Marewell, My Lovely

by libertydude


Old Friends

The journey over to Starlight Glimmer’s house was filled with the same uneasy aura as a wake. Neither I nor Twilight Sparkle said anything as we made our way across town to where the giant castle stood beside the Friendship School. Twilight still seemed to be going over the news we told her about Sunburst, her eyes wandering around the empty streets like a new wave of bad news threatened to leap out any second. I mostly just didn’t feel like chatting with the gnawing hunger starting to build up in my stomach again.

         “Here we are,” Twilight said. I looked up to see the castle, more akin to a giant crystal tree than a domicile for a headmistress.

         “Brings back memories?” I said.

         “What?” Twilight said with a confused face.

         “I thought you lived here. Before you became ruler and everything.”

         “Oh yes. Lovely times. Now let’s knock before she drifts off to sleep.” She raised her hoof and knocked on the door. For a few moments, only the crickets made any noise on the clear lake sitting across the green. Then a shuffling penetrated the doors, and a tired mare in glasses pushed them open. Her light purple coat seemed rough and her mane disheveled. Her face, however, became alight the second she caught the eyes of the princess.

         “Twilight!” she squealed, jumping forward to embrace her. Twilight patted her back in the same way an estranged family member does to an aunt out of the loop. Her face filled with unmistakable awkwardness, as did her tense body trying to break Starlight’s grip ever so slowly.

         “Hello, Starlight,” Twilight said. “Long time no see.”

         “I’ll say! I didn’t think you’d be coming around until late fall.”

         “Well, things came up. This here is Lieutenant Marewell,” she said, motioning to me. Starlight’s face fell into default seriousness when she saw my badge gleaming in the light filtering through the cracks in the door.

         “Is something wrong, officer?” she asked.

         “Many things,” I said. “But right now, your husband Sunburst is the pony I need to talk to.”

         “Sunburst?” She looked at Twilight. “What’s going on?”

         “Maybe we could go in?” Twilight said with a forced smile. “We may have to be here a while.”

         “Of… of course. Please, come in.” Starlight waved us through the metal doors, and a wide crystal room stood before us. A long balcony lined the far end of the room, the little insignia of Twilight’s royal seal falling from the railings and every inch of the room shining in aqua blue light. Starlight parked herself on a violet chair, her legs already demonstrating the telltale shake every widow does before they learn what pasture their beloved was trotting in. A part of me felt bad knowing she would never look at her husband the same way again. The other parts wanted to get this case over with so I could get some good grub in my stomach.

         “Is Sunburst in any trouble?” Starlight said.

         “Depends on your definition of trouble,” I said. “Right now, he’s a Pony of Interest in an assault and robbery down in the Business District. Miss Hoofson’s. Ever heard of it?”

         “Of course. Sunny goes down there all the time for new antiques. And what do you mean Pony of Interest? You don’t think he did that assault and robbery?”

         “I don’t know what to think. Otherwise, I’d be at home with a sandwich and a beer. That’s why we need to find your husband. You see him at all tonight?”

         Starlight shook her head. “I haven’t seen him since he left.” Her horn lit up, and a pulse of magic flew around her. It bounced off every wall and zipped down the long hallway stretching behind her. The pulse soon rebounded, shooting right back into her horn. She sighed. “And he’s not in the castle now.”

         I looked over at Twilight, whose own horn let out a similar pulse, then nodded. I trusted her word as much as a gryphon trusts charities, but the surprise in Starlight’s face seemed too genuine. If she was playing interference for her husband, she must’ve been one heck of an actress to pull this off.

         “Do you have any idea where he might’ve gone?” I said.

         “Gone?” Her voice betrayed her confusion. “You think he’s hiding from something?”

         “Maybe. We’ve got witnesses who place him at Miss Hoofson’s around the time of the crime, and a broken window caused by someone fleeing a crime scene. Not the sign of somepony who’s used to criminal acts.”

         “He didn’t do those things. I know that right off. He could barely bring himself to scold Princess Flurry Heart when he was her Crystaller.”

         “Had he been acting strangely the past few days? Doing anything odd?”

         “No. He’s just been studying some trinkets from the Old Ponish days.”

         Twilight straightened up. “Would that include some from the Age of Alamon?” Her eyes gleamed something fierce, like a predator who’d spotted her prey.

         Starlight’s face filled with confusion. “I thought Sunburst had sent you the letters, Twilight. He’s been asking for your help with the Alamon artifacts since last month.”

         “Ah, well… things have been busy. Royal procedures and all that. Probably slipped through my mail sorters’ hooves.”

         I held my hoof up. “Well, I haven’t heard about this Alamon stuff before. Your husband was studying Al?”

