—————————[MANEHATTAN POLICE STATION. PRECINCT #5. 2:53 PM.]------------------------ We arrive at a familiar scene. Familiar to me, at least. I hear the clatter of the moving gate, the comments from the others in their cells. We go past the hallway, down to the room where I see my supposed client in with two other ponies. A mare and a stallion. I recognize the mare immediately, Chief Xenon. Despite her odd name, she’s very plain looking. Dirty blond mane all tied up in a neat, professional bun, ...

————————————————[FOUR YEARS AGO, STYLO APARTMENTS. 2:04 PM]------------------------------------- The shrill voice of the radio host somehow managed to wake me up from my third nap of the day, my whole head felt awful and dry. I didn't hear a single thing she said... it was all muffled. Noise. My focus was on my dry mouth. Like cotton balls clung to the roof of my mouth and the strings dug deep into the cracks of my tongue. I look up at the clock hung above my fridge and only now do I notice the...

Guard duty. One of the most boring states of being in the history of the world, Carmine thought. Perhaps it was only slightly better than book sorting, but at least book sorting didn't involve long-winded lectures by his partner for the day. Glorious Valor, a squeaky-clean pegasus with an otherworldly regal air about him. Everything about him said "I know better than you," from the booming way his voice carried his virtues, to his color scheme reminiscent of a paladin's armor. Valor's pristine...

“This is it. I’m dyin’...” a bed-ridden Carmine wheezed from beneath his many, many sheets in his king-sized bed while a thermometer was balanced beneath his tongue. Sweatdrops drizzled down his face like condensation for a cold glass. Despite all the blankets keeping him warm, he still felt like he was encased in ice. His friend and current caretaker, Asuka, heard his exaggerated statement and answered it with a roll of her eyes as she set a bowl of soup on his bedside nightstand. “You’re n...

The banging of the gavel signaled the trial’s beginning. An old, stern looking mare set the wooden instrument down and sat it by the corner of her podium. “Court is in session. Today, we will discuss he case revolving around decorated knight Glorious Valor and the circumstances leading up to his death. The prime suspect has been apprehended and is in this very room as we speak. Mr. Porter, will the prosecution please introduce the guilty party?” An earth pony stood up, dressed to the negative...

Carmine always enjoyed the sand on his hooves. The grainy, loose texture was always a nice antonym to the clodded and clumpy dirt that permeated his childhood. The salty water and the smell of the collective ocean life's toilet did little to entice him, but the sand... the sand was always an enticer. The chill of autumn made swimming nigh unbearable, but the sun beating down on the trillions of sand grains did make the sandy floor nice and warm. He saw something floating off in the distance. ...

The blood red sky loomed over the graveyard, the last quarter of the sun shining over the tombstone of Wolfe Sheepskin. Flowers and aluminum balloons scattered around the freshly dug mound of dirt. Standing solely at the foot of the grave was a mare, smiling sadly as the autumn wind swept her flowing cherry colored mane. Just three days ago, this was a simple patch of land, unfilled and unmoved, until Wolfe's untimely demise. A large tree branch fell on him during his bi-weekly walk through the ...

Everything felt like a dream. Floaty. Carmine felt as if his soul was buoyantly floating above his body and kept from soaring away by a rope tied at his neck. The rope was... cold. Metallic. No, his senses were starting to come back. Vision was restoring... he saw a myriad of blurry shapes, moving and squabbling. What were they saying? He was hearing words, but he couldn't understand them. Screams. Pleas for mercy. As his eyes began to wake up, the blurry shapes began to transition to their true...

Six years ago, Carmine lived a very different life from the stagnant half life that he's grown accustomed to in the present day. The day after Carmine turned eighteen he ran away from his sleepy farming village of Haybale and took the first train to Canterlot in order to join the Royal Guard. His recruitment wasn't born through overwhelming obligation to serve beneath the Princess and protect his beloved home, but for the simple promise of a couple thrills. Life on the farm was a drag. When the ...

Today was a special day. Perhaps one of the most important days of the year for the lovestruck investigator: Hearts and Hooves day. It was a little early, at least a week and a half, but that was the tradition they've followed since their first time spending the holiday together. Carmine could hardly wait for the holiday to come around back then so he decided to reveal his surprise a week early to his lover. It began with breakfast in bed. Then lunch in bed, followed by dinner in bed. He even we...