Diane

by Wisher

Tape

Chapter I

"Officer Twilight Sparkle, reporting for duty, sir!"

The stallion officer she had spoken to turned around from the papers he was examining behind his desk. She was standing rigidly before him and looking back at him with what could be called a professional expression. After examining her silently, the officer chuckled heartily. The way she had come in with a steadfast pace and how she was looking and speaking to him with such seriousness. It was almost cute.

"You really don't have to keep it up so much around here, Twily. Especially with me."

Twilight's brow furrowed a little.

"Shining I just want to make a good impression. I have to keep a professional façade with everyone working here, at all times."

"C'mon, with your big brother?"

Twilight gave a little sigh and decided to drop the issue.

"Coffee?" asked her brother.

"Thanks."

He poured her a hot mug, which she magically levitated, taking a cautious sip.

"Alright, so where is she?"

Shining nodded towards a nearby room. The plate on the door read "Interrogation Room 03". She looked at it, and felt an imperceptible shiver run down her spine. It was just a door, one she had passed in front of many times. But now that she knew what was currently behind it, an ominous feel surrounded it like the magic surrounding her cup. She'd been called yesterday about this particular job, being told she had "personal interest" in this case. She'd accepted as soon as she'd heard the shocking news, and she welcomed the cup of coffee she had, as she'd had trouble sleeping yesterday. This was no ordinary mental breakdown case. Her friends didn't know about it yet, but she decided it wouln't be a good idea to trouble them with that right now.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I can get someone else to do this if you'd like," said her brother, breaking her from her trance. She did look a little nervous.

Gravely, but with a certain confidence, she nodded to him.

"Yes, I can do this."

Shining nodded back, looking at his papers, twirling a pencil with magic of his own.

"Then she's all yours," he said.

- - -

Twilight stepped into the interrogation room. Closing the door behind her, she sat down at the plastic table in the center of the room, coffee and case file at the ready.

It was already a purposefully unsettling room. The lighting was bright, and sickly pale. The walls, made of a large grid of metal tiles with many small holes, reflected this lighting all around. She never understood why these holes were there, or if they served any purpose. The decoration was scarce, to say the least: there was a small plastic table in the middle, two chairs, white as well, and the large window pane of a contrasting, unrevealing black, although everyone who watched TV knew it was one way see-through glass.

And of course, the other person in the room. A pink mare in this case. Her hair was as straight as daggers.

She sat there, chin resting on her hooves, elbows resting on the table. She wore no expression but a sly grin.

Twilight sat down in front of her. Yesterday she was her friend. Today, she was the suspect.

There was a graveyard silence hanging in the room. And like a spectre, it haunted the atmosphere, as the two mares looked at each other dead in the eye, one unwavering, the other calculating.

After a while of this contemplating of the situation, Twilight spoke with calm composure.

"Hello Pinkie."

The other mare grinned a little more and spoke as well.

"Well good morning to you too Twilight."

Twilight tensed up. This mare sounded nothing like the Pinkie Pie she knew and loved. She had a mocking tone to her voice, and spoke in a distinctively lower key. She reminded Twilight in this instant more of Discord or Chrysalis, rather than Pinkie. It sent a shiver, but also a sharp pang of sadness coursing through her. Nonetheless she only inhaled and stood a little straighter, giving away nothing, internally vowing to herself to deal with this swiftly and effectively.

"Let's get this over with," she said. Ignoring the dark smirk on Pinkie's face, she took out from beneath the papers she had brought in a tape recorder. She looked at the glass pane. She needed someone to look at while saying this, and she could feel Shining Armor's gaze from behind the window, no doubt moodily admiring the show. She took a small breath and clicked the recorder on.

"This is message log number 1 for case file number 165902. The date is August 12, 2012. Officer Twilight Sparkle conducting the interrogation of suspect Pinkamena Diane Pie."

The latter gave a soft cackle that made Twilight feel a little hollow.

"Oh, my little Twilight. You were always so organized."

Twilight looked at her with a sideways glance.

"You don't know me," she said coolly.

"Oh? How do you figure? I mean I am litteraly the first pony you stumbled upon back in Ponyville. I threw a nice party for you and everything. Oh the many things we've been through together... I do miss those days," said the pink mare with a giggle.

