July 24th, 07:30 AM
Heartstrings & Co. Law Offices

“Papers… papers… more papers.” Lyra slammed her head against her desk. It sure was fun to go inside the courtroom and do her job, but the whole parcel also came with doing plenty of paperwork. The mountain of folders and sheets decorated her desk rather nicely, several of them scattered on the floor as well as some scrunched balls of paper overflowing the trash bin next to her desk. It was yet another busy day of work at the Heartstrings & Co. Law Offices.

My name is Lyra Heartstrings. I’m a defense attorney, and apparently, the best one around these parts. Well, at least that’s what everypony says. I’m kinda new, but I think I’ve got the hang of it. Recently, I had a certain case involving two sisters. The youngest, Vinyl, requested me to defend her sister, Octavia, who was being charged for murdering a pony. In the end, I managed to prove Octavia’s innocence and even bring the culprit, Twinkleshine, to justice.

But that’s not the end of it…

Lyra levitated a cup of coffee she had on her desk and gave it a sip. She looked down at the papers and sighed, putting down the mug.

After the trial, I started hanging out with Vinyl. She’s a really nice mare. She works as a DJ-for-hire for parties and stuff. I don’t really enjoy those noisy events, but I don’t mind. However, as far as I know, she and her sister don’t have steady jobs, since they are simple musicians. With the trial and everything that happened, Vinyl told me their economic situation was going through hard times. They’re now working extra hard to rise from the bottom and start fresh again. And that’s when I asked Vinyl if she wanted a job as—

The silence in the office was killed by the wooden door slamming open. A white unicorn stepped inside with a cheerful smile. “Good morning, Lyra! Here’s your number one attorney assistant, reporting for duty!” Vinyl Scratch dragged a hoof to her forehead and saluted.

My assistant... Lyra sighed, not surprised by the sudden outburst. “Morning, Vinyl. How are you?”

“Doing great! I got hired for a party, tonight!” Vinyl glanced at Lyra’s desk. “Yuck. You gotta do all that paperwork?”

“That’s nice, Vinyl, and yes, I have to do all this paperwork.” Lyra smiled at her, levitating her cold cup of coffee. “And that’s where you come in, my lovely assistant.” She winked.

“Wh-what? No way! I’m so not touching any of those files!” Vinyl shook her head. “What if I mess up and you send the wrong file to the wrong pony?”

“Relax,” Lyra chuckled. “All you have to do is sort these files by name in that locker.” She pointed her hoof at the pile of papers, then to a locker on the other side of the room. “It’s easy.”

“All right, that I can do... I hope.” Vinyl stared at the chaos Lyra called an office. For some weird reason, it reminded her of her room; stuff scattered everywhere, with barely any space to walk around the room. “Hey, wanna go get some daisy burgers downtown when we’re all done here? I go to this place every week. They make the tastiest, most succulent burgers in Ponyville.

“Well, I could really go for some burgers. Count me in.”

Vinyl , my assistant. At first, she didn’t seem to be so willing to be an attorney’s assistant, but I guess she feels the need to pay me back for what I did for her and Octavia. It’s been a month since that trial, and Vinyl has been working for me for the past three weeks. I say she’s already gotten the hang of it. Maybe I should tell her that I like my coffee with extra sugar. Anyway, I haven’t had any cases since Octavia’s trial, but all this paperwork is driving me crazy…

“Hey, Vinyl?”

“Hmm?” With her magic, Vinyl slid a folder labeled with the letter ‘A’ inside the locker. She turned her head and looked to her boss.

“Have you ever gone to Ponyville’s Spa?”

Vinyl levitated a bunch of sheets and separated them from each other. “Well, I’ve gone with Octavia before. Aloe and Lotus are so friendly, but, I mean… I don’t really have the money right now for a hooficure or something.” She placed the files down for a second and looked at Lyra. “Why do you ask?”

“Uh… no reason. It’s only that I’ve had lots of work lately, and I could really need some pampering.” Lyra took another sip from her cup of coffee, cringing thanks to the cold, bitter substance.

“Why don’t you go with Bon Bon? She’s your sister, after all.”

“Well, Bon Bon isn't very fond of spas or anything like that; she prefers to take care of herself instead of letting somepony else do it. She’s a kind of proud mare, you know.” Lyra stretched her body. Even though her chair was as comfortable as it could be, sitting there for hours could get tiresome for her legs, flanks, and so.

