Chapter 4 "Reaching for the Truth"
Chapter 4
“Reaching for the Truth”
I sat across from Mandarin behind the glass. Prison had not been kind to the business stallion. His once well-kept green mane was now messy. His eyes showed he spent many a night not sleeping. Probably while plotting revenge against me or something. Right now, those blue eyes were glaring at me.
“Your little stunt cost me everything!” He growled.
“You set yourself up” I said back. “Now I know for a fact you were the one that took this necklace. The question is, what was so important that you had it sent to the Flim Flam brothers?”
“Fine!” He glowered “I’m already in hell anyways! Did you know your foul grandmother arrested my wife?”
Grandma, you are awesome.
“That’s beside the point,” I said. “The fact of the matter is, they somehow got a hold of some dragon fire and used it to barbecue a large set of trees. The letter they had on them is proof enough of your involvement.”
“So what?” he said, looking at me with evil eyes. “You have proof that I tried to stop this false success that my niece had? What more do you want?”
“I want to know why the barn was lit, with your other niece and her friend inside…” I gave him a cold stare.
His blue eyes blinked and then he yelled, “I had nothing to do with that! Those fools were supposed to just light the trees on fire!”
“So you didn’t have the barn lit on fire?” I asked.
“Are you kidding me?” he asked. “Have you seen how fast the Apples can raise a barn? That would’ve cost them next to nothing to fix up, thanks to insurance and no shortage of volunteers. No, I told them to hit the lifeblood of the farm, the trees themselves.”
So Mandarin didn’t light the barn on fire? If the Flim Flam Brothers didn’t light it, then who did?
“Another thing I’m curious about,” I said, leaning back in my chair “the brothers let slip that you had some blackmail on them. Something about an event in the southern mountains?”
Mandarin frowned even more. “I figured that would come up.”
“Just what happened?” I asked.
“About Seventeen years ago,” Mandarin explained, “I funded an expedition to the southern mountains. I was hoping they would return with some artifacts to sell off. Back then the Flim Flam Brothers were a couple of high school drop outs hoping to make a quick sack of bits. They arrived there and found a large dragon cave. The treasure was gone and there was a body of a dragon in the cave.”
That had to have been Spike’s mom. So they weren’t the ones that killed her?
He continued, “When they came back with nothing I fired them on the spot. We then decided to bury the embarrassing incident and forget it ever happened.”
“They didn’t bring back anything all?” I asked.
“They tried to swindle me into buying some fake jewels they made before arriving,” Mandarin said with a frown. “I gave them an earful about their incompetence.”
Can’t argue with that at least.
I went on, “So where’d you get the dragon fire for the torch?”
“The idiots brought it back lit from the expedition. They then kept it around in that sphere of theirs when they needed the light or the fire. They gave it to me to try and stop my wrath. It didn’t work exactly,” Mandarin explained.
“So they didn’t get off the hook?” I asked.
“No, of course not. They did start acting odd though.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, when I began pressing them about whether they found anything substantial, they said they had a dragon egg for a while, but it was taken by somepony on the expedition. They wouldn't tell me who though.”
Now this was interesting…
____________________________________________________________
Perspective: Spike
I arrived at dad’s cave early that morning. I hadn’t want to wake Twilight up, especially with her and Private on the case. So, I just left a note and took the balloon to fly up here.
I entered his cave smiling a little, today was the day he promised to teach me how to do tricks with my fire. This is going to be so-
I tripped over something and landed on my stomach. I groaned at being a klutz and looked at what I tripped over. It was a scale…
I picked it up in my claws for a better look. The scale was purple, like mine and dad’s scales. I felt something on my claws and turned it over. There was a weird green slime on the other side of it. I gave the stuff a sniff and immediately covered my nose in regret.
“Uggh,” I said to myself, “this stuff smells worse than a Timber wolf’s breath.”
