A Haunting in Canterlot

by Mr Movie Magic

Six: The Case of the Stone Ponies, Part 2

Canterlot, Undisclosed Location, 0800 hours.

Lyra, Bon Bon, and Agent Bravo have called the mare whose husband was petrified for interrogation. The mare and Agent Bravo sat at opposite ends of the table. In front of Agent Bravo was the mare's incident report which Lyra had written out, a notepad, an inkwell, and a quill. In front of the mare was a glass of water. Lyra sat at another end of the table. The two S.M.I.L.E. agents made their meeting with the mare a comfortable one. Meanwhile, Bon Bon went out to search for clues around the ponies she had seen petrified last night while she was in pursuit of the Phantom.

"Name, please," said Agent Bravo. "Could I please get your name?"

"Azimuth," the mare replied.

"And your husband's name?" Could I get your husband's name, please?"

"Z -Zenith," Azimuth responded with a catch in her throat.

"Miss Azimuth," Lyra began, "we are trying to identify the Phantom. Please explain to us as best you can what you saw the night your..." Her voice trailed off. She was going to, but couldn't bring herself to, say, "the night your husband had been petrified," and knew Azimuth wouldn't want to hear such words either.

Azimuth took a moment to compose herself. "Zenith and I were avid stargazers," she explained. "We were on our way to the park to observe the night sky. I heard a chirping noise, like a chicken. I saw to red eyes hurrying toward us. Zenith knew it was a cockatrice. He put his hoof over my eyes and told me not to look. The next thing I know, he was... he was..." she began to sob. "I'm sorry."

Lyra patted Azimuth on the shoulder and offered a tissue from the box on the table.

"I realize this is difficult," started Agent Bravo. "This is difficult, I know, but could you tell us if you saw anypony suspicious? Any suspicious characters?"

Azimuth dried her eyes. "Somepony did chase away the cockatrice," she clarified.

"Who was this pony? Did you see who the pony was?"

"I didn't see their face. They were wearing a hood. It must have been a cloak. I had thought it was the Constable in his duster."

Agent Bravo took notes of everything Azimuth explained. "The color. Did you notice the color of the cloak?" he asked.

"It could have been black," Azimuth answered. "Or maybe dark blue. I really can't say with certainty."

Agent Bravo wrote these observations in his notepad. He finished and looked up at Azimuth. "Thank you, Miss Azimuth, thank you. We've got everything we need."

---

Canterlot Station, 1000 hours.

The Friendship Express pulled into the station right on schedule. Lyra stood on the platform, carefully scanning the crowd of ponies. Among the disembarking passengers were Twilight and Starlight. Twilight's presence didn't go without a warm welcome from the ponies.

"Your Majesty," one pony genuflected.

"It's Princess Twilight!" exclaimed another pony.

"Hello, everypony," Twilight greeted. She put her hoof on the shoulder of the genuflecting pony. "You don't have to bow. It's okay."

"Twilight!" exclaimed a voice.

The Princess of Friendship looked up to see her Canterlot friend, Lyra.

"Lyra!" Twilight called out with as much excitement as Lyra had.

"It's good to see you, Twilight," said Lyra. "Oops! I mean, Princess Twilight," she corrected herself with an expression of embarrassment.

"Please, just call me Twilight." She gestured toward Starlight. "And this is Starlight," she introduced. "Starlight, this is Lyra. She was one of my friends growing up here in Canterlot."

"Hello, Lyra," said Starlight. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine, Starlight," said Lyra. She addressed both Starlight and Twilight, "I don't mean to cut our welcomes short, but we really must speak to you, Starlight. We have a few questions for you, too, Twilight. If you'll please come with me, we can get started."

---

Canterlot, Undisclosed Location, 1030 hours.

Lyra and Agent Bravo met with Starlight first. Starlight sat opposite Agent Bravo. Lyra occupied the third seat at the table. In front of Agent Bravo was Starlight's incident report, his inkwell, quill, and notepad. In front of Starlight was a glass of water.

"Name, please," said Agent Bravo. "Could I please get your name?"

Starlight was nervous. "Starlight," she answered. "Starlight Glimmer." She swallowed hard.

Lyra could tell that Starlight was nervous. She's playing with the ends of her mane. A nervous tick, perhaps? she observed.

"Miss Starlight, we've called you here to help us identify the Phantom," said Agent Bravo. "What can you tell us about the identity of the Phantom?"

"I don't know who it was," Starlight answered. "I just remember seeing red eyes."

"What else? Is there anything else you can tell us?"

Starlight took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Lyra asked.

"I'm fine," Starlight replied. "It's a lot of pressure. I'm just getting back into the world. One of my best friends was turned to stone."

