> Equestria Noir Case 2 "Death's Front Door"
>  by Jacoboby1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Miss Rarity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Equestria Noir

Case 2

“Death’s Front Door”

By Jacoboby1

Chapter 1

“Miss Rarity”

It was about a week after our last case. I’d spent most of that time settling into my new office and room space. Twilight was willing to give me her spare room at her home. I’ll admit the prospect of living in the same building as Twilight had a strange appeal. I spent most of my evenings there while during the day I was getting used to the new office. Ponyville was a charming little town filled with some interesting Ponies. I wasn’t about to run out and make friends with everypony however. The fewer ponies I involve in a case the better. The only problem was that there hadn’t been a single case since the last one. I sat in my office chair looking out my window.

Twilight was at her desk working through papers from the last case. “Is it always this quiet in between cases?”

I sighed “That’s what we get for living in peaceful Equestria. Hardly anything bad happens around here. Tangerio’s murder was a rare occasion; at least, I hope so”

Twilight lifted her eyes from her papers and looked at me from her desk “I guess I was just expecting ponies to start lining at the door in the hopes we would solve everypony’s problems”

“Well get used to the quiet sister. It’s a long wait in between cases usually. Especially if you’re a private detective”
“That’s something I’ve wanted to ask about. You’re pretty close with the police force but you’re not part of it. Why?”

“I left them a long time ago. That’s a subject you really don’t want to get into”

I heard Twilight mumble something along the lines of “Okay Mr. Mystery...”

Just then Spike came in carrying a bunch of files. “Where do you want these Private?” He said trying to balance all those files at once.

I used my magic to help balance the stack of files for him. “In the filing cabinets Spike, be sure to sort everything in its right place”

Spike walked to the filing cabinets and started filing “Why are we keeping all these old case notes anyway? I thought we solved the case”

I turned away from my window to look at Spike “It’s very important that we keep all cases on file. That way we can look back at them if we need to. Besides, something about the whole thing still bugs me”

Spike sighed “If you say so, I still think you guys are keeping them just so you can give me more work”

Twilight smiled “Well, I could always ask Owlowiscious to do it Spike...” Suddenly Spike worked like there was no tomorrow. Twilight smiled at me “Works every time” Just then a knock was heard at the door. “A client?”

I got up from my desk. “I’ll get it” I said as I stepped to the door and opened it with my magic. I was blown away by the beautiful white coated mare before me. Her mane was a shiny purple and her eyes a glistening blue. I snapped out of it when I noticed those same eyes were leaking tears. “Can I help you mam?” I said politely.

She spoke in a highly refined style I’ve only heard spoken in high class society. I was not expecting this kind of refinement from Hic-I mean Ponyville. “The sign said you were the private detective who helped Applejack?”

“That’s me" I stepped away from the door and gestured with my hoof to the room inside "Why don’t you come in and tell me what’s wrong?”

“Thank you kindly detec- Twilight?! What are you doing here?!” She said looking beyond me and at Twilight.

“Rarity? I was going to tell you about-”

“So this is where you’ve been all week? Being pencil pusher for this fine stallion here? You weren’t going to tell me there was an eligible bachelor in town?”

Twilight facehoofed “This is why I didn’t want to tell you...”

Rarity walked passed me and to Twilight. The two spoke in low voices for a second, I couldn’t guess what they were talking about. Only that Twilight seemed very defensive all of a sudden. I noticed Spike fussing over himself and I walked to him. “I take it she’s a friend of Twilight’s?” I said as he fussed with his scales.

“Yep, that’s Rarity, now do my scales look shiny?”

“Shiny? Spike, “I smirked a little. “You wouldn’t happen to be trying to impress the lovely Miss Rarity would you?”

Spike flushed deep red and went back to fussing over himself. Just then the white mare turned away from her conversation with Twilight and saw the baby dragon. “Oh Spikey-Wikey! I didn’t know you were here too! I’m glad to be surrounded by friends at a time like this.” She gave Spike a smile that Spike returned. I cleared my throat to get Rarity’s attention.

“Mam, I was hoping you could-” I was cut off by the white mare raising her hoof.

“It’s Rarity detective, I’m not that old” She said flatly but very ladylike.

“Rarity, could you tell me why you came in the first place please?”

Rarity nodded, the tears from before starting to come back. “Alright, can we…sit down? It’s been a terribly long day dealing with the police”

I nodded and gestured to the coach. Rarity sat down on it trying her best to keep calm. Twilight sat beside her and I moved my chair to face Rarity. “Could you tell us what happened Rarity?” I asked calmly

Rarity looked at me, and then at the floor, then she used her magic to open the handbag she had on her. She levitated a photo out and showed it to me. It depicted a young filly that shared Rarity’s coat, with a curly periwinkle and pink mane and huge green eyes. I also noticed her flank lacked a cutie mark; she had to have still been in school.  “Detective, this is my sister Sweetie Belle. I believe she has been kidnapped”

Twilight’s eyes grew huge “Kidnapped?! Sweetie Belle!? Rarity are you sure she didn’t just run off?”

Rarity looked indignant. “Twilight, if she ran off do you think I’d be here in the first place!? I contacted both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, they both haven’t seen her. Nopony in town has seen her! So you bet your mane I am sure she didn’t just run off!” I wouldn’t want to mess with this mare on any day of the week. Whoever kidnapped Sweetie Belle had a lot of guts or stupidity trying to cross Rarity.

Spike puffed up his chest and sat on the other side of Rarity “Don’t worry Rarity! Private will help find her! I’ll do everything I can to help too!”

Rarity turned her sapphire eyes to me. “You’ll do it? Help me find my sister?”

I looked at Twilight who nodded. Kidnapping cases aren’t my expertise but I wasn’t about to turn down Rarity. Maybe I was just getting soft by coming here. I nodded and smiled “Yes, I’ll help you find Sweetie Belle”

Rarity leaped off of the coach and hugged me with her front legs “Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!” She suddenly realized what she was doing and let go of me. “Sorry, I lost myself there. Thank you Detective, I’m happy I was able to turn to you”

“Alright, when was the last time you saw Sweetie Belle?”

Rarity let out a breath “Well, it was the night before last. I was working on a dress for a very important client and my parents were out of town that evening”

“Dress? You’re a fashion designer?”

“The very best!" She said with pride "I design for ponies in Canterlot you know”

I might need to ask what she thought of Fedoras. They needed to make a comeback. “So anyways, what happened next?”

“Well, Sweetie Belle and I got into an argument...oh it was a silly thing” I could suddenly feel the earth shake as Rarity was ready to snap. “SHE WOULD NOT STOP NAGGING ME TO PLAY HER STUPID GAMES!!!! I TRIED TO REASON WITH HER, BUT NOOOOOOO! IT WAS ‘RARITY! WHY DON’T YOU EVER PLAY WITH ME?!’ I TRIED TO BE A KIND AND CARING OLDER SISTER BUT HOW CAN I WITH SUCH AN ANNOYING YOUNGER SISTER!!!” Mental note: don’t piss off the marshmallow colored mare. Doing so is generally bad for one’s health, both physical and mental.

Rarity let out a breath again “Sorry that was very unladylike. After our little...disagreement I sent Sweetie Belle up to her room. About ten minutes later I heard a crash...I thought it was her throwing something out of anger. I ignored the first couple of crashes but then, I heard her scream. I ran up to her room as fast as I could...but then...she...was gone...” She started sobbing softly; Spike put a hand on her shoulder for comfort. Rarity smiled at Spike and levitated a handkerchief out of her purse to dry her eyes.

“Did you get a ransom note or anything?”

“Yes, it arrived this morning” She levitated out the note and showed it to me. I looked at it.


Dear Rarity

If you ever want to see Sweetie Belle again you will deliver 10,000 bits to the edge of Everfree forest. If you don’t, Sweetie Belle will be hanging from a tree...

I took the note and just glared at it. “Nopony threatens a filly like that!” I shouted as I threw the note. I couldn’t stand it; some sick bastard had a scared filly trapped in...Wait, calm down Private. I let out a breath and put the note on my desk. “Rarity, do you know of anypony who would do this?”

Rarity shook her head “Not that I know of, I can’t think of anypony who would be willing to do something like this”
“I’ll find her Rarity. Twilight, get everything together” Twilight nodded and went to work packing the gear. I looked to Rarity and removed my trench coat. “Rarity, would you be so kind as to give this thing a patch job? A hole has started to form in some of the pockets”

Rarity looked at the trench coat with an expert’s eye. “Well, when was the last time you had this cleaned?”

“You have to clean trench coats?”

“My point exactly, I’ll take this to my shop and clean it up at once!” and with that Rarity was out the door. Twilight and Spike looked at me like I just convinced her to grow wings and become an Alicorn.

It was Spike who finally spoke. “Her sister is missing and you want her to give your coat a patch job?”

“It’s to distract her" I said knowingly "She needs something to do to keep her from completely breaking down”
Twilight looked at me again like I said she’d grown a second head “But shouldn’t she be helping us look for Sweetie Belle?”

“She’s better help staying out of the case as much as she needs to. Clients don’t always make the best help on a case. I’ve had way too many clients on kidnapping cases do something stupid or breakdown. Doesn't help anypony when they do and it’s best to give them something keep them occupied”

Twilight sighed “Alright, I’ll trust you on this one Private. You are the expert”

Spike crossed his arms “I still don’t like leaving Rarity out of the case”

I chuckled “You just want her around so you can stare at her flank all day Spikey- Wikey”

Spike turned beet red “I do not! And don’t call me that!”

“I won’t, I’ll just let that be Rarity’s pet name for you lover boy” I replied smiling cheekily.

Spike turned even redder as I said that. Twilight tried not to laugh at the whole thing. Young love, something that is always so innocent and so fun to make fun of. We walked out with the gear in tow as well as a grumbling Spike.
Twilight looked at me as we walked out of the office “Rarity will probably be buying things for your trench coat. Her house is just down the street”

I nodded “Alright, let’s see if we can’t find clues as to the whereabouts of Sweetie Belle” A new case had begun and I was in full detective mode now. It happened whenever a case began. For some reason it wasn’t as strong as it used to be. I felt more obligated to help Rarity find her sister then to just find the truth. Maybe it was just the atmosphere here that caused me to think like this. Either way, I wasn’t about to let this kidnapper hang Sweetie Belle from anywhere. I wasn’t going to rest until that filly was brought safely home.

