Equestria Noire Case #4: The Pianist Case

-/-Canterlot-/-

While I was trotting through the streets of Canterlot, I realized that my belief of the Vic being a somewhat famous pony among these parts was an understatement. I saw hordes of camera ponies wanting to know what has happened. Them trying to get past the police ponies, who have blocked off the entrance of the crime scene. I even saw several young looking mares crying super dramatically. Like they had just lost somepony they truly care about.

I looked forward, and Detective Ruby Glow and my pathologist Cadaver waved me over. I had to squeeze through the big crowd of ponies to get to them. After a couple of minutes, I finally managed to duck underneath the CAUTION tape and enter the crime scene. Celestia damn it, how popular is this victim?

“Good to see you, Pal.” Cadaver said.

“Same to you.” I said to him before my attention turned to Ruby Glow, who stood next to Cadaver.

“Where’s your partner for this, Ruby?” I asked her, as we walked toward the crime scene in this alleyway.

“Moxie had some personal stuff going on with her nephew in New Colt City. Captain Stone recommended you after everything that went down with Gavin. So, that’s why I called you.” She said.

I nodded my understanding to her as we officially made it to the crime scene. There was a carriage parked here. Seemingly abandoned.

Almost immediately I found this odd. A carriage with our dead Vic inside. Parked in an extremely private setting. Where no pony else is around to see or hear anything. Not to mention, this particular alleyway has a dead end on the left and right sides. You could go straight through here and make it to the other side of the street. But, if you turned left or right, all you get is a wall. And on this left side of this alleyway, there’s a carriage here? Something already feels odd.

I approached the carriage and found our victim. His body was leaning on the left side of the carriage with his head out the window. The Vic was an earth pony stallion who looked about 30 years old. Appeared to look in pretty good shape. He had a loose quiff mane style that now had some of his mane touching the outside of the carriage. Color of his mane is off black. Dark oat coat color. He’s wearing what appeared to be a tuxedo. However, the shirt looked to be all ragged and wrinkely. The coat was on the floor of the carriage, next to his feet. Speaking of feet, his dress pants are around his ankles, revealing his penis. There’s a condom on it filled with semen. And, I thought this was kinda odd, a lipstick print on it.

But what REALLY stood out to me, was there appeared to be a pair of leggings wrapped around his neck. Ironic, seeing as how I just saw leggings on Bon Bon earlier. Thankfully, these leggings were a different color from what Bon Bon wore earlier.

I looked further and found a blue bag near his legs as well. Looks like a gym bag of some sort. Maybe that’s where the leggings came from.

“What have you got?” I asked, turning my attention to them.

“Victim is Colton Von Gallopson. He’s a pretty famous pianist here in Canterlot. Time of death, I’d say about 1 or 2 AM this morning. ID and bits appear to be stolen. He looks to have been strangled to death.” Cadaver told me.

“It also looks like he had, or was about to have sex with somepony, possibly the suspect, before he was murdered. Then robbed for good measure.” Ruby Glow told me.

“Yeah.” I said. “I’m thinking this might have been some type of setup, due to this setting here in this alleyway.” I levitated the used condom and the leggings and put them in a bag.

“Cadaver, take this back to the lab. Run it for any hoof prints or identification.” I told him, handing him the bag.

He nodded. “Right away, Shadow.” He said, now galloping out of this alleyway. I just hope he manages to make it out of that crowd okay.

“What’s our first move?” Ruby Glow asked me, kinda looking excited to work with me.

“Well, you and I need to head to the Canterlot Detention Center. We need to look up anything we can on Colton here. As well as inform his family about the bad news.” I told her.

“So, you and I are partners for this case?” She asked, extending her hoof to me.

I nodded and accepted her hoof. “Yep. But, I must warn you, Ruby. I’m a very strict stallion. So, you better be on your A game.” I told her.

She scoffed at that. “I’m always ready.” She said.

I hope she’s right.

-/-Canterlot Detention Center-/-

“I was awoken by my own daughter telling me that, of all ponies, Colton Von Gallopson, her favorite musician, was found dead in an alleyway on a known prostitution part of the street. Now, I’m not jumping to any conclusions here, but I would hope that you have SOME information regarding the crime scene, am I right?” Captain Bisette grumpily told me and Ruby. She was sitting behind her desk in her office, looking like she LITERALLY had just woken up, and drinking a coffee. Probably not decaf if I had to guess.

