Chapter 1: A Cold Night

Equestria Noire Case #1: The Royal Guard Case

Chapter 1- A Cold Night

It's funny isn't it? New Colt City. It's a place with many nicknames. One of them being "The city so nice, they named it twice." Well, the "nice" part is pretty fuckin exaggerated if you ask me. Cause this place can be a total bitch to live in sometimes. You got ponies who never appreciate the hard work you put in, you got crazy ponies who try to justify other ponies' actions, and the weather can be as cold as hell on some nights. Just like this one.

I'm Detective Shadow Haze. I'm a private detective to be exact. Meaning, I work alone on the cases that I'm given by ponies. I run my little "agency", if you would call it that, in my apartment. Which, by the way, is now a major shithole if you ask me. I'm talking dust everywhere, wrappers and bills all over the floor, and stains on my carpet I never bothered to clean out.

It was pretty nice when I first moved in, but when you don't get a lot of cases like I have these past few months, you don't really have time to clean, because the bill collectors constantly have their hooves up my ass for the rent. Not to mention, because of the lack of big time cases, there ain't no way in hell I'm gonna afford a cleaning lady if I can't support myself.

Yeah, the cases I get today are pretty much small time stuff. Robberies, Theft, and Arson. The only one that could've been big was this one time when I got put on a case to find some lost filly that was reported by her very distraught mother, and it turned out she wandered off to the candy store. Yeah, it ended up being just a big waste of time. Not to mention the payday was underwhelming as hell.

So, yeah, I'm pretty much fucked on this situation. I can't pay the rent, can't get my place cleaned, can't get a good case, and, on a personal level, I can't afford a birthday present for my little nephew. Yeah, his birthday is coming up pretty soon. His name is Comet Chaser. He's gonna be 10 years old soon. My big sister, Melody Rays, tells me it's no big deal, but I want to get my nephew something actually nice. Not some dumb gift card or a couple bits like I've done for the past few years.

So, I'm just sitting here at my desk, which pretty much is just smack-dab in the middle of my room, with two chairs, one for me, and the other for a potential client. I'm looking through my bills, wondering how the hell I'm gonna pay these bills, when all of a sudden I hear a knock at my door.

Oh, Celestia. I hope it isn't the bill collectors again. They were just here this morning.

"Who's there?" I said.

"It's me Shadow." The voice said behind my door. I knew exactly who it was. I know I'm a little busy, but I can't just ignore her and tell her to go away. That's not her style. She'd stay there all night if it meant she needed to speak to me.

"Come on in." I told her. And she did just that. Somepony I know very well. She's a unicorn about a year younger than me. She's got a white coat with a long flowing blonde mane. She has a police badge cutie mark, meaning she's a cop. And a damn good one.

This was my, let's say friend, Angel Blossom. I've known her for a long time now. Before I left the force, she and I worked together on a couple cases together. Even though I was with a different partner during most of my cases, as was her, we did work together a few times.

Her and I have, somewhat, of a complicated relationship. Sometimes we get along, and it's really great when we're together, other times, we are at each other's throats worse than anypony. I guess I'll admit that me and her, off and on, have been romantically linked. When I left the force, she did check up on me from time to time. Don't know why, but she did. And, over time, we ended up hooking up. We knew my old boss Silvershine, who was pissed at me for leaving the force, would bitch at her if he found out. So we decided to keep it a secret.

However, with both of our attitudes differing with each other, we broke it off many times. Then, we'd get back together, and we'd break it off again. It gets confusing, but I will say, if there's one pony I'd trust with my life whenever I'm on a case, it will be her. Wonder what she wants.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her. To be honest, I really didn't want to see her right now. We're broken off again, and I've got work to do. I really hope she didn't come here just to bug me.

When she sat down in the chair, some dust flew out of the seat, causing her to cough a little bit. Not gonna lie, I kinda snickered a little when I saw this.

"Jeez, Shadow. Would it kill ya to clean this place up a little bit? This place looks like shit." She said with that annoyed look I've come to know, and at times love.

"Well, when I can afford to get a cleaning lady, I'll let you know. In the mean time, I can barely afford to feed myself with how slow the crime rate is." I said to her with an "oomph" in my back talk. "Besides, I've got more important things to worry about." I told her, going back to my bills.

"And what would that be?" She said.

Now I was getting annoyed by her. To be fair, it ain't the first time it's happened.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe paying my bills on time, which I can't because most cases I get suck now. Maybe, the fact that I can't pay for shit. Maybe, and this is the big one, it's the fact that I can't afford to get my little nephew a decent fucking birthday present. That's what I have to worry about Angel." I said to her very coldly. Maybe I was harsh, but when your stressed out as I am right now, you just say things.

"You mean Comet Chaser right?" She asked me.

"No shit." I said, again, very coldly. I'm getting kinda tired of her already. See what I mean when I say, on again/off again. Sometimes we love each other, sometimes we can't stand each other.

She looked very cross at me. "You don't have to be such an ass about it, you know. I didn't come here to be insulted by you." She said with her hooves folded, and her legs crossed.

"Then what DID you come here for?" I asked still looking through my bills.

"I'm here to give you a case." She said to me with a scrunched up angry look on her face. I knew that look meant she was serious. She used that face on me all the time when she was angry at me during the times we were together.

She has a case? For me? Nah, there's gotta be more to it than that.

"Why are you giving me a case? You know Shithead is gonna bitch and complain to you that your helping somepony on the outside, right? Why are you risking that for me?" I asked. I actually wanted to know why?

"Because I heard about the situation your in with the bills, and I want to help. Cause that's what friends do. Cause I care about you, okay?" She said to me, not sounding very happy about me mouthing off to her earlier.

"So, I'm sorry if I sounded nosy earlier. I just want you to know I care about you a lot. So, you don't need to be mouthing off to me like you just did, alright?" She said, now sounding a little emotional. Like she was about to let out a couple tears.

Ah, great. My weakness with her. Yeah, she gets on my nerves sometimes, but I just can't bare to see her cry. I don't know why, but whenever she cries, I just want to hold her 'till the hurt is gone.

I also don't get why she cares about me. With our relationship being as confusing and complicated as it is, I don't get why she hasn't just up and left me. Whenever I'm in a bad situation, like I am now, she's always there to help. And how do I repay her? By talking shit to her. I can be a major fucking asshole sometimes.

With that, I got out of my chair, which let out some dust, and went up to her and hugged her. She was surprised, but she gave in and hugged back.

I looked at her beautiful blue eyes and said, "I'm sorry, okay? I'm just really stressed about this bullshit with the bills. I didn't mean to take it out on you. Alright?"

She smiled, with a couple tears in her eyes, and said, "It's okay Shadow."

"So, tell me. What's this case you got for me?" I asked her. I wanted to get down to business, now that my personal stuff with her is alright for now.

She levitated the case file to me. "It's in Ponyville. A Canterlot Royal Guard was found dead in an alleyway at about midnight last night. The poor guy was stabbed and beaten to death by somepony. Or someponies, because they think this was done by more than just one pony." She said to me. Oh, it's morning already? I guess I was so focused on my bills, I hadn't noticed I was up all night.

Wait? Did she say Ponyville? And Royal Guard? Hold on. Why is somepony from Ponyville contacting me? I would've thought the case she's giving me was from somepony here in New Colt City. There has to be more to this.

"Ponyville? Why did somepony from there wanna contact me? Wouldn't they try a Ponyville detective or something?" I asked her.

"Not a lot of bad things happen in Ponyville. That's why they don't have much of a Police Force there. And, as far as who wanted you to work this case, well, that would be me who put out a good word for you. I guess they got the message." She told me with a sly smile on her face.

I was surprised when I heard what she had to say. "You put out the word for me? Why would you do that?" I asked cause I was confused.

She looked at me like she thought I was stupid. "Didn't you hear what I said earlier?" She said while fidgeting with her hooves. And I think she blushed a little. Another one of my weaknesses with her. She looked so cute when she was embarrassed. "It's cause I care about you a lot. And, I want to help you with this bad situation." She told me.

I went up to her, and nuzzled her, which surprised her, and made her blush even bigger. "Well, thank you for that. I appreciate it. I'm glad having you by my side, Angel." I told her as she nuzzled back. I did mean it. Having her in my life is a lot better than what I normally have, and that's being alone. Yeah, I have my sister and my nephew, but I'm mostly a loner.

"Is there anypony I need to see first?" I asked her.

She nodded. "You need to head to the Castle of Friendship. Princess Twilight Sparkle will give you more info on it when you get there." She told me.

Princess? As in one of the rulers of Equestria? Princess Twilight Sparkle contacted me? Okay, this is just what I needed. I'm definitely gonna get a big payday now.

She then levitated over some bits for me. "This should be enough for a train ride over there." She said to me.

"I can't let you pay for me. It's your money." I said to her.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "And how are you gonna get there? You barely have 30 bits to your name." She said to me in a kind of smartass tone. I hated when she did that.

But, she was right. So I accepted. I gathered everything a detective like me needs. My revolver, my chemistry lab set, my steel chain I use during hoof to hoof combat, my trench coat, my camera, and my fedora. "Thank you. I'm gonna head out now." I said to her.

"Wait." She said. I turned back and....

She pulled me in for a kiss. It surprised me, but I gave in. She was a good kisser after all.

After we broke apart, she passionately looked into my eyes and said, "Be careful, okay?"

I smiled. "Always." Then I turned around and left my office, as did she. I made my way to the train station to head to Ponyville. I had heard about that place. It's, supposedly, the friendliest town in Equestria. Well, seeing as how there was a Murder last night, that may not entirely be the case.

Either way, I'm looking forward to it.

*******PONYVILLE**********

I eventually made it to Ponyville around 7 in the morning. Thankfully, I was able to catch some z's on the train. Normally, I wouldn't be to comfortable in the seats, but this time they actually felt good to sleep in.

The train made it's stop at Ponyville Train Station. I, along with a few other ponies, got off the train. Now, I knew I was looking for my guide. Apparently, it was some mare named...Starlight Glimmer. I swear I've heard that name before. I just can't for the life of me remember where.

I looked for a couple seconds before I saw a light purple unicorn mare with a dark purple mane that had aqua-marine streaks in it. Heh, I knew Melody would love that kind of manestyle.

I figured out it was her when she was levitating a sign that said "Detective Shadow Haze" on it. So, I went up to her to introduce myself.

However, when I did that, she looked kind of intimidated by me. Maybe it's my physical appearance. I have a blood red coat and a pitch black mane with red tints in it. My cutie mark is a magnifying glass. Maybe she hasn't seen a pony like me before. Maybe she saw the look on my face. Yeah, I don't smile a whole lot. I mean, when your in a similar situation like me, you tend not to be all that positive. So, I may come across like I'm pissed off all the time. Which, is kinda true in some aspects, but not entirely.

I put out my hoof. "I'm Detective Shadow Haze. Your Starlight Glimmer, I assume?" I said to her.

She gulped nervously. "Yes. It's nice to meet you Mister Detective. I'm so happy you came on such short notice." She said.

"No problem at all. I'm just happy to finally get a big case after all the shit ones I've had for a while." I told her. She cringed a little bit when I cussed. She'll just have to get use to it. Cause I happen to cuss a lot. Most of the time.

She accepted my hoofshake. "Well, we're glad you accepted it. What happened last night was just awful." She looked very depressed when she said that.

"Well, take me to the princess, and she'll give me all the info I need." I said as we starting walking toward our destination. The Castle of Friendship. It'd be nice to visit a place where famous ponies like the Elements of Harmony do business.

"Yes, sir." She said to me.

We walked all the way through town, until we made it to the Castle of Friendship. I had heard about this place from newspapers. Saying it was bigger on the inside than on the outside. Well, when we made it inside, I figured out what it said was true. This place was fucking huge. I'll bet there's over 100 different rooms here. It was awesome.

We walked inside to find my contact. The Princess of Friendship. Princess Twilight Sparkle. Princess Celestia's student. This mare, along with the other Elements of Harmony, had saved the world many times over. From powerful entity's who took over the mind of Princess Luna, to a chaotic draconequus, to tyrannical dictators, and so on and so forth. I respect Twilight Sparkle tremendously. She was sitting in a chair that actually had a map of Equestria on it. That looked pretty fucking cool of you ask me.

"Detective Shadow Haze. Thank you so much for accepting the case I sent out. We really need the help of a true legitimate detective." She said, kinda looking nervous. Like, she had been wanting to get this case over and done with before anypony finds out about it.

I bowed to her out of respect. "Look no further, Princess Twilight. I'm happy to help out on this case. Tell me everything you know. Then I'll go check out the crime scene." I said to her now sitting in a chair that was slightly next to her.

"First if all, just call me Twilight. And as far as what's happened, well, it's just awful detective. See, my big brother best friend forever, Shining Armor,--" she has a nickname for her brother? Okay, that's weird. "--he's the captain of the Royal Guard. And one of his men was found brutally murdered last night near the Ponyville Sofa Shop. The police are looking over the body and the crime scene as we speak." She said to me, with a slight quiver in her voice. I was able to write everything that she told me down. My hoof writing is pretty good from where I stand.

"Do you have any suspects or witnesses or anything at all?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. We haven't interviewed anypony that might have been a witness to what happened. I told them to wait until you got there. I've heard of your work as a private detective, Mister Shadow Haze. And, I must say, I'm very impressed with what you do." She told me now smiling a little bit.

Heh. Finally, somepony who appreciates hard work. "Well, thank you Twilight. I'll make sure I get the son of a bitch who did this." I said.

She walked over to the front door of the Castle. "I'll guide you to the crime scene. It's not to far from here." She told me.

We walked out the door and back into town. "Alright, let's go." I said to her.

She nodded with a confident smile on her face. "Yes. We've got a mystery to solve."

Wait, we? When did this turn into we? Was this part of the case deal? So, now I have to not only worry about catching a fucking murderer, but now I have to make sure one of the Princesses of fucking Equestria is safe while doing it?

Ah, shit. I can never fucking win, can I?

Chapter 2: Death of a Guard

View Online

"No disrespect Twilight, but what makes you think you can just join me on a case, when you have absolutely no experience in the field of detective work?" I asked her. She looked at me with some hostility in her eyes. Like I offended her about something.

"Well, Mister Shadow, I'll have you know that Ponyville is my home. I may be a princess, and do a lot of work in many parts of Equestria, but Ponyville is my home overall. And since it is my home, I feel like I should know when something really bad has happened here. And should help out in any way I can. So, I'm sorry if I didn't clue you in on it, but wether you like it or not, I'm helping out on this case." She told me looking very cross.

I could tell she wasn't gonna change her mind. I guess I'll just have to deal with it. For now. "*groan* Your not gonna take no for an answer, are you?" I asked her. She smiled and shook her head.

"Fine. But, I'm gonna lay down some ground rules, if you want to work with me."

"Fair enough."

"Number one, I'm in charge. I lead this case, I question suspects, and, at the end, I decide who's guilty and faces justice."

"Okay."

"Number two, don't allow your personal feelings to get in the way of this case."

She looked at me all confused. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Meaning, if your a friend or loved one of somepony, and they happen to be a suspect, don't automatically assume that they aren't. Conversly, don't automatically point hooves at somepony you don't like, and label them a suspect when you have no physical evidence or proof that they are one. Cause I could disbar you with prosecutorial misconduct." I explained to her.

"Well, I promise detective, but I'll let you know this: If one of my friends is framed for something, I will do anything to clear their name. Cause I know them. And they aren't criminals." She told me.

"And, if it is proven that they are?" I asked her.

"They aren't." She exclaimed. I could tell she was getting pissed.

"You didn't answer my question. If I find legitimate evidence and proof that they did indeed do the crime, will you be professional and allow me to arrest them? I'm not asking this to mess with you Twilight, I'm asking to see if your a mare of your word." I told her. I know it seemed kind of like a dick move to do that, but I need to know.

She was silent for a long couple seconds, with an added angry scrunch on her face, before she sighed and said, "If you do that, then I'll promise to let you do your job. Even though I'll hate myself for doing so." She said.

I smiled. I'm glad she was gonna be professional at this. I can't work with somepony who let's their personal feelings get in the way. I've seen it happen before, and it always ends bad.

"And, lastly, number three, do not go the national media. This is the big one Twilight. If we do have a suspect, do not say their name to the media. If we have anypony in custody, we keep their name anonymous. We'll only reveal the suspect's name when we are absolutely 100% positive that they are the suspect. Cause, if we did that, and it turns out they didn't do it, we will ruin lives, Twilight. Now do you understand?" I said to her, who was now looking a bit surprised at me. Yeah, probably my biggest enemy, as well as the police force overall, was the National Media. They will take a story, without any facts or evidence or proof, and turn it into a big sensation, which will create cash for their grubby little pockets.

She nodded. "Yes, Shadow, I understand."

"Good. Now, take me to the crime scene."

She nodded in agreement as we walked to our destination. She looked over at me and smiled all giddy like for some reason. I was kinda weird.

"What?" I asked her.

"Well, It's just, I've always wanted to solve a mystery from the books I read. It's kind of fun and exciting." She told me.

"Well, once you really get into detective work Twilight, well, let's just say that the way most of your mystery stories end, they're not realistic on an actual case like right now. So, be prepared for for the absolute worst. Cause it may happen." I told her. I didn't intend to scare her. I was just telling the truth. Sometimes, cases don't end always end with the criminal going to jail and the victim seeking justice. It's sad, but it happens.

I think I did concern Twilight a little when I said that, due to the look she gave me. She didn't say anything, but I could read faces. And it read "nervousness."

We eventually made it to the Sofa shop. And, apparently, lots of ponies must have heard about what happened. Cause there was a huge crowd of ponies at the entrance of the alleyway near the Sofa shop. They were being blocked by a few police ponies who were there as guards.

However, the worst thing I saw among the crowd, was ponies with TV cameras, microphones, and picture cameras. One of the cameras read "Ponyville News Station" on it. Ah Fuck. Ponies from the media are here. They're gonna wanna know what's going on here. But not to help out the poor victim here. No no. They just want to create a big time story for ponies to feed into. It's how they make money.

I also could hear a few comments made by a few of the ponies in the crowd. Comments like...

"Celestia, that guy looks like a demon."

"Wait, that's the detective guy?"

"I was expecting somepony with a little more class. Guess I was wrong."

"He looks creepy as hell. I don't want him anywhere near my kids."

....Yeah, I get a lot of comments like that. I'm used to it by now. Still pisses me off, but I'm used to it.

Me and Twilight entered the crime scene, thanks to the police ponies who opened up the "No Crossing" yellow tape. We saw some young looking stallion, who looked to be my age, about 24 or 25 years old. He got up from the body and...

.... Celestia Help Us All.

This Royal Guard was still a fairly young looking dude. He looked about 28 or 29 years old. He looks to be stabbed at least three times. Once in the chest, which might be fatal, and two other times in his upper torso. He also looked to have had his head bashed in from behind. Somepony must've really wanted this poor guy to suffer. But why?

Anyway, the stallion, who I'm guessing is the pathologist, came up to me and introduced himself. He seemed like a decent guy from where I'm standing. Thought, that's not saying much.

He extended his hoof to me. "Hello, you must be Shadow Haze. The private detective that was hired for this. I'm Cadaver. It's really nice to meet you." He said with a smile on his face.

I shook his hoof. "Yes I am. I'm guessing your the pathologist for this case, correct?" I asked him.

He nodded his head. "Yep. I've been doing this for about 2 years now, sir." He told me. Oh, so we got a rookie on our hoofs, do we? Let's just see how smart he is.

Before I levitated out my magnifying glass, I heard somepony throwing up in a trash can somewhere. I'm guessing it was Twilight. If it is, then this must be her first time seeing a real dead body. Well, not like I didn't do it the first time I saw one back when I was on the force.

"So, what have we got here?" I asked him.

"Oh, yes. Stallion, about 29 years old. He's a Royal Guard by the looks of it." His helmet and armor were scattered around the crime scene. "Blue mane, white coat." He explained to me.

"Can you estimate the time and cause of death?"

"Well, as far as time goes, I'd have to say 11:30 to around midnight last night. Cause of death, I'd say either blood loss from the stab wound to the heart, or blunt force trauma from the head injury. Though, I'd have to head back to the lab to get the official results."

As I looked around the body, I noticed something near the wall that was facing the stallion. I levitated it over, and it was a rainbow hoof band ripped in half. Why is this torn and near the stallions body?

I know for sure that ponies of the LGBT community wore these hoof bands to say that they were proud to be gay, or lesbian, or bisexual, or whatever. So if this hoof band was next to this poor guy, did that mean that he was gay? And if he was, did he get attacked by a group of ponies who hate homosexuals? I know that Ponyville, as well as the entirety of Equestria overall, is very supportive of gay rights for ponies. Hell, some ponies call Ponyville the "LGBT Capital of Equestria."

However, just because there were many ponies who were supportive of it, doesn't mean that every single pony is okay with it. I can't tell you how many times, back in New Colt City, I heard about a gay stallion or lesbian mare getting assaulted or flat out murdered, simply because they were gay. And, some crazy fucking Christian Activist Groups would say that this was "God's" way of "Cleansing the world of Fags." In other words, there condoning the actions when somepony attacks or kills a gay pony. Equestria every pony.

As I was looking at the hoof band, which I put in a plastic bag, Twilight rejoined me, as she had recovered from her lapse of sickness, which was only a very brief one. She tried not to look at the body as she spoke to me.

"Sorry, Shadow, I wasn't really expecting it to be this bad?" She said looking sympathetic for the stallion.

I just shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, did you find anything?" I asked her.

She responded by levitated a wallet over to me. I took it, and looked at the contents inside. Thankfully, I can't across his ID. Steel Spear. So, I guess we got a name on this guy. I also noticed that there was still some bits in his wallet. If somepony had him cornered in an alley, wouldn't their motive be armed robbery? Why didn't they take the money?

Then, the last thing I saw, and this was the big one, was a picture of Steel with another stallion. He had a brown coat with a blonde mane.

The two were nuzzling each other behind what appeared to be a beautiful sunset. I did have to admit, the two did look happy together. Though, this could have been an example of "happier times" if ya know what I mean.

"Well, what do you think?" Twilight asked me.

"*Sigh*Well, Twilight, it appears our guy, Steel Spear, was a gay stallion. Look." I showed her the picture as well as the rainbow hoof band ripped in half. She gasped at what she saw. Not just because the guy was gay, but because of how happy he looked with his partner in this picture.

"Do you think..." Twilight began to ask. I interrupted her, cause I knew what she was going to ask.

"I think so. I think this might have been a hate crime." I told her. I levitated the wallet into another plastic bag.

Then I wrote my number down on my notepad, that I carry in my trench coat, and levitated it over to Cadaver.

"Call me when you've got the official cause of death, alright?" I told him.

He nodded. "Will do, Mister Shadow." He said going back to the body.

Me and Twilight walked over to the police guards, and I levitated over the hoof band and wallet to the them. "Have the guy's from the lab analyze the DNA on these items. Also, you may want to inform the family as well as the victim's partner about the bad news. Alright?" I told them.

One of the guards nodded. "Yes sir Mister Shadow. We also have a witness who saw what happened last night. She's right over there." He pointed over to a mare, that looked to be a bit older than I was, who had a dark pink coat with a light pink and light grayish rose coat. She also had a cutie mark with three smiling flowers on it. She looked to be on edge about what happened. Can't say I blame her.

"Thanks." I said to him as me and Twilight walked over to her. However, Twilight hugged the mare, who now was crying. She must have been really spooked about what had happened. I guess Twilight knows who this mare is personally.

"Ma'am, I'm Detective Shadow Haze. I was told you saw what happened last night, is that correct?" I asked her.

She had her hoof up to her chin as she sobbed. "Yes. I just can't believe something like this would happen here." She said as Twilight wrapped her wing around her in comfort.

"What is your name?" I asked her.

She gulped. "Miss Cheerilee. I'm the teacher at the Ponyville Schoolhouse."

I sat down on my ass to make sure I was on eye level with Cheerilee. It's how I can tell when somepony is lying or not. I learned that when I was in the force. One of the things I learned that actually was good. Until, what happened.

.....

No, don't fucking think of that now. You've got a job to do.

"So, what exactly is it that you saw?" I asked her.

She took a deep breath before she spoke. "Well, I was at home, which is actually just a little bit close to the Sofa shop. I went outside to take out the trash. Then, I heard a really loud crash in the alleyway. So, I went over to investigate. Then, I saw some Pegasus flying away into the night. Then, two big Earth ponies ran past me. They almost knocked me over. So, I looked in the alleyway to see what happened, and..." She started getting emotional again, as Twilight hugged her. She didn't need to finish that sentence. I knew what she saw.

"Did you get a good look at the ponies you saw? I mean, did you see what they looked like, or anything?" I asked her.

She sniffled a little bit. "Well, the Pegasus I didn't see, cause it was so dark out." She said.

"What about the two Earth ponies?" I asked her.

"Well, I was distracted when I saw the Pegasus, and it happened so fast." She said.

I put my hoof on her shoulder, which surprised her and Twilight. "Ma'am, I need you to concentrate. Any little detail can help me to find out what happened. Can you do that for me?" I asked her.

She took a deep breath again, and relaxed a little bit this time. "Well, one of them I remember. He was a stallion, well built, and he had some necklace on him." She told me.

"Do you think you could describe what the necklace looked like?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not physically, but it looked like a religious kind of necklace. Something you'd see in church." She told me.

I wrote down everything Cheerilee told me on my notepad. "Okay, is there anything else you saw? Anything at all?" I asked her.

She closed her eyes and tried to think. She opened them again after she must have came to something. "Well, the other Earth pony that was with him, I heard him say to the one with the necklace "What the fuck did you do?" That's all I know. Sorry if it's not much Mister Detective." She said to me looking bummed. Twilight hugged her again. She must consider her a real friend.

"No problem at all Miss Cheerilee. Thank you. You've been a big help." I told her.

She smiled, which was good, seeing as how she looked so scared and sad about what happened. It was good to see that she had hope for us.

Twilight looked at her friend. "Cheerilee, I promise, Detective Shadow Haze and myself will find the pony who did this. I give you my word." She said.

"Thank you Twilight." Cheerilee said emotionally happy as she walked away to her home. I'm guessing she took off for today from work. I just hope her students, whoever they are, got a good enough substitute.

"So, where to next?" Twilight asked me. Huh, guess she's quick to get to the next part of the investigation.

"You said that your brother, Shining Armor, is the captain of the Royal Guard. Correct?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Then that's who we are going to talk to next. I'm gonna need some info on Steel Spear. Shining has to know something about this." I said.

Twilight understood immediately. "I know where their home is in the Crystal Empire. I'll take you there right now, Shadow." She said to me as we now walked over to the train station.

I'm gonna have to let her know that I'm almost flat broke and can't afford another train ticket. But, on the flip side, it'll be nice to see the Crystal Empire. I've heard about how great it is in the paper. I know Melody is gonna be so jealous once she hears about this.

"I'm not going to have to pay for everything for you, am I Shadow?" Twilight asked me, now sounding annoyed. Guess I can't blame her. She bought two tickets for us to get to the Empire and back, and she had to pay for it all.

"Sorry Twilight, but I'm in a bad financial situation. I haven't had a great case that pays a lot of money in 5 months. So, as far as money goes, I don't have shit to my name. Not to mention, my apartment back in New Colt City is a fuckin sack of shit to live in." I told her. It kinda felt like I was venting. I don't know why I did it, but I just felt like I had to here.

She, all of a sudden, had a look of concern on her face. "How have you been able to support yourself for so long?" She asked.

