"I must say, darling," Rarity said, trudging up the long path to the Baron's mansion. "While I do try to keep myself fairly fit, it's times like these that I can't help but wish I had your athleticism."
Rainbow, walking along beside her, shrugged. "It's not that hard. You just have to be dedicated and train every day. Get your endurance up, y'know?"
"Train?" Rarity replied. "Moi? Never."
It was a cloudy night in the foothills of the Canterhorn. The only notable things for miles were the mansion and its garden. Rarity was illuminating the ground ahead of them with her horn.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Well, with the amount of ice cream you eat, you could probably use it."
"Are you calling me fat?"
"No," Rainbow said. "I'm just saying you needed to have worked on your calorie intake if you wanted to make it up this hill."
Rarity looked forward. Then up. Then up.
"Oh dear."
"Still, I can't believe they dropped us off at the servants' quarters," Rainbow said. "Are we, like, not good enough to stay in the house itself?"
"I'm more concerned about the fact that the servant's quarters are so far away from the house itself," Rarity replied. "That seems... inhumane."
"Yeah. You'd think your staff would be the one group of ponies you wouldn't want to piss off."
"I'm surprised the Baron had any staff still working for him at all."
"Maybe he pays well?"
"He's a notorious capitalist of the military-industrial-complex variety," Rarity said. "What do you think?"
Rainbow frowned. "Why were we working for this guy again?"
"Friends in high places, darling."
"Ah, right. Nepotism. Our specialty."
They continued onwards. Eventually, after much walking, they reached the big doors of the mansion. A pair of guards stood on either side of the door.
"Halt!" the one on the left said. "Who goes there!"
"Rarity, detective in the employ of the Baron, here to solve his murder," Rarity said.
"And assistant," Rainbow added.
"Wait," the guard on the right said, his face scrunching up. "How can you be in the employ of the baron to solve his murder if he's already dead, thus making it impossible for him to ask you to solve his murder?"
"His ghost contacted us," Rainbow replied.
A moment of silence.
"Wow. Tough crowd."
Rarity smiled. "Actually, he hired us in advance on a different, but likely related matter. We just figured, as we were here..."
"Oh. I see," Guard-On-The-Right said. "Well, carry on."
They opened the doors for them, then, and Rarity and Rainbow stepped inside. The main entrance was grandiose and intimidating, at least to Rainbow.
"Actually," Rarity said, turning around, "would one of you mind guiding us to the crime scene?"
"No can do," Guard-On-The-Left said. "We're on strict orders. Two guards at every entrance."
Guard-On-The-Right nodded.
"Well, somepony has to show us to the body," Rarity said, "or else we'll never make any progress. Not in a house this big."
"Do you think the Baron was compensating for something?" Rainbow asked.
"Almost certainly, though probably not in the way you're thinking. You see, there's an unspoken rule—"
"A-hem."
Someone had cleared their throat behind them; Rarity and Rainbow turned around to find a mare in a black suit standing there. "Perhaps I can be of assistance in this matter?"
"And who might you be?" Rarity asked.
"Silver Plate," she said. "The butler of this mansion."
"Ooh, a lady butler," Rainbow said. "Now we're talking. Gender equality at its finest."
"Rainbow, most of the positions of power in Equestria are held by mares," Rarity replied, sounding a little concerned. "Did you just... forget?"
"Doesn't mean I can't be happy to see it," Rainbow said.
"Right..." Rarity turned back to the butler. "Anyway, Ms. Plate. I trust you can guide us to the crime scene?"
"Absolutely," she said. "Right this way."
"Ooh, my hooves hurt already!" Rarity exclaimed, as she walked inside. "I shall have to go to the spa back in Ponyville once we get home."
"Don't start whining now," Rainbow replied. "We only just got here."
"I'm not whining, dear, I'm complaining," Rarity huffed. She turned around to look back at Silver Plate. "Were you in the building when the murder occurred?"
Silver Plate nodded. "Yes. I was in the kitchen when the news reached me."
"And the rest of the staff?"
"I was the only member of staff who was in the building. The rest were told to remain in the servant's quarters until called for."
"So there's no one to vouch for your alibi," Rarity said.
The mare bristled. "Are you accusing me of killing my own master?"
"No. Merely stating the facts."
The "crime scene" Silver Plate brought them to was a single room, far, far down one of the hallways.
"Would you mind gathering the suspects into a nearby room for me?" Rarity asked.
"I believe they are all already being confined to the study by the guards," Silver Plate said.
"Ah, perfect. Well then, we'd best get to it, Rainbow."
The room was sparsely furnished. There were no windows, and the door they'd just entered through was the only means of egress. A carpet sat on the floor, a wardrobe against the far wall, and a large painting on the left. A desk sat on the right side of the room, big and bulky.
They both looked at the elephant in the room: the body. The Baron was a reddish-brown coated stallion with a black mane. A belt hung around his waist, attached to a hilt with a sabre securely fastened inside. He lay on his side, facing away from the door.
"You know, I think I really am starting to get used to this 'dead body' thing," Rarity said.
"Yeah," Rainbow replied. "Me too. That's..."
"Concerning?"
"Yeah."
They stared at it a moment more.
"Well, that aside," Rarity said, "let's get to work."
The first thing Rarity went for, however, was not the body; it was the small pistol, lying on the carpet next to the body. She lit her horn and levitated it up.
"Let's see, there should be a way to... aha!"
She pressed a button on the side of the pistol and pulled out its magazine.
"What's that?" Rainbow asked.
"It's a magazine," Rarity explained. "It holds the pistol's bullets. I read up a little bit on griffon firearms after that case with Monsieur Râtelier."
