Ch.5-Taking the Case
The next morning, the ponies and baby dragon were already up and were out and about asking ponies and draconequuses the same questions as yesterday.
Their first stop was at the dentist. They were busy talking while the dentist was in the process a of removing a pony’s tooth. He said, “Sorry, I don’t know anything. You could try asking my dance instructor.”
Pinkie Pie was chewing some bubble gum. She blew a bubble and it made a large pop. It startled the dentist, who pulled out the other pony’s tooth in surprise. The patient yelled in pain. “OWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!”
Later, at the dance school, they talked to the dance instructor, who was in the middle of teaching some young fillies and colts a complex dance move. Pinkie Pie was trying to imitate them.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know anything about the missing draconequuses. Ask my friend from book club.” She said as she continued doing her dance pose.
Pinkie Pie then fell over with a yelp, knocking down a whole line of fillies and colts like dominoes.
At the book club, they found several ponies and draconequuses reading books and talking. They found the pony they were looking for. Unfortunately, she was too busy talking, so her daughter spoke for her.
“My mommy says you should ask my barber.” The young filly said.
By this time, they had already asked the barber, who was a monkey draconequus, and he was busy sweeping all the clipped hair out of the door with a broom as they walked out with disappointment on their faces.
He called out saying, “Sorry I wasn’t any help to ya’s! You’s should try asking someone at the post office or somewhere!”
As they stopped, Rainbow Dash finally let out a frustrated growl while her friends watched.
“Grrrrrrrrr!!!” she growled. “Isn’t there anyone in this whole city who knows anything about the missing draconequuses?!”
Rarity was equally frustrated as she sighed in distress. “Oh, I can’t take this anymore!” She whined while placing a hoof on her forehead. “Nopony told me that this assignment would be that difficult! How long have we been doing this? I can’t stand it!!”
Sweetie Belle replied, “We’ve only been asking questions for half an hour.”
“Oh.” Rarity said, quite embarrassed.
Fluttershy, on the the other hoof, wasn’t thinking about their current situation. She held the flower pen and sighed sadly.
Her friends all looked at her and knew what she was thinking about. Earlier this morning before they left the hotel, she didn’t eat anything at breakfast and barely spoke as they went about asking questions.
“Um, Fluttershy?” Starlight Glimmer said.
Starlight’s voice snapped Fluttershy out of it. “Huh? What?” She said in surprise before she looked at her friends.
Applejack frowned. “You alright there? You’ve barely said anything or ate anything this whole morning.”
“Um, I’m fine.” She muttered.
Spike spoke up. “Are you still thinking about that mysterious stallion?”
Pinkie Pie also spoke up. “You mean the one that you mentioned yesterday, who saved your life from those two stallions and gave you that flower pen, but it turns out that he doesn’t really exists?”
Fluttershy looked at her friends desperately. “But he was real! I swear! I saw him with my own eyes and he even touched me!”
Starlight Glimmer was still thinking about last night and was starting to feel guilty that she had not stood up for Fluttershy.
Before she could say anything to Fluttershy, Twilight spoke. She tried to sound as reasonable and friendly as she could. “Fluttershy,” she said, “For the last time, there just can’t be a pony like that in all of Equestria.”
As she was telling Fluttershy this, neither her or anypony noticed a figure running out of a nearby floral shop, except for Spike and the CMC. The owner of the shop, a frantic earth pony, came running out of the shop and stopped right next to Twilight and her friends.
“Hey, hey, hey! You, ponies!” He called out to them frantically.
Rarity sighed with a frown before she turned to the stallion, who was trying to get their attention. “Sir,” she said, trying to be polite. “Unless you have any useful information regarding the whereabouts of the missing draconequuses, I suggest you wait until Princess Twilight Sparkle is done talking.”
“What’re you talking about?” shouted the stallion, before pointing to his store. “My shop! It was just robbed!”
“What?” Twilight and her friends said in shock and surprise to what he said.
“Look, he’s getting away!” the pony said while pointing to the culprit. The culprit was an earth pony with a light umber coat and an even darker umber mane and tail. He had red eyes, black freckles on his face and wore a white gym shirt. His cutie mark was a dollar sign. They saw that he was carrying a bag that appeared to have something in it.
“Don't just stand there!! Call the police!” the owner of the shop said.
Rainbow Dash smiled. “Finally, some action!” She turned to the shop owner. “Don’t worry, sir! We got this!”
She immediately dropped her quill and clipboard and then flew after the pony. Her friends watched in surprise before Twilight shouted, “Rainbow Dash, wait! We don’t have time for this!”
Rainbow Dash wasn’t listening. She continued chasing the criminal. Twilight sighed with frustration before turning to her friends and said, “Come on, guys! We better go after her!”
They quickly followed Rainbow Dash, who was still flying after the burglar.
“Stop!” Rainbow Dash yelled.
