The Equestrian Wildcards,
Doughnut mess with the baker.
'Our differences make us stronger.'
- Serenity
In the midst of an embittering winters night, the filly detective stalked her prey. The mark was Sunny Days, local mysterious stranger. She cantered down the main street with cheerfulness in every step, leaving a trail of prints in the snow that even a blind pony could have found.
Sunny was lightly clothed, a brown coat wrapped around her green fur, thick and ruffled. Her dark green mane loose in the breeze, but wings tucked tightly to provide warmth. As out of place as an orange in an apple eating contest, and yet not a care in the world. It was obvious she was not from around here, and little did this animated pegasus know that she was being watched. Cased in the distant shadows by Ponyville's greatest private eye.
No disturbances as of yet, thankfully. If there had been, notes would have to be taken, but the young earth pony had left her notebook in the second right draw in the desk right alongside a pencil, three bits and half a packet of chewing gum. Funny how she could remember all that, and yet forget to actually bring the notepad. Shame, too... some gum would have also been nice.
On the bright side, she had brought the most important tool in any good detectives arsenal, a light brown detective's hat, for which she had been the owner of for as long as it could be fit on her head.
Oh, and there was also a camera, nearly the size of the little filly's head, that hung from a strap around her body. For so many years it had been nothing more than the family antique, destined to lay unused and unloved on the dressing table with all the other fancy discards of yesteryear... such as the vase, and that other vase. But now, with the aid of a few carefully stacked boxes, it would soon find a new use.
A hoof upon her blue scarf, she tightened it around her neck as the winters chill became less elusive. The chilly gust of wind bit at her thin purple coat, ruffled, as she began to shiver slightly with the warmth of her bedroom fire all but in a memory. Thank goodness for her leather jacket or she'd have been more exposed than Princess Celestia in that cake eating newspaper article several years ago.
With the pressure of unpleasant weather, the wait for something to happen was beginning to feel eternal. Short patience was a fatal weakness of many a young pony, no doubt, but the filly encouraged herself to be patient knowing that the reward would be ever so sweeter. Sweet like that pack of gum in her drawer, which she really wished she had right now.
The detectives quarry rounded the corner of the street, an intersection of houses just a block behind the mayors manor, and she followed from just a short whisper behind. Light flickered from lampposts along the road, and she jumped from the shadows in between them whenever the distance became to great.
Rounding the corner, she was met by the front of the local bakery, the large sign of a pie and fork hung from a pole and swung gently back and forth. Though no produce lay on the shelves behind this windows, a splendorous array of bakery themed decorations covered the walls of the building like it was Hearths Warming Eve all day, every day of the week.
Having stopped, the pegasus reached into a saddlebag with a wing, scrummaging for just a second before producing a ring of keys. One piece of the puzzle was answered then and there, for it was Sunny Days who had pilfered Puff Pastry's keyring. The filly detective edged closer, one hoof at a time, hugging the walls so tight she might fall through them.
Her heart was beginning to drum rapidly, excitement filling her with the warmth she so desired. Evidence of her targets wrongdoing was unfolding neatly, and there was not an ounce of doubt in her mind she was about to receive more.
There was no way Sunny would be foolish enough to use the front door, the detective knew. No surprises then, when the pegasus rounded to the back cellar door. Armed with the whole set of keys, she had an all access pass to the bakery, and the smarts to know how to get in without drawing attention. What fun was there in pursuing a pony doomed to be caught from her own stupidity?
Sunny Days one mistake was trusting the darkness, no light could shine from lamps on this side, blocked by the wall of the building next door. Of great benefit to the would be thief, but with a cloak of shadows the detective could stalk ever closer. Her ears raised as the miscreant muttered under her breath. Needing more of something, she had said, and that something the little detective already knew.
A slight click, and the door now wide open and all inviting. Sunny Days descended the stairs, out of sight.
The filly detective needed to know, she needed that last crucial piece of proof, but now her chest was pounding. No longer feeling the embrace of winter, but the nerves were like daggers coursing through her blood.
