Case Four, Chapter Three: Amongst the Ashes
They finally reached Apple Tree Way, a boulevard to the northeast of the city that ironically was completely devoid of any apple trees. The site of the fire wasn’t hard to identify: not only was the house a mass of scorched wood and smashed glass, but it was surrounded by police and fire vehicles. The usual crowd of curious pedestrians stood in a semicircle around the crime scene tape, studying the scene.
Passing around a silver pickup truck, Phillip and Daring pushed through the crowd and approached the tape. A stocky blue unicorn stallion was manning the tape. Behind him, the two detectives spotted Red Herring speaking to another pony.
“Red!” Phillip called.
Red Herring looked up and spotted them. “Let them through,” he called to the officer, whose nametag bore the name “Creek Dancer.” Creek Dancer frowned but lifted the tape up to allow Phillip and Daring to pass underneath.
“Do you just follow Trace and me everywhere?” Red asked with a small ironic sigh as Phillip and Daring approached.
“Think this might be related to a case,” Phillip said.
Red turned to the pony he’d been talking to. “Phil, Daring, this is Burning Embers. He’s a lieutenant from the local fire station. He's forgotten more about fires than most ponies will ever know.”
Burning Embers was a tall, skinny unicorn stallion with a dusty coal brown-black coat. His smokey gray mane and tail were both cut short, and he was clean-shaven. He was wearing a firefighter’s turnout jacket and boots, the logo of the Ponyville Fire Department printed on his left chest and his back. He nodded to Phillip and Daring, brushing his mane out of his bright green eyes. “Hello, detectives,” he greeted them in a slow, melodic voice.
“Sir,” Phillip nodded. “What can you tell us?”
“So far, looks like just another gas fire,” Embers shrugged. “I just wish we could have gotten the call sooner...we couldn’t save any of them.”
“I’m sorry,” Daring said, lowering her gaze momentarily.
“The bodies have already been taken to the morgue, but I don’t think we’ll be needing a COD on them,” Red reported. “We’ve been trying to get some witness statements from the neighbors, but they don’t want to talk to us.”
“Yeah, we’ve met some of them,” Daring said bitterly.
“Mind if we look around?” Phillip asked, already peering around the site of the wreckage.
“Help yourself,” Red said with a roll of his eyes.
Daring started to follow Phillip around the house, her eyes sweeping over the burnt structure. She studied the scorches across the walls, the glass that had been shattered.
“Fire was started by an explosion,” Phillip noted, skirting around a pile of broken glass on the ground.
“I agree,” Embers nodded. “It seems to have started in the kitchen and spread throughout the house. The only way it could’ve spread that quickly is if half the place was filled with gas.”
“Another gas leak?” Daring asked.
“It’s a Phosphero brand heater,” Embers said with a contemptuous grunt. “Those things are breaking down half the time. I’m going to be encouraging the families of these victims to start suing.”
A flash of color in the ashy blackness caught Daring’s eye. She approached through a section of crumbling wall and bent down to examine a small flicker of white in the black. Brushing aside a couple of burnt scraps of wood, she revealed a small white stuffed bunny. Its white coat and blue bow were covered in dust and ash and its beady black eyes stared up at her as if in death.
Something reached into Daring’s chest and yanked on her heart, nearly pulling it out from behind her ribs. She reached down and picked up the toy, bearing it with a quiet reverence, like she was afraid it might crumble into dust if she held it too tightly. The little bundle of cloth and sand felt heavier than it should have.
But then she spotted something else next to the doll, partly buried in the rubble. She brushed aside some of the ashes to reveal a length of black metal piping, shaped like a T with a very short arm. The arm of the T was covered by what appeared to be a piece of rubber.
“Hey! Is this important?” she called, waving to Embers.
The fire inspector and Red Herring both walked over to her. “Regulator valve,” Burning Embers nodded. “Good find.”
Red Herring took out a camera and snapped a few pictures of the valve. Once he was done, Embers bent down and picked up the valve with his magic, turning it over and over in front of his face as he held it in a pale orange aura.
“Wait, this is weird,” he muttered, holding the valve up closer to his face and squinting. “Looks like there’s a hole drilled into it. You got a magnifying glass?”
Red pulled a magnifying glass out of his pocket and handed it to Embers, who squinted through it. “Huh, I was right. There is a hole drilled in there.”
“Why would somepony do that?” Daring asked.
