//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: Millie 
// by totallynotabrony 
//------------------------------//

	I found Octavia in a back room of the club. She was restringing her cello and tuning it up. She invited me in and I closed the door.
“Do you remember Detective Ice?” I asked.
She nodded. “He’s come in a few times. We talked a little. He remembered me from Canterlot..”
“I can’t figure out what he’s doing here in Manehattan.”
“Well, I can answer that.” Octavia paused in her work to look at me. “He transferred here to work with the national police in their Manehattan office.”
I frowned. “I thought he didn’t like feds.”
Octavia shrugged. “Well, they were the ones who took away the case Ice built on you back in Canterlot. Maybe he decided that if you can’t beat them, join them.”
I considered that. “So what’s he been working on in Manehattan? I left Canterlot before they could prove anything.”
“I don’t really know. It didn’t come up in conversation.” Octavia shrugged. She flicked her tail, taking hold with her teeth and pulling a few hairs. She began to string her bow with them.
That struck me as being a little strange, but I supposed it make sense. Maybe the hair added a more personal touch to Octavia’s music. I shrugged and continued the conversation. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ice is here. I need to do something. Could you help me, Octavia?”
There was a knock on the door. I glanced at Octavia. She looked surprised, but said, “Come in.”
Fleur poked her head through the door, looking at both of us. “Octavia. Millie.”
Octavia put down her bow. “Can I help you?”
Nodding, Fleur came into the room. “I wanted to talk about the last show. Did you invite any guests, Octavia?”
There was something in her tone that put me on edge. It almost sounded like an accusation. I’m sure Octavia noticed it too, but was equally in the dark as to what had Fleur upset.
Octavia shook her head. “No, I didn’t invite anypony.”
As Fleur’s eyes flickered to me, Octavia added, “Millie was at the club because she’s a friend of mine staying in Manehattan for a while. But I didn’t invite anypony.” 
“So, you have no idea how Photo Finish got an exclusive scoop about the models?” Fleur’s voice dripped with poorly concealed anger.
“No.” Octavia’s voice was flat. “What do you think I know about modeling?”
“It’s clear that somepony spied on the show,” growled Fleur. “How else could Photo Finish have known about the new talent I’ve been cultivating? Now it’s all over her magazine and talent scouts will come out of the woodwork to steal them all.”
Octavia shrugged and plucked a few cello strings. I asked, “Who is Photo Finish?”
Fleur’s eyes snapped to me, surveying my appearance. I thought her eyes picked out my injuries even as well as I had concealed them. “Did something happen to you, Millie?”
“I got in a fight.” I tried to be nonchalant. Fleur didn’t seem like the kind of pony to worry about me, but I wanted to make sure.
Surprising me, she kept staring, examining my wounds and new look. “Hmm, edgy. I could do something with that. Plus, Photo Finish would never expect you.”
“I told you before, I’m not interested.”
Fleur’s lips twitched into a smile that I didn’t like. “I think maybe I can convince you. What was this I heard a moment ago about you being the subject of a criminal investigation? Leaving Canterlot to get away from it? Asking Octavia to help you with Detective Ice?”
That gave me pause. Fleur wasn’t threatening what she thought she was, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t cause trouble. I really didn’t need law enforcement to take notice of me for any reason. I stared at her for a few moments, my mind trying to see a way out of this. Octavia looked between Fleur and I, waiting to see what I would say.
A long moment passed. I cleared my throat. “What do you want me to do?”
“I’ll be having a show in a few days,” said Fleur. “You’re going to be in it.”
“What show?” Octavia demanded.
“The one I’m telling you about right now.” Fleur looked at Octavia the same way she’d just looked at me. There was something unkind about the expression, a little like a predator looking at its next meal. Not a pleasant face for a pony to make.
“I’ll do it,” I muttered. It was actually not a difficult choice to make. As much as I disliked the idea of enduring a tour on stage, it was a sacrifice I could make.
But I didn’t have to like it. I glared at Fleur. She smirked a little at getting what she wanted and turned to go, leaving the room and closing the door. 
I took a deep breath and looked at Octavia. Her mouth was tight with concern and she said, “You should have stood up to her.”
“And she’d tell Ice that he should be taking a close look at me.” I sighed. “This is something I can live with.”
