Magicles

by Mysterious Stranger

Chapter 5: Confounding Variable

Twilight had a silly grin on her face and a bounce in her step as she departed the train. Every time she visited the Crystal Empire, its pristine beauty never failed to impress her. The Crystal Empire train station was actually a bit of a distance away from the city-state, allowing a full view of its gleaming glory. Its white-and-blue castle stood at the heart of the Empire, with pointed towers poking at the sky like great, icy stalagmites; by comparison, the rest of the buildings in the city seemed merely jagged against the skyline.

Unlike the rest of the Frozen North it inhabited, the Crystal Empire sat in a vast expanse of green fields. A crystal gate decorated with levitating gems marked the simple dirt road that led from the train station to the actual city. Spike, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack all paused to take in the sight as they, too, disembarked.

"I'm so glad we made the time for this," Rarity remarked as she casually flicked her mane. "I've never actually been to the Crystal Empire Museum before."

"This is actually my second time going," Twilight said. "But the brand new exhibit on King Sombra opened today for the first time. I'm looking forward to seeing it."

"It's very brave of the crystal ponies to put something so recent in their museum," said Fluttershy. "I read in the Ponyville Express that it was very controversial."

"That's part of what makes the Crystal Empire so fascinating!" Twilight’s eyes shone much like the city. "What they consider recent history goes further back than anything else the rest of Equestria has to offer. Being a thousand years behind everyone else, you could say that the entire city is a piece of history!"

"You think I'll be mentioned at all in the exhibit?"

Twilight turned her head to Spike, who was riding on her back. "I would hope so. If not, someone, will be getting a very stern talking-to about the exclusion of such an important historical figure." Her grin widened. "Oh, I can hardly wait!"

Twilight had to suppress the urge to break out into a full gallop as the group stepped onto the city’s main path. The road became smooth purple crystal before long, with not a fracture or jagged edge to speak of.

Twilight took the lead as she guided her friends along the streets, until they at last reached their destination. The Crystal Empire Museum was two stories tall: a mostly rectangular structure, with steps leading up to an entrance, flanked by tall pillars that supported the slanted roof.

Twilight, still making an effort not to leave her friends in the dust, noticed right away that something was off. Two stallions in silver armor stood in front of the museum entrance, blocking the way. Perplexed, Twilight slowed as she approached the museum; two sets of eyes tracked Twilight's movements as she came up the steps. "What's going on here?"

"The museum is closed," the guard on the left answered.

"Closed?" Twilight’s mouth fell open. "B-but why? The King Sombra exhibit was supposed to open today!"

"We're not at liberty to say why, only that you cannot enter at this time," said the guard on the right.

“O… oh. Okay. Well, you sirs have a good day.” Twilight walked back down the steps toward her friends, her head hung low.

"Aw, cheer up, sugarcube," Applejack said with a sympathetic rub on the back. “There’s still plenty of things to do in the city. We'll just swing on by another time.”

"Ooh! We can go get ice cream! And crystal rock candy!" Pinkie Pie suggested, bouncing on the spot.

"I cannot believe you're all giving up so easily," Rarity said with a huff. "I swear, I always have to be the one who solves these sort of problems when they come up. Fluttershy, would you be a dear and charm more information out of those guards?"

"What? W-why me?" Fluttershy hid behind Rainbow and ducked her head.

"Have I not trained you in the art of flirting?" Rarity frowned and took a step forward. "Are you implying that my teachings are insufficient to handle such a crisis?"

"But, they're royal guards!" Fluttershy protested. She squeaked as Rainbow leaped into the air, leaving her exposed once more.

"They're also stallions, dear," replied Rarity, a gleam in her eye. "And that makes them vulnerable."

Spike developed a sudden interest in the ground and began scratching at it with his foot.

"Just watch and learn," Rarity said confidently as she sauntered up the steps of the museum.

"Museum's closed," said the guard on the left.

"Oh, it is? How awful!" Rarity lamented, raising her hoof to her forehead for dramatic effect. "And after my friends and I came all this way! Whatever could have caused such a tragedy?"

"That information is classified," the guard on the right replied. "You'll have to come back later."

