//------------------------------// // Chapter 105 - The Detective & The Doctor (Part 1) // Story: A Pony Displaced: Homeward // by NoLongerSober //------------------------------// Upon returning to Vanhoover, Barrier did what he could to hide his frustration. He had come so close to putting an end to whatever the lemon stallion was doing, but in the end, he managed to escape the former guard captain using just a can of soda. The charcoal unicorn was rather grateful that his defense lessons allowed him to vent some steam, though he was still careful enough to make sure his students were only sore, yet unharmed. “Alright, everyone. You did good today,” Barrier said as he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow. “I’ll see you all on Wednesday and hopefully you’ll do even better.” After his students had all departed and he and Heavy Weight put away the equipment for the night, Barrier stepped out into the cool spring air. Still feeling a little steamed and full from lunch, he decided to go on a long walk to work off his meal and cool down a bit before going home. Eventually, the obsidian coated stallion found himself strolling along a strip of restaurants that offered a wide variety of foods from all across Equestria and far beyond. A rumble in his belly told him he should return home just as he spotted Color Splash stepping out of a restaurant in front of him with a sub sandwich in her magic. Y’know, if there’s anypony that has any sort of clue about who the lemon stallion is, it’d be Gray Skies and you don’t know how to contact her, but maybe Splash does. Feeling that he was running out of options, Barrier took a deep breath and trotted up to Splash’s side. “Excuse me, Miss Splash. I need to ask a favor of you,” Barrier said, making the gray coated mare face him. “Ohh shure,” Splash cheerfully replied with a mouthful of bread and vegetables before swallowing. “Whatcha need?” “I need to speak to your sister about an incident that happened a while back that I know she was the detective on.” As Barrier finished speaking, he saw the happiness in Splash’s face seemed to be sucked away in an instant. “Oh… Um… Well, my sister and I aren’t on good terms, like in the slightest,” Splash said as she swirled a forehoof against the smooth pavement. “After I got arrested, she’s been furious at me.” A white light washed over Color Splash, turning her snowy mane a dark gray while her slate gray eyes turned magenta. “Not only is Dad horribly depressed to learn you’ve been pulling this thievery crap, but my reputation’s ruined! I’m the detective sister of one of Equestria’s greatest thieves, so every single one of your crimes and my cases are being opened and looked over with a fine tooth comb so the cops don’t think I helped you pull these!” Splash mock-yelled in an imitation of Gray Skies voice before she sighed and dispelled her color change spell. “I’m… sorry to hear that,” Barrier said, feeling rather awkward and trying to look away from Splash. “Sibling issues can be quite the thorny predicament.” “Well at any rate, Gray is a private detective that’s sometimes called in for cases that need some expert help.” Splash looked up to Barrier as she tried to keep the sadness out of her voice. “Her detective office is above a bistro on the north end of the beach. If she’s not there, her partner or assistant will be and they should be able to help you.” “Thank you, Splash,” Barrier said before he patted the mare on the shoulder. “I know that sibling fights can be hard to deal with, but I believe you’ll be able to work things out.” “Thanks, Barrier.” Splash sniffled before taking a quick nibble of her sandwich. “If you talk to her, could you tell her I really am trying to go straight and haven’t been going back to my old ways?” “If I do, I will,” Barrier replied before he headed off. He hoped that the detective would be able to give him some new information. *** It did not take Barrier long to arrive at the neon lit bistro known as Nights. After a quick trot up a flight of wooden stairs, he arrived at the door with the words Private Investigations written on the frosted glass with some light coming from behind it. Cautiously, Barrier pulled open the door and looked inside the small office with three desks and filing cabinets. Behind the one near the far wall was a unicorn mare with a flowing violet mane and magenta eyes. In front of her was a nameplate that read “Snapshot Flash”. Upon the sound of the door opening, the mare’s eyes shot up to Barrier and she cautiously observed the approaching stallion. “Can I help you, sir?” “Yes, I’d like to speak to Detective Gray Skies,” Barrier stated as he drew closer to Snapshot’s desk. “I’d like to ask her if she’s got any updates on the death of Spectral Image. My name’s—” “Ah, Magic Barrier,” Snapshot said as she moved from behind her desk and flared her horn to pull open a desk drawer. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a while.” “You have?” Barrier’s eyebrow rose as he watched her sort through the drawer, seeing some sort of thing that looked somewhat like a folded book made of plastic and a collection of cables. Eventually, she pulled out what appeared to be some sort of plastic rounded purple rectangle with what looked like a camera lens in the upper corner. A flash came from the odd device and Barrier heard what sounded like the whirring a camera would make. Barrier could see the reflection of colored light from the back of the device on Snapshot’s face. “Yes. Gray’s been telling me all about the case you’re involved in and I do find it pretty notable,” Snapshot said as she held the device close to her face. “A death that appears to be an accident with suspicious circumstances is quite something.” “I have some new information regarding this case that I’d like to share with her,” Barrier stated as he sat down in front of Snapshot’s desk. “Well, I’m afraid she’s been brought on to another case and she’ll probably be busy for the next little while. However, I can record what you have to say so she can listen to it once she gets back.” Her magic seemed to be doing something to her odd device before she set it down on the desk. To Barrier’s surprise, the device showed him the bright image of a tape recorder rolling and a few buttons that seemed to be behind a sheet of glass. “Time of recording: seven twenty-eight PM, Monday, April fifteenth. Subject: Magic Barrier, wishing to provide more information related to the death of one Spectral Image.” Snapshot said towards the device before turning to the charcoal stallion. “Mr. Barrier, please proceed.” “What… What kind of device is this? Is it some kind of camera?” Barrier asked as he tried to look at every angle of the strange rectangle, trying to figure out how a device could be both a camera and recorder. “Yeah, it’s a recorder, camera, clock, music player, and so much more. It’s… imported,” Snapshot answered. “Now, what is it you’d like to add?” “Right… On Saturday, April thirteenth, I had an encounter with the stallion I had seen in one of Spectral image’s photos while I was in Trottingham.” “For the record, you’re referring to the one you dubbed as the Lemon Stallion, due to his lemon shaped cutie mark, correct?” “Yes, that’s correct. I believe it was around a quarter past eight at night when I spotted the stallion walking down a street from my hotel room. I quickly teleported down to confront the stallion.” “Seems pretty dangerous to directly confront somepony you suspect of murder.” Snapshot interjected as she brought a hoof to her chin. “I believed I could handle him due to my experience in the guard,” Barrier firmly replied. “At any rate, I confronted him as he was using a soda vending machine not far from the Gilded Stable Hotel. “He knew my name and a good deal about my history. Military history, the identity of one of my housemates whose name I’d like to keep off the record, and he mocked how I knew very little if anything about him in return. “When I told him I was going to take him in for what he’d done, he told me that he wasn’t the one that stole the skull nor the killer of Spectral Image.” “By the skull, you’re referring to the skull of Brigadier Grimhilde LeGrande, which is still currently missing from the Canterlot Museum, correct?” “Yes… I called him a liar, but he insisted that theft and murder weren’t his style, but implied that necromancy was.” When Barrier finished speaking, she saw that Snapshot was remaining silent, merely folding her hooves and resting her chin on them. “You don’t believe me, do you?” “On the contrary, I do.” Snapshot said as she looked sternly into Barrier’s eyes. “Over the last couple years, I’ve learned to accept things like strange magic, portals to other worlds, mystical creatures I couldn’t have dreamed of being real before, full body transformations, rainbow explosions and all sorts of phenomenal things. Somepony successfully raising the dead with a thousand year old skull doesn’t seem unbelievable in the slightest.” “I… I thank you. I was somewhat concerned that my testimony would be unbelievable.” Barrier let out a sigh of relief. “Now, what happened after the Lemon Stallion said this?” Snapshot inquired, her face becoming like an unreadable stone. “I tried to force him to come along with me, but he smacked a soda can in my face. It exploded, making me stumble back and blinding me briefly. When my vision returned, I saw him running down an alleyway, weaving around some trash. However, by the time I reached the end of the alley, he’d managed to escape and my housemate, Verdant, was unable to spot him.” “By Verdant, do you mean Verdant Range?” Snapshot asked, making Barrier’s eyebrow rise once more. “Yes… He’s my housemate, step brother, and former cadet. He tried to search for the stallion while I returned to my hotel room, but he was unsuccessful,” Barrier stated. “Is there anything else you’d like to ask me?” Stretching her foreleg out, Snapshot tapped her hoof against the device. When her hoof touched the glass, the spools for the recorder seemed to stop. “Two quick questions, both off the record for my personal curiosity.” Her words made Barrier feel as if there was something very odd about the mare. “Firstly, were you ever a history teacher?” “No, never,” Barrier answered. “The closest