I looked around, and sure enough it was as Twilight said. It was as untouched as the day I left it, I licked my chapped lips and continued my search. The sheets were pristine and everything was organized, but it didn't feel like home anymore. No, home was an apartment in Manehattan underneath a noisy neighbor and above a neighbor that doesn't seem to realize that the smell of pot travels upwards. I took a deep breath and exhaled, I then got to work although me getting to work consisted of closing the door and laying down on the bed to read comic books, I just was procrastinating. However, I can't stop the nagging feeling of what Applejack said to me, that she wanted to talk to me. She is the element of honesty, but how far does that stretch?
If I lie to her, she could tell that I'm lying and if I tell her the truth then she'll tell the girls who I really am. If I send Quick, she'll know I'm onto her that or that I was afraid. I just got trapped in a no-win situation. The best thing I can do is to lie, but to also weave the truth into it. Although complicated, it is possible to beat someone who can tell if you're lying or not. I wasn't about to call Applejack a lie detector, because lie detectors are easier to beat than her ability. Trust me, people have taught classes on how to beat lie detectors, beating AJ was much harder.
I sat back and thought about what I was going to say but my thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door. "Mister Drake?" It was Starlight.
"One moment please." I said as I tidied the room back to its original condition, or at least as much as I could I then adjusted my clothes and opened the door, "Hello again...Miss...Glimmer was it?" I faked remembering her name.
"Yes, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" Starlight looked up at me.
"Go ahead." I nodded.
"Why are you looking in Spike's bedroom?" Starlight asked.
"You can find out a lot about a person by the way they keep their room. Every little detail is a clue to the person's past and allows me to peek into the mind of the person I'm investigating. I'm building a psychological profile to help me predict the movements." I answered her.
She looked up at me, "So you're trying to see what state of mind that Spike would be in before he left?" She asked.
"Indeed, if you have anything that could help me with my search it would be much appreciated." I said whilst withdrawing a notepad and a pen from my trench coat inner pocket. Starlight looked at me a little stunned and then shook her head. "Is something wrong?" I asked.
"Sorry, just for a moment I thought you looked a bit like Spike." She laughed and scratched the back of her head. "Isn't that crazy?"
"It's not as crazy as you might think, I have a feeling that you may say you have moved on but you haven't really. Have you?" I asked her.
"I-I had to move on, for everyone else's sake and my own." Starlight sighed, "Spike was one of the first ones to accept me. However, when he left he never gave a specific reason as to why. But before he left, he kept referring to shadows. I don't know if that means anything, but it should help."
The shadows of the girls, the shadows I had to escape. I smiled and wrote that down, "I appreciate that"
"If there's anything else I can do for you please just let me know." Starlight said.
"I'll be sure to do so." I said and clicked my pen, putting both items back into the pocket they returned to. When doing so Starlight noted the handle of the revolver that hung underneath my left armpit.
"You carry?" Starlight asked.
".44 Magnum, Remington." I said, "I mostly use rubber bullets."
"They can still kill if used in the wrong way." Starlight said.
"Then that will be on my conscious." I said.
"Have you ever killed anyone?" Starlight asked.
"I did once, it still weighs heavily on my mind during slow days. Like you said rubber bullets can still kill if used in the wrong way." I said.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Starlight apologized.
"I'm not going to let it get to me while investigating." I said, "Is there anything else you wanted to add?"
"No, but you should speak to Rarity the moment you can, for a time we used to joke that Spike was Rarity's shadow...at the time we didn't know it hurt him." Starlight said.
"I'll be sure to do so, thanks Miss Glimmer." I smiled and exited the-my old bedroom, "I think I'm done here anyways."
"By the way, I love the trench coat." Starlight complimented.
"You think so? I thought it would've been a little cliche. My secretary seems to think so, she thinks I can't hear her mumbling under her breath. However, us Drakebloods have amazing senses." I grabbed the collar of my jacket, I chuckled to myself.
"I think it ties the whole look together. Now all we need is a proper fedora, and not one of the ones that those kids are wearing now, a 1920's fedora." Starlight said whilst brushing off some dust on my shoulder.
"Miss Glimmer, I still have to proceed with my investigation." I said, I could tell what she was aiming at. She was getting very touchy, must have a thing for dangerous men. While I wouldn't be opposed to something like this, she's in a relationship with Trixie and Sunburst. That also brings me to another point about my world, it's not uncommon or unheard of for people to be in polygamous relationships. It's not out of the question for people to be monogamous either, this is because of the incredibly low male count of the Equestrians, in Equestria the females outnumber the males 7 to 1. I shook my head from these thoughts and came across Twilight once again. "Princess?"
Twilight looked up from the book that she was busy reading, "Hmm? Oh I'm sorry, I just was reading a book." Twilight put it down, but I recognized it. It was our old photo album, the one before we moved to Ponyville, it was full of my baby pictures. "Also, there's no need to call me Princess, just Twilight is fine."
"Alright then, just Twilight." I said and she giggle snorted, which made me smile a bit.
"Sorry, I had read that in so many trashy romantic comedy books and seen it in the movies that had that line and it always cracks me up." Twilight said.
"I'm glad I could make your day a little bit more cheery." I told Twilight, "I got some information from Miss Glimmer, saying that I should talk to Rarity Belle, I just came by to tell you that I was leaving."
"That wasn't necessary, however I do appreciate it." Twilight smiled, "So what could you surmise from Spike's room?"
"He's very neat and organized, he wouldn't do anything without reason and as to the reason why he left I think you have a lot of the story but not all of it." I said whilst rubbing my chin.
"You think so?" Twilight asked.
"I'm very good at my job." I said and started to leave, "For now I must say goodbye. I'll let you know if I come across anything, sound fair?"
"Yes, thank you Mr. Drake. Good luck." Twilight waved as I left.
I got out ot the castle and started to walk towards Rarity's boutique. For a moment I looked back at the castle, that was my home for so long but now? I see it as a looming prison, there may be one day where I can come back to this place and see it as a happy setting, but not today. Quick was fast after me as I called her to my side, I almost forgot about her in my stupor. She looked up at me, "So what do you need Jack?" She asked.
"I need you, to get your hands on some letters, 7 of them should suffice." I told her.
"Okay, but why?" Quick replied to my request with a question.
"As far as the girls are concerned, Spike left without a reason. They don't know that I'm Spike, so I'll give them a reason. Something they can believe, until I can wrap up this investigation."
"So you want me to plant evidence?" Quick asked.
"I just need the letters, I'll plant the evidence. There's a store nearby called Parchment and Tables, I'm going to need 7 rolls of parchment."
"Parchment and Tables?" Quick asked.
"They work in conjunction with another store called Quills and Sofas." I replied.
"Is everyone in this town insane?" Quick asked.
"There's a man who lives here that is obsessed with jelly to the point that he has a 8 foot tall jar of blackberry jam. That I swear to all that is holy that he goes skinny dipping into." I said, "Welcome to Ponyville, Population? Fucking whack jobs and psychopaths."