(Hour Long Movie) Murder on Hearths Warming

Chapters

Intro: Hearths Warming is Near
Act 1: Mysterious Murder
Act 2: Questions and Clues
Act 3: Falling into place
Act 4: Who done it?
Closing Act: What are friends for

Intro: Hearths Warming is Near

INTRO

Hearths Warming: a time when ponies and other creatures celebrate the joy, the love, the friendship being spread, though some seemed to enjoy the receiving of gifts more than others.

Of course, it was still several days away, and many ponies were getting ready-- all were busy decorating, wrapping gifts, some were making donations to charities.

Twilight and Starlight were especially gathering donations to help feed homeless and poor ponies.

“Thank you for your donations!” Twilight said “Remember, helping other ponies at the holidays is a real act of friendship, and that’s what Hearths Warming is all for.”

Starlight was keeping the books, and she was impressed. “With all this money we’re raising, there may not be a single poor pony left when we’re through.”

Rather than helping them out, Spike was out shopping with Rarity at the outdoor market; helping her get fabrics and new sewing material she needed for her holiday lineup of clothing and outfits.

Spike was overloaded again, carrying huge piles of fabrics. So many that it was hard for him to see where he was going.

“Oh, Spike, it is so darling of you to help me with my errands.”

Spike chuckled while trying to maintain balance, “Anything for you, Rarity.”

Rarity then gasped at the new sheets of fabrics that lay before her. “Oh, my…! Look at this beautiful shade!”

“Uh-oh!” groaned Spike, and before he knew it, Rarity was smothering the new fabric and loading it into bundles atop the already huge pile, and one of which flopped right over his eyes.

“Hey! I can’t see!” he groaned, and now he was stumbling around trying to figure out where he was.

In his stumbling, he bumped into some-pony else, and all of Rarity’s fabrics went flying through the air.

“Spike!!” cried Rarity, “My fabrics!!”

Luckily, the pony Spike bumped into happened to be a unicorn, with a pink coat, and a blonde mane, with a cuitemark of a lipstick tube, and she used her magic to quickly levitate the fabrics in midair, and folded them neatly into a stack and set them on the table near her.

“Oh, thank you ever so much!” Rarity panted as she looked her fabrics over, while completely ignoring Spike.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” he muttered.

“Your welcome.” replied the unicorn.

Suddenly, Rarity recognized who this pony way, “Lip Smear? Is it really you?!”

Lip Smear then recognized her. “Rarity…! Why, it’s been such a long time!”

The ponies shared a warm hug, and Spike got up brushing the snow off his head. “Who’s this?” Spike asked.

“Oh, forgive me,” said Rarity “This is Lip Smear, she and I were old friends in Pony Pre-school, before she moved away to Canterlot to start her cosmetics business.”

“Hello.” she said politely to Spike.

Spike shook her hoof in his claw. “Sorry to have bumped into you.”

“It’s alright,” replied Lip “I’ve bumped into many it seems, what with the holidays around.”

“I must ask,” said Rarity “What brings you here to Ponyville. I thought you were still in Canterlot?”

“Oh, I’ve branched out. I’m here for the grand opening of my newest store outlet in Ponyville, which is my Hearths Warming gift to the community.”

“Oh, my dear!” cried Rarity “That is simply delightful. I must see it when you open for business.”

Lip giggled and promised her a front row place.

“Sorry to dash off. I have an errand to run and then I’m meeting up my new cold-friend.”

“Oh, you have a colt-friend too?”

Lip sighed “The handsomest pony there could ever be. You must meet him. Perhaps later we could have lunch together.”

Naturally, Rarity agreed and couldn’t wait to meet this “Handsomest Pony”

The ladies bid their goodbyes and Lip went off.

“Gee. Seems like a nice pony.” said Spike.

Rarity sighed, and soon she and Spike were on their way back with bags full of Rarity’s purchases, and at least this time Rarity carried some of the bags herself, strapped to her back, while Spike only carrier three bags at once, which he was able to lift while flying.

“Oh, I simply must make Lip Smear a scarf for Hearths Warming. Oh, not just any scarf, of course, but one simply dazzling; that says “Welcome back old friend, and congratulations on your success.”

“I’m sure she’ll love it,” agreed Spike “Especially if you made it from the heart.”

She smiled at him lovingly.

Then suddenly they both ran into Pinkie Pie, or rather she approached them throwing snow like confetti and shouting, “HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!” and she handed her friends each a candy cane.

…That teensy bit of extra weight made Spike drop down to the ground. “Happy Holidays to you, Pinkie.” he replied.

Pinkie sighed heavenly. “Don’t you just love this time of year? …The smiles, the joy, the friendliness, the PAAAAAAAARTIES!!”

She picked up more snow, throwing it up high and catching the flakes on her tongue as they fell, and she giggled at the coolness.

“Nope, I dare say nothing can go wrong at all.”

Then she bounced off merrily, wishing every-pony in-sight “Happy Hearths Warming!”

Soon, Spike and Rarity reached Carousel boutique and were unloaded all the supplies. When suddenly there was a knock at the door.

“Spike, would be a dear and…”

“At your service…!” Spike quickly said as he dashed for the door.

He fluttered up to the knob and opened it to find some purple Earth Pony with a brown mane and a cutiemark resembling that of a moving dolly, slammed a big box of things down before him and said. “Here’s the rest of your stuff.”

Spike was confused, “Um… excuse me? What is this?”

Now the other pony was confused, “What are you talking about? I was sent to give you this stuff--” she stopped when she checked her clipboard, “Oh, wait…!” and then she checked the numbers on the side of the house. “Oh, moving morons, I did it again. I got the wrong address. This stuff is supposed to go to the house down there at the corner of the street.

Sorry about that.”

“No problem.” said Spike.

The pony grabbed the box and placed it back on the dolly, but before going off she gave Spike her card. “If you ever need things moved, I’m the pony to call.

See ya.”

Then she was gone, and Spike read the card: “Shifty’s movers: For all your moving needs.”

“Whoever was that?” asked Rarity.

“Just some mover who got the wrong address.” replied Spike.

Then he shut the door and went back to helping Rarity.

Act 1: Mysterious Murder

ACT ONE

Once Rarity was all settled in and could get to work on her line of Hearths Warming wear, she couldn’t thank enough.

“You’ve been a dear help to me, Spikey Wikey.” And she pecked him sweetly on the cheek making him blush and nearly swoon.

“Are you sure I can’t help you with anything else?” he asked.

