//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11 
// Story: Millie 
// by totallynotabrony 
//------------------------------//

	The small slip of paper I held seemed to carry the weight of something much larger.  I stared at the printing on it, my eyes working back in forth rereading the message.  Even after reading it through to Vinyl, I still could barely believe it.  I was really, really not expecting news like this.  Three days to solve the case or else I couldn’t go home?  How could they do that to me?  What did I do to deserve it?
“Um, is there a problem?” asked the food court pony, looking across the counter at me quizzically, and probably wondering at the bag of bits I had dropped in surprise.
I opened my mouth to vent my frustration, unfortunately probably directed at the vendor, but Vinyl shushed me just in time.  She collected a few coins to pay for our food and swept the rest back into the bag, allowing me a few moments to compose myself before giving the money back to me.
I stalked over to a nearby table and sat down in a chair.  Vinyl sat quietly with me, carefully considering the situation and watching me grind my teeth.  After a moment she said, “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably a bad idea.”
“What is?  Going back there, hammering the door down, and demanding answers?  I’m so pissed off right now that-”
“You might get thrown in prison and then where would you be?”  Vinyl shook her head.  “You have three days.  I know that doesn’t seem like much, but you at least have time to think things through.”
I closed my eyes and forced a heavy sigh.  “Okay.  From this point, there are a lot of things that need to happen.  We have to get records to indicate how the killer’s other victims were dispatched.  There needs to be a map of killing locations; if the police are worth anything they already have this.  As much as I hate to do it, we should probably contact Ice again.  Even if he won’t help us, we can help him.”
“What if he turns out to be the killer?” Vinyl asked.
I shrugged.  “It gets us closer to him so maybe we can figure that out sooner.”
“You aren’t worried about the danger of that?”
“No.”
Vinyl’s jaw tightened.  “Millie, I know this is important to you, but I really don’t want to see you get hurt again.  I’m sure anypony that knows you would say the same thing.”
“This is... important.  Equestria isn’t my home, Vinyl.  If this is my only shot at going home, I’ll do anything to make it work.”
Vinyl nodded, but reluctantly.  I knew that she cared for me, and me getting beat up again would frighten her.  I didn’t want to think about the possibility that I could die here.  Jenna would never know what had happened to me.  I couldn’t let that happen.
We were served and I ate quickly.  Vinyl noticed my pace and rushed to keep up.  As soon as we were done, I was up from the table and heading for the exit.
Outside, it was just as cold as before.  I paused, suddenly feeling a little foolish for leaving without a plan in place.  I didn’t know what we would manage to accomplish in the middle of the night.  Even a search for public records would be impossible if the establishment wasn’t open.
Okay, think.  There was no internet in Equestria, so I would have to take a different path.  What did they do in the old detective movies?  They talked to people.  I thought maybe we could find ambulance ponies who remembered bringing in the bodies of the killer’s victims.  Learning about the injuries would give us an idea of modus operandi.  At the same time, trying to find those ponies in a city this large would be next to impossible and there was no guarantee that they were even on duty tonight.
Even a simple task like that seemed daunting.  Putting all the pieces together in order to get enough evidence to finger one suspect and prove their guilt...I didn't want to think about it.  Still, there was nothing to do but get started.
“We should keep Octavia informed,” I decided.  "If nothing else, she deserves to know.  Maybe if Ice comes back to the club she could get some information from him."
Vinyl shied away from that suggestion as I figured she would.  I wanted to yell at her for not putting the stupid little argument behind them, but this was not the time.  
As we started to move, the two of us were approached by a stallion who had a bit of a shifty look about him. I was on edge in an instant, but we were still right outside the front door of the food court and the area was well lit.  He came up to me.  “I heard you’re tailing the serial killer.”
I didn’t think I had ever seen this pony before.  He was a bulky unicorn, his coat a chocolate brown.  I asked, “How did you know that?”
“Sources.”  His smile was not pleasant.  “At any rate, you seem like you could use some help.  I can get that for you.”
My earlier apprehensiveness hadn’t gone away, but now I was more worried about who this pony was than what he intended.  “What kind of help do you mean?”
“There’s a lot of us who are concerned about a serial killer on the loose.”  He had yet to identify himself or show a badge.  My instincts pointed more and more towards shady business. I wouldn’t be surprised if what he was about to propose was part of an organized crime effort.  I supposed that made sense if the killer was targeting criminals like I suspected.
I got to the point.  “What do you want from me?”
He smiled that same infuriating little grin.  “I’d like to invite you to a dinner meeting tomorrow.”
I shook my head brusquely.  “No.  It has to be sooner than that.  I don’t have time.”
He looked surprised and displeased, but at least I had gotten him to stop grinning.  “Well, how about breakfast?  That suit you, princess?”
“That’s better, but don’t ever call me princess again.”  I glared at him.
