A Body Discovered, a Mystery Begins
Prologue
"A pony shrouded darkness. That's who I am... and who I always will be." Whispered a soft, silky voice. The room was dark with only one dim candle spreading an eerie light weakly around the otherwise featureless room. The speaker was obscured in shadow. Only a vague outline was visible in the murk. Her tone of voice was neutral, yet somehow brimming with maniacal intent.
"I have our first target ready," the speaker purred. The clopping of pacing hooves ensued and the speaker's soft, yet striking smile was visible in the dark.
"Will you bring her to me, my darling?"
"Of course, mistress," answered a deep and resonant male voice. The small smile widened slightly, almost looking like the bared teeth of an animal flashing in a blanket of darkness.
"Then go, my sweet little pet. And don't forget to dump the body when we're... finished." The male pony left with the sound of heavy hoof beats echoing around the cold, dark room. The speaker slowly turned to face the wall as if looking at something, her smile vanishing. As she spoke again, her voice was full of longing and a sort of elegant madness.
"Soon," she murmured, "Soon I will splatter this world with blood and fear. None shall be joyful... and all will know my name."
"Berry, you are bucking insane!"
"How the hell is she doing that?!"
"Chug, chug, chug!"
Berry Punch slammed the now empty tankard down on the oak table, licking drops of fizzy cider and foam from her lips. Her violet eyes held a sort of drunken determination within their depths as she gazed at her competition, a hardened cowpony from Appleloosa.
"Top that, scaredy hooves!" Berry slurred, swaying a bit in her seat. The cowpony scowled and pulled his stetson down low over his unfocused emerald eyes.
"I ain't no scaredy hooves, ya damn bimbo," He growled, making a clumsy grab for the next tankard. He then lifted it, pushing a chunk of brown mane out of his eyes. Bringing the cider to his slightly parted lips, he began to chug down the fizzy liquid at an incredible rate, not bothering to notice the stray drops that dripped off his chin. The sizable crowd that surrounded the two ponies cheered, stamping their hooves in wild abandon. Berry grinned. There was no pony alive who could drink as much as she could and this Appleloosan was reaching his limit. He was sweating like a pig and swaying so much, she was surprised he hadn't fallen over 5 minutes ago. That 30 bits was as good as hers. As he drank the last few drops, the plum colored pony shot him a confident smile. Reaching for another mug with a relatively steady hoof, she downed it in a few hearty swigs and met his suddenly nervous gaze evenly.
"Don't think you're so tough now, huh?" she said triumphantly, wiping her brow with a smirk playing on her lips. And sure enough... THUD. He fell limply to the sawdusty floor, unconscious.
"Amateur!" Berry yelled joyfully, throwing her empty tankard at the wall. Her comment was lost to the cheers of 15 tipsy ponies, who hastened to lift her up in jubilant victory. She grinned broadly and joined in their celebration, drinking in the praise and the atmosphere. The smell of sweat and fizz and the sound of cheers and laughter made her giddy.
"Everypony! Next round of cider is on me!" The plum colored pony bellowed, her announcement stirring up another wave of applause. Yes, this was Berry's life. And you know what? She loved every second of it.
Hours later, a certain earth pony staggered out the back door of the Bannered Mare, a bag of 30 bits in her mouth and the stench of vomit hanging around her like a cloud. Her hooves were covered with something sticky and, for some reason, feathers and her mane was a sweaty, tangled mess. Just another night for Berry Punch, a night that she probably wouldn't remember.The drunk pony stumbled about, with little to no sense of direction, hoping to perhaps find her way home. Or maybe she'd find a nice alley to pass out in. Either was fine. Wow, it sure was dark. She blinked slowly and squinted, trying to get her eyes to adjust. To no avail, unfortunately. This particular alley was pitch black.
So, of course, she muttered, "Buck it." And began to stumble blindly into the alley. For the first few uneven steps, Berry was totally at ease, blissfully unaware of her surroundings due to her drunken stupor. And then it hit her. The smell. The scent of copper washed over her like a wave. Her fur stood on end and chills ran down her spine. Deep in her brain, something was telling her not to continue, nagging at her to run and never look back. She pushed away the feeling of unease stubbornly, her cider muddled brain telling her everything was fine. And she wanted to believe that.
Oh, she truly wanted to believe that.
She continued forward as the scent grew stronger, trying to ignore the feelings of terror that tugged at the edge of her subconscious. As the end of the alley came into view and light began to filter through from the street lamps, the scent had become unbearable and Berry felt as if she was choking on the metallic smell. She quickened her pace, the primal fears in her mind beginning to take control of her movements. Her breath began to quicken, her heart began to beat harder in her chest. Sweat dripped down Berry's forehead as her terror slowly rose. Then, as she passed a pair of garbage cans, she froze. Something was under hooves. Something thick, warm, and coppery smelling. Something crimson like strawberry jam. Berry's stomach dropped down into her hooves when she put two and two together. She was standing in... blood.
"Oh, Celestia..." she whimpered, her eyes searching for the victim.
