Perceptions

Chapters

Part I
Part II
Part III

Part I

The sun was finally making it’s way over Ponyville as Twilight Sparkle began her long trek from her home with Spike in tow. As she wandered through the town, she could see ponies waking and bearing the same looks of horror as they read the newspapers placed on their doorsteps.

First Suicide in Over a Century Reported in Ponville

Ponyville resident, Bubble Puff, aged 34 was found dead in his Ponyville residence on the night of August 12th around 5:30 P.M. Bubble Puff, a local carpenter, was reported missing after nopony had seen or heard from him in nearly three days. Upon entering the home, Ponyville police found that Bubble Puff had hung himself. Police are currently investigating possible reasons for his sudden suicide. Rumor has it that even Princess Celestia has taken an interest in the case. After all, it was thanks to Princess Celestia’s reforms in mental health care that had lead to the disappearance of suicide as a cause of death. What could have driven this pony to commit the ultimate solution?

That is what Twilight Sparkle intended to find out as she made her way to across town. Everywhere that she looked she could see ponies crying, shaking their heads in denial, or trembling in terror. However, their acts were not of sorrow or remembrance of a pony that they had once known; they were of fear. Fear of what the news could mean for this little town. If this pony could do it, what was stopping them from doing it? A century of laws and reforms made obsolete in the blink of an eye. What was stopping their loved one from ending their lives?

Twilight Sparkle approached a small white house near the edge of town. From the outside, the house appeared clean and well maintained. The walls and roof were newly painted in a brand new coat white, blending in with the houses surrounding it. The windows were spotless and clear enough to reflect the chaos as ponies, young and old, began to surround the house.

There were numerous police ponies currently surrounding the house and thwarting off anypony who could disrupt the investigation. At the front of the group, a police pony with a light tan coat and a jet black that curled into an afro stood, turning away an ever growing crowd of onlookers. Twilight looked at his black police shirt to see a shiny badge that read, Sammy James

“Everypony, move away! No civilians allowed!” he yelled into the restless crowd. Twilight Sparkle pushed her way through and approached him.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to back away," he said with irritation.

Twilight used her magic to reach in her saddle bags and pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment. Twilight unrolled the parchment and levitated it in front of the police pony.

“I’m on official business for the princess,” Twilight professionally stated as she gauged his reaction. After reading through the parchment, he nodded. “Okay, everything appears to be in order.”

“Thank you,” Twilight simply said as she rolled up the parchment and placed it back in her saddlebags. With an approving nod from Officer Sammy James, the other cops moved to give Twilight and Spike room as they moved away from the crowd and onto the lawn of the house.

Upon closer inspection, Twilight noticed that the door had been forcefully opened as evident from the splintered wood, most likely by the police officers who had initially discovered Bubble Puff. Upon entering the house, Twilight noticed a visible contrast from the outside.

Twilight Sparkle and Spike began coughing almost immediately upon entering due to the sheer buildup of dust. It was completely filthy. The walls and cracks had tangled cobwebs and dried bits of paint hanging off them. The floor was littered with trash and empty cans and bottles. The collective buildup of dust had managed to make its way across the house, filling every nook and cranny.

It was a small one story house divided into four rooms: one bathroom, a kitchen, a bedroom, and one large living space where Twilight currently stood. One of the police ponies, a rookie by the looks of it, decided to walk up to Twilight and began speaking, “Hello Miss Sparkle, I’ve heard that you’re working directly under the princess in this case. I want you to know that you have our full support in the matter.”

“Uh huh,” is all Twilight said as she walked into the kitchen to examine another mess in this Celestia-forsaken house. Plates and dishes were stacked all over the place and stains littered the room. The police officer from before had began following Twilight and blabbering on about how great it was that the princess was taking an interest in the case, but she wasn’t really paying attention. Instead, she began taking mental notes of what she saw.

As the pony continued to follow her he asked, “Is there anything that I can do to help?” She paused and turned around to face him. He was young and had a thin brown mane as well as a light brown goatee. “Maybe. What can you tell me about the victim?”

“What do you need to know?” he nervously asked.

“Anything. Personality. Occupation. Friends. Acquaintances. All of the information that I’ve received so far has been very vague. I need details.”

“Umm,” the stallion began as he tapped his chin, “well, I wasn’t too close to Bubble Puff, but I did talk to him a few times since he helped build my brother’s house. He seemed like a nice enough guy. He was a little on the slow side, though. I’m surprised that he knew a hammer from a nail. But he always seemed happy. Some of my friends that knew him said that he was a very happy, go-lucky pony. You never met him?”

“No,” Twilight replied with a shake of her head. “I had heard about him from some of my friends, and I’ve seen him around town before, but I never talked to him. Anyway, is that all you know?”

“Yeah,” he said as he rubbed his neck nervously. “I wasn’t too close to him. Is there anything that I can do to help?”

“Yes,” Twilight nodded. His eyes briefly beamed as Twilight said, “Stand right over there. I need space to think.” The young officer complied and stood to the side.

She took a quick examination of the bathroom, but quickly left before she was forced to vomit from the unbearable stench. How could someone maintain such a well done exterior but neglect the inside? More importantly, how did he live like this? Twilight kept these thoughts with her as she entered his bedroom.

As she entered, she noticed a pony bending over a pony shaped outline etched in chalk that lay just beside a bare mattress. Just above the pony was a cut off piece of rope. Twilight briefly examined the outline.

Bubble Puff. Age: 34. Occupation: Carpenter. Physical Description: Average sized earth pony stallion. Not very muscular. Brown coat with a short yellow mane and short, bushy tail.

“Creepy,” Spike said quietly as he followed Twilight further into the room. Beside the chalk was a small rickety desk that only had one object placed on it: a small black notebook.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked the pony, pointing a hoof at the notebook.

The officer stood up and turned towards her. “Oh, you must be the mare the princess sent.” Slowly, he walked towards the notebook. “That’s his personal diary, apparently,” the officer said with indifference. “Our guys couldn’t really decipher much of it.”

“Decipher?” Twilight asked as she tilted her head in confusion.

The officer blew bits of dust off of the notebook and opened it up to a random page. On the page, random symbols, shapes, scribbles, and bits of writing filled the page. On the bottom, it simply said, “The sun is watching.” The rest of the writing on the page was incomprehensible to Twilight. Most likely some form of ancient Equestrian, Twilight noted to herself. I’ll have to look it up when I return to the library.

Twilight levitated the notebook towards her and began examining the rest of the notebook. Every page that Twilight could find was filled with the same mixed bits of symbols, incomprehensible words, and cryptic phrases. This wasn’t what confused her the most however.

“Sir?” she asked the officer, “Are you aware that there are pages missing from this notebook?”

“Yeah, why?”

“The reason why,” Twilight said flipping to a page where the following had been torn along the crease, “is because this indicates that this is incomplete. This is incomplete evidence.”

“Incomplete?” he said, “are you sure he didn’t just throw it away because he made a mistake when he was writing it?”

“No,” Twilight said shaking her head, “if you examine these pages, you can see that he was trying to accomplish something. I don’t recognize these symbols from any book I’ve seen, and I can’t translate much of the writing, but this appears to mean something, at least in his mind. There are all kinds of mistakes and errors that he decided to leave in. There’s crossed out writing and scratched out portions of the text all over this notebook. So why is it that he decided to leave these in, yet he decided to remove these other pages? There are multiple possibilities, however the one that sticks out most is the possibility that there’s something that he didn’t want anyone else to find.”

“Wait,” Spike interrupted. “If that’s the case, then maybe he just threw away the pages or burned them.”

Twilight shook her head, dismissively. “That doesn’t make sense, given what I’ve seen so far. If he didn’t want anypony to see it, then it would be ludicrous of him to throw it away. Everything that’s thrown away ends up in the junkyard and becomes public property. Although the possibility of him burning it seems somewhat viable, I don’t think that’s the case. Why would he write something in here only to destroy it? Perhaps, he realized his error afterward, that’s a possibility. However, I believe that whatever he was writing was something that he placed significant value into. He wanted those removed pages to be safe. Spike, if you wanted to keep safe, what would do you do with it?”

“I’d hide it,” Spike replied.

“Precisely,” Twilight nodded. “I believe that’s exactly what happened. Perhaps it’s just a baseless hunch, and this is just the work of a lunatic. However, I refuse to leave any possibility unexplored.”

The officer and Spike stood in bewilderment. Twilight grinned proudly and turned her attention back to the notebook. “Sir, since I’m operating under the jurisdiction of the princess and the royal family, I’ve decided that I’m going to be taking this notebook with me.”

The officer shook his head, bringing him back to earth. “Whatever, it’s a mad pony’s journal anyhow.”

“Thank you,” Twilight Sparkle said as she used her magic to place the notebook carefully into her saddlebag.

“Come on, Spike,” she called as she began to exit through the front door.

Spike ran, his little legs keeping up with Twilight, who was walking with purpose. As they weaved out of the crowd that had gathered outside of Bubble Puff’s home, a torrent of question came directed at the two.

“What happened in there?”

“Why did he did do it?”

“Are you with the government?”

Twilight ignored them and continued until she had made her way to the street. She was about to leave when she noticed Spike surrounded by several concerned citizens who were bombarding him with questions.

