Random Encounters
‘I live in the forest, but don't make my home there.
‘You can move through me, see if I care.
‘When you've forgotten me, that's when I spring.
‘Your life is with me; to your death I bring.’
The riddle continued to ring within my mind as we made our way back towards town. I admit I was operating on autopilot at this point, following my superior around without any thought, but the answer eluded me. I thought it was a river at first, though I’m starting to think such a simple answer was not what the purple mare meant.
‘To your death I bring.’ What else is in a forest that can kill and yet also intangible? The very air? Poison? Maybe...
“Answer?” Keen Eye asked, breaking me out of my trance. When I turned to face her, determination could be seen within her eyes.
“I don’t know. She laughed at me when I said river, but the only thing I can think of otherwise is poison in the air.” I shook my head, throwing the riddle out of my mind for now in favor of another mystery. “I’m more interested in why you’re so talkative. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this on a case.”
She turned to face the road again, the conviction still present. Thatched roofs grew from the ground as we began to ascend a small knoll in the road, the same one on which we encountered the crazed pony. Despite myself, my eyes slid off towards the copse of trees into which he had disappeared, expecting him to jump out and interrupt us once more.
No such thing happened, however, and Ponyville’s homes soon came into view. I could faintly make out the colored shapes of its denizens wandering the streets. As we strolled closer, their faces became distinguished, and I caught glimpses of nervousness and fear before they were hidden once more within peaceful facades. One such pony with fear-filled eyes turned in our direction before running to greet us.
“Y’all must be the ponies Rarity was talkin’ about,” she said when she arrived before us, a faint layer of sweat glistening off her orange coat. “Y’all spooked her good when ya said you were lookin’ into our friends.”
My superior and I looked at each other, until her countenance became a smirk and she nodded her head towards the mare. I sighed openly at her intention and turned back to our interruption.
“Yeah, that was me. I was going to apologize as soon as I saw her again, but—”
“T’ain’t nothing to feel sorry for. You done scared her is all, not ‘affronted’ the girl,” the mare said, sitting down and bending her front hooves in front of herself in a rough image of quotation marks. “We’ve all been a bit touchy after Pinkie... well, you know.”
“Yes, we are aware. In either case, if you do see Miss Rarity, could you give her my condolences?”
“That sounds like something you should give her yerself, don’t ya think?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes it does, ma’am.”
“Aw shucks, call me Applejack, owner of Sweet Apple Acres,” she said with her head held high in pride as her loose blonde mane fluttered in a breeze. “Ah do have a question for ya, though.” She cast her eyes on my superior, a hopeful smile gracing her lips. “Have ya figured anything out?”
Keen Eye looked to the sky, closing her eyes in thought.
“Sorry, we aren’t supposed to talk about the case to civilians, even if they are the victims’ friends,” I said before she could respond, making her turn to watch me recite The Detective’s Rulebook for Detectives. “But if there’s any information you can give us, it could speed up the process.”
Applejack turned to me, a hint of a glare in her eyes before they turned genial once more. “Ya know, them police ponies said the same thing. But like Ah told them, Ah spend most my time on the farm, and the last time Ah spoke to any of them, they were fine.”
“Ca—”
“And before ya ask, the last time Ah saw any of them was a week before Pinkie... did what she did. Twilight thought it would be best if we avoided each other and work through things ourselves,” she explained while glancing between my superior and me.
“Odd that she would tell you that. Are you not all friends? Wouldn’t friends stick together after such an ordeal?”
The mare narrowed her eyes and stomped the ground. “Are ya callin’ me a liar? Ah’ll have you know the Apple family don’t accept lyin’ and Ah sure a sugar won’t be caught doing it, ya hear?” She jumped back to her hooves and spun around, allowing us a glimpse at her cutiemark: three red apples arranged in a triangle. “Ah’ve got a stall to run,” she called behind her as she trotted back into town, her legs pounding the ground harder than they should and stirring up dust.
I flinched in anticipation for another slap, but none came. When I turned to my superior, I saw her staring after Applejack in confusion. After a moment of quiet, she nodded and stepped into the village’s borders as well. My hooves followed after her as my mind wandered.