Twilight instantly picked up on how unusually slow and rather little this pony spoke. She decided she would not let this imposter get the upper hand.

"If you are insinuating that we have a history of friendship together, you are mistaken. I have a long standing friendship with Pinkie Pie. And not with you..." Twilight sat straighter in her chair, now focusing solely on the mare opposite her.

"... Diane."

Diane, as she was called, mimicked a pout with a little smile to it.

"Awww. Are you saying you don't know me?"

"Yes. You're a stranger to me. And a cold blooded murderer to boot." She was determined to keep a level-headed poker face the whole way through.

Diane dropped the pouting act and laid back in her chair, hooves behind her neck, stretching out.

"Then why did you introduce me as her on your little tape?" she asked. It didn't sound like a question though. It sounded like a challenge.

"For professional purposes. In fact let's keep it on that side, shall we?"

"As you wish."

Twilight picked up the tape recorder and held it closer to both of them.

"I'm going to ask you some very specific questions, and you shall answer them honestly. You will give answers relative to the case at hand. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. Do you understand?"

"Yes," said Diane. She seemed amused.

"Will you cooperate?"

"Now what's the point in asking me a question like that, hmm?"

"Just answer the question, Diane."

She put her hooves on the table and edged, slowly, a little closer to the recorder, lips slightly parted in a mischievous smile. She hadn't once broken her gaze since Twilight had walked in. Not even once. It made Twilight nervous, and Diane was making her blood boil with anger. But she would not let it show. In an even lower and quieter tone, barely above a whisper, Diane answered the question.

"I don't know, will you?"

Twilight made an effort to keep up her own gaze. I guess you're not, she thought. I'll have to force you.

She set the recorder down and pulled the case file before her.

"Now according to the case file, you were found at the scene of the crime. Do you admit being there?"

"There's little sense in denying it. Silly."

"You don't have an alibi for yourself?"

"Nope."

Twilight raised her eyebrows a little.

"But the case file says you were splattered in blood. Do you admit to that as well?"

Diane grinned.

"As I said, no sense in denying it. Or will you believe me if I tell you it was cupcake frosting? Because that's what it was of course."

That cheeky grin of her's was playing on Twilight's nerves like wildfire. She would make it a personal honor to wipe it off. She would get her friend back.

"Two bodies were found, seriously mutilated. Their throats were slit, and showed multiple stab wounds and cuts, as well as multiple contusions." Twilight said the words with difficulty, and through gritted teeth. She knew Diane was lapping them up. From the corner of her eye Twilight could feel a huge, crooked smile, spread on the other mare's face as she was reading the case details. She tried to ignore it, but it threatened to break her concentration. But she had to state it all for the sake of protocol.

When she had finished, Diane giggled, completely unfazed.

"That must have been quite the scene," she said.

"You tell me, you were there."

"... Yes, it was quite the scene."

"The report also states that there was the word..." Twilight paused at the weirdness of what she was reading. She could feel Diane begging her to go on, as if waiting impatiently for some twisted crescendo.

"... the word 'Smile' painted in large bloody letters on the wall at the scene, is that correct?"

To Twilight's surprise, Diane looked genuinely thoughtful. She raised a hoof to her chin and spoke to herself.

"Was it Smile? I thought it was Happy?"

Tapping her hoof with her chin, mouth slightly agape, Diane looked at Twilight who was observing her. After a moment, she stopped tapping her chin and her lips curled into a toothy smile.

"Heh. I forget," she said in a whisper, drawing out the words.

Enough.

Twilight stared into Diane's deceptively sky blue eyes. In Twilight's mind she had stolen them from Pinkie, like she had stolen everything else. She was going to make that bitch understand she wouldn't bend under the pressure that was being applied to her. That she would come out of this victorious, hoof in hoof with Pinkie.

"Let's just cut to the chase, ok Diane?"

"Sure. I like... cutting."

"Why don't you just tell me why you did it?"

Diane's reply was a cackle and a snort. They were loud and harsh.

"I didn't kill those two ponies!" she said in a fit of creepy laughter.

"Yeah, no way, you were just there at the time, which is no alibi, and you were covered in the victims' blood."

