I: The Case
Vinyl Scratch, the one and only detective in Equestria, strolled down the street with a easy smile. Her headphones blearing some dubtrot music and her shades making everything purple. Everything about her was so...natural, so real. Octavia was consumed in her thoughts, not paying attention to the world around her. This white unicorn was probably the most genuine pony the gray mare had ever met, and it astounded her. This backwards mare with abhorrent tastes in music and style, with no notable background whatsoever, yet she has the Princess as her friend and has a sustainable amount of bits.
Octavia pondered on this fact. Her lifestyle, however crude, seemed to be working for her. Do a case, figure out who is responsible, and then get paid. From Princess Celestia no less! The gray mare couldn't wrap her head around it! Then she thought of herself. She's now working for the Princess! Her mind did a little tapdance, but she didn't show it on the outside. A musician must always keep her cool.
"Miss Scratch?" Octavia called, realizing that she had no idea where they were going. "Do you know where we are going?"
The white unicorn did a 180 and gestured something that Octavia interpreted as 'yes', grinned widely, and then turned back, all the while walking. The earth pony was not too proud to admit she was in awe of the unicorn. She wished all her might she could be as easy going as Vinyl, but all her life she was not trained to do so, and old habits die hard.
The walk lasted for another ten minutes before they arrived at the train station. Luckily for the two of them, the train was about to arrive in two minutes. They quickly bought tickets and boarded the train. Octavia glanced at the destination and raised an eyebrow at 'Detrot.' She played there several times, although the city didn't impress her that much.
The two made their way into their designated seats and the moment Vinyl reached hers, she flopped down on it unceremoniously. Octavia took her time with her seat, taking a dainty and polite way. The train soon took off after she sat down, sending her reeling backwards. The landscape outside the window started to blur as the train sped away from the station.
"Miss Scratch?" Octavia started, but was quickly interrupted by a hoof. Without getting up, Vinyl then proceeded to do a dance with her right hoof. "Right, sorry. Miss Vinyl." She stopped again when the white hoof made an aggressive gesture. Octavia felt her cheeks grow hot. "My apologies, it just seems improper." Another movement. "Fine. Have it your way."
"Vinyl, as your new partner, I wish to see the case file. If I am to help you, then I have need of the information that is vital to this operation." Octavia waited patiently, which quickly became impatient as she saw that Vinyl wasn't moving at all. She got out and was prepared to give a stern talking to when she saw that the white unicorn was shaking and had tears in her eyes.
"Oh dear, Vinyl, are you alright?" The gray mare attempted to feel the unicorn's forehead, but that just made the white mare shake harder. It took a while, but the earth pony grew indignant once she saw it. "You're laughing at me! I will not be insulted like this!" The gray musician got up and attempted to move to another seat, away from the mare that grieved her so, but before she could take a step, she got held back.
Octavia turned back and saw Vinyl, tears still in her eyes and had a wide grin, but then she saw the hoof. She harrumphed but sat back down. She did her best to glare Vinyl down, perhaps even get her to apologize. The white unicorn did no such thing, merely grinned like a fool.
Then the mare did something of a surprise. She asked how Octavia got the job. It was out of the blue and caught the gray mare off guard. She quickly recovered however, life in Canterlot taught her that.
"You mean how Princess Celestia hired me?" A nod. "Well alright..."
ooOOoo
Octavia sighed and packed away her cello, her most prized possession. Many hours have been pored into the upkeep of the instrument and in return, the gray mare received notes of sophistication and beauty. There simply was no other instrument like it.
But her mind wasn't focused on music for once. It was on that white mare. The detective. In complete honesty, she had thought that detectives only existed in books and in stories, yet there was one, in the flesh. At first glances, and the fourth and fifth if the earth pony had to admit, the unicorn was of a most uncouth nature, someone unworthy of the spotlight. A vagabond in all the ways that taint a pony.
It surprised her even more to learn that the pony couldn't talk and could only communicate through hoof gestures, it was almost barbaric. Yet, with surprising efficiency and delicacy, the mare had somehow solved the case. The results were met with the expected response of the Canterlot Elite, something Octavia despises the most out of the city.
