//------------------------------// // Welcome to Ponyville // Story: Maintenance Costs // by FeinesFabi //------------------------------// It was still early when Twilight and L arrived at the bakery. Pinkie was standing behind the counter, smiling as happy as ever. There was a fun upbeat song playing in the background. “Oh, good morning Twilight”, Pinkie greeted her friend. “What’s uppy-up? You usually don’t visit me this early. Didn’t get any breakfast from Spikey-Wikey? Is he ill? I hope he’s oky-doky.” Then she noticed the new stallion next to Twilight. “Wow, who’s your new stallion friend, Twilight?” She turned toward him with a big grin. “You must be new in town! I know everypony in Ponyville, but I don’t know you yet. So you must be new and...” “Pinkie!”, Twilight interrupted. “This is L. He’s a friend of princess Celestia and he’s in Ponyville on her orders. I’m assisting him in...” Pinkie was chuckling. “Your name is L? But that’s not a name. That’s a letter! Is that an alias or nickname? My name is Pinkie Pie.” “Nice to meet you”, L replied. “It’s an abbreviation and I’d prefer to keep it this way.” He managed to say it kindly. Pinkie kept smiling. “An abbrev - what?”, she asked. Twilight groaned. “It’s the first letter of his real name”, she explained. Pinkie jumped in joy. “Oh, I know. I bet I can guess your real name. Is it Lotus? Lightning? Lawnmower?” L was laughing while Twilight was losing her patience with Pinkie. “Lawnmower?”, he asked imitating the sound of one. He perfected his performance by eating invisible grass. It made Pinkie burst out laughing. “You’re awesome, L!”, she cried. “Oh, I have to organize a ‘welcome to Ponyville party’ for you!” “Here we go...”, Twilight commented. L shook his head. “Thanks, Pinkie. But I’m probably not staying long. And I don’t want to trouble you.” The party pony didn’t take no for an answer. “Don’t be stupid, L! Of course we will party your arrival.” Twilight put a hoof on L’s shoulder. “Trust me, you won’t be able to stop her.” He smiled and took a step towards the display. “Fine. But first, I’d like to taste some of these delicious looking cakes.” The impact on Pinkie’s face was impressive. Her grin grew wider and wider. “You’re here for cakes?!? Delicious cakey-cakes? Cupcakes? Muffins?”, she asked excited. “Oh, you will love that. He’s a real sweet tooth”, Twilight said. Pinkie screamed in delight. “This is getting better and better! Which cake do you want to try first?” She suggested five of her favorites - which was to say five of her own creations. “All of them!” It wasn’t hard to find an empty corner in the bakery at this early hour. L had already finished his third cake while Twilight hadn’t hardly had a third of her hot chocolate. She kindly refused any cake Pinkie offered her in favor of the drink. Seeing him eating all that sweet stuff fascinated her as much as it disgusted her. But the sugar seemed to show some effect on his face. The more he stuffed into him, the waker and sharper he looked. Although they ate in silence for most of the time, she could see the thoughts running through his mind. They decided it would be best to visit the Ponyville hotel one more time. Twilight should see the scene of crime herself. It wasn’t something to look forward to for her, but she wouldn’t turn her back on it. Before they left the shop however, L bought some more cakes to take home. This way he made sure to have plenty supply home when needed. The purple mare nearly puked at the sight of the corpse. Celestia had conjured a spell around it, so it wouldn’t decay any more. Yet, it didn’t look any fresher than before. L showed few sympathy for his young assistant. “Is this the first corpse you’ve ever seen?”, he asked her. Twilight nodded. “I’ll be fine in a moment.” She swallowed a few times to regain her coolness. L brought her a glass of water. “It will make you feel better.” She took the glass thankfully. “I kind of envy you”, he suddenly said. Twilight stared back at him blankly. “One is getting used to sights like this way too fast. Your reaction to all this shows some kind of innocence which also implies an emotional security unknown to me.” She wasn’t sure how to react to such a statement. In a way, it was one of the nicest compliments she’d ever received yet. On the other hoof, the sadness within it made her feel uncomfortable for him. “You’ve seen much darkness, haven’t you?”, she asked quietly. Once again he showed this sheepish smile. “More than you can imagine.” He turned his back on her and made his way to the door. “Please feel free to evaluate the crime scene for yourself. But you won’t find anything of interest which I haven’t told you of.” And with that, he left her. The faithful student sighed. Why won’t you share some of your thoughts with me? She came downstairs half an hour later. L was lying under a tree looking up into the sky with an empty look on his face. “You were