The Anthology of Detective Pipe Glass

by The Stainmore Phoenix

Broken Clock Part 2

Pipe was sitting with the mother and brothers. He was hoping to console them and try to make things right.

“Can't you rewind time?” the mother asked.

“I wish I could,” he said, softly.

“Please, find a way to rid this nightmare!”

Pipe tried to smile. Soon, the doctor came out.

“Is she alright?” Pipe asked as Moorland came up.

“I'm afraid.....she passed. She lost too much oxygen to revive her,” the doctor said.

A changeling looking for love within that particular group would have had to pack his or her own provisions. Everypony there was in shock and even horror.

“It can't be!” Moorland protested.

“It is,” Pipe breathed softly. “A broken clock tells time no more.”

Moorland sat down on a chair nearby. The mother grabbed the father and cried. The two brothers just looked at each other. Pipe walked passed and whispered to Moorland.

“This is my affair. Do NOT help.”

She stared at his disappearing figure. Knowing those particular words meant his very foundations of what he was built on had been rocked, and violently. Her eyes widened in a fear she had never felt before. Closing her eyes, she used her Hive Mind to summon four beat guards from the precinct.

A rule from her mom was that their Hive Mind was for summoning Changelings to wherever they were needed and orders given verbally, so as to make sure they understood them. It had happened following a mishap from within the hive that lead to vandals stealing several hundred priceless vases and money. Whenever a Changeling was summoned by Hive Mind from that day forward, it was customary to get to the point without beating around the bush.

The four guards she summoned were not only quick to arrive, but quick to the punch.

“You wanted to see us, Inspector?” the first beat guard said.

“Yes, Captain Silver Marsh. I want you, patrol officers Still Mist and Savanna Mire, and Patrol Sergeant Peatlands to stay on call. Give your duties over to other beat guards. I am going to need you for a specific duty,” she said.

“Yes, inspector,” Silver Marsh said.

She dismissed them and turned to the grieving family. Normally, she could find the words to console those who lost loved ones, but this was something beyond her capabilities. She left her card with one of the colts and left.

“I need help,” she muttered.

She made her way to the one who could help. Finding his office light on and the door unlocked, she opened it to find him on the phone, making calls and writing things down. She could see that this would be an all out deal.

“He's going to put himself through an unnecessary hell,” she thought.

She waited five more minutes and then walked away. She had to do something before he put himself in the grave yard. This was now going to be a masterful disaster.

As she walked away, she wiped a tear away from her eye. She'd never admit it, but she was too proud to watch what was, in essence, her top tier friend sink.

Getting back to her office, she sat there until late at night and once sure of herself, left and trudged the six miles into the moorlands south of Van Hoover. Upon reaching a small tree, she walked passed it and up to the cliff and pushed in a rock, revealing a door.

“Mom's the only one who can help now. I hate asking her for help, but it's drastic.”

She walked onto the main path to the castle, which doubled as the head of the government within the Hive-City and the Hive itself. The queen normally resided in an office at the back of the castle instead of the throne room, which allowed her to handle more of the papers presented to her before bringing them to court.

Moorland found the door shut and a light on. Taking a breath, she knocked and was bid enter. Moorland walked up and took up the seat across the desk from a large Changeling Queen. Her silverish brown eyes looked up.

“Moorland, what brings you down here?” she asked.

“Mom....I need help.....”

“Sure, sweetie. What's wrong?” the elder queen asked.

“It's about Pipe. He's going to kill himself over what happened today,” Moorland said.

“The death of the filly?” The elder queen asked.

“Her suicide,” Moorland replied. “She had hung herself and was later pronounced dead in the hospital.”

The elder queen sat there. After twenty minutes of an uncomfortable silence, she urged Moorland to continue.

“Pipe's taking this hard. He had raced her down and to see her die hit him in his core. He's now swearing he'll find out the ones who pushed her to that extreme,” Moorland said. “I'm afraid he'll go too far and push himself beyond what he's capable of and kill himself.”

“Question for you,” Marshland Knight asked her after a consideration. “Are you going to keep it professional between you two or are you willing to sacrifice that to help him?”

“I want to help him, to be there for him,” Moorland said.

“You have one answer,” Marshland Knight said softly. “And consider this your case as well. Team up on it.”

Moorland nodded softly and exited after thanking her mother. Returning to the city, she was greeted by a beat guard, who reported that Pipe had stressed himself to the point he collapsed.

“Where is he?” Moorland asked the guard.

“In his cramped apartment,” the guard replied.

The two went off and upon arriving, Moorland saw how tiny the apartment Pipe resided in.

“Get him out of here and down to my apartment and can one of you cook up a vegetable and pasta stew?” Moorland said.

They nodded and after helping Pipe onto one of the guard's body, they headed off while Moorland took the keys out and after putting a note on the door stating Pipe was out due to illness (while disguised as him to make it more authentic), she taped the note to the door and locked it and ran to catch up to the guards, who had gotten a good distance ahead.

Jumping in front of them, she hurried up to her apartment and unlocked the door. As they moved him in, she gave a slight grunt of disgust. When a guard was free, she called him over and shoved a box at him.

“Get into that rat's nest of an apartment and clean it out, then turn it into a file room,” she told him.

“And do what with the bigger belongs?” the guard asked.

“Sell them and bring his smaller belongings here,” she said. “This time, I have a dignity to uphold and I'm going to have him move in here with me.”

“But that's against the code of society!” another guard protested.

“Society doesn't understand dignity,” Moorland replied.

They nodded and dispersed. Moorland wasn't going to be idle this time. Pipe was her friend and now, it was time to even the playing field.