My Little Investigations: Marehunter

by Metool Bard

Reader's Block (S)

In hindsight, I think we should've asked Pierre or Javier for some sort of escort. Not only is this campus huge, but we have no idea where we're going. And on top of that, we're getting a lot of unwanted attention. I'm actually afraid of asking for directions, thinking that it'll just lead to getting mobbed by fans. I know that comes with being a Wonderbolt, and trust me, I've got no problem with that. But I didn't fly all the way from Equestria to sign autographs.

"Hey, Sis?"

I sighed. "What is it, Blaze?"

"Assuming we actually find this library, what exactly are we looking for? I mean, I know we have to find out what Kierra was researching, but we don't really have a point of reference, do we?"

That's, actually a good point. The only clue that we had to Kierra's research was her letter to the Griffon Magistrate, and even then, we couldn't hope to decipher it. Otherwise, we're completely in the dark on this one. Ugh, if only the Griffon Magistrate gave us more time to look around her office.

"Are you alright, Spitfire?" asked Misty Fly.

I let out another sigh. One of the things that make Misty Fly the Wonderbolts' Unofficial Shrink is that she's really good at reading ponies. Ever since we were at the Academy, I could never hide anything from her. Not that I was trying to this time around.

"Just a bit frustrated, Mist," I said. "I dunno, maybe once we find this damn library, I'll be able to clear my head."

"Well, we sure ain't gonna find it just flying around in circles," said Blaze. "Maybe we should ask someone for help."

"I'm not sure if that's a good idea, Blaze," said Misty Fly firmly. "We're already attracting enough attention by flying around a crowded campus in full uniform. We can't afford to make it worse."

"Look, I'm not suggesting that we bribe someone with an autograph or anything," said Blaze with a shrug. "That's not how the Wonderbolts roll."

"But we very well may have to do that if we ask for directions," Misty Fly argued.

"Aw, c'mon. What're the chances of that happening?"

"Considering how all of the students were reacting when they first noticed us, I'd say it's very likely."

"Well, we'd waste just as much time flying around aimlessly, so I still don't see what the big deal is."

"Trust me, I don't like this any more than you do. But we don't have many other options right now."

"Uh, yeah! We kinda do! There's no shame in asking for directions!"

"I'm not saying there is. I'm saying that it isn't something we need right now."

"Okay, yeah. I totally get what you're saying. But I'd rather run that risk than spend all day looking for a needle in a haystack. I know you agree with me, don't you, Sis?"

I gave Blaze a dirty look. "Please tell me you're not dragging me into this hoping that I'll agree with you just because I'm your sister."

Blaze blanched and twiddled her hooves. "Um..."

"That's what I thought," I sighed. "Listen, you both have good points, but I'm sorry; I'm gonna have to go with Mist on this one. I am in no mood to deal with rabid fans at this point in time."

"Rats," grumbled Blaze with a pout. "You never take my side."

For the record, that's entirely untrue. I knew Blaze was just acting like a brat to make me feel guilty about disagreeing with her. She actually does this a lot, believe it or not.

"Just FYI, I'm not in the mood for your brattiness, either," I scolded. "Now, let's..."

"I know where to go, ma'am."

We all spun around to stare at Rainbow Dash, who was oddly silent all this time.

"You do?" I asked. "Explain yourself, private."

"I noticed some griffons talking down below while we were flying, ma'am," said Rainbow Dash. "From what I could tell, it sounded like they were talking about studying. Therefore, if we follow them, I'm sure we'll find the library."

I lowered my flight goggles and gave Rainbow Dash a blank stare. I'm not surprised that she was able to keep track of other stuff in mid-flight. When you're a Wonderbolt, multitasking is essential. But the inferences she was able to make down to the slightest detail is something I have never seen before. If I had any regrets about bringing her on this mission before, I don't now.

"Wow. You never cease to amaze me, private," I said, clearing my throat and readjusting my flight goggles. "Alright, we'll follow your lead."

Rainbow Dash blinked. "Uh, sure. I-I mean yes, ma'am!"

With that, she took the lead while we all formed up behind her. I can't say for sure, but I think she feels a bit weird leading around three veterans as part of her first mission as a member of the Reserves. For the record, she shouldn't feel that way. I'm not above playing wingpony to somepony of a lower rank as long as they know what they're doing. Besides, this isn't the first time Rainbow Dash has steered me in the right direction when I've flown off-course (metaphorically, at least). But, those are stories for another time.

Of course, Rainbow Dash's inference was correct. We arrived at a large brownstone building with a sign out front clearly indicating that it was the library.

"Nice work, private," I said with a nod.

"Th-thank you, ma'am," said Rainbow Dash with a salute. "So, what's the plan?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure," I confessed as we made our way inside. "Like Blaze said, we don't have any good clues as to what Kierra was researching, and I doubt we can ask the librarians about it."

