• Published 12th Jun 2018
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The Purple Sentinel - keithsterling



One of my old Case files story

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Chapter 2

8:30 pm, Hearth’s Warming eve, Disturbance call: Ridge Garden Tavern, Hope Ward, City of Canterlot, Capital city of Equestria.

Running at their max speed from the Solar Guard Outpost One was a squad of ten strong Solar Guard city watch earth pony troopers leading them was Captain Star Catcher. About an hour ago, a city watch guard ran into the Solar Guard outpost and reported a huge fight at the Ridge Garden Tavern. As the only ranking Solar Guard officer on duty at that time, Captain Star Catcher quickly gathered together Solar Guard personnel on duty at the post and lead them to the tavern to break up the fight.

“Solar Guard! Begin to break up the fight and arrest those ponies that started the fight!” Captain Star Catcher ordered as the earth pony troopers ran in and started to break up the fighting ponies.

Without a second warning, the fighting explodes anew and with the addition of both Solar Guard and the City watch ponies into a full blowing skirmish, forcing the Hope Ward Division to call in the assistance of Royal Ward Division and Solar Guard Commander Aurora Silverlight.

Upon her arrival at the scene of the fight it quickly breaks up, knowing, sooner or later, her own mother might arrive to help her daughter to restore the peace and no pony wants to take on the Sun Princess in a fight.

“Is the peace restored, Commander?” Celestia inquiries landing next to her daughter and folding her wings onto her sides.

“Yes, your highness.” Aurora answers as she hugs her mother after bowing to her,

“So how did this all start, Aurora?” Celestia inquiries as several ponies are cuffed and haul off to spend the rest of Hearth’s Warming Eve in jail till morning,

“All I know mother is that there was a yearly Hearth’s Warming Eve party here at the tavern, and a City watch pony reported a fight at the tavern to the solar guard outpost one. Captain Star Catcher headed to the tavern with a squad of solar guard city watch personnel to break it up. Sometime later the Hope Ward Division called for assistance from the Royal Ward Division and here we are now mother.” Aurora explains as her mother gestures her daughter to lead on as Celestia has never observed how her oldest daughter runs a crime scene, because crime is rare in Canterlot.

Slowly Celestia’s pride begins to grow, watching her oldest daughter move about the crime scene in a calm and collective manner talking and taking statements from the witnesses in the tavern. As Aurora comes around a table in the common room she suddenly stops and yells to Captain Star Catcher to summon the Royal Investigator and Royal coroner to the crime scene.

Before Celestia and the other customers knew what was going on, her daughter clears the common room and pushes them all outside the tavern. Following that order up by having two solar guard unicorn magic troopers cast a seal and protect spell on the building, till the Royal Investigator and Royal coroner arrive at the scene.

“Aurora what is going on dear?” Celestia inquiry as Aurora pays no attention to her mother’s question as she continues to organize her Solar Guard resources into a well oiled machine. With that done, she turns her attention toward her mother who is a bit crossed with her daughter ignoring her.

“I am sorry mother, but I had to get my resources organized because of what I found in the tavern.” Aurora explains as Celestia calms herself down,

“What did you find in the tavern, dear?” Celestia inquiry as Aurora takes her mother away from the other ponies from the tavern to talk to her,

“There was a body of a white pegasi mare on the floor of the tavern most likely dead from the amount of blood around her.” Aurora explains as Celestia lifts her hoof to her mouth and gasps.

“Dead?” Celestia exclaimed as her face glazes with shock,

“What resources are you going to need from the crown, Commander Silverlight?” Celestia ask as Aurora smiles at her mother and kisses her.

“Whatever resources the crown can lend to us, your highness. Till the Royal Coroner Blueberry and Royal Investigator Somnus arrive. I can’t say for sure.” Aurora explains as her mother opens her wings and gets ready to take to the sky.

“Commander Silverlight, I have some paperwork to begin to free-up the resources you might need. So I am heading back to the royal palace to set the paperwork in motion. I’ll tell Luna what’s going on, so she can begin her paperwork and with that you will have the full support of both ruling princesses of Equestria to call on as you need them.” Celestia explains as she takes to the sky and heads toward the Royal palace.

8:33 pm, Hearth’s Warming Eve, Death investigating Ridge Garden Tavern, Hope Ward, City of Canterlot, Capital City of Equestria.

After stopping by the Silverlight Stable, her family home, in noble ward to borrow her Aunt Seer’s field medical investigating kit, Royal Coroner Blueberry Swirl Silverlight arrives at the scene of the crime and sets to work. A few moments later, a gracious older light blue unicorn mare with a crimson red mane and tail, streaked with gray arrives at the scene. On her flank was a magic wand with a shooting star. As she approaches the tavern, the herd of ponies bows to her as she passes in front of them. This older unicorn mare is Countess Ophelia Silverlight administrator of the Hope ward and the great grandmother to the royal foals.