"Oh, well of course that's exactly what such noble stallions such as yourselves ought to say," Rarity said with a smile. "But I would be ever-so-grateful to at least know why we can't enter this majestic building."

"I'm sure you would," the guard on the left said. "But we still cannot say."

"Hey, sis—why so glum?" a voice from behind Twilight said suddenly.

Everypony spun around; Captain Shining Armor stood before them all, decked out in full ceremonial garb.

“Big brother!” Delighted by the surprise, Twilight embraced him in a hug.

"Good to see you, Twily," said Shining Armor as he returned the gesture.

"Good to see you too," said Twilight as she stepped back again. "What are you doing here?"

“There's been a break-in at the museum,” Shining said as his eyes narrowed. "The King Sombra exhibit, specifically. I'm here to see if it might be a sign of his return. We’re trying to keep it all hush-hush for the moment though, at least until we know more."

"Well, I hope it's not him." Twilight shuddered at the memory of the Crystal Empire's former conqueror. "But if there's a crime to be solved, I might be able to help."

"Oh? You mean like one of your friendship problems?" Shining Armor inquired.

"That's part of it, but I developed a new spell recently, and… you know what? This would be easier to explain with a demonstration." Twilight waved a hoof behind her. "You think you can get me onto the crime scene? The guards won’t let us in. I know they’re only doing their job—"

“Say no more, Twily.” Shining winked and strode past everyone. “I am the Crystal Prince—if I can't get you inside, nopony can.”

Befitting of his royal and military status, Shining Armor strode up the museum steps with head held high and back proudly straight. About halfway up he paused; Rarity was still in the act of trying to charm information out of the guards.

“—Oh and of course I could create a positively dazzling addition to your already-beautiful peytrals—”

“Ahem.”

Rarity turned around, ceasing her efforts. “O-oh my, Prince Armor!” she remarked, taking on an expression similar to one that Spike pulled after being caught eating ice cream after midnight. “What a pleasant surprise—”

"Miss Rarity, in the future, I would greatly appreciate it if you did not attempt to manipulate my soldiers into disobeying orders," Shining Armor said flatly.

Rarity's face turned beet-red. She nodded before meekly retreating back down the stairs.

Shining Armor turned his attention to the guards. "You can let my sister and I through, privates."

"All due respect, sir, you have to give us the password first," one of the guards replied.

"Milk, Lima, Puma, Foxtrot, Indigo, Milk," Shining Armor stated. "For your adherence to protocol, expect a bonus with your next paycheck."

The two guards grinned as they stepped aside.

"We'll catch ya later, Twi," said Applejack. "Don't worry about us. Just catch that rascal the same way you nabbed that nasty apple thief."

"Will do," Twilight promised as she entered the museum, her brother leading the way.

---

Brother and sister traipsed through rooms full of artifacts and displays before the reaching the Sombra exhibit. Twilight’s eyes widened she saw the exhibit. The scene consisted mainly of a large mock-battle, complete with realistic wax figures. Royal guards that looked just like their modern counterparts—armor and all—fought against ponies in mismatched armor. Twilight couldn't help but noticed that every pony that wasn't a crystal pony had completely green orbs instead of eyes.

But Twilight could also tell that there was several things wrong with the exhibit. The wax figure of King Sombra lay on the floor, along with a fake plastic sword. Glass shards littered the floor around a shattered display case nearby, now empty of whatever it held.

"The Crystal Prince has arrived!" announced a guard already in the room.

Despite herself, Twilight twitched. The speaker had been standing so still that she had sincerely taken him to be another wax statue.

"At ease, soldier," Shining Armor said. "Where is the guard who was supposed to be on watch?"

"Gone, Your Highness. We’re still trying to figure out where."

A light-blue crystal pony entered from an adjacent room. Upon noticing Twilight, she turned up an eyebrow. "Who is this? Why is she in my crime scene?"

“Ah, Detective, there you are.” Shining aimed a hoof at the mare. “Detective Frosted Glass, this is my sister: Twilight Sparkle, Protégé of Princess Celestia. I think she'll be able to help with this case."

"Nice to meet you," Twilight said.

"Likewise," Frosted Glass said evenly. "So, how can you aid this investigation?"

"Oh, um, I have a spell that can trace magic."

Frosted Glass’ eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that? Magic can't be traced."