“Huh?” The earth pony turned his head and saw Rainbow Dash flying after him.
“Stop, in the name of Princess Celestia!”
“Catch me if you can, Featherbrain!” the earth pony called back as he began running through larger crowds.
“Rainbow Dash, stop!” Twilight called out. “Let the police handle this!”
As he ran through crowds of ponies and draconequuses, the crook saw that his way was barricaded by several police ponies. Among them was Inspector Fantastic and Number Two.
“Oi! You! Stop, in the name of the law, yer bloody plonker!” Inspector Fantastic yelled, waving his umbrella as if it were a lasso.
The pony crook was smarter than he looked. He grabbed a skateboard from a nearby colt. “Hey,” the young colt said.
Riding the skateboard, the crook skated right over the police barricade, leaving the officers dumbfounded. “Whoa! Coming through!” he said as he kept riding the skateboard.
Inspector Fantastic scratched his head with his umbrella for a moment before saying, “Alright...err...don’t stop.”
Officer McHoof quickly grabbed a radio from one of the police cars. “This is Officer McHoof, we got a 10-31!” he said through the radio.
Just then, Rainbow Dash flew past them, with her friends trying to catch up. “I got dibs!” she shouted at the surprised police officers. “Rainbow Dash is in pursuit! Whoo-hoo!!”
“Rainbow Dash, you come back here this minute!” Rarity called out.
“You get yer backside back over here!” Applejack said angrily.
“Sorry! Excuse me. Pardon me,” Fluttershy said as she made her way through the group of police ponies.
Inspector Fantastic shook his head. “Blimey! More trouble I’s got ter deal wif no doubt! I tell yer, Number Two, it never ends.”
The earth pony kept skating past citizens while Rainbow Dash knocked them aside to catch him.
Nearby, the Thief was in the marketplace when he spotted a female upper class pony wearing a silver pocket watch. “Well, this must be my lucky day.” he thought to himself as he snuck towards the pony. Once he made sure no one was looking, he reached out with a long hoof. “Hello there, my dear. Wanna come home and sit in a chair…in my pocket?”
Just as he was going to grab the pocket watch, the crook on the skateboard ran into him, and the Thief was pulled onto him.
“What the-?!” The burglar was surprised that some strange earth pony, that bore a strange resemblance to a green lizard, was sharing the skateboard with him. They continued skating, only now they were more out of control.
“I think we just passed a red light.” the Thief thought to himself.
“Hey,” the crook said in annoyance. “Go find your own skateboard, will ya?!”
He pushed the Thief off the skateboard and the Thief rolled down a steep street until he finally landed in a huge manure wagon. The older pony, who owned the cart, wore a small pair of glasses and had a clothespin on his snout. He didn’t seem to mind that some strange, dazed earth pony had landed in his manure wagon. He just continued shoveling fresh manure into the cart.
Elsewhere, the chase continued. Now that the criminal had a skateboard, it gave him a distinct advantage to escape Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash would not give up. She sent bystanders flying everywhere and crashed through carts selling different things.
“Hey, you! Freeze!” she called out to him.
Twilight and the others were trying their best to catch up.
“Rainbow Dash, stop!” Starlight said in concern as they ran.
Officer McHoof and other cops followed behind them, but stopped to catch their breath. “Hey, you ponies!” Officer McHoof said while he panted with frustration. “Wait for the real cops!”
The criminal skated past a melon stand. Rainbow Dash, however, crashed into it, sending melons falling and splattering everywhere. She took no notice and continued flying after the criminal.
“Hey,” the owner of the demolished stand called out. “What have you got against the melons?”
The burglar skated underneath a water barrel while Rainbow Dash crashed into it. The force of the crash sent the water barrel tipping over. The others saw that it was about to fall on an elderly pony walking across the street.
The others gasped in horror. Thinking fast, Twilight and Starlight quickly used their magic to stop the water barrel and lifted it back up to its original place. All this time, the old pony hadn't noticed anything.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash still gave chase, flying faster and faster. She headed for a construction site and shouted, “Incoming!!”
She crashed through the construction site, almost sending two workers falling. One was a thin unicorn and the other was a fat Earth pony. One of them screamed before the unicorn grabbed ahold of the edge while the earth pony grabbed onto his friend’s back legs.
Finally, the burglar jumped off the skateboard and ran into an alleyway. “You can't hide from me!” She yelled angrily, before going after him.
For an earth pony carrying a bag, this guy was fast. Rainbow Dash pursued him while he darted to and fro through the alleyways. She flew faster and faster to try and catch up with him.
Finally, he turned a corner and Rainbow Dash saw that it was a dead end. She smiled triumphantly, thinking that she had him now. She charged at him with full speed. However, he gave a smug smile.
Once Rainbow Dash was a few feet away from him, he promptly stepped aside. Behind him was a wooden billboard. Rainbow Dash realized this too late. Her triumphant smile turned into a surprised look as she gave a yelp.
