On the far edge of the town at Sweet Apple Acres, a new dawn broke over the hills of Ponyville as the rooster crowed the Apple family awake. Applebloom was the first up. She had already started on her little to-do list of chores before breakfast. By this point, Applebloom knew these off by heart, but still tended to speak them aloud out of habit.
"Sweeping done, now to feed Winona." she said to herself.
She hummed a merry little tune as she prepared a bowl of dog food. This quickly stopped once she held the bowl in her mouth and pushed open the kitchen door.
"Winona! Breakfast!" Applebloom called.
A minute passed. A hoof to her mouth, Applebloom whistled loud and called again. "Winona! Here, girl!" Shorter, piercing whistles stretch across the fields, but still, no Winona.
"Y'know, if that rooster ever gets sick, we might just use you as a wake-up call." said Applejack jokingly, as she entered the kitchen.
"Oh, mornin', big' sis." Applebloom continued to call for Winona, when Applejack caught Big Macintosh out of the corner of her eye.
"Big Mac!" Applejack said "Did ya remember to fix the legs on the pig trough?."
"Eeeyup." said a well-rested Big Mac as he headed out the door to feed the pigs, bucket in mouth.
"What ya'll whistling for? You'll prob'ly wake half a' Ponyville at this rate."
"Winona hasn't come fer her breakfast."
Applejack cocked a brow in puzzlement.
"Hmm... Maybe give 'er another minute?"
"I've waited five! She's normally right there before I even open the door."
A look of worry came over the little filly's face.
"Oh, that dog's prob'ly just busy chasin' the squirrels." said Granny Smith, coming through the kitchen door.
She then began preparing food for the other ponies, going from cupboard to cupboard.
"A bit of exercisin' is good fer 'er before breaskfast, anyhow."
"Not to worry, sugarcube." said Applejack, placing a reassuring hoof on her sister's shoulder. "We'll go look fer Wynona as soon as I feed the chickens."
Big Macintosh burst into the kitchen. He was strangely out of breath.
"That was quick. Big Mac, have ya seen Winona this morning?"
"Nope!" he said quickly, his face agast. "The pigs are gone!"
"Gone?"
"Yep! Chickens, too!"
"What in Equestria do ya mean-"
Gone. The Apples stood in confusion as the sty and the hen house were completely empty, not a piglet nor chick to be seen.
"How the hay did they get over the fence?" exclaimed Applejack. "I only just fixed it!"
"Maybe they flew?" Applebloom suggested.
Considering the current situation, Applejack wasn't sure whether to laugh at that remark.
"Well, never say never." said Granny Smith, sagely. "Them pigs was bound to figure it out one'a these days."
The three younger Apples just looked at each other in worry.
"Awright." Applejack took hold of the situation. "Let's spread out and check the fields. Maybe some prankster set 'em loose in the night. I'll take the west field, Big Mac, the east, Granny and Applebloom, you check the barn and the silo."
With that, all four set out in search of their livestock. Applejack couldn't believe it; every animal vanished without a trace. Trickles of worry entered her head; what if they couldn't find them? What would happen to the farm? A farm without animals is like... a library without books.
"Twilight! She might have an answer for this!" Applejack thought hopefully. With that in mind, she trotted out to the west field.
Meanwhile, at Sugarcube Corner, the early morning sun streamed into the top floor windows. Pinkie Pie's room was in a state of blissful calm, as the pink pony snored away, nestled under a mass of blankets and pillows. The sunlight caused her to stir into wakefulness.
"Mmmm... Good morning, Gummy." she said as she gently squeezed the air where Gummy would have been.
One eye opened and noticed the absense of a baby crocodile in her hooves.
"Gummy?" she enquired.
Pinkie opened both eyes and lifted her pillows, stared into the finite abyss under her blankets and then to the dark underside of her bed, where only forgotten candy corn and spare streamers resided.
"Guuuuuuuummyyyyyyyyy?" she sweetly cooed. "Oooh! Is this Morning Hide and Seek? Good thinking, Gummy!"
Pinkie stretched in preperation for a rousing morning game, her back making a small crick to finish off.
"Ready or not here I come!" she said musically.
Three hours passed and Pinkie had turned over her entire room two dozen times. Every nook, cranny, gap, upturned box and spare baking tray had been looked at thoroughly, but alas, no Gummy. Pinkie lay on her belly, exhausted.
"Okay, Gummy." she panted. "You win."
Mrs. Cake came up to see what the commotion was. Knocking on Pinkie's door, she entered. She was unphased by the mess in Pinkie's room. 'Morning Hide and Seek' was an occasional pastime for Pinkie and Gummy, after all.
