The Adventure of the Librarian's Consort
The Reminiscences of Princess Twilight Sparkle
It had been such a long time since we had last met, so many moons ago under such different circumstances. I would often wonder if we would ever actually meet again, to make right what once went wrong those two fateful days in Ponyville. I wondered what feelings she would meet me with. ~~Anger?~~ ~~Hate?~~ ~~Joy?~~ ~~Sadness?~~ ~~There was simply no way to~~
The Princess groaned in heavy annoyance, hastily scribbling over the words she had just written with her inked quill. Page after page after page, and she still had not yet even started the newest project she had recently undertaken. "A thousand books and even more essays and yet you can't even write a simple journal introduction!"
In the back of her mind, Princess Twilight realised that there was really nothing wrong with what she had written so far, but she just wasn't satisfied with the quality of her efforts. It seemed that her unrelenting boredom was making her feel quite critical at the moment. This was a matter of utmost importance, a princesses journal, the reminisces of Twilight Sparkle. Everything she had done, and everything she would ever do collected in one place for the world to see, to be studied, questioned, lauded or laughed at.
She had forgotten her book bag and was so bored she elected to write her own.
Twilight fell back against her cushioned seat with a groan, almost slipping off to the side as the train carriage chugged along around yet another corner. She leaned her head against the nearest window, allowing her half closed eyes to lazily scan over the passing countryside. The journey to Canterlot might take half a lifetime, but the view was undoubtedly breathtaking, almost making its longevity worth it.
Twilight however refused to be distracted by the sight, her thoughts staying elsewhere on the task ahead. She placed the pristine brown journal back into her saddlebag, and after some ruffling within she emerged with an extravagant azure envelope, she opened it with her magic and pulled out a noticeably worn piece of paper contained inside. She had read the letter before, and now she would read it once again, the words providing a desired sort of companionship.
To Her Royal Highness... the fourth one.
It is I, you know who. Unless you forgot, in which case how dare you. Either way allow me to reintroduce myself. Behold, Me! Queen Trixie, Descendant of Starswirl, The Illustrious Lulamoon, The Greatest and most Humble, M. D.
One of those was a lie, three guesses which.
Anyways, Trixie requires you to help resolve a friendship problemher magic studies a matter of Life or Death! Quite literally too, and no, I won't tell you anymore, I'm hoping to arouse your curiosity to the point you can't deny yourself the opportunity of finding out what I really want.
"I really hate you sometimes, Trixie."
Seriously though, ponies will most probably be killed if you don't come.
And also no, I will not be the one doing said killing.
If you decide to accept my oh so generous offer, you may find me at my humble abode at Apartment B, 221 Basil Street, Canterlot. Yes, I live in a building now.
I implore you to come as soon as it is convenient, if inconvenient come anyway.
Matter of Life or Death remember?
Sincerely
The Great and Powerful Trixie
P. S. Bring your crown.
Twilight leaned back with a snort, just like she had done every other time she had read the letter over the past week. She had decided not to obey Trixie's request to come at once, even if it was an inconvenience, as she had duties to attend to and could not just up and leave to pander to Trixie's invitation. Even if it was the matter of Life or Death that she so claimed.
Twilight was however on her way the moment it did become convenient, though not without some pestering from her friends and her crown in tow. Twilight ultimately decided that her friends probably wouldn't get along with Trixie after all she had done, and since Trixie seemed to barely be able to tolerate Twilight, she doubted that Trixie would be willing to welcome them all with open fetlocks.
Which was why Twilight found herself alone in a train on her way to Canterlot to meet her former rival/archenemy/random acquaintance regarding a matter she had absolutely no knowledge of.
"It's all uphill from here."
Canterlot was such a marvel. Ponyville was home but Canterlot is and always will be with me. I remember it all, the little bakery on the corner, the smell of ancient paper in the library. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss it often, even if it was almost overwhelming in its nature. My meeting with Trixie drew ever closer, and I couldn't deny that the sight of a familiar face in the great wilderness of Canterlot would be a pleasant thing indeed to a lonely mare.
Twilight coughed as the carriage came to a halt, jolting awake at the sudden stop. She peeked out of the carriage window, her coat glistening due to the shining gaslights that littered the quiet street. Her long journey had come to a close, and she had arrived at her destination of Basil Street at dusk.
"Well... No turning back now," she spoke to herself. Paying the cab driver, she exited into the street, the cold air hitting her like a punch, she briefly rubbed her legs in an attempt to generate some heat, before she went on her way down the deserted pavement, illuminated by the street lamps and lights shining out through the house windows at her side.
Rounding a corner, she found herself in a street filled with multiple three story houses, all noticeable worn with age and continuous repair. All were completely unremarkable, save for one which drew Twilight’s gaze.
"What in the?"
One house stood out from the rest, not in design or structure but from a strangeness emanating from a set of windows on its second floor. Twilight stared bemused at the sight, as a flash of a seemingly random colour who occur every few seconds from behind the windows' closed curtains. Red, green, yellow, blue and a whole plethora of colours Twilight couldn't identify specifically.
"Gee, I wonder who's causing that!" Twilight remarked to herself in a deadpan tone, before deciding that talking to herself alone in a dark street really wasn't doing her any favours. She approached the house with the flashing windows, and was completely unsurprised to find that the front door housed a prominent number 221. Twilight drew in a breath.
Climbing up the front steps, Twilight could not help but stand still before the mahogany door, suddenly feeling hesitant to knock. 'Come on Twilight, she invited you. If it wasn't going to be on civil terms I doubt Trixie would go to all this trouble,' was Twilight's reasoned thought, though she absentmindedly pondered the fact that she had underestimated just how far Trixie was willing to go for revenge before, and it had nearly cost her everything.
'She's different now, I believe that!' Twilight thought with conviction. She raised her hoof and tapped on the door, firm and loud to make herself known to its occupants.
Twilight groaned when she realised that the flashing from the windows above continued despite her announcing her arrival. She knocked on the door once more, and could hear the taps of hooves on wood within as a heavy figure approached.
"Yeah just a moment, I'm coming!"
Twilight was happy to hear a response, but was put off when she realised that the voice definitely did not belong to The Great and Powerful Trixie, it wasn't even that of a mares.
The door opened with a click, and Twilight found herself face to face with a plump ginger stallion, rings around his eyes and wrinkled creases morphed his features. He looked tired, as if he was reluctant to be alive.
He perked up however the moment he laid eyes on Twilight.
"Oh my gosh it's actually happening! I expected somepony to come but didn't think I'd get the Princess herself!" He let out a gleeful sigh. "Ah that mad mare don't stand a chance against you." He spoke with a traditional Canterlot accent, though it was not as refined as the nobles or even Twilight herself.
The Princess, though confused, responded with a well meaning question suited to address all of her queries.
"Beg your pardon?"
The stallion at the door's expression faltered for a moment, unsure how he should respond. "The letters I've been sending? Requests to have my tenant institutionalised? Ring any bells?"
Twilight blinked. "Can't say that they do," she spoke with uncertainty. She broke into an awkward grin as the stallion effectively deflated upon hearing the news.
"Aw! You got my hopes up!" After taking a moment to groan, he turned back to Twilight, and continued to speak with much less enthusiasm. "So why are you here then, Your Highness? I pay my taxes,” he dejectedly asked, leaning his back against the door frame.
Twilight took one more look at the window above, a flash of purple now occurring in the sequence of colours. "I am here to see your tenant, but not for the reason you were hoping for. Sorry," Twilight apologetically replied.
The stallion straightened from his slouch, his disappointment vanishing slowly from his features. "Well can't say I'm surprised, they threatened to send me into the looney bin myself after my thirtieth try," he said with a chuckle.
Twilight giggled slightly herself. "Is she really that bad?" Twilight asked on instinct, but also out of genuine curiosity, eager to hear an outsider's view of Trixie.
The stallion's unamused look returned in force. "You have met this mare right? The amount of property damage, noise complaints and just general strangeness is insane! And the things she keeps in the fridge! I tell ya, if she weren't so loaded..."
BANG
Twilight yelped as the noise reached her ears, almost shattering her eardrums. She instinctively cupped her head in her hooves, and once more observed the second floor windows. The glass from one window now looked as if it was covered in a thousand drops of rain, having cracked under the force of the blast. The only thing that seemed to be keeping the freckled specs of glass in place was its frame.
"And there goes another window!"
The stallion shouted up into the sky, but after several contemplative moments his stoic expression returned, and he turned his gaze back to the startled Twilight. "Well... She might be done with whatever it is she was doing now, you should head up while she's still unoccupied."
Twilight just stared on at the stallion with bewilderment, confused at how he could seem so casual when a literal explosion had just occurred above them. Returning her hooves to the pavement and rising from her crouched position, she followed the stallion inside the abode, the warmth from within quickly covering her like a welcoming blanket. She took in the quaint interior, it seemed so unremarkably ordinary for someone as extravagant as Trixie to call home.
Turning to the stallion, Twilight nodded her head. "Thank you for your time, Mister...?" She paused upon realising that she didn't actually know the stallion's name yet.
The stallion bowed his head. "Mr. Muzzson. Don't mention it, always a pleasure to serve royalty,” Muzzson turned, ready to disappear through another door, but halted in order to speak to Twilight one last time. “Care for tea? Coffee? It's no fuss.”
Twilight was parched and accepted Muzzson’s offer for tea in an instant, and also asked him if he could make Trixie whatever it was she normally had as well. He accepted without argument, chuckling as he walked away, saying something about tea probably not having the ‘kick’ Trixie demanded. Twilight thought about asking him what he meant by that, but concluded that it was probably just an inside joke of his.
Ascending the black painted stairs, Twilight approached the first door she came across, the one adorned with a delicate golden ‘B.’ The flashes appeared to now be occurring again, as she could see the occasional glow of light emanate from the crack under the door. Knocking three times, Twilight stood in anticipation, uncharacteristically fiddling with her mane as she waited.
After seeing yet another blue flash expel from behind the door, Twilight scowled with growing impatience. “Trixie!” Twilight half yelled at the wood, knocking again. “Trixie open up. It's me Twilight Sparkle!” Waiting again, there was no response, just another mocking expulsion of light.
Twilight growled and laid a hoof on the door handle, and with great satisfaction she found that the door was unlocked. Either Trixie was ignoring her or she somehow still had not heard her, either way Twilight was going in.
The door swung open, and Twilight’s lungs immediately fiddled with thick black smoke. The room was overwhelmed with the stuff. She stumbled into the room, waving her hooves around in an attempt to dissipate the fog of dark air. Her horn lit up as she closed the door behind her, to prevent as much smoke from drifting into the hallway as possible, she doubted Muzzson would appreciate his premises being ruined.
“T-Trixie?” Twilight coughed out, drawing her magic to the large unbroken window next to the shattered one that faced the street. She opened it and the blinding smoke immediately started to vanish as clean air filled the room. Twilight heaved as the darkness cleared, but she had no time to relax, not when she spotted what was situated in the middle of the room.
Within the centre sat a transparent tub of water, more specifically an escape artist's water tank, with four panes of glass held together by a metal base and a trapdoor roof, which was opened. It was filled to the brim with the clear liquid, some having overflowed onto the navy carpeted floor.
Trixie was within it, floating upside down with her eyes closed.
“Oh my gosh, Trixie!” Twilight screamed.
Leaping into action, Twilight grasped a nearby hatstand with her magic, spinning it around, preparing to smash the glass and free the helpless magician.
Trixie's eyes shot open with annoyance.
“Trixie?!” Twilight paused, but still held the stand steady. She sighed with relief when Trixie began to maneuver herself from inside the tank, becoming right side up and gently swimming to the surface. As her head broke the water Twilight’s knees buckled and the stand fell from the air. She looked up to greet and if needed assist the mare who had invited her, and who had just appeared to be in an awful situation.
She was met with the image of Trixie staring at a stopwatch.
“Forty-six seconds. Not bad, but room for improvement!” The Great and Powerful Trixie suddenly proclaimed, while Twilight sat in stunned silence. “More spells are needed however! Fireworks alone aren't satisfactory enough!” Trixie continued to say, as she gracefully exited the tank, climbing down the side with water dripping everywhere.
Twilight just squeaked as Trixie walked right by her, seemingly oblivious to the fact that that she was not alone anymore. Trixie was completely engrossed in what she was doing, and had now begun to messily scribble onto a notebook, located at a desk on the far side of the room in front of the windows, with her magic while she continued to look at her stopwatch.
Twilight soon regained the ability to form coherent speech, and did not even attempt to mask her vivid displeasure. “Trixie Lulamoon!” She screamed at the mare, who jumped in fright, as if Twilight had just snuck up on her like a spectre.
“Bah! Sparkle!” Trixie spurted out, proceeding to fidget and slick back her wet mane while shrinking under Twilight’s seething gaze. “Were you not ever taught that it is rude to sneak up on somepony like that? Trixie almost had a heart attack!”
“You almost had a heart attack?!” Twilight barked, and stomped towards Trixie, who ran behind her desk. “What on earth did you think you were doing? You were under water! There was smoke everywhere!” Twilight leaned over the desk as Trixie sought shelter under it. “You could have hurt yourself! What you were doing was completely reckless!” Veering back, Twilight leaned through the gap under the desk, where Trixie had stuffed herself into. “What have you got to say for yourself?” Twilight finished, waiting for Trixie’s expected reply.
Trixie dangled the stopwatch she held in Twilight’s face, a bright grin forming on her muzzle. “Trixie beat her high score!”
Twilight’s face held several expressions, all trying to convey just how absurd she found Trixie's response. Walking back several steps, she sat down and just continued to stare as Trixie exited from her haven under the desk, throwing the watch onto the table. “If you must know, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie began, closing the window that Twilight had previously opened with little effort.
Facing her guest, Trixie commenced with her explanation of her actions. “If you must know, Trixie was researching something, a little question that had been nipping at her thoughts every now and again. We all become fatigued from exertion, be it physical, mental or whatever, so Trixie decided to see what would happen if she performed her magic whilst under duress, or some other form of exertion preying on her strength and concentration. Observe!”
She motioned towards the water tank with a hoof, the water having calmed since Trixie had exited it. “Trixie experimented to see if her ability to conduct magic was limited whilst under water, consecutively, Trixie would find out if conducting magic affects how long she is able to hold her breath, which being a specialised escape artist is a something of an importance.” Returning to her desk, Trixie held her notebook high. “At this time my work is incomplete, but my initial studies confirm my hypothesis that casting magic is much harder, but not impossible! Plus the added strain from concentrating on spells makes you expel oxygen quicker, and therefore make it more difficult to remain submerged. In short, doing magic underwater is dangerous, but not to be ignored as a possibility if needed!”
Finishing with a sigh, Trixie threw her notebook to her desk, and once more slicked her damp mane back, it having become disheveled from her fleeing from Twilight. The Princess in question was viewing the magician with wide eyes, which Trixie found rather unnerving. “Sparkle, your staring is creepy, cease with your creepiness.”
