Derpy Hooves and Doctor Time Turner Whooves spent an afternoon working together on the cold case of ponynapper Tempst Shadow. A discover lead to an exchange between the duo that had them smiling in triumph, the hopes of the case resurrecting with a new lead filling their thoughts, the thought of finally apprehending Tempest Shadow clear in their heads. Their triumph was short-lived when a junior officer burst through the door, out of breath and in a panic. Standing as straight as he could, the young pegasus colt looked at Time Turner and Derpy dead in the eye, panic and fear in clear in his eyes, causing the duo to become alarmed and cautious.
"What business have you good man?"
"C-Commander Hornbill requests the presence of O-Officer Dit-Derpy Hooves!"
"Why, what's wrong?"
"It's Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. She's been reported missing by the Capital of Equestria and Celestia herself!"
The police station was buzzing with activity, each policepony working on filing the report and distributing warnings to the other cities of Equestria after the news of Princess Twilight Sparkle's disappearance was announced by Canterlot, the capital of Equestria. Derpy Hooves in her police uniform stood beside Commander Hornbill, the Earth Pony frantically typing away, sending messages to other Commanding Policeponies in the land and around the globe. Doctor Gloves had been working with forensic ponies to collect any trace of evidence from anything they found suspicious, from the smallest tuft of a mane to an out of place rod.
After some time, Commander Hornbill looked up at Derpy, who had been standing there with a worried expression on her face, looking towards various things in the room. The Earth Pony looked at her, clearing his throat and receiving the attention of the Wall Eyed Pegasus. Derpy's attention turned straight back to the officer, a nervous expression plastering her face. All the Commander could do was sigh, getting up from his seat and moved to the side of his desk where he stayed for a while in thought.
"Are you sure Time Turner's findings is what we need to narrow the search?"
"Positive. I hope."
"I don't like this, the Princess of Friendship is gone and not one pony has any information on her whereabouts. It's as if she vanished without a trace, and Celestia isn't even warranting a search of the Princess' room where she was last seen whilst saying the guards found the room in a mess but without any sign of a break-in, no glass no nothing. It's as if she's hiding something on purpose, but surely the Princess couldn't hide anything against her subjects..."
"I don't know. This is the biggest thing that happened in this case, but I'm sure she shouldn't be too far."
"You're talking on a whim of hope Hooves. If she's been taken, Tempest is planning something big."
"But what? If she's been taking unicorns, what use does she have for them all?"
"Well, link the two together, and what do you get Hooves?"
"...An invasion of sorts?"
"Possibly."
"She'd have to be a unicorn in order to hypnotise them all, and it would take magic equivalent to Chrysalis' to perform such a task on around 50 missing ponies."
"That's true. But it is a possibility. Have you found her citizen report?"
"No, it's gone. It's like she hasn't even been registered in Equestria's data at all. Not one recorded picture of her has been found, and we haven't been able to locate ponies that have known her yet."
Commander Hornbill's face sported a frustrated look, rubbing his forehead with a hoof as he thought about what to do. The sound of awkward crashing and cheerful apologies echoed through to the office, alerting the duo of what was going on outside in the open workspace. Both recognised the English accented pony as he grew closer, Hornbill hastily exiting his office to see Time Turner with an overcoat whilst tripping over it every now and then. The awkward sight before the Commander sent his frustration wild, Derpy having to refrain the Earth Pony from letting his anger out on the bumbling stallion before them.
"What the?! What the absolute fuck are you doing here in my office Turner?! You have no authorisation into the bloody station!"
"On the contrary, I come as a volunteer for the case."
"A what?!"
"A volunteer! Surely you ponies need another detective on the team, do you?"
"NO ONE ASKED!"
Time Turner, by this time was forced out of the overcoat and stood in front of the enraged Hornbill whilst Derpy retreated to his side in a polite salute to her superior. Both them and the rest of the workforce watched as Hornbill ran his mouth of profanity and anger out on everypony in the room before collecting himself and clearing his throat in embarrassment and retreating back into his office, slamming the door behind him. Derpy and Time Turner stood for a minute in silence as the office around them returned to the chaotic mess it had been before Turner's arrival, both looking at one another before turning to the office. Time Turner broke the silence between the two of them not long after.
"So, is he always like this?"
"Sometimes...It still shakes the station up every time, heh."
Turner nods and proceeds towards the Commander's office, knocking gently on the door whilst calling out to the officer in a tone that reminds Derpy of a mother asking their foal out in the most foalish manner, causing the mare to sink in embarrassment. Hornbill's frustrated voice called for the both of them to enter his office, more or less in a way to stop the stallion from apparently babying him in front of his colleagues. When both ponies entered his office, Hornbill looked at Time Turner with a frustrated glare that didn't waver the stallion's confidence, as if he's had this happen before.
"If I may, Commander Hornbill, I'd like to ask you this: May I be able to join the investigation team?"
"In other words, be a detective?"
"Precisely."
"Did Miss Hooves give you the idea?"