right. I didn’t find anything else unusual.” L stood up. “That’s okay. But now you’ve seen it for yourself.” She nodded. “And what would you suggest to do next? Where would you start your investigation?” Twilight couldn’t help but feel being tested by him. It was obvious that he already had a plan and wanted to see if her suggestion would match. “Somepony must know the victim. He must have come here for a reason. So we should start by interviewing the Ponyville citizens.” L turned to the road leading to the center of the town. “Yes, we should do that”, he agreed. Twilight followed, pleased with herself. “But I doubt we’ll find somepony knowing Razor Blade. The smile on her face washed away immediately. “But - I don’t understand. There must be someone he wanted to meet or visit or...” L shook his head. “He came to Ponyville seeking shelter. Running away from something or somepony.” At first, L’s assertion sounded crazy to her. How can he pull something like that out of the air? None of the facts indicate that the victim was... Then she realized her mistake. None of the facts indicated that Razor Blade had benn meeting somepony. And the only other explanation for a stranger to visit with no luggage was a pony on the run. For a moment she was speechless for L’s brilliance. And the fact that she hadn’t seen this herself made her almost furious. “If he’d come to meet up with or visit somepony, he’d have most likely brought luggage”, she said meekly. “And he wouldn’t have checked in at that late hour”, L added. “Now, given that my theory is correct, what would you say is more likely: the culprit is somepony who followed him and finally hunted him down in that hotel, or - the culprit is a Ponyville citizen and the victim ran directly into him?” Twilight stopped her walking and thought about it hard. Then she hung her head. “I, I don’t know. It’s way too early for me to reason something like that with the few evidence we’ve got.” The white stallion lifted her head back up. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Sparkle. I’m only speaking my own thoughts out loud. We can’t make these assumptions just yet.” “You’re - you’re not testing me?”, she asked perplexed. L laughed. “I’m constantly testing everypony and everything. Including myself”, he explained. “But I won’t judge your reasoning abilities based on minor facts like th...”, he suddenly stopped dead for a rather long time. Twilight began to worry. “L? Is everything okay?” He still didn’t move. “You’re starting to scare me!” The detective stallion swallowed and shook his head. “It’s okay, Mrs. Sparkle. I just had some ideas.” She sighed in relief. “And would you care to share them with me?” He continued his walk to the town center. “Definitely not”, he answered harshly. “Please don’t take this personally, but I never share all my thought with anypony.” Twilight froze. “But how can I assist you in the case when I don’t know all the details?” “Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing important just yet.” Twilight didn’t buy it. He looked way too taken aback then. “Please let us start by interviewing the Ponyville citizens as planned.” The interviews took much longer than Twilight had imagined. This was due to the hospitable nature of the Ponyfolk. It was difficult to ask the citizens about Razor Blade without telling them that they were actually investigating a case of murder. L had the brilliant idea of introducing himself as the lost brother searching for him. In his version, he had arranged to meet his brother at the hotel, but he hadn’t made it on time. But no matter whom they asked, the results were always the same. Nopony knew Razor Blade. When they left Rarity’s boutique, Twilight sighed depressed. It was the last house. They had asked every citizen except for Fluttershy, who wasn’t home; Rainbow Dash, who was on duty in Cloudsdale; and Lyra Heartstrings, who was visiting her family in Vanhoover, as Bon Bon had explained. Rarity sure enjoyed the fact that there was a stallion staying at Twilight’s library. But the faithful student managed to quiet her before it was getting really embarrassing. The sun was already setting when they arrived back at the library. Spike presented them the expected Welcome to Ponyville invitation which Pinkie had brought in a few hours ago. L scanned over the lines and they could see that he wasn’t really looking forward to it. Twilight couldn’t blame him. There were so many things to do which were more important than this social activity. “There’s no escaping a Pinkie party”, she said a little grumpy. “Even after a day as bad as this one.” Spike gave her an angry look. “Don’t you listen to Mrs. Grumpy, L. Pinkie’s parties are the best. You’ll have the time of your life.” The detective pony ruffled through his mane. “It’s scheduled for tonight at 9pm”, he announced. “That’s in about 45 minutes”. Twilight nodded and turned to her desk. “Do