Vinyl Scratch then tried to explain her reasonings and to Octavia's horror or fascination, take your pick, she was able to understand what was being shown. To make matters worse, she just had to blurt out the translation. Her fellow musicians don't trust her now, giving her the occasional look of disdain. It was suffocating.
The gray mare finished packing and trotted out, yelling a farewell to those still inside. From the theater, she made her way towards her home. It takes 15 minutes to trot from her house to here, which definitely helps with an instrument as heavy as her cello.
Well, she was on her way when suddenly a large shape blocked out the sun. Octavia blinked and glanced upwards and was surprised to see two royal guards floating downwards. The two pegasi then said that a pony named Sunny Skies wanted to meet her for a job proposition.
The guards didn't look like they were the impatient sort so she made a split decision then and there. It definitely was much better then the alternative of having no job, of which she was sure she was going to lose her place in the orchestra after that fiasco. So if somepony was asking her for a job, then she'd take it.
She followed the two guards to the Canterlot castle, which didn't help her anxiety. When they entered, the levels increased. The escort took quite a while with all the winding hallways and Octavia could feel herself snapping from the stress of not knowing what this was all about.
The moment they finally stepped into the room, it took merely a glance and then Octavia fainted. It was most unladylike...
ooOOoo
Octavia stopped in her tale to glare at the now shaking Vinyl. The gray mare was now questioning her choice. If she was going to be treated like some laughing stock by this two-bit mare, then she'll ditch the detective on the next stop. All of the previous admiration was now replaced with searing annoyance. She'll distract her and then finish the case on her own! She smiled faintly as she pondered the idea, but then quickly wiped it off her muzzle once she saw Vinyl starting to recover.
"Good, you're lucid. Now, where was I? Right, I fainted..."
ooOOoo
Octavia wasn't sure how long she was unconscious, but when she woke, she was face to face with the Sun Regent of Equestria. If Princess Luna somehow walked through the double doors right now, the gray mare wasn't sure if she would survive it.
"Octavia Philharmonica, or is Melody?" Princess Celestia's voice sounded as if it tinkled through the air before landing delicately in her ears. It was musical in its purest form. The thought alone gave her the chills.
"Pri...Princess Celestia!" Octavia wasn't proud of that moment. She immediately flushed with embarrassment and tried to cover her muzzle with her forehooves, but then forgot about standing. She promptly fell and her nose bumped painfully against the floor. Her normally luscious colored coat was now a deep crimson.
"My little pony, are you alright?" The princess tittered softly and Octavia couldn't get enough of it. "Most ponies prostrate after meeting me, but you didn't have to do so with such force."
"Ah...oh...uh..." Then a shriek split the air as Octavia shook herself out of her royal stupor, then froze. She just screeched in front of the Princess. She painfully and slowly tilted her head to look at the alicorn in question and saw, to her endless relief, that the Princess was smiling softly.
"Right, my apologies. It's just it isn't everyday one gets to meet royalty." Octavia cleared her throat. All of a sudden, it felt dry. "Anyways, to your previous question, it is neither, I prefer Octavia. Nice and simple."
"And a fine name it is!" The Princess smiled gently, her eyes warm and full of love. Octavia had to mentally slap herself several times to not get lost in those depths.
"With all due respect Princess, as much as I am in awe to be simply in your presence, why am I here?" The earth pony had felt that this was the best way to end whatever this was.
"I have a proposal for you Octavia, one that you might find interesting." Princess Celestia then took a moment to sip her tea of which Octavia just noticed. There was even a cup for her. She daintily took the cup in her hoof and drank in small sips. "What do you think of investigative work? Going around, asking questions, finding clues, putting all the pieces together."
"I would not know Princess, I have had no experience in that department. You might find this funny, but I just happened to have met a real detective just a few hours ago. Funny how the world works." Octavia took a sip, her gaze anywhere but the Princess's. It's simply impolite.
"Indeed, that is actually why I have called you here. You seem to have an understanding of Vinyl Scratch, that is truly unique." Princess Celestia smiled and all Octavia could feel was pure warmth. "Only three other ponies, including myself, can understand her. That is only one reason why I think you are perfect for this job."
"How much does it pay?" Octavia suddenly asked, then blushed intensely at how rude she just was. Her mother would disapprove. Much to her relief, the Princess merely chuckled.