"Well, let's just say I know how to save money from a long time ago. That kept me up for about 2 months after the situation hit. Now, I've got the debt collectors constantly banging on my door for payment."

"Sorry about that Shadow. I didn't know you were in that bad of a situation."

I shrugged. "The apartment is one thing, but now I can't even afford a birthday present for my little nephew."

"You have a nephew? Oh, I have a neice. She's Flurry Heart." She sounded excited at the thought of seeing her when we talk with Shining Armor.

"I take it she's the new Princess of the Crystal Empire, right? After that big snow storm that happened a while ago." I asked.

"Yep." She nodded. "She's the most adorable little bug you'll ever see. But, what's your nephew like? What's his name?" She looked pretty eager to hear about this. Well, she's an aunt, I'm an uncle, so I guess we do have something in common.

"His name's Comet Chaser. A pegasus. He's turning 10 at the end of the week. My big sister Melody Rays is his mom. I want to get him something really nice. Not some bullshit gift card or money or anything like that. I want him to have something he will really like." I told her.

"Well, isn't it the thought that counts? Why do you want to get something better than that?" She asked me.

"Well, because him and I are pretty close. I don't know why, but for some reason, that kid looks up to me even more than his dad, Solar Storm, Melody's husband. Everytime I come over to talk to Melody or Storm, he's always excited to see me. Always asking if he can come along on an investigation with me." I chuckled a little bit.

That kind of made Twilight laugh a little to. "I take it your answer is always No, right?" She asked.

"*Scoff* Yeah. There is no way I'm putting my sister's son in danger. She would never forgive me, and I wouldn't forgive myself. I don't get why he looks up to me so much, but he does, and I'm very thankful for it. He's a bit much sometimes, but overall, I love that kid." I said to her, which made her go "Awww."

"Well, it sounds like your a good uncle to him, Shadow." Twilight said.

"Thanks." I told her. I really meant it. Obviously, the reason I never take him on cases, is because it could get dangerous, and he may end up seriously injured, or worse, dead. And I would never allow that to happen. I would do anything to protect Comet. Even if it cost me my life.

As we walked through the Crystal Empire, oh by the way we were crystalized now too, which looked pretty cool if you ask me, I saw something that might help me out. We walked past a toy store. And in the window, I saw something that I not only knew would be a great gift for Comet, but I knew this was something he would really, really love.

It was a 3 series comic book collection of The Dark Stallion. He loved comic books. Melody told me that he has about 20 comic books of this character in his room as we speak. I looked at the price.

Ouch. 100 bits. Definitely can't afford that. Though, maybe....

I turned to Twilight. "Hey, Twilight, hang on a sec?" I told her as I ran into the store.

"Huh? Shadow what are you doing?" I heard her call me.

I went inside, and went up to the cashier. He was an old looking dude, around his late fifties, who had a blue coat and slightly grayish balding mane. He must have worked here for several years.

"Hey buddy, do you think you could put that comic book collection on hold for me?" I asked him.

He gave me a confused look. "Why do you want that sir?" He asked me. He must think I want it for myself.

"Well, it's not for me, it's for my little nephew. I want to get him something nice for his birthday. Not the shit I've given him the last two years. I don't have money on me now, but I'm on a murder case right now. That Royal Guard Steel Spear who got killed in Ponyville last night." I told him.

The cashier's eyes widened. "What? Steel Spear is dead?" He put both his hooves on his face. "Oh Celestia. I had a feeling that this was gonna happen." He said. Wait, he knew Steel? I guess I'll ask.

"You know Steel?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I knew him. I mean, I should, cause I'm his uncle." The guy told me.

Oh shit. Didn't see that coming.

Chapter 3: Suspensions and Suspicions

View Online

"I guess I should introduce myself to you sir. I'm Detective Shadow Haze. Like I said, I'm investigating the murder of Steel Spear." I told him.

"I'm Ace. It's nice to meet you, sir. As I said, I'm Steel's uncle. Horrible tragedy that happened." He said. I noticed when he said that he looked like he knew something. Something serious about this whole thing.

I got out my notepad and pen. "So, do you have any idea who may want to hurt Steel?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Not a clue. Me and my nephew had a bit of a falling out 6 months ago. We hadn't spoken since then." He said, now sporting a look of regret on his face. "Guess I'm gonna live with that, detective. I didn't even try to reconnect with him. I'm a terrible uncle."

"What do you mean by "falling out", Ace?" I asked him.

He sighed heavily. "Well, he got suspended from guard duty. I don't know why, he never told me, but it happened. And, I told him that he needs to take responsibility for his actions. Cause, he was blaming everypony but himself. He even blamed me for not trying to help. But, what could I do? I'm not a fuckin Royal Guard. Then, we had a fight, and he told me he didn't want to see me again. And we didn't speak at all. Now, we're never gonna speak again. That's what happened." He explained the story to me.

Hmm. He got suspended, huh? Maybe when we interview Shining Armor, I can ask him about that. It sounds like a kind of drug test or legal system kind of thing.

"Did you know that Steel was gay, Ace?" I asked him. He appeared to shutter a little bit when I asked him that.

"Yes." He said, sounding uncomfortable.

"And, were you and most of his family okay with that?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I mean why wouldn't we? He's family, ya know?" He told me. He appeared to look kind of intense. Like, he was stretching the truth a little bit. Yeah, that won't happen while I'm here.

"Okay, so do you want me to ask every single family member of his, where they might give me a different answer? Then, that would be obstructing a police officer, Ace. I could arrest your ass for that. Now me the truth, before I BEAT IT out of you." I told him forcefully.

He scowled at me. Not like I was scared. "Fine! My brother kicked him out when he told everypony. The family is pretty big on religion, detective. They're apart of a hate group against the LGBT community. They're called the Fight Against Gay Society, or F.A.G.S for short." He told me angrily.

"Are you apart of this hate group?" I asked him.

"No, I am not. My little brother, Rocky, is a terrible pony. Says he wants to "spread the word of God toward everypony." But I know the truth. He just wants to make all gay ponies' lives miserable. And I don't want to be associated with him." He told me.

"Do you know the address for this place?" I asked him.

"Well, they actually have a few places where they do their business. It isn't just one place detective. But, I do have this address right here. Maybe their could be somepony who could give you answers, though I highly doubt they will." He told me as he gave me a piece of paper with an address on it. 421 N Trot Ave. Okay, so that's a place I could investigate later on.

I levitated out the picture I found at the murder scene. The one with Steel and his boyfriend. "Do you know Steel's boyfriend here?" I asked him.

He looked at the picture, and quickly responded, "Yeah, I know him. Those two have been together since they graduated high school. His name is Cobalt. They live in Ponyville on 35 S Neighbourne Rd. It's a little white house. Can't miss it." Okay, so now I have an address on the boyfriend. Man, I'm getting quite the locations. I'll have to do a lot of interviewing.

"Were they happy together?"

"Yeah. Cobalt especially. He was deeply in love with him. I don't think I ever met somepony so devoted to their loved one...although....." He trailed off a little bit.

I raised an eyebrow. "Although what?" I asked him.

He sighed. "I don't know about this for sure, but I had a feeling, right before he died, Steel may have, quite possibly, been cheating on Cobalt with another guy." Ace told me.

Cheating, huh? I know what that's like.

"Did you ever see this guy, before?" I asked him.

Ace nodded. "Yeah, he's a Pegasus. He's got a pitch black coat and a dark blue mane. I seen them walking and talking around town a lot when Steel and I weren't talking. They appeared to just be hanging out as friends, but I had a feeling something was going on between them." He explained to me.

Wait, I remember Cheerilee told me that she saw a Pegasus fly into the night before those two Earth pony stallions ran past her. That could possibly be a lead.

"Did you know the Pegasus pony?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No. Like I said, that was when him and I weren't talking. I just saw it whenever he walked past my store. Sorry detective."

I managed to write everything down on my notepad. Yeah, I'm a pretty fast writer. "No need to be sorry, Ace. You've been a big help." I told him.

"No problem, detective. Get that mother fucker who murdered my nephew, okay?" Ace said.

"I promise, I will." I said, attempting to leave the toy store, until he called back at me. "And, hey." I looked back at him. He levitated the comic book collection out of the window, and put it under his desk. "Since your doing this, I'll put this away, until you get the guy. Then, I can give it to you for free." He said.

I was a bit surprised when he said that. "Your willing to give it to me for free?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah, man. It's the least I could do. Your doing something personal for me. So, I'll help you out personally as well." He told me. Man, now the pressure was really on for me to solve this case. Not only to make a good payday to get my bills all wrapped up, but now I can finally get something for Comet Chaser.

This is exactly what I needed.

"Why did you go in there?" Twilight asked me, not looking too happy that I, quite frankly, ditched her.

"Well, I was planning on asking to put that comic collection on hold for Comet, which I did, but I also got something even better." I told her. This appeared to interest her as her ears flicked when I said that.

"Really? What is it?" She said leaning close to me.

I showed her my casenotes on my notepad. "I think I've got a lead." I said showing off my confident grin.

"So, Steel gets suspended from work. He's been hanging with a Pegasus, which maybe Cobalt didn't know about, looking like they were involved in a relationship behind Cobalt's back." Twilight said trying to find a motive in this situation.

I nodded. "Yep. Cheerilee's story does hold up. Question is, what was he and the Pegasus doing in the alleyway at almost midnight that night? Also, what exactly is the overall story of this F.A.G.S group? Did they target him specifically? If they did, why would they?"

"If they are a hate group towards gay ponies, why would they need a reason to kill him? Wouldn't that be reason enough?" Twilight asked.

"Ace told me they're motive was spreading the word of "God" toward everypony. Or, the way he saw it, making gay ponies' lives miserable. Even if they hate gays, that doesn't mean they would go up to every single gay pony in Equestria and try to kill them. They would just harass them. Try to convert them. They wouldn't be stupid enough to kill somepony in broad daylight. This was in an alley at night. Where nopony could see this happen. There has to be more to this. Like, somepony wanted this to happen." I explained to her.

She pondered what I told her for a few minutes as we made our way to the home of Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. If anypony knew about Steel, it was Shining Armor. I mean, he had to have been the one to suspend Steel for something. He's the captain for Celestia sake.

Then, out of nowhere, Twilight asked me, "Do you think Cobalt might be involved?"

I thought about it for a moment. He could be a suspect. Maybe he did know about Steel having an affair with another stallion. Maybe he got mad, and hired somepony to kill him. That's not out of the realm of possibility.

"I don't know, Twilight. We'll talk to him after we're done with your brother." I told her as she nodded her head in understanding the situation.

"Steel worked as a guard for about 5 or 6 years for me." Shining Armor told me as we sat in a room together for his interview. Twilight was with me, while Cadenza, or Cadence as she apparently preferred to be called, went to another room to deal with her's and Shining's daughter, Princess Flurry Heart. I had to say his place looked pretty fuckin nice. Certainly a lot better than my shithole of an apartment. But, hey, these guys are royalty. I shouldn't be surprised with how much they make.

As I wrote down what he told me, I continued to ask him about Steel. "Did you know about Steel's personal life? Meaning, did you know that he was gay?" I asked him.

"Well" Shining Armor said "That I did know. In fact, he actually admitted it to every other guard who works for me. And, he did get a lot if support from everypony here. They still treated him like he was a fellow guard just like them."

"So, you could say he was fairly well liked by everypony?" I asked him.

Shining nodded. "Yeah, he was." He said happily, until his face formed into an uncomfortable look. Like something you see when somepony is gonna give you bad news. "Although, after he got suspended, he did piss a lot of ponies off." He told me.

Twilight spoke next. "That's what we were gonna ask you Shining. Why did he get suspended?" She asked him. I gave her a look that said "Please be quiet. I'm doing the interview." She must have gotten the gist of it, as she closed her mouth immediately.

"Yes, Mr. Shining Armor. What was the reason for his suspension?" I asked him.

Shining moved in his chair to get comfortable, I guess, to explain something to me. "Well, before I do that, detective, I need to explain to you about the wellness policy that my guards have to do. You don't mind do you?" He asked me.

I motioned for him to go ahead with it. "Not at all." I said.

"Okay. See, detective, my guards have to take a drug test every two months. I know most companies only do it every year or two, but because these guys are guards for a kingdom, and Princess Celestia herself, which would mean putting they're lives on the line almost 24/7, we require frequent testing for guards to make sure they're always ready for anything. That would include urine tests, blood tests, saliva tests, nasal testing, and a few others." He told me.

"And you've mostly had all your guards pass these drug tests?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yes. 99.5% of the time, my guards have all passed their tests with flying colors." He told me.

"So, what about the other .5% that didn't pass the test? What would happen then?" I asked him.

"Well, when that does happen, it's like a three strikes your out rule. You fail a drug test three times, then you'll be fired from the kingdom."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by three times, big brother?" She asked him looking curious.

"Well, Twily, and Mister detective, the first test, if they fail, then they get a 30 day suspension from the kingdom without pay. The second time, they get suspended for 60 days without pay, and have to go to a rehabilitation clinic to help clean up their act. And, like I said, the third time, then that's it. I would have no choice, but to fire them. We can't have somepony as a guard, and not be clean of drugs. It's nothing personal. Just business." He told me.

Hmm. This all seems interesting.

"So, that is why he got suspended, correct? He failed a drug test?" I asked him.

Shining nodded. "Yes. It was revealed he did cocaine. That was why he got suspended." He told me. So, the guy was into drugs, huh? I wonder how he got introduced to it. I remember back in New Colt City, whenever there was a murder victim who was gay, and there were drugs involved, they usually hung out at a Gay Bar somewhere in town. Maybe there could be one I could look into to see if that was the case.

"Now, back to what you said earlier Shining Armor. You said he changed after his suspension. What did you mean by that?" I asked him.

"I mean his attitude changed. Before the suspension, he was a pretty outgoing, overall nice guy. He'd always be happy to work with the other guards, say "Hi" to everypony, and was always had a smile on his face." He told me.

"And after he got suspended, he was the exact opposite?"

Shining nodded. "After he served his 30 day suspension, when he came back, he was a changed pony. He just looked like he didn't want to be there, he wasn't interacting with my other guards like he did before, and he, pretty much, just came across like an asshole toward everypony. I had a feeling something must have happened at home while he was serving his suspension."

Twilight spoke before I could. "What do you mean by that, Shiny?" She asked.

"Cause, during the suspension, I heard that him and Cobalt got into an argument, and he ended up getting kicked out of the house. I don't know for sure why, but all I know is that it happened. And, that's all I can give you, Mister Detective." He finished up telling me.

"Thank Shining Armor. You've been a big help. I promise I will find justice for Steel. I give you my word." I told him as him and I shook hooves.

He smiled and said, "He may have been a pain in the ass during the last part of his life, but he was still a good guard all around. Find the guy who did it." He said.

As me and Twilight were walking out if the building, I heard my phone go off. "Hello." I answered.

"Hey Mister Shadow, it's me Cadaver. I need you to come down to the prestinct. I found the official cause of death on Steel. And I also found something else. You and Princess Twilight are really gonna want to see this."

"We're on our way. Thanks." I said as I hung up the phone.

"Who was it?" Twilight asked.

"Cadaver. We've got an official cause of death. Let's go see him right now.

Twilight ran to the bathroom to go and vomit again after seeing Steel's corpse a second time. I guess I'm gonna have to take Twilight to lunch later on. Her stomach is probably empty.

"So, what is it?" I asked Cadaver.

"Oh, right. See, the official cause of death was the stab wound to the heart. But, this guy didn't go down without a fight. When I looked over the body, there was clear signs of a struggle between the two." He told me.

"What about the head trauma?" I asked.

"Surprisingly, that weren't fatal."

"Why do you say that?"

"Cause, this guy got hit in the head TWICE by some bat or metallic object or something. First hit, he just staggers, but gets back up. Gets hit a second time, he doesn't go down, but he's on dream street. Then, he gets stabbed three times, goes into shock, and bleeds to death. That's what I'm guessing happened."

I looked at the body. Something tells me that this was just a one on one kill. Meaning, only one guy did the deed when it came to taking this guy out. However, Cheerilee told me that there were two earth pony stallions that ran away from the crime scene after Steel got killed. So, why did it still look like one guy did this?

"Did you check for hoofprints or any other kind of DNA?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah, I found this clump of hair next to the body. Must have been pulled out during the fight in the alley, before Steel's death." He showed me this clump of a sandy brown mane in a vial. "Obviously it's not the same as Steel's. So, I had the lab guys analyze it, and DNA came back to a stallion named Duke Bronco." He explained to me.

Okay, Duke Bronco. At least we finally have a name on one of the suspect's.

"Cheerilee told me in her report that there were two earth pony stallions that ran past her after some Pegasus flew away from the crime scene. Did you find anything else? Any feathers? Any tracks away from the crime scene?" I asked him.

He shook his head. Damn it! "No, that's all we got. However, when the lab guys found out that the DNA belonged to Duke Bronco, we did a complete background check on him." He told me.

"And you found...?"

"This guy once spent 5 months in jail after he physically assaulted two ponies who walked out of a bar together. A gay bar. And one of them was him." He said pointing to Steel. So, Steel and his maybe killer had a brief history with each other before he got killed, huh?

"And, who was the other pony?" I asked him.

"He was with a Pegasus stallion. His name was, I believe, was Midnight Whistle." He told me.

"Did it say what happened during the assault?"

"Yeah, he jumped them, and then they got the upper hand on him. Thankfully, an off duty police pony saw the whole thing. He was tried, judged, and sentenced. The whole nine yards."

"Why do you think he attacked them?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't say why. He just attacked them, maybe because he's a homophobe. But, I think there was more to it than that." Oh, Cadaver, you have no idea.

"Did you get an address on this gay bar?"

"Yeah." He handed me a card. It had two stallions looking at each other in a seductive way with a drink in between them. It had the phone number and the address. 987 S Bird Ave. Maybe some ponies there might remember what happened.

"Alright. Thanks. Me and Twilight are gonna talk to the boyfriend right now."

He nodded in approval. "I'll be in touch."

Twilight and Me walked together over to Cobalt's home. Where he and Steel Spear lived for quite a while. I could tell Twilight had an uneasy look on her face, as she knew we were going to talk to the stallion that loved Steel, and let him know that he was now dead.

"You okay Twilight? You need something to eat? I mean, you threw up again at the morgue. You might want to replenish your energy." I said to her.

She sighed. "I'll worry about food later. I just don't know if I can handle talking to somepony who is a lover of a murder victim. This is way different than anything I've ever done." She told me with a worried look on her face.

"Not so easy now that you've experienced it first hoof, huh? Well, newsflash Twilight, it never gets easier. Take that from somepony who's been doing it for almost 6 years now." I told her.

"How do you handle it?" She asked me. I didn't expect her to ask that. Well, guess I'll just be honest.

"I've learned to suppress my emotions entirely. So I could feel nothing when I'm on the job." I told her.

I guess it surprised her when I said that, cause she looked at me like I just revealed the big twist in the movie.
"What do you mean by that, Shadow?" She asked me, kinda looking all defensive.

"I mean, that emotions are a weakness. Once you let your emotions take control of you, especially when it comes to law enforcement, it will always end up bad. Trust me. I know from experience." I said to her.

She looked at me with concern in her eyes. "You know it's not healthy to bottle up emotions, Shadow." She told me.

I nodded. "I know, but a lot of ponies do it anyway. And I'm included in that list." I said.

"Well, don't you have friends or family you talk to about your problems?"

"The only ponies I truly consider friends are my old co-worker Angel Blossom, my sister Melody Rays, and my brother-in-law Solar Storm. And even I don't let them in from time to time. Especially when it comes to my professional life."

She was silent for a few seconds before she asked me, "Have you ever truly experienced the magic of friendship, Shadow? It's a true experience to behold. Something everypony should try to have every day."

I stopped walking and just looked in her face and told her what I felt. Just like my deadbeat father taught me.
"Twilight, look, I get your the Princess of Friendship. And I admire that you want to help everypony find friends. Including guys like me." I said. "I just need YOU to understand that sometimes ponies just work better alone. And I happen to be one of them."

"Do you like working with me then?" She said with a serious look in her eye.

"Honestly?" I asked. She nodded her head yes.

"I would have much rather preferred to work alone on this case Twilight. But, seeing as you are a princess, and therefore have more power over me than I do with other ponies in general and the law, when you said you were going to work on this case with me whether I liked it or not, who was I to argue?" I explained to her.

She had her head down in sadness. Like I just rejected a mare who told me she had romantic feelings for me in a movie. I've had that happen before. And boy did that cause a lot of drama for me.

"So, do you not like me?" Twilight asked.

"No, that's not it at all. I do like you. I respect you tremendously, Twilight. And also I admire you for all your work with friendship and what not. I just prefer to be alone. I'm sorry if I disapointed you." I told her.

We sat there in silence for a few seconds before continuing our way to Cobalt's house. I really hope I didn't hurt Twilight's feelings too bad. Not just because she seemed like a nice mare, but because I could get into trouble with the higher UPS in Canterlot. And by that, I mean Princess Celestia or Luna could be pissed off at me for hurting their fellow princess's feelings.

Well, it certainly isn't the first time I pissed off somepony who's higher up than me.

Chapter 4 (Re-do): Father Problems

View Online

Author's Note: Hey, all you fellow bronies and pegasisters out there. I decided to re-write this chapter and make it better. I admit, I kind of rushed that chapter, as I had a few other issues I had to deal with. I also thought of a few ideas in my head to bring in more characters to the story quickly, instead of wasting time and bringing them in later. So, here you go. Chapter 4 of Equestria Noire: The Royal Guard Case. Hope you enjoy it better than the original one I wrote.

Me and Twilight walked over to the address of Steel Spear and his boyfriend Cobalt. On the way over there, I felt the awkwardness in the air around me and Twilight. I looked at her, and she had a bit of a depressing look on her face. After I told her everything I said earlier, she just kind of had this vibe around her. I think I must've hurt her feelings pretty bad. I didn't mean to. I just told her what was on my mind.

"Twilight?" I said getting her attention. She looked at me with an unpleasant look on her face.

"Look, I'm sorry. Okay? I never meant to hurt your feelings. I know friendship is everything to you. And I didn't mean to demean it in any way. If you and I are going to continue to be partners on this case, I need to know if we're cool with each other. If we can still work together as professionals. So, are we okay?" I said to her.

She had this kind of look on her face that would describe somepony giving somepony the cold shoulder. Like, she didn't want to talk to me, but was being forced into doing so.

"*Sigh* Whatever. We're cool. Let's just go." Twilight said as she started walking toward our destination. I could tell she just said that to get out of our conversation. I would stop her and try to talk to her again, but I have a job to do. I just hope I can get something out of Cobalt.

********Steel and Cobalt's house********

Celestia, this had to be the most uncomfortable thing for Twilight right now. Her sitting with me, in front of a murder victim's boyfriend, and asking him some questions about it. When me and her first made it to the house, we were greeted by some green coated, tan maned mare named Green Tea. She's Cobalt's best friend she tells me. Right now, she's sitting next to him, trying to comfort him as I ask him some questions about his dead lover.

"Cobalt, when was the last time you saw Steel Spear?" I asked him.

It took him a little bit to answer, but he finally did. "It was last night. He told me he had to go out and do something. He didn't tell me what it was. He just said he needed to do something, kissed me, and left. Then I found out what happened earlier this morning." He told me in a bit of a soft spoken, kind of girlish voice. He had tears forming in his eyes, as he whiped them away with his hoof. Green Tea was next to him still comforting him as best as she could.

I looked over at Twilight, and I knew she felt empathy for this poor guy. I could also tell she wanted to say something to help out the situation. She looked at me, and I motioned for her to ask him something.

"Cobalt." Twilight said in a comforting voice. "Do you know anypony who would want to hurt him? Anypony at all?" She asked him.

Cobalt shook his head. "No. Steel was a good stallion and a great boyfriend. I don't know who would want to hurt him." He replied.

I wrote down everything he said. "Did you ever meet Steel's uncle Ace, Cobalt?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah. He was the one who helped me and Steel get this house. Cause after we graduated high school, Steel told his dad Rocky that we were a gay couple, and he completely disowned him. And threw him out of the house."

"Why would he do that? Ponyville is like the LGBT capital of the world. And that's his own son?" Twilight asked him.

"Cause he formed this religious group. They call themselves F.A.G.S. The Fight Against Gays Society. He thinks gay ponies are ruining Equestria and need to be reformed or whiped out. The guy is crazy detective." Cobalt said now sounding a bit angry.

His own father huh? So, he forms this religious group that is against gay ponies. And one of them is his own son.

"Did Steel ever talk about his father? And did he ever try to talk to him after he came out?" I asked him.

Cobalt looked a bit uneasy. "Well, he rarely ever talked about him, but whenever he did, it was always "If he can't accept me for who I am, then he isn't my father." And there was one time he tried to talk to him, and when he came home, he went into a huge depression and got drunk." He told me.

“When was this?” I asked him.

“About three months ago.” He answered.

I paused for a minute before I asked him, "Cobalt, I'm sorry to ask you this, especially at this time, but did the name Midnight Whistle ever get brought up?"

Cobalt looked confused. "No. Why? What do you mean?" He asked.

Oh shit. This is gonna get real ugly. He doesn't know that Steel had been cheating on him. If I tell him, he might get all defensive. Trust me, it's happened before.

"Cobalt, I heard about an assault that happened outside of a gay bar months prior to Steel's death. The one who did it was by a stallion named Duke Bronco." I told him.

"So? What does that have to do with this Midnight Whistle guy?" He said as his voice started to raise. Green Tea was getting a little scared sitting right next to him. Twilight was getting concerned as well.

"From the reports, the two stallions that Duke attacked were Midnight and your boyfriend Steel. I also have gotten a report by Ace that he saw those two walking with each other around town together."

"What are you implying?" Cobalt asked sounding not to happy.

"What I'm saying, is I think Steel had been cheating on you Cobalt." I said. And when I did, he raised his hooves up and slammed them on the table in front of me. He looked pissed off. When he did that, it startled Tea and Twilight.

"HOW DARE YOU! Steel would never cheat on me. Ace must've mistaken him for somepony else." Cobalt exclaimed.

I just looked at him for a few seconds before he left the room and went somewhere else in the house. I had a feeling that was gonna happen.

Green Tea looked over at us with a sympathetic look on her face. "He knows it's true. He's just having a hard time accepting it." She told us.

"You know he was cheating on him?" Twilight asked.

Green nodded. "Yeah. I live 2 houses away from here, and I would see them walking together, and then run into an alley to make out, and sometimes have sex." She told us. "I wanted to tell him, but it would break his heart. Besides, Steel went out like every night after his shift at the Royal Palace. He found this card for this gay bar called the Cruizin Colt. I think he knew Steel could, quite possibly, be cheating on him. He just didn't want to admit it. I feel bad for him."

I wrote everything down. "So, did you ever hear the name Duke Bronco anywhere? Did Cobalt know?" I asked him.

She nodded. "Duke is a member of F.A.G.S. The guy is a total homophobe detective." She told us.

"One last question: can you verify Cobalt's whereabouts last night?" I asked.

“Your not accusing Cobalt of killing Steel are you?" She asked sounding surprised.

"No, I just want to make sure everypony's alibi checks out."

"Well, I didn’t see him leave, cause trust me, I would have known he would’ve left. So, he must’ve stayed home last night.” She told me.

I wrote everything down. Okay, so Steel had been seeing another stallion behind his boyfriends back. And Duke Bronco is a member of Steel’s fathers religious group F.A.G.S, whom has a bit of a history with Steel.

I thanked her and me and Twilight left.

“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Twilight asked me as we were walking.

