//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Taking Care of Animals // by Nicknack //------------------------------// Earth Pony was a mare of duty, through and through. It’d been just after nine-thirty when we’d gotten to Rarity’s. By the time she finished callin’ in the police, settin’ up a crime scene, givin’ her testimonies as a witness, and gettin’ her leg re-casted, it was closin’ in on three in the mornin’. The local police put the two of us up in their headquarters—they had a room with bunk beds for when officers pulled long shifts. Soon as I saw ’em, I climbed into one of the bottom bunks, coat and all. I was all sorts of exhausted. Course, I couldn’t sleep a wink. I counted sheep, I darn near suffocated myself tryin’ to breathe slower, but nothin’. My mind was racin’ a hundred miles an hour. Even though I could barely keep my eyes open, sleep weren’t comin’ easily. After what felt like twenty minutes, from the bed above me, Earth Pony whispered, “AJ, you up?” “Yeah, Pony, I am.” The frame of the bunks squeaked as she moved over to one side. I rolled on my back, expectin’ to see her head hangin’ over the edge. Instead, her whole form dropped on the floor next to me. Then, she climbed on the bed next to me. Boy howdy, my eyes shot wide awake. I wasn’t eager or nothin’; it just came so far out of left field I didn’t know what to do. But Earth Pony hugged me, and with quiet, quiverin’ sobs, she started cryin’ in my shoulder. I put my hoof on the back of her shoulder and rubbed. Those days, I didn’t have enough faith in anythin’ to tell her it’d be all right. That bothered me, but there was somethin’ about bein’ the shoulder to cry on that made it easier to keep control of my own mental state. “I… I loved her.” Those three tiny words broke my heart, and not just because of the small twinge of jealousy they brought. I buried that feelin’ as well, instead tryin’ to get her to remember the good times. “You two seemed pretty decent together,” I admitted. “How’d you two meet?” After a couple thick-sounding nose inhales, Earth Pony talked quietly. “You already heard most of the story. I came to town looking for animal work. Couldn’t find any. Rarity was on the weather team. Couldn’t do weather. It’s an easy job for pegasi—I mean, like if you don’t get a summer job doing something with it, your parents are loaded. I taught her and cleaned up some of her mistakes. Those were fun to fly through.” She said the last bit with utmost sincerity, not the sarcasm I’d use if I had to plow through someone’s mistake at the quarry. I took a gamble and left the conversation up to her with, “I’ll bet it was.” Earth Pony lifted herself and looked straight down at me. I could barely see her face in the dark room, but I could feel how close she was to me, and how warm she was on the outside of my coat. I thought of cold showers and Granny Smith’s wrinkly old knees. “You have no idea,” Pony said, her voice ripe with an out-of-place grin. “I mean, the wind in your mane and feathers, the speed, the view, the… how fast you’re going…” I nodded. “Sounds like somethin’ special, all right.” Her ears drooped, and she pivoted herself sideways to sit on the edge of the bed. “Rarity helped me, too. After I got on the wrong side of some crime guy in Canterlot, back in my freelance days.” Even in the darkness, I could see the muscles under her scars twitchin’ up and down, unnatural-like. “It wasn’t much,” she continued, “but Rarity conjured up some decorative wings for me. They worked, but I was a little too hard on them the first time…” She looked down at her cast. “And the second time, I guess.” Begrudgingly, I had to admit, “That was mighty kind of her.” Earth Pony nodded. “Yeah. And I know you guys didn’t really hit it off famously. You’re kind of blunt, she’s kind of… dainty. But she was always good at giving stuff away, like finding something while out shopping and holding on to it until she found the right pony to give it to.” Tired as I was, I sat up and hugged Earth Pony. “I’m sorry for your loss.” She returned the hug. “I know...” She turned, and our eyes met. “You know, I don’t think I’ve thanked you for helping me on this case.” “Don’t say ‘thanks’ ’til that monster’s strung up with somethin’ thicker’n ribbon.” I felt her hot chuckle on my mouth. “Jeez, Applejack. That’s kind of…” “I ain’t just sayin’ that, Pony. We’re in this together. Thick or thin, no matter how hard it gets from here, I’m stickin’ it out ’til the end. Quarry can go dig itself a new hole for all I care. This is important. I promise.” “Ah, I…” She turned away, but I saw her eyes waterin’ beforehoof. I looked at the back of her mane as she nodded. “Thanks.” She looked back at me and grinned. “You know, for somepony I just met, you’re a pretty good friend.” I hoped