My Little Investigations: Marehunter

by Metool Bard

An Uninvited Guest (M)

December 13, 8:30 PM
Canterlot Castle
Main Hall
Twilight's POV
***

I remember the first time I went to the Grand Galloping Gala. I remember being so excited about having the best night ever, spending time with my mentor and talking about everything I learned. Turns out all I did was stand at the top steps greeting everypony as they came in. As such, the best night ever quickly became the worst night ever.

I bring this up because I'm pretty much doing the same thing right now. Except this time, I'm wearing a crown. Somehow, that doesn't make the experience any less tedious.

"Are you alright, Twilight?"

I looked up at Princess Celestia, who was wearing a neutral expression. She still had the calm, serene smile that I've become accustomed to seeing, but I wasn't sure if that's how she truly felt. After all, she once told me that she herself found the Gala to be dull.

"Just a bit restless," I said. "I wonder what's taking my friends so long. I remember sending all of them tickets."

"Ah, don't sweat it, Twi," said Spike, who was decked out in a powder blue tuxedo and red bow-tie. "I'm sure they'll be here any minute now. There's no way they're gonna let you suffer the Grand Galloping Gala alone."

I stifled a giggle. "Spike, mind your manners."

"What? Don't pretend that you weren't thinking it," said Spike, folding his arms.

"Th-that's not the point," I said, regaining my composure. "I'm a princess, Spike. I'm not supposed to say those things out loud in front of everypony."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," said Spike, rolling his eyes. "I keep forgetting about that princess title of yours. Mainly because you keep downplaying it so much."

I opened my mouth to scold him, but thought better of it. After all, he did have a point. Just because I'm a princess doesn't mean I want special treatment. Actually, one of the few royal decrees I've ever made is for ponies to treat me the same as everypony else. It's not that heavily enforced, but I'm just uncomfortable with the idea of being praised left and right because of my title. I only want to use my power and be recognized for my status when it's appropriate. That's what Celestia and Luna do, and I think it's best to follow their example.

"Point taken," I said, turning back to the crowd of ponies waiting to be greeted. I desperately scanned the crowd, looking to see if there were any familiar faces. Then, right at the front gates, I saw them: The five ponies that I care about so, so much. I looked to Celestia and cleared my throat.

"Mmm? What is it, Twilight?" she asked.

"Um, my friends are here," I said, pointing out to the crowd. "Could I...?"

Celestia cut across me with a chuckle. "Twilight, you're a princess now. You don't need me to tell you what you can and cannot do. I'll take over from here."

Words cannot describe how happy I was to hear that. With a nod of thanks, I quickly scooped Spike up and flew down to greet my friends.

"Guys!" I squealed, spreading my forelegs wide.

"Twilight!" they cheered in unison, pulling me into a group hug. Seeing as I'm the Princess of Friendship, I don't find this behavior to be all that inappropriate for the situation. Others may disagree, but I honestly don't care.

"I'm so happy you guys could make it," I said as we released each other.

"We wouldn't dream of missin' it, sugarcube," said Applejack with a tip of her stetson. Looking at all of them, I noticed that they were all wearing the dresses Rarity made for them for the first time we went to the Gala. The only exception to this was Rainbow Dash. She was sporting a sky blue uniform with a folded cap, golden buttons, and a yellow stripe on both of her front sleeves indicating her rank. I smirked.

"I see you decided to break in your new Wonderbolt Reserves uniform," I said.

"You know it," said Rainbow Dash, puffing out her chest. "I wanted to show off my awesomeness to everypony here, and what better way than to show my Wonderbolt spirit?"

I giggled. That's just like Rainbow Dash; always willing to brag about her accomplishments. Some things never change.

"Does this mean you'll be hanging out with the Wonderbolts instead of us?" asked Pinkie Pie, sounding a bit disappointed.

"What? Nah," said Rainbow Dash with a playful chuckle. "I mean, if they notice me, I'll go over and shoot the breeze for a bit. But I learned my lesson from last time. No offense to them or anything, but I'd much rather hang out with you guys."

And I'm suddenly reminded of how much has changed since we first met. I feel like I just got whiplash. It's not as unpleasant as I thought it would be, though.