I shrugged. “She seems to have an honest face. But, you never know. I might get a search warrant on his home in case Cobalt’s name comes up again.” I told her.

“I feel bad for him. He obviously loves Steel very much. And he cheated on him.” Twilight said sounding sorry for him.

“Yeah. I know how that feels.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. I’ve been cheated on before by some of my ex-girlfriends.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Meh. I’m over it. Anyway let’s go talk to the father. I’m sure he has something to say about his son.” I ended the conversation to get back on track of the investigation.

I could tell Twilight wanted to help me. But, I just don’t feel like talking about the past.

******F.A.G.S Location-421 N Trot Ave******

GOD HATES FAGS

YOUR GOING TO HELL

REPENT OR ELSE

Those were some of the signs I saw just on the front lawn of this place. This building kind of resembled a church in a lot of ways. Only, this wasn't an actual church where religious ponies go to on Sunday mornings. No. This as just a small, maybe medium-sized building, that was dressed up like a church.

Only, I wouldn't call this a church. I'd call it a site of a hate group. Which is exactly what this place, and the F.A.G.S organization is. There a group that hates a certain group of ponies based on what they are. It's a place where ponies spread their hatred for ponies of the LGBT community, and try to ruin they're nice time at gay pride rallies or comic conventions.

These ponies are horrible ponies if ya know what I mean.

I looked over at Twilight, who looked visibly pissed off. Can't say I blame her. I know she has a few gay and lesbian friends. This must really offend her by what these fuckwads are doing.

"You okay?" I asked her.

Twilight growled. "I'm fine. Let's just question this guy." She said not sounding very happy. Like I said, I can't blame her. Anypony who was a normal pony would see these and get pissed off.

I entered the church, and I swear to Celestia, there were ponies singing. I mean, it's a "church" and all, but these ponies were singing songs about how "Fags are evil, and turn straight or die, what have you." As if the signs outside weren't bad enough. There were about 6 ponies here. Though, I'm sure there was more of them that weren't here at the moment.

A big stallion, around his mid 50's, with a grey coat and blue mane came up to me and Twilight. He had a chasel for a cutie mark. He also was accompanied by a white coated, blue maned mare, who looked about 5 years younger than him. She had a jewel shaped like a flower for a cutie mark. Talk about age gap between the two.

"Hello, welcome to the Fight Against Gays Society. Or F.A.G.S for short. My name is Rocky and this is my wife Emerald Drops. So, are you here to let God into your life and try to cleanse the world of the fags?" He asked me, actually sounding like a business salesman. This guy, I swear.

I levitated my badge to him. "Sir, I'm Detective Shadow Haze. Princess Twilight here is my partner. May we speak in private?" I asked him.

"I don't see why not." He said as he then turned to the other members if the church. Or his followers as I would probably call them. "All of you take a break. I'll be right back." We walked into an office part of his building together.

"So, I take it your here because of Steel Spear, correct?" Rocky asked with Emerald right behind him.

I nodded. "Yes. I'm sorry about your son, sir." I told him in an attempt to sound genuine.

Then, in a moment where I wanted to ask the ultimate question "How Can You Say That?", he just shrugged, while displaying a smug look on his face. The kind of face that shows he doesn't give a shit.

"Don't be. I'm quite alright." He said in the most non-chalant tone of voice possible. I just can't believe what I'm hearing. I was about to say something, but Twilight beat me to it.

"Excuse me sir, but you don't at all seem sad about the fact that your son was murdered in cold blood last night." She asked sounding cross.

"Because we're not. Steel chose to betray God's nature. He is not my son anymore." Rocky said in a completely cold tone of voice. To say this guy was heartless would be an understatement.

"You hate your own son, just because of his lifestyle choice? Shouldn't a parent support his child's way of life?" I asked him.

Rocky shook his head. "Homosexuality is a crime against God. It means more to me then anything.” He exclaimed. His wife was right behind him, dusting his off a few of the shelves in his office. She heard everything. He KNEW she was right behind him, and didn’t care.

Twilight looked like she was getting worked up. I decided to just get right to the questions.

“When was the last time you spoke with your son?” I asked him.

“I haven’t spoken to him in years. It’s been that long detective.” He answered.

*BEEP* Wrong.

“Your lying Rocky. I know you’ve spoken to him recently.” I told him.

Then, Emerald turned to me and asked, with a smartass tone of voice, “You’ve got any proof of that, LITTLE MAN?”

“Yeah, where’s your proof?” Rocky asked me, also displaying a smartass tone of voice.

These ponies don’t know who they’re fucking with.

“We’ve got a statement from Steel’s boyfriend Cobalt. He says that Steel came to you about three months, and then came home and went into a drunken depressive state.” I told him.

“Your, honestly, gonna believe that gay homo faggot. He’s just as bad as my son. How do you know he’s not lying?” He asked.

“Well, I could look into a search warrant of this place, and ask around town Rocky. Plus, your big brother Ace could tell me lots of things as well. That could make me spill some info on this place to the public that you DON’T want. So you better tell me something. NOW!” I threatened him.

“FINE!” He said now looking pissed. “He did come here a few months ago. He said he wanted to work things out with me. I told him what I told him years ago: “Either you turn straight, or don’t come back at all.” He left. And I hadn't heard from him ever since then." He told me.

"So, how many members do you have total here Rocky?" I asked him.

"About 7 or 8." He answered. Really? I would've expected a lot more.

"That's it? I expected this place to be bigger and with more ponies. Why is that?" I asked him.

Emerald spoke for him on this one. "Business hasn't been doing well these past few months. Some former members had to leave for various reasons. Why, we don't know."

"You mean, your church used to have a lot more members than you do now?" Twilight asked.

Rocky nodded. "Yes. Some ponies come and go for understandable reasons. And some don't." He said. Okay, he never gave us an official reason as to WHY these former ponies of the church left. Why? Is he hiding something? I'll have to figure that out later.

"So, is one of your members named Duke Bronco?" I asked him.

"Yes."

"And where does he work, or live?"

"He lives in some apartment building somewhere in Ponyville. And he works at some letter factory, I believe it's called "Freedom Arts."

"Do you know Duke very well?"

"Yes. He's a good guy. He's a lot more of a son to me than Steel ever was." He said with the most shit eating grin I've ever seen. "Why do you ask? You think HE did it?"

"Why are you implying that we think he did it?" Twilight asked.

"Cause I know about the attack on those two faggots he did a while back. Plus, with his personal history with Steel, it would surprise me greatly if he DIDN'T do it." He told us. He has a feeling Duke killed his only son, and doesn't care? Celestia above, this guy is a fucking asshole. And I thought Shinebadge was bad.

"What history are you talking about?" I asked him.

"Steel witnessed Duke attack and try to rape some mare back when they were in high school. He stopped him, told the cops, and Duke was arrested. I remember, before Steel betrayed God's way, he would get letters in the mail, threatening to kill him if he ever saw him again." He explained to me.

"And you let a convicted rapist become a member of your church group?" Twilight asked, looking really pissed off.

"He became a member a month ago. Said he wanted to change his ways. He told me the words I want everypony to say when they are down on their luck: "Bring Jesus into my life." How could I say no?" He said.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that he tried to rape an innocent mare, AND that he was threatening your only son, ROCKY!" Twilight exclaimed as she got up and out of her seat.

Rocky stood up as well. Oh no, this looked bad. Emerald stood up too. Like she was ready to attack Twilight.
"Well, at least Duke is a straight man. Not some faggot like my real "son" Steel." He said using air quotes on the son part.

She got up in his face now. Shit. Twilight stop. "HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL TOWARD YOUR SON?" She screamed in his face.

"Why are getting all worked up? Are you a fag too "Princess Twilight"?" He asked.

Oh shit. Is this guy fucking crazy?

I saw that look in Twilight's eyes. She was about ready to pounce on this guy. Not like he doesn't deserve it, but if she attacks him, he'll get his lawyers involved. And it'll be an even bigger problem.

So, quickly, I got in between them. I stopped Twilight from using her magic on him. Even if he did deserve to get the shit beat outta him.

"I think we're done now, Rocky. That's all the information I need. I think we'll leave now. I can see what a hard time your having mourning over your son. Goodbye." I told him, as I pushed Twilight out of the office door with me. I could tell Rocky and Emerald were pissed too.

********Outside********

"Are you crazy Twilight? What were you thinking?" I scolded her.

"Am I crazy? What about him?" She asked pointing at the church. "This guy admits he doesn't miss his own son he brought into this world, all because he happens to like stallions more than mares. AND he admits a fucking rapist is more of a son to him than his real son is. Is that crazy or what, huh?" Twilight asked sounding angry.

"I agree with you Twilight. Rocky is a piece of shit. But, remember what I told you before. Don't let your personal feelings get in the way." I told her.

"Shadow, but he--" She started.

"I know Twilight. I know. But, we have to be professional. We can't beat up somepony, just because they are horrible ponies. We never fight, unless they engage first. If you attacked him Twilight, and you almost did, I would've had to arrest you for assault."

"Why me? You should arrest him."

"For what reason?"

She was about to speak, until she stopped herself.

"Exactly. We can't arrest him, if we don't have anything on him. Yeah, he's a fucking asshole, but we don't have proof that he killed, or was involved in the killing of Steel. I know it's hard, but for now, we can't touch him." I told her.

She groaned very loudly. I know she's frustrated. I am too.

"Alright, let's get back on this case. I'm gonna go check out the gay bar "Cruzin Colt" myself. Not that I don't want you there, it's just they won't let you in. You being a mare and all." I told her.

"Okay, so what should I do for now?" She asked me.

"I need you to dig up some research on Rocky's church. I think he's hiding something about the members." I told her.

She nodded, bid me farewell, and went off someplace to do what I told her. I think her castle may have a library to it.

As I was walking toward the bar, I heard something on my phone. Must've gotten a text. I look at my phone. It's from Cadaver. He's sent me two mugshots of these stallions. One was a light brown coated, very muscular looking, stallion with a sandy brown mane.

Holy shit! This was the mugshot of Duke Bronco. Now I finally know what he looks like. Thank you Cadaver.

Now, the other mugshot, was a stallion with a dark brown coat, also very muscular, and a tan mane. This guys name was Bold Ice. Says here, he's Duke's younger brother. Also a member of F.A.G.S. Lives with Duke in that apartment somewhere here.

The mugshots also came with a text that said, "Hey, sorry it took a bit, but here's what I've got on these two suspects. Here ya go."

Thanks Cadaver. Again.

Then, while walking, my phone rings. "Hello?" I answered.

"Shadow, where the heck are you?" A familiar voice said over the phone. It was my big sister Melody.

"Hey sis, long time no talk. I'm in Ponyville right now." I told her.

"Why are you there?"

"Angel got me a case to help out with my damn bills. Some Royal Guard was murdered last night. It's a big fucking mess, let me tell ya."

"Oh." She said sounding concerned. "Well, I'm happy your trying to find justice for the poor guy."

"Yeah, well, I'm just doing my job. So, why'd ya call?" I asked her.

"Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing on all your financial troubles. I could have helped ya know." She said to me.

"Thanks, but you've got a birthday party to throw for my favorite nephew. He's more important than I am. So, don't worry about me."

"Heh, always looking out for other ponies, aren't you little brother?" She asked light hearted.

"Hm. Yeah. I mean, you taught me."

"I did. I did. Hey, so you know you don't have to get Comet anything huge right?" She told me.

"Well, I actually have something, kind of huge, on hold for now. I just have to find the fucker who did this, and I can get it for free."

"What did you get?"

"It's a three comic book collection of The Dark Stallion. 100 bits. The store owner is the victims uncle. Said if I get the guy, he'll give it to me for free. A win-win situation if you ask me."

"100 bits? Shadow, isn't that a little much out of you?"

"Nothing's to good for Comet. I want to get him a good birthday present for once. And I'm sticking to this one."

"*Sigh* Okay, I guess I can't talk you out of this one." She told me. Then, I heard a hyperactive voice on the other side. I knew who it was.

"Hey, Comet wants to say hi." She told me.

"Put the little guy on." I said. I waited for a few seconds, until....

"Hey Uncle Shadow." I heard my little nephew say, getting all excited to talk to me.

"Hey kiddo. How you doing? You know, besides turning 10?" I asked him.

He then told me everything that was happening with the party. Mel was making a lemon cake, Solar was setting up amps and stereo's for outside music, and he's invited all of his friends over, and plans to introduce them to me. Heh. Guess he can't wait to show everypony who his idol is.

"Sounds like you all are keeping busy." I said to him.

"Uh huh. Hey, are you on a case right now?" He asked me sounding excited.

"Yeah. I'll just say it's a murder case, and leave it at that." I told him.

"Well, I know you'll find the pony who did it. Your awesome Uncle Shadow. I just know it."

"Well, thank you kiddo. I'll be sure to get the guy."

"My dream is to work on a case with you someday. That would be the coolest gift ever."

"Yeah, you'll have to wait until your older someday kiddo."

I could tell he had a little pouty face on him. "I know. But, I'm patient. I'll wait." He said.

"Yeah. Anyway, I gotta get going buddy. Gotta get back on this case, okay?" I said to him.

"Okay. I'll see you on Saturday Uncle Shadow." He said to me.

"Yeah. Tell your mom I love her, and tell your dad I said hi, alright?"

"I will. I promise."

"Alright. See you later kiddo."

"Bye Uncle Shadow."

"Ba-Bye." I said, finally finishing up the phone conversation. Hmph. That kid looks up to me so much. Sometimes I wish he didn't, seeing as how traumatizing my job can be at times. I wish he would consider a different career path. But, he wants to be a detective like me when he grows up. And he wants to learn from me.

I love that kid. I hope he has a great birthday party. Better then any of mine I had growing up, that's for damn sure.

......

Chapter 5: Infectious Relationships

View Online

*****The Cruizin Colt: 987 S Bird Ave*****

You know, me being a detective, I've been to a lot of places to get information on somepony. I've been to restaurants, night clubs, sporting arenas, schools, and many others. And one of them has been clubs strictly accessed to a certain group of ponies. Some were strip clubs for stallions, and some for mares.

And some were for homosexual ponies who were looking to hook up with a pony of their same gender. I've been to lesbian bars and gay bars many times throughout my career. And almost all the time, I've known the place to be all extravagant and flamboyant all over the place. From the fashion choices, to the dancers, to the designs of the decor, and many other things.

And this gay stallion bar that I entered, The Cruizin Colt, was one of those. The music, wasn't loud per say, but it definitely wasn't quiet in here. There were stallions, who probably worked here, up on a pole in their skivvies doing erotic dances for some of the stallions on the floor watching them. There were stallions dancing with each other, some even dry humping each other. There were stallions at the bar, flirting with each other with an alcoholic drinks in their hoof. There were stallions wearing extremely flamboyant and erotic clothing, with hairstyles all fancied up to a tee. And there were even some stallions taking other stallions with them to a "private" room to give them a show.

Yeah, I've seen places like this back in New Colt City. Believe me.

I marched right toward the bar to talk to the server guy. While I did that, I certainly noticed a few stallions giving me seductive looks. I'm sure some of these guys here like new ponies, that's for sure.

I sat at the bar, and the bar tender came over to greet me. He was also dressed up all fancy like, with flamboyant clothing on.

"Hey, welcome to The Cruizin Colt. What can I get 'cha?" He asked me.

I levitated my badge toward him. "I'm Detective Shadow Haze. I'm on the case of the murder of Steel Spear." I told him.

He sighed sadly. "Poor guy. I can't believe that happened to him." He said as he poured a drink for a stallion, who was a seat away from me.

"You knew Steel pretty well?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah. He was pretty well liked here by everypony. Heck, he was usually the guy who would get most of the action here with other stallions. The guy was a stallion magnet, detective." He told me.

"Oh, then if you knew him pretty well, then you would know that he was in a committed relationship with a stallion named Cobalt, right? So, wouldn't that be adultery in a lot of ways." I asked him.

"So, he has some fun once in a while. So what? What Cobalt didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Besides, it's not like he ACTUALLY was serious about it." He told me.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him.

"Steel talked about Cobalt quite a bit when he was here. Whenever he got some action with another dude, he would always tell them the same thing: "This isn't a serious thing, okay? I love Cobalt, and I'm gonna marry him someday. This is just a small fling. That's it." It's what he always said detective." He told me.

"Sounds like you and him might have had a fling, seeing as how you know about him so much." I told him.

He blushed a little bit, like a school filly. "Yeah. Him and I had a few nights together. It may have been just a fling, but MAAAAAN, was it a ride of a lifetime." He said now fanning his face with his hoof.

"So, you said he liked to have fun with other stallions. Did he ever interact with somepony named Midnight Whistle?" I asked him.

"Interact? Ha, those two were always seen together here. You could say Midnight was kind of a side guy to Steel. Though, I could tell Midnight wanted to be with Steel so bad, but it wouldn't gonna happen." The bar tender said.

"Did you ever see what happened 5 months ago, with that assault on Steel and Midnight by somepony named Duke Bronco?" I asked him.

Now he looked peeved. "Yeah. That guy attacked Steel and Midnight outta nowhere. Thankfully that cop was already right outside to begin with." He told me.

A cop outside already? That's weird. "Why was there a cop waiting outside for Duke?" I asked him.

"We made a deal with a few police ponies. Not a lot of bad goes on here in Ponyville detective. Except whenever those homophobic mother fuckers come over here to protest the bar being here, and trying to ruin everypony's nice time." He told me.

"So, you hired a police officer to keep them out of the club?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yes. There was even a time where, before we hired the guy, those fuckers came in here with all their signs and megaphones and shit, and tried to forcefully convert us." The bartender said as he now looked at me with a serious look in his eyes. "Detective, I'm proud to be gay. I'm proud of the clothes I wear. I'm proud to work with and be around fellow gay stallions who are open and happy with their sexual orientation. Those pieces of shit over at that church are the bad guys. Not us." He said as he finished his speech. Pretty inspiring to say the least.

"Well, I'm happy that your proud of who you are, but I do have a few more questions." I told him.

"Okay." He said.

"So, before he died, Steel failed a drug test for the Royal Guards. He did cocaine from what the captain, Mister Shining Armor told me." I told him.

He fanned himself. "Ooh, Shining Armor. Now that is one hot bod." He said getting hot from thinking about his apparent crush. "But, what does that have to do with the drug test?" He asked.

"Well, it's just, I've been a detective for a long time now. And, whenever a gay or lesbian pony is found dead, and is revealed that drugs were involved, 99% of the time it's found out that they got the drugs from a gay or lesbian bar. And, seeing as how everypony here is open about themselves, I just want to know if there, quite possibly, was any drugs involved in this bar." I explained to him.

He now looked nervous. Like he knew something was up. He tried speaking, but couldn't mouth the words. So, I spoke for him.

"Ya know, if you don't tell me, I could get a search warrant for this place, bring in the dogs, and turn this place upside down. And, if I DID happen to find anything, I would have to report it to the news. And I don't think you'd want that to happen, right? So, what don't you just tell me. Are there drugs here or not?" I asked him. I could tell he was intimidated by me. Good.

The bartender looked around and sighed. "There maybe some drugs involved here. I've only seen the aftermath when they leave the back room. I'm talking high as a kite, powdered nose, and alcohol on breath. Okay, so please don't let it spill out." He pleaded with me.

I wrote everything down. “What kinda of drugs are we talking about here?” I asked him.

“I don’t know. I’ve never gone into the back room. I’ve partied with a few guys here, but I draw a line when it comes to drugs, detective. I swear. But, if I had to guess, I’d definitely say there was coke here, maybe a few needles involved. But, other than that, all that’s here is just the alcohol. That’s it. I promise.” He told me. I guess I believe him to an extent. Though, I still kind of believe he did a few drugs here and there. Though, that’s not the big issue here.

“Did Steel ever interact with any other guys here? Anypony in particular?” I asked him.

“Well, He usually got around with almost every stallion here. But, besides Midnight, the only other two that I know of were Berry Breeze and Blue Flash.” He told me.

“How well do you know those two?” I asked him.

“Pretty well. Berry is the kind of guy who would do things in private with other guys, but Blue is some pony entirely different.” He said.

“How so?” I asked.

“Well, He was extremely open about being gay, to the point of being okay with doing sexual activities in public. He also wasn’t afraid to hit on other guys as well. Whether they were gay or not.” He said.

“Are Berry, Blue, or Midnight here right now?” I asked him.

“Well, I don’t know if Berry is here or not. Midnight, I haven’t seen for a while now. And Blue definitely is here somewhere. I just don’t know. I actually have a few photos of them, just in case ya find them detective.” He said as he handed me a few photos of the three stallions.

One of them was a skinny looking Pegasus pony. He had a long dark Blue mane with ribbons and curls in it. He also had a light blue coat that seemed to shine when he was on the dance floor. Probably coat shine. It’s what ponies where when they are in the modeling business. Says it makes them shine like dime. Whatever the fuck that means. I’m guessing this must be Blue Flash. Seems this guy loves to party.

The other one was also a Pegasus. Except, he had a dark blue coat with a black mane. In this picture he was seen with Steel Spear. Those two looked to be having a good time together. So, then this must be Midnight Whistle.

Finally, there was a unicorn stallion with a bright red coat and flowing pink mane. So, by process of elimination, this guy must be Berry Breeze. In this pic, he’s on one of those poles, dancing in front of a few stallions on the dance floor.

These pics could be pretty useful. Not to mention, this could be proof to Cobalt that Steel was indeed cheating on him. That also could prove that Cobalt could, quite possibly, be a suspect in this case.

“Thank you sir. You’ve been a big help. I’ll be sure to get the fucker who did this.” I said to him.

He nodded and smiled. “Thanks detective. I hope whoever did this rots in hell.” He said as he went back to serving drinks.

Then, as I was about to get up and leave, I felt some weight on my back and felt somepony put their hooves over my chest. Like they were hugging me. In an affectionate way.

“Hey, new guy. I noticed you sitting here all by yourself. Need some company?” The voice asked me.

I could tell it was a stallion. I looked up to see his face. And what I saw was one of the stallions in the picture. The one with a blue coat and blue mane with the stylings in it.

This must be Blue Flash. And he’s hitting on me.

“No, but what I do need is for you to get off me right now before I arrest you for assaulting a police officer.” I told him as I flashed my badge in front of him.

I guess he didn’t get the memo of what I just said, because he leaned his face closer into mine.

“Ooh, your a cop. I LOOOVVE cops. You want me to assume the position? Maybe do the good ole’ cavity search? I’d be happy to drop my pants.” He said in a seductive tone of voice.

Okay, now this guy is asking for it. I told him to get off me, but he didn’t listen.

So, I grabbed his hooves, lifted his arms off of my body, and I slammed my back hoof into his stomach.

“UGH!” He bellowed out in pain.

To finish the job, I flipped him over and slammed him to the ground. I picked him up, and cuffed him in front of every pony, who is now looking at what just transpired between us.

“Your under arrest for assaulting a police officer. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you. Your coming downtown to answer some questions I have for you, you motherfucker.” I explained to him.

He grunted in pain while he asked, “For what? I was just having fun.” He complained.

“Your friend Steel Spear, he’s dead. And I think you might be a pony of interest.” I told him.

Blue’s eyes widened in shock. “WHAT?! Steel is dead?” He exclaimed.

As I walked him out of the bar, I could tell other ponies in the bar were shocked to say the least when I told Blue that.

Let’s just hope nothing gets out to the media for this.

********Ponyville Detention Center********

As I left the Cruizin Colt, I called to have an interrogation room set up and ready for questioning. I also managed to get a carriage to take him down there to get him ready. I stood outside the place, looking over the facility. Honestly, minus a few mares and stallions, this place could be considered a ghost town. I mean, there really were, in total, about 9 ponies here. That's not exactly a lot. Not to mention, the crimes these guys would commit would be small time stuff like what I said earlier. Arson, Robberies, Theft, and Physical Assault.

Now, granted, I did hear one mare here was arrested for abducting a foal about 4 years ago. So, that at least us something big time. Thank Celestia that foal, from what I heard, was found safe and sound with no physical or sexual injury on her little body.

Other than that, this place is pretty much a small time jail. These ponies would get out in like a couple days, or month or two. Definitely, not like the jails or prisons that I sent scum bag ponies to when I was in New Colt City.

As I waited outside, I saw Twilight headed toward me. She had a few documents that were being levitated with her magic. I'm guessing she found out a few things on Rocky's church.

She also had somepony with her on her back. Or some dragon I should say. I heard about this guy in the news. This was that baby dragon that saved The Crystal Empire from King Sombra, and a giant ice cloud of death. I think they called him Great and Honorable, Spike the Brace and Glorious. Long nickname if you ask me.

"Twilight, good to see you. And I see you brought a friend, huh?" I said to her.

The dragon jumped off Twilight's back and extended his claw to me. "Yeah. I'm Spike. It's nice to meet you." He greeted. I shook his claw, and looked at Twilight. I really didn't like that she brought somepony on this case without my permission. And a kid no less. Yeah, the kids a hero to a lot of ponies, but he is still a kid getting involved in a murder investigation. I don't like that.

"Look, I know you are going to say, but Spike has helped me out with my research quite a bit. So, I think he can help find the pony who did this." Twilight told me.

Spike then looked all determined. "Yeah, I want to help. I can help find the guy who killed that poor guard. Trust me." He said.

I sighed. "Look, I don't have time for this. I normally would just get on your ass for not listening to the rules I told you before we teamed up. But, I've got a pony of interest in an interrogation room. So, just show me what you dug up, and I'll go and interview the guy. We'll talk about that later." I told her, sounding kind of cold in the process.

She paused before levitated the documents over to me. I opened them up.

F.A.G.S GROUP DEPLETING IN NUMBERS AFTER LEADER'S SON COMES OUT AS GAY

When Honorable Royal Guard Steel Spear, son of Rocky, leader of the Fight Against Gays Society, admitted his sexuality to the press, several members of the group left, viewing Rocky as an embarrassment to the Christian religion. Each group member had to pay a total of 30 bits a month to stay a member. An estimated total of a little over 40 ponies had left, leaving the future of the church in tact. Only a total of 7 have stayed, remaining loyal to Rocky. Due to lack of funds, as well as a dwindling financial status, The Fight Against Gays Society may come to an end sooner rather than later.

"Hmm. So that's not the only reason why Rocky hated his son. It wasn't just because he didn't approve of his way of life, it's that he put HIS life in a pretty shitty position." I said after reading the article.

"Not even just that. Spike dug up something to. Show him." Twilight told her little assistant. He nodded and handed it to me, as I levitated it out of his hands.

Woah. This was a criminal record on Rocky. I read over everything. He's been arrested before. What was the charge you may ask?

Domestic violence. So the guy likes to beat his fucking wife, huh?

And all the time he WAS arrested, she dropped the charges, bailed him out, and it would happen again sometime on down the road.

“You know, when you interrogated Rocky, Emerald Drops did kind of look on edge whenever you asked him questions about his son. Like, she didn't want him to get mad or something. Maybe, she'd be afraid he take his anger out on her.” Twilight told me.

“Question is, what would cause him to lash out at her?” I asked myself out loud.

After I was given my documents, which I then put in my trench coat, I walked inside with Twilight and Spike. The front desk lady told me Blue Flash was in Room #2. So, I walked over there with Twilight and Spike following behind me.

As I now stood outside the door, I turned to Twilight. “I’m doing this one alone.” I told her.

“Why?” She asked looking very cross with me.

“After what happened with you and Rocky, I can’t trust you with interrogations Twilight.” I said to her.

She growled. “I’m fine now. I just lost my cool for a quick sec. I’m okay. I can do this.” She said to me.

