“And you won’t even give me this pony’s name?” Pocket Slip leaned forward, nearly tipping over his glass doing so. “Even if you know about the situation and that he might possibly be—”
“As I’ve said: He doesn’t have anything with your little guard problem to do, Pocket,” I interrupted him and met his gaze. “That I give you my word on. He’s simply the pony who knows who killed Pendulum, nothing else.”
I floated up my own glass for a sip. It could’ve been so easy just to say that Spot had gambled with an Asphodelus blade and lost it, but on the way here I had promised Honey not to. I sighed as I placed down the glass again. Not like I would sell out an old friend anyway. “Tomorrow he will take me to him.”
“And I guess you don’t want my help, then?” Pocket smirked and leaned back with a sly smile. “After all, if I have my ponies accompany you there I will soon get word about who lead you there.”
And you won’t get that by your guards as soon as we leave because?... I thought and shook my head. But, then again... going into a tavern with a group of ponies... “No, I don’t.”
“I thought so. Then, how do you think we should—” He blinked and looked at me. “What?”
I took a deep breath and leaned forward. “I don’t think it would go unnoticed if your ponies went with me into the city. Instead, I will take Honey and Spot with me. We three can find out who this pony is and where he lives. Once we have done that, I will come back to you and from that you can help me get to him.” He frowned slightly, so I quickly added, “I’m sure both Honey and Spot will be happy to report to you once we’re back.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again and moved up a hoof and rubbed his temple. “So you’re going to just go up into the street? You know that the guards will take you as soon as they see you.” He shook his head. “Couldn’t you just send Spot and Honey there? They could trail that pony and then come back to tell us where he lives and we can take it from there.”
Honey had suggested the same solution on our way here. She had even said that both she and Spot would be more than happy to help me with it. But, now as then, I shook my head. “Not if there’s any chance for me to get there without being noticed. The pony killing Pendulum was after something in the workshop, and if he knew that Pendulum had it, then there’s a chance that he’s been visiting the shop prior to the murder.” I sighed and paused for a moment. “Maybe I will recognize him. If so, I might know where he lives and—”
“And you just want to get out of here,” he interrupted me, his voice bitter. “You don’t want to be stuck down here while they take care of everything.” He sighed. “You haven’t changed much over the years, Clockwork. You’re still a bright, loyal fella who hates to sit by while others take care of something you deem is yours to do.” Leaning forward and rested his front hooves on the table, he looked down at me. “No, you’d rather put yourself in danger than taking the way you know is the smart one, because you can’t stand to just sit back and watch.”
I looked up at him and met his gaze for a moment, before I looked away. “And it won’t be dangerous for them to go up there?” I defended myself weakly. “I can’t let them risk their life for me.”
He sighed and I could hear how he sat down again. “No, Clockwork, it won’t be dangerous for them. They’re not wanted for murder.” I blinked. Didn’t he know about Spot and the guard he had killed? Before I could ask, Pocket continued. “But if you really want to go up there, I can’t stop you.”
I blinked again and snapped my eyes back at him. “You... will let me go, just like that?”
“What choice do I have?” he snorted. “Think about it for a moment. If I kept you down here against your will, would you open that door for me then? Chances are that you would bolt at the first chance. No, it’s better that I just let you go about with your business and help you when you wish for it.” He smiled coldly at me. “Because then I know that you will help me once this is over. You were always one to honor your word.”
I gritted my teeth. “I will keep my word, Pocket,” I said venomously. “ Don’t think anything else. Once my name is clear I’ll open that door for you.”
“I’m glad we’re on the same level in this agreement.” He nodded. “You’re free to leave whenever you wish, but Clockwork,”—his voice softened some—”I ask of you to go out there only if you’re sure you can come back alive. If you’re not sure that you can avoid the guards... let Spot and Honey take care of it, will you?”
“I’ve already promised Honey that,” I said as I rose. “So I can give you that promise as well.”
He nodded to himself again, and since he didn’t show any sign of continuing talking I turned around and made my leave.
Honey waited outside the office, sprawled out over one of the many cushions in the foyer. As I closed the door behind me with a kick of my back leg, she looked up at me with a smile. “That went well?”
“As well as I could’ve hoped.” I shrugged. “He’s not happy about it, but he’s not going to try and keep me down here against my will.”
“See, I told you that he wouldn’t.” She rose from the cushion. “And did you tell him...” she trailed off.