my grin back didn’t look too disappointed in the dark. “You too, Pony.” I patted her shoulder. “You too.” *        *        * Next mornin’, I woke up alone in that room. ’Tweren’t much different’n I was used to, but given how eventful yesterday’d been, I don’t think I was wrong in havin’ a few concerns. I had my coat on me already, and I didn’t have anythin’ else to carry—the police had taken Coping With Loss as part of their procedures. So I headed out into the main part of the headquarters. Out in the hallway, the mint green pegasus from the other day crossed my path. We said hey, and I asked if she’d seen my blue friend. “Last I saw, she was down in the evidence room.” I stared back, blankly. She pointed down the hallway. “Three doors down’s the stairwell, then once you’re in the basement,  it’s the first door on the left.” Those directions meant somethin’ useful. I thanked her, then followed ’em. Had good timin’, too—right when I got to the bottom of the stairwell, Earth Pony opened the door from the other side. She was wearin’ saddlebags that looked filled to bursting, and somethin’ about her raincoat seemed different. Knowin’ fabric like I did, it didn’t fall the same way it used to. I focused on more important matters, though. “Pony. Where in tarnation do you think you’re goin’?” She blinked like she’d been caught in a lie. “One of my partner’s brother’s the owner of the movie theater. Ponville PD isn’t set up with the equipment to view Rarity’s surveillance tapes—” “Hold on there,” I butt in. “Tapes? As in, plural?” “The police found at least seven cameras throughout the whole place, Applejack. Rarity even told you, her house was secure. Maybe not… airtight, but…” She took a deep breath and swallowed the roots of some tears. “She didn’t die in vain. I won’t let her.” “So you’re goin’ to watch those tapes, alone,” I guessed. “Yeah.” “And Celestia knows how long it’s gonna take.” She nodded. “And I’m comin’ with you.” “No way.” She shook her head. “You stay here, where it’s safe.” “You ain’t doin’ this alone, sugarcube. And I ain’t givin’ you the option. You might be quick, but I don’t think you can outrun me on three legs.” At first, she raised her eyebrow like she were sayin’, “Wanna bet?” But that reflex died when she shook her head, frustrated. “You don’t have to do that.” “The hell I don’t,” I countered. “What part of ‘we’re in this together’ don’t you understand?” Finally, she nodded, and the two of us made our way up to the streets of Ponyville. Outside, the weather was bright and cold—almost glarin’ bright, but without a lick of warmth to go with the sun. At least all the rain from a few days ago seemed to have dried up; last thing we needed on a day like that was to deal with mud. The outside of Ponyville’s movie theater looked about as I remembered it: a thatched roof on top of two auditoriums, so ponies had a choice of what they could go see. Course, business had probably dwindled ever since the Ribbon Murders started. I didn’t reckon anyone wanted to sit in a dark room for hours on end anymore. Inside, a coal-colored stallion stood waitin’ for us. I’d seen him around the theater, back when I went to see movies, but that was the first time I realized he owned the place. The lines around his eyes and gray streaks in his mane were new. He offered us a, “Good morning,” but it sounded bone-achin’ tired. I knew how he felt. “Do you need me to show you how to set up the projector?” he asked Earth Pony. “No, I got it.” She patted her saddlebags. “Put the film in, spool it up, turn it on. Plus some other stuff.” Didn’t exactly sound like she knew exactly what she were doin’, but the owner didn’t seem to care. He led us to a door painted with “EMPLOYEES ONLY”, and Earth Pony and I went inside. He didn’t follow us up the stairs, but I didn’t blame him. Heck, I didn’t want to watch those reels. I had to. The projection booth wasn’t much to look at—cramped, with lots of movie equipment. Luckily, a pair of cushions sat near the tiny window. Didn’t look like the most comfortable place to watch a movie, let alone surveillance tapes. Course, we didn’t really have much of an option. Earth Pony unpacked her saddlebags, stackin’ seven reels on top of each other. She put the first one on the projector and got it set up with speed and finesse I wouldn’t’ve given her at first glance. Once she finished, she turned the projector on, and the two of us sat on our respective cushions. I felt my throat tighten as the speakers popped on. Out in the pitch-black theater, specks flecked on the screen as the theater came to life. Right away, Rarity’s face lit up the screen. An odd, ghostly sensation flowed down my shoulders like chilly snowflakes when she spoke to us from beyond the grave: “Hello…” She sighed like she knew how grim the