> Chapter 2: Carousel Boutique
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2

Carousel Boutique


We arrived at Rarity’s store and Twilight unlocked the door with a spare key Rarity had given her a long time ago. We entered the store and climbed the stairs to Sweetie Belle’s room. Thankfully it didn’t look like Rarity messed with the crime scene.

“Sweetie Belle didn’t go quietly by the looks of it” I said surveying the crime scene. Clothing and toys were everywhere and a dresser was knocked over in the struggle. “Any sign of blood or anything?”

Twilight was levitating some clothing away from the fallen dresser “No blood over here. Doesn't look like the kidnapper got hurt during the struggle”

Suddenly Spike called out “Hey guys! Look what I found!” Twilight and I turned to see Spike holding up a cane top in the shape of a fist. The shaft was broken off. “You think it belongs to the kidnapper?”

I levitated the cane head and looked at it. It was fine craftwork and you don’t see these kinds of canes outside of Canterlot. I put it in a large plastic bag to analyse later. “It might be a clue. Now let's see if we can figure out how a kidnapper managed to escape without Rarity running into him?”

Twilight spoke from by the window “I think I’ve got that figured out. Look!” We stepped to the window sill and saw that small white feathers were by it. “Pegasus feathers, he tried to fly out with Sweetie Belle” she said levitating some of the feathers and putting them into another plastic bag.

“Well he didn’t get very far” I looked over the sill and looked down. The bushes below were flattened and their branches broken. They had obviously been hit by something heavy. Our Pegasus didn’t fly far thanks to the excess weight of a struggling filly. We stepped out of the store and walked to where the bushes were crushed. “He tried to carry Sweetie Belle and then Sweetie Belle must have done something to cause him to fall”

Twilight levitated some more feathers out of the bushes “Still no blood though, if I had some blood I could at least determine something about him”

I looked around and noticed something on the ground. There were hoof prints, faint but noticeable. Thank Celestia there was no rain since the night of the kidnapping. “Twilight, I think I have hoof prints. I can’t really make them out though”
“I guess now is the time to test out that new spell” Twilight walked to the hoof marks and her horn glowed bright. Suddenly the hoof marks glowed with a faint magenta, leaving a trail heading west towards the Everfree Forest. “A simple path finding spell, won’t last forever but it should give us an idea where the criminal went”

I nodded “Alright, Spike you take that cane and ask around see if anypony knows who made it and for whom”

“Alright, I’ll meet up with you guys once I’ve found out” He saluted, took the cane head, and then ran off into town. Twilight and I started following the trail of magenta hoof prints towards the forest.
____________________________________________
“Is this place always this creepy...?” I said as Twilight and I walked through the dark trees of the Everfree Forest.

“At least we came during midday and not late at night when all the monsters come out” Twilight said

“Monsters? Nopony ever said there’d be monsters” I said

“We should be fine, just keep following the trail of hoof prints” Twilight said leading the way, her magic causing the hoof prints to glow allowing an easy path forward. We walked for quite a bit not saying anything. Then suddenly we both heard something move in the foliage. “Ah!” Twilight leaped on my back in surprise and I fell on the ground.

“Smooth Twilight...” I said as she slipped off my back blushing in embarrassment. I pulled out my revolver that was now attached at my hip. I had to keep it in a pistol holster with Rarity working on my trench coat. I levitated the gun in front of me ready to shoot whatever came out of the bushes. Twilight was beside me, her magic aglow. I didn’t care if it was a full on hydra, I was going to put more holes in it than Swiss cheese.

“Put that gun away! I will not harm you one that is in my way!” I heard a smooth voice speak from the bushes. For some strange reason the voice sounded like poetry speaking what with the whole rhyming thing.  

“Come out and I won’t shoot!” I said keeping the gun trained on the bushes.

“I will come out to see what all this is about” The voice said as I heard more foliage move.

Out stepped one of the strangest creatures I have ever seen. She looked like a pony certainly. But instead of a single color she was covered in black and white stripes and her mane looked like a Mohawk. She wore gold jewelry around her neck and earrings. I was starting at a zebra. I’ve heard of them certainly, they were a cousin species of ponies that lived to the far south. I’ve never seen one though so I stared at her. Twilight smiled upon seeing this exotic figure. “Oh, hey Zecora it’s been awhile”

I looked at Twilight “You know her?”

The zebra known as Zecora returned Twilight’s smile. “It is good to see you too friend. Though this pony here was about to make me meet my end”

Twilight walked to her “You’ll have to forgive Private, he’s never seen a zebra before” She turned to me and gestured with her hoof to Zecora. “Private, this is Zecora. She’s a friend of mine who lives around here”

I put away my gun. “A pleasure, sorry about the whole gun thing. I didn’t know who you were”

Zecora nodded “Had worse things pointed at me. Care to explain why you are in Everfree?”

Twilight turned to Zecora “Maybe we should head to your hut Zecora. Private here is not as used to the forest”

Zecora nodded and turned “Follow me, my little pony”

I fell into line beside Twilight as we walked on “Does she always do that?”

Twilight looked at me “Do what?”

“Rhyme like that?”

“Well it’s something you just get used to I guess. I never really asked why she does it”

“Well if it’s her manner of speech who am I to preach?”

“Sounds like you’re starting to pick up on her speech”

“What? Crap! I’m starting to sound like her! I wish I could go back to the speech I prefer!” Twilight laughed as we ventured deeper into the forest. I was just hoping for some rest. Crap! I’m starting to rhyme even in my narration! It’s spreading like an infection! ARRGH!!!!
________________________________
We entered Zecora’s small hut deep in the Everfree forest. It was a small, humble dwelling with a large cauldron in the center. It bubbled with some kind of strange brew that smelled strangely sweet. Masks were everywhere and Zecora explained they were meant as welcome messages. I would think an outsider might get the wrong impression and think these scary looking masks might mean “Welcome to hell” rather than “Welcome to my home”.

I sat down beside Twilight in front of Zecora. I politely sipped the herbal tea Zecora made for us. It tasted quite good compared to Twilight’s tea. I’d have to ask her for the recipe once this case was over. I looked over at Zecora. “Zecora, did you notice any suspicious characters in Everfree lately?”

Zecora’s face turned grim “I am well aware of what you speak. I will reveal the truth you seek” She looked at me. “The night before last. I was looking for herbs over past. It was then I heard noises from a clearing. I snuck around to see what I was hearing”

“Those stripes do make good camouflage” I remarked “So you got to the clearing, what then?”

“I saw two ponies in the clearing. One a flier and one gifted in magic making. I also noticed a youngling being exchanged. Seeing her hurt made me enraged. I ran to try and stop them. But my cloak got caught on a stem. They saw me and a bright flash appeared. When I could see again they had disappeared” Zecora looked down. She was obviously torn up by the fact she couldn’t stop them. I couldn’t blame her.

Twilight looked at me “The bright flash must’ve been a teleportation spell. I remember the path leading to the clearing then stopping”

I raised an eyebrow “But we never went to the clearing”

“You didn’t but I did. Well, my magic did really. When Zecora was talking I used my magic to scry the clearing and I saw the tracks ended suddenly there”

“You got quite the repertoire of spells on you Twilight” I said sounding impressed.

“Well, I did have a good teacher....” She said trying to sound humble.

I looked at Zecora “Did they leave anything behind Zecora?”

The zebra nodded and went to a small cupboard and pulled out a book. It was very old by the looks of it. She set it on a table so we all could look at it. I carefully opened it with my magic. On the front page the owner of this book was revealed.


  This is the Journal

Of

Dustmane

Rarity’s eternal love from afar



I looked at Twilight. “Do you know anypony named Dustmane?”

She shook her head “No. Rarity has more admirers than just Spike though. You think the culprit knew Rarity?”

I put a hoof on my chin in thought “It would have to have been somepony who knows her. This Dustmane might just be the ticket to solving the case. Let’s head back to Rarity’s and see if she can put a face to the name”
________________________________
Zecora led us out of Everfree without much trouble. I was glad to leave the creepy place behind. We arrived back at Carousel Boutique just as Celestia was halfway to completing the sun’s journey.

I was reading through Dustmane’s journal as we walked. “Love poetry, drawings, and sad attempts at love letters. Yep, this is an admirer all right”

“Rarity never mentioned a pony named Dustmane. You think it was just somepony who admired her from afar?”

“I’ve wrote my fair share of love letters in my life and judging by the quality here I’d say so”

“You wrote love letters? To what kind of mares?” She asked sounding a little too curious.

“I mostly wrote them in high school, to, you know: the head cheerleader, the party girl, even to a nerd at one point as a bad joke”

“Have any of your love letters bore fruit?” She asked unusually curious.

“Nope, I learned a long time ago you need to get to know a pony before you can figure out how you really feel about them. Why do you ask?”

She suddenly turned red and looked the other way “Oh, you know just trying to get to know you a little...oh hey! There’s Rarity’s shop! Let’s go” Mares, I don’t think I’ll ever understand them.

We walked into the dress shop to see Rarity hard at work on my trench coat. She turned to look at us and ran to me. The trench coat would lay forgotten for the next minute. “You’re here! Please tell me you have some news about Sweetie Belle!”

I put a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder “Just breathe for a moment Rarity. We have a lead but we need you to answer a few questions”

“Yes, of course Detective, ask me anything” she replied ignoring what I said about taking a breath.

“Does the name Dustmane ring a bell?” I asked.

Suddenly Rarity got very quiet and didn’t say anything. She finally spoke after about a minute “Where did you hear that name?”

“From this” Twilight said as she levitated Dustmane’s journal out in front of her. Rarity’s own blue magic wrapped around it and she looked inside it.

Her blue eyes scanned the journal for a long time. She finally looked up at me and asked “Where did you get this?”

“Zecora gave it to us” I said “Said that one of the kidnappers dropped it while trying to get away”

“Was one of the kidnappers a unicorn with a brown coat and a dusky mane?”

“Zecora just said it was a unicorn but I’m pretty sure we’re talking about the same pony. Do you know him Rarity?”

Rarity sighed “Yes, I know him. He was my classmate and one of my first admirers. He always wrote in this journal whenever I saw him”

Twilight looked at Rarity puzzled “You never mentioned Dustmane before Rarity...”

