The Mysterious Case of the Pinecone Killer (Revised Edition)

3

I was still half asleep when I reached Trixie's camp a few kilometers north of Ponyville. It was a long trip to the mountains, but it was well worth it. Strangely, her bright purple tent and golden carriage rested on a high plateau too far for most ponies to scale. Really, Trixie? What’re you trying to hide up there? I was uneasy while scaling the steep cliffs, still finding it strange that she had isolated herself here. Even with magic, it would be a dangerous climb to the top.

Trixie was quite infamous in Ponyville for her 'magic' acts. Better yet, she was known by ponies all over Equestria. She would visit unsuspecting towns at random and scam the ponies for their bits. Then, she would hit the road as fast as she could before they discovered that she possessed no magic at all.

I grabbed the edge of the cliff and lifted myself up, landing on the dusty rocks with a thud. It was like a desert up here. Everything around me was barren, and the dead brush screamed for water. Withered plants were shriveled from the intense sun beating down rays, leaving only dust and dirt. Trixie's tent, up close, was battered by the turbulent wind.

I approached the tent, which was modified to be a semi-permanent home. It was made of some cheap plastic like a child’s toy and it was torn in the corners. I found the entrance and knocked on the door. Nopony seemed to be home, judging from the eerie silence.

I shouted for her, "Trixie. Are you here?" I stood there, waiting, but it was still too quiet. I can't waste time just waiting for her; who knows when she'll come back? I walked around the tent, looking for the back entrance. The rear door creaked in the breeze; perfect. I tiptoed inside, making sure that Trixie really was away.

Surprisingly, the interior of the tent was simply decorated with nothing more than a few potted plants. By the stories I've heard from everypony at Ponyville, I half-expected a couple of self portraits or at least lavish decorations. There were no intricate designs to be seen anywhere. Added to the ominous atmosphere was the single lantern, lit by a half melted candle, which swayed from the ceiling. It was barely enough for me to see anything at all in the room. The only notable objects in the room was the bed made of straw in the dark corner, next to a cluttered pile of trunks. Well, I guess that makes my job easier.

I didn't waste any time. I scavenged around the pile of trunks, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Well, everything was abnormal from my perspective - seeing that Trixie's profession was illusionist magic. I opened the nearest one and found that it was full of toys: smoke machines, confetti cannons, and fireworks. I opened another chest, this one tucked away under others. Inside was a large tattered book. I excitedly opened it, but was disappointed to see that it was nothing more than a scrapbook. Curiosity got the better of me as I flipped through it to find clues.

I opened the book to see a picture of Annabelle and me. I remembered that scene when we were in the snow snout-to-snout. It was when a cruel twist of fate separated us in the dead of winter. It was a story straight out of the fairytales.

“Do you love me?” She asked.

“Forever and ever,” I would reply.

And in the end we did see each other again.

I blinked and found myself back in reality with the picture gone. What what that? Maybe, I didn’t get enough sleep because of that awful nightmare. I reminded myself that Annabelle was gone, and that nothing I could do would make her return.

I lay down and opened to the first page. The first picture was aged brown and dated over a decade ago. In it was a blue stallion holding a white bundle, which I assumed held a child. On the next page, there was a photo of a filly, Trixie, solemnly standing alone in front of a building that read "Las Pegasus Orphanage". Immediately underneath that one was a sketch from a courtroom, and Trixie stood crying on the podium with hoofcuffs on all four legs. Scrawled in red, in the margins, was a short annotation: "I didn't do it." I flipped through the pages faster, flying through the most important events of Trixie's life. The subsequent photographs followed a common theme: Trixie was always standing alone. With every photo, her face became more sullen and lifeless. The photos continued like this consistently throughout every single year of her life up to today. Red annotations littered the book madly, making space between words and around the corners. The same words appeared again at least a hundred more times, "I didn't do it". But this time it was followed by, "Would life change for me?" I placed the book back gently into the dark trunk.

Maybe, she’s out for revenge. After all, she does have quite a few enemies. But, her seemingly arrogant personality was due to years of sorrow and abuse. She was just another pony, like me, hurt and frail inside. Still, I knew that my emotions shouldn't impede the investigation. If anything, her history only supports the profile of the killer.

Finding nothing else of interest, I moved away from the trunks and searched around the bed. It was makeshift, made from two bales of hay and a wooden frame. But what could I expect? Trixie never made any bits from her gigs because nopony wanted attend them if they knew who she was. I began to feel ashamed that I was accusing her, somepony who already had enough problems to deal with. I was about to leave before she came back, when I felt something strange in the hay. I grasped whatever it was and pulled it out. A pinecone. She had a pinecone hidden away in the bale. I grabbed the whole bed and began to tear it apart into shreds, and hundreds of different sized pinecones spilled onto the floor. Pinecones don't grow in Ponyville or in the Everfree Forest. Where did she get these, and why does she have them hidden here?

