My Little Investigations: Marehunter

by Metool Bard

Confrontation: Eagle Eye (S)

"Y-Your Honor. Wh-what are you doing on campus? Has something happened?"

"Indeed. I wish to ask you a few questions regarding a, troubling incident that occurred last night."

Well, that's convenient. We aren't even halfway back to the crime scene and already we found Eagle Eye questioning the students. We must've spent a long time in that library for her to be at this stage of the investigation. I dived down and landed before her, making sure to bow as I did so. My teammates quickly followed suit.

"Hold on, fine citizen. I have to address this," said Eagle Eye, sounding quite annoyed. "You're dismissed for now."

With a nervous nod, the student flew off. Eagle Eye turned to us and raised an eyebrow.

"What're you still doing here, Captain Spitfire?" she inquired. "Don't you have your own investigation to deal with?"

"We're working on that, Your Honor," I said. "However, my comrades and I have found some information that must be brought to your attention."

"What kind of information?"

"Proof that our investigation is tied in with the murder of Professor Kierra."

Eagle Eye shook her head. "You've been misinformed, Captain Spitfire. There is no possible connection."

I blinked. "What makes you say that, Your Honor?"

"Simple. Professor Kierra was not murdered."

My jaw dropped. In all honesty, I was not expecting that. At all.

"What?! Whoa whoa whoa, time out!" barked Blaze. "Whaddya mean she wasn't murdered?!"

Eagle Eye glared at us. "That is none of your concern."

"My flank it's not!" Blaze roared.

"Blaze, stand down," I said sternly.

"B-but..."

"Stand down, Blaze. That's an order."

Blaze let out a frustrated grunt and held her tongue. With a sigh, I turned back to Eagle Eye.

"I apologize for this breech in conduct, Your Honor," I said with a bow. "It's just that we've found evidence to the contrary, and—"

"Overruled!"

Eagle Eye cut across me with a swing of her scepter.

"No such evidence exists, Captain Spitfire," she snarled, dipping her voice. "Professor Kierra was not murdered. She took her own life."

Wait, what? That doesn't seem the least bit likely. I might not know Kierra all that well, but in my experience, she was not suicidal. Where was this coming from?

"I'm afraid I don't follow, Your Honor," I said plainly. "What makes you so sure of this?"

Eagle Eye snorted. "Your persistence is unwarranted, Captain Spitfire. Keep it up, and I'll have all of you arrested for investigational interference."

"Look, if you can convince us that Kierra committed suicide, then we'll gladly leave without another word," I said. "Until then, we've still got a stake in this."

"Hmph. So you say," growled Eagle Eye, furrowing her brow. "Very well. If it's the only way to get you to leave, then I shall oblige. However, keep in mind that you are wasting my time with this drivel. Anything that I deem irrelevant will count as a strike against you. Earn enough strikes, and you can consider yourself arrested."

"I assure you, it won't come to that, Your Honor," I said with a bow.

"We shall see," Eagle Eye scoffed. "I was not appointed to this prestigious position for no reason, Captain Spitfire. I will open your eyes to the truth before long."

Sounds to me like someone let their position go to their head. Historically, the Griffon Magistrate has been considered to be infallible. This was never the case, of course, but when you dictate and enforce the laws of the entire kingdom, credibility is a must. Even so, I'm gonna have to knock Eagle Eye off her high horse and show her that she's wrong. Otherwise, she's the one who will be blinded to the truth.

"According to our findings, Professor Kierra died at around midnight due to poisoning," said Eagle Eye. "Headmaster Hawke mentioned that she was acting strange all week, perhaps from some sort of dementia or depression. Not only this, but she was the only person who had access to her office. No murderer could've gotten past security. Finally, there's the note we found in her office. Although indecipherable, it's safe to assume that this is a suicide note. Ergo, Kierra took her own life. All we need to know is why."

I'm not one to tell someone else how to do their job, but this is very unsettling. Her argument is full of blind assumptions that I highly doubt she can back up with any kind of evidence. Almost makes me wonder if she's doing that intentionally so that I will slip up. Geeze, I hope that's not the case. Anyway, I'd better get a firmer grasp of the situation.

"Did you know Professor Kierra personally, Your Honor?" I asked.

"To my understanding, she was a war hero that served with the Proud Pride back in January," said Eagle Eye, thoughtfully fiddling with her scepter. "In fact, I know that she fought side-by-side with you Wonderbolts to thwart the now-defunct Tengu Dynasty."

"So, you have no idea about whether or not she was suicidal," I said.

"Not so," said Eagle Eye, shaking her head. "It can be inferred that Kierra was suffering from some sort of PTSD. The battle she fought in was rather stressful for her, after all."

"Yeah, but shell shock doesn't take eleven months to kick in. It's usually a lot more immediate. I've read up on my military history; I know these things."

