As I hear the door close I get my saddle bag from under my desk and walk out my office. As I leave I'm greeted by Dusty. "So keen. What do you think happened? Case of three fillies just in hiding after fights at home?" he asked me as we walked out of the station.
as we walk towards The Apple Family Farm I reply. "I don't think so. Chances of three little fillies all running away at the same moment is very un-likley, especially when all three come from good homes. I mean we have Appleboom well looked after, Sweetie Belle is well cared for at the Boutiquè. And Scootaloo is-" I pause and Dusty fills in the last part.
"Homeless..." he said in a quite voice. I look to him confused as to how he knew the details. "Well not exactly homeless anymore, But i was often called to the skate park due to complaints about her sleeping on benches; Then when the CMC formed she stayed in the tree fort they made."
I look down as we walk, feeling guilty for not knowing. "I...I always thought she was just private about her home life...does anypony else know?"
Dusty shook his head. "Only me, the ponies who called her in, and maybe a couple other officers."
I sigh. "So what about her parents?" I ask fearing the worse.
Dusty huffs a sad breath. "She was abandoned...no one knows where they went off too, hell scootaloo can't even remember their faces."
I clear my throat feeling bad for her but wanting to focus at the issue at hoof as we approach the orchards where their fort laid. "We need to find them within the next couple days, Winters coming and we don't want the purp covering their tracks." I said changing the subject.
Dusty looked up to me. "So what are you expecting to find in the tree fort?" he asked me.
we walked towards the catwalk leading up to the fort when I answer. "Well, I'm hoping for a note saying they went to someponies house or something." We slowly approached the pink wooden door and I gave a small knock. "P.V.P.D. Is anypony inside?" I call through the door. After a while I take a grip of the doorknob and slowly twist it and open the door. As we walk in we smell the musty and smoky scent Inside, a small lantern hung up in the middle of the room and some notebooks laid open on the table. "Dusty, scan for clues around the outside, do a twenty-feet perimeter sweep around the fort."
He nods before turning around and heading to the door. I take a deep breath and wall to the table with the notebooks. I picked up one that was pink with a white lace trim. It was open to a page with a fillies doodle of a brown colt wearing a propeller hat and of a white unicorn filly in a heart. "Hmmm...looks like Sweetie belle..." I make the assumption that this is her notebook. "Hmm who did she draw herself with?" I ponder as I flip through the pages until i found something scribbled in.
"Dear Dairy, Today I got to see Button Mash again! It was so cute, we went out looking for frogs for school, he kept his eyes on his joyboy and tripped and fell into the mud. I went over to make sure he was okay before a frog hoped on his head and little mashie said 'Ribbit' I laughed so hard.
I hope I can see him next week for Milkshakes at sugar cube corned so I can say how I feel last time was ruined by a brain-freeze incident.
Your friend, Sweetie (The I being dotted with a heart.)" It was dated from last week and was the last entry in her notebook. I close the book and put it in a plastic bag and putting it in my saddlebag.
The next notebook I looked at was a Red notebook with a yellow spine. It was opened to a drawing of Applebloom,Applejack, Big Mac, And Granny Smith In front of their farm, Next to it a small entry.
"Dear Journal, Howdy! How've ya been? I've been great! Just today I finally got to help Granny
make some great apple jam! I didn't get a cutie mark though...but i had a lot of fun with granny!
last night it was really strange I saw sweetie writing in her dairy day dreaming or something, and when i asked whats up she freaked out and slammed it close blushing. I think she has a coltfriend~
However it was really strange. We had a sleep over in the fort and smelled something like smoke, We all figured it was Big Mac making some hay-burgers but it was very late. we shrugged off the smell thinking we were dream smelling.
Thats all for now! -Applebloom" It was dated from last week,The day after Sweeties last entry.
"Smoke?Hmm...what were they smelling?" I asked myself putting the notebook in the same bag and then my saddle bag.
The last notebook I grabbed was one that was blue with Rainbow Dash's cutie mark drawn onto it. open to a page with a drawing of scootaloo flying with Rainbow Dash, And a dairy entry dated the day before they went missing.
"Hey Journal, Today I got to watch Rainbow Dash do her tricks! She did a loop-da-loop corkscrew and ended in a sonic rainboom! It makes me feel sad though because I can't fly...yet. I will someday be in the clouds with her!
