//------------------------------// // CHAPTER TWELVE:It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Murder // Story: The Bizarre Case Of Minty And Malty // by Speedy //------------------------------// A scream had broken out over the silent night, heighten to a great degree by magic. The three mares had all jumped simultaneously as if the enhanced scream was a loud explosion. “HELP! THERE’S A BEEN A ATTACK!” the same voice boomed again. Without so much as a word Star Catcher had took flight, “H-Hey wait up!” Sparkleworks shouted as she galloped after her. Whistle was hot on her trail, jumping and ducking over various ponies who all heard the scream but remained frozen in place. Whistle caught up with Sparkleworks with quite ease, however staying within range of Star Catcher proved to be a real challenge. She turned and flew behind a group of buildings with the two mares taking to the alleyways behind her. They turned left once, twice to the right and then back around taking the other turn as they hit a dead end. They broke out from the alleyway, Whistle looked around for Star Catcher and spotted the familiar back of Minty’s building. She heard Sparkleworks gasp suddenly, straight ahead and centered in a single street light was Star Catcher. Kneeling by her was the screamer, it was Tropical Dream who was crying heavily into her hooves. Between them was a third pony that Whistle couldn’t quite make out, but what she could see was that the surrounding snow was soaked in red. Sparkleworks spoke but fell silent as Star Catcher casted them a stare, she shouted “Get Whistle away, she shouldn’t see this!” Whistle immediately shook her head and took a step forward but just then she noticed the pony’s clothing. She held her mouth, Sparkleworks gave all her strength just to turn her around.    --FILLYDELPHIA EXPRESS-- Murder! While trotting home late on Hearth’s Warming Eve, Fillydelphia’s own Edward Horseluck was found, dead. Guards were quick on the scene, as one Tropical Dream, who had discovered the gruesome scene, used a voice enhancing spell to alert them. Our own major and guard captain, Star Catcher, who recently had just returned after leave, was quick to turn down any comments. Tropical Dream was not only the alerter, but also a eye witness. When asked for a comment Star Catcher was quick in banishing the reporters from the scene, though not without a distraught cry from the eye witness. “Oh Amethyst...why!?” Could our own Amethyst, mother of uprising candy genius Minty and builder of what became our High Society, be involved in Edward’s murder? If anypony, or dragon, has any information then please contact the guards or the local newspaper. First murder in hundreds of years, how will Celestia act upon this news? Star Catcher threw down the morning paper, the table shook under her hoof. “How in the night’s stars do they print these so fast?” she asked while rubbing the place between her eyes. “Shouldn’t you see the paper before it gets printed?” asked Minty. She was setting a tray of star shaped cupcakes on the table and gnawed away on her own peppermint stick. Star Catcher casted a glare at the tray and slid it away with her wing.  “Oh they hadn’t sent this out yet, if I say no to the first print it’s all scrapped”. Minty sat at the table, right beside Tropical Dream, the fur around her eyes stained with eyeliner. Across from her were Whistle and Sparkleworks who likewise weren’t up to eating. About the only pony who took a cupcake was Lily, she took one look at the glares and placed it back almost immediately. “Tropical Dream, can you run down exactly what you saw?” Tropical Dream let a loud yelp at Star Catcher’s question. “Couldn’t you wait at least a full day?” asked Minty as she spat out her peppermint stick and held her distraught friend in an embrace. “It’d be best if she talks about it now, least it troubles her more later” answered Star Catcher who had crossed her forelegs. “Learnt that in guard HQ, did ya?” Minty whispered under her breath. Minty patted her friend’s back and after a minute or two she agreed to talk. She took a handkerchief and touched it to her eyes, then blew her nose into it. “I was sitting at my window, enjoying the wonderful view” Tropical Dream started off. She paused and blew her nose