//------------------------------//
// A Stolen Lyra: Chapter Five 
// Story: The Ardman Files 
// by The_Pariah 
//------------------------------//

A Stolen Lyra: Chapter Five

As my hoof connected, I heard a satisfying crunch and Twilight crumpled to the floor, unconscious. A gasp interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to find myself staring at a shocked dragon. Half-grinning, I walked out of the same hole I had entered, a small feeling of happiness flowing through my limbs. I trotted back through the market, found a open air cafe and dropped onto a seat.

Almost instantly a waitress appeared next to me. "What can I get for you today?"

"Just a cappuccino thanks." She nodded and walked off, leaving me alone. Slowly I opened the file and stared at the name at the top: Rich Disk.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Lyra shook her head as she woke. She was in the same room as last time, and lying next to her was Octavia. She pulled herself closer and whispered. "Octavia."

Octavia stirred slowly. "Wha- Lyra? Where are we?"

Before she could answer, a familiar high-pitch voice giggled. "Don't you remember, Tavi? Is it OK if I call you that? Or is Scratch the only one who can call you that? Anyway, I'll refresh your memory for you. I kidnapped you as insurance." The speaker, out of view of both ponies, continued, "Though I think I'm going to hurt you later on. It'll be great fun... for me."

As the unseen pony’s hoofsteps faded away, Octavia looked at Lyra. "We hired a detective named Ardman. Twilight thinks highly of him."

"But now that you're here, he won't be able to do anything! He won't risk it."

Octavia frowned. "Well, he’d better, otherwise I'm breaking out of here myself."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I sipped my coffee and flipped through the report. It detailed Rich Disk’s history: how he had failed as a DJ after being beaten in numerous competitions by Lyra; how he had a house here in Ponyville; and, most importantly, how he was the son of 'The King', the reputed leader of the Mob. "I suppose that explains the mobsters, but what about Jake's message?"

He had used a code that I hadn't heard since its creation. To say that 'the sparrow flies south for the winter' was Jake's way of telling me that whatever I did next, he would stand by it. A kind of final sanction. I finished my coffee and stood up. I had everything I needed; a location, a suspect and most importantly, a sanction. But first, I had a party to attend.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I approached the building cautiously. It appeared to be made completely out of gingerbread, but such a thing could never support itself. Ignoring the physical impossibility of the structure, it smelt and looked delicious. The scent of a thousand different desserts wafted from the building, and the sound of heavy bass pounded outwards.

The moon had risen, and I was in my element. I was and, as far as I can tell, always have been a creature of the night. I passed through the front door and was confronted with quite a scene. Ponies filled the room, dancing to their heart's content or chatting to others, despite the bass that filled the room. Vinyl was of course providing said bass, Rainbow hovering protectively nearby.

A pink pony dropped from the sky and landed in front of me. "Oh boy, you're here. Now we can really get this party started!"

"It wasn't started already? And why did you drop from the sky?"

"Nope, this is just the pre-party warm-up. And I didn't drop from the sky," she said, looking at me in confusion.

I nodded my head. "You kinda did. Straight down in front of me." I blinked a few times. "Oh, that's right. How did you know for me to go see Twilight?"

"My Pinkie sense, of course."

"Your what?"

"My Pinkie sense. I had an ear twitch, leg shake, eye cramp and an itchy nose."

"And that equated to...?"

"A message from Twilight to you."

"You got all of that... from some weird body movements?"

"Yup." She grinned, then trotted over to talk to somepony else. I stared at her for a second before walking over to the refreshments. Lifting up a glass of punch, my gaze swept over the gathering. Ponies of every size, colour and shape filled the room with a veritable sea of energy.

I almost smiled. Moving my body slowly in time with the beat, I worked my way over to the turntables. Any thought of a smile vanished as I reached Vinyl. Behind her sunglasses I could see the stains of recent tears, and once more my heart, which had been closed for so long, yearned to open for her.

