Promised Memories

Chapter 3 – The Chase Begins

Sometimes, chases aren't about running

“Ah, hello, Crimson! Glad to see you made it,” Twilight happily said. To no surprise, he found Twilight to be wearing a lab coat and rubber gloves to keep her from having to actually touching the body.

“You seem a bit too happy.”

“Well, it’s not every day you get to examine a murder victim! Sure, it’s disgusting and horrible. But it’s also intriguing!”

“Glad to see you aren’t squeamish, I guess.”

“I am. But somepony has to do it and the Princess trusts me.”

“I see… Anyways, enough small talk. What do we know about the victim?”

“Come on over here and I’ll show you,” Twilight commanded as she made her way to a table behind a curtain. Reluctantly, Crimson followed. The sight behind the curtain was exactly what he expected… well, besides it being a mare. He for some reason imagined a stallion. But she did in fact look like a murder victim.

“Oh, that’s pleasant. Poor thing…” Even though he was repulsed, he could understand what Twilight meant. While he wanted to do nothing but run away and he was sure he was forever scarred, he was also intrigued and couldn’t look away.

“I know, right?”

“It’s frightening… but so amazing.”

“That’s exactly what I said. But down to business, shall we?”

“Just about to say that.” Twilight turned around and began to levitate some papers, probably notes she had written. Obviously, she worked quite fast.

“Okay, I can tell you that it’s a female.”

“Well, that much I do know. What about her, though. Do we know who she is?”

“Sorry, no idea. We have no way of confirming who she is. I’m afraid you’ll have to ask around and see if anypony saw her.”

“What about a cause of death?”

“Besides blood loss from multiple lacerations?”

“If there was something else, then yes.”

“Here, look at this,” she said while pointing a light at the body. “See here?” she asked as she pointed a hoof at her throat.

“Bruising?”

“You got it. I can only assume she was strangled, but I don’t think that was the cause of death.”

“Can you tell if this was before or after he carved her like an apple pie?”

“Terrible analogy, but yes. Uh… this next part might be a bit touchy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, she was raped.”

“Oh sweet Celestia… this is worse than I thought. How can you tell?”

“Uh… Well, I was able to recover some semen from her… vagina.”

“First of all, ew… second, can this help us at all?”

“No, not really.”

“How do we know she didn’t have consensual sex shortly before her death?”

“Because I also found small tears on and in her vagina. She was probably trying to struggle and the movement caused some tearing.”

“Once again, how do we know it wasn’t consensual and her partner was just very well endowed?”

“Even if he was, it still wouldn’t cause any damage like this. Oh, I also found this.” She pointed to a wound on the chest of the body which was almost circular.

“What’s that? A bite mark?”

“Precisely. Now, unless her very well endowed partner was also into biting hard enough to draw blood, I don’t think this was consensual.”

“Is there any more evidence supporting this? I have to be completely sure, you understand.”

“That’s where the strangle marks come in. Since it had time to bruise, it looks like it happened shortly before her murder. If it was indeed rape, no doubt she tried to scream for help. And if she did, her assailant probably wasn’t happy about that and did whatever he could to keep her quiet. Oh, and I did recover a few skin cells from her teeth that didn’t belong to her either.”

“So he bit and she bit back? This is either some kinky sex gone wrong or…” He stopped when he saw Twilight was staring at him. “Yeah, I’ll shut up now.”

“Look, I’m sure she was raped. Not that it will really matter when we catch this guy, since he’ll still face banishment… or worse… but at least we know we’re looking for a stallion now.”

“That really narrows it down…”

“Hey, it’s a start isn’t it?”

“True. Now, what about these wounds? Can you tell what made them?”

“I can tell you it was something sharp,” she sarcastically retorted. She looked back down to the body and started to point at the wounds upon seeing his stare of disapproval. “I did an analysis on the biggest wound, which I assume was the finishing blow.” Twilight stepped back and levitated the body onto its stomach, showing the back. “See this wound here?” she asked while pointing at a fairly large and deep looking wound on the left side of her upper back.

“Yes, what’s different about it?”