What if she was seen? It was all too real a risk weighting inside her head. What would her family think of her being out in the middle of the night, chasing thieves? What would Sunny do to her? In the end it didn't matter, for she glanced down and saw her front left hoof upon the third step down. With not even one glance behind her, she continued, the thrill of the chase was too much.
Nearly pitch black, nothing more than imagination could paint a picture of the room, but her eyes were slowly adjusting. Stacks of boxes the size of a full grown pony lied in rows, giving just enough room to pass in between. The tapping of hooves in rhythm with the creaking of old wooden floorboards directed the detective like a noisy compass. Slow and purposeful with each step, she did not wish to alert her prey, especially when she didn't even know where she was.
Aha!
A small pip of light directly ahead, followed by a growing glow from a small lantern. The smell of a lit match struck the fillies nose just as the pegasus ahead of her placed it upon the floor, standing before a stack of flour bags neatly packed upon a row of shelves. You could have seen the gleaming smile that appeared on her face all the way from Canterlot.
The detective waited, still as a statue. Sunny Days was giving her everything needed, nicely packaged and wrapped with a little bow on top. From behind a wooden column she watched with one eye as the pegasus placed front hooves upon the second shelf and reached for a bag of flour.
This one was different, the bag was striped red down the middle whereas the others were pure white.
Just like all the others that had gone missing...
The detective readied her camera.
A clanking of hollow metal sounded throughout the cellar, two times. Ears raised, she glanced down and saw the lens and shutter upon the floor, slowly rolling away from her. They certainly didn't make old antiques like they used to.
'Oh horseapples,' she snapped to herself. There would not be many happy faces at home if her family found one of their prized possessions was now in multiple pieces, and running away. The detective leapt forward and snatched the rolling lens between hooves, and an eye watched as the shutter slid rather inconveniently into a small hole in the floorboard. There were those icy daggers in the blood, again.
Being so young, the filly detectives legs were short and thus fishing for old camera parts in crevices was not a specialty, but it was either that or have to explain why the camera was now missing half of its front when it hadn't a few hours ago.
She poked out her tongue and stuck her hoof into the tiny hole in the floor, knowing almost instantly but just a little too late that this was a bad move. Pulling from the shoulder, her hoof remained in place, stuck.
'Oh double horseapples,' she said to herself, or so she had thought. When the first green hoof landed in front of her she couldn't help but slowly look up and hope it wasn't attached to anything else.
Unfortunately, it was. Sunny Days gazed down upon her with a half glare, and just a little hint of surprise. The filly sighed. 'Make that triple horseapples.'
The pegasus raised a brow. 'Oh, yes... I thought you looked familiar, you're the little girl who was following me around yesterday.' She paused, and looked sideways, then back at the filly. 'How did you even know I was going to be here?'
The detective grinned slightly. 'Oh, I put two and two together. You seemed very inquisitive about what the bakers used in their special Ponyville pastry. Then, two bags of the secret special flour just happen to go missing that night.'
She continued, pointing with unstuck hoof just behind Sunny. 'Also, you still have some flour in your tail.'
The pegasus turned back to her tail and groaned. 'Oh, typical. Scrubbed for several minutes and I still miss a spot.' She was right, though contact with water would have turned the flour into a sticky mess that would take more than a brush to pull out. A pair of scissors would be more ideal.
'Not exactly the perfect thief, are we?' The detective asked.
'You can certainly talk about professionalism, missy,' Sunny Days replied, biting her lip. Trotting back into the shadows, she returned a few seconds later and slid a bag of the red striped flour in front of the filly. 'I hope you can explain your way out of this one, you nosey little pony.'
She paused, meeting eyes with the filly detective. 'I never even got your name, will you at least indulge me? I won't tell, I promise.'
'Oracle.' She returned a cold glare as best she could to her new arch nemesis.
Sunny chuckled. 'Cute.' Then, she shrugged her shoulders. 'Well, you tried I guess. Have a nice night, don't be a stranger sweetie.' With a final wink, she dashed past the detective and up the stairs, taking two more bags of flour and the only light with her.
The door slammed shut like a cracking whip, loud enough to probably wake up half of Ponyville. Not that is mattered much, right now she was stuck in a dark cellar with her hoof stuck in a hole in the floor, carrying half of a camera, and there was now what sounded like hoofsteps one floor above her.
