"Tell the dragon story!"
Fireball rolled her eyes at the enthusiasm of the crowd of ten guards crammed into the interrogation room. "There's no story. There was a dragon on the wall. I knocked it off."
"You tackled Fang the Ferocious off Canterlot Castle's walls!" the guardstallion who should have been interrogating her insisted. "I saw the cracked ground where you both landed!"
Bloodhound watched on from behind the mirrored window. "There's no way they'll let us actually interrogate her without solid evidence."
She didn't really know how she felt. She wasn't surprised per se. She had already been somewhat suspecting her mother. But that lack of surprise hurt for some reason.
"I'll get a search warrant as quickly as possible," Starfish said, face grim. Honestly, her glare at Fireball looked more betrayed than even Bloodhound felt.
"Is that a good idea?" Merri asked. "We have Bloodhound's permission to search the manor more thoroughly. We've been there before. Should we really risk tipping her off that we suspect her?"
"You heard Celestia," Starfish reminded. "We do this by the book. It won't take long, and I'll be as subtle as possible."
"Should I just… go home then?" Bloodhound asked.
"That would be best," Starfish said. "Head home and get some rest for an hour or two. We'll see you soon."
The wait was agony.
It started on the walk home. No matter where she went, Bloodhound couldn't help but notice every single reflective surface she passed by; puddles, golden and silver guardrails, windows, they were everywhere. Could her attacker be watching her through any one of them? More? How did the spell even work!?
Many other citizens of Canterlot gave her strange looks as she hurried past them, hiding in the occasional bush or large mailbox on her way back home.
When she got there, Bloodhound admittedly rushed feeding her bugs, afraid of their reflective glass enclosures. They couldn't bring her the comfort they usually did.
Instead, she found herself out in the backyard, looking at Sprout's garden. The things they’d planted together the day of Sprout’s death were ready to harvest. Bloodhound started picking them, until she saw her reflection in a pepper, stood, and went out to the front yard. She hid in a bush from then on out.
She tried hard to stay awake and alert. But all the panic really had exhausted her, and she soon found her eyes drooping.
After a nap of indeterminate length, the bush rustled, and Bloodhound lashed out with her front hooves, screaming incoherently.
Her hooves clanged harmlessly against armor, and her target dodged the chair she'd dragged out from the dining room. Bloodhound's heart and lungs were running on overtime like they wanted promotions.
"Bloodhound!" She suddenly found herself wrapped in a hug, and prepared to have her bones crushed. But they remained intact.
"Calm down!" Once her panic had eased enough that she remembered to open her eyes, Bloodhound found herself being held by Merrilight, who was half hugging her, half keeping her flailing limbs pinned.
Near her, Starfish was staring in a mix of shock and offense at the chair Bloodhound had nearly caved her helmet in with, which thankfully had just shattered on the grassy ground, instead of over her skull.
In the windows of the surrounding houses, she could see her neighbors stealthily staring out at the spectacle.
"...Oh." That was really the only thing Bloodhound could say. "Sorry. After the Mare in the Mirror visited me last night, well… I suppose I just started noticing all the reflections around me. I almost had a panic attack on the way home."
She couldn't see Merrilight's face, but the hug tightened a little.
"You don't really have to worry about the spell outside," Starfish said, trotting over. "I had some members of the Magus Corps test it out. Mirabel's Magic Mirror only works indoors. Trying it outside leads to… well, let's say 'unfortunate consequences.' Also, they'd need to enter a mirror in the building to actually use it properly. Just keep your doors and windows locked, and all they'll be able to do is race around the outside."
Bloodhound tensed first. Then Merrilight.
Then they both broke the hug, and galloped inside.
"Whoa!" Starfish chased after them. "What's going on!?"
"Weren't you listening?" Bloodhound said, wildly scanning the living room. "The Mare in the Mirror attacked me last night! That means—"
"She was here," Merrilight replied. "Somehow, she got in. If we can find out how and where…"
Starfish clammed up, nodded dutifully, and helped them search.
Bloodhound followed her nose to their first clue. The pungent odor of bleach led her to the upstairs bathroom. The room had been thoroughly cleaned, and the mirror was ominously spotless. "It's my job to clean the bathrooms, and I haven't done it. This wasn't me, and it wasn't Mother."
Starfish's chest was glowing red as soon as she entered the room. She dug out the spell detector amulet from a chain around her neck. "She didn't hide her magic signature. If this was her, what was she cleaning up?"
"Whatever it is, it looks like they got rid of it," Merrilight said, covering her nose to block out the chemical smell. "Where was she when you first ran into her?"
"Her reflection was in the metal of my bedroom refrigerator," Bloodhound recalled.
Then she inhaled. The smell of bleach was typically almost blinding to her for nearly a full day and night after it was used. But it wasn't this time. "Wait."