Twilight blinked, looked to the water tank, then the notebook, and then back to Trixie, she would repeat this several times before responding in a quizzical tone. “You were… conducting research?”
“Your observation is astounding, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight rose, watching as Trixie retrieved the fallen hatstand Twilight had almost used to smash the glass. “Like… Asking questions and studying, research?”
“... I thought you were supposed to be the smart one of your little group, or did Trixie request the wrong pony?” Trixie snidely remarked, but in a tone that indicated that she wasn't being entirely serious.
Twilight laughed a genuine laugh, one of her previous predeterminations of Trixie fading from her memory. “Sorry, it's just you never really struck me as somepony who had the… Temperament for research, you seem more like a ‘wing it’ kind of pony.” Twilight replied, stepping back as Trixie continued to clean up.
Trixie's brow furrowed. “Trixie will try not to take offence to that statement. But yes, Trixie considers herself an intellectual, it's not just enough to know spells, you need to know when best to use them and when not to.” Trixie picked up a purple witches hat adorned with stars from the floor, which Twilight realised must have have fallen off of the stand when she had hastily picked it up, she had not even noticed it until Trixie drew her attention to it.
“Look Trixie, I'm sorry for snapping at you. But for a second I thought you had drowned and your room was on fire!” Twilight exclaimed, with unnecessary emphasis.
Trixie chuckled, slicking her mane back one final time before placing the prized hat upon her head, Trixie's horn lit up, and a similarly detailed cape then flew in from a concealed location, with Trixie spinning around as the cape wrapped itself around her neck. Trixie finished with a tip of her hat in Twilight’s direction once her ensemble was complete.
Twilight resisted the urge to applaud, it was unarguably a relatively simple form of magic, but Trixie showy way of casting it made it appear more impressive that it should have been. ‘It's good to see that she's in high spirits, I guess she's moved on since Ponyville.’
Trixie then removed her hat and cape almost as fast as she had put them on. “These things smell like smoke! Trixie cannot venture out into the night with filthy garments!” She threw them both away with her magic, turning away as if she had just emptied out her garbage. Twilight was surprised, as she was under the impression that Trixie's wizard wardrobe held some sentimental value for her, it was after all the only thing she had ever seen her wear.
“No matter, Trixie's wardrobe is vast and extensive! But before we get to that… Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight jumped at Trixie suddenly calling her name, and watched her with curious concern. “Trixie must ask, did you bring your crown?”
Twilight complied and revealed her crown from within her saddlebag, prompting Trixie's smirk to grow devilish. “Excellent! Trixie knew she could rely on her greatest foe! Come! Come! We haven't a moment to lose, I shall explain all there is to know on the way.” Trixie turned, exiting through another door, Twilight looked in, and found it to be some form of walk in closet, with an assortment of spectacular and at times random articles of clothing littering the walls, everything from dresses to drag.
Hearing ruffling within, Twilight took a moment to contemplate the situation and realised just how fast Trixie was moving things along. ‘We haven't even said “Hello” to each other yet, I had no idea what I should’ve expected coming here, but nothing like this!’
“Trixie, I have some questions!” Twilight yelled into the wardrobe, the shuffling slowed but didn't halt.
“Not to worry, my dear Sparkle. Trixie will be happy to answer all queries soon enough, we can not delay however! There is a mystery to be solved and a villain to apprehend! I warned you that this was a matter of Life or Death! Now…” The shuffling stopped, and Trixie's hooves tapped on the carpet as she reentered her living room, Twilight tilted her head at Trixie's new appearance.
Her cape and hat and been cast aside in favour of a thick black coat that reached down to her flank, with a wide-upturned collar that almost reached her chin. Her neck was covered by a scarf that appeared to be of a similar style to her wizarding outfit, being purple in colour and adorned by many small golden and silver stars. It was a rapid departure from Trixie's prior attire. Twilight could only say one thing in response to Trixie's reveal. “I must admit, that is a nice coat.”
Trixie bowed. “Thank you. Now, time is not on our side, we must make haste if we are to bring this investigation to a close swiftly. Come along, Sparkle. We must venture out to the library. If we are fast enough you might even be able to make the morning train!”
With her exclamations finished, Trixie ran out of the door, her coat flowing behind her much like her cape discarded behind her. Twilight stood still, her brain trying to decipher all that Trixie had just told her, trying to work out just what the heck was going on. “Mystery? Villain? Library? Morning train?! Trixie get back here! What in the name of Celestia is going on?”
Twilight followed on, taking a moment to blow out the candles and close the door behind her, hooves tapping on the steps as she rushed out of the front door. She didn't even notice Mr. Muzzson stood with a tray adorned with two cups of tea on his back and a unamused expression.
“Typical…” He said lazily to himself, a strange scent then met his nostrils, prompting him to sniff the air. “Why do I smell smoke?”
I went off into the night with no direction and no idea except for Trixie's word. I wondered for a moment if I had a made a huge mistake, like Trixie was leading me astray in order to take advantage of me, this train of thought would come back to me later when this actually did happen, but with admittedly positive results. But this is not relevant to the current occurances.
We walked down the darkened street for a while before Trixie hailed a passing cab. I still had no idea where we were going, but Trixie assured me that the journey would provide ample time for her to explain everything of importance to me.
“Trixie, you promised you would explain. Tell me what is going on! Why did you want me to bring my crown? Why do you live in a house? Why is this a matter of Life or Death? Why a mystery? Why a villain? What library? And what about the tea!?”
Trixie just sat in silence as Twilight went on her audacious rant beside her, having taken to leaning against the door of the carriage they were situated in once Twilight carried on longer than expected. A passing driver had been gracious enough to stop and was willing to chauffeur them to their destination. Twilight had taken this opportunity to voice her complaints and growing concerns.
“I came here out of the goodness of my heart and because you asked, Trixie. The least you could do is tell me why.” Twilight finished sternly, crossing her legs and waiting for Trixie's response, she could not help but slouch in her chair slightly, happy to be off of her hooves once again.
Trixie shook her head in understanding. “Very well, Sparkle. Trixie does owe you that much she admits. It is a long story, will be abridged and may even seem implausible at points, but I assure you it is the truth. Trixie would prefer for you to withhold any questions until she’s finished, is that acceptable?” Twilight nodded in response, adopting a calmer look as Trixie seemingly struggled to begin.
“After the Alicorn Amulet, I was lost. My career as a magician was dead and I had lost any and all drive to reclaim it, I wandered the land for a while, taking odd jobs to keep myself afloat, eventually I ended up back in Canterlot.” Trixie had dropped the third person from her speech, which didn't go unnoticed by Twilight. “While I was here I… reconnected with somepony from my past, and long story short she agreed to provide for me so long as I meet her conditions and don't break them.” Trixie was evidently uncomfortable with this part of her subject, so Twilight decided to avoid questions about who this ‘Provider’ was for the time being. “With my new found wealth I took up my residence at Basil Street, Mr. Muzzson was willing to put up with my so called "eccentricities" as he calls them after I helped him out with a problem of his, that, and I reward him a handsome fee for my tenant-ship. He's a good guy, even if he lies about Trixie not getting on his nerves.”
Trixie coughed due to her brief use of the third person, before continuing with her story. Twilight listened intently, the passing sights from outside the carriage windows not distracting her in the slightest. “After a few more odd jobs I just became bored, my reputation was ruined and I had no means to resume my show; that was of of my ‘Provider's conditions, no more spotlights. I then ran into a mare by the name of Detective Inspector Sentinel Brit, down at the local tavern. Now, she was investigating a particularly intriguing crime involving three barmaids, nine hundred and fifteen bits, and a sponge tapped to a hair dryer. She had absolutely no idea where the bits had ended up, so I gave her some ideas, like what I would have done if I was in their position you know? Well guess what? I was on the right track, they followed it up, and they found the bits right where Trixie thought they'd be!”
Twilight snorted, Trixie's story was almost too far fetched to believe, she humoured her however, wanting to wait until she was finished before asking her questions. Trixie was enjoying herself and Twilight didn't want to ruin that for her, even if she doubted everything she was saying.
“We kept in contact, and Trixie helps her and her cronies out every now and again when they have no idea what their doing, mainly because going to Trixie means they don't need to report to the higher ups that their cases are going nowhere, but I can't complain, it keeps me busy.” Trixie paused to look out of the window, as did Twilight, who saw the large castle that oversaw the city drawing ever closer. They were evidently heading into the city proper. “Trixie has found she has a knack for this sort of business, almost like she can see more than the average pony, honestly though I don't understand sometimes, the explanations seem so simple at times I question the police’s competency.”
“Heh,” Twilight laughed at Trixie’s side, who responded with a raised eyebrow and a confused frown. “That's quite the story, Trixie. But come on, I don't doubt that you're skilled, but that doesn't exactly mean you can be a… detective, with no training and no experience.” Twilight had thought long and hard about what word to use, detective sounded better than crime-fighter. She told the truth though, she did not believe Trixie.
The Magician did not look pleased. “Are you calling Trixie a liar, Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight’s gaze softened as she replied. “Not at all, Trixie. It's just that, I think you're exaggerating a bit. This all sounds really far fetched!”
“Trixie will prove it,” Trixie angrily began, looking Twilight up and down. “Trixie will deduce as much as she can about everything you've done recently, then she will explain how she came to her conclusions. Agreed?”
“Trixie, look you really don't need to prove-”
“Loser buys dinner.”
Twilight attempted to spurt out an answer, but Trixie showed no signs of letting up, with a sigh she let Trixie have her way, if only because she didn't want to annoy her or hurt her feelings any more than she already had. She agreed to Trixie's terms with a nod.
Trixie then just stared at Twilight, looking at her up and down, Twilight just sat in silence while Trixie observed. Her gaze went over every part of her body, making Twilight feel quite self conscious. Eventually she turned to Twilight’s saddle bag, poked it once, and then sat back up with a smug grin.
“Rings under your eyes and the time of your arrival at my humble abode suggest you got up earlier than usual to get the morning train from Ponyville. You were in a rush and forgot some essentials, judging by the weight of your saddlebag. Your craving for tea and the fact I could hear your stomach from here tells me that you’re hungry and probably haven't had a full meal yet, due to your traveling all day and the early time you got up preventing you from indulging yourself. There's a partial ink stain on your right hoof, you've written something today, maybe a note for your friends, more likely something in that book in your saddlebag. Bit of a shot in the dark this one, the fact you waited a week to accept Trixie's invitation, and your lack of a letter to tell her that you had accepted it, along with the fact you didn't bring any of your friends with you suggests that you had hesitations of coming, possibly because you have a low opinion of Trixie, more likely because you thought Trixie still held a lower opinion of you.”
Trixie finished nonchalantly, rubbing her hoof on her new jacket. “I know it's not that much but I didn't have much to work with. So… How do you think I-”
“How did you do that?”
Trixie looked to Twilight in mild confusion, and was surprised to be met with the sight of Twilight staring at her with her jaw hanging wide. “How did you know all that? You were completely right about everything!”
Trixie looked away, Twilight almost thought that Trixie looked embarrassed. “It is simple observation, my dear Sparkle. I looked and I deduced based on the evidence presented, some guesswork was involved but only if it seemed like the most logical explanation.”
“But, but- I-” Twilight stammered, staring dumbfounded at Trixie, who looked out the window once more with a smile.
“We’re almost there, perhaps we should stop for dinner, for starters you want it but more importantly you're paying for it,” Trixie said with humour. When Twilight didn't reply, Trixie turned back to her, and grew concerned at Twilight’s contemplative expression. “Trixie hopes she has not given you cause to distrust her, Princess. But she simply did as she said she would, no trickery was involved I assure you. Trixie does however understand if you would rather avoid her from now on, her abilities often seem to get on ponies nerves and-”
“Trixie…” Twilight almost whispered, drawing Trixie's curious and downhearted gaze. “Trixie, you are brilliant!”
Twilight practically exploded in her seat, while Trixie just watched in growing bewilderment. Twilight stood up in the carriage, her forelegs flapping about as she spoke. “All you did was look and think and you got it all! At first I thought you were trying to mess with me, but there's no way you could have known about the book, I've only just started writing in it!” With a laugh, Twilight returned to her seat where Trixie watched her with a toothy grin. “This is great, Trixie. You have a talent you only ever hear about in fiction. Logical thinking, I love it!”
“Hmm!” Trixie murmured in approval. Crossing her legs, she narrowed her eyes slyly in Twilight’s direction. “Well this is one thing Trixie didn't foresee, she thought you would find her to be improbable and a liar, based on the previous impressions Trixie made of herself. But since that is not how you feel on the matter, Trixie has a proposition!”
With an extended hoof, Trixie pointed at the wondering Twilight. “Trixie may consider herself brilliant, but her skills and knowledge are admittedly limited, especially concerning the case at hoof! She was initially only going to employ your aid for a little bit of knowledge gathering that needs to be conducted. But, if you are willing, would you like to accompany Trixie through the entirety of this case? Trixie has no doubt that it will be quite the adventure!”
Twilight cheerfully pondered the glamorous possibility. ‘An adventure with Trixie to solve a crime? There has never been a better opportunity to get to know each other and make friends with her than this. How could I say no!’
Twilight almost accepted the proposal then and there, but she knew she had to gather more information first, as to make the decision with the most clarity. “Trixie, I'm willing to go with you. But only after I know exactly what we're in for, okay?”
“Ha ha!” Trixie exclaimed at Twilight's response. “Of course, Twilight Sparkle. If it's an explanation you want, then you shall receive it. But alas, we seem to have reached our destination!” Trixie announced, looking out of the window. “Since you're acquainted with the premises perhaps we could discuss the issue over some tea and cake, is that agreeable?”
Twilight was too busy pondering what Trixie meant by being “acquainted with the premises” to answer her. She too looked out of the window, and gasped at the welcoming sight she was met with. They had not just been approaching Canterlot Castle, it had evidently been their destination all along.
The many towers of the chalk white landmark glowed against the ever darkening sky, with the golden roofs shining like flames. Trixie exited her side of the carriage, with Twilight soon following. After paying the cab driver they went on their way, walking side by side into the castle itself, Trixie apparently knowing exactly where she was going like it was the back of her hoof.
The castle was quiet that night, one of the quietest of nights I could ever recall. I never got the chance to say hello to my fellow Princesses, I was too busy involved with the enigma that was Trixie Lulamoon.
I had arranged for tea and cakes as she requested, and we sat in a guest room near the grand library, where in solace she proceeded to explain what the mystery was and her purpose for involving me in all this in the first place.
“Are you sure those muffins are enough for you, Sparkle? I spotted a rather ravishing looking houseplant on the way over here if you are interested.”
Twilight sarcastically laughed, the sound muffled against her muffin filled mouth. She was famished, and the drink and food provided by the caterers was more than welcomed. While Twilight gorged herself, Trixie sat with her legs crossed and her teacup gripped firmly in her magic, occasionally sipping on it. She waited until Twilight had slowed down and satisfied her stomach before commencing with her blunt explanation.
