//------------------------------// // I: The Socialites // Story: Muddy Waters - A Detective Story // by Visharo //------------------------------// Vinyl Scratch was intrigued. She'd never handled two murders before and she was certain the second dead pony was murdered because why would anything be easy. The white unicorn immediately went to Hay Burger and dragged Octavia along, much to Vinyl's amusement, after receiving the letter from the mailstallion. Vinyl ordered several things to go and pestered her partner to get something and after the seventh poke, the gray earth pony finally relented and ordered some hay fries. Better then nothing, she supposed. Now, she was currently marching towards the location of the second victim. Vinyl had a sneaking suspicion, one that she shouldn't grin at but the corners of her mouth was turning upwards, that both deaths were connected. That's how murder mystery novels work, right? She wouldn't know, books are for eggheads. The victim was a mare this time who went by the name of Entropy, and just like Diamond Wishes, she too had many a reason to commit suicide. Although the chances of something like this happening within two days of each other are extremely slim, Vinyl couldn't overrule anything out. She told Octavia this much through gestures while they were walking. The earth pony nodded like she understood but Vinyl had a feeling she didn't really understand that much. She tsked internally, if Octavia wanted this job, she better learn quickly. "Vinyl, are we suppose to abandon the other case like this? Surely not, we can't disregard one for the other." Octavia's voice drifted through Vinyl's headphones causing her to pause slightly. She grinned slightly, perhaps she wouldn't answer this time, and then continued to walk. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" Octavia grumbled and muttered something about delinquents and headphones. Vinyl grin went even wider, these were the moments she loved. Ponies underestimating her ability to simply listen. Ponies truly take it for granted, their senses and how it allows them to perceive the world as it is. The white mare tilted her head in thought, perhaps that's why she enjoys wearing purple shades, to change her view of the world around her. The duo made their way through the busy streets of Detrot, it's civilians trotting around, unaware of the blackness hiding in the shadows. Vinyl couldn't hold it back anymore and let her delighted smile shine through, a hunt! The two finally made it to their destination, a small apartment building with a few royal guards hanging outside. Lieutenant Finders Keepers, a great pony for search and rescue and second in command when Shining Armor isn't around, came up to Vinyl and nodded his head respectfully. "Miss Scra...err, Vinyl, the victim was find this morning when the landlady went by to collect payment. Ever since she called, nothing has been moved." Vinyl flashed a grateful smile and strutted by the guards and made her way inside. From the patter behind her, Octavia followed her in. Good mare. It didn't take long for the unicorn to adjust to the light difference due to the tinted glasses and allowed for a royal guard to show her to the victim's room. Before she could raise her foreleg to open the door, she heard a scuffle. Vinyl immediately froze and gestured for everypony else to do so. She slowly lifted her headphones and then pricked her ears for any peculiar noise. Breathing from various ponies. Buzzing of a fly. Wood being dragged across the floor. Metal screeching against each other. Birds twittering outside. A grunt of exertion. Vinyl waited for a few more seconds after that then let herself in. She ignored the questioning and frustrated glance of Octavia and immediately started looking around. The living room was a mess, the carpet in ragged strips and the furniture smashed. Drawers were ripped open and objects were scattered like a dust devil tore through. In the back, a window high up was open and a chair was underneath it. "Vinyl, I get that this is your forte, but if you don't give me something to do, as your partner, might I add, I might die of boredom as it were." Octavia's haughty voice intruded in Vinyl's thoughts. She snorted in annoyance before pulling out hay fries out of her saddlebags to cool herself down. Then she pointed and gestured for the gray mare to search the other rooms with careful consideration. She waited until Octavia trotted away and then Vinyl went back to her hunt for clues. She made her way to the chair, careful and deliberate as if scared that her steps would disturb something important. The white unicorn peered closely and saw scuff marks of the chair being dragged confirming the noise she heard earlier. She pondered on this for a while, while she checked the drawers just in case something remained. Why was somepony here? Was it the killer? Then a terrified shriek pierced Vinyl's head and burrowed deep, forcing her to cringe in pain. When she recovered, if somewhat slightly, she placed her headphones back on to block out the cacophony she forgot about and stumbled to where the noise came from. It didn't take long for Octavia to stumble out of