A playing at a private estate was hardly unordinary for Octavia, despite how early in her career she still was. The murder of a groom to be right after their engagement? Less so.
Despite moving to Ponyville, Octavia's career is going strong. In high society, name and recognition is everything, this is holds true for anypony who wishes to work in those circles. So sometimes having a reputation helps in getting those well paying jobs at private parties.
But sometimes? Sometimes Octavia hates her reputation. Because when a pony is found dead in the estate of House Radon, every eye turns to her to figure out who killed the pony, including the main suspect herself: Lyra Heartstrings.
With the rest of Canterlot a blizzard away, help is not likely to show up any time soon. So not only will Octavia have to figure out who among the guests is a killer, she'll also need to confront past demons she wishes she'd left behind.
Octavia flopped on the bed in her room, a sigh escaping her lips. A quick glance out the window and the blizzard that swirled outside made the situation clear; she wouldn't be going home today either.
Most jobs she took didn't offer lodging, though this was hardly the first time she'd been offered it. No, what was more unique was the situation itself. She, and another musician, had been commissioned to play at a private party held at House Radon's estate in Canterlot.
That's when the blizzard hit, naturally.
Now, saying that House Radon's estate was locating in Canterlot was technically correct, but only by the definitions of where the city boundaries were drawn. The mansion was located on almost the opposite side of the mountain, a place that had significantly less priority when it came to the city's weather team.
The current state of the weather simply made it unsafe to travel back to the city proper, which is why all the guests, or otherwise, had been offered rooms till the storm settled.
Thankfully she wouldn't miss any of her future jobs. She only had a few things lined up before the grand galloping gala, and that was half a year away. The next thing she was set to do was an orchestral performance a week from now.
One of those fancy new plays needed accompanying music. She didn't fancy them herself, but it would keep her busy for a few months before the hype died down and the backing music got downscaled to something cheaper.
Frantic knocking brought her out of her reverie and drew her gaze from the window.
"Come in," she hadn't even got the words out before the door burst open and a mint unicorn rushed into the room with a frantic expression on her muzzle.
Lyra Hearthstrings, unicorn mare, her special talent was playing the lyre and she had a background in-
Octavia let out a tsk as she caught herself in that mindset again. Shaking her head and sitting up, she raised her voice. "What can I do for you Lyra?"
"I need your help!" The distress was clear in her voice, not to mention the frantic prancing in place.
She didn't let herself sigh. Lyra had a tendency to get worked up over the smallest of things. She'd probably just misplaced her instrument... again.
"Pen is dead!"
Octavia blinked. "Pardon?"
"Pen, you know, the guest of honour?"
She nodded, all while trying to get her mind to catch up.
"He's dead, somepony killed him!"
Octavia put a hoof to her forehead and sighed. There were two scenarios here: Either Lyra had gotten something silly in her head again and was getting herself worked up over nothing, or- she could feel her body tensing up -a pony just died in the same building she was in.
After a taking a moment she opened her eyes again. "And pray tell, what do you need my help for?"
"They think I did it!"
Octavia drew a deep breath as she clasped the familiar bracelet to her front leg, moving her hoof around slightly to get used to the weight that came with it. With the last of the things she needed retrieved, she closed her travelling bag.
Not long after Lyra showed up, the ponies she'd ran away from had caught up to her. Octavia had eventually ended up ushering them all out of her room to get a moment to breath. She was struggling hard to not lock up in anxiety, she thought she was past all that, that she'd moved beyond it.
Then the past decided to rear it's ugly head.
She grimaced. She didn't know what was going on yet, no reason to jump to conclusions. Not that anything at this point would stop her mind from pointing out all the similarities.
"Let's just get this over with," she mumbled and pushed her door open. Waiting on the other side was Lyra, everyone else had moved to the library, where the body had been found, supposedly.
The unicorn that she'd considered a close friend for years flashed her a weak smile; she could tell that they were nervous.
"Alright, so why did you come running to me?" She said as she fell in line beside her friend, the two of them heading for the staircase at the end of the hall.
"Well," the mint unicorn started. "I figure if anyone could help me, it would be you, and..." Lyra hurried in front of her and stared into her eyes. "Plus you believe me, that I didn't do it, right?"
The pleading look on her face didn't suit her, not in the slightest. With a sigh Octavia put a hoof on her friend's shoulder.
"Obviously Lyra, you haven't got a bad bone in your body," she could see the unicorn relax as she spoke. "Now come, the others are expecting us in the library."
Lyra fell in step beside her again as she pressed on. "So you'll clear my name?"
She glanced at her friend. "What do you mean?"
"Well, everyone knows about the 'Trial for Call', and how you solved the entire thing."
Octavia could feel lead forming in her stomach.
"The mare who solved the entire plot against Equestria and managed to nail the pony that murdered Countess Call," Lyra continued.
She grit her teeth.
"You're practically a hero!"
Octavia stopped, her muscles were tensing up. Lyra continued for a few steps before she stopped and glanced back.
"Octa-"
"Firstly," she interrupted. "I didn't solve the murder, that was the guard mare. Secondly!"
She was about to continue before she caught herself. Putting a hoof on her forehead she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She had to remember, the entire trial for the murderer of Countess Call had been a huge public affair... despite being a closed trial.
Most ponies only knew what they had read in the newspapers, however erroneous those words were.
"Look," she eventually continued. "I'm not some miracle detective like the newspapers printed Lyra. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I almost died."
Lyra flinched back.
On so many levels she wanted to tell Lyra what had happened all those years ago, she'd nearly cracked and spilled it all to the unicorn at several occasions. But she couldn't, the truth of the event surrounding Countess Call's death could not become public knowledge.
"We were lucky that the reserve guard happened to be at the party Lyra, she's the one who solved the murder, not me."
Of course, with what little the media had learned of the case, they'd spun the story as if she had solved the entire thing basically on her own. 'The filly that stopped the treacherous plot against Equestria' the headlines would read; what a farce.
Lyra frowned, her distress returning "So it was all a lie then, you didn't do anything?"
"It's... complicated," she rubbed her hoof against where the bracelet rested. "I helped out a bit, but I spent most of that event just following the guardmare around."
She could see the hope in Lyra's eyes die, a whine escaping their mouth.
Octavia sighed. "I'll do what I can, okay?"
She took in the sight of everyone in the library. At first she was expecting more faces, but then she remembered that the entire mansion staff had been let off early the day before as the storm started so they could get home to their families.
She walked over to the dead body on the floor that everyone was staying well and truly clear from. Just taking in the sight she couldn't stop her mind from starting to take notes of it all.
Graphite Pen, pegasus stallion. He was about her age, his coat a dark black with a gray mane. His body was lying on it's side in a pool blood. A large wound could be seen on his throat, whoever had done it had not been precise.
Taking her eyes off the body and taking in the rest of the room, the library was hardly modest. But then, what noble estate was? Huddled in a corner were the rest of the ponies. She counted ten with herself and Lyra; most of them were unicorns.
To be perfectly honest, she didn't know any one of them all that well. As putrid as nobles could be, she couldn't say that she thought anyone present would have what it took to kill another pony. And yet, young Pen being dead proved otherwise. Even if it was an accident, whoever responsible was willing enough to cover it up.
What had she said again, the pegasus that took charge of that other murder investigation? Octavia couldn't recall, but she did distinctly remember interviewing each and every pony. More information was more to work with, after all. Previously she'd not cared the slightest for the lot, now she had little choice.
Because no matter what, she'd not leave Lyra out in the cold.
Octavia sighed, this was going to be difficult. The mare in front of her seemed completely de-attached, lying almost lifeless on the sofa, their white coat stained dark with tears. She shook her head, if she was to do this to clear Lyra's name, then she needed to do it properly.
"I'm sorry if this going to be a bit formal," she said as she stepped closer.
"It- it's alright dear," the mare snivelled. "I would expect nothing else of a famous detective."
Octavia frowned, she was definitely not one of those. She knew the papers had printed make-believe stories about her, but she didn't know it had gotten quite that bad.
"So, name?" She removed the notebook from her saddlebag and put it on the room's lone desk. She had opted to take one of the smaller reading rooms attached to the library to conduct her interviews.
"Ice Top."
Octavia nodded and started taking notes. She already knew who Ice Top was, of course, seeing as she was the one who hired her for the event. Still, it didn't hurt writing it down, it might be useful for the guards once they actually showed up. Knowing her luck though, that wouldn't be until well after the storm settled.
"And how did you know the victim?" Her pencil scribbling onwards as she knew what the answer would be.
"Pen?" The mare raised a hoof and put it against her chin. "Admittedly I didn't know the colt all that well. The few times we have met he's been quite nice, if a bit reserved. The only time I've seen him excited is when he was showing off his studio."
Octavia paused her note taking. "Miss Top, I meant more how you knew them, not how well you knew them."
"Oh!" Ice Top jolted a bit in her seat. "Yes, I suppose that makes more sense," she stopped to think for a moment. "I'm more familiar with his father, me and Cake go back far. My husband wanted us to find someone to marry dear Polo to, so me and Cake talked, and it seemed like a good idea."
Ice Top shifted her position on the sofa. "Pen was set to marry my daughter this coming summer, and, as you know Miss Melody, this party was meant to celebrate their engagement."
She nodded. It was why the noble family had decided to hire in entertainment for the previous evening, a mix of string and brass was chosen. Granted, most of the musicians didn't end up showing up on account of the weather.
"Is there anypony you can think of that would want to harm the victim?"
The unicorn snorted. "We are all friends and family here, Miss Melody. Why would anyone wish anypony else harm?"
'Indeed, why would anyone wish somepony else ill.' Considering how despicable some nobles she'd run into were, she was more than aware of how low they could sink to get what they wanted.
"Frankly, as far as I'm concerned I'm willing to believe Flair on this one, she's got no reason to lie."
Octavia tapped her pencil against the parchment a few times. "She could very well be correct in what she saw," she nodded. "But that does not mean that Lyra murdered him."
Ice Top threw Octavia a frown. "You don't think that excitable unicorn did it? I expected better from the Canterlot Orchestral Society." It took only a few moments before the unicorn flinched. "Of course, I mean nothing ill Miss Melody. That unicorn just lacks any semblance of class, unlike yourself."
Frankly, as far as Octavia was concerned, Lyra had more class than any noble-born brat.
She shook her head. "We are getting a bit side tracked. I simply wish to make sure the right pony faces justice for this."
Ice Top slowly nodded.
"So if you can think of someone that might not have Pen's best interest in mind, I'd like to know."
Top fell silent, clearly in deep thought, so she elected to continue writing down what she had already learned.
"Well..." they eventually started. "I don't think it matters much but..."
Octavia gestured for them to go on.
The unicorn gulped. "I don't think Flair always had Pen's best interests in mind," her eyes widened. "Not that they'd kill their own son, of course!" A bit of panic shun through in her expression. "I did get the impression that she was never quite onboard with the marriage, but I didn't think much of it. She was never all that supportive of Pen's interests."
In retrospect she should probably have interviewed the witness first, but then, she didn't exactly put much stock in the notion that Lyra could kill somepony.
