//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 - No matter where I poke my nose... 
// Story: Sakura Blizzard 
// by Lunaria 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 2
No matter where I poke my nose...


Octavia sighed, this was going to be difficult. The mare in front of her seemed completely de-attached, lying almost lifeless on the sofa, their white coat stained dark with tears. She shook her head, if she was to do this to clear Lyra's name, then she needed to do it properly.

"I'm sorry if this going to be a bit formal," she said as she stepped closer.

"It- it's alright dear," the mare snivelled. "I would expect nothing else of a famous detective."

Octavia frowned, she was definitely not one of those. She knew the papers had printed make-believe stories about her, but she didn't know it had gotten quite that bad.

"So, name?" She removed the notebook from her saddlebag and put it on the room's lone desk. She had opted to take one of the smaller reading rooms attached to the library to conduct her interviews.

"Ice Top."

Octavia nodded and started taking notes. She already knew who Ice Top was, of course, seeing as she was the one who hired her for the event. Still, it didn't hurt writing it down, it might be useful for the guards once they actually showed up. Knowing her luck though, that wouldn't be until well after the storm settled.

"And how did you know the victim?" Her pencil scribbling onwards as she knew what the answer would be.

"Pen?" The mare raised a hoof and put it against her chin. "Admittedly I didn't know the colt all that well. The few times we have met he's been quite nice, if a bit reserved. The only time I've seen him excited is when he was showing off his studio."

Octavia paused her note taking. "Miss Top, I meant more how you knew them, not how well you knew them."

"Oh!" Ice Top jolted a bit in her seat. "Yes, I suppose that makes more sense," she stopped to think for a moment. "I'm more familiar with his father, me and Cake go back far. My husband wanted us to find someone to marry dear Polo to, so me and Cake talked, and it seemed like a good idea."

Ice Top shifted her position on the sofa. "Pen was set to marry my daughter this coming summer, and, as you know Miss Melody, this party was meant to celebrate their engagement."

She nodded. It was why the noble family had decided to hire in entertainment for the previous evening, a mix of string and brass was chosen. Granted, most of the musicians didn't end up showing up on account of the weather.

"Is there anypony you can think of that would want to harm the victim?"

The unicorn snorted. "We are all friends and family here, Miss Melody. Why would anyone wish anypony else harm?"

'Indeed, why would anyone wish somepony else ill.' Considering how despicable some nobles she'd run into were, she was more than aware of how low they could sink to get what they wanted.

"Frankly, as far as I'm concerned I'm willing to believe Flair on this one, she's got no reason to lie."

Octavia tapped her pencil against the parchment a few times. "She could very well be correct in what she saw," she nodded. "But that does not mean that Lyra murdered him."

Ice Top threw Octavia a frown. "You don't think that excitable unicorn did it? I expected better from the Canterlot Orchestral Society." It took only a few moments before the unicorn flinched. "Of course, I mean nothing ill Miss Melody. That unicorn just lacks any semblance of class, unlike yourself."

Frankly, as far as Octavia was concerned, Lyra had more class than any noble-born brat. 

She shook her head. "We are getting a bit side tracked. I simply wish to make sure the right pony faces justice for this."

Ice Top slowly nodded.

"So if you can think of someone that might not have Pen's best interest in mind, I'd like to know."

Top fell silent, clearly in deep thought, so she elected to continue writing down what she had already learned.

"Well..." they eventually started. "I don't think it matters much but..."

Octavia gestured for them to go on.

The unicorn gulped. "I don't think Flair always had Pen's best interests in mind," her eyes widened. "Not that they'd kill their own son, of course!" A bit of panic shun through in her expression. "I did get the impression that she was never quite onboard with the marriage, but I didn't think much of it. She was never all that supportive of Pen's interests."







In retrospect she should probably have interviewed the witness first, but then, she didn't exactly put much stock in the notion that Lyra could kill somepony.

"Name?" She asked of the unicorn that had walked into the room with confidence and gait of a fashion model.

They stopped and glanced towards her. "You already know my name."

"Yes," she nodded. "But it's proper to be through when taking notes."

The unicorn snorted and flicked their white mane, before continuing onwards, electing to sit in one of the room's many chairs.

"Diamond Flair, as you know. The mare that has been voted as the most elegant in Equestria for three years running now," the smirk on her lips was hard to ignore.

It was a good thing Princess Celestia was not in the running, otherwise there would be a lot fewer ponies around with self inflated egos.

