Equestria Noir
Case 6
“Music of the Night”
Chapter 1
“Overture”
Our train rolled into a stop at Queen’s Cross station in Trottingham. I stepped off the train and looked around the massive station. I turned to see Twilight getting off the train behind me her eyes were looking at me with concern.
“Private, you’ve only recently got out of the hospital” She said concerned “Are you sure you're well enough to be out and about like this?”
I sighed a little and nodded “Twilight I’m fine really, the doctors said I’ve recovered completely and I could travel”
Rarity got off of the train behind Twilight. She looked at her friend “Don’t worry so much Twilight, Private is perfectly fine”
Twilight’s amethyst eyes continued to look at me “Sorry, It’s just that it’s only been two weeks since you’ve ended up in the hospital in the first place” She walked to me and put a hoof on my shoulder “I want to make sure you’re okay”
I smiled at her “You don’t need to worry about me Twilight I’ve been through worse” I gave her a peck on the cheek that caused her to blush a little “But I’m thankful for your concern”
Twilight’s ears flattened in embarrassment “It’s nothing really”
Rarity suddenly grabbed Twilight by the hoof and said something along the lines of “We need to talk”
I turned to Spike who was trying to balance Rarity’s bags (All 15 of them) on top of each other. I used my magic to save the bags from collapsing on top of him. I chuckled a little “You’d think she was packing to live here”
Spike set down the bags onto a nearby trolley “Rarity was always one to pack the necessities” he smiled a little “And I’m always willing to carry them for her”
I turned my eyes to Twilight who was talking with Rarity in a rather heated conversation. I didn’t expect to bring both of them along on this trip. I was really coming here to see a friend, but when I told Twilight she insisted she come to make sure I could make the trip without having another coughing fit. Rarity decided to come along the minute she heard I was going to Trottingham. And if you can’t figure out why Spike came along you haven’t been paying much attention.
Spike tugged on my trench coat to get my attention “We’d better pick them up, our ride is here”
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I sat in the carriage seat looking out at Trottingham. Trottingham at one time was considered a second Canterlot. The city itself was quite large and filled with the upper crust of Equestria. I’ve never been here myself but the place hardly seemed as interesting as Canterlot. Maybe that was because it didn’t have the royal palace? We soon stopped at our destination; The Trottingham Opera House.
The building itself was huge and towered over some of the other theaters around it. It had a set of pillars in front of it that supported the main entrance. I stepped out of the carriage and my companions followed me. Twilight’s eyes sparkled a little at seeing the old theater “This is the Opera house! Some of Equestria’s greatest performers got their start here!”
Spike shrugged “Looks a little run down to me”
I looked up at the old opera house. Indeed it did look like it had seen better days. Some of the paint was chipped and the stonework had some cracks in it. I had heard this place was having financial trouble but I didn’t expect this.
Rarity tapped her hoof to her chin “Well, so long as the stage is still intact we can still enjoy a good show” She turned to me “You said you had a friend that lives here?”
I nodded “Yeah, she was an old friend of mine from elementary school”
Twilight looked a little worried “She?”
I turned my glance back to Rarity “Her name is Moongale, she moved to Trottingham after her mother died. I recently found out she’s been living here ever since”
Twilight looked at the theater “She lives in an opera house?”
“A very lovely Opera house if I might be so bold to add” A very refined and accented voice spoke up from behind us.
All four of us turned to see a pair of unicorns walking towards us. The one who spoke was a tall unicorn with a short blue mane and a white coat. He wore a black suit jacket and a monocle that was settled on one of his blue eyes. The other was a rather skinny looking mare with a white coat and a long pink mane. She wore makeup in a similar manner to Rarity. Her legs were the most prominent feature on her; they were long and lanky almost like she had sticks for legs. Rarity smiled as her blue eyes showed recognition.
“Fancypants! I can’t believe you’re here to!” She exclaimed as the gentlestallion came to us.