"Pinkie? Is everything alright?" said Mrs. Cake.
"Yep." Pinkie panted "Everything is okey do-..."
She flopped down on top of a pile of pillows. Her face drooped in fatigue and disappointment.
"I can't find Gummy anywhere. He's getting way too good at Morning Hide and Seek."
Mrs. Cake smiled and was about say something of a reassuring nature when suddenly, a shriek came from the streets outside the bakery. The two mares jumped in shock. Running downstairs, they passed Mr. Cake, who was busy with feeding the twins. He was equally shaken by the shrill scream.
"What was that?!" he exclaimed. "Did somepony step on a songbird?"
The two ponies rushed out the front door, looking around for the source of the screech. It had now, it would seem, turned into loud crying. A small crowd of ponies stood nearby. Pinkie and Mrs. Cake went over and nudged their way into the inner circle. There, in the centre, stood Rarity, sobbing uncontrollably. The same kind of sobbing one would expect from losing a loved one.
"She's been stolen!" she cried.
"Who has, dear?" asked Mrs. Cake.
"My precious Opalescence!" exclaimed Rarity, mascara running down her cheeks. "My precious kitty cat has been stolen!!!"
"Are you sure she's not just playing hide and seek?" Pinkie interjected.
Rarity looked at Pinkie with sorrowful, teary eyes. "Oh, Pinkie." she said more softly. "Please try to take this a little more seriously!"
"Oh, sorry. It's just that I... I..." Pinkie became lost in herself for a moment. Somewhere in her party pony brain, a big, shiny blue button marked 'Sadness' was slammed into action. Pinkie began tearing up, wrapping her hooves around Rarity.
"I MISS GUMMY!!!" she bawled.
Mrs. Cake sympathised with the two crying mares. She soon noticed that a lot of the other ponies were having similar distresses.
"My hamsters!" said a young, yellow colt.
"My poodle!" yelled a fancy, puce pony.
"My goldfish!" exclaimed Derpy Hooves, a fishbowl, stuck on her head.
A helpful busker trotted up and attempted to help her remove it.
There was only one thing to do in a time of crisis in Ponyville...
Twilight Sparkle awoke that morning to the sound of frantic knocking on the front door of her castle. The large tome she had been avidly reading the previous night was still under her head, acting in place of a pillow. Gently turning onto her back, the page sticking to her face peeled away slowly.
"Just five more minutes..." she said sleepily.
The knocking became too loud to ignore, forcing Twilight to open her eyes. She was looking forward to sleeping in that morning, but duty calls, she thought, before pulling back her enticingly warm covers. Retrieving a hairbrush from her bedside table, she thought to check on Spike. Opening Spike's door, she peeked in to see if the little dragon had been woken up by all the noise.
Spike was passed out, an open comic book resting on his belly. Twilight smiled warmly in adoration. She noticed one of the windows was open. Under it lay some brown feathers. Owlowicious must be molting, she thought as she closed it to shut out the outside commotion. She'd deal with that in a minute.
"I think someone needs to sleep in more than I do." she whispered sweetly.
She gently levitated the comic onto the neat pile next to Spike's bed and readjusted his blanket, which he comfortably snuggled into. Leaving Spike's bedroom, the knocking was getting ever louder. Twilight cantered down the main staircase into the foyer, still carrying the brush, but forgetting to use it in her disorderly mane.
"I guess a princess's work is never done." she said, placing the hairbrush on a nearby table and clearing her throat.
Upon opening the front doors, Twilight's eyes widened at the sight of a large crowd of ponies surrounding the castle's front steps. She promptly inquired as to what the commotion was about.
"Our pets are missing!" said one lime green pony standing closest to the steps.
"They've all been taken away by somepony!" said a stout plum pony from the middle of the crowd.
"Or something!" yelled a rust-colour pony with a curly moustache, leaping from behind.
The crowd became nervous and unsettled again and began to babble.
"Alright." Twilight stated authoritatively. " Everypony just remain calm, return home and I'll proceed to investigate immediately."
This seemed to satisfy the calming crowd, which dispersed in a flurry of thank yous.
Twilight caught sight of Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy approaching from behind. The latter two looking particularly morose.
"Huh. I guess everypony else in town got the same idea." said Applejack
"Girls!" said Twilight stepping down from the doorway. "Don't tell me your pets are missing too?"
They all sadly nodded.
