. The crowd separated and revealed that it was Twilight and her friends.

"Lilith!" Pinkie squee'd, running up and hugging her. "What are you doing here!? It's so great to see you again!"

"We haven't seen you in the longest time!" Fluttershy said softly.

"Oh... I... I'm here on a few errands is all." Lilith said. "It's really good to see you too Pinkie, all of you, but I should really get going."

"Nonsense! Surely you have a little time to chat right?" Rarity asked. "We haven't seen you in quite some time after all, ever since you joined The Royal Guard!"

"Speaking of The Royal Guard, how does it feel to be a High Commander huh?" Rainbow Dash said, putting her hoof around Lilith's shoulder. "I bet you get yourself into a whole bunch of awesome situations!"

"Well it doesn't happen everyday you know." Lilith said. "I mean yesterday was probably the only incident I had to deal with in like a week."

"You mean The Jewel Theft right?" Twilight said. "Everypony knows about it, it's practically all over the news!"

"Really? I wouldn't expect something like that to be everywhere." Lilith said. "It honestly wasn't really that big of a thing."

"Crime doesn't happen that often around here, so when it does it's usually on the headlines, regardless of how petty it is." Twilight said. "Anyway, I'm glad to see you again, and I'm really proud of you!"

"Heh... thanks Twilight... that means a lot coming from you." Lilith said, smiling. "N-Now if you'll excuse me I really have to get going! I have to get these errands done right away."

"Are you okay Lilith?" Twilight asked.

"Like I said I'm in a bit of a rush so I'll catch up with you all some other time alright?" Lilith said, as she turned around and ran towards the Everfree Forest.

"Well she's awfully busy isn't she?" Rarity said.

"Well as a High Commander of The Royal Guard I would expect her to be!" Rainbow Dash said. "Come on Twilight, let's start heading back."

"You guys go on without me, there's something I need to check out..." Twilight said, trotting off in Lilith's direction.

- The Everfree Forest, 8:30 P.M.-

Lilith walked into the forest, and tried to get to a mostly remote area where nopony would notice what she's doing.

"Alright, here we go." Lilith said, setting some large bags on the ground.

Lilith ran around the forest and slaughtered any little, or large, creatures that she came across. She then put the corpses of the animals in the bags that she brought along with her.

"I had a feeling you were doing something... but I didn't expect it to be anything like this!" Twilight said, revealing herself from following Lilith.

"T-Twilight! What are you doing here?" Lilith asked, feeling nervous. "I can't believe I didn't notice your presence..."

"You were probably too busy killing little woodland creatures to pay any attention to it." Twilight said. "Why are you doing this? I guess I understand if it's to satiate your "urges" that I know you still sometimes get."

"No... that's not it." Lilith said, taking a deep breath. "Listen Twilight, you know about my housemate Grimm right? I'm pretty sure I've told you about her before."

"Mhm, I know about her, she's your best friend." Twilight said. "But what does she have to do with this? Did she tell you to do this?"

"Not exactly... see the thing is is that Grimm has a different "diet" than the rest of us." Lilith said. "Shops around Canterlot or basically anywhere don't sell food like... this."

"So... you're killing these animals and bringing them back to her for her to eat?" Twilight asked.

"Please understand Twilight, I mean it's all she's willing to eat. Besides... she means everything to me... I'd probably be really lonely out there in Canterlot if it was just myself." Lilith said. "I come out here like once a week because she does eat a lot... I hope you understand Twilight."

"...I understand completely." Twilight said. "Though it may seem unconventional, you're doing all of this for your friend because you care about her so much... and I'm alright with that Lilith."

"Oh thank you so much Twilight... it means a lot to me, truly." Lilith said.

Just as Lilith was about to pick up the bags of the deceased, shouting could be heard coming from the exterior of the forest.

"Lilith! Lilith where are you!" Rainbow Dash said. "You're sure she went this way right?"

"I'm positive!" Applejack said. "Lilith! Someone from The Royal Guard is here for you! He say's it's an emergency and they need you!"

"Oh man... what am I supposed to do with all this?" Lilith said.

"Don't worry about it, I'll keep it safe for you until you decide to come back for it, just come by my castle." Twilight said.

