//------------------------------// // Case Twenty, Chapter Two: Running Errands // Story: Ponyville Noire: Rising Nightmares // by PonyJosiah13 //------------------------------// “Oh, hey,” Daring commented, looking up at the red brick building on the corner of Rosebud and Oakfield. “This is my old apartment building. Wonder if Abigail is still the landlady.”  Strider hopped off the trolley, glancing down at the photograph that he’d extracted from the case file before the trio had set off on their journey. “Do you recognize her?” he asked, holding the pic out to her.  Daring studied the mugshot from 1938, frowning at the image of the pale blue then-eighteen unicorn mare with the long white mane that shaded her verdant eyes, scowling up at the camera. A close-up of her cutie mark revealed it to be an uncut sapphire stuck inside a stone.  “No,” Daring shook her head as the three headed for the door, snow crunching beneath their hooves. “I’m guessing she moved in after I was gone.”  Phillip checked the mailboxes posted at the front of the building. “She lives in 16,” he reported, pushing open the front door to reveal a dingy lobby with a flickering lightbulb.  The three investigators kicked the snow off their hooves and headed up the stairs, rounding the corner to the third floor and heading down the hall. Daring glanced briefly at number twelve as they passed with a frown, but said nothing as they reached number sixteen.  Phillip knocked at the door, but there was no answer from within. “Rough Diamond!” he barked, knocking harder. There was still no answer.  The door next to them opened and a sleepy-looking thestral peeked out. “What’s going on?” she mumbled. “Sorry,” Phillip apologized. “We’re looking for Rough Diamond.”  The thestral blinked. “She’s not there? Weird. Her car was on the street outside when I got here half an hour ago. She’s usually gone by now; works at a jewelry store.”  “Which car is hers?” Phillip asked.  “The white coupe,” the thestral yawned. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going back to bed.”  “Thanks,” Phillip nodded as the thestral closed the door.  They descended the stairs and exited onto the street. “There it is,” Strider declared, pointing at the pure white Buck Nine Coupe sitting on the side of the road.  Daring frowned at the vehicle as they trotted up. “The driver’s door is unlocked,” she observed, her eyes darting to a dark red blemish on the white coat of paint. “Is that…?”  “Blood,” Phillip confirmed, bending down to study the drops. “Daring?”  “Cast-off pattern,” Daring said, analyzing the long streaks. “But it’s only one small wound...made by a moving object at about Diamond’s head height.” “More blood down there,” Strider said, pointing at the dark red droplets mixed into the snow, nearly obliterated by the multiple overlapping trails of hoofprints. “Larger droplets are from when she was first cut,” Phillip said, one hoof tracing the path that led up the sidewalk away from the car. “Then small droplets here...from when she fell down.”  “Somepony ambushed her when she was getting out,” Daring deduced. “Scratched her, drugged her, and carried her off.” She glanced at Phil. “You thinking that it might be somepony with a Nightmare Night mask?”  “Plague Doctor,” Phillip confirmed.  Daring looked up at the pole on the corner, frowning at the two surveillance crystals mounted atop it. “If we could get a view of those…”  “I got it,” Strider announced with a smirk, digging around in his pockets. He pulled out a circular stone with runes carved around the circumference and a blue lens set in the center. He held the stone up to the surveillance crystal; the runes around the circumference began to blink and glow pale green.  A moment later, a swirling image appeared within the lens; the three ponies standing in the street, staring at the circular stone. Phillip let out an admiring whistle.  “Told you the Bureau gets the best toys,” Strider grinned, tapping one of the runes. The image began to rewind, going back to last night. The three watched as the white coupe pulled up to the curb. The white-maned unicorn climbed out of the car, a smile on her face as her hooves crunched into the snow.  As soon as she set hoof on the ground, the image stuttered and froze, like a film with a misaligned reel. When the image resumed playback, there was no sign of the mare, though a closer inspection revealed that there was fresh blood upon the door of the car and the sidewalk.  “Damn,” Phillip grunted. “He used some kind of jammer to block the signal.”  “No telling where he went with her,” Daring sighed.  “Maybe not…” Strider thought aloud, looking up at the other crystal, then at a street lamp standing on the street behind the coupe. He tapped a few runes on the stone and another image appeared, this one the view of the other crystal, facing down the other corner.  He rewound the image to last night, to Diamond’s abduction. As the trio of detectives watched, they saw the faint shadow of Diamond stretching across the sidewalk, just inside the crystal’s field of view.  As they watched, Diamond’s shadow stumbled, then tumbled to the ground. The shadow of another pegasus swooped down from the sky, tossing Diamond over its shoulder, then taking off and flying over the crystals, followed by the mirage of a raven.  “He went…” Daring took a moment to reorient herself. “West. Not much, but it’s a clue. We might be able to get more from other crystals.”  “Aces, Strider,” Phillip smiled, patting Strider on the shoulder. He glanced around with a frown. “Should get an APB out on Rough Diamond. I’ll call the police.”  “But after that, we should speak to the Mareish Mob,” Strider suggested as Phillip headed over to a callbox and grabbed it, speaking into the phone. “They might be more willing to talk now.”  “Here’s hoping. Coin Toss might be at McNeighley’s by now,” Daring commented. She glanced at Strider and a grin spread across her face. “How fast are you, Strider?”  “Pretty fast,” Strider replied, stretching his wings out. “My daughter is a Wonderbolts hopeful; I’ve had to work to keep up with her.”  “Think you can keep up with me?” Daring smirked.  Strider cocked an eyebrow. “I might be able to,” he replied.  “I’ll carry him,” Daring replied, tilting her head at Phil as he started to return to them. “You need the handicap.”  “You’re on!” Strider grinned.  “What--?” Phillip glanced back and forth between the two grinning pegasi and his eyes widened. “Oh, no. No, Daring--”  His sentence was cut off by a scream and the laughter of two pegasi as they swooped into the sky.  The two pegasi sailed over the Everfree District and swooped down as they spotted their target: a squat little bar that sat at the end of the block. A flickering neon sign of a four-leaved clover stood over the door. Beneath it in gold was the name “McNeighley’s.” Daring landed first with a triumphant laugh, with Strider mere moments behind. “So how come you let her carry you, but not me?” Strider smirked as Phillip was deposited on the snowy sidewalk, glaring at them both.  “Because I don’t give him a choice,” Daring grinned, booping her unamused husband.  “Strider, might be best if you wait outside,” Phillip said, staring at the front of the bar. “You know how Mareish feel about feds.”  “Good point,” Strider admitted, pausing outside the door.  “Ready?” Phillip asked Daring.  “As always,” Daring nodded.  The door jingled over their heads as they entered the bar. It was the same as they remembered; same huge bar manned by three bartenders, same green and gold lanterns hanging over the round tables, same image of a green, white, and orange stallion trampling Princess Celestia while calling for rebels to join up in the name of a free Mareland. The bandstand in the corner was currently deserted.  The conversation ground to a halt as soon as the two detectives entered, stamping snow off their hooves to join the slush around the door. The eyes of every inhabitant tracked their progress as they headed up to the bar. The sound of scraping chairs and stools sounded in their wake as their occupants got up, glancing over their shoulders as they bustled out the door.  “We’ll have two Manticore Rares, straight, and a word with Coin Toss,” Daring said to the closest bartender, a pale donkey with an orange goatee.  “We don’t serve coppers,” the bartender growled at her, baring his teeth; his golden incisors glinted in the light.  “You might want to rethink that,” Daring replied, leaning forward. “We know about Winged Key and about that painting from Las Pegasus,” she hissed into his ear.  The burro leaned back a little, his eyebrows rising. He glanced at his two colleagues, one of whom nodded and reached beneath the bar for a phone. The unicorn dialed in a number and turned away. Phil's ear flicked towards the unicorn. shutting out all other noise and focusing only on his target's voice. "Get the boss," the bartender muttered into the phone. A muffled voice protested. "Yes, I know that she's been kidnapped," the bartender grumbled back. "Tell him that he needs to stop looking at that stupid painting and talk to me." The unicorn glanced back over his shoulder and glared at Phillip, who returned his gaze evenly. The bartender turned back to the phone, covering his hoof with his mouth to muffle his voice as he spoke into the receiver. After a few moments, he nodded and gave an “Okay, boss” before hanging up.  “He’ll be on his way down,” he reported with a scowl. “Wait here.”  “Thanks,” Daring grinned. “Now, how about those drinks?”  “Feck off,” the burro snarled.  The duo sat at the bar in awkward silence, staring around the bar. The other occupants glared at them sullenly, eyes quickly darting away to avoid actual contact. Hooves clutched drinks tightly, hooves shuffled in place.  Daring glanced at a couple of unicorns at a table next to them. Her scarlet eyes met both of theirs and locked onto them; the three silent contenders fixed their masks of neutrality.  After a few moments, Daring smirked. The unicorns both blinked, then glanced at each other. A moment later, they both stood up and shuffled out the door, the bell jingling overhead. Several other ponies hurriedly finished their drinks and followed them out, leaving McNeighley's nearly deserted in their wake. “Heh,” Daring said, maintaining her smirk.  The clock had traveled a full ninety degrees before the bell over the door jingled and a green unicorn with a red beard and the cutie mark of two gold coins with four-leaved clovers stamped on them came in, shaking snow from his mane. He made his way up to the bar, scowling all the way.  “Coin,” Phillip said coolly.  “C’mon,” the mob boss grunted to them, tilting his head towards a door in the back.  The three ponies proceeded down the hall to a small office with the flag of Mareland hung up on the back. Coin gestured them into two of the chairs as he himself sat down at the head of the table.  “Right. Let’s start with what you know,” he said, steepling his hooves and placing his chin upon them.  “Winged Key,” Phillip said, frowning back at the boss. “He’s here. Or at least the Plague Doctor thinks he is.”  Coin Toss had an excellent poker face, but the faint flicker of terror in his eyes told Phillip all he needed to know.  “And we know that he took that painting from Las Pegasus,” Phillip continued. “Guessing the Plague Doctor wants it bad. And we know that he took Rough Diamond.”  Coin Toss looked back and forth between the two ponies for several long moments of silence, tapping his hooves together.  “Coin,” Phillip said. “A mare’s life is at stake. You told me once you understood the importance of duty. You have one to your men; to keep them and their loved ones safe. For her sake, help us.”  Coin frowned in contemplation, then sighed. “Okay,” he puffed. “Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that I know about this Winged Key and this painting. What would you have me do?”  “The smart thing: give the painting back,” Phillip said.  Coin raised an eyebrow. “Not what I would’ve expected out of a lawpony such as yourself, Finder,” he pointed out.  “Give us the painting,” Phillip said. “We can put a tracking spell on the painting, follow it to the doctor’s hideout. Get him and the mare back.”  Coin’s brow furrowed. “And what about Winged Key?” he asked. “Sounds like the lad just made a stupid mistake.”  “We can discuss that later,” Phillip replied. “Getting Rough Diamond back safely is the priority.”  “And doing whatever we can to track down that masked psychopath,” Daring replied.  “Help us out with this,” Phillip replied. “And we’ll consider letting Winged Key walk for this.”  Coin looked back and forth between them a few times, pulling a coin out of his vest and tossing it a couple of times. He slapped it onto his hoof and glanced at it. “Right,” he nodded. “I’ll have the painting brought to you.”  “Better plan,” Daring said. “How about you take us to wherever you’ve got it stashed.”  “Don’t act the maggot,” Coin replied. “These wankers have got to be watching me and the tavern. Bringing it here is just gonna get my ponies killed.”  Before either detective could protest, Coin Toss grabbed the phone and spun a number into it. After a few moments of ringing, there was a click as the line picked up.  “Bring the painting to the market. Pass it on to the detectives,” Coin ordered. The voice on the other side seemed to protest in confusion. “No, I know what I’m doing,” Coin replied. “Leg it down pronto. And keep him safe.”  He hung up the phone. “There. That’s that, eh?” he smiled at Phillip and Daring.  Daring just grunted. “Were you given any instructions for the drop-off?”  “We were instructed to put it in the mailbox on the corner of Lily and Fancy by ten tonight,” Coin replied. “They’re gonna know that something’s fishy unless it’s one of us, you know.”  “We’ll put a tracking spell on the painting and give it back to you here,” Daring replied. “Once we’re done coordinating with the police.”  Coin frowned and opened his mouth to protest. “Remember that you’re doing this to get Rough Diamond back,” Phillip cut in.  