I set the scale down and went on. I looked up to see Dad and his friend Shar’drel arguing. I know Twilight said I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but I’m guessing Private’s curiosity rubbed off on me.
“We are wasting our time here!” Shar’drel growled “We should’ve left yesterday! Now the ponies know we are here!”
“If we had left I never would’ve gotten to meet my son,” Dad argued. “I’m only saying to give me the day to ask him.”
“He’s too soft hearted,” Shar’drel sneered. “He’ll never accept it.”
“Accept what?” I said, walking towards them as if I just joined the conversation.
“Spike,” my dad said with a smile, bending his muzzle down to me, “thank you for coming again today.”
“Of course,” I said, smiling in turn. “Like I’d miss a chance to spend time with my dad”
“Your words bring warmth to my heart, my son,” he said, and then turned to Shar’drel. “We will discuss this later.”
Shar’drel just glared and turned around, walking to the gem pile. I gave my dad a look and asked, “What were you guys talking about?”
“We were simply discussing departure plans,” he said, shaking his head, “but that’s not important. Let me show you how you can direct your fire.”
The next hour saw me learning under my dad. He taught me so much about being a dragon. Turns out I can use my tongue to manipulate how my fire moves. I also learned this really cool way to shoot small fireballs really fast. I liked to call it “Flaming Spit wads of Doom” which earned a laugh from dad.
I sat down near the cliffside on my dad’s back, looking up at the clouds. Dad sat down as well and looked back at me. His yellow eyes gazed at me as he asked, “Spike, are you truly happy living with ponies?”
I pondered it for a moment, sure I love Twilight and Private like my parents, but I was just so different from them. They never could teach me what it means to be a dragon. So I finally said, “Yeah, I’m happy, but…”
“But?” he asked, raising a brow.
“I just don’t feel I belong,” I admitted. “I mean, what’ll happen when I get bigger and I can’t even fit into the library anymore? I got big once before and everypony hated the sight of me. I was more scared then really mean…”
“Your growth was simply premature,” Dad said soothingly. “It happens to all dragons once in a while when we are young.”
“That’s the thing!” I said looking at him, “before you came along I didn’t even know that about myself! You've already taught me so much about what I am. However, I can’t look away from everything Twilight's done for me for as long as I have been alive.”
Dad just looked at me.
“Plus I have friends here, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, especially Rarity. Even if I stay, will they still be my friends when I get big?”
“Spike, I’ll be honest with you,” Dad said, with firm eyes, “ponies can be cruel creatures. You’ll always be seen as a dragon to them. Nothing you can do can change that fact about yourself.”
I looked down, dad was right. I’ll always be a dragon. Rarity said she liked me, but how long will that last? Twilight will probably be spending more and more time with Private as well. I’ll just be a third wheel like always…
“Son, If you ever wish to leave this place, there is always a home among my clan to the far south,” Dad offered.
“You’d really do that dad?” I asked, looking up at him.
“Only if you want to come,” he said with a smile. “I’d love to spend the rest of my years raising my only son.”
I looked down, then back up and asked, “Can I think about it? Just until you leave?”
“Take as much time as you need my son,” Dad said, gently moving to nuzzle me. “I’ll honor whatever you choose.”
“Thanks Dad,” I said with a smile, and then hopped off his back. “I’d better get going, Twilight is probably up now and I gotta help her with the case.”
“Just be careful, Spike,” Dad warned.
“I’ll be fine,” I reassured and then made my way to the hot air balloon. Dad wants me to head with him to the dragon lands? Should I…?
I wonder what Twilight will say? Probably that I’m crazy for even considering it.
Rarity…
I didn’t want to think what Rarity will say…
______________________________________________________
Perspective: Private
I looked up at Twilight as she hung up the phone in our office. “I checked the schools records; turns out Wander bought it from a trader passing through Canterlot.”
“Good thing he’s grateful for helping get that Nightspeller business sorted out,” I said, looking up at her. “Did you manage to track down the trader at all?”
