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// 1: A New Case 
// Story: Equestria's Anomaly 
// by Ash Bark 
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Prologue

Deep in the Everfree Forest, a magical anomaly wreaked havoc onto the surrounding trees. Tendrils of energy flicked about, turning the foliage they touched into magical slag. The ground dimpled and refracted through the anomalies warping of the air. Perhaps the visual effect is caused by heat, movement of air, or the tortured magics literal effect on the ground. It is impossible to tell. Slight flames and cinders rose up from the dry leaves still left on the ground. Any insects or animals were long gone. The event was a long time coming, probably felt from  hundreds of feet away by the creatures perceptive minds.
A sound, not unlike thunder, emanated from the anomaly. The warping air stretched and shuddered. Whatever the reason for its existence, its purpose was about to end. A rush of foul smelling air gushed out from the anomaly. The thundering sound, defined itself into a roaring. Loud piercing sounds now joined in the cacophony. A pale yellow light grew brighter and brighter as a hole opened up in the middle of the convulsing anomaly. A rushing monster, roaring and glowing with a fierce light shot out from the portal and hit the ground. Dirt and magical slag flew behind it as it shot forward at an incredible speed. The anomaly, now complete in it’s purpose, collapsed instantly, leaving the air and trees surrounding it to settle.
The beast, now dozens of feet forward, cut through the vegetation leaving a path of destruction. When it finally stopped, it left deep gouges in the earth behind it Deep scoring on the side of trees, and many flattened bushes marked its passage. The monsters roaring died down to a shuddering growl, It’s baleful light flickering, Before both light and sound stopped entirely. The beast, now clearly defined by its stillness, revealed a metallic hide. Its body angular and bulky in it’s from. Across it were hundreds of scratches. Some scratches were deeper than others, with bits of plant matter in them. Deep gouges were taken out by the anomalies tendrils of energy.
The forest was quiet again. Distant bird call sounded out of place in the faintness of the sound. Within the beast, a rattling could be heard. A sudden clank could be heard in the now quite forest, followed by a side of the beast swinging open. It's reflective surface making fire seem to dance on it's surface. A tall silhouette slowly rose from within the beast, it's appendage resting on top of the strange swinging panel. It stood still, taking in the sight before it. It's figure twisted and raced into the forest, looking like dissipating smoke in the shadows of the trees. A scream rent the quite forest air, terrific in it's sound.

