• Published 24th Mar 2016
  • 1,328 Views, 176 Comments

Strider - Olakaan Peliik



My name is Flame Strider, I am a Pegasus, and City Guard. This is my record of my time in the City Guard, and travels across Equestria.

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Canterlot - I

It's been two weeks since the wedding, and during that time we have been moving into the house in Canterlot. Today we are unpacking the last of Snow's things, and the last of my stuff from my storage unit in Las Pegasus. Jett and I had to help Snow pack up her Manehattan apartment and bring her things here.

As today was Sunday, I had work tomorrow starting at the R.B.I. My wings had healed nicely and I had a nice cover of short feathers over my wings; I still can't fly, but I didn’t look like a moulted chicken anymore. Snow was starting work at Canterlot General with the Medical Reserves on Tuesday, and Jett was beginning school at Canterlot Elementary as well.

“When did you get all this stuff?” I asked, pushing a box into our closet. Formerly my mom's closet.

“I was very busy while we were apart. I went to school, got a medical license, and right now I'm working on becoming an actual doctor with the Medical Reserve,” Snow explained, putting her various dresses up on hangers.

I could tell I only needed a fraction of the closet space. Armor stand, dress uniform, and small accessory drawer: all I needed. She had the rest of the closet, and dresser. Over ninety percent of it to be filled with her things. Why did mares need so much stuff? Maybe that should be my next case.

I walked up and hugged her from behind, nuzzling the nape of her neck. “We have a lot of catching up to do, don't we?”

She turned and planted a kiss on my lips. “You bet we do, handsome,” she purred.

We continued making out, stroking each other’s manes and ears, but our moment was quickly interrupted. “Dad! Mom! I think something is wrong with the shower.”

Snow and I parted with a sigh. “It'll have to wait, your daughter requires your help,” Snow said.

“I can wait until tonight,” I winked at her, stepping out of the closet.

Leaving our bedroom, I made my way to the other end of the hallway, where Jett's bathroom was. She was standing inside, drying herself off with a towel. “What's the problem?”

“The faucet is leaking.” She pointed to the tub with a wing.

I went over to have a look. It was dripping incessantly, five to six drops of water a second. Oh, brother.

“I'll stop by a plumber as soon as I can, but don't worry about it right now, okay?”

“Okay,” Jett nodded.

“Is there anything else you noticed that we need to get fixed?” I asked her, dreading the answer

“Cracked mirror in the downstairs restroom, and I think the refrigerator is getting old. Its making weird noises.”

“Fair enough,” I said stepping into the hallway. “Was that it?”

“Did you go to school here too, Dad?” she asked.

I started making my way downstairs “Yeah, why?”

“Are other foals that go here nice?” she asked, following me.

I shrugged. “Some, you'll know the difference between the crowds after a day or so. Why do you ask?”

She rubbed her nose. “I've heard stories. Rich fillies will be mean to you if you're not rich too.”

I frowned a bit. “We may not be rich, but we are living comfortably. There’s no shame in that.”

“So what if they're still mean to me?” she pouted a bit.

“Well, you get to brag that you are the granddaughter of the famous Sparrow Song and daughter of an accomplished R.B.I. Agent, and an Equestrian Medical Reserve Physician,” I told her.

She looked at me in puzzlement. “I thought you said bragging was rude?”

Oh, right, I did. “Well...sometimes you just have to stick it to mean ponies,” I replied.

“Oh.” She seemed to be thinking about it. “I'm still nervous.”

I nodded and gently tousled her mane. “That's natural. New ponies, new social dynamic. I'd think you crazy if you weren't nervous.”

“What about your new job, dad? Are you nervous?”

“A little,” I admitted. “We are all adjusting. I'm sure I'll be okay once I get into the work.”

Jett let out a soft “Hmm” in her throat; she wanted to talk about a few things but she wasn't saying anything.

“Is there something else on your mind?” I prompted.

She seemed to glance up to the ceiling. “I kinda want a chance to talk to mom. Alone,” she admitted.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I haven’t really gotten to talk to her since the wedding, or before, or during,” she said.

