My Little Investigations: Marehunter

by Metool Bard

Confrontation: Babs Seed (O)

"This ain't fair! I gotta find that punk! L-let me go!"

"And let you get yourself into trouble? No dice, kiddo."

We didn't have to explore the Music Floor for long before we heard familiar shouts coming from one of the bigger theaters in Lincolt Center. Sure enough, we arrived on the scene to find Mike Check standing right in front of the stage, gripping a flailing Babs Seed in his orange magical aura. As we got closer, I could see that Babs's mane was disheveled, and her coat was covered in a fine layer of soot. Mike didn't look much better, either. Neither of them appeared to be hurt, though, so that's something, I guess.

"Um, they seem to be a bit, preoccupied," said Fluttershy meekly, turning herself around. "M-maybe we should leave..."

"And go where?" asked Vinyl, raising an eyebrow. "We can't go back to see Lockdown because of the fuzz, Sapphie's in the hospital, and I really don't feel like interrogating a traumatized filly. Babs is our best lead right now."

"While there's no disputing that, I understand what Fluttershy is saying," Rarity said thoughtfully. "This is a rather delicate situation. It wouldn't necessarily be prudent of us to interfere."

Vinyl deadpanned. "We've got an anonymous assailant on the loose who may or may not be a fake Mare-Do-Well. I don't think we really have the luxury of being 'prudent,' whatever the heck that means."

I'd actually be more surprised if she did know what that word meant. Still, I do see her point. If we don't pursue this lead, we'd basically be sitting around doing nothing. I doubt any of us want that. That being the case, it's a bit hard to watch this exchange play out. I'm actually having difficulty deciding whether I sympathize with Mike or Babs. Perhaps it would be best if we did give them some time to sort this out before we...

"Oh, hey there, ladies. You ponies actually have pretty good timing. Think you can lend me a hoof with Babs over here?"

Before I could decide what to do, the choice was made for me when Mike noticed us and waved us over. With not other options at this point, we ventured forward.

"How can we help, Mr. Check?" I inquired, even though I already had a feeling what the answer was going to be.

"It seems that my new assistant has a bit of a death wish," Mike said with a snort. "I've been trying to calm her down and get her to stop being reckless, but she's not listening to me."

"Hey, I'm not letting this jerk get away with hurtin' my friend!" Babs snapped.

Rarity sighed and stepped towards Babs. "Babs, I promise. None of us are going to let that happen," she said, her tone soft yet firm. "But it's not safe for a filly your age to be running around chasing after a dangerous ruffian. You really could've gotten hurt, or worse. I don't think Sweetie Belle would be very happy if that happened, do you?"

Babs paused for a moment before letting out a great sigh. "I-I guess not."

"Right," said Rarity with a nod. "So, no more running off on your own, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Babs conceded.

Vinyl smirked. "What was that you were saying about this being a delicate situation, Rarity?"

"Just because it was a delicate situation doesn't mean I wasn't prepared for it," Rarity replied. "Believe me, I understand where Babs is coming from with this."

Mike chuckled. "Boy, I sure wish I had you around when Babs ran off," he said, setting Babs to the ground. "It would've made this a lot less frustrating."

"Do we want to know what you mean by that?" said Vinyl.

Mike sighed. "To make a long story short, I kinda had to chase her all over the freaking building," he said. "She even tried to sneak through the air ducts, believe it or not."

"I thought the culprit was hidin' in there," Babs said defensively, blowing back her combover. "I wasn't tryin' to get away from you, Mr. Check."

Hmm. That explains why both Babs and Mike look like they desperately need a shower. However, I don't see how the details of this chase are relevant to the matter at hoof. Unless Babs found something of interest while she was on the run, that is. I suppose we can come to that later, but for right now, there's more pressing business to attend to.

"Actually, Babs Seed, there's a way you can help us with our investigation," I said.

"Yeah? Whazzat?" asked Babs.

"I remember you claiming that you saw someone go into the Performance Studio, even though Mr. Lockdown insists that nopony got past him," I said. "Do you stand by that claim?"

"Hey, I'm no liar," Babs growled, blowing back her combover. "I know what I saw."

"R-right, of course," I stammered, taken aback by her harsh demeanor. "Well, if that's the case, maybe you can tell us what you saw."