He seemed a little miffed, but went on.  “Come to the Happy Dragon restaurant tomorrow morning at nine.  It’s down in the Chineighese district.”
“Got it.”  I turned away and Vinyl followed my lead.
As we walked, Vinyl said, “I have a few things to check up on.  Maybe I can uncover something.  Why don’t you go meet with Octavia and I’ll hook up with you again before breakfast?”
Again, I wanted to push Vinyl to tear down the wall between her and Octavia but was too concerned with my own situation.  I nodded consent to the plan and the two of us parted ways.
I hurried on to The Metronome, knowing the club was probably closing.  It was past midnight, after all.  To my relief, I found the door unlocked but the club empty.  Iridium was sweeping up and Octavia appeared shortly after I came in.  “Millie, it’s late.  Did something happen?”
“You might say that.  Vinyl and I went to check out the place with the bench where I first appeared and found a disguised Lunar Guard headquarters.  The batpony that came out to reprimand us slipped me a note.”  I showed it to her.
Octavia’s brow wrinkled as she read it.  “You have three days to solve the case, or you can't go home. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
Octavia’s eyes widened in shock and snapped back to me.   “Dear Celestia, Millie!  This sounds serious.  What do you mean he slipped it to you?”
“Exactly what I said.  As near as I can figure, he doesn’t want his bosses knowing that we know.”  I began to feel slightly more accepting of his prior rude behavior.  Apparently he was a decent pony who also felt that what was happening to me was unjust.  I just wished we could get some more help from him.
“So what are you going to do?” asked Octavia.
“Well, exactly what it says.  I have to somehow catch a serial killer within the next three days or I’ll be trapped in Equestria forever.”
I saw Iridium’s normally calm demeanor crack for a rare moment.  I glanced at him.  “I guess I didn’t tell you; I’m from a different planet and was brought here against my will and turned into a mare.”
Octavia nodded in his direction to confirm that it was true.  Iridium took a moment to process that, drawing a deep breath and somehow managing to slip back into his usual manner with a shake of his head.  He went back to sweeping.
“What are your plans from here?” Octavia asked.  She motioned to a table and we sat down.
“Just a few minutes ago a pony came up to me and said he had someone who wanted to help find the serial killer.  I seriously doubt he was with law enforcement.”
Octavia pondered that.  “I know the things that happened when you were in Canterlot and fell in with criminals.  Even if they could provide assistance, I don’t think it would be worth the price.”
I heaved a sigh.  “Yeah, I know.  However, I’m going to need all the help I can get.  I’m getting desperate and really don’t know what else I can do.  They scheduled a breakfast meeting for tomorrow and I’ll go see what they want.”
“They simply... scheduled a breakfast meeting with you?” Octavia asked.
“I insisted on it.  If I’ve only got three days, I can’t wait around for the dinner they originally wanted.”  I blew out a breath in frustration.  I got up from my seat and began to pace.  “I just wish there was something I could do until then.”
“Why don’t you spend the night here?” Octavia suggested. 
“Sleep?  But I-”
Octavia’s voice was soothing.  “I know that’s not what you want to hear, but you just said that there isn’t anything else you can do.  Why don’t we get you some chamomile tea and get you off to bed?”
Iridium appeared just then and set a cup of tea down on the table just like he had been expecting that somepony would need it.  I was once again impressed by his prowess at hosting.  Incredibly polite, a good cook, and appearing no more than mildly surprised that I was actually an alien.
“Thanks,” I murmured, picking up the cup for a sip and beginning to calm down.  Maybe Octavia was right.  It still felt like I was racing in neutral, but if there was nothing I could move forward with until I got more information than sleep was probably the smartest thing I could do.
Iridium nodded politely to Octavia and I before leaving the club for the night.  Octavia locked the front door after him and waited until I was finished with the tea before leading me upstairs to the guest bed I had used before.
“Sleep well, Millie.”  Octavia’s tone suggested that she meant every bit of that statement and more.  I sincerely hoped that worrying about me wouldn’t keep her up.
Still, it was nice to know somepony cared.  Octavia was a little more mature and motherly than Vinyl, but I knew they both were very good friends to me.  I was still torn about their animosity to each other, but thought that was slightly less of an issue now compared to the others I was dealing with.  I had tried to help, and maybe their relationship had thawed a little. At least they knew I cared, right?
I shook my head.  This line of thought was only keeping me awake.  I climbed into bed.



Per Octavia’s wishes, I actually did sleep well, if not actually for very long.  I awoke at about seven, or at least that’s what the clock sitting on the nightstand was telling me.  I could hear Octavia moving around a little and decided that I would wait with her until it was time to go to the restaurant.
She was fiddling with a broken chair when I walked into the main room.  “Good morning, Millie.  I’m just trying to see if this thing is salvageable.  One of our more rotund patrons did this last night.”