“Oh, no, I can manage this quite fine. Thank you.”

With nothing left to really be done, Spike headed outside to get on his way back to Twilight.

As he left the yard, he looked across the street and noticed Lip Smear standing at a house a few ways down from Rarity’s shop.

She was knocking at the door, but there was no answer.

He also noticed that big box of stuff that Shifty the mover had mistakenly given to Rarity’s a while ago just sitting outside by the door, right where Lip was standing.

When Lip didn’t get any answer, Spike saw her levitate a small key out of her saddle-bag, which unlocked the door to the house and she just waltzed right in, taking the box of stuff with her.

Spike shrugged it off, and he went on his way.

By day’s end and the sun began to set, the streets were all lit up with lights on strings from the lampposts and all over ponies homes.

Twilight, Starlight and Spike were all walking together, heading back to the Castle of Friendship, with large sacks of bits they had collected from their charity.

“We really outdid ourselves this time.” said Starlight.

“I’ll say you have.” agreed Spike as he struggled to keep his lift while carrying a smaller, but heavy sack of coins, and he was really getting tired from all the lifting he had done with Rarity that day. So tired, that he collapsed in the snow, and Twilight levitated him onto her back and his sack of gold as well.

“I think you did well too, Spike. It’s nice to see so many helping others for the holidays around here.”

Just then, Applejack came along, hauling a big load of apples in her wagon.

“Happy Hearths Warming, y’all.” she called to her friends, and she tossed them each an apple.

“I thought apples couldn’t grow in the winter?” asked Starlight.

Applejack chuckled, “Well not naturally in the outdoors, but we got a special technique to keep our stock good to last us until growing season.”

She explained how she and her family had built a special underground grove, where they planted special apple trees from specially imported seeds from Canterlot. These seeds didn’t require any sunlight and could get by with artificial lighting from ordinary light bulbs, but they still needed watering and care.

These trees could grow and sprout apples just as well as ordinary trees.

“That sounds… kind of neat.” said Twilight “Almost like a magical breakthrough.”

Spike ate his apple rather quickly, “Mmm… tastes great. Almost like a regular apple.”

Applejack smirked at him.

Suddenly, there was a scream heard from down the street.

Rarity poked her head out her front door, recognizing the voice. “That’s Lip Smear’s voice!”

Lip then poked her head out of the house calling for help! “Murder!!” she shouted “There’s been a murder!!”

The others all gasped and dashed over to the house, and ran inside.

Applejack shivered, “Why is it so cold in here?” she wondered, but that wasn’t important now.

Everyone found Lip in tears and trembling in horror.

“In there!” she cried pointing into the next room “He’s on the floor! He’s dead!”

Twilight dashed into the next room, and gasped in horror at what she saw…!

A light blue Pegasi with a short navy blue mane, and a cutiemark of a calculator, lying dead on the floor, surrounded by a puddle of his blood from a big butcher knife stabbed into his side, and next to him laid a pair of thick framed glasses, and its lenses were shattered, and his wings, they looked clipped of a few primary flight feathers.

Next to him, a small table was tipped over table, with important looking papers all around.

Rarity could not believe her eyes and simply fainted.

Spike just stood where he was gawking with wide eyes and soft, stressful breathing. This was so incredible frightening.

Applejack quickly comforted him.

Just looking at the body was enough to tell everyone that this pony had been murdered.

“We better get the police.” said Starlight “There could be a killer on the loose!”

Twilight agreed, and let her run off, while she helped Lip Smear sit down trying to comfort the terrified pony.

“Numeral!” she sobbed.

“Did you know him?”

“Yes, I… I did… but I…” Lip just couldn’t finish. She was overly devastated.

Soon the police had arrived and examined the body.

Everyone was told to remain in the room for questioning by the captain.

“And you’re all saying you just came in here and found him like this?” he asked.

“It’s true...” said Twilight “We were all outside when we heard Lip Smear scream, and we rushed over when she called out murder.”

Lip Smear needed a hankie, and she kept one in her purse which she had brought with her, and she pulled it out to dab her eyes, out fell a light blue feather.

“What’s that?” asked Spike.

The others, including the captain saw the feather, and saw that it was identical to Numeral’s feathers, but this feather had a spot of blood on it!

The Captain didn’t like the looks of this one bit.

“Can you explain how this ended up in your purse?”

Lip was confused, “No, I don’t how it got there. I packed my purse this morning, it wasn’t there.”

“Do you have a witness who can vouch for you?”

“Yes, my colt-friend.”

As the captain continued to interrogate her, Spike didn’t think it was fair that he was just throwing all those questions at her when she was so upset.

“Can’t you do something, Twilight?” he asked.

Twilight shook her head. “I can’t, this is for the police to decide, not us.”

“Well, I don’t see why we have to be here.” said Applejack “We had nothing to do with all this.”

Rarity, who had recovered from her faint, had been looking all around the room, and noting the clues so far, as well as listening to what the cops were saying as they examined the body.

“We can’t find any hoofmarks on the knife.”

“Some-pony must’ve levitated it and then stabbed him while he wasn’t looking.”

Rarity found that to be quite odd.

Another cop had come from the bedroom with a bag full of clipped feathers from Numeral’s wing, which he had found scattered all over the room, but not one of them was drenched in blood.

The house was also starting to warm up a bit too.

“The window was open a crack.” the cop said “That cold air was blowing in here like a hurricane draft.”

Rarity gasped softly.

“Hey!” cried another cop “I found something else!”

He held up a pair of tweezers clutching what appeared to be a thread of blonde hair, which he found right by the knife in the victims’ side, and the only two ponies with blonde manes in the room were Applejack and Lip, and since Applejack had only just come into the house a while back, thereby disproving her, that left only Lip as labeled.

The police all gawked at her with deep concern.

“Wait! You don’t think that I did this do you?” Lip asked.

Even Twilight and friends were shocked to hear of this, but there was nothing they could do.

“Well,” said the captain “We can’t really prove it officially, but this hair and that feather from your purse, I’m afraid we can’t let you leave until we’ve examined more.”

Lip felt sick to her stomach.

Spike then remembered, “I saw you… I saw you with a key to this place, and you just waltzed right in carrying the box that was outside.”

This only incriminated Lip even more as a suspect.

The captain then asked her, “How did you have a key to this residence?”

Lip confessed, “Numeral is my ex-colt friend.”

Everyone gasped including Rarity.

“You dated with him.”

“Yes.” replied Lip “We broke up just last week, I found his stuff in the box outside the door.”