“Right,” I nodded. “You will have ample time to talk tomorrow when she picks you up from school. I won't be home until later.”

“Okay.” She seemed unsure but I didn't want to push. “So, what's for dinner?”

“How about breakfast for dinner? Not gonna have time in the morning.”

“Okay!” she exclaimed, looking instantly happy.

“Go wash up and let Snow know. I'll get started.”

She hurried off and back upstairs. She was staying in my old room. Buttercup was still in her room. Once she moved out, Snow and I had plans to turn that into our nursery. But all that was for another day.


The RBI building was intimidating to anyone passing by. It was easily five stories tall, and I suspected a sublevel or two. White marble stone, with tinted windows to keep nosy ponies from peeking inside.

I was headed in through the front door. An agent flanked each side of the door, both outside and inside. A magic dispeller checkpoint awaited inside, a magical silver arch capable of undoing the most potent potions and the most sophisticated of illusion spells.

I stepped up to the security agent. “What is the reason for your visit today?” he asked.

“Not visiting, starting. It's my first day as an Agent,” I told the rather imposing guard.

“Ah, so you are Agent Flame Strider,” he nodded. “I was told to get you set up with an ID implant.”

“Implant?” I asked.

“It's a small enchanted crystal that we put into your foreleg. It allows you access most parts of the building,” he explained.

“Why does this sound like it's gonna be painful?” I asked.

He shrugged. “It's really not, part of the magic is that it burrows into the skin on its own.”

I guess that made it a bit better. “Lead the way.”

With a nod, he lead me to the medical department, which was little more than a nurse's office. Without missing a beat, the security agent told the nurse why I was there, and she pulled out a file with my name on it and a small crystal about the size of a postage stamp with it.

“Hold out your hoof,” the nurse instructed. I did so, and she used her magic to take the crystal out of the vial and set in on my foreleg just above the hoof.

I watched as it magically phased into my skin. It felt no worse than a needle prick, and I totally did not wince. “Impressive,” I admitted.

“That is just one of the fancy things the RBI uses.” I heard Nassor from behind me. I turned around and saluted.

Nassor was back in his RBI Armor, that was light enough to look formal, but heavy enough to look serious. Black with gold trim, no helmet, the official seal of the RBI embossed on the left shoulder. He smiled back at me and returned the salute. “I'll take it from here, Probie,” he addressed the Agent beside me.

The ‘probie’ saluted and went back to his post. “I wasn't sure I'd see you on my first day, figured you'd be busy,” I said.

“I had one of my probies do my paperwork, I wanted to be the one to show you around,” Nassor explained.

“Maybe we should start with the uniform?” I suggested.

“Great idea, the inventor behind this latest set of armor is a pony you know.”

“Really, who?” I tried.

Nassor just shook his head, “Best I not spoil the surprise. Come on, let's go to R&D.”

Nassor lead me down to the first sublevel. Walking into the R&D area I could see a number of unfinished projects scattered across the many tables, blueprints and notes covering every inch of every wall and bulletin board, and a number of unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies tinkering.

One of the projects looked like a mechanical pony. It was active and moving around, working on an advanced crossbow. Nassor and I approached it. “Strider, I trust you remember Brass Cog, ” he gestured to the mechanical pony who looked at me with a metal smile.

My eyes widened, Brass Cog? The weapons inventor whom I helped in Baltimare?! “Sweet Celestia, Brass Cog? What in Equestria happened to you?” I blurted out.

“An unfortunate accident,” he said, his voice reverberating deeply. “I was attempting to make a mechanical replacement for bomb disarming hazards, but my mind and soul got trapped in the crystalline power source of this mech.”

He was made of bronze, copper and iron metals! He had glowing blue crystals for eyes, he was easily double in size of the standard earth pony. How could he be so calm about this?!

“Any other side effects?” I asked, trying to keep my head from exploding with questions.