"So we’ve always believed," Twilight replied dryly. "But nonetheless, I have a way. I discovered it not too long ago."

"You did? And, Miss Sparkle, may I ask—has your new discovery been lab-tested? Peer-reviewed?" Frosted Glass snorted. "If not, I'd rather not have you do something that I can't rely on."

"I've already solved two crimes using my method," Twilight countered. "It's reliable."

"Anypony with a degree in forensic science can tell you that magic is untraceable," Frosted Glass said icily. "So I'm sure you'll understand why I'm still skeptical after a mere two trial runs."

"Twilight, how about you just cast your spell?" Shining Armor suggested. "Time is wasting."

"Sure, let's just dump a spell with unpredictable results all over the crime scene." Frosted Glass rolled her eyes. "Because experimental spells always produce the desired result."

It took considerable willpower on Twilight's part to not make a sarcastic remark of her own, but instead focus on her magicle-revealing spell. Purple energy enveloped the tip of her horn and transformed into a white ball of light that exploded outward. Everypony but Twilight reflexively braced themselves as the whiteness expanded past them, encompassing the entire exhibit.

Soon as is flashed, the white light vanished. Twilight eagerly scanned the room for the telltale glow of magicles.

Nothing. “Nothing at all.” She tilted her head and groaned.

"Well, would you look at that—absolutely nothing happened," Frosted Glass remarked with a sneer. "All things considered though, that could have gone a lot worse."

While Twilight was starting to find Frosted Glass highly annoying, she held her tongue. Instead, her concern grew over the fact that the spell appeared to have failed.

“Hold on.” She aimed her horn at the floor. “Let me just test it again where I’m standing.” With that, she reached out with her magic to touch the floor. In response, the tile she touched turned purple.

"The spell is working… there just wasn't any magic involved in this crime!" Twilight said.

"Are we seeing the same thing?" Frosted Glass stared at the purple spludge. "Because to me, it just looks like you turned my crime scene into a fluorescent canvas."

"I suppose I did, more or less," Twilight said, sensing an opening to make her case. "According to my research, wherever magic has been pulled into the physical plane, it leaves behind a special kind of particle. A magical bi-planar luminescent particle."

"That's quite a mouthful," said Shining Armor.

“So I've heard,” Twilight deadpanned. “Regardless, that is what they are. I've used them to track unicorns, earth ponies, and pegasi alike. However, if this crime scene is any indication, crystal ponies have no magical bi-planar luminescent particles on their bodies. Otherwise, all of you would be glowing somewhere right now."

"Well, if no magic was involved, that rules out the possibility of Sombra," Shining Armor said. "The culprit must have been a crystal pony upset about the exhibit."

"I wouldn't rule out magic just yet," Frosted Glass said. "It seems to be the only explanation for the culprit's entrance."

"Teleportation?" said Twilight.

"Try a giant hole in the wall," Frosted Glass said. "Just down the hall. I'd argue that only powerful magic could have taken it down. Not only that, there’s condensation all over the walls and floor of the crime scene. Explain that without magic, Miss Sparkle."

"Perhaps I don't need to," Twilight said as she inspected the bottom of her own right forehoof. "Unicorns don't make magicles with their hooves like earth ponies and pegasi do. If the culprit is a unicorn that used magic to take down the wall, I should be able to find magicles there. As for the condensation, I have no idea just yet."

Frosted Glass gestured towards the hall. "Well, since you've put your magic all over this part of the crime scene, you may as well finish the job. Follow me."

Twilight ignored the implied contamination and walked down the hall, Shining at her side. She spotted the damage the very moment she came around the corner: a gaping hole large enough for a pony to walk through, along with a pile of rubble on the inside. Chunks of the wall were crystalline in nature, the same light-blue as the museum’s exterior. Other parts of the rubble were a polished white, which matched the wall on the inside. Through the hole, Twilight could see that the crime scene was blocked off from the street by yellow tape, and two guards standing outside had their backs facing the hole.

"As skeptical as I am of your methods, Miss Sparkle, it would be nice if you found something," said Frosted Glass. "I've already gone all over this with tried-and-true forensic methods, but yielded nothing."