She calmly brought her hind legs forward, and pushed against the ground. With a light "pop", the stuck hoof slid free with a jolt that sent the little filly tumbling backwards, where the soft embrace of flour bags waited. No camera lens in hoof, and now also locked in a cellar just waiting to be caught with absolutely no explanation capable of getting her out of this one. Well, maybe some sort of explanation, but she was never very good at improvisation.
This only made her laugh. She'd gotten out of tougher spots. There was no light, but her eyes had once again adjusted and she could see an opportunity. She felt for her hat, yes, still upon her head.
The hoofsteps were getting louder, time was growing short. Now or never.
She licked her lips, and smiled to herself. 'Let's do this.'
The door to the main part of the house burst open, light from the next room over pouring in. 'Aha! I have you this time, thief!'
Puff Pastrys eye's rounded the cellar, her face became a mixture of confusion and relief. She slowly lowered her triumphantly raised foreleg.
'Oh.'
Another earth pony poked his head in. 'Oh what?' He asked.
'I was hoping to catch someone in the act.'
'Stealing flour? Yeah, sure honey.'
'Well, I keep asking you, how else do you explain the two bags going missing?'
'Rats?'
Puff Pastry turned to her husband with a disapproving stare.
He looked left and right. 'Really big rats?'
She sighed. 'C'mon, let's take a look, at least. I swear there was a noise from down here.'
'Uh, okay. You first.'
The two earth ponies could hardly be called thorough, as the filly watched perched between the cellars wooden roof beams, all four legs holding her above and out of sight. No pony ever seemed to bother looking up these days.
Puff Pastry let out an excited squeal. 'Look, there's flour on the floor!'
'Where?'
'Over here, doofus. It leads right out the door too. I knew it, I just knew it!'
In her overconfidence, Sunny Days had left a trail of flour dust right out the door. Considering how she left some of it in her tail previously, all it took was a little luck to assume she would make another slip up, one that could be used to the detectives advantage.
Puff Pastry's husband pressed at the door with hoof. 'Hey, the doors still locked, how did they even-'
She pushed past him, unlocking the door latch and trotting outside 'Right, let’s get out there and see if we can find anything. No one steals my flour and gets away with it... for the second time, I mean.'
'Right you are, honey. Uh, you first.'
Oracle loosened her grip, and slid down the columns landing on a pile of flour bags almost like a feather if said feather was a small pony. She slid on her behind the rest of the way down, and carefully approached the steps, eyes darting between the two earth ponies just out side.
She waited, and when the chance was there she went for it without a second thought.
Out the door she sprang, right past Puff Pastry in a blur, leaving her twisting around in a circle of confusion. 'What was that?'
'I knew it, it was a giant rat! Don't worry honey, I've got them.'
Turning her ears back, Oracle could hear the earth pony gaining on her. Tiny legs had a rather large disadvantage over those of the full grown pony. Older and faster, yes, but there was no way he was as acrobatic as she.
She darted around a corner, quick to turn, even as the camera clattered against her side. More pieces falling off, but not even a chance to think about picking them up. She could only begin to imagine how many rolls of sticky tape she was going to need to fix this mess, if there was any left at the end.
It gained her a moment of respite, but she knew there was a trail of prints in the snow to follow (and camera parts). The shadow of Puffs husband loomed like a ghost over her, this pony on her tail was not giving up. Taking a deep breath, she pushed on.
Taking a detour through a small gap between two houses where the snow was scarce, she saw her salvation ahead. A tall fence erect before her and a tree resting beside it. A plan formed faster than she could actually make it up in her head. Her breath was running short as she found herself halfway up the tree. With a last mighty push, she kicked out her legs. Into the air she flew, right over the fence beside the tree with almost enough grace to be called a pegasus for just a second in her life.
The grace didn't last long enough, for as even though she tried to orient her hooves for the landing she could not do it in time. Too much to ask of her still growing body, she landed awkwardly and tripped over her own legs... feeling a sudden pain strike like a bolt of lightning through them as she proceeded to roll forwards into a pile of snow.