He shrugged. “Meh, don't need sleep, food, or water, so it's interesting. My daughter is happy she doesn't have to worry about my safety anymore. I promise one day we can have a beer or something and I'll explain in detail what happened. Are you here for a set of armor?” He changed the subject.

“I… I am indeed,” I stammered, still trying to process the fact that I was talking to a metal pony.

Cog trotted over to another area to the R&D department, and we followed him. This area seemed to be dedicated to armor advancements, judging by all the armor stands. Cog pulled the chest piece off a rack, and started etching my measurements on the inside of the metal with a tool.

“Alright put this on,” he said and hoofed it to me.

Was this a joke? This oversized metal necklace was all of my uniform? “Um…”

“Trust me. I perfected that original prototype armor piece you wore in Baltimare. Put it on,” he assured me.

Skeptically, I put it on. As I did a golden shimmer rushed over my coat, covering my body in that sleek, comfortable, black and gold stylish armor. Luckily, there was a mirror nearby, and I wasted no time in admiring myself.

“I think I've said it once, and I'll say it again: ‘I love magic.’” I grinned.

“You like?” Brass Cog asked.

“Heck yeah, I like, so much more comfortable than standard issue,” I proceeded to stretch my legs and wings out to get a proper feel for it. “Can it do anything like that prototype could?”

“Meh, not really. I downsized the enchantments to focus on protecting the wearer. For example, when the wearer is in danger the enchantment will put the helmet on you,” Cog explained.

“Helmets are good,” I agreed.

“As fascinating as it is to talk and watch you work Cog, ” Nassor interrupted. “We have more to see before Agent Strider gets to work, and the Director wants him on the job ASAP.”

“I understand. Come back down anytime Agent.” Brass Cog reached to shake my hoof. I responded in kind, before taking leave with Nassor.


We saw the morgue and Dr. Phalange, odd mare but likable. Then we saw the evidence locker and Agent Vice, I think he might have a few screws loose. Forensics was the home of Rivers, as she introduced herself; she was crazy happy.

Finally, we were headed up to my squad room, where my three Probationary Agents were waiting. Nassor refused to tell me anything about them, I guess so I could form my own opinions about them or something.

“I do have to tell you I hope you can straighten this lot out,” Nassor admitted.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because if you don't work, they'll be split up and spread across duty stations around Equestria,” Nassor informed me.

“I see…” I nodded. “Are you coming in?”

“Best I get back to my own team, and you need to bond with yours. But if you need me, I'm on the floor above you, room twenty-five.” Nassor stepped away. “See you later.”

“Yeah, see ya.” I watched him retreat back down the hall.

I stood just outside the door for a moment and collected my thoughts. It was time to go to work, so I had to put home life away for now. With a deep breath, I opened the door. As I walked in, I took note of my team.

Probationary Agent Amber Light. A unicorn female. As her name suggested, she had an amber coat and a red mane. Since she, like the others, was not a full agent, she had on a set of black and gold guard armor instead of the fancy new armor that I had.

Probationary Agent Sugar Shake, a sky blue earth pony with a ice blue mane. She seemed overly concerned about her looks, judging by all the beauty care products on her desk; she was actually adjusting her mane with a hoof mirror when I entered and jumped when the door opened.

Finally, Probationary Agent Skylynx. A silver feathered and white leopard coated griffin oddly enough. By his expression, he looked serious and by the book. He saluted as soon as he saw me enter; you could’ve used him for a how-to picture in the Guard manual.

“Sitrep!” I barked. They jumped and scrambled for their files.

I got to my desk. It had been cleaned out of the previous agent's belongings. Keys to the drawers sat in the middle of the large paper calendar that occupied most of the desk.

Before I could sit down the three probie agents all set the case files on my desk and stood waiting for me to read them.

I saw the three case names. “Warder,” “Missing Supplies,” and “Drug Smuggling.” I picked up the Missing Supplies case and gave it back to Sugar as she was the one who set it down.

“Explain where we are in the case,” I ordered.