Bisette was a short, stocky looking mare around the age of 45. She had a magenta color coat, green eyes that had glasses over them, a dark purple mane that was tied up in a bun, and gun cutie mark.

“We do, Ma’am.” Ruby Glow spoke first. “Vic showed sign of strangulation from a pair of leggings, which came from a blue gym bag found in the carriage as well.”

Captain Bisette paused before looking at me. “What about you?” She asked.

“Vic had his pants around his ankles, showing his penis, which had a used condom on it, and a lipstick print. Some bits of his were stolen. It’s seems likely that a hooker rolled and robbed him.” I said.

She shook her head at me. “How many mares do you know that have the upper hoof strength to strangle a stallion?” She asked me, not looking happy.

“If a hooker is on crack, she could do anything to a dude. I’ve seen it before.” I said shrugging.

“Colton Von Gallopson was a big stallion in good shape. The mares on that street are about 159 lbs, soaking wet.” She argued while pointing her hoof at me. Seems somepony is getting irritated.

I shrugged. “Could have been a tranny?”

“Hookers cut or stab. They don’t strangle. And there’s no record of any he-she’s on that street.” She said.

“She’s kinda right about that.” Ruby Glow piped in.

“Alright, alright. Maybe I’m wrong about the hooker part. But, this does seem like a setup to me. A carriage parked in an alleyway? Away from every pony to see or hear anything? How popular is this Colton anyhow?” I asked them.

I saw Captain Bisette just look at me in disbelief. As if she literally couldn’t believe what had just come out of my mouth.

“You don’t know who Colton Von Gallopson is? Have you been living under a rock, Shadow Haze?” She asked me.

I smirked at her. “Well, when you’re a workaholic like me, you tend to focus on your work and not the outside world very much. So, maybe I have been, Cap.”

“Are you being flippant with me?” She asked, apparently not amused by my sense of humor.

“No, Ma’am. I’m not.” I said with a slight chuckle. I guess she’s not one for humor.

She had that stern look on her face for about a second before she stood up from behind her desk. She then reached to her left side and brought out something from one of the desk drawers. She placed that very something on her desk in front of us.

“Colton Von Gallopson is a member of the Royal Canterlot Symphony. He’s a Solo Ensemble Pianist. He’s performed some of the most famous pieces like Moonlight Sonata, Nocturne in E flat major, Kinderszenen, and the Mozart Requiem.” She explained to me, waving her hoof over the pictures on her desk.

These were pictures of Colton when he was still alive. Him at the piano performing his very pieces. There was one that looked like he had just finished a piece and was smiling to an adoring crowd. There was another of him that looked like he was still performing, due to his eyes being closed all regal like and his muzzle being pointed to the air. I even saw a few mares in the crowd looking on with tears of joy. Seems he resonates with them.

“Hm. That’s impressive.” I said.

“You don’t even know the half of it.” Bisette said, causing me to look back up at her. “Rumor has it, he was planning to leave Canterlot and explore greener pastures. Possibly perform in bigger venues all over Equestria. And, according to my daughter, she said that a lot of fans of his were not too thrilled of him leaving Canterlot.”

“Seems like a lot of these fans were young mares, judging from the pictures here.” I told her.

“Yes. I can’t tell you how many wished to be with him. My daughter even says so.” She said, looking rather intense.

Ruby Glow then decided to pipe in. “I second that. My partner Moxie has a niece who is crazy about him. Wonder how she’s taking it now?” She said, which Bisette nodded to.

“Okay, so judging from what you just said about Colton possibly leaving Canterlot, could there be a possibility that Colton was set up? He thinks he’s meeting one of these random fan mares for sex, then gets strangled to death for his troubles?” I asked them.

“That would make sense.” Ruby Glow said. “You know how toxic and crazy fans are today.”

“That’s what worries me about my daughter sometimes.” Captain Bisette said. “Alright, you two should talk to Colton’s lead composer, as well as any member of the Royal Canterlot Symphony. See if they know anything about Colton’s personal life.”