"Name?" She asked of the unicorn that had walked into the room with confidence and gait of a fashion model.
They stopped and glanced towards her. "You already know my name."
"Yes," she nodded. "But it's proper to be through when taking notes."
The unicorn snorted and flicked their white mane, before continuing onwards, electing to sit in one of the room's many chairs.
"Diamond Flair, as you know. The mare that has been voted as the most elegant in Equestria for three years running now," the smirk on her lips was hard to ignore.
It was a good thing Princess Celestia was not in the running, otherwise there would be a lot fewer ponies around with self inflated egos.
"And your relations to the victim are?"
Flair just stared at her for a few moments before frowning. "I'm his mother, naturally."
It was hard to think that the sweet shy colt she had talked to a few times the previous days had spawned from the mare in front of her now. She'd gone to great lengths avoiding the unicorn after she'd heard how she talked to, and about, others.
Their finely brushed silver coat did a good job at hiding the terrible personality hidden within her coal black eyes; she'd be surprised if they cared even the slightest about anyone other than themselves; the fact that she didn't seemed the slightest bothered about her son dying proved as much. Still, she had a job to do now, regardless of how little she wanted to do it.
"From what was said earlier, it sounded like you had a pretty good idea who murdered your son, correct?"
Flair's grating smile did not falter in the slightest. "I did indeed see who murdered my dear little colt."
"Can you describe what happened? The more details I've got to work with the better."
Flair nodded and cleared her throat. "It was shortly after lunch today. I figured I'd head to the library to pick up something to read for the evening since it would seem we are stuck here. When I pushed open the door to the library I saw, clear as day, that mint unicorn standing over my son on the floor, a blood stained dagger in her grip."
Octavia frowned. She'd need to take a look at the dagger later, it had been unceremoniously dropped on the floor in the library. It was debatable how much she could make out from it, however. She was no detective, frankly she had no idea where she'd even start with analysing a potential weapon.
"And it was definitely Lyra Heartstrings you saw?"
Flair frowned. "That's her name?" She waved Octavia off with one of her hoof. "Whatever, it matters little. There aren't exactly many other ponies in this estate currently, I doubt it was somepony else."
Octavia tapped the top of the pencil to her mouth a few times. Flair spoke with confidence, for what little it was worth. Lyra had mentioned going to the library, so that part tracked. Still, something was missing; and it wasn't just a distinct lack of empathy from her interviewee.
"Did you also see Miss Heartstrings plunge the blade into your son?"
Flair took a moment before shaking her head. "Regrettably, I did not. But I can't imagine any other reason why that unicorn would be standing there staring at the dagger."
"Lyra Heartstrings," she tilted her head in confusion.
Octavia nodded. "And how do you relate to the victim?"
The mint unicorn across from her frowned. "What's this about Tavi?"
She sighed and put down her pen. "You're the one who wanted me to clear your name. If I want to have any chance of doing that then I'll have to take this seriously."
"Well, yeah, but," Lyra tilted her head. "I'd never even met the colt before this stupid party," she said with a large pout.
"The witness-"
"You mean the prissy unicorn?"
Octavia nodded. "Yes, Diamond Flair, she saw you in the library standing over the victim with a blood stained dagger."
"I didn't do it!"
She let out a sigh. "I believe that Lyra, but you must understand how bad of a look that is."
Lyra was starting to tear up.
"Why don't you tell me what happened from your perspective?" She continued.
Lyra's eyes were lowering towards the floor. "I was getting bored at lunch sitting and waiting for the others to finish eating. So I figured I'd head over to the library as usual."
Octavia blinked. "As usual?"
"Oh," Lyra jolted. "Well, I've been going there to be alone since I got here. I don't do well in crowds of ponies I don't know."
Octavia hummed, she didn't know that. If anything, Lyra always seemed very excitable around others. Then again, the two had known each other for years at this point; maybe she just saw her good side?
"Anyway, I was heading down here to read. I was just looking around for something interesting to read when I picked up a weird smell," Lyra frowned. "Come to think of it, I'm not sure I could place it."
"It wasn't blood?"
Lyra's frowned deepened before eventually shaking her head. "If it was, then it wasn't just blood. I did follow it though, I found Graphite Pen plastered on the floor. At first I thought he'd passed out drunk or something."
"Really?" She frowned, Pen had not seemed like a heavy drinker.
"Weeell, you know how the nobles are, plus he couldn't handle his liquor at all."
That... was a good point. Pen had gotten very intoxicated from very little the previous night. Still, if anything he should have been quite hungover, rather than partaking in more.
"You're right, though I didn't see any other signs of him having partaken."
Lyra nodded. "Yeah. So I looked closer and saw something stuck in his neck. I kind of... didn't really think about it and pulled it out to get a closer look."
Octavia frowned. "You didn't notice that he was dead?"
"I noticed the pool of blood, it just... didn't register what it was." she said while struggling to meet Octavia's eyes. "It wasn't until I heard yelling from the other side of the room that I snapped out of it and dropped the knife."
"And what happened then?"
"I kind of panicked once more ponies started showing up and yelling things. So I ran to your room."
She glanced down at her notes on the stallion that was struggling to stay on their hooves as they left the room. Her notes were spares, at best. Carbon Cake, a dark gray coated pegasus similar in shade to his son. His mane and tail were in an slick yellow shade that matched perfectly with his eyes.
What little he'd managed to say confirmed what Ice Top had mentioned earlier: The two were foalhood friends and had tried to set up their foals together. He'd spent the entire interview either crying or seemingly being unaware where he even was. Clearly the death of his son had been a big hit to his psyche and he stood in stark contrast to his wife.
She gritted her teeth; no one deserved to have their loved ones just ripped away like this. At least Ice Top had been there to be ready and help him, the good friend that she was.
She snapped to attention when the door opened once again and a unicorn lumbered in. He looked positively ancient with wrinkles across his entire body. His coat was a dark green, and although his mane was gray, she would be hard pressed to tell if that was natural or due to his age.
Slowly he made his way over and climbed onto the sofa, his piercing yellow eyes meeting hers. It only took a few moments before he huffed.
"So, you're the hot shot wanting to play pretend being a detective."
She didn't get a chance to reply before he opened his mouth and continued. "The young ones might have fallen for the dung the press prints, but not me," he shifted over in his seat. "All I see is a little filly."
Octavia put down her pen. "You're correct, I'm not a detective."
The stallion huffed again. "Then why do all this if you know that?"
"Because," she knew exactly why she was doing what she was, and half of those reasons weren't very good ones. "Even if I can't do the job myself, taking notes now will help the guards once they do show up."
The stallion seemed to consider what she'd said before giving a nod.
She lowered her eyes. "I can't abandon my friend either."
"You know the lyrist?"
She nodded. "We learned how to play in an orchestra together when we were younger, despite me being a few years older than her. We weren't all that close but..."
The stallion closed his own eyes briefly and sighed. "I can't fault you for caring, Miss Melody. Frankly, we need more ponies like you."
She flashed him a smile.
"I don't think I know anything useful, but you're free to ask me what you need. You're right in that it's better to do it now when it's fresh in the mind, who knows when the storm will finally settle."
She reached over with her hoof and picked up the pen again. "Let's start with your name then?"
The stallion huffed. "Just take it down as Uncle Thor, no one's used my full name since my wife passed away."
Octavia glanced up at him for a moment before nodding and writing it down as such. "I'm admittedly not familiar with your relations, you're Radon's...?"
"Uncle," Thor quickly replied. "My own brat moved out to Manehattan years ago," he shook his head. "I couldn't just leave Canterlot though, not after my nephew was left alone to manage the estate."
"I take it you were involved with the planning of the union then?"
A scowl crept up on Thor's face. "No, Lady Top preferred to handle that all by herself," he huffed. "Honestly, a engagement and we aren't inviting a single other noble house? Not to mention next to no entertainment? It ain't how I would have done it."
Octavia hummed, several other members of the orchestra she was part of had been invited. When it started to become clear what the weather would be like, however, the rest had cancelled. Both her and Lyra needed the job though, she for the bits, and as far as she could tell Lyra wanted to start making a name for herself so she could get into music once her studies were completed.
"Don't get me wrong Miss Melody, you and your Lyrist friend did a wonderful job despite circumstances," he gave her a nod. "But it shouldn't have come to it that we only had two musicians here, and no, I don't count that upstart."
"What about the victim, how well did you know them?"
"Frankly he's a disgrace, young Polo deserves someone better."
"Oh?"
Thor nodded. "He spent all night fiddling with his pencils, it's how those artist types are. I can't fault him I suppose, but when you're getting engaged you should be struggling to take your eyes off the lovely mare beside you, not look anywhere but their face."
"You don't think he was interested in her?"
Thor snorted. "He acted more like he was afraid of her, despite how friendly Polo tried to be towards him. If it weren't for the constant glances I saw him sneak I'd think he wasn't interested in mares."
It was at this point she started regretting not talking more to the two "lovebirds" the day prior, it would probably have helped her more now if she had a bit more insight into their feelings.
"And is there anyone who you know dislikes them or you think might be interested in hurting Graphite Pen?"
Thor scoffed. "His mother, obviously. Don't tell me you haven't noticed how she's behaving."
"Accel Radon, though most refer to me as just Lord Radon right now," the stallion frowned. "Comes with being the head of the house."
The unicorn stallion before her sported a green coat, black mane, and white eyes. She could make out dried tears along his muzzle, though it was subtle; there had probably been an attempt to hide them.
"I won't keep you for long, I'm sure you're busy."
A small smile graced his lips. "That's thoughtful of you Miss Melody, but not necessary. There's hardly much to do while the storm is raging outside, once it settles, however..."
She didn't need to be a detective to know what he was hinting towards. The press would be onto them like vultures once it became clear that a pony had been murdered. Octavia frowned, they would probably be even more aggressive than usually once it became clear that she herself had been on the scene.
"Yes, hopefully I'll have manage to leave Canterlot by that time. The guard will hopefully be able to handle this with some discretion."
"One can hope," Radon replied.
With a nod, the two of them jumped into the more important questions.
"How did you know the victim?"
Radon leaned back in the chair and sighed, his eyes drawn to the ceiling. "He was to marry my, hrm, daughter."
"And were you two on good terms?"
Radon licked his lips. "Of sorts. To be quite honest with you Miss Melody, I didn't know the colt all that well. My wife set this all up, insisting that the two of them would be so adorable together."
He sighed. "Bless her heart in this," with a wiggle to get more comfortable he met her eyes again. "Truth be told, we are a noble house. You should already be familiar with the notion that things that apply to regular ponies don't apply to us."
She nodded absentmindedly.
"Few marry out of love, arranged marriages are the norm. Of course the young ones aren't forced into it, but they don't need to be," he waved his hoof in the air. "There's so much pressure that it's easier to just give in."
Octavia frowned. "And was that the case here?"
Radon shook his head. "I thought it wasn't, but now I'm not so sure. I kept telling Ice all about the family traditions, but I also insisted that our daughter should be with someone whom she loves. Then all of a sudden one day, she comes home with a bright smile on her face insisting that she's got a great idea that solves all of our problems."
