> Detective Conan: The Colt > by ABagOVicodin > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Party Panic: Part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Panting and running, that is all that mattered right now. Cerulean eyes stared ahead at the sidewalk as it moved below his vision and behind him. The child stressed his lungs and heart in order to keep them beating. Japan was now an obstacle course, and his prey would escape if he wasn't careful. The blue jacket of the man he was chasing continued to billow in the wind, but the predator knew his victim was running out of energy. Once the distance between the two of them was closed, Conan reached down towards his sneakers and turned the dial on the side. He was standing right next to a store which was still renovating. This meant more objects to stop culprits with. The humming feeling in his foot started to radiate through his body, and a well placed kick collided into a nearby brick. The brick shot through the air, but missed his target. The convict turned to the right and moved into an alleyway. Conan didn't waste any more time. He closed the distance between himself and the alleyway, and right when he was about to reach for his watch, a large pain started to spread through his head. Darkness clouded his vision. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Hey. Are you okay? Hello?” A scratchy voice asked. Conan felt some pressure on his forehead from a harder surface, possibly made from bone or flesh, or some combination between the two. Pain shot through his head and he gasped after his eyes opened. Magenta hues were staring back at him, a light blue pony hovering over him. Her wings were keeping her body in the air while she set on her new task to make sure Conan was alive. Rainbow Dash's hoof did not leave his head, and he felt the pressure on his forehead a few more times. He was being poked awake. “Please stop it.” Conan said. He was lying on his back, but the alignment of his body wasn't exactly equal to a human's. The breeze on his nose was covering more of his face, and he reached his hands up to press against his snout. At this point Rainbow Dash knew Conan was awake, and she smiled. “Well, glad to see that you are awake.” She said, as her head moved a few inches away from the foal. Conan tried to flex his fingers in order to test his motor muscles and reflexes, only to find that any fingers that he previously held, were now turned into a light brown hoof. He lifted both of his arms up into his field of vision, and his eyes widened before he gasped. “What the...” Unlike his previous case, he was stumped. He was a pony? This was a dream. It had to be. Conan tried to move himself into a standing position with the regular movements of a human, only to find that he was unable to do such a thing. Standing up as a human was different and easier than as a pony. He turned back to Rainbow Dash, who placed her hoof nearby his forehead. “You hurt your head.” The mare stated, and she scanned her field of vision for any kind of doctor or somepony who could help. “Thanks, I can tell from the splitting headache that I have.” Conan replied. After the realization that his balance was now completely off, he moved to his hooves. Now that he was finally vertical, Conan could figure out exactly what was wrong. Rainbow didn't seem to want to leave him alone however. “You need to get some help. Last time I went to the doctor, they fixed me up within a few days!” Rainbow said, and she grabbed Conan's hoof. She started to drag him in the direction of the hospital. Despite Conan's struggling, their destination was slowly approaching. Conan was taller than his human counterpart, this much was certain. But he was still small, compared to the one who was now trying to break his hoof. He was hunched over onto all four of his limbs, and continued to walk while his previous memories were being retrieved. The memories of the last few weeks, of having to endure solving cases while figuring out exactly where the Organization was were available. But last night was not. Something was wrong here. Either his brain was being messed with, or he just turned from a human into a pony, overnight. “Hey foal. What's your name?” Rainbow asked. Conan was knocked back into reality (if this could be called such a thing) by Rainbow's question, and he blinked a few times before staring at her. “Uh... Conan. Conan Edogawa.” The child replied. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and the two stopped walking. Conan appreciated this, but he had a feeling that he was still going to attend the hospital. As much as he appreciated doctors and their line of work, the paper trail which was left behind by numerous amounts of doctor visits were not helpful to his current predicament. A medical history was nice, but when an Organization which checked nearly every single piece of paper in Japan was after you, the last thing you wanted was evidence of your existence. “That's a weird name.” Rainbow Dash replied, “Why were you named that?” Conan paused. Certainly the meaning of his name was not something that he should be worried about, especially when he was in a world populated with enough bright colors to brighten the days of anyone who passed through these parts. But he had to be careful. Even his highest level of care ended up almost killing his friends and family. This blue mare was not dangerous, yet. The meaning of his name wouldn't hurt. “My parents loved the books made by Arthur Conan Doyle and Edogawa Ranpo. So my name was mixed in with those.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Great,” she thought, “Another Egghead.” Apparently she didn't know him, which gave Conan some information. Perhaps he was going to have to treat this event like a case. Information was scarce, which meant he was going to have to acquire it himself. Would going to a hospital give him any information? Probably not, but if his head was really hurting as much as the pounding was telling him, then a stay in the hospital was the smarter move. Maybe their records wouldn't be watched by the Organization. If he could, then not living in fear of the Organization for a while would be nice. The two entered the hospital, and a light pink mare looked up from her clipboard. A smile moved across her face, as she asked exactly what the problem was. He scanned over her body, noticing a small amount of muscle on her back hooves when they were compared to the mare to the left of him. Perhaps she played a sport, or contained a more active lifestyle. His body may have changed, but his personality sure didn't. The entire waiting room exudes a warm and inviting feeling. Conan assumed it was because a comfortable patient ended up going to the doctor more, which was false. The capitalistic society of Japan was completely different from the monarchy of Equestria. The comforting feeling was applied so that patients would be healed as quickly as possible. His attention on the room drew his focus from the conversation between the two mares, which in turn, surprised him when the doctor approached the two of them. “Hello,” he said, “How are you feeling today?” “Not as well as I wish.” Conan responded. The doctor smiled and started his walk to one of the hospital beds, while he motioned Conan to follow. Conan laid back against the bed, small crinkling