Rarity shook her head “It’s not one of my finer moments Twilight. I’d rather forget what happened. But if it means you can find Sweetie Belle I’ll tell you what I can about him”

I held up my notebook and began writing “Start at the beginning Rarity, when did you meet him?”

“The first day of school, we had been classmates since that day. I always knew he cared for me but whenever I tried to ask him about it he would get all nervous and run off”

I nodded “Well to be honest you are a little intimidating Rarity”

“What do you mean?” She said raising an eyebrow.

“Beautiful mare like you? The guy must’ve felt he didn’t have a chance with you”

“I’ll take the compliment Detective thank you” she smiled a little.

“No problem Rarity. Now, when did you finally cut ties with him? This couldn’t have gone on forever”

“Well, after a while I started to get frustrated with him. He was always there but every time I tried to talk with him he’d run off or babble on. I finally got tired of it and finally cornered him after class in middle school. He said he loved me...that he wanted to get close to me but was too afraid”

“I can guess the feelings were not mutual?” I said

She shook her head “No, I cared for Dustmane but not in that way. I wanted us to be friends but he wouldn’t have that. He went on about how we were perfect for one another or something...I didn’t talk to him for a long time after that”

“What happened after that?”

“He did what all obsessive stallions do when they are told no. He followed me everywhere, always writing in that journal of his. I tried to convince the school to get him to back off but I couldn’t prove it was a problem to them. He wasn’t hurting anypony so he could go about his business”

“When was the last time you saw him?” I was almost afraid to ask how this one sided love ended.

“When I was in high school I was on cleaning duty. Not a glamorous job at all but when you’re not a good student you’ve got to make do. I went into the janitor’s closet and found a secret passage leading under the school. I went to the end and found a small shrine...of me” She ended that sentence with a long sigh.

“Dustmane made a shrine of you?”

“Pictures, excerpts from his love letters he never had the courage to write to me, even some of his drawings of me. I used this shrine to finally convince the school to take this matter seriously. I didn’t see him after that or ever again”

Twilight looked at Rarity with sympathy “I’m sorry that you have to go through this part of your life again Rarity”

Rarity shook her head “What’s past is past, there’s nothing I can do about it. If Dustmane has anything to do with Sweetie Belle getting kidnapped I will find out why!” She had this determined look in her eye. These kidnappers were not smart to get this unicorn pissed.
_________________________________
Twilight and I walked out of the dress shop leaving Rarity with my trench coat. She needed something to distract her from what she had to go through. Spike ran up to us with the cane in hand. “Guys! I found out who made the cane!”

Twilight smiled at Spike “Great Spike, who made it?”

Spike looked proud “I took it to Pawnstarys’ shop over in town. As it turns out this marking” He gestured to a marking of an eagle holding a cane. “Belongs to Canesboruogh. A pony that makes canes up in Canterlot”

I smiled at the baby dragon. “Good work Spike; let’s get a train to Canterlot as soon as we can”

We got on the train and started to make our way towards Canterlot. I myself have never been to Equestria’s capital before but I have heard many a good thing about the place. I explained to Spike what happened with Rarity and Zecora while he was asking around about the cane. He clenched his fist upon hearing about Dustmane.

“If that guy’s doing this just to get back at Rarity I’m gonna punch him into paste!”

“Love can drive a pony to do many a dangerous thing” I said sitting beside him. It was just us two guys in the car as Twilight was trying to convince the driver to move the train faster.

“Still! Kidnapping her sister just to get back at her because he didn’t have the guts to tell her! That guy makes me sick!”
“Speaking of which...have you ever told Rarity how you feel?”

Spike got quiet for a moment then shook his head “I tried to a while back, then she just gave me this look like she knew how I felt and I didn’t get to say it”

“Sounds like you left quite a good impression Spike”

“You think I’m like Dustmane?” The young dragon asked looking at me “Not having the guts to tell Rarity how I really feel? Always hanging around her doing whatever she asks?”

I shook my head and smiled at the baby dragon “No Spike, the simple fact you are willing to go through with this for her proves you are better than Dustmane”

He looked at me, his green slited eyes looking at me with hope. “You really think so?”

“Yeah, because you are willing to put yourself on the line for her. Love isn’t just admiring somepony. It’s about action, what you are willing to do for that special somepony. Dustmane never had the guts to actually do anything for Rarity. You however are willing to fight for her honor right here and now. Spike, don’t you ever say you’re like Dustmane” I smiled at the little guy encouragingly.

Spike smiled at me “I’ll help solve this case and make sure Sweetie Belle comes home safe!”

“That’s what I’m talking about! You keep this up and one day Rarity will realize just how great of a guy you really are”

“Yeah!” Suddenly the train lurched and gained speed. Twilight entered our cabin with a triumphant smile on her face.

“I managed to convince the driver to move faster. What were you guys talking about?”

I shrugged “Oh, you know, guy stuff” I said winking at Spike.

Twilight sighed and mumbled something along the lines of: “Boys...”  

> Chapter 3: Will of the Master
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3
“Will Of The Master”


We got to Canterlot around midday and boy was it a sight. Canterlot Castle towered over the many homes of Equestria’s elite. Somewhere in that castle was Princess Celestia performing her royal duties. Twilight tried to convince me to bring this matter to the monarch but Celestia had more important things to do. Twilight was a little disappointed that she didn’t get to see her mentor about a matter this serious. But she didn’t complain as we walked through town square.
Spike was leading the way with a piece of paper in hand. “Canesboruough’s shop should be just up ahead” Spike pointed toward one of the smaller shops in Canterlot. I however was busy trying to avoid glances from some of the more well-dressed ponies of Canterlot.

Twilight looked at me suspiciously “Run into trouble in Canterlot before Private?”

I shook my head “No, just some of these ponies might know me and I don’t want to draw attention to myself”

“How could they know you if you’ve never been to Canterlot before?”

I sighed “Let’s just say my dad hosted quite a few parties in his day. Let’s go check out this cane angle”

Twilight snorted in frustration at my vagueness over the whole subject. Another part of my life I didn’t feel I could share with Twilight yet. The three of us entered the shop and walked up to the counter. Spike hit the little bell and a well-dressed dark brown unicorn entered. He smiled as he trotted up to the counter “Ahh, welcome to Canesboruough’s Canes. Can I interest you in a fine oak cane or maybe maplewood?”

I shook my head “I was hoping you could identify a cane for me”

He narrowed his eyes and put on a set of bifocals. “Let me see it then”

I levitated the cane head out its plastic bag and set it on the counter. He levitated it before his eyes and eyed it with scrutiny. “Redwood, I’d say from the northern provinces...very expensive to get the wood let alone make this cane”

“Can you tell us who would own such a cane?” I asked

“Mostly high class citizens...wait! This is my symbol! I made this cane! Where did you get it?”

I decided to come clean “At a crime scene, I’m Detective Private Eye, these are my assistants Twilight and Spike. We believe the person we are looking for left this cane behind. We were hoping you could tell us who it belongs to.”
Canesboruough looked at the cane then back at us. “I know who it belongs to. I made it for a client years ago. It was a gift for Prince Blueblood’s butler”

“Prince Blueblood?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

Twilight cut in “He’s the nephew of Princess Celestia, not exactly the most beloved noble.”  

I nodded “You said he made this for his butler? Who was he?” I asked the cane seller.

He thought for a moment. “He was a pegasus by the name of Whitecloud. Very old war horse who lost his leg during the griffon wars decades ago”

I’d read about the griffon wars in college. Apparently decades ago the griffons tried to invade some of Equestria’s territory and it sparked several small border wars between the two countries. Luckily a peace treaty was made between the two warring states with the rise of a new griffon leader and the two countries are practically allies now. The wars themselves were long and bloody lasting for years each. You were lucky to get out alive in those wars let alone with just losing a leg.

“Do you know where Whitecloud lives?” I asked.

He nodded “He’s retired now and has a small house to himself just outside of town. I’ll give you directions” He started writing down directions on a piece of parchment.

Twilight raised an eyebrow “How do you know all this? You seem to know quite a bit for somepony who sells canes for a living”

Canesboruough stopped and smiled “Young lady, you can learn a lot when every noble here thinks you don’t have ears”
______________________________________________
Whitecloud’s house wasn’t too hard to find. It was a small house on the edge of town far away from the town center. It wasn’t anything big or extravagant it was simply a one story house with a garden out front. We walked up to the door and I knocked on it. An old looking white pegasus answered it. He spoke in a very refined tone. “Can I help you sirs?”

“Whitecloud, I’m Detective Private Eye....I was hoping to ask some questions”

Whitecloud slammed the door in my face and locked it. I tackled the door but it wouldn’t budge. I could hear him scrambling on the other side. We didn’t have time, three legs or no he could still get away with his ability to fly.
Spike pushed me out of the way “I got it!” Spike put his mouth to the lock and started blowing fire around the doorknob. He literally burned a hole around the knob and pushed it out the other side.

“Good thinking Spike!” I levitated out my revolver and kicked down the door. It blew open and I ducked as a gunshot was heard. I looked at the side of the door where I my head would’ve been had I not ducked. The crazy horse had a shotgun and he wasn’t afraid to use it. “You’re under arrest Whitecloud! Give it up!” I was answered by another blast from a shotgun.

“I will not have you enter my home! I’ve faced far worse then you Detective!”

I looked at Twilight and made a little motion for her to head around back. She nodded and started sneaking to the back of the house with Spike. “I will shoot if you do not stop!”

“I will fight to the end! We can stand here all day Detective”

This old war horse was becoming a pain in the ass. “I know you took a filly! You kidnapped her and what I want to know is where she went!”

“Over my dead-oof!” I heard something clang and I peeked out. There was Whitecloud on the ground knocked out. Twilight was levitating a frying pan with her magic.

I smiled at her “Good work Twilight, Spike get the phone and call the police” Spike nodded and went to get the phone.
Twilight looked at the frying pan “Who knew a cooking utensil could be such an effective weapon?”

I chuckled “I’ll hoofcuff him. You look around for anything interesting” Twilight nodded as I bent down to hoofcuff the butler. About five minutes later the Police showed up to take Whitecloud to the detention center. Twilight trotted up to me with Spike on her back. Spike was holding a piece of paper in his hand. “Whatcha got there Spike?”

Spike handed the letter to me. “A letter Whitecloud wrote to Dustmane, it shows he planned the whole thing.”