“Fleur’s a bully,” Octavia spat. “You saw how she just forced another show on me.”
“Don’t you have a controlling interest in the club?” I asked.
“That doesn’t mean her portion is insignificant. I need her more than she needs me, and I think Fleur is beginning to realize that.” Octavia gritted her teeth in anger.
“What can we do?” I asked quietly. While getting recruited to a fashion show was only a minor setback to me, how else could Fleur affect Octavia?
Her face took on a different expression, as if she’d just had an idea that she didn’t like. “I suppose we could tell Ice the truth.”
I considered it for several long seconds. That was exactly what I had been trying to avoid. At the same time, teaming up with him could be useful. He might have information about the case. Hey, maybe I could even play him off the Lunar Guard to find out even more from both of them. On top of all that, I didn’t like Fleur. Call it pride talking, but I wasn’t going to let myself be manipulated if I could help it. There had already been enough of that.
It wasn’t a great solution, but if we were careful bringing Ice into the loop would create some advantages and also take away any power Fleur held over me. I nodded in reluctant approval. “I guess talking to Ice could work.”
We quickly made a plan. I knew Ice wasn’t going to be happy to learn who I really was, and the things I would talk with him about were not for public ears. To that end, Octavia went to get him and bring him back to the room. 
I waited while Octavia was gone. I don’t know what she said to convince Ice to come, but the two of them returned shortly. Octavia motioned him in and stood guard outside to make sure ponies like Fleur didn’t eavesdrop.
Ice faced me across the room. He looked more cautious than confused. Maybe that was his cop instincts telling him that something unusual was happening. For the record, that was completely correct.
Quiet music could be heard through the wall to the main room. I coughed, feeling awkward and not quite sure how to approach the subject. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.”
“I met you yesterday.”
“Actually, you first met me in Canterlot a few months ago.”
Ice shrugged. “Maybe. Did you do anything I might remember?”
“Well, I single-hoofedly took down the drug industry and let you arrest the top leadership of the gangs. There were a whole bunch of dead griffons and ponies that you thought I was responsible for. I remember you called me “a nutcase.” After all that, though, I went home.”
His stoic expression held for just a moment and then cracked like glass. “You’re... Miller?”
I nodded.
“But... you’re not... I mean, not anymore...”
“It’s exactly what it looks like and twice as weird,” I deadpanned. “Let me explain. I don’t know how much you were told about what happened last time, but I was brought here because of a magical accident and put in a random body. This time, it wasn’t an accident, they want me to catch the local serial killer who’s using my name, and somepony thought it would be funny to turn me into a mare.”
Ice’s eye twitched. He took a breath and picked through the things I had told him to locate the one most relevant to his interests. “Who wants you to catch a killer?”
“The Lunar Guard, apparently.”
“And they turned you into a-”
I glared at him. “Don’t rub it in.”
Ice shook his head. “Well, I knew it wasn’t you killing ponies here in Manehattan. As much as you were a pain to my investigation back in Canterlot, the profile of these killings didn’t match up.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“And that’s all I’m giving you.” His expression abruptly changed, gaining back the unflappable demeanor he had lost when my admission had shook him up.
While the two of us had experienced our ups and downs together, I felt that I deserved a little more cooperation than that. “The Guards brought me here to do this investigation against my will and they won’t let me go home until it’s solved.”
Ice appeared to waver. I gave him another nudge. “Listen, I don’t want to be here. I’m confused, torn away from my friends and family, and I’m a girl. In addition to that, I’m pretty sure you don’t want somepony like me around. There would be way too much paperwork. Good luck explaining how I’m an adult but have zero public records of identity. Or maybe that I came from a different planet?”
I continued to stare at Ice. His mood appeared to be growing darker but he hadn’t agreed to help me yet. Backing off would accomplish nothing, so I kept talking. “We both want the same thing. A serial killer using my name pisses me off, but the Lunar Guard basically holding me hostage is worse. You catch the killer, take the credit, and look good to everypony. Just tell me what you know and how I can help.”
“I can’t break case confidentiality,” Ice said tersely.
The white pegasus had a point, but I wasn’t giving up so easily. “Are you angry that somepony is stepping into your territory again? Back in Canterlot it was the feds and now that you’re one of them it’s the Lunar Guard. My situation might be complicated, but I guarantee that I’m probably offering you the simplest deal you’ve ever seen. You help me, I’ll help you. I just want to go home and this is the only way.”