"It pays triple your fund at the orchestra. You get your own workspace at the bureau. Free lodging if needed. And as extra bonus, I'll get you reinstated in the orchestra if you accept this offer." The Princess then chose to sip her tea while keeping her gaze trained on Octavia.
The offer was immense, truly the best of the best. There wouldn't be another one better. There had to be a catch. There just had to be! Octavia stared back, paralyzed, thoughts running at 40km a second. Detective work for the rest of her life!? Could she do that? But free lodging! Lots of bits! She could be living the good life! But that mare, that horrible commoner pony with no tact. Could she work with somepony like that? But what else could she do? There was no other option besides...
"I'll do it."
ooOOoo
"And now we are here." Octavia finished with a flourish, as expected of a pony with class. She expected an applause or at least some respect, but received neither from the white mare. Instead all she got was a grin. The gray mare was getting sick of that grin.
Vinyl motioned something and Octavia understood. She watched as the unicorn levitated out the case file and dropped it in front of Octavia. She then laid back down and closed her eyes. The earth pony watched her for a few seconds and after determining that the mare was asleep, she dived into the case file and all of it's contents.
***
It took an hour and a half for the train to arrive at Detrot and the two mares made their way out onto the train station. Vinyl turned and asked if Octavia had put the file back in her saddlebags. The gray mare hesitated slightly but then nodded. The white mare smiled and then continued walking.
Octavia felt faint with relief. Tucked in her tail, despite how uncivil it was, was the file. She wasn't finished with it yet and she thought that she would have better chances by herself instead of hanging around with this uncultured bumpkin.
"Are we nearly there?" A horrible question that a proper lady should never ask, but this isn't a proper scenario. Vinyl replied by saying that the building they were heading for was Starlight Tower. Octavia pondered on that for a moment and decided to split off here.
"You can go on ahead, I'll meet you there." When the obvious question was asked, Octavia replied with. "I just saw my favourite food chain and I haven't had dinner yet." Vinyl just shrugged and kept on trotting without a care in the world.
Octavia allowed herself a smirk and galloped off to find a faster route. It didn't take long and soon she was streaking along the sidewalks heading towards the large tower that held the answers. While she was galloping however, her stomach rumbled, reminding her that her lie wasn't a lie and that she would need sustenance soon.
She made it to her destination without a moment to spare and waltzed in. She flashed the ID that Princess Celestia gave her to the guards who were patrolling a yellow taped perimeter. They didn't glance twice and let her through. A red stallion in a lab coat came over and started explaining things.
"Okay, so Mr. Wishes was found on the top floor, not the roof, lying in his favourite chair. According to his employees, he brings his chair from his office to that floor and sits there. Nopony is exactly sure why, but it was not out of the ordinary. Secondly, we found a pill bottle next to him on the coffee table. They were under the counter substances that are relatively new so they are unnamed, so far. After you are done with him, we'll take the body to the coroner, that alright?"
"Yes, thank you Mr...?" Octavia stalled, her body locked in a civil war. Her body wants to expel the meager amounts of food she has in her belly after hearing that last part, but her mind and soul rebelled, determined to not make a fool out of herself.
"Salsa, ma'am. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got work to attend to." And with that, the red stallion trotted away, muttering something under his breath. Octavia couldn't catch any of the words even if she would have tried. She sniffed and trotted away, determined to solve this case. By this point, she had no idea why she was doing this, but it was about principle!
It took several minutes for her to finally get to the top floor and it left her breathless. She was met with more guards but a quick ID check granted her access. She looked at the body, felt bile rising up but forced it down. Octavia then shooed the guards out of the room so she could 'work' in peace. After the last pony left the room, she ran up to the nearest trash can and spewed her lunch. It was most unpleasant.
"Alright Octavia, you got this." The gray mare hyped herself as best as she could and trotted over to the remains of Diamond Wishes. The body was underwhelming concerning ponies. A dirty white coat with a dark purple mane streaked with gray. His flank bore a circular diamond with three sparkles set into it. And with a name like Diamond Wishes, Octavia was expecting a unicorn but he turned out to be an earth pony. She paused, checked the case file and did a double take.