She remained silent to let the stallion finish is train of thought.
"Carbon Cake isn't a noble, but he's a successful business owner. His wife, Diamond Flair, was one of the biggest names in fashion just a year or two ago. They are high enough up the social ladder for a union to be considered acceptable. Ice and Cake go way back, you see, and both wanted the kids to find love."
After waiting for a moment, she breached the silence. "But..?"
He sighed. "Polo, my daughter, is very reserved. I think part of it is because she does not get out much, what with her illness. It's hard to tell if she actually liked young Pen, or if she was just going through with it because it would make me and her mother happy."
His grip on the chair's hoof rest tightened. "I told her, several times, that she didn't have to go through with this if she didn't like him. Yet she just smiled and said it was fine."
"...and Pen?"
He shook his head. "I barely met the colt before yesterday. My wife knows him better, what with how much she talked him up, so you're better off asking her."
She tapped the pen to her muzzle. It tracked so far, yet there was still the biggest question left unanswered. "Who would want to kill Pen?"
"I do not know, I'm afraid. Are we sure it was murder?"
Octavia frowned. She'd not considered the notion that maybe it was suicide... and yet, something about that didn't sound quite right either.
Octavia glanced out the room, the only one there was Ice Top, who was smiling at her apologetically.
She raised the obvious question as the unicorn approached. "Where are the others?"
"My daughter was unwell and needed to retreat to her room. She did say you were welcome to stop by and ask your questions, but she needed to lie down."
Octavia nodded. Even before today she'd heard from others that Radon Polo had some undisclosed illness. She couldn't fault them for needing to see to their own needs. However...
"What about," her muzzle scrunched up. "That other musician?"
"I'm afraid I do not know, she just shrugged at one point an hour or so ago and walked off. We haven't seen her since, frankly I do not know what my daughter sees in her and... well, you know."
She sighed. "Then I'll need to track her down as well," she frowned. "Not that I think it's very likely it will be all that productive," she mumbled under her breath.
Ice Top chuckled lightly and fell in step beside her. "The others headed over to the kitchen to prepare for dinner, shall we join them? Even a great detective needs to eat."
She nodded, she was getting hungry, not to mention, she needed some quiet time to go over everything she'd learned.
"I'll bring the food to my room, can you bring the murder weapon when you got a moment? I'd rather a unicorn do it as to not disturb it."
When she entered the room she immediately spotted her target. Hunched over the desk of her room was a gray earth pony with dark gray mane. Her purple eyes glaring at the things in front of her while a stack of used dishes rested aside on the nearby bed table.
The hope that had been slowly building up over the evening left her body with the wind.
"Hey?" She asked, not even trying to hide how shaky her voice was.
Octavia snapped to attention and glanced at her. "Lyra," she nodded.
Octavia had always been distant since the incident. At first she'd thought it was just because of the fame or because she'd moved so far ahead in the musical circles of high society. Now though? Now she wasn't so sure.
"Found anything?" She closed the door behind her with her horn as she approached.
Octavia leaned back in her chair and sighed, her eyes trailing the notebook and bloody knife that sat on her desk. "I'm afraid not."
The smile that she'd tried to keep up slowly left her. Even if all those stories weren't true, Octavia was the only one who believed her to be innocent, the only one who would help... And now she was running herself ragged because of her. Her eyes lowered in shame.
"There's much that doesn't make sense, but I've got no clue as to who could have killed him," Octaiva put a hoof to her muzzle. "Diamond Flair doesn't seem the slightest bit phased that her son is dead. What kind of mother wouldn't grieve their child? And even besides that, not a single pony so far has had anything resembling a motive," it wasn't often Octavia got worked up about something, but Lyra could clearly hear the frustration in her tone and in the way she talked.
"We could just wait for the guard, right? I'm sure they'll-"
"No."
The way Octavia had said that and turned to stare at her shocked Lyra. Her tone was so definite and harsh that it made Lyra shiver.
"I need to fix this, I can't let it..." Octavia trailed off, rubbing one of her front legs against the other. She shook her head. "There is a murderer here Lyra, and I need to know who they are and stop them. I can't let anypony else die," the way she spoke sounded almost desperate.
"...Okay," she nodded dumbly. She'd never seen her friend like this before.
"That being said..." Octavia turned back to her desk. "I can't say I'm making much headway here.
"I... uh, I wish to help?" She hadn't really put much thought into it, but it was her neck on the line here. She couldn't just dump it all on her clearly distressed friend.
"Well..." Octavia sighed. "If you learn anything you think might be important, I'm all ears."
Lyra walked over to the desk and sat down on the floor next to Octavia. "Weeell, I didn't exactly take notes like you did. But... I did some thinking and I asked around a bit."
"Not that many wanted to talk to me..." she whispered before shaking her head.
Octavia glanced over to her "Oh?"
She nodded. "Everyone was around for breakfast except for the prissy unicorn, the old grumpy stallion, and Polo."
Octavia hummed. "That means Graphite Pen had to still be alive this morning. Whoever killed him did so between then and lunch."
Lyra rapidly nodded her head. "That's what I was thinking! Because I went there right after I finished eating my lunch."
Octavia turned her head and met her eyes. "Do you also happen to know who was there at lunch?"
She could feel a smile grow on her lips. "Yes! I know you left shortly after getting your food, something about eating in privacy?"
"Yes, I decided I'd rather eat in my room. Being forced to stay here... brought back some memories and I wished for some privacy," she said while glancing away.
"Right," Lyra continued. "I didn't see Graphite Pen, and neither did anypony else, so obviously he didn't come to lunch. Lord Radon showed up late, according to his wife. When I asked Ice Top about it she said that he was dealing with something in the lounge."
Octavia frowned. "I thought the lounge was closed and locked for renovation?"
"Huh, it is?"
Octiavia's expression morphed into a tired smile. "You don't remember, do you? Ice Top was quite clear about it when we arrived yesterday."
Lyra could feel her cheeks light up. She had kind of tuned out the noble pony when she went on and on about the estate.
"Was there anypony else missing?"
Lyra blinked a few times. "Huh?"
Octavia rolled her eyes. "At lunch, Lyra?"
"Oh, um... I don't think I saw the old grumpy stallion either, nor that other weirdo that arrived shortly after us yesterday."
Octavia put up a hoof and massaged her forehead. "It does not hurt to start remembering ponies' names."
"Well I never talked to either!" She defended.
Octavia just shook her head. "We should see what everypony else is doing. I've still got another two ponies to track down as well."
Octavia packed her notebook in her saddlebags and got up, Lyra following suit. Instead of leaving however, like Lyra expected, Octavia wrapped her front hooves around her in a hug; her hooves resting unnaturally heavy against her back.
"Harpsichord would be proud, you know that, right?" Octavia whispered into her ears.
She could feel her eyes tearing up as she leaned into Octavia's hug, it was as if a flood gate had been shattered. The entire roller-coaster of emotions she'd gone through all day just came crashing down as she leaned into her friend's embrace and just cried.
The discussion that was ongoing came to a halt as the two of them stepped into the dining room. They had headed down as soon as she'd recovered, yet the way everypony was starring at her threatened to make her tear up again.
She briefly eyed the small stage she and Octavia had performed on the day prior. Although it was small, it was quite oversized for just the two of them.
"So, the great detective returns," Flair snarked. "Tell us, have you finally decided to see reason?"
Octavia huffed quietly and made her way over to the table undeterred. "I'm still investigating."
Diamond Flair snorted. "Some genius."
Lyra swallowed and took a few steps closer to stand next to Octavia.
"Last I checked, Mrs. Flair, I never once claimed I could live up to your-" Octavia's eyes travelled across the room to meet each and everypony's own. "-or anypony else's lofty preconceptions."
"B-but," Ice Top started as she took a step forward. "I thought you could solve this...?"
Octavia closed her eyes and sighed, Lyra did not envy her position.
"I will try my very best, Lady Top. As has been said, I do have some experience. But regardless I will be hoofing over all of the investigation and any potential arrest to the Royal Guard once they do arrive."
The room fell silent, several ponies looking to each other with expressions of unease. Lyra wanted to be anywhere but here right now, how had she gotten into this mess? This was supposed to be her big gig, the one that would kick-start her musical career.
She could see Diamond Flair slowly approach the two of them when her ears started to swivel. Her mouth speaking before she could even properly process what she was hearing.
"Is that, singing?"
Flair stopped in place and several other ponies looked around for the source.
"...It is," Octavia confirmed. "And it's not the voice of a pony that was mentioned to be here," she continued while glancing at someone on the opposite end of the room.
Lord Radon let out a deep sigh and stepped forwards. "That is... our other child. We had hoped this entire party would be over with before anyone realised they were here."
"What?" Lyra couldn't help blurting out.
Radon glanced towards her before continuing. "They are... well, there is no nice way to put it, really. Recently they have been quite shameful in their behaviour after their latest business venture went up in smoke. In order to cope they have taken to... consuming, without restraint."
Consuming? What did that mean? The singing hadn't stopped either, if anything it had just gotten louder.
"Am I to believe that there is another member of House Radon on the premise... who is currently singing while being drunk off their hooves?" Octavia questioned.
Both Radon and Ice Top looked down to the floor in shame.
"T-that's why we decided to say that the lounge was off-limits, they've been practically living in there for several weeks now."
Octavia stared at Radon and Ice Top for a few moments. "I need to interview them too," she turned on the spot and headed towards the adjacent room with such speed that Lyra struggled to keep up with her.
The singing became more and more pronounced the closer they got to the door, and once Octavia pushed the double door open one could clearly make out the feminine voice singing out Sapphire Shore's debut hit single 'On the Shores of Canterlot'.
The lounge itself was quite large and had everything from a billiard table to a fully stocked bar. There were also two large sets of couches for ponies to rest, relax, and gossip on. But none of that even registered with Lyra, no, her gaze was drawn to the pegasus mare dancing in circles and singing in the middle of the room.
Her long green mane flew around as she spun, their white coat beaming in the light of the chandelier. And when they opened their eyes, their beautiful yellow eyes that glanced straight towards her own? Lyre could feel her cheeks heating up.
The mare came to a stop with a giggle when she noticed she had an audience. "I didn't expect company~"
"And I can't say I expected to see you here Wing, though I'm not sure why I'm surprised," Octavia quipped.
"Ever the charmer Octavia," the pegasus turned their gaze towards Lyra. "Who's the cute mare?" They winked at her, something which caused her stomach to flutter.
Octaiva snorted and walked up to them. "Stop teasing her."
The pegasus turned to Octavia. "I'll try," she chuckled. "Normally I only have this effect on stallions, it's a nice change of pace."
Finally getting a handle on her thoughts again Lyra pressed the obvious point: "You two know each other?" She glanced between the two of them as she walked closer.
The pegasus just smiled at her while Octavia shook her head and sighed.
"Lyra, meet Radon Wing, Radon, this is Lyra Heartstrings."
"It's a pleasure," Wing said while taking a light bow.
"Um," she nodded her head along, before catching herself and extending her hoof. "I-it's a pleasure."