“I don’t know,” Embers admitted. “I’ll need to take a look at it at the station.” He pocketed the valve.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, Phillip found the wreckage of a small metal box that had once been on the outside of the wall. Bending down, he squinted at the remnants of the painted “Phosphero” label on the box. He opened up the box and frowned. “Isn’t there supposed to be a service log in here?” he called.
“There’s not?” Red asked, walking over.
“No,” Phillip said, gesturing. The box, which should have held a sheet of paper where maintenance workers wrote down their names and when they serviced the heater, was missing.
“That ain’t right,” Red muttered, snapping some pics of the box.
“Check to see if the other houses were missing the service logs, too,” Phillip suggested.
“Will do,” Red nodded.
At that moment, there was a commotion from the street. “Let me through, I must speak to Burning Embers!” a familiar stallion’s voice called.
Phillip and Daring both looked up, Daring drawing in a breath in a hiss. A large blue earth pony with a blonde mane and the cutie mark of an overflowing sack of bits, wearing an expensive suit and tie was standing at the tape, arguing with officer Creek Dancer.
“I’ll take care of this,” Burning Embers said with a sigh, walking up to the tape.
Daring watched as the fire inspector approached the tape. The businesspony watched impassively as the other pony approached, then abruptly turned and glared at Daring, his face instantly switching from cold and impassive to a brutal scowl. For a moment, the facade that he put up for the public slipped, revealing the cold, merciless killer behind it.
She had to suppress the urge to flinch, to look away. She locked eyes with him and did not allow her gaze to waver. Monopoly blinked first, turning back to Burning Embers. The mask slid back onto his face as easily as if he had thrown a light switch.
“Have you figured out what was the cause of this tragic fire?” Monopoly asked the fire inspector, speaking loudly enough so that the reporters who had arrived in his wake like moths drawn to a flame could hear.
“We believe it was a gas explosion,” Burning Embers replied.
“A gas explosion,” Monopoly repeated, turning to the gathering crowd. “A tragic accident that took the lives of five members of this community that could have been avoided with some basic safety measures...which our victims, your neighbors, couldn’t afford. This is the real truth of poverty: it leads to death. Ponies that live in squalor like these ponies are less healthy, which leads to increased doctor’s payments, and are more likely to suffer deadly or injurious accidents that more fortunate ponies are able to prevent.”
“More fortunate ponies like yourself,” Daring hissed beneath her breath, glaring at Monopoly’s back.
“This is exactly the kind of thing that the Phoenix Housing Project is all about,” Monopoly continued, flashing a winning smile that could’ve gone on an advertisement for toothpaste. “New houses, designed with safety and affordability in mind, that will help the ponies in this neighborhood get a fresh start in life. Without having to worry about repairs or doctor’s bills, and with food and other necessary services located within walking distance, they will have the money and time that they need to focus on what is truly important: taking care of their families and preparing for their futures. Like the phoenix from the flame, they will rise again, stronger and better than before.”
There was a collection of cheers from the surrounding ponies and the flashbulbs of the reporters’ cameras flared like a miniature daytime fireworks display. Monopoly smiled broadly and tilted his head back, pulling Burning Embers in close to his side for a photo opportunity.
Daring felt like a bomb was exploding inside her chest; fire spread from her core all the way up her limbs, her breath caught in her lungs, and her limbs all hardened. The cursed brand in her hoof began to burn with a fierce fire. “Oh, you self-righteous, lying, piece of—!” she shouted, starting forward.
Phillip grabbed her tail and pulled her back towards him. “No,” he growled, firmly pushing her behind him. “That won’t solve anything.”
“You see these ponies?” Daring spat, gesturing at the crowd. “You see the way that they—”
“Not now,” Phillip grunted, covering her mouth with a hoof.
Daring pulled away from his hoof. “You—”
“Not now,” Phillip repeated in a growl, his head lowered and his brow creased in concentration. His ear was cocked towards Monopoly and Embers, who had turned their backs on the crowd and put their heads together, hissing to one another.
“You can hear them?” Daring whispered, rubbing at her burning hoof to try to ease the pain.
Phillip nodded, gesturing for her to be quiet. Daring watched in silence; Monopoly appeared to be muttering angrily to Burning Embers, who was protesting and trying to cringe away from him.
“‘What about the fires at the project?’” Phil whispered, and Daring realized that he was transcribing what they were saying. He cocked his head. “Ember’s saying he still can’t figure it out...Monopoly’s not happy…‘over budget, mayor’s angry,’ he’s pissed...‘I don’t fund your precinct for you not to give me results.’” He frowned, gritting his teeth. “‘Could give police access…’ ‘Can’t trust them…’”
“Get it done!” Monopoly ordered, giving Embers a hearty pat on the back and standing up with a false smile. Embers nodded weakly but managed to smile briefly before turning away and walking back to the burnt remnants of the fire.