“I was called in by Sentinel Brit after she came across a rather grisly murder scene.”
Twilight instantly stopped everything and stared at Trixie in horror, who seemed to be unnervingly stoic, especially concerning the nature of subject she had just unexpectedly brought up. “You mean… When you said it was a matter of Life or Death?” Twilight shakily asked.
Trixie's frown deepened. “Trixie was not exaggerating, though admittedly she probably could have gotten the point across better in her letter to you. Apologies are in order, but I didn't want to risk potentially alienating you from helping, however unlikely it may have been.”
Her food forgotten, Twilight directed all of her concentration onto Trixie. Her questions piling up, along with her reservations about her decision to assist in the matter. “So what happened? What do you know so far?”
Trixie clicked her teeth. “Not much I'm afraid. A week ago I was called to a scene by Sentinel after they had discovered the place, she said that she suspected ritual magic was involved and that I might be of help due to my background in sorcery. So I went and had a look… It was actually rather clean all things considered. There were two ponies, a wife and a husband, newlyweds by two months. The husband had been poisoned and the wife had been strangled, it was initially thought to be a murder-suicide, which is what most of the police still consider it to be, with the husband killing the wife and then himself. I don't think so however, and Sentinel has her doubts also.”
She paused and took a sip of her tea, with Twilight hanging on her every word. The steamy liquid soothed Trixie's throat before she elected to elaborate. “The ritual magic part is from how they were posed after death, the wife had been moved, her left foreleg suspended to make it look as if she was pointing forwards and down, the husband lay on the floor facing her, a bottle of pills at his side by his hoof. Most intriguingly there were also words scratched into the wall, want to venture a guess as to what they were?”
Twilight responded with a minor shake of her head to indicate that she did not. Trixie could not suppress a slight grin from adorning her features. “Life or Death?"
Twilight bolted upright. “So… A matter of Life or Death? It's not just a saying in this case?” She asked with fear and wonder.
“No, it's a clue!” Trixie proclaimed, before continuing with her explanation. “It is thought that the husband killed his wife, posed her, scratched the words into the wood, and then killed himself by overdose. The rest of the cops are quite willing to use that as the explanation and close the case. Trixie will now tell you why they are all wrong, and why there is a killer in our midst.”
Trixie stood up, her natural showmareship taking over. “For starters, I spoke with their neighbours, they were apparently almost impossibly happy together, a real fairytale romance, they slept in the same bed, had photos of themselves and their families everywhere, and still wore their wedding rings even in death, hardly the environment that would drive a stallion to want to murder his spouse.”
Pacing, Trixie continued. “Secondly, why the ritual style? If he was going to kill his wife and then himself why go to the trouble of posing and scratching the words? Why not just get it over and done with? And why would he care for an obscure magical ritual in the first place? So obscure I could find nothing that could describe it in the local library or from a book in their home. Which brings me on to why there is absolutely foul play involved here, without a doubt.”
Trixie leaned her body across the back of the chair, rocking it and herself back and forth. “The marks on the mare’s throat are too clean to have been done with hooves or an object, she was strangled with magic, and the words on the wall were to high for the stallion to reach. Both of them were earth ponies.”
Twilight leaned forwards, the gears turning in her own head, her eyes widened as she came to her own conclusion. “So… He couldn't have done it, he didn't have magic!”
“Exactly. Somepony else was in that room, somepony else strangled the mare, posed her and scratched the words into the wood. They may have also killed the husband, or he was so overcome with grief that he actually did off himself. Either way the case is not solved, but the police can only be of limited help, Sentinel will only assist if I give her proof, enough to convince her otherwise.”
Twilight gave a deep breath. What she expected to be a simple meeting with Trixie in her humble Canterlot home had rapidly spiralled out of control, landing her into a world of darkness and intrigue. She doubted how useful she could actually be, even with her influence as a Princess and own knowledge of magical enchantments. “Okay, this is a lot to take in. Why are we here then? What research do we need to do?”
Trixie nodded her head several times as a Twilight spoke, pondering the questions herself before she answered. “Whoever did this has knowledge of dark magical rituals, it is the only lead that's concrete, and even then it could all just be a ruse to further throw us off the scent. Whoever she is, statistically it's probably a she, she's a unicorn, highly educated, she knew these ponies well enough to know that they would satisfy the conditions of the ritual, and either has genuine belief in its ability to work, or had ulterior motives she wished to disguise, make it look like the ritual was her intent and not something else. This castle has the greatest library in Equestria, and Trixie has combed it for the whole week and has discussed with its top scholars, all for naught.”
Trixie turned back to Twilight, holding proud conviction and expectancy in her gaze directed towards the Princess. “I need access to the Blacklist Archives, where all the forbidden texts are kept. If we are going to understand the mystery of Life or Death we will need to delve deep, deeper than either of us have ever been before. That is why I asked you here, Twilight Sparkle. Only a Princess can grant me access to that room.”
She approached Twilight, and held a hoof firmly out for her. “Trixie has explained the situation, Princess. Are you with me?”
Twilight grasped the presented invitation.
I was with her. We were with each other to the end and beyond.
Author's Note
To be concluded... In The Adventure of the Disposable Damsel
I'm on something of a Sherlock Holmes binge, currently reading all the stories. Then I found the Trixie - Consulting Unicorn comics and this story came about as a result. Its also important to say that this won't just be Sherlock with Trixie, it takes inspiration from basically every adaptation of Holmes including the originals.
Chapters will come when they do, I write when I can and at the moment have no less than 50 story ideas to get to. Likes and Feedback appreciated!
Cover Image vectors:
Trixie by Pixelkitties
Twilight by pepooni
Background by Trojan-pony
The Adventure of the Disposable Damsel
As Trixie would eventually come to say; the game was on. A mystery was at hoof, a clue had been discovered and the pair of us were conducting our investigation into the case of the Life or Death murders.
I was still a little in the dark about some details Trixie had elected not to mention during her exposition, specifically about who the murdered pair actually were; their employment, their lifestyle, but most of all their names. Their names needed to be remembered.
These details will be known to you eventually as they were to me, however for the moment Trixie and I were delving deeper into my former home of Canterlot Castle, into the darkest corners of its deepest tunnels. I heard stories in my youth of curious little fillies who’d ventured too deep and had become lost forever; stories most likely invented to deter us from exploring ourselves. One such place in the expanse was our destination; the Blacklist Archives, the library where magic and darkness had festered for the ages.
The Great and Powerful Trixie pranced through the marble hallways with a straight neck and lifted knees. Her companion, Twilight Sparkle, followed on with far less enthusiasm, the criminal details of Trixie's reveal weighing down on her mind; it was as if she had been wearing her heavy crown ever since.
Her crown was also something that every so often nudged her with the unwelcome feeling of concern, as its significance to their current affairs had yet to be elaborated on by Trixie, along with a plethora of other questions that continued to endlessly form in Twilight's thoughts.
But what concerned Twilight most of all was not her questions on the matter, nor her feelings of dread for the coming future. It was simply the very idea that all of this was even possible, that a pony like any other was capable of such acts of violence and evil. It was almost forgotten to Twilight that you did not need to be an ancient evil or a fairy tale villain in order to be just as able to perform such an action of depravity.
Trixie appeared to notice Twilight's growing unease, and decided to attempt to comfort her, slowing her pace so that they were next to each other in their stride. "No reason to fear, Sparkle. Trixie can understand if this all feels rather daunting, her first real case didn't exactly make it easier for her to sleep at night. She did find however that it's better to think about all of this way..." Trixie closed her eyes and raised her head, with Twilight watching her with a distant stare.
"If we do nothing, they will win, and we can't have that now can we?"
A few simple words, which in any other context would hold no significance whatsoever, yet to Twilight Sparkle, it felt as if Trixie had just pulled her out of a sinking boat on a decimating tide.
Twilight could hold no apprehensions, no second thoughts and no second guesses. She could not allow it. Two ponies were dead, and if Trixie was right, it's true perpetrator would not face justice, not from the hooves of the police at least. Trixie was willing to do something about that, whatever her reasons may be, and Twilight had faced down enough monsters and evils to know that two ponies, or six, was always better than one. She had agreed to help Trixie solve this mystery, and that was exactly what she was going to do.
This train of thought brought her back to the magician herself, still pacing at her side. Who was this mare really? Twilight had no idea, since in reality they had only really known each other for a few hours combined. Trixie was just as much a mystery as the one they were currently facing, if not more so.
She had been a stranger, enemy, and now partner in that order. Were the two of them even capable of considering each other as friends yet? Twilight considered herself something of an expert in the subject, and yet she did not know for certain.
Was Trixie loyal? Kind? Honest? Generous? Twilight didn't know, sometimes Trixie was and sometimes she wasn't, going from pompous and selfish, to comforting and open seemingly without any rhyme or reason! She held concern for Twilight's well-being and yet had not appeared to have cared all that much about Twilight's inconveniences before she had turned up on Trixie's doorstep. Had she simply warmed up to Twilight since then? Or was that just how Trixie was and always had been?
Was Twilight even right about any of this?
"Oh no. No no no no no!"
Her pondering was brought to an abrupt end. Twilight's head rose slowly as she refocused back to the ancient halls of the castle’s underground. Marble and glass had made way for dust and rock, the eroding passage they were in was adorned by flaming torches and twisted statues of beings whose original names had been lost to time. They had descended quite far into the catacombs under the castle, and Twilight suspected correctly, potentially deep into the mountain itself.
"I've told you before, consulting detective or whatever you are, I don't care. I'm not letting you in! Go away!" The voice was gruff and irritated, belonging to a male royal guard concealed by white fur and traditional golden armour. He was stood before a large black door, the wood cracked and splintered, as if it had been broken apart and put back together over and over again for a millennia; and it very were could have been, considering behind it was housed some of the most taboo texts in the history of Equestria, which many had clambered for over the years just to get a glimpse at.
Trixie greeted the stallion, who she was evidently familiar with, with a smile and fluttering eyelashes. “My good Sir!” Trixie began, with prolonged overemphasis on the 'good.' “Trixie is afraid that this time you will not have your way. You informed me during my previous attempt that nopony is allowed into the Blacklist Archives unless they're in accompaniment by a Princess. You will find that Trixie has satisfied your ultimatum.” Pointing a hoof back, Trixie drew the guards shocked gaze in Twilight's direction, who was lagging behind after retreating into her thoughts previously. She greeted the stallion with a polite wave.
He tutted. “You think I'm going to fall for that? It takes months to arrange for a Princess to come down here, and you expect me to believe you managed to get Princess Twilight in less than a week? She doesn't even live here anymore!”
Trixie's smirk shrunk into a frown, her hoof dropped and her eyes narrowed in barely concealed annoyance. “Trixie sees that you're a difficult one. Sparkle, your left saddlebag, perhaps that shall be evidence enough to convince our loyal compatriot here of your authenticity.” Trixie said with a prompting roll of her hoof and eyes.
Twilight responded with a nod and reached with her magic into the bag, her golden tiara floated out of it seconds later. The guard's harrowing gaze faulted for a moment, but he remained determined, if a little dreary. "It's... A good forgery, but it ain't the first time someponies made a fake of Princess Twilight's crown, and I'm not going to fall for that one again! Try harder next time."
Both mares groaned, with Twilight now stepping forward in order to plead to the stallion herself to let them enter. As the light grew better and the stallion was further revealed from the shadows she could not help but feel like she recognised him from somewhere. Aside from the standard white coat and typical armour frequented by all the guards, his mane and voice were undoubtedly familiar, his figure also reminded her of-
Cutting the thought off, Twilight looked at the stallion with tarnished cheeks. She took it his roguish posture and the distinctly wild blue mane peeking out from beneath his helmet. All bore an uncanny resemblance to a pony she had only came across a few times, yet had left a rather large impression.
"Can I ask, Sir. Have you ever been positioned in the Crystal Empire?" Twilight asked. The question seemed odd to Trixie, but she found the image of the stallion's face dropping to be one of the most delightful sights she had the pleasure of experiencing during her long, hollow week.
"How could you? I never-? I look different! There's no way she- you-?" The stallion's pathetic stammering of questions, and the fact she could here his voice clearer now, confirmed Twilight's suspicions of the guard's identity. It was enough to make her smirk in triumph.
"Hello, Flash Sentry. I almost didn't recognise you," Twilight giggled. The now white coated pegasus slammed a hoof to his face.
He returned his hoof to the floor and looked at Twilight meekly. "Well this is embarrassing. Look I wasn't pretending that I didn't know it was you. I need to treat everything and everypony with suspicion, Princess Celestia's orders. Security has been beefed up mainly because somepony broke in last week," Sentry cast a particularly seething glare in Trixie's direction, who suddenly found the crevasses in the walls to be quite interesting.
Twilight decided to ignore the look, instead choosing to focus on Flash's new pristine white coat, a sharp contrast to its previous orange colour. "You look... Different," was Twilight's dim conversation starter.
A conversation which Trixie had no intention of letting commence further. "Oh no! You are not soiling my night with your flirtatious behaviour, do it in your own time, Twilight Sparkle! Tonight, Trixie has you all to herself!" With a flick of her mane, Trixie waltzed past Flash Sentry with her head held high.
Twilight couldn't help but feel a sudden sense of dèja vu.
The guard could not have looked more reluctant as he opened the barred door behind him with the crank of a heavy metal lever at his side. The door swung inwards with the heavy sounds of clanking gears and turning cogs, and a gust of dust and grime blowed out as fresh air rushed in. As Trixie went on her way inside, Sentry turned back to Twilight, his outwards anger melting into an expression of utter defeat. "Please don't let her break or steal anything, I don't think I could sink much lower than this, but I'm sure it's possible."
Twilight had so many questions for the stallion, chief of all was why was he stood in a catacomb under Canterlot, and not within the palace of the Crystal Empire? It was a rather big jump. But as much as Twilight wished to ask and have her queries answered, the investigation took presence, but that didn't mean that she would not ask him about it all later… preferably over some coffee, or maybe the theatre, he might like the theatre.
Breaking into a steady walk, Twilight followed Trixie while concealing her practically fluorescent cheeks. "I hope I can talk to you again sometime, find out how you've been, you know?" Twilight asked socially, talking and spinning as she walked in order to ensure she caught up with the mare ahead.
Flash Sentry looked hopeful, but the defeat was still very evident on his face. "Yeah, that would be cool. Oh... Congratulations by the way, to you and Trixie. I'm real happy for you!" Sentry yelled into the tunnel once Twilight had disappeared from his sight. He sighed, and once again clanked the lever with his hoof.
Twilight was thankful he was too far away to see her expression of now burning embarrassment. "But me and Trixie- We're not- I'm not- !" She spoke with panic, trying to will herself to shout, in vain however, as Sentry had already closed the door behind her, leaving her in utter blackness. She let loose a deep sigh.