Oracle could hear the earth pony marching up to the front yard, and stopping suddenly. 'Oh, shoot,' he said, the detective could hear the confusion his voice. She had eluded him, now all she needed to do was wait.
'Don't... ever... do.. that... again,’ emerged another gasping voice. Puff Pastry was no athlete, that was for certain.
'Oh, but I almost had that giant rat.'
'Really, you're... going to stick with that?'
'Well dear, what else could have it been?'
'Well... it could... have been... a... um, badger.'
There was a long pause. 'A what?'
'Oh I don't know, it's cold and we are in some other ponies front yard.'
'Ah yes, so we are, honey.'
'Let's just go home and see if they took anything, if anything at all. I'll speak with one of the watch ponies tomorrow morning.'
And thus off they trotted, defeated once again by their flour pincher.
Oracle knew better, and she wouldn't let that dumb green pegasus get away so easily. Okay, maybe she would let her off this time. She felt like she had run a marathon, and the snow she had found herself in was cold as... snow. Tired and shivering, she made the call. Time to go home, and make plans for her next move.
Pulling herself out of the snow, she sneezed, covering her mouth a little too late. She hoped no pony had heard, but she doubted it. Unlike her leap of faith, her sneezes had grace. Her real concern was that she was likely to catch a cold. That warm, comfortable fire in her room sounded truly inviting right about now.
She took a step and the pain returned to her front left hoof. Must have twisted it slightly on that not quite perfect landing. Nothing serious, at least that is what she thought to herself for comfort. It hurt, it was cold... she felt miserable.
And thus the young pony hobbled home, having achieved nothing but a broken camera, twisted ankle, and probably also a cold. All in all a pretty successful night for Oracle, filly detective.
'I hate this stupid weather,' she muttered angrily to herself, sneezing a second time.
- - -
The following morning arrived too soon. That always seemed to happen to Oracle, the less time spent asleep the quicker the sun rose. As the young earth pony lay in bed with tired eyes watching the clock on the wall tick ever closer to seven she knew that spending those few hours out in the dark had been a regrettable idea.
Naturally, she had developed a slight case of the sniffles. Stick your nose out in the cold and you can always expect trouble from the fickle beast that is winter. It wasn't as bad as she had thought it would become, luckily, for a warm room and comfortable blankets were enough to prevent the onset of something more serious.
The real issue was her leg, perhaps not the actual injury itself for that was thankfully minor, nothing more than a slightly unpleasant limp and perhaps limiting her pace to a canter at best. The problem was that she now had a healthy deep purple bruise and the unusual gait which were both bound to arouse suspicion, and if there was one thing Oracle hated it was garnering the wrong kind of attention... which happened to her all the time, now that she thought about it.
The clock struck seven, and out sprang the little grey crow. 'Caw, caw,' it muttered mechanically, caring little about its place in the world, before returning inside. She found stepping out of bed more a problem of unwillingness rather than being unable to. So warm and cozy her bed had become in the last few hours she found herself like any young filly would act when they had one hour to school and were still tired.
Yet if she had known all this was going to happen beforehand, Oracle still would have done it all the same. Well, except for the part where she failed, that bit needed some adjustments.
No point in delaying. She forced herself out of bed, stretched a little, and finally threaded out into the hallway. Down the rugged stairs, through the lounge room and into the dining room the went. To little surprise of Oracle, she found her mother at the table with breakfast ready to go for the entire family. Said family consisted of herself, her mother and father and thus three bowls of oatmeal lay steamy and ripe for consumption.
'Oh, you're up on time.' The unicorn whom was Oracles mother already seated at the table, and looking relieved to see the young filly up. The chair meant for her moved out from under the table, mother working her magic upon it with a light purple glow. Fitting for a purple coated unicorn, one would think. 'Here I was thinking I'd have to drag you out off-'
She stilled her tongue, and tilted her head slightly with one raised brow. 'Are you alright?'
'I'm fine, mum,' Oracle replied with her tiredness very obvious. Just a little too late for the moment, she lifted herself up and tried to look fresh and ready for the day.