the bathroom and collapse in the hallway, dry heaving. Vinyl concluded two things out of this. One, the dead body was in there and the earth pony couldn't handle her gore. And two, Octavia didn't eat any of the hay fries she ordered. Vinyl sighed and patted the gray mare on the back. Most ponies weren't cut out for this type of work and then made her way into the bathroom. What was inside did somewhat shock the detective, but it wasn't something worth hurling over. Entropy, as a mare, was beautiful in her own right. She had a meadow green/yellowish coat that contrasted really well with the soft pink and purple mane. Her cutie mark was eight arrows all pointing in different directions. What she was now, however, was a sight to behold. The body was in the bathtub which was filled with water and blood, due to the slit open hooves. Her coat and mane was completely disheveled and her throat was bruised badly. Now, Vinyl wasn't an expert, but she was certain that this body wasn't fresh at all due to how cold and stiff it was. It certainly raised some questions, but unfortunately it wouldn't be answered until the coroner looked at the body. After a quick check, Vinyl deduced that there was nothing else she could determine from the body. The white unicorn walked out and closed the door behind her. Octavia was still lying there in a fetal position, whispering frantically and murmuring nonsense. Vinyl sighed and grabbed the earth pony without warning and then heaved upwards. She then made sure she was right in front of Octavia when she started gesturing for her to calm down and focus on the goal, find clues. Breakdowns could happen later, after the job was done. ooOOoo Vinyl Scratch, her very first ponicide case, and to say she was excited was an understatement. Up until now, Princess Celestia had only been giving her simple cases, like who stole this and where is the lost that. It was boring! Now Vinyl had her chance to finally see some action! *** The whole case backfired horribly, but Vinyl was able to push herself just long enough to finish the case and make it home, to the bureau. The moment she hit the couch, she curled up in a fetal position not unlike what Octavia was doing now and bawled for all that she was worth. The victim, a young colt who had just gotten his cutie mark, had his intestines ripped out and was fashioned into streamers for a psycho pony's bloody picnic. The theme was cannibalism and it turned out that several more pony carcasses were found all over the compound, all desecrated and violated. Vinyl managed to keep everything in, her fears, her terror, her disgust, but her horror was the hardest one to keep in. Sometime later, Vinyl was crying her eyes out, Princess Celestia made her way into the bureau and wrapped her massive wings around her young detective. "I'm so sorry my little pony. I'm so sorry you had to see that. I'm sorry...so, so sorry..." and the two of them stayed together like that for who knows how long, holding themselves together by the barest of comfort and words. It wasn't enough to solve everything, but it was enough. ooOOoo After an hour of searching, nothing of interest could be found. Vinyl deduced that the mysterious visitor from earlier must've gathered evidence and clues and left, leaving the detective none the wiser. It made Vinyl annoyed and elated. Nothing could be simpler, could it? "Vinyl, it seems that there is nothing here." Bless this gray mare, she truly is in need of working her thought processing. Vinyl had come to this conclusion 20 minutes ago but still insisted on looking another time because any detective worth their merit should never leave a crime scene unless they had searched it thoroughly. Nevertheless, she said nothing but gestured for them to get ready to go to a party. Specifically a rooftop social gathering for the upper class, called the Canterlot Garden Party. A place neither musician wanted to be, but for the sake of the case, they must. The party would be held the day after, so Octavia and Vinyl went their separate ways in order to prepare for the upcoming event. Vinyl Scratch, detective extraordinaire and best DJ in all of Equestria, considered herself to be peak fashion and didn't dress up at all. The unicorn saw no point in it. She was sure Octavia would get a dress of some sort. Something that matched her high and mighty attitude. She shrugged, someday that mare will learn. For now, she decided to return to the bureau and crash, perhaps get a cider or two. What she didn't expect was to see Princess Celestia waiting for her, cider already in her hoof. Once she overcame her shock, she grinned and waved enthusiastically as her greeting. The alicorn merely smiled serenely before saying, "Vinyl, how has the case been going?" The answer came as a shrug, but with a positive air to it, as if saying that it was going alright. "That's good. How has Octavia handled all of this?" Vinyl did a complex dance number with her hooves and forelegs, and soon both Princess and DJ were both giggling uncontrollably. "Oh, you are terrible!" The alicorn grinned and hugged her sides despite her natural calm and tranquil state. She then grabbed her bottle of cider with