“I did manage to look up a number from a police record on him,” Twilight said, tossing me a file. I opened it to see a picture of a grey stallion with a Chineigh esk cap and glasses on him. “Turns out he’s in custody for selling a certain Alicorn Amulet.”
“He’s the guy who had Spike’s egg?” I asked, sifting through his file. “Yep, says here in his store records he sold one purple spotted egg to Wander Wave about seventeen years ago.”
“The question is who he got it from,” Twilight said, lifting the phone to her ear and putting in the number. “Here’s hoping that he’s open” Twilight paused and said, “Hello, this is Twilight Sparkle. Yes The Twilight Sparkle.” She laughed a little. “I’d like to make an inquiry about a sale you made about seventeen years ago”
She then went on to explain that she’d offer him some tomes of magical theory if he told her. He was happy to oblige and Twilight listened to his response.
She sighed and said, “Well, thanks anyway.” She hung up the phone. “No such luck, turns out he wipes his sales records every five years to keep clients safe or something.”
“So that’s a dead end,” I said with a sigh.
I then heard a knock on the door, and shouted, “It’s open!”
The door opened and Applejack enter. She looked hurried and said, “Ah was lookin' through the wreckage of the barn like ya asked Private. Ah found this as there, Ah think the police must’ve missed it!”
She held up another torch, I levitated it with my magic and moved it over to the chemistry set in the corner. I’ve always had a fair talent for working with chemicals. These came in handy being a private detective when you didn’t have anypony to do the lab work for you. I applied a small liquid of resignation powder to the ash on top of the torch.
“This’ll show us exactly what fire lit this torch last time,” I explained. “I don’t have Flame Broil’s talent for arson but this should do the trick.”
The powder hit the torch and the end came on fire with a bright green flame. I recognized it as the fire used to light the barn. “Dragon fire,” I said slowly, and then turned to Twilight. “Flim and Flam say they got the torch from their client. Mandarin said he only gave one torch away.”
“Hey, lookie here at these markings,” Applejack said, pointing to the torch’s handle. “These seem mighty fancy for just some torch.”
I then pulled the other torch out of Twilight’s saddlebags near the door. I compared the two torches and saw that they were both carved with what looked like claw marks. I looked at Twilight and asked, “Got any books on this sort of carving?” I tossed her the unlit torch.
Twilight levitated a book out of the bookshelf and sifted through it at lightning speed. “Ah ha!” she said after a while, “this carving style is used in torches found in dragon keeps and caves! Dragons often kept torches lit in their caves so they wouldn’t have to breath fire to see all the time.”
“So the only way the criminal could’ve gotten this was from some dragon cave?” Applejack asked.
“Come to think of it, I saw similar torches in Thal’lan’s cave up at the mountain.“ I said tapping my chin.
“So the only pony who could’ve gotten it had to have gone on the expedition,” Twilight said.
“Too bad he never kept a list of who went.” I blew the fire out. “Although…”
I focused all my magic into a scanning spell. Hopefully, just maybe. Well, this was very interesting.
____________________________________________________________
Perspective: Spike
I raised my claw to try and knock on Carousel Boutique’s door for the fourth time today. I wanted to get back to Twilight and Private with the case, but Rarity wouldn’t leave my mind. I wanted to tell her about what Dad said, but I was too scared.
I was worried what she might say, what she might suggest. She’d freak out at first, but then try and beg me to stay. This made it harder…
I couldn’t say goodbye, I know what’ll happen if I tried that. I gotta look at this without bias or anything else blocking it. If I go with Dad, I’ll learn what it means to be a dragon. It doesn’t have to mean I’ll be gone forever, right? I’m sure dad will let me visit!
But then, what if Rarity finds somepony who will stay?
Can I really expect her to wait on me? On a dragon like me?
You’ll always be seen as a dragon to them. Nothing you can do can change that fact about yourself.
