> Dazzle: A Jack Pipedraw Story
>  by DeejayShuffle
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> Prologue
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Prologue
Rrrring! Rrrring! Rrrring!
"Yo." The stallion casually said in his smooth tone.
"It's me."	
Oh sweet Celestia. It was him. What did he want this time? More money? Was he notifying him of another "visit"? Whatever it was, The Boss unnerved him. "Boss! Hey! Whaddya need? You know me, I'm always here for when you need me!"
In his usual chilling tone The Boss revealed his intentions. "I've got a new job for you. Someone special. Someone elite. High priority. You up for it?"
Thank god, it was just another job. He had escaped another visit. This time. "Uh, yeah! Of course boss, I'm always up for whatever you got in mind!"
"Excellent. I'll give you the details, you get the job done, and some bits are yours."
"Whoa whoa whoa, bits? How much are we talkin' here?" He was astounded. This job must mean a lot to The Boss. He never gave out bits to his workers. Ever.
"Enough for you to get through the next few visits. We'll discuss that later. As for the job…"
The stallion began to twirl the phone cord in curiosity; this was going to be interesting. "I'm all ears. Shoot."

It was mid-afternoon at Carousel Boutique, and 	all was splendid. Rarity had just finished her last commercial order for the day, was ready to begin the final touches on her dresses for her first self-hosted fashion show in Canterlot. She was calling it: Canterlot Capital's Finest, a show she had planned for months. Fashionistas and models from around Equestria were going to come, not wanting to miss such a landmark in the career of Equestria's newest freelance designer. It was huge, the most glamorous of all the events Rarity had ever attended. Naturally, she had made her most glamorous line of dresses yet for the occasion. They were stunning, made out of her new specially-made diamond-infused fabric. It took hours to make, requiring tedious amounts of magic, sewing, and careful gem choice. The results were, in her opinion, worth all the work and more though; as the special fabric sparkled like none other, with a vibrant shine and eye-catching luster. Using this silk of gods, she had made her line of dresses for the show's finale, after all she thought, you have to save the best for last.

Done with remembering, Rarity went into her design room and to the back closet, where she kept all her work-in-progress dresses. After sifting through what seemed like an endless amount of unfinished works, she found their box. Marked with the letters "VID" (Very Important Dresses) in thick red sparkle marker, she could feel her excitement rising. Every time she saw these dresses, the made her smile with joy at how far she had come. She pulled the box out of the closet, and then took it to her blank design mares. Excited to work on them again, she whipped open the box like a filly on Hearth's Warming Eve, and stared at the cardboard bottom of the box.

"MY DRESSES ARE GONE!!!" Rarity exclaimed, stressed and angered. "Who, who could have done this!?" Then she thought about her. "SWEETIE BELLE! GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"
Sure enough, Sweetie Belle appeared, trotting down the stairwell. "Whoa sis! What is it? Are you alright?"
Rarity was fuming. "What. Did. You. Do. With. My. Special. DRESSES??" She breathed heavily through her nostrils, to emphasize her anger.
Sweetie Belle looked taken aback. "Your special dresses? I didn't touch them! I mean, I know I'm your little sister and all, but after almost ruining your headdress, I would never touch one of your works."
The stress was rising in Rarity's body now. "Wh-what? You didn't take my dresses? If you didn't, then who did?" Tears were forming in Rarity's eyes, this was starting to look very bad.
"I'm sorry sis," Sweetie Belle replied, "but I have no idea."

> Stirrings
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Beginnings

I sat in my large leather chair, surrounded by my dingy office, staring at what used to be my desk. Now it was just a reminder of what my life has become. Upon the decimated thing lay nothing but piles of paperwork, empty liquor bottles, and bits of unsmoked tobacco leaves. I had little time to sadly dwell on my state of being though, as a call came through to my phone. I stared at the thing with nothing but contempt, wondering what duties were requested of me on the other side of the line. After contemplating what to do for a few brief seconds, I picked up the phone.

