Death Rides a Pale Mare

by totallynotabrony

Chapter 11

Pale hurried towards Helix Histone’s apartment. If the mysterious mare she’d spotted was involved with spreading the Blight, she might have been watching Helix, waiting to see who came to kill him.

Now that Helix was dead, Pale figured, the most likely place to find the mare was near his apartment. If she’d been following and Pale had given her the slip, it was reasonable to guess she might go there.

The door was locked when Pale arrived. She took a chance, reasoning that whoever she was after probably didn’t relish an open fight in the street any more than she did. Pale picked the door open as quickly as she could, only shifting to a stealthier approach once she was inside.

She swept the house cautiously, finding it devoid of life. The rooms themselves were somehow both clean and messy - Helix’s scientific equipment, while sparkling clean and well maintained, was scattered everywhere around the house.

Despite Pale’s lingering memories of Helix from the evening, he was gone now. Robotically, she went through his valuables, as she had so many times before with so many others. What money he had was in a coin purse in his bedroom, and this she pocketed automatically before turning to inspect the rest of the apartment.

She sat down on the little-used couch in the front room. With no other clues, waiting seemed like her best option. If the mysterious mare hadn’t visited Helix’s place yet, she would eventually.

It took hours, but Pale’s patience was rewarded. Just after dawn, somepony attempted to peer in the front windows. The curtains were pulled, but their shadow was clearly visible.

Pale was on her hooves before the shadow had disappeared. Quietly, she edged over to the door, hearing the scraping of a key against the metal lock. As the handle turned, she jerked the door wide open.

It was exactly who she was expecting. Pale grabbed the mare by the neck and yanked her clean off her hooves, hurling her into the front room and slamming the door.

The mare tumbled across the floor, springing back to her hooves, eyes wide. Pale was already circling, backing her into a corner. She drew her knife.

“I have a lot of questions for you,” said Pale.

The mare’s eyes kept moving, looking for an escape route. It took her a few seconds to acknowledge what Pale had said. “What’s the big idea?” she demanded.

Pale didn’t reply. She’d never done an interrogation before. She’d never had a target she’d had to keep alive. Her instincts told her to move quickly, while her opponent was still too off balance to think about escape or evasion. “Who are you?”

“No, who are you?” the mare shot back. “You have some nerve being here like this.”

It sounded like she was trying to pass herself off as an innocent bystander. Or maybe she was an innocent bystander. Pale pushed aside her doubts and trusted her instincts, taking a few swift steps towards the mare. “Look-” she glanced at the mare’s cutie mark “-Cinnamon Stick-”

“Canella,” the mare interjected.

“I’ve been watching you,” Pale said, her voice sharp. “What did you do to Helix?”

“I didn’t push him off the bridge,” she replied coolly, seeming to regain some of her nerve.

She’d heard, then. Pale said, “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about weeks ago.”

Canella, if that was her real name, took on a different look. “I would have thought you knew,” she said. “Since you and your friends have been so busy.”

Pale’s face kept its flat expression, cold eyes staring down Canella, but a shot adrenaline surged its way up her spine. Who else in the guild had they identified? Did Canella know Shard from when he had looked through Helix’s place? What about the others?

“There are just a few things you can clear up for me,” said Pale, controlling her voice. “How are you spreading infections without coughing?”

Canella stood a little straighter, a thin smile forming over her lips. “What, and give away that little trade secret?”

It should have been obvious from the knife, but Pale reminded her, “You aren’t in the position to refuse.”

“So, what, is that my choice? Tell you that or you’ll kill me? Aren’t you just going to kill me when you’re done?”

“You’re going to have to tell me a lot more than just that,” said Pale, avoiding Canella’s other question.

“Ah, but what if I made you a deal?”

Pale tilted her head.

The smile on Canella’s face broadened. “I’ll tell you who’s already infected.”

Pale’s mind raced. Did she mean Shard, because he had been in Helix’s place? Who else could it be? Could the guild spot the signs of a twitcher in one of their own?

“I’ll add it to the list,” said Pale, more calmly than she felt. “You can start talking.”

Pale saw Canella’s hooves shift. She was about to do something, though it still slightly surprised Pale when she bolted - straight at Pale.

Canella tackled her, displaying more strength than expected, even for an earth pony. She managed to get a tight enough grip around Pale’s barrel to lift her completely clear of the floor.

Pale tore her wings loose and jerked herself out of Canella’s grip. She whirled, using the momentary distraction to land a hind hoof in a spinning kick to Canella’s face. It knocked her against the wall, and Pale was on her in an instant, pinning her on her back, knife at her throat.