Monopoly gave one final wave to the reporters, then pulled away and walked back to his waiting Gray Ghost. The uniformed chauffeur opened up the door for him, allowing him to squeeze his sizable bulk into the backseat, then walked around to the front. He climbed inside, the engine started up, and the brightly polished vehicle sped away, with the reporters firing off a final salvo off questions before being left behind. Burning Embers remained where he was, doffing his helmet with his magic and wiping sweat from his brow.
Phillip turned away from Daring and looked towards Red Herring. “Fires at Phoenix Housing,” he said. “What do you know?”
“Not much,” Red grunted, scowling. “Somepony’s been setting fires at the housing project on and off for the past couple weeks. Last one burned one of the houses completely down. Nopony’s been hurt, but they’ve pushed the project over schedule and over budget.”
“Cops been called?” Phillip asked.
“The security company that Monopoly hired won’t let anypony except the lead detective in,” Red growled, scowling. "Fucking Cerberus."
“Seems to me if somepony keeps setting fires, they’re not doing a very good job,” Daring muttered.
“Lead detective is?” Phillip asked.
“Night Waltz,” Red Herring grumbled, forcing the name out as if it physically pained him to do so.
Phillip blinked. “Thought Night Waltz worked vice.”
“He does,” Red Herring growled. “But our one dedicated arson detective, Ash Wind, allegedly broke his leg in a soccer accident and is on medical leave. Monopoly specifically requested Night Waltz.”
Phillip grunted, then turned. “Daring, we’re going to Phoenix Housing,” he said.
“You think that this is connected somehow?” Daring asked.
“Definitely,” Phillip nodded.
“You won’t get past their security,” Red Herring warned.
“Have to try,” Phillip replied.
Red sighed. “Good luck,” he called.
“Thanks,” Phillip said. He paused and spread his forelegs out slightly. “Daring?”
Daring blinked and stared at him. “Really?” she asked.
Phillip sighed. “Gotta get there fast,” he said. “And you’re pissed. Flying might help.”
Daring stared for a moment longer, then managed to half-smile. Lifting up into the air, she grabbed Phillip beneath his forelegs and took off into the air. Phillip pointed and Daring flew in the indicated direction.
“Smug, disgusting, filthy prick,” Daring growled beneath her breath as she flew, subconsciously beating the air with her wings as if to strike it. “All he has to do is write a check, make a little speech, and ta-fucking-da! He’s the good guy!”
“Daring—” Phil started to say.
“He’s the good guy, and we, the ones who are actually trying to help, are the bad guys! Fucking great!” Daring shouted. She let out a huff, then winced as the pain of her brand stabbed through her hoof once more.
“What ponies think is irrelevant,” Phillip said flatly. “What we do is more important.”
“And what do we do?” Daring asked, looking down.
“If these fires are connected, more ponies could get hurt,” Phillip replied. “Have to figure out what’s happening and stop them. And avenge the ponies who died.”
Daring looked down at him, then nodded. “Thanks,” she said. “I needed that.”
“Welcome,” Phillip said. “Now faster.”
“You asked for it,” Daring said with a grin.
Phillip’s eyes widened, but before he could take back what he said, Daring put on speed, and the duo became a gray and green rainbow across the sky.
Phoenix Housing Project was on a stretch of freshly paved road that branched off of Pear Street and led into a clearing that had been carved out of a section of the Everfree Forest. The grid of roads was still mostly unpaved and only part of the road had houses around it. Most of said houses were still largely scaffolding with insulation on the walls and roofs; only three houses looked completed. A dirt road trundled through the land and into the Everfree Forest proper; a gate blocked off passageway into the dense forest, with a sign on it announcing that the land beyond was being developed for a federal oil pipeline.
From the air, Daring spotted a concrete foundation that was covered with burnt and scorched embers and ashes and was surrounded by ponies, including a set of burly construction ponies in hard hats, a trio of security ponies in blue t-shirts and caps, and a vaguely familiar dark purple earth pony in an expensive black fedora and flashy yellow suit.
They both dropped down from the sky and landed behind the group of ponies, who all turned around in surprise. “What are you doing here?” Night Waltz asked, his eyebrows lifting.
“Investigating,” Phillip replied, adjusting his vest. “How’d this fire start?”
