Promised Memories

Chapter 1 – Wakeup call

This is your wakeup call… Don’t miss it

Four days earlier…

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” the stallion yelled as he stood from his bed, rubbing his eyes with a forehoof. He groaned as the knocking continued on his door. “Sweet Celestia, I’m up already!” he yelled as he neared the door, opening it to reveal a Royal Guardpony. Immediately his anger turned to bewilderment, as he was rarely visited by the Royal Guards. At least anymore.

“Crimson Moon?”

“That’s me, what do you want?”

“I need you to come with me.”

“Hold on there, I don’t care if your Celestia’s maid or her right hand man, I don’t go anywhere without knowing what it’s about.” Crimson grabbed a nearby brush and began to carelessly and rather lazily comb his mane, giving it an unkempt, but maintained look.

“I understand, sir, but I was just told to come retrieve you.”

Crimson sighed as he dropped the comb on the nearby desk. “Do they tell anypony anything anymore? Can you at least tell me where we’re going?”

“It’s an urgent matter, sir. So if you could just please…”

“Urgent, eh? Okay, guess I can stand to get out of house.”

“Excellent. Please take a seat in the carriage.”

“Ooh, the royal treatment. You bring a smile to my face,” he said with a rough laugh, stepping into the carriage. The Guardpony didn’t seem to mind the comment at all as he took the reins of the carriage. “If you don’t mind, I’m gonna catch some shut eye. You did wake me in the middle of my afternoon nap after all.”

“I’ll wake you when we get there I suppose.”

“You do that,” Crimson said as he yawned before closing his eyes and almost immediately drifting off to sleep.

“Hey, wake up back there!” Crimson groaned as his dream was shattered by the rude awakening. He tried his hardest to cling to the dream, as he was sure it was more than just that. It was almost lucid, except that he felt he only had control to very small extents. Even more than that, he felt it held deep meaning to him, although he didn’t know what.

These dreams had been coming and going for at least three months. Until about a month prior, he’d not paid any attention to them, thinking them no more than just what they were - dreams. After he discovered they ran with one another, almost as if trying to tell him a story, he began to try and write each and every one down, cataloguing them so he may decipher them. Even after doing that, nothing made any sense. Maybe it was just dreams. Maybe he was just doing it because he hoped it might answer some questions as to who he was.

“I’m awake. You know, you’re not supposed to wake ponies when they’re asleep right? They might have a heart attack.”

“Where’d you read that? The Ponyville paper? Just get up and come with me. We’re already running behind.”

“So…” Crimson muttered, before stepping up beside the guard. “What’s the job? Jewelry go missing? Stalker hiding in the bushes? Just tell me if I’m getting close.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know, so if you could please just follow me…”

“Fair enough.” As the two entered into the Royal Castle, Crimson couldn’t help but look at everything. Over the course of the ten years he had been working as a privateer –more of a specialist in his own terms- for the Princesses little had changed. Ever since that day he snuck into the castle as a young stallion to follow a thief that had taken a prized possession. That was the day the Princesses saw something in him and tasked him with small trials, eventually leading him to become one of the best investigators to ever grace Equestria. Well, to others anyways. He was always ashamed to be called the greatest detective, since he still didn’t even know anything about his parents, his childhood, or why his cutie mark was a red moon.

To be honest, he didn’t even remember his name before going by Crimson Moon. As far as the doctors could tell, he didn’t have amnesia. Just for some reason, he couldn’t remember anything before around his thirteenth birthday. And now he was going on twenty eight, yet he didn’t even know his real name from before Celestia dubbed him that false one after he returned from his second investigation, the day he got his cutie mark. Well, he did go by the nickname of Gazer before that, since he had a habit of studying one thing for multiple minutes without so much as blinking.

“Sir, I said we’re here.”

“Oh, sorry. I was deep in thought.”

“They’re waiting inside. I’m going back to my post.”

“Of course,” he said, stepping aside for the guard to pass. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. After gazing the chambers of Celestia for only the second time of his life, he stepped in as Celestia herself turned around and looked grimly at him. Immediately, he could tell it was much more than a simple thief.