noises irritating his headache while he stared up at the ceiling. It almost felt unreal that every single color in this place was amplified. Yellows were not painful to look at, but remained bright and removed from the scourge of human modernity. The rainbow on Dash's mane was brighter than any other splash of color which followed rain in Japan. It was surprising, and a little nice. Conan's mouth opened and the doctor started to examine it, along with covering his face with a handkerchief. Conan's headache was not pounding as much, but the lack of sight was somewhat disconcerting. Any time that his sight was removed, bad things usually happened. Murders, arson, and kidnappings usually followed. His pulse was checked, followed by an eye examination. Conan was wondering if this doctor was not exactly proficient in his field, since his headache was obviously caused by trauma to his head. However there was no mark on his head, where a metal object supposedly hit him. The doctor turned the lights back on, and Conan looked to his left. Rainbow looked extremely bored, as she sat in a chair and read some magazine on “The Wonderbolts”. “You don't have to stay here for me.” Conan said. Rainbow looked up from her magazine and sighed in relief, before she walked over to the door. “Alrighty, I'll see you later!” she replied, before walking out of the room. Conan turned to the doctor, who was now writing down Conan's afflictions on a clipboard. Conan made a mental note to steal that piece of paper later, until he knew this city was completely safe. “Let's see here,” the doctor started, as he lightly tapped Conan's head to check his sensitivity to touch. “It looks like you may have fallen off of a tree or from a large height, in order to hurt your head this badly. I suggest you go home and rest for the day. I can write a note for your teacher if you want.” “Thanks, but I am okay.” Conan responded, as he moved off of the bed and onto his hooves. “I'm perfectly capable of walking home.” The only problem, was the fact that his home was in a different area. “Fine then, I understand. Come back to me if your headache gets any worse. I'll walk you outside.” The doctor said, and the two walked outside. As they parted their separate ways, the doctor rubbed his hoof underneath his chin. “He is too smart for his own good. Kid probably reads more than he should.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Conan lightly trotted down the road, passing buildings with happy ponies who were smiling and offering gifts for no apparent reason. So it wasn't just the color of his environment that was brighter, it was the ponies as well. Now that his mind wasn't being inspected, the major questions could be pondered. Why exactly was he not in Japan? He was transformed into an equine, and somehow teleported into an alternate dimension where happiness and the well being of others were promoted rather than exploited for money. As much as he wanted to believe it, this had to be a dream. His thoughts were invaded by a large gasp from a pink pony in front of him. His eyes focused on the pony in front of him, but before he could make out the general body or shape of this creature, she had disappeared into a puff of pink smoke. He wasn't scary, why did she run? Conan passed a large pink building with a cupcake sign, and he heard his stomach growling. Having a migraine apparently created an appetite. He ran his hands along his light brown fur, only to find a lack of clothes or money on his body. A sigh passed his lips as he realized he was going to have to earn a few hundred yen in order to buy something. The bare properties of his body also brought another realization to him: his powerful sneakers, watch, and glasses were missing. Unlike in Japan, if a threat was to present itself, he was now completely helpless. This was disconcerting as well. Conan was trapped in a world completely different from his own, in a completely different body, and he was missing the three things which he was capable of solving cases with. As far as he knew, he was screwed. He stopped in his tracks when he felt his head bump into another mare's chest, and he took a few steps back before feeling a pulse of pain move through his head. “Ouch. Sumimasen.” Conan started, as he examined the pony in front of him. A white colored mare with beautiful purple hair was staring back at him with her own ocean blue eyes. Her back was accompanied by a saddle, with two bags hanging off the sides. The bags were full of clothing materials. Conan assumed that she was probably a seamstress. Rarity blinked a few times, Conan's Japanese moving completely over her head. Conan should have probably used English since that was the language spoken around here, but his apology was out of habit. He was a foal, which meant he was always wrong, and apparently clumsy. “Oh my goodness. Darling, are you okay?” She asked. “Yeah, I guess I'm okay.” He responded. “I'm just lost, and a little hungry.” Rarity nodded her head before her eyes wandered over Sugarcube Corner in the distance. “I can get you a little something, and you can tell me where you live.” She said. Conan agreed with this plan, and nodded his head to show it. “My name is Rarity. I'm a dress designer here in Ponyville. You live here?” Ponyville, so that was the name of this place. It certainly made sense, but out of every single city that he could remember, Ponyville was not a city on Earth. So it was true, he was dreaming. Conan shook his head and Rarity raised an eyebrow before walking over to Sugarcube Corner. Conan followed, his eyes scanning left and right to try and find any kind of solace or comfort in the recognizable. No watch, no Ran, or any of his friends. He felt alone and uncomfortable, which created a small frown on his face. Rarity noticed it, and her own smile formed. Pinkie was going to get rid of that smile, Rarity was sure of it. As the two of them entered Sugarcube Corner, some of the ponies seated in the corner looked over the duo, wondering if Rarity had a brother that no one knew about. Conan realized the one behind the cash register was the mare who gasped and disappeared in a pink blur. Pinkie Pie looked to Conan and she smiled before rushing out of her station. “I haven't met you before!” She said, her eyes staring into his own. “You must be new in town! My name is Pinkie Pie, what is yours?” Rarity had a few reasons for taking Conan to Sugarcube Corner, and this was certainly one of them. Indication that Conan was new in town would no doubt be provided by Pinkie, since she knew everyone who passed through the city, whether it was for one day or their whole life. The other obvious reason was Conan's hunger. “It is nice to see you Pinkie, I was going to buy this foal a muffin, if you do not mind.” She started. Conan was surprised at the generosity of this mare, but his combined feelings of happiness and generosity were interrupted by Pinkie. After Conan provided his name, Pinkie started to pick him up and spin him around in a circle while asking him what his favorite miscellaneous things were. There was a reason why he wasn't a fan of the Detective Boys, because they acted like her. “Please stop talking.” He said, and Pinkie frowned before putting him back onto his hooves. “I have a headache.” Pinkie tapped her hoof underneath her chin a few times, “A