"Twilight Sparkle, if all you wish to do tonight is observe stallions in the dark I think you're heading to the wrong wing of the library." Trixie's voice broke through the darkness; right next to Twilight's face.
If Flash Sentry had not closed the door behind him he probably would have ran back in with a vengeance because of how loud she screamed.
Wiping the spit off of her face, Trixie's horn alit with a spark, illuminating the nearby area in a magenta light. The glare she gave Twilight was hardly one of amusement. "Though it is plainly obvious that you want to do far more to that stallion than just exchange compliments, I really must insist that we be on her way. Time waits for nopony, but I wait the least."
Twilight picked herself up, dusting herself off as her own horn lit up with a purple glow. "I wasn't doing anything!" Twilight retorted in denial. Rather than stand and bicker, Trixie and Twilight dually but wordlessly decided to walk and bicker instead; that way they were at least making some progress.
"Trixie saw the way you were looking at him, and it was heavily implied that you’ve had past dealings in the Crystal Empire, he was most likely present during that whole debacle that involved the theft of your crown some months ago. I assume nothing came of it, judging by your and his reactions to meeting,” Trixie said with nonchalance, her eyelids drooping as she turned away from her companion.
Twilight could practically hear her head sizzling due to Trixie's commentary, from both anger and embarrassment. She did hold one of Trixie's comments with particular contempt however. 'Even if I did want something to come of it, fat chance it will happen now that he thinks me and Trixie are an item! Trixie! Of all ponies!'
Having a laugh at her side, Trixie turned her head towards the grumbling and quickly depressing Twilight Sparkle. Deciding that she’d had her fun for the evening, Trixie's playful look faded to one of utter concentration and curiosity. “Serious question now, Trixie must ask why you did not recognise Flash Sentry immediately; Trixie accepts that you might have forgotten his voice, but she finds it unlikely that you of all ponies would forget what he looked like, especially if you met in the Crystal Empire, an Equestrian pony would almost certainly stick out like a broken horn there.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow at the query, and at the sudden change of subject. She obliged in answering however, happy to explain as best she could, if only to move as far as possible from their prior conversation. "He had his natural colours last time we met. You've heard about Royal Guard perception filters right?" Twilight asked with expectancy.
Trixie scoffed. “Of course I have! But my knowledge of the specifics is undeniably lacking.” Trixie paused as she and Twilight entered through another stone archway, both groaning upon realising that they still hadn't reached their destination. “It appears it will take time for us to reach the library proper. Would you mind explaining the perception thingy? Trixie finds that random assortments of information can be essential at understanding the most obscure of situations.”
Silently cringing at Trixie's referral to one of the most revered spells ever conceived as a ‘thingy,’ Twilight chose to explain in as simplistic terms as she could manage. “Sure. Well you know how all royal guards look the same? Or at least all guards in Canterlot? They all have white coats and blue manes. Think of it like a sort of uniform. They don't all actually look like that, they all have their own individual coats and colours. But through a specific magical enchantment, usually applied to the helmet, their outward appearance can be altered so that they bare a passing resemblance to another pony, usually a ‘base’ or ‘prime’ pony who the spell is molded around.”
Trixie whistled at Twilight's side, though Twilight had an underlying sense that Trixie wasn't all that impressed. “Trixie admits that it's sounds intriguing. But what about the drawbacks? If an enchantment exists that is capable of making one look like another, it could undoubtedly be utilised by those with less than desirable intentions,” proclaimed Trixie with confidence in her reasoning.
Twilight disagreed, and voiced her argument immediately. “Impossible! Only Princess Celestia, and a few other high-level mages she trusts have the knowledge of the spell, and it is only used to make royal guards look like each other, it's not used for anything else. It was outlawed for use by all except for the guard soon after it was created because of fears of it being misused like you said. Even I don't know it! And believe me I've tried more than once to replicate the effects by studying my brothers recruit armour. Not to brag but if I can't crack it I don't see how anypony else will.”
Trixie snorted. “Getting a bit ahead of yourself aren't you, Sparkle. Just because you can't understand it doesn't mean their isn't a pony alive who can. What about the nerd who invented it in the first place? If they could do it somepony else can, will, and probably already has.”
Ignoring Twilight’s widening eyes, Trixie clicked her teeth in evident annoyance, which drew a curious gaze from the Princess. “It is all a bit of a shame though, a spell like that would certainly have its uses to somebody of my profession. You wouldn't happen to know where Princess Celestia keeps the spell’s inscription would you?”
“Ah! That I do know, the highest point of the Agra tower, under lock and-” Twilight halted herself immediately, realising too late that she had already said too much. She cast a suspicious stare at Trixie, who once again avoided eye contact, cranking her neck to the side, forcing her to unintentionally walk at an angle. “Trixie, why do you want to know where Princess Celestia hides one of the most potentially dangerous spells of all time?” Twilight seethed out.
Trixie decided not to hide her guilt, mostly to try and convince Twilight that her view on the matter was correct. “A spell such as that would be of such tremendous use, especially considering my new line of work! Could you imagine its application for disguises? It makes me giddy just thinking about it.”
Twilight groaned, while Trixie continued to mesmerizingly ponder how she could utilise such a spell. “Trixie you can't steal the inscription from the Princess! The spell’s illegal!”
Trixie whined in response. “Trixie won't steal anything, she just needs to memorise it. She wouldn't even need to touch it!”
"Still illegal!”
“What if Trixie petitions to have the law changed?”
“Illegal!”
Trixie was now starting to grow annoyed, but neither of them intended to let up on their argument. “And I intend to use it for just reasons! The impertinent acts someponies would commit do not justify the spell being cut off from those who could use it for good.” Twilight was ready to retort, but Trixie cut her off with reluctance. “Besides the spell is flawed, the pony only resembles another, they don't become them. Voices remain unchanged, and a ponies own mannerisms and distinguishing features could give them away. You could tell it was Flash Sentry with little more than a glance.”
Both parties calmed down, and both noticed the passage starting to expand outwards and upwards as they drew ever closer. Twilight decided to conclude. “Even so, the spell does its job, and it's kept away from those who would abuse it.” Twilight paused as her thoughts wandered to a different issue. “I'm just wondering why Flash was using it, and why he’s down here at all. High ranking guards usually have their own colours like he used to, it distinguishes superiors from the rest.”
Trixie rolled her eyes and rocked her head, as if Twilight had just stated the obvious. “Well he's clearly annoyed somepony then. For starters he's using an enchantment frequented by low ranking soldiers, and he’s sat at the bottom of a cave in the least exciting part of Equestria. You don't end up like that overnight without causing a colossal cock-up.”
Twilight ignored Trixie’s language but still desired her input, her demonstration in the cab earlier proved that she had some ability in deductive reasoning, so it was worth a shot. “Any theories as to why?”
“Nothing I'm willing to expend energy thinking about, the case at hoof holds more value and excitement.” Was Trixie’s disinterested response, which Twilight turned her cheek to.
They entered through the final archway, and they both found themselves in the familiar local of a library, with large bookcases lining the obscenely spacious environment. Both unicorns took a moment to light the torches and candles that hung along the walls and laid upon the desks between the bookcases. Once they had finished, Trixie turned to Twilight, her horn glow illuminating her stoic expression. “Now Sparkle, as tempting as you may find it, we are here to find a description of the ritual conducted on our murdered couple, or one that may have inspired it or is sufficiently similar. I don't want to walk over and find your face buried in an obscure magical text from a thousand years ago.”
Twilight waved her hoof and scoffed. “Of course I'll stay on task, Trixie. You can trust me!”
’What I would give to look at those words.’
Trixie rolled her head, her vigor returned and she rose a hoof with passion. “Excellent! Onwards then, let us discover our modus operandi!”
We must have searched for hours, book after book after scroll after carving. Every possible piece of magical literature at our disposal and we appeared to be neared the dead end of defeat.
I grew frustrated at the futility, taking a short break so I could observe my companion Trixie in the middle of her own research. It wasn't exactly an easy task, she would appear in view, snatch up a book and then disappear around a corner before returning after a certain period of time. I couldn't tell if she was deliberately avoiding me, or if she was just that invested in what we were doing that she had forgotten I was even there.
There was also an almost unsettling perkiness, for lack of a better word, about her, which only seemed to intensify as the night wore on. It was in that same state of perkiness that I, to great satisfaction, eventually heard a cry of “I've found it! I've found it!”
Twilight’s head shot out of the book it was glued to, partly from Trixie's cry of joy, but mostly because of the book that was thrown onto her table, slamming down and jolting her up and out of her seat with a shock. “Trixie!” Twilight blurted out, but quickly refocused her attention onto the aging tome presented before her. “Wait. This is it? You found it?!” Twilight asked with a smile.
A smile which Trixie enthusiastically returned. “Life or Death? Word for word, details, instructions, suggestions, expectations, everything we could hope for! Oh I'm in love with Fro Bronze, the stallion who wrote it, he probably didn't make it with the best of intentions in mind but his summary of the ritual may be the key we need to discovering why these ponies were targeted, and help us to discover the villain’s identity or their next possible move!”
Twilight took note of Trixie’s jumpy and fluid behaviour, her motions appearing as wavy and robotic at the same time. “From what I can gather after a preliminary skim read, the ritual isn't that old, around three to four hundred years, the book itself is much more recent, written just over a hundred years ago. Secondly, the ritual is much more than a method of murder or humiliation, it's a form of punishment; revenge, and a rather complicated way of going about it if I may say so myself.”
Twilight lifted the book, wiping away some of the dust that littered the front cover. It possessed no title or author, but upon opening to the first page Twilight worked out what the book was at once. “This book… It's a journal!”
Trixie gave one swift nod. “Correct. The one and only copy I presume, hence why the ritual was impossible to find. Fro Bronze kept a catalog of different forms of curses and rituals he had learned about over the course of his life and documented them all for study, of which our allusive Life or Death? is among. I'd wager that he was a bit too specific for the Princesses taste, as it's basically an instruction guide for any aspiring killer out there.”
Twilight read through the first page, which reiterated everything Trixie just said but in the author's own words. A sudden thought took over, which Twilight decided to voice aloud. “Do you think this is how the killer found out about the ritual? They could have read this very book!”
Trixie nodded once more. “It's a possibility for certain, it wasn't even on a shelf, just left on a table for the world to see. I will be sure to chase it up, but we can never rule out the possibility that copies exist, or there was another pony with access to the information, perhaps a descendant or family friend. For now let us go over the specifics of the spell and see if it can help us in any way. Bronze received his info second hoof, from an inmate on death row at Lake Orion, so it's possible it's not entirely accurate, but we'll have to make due with what we have.”
At this point Twilight was barely paying attention to Trixie, as her eyes were locked onto the book. She flipped through each page, scanning the notes and illustrations present for the one that was relevant. Trixie took notice and forced the book to the right page with her magic, which Twilight was wordlessly thankful for. “I'd very much like to have a more intrusive look at that myself, but I feel that the research is more your forte, wouldn't you agree?”
“Yrr,” Twilight mumbled.
Trixie sighed, and lifted the book from Twilight’s sight, who was more than a little annoyed by the gesture. “Hey!”
“I'll give it back! But listen, now that we have an actual lead I'm going to see Sentinel Brit, my police contact remember? Hopefully she'll agree to help, maybe even give me access to the case files so we can start to work all this out and see how it all fits together, and as much as I love this filthy library I would prefer if we worked in the comfort of my own home, wouldn't you agree?”
Twilight honestly didn't care, she could work well in basically any environment but Trixie obviously preferred to be in her own home, so Twilight accepted Trixie’s proposal, who replied with a smirk and a shake of her body. “Excellent, I shall meet you back at Basil Street. Get the kettle on Sparkle, it's going to be a long night!”
She ran out of the door seconds later, I barely even had the chance to say goodbye. There was something odd about her behaviour that I couldn't put my hoof on, but I decided to ignore it while I tended to the matter on both our minds.
I had a book that seemingly answered why these ponies were targeted and killed, and to Trixie this was more than enough to get the case reopened. I didn't voice the fact that I was skeptical at the time, but after reading the book myself I realised that Trixie was completely right in her assessment. Somepony else was involved in all this, and they were most unsavoury indeed.
Twilight had returned to Basil Street within the hour, it was late into the night now but Twilight only realised the time proper when she had returned to Trixie’s flat and gazed upon the grandfather clock located within her room, finding that it was nearing ever closer to midnight. “The day’s gone by pretty quick, everypony is probably wondering where I got to,” Twilight mumbled to herself, hoping that her friends weren't too worried at her absence. She thought about sending a letter, Trixie had a fireplace so it was a possibility.
Occupying her time with tea and reading, Twilight studied Fro Bronze’s writings of the ritual in their entirety during Trixie's absence. She had since discovered that the ritual was informally known as the ‘Opus Judging Curse,’ a name which Twilight found to be a bit overdramatic, it's true name was unknown to the author so he had just made something up that seemed appropriate enough.
Twilight knew of its intricacies and of its purpose, all of which she would explain to Trixie when she returned. Closing the book, Twilight rose from her seat at Trixie's desk and stretched her back out to relieve the uncomfortable feeling she felt. She had arrived back at Basil Street at around eleven o’clock, and was starting to wonder where Trixie had gotten to. Surely this Sentinel Brit character she spoke of didn't live that far away?
Twilight jumped upon hearing a sudden bang of wood, immediately identifying it as the sound of a door striking a wall. She had heard it downstairs, and came to the conclusion that it must be Trixie; and if the stomping of hooves on the stairs were any indication, she was not in the best of moods.
Twilight turned to the apartment door, ready to greet her acquaintance. She gasped when the door swung open and she was meet with the indisputable image of Trixie, with a large cardboard box perched on her back, dried blood clinging to her scalp and mane, and her right cheek shining a shade of purple not unlike the colour of Twilight's own coat. If Twilight didn't know any better, she'd wager that Trixie had been in a fight, one which she had probably lost.
Twilight immediately addressed Trixie in alarm. “Trixie, what on earth-!”
“Before you start Twilight Sparkle, Trixie would have you know that her unsightly appearance is unrelated to our investigation. She was following up a lead she discovered after a quick glance through Brit’s case files, which she has brought with her. The lead turned out to be quite profitable, but some unsavoury characters didn't appreciate Trixie's way of achieving her goals, hence her current injuries. She'll have you know that they are far worse off than Trixie is, and she intends to visit them in hospital after we have concluded our business here so that she may taunt them further.”
Twilight just gawked her, convinced Trixie must have suffered some form of head injury due to the way she was rambling on. Wetting a towel from Trixie’s bathroom, Twilight handed it the injured detective, who accepted it with a silent thank you and began to wipe her forehead clean. “Now, pay no attention to Trixie. You tell her what you have discovered from that book, and she shall tell you everything from the files and her own pursuit of evidence.”
Making sure that Trixie was okay, mainly by checking her injuries under her protest, Twilight concluded that Trixie was fine if a little bruised in the face and ego, and would not require immediate medical attention. She grasped the book in her magic, flipping to the right page while Trixie prepared her own cup of tea. “There's a lot to get through so you'll have to bear with me,” Twilight stated with her eyes closed while Trixie made herself comfortable in her large red cushioned chair.