Twilight let out a sigh as she grabbed Spike in her telekinetic grasp from the crowd and gently placed him on her back. The crowd began to turn away as Twilight picked up speed, desperate to gather her thoughts.

Twilight began to slow down prompting Spike to ask her, “So what now?”

“We need to find out more about his personal life. We need to know of any friends, relative, hobbies, or anything else that can give us clues,” Twilight stated matter of factly.

“Clues to what?” Spike asked. “I don’t see why you’re treating it like a big thing. Maybe the guy was just depressed or crazy?”

“No,” Twilight said with a shake of her head, “There’s more to it than that. If he was just depressed, somepony would have known. There’s a reason that we’ve avoided suicide for over one hundred years. There are laws laws in place; various precautions to stop it from happening. Also, I find it too strange that there are conviently pages missing from this journal.”

“What do you think it means?”

“Well,” Twilight said, “it’s just a theory, but I believe that it’s possible there are more ponies involved in this.”

Spike arched his eyebrows in confusion. “More ponies? This is a suicide, not a murder!”

“Yes, on the outset it appears to be a simple suicide case. Perhaps it’s just a madpony with a mad diary. However, I’m not buying it. Even though his thoughts were scrambled and disorganized, as I’ve stated before, there was reason and purpose with his writing. The question at this point is what he was trying to write. I believe that I he was writing something that he or someone else didn’t want to get out.”

“So a forced suicide?”

“No, I don’t believe that’s the case. If they wanted to take care of him, they wouldn’t make it look like a suicide, at least not in this day and age. I believe that there’s something much bigger going on here.”

“Aren’t we getting a little in over our head?” Spike asked with a slight shiver at the prospect.

“Possibly, but that’s why the princess sent me to take care of it, because she trusted me to get the job done.” Twilight stopped in her tracks and turned to Spike with a caring, almost motherly look.

“Spike, I won’t force you to stay, but please. You’re my number one assistant. The princess believes in you too.”

Spike bit his lip and clenched his knuckles, forming a tight fist. “Fine,” he said.

Twilight gave an appreciative smile and nod at Spike before continuing on her course.

“Twilight?” Spike began.

“Yes?”

“Where exactly are we going?” Spike asked.

“We need to find out more about Bubble Puff. We need to learn about his personal life as well as any close friends or acquaintances that he had; anything that can give us a good start.”

“How are we gonna find that out?”

“I think I know a certain mare that can help us out,” Twilight said with a sly grin as she rounded the corner.

Near the edge of the block, Twilight Sparkle could see Sugarcube corner. If there was anypony who could tell her about this pony, it would be Pinkie Pie.

The normally bustling interior of Sugarcube corner was somewhat dead as Pinkie Pie read the newspaper, a tear forming in her eyes.

“Pinkie?” Twilight began.

“Twilight! It’s horrible, Bubble Puff is dead! H-H-He killed himself! This isn’t supposed to happen! Why didn’t he talk to anyone about it? Why didn’t anyone notice the signs? I can understand if he was in a big, ginormous, humongous city like Canterlot, but I don’t understand how this could happen here, in Ponyville! It’s my fault! I should have been there for him!”

Pinkie was now openly sobbing onto the wooden floor. Twilight made her way and hugged the distraught Pinkie. “It’s okay, Pinkie. There’s no way that you could have known that this was going to happen.”

After several minutes of consoling her, Twilight pulled Pinkie Pie away and said in a serious tone, “Pinkie, I know that you’re upset, but I need your help. Princess Celestia sent me to investigate what could have caused him to.....you know, and I’m trying to gather as much information as possible. Is there anything that you can tell me about Bubble Puff? Did you know him personally?”

Pinkie Pie wiped a tear from her eye and gave a final sniffle. “Yeah”, she said in a more composed voice, “I’m friends with everypony in Ponyville, of course I knew him! He was a really nice guy. He was always laughing and joking around. He wasn’t the smartest, but he was always smiling and trying to help everypony out that he could. He always seemed so happy, that’s what was most unbelievable about the whole thing.”

“I see, were you close to him?” Twilight asked.

“Well,” Pinkie began, “I mean, we never hung out, but I threw him a party for his birthday and when he moved into Ponyville!” she said, defensively.

Twilight sighed. “Is there anything else that you can tell me? Any close friends or acquaintances that he was close to?”

Pinkie Pie placed a hoof under her chin and began thinking before jumping up and down in excitement. “Oh, yeah! He was close friends with this writer named Inkblot. He’s kind of a shut in, but he’s a nice guy. I bet he’d be willing to help you!”

“Thanks, Pinkie. Do you know where he lives?”

“Yeah, he lives right outside of the town, a mile south of Fluttershy’s home.”

“Thanks Pinkie,” Twilight said as she enveloped Pinkie Pie in a tight hug. After a few seconds, Twilight released Pinkie and exited Sugarcube corner.

It was a short walk around the outskirts of the everfree and after passing Fluttershy’s home that they approached a small cottage, not unlike Fluttershy’s own. The difference, however, was in liveliness. Rather than the running and playing of bouncing baby bunnies or beautiful flowers in bloom, the edges of his hut were lined with dead flowers and weeds. The edges of the cottage appeared aged with chipped paint and cobwebs lining the its walls.

Cautiously, Twilight Sparkle walked up to the round wooden door and knocked three times. After the third knock, she heard a pair of hoofsteps slowly approach the door. The door creaked open ever so slightly, revealing a set of chains and locks that kept Twilight from entering. A male unicorn appeared from behind the door, protected by the numerous layers of chains.

Twilight almost couldn’t see his distant hazel eyes, which lay hidden under his messy black mane. His coat was a pale; more pale than the purest shade of white. His eyes were rather distant, as if he was trying to keep something back. Under his nose, Twilight could notice soft patches of facial hair clutching to his face.

There was a long silence as they blankly stared at each other, his in absolute judgement and scrutinization while Twilight had to mentally pull herself together to meet his cold gaze.

“Umm, are you.....Mr. Inkblot?” Twilight muttered.

The stallion kept his eyes on her and finally spoke. “Yes.” His voice was soft but piercing “What business do you have here?”

“Well,” Twilight said, trying to piece her thoughts together. With a cough, she straightened out her mane and met his gaze with a new bravery. “My name is Twilight Sparkle,” she spoke plainly and smiled, “and I’m currently conducting an investigation into the Bubble Puff suicide case. I have a few questions for you if you’re willing.”

Inkblot disappeared from behind his door and closed it. Twilight could hear a series of clicking sounds and rattling of chains. After a quick moment, the door opened again and Inkblot appeared before him, no longer constrained by the door or the numerous chains.

“Come in,” he simply said as he retreated back into his cottage. Twilight Sparkle entered cautiously along with Spike, who closed the door behind them. Once inside, Twilight could see the sheer chaos that resided inside. Like its owner, the house appeared in a state of disarray as papers and used quills lay across the floor.

Although it was small, especially in comparison to Fluttershy’s cottage, it was reasonably spacious. Separate from the open area that Twilight was currently standing in, Twilight noticed four distinct rooms. Across from the door was a small, bathroom. To its sides was a bedroom containing a regular sized bed, intended to contain a single pony. Adjacent to the bedroom was a small kitchen where Twilight could see several plates and glasses stacked lazily onto the sink. Finally, to it’s right, Twilight could see a closed door locked in a set of chains.

Inkblot walked through the mess of papers in his path, simply levitated the offending objects as he made his way to a small wooden desk. On it there lay several blank sheets of paper, a bottle of ink, and a set of quills. Inkblot pointed a hoof at two chains on the opposite side of the room. “Sit,” he simply said. Twilight and Spike obliged in his offer and sat awkwardly for several seconds under Inkblot’s intense gaze before he spoke.

“What sort of questions do you intend to ask me?” he said in an inquisitive tone.

“Well, to start off,” Twilight said, “I’d like to know anything you can tell me about Bubble Puff. I’ve talked to a few ponies already, but from the looks of things, you knew him quite well.”

Inkblot leaned back in his chair for a moment and let out a sigh. “Bubble Puff....was an interesting pony.”

“What do you mean by interesting?” Twilight asked.

Inkblot bit his lip, trying to form the appropriate words. “He was different than the others. Others that I’ve met were hidden by the same boring smile and the same boring faces. His thoughts were deep and profound. We used to meet nearly every weekend and discuss various topics ranging from philosophy to ideas for stories.”

“Ideas for stories?” Twilight asked, carefully observing his face for a reaction. Whoever this pony was, Twilight Sparkle could tell that he was hiding something from her. Twilight kept her eyes open for any sudden movements or changes in expression as she carefully analyzed his every movement.

“Yes. He was quite the creative one. He came up with all sorts of fantastical ideas for stories. He was the one who inspired me to write The Adventures of Doctor Hoofward: a story of a pony doctor transformed into a changeling who is forced to integrate into their society.”

“The Adventures of Doctor Hoofward? Odd, I’ve never seen that in my library.”

“I’m not surprised,” Inkblot said with a snarky grin, “Not many people are.....interested in buying my works. In fact, The Adventures of Doctor Hoofward was never even published.”

“Then why do you live here in the woods?” Spike asked before Twilight could stop him. “I thought that you’d be some sort of bigshot writer who was trying to avoid attention by hiding out in the woods.”

