//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: The Adventures of Shadow Chaser: Octavia in the Wolves' Den 
// by RangerBeef 
//------------------------------//

	I'm never sure how I find myself in these situations, but, invariably, no matter what kind of job it is, I start to second guess the person who hired me.  Let me explain.  I'm a private detective, and I'm darn good at my job.  If you need information, I'll get you information.  If you need somepony found, I'll find them.  I've never missed yet.  But no matter what happens I always find myself wondering why I was hired and doing some personal digging just to find out.

This one had seemed pretty cut and dried.  This pony, Vinyl something, had a friend, Octavia, and Octavia had gone missing.  In her desperation to find her friend a friend of mine on the police force had put her in contact with me.  It was nothing shady.  Neither back room dealings nor underworld connections needed to hire me.  My policecolt friend had seen how distraught this Vinyl girl was and had sent her to me.  You see, the police have procedure and protocols for these types of things and forever a mile of red tape to get past.  I, on the other hoof, work slightly outside the law.  Nothing that I do is necessarily illegal, but I wouldn't exactly call myself Dudley Do-Right.  Plain and simple, I get the job done.  The payment you offer is what motivates me to do it faster or slower.  Don't judge me by that.  A stallion's gotta eat, doesn't he?

This job had been different though.  This Vinyl girl had moved something in me when she walked into my office.  It’s not that she was stunningly gorgeous or anything outlandish like that.  In fact, when she came to see me she looked about as disheveled as any homeless pony you might see on the streets.  She’d been crying, and by the look of her, not eating.  It was hard to listen to her story.  She’d lived with Octavia for as long as she could remember.  They were like sisters.  They weren’t into the same types of music but their mutual love and respect of music, and each other, had kept them close.  Until one day last week when Octavia had disappeared.  There had been no note to indicate ransom if it had been a kidnapping, all of Octavia’s belongings remained in the house, save her cello.  For all intents and purposes, Octavia had simply vanished.

As Vinyl had sobbed into her hooves something in her story had hit home.  My brother had left me when I was very young.  Our parents dead in a terrible train accident, my brother had been left to raise me.  I guess the pressure had been too much for him because, before I knew it, he was gone too.  I was left to my own devices and as it turns out, I have a knack for surviving, no matter the odds against me.  The day my brother had left I’d been given my first job.  I found him.  In under a week I knew exactly where he had gone and why.  I left him where I’d found him.  If he didn’t want me around then I sure as hell didn’t need him either.  I still chuckle that as I had turned to walk away from him my cutie mark had shown up.  A hat.  A detective’s hat.  Much like those depicted in the Sherlock Hooves novels.  From then on, I took whatever snooping jobs I could get my hooves on.

I don’t know if it was her disheveled look or the twinge of painful nostalgia but when she had offered her entire life savings I had to turn her down.  I know, a detective who works outside the law and has scruples!?  Working pro bono wasn’t usually my thing but I figure if I offer one free search every year, the hit I take can be fixed when the overjoyed pony spreads word of my business.  Plus, something about this pony’s magenta eyes caught me and told me this case would be a worthy one.  Maybe I’m just a softy for the mares.

After agreeing to take the case and scribbling down all the useful info Vinyl could give me I wished her a good day and sent her home.  I told her within two weeks I would have news of her friend’s whereabouts.  It would likely only be several days to a week but I’ve learned that, in this business, it’s always best to give yourself some leeway.  Besides, from what Vinyl had told me, I felt certain I knew exactly where her friend was.

Hopping the express train to Canterlot, I looked over my scribbled notes.  Nothing too extraordinary about this Octavia girl.  She’s a quiet pony that seems to live in the background of others worlds.  She was pretty, though.  It would be mighty unfortunate for me to be wrong on this hunch.  If she really had been kidnapped the pony that took her would not want her for her talents on the cello.  I pushed that thought from my mind.  The fact that both she and her cello had disappeared told me that she had jumped at what she felt might be a big break for her.  But why had she not told anypony?  Especially her longtime friend and roommate.  It didn’t make sense but that was where I came in.  It was my job to make sense of chaos and seemingly unconnected events and facts.

I began to doze as the train rolled on.  Express was a loose term for this train.  What would normally be an all day trip was cut in half, and 12 hours on a train was nothing to scoff at.  I knew I’d be sore when we rolled to a stop and, as usual, I was right.

I yawned and stretched, feeling my back pop a few times.  Rolling off the bench seat and standing up I was happy I had indulged in a nap.  Feeling refreshed as I stepped off the train and met the cool night air I looked up and saw Luna was already hard at work.  The moon hung low, looking like a giant pearl in the night sky.  I would’ve preferred a half moon or none at all but even with a full moon the darkness of the night was all the cover I would need to get started on finding Octavia.