“Fro Bronze discovered the ritual in 889 c.r. after speaking with a prisoner named Warmer Harp, who had used the ritual for one of her own crimes which was why she was incarcerated in the first place. She explained that the ritual was designed to bring about a curse, to punish a pony for some suspected wrongdoing against the curse’s initiator. Two ponies must be involved, but only one is to be cursed. One pony is killed, often by strangulation, and is then posed at somepony else, who may already be present, or is meant to stumble upon the corpse at a later time. The posed pony is a pony that the other held in high regard, maybe through family, respect or love. Their pointing hoof represents that the other pony is being judged for a perceived crime against the instigator of the curse, and that their loved one's life has been taken as punishment.”
Twilight paused briefly to look over the notes she had made, while Trixie sat lazily sipping her tea, the wet cloth held against her head with a hoof. “So it's meant to be a curse, so one may enact revenge against another. What does the curse entail? And what about the Life or Death carving on the wall?”
“I'm getting to that. The words of Life of Death? are for the pony being cursed. They are to choose between ending their own life so as to ensure the other does not suffer in death, or they can choose to live, where they shall live a seemingly cursed existence along with the pony murdered. I can't find evidence that the curse actually worked, and the author didn't think it did either, but he does point out that the curse and many others like it were developed at a time when superstition was rampant and magic was still an unknown entity to many, so most would think it was really possible. Times have changed but even today there are those who believe in curses, damnation, and horrors beyond what we can perceive.”
Trixie nodded, sinking into her chair as her hooves linked together in front of her face. “Interesting. Quite a peculiar method of ridding oneself of an enemy, I bet you're relieved Trixie didn't hold you with that much contempt, Sparkle. Possibilities time!” Trixie finished with a shout, leaping up from her chair while Twilight fell back into her own. “We have found the method, now Trixie will add on with her own findings. I had a look through the case notes on my cab ride over here and from my lead locating brawl, from these we can start to close in on our perpetrator.”
Grabbing the evidence box she had walked in with, Trixie threw the lid off to the side and took out a seemingly random assortment of papers and pictures with her magic. She also threw her back coat and scarf off, which Twilight noticed were noticeably worn and frayed, probably because of the fight Trixie was in. “After some persuasion, Sentinel allowed Trixie to have the box and will be along tomorrow to check on our progress. So pay attention, Sparkle. Trixie will only explain once.”
Twilight nodded in understanding, and Trixie commenced. “Our deceased pair went by the name of Mr. August Plough and Ms. Tempest Token, Earth ponies. Both met and were recent graduates of Coronet University in eastern Canterlot, which was where Trixie went earlier this evening. I attended the local meeting point they frequented, a bar populated by the ever disappointment that is ‘youth culture.’ I asked around for any relevant information; where they studied, friends names, tutors, potential enemies, etcetera etcetera. I found out some useful info which we can follow up in the morning. Later on I tried to bribe them all into giving me some suspects, those they thought might wish our couple harm, and long story short some delightful individuals tried to take my offer by force.”
Twilight gasped and was at Trixie's side in an instant, her worry just as prevalent as her anger. “Trixie why would you put yourself at risk like that? You're not a cop, you could have hurt yourself, more than you already have!”
Trixie crossed her legs, sticking her nose up at Twilight’s concern. “Trixie already told you, she handled the situation and discovered new information. The only worthwhile casualty tonight was Trixie's fabulous coat!”
“It doesn't matter, Trixie. It was reckless of you to go alone,” Twilight finished sternly, before one of her eyebrows rose in questioning. “Why are you focusing so much on the university anyway? What makes you think that's where the connection is? What about the other parts of their life's? Family? Work colleagues?”
Trixie responded with an annoyed groan, laying across the armrest of her chair as if she was wounded. “Is it not obvious, Sparkle? The university is the only viable option. Both were only children with no living relatives, probably the reason they grew so close to each other in the first place. They were both unemployed at the time of their deaths, and were living off of their inheritances. They studied ancient history and graduated university together, then four months later they were found dead in the same room. Quite frankly if there is another connection it's impossible to find with the information we have. They made an enemy at that university, they must have, known to them or not.”
Twilight was ready to voice more questions, but Trixie cut her off once more. “I was also given a name worth looking into, Fauna Thaw. Apparently she was close to Plough and Token and was one of their classmates, possibly a former friend of the pair. I was tipped off when I went questioning around the bar, supposedly she was not too happy when Plough revealed he was getting married.”
Twilight’s eyes bulged, ecstatic that Trixie had found what was seemingly a viable clue. “You think she's the one? You think she killed them both out of jealousy or something?”
Trixie shrugged, taking more papers from the box on the floor. “We'll find out tomorrow when we go question her. It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence, biases the judgment. For now she is just a name another name gave me. I shall write to Sentinel tonight and suggest that she should prepare her ponies for a morning round of questioning. I recommend you get some sleep, Sparkle. I expect you up bright and early. I shall look through the evidence and see if I can form a better link towards Ms. Thaw. Goodnight.”
Though Twilight agreed with Trixie that sleep was probably best, she instead just sat and stared blankly upon realising she hadn't anticipated the fact she would be staying the night… and that Trixie probably only had one bedroom.
“Oh don't look at me like that, Sparkle. This apartment has two bedrooms, I did account for the possibility that I would require a residence capable of housing more than myself. Plus a two bedroom flat came with a bigger kitchen so it was worth the extra price,” by the time she had finished Trixie wasn't even looking at Twilight anymore, instead focusing her gaze on the book by Fro Bronze and the box of evidence she had since tipped onto the floor. Twilight simply ignored her and walked to the room Trixie had directed her towards, finding a double bed and a pristine oak-painted room.
Realising how exhausted she actually was, Twilight resisted the urge to simply collapse into the bed and let her dreams take her away. She approached a desk that accommodated the room, and removed a parchment and quill from her saddlebag. Laying them both upon the desk, she immediately started to write, hoping to finish before the ever welcoming embrace of sleep inevitably overcame her.
Dear Friends
By now you're all probably wondering where I am, and are most likely assuming that Trixie has something to do with it… Well you'd be right, but I'm also responsible since I'm the one who ultimately decided to stay. Trixie has a little problem she wanted help with, so I'm staying with her for the time being. It's actually been a good way to get to know her, she's nothing like I'd thought she'd be and she's completely different from when she visited Ponyville before. I'll probably be on my way home tomorrow, and I'll be sure to explain everything in detail then. I'll tell you one thing though, I'm probably going to return with one more friend than I had when I left.
Yours
Twilight
Twilight folded the letter, and despite the lateness of the day she thought it was best to send it off immediately, even if it probably wasn't going to be read until the morning. She would enchant the fireplace in Trixie’s living room and send it to Spike, since he was probably the most worried by this point. Preparing to leave, Twilight returned the quill into her bag, but halted herself upon realising after some frantic searching that something was missing from her bag, and she had a fair idea of who was responsible.
“TRIXIE DID YOU STEAL MY CROWN?!”
“Trixie was going to return it! Bribing requires an incentive!”
It turned out that Trixie didn't need me to bring my crown only to convince Flash Sentry that it was really me, but also wanted it on the off chance it would come in handy during her investigation, even though she stole it from my saddlebag in the library before she knew she would even need it. I let her know that I did not appreciate having my crown stolen, and Trixie decided to imply that I didn't seem all that bothered the first time it had happened in the Crystal Empire.
It was so tempting to give her another black eye after that.
In the end I let it slide, since Trixie did get results and had gone through a lot of punishment already, however deserved it may have been. I sent my letter and went to bed, my thoughts drifting to how the next day would go, wondering whether or not this Fauna Thaw was our perpetrator, or if Trixie had jumped the gun and was twisting the facts to suit her theories, instead of her theories to suit the facts.
Twilight fell out of the bed, not from clumsiness or from rolling over at the wrong time. But instead due to Trixie, who was stood over her bed playing a deceptively loud tune on a bugle of all things. Twilight reacted as any sane pony would be expected to in such a situation.
“Trixie, why in the name of Celestia did you decide to wake me up by playing a BUGLE!?” Twilight had started off calm and tranquil, but by the end of the her sentence her composure was lost, and she let the intrusive Trixie know exactly how she felt.
Trixie dropped the instrument to the floor, her movements just as jerky as they were at the library the day before. Twilight took a moment to take in Trixie's new attire, quite a change from her previous black coat and purple scarf; instead she now wore a blue-striped collared white shirt and black waistcoat, very businesslike overall, though her spiky and unkempt mane and shining right cheek destroyed any sense of formality she possessed. Fashion wasn't exactly one of Twilight’s stronger attributes but even she thought Trixie looked more than a little ridiculous. “And you've changed clothes again… Why a waistcoat?”
“Sentinel Brit will be along within the hour to pick us up, we are to accompany her and her officers as they detain Ms. Fauna Thaw. You know where the bathroom is, Sparkle. Breakfast will be on the table shortly, see to it you are ready on time. I made croissants.” Trixie replied robotically, walking out the door a second later, leaving Twilight to bury her face into the pillow to allow herself a few more precious seconds of comfort.
Eventually, she did reluctantly exit the bed, bathe, groom and bush. She entered the kitchen about half an hour later, and found Trixie balancing several baking trays filled with different assortments of food with her magic. Twilight had to admit that it all looked rather appetising, though admittedly she hadn't really eaten anything for over a day now so her judgement was rather impaired.
“Just in time, any longer and they would have burned. Eat up, Sparkle. Meet me in the study, I wish to go over everything before we head out.” Twilight obeyed, and devoured the literal fruits of Trixie's labour as fast as she could. Placing the dishes in the sink, Twilight walked out into Trixie's living room, where she found the magician slouched in her seat staring at the wall, which had previously been out of Twilight’s view when she was sat in the kitchen.
She couldn't help but gasp went she laid eyes on the, for lack of a better word: monstrosity. “You've been...busy,” was Twilight’s hollow comment.
The wall was adorned with pictures, notes, newspaper clippings, sketches, everything that seemed of relevance to the current investigation. Trixie he even added strips of red ribbon to the collage, with all the strands consorting on a sheet of paper pinned to the middle; a picture of a pony outline adorned by a single giant question mark.
“I went over the case files a couple of times, see if I could open up any new avenues of thought. I've come to the conclusion that our pony was close to Plough and Token, why else would they devise such a means of demise? They hated these two. They wanted them to suffer in the most horrific way they knew of, in fact I think after killing Ms. Token they remained at the scene to confront Mr. Plough to explain what he must do to satisfy the ritual, unless Plough himself knew of the ritual too in which case the killer wouldn't need to remain since Plough already knew everything so he probably-”
“Trixie!”
Trixie stopped immediately, jumping upon finding Twilight stood next to her with a concerned expression which Trixie almost appeared to dismiss. Twilight chose to continue on account of Trixie's moment of silence. “Trixie, I get it. You're smart, you want to work this out. But you've already done enough, you found a likely suspect and you know everything you’d need to about the curse and the ritual. Isn't that enough? Can't you just be satisfied with everything you've accomplished so far?”
The dark patches under Trixie's eyes flickered, and she snorted at Twilight’s suggestion. “I'll be satisfied when we have this piece of pony filth in chains. We have one name, that's not enough. We need proof, a motive; why would Fauna Thaw want these ponies dead in the grotesque manner presented? We do things to gain things, so what did the pony gain from all this?”
A ring of the doorbell downstairs interrupted the conversation, which was swiftly followed by a knocking at Trixie's own door. Twilight couldn't help but smile upon realising it must be this Sentinel Brit she had heard so much about, here to to take them to Ms. Thaw’s home for questioning. “How about we go ask Ms. Fauna Thaw herself, eh Trixie?”
“A coincidental sense of timing does not make your point any more valid, Twilight Sparkle.”
This was when I was finally introduced to Trixie's police contact, Detective Inspector Sentinel Brit. I had many questions I wished to ask her, mainly about her relationship with Trixie, but overtime I found myself minorly surprised to find that we would become friends ourselves. We shared a keen interest of the politics of Canterlot and had relationships with many noble families, she'd even attended Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns many years before I did.
The three of us and an assortment of Sentinel’s officers rendezvoused at Ms. Fauna Thaw’s address in two police carriages. Trixie had suggested we have backup, since she didn't see the point in taking an unnecessary risk.
“Trixie tends to prat-along as I'm sure you're aware, but I never thought she was telling the truth when she said she actually knew the Princess Twilight. This is surreal!”
Twilight laughed at Sentinel’s joke, though she wordless noted that she needed to look up the definition of ‘prat’ later. For the moment they were just killing time as the drew ever never to Thaw’s home. The police carriage they were in rocked about, jolting the three mares who were sat within. Twilight took notice of Sentinel’s splintered-greying mane and wrinkling aqua coat, both aged beyond their years. She also observed the dark vest the mare wore, which looked quite thick and padded for protection, she clearly wasn't taking any chances with this encounter.
Sentinel appeared uncomfortable with the relative silence, and started along another topic of conversation. “I gotta ask though, why are you even here? Trixie can make a persuasive argument, but how’d she convince a Princess to help out?”
Twilight answered cheerfully. “Trixie asked for some help with research, and I decided to stick around after I heard about everything that was going on. Honestly I'm glad I stayed a bit longer than I intended, it's been excited watching her work all this out.”
“So my consultant has a consultant huh? Well I'm just happy for both your help, Trixie and I knew there was something up with the initial murders but my hooves were tied. You getting what that ritual thing was all about and a potential suspect for this has gone a long way in my book.”
“Oh I was happy to help, no trouble at all!” Twilight grinned.
“I can walk if you two would rather be alone, the tinted windows might help too.”
After an unwelcome intrusion by Trixie, both mares turned away and remained in silence for the rest of the trip's duration. Twilight was noticeably the more embarrassed of the pair, seeing as her face was providing more illuminating light than the lantern provided.
After rounding another corner, Sentinel stuck her head outside the window of the carriage, she banged her hoof on the side of the door, indicated to the driver that they needed to stop. The wheels ceased to turn, and Sentinel was out the door a second later, followed by police officers that had been following in another carriage behind them. They converged on the destined house, a simply little cottage in an unassuming neighbourhood. They had strategically set off in the early morning when the streets were still quiet as to not cause too much of a scene.
Trixie and Twilight remained in the carriage for the time being, though Trixie had decided to swing on the opened door in an effort to relieve her boredom. Twilight watched in anticipation as Sentinel knocked at Thaw's supposed door, waited, knocked again, and then peeked in through the window at the door’s side.
She kicked down the door a second later.
Twilight stood stunned at the sudden change, what had begun as anticipation before had now evolved into outright fear. Fear of the possibilities, fear of what they would find behind the now shattered door that had been kicked down with enough force to split it clean in two.