I shook my head. “No. This guy is an actual suspect Twilight. I need him to talk. And I can’t risk you losing your cool and potentially injuring him. So No.” I told her.

“Shadow, but I can...” I didn’t let her finish that sentence.

“I’m in charge of this case. You do what I say, when I say it. That was part of the deal. If you don’t follow my rules, your off the case and that’s that. So just wait here for further instructions once I’m done.” I shouted at her as I walked into the room.

I could tell I hurt her feelings after that outburst. But, hey, I gave her my rules. I told her I’m in charge. So, even if she is a princess of Equestria, she’s not in law enforcement. I am. So, she should listen to me.

I know I came across as a major asshole, but it was necessary.

....Right?

Ah shit. My temper probably got the best of me again. I should have been firm, but I guess I didn’t need to be that much of an asshole. There probably goes any chance I have at Twilight wanting to be friends.

I should apologize when I’m through with this guy.

I walked in and sat in front of Blue Flash in the interrogation room.

"So, Steel is really dead?" Blue asked me.

"Yes." I answered.

He gave a sad sigh as he shook his head. "I knew this was gonna happen." He said.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

He paused for a second before saying, "Well, he made a lot of enemies at the club. I even heard some say they were gonna kill him. I just thought they were talking a big game. But I was wrong. I should've done something." He said sounding guilty.

"Okay, so who do you think would be the guy who would want to kill him? If you had to narrow it down." I said.

"That piece of shit Berry Breeze, that's who." He exclaimed. Berry Breeze, huh? Yet another pony of interest.

"What makes you say that? From what the bartender told me, it seemed like you two were friends."

He shook his head. "Yeah, that was until I found out how much of a jealous prick he was. I remember one time at the club, after Berry and Steel had a fling in our back room, the next day he saw Steel with Midnight. And Berry looked really really really mad. Like he wanted to kill them both. I know Berry better than anypony detective. That guy is a narcissistic asshole, who likes to have everything and everypony to himself." He explained. So, a lover's quarrel, huh? Berry gets jealous of Steel hanging with Midnight, then he decides if he can't have Steel, no pony can. Could make sense.

"How well do you know Midnight Whistle?" I asked him.

"Pretty well. He's kind of a shy guy. Not as open as yours truly. But, a good guy." He told me.

"What was the relationship between Midnight and Steel like?" I asked.

"Well, Midnight was in love with the guy, but Steel kind of treated him as if he was a side guy, if you know what I mean. Cobalt was everything to Steel. Midnight not so much." He said.

"So you know Cobalt personally?" I asked him.

"Not personally, but we've had a few conversations here and there. He's a good guy. Wound a little too tight, but okay." He said.

"Cobalt's friend Green Tea said that he knew Steel was cheating on him with Midnight. Do you think he would be capable of murdering Steel?" I asked.

"Nah. I couldn't see it. If he was really mad at Steel, he would've sent somepony to kill him." He answered.

"Like who?" I asked.

Blue shrugged. "I don't know. Like I said, I don't know him personally. I just got a vibe about him."

"Okay. Then, have you heard of somepony named Duke Bronco? The one who assaulted Steel and Midnight outside of your little club not to long ago?" I asked.

He nodded. "I was there when it all happened. Duke never really was all that smart to begin with. He's always been a hothead."

"You know Duke? Personally? From what I heard, he's kind of a homophobe, due to him being a member of the Fight Against Gays Society. Wouldn't he hate you because of your lifestyle choice?" I asked him.

"Pfft. Duke's not a homophobe. What are you talking about?" He said. Okay, this was getting confusing and interesting all at once.

"Like I said, he's a member of the Fight Against Gays Society. A hate group that rebels against the LGBT community. That's why." I told him.

Blue shook his head at me. "Well, I've known Duke a long time. Ever since high school. He and I were pretty good friends. Granted, he didn't swing the way I do, but he was always cool with me. He even defended me one time from a student who was calling me offensive words I don't care to use. Hell, he even was a best stallion for his sister's wedding. And she married another mare. So, if he's apart of that group, it's gotta be for another reason detective." He explained.

Okay, so if this guy is telling the truth, then why is Duke Bronco apart of that hate group? If he's not a homophobe, then why is he apart of the Fight Against Gays Society?

"Steel's father Rocky told me that Steel called the police on him when he found Rocky trying to take a mare? Do you know about any other history between them?" I asked.

"First off, detective, that arrest was bullshit. Duke and his girlfriend at the time were really kinky in their relationship. She liked to roleplay. Steel saw it, and he also told Duke's parents. The whole thing was a bunch of bullshit. No pony believed her when she said it wasn't rape. I knew Duke was pissed at Steel. He wanted payback on him. In the worst way." He told me.

"Do you think he killed him?" I asked.

"He might've. I don't know for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if he did." Blue said.

"So, do you know where Midnight and/or Berry live?" I asked him.

He nodded his head. "Berry lives in a pretty fancy lookin fuckin house on South Dove Drive. 2424 the street number. Midnight, he lives somewhere on East Memorial Blvd. I think the house number is 135." He told me.

"Alright, I've got two more questions and then I'm done. One, how well do you know Steel, and Two, what are your whereabouts last night?" I asked

"Well, one, me and Steel had spent a few nights together. And, I gotta tell ya, he was like a fucking machine. Whoowee. So, we were pretty close. Not just friends with benefits, but really good friends all around. And as far as where I was last night, I was at my job. Lady Bird Spa. You can call them. They'll say I was." He explained to me.

I wrote everything down in my pad. Everything here is getting interesting.

"Thank you Blue Flash. You've been a big help." I said to him.

"Eh, anytime. He was my friend. Get that piece of fucking shit for me, would ya?" He said.

"I will. It's part of my job." I told him.

Just as I was about to leave, he stopped me. "Hold on." I turned around. "Yes?"

He then gave me a seductive look. "You know, now that business is past us, maybe you and me can go out tonight? I'm a pretty good dancer, ya know." He said in a sultry tone. He even blew me a kiss.

I just shook my head. "Oh, trust me. You don't want anything to do with me. I'd crush you in half." I told him as I left the room.

**********Outside**********

Me and Twilight were walking toward the home of Berry Breeze. While we did that, Twilight looked kind of down, while Spike just gave me a dirty look. They were mad at me. Damn, I shouldn't of been such a jack off to her.

"I'm sorry Twilight." I said. She then looked at me.

"I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I just take my work really serious. And, after Rocky, I was worried you might do it again. But, that doesn't excuse me saying what I said. So I apologise." I said. I really meant it. She didn't deserve what I told her.

"Why did you have to be such a jerk, Shadow? She was only trying to help. Same with me." Spike scolded me. I can't believe I'm getting scolded by a baby dragon of all things.

"Well, I've always been a bit angry all my life. And, I never really had the time, or even wanted to fix things. Even when I was a kid." I admitted.

"Did something happen to you when you were a kid?" Twilight asked me. She actually sounded concerned for me. Kind of like Melody.

"Yeah. It did." I said.

"What happened?" She asked.

Oh no. I'm thinking back. Back when it was rough for me and Mel growing up.

*******Flashback to 17 years ago*******

"You leave him alone Mama." A young filly, about 12 years old standing over a little Colt, who looked to be about 7. Both of them looking as terrified as ever. In her magic, she held a knife. Attempting to keep a mare, who was about 29 years old, away from them. More so, away from her little brother.

"Put the fucking knife down you little bitch. He needs to learn. The hard way." The mare shouted very angrily at her daughter.

"No! Your not hurting him anymore. Not while I'm here." She said, standing her ground. Her face, even though she looked determined, was hiding the true fear in her eyes. She was about to get into a fight with her own mother.

"Fine. If you won't move, I'll hurt you too." The mother said, as she charged at her daughter with full force.

The filly was knocked to the ground, as her mother kicked her in the stomach. Because of the force, the knife in her magic had dropped to the ground. Right in front of the little Colt.

The poor kid sat and watched in horror as his mother stomped and punched at his big sister.

"See! This what you get, you little bitch! Don't you ever defy your mother! You bitch!" The mare screamed as she beat the filly under her.

It was getting to a point now, that the filly could be beaten to death. The poor little Colt was terrified at what was taking place. He didn't know what to do.

He then saw the knife, and levitated it with his magic. Unfortunately, he wasn't as skilled in magic yet, as he was still fairly young. However, he needed to focus to save his big sister.

So, in a urge of panic, he threw the knife toward the mare's direction.

"GUH!" Was the only sound the mother could make as she turned toward her son to see what had happened. He threw the knife at her to stop her from hurting his sister.

When he threw the knife, however, he wasn't exactly planning on where it would land. Or where it would hit.

The knife went into her neck. The side of her neck. She was stunned by the blow, as she fell to the floor, bleeding profusely from her neck. She tried to move, but could only move her hoof toward her son, before she passed out.

The young Colt looked horrified by what had just happened. He just sat shaking, with tears rolling down his eyes in silence. He didn't even say a word.

The filly then looked at what just happened, and was just as shocked and horrified as her little brother was. She quickly ran to him and scooped him in her hooves and hugged him.

"It's okay Shadow. It's okay. Everything's going to be okay. Your big sis Melody Rays is here." She said soothing him. She then got her cell phone out, while still holding him.

"911, HELP! HELP! WE NEED ASSISTANCE! I think we accidentally killed our mother." Melody said into the phone very emotionally.

However, young Shadow Haze couldn't here anything. He still looked at his dying mother on the floor. Bleeding to death. Because of him. He might have killed his own mother.

*********Present Day***********

Why does that day still have to be in my fucking head? Why can't it just go away? I can't get the sight of that.....

..... THAT FUCKING BITCH out of my head.

Why do I still think about that day? Why can't I just let it go?

"Shadow?" Twilight said, getting my attention. Again, she sounded concerned for me. Spike also looked concerned as well.

Then, by the grace of Celestia to get me out of this situation, my cell phone rang. It was Cadaver.

"This is Shadow." I quickly said.

"Shadow, we need you over at 135 E Memorial Blvd. We got another body over here. And I think it's the same MO." He told me through the phone.

"We're on our way." I said as I hung up.

I looked at Twilight and said, "We've got another body, Twilight."

Her and Spike gasped. "Another one? Oh no." She said sounding worried.

"We may have a serial killer on our hooves guys." Spike said looking scared as hell. Who could blame him?

"That may be true Spike. And so much more. Now let's go. Follow me." I told them as we walked toward the destination.

Looks like now it's not just the murder of Steel we're looking for, but Midnight Whistle. This is becoming bigger by the second. I just hope no other pony has to suffer from this.

And if Mel, or Solar, or Celestia forbid Comet get involved, I might lose my fucking mind. Thank Celestia they aren't here, so that's not a possibility.

Sometimes, I wonder, if this job is really worth it. I mean, I love my job, and I'm passionate about what I do, but sometimes there are cases where I think it's just too much.

And this case may be just that. Too much.

Chapter 6: Past Actions, Future Consequences

View Online

*******135 E Memorial Blvd*******

I guess third times the charm. This time, Twilight didn’t lose her lunch. Granted, she still looked uncomfortable as hell, but at least there was some improvement here. She told Spike to wait outside while we, or mostly I, look over the body.

Obviously, it looked like there was a major struggle involved here. Like somepony barged into his home, Midnight tried to fight him off, but the killer got the upper hoof. There were chairs thrown over, lamps broken, and blood on the walls, which looked like Midnight trying to get away, but failed. The forensic team was searching the place for a murder weapon.

I brought out the photos that The Bartender from the Cruizin Colt gave me. The victim was the same one in this photo here. Pegasus, who looked to be about 27 or 28 years old, dark blue coat and black mane. He was lying in front of me with multiple stab wounds to his chest and torso area flat on his back.

Looks like I was right: The victim is Midnight Whistle. Steel’s gay lover.

"So, what have we got? Besides the vic's name that I was informed of earlier." I asked Cadaver.

He looked pretty surprised. "How did you know the victims...." He began to ask but then stopped himself. "Uh, nevermind. Anyway, from the state of the body, this happened literally just a little while ago. Some pony barged in, Midnight and whoever the suspect is fought with each other, they fought all over the house, until our killer stabbed Midnight in the stomach." Cadaver then levitated a bat toward me, which had blood on it. "Midnight hit the killer with the bat, temporarily incapacitating the killer. Midnight tries to fly away, but is succumbing to his injuries. The killer walks out here, and proceeds to stab Midnight about 9 times in the chest and torso area." He finished explaining to me.

"Is the blood on the bat our killer's, or did Midnight's blood get on there?" I asked him.

"I'll have to get back to the lab and check, but I'm almost certain that it is. Plus, I also did some extra research on the crime scene with Steel. And I found something you might find very helpful." He told me as he handed me a few photos from the lab.

They were photos of hoofprints. About 4 or 5 of them. "These hoofprints were taken at the crime scene. Each one of them is different. Look, sorry to make this case even more complicated, but I think your dealing with more than one killer." He told me.

"Do you have an ID on these hoofprints yet?" I asked.

"They're still coming in. But, we should have them soon, Mr. Shadow. I promise." He said to me.

"Alright. Anything else, I should know about?" I asked him.

He, then all of a sudden, looked uncomfortable. "Well, actually yes. And I've been kicking myself in the ass for not finding this out sooner." He said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He looked around and motioned me to come closer to whisper in my ear. Why he needed to do this, I didn't know, but why not? Why not humor him? So I did it.

He then whispered in my ear, "Steel was HIV positive when he died."

......Holy Fucking Shit.

"Are you sure?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yes. I double AND triple checked the body to be sure. He tested positive all three times." He said to me silently. He looked queasy.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

He sighed. "Yeah, it's just this kind of thing gets to me. I have a family member who is HIV positive. It's scares me, ya know." He said.

I put my hoof on his shoulder. "Well, it's good that your being brave and doing this. And I'm sorry about that family member of yours." I told him.

He smiled. "Thanks. I'll make sure to get the tests done as fast as I can. Then, I'll tell you about it right away. I gotta get back to the lab. Thanks again Mr. Shadow." He said as he left the area to do his job.

"Anytime Cadaver." I said to him as he left.

I walked up to Twilight, who also looked uneasy at everything around her. Can't say I blame her. I know she's fought giant monsters and evil villains before, but this is something entirely different.

This was a murder. Everyday life so to speak. Something I don't think she's ever seen, or wanted to see in her life.

"You doing okay, Twilight?" I asked her.

She sighed. "I just can't believe there's a possibility of a serial killer in a small and wonderful town like Ponyville. I thought this place was supposed to be the happiest in Equestria. Guess I was wrong." She said.

"Well, sorry to sound brutally honest, but that's just life Twilight. Stuff like this happens everyday. How do you think I feel whenever I'm on a murder case?" I asked her.

Twilight was silent before she asked, "Then why don't you just tell your sister about what happened during your case's? She'd be helpful, wouldn't she?"

"I get what your saying, but that wouldn't work either." I told her.

"Why not?"

"What do you expect me to say?" I then imitated my sister's voice, the best I could, "Hey Shadow, what happened at work today?" Then I did my voice. "Oh, I found a dead foal in a tree hanging from it intestines by the neck all bloodied and beaten to death. How was yours?" I finished.

Twilight looked shocked and freaked out as she stood there and looked at me.

"Understand?" I said softly.

She had a sad look on her face. "Okay, I get it."

*******Outside*******

I told Twilight everything as we walked outside. From the hoofprints to the fact that Steel was HIV positive when he died. She was a little shocked when I told her that, but let's be real here. When somepony is sexually active, has access to drugs, which may include needles, and is seen as an honorable figure, due to him being a royal guard, he may have been easily infected by some pony infected with one of the deadliest diseases in Equestrian history. I should've had a feeling he had something like this from the start of the investigation.

"Hey." Twilight said getting my attention.

"Yes?" I answered.

"How do you really do it?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Get through cases like this. I don't believe ponies can suppress their feelings for so long without telling some pony about it. There has to be some pony who you talk too. Do you have friends? Anypony you talk with?” Twilight asked me.

********9 Years Ago - High School********

”HOW COULD YOU?” A young mare asked a young stallion very angrily and with tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I swear I didn’t think she would do something like this.” The stallion answered.

“Do you have any idea how much you hurt her when you said “No”?”

“How was I supposed to know she’d fucking shoot herself in the head?” The stallion screamed now sporting tears in HIS eyes as well.

“You rejected her at a dance that meant so much to her? SHE FUCKING TOLD YOU SHE LOVES YOU! Why couldn’t you just feel the same way?”

“I just didn’t, okay? I feel bad that I didn’t feel the way she felt toward me. But it’s not my fault Silhoutee committed suicide, Sugar Spice?”

“No. She made her choice, I admit it, but it opened my eyes to something Shadow.” Sugar replied.

“What’s that?” Young Shadow Haze asked.

“That you are a selfish asshole who never takes other ponies feelings into consideration. Which is why, we are NOT FRIENDS ANYMORE!” Sugar yelled.

Shadow was shocked at this statement. “Sugar, come on. Don’t do this.”

“No. I’m taking daddy’s offer to move to another school. And I never wanna see YOU or any of our other friends again. Screw You Shadow Haze.” Sugar angrily said as she walked off.

“Fine! If that’s how you wanna flush 9 years of friendship down the fucking drain, then go right ahead. Go away. I don’t care if you ever come back.” Shadow screamed at his now former friend before walking away.

*******Present Day*******

That day is still in my fucking head as well. I still think about Sugar Spice from time to time. My two other friends I grew up with, Tango Twister and Silver Sweeper, grew apart from me and Sugar. So, pretty much, I haven’t seen or heard from them in years. It kind of depressing.

Silhouette, why did you do it? You could’ve had any other guy you wanted. Why did you solely want me?

“I don’t talk with my friends anymore Twilight? We grew apart.” I told her.

“That’s terrible. Maybe you should try and contact them. Maybe reconnect with them. I did it before.” She said.

As much as I’d like to, I just can’t. “I’m sure they are doing fine without me. Besides, one of them says they never wanna see me again anyway. So, why bother?” I told her.

“What do you mean? What happened?” She asked.

“I don’t feel like telling you that right now. We’ve got a case to get back on. We’re gonna see what Duke Bronco is up too.” I told her as I walked ahead of her.

*******Freedom Arts********

Before we arrived at work the factory, I called a few police ponies from the detention center to go and pick up Bold Ice from his and Duke’s apartment. So, by now, he’s down there, waiting for me to interrogate him and his brother.

This letter factory looked like shit. I mean, it looked dusty, grungy, dinghy, and just not sanitary at all. How anypony can work in this environment is beyond me. Hell, even Twilight was sniveling up. She told Spike to wait outside. It might get ugly.

I walked up to some pony who worked here. “Excuse me, sir?” I said getting his attention. I flashed my badge at him. “Detective Shadow Haze. Is Duke Bronco here?” I asked him.

He nodded. “Yeah.” He pointed to a conveyor belt a little bit a ways down from where we were. “He’s right there.” He said. I walked down that way to go and get his attention.

I turned to Twilight. "Okay, here is the plan: You stay right here. Out of his sight. I'm gonna get his attention. If he runs, I'll chase him. You go out where we came in, fly above the building. If you see us, hover above him as quietly as possible. Then, I'll motion for you to take him down. Understood?" I explained to her.

She nodded. "Yes sir."

Okay. Time to get this fucker.

“Hey Duke!” I yelled out to him. That got his attention as he looked over in my direction. “Detective Shadow Haze. Your coming with me.” I said as I was a bit closer to him now by just a few feet.

And, of course, like any criminal, he has to fuckin run. As soon as I said that, he started running toward another exit. I motioned for Twilight to go out the entrance that we came in, and I chased after Duke where he was running out of. We were both outside of the building now. I was chasing him on the side of the road.

I looked and saw Twilight in the air, stalking Duke as he ran from me. She was hidden in the tree branches.

"DUKE BRONCO, STOP RUNNING, OR I WILL SHOOT!" I called out to him.

While running, he turned his head back to me and screamed, "LEAVE ME ALONE, FUCKER!"

What he probably didn't know, because he was so focused on getting away from me, is that Twilight was now on ground level, and a few feet away from him. I knew that once he passed this small opening in the road, he's ours.

And that's what happened.

As soon as Duke passed through that small opening in the road, Twilight leaped out shoulder charged him. It wasn't too effective, but what she did next was really smart.

She used her magic to trip him up. Now he's mine.

I grounded him, and punched him a few times in the face. "UGH. Gaah." Were the sounds that Duke made as I beat his ass. After a few punches, I spun him around and cuffed right then and there. I stood him up and told him what I always tell criminals when I take them away.

"Duke Bronco, your under arrest for the murder of Steel Spear. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford one, it will be offered to you in the court of law. Do you understand these rights?" I said as I read him his rights.

"I understand my right to tell you to kiss my ass you little--" He didn't finish that sentence as Twilight punched him in the gut. He almost fell over.

"I wouldn't talk if I were you." Twilight told him.

******* Ponyville Detention Center*******

We got back to the detention center. I told a few forensic guys to go over to Duke and Bold's apartment to gather any evidence while I was interrogating them.

We got Duke in an interrogation room away from his brother. I thought about interviewing them together, but then got second thoughts after I realized they might not talk if they knew they were here. After all, brothers wouldn't sell out each other.

......Most of the time.

Me and Twilight were currently interviewing Bold Ice first. Since he, technically, had been waiting the longest. This guy looked a bit intimidated by me. Good. That's just what I need to make him talk.

"Your in a lot of trouble Bold. You know that right?" I told him.

"I had nothing to do with what happened to that guard. I swear." Bold Ice exclaimed.

"Then you wouldn't have any problems explaining why you and your brother Duke Bronco were running away from the scene of the crime. Would you?"

"Me and Duke weren't there. We were at home."

Ah, lies. I love it when I call somepony out on their bullshit.

"Your lying Bold. You were there. And we have proof." I told him.

"No, you can't prove I wouldn't there." He said sounding scared.

Then Twilight stepped in. "We have a witness who saw you and Duke running away from the crime scene. You and Duke almost ran her over she said. And trust me, I know Cheerilee. She wouldn't lie in this situation." She said to him. She actually sounding intimidating as well. Huh. Guess you learn something about somepony new everyday.

"She also said she heard you say "What the hell did you do" as you guys were running away. You WERE there Bold. Now start talking." I chimed in. Now he looked even more stressed and scared at the same time.

"Look, you don't understand. My brother is fucking crazy, okay? He's always had a bad temper. If I tell you, he will KILL me. Plus, I'm not selling out my brother to help that piece of shit. That guard deserved what he got." Bold told us.

"Why? Because he's gay and you don't agree with his lifestyle?" Twilight asked angrily.

"NO! Because he's a disease spreading piece of shit who got our cousin infected with HIV." Bold told us. Cousin huh? HIV spreading? This could get even bigger than ever.

Wait? What about all the other guys he's had sex with? Blue Flash, Cobalt, Midnight Whistle. Could all of them have HIV as well? Maybe they do, and found out they got it from Steel. Revenge maybe.

"Who is this cousin of yours? When did he get infected?" I asked him.

"His name is Spector Mark. We all knew he was gay when he was, like, 11. He met up with Steel at that drug ridden AIDS filled bar, The Cruizin Colt. They had sex one night. Then, about 4 months after that, Spector went to the doctor cause he felt sick. He found out he was HIV positive. He got it from Steel. Me and Duke found out, and we wanted to make him pay." Bold said.

"So you found him one night and decided to kill him?" I asked.

"No. We just wanted to beat him to within an inch of his life. But, damn it, someponies already was there fighting with him when we got there. They jumped us when they saw us. So we ran away." Bold told us.

Some ponies? As in plural? As in more than one? Cadaver did tell me that we are probably looking at more than one killer. So I guess I'm not surprised.

"When you got there, what did these ponies look like?" I asked.

"Well, one of them had a red coat and pink mane, and the other had brown coat and blonde mane. I've never seen them before, so I don't know their names." He told me.

I took out my pictures I had of the victims. The red coated stallion was Berry Breeze. Now, from what Blue Flash told me, he and Steel had a lover's quarrel with each other. Especially after seeing the relationship with him and Midnight. So, it makes sense.

Then, I looked at the photo from the wallet I got at the crime scene. The brown coated blonde maned stallion.

Cobalt?

Well, I guess it does make sense. I mean, Green Tea did say that he knew Steel was charting on him. Maybe he got sick of it and decided to get revenge.

"And what happened after you ran away?" I asked.

"We went back to our apartment we're staying at. Please don't tell Duke what I said. He's crazy man." Bold told us.

I finished up with him after I wrote everything down. "Well, if you cooperate with me, than I'll cut you a deal. However, your brother is here. In another interrogation room as we speak." I told him.

He got that scared look again. "He's here? You caught him?" He said sounding surprised.

"Let's just say team work is the most important thing Bold." Twilight said.

"Yeah." I said. "We're going to interrogate Duke. Don't try anything stupid." I told him as me and Twilight left the room. As we were leaving, I heard him yelling "Don't tell him what I told you. Please don't." He sounded like he's terrified of his brother. Well, he did go to jail. Twice. I guess jail can make a pony be intimidating to other ponies.

*******Duke's Interrogation Room*******

"I'm not saying a damn thing to you Detective." Duke told me.

"You will if you want to avoid the death sentence." Twilight told him.

"You don't have the guts "Princess"." He said very mockingly on that last line.

She then smiled very arrogantly. "Oh wouldn't I? I'm a Princess, Duke. I could send you to jail, or have you executed if I explained your situation to Princess Celestia or Luna. They'll believe me. So, do I really NOT have the guts too? Hm?" Twilight explained. He looked pissed off and a little scared.

I stepped in. "Look, Duke, I'm not interested in sending you to death. I'm interested in sending you to jail. Unless you give me something. Plus, Twilight here is right. I can't stop her if she says she wants you gone." I told him.

Duke growled at me. "You dirty mother fuckers." He said very angrily.

I shrugged. "That's what happens when your a cop. So, start talking. NOW!" I told him.

"You want to know what happened, huh?" He said with a smirk. I almost had to hold Twilight back.

"That's exactly what I want to know." I said.

"Fine. But let me go back a few years. About 13 to be exact. You see, when I was in high school, me and my girl at the time, we liked to, heh, you know, get a little kinky." He said with a smirk. "She liked to role play as a helpless mare getting raped by a stallion. She's a sick bitch let me tell ya. But I loved her."

I had to stop myself from almost vomiting.

"Anyway, one day we did it after school on the hoofball field. Steel caught me and her, and he called the cops. That no good mother fucker got me in trouble. Even after my girl told the police several times that she wasn't being raped, they didn't believe her. I did 3 in a half years, until they finally found evidence that she was telling the truth, Detective." He said sounding angry. I guess I can't say I blame him for being angry. It was a mistake, and I guess some cops just don't listen as well as I do sometimes.

"Then, after I got out, I made a plan to get at Steel. I found this gay bar where he liked to go to sometimes." He said.

"How did you find that out?" Twilight asked.

"You'd be surprised what kind of info you get when your behind bars, lady." Duke said, which made Twilight frown

"So, I found him walking out with his boyfriend, and I just bull rushed that fuckstick. The only problem, was I didn't know how good a fighter he was, and that there was a cop there as well. So, that was on me." He said.

"So, you spend five months in jail. Then you get out again, and plan to get at him a second time?" I asked.

"Yeah. And me and my brother found out about this alleyway that him and that boyfriend of his like to go to fuck each other. So, we decided to go there one night to catch him, and beat the shit outta him. But, damn it, they beat us to it." He said as he pounded his hoof on the table in frustration.

"Who's they?" Twilight asked. I looked at her in confusion. I guess she didn't want him to know that Bold Ice gave him up. I guess that's a good thing to do.