“Crimson, thank you for coming. I’m sorry to summon you without sending a letter first, but this was of an urgent matter.”

“I may be four months out of practice, but I think I can still handle whatever you throw at me. What’s the problem?”

“Before I tell you, you must promise me that you won’t speak of this. When you speak to others to question them, do not mention what crime has been done.”

“I promise.”

“Good…” Celestia let a deep sigh escape from her throat. “This is a very touchy matter. I’ve still not even told Luna. Only one other pony, Applejack, knows of this, and that’s because she was the one that… discovered it. I thank Equestria that she was the one who found it, as I feel that any other would have panicked.”

“Sounds serious.”

“More so than you could ever comprehend… I’ll be telling Luna at the rise of the moon, but I knew she would take the news easier if I told her you were on the case. She did always see you as her apprentice. You’re to her what Twilight is to me after all.”

“Apprentice, eh? I always thought it was just because of my cutie mark.”

“That is a part of it, but- wait; I’m straying from the topic. And as much as I want to, I can’t allow myself to.”

“Take your time, explain the details if you can. Tell me everything you know.”

“I knew you’d take charge… There’s still no easy way to say this; I still don’t even believe it myself… It’s been nearly a hundred years since this happened last… But… there’s been a murder.”

“What?!”

“I’m afraid so…”

“Okay… Just give me a moment to soak this in…” Crimson levitated a chair to himself and sat down, trying to comprehend that a murder had just been committed. He’d solved assaults, fights, thefts, and even foiled a second plot by Chrysalis two years after the wedding incident involving an entire town of disguised Changelings. But this was a whole other game of hide and go seek. After letting it wash over him, he stood and decided to take it into his hooves. If anybody could solve this, he could. At least he hoped he could, if he was really the detective everypony thought he was.

“Alright, I’m good. Feels weird asking this… but where is the body?”

“We have it in an old forensic lab I used when there was an outbreak of a virus about three hundred years ago. We’ve turned it into a lab where we can do an autopsy and use the magical devices down the to determine the cause of death.”

“Where was the body found?” Crimson looked around and sat his eyes on a stack of parchment and a pen and quill. “Uh, mind if I…?”

“Go ahead.” He nodded and gestured for her to continue on as he began to jot down everything so far. “Applejack found the body in her orchard on her farm.”

“If she found it, how did she let you know? How do you know nopony else saw the body while she was coming here to tell you?”

“She sent a letter via magic. She wrote the letter immediately and had Spike –Twilight’s assistant- deliver it. Don’t worry; he didn’t see what was written on it. I immediately got out there and found her next to it, scared out of her mind. I was too, even though I’ve had to do this before.”

“And you’re sure nopony else saw it?”

“Certain. It was in the evening and the rest of her family was asleep. She’ll be able to give you the details.”

“Is she available?” Crimson finished writing down everything so far, as well as making a note to speak to Applejack and examine the crime scene.

“Yes, she’s on her farm. Actually, she got over it fairly quickly and insisted she be return to her farm.”

“Hmm… I’ll have to talk to her. In the meantime, how did you get the body back here without alerting anypony?”

“I simply teleported it here. The scene is perfectly preserved and I had Applejack keep anypony away from it until you’ve examined it.”

“Good, I’ll speak to Applejack while I’m looking it over. I’m going to need to see the body when I get back, of course.”

“I understand. Also, while you are there, make sure Applejack isn’t showing any signs of trauma. As tough as she is, nopony can see that and just walk away. She’s a good friend of Twilight’s and that makes her as close to me as Twilight is.”

“I’ll do my best. Oh, also… Who is going to be taking care of the body?”

“I’ve already sent a letter to Twilight and told her to meet me here at dusk. I’m going to tell her and Luna at the same time. After that, if she is up for it, I’m going to have her take care of everything. She’s a genius in her own right and if anybody can figure out what happened, she can.”

“Yes, I remember seeing her studying in the library. I suppose I’ll finally get a chance to meet her, instead of just hearing of her accomplishments from you. Sorry, I’m stalling. I’ll return after I’ve taken care of my investigation.”

“That’s good to hear. I knew you’d be willing to do this for me.”