Blaze tilted her head. "Why not? Everyone seems to like us here. They'd probably be very cooperative."

"Two reasons," I said. "First of all, just because we're Wonderbolts doesn't mean we can use our fame to our advantage, nor should we. Make a note of that, private."

"Um, yes, ma'am," said Rainbow Dash with another salute.

"Second of all, no one else knows that Kierra is dead," I continued, dipping my voice extra low so that no one else could overhear. "If the Griffon Magistrate wants to make that information public, that's her decision. Not ours."

"Oh, yeah. You're right," said Blaze, heaving a great sigh. "So, what? We're just gonna rummage through books until we find something of interest? That plan kinda sucks."

"I may have to agree with Blaze here, Spitfire," said Misty Fly, looking around. "This library seems rather massive. Kierra could've been researching anything."

"Meh, no worries," said Rainbow Dash with a shrug. "I'm sure we'll find what we're looking for eventually."

Blaze turned to Rainbow Dash and arched an eyebrow. "What makes you say that, private?"

"Simple. I've done this kind of thing before."

Now it was my turn to give Rainbow Dash an odd look. "Care to elaborate, private?"

"Eh, it's nothing really that special, ma'am," said Rainbow Dash simply. "It's just that whenever something bad goes down, I often find myself rummaging blindly through a library with my friends trying to find the answer."

I, have no response to that. I mean, I know she's had a hoof in saving Equestria many times before along with her friends (one of whom is the Princess of Friendship herself), but I honestly didn't know this was a thing with them. Then again, it's not exactly something that would appear on her dossier.

"Well, let's at least try to narrow it down," I said. "Even though we are Wonderbolts, I don't think the students are gonna take kindly to us tearing the whole place apart."

"Agreed," said Misty Fly. "So, where should we start?"

"I'm thinking alchemy," said Blaze, furrowing her brow. "If she suspected that Gypsy Moth was up to something, she'd probably try and figure out how to beat her at her own game."

I raised an eyebrow. "Blaze, all I said was that Gypsy Moth might be involved. We have no way of knowing if that's the case or not."

"Sis, just go with me on this one," said Blaze, sounding rather agitated. "It's better than nothing, right?"

Well, she's not wrong there. Still, I think she's jumping the gun. Don't get me wrong; I have the same gut feeling that Gypsy Moth could be responsible for this. She's certainly crafty enough to find a way to pull it off. The difference is that I recognize that it's a gut feeling and nothing more. The same can't be said for Blaze. She seems so, sure about this. And that worries me.

"Alright, we'll start looking up magic for now," I said.

"Not alchemy specifically?" inquired Misty Fly.

I shook my head. "Remember when that fake Mare-Do-Well disappeared on us last night?"

"Yes."

"Well, I talked to Octavia about what happened. She said that she might've been using something called Pan's Music Code. I wanna learn a bit more about whatever that is. We can't be too careful."

"Mmm, yeah. Good thinking, Sis," said Blaze with a thoughtful nod. "Alright, we should probably get started."

"Right," I said. I then walked up to the information desk and cleared my throat. "Um, excuse me."

One of the librarians looked up. It didn't take long for him to recognize us.

"Wait. Y-you're the Wonderbolts, right?"

"Um, yes," I said sheepishly. "Look, it's a bit of a long story, but we have a good reason to be here. Do you have any books on magic here?"

"W-we have some books on the history of magic downstairs, but we don't carry any spell books," said the librarian.

So much for Blaze's theory about Kierra trying to learn alchemy here. Still, I think we can work with that.

"Is there anything on Pan's Music Code?"

"H-hang on, let me check," said the librarian, consulting a scroll. "Um, yes! We have one bo— Wait, hold on. I-I'm terribly sorry, but that book has been checked out."

"By whom?"

"I-I'm not at liberty to divulge that information, miss."

"Can you at least tell me when it was checked out?"

"Uh, I suppose. It was taken out just five days ago."

I knitted my brow. I remember Javier saying that Kierra was conducting her research all week. It's very possible that the book was checked out under her name.

"Are there any other books that talk about Pan's Music Code?" I asked. "Anything will help."

"Well, I guess you could try looking in the Nature Magic section. Here, I'll write out a list for you."

"Thank you," I said with a nod. "Oh, and could you also direct us to anything you have on alchemy?"

"Uh, yes. Of course," said the librarian, scribbling everything on a small card. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, why would a Wonderbolt be interested in this sort of thing?"

"It's complicated," I said. "Don't worry, Headmaster Hawke knows we're here."

"Right. I'll be sure to make note of that," said the librarian, still sounding rather astonished (not that I blame him). He finally finished writing down the information and handing me the card. "There you are. I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Thank you again," I said. "Alright, Wonderbolts. Let's go."

We shared a nod and headed straight downstairs.