"Thanks Twilight, you're a lifesaver." Lilith said, running out of the forest and into the group of ponies.

"I'm here, what's the problem soldier?" Lilith said.

"Commander Lilith! Please come this way, I'm afraid this is confidential and only for your ears." The Guard said.

Lilith and the Guard walked away from everyone else and spoke in a secluded area.

"Commander... I'm afraid I have some terrible news!" The Guard said. "We've just gotten reports of what appears to be... a murder in one of the alleyways in the city."

"What!? A murder? Are you serious!?" Lilith asked. "Something like this rarely happens... even I can't remember precisely the last time this happened... Come on, we're heading back to Canterlot immediately, I need to know the status and severity of the situation."

"Understood." The Guard said.

- Canterlot Castle, 9:00 P.M. -

"Princess Celestia! I came as soon as possible! I need to know what's going on!" Lilith asked.

"Lilith... it appears we have a murderer on the loose..." Celestia said. "It happened not too long ago, maybe less than 30 minutes."

"Where's the crime scene? I need to see the body and what exactly happened." Lilith said.

"These two guards will lead you there, but be careful Lilith... it's a very gruesome site..." Celestia said. "Shining Armor should also be there to assist you on the matter."

"Thank you Princess, and trust me, in the time that you've known me... I think some gore and blood isn't exactly new to me." Lilith said, as she ran out of the castle behind the two guards.

- The Crime Scene, 9:20 P.M. -

Lilith and the guards arrived at the scene of the crime. It was near the outskirts of The Market District, very close to The Residential Area. There were already numerous other guards blocking off the alley way from entry, stopping questioning citizens who were wondering what was going on.

"Look! Commander Lilith is here!" A Townspony said. "If she's here then it must mean something really bad has happened..."

The guards moved out of the way to let Lilith through into the alley. She made her way down until she finally came to mangled pony corpse.

"I'm glad you're finally here." Shining Armor said.

"Has anyone touched the body at all since the murder?" Lilith asked.

"No, I made sure that no one went near it until you got here." Shining Armor said. "I figured this would be your specialty."

"Well you figured correctly." Lilith said. "I doubt anyone could match what I used to be like..."

"I really hope that's the case." Shining Armor said.

"Give me some time with the body, you make sure I'm not disturbed in the process." Lilith asked.

"Will do." Shining Armor said.

Lilith walked carefully up to the body to analyze it. It was a colt, not very old by the looks of it. The victim had many chunks of their flesh missing, almost resembling large bite marks in many places. Blood was splattered all over since the alley is a very confined area.

"Well one thing is for sure, this colt didn't have a chance to put up any sort of a fight." Lilith said. "There are marks on his neck and multiple other places, so it's clear that he was taken by surprise."

"Is there anything else?" Shining Armor said.

Lilith looked more closely at the body and noticed something looked familiar about these marks.

"...Why does this look so familiar... as if I've seen them before..." Lilith questioned herself. "But that doesn't make sense..."

Lilith looked closer and noticed very thin black strands of hair on parts on the victim.

"This hair... it looks so..." Lilith said. "...Oh no..."

The sky became darker as clouds loomed overhead, thundering as rain started to come heavily down.

Lilith used her magic and quietly destroyed all but one strand of black hair, which she tucked away into her scarf. Lilith stood up and walked back to Shining Armor.

"What did you figure out?" Shining Armor said.

"...It's hard to tell honestly... whoever did this is exceptionally skilled as they left nothing behind that would reveal even the slightest idea to who they are... there aren't even any witnesses to what happened..." Lilith said. "I don't have much to go on but that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop investigating. Have this body brought to the morgue without the public knowing, we don't want them panicking about a killer on the loose."

"Right, I'll have my squad take care of that now." Shining Armor said.

"I can examine it some more later but for now I've done all I can... make sure you clean up all that blood too, the rain should help with that." Lilith said. "I'm going to head back to the Castle to tell Princess Celestia about this.

"Alright, I'll see you when I'm done with all of this." Shining Armor said.

Lilith walked out of the alleyway, ignoring the crowd of ponies questioning her about what was going on as she made her way back to the castle.

