//------------------------------// // Cautious Kierra (S) // Story: My Little Investigations: Marehunter // by Metool Bard //------------------------------// December 14, 12:56 Epiphany University Library Building *** "And that's all the books she's checked out in the past week." "Y-yes, Your Honor. Every last one." "Very well. I accept this into evidence." Huh. Whaddya know? We were planning on following up on my hunch about Kierra's research, but it looks like Eagle Eye has beaten us to the punch. I can't say I'm all that surprised; she wouldn't be doing a good job if she didn't follow up on this lead. But still, I hope this new information got us on her good side. Judging by the librarian's reaction to her, I can't say for sure if that's the case or not. Actually, what surprised me more was that Javier Hawke was right by her side. I'm guessing she has a few more questions for him, but even so, why did she drag him here? Surely, he has other stuff to do, being headmaster of the entire university and all. Or, maybe I'm looking too much into it, I dunno. What I do know is that this could be our chance to get some more information out of him and Eagle Eye. I approached them both and cleared my throat. "Are we interrupting anything, Your Honor?" I asked. Eagle Eye turned to us and snorted. "Captain Spitfire. I didn't expect you to come here so soon. Have you found anything with the Proud Pride?" "Some things here and there," said Blaze with a shrug. "They're still working on it." Eagle Eye folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Then, why are you back here?" "A few reasons," I said. "First and foremost, we were going to ask for more information about Kierra's research, but it seems you've got that covered." "Yes, I do," said Eagle Eye, still glaring at us. "And, what've you found?" asked Blaze, motioning with her hoof and prompting her to continue. "More questions," said Eagle Eye disdainfully. "As it turns out, you were right, Captain Spitfire. Professor Kierra did indeed check out a book on Pan's Music Code, and it should still be in her office." "I know. We just looked through it," I said. "She bookmarked a passage regarding the Kurama Tengu." "See, that makes sense," stated Eagle Eye, tapping the underside of her beak with her gavel. "Professor Kierra was known for her work on the Tengu Dynasty; it would be obvious that she would've highlighted any passing mention of them in other books. However, the librarian just got through telling me that she's been leaving bookmarks in the books when she returns them." "Yeah, we found that in her office, too," said Rainbow Dash. "The Proud Pride are working on finding out what passages she bookmarked." "As they should," said Eagle Eye with a thoughtful nod. "But it's not just the books in her office." "You're talking about the death threat I found, correct?" inquired Misty Fly. Eagle Eye nodded. "Indeed. Every book Professor Kierra has checked out has a bookmark in it. It seems strange, seeing as you wouldn't normally leave bookmarks in a library book, but it has yielded some clues." "I might be able to explain that," Javier interjected. "Professor Kierra's biggest pet peeve was forgetting things. Whenever she stumbled upon an important piece of information, she'd find some way to leave a reminder about it." That must explain the cassette tape we found. Still, there's something odd about this revelation. "Pardon me, Headmaster Hawke, but I don't remember Kierra having any memory problems when I spoke to her," I said. "Oh, she didn't," said Javier. "Her mind was always very sharp. She just never wanted to leave such things to chance is all." Ah. That makes sense, I suppose. There's just one problem, though. Kierra's still dead, and from poison no less. One would think that she would be on the lookout for that if she was acting strange all week. How did this slip under her radar? "I haven't the time for such tangents, Captain Spitfire," Eagle Eye growled. "You said Professor Kierra's research was important, yes?" "I-I did, Your Honor," I said, hastily clearing my throat. "That fact has not changed. I just thought this was important, too." Eagle Eye sighed. "If we keep going like this, pretty soon everything is going to have importance to you, Captain Spitfire." "Hey, she was right about Kierra's research, wasn't she?" Blaze blurted out. "I realize this isn't really our job, but as long as we're here, the least you could do is—" "Over—" "Shhh!" Eagle Eye was about to swing her gavel again when Javier placed a talon to his beak and shushed her. I don't know