Chapters Next
Close
The Pony on 221B Acre Street2,281 words
A New Case2,766 words
Canterlot High5,090 words
James2,859 words
Moving The Pieces3,749 words

The Pony on 221B Acre Street

Chapter 1: The Pony on 221B Acre Street

The Princess Summit had come and gone and all the dignitaries had gone back home. It was a special occasion as it was the first summit to feature all four princesses – Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance and Princess Twilight Sparkle. The venue for the special event was Cadance’s castle in the Crystal Empire, a beautiful place which was won back from King Sombra a few months back.

Twilight Sparkle was the latest addition to the princess lineup and she hadn’t gotten an official title yet which greatly bothered her. She conveyed her uneasiness to the other princesses who assured her that she would find her purpose soon. Though Twilight still had doubts, she decided it was better to just go with the flow.

She and her friends – Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Spike were invited to stay for the night at the castle. With some newfound confidence and hope, Twilight Sparkle soon resigned to her chambers, hoping that the future would hold bright promises.

However, things took an unexpected turn when a cloaked unicorn broke into the castle near the break of dawn and made off with Twilight’s crown. Despite Twilight’s best efforts, the unicorn managed to escape after she jumped through a portal in a mirror which connected to another world. A devastated Twilight quickly rounded up the other princesses and told them of their plight.

Before long, the chamber which housed the mirror was sealed off; the only ponies who were allowed to enter were the princesses and Twilight’s friends.

“What? An intruder? But how?” Cadance asked herself. This was the first time their castle had been breached during her and her husband’s reign so it caught her by surprise.

“If my assumptions are true, the guards should have noticed the unicorn before she entered my room”, Twilight still couldn’t figure out how the unicorn was able to easily avoid all the guards.

“She must have some sort of help from somewhere”, Applejack pitched her guess.

“Applejack’s right. I mean, there are always some evil forces at work somewhere”, Rainbow Dash said.

“If that is the case, we must find out whoever masterminded this devious act”, Luna said, stomping the floor with her front hooves.

“Why don’t we just follow the unicorn?” Twilight suggested. She and the others had seen the unicorn enter the portal so it was probably safe to follow suit.

“I’m afraid it’s not as easy as that, Twilight”, Celestia begrudgingly replied.

“Why is that, Princess?” Twilight asked the white alicorn.

“The mirror is a portal to another world that even I don’t even know about”, Celestia explained.

“Another world? I don’t understand”, Twilight scratched her head with her hoof in puzzlement.

“Who was that unicorn anyway?” Spike asked.

“Yes, dear sister, who was that?” Luna turned to Celestia. The next moment, all eyes were on Celestia.

“I was afraid you might ask me that”, Celestia sighed, “The pony who took your crown was my former student, Sunset Shimmer”, she replied.

“What!?” the others exclaimed in surprise. Celestia kinda expected the reaction since she never actually told anypony new after Sunset Shimmer went away to fulfill her own desires.

“It’s true. She was my student before Twilight came along”, Celestia added, “She grew furious when she realized she couldn’t get what she wanted soon enough so she turned cruel and dishonest and before long, she abandoned her studies and she strayed away from everypony she ever knew”.

“Huh? Then why would she steal my crown?” Twilight asked.

“And what has it got to do with the portal?” Rainbow Dash inquired.

“Sunset Shimmer must’ve a good reason to take such a risk to do this so I have no definite answer and as for the portal, I believe that whatever world lies beyond the portal, it is Sunset Shimmer’s home now”, Celestia replied with a sigh of disappointment.

“Home? Why would anypony make another world their home?” Pinkie asked. The others were a bit puzzled as to why Sunset Shimmer would just head towards a strange world just like that.

“You see, this portal only opens up every thirty moons and the last time it opened, Sunset Shimmer went through it and stayed in the other world to truly break the bond we used to have”, Celestia said, “I had kept it in our castle in the hopes that she might return and after Cadance took over the Crystal Empire, I had it moved here”.