situation was. “If you are viewing this, then there is a very good chance that I have met my demise.” Her eyebrow lifted in a coy manner. “Although unfortunate, with things being what they are, I suppose it was only a matter of time. But I believe I have lived life without many regrets, so I hope you do not mourn me too deeply.” Rarity took a deep breath, and her eyes sharpened. “Instead, I hope that something constructive may come from my untimely death. These cameras, located behind the master bathroom mirror, several paintings throughout the house, behind the kitchen sink, the fireplace in the living room...” There were a lot of cameras in Rarity’s house, ’parently. When Earth Pony heard about the ones in the bedrooms, the poor girl squirmed like she were sittin’ on a hot iron. “Each has enough film to record one day’s worth of surveillance, plus this introduction. Every day after today, I will rewind the tapes on days that I have not been murdered. So, I apologize if this is uncouth, but if I have met my demise, then there is a good chance that you are about to witness my murder.” She took a deep breath and glared at the camera: “Don’t let it be in vain.” The film cut to black after Rarity finished her last request. Then Earth Pony and I sat silently through five seconds of weird-lookin’ streaks and blurs. The film fixed itself, leavin’ behind a still image of Rarity’s empty bathroom. After the first few minutes of nothin’ happenin’, I started to feel a weight of futility. Like, there I was, sittin’ around, watchin’ a movie of all things. I knew it was helpin’ out—heck, Rarity’d even asked me, indirectly—but sittin’ around didn’t feel like it was doin’ nothin’. On screen, Earth Pony dashed towards the camera at a twitchy, unnatural speed. She did something below the frame—probably washin’ her hooves—and sped out on her way. Next to me, the real Earth Pony let out a quiet breath. “At least it’s sped up; I thought we’d be here forever.” I nodded, then I wondered how Rarity’d hooked up everything on the film so she could give her last testament at regular speed, then have the actual surveillance sped up. With a sigh, I gave up. “She thought of everything.” That earned me was a quiet, agreein’ grunt, but that was it. The rest of the film passed by us slowly, even at freaky-fast speed. I saw Pony streak through the bathroom again, then Rarity, and then a long lapse of nothing. By the time Rarity came in and drew a bath, I almost muttered, “Finally.” Caught myself before I did, though. Earth Pony, she was waitin’ for it just as much as I’d been. She leaned forward to watch closer, and I mirrored her motion. I couldn’t tell how long it was in film-time, but after about two minutes of tense, silent waitin’, someone else entered the bathroom. Right away, I recognized that pink mare, minus her poofed-up manestyle. She was Ms. Pink, from the photo of me, Earth Pony, Rarity, and Twilight. Earth Pony swore, and though it was a little rough for my tastes of cussin’, I had to agree it summed up the situation. Even though it was just pictures on a screen, I wished I could do somethin’ to help Rarity. As it were, Earth Pony and I were helpless as we watched Ms. Pink talk to Rarity, who tried to scramble away. Before too long, Pink pulled a white ribbon out of thin air, and began stranglin’ her flailing, desperate victim. I wanted to look away, but I forced myself to watch, what with how I’d been accusin’ Rarity of bein’ the murderer in my head. It didn’t make me feel any better. It just made me feel sick. Rarity’s futile struggle ended quick-like, and she slumped down into the tub. Pink zoomed off-screen, presumably through the window, leavin’ behind the exact same image that Earth Pony and I had discovered later that evening. I finally let myself look away with a whispered curse word of my own. My eyes drifted up to Earth Pony’s tear-streaked, teeth-gritted face. Her breathing picked up, and she started making a noise in the back of her throat. I thought she was gonna scream. Instead, she just whispered, “Now I’ve seen your face, you bucking animal.” I nodded, and frankly, I was glad for us to be done with our job in the theater. “Okay, then, Earth Pony. What now?” She turned to me with dark, cold eyes. “I’m gonna find her, then put her down.” “That ain’t gonna fix anything…” I warned. Earth Pony’s hoof shot to between her eyes. “I know, I know. I’ll put her in a cage, and then let the government do it. Like, due process and all that junk.” I nodded. “Well, then. How’re we gonna find her?” “I...” Earth Pony sounded a quick protest at my mention of “we”. Behind us, a cheerful giggle filled the projection booth. It hit me straight in the gut, paralyzin’ me in fear. “Why do you have to find me? Don’t you guys know you’re invited, too!”