“It’s a stab wound. The others are simple slices.”

“How can you tell?”

“The length. See all the others? They are longer but not as deep. The only one that is the same size is nowhere near as deep.”

“Good eye.”

“Thank you. But that’s not all. I gathered some measurements from the wound, mathematical stuff that you probably don’t care for. But I’m going to stay here and compare them to some blades I’ve asked Celestia to get for me. By tomorrow, hopefully I’ll have identified the murder weapon.”

“That’s amazing! How do you know so much about all of this?”

“I read some of the reports from the older murders.”

“What a coincidence, I did too.”

“Guess we’re not too different after all, huh? Anyways, it was just a matter of having good perception and putting scientific curiosity above everything else. Still could have gone without looking in her… you know.”

“Hey, at least it paid off. Don’t worry; I’m not even going to ask what made you look there in the first place. To each their own, right?”

“Are… are you implying me to be a fillyfooler?”

“What?! No, no! I… no! I just said that wrong; forget I said anything.”

“Don’t worry; I’m just messing with you.”

“Oh… okay. Well, unless you have anything else to tell me, I’m going to be going.”

“No, that’s all I found in the short time I had to examine her.”

“At least you got something for me to go off of. Hey, don’t forget to get some sleep. Finding out as much as we need may be important, but Celestia wouldn’t be very happy if I let you pass out from sleep deprivation down here.”

“Don’t worry; I don’t plan on staying here the whole night.”

“Alright. Also… I’d refrain from any zompony stories while down here.”

“Seconded…” The two shared in laughter as Crimson made his way to the door.

“Uh… you wouldn’t happen to know a spell that will give me wings, would you? That flight of stairs is terrible…”

“No wings, but I can flip gravity for you,” Twilight said as she followed him to the staircase. “Stand in the middle.”

“Uh, if you reverse gravity, won’t I hit the ground…? Er, roof really, really hard?”

“Don’t worry, I already thought of that and set up a special force field that essentially stops gravity at the top of the stairs. You’ll fall into it and be able to step onto the platform.”

“That’s… amazing. I can see why Celestia speaks so highly of you.”

“She does? I mean… I’ll turn gravity back to normal when you’re safe on the platform. Happy falling!” Before Crimson could even respond, he could feel himself floating, or rather falling upwards. To him, it seemed the entire world had just flipped upside down. When he looked up he saw Twilight standing upside down on the ceiling. He couldn’t help but flinch as he neared the floor, but sure enough, he simply stopped falling shortly before landing. Gladly, he stepped above the platform. As soon as he did, the world flipped back over and he landed safely on the floor.

“Thank you!” he yelled down. Faintly, he heard her tell him he’s welcome. He looked forward to getting some sleep, but even more, he looked forward to hearing some of Octavia’s music. After closing back the secret entrance, he began to make his way to the garden. As he walked, he began to imagine going through what that poor mare went through. The terror of being raped and escaping into the nearest shelter - an apple orchard, only to be chased down and killed. As he thought of it, put himself in her hooves, he felt angry. Angry that anypony could ever do this to another. Angry that an innocent mare lost her life. Angry that the killer was still walking around.

Anger slowly turned to dedication to find whoever was responsible for causing such pain to an innocent mare and cutting a life short. Quite literally.  But as he entered out into the garden and heard Octavia’s beautiful music, he was able to forget it all if only for a short while. He recognized the song as the one she had played for him in her room. If he was correct, it was about to end.

Sure enough, the song quickly came to an end and Octavia took a bow. It most definitely wasn’t a crowd like you’d expect in a theater in Manehatten, but it was still equally as important. Not everypony was able to play privately for the Princesses… and Crimson couldn’t help but think that Octavia may have never gotten the job if he wouldn’t have solved that case two years ago. He stopped smiling as Luna and Celestia both neared him.

“How long have you been here?” Luna asked.

“Just got here. I’ll be heading home shortly. Twilight found something that might help the case a bit, but I’ll save it for tomorrow after she’s determined the murder weapon.”

“That’s fine, Crimson. Luna, I’m going to retire for the night. It’s been a long day…”

“Of course, big sister.”

