I made my way through the crowd, and towards the back of Club Velvet. I needed to find the owners of the club, Hoax and Faux. These two unicorns were professional scammers. But their charm and excellent salesponies ship made you think you could trust them as much as you would your own mother.
I opened the door to their office to Hoax and his brother sitting back in their chairs, putting the top half of their bodies in shadow. But their bright red and white manes and glowing green eyes could still be made out.
“It’s called knocking, ma’am,” said Faux, “Maybe you’ve heard of it.”
I flashed my badge, “Detective Bullet. I have a few questions for you two gentlestallions, concerning your best customer.”
“Fruity Kick?” pondered Hoax, stroking his mustache, “Look we cut her off for good.”
“No you idiots, Fyre. I just need to get some information.”
The two stallions got a sly grin on their faces, the same kind they made while making a shady deal. It probably meant that Fyre could have bribed them. They probably thought I wouldn’t be able to deduce that. I guess I was just too smart for them.
“What do you wanna know?” Hoax’s voice was cool as ice.
“Mr. Big-Shot claims he was at your club on the nineteenth, can you verify that?”
“He indeed was,” confirmed Faux, “We saw it with our own eyes”.
I grabbed Faux by his collar with my hooves, “And how do I know you’re not lying? It would have been no problem for Fyre to have bribed you!”
Faux just smiled, “Feel free to search the office, you’ll find nothing”.
And that’s exactly what I did. I searched through all the drawers in the desk, through every open area, and in every nook and cranny. The only money I found were the bits that the brothers earned from running Club Velvet.
“Fine,” I begrudgingly muttered, “Now how about you two make yourselves useful and tell me where Moonstone’s dressing room is”?
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Moonstone’s name was engraved into the gold star that was plastered on the door to her dressing room. I politely knocked on her door and she instantly flew it open with a big grin on her face. But as soon as she saw it was me, her smile faded.
“Unless you have roses I’m not signing autographs right now”.
She went to close the door but my outstretched hoof just happened to get in the way.
“That’s too bad, because I have a job to do.”
“Ugh, can’t you ponyarazzi members leave me alone?”
I held up my badge for the second time this hour, “I’m a detective, and I need to ask you a few questions.”
She gave a huge dramatic sigh that made it sound like I just asked her to donate a kidney. I’ve heard rumors and I know about the stereotypes of show ponies being really spoiled and dramatic, but this mare was really pushing that.
“Fine,” Moonstone simply responded with a bored look on her face, “Ask away.”
“Right, now have you ever met a mare named Minty Fresh”?
The small mirror she was holding suddenly dropped to the floor. After a brief pause, she rushed towards me.
“DON’T EVER MENTION THAT NAME TO ME!”
A crazed look waltzed into her eyes as she screamed into my face. Again with the drama, this mare needed to calm down. But it didn’t seem like she was scared of Minty’s name, more infuriated with it.
“Why,” I asked, “What happened?”
Moonstone released her grip and turned to her mirror, “It all started two years ago”…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
A masked mare leapt across the rooftops, using her unicorn magic to levitate a bulging bag. Moonstone had a crazed look in her eyes as she sprang towards another building. It was her first night of thievery, and she was enjoying every second of it.
When she snuck back into her apartment as silent as the night she surrounded herself with, Moonstone delicately unfurled the tied up top to her burlap pouch to reveal hundreds of sparkling diamonds. Her entire room almost lit up in the light blue radiance.
It was the first night the singer had ever robbed a building. She had longed for good thrill and thought that this would be like no other. Soon the city of Manehatten was hit with an astounding crime wave. All caused by the white mare. Over time she gained a nickname: “The Sapphire Snatcher”. One night, however, would be different.
It seemed like any other crime-filled night, with a sack full of rubies and a spring to her step. But as soon she came to her room, it was filled with police ponies; all had their guns trained on her. Moonstone was shocked, how could the cops have known? She quickly asked that exact question. One of the officers with a thick, orange mustache answered,
“We got an anonymous tip that the Sapphire Snatcher would be here tonight.”
“But, who could possibly”- Minty, it had to be here. Moonstone recalled earlier that day about how she was running her gums about a big hit tonight to some other criminals at a poker game. One of those ponies happened to be the newly reformed, Minty Fresh. Moonstone was furious, but there was no time for that now. She had a room full of angry cops that wanted her full cooperation; well too bad for them.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
“So what happened to the cops”? by this point I was not only a little intrigued, but questioning Moon Stone’s intelligence. Why would she foolishly reveal her plans, even if they were a bunch of criminals?
She gave me a sly smile, “Oh I just used my natural charm, darling. Stallions are incredibly dense. Now, I’m sure there was a point of me telling you my ‘origin story’, and it has something to do with Minty Fresh?”
“Right, Minty was murdered the other night. You are one of the suspects.”
The glamorous mare just chuckled, “Oh please, I have dozens of adoring fans, I can’t disappoint them by taking time out of my busy schedule to commit a murder. I’m not a petty mare who just focuses on revenge.”
I walked closer to her, “Is that why you screamed in my face when I said Minty’s name?”
“That’s just what we ponies in showbiz drama. Now, I believe we’re done here”.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
As I exited Moonstone’s dressing room, I stopped by Faux and Hoax’s office to make sure the singer’s alibi checked out. Unfortunately, Dumb and Dumbass confirmed it to be true. I was getting tired; tired of all of my suspects being innocent, and just plain tired. On the bright side I only had one more pony to confront. It was Dawn, the town librarian. All I can say is, it better be her, or somepony is going to see my ugly side.
My extended hoof was about to open the front door to exit the club when I heard it, a sound that I’ve heard so much over the years that I can detect it anywhere. It was a pistol getting ready to fire.
My wings instinctively propelled me into the air, with the bullet just grazing my tail. A second slower and it would’ve hit where it counts. Club Velvet went ballistic. Ponies everywhere started running and screaming. Through all the chaos I tried to spot who had fired the gun. I soon laid eyes on Fyre, of course, with a gun in his claws and a look of fury in his eyes. It wasn’t long before his two comrades had guns as well.
I swooped down, weaving through the whizzing bullets with ease. These guys were terrible shots. Like a cannonball, I tackled the pony with orange hair and glasses.
“Equinox,” Fyre barked, “Help Quicksilver”!
Equinox charged towards me snorting steam. I hastily kicked Quicksilver off of me and threw him into the advancing stallion.
Before I could react, two hooves clamped around my neck. They belonged to Addams Apple. As she choked me, she whispered something into my ear,
“Give up, kid, this is what I live for”.
I tried flipping the assassin off, but I just couldn’t shake her. So I went with plan “B”; running to a wall back first with all my might. A loud *THUD* echoed throughout Club Velvet as Apple met the wall. In a daze, she slid down and soon entered Dream Town.
“Morons,” Fyre muttered, “Looks like it’s up to me”.
The dragon pulled out a long knife and lunged at me. I bobbed my head to avoid the slashing knife. I used my hind hoof to kick the weapon out of his claws. I tried to punch him but the little dork kept blocking by throws. Then I realized I had an advantage over him. Using my wings, I circled the room, after going around Fyre, I head-butted him right in the back. He flew and hit his jaw right on the edge of a table.
“Looks we’re even now, Fyre”.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
I soon called for a dispatch unit to arrest Fyre. He may not have committed the murder, but he still attacked a federal official. I like that term, I should use that more often. But for now, I just one more pony to visit. It’s time I got some answers.