many griffons who would have the balls to do that to the Griffon Magistrate, even if this is a library. It seems to have worked, though, as Eagle Eye withdrew her outburst, blushing all the while. "Captain Spitfire, I ask that you maintain better control of your subordinates," she said in a strained tone. "Won't happen again, Your Honor," I said, giving Blaze a dirty look. "Will it, Blaze?" "I make no promi—" "Will it, Blaze?" Blaze got the message and immediately swallowed a lump in her throat. "Y-you got it, Sis," she murmured. I sighed. "Again, I do apologize for this, Your Honor. Blaze isn't the most tactful pony in the world." "I've noticed," Eagle Eye said with a snort. "Anyway, as you said, most of the books Professor Kierra checked out were on alchemy and other forms of magic. But those are not the only subjects she was looking into." I tilted my head. "They aren't? What else was she researching?" "Law and international affairs," said Eagle Eye. "She even asked if there was any way to obtain news stories from Equestria." "And are there?" "Oh, yes," said Javier, adjusting his spectacles. "You'd be surprised how many students here wish to major in international journalism nowadays." Actually, I don't think I would be. But, that's because I have a better understanding of griffons than most ponies do. Anyway, this might be our big clue the ties everything together. "Out of curiosity, what news stories was Professor Kierra looking into?" I inquired. "There are two stories she copied from our international periodical," said the librarian. "One is from the Manehattan Times, dated April 11th, and the other is from the Ponyville Gazette, dated July 13th." Hmm. I'm not sure about the Ponyville Gazette, but the date on the Manehattan Times article matches up with the Manehattan Music Festival where Octavia met Mare-Do-Well. I need more clarification. "Private, do you remember if anything happened in Ponyville on the thirteenth of July?" I asked. Rainbow Dash placed a hoof to her muzzle. "Now that you mention it, I do. There was some sort of protection racket being set up in town. And Sparkler had a big hoof in taking it down, along with..." She trailed off as an epiphany hit her. "Wait a minute. Ma'am, Professor Kierra must've been investigating the other mysteries that involved Mare-Do-Well!" "Shh!" Blaze hissed. "We're still in a library." Rainbow Dash blushed. "Oh, right. Sorry." I rolled my eyes, knowing full well Blaze was just being facetious. Still, we hit the jackpot. There's no doubt in my mind now; Mare-Do-Well is connected to this murder. Now all we have to do is find out why Kierra was researching all this. "It appears I stand corrected," said Eagle Eye, closing her eyes and tapping the palm of her hand with her gavel. "You do have a stake in this matter after all, Captain Spitfire." "Yeah, we've been saying that from the beginning," said Blaze. "Stow the snark, Blaze," I scolded. "We've still got to tie up some loose ends. Headmaster Hawke." "Yes, Ms. Spitfire?" asked Javier. "We found this cassette tape in Kierra's office," I said, showing him the tape in question. "Did Kierra often record things like this?" "Oh, yes. Very much so," said Javier with a nod. "It's all part of what I told you earlier. She likes to keep reminders around, just in case." "Is there a place we can listen to this?" "As a matter of fact, there is. It's right downstairs. Come, I'll show you." No one needed to be told twice. As we followed Javier down to the lower level, I mentally prepared myself for what was coming next. I'd bet my wings that this cassette tape is going to have all of our answers. Part of me feels good that we're making progress, but even so, I can't shake the feeling that I'm not gonna like what I'm about to hear... *** "Here we are. These stations are usually reserved for students and faculty only, but in your case, we can make an exception." The stations in question were large, personalized booths hooked up to noise-cancelling headphones. Each booth only had one cassette deck, but it was possible to plug in multiple headphones into the same station. Still, I wasn't too fond of the idea of all of us being cramped together in one spot. It makes me wonder why anyone would want to plug in multiple headphones in the first place. The booth is large enough for one griffon, sure, but not four ponies, a griffon, and a hippogriff. "I was always under the impression that these facilities were used to read microfilm," said Misty Fly. "They are," said Javier. "But at Epiphany University, we pride ourselves in keeping audio