//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 "Thor" // Story: Equestria Noir Case 16 "Among Alicorns" // by Jacoboby1 //------------------------------// Chapter 4 “Thor” Everypony in the room was whispering amongst themselves. Many were considering the possibility of Voidera being there. Some even went so far as to openly start yelling at Voidera about his apparent theft of Ember's soul fire. I was worried we were going to have a riot on our hooves. I started having flashbacks to the riot that Trixie got caught up in. I didn’t want a repeat performance. “Everypony calm down!” I heard an authoritative voice shout. Everypony turned to as Celestia walked in, and the crowd parted to let her through to Voidera and Onyx. Onyx bowed his head in respect; Voidera simply continued to glare at Onyx. There was something fishy going on here. “I have heard your accusations, Onyx” Celestia spoke firmly. “I believe them to be premature at best, and unfounded at worst.” Twilight who was standing beside her mentor gave me a look. She wanted to stand by Celestia but she wasn’t sure. Onyx pointed with his hoof at Voidera, “This beast of yours has stolen my son’s soul fire!” “I have done no such thing!” Voidera growled. “You speak foolishly, Onyx!” “I am not the foalish one,” Onyx declared. “Your kind was always liars and murderers!” “You dare slander my people,” Voidera snarled, almost like an angry dragon, his eyes flashing again. “Enough!” Celestia spread her wings to get both stallions’ attention. “This is my castle, and I will handle the situation without violence or petty threats.” She then gestured to me and ordered, “Private Eye, step forward.” Spike and Twilight looked at me warily. I kept my expression neutral as I stepped forward and bowed low before Celestia. “I am here to serve, my Princess.” “I’m placing you in charge of this investigation,” Celestia declared with authority. “You’re placing a common unicorn in charge of solving the murder of a prince?” Onyx shouted, pointing at me. “He is hardly a stallion; I should have my own men investigate.” “Hold your tongue, Onyx,” Voidera spoke. “Do you know who this stallion is?” Onyx stranded down at me. I couldn’t ignore the glare he was giving me, but I kept my head bowed. It wasn’t my place to speak out. Voidera spoke loudly, “Celestia spoke to me last night of this stallion. You are in the presence of the Element of Tenacity, Detective Preventus Phelps Eye. He has gazed into the eyes of both Nightmare Moon and Discord and came out strong. More importantly, he is a former police officer and a damn fine private detective.” Several ponies in the room whispered about me to their fellow dignitaries. I guessed my reputation preceded me. Voidera bowed his head to Celestia and said, “Forgive my boldness, Celestia, I simply wished to clear the air.” “You spoke well, Voidera,” Celestia said approvingly. Turning her gaze to me she asked, “Do you accept the task of finding out who stole Prince Ember’s soul fire?” “As a servant to you, Your Highness,” I looked up and met her gaze “and as a friend of Prince Ember, I humbly accept this task. I will complete it to the best of my ability. Though I do have one request.” “What might that be?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow. “I request that royals not be exempt from questioning,” I said firmly. “Everypony is a potential suspect or witness. I wish to be able to perform my job unhindered.” Some of the gathered crowd whispered at the boldness of my claim. Onyx glared at me angrily. He really didn’t like ponies speaking out of turn. Celestia however simply smiled and nodded, “Whatever you require to complete your task will be given to you. I will also be available to answer any questions you may have.” “Thank you, Your Highness,” I said, bowing low. “I will find Ember’s murderer.” “Very well,” Celestia replied, turning, “until this matter is resolved nopony is allowed to leave the castle. If you see anypony suspicious, let the guards know.” She began walking away, the solar guards flanking her, and added over her shoulder, “Also, if anypony hinders Private in his task, they will answer to me.” The way she tossed it in there was casual, but her tone was deadly serious. Was that a look of pride on her face when she left? As the other servants dispersed, Voidera himself remained behind. Twilight whispered to me with a worried expression, “Private, are you sure it’s not Voidera?” “Something in my gut is telling me he wouldn’t do this,” I explained. “Twilight, I need you to ask around amongst the servants. Also, see if you can set up meetings with the different royals. I want to see if any of them would stand to gain from Ember's death.” “Ember is not technically dead,” Voidera said, suddenly appearing next to Twilight. My marefriend nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise. She leapt into the air and I caught her in my forelegs. Voidera looked apologetic as he addressed Twilight, “Forgive me, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” I set Twilight down and she looked at Voidera, appraisingly. “Look, I want to believe you had nothing to do with this, but only because Princess Celestia trusts you. I still have not forgotten what you did to Shining,” she stated bluntly. Voidera smirked a little. “Truly a daughter of Izanami.” “I’m sorry?” Twilight asked, with a raised eyebrow. “Your ancestor,” Voidera replied. “She too was always as loyal to Celestia as you are. I can