“Ah, I see. Octavia is something like that, although she sometimes lets me brush her mane.” Vinyl continued with her work, placing files starting with the letter ‘B’ on one side and putting the other files away for further organization.

“Plus, Bon Bon is always very busy down at the Canterlot High Prosecutor Offices. So I was thinking that maybe we could go and get ourselves a relaxing, special treatment. What do you say? Don’t worry, it’s all on me.”

“If it’s your treat, sure, I’m in. But only if we can stop by that burger joint later!”

“Right, right.” Lyra finished her coffee, staring at the now empty mug for a few seconds.

Since Vinyl began working here, we’ve gotten to know each other better. Sure, when we first met, I thought she would be just another client and she would carry on with her life. I wouldn’t say Vinyl is only my assistant, but rather…

My best friend.

“Yo, Lyra. You okay? You seemed to be in a daze for a second.”

“Eh?” Lyra tilted her head up, meeting eyes with Vinyl. “No, no. I’m okay. Let’s get to work, then! The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go fetch those burgers!”

“All right!”

But little did I know about what was going to happen later that day…

*****

July 24th, 10:28 AM
Ponyville Square

“Do you really have to carry those shades with you everywhere, all the time?” Lyra walked along with Vinyl down Ponyville. Their work at the office was done, at last. In the future, maybe she could avoid all that trouble by sorting her documents and not have her office look like a sea of papers. The question Lyra asked broke the silence both mares had established since they left the office.

“Yup. I love them. I only take them off when I’m going to sleep or take a shower,” Vinyl said, tilting her head for Lyra to get a better view at them. “They’re special, you know. They were a gift from… somepony.”

“Oh, was it a gift from a special somepony?”

“No. It was a gift from… my mother.” Vinyl tilted her head down, stopped walking and stared down at the ground.

“Is something wrong?” Lyra noticed Vinyl’s voice changed for a moment. It wasn’t her common energetic and enthusiastic voice.

“No… nothing. I’m okay. Let’s go,” Vinyl said with her usual voice back. She smiled and resumed her movement.

Ah, okay.” Lyra returned her stare at the road. She noticed the streets weren’t as busy as usual. Some stands were closed and only two or three ponies would occasionally appear and disappear between the streets. “So how’s Octavia? Doing well?”

“Yup.” Vinyl nodded. “Even though she lost her cello in that incident, she managed to buy a new one, with some help from me. But lately, she hasn’t been playing a lot.”

“Hmm? And why’s that? Did the incident cause some sort of controversy around her?”

“No, no, that’s not it. She hasn’t been playing a lot since, well, playing a cello doesn’t put a lot of food on our table, and we are kinda at the bottom of the chasm.”

“So, she got herself a new job or something?”

“Yeah. You might not know, but Octavia is an expert in forensics. She’s crazy about it, you know. She’s an expert in toxicology. She can identify every kind of toxic or poison faster than a sonic rainboom.”

“Oh, that’s interesting. So I get she got a job in some lab or something?”

“Yes, in the police department forensics laboratory. Pretty cool, right? She got the job two weeks ago, and even if she’s a rookie, the pay is really good, and she’s already dating somepony from there.”

I’m glad they’re both supporting each other to rise from the ashes. I wonder if I’ll see Octavia in the courts now that she has a job in the police department. “That’s nice. I’m happy for you two.”

“Thanks.” Vinyl looked to her left and noticed they had arrived at their destination. “Hey, look. We’re here.” She pointed her hoof at the spa. A thin trail of steam rose from a chimney.

Both unicorns walked towards the building, only to be greeted by a sign hanging in front of the door. The word ‘closed’ marked in red wasn’t something pleasant to see for mares who wanted to have a nice day of relaxation.

“Aw, damn it. It’s closed!” Vinyl stomped on the ground, not too hard. “Huh? But there’s steam rising from the chimney. Who in their sane judgment would leave a building with a lit fireplace?”

“Well, you said it. It’s steam. Fireplaces produce smoke, not steam. I’m sure it comes from the spa’s sauna room. They have a chimney inside the room to release the steam once the sauna is no longer being used. Question is: if they’re closed, then why is steam coming out from the room?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it was open a while ago and they closed for a while?” Vinyl looked closer at the sign. It didn’t only say it was closed, but it had the spa’s schedule written below.

