Ponyville Noire: Misty Streets of Equestria

by PonyJosiah13


Case Fourteen, Prologue: Open Account

“One thing about Canterlot,” Detective Hidden Ace mused, taking a sip from the coffee cup floating in front of him. "Can't say it's ever boring around here."

He was currently standing in the middle of a grand hallway of granite and marble, staring at what had been the vault of First Equestrian Bank, flanked by great portraits of the bank’s founders and previous presidents. Normally, the vault would have been secured with an enormous door of magically reinforced and warded steel that was twice as tall and three times as wide as a pony, weighing almost ten tons and proof against all sorts of charms and spells. 

The door was hanging ajar, the lock having been violently ripped open. Inside the vault were rows and rows of safe deposit boxes, their steel doors all torn from their hinges and laying on the floor amidst spilled gems and bits. 

Even though he already knew what he would find, Detective Ace lit up his horn and passed a light red aura over the torn metal. As he’d suspected, there was no trace of magic over the vault lock. In fact, upon closer inspection, he could see the heavy dents in the side of the lock where the intruder had gripped the door when they ripped it open. 

“They took the recording crystal, too?” the white unicorn asked, brushing a strand of his black mane out of his rosy eyes. 

“Yes, sir,” the officer replied, staring at the torn open door in awe.

"And you found the Nightpoppy next to the door?" the unicorn continued, not even bothering to turn around.

"Right, sir," the officer nodded. "Guards were all fast asleep, didn't see anything." He whistled at the door. “This is...what, the fifth one?” 

“Correct,” Ace nodded, pulling the tracking wand out from the saddlebag and switching on the aurate glow.

“What kind of creature could do this?” the rookie asked aloud. 

“Not a pony,” Detective Ace said, sweeping the wand over the marble floor. Tracks appeared on the floor in a shining golden glow: tracks that did not believe to a pony. 

The officer had been expecting it, he knew about the other robberies. The sight still made him shudder slightly. "It just doesn't seem believable," he said, mainly to himself.

“Who else would be strong enough to rip open a steel door?” Ace asked, nodding in confirmation as he took out a camera and snapped a few pictures of the tracks. 

“That Ambassador isn’t gonna be happy,” the officer commented warily. 

“Let him kick up a fuss,” Ace snorted. “He can’t protect his kind from this.” 

Both stallions stared down in contemplative silence at the line of tracks revealed by the tracking wand, a trail leading into the vault, and a trail leading back out. A trail composed of long talons with three separate distinct toes.

“You ever go after a dragon, son?” Detective Ace asked. The rookie just gulped in response.