"Hello?" She called out hesitantly, hoping to find the injured pony she thought was nearby. And that's when she saw the unthinkable. Her eyes widened and her pupils contracted in sheer terror. Her mouth hung open and horrified squeaks escaped from her throat. Her knees began to quake and her breath came in horrified gasps. A terrified shriek echoed through the streets of Ponyville that night, a shriek that woke half the sleepy town and made those who where already awake feel a chill in their bones. And thus, the case had begun.
"Who was the victim?"
"Her name was Trixie Lulamoon, she was 27 years old. A magician, who would preform in Ponyville regularly. We found her body in a tipped over garbage can next to Sugarcube Corner."
The Ponyville police chief raised an eyebrow at the forensics specialist, who shrank under the gaze the older, more experienced stallion. Chief then turned his gaze back to the papers on his desk, shuffling through them some more.
"And the Cake family?"
"The daughter had a solid alibi. The others are currently awaiting questioning."
"...Good. Tell our new investigator to go check out the scene."
The younger pony made a choked, indignant sound and Chief looked up calmly over his sunglasses.
"The kid claims he knows his stuff, so let him prove it. Accompany him to the scene, help him if he has any questions," He reclined in his seat, a thin smile playing on his lips.
"Although he probably won't ask. His ego won't allow it." Chief chuckled, then turned back his papers. After a minute, he looked back up at the younger pony, who was still standing there with his mouth hung open and shock in his honey colored eyes.
"You still here?" The younger pony quickly closed his mouth and left the room at a steady trot toward the back exit. It was the quickest way to the new recruit's house and the route he had to take. Not that he was too happy about his orders. Why the new kid? He was self-centered, boastful, and obviously incompetent! Why would Chief order this... brat to take on a homicide this odd and brutal? As the forensics pony exited the building, he sighed. Though he had serious doubts about the new recruit, he knew better than to cross Chief.
"Here, you do as you're told." Chief always said to the force. The forensics pony smiled.
That kid, Inquiring Eye? He wasn't gonna last a week.
Chapter One
Pumpkin Cake was having a bad day.
Actually, the term "bad day" was a bit of an understatement. Her parents and twin brother were suspects in a murder case and could lose their lives if nopony could find the killer. To add to that, the whole town thought she was a psychopath and it looked as if the police were going to close the case due to complications.
"Complications? Heh... what a load of horse apples," she muttered bitterly. She knew "complications" was just a fancy way of saying they didn't care about the case. They were happy as long as they could pin it on some poor innocent ponies. Namely, her family. And frankly, she wasn't about to let them do that. Why else would she traveling to the crime scene? She had to do something and her best bet was to talk to the pony in charge of the case. Maybe she could convince him to keep it open. Tucking a strand of orange hair behind her ear, she gnawed at her lower lip. What would she do? What would she say? Hell, what if they didn't even let her speak?
She shivered as a gust of chilly morning air swept across her small, slender form. Shaking off the chill, she continued forward. She would not turn back. The clopping of her hooves on the sidewalk echoed through the empty streets. No doubt everypony had seen her coming and hidden themselves. Out of the corner of her eye, Pumpkin saw the flash of shades being drawn. Once or twice, she saw pairs of eyes peeking out at her from between closed curtains.
As Sugarcube Corner grew closer, Pumpkin swallowed hard. Her home, the place she had trusted and loved, was surrounded by harsh yellow tape. Ponies in blue police uniforms surrounded the place, scribbling information down on clipboards and guarding the crime scene. Two unicorns in white where levitating a stretcher toward the waiting ambulance. When they passed in front of her, Pumpkin stomach lurched as a bloody blue limb fell out of the stretcher. Trixie's leg. Pumpkin swooned, feeling lightheaded as an officer quickly scooped up the useless appendage and gave it to the ponies in white.
Pumpkin, frozen with disbelief, watched the rest of Trixie's remains disappeared into the ambulance. As the doors swung shut with a creak and a harsh bang, she winced. She had known Trixie. Pumpkin had always gone and seen her shows when she came to town. In fact, she had once talked to her. She had been about 9 years old, on a field trip to Canterlot. They'd met and spoken briefly at Doughnut Joe's shop. The blue unicorn had ordered a jelly filled doughnut and mostly just talked about herself. But, Pumpkin had listened to every word. She'd liked Trixie, despite her boastful tendencies. And now, she was...
"Hey! Move along, lady. This is a crime scene, in case you haven't noticed." Pumpkin tore her gaze from the ambulance to find a stern yellow earth pony frowning at her.
Inquiring Eye had never felt so insulted in his life.
The force's efforts to keep him in the dark were just plain sad. It was if they thought he was a moron just because he was new. However, he knew the moment he was assigned this case that the whole investigation was half ass, fake and only being conducted to avoid problems with the higher ups in Canterlot. Why the hell this case so blatantly staged? Well, drawing from the simple body language of the ponies on the force and the way they spoke to him, he could rule out corruption within police ranks. These cops seemed honest enough, so why all the hush hush bullshit? He deduced that there was somepony bigger and more intelligent using the police force. Obviously somepony highly intimidating... perhaps a gang leader was involved?
