Shining Brightly

The sun started dawning over the horizon, and its warming light shone through the window, dispelling much of the fear and anxiety that had been building in the night. Horror was being swapped out for disgust and anger, and even those emotions were tempering into a steady determination to solve the mystery at hoof.

But first, Twilight had to solve the other mystery at hoof. “I… I didn’t call an investigator!” She started, tilting her head a bit. “Did she say her name?”

“His name,” Jam Sandwich corrected automatically, before seeming to realize she had just corrected a princess and looking back down at her hooves. “S-sorry, your highness. I didn’t get his name. Sorry.”

Taking a breath, Twilight shook her head. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Take me to him, please.”

“R-right, yes, right this way your Highness,” Jam said, turning around and heading back out the way they had both come in, turning down the little staircase.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Twilight saw the stallion in question, standing in the living room, holding a cardboard container with several full paper cups visible resting in it. He was an earth pony, a little short, with a dark brown mane and slightly lighter coat matching his brown eyes. He wore small saddlebags and a laminated nametag around his neck, but nothing else to make a fashion statement of any kind. Even his cutie mark, normally a fairly distinctive marking, was simply a small white circle which faded in gradient, looking like little more than a soft light on his flank. He wore a blank expression, didn’t seem to be looking at anything in particular, and didn’t look up at the sound of footsteps coming towards him.

Twilight wouldn’t say anything out loud, but she thought he looked… Bland. Boring, in fact. She knew not to judge a book by its cover, but that didn’t keep her from wondering if he was even in the right house, or if perhaps he had wandered in by accident somehow.

“Excuse me, sir?” She asked, approaching the dull stallion. “Are you the investigator?”

Finally glancing up at Twilight, he nodded once in affirmation. “Yes, your highness, that’s me. Bright,” he added, quickly, setting down the drink holder and extending his hoof to shake. “Bright Shine. And you need no introduction, of course.”

Twilight had been meaning to ask, ‘Who are you?’, but he had beaten her to the question and offered the answer of his own accord before she had the chance. So, she took his hoof, shook, and then moved on to the next question she had. “Why are you here? I didn’t send for anypony.”

“I know,” Bright Shine said. “But I think I’m needed, anyhow. I…” He paused, seeming to choose his words for a moment, before saying, “... Got a tip that there would be a crisis in Ponyville, so I headed here on yesterday’s train.”

“You knew this would happen?” Twilight asked, eyebrows lifting and then narrowing. Her voice hardened, and she asked, “And you didn’t tell anypony?”

Unconsciously stepping backwards, Bright Shine shook his head quickly. “I only knew that something bad would happen,” he explained. “I thought I could ask around and find out what was going on, quietly, so it wouldn’t cause a panic. I only realized the specifics when I heard the sirens an hour ago, it took me that long to find this house and get past the press. I brought coffee,” he added, gesturing to the cups. “Help yourself. There’s creamer and sugar in the side.”

Twilight hesitated for a moment, then lifted one of the cups of coffee and sipped at it. It was hot, strong, and bitter, not the kind of drink she usually preferred, but considering the circumstances it seemed appropriate. “You never answered my question,” she realized after a moment, and put down the coffee. “Why are you here?”

“There was a crime, correct?” He asked, selecting another coffee from the container and taking a drink himself. “I’m a detective of sorts. I hope this doesn’t fall into my area of expertise, but I had a hunch that it would, so here I am.” He took another drink of his coffee, and then proffered up the plastic lanyard around his neck, “Do you want to see my badge?”

Twilight inspected the badge, reading it quickly.

Bright Shine

Equestria Royal Guard

Special Access

Homicide Investigator

Looking up at Bright Shine, then back down at the badge, and then back up at him, Twilight asked, “Equestria has a homicide investigator?”

“Yes ma’am,” Shine said, looking as though he was used to hearing that question. “Just the one, and I spend most of my time preventing crimes, not investigating them.”

That was news to Twilight, and she had to take a few seconds to process the news she had just heard. Putting a hoof to her chest and waving it out, taking a breath to calm herself, she processed the information for a few seconds and then recovered herself. “Well, I’m glad you’re here,” she said, trying not to sound like she was totally out of the loop. “Would you like to see the… The crime scene?”

Shine nodded, but then seemed to reconsider. “Would you mind if I viewed it alone?”

Twilight thought it was an odd request, but it had been an odd morning, and she consented. “Go ahead,” she said. “Tell Flathoof that there’s coffee, I’m sure he’ll want some.”

The homicide investigator - a title that still seemed strange to Twilight - nodded, and turned to head up the stairs. “I’ll just be a moment,” he said, before disappearing up the creaky house.

A few awkward seconds went by, and Twilight glanced at Jam Sandwich, who was staring intently at the floor and avoiding eye contact. “Did you know that we had a homicide investigator?” Twilight asked, thinking that she might know, seeing as Jam was in law enforcement.

“N-no,” the deputy replied, nervously.

Realizing that she was getting nowhere, Twilight glanced away again, looking around the room more awkwardly than ever.

A few moments later, Flathoof came down the steps and, upon seeing the coffee, beelined for the last cup and added a half dozen little cups of cream before taking a sip.

They all drank their coffee.

Twilight coughed into her hoof, deciding to repeat her question with Flathoof. “So… Did you know that we had-”

There was a loud THUMP upstairs, like the sound of a heavy object hitting the wooden floor. The pair of ponies downstairs sipping coffee immediately looked up, and then Jam Sandwich glanced between them and looked up as well.

As if on cue Twilight, Flathoof, and Jam sprang for the stairs, each hurrying after the other to get upstairs and see what had caused the noise. Twilight had magic on her horn in less than a second, ready for a fight should they find the murdered back upstairs, ready to finish the job.

Whirling around the landing halfway up the stairs, Twilight literally flew up the rest of the way, banking hard and running to the room where the body had been found. The door was shut, so she yanked it open, stopping just in time before running into Bright Shine.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked, looking around the room to check for intruders.

He was rubbing his forehead with a hoof, looking a little sore and embarrassed. “I… I tripped and hit my head,” he explained, placatingly. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to alarm anypony. I-” He glanced over Twilight’s shoulder at Jam, and then took note of Flathoof as well. “I’m fine. Don’t worry, really.”

Twilight frowned a little, but didn’t press the issue. She wasn’t about to start hurling accusations around - yet. “So what do you think?” She asked, changing the subject.

“Of the crime scene?” Bright Shine asked, glancing around the plastic sheet to look at the body again. “This wasn’t any regular murder. I don’t know exactly what happened here, but it was something horrible. They didn’t just kill him, they made him suffer first.”

Twilight nodded. She had already guessed that - It had looked like overkill from the moment she saw it, but it was nice to have her theory confirmed by an alleged expert.

“I’m going to get some photographs,” Shine continued. “But I think I’ve seen everything I need to here. Have you had breakfast?”

Twilight paused, taken off guard by the question. “No, I came straight here when I woke up,” she explained.

“Neither have I. I need to talk with you, get some information and discuss details of my investigation plans. Would you care to join me for breakfast? I hear that there’s a place at Sugarcube Corner that’s very good.”

Twilight had to think about it for a second, pointing out, “Sugarcube Corner is the bakery, not the location. And they are quite good.”

“So is that a yes?”

Nodding, Twilight Sparkle said, “That sounds alright.”

Bright Shine smiled. “Excellent. I’ll take these photos, and then we can decide how we’ll catch this killer.”