There was something about that mare Keen didn’t like. I don’t really believe her, either. What kind of friend tells everyone to deal with something like that separately? My gaze switched behind me at the institute resting upon another hill further away. Is what I saw of them how they acted before, or are they completely different?
Lost in thought as I was, I barely caught my superior turn away from where we were headed, or where I thought we were headed, out of the corner of my eye. As I trotted after her, I passed ponies going about their day, some of which staring after us in worry. A small part of my mind hoped we could bring their fears to rest soon.
“Where are we going? I thought the precinct was our next stop,” I asked when I reached Keen’s side. She merely glanced at me with a bemused expression and pointed towards the horizon. The sun was just beginning to reach the mountains on the horizon, casting gold and fuchsia into the atmosphere that was broken up by lingering clouds. “Ah.”
There are two places guaranteed to have information: bars and hotels. Bars, of course, are where ponies go to unwind and have a bit of fun, and the alcohol tends to loosen lips very easily. However, most detectives forget about hotels and how beneficial they are to a case. Nowhere else can you find out who’s visiting, or been kicked out of their home for said drinking, and that information holds a lot more promise than some would expect.
Then again, we weren’t at the hotel for information. Upon entering the building, which we learned was the only hotel in Ponyville from a passerby, I thought we were in the wrong town. The proprietor had thought it was a good idea to throw so much pomp into the lobby I was considering we had somehow teleported to Manehattan.
A rich marble floor of various colors created a mosaic depicting Celestia raising the sun, which set the theme of the entire room. Columns made of even more marble stood proudly as they held the balconies of the second floor, whose railings were painted as gold and white spirals. Chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling every twenty feet to cast a yellow hue upon the white-washed walls.
Ahead of us by nearly fifty feet was the check-in counter with a sharply-dressed stallion standing at attention. As we headed his way, the spaces beneath the loft opened up into seating areas with dark oak tables and velvet red cushions. Sitting in one of these was an azure mare with a blue mane that bordered on white who perked up from her reading to watch us pass.
“How may I assist you?” the clerk asked with as much pomposity as the room when we drew up to the counter. I had him set up a room for us overlooking the center of town, which he obliged with no comment, bit the key he set on the counter for us, and turned towards the stairs. We didn’t make it far before the mare from before intercepted us.
“Excuse Trixie, but are you the detectives sent from Canterlot?” she asked. Before I could respond, she continued. “Don’t listen to what the locals say. Trixie would never do something so… spiteful.”
My superior and I shared a look before I spoke up slowly. “I’m… sorry. Who are you?”
The mare took a step back with a curious look in her eyes. “You don’t know Trixie? The townsfolk didn’t start calling for my head the second they saw you?” Whoever this mare was, she seemed to fall back on first pony at the slightest emotion. When I shook my head, she set herself with her chest puffed out and continued. “I am Trixie, formerly The Great and Powerful Trixie, but circumstances changed that. Trixie is in town to make amends to the ponies she’s wronged in the past and—”
She stopped and stared at me with a raised eyebrow. “Why are you carrying that key in your mouth?” Unease swept through me immediately. “You’re a unicorn, aren’t you? What’s wrong with your magic?”
While asking about somepony’s magic wasn’t considered wrong, it was a bit of a faux pas, and it was rude to not answer a pony’s question as well. There was a reason, a very good reason, why I didn’t use my magic, but I didn’t want to discuss it. Just as I was looking for a way out and sweat began to build on my forehead, Keen strolled by the mare and gave her a light push before heading up the stairs.
“I… uh, gotta go. My superior, uh...” I mumbled in a slight panic, then chased after Keen. When I glanced back, the mare was glaring after us. The last thing I needed was another pony upset at us, but there was nothing I could think of at the moment. “Sorry!”
I met up with Keen at the door to our room and quickly opened it. Inside were two beds separated by a small nightstand just beyond a short hallway created by the bathroom. The room itself was decorated much like the lobby, but with less marble and more carpet the same red as the cushions in the sitting areas. An oak table sat to the side where I quickly shrugged off the saddlebags and set the key.
My superior and I had shared a few hotel rooms together on previous cases, so I made sure to take a seat by the table and wait for her to shower first. The dirt in my coat from earlier didn’t bother me enough to break the order we started a few years ago, so I took the time to set up our files as the sounds of a shower could be heard.