CRASH!!!!!!
The pegasus woke up with a sore head. She groaned before realizing something.
“Huh?! What the-?!”
Rainbow Dash soon realized that she was stuck halfway through the billboard. The earth pony smirked. He had tricked Rainbow Dash into flying too fast, and she had fallen for his trap.
As she struggled to get out of the billboard, the earth pony chuckled. “Impressive. But speed ain’t nothing without control.”
He leapt on the backside of Rainbow Dash to jump over the fence. “Ow! Hey!! Come back here!” Rainbow Dash said angrily.
“Thanks for the lift, Rainbow Crash!” the earth pony called back before running off.
“You’ll get yours!” she shouted at him while shaking a hoof. Nearby, a female unicorn and her three children, a colt and two fillies, noticed the whole thing as they stared at the pegasus stuck in the billboard.
“Look, mommy,” the youngest filly said, pointing a hoof at Rainbow Dash. “That pony is stuck!”
The colt laughed. “She looks funny!”
The three siblings laughed while the mother tried to hush them up. Rainbow Dash snarled angrily. Now she had a real reason to dislike that burglar.
“Rainbow Dash!”
The pegasus turned her head and saw the others rush up to her. “Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said with concern. “Are you alright?”
“Does it look like I’m alright?” Rainbow Dash snapped.
“No. It looks like you’re stuck in a billboard and you’ve publically humiliated yourself.” Pinkie Pie said.
“Well, thank you, Captain Obvious!”
“You’re welcome!” Pinkie Pie said with a smile, not understanding that her friend was being sarcastic.
“Hold on, Rainbow!” Applejack said. “Try not ta move! We’ll get you out of there in a jiffy!”
“Never mind me! Stop that pony! He’s getting away!” Rainbow Dash pointed in the direction where the crook just went.
Rarity said, “Rainbow Dash! We don’t have time for-”
“Don’t worry, Rainbow! We’ll get him!” Pinkie said before she and the Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped over the fence. “Come on, girls! Let’s get him!”
Twilight sighed. “I guess there’s nothing for it. Come on!”
Rainbow Dash called out to her friends. “You go on ahead! I’ll catch up!” She grunted as she struggled to get out of the billboard.
Twilight and the others went in the direction Rainbow Dash had just told them where the burglar went.
“Where’d he go?” asked Apple Bloom.
“He could be anywhere,” Starlight said as she looked around.
Twilight said, “Keep looking! He’s got to be here somewhere.”
As they looked around, they heard a train whistle. They turned their heads and saw a train coming for them. On top of it was the earth pony burglar they were looking for. They screamed and yelped in surprise as they narrowly dodged the incoming train.
“Bon voyage-e, losers!” the earth pony said with a chuckle as he rode away on the train.
Twilight turned to Applejack. “Applejack?” she said with determination.
Applejack knew what Twilight meant and nodded. “I’m on it!”
Applejack then began to pursue the train. On the train, the crook chuckled, thinking he finally managed to lose his pursuers. But as he turned around, he saw that he was heading straight for a flying pegasus, who yelped in surprise when he saw the other pony. He immediately dodged the pegasus and narrowly to dodge a draconequus.
Soon, he began dodging more and more of them until he thought he was getting the hang of it. After he dodged the last one, he laughed in amusement, thinking that his problems were finally over. However, he soon noticed something, and that something was Applejack! She was standing on a bridge right above the train and was swinging a lasso. She threw it and the rope began to wrap itself around the culprit. She pulled the rope and yanked the burglar off the train.
She swung him and he went flying into the air as he screamed. “WAAAAAAAAA!!!!”
He then fell to the ground and landed next to a doughnut shop, where the owners of the shop were going to put up a large doughnut for a sign.
He got up with a dizzy look on his face and groaned before he heard Spike say, “There he is!”
“Huh?” He snapped out of his dazed look and saw Twilight and her friends heading straight for him, the alicorn saying, “Hey, stop right there!”
The earth pony saw the large doughnut sign and had a sneaky idea. “Have a doughnut, princess!” he shouted before kicking the doughnut sign off its platform using his back legs. The gang yelped in surprise as they saw the large doughnut bounce right for them. They quickly ducked just as the doughnut missed them.
Nearby, three small unicorn mares had just walked out of a department store, carrying bags with stuff they had just bought and were chatting. One of the unicorns had a white coat and her mane was black and was styled in a fashionable way. Her eyes were a cerulean blue color and her cutie mark was a purple shoe that looked fashionable as well. “Sweet Celestia, did you see those diamond-styled shoes?” the unicorn said to her friends in glee while using her magic to carry her bags.
Just then, her friends noticed something and screamed before they ran away in fear. The small unicorn was confused as to why her friends ran all of a sudden. She turned her head and saw the doughnut bouncing towards her. She dropped her bags and screamed in terror. “Aaaaaaaaaaagh!”