She inspected the bullets. "It appears this pistol was only fired once—I assume that's when our unfortunate client met his end."
She replaced the magazine and laid the pistol back on the floor. "Alright, now for the Baron."
Rarity inspected him. The wound wasn't immediately visible, so she rolled him onto his other side. There it was, a hole on the right side of his chest, a gaping wound of dark red, right over where his heart would be.
"Well, I don't think we have a doctor on hand this time to confirm the details of his death," Rarity said, "but it's safe to assume that the bullet is currently lodged somewhere in his heart, I think."
"Nasty," Rainbow said.
"Well, he probably lost consciousness fairly quickly," Rarity said back. "So that's something."
Rainbow pointed. "Look, there's something around his neck!"
"So there is!" Rarity lifted it up. It was a simple iron key, tied to a string. "I wonder what this goes to?"
"Beats me. The door maybe?"
"It's certainly a possibility."
She stood up and took a step back. "Let's see... if he was standing here, and the bullet hole is on his right side, that means the killer must have been to his right, which means he may have been..."
She looked in that direction.
"...in this wardrobe!"
It was a large wardrobe, wooden. She opened the door; it was empty.
"You think the killer could have hidden in there?" Rainbow asked.
"It's certainly a possibility."
Next, she turned to the left. "If the body fell straight down, and the killer was in the closet, then the only thing the Baron could have been looking at is this painting... but why would he be staring at his own painting, I wonder?"
"Oh! I know!" Rainbow said. "Maybe there's something behind the painting!"
"It's certainly a possibility!"
Rainbow scowled at her. "Rarity, if you say that one more time, I'll deck you."
Rarity let out a tittering laugh. She stepped forwards; her horn glowed, and the large painting (it was a landscape) lifted off the wall. She set it down to one side, revealing:
"A safe!" Rainbow exclaimed.
Yes, it was a safe, big and made of steel, inset into the wall. Four dials sat upon its surface; four numbers needed for its combination.
"I guess that key doesn't go to this safe," Rarity remarked. "Let's see..."
She tried the handle. It turned, and the heavy door swung open.
Rainbow's eyes widened. "It's empty? That can't be a good sign."
"I suspect I know what may have been in this safe," Rarity said. "And I suspect you can guess as well, darling."
Rainbow nodded. She could.
Stepping back, Rarity did one last sweep of the room. "Doesn't look like there's much else to uncover in here. One last thing before we go..."
She lifted the key from around the Baron's neck and walked back over to the door—but something stopped her.
"That's funny," she said. "The door is already locked."
"What do you mean?" Rainbow asked, following her. "It's open, isn't it?"
"Yes, but the bolt's thrown, look." Rarity pointed to the rectangle of metal.
"Huh."
Rarity fit the key into the sturdy lock and turned it. With a loud thunk, the bolt slid back.
"I guess that settles it," she said. "Miss Silver Plate?"
The butler looked back in from where she was standing, outside the door. "Yes?"
"This key, does it only go to this door, or to the rest of the house as well?"
"Only to this one."
"I see," Rarity said. "And does anyone else have a copy of this key?"
Silver Plate shook her head. "No, not even me. My master key doesn't open this door."
"That's interesting," Rarity said. "I suppose whatever the purpose of this room was, it was considered too important for even the staff to have entry... And I see that the other rooms in this hallway don't have locks. What room exactly is this?"
Silver Plate shrugged. "The Baron just called it the safe room."
"Hm." Rarity nodded. "Well, I suppose it didn't turn out to be so safe after all. In any case, I think it's time we talked to our suspects. Miss Plate, if you would?"
"Right this way."
As they stepped out into the hallway, however, Rainbow scrunched up her snout.
"Whatever is the matter, darling?" Rarity asked her.
"I swear I just caught a whiff of smoke," Rainbow said.
"Smoke? Perhaps residue from the gunshot?"
"Yeah, maybe, but I didn't smell it in the room," Rainbow said. "Just out here."
Rarity hummed. "Interesting."
The study was a moderately-sized room, which meant it was only a little bit cramped on account of the group of people who were confined to it. As Rarity and Rainbow stepped inside, all eyes were on them.
Rarity scanned the room. There were four unicorns and a male griffon. Two of the ponies were stallions, one old and adorned with a thick moustache and many military medals, the other closer to his prime. There was one mare, who Rarity immediately identified as a noble based on the way she carried herself, and the remaining pony was a filly, no more than ten years old, who was wearing a small dress.
"Hello, there," she said. "My name is Rarity, and this is my assistant, Rainbow Dash. She is a Wonderbolt; I am a seamstress, a dressmaker, and when it suits me, a detective, which is the capacity I am operating under now. It is a pleasure to make all of your acquaintances."
“Wow!” the filly exclaimed. “She’s pretty!”
The noblemare spoke up. "Are you the same Rarity who the Duchess Clearglass speaks of so fondly?"
"The very same," Rarity said with a smile. "And you are Lady Crystal Bright, if I am not mistaken."
The mare nodded. "That would be me, yes."
Rarity turned to the military stallion. "And you, I assume, are General Bristle?"
He nodded. "My reputation precedes me, I see."
"Indeed it does," Rarity said. "I'm afraid I do not know the rest of you, however." She held up a hoof. "Our introductions can wait. I'd like to interview each of you in private; it's part of my method, you see."
"That sounds reasonable enough," the unnamed stallion said.
"Excellent." She turned to Crystal Bright. "Then, if I may, I would quite like to begin with you."
"That's fine by me," she said, standing up from her chair. "Anything to get out of this dreadful mansion sooner."