Sherlock gazed angrily at the herd of cattle as they passed outside the carriage window.
“You really should have attended the gala Sherlock” Said Clopson. “You have been saying that you were bored, and it was different this time…”
“The Gala is always a waste of time.” Sherlock Hooves responded sourly while rolling his eyes to his companion. “I just wish someone could get murdered around here.”
“Sherlock…” Clopson stopped himself, “Look, I thought I found something to cheer you up…”
“If it isn’t dead I don’t want any of it.” Sherlock said. “But by the looks of things, we aren’t going back to our apartment.” He said, looking out at the herd of cows once more. “The cattle never graze around Canterlot. So what have you signed me up for this time? ”
“Look, it may not be a murder… but it’s a robbery alright?” Clopson tried to sell it. Sherlock sighed and leaned back on the seat, putting his fore hooves at his sides.
Clopson continued after shaking his head in annoyance at Sherlock’s apathy. “Inspector Lestrot asked for you to come by name. Celestia even wants you there…”
“I don’t care if Nightmare Moon herself came back and stole the sun, all I want to do is get back to my experiments… Those are more illuminating than these shenanigans you have me going through.”
“It’s the tower. Someone robbed from the princess, and they took something valuable.” Clopson tried in vain. “Look, if you solve it in ten seconds flat I swear I will stop harassing you.”
“… Fine. Ten it is.” Sherlock said.
“…What? I was kidding…”
“Nope, you said it. I’ll take that bet. Challenge accepted,” Sherlock said. Clopson sighed as Sherlock took in a deep breath and the carriage rolled to a stop. “At least now it will be a challenge.”
Stepping outside, Sherlock’s brown coat was partially obscured by a darker brown overcoat. His mane was disheveled and the plain equine could have been mistaken for a poorer earth pony if it was not for the shining magnifying glass cutie mark on his flank. In fact, he seemed to be the only earth pony present, the others either being Pegasus guards, unicorn nobles, or…
And there she was. Celestia herself was waiting for them by two broken down doors.
“Your time starts now.” Clopson said, teasingly, as he also stepped off. He was a blue unicorn, who fit in more than the dull brown earth pony. He stood up straight, flattened his white mane with his hoof for a moment, and then joined Sherlock, trying to look his best for the princess.
“It’s about time.” A grey unicorn walked up to them.
“Inspector Lestrot, good to see you again.” Clopson bowed his head politely as Sherlock gave Lestrot a single obviously fake smile of greeting.
“Don’t give me any of that Clopson. The greatest treasure in all of Equestria has been stolen!”
“Look, I’m sure it is worth a lot, but aren’t you overreacting? What did they…” Clopson was interrupted.
“The Elements of Harmony.” Celestia spoke and trotted towards the detectives. “ I kept the necklaces created when the Elements of Harmony were discovered, and I locked them in the tower in case a great evil returned.”
Clopson was astounded. “My word!”
“Elements of what now?” Everyone turned to Sherlock as he asked the question.
“Surely you jest…” Celestia started.
“I never jest, and don’t call me Shirley.” Sherlock rudely interrupted the all-powerful alicorn.
“Hooves!” Clopson hissed under his breath. “The Elements of Harmony! Used to defeat Nightmare Moon when she returned, they also turned her back into princess Luna…”
“Nightmare Moon came back?” Sherlock asked skeptically. “I thought that was an old mares tale…”
“It just happened!” Clopson hissed angrily in disbelief. “It was all over the news!”
“You know I don’t read the news.” Sherlock said. “Not since that wall eyed pony broke my window…”
“Don’t you remember the day the sun did not come up?” Clopson asked frantically.
“Oh, yes, I slept in that day, but I heard it was eerie.” Sherlock said.
“Ahem, well,” Celestia broke into the conversation once more.
“Don’t worry Princess, we have our best ponies on the job.” Lestrot said. She smiled.
“I know.” She nodded reverently to the ponies present, then continued, “I have other duties…”
“Of course.” Lestrot said, bowing. Celestia left as both Lestrot and Clopson bowed their heads. When she was gone, Clopson looked up.
“Sherlock…” Clopson started, but he was already gone, looking through the crime scene. He sighed and followed. The eccentric earth pony had no sense of decorum.
