Chapter 3 - Aura Sensory
“I'm all alone now. All alone…”

June 18th - 5:04 AM
Ponyville
Ponyville Library

Police ponies were swarming the library - taking pictures, collecting evidence, and taking both Aura’s and my statements. It was painfully clear that I wasn't going to get any more sleep tonight.

After I discovered Aura weeping over her mother’s dead body, I immediately contacted the police. They were at the library in less than ten minutes. Aura and I looked on with sullen expressions as Midnight’s bloody corpse was removed from the scene and taken away for autopsy. The entire time, Aura never once stopped crying, despite her many desperate attempts to.

It had been almost an hour since our discovery and the police were still tearing this place apart, looking in every nook and cranny for evidence. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the pony who we had been told was the head detective came over to speak to us.

“Good evening. I’m the lead investigator on this case. You may refer to me as Detective Shamus.” The green stallion with a brown mane and tail and an investigator’s badge for a cutie mark spoke without a hint of joviality. I gulped, expecting to hear some bad news. “You have my gratitude for being so cooperative at a time like this. Thanks to your own testimonies and the evidence found here at the scene, my fellow detectives and I have narrowed down the possible suspects to one pony.” His gaze shifted to the yellow unicorn standing by my side. “Aura Sensory,” he announced as another officer floated out a pair of hoofcuffs and attached them to Aura’s forehooves. “You are under arrest for the murder of Midnight Brilliance.”

My jaw dropped and Aura’s eyes shot wide open. Both of us stood speechless as a small, grey ring was placed around Aura’s horn. The officer directed her out of the building, very slowly thanks to the cuffs, while reading her rights aloud. Once they approached the door of the library, Aura stopped. The officer tried to push her, but her hooves dug into the floor. Eventually, the officer resorted to using his magic to lift Aura up off the ground.

“As for you,” Shamus said, directing my attention back toward him. “You’re going to follow these two officers here to the police station for further questioning.” Two uniformed police ponies walked up to me and began escorting me out of the building. I said nothing during our walk to the police station, still trying to take in everything that had happened in the past hour.

June 18th - 9:02 AM
Ponyville
Ponyville Detention Center

Questioning took longer than I expected, but after finally satisfying the interrogators, I was free to go. The first place I headed was the Ponyville Detention Center. I had to check up on Aura, I just had to.

I waited inside for visiting hours to begin. Once they did, I immediately requested to speak with Aura. Two guard ponies led me to a room that was divided in half by a plexiglass window and a desk. I was told to stand at said desk and wait for Aura to arrive. A few minutes later, she walked in, escorted by two other guards. Her eyes were red, puffy, and still filled with tears. I couldn’t imagine being locked up here had done anything to make her feel better. At the very least though, she was no longer hoofcuffed.

The first few seconds of our meeting was filled with silence; neither of us knew what to say to the other.

“Um. Good morning,” I said, hoping it would start some semblance of a conversation. Instead however, Aura remained quiet. Her eyes weren’t even looking in my direction; their attention was locked onto the tiny pool of tears slowly forming on top of the desk. I desperately tried to think of something else to say, but only one other thing came to mind: “Uh, have you found an attorney yet?” This time, Aura looked up at me and tilted her head to the side, raising an eyebrow. “You’re going to be tried in court for your moth-- the crime, right? Has anypony said that they’d represent you?” Aura shook her head. Suddenly, I got the craziest of ideas. “Would it be alright if I represented you?” I heard Aura gasp. “I know you didn’t do it,” I assured, hoping that she’d believe me. “There’s no way that I can believe a pony like you would murder their own mother.” Aura put her hoof to her chin, tapping it slowly. “So please, let me--”

“My statues,” Aura interrupted.

“Huh?”

“Bring me my statues,” she repeated. “Then I'll consider your request.”

“Uh...ok…” I wasn’t entirely sure what had suddenly come over Aura, but if it meant that she would let me take her case, then I was ready to do whatever she wanted. “Where are these...statues?”

“They’re on a mantel in my room. You’ll know them when you see them. Until you get my statues for me, don’t come back here.” After she said that, Aura turned toward the guards and asked to be taken back to her cell.

