Keen woke up well-rested, calmer, but just as stressed as he was the day before. He didn’t think of it before going to sleep, but he felt guilty just for sleeping when he could be figuring out this case. Ponies were at risk, and he was just sleeping the hours away.
He put his trusty trenchcoat back on, though there wasn’t a whole lot these past few days that it helped him with. It felt… uninspiring. His fedora wasn’t uplifting either. He didn’t feel like the young stallion he once was anymore, and this case hit him harder than anything else could have. Despite the lack of desire, he put on his garments out of habit and left toward Sweet Apple Acres to check up on Applejack.
He began his route to ensure the safety of the remaining Elements before he would go to the station. Keen was responsible for the martial law in effect right now, so he felt responsible for the ponies affected most by it as well. He continued south out of town and followed the trail to the orchard. Apple trees dotted the sides of the road, like they did all around Ponyville, leading up to the Apple Family’s pride and joy.
The archway bearing the namesake of the orchard marked the path to the farmhouse and his first stop. He turned in, and continued his hike up to the house. It had been a long time since he had been here last, and he felt a twinge of nostalgia at seeing the old barns again.
When the farmhouse came into sight, he found that, as requested, numerous officers dotted the perimeter of the house, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. One saw him from a distance and immediately armed himself with a stun spell.
“Don’t come any closer or you will be shot! This is your only warning!” the officer shouted to him. Keen quickly cast a spell into the sky, identifying himself. The officer, after thoroughly inspecting the spell, was satisfied with the response and deactivated his horn, allowing Keen to approach.
“Good action, officer,” Keen complimented. “Keep it up, and nopony will be able to get the last three Elements.” He lifted a hoof to salute the guard, which was returned immediately. Keen continued to the house and knocked on the door. Granny Smith opened the door briefly, saw the detective standing there, and immediately greeted him into the house.
“Well, howdy-do, detective! What did you go and say to make this young un’ here almost wet her britches?” she chastised. Granny took care of Applejack since she was little, raising her into the apple business like everypony else in her family before her. Keen was always able to look at the family with pride, despite his talent lacking any connection with theirs.
“I’m sure she already told you, Granny,” Keen replied. “I’d… rather not bring it up again around her if I can help it.” She hobbled over to him and placed a foreleg around his shoulders, bringing him closer.
“Don’t let anypony tell you any other way, but yer a good soul, carin’ about us this much,” she whispered. She hugged him, and he hugged her back. They separated, and she continued, “Ah wouldn’ reckon goin’ in there’d be a good idea, Keen. She’s a bit worried ‘bout this whole thing.” Granny blocked the entrance to the living quarters, keeping Keen in the hall. He nodded, and turned.
“Just please, Granny. Keep her safe. Please.” Granny closed her eyes and nodded, gesturing to the door. He stepped out and turned to see the door closing behind him. He sadly dipped his head, looked towards the ground, and started the long trek back to Ponyville. At least she’s safe, he thought.
“I’ve been reading, because I have to read if I’m nervous, and if you haven’t been able to tell, this whole situation is a little bit nerve wracking, to say the least.” Twilight had been pacing around her library, levitating a book toward her, reading the title, placing it into a stack, and grabbing another. “I read them all… Twice. I have to sort them all now, alphabetically by publish location, then by year, then by number of dedications, then by name of the dedicated in reverse-alphabetical order…” She ranted on, still grabbing and moving books throughout the library.
“She’s been this way ever since Rai-” Spike started, before turning toward Twilight, waving Keen toward him, then whispering “Ever since Rainbow Dash. You may not know, but if Twilight didn’t have this library, I think she would have… um…” Spike looked a bit sad, and didn’t finish. Spike was worried about Twilight, keeping stacks of books from falling, feeding her whenever her stomach growled, but letter her mourn in her own way.
“Thank you for keeping an eye on her, Spike. I know this whole thing is taking a toll on you too, but…” Keen was going to continue, but Spike had become a bit absentminded, and had wandered to the other side of the library to assist Twilight again. It seems he mourns the same way Twilight does, Keen noted. Twilight’s pet owl worriedly hooted at him as he passed, as if it knew the magnitude of the situation and wished him to do something to help.
“I’m sorry, owl, but I’m doing all I can. I really am…” Twilight kept going on about another sorting method, pulling out every book she could and placing them in various stacks around the library. Keen barely managed to get out before she started stacking books on the other side of the door. He felt a bit relieved that her own worrying could prevent the killer from getting inside.