She seemed to hesitate, but collected herself. “Quartermaster Bear of the City Guard is suspected of selling guard armor and weapons to criminals.”

“Witnesses?” I asked.

“One, a jittery Third Class fresh out of the Academy. Claims she saw him meeting with a pirate.”

I nodded. “Reinterview the witness discreetly. Take a sketch artist with you, see if you can get something useable.” I instructed.

“By myself?” she asked, eyes wide.

“Yeah, you don't need me to do that. This is the best way for you to learn and boost your confidence about the job. We start with the little things like witness interviews, and we go from there. Is that okay with you?” I asked.

“Yeah! I mean, yes, sir!” She went to her desk grabbed some gear and hurried out the door.

I picked up the Drug Smuggling case file and hooved it to Skylynx. “Explain.”

“There are drugs missing from Canterlot General's Medical Reserve unit. Witness told me there were several unmarked crates in their storeroom, but they were gone before anyone could investigate. The hospital knows we are investigating, and they insist that there are no missing drugs and that we are wasting our time.”

“They don't want the embarrassment. Go to the hospital, interview the pharmacy staff, then the storehouse workers and then start asking all the nurses the standard questions, nothing specific.”

Skylynx looked confused. “Nurses? Why not the doctors?”

“Because nurses gossip and talk with more patients and families than the doctors do. If one of them saw or heard something, they should all know by now,” I told him.

“Yes, sir.” Skylynx grabbed his service sword from his desk and left to the hospital.

Leaving Amber and the Warder case. “Do I even need to say it?” I raised an eyebrow.

Amber frowned a bit. “The Warder case is a...touchy one. Former Captain of Celestia's Royal Guard Warder was murdered just before Agent Mustang, the agent before you, went undercover. Dr. Phalange did the autopsy, froze the body, then archived the evidence.”

“You mean it didn't even make it to the lab?” I asked.

“We had found out Mustang had died. All cases assigned to him were halted and archived,” Amber informed me.

Brilliant. Bureaucracy strikes another blow! “Go down to Archives and get that evidence down to Rivers. I'm gonna stay here and read up.”

“Yes, sir.” She seemed a little sad that I wasn't sending her out into the field, but didn’t protest.

She left the room, and I got to reading the case files in front of me. The Missing Supplies and Drug Smuggling cases were both pretty fresh. We had our suspicion on what was going on, and we were investigating.

The Warder case was a whole other beast. It started with a royal jewelry theft case about ten years prior to now. Captain Warder was a close friend of Princess Celestia, but after two months of dead-end leads, the primary suspect Sergeant Keep started pointing hooves at the Captain, a search of the Captain’s office found a neatly placed bag of Celestia's jewelry in the top unlocked drawer.

The captain was court-martialed, but only put on two-year parole at Celestia's request. He disappeared soon after his parole was over. His parole officer noted that Warder became highly paranoid in the final month of his parole and suspected he was hiding something.

I found it odd that Celestia would defend a jewel thief… but, having to interrogate the Princess wasn’t really something I was looking forward to. First I need to speak with Dr. Phalange, having some insight on the victim's death might help. I stood and headed to the elevator.

For the second time that day, I found myself in the morgue. As I stepped in I saw Dr. Phalange looking over a corpse.

She’s a black pony with red mane, cutie mark of a scalpel and bone; she was older nearing elderly, but you could tell from the way she talked that she was highly intelligent. And she had a Trottingham accent.

“Who's the vic?” I asked.

She looked up. “Ah, Agent Strider, I figured you be back today. As for your inquiry; this is an unfortunate training accident, nothing more; the autopsy is merely a formality. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Former Captain Warder. What do you know?” I asked.

She nodded. “Ah, that one, I figured you’d be back soon for that one. Good thing I had the foresight to pull him out of the ice box.” She stepped away from the fresh corpse, and over to a wall of square doors, opening one farthest to the left. Sliding out on the table inside was the still frozen remains of Warder. I tried not to shudder.

“Stabbed repeatedly with a large blade. The first blow, the one that pierced his heart…” she pointed to the wound, “that was the killing blow. The rest of these wounds are-”

“Rage, or panic.” I finished.

