Life has a funny way of bringing two creatures together. It might start out crummy, it might even start out because of a bet, but the choices you make can spawn some unlikely companions over the course of time. What could be a total prick could eventually become a valued partner as long as there is one thing that is kept between the two; Trust.
Many seem to struggle with that. I'm no different really. I'm a mare that follows the facts for the truth, you can never really depend on the word of others. It doesn't help that my career as a detective depends on proof rather than the word of others either, but sometimes you just gotta accept them. It's a gamble to put your reputation on the line for one's testimony, and the outcome can be regrettable at times. Just like how I got my partner.
It started one summer's day. I got over my allergies until next spore season and was galloping through the Fernaglaze Forest, my neighborhood, when I suddenly heard something.
"Boo hoo hoo."
Bad acting.
Around half a dozen yards away to my right was a faint blue glow, emitting on a stump from a small mare the size of my muzzle. It was a Magirin, a fairy pony that many find to be a nuisance. They have two sets of near-transparent wings on their back that can go up to two-hundred beats per second, causing a humming sound while having free mobility in the air. They're also known to hold magic that's roughly harmless, but the extent of their skills diverse amongst them. Because of their small stature, they tend to avoid contact with others from the severe advantage those others would have over them.
This particular Magrin had a dirty celeste fur and a messy paris-daisy colored mane and tail, both cut short. There was a cutie mark of a flapping burnt-orange rug on her flank, patterned with flowers and stalks on the fabric. She was grieving over something, laying on her side with a supported hoof keeping her up and the other covering her face as if she was whimpering.
I feel like I should at least act a little neighborly and ask what's troubling her.
I approach the fairy and stop myself as something catches my attention. The forest had a layer of fallen leaves covering the ground between me and her.
".........." I ignore her and go on my way.
"BOO HOO HOO." She cries louder, "WON'T SOMECREATURE HELP ME?"
I don't give a second glance and continue on.
"HEY!!" I hear behind me.
A buzzing sound soon follows and the Magirin zips in front of my face.
She glares her sunny-orange eyes at me, "HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL?"
"How can you be so loud?"
"Leaving a poor little innocent thing like me to wallow in her misery. You should be ashamed."
I scuff at her remark. Plucking a mushroom from my mane, I throw the fungus at the pile of leaves. It goes through the stack and the leaves fall into a pithole big enough to hold a standard mare inside.
The fairy suddenly looks pale. "Ah...." her eyes shifts about for an excuse, ".....*gasp* my goodness, who would've guessed that there was a pit there."
"Probably you, sense you made it."
"What? Me? Pfft, that's silly. What makes you think I did it?"
My non-expressive face stares at her for a second and I take in a deep breath. "Your messy appearance comes off as somemonster who was in a fight or just down on their luck. Either consideration would be beneficial while using unconvincing tears to mask the third possibility, that you could've gain that appearance from digging a hole. Your cutie mark is enigmatic, leading one to assume it's symbolism; and, while 'snug as a bug in a rug' would've been more befitting given your species, I assume it implies that you 'pull the rug' out from others. While those are conjectures, the standing fact that you were up to something was the pile of leaves that was between you and me. Leaves don't fall off trees naturally during summer, especially in large groups that could cover the floor. With that and the two possible assumptions, you were intending that I was going to come over to comfort you, but would instead fall into the pithole you made."
The Magirin is stiffening her body, she might've dropped if her wings weren't unaffected. "N........no I didn't."
I shake my head, brush her aside as I continue my path, "You should really work on making a convincing performance before constructing an elaborate stratagem to fool me."
She puffs out her cheeks, with an irritated look, "Don't act so cool. It makes you look stupid!"
"And work on that rude behavior of yours." I reply as I leave her sight.
Since then, she's been trying to make me fall for one of her tricks.
Everyday she tried a new approach. She tried traps using bait, attempted pranks you walk into, and used obvious lies.
"I'm not planning anything."
"Oh, the horror!"
"I mean it this time."
"Would you say no to this face?"
"You're gonna help, right?"
And every time, I ignored, avoided, and brush aside her misleading attempts.
"Come on, you can trust me."
"I mean it this time."
"Don't you have a heart?"
"You gotta believe me."
"JUST DO IT ALREADY!"
This went on well into Autumn. Until one day, something happened.
We were approaching an annual holiday event called, 'The Fruits of Labor'. It's an event held just outside the forest in a small village called Mythstrand where many gather to do trading on various crops and goods that were created from the recently harvested fruits and vegetables grown over the course of the year. We usually go by the bartering system, but the monetary system has been slowly beginning to take over many parts in Gaia. Many who are willing to make a deal like to get a head start days prior in order to outbeat their competition. There's quite a few who have hot sellers every year; Apple Donuts, Funnel Cakes, but one in particular is Urkuda Juice, basically the liquid content of a stubborn-growing gourd. So stubborn in fact that you need to cater it almost nonstop, to which many fall short of. The only fella around here who could pull it off can only make one grow every year, but it's enough to feed a small town if you're not too greedy.