Twilight stared at Spike with a look of apprehension. If he became angered, it could ruin any chance that she had of learning more information from this slightly disturbed pony. Twilight looked back up at Inkblot, who had no change in expression other than tapping his chin with his hoof.

“I suppose you could say that I just don’t care for too many other ponies. I find most of them to be nosey, pretentious, and bothersome. Plus, I do enjoy the peace and quiet of nature. It’s much more suiting to a writer.” Inkblot suddenly turned his attention to Twilight. “So tell me Miss Sparkle, what stake do you have in this case?” Twilight could sense no malice or threat behind the words.

“I’m Princess Celestia’s personal student. After hearing of the incident with Bubble Puff, Celestia said that she wanted someone that she could trust involved in the case.”

“Interesting,” he said as he disappeared into his kitchen. When he reappeared, he was levitating three cups of tea.

“Here,” he said, extending the tea to his two guests. Reluctantly, Twilight took the cup in her magical grasp while Spike eagerly wrapped his scaly fingers around the cup. After a brief glance at her cup, she turned to see Inkblot sitting in his chair, quietly sipping from his cup.

“Mr. Inkblot,” Twilight began, “what’s with this sudden change of attitude? A minute ago you were hesitant to even let us into your home; now you’re serving us tea after I simply mentioned that the princess was involved.”

Twilight remained on her guard and watched him carefully as he took another sip of his tea. From his brief sip, a small smile formed on his lips. He’s hiding something. Could he be involved with whatever it is that Bubble Puff was trying to hide? Twilight thought to herself as she faked a smile of her own.

Finally he spoke. “What’s wrong with sharing some tea with the prodiegee of a princess?”

“I suppose there’s nothing wrong with that,” Twilight said as she looked at her tea. She briefly contemplated whether or not she should drink it. On one hand, it would make her appear more trusting and cause him to reveal more. On the other, Twilight couldn’t rule out the possibility that he was somehow involved. If that was the case, then he might have reason to stop her from investigating further. Such a pony might not be above such methods as poison.

Her concentration was broken as she heard Spike spitting up his tea all over the floor. “Yuck!” Spike proclaimed after taking a sip. Although not surprised at his behavior, Twilight felt the need to apologize for his behavior. As she was about to reprimand him, her eyes caught something in the corner of the room, just past Spike.

Lying on top of a stack of blank pieces of papers and used quills was a torn sheet of paper. On it was a small hexagon with a series of words written underneath in some strange language. Connected to the side of the hexagon was a large semicircle that almost seemed cuffed to the shape. On the left side of the sheet, where the semicircle cut off, it was torn, almost as if it had been ripped out. Twilight’s eyes widened as the pieces clicked in her head; It was a missing page from the notebook.

Twilight had to obtain the page somehow. While it was certainly possible to take it and run, Twilight couldn’t shake the possibility that he might attack her if she attempted to do so. The possibilities continued to pour through her head. She could try and confront him, but that too was a dangerous path. She had to play it safe for now.

Twilight’s face regained her look of apprehension and she shouted, “Spike! If you’re not going to drink it, set it down, but don’t spit it out! It’s rude!” She turned to face Inkblot with an apologetic look drawn about her face. “I’m very sorry Mr. Inkblot, Spike’s table manner aren’t....the best.”

Inkblot’s eyes kept that same distant look as his mouth formed a contradicting smile. “It’s no problem at all.”

“Yes,” Twilight Sparkle said trying to formulate a sentence. Just keep him talking and learn as much as you can, she thought.

Twilight cleared her throat. “So tell me, how exactly did you two meet?”

“Well,” he said taking another sip of tea, “I had run out of my stock of quills and parchment. It is for that reason that I decided to head into town purchase some more at a local shop. It was when I was leaving the shop that I ran into Bubble Puff. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be that much of a big deal. However, I noticed something very strange about him. He wasn’t like the others; he was cautious. He tried to act calm and collected, but he couldn’t hide it from me; I’ve written enough stories to recognize paranoia when I see it. Not only that, but he just seemed to have a different air around him than the others. He didn’t care about the small things that plagued everyday ponies. No, he was always thinking about something else; something much bigger.”

“Like what?” Twilight questioned.

Inkblot shurgged. “No idea. He could be a pretty secretive pony at times.”

“Odd. I had been told that he was happy, goofy, and among other things, somewhat of a ditz.”

In an abnormal display of emotion, Inkblot let out a hearty laugh. “None of those could be farther from the truth. He was a very serious pony, most of the time; he always seemed on edge. He was always thinking; he was always questioning things. He was possibly one of the most insightful ponies that I have ever met.”

“Interesting,” Twilight thought aloud. “So you guys became friends after that?”

“Not quite. It was several weeks until I encountered him again; it occurred briefly after attempting to publish one of my stories. This was the first time that we exchanged words. He noticed my book and told me that he was a fan of my work. I found that particularly flattering since I’ve only been able to get three of my novels published; even though they all turned out to be utter flops. I invited him over to my cottage where we had many a pleasant conversation.”

“I see,” she said with a nod, “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly were your novels about, and what was it that drew his interest.”

“He told me that he was intrigued by the themes and questions of morality that I wrote about.”

“What kind of themes?” Twilight asked with an inquisitive wave of her hoof.

“The theme of uncertainty; uncertainty about everything. A stranger in a strange land. Not being able to differentiate reality from fantasy. How our perceptions of the world are based solely on personal experience rather than fundamental truths. He said that those themes particularly attracted him.”

As Twilight listened closely to his words, she continued to think of a way to obtain the page. She had heard enough information for now. Right now, she just needed to somehow obtain that page and make it out of the cottage without arousing any suspicion. Carefully, Twilight Sparkle stood up. “I think it’s about time that Spike and I left. It’s getting close to lunch, and I’m starving. Thank you very much for your assistance, Mr. Inkblot,” Twilight said with a slight bow.

“It was no problem at all,” said Inkblot as he took a final sip of tea and stood up. He enveloped Twilight’s and Spike’s teacups in a magical aura and pulled them to his side. “If you require any further information, be sure to let me know.”

With a sigh, Spike stood up, and walked beside Twilight. Twilight took a brief glance at Spike before using her peripheral vision to view the bathroom. Twilight turned around and slowly extended her hoof towards the door. As she did so, her horn began to glow a subtle shade of magenta.

Everyone in the room turned their heads as a loud popping sound emitted from the bathroom. No one noticed the smile that briefly formed on Twilight’s face. Inkblot cursed under his breath and sat down his tea cups. With great urgency, Inkblot galloped towards the bathroom, ignoring the duo as they stood at the door.

Twilight wasted no time as she located the page in the corner of the room and pulled it into her magical grasp. Quickly, she opened her saddlebag and placed the offending page inside. Before Spike could protest, he found himself being levitated under Twilight’s magic and thrown onto her back. With haste, Twilight exited the cottage and headed back to Ponyville.

After a short while, Twilight returned to the library with Spike following behind her. In the short walk back, Twilight had managed to explain the reason her her sudden leave as well as the need to steal the page. As Twilight reached for the key to the library in her saddlebag, she noticed the flowerbed on the side of the library. Several of the flowers were beginning to wither and weeds had began sprouting.

Hopefully the gardener should be here soon, Twilight thought to herself as she used her magic to unlock the door and entered the library. It was just as Twilight had left it, books and papers scattered across the wooden floor. Twilight let out a sigh and continued forward with the thought of cleaning it up afterward. Twilight quickly made her way to her study where a letter already lay sprawled across it.

My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,

If you have not already been informed, you will soon learn that a suicide has been reported for the first time in over a century. This event goes against nearly a century of laws and reforms that have been put in place to prevent such a tragedy from occurring. The circumstances are blurry and must be cleared up as soon as possible if we are to discover the reason for this unfortunate event. If we understand what caused him to commit suicide then we are sure to stop any further acts as well as ease the minds of our citizens. The reason that I am writing to you is to give you an unusual assignment. The suicide occurred within the confines of Ponyville. As such, you are in a keen position to gather information and blend into the fabric of the community.

As your teacher, I am tasking you with finding the reason for his suicide and reporting your results directly to me. You will act as my eyes and ears and as such, you will given complete unrestricted authority to carry out this investigation; I have included a written permit along with this letter. Know that I would not give you this task if I did not trust your judgement and problem solving abilities. I trust your judgement and hope to hear your report as soon as you find any evidence that can help us bring an end to this tragic case.

-Princess Celestia

Twilight moved the letter aside and pulled out the notebook and stolen page from her satchel, laying it gently on the table. Twilight used her magic to levitate the missing page above the journal. Twilight opened the journal to the first page and began examining the torn crease for any similarities.

Too slow, Twilight thought to herself. I’d be better off simply scanning the pages for any similarities. A hexagon, a semicircle, and ancient Equestrian writing.

Slowly, she went from page to page, looking for where a page was missing. When she stumbled upon one, she would hold the stolen page side by side with the notebook and examine for any possible patterns or alignment. Upon close examination of the notebook as well as the page she paused and gasped.

Spike jumped back and asked, “What’s wrong, Twilight?”

“I can’t believe that I didn’t realize it earlier,” she said with a slight chuckle.

“Realize what?” Spike asked with a hint of aggravation.