         “Oh, yes,” Starlight said. “Was going over all the different historical notes and artifacts from back then. He’s always wanted to categorize the Uncivilized Periods, and Alamon was one of the chief proponents of the time. Nopony knows what happened to him after he got deposed, so trying to catalogue the chronology of his rule could help us determine where he ended up.” She sat back in her chair. “Not that finding out what happened to a psychotic warlord means much to me. Everything I read says the unicorns cheered for days when they finally threw him out into the wilderness.”

         “But he was magnificent,” Twilight said, just short of exasperation. “For a mad stallion, of course. Regardless of how you feel about his actions, he was one of the most significant unicorn rulers in the pre-princess days.”

         Starlight gave a hesitant nod. “One of the greatest magical powers in the world too. Teleportation, interdimensional jumping, shapeshifting, you name it.”

         Twilight gave a slight smile, while I did my best not to sigh. “So Sunburst was studying this Almanac guy. Is it wise to assume he went to Hoofson’s to pick up artifacts from the era?”

         “Of course. He comes across so many different things throughout antique stores.” She stared down at her hooves and gave a sad smile. “I thought they were such junk when we first started reconnecting, but you learn to love other’s imperfections over time.”

         Time to put that idea to the test, I thought.

         “Miss Starlight, would your husband ever be angry enough to get into a fight with somepony?”

         Her face became confused. “No, absolutely not. He could hardly work up the nerve to start an argument with me. Why do you ask?”

         My mouth fluttered for a bit. The previous confidence dried up when I saw the silent plea in her eyes.

         “We’ve got a witness that says Sunburst was arguing with somepony,” Twilight said. I gave a confused look at her brashness. Hopefully she wasn’t the Princess of Tact, or else Celestia had made a grave mistake.

         “What?” Starlight gasped. “Who?”

         “The victim,” Twilight said without missing a beat. “Zephyr Breeze.”

         “Zephyr?!” Anger mixed with confusion. “Why would--? No, there must be a mistake. I know Zephyr. He’s an even bigger pushover than Sunburst! They didn’t even know each other. How could such mild ponies get into a fight?”

         “Equal and opposite reactions, Miss Starlight,” I said. “And right now, we’ve got a lot of witnesses saying Sunburst wasn’t as cuddly as you’re saying.”

         Starlight shook her head. “He wouldn’t have! He couldn’t! It has to be a trick, or a spell or something!”

         “Maybe. But right now, all I’ve got is the witnesses, Zephyr in the hospital, a missing amulet, and your missing husband. Until we find him, all we’ve got is a bunch of hearsay and evidence that could land him flat in the slammer.”

         “She’s right, Starlight,” Twilight said. “We have to find him, or else.”

The tone seemed to surprise Starlight more than me, because she looked up at Twilight with pained eyes. Not the pain of losing one’s husband, but the pain of wondering how a friend could say something in such a cruel way. Twilight stared back with a face more indifferent than I thought possible. I squirmed in my seat; I knew it was time to make our exit.

         “Miss Starlight,” I said. “Is there any way to contact Sunburst quickly? Some kind of telepathy spell or magic code you could send through the air?”

         “We have a mail spell we sometimes use when we take trips. I based it off Twilight’s dragon Spike and his magic breath. I just reconfigured the magic to make the letter travel to unicorns instantaneously.”

         I nodded. “Okay, then I need you to write a letter telling him to come home. The sooner he talks with us, the sooner we can sort this whole mess out.”

         She clutched the arm of the chair, then nodded. “Alright. I’ll write to him soon. I… I can send one of my students to fetch the police when I’ve sent it.”

         I looked toward Twilight as we both stood up. If she noticed the implicit insult, she showed no signs of it as she nodded and made her way to the door. I walked behind her, Starlight accompanying me all the way.

         “How could she be so cold?” Starlight said, holding back tears when Twilight disappeared outside the castle doors. “She’s normally so warm and friendly. Now…” She sniffled.

         Against my better judgment, I patted her back. “Well, regardless of how she may be acting now, we do appreciate her help with this case,” I said. “Sorry we had to poach her away from her school visit.”

         Confusion once more filled her face. “What school visit?”

         I grit my teeth, trying not to show my glee. Her Majesty had been hiding something from me. “Why, yours of course. That’s the reason she said she came down here.”

         She shook her head in perplexion. “That makes no sense. She would’ve told us, unless there was an emergency or something.” 

Long time no see.

Probably slipped through my mail sorters’ hooves.

No Friendship School visit planned.

         The truth was staring me dead in the face, and I couldn’t even smell it coming. My face hardened. I knew exactly what I needed to do.

         “Miss Starlight,” I said, grasping her shoulders, “I need you to write a letter. Two, in fact. And make them ASAP. I’m going to need to pull this off tonight or never at all.”