He chuckled upon seeing Rarity “It’s good to see you again Miss Rarity, it’s been a while since Canterlot”
“It’s good to see you as well Fancypants” The white unicorn said smiling “These are my friends, you’ve already met Twilight”
“Ahh yes” Fancypants said looking at Twilight smiling “The one that made quite a splash at the garden party”
Twilight smiled at the gentlestallion “I promise I’m not here to crash any of your parties Fancypants”
The gentlestallion laughed a little at that “Oh do it some more please, my parties seem so terribly dull now that I know you and your friends” Twilight and Rarity laughed a little at the joke. The gentlestallion turned to Spike next “And you must be young Spike, Rarity has told me a lot about you”
The baby dragon flushed a little “Yeah, I’m Spike. Twilight’s #1 assistant!” He gestured to me next “Who in turn is the assistant to Private Eye here”
Fancypants looked at me with searching blue eyes. He brought his monocle closer to me as if I was some indecipherable tome. “You wouldn’t happen to be the Detective I’ve heard about in the papers?”
I smiled and nodded “Detective Private Eye, I guess my reputation precedes me”
He smiled “Quite so my dear boy" Then his eyebrows raised as a thought dawned on him "You wouldn’t happen to be related to Irenius Eye would you? You bear quite the resemblance to him”
My ears flattened at this. I would’ve figured the subject of my dad would come up. Fancypants seemed like an alright guy so I wasn’t going to lie to him about this. “Yes, he’s my father”
“You don’t say my dear boy” He said smiling a little “I have worked with your father on many an occasion for my charity work. In fact it was from him I got this monocle” He showed me the monocle which had my dad’s symbol on it “A gift from my dear wife Fleur”
The unicorn standing next to Fancypants finally spoke. She had a heavy prench accent, but not to the point where you couldn’t understand what she was saying. She leaned into her husband lovingly “Only the finest for you Mon amour”
Fancypants continued on speaking to me “I must ask though, what are you four are doing in Trottingham?”
I gestured to the opera house behind me “A friend of mine is at the opera house and I wanted to come and visit her”
“My dear boy, I happen to be an investor in that very opera house” Fancypants spoke proudly. “Would you four like to come and see a rehearsal?”
Rarity looked at Fancypants “Oh Fancypants we wouldn’t want to impose”
The gentlestallion shook his head “I insist, think of it as payment for the wonderful inspiration you’ve given me Rarity”
All four of us followed Fancypants as he led us up the opera house steps. I looked at his wife Fleur, she seemed…somber. She saw me look at her then made a show of pressing up affectionately against her husband. He didn’t even react at all. I looked at Twilight who shrugged and went off to follow Rarity and the others
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“This Opera house was built in 789 and was influenced heavily by the designs at the time” Fancypants spoke like he was presenting his finest piece of artwork. Then again he was an investor so this technically was a fine piece of artwork to him. “There is actually a tale about how this Opera house came to be”
Twilight looked at Fancypants her eyes glistening at the prospect of a history lesson. “Do you know it Fancypants? I’d really love to hear it”
The gentlestallion chuckled at her enthusiasm. He then took on a storyteller’s tone. “Long ago there was a pony by the name of Artherect. He was a great builder whom was responsible for many of Trottingham’s buildings. Big Bonny, The Tower of Luna, he even oversaw one of the many rebuilding’s of Canterlot Castle”
“Quite a resume he had” I observed
Fancypants continued “Yes but this Opera house was his greatest gift. You see Artherect was in love with a beautiful singer named Rouge. She was an incredibly talented singer, but in those days you were lucky to sing at a tavern let alone a proper venue, for she was a peasant girl and couldn’t ever hope to sing anywhere of prominence. Artherect saw her plight and poured all his fortune into constructing this very opera house for her”
Spike whistled “And here I thought diamonds were a mare’s best friend” He frowned then “Next thing you know girls will be demanding palaces on the first date”
Rarity sighed happily “It’s so romantic, that he would do all of that for her”
Fancypants nodded but his expression changed “Sadly it was all for not”
All four of us spoke at the same time “What do you mean?!”
Fleur spoke next looking at all four of us “She did not return the love he held for her” She shook her head “Poor thing was heartbroken by the news that she did not love him like he loved her. He would die alone and unloved after she told him…”
Spike spoke up “Talk about ungrateful! He built an entire opera house for her! And for what? So that she could turn around and break his heart like that?!”
I put a hoof on Spike’s shoulder to get him to calm down. He did and I spoke sagely “Not everypony can be swayed by gifts no matter how large or important they are”
Spike crossed his arms “Still, I think it was mean of her to not at least tell him she didn’t feel the same” I couldn’t help but notice that Rarity’s eyes looked guilty for a second. I ignored it and Fancypants led us into the actual theater.