"I don't know. But, one of them was a guy with a red coat, and pink mane. The other was a guy with a brown coat and blonde mane. And I could also tell something else too." He said.

"What's that?" I asked.

"The blonde guy, he kept yelling at Steel "You did this to me you bitch", as he kept stabbing him. I could tell those two had a fling and it didn't go well. Trust me, I know relationships. Gay or straight. Not that there's anything wrong with that." He said arrogantly.

"So, if you don't have a problem with gay ponies, then why were you a member of the Fight Against Gays Society?" Twilight asked.

"Pfft. I only joined them to get info on Steel. His dad may hate him, but he probably knows Steel better than anypony. That's why I joined. That church is full of dumbasses, Detective, let me tell ya." He told her.

"What is your impression of Rocky?" I asked him.

"Guys a loser. I can tell he's a major hypocrite." He said.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"Cause he's exactly what he hates. He's--" He started to say before I heard a knock on the door. Cadaver came in and motioned for me and Twilight to come out.

"We'll be back for you." I told him. I heard him go "Mhmm" as I got out of my chair.

As we left Duke's interrogation room, I was stopped by Cadaver. He had quite a bit of documents in his hands.

"Mr. Shadow, Princess..." He bowed to Twilight, which made her look embarrassed, "...I've gotten a match on the hoofprints to Steel's body. I also got a match on the DNA on the bat." He told us.

"What have you got?" I asked him.

"Well, Duke and Bold were indeed there, and were involved in a fight. However, I also found the hoofprints of Berry Breeze and Cobalt as well. They were there that night. I also matched the coordinates of the attack. And, if I had to make a guess, Steel was already jumped by Cobalt and Berry before Duke and Bold even got there." He explained.

"But, how does that explain the hoofprints of Duke and Bold. What about Duke's clump of hair at the crime scene?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I thought that Duke attacked Steel and that lead to Steel ripping out Duke's hair. However, when Duke and Bold caught Steel getting assaulted by Berry and Cobalt, they got attacked by them as well. And that's what lead to Duke getting his hair ripped out."

"So, was Steel dead after Cobalt and Berry were caught?" I asked.

"Well, after a few more tests, I found out that that answer is No. Steel slowly bled out, causing him to pass put and die from blood loss. The paramedics arrived too late. They couldn't revive him." He told us. So, Cheerilee must have thought he was already dead. Poor girl. Now this news will make her feel worse.

"What about the blood on the bat?" I asked him.

"Oh, yes. The DNA is a match with Berry Breeze. He's the one who killed Midnight. The only thing we didn't get was the knife. If we got that knife, I could match the DNA of both Steel AND Midnight to that knife." He told us.

"So, we need that knife. We NEED to find Berry Breeze and Cobalt before it's too late." I said.

"But, how do we find them?" Twilight asked.

"We need to put out an APB on both of them. And fast. Go to the chief and give him my orders." I said to her. She nodded and quickly got to it.

"Did you also check any signs of HIV on Midnight Whistle as well?" I asked Cadaver.

He got uncomfortable again as he replied, "Unfortunately, yes. If I had to guess how long he had it, I'd say about 6 months. There's no doubt in my mind he got it from Steel."

So it is true. Steel infected Midnight. And, if what Duke and Bold are saying is true, then he must have infected Cobalt and Berry and Blue Flash as well. He was a walking disease before he died.

The only other thing I'm worried about is how many other ponies were infected?

Hopefully, when I catch Berry and Cobalt, I can get that answer. I just hope it's not too many.

Chapter 7: Confessions Part 1

View Online

The APB came quick. Cobalt and Berry Breeze's names were already on the Wanted list. It didn't matter if they were in town or outta town. Wherever they went, eventually somepony would spot them, and they would call the authorities to bust their asses.

However, I felt like I needed to make a quick stop before I went out searching for those bastards.

*******Lady Bird Spa*******

This was where Blue Flash worked at. I actually did call them before I went and got Duke and Bold. I could tell several ponies went here to stylize their looks to impress ponies. Or just because they want to look "fabulous" as they call it.

Some ponies I tell ya.

Anyway, I spotted Blue right away, as he was currently stocking a few cans of mane spray. I got his attention, and he came over to me with a bit of a suggestive look on his face.

I swear, this guy.

"Well, Shadow, it's nice to see you. Did you come by to accept my invitation?" He asked as he flicked his hoof on my shoulder. He then got closer to my face. Uncomfortably close to be exact.

"Or, maybe, we can just go back to my place and, what do the kids call it these days, "hang out"? I can leave work early if you'd like." He said very seductively.

I guess I gotta give the guy some credit. He ain't afraid to hit on anypony. Even if it means getting his ass kicked.

I pushed him off. "You want to be arrested again? This time for harassment?" I asked him.

He tsked at me. "So serious. Why can't you just let the good times roll, baby?" He asked with a sly smile on his face. He could tell this was important as he asked next, "So, what's up? Anything new you wanna know bout Steel? Or that fuckstick Berry?"

"Well yes actually." I said to him. "Have you seen Berry or Cobalt since you were released?"

"Berry, I haven't. And if I did, I'd beat the crap outta him cause he owes me 50 bits for that bet we had." He said looking cross.

"What about Cobalt?" I asked him.

"Well, I thought I saw him and some mare, I don't know her name, but I thought I saw them sometime at Sugarcube Corner. I went in and got a cupcake from Pinkie Pie."

"Anything seem off about them?"

"Well, Cobalt looked on edge. I think I might've heard him talk about leaving town tonight. Why? Did he do it?"

I sighed and said, "Well, we found DNA that matches theirs at the crime scene. Plus, your buddy Duke and his brother Bold witnessed him and Berry killing Steel. So, unfortunately, yes. They are the killers." I told him.

He then looked concerned. "Oh no." He said.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"I remember something. A week before Steel died, I saw Cobalt and Berry talking to each other in a secluded area. It was another alley away from everypony." He told me.

"Did you follow them?" I asked.

"Yeah. I wanted to confront Berry about the money he owes me. Well, I saw him walking with Cobalt. I followed them toward the alleyway. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but it looked like they were planning something. Something bad." He told me.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I thought it didn't matter as much. But I wrong." He said looking bummed. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner Detective. Steel probably would still be alive if I did."

I put my hoof on his shoulder to console him. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know. So don't blame yourself." I told him. He looked at me with a smile on his face. A genuine smile this time. Not a seductive one.

"That's all I could really give ya Shadow." He told me.

"No need. That's good enough. Though I should give you a warning." I told him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Warning for what?" He asked.

Oh, this was gonna be difficult to say. "Well, my pathologist Cadaver did some extra searching on the body. And he found out that Steel was HIV positive." I told him.

His eyes widened. "Are you serious?" He asked.

I nodded. "Yes. And somepony else has it too."

"Who?"

"Midnight Whistle. But, unfortunately, I found him dead as well. Berry or Cobalt or both of them killed him not too long ago." I said.

"Midnight?....Oh Celestia. Not him too." Blue said looking a bit distraught. "But, what does this have to do with the HIV thing."

"When was the last time you had sexual contact with Steel before he died?" I asked him.

"I can't remember. Maybe 3 months ago. Why?" Then his eyes widened a bit. "Are you saying I might have it?" He asked.

I nodded. "It's not definite, but you should get yourself checked out." I told him.

He looked a bit sick after I told him everything. "Okay. I'll leave work in a little bit to go do that. Plus, I'll handle the funeral arrangements for Midnight. He didn't deserve that." Blue said.

"Thank you Blue. I'm close to catching these fuckers. If you spot them, call me and let me know. Okay?" I said to him.

He nodded.

******* Sugar Cube Corner*******

Twilight contacted me to meet her at this little restaurant called Sugar Cube Corner. This was where I last heard that Cobalt was.

I walked in and saw Twilight talking to a pink mare with the most frizziest mane I have ever seen. This must be Pinkie Pie. The Element of Laughter.

"Twilight." I said getting her attention. She turned to me. "Good to see you Shadow. I have--" Twilight started to say before she was interrupted by the pink mare rushing toward me. She had an extremely excited look on her face for some reason. This wasn't like when Comet Chaser would be excited. This was different.

"Your a new pony?" She cried out loud and then turned back toward Twilight. "Were you keeping him from meeting me Twily? You know you can't stop Pinkie Pie from being friends with everypony she meets." She said.

Twilight looked a bit embarrassed at what Pinkie said for some odd reason.

"Miss Pie, I--" I started to say before she interrupted me. "Oh, you can call me Pinkie. All of my friends do." She told me while fluttering her eyelashes at me. Was she hitting on me or something? Cause she's not my type, thats for sure.

"Fine. Pinkie, I'm not here to be friends with anypony. I'm here for--" I started to say, before she interrupted me again. This mare is REALLY starting to annoy me.

"WHAT?! Not here to make friends? Well, you NEED to make friends. Otherwise, you'll be all alone. And that'll make you sad. And anypony who doesn't know you will be sad they didn't meet you. And then you'll sad again when you realize that ponies want to be friends with you. And then--" She rambled on before Twilight put hoof over her friends mouth to get her to shut the fuck up.

"Thank you Twilight." I said.

"Don't worry about her. She's just being Pinkie." Twilight told me. She then removed the hoof from Pinkie's mouth and faced her.

"Look Pinkie. Shadow Haze here is a real detective. Him and I are solving that murder that happened here last night." She told her friend.

Pinkie's eyes widened a little bit. "Are you talking about Steel Spear?" She asked. Twilight nodded and then, weirdly, she grabbed Pinkie's hooves in her own hooves.

"Listen, I need you to tell us what happened when Green Tea and Cobalt came in here and what you saw. Cause those two are suspects on this case. Can you do that for me?" Twilight asked her.

Pinkie nodded. "Sure thing Twily. After all--" She then, out of fucking nowhere, put on a coat and hat, along with a pipe that blew bubbles. Something you'd see in a mystery movie. "--Detective Pinkie Pie never fails a case." She said blowing into her pipe again. Twilight giggled a bit. I didn't.

"So, what did you see?" I asked her.

"Well, Cobalt looked kind of queezy. Like he was about to throw up. He also looked like he didn't get much sleep last night either. And Greeney tried calming him down." She told us.

"Did you hear anything about them wanting to leave town?" Twilight asked her.

Pinkie nodded. "Mhm. They were talking about leaving tonight. And, I even heard something about Berry Breeze." She said.

"You know Berry as well?" I asked her.

"Pfft. Silly, I know everypony in Ponyville." She said.

"And? What is he like?" I asked.

She then had a frown in her face. "Well, he can be a real creep. He sometimes comes in here to stare at Pony Joe whenever he come in to deliver donuts."

"Did Steel ever come in here before he was killed?" I asked.

"Yeah. He and Cobalt would come here to get a cupcake sometimes. Though, sometimes I could tell when Cobalt would get mad at him." She said.

"Did Steel ever look at any other stallions? Like, in a seductive way?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie nodded. "Yeah. I saw this one time where Steel looked at a guy named Blue Flash. And Cobalt looked really really mad. But he didn't do anything." She said.

I paused for a minute before I asked, "Did Cobalt ever seem a bit sick or under the weather before Steel was killed?"

Pinkie looked a bit uncomfortable. "Well, he did after he got done with a doctor appointment. He wouldn't tell anypony but Green Tea though." She said.

Doctor. Looking sick. Uncomfortable to talk about it.

Uh oh. I think I know what it is.

However, before I could say another thing, the front door opened up. It was Green Tea. Cobalt's best friend. She looked kind of nervous all of a sudden.

"Oh, M-Mister Detective. I wasn't expecting to see you here. Have you found out who killed Steel yet?" She asked nervously as she went up to the counter to look at the cupcakes and other sweet treats on display. Pinkie appeared behind the counter. Again, out of nowhere. What, does this mare have like teleportation abilities? She's not a fuckin unicorn.

This mare is weird.

Pinkie looked suspicious at Green. "Sooooooo,......" Pinkie paused. Green looked a bit uncomfortable at Pinkie's behavior.

I was about to make Green Tea explain everything to me, until the weird Pink pony, out of nowhere again, blurted out,
"WHERE WERE YOU ON THE 15th OF FEBRUARY?" Pinkie yelled at Green, trying to be intimidating. Green wasn't intimidated though. More like confused.

I decided to end this and just start asking questions. "Look, Green Tea, Pinkie Pie here gave you up. She told me and Princess Twilight here that you and Cobalt were here earlier this morning. And Cobalt looking nervous. Saying he was gonna leave town tonight. Even after his boyfriend of 10 years had been brutally murdered the previous night." I told her.

She looked at me in disbelief. And then at Pinkie with an angry look in her eyes.

"Sorry Greeny. We can still be friends, right?" She smiled wide.

Twilight stepped in. "We found DNA of both Cobalt and Berry Breeze on the murder weapon. We also have a witness says that those two killed him. Sorry Green Tea, but the jig is up. So, just tell us where Berry and Cobalt are, or we will have to arrest you for obstruction of Justice." She told her.

Hey, she was stealing all of what I'm supposed to say.

Green Tea just sighed. "I guess I'm not getting out of this one am I?" She asked.

"No. Now tell me what happened." I told her.

"I want a deal first."

"Deal? Your friends with a murderer. You don't--" Twilight started to say before I stopped her.

"If you cooperate, I can find a good deal to cut with you." I told her. Twilight did not look happy when I said that. Guess she doesn't know that this is what REALLY happens when your on a case.

"If I tell you, will you make sure I don't serve any prison time?" Green Tea asked.

"I'll see what I can do, but know this: If you lie to me again even just a little bit, I'll throw you in faster than you can say "Go" Green. Am I understood?" I asked. She nodded.

Before she started, Twilight interrupted. "Hold on. I thought you and Cobalt were best friends. Why would you suddenly turn on him? I know it's prison time we're talking about, but I would've thought Shadow here would have to push you a little bit. How can you just throw Cobalt under the carriage all of a sudden?"

I guess I gotta give her credit. That IS a valid question. Why is she so easily talking about Cobalt?

"I'm doing this to help him. Even if his life about to end soon." She crossly said to Twilight.

Life ending soon? Uh oh.

"We already know that Steel had HIV when he died. Are you telling me that he contracted it from him?" I asked.

She scoffed. "Oh no. Cobalt doesn't have HIV. No." She paused for a sec. "He has AIDS. He's dying." She said.

Twilight looked shocked. I wasn't. I had a feeling this was gonna happen.

"And that bastard Steel is the one who gave it to him. He knew he had HIV, and he still infected Cobalt. But he didn't just infect Cobalt. He infected a lot of other stallions too. He was walking disease, detective. He got what was coming to him." Green said.

"Duke told me that Cobalt and Berry were the ones who killed him. And that they were attacked by them as well. Do you know of any relationship that Cobalt and Berry had with each other?" I asked.

Green looked confused. "Berry? What? I don't know what your talking about." She said.

"I'm going by what Duke told me. Plus, my pathologist Cadaver told me that his and Cobalt's DNA was on Steel's body, as well as a clump of Duke's hair that was ripped out during the attack the night Steel was murdered." I explained.

"There's gotta be another reason why. Steel told Cobalt to not get involved with him." She told me.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"I don't know. But from what it sounded like, Berry is connected with some pony. Some pony powerful. Kind of like a drug dealer or something." She said sounding nervous.

Twilight asked a question next. "So, if you knew Cobalt helped kill Steel, why didn't you go to the police first, if your doing it now?" Again, a good question.

"Cause I thought maybe I wouldn't get caught. I admit it Twilight, I'm saving my own ass. But if you were in MY situation, you'd do the same thing and you know it." She told her. Twilight looked angry, but didn't say anything.

"Where's Cobalt?" I asked her.

"I think he's trying to get a train ticket worked out. But, he's also hiding from Berry." She said.

"Why? Those two worked together to kill Steel. Why would he avoid him?" Twilight asked.

"Cause I think Cobalt is gonna reveal all the dirty little secrets of that Cruizin Colt club out to everypony. That place is filled with drugs, and unprotected sex, and diseases. Berry wouldn't want that." She said.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Cause he owns it. The Cruizin Colt is HIS bar." Green told me.

Holy Shit. This just got a whole lot more interesting.

**********Later*********

I let Green Tea go. She told me everything, and I let her walk. She didn't have anything to do physically with the murder. Had she not told me, I could've charged her with obstruction of Justice.

"Why didn't you arrest her?" Twilight asked angrily.

"I already told you. We made a deal, and I have to honor that." I said.

"But she lied before. How can we be sure if she's gonna lie again?"

"Don't worry. I have a few ponies who have their eyes on her. She won't get away if we find out she lied again."

"Does this happen all the time in the police force?"

"Yes. That's what we do."

"It sounds like a cheap way to get the pony who did it."

"Well, if it works, that's all that matters."

Twilight groaned at me. "How can you be okay with that?" She asked.

"Twilight, I've been doing this, ever since I was 18. And I'm 24 now. I'm practically used to ANYTHING that happens now. Me or somepony else. Good or bad. I just go through the motions." I told her. I'm really starting to get annoyed by her.

"What do you mean your used to it if something bad happens to you?" Twilight asked me, now sounding kind of concerned.

"So many bad things have happened to me my whole life, I just accept that they happen, and try to move on from it."

"What kind of bad things have happened to you?" She now looked like how Melody would when she knew something was bothering me.

"Why should you care? You have an entire school to teach about friendship and everything else. Why do you care about a random guy whom you barely know a thing about?" I asked her. Why does she have to know?

"Cause it's my job. I'm the Princess of Friendship. And, I feel like I can understand if you just tell me." She said.

"Oh, you understand, Twilight?" I asked her. What the fuck does she know? "You have no idea how much hell I've been through my whole life. I've been through things you could NEVER understand." I ranted at it. I could tell she looked a bit intimidated, but she still stood her ground.

"Then help me understand. So we could understand each other better." She said.

So, she wants to know, so bad huh?

"You want to know?" I asked. She nodded.

"Fine I'll tell ya. I killed my own mother." I said to her. She gasped and put her hooves to her mouth.

"What?" She said in a shocking voice.

"When I was 7, my mom was gonna give me a beating. My sister stepped in to protect me. She wound up getting a beating herself. She would've died if I hadn't have thrown a fucking knife at that bitch's neck. And every fucking time, I still think of that day. She still haunts my dreams, telling me I'm no different than her. Do you know what it's like to be afraid of a pony who's supposed to give you all the love in this world, Twilight? Do you know how it feels to get beaten by somepony who's supposed to give you all sorts of attention and affection? Huh? No, you don't. So stop acting like you think you know me. Cause you don't." I said to her. She looked at me with sympathy in her eyes.

Wait? Why does my face feel wet? I put my hood up to my face. A tear? I'm crying?

......

Why?

******To Be Continued*******

Author's Note: Hey, I'm sorry this was updated so late. I'm also sorry it's so short. I just wanted to get this out to all you people out there. Hope you enjoy it. If you do, make sure to comment, like, and favorite this story for future updates. Goodnight Everybody.

Chapter 8: Confessions Part 2

View Online

Ponies were all around watching me. Watching me rant and rave at Twilight. The Princess of Friendship. They heard EVERY FUCKING WORD. Every word I said.

I couldn't take it. I walked away from Twilight and everypony in the town square. I needed to be alone. I needed to talk with the only ponies who TRULY get me. The only ponies who understand me.

"Shadow, wait." I heard Twilight call me. I didn't turn back to look at her. Why should I? She made me get all pissed off at her, causing me to dredge up old terrible fucking memories.

"I didn't know." I heard Twilight softly say to herself.

*******Somewhere on the Outskirts of Ponyville*******

I got my phone out and decided to, well pretty much, vent out my frustrations on somepony who can actually fucking listen to me and get what I'm saying.

My phone rang a few times before I heard her voice pick up. "Hello?" She answered.

"Hey sis. It's me." I answered.

"Hey Shadow. How's the case going? Did you find out who it is?" Melody asked.

"Well, I just have to find the fucker, and then I'll send him to Justice. But, yeah, I have a pretty good feeling about who it is." I told her.

"Well, that's great. So, why'd you call? Is something bothering you?" She asked. She knows me so well. Probably, even better than I know myself.

I paused for a little bit before I told her, "Yeah. It is."

"What's wrong?" She said now having that motherly concerned tone of voice I've known all these years.

I sniffed a little bit. She spoke again, now sounding even more compassionate than ever. "Hey, are you okay? You know can tell me anything, right? I'm always here for you, you know." She told me.

It took a bit for me to speak, but I eventually did. "I, well,--" I got a bit choked up here. "I kind of thought about...HER again." I said.

"Mom?" She said.

"Yes." I said.

"Shadow, you listen to me right now." She said now getting serious. "What happened all those years ago was NOT ON YOU. If you hadn't have done what you did, Mom would've killed me. And I wouldn't have had Comet. Your little idol. Stop listening to what our fucking cunt of a grandmother said to you. You saved my life." She pretty much poured her heart out to me.

I felt a few tears run down my face. "Still, I see that every Celestia Damn night whenever I think about it. Or if it gets brought up. I feel like I'm no fucking different than any other criminal out there. Even thought I'm a detective." I said.

I could tell she was starting to get all teared up too. "Your a hero Shadow. Every day you put your life on the line for other ponies, even though your in so much mental pain. Why do you think Comet looks up to you so much?" She asked.

"I love that kid. However, sometimes I wish he wouldn't look up to me so much." I told her.

"I know. But, he does, and there's no changing that. So, all I can tell you, is to keep on fighting little brother. For you. And for us. Especially for your nephew."

"Sometimes I get so tired of fighting." I flat out told her.

"Shadow." She said getting my attention. "I love you. You are my little brother. I don't know what I'd do if you chose to quit fighting. And I know Comet would be heartbroken if you stopped fighting. You have ponies in your life that mean a lot. Me. Obviously Comet. Solar Storm. Aunt Mystic Shine and Uncle Dark Moon. Our “other sisters”. What about them?" She explained to me.

I couldn't even find the words. I couldn't even speak. Everything that Mel was saying was true. If I decided to "quit fighting", they all would be devastated.

"And what about Angel Blossom? You two obviously have feelings for each other. What do you think she'd do if you stopped fighting? Hmm." She asked.

I guess I need to stop being so damn weak. Mel is right. I love my family. I can't have them go through with that.

"Your right Mel. Your right about everything." I said.

"Of course I am. You need to think about others sometimes more so than yourself. That's what Aunt Misty told me." She said.

"Thank you Melody. I'm sorry if I got you worked up. I just needed to get that off my chest." I said.

"It's okay little brother. I know you've had....problems...your whole life. But, I'm here for you. Always." She told me. I could tell she had a few tears in her eyes again. Ain't that just like me? I make my big sis cry because of my own fucking problems.

"Well, I gotta go get the guy and put him in jail. I'll talk to you later sis." I said.

"Okay. And remember what I told you, okay?" She said.

"Yeah. I'll see you on Saturday." I said.

"Okay. See you then. Ba bye."

"Bye." I hung up the phone.

I know I can always count on my big sister to help me. She always knows how to bring me back up when I'm feeling down about myself. She's, honestly, my real mom. She always looked after me when my mother was getting drunk off her ass and protecting me when she got violent. She took a lot of abuse for years, just to protect me.

She's a strong mare. That's for damn sure. She adjusted to change at the stomp of a hoof. Whereas me, I had to make my cousins, or as they prefer to be called my "big sisters", wait for a long time damn time to at least open up to them a little bit.

Fuck. I still remember that night after what I did to my mother. When Aunt Mystic Shine and Uncle Dark Moon picked me and Mel up from the police station.

**********Flashback to 17 Years Ago-Police Station**********

A young 7 year old Colt, little Shadow Haze, was sitting on a chair in silence. Pure and utter silence. Taking in everything that just happened.

He took the life of a mare who brought him into this world. A mare who should have given him as much love and attention as a goal would need from a parent.

However, with this mother though, that was not the case. When Shadow was five years old, that was when his mother started hurting him. Sometimes it would be if he accidentally broke a glass, if he was "too loud", or sometimes he would just take a shot because his mother needed to let off some steam.

He didn't know why she beat him? What did he do wrong? He was, or at least tried to be a good boy. But it was never good enough for her. She was always so angry and hateful toward him.

He, obviously, feared her. However, what made him hate her was when Mel would get one too. If she talked back,she would get hit. If she did something mother didn't agree with, she'd get hit. Most of all, if she tried to defend Shadow, she'd get a beating. An almost severe one where she would need medical attention.

This time, she almost did kill her. She almost beat her to death with her bare hooves. But Shadow stopped it.

And, thanks to some convincing from Melody, Shadow let the police look over his body for signs of physical abuse. Obviously there were. Melody told them everything that happened. From when the abuse started, all the way to when Shadow killed his mother. So, hopefully, there was a good chance he won't go to jail.

Young Shadow sat there with tears in his eyes, scared of what might happen to him, when he heard a voice coming toward him.

"Oh Shadow." A grown up mare in her mid thirties cried as she scooped Shadow into a hug. She had a dark purple coat with a silver mane.

"Don't you worry sweetheart. Your Aunty Misty and your Uncle Moony are gonna look after you and your sister from now on. Everything's gonna be fine. I promise." She said with tears in her eyes as she hugged him again.

Shadow, with tears visible, just closed his eyes as he hugged his aunt back.

********* Present Day*********

Thankfully, the charges never went anywhere, cause Aunt Misty confirmed everything that Mel and me had told them. So, I didn't spend any time in juvenile detention. Or worse: Prison.

After that, me and Mel lived with my aunt and uncle and their seven daughters. My cousins, or like I said, my other big sisters. It was different growing up with a big family. But, one things for sure, I would never have changed a thing about it.

They are my family. Blood or no blood, they are my real and true family.

I've got so much shit on my mind, it's getting hard to concentrate on this case. I need to find a way to get to Berry Breeze and Cobalt and get them to confess to Steel's murder.

*ring*ring* Oh, my phone.

“Shadow Haze.” I answered.

“Hey Shadow, it’s me Angel. How are things going with on the case?” My maybe girlfriend said. It’s good to hear from her. But why is she calling now?

“Well, I found out it was an owner of a gay club named Berry Breeze and the victim’s boyfriend Cobalt. Also, the victim had HIV when he passed, which he likely spread onto other stallions. I just need to find both of them, and the knife that was used at the crime scene.” I explained to her.

“Sounds like you could use some help. Maybe, uh, a search warrant on the Cruizin Colt?” She asked. How did she know the name of the bar?

“How did you know the name of that bar?” I asked her.

“Do you really think that I was gonna give you a case, and not be a part of it too?” She asked me.

“How did you do this? Your in New Colt City.” I told her.

“Yes, but I’ve also been looking into a few places, and a few suspects who, quite possibly have been involved with that guards murder.” She told me.

“Again, though, how did you do it?” I asked her.

“Well,” She said. I could tell she was getting red in the face. I love when that happens.

“I guess you can say I’m always looking out for you, ya know. I sent one of my guys over here to watch you do your work. And then they’ll report to me what you did, so I could help you out.” She said.

“You sent some pony to spy on me, and give you information about my case? Isn’t that kind of criminalish?” I asked her.

“Maybe, but I really wanted to help you Shadow. Cause I care about you.” She said

“Why would you do all this for me? After How I’ve treated you before?” I asked.

She was silent before she told me, “Do I have to repeat myself?”

..........I have no words. Angel really cares about me so much, that she’d break a few rules, just to help me. Mel was right about everything she said.

Maybe Twilight was right too.

“Well, thank you Angel. Is the search warrant at the Ponyville Detention Center?” I asked.

“Yeah. The commissioner will give it to you when you get there.” She said.

