One Hearth's Warming Eve

December 22nd

The cold, harsh wind bit at Mental Echo’s face as he walked along the sidewalk on the cold Manehatten street. His heavy parka may have helped him a little bit, but he was still freezing.

Gotta find somewhere to warm up, he thought. I can’t stand this cold much longer.

Mental brushed his brown hair out of his face and sighed. He was a young, 30-ish man whose life was going downhill. Nobody had a need for him or his services as a private investigator for the Mind’s Eye, which forced him into a temporary state of poverty. To be honest, he couldn’t think of how he could even go on after the loss of his partner, Lite Shade. She had died on his last investigation in Seaddle trying to take down a radical group of people who worshiped Nightmare Moon. It still pained him to think about it.

Eventually, he came across his favorite coffee shop; The Brewing Pot. He walked in, bells tinkling above, and sat down at one of the open booths as he moved his goggles to his shoulders. Only a few other people sat in the cafe with him, and it wasn’t long until a girl in a maroon tee and jeans walked up to him.

“Hi there. What can I get for you tonight?” she asked, a slight smile on her face.

“One coffee please. Milk and three sugars.”

“...and three sugars,” the girl said, writing down the order. “All right, I’ll get that to you in just a second.”

“Thanks,” Mental said as she walked back to behind the counter to make his coffee. As she did, the investigator couldn’t help but think how similarly this was to when he met Lite Shade.

Let it go, he told himself. She’s gone, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

“And here you go, sir,” said the waitress, returning with his coffee. “Coffee, milk, three sugars. That’ll be five bits.”

“Here you go.” Mental put the bits on the table, the depressed look in his face obvious as he sipped his coffee.

“Thank you...” she said before trailing off. “Is there something wrong with the coffee? Because I can make you a new cup if needed.”

“No, it’s not that,” he said. “Just a bit down, that’s all.”

The girl glanced at the clock. “Well, I’ve got a few minutes on my shift left. What’s got you down?” she asked before sitting across from him in the booth.

“Just the holidays. Reminds me of someone I lost on the job.”

“Oh, I see. I’m... sorry to hear about your loss?”

“Don’t be. She’s been long gone.”

“Oh, um... alright then...”

The two sat there in silence for a good minute before Mental said, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Rockshire. Yours?”

“Mental Echo. Pleased to meet you, Rockshire,” he said as he stuck out a hand.

Rockshire shook his hand. “Likewise. You could also call me Rocky or Shire, if you wish.”

“I’ll remember that.”

More silence ensued before Mental broke the silence for a second time. “You work here often? You don’t seem like the kind of girl to be a waitress.”

“I don’t work here full time. Just some hours here and there, I’m actually a sculptor.”

“Oh, really? Any of your works featured anywhere?”

“Only one, up at Canterlot, and it’s not that big, to be honest...”

“Well, what is it?”

“A large dragon, made completely out of wood. Wood’s my specialty.”

“Well, a large dragon sounds pretty big to me...”

“Not really, when it’s off to the side of the exhibit sight...”

Before Mental could respond, faint cries of help came from outside the shop. He stood up immediately and ran out the door, leaving Rockshire staring at the door. “Huh? Echo? Echo, where are you going?!” She got up and grabbed her jacket before running outside next to Echo.

The wind had died down from before, letting the two clearly hear the cries for help coming from down a nearby alleyway. Suddenly, a little girl with blue hair ran out of the same alley and down the street, right into Mental. Both of them fell to the ground before the young girl quickly got up.

“Please, sir, you’ve gotta help me, I didn’t do it!” she begged, clinging onto Mental just as two men ran out of the same alley.

Both of them stopped in front of Mental as one of them said, “You got her? Good work, Mental! Didn’t know you were still a marshal!”

“Yeah, well, I’ve just started working in a different area,” he said as he brought a pair of handcuffs around the wrists of the frightened girl. “I’ll take her from here, Silver Shield.” Noticing the other man, the investigator said, “Well, this is a new face.”

“Thunderlane here’s a new recruit,” Silver Shield said. “Been taking him around the city, showing him what needs to be shown.”

“Alright then,” Mental responded. “I’ll take her down to be processed in a bit, just gotta clear things up with the young lady right here. You tell Shining Armor what’s going on, get some troops down here.”

“I’ll do that. You take care now,” said the same man as the two walked back down the street.

As the girl struggled in her handcuffs, Rockshire slowly turned to Mental and said, “You’re... you’re a marshal?”

“It’s not something I show off. People expect a lot from marshals, and, well... I barely made it through training, so there’s that.”

“...so, why’d you just arrest that poor girl?”

“Because I didn’t,” the marshal said as he undid the handcuffs on the little girl and held the back of her shirt so she wouldn’t run away.

“Lemme go!” she yelled at him.

“I will, but you’ve gotta tell me one thing.”

“Fine! What is it?”

Mental hesitated a bit before letting go of the girl’s shirt. “Tell me, what were you doing all alone outside this late at night?” Without a reply, the girl ran back into the alley. “Hey! Get back here!” the investigator yelled as he ran after the girl. “Get back here and tell me- holy mother of...”

He stopped right in front of the alley, staring down it. Rockshire walked up to him and said, “What’s going on?! Why are you-”

She looked down the alley to find the the dead corpse of some unfortunate soul.

“What the...” she whispered to herself as Mental slowly walked down the alley.

“Tell me one good reason I should believe that you didn’t do this!” he angrily yelled. However, he didn’t expect a reply.

“The marshal! He set me up, I swear!” the girl yelled from behind a dumpster.