Anyways, I took it upon myself to get in on one of these deals and acquired a durian from a vendor a few days early. She seemed thrilled to get rid of it due to it's rancid scent that many seem to have trouble with, but I find it's quite delicious if you can get past the smell.
I was heading back for the forest with the fruit in my saddlebag when a small crowd caught my attention. There was about ten monster ponies gathered around an old fashioned lamppost. They appeared to be listening to the words of a Zenthian, a mostly monkey monster, with a hamster on his shoulder. I considered that he was another seller and was attracted over by mere curiosity.
"But, this didn't falter Parcca." spoke the Zenthian, making dynamic poses as he continues. "He chased her like the dastardly deviant she was, yet her skills were nearly as great as Parcca himself."
He's undoubtedly selling something alright.
I whisper to the mare next to me, "What's happening?"
"Parcca is describing how he caught the one who smashed Farmer Alfalfa's Urkuda."
"Alf's!?" Disbelieving as it sounds, Alf has always protected his crops from thieves of all kinds for many years. Trespassers, varmints, and almost every kind of insect couldn't get past him. Who would have outdone him, let alone wanting to destroy the desired crop?
I refocused on Parcca, "And that's when I decided to outwit and capture the culprit. She obviously fell for it." He jumps on the lamppost and reaches out towards a small covered cage hanging from the lamp's mounting arm. "I present to you, the perpetrator!"
He whips off the cover, revealing a caged fairy. The same one that's been pestering me these past months.
"AH! The prankster!" yells a stallion in the crowd, "Should've guessed you'd pull something like this."
"But I didn't do it!" the Magirin denies.
"Just like you didn't scare me half to death with that shedded snake skin," replies a mare, "claiming us to believe that it was a real snake."
She wraps her tiny hooves around the bars of the cage, "But I mean it this time."
"You said the same thing the other day when you apologized for that stunt you pulled on me." cries another monster. "And when I forgave you, you immediately offered me an exploding cookie."
"B-but," her voice quivers, "I.....I really d-didn't."
"There's no point in talking," Parcca said, "Alfalfa told me that you approached him last night on his fields while he was guarding the Urkuda. You disoriented him, and saw you flying out of the smashed fruit you made during the confusion."
"I..." her forelegs begin to shiver, "...I w-was never th-th-there."
Parcca jumps down and strokes the hamster on his shoulder. "Nothing gets by Parcca, The Greatest Detective In The World."
"Mr. Parcca," a group of young love-struct deer species named 'Fawnas' sigh for him, "could you tell us another one of your amazing cases."
The Zenthian laughs, "Parcca always has time to talk about Parcca." and begins telling an 'amazing' case.
"I didn't do it!" the fairy in the cage beseeches the crowd, to which they shrug her pleads off and went on their business.
Well I guess all of her playing around finally caught up to her. She even went a little too far this time. This isn't some simple prank where you can walk away unscathed, this is destruction of property. And with the Urkuda of all things, a town's best selling favorite, she might as well have burned down an orchard.
"You gotta believe me." She shivers in the cage with a look of fear in her eyes at the hopelessness of it all.
Her reactions seem normal for somemonster who was just caught, she's also using the same lines that she always pulls, and the statement from the owner of the Urkuda makes this pretty open and shut. She'll just have to face the music and receive whatever punishment her actions have brought her to.
"Won't s-somecreature... h-help me..... *hic*.. p.......p-please."
"..........."
"And so," Parcca finishes, "with the help of my faithful assistant, Granit, I was able to retrieve the rhinoceros and receiving the title of 'The Greatest Detective In The World'."
"Don't you mean, 'Greatest Pest Controller'?" I blurt out at Parcca, "Because you got the wrong monster."
I gain the eyes of everymonster, skeptic on what I just said.
"Ha... cheeky." the Zenthian said looking dumbfounded the most.
Zenthians are digitigrade primates, keeping their balance as they walk upright, resulting them to appear a hoof taller than regular ponies. They have fingers, canine teeth, the only thing that really makes them related to ponies are the ears and partially the muzzle. Like many primates, they have a superiority complex which they tend to boast about and have an impulse to prove that over the most trivial of things. And Parcca is no exception.
Excluding his face, his entire body was covered in a rich silver-colored fur, befitting for the ego he carries. What's outputting is that he has a scruffy short-trimmed beard, severely clashing with his sharp appearance he seems to be going for.