records on file as well as visual ones. We're one of the few schools to have such a distinction." Seeing as audio records are very hard to get hold of (at least to my knowledge), I'm thinking that this setup was anything but cheap. Then again, Pierre did say this was one of the best schools in the Griffon Kingdom. "Like I said, I haven't the time for tangents, Mr. Hawke," said Eagle Eye gruffly. "Right, of course," said Javier sheepishly. "I'll just get this set up for you all." He took the cassette tape and placed it in one of the empty decks. As he rewinded the tape, each of us grabbed a set of headphones. Just as I thought, it was a bit of a squeeze having us all sit at the same booth. "Hmm. I might want to invest in larger booths," Javier mused. "Gee, y'think?" grunted Blaze. "Suck it up, Blaze," I growled. "We need to listen to whatever's on that tape." Javier sighed. "I'll be sure to look into it," he said, taking a pair of headphones. "Now then, let's see what Professor Kierra has to say, hmm?" With that, he tapped the play button on the tape deck. *** December 7, 20:45 I was visited by the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well today. At least, that's what she calls herself. I recognized her from the Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet as a pony who lent her services to Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom to stop the Tengu Dynasty. But when I asked her why she wanted to see me after all this time, she simply said that I might be in danger. She didn't specify what I was in danger from, but I have a feeling that she herself didn't know the answer, either. Most curious. *** So, our pal Mare-Do-Well somehow got into the Griffon Kingdom to warn Kierra about something. Okay, that's a good start, explanation-wise. *** December 8, 15:04 This is, unsettling. One of my bookmarks has been defaced. It appears to be some kind of, threat. How did it get like this? The students know better than to fiddle with my bookmarks; I made that specifically clear at orientation. As such, I don't believe this to be a prank. First Mare-Do-Well's visit, now this. It must be for a reason. Also, the threat itself is quite off-putting. "You are not safe as long as I'm alive." I know only one person with that mentality, but it can't be her. Can it? *** She must be talking about the bookmark Misty Fly found. Goodness knows why she kept it after it got defaced. Actually, I'm more interested in how it got defaced, but the tape's not over yet. *** December 9, 19:40 Just received a message from Nemean Correctional Facility regarding my information request. It seems my old friend is undergoing therapy while she carries out her sentence. They say she's responding quite well to the treatment, which puts me at ease. Nevertheless, something is amiss. They say she speaks fondly of me, even though she has no reason to. She couldn't have forgiven me. Not after what I did to her. December 10, 16:19 This Mysterious Mare-Do-Well is quite an extraordinary pony. I've been researching her origins, and while I haven't quite found what I've been looking for, the Ghastly Gorge Gauntlet was not her only exploit. It's quite remarkable, actually. In the meantime, I've discovered something quite, well, I'm not sure how to describe it. Under our law, Gypsy Moth is allowed special privileges since Equestria declared her insane and in need of rehabilitation. I don't object to this law, but can't the Magistrate see that she's dangerous? Then again, maybe her treatment is working. I could go to Nemean and find out for myself, but, I don't think she wants to see me again. December 11, 21:48 Mare-Do-Well has revealed her origins to me. I don't know why she decided to do this, but that point is rather moot. She's an artificial pony created by Gypsy Moth. That explains her outburst during the battle at Ghastly Gorge. Still, I'm not sure if it's possible for a ponunculus to betray her creator. I'll have to look into this. She also revealed something even more disturbing. A member of the Kurama Tengu clan is still alive, and he's been in hiding for years. She says he might've heard about the Tengu Empress's imprisonment, and that he might aim to break her out. She won't tell me any more than that, apparently for my own safety. Well, I'm afraid I can't sit idly by when matters are this dire. *** And once again, Mare-Do-Well seems to know more about what's going on than the person she's trying to protect, yet she wants them to do all the investigating. I really thought she learned her lesson from the time she tried to