Coin stared at him for a moment, spinning his coin on the table for a moment, then huffed and repocketed the bit. “Fair’s fair,” he admitted.  “Your friend better be at the market,” Daring declared, rising.  “Grand,” Coin Toss deadpanned as the detectives exited.  Phillip and Daring left the bar and stood out on the sidewalk.  “How’d it go?” Strider asked, leaning against the wall.  “He says he’s gonna have somepony bring the painting down to the market,” Phillip said, looking over the cars parked on the street in front of the bar. “Which one is Coin’s car?”  “The white one,” Strider replied, nodding at the four-door in front of them. “What did he ask for in return?”  “That we don’t go after Winged Key,” Daring replied, scanning the streets up and down for any sign of surveillance. She glared at a pair of sparrows sitting on a power line, but the two birds seemed to be more interested in chirping at each other than her.  Strider frowned. “He stole that painting, and he may have information on the Plague Doctor,” he protested. “Letting him off--”  “We said we wouldn’t go after him,” Daring said with a grin. “Didn’t say anything about you.”  Strider blinked, then half-smirked for a moment before his frown returned. “You don’t really trust him, do you?” “No further than I could throw a train, but right now, we don’t have a lot of other options,” Daring replied, watching Phillip as he bent down next to Coin’s car. “What’s up?”  “Interesting,” Phillip muttered, his eyes sweeping over the tires, scraping off some of the dirt embedded beneath the treads and studying it in his hoof. “Fresh dirt samples are the same as Diamond’s car.” He plucked at a leaf that had gotten stuck in the rear windshield wiper: a vivid red five-pointed leaf tinged with yellow veins. “Hmm,” he mused, pocketing the leaf.  “Detectives!” a voice called.  The trio looked up to see a white limousine pulling up to the side of the road. The rear window rolled down and a pale yellow crystal pony with a white and amber beard leaned out the window, smoothing out his expensive brown suit.  “Signor Dorata,” Phillip nodded, approaching the millionaire.  “Good to see you again,” the crystal pony nodded. “I never got to thank you properly for saving me from those kidnappers.”  “Part of the job,” Phillip replied, casting a glance at the driver of the limousine. The pale blue crystal unicorn gave him a brief, neutral glance in the rearview mirror. “What are you doing up here?”  “I was in a meeting with the sanitation union,” Dorata explained, tapping a cigarette into an ashtray filled with pale grey, fluffy ash. “The union heads are up for election and I wanted to know which ones to back. What are you doing here?”  “Police business,” Phillip replied.  “I see,” Dorata nodded. “How are you getting along with finding the Rings of Scorchero?”  “We’ll find the thieves. No wuckas,” Phillip reassured him. “I feel somewhat responsible,” the crystal pony sighed. “I helped fund the expedition that found the rings, and I gave money to the Ponyville History Museum to open that exhibit. If I had known how dangerous they were…” He sighed. “I thought I’d made a fortune.”  “You didn’t know about the rings before funding the exhibition?” Phillip asked.  “No, I funded it out of goodwill; the expedition was just a search for remnants in the Tenochtitlan Basin. I didn’t even know what the rings were before I heard that they’d been discovered three months ago,” Dorata admitted. “I just thought that they were gold rings.” He sighed, then gave a brief shudder. “I suppose having the Il Dottore della Peste steal it taught us all differently. Take care of yourselves.”  “Thanks,” Phillip nodded, stepping back as the window rolled up and the limousine moved on.  Daring frowned as the car turned out of sight. “What do you think about him, Phil?”  “Not sure,” Phillip replied, gesturing for them to start trotting down the street towards the local market. “He could be just a businesspony.” “And I could be an alicorn princess,” Daring replied dryly. “Autumn did mention that she’s been trying to look into him more when we met at the Museum.”  Phillip grunted, pulling a cigarette out of his vest and inserting it into his mouth. “That mare is gonna get herself in serious trouble one day,” he commented as he lit the end and took a long drag.  “Getting kidnapped by a bunch of mobsters wasn’t serious trouble?” Daring replied with a smirk.  “Nah. We were there to save her ass,” Phillip replied with an equivalent grin.  "Heh, true," Daring commented, popping open her flask and taking a sip of the Manticore Rare within.  Strider scrunched up his nose at the scent of bourbon. “Seriously? It’s not even noon,” he protested.  “I think better when I have a bit of alcohol in me,” Daring replied, stoppering the flask. “I know my limits, relax.”  "So, sounds like Coin has a safehouse,” Strider frowned. “If he’s got the painting there, that might also be where Winged Key is.”  Phillip puffed on his cigarette a few times, shooting a suspicious glance at Coin’s car. “Focus on getting Rough Diamond back and finding Caballeron,” he replied. “Winged Key is less important.”  “If he’s this dumb, maybe somepony else will take care of him for us,” Daring commented as they rounded a corner.  The Everfree Market took up an entire block on its own, the great green billboard set over the building declaring its name in golden letters. A red and white awning shaded the open entryway, which was filled with displays of tempting fruits and baked goods. Creatures milled in and out of the entrance with their purchases.  “Spread out,” Phillip said, flicking his cigarette into a trash can as they entered. “Make sure we’re not followed." The trio spread out as they entered the market, each taking a different aisle and milling amongst the purchases. Daring made straight for the alcohol aisle, while Strider wandered over to the frozen pizzas.  Tucking a basket with a couple of bags under one arm, Phillip made an excuse to loaf amongst the produce, taking his time selecting some tomatoes, then milling through the bakery section and grabbing a couple of fresh loaves before moving over to the dairy section. He studied his reflection in the glass doors, watching the creatures behind him under the pretense of deciding which brand of milk to get.  A thestral stepped through the entrance of the market, grinding a cigar beneath their hoof as they looked around. Their yellow-eyed gaze panned over Phillip and the pony paused for a moment, then entered the market. They made their way over to the dairy section, keeping his head down.  Phillip reached in and casually grabbed a couple of glass pints of milk as the thestral snatched a carton of eggs. As he pulled the carton out, Phillip noted the small green and orange ring dangling from one of the thestral’s pointed ears.  He and thestral passed each other, neither slowing a beat. Something clunked into Phillip’s basket and the messenger moved on without a word or a glance.   Phillip grabbed a few more items before proceeding to checkout. As he was placing his items onto the conveyor belt, he spotted an extra item tucked into one bag: a narrow two-foot-long cardboard tube, hidden amidst the bread loaves. Phillip shifted the bag slightly to hide the tube from sight, a gesture which proved unnecessary as the bored teenaged cashier barely glanced at the bag before ringing it up.  “Sixteen bits, twenty-five cents,” the cashier drawled, looking at the clock instead of at his customer.  Phillip paid the fee and carried the bags out of the shop, holding them in his mouth. Daring and Strider were waiting outside, Strider having purchased a frozen pizza and a six-pack of nonalcoholic cider, Daring some bourbon and a couple of salmon.  “Pretty clear who the responsible one is,” Strider said with a small smirk as he studied Phillip’s larger collection of essentials.  “Hey, I’m plenty responsible,” Daring pouted. “That’s why I buy the alcohol.”  Phillip rolled his eyes as he headed over to a nearby blind alley. Setting his bags down, he glanced around to make sure that there were no prying eyes as the two pegasi moved in to shield him.  Shifting aside the bread, he found the cardboard tube. Phillip unscrewed the top and studied the contents: a rolled-up sheet of canvas.  “Right. Let’s get this to Twilight,” Phillip said, replacing the tube and grabbing the bags in his mouth. “And can we please just walk this time?”  “Hmm…” Daring mused, glancing at Strider. The white pegasus looked back at her, then smirked.  “Nah,” Daring said, giving Phillip just enough time to wince.  “They’re up to something, that much is clear. They wouldn’t have been at Coin Toss’ tavern if they didn’t know about the mare.”  “Do they have the painting?”  “Possibly. But they’re on their guard now. Our best chance of getting the painting is at the dropoff tonight. I need you to be extra cautious.”  “No te preocupes, master. My men and I have handled far more complicated.”  “I’m certain. The doctor will be on hoof to ensure that there is no interference.”  “I see. Now...the señora...what shall we do with her when this is over?”  “She hasn’t seen anything compromising. She may be released. Winged Key, however...a lesson needs to be taught.”  “The safehouse is very well-guarded. That’s why we used the indirect method, ¿sí?”  “We have our ways, doctor.”