The file says that the pony in question IS a unicorn, yet the stallion in front of her was an earth pony. Octavia tilted her head in confusion, none of this makes any sense. She stood there for an undetermined amount of time before snapping out of it.
"Right, clues." The gray earth pony went around the room, searching under and over objects, peeking at newsletters and books, all in vain. Nothing looked vaguely related to murder, sleeping pills, or motives! Octavia sat down in a chair and sighed deeply, this detective job was going to be much harder then she thought. But she wasn't a mare to give up. She just has to figure things out a different way.
"Okay Mr. Wishes, where do you live?" Octavia started rummaging through the nearby containers, trying to find a wallet or a business card, but no such luck. That means there is only one other place to look. "My apologies, but it seems I need to search you."
After a quick search and several bile swallows, Octavia found a brown wallet with a few bits, pictures of his family, and his address. The gray mare did a happy dance before stopping and coughing. "Calm and collected. Now let's go find his house."
***
"VINYL!?" Octavia stood in front of the open door, mouth open in shock. The pony who opened the door was none other then Vinyl Scratch. "How did you get here!?"
She was half expecting to not get an answer, but Vinyl granted her the knowhow with a grin. She apparently met up with Shining Armor, the Captain of the Royal Guard, at the local Hay Burger. It was sort of a habit for them, to meet up at the nearest Hay Burger since every city and village had one, not to mention the food was delicious. There, the two brainstormed and shared info and they found themselves here. Then Vinyl paused in her hoof gestures, looked at Octavia and then asked why she was here.
"Oh, uh, hehe. I went to the tower, Starlight Tower that is, and rummaged through poor Mr. Wishes and found his wallet. This is his address." The gray mare smiled sheepishly, which she knew was all too revealing but what could she do? Tell the truth?
"Oh, is this Octavia?" A deeper voice echoed into the mare in question's ears. Octavia squeaked once she saw the large white stallion loom over Vinyl. After the initial glance, the gray mare did a double take and stared even longer. The two were exactly the same! The coat and mane color was perfectly in sync! They both had the same smile even! If it weren't for her money issues, she would've bailed oh so long ago.
The earth pony looked back up to the two unicorns was saw that they were in a conversation. She was still sane enough to take note that Shining seemed to also know what Vinyl was saying through her hooves. She murmured some incoherent nonsense and strolled in. Dragging her hooves until she made it to the couch and then promptly collapsed. To Tartarus with Canterlot standards, they weren't made to handle somepony like Vinyl!
"Scratchie, if this is your new partner, you need to share things!" Shining put a hoof atop Vinyl's head and ruffled her hair, much to her silent annoyance. He chuckled and put his hoof back down. "Show her the 'suicide letter.'"
Octavia watched as a piece of paper floated towards her, wrapped in Vinyl's magic. It came closer and then rested near her head so she could read it.
Very inadequate, that is my life. Everything is very inadequate.
I used to have a family, now I am the last one. What does that tell you?
Never will I suffer again, because I won't be here. Don't bother with my inheritance, I've got it covered.
Yes to the funeral or that pyre. Yes to whatever end of life ceremony you want me to be in. I didn't have a choice in life, why should I have a choice now?
Long live me! -DW
"This suicide letter is most peculiar." Octavia murmured softly, her body in danger of getting sucked into the soft cushions of the couch. Octavia marveled at the craziness of the pillows before collapsing back down. She tried at playing detective, but things didn't seem to be working for her.
Vinyl laughed and gestured that the gray mare looked again, but closer. Octavia sighed and looked at the paper, but this time with a scrutinizing eye she saves for analyzing music sheets. It took a while and neither Vinyl or Shining made a noise, but Octavia finally saw what they were talking about. The first letters of each row spelled out 'VINYL.' She glanced up with wide eyes and saw that grin.
"Yep, that's why I don't think it's a suicide." Shining stepped in and looped a leg around Vinyl's neck. "Scratchie's got work to do!"
The mare in question nodded vigorously before pulling away. She whacked the burly stallion and then whipped around and set off. Octavia watched her trot away and then saw the unicorn was gesturing or her to follow. The earth pony heaved herself and followed the detective. Shining Armor watched before grinning widely.
"I wish you luck, fair Octavia. Scratchie is quite the mare." The stallion dipped his head in a polite bow before cantering out.