I remembered Dad’s words. Rarity deserved to be happy with somepony. She deserved a stallion that’ll take care of her and treat her like the wonderful mare she is. Then why was it so hard to think that? Rarity, I’m sorry…
I have to go, it’ll only be a little while.
I’m sure you’ll find somepony great. Somepony… that isn’t a dragon.
I walked away from the shop without knocking, that turned into a run as I wanted to put as much distance between myself and the shop as possible. I can’t do this! I can’t look her in the eye and tell her I’m leaving! I’m sorry, Rarity! I’m sorry I’m such a coward! I’m…
“Oof!” I hit something and fell back. I looked up to see an aqua colored earth pony looking down at me. He had a reporter’s cap and an old fashioned camera around his neck.
He looked down at me and said, “So you are the infamous Spike the dragon.”
I got up and dusted myself off. “Sorry bout that, my mind was wandering, and you are?”
“News Spot,” he said firmly. “PNN, and what exactly are you doing out of your cage and walking about?”
What the heck? “Twilight doesn’t keep me in a cage!” I fired at him. Ponies started looking as we fought.
“She rightly well should,” he said rudely “I find it a little too convenient that the fire was caused by a dragon and you happen to be here.”
“Case you didn’t notice!” I fired back. “I saved Sweetie Belle and Applebloom!”
“You can’t fool me, dragon!” he said, glaring at me. “We all know how dangerous your kind is, I’m sure your dear master ordered you to do so. She didn’t want anypony to think you were dangerous after all.”
“That’s Horseapples and you know it!” I growled. “Twilight is not my master either! She’s the pony who raised me!”
“So what?” he asked, a smirk on his face. “So you can pretend to be a pony? Doubtful, all you are is a pet that can walk and talk. Did you really think your owner ever thought of you otherwise?”
I wanted to punch this guy to paste. But, I knew that wasn’t the right way to handle this. Still, what right did he have to call me a pet? I’m far from Twilight’s dog!
“No comment,” I said, walking past him and trying to contain my urge to claw him.
He turned as I walked away “I know what your kind really are! I’m going to expose it to the world that your kind can’t be trusted!”
Like I’ve never heard that one before…
________________________________________________________
Perspective: Private
Twilight and I walked down the street of Ponyville in hopes of finding our culprit. What we saw was Rarity standing in front of Sugar Cube Corner looking worried. Pinkie, who was standing in the door way shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry, Rarity, I haven’t seen Spike anywhere. I was going to give him a “you found your dad” party, but he hasn’t dropped by,” she said.
“Thank you, darling,” Rarity said, her own voice a little saddened. “If you do see Spikey Wikey, tell him I’m worried about him and wish to see him.”
“Okie Dokie Lokie,” Pinkie said with a nod, and then looked back in the shop and gasped. “No Pumpkin Cake! We don’t eat kitchen knives!” She zoomed inside to deal with the crisis”
Rarity turned and saw us. Twilight spoke up, “You’re looking for Spike?”
Rarity nodded and replied, “I was hoping to have him try out a new bow tie I made for him. He never came by the shop all day though, so I grew worried.”
“Come to think of it,” I said, putting my hoof on my chin, “I haven’t seen Spike all day myself.”
“I do hope nothing’s wrong,” Rarity said with a shake of her head. “I wanted to thank him for saving Sweetie Belle. Also…” She blushed a little and gave a nervous laugh. “I mean, for saving Sweetie Belle obviously.”
“If we see him we’ll let you know,” Twilight said with a smile. “Also, we’ve been investigating the fire; did you see anypony by the barn during the chaos?”
Rarity put a hoof on her chin and replied, “I do remember seeing a stallion fleeing the scene when I ran up to the barn. I didn’t catch a good glimpse tho-“ She’s cut off when she looked behind me. “Him! I remember seeing him by the barn!” she exclaimed.
Twilight and I turned around to see News Spot grumbling to himself. Rarity continued, “I thought he seemed a little familiar! Now I remember where I saw him and it wasn’t on the television!”