"And your relations to the victim are?"

Flair just stared at her for a few moments before frowning. "I'm his mother, naturally."

It was hard to think that the sweet shy colt she had talked to a few times the previous days had spawned from the mare in front of her now. She'd gone to great lengths avoiding the unicorn after she'd heard how she talked to, and about, others.

Their finely brushed silver coat did a good job at hiding the terrible personality hidden within her coal black eyes; she'd be surprised if they cared even the slightest about anyone other than themselves; the fact that she didn't seemed the slightest bothered about her son dying proved as much. Still, she had a job to do now, regardless of how little she wanted to do it. 

"From what was said earlier, it sounded like you had a pretty good idea who murdered your son, correct?"

Flair's grating smile did not falter in the slightest. "I did indeed see who murdered my dear little colt."

"Can you describe what happened? The more details I've got to work with the better."

Flair nodded and cleared her throat. "It was shortly after lunch today. I figured I'd head to the library to pick up something to read for the evening since it would seem we are stuck here. When I pushed open the door to the library I saw, clear as day, that mint unicorn standing over my son on the floor, a blood stained dagger in her grip."

Octavia frowned. She'd need to take a look at the dagger later, it had been unceremoniously dropped on the floor in the library. It was debatable how much she could make out from it, however. She was no detective, frankly she had no idea where she'd even start with analysing a potential weapon.

"And it was definitely Lyra Heartstrings you saw?"

Flair frowned. "That's her name?" She waved Octavia off with one of her hoof. "Whatever, it matters little. There aren't exactly many other ponies in this estate currently, I doubt it was somepony else."

Octavia tapped the top of the pencil to her mouth a few times. Flair spoke with confidence, for what little it was worth. Lyra had mentioned going to the library, so that part tracked. Still, something was missing; and it wasn't just a distinct lack of empathy from her interviewee.

"Did you also see Miss Heartstrings plunge the blade into your son?"

Flair took a moment before shaking her head. "Regrettably, I did not. But I can't imagine any other reason why that unicorn would be standing there staring at the dagger."







"Lyra Heartstrings," she tilted her head in confusion.

Octavia nodded. "And how do you relate to the victim?"

The mint unicorn across from her frowned. "What's this about Tavi?"

She sighed and put down her pen. "You're the one who wanted me to clear your name. If I want to have any chance of doing that then I'll have to take this seriously."

"Well, yeah, but," Lyra tilted her head. "I'd never even met the colt before this stupid party," she said with a large pout. 

"The witness-"

"You mean the prissy unicorn?"

Octavia nodded. "Yes, Diamond Flair, she saw you in the library standing over the victim with a blood stained dagger."

"I didn't do it!"

She let out a sigh. "I believe that Lyra, but you must understand how bad of a look that is."

Lyra was starting to tear up.

"Why don't you tell me what happened from your perspective?" She continued.

Lyra's eyes were lowering towards the floor. "I was getting bored at lunch sitting and waiting for the others to finish eating. So I figured I'd head over to the library as usual."

Octavia blinked. "As usual?" 

"Oh," Lyra jolted. "Well, I've been going there to be alone since I got here. I don't do well in crowds of ponies I don't know."

Octavia hummed, she didn't know that. If anything, Lyra always seemed very excitable around others. Then again, the two had known each other for years at this point; maybe she just saw her good side?

"Anyway, I was heading down here to read. I was just looking around for something interesting to read when I picked up a weird smell," Lyra frowned. "Come to think of it, I'm not sure I could place it."

"It wasn't blood?"

Lyra's frowned deepened before eventually shaking her head. "If it was, then it wasn't just blood. I did follow it though, I found Graphite Pen plastered on the floor. At first I thought he'd passed out drunk or something."

"Really?" She frowned, Pen had not seemed like a heavy drinker.

"Weeell, you know how the nobles are, plus he couldn't handle his liquor at all."

That... was a good point. Pen had gotten very intoxicated from very little the previous night. Still, if anything he should have been quite hungover, rather than partaking in more.

"You're right, though I didn't see any other signs of him having partaken."

Lyra nodded. "Yeah. So I looked closer and saw something stuck in his neck. I kind of... didn't really think about it and pulled it out to get a closer look."

Octavia frowned. "You didn't notice that he was dead?"