Clinging to his left shoulder was a chubby pebble colored hamster. The affection he was giving to her earlier suggested to me that it was his pet. Her nose twitched, appearing uninterested in the conversation we were having and appears to just be tagging along for the ride.
"And what proof do you have," Parcca continues, "that'll suggest that fairy didn't destroy the Urkuda?"
"........I don't have any, but I know she didn't do it."
"She didn't do it, yet you have no proof to back it up." he scuffs, "Well Miss Fungus-"
"Truffles."
"Ruffles, I'd love to stay and listen to you spouting nonsense, but Parcca, The Greatest Detective in the World, has already solved the bad guy."
"You mean, 'found the bad guy', and that Magirin already told you, 'she didn't do it'."
"That's a good one, Muffles."
"Truffles."
"Scuffles. Why would you take her word over Parcca's?"
"Because I believe her."
I wouldn't say that I was well known in the town of Mythstrand, but I was getting some bewildered faces from my statement, the greatest one coming from the fairy in question. She was simply staring at me with her mouth slightly agape and a perplexed look in her eyes.
Parcca shakes his head and gives a laughter of amusement. "Poor, poor, Snuffles."
"Truffles."
"Shuffles, you've obviously been fooled." Parcca points at the chubby hamster on his shoulder, "Even Granit can see that she's lying."
Granit wasn't even watching the conversation.
"Alright then, I'll show you she's telling the truth. Give me till noon, that's a little over an hour to investigate and I'll prove she didn't do it. If I can do that, then you have to let her go."
Parcca sighs, "Must you do such pointless effort? I've solved the case, you investigating it will result in nothing different."
"What? Afraid of the competition?"
"Afraid? Parcca is afraid of NO competition. Parcca can handle YES competition!"
".................that was a terrible joke."
Parcca waves off my remark, "Fine, I'll accept your trivial attempt to show off. And sense you're obviously infatuated with me, you'll accompany me on a date when you can't prove it."
".................that's an even worse joke."
I take one more glance at that tiny mare in the cage. Should I go through with this? Just because......
I agreed upon the terms.
The spectating monster ponies all had their own opinion about me, and I agreed with everyone of them. It was crazy, foolish to even believe that pesky little fairy, but perhaps there was something they couldn't see that I did. I couldn't give you a straight answer, I didn't really know myself.
All I did know was that I had to step in for her and prove her innocence.
The sound of a chirping woodpecker and the beak tapping of eleven implied that I now had an hour to investigate.
If what that fairy said is true about not being there at Farmer Alfalfa's fields, then there's really no point in asking her anything. I doubted Parcca would've accepted any statement she had to say either.
My best bet was heading to the fields and work my way from there.
I trot along through town at a relatively fast pace, bypassing the many monsters decorating their stands in an attempt to catch the eyes of ponies for the approaching event. I'm doing a good job at weaving out of their way, but I start to slow down as I see a mare that I recognize. She's on a ladder, placing streamers on the top of her booth, and jumping the entire ladder over after each stream and pulling out another strap from a saddlebag.
If I know her, she's bound to- and there she goes.
She begins to lose her balance and starts tilting over.
I run and catch her, receiving a bushel of her mane in my face as we topple over. I give a groan and blow the red, orange, yellow, and brown leaves off my face. "You really need to take things more slowly, Maple."
Maple sits up, pulling the leaves with her and ruffles them from the embarrassing fall. "Sorry, didn't mean to get my mane all over your face."
Being a Thirean, the oak colored Maple is a slave to the seasons as her nature often changes along with it. During Spring, she's perky and upbeat, spotting a fresh short mane of leaves. Summer is her mellow time as she tends to get lazy and lets her mane grow. Sense it's Autumn, she's clumsy, ditzy, and overworks herself to prepare for the holidays. The stress often sends her into an early Winter where her mane has fallen and she becomes very quiet and withdrawn from everyone. No matter what season though, she can really blow things out of proportion. Her cutie mark probably captures that the best with an image of a whirlwind.
I wouldn't really call her a friend, but more like a good acquaintance that grew on me.
"I'm trying to get everything finished." Maple explains, "A few more days until Fruits of Labor after all."
"Doesn't mean you should be so reckless."
"But I have to make up for the lost time." Maple sets the ladder back up and continues her decorating. "The fairy really set everycreature off course"
I felt a twist in my stomach, ".......fairy? Little... little blue glowing one?"
"Yup, she stole a tool from each of us and hid them as a joke."
The streets reverberated the sound of my facehoof, "That doesn't settle my nerves any."
"Well don't worry. I heard Detective Parcca is taking time off of his vacation just to help us catch her."
"You make it sound like he would make a big difference."
"It does make a big difference," Maple makes another hop over, "Parcca is a real strategist and complex thinker. He's proven his own innocence countless of times and has always found the real culprits of every crime."
