//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: E.C.I.S Case Files: Mother's Day // by averagewriter //------------------------------// She quickly walked towards the closest light she could see, which, unfortunately, is the cemetery. Also, this cemetery is where her mother is buried, which isn’t very surprising since it’s the only cemetery in town. Since she was already there, she decided to visit her mother’s grave. Maybe talk to her about her problems, greet her a happy mother’s day. That is, if the pony working there wouldn’t mind...and if there is anypony working that is. Citrine walked pass the many tombstones, shivering with every name she read. Soon, she was finally looking at her mother’s gravestone. She shed a single tear as she read the inscriptions on the gravestone, which contained her mother’s name, year of birth and death, and a small sentence of praise. However, her eyes caught sight of a much smaller inscription and took a closer look. SEMPER FI Semper Fi? Citrine stared at it, confused. That doesn’t make sense. The writing shouldn’t be there...unless…- “Hey, excuse me miss, the dead won’t be up for a pretty long time. Give them the rest they deserve.” Citrine, startled by the voice, turned around to face a stallion with a tired, flushed face. “Uhm...those, err, puns are terrible and very inappropriate,” she awkwardly tells him. “And I’m visiting my mother, or what’s left of her. Who are you anyways?” “Your mother, eh? Well, well, I’m the cemetery caretaker, working the graveyard shift as they call it,” he laughed at his own joke. “Name’s Charon and I have every reason to believe that my name has nothing to with my job. Why? Because-” Citrine, who got bored listening, decided to check his cutiemark. She had never seen a caretaker’s mark and she’s taking the chance to find out. Would it be a tombstone? A shovel? A pile of dirt? “Why is your cutiemark a heart with a cross?” Charon, who was caught off-guard by the question, looked at his flank then at Citrine’s wide, curious eyes. “Oh, this will be fun to explain,” Charon smiled. “I was once a doctor -yes, a doctor- and it was much more easy to interact with the patients, compared to the silent folks here. Seriously, my life is just ironic. For one-” Citrine politely smiled throughout the whole story, though she barely listened. Once he was finished with the story, she sighed in relief, thanked him for the stories, and prepared to leave. As Citrine walked towards the gate, Charon speaks up, “Hey, I remember you saying you were here visiting your mother. Can’t help but notice the tombstone’s name. You must be Citrine.” She stopped walking, “How did you know my name?” She turned around and walked back to him, “How?” Charon chuckled, “Looks like the rough stone eventually became a polished gem. I was friends with your mom, that’s how I know your name. I was also your family doctor, well, used to.” Suddenly, an idea surfaced to Citrine’s mind. Maybe, he might know something about her mom that can help her find the reason she died. She might also know something about her mom’s past. “Sir, can you please tell me everything you know about her and what happened to her,” she begged. “I really need to know.” A sly grin and a mischievous twinkle in his eye, Charon leaned on the closest tombstone and said, “Sure, I’ll tell ya everything about her...for a price of course.” Shocked but desperate, Citrine accepted the offer. This made Charon smile even wider. “Give me an item that has the most value to you...and to your mom.” At this, Citrine paled, “W-What? You’re kidding, right?” Charon mockingly shooked his head and leaned closer to her, “You want to know about your mommy, right? Well, this is the only way kid. No information comes without a price.” “Why would you do this? She’s your friend! At least give me some slack!” Citrine tried to reason. This response just made Charon smirk and roll his eyes. “Enough with the drama, kid. Sure, I might be your mother’s friend but that doesn’t really change anything,” he coldly stated. “Now, will you do it or not?” Seeing as she had no choice, she wiped the tears that began streaming down her face and nodded. “Good, you finally agreed. You can give it to me anytime but the sooner, the better, right?” Charon laughed then continued, though with a much more gentle and caring tone. “Wipe your tears and stay strong. You can’t show too much weakness in this world, kid, ‘cause if they see you like this, they’ll take advantage of you. Now, go home and take a rest. I’m sure you had a long day.” Citrine nodded and took a deep breath, regaining her composure. Without speaking another word, she walked towards the gate and out of the cemetery. It would hurt parting with something both she and her mother cherished but it’ll be worth it. What really bothered her was the cemetery caretaker’s personality… She completely forgot about the locket that was in her bag until she was just one block from her house when a gray-furred earth pony noticed it hanging from outside her bag. “Ooh…” she eyed the locket. “That thing looks really old and valuable. Where did you get it?” “I found it on the ground,” Citrine replied without stopping to look at her. From the tone of her voice, she thought the mare was going to steal it. “Okay, then. Say, how about I buy it?” This made Citrine stop at her tracks. “Buy it?” “Yeah. I love collecting old, antique stuff. That necklace looks just like that. How about, ten thousand bits for that?” Her face produced a wide grin. Citrine pondered for a moment. It all seemed too sudden, but a pony was gonna buy a necklace she was given a few hours ago. “I could give you my number if you change your mind,” she added. “This all seems too sudden,” Citrine replied. “I need time to think. Just give me your number.” “Sure!” They exchanged numbers, and Citrine continued on to the doorstep of her home. “Dad, I’m home!” Citrine called out as she entered her house. As usual, she received no reply. Despite being used to her father’s silence, she still greets him every time she comes home. Maybe one day, he’ll change. After a quick check of her surroundings and telling herself that her father is sleeping, she carefully walked towards her room. There, on the middle of her bed, was a bag containing all of her mother’s things. “Give me an item that has the most value to you...and