Her mother was more than happy to be skeptical. 'Let me guess, you were up reading most of the night again?'
'Yes, that's exactly what I was doing,' Oracle lied, seating herself at the table. 'My bad, I guess.'
Shaking her head, Oracles mother sighed. 'What did I tell you about staying up late on a school night?'
Oracle recalled not paying attention during that lecture. 'Um, don't do it?'
Mother rolled her eyes in reply. 'There was a little more than that, but you're up now and that’s good enough for me.'
Being scolded lightly for supposedly staying up late was a far better outcome than what Oracle had expected. She realized that the only thing really out of place in this little white lie was the camera, which was under Oracles bed in as many pieces as she could have recovered.
That was about the point where Oracles father trotted into the room. The white unicorn was looking slightly confused. 'Morning all,' he began cheerfully. 'Quick question, have either of you seen that camera that was on top of the cabinet?'
Oracle dropped her spoon, and her mouth stayed wide open. From home free to in deep trouble in ten seconds flat.
- - -
What remained of the old fashioned photographic device lay upon the table. If you hadn't known what it was in the first place, you may have been mistaken for thinking it was just scrap metal from some crafting experiment gone wrong. That, or modern art.
Her parents waited, all eyes on Oracle who was seated like she was in a courtroom, except without the jury to judge her fairly. 'So, care to explain?' Her mother asked.
Oracle stammered. 'So, um... maybe I wasn't up late reading.'
Mother crossed her hooves. 'Go on.'
'Maybe I was, um... outside.'
Her mother waited for her to continue, eyes seeming to bury themselves deep into her own. It seemed wiser to just avoid her gaze, lest she be turned to stone. Though, that would actually be preferable right about now.
Oracle sighed, and her head stooped low. 'I was outside... investigating.' The one word she didn’t want to use slipped out like it had many times before.
'Again?' Her mothers hoof reached her face in record time. 'Of all the things you could have been doing, you were playing pretend outside in the cold at night, when you should have been in bed. On a school day no less.'
Pretend, yes... she decided to roll with it. 'That pretty much sums it up,' Oracle replied, head still low and eyes averted.
Her mother took in a deep breath and let it back out with relief. 'Well, at least you're okay.'
Oracle looked up at her mother, confused. 'You... you're not mad?'
She took a worrying amount of time to reply. 'No, I am not angry, but I am very disappointed in you.' She leaned in close, head shaking with disaproval. 'You're such a bright little pony, Oracle. I've told you time and time again that going outside at night is not only silly, it's dangerous. You could have gotten sick in the cold, thank goodness you only have the sniffles. Worse still, you could have hurt yourself.'
Oracle placed her right leg over her sore left hoof, covering it neatly.
'There is all day after school, and the weekends, to be out playing in the sun with other ponies-'
She stopped, and looked at Oracle, who had started to bite her lip. Her mother knew full well that the little filly was not very sociable.
Mother might have said something about that, but what point was there? It had all been said before. It wasn't Oracles fault she didn't mix well with other fillies. They always seemed to avoid her, the little purple earth filly who liked to play detective by herself. Totally a normal thing to do, right? Other ponies played pirates, or pretended they were heroes in dungeons slaying dragons (as silly as that sounded).
Then there was Oracle, “that weirdo who hangs out by herself, pretending to solve crime, and wearing that ugly hat”, to quote one particular filly in her class. That was just the beginning, too. Throwing around big words like an adult, always getting in trouble with crazy schemes and not to mention the several times when she might have gotten a little too in character with the whole thing.
There were some fillies that could be called friends, maybe. When you helped a younger pony find out who stole their lunch with a combination of clues and clever questioning. Or, when you helped another retrace their steps to find the glasses they had misplaced only a few minutes ago. It was little acts like that which got you in the good books.
And sometimes in the bad books, too, if they were suspects.
But it just wasn't easy to change a pony who just liked to be alone, doing her own thing. She'd spent so much of her life by herself, it just felt right. Being with others just made her feel uncomfortable. She didn't like hurting other ponies feelings, even if they were a suspect in a mystery. And, there was no better way to avoid doing that then ensuring you never had a chance to hurt said feelings in the first place.