her magic and drank a considerable amount before setting it off to the side. "Well, Vinyl, it's certainly been a pleasure, but now I must go." Vinyl nodded, it wasn't her place to keep a diarch from her duties. "But know this, if either you or Octavia need of me or of anything I could provide, feel free to ask. I care about you two, so don't do anything stupid." Vinyl nodded again, this time with a grateful smile. And to relieve a bit of seriousness, she snapped off a salute much to Princess Celestia's amusement. Once she disappeared, Vinyl collapsed on the couch, turned the lights off with her magic, an then closed her eyes. *** The two arrived together by carriage. The party gathering thing was taking place in Canterlot, maintained by Jet Set and Upper Crust, one of the richest couples in the city, if not the entirety of Equestria. Vinyl played for them once, and then she was never hired again by any of the Canterlot elite, which was fine by her, all of them were snobs. "Vinyl! Why aren't you wearing anything! And that garish headset and glasses! This is a very important occasion, you can't just waltz in there wearing that horrible ensemble!" The gray mare herself was wearing a large black and purple dress that also somehow incorporated her signature bowtie, which highlighted her eyes and curves really well. Most of the stallions and some of the mares were ogling her openly for sure, the thought itself disgusted Vinyl to no end. The white unicorn grinned in response to Octavia's question and then did a little dance that also included a ton of hip movements, to suggest that this body needed no improvement. Vinyl's grin went even wider once she saw that Octavia's face went slightly red. "Fine. Have it your way." Octavia grumbled something incoherent before the two made their way to the front door. Vinyl trotted up and opened it before stepping to the side and gave a bow. No translation needed, it was quite obvious what she wanted. Octavia's face went even brighter before she composed herself and lightly smacked the unicorn. Much to Vinyl's amusement. "Announcing Lady Octavia Melody and Sir Vinyl Scratch...er, Lady Vinyl Scratch?" A white posh looking stallion stood by the door, no doubt posted there to announce the arrivals. Vinyl grinned even wider when she realized that the poor fellow mistook her for a stallion. The one who hired him will definitely give him Tartarus later on. After that announcement which left a slight ringing in Vinyl's ears, several ponies if not most, turned to look at the new arrivals. Most wore a contempt expression while some had more of a curious look. Vinyl wasn't looking at them however, that food table beyond them looked divine. She bolted without a care for Octavia nor the prissy upper class ponies. Several shouts of indignation and surprise followed her, but she didn't care. Once she got to the table, she immediately lifted several food items with her magic, before pulling a disappointed face at how bland and similar all of the options looked. "Ugh, how did that mare get a ticket?" A voice floated through her music and the utter disgust piqued Vinyl's interest. "I have no idea, she looks like a commoner." "Ha! Imagine that, lowlives storming our parties, thinking that they own the place." "And did you see that face when she tried out one of Zesty Gourmand's pies?" "I know! We should call the royal guard on her." "Yes, let's. Such an act cannot go unpunished." The white mare turned just in time to see two mares trot away, their noses pointed abnormally high. Vinyl could only grin at what she overheard, even if they called the royal guard, she had jurisdiction to be here, which means, she outranks them. She humored herself with this fact for a few moments before it got spoiled by a so called 'pie.' "Miss Vinyl Scratch, is it?" The mare in question whirled around to see a handsome gray stallion standing behind her. She blinked, how did he do that? Nopony's been able to get behind her without knowing. Then she slowly started to smile, she liked a challenge. Nodding carefully in response to his question while simultaneously hiding the 'pie' remains. "I must say, I am a fan of your work! Truly! That case with the missing Coltese Phoenix? Absolutely brilliant!" The stallion laughed whole-heartedly which gave him a pleasant air. That alone made Vinyl put up her guard. Nice rich ponies, especially the ones who know about her, always have something up their sleeves. "Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself, you can call me Silvered Art. I consider myself an artiste, a real appreciator of the creativities of what ponies come up with, and your work is some of the finest! Truly, it's been a pleasure, but it seems I have to go. Would you pardon me?" Following a subtle nod, Vinyl watched as the strange stallion glide his way over to a silver mare before the two made their way out of the party. The white unicorn tilted her head in thought, a most peculiar encounter. Then her eyes caught some frantic movement. Octavia was standing, in her stunning dress, beside a couple and she was waving desperately. Deciding that the poor mare had suffered enough, Vinyl trotted over to see what the