to your mom.” The words echo in her mind, pushing away any other thoughts. It was mocking her, at the same time, motivating her. Sure, she may lose the item they both held dearly but she could be one step closer to finding who killed her beloved mother. But what if it didn’t? What if the information the gravekeeper is going to tell her be useless? These conflicting thoughts continue to torment poor Citrine. Hold yourself together, she thought to herself, The sooner I decide, the closer I’ll be to finding out the truth… Give him the item and hope for the best… Or... Don’t and find another way… She took a deep breath and looked at the bag, What is the most valuable thing to both of us? She looked through the bag's contents, finding what she believed to be the most valuable to both of them. The mirror? Both admired it but not really valued it. The cup? It didn’t really mean much to Citrine as it did to her mother. Maybe it’s the locket? The locket was beautiful and it contained Citrine and her mother’s pictures inside. Both of them value it so much, could Citrine really give it away? She opened the locket and quickly closed it again, unable to look at the pictures inside. It would remind her too much about her mom and how she felt helpless without her. The locket was also where she found the folded paper telling that her mother did not die a natural death. “Everything started because of you, locket.” She brought the locket closer to her face. “I hope everything ends with you.” The next day, at the crack of dawn, Citrine strolled to the cemetery, half-scared and half- excited. She wore the locket that contained her and her mother’s pictures. “I hope that gravekeeper ain’t a sham,” she mumbled to herself. The gravekeeper gave Citrine a wide smile as she opened the gates. “Good morning, miss Citrine!” he hollered. “Looks like you got yourself a shiny locket o’er there.” She nodded. “This is a locket that contains our most beloved pictures together.” “Well then. Show it to me.” Citrine went up to the gravekeeper and gave the locket to him. “This looks good,” he said, opening the locket. “A’ight. I’ll tell you some info.” She nodded. “Go on.” “Your mother… You may think that she was a healthy mare, but in reality, she was not. She had a rare disease; a disease so rare it has not been studied quite well. As far as we know, though, it was potentially lethal, incurable, and hereditary. However, don’t you worry. You only have a tiny possibility that you also possess this scientifically interesting ailment.” A slight frown formed on Citrine’s face. “Okay…” “That disease, which we haven’t given a name yet, caused your mother some serious symptoms which occur very rarely but spontaneously. As far as my ol’ brain can remember, I figure some of the symptoms were sneezing, vomiting, convulsions, and a really high fever. This onset of symptoms happened to cause her to stay home from your little trip years ago, if I’m not mistaken?” “Y-yes.” “And your pop hired me, right?” “I… think so.” “Well, yeah, you’re correct. I was her doctor during her four days of recovery. Should’ve been expected, though, ‘cause I was your family doctor, and all-” Citrine cut him off. “Can you tell me more about what happened when I was gone?” “Hmm…” Charon opened the locket, revealing the photos Citrine and her mother treasured. He carefully looked at them all, his happy-go-lucky smile gradually fading away with every photo. After he took the last picture and put it back inside the locket, he gave it back to Citrine, with a tear rolling down his cheek. “You two were… really inseparable,” he said with a chuckle, though it sounded much more of a sad chuckle. “Even if I lost my job, ended up as a gravedigger, and in dire need of money, if you really wish to know how your mother passed away, I would be glad to share all I know with you.” “Oh, wow!” she replied, overjoyed. “Thank you, sir!” “Haha, no problem,” he replied. “Now come here, lass. Hear me out.” “For the first two days, she had this severe cough, which I thought was a new symptom of the disease, so I gave her some medicine to ease it a bit. She seemed to be recovering the more I gave her her other needed medicines. On the third day, she suddenly had a non-stop seizure. I called for emergency help, but by the time they arrived, she was pronounced dead on the spot. Trying to revive her was no use. The head nurse even tried a resuscitation spell on her, which sadly failed. At that point, our spirits faded away and had a moment of silence. Unnatural death was uncommon in Ponyville given the excellency of the medical staff, so this was pretty shocking for us.” Citrine brought her hoof closer to her mouth in shock, “Oh my...that’s terrible…” “Yes it is…” Charon looked at the pendant, “To see your friend suddenly die...it leaves a mark on you.” “I suppose that’s all you’re going to tell me?” Citrine asked him. “Eeyep, it’s time for you to move on.” Charon then gave her a pouch of bits, “There’s 50 bits in there, don’t waste ‘em all in one place.” Citrine was confused, “What’s this for?” “Your mother won the bet,” Charon answered with a huge smile, “Even in death, she still beats me.” With that, Charon walked back towards his “home”, a small structure in the middle of the place, leaving a confused Citrine alone. She thought of leaving and continuing her search when a thought came to her. “Semper Fi!” Charon stopped and turned his head to face her. A sad smile was on his face. “What does it mean, sir?” Citrine asked him, “I found it etched on my mom’s gravestone.” “Semper Fidelis...Always faithful,” Charon answered, “I know you found that note, Citrine, and I know that you know as much as I do about you mother’s death. Why don’t you go to the big building near the center of this town. Make sure the door has a horseshoe with a feather and a horn forming a cross on it. You’ll find some answer there.” “How did you know about the-?” “I placed it.” And Charon continued walking, not turning back again when Citrine called out for him. His promise has been fulfilled and now it’s time to lay all of his ghosts to rest. Citrine had a lot of questions on her mind ever since she left the cemetery. Who really was the gravekeeper? How does he fit into the puzzle? Is he related in any way to this mystery? And most importantly, why is the building he led her so important?