The facts just keep chiseling me away. "So he lives up to his reputation...... lovely." my monotone voice express the sarcasm.
Yet.... something about that decision of helping puzzles me. "Where'd you learn all this information?"
"A blue bird told me."
That could only have been Twitter, not the best source for reliability. "Well to bring you up to speed, he already caught her and states that she smashed Alf's Urkuda."
"You mean there won't be any urkuda juice this year?" she says with a heartbroken expression on her face.
"And I'm trying to prove him wrong. Otherwise, I..... well...... kinda agreed to go with him on.....*ahem*......on a date."
Maple makes a loud gasp and slides down the ladder. She grabs my cheeks in her forehooves and stares at me in the eyes. It always bothers me when I share direct eye contact with others, it feels like they're intruding my personal space when they do. "But you can't disprove his deduction!"
She let's go and starts to pace as she enters another one of her episodes.
"*Gasp* So that means you'll have to go on a date with him. *GASP* Then that means you two are going to fall in love. *GASP* Which that means you'll say yes when he proposes. *GASP* WHICH MEANS I NEED TO START PLANNING FOR A SPRING WEDD-"
I open my saddle bag in her direction to let the durian fruit's odor out.
"OH ICK!!!!!" Maple covers her nose and tries to fan at the scent. "PUTITAWAY! PUTITAWAY!!!"
I condone her wishes, now that it seems I snapped her out of what I would consider a nightmare.
"Aargh, I can still smell it. It's like a bile demon just farted after eating rotten eggs and drinking raw sewage." Maple blows her nose a few times before speaking up again, "Why would you even want to help her? The fairy, I mean."
I'm suddenly taken off guard by her question.
"You were aware of her reputation, right?"
I can't find the words to give a proper response.
"I mean, she pulled pranks on everycreature in the area at least once by fooling them with lies and promises. Why would you believe her now?"
"It's......I thought....." I fumble with my words, "....she.....she just seemed like.....she needed help."
"Aww." Maple said endearingly. "You know, Parcca has a sweet spot too."
"Is that why he has that hamster with him? What was her name..... Granit?"
"Yep. He went out of his way to give her a home."
"He seems to spoil that chubby thing."
"She's placed on a diet. No need to call her names."
"Judging by the 'complex thinking' she was giving me when I met her, I doubt she could even understand me."
"You'd be surprised how smart she can be. Offer her a treat and she'll happily perform a trick. A spoiled little thing, but right now," Maple starts climbing up the ladder, "I really need to get back to decorating, so can we put the conversation off for now."
"You're right," I straighten my saddle bag and refocus on my current objective, "I need to get back to investigating. Standing around and chatting isn't going to prove Parcca wrong."
I return to gallo-
"Truffles!" Maple calls out to me. "My mother used to tell me something around this time of year as a way to comfort the fact that I'll be losing my mane soon. And I think you should consider it as well."
"She said to me, 'Sometimes, you can't change the things around you that you don't like. The only thing you can really change, is yourself."
I didn't like that advice one bit. To me, that just sounded like giving up and adjusting to the burden life has placed upon you. I guess at the time I could've used her own words against her by interpreting the phrase differently.
The funny part about that though, interpreting it differently would've been helpful to this case.
When I made it to Alf's farm, I was soon spotted, conversing, and being led to the Urkuda by the scarecrow monsterpony himself.
Farmer Alfalfa is truly one of a kind, figuratively and literally. That's just one of the curses an artificial monster brings you sometimes. The saying, 'where there is love, there is life' comes into play here. His statement is that the love given to him by his makers basically formed a spirit in his body to live with. It makes some sense, farmers depend on scarecrows to protect their crops. I guess there could be some love there, but I'm fickled on that explanation altogether.
In any case, Alf has been at his work for what seemed like centuries and yet he appeared to be in his later middle age. He's made up of straws and hessian cloth stitched together for skin. His eyes were narrow and thinly stitched on by a black thread. Patched over the top of his muzzle, was a checkered fabric to keep himself together from a cut he received a few years back from a wolf. While his mouth has a jaw, I don't think he can swallow anything. Alf wore the traditional attire for a farmer; plaid shirt, overall pants, and a straw hat that made me question if it was part of his mane. In short, he's traditional, but he's gotta be one of the hardest working ponies I know. Day and night, I've never seen him outside his field whenever he's growing something. He's always protecting his crops from whatever or whoever dares to approach and isn't afraid to get rough about it. Despite the firm stubbornness, he can be quite considerate when the mood strikes him. Simple-minded at times, but I think he would make a great entrepreneur if he tried pushing the boundaries a little.
He's got the brains for it, after all.
Every minute counted for this investigation, so I asked him some questions as we walked.
