//------------------------------//
// The Case of a Lifetime 
// Story: Freelance. 
// by Tonwhirler 
//------------------------------//

	It was a boring Tuesday evening. The grandfather clock chimed to herald that it was now 2:00. Two more hours. Two more hours and she would be able to escape this deathtrap of a place. And that wouldn’t be soon enough. Not one client had called, knocked or even sent a carrier pigeon. For a week. It was getting on Rarity’s nerves. She wondered why she wanted to go make an independent business in the first place. She landed another paper ball in the wastebasket across from her desk.

Maybe she just wasn't cut out for detective work after all. Of course, it was only her first month as a freelancer. She’d only had ten cases so far, and six of them were Spike faking things to try and get more time with her and the others were Derpy trying to figure out where her muffins went after she had forgotten she ate them. At least she had something to do then. Now, she'd read all of the mystery novels in her bookcase, redecorated her office more times than she probably should have, and had nothing to do. She sighed. One small success as a filly, an ad in the newspaper, and word-of-mouth weren't enough to get her popularity overnight.

Rarity glanced up at the polished frame that held the meticulously cut-out column about her first "case". She couldn't read it from here, but she had the whole thing practically memorized:


Local Filly Solves Diamond Dilemma!


In an unexpected turn of events, 11-year old Ponyville resident Rarity found the lost Merriweather Diamonds at 1:45 last Friday. "I just followed my nose, and the clues came to me." said the filly, "I told Ms. Merriweather, but she didn't believe me. So I went to figure it out on my own. And I got my Cutie Mark!" While her family was over for dinner, young Rarity was able to find out that the jewels had been hidden in plain sight, in a vase nearby their usual display. The police and the Merriweather family were baffled that the thief would have hidden it in such a location. "Everyone underdemiciates [sic] obvious hiding spots," explained Rarity, "but they've always worked for me in hide-and-seek!" (continued on page 9)

The article went on to explain that it turns out that the diamonds hadn't been stolen in the first place. The police later found that Ted Merriweather, in a drunken haze, had smashed the case and grabbed the jewels to "get a better look at them". He slipped, hit his head, and passed out. When he came to, the family heirloom was gone and the case shattered, so he leaped to the conclusion of a robber. Filly Rarity didn't understand this at the time, and didn't realize it until years later. It wasn't the most flattering article, but she was proud of it nonetheless.

She absent-mindedly crumpled a page from her newspaper and prepared to launch it. A curt knock at the door startled Rarity. She quickly tossed the paper, straightened out her newspaper and fixed the collar on her jacket. Can't talk to a client looking like you're done nothing all day. “Come in!” she lilted. About time.

To her surprise, it was neither Spike nor Derpy. In fact, it was a face she had come to know very well over the years, though she had never seen her in person. She feigned mere amusement, but her heart was racing.  “Ah, President Celestia. Do sit down. How goes your 501st election?”

Celestia ignored her and just placed an unmarked manila folder on the desk.	

Rarity placed her newspaper aside and opened the folder. There were five papers, each with a picture clipped onto the corner. Five mares, about her age. She recognized two of them: Twilight Sparkle, Vice President. Twilight was Celestia’s first campaign partner since Luna had gone mad and disappeared after her third primaries. Spike was Twilight’s secretary, so she had a considerable amount of insider information on her. Another headlined the paper she was just reading: Applejack, Equestria’s most wanted and most impossible to catch. Applejack had been running an illicit alcohol operation ever since Prohibition was put in effect, but nobody had been able to prove it in court. The next few faces were entirely foreign to her, but their titles spoke for their importance: General Rainbow Dash, 1st Special Forces Group; Diane Pie, head of the CIA; Dr. Fluttershy, director of Equestrian National Laboratory.	

Celestia raised an eyebrow, and Rarity realized she must have looked distressed. She tried her best to put on a calm face. "So what do you want me to do?" Celestia remained stoic as she explained, "Each of these ponies vanished this morning, without explanation. I need you to figure out how and why they disappeared. And hopefully, find them."

Needless to say, Rarity didn't feel up to the task. She suddenly regretted her former wishes for harder work. However, she needed the job and needed the money. She needed better advertising, a better office, a better house, a better car... Besides, President Celestia herself had come to give her the job. Obviously she had more confidence in Rarity than Rarity did.	

"But why me?" Rarity couldn't help but ask.

Celestia didn't answer her question, but she smiled for the first time. She floated a briefcase up to the desk and unlatched it. "I'm giving you 75,000 bits in advance and you'll get the rest of the money later. Do we have an agreement?" Rarity stared at the paper currency. It was more than any job had payed so far, and it was only the contract money. She nodded. "Yes, Ms. President. We have an agreement."

Celestia turned and headed for the door. "Good," she said, magically opening the door. "because I'll need it solved by Saturday." She disappeared down the hall before Rarity could object.

Rarity drew in a deep breath. By Saturday. The largest actual job of her life, and she had less than four days to figure it out.  Even if she failed, she had already been paid. Of course, if the President gave her bad press, she might never have a case again! "Keep your cool, Rarity." she said aloud, "A suave detective like you always keeps her cool." She stood up, walked over to her coat rack and donned her trademark hat. The game was afoot.