"I do apologize if we were a bit late, darling," said Rarity. "There were some, last-minute complications in my schedule that I had to sort out."

"Last-minute complications?" I parroted. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it turns out I might need some scheduling tips from you," said Rarity sheepishly. "See, Sapphire Shores wants the Ponytones to open for her concert in Manehattan tomorrow, and I told her we could make it. I completely forgot that the Gala was tonight, and that I wouldn't be ready to perform."

At first, I thought this kind of thing would be odd for Rarity. Like me, she's pretty good at keeping herself organized. However, I think I understand why she messed up this time. Sapphire Shores, the Pony of Pop, is one of Rarity's biggest clients; a pony that Rarity would not want to disappoint. I'm not entirely sure how she heard about Rarity's small-time a cappella group, but if she wanted them to open up for her concert, Rarity was gonna have a hard time saying no.

"So, what happened? Is she disappointed that you can't make it?" asked Spike.

"A bit," said Rarity. "However, I'm happy to say that the Ponytones will still be able to perform in Manehattan tomorrow. It took some work, but I managed to find myself a replacement."

"On such short notice?" I asked, knitting my brow. "Who did you get to replace you?"

"Why, Sweetie Belle, of course."

Ah, that makes sense. Sweetie Belle, a pupil of mine, just so happens to be Rarity's little sister. I imagine Rarity was able to pull some strings and convince Sweetie Belle to take her place.

"Well, that's great to hear, Rarity," I said. "Although Sweetie Belle has often told me that she's not comfortable with singing in front of large crowds. Are you sure she'll be okay?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Twilight," said Fluttershy with a sweet smile. "I was able to give her a little pep talk. She'll be just fine as long as she believes in herself."

Again, makes sense. Fluttershy is a pony who's always had trouble with stage fright and standing up for herself. While she's taken steps towards overcoming her anxieties, they haven't completely disappeared (actually, I doubt they ever will). As such, I can totally picture her empathizing with Sweetie Belle and giving her some pointers. Especially since she herself has had a similar experience with the Ponytones.

"Well, what're we waiting for?" said Pinkie, hopping up and down. "Let's go find a spot to hang out and make this the best night ever! For reals, this time!"

Everypony cheered in agreement, including myself. I'm sure some ponies found this odd, but again, I don't care. What's the point of being the Princess of Friendship if you don't enjoy spending time with your friends? With the formalities out of the way, we all went inside.

***

"Ugh, just as boring as ever. I'm beginning to wonder if all galas are this boring."

Ponies continued to give us odd looks as we made our way through the main hall. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say it was because of Pinkie Pie. All the while, she was looking around left and right, clicking her tongue and shaking her head in disappointment. While we were all thinking the same thing, we had the good decency to keep it to ourselves. That's never been something Pinkie got the hang of.

"I wouldn't worry 'bout it too much, Pink," said Applejack. "After all, we're gonna have plenty of fun hangin' out with each other, aren't we?"

"Yeah, I know," said Pinkie with a sigh. "It's just that the Grand Galloping Gala was said to be the biggest party in Equestria, and ever since we went to that first one, I couldn't help but feel like it was false advertising. Sheesh, where's Cheese Sandwich when you need him?"

"I, think there's a reason they never asked Cheese Sandwich to host one of these highfalutin', fancy-shmancy parties," said Applejack, raising an eyebrow. "These hoity-toity types don't like that kind of thing."

"Well, it's their loss," said Pinkie with a pout. "I dunno, guys. I just feel like this party could use a bit more oomph, y'know what I mean?"

Applejack's face darkened. "Careful what you wish for, Pink. Ya just might get it," she warned.

Pinkie blinked. "Wouldn't that be a good thing?" she asked.

Applejack groaned and rolled her eyes. "Never mind."

Pinkie laughed and wrapped her forelegs around Applejack's neck. "I'm just messing with you, AJ. I know I'm gonna have a great time at this gala, oomph or no oomph. 'Cause I'm gonna be spending it with my bestest best friends and my favorite fourth cousin twice removed from a fifth cousin."

We all shared a laugh. That's the great thing about Pinkie Pie. She can always find a way to put a smile on your face, even in the darkest (or in this case, the dullest) of situations.