Wing smiled at her and shook her hoof. "If it was a better opportunity, I'd offer you a dance."
Struggling to find words, Lyra just stood there, mouth hanging lightly open. Wing put up a hoof to her mouth and giggled lightly before turning around and walk over towards the bar.
It took her a moment before she realise Octavia was nudging her side. "Lyra?"
"Huh?" She turned her eyes away from the pegasus to meet Octavia's.
In a moment of indignity, Octavia rolled her eyes. "Try and focus on the important things. You don't want to get involved with Wing anyway."
"But she's so pretty," she whispered under her breath to Octavia.
"Exactly my point," Octavia walked over to the bar where Wing was sipping on their drink.
Lyra followed as quickly as she could manage.
"Let me make proper introductions then," Octavia started, a chill having overtaking her voice. "Since someone can clearly not behave," she was shooting daggers towards Wing.
"This is Radon Wing, older brother of Radon Polo."
Lyra blinked a few times before it registered just what Octavia had said.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss Heartstrings," Wing said, still smiling at her.
She opener her mouth to reply, only to close it again and taking a step back. Her cheeks now flush with embarrassment she rushed out the room.
Octavia sighed as she took the seat next to Radon Wing at the bar. "You didn't have to do that, you know?"
Wing shrugged and took a sip from his drink. "It got us some privacy, besides, I've got a reputation to uphold."
She glanced over at the stallion, their smile having left the moment Lyra left the room. She could see why everyone at a glance took him for a mare, his build combined with the long flowing mane and his softer voice did a lot.
She huffed. "I thought you'd stopped messing with every stallion you ran into?"
Wing smirked. "I need to do something to make all the parties I'm going to less boring," he took another sip. "First time I've had it happen with a mare though."
"I'd prefer if you didn't mess with my friend."
Wing frowned. "Well, like I said, it got us some privacy, so I'd say it was worth it."
Octavia sighed and turned her gaze forward towards the well stocked bar.
"How's the investigation going, 'Miss Detective'?"
"How much do you know?"
"Considering the fact that they weren't attempting to be quiet the next room over, and that I was intentionally listening in..."
"So basically everything."
A silence settled as Wing took another small sip from his glass.
"I'm surprised you're not accusing me."
Octavia snorted.
"What? You can't pretend I don't have perfect opportunity to have done it, what with having no one to vouch for me."
She went over it in her head. She knew Radon Wing, although not all that well, but just fielding the idea sounded preposterous. He was, however, right, she shouldn't rule him out immediately. Still, even aside from the obvious, if he'd left or returned to the lounge around lunch time, someone would have spotted him; the room only connected to the dining hall, nowhere else.
After what happened though... there was no way Wing would sit here and be as calm as he was if he'd killed another pony. Which begged the obvious question...
"No, you couldn't have killed Pen. More importantly though, why did you hit on Lyra, there is no way you couldn't have known who she was?"
Wing sighed. "I mostly wanted to have a moment to talk to you in private, what with the topic at hoof. Besides," and he turned to look her in the eyes. "you haven't told her, correct?"
She snorted. "I'd rather she remember her mother for the musician she was, not..." she trailed off and waved her hoof. "What she was doing back then."
Wing nodded and turned his focus back to his drink. "It'd be best for everyone if what happened in the Countess' mansion be forgotten," he sighed. "If only it was that easy."
As the silence once again settled between the two, Octavia ran through things in her head. Wing would never kill a pony, but that didn't mean he didn't possibly know something useful. She fished up her notebook and pen and put it on the bar.
"Is there anypony that you think would have wanted to kill Pen?"
Wing snorted. "The better question to ask is: who here wouldn't?"
She glanced at Wing with a raised eye.
"You've talked to his and my family, you know how they are. Flair couldn't care less about anyone but herself, my old man and Uncle Thor are both too caught up in the family legacy crap," he snorted. "The reason Polo is going to succeed the family and not me is because she's a unicorn. The fact that Graphite Pen is a pegasus would be enough to paint a giant target on his back."
Despite how long it had been since Equestria's founding, there were still ponies who considered one of the tribes to be superior to the others. The fact that most of the noble houses in Equestria were composed primarily of unicorns were hardly a secret. She'd meet enough aristocrats to know what the common talking points were. If they got to decide then earth ponies and pegasi would not be welcome within the higher echelons of society.
Octavia stopped her note taking. "But wait, it was your mother that was arranging this in the first place, at least that was my impression."
"Exactly. She married into the family, and..." Wing trailed off. "Top's always been a good mother," he let out a sigh. "But she never really understood the whole thing with unspoken rules that nobles must abide by."
He raised his glass and downed the rest of the drink before slamming it down on the counter. "Frankly, the only ponies in this mansion beside present company that don't have a reason to want Pen dead is your lyrist friend and that unicorn my sister is so taken with."
She frowned. "Including your sister?"
Wing just sat there, starring straight forwards while gripping his glass tight.
"I wouldn't rule her out," he eventually said. "I doubt she'd do it, or even be capable of doing it, but she quite clearly didn't care in the slightest about marrying Graphite Pen."
"Then why did see agree to it?"
"I think she was... planning on skipping out on it," he said while a troubled expression made it's ways onto his features.
"Regardless," Wing placed a key on the counter using one of his wings, where he'd gotten it from she did not know. "I've got a safe in my room. There is a tape, tape recorder, and tape player there. A week and a few days ago I went out to a bar with Graphite Pen under the guise of getting to know my new brother in law better. A guys night out, if you will."
He shrugged his shoulder and slide over the to key to her using his wing. "What we talked about might help your investigation."
She eyed the key before glancing at Wing. You didn't just start recording your nights out without reason.
"You expected him to die?"
He shrugged. "No, not really," he eventually said. "But that's what I'm constantly worried about. That all of a sudden another pony will fall dead beside me, killed by a supposed loved one or poisoned to death by somepony with an agenda."
"You're paranoid." It was a statement, not a question.
Wing snorted and stared at her. "I don't want to hear that from the mare that packs a firearm to a performance," he pointed squarely towards her left hoof.
Her eyes widened. "You can see it?"
"Why wouldn't- oh I see, it's got one of those fancy enchants on it?"
"A perception filter," she replied as if she was reading a manual. "Only ponies that know about it already can see it properly."
She glanced down to her hoof where she'd attached it. The entire thing had the gleam of brass, it was a bracelet that could be opened and attached to a hoof. Perpendicular to where the leg would go was a long thin cylinder. On the front of the bracelet rested the gem that contained the enchantment.
Taking a deep breath she recalled how it felt to use it. You only needed to apply tension to your muscles in a certain way and that would cause it to fire, assuming the safety toggle along the barrel had been flipped.
"A souvenir from the debacle with Countess Call then, I take it?"
She nodded.
Wing sighed. "All three of us carry stuff from back then..." He reached over the counter for a bottle already opened and quickly refilled his glass. He offered the bottle towards her but she just shook her head.
"I must have seen and heard it when it was used back then, even if I don't remember it."
She nodded while Wing took a sip from his refilled glass.
"... is that why you're here, why you're drinking? Because of the memories?"
Wing frowned and stared at his glass before eventually sighing. "No, I'd rather be out there doing stuff to keep myself busy."
"Then?"
Wing closed his eyes. "I stopped by two months ago, mostly to check in with my sis. She's been getting worse, and I wanted to be there for her."
Octavia nodded.
"And yeah, she's been in a sorry state lately," he swirled his glass around on the counter. "So when I visited she asked if I loved her..."
"And?"
Wing snorted. "Obviously I said yes. We haven't been that close in recent years, but I always liked her. The problem," he interrupted himself by chugging down his glass. "Is what came after, I couldn't just leave her alone here anymore..."
She glanced towards Wing and the troubled expression on his face.
"When I said I loved her, she smiled, stared me straight into the eyes and asked me to kill her."
Octavia sighed as she made her way towards Radon Polo's room. What Wing had mentioned was disturbing for sure, yet he didn't know anything more. According to him he thought his sister was suicidal because of either her condition or a bout of depression. He refused to leave his sister alone after learning that, coming up with an excuse to sit around in the mansion all day to be able to be at her side. She'd have to ask Polo for more details, assuming she was willing to talk about it.
But because he'd pretended to constantly be drunk, which probably wasn't far enough removed from reality, his parents had insisted that he'd lock himself in the lounge for the duration of the party. Because the bar was more than well stocked be it with snacks or drinks, and with the connected restroom, he'd not needed to leave for the past two days.
Similarly, no one had come in to talk to him prior to herself and Lyra. This meant that she felt very confident in ruling him out as the potential murderer. She couldn't completely rule out suicide, but the logistics of ramming a knife into your own throat was enough to give her halt.
So lost was she in her thoughts that she almost collided with the unicorn coming around the corner.
"Oh, it's you," she blurted out towards the white unicorn with a two tone blue and cyan mane.
"Sup Tavi?" the unicorn said as she removed her oversized purple shades.
'Who even wears shades indoors?'
But then, that was hardly the only problem the unicorn had. Vinyl Scratch, better known by many for her scene name "DJ-PON3". And also, unfortunately, her roommate.
When she'd seen the ad for the housing option in Ponyville it had sounded just perfect. "Musician looking for like-minded roommate to split house with." Of course, it wasn't until after she moved in that she realised the Miss Scratch had a very different idea on what constituted as music.
She took a step back. "Excuse me?"
Vinyl shrugged. "I heard your mate from the orchestra call you that, sounded dope."
She scoffed. "I hardly think we are close enough for nicknames."
Vinly put on her shades again, shrugging while flashing her a smile.
Octaiva rubbed her forehead, regardless of what she thought of the unicorn, she needed to hear what she had to say. "Regardless, perhaps you could tell me what you did between breakfast and lunch today?"
"Sure thing. If I wasn't chatting it up with Polo about beats then I was behind the scene prepping my set."
"...That's it?"
Vinyl just smiled and nodded.
"Yeah," Polo paused to cough. "Vinyl's been with me for most of the day."
The unicorn mare lay on her bed covered up to the head by a large blanket. Her green coat reminded her of Lord Radon's, though it was a few shades lighter. Her white mane was quite long. Her yellow eyes were also in a similar shade to her brother's.
"And you're... a fan of her music?"
Polo smiled. "There's few things I can do when I'm too weak to move, Miss Melody. So I get a lot of joy out of listening to music, but I believe you can understand that."
Octavia nodded. "Quite, though I think our preference is quite different," she flashed the sick mare a smile.
Polo chuckled. "Yes," she nodded. "My parents are the same, but my birthday is coming up in a few days. And since I got to decid on the entertainment..."
"...you picked something that you liked," Octavia finished.
Polo smiled. "Yes."
Octavia went over her notes, there were a few important things she needed to ask the mare. Her bad condition combined with her and Vinyl vouching for each other meant that it was very unlikely that either could have killed Pen.
"What do you think of Graphite Pen?"
Polo sighed, a sad expression on her face. "He's a nice colt, great artist too... but, that's not what you want to know."
Octavia nodded.