“Yeah, for you…” he mumbled to himself as he stepped out of the room. In all honesty, he wished nothing more than to not be involved with this at all. But there was a part of him, one that had been with him ever since his first investigation, that made him wonder what happened and why. He couldn’t sleep at night without wondering about that piece of evidence, or how what the witness said didn’t add up. His mind was a calculator, adding up everything and spitting out every possible outcome. In the end, finding out what happened was a big jigsaw puzzle to him, and he couldn’t rest until it was complete and he could see what the puzzle made.

As he made his way down the hall, he could hear the sounds of music from somewhere in the castle. He instantly recognized it as the music of Octavia, a mare that had been hired on a number of occasions by the Princesses to play her music. He couldn’t blame them either; she had a tone about her music that one just can’t put a hoof on. He was sure that even the most practiced violinist could never quite capture her skill.

He slowed his pace and neared the room from which the glorious sound was emanating. Through a crack in the door, he could clearly see her in her designated room –in which she practiced before playing for the Princesses- standing next to a music stand. He was a bit ashamed to say it, but he had a crush on the mare. Ever since the day he first laid his eyes upon her, about two years prior. That was the first day she was hired to do a private session for the Princesses after he brought an end to a case. Even through all the gems and money he was rewarded, being allowed to see the beauty that was her was more than reward enough for him.

He knew how strange it sounded. It was little more than a schoolyard crush to others, even sounded that way. Actually, it was more like a terrible love story gone wrong. Maybe it was because he had never had time, or hadn’t given himself a chance, to experience love. As laid back as he was, he simply never had time to try and seek it out. Besides, he didn’t really believe in it. No, that’s not true. He just didn’t believe he was capable of receiving or giving it.

He gasped as he noticed that she was staring right at him with shock in her eyes. It definitely did not look good from her end. There she was practicing, thinking she had some privacy. Then she turns and sees a stallion practically drooling over her from the hall. He mentally kicked himself and slowly opened the door.

“Uh… Sorry about that. I was just leaving and I heard you playing.” Usually, he was the one that wrote the book on staying calm and collected. He could be staring an angry Princess that was ready to banish him and stay calmer than anypony in Equestria. But right at the moment, his heart was racing and he was struggling to try and think of something to say. He hated himself for letting a silly crush go so far as to kill his usual personality.

“That doesn’t make it… Hey, you’re that detective guy. Yeah, I remember you from my first gig here. It’s my understanding that I owe my thanks for getting this job to you for solving that case.” Octavia smiled and sat her violin against the wall, allowing herself to land on all four hooves. “I’ve never had the chance to properly thank you, seeing as you always seem to hurry away when I’m around.”

“Oh, uh… yeah, I’m always busy. There’s really no need to thank me, just doing my job. That sounded more official than it should of, huh?” He gave a half smile and tried to pass himself off as just a normal pony. Actually, he did that normally. He hated being idolized for his skills and would rather be treated like anypony else would be.

“You can relax. If you can handle being around the Princesses as much as you are, surely I’m but a lowly music mare.”

“Sure. I mean, no. You’re not just a common music mare. But yes, perhaps I should relax.”

“Please, come in. I owe you some thanks for inadvertently setting me up with this job, so I’ll pay you back with a number I’ve been working on. It’s the least I can do.” Inside, he was jumping with joy like a small colt that had just received his cutie mark. But on the outside, he somehow managed to maintain his cool.

“Thank you, but I really have to be somewhe-“

“Nonsense,” she said while pulling him inside and shutting the door. “It won’t take long, I promise.”

“Well, if you insist…” He smiled and took a seat on the bed, allowing her to return to her violin. Within moments, the room was filled with sweet music, calming his mind, his body, even his soul. He could feel the stress leaving his shoulders. Not just from finding out about the murder, but from everything his life had thrown at him up to this point. Not knowing his past, the cases, living alone, everything. After two minutes, he found himself laying down on the bed just relaxing to the beautiful music. He’d listened in on a lot of her sessions for the Princesses, but knowing that this was for him made his all the more better. After what seemed like hours of the most peaceful time of his life, he began to hear the music die down.

“So, how did you like it? Definitely nowhere near enough compensation for this job, but it’s a start is it not?”