Fluttershy heard the small unicorn scream and gasped in horror as she looked up. She quickly opened her wings and flew faster than she thought she could. The small unicorn closed her eyes and braced herself for what was about to happen. For a second, she didn’t feel anything. She opened her eyes and saw right above her was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane holding the doughnut sign while giving her a friendly smile. It was Fluttershy! She had just saved this pony!
Fluttershy looked at the unicorn with a smile and said, “I love your hair.”
Awww… thank you,” said the unicorn gratefully while twirling a bit of her hair.
Meanwhile, the earth pony crook looked around to make sure no one was watching. Once he was sure it was safe, he laughed as he picked up the bag and said, “Come to papa.”
“Hey, buddy.” A female voice said.
The earth pony turned his head to where the voice came. He yelped in surprise when he saw who it was. It was Rainbow Dash. She had finally got out of the billboard. She looked a little beaten up, and she was glaring at him. In her hooves, she had the same doughnut sign that he had kicked at her friends.
She raised the large doughnut over her head as she angrily said, “Have a DOUGHNUT!!” Then with a growl, she brought it down and everything went black.
Meanwhile, at the Manehattan police department, the whole place was bustling with activity. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance were there to see how things were going with the search and to check up on Twilight and her friends.
There was a long line of ponies and draconequuses at the help desk. Antic was there at the front while another female draconequus was with her who seemed quite worried. The draconequus was small and slender. She had the head of an otter, her eyes were green, her tail of a brown squirrel, and the body of a fennec fox. She wore a periwinkle shirt with a lavender sweater over it and black pants. Her right arm belonged to a prairie dog while the left arm was a koala. As for her legs, her right leg was a raccoon while her left leg resembled a beaver. She was right next to Antic. Antic had come to the police department to tend any injured officers or criminals.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Otterus, but I have to be fair to the others in front of you.” The male earth pony from yesterday said at the desk, trying to be patient to the otter draconequus, now revealed as Mrs. Otterus. “You’ll just have to wait your turn like everypony-”
Just then, the doors burst open. The princesses, police officers, arrested criminals, and the others watched in surprise as a doughnut, as large as a tire wheel, came bouncing in with an earth pony inside of it. It finally rolled up to the help desk, bumped into it, and rolled around before coming to a stop. The earth pony criminal inside of it groaned.
The doors opened again as Rainbow Dash, followed by her friends, came in. She flew up to the doughnut and stood triumphantly on it. She smiled. “We caught the bad guy!”
“Yay!” Pinkie Pie cheered. She hopped around the doughnut chanting, “We caught the bad guy! We caught the bad guy! We caught the bad guy!” She stopped hopping and took a large bite out of the doughnut. She swallowed, licked her lips, and smiled before she added, “And in a very tasty doughnut too!”
As two cops hoofcuffed the earth pony and led him away to be hoof printed, he muttered angrily, “Grrrrrrrr. Stupid pegasus.”
Later, Twilight and her friends, along with the princesses, were all in Officer Gruff’s office. Officer Gruff’s face was still grim and stern looking, but not as it usually was.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am, Twilight,” Princess Celestia said to her pupil with a smile.
“Pursuing and apprehending a burglar in one day. Now I see why Celestia said you should help in Manehattan.” Princess Luna said, absolutely thrilled.
“I’m just curious,” Spike spoke up. “Who was that pony we caught, anyway?”
Princess Cadance answered Spike’s question. “His name is Bootleg.” She pointed to a wanted poster on the wall, the same earth pony they chased and caught was on it. “He’s a notorious crook who’s wanted in seven cities. He’s known for stealing and selling illegal products and items for a whopping price. With the police and the royal guards busy trying to find the missing draconequuses, he’s been more active than before.”
Spike and the ponies looked with astonishment. Then, Officer Gruff spoke up. “I must say, I’m impressed.” He still had his grim expression but he raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Not only did you stop a master criminal, you also saved a young unicorn from being crushed by a large doughnut.”
“Well, it was Fluttershy who saved her.” Applejack said with a smile.
Fluttershy blushed with a smile. “Oh, it was nothing, really.”
“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash said, beaming with pride. “We were all pretty awesome! Especially me!”
“Say,” Sweetie Belle said, looking at the bag that Bootleg had stolen which was now on Officer Gruff’s desk. “I wonder what he stole.”
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said, agreeing with her friend. “It must be something very valuable.”
Rainbow Dash smiled in excitement. “I’ll bet it’s some kind of treasure! Maybe some jewels or diamonds! Maybe it’s a top secret plan! Or maybe it’s the newest, unreleased issue of Daring Do!”
She flew over to the desk and began to unzip the bag. “Or maybe it’s...” Once she unzipped the bag, she looked inside eagerly. However, her smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of shock and disbelief. She took a step back, her jaw dropped and said, “Moldy onions?!” She shouted in disbelief.