assure you; I had nothing to do with the theft.” “Then where were you last night?” Spike asked. “Well,” Voidera’s red eye looked off in another direction as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Tia and I, went back to her room and," he paused, looking for a way to word it delicately, "got reacquainted with one another…” “What!” Twilight’s jaw dropped. “You mean you guys-“ “What are they talking about?” Spike asked curiously. “I’ll tell you when you’re older,” I said quickly. Twilight blubbered something nonsensical and almost fell over, but I caught her in my magic. It was almost as if she'd walked in to discover her parents having sex. She righted herself and let out a breath. “Sorry, I’ll just leave before this gets stranger.” Twilight left and Voidera chuckled, “Izanami reacted the same way.” I looked down at Spike and handed him the rock I found earlier. “Would you mind analyzing this for me?” I asked the baby dragon. As Spike examined the black stone, familiarity entered his green eyes, “This is brimstone, but where’d you get a volcanic rock?” “I found it in the Everfree forest,” I explained. “We don’t live anywhere near a volcano” Spike mused, crossing his arms in thought. “I wonder what it's doing here.” “I want you to find out where it could’ve come from,” I said firmly. The baby dragon walked off with the rock in his claws. Then I turned to Voidera and looked into his red eyes. Speaking firmly I said, “You and I have met before all of this.” “Indeed,” Voidera replied, his expression neutral, “you were having trouble seeing the truth, but you managed to overcome it all and discover your destiny.” “You gave me Tenacity,” I pointed out. “I have to ask, if you were sealed for fifteen hundred years, how could you have been there?” “My body was sealed,” Voidera explained. “But my mind was still free. I felt your presence on Nightmare Night, when you came to the castle ruins.” “I heard you,” I said. I remembered the deep bass voice I'd heard upon entering the ruins, when I tried to save Luna from Nightwind. It was Voidera's voice. “I think I deserve an answer, who or what are you?” “To answer the what first,” Voidera replied, “I am not an Alicorn, as you can see.” “Are you some sort of demon king?” “No.” “Vampony?” “Nope.” “Werepony?” “Not even close.” “Vampony/Werepony hybrid” “Absolutely not.” “A super unstoppable being with the power of all seventeen elements of awesomeness that can destroy all life as we know it?” “Where do you get these ideas?” Voidera asked, raising an eyebrow. “I read a lot,” I said, shrugging sheepishly. “So, if you aren’t any of those things, what are you?” He spread his large dragon wings wide and said, “I am what is known as a Dracorn. My father was a dragon and my mother was an Alicorn.” I guess I could tell Rarity what the result of a relationship with Spike might yield. I decided to move on and asked, “How do you know Celestia?” He closed his red eyes and smiled a blissful smile. I could tell he was reliving good memories. “She was my first friend. When I was young I was locked away in a tower because of my abilities. Circumstances came around allowing me to leave the tower in the company of Celestia. Granted, we didn’t leave because we wanted to. I could go on, but it is a terribly long story. Let’s just say that Tia and I are mates, in all but ceremony.” “You mean you guys aren't officially married yet?” I asked. “Correct,” he said, with a nod. “Ages ago, I did earn the honor of her accepting my proposal, though I still wonder if I deserve it. Tia and I never got around to officially conducting the ceremony before the cataclysm that sundered your world, changing it forever.” “So, you were with Princess Celestia all night last night?” I asked. “Yes,” he answered, smiling smugly. “You can ask Celestia herself, I didn’t leave her all night, she wouldn’t let me.” He said that last bit with a sly smirk. I was glad Twilight wasn't there to witness that. I decided to move on, asking, “If you didn’t steal Prince Ember's soul fire, how come that dignitary said he saw you?” “I am curious about that as well,” Voidera’s said slowly, eyes narrowed in thought. “I never left Celestia’s side, so perhaps he is lying. The question is what would he stand to gain by blaming me?” I thought a moment, something about this whole set up seemed way too convenient. Then another thought struck me, causing me to ask, “What did you mean when you said that Prince Ember isn’t truly dead?” “Allow me to elaborate,” Voidera said, shifting into lecture tone. “Fire Ponies, like Onyx and Prince Ember, do not have normal physical bodies. They are instead spirits of flame. Each one has a flame within them that always burns, dubbed the soul fire. If the soul fire has been removed it can be moved somewhere else. Whether it be to something flammable or any sort of magical container.” “So that body in his room?” I asked, pointing to Ember’s room warily. “It's merely a shell for the flame to inhabit. Since he is young, his flame is small, and his body also. Once we find the soul fire, we need only put it back inside his body, and he’ll be revived.” “The only problem is that flame could be anywhere,” I concluded. “We have to find more clues as to where it went.” “Then I shall aid you in your venture,” Voidera said firmly. “All right,” I agreed, “but know that not everypony trusts you. Onyx did accuse you in front of all those ponies.” Voidera walked ahead, his red eyes betraying little and