• Published 5th Nov 2017
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Sherclop Holmes and the Killer at the Gala - UndeadSketches



Princess Celestia receives a warning to stop the Grand Galloping Gala, so she gets Sherclop Holmes on the case. The game is a hoof!

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Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sherclop and Trotson sat in the lounge car, both pondering the details of this new case as the train sped towards its destination.

“I say, Holmes,” Trotson began. “This whole ordeal troubles me.” Trotson took a long drag from his pipe. “Something just does not feel right.”

Sherclop nodded. “I’ve looked over the names on this, this hit list; however, I cannot find a correlation that ties them together.”

“Perhaps we could look them over once more?” Trotson suggested. “Maybe something will come to us then.”

Sherclop looked around, and upon seeing that the lounge car was empty, he pulled the Princess’ letter from his coat pocket and spread it out on the table.

Trotson leaned over to get a better look at it. There was five on the ‘hit list’. The names on that list were individuals of prominence, but most of them didn’t have a thing in common.

Filthy Rich was a business pony, Lord Ember was a dignitary representing her kingdoms, and Coloratura was a popular figure, but none of them had any substantial connections to each other.

Sigh I don’t have much to go on and that frustrates me to no end,” Sherclop said with a hint of annoyance.

“Cheer up, old chap!” Trotson said with a reassuring tone. “I am sure that we will have something to go on when we get to Canterlot. “

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Canterlot

A few hours later

“I can’t find a single thing to go on!” Twilight Sparkle said, clearly stressed.

The Mane Six were gathered in Canterlot Castle’s dining room. They had been up most of the day, trying hard to figure out anything about the case. The large table was covered in papers, each one having a different theory about the mystery.

Yawn When we all were called by the Princesses, Ah didn’t know we’d havta try and solve some big case,” Applejack said, very tired from the long day.

Ugh We’ve been over this a hundred times now!” Rainbow Dash said with an annoyed tone in her voice. “And we still don’t have a single thing to go on!”

“And the Gala is tomorrow!” Rarity exclaimed. “If we do not solve this soon, those ponies will be in danger!”

“What I don’t get is why we don’t just warn those ponies and dragon, not to come?” Pinkie asked.

“It’s not that simple, Pinkie,” Twilight began. “Lord Ember might think that we are an unsafe country, and therefore might cut ties with us entirely.” The purple alicorn shook her head. “Plus, if the killer really wants them dead, they will be killed anyways.”

Pinkie shrugged. “Well, it still sounds like lazy writing,” she said.

“Wait, what?” Twilight exclaimed.

She was about to ask Pinkie about what she just said, when the doors opened and Princess Celestia walked in.

“I have some good news for you all,” Celestia said with a gentle smile. “I have brought in some professional help.”

Two stallions entered the dining hall behind Princess Celestia, both carrying luggage. One was a light brown Earth pony, with a blond mane and moustache. His cutie mark was a smiling face, and he was wearing a green suit coat with a brown vest under it.

The other stallion was a tall, light purple Earth pony with a brown mane and a bee for his cutie mark. He was wearing a plaid overcoat and, surprisingly enough, a matching deerstalker cap.

“This is Dr. John Trotson,” Celestia said, motioning to the mustachioed pony. “He was formerly a Royal Army medic.” She then pointed to the taller stallion. “And this is Sherclop Holmes.”

Twilight gasped. “You’re the Sherclop and Trotson?” she asked with a big smile on her muzzle. “The famous detectives from Trottinham?”

“Ah, so you’ve heard of us?” Sherclop said with an amused look on his face.

“Oh, where are my manners?” Twilight said, facehoofing. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

“Ah’m Applejack,” AJ drawled out.

“Um, I’m Fluttershy,” the yellow Pegasus mumbled.

“Hi!” Pinkie said, popping right in front of Sherclop and Trotson .

The two stallions staggered back in shock.

“H-how did you do that?” Trotson stammered out.

“I am not sure, really,” the pink pony said, scratching her chin. “My name is Pinkie Pie, by the way.”

“The name’s Rainbow Dash, proud member of the Wonderbolts!” the prismatic-maned Pegasus stated, puffing her chest out.

“Humph, the aerial “fighters” that never have to actually fight,” Dr. Trotson muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Rainbow Dash queried.

“And my name is Rarity,” the white unicorn said, interrupting the cyan mare.

“Now that the formalities are over, I should like to get down to business,” Sherclop said. “I am here for a case, not to make friends.”

Princess Celestia chuckled. “Well, I believe you can do both,” she said, “but I understand. “ She turned to Twilight. “Will you help him with whatever he needs? I have some affairs I need to attend to.”

“Of course!” Twilight replied.

“Thank you, Twilight,” Celestia said, trotting out of the room.

Twilight turned to the light purple stallion. “Now, what do you need?”

“I would like to see the original letter, if I may,” Sherclop responded.

Twilight levitated said letter over to him. “Here you are."

Sherclop took the paper in hoof. The paper was new, seeing as there was no yellowing in the parchment. He took note of the watermark in the corner of the page. It was a bat with its wings spread out.

“What do you make of this, Trotson?” Sherclop asked his partner.

Trotson looked over Sherclop’s shoulder. “That looks like the symbol for the ‘Midnight Publishing’ company."

“What does that mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“This paper is very high quality,” Sherclop stated. “It's also costly. This means that whoever wrote this was probably a bit richer than most.” Sherclop shrugged. “It’s not much, but it’s a start.”

He looked over the note, then read the list of names targeted for death.

“Filthy Rich, Coloratura,” Sherclop read aloud.

“Otherwise known as Ra-Ra,” Pinkie interjected. Applejack ribbed her lightly, and nodded for Sherclop to continue.

He cleared his throat and resumed reading. “Fancypants, Dragon Lord Ember, and Upper Crust.”

Sherclop stroked his chin, deep in thought. “I still cannot see a connection between them,” he began. “However, reading the original letter has proved useful.”

“In what way?” Twilight asked.

“Well, if you look at the wording of the letter, you can tell that whoever wrote this was educated,” Sherclop stated, “but the penmanship of the writing itself looks like that of a younger pony. I am guessing that whoever wrote this is in high school, and judging by the slant of the words, I would say that they are right hoofed.”

“Incredible!” Rarity exclaimed. “You can tell all that just from reading that letter?”

Sherclop chuckled to himself. “It was nothing, really,” he said. “Just simple observations.” A frown spread across his muzzle. “However, this does not tell me who wrote this letter, nor who the killer will be and it is frustrating.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “I know that this is troubling, but maybe if we sleep on it, something will come to us?”

Dr. Trotson glanced outside to see the moon shining in through the windows. “It is getting late, Sherclop. And we all need some rest so we can focus on the task on hoof.”

“I suppose that you are correct,” Sherclop replied. “Well, goodnight everypony.”

The group said their goodnights and each went to their own rooms.

Sherclop Holmes stayed awake, mulling over the case for the rest of the night.

_ _ _ _ _

Canterlot, the capital and pride of Equestria itself. Ponies would come from far and wide just to take in its beauty. In fact, there was a pony walking down the cobbled street right now, which was unusual, seeing as it was very late.

But this particular pony wasn’t here for the sights. This pony was here on business. And, for them, work was murder.

Author's Note:

My apologies for taking so long. Unfortunately, it may take even longer for me to upload the next chapter. But, alas, I will try to get it out as soon as possible.
Cheerio!

Edit: Upon further consideration, I have decided to reduce the number of ponies on the hit list.
To make it a bit more plausible.