“Well, Sparkle? Are you going to come or just appreciate the architecture?” Trixie voice broke through into Twilight’s thoughts. The Princess turned to her company, who had already started to walk towards the house, the only thing apparently occupying her mind being intrigue.
“Wait, Trixie?” Twilight said as she raced up next to the detective, walking at her side while Trixie continued to look ahead. “Isn't there like a procedure to all this? We can't just walk into someone's home, we're not police!” Twilight proclaimed, standing still while Trixie neared the window Sentinel had looked through mere moments ago.
“No, we're not. But you are a Princess, what are they going to do, arrest you?” Trixie replied as she tilted her head to peek behind the curtains. Her eyes widened ever so slightly and she took a sharp intake of breath. “On second though, Twilight, perhaps it's best you wait outside for the moment.”
“Trixie, what on earth are you-” Twilight began as she looked over Trixie's shoulder, who realised too late what Twilight had done. Trixie turned and watched as Twilight recoiled in horror, the image of the room’s interior forever burned into her memory from that day onwards. The early morning sunlight was streaming into the room, and it was bright with a vague and shifty radiance. Looking straight at her, and suspended in the air, there hung a face, the face of a young mare, her features were set, however, in a horrible stare, in a fixed and unnatural state of fear, which in that still and sunlit room was more jarring to Twilight's nerves than any scowl or contortion she had ever had the displeasure to lay eyes upon.
Turning away from the glass, Twilight took a heavy and unsteady breath, her anticipation overcome by her shock at the sight. Trixie took another peek through the glass, and saw the Detective Inspector pacing about within. Sentinel had clearly seen the sight herself and had rushed inside in hope that she could do something about it, obviously these efforts were in vain.
Trixie knocked on the broken-down door, drawing out Sentinel from within, a hoof rubbing her mane while she composed herself. “Young mare, in her early twenties if I had to guess. Possible suicide by hanging by the looks of it. Fauna Thaw is registered as living alone, and until we identify the body we won't know for sure, but I'd wager that it's her.”
As Sentinel rubbed her head once more, Trixie attempted to walk past the older mare, who held a hoof out to block her way almost as if by instinct. Trixie gave an unamused glare, which Sentinel returned. “Trixie, you know full well I can't just let you walk about an active crime scene, even if you are the reason we found it in the first place. There are rules-”
“Rules which you will ignore this one time, Detective, so that I and Trixie can continue to carry out our own investigation.” Sentinel was surprised when the Princess spoke up to her, as was Trixie. Twilight was attempting to remain stoic, but her view through the window had undeniably rattled her. She let her mind speak for herself, not putting much thought behind her words. “So far she's done more than your entire department combined in finding out who was responsible for Mr. and Mrs. Plough’s murders, and she did it with nothing more than wit and perseverance. Let her in, and let her do her job.”
Sentinel was not reluctant, but instead more saddened, not for Twilight asserting her authority over her, instead because of the room’s contents and the fact there was nothing she could do to prevent Twilight from being exposed to it any further than she already had been if this was her decision. Trixie could handle the sight of a corpse, that she had no doubt of based on prior experience. But Princess Twilight Sparkle? She wasn't so sure.
“I really don't want you to see what's in there, Princess. It's never a pleasant sight.” Sentinel said soothingly, trying to convince Twilight to stay where she was.
Trixie was surprisingly remaining silent, which Twilight was somewhat thankful for, as it made it easier for her to speak her mind. “We can help you, and we need closure to this. Whatever is in there, I can handle it.”
Or at least, Twilight hoped she could.
Sentinel could not protest, she may not agree with the Princesses ruling, but there was nothing she could do to argue against it any further. “Fine, go in. Just don't make this a habit please, the guys upstairs in their ivory towers don't take kindly to outside interference, even if it's coming from the crown.” Sentinel warned before turning and returning back into the house. Twilight turned to Trixie in expectancy of an answer, and Trixie replied with a curt nod before walking into the house herself. Twilight couldn't help but hesitate, but she eventually entered as well on unsteady legs, wiping the sweat off her brow and the dirt off her hooves.
The home was simple, cosy and solitude. Fauna Thaw had apparently only moved in recently, as everything had a gleam and a shine to it, as if it had all just been recently unpacked and brought. Trixie took in the sights on her left as she walked through the front door; a single armchair, a distinct lack of plates and cutlery in the kitchen, as well as a rather small quantity of food. She concluded that the mare lived alone as she was previously told, but also came to the conclusion that the mare didn't receive many, if any, visitors at all. She could spot multiple photos lining the walls and dressers however, all included her, accompanied by one or two ponies, the same ponies who had been lying in a morgue at the police station for about a week.
“One conjoined kitchen and living room, and through here…” Sentinel spoke as she pushed open a door that led into the right side of the house into the bedroom, the side where they had seen the thing through the window. The door opened without a sound, and inside the trio found some of Sentinel’s police officers observing the scene, examining different areas of the room, or simply staring at the sight of a hanging golden pony with a silver mane who swung and stared out of the window in an eternal last expression of dread.
Twilight covered her mouth and ventured no further into the room. She slightly hoped that Trixie would stay with her, being the only familiar face in the crowd, but the magician was already inside, whizzing around the circumference of the room like a hound caught on a scent. She bounced her hooves of the bed made to precision, ruffled around the inside of the closet, rubbed her face upon the floor, and peeked over the shoulders of an officer fiddling with some papers on a dresser. Once she had concluded with everything else she turned her attention towards the hanging figure undividedly, staring back into it’s silver eyes as if she was waiting for it to give her an answer.
“Found something, Ma'am!” Exclaimed an officer on the other side of the room, the one who had been fiddling with the papers. He ran over to Sentinel and Twilight by the bedroom door and handed the pair the papers. “What do you think it is?” He asked.
Sentinel took a quick look over the two sheets of text and pictures she had been given, but before she could begin to understand any of it Twilight essentially erupted at her side causing everypony in the room, with the exception of Trixie, to halt what they were doing. “Wait that's it! The ritual used at the murder, this is a copy of the pages from Fro Bronze’s journal! It's all the same word for word!”
Sentinel gawked and splurted out an unbelieved response. “Wait hold up, this is it?” She paused to skim read the contents of the pages, finding that the descriptions in the text were remarkably similar to the situation faced by the murdered Plough and Token. Her grin grew the further she read. Pointing at the hanging corpse that Trixie was still examining, Sentinel asked the one thing plaguing her thoughts. “So going by this, what Trixie told me in her letter, and assuming this is Fauna Thaw. We have her. Less than alive maybe, but still!”
“Ma'am, look at this. University library card!” Another officer shouted out, pulling a piece of laminated card out of an opened dresser draw. Sentinel immediately snatched it off of him and took a long look at the photo; the pony’s face may not have been as purple as it was now but the golden coat was undeniably similar, as were the silver eyes, mane colour, and cutie mark of a worn and ancient scroll. The name in accompaniment confirmed it all, ‘Fauna Thaw’.
Twilight exhaled upon laying eyes on the card herself, looking back and forth between it and the pony hanging several times, before she began to truly accept it. They had found their pony.
“Guess our mare couldn't live with herself after killing her only friends, and she studied history right? Probably how she found out about that ritual in the first place,” Sentinel checked her watch, smiling upon realising how early it still was. “Well fellas, pat yourselves on the back for a job well down. Oh and Trixie, first round's on me, whatever you like, after all we would never have found this mare if it weren't for you!”
“Sentinel Brit, do shut up while I'm working please.”
The room became cold, far colder than it had been before. The junior officers watched as their superior and Princess sported looks of confusion and shock. “Trixie, ain't no need for that. You caught her! You can stop working, these journal papers alone are enough to prove that she did it!”
Trixie stopped fiddling with the hanging mare's flank, turning to her police acquaintance with a look that Twilight almost couldn't believe, but identified as genuine fury. Sentinel grew further confused at the sight, while Trixie held her directed glare firm and unfaltering. “If you would think for one second you would realise that you have been played for a foal, Detective. Quite honestly I'm amazed that you're stupid enough to close a case based on two sheets of paper and a library card alone. I hope the entirety of Canterlot isn't a victim of your blunders.”
Now Sentinel was undeniably growing angry herself, she did not appreciate Trixie undermining her in front of her peers like she was. “Alright, Trixie. What is it now? Everything is saying that Fauna Thaw killed those ponies, if she didn't who did?”
“What are you talking about? Of course Thaw killed those ponies can't you see that?”
Sentinel brought both hooves to her face and leaned back with a groan. Twilight didn't really want to see the situation deteriorate any further so she attempted to salvage what she could, and asked the questions they all wanted answered. “Trixie, tell us what you see. We agree that Thaw killed those ponies yet you're saying we've been played. How? Thaw’s right there in front of you, how is she playing us?”
“Simple, Sparkle. This pony is not Fauna Thaw.”
Sentinel lowered her hooves, looking as if she was even more confused and exasperated than before. Twilight didn't look much better, and non-verbally motioned for Trixie to continue, so she may attempt to dispel their collective bewilderment. Trixie gave a quick sigh, before monitoring towards the suspended body. “The body is a close match; she's been dressed up, styled mane, pedicured hooves, all recent. Her left hoof has been dyed to match the rest of her coat, probably to cover up a discoloured fetlock, but the overall hue is slightly off. I could, if I wanted to, name twelve other discrepancies between this corpse and the photos in the living room but I'll just go for the most obvious.”
Trixie started rubbing the mare's flank, and all watched in anticipation before Trixie backed away. If she had been on a stage, she would have revelled in the collective gasp that sounded. “The... cutie mark!” Twilight exclaimed in shock. The previous scroll mark the deceased mare had adorned had been scratched away by Trixie's hoof, flaking off of the mare's flank to reveal instead a cutie mark of a violin. Trixie dusted her hooves off before turning back to her crowd.
“Fauna Thaw is not dead, but she went to a lot of trouble to make us think that she was. Now, the body is still fresh, maybe about a day? She has a head start and it's possible she's already left Canterlot. Good news though, if she hasn't left already we still have some time left, the first train out of Canterlot isn't for about ohhh… Thirty minutes? Probably how she's making her escape, as it’s unlikely she’d walk down the mountain after going to all this trouble.”
“Wait wait wait.” Sentinel interrupted, which Trixie did not appreciate. “So… Thaw killed a pony who looked like her, dressed her up, all to give her more time to escape? And how do you know that she's ran? Maybe she's just out getting groceries, we can't just assume that-”
“Yes, and I suppose that every time you go shopping, Detective, you take all your other clothes and most of your food with you as well? Or is that just an eccentricity of Ms. Thaw here?” Before Sentinel could retort, Trixie pointed towards the closet she had rummaged through, Twilight jolted up upon realising that the inside of it was completely empty, devoid of all except some discarded coat hangers.
“There's no clothes!” Twilight proclaimed as she took a look inside herself.
Trixie returned to her position next to the body, staring at Sentinel with ever growing smugness. “The bed also wasn't slept in last night, no sweat on the interior. I'd wager that the Plough’s and our Jane Doe here weren't killed during the same timeframe by coincidence. Thaw's probably got this all planned out, the crime up until the escape. Whoever this pony is...” she motioned to the corpse. “...she was just a pawn in a much larger scheme, a pony caught in the crossfire. Thaw will not hesitate to end more lives to make her escape. We do have more time than she anticipated however, this ruse was to delay us but she knew it wouldn't stop us.”
Trixie turned to Sentinel, any and all anger forgotten, the rest of the room looked on in expectancy and wonder. “Detective, the nearest train station is Dove Park, I suggest you start there before you make your way to Canterlot Central station, you have about, oh twenty-seven minutes now before the trains start and we potentially lose Thaw forever.” Trixie adjusted her waistcoat, and waltzed out of the door. “Tick tock goes the clock, Detective.”
The officers followed her out seconds later, with far more franticism. Sentinel ensured that Tixie saw her nod to her before she was on her way off in a police carriage to the nearest train station. The other police split up with some heading back to the local police department so they could mobilise as many officers as possible, taking a photo from Thaw’s home to use in a wanted poster as they went. Two others stayed at the scene so it could not be contaminated by the soon to be inquiring public, keeping it secure until such a time when it could be attended to properly for examination and clean up.
Twilight approached the stationary Trixie, who was busying herself by ruffling her mane around. “Well then, Sparkle, it appears that our business is concluded. Come, let us return to Basil Street so you may collect your things, it's seems you'll be able to make the morning train after all.”
Twilight’s jaw fell open, and she sat stunned while Trixie started on her way towards a street more populated with ponies a little away from them both. Twilight suddenly rushed up to cut Trixie off, her expression deepening in confusion and anger. “Wait, on my way? But the case isn't over yet! Thaw’s still out there!”
Trixie’s expression didn't change, which did nothing to smooth Twilight’s neves. “Trixie discovered the identity of the crime’s true perpetrator, proved Mr. Plough innocent of his wife’s murder, and discovered a third victim intended to have been nothing more than a scapegoat. Trixie feels like she has earned the rest of the day off, it's not as if I can deduct and anticipate Thaw’s every move.”
Twilight refused to yield, there was no way they were done with all this yet, not while the criminal was still at large. “But we can't just stop while she's still out there! She could still hurt somepony!” Twilight desperately pleaded, using her Alicorn height to tower over the disdained Trixie.
The magician grew impatient, not appreciating how Twilight was now blocking her way. “Trixie has fulfilled her obligation, whatever happens next is out of her hooves,” she stated simply, shrugging past Twilight, disinterestedly continuing on her way.
Twilight remained frozen in thought, stunted by shock. She lifted her gaze as she watched Trixie waltz away, as if she didn't have a care in the world. “You know you can still help,” Twilight said as Trixie continued to retreat, every step she made only causing Twilight’s frown to deepen. “I'd have thought you of all ponies would realise the importance of using your talents to help others.”
Trixie halted immediately, but refused to turn and face Twilight, but if her raising shoulders were any indication, she was not happy. “And just what are you insinuating, Twilight Sparkle?” Trixie growled, her mane concealing her expression from Twilight.
Twilight took a gnarled intake of breath. “That you can still find this pony and stop her before she-”
“No!” Trixie shouted, spinning in place so she faced Twilight once more, her back arched like she was ready to pounce like a feral animal. “You know full well that isn't what you meant! What have I ‘of all ponies’ been doing except using my talents to help others, Princess? Come on, you tell me the story for once!”
“It's like you don't care!”
Time stood still. The pair stood alone in the deserted street, and for the first time in a long time, Trixie Lulamoon didn't know what to say. Twilight loomed over in height, her wings flaring unconsciously at her sides. “You're not acting like this is a big deal, when it is! I'm not going to just… sit on a train and go home knowing that there's somepony out there, somepony I know you can stop! You are better than that, Trixie!”
Twilight allowed herself to relax, her wings manually returning to her side with a flutter. She averted her gaze from Trixie, unwilling to look her in the eye despite knowing she had to keep speaking, even if they both didn't like what they heard. “I won't believe that you help the police and solve these crimes just to satisfy your ego, you have to be doing it because you believe it is the right thing to do.”