Her friends looked in the bag and saw that it was indeed filled to the brim with radish-shaped plants.
“Well,” A disappointed Pinkie Pie said. “That was a rip-off.”
“Wow,” Spike said, looking into the bag. “All that trouble, just for some onions?”
Rainbow Dash just stood still, her jaw hanging and her left eyelid twitching in disbelief.
Applejack looked into the bag and spoke up. “Actually, those ain’t moldy onions. Those there are called Midnicampum holicithias. My family uses them fer-”
Rainbow Dash interrupted her. “I went through all that trouble, got stuck in a billboard, publicly humiliated myself, caught a bad guy, and for what?! Moldy onions!!” She threw her hooves up in defeat.
Applejack frowned. “I just said those ain’t moldy onions.”
“Like I said,” Officer Gruff spoke up, putting the bag aside. “I’m impressed. However,” His face became completely stern again. “There is something else I have to bring up.”
Rainbow Dash smiled. “You gonna congratulate us on how cool we were? Was it the way I threw the doughnut down on that creep?”
“No.” Officer Gruff said, picking up a yellow card. “I’ll have to give you a citation.”
Rainbow Dash’s smile disappeared as she looked at the officer in surprise. “What?!” she exclaimed in shock. “For what?”
“For reckless endangerment of civilians and destruction of property.” Officer Gruff said sternly.
Rainbow Dash couldn’t understand. “What are you talking about?”
Officer Gruff picked up a remote and turned on a nearby television screen. The screen showed the whole chase with Rainbow Dash pursuing Bootleg. As she pursued him, she knocked aside ponies and draconequuses in her pursuit. She crashed into stands, sending the vendors flying in several directions.
As she watched, Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped in disbelief and she blushed nervously. She had no idea that she had been so careless. Officer Gruff paused the video and turned to the pegasus angrily. “I’d hate to agree with that criminal, but speed is nothing without control.”
“But, but, but…” Rainbow Dash stuttered.
“Aw, don’t worry, Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie Pie said, trying to cheer her friend up. “Everypony makes mistakes.”
“You’re getting a citation as well.” Officer Gruff said sternly at Pinkie Pie.
“What?” Pinkie Pie said in surprise. “What did I do?”
Officer Gruff played another video and this time it showed Pinkie Pie standing in front of Bootleg. “Hold it right there!” The recording of Pinkie Pie said. “Don’t you move, or you’ll get it big time!”
The recording of Bootleg scowled at her. “Outta my way, Puffy!”
“Okay, you asked for it, pal!” Pinkie Pie pulled her party cannon, only it was filled with watermelons. The recording of the CMC rushed up as Scootaloo shouted, “Pinkie Pie! Wait! Stop!” But it was too late as Pinkie Pie fired her watermelon-filled party cannon. Bootleg screamed briefly before he jumped aside as watermelons went flying everywhere. Instead of hitting Bootleg, the melons crashed into several ponies and draconequuses, including the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Did I miss?” The recording of Pinkie Pie asked.
Officer Gruff paused the video again and glared at the pink earth pony. Pinkie Pie stood there, her face looking guilty and embarrassed. “Ohhhhhhh…..” she said before giving a weak, nervous smile. “I guess I overdid it with the party cannon.”
Cadance turned to Rainbow Dash. “What Officer Gruff is trying to say is that you acted too recklessly, and you have to be more careful next time, Rainbow.” She said calmly, yet trying to be serious.
Just then, the intercom on Officer Gruff’s desk clicked as Inspector Fantastic’s voice came through. “Oi, Gruff. Mrs. Otterus is ‘ere ter see yer again.”
Officer Gruff sighed angrily before pressing a button on it and spoke. “Not now.”
The intercom clicked again, only this time it was Number Two’s voice. “Er, alright, sorry sir. I just didn’t know if you wanted to see her. She looks rather upset, and we thought that maybe-”
Officer Gruff rolled his eyes before pressing the button again and yelled, “NOT NOW!!”
Fluttershy nervously flinched at the tone of the officer’s voice.
Officer Gruff then turned back to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, his face stern like before. “Luckily for you two, nopony was severely injured. So, I’m letting you off this time. But if this happens again, I will have to deal with you more severely.”
Just then, the door opened and the same otter draconequus from earlier, Mrs. Otterus, came in. “Officer Gruff, please,” she pleaded. “Five minutes of your time. Please.”
Behind her, Inspector Fantastic and Number Two followed and stopped at the entrance of the office. They both panted and wheezed.
“Sorry, sir.” Number Two said, gasping for air. “We tried to stop her, but she’s too slippery.”
Inspector Fantastic leaned on his umbrella, panting with his tongue lolled out like a dog. “Urgh, oh, lumme, I needs a breather, I does. Oi.” Number Two helped him up as they both walked away, hoping to get some rest from all that running.
