//------------------------------// // Case Fifteen, Chapter Seven: Freshly Printed // Story: Ponyville Noire: Misty Streets of Equestria // by PonyJosiah13 //------------------------------// “I’d been gathering evidence on Eagle Trust for the past several moons,” Gold Signature mumbled, staring into the paper cup of cold coffee that he clasped in his hooves, hunched over the table of Red’s office. “Copies of contracts, little notes, payments that proved that they’d been cheating our clients…” He sighed and mopped his brow, sniffling. A glance up at the clock ticking away in the corner.  “Quick was the one who inspired me to fight back,” he mumbled, blinking heavily. “For years, I was content to just keep my head down and do my job if it got me a paycheck and kept me off the street and alive. Didn’t matter to me that other ponies were losing their homes, having their savings leached away...mean, so long as it wasn’t me. “But Quick Step, she saw there was something better in me,” he continued with a feeble smile. “Gave me hope that since Monopoly and Silvertongue were gone, maybe I could do something. So I started building up evidence, piece by piece. She didn’t know: I figured that if she didn’t know, she wouldn’t be targeted.” He paused and took a sip of the coffee, glancing up at Red Herring sitting across the table from him, backlit by the light of the stars and the glowing cityscape. “So what happened yesterday morning?” Red asked, glancing down at the tape recorder sitting atop the cluttered desk, its wheels slowly turning.  “I realized that they were onto me when I saw a truck following me around for the past couple of days,” Gold explained. “I figured it was time to head to the police, but I wanted to make sure I knew who I could trust first.” He rubbed the back of his mane and sniffled. “I hid my stuff at the Bawdy, figuring I could have Quick get it for me later...but when I found out she was dead, I…”  Gold broke down into sobs, tears dripping into his coffee. Red leaned forward and patted the stallion on the shoulder, rubbing his foreleg.  “If I’d gone to you sooner…” Gold Signature choked out.  “Quick’s death wasn’t your fault,” Red reassured him. “And we’ll find the bastard who killed her.”  “Was it one of the Eagle Trust hitponies?” Gold asked, looking up. “Was it...was it meant for me…?”  “We have our best detectives on it,” Red smiled at him. “They’ve already got a lead.”  Daring and Phillip walked slowly up the steps of Twenty-Eight Morgana Avenue, rounding the landing of the second floor. Daring’s eyes panned over to the door of number 15, which was still sealed with yellow Crime Scene tape, and she let out a sigh.  “Poor Gold,” she said. “I can’t imagine this is gonna make him feel any better.”  “It rarely does,” Phillip admitted. “But we still need to do it.”  They proceeded down the hall to the door marked number 18 and knocked. The blue hippogriff with the silver mane answered, blinking in surprise. The sound and scent of grilling fish wafted out of the room through the open door.  “Yes?” she asked.  “Pearl Lake, right?” Phillip asked, the mare nodding in confirmation. “Is Honey Melody here?”  “Yeah,” Pearl replied, stepping back to allow them entry.  Honey’s apartment was practically a copy of Quick Step’s: the same sitting room, the same combination kitchen-dining room, the same doors leading to the bathroom and bedroom. A large salmon was currently spread across the kitchen counter, expertly filleted, with several pieces sizzling merrily away in a pan.  Honey Melody was stationed at the grill, adding spices and sauces from a saddlebag on the dining room table. She looked up at Phil and Daring’s entry and her eyes narrowed. Dropping the items, she marched over to the sitting room.  “Tell me you found out who killed Quick,” she hissed. “Was it one of those Eagle Trust bastards?”  “We think we know who did it,” Phillip confirmed. “But we need to be sure.”  “And you need to start being upfront with us,” Daring added, glaring at Honey.  “Wh-what?” Honey cried, taking a half-step back. “I’ve already told you everything!”  “You were her next-door neighbor,” Phillip said evenly. “You had a motive, opportunity.”  “I didn’t do it!” Honey shouted. “She was my best friend, I--!”  “There’s a fish market near here that you’ve gone to,” Daring interrupted, snatching up a paper bag with a logo of a woven basket with a fish and a loaf of bread inside. “You think we can’t put the pieces together?”  Honey’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly like a beached fish, her desperate, tearful eyes darting from face to face in a futile search for an escape. Pearl Lake hovered silently nearby, wingtips fluttering as thoughts churned behind her silvery-blue eyes.  “You’re going to have to come down to the precinct and answer some questions,” Phillip said. “I suggest you get a lawyer.”  “W-wait,” Honey pleaded. “I--”  “She didn’t do it!” Pearl Lake cried out.  Everypony turned to the hippogriff, who stood for a moment, beak hanging agape. For a moment, Pearl just stood silently, half-formed words stumbling their way out of her throat, then sighed and closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath like the last gasp of a condemned pony facing the firing squad.  “I did!” she admitted. “I killed Quick Step!”  Honey Melody looked like she’d been struck in the face with a sledgehammer, her jaw hanging open and her eyes widening so much that they seemed to almost completely engulf her face. “P-Pearl…?” she whispered.  “You deserved to be the headliner,” Pearl told Honey, tears dripping from her eyes. “Quick only won because Petina liked her ass, we all knew it! I figured if she was out of the way, you’d win the headliner position! I set up the trap myself and set it outside her door after you went to sleep.” She whimpered and swallowed, reaching up to stroke Honey’s face. “I...I know you liked her, but I did it for you, Honey. I knew you wanted that position so much, you earned more than she did! You--”  Honey’s face turned from shock to rage in an instant and she struck Pearl across the face, the sound of the slap echoing sharply through the room.  “She was my best friend, you bitch!” Honey shrieked. “How could you?! Why would you ever think I would want this?!”  Pearl sobbed brokenly and looked up at Phillip and Daring, who returned her tearful countenance with impassive stares. “...you already knew, didn’t you?” she whimpered.  “We checked the culinary school you went to,” Daring confirmed. “Turns out they were missing a couple of flying porcupines.”  “Sorry about baiting you,” Phillip said to Honey. “We figured it was the best way to get her to confess.”  Honey swallowed and nodded briefly, tears glimmering in her eyes. “I think I need to be alone for a bit,” she croaked out, turning away and heading for the bedroom.  “Honey…” Pearl feebly called out, reaching for the mare, but Honey ignored her, slamming the door shut on them. The hippogriff hung her head in defeat, tears falling silently from her face as Phillip and Daring escorted her out of the apartment, down the stairs, and out into the cold fall night, where a cruiser stood waiting.  Phillip smiled as he studied the evening edition of the Foal Free Press. Splashed across the front page was the headline ”Eagle Trust CEO Arrested for Corruption!” Beneath it was the delicious sight of Bottom Line, the ink-black stallion being led out of his corporation in hoofcuffs, his gray mane adorned in sweat and his face creased in deep-seated worry.  “Red told me that Bentley and most of the other wankers are already making plea deals,” he smirked, turning to Daring.  “Guess that money can’t buy loyalty, either,” Daring chuckled, taking a victorious puff on her cigarette and leaning back against the banister of the deck. “Ah, that felt good.”  “It did,” Phillip agreed, looking down at the newspaper. He turned the page and studied a photograph on the second page: Autumn Blaze, smiling eagerly up at the reader. Next to the photo was a smaller headline:  “Freelance Writer Helps Detectives Expose Corruption!” “You know, she’s raw as hell, but this wouldn’t have been as easy without her,” Phillip admitted.  “Yeah. We should call her next time we go up against a dozen bad guys,” Daring grinned.   A shout of laughter came from inside the house. “Speaking of whom,” Daring said, snubbing her cigarette on the banister as she and Phillip headed back inside.  Autumn Blaze herself was sitting opposite Bobby and Rain, all three of them laughing uproariously. “And then when I came home, my little ankle-biter was rolling around on the floor with the boxing mitts stuck to his hind legs!”  “Dad!” Phillip cried in horror, his face turning crimson as the mares all howled in amusement.  “Sorry, son,” Bobby grinned. “But she was asking about what you were like as a child, and I just had to tell her.”  “Oh, don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on writing about that little tidbit,” Autumn reassured Phillip. “I just thought it’d be interesting for my readers to know more about the city’s greatest detectives.”  She hopped up off the couch and seized both Phil and Daring in a hug before either of them could protest. “Thanks for all the help!” she cried. “Without you, we wouldn’t have stopped Bottom Line and Eagle Trust!”  “Hey, it was a team effort,” Daring said, shrugging out of the hug. “But next time you wanna go mob hunting, call us first, alright?”  “Definitely!” Autumn chirped. “Look me up at the Heavenly Bawdy sometime! Petina offered me a job as a dancer there!”  “That’s great,” Daring nodded. “And hey: stay in touch with Honey Melody. I’m sure she needs a friend, now more than ever.”  “I will,” Autumn nodded with a sad smile. “Oh, and...thanks. For not being scared of me.”  “No worries,” Phillip said.  “G’day!” Autumn chirped, giving them all a wave as she exited.  “That doesn’t mean goodbye!” Phillip called after her, rolling his eyes.  “Oh, and Daring,” Rain added, wheeling herself over to a table and lifting up a package. “This came for you. It’s from Canterlot.”  Daring’s ears perked up and she snatched the paper-wrapped package, tearing off the wrapping. “Yes!” she cried happily when she saw the contents: a light green book, the cover adorned with the image of a dark blue pegasus mare adorned in a vest and fedora, grinning through her red and white mane as she clutched a double-headed sapphire idol clearly stolen from the jungle temple she stood before.  “Compass Rose and the Sapphire Stone,” read the cover in golden letters, and beneath, the author’s name: “A.K. Yearling.” “Velvet got the design ready!” Daring let out a delighted whoop, hugging the book to her chest and spinning around in a circle before collecting herself.  “Congratulations!” Rain said, hugging her.  “Crikey,” Phillip breathed, admiring the cover.  “Loosely based on a true story,” Daring admitted with a grin. “Here’s hoping I don’t get roped into doing an autograph session or something.”  “Give it here,” Bobby said. “I’ve been looking forward to reading this.”  The four curled up on the couch as Bobby opened up the book and began to read aloud, transporting them to a distant jungle where mystery and adventure awaited.