"On the contrary, she was much against it like you. Still though, it shouldn't hurt at all to add a member to the team. As of now, let's see, we have Doctor Gloves as your forensics, yourself as brute force, Derpy as a negotiator of sorts, and yet you don't have one pony stepping up to be the detective in the team."
"He does bring an interesting point forward sir."
"Turner, you may have been a detective in the past, but now is not the time to indulge in such fantasies."
"If it would change your mind sir, I am skilled in my deduction skills, should you forget I came in a time prior to computers and fancy gadgetry. I did solve complex cases in my time, and if anything helps, I will be able to find your mare if you would let me."
"And why should I? Really, why should I?"
"As cliché as it sounds, I may be your best bet as of now."
At this, the Commander accepted his defeat against the rather childish Earth Pony, letting out a frustrated sigh and rubbed his temples. After doing so, Hornbill motioned for the eccentric part-time detective to come forward, the stallion obeying like a trained pet much to the amusement of Derpy. Time Turner approached Hornbill and cleared his throat, asking for the files of the recorded methods of kidnapping of each unicorn. Despite the confusion, Hornbill gave him the files and watched as the Earth Pony scanned through each file one by one, letting out a sigh of annoyance and frustration. Hornbill motioned Derpy to take a seat, implying the start of a rather long wait.
Coughing out bits of blood, the purple Alicorn looked at her aggressor. She knew exactly what her facial expression. It was the face of no remorse, no pity, not even a single sign of friendship or kindness. Oh, if Fluttershy had been here she might have gotten some form of kindness out of her kidnapper. Tasting blood in her mouth, Twilight Sparkle looked up to see Tempest Shadow looming over her, as if the Princess was nothing more than a foal.
"You're getting weaker Princess, I can tell."
"Y-you'll never get what you seek for Tempest!"
"Oh, spite huh? And, uh, why should I give up on all of this exactly?"
"You seek the impossible from not only me but everypony you've done wrong to. but may-"
"-Maybe if I seek out the Princess Celestia in a kind manner I would be able to get what I want blah blah blah. Yeah, the only way I can get what I want isn't through the graces of the Princess little one."
"W-what makes you so sure of it?"
"Because kindness isn't going to fix a broken pot of China, isn't it? Kindness isn't going to replace what was ONCE LOST!"
Tempest's raised voice sent bolts of fear through Twilight as something was forcefully attached to her horn once again. The other end was attached to what looked like a spear with the tip being a completely intact horn? Twilight only hoped, no, prayed that it was a model of a horn, and not what she thought. Tempest sensed the uneasiness of the Princess of Friendship, smirking with parted lips in a way that would give young foals nightmares for a long time, the kind of smile that doesn't go away no matter how hard you try.
"Yeah, you ever wonder why 5 of these cells were covered in dried blood? They're proving their use to me in a more...convenient manner."
Twilight couldn't form words as she opened her mouth to try and speak. Fear, disgust and anger spread through the Alicorn, the unicorn in front of her doing nothing but laugh at the sight before her, moving a few steps forward towards a switch on a console.
She flipped the switch, and explosive waves of light filled the room.
Hornbill and Derpy were more or less falling asleep from waiting for Time Turner to finish analysing 50 report files. It wasn't until the stallion shouted a 'EUREKA' did he catch the attention of the other two ponies in the same room as him, also unintentionally scaring the both of them. Hornbill looked at him with annoyance and anger, the kind of look that tells anypony to dig their graves to be buried in. Derpy looked at the eccentric detective with hope, surprise and fear, completely engulfed in curiosity despite her heart beating fast because of the sudden shouting in an enclosed environment.
"Respectful commander, I think I have a way of tracking your kidnapper!"
"You do?"
"Precisely! Look at the locations of each unicorn. Manehatten, Canterlot, Ponyville, Applossa, back to Canterlot, Baltimare, back to Manehatten, Cltifornia, back to Canterlot, back to Ponyville. You get the gist."
"What does this have to do with tracking her down?"
"I'm getting there good stallion. Look at the date of kidnappings, and tell me what you think."
"T-they're rather close, aren't they?"
"Mhmm, and each location is rather far away. It would be rather impossible to kidnap ponies and transport them via a blimp or the connected train system as I'v analysed a few weeks ago on a map."
"So, you're suggesting some form of one-pony transportation?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"...that doesn't say ANYTHING about-"
"I'm not done. Derpy, remind me again as to how the Princess' room looked like?"
"Huh?! Oh, they say that the room had no sign of broken windows. It was as if they knew how to get in. Oh, they also found no sign of tacks on the ground if that helps..."
"In fact, it does my dear! This implies a fast-moving vehicle that-"
"-doesn't touch the ground? I have to give you credit you eccentric bastard, you know your way around information."
"It's basic elementary as I love saying on a regular basis. Now the trick is to find out what type of vehicle she's using..."
"Knock knock~ I have your vessel."