“Commander Silverlight, May we speak?” Ophelia inquiry as Aurora bows to her.

“Of course, your Ladyship.” Aurora answers as she gives her people orders and follows her great grandmother away from the tavern scene.

“Aurora? Why was I not informed of this death in my ward. You know the rules as well as I, when something like this happens in any ward, you are to report this incident straight away to the supervising noble family of the ward or the sitting Princess.” Ophelia said testily as Aurora’s ears droop a bit.

“Please forgive me great grandmother. I forgot I’ve been so busy with the scene, that I forgot to inform you of the death in your ward, your ladyship.” Aurora said apologizing as Ophelia hugs her great granddaughter.

“It’s ok great granddaughter, but I hope you informed either your mother or your aunt about this incident.” Ophelia commented kindly,

“Mother was here when the scene was discovered, so she knows about the incident. She left a few hours ago to begin the paperwork and she was going to tell Auntie about the incident when she got back to the royal palace.” Aurora explains as a smile forms on Ophelia’s snout as Aurora begins to explain what happened in the Tavern.

8:42 pm, Hearth’s Warming Eve, Pegasi mare’s rented room at the Ridge Garden Tavern, Upstairs, Hope ward, City of Canterlot and Capital city of Equestria.

The rented room of the dead pegasi mare is a standard 10 x 10 foot area with a bed, a single dresser with a mirror, a table and desk. Searching the room for clues was Royal Investigator Somnus Silverlight and assisting him was a darker blue pegasi mare with a Yellowish green mane and tail. She was wearing the purple colored lunar guard armor and horseshoes with a fin like helmet on her head. On her flank was a diamond shield with a yellow lightning bolt. This pegasi mare is Lunar Guard Captain Adrian Night Wing. Like his father Somnus found a loyal ally in the wings of the Pegasi mare, a member of Princess Luna’s royal night guard unit.

“OW!” Adrian exclaims as her face twists in pain after getting smacked squarely in the snout by a loose board she stepped on as she was searching the small closet in the room.

“Adrian? What happened?” Somnus inquires as he notices Adrian rubbing her sore snout with her horseshoe.

“I think I found something in the closet, Somnus.” Adrian answers as she backs out of the closet so Somnus could look in.

In front of Somnus was a loose board. He uses his unicorn magic to float the board out of the way and lift a small wooden box out of its hiding place. The small wooden box had some weight to it on one side, so he set the box down on the bed and opened it. Inside it was a small red pouch that jingled when Adrian lifted it out of the wooden box. She rested the pouch on the underside of her silver horseshoe and shook it a few times by her ear.

“It sounds like maybe 100 bits inside this pouch, Somnus could it be the mare’s life savings or a way to start over here in Canterlot?” Adrian comments as Somnus was reading a letter that was inside the box with the money pouch,

“No, it’s not the mare’s life savings or a way to start over. It was the first payment for a job this mare was doing here in Canterlot. From this letter it sounded like it was a specialty job, the full payment would be 400 bits.” Somnus comments as a small iron key with a paper on it falls out of the letter onto the bed.

“Look at this Somnus, A key.” Adrian exclaims as she examines a small new looking iron key with a paper on it resting on the underside of her horseshoe.

“What does the paper say Adrian?” Somnus inquires as Adrian looks at the paper on the key.

“It says, Box 345 Canterlot Main Post Office. it’s a post office box key from Canterlot.” Adrian explains as Somnus takes the key from Adrian and runs downstairs.

In the common room of the tavern, keeping the scene secure was Commander Aurora Silverlight and her 1st Royal ward Division troops. She released the Hope ward division troops from the scene and ordered them back on patrol duty.

“Have you found out anything Blueberry?” Aurora inquires as Blueberry slowly gets to her hoofs.

“The mare’s body is still warm to the touch .so she died less than three hours ago maybe during the fight at the tavern.

My initial finding of the cause of death is stabbing. As for the type of weapon, I have no idea until I get the body back to the morgue. I can’t tell you anything more, Commander.” Blueberry explains as she’s gestures her Medic pony troopers to transport the body back to the palace morgue.

“Understood, Blueberry. oh yes, mother has authorized you to call in our aunt Seer for help on the case.” Aurora explains as Blueberry’s face flushed with happiness as she has never worked with her Aunt Seer on a case.

“Understood, commander, I’ll get right on it.” Blueberry said hearty as she headed to the palace morgue to get to work.

“Commander!” Somnus calls running down the stair case floating the post office box key in front of him followed closely by Adrian.

“Yes, Royal Investigator Silverlight what did you find in the room?” Aurora inquires as she takes hold of the key Somnus was floating in front of him with her magic.

“It’s a post office box key for the main post office here in Canterlot. Do you have a trooper that can go to the post office and look into it and find out what’s in it?” Somnus inquires as Aurora examines the key closely.