I lingered for a few minutes before the guards on my side of the room forced me to leave. Once I was outside, I resolved to make my way back to the library and retrieve what Aura had asked for.

June 18th - 9:24 AM
Ponyville
Ponyville Library

As I approached the library, I noticed that the police had completely sealed off the area with yellow tape. Two guards stood at the entrance. It was only at this time that I realized the impossibility of Aura’s request. Did she not know that the crime scene would be sealed off? Regardless, I made my way up to the guards, hoping that I could come up with something that would grant me entry.

“Halt!” one of the guards said, holding out his hoof as I approached. “State your business.” I took a deep breath before responding.

“My name is Credo, and I’ve been asked to be Aura Sensory’s defense attorney by the mare herself.” It pained me to have to resort to lying to a police officer, but I just kept telling myself that it was all for Aura’s sake. “I merely request that I be allowed to examine the crime scene so that I can prepare my case.”

“May I see your badge?” the officer responded. My badge, my badge, shoot! My badge was still in the room upstairs! Immediately, I panicked.

The guards continued to stare at me with their unwavering eyes. I let a sheepish grin cross my face and chuckled a bit, informing the guards of my predicament.

“You may not enter the premises without a badge. Now run along, little pony.” Little pony!? I'm eighteen and living on my own, mind you...is what I wanted to say, but I had a feeling saying that would only hurt my chances of actually getting inside.

“Please, sir,” I pleaded. “My badge is in one of the bedrooms upstairs, if you just let me enter--” Suddenly, the door to the library opened. A green stallion walked out, holding papers in his magical field. It was Detective Shamus.

“What’s with all the racket?” he asked. The two guards standing by saluted him.

“Sir, this pony here is requesting access to the crime scene.”

“On what grounds?”

“He claims to be the accused's defense attorney, sir.”

Shamus eyed me closely. “Where is your badge?” he asked.

“It’s still in my bedroom upstairs. I can show you if you just--”

“That won’t be necessary.” He floated two nearly identical badges out from behind the papers he was holding. “I believe one of these is yours?” he said, moving them closer to me. I grabbed the tiny, golden circles from his field and looked them over. Sure enough, on the back of one of them was my serial number, confirming that the badge was indeed mine.

“Yes, this one is,” I said, giving my badge to Shamus, followed by the other one.

“Unfortunately, we can’t give it back to you yet,” he said, taking the badges. “But the lead prosecutor on the case told us that you are to have complete access to the crime scene, so I must comply.”

“Thank you, sir.” A smile returned to my face as I entered the library behind the detective. Police were everywhere, still gathering evidence for the trial.

“You may look around as much as you like, but don’t touch anything without my permission,” warned Shamus. I nodded to show that I understood, and he left me to search by myself.

The first thing I did, of course, was head upstairs to Aura’s room. As was the case with everywhere else, the room was crawling with detectives. They didn’t seem to mind me as I entered. The room seemed almost exactly like the one I was staying in, at least, in terms of structure. The difference was the messy state of the place. Papers were scattered all over the floor, books lay open and tossed aside on the desk, the entire room was in shambles.

One area though, was kept as tidy as one could keep it: the mantel above the bed in the far right corner of the room. On it were six statues of six different ponies, all of whom I instantly recognized. From left to right stood Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Princess Twilight Sparkle. As I walked closer, I noticed each of the statues also had a black plaque on their golden base containing a unique phrase: Be Strong, Be Kind, Awareness! It was under ‘E,’ Be Awesome, Be Unwavering, and Be Smart.

These must be the statues Aura was talking about!

I was just about to pick them up when I remembered what Shamus had said about removing things from the crime scene. Luckily, he happened to walk in right at that moment to check on the other detectives’ progress. After they were done talking, I caught his attention before he left the room.

“Excuse me, Detective Shamus!” he turned towards me in response. “I was wondering if it would be alright if I took those statues over there.” I pointed towards the mantel, directing the detective's gaze.

“What are you going to do with them?” he asked, looking back at me.

“Ms. Sensory asked for me to bring them to her.” The green stallion thought for a second before turning to the other detectives.