I shook my head as I walked past her and opened the door. “No, I didn’t tell him. The guards will let him know who’s going with me as soon as we’ve left anyway.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Clocky,” she mused and hurried up to walk next to me.
I blinked. “How can you—”
“Oh, I happen to know one of the stallions that has guard duty tomorrow very well.” She smiled at me as we walked down the sewer that would lead us to the outbounds of Pocket Slip’s ground. “It also happens to be that he owes me a favour. So, as long as you don’t have any problem with taking a detour... then I wouldn’t worry about Pocket finding out who’s showing us the way.”
“Oh, I don’t think that will be a problem then.” My smile was soon replaced with a frown. “But are you sure that we shouldn’t let him know? I mean, you said yourself earlier that you thought that Spot seemed odd, and—”
“I thought it over and... well, he’s wasn’t odder than he usually is after being found to have done something wrong,” she waved it away. “Give him a few hours and you will see that he’s back to his normal self. No reason to trouble Pocket with such a trivial matter.”
“...Gambling with an Asphodelus blade is trivial?”
“I...” She shook her head. “No, it’s not. But from what you said he had planned to steal it back, hadn’t he?” Before I could tell her how it didn’t help that he had planned to steal it back, she continued. “Besides, what Pocket doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right? I mean, it’s not like Spot got anything to do with the guards out there in the sewers.” She giggled softly. “It’s not like he’s jeopardising the entire gang by betting a knife.”
“And that makes it okay to bet an Asphodelus blade?” My voice was a bit harder than I had thought.
“No need to get so worked up over it, Clocky. After all, what can it...” She trailed off and looked up at me, the smile slipping off her muzzle. “I... I didn’t mean...”
“I know that you didn’t, Honey.” I sighed and continued walking.
I looked down the corridor-like sewers, but my mind wandered. I can’t blame Spot for what happened. He wagered it against a large amount of bits, he never meant it to be used like that.
But what if he did? a small part of my mind asked. What if he knew exactly what the stallion would do with the blade? After all, he was quick to buy an extra day with that ‘zebra celebration’ excuse. And didn’t he seem odd when he excused himself with a delivery job?
“Clockwork?” Honey quietly broke the silence between us, snapping me out from my thinking. “You don’t think he’s got anything to do with it, right?”
With an inward snarl I pushed away the small part of my mind. Then, with a plastered smile, I looked up at her. “No. I don’t.” I forced a chuckle. “It’s not like I think he wagered the blade knowing that it would be used like it was.”
She looked down at the cobblestones under her hooves. “What if he didn’t bet it?” she whispered. “What if he played a part after all?”
Yes, Clockwork, the small part cooed. What if he knew? After all, he acted all—
Silence! I shook the thought out of my head and forced forth another chuckle. “If he had anything to do with it, then I’m sure I would’ve noticed when I talked with him. After all, his poker face—”
Wasn’t good at all, was it? I blinked and stopped.
“Clockwork?” Honey asked and turned around, and I quickly shrugged the thought away. Spot had simply been emotional after telling me about the guard he had killed and the situation it had put him in. I hung onto that thought and pushed everything else away; used it as a shield against the small part of my mind who wanted me to think otherwise.
“His poker face would’ve given him away,” I quickly finished and smiled at her, taking a step forward and placing a hoof over her shoulders. “Trust me, the Spot I know would never do something like that.”
“I hope you’re right.” She sighed and shuffled a bit closer to me, before she smiled slightly at me. “Now what?” I blinked and she rolled her eyes. “What should we do? We don’t know what bar we will find this stallion Spot lost the blade to in, and until then...” She hesitated. “Maybe we could do something that won’t remind you about Pendulum?” She blinked and pushed away from me when she realized what she had said. “I-I didn’t mean like that. It’s just...” She trailed off and looked down at the cobblestone. “Since you returned... I mean, I understand that you...” She trailed off again.
I shook my head with a sigh. “Thank you, Honey. For your concern.” She blinked and looked at me. I flashed her a weak smile. “I appreciate it, but—”
“Just give it a chance!” Honey interrupted me quickly, before she looked away again. “I mean... I understand that it’s hard to think about anything else after what happened. Pendulum gave you a new life and...” She shook her head. “Let’s just sit down and talk, like old times.”
“That sounds... nice.” My smile grew as I thought over her offer. Then I nodded. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I need something else to think about right now. What did you have in mind?”
“I knew that you would come to your senses!” She shone up and placed her hoof over my shoulder. “How about I tell you about what you’ve missed during your absence?”
“I’ve missed that much?”