"It's alright. We're here to help. Is there anything else about the Phantom you can remember? Or of the night in question?"

"Just some chittering noises."

Like before, Agent Bravo took notes. "These noises," he began. "What made these noises?"

"It had to have been the Phantom," Starlight answered. "There was nopony else around."

"Something else. So, there is a chance that something else was making the noises?"

"I, uh, I suppose so."

"Concerning the Phantom's appearance, what do you remember of its appearance?"

"It was about average height."

"Average height for a pony? Please define average height."

"For a pony, yes. It was about my height."

"Concerning the Phantom's attire, what sort of attire was the Phantom wearing?"

"It was wearing a black cloak. It had the hood up so I couldn't see its face. Just its eyes." Agent Bravo continued to take notes as Starlight proceeded, "It was weird. When I saw its eyes, I felt sort of funny. It was like I couldn't move, like I couldn't feel anything. The Phantom started shaking and then it just ran off. Once it left, I felt fine."

Agent Bravo finished writing his notes. "Thank you, Miss Starlight. Your testimony will help us find the Phantom. Thank you."

Lyra walked Starlight to the door.

"You did well, Starlight," said Lyra. "Thank you for your cooperation."

Twilight was waiting outside. The door opened and Lyra and Starlight walked out.

"Twilight, I just have a few for you," Lyra said. "This'll just take a minute."

Twilight followed her inside.

Agent Bravo was studying Starlight and Azimuth's accounts. He looked up to greet Twilight. "Good morning, Princess Twilight. I hope your morning is going well. Is there anything I can get you? Can I get you anything?"

"Good morning, sir," Twilight replied. "Just call me Twilight. You don't have to get me anything. I'm fine."

Agent Bravo bowed his head and returned to his studies.

"What's going on, Lyra?" asked Twilight.

"Twilight, have you ever read a book called The Peculiar Perusal of the Petrified Ponies?" Lyra questioned.

"Of course! I have the whole series. I've read each one several times."

"What can you tell me about Spring-Hoofed Jack?"

"I know that there is considerable debate over his existence. There are accounts of his meeting with ponies in Canterlot, none of which have ever proven to be true. As far as The Peculiar Perusal of the Petrified Ponies goes, it's one of many pony dreadfuls written at the height of Spring-Hoofed Jack popularity and interest."

"In these accounts you mentioned, what do they say of Spring-Hoofed Jack turning ponies to stone?"

"They make no mention of his petrifying anypony."

Hmmm. This rules him out as a suspect, Lyra thought to herself. She jotted down these notes. "Okay, Twilight. That's all I wanted to ask you."

"I'm happy I could help you, Lyra," replied Twilight. "If you ever want to borrow any of my Spring-Hoofed Jack books, my library is your library."

---

Canterlot, Undisclosed Location, 1130 hours.

Lyra and Agent Bravo compared Starlight and Azimuth's incident reports and accounts. There were three things which they concluded: 1) chittering sounds, 2) red eyes, and 3) a ponyesque figure in a dark-colored cloak. Nothing seemed to identify the Phantom. Azimuth's account specifically stated a cockatrice turned her husband to stone, but Starlight's account suggested otherwise, though it wasn't without the possibility that it could be a cockatrice.

"I've got it!" exclaimed Lyra. "Our culprit is a cockatrice. Azimuth said a cockatrice petrified her husband. Starlight wasn't totally sure what made the noises she heard, but we can't rule cockatrice out. They both reported seeing red eyes and hearing chirping sounds. A cockatrice has red eyes and makes chirping sounds. Now look at this." She pointed to specific lines in Detective Gumhoof's report. "In the Everfree Forest, Detective Gumhoof notes that the suspect walked on three legs, then stood on two legs, and on three legs again." She elaborated, "The 'Phantom' walked on three legs because it was holding the cockatrice. It stood on two legs when it held up the cockatrice to petrify the manticore and Trixie. In Azimuth's account, it wasn't the Constable who chased the cockatrice away. It was the cloaked pony trying to get the cockatrice back because it had escaped."

"Incredible, Agent Heartstrings!" Agent Bravo exclaimed. "Incredible!"

Having completed her field work, Bon Bon returned to their base of operation.

"Bon Bon! We've just uncovered a piece of this mystery," Lyra announced with excitement. "It was a cockatrice who turned those ponies to stone, but that's only one side of the coin. We still don't know the identity of the cloaked figure."

"Well I've got the other side of that coin right here," said Bon Bon. She explained, "It was brought to my attention that a camera was discovered at the Equestria Daily Inquirer. There was a message attached reading, 'Develop in case I'm turned to stone.' The film has been developed and the photographs have revealed the identity of the Phantom, the cloaked suspect, that is, and the owner of the broken glasses I found."