"Ah, but who are you to say she wasn't simply hiding it through therapy or medication? You haven't seen her since that battle, now have you?"

"Nnngh..."

I flinched. I hate to admit it, but she's right. I haven't spoken to Kierra since that incident. A lot could've happened in eleven months that I just wasn't aware of. I'm not gonna get anywhere through this line of questioning.

"Just a moment, Your Honor," Misty Fly chimed in. "You mention the possibility of her being treated for PTSD. But do you know this to be a fact?"

Eagle Eye furrowed her brow. "As of right now, no."

"Then why even bring it up, huh?" asked Blaze.

"Because all of the other evidence points to suicide," said Eagle Eye bluntly. "Trust me, I would not stoop so low as to argue from a position of ignorance."

Well, that's an ironic statement if I ever heard one. And I think I have the evidence to show her why. But first, I need a different avenue of attack.

"I'm sure Headmaster Hawke made you aware of Kierra's activities leading up to this, incident," I said.

"Of course," said Eagle Eye.

"Then you know that she's been conducting research all week, correct?"

"Yes. Where are you going with this, Captain Spitfire?"

I smirked and raised my flight goggles. "Well, if Professor Kierra was doing all this research, wouldn't that mean it would be less likely that she committed suicide?"

"Her research means nothing, Captain Spitfire," said Eagle Eye dismissively. "It's possible that she simply snapped in the middle of her work."

"I don't see it that way, Your Honor," I said, shaking my head. "Because if that was the case, then why didn't she just hang herself or do something simple like that? Poison isn't exactly an easily acquired commodity, and Headmaster Hawke already informed me that the science lab on campus doesn't keep anything of that nature. So why go through all the trouble based on a spontaneous decision?"

Eagle Eye fiddled with her scepter as sweat formed on her brow. "Y-you're out of order, Captain Spitfire. You cannot claim to know Professor Kierra's mind any more than I can."

"I see. So you admit that you're arguing from a position of ignorance."

"That— I— Ergh... Overruled!"

Finding herself unable to make a suitable comeback, Eagle Eye simply swung her gavel at me again. I didn't even flinch this time. It was intimidating at first, but now it's starting to get annoying.

"Y-you shouldn't be so smug, Captain Spitfire," she snarled. "What of the note? According to Headmaster Hawke, it was placed in such a way that it was intended to be found!"

"That doesn't automatically make it a suicide note," I said frankly. "You said yourself that the note itself was indecipherable. Neither of us really know what Kierra was trying to say with it. However, there's one thing you overlooked about it."

"And what is that?"

"It's addressed to you."

Eagle Eye closed her eyes and knitted her brow. "I realize that, Captain Spitfire. However, I don't know why she chose to do that. We don't know each other personally."

"Exactly," I said with a nod. "But tell me, Your Honor. Which is more likely? That Kierra wanted you to read her last words, or that she was trying to inform you about something important?"

"I, um... I... Overruled!"

Eagle Eye swung her gavel again, showing once again that she was unable to refute me.

"I will admit that my judgement was perhaps a bit hasty, Captain Spitfire," she said. "However, the Wonderbolts still have no business in this investigation."

"Pardon me for disagreeing, Your Honor, but we do," I said, standing my ground.

"That's impossible," said Eagle Eye brusquely. "There's nothing linking these two events."

"Why not hear us out before you say we're wrong?" Blaze growled. "I thought judges didn't jump to conclusions like this."

"Overruled!"

Eagle Eye swung her gavel yet again, this time at Blaze. She really should've saw that coming.

"That one was uncalled for, Blaze," I admonished.

"Oh, don't pretend you weren't thinking it, too," Blaze said with a pout.

I gave Blaze a stern glare. "It's not a matter of that, Blaze. We have to respect the Griffon Magistrate. She's the legal authority around here, not us. Is that understood?"

Blaze swallowed. "Y-yeah. G-gotcha, Sis. S-sorry, Your Honor."

"I should hope so," Eagle Eye grumbled, straightening herself out. "Anyway, seeing as you're so adamant about this, I'll hear you out. But if you cannot provide sufficient evidence, you must leave."

"That is fair, Your Honor," I said.

"Good," said Eagle Eye, clearing her throat. "Now then, let's see if this proof of yours can answer my inquiries."

"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?" whispered Rainbow Dash.

"Go ahead, private."

"You sure we can convince her with the evidence we've got?"

I sighed. "I don't know," I confessed. "She doesn't seem to like us that much, though to be fair, we haven't given her a reason to like us. We'll just have to hope for the best and give it our all."

Rainbow Dash said nothing, but simply knitted her brow. I kinda see where she's coming from, actually. She of all ponies knows that there's a fine line between pushing the envelope and just being reckless. I understand this, too. But sometimes, life doesn't work that way. You gotta take some risks if you want to get anywhere. The key is to know when it's appropriate to take those risks, such as in this instance.