“You would be surprised!” She removed her hoof from my shoulder again and together we started walking once more. “Do you remember how...”
⌚
“... in the end, Spot and Breeze decided to settle it with hoof wrestling.” Honey chuckled and shook her head. “Spot ended up with his leg in a plaster cast and without any share of the peanuts.”
I couldn’t help but snort. “I guess he didn’t learn anything from it?”
She smiled at me. “It’s Spot, of course he didn’t.”
We had been sitting on the cold cobblestones for what felt like hours, just talking with each other. At first she had done most of the talking, telling me what had been going on in the gang over the years. After a couple of stories, I had started to share some of the things that had happened to me after I started working for Pendulum.
Maybe it wasn’t precisely what Honey had had in mind: the first few stories I had told had I stopped more than once to think. To remember. But after those first stories it had gone easier and soon we had been sitting and laughing together.
“I figured,” I snorted and shifted slightly on the cobblestone to get more comfortable.
“He tried to steal the peanuts from her the day after, his leg in cast and everything. Hadn’t Pod, Breeze’s marefriend, been there, who knows what she would’ve done. Luckily for Spot, Pod talked her into giving half of the peanuts to him.”
“And those were good peanuts,” Spot spoke up from behind us before he laughed. “You two are impossible to find, you know that? I thought you said that you would be in the great hall.” He chuckled as he sat down next to me. “So, what did I miss?”
“There’s less ponies out here.” Honey said with a smile, looking past me at Spot. “More... isolated than the Great Hall.” She shrugged and leaned back again. “You didn’t miss anything here. We’ve only been catching up, that’s all.”
“Catching up, huh?” He chuckled nervously. “Out in the open?”
“Memories, Spot,” I deadpanned. “She’s been telling me about what I’ve missed here during my absence, nothing else.” I smiled. “Your name came up surprisingly many times.”
“Oh...” He looked between us, before he smiled at me and chuckled again. “Did she say anything good? I mean, I’ve done more than getting my arm casted after hoof wrestling Breeze you know?”
“Don’t you worry, Spoty,” Honey laughed. “I’ve only been telling him about your mistakes and failures, all the good stuff.” She shook her head. “So, how did the delivery go?”
“Figured as...” Spot blinked and his smile slipped. For a moment he just sat there, before he blinked again and shrugged. “It went as well as one could expect, but...” he hesitated and looked away.
“What’s the matter, Spot?” I asked when he stayed quiet. “Did something happen?”
“Did you run into...” Honey didn’t finish the sentence.
He shook his head. “No, nothing happened, but... I’m not sure I should tell you.” He looked up at me. “I mean... I don’t want you to do anything rash.”
“What are you talking about, Spot? Tell me what?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“It’s just...” He hesitated again and looked away briefly with a conflicted impression, before he returned his eyes to me. “I... ran into a friend during the delivery... The buck who I bet the blade against’s body guard. I couldn’t just let the opportunity slip, so I started talking with him and...” He shook his head. “No, it’s nothing.”
“Speak up, Spot,” I said and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “What did he say?”
Honey walked past me and sat down on his other side, nodding at my words. “Yeah, tell us.”
He took a deep breath and opened his mouth, but quickly closed it again. Then, with a quick nod to himself, he continued. “He told me that...” He sighed. “Okay, they will be in a bar down in the Dock District tonight.” At my raised eyebrow he quickly shook his head. “No, not The Prancing Pony. Another, closer to the gates. He...” He chuckled nervously. “I don’t think he wants to go deeper into the district than needed.”
“So you mean that we...” I pushed of him and rose. “Tonight? That means...” I levitated up my golden pocket watch and opened it. We had been here for longer than I had thought. “Seventeen past four. That means that we have—”
“See?” Spot interrupted me and stood up. “This is why I didn’t tell you about it. You’re getting all worked up over it!” He sighed and placed a hoof on my shoulder. “You can’t just go out there on the streets, Clockwork! The guards are still looking after you; there’s more guards out there today than usually. Canterlot is like a turned-over rat nest!” His hoof dropped to the ground and he snorted. “Probably the nobles idea. With the gala so close, those... It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you can’t go out there!”
“I have to. I can’t just sit down here if he’s that close!”
“Do you have any plan, then? You might have slipped past the guards directly after the murder, but can you do that again?” He nearly shouted. “They didn’t know what had happened or who to look for, but now? They know how you look, Clockwork! They know who to look for now!” He dropped his head, hiding his face under his mane. “Can you get out there and come back without them finding you?”