Twilight levitated the notebook in front of Spike. The stolen page fit in perfectly to the torn side. Upon closer inspection, Spike could see that together, the two pages formed a set of shapes: two hexagons, one on each page, connected by a large circle. Below them, the ancient text flowed perfectly together.

“I didn’t recognize it before, because he jumbled the shapes and text to such a large degree. I had a hunch but now I’m sure of it; these are the incantations and instructions for the creation of a spell,” Twilight said with the utmost certainty.

“What?” Spike said, taken aback. “What kind of spell?”

Twilight sighed and sat the notebook back on her desk. “I don’t know,” she said as she flipped through the pages. “Out of the pages that aren’t torn, about half are unfinished or completely indecipherable. The other half have complete instructions that are somewhat legible, but contain all kinds of errors and mistakes. Even the torn page is simply an attempt at spell creation. It’s not practically possible. It’s very difficult to see what exactly he was trying to accomplish.”

“Surely there’s a pattern for the type of spell, right?” Spike asked.

“Kind of,” Twilight said. “The ones that appear early on are incomplete so I can’t pick out its intended purpose. The majority of the ones that are complete appear to be an odd assortment of teleportation spells. However, they don’t seem to be like ordinary teleportation spells.”

“What do you mean?”

“Typically, a teleportation spell is simply the act of transporting a chunk of matter from point A to point B. Most of the time, a teleportation spell simply divides your body into tiny chunks of molecules and transports them to the place you desire. Once you arrive, your body reforms itself. However, many of these spells are more involved in the process of splitting and reforming yourself from the microscopic level than they are on the actual act of teleporting.”

“I didn’t understand a word of that, but from the sounds of it, this guy had to be pretty smart,” Spike said.

Twilight nodded, accepting from the beginning that Spike wouldn’t get it yet thankful that he was trying. “Yes, and if I search further in the notebook,” Twilight said as she flipped to the middle of a page inscribed with various mathematical equations and theorems, “you’ll see that he obviously had a much higher knowledge than other ponies gave him credit for. If you put two and two together, it would appear that he’s much too clever to be studying mere teleportation spells. It’s almost as if he’s trying to break apart the spell and develop a new one as indicated by the missing page.”

“What do you mean?”

Twilight flipped back to portion of that contained the stolen page. “As I stated before, I have no idea what it is that this spell was intended for. This doesn’t appear to be a teleportation spell, but it does share certain similarities. For instance, one of the first portions of the text involves detailed instructions on how to split apart matter. However, after that I can’t seem to follow the rest of the incantation.”

“So where does that leave us?” Spike asked with a questioning wave of his hand.

“One step closer, my number one assistant,” Twilight said with a sly grin.

“However, there’s still something that bothers me about this whole thing,” Spike said with reluctance.

“Oh?” Twilight said with an inquisitive tone, eager to hear what Spike had to say.

Spike paused and held a thumb to his chin. He bit his lip as if trying to form his thoughts. “Why was an earth pony researching spells?” he said.

“Good question,” Twilight said with an approving smile. “To be honest, I thought the same thing. Even if he came up with the spell that he was looking for, he’d need somepony to cast it. There’s no way that he achieved all this information and data from books alone. Spells are a series of trial and error. I’ve come to the conclusion that there was somepony, a unicorn, that was in on this.”

“A unicorn,” Spike said as his eyes grew wide. “Do you think Inkblot-”

Twilight cut him off, “Possibly. I need more evidence before I can draw a conclusion, but it seems very likely that Inkblot was involved with this somehow. We already know that he has a page of the notebook. Does he have anymore pages? That remains to be seen. I’m not ready to head back there just yet. We need to gather more evidence. I know that Bubble Puff wasn’t exactly a Pinkie Pie, but I don’t think that Inkblot was his only friend.”

“What about relatives?”

Twilight shook her head. “I already checked. For some reason, I can’t find any living relatives.”

Spike rubbed his forehead. “Are there any clues in the book? You said earlier that not all of it is ancient Equestrian.”

“You’re right!” Twilight said as she turned to the beginning of the book. She began examining past the bits of ancient Equestrian and the assortment of shapes. On every page, Twilight began to notice bits of legible writing “There are more random bits of text. Something about a scientist. More mention of the ‘sun’ watching.” Twilight continued flipping from page to page until she saw something inscribed at the bottom of the page.

For Lillypop

“Lillypop?” Twilight thought aloud. “That name sounds familiar. Spike, do you know a Lillypop?”

“Lillypop...” Spike pondered. “Yeah,” he said with a burst of excitement. “She comes into town once a week to buy gardening supplies. She’s a boto-something or another.”

“Botanist,” Twilight corrected.

“Right,” Spike said, uncaring, “Anyway, she lives in the Everfree forest.”

“I see,” Twilight smiled. “Then we’ll have to pay Miss Lillypop a visit, won’t we?”

Spike gave a nervous frown and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, I have no idea where in the Everfree she lives.”

“No matter,” Twilight optimistically spoke. “I’m sure a little visit to Pinkie’s should clear everything up.”

With a nod, Twilight grabbed her saddle bag and headed towards the door. Spike stopped and pointed at the table. “What about the notebook?”

“It’ll be fine here. I’d rather have it safe and sound at the library for now,” Twilight said.

Reluctantly, Spike nodded and followed her as she exited the library, locking the doors behind her. She was about to make her way to Pinkie’s when heard the sound of scissors snipping. Twilight turned to face the source of the sound. Upon facing the pony responsible, Twilight smiled and waved.

“Hi Onion Garlic! I’m going to do some business for the princess; I’ll be out for a while. Is it okay if I pay you next time?”

The stallion in question raised turned around and paused from snipping the rosebuds from the flower bed, near the side of the library. He was a rather well built stallion, even given his occupation as Ponyville’s resident gardener. His eyes were a bright shade of blue and his coat was a type of lush green, reminiscent of the plants which he poured his heart and soul into. His long and flowing mane was a bright shade of amber, bright as the very sun that shone over them. His cutie mark was a single bright red rosebud. Twilight Sparkle could almost consider falling for him if she were into that sort of thing. Rarity had tried numerous times to coerce the stallion on a date. His response was always the same. My work is my only mistress. The flowers and gardens that I help blossom are the only joy that I require.

It had been over a month since Twilight Sparkle had decided to hire him. Originally, it had been Spike’s job to tend to the garden. This was met with mixed results. Wanting to attract more attention to the library, Twilight requested an additional fund from the princess to hire a gardener. Naturally, Onion Garlic made the best choice, considering his local fame.

Onion Garlic rose and spoke in a deep yet welcoming voice. “It’s no problem at all; take your time. I’ll have these flowers all spruced up before you return!”

With a smile and a nod, Twilight Sparkle walked past him with Spike in tow and headed to Sugarcube to learn Lillypop’s location.

Part II

Twilight Sparkle pushed past the vines and bushes of the Everfree Forest, using her magic to help clear a path. Behind her, Spike was shivering as the strange sounds and sights of the forest grew louder.

“A-Are you sure this is the way?” Spike said, trying to mask his fear in idle conversation.

“Yes,” Twilight nodded. “Pinkie said that it’d be about another two miles east from Zecora’s place.

It had been over thirty minutes since Twilight and Spike made the long trek from Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie had thankfully been able to give specifics about the location of her home. Shortly after, they had arrived in the Everfree Forest and were now passing Zecora’s hut; they were close.

Just as Spike was about to speak, she heard the sudden rustling of leaves ahead. Twilight held her hoof to the side, signalling Spike to stop. Together, they listened as the sound grew closer. Twilight stepped back defensively in front of Spike and began to harness magic into her horn, prepared for the worst case scenario.

The sound grew closer. Twilight could see a figure just behind the leaves. Twilight’s muscles tensed as she ran forward, about to attack whatever lie ahead with a highly concentrated blast of magic. Twilight was inches away when she noticed the pony in front of her.

It was a unicorn mare with a bright magenta coat and a long, straightened, maroon colored mane that swayed as she jumped back from Twilight. Twilight stumbled and landed face first into the soil. She began wiping off the dirt from her mane as the pink coated pony approached her, staring at her with bright emerald eyes.

“A-Are you okay?” the mare nervously asked.

Twilight coughed. “Yeah,” she spoke as she slowly stood with a slight embarrassment. Twilight faced the mare with a slight blush. “I’m sorry about that. I thought you were some kind of animal. Let’s just say that I’ve had some.....bad experiences with the Everfree in the past,” she said with a nervous chuckle.

“That’s alright,” she spoke with a hint of confusion. “But, I have to ask; what are you doing here? The Everfree Forest is a dangerous place. Not somewhere that you want to lurking around.”

“Actually,” Twilight said as she straightened her mane, “I’m looking for someone; a pony by the name of Lillypop.”

The mare looked taken aback as she stammered out, “Lillypop?”

“Yes, I heard that she lives out in these woods. Do you know her?”

“Well, I guess you're in luck,” the mare said, “I am Lillypop. I was out scavenging for some herbs.”

Twilight smiled. “Excellent! My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant, Spike,” she said as she pointed to the purple dragon.

“I see,” Lillypop said in a confused tone. “Why exactly are you looking for me?”

“Well, to begin,” Twilight said with a cough, “did you know of a pony by the name of Bubble Puff?”

