A Study in Mint

After my disturbing encounter from earlier, I spent most of the afternoon wandering about in central Ponyville. I also stopped by Sugarcube Corner for a short, casual talk with Pinkie Pie. With newly discovered enthusiasm, I told her all about my success with the apartment, and thanked her again for suggesting it. Before I left, she also gave me some vague advice on where to start looking for a potential workplace around town. The cafe was quite busy that time of the day, so I couldn't stay to chat for much longer.

Whatever remained of my trip from there on out didn't turn out very successful, either. Despite Pinkie's helpful input, I couldn't seem to meet anypony else who could help me out in any way. By the time Celestia was getting ready to have her sun set in the west, I felt majorly worn out, and decided to return to my new home at Bucker Street. I arrived back at the blue entrance door after a half-hour walk back from town. Taking a more direct route than before, my trip went past a lot quicker. Thinking about my unsuccessful day all the while had me pretty much tired out by the time I reached home. I also found myself unable to stop wondering about the strange stallion I'd met earlier. In due time, I reminded myself, I had to confront Lyra in an effort to discover what their connection might be. Assuming she even knew him, and he really wasn't just some creep following her around all day.

Upon reaching 221B Bucker Street, I crossed the short pebbled path in our front yard without any sign of excitement. My limbs felt sore, and my eyelids extremely heavy. Trying to push all my worries out of my mind, I yanked open the door, and made my way inside. Turning right towards the staircase, I quickly proceeded upstairs to enter the apartment. I hadn't seen Mrs Yearling on my way up, but she had probably gone to sleep, as it was. It wasn't much of a surprise at her age, either.

I imagined to hear some faint chatting coming from the living room as I approached the door, but I might well have been mistaken. Even so, it wouldn't exactly be the first time on that day. Tired as I was, I didn't exactly mind, though. It wasn't before I stepped inside that my curiosity was awoken once more, as I noticed we had a visitor. And a rather familiar one at that.

It was Time Turner, the inspecting officer whom I'd met earlier at the library. He sat in the armchair to my left, a concerned look on his face all the way through. Lyra had placed herself in the opposite chair, taking in the same unnatural position as usual. She sat there, facing him with some degree of interest. As far as I could tell, it was her casual look for all sorts of businesslike affairs. Whatever talk they had been engulfed in leading up to my entrance stopped immediately. While Lyra merely gave me a short, indifferent look, Mr. Turner's eyes widened in bewilderment as he saw me.

"Good evening, Bon Bon," Lyra said in her typically objective voice. "This is Mr Time Turner from the local law enforcement. We were just discussing business, so if you could leave us for a moment longer..." She obviously urged me to retreat back to my room, and I didn't see any reason against it. In all honesty, I could need a little time for myself, now. Instead of waiting for our guest's exit, I might as well get myself into bed, right away.

"Sure," I casually replied, as I started approaching the door to my bedroom. "And thanks for the introduction, but...we've met."

"Is that so?" Lyra asked, traces of surprise swinging in her voice, no doubt. She turned back to Mr. Turner. "Intriguing. Do you have anything to add?"

"Well, I..." the poor stallion gave a slight stutter, as his eyes darted back and forth between my Lyra and me. "I wasn't aware you were flatmates. I just...got commanded to send Miss Bon to a meeting with some government official this afternoon. I'm sorry, I didn't know there was any connection between the two of you."

Lyra's eyes hastily closed at the term government official. A low groan escaped her throat. "Well, I should have known better," she murmured. "It should be all too obvious Blueblood would come after you, sooner or later." Addressing me with the latter, she turned back to face Mr. Turner. "You'll have to excuse me, but there are some issues, which my companion and I have to discuss. I'll have the rest of the case later."

"Wait!" Mr. Turner exclaimed, as Lyra started pushing him towards the door with evident urgency. "What about the corpse, I mean, would you care too..."

"Yes, of course. The two of us will be there, first thing tomorrow," she replied, just before slamming the exit door in his face.

"Now," Lyra continued, as she started pacing up and down the room. "You've met Prince Blueblood. Well, he met you, strictly speaking. Which is just as fine, I suppose. Or not, given the perspective. Did you tell him anything?"

"Nothing he didn't already know," I answered, receiving a satisfied nod from her. "What is he, another customer of yours? He seemed important, the way he dressed, and carried himself."

