Carrot Top bawled until her tears ran dry. She chose a terrible day to wear makeup, and it dribbled along her yellow cheeks with a grim shine. Gumshoe merely looked on as she collapsed over the body of her good friend, crying and wailing. The police tried to pull Carrot Top away from Berry Punch, but she hung on for dear life. Her howls of sorrow became that of pain, and by the time the police had bagged Berry Punch, Carrot Top was screaming her lungs off.

"Miss Top. Miss Top. Miss Top." Gumshoe was starting to get impatient. He waited until Carrot Top was worn out. She was still sobbing, but she was far more subdued.

"Look, Miss, if you have anything I can go off of, we can find the killer..."

Carrot Top sniffed as she wobbled up to her hooves. "I might know s-something."

"Would you mind walking and talking, ma'am? I'd hate to be stuck in this cold." Carrot Top nodded slowly, running her hoof through her hair. This was going to be a long walk.

"So you believe that Twilight had something to do with this?" Gumshoe was at Carrot Top's home now. He was penning down what Carrot Top was saying as he sipped some coffee she had prepared for the both of them.

"I can only hope you've heard of her." Carrot Top moved the spoon in her cup around aimlessly. She really didn't want to be interviewed by Gumshoe. He was nice and all, but he was far too intrusive. All these detective types are exactly the same, aren't they?

"I heard something about Twilight butchering a metric fuckton of ponies back a few months ago. Why Princess Celestia won't just kill the bitch, I will never know." Carrot Top nearly giggled at this last comment, but remembered the torture she experienced in the Books and Branches basement. She quickly suppressed her laughter and returned to the task at hand.

"I wouldn't doubt the Witch's involvement." Carrot Top took a sip of her coffee. "We broke her jaw, though. I don't have any idea how she could have used her teeth to kill Berry."

"That might rule her out... did you say you broke her jaw?"

"Pinkie Pie broke her jaw and her horn. I watched her do it. She shouldn't be able to cast any magic, at least in theory. Doesn't stop her from killing the occasional moron, however." Carrot Top smirked when she thought of Pinkie Pie jumping up and down on the poor gal's face. Did I call her a poor gal? I meant horrific witch.

"The occasional moron?" Gumshoe looked up.

"Mostly kids. It took us an hour to get her to spit out Pipsqueak." His hooves never did recover from that gastrointestinal acid.

"That doesn't sound like a fun pony to interview. I could be hurt." Gumshoe didn't look like the rough-and-tumble type. Luckily for him, Carrot Top had no such qualms.

"Let me handle her. She couldn't kill me if she wanted to."

"How so? You got some sort of magic ward?"

"You could say that."

"I could say a lot of things about you, Miss." Carrot Top frowned at his sly pass. This unicorn was sneakier than he looked.

"I think it might be better if you continue this investigation on your own. I have... issues to attend to." Given Gumshoes expression, he clearly understood the message.

"So you're backing out on Twilight, then?"

"No. I'll do that much for you." She wasn't one to back out on promises. Gumshoe closed his notepad and put on his hat once more, trotting to the door. Carrot Top met him at the door, wishing him out.

"If you ever need me... well, you know where my house is." Gumshoe winked after this. He was clearly not finished seducing Carrot Top.

"And if you need me, I'll be giving a shit over here." Carrot Top slammed the wooden door on his face. A painful expletive made Carrot Top smirk. Served that pig right. She made sure to turn the porch light off before crawling to bed. She swore she heard Gumshoe say something as he slogged away.

"Good job, Sherlock. You've pissed off another beautiful dame."

Daisy was skipping along the dirt path to her home. There was nopony around on this path, and she liked it that way. She lived a small distance from the city with her adopted daughter, Scootaloo. She could not wait to get back to little Scootaloo. Today was tiring, and the cold weather wasn't doing any good for her flowers. She considered hiring her pegasi sister to keep it sunny around the garden, but she couldn't depend on her funds to hold out for the costs. Perhaps she could lobby with her neighborhood? She was sure they could all share the costs. A multicolored streak along the night sky brought her thoughts back to a familiar recluse.

Rainbow Dash? Daisy thought to herself, dropping the flowers she was carrying.

She never did finish that thought.