-/-Canterlot Music Hall-/-

“I can’t believe he’s gone. I just spoke to him two days ago. What a terrible tragedy. He was on his way to becoming a legend of the Performing Arts. Now that’s not gonna happen.” The composer said, looking really distraught. I even saw some tears in his eyes as well. He wiped at them with a hanky he had in his suit.

Ruby and I were sitting in the Auditorium with the composer, whose name was Gustav Lepster. He was about 55 years old, and had a wine red coat and a thinning dark brown mane. He also had blue eyes and a black baton for a cutie mark.

“What was that last conversation like?” I asked him, trying to sound sympathetic to him.

I saw him shudder before he could reply. This looked tough for him to talk about.

“Him and a few members of the Royal Canterlot Symphony were going to perform the Piano Trio, that’s piano, cello, and violin, in Manehatten at the Glimmer Palace 5 months from now. Him and I were going to set up the whole thing. He looked exceptionally forward to it.” He said, having to look away from us emotionally. Colton must’ve had a big impact on this guy for him to be acting this way.

“Gustav, we have some questions for you, regarding Colton. Would you be willing to help us?” Ruby Glow asked compassionately, placing a comforting hoof on his leg. He looked back at us, appearing to try to be strong.

“I’ll try my best.” He said, pulling himself together.

I got out my notepad and pen. “Do you have any idea who may want to hurt Colton, Mr. Gustav?” I asked him.

“No.” He said, shaking his head. “Colton was very well liked here. No pony I came across ever had a bad thing to say to him.”

“What about anypony outside of the Royal Canterlot Symphony? We’ve heard he had a lot of fan mares.”

“I’m sure there were some insecure and jealous boyfriends of those “fan mares”, but other than that I have no idea.”

As I wrote that down, I started to think. Could it be possible that some fan mare of Colton Von Gallopson talked and talked about him glowingly so much, that her boyfriend got pissed off and decided to find and kill him? It certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Most days, young ponies ARE very insecure and jealous of other ponies. And they WOULD probably commit murder.

However, looking back at the crime scene, could they have REALLY been that smart to involve the carriage and the leggings? I’m not buying it.

“What was his relationship like with the other Symphony members?” I asked him.

“He was an absolute professional. Even if he didn’t like somepony personally, he’d still perform with them.” He said.

“Any pony in particular he was close to?”

“There were two that I absolutely know of.” He said, clearing his throat before continuing.

“Him and my violin player, Ludwig St. Clipton. The two were best friends.” He said.

“I’ve heard of him.” Ruby Glow chimed in. “Isn’t he the son of the Canterlot DA? Sebastian St. Clipton?”

Gustav nodded. “Yes. He’s running for Mayor of Canterlot. Has gained many, many followers. And I’m one of them.” He said.

“And who was the other one?” I asked him.

“My Cellist. Octavia Melody. The two were also close, and even use to date for a while.” He said.

My eyes widened. “Used to?”

“From my understanding, it was only for about 2 or 3 months. I asked Colton why, Octavia is a sweet, kind hearted mare. He just told me it just didn’t work out. They remained friends, but I always wondered why they broke up.” He said, looking genuinely confused.

Okay. I know Octavia lives in Ponyville with DJ P0N-3, or Vinyl Scratch as she’s really called. I guess I have a house call to make. I’ll also have to look into this Ludwig St. Clipton. And his father too, if there’s any proof. And I may have to look into any fan mares in particular, if Colton even knew them.

“How would you describe Colton’s state of mind during his last few days?” Ruby Glow asked him.

“I’d say it was quite odd.”

“Really?” I asked. “How so?”

“Well, after we had finished that meeting two days ago, he asked me for a few bits.” Gustav said.

“How is that weird?” I asked him, continuing to write everything down.

“Because he never asked me before. And he didn’t have to. Colton was born in a very wealthy family. His father and grandfather were also famous musicians back in the day. And his father, Tryton Von Gallopson, is still alive. If he needed to ask for bits, he would’ve gone to him. Or at least I thought.” He explained to us. This was starting to get interesting.

“Did you refuse him?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Even if I found it odd, I gave him exactly 50 bits. I would’ve given the suit off my back for that boy. He was like a son to me, Detective.” He said, getting emotional again. Thankfully, he caught himself and didn’t break down.