I looked over the letter, the kidnapping, the escape plan, it was all here. But there was no mention of the next stage of the plan. “This proves that Whitecloud was a willing accomplice in the plan. It doesn't mention what Dustmane’s part in it was though.”

Twilight thought for a moment “So Dustmane is still out there and we have no way of finding him”

Spike shook his head “We gotta get Whitecloud to talk”

I smiled “You leave him to me”
_____________________________________
I entered the detention center’s interrogation room to find Whitecloud scowling at me. Nothing I wasn’t used to “You may as well talk now” I said flatly “You resisted arrest and shot at me...not going to look good in front of a jury”

Whitecloud scowled at me “I will not speak to a ruffian who insists on burning one’s door knobs off”

“My associate got a little carried away but it was necessary to get you arrested. Now do you know why you’re here?”

“I have no honest clue and I won’t speak to somepony as uncivil as you”

“You’re going to have to because you kidnapped a young filly from her home a couple of days ago”

“You can’t prove that. I would never harm a child!”

“You wouldn’t harm her...but you would make off with her”

“You have no proof!”

“I do” I tossed his cane head in front of him along with a bag of his feathers. “Both found at the crime scene. I noticed that you lost your leg in the war. Your back left leg in fact. Most ponies only use canes as a means of walking when they’ve lost a limb...”

“And the feathers? They could belong to your kidnapper”

“They were found on the ground outside of the crime scene and DNA tests can match them to you perfectly...You took the filly and tried to fly out a second story window”

“If I were really the kidnapper I would’ve flown away instead of landing so clumsily”

I frowned and tapped his wing with my hoof. The wince I got out of him was what I needed. “You are a very old war horse...you’d be lucky to stay in the air for five minutes with your arthritis filled wings”

“I have no motive though, why’d I kidnap a filly from her home?”

“You were ordered to frankly...by who I’m going to find out”

“I don’t know where the filly is if that’s what you want to know” He said trying to keep himself calm.

“You don’t, but somepony else does. A witness will testify that she saw you hand off the poor girl to another stallion named Dustmane”

“That’s impossible! Nopony lives out in the Everfree Forest!”

I grinned “Thank you for confessing dear butler...”

“Damn...” he said under his breath. I was getting a kick out of seeing this butler squirm in his chair. But now it was time to get what I wanted out of him.

I straightened my hat “You will tell me where Dustmane teleported to...my witness will testify in court that she saw a bright flash of light and then you two disappeared”

“....Canterlot, we teleported to Canterlot and I went home after that”

“Where is he now? Do you know where he lives?”

“I’ve seen him at home. But he usually can be found at a little bar called Just Desserts, the password to enter is ‘Darkness rises’ you will find him there”

I looked at him my blue eyes looking directly into his. “One more question...do you know who hired you to kidnap the filly?”

He shook his head “I exercise my right to remain silent Detective...”

“Bullshit! You know him don’t you!” I got in his face after that, I wasn’t about to let this detail go away.

“No, I will not speak about this!”

“You will damni-” I felt a hoof on my shoulder...I turned to see that it was Twilight. I backed off the table and walked out the door. I sat on one of the chairs in the waiting room. Twilight came by with some coffee. I levitated a cup and drank generously. “Sorry you had to see me like that Twilight...”

Twilight sat beside me and put a hoof on my shoulder. I’ll be the first to admit it gave me comfort knowing she was here. She looked at me, her amethyst eyes looking in mine. “You really are shaken up by this case aren’t you?”

I sighed “Yeah, I am. I keep thinking of the look Rarity gave me when I said I would take this case” I shook my head “Maybe I’m just getting too invested.”

“No, it shows you care about your client. That’s not a bad thing Private.” She said trying to smile.

“Twilight, thanks” I said turning away from her violet eyes to take a sip of coffee. Celestia, I needed it.

“Anytime, I’m your assistant and friend after all”

I raised an eyebrow “At what point did you consider me your friend?”

Twilight smiled a little “Since you showed me there's something I can do to help stop ponies like Mandarin and Whitecloud”

I smiled a little “Well we aren’t out of the woods yet. We still gotta find Dustmane”

Twilight put a hoof on her chin “You think he’s the one who set this whole thing up? To get back at Rarity?”

“Maybe, but why ask for bits? He could’ve asked for I don’t know, a sex tape or something”

“Sex...tape...?” Twilight said her eyes wide

“Either way, I doubt Dustmane would wait all this time to get back at Rarity. It just seems unlikely he would wait years before finally making his move...”

Twilight nodded “You think he’s in money trouble?”

“It’s possible he’s trying to kill two birds with one stone. but something about what Whitecloud said is still bugging me”

“The whole exercising his right to remain silent?”

I nodded “There’s nothing I can do about it. I probably could get arrested myself for infringing on his rights as a suspect had you not stopped me”

She smiled “Hey, what are friends for?” Friends, until now I haven’t considered Twilight more than just an extra set of hooves. But who was I to argue against friendship? It did stop Nightmare Moon and Discord after all.  Twilight took a sip of her own coffee then said “You think he knows who did it?”

“If the butler isn’t going to crack, we’ll go for the stalker”

_____________________________________________________________
We arrived at the bar and gave the password at the front door. We left Spike back at the detention center in case Whitecloud had a change of heart. Twilight was behind me as we entered the bar. It wasn’t as glamorous as the club in Ponyville but it was worth a look. I walked up to the bartender, a young unicorn stallion. “Can I help you?” he said eyeing me with some suspicion.

“I’m Detective Private Eye, I’m looking for a regular named Dustmane”

The bartender looked at me with surprise “You’re looking for Dustmane? I’d have thought you police types would’ve heard”

“Heard what?” I said fearing the worst.

“He’s dead, somepony shot him this morning”

> Chapter 4: Love's Goodbye
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 4 

Love’s Goodbye


“Found him in his apartment this morning. Didn’t know it was your guy until some neighbor heard him get shot in the head” Forceps said as he slid out Dustmane’s dead body. “Judging by the hole in the head I’d say it was a pretty big caliber bullet, ballistics is looking into it. It was shot at close range but the poor guy put up quite the struggle see all these bruises?” He pointed with his horn at all the bruises on his body.

“This happened this morning" I kicked the wall in frustration. "Damn! I should’ve put out an APB on him”

Forceps slapped me on the back with his hoof “None of that sonny, what do I always say whenever you bring me a body like this?”

I smiled a little “A stiff is a stiff all you can do is figure out how he became a stiff?”

“Close enough, now where’s that pretty young assistant of yours?”

“Expelling the contents of her lunch in the bathroom...did they find anything at the crime scene?”

“On the desk there” Forceps went back to work on the body. I walked to the desk and saw three objects on it. They were: a large book with a lock on it, a folded letter, and some kind of package. 

“All this came from his apartment?” I said as forceps ran some equipment over the body. 

“Yep, left quite a mess this one did. Real shame, the apartment had such nice carpet to” 

“Your concern for your stiffs baffles me Forceps” I levitated the folded letter first. Inside was just a single sentence. I read it aloud “You’re getting too close...looks like we got our kidnapper scared” 

“That a good thing?” Twilight said as she reentered the morgue looking much better than she did earlier. 

“It means we are on the right track. Now let’s see what he’s got in this book...” 

“It’s locked though, and the officers couldn’t find a key” Twilight said standing beside me looking at the book. 

“You wouldn’t happen to have a bobby pin would you?” 

“Bobby pins? Here” She levitated some out of her pockets and I wrapped them with my own magic. 

“Learned this trick in college whenever somepony would lock me out as a prank” I worked the tumblers inside the lock. Luckily it was an easy lock to pick; I opened it and saw that it was a more recent journal. “Twilight, look through this and see what you can find. Look for any hint as to the identity of the kidnapper” 

She nodded and walked out with the book. I turned to the package. I levitated it and looked at the label. “It’s addressed to Ponyville...to Rarity!” 

Forceps looked up from his stiff “You think the kidnapper tried to send another message to her? Tell her she’s running out of time?”

I opened the package and was surprised at what I saw. Inside was a tiny stuffed pony doll that bore a striking resemblance to Rarity. “I wonder if Rarity knows anything about this. I’ll have the labs look at it to see what we can find...” 

I handed the doll off to forensics and met Twilight in the waiting room. She looked over the book with an incriminating eye. She looked at me and shook her head “Nothing in here but the pitiful laments of a broken heart” She said in a matter of fact voice. 

“I’m going to call Rarity about something. You know her number?” 

“Sure, what did you find?” She said as she started writing down the number. 

“An old doll that looks just like Rarity. Does she sew dolls?” 

“I think her mom was in the business, you think that doll could be a clue?” 

“It’s a possibility we can’t afford to pass up on” I walked to the telephone and started dialing the number Twilight gave me. The first ring didn’t even finish when I heard a frantic voice on the other end. 

“Detective?! Is that you?! Please tell me you’ve found something on Sweetie Belle!” Rarity’s frantic but still proper voice said on the other end. 

“Rarity calm down, I think we might have a lead” I said calmly 

I heard the unicorn breathe a little “Sorry, please tell me you’ve found something” 

I filled her in on all we’ve been up to leading up to this phone call. Rarity only really asked the occasional question but otherwise remained quiet through the whole thing. Then I decided to ask about the doll. “Uniforms found a doll that looks just like you Rarity, Does that sound familiar to you at all?” 

Silence was my answer on the other end then a small sobbing was heard. “She kept it...all this time...” 

“It belongs to Sweetie Belle?” I said putting two and two together. 

“Yes, I have one just like it that looks like Sweetie Belle. Mother made them for us when we were younger as a birthday present. Both of our birthdays are close to each other so Mother thought she’d kill two birds with one stone. I didn’t know Sweetie Belle kept hers” 

“Maybe she kept it with her to remind herself of the big sister who’s worried about her” I said trying to help. 

I heard sobbing on the other end “Please...find the brutes that did this. I can’t bear the thought of Sweetie Belle being all alone without something to remind her of me. She’s probably so scared...” 

“Rarity just let me and Twilight handle this. I swear I will get Sweetie Belle home safe and sound” 

The sobbing subsided a little “Thank you Detective, I was right to let you on this case. It’s no wonder Twilight trusts you” 

“Twilight what now?” I said caught off guard. 