“Thanks, Rarity,” I said, then trotted up to News Spot. He was about to pull out his recorder when I held up a hoof. “I really don’t think you want to have this conversation recorded...”
____________________________________________________________
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” News Spot said as he sat in the detention center. “I have rights you know! You’ll hear about this from me in tomorrow’s paper!”
“This is one story that I really don’t think you wanna reveal,” I said. “You were at the barn that day, an eyewitness puts you there.” I then levitated out the torch and continued, “There’s also traces of flash powder on here, which came from your camera, which I can see is an older model that requires you putting in the powder.”
“I was merely reporting the crime of the dragon!” he shouted. “Why would I set fire to a barn?”
“I think you failed to understand the gravity of your situation,” I said, giving him a glare. “There were fillies inside the barn, innocent foals, just playing before you decided to use the torch.” I raised my hoof to silence his continued protests. “Don’t try to deny it; I compared your DNA with the DNA on the torch. It’s a match.”
“There weren’t supposed to be kids in there!” News Spot shouted. “I didn’t know!”
“Why did you do it though?” I asked with an edge to my voice. “Was it really just so you could perform a smear campaign on dragons?”
“Look!” he cried, sweating, “I was attacked by a dragon two days ago! He said that he’d gobble me up because of that damn expedition!”
“The one to a certain dragon cave?” I asked slowly.
“Yes!” News Spot said, suddenly scared, “He said that I stole from his cave or something! He said that if I didn’t set fire to the barn he’d eat me! I tried to snag some pictures of the Flim Flam brothers but only managed to snag junk!” He reached into his pockets and threw out some pictures.
I lifted one up and gave it a look. For some reason I could see the outline of something large in the shot, but the smoke shrouded the majority of the subject and all I got was a murky shadow. I looked back to News Spot and said, “So, that also explains why you tried to blame Spike for the fire.”
“That bloody dragon has caused me nothing but trouble,” he growled. “I couldn’t even sell his damn egg since Flame Broil took it!”
“Flame Broil?” I asked, “He was there?”
“We hired him when we passed his hometown,” he explained “We were carrying explosives and it was good to have a fire expert in case we needed to use them. Flame Broil went inside first and came out with a dragon egg. Told us the others were smashed and the cave was empty! I wanted to sell the egg myself but he bailed on us with it before I could!”
Flame, so you’re the pony I have to thank for bringing Spike to that trader?
I then went back to the matter at hoof. “This dragon, what did he look like?”
“He was huge!” News Spot described. “He had these red spines on his back and violet scales! He had huge teeth that threatened to gobble me up!” He reached into his pocket and pulled out another picture. “I snagged this shot of him when we first met!”
I looked at the picture and my eyes went wide…
Thal’lan!?
___________________________________________________________
Twilight and I dismounted the hot air balloon and ventured back into the cave. Twilight was absolutely fuming, to be honest I was too. How could Thal’lan hide something like this? Especially from his own son!
I stepped on something and looked down. A violet scale was there, about the size of my head. I lifted it up and saw there was a strange green slime on the back of it. How strange, the stuff smelled like Timber wolf's breath and oozed down the side. I took a sample of the stuff inside a vial to study for later using a swab.
I looked up and saw a brief flash of green light coming from the cave center. Twilight and I moved closer and saw Thal’lan standing there, rubbing his side. I saw another scale with the same green slime fall down his side.
Shar’drel looked up and narrowed her green eyes. “It seems ponies have no concept of invitations,” she growled.
Thal’lan turned his yellow eyes towards us, “Is there something you require?”
“Yes!” Twilight yelled “Why didn’t you tell us you forced somepony to light the barn on fire!”
“What are you speaking of?” Thal’lan asked, taken aback.
“News Spot told us that you threatened to kill him if he didn’t light the barn!” I growled a little. “He described you perfectly! Plus he has a picture of you! What do you have to say for yourself?”