“Those would be logical conclusions. The curve and angle of the wounds would suggest a pony, weilding a sharp sword with a slightly curved edge.”

“Some Royal Guard’s have service swords with a slightly curved edge. Specifically officers,” I mentioned.

“That they do, but that is hardly the only place they are found,” she reminded me.

I started to turn away, “Thanks, Doc.”

“You should also know that he was poisoned shortly before his stabbing. It weakened him, slowed his reflexes. Whoever did this knew they couldn’t kill him in a straight fight and decided to even the odds.”

“That’s very helpful.” I started to walk away.

“Do come down for a chat sometime. I miss conversing with attractive stallions such as yourself.” I turned around in surprise, and she shot me a wink.

“I-I'm spoken for, doc,” I stammered out.

She smirked. “Oh I know, doesn't mean you can't let an old mare enjoy the view, eh?”

I laughed, trying to keep my face from reddening too much. “I'll see you later, doc.”


We were at the administrative entrance to the castle. Amber and I were meeting with Princess Celestia in her office.

“How come you trusted the others to do their investigations on their own, and not me?” she asked, still looking a bit put out with me.

“Because you don't have the clearance to get an audience with the Princesses on your own, ” I reasoned. “Remember to be respectful, pretend ‘Princess’ is their military rank, and always look them in the eye.”

“I will, sir. Have you ever had an audience with the princesses before?” she asked.

“Nope.”

“Agent Flame Strider, and Agent Amber, ” one of Celestia's Guards called us. “Follow me please.”

Amber and I followed him to a different part of the castle past a number of Royal Guards, all of them eyeballing us without breaking their composure.

We reached an unlabeled door, and the guard knocked thrice. “Enter!” a regal voice called from inside.

The guard opened the door, and inside at her desk sat Princess Celestia. To my surprise, Princess Luna was here as well with a guard of her own.

“It is an honor to meet you, Princess, ” I bowed to Celestia. “Doubly so, meeting you, Princess Luna.”

“It is a pleasure, Agent Strider. We have read about your exploits in the newspaper. Congratulations on your marriage by the way,” Celestia smiled.

“Thank you, ” I halted looking at the Solar and Lunar guards in the room. “I apologize the conversation I have come to discuss is confidential. If your guards could wait outside, please,” I asked.

“Very well.” Celestial nodded to her guards and her sister.

“Please wait outside,” Luna ordered her guard. He was reluctant, but did as asked.

Once we were alone Princess Luna spoke her mind, raising an eyebrow at me. “What is so important, and secretive, that you had to send away our security?”

I had to stop myself from gulping nervously. “Former Guard Captain Warder. He's been murdered here in Canterlot meer weeks ago. Your testimony, Princess Celestia, kept him out of prison despite him being the one who was convicted of stealing from you.” I paused. “I have to ask, were you aware of his activities in the time between the end of his parole, and now?”

Celestia cast her eyes down in sorrow. “I was beginning to wonder why he didn't show up at our previous rendezvous.”

I blinked. “Princess?”

“I did indeed know of his whereabouts. He was on a mission for me. Some of the jewelry that was stolen was more than just for show. If it falls into the wrong hooves, there will be trouble.” Celestia took a breath. “We used one harmless piece as bait. He tracked it all around Equestria, even to a criminal cesspool known as Kludgetown outside Equestria, and then back again. Last he reported, he was in Ponyville,” Celestia explained.

“Were you the only one to know of his mission?” I asked.

“I was. Until now,” Celestia admitted.

“Sir, there is a good chance our killer is the same pony who stole the jewelry in the first place,” Amber pointed out, then quickly silenced herself with an apologetic smile to the Princesses.

“Do you have any suspects?” Luna inquired.

“Sergeant Keep,” I answered.

Luna and Celestia looked at each other. “He is the captain of my Sister’s House Guard now,” Luna informed me with a scowl. “Should we have him detained?”

