My Little Noir

by Colt in the Moon

Two Ex-Best Friends Play

Manehattan’s library was located in the center of town. Like Club Velvet, I’ve never been here, which means I’ve never met Dawn. But, I did know that Dawn was the town librarian. I’m not sure if she partook in any criminal activities, but that doesn’t mean she gets a free pass. For all I knew, Dawn was the guilty one. Well, only one way to find out

Once I entered the library, I felt like my eyes were deceiving me. This place was bigger than Club Velvet! And it was all filled with books. The only corner of the room that wasn’t covered in wall-to-wall books was the front desk. Dawn sat there; she had her purple hair in a downward bun, with small reading glasses nested at the tip of her muzzle. She had a streak of magenta running through her mane, and her light purple eyes were the same color as her fur. To sum it up: she was very purple.

She greeted me with a smile, “Welcome to Manehattan Library, can I help you with anything?”

“Indeed you can, Miss Dawn,” I answered, “My name is Detective Bullet, I’m afraid to inform you that there’s been a murder.”

Dawn gasped, “Oh dear, that’s terrible. But what does that have to do with me?”

“I’m afraid you’re one of suspects, ma’am. Now I need you to answer some questions for me.”

“Of course, Detective”.

I gave her the usual rundown. Dawn stated that on the night of the murder she was working at the library. Figures, I was getting some serious egghead readings off this mare. Then again I didn’t expect anything different from a librarian.

I was about to ask her about her connection to Minty, when I noticed there was a shelf behind Dawn’s desk chair. The shelf had a few family photos, a diploma to Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and one or two first place trophies, with a silver second one at the end. I never would’ve pegged this mare as a sports star.

“I guess you’re wondering about the trophies,” Dawn walked up next to me, “They’re not for sports, they’re actually for unicorn magic talent competitions. Isn’t that exciting?!”

“Well, I wouldn’t say they’re for me. Now, how do you know Minty?”

Dawn smile faded, “You see that second place trophy there? That’s how I met Minty. Last year we were both participating in the competition, it was Minty’s first year. I started a friendly conversation with her. She seemed really nice and kind of unsure about her chances of winning. But, as you can see, she got first place. I guess at the time, I was jealous. I felt like a first-timer shouldn’t have won something so important. But, over time I got over it.”

“Are you sure about that,” I asked, “I mean, at least to you, that doesn’t sound like something somepony would get over. And you’re saying you got completely over it.”

“Yep, I have no more ill feelings towards her”.

I squinted at her. There was something about her hair I didn’t like, and then it hit me.

“You know, at the crime scene I found a strand of pink hair. That wouldn’t happen to be yours, would it?”

“Of course not,” she gasped, “I’ve never been to her apartment Besides, I don’t have pink in my mane.”

“Alright, then what about your manestyle? You would need a bobby pin to make that work, and the killer broke in using a bobby pin.”

Dawn looked shocked; I’d guess I’d be too if somepony was accusing me of murder, “Are you saying that I’m the only pony in town that uses bobby pins”?

I opened my mouth to retaliate, but no words came out. I guess all of her arguments made sense. Then again, she could be lying. Maybe I should go back to the office and look over the evidence again.

I thanked Dawn for her time and exited the library. It had started to rain, perfect.

For all you non-detectives out there, you’d probably be giving up right now and grab a cider at the tavern if you were in my horseshoes. But this is standard case for me. Once and a while a few ponies will admit what they’ve done but almost always they claim they’re innocent. So now all I had to do was find out who was the liar.

I could rule out Fyre and Addams Apple, since they were already in jail for assault. Same goes for Bunnie since she spilled the beans with me. That narrowed the list down to Tootie Fruity, Moonstone, and Dawn. My bits were on Moonstone, after all she had the most valid reason, and the most drive.

Before I could continue my thoughts, a sleek, black car skidded to a halt about a block away. I could make out the figure of a griffon stepping out of said car. The griffon started walking towards me, so I copied its action. As I got closer I saw that this griffon was one I was all too familiar with. Her name was Gilda, and she used to be my partner. We made a heck of a team, but Gilda wanted more of a thrill. So, like Addams Apple, she became a killer for hire. Gilda wore a simple, pin-striped suit with a white tie underneath. A black fedora rested atop her head. But it appeared she was now carrying an accessory: a tommy gun.

“Evening, Gilda,” I calmly stated, “I’m guessing this visit is business?”

“I see you’ve retained your detective skills, Bullet,” she spat, “My boss hired me to make sure you wouldn’t discover the truth.”

“So you’re working for the murderer! Gilda, you have to tell me.” I helplessly pleaded.

“Please,” Gilda chuckled as she pointed the gun at me, “You know I can’t do that. But I will give you a head start”.

I could’ve ran, I could’ve flown, but that is not my style. Instead, I rammed my hoof into Gilda’s stupid face. The force and shock factor of my blow knocked the gun out of her claws. But she recovered quickly and countered with a strong right hook. The trading of blows lasted for a few minutes before I was knocked down. I noticed that the gun was just in my reach. I slowly stretched my hoof to grab the assault weapon. But I should’ve known Gilda was too smart for that. In a flash her talon was wrapped around my hoof.

I decided I’ve had enough and bucked the big griffon off of me. I scooped up the tommy gun and started firing wildly, hoping that one bullet would hit Gilda. The closest I got was a stray bullet grazing her arm. In her moment of weakness I chucked the gun at her. Gilda side-stepped it, and rocketed at me. She swiped her claw at me, which I ducked, but kept flying straight. Instead of turning around, she got into her car. A fool would think that she was retreating, but I knew she was gonna try to ram me. It also turns out that she kept a spare pistol in the car, because more bullets were coming my way.

Luckily I had one of my never-fail plans. I was standing in front of a brick wall, if I could remain here and jump at the last second, her car would be demolished against this.

The run-through of my plan in my head was cut when one of Gilda’s bullets got me in the stomach. I would be fine, but that wound would need some bandages. As the car grew closer, I could see the look of fury in Gilda’s eyes. She was determined to end me tonight. It was now or never, just had I felt the heat of the headlights I flew into the night sky. I didn’t look back, but I heard a sickening crash followed by a deathly explosion.

Gilda was dead; I guess it was for the better. As for my current predicament, I had some gauze in my desk back at the office. Which reminded me, I had to find out who this killer was.