I’ve been to that is a guard instructor and a self-defense teacher.” “Alright. Now, are you familiar with the names, Iron Forge, Swiftsword, Jaylin Blauhäher, Winter Gem, or Hat Trick?” “All of them except Jaylin,” Barrier replied. “The rest, like Verdant, were cadets I trained in the royal guard and they’re now currently my housemates.” A moment of silence was held between the two unicorns before Snapshot tapped the device once more, making the spools start to spin again. “That should be everything I need to tell Gray Skies. Thank you for coming in, Mr. Barrier. This should be all.” As Snapshot finished speaking, she tapped the device one final time. The spools stopped once more before she stuffed the odd device back into her drawer. “Thank you,” Barrier said as he stood up. “Hopefully she’ll—” The door behind the stallion slammed open, making him turn quickly to face the source. Standing in front of the doorway was an orange coated unicorn with a short and wild brown mane. A greatly annoyed expression was on their face behind the red framed glasses that covered their purple eyes. The glasses wearing unicorn was covered in grime and other pieces of trash. Barrier had to force his eyes away from the banana peel on their head and instead glanced at what appeared to be the image of a lightbulb on their flank. “I swear to Faust, I’m never dumpster diving ever again,” the unicorn spoke with a deep, scratchy voice as their horn glowed a bright blue and tossed the banana peel into a trash can. “I don’t care how badly I lose a bet, I’m leaving that shit to Gray.” “Hey Tracey, perfect timing,” Snapshot said as she stepped out from behind her desk. “This is Magic Barrier, from the Spectral Image case. I just recorded some new information from him. Mr. Barrier, this is Trace Evidence, A.K.A., Tracey. They’re Gray Skies’ partner and one of the best detectives in Equestria.” “Oh Faust dammit, not this case again…” Tracey rubbed the bridge of their snout with a hoof, only to regret it as the scent of garbage struck them, “Look, I know there’s some suspicious circs when it comes to her death, but it’s clearly an accident.” “And how can you be so sure, Detective?” Barrier fought back the urge to glare at the androgynous unicorn. Tracey rolled their eyes before they drew close to the charcoal stallion. “We had Dr. Cold Slab go over Spectral Image’s body with a fine-toothed comb. She’d just had had some coffee and toast shortly before her death, there were no signs of foul play or other fishy substances in her bloodstream, and based on her injuries, how far she was from the top of the stairs when she fell, the fresh snow on top of the icy patch at the top of the stairs with only her hoof marks, it all indicates that what happened was she tripped on an icy patch and broke her neck when she hit the stairs. It. Was. An. Accident.” Tracey grit their teeth as glared at Barrier. “And what makes you think a unicorn, such as the Lemon Stallion, couldn’t have used their magic to push her?” Barrier nearly barked at the detective, making their right eye twitch. “Hey, Genius, don’t you think the first thing we did when we got to the top of the stairs was have one of the C.S.I.s do a mana sweep?” Tracey stood up on their hindlegs to look Barrier in the eye and gave him a good whiff of their pungent garbage scent.  “The sweep showed the only magic to be used there within the past hour and a half was when a somepony flew by, which lines up with the mail mare’s testimony. All that, combined with the sharpest coroner in Caneighda county’s expert view and your testimony that said that nopony was near that part of the stairs pretty much proves that her death was an accident!” Tracey sighed in annoyance before they fell down to forehooves. Barrier grumbled as he glared at the smaller unicorn. “And did you find any of the photos that the Lemon Stallion no doubt disposed of?” Tracey’s horn flared with blue light, making the Barrier think they were about to blast him. However, instead something flew up from their saddlebags in front of Barrier’s face. “You mean these photos?!” Tracey barked as they held three dirty photos in front of Barrier’s eyes. The dark coated unicorn had to keep from stumbling back at the sight of the images before him. One was a griffin skull between two boxes and partly covered in cobwebs. The second photo was of a profile with information about the charcoal stallion. And lastly, though rather roughed up, it was the image of the Lemon Stallion looking into a mirror. “Yes! That’s some of them!” Barrier was gobsmacked as he looked at the trio of photographs he’d seen so long ago. “Where’d you manage to find them?” Tracey sighed as they slapped the photos down onto their desk. “I just spent the last eight hours going through garbage after trying to find these photos, trying to figure out where they could have been. Based on my searches, it looks like Spectral Image tossed them in a second floor trash can of the Midnight Mall after she finished work.” “This is it… we’ve got real evidence,” Barrier whispered before turning his attention back to the detective. “Are you going to take this to