Ice’s look softened, but he seemed almost regretful. “I can’t. I may be on the case but I’m still a junior pony to the organization. I moved here thinking I was taking a step up, but now I have to work through everything I had already earned back with the Canterlot Police. Even if I had the access, I don’t have the authority to run the case as I would like.”
“Please, anything would help.” I inwardly cringed at the pleading in my voice. 
“I wish I could.” Ice looked away. There was silence between us for a moment, stretching out and becoming unbearable. Ice shifted uncomfortably and glanced at me. “I should probably go.”
He turned and went out the door. My jaw clenched. All Ice had to do was give me some information, but his rules or something prevented him. I’m normally a law abiding citizen and understood security protocols, but without clues collected by the police there was no way I could help with the case. As long as the killer remained free, I was stuck in Equestria.
My head dropped and I exhaled hard. If Ice had decided to bend the rules a little just this once I might be a step closer to going home. What a stubborn, infuriating stallion. I told him why I was here, and apparently following the book was more important than helping me out.
My nostrils flared as I breathed harder. Why me!?
I screamed and slammed a hoof into the floor. Amber sparks of magic showered the room and the whole building rattled. The faint strains of music from the main room paused momentarily before resuming.
The door jerked open and Octavia stuck her head in. “Dear Celestia, Millie; are you alright?”
“I...” I let out a breath and my shoulders slumped. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
She shook her head, staring at the shallow hoof-shaped indention in the floor. “I knew you were good at hammering things, but please try to select your targets a little more carefully.”
I nodded meekly and kept quiet. Octavia held the door for me and the two of us went back to the main room. Ice had left the building, and I decided that maybe it was time for me to go, too.
I said goodbye to Octavia. “You could stay,” she offered.
“Thanks, but Vinyl was expecting me back.” I touched the leather that covered my neck wound. “After what happened, I don’t want anypony worrying about me.”
Octavia considered that and nodded reluctantly. “I do wish you weren’t alone, though.”
“Leaving?” asked Gilda, coming up just then. “Sorry for butting in, but if that’s what you’re worried about, I’ll walk with you.”
That seemed to please Octavia, and truthfully, me too. Not only was company nice, but Gilda seemed competent. I had never really examined her before, but she looked athletic enough, maybe even muscular.
I paused briefly to wait for Gilda to put a pair of gloves on her talons to protect them from the cold. The night was freezing but luckily without wind. The two of us walked in silence for a bit. I couldn’t think of any meaningful conversation. 
“Nice night,” she murmured.
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“So, got a coltfriend?” 
I hadn’t been around Gilda enough to know her sexual preference. If it was for females, mares, then I had to firmly assert that I was not on the market. I didn’t need that kind of attention, and especially not from a griffon.
“I’m married,” I told her.
Gilda made a noise that sounded like approval and I relaxed. Maybe I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions about her intentions. 
We passed the alley where I had been attacked and I thought a little bit about the unicorn that had pinned me to the wall and made threats with a knife. A shiver that wasn’t related to the cold went through me and I decided not to think about what his intentions might have been.
Gilda followed me to the hotel and then gave a nod of goodbye before continuing on. I had started to push open the door when I heard a set of wings. Glancing up, I saw the batpony arrive. Without preamble, he asked, “Why did you speak to Detective Ice?”
I wondered how he had found out so quickly. Come to think of it, Ice had never said what kind of fed he was. In fact, it was a possibility that he himself was wearing the Lunar Guard disguise. I doubted it, though. Not even Ice was that much of a pain.
“I talked to Ice in the hopes of getting some information. You know, the stuff that I need to solve this case?”
The sarcasm was probably not warranted, but I was still smarting from getting the brush off from Ice. Plus, the Guard more than deserved it already, even if he had given me money and taken care of my lack of identity when the hospital had asked.
The Guard blinked those weird slitted eyes of his, looking annoyed. “I know a little that may help. I read the police report of the attack that you were involved in.”
“And?” I prompted.
“There was not much evidence. The killer wiped away the tracks in the snow.” He paused to think for a moment. “There was something else I found interesting. White feathers were found at the scene.”