headache? That's weird for a foal, don't you think?” She said. “I hit my head, but I already went to the doctor and he told me to rest my head.” Conan responded, implying that Pinkie's shaking was only hurting him more than trying to make him happy. Pinkie felt slightly guilty, but it didn't show on the large smile that remained on her face. “Sorry.” She said to Conan, before turning to Rarity, “Hey Rarity, I am holding a party in Los Pegasus, do you want to come?” Rarity looked towards her saddlebag, and then bit her lip. Conan was able to tell that she probably was going to work. She then turned to him. “Are your parents in Los Pegasus?” She asked, while Pinkie moved behind the cash register and handed Conan a muffin. Conan shook his head as he held the muffin in his hoof. He sat down, realizing that the lack of fingers and toes meant that things were going to have to be held differently. Both of his front hooves moved up to grasp the muffin while he ate it. Rarity turned back to Pinkie and nodded her head. “I guess I can go. I can always work on those dresses tomorrow.” She said. Pinkie smiled and handed an invitation to both Conan and Rarity. “Okay, I'm finishing my shift in an hour, then I'm going to prepare the party and I'll see you at nine!” “Okay Pinkie, we will see you then.” Rarity replied, before she left the building. Conan followed, as he managed to keep his pace with three hooves while the other was holding his muffin. Rarity turned to the foal, “You can stay at my house until you find your parents, is that okay?” She asked. Conan was taken aback by the mare's response. He had to earn Kogoro a couple thousand yen in order to stay at his house, and Rarity was allowing him to stay free of charge? This was a dream. It had to be. He nodded his head with a smile, the fears of the Organization hiding deep inside of his mind. In this world, he wouldn't have to worry about it. But in the other, problems were emerging. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Conan's headache managed to exude out of his head over the next few hours, and he instead decided to attend the party. The train ride to Los Pegasus was not very long, probably because he was still bouncing off hypotheses in his head. He needed to figure out exactly why he was in this dream, and why it wasn't over yet. Five hours passed by in his mind, from being discovered and the doctor visit, to his current place on the train. Certainly dreams were not that long. He noticed the train stopped, and he looked down at his new attire, which Rarity managed to create in only a few hours. His regular detective outfit was now created for a foal. Although he was missing all of his gadgets, at least he acquired the one uniform that gave him a peace of mind. Rarity was dressed in a new dark blue dress which clearly showed off her adept sewing skills. Her hair was tied up into a bun, and a large amount of makeup was applied to her eyes. The two exited the train and started their walk down the road, no words exchanged between the two of them. As much as Rarity wanted to talk, Conan was not going to listen. She could guess that he had a lot more on his mind than he said, but she couldn't pressure him into talking. That was the last thing she wanted. The two walked into the large building, and Conan was surprised by the preparations. The building looked like it was previously used for a religious or children ceremony, since it was painted in the neutral colors of white on the ceiling and walls while brown was used as more of a border. The floors were light brown linoleum, and swept completely clean to the point where you could eat off of them. He expected that the floor was going to be used as the dining table, until his eyes noticed the snacks. The party was going to be held for around sixty people. Conan guessed this due to the amount of drink cups, snacks, and other amenities. Forks, knives, spoons, and plates were multiplied by one and a half, because not every pony would end up taking a plate, but some might end up taking two if they were grabbing large amounts of snacks. There was no alcohol here, which meant that the party was for every age. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud bass drop, and the current attendants of the party started to dance. Rarity looked to him. “Would you like to dance Conan?” She asked. Conan shook his head, “No thank you, I'm not really in the mood for dancing.” He replied, a smile on his face. “I'm going to be in the corner, you go dance, I'll watch.” Rarity nodded her head, before she moved out into the crowd. Her frame was sucked up by all the colts and mares who just wanted to unwind and enjoy their Saturday. The music was turned down so that any child would not cry. Conan stood against the corner of the room and surveyed the decorations of the party. Along with streamers, the room was decorated with luminescent pieces of paper, which glowed and formed a horizontal line along the middle of the walls. The line ended at the exit, just in case ponies were confused with the layout of the room. A DJ with a white coat was spinning a record on the middle of a turntable, purple glasses covering her eyes and a smirk on her face. House music was playing, with a mixture of orchestral instruments carefully placed inside. Although it seemed odd to place completely different genres of music together, this DJ was proficient in her music choice. Three long tables were lined up against the walls, with large amounts of snacks and punch in cups placed on top. The snacks were on top of trays and consisted of muffins, cupcakes, and everything in the pastry department. Conan looked up at the ceiling, and saw a chandelier suspended from six golden chain links. It was at least as big as him, and a large amount of diamonds glittered from the chandelier. The memory of previous parties that he attended made him wince, and as the lights started to dim around the center of the room, his eyes widened. One white colt in the center of the room smirked as two mares started to dance nearby him. Their bodies started to mash together, and one particular set of eyes narrowed before the chandelier disconnected from the chains. The clinking of the chains on the chandelier followed as the weapon fell six feet downwards. The two mares retreated from the colt and smiled until the chandelier passed their field of vision. The weapon collided with the colt's head and his balance left him, along with his life. His body met the floor and both of the mares screamed out, along with Rarity until the whole crowd realized the magnitude of this event. Conan ran over to the body and was about to touch his neck until he realized that he didn't have any gloves. He pointed his hoof at Rarity, “Stay near the door! Nobody leave!” He yelled. Everyone in the crowd froze as they stared at the foal near the body, and Conan realized that he was now the center of the attention. “You have got to be kidding me.” > Party Panic: Part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The silence permeated through the crowd as hundreds of eyes stared at Conan. His own eyes were staring down at the body, a chill going down his spine as he realized the attention was all on him. Not a single pony moved from their spot, and Conan grew angry. He was about to yell at the crowd, and ask them what they were waiting