"Winona didn't come for her food this morning, then it turns all the animals were gone! Every chicken, hog and ewe. We searched every inch of Sweet Apple Acres and didn't find a single one. We asked the cows, but they didn't notice a thing last night. "
"I can't find Tank either!" said Rainbow Dash. "One minute, he's next to my bed, the next, gone! He'd never go flying in the middle of the night."
An errant thought then passed through Dash's head.
"Besides, if Tank was into night flying, I'd be right there with him."
She seemed to latch onto the idea of night flying and made a mental note for later. Twilight's eyes turned to Fluttershy, her head hung in misery.
"Yesterday, I made a carrot cake." she began. "But I'm never sure if it tastes right. All the animals tried some and said it was good. I figured they were just being polite, but this morning, Angel Bunny and all the other critters were gone!" Fluttershy squeaked.
She was bravely fighting a failing battle with her own tears, until finally, she let it all out.
"I should never have tried to make a carrot cake!" she sobbed.
Pinkie put a hoof around the weeping Fluttershy.
"Aww, of course not, Fluttershy. Your carrot cake is delicious! Gummy and I always liked it!"
That last sentence pushed the blue button in Pinkie's brain again, which caused her to burst into tears and mournfully call out Gummy's name. Rarity followed suit.
"Opalescence!" she wailed.
Twilight looked on sadly at her despairing friends and pondered over what she had gathered so far:
1. Every animal in and around Ponyville had gone missing.
2. Nopony seemed to notice anything unusual or out of place with their homes.
3. Everpony was calm for now, but they had to resolve this mystery as soon as possible.
"Princess!" came a voice in the distance.
Mayor Mare approached the six ponies, a saddlebag on her side.
"I'm sure all of you are aware of the situation this morning?"
"Of course, Mayor." said Twilight. "Please, come inside."
The seven ponies sat around the Cutie Map. It was about a quarter to ten by now and only then they had remembered to have something to eat. Cups of tea had been brewed and Pinkie had thought to bring some freshly-baked muffins. Twilight, having donated her muffin to Mayor Mare, was quickly munching away at a plate of toast with strawberry jam. She was deep in thought, before the mayor grabbed her attention.
"Well, the good news is, we may already have a lead on this." The mayor produced two pieces of paper from her saddlebag and placed them down.
"Apparently," she stated, "this may be connected to an ongoing investigation involving a detective from Manehattan."
Twilight now chewed with a look of intrigue on her face.
"You see, " Mayor Mare continued. "City Hall received a message to be on the lookout for major pet disappearances and, if some were to occur, to contact this detective immediately. So I sent an Express Deluxe mail pony this morning to inform him of what's happened."
"Express Deluxe?" Twilight asked, finishing her first slice.
"Yes, it's a new, faster service for getting extremely important messages across Equestria!"
"And you sent the message all the way to Manehattan?" Twilight queried, in disbelief.
"Yes! Just an hour ago! I said I'd be here, so we should be getting a reply soon! Oooh, isn't this exciting?" said Mayor Mare as she passed the papers to Twilight.
The two documents were a notice and a flyer. The notice was a standard official message from the Manehattan City Council about 'Pet Abduction Awareness', detailing all that Mayor Mare had said. The other, more flamboyant document was a flyer for the detective. Twilight read it aloud.
LOST ANIMALS?
CALL CASE CHASER
ANIMAL INVESTIGATOR
221b SQUEAKER ST., MANEHATTAN
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
A logo of a paw print set in the lens of a magnifying glass sat in the middle of the page. Fluttershy's ear pricked up upon hearing the name.
"Oh! I've heard of him." she said with enthusiasm.
Before Fluttershy could say anymore on the matter, a bell rang.
"I didn't know you had a doorbell." said Rarity.
"Neither did I." said a befuddled Twilight.
"I'll get it!" said Pinkie, voice now brimming with glee.
As she descended, the bell rang again. Pinkie's enjoyment of the bell could also be heard echoing in the halls.
Upon her return, she was helping to support an exhausted-looking Pegasus mail pony. His knees appeared to be barely holding him up.
"M-mayor... Mare?" he breathed out. "Spe-.... Special... Deliver-"
He collapsed and rolled onto his back, wings spread out while panting heavily and sweating in equal measure. Everypony gathered around him in concern. Fluttershy immediately rushed to his side.
"Oh My goodness!" she exclaimed. "Are you okay?"
"Ye-... Yes, ma'am." the mail pony gasped. "It's just the ... Express Deluxe service is ... a pilot... program..."
"Oh for Celestia's sake, somepony get him some water!" exclaimed the mayor.
