Prologue

"Another one?"

"I'm afraid so, Detective." The Chief stated. "Another foal disappeared early this morning."

"Let me guess..." The detective said, leaned back in her chair. "Have they attended the primary school in Ponyville?"

"What makes you say that?" The Chief asked, smirking.

"Lucky guess I suppose." She said, waving a hoof. "What's this about though?"

"Pardon?"

"Out of all the detectives in this division, why come to me with this information?" The detective questioned. "I know that we have better detectives here. Ones that could unravel this shit within a week."

"Well," The Chief started. "You're not the only one I've been telling this information to. This case has been going on for a long time, Thorough Search."

"Because of a lack of information, I get it. What are you getting at, Chief?"

"Well.." He shifted in his seat. "No offense, but you're the only pony in this division that could pass as a filly."

She tilted her head. "Wait, are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"If you're thinking that I'm going to send you to Ponyville and have you go undercover at the school, yes."

It took her a moment to recuperate. "That's fucking crazy, Chief." She smiled. "I love it."

"Could you repeat that please? I wasn't listening."

It had been several days since her and the Chief had spoken. Sometimes she wished she wasn't in the detectives division. It could be three in the morning, nine in the afternoon, or in the middle of a meal. It didn't matter. They'd still call you into work if you were needed.

The Chief sighed. "Sure, but I won't be saying this again, so pay close attention. None of the ponies at the school know your true identity. To them, you're just another filly that will be learning along side them. Not even the teachers know who you are. You will be known as Flora. You'll be going on duty in three days. All of your cases have been lifted for the time being and will be passed onto the other detectives in this division until you return."

He continued. "We haven't created a story for your new persona yet, so that'll be up to you. I'm probably forgetting some important details right now." He rubbed his chin. "Oh! Don't worry about the registration for the school, we already have that coordinated and all of the paper work has been taken care of." He shifted in his chair slightly. "There is one thing that'll be a little unconventional though."

"Whats that?"

After a moment of deliberation, he spoke. "We have ponies that will be coming to the station in a few days to cover up your cutie mark."

"What?!" She blurted out before she could catch herself.

"Yes, I know." The Chief said, holding up his forelegs in a placating manner. "It is questionable." The Chief stated and then took a moment to choose his words more carefully. "Well, your cutie mark tells other ponies what you do, right?" He explained. "From your cutie mark, I could either deduce that you like burning ink with a magnifying glass and the sun or that you've got a knack for fine details. If I were wary of the police, I'd assume the latter."

Thorough Search's brow was furrowed and her forelegs were crossed. She remained quiet.

"I'm sorry, Thorough Search, but we can't be taking any risks in this investigation. I'm sure you understand that we value your life and we'd hate to see you get hurt." The Chief stated. Thorough Search had her gaze locked on the floor at her hooves. She stayed silent for several seconds. The Chief spoke up. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes."

Mist and dew coated the landscape, the sun barely visible on the horizon. On the outskirts of Ponyville there were a few houses. Most were storage sheds or shacks, but a few had just enough space and features to be considered safe for residency. Of these houses, only one had its lights on. A vacuum cleaner sat in the corner, still plugged in but not on. The carpet was stained in areas and dirty in others. Some patches of carpet looked like someone had tried to clean it, but gave up prematurely.

Thorough Search was in the bathroom, her horn letting off a teal glow. A few brushes and various bottles floating around her, seemingly acting of their own accord. One brush was rhythmically and carefully working on her light magenta mane while the other was doing the same on her tail. A notebook and quill took the majority of her attention, however.

There was a knock on the door, causing Thorough Search to jolt slightly. She quickly made her way to the door and opened it. Before her stood a tall stallion with a long coat, hat, and horn. He looked at her with a smile. Thorough looked the stallion up and down a few times before cracking a smile. "You look ridiculous." She said with a laugh. "Come on in, Pristine Sight."

The stallion chuckled a bit before walking into the house and closing the door behind him. He looked around the cramped house, taking note of the book bags, school supplies, papers, and a lunch bag. He poured himself a cup of coffee and plopped down in one of the chairs.