“I’ll be back to check up on her later on this evening. I’ll do the same thing I did when I arrived earlier. Keep your guards up.” The officer saluted and stepped out of the way of the detective. It was a short stroll to Sugarcube Corner from here, so Keen wasted no time and readied his ID spell for the officers guarding it. Within minutes, he saw the tip of the building, and shot the spell so the guards would know it was him approaching.
The officers separated and allowed him into the shop. Keen jumped when Pinkie came bounding out of the kitchen. “I’m cooking some cupcakes! Do you want one? Be careful, these ones are really really sweet. I may have used a teensy bit too much of my newest secretest ingredient yet!”
Keen kept in stride. Everypony has their quirks, and Pinkie must have baked all day as a way of coping. He accepted and sat down at the table. Pinkie joined him, and started talking. “Are you doing alright Keeny?” she asked. She must have noticed his worn look upon arriving.
“This case is just getting to me. I’ve done everything I could, tried to find every clue, but nothing makes any sense.”
“Maybe because it doesn’t?” She said it with a tone that made it sound obvious. Despite that, he still didn’t get how there couldn’t be a pattern.
“There has to be. Nopony just kills without a reason!”
“Well, of course, silly! There’s always a reason, but it doesn’t have to make sense.”
Pinkie’s pet alligator walked in, chewing on a balloon and walking about the staff area. Keen knew Gummy, having seen him while he sat eating his cupcakes in the past. He was as much a treat to customers as the cupcakes were.
A reason to kill, but the reason doesn’t make any sense? That doesn’t make any sense, either! He sat there pondering while Pinkie slowly bounced on her own stool. She seemed intensely interested in the balloon Gummy chewed.
“Maybe I can bounce some thoughts off of you, Pinkie. I need some out-of-the-box ideas for this case.”
“Okie-dokie-lokie! Shoot!”
“The killer’s after the Elements of Harmony, but why? What evil would actually kill the Elements?”
“Maaaaaaaybe they don’t want to kill them, but has to.” She seemed saddened by the question, but stuck by his side.
“I’m sorry for asking you this stuff, Pinkie. Just ask me to stop when you feel uncomfortable.”
“Yeah,” she sadly responded.
He stared at her. She’s just as sad as the rest of her friends, but she’s willing to go through this to protect them… Keen felt like he respected the party pony more, now. He didn’t feel like she was just an airhead anymore.
“If… If the killer had to kill them, why not try to hide them? Why did they put them out in the open for other ponies to find?”
She shrugged. “Maybe they had to kill them, but still wanted to have a bit of fun with them first?” Keen winced. He thought of that, but didn’t want to know if anypony else thought the same. It was too sickening to believe.
A loud bang shocked the two of them. Gummy had snuck up under the two of them and popped the balloon he was chomping on. Pinkie jumped out of the chair and looked at the pieces of the balloon.
“Sorry about that, Keeny! You know how Gummy is. Always helping me out!” She wandered to the kitchen and came back out immediately with a cupcake. “This is for you!”
Keen looked, puzzled, at the cupcake. “I thought you were making cupcakes?”
“I still am. I made this one just for you!”
“Is this taste-testing for one of your new cupcakes or something?”
Pinkie shrugged. “Sorta.”
Keen ate a small piece of the cupcake and kept thinking aloud.
“What sort of pony knows how to cut open ponies like that, anyway?”
Pinkie looked at him with a gleam of pride in her eyes. “Lots of practice! At least, that’s how I get good at things.” He took another bite. He felt as tired as ever, and thought his eyes were fighting against him.
“But… Why the Elements of Harmony? Why?” He finished the rest of his cupcake in one bite, savoring the odd but delicious frosting.
“It was random, of course! Gummy picks these balloons, see? And when they pop, they have a number in them, and each number is somepony! And I don’t make the rules, it could be anypony!” Pinkie bent over and lifted back up with a piece of paper in her hair.
Keen looked at her, first with a bewildered look, but then with a look of horror. “Y-you? You killed them? B-but…”
“They were my friends, I know. I’m still sad by that. But I don’t make the rules.”
“You were with us when Flutters-!”
“The Mirror Pond, but I’m still kind of scared of it since last time…”
Keen staggered out of the stool and dropped to his knees. He had no energy left. Pinkie stood over him.
“I guess tomorrow, we’ll have a new secret ingredient! And this will be the secretiest ingredient ever! I bet they won’t even be able to detect what I added!” She snorted. “Keeny, it was your number I got today! Let’s have some fun, okay?”
Keen saw her smile, then blacked out.