The gray mare sniffed and then continued to follow Vinyl. She found her rummaging through some drawers and occasionally pulling out random objects with her magic. Octavia peered closely at the objects and couldn't see anything of importance in them and muttered a small "what" under her breath.
Vinyl blinked and turned to look at the gray mare. Octavia was unnerved, how did she hear that? Even with her headphones on! The white unicorn wasn't grinning and gestured furiously. It was Octavia's turn to blink. She felt some heat rise up and apologized. Her lack of knowledge of how investigative work works was really burning her. She decided that it wasn't worth it and sat back on her haunches and watched.
It didn't take that long and soon Vinyl had everything she collected on the table. She gestured for Octavia to join her and the unicorn wasn't smiling. The earth pony decided that an unsmiling Vinyl was the most disturbing thing she had ever seen, but nevertheless she went up.
Spread out on the table was several knickknacks. There was a brochure for the Ponyville Ciderfest from three years ago, a faded glowstick, a Grand Galloping Gala ticket dated for this year, an incense stick packet labeled with a maple leaf, and a pin with a bird on it.
"Why are these important?" Octavia asked, confusion evident on her face.
The grin came back. Vinyl explained that she performed at that exact Ponyville Ciderfest and that glowstick came from her gigs. Which meant that Diamond Wishes was either a fan of hers or a family member was. Octavia did a double take on that fact. Vinyl, a musician? The unicorn ignored her surprise and continued. If he had a Grand Galloping Ticket that meant he was a Canterlot socialite, or at the very least, friends with one. It may also prove that this wasn't a suicide attempt as the elite never miss a chance to go to the Grand Galloping Gala. The incense packet was manufactured by a famous company, it might not mean anything, but you never know. The gray mare was beyond perplexed. How is she getting all of this from just small trinkets! And lastly, the pin comes from a well known bookstore.
Vinyl grinned after her hoof explanation. Octavia was still reeling, this was detective work? It was clear the unicorn loved it and the earth pony could've sworn she saw stars behind those magenta glasses. She had no idea how long she was standing there, but she was finally pulled out of it when Vinyl waved a hoof in front of her eyes.
"Oh, sorry. It's just a lot to take in." The gray mare fanned herself as if it would do something. But before she could fully orient herself, Vinyl stomped a hoof on the ground catching her attention. The unicorn gestured wildly that they had to go, something about the game being a hoof? Octavia wasn't sure if she interpreted that correctly, but she quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind.
***
The two mares were heading towards the bookstore Vinyl mentioned earlier. Before, they had gone back to Starlight Tower so the detective could actually see the body and perhaps find anything else in the room, but there wasn't anything that seemed to interest the unicorn. However she did seem disappointed when she found out that Octavia had searched the body without any protective gear or with any care for the body.
Octavia stopped in front of the bookstore with a confused expression. Vinyl stopped and looked back with an eyebrow raised. She didn't have to gesture anything for the earth pony to understand what the question was.
"Why is it called Mockingjay Publishing?" From her limited experience with birds, she was quite sure that a mockingjay didn't exist. Vinyl just shrugged and proceeded to walk in, but before she could set hoof inside, a shout called her.
"Miss Vinyl Scratch!" A brown pegasus with a weary expression landed next to them with a heavy thud. "I've be...been looking for you since this morn...morning!" He wheezed and his poor wings twitched with misuse. Octavia then realized that she hadn't eaten in forever, and as if on cue, her stomach growled. She blushed slightly and looked back up to the mailstallion.
Vinyl stretched out a hoof and the brown pegasus gave her a letter. Octavia watched as the unicorn opened it then immediately frowned. Without any asking, the white mare gave Octavia the letter.
"Great, another one dead."
Stats
Page generated in 0.012 seconds
Total duration
1,018 users online
1,638,420 hits today, 2,782,760 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
That was a good chapter.
11525563
aw, thank you!
Ah, so Sign Language doesn't exist, but like Flutters it's animal-speech, Octavia has a Gift? That would indeed be a job qualification and fully justifies the literary technique of having a less knowledgeable character around so explanations can be inserted into the story smoothly.
Also, I can't figure out what Vinyl was.supposed.to be laughing about? The idea that the noob thinks she can do more than translate?