"Important yes, customer...well, not really. He's my brother, to be precise."

"Your...brother?" I looked at her in surprise. "I didn't know you had..."

"Yes, yes, few ponies know about that. My relatives are one of these personal subjects I like keeping to myself."

"Well, that's alright with me," I said. "But what is it he does? And...why would he want to know what you're up to?"

"I can't say what exactly it is he needs from me, or why he's trying to put you in between all this. All I can tell you is what he normally bides his time with, assuming he's not occupied with his dear sister. You see, government official doesn't completely cut it. Mr Turner probably told you how Blueblood works for the government in a high position. Which is what he would think, among most ponies.  But practically, Blueblood is the Equestrian government. He's behind virtually every level of security and administration in the entire stinking swamp we call Canterlot. Whatever ministry, office, or term of affairs, he probably runs the place from behind his back, somehow."

"He does? But...I thought the princess put up with all that."

"Of course that's what you thought," Lyra replied, some anger mixed into her voice. "That's what everyone thinks, because the idea of a wise, protecting mother makes everyone much more comfortable than the harsh reality. You'd think, everypony in the Canterlot elite is nothing but a useless snob, while our glorious leader somehow manages to run this madhouse in assistance of her divine genius. Truth is, she's nothing more than a figurehead. She might raise the sun and moon, but that's basically all she does. And all she's capable of, quite frankly."

I wanted to protest; everything I'd heard about the princess throughout my life sounded very different. Lyra's approach seemed like an outrage to me, even blasphemic in some way, but she wouldn't let me cut into her tale just like that. Instead, she kept on talking without any pause or hesitation. In a way, I'd like to hear what our ruler would have to say about her words.

"Would you admire Celestia?" Lyra asked. "Don't. I can tell you that, because I've met her, and she's nothing but a boastful moron. If you see things the way you do, that's mostly because Blueblood wants you to. He runs a stealthy, but thoughtfully planned out arrangement of propaganda methods. Think of that what you wish, but it does help keep the country safe, and its ponies to sleep at night."

I stared at her in all my doubt. Which, to say the least, was more than justified "But why...but how did he even manage to achieve all this, if what you say is correct? One single unicorn in charge of all of Canterlot just seems unreal."

"His skills," Lyra replied with a shrug. "And family bonds, I guess..."

"Family bonds?"

Lyra trailed off, rolling her eyes. "Yes, well...family bonds... I suppose, I'll have to be completely honest with you...Blueblood and I...the two of us are in fact somewhat related to the royal family. Though not directly close to the crown, we still are second degree cousins to Princess Cadenza", she admitted. "Please don't bring it up in public, though. I hate talking about this whole nobility pack, and I certainly don't enjoy sharing my bloodline connections with everyone."

She sighed, strolling back towards her armchair. "Is there anything else you need to know?"

"Why, yes," I replied after a moment of thinking, remembering the words she had just used while forcing Turner's exit. "What was that you said to Mr Turner, just now? Something about a corpse, if I haven't misheard it."

"Ah, yes," Lyra started. "That is a delicate matter. Have I told you I work as a consulting detective?"

"Of course!" I cried, almost offended by how little she seemingly noted me in her everyday routine. "Telling me so was among the first things you did after we moved in here."

"There is a case Mr. Turner wanted me to look into. Well, us, to be precise. I'm not sure whether he realized that yet, but the way he requested it, he'll have both of us joining his investigation, tomorrow. He came over to discuss the case with me, just now. We'll have to deal with everything else tomorrow morning, so I suggest you get yourself some rest."

"W-wait," I stuttered. "You agreed - on my part - to go, examine some forsaken corpse tomorrow?"

"Yes, I did. Something wrong with that?" Lyra cocked her head to the side, looking at me. She seemed to be serious in her request, hardly noticing my confusion. Maybe this was a unicorn thing, but where I came from, ponies usually didn't wander off to look at some stranger's dead body like it was a museum exhibit.

"Well, but...why?"

"Why? Because there wasn't any more time for it, today. I first needed to get that whole business with Blueblood out of the way. And it's too dark outside, anyways. Without some natural sunlight to enlighten the crime scene, a number of details are easy to miss out on. All things considered, postponing the case to next morning seemed like the most reasonable thought." After a moment's thought she added, "I do envy your enthusiasm, though."

I stared at the unicorn mare in disbelief. "I think we're not exactly getting to each other right now."