"I don't mind him, and I'd not mind being around him, I suppose. Which, yeah, that's not really enough when you're supposed to spend the rest of our lives together, is it?"
She hummed. "Lord Radon mentioned that he offered you plenty of times to back out of the wedding."
Polo snorted. "It's true, he did. But ponies keep pretending that I'd even be around to see it."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm dying, Miss Melody. I've been on deaths door for almost a year now."
"Your illness?" Octavia guessed.
Polo snorted again. "Sure, something like that."
"What can you tell me about it?"
Polo groaned and rolled over onto her back. "My Uncle is convinced it runs in the family, and he's probably right. Most in the family don't make it to a very old age, it's always something different, usually some weird internal disease or oddity."
"And this is why Lord Radon's parents aren't around anymore, I take it?"
Polo nodded. "I only met grandma once when I was really, really young. Grandpa was dead before I was even..." she trailed off before shaking her head. "They think I just happened to get it worse than others, and that's why I'm so sick at such a young age. After all, no doctor could figure out what is wrong with me," she glanced towards the window and chuckled.
"But you don't think it's the same thing?"
For a moment the only sound that could be heard was snow smacking against the window.
"Tell me, Miss Melody, how well do you know my father?"
"Not that well, I met him for the first time yesterday."
Polo sighed. "He's practically impotent."
"Wha-"
"Don't worry, I don't really care, as long as you keep this to yourself," Polo glanced towards her. With a sigh she continued. "But yes, my father is not very good at those things. Probably the family disease, right?" She chuckled. "But no, Wing, my brother, was basically a miracle."
She turned her head over to stare into Octavia's eyes. "What do you think is the likelihood of a miracle happening twice?"
She frowned, there was only one place Polo could be going with this; at least that she could think of. "You're adopted?"
Polo smirked. "Yes, from Manehattan. I was picked because of how I look, nothing else."
Her expression must have been quite harsh because Polo chuckled and commented on it. "You don't need to get worked up over it for my sake. For better or worse I ended up with one of the richest families in all of Equestria."
She was going to ask how no one knew about this but... well it was obvious when she thought about it: It would be easy to cover it all up with enough bits.
"But," Polo continued as her eyes trained on the ceiling. "Because I'm not their flesh and blood, it would make little sense for me to have whatever bad genes they do."
"Then, what about your sickness?"
Polo closed her eyes and sighed. "I've got a pretty good idea of what it might be. But, I'm obviously not a doctor."
"And that is...?"
"For me to know and you to guess," Polo smiled.
Octavia let out a sigh and went over her notes. Polo had been nothing if not forward, yet there was still no clarity on who might have killed pen.
"What about Pen, do you know anything about who might have murdered him?"
"Ah," Polo smirked. "The question of the day, isn't it. I've got a pretty good idea, to be honest, but nothing concrete."
"And your thoughts are?"
"Well, I could tell you... but not for nothing."
She frowned. "You do realise the guard will ask the same thing, correct?"
"And you're desperate to solve this, despite not being a guard," the smile never leaving her lips.
It was a bit frightening how easily the mare read her. She could see Wing being very good at seeing her motives, they'd been through the same mess. Yet the mare before her could apparently see the obsession clear as day. She wasn't keen on agreeing to just anything, however. But... she could use as much information as possible, so she supposed it didn't hurt to at least ask what Polo had in mind.
"Fine, what do you want, maybe I'll consider it?"
"It's simple," her smile grew wider. "I need you to fake my death."
"You don't love her then?"
"It's more complicated than that."
The conversation rested as clattering of cutlery could be heard.
"I just... she's a beautiful mare, really. Probably way better than I deserve."
...
"But... she's also nothing like me. I want to settle down with someone that actually cares about my art, you know?"
"Yeah," Radon replied in his usual non-committal fashion.
"And, and! My parents never really understood my art. Mother kept wanting to send me to advanced flight camp to try and become a Wonderbolt," a huff rang out. "As if just any pony can become a bolt!"
"Yeah that requires- hold on."
"Hey!" Radon's voice rang out loud. "Can we have another bottle? Yeah, just put it on my tab."
"Anyway," Radon continued at a much more reasonable volume. "So you want a marefriend that is more on your level, gotcha."
"Yeah!"
"So what's wrong with sis- sorry, what's wrong with Polo then?"
...
"She's just... so forward?"
"...Really?"
"Second time we met she asked me if I wanted to mount her in the bedroom."
The spraying of liquid could be heard followed by coughing.
"S- Seriously?"
"I know! I was completely taken aback. I figured we'd at least get to know each other a lot better first..."
"Celestia, I can't really believe sis would push for something like that."
"...How close are you two?"
"Eh, I mean, we are quite close. Always had each other's back since we were foals. She's always been kind of reserved in most things. But back when she was younger she was very touchy feely, big on physical affection and all that."
A sigh rang out. "Do you think she even likes me? We are so different."
"Dude, she asked you if-"
"Here's your bottle of wine Lady Radon," a new feminine voice rang out. The sound of something heavy being placed on the table was also heard.
"Ah, thank you Star."
"No worries, I'll let you get back to your date," the cheery voice replied.
...
"D-date?"
"Don't worry about it," the sound of pouring reverberated.
"For that matter, why did she call you Lady?"
Radon Wing's light giggle could be heard. "I've got somewhat of a reputation --being a regular here-- and Star Smatter knows me quite well and jokes about it. There's been quite a few stallions who've approached me here and asked me to become their company for the evening."
"Are you serious?"
"...Yeah," Radon sighed. "I know it's not nice but, well, I can't help it when they walk up to me and act like they are the center of the universe."
"It's a bit weird-"
Octavia turned off the tape player and removed the earbuds. It went on for another hour or so, but this segment seemed the most important. She'd listened through the entire thing from start to end the previous evening in the hopes that it would give her some more insight; yet it offered little.
Graphite Pen seemed to think things were moving too quick in his relationship with Polo. According to him Polo was way too forwards and overwhelming... yet that didn't track with Polo's seeming disinterest with him. She also highly doubted that Pen was lying when he was chatting with Wing, not only did he sound deeply uncomfortable... it was also clear that Wing was drinking him under the table.
Something was clearly off here, like she was missing a big piece of the puzzle. What reason could Polo have to get in bed with a stallion that she cared little for? She certainly didn't seem to put much stock in her family's legacy.
With a sigh Octavia got up from the bed. If she wanted any hope in figuring out who murdered Pen then she'd need to figure out what he'd been up to. With any luck, some of the others might know what he'd been doing prior to getting murdered.
The plan was simple, really. Though the details she'd been given were sparse, she could piece together the unspoken. Polo was to have her mother escort her to the mansion's main feature: the indoor hot spring. From there she was going to ingest something that she was certain would make it seem like she was dead, when in fact, she was not.
Octavia grit her teeth. Polo had proclaimed that she'd do this regardless of whether or not she'd choose to help her with what came next. See, faking her death was all well and good, but Polo needed an escape route for when she'd inevitably come to again.
That's where Octavia was supposed to come in. Being the detective on the scene she was supposed to make up a reason as to why she needed to move the body outdoors. There was a gardening hut near the back of the estate's garden, which is where Polo wanted to be put while she was out.
She wasn't sure yet what to make of Polo, nor what she'd do in regards to the absurdities the adopted noble mare suggested. Octavia closed her eyes and sighed. She really could use the help in solving the murder though, so far it felt like she was grasping at straws.
"It's pretty, isn't it?"
Hoofsteps echoed behind her as Lyra approached.
Looking up she really took in the room. "It is," she replied with caution. It would be another beauty soon to be ruined by the taint of death.
The room itself was undoubtedly the largest in the entire mansion, spanning the entire two and a half stories worth of height. The room was located at the very back of the mansion with its far wall housing a set of large windows going all the way up to the ceiling. Most of the floor of the room was composed of large rocks or gravel with a cross shaped cobblestone path connecting the rooms three entrances with the spring itself.
Lining the path were smaller cherry blossom trees, or so Ice Top had claimed; they wouldn't be in season to bloom just yet so she couldn't exactly verify the claim. At the end of the central path was the hot spring itself, embedded right into the floor. The entire thing gave the impression that the mansion had been built around the spring.
Which, come to think of it, was probably not too far from the truth.
Octavia had briefly surveyed the room the previous evening from up on the catwalk on the second floor. Despite the obvious excess of the entire building, some parts of her couldn't help but be impressed by the clear craftsmanship that had gone into it.
She glanced towards Lyra. "Did you manage to find the ponies I asked for?"
Lyra nodded. "Yes, and the rest of them are waiting in the dinning room like you asked. Except for Ice Top, she needed to see to her daughter."
Taking a deep breath of the humid air she tried to gather her nerves. "Alright," with a quick turn she headed back towards the main hall. "Let's see if we can't get the information we need."
"Did you get any sleep?"
Large bags sagged on Carbon's eyes, which suggested he hadn't. Still, it was polite to ask.
"More or less," the stallion spoke without any energy in his voice; as if he'd given up completely.
Despite how drained the stallion looked, she needed to ask her questions, Carbon might be sitting on critical information.
"Yesterday," she started. "When was the last time you saw your son?"
"It..." she could see the eyes of the stallion dart around while his body started shaking. "It was shortly after breakfast. I was on my way to exchange a few words with Ice Top. It was brief, but he was entering his room."
Octavia hummed. Where Pen was right after breakfast didn't seem all that useful.
"And you didn't see him after that?"
"N-no, not until..." Carbon choked out.
She sighed and looked down at her notebook. She doubted Carbon was faking his feelings, after all; grief was the natural reaction. Still, that didn't mean that it wasn't frustrating how little help he was to the investigation.
"And there wasn't anything else that stuck out to you when you saw him?"
"I..." he trailed off. "I think he was carrying a bottle."
She blinked a few times. "What kind?" Her mind was already going places, but surely...
Carbon shook his head. "I don't know, but it was the larger kind with a cork."
...surely not.
"Making any progress then, Miss Melody?"
"Less than I'd have liked, Mr Thor," she gestured for him to take a seat.
He let out a grunt and sat down in the opposite couch from her. The lounge made for a more comfortable interviewing room, if nothing else. ...Despite Lyra trying, and failing badly, to play billiards with herself in the distance.
"So, let's get right into it then. You wouldn't have asked for me if you didn't have questions for me."
Octavia nodded. "I spoke to Polo last night, the discussion turned to the family illness. I figured you might know the most about that?"
Thor closed his eyes and sighed. "Aye, it's not much of a secret. House Radon has been plagued with illnesses as far back as we have recorded history. It's not the same in everyone, of course, but it's always something weird that no doctor has manage to pin to a cause."
"And this usually causes early deaths?"
Thor nodded. "It's seldom something minor. For my brother it was his lungs. A stallion of his age normally don't have those kind of issues, it was as if his body was giving up. For me, it's my horn," he lightly tapped his horn. "I can barely get a grip with the blasted thing anymore."
"What about Polo, do you think it's the same thing?"
Thor snorted. "It would be weird to think otherwise. She's had it especially bad, I will grant, but nothing unique. My own mother spent half of her life bedridden as well."
