One closes, several open (Snowflake mystery)

The city never slept. It couldn't. The life in it breathed so densely, that sleep was simply wasted time. Wasted opportunities to expand, grow, take advantage of, and siphon off others. Ponies, both legitimate and criminal, would play their games even as the commoners slept. Both kinds had their secretive sides, their 'profits' earning them luxury and more bits to bloat on. Secrets that even legitimate ponies would commit heinous crimes to keep secret, or to expose. Such thoughts came easily and were easy to imagine in a city that festered with it. No pony was innocent of this. It was only a matter of time before the city stained the ponies that inhabited it. Renaultar had ensured he was one of them.

He dragged himself off the ruined pony, not daring to look him in the face. Such still eyes terrified him into what had been done. To what he feared he may have done. With great pain, he got up on all fours, hugging one leg to his chest. The knife in his upper foreleg had been jammed in even farther from the fall.

With his one good eye, he scanned about, half expecting another pony to come in and deliver the final blow. Knocked over sheet metal shelves and smashed crates littered the warehouse. A bloody lead pipe and another knife was among them, along with three other ponies mangled in the wreckage. A smeared blood trail caught his eye, suggesting a pony had dragged them self away, but it only led to him.

The damage to his body was terrible. Not as bad as the time he lost his eye, but it was getting close. At least he had a few weeks of recover from the exploding crates incident. With the injuries he had now though knew he would bleed out if he did not get somewhere soon. On his hooves, he limped slowly toward the exit door.

"Come on Renny....Just to the door...out on the street...and you are good...." He passed by a set of steel crates with some cooling machinery on them. Just glancing at them made his spirits lift a little more. The objects he had been seeking this whole time. The Snowflakes of Harmony.

His uplifting moment only lasted so long though as he felt his body creak against the squeaky door. "Just...a little more Renny..." He did not remember the door being so hard to open before. "Almost...there...and...shit." He fell down the sharp drop of stairs to the pavement a few feet below. He let out a painful yell as the cracked ribs, impaled foreleg, and every other bit of his body seared with pain. It would be so easy for him to just lay there, writhe in pain, and wait till he felt better, but then he heard the distant sound of a whistle.

The guardponies were on their way. Someone had called them in. Now Renny NEEDED to get out of there. Now.

"Y'know...I knew a pony like you wouldn't let it rest."

She wasn't wearing her maid uniform, instead she wore a cloak that had seen better days, but one that ponies would look over without a second glance. Loyal's mane wasn't even kept in her usual braids, making her look somewhat...wilder. This change was reflected in her movement as she crawled out of the shadows, looking down on Renaultar from her vantage on the stairs.
She grinned at the bloody guardpony. "But I suppose my masters will be pleased at this little development. The Snowflakes will be returned, no questions asked, and this whole little sorry saga will be closed. So for that, I guess I thank you."

She paused, pricking her ears to the whistles echoing all over. "Can't really stay any more, can we? You've been...very interesting to watch, Deputy. Seven dead ponies? Seven very dead ponies? In this town, word will make it 15 ponies killed. And a dog. They will be hunting for somepony to blame. And won't it be interesting if Manehattan's incorruptible, golden stallion was found in the middle of it all?"

She leapt from the stairs and landed lightly next to the guard. "Interesting, yes. Desirable, no. You are far too entertaining to be locked up. Not going to be a pack horse again, though. You're going to carry your own carcass. Your colleagues are going to be...preoccupied with other matters to see one of their own leave the scene. Au revoir...."

Loyal slunk into the shadows again, leaving the guard where he lay. Swiftly returning to where she slit the throat of a pony, she checked the street below for guard activity. When two arrived, she heaved the corpse through the window, letting it fall to the guards below. She moved quickly. There was a lot to do.

Renny looked up to the new arrival, fearing he had already been discovered, that it was over and he would be locked up. Then he heard a voice that worried him even more. That one mare that he could only grow to hate.

He mumbled incoherently at her as she spoke, mostly grumbling complaints. His demeanor changed entirely at the mention of the deaths. His eye went wide.

Dead? No...No, I was so careful. I even avoided a few entirely. I was just here to check a lead. I couldn't have hit them too hard. His thoughts driveled on the rails of that though, barely catching much of what else Loyal had to say.

