Muddy Waters - A Detective Story

by Visharo

I: The Mare

Vinyl Scratch, detective extraordinaire, reduced to this. She sighed inaudibly and looked at the seven musicians who stared at her in various emotions, ranging from outright anger to utter bafflement. The white unicorn, just moments ago, pointed at a brown musician, claiming he was the culprit.

"How dare you!" A bristling yellow mare approached Vinyl with a furious glare. Her speckled hoof raised in an accusatory fashion as she neared. "Yovi would never do such a thing! How dare you, you uncultured slob! You barge in here and accuse poor Yovi with your incessant hoof gestures! If you want to say something, you say it to my face!"

To the yellow mare's shock, Vinyl only grinned. For reasons unknown to her and many others, she always liked it when somebody disagreed with her assessment. She liked it even more when they started yelling. Vinyl's horn started shimmering a violet and the musicians watched as she pulled out earbuds out of her ears. The mare in front of her went beet red in rage.

Before anything could happen from her or the other musicians, Vinyl held up her hoof. She then walked over to Yovidaphone and patted his back almost comforting-like. The stallion in question could only stare back, in worry or guilt, Vinyl didn't know. She never was good at reading emotions.

The unicorn then started ruffling through Yovi's bag, looking for an item that would back her claim. It didn't take long and soon she placed the object in question onto the table. Resounding gasps echoed in the room as the musicians beheld the glaring evidence in front of them.

"B...but how?" The yellow mare stuttered, disbelief evident on her face.

Vinyl grinned and started waving her hooves in patterns and in forms that would, hopefully, get them to understand her thought process. Her explanation was met with thorough confusion and some annoyance. The mare sighed inaudibly, this always happened. However, before she could turn around and signal the Royal Guards outside to apprehend Yovidaphone, a voice poked upwards.

"She said that dear Yovi here was jealous of Metronome ever since grade school and when he got the part instead of him, Yovi lost control for a tad. Thus resulting in this situation." It was like a voice from the heavens. A pony worthy enough to understand the glorious language of hoof gestures. Vinyl turned around and grinned at the pony who translated for her. When she saw the pony in question, however, her grin slightly wavered, but it was quickly put back up.

Nopony seemed to have noticed it as they were too busy looking at the mare in shock. It was a gray earth pony mare, purple eyes and adorned with a treble clef for a cutie mark. To make things even more interesting, the mare had a pink bowtie attached to her neck.

When the other musicians looked back at Vinyl, the unicorn nodded vigorously to confirm that this was indeed, true.

"Poor Metty, poor Yovi." A small mare muttered, tears visible in the corners.

"Poor us!" A stallion cried. "We won't be able to get any performances with an occurrence like this, blemishing our statures!"

Muttering followed, some agreeing, some uncertain, but none were disagreeing. Vinyl decided that she didn't like the stallion. All those prissy musicians, only caring about themselves and their wealth. As if they didn't have enough already.

Vinyl decided enough was enough and stomped down, her hoof echoing through the room, silencing the clamoring musicians. They all looked at the white mare with various degrees of disdain.

"What do you want?"

"Haven't you destroyed our lives enough!"

"I will destroy you! You and your career!"

Vinyl Scratch sniffed at all of them. Their threats meant nothing to her, she reports directly to Princess Celestia after all. After a few minutes of senseless shouting, Vinyl walked outside and poked her head through the door. Two Royal Guards noticed her and walked in with her. The three of them ignored the musicians, and Vinyl pointed at the cowering Yovidaphone. The guards didn't ask questions and roughly picked up the stallion with magic and trotted away.

Vinyl took one last look behind her and grinned at the furious musicians. The unicorn's gaze became curious when she landed on the gray mare. Deciding that she'd been here long enough, Vinyl donned her trademark earphones, blocking out the noise, and bowed deeply before leaving.