“Thank you.” I said.

“No problem.” She said. I didn’t mean “Thank You” like that though.

“No Angel, I mean, Thank You.” I could tell she was confused now.

“What do you mean?”

“Thanks for everything.” I said. “Thanks for being here, even when I don’t fucking deserve it. Thanks for helping me at my lowest point. And just thanks for being a great mare. I’m glad to have you in my life.” I said.

I felt a few tears run down my face. I guess maybe I can’t suppress my emotions as much as I think I can. I could tell she was crying too. Cause I heard a sniffle on the other line.

“Don’t mention it Shadow.” She said.

We both said our goodbyes, and we hung up.

Celestia damn it.

“SHADOW!” I heard a loud voice call out to me. It was Twilight and Spike. They were both running toward me. They looked like they had some important info to give me.

I didn’t say anything, but I could tell Twilight had some remorse in her eyes. She just had that look in her face. I’ve seen it several times when I interrogated ponies.

"Mr. Shadow, we've got a search warrant for Cobalt's house. Maybe we can find something there. We better hurry." Spike told me.

"That's good. An old friend of mine just called me and said there's also a search warrant for The Cruizin Colt. We could look into that place after we get Cobalt." I told them.

"Yeah, let's go." Spike said as we all quickly trotted over to Cobalt and Steel Spear's home. Twilight looked at me with that remorseful look she had just a moment ago as we ran.

I didn't say a Celestia Damn thing to her.

*******Steel and Cobalt's Home*******

I knocked on the door a few times. No answer. So I decided to call out.

" COBALT, THIS IS DETECTIVE SHADOW HAZE! Open up, or I will be forced to break it in." I yelled. Again, no answer. So, I pulled out my gun, held it in place, and I kicked that fuckin door in as hard as I could.

" COBALT? Are you home?" I called out as I searched the living room and kitchen. He wasn't there. I made sure I had my gun pointed out while I was searching. Never know when an ambush could happen.

"Empty in the bedroom." Spike called out.

"Empty in the basement." Twilight called out.

I looked in the bathroom. He wasn't there. "Empty in the bathroom. Cobalt isn't here." I called out to Twilight and Spike.

" TWILIGHT! SHADOW! GET IN HERE!" Spike called out to us very frantically. Twilight and I immideatly rushed I to the bedroom of Steel and Cobalt. I saw Spike pointing to the mattress.

"I think I saw something under there. I didn't wanna move it, cause I didn't wanna ruin any evidence." He told me.

I looked at Twilight. "Help me lift this." I told her.

She nodded. "Okay."

We then both lifted the mattress with ease. And what we saw that was underneath the mattress, was exactly one of the things I was looking for.

It was a knife. A knife that was covered with blood. Which was dry now, but I'm sure Cadaver could help out with this. I levitated the knife, and put it in a bag.

I turned to Twilight. "Get this bag over to Cadaver. Tell him to get started on it at once." I told her. She nodded and ran out the door.

"So, Cobalt really DID kill Steel?" Spike asked me.

"He had help with Berry Breeze, but yes. He did." I told him.

Spike shuttered. Can't say I blame him. This just proves there is a killer in town. And he's already got two victims. Steel Spear, and just earlier Midnight Whistle.

As I walked out with Spike, I heard hoofsteps coming. And somepony had come around the corner of the kitchen. It was Cobalt. Who didn't look to happy to see me right now.

"Hey, why the fuck are you in my house? And what the hell did you do to my door?" He angrily yelled.

I got this son of a bitch now.

"Just catching a killer. Cobalt, your under arrest." I told him. And, again like with Duke Bronco, Cobalt has to run. He ran out the door where the kitchen was and ran outside, with me on his tail. Spike had taken the liberty to fly above him to help me out.

"COBALT! Stop running, or I will have no choice but to use excessive force." I called out to him.

"NO, I CANT GO TO JAIL!" He called out very frantically. He sounded scared. For what reason though?

Spike had managed to fly ahead of him just a little bit, and he blew a big wall of fire on front of Cobalt, stopping him from running. Thankfully, that stopped him for a little bit.

And I came in for the final blow. I tackled him to the ground as hard as I could to subdue him. I was on top of his back, while I cuffed him right there.

"Cobalt, you are under arrest for the murder of Steel Spear. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law..." I continued my Miranda rights to him as I propped him up and walked him over to a nearby bench, so I could get a carriage to take him down to the Detention Center.

After I called them, the carriage would be here in a little bit, I got another call on my phone.

"Detective Shadow Haze." I answered.

"Shadow, do you have Cobalt?" Cadaver asked me. Good to hear from him.

"Yes, I just called a carriage to have him taken down to the Detention Center for questioning. Why?" I asked.

"Well, when the carriage gets there, you might want to come down here as quickly as you can." He told me.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"It's Rocky's wife, Emerald Drops. She says he beat the shit out of her. But she managed to smuggle something out of there. You might want to see this." He told me.

"Okay. I'll see what I can do." I said as I hung up. Why is Emerald Drops trying to help me? Earlier, she was about to fight me and Twilight after I questioned him about his son's murder.

Though, he is a woman beater. That's still something I should look into.

******* Ponyville Detention Center*******

After the carriage had picked up Cobalt, I was given a lift over to there by they guys who were driving it. Cool guys. Anyway, as Cobalt was being taken in, I saw Twilight talking with Emerald, while also helping her tend her wounds on her face.

Fucking A. This mare was damn near brutalized. She had a swollen black eye, a bloody nose, and bruise marks all over her face and body. She looked to be in pain. She needed a hospital, but from the looks of it, she wanted to be here to give us something.

That piece of fucking shit Rocky. It's one thing to be a homophobe, but a mare beater as well?

And he claims he's a good Christian. Fuck that.

Before I sat down next to them, I was given the search warrant for The Cruizin Colt. After I'm done with Emerald, I'm gonna get that fucker Berry Breeze. Hopefully, this is short.

I sat down next to Twilight and Emerald Drops. "Hello Emerald. I'm surprised to see you here. After what happened earlier." I told her.

She didn't look too happy that I made that comment. "I can do without your arrogant tone Detective. Thank you." She told me.

Me? Arrogant? The fuck is this mare talking about?

"Even so, your husband beat the shit out of you. You should seek a real doctor. Why are you here?" I asked her.

Twilight interjected with, "I told her to see a doctor, but she refused medical attention." Emerald gave her a look. Apparently, she didn't like being interrupted.

"The reason is because of what my husband really is." She told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She then took out a few items from her purse. And the things I saw just blew me away. Twilight looked just as shocked too.

There was a bottle of coat and mane dye. Conversely, there was also coat and mane dye remover. These looked to have been used a lot. Like almost everyday.

Not even just that, those same bottles, she also brought out empty bottles of those same coat and mane dye. So apparently, whomever these belong too, they use this stuff quite a lot. Frequently almost.

Then, the biggest one, she brought out a magazine. It was titled Sexy Stallions Weekly. It had a photo of a stallion, a muscular looking stallion, posing at the camera with a seductive look on his face. He also was showing his junk on the cover too. Didn't need to see that, but I did. Twilight blushed a little bit, and looked away from the cover. Apparently, she doesn't get a lot of action.

"Where did you find all this stuff? And what does this have to do with your husband?" I asked. I think I have a feeling where this is going, but I need to be sure.

She then took out the last thing in her purse. Then, I almost immideatly got the idea. It was a picture of a stallion, who looked around the same age as Rocky. Only, he had a blonde mane and a purple coat. The stallion was getting a lap dance from a young looking Pegasus stallion. He looked about 27 years old, with a silver coat and a green mane. Those two looked to be enjoying each other.

The physical features on the stallion getting the lap dance did kind of look a bit similar to Rocky. It's like he was a twin to Rocky.

"I found this in a little hidden part of the bookshelf in our library. I found them and he got angry. He almost killed me, but I got away. Thankfully, I concealed everything with my magic." She told me.

I guess I understand why Rocky hates his son so much. He reminds him of himself. I also get why he would form this big homophobic church. To cover up everything about himself.

Rocky's gay, huh? Should've known.

Chapter 9: Nearing the Truth

View Online

"So, Rocky is gay, he forms a hate group, and disowns his own son? I guess it makes a little bit of sense." Twilight told me. We had just got done with Emerald Drops. She was escorted to the hospital via one of the officers. Just in case she bumps into Rocky again. From what I was told, she’s gonna stay with Ace for a while. Heh, maybe he’ll treat her right, unlike Rocky.

"Actually, Twilight, it makes perfect sense. He hates himself so much, that he has to put on this facade of a homophobic Bible thumper. When in reality, he's a closeted homosexual, who feels he has to put on a disguise almost, if not every night, to go out and give into his sexual urges. Most homophobes are repressed homosexuals. Trust me, I've seen this before." I explained to her.

"Does his brother Ace know?" Twilight asked.

"I doubt it. Rocky would probably do anything in his power to stay in the closet." I told her.

"Even murder?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yes. Though, we have no proof of him being involved. But, I would like to know one thing, though."

"What's that?"

I showed her the pic of Rocky in his disguise with the young stallion. "Rocky had to have gone to the Cruizin Colt to be with other gay stallions. I'm pretty sure there isn't any other in town, unless it's on the further outskirts of Ponyville." I told her.

"Do you think Steel saw Rocky there, and he might've recognized him?" She asked.

"That's what I'm thinking. If Rocky went to the Cruizin Colt, then there had to have been a time where he bumped into Steel. Cause it looks the two were there almost all the time." I said.

"Maybe Rocky knew Steel recognized him and hired Berry and Cobalt to shut him up so his business wouldn't shut down." Twilight said.

"But if Berry owns the Cruizin Colt, why would he take a bribe from somepony? He obviously must make a lot of bits with all the stallions that come in." I said.

As we thought about it for a quick sec, one of the ponies who works here came up to me. She was a pretty young looking mare. About 20 years old, a red coat with a violet mane.

“Mr. Shadow, an interview room is set for you and Cobalt.” She told me.

“Thank you, I’m on my way there now.” I told her.

She then extended her hoof to me. “Don’t mention it, sir. By the way, I’m Ruby Glow. It’s an honor to be able to meet a big pro like yourself. I hope we can work together again some time.” She said to me in a bit of a humbling way.

Isn’t that nice? I’m actually getting some recognition for this case.

“Thank you Ruby. I appreciate it.” I told her. She smiled and walked off to the break room. I didn’t think I was gonna get a thank you from some pony. Let alone from a different town.

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” I turned around to see it was Twilight who asked me that.

“What are you taking about?” I asked her.

“Getting a thank you for your hard work.” She responded.

I was silent for a couple of seconds before I told her, “I guess. Never got that when I was on the force back in New Colt City.”

“You could say that’s what friends are for, right?” Twilight asked.

I frowned at her. “I’m done talking about this subject with you Twilight.” I said as I walked to the interrogation room.

“Wait.” Twilight said, stopping me. Now, I normally would have just continued walking away to the interview room. But, for some fucking reason, I did stop and turned back to face Twilight.

"What?" I asked her, with an intentional harsh tone in my voice.

"I want to apologize." She said. I just glared at her. "I had no idea that you went through something so traumatizing as a foal. And your right. I don't know what it's like to go through what you had to go through. And, frankly, I don't ever want to know myself. I'm sorry I made you dig up such repressed memories Shadow. You have every right to be mad at me."

......Twilight.

"But, I still want to help you. Not just because it's my job, but I really feel like you need a great friend to talk to about your problems." She continued as she then put a hoof on my shoulder. "And I'm one of those ponies Shadow. I don't know if you consider me a friend, but I consider you a friend. So, please, let me help you." She said.

Damn it. I'm starting to feel something again.

I moved her hoof off of my shoulder. "Thank you Twilight. I can't tell you how much I appreciate how much you care about me. And I'm sorry I've yelled at you for just doing your job." I said to her. She gave me a very warm-hearted smile.

"But...." I paused. "Honestly, how can I trust you or anypony else? When I always have this feeling they'll do something that....." I paused again. Fuck. I'm starting to think about Silhouette again.

"Something like what?" Twilight asked me. I didn't say anything at first. She asked again. "Shadow, what happened to this friend of yours? Please. I want to understand." She said.

Well, she already knows about mother, so I guess she might as well know about my old friend.

"I had a friend in high school. She had a crush on me. And I knew that, but didn't tell her I knew. I hoped she would just get over it." I told her. Twilight nodded her head in understanding.

"Her and I and a few other friends of mine went to a dance together. Her and I dance. And she tells me she's in love with me." I told her.

"And?" Twilight asked.

"I told her the truth. I didn't feel the same way she felt toward me. Of course, she didn't take it well. She ran out crying and went home. Wanna know what happened when she got home?" I asked her. Twilight looked nervous. Like, she knew what I was gonna say.

"She committed suicide. She shot herself in the head." I told her. Twilight gasped and put her hooves to her muzzle. She looked about on the verge of tears. I knew this would happen.

"Then my friends blamed me for her suicide. I never spoke with any of them ever again. I still haven't spoken to them to this day. That's why I'm hesitant to make friends. If they choose to make a selfish decision that will harm me or others. That's why Twilight." I told her. She looked at the ground with tears in her eyes.

"Shadow, I....I'm so sorry. I've been so selfish. I never considered how you felt about friendship. I always just thought that if you accept friendship into your life, it'll make you feel better. I guess I'm wrong. I'm sorry Shadow. I'm so fucking sorry." Twilight sobbed, while letting the tears in her eyes run loose.

I'm shocked. Twilight swore? The F word no less? I guess she really does feel remorseful for everything. And she's crying too.

Great. Just like with Angel Blossom. I can't bare to see her cry, and I guess I the same applies to Twilight as well.

It was my turn to put a hoof on her shoulder. "Twilight, look at me." She did just that with visible tears still in her eyes. "It's not your fault. You were only trying to help me. So don't blame yourself please." I said. Then, I did something I never expected I would do, other then with my sister. Or the rest of my family.

I hugged Twilight. She was shocked too. But, she hugged back. We stayed like that for a few seconds, until we broke it.

"So, are you ready to interrogate this son of a bitch, Twilight?" I asked her.

She smiled with a twinkle in her eye. "Your gonna let me stay on this one?" She asked sounding excited.

I nodded. "We are partners after all, aren't we?" I said. She sniffled a little bit before she gave a smile again. We then walked toward the interrogation room to talk to Cobalt.

Before we stepped in, Cadaver walked up to us. "I got the DNA results on the knife." He said showing me the papers. He gave them to me and Twilight.

"They do match both of Steel Spear's and Midnight Whistle's blood. However, the blood on the bat is different." He explained to me.

"How so?" I asked.

"The blood on the bat only matches to Berry Breeze's. The knife for Midnight, however, belongs to Cobalt. So, him and Berry may have both killed Steel, but it was Cobalt and Cobalt only who murdered Midnight. Berry was there, but he didn't murder him." He told me.

Hmm. Guess Cobalt is a serial killer.

*********Cobalt Interview*********

"I gotta hand it to ya Cobalt. You almost made me put an innocent stallion behind bars for a crime you committed. You almost got me. I'll give ya credit for it." I said to him. He just glared at me.

"Go on. Glare at me all you want, but we have you for everything. The blood on the knife, the hoofprints, the motive, and even a witness who saw you. You helped Berry Breeze murder your boyfriend of 10 years Steel Spear, and you murdered Midnight Whistle. Your looking at 25 to life in prison Cobalt. That is, if you outlive your sentence." I said to him.

"Green told you, didn't she?" He said. I nodded. "I knew she would've cracked eventually."

Twilight stepped in. "Cobalt, why did you do it?" She asked, sounding remorseful.

He growled. "Motherfucker gave me AIDS, that's why. He cheated on me so many fucking times and spread his disease to other stallions. He was a no good piece of fucking shit. He deserved to die." He said to us, while a few tears rolled down his face.

I noticed that and caught on. "You say all that, and yet your crying? Why?" I asked.

"Cause, even thought I was so fucking mad at him, even after he murdered me, even after he cheated on me all those times, I still loved that bastard. I have no idea why, but I still fucking loved that bastard. He made me do it." Cobalt admitted while he let more tears run down his face.

"As for Midnight, he fucking deserved it too. He made Steel like that. Same with everyone of those fuckers at the Cruizin Colt. But I did him a favor. He had HIV too. I got rid of at least one of those disease ridden bastards. Now he won't go around infecting other stallions." He told me.

Me and Twilight were silent for a few seconds before I spoke again. "I know you didn't act alone. You and Berry murdered Steel and Midnight. Where is he now?" I asked him.

"Can't tell you." He told me.

"Cobalt, you have too. Me and Shadow can protect you with how much time you have left." Twilight interjected.

"It's not me. I'm gonna die anyway. It's Green I'm worried about." Cobalt said looking worried for his friend.

"If you cooperate, I give you my word Cobalt, that nothing will happen to your friend. You can count on it." I said. He still didn't look convinced. Twilight wrapped her wing around him. Showing compassion for a murderer? I guess her kindness knows no bounds. I could never show respect or compassion for a murderer, but I guess I can respect her for that.

"Shadow is right. Plus, I'm a Princess. I can speak with Princess Celestia or Luna about any threats against your friend. No pony can hurt her. I promise. So please. Just tell us where we can find Berry Breeze." She said in the most compassionate voice I've ever heard.

She kinda reminded me of Angel back when I was on the force.

Cobalt hesitated a little bit, before he finally started talking. "He's over at The Cruizin Colt right now. I heard something about a back room. That's where Steel would go to have sex in private with a bunch of stallions. It's where Berry does his, ugh, business. It makes me sick." He said.

Twilight hugged him. "Thank you Cobalt. I swear, I'll do anything I can to protect Green Tea." She told him as she got up and started to leave. I stopped her when I asked Cobalt this next question.

"One last question...." I pulled out the picture of what supposedly was Rocky and showed it to him. ".....Have you seen this stallion before?" I asked him.

He took a good look at the picture. Like he was studying it. "Never seen him before, but I do remember, before I kicked Steel out, that he told me he saw somepony like that. He said it kinda looks like his Dad. Guess he was right. Cause it really does look Rocky." He said.

*********Cruizin Colt*********

Before we left, I told Ruby Glow and a few other officers at the Detention Center to go and pick up Green Tea. She needs protection if her life is being threatened by a drug dealer. Hopefully, they manage to keep her safe. As far as Cobalt is concerned, we managed to work out a deal. He'll serve a sentence in a correctional facility until he dies. With constant health care. From what the doctors told me, he doesn't have that long to live. Thankfully, he gave us something to bring justice to Steel Spear and Midnight Whistle. Maybe he'll die in peace.

This time, I'm gonna let Twilight come in with me. She told Spike before we left the Detention Center to stay put. This might get ugly, and she wouldn't want him caught in the potential crosshair. Not to mention, I'm gonna need her to hold every stallion back in there. And to keep a look out in case anything goes down. Hopefully it doesn't.

I entered the Cruizin Colt. As usual, the music was loud, the stallions were horny, and the alcohol consumption was rampant. Twilight unplugged an amp, which was conveniently right next to the door. That made the music stop, as well as all the dancing from the stallions.

"Hey, who turned the music off?" A young looking stallion said. I took a look at him, and immideatly recognized him. He was the stallion in the photo with "Rocky." I'm gonna need to ask him some questions.

I levitated the search warrant in my hooves. "This is a legitimate investigation here everypony. Don't interfere. If you do, you will be arrested on the spot." I shouted out to them. Then I turned to the stallion in the photo.

I pointed to a spot by the bar. "Wait right there. I have questions for you after I'm done." I told him. He did as he was told and sat at the bar. Twilight blocked the entrance to make sure no pony would try to escape. She even had some magic emitting from her horn.

I levitated the picture of "Rocky" toward everypony in the club. "Has anypony here seen this stallion here before? If yes, please raise your right hoof." I told everypony. They all took a look at it, and everypony raised their hooves up.

There was a stallion with a light red mane that was stylised and a dark red coat. He looked about 20 years old. He spoke first. "Yeah, he's here almost every night." He told me.

"Almost? When wasn't he here?" I asked.

Another stallion spoke next. He had a yellow coat and a pink mane with some eye shadow on. "Last night. He must not have felt comfortable after Steel Spear almost got into it with him." He told me.

"There was a fight? What happened?" I asked.

"Well, it was a couple nights before what happened. Steel was getting some action from Sky Dove over there." He pointed to the stallion by the bar. He waived nervously. "Then Violet Breeze walked by and Steel looked at him. He followed him, spun him around, and calls him "Dad" for some reason. Then Violet punched Steel so hard, he almost broke his jaw. Then Violet just ran out." The yellow stallion said.

Violet Breeze? That is the name Rocky came up with?

"Where is Berry Breeze?" I asked everypony.

"He's in the backroom. Doing business." The red stallion said as he pointed to a door that was near one of the poles where Stallions would dance for other stallions. I walked over to there and knocked on the door.

"Berry Breeze, open the door. Detective Shadow Haze. I am here to place you under arrest. Come out right now, and I can help work out a deal with you." I told him.

I heard some russling going on in there. I stepped back a couple steps. Something's gonna happen.

"Not gonna happen fucker." I heard him about. I quickly dive out of the way as I knew what was gonna happen next.

Bang, Bang

Gun shots went out through the door. All the stallions in the club screamed, some like mares, and rushed to the exit. Thankfully, none of them were hurt in the crossfire. Twilight let them out of the club to get to safety. She then stepped outside herself and called 911 from her phone.

I managed to hide behind a wall that was opposite from the door. Then the door opened. There he stood. His red coat and pink mane all stylised and perfect like he apparently wants it to. He had a rifle in his hooves.

"I've been hearing a lot about you from around town Detective. I had a feeling you'd show up eventually." He called out to me, trying to find my location.

"It's over Berry. Cobalt and Blue Flash gave you up. I also have DNA evidence that you were involved. And Green Tea is in the safety of the police. You've got nowhere to go. It's best you surrender and admit to the murders of Steel and Midnight." I called out to him. I looked at a mirror hanging above a doorframe from where Berry is. He was coming right toward me.

He scoffed at my reply. "I had a feeling that boy Cobalt was gonna talk." He yelled out. He also looked to have had a cigarette in his muzzle. Something I would never do in my life. I silently moved toward another location to get away from him, and get a better shot at him.

I heard him shoot at a random mirror. I'm thinking he saw me. Shit.

"Why don't you be a man and come out here and face me mother fucker?" He called out and shot off his shot gun again.

I crawled behind the bar and quickly took a peak. He was about a few feet away from me. I was behind him. I needed to subdue him. I know I had my gun, but I didn't want to have to wound him. Lawyers would love that shit.

I was near the entrance to where the bartender, whose name I never got, would come in to serve drinks. Like a table top entrance. I hid there for a sec, before I heard him coming near.

"You think Steel died a hero, detective? No, he died an HIV infected, disease spreading piece of fucking shit. I'm glad I was given a great opportunity to kill him. I'm gonna get a massive fucking payday, even if I do go to jail. You hear me?" He angrily called. I heard him getting closer. "Where are you? Come the fuck out. Now!" He yelled.

There. I saw his hooves coming near the table top entrance. I quickly enhanced it with my magic, and I hit him right in his face.

"AAARGH!" He cried out in pain. I saw his shotgun drop to the floor. This is my chance.

I stepped out and lunged toward him. He went to throw a punch, but I blocked it. I punched him in his gut, but he pushed me away. He went to grab the gun, but I got my steel chain out and I whipped it on his head. Of course, he cried out in pain. I turned around and bucked his side as hard as I could, and he fell to the floor. I wrapped the chain around my hoof, and I hit him in his face a few times.

I turned Berry around, cuffed him, and read his Miranda rights. "Berry Breeze, you are under arrest for the murder of Steel Spear and Midnight Whistle. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law..." I continued to say everything else.

I looked over at the back room. I'm gonna need to look in there now.

"Stay right here, ya stupid son of a bitch, okay?" I said as I patted his head.

He replied with a simple, "Fuck You!"

I walked over to the open door, and headed inside. And what I saw in there....

HOLY SHIT!

There was crates everywhere in here. Crates that looked pretty full of shit. Shit that many ponies would look at as illegal. I walked over to the first one. I managed to open it with a crowbar that was, conveniently, in the room as well.

Well, I guess I found what I was looking for. There was packets of cocaine in these crates. Guess I was right all along about where Steel got his drugs from. I looked over at another one, opened it with the crowbar, and this time, I found some syringes. I didn't need to look closer to know what it was. Heroin.

Then, I looked over at a desk that was in a another room just opposite from the crates. This looked like Berry's office. I went into the room. He had pictures of famous movies, like the GodPony, Dark Stallion, and Scarhead. All great films. Then, I opened up a few desk drawers. There was a knife there. Probably, when he talks "business."

Then, I found a document that was in his left drawer. It looked important.

As I read over it, I knew that this club needed to be shut down. For the safety of all the stallions here and any other potential visitors.

I walked out of the back room, only to find Berry trying to escape. He pushed at the front door with his shoulders. I need to stop him.

"FREEZE! Or I'll shoot!" I called at him. He didn't listen. He lunged outside. I attempted to give chase. I came out the door, only to find Twilight tripping him up with her magic. Good work Twilight.

Only, he then used a bit of his magic to throw Twilight off. It worked, because she dodged it with her body. I went over to check on her.

"Don't worry about me. Just go get him." Twilight told me. I didn't want to leave her if she was hurt, but I had a murderer to catch. So, I left her there.

He attempted to run again, of course with me chasing him, when all of a sudden, I saw a pony come out of fucking nowhere, and tackle Berry to the ground. I didn't get a good look at him, until I got closer.

It was.....Blue Flash? What the fuck?

After Blue had gotten in a few punches to Berry, he hoisted him up, and threw him over to me.

"He's all yours, Detective Shadow Haze." He said to me.

I was really confused. How did Blue know we were going to catch him? How did he know that we were currently trying to chase after him?

When we got back over to the Cruizin Colt, a police carriage was already there. Odd. I didn't call it over. So, who did?

Anyway, I put him in and sent him off to the Detention Center. Where I'm gonna go interrogate his ass.

I turned to all the stallions. They looked on as Berry was taken away. I figured now is a time to tell all of them.

"Before you all leave, I'm must warn you all to get yourself tested for HIV or AIDS." I told them.

They all looked shocked. Sky Dove came up to me and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Both Steel Spear and Midnight Whistle were HIV positive when they died. If any of you has had sexual contact with either of those two, or anypony who had sexual contact with them, get yourself tested at once." I told them.

They all looked sick. Like they were about to throw up. Can't say I blame them. They all walked away, either to get themselves tested like I said, or to probably wallow in their self pity. Hopefully it's the former.

I stopped Sky Dove from walking away. "I still need you to come down the the Detention Center with me." I said to him.

He groaned in uncomfortableness.

I also saw Blue walking away as well.

"Blue." I called out to him. He turned to me.

"Come with me. We need to talk to you too." I said to him. He hesitated, before he agreed to it.

************ Ponyville Detention Center************

As we all walked in, Berry was still struggling. One of the officers here actually had to use a taser gun on him to subdue him. That's how bad it was getting.

Spike ran over to Twilight and hugged her. Guess I understand. She could've gotten shot. She wouldn't have died, her being an alicorn and all. But she still would've gotten seriously hurt.

As Berry was being taken to an interrogation room, I went up to Blue Flash and decided to ask him what he was doing.

"Blue, how did you know that me and Twilight were going after Berry?" I asked him. Before he answered, he levitated out a police badge.

Holy Shit! Blue is a cop?!

"Sorry if I interfered. But, I'm just doing my job." He said to me.