We didn't stop getting odd looks as we scanned the shelves and looked through the books that were recommended at the front desk. It must be an odd sight to see a Wonderbolt in a library, I imagine. I don't think it should be, though. While I'm certainly no bookworm myself, I'll often find the time to sit down with a good book. Heck, just between you and me, A.K. Yearling is one of my favorite authors. Besides, the Wonderbolts aren't just looking for ponies who can fly fast and look cool while doing it. We want smart ponies, too.

That being said, there are some books out there that just make my head hurt. Books on magic fall into that category. I know, I know. Everypony has some inherent magic inside of them. But pegasi and Earth Ponies don't think about that stuff on a conscious level like unicorns do. After all, when's the last time you saw a pegasus or an Earth Pony go around casting spells? Unless you're a smart aleck, the answer to that question should be "never." As such, I really don't know a whole lot about the inner workings of magic. And because of that, a lot of the books we had to go through were very complicated. I'm seriously struggling to wrap my mind around it all.

Nevertheless, we persevered. Since it was probably against the school's policy to deface the books, we used notepaper and pens provided at the desks to write down anything that we found important. I honestly didn't find a whole lot on my end. The book that referenced Pan's Music Code just had a brief history about its origins, which is something Princess Twilight already went over with us the night before. I'm thinking the book that was checked out is gonna be our only real source for understanding that, but without the Griffon Magistrate's permission, we can't get to it.

"Alright, let's take a break," I sighed, messaging my temples. "What did you guys find?"

"I got something," said Blaze. "This book describes a lot of ingredients used in alchemy."

"So?"

"Soooo, one of those ingredients is toxic truffles."

Wait. That actually might be important. In one of the assassination attempts back in January, the culprit tried to poison Soarin' with a poisoned tart. Mare-Do-Well told me that the poison used was known as toxic truffles; a fungus that tastes like chocolate, but is deadly to consume. That would make it the ideal poison to hide in something like hot cocoa. However, toxic truffles are also incredibly rare. So that begs the question of how the culprit managed to obtain them. I guess we'll know for sure once Eagle Eye publishes her autopsy report. Assuming she's willing to share it with us.

"Well, at least that's better than me," I said. "What about you, private?"

"Bupkis," growled Rainbow Dash. "I still have no idea why Lieutenant Blaze thought we'd find something here, ma'am. I don't even know what to look for."

"I'm sure she has her reasons," I said. "Keep at it. Mist?"

"I haven't found anything of interest yet," said Misty Fly, flipping idly through some dusty old tome. "Although I have to agree with Private Dash; I'm not sure what— oh, hello. What's this?"

I looked over to see what had gotten her attention. Much to my surprise, there was some sort of note card hiding between the pages of the book she was reading. She carefully removed the card and set it down on the table for all of us to see. There was something written on it.

I-it just went on like that. The same sentence, over and over again. Wh-who wrote that? Was it meant for Kierra? How did it end up in that particular book? Call me silly, but I don't think I'd use a death threat as a bookmark. Honestly, what other conclusion can one draw from this?

"Well, that clinches it," said Blaze gravely. "Someone wanted to tuck Kierra in with a shovel."

"L-let's not be hasty here," I said. "Mist, what's that book?"

Misty Fly looked at the front cover. "It's an anecdotal account about how alchemy was historically used in warfare and sabotage. This particular passage actually talks about a specific recipe that ended up being outlawed in the Griffon Kingdom and many other nations because of how dangerous it is."

"What is that recipe?"

"Something called Rage Powder."

Hmm. That's not exactly ringing any bells. But honestly, we've got bigger clouds to clear right now. If Kierra was reading this book, and if that note was meant for her, then we need to tell the Griffon Magistrate. She might not be happy that we were investigating behind her back, but I can't in good conscience leave her out of the loop.

"Alright, we're done here," I said, packing up the notes we took.

"You planning on talking to the Griffon Magistrate, Sis?" inquired Blaze.

I nodded. "You know it. It's not much, but I think this might be the clue we need to connect the phony Mare-Do-Well to Kierra's death."

"I hear that," said Blaze. "I just hope she's willing to hear us out."

I smirked. "Even if she's not, we're not backing down. And trust me, I don't like the implications of that any more than any of you. Nevertheless, we're on a mission here, and I'm gonna make sure we see it through."

"Spoken like a true captain," said Misty Fly sagely. "We're with you all the way."

"Good," I said with a nod. "Now let's get going."

With that, we packed up our things and headed off. Just like last time, this mystery seems to get more and more confusing with every new fact I uncover. Even though Blaze's theory about Gypsy Moth does hold a bit more water than it did before, we're still missing several key pieces to this puzzle. I just need to convince the Griffon Magistrate of that fact. And considering how hostile she was towards me when we first met, I get the feeling that this is gonna be one of those things that's easier said than done. I seem to be running into a lot of those lately. Then again, it can't really be helped, now can it?