for. However he realized the lack of technology in this world, probably because most ponies were not even a fan of clothes with pockets. No one could call the police because there were no cell phones. Conan pointed to Rarity and the mare jumped slightly at being suddenly accused by a foal who was childish at first, but suddenly serious. “Rarity, go get the police.” He told her, as his ocean blue eyes stared ahead at the two mares who had tear marks on their cheeks. Both of them were crying, and terrified of this event. Rarity nodded her head and trotted out the door, explaining her reasons for leaving to the body guard before she headed off. A sigh moved past Conan's lips, as he realized that another crime scene was enacted in front of him. Whether he was dreaming or not, apparently he couldn't live a day of his life without witnessing a crime. He scanned the party and noticed a significant amount of fillies and foals were attending the party along with the adults. What a shame that this had to be seen, considering he was not going to tolerate any crime before him. Some would say that it made him a hero for his intolerance. Others would consider it a flaw. Conan would consider it a curse. Some colts from the back of the party crowd started to grow agitated, and they moved to the front of the line. “You don't tell us what to do,” one of the colts started, “You are just a foal! We can leave the party whenever we want.” One of the colts started to move towards the door, and Conan peripheral vision alerted him that the DJ stand was empty. The white mare was standing at the door now, a smirk remaining to be the only visible thing on her face. The agitated colt raised an eyebrow as he stopped in front of the mare. “What are you doing? Get outta my way, I need to get home.” “You seem to be very anxious to leave the party. Why would that be?” The mare asked. “Those who commit the crime are usually the ones who want to leave it.” The light green colt bit his lip before he took a step back from the DJ. She looked over to Conan, and then her lips showed a more serious expression. “What do you think, Detective?” She asked. Conan's eyes widened as the crowd focused their eyes on him once more. Should he even be showing off his detective prowess in this room? Was there such thing as a gang organization that wanted him dead in this country? He had to think quickly because the longer his response was, the less people would believe him. “I'm not a detective. That is just what I was taught in school! To tell everyone to stop in their position.” He said. The previously annoyed colt turned back to the DJ. “Okay, he doesn't have anything to tell us, let's leave.” He said. “Come on Mare, move.” Right when the DJ was going to respond, the doors opened and two dark blue colts walked into the room. The crowd seemed to settle down, and some of them shifted in nervousness, mostly the two mares who used to dance with the corpse. Conan noticed these actions and his mind started to work, now that everyone wasn't staring at him. He looked down at the chandelier, and the blood lines on the party floor. Each line was around 3 inches away from each other and diagonally spread a foot into the floor. This was not an accident, this was a planned murder. “Alright everyone. I am Behind Bars and this is my partner, Fair Trial.” The first cop said. He was wearing a police uniform that reminded Conan of the ones back in Japan, although the hat was missing. The officer's outfit was wrinkled a large amount and there were dark circles under his eyes. His short mane and tail were unkempt. However he immediately looked towards the body, and walked over to it. The second cop remained near the door, which alleviated the DJ from her duties. Conan started to walk around the room, and the DJ walked over to him and tapped his shoulder. “Hey, Foal.” She said. Conan turned towards the DJ and smiled. “Thanks for helping me out.” He said, before he looked back to a particular light switch. “Do you have a handkerchief?” He asked, while he looked back to the detached chandelier. “Nice to meet you too.” The DJ responded with a slight tone of annoyance. She walked over to the table and took a napkin, followed by levitating it over to Conan. He didn't notice the magic that was used to give him the napkin, he just assumed that it was thrown to him from a short distance. His attention remained on the fixture as he realized the switch was of a revolving nature. Whether it was turned left or right, the lights would dim or brighten. He placed the napkin on his back as he walked back over to the corpse. Behind Bars looked towards Conan and then chuckled. “This isn't something that you need to see, little foal.” He said. Conan pointed up at the chains that used to hold the murder weapon, and he adopted that curious tone he used whenever he would ask the detectives back in Japan a question. “Say, wouldn't it be better to check the chains for fingerprints?” He asked. Some of the members of the crowd started to laugh, while others were flat out confused. Behind Bars was one of the confused ones. “Finger what? What are you talking about?” He replied. Conan paused and looked down at the limbs that kept him up. One of the major methods that Japan used in order to solve a case was completely absent. Ponies didn't have fingers, they only had hooves. This realization made him more uncomfortable than the hundreds of cases that he endured, and ended up solving. For the first time since he started detective work, an unknown value was being brought before him. Fingerprints could not be used as evidence. Because of this, the one thing Conan planned to use to solve the case was gone. He was back to square one. “Never mind.” He said with an innocent tone while he walked back to the corner of the room he used during the murder. He was lost. He knew the two suspects. The murder weapon was here. The motive wasn't. There were too many variables for him to be comfortable with a hypothesis. As much as he hated having to wait, he was going to have the police officers help answer some of his internal questions. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Alright alright, settle down,” the blue officer said as he looked back towards the crowd. He pointed at the two mares in front of him with his hoof. The right mare jumped slightly, while the left mare sighed. “The two of you were nearby the victim during the dance. You both saw the chandelier fall onto him, and you were closest to him when he died. You two are the primary suspects.” Both mares looked down at the ground, and a particular set of lips curved into a smirk. Conan stared at the owner of the lips. His eyes narrowed before he moved out of the corner and walked over to the party table. Pinkie Pie was eating a cupcake, and Conan pulled Pinkie underneath the table, before he motioned for her mouth to stay shut. Pinkie nodded her head, even though she looked slightly sad that she couldn't talk. “Pinkie Pie,” he paused for a moment, as he realized how girly that name sounded, “I need you to do me a favor.” Pinkie blinked a few times as Conan whispered into her ear, and she nodded her head. “Okay I think I can do that.” Conan sighed in relief before he moved from underneath the table. “Now I just need the proof.” The first mare had a light yellow coat, and currently had a set of pegasus