My Little Investigations: Twilight Cases

by Brony_of_Brody

Case 4: The Great Blue Wonder

When this story happened, Ponyville was in the middle of one of the hottest days this summer yet. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the sun was really beating down on the town. The perfect day to be outdoors, taking in the local scene.

And funnily enough, a stranger to the town decided to do exactly that, and more.

The stranger in question was a grey, rather sharp looking stallion, with a rubber band tied in knots as a cutie mark. He had a jet black mane and rather twinkly eyes, and he was in the middle of the town, setting up what appeared to be a large podium. He hummed to himself as he worked, smirking all the while.

-

Twilight was in Golden Oaks Library, up in her room, when it happened. She was busy writing up on theories as to why magic could only exist in proximity to other magic, and was about to conclude it when she heard a series of excited voices outside.

“Oh, come on!” she groaned. “How am I supposed to concentrate with all this noise?”

She stuck her head out of the window, and saw a crowd of ponies in the distance, all of them staring at a grey pony at a podium, giving an address. Twilight couldn’t see the pony or hear what he (she?) was saying, but she could see whatever it was, the subject was interesting, for Twilight saw several ponies heading straight towards the crowd. And Applejack and Rainbow Dash heading straight toward the library. She saw them knock on the door.

“Hey, Applejack. Hey, Rainbow,” Twilight called out.

The two ponies below looked up. “Hey Twilight!” called Applejack. “C’mon out, there’s something ya gotta see!”

“Yeah!” shouted Rainbow Dash. “It’s…” Then she paused. She then proceeded to fly straight up to Twilight’s window, hovering just outside. “You gotta get out here,” Rainbow said, now in her normal speaking voice. “It’s something an egghead like you would really dig.”

“What is it?” asked Twilight.

“Apparently this guy found a long forgotten race of super old creatures in Saddlebrook! Still living! Skylings, I think he was calling them.”

“Skylings?” Twilight repeated. “As in the hundreds of thousands of years old race of creatures Skylings?” Twilight had only ever read about Skylings in books. She knew they were an ancient species predating ponies, and were called Skylings due to their colour, sky blue.

“Maybe,” Rainbow shrugged. “Now, c’mon, you’re gonna miss it!”

Twilight looked around. It WAS a nice day outside, and it did seem a bit of a shame to spend it indoors. She smiled. “Alright, I’m going.”

-

The three of them trotted up to the crowd, before proceeding to squeeze their way past to the front. “S’cuse us,” said Applejack.

“Comin’ through.”

“Excuse us, thanks.”

Twilight saw the grey pony begin to speak. “Ladies and gentlecolts. I, amateur archaeologist Granite Lump, come to you today with news of an incredible discovery. Only last week, I was scaling the great Mt. Drakemore, the tallest mountain in Saddlebrook, as a challenge, when guess what I discovered before me! It was an ancient race, forgotten by time; the Old Skylings, living on the mountain!”

The crowd murmured. It was an impressive feat; mostly because this pony had apparently discovered a long forgotten civilisation, but also because they were in one of the most hostile places to be on the planet.

“Pretty impressive stuff,” muttered Rainbow to Twilight. “He’d have to go through all those storms; we pegasi couldn’t get the weather in Saddlebrook under wraps. It’s like Everfree, ‘cept with less animals and trees.”

Twilight could only groan. “Oh no. No. It can’t be him…”

“Who? asked Applejack. “You’ve seen him before?”

“That’s Granite Lump,” Twilight said, pressing a hoof against her head. “I knew him at school before Princess Celestia took me in. As a colt, he was always looking into get-rich-quick schemes. For crying out loud, what’s he up to now?”

Twilight then turned back to Granite, who was continuing his lecture. “…on a diet of meat, from the local wildlife. Yes, I know it sounds grisly,” Granite noted the looks of disgust from several ponies in the crowd. “But that’s how they live. Their bodies changed to cope with the conditions.”

“Have you got any proof of this?” asked somepony in the audience. Twilight recognised the mare that raised her hoof as Cloud Kicker, one of the weatherponies under Rainbow’s care (she worked as weather manager, when not practicing her flying tricks).