Officer Gruff turned to Mrs. Otterus, only he sounded as if he was trying to calm her down. “Ma’am,” he said, trying to be as patient as he could be. “As I’ve told you, we’re doing everything we can.”
Mrs. Otterus held up a family photo. “My husband has been missing for ten days.” She said with a concern look. “His name is Nelson Otterus.”
“Yes, I know,” Officer Gruff said.
“He’s a florist,” she added. “We have two beautiful children. He would never just disappear.”
As she was telling Officer Gruff all this, Twilight and her friends glanced at the picture. In the picture was Mrs. Otterus, her husband, and their children. They all had the head of otters.
Nelson Otterus had the body of a leopard, tail of a gray squirrel, the right arm of a black wolf, left arm of a red panda, right leg resembling a bobcat while his left leg was a weasel. He had amber eyes, wore red framed glasses, a light green shirt with a green sweater over it, an orange tie, and dark green pants. The ponies recognized him as one of the missing draconequuses Officer Gruff had mentioned yesterday.
As for the kids, the son had the body of a panther, his tail of a black squirrel, right arm of a gray wolf and left arm of a badger, and his right leg of a white tiger and left leg of a brown bear. The daughter’s body was a snow leopard, her tail of a brown squirrel, her right arm was a chipmunk and left arm was a mountain lion while her right leg belonged to a cheetah and her left leg was a black bear cub. They all looked so happy together in that picture.
Fluttershy looked concerned when she saw the picture. She imagined how worried the two children must be right now, wanting their dad to come home.
“Ma’am,” Officer Gruff said. “Our detectives are very busy.”
“Please,” Mrs. Otterus begged. “There’s gotta be somebody who can find my Nelson.”
“Mrs. Otterus…” Officer Gruff said, trying to be reasonable.
Princess Celestia then spoke up. “Actually, there is. Twilight and her friends will find him for you.”
Twilight and her friends turned to Princess Celestia in surprise. “What?!” They all said.
“What?” Officer Gruff said, trying not to sound angry.
Twilight whispered nervously to her mentor, “Uh, Princess Celestia, what are you doing?”
The graceful alicorn turned to her pupil and smiled. “Mrs. Otterus is very worried about her missing husband.” she whispered. “Since the guards and police are very busy, I want you and your friends to try and find him. Promise me that you will take the case.”
Twilight looked unsure for a moment before she nodded and turned back to Mrs. Otterus saying, “Mrs. Otterus, we will find your husband.”
“Oh, thank you!” She rushed up to Twilight and Fluttershy, hugging them both. “Bless you, bless you, your highness!”
Twilight noticed that Officer Gruff was glaring at them and she smiled nervously. Mrs. Otterus gave Fluttershy the picture. “Take this, find my Nelson.” She said, filled with hope. “Bring him home to me and my babies, please.”
Fluttershy looked at the picture and smiled. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll find him.”
“That’s right!” Applejack said, agreeing with her friend. “We’ll find him and bring him back home, safe and sound!”
“You can count on us,” Rainbow Dash said with a smile.
Rarity put a comforting hoof on Mrs. Otterus, saying, “Don’t you worry, Mrs. Otterus. We will find him. We promise.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said with a smile. “And to seal the deal, it’ll be a Pinkie Promise! Cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eyes! Right guys?”
Twilight and the others did the same thing as Pinkie Pie, only Starlight was a little confused.
“Uh, I’m confused, what’s going on?” Starlight Glimmer asked.
Apple Bloom said, “It’s a kind of a promise that ya have to keep, no matter what.”
“Yeah.” Sweetie Belle said. “Or Pinkie Pie will go crazy and come after you.”
“Uh, your majesties, Mrs. Otterus.” Officer Gruff spoke up. “Could you all step out for a moment? I would like to have a word with Princess Twilight and her friends.”
“Of course,” Princess Celestia said.
As the three alicorns and otter draconequus stepped outside, Mrs. Otterus thanked Officer Gruff by saying, “Oh, thank you all so much.”
Officer Gruff smiled, saying, “Of course. Just one second, please.”
Officer Gruff closed the door. His friendly smiled disappeared as he glared back at the alicorn and her friends.
“Oh, yeah!” Rainbow Dash cheered. “We finally get to do something interesting!”
“Yay, we’re taking the case!” Pinkie Pie smiled.
“I'm sorry, but you’re not taking the case.” Officer Gruff said, frowning at them.
They all looked at him with disbelief. “What?!” They shouted in surprise and disbelief.
“But…but why?” Starlight Glimmer asked the officer with a confused look.
“Because, after the display your two friends showed earlier, I don’t trust your judgement.”
“Aw, come on!” Rainbow Dash said in annoyance. “So I made a little mistake!”
“You almost killed somepony!” He added angrily.
“Yeah, well,” Rainbow Dash said, trying to think of a good comeback.