“That’s none of your business,” one of the security guards, a large green unicorn with a thick blue mustache and beard snarled, glaring at the intruders. The logo on the sleeves of his uniform was the head of a black dog, glaring and baring its teeth. “You’re trespassing.”
“And you’re letting these fires happen,” Daring replied shortly. “Seems like you’re being paid too much.”
“Daring…” Phillip hissed, but it was too late. The three security guards, all of whom looked far too big for their uniforms, were already bristling at the insult.
“I’m sure that you’re very concerned about these fires,” Night Waltz replied, brushing ash off his suit. “But believe me, we have things plenty under control.”
“Under control—” Daring started to spit out, but Phillip quickly covered her mouth with a hoof.
“When did this fire start?” Phillip asked flatly.
“Last night, if you need to know,” Night Waltz answered idly. “The security guards alerted the fire department and police, who responded and put it out after fighting it for five hours.”
“Five hours?” Phillip asked, raising his eyebrows. “For a house this size?”
“Couldn’t put it out with water for some reason,” Night Waltz shrugged. “Anyway, since Chief Tumbler specifically put me on this case, I responded this morning. I’ve been sorting through this mess and questioning witnesses. I’ve got this covered, detectives. You can go back to chasing adulterers and insurance frauds.”
“Hired on this case,” Phillip grunted.
“Well, you’re going to have to refund your client, because I’ve got dibs,” Night Waltz said, turning back towards the pile of ashes. “Now, as the gentlepony said, you’re trespassing. Kindly vacate the premises.”
“We’ll leave when we’re good and ready,” Daring replied. The brand began to burn again, like her hoof was being held inches over a bed of hot coals.
“You’ll leave now,” the bearded security guard growled. The other guards and the construction ponies all tensed up, preparing for a fight.
Phillip looked around, then turned to Daring. “We should go,” he muttered.
“What, you’re just going to run off because some mouth breathers threatened you?” Daring hissed, a bit too loudly.
“Mouth breather?!” one of the guards snapped, his wings flaring in anger. He lunged right at Daring. Phillip pushed her out of the way and sidestepped, driving his knee around into the pegasus’ stomach. The guard collapsed to the ground, wheezing and coughing.
Phillip started to turn towards the next opponent, but the bearded unicorn had pulled out a red canister. He sprayed a stream of pepper spray right into Phillip’s eyes. Phil yelled in pain and staggered, shaking his head to try to get the spray out of his already watering eyes. One of the construction ponies seized him in a full nelson and the other worker, along with the unicorn, began to pummel him in the chest and ribs. Phillip went slack, coughing and retching.
“Phil!” Daring cried, instinctively running towards him. The third security guard, a large unicorn with dark, deep-set eyes, reached out towards her with his hoof, his horn sparking. Whipping out her kusarifundo, Daring wrapped it around his hoof and pulled backward while dropping her weight, dragging her attacker down to the ground. Stunning him with a vicious kick to the face, she turned and started to fly towards the ponies surrounding Phillip; her partner was currently trying to blindly push his way out of the circle he was trapped in, every breath a pained grunt.
Suddenly, Daring banked and flew right at Night Waltz, who had observed all of this from the edge of the house’s foundation. Night’s eyes widened in shock as she propelled herself towards him and dove out of her way. She landed and skidded for a few feet across the ashes, glaring at Night Waltz. She started to fly towards him, but a green aura of magic seized her, holding her in place.
The bearded unicorn had grabbed Daring in his magic. He pulled her in close and tossed her to the ground in front of him. The impact knocked the wind out of her lungs, and the unicorn promptly gave her a vicious kick in the gut, causing her to curl up into a ball.
Squinting upwards, she saw that the other ponies had surrounded Phillip, beating him down to the ground. He was covering himself with his legs, blood staining the grass around his head. His breath came in rapid wheezes, marked with coughs that made his entire body shake.
“Okay, stop, stop!” Daring shouted, lying facedown and placing her forelegs on her head. “I give up! Just stop before you kill him!”
The bearded unicorn grunted and gave a signal, prompting the others to back away from Phillip. He tried to get up onto his hooves, still coughing.
“All right, that’s enough of this,” Night Waltz declared, idly brushing off his suit with a lint brush that he pulled out of his pocket as he walked over. “Ack, almost made this another trip to the dry cleaners…gentleponies, I’m sure that our two detectives have learned a lesson about putting their noses in places where they don’t belong. Let’s send them on their way,” he suggested with a smile.