Her eyes widened in shock as a sullen look spread across her face. Her mouth moved as if she was trying to form words. A moment passed before she spoke. “Yes.”

Twilight felt a sense of defeat as the mare spoke. Twilight replied, “I see. I suppose that you already know what happened.”

Lillypop slowly nodded her head as she spoke with a deep sorrow in her voice. “I have. ”

“I see. I’m currently investigating the circumstances behind his death on behalf of Princess Celestia. I have a few questions for you, if you’re willing.”

It was there for a brief moment, Twilight saw. There was a brief moment of fear that overtook Lillypop upon hearing those words. Lillypop turned around, facing the woods. “Come with me”, she said with a crack in her voice.

Twilight Sparkle and Spike cautiously followed her until they reached a small round cottage with a square building attached to it that was built entirely of glass. Inside the transparent building, potted plants and a variety of herbs lay across the countertops and the glass tiles of the floor. Lillypop redirected them towards the wooden hut and opened the door with her magic.

Twilight and Spike followed Lillypop inside after briefly examining the cottage grounds which held a variety of plants ranging from bright pink tulips, a deep shaded pink that reminded Twilight of a certain party mare, to daisies with white petals, white as Celestia’s beautiful coat, and a flower head that was a shimmering yellow, bright and golden as the very sun.

Twilight entered into a large matted living room decorated with a variety of houseplants and paintings that hung along the walls. Along the wall was a large bookshelf that was filled with various books on plants, herbs, and everything that a botanist would need. Lined along the floors were two yellow chairs facing towards each other and separated by a long mahogany table with a brown leather sofa connected at the end of the table. On the other side of the room, Twilight could see a small kitchen that connected to the living room as well as a door that led to a small bathroom.

Lillyopop sat on one of the chairs and motioned for them to sit. Twilight sat on the other chair and faced Lillypop while Spike sat on the sofa and observed the two mares as they stared at each other intently. There was a brief silence among them before they heard light sobbing from Lillypop.

Twilight leaned forward with sympathetic eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“I just..,” she began with a sniffle, “I just can’t believe he’s gone.” Lillypop used her magic to bring forth a handkerchief and wiped her tears.

“You two must have been very close,” Twilight observed.

“Yes,” she said with a sad smile. “I loved him.”

Twilight examined her curiously, scrutinizing her every move. She didn’t appear to be lying. To be honest, Twilight felt a slight pity as she looked upon this broken mare wallowing in her tears.

Twilight nodded. “I see. I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m trying to find out what caused his death. If there’s anything you can tell me, I’d be very grateful.”

“Of course,” Lillypop said as she wiped away more tears and laid the handkerchief on the table. “What do you wish to know?”

“How exactly did you meet Bubble Puff?” Twilight asked, mindful of her words. She had to be careful, lest she break this mare into a further state of grief.

“Well,” she replied with a sniffle, “when I first saw him, he was on the verge of death. He was crawling through the Everfree, barely conscious. I found him by my cottage and brought him in. It turned out that he managed to ingest a poisonous berry found only here, in the forest. Luckily, I found him just in time to reverse the effects of the poison.”

“What happened afterward?” Twilight inquired.

“After that, he was bedridden at my home for about three days as to make sure that he made a full recovery,” Lillypop spoke. “During that time, I got to know him better. He told me all kinds of interesting things. We talked about life, death, aspirations, and etcetera. He was really quite a brilliant pony. After the third day, he took his leave.”

Lillypop gave a faint smile. “However, I made sure that he promised to come back sometime. And so he did. Every week. He always brought strange gifts, strange stories, and wild ideas with every visit. As time went on, the more I fell for him. I loved his smile, his wonderful voice, his strange ideas. He always seemed to be hiding some sort of pain. Behind that pain, however, was an unmistakable sense of kindness and inner beauty.”

Twilight listened intently, trying to take in all of her information while judging the merit of her story. She seemed to be genuine. Her tears felt real. Her faint, sorrowful smiles felt even more real; so full of hurt and anguish. Twilight nodded after she was done speaking and paused to consider how she would frame her next question. “Miss Lillypop, I don’t mean to intrusive, but I must know something.”

“Yes?”

“Did he reciprocate your feelings?” she carefully asked.

Lillypop let out a soft chuckle. “I suppose that you have a right to ask that, given your job. Yes, it took a long time before he would admit it, but eventually he admitted that he had grown strong feelings towards me.” Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes as she spoke. “That was the first time that we kissed.”

Twilight felt awkward from her sudden burst of emotion. She wanted to lean forward and hug the poor pitiful mare, but she hesitated and let the mare continue speaking.

“Twilight?” she asked between sobs.

“Yes, Lillypop?”

“I know that it’s probably not a question that I should be asking,” she nervously said, “but have you made any progress that could help figure out the reason why he did it?”

Twilight thought for a moment before speaking, Can I tell her about the notebook? Is it a safe idea? Finally, she spoke, “Not really. Nothing conclusive.”

Lillypop continued to weep. “So...you’ve found nothing?” She buried her face in her hooves and sobbed even louder.

Twilight bit her lip. I don’t think I can stand another second of this crying. There probably isn’t any harm in telling her the base details. Maybe she can help me?” she thought to herself.

“Actually,” Twilight reluctantly began, “there is something. Earlier this morning, I discovered a notebook in his home.”

Lillypop popped up in surprise. “A notebook?”

“Yes, a small black notebook that appeared to be his personal diary. It was filled with strange symbols and strange texts. I could only decipher some of it. Did he ever talk to you about anything like that?”

Upon mention of the notebook, Lillypop’s tears had come to a stop. She shook her head. “No.....he never mentioned a diary. Anything else? Did he mention me in it?”

Twilight paused. She had already told her too much. “I don’t believe so. Much of it was unreadable, and the text that was readable was too odd to understand. Unfortunately, that’s all that I have so far.”

“Oh,” she said in a pained voice. “I see. Is there anything else that you needed from me? Anymore questions?”

Twilight shook her head as she stood. “I think that’s all the information I need for the moment. I need to get back to the library and finish some work back home. Thank you very much for your time.”

She smiled and nodded. “It was no problem at all. Let me know if I can be of any help.”

“Sure thing,” she agreed as Spike raised himself from the sofa. He quickly walked behind Twilight as they began walking towards the door, and Twilight gently opened it with her magic.

Before leaving, she took a brief glimpse behind her to see Spike close behind. On the chair, Lillypop was wiping her remaining tears with a handkerchief. Just behind her, on the bookshelf -amidst the rows of plant related books and studies- was a red spined book titled, The Art of Spell Dissection.

Most likely a coincidence, Twilight briefly thought as she exited the door. No, she mentally corrected herself. There is no room for coincidences in this case.

With Spike following closely behind, Twilight left the small cottage and rushed back home, through the depths of the everfree. The journey was without too much commotion other than Spike nearly fumbling into a patch of poison joke. Luckily, Twilight had been able to stop him and kept him on her back for the remainder of the trip back.

When they had finally arrived back in Ponyville, it was close to 4:00 in the evening, and she would soon have to cook dinner for herself as well as a hungry baby dragon. Twilight approached Golden Oaks Library and gazed at the lawn. The flowers lay beautifully beside the library with their colors drawing Twilight closer. She inhaled their magnificent scent and remembered that she still had to pay Onion Garlic the next time that she saw him.

Twilight Sparkle, with Spike still on her back, opened the door to find that the library was just as she had left it, with books and papers cluttered about. She didn’t know what odd hope that she had developed, but it soon faded as she entered.

“Spike, you’ve been a great help today. I just need you to clean up this mess while I work on studying the notebook, okay?”

Spike jumped off her back and gave an annoyed grunt. “Fine,” he simply said as he began working. Twilight walked past him and headed for her desk with the intention of reading more into the notebook. Twilight came to a sudden halt as she approached her desk. Her heart briefly stopped.

“No,” she muttered inaudibly.

She turned to face Spike. “Spike!” she shouted, “Check the upstairs for anything missing or anything that’’s out of place!”

Spike dropped the stack of books that he was carrying as he saw the frantic look that spread across Twilight Sparkle’s face. “Twilight! What’s wrong?”

“The notebook,” she said calmly. “It’s gone!” she suddenly shouted.

“What? Are you sure?” Spike asked, now breathing heavily.

Twilight nodded her head and began looking all over the room, examining every crevice for anything that stood out of the ordinary. “Yes, I left it right on the table. This is bad. Really bad. Spike, I need you to check upstairs right away.”

Spike nodded and quickly made his way up the stairs. Twilight ran to the edge of the room and opened the small set of doors that led to the basement. Once opened, she flared her horn and covered the room in a luminescent glow. Nothing, Twilight noted. Not a single thing was missing. Nothing out of place. Everything was exactly as it had been left. Twilight ran out from the basement, shutting the doors behind her.

Twilight began pacing around her desk. “No, this isn’t good. I need to report this as soon as possible.”

Twilight walked to the front door and opened it, examining the side for any damage. No damage. Whoever did this, didn’t have to force their way in. A picklock? Possibly. Who could have snuck in here when we weren’t around? she thought to herself. Is the diary the only thing that they were after?

Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by footsteps. “Twilight!” Spike shouted as he ran down the steps. “I checked everywhere. They didn’t take anything else. Whoever it was, I think the diary was the only thing that they took.”

“Then that settles it,” Twilight thought aloud. “Whoever broke in obviously didn’t wish for us to investigate further. This only solidifies my earlier theory of a third party at work. Whoever did this had to have known that the notebook was in our possession.”

“Do you think it was Inkblot?”

“No,” Twilight said. “We have no evidence to prove that Inkblot had any knowledge of that we had the notebook in our possession. The only other pony that we’ve told about it is Lillypop.”

“It couldn’t have been her!” Spike argued. “We were with her the whole time!”

“You’re correct, Spike. There’s no way that she could have been able to steal it in the time it took us to get back. The only other explanation is that somepony has eyes and ears in very high places.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the only other ponies that we were made aware of our ownership of the notebook are Lillypop and the police department. We’ve already ruled out Lillypop.”

“Do you think the police department had something to do with it?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not necessarily. Although that is indeed a possibility, I believe that whoever took the notebook has some level of access to information belonging to the police.”

“What are we going to do now? How are we going to get it back?” Spike asked.

Twilight Sparkle let out a sigh. “Unfortunately, there’s little that we can do at this point in time,” she said as she began trotting to the door, and levitated her saddlebags over her shoulders. “I’m going to pay the good old Ponyville P.D. a visit and see if there’s anything else that I can learn. You stay here and try to clean up this mess. I should be back soon.”

Before Spike could object, Twilight had exited through the door and began her walk across town, traveling past Sugarcube Corner and through the busy streets of Ponyville. Twilight approached Town hall and turned left to see a large building with a oversized gold star placed directly atop the building. Ponyville Police Precinct, the sign below it read.

Twilight Sparkle approached the rusted metal doors of the precinct and gently pushed them open with her magic. Once the doors opened, Twilight was greeted to the sight of dozens of police ponies running in complete panic as they went from room to room. Several officers were chatting idly with their coworkers while others engaged in serious talk with scowls written across their faces.

At the front of the building was, sitting next to a typewriter, a familiar tan coated earth pony with dark afro that sat in at a desk hovering over a small typewriter. Twilight approached the stallion. “Sir?” she said in a polite voice.

The stallion looked up, and his eyes widened with a look of surprise. “You’re the unicorn from this morning! The one working for the princess!”

“Yes,” Twilight said with mild embarrassment. Anyway, Officer...”

“Officer Sammy James,” he corrected.

Her tone changed to that of a more serious tone. “Officer Sammy James, I’d like to report a break in that occurred at my home. I live in the Golden Oaks Library, and I believe that the crime occurred between the hours of 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon.”

“I see,” Sammy James said as his hooves feverishly worked the typewriter. “Was anything missing from your home?”

“Yes,” Twilight nervously replied. “One item was stolen. Very crucial evidence to the Bubble Puff Case. I need to recover it as soon as possible.”

His face rose as he stopped typing. “If that’s the case, I think you’re going to want to talk to the chief. He’s handling the logistics of the investigation. Plus he’s involved in local suicide control.”

“Very well,” Twilight replied. “Where can I find him?”

Sammy James stood and moved in front of Twilight. “I’ll show you.”

Twilight followed Sammy James past the trotting officers as he spoke. “The office has been pretty crazy since the investigation began.”

“Have you made any leads?” she asked.

Still moving forward, he shook his head. “No. Even though we’ve been filing reports like crazy, we haven’t been doing any real policing.”

Twilight arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Most of the team sent to cover the case have been spending more time trying get logistics and block off the crime scene than actually discovering the reasons or how it got past the chief’s eyes. I really wish I was able to take charge of the situation, but unfortunately the chief has got me playing receptionist.”

“But weren’t you on the scene this morning?”

He nodded. “Yes, but only long enough for the crowd to die down. After that, Chief made sure that only a handful of his ‘best’ officers were on the scene. However, I don’t see them doing much other than mess around and tell jokes by the water cooler.”

“That’s odd. What is the chief doing about this?”

He looked around before he spoke in a hushed voice. “Not a thing other than sitting behind his desk trying to look important.”

Twilight soaked in the information as they approached a door surrounded on both sides by glass. On the front of the door it read, Police Chief Captain Silver Chains

Sammy James leaned into Twilight’s ear. “Don’t mention a word of what I said to him.”

Twilight Sparkle nodded, then waited as Sammy James knocked on the door three times. After a moment, she heard muffled breathing as the door creaked open to reveal a muscular earth pony giving Sammy James and Twilight Sparkle an uncaring look as a cigar hung from his mouth. He appeared to be middle aged with a brown mane, shortened into a military style buzzcut. His coat was a dark grey, dark and gray as the ashes that flung carelessly from his cigar.

He stared at them with a stone cold face as he spoke. “This better be important, officer.”

Sammy James nodded. “Yes, this is Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn that Celestia sent to investigate the Bubble Puff case.”

“Really?” he said with one eye opening slightly more than the other as he scrutinizingly gazed at Twilight. “Well, I’m Captain Silver Chains, and I’m a very busy stallion. I hope that this is important, Miss Sparkle.”

“It is,” she confidently reassured him. “As I’m sure you’re already aware, there was a notebook found in Bubble Puff’s house.”

Both eyes opened with a surprised look before he blew a puff of smoke from the corner of his cheeks as the apathy returned to his face. “My officers informed me,” he dispassionately spoke.

“This afternoon, it was stolen from my residence. I believe that the notebook is essential to uncovering the motives behind Bubble Puff’s suicide and request the full support of the Ponyville’s police department in recovering the notebook.”

He spent a long moment staring at Twilight and Sammy James before he spoke. “Alright, Miss Sparkle. Come in,” he said motioning his head to the office behind him.

After Silver Chains had turned into his office, Twilight Sparkle gave a nod and a silent thank you to Sammy James, who began walking in the opposite direction.

Twilight followed Silver Chains into his office where she was greeted to the intoxicating fumes of cigarette smoke. The smell briefly overcame her as she began hacking and wheezing.

After a moment of adjustment, she turned her attention to Silver Chains, who was sitting in a chair behind his desk. Around the room, it was filled with a plethora of awards and plaques in the several shelves that filled the room. There were pictures of him framed all along the walls. Several were of him shaking hooves with many important dignitaries. One of them even had him standing proudly by Celestia’s side in front of the Ponyville Police Precinct. The one that stood out most to Twilight, though, was a picture of him standing next to an older stallion with a grey, receding mane who wore a white doctor’s coat. The two of them stood smiling in from of a building labeled, Central Equestrian Home of the Suicidally Inclined.

Twilight turned her attention back to Silver Chains. “Have a seat,” he said as he motioned a hoof to two leather chairs opposite his own. Twilight nodded and sat, facing the police chief.

“Close the door,” he said, releasing another puff of Smoke that caused Twilight to instinctively cringe as she used her magic to close the door.

“Good,” he said. “Now tell about this ‘theft’ that occurred.”

Twilight nodded. “The theft occurred at some time between the hours of 2:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon.”

“And how did this happen? What were you doing at the time of the theft?”

“I was investigating a possible lead that lives in the Everfree Forest,” she replied.

“The Everfree, eh?” he repeated. “Anyway, what was your house like when you returned?”

“The same as it was. That’s the odd part. There were no signs of forced entry of any signs of damage. The only thing missing was the notebook. I can only conclude that whoever broke in did so with the intention of halting the investigation. We have to work on finding the notebook as soon as possible. I’ve already come to the conclusion that whoever stole it has some level of access to police information.”

Silver Chains leaned back in his chair and released a long stream of smoke into the air. “That does sound pretty bad. An eavesdropper perhaps? A rogue thief spying on the police department?” he said with that same look of indifference. “Whoever did it is most likely a dangerous individual. I would recommend that you stay back and let my boys take care of it. We’ll try and recover it as soon as we can.”

There’s a mad thief on the loose, and you’re going to take your sweet time and get on it as soon as you can? she mentally yelled back. Instead, she calmly asked, “How soon?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know. I’ve got my hands full trying to contain possible all suicides within the city. The townsfolk are anxious. Who knows when the next victim will come?”

Twilight slammed her hooves on his desk. “Well, while you’re busy dilly dallying, there’s a lunatic who has stolen evidence! This could be the clue to finding out what really happened!”

Silver Chains nonchalantly waved a hoof into the air. “Relax, we’ve got this under control. Why don’t you sit back and let us professionals handle this?”

“I don’t have time for this! If you’re not going to take this seriously, then I’m going to find the culprit on my own!” she shouted as she made her way to the doors.

As she was opening the doors, she heard a small chuckle from Silver Chains. She was about to yell at him once more when a familiar picture caught her attention. Silver Chains and an elderly stallion shaking hooves. Central Equestrian Home of the Suicidally Inclined. This picture clinged to her mind before she snapped back to reality and resumed slamming the door behind her as she angrily made her way through the police department and back to the library.

By the time that she returned, it was already dark outside and Spike lay asleep on the wooden staircase. Twilight sighed and levitated the baby dragon upstairs and into his bed. Twilight returned to the bottom floor.