Fluttershy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But we have to. We promised Mrs. Otterus.” She said, trying to reason with the grim officer.
Officer Gruff just glared back at them. “Whatever promises you made are none of my concern. I’m not going to hand over this case to you just because Princess Celestia holds you in high regards.”
“But, Princess Celestia-!” Twilight began to speak before Officer Gruff interrupted her. “Do you think the princesses asked what I wanted when they assigned you to help me?” He said angrily.
“Uh, no.” Spike said. “When you put it that way…I guess not.”
Pinkie Pie couldn’t believe it! This pony was forbidding her to keep a Pinkie Promise! “But, but, but, but, but, we Pinkie Promised!” She whined.
“I don’t care.” Officer Gruff said, trying not to lose his temper.
“But, but, a Pinkie Promise is a Pinkie Promise!” She said before she began to recite it. “Cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our-!”
“I...DON’T...CARE!!” Officer Gruff shouted at her, making her shrink down as he stared angrily at her. Twilight and the others were afraid that their friend would go ballistic and get them in even more trouble, but it looked like Officer Gruff was a force that Pinkie Pie had not reckoned with.
Pinkie Pie gulped nervously. “Number Two was right,” she thought to herself. “This pony is scary when he’s angry.”
Officer Gruff then turned to the door while Pinkie’s mane deflated. “Now,” he said. “I’m going to open this door, and you are going to tell the princesses and that otter draconequus that you have other things to attend to…”
“But…but...but…” Pinkie Pie stammered, her lips trembling while her friends looked at each other with disbelief and sadness as the officer continued.
“...And you will not be taking the case.” Officer Gruff finished as he opened the door. Right outside was a familiar-looking unicorn talking to the princesses and Mrs. Otterus. It was Shimmering Beauty!
“I just heard that Twilight and her friends are taking the case!” She said in joy.
Officer Gruff smiled nervously when he saw who it was. “Assistant Mayor Shimmering Beauty.”
Shimmering Beauty smiled at Mrs. Otterus as she got out a cellphone. “The Pony and Draconequus Friendship Initiative is starting to pay off.” She chuckled before she began texting with her magic. “Mayor Flashhoof is gonna be so thrilled!”
“Uh, let’s not tell the mayor just yet-.” Officer Gruff said nervously.
“And I sent it, and it’s done, so I did do that,” interrupted Shimmering Beauty as she sent her text message. After she said that, Officer Gruff slapped a hoof on his face while Pinkie Pie gave a small smile. “Well, I’d say the case is in good hooves!” Shimmering Beauty smiled at Fluttershy. “After all, us ponies gotta stick together! Right?”
“Yep! Like pie!” Apple Bloom responded, giving a warm, friendly smile to the unicorn.
Shimmering Beauty laughed at Apple Bloom’s joke. “Good one. You’re so cute.” She said with a smile, playfully pinching the filly’s cheek.
Fluttershy looked at the unicorn. “Um, Shimmering Beauty, I was thinking about how you helped me out yesterday. I wish there was someway I could repay you for what you did.” She said.
Shimmering Beauty smiled. “Oh, you don't have to anything for me, Fluttershy,” she replied. “You have friends who are there for you.” Fluttershy smiled as she gave out a blush. The pegasus was glad to have good friend like Shimmering Beauty.
“Call me if you need anything. You’ve always got a friend at city hall, girls. All right, bye-bye!” Shimmering Beauty said as she walked away smiling.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Twilight called back.
As Shimmering Beauty, Mrs. Otterus, and the princesses walked away, Princess Celestia noticed something. Officer Gruff was more frustrated than ever before. “Is there something wrong, officer?” She asked in concern.
“You seem quite tense,” Princess Luna added.
“No. None whatsoever.” He grunted.
“Excellent.” Princess Celestia said with a smile. “Have Twilight and her friends start with the case immediately.”
Officer Gruff closed the door before taking a deep breath and angrily sighing. They looked at him, waiting for an answer. “Alright,” he muttered. Pinkie Pie’s mane went back to its normal, poofy self as she smiled with joy. “You can take the case.” Officer Gruff grunted.
Pinkie Pie could fulfill her Pinkie Promise! “YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!” She squealed as she jumped into the air.
“But you have to stop doing that.” Officer Gruff said, obviously annoyed.
“Awwwww….” Pinkie Pie whined as she dropped on the floor.
“Yes!” Rainbow Dash said, smiling.
“BUT,” Officer Gruff said more sternly. “If I hear about anymore reckless behavior or otherwise, you’re off the case. Do I make myself clear?”
The pegasus frowned. She didn’t like being called reckless.
“Do I make myself clear?” He asked a second time.
“Yes,” Rainbow Dash muttered.
“I assure you, officer, it won’t happen again,” Rarity assured the stern cop. “Or at least I hope not.” She thought to herself.
“Good.” Officer Gruff said as he opened the door. “Inspector Fantastic will show you the case file.”
