Chapter 3 "The Disappearance of Gloaming Glitter"
Chapter 3
“The Disappearance of Gloaming Glitter”
We were lucky that the guard told me first. I would hate to cause a panic at two royal summits. Warden and I followed the guard to where Gloam’s room was. I looked at Warden as he stood beside me at the front door, “Stay here.” I ordered.
“You can’t just brush me aside!” Warden yelled. “I’m not going to let whoever did this get away with it!”
“Okay, I need you go and get to Shining Armor.” I said firmly, “Tell him what happened and he’ll know what to do.”
That was really a half truth. But, it got him away from the crime scene. I couldn’t let somepony this close to the victim mess around.
I walked up to the guards and asked, “What happened?”
One of them pointed to the doorknob and said, “No signs of forced entry, sir, that’s the weird thing.”
Okay then, Gloam would have to have known the kidnapper or simply have opened the door herself. I looked at the floor, no scuff marks or signs on the carpet that she was taken away from the room down the hallway.
I pushed open the doorway and looked at the room, there were definite signs of a struggle here.
The guest room was slightly less luxurious than the one that Twilight and I shared. There was a simple bed, comfortable enough, but not the large double-bed we had. Dresser, closet, and nightstands were in evidence, but they didn’t have the same amount of carving, and ornateness. It was nice enough, for a guest of one of the staff. I can’t imagine why Gloaming was put here, though, unless they had run out of rooms close to the dignitaries. I’d say a fairly standard guest room, except for the obvious signs of a struggle.
I saw what looked like scorch marks from a magical blast on the wall. Maybe Gloam was trying to defend herself? Odd that a unicorn of her talent could miss like that…
I shook the thought off and looked at the rest of the room. I looked at the floor and saw a bit of blood on the floor, along with the leg of one of the chairs that were knocked aside during the struggle. I picked up the bloody leg and looked at it, “Part of it is covered with blood, probably used to knock her out, thankfully it’s only a little bit.” I said to myself.
I set the leg down and saw another object on the floor. It was a large tome, by the looks of it, the book was old and well worn. My time at the library told me that this book was read a lot. I picked it up and examined the cover, which depicted a unicorn casting a spell under the title: “Starswirl the Bearded’s Theory of Mana Manipulation”
Mana Manipulation? Mana is the name for magical energy. Well, Gloam was a student, she probably had this book on hoof. I opened the front cover and saw...a time card inside a sleeve. Wait, this is a library book.
I slipped it out and looked at the date, it was checked out ten minutes ago under...Twilight?
What was Twilight doing reading a book like this? I’d have to look at it later.
I set the book down and then saw on the ground, Twilight’s lockett. The locket I gave her before she went into the human world. She wore it for the summit I remember! What was it doing here? I picked it up gently and examined it, the chain was broken. Did it get caught on something?
Twilight wouldn’t just leave it here. Was she here too?
This doesn’t make any sense!
I got a hold of myself and decided to examine the book again. I looked at the back of it.
Your basic Magic Kindergarten teacher will tell you that all unicorns have a certain level of magical attainment. That all unicorns have limits to the levels they can reach under normal circumstances.
Well, Starswirl the Bearded scoffed at those very ideas. In this book we have discovered his notes and theories about the art of Mana Manipulation. In laypony’s terms, it allows a unicorn to grow their magical abilities artificially, by drawing mana from another unicorn or magical artifact.
By absorbing Magic, you too can be counted among the greats of magic!
Sounds like those lousy infomercial books that make you go to ridiculous lengths to get something that can be gotten with practice and dedication. Though the idea of absorbing magic from another...it almost sounds sinister.
Also I’m pretty sure everypony in Ponyville can vouch for the dangers of handling magical artifacts. Thank you so very much, Trixie, for that little lesson.
But why would Gloam have a book like this? For that matter, what is Twilight’s stuff doing here?
I needed answers.
I needed my stuff too.
______________________________________________________
It took me about ten minutes to run back and gather all my gear from my room. I put Blackhawk and Golden Eagle inside my trench coat and donned my fedora. The time for formality was over, it was detective time.
I walked my way over towards the room and saw a rather bad sight. Soleil was standing at the doorway, Celestia was there too, along with Shining Armor and Cadence.
Soleil glared at her cousin, “I demand to be let in! She is my student! I should be allowed to investigate this crime scene!”
“We have the best pony we can get on the job, Soleil,” Celestia said, trying to put every effort into being polite. “Don’t worry, your student will be found.”
“I should hope so,” Soleil said, keeping her glare, “and when they are found I will make sure that whoever took her will receive the highest punishment.”
“And that would be?” Cadence dared ask.
“Let’s just say Calvaria is much less merciful to criminals then Equestria is,” Soleil said, huffing and turning to trot off with her guards, who made a show of sticking their noses in the air in disgust.
Gosh every five minutes I want to strangle that witch.
Shining Armor turned to me as I came up, “Private! Good to see you got here first!”
“Trouble with Soleil?” I guessed.