“Wait…” said Rarity “This stuff that was dropped by was his stuff?”

Lip nodded tearfully, “I sent for Shifty’s moving service to send it here, and when I found it was still outside I decided to come in, and I just found Numeral dead.”

The captain and his men didn’t find this too convincing, and with no witnesses to confirm this since no one had seen her inside the premises, it was looking really bad for her.

“I didn’t do it!” cried Lip “Why would I kill him? Why would any-pony want to kill him?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out.” replied the captain “Until we do, and with all that we’ve found, I’m afraid we’re going to hold you under close arrested.”

She was told to sit down and one of the cops kept a sharp eye on her.

Starlight thought she looked so miserable, and wanted to go over and at least comfort her.

“Sorry, no talking to the suspect.” said the cop.

Rarity’s inner voice began to speak in narration as things seemed to go black and white around her.

“This was starting to look more and more confusing by the minute. It was reminding me of that novel I read of Shadow Spade and the mysterious murder at midnight.

If this case was going to be cracked, I knew there needed some serious sleuthing around here.

I only wished that I had my fedora and my trench coat with me.”

She looked around in the bedroom and just her luck, there was a trench coat hanging on a rack, which obviously belonged to Numeral, and atop the rack was a fedora hat which also obviously belonged to him.

“Well, better than nothing I suppose.” she said to herself, and she donned the clothes.

Spike came into the room and saw her. “Rarity, what are you doing?”

Rarity, fully clothed, tipped the hat atop her head, “…I’m on the case. That’s what I’m doing. “Detective Rarity and the Murder of Hearths Warming”

Spike blinked in shock, “Um… okay then.”

Act 2: Questions and Clues

ACT TWO

The dead body was being removed, and taken in for an immediate autopsy to see how bad things were for Numeral.

Meanwhile, the floor was marked in tape where he lay, and every-pony was still asked by the police to not leave the premises until the case was fully cracked.

Lip was still the primary suspect, and still detained under watch of the officers.

Applejack was getting really bored and yawned from being stuck here for what felt like forever. “I should’ve back at the farm by now to help with decorating.”

“Applejack!” snapped Starlight “How can you be thinking about that at a time like this when some pony just got killed?”

“I’m not trying to sound selfish and all that,” argued Applejack “But there’s nothing we can do about it. We know we didn’t do it, and yet we’re being kept here like potential suspects, and my family is going to be worried sick.”

“I know it’s frustrating, Applejack.” said Twilight “But until everything is cleared up we have to stay here.

Besides, I’d like to know the answer to this mystery myself.”

Suddenly, the lights went out, and Rarity, in her detective garbs stepped forth from the bedroom.

“I, too, seek the answer to that, dear Twilight, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

The lights went back on a split second later, as one of the cops bashfully admitted, “Sorry, I leaned on the switch.”

The captain then spoke to Rarity. “Look lady, this is official police business. It’s cool you want to help, but I think we got this, so just stay out of the way.”

Rarity huffed, “You may think you have it, that your prime suspect is right there,” she motioned at Lip Smear, “But I think this jigsaw is missing a few pieces.”

The captain rolled his eyes and again asked her, “Just stay out of this.”

Rarity went into deep narration.

“I wasn’t about to let some rude, yet rather handsome, police pony tell me what to do. I knew the first thing I needed were clues, and I knew just where to start looking…!”

She considered the knife in the victim’s side, and how it was said there were no hoofmarks on it, yet a piece of Lip’s mane was found near the handle, and suggested that only a unicorn could use magic to lift the knife and stab Numeral with it.

“I knew Lip Smear better than that from our childhoods, but I still had to consider her a suspect as well, seeing as all the evidence was still pointing at her, what with the thread of hair, and the bloody feather that fell from her purse.”

Just then a dashing young pony entered the home. He was buff yellow unicorn with a brownish orange mane, and his cutiemark consisted of a sweatband.

Rarity took one look at him, and felt herself going all soft and warm inside.

Twilight, Starlight and Applejack felt the same way.

Lip looked up at him, “Steel Hoof.”

“Who’s he?” asked Spike.

“I’ve heard of him.” said Twilight “He owns a workout center here in Ponyville. One of the best bodybuilders there is.”

Steel looked her way and gave her a sharp wink, “You know it.”

Twilight blushed.

The captain then approached him. “Who let you pass into here?”

Steel just gave him a strict look, “I heard that Lip Smear was here, and I also heard of the murder and I wanted to know if she was okay for myself. You got a problem with that!”

The captain felt a little nervous, due to the mountain of muscles staring at him.

“It’s okay.” said Lip “Let him pass.”

Rarity caught on instantly. “Wait, is he your new colt-friend?”

Lip nodded “We started dating a week ago, but a week after I broke up with Numeral.”

Steel nodded, and motioned at a small wound on his hind leg, “That kid was just crazy jealous. He couldn’t accept the fact that it was over and he blamed for it, and he threw a rock at my leg a few days ago as we were passing by on a date.

I got back at him though.

I picked him right up by his collar and warned him never to do that again, and stay away from Lip, or I’d teach him a lesson he’d never forget.”

Every eye the room was gawking at him.

“Hey, hey, I didn’t kill him! I threatened him but I didn’t do it. I was shocked when I found out he did and I was worried about Lip.”

He tried to comfort her, but the officer wouldn’t let him near.

“What do you mean she’s under suspicion?”

While the officers told him of the story, and Steel looked raging mad.

Rarity contemplated about his temper. She too had heard of Steel Hoof, and like most typical body builders, they were prone to angry outbursts, that didn’t really make truly the murder, but she now considered him a suspect.

“I’d like to ask you a question.” she said to him “Have you any other friends?”

Steel blinked once. “Yeah, I’m part of a whole body-building squad. We don’t just help ponies at the gym, we go around helping others, like when we see bad guys, stalkers, or all that stuff, we make sure they learn their lesson to lay off, although sometimes we may go a tad overboard.”

Starlight bolted upright, “You mean you’d actually beat them up?”

Now Lip looked a bit livid, and Steel looked a little nervous, “Well, some of them do, but I’m not one of them.”

The police seriously believed he was hiding something important.

“Tell me,” asked Rarity “Did any of your other friends have a rather, bad thing, for Numeral?”

“Hey!” snapped the captain “I told you to stay out of this. I’ll ask the questions.” and he repeated the question exactly, which annoyed Rarity.

Steel answered, “Well, one of my buddies blamed him for the loss of his bank investment.”

