Chapter 1
Inspector Rough Boulder sighed heavily as he looked into the mug of coffee between his brown hoofs. This had to be the worst case of his career. Sixteen foals all kidnapped in the course of one night. Then found the next night with their throats slit in Pine Croft Park. Not exactly what you want to hear in a city like Manehatten.
If overseeing the cleanup and proper tagging of the bodies hadn’t been enough, Rough Boulder had also been tasked with the terrible task of breaking the news to the families of the lost. So far it been routine: statement, apologies, hugs, then helping coordinate when the could collect their child. If it hadn’t been for his partner, Rough Boulder wasn’t sure he’d had made it past the first fifteen. Now he still had one more family to deal with and he could go home and put this thing behind him. Finding the culprit was someone else’s problem, he had a date with a strong case of cider and some television. Taking another sip of his cider, Rough Boulder looked over at his partner. Officer Honey Heart, who was sitting in the corner with Thunder Dasher and Cloud Roller, trying to keep them calm while he worked out a plan for breaking the news of telling them they would never have a chance to see their twin fillies alive again.
Rough Boulder sighed again. Well it was now or never. Putting down the mug, he slowly walked over to the three in the corner. Thunder Dasher was the first to look up, her eyes full of tears. She didn’t know what was going on, but she could guess something wasn’t right. No training could ever overcome a mother’s instincts. Beside her, her husband, Cloud Roller was slowly folding and unfolding his crimson wings and giving Honey Heart a blank stare.
Taking a seat beside Honey Heart, Rough Boulder tried his best at a smile. It was now or never. Taking off his hat and looking the couple in the eyes, Rough Boulder opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again, only to close it again.
After seven more times of this Thunder Dasher finally broke down and started crying.
“Would you just spill it out already? Can’t you see my wife can’t take all this suspense?” Cloud Roller shouted, putting his hooves around his hysterical wife tightly.
Rough Boulder nodded. “I...There’s no easy way to say this. We found your twins. They were both”
But before he could start, another officer suddenly burst into the room and swiftly walked over to him.
"Inspector Rough Boulder? You’re needed out front."
“What? Why?” Rough Boulder asked, relieved for the interruption. “Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something?”
“Yes sir. But it’s kind of important.”
“Important?” Rough Boulder repeated getting up from his seat. “What could be so important you had to barge in and come get me personally?”
“There’s a disturbance that requires your attention. If you’ll follow me.”
Thunder Dasher and Cloud Roller jumped up behind them. Thunder Dasher whispered, her voice heavy with fear, "What’s going on?"
"Inspector," the officer’s voice was heavy. "Please just come with me."
Nodding, Rough Boulder silently followed the officer to the front of the police station and out to a patrol car. They were all driven to a old warehouse on the edge of town. Near the fence there were five armed officers huddled around somepony on the ground. It was a teenage stallion, with a short brown mane and hollow grey eyes. As they got closer, Rough Boulder noticed that the stallion was shivering quite violently, and that his eyes kept darting back and forth like he was looking for something in the shadows. He also noticed that the colt was handcuffed.
“Little John?” Cloud Roller whispered as he and his wife got out of the patrol car.
"Little John!" Thunder Dasher rushed over to the colt, throwing her hooves around his neck.
The colt’s body banged against the metal slab as he jumped in surprise. He violently strained against the steel shacks that were holding his limbs together. His eyes locked with Rough Boulder. His possessing no emotion whatsoever, just a cold reflection of the situation they all found themselves in currently.
“Such a handsome specimen.” Little John whispered, keeping eye contact with Rough Boulder.
“Specimen?” Thunder Dasher asked looking from the colt to Rough Boulder. “So like those foals I played with. But you look even more delicious.”
“Little John?” Thunder Dasher cried looking him in the face. “Little John, it’s me. Auntie Thunder Dasher. Can you hear me? Are you all right?”
“Get away from me mare.” Little John snarled. “I don’t want to talk to you. My business is with Officer Rough Boulder there.”
“Rough Boulder?” Honey Heart asked. “You know him?”
Suddenly Little John sneered. “Of course he knows me. It’s been a few years but I still remember that night. But do you remember Officer? Do you remember seeing her? And what she told us?”
“Her?” Rough Boulder asked, kneeling beside them. “What are you talking about? I don’t know you son.”
Little John looked him in the eyes, his full of terror. “They won’t believe me. None of them will. But I did. I really saw her. So did you Officer. And she came back.”
“Who?” Rough Boulder repeated, pulling out a recorder. “Who is her? What are you talking about?”
“That freaking nightmare! She’s the one who killed everyone! She...no it. It did this.”
“She? Can you describe what you saw?”
“She told us she would be coming back and now she has. I’m afraid Officer. You should be too. She’s coming for us. There’s no hiding now. You may have did something to make yourself forget. But she hasn’t. I saw how she came through the steel door and murdered everyone but me. She only left me as a warning. When it’s time she’ll take my life.”
“Ponies going through walls? Sounds like somepony’s had too much cider at the bar.” Somepony with a shotgun scoffed.
“Keep going.” Rough Boulder said, ignoring the comment. “What else did you see?”
“She was the size of a normal pony. But it wasn’t a normal pony. S-she couldn’t be. Everywhere she went there was this mist. That freaking mist!”
“Mist?” Officer Honey Heart asked.
“She said she’d come for me. Come back to finish me. To take you.”
“Who did? Who said it?” Rough Boulder pushed. “What was her name?”
“She didn’t say it. She didn’t say anything. But I saw it. I saw it in the way she looked at me. With her dark, cold purple eyes. She’s going to come for me.”
“Calm down. No one’s coming for you.” Another officer said. “Not with the Wonder-”
“Shut up!” Little John screamed. “You don’t know anything! No one can stop her! No one!”
“Now, calm down-” Rough Boulder started.
“Don’t tell me what to do! She’s going to get me! I know what I saw! I know what she did! She’s going to come back for me!”
“Little John.” Thunder Dasher whispered.
“Calm down, Little John. I don’t want to do anything that I’ll regret.”
In one deft movement, Little John stood up and head-butted Rough Boulder in the nose, knocking the older pony to the ground.
“What the heck? Someone restrain him!”
“Stay away from me! Stay away!” Little John screamed, wrapping his hoofs around Honey Heart’s neck. He used the cuffs to effectively cut off her breathing.
“Now calm down. There’s no need-”
“Shut up!” Little John shouted.
“Little John. Don’t do this.” Thunder Dasher said.
“I said stay back! Don’t get any closer!” Little John started backing away. “I-”
Suddenly, Rough Boulder was back on his feet with a tasergun. Being behind him, Little John didn’t see the taser as it slammed into his neck.
“Ahh!” Little John cried out, releasing Honey Heart.
Instantly, three burly officers jumped on top of Little John knocking him to the ground.
“Why are you doing this too me?” Little John sobbed from the ground. “Are you all with her too?”
“No, son. We just want what’s best.” Rough Boulder said putting away the taser. “We just want what’s best.”
At 0340 Little John became the latest permanent tenant at the Equestrian Mental Institution’s Maximum Security Wing in downtown Manehatten. The bodies of the missing fillies were never found and everyone called it a close case. Saying it was just another instance of the strange things that happened in Equestria.