//------------------------------// // Prologue: An Untimely Demise // Story: Murder at Maresfield Manor // by Flutterguy89 //------------------------------// An Untimely Demise Maresfield Manor was an old estate. While only a little over an hour’s gallop from the bustling metropolis of Manehatten, the great house seemed as though it was from an older age where nobility and birth controlled destiny far more than money and industry. The hall was perched in the center of a once-fabulously maintained garden that had clearly suffered in recent months. The one time precise hedgerows were now over grown; the formerly gleaming statuary now teemed with lichen. The aged mansion itself, while spacious, appeared worn and weary. Maresfield sat like a dusty jewel in a tarnished crown. The evening’s rain did little to endear the residence’s stale appearance from its exterior, but within the house was a different story. There was a warmth to the interior despite the fact that maintaining the home was becoming entirely too much for the owner’s only housekeeper. Derpy Hooves, the housekeeper in question, was quickly bustling her way into the main dining carrying a platter of various teas and teapots for her mistress’s dinner guests. The oft clumsy pegasus held the tray tightly in her forehooves as she flew gingerly down the corridor, praying that she could avoid dropping the Lady Rarity’s finest china. As she entered the room she could feel the bubbling wave of conversation wash over her. “Ah there Derpy is now,” The Countess of Maresfield and mistress of the house waved over her servant. “The chamomile will be fine, darling. Now, Sister Fluttershy, how are things at the orphanage? I hope my generous donation has been put to good use.” “Oh… um, things are fine.” The snowy white unicorn arched an eyebrow at the yellow pegasus’s response forcing the timid mare to elaborate. “Th-that is to say the money has been a great help, we have been able to buy new linens for the little fillies and colts… They were in great need… The Sisters of Celestia are very grateful for your charity…” Derpy began to make a circuit of the room, offering tea to each of the visitants in turn. While she half-hated herself for eavesdropping on each conversation, she knew her mistress would pump her for information after the party, and Derpy would hate herself more for disappointing Rarity. “…So that’s when I hit the crowd with the ole sonic-rainboom… hic… They ate it up…” The slurring voice of a cyan pegasus mare buzzed in Derpy’s ears as she passed, giving the housekeeper a dismissive wave. “Tea? Really the Countess can’t even serve some decent booze after a meal…” “Well ah reckon, that must have been quite the show. But, uh forgive my sayin’ but… your recent performances haven’t had as…uh… spectacular endings, Miss Rainbow Dash.” The rainbow-maned mare grumbled. “Yeah well, no one has asked for their money back, have they? ...hic…” Dash cast a dark look at the orange earth pony with which she was conversing. “The fans seem just as… satisfied… with a crash…” Derpy held out her wares for the earth pony who selected an apple chai. ‘Big surprise there,’ Derpy thought sarcastically. Applejack was a scion of the Apple clan, the owners of Sweet Apple Acres. They held a corner on the apple market, and business was good as far as Derpy could tell. Moving on Derpy arrived at the side of a lavender unicorn, who was deep in conversation with a puffy-maned pink earth pony who seemed on the edge of sleep. “… That’s one of my current theories about the northeasterly migration of waterfowl, but personally I see it as tangent to the overall issue of Equestria’s shrinking wet lands.Oh goodness that took longer to explain that I had hoped, how about you tell me a bit about yourself, Miss Pinkie Pie.” Pinkie pie jerked her head up at the mention of her name, her attention snapping back into reality. “Oh, uh not much to tell, I’m a professional partier really. These kinds of shindigs are my bread and butter, or at least they should be. My folks brought me up to be a regular socialite, but I’ve always preferred parties of a bit more…” She paused and thought for a moment, her voice dropping to an excited whisper, “Wild nature. Between the two of us, this place entirely too stuffy and I’d much rather be swinging from a chandelier at one of Manehatten’s finest watering holes with a few fine stallions…” Twilight’s face grew red as she selected a tea from Derpy’s platter. Pinkie on the other hand, much like Rainbow Dash, seemed disappointed in the lack of any stronger refreshment. “You don’t need to act like such a wet blanket.” Pinkie chided her partner in conversation. “I’m sure being a researcher at the Canterlot University means you could find your way in to much more fun parties than this one. I remember the last time I found my way into one of those, or rather I have a perfect hole in my memory that fits a set of dates in which I was supposed to be in Canterlot.” “Oh Derpy, darling, I think that will be all.” The Countess shot a smile at her housekeeper for a job well done. Each guest served and not a single chipped tea cup. Derpy breathed out a small sigh, happy to have done a satisfactory job. Now she could finally make her way back to the kitchen, rest her wings, set down the infernal platter, and brew some tea of her own. She had begun to make her way out of the room when it happened. There was a blinding flash of lightening. The room was plunged into darkness, the lights cutting out suddenly. A deafening crack of thunder pierced silence. There was the scuffling of movement in the dark. A sharp cry of pain rent the air, followed by the cascading tinkle of breaking china. The lights began to flicker to life once more, illuminating the six guests seated at the table. Their shock and confusion was shattered by an ear piercing scream from the Countess. “DERPY!” The grey-coated housekeeper lay motionless on the rug surrounded the fractured remains of the spare teacups. A silver kitchen knife protruded from her motionless body. There was a dark stain seeping outward from her lifeless form that had nothing to do with spilled tea. The six looked at each other, only certain of one thing: one of them was a killer.