“Unlikely.” Lyra joined Vinyl and looked at the sign. “It says they open every day from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. It’s 10:40 AM right now, and sauna sessions last at least an hour or so. Plus, I think it’s highly unlikely that somepony would come this early to get a sauna treatment with this heat.”

Vinyl raised her hoof and knocked the door. “Hello? Is anypony there?” she called, but received no answer. She knocked again. “Hellooooo!?”

“This is weird.” Lyra tapped her chin with a hoof.

“Huh? What do you mean? They’re just gone. Maybe they’ll come back later.”

“No, that’s not it, Vinyl.” Lyra tilted her head up and looked at the still rising trail of steam. She was a curious pony. As an attorney, she needs to have this high sense of curiosity, even to the smallest things. “If nopony’s here, then who released the steam from the sauna room? Even more important, who set the sauna in the first place?”

“Now that you say it. Well, what if they set the sauna, released the steam, and then left?”

“That is a possibility, yes.” Lyra looked back at the front door. “However, even if a customer did come at 10:00 AM, when the spa opens, why would he or she leave so soon? And why would the twins Aloe and Lotus do as well?”

Vinyl looked around the street, noticing somepony on the other side of the road. “Hey, look. There’s a pony running an apple stand over there.” She pointed her hoof at it. “Maybe we could ask her if somepony came or left.”

Lyra looked at the pony and recognized her. She was an orange earth pony, famous for her tasty apples down at Sweet Apple Acres. Judging by the lots of apples on top of the stand, and the several buckets around it, she didn’t seem to be selling a lot. “Ah, that’s Ms. Applejack. Good idea, Vinyl. Maybe she could answer our questions.”

Both mares walked across the street. Applejack had her head resting on one of her hooves, looking up at the sky as if she were waiting for something to happen. She didn’t notice the incoming unicorns until she heard Lyra’s voice breaking the silence of the morning.

“Good morning, Ms. Applejack.”

Applejack rolled her eyes down and looked at the two unicorns in front of her, offering her trademark smile. “Well, howdy, Ms. Lyra. How are you this mornin’? Are you here to buy some delicious and fresh apples from the farm?”

“I’m doing well, Ms. Applejack,” Lyra replied. “And no, sorry. We’re not here to buy apples, as delicious as they are. We’re here, hoping if you could please help us with something.”

“Aw, shucks. What can I help you with, then?”

“We were wondering if you have seen anypony go inside or out the spa,” Vinyl said.

“Well, we first need to know how long you’ve been here, of course,” Lyra added.

“Ah, let me think.” Applejack dragged a hoof up her chin and rubbed it, rolling her eyes up. “Well, I’ve been here since 8:00 AM, as usual. I come here every day to sell some of my apples.” She returned her stare at Lyra. “However, since I’ve been here, I’ve only seen Ms. Aloe leavin’ the spa.”

“So you saw nopony coming inside? You only saw Ms. Aloe leaving the building?” Lyra asked.

“Yup. I’m sure nopony went inside that spa. All I saw was Ms. Aloe leavin’.”

“And when did you see her?” Vinyl asked.

“Ah, now that’s tricky, Okay, umm... I think it was about thirty minutes ago, yeah.”

“So Ms. Aloe left the spa around 10:10 AM, yet nopony went inside at least since 8:00 AM.” Lyra couldn’t help but think something was weird about that matter. If Ms. Applejack’s story is to be believed, what could Aloe possibly be doing for around three hours? If nopony else went inside, then why was the sauna room recently used? Maybe Aloe used it? “Just one more question, Ms. Applejack.”

“Yes, Ms. Lyra?”

“Do you see that veil of steam rising from the chimney?” Lyra pointed her hoof at it. Applejack looked at it for a second and nodded. “Do you recall how long has the chimney been spitting the steam?”

“Ah, yeah. I thought that was smoke when I first saw it.”

“Hey, me too!” Vinyl chirped.

“Anyways, I think the steam has been risin’ for like fifteen minutes now. I wonder why?” Applejack could know everything about farms, but she was completely oblivious at understanding how a spa works, since she seldom goes to it, anyway.