Twilight stepped in. "This case was just for Shadow and myself. Were you illegally investigating this case?" She asked him. Blue laughed a little bit.

"Princess Twilight, Shadow, I was undercover this whole time." He told us. What?! Undercover?!

"I was sent here from New Colt City when this all happened. I decided to act as a bar goer. That's when I found you there. I was acting. That's all." He told me. Well, I guess I fell for it. He honestly did look like a gay stallion. Especially with all the cosmetics he had on him.

"So, you aren't really gay then?" I asked him.

He shook his head and chuckled. "Actually, I am. I'm a proud gay police officer, Detective. I'm also pretty good at acting. I took a few classes when I was in high school. I did pretty good, didn't I?" He asked me with a confident tone.

Heh. Yeah, I did fall for it.

Wait! He said Undercover. I think I remember somepony told me this.

"It was Angel Blossom who sent you, wasn't it?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Yeah. She wanted me to just check on you. See if you would be okay. She really cares about you, ya know." He said to me.

I blushed again. Angel really did a lot to help me. That was great what ya did Angel.

I looked over at Twilight, who was giving me a sly smirk. I gave her a mean look to get her to shut up. She didn't.

"Thank you Blue." I said to him. "For everything. You really are great at being undercover." I said to him as I extended my hoof for a hoofshake.

He smiled and nodded. "Anything to put that bastard behind bars, detective." He said as he accepted my hoof.

I looked at Twilight, who no longer had a sly smile on her face, but a heartwarming smile.

I gave it back to her.

Chapter 10: Learning the Truth

View Online

*******Interrogation Room with Sky Dove*******

"Why do you guys want to talk to me?" Sky Dove asked us.

I pulled out the photo of "Violet Breeze". "I want to know about this guy right here. Obviously, you guys had to have at least been aquainted with each other." I told him.

He didn't say anything for about a minute, until he started talking. "Yeah, we get together whenever he comes in. He maybe old, but he is a fucking sex machine, man. Would be nicer if he was more open about it though." He told us.

"What do you mean by open?" I asked him.

Sky shook his head in disgust. "I can tell he's still in the closet. He always wants to get away from everypony in the club, so they won't see us. And he tells me constantly to never say anything about us. It's like he's leading some double life bullshit, or something." He told us.

So, I guess my theory was correct.

"Now, one of the guys said that Steel and this "Violet Breeze", got into a fight a few nights ago. What was it that happened?" I asked.

"Well, Steel and I were fucking, and Violet walked past us, and he noticed me. He pulls Steel off of me, and is about to hit him, and then he just looks white as a ghost. I think he knew him, or something." He said.

Oh, this is getting good. I'm thinking I can have an excuse to nab that son of a bitch.

"Violet walked away, and Steel ran after him. Then he turned him around, and for some reason, he called Violet "Dad". Which is weird, because Violet told me he never had kids. Anyway, Violet punches the shit out of Steel and runs out. After that, I never saw him again. The whole thing was so fucked up." Sky explained everything.

Now, I guess there's more motive for why Rocky would want his own son dead. He catches him having sex with a guy he's been with in secret, finds out it's his son, son recognizes him, and he worries he's gonna reveal his secret due to they're history.

But, does that mean he payed off Berry and Cobalt to kill him?

"Let's back track for a quick sec. So, when you say he's not open, and he has to do things in private, do you mean you go to a different room in the club? Like, say maybe, this backroom I've heard about?" I asked.

Surprisingly, he shook his head. "Hell No! I'm never going in there again." He shuddered.

He looked like he saw something happen in there. Something bad. This was getting interesting.

Twilight stepped in. “Did something happen there?” She asked.

He quickly replied “Yes!” Like he was really frightened.

“What was it that happened?” I asked him.

He hesitated before he started talking. “Berry did something there a few months ago. Something bad.” He said looking terrified.

“What did he do?” Twilight asked sounding concerned.

“He...he fucking...he drugged one of my friends.” He yelled out.

Twilight looked shocked. I wasn’t. I’ve seen stuff like this before.

“Did he rape him?” I asked. Twilight have a cross look that asked why the fuck would you ask something like that. That look faded when Sky Dove nodded.

Twilight shuddered.

“What was this friend’s name?” I asked him.

“Spector Mark.” He said.

.....Oh Shit.

"Spector was Duke and Bold's cousin. They said he contacted HIV from having sex with Steel." I said out loud.

"But, who's to say Spector unknowingly gave it to Steel, after he was raped by Berry. Maybe, Berry gave all those stallions HIV, and tried to blame Steel for it. I mean, practically everypony there did have sex with Steel. He probably took advantage of that." Twilight said.

That was when I levitated out that little document I found in Berry's office. "You might be right about that Twilight." I said as I showed her what I saw.

Twilight's eyes got bigger as I showed them to her.

She then looked at me as I said, "It's time we interrogate the son of a bitch."

She nodded with a look of determination.

We sat across from Berry Breeze. I almost felt the nerve to make sure Twilight didn't try to attack him, like she almost did to Rocky. But, to he credit, even if she wanted to smack this son of a bitch, she kept her cool. And I respect that.

"There's no point in trying to lie to me, Berry. We have evidence on you for Steel's murder. And you were there to attempt to murder Midnight Whistle. Though, Cobalt did it for you. Your DNA was all over the crime scene, as well as the murder weapon. The only thing I wanna know, is why?" I said to him.

He scoffed at my statement. "Didn't you hear me back at the club? The fucker gave me HIV, that's why. Dumbass." He said all smartass like.

Heh. He's about to find out that I know his little secret he's been hiding. I threw over the documents at him. The look on his face was priceless.

Pissed off, shocked, and pretty much scared all at once.

"Wrong. You've had HIV ever since you were a teenager. You were diagnosed 12 years ago. Right before you opened up your little club. You've been hiding this secret from all the other stallions who come to your club. You take them into your little backroom, have unprotected sex, and you infect almost everybody there." I explained to him.

He looked nervous. Good.

"Sky Dove gave you up. He witnessed you drugging Spector Mark, and raping him. Steel didn't infect him, you did." I said, as I levitated out something else that he didn't like to see. "And that guard you hired to make sure none of the ponies from the Fight Against Gays Society would barge into your club, he threatened he'd kill him if he went to the police to report your crime against him. And you payed him 20,000 bits, just to make sure he'd keep quiet about what you did, as well as your condition." I explained to him.

"Tell me, Berry, how does karma feel? Cause that's what's happening to you, right now." Twilight chimed in.

Then, all of a sudden, Berry calmed down. "I see you two have really found me out. You caught me red hoofted. So, I guess there's no way of getting out of this." He said, rather confident. That weird.

"Unless, you completely come clean, then yes." I said to him.

He nodded. "Yeah, me and Cobalt did it. We killed him." He said, with the least bit of remorse in his tone. Twilight shook her head at him.

"Me and Steel had sex a few times in the backroom. He told me about Cobalt. I figured he had to have been pissed off that his boyfriend of 10 years was cheating on him. So, I went to him one day, we talked in some alley way, and we decided to kill Steel. But hey, I'm at least gonna be rich." He said with a cocky grin on his face.

I remembered I heard him say something about "getting a big fucking pay day" back at the club.

"So, somepony payed you and Cobalt off to murder Steel?" Twilight asked.

Berry nodded. "Yeah, it was that "Violet" guy--" He used his hooves for air quotes "--, but I knew who he really was." He said.

"You know that Violet Breeze is really Rocky of the Fight Against Gays Society?" I asked him.

"Pfft." He snorted. "No shit, I knew. It was so fucking obvious it was him. After all those rallies, marches across Ponyville, the preaches, I knew instantly that Rocky was hiding the fact that he was gay. I could sense it." He told me.

"How?" Twilight asked.

"I was once in the closet too, princess. I did so much to cover up that I too am gay as well. Only difference was, I one day just accepted that I was gay, and decided to embrace my lifestyle. Obviously, Rocky didn't." He said.

"So, if you don't like Rocky, why would you let him in your club? Let alone do business with him?" I asked.

"Cause he's still a customer, detective. See, I may not look it, but I am a very professional club owner. I would never turn away a customer. No matter how much his views disgusted me. I especially don't turn away a chance to make some money, if you know what I'm saying." He told me.

"When did you, Cobalt and Rocky make this plan? And how much money was he offering you two?" I asked.

"A few nights ago. Steel recognized him, and he immideatly came to me, very early, the next day. He told me he wanted Steel dead. Didn't say why, but he offered me 40,000 bits. I figured one less guy wouldn't be too bad business, so I accepted." He said.

"How did Cobalt agree to it?" Twilight asked.

"I knew where him and Steel lived. Steel was on guard duty that day. I told him all what goes down at my club, including all the cheating Steel does on him. He actually knew about all that. So, I offered him a chance to get revenge on him, and some money as a bonus. Thing was, he didn't take my offer to split the money fifty-fifty. Guess he was willing to kill him for free, if he had the chance." He told her.

Okay, this is all starting to come together.

"So, if your gonna get a payday from him, why are you telling us all this?" I asked him.

He shrugged, again very arrogantly. "Cause the fucker needs to learn a little lesson: stop being a pussy, and be who you are. He discriminates against my ponies, yet he's just like us. Plus, I heard him say some things about me behind my back. Calling me a "Crime Against Equestria. Somepony that should be put to death for promoting faggy, homo sex for everypony to see." Read it in the newspaper, you'll see what I'm talking about." He explained.

But he wasn't done yet. "Also, I thought, if Rocky does pay me, which I have a feeling he won't, and Cobalt eventually dies, I'll still get money in my checking account when my club goes under."

I raised my eyebrow at him. "Why would your club go under?" I asked.

"Without me, that club won't have any finance's. Plus, now that you've told all my regulars that they could be HIV positive, they'll tear that place down and do some big breakout thing. It's gonna happen, detective." He explained.

I have a bad feeling that he maybe right.

After the interview, I officially charged Berry with the murder of Steel Spear. Due to him coming clean, he's definitely gonna get about 15-maybe 20 years to life. He also had charges against him with drug possession, and rape. Yeah, he was going away for a long time. But, him being honest like he was, he could possibly get out earlier than that.

And if he does, I'll be there.

After we got done with the interview, I asked for Cadaver to look through the bank account of Berry Breeze, just to make sure he was telling the truth. Now, I was thinking about what to do next.

"So, let's go and arrest Rocky." Twilight said, looking ready to do just that.

"Actually, Twilight, before we do that, I think I need to interview one last pony. Just to be 100% sure that Rocky would be capable of something like this." I said to her. Obviously, she didn't like that.

"What else is there to know? Berry gave him up. What else is there to know about that homophobe? He hired somepony to murder his own son." Twilight said looking cross.

"I know Twilight, but I think I need to hear it from somepony who knows him the best of all. Like, another family member so to speak." I said.

This caused her to look interested. "Are you talking about--?" She started to ask.

I nodded, cutting her off. "Yeah. Let's go see how Ace and Emerald are doing." I said as her and I walked out of the Detention Center.

I can't believe I rode on Twilight's back all the way to the Crystal Empire. I guess it worked, cause we got here in quick amount of time, but she still has to control her flying better. She damn near killed me as we landed.

I'll talk with her later about that. Thankfully, we landed, or crashed from my perspective, in front of that same toy store I was at earlier.

We walked in, only to find a rather creepy sight.

Ace and Emerald were kissing each other. Not on the cheek, no it's a lip lock. They noticed us come in, and instantly stopped what they were doing. They looked away from each other with red hues on their faces. They honestly looked like a teenage couple being found out by they're parents.

"D-Detective. I-It's nice to s-see you again. H-Have you found my nephew's killer?" Ace asked me, while looking embarrassed.

Twilight giggled a little bit. To be fair, I laughed too. But, now back to business.

"Sorry to interrupt whatever you two have going, but I need to ask you some questions about your little brother, Ace." I told him.

Emerald looked worried. "Is he coming after me?" She asked.

Ace put his hoof on her shoulder. "I won't let him hurt you, Emmy." He said, comforting her. Twilight smiled, obviously happy that Emerald found a great guy to be with after being abused for so long.

"Trust me, Emerald. He's not gonna hurt you. Not anytime soon. Not after all the evidence I've gathered." I told them.

Ace and Emerald looked surprised. "What do you mean, Detective?" Ace asked me. Emerald looked like her lip was quivering.

It seems like she knows what I'm gonna say.

"I found out that Rocky had hired a few ponies to murder Steel. He offered them money to do so." I said to them.

Ace looked angry. I could see that, but I could also see regret in his eyes. Did he know his little brother would do something like this?

"Can we talk somewhere private, please?" Ace asked me. I was about to say yes, until I saw her face. She looked like she wanted to help too. She wanted to know what made Rocky like this. And hey, she is my partner. I guess I can't say "No" to that.

"Twilight comes with me." I said, earning an excited look on Twilight's face.

"Yeah, whatever." Ace said. "I should have showed you this when you first came in here." He said as he walked in the back. Me, Twilight, and Emerald walked into a little storage area in the store. It had the basic stuff you'd need for storage. Obviously, toys. Some stuffing for stuffed animals, a helium container, and some balloons.

There also was a chair back here to. Guess, whenever he takes a break or something.

"So, Ace, tell me, why does Rocky hate gay ponies so much?" I asked him.

Ace sighed, which made Emerald give him her hoof in comfort. "Well, it all started back when we were growing up in San Prancisco. It was me, Rocky, my mother Ivory Smooch, and my father Steel Glover. At first, we were a pretty normal family. Middle class, but not poor. I thought things were okay, until my mother went and did what she did." He told us.

"What did she do?" I asked.

"See, my mother worked at a mane salon. She was a mane stylist. Did for about 4 years. Well, there was this other mare she worked with, I can't remember her name, but she and my mother became close friends. And I mean, really close. Tightly close. Affectionately close." He slowly said with an emphasis on how close he was talking about.

"So, in other words, they were in a relationship with each other?" I asked.

"More than that. They fell in love. She tried keeping it a secret, but my father found out. He went in one day to surprise her with lunch. He goes in back, and he finds them all over each other." He said.

Oh boy. This was sounding like it was gonna get ugly.

"I take it your father didn't take it well, did he?" I asked.

"Oh, he blew up right in her face. He threw the food at her, and stormed out." He said. Twilight looked surprised. I guess she figured out why some ponies hate others. It sometimes isn't just because they're assholes. Maybe they have a reason. It's not a good reason, it's horrible, but it's still reason nonetheless.

"So, what happened after that?" I asked.

“He divorced her. And he got custody of me and Rocky. That’s when things started to change. Mostly, he started to change.” He said to me, shaking his head in disappointment.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked him.

“He started to take religion very seriously. We went to church before, but after that, it was like he went almost everyday. And we had to go, or else we’ll get a beating.” Ace said.

Twilight looked horrified.

“And, whenever something gay was ever mentioned, he’d get all pissed off and rant on how it’s a “Crime Against God”. But I know the truth.” He continued.

“Which was?” I knowingly asked him.

“He was angry at Mom. He never got over it. He just stayed angry at her. He hated gay ponies for that simple reason alone.” He said while shaking his head again.

“So, with your Dad being a big time homophobe, did he ever accuse, or suspect you or Rocky of being gay?” I asked him.

He scoffed. "Not toward me, but he did toward Rocky all the time. Which would result in him getting a beating. He always got it worse than me." He said.

An abusive father, huh? I can relate in a way.

This time Twilight stepped in. "Ace, did you or your father ever think that Rocky was gay?" She asked him.

He didn't say anything for a little bit. "I didn't think anything of it, until I saw how close he got with a friend of his growing up." He said.

"Who was this friend?" I asked.

" They went to school together. His name is off the top of my head, but I could tell those two were really close. Kind of like how my mother and her eventual wife. I remembered those two would walk off alone with each other. And they wouldn't come back for like a few hours. I had a feeling those two were doing stuff, if you know what I mean." He explained to me.

Oh, this all was getting more interesting by the minute.

"So, did your father ever find out about it?" I asked.

He nodded. Uh oh, this was probably gonna sound bad. "I was cooking dinner one night, and my father came barging in with Rocky by the scruff of his neck. He threw him in a room, and I heard everything that went down. He beat the shit out of him. He kept calling him a fag, and every other homophobic slur." He said to us.

Celestia, just hearing this story is uncomfortable. These two went through so much during they're foalhood.

Kinda like me.

"After that, Rocky started hating gays too. He kept trying to go after every piece of tail he could. To make father happy. He poisoned Rocky with all his hate for gays. All because he was mad at Mom. But I knew the truth. I saw right through his facade. That's why he formed that hate group. To make father proud, and to hide that he hates himself so much." He said while shaking his head in sadness.

Damn. Celestia Damn. This guy has gone through so much.

"I'm a failure as a brother, a son, and an uncle, Detective." Ace said. Emerald Drops nuzzled him in comfort.

"No, you are not. There was nothing you could do. It's not your fault." She said, although Ace still had a sad look on his face.

Then Twilight came into him. "She's right. It's your father's fault. He instilled hate into your brother. Don't blame yourself." She said with kindness in her voice.

I feel bad for this guy. He feels responsible for what everything that happened to his brother and nephew. He couldn't have known all this was gonna happen.

Now, it's my turn. "Ace, the only thing that matters now is bringing your brother to justice. He made his choice to hire somepony to murder his own son. Not you or anypony else could have helped him stop that. It's not your fault." I said to him.

I saw a tear roll down his face as he nodded. "Thank you, Detective." He said. "You know, even though I said that he was a terrible pony the first time you and I met, I still didn't hate my brother. I just knew he was beyond hope at that point. All that's left is for you and Princess Twilight here to get that bastard and send him to jail for what he did to my nephew. So, go get him, Detective." Ace said.

I nodded. "I promise, I will." I said, as me and Twilight began to walk out of the store.

"And one last thing." Ace called out. I turned back to him to see what he wanted.

He levitated that 3 comic book series that I wanted to get for Comet, and wrapped it up in a nice little gift bag. He placed it under his desk.

"Once you get my brother, this'll be yours to give to your nephew. Hope he likes it." He said to me with a smile.

I smiled too. "Thanks Ace." I said as I tipped my fedora to him.

After that, me and Twilight finally walked out of the toy store. Then, my phone went off. I got a text from Cadaver.

"What do you have, Shadow?" Twilight asked me. Oh, she was gonna like this. I showed her my phone.

It was Berry Breeze's bank account. A check for 40,000 bits. He managed to trace that from the other bank account that sent it.

It was Rocky's.

"You ready to get this fucker, Twilight?" I asked her.

She grinned. "Damn right, I am." She said.

We raced over to the Fight Against Gays Society church site. It was time to end this.

Chapter 11: The Final Encounter and A New Beginning

View Online

*****Fight Against Gays Society *****

This was it. Me and Twilight were standing outside of the church of the hate group, F.A.G.S. We know that Rocky is in there. Now, I can arrest him, and be done with this case.

We started to walk toward the entrance. But, before I do all this, I feel like I need to say something to Twilight. So, I stop her in her tracks.

“What is it?” Twilight asked.

“Twilight, before we do this, I want to apologize myself for the way I’ve been acting toward you.” I said to her now surprised looking face.

“I’ve never really been a pony who likes to interact with other ponies all that much. If anything, even though I grew up in a big family, and had a few friends, I’ve always felt like a loner. That’s why I was hesitant to have you work with me. But, after everything we’ve done, I can safely say that I’m glad you’re my partner. And my friend.” I said all that to her. And I mean it. I don’t know if I could’ve gotten all that shit off of my chest if she didn’t work with me.

Twilight has a few tears in her eyes as she smiled very happily. “Shadow.” She said.

Then, she hugged me out of nowhere. I guess she feels great that I appreciative of her. I hug her back. It really felt good.

We broke the hug. “Now, are you ready to get this guy? Partner?” I asked her with a wide grin upon my face.

She soon followed with a grin of her own. “Lets do this. Captain.” She said.

I nodded and trotted up to the door. I knocked and waited. No answer.

I pull out my gun, I look at Twilight for a quick second, and....

CRASH

I bust the door open. I don’t see any pony around.

Twilight and I search around the church. “ROCKY!” I called out. “It’s Detective Shadow Haze again. Come out with your hooves up.” I yelled out for him. No answer. No sign of him.

Fuck. I hope he didn’t skip town.

Twilight came back over to me. “Yeah, he’s not here.” She said, looking nervous.

Shit! If he fucking skipped town....

Beep Beep My phone goes off again.

"Detective Shadow Haze." I answered.

"Mister Shadow, we need your help." A voice I recognized said over the other line. It was Ruby Glow. The hell? How did she get my number?

"What's going on? And how did you get my number?" I asked her.

"Cadaver gave it to me. Look, we have a situation over at the Ponyville Sofa Shop. It's one of the victims father. It's that homophobic hate group leader, Rocky." She said to me. Well, looks like I won't have to go looking for him.

"We'll be right there." I said to her as I hung up.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked me.

"Remember that mare who set up an interview room for Cobalt? She and a few police ponies found Rocky. Let's go." I said to her as we ran out the door.

We made it over to the Ponyville Sofa Shop in time. The building was surrounded by police ponies, looking ready to open fire any minute. There also was quite a bit of innocent bystanders looking on at what was happening, with looks of fear on their faces.

Then I also saw something I didn't want to see. Some of those innocent bystanders were of the Ponyville News Station. They had cameras, reporter's, live microphones, just about everything to get a story for their next broadcast.

I walked over to Ruby Glow, who was using her wing to hold her gun.
"What's the situation?" I asked her.

"Rocky here must've found out where Green Tea was. He followed her all the way over here. She came in with one of our stallions. When they went inside, somepony over there said they heard a gunshot go off. So they immideatly called us." She said pointing over to, believe it or not, that same mare who witnessed Duke Bronco and Bold Ice running away. He name was Cheerilee, if I recall.

"He's holding her hostage in there right now. He's threatening to kill her if we don't tell him where his wife is." She said to us.

Celestia, this looks bad. I promised Emerald Drops that nothing was gonna happen. But, I guess he is looking for her. And if he found out what was going on with her and his big brother, Ace, he would've added another victim to his kill list.

Well, he's sadly mistaken. He's not gonna hurt her, Ace, Green Tea, or anypony else anymore.

It's time to settle this. Once and for all.

I turned to Twilight. "Go to the back of the store. Do you know any lock picking spells?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Yes. Are you gonna take the front then?" She asked me.

It was my turn to nod. "I'll keep him busy. I'll talk to him, and you try to sneak up behind him, and knock him down." I told her. She nodded again.

"Okay. Good luck, Shadow." Twilight said as she quickly, and as quietly as she could, snuck around to the back of the store.

I should've told her good luck. She's gonna need it.

"Tell your stallions and mares to stand down. I'm going in." I told Ruby Glow.

"Won't he kill the hostage if he sees you?" She exclaimed.

"Just trust me. She'll make it out alive." I told her as I started to walk inside. I saw Ruby put her hoof up to signal to her fellow police ponies to not intervene.

I pulled out my gun and slowly walked inside.

BANG

"STAY BACK!" I heard Rocky shout at me. He fired at me, but missed intentionally. It was a warning shot. To let me know he's not messing around. He was holding Green Tea forcefully with a gun to her head. She looked terrified. Tears running down her face. He was standing there, with her, near the employee lounge. The door was slightly opened just a crack. I hope Twilight can get it open without making any noise.

I saw everything that was going on in here. The police pony, who was accompanying Green Tea, was on the floor. Dead. His head was pouring out blood like a faucet. So, Rocky shot this poor guy in the head. There goes another charge on him. Accessory to commit murder, domestic violence, and now murder one.

I had my gun on him. But he had his gun on her still. One wrong move, and she's dead.

"It's over Rocky. Just let her go." I calmly said to him.

"Not until this faggot bitch tells me where my wife is. I'm taking her back home with me." Rocky shouted, while pushing her crying head with the gun.

"I already told you. I don't know where your wife is." Green said with a sob in her voice.

I shook my head. "Faggot, huh? Isn't that what your's and Ace's daddy called you guys back then? Is that why you're so accustomed to the word, huh?" I asked him.

Rocky looked shocked. "What did you say?"

"I know everything. Everypony has given you up. Berry Breeze and your big brother, Ace. They told me you're little secret, Rocky." I told him with a grin.

He looked like he was boiling with anger. Twilight better hurry up.

"You didn't hate your son so much because you hated his lifestyle choice. You hated him cause your daddy filled your head with lies about the gay community. When your mother left your father for another mare. Ace got pretty emotional when he talked about the beatings you and him got when you were younger." I said, as he just looked more and more pissed off. Good, keep him distracted.

"But, most of all, you hated your own son because he was proud to be gay, unlike his in denial father." I said.

"YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Rocky exploded at me. It scared Green Tea a little bit.

"I know that you like to dress up as this "Violet Breeze" character to hide the fact that you are just as gay as your son is. It's ironic, huh? A Bible thumping, homophobic preacher by day, and cross dressing homosexual by night." I said to him.

"I AM NOT GAY! I HATE FAGGOTS!" He screamed at me. By this point, I saw Twilight opening the door behind him ever so slightly.

"I guess it was pretty scary that your own son recognized you at a gay club. That's why you payed the owner Berry Breeze and Steel's boyfriend to murder your own son. So that your secret wouldn't come out to the public and ruin your business even worse than it already is." I said. Twilight was tip-hoofing over to Rocky as quietly as possible. She had a few more steps to take to get the gun away from him.

Rocky now looked like he had been caught. "You have no idea." He said, looking emotional.

"No. But I have an idea. Your father beat you that day he caught you with another stallions during your youth. It made you hate yourself so much, that you feel like you need to put on a charade to hide the fact that you are something you want to change so bad, but can't. You could never get your father to love you. That's why you started up this church. To try and make your father proud." I told him. Twilight was getting so close.

Rocky put the gun to Green's head again, except this time, Twilight managed to grab his hoof.

"LET GO OF ME, YOU BITCH!" He yelled as the two wrestled around with the gun for a quick sec.

Now, it's time to make my move. I dash toward him, and kick him in the face. So hard, that it knocks the gun away from him.

I quickly turn to Green Tea and tell her, "Quick! Get outta here." She didn't have to be told twice. She scurried out of the shop, and got outside to safety.

This time, Twilight got in a few good punches to keep him down. I went over one last time, and gave him another quick punch to the face. I didn't even use my chain. Wasn't necessary for him.

He went to the ground, and I mounted him to keep him there. I quickly got out my hoof cuffs, and read him his Miranda rights.

"Rocky, you are under arrest for first degree murder, accessory to commit murder, and domestic violence." I said, continuing to read him his rights. I got him up, and walked him outside.

"You wanted to keep your little secret so bad, that you have your own son killed, and you take another life for good measure. I hope it was worth it, and may God have mercy on your soul." I said to him, as I put him in a police carriage.

It went off, taking him to prison where he belongs.

Thank Celestia this is finally over.

Cha-Ching That was the sound of the cash register. I finally got the comic collection for Comet. He's gonna love this. Or at least I hope he does.

"Thank you again for everything, Detective. I can't thank you enough." Ace said, with Emerald Drops by his side.

"Just doing my job, Ace." I told him. I looked at Emerald, who looked sad now.

"What's the matter?" I asked her.

She sighed. "I never hated my son. I always supported him. It didn't matter if he was gay or straight or anything else. I was always just so scared of Rocky. That's why I built that damn church. I was afraid of a beating from him. I feel responsible in a way for Steel's death as well." She told me, while tears were in her eyes. Ace put a hoof on her to confirm her.

"Rocky was a violent pony, in denial of his sexuality. He filled you with fear. There was nothing you could've done. But, what matters is now he's in prison where he belongs. So, don't dwell on it. Okay?" I said to her. She smiled as she kissed Ace.