"Honestly, Babs, I'm pretty curious about that myself," said Mike, rubbing the side of his head. "Lockdown's no slouch. It would be pretty tough for somepony to get by him."

"Look, I saw it with my own two eyes. Someone else got into that room," Babs insisted.

"Perhaps it would help if you were more specific, darling," said Rarity.

Babs pondered this for a bit before nodding. "Yeah, sure. No prob."

Well, this is a welcome change of pace from debating Detective Shamus. Nevertheless, I don't have a good feeling about dealing with this particular testimony. While I'm glad that Babs is being cooperative with our investigation, she's still a child. A lot of what she saw could've just been her imagination running away with her. I hope that doesn't turn out to be the case. I'd hate to trigger another temper tantrum at a time like this.

"So, I was just heading down the hall, minding my own business, y'know?" said Babs. "Then, all of a sudden, I hear this faint tune coming from one of the performance studios. When I went to see what it was, I saw the guy slip past Mr. Lockdown and into the Performance Studio. It looked like some kinda ghost or somethin'. Then I told Mr. Lockdown about it, and you probably know the rest."

This is just what I feared was going to happen. And no, it's not because of ghosts being involved. Rather, I don't know what to make of this. Either Babs was just imagining things, or she really did see some sort of specter. Both are credible explanations, but only one is true. And I suppose I have to go about finding out which one is the right answer.

"So you were in the hallway when you heard this mysterious tune," I said, furrowing my brow. "May I ask why you were there?"

Babs blinked. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well, you're Mr. Check's assistant, aren't you?" I said. "I would think that you would be at the Bent Trumpet setting up the stage."

Babs blushed and hid her bare flank with her tail. "W-well, yeah. B-but I got a call from Mr. Check tellin' me to be on the lookout for Sweetie Belle, so I decided to take a look around."

Oh, yes. That did happen, didn't it? Alright, fair enough.

"So, you simply dropped what you were doing to look for Sweetie Belle, is that it?" I inquired.

"H-hey! Th-that wasn't it at all!" Babs barked, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of crimson. "S-stop making me look bad in front of Mr. Check, will ya?!"

"I-I do apologize. I-it's not intentional, I assure you," I said defensively.

"Smooth, Octy," snickered Vinyl.

"You shut up," I snarled. "This isn't exactly easy, you know."

"Never said it was," Vinyl said with a shrug.

Oh, for the love of Pete. "Let's just move on," I sighed, clearing my throat and turning back to Babs. "Now then, you were looking for Sweetie Belle in the hallway, and then you heard this faint tune, correct?"

"Yep," said Babs with a nod.

"Can you describe the tune for me?"

Babs knitted her brow. "Not really. It was kinda muffled."

"What about this ghost you saw?" inquired Rarity. "Did you get a good look at it?"

Babs tapped her chin. "Kinda. I mean, it was disappearing into the wall when I spotted it, but I managed to make out some stuff."

"Such as?"

"Well, for starters, the guy was pretty tall. Taller than Mr. Lockdown, even. And he looked like he had these things coming out of his back. I couldn't see what they were before he went through the door, though."

Ah-ha. I know exactly where I've seen something like that before.

"Well, Babs Seed. I'm actually inclined to believe you," I said, adjusting my bow-tie.

Babs smiled and puffed out her chest. "Y'see? I told ya I'm not a liar," she said proudly, blowing back her combover.

"We never said you were lying, Babs," said Mike with a heavy sigh. "Even so, Melody, I'm pretty lost. This story sounds like an overblown fantasy to me."

"Perhaps on the surface," I said. "But we've come into contact with some evidence that might prove otherwise."

"Oh, you mean that drawing Sweetie Belle made?" said Rarity.

"Precisely," I said with a nod. "You weren't around for this, Mr. Check, but Sweetie Belle did manage to draw a picture of what we believe is her assailant."

"And you're saying this picture matches what Babs saw?" said Mike.

"Mostly," I said. "We can't exactly make a proper comparison, seeing as Babs Seed and Sweetie Belle saw this entity from different angles. But I do remember Sweetie Belle's drawing having large protrusions coming out of its back."

"Yeah. Yeah!" said Babs with an enthusiastic nod. "They looked kinda like wings, didn't they?"

"Um, actually, we couldn't tell," said Fluttershy sheepishly. "The drawing itself isn't really that good."

Vinyl shrugged. "Well, if Babs says they're wings, who are we to say they're not? I mean, she's the one who saw the thing."