"Through our discourse, you have proven that Professor Kierra did not commit suicide," said Eagle Eye. "For this, I thank you and humbly apologize for my oversight. Nevertheless, there still isn't any evidence to support your claim that our investigations are connected. You may claim that Professor Kierra's research is the connection, but then what was she researching? You may claim that the note addressed to me is the connection, but then what does it say? Unless you can answer either of these questions, your argument holds no water."

Okay, I'll give Eagle Eye some credit. At least she's not mad about being proven wrong. Now all we need to do is get her to see our side. Fortunately, I have just the evidence for that.

"I actually took the liberty of visiting the campus library, Your Honor," I said. "We found some information there that might prove quite useful."

"Elaborate," Eagle Eye stated.

"For one, there was a book checked out five days ago," I explained. "It was on Pan's Music Code; a form of magic that is conducted through music."

"And what makes you say Professor Kierra was the one who checked it out, hmm?"

"I can't prove that specifically," I admitted. "However, I can provide a tangental connection."

Eagle Eye arched an eyebrow. "A tangental connection? What do you mean?"

"Last night, at the Grand Galloping Gala, I confronted the vigilante that we're currently tracking," I said. "She sang some sort of melody and created a smokescreen. My friend believes that she was using Pan's Music Code. She happened to have a similar experience back in April."

Eagle Eye's brow furrowed. "That's rather flimsy, Captain Spitfire."

"Perhaps so, but there's something else," I said. "See, I don't think Pan's Music Code was the only form of magic Kierra was researching. I have reason to believe that she was looking up alchemy as well."

"Why do you say that?"

I pressed my front hooves together and gave Eagle Eye a serious look. "We found something in one of the books on the very subject."

I then took out the notecard Misty Fly found. Eagle Eye still appeared skeptical.

"So, you were blindly looking through books until you came across this?" she asked. "That doesn't seem plausible."

"Meh, it happens to me all the time," said Rainbow Dash with a shrug.

Eagle Eye blinked. "I, beg your pardon?"

"Don't ask," I said. "Anyway, I think you might want to read what's on this notecard."

I handed Eagle Eye the notecard in question. As she read it over, her eyes went wide.

"I-I can't believe it," she stammered. "Th-this is clearly a death threat. Where did you say you found this?"

"In a book on alchemical history," said Misty Fly. "She appeared to be using it as some sort of bookmark, though we're not entirely sure why."

"But then, what of your vigilante? How does she tie into all this?"

"Answer me this, Your Honor," I said. "Do you know what a ponunculus is?"

"No."

"It's an artificial pony created by alchemy," I clarified. "And that is exactly what our vigilante is. Not only that, but Kierra also happened to know her creator, and I think you do, too. Does the name Gypsy Moth ring any bells?"

"Why, of course," said Eagle Eye. "She was sentenced to life imprisonment after being tried in Equestria for sabotage of diplomatic relations and attempted murder."

"Then there you go," I said. "Now, this is just a theory, and I'll be the first to admit that it's quite far-fetched. But we cannot deny the possibility that Gypsy Moth might've had a hoof in this. If Kierra was researching alchemy, it's possible that she believed that, too. But again, that's just a theory. We need to find out is what convinced her to pursue this research in the first place to see whether it's true or not."

Eagle Eye folded her arms and closed her eyes. After a few thoughtful nods, she opened them again.

"Indeed," she said. "I accept this notecard into evidence, and until we can determine otherwise, the Wonderbolts have permission to assist in this investigation."

"Thank you, Your Honor," I said with a bow.

Eagle Eye growled. "Don't thank me yet, Captain Spitfire. The truth still eludes us, and as long as it does, your team will answer to me. Is that clear?"

Well, it didn't take her long to bounce back from that misstep. Seriously, I just dissuaded her from making a horrible mistake. The least she could do is say "thank you." Still, I understand that she still wants to be the one in control. Even so, I wasn't planning on taking the reins from her or anything. This is not our land, and the Wonderbolts don't usually deal with this kind of thing, anyway. It would be foolish of us not to follow her lead.

"Understood, Your Honor," I said with a salute. "We'll be sure to inform you of any further developments."

Eagle Eye nodded. "Right then. I'll let the librarian know of your activities so that you can have more access to Professor Kierra's records. In the meantime, you can assist the Proud Pride with their investigation of the crime scene."

"We're on it, Your Honor," I said. "You heard the Magistrate, Wonderbolts. Let's fly."

With that, we exchanged bows and went our separate ways. I think I might want to ask Pierre if there's any way to get on Eagle Eye's good side. I mean, she's not hostile towards us anymore, and I'm thankful for that. But if we're gonna be working together, we have to get along. A lack of trust makes a team fall apart, after all.