It wasn't until he heard the crash of glass breaking that he snapped out of it. His body jolted into adrenaline mode and quickly jerked up onto his hooves, galloping on his hooves like he was on fire. It felt like fire with what condition he was in. The direction didn't matter. He just needed to get out. To move. To not be found.

He had no idea where he would end up. Every bit of his energy and mental power was being spent on keeping himself functioning and alive. It was not until he got a little more than half a mile away that he slowed to a trot and began to feel his body protest.

Not far from Renny's location, a purple-coated unicorn walked, looking around. He thought to himself, 'This feels right... the cards and my intuition pointed me here... a bit of a trek but I feel I must be here...' He looked over at Renny. 'Perhaps this is the one...' He walked over. "Excuse me... Sir, is something troubling you?"

Renny, by now, was slugging his body along. His trots were slow and clumsy. It was late at night, and he was not under a street lamp yet for the new pony to see the blood and bruises or knife in his shoulder. At least not be seen by any pony without a good eye on the moonless night.

"You..could say that..." He tried to speak, but it only came out a wheezing huffs of air. His mouth was dry from the running and he had trouble making a sentence. He fell to his belly, unable to override the temptation to let his legs give out. He turned his head lazily so that his one eye could see the other pony better, his other being covered with an eye patch.

Scryer knelt down to Renny, offering the stallion water and, upon seeing the knife in his shoulder, removing it and wrapping it with a bandage from his saddlebag. "Sir... what happened to you, if I may ask?" He began removing his tarot cards from his saddlebag, intending to use them to learn if he didn't say.

He thought to himself 'I get the feeling that something very bad happened recently; I just hope he's willing to tell me. Accurate though my readings are, they tend to not go into detail and I'll need as many details as possible here.'

Renny used what energy he had left to snatch the water and drink it down. He was so engrossed with the water that he groaned loudly when the knife was removed. It was a deep stab, to the bone, and it bled quickly. The bandage helped, but was a temporary solution in the long run.

Renny looked up to the pony, one eye tiredly looking to meet his. "I....did something terrible..." He winced at his words. Just thinking about it was unpleasant for him.

That couldn't have happen...I protect and help ponies...not....

"I see..." He shuffled his tarot deck discreetly and drew a card, the Ten of Swords, frowning slightly as it crossed his vision before putting it away. "Please, I'll get you somewhere where you can get help... my bandaging of your wound can only do so much."

Scryer sat down by the injured stallion. "What did you do?"

Renny groaned and tried to get up. He slipped on his hooves a few times, but he was a pony of stamina, and managed to get to his hooves. He was nearly trembling in his stance from the energy weakening in him. He had been to this point before. Far too many times though.

"...I...Have done something...terrible....I need to get out of here..." He took a step blindly forward, nearly falling, but caught himself.

Just...need to get my legs going again...

Scryer got up, offering the injured pony support. "I'll help you, but please tell me... is there anything more I can do to assist you? I get the feeling that your action was unintentional by the way you are acting."

Renny felt his thoughts getting dizzy. He didn't think he was capable of any higher level thought processes right now.

"Not...now...Need...rest...bleeding..." His body was still cut in several places. Not as bad as the knife, but still bleeding. He probably would not be much for conversation until he was stabilized and settled somewhere.

"Alright... I think there's a hospital not far from here." He applied temporary bandages to as many of Renny's cuts as he could, then began walking towards the hospital, supporting the injured stallion as best he could.

Renny groaned as he was helped along. But at the mention of the hospital, he began to resist. "No....Can't...they will find me..." He could hardly stop him from pushing him along toward the hospital in his state though.

Where do I even go? Back home?....The Household?

"Where else would you go? You are injured and I do not want a pony dying on me when I can do something about it." He continued going to the hospital. "Again, I apologize for prying, but I had a feeling that I needed to be here; I feel that meeting you here was fate. Is there any way I can assist you?"

Renny still resisted for a while before finally stumbling over and down onto the ground. He groaned in pain, not trying to get up.

"I....Just wanted to help ponies...Its my talent...Protecting...and helping...What am I if...I can't do that?"

He was on the verge of a mental breakdown. And his body was breaking down too. The hospital was not far, but the short distance was miles in his condition.

"There is more than one way to help and protect others... I never got your name, now that I think about it. Anyway."