Octavia rested her pen, this wasn't going anywhere. How relevant was this illness anyway? Something about it bothered her deeply though. If it was something running in the family, and if Polo hadn't lied about being adopted... then what was she actually sick with?
With a sigh she turned the page, she'd need to ask Lord Radon himself about something uncomfortable later; at least if she wanted the truth. For now though, she needed to switch tracks.
"What about Graphite Pen, when was last the last time you saw him alive?"
"At breakfast yesterday."
She stopped writing... that, sounded wrong? Hadn't Lyra mentioned something? She flipped back a few pages in her notebook.
"I thought you didn't attend breakfast with the others yesterday?"
Thor smirked. "That'd be right, too much ruckus. No, I went down early and prepared my own food. I was on my way back to my room when the colt almost stumbled into me. Either he didn't get a lick of sleep or he'd not recovered from last night."
"Was there anything else off about him?"
The stallion shrugged lightly. "Not as far as I could gather, but my mind was pre-occupied with carrying my food."
"What about your thoughts on Graphite Pen himself? He would become a part of the family with the union."
Closing his eyes Thor took a deep breath. "I think I get what you're alluding too Miss Octavia," he opened his eyes and stared straight into hers. "But to be frank, I don't expect Polo to make it another year at this rate. If he would have sired a heir then that would have been enough for me."
Thor sighed and lowered his gaze. "Don't get me wrong, I know how vain that sounds. But despite it all, my niece spoke highly of him. I had to believe that they'd work things out between themselves..."
The old stallion slumped over. "But I suppose it's too late for that now."
"Lord Radon," she nodded to the stallion.
"Mmm, yes."
"I spoke to your daughter last night, primarily in regards to her relationship with Graphite Pen, but also her illness."
Radon sighed. "Sordid affairs, both of them."
Octavia glanced down at her notes. Assuming Polo hadn't been playing her for a fool, then Radon was hiding some very big secrets. It was natural why he'd want to keep the things in question under the rug, of course, but that didn't make it any less horrid.
She needed to play her cards right if she wanted to learn as much as possible.
"Let's start with the family illness. Your uncle was kind enough to provide some background history, which tracks with what your daughter said." She needed to stretch the truth a bit here, but she needed more leads; desperately.
Radon nodded.
"Polo's condition seems quite severe though, and since you're her father I figured you might now a bit more what ails her..."
"That... I do. Admittedly I don't know much, but it is without a doubt the family illness."
"Oh?"
Radon nodded. "The doctors that have looked at her have compared her overall weakness to being malnourished."
Octavia hummed. "But she's definitely more than just skin and bones."
"Correct. At one point the doctors suggested that we weren't feeding her properly, so we had her admitted. Of course... even staying at a hospital and eating everything they served her... her condition remained the same."
She narrowed her eyes. "That's strange."
"That's what we thought too, and the doctors agreed. They've tried to look into it further at multiple opportunities yet found nothing substantial as to what could be wrong with her."
She tapped her pen against her notebook. A mystery illness that seemingly no doctor could pin down the cause of? That matched Thor's description of the family's illness... and yet, if Polo was to be believed then she was not even Radon's biological daughter.
Octavia flipped back to an earlier page in her notebook, she could go for the coup de grâce later. She still needed as much information as possible about Pen's movement the day prior.
"When was the last time you saw Pen?"
Radon blinked. "Before he died you mean?"
She nodded.
"Hmm, well," he scratched his cheek. "Top and I were rushing about all morning. We weren't planning on being quite this snowed in. I swear, sometimes I wonder if the weather team even know restraint at all," he sighed. "Regardless, I know I ran into Pen at two separate occasions."
"Oh?"
"The first time was when I passed by his room. He had a spat of some sort with his mother. You'd have to ask her for the details, since I'm afraid I didn't have the time to stop and intervene."
She might just do that, given that Diamond Flair still remained quite an enigma what with how she continued to behave.
"The second time I saw him he was making his way to what I now believe was the library."
Her ears flickered. "When was this?"
Radon frowned. "That's the tricky part, I'm not quite sure. I believe it was at least an hour before lunch at that point, but I couldn't be sure."
"And did anything seem out of the ordinary with him? Or did you perhaps see anypony else in his company?"
Radon shook his head. "I'm quite sure he was alone at the time. Though maybe his gait was a bit strange?" He shrugged. "I wasn't exactly staring at the young lad at the time, I had other matters on my mind."
Octaiva hummed and filled in her notes. Glancing between them and Radon there really was only one important matter left that she wanted to settle before she moved on. Clearing her throat she called Lyra over and asked her to leave the room.
Shooting a smile to Lord Radon, who was giving her a look of confusion, she continued.
"I figured that, with what I want to discuss next, some discretion might be, well, appreciated."
Lord Radon hummed.
"I was talking to your daughter, as I mentioned, and a topic that came up was... well, in regards who sired her."
She could see the colour drain from Radon's face in real time.
With a cough he managed to stammer out a reply. "W-what exactly did she tell you?"
"She mentioned that she was adopted, and that she has no biological relations to either you nor Ice Top. Is that correct?"
Slowly Radon shook his head while letting out a loud sigh, slumping over in his seat he replied. "Yes, that is correct. Though I can not imagine why my daughter would share that tidbit with you."
She hummed. "But isn't that strange though?" She could feel herself smirking lightly. "If Polo is not your biological daughter, then she couldn't possibly have inherited your family's bad genes."
"...that is correct," he sounded confused as to where she was going with this.
"Which means her sickness has to be something else entirely!"
Radon sighed and glanced away. "Naturally. Both me and Top have known as much, though that changes little. No one has seemingly been able to find a cure for her condition."
Octavia frowned, this wasn't how this was supposed to go. If not even Lord Radon knew what illness Polo had contracted, then who did?
"So, this again?"
The unicorn across from her was glaring straight into her eyes.
"Indeed Mrs Flair. A few things have come up in my investigation that has lead to me to wanting to ask you a few more questions."
Flair sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, let's get this over with then," she fished up a hoof file from her bag and started applying it.
She nodded. "First of all, you don't seem to be bothered at all by young Pen's passing, why is that?"
The prissy unicorn paused briefly, before continuing her filling. "That colt has been nothing but disappointment after disappointment. Do not misunderstand, of course I'm sad," she scoffed. "But I've never been one to cry a river, unlike my husband. Doing so could absolutely ruin one's reputation."
"And that's important to you?"
"Naturally; I figured you'd know this more than anyone, Miss Melody. But I'll spell it out: here in Canterlot? You live and die by your reputation," she scoffed. "The only reason I agreed to this entire arranged marriage nonsense is because House Radon is quite prestigious."
If she had little less control over her feelings she would have snapped her pen in half by now. Flair reminded her way too much of another prissy unicorn, one that she'd thankfully never need to see ever again.
"Very well," she made a show of scribbling some notes, though nothing she could write really felt like it lived up to the absolute disdain she held for her interviewee.
"On to the next matter then: When was the last time you saw Pen alive?"
"Ah, yes," Flair didn't take her eyes off the hoof she was working on. "To be honest I'm a bit surprised you didn't ask this of me yesterday. Really, I thought you were some master detective; not a complete amateur."
She didn't manage to stop a sigh from escaping her muzzle. "Just answer, please."
"I was exchanging a few words with my son shortly after breakfast yesterday."
"What was it about? From what Lord Radon said it got quite heated."
Flair huffed. "Yes, I did get a bit worked up. You don't just get invited to a noble family's estate and then spend the evening getting so drunk you can't even walk straight. I had to reprimand him for his behaviour, the colt was still smelling of the stuff, not to mention that he had the nerve to argue back."
"What about after that, did you see your son again?"
Flair hummed. "No, I'm afraid not. The next time I happened to see him he was lying in a pool of blood in the library," she stopped her filling. "It was quite shocking, you must understand."
The way she spoke as if she was sharing idle gossip was highly disturbing.
Octavia was just about to field a follow up question when a loud yell rand out.
"Oi, Polo!"
All three ponies turned to stare at the door towards the dining room. It had unmistakably been Vinyl's voice. A beat later she, Lyra, and Diamond Flair were all rushing over towards the dining room.
Lyra hurried after Octavia, a pit opening up in her stomach. She could see Ice Top rushing towards the open side door of the dining room. A brief glance out the window to the hot spring revealed the unicorn with a spiky mane galloping down the path towards the spring.
She skidded once she reached the main hall, coming in too quick to take the turn towards the hot spring, she'd barely managed to get her bearing again when a white and green blur blasted past her; their wings flapping hard enough to kick up a tailwind.
She rushed into the indoors hot spring, her hooves raining down on the cobblestone path.
"Polo!" Ice Top wailed, her body collapsing next to Polo's on the gravel floor.
The DJ, having discarded their shades, was administering first aid. At least that's what Lyra assumed they were doing. Radon Wing was crouched down beside her, following whatever directions he was given.
Lyra came to a halt beside Octavia, a quick glance revealed that her friend was glaring straight at Polo.
"It shouldn't have come to this," they mumbled, barely audible.
Eventually Vinyl got up, slowly she approached Ice Top and Lord Radon. Silently, she shook her head before glancing away and trotting off; she collapsed once she reached the room's wall.
Octavia sighed. She'd known this was going to happen, yet she wasn't prepared for it. Polo's lifeless body lay there on the gravel, still wet from having been dragged up from the spring.
"You," Wing's seething voice rang out as he slowly got onto his hooves again. His piercing eyes boring holes into his parents. "You did this to her!"
"W-what," the teary eyes of Ice Top widened.
Wing launched himself over and grabbed his father by the neck. "You and your Celestia be damned legacy!" His eyes were filled with rage. "IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?!?" He shook the older stallion who refused to meet his eyes.
Everyone else was paralysed, either from fear, or from shock; she didn't know which. So she took a step forwards.
"Calm yourself!"
Wing turned his head and met her eyes. "Stay out of this," he growled.
She raised her armed hoof and pointed it straight towards Wing. No matter how much she was shaking, she couldn't back down; no one else was going to die today!
"You've already lost your sister this day, do you really think she'd wish you to tear asunder the rest of your family?"
Wing's eyes widened, she knew not if it was her action or her words that caused such a reaction. But she couldn't relent now.
"Calm yourself," she said, her tone harsh but her volume lower.
It took a few moments of deep breaths, his eyes never leaving hers, but eventually Wing relented and let go of his father. Ice Top was crying a river at this point.
Slowly, she lowered her shaking hoof to the ground. The expression of everypony else in the room ranged from shock to horror. She raised her other hoof and rubbed her forehead before letting out a deep sigh.
No one else was going to come and take charge of the situation; it had to be her.
"I- I don't understand," Carbon Cake mumbled, his eyes too were tear stained. "Who'd want to hurt dear Polo?"
"I can think of only one Pony," she said, glancing at Wing who'd taken a few steps away from his family. The look in his eyes told her that he'd come to the same conclusion.
"Fuck," Wing exclaimed while raising his hoof and smashing it straight into the trunk of one of the trees. He voiced more and more curses while ramming his hoof into the tree repeatedly.
