Advent of Victory

Something was wrong. The images were flashing before me; coming at me, but that was the reverse of what should have been happening. They flashed before my three eyes at dizzying speeds, pulling me onwards towards that I couldn’t fathom and what I already knew. I was pulled along, my own will forgotten long ago if I ever had it towards a destination I knew not.

Figures stood around me and I among them. Unmoving, save for then the hand or claw would dip below the darkness above and give a simple nudge. Some tried to take their motion into their own whim, but were mocked by those above for such ignorance. The tiled ground under my stone paws showed the dichotomy that plagued those upon the board; a never moving equilibrium, the one thing that could not be changed but would always swing to and fro of its own accord. The hand came for me as well, long fingers tipped in blood moving me ever so gently onto the path that was set long ago, but never to be revealed.

I stood once the fingers, that crushed me with every light stroke, let go of my broken form on a space of grey, constantly in flux but never changed. The one before me blocked my way and I moved of my own will towards it, the hand above pushing me along against my protestations. The stone ahead gave way to marble, the piece dark and black though the grey still held it firmly. We clashed, a battle that lasted a mere second but would forever alter the path, creating a past that chose my future no matter how I struggled. It fell before me, the only thing that could have possibly come, the crimson nails guiding my every move watching over my every action.

The path ahead, checkered and drowning in red, showed those that stood in my way. They flew above and crawled below me, while I could do not but remain upon the ground. The red seeped from them as their lives slowly bled way before their eyes, though they remained blind. They continued to move, each step taking them closer and closer to the end, for better or worse they did not know yet still they move; those above guiding the unending course to its fruition. I stopped seeing the sea of red pour out before my eyes, not wanting to go forwards any more, and the fingers that dug into me allowed my respite. There, still ahead on the path, stood another figure poised to block me, but another to intercept. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The ground gave way to a field of death that stunk with the life of those that poured onto it in their fervor. A new hand of fire and brimstone loomed up before me and I was not deterred. I moved now free of the finger’s motivation, alongside dead giants that marched to battle with faces of stone. Their eyes pierced the smog around us and their breath cleared away the risen that would oppose our righteousness. The hands erased the paths behind, but none dared turn back to watch, knowing our destination to be ahead whether it was the final one or just another door that needed to be passed through.

The radiance we shared gathered all colors of the spectrum against the mounting black that loomed ahead, my own contribution being of a somewhat muted chromatic origin, but adding and strengthening the collective all the same. We fought long and hard against the enemy whose face could not be known, not for its etherealness but rather the consequences that such knowledge bore. I gazed upon such a fearsome sight with my giants around me and we screamed our fury into the beast. The voices around began to die as the others scream cried out over us, a single pitch that murdered all life be it small or large. We fell, one by one, but were not beaten as we continued our march of the damned to the end.

The world muted by the death of the colors; the snow fell upon us though it carried the color of our vanquished enemy. The sky above, the same crimson as the hand that had guided me thus far, wept and we shared its tears. The clouds above forever changed by the ballads played and the moon…

The moon…

“Hey Vixen, wake up.” I heard as I began to ascend out of the darkness of sleep. It had been a long time since I had been shaken awake, and I had almost forgotten the feeling. What I hadn’t forgotten however was the extreme annoyance that soon followed being shaken awake by someone else.

“What!” I snapped, as my eyes flew open momentarily before being shut against the blinding rays of the sun that filtered into through the open windows. The pony that had been near my face just a second before jumped back, startled by my sudden outburst.

“You said to wake you up if you weren’t awake already by ten,” Deciduous explained and I immediately regretted snapping at him like I had. I opened my eyes once more to see that I was still in the train car, and the meadows outside were sweeping past us at a rapid pace. The wind blew into our car at a much more relaxed speed and filled the room with a cool breeze.

I blinked a few times, clearing the rest of the sleep from my mind as I yawned and started to stretch. I made it all the way to the third pop of my spine before something caught the stitch in my side and sent me sprawling back onto the bed. I had forgotten that my ribs were still healing, and apparently aggravated them.

“Sorry about that, Deci,” I apologized. “I guess I just didn’t get much beauty rest.” I caught the phrase just after it left my mouth and had to resist the overwhelming urge to facepalm, which I failed to do. Luckily it just seemed that my companion was taking the gesture as me trying to wake up.

“You look pretty tired,” he agreed. “Do you want me to put off the interview until later so you can get some more sleep?”

Everything that happened yesterday started to come back to me gradually. Just before we were about to bed down for the night we had discovered that High Born’s wife, High Class, was a passenger aboard the train. I had rushed off and managed to catch Diligence just before she was also heading off to bed and asked her to arrange an interview with the mare for ten-thirty today. Just in case I didn’t wake up on time I had asked Deciduous to wake me up just before I headed off to bed myself. It was strange that I hadn’t woken up earlier with how relatively early I had gone to sleep.