“I... I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I have to try. I must find out who killed Pendulum.”
“Let’s not do anything rash, Clockwork,” Honey said softly. “We still have a few hours to curfew, so... let’s talk it over. Neither of us want to lose you again, but... I understand that you have to do this, but just running out on the streets is bound to fail.”
Spot was quick to nod. “Honey’s right. We have to lure the guards away or something.” He licked his lips. “A diversion or something like that.”
I blinked. “A... Spot, you’re a genius!”
He looked up at me, smiling brightly. The smile soon turned into confusion. “I know I am but... what did I do now?”
I laughed and hugged him. “A diversion! That’s exactly what we need. Something to make the guard leave the road, just long enough for us to slip into the bar.”
“Yeah, but where did you plan to...” Honey trailed of, realization hitting her. “Oh. Pocket Slip.”
“He said he would help me when I wished,” I said with a smile. That smile quickly turned bitter, and I added with a mutter. “I’m sure he will just jump on an opportunity to snare me into opening that door.”
“Opening what?” Honey asked, looking at me. “What are you talking about?”
Spot looked at me as if he didn’t believe me. “That’s why he helps you? To get you open that door?!”
“What are you two talking about?”
I sighed. “It doesn’t matter. What matter is that he will help us with this.”
“How can you be so sure that he will—” Honey started, but was soon interrupted by Spot.
“Because he gets something out of it,” Spot filled in with heated voice. “He gets a lot from it.”
“Just... drop it,” I sighed. “I promised to help him if he helped me, and that’s that.” I smiled weakly. “So I guess he doesn’t have any other choice than to help me with this, no matter what he thinks about it.”
As I took one step forward, Honey quickly cut in front of me. “Okay, okay,” she said softly. “That’s one problem down.” Her features hardened, but her voice stayed soft. “We’re not going anywhere until we know how we’re going to do today.” She smiled sympathetically and her features softened some. “Don’t worry, Clockwork. We’ve got time. I just... want to make sure you get back.”
“I...” I sat down on my haunches, sighing. “Understand.”
She sat down in front of me, smiling. “Good... good. Now...” She looked over at Spot. “Where exactly is this bar? How do we get there?”
“It’s just at the gate. If we take the sewers to the Docks District, it won’t be more than three blocks away, but...” He sighed and waved a hoof towards me. “You know how the traffic is at the gate. There’s not only guards there, but the normal traffic from the docks as well.”
I nodded. “Yes, but I’m sure that Pocket can create a diversion big enough for that.” I smiled. “Worst case we can go around that part and get to the bar from the other way.”
“Yeah, and there we have the next problem,” Honey said. “What if someone recognises you in the bar? We will have the guards there before we can do anything!”
“I...” I went silent. She was right. The guards would be on the street just outside; they would get in there in the blink of the eye if anyone recognized me.
For a moment we sat in silence, before Spot spoke up. “We... he could disguise himself.” He hold up a hoof to silence Honey. “I know it sounds stupid, but listen to me. We can take the back entrance. Every time I’ve gambled with him, we’ve been sitting in a separate room from the rest of the bar. If we can get him in there unnoticed... then—”
“Then we just have to question whether we can trust this gambler friend of yours,” she interrupted him. “What if he calls the guards himself?”
He licked his lips. “I...He won’t. He’s got his bodyguards; he’s got nothing to fear from Clockwork.” He blinked and shot me a weak smile. “No offence, but those stallions at his side...” He shuddered before he looked back at Honey. “Besides, he doesn’t care about things like that. All that’s going through his mind is drinking and gambling.”
“We can’t just—”
My snort interrupted her. “We can, Honey. If he’s the problem, then it won’t matter if we wait another day to do this.”
She eyed me from ear to hoof, before she shook her head, muttering something that sounded dangerously close to “stallions”. “If you’re sure about this, then...” She sighed resignedly. “Then I’m with you.”
I smiled at her as I rose; a smile she returned as she rose herself. “Thank you, Honey.”
“Don’t mention it, Clocky.” She turned towards Spot. “So, when does this gambler usually show up?”
He blinked before he quickly scuffed to his own hooves. “Uh... he’s usually there at the end of the last change of the sunlight guard. N-not like he’s a guard that just gets off duty, but... he’s there at that time.”
“Then we only have a few hours,” she said. “Better get to work. You go and talk with Pocket. Spot and I will scramble up some bits for you.”
“We... what?” He blinked again.
