Citrine stood next to the grave looking down at the marker. Through a voice tight from weeping she whispered, "You promised. Damnit, you promised."
Her ears swiveled towards the sound of approaching hooves on the grass. She glanced over at the rotund earth pony. "Long Shot. Thank you for coming. I didn't see you at the service."
His eyes did not divert from the marker. "Given the number of Canterlot Police in attendance, I thought it best if I kept my distance. I watched from that small rise behind us. Once everypony left, I came down to give you my condolences... personally."
"Thank you." She sniffed a couple times in an ongoing battle with the tears.
He sighed. "Our relationship over the years was complicated, but never adversarial. Perhaps we were even friends."
“Perhaps,” Citrine replied, nodding.
They stood side-by-side in silence. A gentle breeze fluttered the leaves in the nearby trees. Then he glanced at the deep red filly standing next to Citrine. "So... this is your daughter? She's a cute one."
"Yes. This is Ruby. Ruby Steel." She stroked the filly's dusty blue mane.
Ruby looked up at Long Shot with wide, moist eyes.
"Your daddy was a great detective. He helped a lot of ponies over the years." He shifted his focus to Citrine. "Working as a cop or private investigator, his sole desire was always to help ponies. He had the unique ability to bridge that gap between both sides of the law. That's one reason he was so effective as an investigator." He paused. "You were another reason." Citrine closed her eyes and sobbed once.
His eyes drifted up looking past her. "Somepony’s coming. I think I should become scarce." He turned to go, then paused as he reached out to touch her shoulder. "If there's anything I can do, just ask." Without waiting, he trotted off.
Citrine glanced over to see a snow-white mare with a crimson mane approaching. As she arrived, Citrine greeted her. "Hello, Miss Chapeau."
"Please, just Jasmine.” She smiled. “I was returning from a business trip to Manehattan and got word when I arrived. I couldn’t make the service, but I hoped I might find you still here."
"Thank you. You know, he had tremendous respect for you. And despite almost dying during that first case, he looked forward to working with you."
Jasmine shifted her gaze from the marker to look Citrine in the eyes. "He was the best, bar none. Believe me, I checked." She glanced down at Ruby. "Do you mind if I give your daughter something?"
Citrine smiled softly. "No, of course not."
Jasmine pulled a floral print sun hat from her saddle bag and gently placed it on Ruby's head. "A proper filly does not attend an outdoor event without a fashionable hat."
Citrine gently nudged her daughter. "What do you say, Ruby?"
"Thank you, Miss Cha... Miss Chop... Umm..."
Jasmine smiled. "You're very welcome, my dear."
Citrine reached out to gently touch the hat. "I've been wondering... Perhaps I’ll try wearing a fedora, just like he did."
Jasmine's eyes went wide. "That would be a wonderful way to honor him and keep his memory alive. And it would look fantastic on you. I could even make one for your daughter. You two would look so cute together."
Citrine gasped. "Oh… that's not necessary."
"Nonsense. It's settled. I'll send word when they're ready. No charge of course." She reached up to steady her own hat as a breeze threatened to dislodge it. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've intruded on your time enough--"
"No," Citrine shook her head. "Not at all."
"Still, I need to go. I hope to hear from you soon."
Citrine nodded. "Yes, you will. And thank you for coming."
Jasmine bowed, turned, and walked off. She nodded to a blue-green mare in Canterlot Police dress-blues who just arrived.
The mare huffed. "Well, everypony is gone now. It's awkward. They want to say or do something, they just don't know what. Declaring the service over gave them the out they needed."
Citrine, looking at the grave again, replied, "Thank you, Windflower. I know they all meant well, but it was getting too much for me to handle. I just couldn't..."
"And you didn't need to." She paused. "I'm amazed at the wide range of ponies he knew. Some came in pony-drawn carriages and some had to take time off work. I even noticed Long Shot watching from the rise over there." She inclined her head in that direction. "He had clients from every strata of society."
Windflower glanced down at Ruby. "You didn't have that hat before."
Ruby looked up. "A proper filly does not... outside... without a hat."
Windflower snickered. "Indeed."
Ruby shifted her gaze to Citrine. "Mom...?"
"Yes, Ruby, you may go exploring. Just keep where I can see you."
"Thanks, mom." She stood up, adjusted her hat, and trotted off. She moved from grave to grave, occasionally stopping to study one.
Citrine whispered, "She’s distracting herself to keep from thinking about… I wish I could too.” They watched in silence. "She can't remember to clean her room but she'll come back with two or three names memorized and she'll want me to take her to the library to look them up."
Windflower nodded. "She's inherited that drive to investigate."
Citrine turned towards Windflower. "You know, she reminds me more of him every day. Her mane color, her insatiable curiosity, the faraway look she gets when she's working on a problem..." She sniffed and wiped her eyes.
Windflower glanced away. “I should be going. You probably want to be alone…”
Citrine paused. “When he rescued you as a filly, you became an adopted niece. You are like family… to both of us. I need… Would you just sit with me a while?”
Windflower sat down and put a foreleg around her. "Citrine, are you okay?"
"No. Not even slightly." She looked out towards Ruby. "But... I will be. I promise."
Author's Note
Long Shot appears in The Painless Murders (and an unpublished story stuck in edit).
Jasmine Chapeau appears in La Femme Fatale.
Windflower appears in Little Filly Lost (and the same unpublished story).