"Hey, newbie! You paying any attention?" barked the head of the forensics unit, swiftly breaking the dark green stallion's consentration. The white unicorn was obviously miffed at Inquiring Eye's apparent lack of interest in the case. His golden eyes regarded the younger stallion with an annoyed and disdainful air, as if he was a pile of dirty socks he had to deal with. It was really bucking irritating. Well, two can play at that game, asshole. Inquiring Eye thought in a rather devious manner. Yawning, Inky reclined in his seat lazily. He looked up at the pony with a smirk and answered, "Oh, I'm listening. Please, continue," in the most sarcastic way he could muster. Inky grinned, satisfied, as a disgusted and affronted expressions chased each other across the other pony's face.
Then, as quickly as it had come, his moment of triumph was over as another member of the force entered the front door. Or rather, he was shoved through the door with a black eye. The poor yellow stallion was flushing in shame as he looked up at Inky and muttered, "Hey, Ginger? There's a young m-mare here to see you..."
Inquiring Eye blinked, his eyes traveling from the thouroghly embarrassed stallion to the bruise on his left eye and up to the door, in which stood the mare in question. A rather pretty little thing with large blue eyes, a pale yellow coat and an orange mane and tail. A pumpkin cutie mark graced her rump and a small blue ribbon was tied in a knot towards the bottom of her mane, the ends hanging freely, brushing against her neck. Her demenor was angry, her eyes where boring holes into the back of the yellow policepony's head. Obviously, the moron had said something tacky and rude, so she hit him. Simple as that. But still... it took a mixture of desperation, stress and guts to hit a cop. This kind of mare, he could use to his advantage. He needed info and she could be his ticket.
Time to turn on the charm.
"Why, hello there," he said, speaking smoothly while moving a few steps forward and flashing her his most sauve smile. "Is there anything I can do to help you, Ma'am?" She stood her ground, her eyes meeting his directly as she answered.
"Yes. I heard you were in charge of this case and that you plan on cutting it short. Is that true, sir?" She said 'sir' as if it were an insult, speaking the word forcefully and almost mockingly. Inky took another step forward, placing himself only 2 feet away from her. He then straightened his black fadora, sweeping a stray clump of ginger hair out of his eyes as his hoof traveled back down to touch the floor. He then asked, sweetly, "And why would a pretty mare like you be worried about a case like this?" She blushed slightly and bit her lip, but held herself steadily, keeping her head held high and her stance solid. Impressive.
"This case could put three innocent ponies on death row. Is it wrong I'm worried about the well being of three upstanding Ponyville citizens?"
"Easy, tiger. I never said anything about this case closing early."
"Well, is it closing early?" Inky smiled and turned away, flipping a notebook and pen off of the nearby table with his wing and catching them both neatly. He then opened the small, blue book and began flipping through it as if looking through notes. He quickly wrote a message on one of the papers and moved on, flipping through a few more pages before snapping it shut.
"According to this, the case is nearly closed. There is very little evidance and what evidance there is seems to point to the Cakes." The reaction was instantanious. The mare looked as if she had been slapped. Her pupils contracted slightly as her eyes widened, her ears flattened to the sides. Her legs began to tremble slightly, her demenor shifted from determined to slightly afraid in mere seconds. So, this case was important to her on a personal level... how interesting.
"Hey, Ginger! We need you at the crime scene, so move your sorry flank in here!" yelled the forensics pony, right on cue. Inky smiled and simply said, "Duty calls. G'day, Ma'am." and moved toward the next room, placing the notebook on the table as he left. But, with a flick of his tail, he quickly knocked it off the table and let it fall to the floor. Pretending he hadn't noticed, he continued through the door and into the next room. He grinned.
There. I'm pretty sure that should peak her interest.
Pumpkin sat down on a bench at the park, hovering the stolen notebook in front of her. This was her chance to find wrongful information and help prove her family's innocence. After all, if the head investigator owned this book, there had to be something of use within its pages. She felt bad about stealing the book, naturally, but she would return it.
Maybe.
She opened the book, expecting to find plans, photos and notes. But instead, she found it was blank. It. was. bucking. BLANK.
"Empty?! Are you bucking kidding me?!" she yelled, slamming her hoof down on the bench in frustration. No, that couldn't be all! She rifled through page after page at a feverish pace, sweat beading her forehead and her frustration mounting with each empty page she turned. NothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothingWAIT! She froze, a small balloon inflating in her chest at the sight of it. Writing. She saw the edge of a page with actual writing on it. Was there something there? Something useful? She felt a smile cross her face. Slowly, she opened the page fully and read its contents, her eyes drinking in each sloppily written word.
Hey, tiger.
You want information? So do I. Meet me outside the crime scene at 10:00 tonight.
Signed,
Inquiring Eye
Author's Note
Yay, new chapter!!
And, to go with it, new cover art!! A big, giant thank you to Renaissance Muffins for doing the cover art. Go check out Renaissance Muffins' account by clicking here.
Thanks so much for reading, it means a lot.
