//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 "To the Mysteries of Your Dark Heart" // Story: Equestria Noir Case 15 "Give Unto Discord" // by Jacoboby1 //------------------------------// Chapter 4 “To the Mysteries of Your Dark Heart” Celestia’s sun was starting to descend when I found Plot of Heaven. The place was situated in one of the slums of Manehattan. I remember passing similar areas back when I had to investigate crime scenes. Most of the time I had County or somepony else as company when I walked the dark alleys. This time, I was on my own. It’s better this way. This way nopony else can get hurt. Time to find out how your father works into all of this... I finally found it after ten minutes of wandering the back alleys. It was a squat brick building, only a couple of stories tall. It had clearly seen better days. The brick was crumbling in some spots, and a few of the windows were covered by plywood. It used to be a old apartment building back when the city was smaller. Nowadays it’s the site of a place where you could forget your troubles for 50 bits a night. A couple minutes after I knocked on the door, a sliding peephole opened and a jade green eye looked out at me. A female voice asked, “Who sent you?” I looked the eye closely and said, “Sibsy sent me.” The peephole closed and a complex series of locks was heard on the other side. Slowly the door opened to reveal a mare about my age. She was a red headed orange unicorn. She was covered in a hell of a lot of makeup. I could see that it was used to hide some bruises she must have gotten from her customers. She was wearing a skin tight yellow dress that highlighted certain... features on her body. She certainly didn't believe in leaving anything to the imagination. She looked at me seductively and spoke in a low breathy voice, “Hello there, handsome, welcome to Plot of Heaven. I’m Cherry Blossom, and you look like you’re looking for a good time.” She ran her hoof slowly up one of my arms. I looked at her and smiled a little, “You can stop trying to steal my wallet, thank you.” She looked taken aback at this but then she smiled slowly “Oh, you are good, most are distracted by me. You obviously aren’t a bored noble seeking to cheat on his wife. So what’s your name?” This could be tricky. If I told them I was a private investigator the chances of me getting anything out of Corset was the same as trying to kill a dragon with a spoon. I had to pretend to be a simple customer. I hope Twilight doesn’t get the wrong idea with this. I kept my smile and replied, “My name is Downbeat Ingram.” “Such a strange name,” Cherry said, with a small smile. “Come in then, and get ready for the most…lovely night you’ll ever have” She gestured with her hoof for me to enter the building. The lobby was large and dimly lit. The pony that decorated it seemed to have some strange jungle obsession. Everywhere I looked was some sort of animal skin themed decoration. The chairs were done in a zebra print pattern, the rugs done up in a cheetah print. On the various couches were mares all dressed in a similar style to my host. That is to say as minimalist as you can get while still being classified as clothed. I turned around to see my host entering the room behind me. If I was going to get into the office then I was going to have to play it cool. Time to dole out the charm, Private. I gave her a small smile. “What’s a nice gal like you doing selling love for a night?” She looked at me with half lidded eyes. “Well, if you must know, I ended up here like most everypony here.” She and I walked side by side as we moved through the main room. “I was going to be a singer, but bad luck just left me here with you, sweetheart.” “Wouldn’t call it bad luck,” I complimented, “If I get to spend time with a beautiful mare. I call that good luck.” “You flatterer,” she giggled a little. For some inexplicable reason I felt like Twilight was watching me from somewhere. Maybe I’m just getting paranoid, but I did get an odd feeling like somepony was watching me. As we walked up the stairs however, a small filly was waving to get Cherry’s attention. She looked at me and smiled a little. “Sorry hun, got something to take care of.” The filly was an orange colored earth pony with a light red mane combed to the side of her head. She had freckles on her cheeks and light green eyes that looked up at Cherry. I noticed the striking resemblance between them. She had to be this mare’s daughter. She couldn’t have been much older than Tailspin or Applebloom. She spoke to her mother in a heavy Manehattan accent, “Mom, do ya really have to work tonight?” I pretended to be occupied with one of the many dirty magazines just lying on the floor. I listened in on their conversation…this could be useful later” “Sorry hunny,” Cherry said sadly. “I wish I didn’t have to, but you know I have to do what I can to take care of you.” The filly blew her bangs in obvious disapproval. “Whatever mom, just promise me you’ll be there to walk me to school, kay?” Cherry sighed. “Babs, I can’t keep walking you to school, someday you’re going to have to walk by yourself.” “But Mom!,” Babs protested,“Ya know what happens when I walk alone!” Cherry shook her head. “I know you’ll be fine, Babs. You gotta just be more open to others.” “But when I try…” The filly unconsciously covered her flank with her tail. I noticed she was a blank flank. I could imagine what she was worried about. “Don’t worry, Babs,” Her mother reassured “You’ll get your mark soon and you’ll show all of those bullies.” “Sure mom,” She didn’t sound totally convinced, she prepared to turn around. “I’ll uh, see ya later”. Cherry waved goodbye to