***

This was the last set of the evening, Vinyl had to make it grand! The speakers around her blared dubtrot, neon lights danced around her and the room, and the mass of ponies on the dance floor. This was the life. She grinned widely and started bobbing her head enthusiastically, her headphones and magenta glasses somehow not falling off, and started playing with her mixing board, sending the music in wubs and throbs that got the crowd crazy.

It went like that for a minute before Vinyl decided to give what the crowd wanted. She waited a few more seconds after that, and dropped the beat like the professional she was. Cries of joy echoed throughout the club, glowsticks thrown up and down, and Vinyl could only grin with delight. If there weren't any lights behind her, she would've been enough.

The last song lasted for a full five minutes, her longest and greatest. She ended it all with a flourish, the club's lights flickered on and the strobes got turned off. Vinyl breathed a silent contented sigh as she slowly drifted out of her wub-induced high. As she started packing her mixing table, she had the oddest feeling. Vinyl glanced up, wondering what it was and saw a stallion, wreathed in shadows. Eyes, like a hawk, pierced her very core. It was unsettling, to say the least. Before the white mare could do anything, the stallion disappeared. Vinyl could only stare where she saw him last until Neon Lights, her lights coordinator, yelled at her.

"Yo, Vinyl! Got another letter from Princess Celestia!"

Vinyl grinned and quickly forgot about the stallion. Another mystery, another day. This really was the life.

***

Vinyl Scratch walked up to the Equestrian Investigative Bureau of Awesomeness, it's a work in process, considering she's the only member. It's a moderately sized building and it looked like every other Canterlot building with only one abnormality. It was right next to the castle.

Princess Celestia ordered the building to be built right here so she could go from the castle to the bureau with ease and discretion. Vinyl's not entirely sure about that one, but hey, if the princess says so, you don't argue. Vinyl grinned, remembering that day she got hired.

ooOOoo

Five years ago, one a day not unlike this one, a young Vinyl Scratch was lost. Her parents allowed her to go to Canterlot by herself to get the newest Dr. Prey album. She wasn't patient enough to wait for them to arrive in Ponyville two months later, so she begged and pleaded till her parents allowed for her to go. After all, she was nearing adult age.

Now, she was in Canterlot, surrounded by unfamiliar ponies and buildings. Even the cobbled floor was different. She sighed inaudibly, trying to find some landmark she could make her way to, but it was hopeless, the buildings were too tall. She had tried earlier to ask for directions, but the ponies all looked at her in disdain and disgust. It nearly broke her little heart, but she was a strong filly!

Several more hours had passed and Vinyl still had no idea where she was. It was when she was trotting around a corner did she bumped into a pony. The young unicorn was terrified of being verbally bullied again by the Canterlot elite, she threw herself to the ground and silently groveled, tears dripping down her cheeks.

But instead of insults, she felt a hoof underneath her chin and forced her to look up. Vinyl, through her blurry vision, saw a kindly pegasus. Her coat, white as fallen snow, and her mane, pink as the prettiest flower, and a simple sun covered by clouds adorned her flank.

"What's wrong my little pony?" The pegasus looked down with the warmest smile Vinyl, to this very day, had ever seen. It gave her the sense that she would do anything to see that smile again. Without planning to, Vinyl spilled everything. To the unicorn's surprise, the mystery mare didn't question why Vinyl used her hooves and her inability to talk. She appreciated it all the more.

"Ah, so you got lost looking for the music store." The pegasus paused, with a contemplative smile on her face. Vinyl appreciated that even more. Only four ponies could understand her, well five now. Then the pegasus let out a giggle, "it seems that you have found it! Want to come in with me?"

Vinyl gasped in silence and looked around. True enough, the white pegasus was in a long queue to go into a music store called Pitch Perfect. She wasn't sure how long she was staring in awe, but her vision was interrupted by a white hoof getting waved in front of her. Vinyl blinked, then looked at the white pegasus in embarrassment. She was rewarded with a giggle. It was then did Vinyl realized what she was asked and she nodded vigorously much to her delight.

