Pipe was in the kitchen. It was late and he had done nothing but considered all the information. Now, at 10:30 pm, he was preparing his dinner before heading out to bed.
“It still makes no sense,” he said. “Why would any pony want to partner up with a bungler?”
Sighing, he pushed the thought out of his head when it hit another brick wall. Dropping in some salt to a boiling pot of water for his pasta, he tried tackling it from another angle. That failed and he sighed again, dropping the pasta in and letting it self cook.
“Useless evidence, useless interrogations, useless information,” he thought. “if there was some way to make use of it.”
As he checked the pasta and made sure it was ready to eat, a sudden realization came over him.
“Wait a minute,” he said aloud. “The bits of mane....those aren't Dash's by a mile and the bungler wasn't a bungler, but....what if it was a pony who was trying to get something out of criminal? She broke the lock when the thief didn't uphold his or her end of the bargain.”
He dished the pasta up, dumped two ladles of home cooked mushroom and bell pepper Alfredo sauce onto the bowl of pasta, twirled the fork with a hoof and swallowed it down, then chased it with a tall glass of Lemonade. The clashing tastes began to put the thought more and more into his head that he was dealing with a criminal and a partner who had fallen out.
“It makes the most sense,” he said aloud again, before depositing another payment of pasta.
The bowl and pot were soon empty and he stood up and stretched.
“Time for a bit of “fly by night” work,” he chuckled and headed out.
Once outside, he spread his wings and took to the air, flying towards the Government Center and he landed. This time, he began to examine the outside of the building and in the garden bed in back, he found some freshly disturbed soil and several uprooted roses. He gently pawed the soil away, to reveal.....nothing.
“Dead lead,” he growled.
Taking to the air and resting on a cloud, he began to play with his “Falling out” theory. He began to looking at other ideas. As he was ready to throw his hooves up and just send a bill when he returned, he felt the cloud sink.
“You okay?”
He turned to see Moorland standing beside him.
“No, flustered and ready to pack it in!” he growled.
“Really?” She asked. “Why?”
“I've hit nothing but brick walls,” he said. “All the evidence has been no help. I don't know where to go now.”
She smiled and laid next to him.
“You sound like me, “ she said. “When I started, I was constantly bashing into brick walls.”
They chuckled softly.
“Yeah,” he said.
“Do me a solid,” she said. “Take a breather and look the evidence over with a fresh mind.”
“Sure,” he said.
She smiled softly.
“Tell you what, let's put aside this rivalry and why don't you come to my apartment? It'd be my treat, as I want to know more about you,” she said.
“Same,” Pipe said.
The two flew off, Pipe following Moorland and the two soon arrived at her apartment. Landing outside the brick building, which was once somepony's mansion, according to Moorland, she let them in and up to the sixth floor. Once inside, Pipe saw it was a well furnished room with plenty of space.
“So, what would you like to know?” Moorland asked.
“What are Moorlings?” Pipe asked.
“We are Changelings who have developed to live in the moors, which are different to Swamplings or Swamp dwelling Changelings. In the moors, we are trained to hunt our own food. Feeding on emotion....that's an afterthought,” she said. “Swamplings are developed in a way to eat poisonous fungi and other harmful items to make sure those lost in the swamps don't end up knocking themselves off by stupid's chance.”
“I see,” Pipe said.
Moorland brought over two hot mugs of Chamomile tea. As she set the mugs down, she turned a curious eye to Pipe.
“Care to satisfy my curiosity now?” she asked.
“Shoot,” he said.
“I noticed you don't keep liquor in your office,” she said. “Is that a business thing or is it something else?”
“I don't keep any forms of wines or beers in the office following a mishap with my dad. He loved to have a brandy every 30 minutes or so to “steady the nerves” while on cases. He eventually took to using it as a crutch after mom died,” Pipe said. “It eventually ruined him and left me with a tall order to fill.”
“I understand,” Moorland said. “Mom's made the same rule after several of our stallions took to liquor every time their loves ended up in hospital for general maintenance.”
Pipe chuckled.
“Good for her,” Pipe said.
“Thanks,” Moorland said. “I intend to keep that rule up.”
“I see,” he replied. “Now, a question, what's a queen to be doing in the public eye?”
“Mom wants to test me,” she said. “In her mind, queens should be able to get stuck in with any problems that need attention.”
“Interesting,” Pipe said.
“And a fair warning, don't use “Queen Mother” around mom,” Moorland said. “Given that Chrysalis exists, mom has forbidden those two words to be spoken in that combination and also forbid the word “Mother” as it has negative connotations.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Pipe said.
She nodded.
“So.....now what?” Pipe asked.
Moorland chuckled and the two spent their time talking about the legacies they were left to fill. The best part to them was the headaches they dealt with on a daily basis.
“You know, if it ever comes to this....want to room here?” Moorland asked.
“May I ask why?” Pipe asked.
“Sure. It's that...with all this space, it feels so empty and I feel alone. In the hive, it's different as we were connected through hive mind, but now, without it, it's admittedly scary,” Moorland said.
“Sometimes, it can be scary,” Pipe said. “When I started, I was scared I'd crash and burn.”
“Yet look at us now,” Moorland said.
“True,” he said.
They chortled and downed their teas. Once done, she took him to the master suit and made up the spare bed while he drew a bath. Once things were done, they swapped over and Pipe grabbed a couple robes while Moorland took a bath. Walking out, he soon realized what Moorland meant. The space there was now massive and by one's self, it did feel intimidating and as if said individual was standing in an empty world.
“She wasn't kidding,” he said to himself.
Once she was out and drying off, she shouted that she had drawn him a fresh bath. He swapped position and found the bath relaxing. His mind wandered around. At last, he stood up, stepped out and dried himself off. Once done, he slipped into a bathrobe and found Moorland sitting on the couch in the front room.
“You okay?” he asked her.
“Just a little lost in a whirlwind,” she admitted.
“Oh?” he asked.
“It's you,” she said. “How come your so laid back around Changelings? All other ponies are afraid and even disgusted.”
“Close minded fools,” he said. “Outward appearances mean nothing. I'm more interested on the inside. Your mind. Your beliefs. Your heart. The real you. Never shut a door you aren't prepared to reopen,” he said.
“Your philosophy?” Moorland asked.
“The Philosophy of my house,” Pipe said.
“Ah,” Moorland said.
“So, let me get to know the real you,” Pipe said.
She nodded.
“I'm fighting for what I believe,” she said. “That there is justice out there, that needs to have solider. If it isn't me or the precinct, then who? Chrysalis maybe the big bad villain, but she's not the only evil that needs facing.”
Pipe nodded softly.
“I also want to bring the belief of my own hive-“Neither Villain or evil deed shall go undetected or free”,” she said.
He smiled. She saw the smile and smiled.
“You have some confidence in me?” she asked.
“You, my dear Moorland, are the mare I would love to marry,” he said. “You and I compliment and bounce off each other so well.”
“You can tell that just from that little bit about me? Are you some kind of mind reader or psychic?” she asked.
“No, I applied common sense,” he said.
She chuckled, “I should let my Hive and Mom test you out.”
He chuckled.
“Shall we get some sleep,” he said.
She nodded and the two made their way to the bed room and each claimed a bed and fell asleep. Moorland was softly snoring while Pipe was still, breathing when necessary. As he slept, his mind kept going over the conversation. His mind landed on “You and I compliment and bounce off each other so well”.
“Now, I have the culprits and the motive,” he thought and continued to sleep.