"And I suppose you have proof that the blood found on me belonged to them?"

Twilight stumbled on that one. It was true that they didn't have any such proof.

"We're waiting for lab results," she simply replied, without any emotion at all.

"Yeah I thought so. Save yourselves the trouble".

Twilight raised a mental eyebrow at that one. Was Diane saying what Twilight thought she as saying?

"Are you saying you know the lab results will prove that the blood found on you was indeed that of the victims?"

"Of course not. I'm saying that it will prove anything but that." A second or two passed before Diane resumed. "Or am I...?" She gave yet another insincere giggle. Twilight was taking upon herself not to choke her right there on the spot.

"But who else's blood could it possibly be with that kind of amount?" she asked.

"I dunno, said Diane. I really don't care. And neither will a judge, by the way. Having hunches is nice and all, but without evidence, you don't have shit. But... let's say I killed those two... I believe they were whores?"

Twilight perked up at that statement. Checking the case file she said,

"Yes, the two of them were indeed prostitutes."

"Whatever, nobody misses them anyway. Ok then let's imagine that I did them in."

She leaned in closer to Twilight, just like before. She looked at her with those hungry, callous eyes. And she started licking her lips. It was all Twilight could do not to grimace and keep showing she wouldn't be destabilized by this freak. She figured Diane was doing so because she knew that by saying something so close to an actual confession, Twilight's interest would be considerably piqued, and she would be in a hightened state of alert or anticipation. A mental state killers craved, and sought in their panic stricken victims. She probably felt such a thrill, by thinking she was in control of Twilight by waving the carrot in her face like that. It was there, but not yet in the unicorn's grasp. There was still no real confession to use here. And Diane knew it.

"Would you like to know why I would do such a thing?"

And perhaps she was right. Perhaps Twilight was succumbing to this teasing... No, thought Twilight. I can't let her win me over like this.

"I'll be the one leading this interrogation, Diane. But yes, I would like to know why you'd do it."

There was a long silence in the room thereafter. So long it was positively screaming inside Twilight's head. She couldn't help but feel Diane was drawing out this silence on purpose to regain control, like a wild beast struggling not to be tamed. She armed herself with patience.

"Smile for me, Twilight."

After this deadly silence, the words that Diane had just uttered shocked her like a surprise gunshot.

"I'm sorry?" she cracked. She was no longer able to keep a stoic confident tone. She sounded genuinely bewildered, and her voice was fragile. This wasn't good.

Diane picked up on that and tried to add just a little less cheekiness and a little more command to her own voice. The control of the situation was shifting to her side.

"I said smile for me."

Twilight tried to force a smile upon her lips. But she not in the mindset for it and her lips wouldn't respond, and just quivered. It was obvously not the right time, and certainly not the easiest time to do so.

"Come on, Twilight, give me a flash of that smile! It's not so hard, see? I can do it just fine!" Diane said, giving her yet another obscene grimace that she called a smile.

Twilight blinked, and her lips quivered noticeably. She felt her heart hammering in her chest. Dammit why couldn't she just force a hypocrite smile on herself?

"You said you'd cooperate!" Diane said in a singsong tone, mocking her ruthlessly.

The lavender mare was spinning out of control, losing her edge, this mare's craziness was slowly creeping up on her, and--

Keep it together Twily. You're still in control.

The soothing voice of Shining Armor whispered at her through a small concealead earpiece. Suddenly she felt less isolated. Her breathing became less erratic. She could still win this battle of wits. After a short moment, he managed to curl her lips in a most awkward and unpleasant smile.

"There we go, said Diane in a falsely encouraging tone. Now," she continued. "That was actually pretty difficult, as simple as it sounds though, wasn't it?"

Twilight agreed without another word.

"Do you know, Twilight Sparkle, how hard it is to make ponies smile like that, all the time? Well I do know. I try to make ponies smile smile smile all day, everyday. And I do enjoy it." She tried to coax her into having sympathy for her, without sounding apologetic, but Twilight had decided not to let her toy with her mind again.

"But that kind of activity, you know, trying to be that twinkle in everypony's day... it really takes a toll on your nerves. Nerves, and ponies who carry them, are both fragile things, Twilight Sparkle. And do you know what happens to fragile things that are handled too roughly?"