the police?” “Oh yeah, this’ll be perfect for a B.O.L.O..” Tracey rolled their eyes once more as they moved towards the door to a side room. “Officers, we have photographic evidence of a unicorn stallion that another unicorn stallion believes is a murderer despite all the hard evidence that shows Spectral Image’s death was an accident,” they said in a harshly mocking tone. “To be fair, Boss,” Snapshot said to the bespectacled unicorn that fought the urge to groan. “The photo of the skull along with his picture and with Mr. Barrier’s testimony, we might be able to pin them with possession of stolen property. I know it’s not a murder charge, but it is something.” Tracey groaned before repeatedly smacking their head against the doorframe and sighing. “Fine… I’ll get in contact with the police in the morning. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go shower for the next five hours,” Tracey tiredly said before they looked over their shoulder back to Barrier. “But before I hit the showers, there’s something important I should tell you.” “And what’s that?” Barrier’s brow cautiously rose as he saw the grime covered unicorn push open the door to a cramped restroom. “That profile about you from Spectral’s photo? That’s not a piece of official government paperwork.” Tracey’s words made a chill run up Barrier’s spine. “Whoever made that profile has to be somepony that’s seemingly stalking you.” “I… Thank you, Detective,” Barrier replied as Tracey walked into the restroom. “I do appreciate this.” “It’s all part of the job… And be careful, Soldier Boy,” He heard Tracey say shortly before the sound of water began to flow. “Do you really think that possession of stolen property is the best charge we can expect?” Barrier turned to Snapshot, making her nervously rub her neck. “Well… I’m no legal expert, but based on what you said and what the photos show, it seems like this lemon guy didn’t steal the skull, but it’s possible they might have it. And I don’t think there’s really substantial evidence to link him to Spectral’s death. Sorry.” Snapshot apologetically said as she looked at the charcoal unicorn. “Don’t be. I know you’re trying everything you can and I truly appreciate it,” Barrier said as he started to turn to the main door. “Thank you, Snapshot and good night.” In a matter of moments, Barrier reached the bottom of the stairs and started to walk home. Not long into his journey, he spotted something on the roof of a building looking down at him. It was Grimhilde and the Lemon Stallion, with the latter sporting a wicked grin on his face before the two turned back towards the roof. “Not this time!” Barrier roared as he pushed his hooves as hard as he could and flared his horn. When he approached the building’s fire escape, he jumped and in a flash found himself in front of the final set of stairs separating him from the rooftop. When Barrier vaulted onto the roof, he barked out, “Halt!” before he was startled by the sight before him. Instead of the black coated griffin and the lime green unicorn with a blueish green mane, he found a dark coated bat pony with a dark blue mane and her flank raised up in the air with a pale green unicorn with a forest green mane who stumbled back on his hindlegs. “Hey, Flankhole! Don’t clam jam!” the mare shouted at Barrier as pink tinges appeared on her and her companion’s face. “I… What the…” Barrier was puzzled by the sight before him as the embarrassed green unicorn hid behind the bat mare. “Look, I know what we’re doing’s lewd conduct and such, but we’re still on my roof and unless some pegasus flies overhead, it shouldn’t be a problem and you sure as Tartarus don’t look like a cop,” the bat pony barked as she faced Barrier and flared her leathery wings. “Lumi, please calm down,” the green unicorn meekly said as he gently placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Relax, Forest. I’ve got this,” the bat mare sweetly said before she glared at Barrier once more. “This is… a rather awkward case of mistaken identity…” Barrier said, making Lumi’s one eyebrow rise. “Did either of you happen to see a green unicorn with a lemon cutie mark and a large black coated griffin?” “No, we haven’t, you Faust damn madpony!” Lumi exclaimed as Forest cleared his throat and stepped forward. “No, sir. We’re the only two that’ve been here for the past two hours having a little picnic before… well…” The pale green stallion blushed as he pointed a forehoof towards a nearby picnic basket and blanket. “I… see. Sorry for the interruption,” Barrier said as he slowly made his way down the fire escape. “Have a pleasant evening.” “Yeah, you too, you psycho!” Barrier heard the bat pony bark once more before he teleported back down to the ground. Y’know, maybe she does have a point. “Shut it.” After all, not only is this yet another sighting of Grimhilde that was a total bust, but you’re talking to yourself. Remember the first sign of insanity. Barrier trotted along for a prolonged moment before he sighed. “Alright. I’ll send a letter to Celestia after dinner and see about that therapist she mentioned back in the empire… I need to know I haven’t gone mad.”