The Mysterious Case of the Pinecone Killer (Revised Edition)

2

I reached Gilda's hut in the dead of night. It was silent - not even the crickets dared to chirp tonight. The sound of my thumping heart was omnipresent around me, and no matter which direction I turned I would only hear the thumping. Every so often I would hear a sharp scratch, the sound of talons against the stone streetwalk. I would turn around, only to see nothing. I broke out in a cold sweat. I could feel some evil presence lurking around near me trying to corner me into the darkness.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to keep calm by humming Annabelle's lullaby. That always worked. Oh, how much I missed her. I remember the last moments I shared with her were in love. It was during the Hearth’s Warming season, I believe. We rode through the pure white snow and the chilly winter breeze with only each other to keep ourselves warm. A few days later, she was gone. Her body was stone cold, and not even my warmth could bring her back. I would never forget that day.

It’s funny that I learned something that day. I learned that there was nothing to be afraid of, perhaps, but fear itself. Annabelle was never prissy like the other mares; she was strong and brave. Nothing could make her cry, well except for when we were in each other’s arms. We found comfort in each other, something so rare in the world of ours. Fear or no fear, I still had a job to do - to find the truth.

What I could make out in the dim moonlight was a home in shambles: the roof was missing tiles, the windows were cracked into pieces, and nothing grew on the mud lawn. I tread across the dirt and peered into a window. Inside was a dust laden bed, matching the miskept room full of tears. It was a ghost of a house, at most. I couldn't believe that anybody lived here. I pressed my face closer, trying to make out something large that stuck out from underneath the bed, when my hoof slipped and pushed the window inwards. The whole frame fell off of the wall and I bounded onto the floor. I heard the flimsy wood crack as it hit the floor.

"Bucking hooves." I hoped that nopony was around to hear that. The streets were still silent and I could see nothing move. I took a deep breath and bravely ventured into the hole where the window should have been. "A little private investigation," I reassured myself, "for safety." The problem at hoof wasn’t that I might not find any evidence, but that what I’m doing wasn’t quite legal.

When I climbed through the hole in the wall, I immediately began to search for clues. I brought out a small flashlight that the sheriff was so kind to provide me with. It was blue, oh, how I do love that color. But, it wasn't a very strong light. I narrowed my eyes and at last I could see something in the pitch black night. Several brown broken bottles littered the floor, and the scent of hard apple liquor lingered in the air. The door to the only other room, the bathroom, hung ajar. I quickly glanced inside and saw even more empty bottles filled up in the tub. I wondered if all griffons were uncouth like this.

Careful not to leave hoofprints, I carefully made my way over to the bed. I grabbed the mysterious dark shape under the bed that I saw from outside and yanked it out into the open. A pile of newspaper clippings. I swore at myself, again, for hoping that it would be something that would connect her to the crimes. I was about to toss it away, but I noticed that all of the articles were of the Pinecone Killer. Interesting. I flipped through the papers with notes scrawled over them. Then I stopped in front of one article. On the top in bold was the title, "Killer Strikes!", and underneath it was a picture of my very young Annabelle. I forced back the painful memories and the sudden urge to cry. This was no time for that - I must be fearless. But, what in Equestria was she doing with these articles?

Displeased with finding nothing of any value, I turned to the sole night stand leaning against the bed. Interestingly, as I peered into one of the open drawers, I saw several long nails crudely jammed into the wooden planks. I hastily pulled the drawer further out, which turned out to be a terrible mistake. The whole stand fell over and its contents scattered all over the floor. I'm really messing things up tonight, aren't I? A hammer, some rope, a bottle of sleeping medicine, and a book slid onto the floor. My instincts immediately told me, for whatever reason, that I needed this book. I flipped through its pages and realized that it was her diary.

An alibi. Look for an alibi. My detective skills told me that I should look for her alibi. If nopony couldn't prove that she was somewhere else yesterday and with all this evidence, then I think... good Celestia, I think I can prove she's the killer! I looked back down to the rope and hammer. Yes, she could have used these for the murders. I flipped through and found the most recent entry, dated from yesterday:

"Things aren't going well today. I've been kicked out of my job by that dweeb of a boss at the rainbow factory. Somepony offered me another job through, delivering the morning post. I've never been the morning type and the pay isn't good, but either way I don't think I'll be working anytime soon. There's things that are more important than money. This whole incident with Fluttershy has been pretty intense. I made sure that she won't be hanging around her “little” Dashie anymore!"

Something cold wrapped itself around my neck. I felt the presence of something large and feathery stand behind me, breathing in and out heavily.

"You have ten seconds to tell me why you're here," she brandished her other set of talons in front of my eyes, "or say goodbye to your face."

My throat grew dry instantaneously. I stuttered as I fumbled to recite the rights. "Y-you have the right to r-r-remain silent..." And with a great force, I was overturned and slammed onto the bed.

Then she screeched at me mockingly like a banshee. "On what grounds, oh great officer?"