“Oh nothing, you obviously got work to do and I’ve got a lot of work to do on your trenchcoat. Good luck Detective” She hung up. 

I set the receiver on the hook. “Twilight trusts me?” Well Private, I see the old charm still works. I’ve never really thought of Twilight in such a fashion. I wonder what she thinks of me. Why am I suddenly conscious of how my coat looks when she entered the room?  I shook my head and looked at Twilight. She was levitating the book and the doll, her face smiling. “Tell me you’ve got something good!” I said returning her smile. 

She  nodded “Forensics did some tests and found traces of mining powder on the doll. I also found out by reading the journal that Dustmane had a change of heart. He wanted to send the package to Rarity so that we would also find this!” She worked one of the back stitches on the doll and carefully extracted a diamond. 

“Mining powder and a gem...Sweetie Belle is being kept in a mine!” 

“Not just any mine, this diamond is known as a gem cutters dream. It’s a special diamond used only in the richest of dresses and rings” 

“What does that tell us?” 

“This diamond can only be found in one spot in all of Equestria. A mine belonging to the Diamond Dogs” 

“Diamond Dogs?” I said raising an eyebrow 

“They’re a nasty gang of dogs that tried to kidnap Rarity a long time ago. I’ll explain when we get on the train!” She started running for the door. I followed with a spring in my step. Now we were getting somewhere! 

_______________________________
“So let me get this straight” I said as we walked inside the old mine. “Rarity managed to defeat these dangerous hounds...by whining?!” 

Twilight nodded as her horn lit the room. “Uh-huh, Rarity isn’t the one to become a damsel in distress. Much to the disappointment of a certain baby dragon” 

Spike grumbled on Twilight’s back “Guy can dream can’t he...” 

I looked at Twilight “Can you scry in here? Maybe find Sweetie Belle?” 

Twilight shook her head “These caverns have many twists and turns. It would take me ages to find her let alone find a path that leads to her. We just gotta venture on” 

I snorted “So much for an easy get in and get ou-”A scream was heard coming from a cavern. “This way!” We ran down the cavern. Spike hanging on to Twilight for dear life as we ran at top speed. 

We entered a large spacious cavern. I saw a group of the biggest most disgusting looking dogs I’ve ever seen. I looked up and saw a young filly clinging to a stalactite for dear life. I looked in my pockets and pulled out Sweetie Belle’s picture. A perfect match, we’ve found our lost filly. She screamed as one of the dogs tried to grab at her. “Back off! I’m not coming down! You guys stink!” 

“Why don’t you try picking on somepony your own size?!” I shouted at the dogs. I then realized...they were our size. One of them ran and tackled me before I could pull out my gun. A brawl ensued as I fought and kicked with the dog. He had size but I had magic on my side. He tried to pin me down and raised his claws to try and cut me. I levitated a rock and hit him upside the head with it. I managed to snag my gun and fired a round at the ceiling. I noticed Spike and Twilight kicking off other dogs. The Dogs suddenly held their ears. So, these dogs had sensitive hearing eh? I fired off more shots and they cowered from the sound. I pointed my gun at the dogs. “Now, you all get in that corner! Now!” They compiled and ran to where I gestured. 

Twilight ran to under where Sweetie Belle was hanging “Hold still I’ll get you down!” 

Sweetie Belle held as still as she could as Twilight’s magic wrapped around her. Sweetie Belle, dirty and hungry but unhurt overall, landed on the ground gently. She looked around at all of us around her. “Twilight, who’s the guy in the hat?” 

I looked at the filly smiling gently. “I’m Private Eye; your sister hired me to look for you” 

“Rarity! She’s probably worried sick!” Sweetie squeaked in dismay. 

“What’s important is that you’re safe. Come on; let’s get you back to your sister” We marched out of the mine and I shot the gun in the air one last time when a diamond dog tried to give chase. He got the message.  
_____________________________________
“Sweetie Belle!!” Rarity said as we arrived back at Carousel Boutique. The two sisters embraced each other. Tears fell from Rarity’s eyes. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again! I was worried sick about you!” 

“I’m fine Rarity! I’m fine!” Sweetie said trying to push back tears that were too strong. The two sisters held each other close. We walked inside the store and the two sisters sat on a couch together. I stood in front of them smiling. 

“Sweetie Belle was unhurt and all she’ll need is a bath and some dinner” I said 

Rarity wrinkled her nose “That would explain the smell of wet dog” 

“Hey!” Sweetie Belle said 

We explained to Rarity everything that happened leading up to finding Sweetie Belle. Rarity nodded then thought for a moment “But why would the Diamond Dogs have Sweetie Belle?” 

Twilight smirked “Because you may or may not have used your great powers of...persuasion on them” 

Rarity let out a nervous laugh “Right, that might be the case” 

I looked at Sweetie Belle “Did you see any other ponies with the dogs Sweetie Belle?” 

The little filly shook her white head “No, but I do remember hearing them argue with this really old sounding pony” 

Twilight looked at me “That might’ve been Whitecloud” 

“Yeah, I remember now! He sounded just like the pony that kidnapped me” Sweetie Belle said. She then looked at me and reached into her pocket. “He also gave this to the dogs. I snagged it when I managed to escape” 

I raised an eyebrow “How did you escape your cell anyway?” 

“I just did what Rarity would do" She smiled mischievously "I whined until they would open the door for me” 

Rarity looked at her sister with narrowed eyes “I don’t know whether to be proud of you or to smack you” 

Sweetie Belle let out a giggle then she pulled out something from her pockets. She showed it to me. It was a small medallion with a design of Celestia and Luna in a circle. 

Twilight’s eyes widened “That’s the crest of the Canterlot Royal family!” 

“Royal family?” 

“Yeah, my sister in law has one just like that. Medallions like this were handed out at every royal event” 

“You think there’s a connection here?” Rarity said looking at the medallion 

I looked at Rarity “Any chance somepony of the royal family would be p-” I remembered there were virgin ears in the room. “Ticked off at you?” 

Rarity’s eyes slowly narrowed “I can think of one pony that would...” 

“And that pony is?” 

“Prince Blueblood...he’s the only royal I know of who has a grudge against me” 

“What did you do to tick off a member of the royal family?” I said my curiosity getting the better of me. 

“I simply refused to let him get away with using me as a shield against the flying cake” 

“Flying...cake?” I said dumbfounded 

Twilight looked at me “It was at the last Grand Galloping Gala. I remember that Rarity made quite the scene” 

“That over hyped event? I’m surprised you guys even went” I said 

Twilight looked at me “Have you ever been there?” 

“Four times each one as bad as the last one. I swear they overhype it and everypony is disappointed afterwards when they realize it’s really a glorified garden party” I said my friend shocked. 

Twilight sighed “Wish I could’ve told myself that when I got the tickets”  

I looked back at Rarity “So anyways you think Blueblood has something to do with this?” 

Rarity narrowed her eyes “I’d bet my best dress on it”
_____________________________________

“So how is it you’ve ended up at the gala?” Twilight said as we walked down Ponyville’s street. Spike would’ve come with us but he insisted on staying with Rarity. Said he wanted to make sure nopony tried to take Sweetie Belle back. So we left the love struck dragon back at the dress shop. 

I looked at Twilight “I’ve gone to a lot of fancy parties in my life” 

“Not just anypony gets a ticket to the gala let alone four times” Twilight said inquisitively. “Everypony was willing to fight tooth and nail to get the two tickets I had”

“Let’s just say I was born into some old money” I said flatly

“You’re rich?! But you lost your apartment because you couldn’t pay rent” 

“I’m not rich, my dad is. Let’s just say whatever money I do earn goes to a good cause” 

Twilight raised an eyebrow “What kind of cause...?” 

I stopped in my tracks and Twilight did as well. I looked at Twilight in the eye “Is this some kind of interrogation?” 

Twilight shook her head “No, I just wanted to know more about you” 

“Why?” 

“Because we are working together and you shouldn’t keep secrets from your friends” 

“How’s knowing whether or not I have money qualify as a nasty secret?” 

“I just want to know what’s so important that you would spend all your money on it and not on a decent apartment or office. Celestia spent a lot of money on that office and I want to know why you can’t afford it yourself” 

“So you're asking this because you feel like I’m taking advantage of your teacher?” 

Twilight shook her head furiously “That’s not it at all! Quit putting words into my mouth!” 

“Just saying things how I see it” I said flatly 

“Just tell me what you’re sending your money to” 

I looked at Twilight for a long moment. “I’ll tell you once the case is done...but until then no more questions. Got it?” 

Twilight snorted “Fine, but if I discover you’re doing something illegal...” 

“Don’t jump to conclusions without evidence to back it up...” I said as I walked on.  
	
> Chapter 5: Broken Hearts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Case 2 Chapter 5

Broken Hearts


I stepped up to the door of the Violet Rose. Twilight looked at me with this odd expression. I spoke simply. “I have an informant who spends her time here. She can help us determine if Blueblood had a hoof in what happened” 

“Right, but at a bar? Is she the kind of mare I think she is?” Twilight said warily 

“Not if you think she’s the kind who makes stallions forget their troubles for fifty bits a night” 

“I’m just a little weary of this place. Not a lot of nice ponies go here” 

I smiled “Which is what I’m hoping for” I lifted my hoof and knocked on the door. I said the password to the bouncer and he opened the door. I looked over at Twilight as we entered “Just stay at the bar and don’t draw attention to yourself and you’ll be fine” 

We entered the club and we split up. Twilight went straight to the bar as instructed and tried to order something nonalcoholic from the bartender. On the other hoof I was on my way to the corner booth. There she was again as expected. Larksong smiled at me and waved as I came over. “For somepony who doesn't want to see me ever again you come here often...” She said in that voice of hers where you can’t tell what she’s thinking. 

“I’m not exactly happy about it but I need your help again” I said as I slid into the seat. I didn’t order anything when the waiter came by though Larksong ordered a mug of cider for “Old times’ sake” 

She took a sip from her mug and looked at me “What low life scum do you need me to dig up this time Private?” 

I shook my head “Not low life this time, but high life” I set the medallion the diamond dogs had on the table. Larksong studied it for a long time. “A group of diamond dogs had this on them” 

Larksong looked at me with a small smile on her face. “They must've been hired by somepony” 

I raised an eyebrow “How did you guess?” 