The two of them waited in that line for 20 minutes, just talking about life and the sort. The pegasus' name was Sunny Skies and she never gave her background and Vinyl didn't ask for it, she was just happy enough to have a friend in this big city. Imagine Vinyl's shock when Sunny said that she too was waiting in line for Dr. Prey's new album. When they finally got to the counter however, the clerk was sorry to say they only had one left. The others behind us groaned in despair but I wasn't focused on them. I had my own sadness, I looked up at Sunny's face and smiled wanly, gesturing for her to take the album.

"No, I could not. You came all this way, it would be cruel of me to take it from you." Sunny then bought the album and gave it to Vinyl. When the filly protested, the pegasus smiled and said it was a gift for her. Vinyl was moved to tears and gave Sunny the biggest hug ever.

Her joy was interrupted by a shout. "Hey! Where's my money?" A red-brown stallion patted his saddlebags to only find nothing. Other ponies in the store looked at him in sympathy but otherwise didn't do anything. This didn't sit right with Vinyl, so she decided to actively search for the culprit.

She's always had sensitive ears, and it caused minor problems growing up, but over the years she got used to it. Unlike now, now it is so much worse. Vinyl constantly needs her headphones in busy areas. But back then, Vinyl used those small ears of hers to listen.

"What am I going to do?"

"Poor stallion."

"...shoot, I think I forgot to blow out the candle."

"Argh, I waited for two hours for that album!"

"I need to quickly get out of here before somepony finds me out."

"I wonder, do I need potatoes for this evening?"

Through the cacophony, Vinyl heard exactly what she needed. Tugging on Sunny's wings, she pointed at a fleeing figure. It was a mint green unicorn mare who was quickly getting away. The white pegasus shot a confused look and the filly replied by saying she was the one who took the bits from that stallion. Sunny tilted her head at the filly before smiling and taking off. The mare didn't have a chance and the bits were quickly given back to the rightful owner.

"How did you know it was that mare?" Sunny asked later when the two of them were walking down to the train station. Vinyl shrugged and pointed at her ears as if that explained everything. She didn't expect the pegasus to get what she meant, but it seemed like she did. "Vinyl, if you ever need a job sometime in the future, find the captain of the Royal Guard and tell him that you want an audience with Sunny Skies. That should be enough."

When Vinyl asked how she could possibly find the captain of the Royal Guard of all ponies, Sunny only giggled. "I'm sure you'll find a way. You're smart!" The white pegasus ruffled the filly's mane before trotting away, leaving Vinyl at the train station with an album and an awed expression.

It was two years later that Vinyl found herself back in Canterlot. This time equipped with sick magenta shades and a pair of headphones she got for her birthday. Today she had a goal, to find the captain of the Royal Guard. It was easier then she expected, all she had to do was trot up to the castle and ask for the captain. Once he heard the name Sunny Skies, he let Vinyl right through. Around and passed the various hallways Vinyl went and soon she was confused but, thankfully, soon enough they made it to wherever the captain was leading her.

"Come in." Vinyl instantly recognized Sunny's voice and barged in before anypony could stop her. She trotted in with a happy grin which immediately fell into a horrified expression once she saw who spoke. Princess Celestia smiled back at her, and it was the same exact smile as Sunny's. "Vinyl, what a surprise!"

It took several moments for the young mare to orient herself after that bombshell and it took even longer for her to realize that Sunny was Celestia in disguise. After finally accepting that fact, Vinyl went back to her eager self, after all, if Princess Celestia went through all that trouble to go into disguise, she must've not wanted the attention and awe she was giving her right now. The moment she started treating Princess Celestia like how she would've treated Sunny, the alicorn's smile widened and became more genuine.

"So, what brings you here?" It was the question that Vinyl was waiting for. She smiled sheepishly and reminded her of the offer way back when. For a moment she was scared that the Princess forgot about it, but her worries was quickly dispelled when Celestia clapped her hooves and smiled. "I've been waiting for this day!"