Rarity then started looking at the papers that were still on the floor and realized they were bank accounts, which were all on the verge of decline.

“So he was an accountant?” asked Rarity.

Lip confirmed, “Yes, he was the best with numbers, especially in college. That’s where we met, and dated ever since, for a whole year.”

“Yeah, but he screwed up, big time.” added Steel “He was in charge of my friend’s account and the accounts of others, and then a few days ago he really screwed up the forms, messed a lot of accounts.”

Rarity looked at the accounts, and noticed another paper was a notice of dismissal from the bank itself.

She went into narration again.

“He had broken up with Lip Smear, he was threatened to stay away from her, and now I learned Numeral had lost his job.

This case was finally starting to mount up in evidence, and yet it seemed it was just twisting and turning more directions.”

“One more question,” said Rarity, but the captain stepped up to her. “I thought I told you to stay out of our business!”

“Hey!” snapped Applejack “Rarity’s just trying to help. Don’t you go talking to her that way!”

The captain looked ready to blow his top, but Steel stepped in, “I don’t mind being asked. So let the lady talk.”

Rarity held her muzzle up high, “Thank you.

As I was asking: did your friend feel enraged at Numeral?”

“Oh, did he ever. He kept on going about saying “I’ll kill him! He’s ruined everything for me!”

Even the captain was shocked to hear that.

“But don’t think wrong,” said Steel “He didn’t kill him. I would’ve known, and he wasn’t the only one who had it in for him.

There were tons of ponies that were plenty mad with him. You couldn’t seem walk down the street the past few days and see any-pony throw a snowball at him.”

Lip looked shocked.

“Well that’s not very nice.” said Spike “He just made a mistake. He could’ve fixed it.”

“Spike,” said Twilight “A banker’s responsibility is to maintain the money and accounts of all their clients. If things go wrong on their end, they’re liable to any faults and problems they’ve caused.”

Spike blinked his eyes in confusion.

“What she means is,” said Starlight “Numeral could have caused a lot of ponies lives to be turned upside-down with his mistakes in the figures. He put everyone in danger, so they’d all naturally be mad at him and scorn him.

Though, I agree, it is a little too harsh to throw snowballs at him.”

Spike understood now, but Lip didn’t. “Numeral was so great with numbers. He could do it all, even calculate the perfect trajectory of things for science. Why would he mess up at his own job?”

Rarity scratched her chin and went into narration again.

“Why would he mess up? That was something I’d like to know myself. All the questioning wouldn’t help me anymore at this point.”

As she set her hoof back down on the floor, she felt something funny.

She looked down at what had to be a single tiny seed, and she levitated it up high to look at it closely.

“I knew I had seen a seed like this from someplace before, but from what I couldn’t think of right then.

Time was running out, and if I didn’t crack this case soon, poor Lip Smear would most likely be hauled off to jail.”

Act 3: Falling into place

ACT THREE

The captain was starting to feel convinced that this was an open-and-shut case, but he kept on asking questions to Lip and Steel.

“You say you can vouch for her, that this bloody feather was never in her purse?” he asked to Steel.

“Positive.” answered Steel “We went on a lunch date and she dropped her purse. Everything fell out and that feather was not in there.”

The captain bought that, but he was still not convinced. “Still, you went out to lunch, and then Lip Smear came to this place in late afternoon, which had to have been after your date, and she did have a key to this house, and the feather was found in her purse sometime after she came in here.”

Lip could hardly bring herself to answer under all this stress and pressure, but still insisted “I don’t know how that feather got in my purse.”

“I’m sorry,” said the captain “But we still have evidence of your hair being found by the murder weapon, and you being a unicorn, you could still have stabbed your ex colt-friend using magic, without having to touch the knife.”

“I didn’t do it!”

“Stop it!” snapped Steel “You’re upsetting her!”

“I’m just doing my job here. If we can’t disprove this evidence, she’ll have to come to the station.”

Rarity sat down to contemplate the clues and evidence so far, when suddenly she felt something lumpy hit her.

“Oh! What’s this?”

She reached down between the cushions and pulled out a half-eaten apple, with its core exposed, and it looked a little rotted as if had been eaten recently and was just left there, and yet somehow it found its way into the sofa.

Rarity then realized, “The seed…”

She levitated it out of her pocket and confirmed it had come from the apple core.

“What’s that you got there?” asked one of the cops.

“Oh, I just found it in the sofa.”

The cop was at first grossed out by it, and didn’t seem to regard it as much of anything, but suddenly another cop burst into the home calling for the captain.

“There’s been a report on the autopsy of the deceased.”

“What could they want?” asked the captain “We already know how he died; a knife wedged in his side.”

“There’s more to it, I’m afraid.”

Everybody in the room turned his way, and were shocked we he explained, “…There was a small amount of a lethal toxin in his bloodstream.”

“Are you sure of this?”

“We are, and get this, it had to have been ingested somehow, and they found traces of apple still on the victim’s teeth, as well as traces of the poison.”

“Apple?!” cried Rarity.

“Poison?!” yelped Applejack.

The cop then snatched the apple from Rarity and showed it to his colleagues, which they saved as evidence.

Rarity went into narration.

“Unbelievable. This could only mean one thing: Whoever the assassin was had obviously poisoned Numeral and allowed the poison to run its course, and then stabbed him with the knife so he would lose blood, and therefore, if anyone had discovered him, it would be too late to help.”

“We checked the kitchen.” said another cop. “There aren’t any other apples anywhere. That’s the only one in the house.”

The captain then remembered Applejack.

“You there… Weren’t you hauling a load of apples around?”

“Eeyup, and I did bring an apple to this house earlier.” Suddenly, Applejack’s features hardened, “Wait just a hog’s back, here! Are you suggesting that I tried to poison him? No one’s ever been poisoned from the Apple Family’s apples!”

Twilight intervened. “My friends and I can vouch. We had apples from her cart today, and they were delicious.”

Spike and Starlight nodded.

“I bet other ponies ate their apples, and none of they felt sick.” said Starlight.

“But then why was that apple poison?” wondered Spike.

Rarity went into narration again.

“Spike was onto something big. Why was that apple from Applejack’s cart lethal, and more importantly, if it was meant to poison and kill Numeral, what was it doing buried in the couch?

Surely, anyone trying to kill another would do the smart thing and hide any trace of evidence.

This called for further investigation!”

She went off towards the kitchen, leaving the captain to label Applejack as another potential suspect.

Applejack was furious. “I’m telling you, there was nothing wrong with my apples! I washed them myself before I loaded them and gave them away.”