"So what's the game plan for today?" Thorough Search asked from the bathroom, still getting ready for the day ahead of her.

"We just go into the school like everyone else. Nothing too fancy." He said, pausing. "Well, that and we need you to get used to responding to your new name, Flora."

"You think I haven't studied?" Flora replied in mock offense. "Shameful, I tell you. Shameful."

Pristine leaned back in his chair and let out a little laugh. "Just going over my checklist to make sure we're not missing anything." He said, pausing to take a drink. "As for behaviour and how well you'll blend in with the children, I think you'll do fine. Effortlessly even."

Flora's only response being a small huff as she was still doing her mane.

Pristine took the time to look around Flora's new house while he sat in the chair. "What do you think of 'your' new house?" He said, putting air quotes for emphasis. Not like Flora would see them; as she was busy looking in the mirror.

"Little bit small, but I think that's a good thing. It's cozy." She stated, shrugging. "Just wish they would've sent someone to clean it before I got here." She said, lazily waving a hoof at the room.

"The disguise looks good though. Very pretty." Pristine said, looking at Flora. "B-but not like that." He stammered, waving a hoof. "Just saying that they did a good job."

"What?" Flora asked, tilting her head slightly before catching on to what he said. "Oh!" She said with a smile, looking back at the mirror and brushing her mane to the side. The unicorns in charge of her disguise gave her brilliant teal eyes, a pale magenta coat and a light purple mane. They were definitely very talented, much better than anything she could've done herself. "Yeah, they did a really good job. The eyes are my favorite."

Flora turned her head slightly towards Pristine, but kept her eyes mostly on the mirror. "What name did they give you again?"

"Blue Print." He stated. "I'm an architect."

Flora smiled and then looked at herself in the mirror. She gave herself a nod of approval. The brushes and bottles floated their way into an open drawer that she then closed. She was ready.

Chapter 1: Arrival

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"No, that's ridiculous." I stated, laughing. "There's no way they would be doing something like that."

Blue looked up at the sky with a smile and let out a breath. We had been walking down a dirt path towards Ponyville for the past 10 minutes. "So you're saying that a mechanical robo-pony spy is not a viable option for the department?" He said as a gust of wind swept through the valley, carrying some fallen leaves with it.

"They couldn't even afford a reasonably sized house within walking distance of the school for us." I laughed. "And you think they can afford an army robot spies?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, obviously not. That'd be ridiculous." Blue said, waving a hoof. "But what about two armies of robot spies?"

I shook my head, smiling. "We should probably get some details straight before we get too close to the town. Less ponies to hear us out here and all."

Blue looked around. There were only a handful of houses out here, scattered across the landscape and each isolated by shrubs or farm land. The houses that were visible now seemed to show signs of life, light spilling out of the windows and silhouettes moving about in the house. One house had a unicorn shaking out their door mat while another was grabbing the mail. No one was on the trail but them.

"I know just about as much as you do on this case." Blue said, glancing at me. "The case is open and the pony responsible is still active. The ponies that come back don't say a word. They have a thousand mile stare for the first week, then they're back to being your typical kid." He finished with a sigh, hanging his head. "Not like this is anything new for us that is. Having a detective go under cover like this is cool and new though."

"We've gone undercover before though." I said, pausing to scan our surroundings. "Not recently, but we've done it before."

A gust of wind shot through the clearing, causing us to close our eyes. After a moment, Blue continued. "Yes, but those were short term. This deployment could take a while. We know nothing about who's doing it, but we're suspecting the faculty members."

"At the very least, this is very exciting." I smiled. "This is my first time being sent out for something like this on my own. I'm feeling kind of like a secret agent or something!" I finished, doing a little skip.

"You still have me for this one though."

"Well yeah, but it's not like we'll both be in the school all the time. I'm saying this is the first time it'd mainly just be me."

"I get what you mean, Flora." Blue started. "While that is definitely a plus, don't let your excitement distract you from what we're here for." He explained, glancing at me briefly. "What you're doing for the department is risky, but you'll helping a lot of ponies here."

"I understand." I said with a nod. "We'll find them, whoever they may be."