“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Cadence said, walking up to me as well. “She gave us this agonizingly long speech about how superior her guards would be.”
“Then she went on to insult my guards!” Shining Armor said, glaring back where Soleil was. “What I wouldn’t give for ten minutes alone with her.”
“Peace, Shining Armor,” Celestia cut in. “This will not aid us in finding Gloam, or Twilight for that matter.”
“Twilight’s gone?” I asked.
“Yes,” She said, “She left with Gloam but didn’t come back.”
“Smart not to mention that to Soleil,” Shining said.
“They had to have gone to the library,” I said, “they must have teleported back or something.”
“My guards did find some dust that looked magical on the floor,” Shining said. “I’ll see if we can get a forensic’s guy in here.”
“Make it quick, Shining, the longer we wait the worse we’ll find Gloam,” I said firmly.
Shining nodded and galloped off to do his job. Cadence looked at me, “I’ll try and keep the guests busy. I don’t want a panic here.”
She went off too and I looked up at Celestia. “I’ll get to work your highness,” I said firmly.
She nodded and said, “I will inform the other elements to keep an eye out for them. The sooner this is resolved, the sooner this can all be over and Soleil can leave.” She was about to walk away when I asked.
“You two have a history don’t you?” I asked.
Celestia stopped, and sighed. “Yes, Soleil and I have a very long history. A long time ago, before I was even born, Soleil’s father died of sickness while her mother was pregnant with her. My mother, Solara, was chosen as the successor as she was the only surviving member of our household.”
“Solara,” I said, turning around. “Lunard mentioned her.”
Celestia gave a sad sigh and said, “Yes, my parent’s love is the reason for Soleil’s resentment of me. Because my mother was the chosen successor, Soleil was never selected to become the new Princess of the Sun.”
“So, she resented you, because she felt she was passed over.” I said.
“Her arrogance is her own,” Celestia said. “Her mother and the rest of the House of Sun spoiled her rotten as the ‘true daughter’ of our family. I would not trust her Private Eye, for Soleil will do anything to get what she wants.”
Slowly, Celestia walked away. I couldn’t help but feel she’s saying a lot more by that.
Anyways, time to investigate, starting with the library, but first, I gotta meet with the others...
______________________________________________________
I had asked Cadence to gather the rest of the Elements in a spare conference room. I needed them to help coordinate the search. I went in, and the conference room was like one would expect, in the Crystal Empire. The chairs, table, and cabinets along the walls were all done in crystal. The table was a large affair, oval shaped, surrounded by the comfortably cushioned chairs. There was even a place for somepony to put up a magical slide show to show information to the others. Cadence and Shining seem to be acclimating the Crystal Empire to the modern era quite nicely. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash were all seated around the table, all of them looking more than a little anxious.
“This whole thing stinks.” Aj said. “Twi goes missin, that Gloam girl goes missin, somethin ain’t right.”
“That’s what we need to find out, Darling,” Rarity said. “Just what isn’t right about all this.”
“Yeah, Twi goes somewhere with this girl and suddenly vanishes,” Rainbow said, crossing her forelegs. “I smell a changeling.”
“Not with the precautions that Twilight and Cadence had,” Rarity explained. “The guards were specifically trained to spot any changeling trying to get in the doorway. Plus everypony had to undergo a scanning spell to get in.”
“So no changeling then,” Fluttershy added. “Oh I hope Twilight and Gloam are okay.”
“I was gonna have a Twili and Gloamy are best friends party after all this,” Pinkie said, looking down.
“Okay,” I said, “Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack, you three turn this palace upside down looking for any sign of them. If they can somehow get into the palace again, I want to know if they left any clues.”
Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie nodded, running out the door.
“Flutters and I will fly around and see what we can find.” Rainbow said, pushing open a window. Fluttershy followed her outside.
I closed my eyes, just hoping that whoever took Twilight and Gloam doesn’t decide to go three for three.
____________________________________________________
The library of the Crystal Empire was a magnificent sight. Crystal shelves, filled with books from over a thousand years ago, all in pristine condition thanks to the thousand-year stasis. It is quite the sight, you have to admit. The library had several floors, filled with shelves, all connected by crystal staircases, and a skylight providing some nice natural light to read by, and plenty of seating, of course. At either end of the building were tall arched windows, letting in more light. I could see some of the young fillies and colts of the Empire here doing some homework. Guess life goes on, outside the palace.
I walked up to the front desk and rang the bell. The same old mare from when I first arrived at the Crystal Empire all those months ago came by. “Yes? Can I help you?” She began, and then got a better look at me. “Aren’t you the young man who was trying to touch our most sacred artifact?”
Holy hay her memory was long, I just smiled and went on, “Actually, I’m here to ask a question, have you seen Princess Twilight Sparkle anywhere?”
“She came here about ten minutes ago.” She said, adjusting her glasses. “She was with another unicorn I didn’t recognize. They both looked around for a minute, and then they came by with their selections rather quickly. The Princess graciously used her own library card for the unicorn to check out a book.”
“On Mana Manipulation?” I said.