I hopped down from the plush bed that I had shared with Scarlet the night before to find the pegasus nowhere to be found. I padded over to the bathroom and started to groom my matted and out of place fur with a brush that could easily be attached to either a hoof or paw. “No it’s fine, just need to get ready for when our guest arrives,” I said as I brushed my fur.

Sure it wasn’t overly masculine to care so much about my hair, but it was really the only feature I had much control over, and if I was going to be stuck in a body that I didn’t particularly like then at least I was going to look good. It only took a few minutes to get everything where it was supposed to go, and soon I was standing before the mirror feeling fully awake. I unstrapped the brush and tossed it onto the counter before walking back into the main room.

“Where is Scarlet by the way?” I asked, looking around for the mare that wasn’t to be found.

“Said something about stretching her wings. I think she went flying around outside,” he replied with a shrug. Glancing over at the analog clock sitting atop the bar in our room I was able to see we still had ten minutes before High Class was supposed to get here.

“What’s to eat?” I asked, walking over to the covered dish that sat on the table beside the chessboard.

I grabbed the lid and lifted it off just as Deciduous was making his reply, “Vegetable soup,” he said cheerily.

I looked down at the red soup in front of me with a clear frown. Sure I had nothing against vegetable soup, sometimes I even enjoyed it if I had some cornbread on hand, but how was I supposed to eat it? I put down the lid with a sigh and sat at the table. With nothing better to do than try I picked up the spoon with my paw, which in and of itself was incredibly difficult. I dipped the spoon into the soup and tried lifting it to my mouth before I could lose my grip. The awkward movement, and my terrible hold on the eating utensil, caused it to fall onto the table in front of me and spill its contents on the expensive looking furniture.

With another hefty sigh I stood and walked away, “Wasn’t that hungry anyways.”

Deciduous flinched at seeing my struggles, “If you want I could…”

I cut him off immediately, “I am not going to let you feed me,” I deadpanned.

He blushed and looked away. “I was actually going to say that I could go and see if they have anything else to eat. You know, something that doesn’t require forks or spoons.”

I thought it over for a moment, it would help alot if I wasn’t so hungry. “Wait until after we have our meeting with Miss High Class, I need my stenographer around for it after all.” Just as I finished speaking an almost inaudible knock came from the door to my right. I glanced back at the clock and noted that it was only ten twenty-three. “Seven minutes early, how nice of her.”

I promptly made my way to the door and pushed down on the handle that kept it shut. It opened to my will to reveal a very lithe white unicorn mare with an equally white mane waiting to be let in. “Miss High Class, I assume,” I said, stepping aside to allow her entry.

She pranced in gracefully, dipping her head to me in greeting as she passed, and made her way towards the couches without a word. I looked her over thoroughly before following her. She had to be the thinnest and maybe tallest pony I had ever come across so far; she had a physique that could put Fluer De Lis to shame. Her mane and tail were both almost completely white aside from a single streak of crimson that ran through them. She also appeared much younger than I had originally expected, she was maybe in her late twenties at the most. Seeing as how this was the wife of the victim’s older brother she had to be a trophy wife. Maybe even a second or third one after a few divorces. The cutie mark she bore was a crescent moon eclipsing the sun. She wore no clothes like I had expected her too, seeing how both Expensive Taste and Pleasant View had been wearing them. I guess I had come to see wearing clothes as a sort of status symbol.

I followed her to the couches and sat in my usual seat that I had during all of the interviews. I silently motioned for Deciduous to take up his usual spot as well, and he did so without complaint. We sat there looking each other over for a long while before she finally decided to break the silence. “That is a beautiful coat you have,” she said with a soft smile.

I looked a while into her amber eyes before smiling myself and extending a paw in greeting. “The name is Vixen, and it is a pleasure to meet you. I assume you know why I have asked you to come here today.”

She took the paw with a hoof of her own and returned the greeting. “High Class, and yes I think I do. I heard about what happened to Expensive and feel just awful about it. He was my brother-in-law you know, so I assume you are contacting the family members.”

With our formal greeting concluded I sat back in the couch and stared disdainfully at the bowl of soup that had beaten me just a few minutes ago. “I will be frank as I believe you to be the type of mare that appreciates that. At this point in time you are a suspect for this, and I need to interview you.”

She also glanced at the bowl of soup for a moment before sitting back as well. “I had thought as much. I will tell you right now that I didn’t do this, but you of course cannot take my word for it. And yes, I am a mare that appreciates frankness so I shall speak plainly with you as well.” I found myself immediately liking this mare, despite the lead we had on her.

“It’s like there’s two of them,” I heard Deciduous whisper from my side, though I ignored the comment.