"Yeah, you said it, Pinkie," said Spike. "I just hope our time together isn't ruined by ponies constantly asking for Twi's autograph of something."

"Ugh, don't remind me of that, Spike," sighed Rainbow Dash, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her hoof. "That's what ruined my night the last time we were here. The Wonderbolts were too busy being mobbed by fans left and right to hang out with me."

"Well, I'm gonna make sure that's not the case this time," I said. "Starting right now, I am not going to let anypony accost me unless it's an emergency. That is my promise to you as a princess."

"Is it your Pinkie Promise?" asked Pinkie.

I sighed and performed the Pinkie Promise gesture. "Yes, Pinkie. It's my Pinkie Promise," I said.

"Good! We're all holding you to that," said Pinkie with a wink.

"Princess Twilight!"

Wouldn't you know it? As soon as I made that promise, somepony was running up to me. With another sigh, I turned to see who it was. At it turned out, it was Amethyst Star (better known as Sparkler), a jeweler's apprentice from Ponyville. She was wearing a blue dress and an orchid in her mane, and she looked rather worried.

"Um, hello, Sparkler," I said. "Listen, I'm actually very busy right now, so if you don't mind..."

"Oh. Sorry, Your Highness," said Sparkler. "I, just have a small favor to ask you."

"If it's an autograph, I'm not..."

"It's not an autograph," said Sparkler. "Um, have you seen Derpy Hooves anywhere? I came to the Gala with her, and she seems to have wandered off. I want to find her before she gets herself into trouble."

I looked back to my friends, and we all shared a shrug.

"Sorry, Sparkler. We haven't seen her," I said. "We'll keep our eyes open, though."

"Thank you, Your Highness," said Sparkler with a bow. She then started running off again. "Mom! Mom, where are you?!"

"Huh. That was, something," said Spike, scratching his head.

"I'm honestly not that surprised," said Rainbow Dash, her expression becoming deadpan. "Derpy's sense of direction isn't the best in the world."

"Do you think we should help her?" asked Fluttershy.

"I suppose that would be the right thing to do," said Rarity, furrowing her brow. "Although it's not an ideal way to spend an evening like this, is it? What do you think, Twilight?"

Before I could respond, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Turning my head, I saw that it was Pinkie Pie's tail twitching. I knew what that meant. It was her Pinkie Sense indicating that something was about to fall out of the sky.

"Incoming!" I shouted, ducking under a table while the rest of us did the same. The only one who didn't hide was Rainbow Dash. She instead looked up at the ceiling and narrowed her eyes.

A split second later, there was a loud crash, and shards of glass littered the ground. From my vantage point underneath the table, I could see that many of the other guests were surprised by this turn of events, and for good reason. Rainbow Dash darted upward, out of my line of sight.

"I gotcha!" I heard her say. "You guys can come out now!"

We did so. I looked up to see what had fallen, and I gasped in horror. One of the large windows overlooking the garden had been smashed. The cause of the broken window was resting in Rainbow Dash's forelegs, and it was none other than Derpy Hooves. From what I could see, she was covered in nicks and bruises. What happened to her?

Before anypony could process this, the side door burst open and several guards ran in. Already, ponies were starting to mutter amongst themselves nervously. The leader of the guards ran up to me and pulled me aside.

"Your Highness, I do not wish to alarm you, but there is an intruder on the loose," he whispered. "We think it may be some sort of assassin. They have already made an attempt on Prince Blueblood's life."

My eyes went wide. Prince Blueblood, Princess Celestia's nephew, is a very important pony indeed. However, he wasn't the most important pony attending the Gala. Why would an assassin go after him when Celestia and I were bigger targets? I couldn't dwell on this mystery for long. After all, I'm a princess. I have to take action.

"Everypony, this area is not safe!" I announced. "I ask that you all leave the premises as soon as possible, and that you all remain calm! The guards will escort you out in an orderly manner! They'll keep you safe!"

Taking that as an order, the Royal Guard sprang into action, trying to keep everypony from panicking as they led them out of the castle. I turned to the guard that just told me the news.

"I want details about this attempt on the prince's life as soon as possible," I said. "Also, keep your eyes open for anypony suspicious. I'll be in the throne room with my cabinet if you need me."

"Yes, Your Highness," said the guard with a bow before rushing off.