Merrilight perked up. "You found something?"
"I think so…" Bloodhound mumbled, sniffing more deeply. "This is too faded to have been used around the time I was chased."
"When do you think it was used?" Starfish asked.
"I was chased at about seven in the evening," Bloodhound recalled. "For it to be this faded, I think it would have to have been used at about noon to three. I'm sorry I can't give anything more specific."
Starfish gave her a flat look. "Bloodhound, our other sniffer dogs can't talk, and sometimes bark at lunch leftovers. Trust me. You're much more useful."
"Do not insult the good boys!" Merrilight chided. "Anyway. So that'd be from the time we met with Shining Armor, to the time we all had lunch."
"Mother should have been home around that whole period…" Bloodhound's heart felt a little heavy admitting that. But she couldn't deny her suspicions.
But she'd seen Fireball asleep on the couch as she walked in. What did that mean?
"Whatever the case, the killer may not have originated in this bathroom," Merrilight said.
Starfish nodded. "I'll sweep for other places the killer could've been during the chase. You two can try to find what the killer was looking for. Look for anything missing."
"Something feels weird about this…" Bloodhound muttered as they split up. "Why would the killer be in that bathroom during the day?"
"Maybe it was where they were during the night Sprout was murdered," Merrilight guessed. "Or maybe they were preparing a spot to use that mirror spell from when you came home. Might also just be a fake clue to confuse us."
Bloodhound didn't really know how to prove what it was, so she filed that question for later:
Why did the killer clean the upstairs bathroom?
"Right, before you go." Starfish pulled a folded piece of paper from the chest of her armor. "You two ran outside before I could show you my search warrant. Better make this search legal."
"Oh. Right." Bloodhound gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry."
She and Merri started out downstairs. The living room where Fireball had been sleeping during the chase was still going on was a good place to start, but Bloodhound couldn't tell what was a clue and what wasn't.
Fireball clearly hadn't cleaned that spot. There were some snack wrappers, a couple of cups from the kitchen, a large bottle of soda, and a large bowl of said snacks. Fireball had a taste for extremely spicy chips, which unfortunately meant that Bloodhound's nose burned too much to actually smell anything useful there. So they moved on.
As they passed the laundry room, Merrilight had to stop and do a double take. The clothes had begun to form mountains so large that it was impossible to actually get into the room.
Little sticky notes with writing on them had been stuck to the outside of the wall. Some in pink, and some in blue.
The first one, which was pink, read: "Fireball, just buy a new washing machine."
The next, which was blue, said: "I will not bow to the cruel tyranny of the washing machine industry. I'll fix the one we have."
A third, again in pink: "You can't fix everything on your own, you know."
The next to last, in blue: "Can I fix you dinner sometime? I've been practicing. :)"
Lastly, in pink: "Okaaay. You're lucky you're cute when you're trying to be suave."
Bloodhound stared at the admittedly adorable exchange with a disgust that could only come to those who had made the same realization that she did: Was her mother dating someone!?
"Well your mother has a secret adorable side," Merrilight observed with a smile.
"Maybe a secret murderous side as well…" Bloodhound muttered.
"And we'll find out if she does." Merri nudged her. "Cheer up. We'll get our mare, whether it's her or not."
Bloodhound took a deep breath. "Right. I suppose we should give her the benefit of the doubt."
Either way, why was she so sure it was Fireball? They had three other solid suspects.
She had to admit, part of it was Fireball's name in that ledger. Bloodhound had an ache in her chest just thinking about that. Just as she'd started to trust her mother, to open up, something had occurred that stood to cut all that down.
But Fireball did want to confess about whatever was on her mind. That was a good thing, right?
Bloodhound couldn't convince herself that it was. What if Fireball confessed to the murders? Would Bloodhound have to arrest her? What if she resisted? Even into middle age, there was no way Fireball had any physical disadvantage to a stick bug like Bloodhound. It was like a knot of anxiety in her chest that refused to come undone.
"You okay?" Merri asked. "Kinda stared off into space for a minute there."
Bloodhound shook it off. "I'm fine," she lied. "Let's check my room next. That's where she was when the chase started."
She climbed upstairs, but when she reached the top step, she slipped, and promptly fell on her face. "What the dung balls!?"
She hadn't been looking where she was going, and had stepped on a familiar wine bottle. "What's this doing here? I left it on top of my fridge."
"Ey?" Merri came over to help her up. "Whaddya mean?"
"When I was chased, I had gone downstairs to get a corkscrew to open this," Bloodhound explained. "I had been keeping it in my room, and couldn't open it. So I set it down to go to the kitchen. When I came back up, that's when I saw the Mare in the Mirror."
Merri looked at the spot Bloodhound had picked it up from. "It was right at the top of the stairs. Where'd you end up?"