"Hang on, we're still forgetting something here," said Mike, raising his hoof. "What about the whole bit with the guy phasing through the wall?"

Mmm. That was a good point. However, there is a simple explanation.

"It's possible the culprit used some kind of magic to make themselves etherial," I suggested. "As for what kind of magic was used, I cannot say. I do have a theory, though."

"Well, lay it on us, Octy," said Vinyl.

"Babs said she heard a tune in the hallway," I said. "I don't have any firm proof of this, but that tune could very well have been Pan's Music Code."

Mike shook his head. "I dunno, Melody. It doesn't sound like something Pan would do."

"I never said it was Pan," I stated firmly. "We all know he would never do something like this, especially not to a fellow musician like Sapphire Shores. At the Gala last night, both Ms. Spitfire and Ms. Derpy Hooves claimed to hear some sort of melody before strange happenstance overtook them. That sounds very much like Pan's Music Code to me."

"So, you think Mare-Do-Well's impostor is here, then?" asked Rarity.

"I can't say for sure," I said. "Not without further evidence."

"Would somethin' like this help?"

Babs pulled out a folded piece of paper. We all gawked at her for a moment before Rarity spoke up.

"Uh, Babs, darling. Where did you find that?" she inquired.

"I, kinda don't remember," said Babs, brushing the back of her head sheepishly. "I wasn't really payin' attention to all that much. I just wanted to find the punk who hurt Sweetie Belle."

"Do you at least know what it is?" asked Fluttershy.

"Yeah. I mean, I guess," said Babs. "I didn't really have the time to take a good look at it. I think it's a map or somethin' but that's all I know."

"Well, I'm sure you didn't pick it up for no reason," I said, unfolding the map. Just as Babs said, it did appear to be some kind of map. However, I couldn't possibly tell you what it was a map of. All of the text appeared to have been written in some kind of hieroglyphs. The shape of the map didn't help, either. It was so generic that it really could've been any location.

"Yeesh, and I thought Sweetie Belle's drawing was indecipherable," said Vinyl, peering over my shoulder.

"Hmm," I said thoughtfully. "I think our best course of action is to find out how you came across this map, Babs Seed. Maybe then, we can figure out if it's important or not."

"Uh, yeah. Sure," said Babs, blowing back her combover. "I mean, I'll do the best I can, but keep in mind everything was very touch-and-go for me while I was chasin' that punk."

"Duly noted," I said with a bow. "I'll be sure to fill in the blanks where I can. Just tell us what you know."

"Gotcha," said Babs, clearing her throat.

"So, I was looking for the culprit all over the place, right?" said Babs. "As Mr. Check mentioned, one of those places was the ventilation shaft. While I was crawling through there, I saw that piece of paper taped to the ceiling. I thought it was weird, so I snatched it up. But before I could really look at it, Mr. Check caught up with me and dragged me outta there."

I don't really find fault with any of this, considering the typical attention span of a child. Nevertheless, Babs might've been onto something here. After all, finding a map taped to the ceiling of a ventilation shaft is probably one of the most suspicious things one could imagine. But even so, how exactly did it get there? While Babs clearly doesn't have the answer to that question, there might be a way to find out.

"I'm actually surprised you didn't drop this when Mr. Check caught you," I mused.

"Yeah, me too," said Babs, blowing back her combover. "I would've lost it if this blast of wind didn't blow it right into my face. It kinda hurt, actually."

"What, you mean like a paper cut?" said Vinyl.

"Nah, nothin' like that," said Babs, shaking her head. "I don't really know how to describe it. It was almost like the wind itself was tryin' to blow me away or somethin'. Mr. Check pulled me out before it could, though."

Wait a tick. I remember Spitfire telling me about a foe that used wind as a weapon last night, when we shared our Mare-Do-Well stories. It won't be easy to prove, but it could provide the proper explanation to this phenomenon. Although, I can't say I like where this is going.

"Babs Seed, I'm afraid I may have some, distressing news," I said, adjusting my bow-tie.

"Huh? What's up, Tavi?" asked Vinyl.

"I have reason to believe that this gust of wind was no mere gust," I said. "Babs, I think someone didn't want you to find that map, and they were trying to kill you."

"You kiddin' me?!"

Babs recoiled from this revelation, and I cringed. I didn't like bringing it up any more than she liked hearing it.