commotion was. "Miss Vinyl Scratch, Miss Octavia here has told me quite a bit about you." Jet Set said with a haughty expression on his face. The stallion was a unicorn and had a light gray coat, unlike the ashen one from earlier, and had a simple black curly mane. His blue eyes were slightly covered by a pair of what looked to be reading glasses. For some reason, and Vinyl was sure the reason was what the elite called 'fashion', Jet was wearing a green shirt and white sweater draped on his back with the sleeves knotted at the front of his neck. "Yes, although I'm not entirely sure why we need to talk to you, you absolute brute." Upper Crust, another unicorn, and the wife of Jet Set. She had a yellow coat with a white and a lavender mane, coifed with a wavy pattern. She also had a similar outfit to her husband's, with a white shirt and a pink sweater wrapped around her neck. For pretty purposes, she also had a blue necklace and pink earrings. All in all, the standard rich pony couple, and they pride themselves on originality. Vinyl smirked slightly at that thought. "Please, Mr. Jet Set and Mrs. Upper Crust, we just want to ask you a couple of questions and then we'll be out of your mane." Octavia reasoned, although something was off with her voice. A tad lighter as if trying to appease the snobby elite, but Vinyl could definitely hear a slight strain in her voice. Upper Crust sniffed at that, before setting her demeaning gaze on the white unicorn. "I don't see the point of respecting you enough for me to answer questions when she won't respect me with those utterly ridiculous headphones." Then she harrumphed and twisted, lifting a foreleg up high and attempted to canter away, just like every other high-born. Before she could take another step, however, Vinyl's leg shot out and caught Upper Crust, stopping her. All the chatter around them died instantly and Vinyl could feel all the glares on her pelt. Ignoring the look of utter horror on the couple she just so 'rudely' interrupted, she started gesturing widely without breaking eye contact with the mare she was holding. "What is that? A form of barbaric speech, pfha!" Jet tried to regain face by making a mockery of Vinyl's hoofspeech, but the glare he got in return was enough for him to whimper. "What she said was that she wanted to know if you two know of a pony named Diamond Wishes." Octavia stepped in, translating what Vinyl had said previously. "And why should we answer any questions from a clearly insane mare." Upper Crust then proceeded to swat Vinyl's hoof away. "And never touch me again, you ruffian!" So Vinyl did exactly that. That hatred that was poring out of the mare was enough for everypony, besides the detective, to take a step back. The white mare looked up with a clear determined gaze and even lowered her magenta glasses using her magic so that Upper Crust could clearly see her red eyes. She then deliberately and aggressively waved her hooves around in an almost martial combat kind of sense. Octavia cleared her throat and translated. "She is Detective Vinyl Scratch, working directly underneath Princess Celestia, and you will answer her questions. Two ponies have been murdered and she doesn't want anymore to die." All of the patrons and guests of the party immediately turned pale, despite Vinyl having her back to them, she knew that's exactly what happened because Upper Crust and Jet Set acted exactly the same way. The two started spluttering, knocking each other over with their words and frantic hoof waving, but a warning stomp from Vinyl immediately quieted them down. She then repeated her question with Octavia translating. "Diamond Wishes, yes I knew of him. He occasionally would come over to our gatherings. Besides that, I have no idea." Jet Set nodded vigorously, as if his wife had said everything that needed to be said, which of course, wasn't. Vinyl stared at the duo for a couple more seconds, before finally turning around and trotting away. "There! That's the mare with the improper manners!" The two mares from earlier galloped in and immediately called out Vinyl once they saw her. Behind the two, there were two more ponies, but these were royal guards. Those poor ponies looked up to where Vinyl and Octavia were standing and then heaved themselves forwards with tired sighs. Vinyl didn't have time for this, so she picked out her detective badge and much to her pleasant surprise, the two guards nodded and then turned away like nothing had ever happened. Vinyl bowed once, expressing her gratitude, before trotting away. Octavia quickly followed her, but from the way she was trotting, she was annoyed. Without stopping, Vinyl gestured with a hoof, basically asking what was wrong with the gray mare. Octavia sighed and answered. "Why did you leave like that? There could've been more information from other ponies! And the way you left, it was really rude." The white unicorn made a sour face, displaying her displeasure at the Canterlot elite and stormed out of there with Octavia hot on her heels. The two had barely made it out of the building when another mailstallion divebombed them and dropped a letter. Vinyl took a single look and then sighed heavily.