"I know."

We were passing over the crest of a hill overlooking Ponyville. The sun, now above the horizon, cast long shadows across the small village. From where we were, we could see dozens of houses and shop fronts; most of which had their lights on. A few small groups of fillies and colts were seen laughing and walking towards the far end of the village.

"That's where the school is, right?" I said, pointing a leg.

"Yep." Blue nodded. "Or at least it looks like it. Come on, let's go."

I walked next to Blue, but not quite even with him. About a step or two back. My heart was beating faster than I expected it to be. The department trained us for stuff like this, but I don't think they accounted for the fear of going back to school. Well, either that or it was what we were getting into and how much of it relied on me and my ability to not fuck it up.

I hope they made the right choice to choose me for this.

The buildings around us were a mixture between stores and houses. The ground that we walked on was made of cobblestone, making a distinctive noise every time we took a step. We rounded a corner, the school now within sight. It was made of bricks and was showing signs of age and wear. It was two stories tall and had windows evenly spaced across the front side. The building was elevated slightly, needing a staircase to get to the front door.

Surrounding the front of the school was a crowd that was beginning to form. There were dozens of young ponies chatting among themselves with some of them laughing. Despite the upbeat nature of these ponies, you could still tell that they didn't want to be here. The crowd was growing as time went on, a slow trickle of new faces being guided by their parents at the edges.

There was a stir in the crowd and everyone fell quiet as the front door to the school opened, a tall unicorn stepped out. He stayed at the top of the staircase and addressed the crowd.

"Fillies and gentlecolts." He began. "My name is Fresh Ink and I will be your principle for this year. There are some old faces here and I can see some new ones too. I hope that the friendships I have made in the past continue into this year and that I can get to know some of you a little better as well."

Blue leaned over to whisper to me. "Anyone stand out as odd to you yet?"

I shook my head. "No, not yet. It's a bit early to be speculating or pointing blame."

"Oh, and before I forget." Blue said, grabbing something from his pocket. "You'll need this." He handed me a piece of paper. I glanced at the contents briefly before putting it away.

"Thanks."

Fresh Ink continued his speech. "Due to recent happenings in our school system, I will endeavor to ensure that our school is a safe and fun place for learning for all flocks of life." He cleared his throat. "And with this, I welcome this year's class to Ponyville Primary School." He finished, opening up the doors to the school and stepping to the side to let us through.

There were grumbles and groans throughout the crowd, but they begrudgingly submitted to their fate of standardized public education and slowly trudged towards the school's entrance. Looking at the other students, I did my best to mimic their expressions.

Blue stayed behind, letting me join the crowd. "Good luck on your first day, Flora!" He said loudly, waving. "Love you!"

I rolled my eyes and let out a groan, channeling my inner angsty teen. I hung my head and joined the collective. I scanned the crowd trying to spot any ponies that looked friendly; someone I could befriend and blend in with. One pony that caught my eye was a pastel-yellow earth pony with a red mane and no cutie mark.

The walls around me were made of brick and painted white. Sounds of murmurs and clopping of hooves on the tile floor surrounded me. Taking in a breath, the smell of the building brought back memories. Doors were evenly spaced on either side of the hallways. Each door had a blue placard with a number on it.

Remembering something, I reached into my pocket and took out the piece of paper that Blue had given me. On the paper was a number. Following the flow of the crowd, I paid attention to the placards until I found the one that matched the number on the paper.

...

There it was. I maneuvered my way through the sea of ponies and towards the open door. A mare was standing next to the door, a smile on her face. She waved me in.

I crossed the threshold into the room and I blinked. Several young ponies were already in the room, desks were placed in a grid. Most of them were sitting in their desks and bags next to their seats. Windows on the far end of the room provided light.

I stopped in my tracks, my mind flooded with memories of when I was still in school. Long lectures, rainy days, heartbreak, time with friends, and grueling nights.

I teared up a little, but I wasn't sure why.
Wiping my tears, I made my way to my seat.

Ponyville Mystery

by The Unremarkable Author

Prologue

Chapter 1: Arrival