“I’m sorry,” said the captain “But the fact is, this apple here is poisoned, we want to know how you got it, and why you gave it to Numeral.

I’m just doing my job!”

Applejack could only sigh.

“I’m really starting to not like this guy!” Spike whispered, and Twilight and Starlight agreed.

Rarity searched the kitchen. She looked high, and she looked low, and found some evidence to disprove Lip’s guilt.

“Rarity, what are you looking for in here?” Twilight asked.

“Aha!” snapped Rarity, “Just as I thought. There is a butcher knife missing from this knife holder on the counter.”

Twilight realized that too. “It’s the knife that was used to kill Numeral with.”

“Yes,” agreed Rarity, “But that’s not all. Do you see this?” She held up a single oven mitt.

“Uh, it’s an oven mitten.”

“Precisely, but where is its match? That’s what I’d like to know, and also, why can’t I find any hairs around here?”

Twilight rolled her eyes back and forth trying to figure out what Rarity was trying to get at, and she just cut her losses and backed away.

Rarity went into narration.

“It was starting to come together. I now had some proof that Lip Smear couldn’t be the culprit, but I doubted very much that loudmouthed captain would be interested.

As for Applejack, I know for a fact she would never sell poisoned apples.

It was then I knew there could only be one other explanation.

It was time I visited the victim’s bed chamber.”

She searched Numeral’s bedroom. She remembered one of the cops had come out with a bag of blue feathers clipped from Numeral’s wings, suggesting maybe he hadn’t gathered them all.

Rarity then spotted one behind the dresser, but wondered how it got there.

She also noticed a picture frame was tucked behind the dresser as well, and shards of broken glass that cops had somehow missed.

She examined the picture which appeared to be a younger version of Numeral and two other ponies. One of which had to be his father, but the second pony turned out to be none other than Shifty, the mover.

She had the same coat, same mane, and the same cutie mark.

Then she could see out the window, Shifty was passing by down the street. She opened the window and called to her, “Excuse me, Shifty. I’d like a word with you.”

Shifty turned to face her, and Rarity noticed her eyes had red-rims, and the tear streaks gave more of it away too.

“What do you want? Can’t you see I’m upset? I just lost my brother!”

“You mean, Numeral was your brother?”

Shifty nodded, “I thought I knew him well, and so did our father. He ran the moving business before I took over.

We wanted him to follow in our family business, but he chose numbers and math over us, so our father disowned him, and wanted nothing to do with him anymore.”

Rarity found that to be most shocking.

“And then things got even worse!” cried Shifty “He messed up bad at the bank, and nearly bankrupted the company because he filed the papers wrong, and he wrote him a letter saying…

“You’re dead to me! Even more dead than your dead mother! I’m just thankful she’s not here to see what a disgrace you’ve become.”

Rarity gasped hard, and at that moment a soft breeze blew through the window, blowing the feather Rarity had found through the air, and sent it landing in a waste bin in the corner.

“Is there a draft in here?” someone called from the outside room.

Rarity shut the window and realized the draft.

She moved over to the garbage bin where the feather had landed, but that wasn’t the only thing she had found.

There were envelopes dated from several days ago in the bin, as well as a tiny box with an engagement ring inside it.

Rarity gasped at how beautiful the diamond ring was, and what it was doing in the trash was obvious by what was underneath it…

…A photo album, with many pictures of Numeral and Lip Smear. All the good times they had, they seemed like such a perfect couple. So romantic, so lovely!

Yet, Lip was with Steel Hoof, and one of the letters was addressed to Numeral from her, announcing her wish to break up with him.

The letter read…

“Numeral, I’m sorry to have to do this to you, especially before the holidays, but I’m afraid that I must leave you now. I can’t tell you why.

We’ve had amazing times together, and you’ve been so sweet, but I doing this for a reason.

I wish you the best of luck.

…Lip Smear.”

Reading that letter made Rarity’s heart felt heavy, and she was breathing stressfully.

She read the second letter, which was from Numeral’s father, and just as Shifty promised; it was full of heartlessness, slandering, and cruelty!

“Hope you’re finally proud of yourself, you good-nothing excuse of a son!

No, I take that back…

It’s bad enough you ignore the family pride and business, and it’s even worse you prefer to be a geeky nerd, but what really peeves me, is the fact that you wreck my company’s bank stock, and endanger others’ lives because you didn’t know how to add right!

If your mother was still alive, I’d shame her silly for ever having you!

Stay out of my life! Don’t reference me, because as I’m concerned, you just a mistake!”

Rarity felt really hot now under all the pressure of the stress. So hot that’s she felt she actually needed to open the window and let some cool air flash on her.

But as she laid her hoofs on the window to open it, a mighty thought had struck her, and she began to think about something else…

…The body!

It was found lying on the floor, near the sofa, and the table next to it was tipped over, while the knife was perfectly struck hard into Numeral’s side.

The poisoned apple found buried inside the sofa, and a seed on the floor.

The feather, the hair, the other clipped feathers, the oven-mitt in the kitchen.

She only had one last thing to check to ensure her theory.

While outside, the captain felt they were wasting time now just sitting around.

“All right your three,” he said to Lip, Steel, and Applejack, “You’re all going to have to come down to the station. You three are still the three primary suspects, and we’re going have to question you better at the station.

“No!” snapped Lip “I won’t go! I didn’t do this!”

“That goes double for me!” added Steel.

Applejack’s friends were horrified.

“You can’t just take her to the station!” cried Spike “Twilight, Starlight, do something!”

“There’s nothing we can really do, Spike,” Twilight said sadly.

Starlight felt ready to kick over a table. “If only we knew who really did it!”

Applejack felt on the verge of tears, but she sucked it up and bravely agreed to come quietly.

“Applejack, you can’t!” cried Spike “We know you’re innocent! They can’t just take you!”

The captain intervened, “We can, and we will. Sorry, but we’re just following procedure.”

“It’ll be alright.” said Applejack “In the meantime, do me a favor, don’t tell my family what’s happening. I really don’t want their Hearths Warming ruined and full of worry.”

Rarity suddenly burst into the room, and shouted, “That will not happen, Applejack.

…I’ve solved this mystery!”

Act 4: Who done it?

ACT FOUR

The captain was in complete disbelief. “You… solved the mystery? …You?”

He began to chuckle, “I’m sorry, but you got to be kidding. We already have our prime suspects and all the evidence we need.

Let’s go.”