I regained some confidence, but if it weren't for the bed supporting me I swear I'd already fallen over and fainted. "You, Gilda the griffin, have been accused of threatening the pony Fluttershy -"

Hearing the name, Gilda suddenly lost her composure. Even though I couldn't see her, I could tell that she was extremely uncomfortable speaking about Fluttershy. "Oh, that dweeb, yea I forgot about how dweeby she is, the princess of dweebville and-"

“Care to explain this?" I said, holding up the page in her diary.

"Hey! That’s mine! T-That’s nothing!" she tried to snatch away the book away from me.

"You know, you're the prime suspect."

"Prime suspect my flank." She swiped the diary, nearly taking my hoof with it.

"Where were you this time of night?"

"I've just got back from my job."

"Lying won't help you, Gilda."

“W-what do you mean?" She began to sweat from her brow.

"You work delivering the morning papers. It's past midnight."

"W-well. I, uhh."

"Evidence is stacked against you. I know that you committed the crime." I've got her now. There's no way I could be wrong now.

She looked alerted, but not surprised. "Of what crime?"

"The murder of Fluttershy."

The room became silent as the wilderness outside, then came a wave of swears. "Buck! Buck!" Gilda began to sob uncontrollably. "I was too late!"

"Too late for what?" I was completely taken aback by her reaction. This wasn't what she was supposed to say. She was supposed to say that she was the murderer so that I could turn her in.

I could see that her eyes were fiery red in rage. With a menacing voice, she confessed: "It doesn't matter anymore. So, helping you won't matter." She pointed a talon to the window, "somepony threw a pinecone at me with a note attached to it, a week ago. It said it was from the Pinecone Killer. It said that Fluttershy was going to die."

"Wait, why didn't you report this to the sheriff?"

"The note also said that he was always watching, and if I told anypony that Fluttershy would be punished."

"What else did it say?"

"It said that I had one chance to save her by proving my worth as a friend by finding her before time was up. I just didn't know what to think of... I mean, Fluttershy, she was my friend."

"Friend? It didn't sound like that when you threatened to kill her."

"T-That was long ago, before I really knew who she was. It was that day, when I did say I would kill her - but I never meant that! She came to me that night and asked me - asked me if I was alright. At first, I thought she was mocking me by trying to be all nice, but then I knew, I knew for certain that she genuinely cared for me. Growing up in the life I was born in, always abandoned and alone, I've always wondered what friendship could be. She was my first... friend. I was always jealous of Rainbow Dash because they were such close friends. I just... I just loved Fluttershy. I would never have done anything to hurt her - ever!"

"So, you aren't the killer then?"

"No. I'm not the killer! I've never killed nopony! Everypony thinks that though! Oh me, from the ghettos of the city, of course I must be a criminal. But I'm not! I just want to escape this life, go somewhere else and start fresh. I just want this nightmare to end." She sighed and threw the diary at me. "Here, take everything I have. It's my research. I thought - I just thought that I was good enough to save her. But I was wrong. This might be more useful to you now than it is to me. Just please, stop with the questions, I want to be alone now."

I was speechless. Gilda was not the killer. In fact, she was the opposite, a victim of the crime. I apologized for the window, but she just sat on her bed silent. I was about to leave the building without saying anything else and let her alone in the dark room, but she stood to face me once more.

“Before you go,” she said with a somber voice, “promise me you’ll catch whoever this is. He’s a mad stallion, insane. He thinks that playing with lives is like a game... just a game...”

“Thank you, Gilda.” I turned to the door and walked out with diary in hoof.

Poor griffin, she's had a hard life full of sorrow and Fluttershy was the only one who she could ever talk to. Now she had nobody; Nobody to talk to, and nobody to trust her. I knew the sadness that came from losing somepony close - and especially the guilt for not being strong enough, not brave enough, to save them. It's a terrible feeling to have the burden of somepony's death on your shoulders. I remember a time, not too long ago, when I... Annabelle... she...

I snapped myself back into reality. This was no time for nostalgia. In my hooves, I held the only lead to the killer. I guess it wasn't a total loss coming here. I took a brisk gait back to Ponyville, as I was in no rush. I was tired from the night and as Celestia began to raise the sun, my eyes became heavy with sleep. The world around me became illuminated by the sunlight and I could see everything so clearly. I avoided the harsh light, as it threatened to burn out my night-accustomed eyes.

I dragged myself to the nearest hotel and checked out the closest room. The receptionist gave me a strange stare, but happily accepted my bits. I didn't have the time to sit down and read the journal. I needed to sleep now. I threw myself onto the bed, closed my eyes, and drifted away into a dream.

I woke up to the sound of a clock’s steady ticks. For some reason, it was driving me insane - that tick followed by another tick repeated itself endlessly. I found the clock by the bedside table and knocked it off onto the floor. I heard the sound of the glass face shatter as it hit the floor. I groaned at my stupidity. I'm going to have to pay for that now. How long was I out for... what time was it? I leaned over to the floor and saw the gears of the clock scattered about the floor. Oh, the irony. I wandered out my room and into the corridor. But something was terribly wrong. The hallway extended endlessly, literally. I looked left and then right, but I couldn't see either ends.