She rolled her eyes as she turned around and started walking down the sewer. “He can’t gamble without any bits, right?”
“He won bits yesterday!” Spot protested as he hurried after her.
“Yeah, and then he started drinking.” Honey snorted and looked back at me. “And gambling while drinking.”
I rolled my eyes as I walked after them. “That bad, huh?”
“You’ve no idea, Clocky,” She flashed me a smile before she looked forward again. “I think you owe Doff at least fifteen bits.”
⌚
It was an old tradition to have the moonlight guard replace the sunlight guard at sunset. Three Hooves had said that the tradition had lasted for over a thousand years; uninterrupted even during the wars or conflicts that had scourged Equestria in olden times.
Now, when no one knew for how long the sun would stay in the sky, the captain of the royal guard had issued a set time for when the replacement would take part.
“Hypocrisy, that’s what it is,” Three Hooves muttered from my side. “It’s part of a guard’s duty to be prepared for everything and they can’t even prepare themselves for the sunset!”
I glanced at the former guard, standing on his three legs and using his wings to steady himself, before I looked down at the guards again. The sun, unnaturally high in the sky, shone down on the two groups of guards and the civilians that had gathered around them; waiting patiently for the short ceremony to be over. I couldn’t help but chuckle at them. So many guards and yet not even one looked up towards the rooftops.
“So...” I could hear how Spot licked his lips nervously. “When is Pocket going to make his move? And what is he doing here?”
“Pocket will wait until the sunlight guards have left before starting anything,” the old pegasus said. “He’s not stupid, he will wait until there’s only one set of guards down there.” As he spoke the moonlight guards took their place while the sunlight guards finished the ceremony with a salute and started making their leave. “And for what I’m doing here”—he laughed—”Pocket ordered me to keep an eye on you and make sure you didn’t make anything rash. But don’t you worry, I’m not here to walk you to the door if that’s what you think.”
I looked away from the street and turned away to face Spot, Honey and Three Hooves. “So, what’s with the barrels?” I asked, motioning towards the two barrels he had carried up here with the help of a complaining Spot.
“These?” He smiled. “Backup plan, should something go wrong. They will fill the road with smoke and buy you time to get away.”
“I’m sure we won’t have to use them,” Honey said with a smile. “But thank you, Three Hooves.”
He smiled and waved a hoof at her. “No worries, Honey. Anything for my favourite foals.”
“So, Spot,” she continued and raised an eyebrow towards Spot who had rolled his eyes. “How do we get to the bar from here?”
Spot blinked once, before he pointed across the street. “We only have to get over the street into the alleys. From there we can easily find the bar and sneak inside.” He lowered his voice to a mutter. “I don’t even know why we’re doing so much about this. We could just slip behind everyone as the guards change; no one would be the wiser.”
Before I could open my mouth to answer, Honey nudged my side. Looking at her she pointed at the rooftop across the street and the earth pony colt standing there, waving towards us. “It’s time,” she whispered and threw me the hooded mantel.
I quickly put on the clothes and waved back at Doff, who disappeared from the roof.
“What did you and Pocket agree over anyway?” Spot asked as he looked at the rooftop.
I shook my head. “We didn’t agree on more than that he would help me. He never said ho...” The sight of black smoke emerging from a road just a few blocks away made me trail off. I shook my head and stared at it. “N-No. He wouldn’t.”
“He did,” Three Hooves said from next to me. “But don’t you worry about it, kid. I’m sure they got it under control. Not the first time we’ve done this trick.”
Below us I could hear the gasping from the first ponies catching sight of the smoke. Complete silence filled the street, until suddenly someone yelled, “Fire!” In the blink of an eye the street below were in full commotion. The guards were caught up in the middle of it all, desperately trying to take command again.
“Time for you to go, Foals,” Three Hooves said and nudged me towards the end of the roof where we could take us down to the alley. “Use the commotion. I’ll be ready to interfere if needed.”
I tore my eyes away from the fire and hurriedly started galloping towards the end of the roof. “Thanks, Three Hooves. See you later!”
“Just take care, Kiddo!”
Honey and Spot quickly fell in behind me, and within seconds we had made our way down to the darkness of the alley. Carefully, we made our way towards the end of it and looked out from it on the street outside.
The street was utter chaos. Somepony had knocked over a cart full of cabbages; the ponies on the street tried to desperately avoid the rolling vegetables and the grey-maned earth pony running after them, trying to catch as many as possible. One of the moonlight guard tried to separate three bucks fighting closer to the gate, at least one of the fighters I recognized from the gang. Before my eyes they knocked over another cart and suddenly the other ponies had not only the cabbages to avoid but rolling barrels as well.