“Well I do, but I think it would be safer if I go myself to check out this post office box.” Aurora explains as Somnus agrees with her idea.

45 minutes later, Hearth’s warming Eve, Canterlot Central Post Office, Royal Ward, City of Canterlot, and Capital City of Equestria.

The Canterlot Central Post Office is smaller than the Canterlot Royal Palace where the royal family resides with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Stand outside the main lobby and post office box building was Solar Guard Commander Aurora Silverlight and two Solar Guard Elite Scout mares Pegasus. As the three ponies enter, it’s full of ponies getting their mail from around Equestria. Once inside, the ponies all at once bow to Princess Aurora Silverlight. Aurora’s face grows haggard with worry that the ponies present will get hurt if she just opens the post office box, just in case it’s a trap.

“My dear little ponies, if you could please leave the building very calmly for the moment. The eldest daughter of your princess will be very grateful to you.” Aurora said very calmly and authoritatively, the calmness in her voice causes the ponies in building to begin to file out of the building one by one until it’s empty.

With the building clear of ponies and the arrival of the back-up Solar Guard troopers from the Royal Palace, Aurora’s hooves click loudly on the tile floor. She scans the wall of different sized square post office boxes, looking for right one. On the furthest wall from the main entrance, was the post office box she was look 345.

Slowly her horn begins to glow with a dark blue magic aura, a small shield forms on the wall on top the small door of the box. Beads of perspiration form on Aurora’s forehead as she inserts the iron key into the keyhole of the box. There’s a very soft click as she turns the key.

“Huh?” Aurora exclaims her voice tightens as the small shield she placed on the door that doesn’t allow it to be opened. She pumps more of her own magic energy into the shield causing the shield to get bigger till the door can be opened easily.

“A wooden box?” Aurora comments puzzled looking into the post office box as she releases the magic from around the key. Suddenly magic energy beings to build in a confined space of the box and an orange and red ball swirls in the back.

“Nnnnnno!” Aurora’s voice shrills with horror as she yanks the wooden box out of its space with her magic, running at full speed back to the main entrance slipping and sliding all the way as her hooves can’t grip the tile floor of the post office box building. At the main entrance, she dives through the door as a delayed fireball spell catches her tail on fire. She sits down quickly in a pile of snow to put out the fire on her tail.

“Can this get any worse?!” Aurora screams as her face glazes with shock watching the wooden box slide across the icy ground toward the staircase and through the air into the middle of the street as a large group of ponies smash the box to piece as they run by the post office.

(Aurora lifts her head into the air and her eyes mist over with tears).

“Mommy!”Aurora screams at the top of her lungs as she let loose a shower of tears. In response to her daughter’s cries, Celestia winks in and wraps her pink-purple tinted feathered wings around her daughter in a calming embrace.

After calming her oldest daughter down, both Celestia and Aurora walk down into the street toward the smashed box in the middle of the street. Celestia carefully uses her magic to pick through the remains of the wooden box looking for anything that survived the crush. Under the crushed top, she spied an envelope that looks very familiar to her. The envelope was 4 1/8` long by 9 ½` wide. It was light purple in color with a crescent moon embossed on the left side of the envelope.

“By my light, this is an invitation to the first showing of the Purple Sentinel gem stone at the Royal Canterlot Museum.” Celestia exclaims as her breath catches in her throat floating the envelope in front of her in a yellow bubble.

“How do you know it’s an invitation to the museum, mother? It looks like all of the other envelopes auntie uses to send messages around Equestria for communication. It even has her cutie mark embossed on the envelope.” Aurora doubts her mother’s memory (pointing her hoof at the cutie mark on the envelope)

“You are correct dear; the envelope is the same size and color as Luna’s everyday envelopes. But what you don’t know is that on her everyday envelopes the mark is raised and not pressed down on it like this (pointing at the pressed mark with her hoof). She specially ordered them for the Gem shows from the printer about a month ago. I picked them up a few days back for her, because the printer’s shop is only open during the day.” Celestia explains as Aurora was a bit bugged with this.

“Then how in all of Equestria? Did a dead stranger pegasi mare end up with an invitation from the Princess? I am pretty sure that the personal guard to her highness Princess Luna would know her. but he didn’t.” Aurora said as she gives a look of uneasy puzzlement toward her mother.

“(Sighs) Luna asked me not to tell the Solar Guard about it.” Celestia said

“What happened, mother?” Aurora said sharply trapping her mother in one corner of the building so she can’t get away.

“How did a dead pegasi mare get an invitation to the first showing of the Purple Sentinel without Somnus’ knowledge?” Aurora asks forcefully with a slow, appraising glance that caused Celestia to begin to chew on her lip.

“All right I’ll tell you. But you can’t tell Somnus.” Celestia asking nicely as Aurora crosses her wings behind her and listened to her mother’s story.