“Hey!” he called to them. “What’s the status of those statues on the mantel?”

“We’ve already finished photographing and examining them, sir!” one of the detectives replied.

“And?”

“Only Aura Sensory’s fur was found on them, sir!” Shamus turned back to me.

“I suppose you may, since we’ve already gotten what we need from them.” Without hesitation, he telekinetically floated the statues over to me.

“Thank you, sir.” I grabbed them with my own magic and was just about to leave when Shamus stopped me.

“However, you must bring them back to me when you’re done. Understand?” The detective was already being overly-generous with his leniency, and I didn’t want to betray it.

“Yes, sir.” The stallion nodded and went back to his work, as did I.

June 18th - 10:12 AM
Ponyville
Ponyville Detention Center

I stood silently in the visitor’s room, waiting for the guards to escort Aura from her cell. The statues of the six mares floated beside me, glinting in the light that shined down from above. As I waited, I took a closer look at the statues themselves. Each one had been expertly polished and showed no signs of having ever been damaged, not even a scratch. With the amount of care they’d been given, I was impressed that forensics managed to find anything on the statues.

Aura entered the room not long after I had finished my examination. She slowly walked up to the window separating us and sat down. Her eyes looked much better than they did when I came to visit her earlier, though a few tears still made themselves present on her face.

“Did you bring them?” she asked, jumping straight into things.

“I did,” I replied, floating the statues onto the table for her to see. Her eyes immediately glued their attention to them. For the next minute, neither of us said a word to each other. Aura continued to stare at the statues, only cutting off her gaze when she needed to blink. Finally, I decided to speak up.

“So...what’s so important about these statues?” Aura finally lifted her gaze to answer my question.

“These were...a gift from my older sister.” I searched my memory to find the portrait showing Aura’s entire family. I managed to picture the violet, red-maned unicorn in my head and tag her with the name Midnight had given.

“Visionary, right?” Aura nodded in confirmation.

“She gave them to me as a birthday present a few years ago. She knows how much I admire the mares on the Council.” I looked down at the statues. I picked one of them up and looked it over again, taking in the pristine and flawless craft.

“Did she make them herself?” I asked, setting the statue down on the table. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen statues like these before.”

“I don’t know. She has quite the eye for detail, so it’s entirely possible.” A grin crossed my face as I began thinking about Equity and the presents we used to get for each other. She always loved getting new toys or, more recently, styling equipment. As for me, I was content with a new book. “I just wish she would come back home someday…” Aura’s words snapped me out of my trance.

“What do you mean?”

“Visionary’s been away from home for the past ten years,” Aura informed. “She’s never come back to visit myself or our mom, not even once.” A look of sadness snuck its way back onto Aura’s face.

“I thought you said she gave you these statues as a birthday present just a few years ago.”

“Well, she sent them in the mail. That’s the only way I’ve been able to keep in touch with her.”

“You’ve never gone to see her yourself?” Aura looked away when I asked that question. “Ms. Sensory?”

“Please call me Aura,” she said. “And no, I haven’t.”

“Well, why haven’t you?”

“Well, first of all, I don’t even know where she lives now.”

“You don’t? Then how do you send her mail? Don’t you need an address to do that?” Aura shook her head.

“You used to, back in the day, but after the Treaty of Canterlot, dragons began working for our country’s postal service, and they only need a name to deliver mail to a pony with their magical, fire breath.”

“Huh, I guess you learn something new everyday,” I commented, shrugging. Aura chuckled a bit before switching back into her somber persona.

“In all honesty though, even if I did know where my sister lived, I probably couldn’t bring myself to visit her anyway.”

“Why not?” Aura moved so that her left flank was visible through the window. It was then that I realized I had yet to see what Aura’s cutie mark even was. When I saw her flank, I expected to find out the answer to that question. The answer I got however, was not one I was expecting.

“You’re...You’re a blank flank?” I asked as I stared at her bare flank in utter shock.

“Yes,” she said as she turned to face me again. “Twenty-one years old, and I still haven’t gotten my cutie mark.”

