Farewell to the Moon

Verity looked up at the castle with a hint of apprehension, her tail flicking nervously. It was much bigger than from the view of her apartment. She swallowed her fear and continued towards the gate. The two stallions stood there remained motionless even when she reached them, as unmoving as a statue. The mare suspected that they would remain so unless otherwise ordered.

“Excuse me, but I was sent a letter from Princess Luna about the murder that occurred…“  Levitating the letter out, she showed it to them.  She was startled when the stallions moved suddenly, the gate opening swiftly. They nodded curtly at her before resuming their motionless guard. Frowning, she spoke again.

“Is there anypony in particular I should talk to?” She asked them, not expecting a response. The two of them looked at each other before the one on the left spoke.

“Well, Princess Celestia is attending to important matters, organizing the clearing and treatment of affected areas from the lunar dust. Princess Luna is most likely awaiting your arrival in the library. If you’d wait a moment, we will have somepony take you to her.”

“That’ll be fine.” As she crossed through the gate, the golden metal closed behind her with a soft clink. Verity chanced a glance behind her as she reached the entryway, the two stallions carefully observing their surroundings. Turning to enter, she fell and nearly yelped as she ran into another guard, this one a pegasus. His expression remained impassive at her fright, not offering an apology. She brushed herself off and stood, adjusting her saddlebags.  He set off without a word, the mare falling in step behind him.

They walked in silence for a few minutes before they reached a large door, the stallion pushing it open. He motioned her aside, his expression as unreadable as ever. The unicorn stepped through, not thanking him for taking the time to show her the way. As the door closed softly, Verity examined the large library where she could hear soft conversation from behind the shelves.

Taking her time, the curious unicorn stopped to lift up a scroll in her magic to read. After a few seconds of close examination, she berated herself for her lapse in concentration. Reluctantly, she replaced the scroll and continued towards the voices.

You have a job to do, Verity! There will be time for reading later.

When she turned the corner, Verity spotted the lunar princess speaking with a lavender unicorn. The pair of them seemed to be in the middle of a lesson. The unicorn had her eyes closed in concentration, several different objects levitating in a magical aura. Princess Luna spotted her and immediately was on her feet, approaching Verity. She quickly backed up, trying to maintain her distance from the princess. Remembering what she had been taught, she dropped into a bow.

“How did you get in here?” Luna’s voice was louder than was needed, but not unkind. The purple unicorn opened her eyes in surprise, the tomes she was levitating dropping to the ground with a resounding thud. Luna ignored the sound, waiting for Verity’s response.

“Well?”

“Y-you sent me a letter this morning? About the investigation?” Verity glanced up, trying to ascertain whether it was safe or not to stand. The princess looked confused for a moment, thinking before brightening.

“Oh, of course! We sent it last night but lately it has been so busy, we lose track of things. Please come and sit with us.” Luna motioned towards the table where the other mare was restacking the tomes, looking resentful that her lesson had been interrupted.

“Thank you, your Highness.” As she approached the table, the lavender unicorn’s eyes widened. Verity didn’t understand her reaction to her presence until she pointed a hoof at her horn.

“What happened to your horn?” Her tone was horrified, her expression distressed. Luna also glanced at her horn, confusion and pity on her face. Verity glanced up at the broken horn, unfazed. She tried not to think about it too much; it reminded her of her past.

“It happened a long time ago. Trust me, it doesn’t hurt or affect my magic.” To emphasize her point, she levitated the tomes off the table and spun them in a circle over their heads.  Replacing them neatly, Verity smiled at the still bewildered unicorn.

“As you may know, this is Twilight Sparkle, our sister’s prized pupil and the Element of Magic.” That was something Verity had heard a bit about and her ears pricked up on that particular bit of information. The princess looked at Verity expectantly.

“My name’s Verity. Now, what is the information you had on the murder of your nephew?”  Levitating her things out, Verity was prepared to start jotting down notes she needed.

The room felt colder even though it was still early morning and Celestia’s sun was shining light on the trio. Luna’s expression became somber and she looked down. Verity shifted uncomfortably as Twilight placed a hoof on Luna’s shoulder before speaking in the princess’s stead.