“It’s been ten seconds.” Clopson said, making his way into the broken vault. “Do you know who did it?” he asked.
“… Tell me, my dear Clopson, what do you think of the scene?” he asked. Clopson rolled his eyes.
“I don’t know Sherlock, I haven’t looked around yet…”
“Well, take your time. I would like another opinion before I voice my own.”
Clopson sighed and looked around. He saw a Pegasus Guard with his helmet off, being nursed back to health. He had quite the bruise on the back of his head.
“He was found outside the door.” Lestrot said, making his way to Clopson. “With those two right by him.” Clopson looked at where the colt pointed, and found two bruised apples.
“The perps knocked him out before he could see them, and then burst down the door.” Lestrot continued, motioning to the metal gates crumpled on the ground. “Then they marched right to the end of the hall, and snatched the jewelry.”
“Weren’t there any other defenses?” Clopson asked.
“And that’s what’s stumped us.” Lestrot said, motioning to the end of the hall. “There was a spell put of the floors to alert the other guards if some unauthorized pony broke in… but it never went off.”
“Hmm…” Clopson put his hoof to his chin.
“Ideas?” Sherlock asked.
“Yes…” Clopson went over the fact. “These are professionals. Probably a team of them. They would have needed a strong, accurate earth pony, a very powerful unicorn, and a Pegasus, to knock out the guard, break down the doors and fly over the floor. We should look for some powerful ponies with connections to each other. They will probably have a criminal record.”
Lestrot nodded his head. “We will have a thorough investigation of all our records.” Lestrot then looked to Sherlock. “Anything you wish to add?”
Hooves shrugged. “It all seems very reasonable.” There was a silence. Clopson sighed and face hoofed.
“What is it Hooves? What did I miss this time?” he asked.
“Only everything that matters.” Sherlock said patronizingly. “You even missed the red herrings that were meant to throw you off the trail. You failed at failing…”
“Knock it off Sherlock and get to the point.” Lestrot demanded. Sherlock sighed.
“First off, the apples.” He nodded to the apples. “Red Delicious and Granny smith, fresh from the orchard. The only place in Equestria that is close enough to have those kinds of apples is Ponyville. It is also home to many earth ponies, a lot of them farmers, who buck apples for a living…”
“So we are looking for an earth pony in Ponyville…” Lestrot tried to follow along.
“Probably not.” Sherlock answered. “As any apple farmer can tell you, using an apple as a projectile will mean sacrificing the apple,” he pointed at the projectiles. “These are bruised. Any apple with enough force to knock out a royal guard in full armor would splatter on impact. Also, if you look at the bruise on the guard you will find that he was hit in the back of the head, not the front. If you are already behind a guard there is no reason to risk using an apple. He was most likely hit over the head with a rock, or large stick.”
“So why are the apples here? Did the culprit drop them on accident…” Lestrot asked.
“Yes, but not on accident. You see, this was supposed to throw us off. Same with the entrance…“ He walked to the fallen metal doors. “A unicorn would not make this kind of dent, and no Earth pony could knock down a metal door. They can’t even knock down trees. No, this was taken apart from the inside.”
“But, it’s bashed in…” Clopson said.
“Excellent deduction!” Sherlock layered his words with enough sarcasm to kill a horse. “How did you come up with that one?”
“No need to be rude.” Clopson said angrily.
Sherlock sighed and continued. “Bashed, yes. Broken? No. The door its self is on the ground. Brute force would have broken the lock, or made a hole, but the metal is still intact. Somepony weakened the hinges from the inside...” he took a closer look. “Looks like they froze it and then smashed it. That would require liquid nitrogen…”
“But how did they get inside?” Clopson asked. “And if they were already inside, why break down the door…”
“Elementary.” Sherlock responded. “To throw us off the scent. These dents in the door were made posthumously… in a manner of speaking.”
“And the spells?” Lestrot asked. “How did they get across those?” Sherlock smiled and looked at the other two ponies.
“Well, if I knew that, I wouldn’t take the case now would I?” He turned to get back into his carriage. “The game is ahoof Clopson!” Clopson sighed in relief. Perhaps Sherlock’s boredom could be satiated for another day or two this time.