“Set you up? Why would a marshal do that, though?” Rockshire asked as she started walking towards the dumpster. She was stopped by Mental’s arm, however.

“Rockshire, didn’t you notice anything strange about this girl?”

“Only that she’s a defenseless, young girl... you mean there’s more to her?”

“A lot more. Did you notice her clawed hands, or her strange pupils?”

“No... and no...”

“Do you know what that means?” Mental asked as he slowly crept to the dumpster.

“No, I don- okay... what the hell is going on? First, it was those marshals after this girl, now the dead body... and you’ve got a hunch? What’s going on?!”

“She’s a Salamander, Rockshire.”

“You mean the lizard?”

“No,” Mental said as he ran around the corner and grabbed the Salamander girl, who struggled in his arms. “I mean the species.”

“Oh. I’ve heard of them... somewhat, care to explain a bit more?”

“They’re a warlike species, not afraid to back down to a fight. Someone might’ve just challenged her and didn’t know what she was.”

“I see... now this all makes sense...”

“It’s not like that!” the girl screamed, writhing in her captor’s grip. “The marshal set me up!”

“Alright then, let’s say one did. Why were you out here alone?”

“Because I’ve got nowhere to go! These streets are my home!”

The alley grew silent, sans the Salamander’s struggling.

“What’s your name?” Rockshire asked as Mental put her down.

“Barb, why?” the girl replied, walking past the sculptor. However, she didn’t get far before Rockshire’s arm blocked her path.

“What happened then? The streets are your home, you say... why’s that?”

“I’m homeless, idiot.” Barb spat as she lifted Rockshire’s arm above her and continued on.

“I know that! I mean, how did you become homeless?”

“Not something I want to talk about.”

“Alright, get back here, Barb.” Mental said. “If you wanna be proven innocent, you’ve gotta stick with us.”

“Wait, us?” Rockshire asked. “Hold on. I barely just met you, and you’re already wanting me to go with you on who knows where?”

“You’re pretty involved as it is. You saw the body, you heard the suspect’s plea... I’d say you were part of it from the beginning.”

Don’t do this to yourself, Mental, the marshal thought. You’re gonna hurt yourself...

“Honestly, I want to forget the body. I’ll keep quiet about this, I swear.”

Just say no, Mental.

“I’ve got to deal with the walking pile of angst who’s got sharp claws and fire breath. I’m not exactly the fatherly type.”

“I’m not a parental figure, either. I’m a sculptor and part-time barista, not a nanny.”

“I once heard of a nanny who was both a governess and a barmaid.”

“Yeah, whoever that was, it’s not me.”

“Alright, fine.” Mental sighed as he walked to the end of the alley. “I’ll take her home tonight and start working on this case tomorrow. Now, let’s see who we’ve got here...” The marshal walked up to the corpse and lifted up the back of her shirt, brushing away the long pale blue mane. On the upper portion of her back was a cutie mark of a magic wand seemingly crossed with a blue sparkling crescent moon. “Hold on,” Mental said, “I know who this is. This is Trixie Lulamoon, a travelling scam artist.”

“Wait,” Rockshire said. “Trixie Lulamoon? THE Trixie Lulamoon?”

“The one and only, and it looks like her scams have caught up to her... someone wanted her dead...”

“Wow... you think she made someone that peeved?”

“Good riddance,” Barb quipped. “I heard she was an annoyance and egotistical.”

“You know, I could take you down right now,” Mental said. “This here’s enough evidence to convict you.”

“I’ve never seen her in my life!”

“That’s what they all say...” Mental trailed off as he started to examine the body, looking for any possible hints to how she died. “Can’t find any stab marks or anything, so it was either magic or she was strangled. Of course, Barb here would know...”

“Strangled.”

“I’ll consider it.”

“Are there any markings on her neck or face?” Rockshire asked.

“Rockshire, look.” Mental stood up in front of the barista. “This is my job, more or less, I would have already checked. Just let me do what I do best.”

“Alright, alright, just trying to at least be some use...”

“You can be of use by helping me take care of Miss Snappy here.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

“I wonder, do I need to read you your rights?” This shut Barb up as Mental returned to Trixie’s body, searching her for any clues. After a few minutes, he stood up and sighed, saying, “I’ve got nothing, it’s late, I’m tired, let’s go home.”

“I’m heading back to my own place,” Rockshire muttered, leaving the alley and walking past the cafe.

“I’ll be seeing you tomorrow!” Mental yelled down the street as he walked back to his own with Barb.

“Alright, what am I going to do with you, Barb?” Mental asked as he sat down on the couch in his apartment. The living room itself wasn't that big; all it consisted of was a couch, a coffee table, and a floor lamp.

Barb sat at the other end of the couch and said, “Look, I don’t get along with cops, so don’t expect me to be all nice.”

“Cops?” Mental asked.

“Street talk for marshals.”

“I see. Any other street terms I should know?”

“Be glad all I call you is a cop.”

“You know, you should be thankful that I took you off the streets!”

“And what? Next place for me would be a cold jail cell, huh?”

Mental stood up quickly. “Look here, missy, I’m not the one acting like a convict, you are! Don’t blame me for what you’ve done!” He sighed and walked to the hallway. “I’m heading in for the night,” he said. “Lots of work to do tomorrow. You can sleep on the couch here, alright?”

“I better not find myself in handcuffs tomorrow.”

“You won’t,” Mental said as he staggered off to his bedroom. It had been a long day, and he really needed some sleep. As soon as he got into his room, he plopped down on his king-sized mattress and quickly fell asleep.