“I have a cousin in the palace who works as a scribe. He says the royal crest is only exchanged as a gesture of trust. Royals hoof these out whenever they have the utmost faith in you” 

“I’ve never seen the princesses hand these out though” I said interjecting 

“When I said royals I didn’t mean them. I’m talking about their various nieces and nephews. Most of them are descendants of the original royal family from hundreds of years ago. Though, the only known royals are Princess Mi’amore Cadenza and Prince Blueblood” 

“So Prince Blueblood would use this sort of gesture when hiring somepony?” 

“Yes, especially nowadays” 

I raised an eyebrow at this “Why do you say that? I’d think royalty wouldn’t need to argue when hiring somepony for something” 

“You haven’t met Blueblood. The guy is an absolute jerk and coward. I heard at the gala he tried to use this one unicorn as a shield when the cake started flying” 

“This unicorn wouldn’t happen to be white with a purple mane right?” 

Larksong looked at me wide eyed “You know her?” 

“She’s the one who hired me. Now back to Blueblood, what happened after the gala?” 

“Oh, a hell of a lot, nopony would take him seriously after that night. Royalty was always his shield you see. Now that everypony knows he’s a coward nopony is willing to work with him. He also has some...connections” 

“We talking griffon mafia here?” Griffons are a rare sight in Equestria. Those that remained on this side of the border after the wars established a crime syndicate. You didn’t mess with the griffon families if you wanted to keep your neck. Griffons are fierce as well as cunning, never a good combination under any circumstances. I had my fair share of encounters with the mafia but only when they decided helping the law would be beneficial to them. 

“Yes, as it turns out he’s been using them to keep the family wealth growing for years. I heard this from one of the regulars who works for the Grimwing family. He said that his highness was having a lot trouble getting them to work for him anymore” 

“He owes them debts or something? That’s never a good idea when dealing with griffons” 

“When nopony takes you seriously it’s hard to dole out favors to you” She replied firmly.

“Do you know where I could talk to a griffon to get the info out of him?” 

Larksong smiled “Won’t be easy, I’ll ask around and see what I can dig up” 

“Thanks, I got another angle I need to look at anyway” 

Larksong’s eyes looked at Twilight who was arguing with the bartender about the lack of non-alcoholic beverages available. Lark looked at me and smiled “A new flame Private?” 

I snorted “None of your business Larksong” 

“You can’t kill me for being curious” 

“It’s not like that; she’s my assistant in this case”

“I’m sure she is, and an assistant with other things as well” 

I got up and walked away. I wasn’t about to have this conversation with Larksong. It’s not that I wouldn’t want Twilight and I to get close. It’s just I’ve been involved in too many cases to let anypony get close to me. Friendship was fine but anything more than that was out of the question. I collected Twilight and walked out. 
___________________________________________

“This the place?” Twilight asked as we came up to a small bitalion restaurant. 

“Yep, our informant said that Grimwing would be here” 

“I still can’t believe we are going to the Griffon Mafia for answers” 

I looked at Twilight “Just don’t argue with them about the food and we’ll be fine”

“Hey, that bartender was incredibly rude and I should sue her for providing poor services” 

“Good luck” I said as I entered the restaurant. The waiter took one look at us then gestured to a small table in the back. Twilight and I walked to the back and saw a lot of griffons seated around the table. One big one stopped me and started patting me down. He took out my gun and checked it. 

“.32 caliber, if you wanna assassinate the boss you should’ve come packing better heat” The griffon said suspiciously 

“He’s not here tah kill me Topshot” I heard an accented voice say from behind the large griffon. “He’s just ere to talk” 

The griffon stepped aside to reveal a large muscular black griffon. He was clad in a black suit and fedora. His yellow eyes looked into mine. I couldn't quite read them but I could tell he was expecting me. I also noticed the tip of his beak had a sharp metal tip at the end. I shuddered to think of what he did with the tip.  He gestured for one of his boys to pull up a chair for me. The griffon did so without complaint or fuss. I could tell this guy ruled with respect and not fear by the looks he got from his fellow griffon. 

I took the seat provided and Twilight was smart not to say anything as she sat beside me. “I’m no assassin. I’m Detective Private Eye and this is my partner Twilight Sparkle. We’re investigating a murder” 

The griffon looked at me as if trying to read me “Grimwing, that’s ma name and my family killed by the dozen. I see no reason to talk to you. There’s a briefcase filled with 5,000 bits under the table. You have the option to just walk away. I highly suggest it if you wanna keep that head of yers…” 

“I don’t accept bribes from anyone, griffon or pony” The other griffons looked at me as if I said I slept with his daughter. Grimwing looked at me for a long moment...then started laughing. I looked at the griffon my eyebrows raised. They were just as astonished as I was. He then looked at me with a smile on his beak. 

“Ya got balls kid, I’ll give ya that. Any other detective would’ve walked out when they saw my boys” 

“Let’s just say I’m not the kind of detective you can scare” I said a smile of my own on my face. 

“I like ya kid. But just so you know, I got friends in high places and somebody else has already taken the case on my man. So don’t expect me to testify against my boys” He said digging into his food. I shuddered when he took a tear at a mouse that was mixed in with his pasta. I like many ponies have never understood the appeal of meat. 

“I have proof that one of your boys killed a suspect in another case though” I said avoiding any glance at his food. 

“What kinda proof?” He said raising an eyebrow. 

“The caliber of gun used to kill him. It’s the kind of caliber only used in griffon made weaponry. Ballistics can match the bullet with the weapon of your assassin. Forensics also found griffon feathers near the body” 

The griffon smiled “You’re good kid, I’ll tell my boy not to be so sloppy next time” 

“But that’s not why I’m here” I said flatly 

“I figured as much. So, Whaddya here for? If not to bust one of my boys”

“The victim is a suspect in another case. Mine, you are aware of the filly that went missing a couple of days ago” 

“I heard of that, but I heard she was found and everything was okay” He said in a neutral voice. 

“I want to know who the mastermind was behind the fillynapping” 

The griffon looked at me “Ya think the guy who hired my boy was trying to cover up the kidnapping?” 

“I’d say so, now who hired you?” 

Grimwing looked thoughtful for a moment. “I didn’t get his name, but about two days ago he shows up at this very restaurant and offers a deal. 10,000 bits for a simple assassination job and I was supposed to not tell anybody about him” 

“Did you see his face?” 

“Well, if you put him in front of me I would remember his face. He was a royal for sure. Even handed me this after the deal was done” He reached into his suit and pulled out a medallion with the royal crest on it. 

Twilight looked at me “This proves that Blueblood hired the assassin to kill Dustmane” 

I looked at Grimwing “Why are you telling me this? I’m a cop” 

“You’re a good cop that’s why" He spoke firmly "You aren’t afraid to go through with a case. Unlike my more conservative griffons I’m willin to work on the other side if necessary” 

“I’ll admit you aren’t what I was expecting from a mafia boss” I said a slight smile on my face. 

“I get that a lot, so you willin to take down this bastard before he has a little accident?” He said a grin coming to his beak. 

“Yeah, but I want to know why you’re willing to tell me this stuff” I was careful to ignore elaborating on the “accident” comment. 

Grimwing frowned “So the job was done this morning and everything was going great. That is until I called the stuffy suit and asked about the reward” He suddenly got in my face. My nose was inches away from that sword of a beak. “He said ‘I’m willing to give you half now and I’ll give you the other half when I feel like it’. Can you believe the bastard? Nobody crosses the Grimwing family and gets away without at least one leg broken” 

“He cheated you out of the deal.” I said 

He backed up and sat back in his seat “Yes, you wanted ta know why I’m helpin ya? That is the reason why” 

“You got an address on where this guy lives?” 

“I don’t...but you do. It’s conveniently hidden in your gun holster” He said smiling. 

“Thanks that should be all” 

Twilight and I got up ready to leave. When we got outside I looked in my holster and sure enough there it was. “1242 Mariposy Lane” I said reading the note left in my gun holster.  

“He’s willing to give us the address?” Twilight said curiously 

“You don’t cross the griffon mafia and get away with it. I guess he wants to make sure Blueblood goes legitimately” I said thoughtfully. 

“So what do we do now?” Twilight said. 

“We still don’t have proof to connect Blueblood to the kidnapping. The evidence we have is all circumstantial. Whitecloud won’t talk about anything. Dustmane is dead so he can’t testify his story in court. Unless we have evidence that is concrete Blueblood can just walk away” 

Twilight smiled “Maybe we do have evidence after all” Twilight reached into her saddlebags and pulled out Dustmane’s journal. 

“What have you got?” I said as Twilight opened the book. 

“Our proof, listen to this” 

Dear Journal

I’ve grown tired of this. I don’t know if I can go through with what the prince asked me to do. I just look at the filly and I see my love. I feel guilt weighing on my very soul. I’m not going through with this. Blueblood can go buck himself. I’m not willing to let an innocent filly go through any more pain. She’s been taken away from Rarity against her will and I will have no more part in it. I’m sending Sweetie Belle’s doll of Rarity to her sister. I also planted a diamond inside it that I know Rarity will recognize. She’ll get help to save the little filly. I know I don’t have much time to do so. Blueblood will send somepony to kill me for sure. I at least want to die knowing I helped Rarity in some way. Rarity...forgive me for everything I’ve done. I enter the arms of death for you my love. I hope what happens next will put that damn prince behind bars for good. 

Dustmane


“He really did have a change of heart” Twilight said after reading the entry. 

“He just gave us the proof we need. Let’s go fulfill his last wish” I said as we walked for the train station. 

> Chapter 6: Blue Blood Runs Cold
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 6

Blue Blood Runs Cold



We arrived at Canterlot hours later. It was getting dark at this point and I wanted to make sure Blueblood couldn’t slip away. It was difficult getting Shinebadge to donate his forces to bringing this guy in. But after we showed him the proof he was more than happy to oblige his forces. His men set up a perimeter around the mansion and blocked off every street and skyway leading out of the place. Blueblood was trapped like a rat. Now it was time to send in the exterminator. 

Twilight and I came to the door just as Luna sent up the moon to shine tonight. The workers would all be asleep at this hour so that meant Blueblood would be ripe for the picking. I slid on a bullet proof vest and Twilight had one as well. 

I looked at Twilight “Alright, let’s bag this guy” 

She looked at me “I’ve never used one of these before...” Twilight was talking about the .45 pistol she had levitated in front of her. Twilight was not as well versed in firearms as I was. 