Twilight waited, staring at the floor for an amount of time she could barely comprehend. She didn't want to speak on the off chance Trixie would be deterred from replying further, but upon being met with several more excruciating moments of silence, she couldn't help herself from asking if what she had said was the truth.
“Right?” She whispered.
“Professor Arch Manger.”
Twilight's head bolted up. Trixie was now facing the side, her shirt and mane ruffling against the morning wind, her face was just as expressionless as it was moments earlier. “Lecturer at the University of Coronet. Teaches ancient history. Personal tutor of August Plough, Tempest Token and Fauna Thaw, oversaw their thesis’. Found it out last night when I spoke to his secretary on her way home.”
Trixie jerked her head away, and Twilight watched and stared as Trixie seemed to be battling her own undesirable thoughts, her face shifting between several different emotions as if she was trying to decide what the most logical course of action was and how it should be pursued. Soon her emotionless mask returned, and she turned to Twilight with an evidently concealed smirk. “Not much to go on I know, but he might be worth talking to.”
Twilight formed a smile, and Trixie would never admit to anypony that she found it infectious.
I still don't know why Trixie changed her mind. Perhaps I appealed to her maternal instincts? Or perhaps she simply saw the benefits of pursuing further leads rather than just throwing in the towel early. She would never tell me why, but for some reason I don't think I would like the answer.
I would never forget the time that she said that her life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence, like life was one long game she refused to stop playing for even a moment, lest she become bored from all the quiet parts in between; the times regular ponies like you or I take time to relax or reflect, the times Trixie uses to find the next relief from normalcy.
Arch Manger was the only name we had left, and any hint of light he could shed on the situation would be nothing short of desired. I hoped he could tell us something, anything of use. For I did not know how much longer Trixie would be willing to go on, and I even had to agree up to a point, the further we went the more frivolous it all seemed.
“Hi! Who is it you're here to see? Do you have an appointment?”
The secretary could not have been that much younger than Twilight, displaying a pugnant youthful air about her. Situated at a golden wooden desk, Trixie leaned towards the pony, instantly recognising her from the night before. She wore as false a welcoming grin as she could muster. “You may remember me from yesterday, I spoke with you briefly about Professor Manger?”
The mare smiled in recognition, clearly remembering the event, “Oh yes that's right! Ooh, that's a nasty shiner you got, I didn't notice that yesterday,” said the mare with squinted eyes and a pointing hoof.
Trixie didn't exactly appreciate the attention, and attempted to bring the conversation back on track. “Long story, happened after we spoke.” Pointing at the door behind the mare’s desk, Trixie asked her desired questions. “Is Professor Manger in? We kind of need to speak to him about a relatively urgent matter.”
The secretary looked down at her desk and began to fiddle with various papers organised in a chaotic pile. Her smile dipped as the seconds wore on and her visitors grew ever more impatient. “I think so. Or wait does he have that meeting now or… Wait this is next week's schedule. Where'd I put that- and this is last weeks!”
Twilight scrunched her face up at the sight of the mare’s confusion, cringing at how one could be so disorganised despite having no reason to be. She voiced her own questions while Trixie grew silent, who was currently resisting the urge to simply walk out of the door. “Uh, no offence but as his secretary shouldn't you know where he is, like at all times?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow, Trixie was meanwhile contemplating if she should just go out and start another fight, weighing which option would provide the most relief.
The mare gave a sheltered grin, adjusting her glasses as she refocused on Twilight. “Sorry, I've only had the job for about a week now, the old secretary just up and left and the professor has a habit of not sticking to his schedules, I'm basically learning as I work,” responded her with a shrug.
Trixie averted her gaze from the exit door, immediately forming a connection between the missing secretary and the impertinent mystery they were pursuing, both having occurred over the past week could not have been a coincidence. “His secretary, do you know their name?” asked Trixie with sternness.
The secretary rubbed her head in contemplative dimness. “Floora Thor, or Frost or something like that,” she answered with yet another shrug.
Twilight and Trixie locked eyes, both unable to voice their unbelievable luck. Trixie walked past the secretary's desk without even giving her a second look. “I'd like to see the Professor now, please,” was the only thing she said while the young mare pathetically attempted to stop the pair.
Trixie practically barged through the door, and was met with the image of a stereotypical scholar’s study, with bookcases, display cases, busts and a commemorative wooden desk all adoring a room that looked as if it was as old as Canterlot itself. By a large window that overlooked the university below stood a stallion who was shorter than most, with a hunched back and aged features making him appear quite frail. He turned his olive face towards the door, and narrowed his silver eyes at the intruding party of ponies. “Thread Bare! I told you no visitors, not when I'm working!” He growled in a soft voice, likely having become hindered by age.
The secretary was very worried, convinced that she was about to lose her new job, but thankfully Twilight unintentionally came to her rescue, deciding to make up an excuse to explain her and Trixie's premature entrance. “Actually we kind of let ourselves in, mainly because I'm such a huge fan of yours, Professor Manger! I'm Princess Twilight by the way, and this is Trixie!” Twilight lied, much to Trixie's concealed delight and approval.
The old unicorn stallion’s anger faltered, and he allowed a hollow smile to adorn his face. “Wait, Twilight Sparkle? Well… Gosh!” He turned and approached his desk, hobbling along and struggling into his seat with a groan, he gave the pair another smile. “This is a surprise. How can I help you? You want an autograph? Drinks? I can also schedule in a consolation if you’re interested, I hear Celestia speaks highly of your intellect,” he flattered Twilight, who looked to the floor with a blush.
Trixie wasn't even watching the stallion, instead turning her attention towards a pile of luggage lying near a table on the left side of the room near the window, where two suitcases sat filled to the brim. She paid it all her attention that she didn't even notice that the secretary had left in a huff. “Going somewhere, Professor?” Trixie asked as she walked by the bags, nearing a display case at that side of the room.
Professor Manger's smile grew with a stutter. “Ah yes! We're about to start digging in the Yaket Range, a preliminary report suggests that there may have been an ancient pony civilisation in that region, I'm heading off soon to oversee everything,” he responded with pride, fiddling with the collar of old tweed jacket.
Twilight watched as Trixie leaned in towards the display case, while she took a seat on one of two chairs positioned in front of the professor's desk. Trixie let out a whistle as she turned away from the case, finished with her observation of it. “A royal guard pennant, I take it you're retired?” She asked once again with a smile, drawing closer to his desk now.
The professor’s smile lopsided into a smirk. “You're perceptive. I have eighteen years and one less leg to show for it all.” He rose his front left leg, knocking it with his other hoof twice; a distinctly wooden sound rang out. “Damn jasconius, took it before I'd even noticed. Couldn't go on after that so I drifted back towards and honed my love of history,” he finished with a shrug, putting his legs under the desk again.
Twilight watched as Trixie took a seat, half expecting her to be impatient under his rambling and inconsequential narrative, but, on the contrary, she was listening with the greatest of concentration and attention. Trixie gestured towards the door they had entered through with a swing of her neck. “I also couldn't help but notice your secretary is fairly new to the job, whatever happened to the old one? I'm actually an old acquaintance of hers,” she stated with a hoof on her chest.
Arch Manger's smile fell for the first time since they had entered. “Really? Fauna never mentioned any of her friends,” his said in confusion and knitted eyebrows.
Trixie feigned shock, gesturing outwards with both her hooves. “That's rather odd, you tutored her and them when they were still students here. Plough and Token ring any bells?” Trixie queried, attempting to sound as clueless as she could. Twilight watched the display in silence, afraid that by speaking up she would ruin Trixie's performance.
The professor clopped his hooves together, as if a thought had just come to mind. “Ah yes! Now I remember, boy were those three inseparable! I guess they must have drifted apart because Fauna never mentioned them after she took the job as my secretary when they graduated,” he leaned back, sighing as he grew more comfortable.
Trixie tilted her head. “Well that's rather odd, considering she killed them a week ago.”
The stallion’s eyes flew open, he leaned forwards again and stuttered out a response with his weak voice. “Ki- Killed? You mean August and Tempest are dead?!” he cried in alarm.
“That's generally what killing entails,” Trixie deadpanned.
The unicorn rubbed his greying mane, distressed by what he was hearing. “I'm sorry, you'll have to give me a moment, this is all rather sudden,” he said shallowly, his words broken and scattered as he spoke. He turned back to the resting Trixie. “You said Fauna killed them? Have you caught her yet? I can give you her address if you want?” he asked in support.
Trixie rolled her head to indicate ‘no’, her expression now remaining quite stoic. “That won't be necessary. It turns out she killed herself not long after the other two, the case has been closed, we just wanted to come and tell you in person before the media starts knocking at your door looking for a statement once the story breaks,” Trixie said positively. Twilight resisted the urge to widen her eyes at Trixie's lie.
The stallion almost looked like he didn't know how to act, clearly not anticipating Trixie's reveal. “Oh, well that's very kind of you, I appreciate the gesture,” he said with a polite nod.
Trixie smiled and tilted her head, and spoke with the perkiness of a school teacher. “Think nothing of it. Anyways we better be off, we'd hate to occupy your time any further than we already have, as we’re sure you're a busy unicorn. Good luck with your dig, Professor, and watch out for those pesky pony-eating lindworms while at Yaket Range, oh who am I kidding, you probably know all about it!” Trixie said with a laugh, and reached a hoof forward to shake the stallion’s.
Professor Manger chuckled. “Wouldn't exactly be smart of me to go off to an uncharted land without doing my research now would it?” He said as he shook Trixie's welcoming hoof. Both mares promptly stood up, with Trixie walking hastily out of the door while Twilight followed after giving the stallion a quick goodbye wave and shutting the doors behind her.
They walked past the secretary without even giving her a look, and Twilight sped up so she was walking next to Trixie, her face contouring into a mixture of confusion and questioning at their encounter. “I don't know why but something seemed off about him. Don't you think?” Twilight asked her companion with uncertainty.
Trixie gave a single jolt of laughter, halting in the hallway in order to explain to the mystified Twilight. “You kidding? You can't fail at lying more than that idiot.” Trixie shook her head side to side as if she was criticising someone's work, and whirled her head in Twilight’s direction, who continued to stand in waiting. “Take a letter, Sparkle, tell Sentinel to converge on the Coronet North train station, in two hours, incognito.”
Twilight didn't even move, instead allowing her eyes to widen as Trixie grew smug. “Wait, you mean you know where she's heading? How'd you work that out?!” She half shouted in exasperation.
Trixie simply giggled. “My dear Sparkle, the case has practically been solved.”
The clock struck nine and the bells rang out in sequence. Coronet North was being watched like a hawk by us and the police, but Trixie still had not told me any of what she had discovered from our visit with Professor Manger, it was almost as if she wanted to keep me in anticipation until the very end.
We had returned to Basil Street briefly so Trixie could change her wardrobe once more, back into her traditional purple witches attire she had previously frequented, when I asked her why she changed so suddenly she said that it was the only thing appropriate for the coming moment.
The crowd at the train station was still young, not full enough yet to be a nuisance. Picking the Professor out of it was perhaps the most obvious reveal of our adventure so far.
“Detective, did you do as I requested?” asked Trixie with a glare.
“All trains from platforms five and six have been quietly diverted to other platforms… You have no idea how much arse kissing that took,” grumbled Sentinel Brit at Trixie's side. Trixie allowed her smirk to grow, and watched as the lone frail unicorn sat alone on a bench near platform sixes edge. He had walked right into the trap, and he hadn't even noticed.
“I wish you would just tell me though why all this is necessary, who is this guy and why is he so important? What about Fauna Thaw?” pleaded Sentinel, who looked back and forth between Twilight and Trixie with expectancy. Twilight simply shrugged, much to the older mare’s annoyance.
Trixie patted the mare on the back. “All in due time, Inspector. I will tell you this though, before the hour is up you shall have the murderer of August Plough, Tempest Token, and the imposter Fauna Thaw, in chains,” she said with glee.
“You just had to make this more dramatic than it needed to be, didn't you?”
Trixie ignored the disgruntled detective, and turned her attention back to the platform. It was deserted by all except their target, by design of course; the moment he had walked upon the platform the police blocked off the stairways that led down to it, and diverted the trains that were destined to arrive at it. The stallion had arrived early, and was the only passenger to arrive to wait for his not to be coming transport out of the city.
Trixie checked the clock, and adjusted her hat. “It's time, Detective. Shall we?” Trixie started on her way down the stairs, with Twilight and Sentinel following at a distance behind her. Trixie walked along the platform edge, her cape blowing lazily in the wind, and neared the pony sat upon the bench. The police watched from their vantage points on the stairs, all were without their uniforms so to not give themselves away.
Trixie made sure her hoovesteps were audible, and was delighted when Professor Manger drifted his gaze in her direction. His eyes narrowed in an instant at the approaching trio. “Ms. Trixie, may I ask what you are doing here?” he asked with an unamused glare.
Trixie halted, as did Twilight and Sentinel behind her. “I could ask the same thing of you, ‘Professor’, but I'd rather you just sit and listen while I explain what's going on.”
Manger stood up, but Sentinel was quick to speak. “I must warn you, Professor Manger, if you attempt to run, me and my officers are authorised to stop you, by any means necessary,” Sentinel stated firmly, gesturing her head towards the nearby Princess to prove that she wasn't joking.
The deprived of options Professor looked up the stairs, and saw the male stallions watching him menacingly. Deciding to play it safe, he reluctantly turned back towards the considerably smug Trixie. “Okay, Ms. Trixie, I'm listening. What is it that you want?”
Trixie snorted. “Well for starters, how about you drop the nom de guerre and I instead refer to you by your real name?”
The stallion shook, his hunched back arched rearwards in a way that should not have been possible considering his age, and his mouth fell open in a silent scream of fear. Twilight watched the display with a concerned and curious gaze. “Trixie, what do you mean? Who is this if he's not Professor Manger?” The question was on Sentinel’s mind also.
Trixie turned to the Princess, bowed and threw her hooves to the side as if she was about to present a new act for the world to gaze upon. “Princess, Detective, allow Trixie to introduce to you, the perpetrator of this mystery.”
“Fauna Thaw!”
All the ponies stood in silence, while Twilight and Sentinel cast a questioning gaze in the ‘Professor’s’ direction, whose mouth was open and ears were flickering up and down, one after the other. “Th- That's ridiculous! Fauna Thaw is a mare, how on earth could I be her?!” he yelled in a rage.
“It is, of course, a problem with a most elementary answer,” tutted Trixie, who lounged herself on the bench. “You drew my suspicion the moment I laid my eyes on you. Your luggage, too small and soft to be anything other than clothes and food, and what self-respecting professor carries his own bags around a train station? Also, would such an organised and exemplary professor such as yourself really not be at all annoyed that your secretary cannot even keep your schedule in order? You should have fired her on the spot!” She gave a single laugh. “And lindworms? Really? You couldn't tell that was a lie?”
