A Hop, Skip, and a Jump

by Grass Marks

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, Dark
Length: 1330

The murder of a Ponyville resident requires the aid of Ace Spades to solve the case.

Ponyville, a happy town filled with equally happy residents until the murder of a resident of the town gets everypony worried. Hired to solve the case, Detective Ace Spades moves to find ponies in order to start his case. With his only evidence on the murder being the identity of the victim and how she was killed, Ace Spades finds one of her close friends to interrogate.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-04-27 17:56:04 UTC

Chapter 1

"A Hop, Skip, and a Jump" is what we were told. Nothing less, nothing more. I had a feeling I was interrogating the wrong pony. I glared deep into her pink eyes, trying to desperately hold back my hoof from slamming across her face. She was holding something back and I wanted to find out what. Finally, I noticed her let out a smile.

"Talk!" I demanded, slamming my hoof against the table in front of me. She leaned back in her chair, putting her hooves behind her head and spreading her wings.

"Do you honestly think I'd kill her?" she asked, obviously knowing where she was going with this conversation. I could smell the cider on her breath as if she was still losing herself.

"I don't think you killed her." I said, releasing tension in my muscles. "I know you killed her! I think you got tired of all the attention and invited her on a walk before you pushed her over the edge of the cliff and let her body slam into pillars of jagged rocks!" I said, compiling my story. It's how you have to deal with stubborn ponies like this. Something in her almost seemed to snap. She sat up, her smug expression quickly exchanging to a concerned look.

"A-" she hesitated. "Against the jagged rocks, huh?" Finally, I smirked. The rules had been changed.

"Just. Like. That." I said, raising my hoof in the air and making a falling sound with my mouth until I slammed my hoof harshly against the table. "Splat!"

She cringed, shaking a little and laying her head on the table. I looked at her, watching for any signs that could help me determine what game she was playing right now. After a moment, I could hear light panting coming from her. I gave her what time she needed as she raised her head, tears dripping and falling off her face like waterworks. I hadn't seen tears run down somepony's face like that since my Aunt Ruby decided it was a good idea to cut a whole basket of onions at once on a hot summer's day.

"I loved her!" she yelled, obviously hesitating as much to say that from the tears as it took to actually want to say it. "I would never kill her!" she cried, slamming her hooves on the table and continuing to cry. That wasn't the sad part. The sad part was that she was still struggling so much to hold back the tears. What a resilient pegasus.

"Then tell me who did!" I demanded. I had an edge over her, I couldn't lose that now. If she was breaking, she'd tell me anything. Her panting was starting to get out of control and I saw her folding her arms in, almost hugging her head which now was back on the table. "If you cared her, you'd tell me!" I slammed my hoof against the table again, this time making the light above the table swing back and forth. The room was beginning to get the scent of sadness, which basically just smells like moisture in the air.

"If I knew," she started, mumbling but just loud enough for me to make out what she was saying while talking in her hoof, "I wouldn't be here right now." she cried. I leaned back, chewing on my pencil and jotting down random details about the pony in front of me.

"Where were you with her last?" I focused my glare at her light blue wings, which were now lowered and hung low just like her ears. Suddenly, her head raised sharply, glaring angrily at me, her lip quivering and her eyes had become red from the flood of tears continuing to stream down her face.

"Why should I tell you?" she said, suddenly becoming defensive.

"Rainbow Dash, my name is Ace Spades." I said, presenting myself as if I thought highly of myself. Confidence is what you need in a job like this. Confidence in your job, confidence in your abilities, and confidence in yourself. "I will catch the son of a mare that did this. Mark my words." I combated her angry glare with my serious glare until her quivering lip turned into a shake in her body. She looked at me until her angry glare gave in back to tears. She was really trying her best just to keep herself together but was failing miserably.

"I can't trust you!" she shouted. "I can't trust anypony!" she slammed her head against the table roughly. She was starting to flip out, grabbing the table and throwing it as she tried to fly towards the barred window in the cement room. I didn't bother moving. She couldn't escape, no matter how much she wanted to just leave and forget her problems. She was crying, shaking the metal bars and desperately trying to break them but she couldn't succeed. I looked down, trying to think about my options.

"Listen to me!" I yelled at her, noticing she stopped and slid to the floor crying. "I'll die trying to solve this case." I said, hoping my dedication would lighten her up. She slowly turned at me as I kept my serious glare. I wasn't about to lose this case already. "If you can't trust me, then whoever killed her will get away!" I yelled, my eyes becoming hazy from the moisture in the air. I rubbed my eyes, becoming irritated before she walked over to me, appearing very fragile for once.

"Sugarcube Corner." she said, lowering her head. "We were purchasing cupcakes from Mr. and Mrs. Cake to go on a picnic, but..." she stopped. I looked at her, trying not to upset her.

"Go on." I said, repositioning myself on my chair as I watched her sit down as well.

"Pinkie Pie interrupted us. Wanted to come along on the picnic that we planned just for the two of us." she continued. Her head continued to lower until she was staring down at her own legs, tears still dripping from her face but more calmly than before.

"Pinkie Pie is a local resident, I presume?" I asked, trying to get more information.

"Yeah. She's really not that bad once you get to know her." she explained.

"She didn't take the hint that you wanted to be alone together?" I asked, noticing how odd behavior that could be. Maybe signs of jealousy, maybe signs of ignorance... it's hard to tell.

"That's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie." she said. I couldn't help but shake my head and let out a light chuckle.

"Anyway, continue with your story."

"She never could say no, even though she knew I didn't want Pinkie Pie to come along." she said, letting out a hefty sigh. "I got more angry every second so I just left." she stopped.

"And that was the last time you saw her?"

"Yeah..." she said, closing her eyes and letting another tear fall, dripping in a splash with the small puddle of tears below her.

"Thank you for your time, Rainbow Dash." I said, watching her move her rainbow-colored mane out of her eyes as she looked back up at me. I stood up, looking at her as she started to cry once more. I gave her a gentle nod and went to walk away. It was clear now that I'd have to go to Sugarcube Corner and investigate this lead more. Walking away, my hooves clanking against the cement floor, sending an echo throughout the room, I began to wonder more about this "Pinkie Pie" character.

"...Fluttershy......" I heard Rainbow Dash mutter as she cried, obviously missing the victim desperately. With a heavy heart, I took a deep breath and opened the solid steel door, letting a Royal Canterlot Guard and a purple unicorn inside to see their friend. I gave a hefty sigh and pulled myself together, starting my short trip to Sugarcube Corner.