"It's a bit of a long story, but I'll try to summarize," I said. "Mr. Check, remember what I told you about Mare-Do-Well being connected to the Tengu Dynasty?"

"Yeah, I think so," Mike mused, furrowing his brow. "Still having trouble wrapping my head around that whole thing, but let's be fair here. It is a lot to take in. What're you getting at, Melody?"

"According to Ms. Spitfire, the Tengu Dynasty utilized wind-based weaponry," I explained. "For some reason unbeknownst to us right now, the culprit left that map in the ventilation shaft, thinking that no one could find it. But when Babs did, he tried to kill her so that she wouldn't steal it."

"This seems very far-fetched, even for you, Melody," said Mike, arching an eyebrow. "I hope you have some other evidence to lend more weight to this theory."

"As a matter of fact, I just might," I said. "Ms. Fluttershy, do you remember the state of Sapphire's costume when you examined it?"

"Um, yes," said Fluttershy, twiddling her hooves.

"And, how did you describe it?"

"I-it was as if it was torn apart by a tornad— oh my goodness!"

Fluttershy gasped, immediately putting the pieces together.

"So, wait. The fake Mare-Do-Well's in with those bird people now?" said Vinyl, rubbing the side of her head. "This is getting complicated, Tavi."

"Princess Twilight said that all of the mysteries involving Mare-Do-Well might be connected to this one," I said. "This is not a possibility we should rule out."

Mike sighed. "You do realize if what you're saying is true, we're not trained to deal with it, right?"

"Most of us aren't, yes," I admitted, swallowing a large lump in my throat. "B-but we can't give up here. Not with so much at stake."

"I hear that, Tavi," said Vinyl. "So, what now?"

Rarity fidgeted a bit. "W-well, if you don't mind, I'd like to see how Sweetie Belle's doing. You know, just to check in on her."

"M-mind if I come with?" asked Babs, still sounding rather shaken by the possibility of her brush with death. "I-if I can't find the guy who hurt her, the least I could do is cheer her up." She then bit her lip. "I-I might need it, too, actually..."

Rarity's concerned frown turned into a soft smile. "Of course you can join us, darling. You don't mind, do you, Mr. Check?"

"No skin off my nose," said Mike with a shrug. "I better give my testimony to the cops, anyway. They might wanna hear this."

"Good luck getting that Shamus guy to believe you," said Vinyl. "Last we left him, he wasn't buying our story."

"To be fair, I don't think many ponies would believe us right off the bat, Vinyl," I said.

"The point still stands," said Vinyl with a shrug. "Anyway, until Shamus gets word from Princess Twilight that we're on the level, I doubt he's gonna let us back into the Performance Studio, anyway. As such, this might be our best option."

"Mmm," hummed Fluttershy, her eyes darting every which way. "Um, we should keep our eyes and ears open, too. J-just in case."

I do believe that could've gone without saying. Not because it's obvious, but because I do not wish to be reminded of the fact that the assailant could be watching us right now, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Shazbot, I almost regret bringing up that Tengu Dynasty possibility now. I just gave myself a whole new batch of things to worry about. Well, that's all academic at this point.

"Don't sweat it, Fluttershy," said Vinyl with a sneer. "If someone does come after us, we'll be ready for 'em."

"Y-yeah!" Babs cheered, doing her best to put on a brave face.

I couldn't help but smirk at Vinyl and Babs's enthusiasm. I hate to admit it, but Vinyl's antics do help take the edge off of dark situations like this.

"Right. We should still be cautious though," I said, clearing my throat. "We'll see you later, Mr. Check."

"Yeah, seeya," said Mike with a nod. "Keep up the good work, Melody."

With that, we parted ways. As I walked, I couldn't help but notice that I was shivering slightly, most likely due to nerves. This was really starting to get dangerous, and I can't say for certain if our luck is going to hold out. A Mare-Do-Well doppelgänger is bad enough, but one who can use Pan's Music Code and the weaponry of the Tengu Dynasty? That is quite a deadly combination indeed. Brrr~. Just thinking about it is making my shudder. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm very frightened right now.

Nevertheless, I have to keep going. Because while I'm very afraid of what might happen to us, I'm more afraid of what'll happen if we don't act. That's what kept me going last time, too. And while it's an unpleasant feeling, it hasn't really failed me thus far. Make of that what you will.