“You dare accuse him, foul ponies!” Shar’drel growled. “Know your place!”
“I can fight my own battles Shar’drel!” Thal’lan practically roared, then he glared at us. He lowered his head to meet my grey eyes. “I see no fear in you, nor do I smell it. You are either brave, foolish or telling the truth”
“It’s the last one,” I said, glaring back at him. “I’ve faced down things a lot scarier than you”
“I’ll have you know, detective,” he said, moving his head back up, “that I never spoke to this News Spot.”
“Then how do you explain the picture?” Twilight shouted.
“Magic can alter pretty much anything,” Shar’drel added.
“Also, you came by just when the fire started!” Twilight yelled. “That’s not a coincidence! I knew there was something off about you, but I never appreciated liars! When Spike finds out abo-“
“Twilight, that’s enough!”
All eyes turned to the entrance of the cave. There stood Spike, looking at us, his green eyes showing great hurt.
“Spike,” Twilight said, covering her mouth with a hoof.
“Spike, listen,” I said, walking to him and raising my hoof consolingly.
He slapped it away with his claw.
“Spike?” I said in shock.
“News Spot always hated dragons!” Spike growled. “He probably saw my dad nearby and thought that would be a good cover story to his lame newspaper! So, that’s where he could’ve got the picture!”
“Spike,” Twilight said, looking at him, “we were just…”
“What?” Spike asked, glaring at Twilight. “Accusing my dad of something he didn’t do? I know he may not have been around for very long, but didn’t you both teach me we should always value family, no matter what?”
“Spike, I…” I didn’t know what to say.
“No you listen Private!” He shouted. “I was just spending time with my dad! If you guys felt jealous then you should’ve just said so! You wanna know the truth Private? Sometimes you can be wrong!”
“Spike” I stared and shook my head “Just what are you saying?”
“That it isn’t fair that just because my dad happened to come by means he’s a prime suspect!”
“That’s my job Spike!” I yelled at him “I’m supposed to…”
“The last time you thought like this you ended up firing Twilight!”
“Spike that’s going too far!” Twilight shouted.
“Forget it Twilight!” Spike growled “Don’t talk down to me when I’m right!”
“Spike…” Twilight said, looking hurt “Spike just…”
“All this time, it made me realize something” Spike said slowly.
“Spike…” Both Twilight and I unconsciously said at the same time.
“I don’t belong here,” Spike said with a shake of his head. “I never did. News Spot and this confirmed that…”
“That what…?” Twilight asked with dread.
“That I’m better off leaving Ponyville behind, this time for good.”
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someone is plotting...but i do not yet have the data to ascertain who...
All this green stuff and lights, are Changelings involved somehow?
2552604Let's just say the Timberwolf comment is a clue...
I'm thinking Shar'drel is the one everypony seems to be overlooking. I don't think she's just there as a background character.
Damn it Spike.... *facehoof*
This is going to end in tears for someone...
Spike just gained 15000 Badass xP
2552639 THE TIMBERWOLVES ARE DISGUISED AS DRAGONS!!!
By God, Psycho Me, you're right! To the conspiracy board! Awaaaaay!
computer says NO!!!!!
What a great chapter and great cliffhanger for the ending of this chapter cant wait for the next one please hurry.
2557386With finals coming up you may not see it for a while. Really depends on my real life schedule. But after next week, I'm basically free for the whole summer so I'll focus on this!
well to be fair spike, in that case, if I remember correctly, that was because twilight tampered with evidence in the case Brothers in Blood.
2555761
Just a side note but, how big is that conspiracy board of yours?
2558330She had fair reason in her mind, Private was accusing somepony close to her, she knew the only way to get Private to see her side was to get evidence one way or another. Sadly, she chose another.
2558345
fair enough
2558345
Also, is it weird that I bring up that case while watching something that has a somewhat similar set up?
2558372Only things are a lot crazier in this one then even Brothers in Blood.