He continued. “Also, for the last 4 months, there were a few times I caught him tucking and pulling at his shirt collar. He was doing that a lot. And it wasn’t hot out. Most of the time. And the air conditioner works in this building. I asked him what was wrong. He told me, he guessed it was just nerves. But I know better.”

“And that is?” I asked him.

“Colton was 100% confident in his abilities. Not once did I ever see a shred of disbelief in himself. Even in situations where you could understand if he was nervous, he would show a strong face band just go out there and perform with true confidence and belief in self. So, when he said that to me, I just thought that was quite odd.” He told us. I’m guessing he now must feel guilty. Maybe he should’ve persuaded him a little harder.

“Did you ever talk to him again about this odd behavior of his?” I asked.

“No. But, looking back, I guess I should’ve.” He told us, looking defeated.

I closed my notepad and stood from my seat.

“Thank you, Gustav. You’ve been a big help. And me and Ruby are gonna find the pony who did this.” I told him.

Ruby sat up next with a confident smile on her face. “Yeah. We promise.” She said.

He stood next and I shook his hoof. “Thank you both. Colton Von Gallopson was a good stallion. And I hope his legacy can live on.” He said, now walking away.

“He’s taking it pretty hard.” Ruby Glow said, feeling tons of remorse for Gustav.

“Yeah.” I said as we started to walk out of the building. “But, at least we got some information.” I was gonna say more, but my phone went off.

“Shadow.” I answered. The other end told me what to do, I told them we’d be on our way and hung up.

“That was Cadaver. He’s got something we need to see. And Colton’s father is there to identify the body.” I told her.

-/-Canterlot Morgue-/-

I was apparently standing next to Canterlot Royalty. This was the famous Tryton Von Gallopson. The father of our victim. He was about 61 years old. An earth pony stallion with a jet black mane, a sand colored coat, hazel eyes, and a few piano keys for a cutie mark.

Even if I’ve never heard any of his music, I have heard about Tryton himself. My big sister, Melody Rays, is a music teacher at a middle school in New Colt City. Music is her absolute passion. And she wanted to teach the younger generation about it. From what I’ve heard, pretty much every student loves her and learns a lot about music and orchestra from her. And I’m proud to be her younger brother.

Anyway, the pony I was standing next to wasn’t the proud orchestra legend of Canterlot that most orchestra ponies were inspired by. I was standing next to a grieving father. Who just found out his own son was murdered. Ain’t life a bitch?

The curtain opened up, and Cadaver took the white sheet off of the Vic, showing his body to through the glass window.

He sniffled and had light tears run down his face. “That’s him. That’s my son.” He said very silently and sullenly.

Ruby put her comforting hoof on his shoulder. “We’re very sorry for your loss.” She said quietly and full of compassion.

Tryton put his hoof on the glass, looking at his child. “My boy was gonna be a legend in orchestra. Even better than me. He had his whole life ahead of him.” He said, now turning his attention toward both of us.

“Why?” Was the only question that came out of his mouth.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out, sir. And we will.” Ruby Glow told him.

I stepped forward. “Would you be willing to answer some questions for us?” I asked him.

He shuddered while shaking his head. “I will, but not right now. I need a day or two to recover from this.” He stopped for a second before looking at me now.

“I lost my wife 5 years ago. Colton was my only child.” He hung his head down in sadness and shame. “I’m all alone now.”

“No problem. We’ll come over in about three days when you’re ready. Right Shadow?” Ruby asked me.

I normally would’ve wanted to know now, but the dude doesn’t look like he’s in a good state of mind right now. So, I let it go. For now.

“Sure.” I said, patting him on the shoulder, trying my best to put some comfort in him. Admittedly, that’s not something I normally would do. I just felt like I had to in this moment.

It didn’t exactly work anyway, however. Tryton still walked out, looking as desolate and dreary as he could.

“Poor guy.” Ruby said with a sad look.

“Hopefully, 3 days will be enough time for him to talk.” I said.

The door next to the window opens up and Cadaver appeared before us.

“Come on in, you two. You need to see this.” He told us, going back inside as the door shut behind him.

Ruby and I took a deep breath and walked inside the morgue. I hope what Cadaver has is good in helping us get closer to the killer. Because, he took a son away from an apparently loving father. And that is just the worst thing anypony could ever have to feel.

No matter what, me and Ruby are gonna get this fucker. It’s on now.