once more. “I got up to go to bed, that’s when I saw her”. “Saw who?” Star Catcher asked, at seeing Minty’s glare she gave Minty her own. “Amethyst,” Tropical Dream answered. She was stuttering horribly and could hardly speak straight. She blew her nose a third time and, after a great gulp and whimper, said “I couldn’t possibly imagine why she would show up---oh come now Minty, I’m sure whatever the reason, she wasn’t spying on you!” “Wouldn’t be the first time..” Minty said in a loud whisper. She didn’t care much for Star Catcher’s stare as she kept patting and rubbing her friend’s back. Tropical Dream wiped her tears with the handkerchief and continued on. “Then Edward emerged from the shadows as well. Amethyst coming here is one thing, but him? I couldn’t hear them, Heavens only Minty could have” Minty gave an obvious blush. “He must’ve said, or done, something, as the two had gotten into a struggle”. “Was he who started this struggle?” Star Catcher asked. Tropical Dream shook her. “To be honestly Star Catcher, I can’t say. They were still a bit away, but I did see---I saw---oh Celestia..” Minty brought Tropical Dream onto her shoulder where she proceeded to cry excessively. Sparkleworks poked her nose against Whistle’s own crying face, much like a puppy showing affection to it’s owner. “It’s OK, take your time Tropical” Star Catcher gave in a warm, friendly voice. Tropical Dream blew her nose, wiped her eyes, and kept crying. Finally after the third or fourth nose blowing she blurted out “She t-t-too-took her ca-cane and…” but she couldn’t finish, her tears became too heavy and her mouth had dried up. “I think she said enough..” Minty spoke and without asking permission she stood up and helped Tropical Dream out of the room. Star Catcher gave a puff, she placed her head into her hooves and shook it. Taking a deep sigh she said “Well, that went swimmingly. Lily, you worked here for a while. Did you---” “Nope, I was asleep in bed. Her enhanced screaming woke me up though, even you arrived on scene before I did” Lily answered. She took back her cupcake and bit a leg off of it. “I hadn’t ate in hours, you want me sick?” she asked shaking her head. “Where is Malty?” Star Catcher asked suddenly as she checked the time. Whistle shrugged her shoulders. “I couldn’t find her anywhere, I searched for a solid hour. A solid hour!” Star Catcher raised a hoof to her chest and slowly exhaled. ”I requested that she’d be here, since she’s Amethyst’s pupil I had hoped she would---aw well, doesn’t matter”. “Star Catcher, shouldn’t she had turned herself in by now?” asked Sparkleworks. Star Catcher shook her head while saying “Chances are if Malty wasn’t who Tropical saw, then she wouldn’t know about this at all. My guards are quick to silence ponies who gossip about crimes”. “If I may ask, if chances are this wasn’t Amethyst then it could had been Malty, right?” Lily asked, her mouth was filled with cupcake crumbs which she spat out as she spoke. “Well---” Star Catcher started as she looked up at the ceiling which bared colorful decorations. “---the three of us saw how closely Malty resembles Amethyst, and I doubt Tropical could tell the eye col---” “It wasn’t Malty!” interrupted a voice. Star Catcher turned around in her seat and saw Tropical Dream was back in the room. Minty came back as well, she trotted around in front of her friend she as said “Tropical Dream, you been through a lot. You should to rest”. Minty was ignored as Tropical Dream trotted past her, Minty felt a little shocked she was just pushed aside in this manner. “I know what I saw, I don’t mistake Amethyst!” “Tropical,” Star Catcher started, Tropical Dream shook her head repeatedly but she went on anyways. “it was dark and you even said you couldn’t hear them. Malty even wears similar clothing, from what I heard, it even makes more sen---” “NO!” Star Catcher jumped as she suddenly fell silent at Tropical Dream’s outburst, her body shaking Tropical Dream added “I know it wasn’t Malty, it couldn’t have been!” “O-K...then, can you vouch for where Malty was at the time in question?” asked Lily who had took another cupcake, Sparkleworks shook her head at her. “I--Huh?” gasped Tropical Dream. “You seem to know, being you’re shouting at the one pony who could give you a