Purple Dragon
Class ended later that day, marking an end to what was one of the most awkward school days any of those students had ever experienced. They all walked out after the final bell rang, inspiring gossip among the classmates about what had happened. Some said it was Snips and Snails while others pointed fingers at Sweetie Belle. One student, Question Mark, was certain that it was a conspiracy set up by the Changelings in order to get access to precious chalk. Whatever was the case, a mystery was about, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders needed to clear their friend’s name.
“Alright girls,” started Apple Bloom. “We need to find some way to catch the criminal who messed up that diorama. Are you ready?” The three girls were strapped for time. They were given three days to find the culprit or face the music.
“Yeah!” the other two girls cheered, simply standing around as if something were to happen.
“So… now what?” asked Scootaloo, pointing out the obvious problem that they faced.
“Well, where do you go when you want to learn something specific?” They pondered this question for several moments before they all reached the same conclusion.
“The library!” they yelled. They soon ran off to the library, hoping to find some info that would help them in their investigation.
The three girls reached the library as fast as Scootaloo on her scooter could allow them. They were anxious to find something that would be able to help them out in their investigation. When they entered they were met by the familiar purple dragon.
“Hey girls! What brings you here?” Spike asked.
“We’re here to check out a book on how to investigate and stuff. You know any?” Scoots asked. Spike just stared at her for a moment, causing her to feel uncomfortable. “Uh, something wrong Spike?”
“I’ve just…I’ve never actually SEEN anypony take out a book from here. You must be the first people to do so. Wow, I really don’t know what to do.” Spike scratched his head, trying to figure out what to do. “Alright, so what book do you want to take out?”
“Something to help us investigate. I’ve been accused of destroying somepony’s diorama and need to prove my innocence. Any books that can help out quickly?” Sweetie Belle flashed her puppy eyes, hoping that that would help Spike pick something good.
“I do know of several good books that could help out. Hold on second.” Spike went through several shelves of the library, picking out several books and putting them into a pile. Within five minutes he had gathered about forty different mystery novels. “There you go, some of the finest mystery novels ever written. These should help you out.”
“What are these?” Apple Bloom asked. “I thought you’d be getting us a guide on how to investigate things.”
“We don’t actually have any guides on anything like investigating. I’ve definitely learned a lot from these about how to investigate stuff. You’ll be able to investigate things once you’ve read through these stories.” The purple dragon was confused to see the three foals facehoofing at this statement. “What’s wrong?”
“We only have three days to find the culprit! At the end of the third day, Sweetie Belle will have detention and so will we! We don’t have time to read through all these stories!” the small pegasus’ complaint made Spike rethink his strategy and try to find some other way to help them.
“Alright then, I guess what I can do is give you some cliff notes on the subject. Hopefully that can help you out. You guys accept?” The three little fillies nodded their heads eagerly, awaiting the secrets of how to investigate. “First, never believe that anything is merely a coincidence. There’s a good chance that whatever is found at a crime scene could be relevant. Even the smallest detail can lead to finding the true culprit. Second, be prepared for your evidence to be merely coincidental. While it’s important to take into account all the details, be sure to accept the possibility that what you just found isn’t actually related to the case. You find too many red herrings and you’ll try to connect everything together and get nothing.”
He was about to get to his third point when he saw the confusion on the three foals’ faces. He decided to explain his last statement. “A ‘red herring’ means that the evidence of fact that you found is misleading and doesn’t actually relate to the case. Anyway, the third important fact to include is that a motive is necessary for something to happen. The motive may be developed for committing the crime or hiding what you’ve done since you don’t want anypony to know what you’ve done. Fourth, research anything you find. If you don’t research your facts and evidence, you either end up with way too many misleading items or you can find out that that one small piece of evidence is actually the key to the entire case. The last major thing I can tell you, and this may be the most important fact, is to keep all options open and, when all other options have been exhausted, even the most improbable theory becomes the most likely. After all, if it could survive the elimination process while other more sensible theories have been thrown out, there must be some truth to it.” Spike drank a sip of water after that long speech, feeling pretty good about him. He didn’t have many opportunities to express his genius, but this was one of those moments. “Any questions?”
All three ponies raised their hooves. Spike sighed, pointing at them to let them know to ask him. “Can you help us?” all three of them asked.
“You know what? Sure! After all, I’ve completed all the other work I need to do around here for the next several days, so I can help get you any information you need while you’re at school. Plus,” he went over to a cabinet, pulling out a brown cap, “I can wear this neat cap while I investigate. Alright now,” he added, pulling out a notepad, “what info do you have already?”
“Well,” stared Sweetie Belle, “they found that the diorama had essentially been disintegrated, except for one model in it. The model was made of a crystal that’s resistant to magic. Since there weren’t any scorch marks and the model survived, they assume that it was destroyed magically. Also,” she said sadly, “they found purple and white colored hair there, just like mine.”
“Hmm,” Spike murmured. “It makes sense that you’d be targeted then for that, fitting the description. Did they say why you’d do that?”
“Well, they said that I had either done it so I could get rid of the competition so I could win the grand prize. That or it was because I had accidentally cast a spell with a magic surge and couldn’t remember it.” Sweetie Belle considered this possibility that she may have done that. Spike decided to dig into that info though.
“So, there’s a competition then? Not only that, but a prize. Anypony know what the prize was?”
“Nopony actually knew what it was, but there were some students that said that they had found out and weren’t telling.” Spike considered this new evidence, trying to figure out what could be done with that.
“Alright, I think I know what to do. We need to find out what that prize was. We could find out who did it by seeing who’d most likely do this sort of thing for a prize. With the proper motive, we could probably find who did it already! As for the hair, it might be possible that somepony found a sample of yours or a similar pony. You know any other ponies that have purple and/or white hair?”
“Well, there’s Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon, and none of them can use magic either. You think we can rule out the hair then?” the small unicorn asked.
“Definitely sounds like it. There wasn’t much hair found there, and remember that simply because there was hair near there, doesn’t mean it was related to the case. Remember to focus on the details of a story when considering the evidence you have and its relevance. Actually, an interesting fact is that hair is one of the most misleading items found at a crime scene. Hair falls off everybody, so it isn’t really special when you find it.” Spike then went over to the books and picked three of them out. “Here; try reading these tonight when you have the chance. They may just be mystery stories, but they give you a good idea of what you might find and do while investigating.”
“Thanks!” the three of them said, each going home for the night, taking their books with them. Scootaloo received a copy of “The Maltese Phoenix”, Apple Bloom got “Mystery of the Canterlot Express”, and Sweetie Belle got a copy of “The Mysterious Affair at Fillydelphia”. Each of them read their books diligently that night, taking in all they learned while reading and hoping to catch the real crook soon.