//------------------------------// // Snoops and Amulets // Story: Marewell, My Lovely // by libertydude //------------------------------// The next two hours consisted of finding new ways to make a crime scene boring. Central had to drag the store’s owner out of bed, a situation I realized when I still saw the curlers in Miss Hoofson’s tan mane. She’d grumbled all the way to the back of the store, but she managed to quiet once she got into the books. The closest thing to action came when two bystanders got in a fight over a gap in the boxes to peek at the crime scene. For all intents and purposes, it was the second most interesting thing to happen tonight.          I was just polishing off the last cinnamon twist when I caught Emerald motioning from across the street. An old mare in a silver bathrobe stood beside her, clutching her chest like she expected a heart attack any moment.          “Lieutenant,” Emerald said, nodding towards the mare. “Ms. Shortcake here runs the Edible Delights Food Business. Said she saw somebody in the antique shop not too long before things started.”          “Goodie,” I said. “Maybe we can nail the perp before sunrise.” I turned to Ms. Shortcake and gave the closest thing I could make to a smile. “So what’d you see, miss?”          Shortcake massaged her chest once more. “I want it to be known that I am not a snoopy busybody. I don’t go around peeking into pony’s shops like some common thief.”          “That’s exactly what an uncommon thief would say.”          “What?”          “Nothing. Please continue, Ms. Shortcake.”          She bristled for a moment, then said, “I was closing up the shop when I stepped outside to look for any loose mail. The mailmare around here often doesn’t shove the letters through the slot far enough, and I find them on the ground, you know? Anyways, I was scanning the ground when I saw a stallion go into the antique store.”          “You get a good look at him?”          “Yes. He had yellow fur and an orange mane. Little wispy beard on his chin.”          “He wear anything, like a hat or something?”          “Now that you mention it… he did seem a little ostentatious in that wizard hat and floppy blue cloak.” Her face turned an embarrassed red. “Could nearly see his flank, it was so thin.”          I stifled a laugh and a dirty joke. “You ever see him around here before?”          “Oh, yes. That fellow comes in and out of Hoofson’s like he lives there. Always left with a clock or some other hodgepodge.”          “Amazing how you noticed this without ever being a snoop.”          Her face became annoyed. “I do say, young lady, I don’t care for your tone.”          “Well, care for the clerk. He’s the one you can save by telling us what you know about Mr. Wizard. Preferably, his full name.”          “I… I don’t know his name. Would recognize him in a heartbeat, but I never asked around about him. I mind my own business, despite what you think.”          I let the comment roll off my back like rain on a roof. “You see anything else with this mystery stallion?”          “Yes. Right when I was sweeping up the sidewalk, because Celestia knows the city sweeper we pay doesn’t do it, I was looking up and saw the stallion through the window. Right here, if you’re standing right, you can see all the way to the desk.”          I turned and saw the snoop’s eyesight at least wasn’t failing. The middle row lined up just right with our position, and I could make out the dim light emanating from the desk lamp. The figure of Miss Hoofson flipped through a book and whispered to herself, while Jay bobbed around the front of the desk, looking for anything else Zephyr had knocked to the floor.          “And what was the stallion doing?” I said.          “Arguing with the clerk,” Shortcake said. “Really going at it, too. I’ve never seen ponies so angry at each other. Couldn’t hear them, but you know how ponies look when they’re really angry.”          “They doing anything other than yelling?”          “They were pulling something back and forth right when I went back inside. Didn’t want to see anymore ugliness break out. I started sorting some papers when I heard the glass break. Didn’t see anypony when I got to the window, but I could hear their hooves pounding across the sidewalk just out of view.”          I sighed. “Alright. Thank you very much. Please contact us if you remember anything else.” I motioned to Emerald to follow me back into the antique shop. We made our way past the glass, long photographed and about to be swept away, and headed to the back of the store. Miss Hoofson sat behind the desk still, Jay now peeking over her shoulder with each flip of the page. He looked like those parodies of bad readers you see in fillies’ magazines, where they’re squinting too hard and mouthing all the words. I couldn’t hold it against him; fifteen years of paperwork on his end probably shorted out any interest in reading anything more than the newspaper. On the flip side, Hoofson’s hair already seemed to be falling out of the curlers, more disoriented with each frustrated huff.          “Miss Hoofson,” I said, “have you identified anything as stolen?”          “Yes, Lieutenant,” she sighed, her face hanging heavy. “The empty case you found is missing an old amulet from the Early Ponish Age. It was one of the oldest things I had in the store.” She stared down at the desk and shook her head. “Why would they attack poor Zephyr over a simple jewel?”          “This Zephyr guy, did he have anypony who might want to hurt him?”          Hoofson laughed. “Sweet Celestia, the bigger question is who didn’t want to hurt him. The boy was so… bombastic that he got on virtually everypony’s nerves.”          “By your tone, I’m assuming he wasn’t a model employee?”          A sad sigh escaped from Hoofson’s lips. “It’s… complicated. He was a bit of a hoofful, I’ll readily admit, but he seemed to be taking to the job rather well. He categorized all the items the right way, he dusted every nook and cranny. He even found a way to save us money on postage. All on his first week on the job! None of my other clerks did such things. Most of them just got tired all the time and mumbled at the customers.”  