She took the envelope from the pony's hoof, thanking him profusely and making a mental note to seriously reconsider the 'Express Deluxe' service. Mayor Mare examined the letter first before reading it aloud. As she went on reading it, her brow seemed to descend and rise in reaction to its content. The ponies tended to the grateful mail pony, until an over-eager Rainbow Dash decided she couldn't wait any longer.
"Come on! What did he say?" she blurted, causing the mayor to jolt from her concentration.
"Oh, well, Mr. Chaser says he's glad to hear from us and is making his way to Ponyville immediately. This afternoon, in fact!"
The other seven ponies looked at each other, wondering if that was even possible, turning their gaze to the still exhausted mail pony, now comfortably seated and sipping a glass of water.
"Wonderful." said Twilight. "Anything else?"
"Well, he's given us some very... specific instructions." The mayor had a hint of confusion in her voice.
"Oooh!" said Pinkie Pie. "Does it involve detective hats? I call this one!"
She promptly put on a deerstalker and offered a yellow fedora and grey bowler to her friends. Mayor Mare shook her head.
"No, no, he says he'll be coming directly from the North Eastern side of Ponyville at noon, sharp, and to have somepony wait for him on the side of the river opposite the woods."
"So he's coming by boat? Lame." said Rainbow Dash, her voice dripping with disappointment. "Why are these nature-loving ponies always so weird?"
Everypony glared at Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy clearly looked hurt. A sheepish grin, complemented by a nice blush, came across Dash's face.
Around ten minutes to twelve, the six ponies sat at the North Eastern pass of Ponyville, near the riverbank, while Mayor Mare remained at the town hall. It was a pleasant day and despite the awful situation, they decided to make the most of it. They waited under the shade of a tree with a few snacks and some fresh juice. Rainbow Dash was getting antsy. She lay on a bough of the tree, moaning in boredom.
"Is he HERE yet?" she said, rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time.
"Relax, sugarcube." Applejack reassured, as she gazed up the river with a pair of binoculars.
"He said he'd be here at noon, sharp."
She thought for a moment on this.
"Which is a mite unlikely. If he's coming by boat, he's gonna run into trouble. Does he know Manehattan ain't even connected to the river?"
"Maybe he likes the exercise! Is boat pushing a thing?" said Pinkie Pie, still wearing the deerstalker and examining the flowers with a magnifying glass.
"I don't see why he couldn't come by train like everypony else." said Rarity, lounging in the sun with a glass of fruit juice in a fabulous sun hat.
"Actually, his exact words were 'coming directly'. Whatever that means." said Twilight, reading a light book on Interdimensional Reality Collision Theory.
"What else do we even know about this guy?" said Rainbow, her thoughts concerned with Tank.
"Well, I've read all about him in Animal Altruist Monthly and he seemed very genuine."
Everyone turned to Fluttershy in curiosity, recalling her claim to know about Case Chaser.
"He specialises in finding missing pets and animals of all kinds. He's helped ponies all over Equestria and even rescued the Sacred Beaver of Yakyakistan for the Royal Family. To him, there's no pet too small to find. He cares deeply for them and whatever the cost, he gets them home safe and sound."
Hope rose in everypony's hearts. Their confidence in this detective was slowly growing.
"However, " Fluttershy added "I also read that he's a bit... eccentric."
"Wait, so he has lightning powers?" Rainbow Dash perked up. "That's so awesome!"
"ECCENTRIC, Dash." Twilight corrected. "It means someone with odd behaviour or strange habits or-"
The ponies' attention was roused by a loud jungle call coming from the woods on the far side of the river. Applejack raised her binoculars. She saw commotion among the trees and several flocks of birds flying upward from the canopy. Applejack drew her attention to the edge of the woods, where a small, but distinct path came out of an opening between the trees.
And then, she saw him.
"Uh, Twi?" she called.
Applejack passed the binoculars into the grasp of Twilight's magic. Refocusing them, Twilight saw a small figure. A stallion, rushing from the woods, appearing to be tethered to... birds. At least four dozen birds, spanning in size from sparrows to eagles, attached by strings to this strange, clucking pony.
"What in Equestria is that?" Twilight said, puzzled.
Another glance through the binoculars revealed the speeding pony in detail. He was wearing roller skates on each hoof, a shiny, red helmet emblazoned with the logo Twilight saw on the flyer and a pair of sleek, dark sunglasses. On closer inspection, the 'strings' the birds grasped onto appeared to be reels of dental floss coming from inside the stallion's shirt.
Twilight's eyes widened as he approached the far bank.
"He's not going to ... jump that, is he?" Twilight asked nervously.