you want to review our results from today?” she asked him. L seemed to consider this for a minute. “I don’t think it will take much of our precious time”, she added a little annoyed. “Yes, we should do that. We can also use that for our report to the princess.” The purple mare shuddered at little. “Oh no! I hope she won’t be too disappointed by our poor results!” L smiled. “She won’t be”, he simply said. “But how can you know? We found nothing thus far and if we don’t find the culprit soon, it’s likely that he’ll murder again!” He could see how depressed and helpless she felt. A part of him wanted to comfort her. But that just wasn’t something he was familiar with. He took an empty scroll, ink and feather instead. Twilight watched him write their first report. Dear Celestia, You were right with both: hiring me and having Mrs. Sparkle as my assistant for this case. After meeting and interviewing most of the Ponyville citizens, I’m certain to see the complexity of the situation. Everypony is denying to know Razor Blade. Knowing where the victim comes from is crucial for the investigation. So I suggest that Mrs. Sparkle and I will expand our research to the adjacent towns. Starting tommorow, I’d like to continue our investigation in Dodge City and Apple Loosa. If you could spare a few of your guards, I’d like them to simultaneous visit the north west regions of Equestria and interview the local citizens. The chances of Razor Blade coming from one of these towns seem rather slim, but i’d like them to make sure of this. Tell them, they’re looking for a missing pony. They should not be informed about the fact, that we are investigating a case of murder. Yours, P.S.: Thank you for the chance of experience your world. Twilight read the letter three times, shaking her head. “How are we going to send it to the princess?”, L finally asked. “But L, this letter is so - distant and incomplete.” He didn’t respond to this at first. “You don’t even tell her about your theory that Razor Blade was on the run and...” “And we should keep it this way.” Both ponies stared at each other. Spike felt the tension between them and decided that he had a very important task to do in the kitchen. L folded the letter. “Now, how do we send it?” Twilight stared angrily at him. “We won’t send it in it’s current form! Princess Celestia must be informed about our results in all details. I won’t keep secrets from her. Especially if they are this big.” L suddenly raised one hoof. Memories of the many rows and fights he had with Light overwhelmed him. But then he remembered how welcoming the Ponyfolk was. This world is a very different place. He lowered his hoof as fast as he had raised it - scared of himself. Twilight thought he had raised his hoof to ask for silence. She didn’t know how close she had been to being hit by a stallion. “I’m sorry”, he said meekly. “You should know, that the place where I came from is very different to your place.” Twilight wanted to ask him about his past, but he didn’t let her. “Celestia knows my way of handling things. I told her about the many various problems recruiting me would imply. She dismissed them rather easily. So...”, he gave the letter to her. “if you trust her judgement as much as I think you do, send the report to her the way it is. If you don’t trust her, feel free to edit it.” He walked away from her into the study hall. Twilight's hooves shook as she stared down on the parchment. “Spike!” The baby dragon was standing beside her in an instant. “Please send this letter to the princess”. L watched the green flame passing him as it made it’s way out of the window and into the night. Pinkie had surpassed herself with the welcome party. She must really like L, Twilight thought. Everypony had come to welcome L in Ponyville. Bon Bon was serving all kinds of drinks, Mrs. Cake was serving all kinds of sweets and other food, and Vinyl Scratch was working her own magic on the records. The atmosphere was hilarious and even L seemed to enjoy it a lot. He was talking (and even dancing cautiously) with every pony who approached him. There was but one pony who didn’t make the most of this night. Twilight Sparkle was sitting at a table in a far corner. Fluttershy was the first to join her. “Oh, hello Twilight.” “Hi Fluttershy. Enjoying the party?” The shy mare blushed a little. “Yes. Pinkie really hit the spot this time.” Twilight nodded. “So, have you been busy today? You weren’t home when L and I visited you to ask you about his missing brother.” Then she told her whispering all about the dead pony and the investigation. Fluttershy was shocked but managed to keep quiet. “Oh no, who would do such a horrible thing?”, she asked. Twilight simply shrugged. “I haven’t seen anypony like that. I was taking care of some squirrels at the edge of the Everfree Forest. The only pony I’ve meet today was Lyra. She was lost on a wrong path, so I told her the right