Equestrian Judges!

by Zeno the Masked Writer

First case: Envious Apples Part 6

As Mako made his way towards Rarity's, he stopped and turned towards a clock tower in the distance. Inside the clock tower was Envy, who was grinning from ear to ear. He laughed as he pulled his cloak off to reveal his appearance. He was 5 foot with an average build wearing a straitjacket that wrapped tightly around his body.

"Amazing! He's exactly what I've been looking for! A real challenge!"

The weapon on his back was beyond anything any normal human could use. It was sword longer than any blade in recorded history and sharp enough to cut straight through anything In its path. It was incredibly rusted from years of bloody battles.

"Don't worry partner, you'll get to taste his blood soon enough! But for now, we have to wait until that horse gets liquified!" He exclaimed while he chuckled at the thought of cutting his new playmate to pieces.

---

Meanwhile, Mako had finally made it back to Rarity's and knocked on her door. However, there wasn't an answer. It suddenly occurred to him that he forgot to give her a password or something to tell it was him.

He sighed as he realized what he had to do. He took a deep breath and shouted the first thing to come to mind.

"HOLY CRAP! IS THAT THE FAMOUS SINGER SAPPHIRE SHORES!"

Suddenly the front door flew open with a very excited unicorn looking around in a frenzy with stars in her eyes.

"WERE WERE!" Rarity shouted.

Mako sighed and walked past her while Rarity felt her eye twitch at the thought she had been tricked so easily.

"Wow! I'm seriously surprised that worked. I can't believe you're that stupid." Mako exclaimed not noticing Rarity was lifting a wooden mallet over her head with an evil look on her face.

---

"Now then I do believe what you meant to say was, I can't believe you were so nice to open the door for me Rarity!" She explained with a chuckle while she wrapped a few bandages around Mako's head which was savagely beaten.

"Y-Yes mam." He choked out while trying not to pass out.

After that, Mako watched as Rarity treated each of his wounds carefully and marveled at how skilled she was. After she stitched the gash on his right-hand she covered the wound with a bandage.

"I'm impressed Rarity! Where did you learn to do this?"

Rarity puffed out her chest with pride, "You'll be surprised at what I know! Never underestimate the Elegant Rarity!" She Proclaimed not noticing that Mako had already fallen asleep.

"THAT LITTLE!" She thought as she took her hammer out again, however, stopped when she saw how softly he was sleeping.

What many people didn't know about Mako was that when he slept he slept like a baby. Rarity felt a blush creep across her face as she watched the man sleep and imagined herself lying right beside him. She quickly erased those thoughts and decided to go to bed herself.

After Rarity went upstairs Mako opened his eyes and saw that the coast was clear and quietly made his way to a bathroom. He turned on the light and looked at his reflection. His messy blond hair was rough and he could see dark rings under his eyes most likely due to stress....that or late night drinking sessions.

Mako unwrapped the bandages around his hand and looked at his wound that had already begun to heal. He sighed and turned around to look at his back and saw that his mark was glowing a bright sickly red.

Memories of his past flashed back to him the second he saw the disgusting mark. He felt his teeth grind as the mark began to vanish. He slowly took his shirt, and what was left of his pants, and put them in a box he found. He went back to the living room and lied on the couch and Soon he let sleep take over.

---

Meanwhile, Shiro was in Twilight's library reading a book about certain types of magic. Twilight had decided to go to bed early tonight because of what had happened the day prior. It was early morning and Shiro was still wide awake mostly due to his years of training......and general unwillingness to sleep.

He casually turned the page and came across a particular passage that caught his interest.

"A mark of sin is that which can never be unmarked-Crimson Lance." Shiro recited as he closed the book and looked around the library.

"Crimson Lance....Now let's see here." He whispered as he skimmed across the isles of books until he came across one particular title.

Shiro took the book out and examined the title which read "The Sins of Men" by Crimson Lance. He opened the book and skimmed the contents only to be disappointed by gothic poetry.

"You're still up?"

Shiro turned around to see a very sleepy looking Twilight in her PJ's. She seemed concerned but Shiro smiled and walked gently towards her.

"My apologizes Twilight. I happened to have been captivated by your library. I couldn't stop myself from perusing your collection." Shiro exclaimed while Twilight seemed to beam at the idea of someone enjoying reading as much as she did.