"Oh dear!" said Fluttershy, quickly covering her eyes.
With another hearty jungle call and a mighty upward thrust, the birds and stallion easily cleared the river to the opposite shore. It seemed the dental floss was made of tough stuff.
"Thank you, forest friends!" said Case Chaser. "You can drop me HEEEEEEEEEEERRRRREEEEE!"
All at once, the birds had prematurely released their tethers and flew back toward the woods. The ponies' hearts skipped a beat as he fell. Just in that moment, Case's shirt was suddenly transformed into a makeshift parachute. The six ponies breathed a sigh of relief as Case gently drifted down, before slipping his shirt back over his shoulders.
As he landed on the shore, he rolled forward on the skates.
"That must be him. Mr. Chaser!" called Twilight. "Mr. Chaser, over-"
Before the six ponies had a chance to properly greet the detective, his slick, blue tail became a rapidly rotating propeller.
"HI-HO, TINFOIL, AWAAAAAAY!!!" he bellowed and sped off towards the town.
"Hey, wait!" yelled Twilight.
She galloped after him for a few yards, but quickly realised that she would never be able to keep up. She looked on in disbelief.
"Well, THAT was just rude!" said Twilight. "Dash! Get ahead of him and stop him."
"I'm on it!" said Rainbow Dash, and bolted straight to the skies.
Rainbow Dash spotted Case quickly from above and kept up with little effort. He was moving at an impressive speed, his teeth clenched in the wind. Rainbow flew up beside him, enjoying the breeze in her mane.
"Hey! We were waiting for you by the river! Why didn't you stop?" she asked.
"Why stop now?" said Case. "If I keep this pace up, I might beat a distance record!"
Rainbow Dash thought this through for a moment.
"Yeah, I see your point. RIDE ON!" she cheered.
"YEEEEEEEEHAAAAAA!!!" yelled Case.
His tail propulsion blasted him into the distance, as he quickly became a speck on the horizon. Rainbow Dash pulled back and hovered. Fanning away the dust, she smiled proudly, having met a fellow speed fanatic. The other five ponies soon came galloping along the path.
"Rainbow!" Twilight scolded. "You were supposed to STOP him, not cheer him on!"
"What? He's going for a distance record!" Rainbow shrugged. "You can't take that dream away, Twilight."
"Great, we ask for a roadblock, we get a cheerleader."
Mayor Mare, stood in front of the town hall, waiting and gazing over yonder at the clock tower. It was just under a minute to noon. The mayor looked to one of her assistants with concern.
"He did say noon sharp, right?" Mayor Mare said uncertainly, "It's just that I'm never sure whether to take that literally or not."
Another jungle call emanated from the outskirts of the town. This one was a warning. Ponyville's citizenry gawked out at the direction of the sound's origin. It was gradually sounding more like words. Until finally it was perfectly clear.
"INCOMING!" yelled the speeding Case Chaser. "NO BRAKES!"
A cluster of ponies leapt out of the way of the colourful blur. It zoomed past the mayor, spinning her around into a state of utter dizziness. Before knocking over a horn-playing busker, Case's tail ceased it's propulsion and forced himself into spinning around to slow down, narrowly avoiding the busker and creating a massive dust cloud.
Twilight and the others finally returned to Ponyville, just in time to witness the mass of obscuring brown mist engulf the town hall. Twilght glanced at Rainbow Dash with a smirk.
"Distance record?" said Twilight, dryly.
Rainbow gave a shrug and flew on into the brown cloud, instantly bursting into a coughing fit.
Everypony stood around, coughing from the dust. Eyes watered while trying to clear the air with waving hooves and wings.
"Perhaps we should look into getting paved roads." coughed Mayor Mare.
As the dust cloud settled, revealing a proudly posed Case Chaser in all his bewildering glory, the clock struck twelve exactly. A chronometer attached to Case's left forehoof, was stopped with a satisfying click.
"YES! Manehattan to Ponyville in record time!" he said with a self-congratulatory air.
"And the crowd goes wild! It's tens across the board! And the champ is lookin' goooood!" he continued.
He proceeded to enact a little victory dance.
Everypony stood and stared to take in the sight of this mysterious speedster.
"Mr. Chaser, I presume?" asked Mayor Mare, readjusting her mane.
Case Chaser removed his helmet with a satisfying pop, revealing a shiny, highly coiffed blue mane, matching his tail. In a single flick of his head, his sunglasses flung up and sat on his brow and beamed a perfect, winning smile.
"Somebody call for an animal investigator?"