“I’ve been looking for you, sprout,” said a deep baritone voice. Down the hall was an ash dark earth pony with a striking harlequin green mane.
“Hey, Dad!” Bundle waved, then pointed to Quick beside him, “Quick is showing me magic!”
Despite the enormous width of the manor’s corridors, the gray stallion seemed to fill its majority with his smile as he said, “That’s awesome, Rose Bundle.” He looked to the unicorn and mule standing outside of the sun room and addressed them, “You must be the investigators.”
“I am.” Mule confirmed in a voice that was clear and deliberate.
“Well, thanks for dealing with this scruff ball. I know he’s a hoof-full--I’m Rocky Road.” he held a hoof out in greeting, to which Mule pressed firmly against as he spoke.
“I’m Mule. This is Quick Sort.” Mule said.
“Good to finally meet you. I’d missed you on your first visit.” Rocky addressed his son, “Bundle, you didn’t cause these stallions any trouble, did you?”
“No, dad. Mr. Mule said I was very helpful,” Bundle smiled.
“He wasn’t any trouble,” Quick confirmed.
“Though we would like to trouble you for an interview, if you have the time,” said Mule.
“Sure, I can,” Rocky offered, then looked to Bundle, “You should go find your mother, sprout. She has some chores for you and you ran off in the middle of lunch.”
“Awwwww. But magic!” Bundle whined.
“No buts... But--” Rocky motioned for Bundle to come closer and whispered conspiratorially, “--if you show your mother some new magic, I’m sure she’d love it.” Bundle nodded and smiled as he pattered and bounced away down the corridor. “Now,” Rocky spoke to Mule, who’s back was still lit from the open door of the sun room, “where would you like to have this interview?”
Mule: Before we get into the details, I’d like to know you. Tell me about yourself Rocky.
Rocky: Where should I start?
Mule: Where are you from, Rocky?
Rocky: Well I was born in a little town north of the Unicorn Range called Pickseed. You wouldn’t have heard about it before. There’s some 30 ponies there now. It’s a bit north of Two Filly Peak.
Mule: What do they do at Pickseed?
Rocky: Not much to do but farm. There’s decent soil and we’re on the wet side of the mountain. Cloudsdale is close-- most years-- so we did alright.
Mule: Why’d you leave?
Rocky: Just too small. I know my cutie mark is a rock, but it’s not about me being a work horse. It’s-- well it’s a story.
Mule: Hows it go?
Rocky: Eh, we were working the field. My brother and father were having a terrible time with this boulder. We get rock-storms in Pickseed. I don’t know how they happen, but when the mountain avalanches we get showered in small stones. All the big rocks don't make it to us. Except that year. That year we got the biggest boulder we ever had. It was in a terrible spot too. I don’t recall why, but it just needed to go. So my brother and father were out there with this massive boulder. And I ask them how I can help and they say I can’t. I was just a colt then. I’m sure they didn’t want to flatten me trying to move the thing. Anyways, I started going neighbor to neighbor asking them about big rocks. Turns out most of them can’t help because they have their own rocks. So I finally get, uh-- a bit mad. Instead of asking for ponies help I started telling them what to do. Turns out, if we all worked together we could get those rocks pushed easy. So we did that, and we did it all day. It was probably at the first boulder we moved that I got my mark. Didn’t really see it until we were helping old Bow.
Mule: So your marks about giving orders.
Rocky: It’s about teamwork.
Mule: I see. Not enough things for teamwork to do in Pickseed?
Rocky: Exactly. I joined the guard when I figured that all out. That was some-- 5-- 6 years later though.
Mule: What did you do in the Guard?
Rocky: I was a corporal most of my time. I worked in the National Defensive Works Projects corps. Spent 8 years regulating and digging firebreaks south of Everfree.
Mule: You’re not a guard now. Why’d you go private?
Rocky: I met a mare-- Seam Jacket, love of my life. We’ve been together almost 14 years now.
Mule: What did you do for work between leaving the guard and working for lord Horn?
Rocky: Oh, Gloom was setting up his personal guard when my contract ended. It just worked out.
Mule: And you’ve been here since?
Rocky: Since 84.
Mule: Okay, Rocky Road. I think we can begin. Did anything stand out to you on Tuesday, the day before the theft?
Rocky: No.
Mule: Walk me through that day.