“B-But how is that possible? Ponies typically get their cutie mark when they’re around seven or eight.”

“Well, not leaving the house for fifteen years might have something to do with it.” Okay, now we’ve transcended beyond shocking and into unbelievable.

“Fifteen years!?” I shouted, unable to comprehend what I was being told. “You’ve stayed in that library for fifteen years!? Why?” Aura didn’t reply. Instead, she directed her attention back to the six statues that were still sitting on the table in front of us. “Aura? Aura!”

“BECAUSE I’M AFRAID!” she suddenly snapped. Shocked by her sudden outburst, I fell backwards onto the floor. When I stood up again, I noticed her expression had completely changed. I could hear her breathing heavily through her clenched teeth and her eyes were filled with an ugly mix of anger and sadness as tears formed and fell from them once again.

“Okay, calm down, Aura,” I said, slowly approaching her as if she were a wild animal that could leap through the glass and maul me at any second. “There’s no reason to be upset. I’m just curious as to why you would want to hide away in your house for the majority of your life, that’s all.” My words seemed to pacify her. After a while, she had calmed down enough to speak to me again. “Now, can you tell me what it is you’re so afraid of?” She hesitated at first, but eventually, she responded.

“The world…”

“What?” I don’t know what answer I was expecting, but that certainly wasn’t it. “You’re afraid of...the world?” Aura let out a sigh before continuing.

“When I was a kid, my favorite thing to do was play with my sister, be it inside or outside the house.” A small smile snuck its way onto Aura’s face as she spoke. “Nothing made us happier than being together.”

“So, what happened?” I asked, knowing there was no way this story was going to end well. The smile on Aura’s face quickly faded away.

“Are you familiar with the Changeling War?” My face twisted into an expression of confusion at the odd question Aura presented.

“Of course I am. I mean, I lived through it.”

“Do you remember how it started?”

“Well, not exactly. I was only three at the time. From what I’ve read, I think it started with the attempted assassination of Princess Twilight Sparkle?”

“The key word there being ‘attempted.’ The changeling spies that were sent by Chrysalis were found out by Starlight Glimmer before they could get to the Princess. However, they didn’t retreat right away. The changelings were determined to accomplish their mission. Once their cover was blown, the spies seized control of every part of Ponyville, taking captive everypony that they could. They were probably planning to force the Princess to surrender in exchange for the lives of the ponies of Ponyville.

“That day, I was playing outside with my sister like we usually did, when suddenly, one of the changelings appeared before us. He chased both my sister and me through the chaos ridden streets of Ponyville. Eventually, I lost track of my sister and found myself cornered by the changeling.” Aura began to visibly shake as she recounted her tale. “I still remember looking into those blue, remorseless eyes as their owner lunged at me with inescapable speed. If it wasn’t for Visionary or Mom, I probably wouldn’t be alive right now.”

“What did they do?” I asked, completely enthralled by the story.

“Apparently, after Visionary lost sight of me, she went to find our mom, and together, the two managed to track me down. Before the changeling could attack me, my mom hit it with an anesthetic spell, causing it to lose consciousness and drop to the ground immediately. I think I also passed out from fear, because the next thing I remember is being at home in my mom’s arms.

“The changelings were soon driven out of Ponyville by the Princess, Starlight, and the other five ponies on the Council. It was a victory for the ponies of Equestria, but just the beginning of a long, taxing war.”

“So, the reason you’ve never left the house in fifteen years…” I remembered when the officer was trying to get Aura out of the library. The reason she stopped and resisted so much was because she was afraid of going outside.

“I’ve never forgotten what I felt the day when I was nearly killed. That feeling terrifies me and I never wanted to experience it again. So, I locked myself up in that library, having convinced myself that, as long as I stayed there, nothing could get to me ever again.”

“And because you’ve never left the house since you were…” I paused to calculate how old Aura would’ve been at the start of the Changeling War. “Six, you’ve never gotten a chance to find out what your talent is?” Aura nodded shamefully.

“Five years passed before my sister left us. Before she departed however, she asked me to promise her something: the next time we met, she wanted to see my new cutie mark. Those were the last words she said to me.”