“It was beautiful. I’d love to hear another if I had the time, but… Well, I sadly must be going.”

“I understand. Hey, if you’re back in the castle, come by. I’ll be here for the rest of the week.”

“I’ll do that,” he calmly said while smiling. Actually, that little colt inside of him stopped jumping and was now doing back flips in happiness. Needless to say, he was almost certain he would start doing flips soon as well. “Tell you what; I’ll be back later tonight. I’ll stop in then, if that’s alright with you.”

“I’d love for you to,” she replied. As he began to exit the room, she stopped him. “I, uh… Never got your name. I’m sure I’ve heard it somewhere, but you know…”

“It’s alright. I go by Crimson Moon.” He gestured to his cutie mark. “It’s not my real name, but I don’t even know that. Some people also call me Gazer, but that’s mostly people who knew me before Celestia named me Crimson.”

“Alright, Crimson,” she whispered, placing a hoof on his shoulder,” it’s a date.”

“I, uh… I’ll be back later then.” He quickly exited the room and shut the door behind him. With a sigh, he made sure his heart wasn’t about to burst through his chest. Even though he was almost about to pass out from happiness, he was completely sure he had heard her say date. And while he knew it was completely different from the date he was thinking about, it was something. If he can at least manage to hear more of the beautiful music she played, it would be perfect.

But for now, he had a job to do. Now all he had to do was get to Ponyville and examine first hand a murder scene. How lucky he was.

“We’re her-“

“Don’t worry, I’m awake this time.”

“Oh, surprise.”

“Anyways, thanks for the ride. Are you going to wait here, or…?”

“Come and get me at the store called Sugarcube Corner. The baker there makes some of the best cupcakes I’ve ever tasted. I always go there when I’m off duty.”

“You know, you’re not technically off duty.”

“Until you need a ride, I am,” the guard retorted as he walked off towards the town. Most ponies just assumed that they were cold and uncaring, but in fact they were just like everypony else. On duty, sure, an earthquake wouldn’t even make them flinch. But off duty, he had met a few that were some of the funniest ponies around.

Laughing to himself, he made his way into the property of the Apple family. Now that he thought about it, he had heard of some strange things that had happened on this farm. Tales passed on from Twilight to Celestia, who passed it on to Luna and to him. He wasn’t part of their family, but he was sure that Luna considered him a part of it. Anytime he ever needed help, Luna was there just like Celestia was for Twilight. He still wasn’t sure if she saw something in him, or she just felt sorry for him.

“Are you from Canterlot?” He quickly snapped his head to the right to see where the voice had come from. His eyes immediately connected with an orange pony with a blonde mane wearing a cowpony hat.

“Yes, I’m looking for Applejack.”

“Speaking. You here about the, uh…”

“Yes. If you could please lead the way, I promise not to be long.”

“Sure, it’s this way,” Applejack dreadfully said, obviously a bit taken by the events. Still, she did seemed almost calm considering. And as much as he hated to do so, given she was one of Twilight’s friend; he had to be a bit suspicious of that.

“Do you mind if I ask some questions?”

“No, go right on ahead.”

“Okay. But first, I need you to know that I can’t be biased at all, so I’m going to have to assume the worst of everypony. I mean no offense if I impose, or if I seem to be pointing a hoof. Now, where exactly where you the night of the, uh… murder.”

“I was tucking my lil’ sis into bed when I heard a noise in the orchard. Naturally, I came out here to check it out. When I got here… let’s just say it wasn’t no critter messing with the trees.” Crimson nodded and pulled a blank piece of parchment from his saddlebag. Within mere seconds he had what she said written down.

“What did you do when you discovered the body?”

“Well, at first I thought maybe a timber wolf got hold of one of the forest critters. But when I saw it was a pony… I wanted to immediately run and tell Twilight; she’d know what to do. But luckily, I managed to keep calm and send a letter to Celestia immediately.”

“While you were sending that letter, did anypony else have access to the body?”

“No, it’s in the middle of the orchard. Nopony ever comes in without our permission and everypony has enough respect to not do so. Especially at night.” Applejack stopped walking and pointed to a nearby tree. “It’s back around there. I’m sorry; I can’t look at that again.”