“It’s more for your own protection. I don’t expect you to suddenly become Bit Eastwood or anything” 

“Bit who?” 

“You really should watch more TV...” I said as I knocked on the door. “Open up! This is the Police!” When silence answered me I turned and bucked open the door. 

The foyer was spacious and extravagant, something you would expect royalty would have. Twilight and I entered cautiously guns raised. We entered a study that was spacious and had bookshelves towering over my head. At the front was Prince Blueblood himself, he wasn’t happy to see us. 

“What is the meaning of this?! Who are you and what are you doing in my house!?” He said in as much anger as his Canterlot accent could show. 

I levitated my badge “Detective Private Eye! You’re under arrest for the kidnapping of Sweetie Belle and the hiring of a hitpony to kill Dustmane!” 

“You break into my home and throw out these insane accusations!” He said getting up from his chair. “You’d better have proof!” 

Twilight glared at him raising her gun to the prince. “We read Dustmane’s journal! We know he had a change of heart so that’s why you hired Grimwing to kill him!” 

Blueblood glared at us “You are trusting criminals! You can’t put faith in what a stalker and hitpony would say!” 

I smirked “You’ll find that a jury is willing to listen to a last testimony a lot more than any testimony. This amount of proof won’t allow you to worm your way out of this Blueblood!” 

“That’s PRINCE Blueblood to you commoner!” 

“Oh, was that supposed to scare me...?” I said darkly

“What are you talking about?!” He said indignantly 

“It must’ve been so humiliating...there you were, at the top of the world. The star of the gala that any mare would kill their own mothers for, but here comes one mare more beautiful than any mare you’ve seen before...you thought you could get by on your looks and royal status to win her just like all the others” 

“You speak of her....” Blueblood growled 

“But she saw you for what you really were. One flying cake later it was revealed to the world as well. I believe her exact words were, ahem...” I imitated Rarity’s voice “‘You sir, are the most uncharming prince I have ever met! In fact the only thing royal about you is that you are a royal pain!’ did I get it right?”  

“Every damn word....” Blueblood said his voice laced with fury. 

“She ruined your reputation...nopony would take you seriously anymore. I talked to the griffon mafia and they said they closed off any deals with you after that night. You wanted to get back at Rarity for ruining you. So you had your butler kidnap little Sweetie Belle for ransom” 

“But I myself did not kidnap her” Blueblood said grasping for straws 

“Any other detective would’ve put the blame on your butler and left the case with one of the oldest clichés in the book. But you made the mistake of also involving one of Rarity’s admirers in the case. Dustmane was easy; you figured the enemy of my enemy is my friend. But Dustmane’s love of Rarity was too strong. He was going to send Rarity clues to find Sweetie Belle. So you had him how shall we say...taken out” 

Twilight narrowed her eyes “You didn’t figure anypony would challenge you. But you also made the mistake of ticking off the boss of the hitpony you hired. And that ransom money? It was to pay off the hitpony” 

I nodded “But you rode high on your victory so you decided to double cross the mafia. I’ll have you know Blueblood...nopony crosses the mafia if you want to keep your knees” 

Blueblood smirked “Then I guess I have a full excuse to use this...” In the space of a minute he levitated a machine gun and started firing. Twilight and I leapt behind a nearby couch for cover. Bullets singed around my ears as they flew through the fabric of the couch and hit the wood inside. I levitated my revolver and tried to take a shot at Blueblood. I barely got out of that attempt with my head intact. Twilight was firing blindly with her own gun. Her bullets went wild and hit various places but not Blueblood. He kept firing and firing that machine gun. He had the advantage so long as he could keep shooting. I had an idea. 

“Twi! Knock down a bookshelf!” I shouted over the symphony of bullets. 

Twilight nodded and her horn glowed. A nearby bookshelf fell and fell in front of the coach. It didn’t hit Blueblood but it was better cover than the couch. I slid out and pressed myself to the bookshelf which Twilight made sure would land on its side so I had cover. Blueblood kept firing madly. Suddenly I heard a click as his gun ran out of ammo. I pulled out of cover to aim. I telekinetically pulled the trigger and the bullet hit the prince in the left front leg. He screamed in agony. 

“Give it up Blueblood! I have cops surrounding the building and they’ll be there to meet you even if you get past us!” I shouted from behind cover. 

“Not if I give them a reason not to!” Blueblood shouted and suddenly I saw a bright flash of light first in front of me, then behind me. I turned to find Blueblood holding Twilight at gunpoint with a pale white magic. She squirmed in his grip but took note of the gun pointed at her head. “Did you forget I am a unicorn!? I was quite adept in school. Particularly when it came to teleporting” 

I pointed my gun at him “Put her down Blueblood!” 

He smirked at me “Or what? The minute you shoot me my magic will break and your little girlfriend still dies. My magic is holding the trigger so even if I die she will get a bullet in her brain anyway” 

“You really are a filthy coward!” I shouted 

“I simply know when to use a shield when it’s available...now put down your gun and if I see either of your horns glow even a little I will shoot her...” 

Twilight squirmed in the grip of his magic “Don’t listen to him Private! I’ll be fine! Take the shot!” 

I wanted to...I had every reason and right to shoot Blueblood between the eyes. But I knew that if I did he would still shoot Twilight in his dying moments. I couldn’t risk Twilight, She may be nosy and a bookworm...but I couldn’t risk her getting hurt if I could avoid it. I deactivated my magic and my gun clanked on the marble floor. 

“Kick it away...” Blueblood said cocking the .45 aimed at Twilight’s head. I kicked away my revolver. I hated being helpless but I had no choice. Twilight looked at me, tears starting to fall down her eyes. “I’m glad we can be reasonable gentlecolts...now call your policemen and tell them to back off...” 

“Rarity was right about you" I said venomously "You're not prince, you're just a cowardly snake who can’t face life so you put shields in front of you” 

“I wouldn’t test me detective...once I get out of here Rarity will have a little accident...and you will look the other way...” 

“OVER MY DEAD BODY!!!” I heard a voice shout and suddenly a purple streak came out of the door and hit Blueblood the gun he was holding misfired and missed Twilight by a hair. Blueblood was wrestling with none other than Spike. I used this moment to activate my own magic on Twilight. I yanked her to me and away from the gun. I looked up to see Spike get knocked away from the prince. “You will not hurt Rarity!” Spike growled getting up and facing Blueblood. 

“Oh isn’t this rich...if it isn’t Rarity’s little lap dragon...” Blueblood said raising Twilight’s pistol to aim at the baby dragon. 

“I should warn you Prince Blackblood! You play with fire you're likely to get burned!” Spike said boldly. 

“Brave words coming from a dragon who knows he doesn't have a chance at Rarity...” Blueblood said sinisterly. 

“Shut up! I don’t care if Rarity never returns my love! I will still fight and protect all of my friends with every fiber of my being!” 

“Won’t do you much good in the next two seconds...” He aimed the gun at Spike. Twilight and I shouted for Spike to duck but he just held up his arms. Blueblood fired the gun and the bullet flew at Spike. Only instead of penetrating Spike’s tiny body...the bullet bounced off. It went wild and Twilight and I ducked behind the bookshelf for cover. I looked up to see Spike get very close to Blueblood then opened his mouth. A torrent of green fire hit the gun. The gun became so hot it caused the gunpowder inside to explode. When the dust cleared there was Spike standing over an unconscious Blueblood. 

Twilight ran to Spike and hugged him tight as I ran to check Blueblood’s vitals. I looked over at the hugging friends. “He’s still alive, just knocked out and he’ll have a few burns on his face for a while...” 

Twilight looked at Spike after he was done squeezing him “The bullet...Spike you could’ve been killed!” 

Spike tapped his arm “Dragon Scales...practically bullet proof. Did I do good Twilight?” 

Twilight shook her head “But I thought you were with Rarity! How did you get here so fast?” 

“You know how my fire can send letters to Princess Celestia? Well I figured I could get myself to Canterlot by setting myself on fire. Once I explained the situation to the princess she teleported me here. Then I came here and saved you guys. Did I do good Twilight?” 

“Spike...that has to have been the stupidest and bravest thing you’ve ever done for me” Twilight said in both a chastising and proud voice. 

“Hey, anything for you guys...” Spike said tiredly. 
________________________________
“Ya certainly know how to bag em Private” Shinebadge said as Blueblood was led into an armored magic proof carriage. Taking careful measure to make sure nopony saw his now burned face. 

“I can’t take all the credit. You have this little dragon to thank for catching Blueblood” I said putting a hoof on Spike’s shoulder. 

“Aww quit talking Private you're making me blush!” Spike said rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. 

Badge looked at me “Well Blueblood is going away for quite a while. We’ll let the courts take it from here. Good work Private, a lot of my boys miss having a closed case like this” 

“Just doing my job Shinebadge” I said nodding. Badge went to join the uniforms. I then saw a white unicorn push her way through the onlookers. She pushed her way through the crowd and ran straight for Spike. Rarity hugged the young dragon tightly tears running down her eyes. 

“Oh Spikey Wikey...I was so worried you would hurt yourself after you vanished. I heard about what happened! I’m glad you're okay” She said sounding genuinely worried.

Spike blushed in Rarity’s grip “Anything for you Rarity...” 

I couldn’t help but smile at the pair. Twilight came up to me and I smiled at her. “You alright?” 

“I’ll have some stiffness from being held in magic for so long but I’ll be okay” Twilight said stretching out her leg. 

Rarity then let go of Spike and looked at me “So, Blueblood is going to prison?” 

I nodded “By the looks of it. I’ll have Badge hook you up with some protection detail for the next couple of weeks in case anypony tries to take vengeance for him” 

Rarity smiled and nodded “If it means Sweetie Belle and I can have a few moments peace I’ll take what I can get” It was then I noticed a large package sticking out of her saddle bags. 

“Rarity, what’s in the package?” I said curiously 

“My gift to you for helping me and my sister” She said smiling. She levitated the package out in front of me. I slowly unwrapped it. It was a trenchcoat, but made of fine material and was a solid grey instead of a mottled brown. The color matched my hat almost perfectly. 

I looked at Rarity confused. “What happened to my old coat?” 

Rarity frowned. “That drab old thing? It took me forever to simply fix a pocket! Besides the color looked just terrible on you! Made you look like a criminal rather than a heroic detective” 

“So you started completely from scratch?” I said examining the coat. 