"We don't?" Lyra asked, as her brow furrowed. "Then what is it you're saying?"

"I'm saying, no, I'm asking you, what in Equestria would bring a simple mare like myself to go look at a dead body first thing in the morning?"

"Why, the battlefield, of course." She said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. Upon my completely befuddled expression, she snapped. "Gosh, all you regular, regular ponies. Sometimes I wonder what exactly does go on in these dull, tiny brains of yours." She shook her head.

"Very well, I'll be clear with you, my dear Bon Bon. Imagine the very society we live in at war. Life in Equestria might seem all quiet and peaceful, but there is quite a different reality hiding beneath this pleasant facade. Constant warfare, marking a struggle between crime and punishment, good and evil, if you will. Not the kind of heroic tales you hear in fairy tales, quite the opposite. Most of the fighting goes on in the shades. Dark corners, lone side alleys, you name it. Any kind of place that goes unnoticed by most, so ordinary ponies like you were can just keep living their lives, going about their day. They don't know a thing about what's going on out there, and that's the only way for me to keep them safe. It is how I try to make a difference."

"Uh-huh," I muttered, skeptically. "You know, you do sound a bit arrogant, going on about your noble cause like that."

"Noble cause?" Lyra asked, narrowing her eyes. "I never suggested it to be that. And I'm not doing this because I believe in a sense of good and evil or anything of the sort. Even though I did use the words for you to produce a better picture of the situation, just now. I admit that. Most of all however, I'm pursuing my career because I like doing so. And because life would quickly grow exorbitantly dull, if I didn't. Solving crimes, riddles, puzzles...that's the only way keeping me from dying of boredon. It may well be my special talent, I'd say."

"Your cutie mark is a lyre," I pointed out.

"And a clever disguise at that," Lyra returned, not even blinking. "I do enjoy a bit of music every now and then, and I appreciate the lyre more than I do with any other instrument. In a similar manner, I made this appear one day. But going after these mysteries...that's what really gets me going."

"So what you're saying is, you tricked a partly wrong cutie mark into appearing?"

"I suppose that's how you could call it."

"You tricked destiny."

"Very much so, thank you for the input."

"You can't trick destiny."

"Yes, I can."

After a moment of silence, during which Lyra gave me a somewhat irritated look, I turned my eyes to the ground with a groan. "All of this still doesn't explain, why I have to look at a corpse. That has nothing to do with your wild battle plans, which I'm not even a part of."

"Ah, but don't you see? It has everything to do with my plans, or...whatever you like to call it. And you are a fixed part of the entire construct, like it or not. Why, you already chose your side. Myself, as well as the enemy have well recognized that by now."

"When did I chose th-"

"When you agreed to move into this apartment. And decided to have a talk with Blueblood, this afternoon. And spontaneously made yourself part of my own private investigation, just now. The latter might not be entirely your fault, but it weighs, nonetheless." With a short leap, she threw herself back into the armchair, returning to her usual position.

"Do you always sit like that?" I asked, distracted by looking at her in some amusement.

"Mostly," she remarked. "Helps me think." There was a special emphasis on the last letter 'k', which she pronounced somewhat disconnected from the rest of the word. I initially wanted to ask about that too, but ultimately decided that any more unnecessary questions wouldn't do any good right then.

Lyra clopped her forehoofs together a few times, eyes staring dead ahead all the while. Dumbfounded as I was, I watched for another moment, not knowing how to respond. Only then did I raise my voice back up, anyway. "You know, I don't think I'll be of much help tomorrow, so you might as well exclude me..."

"Not much help?" Lyra yelled, making me jump. Without a moment's notice, she snapped back out of her zone. "Excuse me, how qualified are you in the anatomy of living beings?"

"Well, I did have acceptable grades in my school's biology classes, but..."

"Ever dissect anything?"

"A frog...once. But that doesn't help."

"It could...a bit, maybe," Lyra replied. "And it will have to do."

Without further notion, she got back up, wandering towards her bedroom door. "As I said before, I suggest you get yourself rested. Tomorrow should be interesting. Good-night!"

At the last word, she went into her room, closing the door behind herself. Lyra didn't wait for me to return the wishes, but she would never do that before going to bed. I had grown accustomed to it in the meantime. Being left behind in the living room, I quickly decided to extinguish the lit gas lanterns, and call it a day, myself.