Chapter One: A New Case

“Mr. Apart sir?” I looked up from my desk to see my secretary meekly knocking on my open door. “There’s some guard pony here to talk to you,” she tapped her light green hooves together nervously. “Is there something wrong?”
“Maybe,” I replied as calmly as I could. “More likely they want to hire me for something.” There’s only a couple of reasons for the guard to show up at my office. One, they want my professional opinion on a case. Two, they got it in their heads that I was in possession of some Zebrican liqueur that had crossed over seas illegally. As such an assumption is groundless; it was most likely the first possibility. “Let’s not keep them waiting, Miss Grass.” She stood up a bit taller, seeming more reassured. “Send them in.” She gave a quick smile before trotting back through the door. It was unfortunate that my old secretary had to retire, that old mare had connections that could put me anywhere. But she was old, crotchety, and also rotting away in some dungeon somewhere. Waving Grass, however, was very refreshing in this regard. She, while sometimes unsure of herself, threw herself into her work and thanked me for it. Her zeal was infectious sometimes. I’m glad I hired her.
A gold clad hoof interrupted my musings, as it stepped into my office.
“Mr. Apart, I assume?” The Royal guard intoned. I think I can understand some of Grass’s nervousness. The Royal guard, typically was only involved with cases directly correlated to the diarchy. I’ve only worked with them once before, and that was more of a legal technicality than anything else.
I’m not exactly sure why Grass neglected to tell me that this wasn’t the city guard that had come knocking. I quickly and quietly composed myself.
“You would be correct, Officer, what brings you here today?” The stallion smiled politely. I’m not sure if he was expecting something different when he walked in here, but, as I’ve learned, the best way to get things done is to make sure your enemy, or client in this case, was on your side.
“There has been a…” He paused slightly, his eyes sizing me up. “An incident in Equestria.” Not much of an explanation. I looked at him expectantly, hoping for some more info. Sadly, this guard seemed more content to stand there waiting for me to react.
“Well then… why don’t you take a seat?” I hoped whatever this was wouldn’t give me a headache.
“Thank you.” The guard gave another of those serene smiles as he sat down on one of the chairs opposite of my desk. He took of his helmet and placed it on the floor next to him.
“I have to wonder,” I said leaning slightly forward in my chair. “What would the prestigious Royal guard need a private detective like myself for?” I was curious, naturally. If they weren’t capable of figuring out a case, then I would have seen a lot more Royal guards throughout my career. “Surely the Royal guard has ponies for the job?” He shifted slightly in the comfortable chair. I always make sure the chair on the client's side is as comfortable as possible. It makes them more helpful in giving me info; As well as feeling less like their being interrogated.
“You are right, Mr. Apart.” He looked up at me, his face unfortunately blank. “This event is a bit out of our jurisdiction though." My mind raced. That means they can’t act on it themselves or they don’t want to. Typically, the royal guard would pay a lot more than the typical client. So if I’m going to be used to do their dirty laundry, so to speak, I might actually be willing. “I’m here on the behalf of Princess Twilight to hire your services for a rather strange case.” That threw me for a loop. Most of my work comes from civilians who can’t figure something bigger than them out. A princess is most definitely bigger than I am. So I can’t imagine how large this case is.
“Princess Twilight Sparkle is hiring me specifically?” I am still confused as to why she would want a detective out in Manehattan when she’s a Celestia damn alicorn princess. The guard looked away, slightly abashed.
“I’ll be honest Apart, I was told to hire a detective, the only reason I took the train from ponyville to manehattan was because a personal friend of Princess Sparkle recommended you.” He blinked sheepishly. “Not that you’re not up to the task of course.” I blinked, not entirely sure if I was supposed to be offended by something or not.
“May I ask the name of this friend?”
“Pinkie Pie, a very energetic mare.” he replied. “I am fairly sure she’s a baker.” I remember Pinkie. I remember there was a bit of a confusion with her and a now defunct gang. The head honcho was in hiding, and she led me right to him. I didn’t pry into why she had connections to the gang. If anyone asks, I'll just say she’s just really good at hide and seek, that was her excuse when I asked her.
“Ah, Miss Pie.” I smiled at my memory of her. “She is, in fact, a baker by the way. She still sends me a slice of cake on my birthday. No Idea how it stays so fresh.” I also never told her my birthday, but I've decided not to think about that.
“I believe it.” he said as a wide smile spread across his face.
“So…” I said as I looked up at the guard, “What was your name?”
“Arctic Force” He said with a more polite smile.
“Well then.” I continued. “What can I expect from this… incident.” As nice as the small chat was, I still knew basically nothing about what this case was about.
“About two days ago a major magical event occurred in the Everfree forest.” I looked up at him, interested. “It was an anomaly.” I sat slowly back in my chair. Anomalies were virtually unheard of in this day and age. They taught about them in history class, they're so rare. It made sense it happened in the Everfree, though. It’s one of the only deharmonized places in Equestria. It takes a lot of chaos for one of those things to occur. “As I’m sure you know, not much is known about these, other than magic behaves… differently around them.”
“Was anyone harmed?” I interjected.
“No, thankfully. It was very deep in the forest.” I nodded, more interested in getting information than the wellbeing of other ponies. Call me apathetic if you want, I call it professionalism. “You will be working with a group of ponies.” I frowned, I’ve worked with a lot of different ponies, or rather people (not all of them were ponies). It always makes the case more unpredictable. “One of whom will be Twilight Sparkle herself.” I looked up in surprise.
“I’m working with a Princess?” I was incredulous. Arctic held back a snigger.
“I don’t think anything could keep her from this.” He smiled, "I'm shocked she hasn't charged in by her self." I like having experience to fall back on. It means I can be calm, because I can typically do even better than I did before. But this… this is something that’s already throwing me for a loop.
“I’m working for Princess Twilight Sparkle.” I repeated. Something else clicked in my head. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t follow politics that much, but my old secretary loved to gossip. I remember something about the tabloids calling her Twilight ‘Disaster’ Sparkle.
“The towns not going to be invaded by monsters or insane magicians while i’m there is it?”
“No?” Well shoot, I could have charged more for hazard pay. Wait he said deep in the forest, didn’t he?
“How far into the Forest is this?”
“Fairly deep into it, but as I understand it, you will have a guide.” He assured me. “A zebra named Zecora.” A zebra? This case gets stranger and stranger.
“This hardly seems to be an average case, Force.” I looked at him steadily, trying to unnerve him. He met my gaze levely.
“I understand that, I also understand that this is, quite possibly, one of the biggest cases of your career.” I frowned at him, waiting for him to elaborate. “You probably won’t have to do much, If i’m honest." Arctic sighed. "I know Twilight relatively well, if there's one thing I could say about her, it's that she’s a genius.” he lowered his head, gazing at me with a stoicism only the Royal guard is capable of. “She wants a second opinion, someone with experience. You fit that bill, and one of her friends trusts you.” I opened my mouth to interject, “You will be generously compensated.” I shut my mouth. “You will gain, if nothing else, a reputation in your business.” This guy was selling this case hard. “Who else can say that a princess asked them for their opinion?” I didn’t know anypony who could say that, personally. “I’m sure you could afford to skip this case, Mr. Apart” He leaned back, smiling at me with his small patient smile. “But do you really want to?”
“I… can’t say I do.” I felt slightly conned. It was a very emotional speech by this guard. Maybe I got caught up in it a bit. I don’t know. Life’s not a full experience without being conned at least a couple of times.
“Great! The Princess is hoping to meet you and a couple others for lunch to give additional  details, you think you can make it?” His voice took on a peppy tone that didn’t quite match his calm demeanor and slight smile. I would have to pack a few quick essentials, but I think I could make it work.
“That should work, yes.” I said confidently.
“Excellent.” He stood up, hooking his helmet with a hoof. “I wish you good luck!” He said as he tramped through the doorway. I stared at his after image. Slightly confused at his sudden absence. What a frightening thing to say to someone, Good Luck. Implying I would need it.
“Sir?”A feminine voice said, I looked up to Grass standing in the doorway.
“Ah, Waving. I’m going to be in Ponyville for the foreseeable future.” she blinked before pulling out a schedule.
“How long will you be gone?” she asked through a pen in her mouth.
“I have absolutely no idea.” I rubbed my forehead with my hooves. I felt a headache coming on. Waving Grass frowned as she put the schedule away.
“I assume I will be at the desk while you’re gone?”
“Yeah, if anyone comes calling tell ‘em…” I paused. “Tell ‘em i’m working on royal business.” Her eyebrows rose even as she nodded her head slightly.
“I’ll… I’ll do that, sir.” she said as she left the room. I slumped in my chair, wondering if I had any more good liquor in my desk. I frowned, there was something I wanted to ask Waving.
“Hey! Waving!” She poked her head back through the doorway. “Why didn’t you tell me it was a Royal guard?”