“Come on, Clockwork,” Honey hissed at me as the second guard joined the first in trying to separate the combatants. “We won’t get a better chance.” I turned around to look at her and she pointed across the street where Spot stood. “Let’s get going.”
“Right,” I said with a nod before I took the first step out into the street, quickly stepping back as the cabbage-pony runned pass me.
Honey rolled her eyes and pushed the hood down over my eyes. “Don’t forget this one.” She chuckled softly as she started moving. “You look adorable.”
I quickly looked from side to side, my eyes staying on the black smoke for a brief moment longer, before I hurried over the street. Nopony on the street seemed to notice me; if they did they didn’t care.
“That wasn’t very hard now, was it?” Honey smiled at me.
Next to her Spot shifted uneasily from one hoof to another, his eyes darting towards the moonlight guards, still busy trying to separate the combatants if the sound was anything to go by, before he looked up at me. “You’re slower than I remember.” He chuckled nervously, before he made a pained expression. “Can we get going before they spot us?”
I glanced back at the street, and the smoke, before I nodded. “Yeah, let’s get going.”
Without another word I followed them deeper into the alley. It didn’t take long before we had left the street—and the chaos—behind us and instead taking cover in the narrow passage running between the houses. No sun reached down here, and I soon found myself wrapping the mantel closer to myself; not only to keep the cold spring air away but also to conceal myself from the eyes of the ponies in the alley.
Quickly I realized that it wouldn’t be necessary to try and hide who I was. Few of the ponies seemed mentally present. Most sat or lay down against the wall, staring unseeing into the wall opposite them. A few seemed to be asleep, even if the chest didn’t move in the rhythm of breathing for more than a hoofful of the ones asleep.
Although some of them might simply be alcoholics or otherwise addicts, most of them were of the outcast. Ponies that couldn’t care about themselves and didn’t have anyone to care about them. The guards wouldn’t allow them to pass the gates and get further into the city, even if the church would most likely welcome them with open arms and try to help them. They weren’t worth more than garbage in the eyes of the guards, and, as they put it, shouldn’t be littering the streets of Canterlot.
“Clockwork!” Honey hissed. Surprised, I looked up from the outcast, a younger pegasus sleeping with his back against the wall and rolled up in what rags he could find. Without realizing it I had stopped walking. Spot and Honey were standing further away, the former nervously looking from side to side as if the outcast would jump at him while the later glared sternly at me. “We don’t have the entire day!”
“Hurry up,” Spot begged, looking between the outcasts before he looked up at us again. “Please? We’re soon there.”
She smiled sadly at me before she turned around. “Let’s go, Clockwork. We can’t help them.”
With a last look towards the outcast I nodded sadly and hurried after them.
He didn’t lie when he said that we were soon there. Two turns later and we stopped before a door in a back-alley. I could hear the sound of the street on the other side blending together with the laughter and music from the bar. The commotion about the fire didn’t seem to have reached even this far.
Spot had quickly moved to stand next to the door, opening it slightly to glance inside. He urged for me to come closer as he opened it just wide enough for himself to pass through. As I took the first step on the small staircase leading up to it, Honey stopped me by lightly placing a hoof over my shoulder. “Are you sure about this?” she whispered and glanced towards the door, taking a step closer to me and lowering her voice further. “He’s acting weird.”
“He’s just nervous,” I whispered back with a smile I hoped looked confident. “We all are. Don’t worry, everything will be okay.”
“Don’t say that,” she grimaced and removed her hoof. “It never turns out okay.”
“Are you coming?” Spot hissed from the doorway. “We’re not getting a better chance than this.”
“It will be okay, I promise,” I whispered.
She gave me a weak smile and a nod, but that was all I needed. I quickly turned around and stepped through the door into the bar, carefully making sure that the mantle covered me.
The sun shone through the many high-placed windows, illuminating the entire bar with a light nearly blinding me after the dark alleys. Few ponies were there; besides the fat, slimy barkeeper polishing a glass with a swab not cleaner than himself, there weren’t more than three or four ponies sitting around the tables. The barkeeper looked up at us, shrugged and spat in the glass before he continued polishing it, not paying us any mind as we continued past the counter towards the door Spot nearly dragged me towards.