"I noticed the pool of blood, it just... didn't register what it was." she said while struggling to meet Octavia's eyes. "It wasn't until I heard yelling from the other side of the room that I snapped out of it and dropped the knife."

"And what happened then?"

"I kind of panicked once more ponies started showing up and yelling things. So I ran to your room."







She glanced down at her notes on the stallion that was struggling to stay on their hooves as they left the room. Her notes were spares, at best. Carbon Cake, a dark gray coated pegasus similar in shade to his son. His mane and tail were in an slick yellow shade that matched perfectly with his eyes.

What little he'd managed to say confirmed what Ice Top had mentioned earlier: The two were foalhood friends and had tried to set up their foals together. He'd spent the entire interview either crying or seemingly being unaware where he even was. Clearly the death of his son had been a big hit to his psyche and he stood in stark contrast to his wife.

She gritted her teeth; no one deserved to have their loved ones just ripped away like this. At least Ice Top had been there to be ready and help him, the good friend that she was.

She snapped to attention when the door opened once again and a unicorn lumbered in. He looked positively ancient with wrinkles across his entire body. His coat was a dark green, and although his mane was gray, she would be hard pressed to tell if that was natural or due to his age.

Slowly he made his way over and climbed onto the sofa, his piercing yellow eyes meeting hers. It only took a few moments before he huffed.

"So, you're the hot shot wanting to play pretend being a detective."

She didn't get a chance to reply before he opened his mouth and continued. "The young ones might have fallen for the dung the press prints, but not me," he shifted over in his seat. "All I see is a little filly."

Octavia put down her pen. "You're correct, I'm not a detective."

The stallion huffed again. "Then why do all this if you know that?"

"Because," she knew exactly why she was doing what she was, and half of those reasons weren't very good ones. "Even if I can't do the job myself, taking notes now will help the guards once they do show up."

The stallion seemed to consider what she'd said before giving a nod.

She lowered her eyes. "I can't abandon my friend either."

"You know the lyrist?"

She nodded. "We learned how to play in an orchestra together when we were younger, despite me being a few years older than her. We weren't all that close but..."

The stallion closed his own eyes briefly and sighed. "I can't fault you for caring, Miss Melody. Frankly, we need more ponies like you."

She flashed him a smile.

"I don't think I know anything useful, but you're free to ask me what you need. You're right in that it's better to do it now when it's fresh in the mind, who knows when the storm will finally settle."

She reached over with her hoof and picked up the pen again. "Let's start with your name then?"

The stallion huffed. "Just take it down as Uncle Thor, no one's used my full name since my wife passed away."

Octavia glanced up at him for a moment before nodding and writing it down as such. "I'm admittedly not familiar with your relations, you're Radon's...?"

"Uncle," Thor quickly replied. "My own brat moved out to Manehattan years ago," he shook his head. "I couldn't just leave Canterlot though, not after my nephew was left alone to manage the estate."

"I take it you were involved with the planning of the union then?"

A scowl crept up on Thor's face. "No, Lady Top preferred to handle that all by herself," he huffed. "Honestly, a engagement and we aren't inviting a single other noble house? Not to mention next to no entertainment? It ain't how I would have done it."

Octavia hummed, several other members of the orchestra she was part of had been invited. When it started to become clear what the weather would be like, however, the rest had cancelled. Both her and Lyra needed the job though, she for the bits, and as far as she could tell Lyra wanted to start making a name for herself so she could get into music once her studies were completed.

"Don't get me wrong Miss Melody, you and your Lyrist friend did a wonderful job despite circumstances," he gave her a nod. "But it shouldn't have come to it that we only had two musicians here, and no, I don't count that upstart."

"What about the victim, how well did you know them?"

"Frankly he's a disgrace, young Polo deserves someone better."

"Oh?"

Thor nodded. "He spent all night fiddling with his pencils, it's how those artist types are. I can't fault him I suppose, but when you're getting engaged you should be struggling to take your eyes off the lovely mare beside you, not look anywhere but their face."

"You don't think he was interested in her?"

Thor snorted. "He acted more like he was afraid of her, despite how friendly Polo tried to be towards him. If it weren't for the constant glances I saw him sneak I'd think he wasn't interested in mares."

It was at this point she started regretting not talking more to the two "lovebirds" the day prior, it would probably have helped her more now if she had a bit more insight into their feelings.

"And is there anyone who you know dislikes them or you think might be interested in hurting Graphite Pen?"