“I see.” Finally, I felt that I was understanding where Aura was coming from. “You don’t want to disappoint your sister by showing yourself to her without a cutie mark.”

“Ever since she left,” Aura continued. “I’ve been trying my hardest to get it...without leaving the house, of course. I’ve read through almost every magic book we have (though my magic is nowhere near the level of my mom’s), helped work the library several times, experimented with potions in my dad’s old workshop—the room beyond that metal door—and I’ve even worked hard enough to pass the bar exam and get an attorney’s badge, though I’ve yet to actually use it.”

“Wait. You’re a certified defense attorney?” I thought back to when Shamus showed me the two identical badges that must’ve been found in the building. I wasn’t thinking about it at the time, but now I realize who the other badge must belong to: Aura.

“Like I said earlier,” she began to explain. “I idolize the ponies on the Council. They dedicate their lives to saving other ponies, be it literally or metaphorically.” Her expression flared with determination. “I want to save ponies too. I just wish I had the courage to actually bring myself to do so…” And as quickly as it had arrived, that determination disappeared.

“But Aura, the war ended five years ago,” I tried to console her. “There is no more threat from the changelings.” Aura shook her head.

“My fear doesn’t lie with the changelings, Credo, it lies with the outside world in general. It’s a dangerous place out there, not like it was twenty years ago. The crime rate in Equestria has risen dramatically since both the CS-4 Incident—the very first murder in Equestrian history—and the Changeling War.” I opened my mouth for a rebuttal, but the words I wanted to use wouldn’t form. Probably because there wasn’t any way to refute what she said. If what I’ve read in history books and heard from my parents and teachers is right, then Equestria used to be a much more peaceful place, where crimes occurred sparingly and were nothing less than simple break-ins and minor burglaries. Ever since the combined tragedies of the CS-4 Incident and the war however, crimes have not only become more common, but also more violent. “In a world where murders are taking place everyday, staying inside just seems like the safest choice.”

“Even considering what happened last night?” The question escaped my mouth before I could realize how insensitive it was. Luckily, Aura didn’t seem to care.

“Well, that’s why I was thinking, since prison is a rather well-secured place, perhaps even more so than Princess Twilight’s castle considering the recent break-in, it might not be so bad if--”

“Woah, hold on a second!” My sudden outburst caused Aura to shrink back a little. “Are you saying that you want to be found guilty of your mother’s murder?” At first, I wanted to ask about the break-in at the castle, but once Aura’s implications hit me, that thought disappeared from my mind.

“Y-Yes, I do,” Aura said after recovering. “Nothing will be able to hurt me here; I can live out my days in a prison cell, free from the dangers of the outside world. Now that I’m thinking about it more, it actually sounds rather relaxing.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I was so shocked that all my mouth could do was hang wide open. Aura either didn’t register my expression, or didn't care. “So, though I am grateful for your offer, I’m going to have to turn it down.”

“What!? But you said that if I brought you your statues, you’d let me defend you!”

“I said I’d consider your request,” she replied as she turned toward the guards. “And I’ve decided to turn it down. Thanks anyway, though.” Aura continued walking right on over to the guard that would take her back to her cell.

“So what’re you planning on doing when the town assigns a defense attorney to you?” She stopped, but didn’t turn back to see me.

“I’ll defend myself.” I grunted, expecting to hear that, despite my wishes not to. “I am an attorney, after all.”

“Aura, please don’t do this.” I was begging at this point. “What about your family? Do you honestly think your mother would want to see you locked up for the rest of your life? What about your sister and the promise you made to her? Are you just going to abandon everything?” Silence pervaded the room. I held my teeth together, waiting for an answer, but I got none. Instead, Aura walked up to the guard and the two of them left the room together.

I slammed my head hard against the desk in front of me, causing a few of the statues to fall over. Their cluttering to the ground reminded me that I needed to return them to Shamus. Grabbing them with my magic, I left the room, escorted by the guard.

To be continued...

Author's Note

Proofreaders: PeerImagination

Sorry for the long break, I've been rather busy with my school play for the past several weeks. However, it's starting to come to an end and uploads will hopefully become more frequent.