"Don't move, or the Great and Powerful Trixie will call the sheriff."

I turned around to see the blue mare, brandishing a manebrush as a weapon. I got her now. "Trixie," I said, "what is this?" I held up the pinecone.

She broke out in laughter. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is almost insulted that you asked the Great and Powerful Trixie what that is! That, mister robber, is what ponies call a pinecone."

She continued to laugh, but I stared her down. "You know about the recent murders, don't you Trixie."

Her eyes dilated in fear, "W-why yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie is aware of that Fluttershy but-"

"And you are aware of the killer's name." I held the pinecone in front of her face.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie knows that the Pinecone Killer is-"

"And you are aware that pinecones are extremely rare around these parts."

"I-I don't know what you mean! These fine pinecones are imported from Trottingham."

"It's the middle of summer, Trixie, we're far from the Hearth’s Warming Eve celebration."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has - other uses - for the pinecones! They... the Great and Powerful Trixie does not have to explain herself! Now, out!" She waved her hooves at me, as if casting a spell.

I didn't know whether to believe her or not. The evidence was too compelling: a troubled childhood, a criminal record, and the pinecones; especially the pinecones. She avoided my eyes as she rambled on. She was hiding something, for certain. I grabbed her shoulder and pulled out my hoofcuffs. "You're coming down with me to the sheriff to answer some questions."

She immediately backed away from the cuffs, as if they were venomous. "No, please no, not those," she cowered away behind the trunks, "please, no, don't take me away."
I tried to keep the situation as calm as I could, "Trixie, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

But she seemed to ignore me, as if she was lost in her own world. "No, don't take me away from daddy. I-I swear, I didn't do it! It wasn't me!" She began to rock nervously on the floor, "Please, no! Please, don't leave me, I don't want to be alone." She began sobbing violently as she curled up on the floor.

What was she doing? I can't get her move when she's like this.

“Please don’t take me away. I p-promise I’ll be a good filly, please, no!”

Then it came to me: her memories as a child. She must be remembering the things that happened to her in the past... like me.

Then she stopped moving. She turned her head in confusion and stared at me blankly. She then resumed laughing at me, as if nothing had happened.

"What is wrong with you?"

"What? There is nothing," she flicked her mane back, "absolutely nothing wrong with the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"Then why were you bawling over the floor like a foal just a moment ago?"

She gasped, "You call the Great and Powerful Trixie a foal? Well you must have been bucked in the head because the Great and Powerful Trixie never cries."

I was becoming frustrated. Was this a part of her act? Didn't she remember what happened? Apparently not. By the sincerity in her voice, the episode never occurred to her.

"Anyhow," she continued, "the Great and Powerful Trixie can prove that you are wrong. The Great and Powerful Trixie has her schedule locked away in the back of the carriage, and the witnesses are more than willing to claim that I was out of Ponyville for the last month."
So, if she really wasn't the murderer, I'll have no more leads.

"Don't move, and wait for the Great and Powerful Trixie's return with the papers to prove innocence." And as quick as a rainboom, she bolted out of the tent.

I sat down on the floor, warmed by the noon sun. I rested my head down, and soon my eyelids began to feel heavy. I attempted to remain conscious, but the thought of sweet sleep won and my eyes fell shut. Just for a minute.

I opened my eyes. I was lying sprawled on the floor, and nopony was in sight. I faced the ceiling and through a small opening at the top, I saw the orange sky. Trixie! I hoofed myself across my face for my naivete. I just let Trixie, the prime suspect, leave my sight and it was now well past noon. She could be anywhere by now!

I galloped outside to find any sign of her - but I couldn’t see anything other than the wasteland. The carriage! I saw that the side door was swinging wide open in the air. I ran as quickly as I could, hoping to salvage any clue that Trixie would have missed. But as I approached, I knew that something was terribly wrong. The window of the door was splattered with deep red blood. The blood trailed from the carriage, as if something was dragged through the rocks, and ended at the edge of the cliff. I trotted towards the end of the blood's trail cautiously, too shocked by the sudden turn of events to do anything else. I stared down the cliffside, and several meters below me in a patch of dense forest was the skewered body of Trixie.

No, this couldn't be. It couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour? But more importantly, how did the killer strike without me noticing? Where did he go? I looked around, but found no sign of a struggle or of the killer. I nearly tripped as I ran down to investigate the body.

The scene would have been serene if it weren't for Trixie's body suspended in midair. Her body was barely held together by the branch that ran right through her chest. A stream of blood trickled down from the trunk of the tree and created a festering black pool under her. All over the ground were streaks of blood, radiating outwards from the epicenter of the fall. Everything was covered in her blood, the bark, the leaves, and everything else in sight. Her clouded eyes were wide open and they seemed to stare right into my soul. They almost seemed as if they were still full of life. I took a step forward, but she still swayed unmoving. I took more steps, until I was right underneath her. A note attached to a pinecone was lodged in her mouth. I reached up and touched the tip of her hoof.