“Well the information in the letter covered nearly all the information we have. The prince was found dead in his study, drained of blood and a black rose laid at his side. You are the first pony to even agree to listen to us. All the other ponies we contacted refused when we mentioned the black rose.”

Verity’s quill paused at that, hovering over the paper. “Why would they refuse? Did I miss something?”

Luna took a deep breath and spoke up, her eyes calm once more. “If you’ve read the papers at all lately, you’d know about it. There’s a pony out there that has been eliminating ponies of substantial influence, leaving a black rose at their sides. So far we have no suspects on who it is.”

Twilight shifted in her seat. “Actually…”

Luna and Verity looked at her. The lunar princess raised her eyebrow and spoke. “Twilight? Is there something you know that we don’t?”

“The night Blueblood was murdered… I met a pony near the kitchens. I didn’t catch his name but I was wondering why he was around that late if he was a visitor.” Twilight levitated another book onto the table. Verity assumed it held the fellow unicorn’s notes on the matter.

“I spoke with the guards and there indeed had been a stallion that entered the castle but there was no record of him leaving. The strangest part, however, is that nopony knows his name.”

“Why didn’t you share this?” Luna demanded, frustrated. “This is a very important point in solving this string of murders.”

“Sorry, Princess.” Twilight mumbled, her ears lowering. “I didn’t think it was important until you spoke up.”

“What did he look like?” The detective asked, her expression contemplative. “Anything you can recall will help.”

“He was fairly tall but he wasn’t as muscular as most stallions usually are. I actually thought he was a mare until he spoke, the way he looked. His coat was ash grey but his mane was pure white.” She paused for a moment, straining to remember. “He wore a black cloak and jacket so I couldn’t see his cutie mark. The one thing that stands out is his eyes.”

“What color were they?”

“Golden yellow.”

Verity quietly wrote down the provided information while the unicorn took a breath. When Twilight showed the green unicorn her notes, she noticed the golden question mark on her flank. Unable to stop herself, she asked. “What does your cutie mark represent?”

Verity looked down at the question mark and smiled sadly. “I’m not sure. It appeared when I decided to take charge of my life. Maybe my talent lies in finding where I belong?”

Twilight looked skeptical but didn’t respond. As the last of the notes were jotted down, Verity heard the door open and a bunch of ponies talking. The green unicorn turned her head and spotted the group of ponies who had entered the library. There was a small purple dragon with them as well, speaking with a marshmallow white pony.

“Oh hello girls.” Luna smiled at the three ponies who bowed low to the princess. When they stood up, Twilight greeted them as well.

“Nice to see that you’re back, Applejack. Did everything go well in Appleloosa? “

“Braeburn was sure happy to see me and Big Macintosh. Everypony there is alright far as I could tell. Soon as Ponyville as fixed up, the family is gonna help us get our farm back up.”  The cowpony inclined her head towards Verity who had been quietly reviewing her notes. “Who’s that?”

“Oh, this is Verity.” Twilight began to introduce her friends. “Verity these are my friends and fellow Elements of Harmony. This is Applejack, Element of Honesty.”

“Howdy.” She tipped her hat towards the unicorn, who merely nodded in return.  Verity felt their eyes on her and she tried to keep her eyes on them.

“This is Fluttershy, Element of Kindness.” The purple unicorn walked behind the marshmallow pony and pulled the yellow pegasus into view. She whimpered something, her face hidden behind her pink mane. Twilight rolled her eyes before moving on.  Verity could sympathize with Fluttershy, attempting to ignore her instincts to get away from the group in an effort to appear professional.

“Last and not least, this is Rarity-“Twilight began.

“Element of Generosity and I must say, I do love the way your mane looks. The simplicity and elegance is quite lovely against your coat. What is your secret, dear?” The marshmallow pony’s way of speaking made Verity smile uneasily, her shyness beginning to fade.

“Um… I just brush it right when I get out of the shower and braid it myself?”

“Really?” Rarity looked crestfallen. “Is that really all? Well… to each their own I suppose.”

“Oh and this is my assistant, Spike.” Twilight quickly interjected, the purple dragon looked annoyed at being ignored. He merely grunted in response, his tail twitching in annoyance.

“Well, it’s been very nice to meet you all.” Verity said politely, tucking her notepad away. “However, I do have some work that the princess would like me to attend to.”