“Well, we better get going.” Applejack said to her friends.
As they were heading out the door, Officer Gruff spoke. “And one more thing, princess.”
Twilight turned her head. “Yes?”
“Be careful.”
“‘E’re yer go!” Inspector Fantastic said, holding up the case file of Nelson Otterus. Number Two and Antic were there as well. “One missing otter draconequus!”
Twilight looked at the file with a smile and said, “Good! Now let's get started!”
She opened it and took a look. Her smile disappeared as her jaw dropped in disbelief. The case file only had one photo of Mr. Otterus where he was last seen before his disappearance.
“You gotta be kidding me!” Rainbow Dash said in disbelief.
“Blimey!” Inspector Fantastic said, equally in disbelief. “ That's the smallest case file I's ever seen! Don't tell me yer blokes is taking this case!” He said with a mouthful of doughnuts.
“Sadly, we are.” Starlight sadly replied.
“How the hay are we supposed to figure out anything with just a photo?” Applejack said with frustration.
Number Two looked at the picture and pointed out by saying, “Leads: none. Witnesses: none. And Officer Gruff hasn't given you permission to use the system. Sorry.”
“Gee,” Rainbow Dash muttered sarcastically. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”
“I know, right?” Pinkie Pie said, unaware that Rainbow Dash was being sarcastic. “We caught a bad guy and we're gonna solve a case with just a picture for evidence! We're on a roll!”
Scootaloo turned to Twilight, the pegasus saying, “There has to be something here that can help us!”
The alicorn looked back at the picture. “Well, the best thing to do right now is to search for some clues in the picture. All we need is a magnifying glass.”
“I got ya covered.” Antic said with a smile. She conjured several magnifying glasses and gave one to each of them.
“That was convenient.” Rarity said before they began looking at the picture to see if they could find any clues that could help them.
As she looked through her magnifying glass, Twilight then noticed that Mr. Otterus was eating something while walking. “Guys, look at this!” She called to her friends and they saw it also.
“What's he got there?” Sweetie Belle asked while looking at the picture.
“It looks like he's eating a sandwich,” Twilight explained before she took another look at the sandwich Otterus was holding. “And by the looks of it, it appears to be a cucumber sandwich.”
While they were looking at the picture of Otterus, Fluttershy was still looking at a different part of the picture until she spotted something that made her gasp in surprise.
“It can’t be.” She whispered.
“Something wrong, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked.
“Look!” Fluttershy pointed to a corner of the picture. They all looked at what she had spotted and gasped as well. In the picture was a familiar stallion with a gray coat, jet black mane, yellow eyes with red pupils, a tornado for a cutie mark, and a blue horn! He was pushing a stand with cucumber sandwiches.
“It’s…it’s impossible!” Twilight said in amazement.
“No way!” Rainbow Dash said, her jaw dropping.
“Sweet Celestia and Luna put together!” Rarity exclaimed.
Applejack couldn’t believe it either! “Fluttershy was tellin’ the truth!”
Pinkie Pie slammed her hoof on the table with an angry look. “I told you guys that he was real!”
Rainbow Dash looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “What do you mean you told us? You didn’t believe her either!”
“Oh, did I?” Pinkie Pie smiled, raising an eyebrow.
“No, you didn’t.” Twilight said sternly.
“Oh.” Pinkie Pie said sheepishly.
Twilight and the others turned to Fluttershy, apologetically.
“We’re sorry we didn’t believe you.” Twilight replied sadly. The others apologized as well.
The shy pegasus gave a smile and said, “It’s okay. I forgive you guys.”
Starlight Glimmer remained quiet. She was glad that the others believed Fluttershy.
“So,” Apple Bloom said. “Who is this pony?”
“You got me,” Scootaloo shrugged.
Rarity looked at the picture and said, “Hmmm, you know, for an odd looking pony I’ve never met, he is pretty handsome.”
She continued looking at the picture in awe. Spike rolled his eyes. Now he had another rival.
“There has to be something that could tell us who he is.” Twilight said.
Antic looked at the picture. Once she got a good look at it, she shrugged and rolled her eyes.
“Oh, that’s just Discord disguised as a pony,” She replied.
The ponies and gasped in surprise. “Discord?!” They said in perfect unison,
Rarity’s lovestruck face disappeared when she heard. “That’s Discord?!” She backed away from the photo and hugged herself as she shuddered in utter disgust. “Bleaaahughughugh!”
Spike smiled to himself. He was glad that he didn’t have to compete Discord for the affections of the fair Rarity.
“Wait a minute,” Twilight said to herself. “Cucumber sandwiches.”
“Yes. Cucumber sandwiches,” Inspector Fantastic said, nodding. Then he looked confused. “Er, wot does it mean?”
“It means,” Twilight said, before she and her friends all looked at the stallion, which was really Discord in disguise. “We have a lead.”