“Let us begin with your relation to the victim then. You said you are related through marriage so tell me more about that.” For some reason I found myself feeling more like a therapist than someone trying to solve a murder.

“Yes well, Expensive Taste and I are related through marriage. I am married to his older brother High Born. We have not interacted very much on a personal level, though I have always admired his professionalism and his drive,” she answered immediately.

“I assume you know about Expensive being poised to take over as the new head of the family. We have it from a reliable source that your husband wasn’t very enthusiastic about this.”

She smiled at that. “If by reliable source you mean Pleasant View, and if by not very enthusiastic you mean fuming mad. My husband kicked up quite a storm about not being chosen to be the next head. You probably think this means that I acted on his behalf and did away with his brother. I can assure you nothing is farther from the truth. I was actually pleasantly surprised that High Born would not be taking over as head of the family.

“I love my husband dearly, but his talents aren’t suited for running a family and taking care off all of its interests. No, Born is a natural socialite whose abilities are better suited for mingling with other aristocrats and exchanging favors. With Expensive as head of the household the family would no doubt have grown even stronger, his natural business sense would have made all of us prosper. This no doubt is what his uncle had thought when he left the position to him. I could also do without the pay cut.”

This was some new information, if she was to be believed then she would have no personal reason to take out Expensive Taste. Of course if she was lying, then none of this could be believed. “Explain that last remark if you would.”

“Oh do you not know? The head of the house, and as a general rule for all nobles, are not allowed to work. If High Born had been made head of the household then we would of course have access to the estate’s funds but those are watched over closely. I would no longer be able to head up any of the charities I watch over or anything else for that matter. The life of a noble just sounds absolutely dreadful to me, but it looks like that is what lies ahead. Once you have uncovered the true culprit behind this I will have to meet once more with my husband who is now bound to take the head of the household,” she said with a sigh.

Either she was a terrific actress, which I had not really seen from a pony thus far, or she was being completely sincere. Every word that I heard from her seemed genuinely authentic, which put me on guard. I am not very used to dealing with those that tell the honest truth despite being under scrutiny.

“I have to say that you take me a bit off my guard,” I replied honestly. “Your sincerity is refreshing, but I still have to hold you as a suspect for the time being.”

“As expected,” she said immediately.

“I do have to say that I hope you didn’t commit this crime, but of course I have to deal in facts here. Where were you when the lights went out yesterday evening?” Man I really wish I had something to sip from right now.

“I was in my private car reading when the lights went out all of a sudden. I continued to sit there for some time waiting for them to come back on. When they did I heard a scream, which I now know was Pleasant View and continued to stay within the safety of my car.”

“So in other words you have no one to corroborate your alibi.” I pointedly stated.

“Yes, that would be correct,” she replied simply.

I hummed to myself as I thought over the facts. Everything would just about line up if she had been the one to do it, but I wasn’t inclined to believe she had. Something about her was off, and I just didn’t peg her for this. If she was a very good liar though she would make the perfect suspect. There was just not enough to go on currently, I needed to look for some real clues. We needed some concrete evidence.

“Take me through everything you did yesterday.” I commanded politely, hoping that she would either trip up or expose something that would clear her.

She tapped a hoof to her chin for a moment before replying; “I woke up in the morning promptly at seven like I do everyday. I had breakfast in the dining car before returning to my room to read from a new novel I had acquired the day before. I returned to the dining car for lunch and finished the book there. That evening I was busy reading the next one in the saga when the lights went out and the murder took place. After a few more hours of staying in my room I left once more to the dining car to have a quiet dinner and catch up on some paperwork. After a few hours of that I returned once more to my private car to sleep. Aside from the lights going out it was a fairly dull day.”

I once again thought over her story. She didn’t meet with anyone much, but I could possibly get some information from the waiting staff on her behavior before and after Expensive’s death. A slight variation in how she was behaving could signify something important or nothing at all, but it would be best to check. Aside from that, finding the things stolen from Expensive would go a long way to helping figure all of this out.

I continued to sit there thinking for a long while as she waited patiently. I figured that being an aristocrat might entail a lot of waiting. “I don’t think I have any other questions for you today,” I said as I stood and motioned her to do the same. “Make sure to keep a clear schedule until we have this case all wrapped up.”

She stood also and walked gracefully beside me until we had reached the door. Her horn lit up in the same red that ran through her hair and the door opened before us. “I will make sure to do so,” she said as she exited into the hall before turning to me once more. “Good luck in your endeavor, Miss Vixen.” With that she left and slowly walked down the hall to where I could only assume her private car was.

I turned back to Deciduous who was putting away his pen and paper. I would need to spend some time tonight going over all the interviews that I had conducted thus far. “Come on Deciduous, let’s go check out that dining car,” I called to him, beckoning him to step outside with me. “I am famished.”