wings folded nearby her sides. She was wearing a dress that showed a significant amount of skin, but remained safe just in case children were to attend the party. Conan could tell that the woman was not as interested in this party as the others, and her yellow eyes refused to look in the officer's eyes. They preferred to look at the ground. The second mare had a lighter blue coat, and deep blue eyes which matched Conan's. She was wearing clothes that modeled the DJ back on the stage, and she looked to be very sad. The second mare was a unicorn. Behind Bars looked to the two mares. “Please give me your names.” “One Trick.” The pegasus responded. “Bloo Berry.” The unicorn responded, her face flushing over with red color from the mention of her name. The officer took out a notepad and started to write. “From the looks of this, I would say that the chandelier fell off of the chains because it was starting to rust. The chains are broken on the chandelier, and that was probably because the rust eventually broke the chains.” He said, while writing a condensed version on the pad. Conan looked towards the chandelier, and then over to both mares. He smiled as Pinkie walked over to the two suspects and she blinked a few times before sneezing. Confetti shot out from her mouth, and Bloo Berry quickly formed a shield in front of her that the confetti stuck to. A frown formed on her face. “What are you doing, sneezing in my face?” The mare asked. Pinkie giggled before she rubbed her nose. “Sorry.” She responded, before she walked back over to the party table. Bloo Berry watched Pinkie before looking back to the officer, as he explained his own theory of the accident. Pinkie looked to Conan as the foal took a bite out of a muffin, and then she threw a muffin at One Trick. The pegasus turned around and caught the muffin between her hooves before taking a bite. She smirked and thanked Pinkie, while the pink mare turned to the foal. “What did that prove you silly?” She whispered. Conan finished off his muffin and looked up to the chandelier. “This world is weird, but that doesn't mean I can't solve cases.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Behind Bars sighed as he turned over to the door to the party. “I think that we can safely assume that this is an accident. The chandelier chains are rusted, and no one was capable of undoing the chandelier.” He said. “That is where you are wrong.” A high voice responded. The crowd turned to Pinkie and gasped. She was wearing a hat that was unfamiliar to anyone else but her and Conan. He found that hat hilarious, and suitable for what he told her. It was her turn to be Sherlock Holmes. “This is a murder. And I know who did it.” Behind Bars raised an eyebrow, obviously unconvinced. “I doubt that the one who planned this party would be capable of figuring out who did it. Leave this to the professionals.” He replied. Pinkie giggled a small amount. “Oh well if you say so. If you want a murderer to get away, then fine by me.” She said, as she bounced over to both of the mares. She looked down at the confetti on the ground, and then up at the chandelier. This was all Conan's guess, but it was better safe than sorry. “One of these two is the murderer. The trick was rather simple, considering the room was fairly dark when the murder occurred. The chandelier is capable of being pulled off of it's hinges by a pegasus who is very agile and strong,” One Trick turned red, as the crowd turned to stare at her. “It wasn't me! I swear it wasn't! I didn't even know this was going to happen!” She said. Pinkie's smile remained as she started to hop around the two suspects, looking them over while she spoke. “I didn't finish. The chandelier is also able to be taken off by magic. However a glowing horn in the middle of the dance floor would be odd, don't you think? It would be easily seen.” Bloo Berry grinned as she felt the attention being taken off of her. “Yeah, of course it wasn't me.” She responded. “I'm related to Scarcity. I would never hurt him.” “Unless, you hid your horn.” Bloo Berry's eyes widened and she stared ahead at Pinkie, who stopped delivered her own glare. “It is possible to undo the screws on the plate that holds the chandelier chains, and wait for time to take its effect. However, this is risky, considering the chandelier could end up falling at an inopportune time. Along with that, the screws were not the thing that caused the accident. The broken chain did. If Bloo Berry wanted to use the chandelier as a weapon, she would have to figure out a way to hide her horn.” “Lies!” Bloo Berry said, as she took a step back. Pinkie took a step forward. “You hid your horn underneath Scarcity's clothes. You were attempting to be risque around him, to show up One Trick. It was all an act however, since you had a perfect line of sight to undo the chains on the chandelier. You used a spell to rust the chains and cause the death of this man.” Bloo Berry bit her lip, before she found her voice again. “Do you have any proof that I did this?” Pinkie looked up at the chandelier, then the body. “When a spell is used, magical dust fragments remain on the horn of the one who used the spell and the object that was used.” Bloo Berry looked up at the chandelier, before she pulled out the card that she didn't think she would have to play. The truth, that could end up making her innocent. “But... but Pinkie! You saw me put that chandelier up!” She said. “I helped you put this party together!” Pinkie placed her hoof underneath her chin and she turned over to Conan. “Hey Conan, she does have a point!” She said. The whole crowd turned to stare at the foal. Conan cursed silently to himself, as Behind Bars began to grow impatient. “Get to the point! Pinkie, Foal, stop wasting time!” Behind Bars responded. Conan looked over to the body, then at the chandelier. He stared ahead with wide eyes, as the answer came to him. “Check Scarcity's coat.” He said. Bloo Berry laughed nervously. “That isn't going to show anything.” “Oh on the contrary. Magical dust rubs off on anything that interacts with it. So if you hid your horn... than the evidence should show.” Bloo Berry stamped her hoof on the ground, but didn't say anything. Her gaze once again diverted to the ground. Conan smiled, as he walked over to the mare. “I'll give you one last chance to confess.” “Fine I did it! I killed Scarcity!” Bloo Berry yelled, as she took a step towards the foal and growled. She raised her hoof to strike Conan, who stepped backwards while Behind Bars moved over to Bloo Berry. The culprit looked left and right before dropping to the floor. She placed her forehooves over her eyes as tears started to leak down her cheeks. “He was a cheater! He had no shame! That bastard hired this... tramp to attend the party with him. He told me that he wanted to apologize for cheating on me, and he would get back together with me at the party if I showed him a good time.” She sobbed. Conan's eyes narrowed as he took a step forward towards Bloo Berry. The mare continued to cry as Behind Bars formed a pair of handcuffs around her hooves. “When I saw him dancing with her... I knew that he was only trying to hurt me again. I knew that I had to make him unhappy, and the only way was to kill him.” Conan turned his back to the crowd, his voice being replaced with vitriol and anger. “No one deserves