“So, sister, let me get this straight”, Luna was the first one to talk, “Sunset Shimmer escaped to another world after turning her back on you just so she could spite you more?”

“That’s despicable!” Cadance exclaimed.

“And stealing my crown must have been one of her ways at getting back to you”, Twilight deduced the situation.

“I believe that is one of the main reasons but I have a hunch there is a much more sinister force at work”, Celestia said, closing her eyes in deep thought, “We need some help to find out if there’s something more to this”.

“Like what, Princess? I mean, isn’t it pretty obvious that Sunset Shimmer only did this to get revenge?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I’ve been thinking about that too but even though she is a gifted unicorn, Sunset Shimmer would never take such a risk like this, especially if she’s working alone”, Celestia told them her assumption, “Like I said, we need some help”.

“Some help? Not to be rude but I’m certain all of us can get to the bottom of this on our own”, Spike said.

“I’m sorry Spike but we haven’t got much time”, Celestia said with a look of concern on her face, “The portal will close in three days and we can’t risk losing our window of opportunity”.

“So, what help do we need, Princess?” Twilight asked.

“He’s an old friend. Actually, he’s more of your friend, Cadance”, Celestia smiled at the pink alicorn.

“My friend?” Cadance asked before she realized exactly who Celestia was talking about, “You mean him?”

“Yes, him”, Celestia replied with a nod. Cadance instantly squealed with glee while the mane six and Luna looked on with confused expressions.

“Uh...pardon my interruption but who exactly is “him”?” Applejack asked.

“Sherlock Hooves. One of the best minds to ever grace this world”, Celestia replied with a hint of pride.

“Best minds ever? Really?” Twilight asked enthusiastically.

“Princess Celestia’s right”, Rarity sighed, “He really is one of the best minds ever”.

“How would you know?” Rainbow Dash inquired her.

“Because, he’s my cousin”, Rarity replied with a groan. Twilight and others instantly knew that Rarity wasn’t that all pleased to her the name.

“Cousin?” the other gasped.

“Why didn’t you tell us about him before?” Fluttershy asked.

“It wasn’t important”, Rarity simply turned away. She didn’t want to have anything to do with Sherlock.

“Now, now, girls. Your friend must have a good reason not to talk about him so please don’t pester her about it”, Celestia interceded on Rarity’s behalf when she saw that the others were about to bombard her with questions.

“So, can I please send for him right now?” Cadance said excitedly.

“I don’t know why she’s so enthusiastic about meeting him”, Rarity whispered to Applejack.

“What’s wrong with him?” Applejack asked back.

“He’s narcissistic, sarcastic, rude and he..he..”, Rarity was about something more but she was stopped by Celestia.

“And he’ll be the one to solve whatever lies beyond what we know, as he always does”, Celestia said, smiling before she turned to Cadance, “You can send for him now. We can’t waste anymore time”.

“Okay”, Cadance said, rushing out of the room to send for some messengers who would contact the detective. She was keen on meeting Sherlock Hooves, especially after not having heard from him for years now.

The last time she and Shining Armor saw him was at their wedding. He gave them that rare smile before he left as quickly as he arrived. She and her husband would never forget him. He was a foalhood friend, one with which they shared many memories.

A few minutes later, in front of the residence of Sherlock in 221B Acre Street at Canterlot

"Here we are, 221B", a royal pegasus guard said as him and his partner stood in front of the small, two-storeyed building.

“Should we knock?” the other pegasus guard named Flash Sentry asked his partner, Triple Threat. The two were new guards so being chosen by Princess Cadance to escort an old friend of hers was a real privilege.

“I guess you should”, Triple Threat simply shrugged.

Flash hesitatingly knocked on the wooden door and after a few seconds, approaching hoofsteps could be heard from the inside.

“Why, hello there. Can I help you two young lads?” an elderly mare asked kindly as she opened the door.