“Hey, Luna…” Crimson lightly said, his voice calm, but somewhat sad. “I don’t know what you’re going to see tonight... but I need you to promise me… whatever it is, good or bad… you’ll tell me. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t trust you completely.”

“Of course, Crimson.”

“And… I’m sorry. About earlier, about having you do this… I know you have moral objections against entering the dreams of ponies you know…”

“It’s alright, Crimson. As long as I know you trust me…”

“I do.”

“Then I’ll see you tonight…” Luna hugged Crimson and walked away, looking back at him with sadness. Not for her, but for him. She couldn’t imagine not knowing who she was. Couldn’t imagine having dreams of herself and not knowing what they are. And plus the fact that everything is else is piling up on the one pony she loved as much as her sister… a lesser pony would have given up by then. She knew he was strong. As she watched him happily walk towards Octavia, she couldn’t help but see that mare she saw from his dreams ten years previous.

A beautiful mare, his true love. In the dream, she was perfect. The two were made for each other. She was almost glad he didn’t remember her, for she knew he would be heartbroken to know he no longer had her. But as he hugged Octavia, even if it was more a friendly hug than anything, she hoped he would find that same happiness.

She sighed as she looked up at the moon. As she did, she was reminded of Crimson’s cutie mark. It had been almost two hundred years since the last one… but at exactly midnight, when the world aligned just right… the moon would appear crimson. Luna never understood it before, intrigued by how it did appear red. But that day his cutie mark appeared… she knew it had something to do with this night.

She’d been counting down the days for about a month now. It was probably just a coincidence, but she couldn’t be too safe. She was glad he asked her to enter his dreams… if his dreams were trying to tell him something, it would be tonight. And even if he didn’t remember, she would. It sounded more like a prophecy than anything, but she was sure something was going to happen.

She took one last look down at Crimson and Octavia who were making their way back to the inside of the castle. And with a sad smile made her way inside.

Octavia slowly played the final note of her song and opened her eyes to see Crimson slowly clapping silently as possible. With a smile, she sat aside the violin and made her way to the bed he was sitting on, smiling as she sat next to him. Crimson returned the smile as he spoke.

“That was beautiful. Do you mind if I ask where you learned to play?”

“It’s always been a calling. I just picked up a violin one day and started playing. The rest is history.”

“I guess practice does[i/] make perfect,” he laughed.

“Mind if I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

“Is… what Luna said true?”

“I... uh…”

“So it was… I see. So, does that mean you like me?”

“Uh…” he stuttered, trying to think of a way to change the subject. His brain was yelling at him to just say yes and see the response. The worst that could happen was rejection. “Y-yes…”

“You know, I always thought you were the mysterious type. Always taking care of problems and disappearing. A really charming stallion that couldn’t care about anything such as love or life problems. When I’d see you around, you always looked so serious, emotionless. Like nothing could affect you… I always thought you only cared about getting that job done and nothing else…”

“Well, I-“

“I can gladly say I was wrong,” she said with a happy smile. “I guess everypony has an outer shell they wear sometimes. I have one… everypony assumes I’m serious just because of how I act when I’m playing. But when I’m not… I’m just a normal mare.”

“You weren’t far off, you know…”

“What do you mean?”

“All I do care about is getting the job done. So… so I can get back home and wallow in self pity. Octavia, I… don’t know anything from before I was thirteen. Crimson Moon isn’t my real name… I’ve never loved before, as far as I rightly know... the list of my problems goes on and on. So I just forget myself when I’m doing the job, because that’s the only time I can forget it. But once the job starts, I begin to wonder again… and I want it to be over.”

“That’s terrible…”

“Oh Celestia, I apologize. I didn’t mean to bring my personal life into this. I guess I am awkward around mares I like…”

“It’s alright… I also have a little secret.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“Earlier today when I saw you staring into my room… I knew it was you. But I tried to act like I didn’t know you. I always did kind of admire you for the work you did… not everypony can do something such as that. Interrogation, talking to victims of crimes, staring the criminals down and trying to make them tell the truth. It’s like something from a mystery novel. And plus, you got me the best job a musician mare could ask for…”

“I’m just doing my job, ma’am,” he said officially, before laughing. “Is that what you were wanting me to say?”