“But of course! I just so happened to bring back some of their tools back with me! And I took several photographs to be sure!” And with that, Granite produced what appeared to a rock, carved in the shape of a spearhead. “This was the most effective hunting tool of the skyling; this spear shows sophistication among these apparently savage creatures. And here!” Granite fished out a flint necklace. “I was able to collect some of their jewellery just before I left!”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Boy, that does look mighty impressive.” Twilight could only scowl.

“I will be back here, tomorrow at 10, to allow my findings to be available to the public,” Granite then said. “So do be sure to gather back here tomorrow if you are all still interested. Until then, bye bye!”

The crowd began to disperse, chatting excitedly about what they just saw. Twilight sighed, and turned around, when suddenly, she caught Granite talking to two ponies carrying a camera each around their necks. The press, Twilight thought.

“Oh, I’m not asking for much for the original photos, of course,” Granite told the pair. "100,000 bits total for all of them. No hidden charges.”

Twilight knew that whatever Granite was going to do, it wouldn’t be good. She marched up to the grey stallion quickly, which certainly didn’t go unnoticed by him. “Oh, Twilight. Good to see you again. What are you here to catch up for old time’s sake?”

“Granite,” Twilight said without emotion. “I want to take a look at those photographs. I’ve got my doubts about them.”

“Aw, c’mon, Twilight,” said Granite, raising his hooves up. “I, amateur archaeologist Granite Lump, discovered a long forgotten tribe of Old Skylings, and I even brought back these photos and some tasty souvenirs! All very cheap if you want them, by the way. What more do you want from me?”

“I’d still like to have a look at the photographs, if possible,” Twilight said, keeping her voice as steady as possible.

“Here, you can look at the photographs if you want!” said Granite confidently, shifting through his case, and giving some copies of the photos over. “You can’t argue with these babies!”

Twilight inspected the photographs carefully. The first of the shots seemed to depict the skyling. They seemed to appear as the history records showed skylings; they appeared quite short and stocky. All of them were completely sky blue in colour, and all of them looked incredibly unnerved. Granite explained that they had never seen a camera before, and were very nervous.

The next few photos showed their living conditions, all taken with different lenses. Twilight found herself especially interested in the shot which showed a cave; the one these skylings lived in presumably. It had quite a wide mouth, but the cave itself looked rather shallow. The shot was at a 45 degree angle; it was taken on the north side of the mountain, Twilight concluded. The ground outside the cave was level and well swept. A wider shot showed some skyling children playing chase with each other.

Twilight moved to the next shot, which was an interior photograph. She could see several pieces of meat skewered on stalactites; out of reach of children and animals. There were certainly lots of it; these skylings were apparently successful hunters.

The floor was remarkably clean. Twilight could see several piles of what appeared to be fur coats pressed against the walls. Beds, Twilight guessed. She could also see a small stream run through the cave, seemingly from a hole in the wall. Clearly the access to fresh water was what made the skylings choose this cave. Twilight noticed that the shots of the cave interior were taken with a strong flash; the cave had no exit or entrance to provide any light.

The final sets of photographs depicted the cave’s residents in their entirety. Most of them were transfixed towards the camera, while some had their attentions wander, looking up at the sky. Twilight could see that the surface was flat and level, and as far as the photo showed, the same went for the front too. One of the photos was an aerial shot, which certainly confirmed that much.

Twilight spent a good 5 minutes pouring over each one. She had a niggling doubt at the back of her head, which was rather swiftly interrupted by Granite saying, “Yoo-hoo! Equestria to Twilight! You do realise it’s a bit for each photograph, right?”

Twilight seethed at the thought of giving money to Granite, but seeing no other way to take the photos home, she conjured up her pouch and handed over enough bits to cover one of each photograph, grumbling.

“You got a sweet deal!” Granite called. “It’s usually two bits each!”

Twilight growled. “Oh, you’ll get yours, Granite, see if I don’t.”

Twilight then spotted Applejack and Rainbow Dash as she made to walk back home. They noted the cross expression on her face. “Is that Granite fella honestly that bad?” Applejack asked.