"The chase ended in the dressing room, then I went down to the garage," Bloodhound recalled. "So the bottle couldn't have moved during the chase. It had to have been while I was out."
"Or after you left this morning," Merri said. "Fireball was gone too. Could be somepony was still here, hiding til you left."
Bloodhound felt a shudder at that idea, but couldn't deny it.
"Do you think this is what the killer was after?" Merri asked.
Bloodhound's brow furrowed. "Maybe. She was in my room."
She noticed Merrilight make an odd face, staring at the bottle, mouth open as if she wanted to say something. Then Merri's eyes lit up. "Where's that corkscrew?"
"I imagine still in the dressing room where I— Where are you going?" Bloodhound followed after her, but Merri was so fast that she'd returned with the corkscrew before Bloodhound even reached the door.
Merri was grinning ear-to-ear, so excited that she snatched the bottle a little roughly.
Bloodhound was going to ask what she was doing, but as soon as the cork popped out, her question was answered, and Merri's suspicion confirmed by the strong, acrid scent that wafted out.
"That smell familiar?" Merri asked.
Bloodhound sniffed more closely, just to be sure. But it most certainly was what Merri had guessed. "Scorpider venom!"
"Righty o!" Merri confirmed. "That's why that sneaky bugger was here! She was trying to hide what she used to poison Sprout!"
Bloodhound stared at the bottle in mounting horror. "I almost drank from that!"
"Probably why she scared you off," Merri replied. "If you suddenly put in an order for a wooden onesie, it'd be pretty obvious where the poison was!"
"What's going on here?" Starfish asked, stepping out of the master bedroom.
"We found the poison!" Merri said excitedly.
Bloodhound had never seen anyone or anything move as fast as Starfish did just then. The guardsmare appeared in front of them like she'd just teleported, grinning.
"But… that shouldn't be possible," Bloodhound muttered. "Flip drank from that bottle on the night Mum died, and she's fine. Not to mention that there was no actual venom found in her system."
The grin faded from Starfish's face as her visions of promotions and easy times turned to dust. "But… it's still poisoned? If that's true, that's plenty to convict Fireball. Especially as scary as things are. I spotted the cellar door on the side of the house. She could have come in without being seen. I don't see us needing much to convince a jury, and surely the Guard will turn against her once they think she's a killer."
"Let's not move too quickly," Merri said quickly. "Even if we could do it easy, I'd rather be thorough. Are you sure Flip actually drank from the bottle?"
"I saw her take a drink," Bloodhound confirmed.
"Then we know the poison wasn't in the bottle then!" Merri said excitedly.
Starfish glumly shook her head. "No. Coin Flip is a member of the Magus Council. Not only would a drunken incident like you described ruin her reputation if it got out, but violently vomiting during said incident would make it even worse. She'd have the ability to heal herself of poisons, the knowledge to recognize that she'd been poisoned, and plenty of reason to lie about it, whether she was the killer or not."
"Maybe she'll tell me about it, if I ask her in private," Bloodhound said. "Aphrodite said she saw Flip go into the bathroom to throw up."
"Maybe…" Starfish rubbed the side of her head in frustration. "It's also possible it was just poisoned after she drank it, and however the wine was used to deliver the poison, it was just used later."
"That's a very small window of time." Bloodhound started pacing back and forth. "Only a few minutes. What could you even do to poison someone that you could do that quickly? A dart? Gas? And why poison the wine at all?"
"More questions to answer, at least," Merrilight said.
Bloodhound nodded, adding those questions to her mental notebook.
When and why was the wine poisoned?
How was the poisoned wine used to kill Bamboo Sprout?
It didn't escape her notice that this bottle was from Fireball's personal wine collection. The Mare in the Mirror had gone straight to Bloodhound's room, as if she knew that Fireball had given it to Bloodhound.
Merri opened her mouth a little, furrowing her brow and frowning. "I… have an idea of somepony I could ask. Will you two be okay without me?"
"We'll be fine," Starfish assured. "If you're asking who I think you're asking… good luck. She won't be happy to see you."
Bloodhound was extremely hesitant to be without Merri. She could still feel her legs trembling, and her heart beat quicker at the frightening thought of being alone. But she didn't speak up as her fellow constable gave the bottle to Starfish, and left.
But as Merrilight left, Fireball came inside. Bloodhound's mother had gritted teeth, and walked with a stomp, ears lowered, and shoulders tense.
But her face and shoulders relaxed a little as she saw Bloodhound at the top of the stairs. "Oh. Houndsy. Good. You're home."
"Is everything okay?" Bloodhound asked.
"..." Fireball's lack of an answer was answer enough. "Would you mind coming out with me for a bit tonight? I've got some things I want to tell you."