“Oh, you’ve got a sense of humor. Anyways… I’ve always wondered what it’s like to do what you do.”

“It’s… well, it’s not easy. It’s sometimes hard to sleep at night, thinking about everything in the case. Sometimes it will be something small you didn’t pay any attention to earlier. Like this one time, I was investigating a break in for a family in Canterlot. On the floor was a scuff mark that the wife said was there from moving furniture. But that night, after not being able to sleep, I remembered that the scuff mark was going the opposite direction she said she moved the furniture. After examining it closer, I was able to find a hidden door that went the exact same direction as the scuff mark. Behind it? The missing heirloom.”

“Wait, so they stole it from themselves?”

“Close. The wife stole it so she could sell it. The estimated value was around three thousand bits. Apparently, she was going to use the money to skip town and leave the husband bankrupt.”

“Wow… and you got all that from a scuff mark?”

“It wasn’t only that, but I won’t get into too great of detail. Anyways… besides that, the job is almost nothing like the mystery novels. I don’t have a well dressed apprentice that notices things I don’t and I never once had to arrest a butler. Although I did once arrest a maid…”

“So, you’ve read them?”

“I… get a lot of down time when I’m home. Speaking of which, it’s getting late… I guess I better get going.”

“Do… you...”

“Do I… what?”

“Uh… mind if I come along? I’d love to see the home of a famous detective.”

“Famous? Hardly! Maybe my name is thrown around occasionally in Canterlot and maybe Ponyville, but I’m not famous.”

“You, uh, didn’t answer the question.”

“Well, it would be rude to say no… so, yes. I’d be honored to have the company of a musician in my home,” Crimson agreed, standing from the bed.

“And I’d be happy to have the company of a hardened detective that doesn’t care about anything.” The two laughed happily as they stepped out of the room. As they walked towards the carriage, Crimson couldn’t help but look up to the sky, spotting the moon above, shining its beautiful light down upon him. But for the first time, he noticed a strange, barely noticeable red tint to it. But almost immediately his attention was redrawn to Octavia.

Within thirty minutes, the two were standing on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, further still from the town of Ponyville. Only a select few knew of the cabin, which is exactly what Crimson wanted.

“So, this is the home of the detective, eh?”

“I know, it’s not that impressive. I’ve got enough money to purchase a mansion, but I never liked big buildings. I just need room to live. Extra space is unnecessary.”

“Relax; I didn’t say it was bad. Actually, I like it. It’s homey.”

“It is? I mean, it is. Uh… just a fair warning. I’ve got case reports everywhere. I’m not messy, just unorganized.”

“Don’t worry; I’ve had days where I leave my sheet music all over everything.”

“Oh, excellent then!” Crimson happily exclaimed as he opened the door. Inside was his usual home, amazingly welcoming despite the location. While inside, one could imagine they were actually in the town of Ponyville. The interior was actually much like that of a Ponyville home, after all. “Please, take a seat anywhere. I’m going to get a few drinks. What’ll you have?”

“Cider, if you have it.”

“Really? I thought you more the classy stuff, wine and such. You know, it’s hard to find that stuff in Ponyville… I guess out of respect for the Apple family they mostly drink cider.”

“I like wine, but some good old cider sounds refreshing right now.”

“Cider it is! Uh… will that be the ‘public’ version, or the alcoholic version? I’ve got plenty of both.”

“Just regular, please.”

“Regular cider coming right up!” Octavia waited as Crimson departed into the kitchen. As she did, she examined the cabin. Each of the windows had surprisingly marvelous curtains hung, blocking any sight in or out. The walls were lined with bookshelves, the chandelier was glowing brightly with a warm light, and the walls were painted intricately with red. She found herself wondering if Crimson himself made the house.

“One glass of cider for you and a glass of water for me.”

“Water?”

“I’ve got company over and I’m not a big fan of regular cider. Most of everything I own is alcoholic… helps me sleep. Don’t worry; I don’t have a problem or anything.”