“You have no idea,” Twilight sighed. “He’s the king of finding shortcuts. The only thing he needs to brush up on is covering his tracks. I was usually the one to rat him out.”

“I dunno, Twilight,” Rainbow shrugged. “He’s really gone out of his way this time. I mean, he’d have to really shift his lazy flank to get tools and photos as good as these.” She held up a necklace of flint. “Got this baby for cheap. And it’s rare!”

“It’s a farce designed to make quick bits and I’ll prove it,” Twilight snapped.

Remembering how the last time nopony believed Twilight, it almost got Equestria taken over by the Changeling Queen and her minions, Applejack opted to try and reason with her, while deciding to be a little more open-minded. “Even so, it’s still gonna be you vs. the rest of Ponyville. Everypony else seems ta have bought it.”

“You believe me?” Twilight asked.

“Sure as shootin’. If ya think it stinks of a fix, who am ah to argue?” said Applejack.

“Um…yeah. Skyling shmyling,” Rainbow said, uncertainly. Then she quickly added, “But I’m still keeping this necklace. It’s cool.”

“Thanks.” Twilight clutched the photographs. Then she said, “I’m just going inside. I may be some time.”

Rainbow and Applejack each felt a sense of foreboding, but nodded. “Just make sure to go outside sometime, okay Twi?” Applejack said. “Fresh air would do ya some good.”

“Of course you won’t,” Rainbow noted, “but seriously, do it.”

Twilight nodded. “Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind.” She meant those words. She would note them, and then proceed to carefully ignore them.

-

Twilight locked the door to her room, turned on the lamp, and got down to business. Of course, she had Spike bring up various books all about Skylings and the geography regarding where they were found. Twilight opened up the page of Fantastic Places to Have an Awful Time, and went straight to the page called ‘Saddlebrook’. She found that Rainbow was right; the pegasi found it impossible to tame the wild weather there, so anything living there had to be very hardy indeed. Twilight had her first doubt. But she knew it wasn’t enough. What if they just found a way to put up with it?

She had a niggling feeling that she was going to spend a very long time up here. Hopefully no longer than she had to previously.

-

“She is taking this quite seriously,” Rarity noted, standing outside the door of Golden Oaks Library.

“Sorry, Rarity,” said Spike, “but once something odd’s gotten Twilight’s attention, literally the only thing that would budge her was a sudden visit from Princess Celestia.”

“Well, whatever it is that she’s working on, I hope something comes of it,” Rarity sighed. “Being cooped up inside all day does terrible things to the looks.”

“Don’t worry!” Spike gave a salute. “As Twilight’s number one assistant, it is my duty to preserve Twilight’s looks! And if need be, her sanity.”

“Well, I do hope she’ll find what she’s looking for. Alright, see you again, Spikey.”

Rarity watched as Spike closed the door. “She still ain’t coming out?”

The white unicorn recognised the southern twang anywhere. “I’m afraid not, Applejack. We’ll just have to wait for Twilight to decide whether this whole thing really is an elaborate hoax or not.”

“Welp, we can still stage an intervention, right? If it gets a bit much?” Applejack grinned. “Ah gotta admit, Ah like the thought of bustin’ down Twilight’s door, and saying, all stern like, ‘Ya gotta get outside, Twi.’ Then she’d say ‘But ah’m workin’!’ And then we’d drag her out, protestin’. It’s be a hoot.”

“Only if she keeps herself in her room for as long as we all think is physically healthy,” Rarity said firmly.

-

Twilight poured over the photographs constantly over the space of several hours, and was now getting quite dark outside. Already half-formed thoughts were swimming around in her head, but there was absolutely nothing that she could see that would give her the answer she was looking for.

Twilight nearly threw the photographs to the floor in frustration. “GAH! I can see so many things that are wrong here, but I don’t have anything CONCLUSIVE! Come on, there MUST be something here that proves once and for all it’s a sham!”

“Twilight?” Spike knocked on the door. “You’ve been up there for hours, you’re gonna miss dinner.”