“No, just keep an eye on him and have two guards posted outside your quarters at all times,” I asked.

“It would be a convenient excuse that you came here to warn us of an assassination attempt; then guards would have to cover us and our things at all times,” Celestia thought up.

“Brilliant, Sister,” Luna smiled.

“I will go to Ponyville tomorrow and ask around. Did he mention anything else to you about his investigation there?”

Celestia nodded. “He mentioned a private detective that went by the name of ‘Finder,’ but that name doesn't mean anything to me.”

I sighed at the mention of the name. “Sir?” Amber asked.

“I know the name. I’ll be back with my own report soon enough.” I bowed, “Princesses.”

They nodded their heads in return as Amber and I took our leave. “Tell Sugar Shake and Skylynx to be ready to go first thing in the morning and to be at the train station at six sharp,” I ordered Amber as soon as we exited the castle.

“Yes sir!” She snapped a salute and hurried back to the RBI building. I followed at a slower pace, thinking on how to handle this. First step is to talk to Snow about it.


“You are leaving town already?” Snow scowled at me.

I was sitting beside her in the bed. “Only for a few hours, and I’m not going alone, I’m bringing my team,” I defended. “I’m not leaving for days on end... yet. I’ll be home for dinner.”

“You had better. Besides you and I need to talk about another matter.” she fiddled with her tail.

I paused, but Snow didn’t say anything for a while; she was clearly trying to work up the courage to speak. Finally, she took a breath. “Jett wants a sibling.”

I sighed. “Oh yeah. She asked about that in New Horseleans.”

Snow frowned. “Well, I figured we have two options, we could either conceive a foal. Which as busy as our schedules are right now wouldn't be a good idea. Or we could go adopt another.”

“Well, I figure, we could wait a while to have our own children. We have the space now to adopt another, before we have children,” I said.

“So are we talking ourselves out of adopting or into adopting, cause this is sounding like a good idea.” Snow laughed a little.

“It is sounding like a good idea, but you get to pick this time.”

“Why me?”

“Cause I picked Jett, it’s your turn,” I said to her nuzzling her cheek.

“That's true,” she admitted, nuzzling me back. “The local orphanage is only a few blocks from the hospital. I could go check it out on my lunch hour.”

“Sounds like you have a full day planned tomorrow too.” I nudged her.

“Yeah. We best get to sleep.”

“Yeah, good night.” I gave her an affectionate kiss.

“Good night, love.”


Falling asleep on trains is starting to be a problem, seeing as it happens every time I’m on one now. I awoke to the train screeching to a halt. My team and I stepped off the train, pushing through the crowd. I haven't been to Ponyville before except when passing it on the train, so to see it in person was interesting. Brick paved streets, sidewalks too. Wood, brick and marble buildings.

A map of the town stood just outside the train station. I quickly found the guard unit here. “Amber, Skylinx, Sugar. Take these pictures of Warder and Keep. Go to the guard post and ask around, then check pawn shops and anywhere that serves alcohol, ask if anyone has seen anyone looking like them.”

“Copy,” they said in unison and then walked off.

I retrieved an old envelope from a pocket. The return address read ‘221 Honeybee Bakery St.’ This was the return address from Phillip’s returned wedding invitation. He’d sent a brief note that he was busy and couldn’t make it, but congratulated me and sent some hoof-carved wooden earrings for Snow and a necklace for Jett.

I looked up to the map of the town and quickly found the street. Six blocks south, seven west. Hurriedly I made my way down the city. I got a lot of odd looks from citizens on the street. I guess RBI armor isn’t exactly subtle.

Finding Honeybee Bakery Street was easy enough as was finding 221. It was a two-story blue home, small and seemingly comfortable among the other houses. The hanging sign above the door read: Finder & Do, Private Detectives. It had a picture of a magnifying glass and a compass rose.

I knocked on the door firmly. After a moment a gold-coated pegasus mare with a mane of varying shades of grey to dark grey opened the door.

“Can we help you?” she asked with a suspicious brow.