As soon as we stood before the door, Spot stopped and looked around, licking his lips. “This...” he trailed off, looking around himself again. “He’s in here. I will wait for you here. Outside.”
I blinked and moved closer to him, hissing in his ear, “Aren’t you coming with me?”
He froze, and for a moment he just stood there gaping. Then, with a shake of his head, he took a step back. “I... I can’t,” he blurted out. “I saw a pony I owe money entering and...” he trailed off again, before he chuckled. It nearly sounded as if he forced it out. “I don’t want to risk him calling the guards for it or anything like that.”
“How do I know who I’m going to talk with?” I asked. “Are you okay?”
“What? Yes, I’m fine,” he quickly reassured me. “And he’s the one with the gu... bodyguards. Two of them, one at each side. You can’t miss him.”
“Oookay then.” I turned towards the door. “Wish me luck.”
“Go...” He hesitated, and suddenly I could hear the sound of him fumbling with something. Looking back, I saw him undo his pouch from his belt. “You nearly forgot this,” he blurted out as he threw it to me with a smile. “Good luck, Clockwork.” His smile soon slipped. “Hurry up now, before anyone recognizes you.”
I brought a hoof up against the door, resting it against it. This is stupid, I thought, staring into the dark wood. Am I going into a room, alone, where the pony murdering Pendulum is? What am I going to do? I can’t do anything alone. I sighed and shook my head, pushing away the negative thoughts as I smiled for myself. I’m going to go in there, join in on their game and try to just see who he is. Maybe I will recognize him. I nodded sharply for myself. And once I do, I might even be lucky enough to know where he lives. Maybe I even have delivered a clock to him.
What if he recognises you first? my mind wheezed. Then what? Turn tail and run? The commotion will draw the attention of the guards. Pocket won’t be able to help you out of that.
“C-Clockwork?” Spot stuttered. “You’re drawing attention to yourself.”
I blinked and looked up at the door again, his voice scattering away the thoughts. “Right, sorry,” I said sheepishly. Here goes nothing.
Glancing back at Spot one last time, I opened the door and stepped inside the room. It was a small room, dimly lit by nothing but a couple of candles spreading their vivid light. A round table, bare save for a glass filled with wine, stood in the middle of the room. As the door closed behind me, I noticed that only one of the cushions around the table were taken, and...
I instinctively took a step back, my eyes widening as I met the hard gaze of the armor clad pegasus sitting opposite me. His armor, midnight blue with ornaments of gold, together with the unusual red-tinted brown eyes quickly gave him away. More so than the three guards, two of which I had seen before, that were in the room with him did.
“You’re late, Clockwork,” Falk, captain of the royal guard, said with a predatory smile. “I thought a clockmaker’s apprentice would be... on time.”
I looked between him, Quillion, Foible and the last unicorn, a white stallion in the armor of the daylight guards. None of the guards had their helmets on. Quillion looked pained, as if she wanted to be somewhere else, while Foible smiled smugly at me.
“I-I...” I stuttered, taking another step back. As I did, Foible took a step closer to me, without a doubt placing himself so that he could stop the door if I tried to run for it.
Or maybe betray you, my mind jeered. “W-why?” I whispered.
“Expecting someone else?” Falk asked, raising an eyebrow.
I shook my head and looked down at the floor, my eyes on the verge of tears. He betrayed me. He...
A second later I laid on the floor, pain exploding from the side of my head where it had hit the hard wood. “He asked you a question!” Foible hissed at me as his hoof connected with my abdomen; I felt the tears coming as the air escaped my lungs.
“Stop that, Foible!” Quillion cried out, barely audible through the ringing in my ears. “We don’t hurt prisoners if it can be helped.”
Trembling I dragged myself up to a sitting position, gasping for air. He betrayed me, the thought echoed in my head as I slowly got my breath back. “W-why?” I stuttered again, looking up at the captain.
“He wanted to save his own skin,” he answered from where he sat. “Simple as that.” He waved at the unicorn next to me, who reluctantly took a step back from me, before he motioned towards the cushion opposite to himself. “Sit down.”
I looked between the guards and moved up a hoof to wipe away my tears. Why would he betray me? I asked myself as I slowly rose and took a hesitatingly step towards the cushion. He was my friend. I took a deep breath and tried to push the thoughts of his betrayal away as I sat down. “I... I’m under arrest?”
Falk nodded. “You are under arrest for the murder of Pendulum”—he raised a hoof to silence my weak protests—“and Officer Quillion has already told me about your innocence; if you want to add anything I recommend thinking your words over carefully.” The mare in question shook her head almost unnoticeably, and I mirrored the motion. He nodded satisfied. “Then I’ll ask of you to surrender your blade and come peacefully.”