Babs. I couldn’t be helped but reminded of Tailspin and myself. Tailspin had a lot of trouble going to school after some brats named Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon got a hold of him. It’s not easy being teased for being a blank flank. I can relate. Cherry gestured for me to follow her. I put down the magazine. We began walking up the stairs side by side. She was making every attempt to brush up against me. That old feeling of somepony watching me came back when she did. I chalked it up to paranoia, and followed her into one of the many bedrooms. The place was obviously an older apartment converted into a semi sexy atmosphere. The bed was large and round covered with zebra colored blankets and pillows. It reminded me a little eerily of Luna’s bed back at Canterlot. My nostrils took in the scent of the candles burning to provide mood lighting. I heard the door close behind me and saw Cherry leaning against it. Her voice was just as low and seductive as before, “So now, care to show a mare a good time?” “I may be,” I said, slowly backing up to the bed. My horn glowed its soft grey color and my trench coat opened up. Twilight said I looked good without my trench coat and hat, well, let’s test that theory. I felt my hind legs touch the bed and Cherry slowly walked towards me. She was about to press her lips to mine when my magic caught her by the hooves and I pinned her down on the bed with them. She spoke slowly, “Oh, the dominant type I see.” “Not dominant,” I said, not getting up on the bed. I was out of charmer mode as my spell held her down. “My name is Preventus Phelps Eye, I’m investigating Corset’s activities in the drug trade.” “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t scream, you bastard!” Cherry shouted, as she struggled against my spell. “Because I can help you,” I said, looking down at her jade green eyes. “You aren’t doing this just to pay bills, are you”? Cherry sighed and shook her head. “I have a kid, okay? A little filly who’s name is Babs. I was going into a musical career before I had her. Sadly, nopony is willing to let a pregnant mare sing.” “She was the bad luck,” I deduced. “I love her to death,” Cherry explained. “Her father is some noble who decided I would be a suitable way to cheat on his wife. I had to make ends meet with this…” “Cherry, would you audition if given the chance?” “In a heartbeat,” she said, looking at me, “but I’m a whore. I’d be lucky if they even let me walk the street to an audition.” “I know Raiden Bolt personally, he could set you up.” “Raiden Bolt?” She laughed out loud. “You honestly expect me to believe that?” “I’m telling the truth,” I said earnestly. “Listen, I just need to get into Corset’s office without her knowing about it.” “You want to shut her down?” she asked. “Maybe, but I also want to find out something about a stallion named Irenius.” “Irenius?” She blinked. “As in Irenius Eye of Irenius Eyewear? He actually came by here years ago.” “For what exactly?” This was news to me. My father would never come by this part of town if he could help it. What was he doing talking to Corset? “I remember it was around the time I was pregnant with Babs,” Cherry recalled. “He came in and started arguing with Corset over something. Said something about her having something on him.” “As in blackmail?” “That would’ve been my guess.” She looked at me. “Now will you let me go?” “If you can get me into Corset’s office without drawing suspicion,” I said slowly. “All right,” She said. “Just hold up your end of the bargain.” __________________________________________________________ I hid behind a corner as Cherry knocked on Corset’s door. A unicorn mare about my father’s age exited the office. She was probably the most modest out of all of the “girls” in the building. Then again it was probably to keep everypony from going blind. She spoke in a rather refined accent, “Cherry, can I help you?” “Yes, in fact” Cherry affirmed. “Cuttlefish got a little carried away during her “training sessions” now we got a guy with his limbs all beaten up. I could use the extra hoof.” “All right, though I really think she should see somepony about this” ,Corset rolled her eyes and closed her office door behind her; she slid the key in her pocket. With the speed that the untrained eye would’ve missed Cherry snatched the key out of Corset’s pocket. The two walked on, Corset completely unaware that she just was pick pocketed. Cherry left the key inside a flower pot as they passed me. When the coast was clear I ran to the pot and got out the key. Honestly I could’ve picked the lock myself but that would’ve wasted time. I walked into the office and locked the door behind me. The office was small and square, with a filing cabinet next to a desk. It kind of reminded me of my old office, before I came to Ponyville, the main difference being this one smelled cleaner. Alright, there had to be financial records around here somewhere. I opened the first cabinet I found, and started sifting through the files. Hopefully, Cherry can keep Corset distracted long enough for me to- Ah ha! I came across an old file that had “Credit Records” labeled on it. I sifted through it and sure enough my findings led me to Talonbreak’s name. “Looks like Corset made frequent purchases. Her credit records show that she bought several pounds of Mageth on a credit card through a phony bank. This way this file would be the only evidence that the transaction would’ve occurred. But how does this connect to Dad?” I returned to sifting through the files and found one labeled…Irenius. I opened it slowly… The things I saw… How could my father even consider? That bastard! He cheated