Also last week we spent the night in the tree house and we kept smelling smoke that night, Sweetie just said they must me smelling things but i could have swore i smelled it while I was at the park...And i keep smelling it! The girls haven't noticed but I'm smelling it as i write this....hmm maybe i'll look through the girls' Dairies later when they go out to see if i can find some clues...I may get my mark as a detective and I could work with Dusty and Keen! Anyway I have to go, We're going to "Sore Saddle Street" to check a shop out and maybe get a part time job!
-Cutie mark crusader detective, Scootaloo"
I liked her detective comment,However that mention of the smoke again bothered me...I snapped out of it when I heard somepony behind me. "Hey what are y'all doing?!" I turned and saw it was Big Mac.
"Oh hello 'Big Mac' Am I correct? I'm keen and-" I was suddenly cut off by his booming voice.
"I don't care who you are! Why are you in my sisters clubhouse?!" He demanded a answer.
I started stuttering like a idiot feeling intimidated by his stature. "W-Well you see I-I-" I'm cut off again by a voice.
"Big Mac take it easy! This is keen He's here to find lil Applebloom." I see Applejack creep into the club house.
Big Mac looks at me, His eyes watering. "Oh I-I'm sorry...find anything yet?" He asked.
I looked up to the ceiling. "Well, not exactly..." I looked at the wood and paused. "Say...random question. What kind of wood is this clubhouse made of?" I asked.
They looked at me confused. "Apple Ceder, Why?" Applejack asked.
"Because apple ceder doesn't have a musty smoky smell that's in this room..."
I hear Kusty shout out to me from outside the back window. "Hey Keen! I found something you may want to check out!"
I nod to Applejack and Big Mac as I pass them "Excuse me for a moment..." I walked out to where dusty was and saw him looking at the ground. In front of him I saw scattered outside the window Ciggartte butts... "That can explain the smoke..." I stand in front of the pile and look up and I could see into the clubhouse perfectly. I froze in horror as I realized this monster was watching them sleep for a week. I look closer to the butts and see red stripes along them. "Flim-Flam brand..." I say standing up.
Dusty looked at me confused. "Flim-Flam? you mean those con-stallions make cigarettes now?" He asked.
"They always have, How do you think they get money for the scams? you haven't heard of these because they are a pain in the flank to find in ponyville." I say taking a butt in my hoof. "These were banned in the streets of ponyville,Mostly because of a little flaw...You see if you blow to sharply these fire out a fountain of embers starting house fires..." I say throwing the butt back in the pile.
I stand back up. "I know of a few places that sell these, Sly's shop is one of them..." I start walking back inside to finish looking through the clubhouse. "Bag those and we'll go to Sly's..." I call out as I walk back in.
"I'm back. Thank you for you're cooperation, And I swear I will find your sister." I say in a reassuring tone to Applejack and Mac.
Big Mac looked up me. "And make sure you find the asshole that took her from us..." I nod to his request.
"Nothing would make me happier, and he will be brought to justice; even if it kills me." I respond.
They both gave me their thanks and walked out of the clubhouse giving me a chance to search more.
I scan the room for anything more to help before I notice something under the table. A small golden flint lighter sat there that the scum had been inside the clubhouse...I trot up and take it in my hoof and notice that it had some rubies on it making it shine, All genuine. I Bagged it after looking over it. "Hey, Dusty you got those bagged up?" I call out.
he peeks his head in the window. "Every single one Keen."
"Good,Now let's go see good ol' Keen..." I say walking towards the door. I close it behind me and walk around the clubhouse to join Dusty.
we remain quite until leaving the orchard, the first to break the silence was Dusty. "So, find anything inside?" he asked.
I nod as I shiver at the temperature dropping as the sunsets. "A few notebooks,The fillies noticed the smoke. However,Scootaloo mentioned that the smoke followed them. So im figuring that who ever we're dealing with was watching them for at least a week. I had also found a golden lighter. It wasn't cheap so it was either stolen or this pony has money." I say to him as we walk.
We slowly approach Sly's little shop and see him lounging at his desk through the glass door. as we enter we smell smoke and we see him smoking a cigarette...Flim-Flam brand...