2558381
Actually i meant i was watching a episode from psych that starts out with the concept from Brothers in Blood, in case you thought i was comparing this case to Brothers in Blood.
2558337 Hmmm...Well let's see...
3 Conspracy boards piled together. 2 on top, one on the bottom. We're doing a good job!
2558488You may end up needing a conspiracy building by the time the season's up.
hoo boy... This is intresting, but I think that slime may be showing up again soon. Though this DOES explain what happened in the south that the Flim Flam brothers did not want to talk about. As for the news reporter, what we have here is a bit of a specist because he was threatened. But the real question remains... Did spike's father really have anything to do with this or not?
Based on this and past events, it may not be possible for him to be involved, but I'm not throwing out the possibility.
Much of the evidence points to a dragon. But which dragon? One we don't know about? Or one we allready do...Hm.
Sounds like a hell of a red herring, but I'm starting to think that Shad'drel is this one that set fire to the barn. And I bet the clue of the scales with the stench of Timberwolf breath is the key clue.
Hear me out. We already know that the fire that set the barn ablaze was green, just like Spike's fire breath. Also, according to Private's assosciate Flame Broil the arson detective, not only was the fire green, it caused Spike to grow his wings just in time to save Sweetie Belle and AppleBloom from becoming roasted filly fritters (loved that line
). Tha'lan has stated that only a dragoness can give the type of fire that can advance the development of dragons, as well as incubate them when they are eggs.
Understanding, so far? Good.
Based on what I can see between the two so far, Sha-drel seems to be a bit more than a little creepy and antagonistic when she came out to discover that her boss, Tha-lan has discovered his long-lost son. Tha'lan is overjoyed, obviously, but not Sha'drel....hmm.. Sha'drel has also readily show to us readers that her experience with ponies in general is.....lukewarm at best. Let's face facts, ponies raided a cave where Spike's mom was, killed her, smashed two of them, left Spike's unknown sister alone to Celestia knows where, and sold Spike (in egg form) for essentially trinkets...thank goodness for the pony that sent him to Cantelot, where Spike was hatched by Twilight.
Here's what I think: Knowing about the distrust between ponies and dragons, Sha'drel was the dragon that News Spot encountered at that time, not Tha'lan., when he was in that orchard that night. It was night, hence the poor pictures. I've got a hunch that Sha'drel used some of Tha'lam scales to make it look like it was Tha'lam that threated News Spot with lighting the barn, and that she may have left a discard scale, or the distinct stench of Timberwolf near the area.
I know there is a complete mess of holes with my theory, but I'm trying to use everything that I've seen so far and trying to find a plausible solution or reason.
And you really have left it out there: Is Spike gonna leave with his father and leave Ponyville for the forseeable future? Rarity's gonna be heartbroken, but at the other spectrum, Spike learns more about his roots, even his sister that he's never seen before. Not to mention, Private and Twilight are gonna tie the knot at some point, and eventually foals will arrive. Spike's eventually gonna be a third wheel, despite Twilight's insistence that he's not. I do think that Spike's a bit of a draconic prince and at some point he has to meet his destiny, just like Twilight will.
2562243All I'll say is...you are very close.
You know... I just realised something.
Isn't tree sap pretty sticky? So I have a feeling that the timberwolves "blood?" was used upon those scales. Most glue is made from tree sap but this could also be used as a glue of sorts... I've got to put this on the board as a possiblity.
A possibility? If it does work then I should try it myself...
Last time you tried that John, you almost broke your hoof punching a timberwolf.
point taken...
I finally caught up on this 400,000 word tale. It's about time I can make a comment.
So, I started reading because I figured I could get some ideas for writing a mystery. Then, I found out it doesn't seem as complicated as I worried myself it would be. Then, you throw this huge mess of an overarching plot, but I could keep up with it. THEN, you hit what you're calling "season 1 part 2" and threw every nuance out the window for an overarc that doesn't just arc over the story, but jumps way out into space.