The suspects were being escorted out the door by the group of cops.

“Wait a minute!” snapped Twilight “If Rarity has some more evidence that will help in this case, it would be immoral not to hear her out.”

The captain wanted to protest, but one of his men said to him, “She’s got a point sir.”

The captain grumbled and rolled his eyes. Then he turned to Rarity and said “Okay, start talking. Who did it? Which of these suspects killed Numeral?”

Rarity looked back and forth and made certain that everyone on the room gave her their undivided attention.

“…They ALL are responsible!”

Everyone gasped in horror.

“Um… I must have a chunk of snow wedged in my ear.” said Applejack “You said… WE ALL are responsible?”

“That is what I said.” replied Rarity “I shall explain…”

She began pacing the room going over the facts…

“We first believed that Numeral had been stabbed with the knife in his side, and we know that Lip Smear is the only one to have entered this house at the possible time of the murder, because she had a key.

Spike claimed to have seen her enter the place at mid-afternoon, which led to our next clue: the feathers clipped from Numeral’s wings, some of which were covered in blood of the victim, and one of which was found in Lip Smear’s purse.

This instantly labeled Lip Smear as the primary suspect, and being a cosmetologist, she would have a fine knowledge in clipping feathers, and given that she screamed and called out on the murder at sundown, this only pointed the hoof on her all the more.”

Lip was starting to look hot and sweaty with worry.

“What’s your point?” asked the captain.

Rarity glared at him annoyed, “When you investigated Lip’s purse, did you happen to notice something that was not there-- say a pair of scissors for grooming?”

The captain gasped. “That’s right. She would have had a pair of scissors if she had done the clipping herself.”

“Exactly!” said Rarity “Although, even had she any scissors, why would she even want to groom a pegasi’s wings, especially in such a way she knew that would render the pony incapable of flight?

Furthermore: since she screamed and discovered the body in this room at sundown, which would be at least three hours after entering the house; doesn’t that seem a rather long time for such a simple procedure to occur?

I myself have seen pegasi have their entire wings groomed and clipped in less than thirty minutes, but three hours?!”

Now the captain as starting to feel different about his initial thoughts of the case, and he turned to Lip Smear. “If you came into this house, then why did it take you three hours to discover the body?”

“I told you before!” protested Lip “When Numeral didn’t answer the door when I knocked, I figured he was out, and since I had a key to this place from when we were dating I figured I’d let myself in to return his things to him.

I also knew that he was having a hard time from our breakup when Steel told me he had threatened him to stay away from me.

So I decided to stay here in the foyer, and wait for Numeral to come home so I could try and talk this out with him.

I got bored of waiting and waiting and I wanted to get a drink from the kitchen, and that’s when discovered the body!

You didn’t believe me!”

The captain felt embarrassed, and ashamed, but then he snapped, “Well that doesn’t explain why a piece of your hair was found on the murder weapon.”

“Which is my next point.” said Rarity “The knife in Numeral’s side was found to have no hoofmarks, indicating that it could have been levitated by a unicorn, but I doubt very much it was Lip who did it, seeing as said knife had come from the kitchen, where Lip claimed she intended to, but never set foot in, making it also improbable for her to levitate the knife from a distance and angle to use it.

Then, there is something else I remembered which every-pony noticed upon entering, but no-pony has complained about or questioned since…

…the cold temperature in this house!”

Everyone did remember the cold upon entering the house, and then remembered that the bedroom window was open.

Rarity continued to explain, “Seeing as there were no signs of footprints in the snow, and the window was locked and could only be opened from inside, the only one who could have possibly opened said window, was said victim!”

“So Numerial opened the window?” asked Twilight.

“Why would he do that?” added Spike “It’s so cold out. No pony opens their windows in the wintertime.”

“Precisely Spike.” said Rarity “Which led me to the fact that Lip was in this house all the time and never felt the draft come into the room because of her winter garbs which she had never removed upon entering the house.”

Lip realized all this. With her scarf and her coat on she never really felt all that cold. “I only felt a slight chill, but I thought it was because I was standing in the foyer which is always coldest at this time of year.”

Rarity nodded, and then moved back towards the suspects.

“Of course, there is still another matter; that of the poisoned apple-- the one that Applejack had brought here this morning.”

Applejack blinked once “But I already said I didn’t poison it.”

“Exactly, and I believe you.” replied Rarity “Never once in the history of the Apple Family has there ever been such a case. Perhaps a few rotten or bruised apples, but never a case involving an apple tainted with poison.

Yet, results of the autopsy proved, that the poison was ingested, and there were traces of apple in the victim’s teeth, which lead me to discover the seed on the floor, and the apple wedged within the sofa cushions.

Applejack obviously never set foot in this house, and therefore the apple had to have been clean and pure when she had given it to Numeral, further evidenced by the fact she had been delivering gift apples all around town, and those who had consumed them never felt ill in the least.”

“Well, then why is Applejack still labeled as guilty of committing the murder?” asked Starlight.

“That’s what I’d like to know.” added Applejack.

Even the captain was growing tense and sneered at Rarity, “Can you just get to the point already?!”

“Hold on!” shouted Rarity “There’s still our third suspect: Steel Hoof!”

Steel grunted softly.

“He was dating with Lip Smear, and he had threatened Numeral to stay away from her, and the fact that he had the injury on his leg from Numeral throwing a rock at him was quite the giveaway…

…Numeral was jealous that you were seen with his ex-mare-friend, and naturally, he would confront you for being a homewrecker!”

“That’s outrageous!” snarled Steel “I didn’t steal her away! I’m no homewrecker!”

“I never said that you were!” protested Rarity “I only said that Numeral believed you to be of one, but there was also another clue I discovered in the bedroom, or rather an entire set of clues!”

She slammed down the things she found in the trash-- the letters, the ring, and the photo album.

“I can’t believe we missed these!” cried the captain, and he looked crossly at his team, and they all admitted that they had searched the trash but they didn’t consider the items they saw as evidence in a case like this, what with this initially seeming so evident.

Lip looked at the photos, and then at the ring and put it all together, which made her eyes fill with tears.

Steel read her letter to Numeral out-loud, and he like all the others were most deeply shocked.

“You seemed like the perfect couple, and you wrote him a breakup letter?” asked Twilight in utter disbelief.

“And he was going to propose to you as well!” added Starlight.

Lip shut her eyes tight, but her tears continued to fall through, and she finally confessed.

“Numeral was the sweetest and greatest pony I ever knew.