"If there's magic involved, something will come up," replied Twilight as her horn glowed to life. A burst of energy struck the rubble, transforming once again into a white sphere that grew outward, enveloping the area around the ruined wall.

Alas, no magicles.

A crippling wave of self-doubt washed over Twilight. Had could the spell not have revealed any magicles? Had she been wrong all along about her theories? Could it be that the spell really was as unreliable as Frosted Glass thought?

Frosted Glass tsked. "So much for that. There's no way this wall was broken by physical force alone, it's too thick for that. Clearly, your magic trick doesn't work as well as you would like."

"No offense, detective," Shining Armor cut in, "but if your way of looking for evidence has failed, I don't think you have any right to criticize my sister's way."

Frosted Glass' face lightened a shade of red or two when she heard Shining Armor's words; Twilight made a mental note thank her brother later.

"The way I see it," he continued, "We don't know how the wall was knocked down. However, I'm willing to bet that the condensation we found in the exhibit might have something do with this."

"I already had the condensation analyzed," Frosted Glass said. "There wasn't anything special about it, save for the fact it was found in an unusual place."

"So if our only real lead is the water, we need to find out how it got there," Twilight said. "If we do that, we might find out how the wall came down, which might lead to our missing guard and the culprit."

Frosted Glass leaned in and brushed the wall with her hoof. "It isn't wet here. Perhaps the hallway?"

Twilight moved back into the hallway and dragged her hoof along the wall. "Nothing here either."

"Are we missing something?" asked Shining Armor. "Is there anything at all we haven't looked over?"

Twilight thought back to what she had noticed when she first saw the exhibit room. "That statue of King Sombra had been knocked over, and there was that display case with the shattered glass. Oh! Do we know what was taken?"

"According to the records, that case held a suit of armor made out of earth pony steel," said Frosted Glass. "Very thick, very heavy. Not exactly something you could gallop around in unless you were in very good shape."

"Maybe the missing guard took it?" said Twilight.

"I already thought about that," said Frosted Glass. "The guard's name is Cyrus, by the way. In order to wear the armor, he would have had to remove the crystal armor he was already wearing. Since we didn't find any crystal armor anywhere, the only other possibility would be for him to walk out with two sets of armor on him, which would have over-encumbered him."

"Hmph. Almost no evidence, but still a very complicated case," said Shining Armor.

"Uh, Twilight?" came a small voice from behind.

Twilight turned around; it was Spike, clutching a scroll in his claws. "What is it, Spike? Is that a letter from Princess Celestia?"

Spike nodded. "It's about the pony who tried to steal Applejack's apples. He's missing."

"Missing?" said Twilight.

"Yeah, uh… Princess Celestia says that the ceiling of his cell was destroyed, and also the outside wall," said Spike.

"I don't believe this. Two destroyed walls?" Frosted Glass brought a hoof to her face and rubbed.

"If it's the same culprit as ours, he sure gets around fast," remarked Shining Armor.

Twilight frowned thoughtfully. "If that's the case, this other crime might give us the information we need." She turned to her brother. "I'm going to need a chariot to Canterlot."

"I as well," said Frosted Glass. "This is clearly related to my case here."

Consider it done," Shining Armor replied. Turning his attention to a nearby guard he said, "Go get a chariot."

After the guard saluted and galloped away, Spike jumped up onto Twilight’s back. "So… just who in Equestria has the ability to knock down two walls, back-to-back, without getting caught?"

Twilight glanced back at the Sombra exhibit she had just come from. "I don't know," she said. "But magicles or not, I'm going to find out."

Comments

[Creed Miles]

Nice password

[totallynotabrony]

4079397

[Cerulean Voice]

4079397
Very clever.

[Cerulean Voice]

What they consider ancient history

This should say recent* history to make much more sense.

Oh, my. I wonder why the spell didn't work?
But, um, perhaps this chapter and the next one could be combined? Iunno, seems a very odd place to leave it as it is.

[Emperor]

Oh, Rarity . And she's even teaching Fluttershy how to flirt with stallions for information as well

I'm mildly impressed Twilight managed to keep her annoyance at Frosted Glass under control, given he has a point: while she thinks her method is proven, she hasn't had it peer-reviewed or anything yet and is pretty much still learning more about it as she goes along.