“Good morning, ma’am. We’re here for a one “Sherlock” or something”, Triple Threat replied.

“Oh, Sherlock? He’s here alright. Go up the stairs and enter. I reckon he’s still in his room”, the mare told them with a warm smile which kinda lifted the spirits of the two guards.

“Thank you”, Flash nodded as the two prepared to head upstairs.

“Would you two fancy some tea? It’s awfully early in the morning”, the mare asked.

“Thanks but no thanks. We’re not going to stay that long”, Flash politely replied. He and his partner felt a lot better after being given such a warm welcome. If that was any indication of things to come, getting Sherlock to come with them was gonna be a breeze.

The upper room was beautifully decorated with some antiques here and there, not to mention the medieval-esque paintings as well as the wooden furniture. It seemed like quite a cozy place to live in according to the two pegasi.

“There’s no door here. Should we just enter?” Flash asked Triple Threat, not wanting to accidently intrude.

“I guess we have to, being under royal orders and all”, Triple Threat simply replied. The next moment, he noticed somepony sitting on a recliner, reading the news, “Look, there’s somepony”.

“I’ll talk to him. It must be Sherlock”, Flash told Triple Threat before he moved closer, “Ahem...Sir?” he asked the pony sitting on the recliner.

“Is it rather hard to knock?” the pony asked, not even gracing the duo with a simple glance. He had a deep, intimidating voice that would have been able to break all the mental barriers a pony might set up to protect himself from feeling much inferior.

“Uh...yes...sorry about that. May I ask you a question? Are you Sherlock?” Flash asked, sporting a nervous smile.

“That depends. Who in the bloody hell are you two?” the stallion, a cream-colored one with a black mane and scarf stood up with his back turned to the two visitors. As he stood up, Flash and Triple Threat could see his cutie mark – a magnifying glass with a single glint at the top rim. They could also notice the absence of horns and wings, indicating that the stallion was an earth pony.

“I’m Flash Sentry and this is Triple Threat”, Flash replied, a bit surprised that the pony could know that they were two without even looking at them, “We’re here under orders of Princess Cadance who requests your presence at the Crystal Empire”.

“Princess Cadance you say?”, the stallion faced the two with a scowl which seemed to unnerve the two pegasi a bit, “Tell me, what problems are there this time?” he asked Triple Threat.

“Umm...somepony stole Princess Twilight’s crown”, Flash Sentry replied.

“I wasn’t speaking to you; you’re too sleep-deprived from last night’s duties for my liking. Plus you lose points for having an accidental physical contact with Shining Armor’s little sister”, the stallion said, giving Flash Sentry a small glare.

“What? How did you know that?” Flash asked. It was true. He did bump into Twilight the day before and he had a sleepless night due to all the commotion. Triple Threat on the other hoof, was alert as he wasn’t part of the night-shift.

The stallion took a small breath before he answered, “There’s some purple hair on your left wing which obviously belongs to Twilight Sparkle, that is, taking into account the fact that the hue and saturation of the color is the same as that of hers and you’ve yawned three times ever since you arrived which meant that you had a long night and judging from the armor you’re wearing and from the headlines on this newspaper, it is pretty clear that you spent the whole night at the castle in the Crystal Empire without any sleep”, Sherlock finished, much to the amazement of Flash Sentry and Triple Threat, “Come on, even a blind pony could see all the clues right in front of him”.

“He’s the real deal”, Triple Threat whispered to Flash Sentry who nodded an answer. All those hints about a pony who could know everything just by a simple observation was proven true by that deduction.

“Sir, could you tell us your full name again?” Flash Sentry wanted to make sure they had the right stallion.

“Sherlock. Sherlock Hooves”, Sherlock replied with a smirk.

Author's Note:

I was kinda goin' to add a Dr. Trotson but I figured I should introduced him later on after Twilight finished filling his shoes. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this chapter.

1,733 views

Chapters Next