Thor scoffed. "His mother, obviously. Don't tell me you haven't noticed how she's behaving."







"Accel Radon, though most refer to me as just Lord Radon right now," the stallion frowned. "Comes with being the head of the house."

The unicorn stallion before her sported a green coat, black mane, and white eyes. She could make out dried tears along his muzzle, though it was subtle; there had probably been an attempt to hide them.

"I won't keep you for long, I'm sure you're busy."

A small smile graced his lips. "That's thoughtful of you Miss Melody, but not necessary. There's hardly much to do while the storm is raging outside, once it settles, however..."

She didn't need to be a detective to know what he was hinting towards. The press would be onto them like vultures once it became clear that a pony had been murdered. Octavia frowned, they would probably be even more aggressive than usually once it became clear that she herself had been on the scene.

"Yes, hopefully I'll have manage to leave Canterlot by that time. The guard will hopefully be able to handle this with some discretion."

"One can hope," Radon replied.

With a nod, the two of them jumped into the more important questions. 

"How did you know the victim?"

Radon leaned back in the chair and sighed, his eyes drawn to the ceiling. "He was to marry my, hrm, daughter."

"And were you two on good terms?"

Radon licked his lips. "Of sorts. To be quite honest with you Miss Melody, I didn't know the colt all that well. My wife set this all up, insisting that the two of them would be so adorable together."

He sighed. "Bless her heart in this," with a wiggle to get more comfortable he met her eyes again. "Truth be told, we are a noble house. You should already be familiar with the notion that things that apply to regular ponies don't apply to us."

She nodded absentmindedly.

"Few marry out of love, arranged marriages are the norm. Of course the young ones aren't forced into it, but they don't need to be," he waved his hoof in the air. "There's so much pressure that it's easier to just give in."

Octavia frowned. "And was that the case here?"

Radon shook his head. "I thought it wasn't, but now I'm not so sure. I kept telling Ice all about the family traditions, but I also insisted that our daughter should be with someone whom she loves. Then all of a sudden one day, she comes home with a bright smile on her face insisting that she's got a great idea that solves all of our problems."

She remained silent to let the stallion finish is train of thought.

"Carbon Cake isn't a noble, but he's a successful business owner. His wife, Diamond Flair, was one of the biggest names in fashion just a year or two ago. They are high enough up the social ladder for a union to be considered acceptable. Ice and Cake go way back, you see, and both wanted the kids to find love."

After waiting for a moment, she breached the silence. "But..?"

He sighed. "Polo, my daughter, is very reserved. I think part of it is because she does not get out much, what with her illness. It's hard to tell if she actually liked young Pen, or if she was just going through with it because it would make me and her mother happy."

His grip on the chair's hoof rest tightened. "I told her, several times, that she didn't have to go through with this if she didn't like him. Yet she just smiled and said it was fine."

"...and Pen?"

He shook his head. "I barely met the colt before yesterday. My wife knows him better, what with how much she talked him up, so you're better off asking her."

She tapped the pen to her muzzle. It tracked so far, yet there was still the biggest question left unanswered. "Who would want to kill Pen?"

"I do not know, I'm afraid. Are we sure it was murder?"

Octavia frowned. She'd not considered the notion that maybe it was suicide... and yet, something about that didn't sound quite right either.







Octavia glanced out the room, the only one there was Ice Top, who was smiling at her apologetically.

She raised the obvious question as the unicorn approached. "Where are the others?"

"My daughter was unwell and needed to retreat to her room. She did say you were welcome to stop by and ask your questions, but she needed to lie down."

Octavia nodded. Even before today she'd heard from others that Radon Polo had some undisclosed illness. She couldn't fault them for needing to see to their own needs. However...

"What about," her muzzle scrunched up. "That other musician?"

"I'm afraid I do not know, she just shrugged at one point an hour or so ago and walked off. We haven't seen her since, frankly I do not know what my daughter sees in her and... well, you know."

She sighed. "Then I'll need to track her down as well," she frowned. "Not that I think it's very likely it will be all that productive," she mumbled under her breath.

Ice Top chuckled lightly and fell in step beside her. "The others headed over to the kitchen to prepare for dinner, shall we join them? Even a great detective needs to eat."

She nodded, she was getting hungry, not to mention, she needed some quiet time to go over everything she'd learned.

"I'll bring the food to my room, can you bring the murder weapon when you got a moment? I'd rather a unicorn do it as to not disturb it."