"So what can you tell me of urkudas? I don't recall ever seeing them outside of being a juice."
"Well, it grows from the ground ayn' has a mighty hard surface, so ay guess ya could call it a gourd. It can grow twice the size ov a stallion ayn' weigh three thousand pounds. It produces a scent that isn't very strong to common folk, but a critter with a strong nose could smell it from miles."
"I assume those critters would be a problem."
"They are. Fact, ay had a different creature trying ta get their teeth in it all this week."
"I see..... so why would a Magirin go out of her way to destroy that fruit?"
"Can't say. Ay'm more confused on how she was even able ta break it at all. That there fruit is pretty durable so it take something with a punch to break it open."
Like an exploding cookie.
"But whatever she done, ay was only able ta save a few pieces. Ay haven't mashed them yet, but ay rekon ay'll have enough ta serve about twenty-seven monsters."
"It's been bugging me for awhile, but why is it that you can only grow one each year?"
"Cause ay have too much ta handle with around here. Ayn' one urkuda is awful hard enough as it is. Faw Spring, ay need ta make sure the soil stays rich faw that glutton of a sprout. When Summer rolls by, ay begin ta trim the vines every two-hundred ayn' eight minutes so only the Urkuda gets the nutrients. Ayn' Fall is where things get the worst, as darn near every varmint wants ta get a bite ov it."
"Alf, ever thought about hiring some extra hooves?"
"Now why would ay do that when ay've got everything handled myself?"
I place the topic aside as we arrive at the fruit and I'm a bit underwhelm. I was expecting a small hill or a fenced off area with a giant impacted fruit, but it's just another section of the open toiled field with scattered chunks of blue fruit plaguing the dirt. The Urkuda looks more torn apart rather than being squished like I've been told, which unfortunately supports the exploding cookie concept.
There must be something to throw suspicion off that Magirin... "You said there were different creatures every night trying to get to this. How was it that you could stop them, but not a small fairy from getting the better of you?"
"Trying ta keep sight on a small quick monster is hard enough, but the sound ov her wings is what really threw me off. Ay hear the flapping ov her wings fading like she's leaving at first, then she zips right in front ov my face. Ay couldn't tell if she was coming or going, cause my eyes were telling me one thing while my ears were telling me another."
"So she did some fancy flying and got by. I think I can figure out what happens next, but I insist that you surprise me."
"After losing sight ov her for a quarter minute, ay heard a thud ayn' the urkuda rocked back along with a few chunks ov it flying off. Couldn't have been more than ten yards away from it. When ay ran back, ay saw that fairy zip around ayn' went by me faster than a gopher devouring lettuce."
"Come to think of it, where are all the other crops you have?"
"They've all been harvested around a week ago. Ay always give the urkudas a little more time ta grow before the Fruits ov Labor event."
"So the only thing worth of value here is the Urkuda and no other creatures but you and the fairy were here?"
"None. Ay swear, she's impossible ta catch."
"Then how was Parcca able to catch her?"
"He triked her into a trap. Saw the whole thing, using a wooden fence, Parcca done found a knothole ayn' set up a cage over it. All he had ta do was chase that fairy ayn' get her to consider on using the knothole as a getaway route. She was captured effortlessly."
I rub a hoof on my forehead, "Alf, I really don't want to listen to a monkey talk about himself for the next two hours. Please tell me that you're not absolutely certain that fairy did it."
"Ay saw her dead square in the eyes, covered in urkuda. Swear ta it on The Great Pumpkin that ay did."
I fall on my rump, placing both forehooves over my face.
"Sawry dumpling, but even a crow can wise up ayn' get the better ov you. It just happened ta be a fairy this time. Ay don't like the idea that she did it anymore than you do. A fairy can't really repay the damage she's caused me. Even if she didn't run off again, ay doubt she could do much work around her, let alone lift a rake."
He's been cursing me with bad news after bad. And now he pierced the final nail through me. I swore he was really a voodoo doll at that point.
But in any case, I was starting to see everything clearer now. Right from the start, it was all a trick, all the clues were pointing to her doing it and I was too blind to see them.
And now, I was ensnared in it. I had no control over the situation. Anything I try, would just be a pointless effort.
"...............................that fairy....."
"Say agayn?" Alf requested.
"...........................Alf. Could you help me with something?"
It was high noon as I approached that narcissistic primate, and I was prepared for the worst.
Carrying a small basket with a balloon tied to it and a cloth over what it carried, I stood at attention with Farmer Alfalfa behind me for support.
Holding a small cage with a small fairy in it and a hamster on his left shoulder, Parcca posed for attention with a small crowd around us to watch.
It was beginning to feel like I was in a western as we stared each other down.