All three ponies looked up to see a strange creature standing in the doorway, apparently ignoring the calls of officerponies to back away from the office and leave the building. The character was not something they have seen before, but it was obvious he was not a pony. If anything, it looked more like a cat standing on it's hind legs. The creature had golden-brown fur, blue tufts of fur on his forehead, and he wore a long, red coat that was worn out but still fashionable. His green eyes illuminated in the light of the building, and he had the posture of a gentlecolt such as FancyPants.
"I believe the vessel in question is none other than an airship."
"And just who the fuck are you exactly?"
"Oh, where are my manners. The names Capper. Capper Dapperpaws. Charming is my game. I'm a con artist from the Klugetown region."
"Klugetown? You're beyond the boarders of Equestria aren't you?"
"Right you are little pony. And might I add, I'd like to get in touch with my new acquaintances, other than angry Hornbill here, I don't know you two."
"Oh! I'm Officer Derpy Hooves. It's, n-nice to meet you."
"I'm Doctor Time Turner Whooves. I go by Time Turner though."
"Well, I am very pleased to meet the both of you, especially you Time Turner. I tuned into your findings and I have to say you have a sharp mind."
"Well, than-"
"Keep your distance Turner, he's a con artist remember? He's probably in servitude of Tempest."
"My dear Earth Pony, if I were working for Tempest Shadow, I wouldn't be so open about revealing myself, would I? Besides, I come with no tricks up my sleeves, I mean, apart from a useful map of course."
Capper revealed to the trio a large map of the world beyond Equestria's boarders, surprising two of them and exciting one. Turner looked in awe and excitement at the thought of travelling beyond the boarders of what he called home, the other two in the room with him looked just as surprised as the other. Hornbill shook his head and stood straight and mighty, moving towards Capper with a glare in his eyes, evidently hesitant to trust a stranger so willingly.
"This is all too convenient, even for Turner's standards I presume."
"It's not actually~"
"But why should I really trust you? I'm not content with blindly trusting anypony without a good reason."
Capper sighed and managed to take a glance at a stack of papers with the faces of missing ponies. Hastily walking over towards the stack, he carefully rummaged through it before finding 2 faces he remembered fondly. Walking towards the Commander, he presented the papers to the stallion with a sad expression on his face.
"Twilight Sparkle and Miss Rarity. These two were the first friends I've made in a long time, alongside their other companions. It would mean very much to me if anypony could help me retrieve them."
"You know these two? How?"
"Well, you see I wandered into the boarders of Equestria a while back, and not one pony gave me a warm welcome to the town. I was hanging around an alleyway when Rarity came across me and took me to the Carousel Boutique to fix me up with something to eat and fix my more run down coat. Thanks to her, this old thing hasn't been any more flashy than ever."
"Yeah, yeah, what about the Princess?"
"Oh, her. She and the other 4 came into the Boutique not long after I went in, and we sat for a discussion. It was, rather pleasant if I do say so myself."
Derpy looked at Capper with sadness in her eyes, Time Turner feeling empathy and a tinge of suspicion for the cat. Commander Hornbill looked at the two missing faces, sighed heavily in frustration and turned towards the feline, raising a hoof towards the other.
"For the time being, you have my trust. Do so much as breathe incorrectly and I'll have you locked up for fraud and for generally being a con-artist."
"My dear, uh..."
"Hornbill?"
"...My dear Commander Hornbill, you have my gratitude and my word."
"Mr Time Turner! You can lead a small team to investigate the matter. If you had been employed here, I would have granted a bigger team, but as it stands you're an unwanted volunteer. Then again, I need the help to locate them, so Capper and the Map will accompany you beyond Equestria."
"You're not coming along sir?"
"Me? Leave my post? You must be joking Miss Hooves. I also heavily suggest you stay here due to your condition."
"What? Why?"
"You could get yourself lost, injured or killed due to poor coordination."
"With all do respect sir, that's uncalled for."
"You will listen to my instructions Hooves, that is an order."
"If I may put forward something in the case of the Pegasus here, she can serve as a means of communication outside of Equestria. She is the only one here that has proper police equipment, including what I presume is a radio."
"Miss Derpy is also more than capable of great feats. Need I remind you of who rescued me from my icy prison sir?"
"...very well, I can't win against an eccentric idiot and his new found pet. Go with them and report in immediately if anything is to be found. Oh, and I presume you want Gloves with you?"
"As a matter of speaking, yes I do. After all, I may be a detective, but I need someone to decode science with the proper equipment."
And thus, under Commander Hornbill's permission, a team of 5 was created to hunt down Tempest from beyond the boarders of Equestria. At the helm, the now titled Detective Time Turner leading his first case in 400 years. With Derpy as a negotiator, Doctor Gloves as the forensics, and Capper as a navigator and tracker, confidence brewed within the eccentric Earth Pony. The chase began at that moment, Tempest Shadow as the clear target of the investigation team. Before leaving the station with the necessary gear gathered, Capper turned to the newly formed team with a smile beaming across his face.
"My friends, let the hunt begin."