Bloodhound felt like she was going to have a heart attack on the spot. She was extremely suspicious of Fireball. Had Fireball seen Merri with the bottle, and now decided to silence them all?
"E-erm… Sure!" Bloodhound said, doing her best to give a natural smile. But that knot in her chest had every fiber of her being wound tight. It was hard not to tremble.
Starfish was having to force herself not to glare at Fireball.
"Something wrong, Fishface?" Fireball said testily.
Starfish relaxed, at least on the surface. "No. No ma'am."
"Good." Fireball jerked her head. "Let's get moving."
Bloodhound wasn't sure why Fireball brought her to a bar, but she had.
The Arrow and Lantern was a fairly typical hangout for the Guard. Lots of wood varnishing, weapons and trophies on the walls, and a TV blaring some sport or another above the bar. Bloodhound couldn't help but notice all the potentially reflective things in the room. But the room was full of guards, several still in armor. It smelled of sweat, alcohol, and fried food. Surely Fireball wouldn't try anything here?
Fireball walked right up to the bar, and took a seat. Bloodhound reluctantly took one next to her.
"Just a soda for me," Fireball told the bartender. She pointed at Bloodhound. "Whatever she wants. I'm paying."
"I'll have an apple juice," Bloodhound said. "Why are we here, Mother?"
"It's just a place I'm comfortable in," Fireball replied as the bartender went to get their drinks. "Can we just get some food and relax for a bit? I've got some things I want to tell you, but I need a bit more nerve first."
Bloodhound nodded. "Could we get a sampler platter?" She asked the bartender. The bartender is making everything. None of it will be poisoned.
But she couldn't force herself to stop feeling scared. She hadn't signed up for this. She didn't want to be seated next to a potential killer, and she didn't want that killer to be her mother.
They ate and drank in awkward silence. Occasionally, each would glance up at the other, waiting for them to speak first.
If she tries something, what will she do? What's poisoned? Maybe it's her food. She's somehow going to transfer it to me.
Fireball kept her gaze downcast. "How has work been going?"
"Well enough," Bloodhound replied vaguely. She didn't want to reveal anything that might set Fireball off.
"That's good. I really am proud of you." She swirled her soda a little. A move that was really more appropriate for wine. "All I did to get you into the Guard, and you managed to get a great position on your own."
"What did you do?" Bloodhound asked in apprehension.
This was the moment of truth. Fireball had motive in her jealousy of Sprout and Bloodhound's closeness, the method in the poisoned wine belonging to her, and she could have easily seized the opportunity by sneaking in the cellar door. Would she confess?
Bloodhound's heart was beating quickly. Her mouth felt dry, and she had trouble sitting still. That knot of anxiety tightened more and more.
Fireball kept her eyes trained on the bar. "I… I know I really need to say, but I don't want to. I'm just so damn ashamed. It's not like I can change what happened anyway."
Before Bloodhound could say anything, Fireball pressed on, ranting faster than could be interrupted. "I don't deserve all the bloody praise those greenhorns are giving me at HQ. They're acting like I'm some kind of hero. I'm not. I've made too many bad decisions. Hurt too many people."
Who did she hurt?
"But everything I did, I did for you!" Fireball put her hooves on Bloodhound's shoulders. Fireball's mane was disheveled, and her eyes wild, but sad. "Please, Bloodhound, I beg you, when I tell you, please forgive me."
They stared at each other for a long, awkward moment, before Fireball took her hooves off Bloodhound, and turned back to the bar. "Sorry. I'm a mess. I've just been bottling all this up."
Bloodhound was about to weakly reassure her. But several things lined up at once that made things move in slow motion.
Bloodhound happened to glance down at the bar, seeing her own reflection in its well-polished surface.
Fireball's horn lit up. She and Bloodhound hadn't been spending much time together in recent years, and Fireball was the manual type. So seeing her naturally crimson magic sent spikes of panic into Bloodhound's spine.
Any sense of patience or logic went out the window.
The knot snapped.
"OW!" Fireball reeled from Bloodhound's hoof hitting her at the base of her horn, clutching her head. You didn't need muscle to make that hurt. "WHAT THE BLOODY TARTARUS IS WRONG WITH—"
CRACK!!!
The guards around the room had stood up in shock at Fireball's yelling, but they started rushing over when Bloodhound smashed a stool atop her mother's head, sending the larger mare to the ground in a heap.
The guards all stared at the pair. They all seemed genuinely unsure what to do, to the point that, had Fireball been conscious, she'd likely have given them the dressing down of a lifetime.
But she wasn't. Adrenaline was one heck of a drug, and had allowed Bloodhound to shatter the barstool she'd been sitting in like a porcelain pot over her mother's skull.
Bloodhound's chest was heaving. Her mouth was still dry, so it took her a few moments to find the words: "Fireball Whiskey, you're under arrest for murder."