Boredom and mumbling? I thought. This really is an antique store. Hoofson looked up at the ceiling, where a fan spun in idle circles. “And now my best employee’s in the hospital, and I don’t know why.”          Emerald and I shared a look, then I continued. “This amulet that’s missing, was it special in any way? Like any particular history behind it or famous owners?”          “I honestly don’t know. I’d come across it at an antique sale over in Dodge Junction. From the inscriptions and the mare selling it, it was clear it was from the Age of Alamon, but I don’t know much else beyond that.” I chuckled. “That far back, huh? And this mare just had a warlord’s prized jewel lying around?” “I didn’t ask how she came about it,” Hoofson said. “Besides, it was going at an outrageously low price.” She stared down at the wooden floor, still shimmering in the candlelight from Zephyr’s drool. “I fear it might’ve cost Zephyr more than it’ll ever cost me.” “What does this amulet look like?”         Miss Hoofson shook her head. “As far as amulets go, it was not particularly unique. Just a simple crimson with a golden encasing around it. Hangs from a little chain, like a pocket watch.”          I gave a slight chuckle. “Well, the good news is that even the plainest amulet is still an amulet. We’ll be keeping our eyes on the nearby pawn shops or museums in case someone decides to trade in.”          Hoofson’s eyes betrayed no relief at the statement, only weariness and fear at the missing clerk whose presence still filled the shop. I loosened my shoulders and readied for another go.          “Miss Hoofson, do you have regular clientele in this joint?”          “Oh, yes. We get quite a few retirees who come in to look at knick-knacks from their younger days.”          “How about somepony a bit on the younger side? Say, with yellow fur, orange mane, and dressed like a wizard.”          Her eyes did a double take. “Why, yes. That sounds just like Sunburst.”          “Sunburst?” Emerald said. “The guy up at the Friendship School?”          Jay shot me a look I could catch with my whole body. I gave him my own, the kind that a smart stallion knows to mean keep quiet.          “This Sunburst fellow,” I said. “What does he usually buy?”          “Practically everything,” Hoofson said. “Clocks, music boxes, the whole works. Even buys mystery barrels, the kind where you don’t know what’s in them until you open them up.”          “Has he ever caused any trouble around here before? Any arguments or fights?”          “Absolutely not. He’s one of the best customers I’ve ever had. Why, I can’t even remember him raising his voice. Surely you don’t think he’s responsible for this?”          “Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t. Right now though, he’s the last one to see Zephyr lucid, and we need to find him to figure out what’s going on.”          Hoofson stared down at the desk, head in her hooves. “Sunburst couldn’t have done this. He wouldn’t have…”          I jerked my head towards Jay, and we both made our way outside. The crowd had thinned, the night beating back their curiosity over the promise of sleep.          “So this Sunburst guy is our Pony of Interest?” Jay said.          I nodded. “We’ve got a witness who can identify him and a tie to the crime scene. All that’s left is finding him.”          “What was all that about arguments? Antique stores well-known for getting sparks flying?”          “More than you’d think,” I said. “Those Luna pendants get all the kids riled up. In other news, the snoop across the street said Sunburst wouldn’t be passing any blood pressure tests.”          Jay raised his own eyebrows. “And Zephyr was his yelling buddy?”          “You got it. So, best case scenario for us, Sunburst decided to give Zephyr an amateur lobotomy over a mysterious jewel. Worst case scenario, he’s got nothing to do with this, and the real perp walked in a minute later to give Zephyr the Tirek Treatment.”          Jay shook his head. “And the Alamon angle? You think that might’ve been why this Sunburst fella took the amulet?”          The idea wasn’t beyond possibility. If my Equestrian History was up to date, Alamon came from before the tribes uniting, when having a good handle on magic made you a king. Everything I heard said he made everypony’s lives about as miserable as could be until one of the many Unicorn Civil Wars broke out and he fled for the hills like any good deposed tyrant. A period of such turmoil bred a certain fascination for more off-kilter ponies, and a jewel tied to a warlord seemed like it would be right up their alley.           “Don’t know just yet, Jay,” I said. “For now, let’s approach this like Sunburst’s not a criminal mastermind and just a Pony of Interest.”          Jay tipped his cap. “Alright. Let’s just hope you’re right, and we don’t have to make things get any uglier than they have to be.”              I heard the fluttering of wings and saw the princess descend from the sky. Her face looked as forlorn as ever, though she did her best to hide it as we made our way forward.          “Well, Princess?” I said. “How did Fluttershy take the news?”          “Poorly,” she sighed with a defeated look. “Went to pieces the second I brought up how bad things were.” Her face grew resolute. “Have you found anything yet?”          “Indeed we have. Seems our Pony of Interest has a name: Sunburst.”          “Sunburst…” Her eyes squinted. “Oh, yes. Starlight Glimmer’s husband.”          “The headmistress of the Friendship School?” Jay and I exchanged another knowing glance. “Well, that certainly makes things more interesting.”          “How so?” Twilight said.          I let out a brief whistle to mask my anticipation. Turns out Jay wouldn’t need to go banging on student’s doors after all. “Your Majesty, I hope you know Ms. Glimmer as well as you’re implying, because right now, we’re going to need a school to sort out what’s going on with this stolen amulet. Ever hear about the Age of Alamon?”          A ghost of a smile crossed the princess’s face. “I think I read a book about it once.”