She was rather pleased with the work that Spike had done in her absence. The newspapers, quills, and loose parchment from before were removed, leaving only a few scraps of paper and a handful of used quills scattered across the floor. Twilight turned her attention back to the desk where Celestia’s letter from the previous night lay. She remembered when she first received it in the dead of night. She went over a plethora of emotions. Excited at the prospect of being a detective. Scared at the prospect of danger. Curious about the circumstances revolving the suicide. One emotion stood above all: pride at being chosen to serve her teacher. Out of all possible ponies to choose with this important task, she choose Twilight Sparkle. She had to solve this case, no matter the consequence.

She then turned her attention back to the small clutter before her. Reluctantly, she pulled out a broom and began sweeping the library until the lights across town had dimmed and all of Ponyville lay sound asleep. All asleep except for one.

Just outside of the library, a pony stood dressed in a dark blue cloak and boots, dark and blue as the infinite night sky above. The pony wore a black leather mask with small holes cut that allowed the pony to peer through and had a protruding horn that was covered in a dark fabric. The pony slowly pulled out a slender dagger from within its cloak and began walking towards Golden Oaks Library.

Part III

As night descended onto Ponyville and Twilight Sparkle finally made her way into the warm embrace of her bed, the doors of the library creaked open ever so slightly, allowing the entrance of a unicorn covered in dark robes and a dark mask. With a sleek dagger by its side, the unicorn continued to creep through the library, inching its way up the stairs.

Upstairs, Twilight continued to toss and turn in her bed sheets while Spike laid content in his small basket of a bed, snoring loudly. The robed pony approached the two and carefully hovered its knife over the sleeping baby dragon. The unicorn lifted its head over Spike for a final glance before thrusting its knife downwards.

The masked pony couldn’t see the bubble of air lodged in Spike’s throat, nor could it comprehend the meaning as a flickering trail of green flames shot up in a fiery belch, grazing past the edges of the knife and setting fire to the edges of the masked pony’s cloak. The pony stumbled backwards, diverting the knife from its target and clipping off the burning piece of fabric before putting out the flames with a simple frost spell.

Twilight Sparkle and Spike jumped from the sudden noise. Spike elicited a gasp while Twilight lept out and telekinetically tossed Spike aside. “Who are you?” Twilight yelled at the cloaked pony. It said nothing. “What are you doing here?” she asked. It was then that Twilight noticed the knife.

The masked pony thrust the knife forward, aiming towards Twilight’s throat. Twilight jumped to the side as the knife grazed the back of her mane. Twilight shot off a concussive blast towards the pony who sidestepped out of the way. The masked pony shot back the knife, forcing Twilight to sloppily dive forward, barely dodging it as it whizzed past her head. Twilight landed against on her sides. As she slid against the wood, she watched her movements as she moved forward to attack.

The masked pony ran forward, positioning the knife in front of its body and passed by a book shelf. Still on the ground, Twilight shot a blast towards the back of the shelf, sending an explosion of wood in all directions as the shelf fell towards the masked pony. It acted quickly and faced the shelf as it was about to strike and shot a fiery beam of magic from its horn. The shelf was soon transformed into nothing but ashes.

Just enough time, Twilight thought to herself as she blasted the knife away from the unicorn’s telekinetic grip. The knife slid across the ground, gaining the intruder’s attention. Twilight grabbed hold of the knife with her magic and tossed it towards herself, away from the masked pony.

With the knife safely by her side, she faced the intruder with a fierce glance. “I’ll ask one more time, who are you!” Twilight had expected the pony to back down or try to escape; it made the most logical sense for a pony in that situation. Twilight’s eyes widened as the masked pony instead began charging straight towards her.

Twilight held the knife firmly in front of her as a million thoughts blazed through her mind. Do I have to kill her? I’ve never tried kill a pony. Maybe she’ll stop! No, she’s desperate. She’s going to try and ram me on the slim chance that she can take me out.

A single thought trailed through her mind: survival. If she died, the elements of harmony would be no more. If she died, Spike would be left alone and devastated. If she died, she’d never be able to see her parents, her big brother, the princess, or her friends ever again. If she died, she’d never be able to solve this case. Twilight held firmly against the masked pony and lunged forward with the knife in front of her.

The masked pony continued on its mad assault as the knife grew inches from its neck. A glow began to surround the pony as the knife grazed along the side of its neck, sending trickles of blood along the blade. The masked pony vanished in front of her as the knife stabbed through nothingness.

Twilight heard a cracking sound behind her like that of a whip and turned to see the masked pony running towards the door that led to the balcony. The masked pony quickly shot a bolt of magic that ripped the door off its hinges and through the now present night sky. Twilight tried to run after, just past Spike, who was cowering in the corner. The masked pony ran onto the balcony and lept from the balcony. Twilight ran towards the pony but could only hear crackling and a flash as the pony teleported away. Twilight stood for a moment, just over the ledge as her heart continued to beat wildly. She then realized that she was still holding the knife and dropped it onto the balcony as she slumped against the ledge, trying to regain her senses.

“What’s going on?” a voice yelled from below. Twilight Sparkle lifted herself up and looked across the balcony where a small crowd stood, dressed in night time clothing.

“Get....help! Need....police!” Twilight yelled across the balcony in between breaths. The initial shock and adrenaline had faded away, leaving her in a state of mental and physical exhaustion. It only took a few minutes before the police arrived, forced to barge their way through a growing crowd of spectators. No doubt the sight of Twilight breathless and the door ripped from her balcony had caused quite a stir in the little community.

When they arrived, Twilight told them everything that she could, keeping a close eye on Spike, who was still shivering. An intruder in the night that tried to kill both of them; what reason would they be his or her target? Twilight already knew the answer. The investigation. The only question was who.

It had to be a unicorn, Twilight thought. Inkblot? Possible. He should know by now that I stole the page. If he’s linked to the notebook, no doubt he’d want to cut off any possible trace of evidence. However, he’s a shut in with a hobby for writing mediocre literature, not really the material for a nighttime assassin. Lillypop? Equally as unlikely. There’s no evidence that she knows anything of the notebook other than what I was told. Still, I can’t rule either out completely.

A thought struck her. The police department. They know that I was had ownership of the notebook. They know my location. They know everything about the town. Whatever was in that notebook, they don’t want me to find out.

As police ponies passed by, she felt a sense of fear creeping down her shoulders. I’m not safe here, she thought. Spike! I need to get him somewhere safe and keep my investigation as thorough and inconspicuous as possible. I need to act quickly. I can’t arouse any suspicion.

Beads of sweat ran down her forehead. I can’t suffer a mental breakdown. Not here. Not now. Too much is riding on this.

Calmly, Twilight wore a gentle yet fake smile and called for Spike. He came slowly, still shivering from fright, but less so than before. Quickly, she made her way to the table and packed her letter from Celestia and the certificate of authority into her saddlebags, gently hoisting the bags over shoulder. Cautiously, Twilight walked between officers, numbering about ten in total, careful not to look them in the eye. She made her way to the door where she was approached by the five ponies that she called her best friends.

For a brief moment, she wanted to tell them everything. No, she resolved. I can’t let anyone else get involved. None of them will be safe if they know too much. I’ll have to approach this calmly and carefully.

“Twilight!” Pinkie yelled as she threw Twilight into a tight hug. “I was so worried about you! Is everything alright? Are you going to be okay? Was it a monster?”

Rarity pushed Pinkie aside and gave Twilight a sad look. “Darling, you look absolutely dreadful! Are you going to be okay? Do you know who attacked you?”

“Tell us, and I’ll teach that punk a lesson!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed punching her forelegs through the air.

Applejack walked closer. “If there’s anything that we can do to help, just let us know. You ought to rest. You look mighty tired.”

Can’t rest. I have to be vigilant, Twilight thought. “I’ll be fine,” Twilight lied. “However, I imagine Spike must be exhausted. I have some business to attend to; can anypony take care of Spike until I return?”

Rarity rushed past Twilight, throwing her hooves around Spike. “My poor Spikey Wikey!” she yelled as she hugged him. She turned to Twilight. “You take care of whatever you need to. I can certainly take of Spike. I can’t imagine how scared he must be, the poor thing!”

Scared was hardly the word to describe him as his body went limp in Rarity’s hooves. He’ll be safe with Rarity. They don’t want him. They want me.

Twilight nodded. “I’m sure Spike would be just fine that. Thank you very much, Rarity. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have somthing to tend to.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Fluttershy objected.

With a simple nod, Twilight Sparkle continued onward as the morning sun began to make its way over Ponyville. After a short walk, she eventually made her way to the Ponyville Police Precinct. It wasn't as packed as Twilight had thought it would be. There were still several officers at her home plus the officers that patrolled during the night.

They won’t attack in broad daylight. I’ll be safe for now.

At the front desk, a short unicorn mare sat, her hind legs slumped over the desk as she filed her hooves. She faced Twilight with the utmost apathy. “What do you want?”

Twilight cleared her throat and pulled the letter from her saddlebags. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’m on official business at the behest of the princess. I need to access your official records.” She still hadn’t told Celestia about the ordeal, she realized. No doubt she’d try and stop Twilight from investigating further out of fear of her safety. She couldn’t stop now, not after they threatened her life as well as Spike’s.

The mare blinked. “Okay. Third room down the hall.”