replied simply, “Nothing that I am not already used to.” ________________________________________________________ “Dude!” the tattooed Pegasus before me said. “The great and awesome Thor will gladly see you, but I wish to warn you that your mare here may succumb to absolute awestruckness!” “That’s not a real word!” I complained. I'd spent the past ten minutes trying to get in to see King Thor, which means I had to deal with his guards. The pegasi before me were twice my size, in pure muscle alone. Judging by our conversation, I'd say they were all brawn and no brains. Twilight, who was standing beside me, rolled her eyes and said, exasperated, “Look, will you let us in or not?” “I would be honored most awesome of mares,” the Pegasus said. “I am merely warning you of what to expect.” Twilight and Voidera flanked me as we entered the guest chamber. There, lounging on a cloud, was Thor himself. His large wings covering himself like a blanket. Noticing he had company, he roused and stretched. Then he saw Voidera and gave a hearty laugh. “I heard rumors about a certain dragon boy being back!” He flew down, the ground shaking when he landed. He slapped Voidera on the back, causing the Dracorn to stumble. “It is good to see you again as well, Thor,” Voidera said with a big grin. “I see you’re doing well for yourself.” The Alicorn laughed again, “So what can I do for you, my friend? Can I interest you in some proper Cloud Kingdom Mead?” “Actually,” Voidera said, as he pointed to me, “he wishes to speak to you.” Thor looked down, meeting my grey eyes with his electric blue eyes. He then lifted me up by one of my legs with his magic “He's an awfully skinny lad, not exactly what I had in mind when I heard he was Tenacity’s bearer.” “Sorry, Your Highness” I said, hanging by my leg. “We can’t all be strong warriors like you.” He laughed, dropping me, and said, “A sharp tongue more than makes up for dull muscles.” Twilight smiled and whispered in my ear, “Don’t worry, you’re still a brave warrior in my book.” I grinned rather stupidly at the compliment, but then I shook my head getting back to business. “Thor, I’d like to ask you some questions.” “Then I shall answer them,” he said, as sat on his rump, causing the room to shake a little. I don’t think this guy understood his own strength. Keep this up and Canterlot might fall off its mountain side from all of the minor earthquakes that he created. I pulled out my notebook and began the questioning, “Where were you last night?” “I was asleep here,” Thor replied, gesturing to his room. I noticed most of the furniture was made out of clouds. “I enjoyed some fine mead with my men, and I went to bed.” “So you just partied with your men then?” I asked. He chuckled. “Unfortunately, the guards didn’t appreciate having half of their chairs destroyed during the wrestling match. My people are a hardy bunch; we may have caused a slight bit of mayhem in the barracks.” Twilight was writing notes of her own, probably trying to total costs for the repairs. I went on, “What happened after that?” “I was on my way to my room when I heard an argument coming from Oberon and Titania’s room,” he said, shaking his head. “I try not to get involved in their affairs. They're usually not pretty.” I remembered Oberon talking to Onyx about some sort of plan. Maybe this has something to do with it? “What were they arguing about?” I asked. “They argue about everything,” Thor complained. “They used to be so much in love but now one tiny thing can set them both off. I was smart enough not to get involved in their affairs. The last time somepony got involved in their argument it got so bad somepony wrote a play about it.” I guessed Shakespony got quite a bit of his inspiration from those two, “Can you describe what they were arguing about this time?” “Something about a plan that Oberon was getting caught up in,” Thor explained, trying to recall. “I don’t remember many details but I did hear Onyx’s name mentioned. I got away as quickly as possible to avoid getting caught up in the argument.” “Thanks, Thor,” I said, as I finished writing down his testimony. “You’ve been a big help.” “Come by the Cloud Kingdom some time,” Thor said with a big grin. “I’ll get some muscles on those legs yet.” I looked over at Twilight who was eyeing thoughtfully; I could tell she was imagining me as a buff warrior. I gave her a small smile, causing her to blush at being caught. I laughed and looked at Thor, “I might take you up on that offer one day, but right now I have a case to complete.” Thor just shrugged and flew back up to the cloud that was floating just below the ceiling. He seemed like a powerful ally to have. All we have to do is keep him away from tables and mead for a while. The more I see Alicorns like this, the less like gods they seem. They just seem like regular ponies, with god like powers... ______________________________________________________ “Titania probably knows what’s going on,” I said to my companions, as the three of us walked the halls together. “Titania is a deer,” Twilight explained, “she’s not going to open up easily.” “I've heard they are a rather reclusive race,” I mused, aloud. “Titania is also loyal to Oberon,” Voidera added. “She will not speak to just anypony about such personal matters.” “There’s got to be some way,” Twilight said thoughtfully. “I can think of one way,” Voidera said, with a small frown. “Well, what is it?” I asked the Dracorn. “You're not going to like it…”