“Bring it up here!” Twilight called instantly.

“Nuh uh!” Spike said firmly. “You’re coming down to eat whether you like it or not. It’s going in the garbage otherwise! I’m not letting you dig it out again if you change your mind!”

Twilight froze up at Spike’s words. She cracked a small smile, and then a big one. She spread out the photos on the desk, and examined each one again. Then she saw it. The one thing she had overlooked when she was spending all those hours looking over the photographs.

THAT’S IT! Twilight thought excitedly. I have the proof I need to bring this to a close!

Then, remembering Spike was just outside the door, she opened it up. “Sorry, Spike,” Twilight giggled. “Guess you’re right, I should get something in my stomach.”

“You have that look on your face,” Spike noted. “The ‘I have made a revolutionary discovery that will shake the foundations of ponykind’ look.”

Twilight paused. “What kind of look is that?” she asked slowly.

“It’s a bit hard to explain,” Spike decided to leave it at that.

“But yeah, you’re right. I HAVE found out something incredible.”

“What, about Granite and his supposedly ‘fake’ discovery of Old Skylings? You do realise that whatever you’ve got, it’s got to be pretty conclusive, or else you’re going to be a laughingstock.”

“Don’t worry,” Twilight assured Spike. “As long as it hinges on logic, which it is, I’ve got a leg to stand on.”

“Well, if it’s going to get you to eat, go for it,” Spike shrugged, as he led Twilight down into the kitchen.

As Twilight munched on her daisy and watercress stew, she found it hard to suppress her excitement. Granite, you are going down.

-

A lot of ponies had gathered in Ponyville town square the very next morning, at 10 o’clock sharp, just as Granite had announced. All of them were transfixed on the grey pony, as he began to talk about the Old Skylings.

“Yes, it was an incredible find,” said Granite. “I did have my doubts at first, and I’m sure that all of you would have too, but of course, that’s why I brought my trusty camera along!”

Twilight was in the audience, waiting for the right moment. She was wearing a cloak, to hide her cutie mark, as well as a brown wig, and had borrowed Rainbow Dash’s shades, to disguise herself. Finally, she decided that it would be a good time to act. She raised her hoof, and asked, “Will you be allowing members of the audience to look at the finds for themselves?”

“But of course!” smiled Granite. “Take a good look for yourselves if you want!”

Twilight obliged, and made her way up towards the stage. When she got on, she took one of the stone spearheads on display and held it in her hoof, pretending to examine it. “But Granite, sir, there’s still one thing I don’t get?”

“Oh?” said Granite. “And that would be?”

Twilight then threw off the shades, the cloak and the wig (Rainbow quickly catching it before it broke on the floor). “What’s the point in keeping this façade up any longer?”

The crowd and Granite gasped. “Twilight,” Granite mouthed to himself.

“Oh my stars, she actually came outside,” Rarity breathed. She was in the audience with Applejack, who was looking equally relieved, but also a little confused. Had Twilight found the chink in Granite’s armour?

“The whole thing was a hoax, wasn’t it?” Twilight remarked to Granite Lump. “Just like all the others. I’ve got to say, it was kinda disappointing. But I guess I get to expose a great big fraud in public with what I enjoy best; a big lecture, so it’s not a total waste of a day.”

“A fraud?” Granite repeated angrily. “On what grounds do you say such a thing!? I told you…”

Twilight then fiddled with the stone spearhead as she explained. “An ancient Old Skyling settlement on top of Mt Drakemore? It would be the discovery of the century, enough to make anypony rich and famous. However, there were too many contradictions for that claim to hold together.

“Mt Drakemore is on the eastern tip of Saddlebrook, which means that any civilization pony or no aren’t likely to settle there; it’s in the middle of nowhere and the weather’s awful. On top of which, it’s one of the few places on the planet where the weather isn’t controlled by pegasi.”

“That hadn’t stopped ponies from settling in the most northern areas!” argued Granite Lump. “That tribe simply settled on the mountain’s northern face, away from the wind!”

“Even if you explain that one away,” Twilight pressed on, “there are still other contradictions that arise. You said these skylings evolved to eat meat, which is what their diet mostly comprised of?”