to die. No wonder your case was so easy to find out, you weren't thinking when you did it. Everyone deserves to live out their life to the fullest extent of the law, and no one deserves to have their life taken away because someone else wishes it.” Conan walked out of the building and leaned against the wall nearby the entrance. He pressed a hoof against his head to try and quell the migraine that was forming. Rarity followed Conan, looking down at him as she struggled to find the right words to say. Ponies rushed in and out of the building, carrying the body and bringing the convict to justice. Both blue eyed ponies stared up at Luna's moon, and Conan blinked a few times. Rarity smiled and she placed her hoof on Conan's shoulder. “You are a very talented foal.” She told him. Conan felt a buzzing feeling on his thighs and he looked behind him. A magnifying glass slowly formed on his thighs, until it was completely visible on the outer sides of his flanks. “What is... this?” He asked. Rarity blinked a few times. “I think you haven't been taught this in school yet. It is a cutie mark. It shows what your special talent is.” “That's... nice.” Conan responded, as he blinked a few more times. He collapsed on his face, and Rarity gasped before placing her fore hooves on his back. “Conan are you okay? Conan? Conan!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The beeping of a hospital device and the soft crying of a girl were the only things that invaded the silence of the room. Ran Mouri remained in one of the chairs nearby the hospital bed, her hands over her eyes as the sixteenth hour passed without a response. Conan laid inside of the hospital bed, a large amount of gauze wrapped around the back of his head. His glasses were on the nearby end table, and his arm was in a cast. Apparently he fell on something hard if his arm needed to be fixed due to a simple collapse. Despite the teenager's crying, he did not wake up. His heart rate remained normal, but his brain activity was a completely different story. Ran stared ahead at the clipboard that was clipped to the edge of the bed. The main word that created her depressed response, was the only word that she was scared of seeing when she reached the hospital. “Conan Edogawa, current status: Coma.” > Author Intentions: Part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Five hours, that's all it took for the newly formed equine's eyes to open. However in this world, there was no girl crying over his immobile body. The first thing that he noticed was the comfortable bed that he was laying in. He closed his eyes, and the memories of last night sprouted in his memory. There was a murder. He solved it, and he passed out right when that image appeared on his thighs. For once, he did not have a headache. Now he was capable of thinking clearly without extreme pain. That was nice for once. Conan moved off of the bed and paused due to the decorations. The whole room was decorated in a lavish display. Purples, blues, and pinks were all brilliantly complemented with each other. Not only were the window blinds and walls painted such a color, but her furniture was under the same colors as well. The color palette of the rooms was completely different than anything Conan had seen. Sure, he could probably drag up an old memory of a murder in a house such as this, but the color was more washed out back in Japan. Almost like a cartoon, these colors were so much more bright. “Oh you are awake!” Rarity's voice made Conan's eyes turn to the door. He smiled once he saw the familiar mare, currently levitating a tray with three separate items on it. A bowl of hay oatmeal, plate of fruit, and cup of juice sat perfectly on the tray. Conan also noticed that the distance between all three items were a collective two inches from the juice to the plate, two inches from the plate to the bowl, and four inches from the bowl to the cup. Either that was coincidence, or the details were very important to this mare. Conan appreciated this. The details always mattered. Conan moved back to the bed and sat against the backrest, while the tray was gently placed down on the bed. Conan's hunger started to show. He didn't eat since the previous murder case, and that was well over six hours ago. He distinctly remembered shifting in and out of consciousness while he was on the train back to Ponyville. But nothing came to his memory between the collapse and his wake up. He grabbed the spoon between his hooves and then it flipped through the air as he failed to correctly grasp it. He leaned to the right as the spoon flipped that way and he caught it between his hooves. A sigh moved past his lips before he managed to take a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. Rarity seemed confused by his behavior. She smiled and levitated one of the chairs nearby her dresser over to her and she sat down on it. “So tell me Conan, I must know. Where do you come from?” She asked. Conan paused as he chewed on this spoonful. That question again. He mentally cursed that he wasn't able to create a good enough lie yet, and he looked down at his bowl. It would be rude if he were to take another bite, and he wouldn't be able to maneuver the spoon quick enough to take a bite without answering. He had to think fast. “I live in Los Pegasus.” He lied. Rarity was perplexed at his answer. After all, the two of them were just in Los Pegasus. Conan would have surely said something if they were going to go back to his hometown. So why was this not the case? Not to mention the fact that he told her that he didn’t live there. Rarity leaned back against her chair and levitated a napkin over to Conan. He took it, gave his thanks, and then proceeded to wipe his face. Rarity seemed unconvinced. “If you live in Los Pegasus, then why didn't you tell me when we were over there for the party?” She asked. Another question. Conan wondered if telling the truth would be the best option here. If it was just skewed a small amount, then he could avoid trouble and still avoid the conscience that usually bugged him every day for his inability to confess his status to Ran. In this world, he didn't have to worry about that. But being unable to confess that his parents were in a different dimension was going to be the lie of the lifetime. Conan realized that he wasn't staring into Rarity's eyes, probably for good measure. He wouldn't be able to handle those cerulean orbs staring into his own, reminding him of Ran and his current conditions with her. “The truth is,” Conan started as he looked up from his oatmeal, “I can't go home.” It was a good lie. It had some truth behind it, since he still wasn't awake from whatever this dream happened to be. He didn't hate this world. Nothing has attempted to kill him yet, and he has been given nothing but hospitality from this mare. But being a pony had it's disadvantages. The lack of fingers was still bugging him. The motion to try and flex his nonexistent fingers always messed with him, since it only made him stretch his hoof. Rarity raised an eyebrow and sat down on the bed next to him. “Home can't be that bad, darling.” She said, a smile on her face as she levitated a spoonful of oatmeal to Conan's lips. He ate the provided food. “I mean, your parents are probably worried sick about you. You got your cutie mark! They would do anything to have seen that!” Conan nodded his head and sighed. “I know that they want to see me, but they aren't home. That's why I ended up in Ponyville. I wanted to see if they traveled here or something.” He replied. Conan grew satisfied with the lie that he created. He knew from personal experience that if he was capable of adding on enough ambiguity, the asker would eventually either grow tired of asking, or be satisfied with the answers. At least, Conan thought this would be the case, until Rarity stood up and moved over to her closet to get her saddlebag. “We should go over to Twilight's house. Maybe she has an idea on how to find your parents. I think she might have an address book on hand for all of the buildings in Ponyville. We can check every hotel to see if your parents are here.” Rarity said. Her smile as she placed the saddlebag on her back sent tingles down Conan's spine. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Why aren't your parents never home? Don't you want them home so that you can spend time with them?” Shinichi Kudo, “Detective of the West” as they called him looked up at the sky. Blue eyes spaced out for the time being as his legs continued to keep him going. The reflexes of a soccer player kept him from running straight into a telephone pole. A smile formed across his face as he made little shapes in the clouds. A heart formed in his vision from the particular dark outlines. His childhood friend, Ran Mouri gave him a small punch in the stomach which alerted Shinichi more than hurt him. He looked towards his friend. “I... um... what?” He asked, his thoughts punctured for the time being. “I asked you a question.” Ran replied, her own blue eyes glaring at her “childhood friend”. Annoyance reflected in her tone while her hand moved back and her fist clenched for another punch. “Um... can you repeat it?” “I asked you about your parents. Don't you mind that they are never home?” Shinichi used this question as an excuse to space off into the clouds once more, forming a fish with a particular cloud before he shook his head with a smile. “I don't really mind. They didn't leave me until I was 14, and I already proved that I was mature enough to live by myself. The only problem I have is with cooking.” He said with a small laugh. “Ramen bowls taste so good... and are so easy to make!” Ran’s eyes shifted towards the sky as well, growing annoyed that collections of water vapor were getting more attention than she was. Her fist drew a few inches back from her. Shinichi sighed as the two continued to walk. He sidestepped and avoided an old woman who was carrying groceries. “I wish I had some sort of girlfriend that I could share my discoveries with.” He responded. Ran’s eyes widened at the sudden comment, and she kept her gaze away from him. Her eyes lowered slightly, as her own insecurities started to kick in. “So... who’s the lucky girl that you are planning to ask out?” She asked. Shinichi’s face turned a little red, but he kept his eyes on the sky. Deflections, that would be the perfect response for a teenager his age. “I don’t know, I haven’t really asked her yet. I mean... she is probably one of the best girls I know.” He responded, a smile forming on his face while premature memories started to play in his head. “But I know that I need a girl that can cook well. I’ll die if I cook for myself.” He added with a small laugh. “I cook well.” Ran said under her breath. Her eyes remained on the ground as the two of them walked. Shinichi's gaze turned to Ran and he tilted her chin up, smiling when their eyes met. “You know I don't like it when you look down Ran. I like seeing your eyes.” He said. Ran's face turned red, and she picked up the pace in their walking. Shinichi's eyes widened and he caught up with her. “Wait, woah! Did I say something wrong?” He asked. Ran shook her head before she stopped nearby Shinichi's house. Shinichi wanted to ask her about the sudden shy facade that she was putting on, but decided against it. Ran looked at his mailbox, which seemed to be cluttered full of love letters. She raised an eyebrow before she opened the box. All of the letters fell out of the box, creating a large pile that was now on the ground. Shinichi groaned as he caught up with Ran and reached down to pick them all up. “Oh come on Ran, you have to open the mailbox slowly. Or else all of the letters fall out like this.” Ran took a step back, her eyebrow raised. “Are you telling me that you are used to this?” She asked, annoyance once more in her tone. Shinichi smiled and nodded his head. “Yeah, I've been getting these letters ever since I solved my first case in Japan. I'm used to it. I mean, why wouldn’t they want to talk to the best detective in Japan?” Ran frowned and she turned her back to him. “Have a good day, Shinichi.” She said, before she started to power walk away from the now distraught teenager. Shinichi outstretched his hand and ran to try and catch up to her, but he tripped over his pile of letters and fell on the ground. “Ouch. That was convenient for her.” He muttered before he looked to a particular letter. His eyes widened and he smiled. “Oh, I’ve been wanting to get a letter from her!” He said as he tore the desired letter open. ~ Pinkie let out a groan as she opened the page break in the Fimfiction website, and looked out at the few readers. “Come on Author! When are you going to go forward with the case? This is booooooooooring!” She said. The author let out a sigh and smacked his hand to his face. “It's called 'pacing' Pinkie. I can't establish our main character if we have nothing but cases.” “Well fine.” Pinkie said, as she looked at the torn fourth wall and sat back down on her reading chair. The author sighed before he left his computer to get some super glue for the fourth wall. ~ “Conan? Darling, are you okay?” Conan's eyes opened. He was staring up at the ceiling again, another few minutes lost to memories. “Sorry Rarity-ch... sorry.” He said, a smile on his face as he pushed away the half eaten food. Rarity nodded her head before she levitated the tray off of the bed and into the air. “Are you sure that you can't eat any more?” She asked. Conan smiled and shook his head. “I'm okay. I want to go to Twilight's house now.” Rarity smiled. “Okay, let's head out.” She replied as a hat matching her saddlebag colors was levitated onto her head. The two of them walked out into the busy street. Vegetable and fruit stands were erected for the day, sales on every merchant's mind. Conan wasn't usually a fan of fruits, but now that he was an equine, he was sure that apples were going to taste better than ramen. His eyes scanned the town as the two of them trotted to Twilight's house. Apparently he wasn't afflicted with some kind of sight disease, since this town was just as colorful as when he woke up yesterday. Every pony was a bright shade of their color, whether it was red, blue, green, or any combination in between. The contrast of these colors compared to the gray and clear colors applied to buildings back in Japan was close to night and day. Another thing he noticed was the lack of traffic. Although the streets were busy, not a single pony bumped into each other. Rarity knocked on Twilight's door and levitated the hat off of her head, since she considered it uncouth to wear a hat indoors. A purple and green dragon opened