She shied away, avoiding both her parents gazes.
'Oh, Oracle. I know it's hard, but you need to learn to be more sociable. You can't go your entire life like this.'
Her body started to feel a little bit numb. These moments always made her feel unpleasant. 'What if I don't want to be?' Oracle replied.
'One day, you might not be able to. One day you'll be grown up, working, helping others. I know you like to think the world works your way, but unfortunately it isn't all rainbows and butterflies.'
Oracle kept quiet.
'Especially if you're running about doing this.' She pointed a hoof at the camera remains. 'You can't be breaking rules which exist to keep you safe, and not to mention breaking property.' Her mother smiled weakly, leaning towards Oracle. ‘The camera can be replaced, but you can’t. I worry about you, Oracle, truly I do.'
Of course she had to bring that up. 'I know, mum.'
'Was there anything else you wanted to say?'
She knew that was her cue, might as well humor them. 'Sorry I sneaked out at night, and broke the camera, mum. I won't do it again, I promise.'
'I hate sound skeptical of you, Oracle, but your promises are hardly trustworthy. I guess I'm just not harsh enough, even though I don't like having to punish you.'
Oracles eyes met her mothers, and the filly saw a clever smile upon her face.
'You're free to go, Oracle. Go get yourself cleaned up, and get back to bed. You can have the day off if you're sick.'
'I'm okay, mum. It's nothing serious.'
'Are... you sure?'
Oracle nodded.
'Alright, I trust you. You can head off to school soon, but your father and I need to have little discussion.'
Oracle didn't like the sound of that one bit, but she obeyed. She maintained her composure right until she closed the door into the living room, where she proceeded to hold back breaking down into tears.
She had failed, miserably.
'Oh, I've really done it this time,' Oracle managed to say, between a sniffle. 'Ponyville's worst detective, back at square one.'
She wished they could understand, but her parents never really did “get it”. Oracle tried so hard, but in the end she had still wrecked everything again.
You couldn't count with all the pebbles in the garden how many times she had been cooped up in detention for her many heroic exploits, like getting Dewdrop stuck in her own locker (it was supposed to be a distraction while she looked for clues to her having "borrowed" another ponies lunch), or that other time where she helped get that beehive down off the big tree out the back of the school yard. All that effort climbing, leaping from branch to branch with a small stick in her mouth, and Candy Heart just had to be standing directly under the hive.
There was even that one time she broke out of detention early, and how exactly did they get her for that one? Detention, of course. Because a little bit of creativity is just too hard for some ponies, apparently. It did, however, help her realize she was rather good at breaking rules.
'Rules keep you safe,' Oracle said slightly mockingly, repeating what her mother had said moments ago as she paced about the lounge room. When she had tried to obey rules (and she did try, sometimes), she just got bored so quickly. Where was the fun in just being another boring obedient filly?
How many times had she heard those very same words, now? She recalled, as cloudy as those memories were, the good old days when they never mattered at all.
The little troublemaker, that is what ponies used to call her. A more fitting nickname for a more fitting time.
They just couldn't handle the awesomeness that was Ponyville's greatest detective.
And thus she slid on the loose fitting jacket, and donned her brown hat. She had fallen down once more, but she had picked herself up and was ready to try again. Never give up, never.
Then when she finally got her cutie mark, she will have finally proved once and for all, that she had been right all along.
A minute later, she was bored. Curiosity getting the better of her once again, she placed an ear next to the closed door. Catching the end of one sentence, she listened for the next.
'Well, there is the pony that moved into the library a few days ago,' Oracles father was saying. 'I think she was asking around for an assistant. Some pony to help with getting stuff unpacked, I believe.'
Oracles interest was piqued, she remained in place.
'It wouldn't hurt,' her mother replied. 'Do you think she'd be up for Oracle, she's quite the handful.'
'That's what they said when we first asked about her.'
'It didn't stop us, did it?'
There was a shared laugh. 'No, no it didn't. It was totally worth it, though, wasn't it?'
Things went quiet for a few seconds. 'Yeah, yeah it was.'
Oracle rolled her eyes, parents always liked to be nostalgic, and also very boring.