With a nod, Twilight made her way down the hall and found a room entirely encased in darkness, the door wide open. Twilight leaned in and flipped the switch, activating a light bulb on the ceiling. A torrent of dust made itself visible against the encroaching light. The room was filled from wall to wall with drawers and filing cabinets, some open and some shut tight. There were folders and papers flung and laid carelessly across the room, making it a challenge to simply cross the floor.

Twilight began going through the room, examining for anything that stuck out. It wasn’t long before she found a found a cabinet that had been recently open labeled Case Files. Carefully, Twilight opened the cabinet and examined its contents. Inside, she could find several folders alphabetically organized. She went through each, skimming the titles for anything that could be useful. When she made her way to the B’s, she saw something that made her come to a stop.

Towards the back of the section was a folder titled Bubble Puff. Behind it, a folder labeled Bubble Puff Suicide Investigation.

Twilight pulled out the two folders and examined the contents. The file for Bubble Puff was nearly empty, containing only a handful of files relating to the location of his house and some physical features. One stack of papers in that folder stood out most to her. On it, behavior notes was scribbled across the top. On it, text was hastily written across the page. 11: P.M. The subject is making his way to a restaurant a block from his home. Subject appears to be unaware of my presence.

Twilight flipped through it to find similar notes: notes about eating habits, reading, places that he walked. They were dated and marked with the utmost precision. What in Equestria were they looking for?

Twilight flipped to the last page. Subject has made his way back from Lillypop’s home in the Everfree. Will continue to monitor the situation. Twilight looked through the rest of the folder, unable to find anything more. She went back and checked the dates. Two months. They were monitoring Bubble Puff for a whole two months before the file cut off. Why? Why were they studying him? There’s no mention of the notebook, so what could it be?

Twilight jumped as a sound came from behind her. “You’re not afraid are you? A pony breaks into your home in the dead of night and tries to kill you, and you simply keep investigating.”

Twilight quickly turned around and faced Sammy James. “What are you doing here?” Twilight asked, hiding the files behind her.

Sammy James walked closer, never looking Twilight in the eye. “There’s no point in hiding that folder that you were viewing. I already went through it earlier.”

“Earlier? Wait....why were-”

“I was conducting my own investigation,” he said, cutting her off. “No doubt you’re thinking the same thing. ‘Why were they investigating Bubble Puff a whole two months before the actual suicide? Why isn’t there anything else documented?’ To answer that question, I did some research and found out that they did a massive purge of low level information right after Bubble Puff’s suicide was discovered. You’ll find all sorts of things missing in there.”

“Is there any way to recover it? Were they all destroyed?” she asked.

He shook his head. “There is one way. All information is stored at different levels. Information like the one that you found is open to everyone. There’s one level higher that extends to certain officers. I’m hoping that I can find a way to gain access to it. I have quite a few friends in high places. Any information that is scrapped is automatically moved up for preservation, meaning that if it’s not here it’s either with the second or third level storage.”

“Third level?”

“The third level, Sammy James began, “extends only to senior level officers. All information, even those that are deleted from the first and second levels, are accessible from the third level. Unfortunately, the only one here with that level of authority is the chief himself.”

“I should be able to access it,” she argued. “I have royal authority on this investigation.”

“That won’t be enough,” he said. “Even if he grants you access to it, there’s a strong chance that by the time you’re granted access, he’ll have to files transferred or destroyed. The chief may be rude and uncaring, but don’t drop your guard for a minute.”

“Then how can I get access to this information if it’s so heavily guarded?”

He gave a small grin. “Leave that to me. I checked earlier, and most of the officers are just now making it back from the night shift. Silver Chain most likely won’t be here until lunch, so I’ll have plenty of time. Still, we can’t meet anywhere in public or act too close. We don’t want Silver Chains to get too suspicious.”

“How will we meet then?”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll find you,” he assured.

“Okay,” Twilight nodded. “I’m grateful, but this seems too odd. Why are you helping me? More importantly, why are you opposing your boss so directly? What’s in this for you?”

“For me? I want justice. I’ve been on the force for nearly six years. When I first joined, Ponyville P.D. was a shining beacon of hope for a lot of towns out there. We were swift and thorough. We solved cases and got things done. That’s the reason that I decided to become a police officer. Right after I joined, the police chief died under unspecified circumstances and Silver Chains was brought in to replace him. He never even worked here to begin with. He was some big shot from Canterlot who bought and bribed his way up the chain of command. When he took charge, the entire force changed. It wasn’t about solving crimes or making the community safe anymore; it was about self indulgence and trying to put on a pretty face for the public. It was like....everypony just stopped caring. I want to set things right. I want to get to the bottom of this.”

“Alright,” she reluctantly said. “It looks like I don’t have too many options. I’ll trust you. I’ll keep looking into this. What are you going to be doing?”

He turned to face the door. “I’m going to find those missing documents. Be careful.” Without another word, he left. Twilight continued to search. She looked into every cabinet and searched through every relevant folder, trying to find even the slightest lead. She eventually came across a folder labeled C.E.H.S.I.

She opened it up to find a spreadsheet of times and dates. Towards the bottom of the page there was a line of text. The latest shipment of patients was shipped from Ponyville to the Central Equestrian Home of the Suicidally Inclined earlier today. Location: 2213 Edmare Street, Canterlot.

That place, she thought. It’s the same place as the picture in Silver Chain’s office. Is there a connection? It was common knowledge that each town had a member in charge of suicide prevention, so it made sense that he would keep records. Still, something wasn’t sitting right with Twilight. She could remember the old stallion from the picture, gazing in the camera with eyes that were hiding something. She closed the folder and placed it back into the cabinet. She hastily made her way out, shutting off the lights and exiting the station. Only one way to find out.

She soon found her way to the train station, way across town, and boarded the next train heading for Canterlot. Cozily, Twilight adjusted in her seat while more passengers boarded. She still doesn’t know, Twilight thought once more. Even now, she had yet to tell the princess what had occurred the night before. I can’t tell her now. I can’t let her stop me. As the train shook and the ponies on board finally took their seat, Twilight began lean against the window and drifted to sleep.

*****************************

Some time later, Twilight awoke as the train pulled to the stop. Twilight walked out, hurriedly. She wanted to leave before any of the crowd. Just as she was making her way through the doors, her heart stopped.

Across from the tracks stood none other than Princess Celestia, bearing an unreadable face and surrounded by her royal guards. How did she know? Twilight had been extremely careful. How could this have happened. That’s when it hit her. In the back of her mind, she already knew the answer of how: Spike.

Maybe if I’m careful, I can avoid drawing her atten-

“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia’s voice commanded firmly.

She had no choice now. Slowly, she made her way off the train and towards Celestia. In the distance, she could hear the hustle and bustle of Canterlot as voices rang from all across the city. Celestia still bore that unreadable face as she inched closer before coming to halt.

“P-Princess...I-”

Twilight was interrupted by Celestia rushing forward, wrapping her forelegs around Twilight’s shoulders. “Thank goodness you’re okay,” she exclaimed, holding Twilight tighter.

“Umm...” Twilight awkwardly stammered. “What’s going on? Why are you here? Are you going to punish me for not telling you about the attack!? Are you going to force me to give up the case!? Please don’t do that!”

Celestia pulled herself away and raised a hoof, silencing her. “I came here because I just received a letter out of the blue telling me that my student and her assistant were almost killed. When I learned that you already boarded the train, I had to see you to make sure that you were alright. So, Twilight, I ask you one question: are you alright?”

Twilight sighed in relief. “Yes.”

Celestia nodded and smiled. She began walking, motioning Twilight to follow. “Twilight Sparkle, you are one of the most talented and brilliant unicorns that I have ever seen. Have I ever told you this?”

Twilight blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. “However,” she continued, “you need to put more faith in others.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “You mean you’re not going to force me to drop the case?”

She shook her head. “No. As much as I’d like to keep you safe, I can tell how much this case means to you. Once you set your mind to something, you always see it through to the end. Besides, I already said that I wouldn’t have given you this case if I didn’t have complete confidence in your abilities.”

“Twilight smiled. “Thank you so much Princess. I promise I’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“I know you will,” she replied as she came to stop. “All I ask is that you stay safe. I don’t know what drives you to search for answers in Canterlot, but I know that you have a reason. Whatever the case may be, never hesitate to ask for help.”

She smiled. “I won’t. I promise.”

“Excellent. Unfortunately, duty calls. I must be getting back to the castle. If you require, I can dispatch the royal guard to escort you to your destination and keep you safe.”

Twilight shook her head. “Thanks, but that won’t be necessary. I’d prefer to keep a low profile.”

“Understood,” she said with a nod. “Watch yourself, my student.” With that, Celestia walked away with her guards in tow.

Twilight walked away and took the time to examine her surroundings. Canterlot was as huge as ever. It almost made her feel nostalgic as she walked past the familiar restaurants and the snooty ponies in their expensive clothes and hats. The city was very lively today, she noted as ponies walked around her. One young colt almost ran into Twilight as she examined the street signs, navigating her way around the busy ponies and lively buildings.

Soon enough, she found herself at an intersection with a bridge in the background, leading to Canterlot Castle. In the center of the intersection, was a large stone building that towered at least 10 stories high. Central Equestrian Home of the Suicidally Inclined, the sign above its revolving glass doors read.

Twilight Sparkle entered.