"Don't move, and wait for the Great and Powerful Trixie's return with the papers to prove innocence." And as quick as a rainboom, I bolted out of the tent.

This was all just a terrible misunderstanding. I understand why somepony like me would be the prime suspect. It was just like before - when I was only a little filly. I was involved with a crime - a crime that I didn't commit. I pleaded and pleaded to the stallions that carried me out of the courtroom, "Please, don't take me away." But they wouldn't listen. Nopony would listen to ponies like me. We had no family, no friends, and no one to believe in. But this time, this time I can prove that I'm innocent! Oh, yes! After this mess is cleared up, everything will be better. At least, I'll know that somepony would believe in me for the first time in my life.

I wondered why the strange pony thought I was a foal. Was it... the visions? No. It couldn’t be. I was stronger than that. I let go of my past, because I wasn’t that pony anymore. I told myself that the memories couldn’t hurt me any longer.

I approached my carriage, and unlocked the side door. Inside the front compartment were several records of my traveling shows all across Equestria. I started to file through the papers, searching for the ones that would prove my innocence. I quickly found them: my tour schedule from last week and the shipping orders for my delectable pinecones. Everypony found my taste for pinecones odd and I haven't heard of ponies ever consuming pinecones like I do. I would explain everything to that investigator, after all, I haven't introduced myself to him yet. We'll have a big laugh about this. Everything will be fine.

I grabbed the papers and turned around, but found myself facing somepony.

"You!" I didn't expect this, "What, are you doing here?"

Something was wrong. He said nothing, but instead held out a single slip of paper.

I read the first line, and I was horrified at what I'd just read. I looked up to him in disbelief, "You. It was you?"

He brought out a ticking pocket-watch for me to see. Only a few minutes remained. He quickly grabbed me, strangling me by the neck and slamming my head into the carriage window behind me. I felt something break inside my skull as everything became dizzy.

I tried to scream, hoping that somepony would hear. But everything was not fine. There was nopony around, and if there was, would they care enough to save somepony like me? Well, I did have her, Twilight Sparkle. At first, I wanted nothing more to humiliate her, but secretly I just wanted to be her friend. After I was driven out of Ponyville I became homeless without friend. What surprised me was that of all ponies she came to the rescue. She brought me into her library away from the ridiculing eyes of the public and taught me magic. Real magic! She was the only pony who reached her hoof out to me. She was my only friend.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie deserves to live. She didn’t do any of those terrible things! Please, give her a second chance!” I screamed as a last attempt to gain somepony’s attention.

He slammed my head once more against the glass and then threw me to the ground. The impact left me further dazed and barely conscious. I felt my body being dragged by the tail, away from the tent.

I was lifted up into the air by my mane. The ticking of the watch would speed up as I dipped in and out of consciousness.

Tick. The In the confusion of the strange sound, I managed to make out the grimace on his face, right before he let go.

My body entered free fall and I flew down the cliff. I fell blissfully, but my mind was in torment. I remembered everything since I was a foal. The death, the orphanage, the false crime, and the suffering. Every moment of life was filled with regret, and the choices I've made that further separated me from society. I fell into a pit of self-perpetuating disaster, and I had nopony to hang onto or pull me out. I've lived in a life of a lie. I was not 'great' or 'powerful', no matter how much I tried to believe so. The life I've lived in was a fantasy that I could hope for; a dream where I was loved. No, this couldn't be the end.

A tear rolled out of my eye. I couldn't accept what was happening. I don't want to die. I could still change. I wanted to change.

In the last possible moment, I realized what I've yearned for in life. The one thing that was missing from my life, and the thing that could have made me a better mare. A friend.
Only if I had met her sooner. Then the center of my chest exploded, tearing apart every bone and organ. Everything went black.

I took a deep breath. Trixie saw the killer, whoever he was, and he threw her off the cliff. The note! It was submerged in the blood. I reached into the liquid and rescued it before the words were erased by blood.

"I've been watching you, little investigator, ever since dear Annabelle's death. I thought she was beautiful, especially when I saw her lifeless hanging body. How does it feel? Are you angry? Do you want to kill me? You were too weak, too pathetic to save her in time. It's all your fault. But don't worry, because I'll give you what you truly desire: vengeance. Meet me at midnight deep in the heart of the Everfree Forest, that is if you're willing to face the truth. Come alone, we'll settle this alone.

-The Pinecone Killer"

I accepted his challenge. I crushed the note and stomped it into the blood. I now carried the burden of Trixie's death on my conscience, along with the several other ponies. I knew that I had to end the murders, and I knew that only one of us would be alive tomorrow. I just hope that I’d be strong enough to survive.