Reaching down, I started with the files I read on the train. Using a few pins I brought with us, I set up each victim’s file on a different section the wall opposite the beds. I pulled our spool of yarn out as well, but had no good leads of my own to start mapping, so I set it down on the table. Then, I grabbed my notebook and a quill and began writing.
I had a summary of each victim that we learned about at the asylum and the start of Rarity’s profile by the time I heard the water turn off. Turning to make sure I had the wall set up well enough for Keen, I stood and moved toward the bathroom. Without even a creak, the door opened.
Steam rolled out near the ceiling as Keen took a step out. Her evergreen mane was a tangled mess from toweling off, yet it looked good on her all the same. As she turned towards the beds, the old thought, like an inlaw, came back again. I was met with the crazy, familiar idea that, with a bit of luck, we could be an item, but I knew enough to keep it buried deep within my mind and away from my mouth. We were comfortable enough to share a room, I reminded myself. That was all.
Shaking my head to clear it, I hopped into the bathroom to take care of my own needs. Unfortunately, my superior had the organizing skills of a child, and I first had to clean the mess she left behind. On the plus side, I could use her towel as a drying pad when I climbed out later, so I wasn’t too irritated. Not that I can be after getting used to her antics these past two years.
There’s something to be said about a nice hot shower, especially when you get all the dirt out from your coat. Granted, it takes a long time, but the feeling of warm water cascading over you is meditative in a way. But I also knew Keen was waiting for me, so I shut off that valve to bliss and stepped out of the tub. After a quick dry rub with the hotel’s luxurious towels, I tidied up and exited the restroom.
When I turned the corner, I saw my superior sprawled across one of the beds haphazardly and sighed. I thought we’d recap what we learned today, or at least organize things before bed, but I guess she left that for me to do instead. Unfortunately for her, I was the one carrying half our luggage all around town and I was wiped, too. With a quick flick of my hooves, I covered her with the bedsheets, before flopping down on my own.
She can be mad at me in the morning if she wants. These beds are too perfect.
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1415721 You have 378? I have 1516! Not sure if that's a bragging right or a shame!
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That was a year ago. Now I've hit 909, but it probably would have been higher if I didn't have other interests and events going on during that year.
I prefer to think of it as a bragging shame. "Look, I have all these stories I'm interested in; aren't I just a swell guy for liking any genre equally?"
It's the Everfree mist, isn't it? Walk through it without paying attention, and you'll wander forever till' death. Or, from another perspective, it could be a spider web. You can walk through it. But if you don't notice it and get bitten... Or perhaps, it may be the breath of a Timber Wolf. It is a mere part of the air. But being ignorant of it can cause you to be eaten.
Hmn... Does a Timber Wolf's breath act as a hallucinogenic under the right circumstances? Does the 'not-sanity' affect the Element Bearers in relation to their elements? For instance, Twilight separated herself from her friends, and one of Pinkie's first symptoms was maniacal laughter.
So many questions...
How dare you force me to read the story using the title! Well, here it goes. I'll tell you how it went after I'm done.
When I saw 'count the shadows', my first though was Doctor Who's Vashta Nerada.
Darn, chapter three already? This is why I normally don't read stories that are incomplete.
Overall I say it was good and I'll be coming back here regularly to check for updates.
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I'll be honest, I didn't know it was a Doctor Who reference until I finally watched the show. It's nice to see the title is garnering attention, though.
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It's been some time since I last wrote a chapter, but comments like this make me want to continue at a faster pace than before. Thanks!
Nice to see a story that provokes the mind, I haven't been reading too many thinking books lately because of a slight fic reading spree (not that there aren't any fics that leave the reader wanting to discover more) so this kind of story was a welcome surprise. It seems almost a shame I had in in the read later thingie for a while. Anyway, fantabulous story and hope you keep up with it
, which I'm sure you will no matter how much of a chore it becomes right? 
Interesting enough that I'm looking forward to the continuation! Very interested to see whether AJ and Rarity are next.
I am intrigued. While I am not well read in mystery, nor an expert by any means, this case already has me baffled. I will eagerly await more to see how this tale unfolds.
-C.Storm