“Before Twilight takes you to the room, we must speak with these four.” Luna turned her attention back to the group of friends. “You’ll be pleased to know that Ponyville had been cleared of lunar dust and everypony will be able to move back within a week. Everything has been repaired and is back to the way it belongs.”

“Even my fashion boutique?” Rarity spoke up, her eyes lighting up.

The princess chuckled. “Even that.”

Verity felt oddly alone as the group of friends cheered, hugging each other and chattering in excitement. Twilight disengaged herself and motioned for Verity to follow her out. As Verity reached the door, it exploded inwards, knocking the unicorn on her back. The pink pony that was mere inches away from her face grinned widely.

“Hi there! I’m Pinkie Pie! What’s your name?”

Verity’s every instinct told her to run, but she was transfixed by those mildly psychotic eyes staring into her soul. The only thing she could offer was her name.

“I-I’m Verity…”

“Geez, Pinkie.” Another new voice and the pink earth pony was pulled off her. “Let her breathe for ten seconds.”

The two new arrivals stood out in sharp contrast to the rest. The cyan pegasus floating above their heads had a rainbow colored mane and tail while the pink earth pony was bouncing eagerly.

“I’d love to stay and chat, girls but I need to help Verity out with something.” Twilight led her out, the green unicorn putting a hoof to her chest. She smiled sheepishly as she closed the door behind them.

“Sorry about Pinkie. She’s… a bit different.”

Different is an understatement. She’s a sociopath! Verity smiled. “Its fine, I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm. Now where is that study you wanted me to look at?”

Twilight nodded and led her fellow unicorn away from the chattering room, Verity glancing back at the library. She continued after Twilight as the latter led her down a series of turns. Just when the green unicorn began to feel dizzy, her guide paused in front of a pair of oak doors that had a sign that read: Do not enter.

This had to be the place with the way Twilight was looking at the room with apprehension. She waited a few moments before addressing her.

“I’m sure I can manage be myself if you are uncomfortable with this.” Verity offered gently, not wanting to have to deal with a panic attack. Twilight shook her head with a strained smile.

“I’ll be fine. Its just the fact of knowing that a pony killed another pony in that room unsettles me a bit.” She shivered slightly as she pushed the door open.  “Besides, it’ll help to have two unicorns looking for clues we may have missed the first time.”

As soon as Verity stepped into the room, the unicorn felt the faint residual energy from a defensive spell. Twilight glanced at the detective, the expression on her face indicating that she felt it too. The detective levitated her notebook and quill out to start taking notes as she crossed the room to the desk.

“So what can you tell me about Blueblood?” Verity asked, peering into the drawers. She jotted down a few notes.

“Well, he was very self-centered but he apparently cared enough about Equestria to try and unite it under the princesses’ rule.” Twilight replied, peering at the bookshelves, her horn lighting up as she cast various spells around the room. “From all the notes we pulled from his desk, meager as they were, all aimed at bringing the ponies from near and far together so that all of the unrest could be settled peacefully.”

“Meager notes?” Verity asked, noting the sound of disbelief in her voice. “You sound like you don’t believe it.”

“I’ve met him a few times.” Twilight levitated something off the floor and peered at it closely. “He was… to be polite, quite different from Celestia and Luna. Between the two of us, I don’t believe for a second that he ever cared for anybody but himself. “

Verity remained quiet at that as her spells revealed nothing. The only thing that had been revealed was an offensive spell that had been launched from the ground level. As far as she could guess, it was a crude spell launched from instinct rather than with precise control. A glance towards the ceiling revealed nothing, proving her suspicions that the prince had hit his attacker.

“So when you saw the stallion, did he have any wounds on him?” Verity turned back and spied a red smudge on the wooden desk. She leaned closer, eyes narrowing in scrutiny.

“Not from what I could tell.” Twilight asked, looking at the detective. “Why?”

“Because you said Blueblood wasn’t injured and I found traces of a defensive spell.” Verity straightened up, carefully using a spell to pull the blood from wood and place it in a vial. “I’m willing to bet that this is our suspect’s blood.”

*Authors Notes

Sorry about the long wait between chapters. My last computer broke and getting a new one admist all the chaos of school affected more than one person. We are back however and on schedule as we should be. Next chapter will be out soon!