Twilight smiled “Rarity knows what she’s doing, it’s better to let her have her way when it comes to design” 

“Well I would’ve suggested-” Twilight stuffed a hoof in my mouth 

“He loves it Rarity” Twilight said smiling innocently 

“Wonderful!” Rarity said smiling at me in turn “It’s the least I can do for all you’ve done detective. Working on that coat is what’s kept me sane throughout this entire thing” 

I got Twilight’s hoof out of my mouth “Anytime Rarity, I hope you and Sweetie Belle will keep out of trouble from now on” 

“I will detective, I’m heading home. Sweetie Belle and I have a lot of catching up to do” 

“I’ll come to” Spike said walking beside Rarity “Who knows if Blueblood has goons or something looking to take you out” 

I smiled a little “Alright, Spike please escort Miss Rarity home” 

Spike saluted and the two walked off deep in conversation. I smiled as they left then Twilight looked at me “Never would’ve pegged you as the romantic type” 

“Ahh, I have a thing for routing for the underdog in these kinds of situations” I said smiling. “Spike just reminds of me when I was younger” 

“You served a mare hoof and hoof?” Twilight said smiling slyly

“Something like that, guys do that kind of thing all the time when they are hopelessly in love” 

“Anyways, you promised me you were going to tell me why you’re so poor but were born into old money when we were done with the case” 

“I did promise that didn’t I...” I said my smile fading. 

“So tell me” Twilight said her violet eyes meeting mine. 

“I think it’s better if I just show you...” I started trotting away 

Twilight followed me her eyebrow raised “Where are we going?” 

“Manehatten” I said simply
	
> Epliogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


“Death’s Front Door”
Epilogue


Twilight and I stepped out of the taxi in Manehatten. It was a clear crisp morning in the sprawling Metropolis. I think my time in Ponyville has caused me to lean more towards the country though. I felt like I was simply an ant in a huge world for some reason. Maybe I was just trying to distract my mind from the fact that I’m going to do something I haven’t done in years. Share what I’m going through with somepony else...

Twilight looked up at the building before us “Moren Stallion’s Filly Hospital? You brought me to a children's hospital?” 

“What were you expecting?” I said looking up at the white hospital before us. 

Twilight shrugged “I don’t know, that you were working for the mob or that you were an undercover spy or something” 

“Nothing so extravagant I can assure you...just something I have to do” We both walked inside the hospital. The waiting room was thankfully patient free. It’s always a good sign for the hospital if there weren’t a lot of patients. I walked up to the front desk and hit the buzzer. 

About two minutes later a plump white unicorn with silver hair and a nurses cap walked out from a door in the back. She smiled warmly upon seeing me “Oh Private! Good to see you” 

“Hello nurse!” She smiled a little at that “I’m here to see Tailspin” 

Twilight looked at me “Tailspin?” 

Jubilee looked at Twilight “A friend of yours Private?” 

I nodded “Yeah, she’s my assistant and I couldn’t keep the little guy under wraps anymore” 

Jubilee smiled “Well, he’s just gotten up and he’s in his room” 

Jubilee led us down the halls of the hospital. Twilight looked at me for some clue as to what she was about to see. I tried to keep my face as neutral as possible. I didn’t want to give Twilight any hint about what she was about to see. Her reaction had to be genuine. 

We stopped at a door with a name marked “Tailspin” Jubilee nodded at me and then left. Twilight looked me then I gestured with my head for her to follow. I opened the door. 

Inside was just the one hospital bed. Its sheets were blue with tiny clouds on it and covered the hind legs of its owner. The foal sitting on his bed had a soft sapphire blue coat and a bright electric blue mane. He had no cutie mark yet but he did have a smile on his face when I entered the room. This was Tailspin...my little brother. “Hey bro” He said as we entered. Twilight looked at me in shock. 

I ignored Twilight and walked to Tailspin's bedside. “How are you feeling today Tailspin?” 

“Better, hospital food still sucks though" He turned his attention to Twilight "Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing a beautiful mare to visit today?” I flushed a little as Twilight giggled. 

Twilight walked to the bedside and sat in a chair like I did. “I’ll thank you for that beautiful compliment, I’m Twilight Sparkle”  

Tailspin smiled “I’m Tailspin, Private’s much cuter younger brother!” 

I frowned “Alright that’s enough flirting out of you mister you already have the nurses wrapped around your hoof you’re not getting my assistant!” 

“Aww and here I thought I could add a unicorn to my list” He said smiling innocently 

“Can it you flirt!” I bopped him lightly on the head and we both laughed

Twilight smiled “Funny, I would’ve expected a relative of Private’s to be a unicorn not an earth pony” 

Tailspin suddenly stopped laughing and looked at Twilight “I’m not an earth pony...” 

Twilight raised an eyebrow “But...you don’t have a horn and I don’t see any...” 

I looked at Tailspin my grey eyes serious “It’s up to you if you wanna show her Tailspin. I won’t force you” 

Tailspin looked at me, then at Twilight, then back to me again. “She’s gonna find out anyway...” He leaned forward and Twilight gasped at what she saw. Tailspin’s wings were all mangled and small. They weren’t in any sort of flying shape at all “I’m a Pegasus...my mom was one...” Tailspin said simply

Twilight looked at me trying not to stare at Tailspin’s wings. I shook my head; she didn’t need to say anything. I motioned for us to head outside. Twilight looked at me fighting for the right words. She finally found them “What, happened?” 

I looked at Tailspin who was sitting back on his bed reading a book. “He was born too early” 
___________________________________
We sat in the hospital waiting room for a long time. Twilight was looking at me, fighting to figure out what to say. I looked at her “You want to know the truth?” 

“By now I would like that...” Twilight said 

I sighed and leaned back in the chair “It’s a long story...” 

“We got time...” 

“Alright, my full name is Preventus Phelps Eye. My father’s name is Irenius Eye” 

“Irenius...Wait! I know that name! Irenius Eye makes monocles for a lot of the upper class ponies in Canterlot! You’re his son?!” 

“I told you I was born into old money” I said simply

“Okay, so what about your mother?” 

I leaned back in my chair “My mother was named Sparrowheart. She was a beautiful actress my dad fell in love with while he was visiting Cloudsdale. She eventually left the acting world and became a flight school teacher later in life. There was some small controversy around him marrying a Pegasus but he didn’t care” 

“He sounds like a great stallion” Twilight said smiling 

“Wait till you get to me, from the minute I was born I was to be groomed to take over the family business” 

“How do you go from that to being a private detective?” 

“After I got my cutie mark” I gestured to my flank which sported a magnifying glass on it. “Dad wasn’t too happy when I told him I wanted to be a cop” 

“I would’ve thought your dad would be proud” Twilight said tilting her head

“He was less unhappy about me becoming a cop then me leaving behind the family business. After I told him he was furious. He convinced my mother to think about having another child...” 

Twilight looked at me “That was Tailspin...” 

“Yeah” I said nodding “Only problem was as I got older my dad wanted a new son as soon as possible...he had my mother take Mandrake” 

“Isn’t that a drug that’s supposed to accelerate the growing of a pony?” Twilight said drawing on her knowledge. 

“Yeah, only it has a billion side effects and can cause...permanent damage to the baby...” 

Twilight covered her mouth “I’m so sorry...how did your father react?” 

I looked out the window “I still remember it to this day...I was staying late to help clean up back when I was in middle school...I got a call from dad telling me that the baby was coming too early and that something terrible was happening. I remember not being able to hail a taxi carriage because it was pouring rain outside. I remember running for nearly two hours trying to find the hospital in the rain and the darkness. I found it...only...” I stopped for a few seconds and looked down at my hooves...I felt Twilight lay a hoof on my shoulder. 

That got me going again. “They wouldn’t let me see my mother...she made a choice…either save herself or save the baby...she chose to save Tailspin” 

Twilight looked at me “He was a preemie wasn’t he?” 

“Yeah, his wings didn’t have time to fully develop...same with his hind legs…he can’t fly or walk without help” 

Twilight had a small tear in her eye “I’m so sorry....I shouldn’t have stared at them” 

I looked at her “He doesn't mind it much anymore...he’s used to the reaction you gave. Had I told you ahead of time you would’ve tried to fake it or made an effort not to look at them” 

Twilight looked at me “So, what did your father do when he found out?”

“He wouldn’t even look at him" I replied flatly "He wouldn’t acknowledge Tailspin as his own...he told me to take Tailspin and drop him off at an orphanage somewhere” 

“You didn’t by the looks of things...” 

“I couldn’t hold him responsible for what happened to mom like dad did...He was so small and helpless, I had to take care of him” 

“And the reason why you’re so poor...” 

“Is because every bit of my damn earnings goes to Tailspin, my father wouldn’t help me take care of him so I had to earn everything on my own” 

“I have plenty of bits if-” Twilight started to say before I cut her off

“I don’t take charity Twilight. I know your intentions are good but Tailspin is my brother. It’s my responsibility to take care of him” I said firmly 

Twilight looked at me for a long moment. My eyes met hers and for a moment...she knew me. She nodded “I’m...happy you are a good pony Private...” 

“You had doubts?” I said curiously 

Twilight looked down at her hooves “Just...the way you’re so secretive I thought...well that maybe you were doing something terrible behind my back or something” 

“You thought I was dangerous?” I said

She shook her head “No, just...I hate not knowing anything” 

“I could’ve gathered that” I said smiling 

She returned my smile “I’m sorry for being pushy” 

“And I’m sorry for being tall, dark, and mysterious so now we are even” 

We both laughed at that. Can’t really explain why but, it was nice that somepony else knew my troubles. I guess I just waited all this time for somepony to share my troubles with. Twilight and I spent the rest of that day in Manehatten before venturing back to Ponyville. 
______________________________
I was sifting through my mail when I saw it. It was a small envelope with a dice on the bottom right corner. I knew who it was from and I opened it. Inside contained a note. 

Dear Private

You’re getting reckless, first a business tycoon and now royalty. I can’t protect you forever Private. If you don’t know when to back off you’re going to get hurt. The next case, try and know when to stop your pursuit. 

Vegas

I took one look at the letter and threw it in the trash. Vegas isn’t going to influence me when it comes to cases. I learned a long time ago that he’s the kind of Detective who would know when to walk away. I never walk away.