warrant” Lily laughed, as she looked around and saw the stares she was given she apologized for the joke. “Had to say it, but honestly if you know it wasn’t Malty, then obviously you know where she was” Everypony stared at Tropical Dream who stared back at each of them. She appeared to had lost her voice, though only for a brief moment as she suddenly said in a rather fast manner “I-I don’t know--where--Malty was, but I know it wasn’t her”. “Well, when we see her we’ll ask” Star Catcher spoke up. She then turned back around the table and stared at Whistle. “As of now, she is a suspect. She didn’t even show, that---” Tropical Dream took a step forward, shaking her head she started “She’ll say it wasn’t her, you should take my word as---” “You’re distraught, Tropical Dream” interrupted Star Catcher. “You might not had even remembered the scene right”. “H-How dare you!?” Tropical Dream’s mouth fell as she stomped the floor, hard. Minty had took a step to remove her from the room but Tropical Dream had taken two steps ahead instead. “I’m am not disillusional! You just don’t know who Malty really is---” she suddenly froze, her eyes twitched as she fumbled with her words. Everybody had looked up at her, Star Catcher stood up from her seat and Tropical Dream took half a step backwards “Who Malty really is? Who is she then?” Star Catcher asked with raised eyebrows. Tropical Dream’s eye twitched even more as she began sweating. “N-N-No-Nothing... nothing, just you don’t know where Malty even comes from”. Star Catcher raised her eyebrows even higher. “And you do?” Tropical Dream cringed, shaking her head furiously she blurted out “Of course not! W-Whistle, you spent time with her, surely you can tell---” “I’m with you” Whistle interrupted with a smile. “Even though once or twice I saw her twisting her cane when Edward was being a total jerk, I don’t see Malty doing this”. Star Catcher nodded, turning her attention to Minty she said “You seem quite calm about this”. “How so?” Minty asked as she squinted her eyes in a what did you say type of stare. “I mean, your mom is suspected as a murderer. A murderer Mints, yet you aren’t even reacting to the news.” Star Catcher answered. Minty let out a fake laugh as she returned “Star Catcher, you know I gave up on my mom years ago. If she’s a killer, well then, it’d be right up her alley”. Tropical Dream gasped and thought she had felt her heart cracked. “M-Minty..she’s your mother! How could you---” “How could I? How could I not!” Minty interrupted and got up close enough to rub noses with her friend. “She was a terrible mom! Forcing me so hard to follow in her hoof steps. But when I got my own Cutie Mark she threw me out, as if I didn’t matter anymore!” Minty slammed her hooves down extremely hard, a very small tear had dripped down her cheek. Tropical Dream noticed the tear as it fell upon the floor, but as she attempted to comfort her friend her hooves were suddenly slapped away. “She didn’t care about me, why should I care about her?” Minty asked. “Minty..” spoke one of her friends who couldn’t believe her ears. Minty gave an heated puff and left the room before any of them could comment further. She stormed up the stairs, trotted into her room and slammed the door before leaping into bed. She felt so angry she wanted to buck something just to let her anger out. Her thoughts were filled of memories with her mother and her tension tightened to the point she felt like screaming atop her lungs. Then her thoughts went onto the murder and she found that she didn’t even care about it. She hated Edward, everypony did so as far as she cared the entire town had motive to kill him. But her own mother? As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she just couldn’t picture Amethyst doing it. She flicked her head up, mostly to get her untidy mane out of her eyes. Her eye fixed on the mirror fixed atop a dresser, she puffed and looked away for a brief second before staring right back. She looked pitiful, much like how she did when Amethyst threw her out all those years ago. She laughed and then frowned, “Mom...You’re a terrible, uncelestial cruel mare” she took a great sigh. Despite her entire being wanting to resist, her heart knew the truth and she just couldn’t deny it. “But you aren’t a killer”.