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The theater itself was large and very well decorated. On the stage actors were hard at work rehearsing lines and musical lines for the upcoming rehearsal. This brought back memories of my time in the drama department back in elementary school. I wasn’t the best actor in the world and only got minor roles but I always enjoyed watching the more professional actors work their craft.
I was also reminded of the fact that mom gave up this life when she had me…I shook my head and moved to catch up with the rest of the group.
An earth pony stallion with a mottled brown coat and a long red mane turned to greet us. “Fancypants! It’s an honor to meet you at last good sir!” He said shaking the gentlestallion’s hoof profusely.
Fancypants smiled at him “Good to see you as well Ponder, how is the rehearsal going?”
Ponder sighed after letting go of Fancy’s hoof. “Not well to be honest, we are having a bit of a problem”
“What kind of problem old chap?”
“WHERE IS MY DOGGIE!!!?!!?!”
We all turned to see a rather plump and snobby looking pony take the stage. She was older then I was but seemed to be trying desperately to hide it. She was a unicorn with a long silver mane and a dark violet coat. She glared at a nearby stage hand “I asked specifically for my doggie to be here! And he isn’t!”
Ponder gestured to her “That is our problem. That’s Madonna, she’s the star of the play”
Fleur spoke up “But Madonna hasn’t had a starring role since I was a wee filly. She hardly has any talent at all”
Ponder sighed again “You wouldn’t know it by the way she talks about herself. She’s been nagging me on and on to change this or that about the play”
I raised an eyebrow “You’re the director, can’t you tell her to…” I remembered that a baby dragon was in the room “…cut it out?”
Ponder shook his head “Not with Raustam running things”
Twilight looked to Fancypants “Who is Raustam?”
Ponder pointed with his hoof to the top box. There was an older looking earth pony stallion with a bright green coat and a short white mane. He wore a suit jacket and a prominent top hat as well. He did not look happy to be here at all. “That is him. He owns the theater now and whatever he says goes”
Rarity frowned “Somepony ought to teach him a thing or two about opera”
Ponder shrugged “With him in charge there is nothing I can do to salvage this play from the pit it’s dragged itself into”
I scanned the actors looking for anypony familiar at all. When my labors proved fruitless I turned to Ponder. “Do you know a unicorn mare by the name of Moongale? She’s supposed to be living here”
Ponder tapped his hoof on his chin in thought “Leopony’s daughter?” He then nodded “She should be in the back”
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I knocked on the door of the room Ponder said she would be in. My ears were greeted by a familiar and sweet as pure honey voice. “Who is it?”
I smiled “An old friend, it’s been a long time Moongale”
The door opened to reveal a unicorn mare I almost didn't recognize. She was my age; her coat was a beautiful baby blue with a shining midnight blue mane. Her blue eyes took a second to recognize me then her mouth formed into a wide smile. “Private?!”
I opened my front legs and we hugged one another. We both laughed in joy at being reunited. I set her down and my grey eyes looked at her “I was expecting pig tails to be perfectly honest”
She smiled in turn “At least I was dead on with that hat of yours” She flicked my hat down on my face with her hoof. She laughed a little “I almost couldn’t believe it was you when you sent the letter. It’s been years Private”
I fixed my hat and looked her over “You’ve certainly done well for yourself, how have you been?”
Her blue eyes looked a little saddened “Not well, Raustam is hell bent on keeping me in the chorus role”
“Chorus!?” I said incredulously “You and I both know that’s a total waste of your talent!”
She sighed “I know, but it’s alright I guess” She smiled a little “I wasn’t expecting to get a big role anyway”
“You’re one of the best singers I know Moongale. You deserve to be up there”
She blushed a little and then shoved me playfully “Flatterer, I’m fine where I am”
I shook my head. There was no stopping Moongale once she made up her mind. “How is the old song and dance?” That was my phrase for Moongale’s voice.
She smiled “I’ve been practicing every night ever since father died…”
“I heard about that” I put a hoof on her shoulder “I’m sorry to hear it. He was my violin teacher for many years. He was like a favorite uncle to me”
She smiled at me “You always were a favorite student of his” She sighed “I will miss him very much”
I nodded “Yeah, I will to”
She then turned to me with a strange expression on her face “Private?”
“Yes Moongale?”
She didn’t speak for a long time. She was looking for the right words to say. She finally opened her mouth and spoke plainly “Do you believe that angels can visit ponies here on Equestria?”
“Why would you ask that?” I said very confused.
“Because” She looked out a nearby window “I think father sent me an angel of music”