"Awe it's ok! But try to get some sleep! It's around 4 in the morning." She explained in a drowsy tone while making her way back upstairs.

Shiro, now alone again, looked back at the book with a curious expression. He opened it and took note of everything that had been written. This continued for hours until the sun rose in the sky and Twilight had once again woke up only to find the man still reading the book from earlier.

"Don't tell me you stayed up all night!" She shouted as Shiro gave her the same smile.

"I'm ok...There is no need to worry about me."

"After being attacked last night and having to track down a killer....I guess the stress would keep me up too." She thought as Shiro closed his book and placed it back on the proper shelf.

Suddenly Shiro stopped as he felt something strange. However, under closer examination his stomach was just growling.....LOUDLY! Twilight giggled as she watched Shiro blush.

"I'll go make us some breakfast!" She exclaimed while running into the kitchen.

Shiro was not sure why but he felt like today was gonna be a very long day.

---

Meanwhile, Mako was still sleeping on the couch while Rarity had gotten up early to fix his clothing. After all, she couldn't have him walking around in his boxers all day, as much as the thought excited her.

While She took a few measurements her younger sister, known as Sweetie Bell, had come down for breakfast but stopped when she saw the stranger.

"R-Rarity who is this guy!" She squeaked which caused Rarity to quietly worn her sister not to wake him up. Sweetie Bell walked over to the man and looked at his muscular figure.

"So is this your colt friend or something?" She asked which caused Rarity's face to turn bright red.

"WHAT!? NONONONO! H-HE IS JUST A FRIEND OF MINE I SWEAR!!"

"Now who's being loud?" She thought as her older sister continued to justify her actions.

Mako, now fully awake, got up and cracked his neck which was loud enough to catch their attention. He stood up and walked over to the kitchen. While looking in the fridge, he took out a carton of milk and chugged the whole thing.

"H-Hey that wasn't very nice!" Sweetie squeaked as she pouted at the man.

Mako gave a friendly smile and crouched down to her level while he reached into his back pocket and pulled out some bits that he......borrowed and handed them to the girl.

"Here, go buy yourself an ice cream Kiddo."

Sweetie Bell was not one to turn down free ice cream. She suddenly ran upstairs laughing playfully as Mako gave a content sigh while Rarity couldn't help but laugh.

"W-What are you laughing at?" He stuttered with a blush on his face.

"Well, you try and act tough but you're a big softy when it comes to children huh?" She explained as Mako sneered.

Suddenly Mako noticed his clothes weren't where he had left them and looked over to a work station where he assumed Rarity was fixing them.

"You know....you didn't have to fix these for me."

Rarity shook her head and watched her little sister run outside.

"That was payment enough for my services." She explained as she got back to fixing the man's clothing.

Mako, not being one to be outclassed by someone he just meet, got to work in the kitchen cooking some breakfast, however, Rarity made frequent trips into the kitchen to watch him work.

"He's handsome, he's good with children, he's strong, AND HE CAN COOK! OH RARITY YOU HIT THE JACKPOT!" She thought as she finished the rest of the repairs.

---

After breakfast Mako and Rarity discussed what had happened last night. Needless to say, Rarity had a hard time understanding what was being explained.

"So are you saying that brute from last night was nothing but a puppet?"

"Yes, an image created by magic from the real killer. My guess is that the killer sent them to test whether or not we were a threat." He explained as Rarity blinked in confusion.

Mako sighed as used kitchen wares and ingredients to try and prove his point.

"Ok think of the salt and pepper shakers as me and Shiro. Now let's say that this plate is the town and the knife is the killer. Seeing as the killer was here first he believes this is his territory and now that were here he feels threatened by our unfamiliar power. In order for the killer to know how powerful his opposition is, he had to test us."

Rarity finally put the dots together and realized the underline danger of what was being explained.

"Judging by your reaction. I guess you realize what this means?" Mako asked as Rarity felt her heart sink.

"If we don't find the one who ordered Silver Lockets murder TODAY......We might not get another chance." Mako explained as he finally got dressed.

"W-What should I do!?" Rarity asked as Mako turned to her with a blank stare.

"What I want you to do is call all your friends here. I'll be back in three hours....And by then If I still don't have any clues.....Then were in trouble." Mako explained as he took out another cigarette and walked outside.

"I refuse to lose......Especially not to you Envy!"

TO BE CONTINUED!