"There you are, Kerfuffles." Parcca pets Granit on his left shoulder, "I made sure to bring a crowd to show The Greatest Detective in the World in action. So please, do put your best effort into trying."
The tension in the air is thickening around from the tight circumstance I'm in. "Parcca," I ask calmly, "is there anyway where we could just forget all of this ever happened?"
"Not a chance." he scuffs the idea, "You and I both know that the culprit is within my custody."
I take a deep breath and gently let it out to the situation I'm stuck in. "I hate to admit it, but you're right. The culprit is in your custody."
The crowd around us murmur. The caged fairy looks at me with a broken spirit.
"So soon?" Parcca says sounding surprised, "And here I was ready to show everyone the brilliance of my deduction skills. Ah well, at least you finally realized that the fairy did it."
"Fairy? I already told you earlier, 'she didn't do it'."
"Are you trying to make a monkey out of me?" said the monkey, "You just said-"
"I know what I said, and I'm right on both of them."
"Feh!" Parcca mocks my fatuous statement, "How can you say they're right when they clearly contradict each other?"
"Because you can't see that the real culprit who smashed the Urkuda is right next to you..." I point at his left shoulder, "Your pet, Granit."
The crowd begins to talk louder at my call, claiming that I'm crazy and desperate. As for the hamster, she doesn't seem phased or even interested. And the fairy, a spark of life begins to shimmer on her face.
Parcca looks at Granit in a confusing look before he snorts into laughing, "Hahaha.. so..... so you think that.. haha.. that Granit did it? Okay, okay, I'll humor you. So tell me, Nuffles, what proof do you have that shows that she did it."
".....I don't have any."
"Oh really? Haha.... I wonder why?"
"But I know where I can get some."
Parcca bellows out another laugh, "Alright then, where?"
"Why don't you tell me how you and Granit first met. It'll help make things clearer for when that proof appears."
He rolls his eyes with an amused look on his face, "Very well. But whatever it is, it'll do you no good."
"Obviously." I humor him.
"It all started after I just received another medal for saving the world. I, Parcca, decided to-"
"Mind if I eat and listen."
"You'll be spoiling your appetite."
"That's fine." I snap my saddlebag open and everymonster takes a step back to a putrid stench as I pull out the horrible smelling durian. They look nauseous as I peel it open, even Granit seemed green. "You were saying?"
Parcca holds his nose and tries to continue, "Urg... uh... decided to have a stroll through the park. Parcca always buys popcorn after a case and eats on his favo-
"You wanna bite?" I extend the fruit.
"I'll eat no such thing!" Parcca says in disgust.
"But it tastes very creamy and mildly sweet. What about you, Ham-Ham?" I offer Granit.
Granit covers her nose and recoils to the offer.
"She's on a diet." Parcca says as he pushes me back. "Now then, Parcca ate his popcorn at his favorite bench. When out of the grass comes little Granit, cute as ca-"
"Do a backflip."
"Au.... I'm sorry?"
"A backflip. Can Parcca do a backflip?"
"Parcca can do it!"
Granit clings onto Parcca's fur as her world spins.
Parcca lands on his feet, "Nailed it!" and continues, "I spotted Granit approaching, looking like she needed a savior. Luckily, Parcca was there to feed her popcorn and we've been inseparable since."
"How sickeningly sweet."
"Yes, but I wouldn't call it, 'sickeningly'."
"I bet she would."
He follows the direction to where my hoof points and sees Granit's cheek bloating and suddenly vo-
NOPE! No! Nuh-uh! I don't want to remember that part.
Let's just say... my proof was thrown in his face.
......a lot of blue colored proof.
"Tell me, Parcca," I place the rest of the durian into my saddlebag, "how can Granit be on a diet when she had so much food in her stomach?"
Wiping off the evidence to the best of his abilities, Parcca stares the hamster in the eyes with a stern look. "Granit, have you been cheating on your diet?"
"I thought the answer would've been obvious for, The Greatest Detective in the World." I chimed in. "But if you need a little help, yes she did. Last night, she destroyed the urkuda fruit and ate its contents."
The crowd around us start clamoring how foolish of an idea it was.
"Now that's where I draw the line!" Parcca lashes.
"Ay agree," Alfalfa announces, "Ain't naw way you gonna tell me ay mistook seeing a fairy with a hamster."
"Then how do you explain the fruit and Granit's bile being the same color?" I ask.
"Can't say fa sure, but ay know what ay saw. And it weren't no hamster."
"Then what if I told you that Granit tricked you into seeing a fairy? In fact, I bet she can even trick all of us into seeing a second fairy that looks just like the one in the cage."
"You're getting ahead of yourself," Parcca disdain the very suggestion, "she can't pull any tricks. Especially into seeing such outlandish things."
