//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: E.C.I.S Case Files: Mother's Day // by averagewriter //------------------------------// 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? These thoughts were still on her mind by the time she reached the town’s center. She shook the thoughts off as soon as she realized where she was. She started looking for the building with the description the gravekeeper gave her. “Building with a horseshoe...and a horn and a feather forming a cross on it…” Citrine muttered to herself as she eyed every building she could see. If it was a big building and it needed to be less obvious, then it chose the right place to be. But surely there’s another way to find this building without looking at all of the doors? After looking at every doors she passed by and the weird looks that were given to her, Citrine found herself in front of an orange building. It was big, it was near the town’s center...And what’s this? Could it be? “Yes! Finally found it,” Citrine excitedly said to herself as she triumphantly look at the door. A horseshoe with a feather and a horn forming a cross on it. With a deep breath and a confident look, she entered the building. Her eyes were met with a disappointing sight; what she could see was only a white room with a door on the end. A guard pony sits nearby the door. “There goes my expectations…” she muttered as she slowly walked towards the door. The guard seems to be oblivious to her presence; he seems to be reading one of the newest Daring Do book. Right before she could open the door. Citrine was stopped by the guard (whose eyes were still on the book). “You may want a visitor’s I.D before you enter, kid,” the guard monotonously said. He pulled something out of the book and gave it to her, “Make sure you wear this at all time while you’re here...unless you want to get arrested in there.” “Uhm...ok, thank you,” Citrine slowly grabbed the I.D and placed the strap over her head. The guard just nodded and flipped a page, seemingly still concentrated on the book. Citrine quickly opened the doors and went inside, wanting to get away from the awkward atmosphere as fast as possible. As soon as the doors closed, she sighed and wiped the sweat off her forehead. With the weird guard still on her mind, she failed to notice that the room she currently is started going up. She wasn’t technically in a room, she was in an elevator. Soon, the doors opened again and this time, Citrine’s eyes weren’t disappointed. The room before her was a huge one and it seemed to be an office of some sort. There were a lot of ponies doing whatever they needed to do. And whatever they’re doing, it seemed very important to make them not notice her. “Hey Joe, can you hand me the autopsy for the victim of TS-7?” “I demand a total scan of the murder weapon right now.” “I’m sending Detective out there right now. Hang on.” “Yo dude, pass me some of those donuts!” It was clear enough. She was at the Ponyville Police Headquarters. And she had already planned out what she was going to do here. “Hello, young girl,” a police officer approached her, words unclear because of the donut stuffed in his mouth. “Do you need some help?” “I, um…” she stuttered. “Can I ask a few questions?” “Oh, no problem!” he answered, “Just talk to...uhm…” The officer looked around the busy office and sighed when he spotted the only one who seems to be not working. “Well, you can try your luck with that guy,” the officer said as he pointed to the stallion who seems to be sleeping. “Okay...thanks, I guess,” Citrine nodded and walked towards the desk of the sleeping officer. Citrine got a good look of the snoring stallion; he seems to be the narcissist type, seeing as how well-maintained his coat and mane are...too well-maintained(though the mane is somewhat a mess). Also, with his soft-looking brown coat and yellow mane, one would wonder why his working as an officer of the law instead of something much more suited for him, like a lawyer. “Uhm, excuse me?” Citrine tapped on the officer’s desk in an effort to wake him up, “Sir? I need to ask you something.” The stallion woke up with a jolt and looked at Citrine with sleepy, grouchy eyes. “Hmm...What do you want?” he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice. “I...uh...want to ask questions…” Citrine answered him. The stallion rubbed his eyes and look at Citrine again. This time, his eyes widened. “Oh, you can ask me any kinds of questions!” He answered a bit too eagerly. He fixed his hair and smiled, “Very Special Agent Eclipse at your service. Sorry for the rather rude tone earlier, I just don’t like being woken up from my nap.” “Uh, nice to meet you..uhm…” “Just call me Eclipse.” “Oh, okay. Nice to meet you, Eclipse.” He fixed his coat. “Now, what help do you need, miss…” “Citrine. Just Citrine.” “Alright, Miss Citrine!” “Please no need to be formal, just call me Citrine.” “Umm, okay, Citrine.” Eclipse held a sheepish grin. “You may continue.” Citrine placed the note she found previously on the