"I- I don't understand," Cake voiced.
"But she does," Thor said from somewhere behind her. "Clearly there is more going on here than meets the eyes."
Taking a deep breath she mustered up the courage to speak. "As far as we are aware, the only pony in this room was Polo herself. Meaning that the two most likely scenarios is that either this was an accident..." her eyes turned to Polo's body. "Or, it was suicide; and I'm willing to believe it was the latter."
A few gasps could be heard across the room, she didn't pay attention from where they had come. She could hear the crunching of gravel as Thor came up by her side.
"You mean to tell me that my grandniece wished to take her own life? Don't make me laugh."
She turned and glared straight into his eyes. "That is exactly what I'm insinuating. During my investigation it came up that Polo had confided with her brother about her thoughts; I even confirmed it with her myself. Why exactly do you think he made up an excuse to stay here as much as possible? He was worried sick about his sister."
Lord Radon's expression fell, his body soon doing the same as he collapsed onto his knees, his eyes turning towards his son. "Wing... is that true?"
Wing just grit his teeth and closed his eyes.
Thor, having watched the exchange let out a deep sigh. "So that's how it is..."
She made her way over to Polo's body, her eyes meeting those of Diamond Flair who was standing a few paces away. She expected the mare to be as unflinching in behaviour as before, yet even she seemed shaken.
"Mrs Flair, would you mind lifting her body onto my back? While I'm fairly certain my assessment is correct, I'd like to store the body somewhere cold so the guard can examine her for any potential poison when they get here," she gestured towards the door outside.
Frankly, she was making it up as she went. She had no idea if storing a body in the freezing cold would even help with such an investigation; yet she trusted that the other guests didn't either.
With an audible gulp, Diamong Flair lit her horn. It took a few false starts but eventually she managed to lift Polo's lifeless body and deposited it onto Octavia's back. She heard no complaints from anyone as she made her way across the final stretch of the room, to the door leading outside and into the gardens.
'In for a penny, in for a pound,' she idly thought. Polo had played everyone for a fool; including herself.
From the cold of the "gardening hut" --calling it a shed would have been more accurate-- she flipped through her notebook. She needed a few moments to herself to gather her thoughts. She'd unceremoniously dumped Polo's body on what she was certain was a dog's cot.
She wasn't sure if the adopted noble mare would wake up sooner rather than later, but the two of them would have words. So until then, she'd keep going over what she knew about the murder. With a blink she stopped her flipping. Slowly she flipped back to the earlier page that had caught her attention.
She'd done a crude drawing of the murder weapon for reference the prior evening. She'd discarded the weapon itself as a useless avenue of investigation quite quickly, but had elected to note down the shape and form of it. She lacked both the knowledge and the means to make any good assessments about it. Still, maybe she could gleam something from her notes?
The hilt of the dagger was inscribed with an ornate "R", the insignia of House Radon. Given that the murder took place in House Radon's estate, it hardly seemed indicative of much. Any pony who wanted to murder someone could easily have tracked down a weapon like this when on-site.
The entirety of one side of the blade was blood stained, likely the underside. On the opposite side the hilt had a large splotch of blood on it, while the blade seemed only soaked halfway down the length. Was there some insight to be gained here? She'd no idea how those actual brilliant detectives came about with their insightful deductions.
With a sigh she flipped back to one thirds into the notebook; the point where her notes on the murder had started. She'd just have to go over it all again. She sat there flipping through her notes for at least an hour, but eventually a rough idea started to form in her mind as she went over it all.
"Love, huh?" she mumbled.
A crackle rang out behind her, followed by a grunt.
"Couldn't have put it better myself," Polo grunted out before devolving into panting, her body stained in sweat.
She put down her notebook on the workbench and walked over. Slowly she helped Polo get back on her hooves again.
"To be honest, I wasn't sure if you'd make it. You were declared quite dead."
Polo chuckled. "I'm pretty good at deception," she glanced towards her. "But you knew that already."
"You know, Wing would punch you quite hard if he knew you were still alive."
Polo turned her head away, a sad expression morphing onto her face. "I know," she whispered.
"W-when it's all over... could you apologise to him for me?" She whispered.
"Do it yourself," she shot back.
Polo flinched. "I guess I deserve that." A few moments later she sighed. "So," her voice turning serious. "How's the investigation going?"
"I've got some ideas, but if you've got any insights, I'd gladly hear them."
Polo smiled. "We'll, I've got one: It's always much easier telling the truth than lying, especially if someone is looking to poke holes in your story. So the best you can do is to not lie at all, yet still lead the target onto the wrong trail with your words," she said while steadying herself against the wall.
Octavia walked back to the workbench, pondering Polo's words as she retrieved her notebook. It seemed like the unicorn was on the same track as she was. Which was quite impressive, given how out of the loop she must have been. As she headed back towards the door she noticed Polo staring at her.
"So," the unicorn smiled at her. "Do you know who murdered Pen?"
The blizzard was starting to let up finally, she noted as she closed the door to the garden behind her. The hot spring room was devoid of ponies, so on a hunch she made her way back towards the lounge. And indeed, everypony else was seated inside.
She could see Lord Radon trying to comfort his wife. Their son, meanwhile, was seated at the bar, his face resting flat against the bar counter's surface. Lyra was trying to talk to Vinyl with little success, her otherwise cheery housemate had a blank expression on their face.
Similar dour looks rested on the faces of everyone in the room. She couldn't blame them; this wasn't the type of union anyone here had wished for. After taking a moment to gather her nerves, she cleared her throat and entered the room proper.
While she was sure she had the attention of most of the ponies, Thor was the first one to speak up. "It seems I owe you an apology, Miss Melody."
She glanced his way.
With a sigh the older stallion continued. "I didn't think much of you, certainly not with all the wild rumours. But the way you're able to conduct yourself in even the most dire of circumstances... well, that's deserving of respect," he nodded lightly.
She nodded back before glancing around the rest of the room. It didn't seem like anyone else had anything to add; at least not right now. So she steeled herself and spoke.
"I believe I know the circumstances surrounding Graphite Pen's death now." By speaking plainly she had the attention of everyone in the room aside from Wing; who seemed to be completely lost to what was happening around them.
"Y-You solved it?" Carbon Cake stammered out from where he was sitting with Ice Top and Lord Radon.
"Yes, though just to confirm," she turned to face Diamond Flair, who was sitting at the other end of the bar from Wing sipping her own drink. "You did see who murdered your son, correct?"
"Correct," Diamond Flair replied, a frown on her features.
Octavia smiled. "Then that's all I needed to know."
Diamond blinked once before letting out an "Ah," sound, her eyes turning down towards her drink. If Octavia needed any other hint towards her being on the right track, Diamond's reaction was it.
"Let's start with the basic details. Graphite Pen died, at my estimate, an hour or so before lunch was served yesterday. His body was found, first by Lyra, then by Mrs Flair, shortly after lunch."
"And the lyrist didn't do it?" Thor questioned.
Octavia shook her head. "Mrs Flair supposedly ran into Lyra right after the deed was done, meaning that the crime scene couldn't have been tampered with. Yet, there was quite a bit of blood, both on the floor and on the weapon. Yet there was no note of any blood on Lyra herself."
Doubtful looks glanced her way, so she continued. "I'll admit, it's not the most compelling reason for her innocence. However, she'd not met Pen prior to this event: she had no reason to wish him harm."
"And you're suggesting someone else here did?" Ice Top snivelled.
"I do," she nodded. "But let's take a step back. After Pen had finished eating his breakfast, he went ahead and retrieved a bottle of wine to partake in from the comforts of his room."
"S-surely not..." Carbon mumbled.
"No," Flair interjected. "He definitely was," she took a sip of her own drink. "I saw the bottle when I exchanged words with him, Detective Melody's assertion is spot on."
She gave a nod towards Flair. She didn't like the unicorn in the slightest, but at least she could respect her in this one moment.
"The next time Pen was seen, he was lumbering towards the library. We can therefore conclude that he met his untimely end there while being drunk off his hooves," she concluded.
The room was silent for a moment, two moments, and then...
"You're saying he took his own life?" Lord Radon asked aloud the question that was likely on everyone's mind.
A loud snort rang out, followed quickly by Radon Wing removing his head from the counter to look at his father. "You think so little of her, even after all of this?" Wing glanced her way, giving her a nod to continue.
She nodded back before turning her gaze towards the rest of the room. "Wing is correct, I don't believe this to be a suicide. The logistics of ramming a dagger into ones own throat is hardly trivial, even less so if you're so drunk you can barely walk straight. No, Graphite Pen was murdered."
"How can you be so certain?" Ice Top questioned.
"It's simple, really. After all, we have a pony that witnessed the crime right in this very room," she gestured towards Diamond Flair. "You saw when Lyra discovered the body, yes, but you also witnessed the original murder too, didn't you?"
Every set of eyes in the room were trained on Diamond, waiting for her reply.
"Yes," Flair closed her eyes, "I did."
Cries in alarm and surprise rang out across the room. Quite a few colourful words were traded before Wing eventually had enough and stomped his front hooves against the counter; quite loudly at that.
"Give them space to talk, you can act like foals after the fact," he spoke, clearly at the end of his patience.
Diamond Flair licked her lips and put down her drink on the counter. "Detective," she glanced her way. "It's not often in my career that I've yielded center stage to somepony else. I trust you can carry this all the way to the curtains?"
She smirked. "I can." She hadn't been wrong yet in her assertions, so she was quite certain that she was on the right track.
Diamond flashed her a smile. "Then I'll leave it to you," she raised her glass in Octavia's direction before downing the rest of it.
She gave a nod to the mare before continuing. "It seemed counter intuitive at first, it's why I almost missed it. Why would Mrs Flair wish to cover up the death of her own son?"
She thought back to what had transpired just an hour or two ago. "See, when faced with the death of young Polo, Mrs Flair panicked and locked up. Would it really be reasonable to expect her to not take it equally hard, if not worse, when it was her own son lying dead on the floor? In fact, all of my interactions with her in regards to her son have been odd, to put it lightly; almost as if they were rehearsed."
Octavia glanced towards Diamond, but she seemed to hold little interest in weighing in. "She's quite the actress, having been a top billing fashion icon; you'd have to be, otherwise high society would eat you alive. Faced with the death of her son, she did what came natural: adapting to make the best of a bad situation."
"I don't know if it was a spur of the moment thing, or if she knew that Lyra tended to go to the library when things became too much for her. Regardless, she'd act her part. So at just the right opportunity she yelled out for help, just like a supposed normal pony would do when faced with an atrocity."
"But," Top started, "why implicate someone else for the crime if she knew who killed her son? That doesn't make any sense!"
Octavia hummed. "Normally you'd be right; it wouldn't. In some cases I guess you could argue it would be in order to protect someone else, though I don't think that's the case here either. No, what Mrs Flair wanted to protect the most was her reputation. Ergo, if it came to light that the pony who actually murdered Pen had done so, then it would sting harder than if some nameless lyrist had done it."
Wing huffed and rolled his eyes. "So it wasn't any of you musicians? Tell me something I didn't already know."