“It’s 10:45 AM now. That means the sauna room was used until 10:30 AM.”

“Yup, seems about right,” Applejack said.

“However, that leaves us with a huge problem.” Vinyl and Applejack looked at Lyra with puzzled looks on their faces. “Aloe left at 10:10 AM, yet the sauna room was still being used until twenty minutes later, when the steam rose. The question is: who opened the chimney to release the steam if Aloe had already left?”

“Maybe her sister? Even if nopony came inside since 8:00 AM, the twins probably were already there even before Ms. Applejack set up her stand,” Vinyl commented.

“Didn’t you just knock the door? Nopony answered, meaning nopony else but Aloe was in the spa since 8:00 AM. If nopony is there, then who released the steam? That’s the thing bugging me.” Lyra returned her gaze at the building. Just what the hay is going on in here?

“Well, that’s very weird. Are y’all detectives investigatin’ or somethin’?” Applejack asked.

“No. We came here in hopes to get ourselves a nice spa session, but it was closed,” Vinyl responded. “I didn’t think it would bring up all this mess.” She looked at Lyra, remembering about the promise she made earlier in the morning. “Oh, hey. If the spa’s closed, can we go to the burger joint now? I’m really, really hungry!”

“Oh, sure.” Lyra smiled and stared at Applejack. “Thanks for your time, Ms. Applejack. See you around later.”

“Later, Ms. Lyra, and Ms. fancy-shades. Have a nice day!” Applejack waved a hoof as both unicorns walked away from the stand. She sighed, resuming the position she had before she was interrupted.

“So, Lyra. What are we gonna do about the spa thing? Who do you think released the steam from the sauna room?”

“Eh, I don’t know, Vinyl. I think it’s not important now. Although I’d like to talk later with Ms. Aloe, just to know what happened there.” I want to know what happened there. Nopony was inside for two hours but Aloe. She left the building with the sauna room being in use. However, why was it being used if nopony was there? Who or what could possibly release the steam from the room twenty minutes after Aloe left? Well, whatever’s going on, I’m going to find out.

*****

July 24th, 2:15 PM
Heartstrings & Co. Law Offices

“Whoa, I’m stuffed! Those burgers were really something.” Vinyl was lying on an office couch, rubbing her tummy with a hoof. “We should go there more often!”

Lyra was sitting on her desk, staring at nothing in particular. Her gaze shifted from the wall to the roof, then to her desk, then to the wall again. She tapped a hoof against her horn. What if somepony went inside the spa before 8:00 AM? Then again, nopony answered when Vinyl knocked the door. Was it really because nopony was there, or maybe that pony didn’t want to open?

“Lyra?”

Now that I think about it, If there was somepony else in the spa besides Aloe, it would make sense that the steam was released from the sauna. However, why would that pony refuse to respond to our call?

“Hey, Lyra!”

It’s also a fact that Aloe was in the spa at least from 8:00 AM until she left at 10:10 AM. But why would she leave ten minutes after they were supposed to open? Well, not like I know how they operate, but it seems a bit weird to me. I might be overthinking things, though. There is a perfectly logical explanation for all this, and I want to know what is this all about.

“Lyraaaa!” Vinyl stood in front of Lyra’s desk and slammed her hooves against it.

“Ahh!” Lyra jumped on her seat, eyes going wide open. She blinked and looked at Vinyl and the smirk she had pasted on her face. “Wh-what?”

“What’s the matter? You seemed to have your head in the clouds,” Vinyl chuckled. “Are you still thinking about what happened back at the spa?”

“Y-yeah. It’s still bugging me. I can’t help but wonder what happened there.”

“C’mon, it’s probably nothing. I’m sure we’re just overreacting. I think we should focus on something else, don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” Lyra let out a faint sigh. Maybe I should listen to Vinyl and let it go. But I really want to know what happened there! I keep getting this strange sensation that something’s wrong, but why?

Out of nowhere, the door knocked. Both Lyra and Vinyl stared at it, wondering who could be. A client? Mail delivery? Somepony else? “Please, come in,” Lyra requested. Immediately, the visitor opened the door and stepped inside. Lyra’s eyes widened as she recognized the pony that came in. “Wh-what? Ms. Lotus!?” What’s the meaning of this? What is Ms. Lotus doing here? Could her reason for visiting be related to the spa somehow?