He looked at me one more time as he said, "Again, thanks for everything, Detective. My nephew can finally rest in peace."

I smiled. I bid them farewell, as I left the store.

"Well, it looks like you got everything." Twilight said to me. We were having lunch over at a little sandwich restaurant. This time, I got to pay for my own meal. I had the comic book in my bag, as well as a really nice chunk of change.

"Yeah. Now, I can FINALLY get those damn bill collectors to leave me alone."

RING RING My phones going off. It's one of the bill collectors. How convenient.

"Hey, I'm glad you called. I got the money for the rent." I said to him.

"Shadow, I'm sorry, but it's too late this time." He said to me.

What?

"What are you talking about? I have the money now. I can pay you later tonight, or tomorrow morning." I said to him. BTW, his name is Anchor.

"I'm sure you do, but you are six months behind on rent. You know the rules, don't you?" He said.

No. No.

"Yes, I know the rules, but I have it now. Isn't that what matters?" I said, practically shouting. Twilight looked concerned for me.

"Still, I have to follow rules. The six month deadline was two nights ago. And you didn't pay up right then and there. So, I'm sorry Shadow. I have to evict you." He said.

"This is fucking bullshit, and you know it." I yelled. I think a few other ponies here heard me.

"Yes, but it is what is. Sorry, but you are evicted, and that's that. Come get your things out of here by tomorrow morning. Or you'll never see them again. Ba-Bye." He said as he hung up.

That motherfucker! I feel so fucking angry right now, I'm gonna fucking blow my own head off.

"Shadow." Twilight said, looking to console me.

I can't really hear her, cause I'm fucking fuming with rage right now.

All this work, and now I'm FUCKING HOMELESS.

Me and Twilight walked over to the Detention Center to get my shit. I saw Spike running over to Twilight, and gave her a big hug. Obviously, he missed her. And was worried about her. It's a good thing for him to know that everypony is safe.

Well, except for Steel and Midnight. And eventually Cobalt.

However, when me and Twilight entered the Detention Center, I saw somepony in here that I thought I would never see.

It was Princes Celestia. In the flesh.

All the other police ponies bowed down to her in respect. Twilight ran over to her and nuzzled her. I guess it makes sense, cause she's her student.

"I'm happy you're okay, Twilight." Celestia said.

"You don't have to worry Princess Celestia. Detective Shadow Haze guided and helped me all throughout this whole case." She said, pointing over to me. "Of course, I still helped too." She added that in.

Now, Celestia was coming over to me. She looked down at me. I bowed out of respect. This is truly an honor.

"Detective Shadow Haze. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you put your life on the line to help find out who took the life of one of my Royal Guards. You traveled all the way from New Colt City, just to bring justice for him. I am truly proud of you. So, all I can say, is thank you, Shadow Haze. Thank you for everything." She said to me.

HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT. Princess Celestia, Princess Damn Celestia, just praised my work. She thanked me for everything. And she is the leader of Equestria.

If no pony else in the world will give me the credit I deserve, at least I can say that Princess Celestia did.

"Thank you so much for your kind words, Princess. It means a lot coming from you. I'm just happy to do the thing I'm passionate about." I said to her in the most humble way I could.

Then, Twilight motioned for Celestia to bend over so she could whisper something in her ear. What could she be talking about?

Celestia looked down at me and smiled. "Detective Shadow Haze, would you like it if you would join me for a meeting over at mine and Luna's castle? I have something I'd like to discuss with you and my student, Twilight." She said to me. Twilight smiled a big smile, which was followed by a squee.

What did Twilight just say to Celestia?

I nodded my head. "Absolutely, Princess. But, what is it you would like to talk about?" I asked her.

"Let's just say, I think I have a solution for all of your financial problems." She said.

....What? How did she....?

I stood next to Twilight and Celestia, as they beamed us over to Canterlot.

Epilogue: Goodbye and Welcome

View Online

.......

.......This is gonna be difficult to tell them.

Flashback

"You want to give me a new office in Ponyville?" I asked Princess Celestia. After she teleported me and Twilight over to the Canterlot Castle, the three of us sat down for a little meeting of some sorts.

She wanted to give me a job as a Private Detective for Ponyville. I would stay at the Castle of Friendship with Twilight and her friends. The other Elements of Harmony.

She nodded. "Yes. I heard about how stressed you were with all the bills. And the fact that you were having trouble getting big time cases. So, I can plan to make an arrangement to have an office set up for you at the Castle of Friendship."

"And the police ponies at the Detention Center will help you out whenever you need it. Same with me and my friends." Twilight added.

I cleared my throat before I spoke. "Well, this sounds really nice, Princess. However, I don't think I'll have the money to set up shop. Or keep the bills from getting overdue. Not to mention, there isn't a whole lot that goes down here in Ponyville." I told her.

She chuckled. "Well, you'll never have to worry about payments again. Because all expenses will be paid."

I was stunned. Princess Damn Celestia will pay all the expenses for a new office? I don't think I've EVER heard of her doing something THIS generous for an ordinary pony such as myself. For Twilight, yeah, because she's her student. But me? This is surprising as hell.

"And as far as the cases themselves, it won't just be Ponyville itself you'll be doing cases. Yes, it'll be the main town I expect you to do in, but if there is a case that needs to be solved somewhere in, let's say, Cloudsdale, or Baltimare, or Manehatten, or your home town of New Colt City, or even international places in Equestria, like Yakyakistan, I can give you that case. All I ask from you is to keep doing what you do, and solve these cases to the best of your abilities." She explained to me.

Fuck man. I not only get to have an office in Ponyville, that's is already payed for, but I can, at times, go outside of Ponyville to places I've never been before? The money couldn't line up more perfectly.

But, hold up, there's gotta be something to this.

"Princess Celestia, I can't tell you how amazing this sounds. I get to have a chance to be a traveling detective. And make a lot of money in the process. It sounds amazing to me." I said to her, who was smiling wide now.

"Too amazing almost." She looked confused. "This all sounds like there's a catch to all of this. I'm not trying to sound rude, but I've been in situations like this. And all those times I believed them, something came up later on. So, again no disrespect Princess, but what is the catch to all of this?" I asked her.

Princess Celestia looked over at Twilight, and sighed. "There is one catch." She told me.

Okay, I'm all ears now.

"Twilight told me about your past." She said.

I looked at Twilight with anger in my eyes. The fuck did she do? She looked all guilty like at me.

"Princess, I can--" I started to explain, before she cut me off.

"No need to explain, Shadow. Me and my sister Luna did some research on the night that happened with your mother. Don't worry. I'm not here to punish you, or criticize you. I know that you were protecting your older sister. I still can't believe that a seven year old Colt had to go through something like that. I'm sorry that happened to you. I understand completely why you would suppress everything." She said.

I had my head down in shame. She is right. That is why I try to do that.

"And I won't even get into what happened with Silhouette. It was tragic. That's all I can say." She said.

I still think about her sometimes. I wonder why she did it to this day.

"So, the "catch" is that you see a therapist. All courses will be paid for. I also want you to take Friendship lessons with Twilight. If she is to work with you, I need to know you can count on her friendship to help you whenever you are involved with a case." She said to me.

I had a feeling that something like this was gonna happen. To be fair, my whole family has been telling me for the longest time to see a therapist. To get out and meet ponies. Make some friends. Course, I didn't listen. I just thought all of it was a waste of time.

However, if I want to have this great opportunity, I may as well just suck up everything that I'm being asked to do in exchange for this.

"If you let me do my cases MY way, and give the officers over at the Detention Center some cases as well, I will accept the deal. I'll do your therapy courses and friendship classes." I said to her.

"So, do we have a deal?" Twilight asked, sounding excited.

I stuck my hoof out in front of Celestia. "I'll take your offer, your majesty." I told her as we shook hooves in agreement. This was just what I needed.

So now I have a new detective job in Ponyville. I'm just worried how Mel, and especially Comet are gonna take it. I'm worried they'll think I didn't consider how they felt. But I did. I really did.

It was also hard to tell Angel Blossom this.

Flashback

I managed to get all my shit out of my old apartment. I boxed it all up and went back to Ponyville to move it all into my new home. I let the movers handle my stuff, while I went back to New Colt City to tie up some loose ends.

First, I went over to Angel's house. It was a nice place. I should know. Cause I've been here many times when our relationship was on. When it was off, she'd want me as far away from here. And, of course, I'd listen. Cause, she could, and I used that term loosely, call her squad on me.

Though, I know she'd still want me to be okay. I know her to well.

She answered the door. There she stood. With her beautiful white coat and flowing blonde mane. Her somewhat hypnotizing green eyes. This mare was as beautiful as she was uptight.

When she saw me, she quickly pulled me into a hug. It felt nice. "Shadow! I'm so happy you're okay. I was getting worried about you." She said to me in her concerned tone of voice I've come to know.

"Don't you worry about me. I'm okay." I said to her. She smiled.

"And thank you again for getting me that case. It helped me out a lot." I told her.

She blushed and fidgeted with her hooves again. So cute. "Well, I'm always happy to help somepony I care about." She said.

Her fidgeting stopped when she noticed the look on my face. "Is something wrong?" She asked me.

I sighed and then nodded my head. "Yeah." I said. She stepped outside.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked me.

I paused for a little bit, before I told her everything. "Angel, I got evicted from my apartment."

She gasped. "Oh, Shadow, I'm so sorry. Do you have a place to stay?" She got fidgety and blushy again. "Cause, you can stay with me if you want." She said.

I sighed. Here we go. "Actually, I've already got a place to stay. It's in Ponyville." I said.

She raised an eyebrow. "So, you must've liked it in Ponyville so much, you decided to just stay there?" She jokingly asked me.

I shook my head. "No. I got a new job. Princess Celestia offered me a new office. Where everything will be paid for. I won't have to pay a bit for anything involving it. I'll be staying at the Castle of Friendship with Princess Twilight and her friends." I said.

She looked at me. Her expression looking blank.

"Not even just that, I'm also gonna have a chance to solve cases in other parts of Equestria. Not just Ponyville itself. I'm getting a chance to make really, really great money, Angel. This is a big deal for me." I said to her.

Her head was now down. Oh no. Is she gonna cry again?

"I know it's so sudden, but I needed to make a decision. I didn't want to have to stay with somepony, and be a fucking burden to them. I'm staying with Twilight, yes, but it's still my own place inside her castle." I told her. Her head was still down.

"I'm sorry Angel. But, I did what I have to--" I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence as I was interrupted by her with a kiss. That was surprising.

She looked into my eyes. Tears rolling down her face.

"You're not angry at me?" I asked her.

"How can I be?" Angel replied. "You made a choice, based on your decision. I can't fault you for that. If anything, I'd have been mad if you moved into one of those crappy, run down motels in Bright Town. Where all those prostitutes are. You're moving to one of the nicest towns in Equestria. You're gonna be working with Princess Fucking Twilight. Or, she's gonna be working with you. Huh. I'm a little jealous now." She poured her heart out to me.

I smiled at her now. She was always one of the most understanding mares I've ever known. That's why I've always had a soft spot for her.

Maybe even love her.

"I'm sad your leaving, but I'll always support you Shadow. No matter what." She said. I kinda let out a few tears as well.

"Thank you, Angel. Thank you for everything." I said, as I kissed her one last time.

That was tough to get through. But, I made it. And I'm glad she's doing okay as well. Hopefully, her and I can work together again some day.

And I can tell her just exactly how I feel about her........

But, now I'm heading off to my big sisters house. I'm taking a train there. I'm sitting in the middle train, with Comet's present right next to me.

This is my last official thing I have to do, before I move away. I have a feeling that Mel and Solar are gonna be support me, like how Angel is doing. But, my biggest concern is Comet.

It's his tenth birthday, and I'm gonna have to deliver him bad news that his fucking hero, his uncle, is moving away to Ponyville, and I won't have as much time, as I used to, to talk or hang with him. I have a feeling there might be tears coming ahead on this special day. I still hope not, though.

After I got off the train, I walked up to the house. Where my big sister lives. It was a nice house. Nothing to big, or small. It looked like a decent house where a normal family lived. Normal, huh?

I heard loud music coming from the back yard, where the fence is blocking my view. Even though I couldn't see, I knew that Comet and his little friends from school were dancing to some, pretty awesome music. Mel and Solar must've payed the band a lot of money to perform. That, of it's somepony they know personally who is performing.

I went up to the door, and knocked a few times. I waited for a few seconds, before my own hero showed up at the door to greet me.

My big sister, Melody Rays. She was five years older than me. A unicorn. She had a bright red coat with a black, shoulder length mane. Along with a song note cutie mark to go along with it. She looked happy to see me. As I was with her.

She pulled me into a big hug. "Oh, Shadow. It's so good to see you again, little brother." She said in her kind hearted voice.

"Hey Mel. It's good to see you too." I said to her. I then noticed a particular looking stallion in the kitchen. He was pulling out some cupcakes from the looks of it. Strawberry. Comet's favorite.

This was Solar Storm. Mel's husband of 11 years now. These two have been together, since they were in high school. It was always clear to me and my other "sisters" that these two would end up getting married. And, wouldn't ya know it, they did.

Solar out the cupcakes down on the cooling rack on top of the oven. Then, the pegasus looked over at me. With his blue coat and brown, kinda spiky mane. Along with his planet of Equestria cutie mark. He looked over at me and smiled.

He laughed. "Good to see you again, Shadow. Long time, no talk. How ya been?" He asked.

"Well, other than getting off of a tough murder case, I guess I'm fine. But, I've been better, I guess." I said to him.

He nodded. "Well, that's good." He said.

I looked around the kitchen, which lead into the living room. "Any idea where I can put this?" I said, as I levitated my present, which was in a gift bag, for Comet Chaser.

Mel pointed over toward an empty space between the couch and the chair. That's where I saw all the other presents that Comet will be getting from his friends and his mom and dad.

I nodded and then quickly put it over where all the other ones were.

"So, are you gonna go and say "Hi" to Comet? He's been waiting anxiously for you, ya know." Mel told me.

Well, here comes my other hard thing I have to do now.

"Actually, before I see him, I need to tell you both something. And, it's not easy." I said to them.

This caused Mel and Solar to look concerned for me. "What's wrong, Shadow?" She asked me.

"Yeah." Solar chimed in. "Are you okay?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay. Here's the thing."

After that, I explained everything to them, just like how I did to Angel a little while ago. Celestia, was it hard to get this all out to them? The looks on their faces. They looked genuinely surprised.

"So, are you guys okay? You know, with my decision?" I asked them. I could feel some emotion in my voice as I asked that. This was so fucking hard to do.

Mel got up off the couch and approached me. She looked at me with a bit of a stern look in her eyes. The kind when a parent doesn't have to tell a kid when he's done something bad. He just knows it when you give him that look.

Oh, fuck. Is she mad at me?

My question was answered when she pulled me in for a hug. I was surprised, but thank Celestia she's not angry with me. And it looks like Solar isn't either. Cause he came up, and gave me a nice pat on my shoulder with his hoof.

"I'll always support you, Shadow. I made that promise a long time ago. And I will keep it. All the way to the end." She said to me. "I'm proud of you for making your own choice. Heh. My baby brother is all grown up." She jokingly said.

I chuckled. "Ah, come on, Mel." I said back to her in a joking way.

"Well, I'll support you as well, Shadow. But, I won't lie when I say, I'm really gonna miss you, man. It's gonna be weird without you in good ol' New Colt City." Solar said.

"We're all gonna miss you, Shadow. Good luck. And take care of yourself out there, okay?" Mel said, looking to have a few tears in her eyes.

I have a few as well. "I will. You know, I will." I said, as I brought her into a hug of my own. Which, she accepted.

After I broke the hug, I decided to FINALLY do what I ultimately came here for.

To see my favorite nephew.

I looked outside to see him, and his school friends, dancing outside. Yeah, I love my nephew, but he's not that good a dancer. Not like it's a competition. But, if he was going to enter dance classes, which I don't see, cause he wants to be like me, he'll have a LONG way to go.

I walked outside to the loud music, all of the kids dancing around, when I heard that excitable little voice I know and love.

"UNCLE SHADOW!” I turned and saw my little nephew gliding toward me with his little wings. He was a little Colt with a blue coat and a spiky black mane, along with a bright flashing comet for a cutie mark. He held his little hooves open, as he now welcomed me into a big hug.

Only, since he was coming at me with such excitement and speed, the result was, he knocked me flat on my ass. As I was on the ground, I heard a few laughs from a few of his friends. I guess it was a pretty laughable situation.

He pulled his arms off of me, and stared down at me with a super excited grin on his face. "Hey, Uncle Shadow. I'm so happy you came." He said.

I chuckled again. This time, I ruffled his little mane up. "Heh. Anything for my number one fan. Good to see ya, kiddo." I said.

He laughed and got off of me. He then turned to all of his friends. "Everypony, I'd like you to meet my Uncle. Detective Shadow Haze." He proudly said, as he presented me like I was some kind of reward.

Some of the fillies and colts looked at me with either amazement, casually, or intimidation. I guess I understand that part. I mean, back during the case, I heard some pony call me a demon under their breath.

I put on a smile. “Hello, my little ponies. It feels good to be here. And I’m really happy that my little nephew has a lot of friends.” I said to them.

Comet then stepped in and proceeded to tell a story about how awesome I am. Heh. My little number one fan, alright.

“So, you guys, my Uncle Shadow here, he’s the one who solved that case with that poor Royal Guard in Ponyville. He fought tooth and nail to bring justice to him. And I know that he bagged the big jerk who did it.” He told all of them.

He then turned to me. “Isn’t that right, Uncle Shadow?” He asked all excited like. This caused the others to look at me with interest.

“Well, I don’t know if I should tell you this story, my little ponies. I don’t want to give any of you nightmares.” I said to them. Now they REALLY looked interested.

There was one colt who spoke first. He was Comet’s age. He also was a pegasus. He has an orange coat with a spikey blonde mane.

“I won’t get scared. I’m not afraid of anything.” He said with a type of proudness in his voice.

Then, there was was a unicorn filly. She had a light pink coat with a dark pink mane that went down to her shoulders. She, honestly, looked like Pinkie Pie. Minus the horn and the long mane.

“Yeah. This sounds interesting. I’d like to hear it too.” She said, sounding excited.

Finally, there was another colt, who was just an earth pony. He had a white coat with a clean cut mane that covered one half of his face. My guess, he’s considered “the cool kid”.

He scoffed at me. “I’ll listen, but it’s probably not as interesting or scary as Comet says it is.” He said in a rebellious kind of way.

That caused Comet to look at him all stern like. However, the unicorn filly looked completely fond of him. Hence, the whole bad boy attitude.

Well, if these ponies wanna hear, they wanna hear it.

“Okay. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I said. After I said that, Comet and all of his friends, including the three I just mentioned, sat down in front of me, eagerly awaiting to hear the whole story about everything that went down back in Ponyville.

“Now, lets start where I first got the case.” I said. After that, I explained everything that happened. Granted, I made sure to use different words when describing certain subjects. These foals will learn about them one day. They just don’t need to hear it from me.

After a good 20-25 minutes of telling this story, I was reaching the end where I arrested Rocky. At this point, most of the fillies and colts were at the edge of their seat. Listening on with excitement.

“So, I managed to distract him for a quick second, and that’s when I struck him down with a buck to the face. After I gave him a few punches to the face, I finally subdued him. He’s in prison now as we speak.” I finished my story.

Comet, of course, jumped up for joy and shouted, “Whohoo.” He turned back to all his friends. “Did I tell you guys or what, huh?”

The orange colt jumped up in excitement as well. “That WAS awesome, Mister Shadow.” He exclaimed.

The pink filly spoke next. “Yeah! It sounds like you kicked some flank.” She said.

The white colt, I could tell he didn’t want to admit this, but he did. “Well, I guess it was a great story. Good work, Mister Shadow.” He said in a kind of cool voice.

“Well, thank you my little ponies. As an officer of the law, it’s my job to put my life on the line to save the innocent.” I told every pony.

All of Comet’s friends looked at me in amazement. “Your the greatest, Mister Shadow.” Another one of his friends said.

Then, I heard my sister come outside. “Every pony, the cake is ready.” She said, which resulted in them getting even MORE excited.

They all ran inside to get a piece of cake. I guess I’ll have one as well. Mel’s cooking was always great.

After every pony was given a piece of cake, it was now time for the opening of the presents. The moment of truth for me.

Comet got a few nice things from a few of his friends. One, he got a nice pair of goggles. He could use them during his flying. He was a big Wonderbolt fan, so maybe he can live out that random in a way here.

He also got a few comic books here and there. Thankfully, none of them were the one that I got. His parents got him a few video games. They were said to be really great. Maybe even better than during my time. Hope he likes them.

Okay, now it's my turn.

I levitated over my gift bag to him. "This one's from me, Comet. Hope ya like it." I said to him.

He smiled excitedly again. "Thanks Uncle Shadow." He said as he pulled out the gift paper. He pulls out the comic collection.

The look on his face. It's like he's so surprised, that he can't even speak. Until he finally did.

"U-Uncle Shadow. I-Is this--?" He started asking me with that surprised look on his face.

I nodded. "Yep. Found it in the store at the Crystal Empire. Had to work harder on that case, but it was worth it. Hope you enjoy it, kiddo." I said. I really do.

Then, out if nowhere, he flew over and hugged me again. Though, this time, he didn't knock me on my ass again.

"YOU ARE AWESOME!" He exclaimed. "Thanks Uncle Shadow. I love it." He said as he looked up at me with a smile on his face.

I chuckled and ruffled his little mane. "No problem, kiddo." I said.

About an hour or two later was when the party came to an end. All the guests were leaving. Comet, the little gentlecolt that he is, was walking every pony out, thanking them for coming and wishing them goodnight.

Right now, I was talking with Mel and Solar about when I'm leaving.

"So, you're gonna tell Uncle Dark Moon and Aunt Mystic Shine right? And the others as well?" She asked me.

I nodded. "After I'm done here, I'm gonna go around the city and tell them in person. I don't wanna tell them over the phone." I said.

"Well, that's good." Solar said.

Mel then looked concerned. "But, what are you gonna tell Comet?" She asked.

I sighed. "I'm gonna tell him right now. When he's done with what he's doing." I said.

Solar put his hoof on my shoulder again. "Like I said Shadow, we're really gonna miss you." He said.

"Yeah. Don't forget about us, okay?" Mel said.

I smiled. "Come on you two. I'd never forget about--" I was then interrupted by what appeared to be a gasp.

Oh no.

I turned around and saw the one thing I didn't want to see. Something I was so worried was gonna happen. Something I wanted to avoid.

Comet was standing a few inches away from us. With tears in his eyes. His lip quivering. A few whimpers escaping his throat.

Mel and Solar, obviously saddened by their sons state, looked at him with the most sympathetic look they could ever give.

"Comet." Mel said with compassion in her voice.

But, before any other word was said, Comet ran out the door, and flew away as fast as he could. I could hear him crying a little bit as he flew off.

Oh, that poor kid.

Solar looked like he was gonna fly after him, until Mel stopped him. "Why did you stop me? We gotta go after him." Solar Storm said.

Mel shook her head. "No need to worry. I know EXACTLY where he's going. Plus, we should let him blow off some steam." She said.

I sighed. "Where is he going?" I asked.

I made it to the pond. This was where Mel says Comet likes to go sometimes to be alone. And, low and behold, she was right. I looked over and saw Comet sitting near the pond, crying his poor little eyes out.

I told Mel and Solar to let me handle this one. He needs to hear what I'm about to say from me.

I walked over to Comet and sat next to him. "Hey kiddo." I said. He looked over to me with tears in his eyes. And then looked back down.

I sighed. "Look, Comet, I'm really sorry you had to hear all that." I said to him.

He sniffled a little bit. "You're really leaving? You're moving away?" He asked me with a sob in his voice.

I put my hoof on his shoulder. "Yes. I was in a lot of financial trouble with my apartment. And I got evicted. So, Princess Celestia offered me a job." I explained to him.

He looked surprised. "Princess Celestia?" He asked, kinda in amazement.

I nodded. "Yeah. She offered to help out with all my money troubles. Plus, I'm gonna be in other places to solve cases as well. It's not just Ponyville. This is a big deal for me, buddy. I had to." I said, sounding compassionate myself.

He sniffled again. "So, it's official?" He asked. I nodded my head yes.

"Well, I guess I'm happy for you, Uncle Shadow. I am, really." He said not trying to look even sadder than he is now.

"I-I just didn't think think that it'd be over so fast. I guess I'm just sad about--" He kept talking before I interrupted him.

You know, I look at this kid, and I honestly can see that his mind is made up about wanting to be a detective one day. Just like me. Kinda like how I've made up my mind about moving. Me being in town was helping hold onto a dream. A dream he wants to Chase and achieve. Now that I'm leaving, he may not have that as much.

Fuck. Why not give the kid something to hold onto? I may not like that he wants to be like me, cause my job can be traumatizing. But, it's his dream. So, why the hell not?

"Yeah, kiddo. There's a lot of things that are gonna change now. Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight, the Elements of Harmony, so many ponies are gonna demand my time. So, I won't be here a lot to see you." I said to him, looking at his face that still had tears in them.

He then looked a bit surprised when I gave him a smirk. I ruffled his mane again. "But, do you honestly think that that is gonna be enough for you to get out of being my successor?" I asked him, my confidence rising.

"Successor?" Comet asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not gonna be a detective when I'm 60. I gotta pass down my knowledge to somepony to keep it going. And who better to pass it down to then my number one fan?" I said.

He got an excited look on his face again. "Really?" He asked out loud.

"You know it." I told him. He then hugged me again. I mean that. When I do have time, I'm gonna give as much knowledge as I can to my nephew. Cause I know he has the heart to follow in my hoof steps.

And I look forward to it already.

So, after a couple more days of saying goodbye to my family, I FINALLY am ready to make the change and move to Ponyville for good.

I got off the train, and who was right there waiting for me?:

Princess Twilight.

"Hello, Twilight." I said.

"Hello, Shadow." She said back. We then started walking over to the Castle of Friendship. I was kinda looking forward to seeing what it looked like.

"So, when am I gonna meet the other Elements, Twilight?" I asked her.

She had a smile on her face. "Oh, you'll be meeting them sooner rather than later." She said. I raised an eyebrow. The way she said it made it look like she was planning something.

Anyway, we made it inside. Though, it was dark as hell in here. This didn't feel like the same building I walked into not too long ago.

"Why are the lights out?" I asked Twilight.

But, before I could get an answer, I was greeted with something I didn't see coming.

" SURPRISE!" I heard a ton of ponies, that I didn't know, yell out as the lights were turned back on. There had to have been about 30 ponies here. After that outburst, I heard some music playing.

"Did ya like it? Did ya like it? Were you surprised, huh?" I suddenly was being questioned by that pink pony I met a little bit ago. Her name was Pinkie Pie. She looked excited to see me. Kinda like Comet.

"Yes, I was surprised." I answered non-chalantly.

She squeeze and ran off to greet other party guests. I heard about the mare's party's before from a few family members of mine.

I walked up to Twilight, who was drinking punch. "Why did Pinkie throw a party for a stranger like me, Twilight?" I asked her.

She giggled. "It's her way of saying "Welcome to Ponyville." And I feel that way too." She said, as she put her hoof on my shoulder.

"Welcome to Ponyville, Detective Shadow Haze." She said with a warm smile on her face.

I was surprised. Literally and figuratively. All the ponies here seem nice, and they do something like this to welcome a new guy. I guess I might as well join the party-goers and have a nice time.

I think I'm gonna like it here.