pull that crap on me. *** December 12, 19:04 I am convinced that Nemean is full of idiots. Sure, the ingredients she gets are harmless enough on their own, but she has the means to do horrible things. I suppose that doesn't mean she will, but they know she's a powerful alchemist. Why are they giving her such dangerous toys? M-maybe all this research is making me paranoid. She's getting the help she needs; she has been for months now. Besides, she just sent me a lovely gift. She must've changed. She wouldn't do something like this. Not now. December 14, 00:31 There. I recognize that melody. It's the Kurama Tengu. He's nearby. I-I have to hurry and let Her Honor know what's going on. Even if I'm wrong about her, he might hurt her or-or force her to relapse. I'll write her a letter, tonight. I just hope she responds quickly. *** The tape stopped there. Honestly, I-I'm speechless. It really felt like Kierra was driving herself nuts trying to figure this out. I-I can't help but feel bad for her. Not only that, but if she was visited by Mare-Do-Well, and Mare-Do-Well wasn't around to protect her, something must've happened to her. I know how Mare-Do-Well operates. She wouldn't have let Kierra die. "By the King's beak," Eagle Eye murmured, looking as white as a sheet. "H-how could I have been so blind?" "To be frank, I think there's still a lot of this we're not seeing, Your Honor," I said somberly. "Nevertheless, this tape does clear things up a bit." "I should say so," said Eagle Eye, shaking herself. "I accept this tape into evidence." "Wait, before you do so, I think we should hear that last entry again," said Misty Fly. "Why is that?" asked Eagle Eye. "Professor Kierra mentioned that she heard a melody," Misty Fly explained. "It could be in the background of that entry." "Good call, Mist," I said. I then reached over to rewind the tape, only to find that my hoof was too bulky to press the button. "Um, Headmaster Hawke, if you would be so kind..." Javier jerked his head and quickly brushed a few tears from his eyes. "Mmm? Oh, yes. Of course." He rewinded the tape and played it again. Sure enough, there was music in the background, just like Misty Fly said. It was faint, but it was there. That could've been Pan's Music Code, which is why she thought it was the Kurama Tengu. "Your Honor, I understand if you disagree, but I ask that my comrades and I have access to Nemean Correctional Facility," I said. Eagle Eye nodded. "Normally, I'd refuse. But considering the circumstances, it wouldn't be right of me to use red tape to bar your way to the truth. Whatever it may be, that is." "Hang on," said Rainbow Dash. "What's this about privileges to prisoners and stuff? Gilda never mentioned anything like that when she talked about her shtick as a warden." "That's because that sort of information is confidential," Eagle Eye clarified. "And amongst other things, wardens of Nemean are chosen for their discretion." I then remembered that Gilda was quick to defend Gypsy Moth from Blaze's accusation. I think before we head on over to Nemean, we need to speak with her first. I'd ask Eagle Eye about the legal technicalities, but she seems to be in shock from what we just heard. I can't say that I blame her. "We're done here, Wonderbolts," I said as we all squeezed ourselves out of the booth. "Let's head on back to the Proud Pride and see what they picked up. We'll be sure to keep you up to date, Your Honor." "Much appreciated," said Eagle Eye sorrowfully, heaving a great sigh. I sighed as well. "Look, don't blame yourself for what happened to Kierra. I don't think it's your fault. We're dealing with a very tricky foe here, after all." Eagle Eye scoffed. "Your pity is noted, Captain Spitfire. But suffice to say, I see no reason to add it to the record." "Whatever floats your boat, Your Honor," I said with a shrug. "C'mon, let's fly." With heavy hearts, we left the Griffon Magistrate to collect herself. I honestly can't believe how complicated this whole mess has gotten. Even though we have more information, we still don't know what it means. Even Kierra herself didn't know whether or not she could trust Gypsy Moth. But I'm sure Blaze feels that this is proof of her involvement. Just looking at her now, I can see the stewing anger building up inside. As for me, though, it's too soon to make a call. I don't trust Gypsy Moth any more than Blaze does, but that doesn't mean she did it. All I know is that I'm not going to let Kierra's research be in vain. No matter what, I'm getting to the bottom of this. That's my promise as a Wonderbolt.