I blinked as I looked down at the scabbard, completely forgotten hanging under the mantle. Maybe I could— I pushed the thought out of my mind before I had even finished it. Draw blade against not only the captain of the royal guard, but also three guards? The only thing it would lead to would be my death. So, slowly as to not make it look like I would draw the blade, I levitated up the scabbard and placed it on the floor, tip away from me.
He nodded again as he eyed the blade, before he looked up at me, resting his head on his hooves. “What did he say to make you follow him here?” I blinked and looked up from the table at him. He raised an eyebrow at me. “He must’ve offered you something.”
“The truth,” I murmured. “He offered me the truth.”
“The truth?” He chuckled and leaned back. “The truth about what?”
I glared at him, but he simply met my eyes with a smirk. They won’t trust you, no matter what you say, the voice in the back of my head mocked. Why would they? You’re a criminal. It laughed as I pushed it away, a laugh that ended abruptly as I spoke, “He promised me the truth about who killed Pendulum.”
“If you wanted to know the truth about the murderer you would only have to look into the mirror,” Foible laughed.
The captain shook his head with a frown. “We’ve witnesses, Clockwork. You were seen preparing the blade for a last blow before you saw Officer Shining Armor here—” he motioned towards the last guard “—and turned tail.” He sighed and leaned forward, nailing me down with a glare. “So I ask of you to tell me the truth.” He waved a hoof in dismissal. “I’m just curious, that’s all.”
“I didn’—”
“Shining Armor,” he interrupted me with a sneer, still looking down at me. “You saw Clockwork in the shop, correct?”
“Yes, Sir,” the unicorn I hadn’t seen before answered. “I did, but—”
“And is it true that he was taking out an Asphodelus blade from the body?” Falk pressed on.
“He did, but—”
“And as soon as he saw you, he turned tail and ran?”
The unicorn sighed. “Yes, Sir. He did.”
The pegasus smiled complacently. “As you can see, Clockwork: we have witnesses. Lying won’t get you anywhere. Even if somepony might believe your made up story, I won’t. So, for you own sake, tell me the truth.”
Yes, Clockwork. Tell him the truth. I met his eyes for a second longer, before I looked down in the table again. “What do you want me to say, then?” I asked bitterly.
“Why not tell us the truth, Clockwork? Confess. It will be easier for you if you do that. Remove that weight from your shoulders,” he said softly. “Let us know what happened two days ago.”
“I didn’t kill him!” I raised my voice and snapped my eyes back at him, laughing for myself. “What reasons would I have? I had been out and posted a letter when he was murdered! I came back to see him bleeding to death before my eyes, and—”
“Well, then, Clockwork!” he sneered as he loomed over me. As I went silent, he sat back on the cushion again, for the first time touching the glass on the table. The silence stretched out between us as he took a deep draught of the wine. Then, putting it down again, he continued. “Let’s pretend for a moment that I believe your story. Let us say that you didn’t kill Pendulum, that someone else did. If that’s would be the case, answer these question.” He paused and swirled the glass lazily with a wingtip. “Who did it? Why? And, most importantly”—with a flick of his wing he threw the glass into the wall, the sound of it shattering unnaturally loud—”why would you take the blade instead of running after the guards?”
“I...” I stuttered.
You did what? Acting instinctively? the voice laughed. Face it, Clockwork, you’ve lost.
I looked down in the table. I took the blade because I recognized it, knew where it came from. I ran to escape this. Now, as then, no one would believe me. So, instead of saying anything, I shook my head.
“I had hoped that you would talk when you realized it was over, but I guess that was to ask for too much.” He sighed as he rose. “Take him away. I don’t want to see him anymore.”
A hoof forced me up onto my hooves, but I barely looked up as two of the guards, I didn’t care who, led me to the door. The sound of the tavern washed over me as they opened it.
With each step we took through the tavern, the ponies stopped with what they were doing and, without a doubt, looked at me and the guards. In the silence that followed the musicians stopped playing I could hear how ponies whispered to each other; some recognizing me as the pony who had killed the clockmaker.
Something shifted in the corner of my eye and, looking up, I could see Spot standing pressed in a corner, looking at me with a pained expression. He rose a hoof towards me and opened his mouth, but stopped himself and let it fall to the floor again as the guards led me out on the street and the cell that waited for me.