“Never thought you did,” she reassured while taking a sip of her cider. “I was wondering… did you build this place?”

“Me? Oh, no. I couldn’t even build a birdhouse, let alone something like this.”

“Mind if I ask who did?”

“Celestia and Luna had it built for me as payment for one of my jobs. Some fancy carpenter from Manehatten or something. They wanted to build me a nice three story house that was about five times as big as this cabin, but I insisted on this. They did manage to talk me into letting them make the inside look like a fancy mansion, however. I won’t lie; I like it.”

“It is nice. Obviously I’m in the wrong line of work.”

“There’s no such thing as a wrong line of work.”

“For someone that comes home and ‘wallows in self-pity’, you really have a good and fresh outlook on life. If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you anyways?”

“Twenty-eight. Mind if I ask you…?”

“I turn thirty in six months.”

“Eh, age is but a number anyways. In my work, I’ve came by elderly ponies that still live as if they’re still in their teens.”

“I’ve never really worried about my age. But hearing that, it makes me even less afraid of growing old. But for now, why worry about that?”

“Exactly my point. By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask… what happened to that bow you used to wear? I just noticed you don’t wear it anymore.”

“No reason, just wanted a change. I’ve kept the same appearance for so long; I thought I’d change it.”

“I see… change is good sometimes, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Like the job you got me… I was almost done with not getting any good venues and I was about to give up… but you changed that for me, didn’t you? I still feel I need to pay you back somehow…”

“You don’t have to worry about paying me back. Just obliging me by asking to join me at my home was enough to pay it back in full. Not that I ever wanted anything in return in the first place.”

“I haven’t paid you back yet…”

“What else more could you offer me?”

“I can think of one thing… how’s this?” she asked. Before Crimson could ask what she meant, she leaned over and placed her mouth against his. Immediately, he felt his heart skip a beat as his mind registered what had just happened. At first, he imagined it would be just a peck and that’s it. A quick thank you or goodbye kiss. But after the third second, he felt his body relax as he laid backwards on the couch. His arms wrapped around her as he closed his eyes and she returned the favor.

The warmth against his body was foreign to him, yet he welcomed it. The lips against his were warm and welcoming, as he hoped his were. Each breath was deep, bringing in more air so he could continue with this embrace he had imagined in his subconscious for so long. Finally, after what seemed like multiple blissful hours, she lifted her mouth from his and looked him deep in the eyes. And as much as he wanted to pull her back towards him, he instead stared back, straight into her eyes, her soul.

“When I said I thought of how mysterious you were earlier… I forgot to mention that I also wanted to do that. You inadvertently did so much for me, but that wasn’t even the reason. You help others and don’t ask anything in return. You’re modest, charming… handsome.”

“Handsome? That’s a new one.”

“See? You’re the most modest stallion I’ve ever met. You have the power to have people banished from Equestria, yet you never use it. You talk to the Princesses like they are simple mares, but at the same time show respect. And in the end, it’s not about any of that. Out of every mare in Equestria, you like me…”

“After that, I think I can safely say I love you,” he whispered, taking deep breaths. Any shyness from earlier was completely gone and he felt his usual self return.

“And I love you, too.” Both smiled at each other before returning to their embrace. The little colt inside of Crimson was now essentially acting like a sugar high Pinkie Pie in a sense, jumping and bouncing like crazy. In his mind, he could visually see Octavia; see her entire body. He could even mentally hear her playing her music.

All worries of his entire life were gone in that moment. His past meant nothing to him, the murder never happened. All there was was Octavia and him. He had the perfect mental image and didn’t want to let it go. After another minute or two, Crimson opened his eyes to find himself on top. How it happened, he didn’t even know. And neither did he mind.

He lifted his head away and allowed Octavia and himself a moment to breathe. Both sighed in happiness and excitement as they stared once more into each other’s eyes. Both could feel the warmth all over their bodies.

“Don’t be shy, now… go ahead and do it,” Octavia said between breaths. It took Crimson a second to know what she meant, but as soon as he did, he looked down the length of her body and smiled.