He lifted the pony up with his telekinetic magic and began speeding up his trot to the hospital. "Don't let a misstep crush everything you've worked for. Seven of Wands..." He had drawn said card from his deck. "Under siege... disagreement with you on the defensive... please don't let this stop you..." He continued on.

"...My name is Scryer." He figured that if he couldn't find out what happened, then learning more about the pony he was helping was the next best thing. "...I'm a fortuneteller and wanderer."

Renaultar hung limply in the air as Scryer took him through the air. He didn't resist anymore. He couldn't.

"...Taking life is no misstep...Its an atrocity to my being. My talent..." His cutie mark, though bruised and slightly bloodied, showed clearly as a shield and heart crest. "...What was it for? Where is she?" His mind started to get light headed, traveling randomly about through his thoughts. "...The filly with blue mane....the clock.....Tickyclock."

"Sometimes one must take a life to protect the lives of many others. King of Swords. The difference between a murderer and a guardian is the knowledge of when taking a life is unavoidable and when there are other options."

He had no idea if the stallion had understood what he just said, but he hoped so. He mused over what he had rambled. "Filly with a blue mane... clock. Hmmm... curious indeed..." He filed that piece of information away in the back of his mind, deciding to keep an eye out for a filly-slash-mare with a blue mane. The clock bit confused him, but he still thought that might be something to keep in mind; after all, a benefit of doing what he did was seeing quite a lot; perhaps he'd run into this filly-slash-mare.

For now, though, Scryer thought, it was best to get this poor stallion some medical attention. He continued towards the hospital, reaching the door and entering before long.

Renaultar groaned as he was carried into the hospital. Upon getting inside the nurses immediately pulled over a stretcher on wheels.

"What happen to...You again?" Said the one who looked like a doctor. "I swear this pony has a death wish. Get him to the ER!"

The doctor and nurses quickly carted him off. One of them looked to be a guardpony surprisingly. Speaking of which, another one approached you.

"Citizen, can you tell me what happen?" He said bluntly, not really caring for formalities. This whole situation was starting to get more suspicious by the minute.

"I came across this stallion injured in the streets and helped him here. Good thing, too; he seemed to be getting delirious." He felt it best not to say anything about his cards directing him to be there; Manehatten residents tended to not believe his art anyway.

He shuffled his tarot deck, drawing a card. He looked at it for a bit before putting it back in the deck, acting though he was just occupying his mind. Inside, however, his mind raced.

'Reversed Justice... something is very fishy here... That one who was injured was a righteous one... that's what the cards told me, but something is very wrong about this whole affair.'

"Do you know this stallion perchance, sir?"

The guardpony looked carefully at Scryer, as if judging him for being a silver tongued liar or just an honest innocent pony. It lasted for several uncomfortable moments before he lightened up and replied.

"Deputy Renaultar Shielder is his name. I know him. And a curious crime was committed around this time oddly enough. There was a lot of blood....You sure you don't know where he came from?"

"I can say with complete honest certainty that I don't. I also hadn't heard anything about a crime. Can you fill me in or is it classified?"

Scryer was thankful for his typical veneer of calm that came oh-so-naturally to him; he decided to keep casual and see if there wasn't anything he could learn.

"I shouldn't but I doubt Renny did it. He is the most honest cop I know....But seven ponies are dead, and somepony that was bleeding a lot left the scene. Renny look's like he was in a fight. I can only guess from there. Lots of strange things going on. Finding the Snowflakes of Harmony too I hear. This will be front page news for sure."

"Hmm... I see. Was he attacked, do you think? ...And, pray tell, what are the Snowflakes of Harmony? I cannot say I've heard of anything of the sort."

Scryer's mind was running at about a hundred miles per minute, though his face remained passive. 'I still wonder about that filly-slash-mare he was talking about earlier... I will have to keep my eyes open for a mare with a blue mane. Something about clocks as well; well, that's another detail to keep in mind.'

"Front page news? I see. I'll have to keep an eye out, then. Thank you for the information, sir."

The guardpony looked at him funny. "New in town? Huh. Well the snowflakes are very rare and special pieces of art themed after the Elements of Harmony. They are nearly priceless. So naturally they were stolen. After some investigation the case was given up. Renny didn't. Nearly killed him twice now it seems."

He looked down the hall and back to Scryer. "If you remember anything more, stop by the station."