"Then let's test that argument."
Everymonster tones down to my suggestion.
"The little thing must be hungry, now that she has an empty belly. But luckily," I flip the cloth covering the basket I'm holding and reveal my juicy blue secret weapon, "I brought some of the Urkuda with me."
The scent of the fruit flows with the air and catches Granit's attention. She rocks her head in time with the swings I make with the basket.
"She looks awfully hungry."
"Is this some kind of bribe of yours?" Parcca snarls.
"Tell me Parcca," I ignore his question, "which do you think Granit will sacrifice?" I bounce the basket to make the balloons tied to it bob, "Her trick, or treat?"
"What trick? I told you that she can't do any tricks."
"Just watch."
I toss the basket out and the balloon begins to lift the carrier up into the air.
"Oops." I say nonchalantly.
The basket keeps getting higher and higher out of reach,
"Oh noes," I act jocularly in a very weak manner, "if only somecreature could fly up and get it."
"Pah!" Parcca mocks, "Is this a trick to have me free this fairy? You obviously have another thing coming if I'm going to fall fo-"
A faint blue glow zips by the side of Parcca's face.
The crowd gasps at the surprising sight that the Magirin was flying up to the basket through the open air and was also locked inside the cage that swings in Parcca's grip on the ground.
Eyes shift between the two fairies; celeste fur, short paris-daisy colored mane and tail, flapping burnt-orange rug for a cutie mark. They were the same fairy down to the last strand of hair.
The one flying reaches the basket and the carrier starts to descend with the extra weight while she stuffs her face with urkuda. As the basket hits the ground, she finishes the fruit and begins vibrating. Her fur gets longer, her color becomes more gray, and starts to grow fingers. She settles down, no longer a fairy, but as Granit.
Granit flops out of the basket and waddles over towards a flabbergast Parcca, "How... and when... could she do that?"
"I assume it was when she was born." I inform him, "Because Granit is not a hamster, but really a Mimic."
I inhale deeply and begin to explain my discovery, "Mimics are intelligent, they have to be if they want to find the right form to change into. And while Granit isn't able to understand and talk, she has the intelligence to take advantages when they're presented to her, on par with the masked raccoon or the clever crow. I'm sure she would've just snatched and ran when she first saw you the day you two met, but an opportunity arose when you offered her some popcorn. A free source for food, and it seemed to have succeeded with her current appearance. She more than likely considered that perhaps she could get more treats from you if she played along. You took Granit in as a pet while you did your work as a detective, bringing her on many cases and meeting many new creatures to add to her list of transformations. Course she had no use for them, she had room and board for just being a hamster."
"I assume the form she fools you with is her true form, judging to the extra pounds she's showing. You were noticing that extra fat too and decided to take some time off to focus on Granit and placed her on a diet, something that she appears to disagree on. Granit could've altered her appearance to make herself look thinner, but she also couldn't understand speech, so she had no idea what you wanted from her. Still, you took this time for her while enjoying a little sightseeing."
"But that changed when something happened to you. I thought It seemed ridiculous that a detective of your status would stoop so low as to catch a tiny prankster, but once you factor in that pompous attitude of yours, it all makes sense. You became a victim to one of the Magirin's pranks, resulting with a feeling that you lost your superiority and a desire to reclaim it by outsmarting and catching her."
"Everyday you attempted to catch her, but every night, another creature was attempting to catch something as well. It must've been hard for Granit to stay in this town, smelling that Urkuda while she was on a diet. So she escaped every night when you were likely sleeping to try and get a bite out of that fruit, but with Farmer Alfalfa guarding it, the attempt proved to be a challenge. She tried a different creature form every night, but Alf always drove her back, until Granit considered something. You were having trouble catching that fairy, so if she imitated that mare's performance, then she too could outdo Alf."
"The form was in her favor and she made it to the Urkuda, now the problem was to break through the fruit's outer layer. Luckily, she had various forms to choose from with the many cases she's been on with you. How about the rhinoceros that gave you your title? A quick stab of the horn could puncture and rip the Urkuda open."
"She did just that, hastefully gobbled up as much as she could, and turned into the fairy to outmaneuver Alf as she made her escape."
The crowd whispers among themselves to the surprising turn of events.
As for Parcca, the stupefaction look on his face said everything. "But.... but if you were aware of all of this from the start, then why did you want to call off the bet earlier?"
"Despite all that I've learned, the success of this case solely depended on the cooperation of Granit. I had no control over it and was basically gambling everything on a Mimic's stomach to do all the proving for me. I didn't like the unforeseen results, but it seems that taking inspiration from the fairy's traps to orchestrate my own trap came through."
Parcca stares at Granit as he picks her up, "How did you even figure out she was a Mimic? Even I wasn't aware she could change forms."