Vinyl gestured something with a confused look.

"Yes I have. Sorry, it's been a dream of mine for a while. I've always enjoyed those Shadow Spade novels and I've always wanted to set up my own detective agency here in Canterlot. I spare my little ponies from the horrors what some really cruel ponies can do, but they do exist and I need help locking them away." Princess Celestia paused in her explanation to sip some tea before continuing. "I almost decided that creating one was a fruitless endeavour but then you showed up! So what do you say, Vinyl Scratch. Will you be my private investigator?"

And the rest is history.

ooOOoo

Vinyl quickly snapped herself out from these thoughts and opened the Bureau's door. Inside was a mess, organized with Vinyl's trademark style. Documents and newspapers were scattered in one corner, a desk covered in pencils and quills, a couch in the center of the room with empty drink containers left carelessly. Since she was one of two ponies who actually came in here, she never really had an incentive to clean up. That all changed today.

"Ah Vinyl, glad you could join us." Us? Sure enough, a pony was standing next to Princess Celestia. In fact, this wasn't anypony, it was the pony from yesterday, the gray mare. "This is Octavia, I hired her to be your partner. I hope you approve." One thing about Celestia, Vinyl learned over the years, was that she was a completely normal pony, just like everypony else. So with that last statement, the unicorn heard a note of nervousness, as if the Princess wasn't entirely sure of this decision.

Vinyl grinned and trotted over. She didn't bother with taking off her glasses or her headphones and peered at the gray mare. Octavia, for her part, didn't do much but look back with a semi-queasy expression. Vinyl trotted around the mare and poked her once on the flank. When Octavia gasped indignantly but didn't do anything else, the unicorn grinned even wider and gestured something.

Celestia breathed a sigh of relief and smiled warmly. "Well Octavia, Vinyl. I shall leave you to it. The new case is in the same place like always." Vinyl bowed mockingly to the princess of the realm and Celestia returned the favor before trotting out of there.

It was quiet for a few moments before Octavia's voice rang out, startling Vinyl out of her content stupor. "Shouldn't we get to it then?"

Vinyl whipped her head around and grinned at the gray mare, she thought she was going to like this pony. After nodding her confirmation, the unicorn trotted over to the messy desk and picked up a case folder. Vinyl gestured for the earth pony to come over and watched in amusement as the mare skirted various piles of unmentionables before coming to her side.

Together they opened the file and peered inside. Vinyl cleared the coffee table and spread the information given to them across the surface.

Victim: Diamond Wishes

Sex: M

Race: Unicorn

Family: Destiny (Wife) (Deceased)

Ruby (Daughter) (Deceased)

Broadside (Brother) (Deceased)

Cause of Death: Suicide. Sleeping pills.

Extra Notes: Vinyl, I do not believe this was a suicide, it's too peculiar. Also, the murderer seems to be calling you out. There's a note here with your name. Could really use your skills here. -Shining

Octavia looked pale once she finished reading. By the time she recovered, Vinyl already had two ciders opened and she offered one to her. The earth pony gratefully took it and drank deeply. The unicorn grinned and took a sip of her own. Imported from Ponyville, the best of the best. She quickly finished it and tapped Octavia, signaling that they needed to do their jobs.

The gray mare reluctantly got off the couch and out the front door they went. Despite how morbid her line of work was, Vinyl could only grin. This really was the life.

Author's Note:

Weee, another story. One that I've wanted to do for a really long time. So what do you think? Hope you enjoyed.

Kudos to Chessie, author of Starlight Over Detrot, for writing that story. An absolute beaut of a story and crazy detective story.

Comments

[new55]

Its a good first chapter goodluck with the rest of the story.

[Visharo]

11515272
thank you!

[Draco Dei]

Other than understanding Sign Language, I wonder what Octavia's qualifications will turn out to be?