Why, after all these years, was I being affected so? I had seen ponies eviscerated, torn limb from limb. I had seen newly-made widows and widowers cry. I had sacrificed my soul and left any feelings of guilt and regret behind. Perhaps then, I hadn't become soulless; rather I had donned a mask, become the Demon Detective. Then why only now was that mask slipping? What was the catalyst?

I shook these thoughts from my head, and nodded to Vinyl. "How are you going?"

She shrugged, and turned to face me as the music continued to play. "I'm all right. I have to be, for Tavi."

I sighed. "You really believe that, don't you? Well, whatever helps I suppose." I glanced at Rainbow Dash. "You're incredibly loyal, you know that?"

She grinned. "I am the Element of Loyalty for a reason. And I'm the fastest flyer in Equestria. Vinyl explained everything that's happened so far, so I'm up to date."

I groaned. "What, is everypony here an Element of Harmony?" I instantly regretted my question as Pinkie popped up next to me.

"Nope. Only me, Twilight, Rarity, Dashie, Fluttershy and Applejack are Elements."

I stared at her for a second. "So I've already met three of them? That seems a bit too much to be coincidental."

Pinkie shrugged. "I think the author is actually making a point that we are here in Ponyville, so you should expect to come across us."

I stared at her, causing Rainbow to lean in and whisper, "Don't take too much notice of what she says. Nopony understands what she's talking about half the time."

Nodding sagely, I finished the glass of punch and walked back down to get another. "Tonight's been pretty good. As far as I can tell, nothing has gone horribly, terribly wrong." And just as I uttered these words, something went horribly and terribly wrong.

A low gasp echoed throughout the room. The music died and guests stopped dancing, everypony now staring at the bedraggled pony standing in the doorway. Her mane was torn and stained, her coat drenched in a mix of blood and sweat. In the shocked silence, Octavia's words were incredibly loud. "Help... me..." She said, before dropping like a stone.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Lyra was dragged out of unconsciousness via a huge bucket of icy-cold water. As she spluttered, the high-pitched cackle of her captor echoed around the dungeon. "This is marvelous, marvelous indeed. I have decided to keep you alive for a little longer, so here." A plate of food and a large jug of water floated over, suspended in a deep orange aura. "Oh, we are going to-"

"Shut the buck up."

"I'm sorry?"

"I said, shut the buck up. I am well and truly sick of your crap." Lyra smiled mockingly, her tone sickly-sweet. "And Rich, if I ever get out of these chains, I'm going to wrap them around your throat." There was no reply as Lyra devoured the food and drink in front of her.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I sprung into action. "I need a doctor, now!" Rushing over to Octavia I checked her pulse, only to find it erratic. A brown pony galloped over and bent over the fallen mare.

"Erratic pulse, several broken ribs, severe internal bleeding and severe external bleeding as well; she's in a very bad way," he spoke rapidly as he examined the extent of her injuries.  "I have to get her to the hospital immediately."  Lifting her carefully, he raced off, running straight past Twilight, whose snout was wrapped heavily in bandages.

"What the hay happened here?" Twilight's voice echoed through the silent room.

"I believe Octavia somehow managed to escape her captors," I said as I stepped forward.

She glared at me. "And why did you break my snout?" The silence was deafening.  "It'll take at least a week to heal."

I tapped my chin. "Why did I hit you in the snout? Why did I do that?" I paused. "Oh yes, I remember. Because I felt like a little revenge."

"Revenge for what?"

Come on brain, think of something. "Revenge..." Of course! "Revenge for tricking those mobsters into attacking me." 

She raised an eyebrow with obvious skepticism, before objecting, "Oh come on. They attacked me first, then they just saw you and decided you were the bigger threat. It's not my fault you came to my library."

I grabbed her by the neck with my magic and dragged her close to me. I whispered in her ear, "Nice acting. We have to keep this up. Remember Twi, everything I do, I do to protect you."

She whispered back, "You're going to have explain that to me one of these days." Pushing away, she cried, "Let me go you brute!"

I shoved her away and turned to face the door. "I'm done here. I haven't the time nor the patience to deal with you." I departed, leaving a stunned silence in my wake.