desk. “Would you care to explain, please?” The still sleepy stallion glanced at the paper. Clearly he knew what was on it, judging from the surprised look on his face. “W-where did you find this?” “I found it in my late mother’s things.” He immediately stood up and shared the note with some fellow officers nearby. They discussed for quite a long time. Then all of a sudden, Eclipse left the room, note in hoof. Citrine stood there, shocked at the sudden turn of events. Was he going to throw the note and leave her alone or maybe do something about it and help her? These thoughts occupied her as she waited for Eclipse to come back. After a few minutes, Eclipse came back with 3 more ponies. The oldest of them  approached her with a stern look on his face. Citrine knew he means business and that’s what scares her. “Eclipse, is this the one that gave you the note?” the stallion asked. “Yes boss,” he quickly answered. He then looked at Citrine with an apologetic face The old stallion took a closer look at the somewhat cowering mare. Citrine swore he’s looking straight into her soul. After a few minutes, which felt like hours to her, the stallion took a step back and looked back at the three other ponies. “Three of you, saddle up. We got a dead police officer in Ponyville’s Detention Center, “ he ordered them. “Boss, what about-” the mare tried to say something but was quickly interrupted again by the old stallion. “Cya will be our M.E for now. Now three of you. Go. Now. I’ll catch up later,” he sternly said before turning to face Citrine once more. The three ponies quickly grabbed their gear and hurried to the elevator. Though they were somewhat far, Citrine could still hear them speak. “Eclipse, no more movie quotes in the crime scene!” “Amber, just give up.” “Yeah, Peridot’s right. Movie quotes are awesome. Cya would enjoy them.” “I wonder how Boss will react to this...” “To what, Amber?” “TO YOUR STUP-” With a ding, the elevator finally closes and the old stallion and Citrine is left with some sort of quiet one would appreciate in a busy building. “Uhm...maybe I should go now…” Citrine hesitantly told the old stallion. He tilted his head, “Go already? But you just got here.” “Y-Yes...but, I think you have a…” Citrine trailed off as she suddenly realized what he said earlier.  “W-Wait, did you say...a dead police officer?” “Come on, filly, follow me,” the stallion said instead, dodging her question. He started walking before Citrine could say a word. She looked at the elevator then back at him, thinking which to choose. “Hey, you coming?” the stallion asked when he noticed Citrine wasn’t following this. “I-I’m coming!” Citrine immediately answered, quickly trotting next to him. The stallion merely smiled and lead her to a room. The room in question is a big orange room with a long table and some chairs on the middle. On the table were some snacks and the chairs looks very comfortable. Citrine looked at the room in awe. “Welcome to the conference room,” the stallion told her. “Enjoy what you see?” “Why am I here, sir?” Citrine asked in confusion. The stallion merely just went to a counter and poured himself some coffee. “Go. Take a seat and we’ll talk. But first, coffee?” he offered. Citrine shooked her head and sat down. The stallion grabbed his cup of coffee and took the seat closest to her. “So, how are you nowadays?” he asked, catching Citrine off-guard. “I-I’m...uh...fine, I guess,” she answered, uncertain on where this is going to go. “Good, good. Are you sure you don’t want any coffee?” the stallion asked again. Slightly annoyed, Citrine asked him in a demanding tone, “Look, sir, you said something about a dead police officer? What do you mean by that?” The stallion sighed and took a sip from his cup, “No need to worry, there is no dead officer. Just some distraction to get those three off my back for now. Now, tell me why you want to know about the note.” “Well, obviously I want to know what really happened to my mom,” Citrine answered, suddenly feeling angry. “They lied to me...I lived my whole life believing my mom died because of a heart attack. And to know that was all a lie, do you even understand how I’m feeling right now?” Despite the somewhat angry tone of Citrine, the stallion continued to keep his calm demeanor, “No, I do not know how living a lie would feel. But I do know how it feels to lose someone you care about. Are you sure you are ready to know the truth?” “I think I can handle it… at least…” Citrine muttered, unsure what to say. The stallion sips one more time from his cup and threw it at a nearby trashcan, “You’re not yet ready, it seems. You can come back if you feel like you can handle it.” “W-What…?” Citrine blinked in confusion. “Come on, filly, I’ll show you the way out,” he monotonously told her.         “W-Wait! I just-” Citrine tried telling him but it seemed the stallion will hear none of it. He was about to go outside the room when Citrine finally had enough. “No! I’m done and tired being left in the dark!” she angrily yelled at him. “I’ve come here to find answers and I will NOT leave this place without it!” The stallion slammed the door close and walked back to his chair. Citrine was suddenly scared and feared for her safety when she saw the look on his face. His eyes were filled with anger but also with a hint of sadness. “Your mother used to work here. She was a part of my team and one of the best agents I’ve ever had. Even if she had children, she tried to work regularly. It was me who told her to take a break and enjoy her family because I know how dangerous our jobs are,” he stopped for a while and took a deep breath. “Tell me, before I start...How much do you need to know?”         “E-Everything! I need to know...everything about my mom….” she answered him.         “Now listen carefully if you really want to know,” the stallion told her. “But I’ll tell ya, it won’t be short.” Citrine only nodded, unsure on what to say. He looked so serious….maybe a bit too serious. What did he know about her mother and why does it sound like she means a lot to him? What was their history together…? “Your mother has joined this agency 20 years ago after an incident happened, which we investigated, that involved her family. It was a murder case. We never caught the suspect as the case was dropped mysteriously. She was furious. Ever since that day, your mother has tried repeatedly to get a job here. She was a good policemare to begin with, clean records and praised by her C.O. She’s also smart and strong-willed, always finding a way to solve things despite the challenges she faced. We would have accepted her immediately if it weren’t for former director. Threw all her application letters into the trash he did.” He sighed and took another sip of his coffee, not minding the intense stare of Citrine. She was surprised of how little she knew about her mother...yet again, she was just a filly when her mother passed. “Now, I’m not going to talk about the cases she did, that’ll take a day or two to finish and I still have a job to do,” he continued, putting down the cup of coffee, “So, as she slowly got promoted from intern to special agent, there was a sudden increase of...hostility against her living family members. It was at this time she was married, and quite possibly, pregnant with you.” A faint smile appeared in his face before disappearing, being replaced by a frown. “She suddenly became a target and it was getting too dangerous for her to do her job, especially with you around. But we had to catch whoever is targeting her so came up with a plan. We placed your mother in a safehouse, somewhere not too isolated or too crowded. We had to make sure that we weren’t obvious so we left your mom in the dark about the plan. Thought she was just on a vacation that was recommended by us. We stayed at a nearby apartment, it gave us a good vantage view.” The stallion stopped again, recalling the event. Citrine stared at him, waiting for him to continue speaking. He can’t possibly leave her hanging like this, right? Finally, he spoke once more, making Citrine sigh in relief, “We caught the criminal all right, but not before he did some damage to your mom. He caught most of us by surprise, as it turned out to be our former director...but it looked like she expected him. Your mom, it turned out, was secretly investigating him. And when she got promoted, which means she has more access to E.C.I.S case files, the director got worried he might be exposed. Sneaky bastard, he is...managed to inject something to your mom.” He sighed once more and took one last sip from his cup, “Well, we arrested him, brought your mom to the nearest hospital and...well, she went into labor. Called her husband immediately, nurses went to action, and after a long night of worry, you were born safe and sound. Would have been a happy ending if it weren’t for that something in your mom.” “That would be...the disease she died from, right?” Citrine guessed. The stallion took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “This will be the last info I’ll tell ya, kid,” he said through gritted teeth. “Your mom’s death wasn’t due to some darn disease, hell no. But somebody was pulling the damn strings on us! Made sure we wouldn’t finish the damn case and made sure our current director dropped it!” He slammed his hoof on the table, scaring Citrine half to death. If his normal self was intimidating, his pissed-off self is not to be messed with. After a few moments, he managed to calm down enough to get up and head to the door. Before he left though, he gave Citrine one advice, which made her even more scared of what she’s getting into. “Watch yourself, kid,” he told her, his tone dead serious, “Whatever you're investigating is dangerous and I can’t guarantee your safety. You can stay here for a while but it’s best you get home as soon as possible, before night falls.”         With that, he left a scared Citrine to process everything he had said and to make sense of the situation she had gotten herself in. For once in her life, she felt vulnerable.