"Well Parcca, you're a detective, put some thought into it by going backwards. Start from when I realized there was a Mimic involved."
Parcca places a hand on his scruffy chin, reflecting on the facts. "Hmm... You realized there was a Mimic from the farmer's statement about the different creatures attacking every night. You wouldn't have considered that unless you were aware that there was a second suspect involved. With all the undoubting evidence pointing to the Magirin, the only way you would've even consider that there was another monster involved was if...."
I watch his eyes widen to the answer and I confirm it, "Was if I believed her."
Parcca lifts up his arm, viewing the caged Magirin that he took for a liar.
"She's not the only one you should apologize to." I informed, "Being the one who claims custody over the real perpetrator, it would only seem befitting that they should 'pay' for their misbehavior. Right, Alfalfa?"
The scarecrow stakes his ground with a stern look at Parcca, "Ay'm expecting ta get paid even faw the piece she just ate, Parc."
Parcca scratches the back of his head as he gives off a weak laugh.
Parcca's vacation was cut short soon after that, he used the last of his vacation money to payoff for Granit's behavior. It didn't really go well with the rest of the village sense only a small few were able to get Urkuda Juice that season, but Farmer Alfalfa was able to make enough for the year.
Making due on his promise, Parcca also freed the fairy. The other monsters had mixed opinions between irritated and unamused because of the fact that I helped free a nuisance of theirs. Even the fairy herself wasn't showing the expected emotions one would give at being freed. She approached me with a timid look on her face, she opened her mouth to say something only to stop midway like she lost the words. I told her that she's welcome, finishing the awkward attempt she seemed to be struggling on, and went on my way back home.
All those risky moments where depending on something out of your hooves really puts a strain on you. I just wanted to get home and finish up eating that durian.
But halfway through the forest....
"HEY! WAIT UP!"
I heard a voice calling me.
I turn my head and recoiling back was the blue glowing fairy from earlier.
"Um...." She twiddles her hooves in a shyful manner, "I.... I wanted to ask you something."
"Back there... when you were trying to convince Parcca that I didn't do it. You said.... you said that you believed me. I have to know, why did you?"
"Out of all the other monsters I pulled pranks on, you were the only one I could never seem to trick."
"I've lied and fooled others so many times before, they had every reason to be distrusting of me. And during the one time where I really meant it, no one believed me except you, the one mare I could never seem to convince at believing me before."
"Why this time?"
Her wings buzz herself to my eye level. The direct focus makes me feel uncomfortable and I turn away to avoid her gaze, but she zips over to wherever I stare.
With a humph, I give into the fact that she'll just keep drilling those eyes of hers at me until I give her an answer.
".......well......... at first, I didn't believe you for a second. With the tears and the trembles you were making, my faith in you wasn't there. Even after I decided to lend you a hoof, I still felt uneased on helping you. At a few points of the investigation, I even considered that perhaps you had finally fooled me. But there was something about your lowest moment that bothered me. Something I noticed that kept pushing me to consider that perhaps, you might just be telling the truth this time."
"You said, 'please'."
"I never heard you say that before. No matter how many times you were trying to pull a fast one on me, you never tried to mislead me by using the word, 'please'. When I heard you finally say it, something just kept irking me to take a chance this time. Telling me to place everything I knew about you aside and just go with it and believe you." I give a very weak chuckle at my reasoning, "Sounds silly, doesn't it?"
She flies there, acting the same way as when I freed her. Just completely lost for words.
"..............if we're done here, then I'll be heading on my wa-"
"Wait!" She suddenly recoils herself and turns to the side as she fidgets. "Umm... I've often noticed that you appear to be alone and by yourself a lot. And even though I didn't ruin the Urkuda for everymonster, they're still going to be pretty skeptic about me for all the pranks I pulled on them. So would it be okay if I hang around with you from now on."
She messes with her mane a little with a hoof.
"I'm not the most helpful, given my size, but I'll try my best at being a good friend."
She zooms up to my face.
"So can I?"
She subtly swivels her torso with her forehooves behind her back, showing me a doleful face.
"Please?"
"...................you're just planning on pulling a prank on me one of these days."
"DAMN RIGHT I AM!!!"
All of the timidness she was showing a second ago vanishes faster than a snowmonster in summer.
"And even if you deny my offer, I'M STILL COMING!! One day, I swear. I'll prank you or my name isn't, 'TRICKLEBROOK'!!!!"
I rub a hoof to my temple,"I should've worn bug repellent."
And with a heavy groan, I gained a partner out of this ordeal. A loudmouth, trouble-making fairy that'll keep me alert with her pranks for the days to come.
Has my life gotten any better since meeting this little buzzing nuisance that claims to be my friend?
I'm still working on that answer.