"Well," she started while collecting her thoughts. "Next is simply a matter of who both had the opportunity to kill Pen, as well as the motive to commit the act. As for opportunity, neither Polo, Vinyl, nor Wing would've had the chance to do so."
"That leaves quite a few ponies left who could in theory have committed the crime, yet seemingly all of them lack motives," she fished up her notebook and started going down the list.
"Me and Lyra both didn't know and hadn't met Graphite Pen prior to arriving here. It'd be quite a stretch to argue that either of us would have had a reason to end the poor stallion's life. Next, while Mrs Flair would have had the perfect opportunity, she too has no motive. Even if she hated her child, he was ostensibly going to be marrying upwards when it comes to high society; something which would also benefit her."
Taking a moment to catch her breath, she noticed a glass floating into view.
"Water?" Flair offered.
With a nod in thanks she accepted the drink, downing most of it before placing the glass on the closest table.
"Now," she continued. "Mrs Flair was hardly the only one concerned with reputation. Thor desperately wanted Pen to sire an heir to the family. If anything, he was desperate for this union to go through, what with Polo's worsening condition."
"That leaves three ponies, the two childhood friends that arranged this entire marriage to begin with, as well as Lord Radon himself. None of which should have any reason to want Graphite Pen dead... and yet, here we are."
Ice Top glanced wearily between the two stallions she was seated with. "You can't be serious Miss Melody," she turned to stare Octavia in the eyes. "Why would either of them want sweet little Pen dead?"
She hummed. "Why indeed?" Her eyes scanning across the three of them. "I'll skip the theatrics and dive directly into the rest of my findings."
"There were too many oddities surrounding you in particular, Lord Radon. For one, the only pony I know for certain who even knew that Pen had made his way to the library was you. You also arrived late for lunch, and according to your wife, you'd been busy with something in this very room," she glanced at Ice Top. "Correct?"
Ice Top gulped. "That's what he said..."
Wing let out a growl before picking up and hurling the open bottle that had rested on the bar beside him; thankfully the bottle collided with nothing but the wall, though it had completely soaked the floor with wine. Wing kept swearing under his breath as he smacked his front hooves against the bar counter.
"I-" Ice Top uttered, not managing to come up with anything else to say.
"The thing is though," Octavia continued. "At the time, Radon Wing was in this very room. Meaning that if Lord Radon had stopped by, he would have run into his son. But of course," she turned to face Radon. "Wing never met anyone, he's been in this room alone since before the party started, and was so up until me and Lyra came to speak with him."
She could see that the stallion was starting to sweat profoundly.
"But," she took a step forwards. "There is also the murder weapon: A dagger with House Radon's insignia. And-" she continued before anyone could interrupt here, "while it's true that somepony else could have gotten their hooves on it. It would have been much easier for you, Lord Radon."
Lord Radon gulped. "All of this might be true Miss Melody, but it could also mean that someone is trying to frame me."
She hummed. "That's a possibility, yes. Earlier I idly considered if your uncle could perhaps have been the one to have committed the murder," she glanced towards the ageing stallion. "But there is another interesting detail on the murder weapon: There's blood on the handle."
"So?" Radon asked, the confusion clear in his voice.
"This means that whoever used it as a weapon wasn't covering the handle with their limbs, ergo, the killer has to be a unicorn. And as we both know, Thor's illness makes his telekinetic grip especially weak."
Radon's eyes were darting back and forwards, trying to meet the gaze of others; something that was denied when everyone else looked away when their eyes met. "T-this proves nothing though. Why would I want to kill the colt that was going to marry my daughter?!"
She smirked and glanced across the room. "Vinyl dear, would you mind hooking this up to the speakers?" She fished up the tape player from her saddlebags.
With a grunt the aforementioned unicorn got up and made their way behind the bar. After a minute or so she returned with a long cable that she wordlessly attached to the tape player. Meanwhile, Octavia had busied herself with rewinding it to the point she'd noted down.
"What is this?" Asked Ice Top, the first one to breach the topic.
"Just dues," Wing grunted out with his face once again buried against the counter.
She glanced briefly towards Wing before answering Ice Top herself. "The truth of the situation," she opted to say.
Without waiting for another interjection, she hit play.
"You don't love her then?"
"It's more complicated than that."
The conversation rested as clattering of cutlery could be heard.
"I just... she's a beautiful mare, really. Probably way better than I deserve."
...
"But... she's also nothing like me. I want to settle down with someone that actually cares about my art, you know?"
"Yeah," Radon Wing replied in his usual non-committal fashion.
"And, and! My parents never really understood my art. Mother kept wanting to send me to advanced flight camp to try and become a Wonderbolt," a huff rang out. "As if just any pony can become a bolt!"
"Yeah that requires- hold on."
"Hey!" Radon's voice rang out loud. "Can we have another bottle? Yeah, just put it on my tab."
"Anyway," Radon continued at a much more reasonable volume. "So you want a marefriend that is more on your level, gotcha."
"Yeah!"
She stopped the playback, the last exclamation by Graphite Pen having rung clear and true. Carbon Cake was openly weeping again.
Wing was just giggling, probably at his wits end. "And my therapist says I'm too paranoid," the last few words burning with venom.
"I'm not sure I'm following..." Lyra uttered. Her friend wore an expression of utter confusion .
"It's simple," Octavia started. "Graphite Pen didn't love Polo," she glanced across the room. "So when Lord Radon checked in on the stumbling colt, he likely admitted as much in his drunken stupor. Radon cares a great deal for his daughter and already had his misgivings about the union. But to learn that the colt that was to marry dear Polo didn't even care for her in the slightest? It likely set him off."
"So," she exclaimed, pointing her hoof towards Radon. "In a bout of rage you stabbed the colt, his stumbling making the wound uneven. And you did all of this because you wanted your daughter to be with somepony that truly loved her. You're the murderer, Lord Radon!"
"You can't prove that!" Radon stood up, glaring at her.
"It's what all evidence points to," she countered. "But even so, you were caught red hooved in the act by somepony who saw you there!"
Radon's eyes widened as he turned to glance at Diamond Flair. "No..." He stumbled backwards and collapsed down in the sofa.
The entire room remained silent, everyone was struggling to wrap their heads around it all.
Then, slowly, the light stomping of two hooves making applause rang out.
"Masterful work, Detective," Flair said. "I'll have to apologize for my earlier assertions of your skills, clearly they far surpass the rumours."
"You're one to talk!" The tear ridden Ice Top cried out. "You tried to pin this on somepony innocent!"
"Ah, except.." Flair started.
"...she never once lied," Octavia finished. "If I was an official guard, maybe it could have been considered an intrusion to the investigation... but since I'm not," she glanced at the mare.
She'd never forgive her for trying to pin the murder onto Lyra's shoulders. But considering that she herself had helped Polo in their getaway scheme... she wasn't really in any position to complain about somepony else's acts of deception.
Regardless of it all though, she couldn't help but to agree with Wing's sentiment:
"Fuck this crap," the stallion uttered as he got up and left the lounge, slamming the doors shut behind him.
Thinking back, the guards had been pretty quick to arrive on the scene. Carbon Cake had taken off and flown to Canterlot as soon as the weather permitted it. The case was considered open and shut, what with Lord Radon confessing to the entire thing.
Diamond Flair had also been more forward with the guard than she'd been with her, making the arrest an even simpler matter for them. The trickier part had been Polo, or rather, the lack of her. When they went to retrieve the body they only found large indents in the snow, as if the entire body itself had been rolled away.
But, because no other traces were found of anyone having been around to move the body, they concluded that it must have been blown off the mountain by the particularly strong winds. They were going to send a squad out to search for the body though, if only to give Polo a proper funeral.
Of course, Polo was still alive and well; but they didn't know that. She didn't quite know how Polo had managed to pull off the deception she did, but at the very least nopony had thought much of it that she'd supposedly just dumped the body at the edge of the gardens.
She turned and glanced at the pony sitting next to her on the train back to Ponyville. She'd never seen Vinyl down in the dumps before, usually the unicorn was either full of energy or had this air of calm about her.
"Hey," she asked, getting their attention. "You alright?"
Vinyl glanced away from her towards the floor. "No, no I'm not."
"If you need to talk, I'm here." After all, she had personal experience with how traumatising these kind of events could be.
"It's just," Vinyl started. "She was a fan of mine, like, a huge one."
"Ah?" So it was Polo's untimely "death" that was bothering her.
"Like, ponies know I can play, right? I get gigs often enough. But no one really listens to my stuff. But she did, and she was really into it. And... now she's just gone."
Vinyl pulled out a CD from one of her large bags. "She even asked me to sign this, my album. Who am I suppose to give this to now?!" She handed the case over to Octavia so she could look at it.
It was clearly signed on the front: "For my biggest fan: Radon Polo. ~DJ PON-3"
"I'll probably keep in touch with Wing, if you want, I can make sure it gets delivered to the funeral?"
"Sure," Vinyl waved her off with her hoof absentmindedly. "It's not like it should go to anypony else anyway."
She frowned, but packed the CD into her own saddlebag for later. Maybe there was a way she could get it to Polo?
"I just don't get it... she sounded so full of life and hope, why would she want to take her own life?" Vinyl lightly smacked a hoof against the seat. "I don't get it."
As for herself, her mind wandered back...
"So," Polo smiled at her. "Do you know who murdered Pen?"
Octavia halted. "I've got a pretty good idea," she licked her drying lips. "But the top contender is your father."
Polo hummed, the smile not leaving her lips. "That would be my guess as well."
She wasn't sure if she should be surprised at the young unicorn's indifference, but she elected to not voice her concerns. Instead she continued on towards the door.
"I hope you've got a plan to get through the storm on your weak legs," she mentioned; it was still quite the storm outside.
"I do... that being said," Polo started, causing her to turn her head and glance back at the unicorn. "Since you helped me, I feel like you deserve the truth."
"Oh?"
With a light crackle a stream of green fire ran across the entirety of Polo's frame, burning away her fur in the process. Octavia yelped and stumbled back and away from them in surprise.
What remained looked more insectoid than pony, though their shape was roughly the same. Instead fur there was a black carapace, holes in various sizes lined the entirety of her legs.
"W-what-"
"Changeling," they spoke, though their voice sounded different. "That's what I am," they flashed a smile that revealed their sharp teeth. "In case you were wondering."
Racking the back of her brain she could not remember ever reading about a creature like the one before her, neither the name nor what it looked like rung any bells.
With a sigh, the changeling that had been Polo walked up beside her to glance out the window of the hut. "I've been starving for so long."
Just as she was about to voice her concerns their head turned towards her, and with it their two large pupil-less eyes.
"Changelings eat emotions, specifically love. And there is so, so little of that here. But!" They turned back towards the window. "I won't bore you with the details. You've got a case to solve, and I've got greener pastures to look for."
Octavia gulped. "Will I ever meet you again?"
The changeling that had been Polo giggled. "Who knows, maybe I'll drop in to catch up? I hear you live with the greatest musician of our generation."
She scoffed, yet she couldn't help but to smile at the remark.