“I understand. If you need to, you may go back to your home. I’ll meet you there and I’ll ask the rest of my questions.”

“I’ll do that,” Applejack replied, almost happily walking away. He wasn’t sure if she was afraid to be back because it was traumatizing, or something else… Either way, it was just another piece to the puzzle. He took a deep breath and stepped into a small clearing where, sure enough, there was a murder scene. Blood staining the grass, scuffed grass indicating a struggle, the whole nine yards.

“Sweet Luna, this isn’t pleasant…” He began to examine over everything, making mental images. Luckily he didn’t have to try very hard to remember them; he was sure they would haunt his memory. Almost everything indicated a major struggle and while he wasn’t an expert at this, he had covered some of the basics by reading reports from old murders.

He quickly pulled a vial from his bag and collected a sample of the blood. If Twilight was indeed going to be in charge of the lab, he was sure she could make use of it. As soon as he packed it into his bag, he looked up and stopped as he spotted a strange mark on a tree. Nearing it, he was certain it had been cut with a very sharp object. Even better, it looked fairly fresh. If his assumption was to be correct, he was sure this was from the murder weapon.

The length of the cut as well as the width and depth indicated a small blade, possible a kitchen knife. Since there was no blood in the cut, he could only assume that the victim had dodged the slice and tried to run away before they were caught. Looking back to the crime scene, he couldn’t possible imagine the terror the victim went through. Just trying to run away, that sense of dread as they were caught. The pain as they were cut and murdered. The only hope he still held onto was that it was quick and painless for the poor victim.

For five more minutes he examined over the blood stains, the scuffed grass, and the area surrounding the clearing and even hoof traffic. Unfortunately, the ground seemed to be dry around the time of the murder, so the indentions of the hooves were essentially invisible. Plus, being a regularly traveled orchard, it would be impossible to tell to whom the prints belonged to. Seeing all he needed to see, he took one last mental picture of the crime scene and made his way towards the Apple Family barn.

As he neared the barn, he was greeted by Applejack who was waiting by the side of the barn. She seemed to have calmed down a bit, but still seemed to be a bit shaken by the whole ordeal. He tried to read her, but she actually seemed overly traumatized. He began to hope she wasn’t in a state of shock. Or that she wasn’t a real good liar.

“Are you done with it?”

“Yes, I saw and collected everything I need. Just keep everypony away for a tiny bit longer until I send somepony out to clean it up. Now, I had a couple more questions…”

“Please, ask anything you need.”

“Thank you,” he said before clearing his throat and taking out his notes from earlier. “Do you know why anypony would be in your orchard at night?”

“I honestly have no idea. Like I said earlier, ponies respect enough to stay away from here. But I hadn’t seen her before so I can assume she was from out of town.”

“What about the murderer? Did you see anything suspicious while you were heading to the scene of the crime?”

“No, far as I can tell. Nothing looked out of place, for an orchard anyways.”

“Okay, I think that is all I need to know at the moment. But I’m probably going to be back if I need to follow up on anything and I need you to inform me of anything that comes up. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes, I’ll alert you if I see anything.”

“Oh, and if you would allow me to, I’d like to recommend you go to the hospital for psychiatric help. It’s no easy thing seeing something like that and it can cause trauma.”

“What about the farm? I mean, Big Mac could probably handle the orchard… But what about-“

“Don’t worry too much about it, alright? I’m told you’re a friend of Twilight’s; a good friend in fact. I’m an apprentice of sorts to Celestia, and although I’ve never met Twilight in person, I can say I’m close to her in a way. And that means I look out for her and friends.”

“Alright, I trust you. I’ll go get myself taken care of.”

“That’s good to hear.” He smiled at Applejack and began to head towards town. Today definitely took a quick turn from the usual. He couldn’t help but wonder where yesterday went as he headed towards Sugarcube Corner. He also had a thousand questions on his mind, all pertaining to the murder. Who would have the audacity or anger to kill another pony? Not even the Changelings were that evil. More importantly, what was the motive? Why a simple pony from out of town? Was there more the victim than what meets the eye? Perhaps the most important question however… Why did he feel he’d lived this before?