The stallion stomped his hooves, annoyed at Trixie's immature narrative. “That doesn't prove anything! I'm still Professor Manger!” he cried in anger, drawing curious stares from the ponies situated on the platform opposite, across the train tracks.
Trixie shot up and rapidly approached the pony. “Oh yes of course, perhaps I'm mistaken. After all, everypony knows that Professor Manger, who you clearly are! Only has three legs!” The ‘stallion’ yelped as Trixie struck his left leg, and Twilight watched in shock as a distinctly wooden sound did not ring out.
The pony cradled his leg, and Trixie spoke out to the clearly befuddled Twilight, who had heard the leg make a distinctly wooden sound a mere hour earlier. "Oldest trick in the book, he, or should I say 'she', kicked the desk with her rear legs while we were watching from above, presenting the illusion of a false leg." The pony leaned forwards as he rubbed his foreleg, and Trixie used the opportunity to reach behind while he were distracted and ripped the tweed jacket he wore straight off of his back. Everypony in the vicinity watched in awe as the pony immediately morphed from a frail and olive stallion into the form of a golden coated and silver maned mare.
Sentinel rubbed her eyes as if she was seeing things, while Twilight simply sat in shock. Trixie revelled in the silence, but composed herself quickly as she knew her company would not appreciate being dumbfounded for much longer. “A history buff such as yourself who had a former royal guard as a mentor would undoubtedly have knowledge of perception filters, somehow you gained knowledge of how to perform it, maybe you found a preserved copy of it somewhere, prehaps you even developed a version of it yourself, then you enchanted this jacket so you could resemble Professor Arch Manger. Either way, you truly are a gifted unicorn, Ms. Thaw.”
The revealed Fauna Thaw lunged, but was quickly subdued by Sentinel, who had, unknowingly to the mare, approached her during Trixie's gloating. She wrestled the mare's hooves behind her back, and cold cuffs found their way around her legs. A similar metal ring was forced down her horn, by one of Sentinel’s officers who had arrived as backup. “Ms. Thaw, you're under arrest,” Sentinel spoke calmly, but was cut off by Trixie before she could continue.
“Actually, Detective, I'm afraid we're not done yet,” Trixie spoke, in a noticeably harrowing tone. Twilight replied instead while Sentinel was occupied with a still struggling Thaw. “But we have her, Trixie. What else is there left to do?”
Trixie glared at the subdued mare, who responded in kind. “Assuming I'm correct, a perception filter only works so long as you have an ‘original’ pony to base the spell off of, if that pony is let's say… deceased, the spell should cease to function, right?” Trixie grinned when Twilight nodded to indicate that what she had said was true. “In that case, we still have time to save the real Professor Manger, since the spell was clearly still active when Ms. Thaw arrived here.”
“I'll never tell!” shouted the mare, in a high and shrieking wail. She spat at Trixie. “He deserves whatever's coming to him! Just like that liar August and his bitch wife!”
Trixie frowned and whispered something in Sentinel's ear, the mare hesitated, but eventually nodded. “Ms. Thaw, stand up please and sit on the bench,” spoke Sentinel softly. The mare resisted, but complied nonetheless. Trixie sat next to the sulking mare, and thought about her next words very carefully.
“Fauna, why does Professor Manger deserve to die?” asked Trixie in a whisper.
The cuffed mare’s face contorted. “He gave up on me, he was going to turn me in, after… After I-”
“After you killed Tempest and August.”
Thaw began to cry, whether it was genuine or not was anyponies guess, but Trixie wasn't fooled in the slightest, assuming the mare just felt sorry for herself for getting caught. “Tell me, why did you use the ritual to kill them? Why not just do it and get it over with?”
The mare steadied her breath, and looked up at Trixie with tired eyes. “I guess there's no point in keeping it a secret now that you caught me right?” Trixie nodded, Fauna sighed. “August was always superstitious, he had a dream catcher, never walked under a ladder, and was always afraid of magic. I guess that's why me and him never really hit it off, me being a unicorn and all.”
“You loved him, didn't you?” spoke Twilight on the other side of the bench.
Fauna coughed. “With all my heart, we'd been friends for years, it should have been us who walked down the isle. Then he met that skank Tempest, she stole him right out from under me!” she banged her hooves on the wood, and Sentinel instinctively drew closer, but Trixie warded her off with a raised hoof.
“So you found out about the curse in the Blacklist Archives, copied it down from Fro Bronze's journal, and then killed Tempest and carved the writing on the wall. How did August die?” Trixie asked in wonder.
Fauna smiled. “I told him what he needed to do to save Tempest’s soul… He had those pills down his throat before I'd even finished, the look on his face made all that effort worth it,” her tone was serene, and as unsettling as could be.
Trixie remained undeterred, and probed further with her questions. “After you killed them, you knew you had to run, so you killed a mare that looked like you and strung her up like a puppet in your home, with the belief that by doing so you could buy yourself a few more hours.”
A reflective sigh was heard. “Ah yeah, that part I made up as I went along, it was almost too perfect. She was in town for a concert or something and it was just too good of an opportunity to let pass.”
Twilight growled at Thaw’s side, which drew her deranged but curious expression. “You didn't even know her name, did you?” she snarled at the detained unicorn.
Thaw shrugged in nonchalance. “Wasn't important,” she stated factually.
Twilight couldn't believe what she was hearing, and backed away with a grunt while Trixie continued with the relatively civil interrogation. “So that answers the ritual, Plough and Token, and the mare you used as a smokescreen.” Trixie leaned forward, her features hardening, quite a change from her previously relaxed expression. “Now, what about the Professor? Where is he?”
A snort was the only response Trixie received, as Thaw turned her nose up to Trixie’s request. “Ain't nothing you can do to make me tell you that, he's nice and comfy where he is for the moment, and probably for the rest of his life, seeing as I didn't leave him food this morning.”
Sentinel resisted the urge to perform rather illegal procedures on the smug mare, and was thankful when Trixie continued to speak. “Fauna, what did Manger do to deserve to die?”
The mare scowled. “He asked too many questions! All he had to do was keep his darn mouth shut! I didn't want to do this to him, but he knew too much,” as threatening as Fauna was trying to sound, Trixie could not help but hear an underlying tone of uncertainty.
“You told him that you killed August and Tempest didn't you?” Trixie deducted, speaking with confidence.
Fauna looked away, as she was evidently crying again, with fresh tears trickling down her face. “He was the only one I could talk to…” she said softly, sniffing every so often. “He was so nice to me and I thought… I couldn't bring myself to-”
Trixie saw an opening, and she seized it. “If you couldn't bring yourself to do it before, why does he deserve to die now?”
Thaw had no answer, and bawled into her lap.
Trixie sat in stoic and mild annoyance, while Twilight stood back with a noticeably unsympathetic expression. Trixie leaned forward as the mare continued to cry, and whispered into her flapping ear. “You can save the Professor. Do you really want him to remember you as the mare who killed him? Or as the mare who saved him?” Trixie had to think of what was best to say to influence the mare, personally she hoped that Thaw would be spending the rest of her days locked in a box in Tartarus, but for the moment she had one more pony to save, and Thaw was the only one who knew where he was.
Trixie sat in anticipation as Thaw shivered besides her. If she didn't speak now, Trixie doubted that she ever would again.
“In my house, under the boiler, old sealed off bunker from the war I found. He's in there.”
The police wasted no time, the two that had ran down to assist Sentinel earlier sprinted back up the stairs immediately, leaving the senior Inspector, the lone Princess, the aspiring Detective, and the blubbering mess of a murderer alone on the platform. The relative silence continued for several moments more, and none of the mares had any real idea of how to proceed.
Sentinel took the reigns, and lifted Thaw from her position on the bench. “I'll take her down to the station, get this all processed. If the professor's still alive, I'll call you,” was the short exclamation. Sentinel then began to drag the criminal away, but halted when Thaw started to thrash about, desperately trying to halt the Inspector for one moment more.
“Wait! Wait!” she called out, and locked her sight onto the now standing Trixie, whose cape continued to flow against the cold morning wind. “How'd you find me? How'd you know I'd be here? In this station?” Thaw desperately pleaded for an answer, which Trixie was more than happy to oblige.
“Your train tickets were on the professor’s desk, Coronet North to Las Pegasus.”
Knowing that she was ultimately foiled by a stupid little mistake on her part. Fauna Thaw erupted in unrelenting laughter.
It was one of the most tense, degrading, unpleasant and exhilarating moments of my life.
Professor Arch Manger was found alive and well, if a little shaken. He shed light on why Fauna Thaw had stolen his identity; apparently, from some of his stray hairs, she used his image in order to get close to Tempest Token on the night of her death, she thought she was inviting in her old mentor, when instead it was her old friend wanting to kill her. After she told Professor Manger what she had done, she locked him up and planned to run away after claiming his last paycheck while still using his image, which as his secretary she would have knowledge of when it was due.
Trixie had found the adventure's conclusion to be quite fulfilling indeed, and our tale came to an end after one final stop at her humble home on Basil Street.
“Honestly, Twilight Sparkle, you have been scribbling in that book the whole ride home. What on earth are you writing about?”
Trixie's disgruntled voice broke through the serene silence. Both mare's had just returned from the police station in order to give their statements of the occurred events of the morning of the day and yesterday’s night. They had also stopped for a late dinner, which Twilight more than willingly paid for, on the way back to Basil Street. Now, they were both sat in front of Trixie's roaring fireplace, who questioned why, even now, Twilight continued to scribble into that insufferable brown journal.
“You sure you can't just deduce what I'm doing?” Twilight responded with a glint in her eye.
Trixie rolled her own eyes at the comment. “Hardy har har. Will you tell me or do I need to snatch that book away?”
Twilight laughed aloud, and after blowing on the ink on the page, she closed the book so she could face Trixie proper. “I didn't think I'd get much use out of this when I started, but I've decided to document our adventure together, perhaps I'll even publish it someday!” Twilight decided not to mention that she was barely even on the fourth page, and that it would probably take her several days before she had anything close to a rough draft; a published book was probably many months away from happening.
Trixie tutted, leaning back against her red chair even more than she was before. “Interesting. And what have you decided to call your coup de maître? Trixie has a few suggestions!”
Twilight obliged to answer her. “It's called… The Reminiscences of Princess Twilight Sparkle!”
A gagging sound interrupted Twilight’s exclamation, and she found the source to be Trixie, who appeared to be choking on thin air. “Gag! Boring! We need something with pizazz! How about, The Casebook of Trixie Lulamoon!”
“But the story's from my perspective!”
“The Adventures of The Great and Powerful Trixie!”
“I'm the author!”
“Trixie Lulamoon - Consulting Detective!”
Twilight slapped a hoof to her face, and did not encourage Trixie any further. She instead turned her attention back to the book, before discarding it onto a table at her side and turning back to Trixie with a reflecting gaze. She realised that there was one more thing she needed to ask Trixie before she was on her way. “Trixie?” she called, seizing the magician's undivided attention.
“Before I go, I just want to know… Are you happy?” Twilight paused, thinking about how she could phrase her next sentence. “Is this truly what you want to be doing with your life?” The pair remained in silence, the only sound being the crackling of wood in the fireplace. Both were illuminated by the flickering flames, which drew Twilight’s attention to Trixie's contemplative gaze; she was watching the flames as if she was in a trance.
“My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence. I rebel at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I abhor the dull routine of existence and I crave exaltation. That is why I have chosen this particular profession, Twilight Sparkle. I cannot live without a purpose of my own design. What else is there to live for?”
The room grew cold, even with the presence of the warm fire. Twilight watched her company with a shrunken stare, and recoiled when Trixie turned to face her from the fire, the minimalist hint of a smile upon her muzzle. “To answer your question, Twilight Sparkle. Trixie is happy, but she was much happier on this occasion when she was able to enjoy the pleasure of your company.”
Trixie jumped as she was met with an unfamiliar feeling of warmth surrounding her, it did not feel like heat from the fire, instead it felt cleaner, more personal. Twilight Sparkle had leapt up from her seat and had wrapped her forelegs around Trixie's sitting form, and Trixie, for the life of her, did not know how to react. “Sparkle, are you cold? You're shivering.”
Twilight wiped her eyes before Trixie could see. If Trixie was confused by a hug, Twilight didn't know how Trixie would even be able to comprehend why another pony was crying because of the heartfelt things she had said. She'd probably jump to the wrong conclusion, or deduce the wrong information based on subjective factors. Twilight flew back from Trixie, who sat stunned for the most part while Twilight fiddled with her saddlebag next to her chair.
She was reluctant, but she knew she had to. Time was growing short, and the last train for Ponyville would be leaving soon. “Trixie,” Twilight began, placing the bag upon her back, she met Trixie with a smile. “I don't know what I should've expected when I came here to meet you. But I'm glad I did.” She walked closer to Trixie, who reasonably shrunk into her seat. “I want you to know that you are always welcome in Ponyville, and if you'd like, I'd like for you to come by sometime so you can meet my friends, of which you are one.”
Trixie sat with a straight back, her expression was marginally unreadable, but ultimately betrayed her joy at the revelation that Twilight considered her a friend. There was also sadness to be found; sadness at the realisation that Twilight was leaving now, leaving Trixie in the solace she had so often seeked out, but now feared.
“Or, Twilight Sparkle!” Trixie suddenly announced, her tone betraying her darkened feelings. “You may return to Canterlot whenever you please! Sentinel Brit has allowed for Trixie to become something of a permanent addition to her resources, on account of her performance today. There will always be another adventure of excitement and daring should you wish to confront it together… As Trixie’s friend.”
Twilight couldn't refuse.
Someday she would return. Someday she and Trixie would head out into the night for adventure and danger once more. That day however was not today, and Twilight bid Trixie adieu with a hug and a parting wave from her carriage on the street. Trixie watched from her now fixed window, reflecting on their battle with the desperate and deranged damsel with a disposable disguise. It was everything Trixie lived for presented on a platter, but the platter was now gone, as was her partner, and she found her blue hoof nervously reaching for a hidden pouch concealed under the window frame.
A few words may suffice to tell the little that remains. All that should be known is that from that moment on, Trixie and I were a close team, and would go forth to solve many cases together. However, I will always look back on that first with the most fondness. My reintroduction, to Trixie Lulamoon, the Great and Powerful Detective.
Author's Note
This took sooo long. But was fun.
Some text is actually lifted straight from the novels, notably Trixie's speech at the end. The next adventure will be up eventually, but expect it to take awhile. As always, comments will be loved, as they sooth my fragile ego.
Try to guess though. What was in the pouch? Who was the pony at the end? ~~Both will be answered in due time, prehaps in~~ The Adventure of the Broken Floorboard. ~~Update may be a long way off, these chapters are big and I want to get my other ongoing story finished first before moving back to this one.~~
Edit: I've decided to mark this story as complete because it stands well on its on as its own independent story and I'm unlikely to update anytime soon.
That may change.
But for the moment this story is not cancelled, it's complete.