Rocky: Well I start my mornings at 2 am. I relieve Anchor at 3. Then I work until about noon. Eh, I think Seam took Brick into town for his summer shoes that afternoon, so I watched Rose Bundle. We were in the library for a few hours. I remember there was squash in the mess hall that evening. Seam was bummed since she missed it-- I think it’s the last of the winter squash season.
Mule: Brick is your older son?
Rocky: Yes. I assumed you knew, since Bundle was with you?
Mule: He mentioned Brick is a porter.
Rocky: Eh, sort of. He wants to join the guard like his pops, so he’s always trying to be athletic. Sometimes I think he believes my cutie mark is about being strong and lifting big rocks. He’ll learn-- I hope.
Mule: So he isn’t employed here?
Rocky: No, hes just a bit too young for the lord to hire. He makes himself busy anyways. Calls it his training.
Mule: Let’s move on.
Rocky: Alright.
Mule: When did you sleep that evening?
Rocky: Well, I started trying to sleep about 6:30. Wasn’t ‘till 7-- eh, 8 when I actually slept.
Mule: 7 or 8?
Rocky: 8.
Mule: When did you wake up?
Rocky: It was 2 am, when I normally get up.
Mule: Did you wake up before then? For any reason?
Rocky: No, I don’t think so.
Mule: You don’t think so?
Rocky: No. I didn’t wake up.
Mule: Alright. So you’re up. It’s a normal wake-up. You start your routine?
Rocky: Yes.
Mule: Can you remember anything out of place before you started your shift?
Rocky: Eh--
Mule: Take your time.
Rocky: Eh-- My toothbrush was in the wrong cup.
Mule: That all?
Rocky: Yep.
Mule: Okay. Did you have any open windows?
Rocky: Eh, no. Why?
Mule: Not important. I think we should talk about your shift. You relieved Little Anchor from his post. Correct?
Rocky: Yes.
Mule: He was there at his post when you went to relieve him?
Rocky: Yes. And he was there at the start of his shift too.
Mule: You saw him?
Rocky: Eh, no. I hear he was seen there.
Mule: Heard from who?
Rocky: Eh-- I don’t remember.
Mule: That’s fine. Tell me if you remember later. What about Little Anchor-- Did he look like he normally does? Did he look tired?
Rocky: Yeah, he always looks tired.
Mule: Did he look more tired than usual?
Rocky: No.
Mule: Did he look disheveled in any way?
Rocky: Yes, but-- eh, that’s also normal for Anchor.
Mule: So he looked like--
Rocky: He was a tired mess. That’s just Anchor.
Mule: Alright. You’re at your post now. What happens next?
Rocky: Eh, nothing until an hour later.
Mule: Nothing? What do you normally do?
Rocky: We-- eh-- Okay, this will take some explaining-- so you know Silver?
Mule: Yes, I’ve met Silver.
Rocky: Okay, so Silver-- The lord doesn’t really take charge. And Silver-- he’s supposed to be his butler but it’s more like-- eh-- hes kind of the lords manager?
Quick: You mean he acts more like his steward than a butler?
Rocky: Yeah, that’s it. He’s a steward-- running the whole property. But, if the butlers being the steward then who’s the butler? So, eh, we kind of end up being his butlers. At least, when we’re here at the manor.
Mule: When you say we, you mean all of the guards?
Rocky: Yes.
Mule: And you do actual guard work--
Rocky: When we’re out of town with the lord.
Mule: So you stand at his door doing nothing.
Rocky: Not all the time, we still have responsibilities. That’s just, eh-- you get it.
Mule: What kind of responsibilities?
Rocky: Oh um, well Fence works with Sweet and does all the magic security. Anchor does night watch and air safety. I end up doing a bunch of geotechnical surveying every few months.
Mule: Geotechnic surveying?
Rocky: Yeah, I get some crews to dig up soil up river. We do some tests and look at last years riverbeds. River Horn lives on the Foal River and dies on that river-- it’s important work.
Mule: I understand. But you weren’t doing any of that on Wednesday morning?
Rocky: Just standing there.
Mule: For an hour.
Rocky: About an hour.
Mule: So what happened in about an hour?
Rocky: Well, Silver comes out of the library and starts telling me there’s something wrong with the tower. I don’t know magic, and I know he doesn’t either but he looks all worried. So I think the worst, and I ask him, “Do we need to evacuate?” I don’t think he heard me-- He just tells me to look around outside and he leaves.