After Pony Pre-School, I moved from Ponville to Canterlot with my folks, hoping I could get the education that I needed.

Numeral and I met a month before we both graduated college. At first I was repulsed by his nerdy appearance, but he helped me while I was struggling in business class. He helped me with my numbers and my math so that I could succeed in my goal to open a chain of cosmetic outlets.

He wasn’t a nerd, he was a prince. He was so kind and loyal, and we grew closer and closer after graduation, and he became an accountant and helped me to start my business with his superb skills.

We both planned to move to Ponyville where I could branch out more.

So he came here first, to set up his own office, and buy this house for us both and furnished it. Then I would join him this month, and we’d start our lives together.”

Everyone felt extremely hurt now hearing that, and also confused and angered.

“You knew he would propose to you!” said Twilight.

Lip nodded with extreme guilt and shame.

Then Steel asked, “If you loved him that much then why did you break up with him and started dating me?”

Lip couldn’t seem to bring herself to answer that, and she didn’t have to.

Rarity approached looking at her friend rather shamefully, “I believe I can answer that.

Lip Smear works in cosmetics, which is hardly different than how I work in fashion. Not only is it a business where good looks are top priority, but customers and fashion critiques expect nothing less than perfection!

From my own experiences while visiting Canterlot, I understand that many upper-crust or prestigious ponies are rather insulting and rude to those who do not made said level of perfection.

Some would even resort to gossiping and starting whole ways of discriminating against said ponies.”

She paused and admitted shamefully, “I myself have acted said way before while trying to boost or protect my own image. I unfortunately learned from this, but Lip on the other hand was worried of her reputation and her career being sullied, because her colt-friend, while regarded to her as a “Prince” on the inside, other ponies would never accept this and resort to taunting and hooting, which they obviously did…

Otherwise, Lip Smear would have no reason to break off with the love of her life and seek out a pony she knew would boost her image and protect her from humiliation.”

Everyone gazed at Rarity as if she were rambling like a mad pony, but Lip Smear’s silence, guilty expression and shaking could only confirm it true!

The longest, most sickening silence occurred as everyone gawked at her with shock, anger, and disappointment.

“You broke up with Numeral and dated Steel because Steel was better looking just to boost your image and further your career?!” said Spike.

Twilight looked at Lip with such shock, but she could find no words to even begin to describe how sick and cruel that was.

“I can’t believe you’d do such a thing!” shouted Applejack.

“He loved you, he helped you find your way in life, he bought you a home, and this is how you repay him, by running off with a better-looking pony?!”

Steel was just frozen where he stood, and he heard Numeral calling him “Homewrecker.” And attacking him again, it was no wonder he did all that!

“Steel…?” Lip said trying to approach him, but he backed away from her.

“Don’t come near me right now.” he said coldly “I may be good looking, but I got principles, and this is all just… it’s… Ugh!!”

He turned around clutching his head, “I don’t think I can look at you right now.”

Lip felt her heart aching even more, but more out of shame for herself.

“Wait a minute here!” shouted the captain “Look, I’m all for all this romance, breakup jazz, but what does any of this have to do with the murder?

How can Lip Smear, Steel Hoof and Applejack all be responsible.”

Rarity blinked twice with a naughty but serious smirk, “I said they were “Responsible” I didn’t say they actually carried it out.”

“What are you saying, Rarity?” asked Twilight.

Rarity tipped her hat and explained, “They plus a handful of other ponies are also responsible, but there is one other suspect you didn’t add to the list.”

Yet another moment of silence followed as everyone leaned in with anxiety.

“…Numeral himself!”

Everyone gasped.

“He murdered his own self?!” the captain asked “Oh, come on! He would never do such a thing!”

“Wrong!” shouted Rarity “He would indeed do as just as any pony probably would in his position.

Being crushed by the love of your life so abruptly and without explanation can be extremely painful!

I speak not from complete experience, but I know how it feels to be rejected by other ponies I have felt infatuated with! The feeling is so intense why I don’t even want to be seen for days, and I can’t think straight!

Imagine how upset Numeral must have been when he received that letter! His hopes, his dreams, his future, all shot down in one thunderous page of writing.

And from what I heard from his sister, Shifty, he was already under tremendous pressure by his family disowning him simply because he chose to follow his own path and be an accountant than a mover.

Why it wouldn’t surprise that the poor stallion obviously lost part of himself that day, he couldn’t possibly concentrate at his work with such sadness and pain coursing through him, and thereby he messed up with the accounts and caused more trouble, and rather than being given a chance to explain, other ponies would not listen to him and pelted him out of petty rage and threatened him.

Things only worsened when he confronted Steel for dating his former love!”

Steel cringed at his own guilt from all this.

Rarity went on saying, “Numeral came home, obviously in a fit of stress, pain and woe, and he felt overcome with a hotflash under the stress so he opened the window to try and cool down with the winter chill.

Finally, he received his letter of dismissal from his job for his mistakes. That was the final straw for an already washed up and heartbroken stallion.”

Rarity took a moment to dab her eyes with a tissue. The story was so heartbreaking that it was making her cry.

She got a hold of herself and went on saying, “He did the only thing any-pony could have done; he decided to cut his losses.”

She levitated out of her coat pocket a pair of scissors and a bottle of glass cleaner, used for cleaning he lenses of glasses, but marked as “Poisonous if ingested”

Rarity then unraveled how it all must have happened.

“He sprayed the apple that he had from Applejack with the cleaner, knowing the poison would kill him if he had taken in enough, but he took extra steps to ensure he would truly die; hence the butcher knife.

As we had discussed, there weren’t any hoofmarks on the handle of the knife, and it all made sense to me.

Numeral didn’t wish anyone to be incriminated, and labeled as a murder suspect, so he used the lone oven mitt that I found in the kitchen.

Then, as Lip Smear had told me, he was great with numbers and calculation. Numeral had placed the knife up right on the table next to the sofa, balancing it on the tip of the handle.

Finally, he had gone into his room to clip his wings of feathers, to ensure that he could not flutter his way out at the last second, which is why his bedroom was loaded with feathers.

He stood on the sofa, and began to eat his tainted apple, only managing to eat it halfway through as the poison began to burn at him from within, causing him to drop the apple where it fell into the sofa, and he himself keeled over at the right angle so he would fall onto the blade of the knife, impaling himself in the side.”

Rarity had nothing more to say on the matter, and everyone felt there was no other explanation.