"So much for the best night ever," sighed Spike.

"I'll say," said Pinkie, dusting herself off. "That was way too much oomph. I only wanted a little bit of oomph. Hey, any chance we can find the super-suspicious pony and complain?"

"Rainbow Dash, is Derpy okay?" I asked.

Before Rainbow Dash could answer, Derpy wriggled a bit in her grasp. It seemed like she was waking up.

"Ugh, owie," she mumbled.

"Hang on, Derpy. It's gonna be alright," said Rainbow Dash, floating gently to the ground.

"Mom!"

As soon as Rainbow Dash touched down, Sparkler came rushing in.

"Mom, wh-what happened?" she whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "Are you okay? How many hooves am I holding up?"

"I-it's alright, Ammy. I'm gonna be fine," said Derpy, getting to her feet. As she did so, I noticed that there was a note taped to her body. Using my magic, I took it off and opened it. It read as follows:

Princess Twilight Sparkle:

I have been replaced by an impostor. She is either in Canterlot, the Griffon Kingdom, Manehattan, or the Mewlun Mountains. You must stop her.

~Mare-Do-Well

I had a lot of questions about this, and none of them were gonna be solved simply by standing around.

"Derpy, I want you to accompany us to the throne room," I said. "I have some questions to ask you."

"Okay," said Derpy with a weak nod.

"Mom, don't," said Sparkler, placing a hoof on Derpy's shoulder. "You're hurt. You should go see..."

Derpy shook her head. "I've had worse than this, Ammy. I'll be okay, I promise," she said, stroking Sparkler's cheek with her own hoof.

Sparkler cast her gaze downward and bit her lip. After a pause, she looked up at me.

"With Your Highness's permission, I'd like to accompany my mom to the throne room," she said.

I could hear the concern in her voice and see it in her eyes. Although I felt like I was breeching some sort of protocol, I couldn't in good conscience deny her request.

"I'll allow it," I said. "C'mon, everypony."

With that, we all made our way to the throne room, with Sparkler throwing one of Derpy's forelegs over her shoulder. Many questions swam through my mind as we walked, but one stuck out the most:

What did this mean?

***
December 13, 20:50
Canterlot Castle
West Garden
Spitfire's POV
***

"Captain Spitfire!"

I was distracted from my eleventh photo-op by a voice calling out to me. Truth be told, I was kinda relieved. Since my meeting with Vinyl, I was waiting for something else to shake things up at this party. I turned to see that it was the current captain of the Royal Guard, Holy Lance. He was a proud-looking alabaster unicorn with a golden mane and a suit of golden armor with a red plume on his helmet to signify his rank. He seemed to have a concerned look on his face, which already set off warning bells in my head.

"Report," I said.

"There have been reports of an intruder attacking the castle," said Holy Lance. "Princess Twilight has already asked everypony to evacuate, and the guards are currently searching for the assailant. If at all possible, we could use the Wonderbolts' help in this matter."

This was, quite unexpected. But of course, that didn't matter in the slightest. A Wonderbolt has to be ready to move at a moment's notice, no matter what. I gave Holy Lance a nod and turned to my fellow Wonderbolts.

"Wonderbolts, we're needed!" I bellowed, spreading my wings. "We may have a bogey in Canterlot airspace! All ponies, prepare to scramble!"

"Yes, ma'am!" came a chorus of acknowledgements.

"Don't worry, Holy Lance. If this intruder is airborne, we'll bring them down," I said, lowering my flight goggles. "Blaze, Misty Fly! You two are my wing! The rest of you, divide into wing trios and cover every side of the castle! Let's move!"

Nopony needed to be told twice. We all took off into the air and spread out to every point of the compass, surrounding the castle. It wasn't long before I noticed a shadow fly by my field of vision.

"I see something!" I called out to my wingponies. "This way!"

"Right behind you, Sis!" Blaze hollered back.

"We've got your back, Spitfire!" Misty Fly concurred.

We took off together, Blaze and Misty Fly at my heels as I followed the shadow to the best of my ability. Whoever it was, they were pretty good. I had to do a lot of ducking and rolling to keep up with their tight maneuvers. Their stamina was impressive, too. We probably were chasing this bogey all throughout Canterlot airspace.