Her eyes widened and she said, “Yes, how did you know?”
I didn’t want word to get out, don’t want the ponies to panic. I simply said, “Yeah, uh, I know Princess Twilight Sparkle and knew about her friend being interested in the subject. Lucky guess huh?”
She bought and said, “Oh, well, anyways her and her friend then teleported away outside.”
“Were they being followed by anypony?” I asked. “Did you see anypony suspicious?”
She was about to ask, but then I gave her a look look that told her not to. She went on to say, “No, I didn’t see anypony suspicious following them. They just teleported away because they wanted to get back to the party quickly.”
“Where did they teleport?” I asked.
“By the doorway.” She said, pointing.
I walked over and saw the small pile of dust left behind from Twilight’s Spell. When the librarian’s back was turned I scooped some of it up and hid it in a plastic bag. I then walked outside and saw Rainbow flying down to me.
“Any sign?” I asked.
“Nothing!” Rainbow said, crossing her forelegs in contempt at the situation. “Fluttershy and I looked everywhere but we can’t find them! This stinks!”
“Keep looking,” I said. “I’ll run back to the palace and see if the others have had any luck.”
____________________________________________________________
In one of the more isolated hallways of the palace, I met up with the others. Hangings showing the crest of the Crystal empire hung along the wall, with some artistic statues on pedestals. What was to our advantage, however, was the fact that this hallway was well away from the delegates’ rooms, and any of the meeting rooms being used by the summit. It had a few windows, overlooking the city, where I could see crystal ponies going about their daily lives.
Aj shook her head as she stood with Rarity and Pinkie. “We looked everywhere sugarcube, ain’t no sign of Twi anywhere,” Applejack said with a sigh.
“We are terribly sorry we couldn’t be of more help,” Rarity added.
“This is the worst game of hide and seek ever,” Pinkie said with a sigh.
“Uh, anyways,” I said, “It’s alright, we’ll keep looking until we find them.”
The three nodded and turned to walk away.
I turned and walked the other direction. This is horrible. If we don’t find Twilight and Gloam soon...oh man I can’t imagine it…
WAAAAAAHHHH!!!
The wailing broke me out of my thoughts and I turned to realize that I somehow ended up in near Skyla’s play area. Man, I really know how to get lost in thought.
I stuck my head in the bedroom. I saw Ran’sea covering her...where are her ears anyways? I watched as she covered where her ears are as the little princess was crying loudly.
“What happened?” I said loudly over Skyla’s wailing.
“She hurt herself on something! I told her to be careful but she can be so stubbornly curious!” Ran’sea replied.
I reached and picked up the little princess, rocking her gently. “Hey, it’s okay shhh,” I said soothingly.
Skyla calmed down and sniffed a little, “Oowie...pokey thing hurt…” She said, holding up her hoof. My heart broke at her tear stained eyes.
“Hey, it’s just a little oowie,” I said in my best foalsitter voice. “You’re a big girl, you can get through it.”
“*Sniff* Okay Pwivy…” Skyla said as Ran’sea came by with a band aid.
“What were you playing with anyways?” I said as I applied the bandage to her hoof.
“Pokey thing...found in hallway...didn’t know pokey was sharp…” She said, pointing out in the hallway.
Ran’sea went out there to look and picked up the object. She came back and I got a better look at it.
The object...was a syringe…
“Could you hold her for a second?” I asked as I gave Ran’sea Skyla.
The little dragoness took Skyla and gave me the syringe.
I held it in my hoof and looked at the label...wait...I’ve seen this before…
The stuff...made ten years ago…
By….Glimmer….
This was the same magical enhancement drug that Pave Diamond used. The one that took three unicorns to take her down. But these are illegal, known to cause a ton of side effects with the user….
So the question is, who does this belong to…?
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Glimmer's Alicorn mutagen? I smell something. The smelly smell of something that smells suspicious. Maybe Gloam isn't all that innocent as we believe.
Skyla just got poked by something that could be considered medical waste. Should we be conserned?
3806215 She just got pricked by the needle, I doubt it will hurt her too much, what with her being an alicorn and all.
3806174
Or maybe Soleil was pressing Gloam so much to reach her standards of "perfection" that the young unicorns took a desesperate route to furfill her teacher´s aspirations.
Maybe Warden knew about it, and he was trying to keep her away from drugs.
Oh no, not Glimmer again!
Oh boy. How could Glimmer's stuff be tied into this? Sounds completely fishy.
Oh boy. What is going to happen? Where are those two. Best of luck Private, you're going to need it. Nice Chapter Jacoboby1, Keep it up. Also is the cover for this case still going to be made?
3807145 Sadly, yes
Glimmer again, just how many things was she tied to and now I'm curious to just how does she seemed to be involved so often.
3807532 Sadly? Is that to Private needing some luck or to the cover art?
3806215
Better safe then sorry.
Oh dear...
Is it premature to just assume that everything is Soleil's fault?
god damn Glimmer haunting Private
Someone get Skyla to a doctor STAT! She's a baby alicorn and she might have been injected with magic steroids!