Even the captain was inclined to agree, “In the end, he would die from either the loss of blood, or from the poison, but he was really killed by his own broken heart, which was brought upon by many others, and Applejack’s only connection to this case was the apple which she gave to him.

As for the Lip's hair on the knife and the feather in her purse. We can blame the draft from the open window, which could blow light weight objects to any possible location while no one is looking.”

Lip Smear was so devastated and upset. Even though she was now cleared of all the charges, in many ways, she was truly responsible for Numeral’s suicide.

Finally, it got way worse, when a mail pony came to the house with a letter that Numeral had actually mailed to his own place before he killed himself.

“I don’t get why some-pony would write a letter to himself.” the courier said, and just went off on his rounds, not even bothering to ask for or care about the murder.

The captain decided to open it, since Numeral wouldn’t be able to, and he read it out-loud to everyone present.

“By the time this letter gets to my place, anyone reading this will have already discovered what I’ve done, and I ask they please pass on this message.

I’m sorry I’m always being such a pain to others, and a disappointment. So my hearths warming gift to every-pony this year… you won’t have to worry about me anymore, and I can’t ruin anyone else’s lives.

…I’m sorry for not being the pony any of you wanted me to be!”

Lip could only bow her head, and cry ever so softly, and everyone else hung their heads low in despair.

Closing Act: What are friends for

CLOSING ACT

The days passed by silently, and word of Numeral’s suicide had spread. Many ponies were mean to him, especially his boss and co-workers were most upset to hear, and the boss felt he had played a bad part in it all by dismissing him and not caring why he was distraught.

Numeral’s house was now up for auction, but many ponies didn’t seem to interested knowing some-pony died in it.

Shifty was really upset, and brought the news straight to her father, and admonished him for the horrible things he had said to his own son, her brother.

For the first time in his life, her father looked ashamed and upset with himself. He was ashamed of his son, and did say he was dead to him, but now that he was really dead really got to him.

Applejack’s reputation was safe, because every-pony knew her apples were not naturally poisonous.

Sad to say, Lip Smear had it the worst!

Steel Hoof broke up with her, still disgusted that he was just some sort of pawn in boosting her image, and that her feelings for him were of dishonesty and selfishness.

The newspapers also telling stories of her shallowness-- dumping Numeral and dating a stud pony just to better her image-- that really sullied her reputation and was bound to have super negative impact on her business.

…And it did!

Her new store was opened, but not that much of a crowd gathered. Mayor Mare and her council did come to cut the ribbon, but they too felt rather awkward being around a pony like Lip, and knowing what she did.

Of course she still got some business, that of the same prestigious and arrogant ponies that felt glad that Numeral was dead, but they also admonished her for dumping Steel Hoof, not knowing or caring it was he who dumped her.

Spike, though upset with Lip for her actions, he felt she was being treated far too harshly.

“Isn’t there anything we can do for her?” he asked.

Twilight pondered and realized, “Yes, I think there is. After all, it is Hearth’s Warming Eve.”

Lip Smear sat in a hotel room, all by herself and the curtains were drawn shut. She felt far too ashamed with herself to look outside at all the glittering lights and every other pony who was trying to salvage their own Hearths Warming after learning of what happened.

No she had no colt-friend, a dwindling reputation, and worst of all a conscience full of extreme guilt.

All she could think of was Numeral, and remember how much he really meant the world to her and how she betrayed him, and though she was not responsible for the murder, she still felt like it because she drove him to kill himself.

She lay on her bed shaking painfully and letting out tiny sobs into her pillow.

Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. She looked up from her pillow and dried up as best she could.

She looked through the peephole in the door and was surprised to see, “Rarity…?” and the others there as well.

She opened the door and Rarity stepped in first and gave her a soft smile. “Happy Hearths Warming, Lip Stream”

She levitated up a small soft object rapped in red parchment paper.

Twilight, Starlight and Spike each brought a fancy present as well, and Applejack had brought a fresh baked apple pie and some hot cocoa in a big thermos.

“But… I don’t understand.” said Lip.

“It’s Hearths Warming, Lip Smear,” said Twilight “And though it can’t be ignored what happened because of you, we can’t bear to think of you here all alone and hurting.”

Applejack nodded, “If there’s one thing Granny Smith taught me, it’s that no-pony deserves to be all alone on Hearths Warming, no matter what they may or may not have done.

Not quite sure if that applies to all things, but… eh.”

Lip shed another tear, but it was more sadness than cheer. “I really don’t know how I’m ever going to go on. I can’t stop thinking about Numeral, and how… how he…”

She broke down and began to sob softly.

“Oh, please don’t cry dear.” Rarity said tearfully. “I know it hurts, and I must admit, I was shocked myself to hear all this when I solved the case.”

“I thought no-pony would ever want to be near me again.” sobbed Lip “I wouldn’t want to be near me after what I did.”

“Lip…” said Starlight “We can’t deny you did make an extremely poor choice, and for all the wrong reasons.”

Lip looked ready to burst into loud sobs, but Twilight quickly said, “But we understand why you did, because you were being pushed around by others and treated very badly.”

“No joke,” agreed Spike “If any-pony talked like that to me or my friends, I’d give them a piece of my mind… at least verbally.”

Rarity cleared her throat, and handed Lip the gift she had made her. “I know this will not really make things seem better, and it may take long time as well, but I’d like you to have this, which I made especially for you.”

Lip wiped away her tears and opened the gift. Inside was a pure white scarf with wavy stringed-ends. It even sparkled a little bit due to the shiny yarn Rarity had used.

She had never seen anything so beautiful. “You made this for me?”

Rarity smiled lovingly, “That’s what friends do, even in the darkest of times, and you really could use some now.”

Lip looked as though she was going to cry again, and everyone huddled around and gave her a big group hug to warm her.

It was unknown if she would be able to pick herself up and get on with her life, but whichever way, she would never forget the great burden that was forever scarred into her life.

“I’m sorry, Numeral. I know it means nothing now, but I didn’t want it this way.”

The scene faded back into the reading room, as Vincent addressed his audience.

“And so ends “The Murder of Hearths Warming.”

The wolves howled, and the ominous music started up again as he closed off his show.

“Tune in next time for more mystery adventures from the casebook of Detective Rarity, and all her pony friends in their quests for justice and truth.

Until then, I’m your host, Vincent Thrice, saying farewell… from Mysterious Theater.”

Lightning and thunder shook the eerie skies outside the window, as he casually looked over, nodded slowly at the darkness, and then relaxed in his chair, alone in his study.

The show was over!

Author's Note

And as usual, to the my little ponies...