- Canterlot Castle, 10:30 P.M. -

"Hello Princess, I've investigated the crime scene to the best of my abilities..." Lilith said.

"Did you find out was responsible?" Celestia asked.

"Unfortunately not, whoever did this is very skilled as they left nothing behind to reveal even the slightest clue to who they are..." Lilith said. "I'm having the body brought to the Castle's Morgue so I can examine further if I need to, but as of now I don't seem to have any leads..."

"I see... in any case I'm glad you took a look at it, hopefully you'll get some more clues as to who did it as you continue to investigate this." Celestia said.

"Of course, I'll make sure that I figure this out Princess, you can trust me." Lilith said, bowing. "I'm going upstairs to write and file my case report, then afterwards I'm going to head home."

"That sounds good." Celestia said. "I'm putting you in charge of this investigation Lilith, I know you'll do good job."

"Yes Princess." Lilith said, walking upstairs and leaving the Throne Room.

Lilith quickly writes her case report, still making sure to not leave out any details... except for one. Finished, she leaves her office and quickly runs home to confirm her suspicions.

- Lilith and Grimm's House, 11:00 P.M. -

Lilith quickly opens the door to her house, running into the living room and seeing Grimm sleeping on the couch.

"Grimm! Grimm wake up!" Lilith yelled, shaking Grimm's body until she jumped.

"Wah? Who's there? Is it time to eat HeHe?" Grimm said. "Ohhh Hey Lilith HeHe, you sure came home pretty late... even though you said in your note you'd try to come back early today HeHe..."

"I know I know I'm so sorry, a lot of things came up..." Lilith said.

"...OH I can't be mad at you come here HeHe!" Grimm said, picking up Lilith and squeezing her.

"Thanks Grimm... probably the most time consuming thing today was that there was a murder in the Market District..." Lilith said. "...You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

Grimm let go of Lilith and sat up on the couch.

"A...A murder you say HeHe? No I can't say I've heard about anything like that until now from you HeHe..." Grimm said.

"...Tell me Grimm, are you hungry?" Lilith said.

"Not really actually, I'm feeling alright HeHe." Grimm said. "Why do you ask HeHe?"

"Well that's just it, I didn't make any breakfast today... so what exactly did you eat?" Lilith asked.

"O-Oh well I... Um... I ate your granola bars! You know you bought the bulk box of them so there was plenty to hold me over HeHe!" Grimm said, nervously.

"...Normally I'd be annoyed because those granola bars are my favorite flavor... but I offered you one one time and you hated it because there wasn't any... protein." Lilith said. "Come on Grimm... tell me the truth, you're the murderer aren't you?"

"What? Me? Lilith... you can't honestly believe that I wou-"

"I found this strand of your mane at the scene Grimm, I know it was you." Lilith said.

Grimm let out a big sigh and fell down onto the couch completely.

"Alright... you caught me Lilith... It was me HeHe..." Grimm said.

"Why did you do it Grimm? I wouldn't expect something like this from you." Lilith said. "I mean you barely go outside you're so shy."

"I know I know... but I was so hungry and it was night time so there weren't many ponies outside HeHe." Grimm said. "I snuck into the other district looking for even the smallest rat or something... but I was so hungry and when I got to this alley there was this pony and I just-"

"It's alright, you don't have to explain yourself any further." Lilith said, sitting on the couch next to Grimm and hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry Lilith... I really am HeHe..." Grimm said.

"But why were you so afraid to tell me?" Lilith asked.

"Well you are High Commander of The Royal Guard... because of you position I thought that you'd turn me in if you found out HeHe." Grimm said.

"Don't ever think that Grimm, you may have killed someone tonight, but I'll always put you and your safety first before anything else, even my job." Lilith said. "I have to keep "investigating" this, but I'll cover for you no matter what."

"...Thank you so much Lilith Hehe..." Grimm said. "You really are the best HeHe..."

"I'm just glad that it's behind us now..." Lilith said.

"...About that Lilith HeHe..." Grimm said. "...I may or may not want to... do it... again... HeHe..."

"...Say what now?" Lilith said, as Grimm continued to giggle and hug her.