The veil covering Pale’s face had come loose and her eyes bored into Canella’s. Based on Canella’s expression, Pale wasn’t sure if her look or her knife was more effective at keeping Canella still.

“I don’t know what you think your purpose in life is,” Pale hissed. “But if you don’t start talking, I’m going to start cutting.”

That was when Canella coughed.

Pale jumped back as Canella curled up on the floor in a wracked fit of coughing. Specs of blood flew out of her mouth onto the carpet.

Pale ran for the back door.

As she reached the outside, however, she paused. Something didn’t make sense. Twitchers were not aware of their condition, only being infected unknowingly and by chance. They also weren’t infectious until blooming. Canella was both cognizant of the Blight and actively involved in spreading it. She seemed too knowledgeable and well-informed to have only known about it for the month it would have taken for the Blight to fully infect her. She seemed too smart and ambitious to throw away her own life in a bloom.

Pale carefully tucked her wings away and replaced her veil. She crept around the front of the building and stood outside the front door. The coughing had stopped. Two or three minutes passed, and then she heard movement from inside.

The door opened. Canella had time to look surprised, but wasn’t quick enough to avoid Pale’s hoof to her face.

The blow sent her sprawling and Pale followed her punch in. Canella’s mouth was already bloody even before getting hit. Coughing up blood wasn’t part of a bloom.

Canella scrambled back as Pale advanced. She lifted her head and spit, the wad of saliva and blood catching on the veil over Pale’s face.

Pale put a hoof under her chin and held her mouth closed. Again, she pinned Canella to the floor. “You know, you were right about earlier. I was planning to kill you. Do you want to delay that? Start talking.”

Canella’s eyes avoided Pale’s look. It secretly pleased Pale that the fight had been knocked out of her. Either from seeing who Pale really was, or from literally being knocked around.

There was still one last bit of defiance in her, though. Canella took a deep breath in preparation to speak and finally met Pale’s eyes. “I told you I would tell you who was infected. It’s the changeling.”

It took Pale three seconds to absorb that. Canella knew what would happen to her as soon as Pale fought through the shock, but she still gasped and struggled when Pale brought her weight down behind the knife. The blade bit all the way through the flesh of Canella’s throat to the bone of her spine before Pale stopped.

Pale got up, sucking in a breath through clenched teeth. She wanted to keep stabbing, but fought for control. Canella was already dead.

Pale breathed and closed her eyes for a moment. She walked back to the body and pried open the mouth with her knife. The tongue was bitten and bloody.

Canella had intentionally added blood to her performance of a bloom. Surely if she knew what a bloom was like then she knew that wasn’t part of it? Had it been an intentional setup to spit at Pale?

Was that how the Blight was spreading without blooms?

Pale washed her knife in the kitchen sink. She found a lamp, lit it, and held the blade in the flame until it was blackened with soot. If Canella’s blood was infectious, Pale was taking no chances.

She removed her veil and wrapped it up for safekeeping. She took a cloak from Helix’s closet. As tall as he was, it fit her. Adjusting her headscarf to better conceal herself, she made ready to destroy the evidence and leave.

Pale took the still-burning oil lamp and smashed it to the floor in Canella’s face. Flames leapt up around the body and Pale walked out the door.

Comments

[BlueNinja]

“I would have thought you knew,” she said. “Since you and your friends have been so busy.”

Well, that's not good.

“I’ll tell you who’s already infected.”

Starting with Pale, I imagine.

That was when Canella coughed.

Hmm ... seems like she's a Typhoid Mary, except a knowing one - someone infected, who can spread it via the cough without dying afterwards like a normal twitcher. Also, gives her a great chance to screw with Pale's group by throwing out confusing, pattern-breaking infections.

Had it been an intentional setup to spit at Pale?

Ooh, hadn't thought of that angle. Also possible though.

she made ready to destroy the evidence and leave.

I do not envy whatever policepony ends up investigating this. I'd tell them to call DetectiveCaptain Hard Boiled of the Detrot PD for help, but that might bring more problems than it solves.

[bloons3]

8173028
"Why are all these ponies burning to death?!"

[BlueNinja]

8174064 "What happened to him?" "He was hung, stabbed, shot, poisoned, thrown out of a building, drowned, and then set on fire." "Wow. They really didn't like him much." "Nope. Discord has that effect on people." "I'm perfectly fine, and I can hear everything you're saying."