Mule: He didn’t hear you?
Rocky: He didn’t stop to talk. I don’t think he even turned his ears to listen to me.
Mule: Alright. Was Fence with him?
Rocky: No. Eh-- I didn’t see her until way later.
Mule: How much later?
Rocky: Eh--
Mule: After sunrise?
Rocky: No-- but not too long before.
Mule: So, Silver told you to go outside. What happens next?
Rocky: Well, I go outside and I look at the tower. It’s really hard to see-- even when I-- Here look. Way out there I walked out there and looked up at the tower.
Mule: But you couldn’t see the tower in the dark. Did you have a light?
Rocky: I have a watch-charm on my helmet, but it was a new moon. No moon means no night vision.
Mule: How long were you out there?
Rocky: Oh, I was out there until sunrise, but this was eh-- like 10 minutes later I start seeing Anchor with a lamp up flying around the tower.
Mule: So you look in the dark for ten minutes and then Anchor starts flying around?
Rocky: Yes.
Mule: Continue, please.
Rocky: Eh-- So I’m looking up at the spire and I see-- Okay, so you saw the spire. It’s all broken right now, and that’s what it looked like then. There’s a really tall thin part at the top that all the pegasi complain about. It’s really hard to see and they want to put a flag on it or something but Sweet says they can’t. Anyways, I’m looking up at the spire and I think I can’t see the long part because it’s just dark and hard to see. But, Anchor just keeps flying circles around it. I figured it out when he flew through were it was supposed to be.
Mule: How long did that take?
Rocky: Oh just a minute or so. After that I yelled up at him, since I don’t think he could see far with his light. He lands and starts talking about how the spire’s missing-- It’s just snapped off. So he and I talk about how it happened and we both look around the tower for broken pieces.
Mule: How do you think it happened?
Rocky: Well, when I first saw it I thought-- oh, the magic thing broke; it’s probably a magic thing.
Mule: You changed your mind?
Rocky: Yeah, eh-- When we found the top part of the spire there were hoofprints on it.
Mule: How did that change your mind?
Rocky: Well, if there’s hoofprints on it then somepony smacked it. Way I see it, only a pegasus could do that. Pretty simple.
Mule: Seems like Anchor and Fence had a disagreement over that.
Rocky: Yeah, eh-- Anchor didn’t find any prints on the top of the tower and kept arguing it was magic. He and I started that argument-- So after we found the broken piece he turned it about and looked at the broken edge and the hoofprints and he flew back up top. When he came down he just wouldn’t stop saying that it was magic that broke the spire. He repeated over and over that there’s no way a pegasus could have done it without leaving prints on the top of the tower. I argued he could have missed the prints in the dark or maybe they hit it in flight with only their forelegs. They could have never touched the base of the spire-- you know?
Mule: I believe I do. So you disagree about how the spire broke. How long did you argue about this?
Rocky: Eh-- an hour at least.
Mule: What ends the argument then?
Rocky: I got tired of saying the same thing to him. We had more important things to do so I just said he won.
Mule: But you still think it was a pegasus?
Rocky: No doubt.
Mule: What did you do next?
Rocky: Well, I wanted to search for any foul play. Maybe something left behind in the flowers. You can see they’re pretty dense this year. Anyways, I went back inside and got a decent light. I searched maybe an hour. Probably more like half an hour.
Mule: Did you happen to check the time when you were inside?
Rocky: No. Eh-- actually I think the chiming clock in the kitchen was going off when I was leaving.
Mule: What door did you leave?
Rocky: It was the north service exit by the storeroom.
Mule: You’ll have to show it to me. After.
Rocky: Yeah.
Mule: You searched for half an hour. Did you find anything?
Rocky: I found a few shards from the broken spire. Nothing really important, but I boxed them up to help with repairs.
Mule: You moved them?
Rocky: I think I got almost all of them, yes.
Mule: And that's all you found?
Rocky: Yes. Well, that’s all the stuff I found. I found the broken fence too.
Mule: Yes, let’s get to that. Up. We’re going to the cemetery.
I, Rocky Road of River Horn, certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of a recorded conversation I had with Mule of Trottsville, Private Investigator (Independent), on the afternoon of Aqu 11, 999.