“H-hello, Ms. Lyra, i-is it?” the spa pony stammered. She was breathing quite fast, her mouth twitching constantly. The slightest of shivers ran through her body, noticeable by the trembling on her hooves. It didn’t take a scientist to realize she was nervous.

“Ms. Lotus? What are you doing here?” Vinyl asked. As Lyra, she was a little astonished about the sudden appearance of the pink half of the Spa Twins.

“I… I need help, please!” Lotus didn’t hesitate to shout that out. She didn’t seem to be joking, given the tone of her voice.

“Calm down, Ms. Lotus. Please, tell us what’s the matter,” Lyra said. She stood up from her desk and walked in front of the anxious mare.

“M-my sis… Aloe… she was…” Lotus stuttered, gulping to contain herself. “She… she was arrested this morning.”

“Wh-what!? She was arrested? Why?” Lyra was taken by surprise. I knew something had happened down at the spa! “Why did they arrest her!?”

“The charge… was murder.” Lotus bowed her head. “S-somepony was killed there.”

“A m-murder?” Vinyl felt chills running down her spine. ‘Murder’ wasn’t exactly a word she liked to hear a lot, not since her sister’s trial. Lyra’s suspicions had become true. All this time, something was going on at the spa.

“Who was murdered?” Lyra asked.

“I-it was one of our most loyal clients, Ruby Facets. She was at the spa, going through a special course of our relaxation program. I don’t know all the details, but I do know her body was found in the spa, most specifically, in the sauna room.

“And Aloe was arrested for this? Why?” Lyra asked.

“Because she was the only pony in the spa when the body was found, and not only that, but she was lying unconscious inside the sauna room, along with the dead body,” Lotus explained. Her voice seemed to be a bit calmer, but anypony could notice she was still trembling like a scared kitten.

Wait. Aloe and the victim were the only ponies in the spa? Didn’t Aloe leave the spa at 10:10 AM? Could it be that she came back? And if she did, why would she be lying unconscious in the sauna room? Argh, so many questions! It’s the most confusing story I’ve heard in a while, and it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. “So… where is Ms. Aloe now?”

“She woke up a while after the police arrived. They took her to the detention center. I wanted to go visit her, but they told me I should go and find an attorney for her. So that’s why I came here.”

“Wait, and who called the police? Who discovered the body and Aloe in the sauna?” Vinyl interrupted.

“I… I don’t know. When I came back to the spa, the police were already there, investigating. They had already taken Aloe and some officers were chatting with somepony across the street. I think it was Ms. Applejack.”

So it seems like Applejack is a witness. But... was she being completely honest? Did nopony go inside the spa since 8:00 AM? Did Aloe leave the building at 10:10 AM? I will have to go talk with her about the matter. “We went down to the spa around 10:40 AM. When did you arrive and find the police?”

“I came back around 11:15 AM. That’s when the police were already there. They told me they received the call around 10:55 AM, from an anonymous pony. An officer told me they arrived at 11:00 AM. It was then when they broke inside the spa and found both Ruby and Aloe.”

“I see. So the police came like 15 minutes after we left. And I guess Ms. Applejack stayed there until the police arrived.” However, that doesn’t explain how Aloe teleported from the outside to inside the sauna room. “Right then, I think I should go talk with Ms. Aloe about this.”

“Huh, and what about me?” Vinyl asked.

“You stay here with Ms. Lotus and do the paperwork to appoint me as Aloe’s defense attorney. I will go down to the detention center. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

“Thank you so much, Ms. Lyra. I know you can save my sister. She wouldn’t do something like this.” Lotus smiled. She wasn’t shaking anymore. Her voice even sounded more friendly and warm than it had when she first entered the room.

“I’ll prove her innocence, don’t worry.” Her head turned towards Vinyl. “Vinyl, I trust you with the paperwork. I’ll be back later.”

“Gotcha, Lyra. Take care.”

With that, Lyra stepped outside of the room, motivated to find the truth behind the whole mess. Her first stop was the detention center, where she would talk with Aloe about the events that took place that morning.

I need to find out what really happened in there, and Aloe is the only one who knows the answer. Ruby Facets… What reason could anypony have to murder her? I’m afraid I’ll also have to check the crime scene after I’m done at the detention center.

After all, I have already found the first contradiction.