way back to the town.” Twilight chuckled. “I knew it’d been animals who kept you outside.” Fluttershy smiled.They were soon joined by Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack. Pinkie was still busy dancing her hooves off. When Bon Bon came to take their orders, Twilight went first. “A hard cider for me, please.” The others looked at her surprised. She normally never drank. “Ohh, what’s up Twilight? New study for the princess?”, Rainbow asked laughing. Rarity wouldn’t miss this chance to tease her either: “Or are you planning on getting to know this handsome stallion in your library better?” “There’s a stallion staying at your library?!?”, Rainbow asked impressed. “How awesome is that?” She turned to Rarity. “Who is it?” Twilight groaned. “Girls, I’m just trying to relax after a bad day!”, she explained. But her words were in vain. Rainbow and Rarity were lost in their gossiping. Applejack smiled at Twilight. “Now, don’t ya let those immatures get the better of ya, Twi. You know how they can be.” Twilight smiled back at her. “Yeah, I know.” “Anyway, …” Applejack turned to Bon Bon, who was still patiently waiting for the others orders. “I’d like a hard cider too.” The hard working farm pony was used to a good drink. They all ordered cider. “Can I help you cheer up, sugarcube?”, Applejack asked. “Thank you, Applejack. It’s just that - being an assistant is harder than I thought.” Twilight shared her feelings and problems with Applejack and the others. The cider helped her tongue to loosen up. And together with the comfort of her friends, her mood got back to normal by the hour. The hour was really getting late. The party simply seemed to went on and on. They drank, ate and danced the time away. Even Twilight enjoyed herself on the dancefloor. Alcohol really has funny ways of altering one's actions. She never realized how much fun dancing was. First, she was dancing alone for herself - just like the did at Fancy Pant’s garden party at Rarity’s last birthday. But she was later joined by other mares and even stallions. She loved dancing with Comet Tail, the young unicorn stallion who really knew how to move his body. While dancing, she noticed L sitting by a table next to Rainbow Dash. Sooner or later she will challenge him to some sort of contest, Twilight though. Competition was in the nature of the athletic flyer. The faithful student knew that those challenges were simple tools for Rainbow to show everypony how cool she was. Yet, something was different this time. It was one of the rare occasion on which the purple mare wasn’t sure if Rainbow could really handle the challenge. L was incredible superior when it came to mental challenges. And even though he was that smart - his body showed obvious signs of physical training. Seeing that she had never saw him doing any kind of work out, she wondered how he managed to be in such a perfect shape. Yet, she only knew him for one day. Maybe he had put his training aside to focus on the case. All these thoughts made her wonder about his past. The more she wondered about him, the more she realized that she really knew nothing about the genius detective. She remembered Celestia’s words: He is coming from a place very different from Equestria. But - where was he coming from, then? Where has he met Celestia? For how long did they knew each other? L didn’t look that old - somewhere between 20 and 25? But the way he ‘walked’ on his four hooves the night he came into her life. And the fact that he had trouble lifting a spoon with his hooves. As if he were a newborn colt who still had to learn everything. It didn’t make any sense. And then the fact that he was calling Celestia by her first name. If they were this close (which made her very jealous), why wasn’t he telling her everything in his ‘report’. Why keeping all these secrets? As if he didn’t trust her. They called it a night at 3am. Twilight was exhausted and a little dizzy from all the dancing (and the alcohol) and went straight into the bathroom to get herself ready for bed. L sat himself in front of the desk and started to take notes. When she left the bathroom and saw him sitting there, she asked him if he ever sleeps. “I don’t need much sleep. I rarely sleep more than two hours in three days”, he explained. She looked shocked. Was that even possible? “But - won’t your reasoning ability suffer from this lack of sleep?” L smiled. “Please, don’t worry about me, Mrs. Sparkle.” She turned her head away. Would he think bad of her when she went to sleep - leaving the work to him? He seemed to have guessed her thoughts. “Good night, Mrs. Sparkle. We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow.” She nodded and turned to the stairs to her bed. “One last thing”, he suddenly said. Twilight stopped in the doorway. “I enjoyed being with your friends.They are special, aren’t they?” She was feeling a warm sensation. “More than you can imagine.”