up the door, and Conan's eyes widened as the dragon's eyes glazed over a small amount. “Oh,” Spike laughed nervously. “Hi Rarity. How are you doing?” He asked. “Just fine, my Spikey Wikey.” Rarity replied as she moved her hooves onto the dragon's cheeks. She squeezed them both a small amount, causing the small dragon's face to turn completely red. He rushed out of the room, muttering something about a moustache while Rarity stepped inside. Conan followed, his muzzle forming into a smile as he saw exactly what he was looking for: books. Shelves upon shelves of books and knowledge. He moved over to the bottom shelves and pulled out a book titled, “The Anatomy of a Pony.” Rarity moved over to Conan and levitated the book out of his grasp. “I don't think that you will be able to read this Conan.” She said, as the foal jumped up and down to try and get the book. “Come on, give it to me! I can read it!” Conan yelled in a whiny tone. The book moved out of Rarity's magical grasp and into Conan's hooves. Twilight's horn stopped glowing and she walked down the stairs to the living room. She had a bright smile on her face. “If he is able to read the book, then we should let him.” She said as she pulled half of one of her shelves of books out. It was that time again, organization time. Rarity moved over to Twilight and gave her a small hug before pulling back. “Twilight, I need to ask you for help. This, is Conan.” She said, her hoof pointed at the foal. Conan smiled and bowed his head slightly since he was unable to do a traditional Japanese bow. “Haji... I mean... Nice to meet you.” He said. His Japanese habits were going to have to be broken. His Japanese accent remained in his speech, but his complete fluency with the language was bothering him. After all, he didn’t speak the language that well. Was this a dream? Such a thought had to be put off until later. “It is nice to meet you Conan. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight replied, as three books were levitated into the shelf. “What is it that you need my help with?” Conan looked around the room, taking note of the lack of posters on the walls of the room. Perhaps Twilight Sparkle didn't have any girlish obsessions. After all, Ran's room was the same way. It was extremely basic. Conan felt a headache coming on and he pressed a hoof to his head. Rarity in the meantime was talking with Twilight over an address book and whether or not Twilight currently possessed one. A frown moved across Twilight's face and she shook her head. “I'm sorry Rarity, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders borrowed my address book to go on one of their adventures.” She said. “I wish I had another copy of the book, but they told me that they would bring it back. Perhaps you could come back in a few days? I will give it to you then. I promise.” Rarity frowned, but the promise made her feel slightly better, and she nodded her head. “I guess Conan can stay at my house until the address book comes back.” She said. Conan noticed a slight deflation from her tone and his interest in the book dropped for a moment as his curiosity kicked in once more. Twilight walked behind Conan as he put down a book on the circulatory system of a pony. “You like reading a lot, don't you?” She asked. Conan smiled and nodded his head before he took a step away from Twilight. She was moving a little too close to him for comfort. “Yeah, I love these types of books the most. I love learning about peo...nies. Ponies.” Conan replied, a nervous laugh leaving his mouth. Twilight levitated one of the Daring Do books over to the foal and placed it over the book he was currently reading. Conan felt slightly annoyed that he was broken off from his reading, but this book looked to be pretty interesting as well. Fiction books were interesting, if they weren't terribly written. Twilight smiled. “This is one of the Daring Do books. I own all of them. They are a very fun series to read! I got one of my friends into reading with this book, and I'm sure that you will like it too.” Twilight gasped at this sudden revelation, much like Conan did when the final clue fit into place. “Oh no oh no!” Twilight said as she moved over to her clock and looked at the time. She only had six hours until the meeting, and she was already late on her plan to make a checklist for her plans for the day! Rarity looked over to her friend as the purple pony started to rush back and forth in the room, her magic moving to collect a quill and a scroll to write on. “Is something the matter darling?” She asked Twilight. Rarity stole a glance towards the door. Since the address book was not here, Conan sensed that Rarity’s desire to stay at the house was becoming less prevalent. She looked back to Conan and then to Twilight again, which furthered his suspicions. Twilight started to write down on the scroll at her lectern while speaking at the same time. “I'm going to be meeting up with four of the most popular pony writers of our era! And I haven't even started on the things that I was supposed to do today!” She said, probably a little more exaggerated than was needed. Rarity looked to Conan. “Conan, sweetie, you wouldn't mind if you helped out Twilight with her chores, do you? I'm sure that Twilight wouldn't mind bringing you along for her meeting. You get to meet some very famous writers, wouldn't that be fun?” She asked. Conan understood what Rarity was trying to pull, and he didn't mind it. After all, he was just glad that a house was provided for him even though he was a complete stranger to her. Despite his lack of interest in these pony writers (since they didn't publish anything that stood out to him), he would go. Conan looked up from his book, his eyes focused on the purple mare. She seemed to be stressing herself more than she should have with her unfortunate circumstance. However, the more information that he could acquire on this place, the better. He was still confused over the fact that there were other characteristics in ponies, such as the ability to fly and do magic. He remembered the unicorn and pegasus races of ancient myths, but he didn't know if those myths were possible. Apparently anything was possible in this kind of world, except becoming human. Conan nodded his head. “Yes, I would love to go!” He said, injecting excitement into his voice to avoid being plugged by Rarity for his feelings again. Twilight smiled and she looked over to Conan, as she finished the checklist. “Thank you Conan, I very much appreciate this.” She said. “Now if you don't mind.” All of the shelves were emptied of their books, and Conan had to jump out of the way to avoid being crushed. “I need all of these books reorganized alphabetically. First by author name, then by book name, then by page number, if needed.” Conan's eyes widened as he looked at the hundreds of books. “Good thing I volunteered at my high school library... or else this would take forever.” He muttered. ~ Pinkie broke the page break again. She looked at the Fimfiction audience, and then back at the author. “Is the case going to be next?” She asked as she clutched the popcorn in her lap with one of her hooves. The author swallowed some headache relief medicine before he nodded his head without a word. Pinkie smiled and pumped her hoof in the air. “Yippee!” She said before she sat back against the chair.