"Hello there Mr. -uh- Pipedraw is it?  Yes, Mr. Pipedraw, my name is Rarity, and I have a case that requires solving impromptu, very urgently. Are you able to take a case on such short notice?" Before I could event think to respond, the mare broke into hysterics and took upon herself to tell me her entire story. "Oh Mr. Pipedraw, you have to help me, you just have to! Every other private eye in the phone book told me he couldn't do a case on such short notice! I'm hoping so badly that you'll would be the detective to answer my plea for help; seeing as you're the last private eye listed in the phone book! I just can't solve this myself, I have no time! All my other friends still require their accommodations and dresses for the show, even though they won't be modeling! Even though I have some detective experience, I simply can't make the time required to solve this mystery!"

She was dramatic, that was for sure. "Whoa. Slow down miss. Take it easy. I can help you, just calm down a bit, and we'll be fine." I heard her let out a long sigh, and began to talk again.

"Okay. I'll try to calm down. I'm very sorry, it's just that I need your help so desperately!"

I swear that I could hear her eyelashes flutter over the phone, but maybe it was just my imagination. Regardless, I didn't appreciate being charmed by some stranger. "Look miss Rarity, I'll help you, just stop the hysterics and charming alright?"

"Aww," Rarity said in a let-down voice, "was my charming really that obvious?"

"Painfully." I said.

"Well anyways, I greatly appreciate you accepting my case, especially on such short notice. Can I see you by, say, tomorrow morning? I' located at the Carousel Boutique in Ponyville." She said.

Sweet Celestia, Ponyville!? If I was gonna make it to Ponyville by tomorrow morning, I was gonna have to catch the red-eye in 10 minutes. Crap. I was in for a long night. "Yeah, sure I can make it. I'll just need to catch the red eye in 10." I said.

"Ah, I see. Well, we can discuss all the fine details when you arrive, just so that I don't keep you from your train ride any longer." Rarity said.

She was right. If didn't have anywhere to be, she probably would have talked to me until I was nothing but bone. "Thanks ma'am. See you tomorrow. Take care."

"You too darling!" Rarity said in a cheery tone. 

I hung up the phone with a resounding click, and began packing my things. It was nothing special, just my pipe, a few bottles of whiskey, some crime-scene kits, and other meaningless junk I might need during this case. If I was going to get tickets to the red-eye in 10 minutes, I was going to have to pull some strings.

To get my fabled ticket to Ponyville, I was going to have to find some way to get a ticket at this hour. Determined, I saddled my luggage, put on my coat and hat, and headed out into the frosty night.

It seemed as though every winter around here lasted longer with each each year, or maybe it was just a function of me getting older. Regardless, it was freezing out, and I could see my breath in front of me as it slowly began to mingle with the light frost coming down. Blazing on through the cold, I tore through block after block, seeing as it was all abandoned in the dead of the night.

In my hurry, I failed to see a large and rather muscular stallion standing in the street, waiting for people like me to pass by so that he could shake them down for bits. Naturally, I bumped into him, and he looked down at me with a wide toothy grin.

Fang implants. This guy was a punk for sure. Not wanting to deal with his shenanigans at this hour, I told him to beat in a gruff tone.

Apparently he wasn't one to be messed with though, as he coldly uttered, "Just for that, i'm gonna charge you double. Happy now, moron?"

Frustrated, and running out of time, I dispensed with the pleasantries and pulled out my Colt .45 revolver and aimed at his head. "I am, as a matter of fact, but shake me down, and neither of us will be happy."

"Okay, Okay. Be cool man, be cool. I won't hurt you." He uttered as sweat began to drip down his mane.

"Darn right you wont. Now scoot." I motioned behind me with my pistol, and he happily obliged.

With that taken care of, I only had... 3 minutes to get to the train station! Oh sweet Celestia, this was going to be close! With a newfound reason to run, I ran like the wind, finally making it to Baltimare station a minute to spare. Incredibly panicked, I ran inside, and looked for my train.

I quickly realized that my train was the needlessly girly one covered in vomit-bright pink and candy detailing. Way to be subtle there. Realizing that the doors were beginning to close, I completely forgot to find a ticket of any kind, hopped the turnstiles, and barely squeezed through the train's doors before the shut with a resounding click. Phew.