It makes me want to see DarkSkyz' conspiracy board...
Now I'm not sure if it's so easy. Then again, you've got so much nonsense going on, maybe I shouldn't worry about it. I mean, my story doesn't deal with other people's stories and the entire history of Equus (or whatever you're calling the planet Equestria is on) so maybe all I need to gleam from your "cases" is how to write a basic mystery.
Though I should probably have been thinking about this as I was reading instead of just doing so for the story. Now I'll have to find some other story so I can do that. Knowing the answer won't help me see where things can go and if there's holes, etc.
But enough about me! I'll just run off now and leave you to it. If you didn't get it from this rant, I'll say it clearer: You've got a good story going on here, but the excessive overarching plot and world-building feels like it's starting to strain, getting close to contrivance. Oh, and the grammar has gotten better, though not perfect. Good on you for improving.
Tah!
2589451I'm not just creating a bunch of stories that don't tie together. I'm creating a universe where other people can take up parts of the story should they want to. Granted I do get a little carried away with the world building especially in this one. I see where you are coming from but if you want basic mystery, this is the wrong one to look at. Try Case 1 and then go on from there for a better mystery. They are a bit more straight forward and easy to follow. Just keep in mind you're coming in where the story is starting to go into it's second season. So a lot of the story arcs aren't going to be done yet, simple as that. I'm sorry if my story didn't meet your expectations, but then again to each his own.
2589491
No, no. I did start from the beginning. I don't suppose I worded my comment properly if there was some confusion. That's why I said 400,000 word story. Roughly 20k words per case times 20 cases + 5k times 10 side stories, or so.
But yeah, I know it's all connected, it just has this... craziness to it all. And the stories were what I was looking for, I just forgot to do that "analyze what you read" thing everyone keeps telling me I'm supposed to do.
2589500It is rather difficult, like a lot of fantasy novels there seems to be a lot more history then what is initially put on the page. Some worldbuilding I have to establish for a case though, such as seaponies for case 19. I can understand it can all seem complicated and contrived, but I really try to make events easy to follow when it comes time for the story. Even I have my share of twists however, especially in recent cases.
2589505
And I say you're doing a pretty good job of it. You keep adding things that build up and I continuously have questioned your sanity in it. But then, when you reach a case that isn't a mystery but an actual "chapter" to the overall plot, everything seems to come together.
I liked the first time you did this with Discord (as I had assumed as much halfway through the cases till that point). The second time I had my doubts you could have pulled it off (with Red Snowfall) but you managed to string me through it. Now, you've hit the zenith of so many things that need to be tied up, combined with what you left behind after Red Snowfall, that I am once again doubting your ability to do so.
When you hit the third "chapter", it will be amusing to watch. I'm not much into reading deep or solving things, even though that's what someone who reads mystery novels should be doing, and you're pulling this off to be enjoyable to a reader like myself in equal quantities as those this type of literature is designed for (if DarkSkyz' conspiracy board comments are to be believed).
So, to reiterate from my first comment, you're doing good. I question what the heck could possibly be going through your mind when you come up with alicorn OCs and other (in this case, "a seventh") elements, and all the other random things the fandom has done time and again, but I also believe you're doing a fine job stringing it together.
2589534Let's just say, I've never ran out of ideas for a character's history.
2589534That and I'm working on a new series to explain the back story of the universe. It's going to be called Equestria Origins, and will delve into various parts of Noir's history. All of my stories with the exception of Ties that Bond and Age of the Pony are tied together in some way. Again, creating a universe here for those who want to take up the mantle of parts of it themselves. My goal is not to make a story just for my own entertainment, I want to inspire, to make people want to take up the mantle themselves and stimulate their minds to create something truly great. I hope Noir does that for people and I look forward to what people are going to do with the material. I guess you can say I want to be the next Kkat.
2562243 We need to start a donation pool to get you your own conspiracy board. That being said, I like your theory
You just wait Spike
2558495 sadly i have one of those