Finally, the bogey stopped and turned to face us. To be honest, I was surprised to see who it was. I lowered my flight goggles to get a better look. She appeared to be a pegasus mare wearing a skin-tight suit, a purple cape, and a wide-brimmed hat. I know that outfit from anywhere.

"Mare-Do-Well?" I asked. "What're you doing here?"

The mare in question didn't answer, but instead continued to stare at me. Cautiously, I approached her.

"Are you looking for the intruder, too?" I inquired.

Again, no answer. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this.

"Mare-Do-Well, it's me, Spitfire. Remember?" I said.

Mare-Do-Well pressed her hooves together and mumbled something. I couldn't quite make out what it was, but it sounded like singing. Suddenly, there was a bright flash, and a thick cloud of opaque smog washed over me. I coughed and wheezed, struggling to stay airborne while the offending vapor tried to fill my lungs. I felt a strong breeze at my back as Blaze and Misty Fly blew the cloud away.

"You okay, Sis?" asked Blaze, flying up to me and holding out her hoof.

"I-I'll live," I panted, slowly catching my breath. When I looked up, I saw that Mare-Do-Well had disappeared entirely. I can't quite explain it, but something about this whole scenario feels, wrong. I remember Mare-Do-Well quite vividly. Although she was initially a bit of a pest, she was a great help in repelling an assassination attempt on the Wonderbolts earlier this year. Why was she acting like, this?

"We should go report this to Princess Twilight," I said. "Misty Fly, find Soarin' and tell him that he's in command. If anything comes up, I want him to let me know ASAP."

"Understood, Spitfire," said Misty Fly with a salute.

"Blaze, you're with me," I said, forcing out another cough.

"Hey, take it easy," said Blaze, placing one of my forelegs over her shoulder. "You sure you're okay, Sis?"

I gave Blaze a look. When you think about it, that was a dumb question. Of course I'm not okay. I'm very, very confused. Much like the first time I met Mare-Do-Well, but for different reasons. However, I knew that wasn't really what she meant.

"Physically, I think I just need to catch my breath," I said as we made our way down to the castle. "Otherwise, I've just got too many questions on my mind right now."

"Yeah, same here," said Blaze. "Do you think Princess Twilight knows what's going on?"

I sighed and shook my head. "I really can't say for sure, Blaze. All I know is that I've got a feeling that this might just be the start of something bigger."

"Bigger?" parroted Blaze, arching an eyebrow. "Sis, what could be bigger than crashing the Grand Galloping Gala?"

"Lots of things, Blaze," I said, staring off into the distance. "And that right there is the problem."

As we touched down, I noticed Vinyl and Octavia still wandering about. As soon as Vinyl noticed me, she made a beeline right for us.

"Spitfire, hey," she said, giving me a once-over. The fact that she wasn't calling me by the nickname she made for me showed that she was being serious. That's never a good sign with Vinyl. When she's acting serious, something really bad is going down.

"Are you alright, Ms. Spitfire?" asked Octavia.

"We only ask because right now, you look like shit," said Vinyl, prompting an elbow jab from Octavia.

I sighed. "I'll be alright, guys," I said. "I suggest you two get out of here. There's somepony causing a ruckus, and I wouldn't want..."

"You mean Mare-Do-Well, right?"

I did a double take at Vinyl's statement. How did she know about Mare-Do-Well? "Uh, what're you talking about?"

"Octy and I saw some silhouette fly above us while the guards were showing us out," explained Vinyl. "Octy said it looked a lot like Mare-Do-Well."

"That's, true," said Octavia nervously. "A-although it really could've been anything. The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well would never do something like this, would she?"

Methinks I'm not the only pony who had the pleasure of meeting the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well. This I had to hear.

"I was about to head to the throne room and give my report," I said. "I think you two should come with."

"Are you sure, Ms. Spitfire?" asked Octavia. "W-we're just civilians. I don't think the princess would..."

"Trust me on this, Octavia," I said, giving her a stern look. "And in the meantime, it seems we both have some stories to share..."

Comments

[Adam95F]

AWESOME, please continue dude!

[Ri2]

Someone killed Blueblood? But why?
No, really, why? It's not like he's important or anything.