She slowly set her hooves flat on the table, squaring her shoulders, and brought her face unbearably close to Twilight's, who didn't move a muscle.

"They break."

Diane spoke with such gravity and heaviness to her voice it scared Twilight. There was no more of this giggling business now. She was getting to a new, colder, darker area of the pony's mind. And she didn't know if she had the strength to carry on wandering in this bleak place. So without breaking her gaze on the pony murderously looking at her, she took the tape recorder.

"This is the end of message log number 1" she said, before turning off the device.

Diane sat herself back in her seat, as if nothing had happened over the last two hours. She stood there undisturbed. Unrepentant. Unforgiving.

Twilight magically gathered her belongings. Her coffee had gone cold, among other things. She got up, and looked at the suspect with a stern look.

"We'll continue this talk tomorrow."

Diane grinned.

"I'll make sure of it," she said.

Twilight silently turned away and closed the door without letting a single one of her many conflicting emotions show.

Comments

[Peridork]

Please continue this. I love seeing Pinkie like this. Plus its like you put Law and Order into My Little Pony. Totally watch this pile of awesome.

[Haystack167]

It seems like you based the style of writing off of Hannible or Silence of the Lambs. Very good though i must say. Correct some of the grammar in some areas though. Other then that. Looking forward to chapter 2!

[Bearded_Monkey]

I do like this story, and I look forward to reading the rest. However, every story has flaws. I think you should go though your story paying attention to every little thing, making sure it is flawless. Also, I sometimes found it hard to understand who was speaking at the moment.

[Lucky Fire]

I so can't wait to read the next chapter. Loving this ^^

[Arkensaw Pinkerton]

This is really good- I'm looking forward to mare. I like Twilight's attitude to working with her brother, as well. One formatting wobble-

"When two characters are taking, it's technically correct to put quotes around each character's words," said Twilight. "You should also end their sentences in a comma if you're about to write 'exclaimed Pinkie' or 'mumbled Fluttershy' or something like that."

"That's totally fascinating." Rainbow's sarcasm was thicker than the grammar books at hand.

"It is fascinating!"

"Yeah, like I said."

That's a correct style thing though- your dialogue itself is really good.

[Wisher]

1079160

I see. Thanks for the heads up Formatting dialog can be a bitch, nobody seems to have the same idea of how it's done. Plus I learned in school that formatting was taught differently in French and in Anglo-Saxon litterature, notably when it comes to punctuation, and seeing as how I'm French, I must have been used to writing a certain way but I really don't know which is which Yours makes sense though, I'll keep it in mind.

[Arkensaw Pinkerton]

1079198 Ah, that might be it. I'm native English and I still have trouble with the damn thing, so I shouldn't worry too much! I'm really looking forward to the next part. Keep it up!

[Snowstreak]

Why do I get the odd feeling that, despite appearances, despite all the evidence, Pinkie is somehow innocent?

Must read further!

[redoran77]

I don't normally give out a like until I'm completely finished with a story but, I believe I'll make an exception for this one

Grammar and Construction:
The premise, albeit known and expressed throughout the fandom, is still interesting. The way you presented it is also unique in many ways, I don't think I've ever seen a story where Twilight is the interrogating officer. There were a few grammatical errors, like the one pasted below, that appeared but nothing serious. The plot was executed clearly and concisely with fresh dialogue that wasn't generic and monotone. The description of setting and characters was also fleshy and vibrant. 9.5/10

"I dunno, said Diane. I really don't care. And neither will a judge, by the way. Having hunches is nice and all, but without evidence, you don't have shit. But... let's say I killed those two... I believe they were whores?"

^^^incorrect quotation marks

Enjoyability:
Now the most important part, enjoyability. The reason I made the exception to go ahead and give this a like is because the story is extremely compelling. I found myself racing through the text to find out what was going to happen next. My only issue here was how little actually occurred within the chapter. It says that the interrogation took 2 hours, but it felt more like 10 minutes. 7.5/10

Other than that last part it was great. Love the work look forward to finishing it.

Overall 8/10

P.S. I'll leave in depth reviews on each chapter and a total score at the end. Not that my input is gold or anything, I just like to analyze and pick apart stories after I read them