“Of course! They couldn’t eat much else given the climate!” argued Granite.

“But that still is quite suspicious, the fact that there was so much of it in your photographs. The sheer amount of meat depicted seems unrealistic to me.”

“Please! You’re just inventing the possibility of a hoax in your head! Those ancient ancestors were as real as you and I!”

“Horseapples!” Twilight shot back, before covering her mouth at the display of language. However, she shook it off and continued. “That cave in the photos. Don’t you all think it’s strange that it has no rear entrance or exit? Supposing a fire got out of hand and smoke flooded the cave? They would have been in trouble!”

“So? The smoke problem was found in all sorts of caves where Old Skylings lived! And the fire was only at the entrance!”

“True enough, all the points I brought up are suspicious, but each one could have their own valid reasons,” Twilight said. “However, I’m afraid there is one, decisive contradiction that I don’t think that you’ll be able to explain away.”

“As if!” shouted Granite. “What is it then?”

“The seeming absence of any litter,” Twilight said proudly. “Why aren’t there any traces of garbage in any of the photographs? All of the shots showed that the cave and all areas surrounding it were totally clean. Any archaeologist worth their salt would poke around in the garbage; it tells volumes on how an ancient civilization once lived! And if these skylings have lived for as long as you said, I’m pretty sure that the amount of waste would have built up by A LOT, and that you, a supposed amateur archaeologist, would have photographed it for sure! You’d have brought it up!”

“I…I…” Granite was now starting to falter here.

Twilight brought her hoof down. “So, Granite Lump. Care to explain? Because you know how much I like things being explained to me!”

Granite was starting to sweat. Everypony in the audience was staring at him accusingly. ”I…Gah! Twilight! You always did this! I find my ticket to riches and fame and you always messed it up for me!”

“Because it wasn’t RIGHT,” Twilight shot back. “Every discovery takes time and effort! You have to take a leap of faith sometimes and persevere! It’s what I did, and that’s how I found the evidence I needed to prove you a fraud!”

Granite wrung his hooves. “Oh, this is not good…what am I going to tell those ponies whom I photographed…they’ll be expecting their pay for agreeing…”

“Get him!” shouted a voice somewhere in the audience.

Granite gulped, and very quickly hightailed out of Ponyville, heading toward the next town over. Or at least he tried. Rainbow Dash swiftly caught up to him, grabbed his case of money, and flung him across the road. Everypony watched as he fled, with not a bit to show for his scam.

Twilight smirked. Applejack trotted up towards Twilight. Watching Granite vanish into the distance, she remarked, “Ya know, this all seems mighty familiar.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said. “Only thing missing is a big machine on wheels and it would be real déjà vu.”

“But still, that was amazing!” Rainbow said, as she patted Twilight on the back. “Of course, I thought something was fishy too, but I couldn’t put my hoof on what it was until you showed me.”

“Is that so?” Twilight remarked, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

“Eheheheh…” Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. “Okay, it sounded pretty believable. But still, you were amazing as always, Twilight!”

“Why thank you, I’ll be here all day,” Twilight said proudly.

“But still,” said Applejack. “Ah would have liked to be the one to drag ya outside kickin’ and screamin’ all wrapped up in yer work. It’d be the funniest sight ah ever saw.”

“Wait, you were actually going to do that?” Twilight exclaimed. “You’re as bad as those ponies that raided that brilliant artist, Maurice Utrotto's atelier! They disrupted a genius at work and interrupted his dialogue with the Goddess of—“

“Twilight,” Rainbow stepped in. “For Celestia’s sake, take a breath.”

But it was too late. There was no stopping Twilight from raving at Applejack. The farm pony lowered her Stetson hat over her eyes. Oh well. She was sure it would have indeed been funny.

Author's Note:

Induction Fallacy is bad. Be sure to remember that.

Comments

[Cytotoxin]

Seems interesting.

[Magatsu Orpheus]

Oh God, Twilight is the Equestrian Wesley Stickler! Quick, hide your underwear!

[GoldenFlower]