I examined the pieces.  It didn’t look like there was actually too much damage.  One of the legs had separated from the seat.  While I was at it, I examined Octavia as well.  Her eyes were rimmed with red and she seemed a little spacy.  I asked “Did you sleep well?”
“Hmm?  No, not really.”
I held back from asking if she had slept at all.  Was she really that worried about me?  About everything going on?  I suddenly felt almost guilty for sleeping.  Still, it was her choice.  
That made me think of Vinyl.  Where had she gone last night?  What did she expect to learn?  I just hoped it was something useful.  I wouldn't want all my friends to be staying up late on my behalf without getting some value from it.
I turned back to the chair.  “I think I can fix this.  Could you get me a hammer and some nails?”
Octavia headed towards the utility closet.  I pulled out my knife and worked on the splinters so the chair leg would go back in its socket.  
While I worked, the door opened and Iridium came in.  The door had no sooner shut behind him than it was pushed open again, this time by a blue mare with large sunglasses and a black dress.  A camera hung around her neck.  Behind her was a grey mare who followed along in the manner of a subordinate.
Completely ignoring Iridium, the photographer looked at me from across the room.  I put down my knife and asked, “Can I help you?”
“Yes.”  She said the word as if throwing it at me.  Her voice carried the trace of an accent, although I couldn’t tell exactly what kind. At any rate, I guessed that she was distinctly foreign.  She came walking over, tilting her head this way and that to look at me from different angles.
“Hmm, exactly the right look.”  She looked at her assistant approvingly.  “You are a good spy.”
That comment, combined with the appearance of the grey pegasus she was speaking to, made me realize that Photo’s assistant must have been the pony who had followed Vinyl and I the night before.  Why, I couldn’t imagine.  I didn’t recognize the mare.  Her charcoal coat was about the same shade as Octavia, and her cutie mark depicted a set of happy-sad theater masks with a stage light shining on them.
“What do you want?” I asked.  “Why were you following me?”
“Your picture will be taken,” the photographer said, beginning to adjust her camera.
I shook my head.  “Why?  Who are you?”
She jerked her head up to stare at me.  “Who am I?  I am-”
“Photo Finish!” cried Octavia as she reentered the room, dropping the tools in surprise.
“Yes.  What that pony said.”  Photo went back to fiddling with her camera.
I glanced at Octavia.  “What’s going on here?”
“I, um...”  Octavia couldn’t seem to find the right words.
“I have ponies on the inside,” Photo said.
A long moment passed awkwardly.  I cleared my throat.  “The inside of what?”
“Fashion!” Photo screeched at me.  “To get ahead, you must be cutthroat!  There must be intelligence gathered!  I knew from reporting on the show that you were here.  Despite the models, you were the pony I needed.”
She went back to her camera as if her outburst hadn’t just confused me further.  Luckily, Octavia seemed to understand.  
Octavia nodded in my direction.  “So Mrs. Finish, you’re saying that you want to take pictures of Millie? And you first found her at Fleur de Lis’ fashion show, despite the fact that she wasn’t a model?”
Photo gave a quick nod.  A huge grin appeared on Octavia’s face.  “I don’t believe this!  This is so unexpected.  A famous photographer, here in my club.  And she wants to-”
“Um, hey,” I broke in.  “I could care less about getting my picture taken and we don’t have time for this anyway.”
Octavia nodded reluctantly.  “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
The door opened for a third time that morning and Vinyl poked her head in.  “Hey Mill-uh... mom?”
Photo turned.  “Ah, my little Scratchy.  Come.”
Ignoring Octavia, Vinyl trotted in and eagerly shared a hug with Photo.  “Sorry I haven’t looked you up while I was in Manehattan, mom.  A lot of stuff has been happening.”
Octavia sputtered, her eyes flickering back and forth between the pair.  “Photo Finish is your mother?”
Vinyl and Photo turned to look at her, both pairs of their sunglasses glinting in the dim light of the club.  Vinyl shrugged.  “Well, yeah.  I guess you didn’t know; it doesn’t come up in conversation very often.”
“Uh, anyway,” I broke in.  “Now that you’re here, Vinyl, we should probably be going to breakfast.”
I stepped back from the broken chair and picked up my knife, folding it and putting it back in its holster.  The grey pegasus who had come in with Photo stared at me as I put it away.  I asked, “Something the matter?”
She shook her head.  “It’s just that I don't see many tools like that in Equestria.”
I stared at the mare with wide eyes, hearing her voice for the first time that morning, yet recognizing it.  “O-oh really?”
She nodded, meeting my eyes with a look of her own.  “In fact, that looks exactly like a knife my husband owns.”
I stuttered a little, barely able to believe what I was hearing and yet hoping to God that it was true.  “Jenna?”