on mom! I saw Irenius in several erotic positions with a much younger Corset. I saw my father take my mother’s love and throw it away. For what? I can’t believe Irenius would so something like thi- I heard police sirens outside. I knew somepony was following me! I looked out the window and saw several officers start to raid the place. Wait! Cherry is still here! I slipped the files into my trench coat and opened the door. I came into the main room where officers had the various prostitutes rounded up. I saw Shinebadge enter the building and looked at me as I descended the stairs. “I was hoping she was lying when she said you were here,” the old police pony said. “Shinebadge, what the hell is going on?” I demanded. “What’s going on is that I’m busting a prostitution ring, and I find you right in the center of it.” “I’m investigating a crime,” I explained. “I found out who was distributing the mageth in the city.” “So did we,” Shinebadge explained .“The detective you shot up told us about it. That wasn’t your call to shoot him like that!” “We’re talking about Vegas here!” I shouted. “The guy is scum! He backed out of the vice case way too fast! I’m starting to think he knew all along!” “Private, that’s enough!” Shinebadge ordered. “You're coming down to the station with me.” “I’m not your detective anymore,” I growled. “No, but you are a suspect in the running of this place.” “That’s crazy! You can’t bring me in for that!” “Too late! Now you can come in hoof cuffs or willingly, it’s yer choice.” I was about to retort when I looked over at Cherry. I saw the sadness in her eyes. This was going to ruin whatever chance she had of giving her daughter a better life. It was all my fault…I should’ve figured Shinebadge would have somepony here to scope things out. I fell right into a trap laid for somepony else. Only thing is, somepony else got hit… I looked over at Shinebadge. “Give me two minutes okay? I’ll meet you down at the station, I promise.” Shinebadge nodded solemnly. “All right, but if you try and skip town I’ll hunt you down like a rabid timber wolf.” I walked over to Cherry who looked crestfallen. I saw the other officers going to question the other prostitutes and stuff. Cherry met me with her jade green eyes “I’m sorry you got caught, hun…” “I should be apologizing” I said slowly. “Now you won’t get a chance to take care of Babs.” “Please,” she looked at me earnestly. “She doesn’t have anywhere else to stay, her school is going to go into winter break soon, and she’ll be home alone for so long.” “Doesn’t she have relatives or something?” I asked. Cherry slowly nodded. “Not on my side though, but her father’s.” “You said he was some bored noble” I reminded her “Just who is he?” “I lied about that part” Cherry admitted. “In actuality, I found out a few months ago he wasn’t a noble at all.” “How did you find out?” “Cause you arrested him,” Cherry explained. I looked over at Babs, who was sitting at a chair with a glass of water, trying to look tough at the prospect of losing her mother. I then noticed a strong resemblance to another pony I remembered… “She’s Mandarin Orange’s daughter?” I guessed. “Yep,” Cherry nodded. “I haven’t told her that yet. I guess it’s fate that both of her parents end up as jailbirds.” I looked over at her, then I handed her a phone number written on a notebook. “Your first call should be to him.” “Sandā Bolt?” she said, looking at the paper. “Isn’t he related to Raiden?” “One of his five brothers,” I explained. “He’s also the best lawyer I know. You tell him I sent you, and he’ll see if the judge can lighten your sentence so you can get back to Babs as soon as possible.” Cherry’s eyes were tearing up. She slowly hugged me tight, she whispered in my ear, “Please, until I can take care of her, find her a safe home.” “I will,” I explained. “I promise.” She walked away with some officers and I made my way to Babs. She looked up at me with her mother’s jade green eyes. “Mister, they’re gonna take my mom right?” I didn’t want to break the news to the poor kid. But I’ve dealt with children as victims before. The key is to tell them gently, but don’t bullshit them. I tried my best as I said ,“Yes, unfortunately your mother was involved in this establishment.” Babs looked down. “I tried to tell her not to get into this stuff” She spoke in her heavy accent, “but she said she was doin it fer me. Now I can’t help but feel terrible.” I put my head level with Babs and smiled gently. “Don’t worry, your mom’s gonna get a great lawyer to help her out.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small bag of bits. “This is enough for a train ticket.” “To where?” She asked, with a raised eyebrow. “I’m going to make a call to your cousin Applejack,” I explained. “I didn’t know I had a cousin,” she said thoughtfully. “You do, and she’d love to take you in until this whole thing blows over.” I put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “I’ll make the call to Applejack and the officers will take care of you until you can go to Ponyville.” “My cousin lives in Hicksville?” Babs said in obvious shock. I nodded. “It’s a great place, you’ll love it.” “Will there be any…” I noticed her cover her flank with her red tail, “bullies there?” “Babs, bullies are going to be everywhere,” I spoke frankly. “The key is knowing when to stand up to them. But most importantly, you got to know that not every bully is a bully because they want to be.” “Thanks mister,” she smiled slowly. “I’ll try and remember that.” I walked back to the officers. All this stuff, the drugs, Irenius doing all of this behind my mother’s back…. Just what did you hope to accomplish? You murdering bastard…