The hall was amazing and nothing like I've ever seen. Jewels lined the walls by the thousands, a fortune that would be the envy of any dragon. It seemed as if the sparkling chandeliers were made of diamonds, and the royal carpet woven with gold. What was this magical place? Was I in Ponyville anymore?

Then I heard another ticking noise. It was a clock, and it read five minutes until midnight. It couldn't be. No matter how tired I was, I couldn't have slept through a whole day. Could I? I had to see if it was dark outside, but I was surprised to find that all of the windows had suddenly vanished overnight. Panicked, I started to quickly walk down the hallway. With every step I took, nothing changed. It seemed as if I were running in circles. The patterns of the wall and carpet repeated in a loop and the doors remained in identical positions regardless of where I stood.

I shouted. "Anypony here? Can anypony hear me?"

It was silent.

I began to enter into a gait. Something was terribly wrong and I had to know if this was real. I walked up to a portrait of an unknown mare and touched it with my hoof. Suddenly, the lights flashed, and the mare’s face had transformed into Annabelle’s. The lights flashed once more and the original figure came back. This had to be some trick, or an illusion.

“Annabelle?” I whispered.

This time, something answered back. “Why... why couldn’t you save me?” The ghostly whispers continued to call out to me. I circled around, trying to find the source of the voice but there was nopony to be seen.

“Where are you?” I yelled. “Who are you!”

From the ceiling, the ghostly apparition of sweet Annabelle floated down like an angel. She was as beautiful as I remembered her. I didn’t care if this was reality or not, just as long as I were with her. She was all that I needed. She was everything I had.

Click. A clock on table behind me read four minutes until midnight. My mind was in a frenzy by now. That clock was not there a moment ago. I swear, it just appeared out of nowhere.

“Annabelle! Where are you?” She had disappeared.

I nervously shifted around and turned back to the painting which was now streaked in red. I turned back to where my room was, but I fell on top of something. My leg hit a stray clock, one that I was sure was not there a moment ago. Laying on the floor, I now saw that the whole hallway behind me was now full of hundreds of clocks, ticking in perfect unison. This isn't real. This can't be. The walls began to lose their texture and the golden floor began to rust away and turn blood red.

Click. Three minutes until midnight. Wherever I was, I had to escape. They're following me. I was sure. I ran as fast as I could away from all the clocks. But as I ran through the hallway, even more clocks began to appear hanging on the walls. The ticks became distorted and random, some clicking earlier than others. It seemed as if some of them were beginning to tick even faster. The lights in the chandeliers exploded, spraying shards of glass in all directions and leaving me in the darkness. I didn’t know where to run but forwards.

Click. Two minutes. I was out of my mind. I didn't care anymore about anything, other than to escape. I flailed around, bumping into the walls, desperately trying anything I can to reach the end of the dreaded halls. The walls seemed to close in on me as I walked further down the hallway. I swear, they seemed as if they wanted to crush me to death. The clocks now ticked twice as faster than before.

Click. One. I saw something far in the distance. The end of the hallway! Vision around me returned, but everything was colorless like a black and white film. I ran through the darkness blindly, until I saw the exit. There was a single white door with a pearl knob directly in front of me. Above it was a neon sign that read 'EXIT' in bold and bright letters. I had to reach the exit, or the walls would crush me to death. I just knew it. I had barely enough room to put my next hoof in front of the other.

I glanced at a clock. Ten more seconds. Click. Just run. Click. Don't look back. Click. You can make it. Click. Don't give up. Click. Four more seconds. Click. I'm so close to the door. Click. Almost there, just a second more! Click. I touched the cold doorknob. Click. I turned the knob. Zero.

DING. DING. DING.

I woke up, this time to the sound of the town bells. It was just a nightmare. The large bells of Ponyville Elementary rang twelve times, signaling that the noon has arrived. I was in the bed, the same bed that I remember going to sleep in, and the diary lay safely on the table beside me. I ran to the door and opened it, half expecting to be trapped in another dream. I looked to my right and saw the receptionist's table. Nothing had changed. It was all just a terrible nightmare.
Realizing that it was just my imagination, I lay back down. I just needed one more second. One more second and I could have escaped. All I needed to do was turn and walk out... but I couldn't. There just wasn't enough time. Something about that dream struck something terrible deep inside me, a lost memory of something so terrible and painful it had to be hidden away.

“I’m so sorry, Annabelle.” I couldn’t save her, again. I sat there, staring at the ceiling unable to remember what was reality from imagination.

I put the memories on hold in the back of my head, and picked up the book. I told myself to investigate first. I skimmed through the book, which to my surprise was filled with amazingly intricate details. Every single crime was thoroughly analyzed, and somehow she had even found pieces of evidence that I missed from several years ago. A small red bookmark was wedged in between two pages. Curious, I turned to the page and found that it was titled "suspects". I couldn't help but be eternally grateful to Gilda for giving me this book. There was only one name written on that page: The Great and Powerful Trixie.