I returned the look. “Is Finder here?”

“Depends on if he’s in trouble,” the mare replied, tensing up a bit.

“No, why would he…” I saw her giving me a look of ‘Really?’

“Fair enough,” I nodded. “In all seriousness, no, he isn't in trouble, he just might have info pertaining to an investigation of mine.”

“Ah. Phil! Get up here, you have a guest! RBI Agent!” she shouted. She stepped aside to let me in. “I'm Daring, by the way. Daring Do,” she introduced herself.

Her name seemed familiar. “Good to meet you, Ms. Do, you are Finder's partner?” I asked.

“That and other things,” she answered with a small smirk as we entered a living room with a sofa, a couple couches, and a tall bookshelf. She walked over to a typewriter sitting on a table in the corner and setting to work.

The only sound for a few moments was the typewriter. Trying to clear the awkward silence, I cleared my throat. “You write?” I asked.

“In my free time,” she shrugged.

The bit finally dropped in my mind. Stop! Go back! I thought. Her name is ‘Daring Do’ like the character in the famous book series.

“You wouldn't happen to be Daring Do as in Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone, would you?” I asked, trying to keep my voice normal.

“No, I am the real Daring Do,” she said. “That Daring Do was created by A.K. Yearling.” She gave me a wink. “There’s a reason you’ll never see me in a photo with her,” she grinned.

“But you are Daring Do,” I persisted, slightly confused.

“Yes and no. A.K Yearling is a pen name to keep my writer life separate from my real life. You get what I'm saying?” she said.

“I think so.” I answered.

“Also nobody will ever believe you when you tell them you met the ‘real Daring Do’, they'll just think you're bluffing or you met a cosplayer.” She turned back to her typewriter.

It's true; they won't believe me! “That's borderline cruel,” I said.

“I know. I love it,” she smirked.

There was the sound of hoofsteps from a set of basement stairs, and a moment later, Finder appeared, looking very odd without his vest and hat. “Sorry for the wait. I was in the middle of an experiment,” he grunted, looking up at me. “Strider. What brings you here, mate?” he asked, shaking my hoof.

“Former Captain of the Guard Warder,” I said, getting down to business. “The Princess informed me he spoke to you about the missing jewelry?”

“He did,” Phillip said, sitting down. “There were several leads to follow here in Ponyville. A pawnshop was trafficking the items, selling them to a wanker here that we can't touch. What interested Warder was that the pawnshop was sending a portion of the profits back to Canterlot.”

“Any idea where?” I asked.

“No. He was gonna come back to find out but I haven't seen him,” he said.

“You're not gonna. He's dead,” I admitted.

Phillip blinked, then lowered his head. “I should’ve known,” he said quietly, his foreleg tightening a bit.

“We suspect the killer whoever is behind the jewelry,” I revealed.

“Probably,” Phillip nodded.

“Who's your suspect?” Daring asked.

“Sorry,” I said. “This is a little above what your cleared to handle. Believe me, if I could read the two of you in on this, I would.”

Phillip scowled. “Warder was a good pony,” he growled. “I respected him. I want his killer found.”

I nodded in agreement. “Dishonorably discharged or not, he didn't deserve what happened to him.”

There was a moment of silence between the three of us. I had to get us back on track. “Who has the jewelry?”

“His name is Mythic White, he's just a punk who is free riding on his family inheritance. Trying to get a thrill in poking at what he can get away with. So far, that's everything,” Daring scowled.

“Right, I need to collect my team. Could you point me in the direction of that pawn shop?”

“No dice, we’re coming,” Daring snapped taking off her glasses and taking a shirt off the chair to put on.

“You don't have to,” I said.

“We are probably just gonna investigate anyway once you leave. Better this way right?” Daring argued.

I looked over at Finder who silently nodded, standing up. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Suddenly, I didn’t blame Swampfire for hating him as much. “Alright, let's go.”

Author's Note:

Sorry for the silence everyone. I've been busy wasting my time getting fired from a job that didn't appreciate my efforts, and searching for a new job.