With a satisfied grunt, the unicorn guard lifted both of them up in his magic and tossed them several feet down the street. Both ponies struck the ground with a grunt and tumbled across the dirt.
“And don’t come back!” he called after them. The other ponies all hooted with laughter and turned away, returning to their work.
Grunting in pain and clutching her side, Daring pushed herself back to her hooves and staggered over to Phillip. His reddening face was stained with the spray, tears, sweat, mucus, and blood that trickled from a broken nose and split lip; his eyes were shut tightly and he was still struggling to breathe.
“You okay?” she asked, bending down and grabbing his foreleg in both of her hooves.
“Water,” Phillip wheezed, gasping in pain. “Need water.”
Looking around, Daring spotted a pond a few feet away, where the Everfree Forest ceased to encroach on the city. She guided Phillip over to the pond and helped him bend over. Once he managed to pry his eyes open with his hooves, she splashed water on his face to wash away some of the spray; he coughed and gasped when the water struck him.
“Enough,” he panted, shaking his head and fanning his face with a hoof. “Help me walk around, I can’t see.”
Taking his foreleg, Daring began to walk him around in a circle; the air on his face helped wash away the pepper spray. Phillip forced himself to take slow, deep breaths, occasionally spitting or retching. It took at least ten minutes before he could open his eyes.
“You’re mad at me, aren’t you?” Daring said, noticing the way he squinted at her with his red-streaked eyes.
He let out a grunt in response. “That’s a yes,” Daring nodded. “I...well, I don’t blame you. That was my fault.”
Phillip growled. Daring hung her head. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I just…” She sighed. “We’re the ones trying to help, and we keep getting stonewalled. It’s just so...frustrating! I try to do the right thing, and—”
She was cut off by Phillip gently placing a hoof on her lips. Turning, she saw that he was looking up at her, his eyelids shaking as he tried to keep them open as much as he could.
“I understand,” he said softly and coughed, spitting onto the ground. “Just keep yourself in check next time, all right?”
“All right,” Daring nodded. They continued to walk around in a circle. “You feeling any better?” she asked.
“Head still feels like it’s on fire, but I can see a lot better, and I don’t feel like I’m gonna puke anymore,” Phillip said. “We’ll have to come back later to see what we can find.”
“We won’t have to,” Daring said with a grin. She reached into her shirt and pulled out a scrap of burnt wood and a small plastic bag containing a sample of ash from the destroyed house.
Phillip stared at the stolen evidence for a moment, then grinned at Daring. “You bloody brilliant thief,” he snickered, then coughed again.
At that moment, there came the sound of sirens. Looking up, both ponies spotted a police cruiser speeding down another road, red and blue lights spinning.
Without hesitation, Daring snatched Phillip underneath the forelegs and took off, ignoring his yelp of surprise. She flew after the cruiser, chasing it as it weaved its way through the streets of the neighborhood. A few minutes later, the cruiser screeched to a halt at a curb. The officers both jumped out. “Hey, you!” the driver shouted, pointing at a yellow unicorn stallion with bushy red hair and a beard walking down the sidewalk.
The unicorn jumped up and started to run, but the officers ran him down in moments. Roughly seizing him by the jacket, they flung him against a car and began to roughly pat him down.
“What the fuck?!” the unicorn protested, struggling as they placed cuffs on his hooves. “What’re you doing?!”
“Coal Dust, you are under arrest for arson,” one of the officers snarled. They both dragged him down towards the cruiser. The ponies surrounding them stared in shock as Coal Dust was roughly pushed into the backseat of the cruiser.
Still in midair, Phillip and Daring exchanged a glance, then Daring began to fly after the cruiser as it pulled away from the curb and turned south towards the precinct.
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Great chapter, had me on the edge of my seat, and Happy Holidays Phil, Daring and to you PJ13!
I sincerely hope that Night Waltz and his cronies burn in Hades for the disrespect they showed to Philip and Daring by the time this is over.
am i the only one that wants her too keep the doll as a sort of remember why kind of thing
The buried doll was more emotionally evocative than even finding Gold Dust's body. I hope that Ponyville PD and Silvertongue's gang all get cleaned out by the end of all this.
Really is a small town, and police force.
I was actually quite upset for our heroes and their disgraceful beating. Hope they get some revenge in the not too distant future. I mean, it really would suck if you had an entire story where other characters in a story just endlessly abuse the main character, and they never do anything to even the scales and the bastards completely get away with the crap they did.
Seriously, fuck Mu Academy. It's been fifteen years and I'm still fucking mad.