(Author's Note: Don't expect chapters this fast, I had the prologue done when I uploaded it and was almost done with this chapter. Life as a student is busy!)
Chapter 1
Spectrum Analysis cracked his eyes open to glance at his clock. It occurred to him that the clock must have been ringing for awhile, being that his alarm is set to go off at seven o'clock. The color drained from Spectrum’s face when he saw that the time was ten o’clock.
“AGH! I slept in! I have to go to lunch with Eye later, I’m not going to have time to go on my morning walk, things couldn’t possibly--” Spectrum was interrupted by the sound of the phone. Somepony had been calling him for the past half hour, and he didn’t even realize it. Still feeling groggy, Spectrum trotted over to the phone and cautiously lifted it.
“Spectrum Analysis, the only freelance detective in Equestria that gets the job done, what can I do for you?” he said, slurring every other word.
“SPEC, IF YOU DON’T GET YOUR FLANK DOWN TO THE POLICE STATION RIGHT NOW, I WILL SKIN YOU ALIVE!” the voice from the phone bellowed. “THE CHIEF WANTS TO SEE YOU RIGHT NOW, AND HE ISN’T THE TYPE TO BE PATIENT!”
“Hey, hey, easy Eye! I just woke up, give me a second to wake up and get ready! You don’t want me to come down with morning breath, do you?” Spectrum complained. He knew Eye Spy, his assistant, was always loud and ready to go, but she just seemed ten times worse in the morning. Spectrum figured she must’ve been hungover. “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes,” he reassured.
“I’ve got my timer set. I swear to Celestia, if you are late...” Eye threatened.
“Yeah, yeah, I got it, bye!” Spectrum slammed the phone down, and let out a sigh of relief as he left the room to prepare for what the Chief had for him today.
Spectrum walked into the bathroom and started to get ready to leave. As he hopped into the shower, Spectrum noticed that a bird was perched peacefully on his shower curtain rod. The bird graced Spectrum’s presence and gifted him with a sweet song. The dark orange pegasus broke into a smile, but just as quickly broke out of it, as he was in a rush and nothing could interrupt him. He opened a window for the bird to fly out, and he proceeded to wash up.
He grabbed a towel and made his way to his nightstand to retrieve his hat. Spectrum placed himself in front of a mirror, where he fidgeted with his hat in an attempt to adjust it. Once the hat was on, he started to space off and stare at his reflection. His focus turned to his hat, which at the moment memories started to flood his mind.
********************
“Daddy, why are you a detective?” asked a young and timid Spectrum. It was a sunny day in Canterlot as Spectrum and his dad relaxed on a bench and enjoyed some ice cream.
“Well son,” chuckled the stallion, “Equestria may be a peaceful land, but there’s also bad ponies that do bad things. If ponies weren’t detectives, we would never find the bad ponies. Does that make sense, Spec?” Spectrum tilted his head and looked at his father for a second, only to grin and snicker.
“I guess I understand daddy. But there is something else I still don’t understand!” Spectrum stood up, not noticing he had just dropped his ice cream. His father was now bursting with laughter at his son’s confusion, but still wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be concerned.
Spectrum figured it was the former, as he continued to laugh. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was, and it was apparent Spectrum was thinking the same thing. The stallion decided to humor his son. “What else don’t you understand, Spec?”
“Why are you leaving me?”
To Spectrum’s father, the world started to slow down, and everything became dark. His smile had collapsed and his laughter became dead silence. He wasn’t sure how he should react. Not sure whether to fully explain what happened, or sugar coat as much as he was able to. At that moment, Photo Analysis realized he would just have to tell his son Spectrum that he would not be in his life for a long time.
“Son, daddy is going away for work. I’ll be in Manehatten working with the police to help with the bad ponies. But it’s too dangerous for you to go, so you’re going to stay with Grandma Gumshoe.” Photo saw the tears swelling up in his son’s eyes, and soon his vision blurred with tears also. “I promise I will be back as soon as I can, but that won’t be for a while. You have to promise me, though, that you’ll be waiting.” Photo had given up on holding back tears, as they were flowing down his face, and Spectrum was hysterically sobbing, looking at the ground. Spectrum looked up, walked up to his father and nuzzled him.
“I promise daddy. I want to be a detective like you when I’m a big stallion, and catch the bad ponies,” he bawled. Feeling bittersweet, Photo took his hat off and placed it on his son’s head and tousled his mane.
“Keep it and remember me son, as I won’t forget you.”
********************
Spectrum’s thoughts had been interrupted by the blaring sound of the phone. “I must’ve spaced off and lost track of time,” he said worriedly. Spectrum was terrified of what Eye Spy was going to say to him once he answered the phone. He could either leave now and have her chew him out at the police station, or have her chastise him over the phone. He figured it would be best for him to get it over with now.
Reluctantly, Spectrum picked up the phone and meekly said “Spectrum Analysis, the only freelance detective in Equ--”
“IT’S TWENTY MINUTES. I WILL TAKE YOUR HAT AND SHOVE IT RIGHT UP YOUR--” Spectrum hung up and took this as a sign to head to the police station with haste.
Spectrum galloped out the door and took off into the skies. Being able to float in the air with the clouds and race with the birds was always memorable for him. Spectrum wondered if pegasi were always able to fly, or if there was a point where they were just like the Earth ponies. It always seemed like a miracle, being to see the world from a different point of view than everypony else. As he was flying, Spectrum noticed he was passing over Broadhay, one of the busiest places in Manehatten. Broadhay was home to theatre and musicals, and ponies from all over Equestria came to see world famous shows. The streets were bustling with Earth ponies and unicorns, but up in the sky were only a few pegasi. Everypony down there seemed to be in a rush, but the pegasi seemed to be taking their time and enjoying the scenery. To Spectrum, the pegasus race always seemed like a more tranquil and relaxed race, never hurrying to get to their destination. Halfway through this thought, Spectrum realized he was supposed to be at the police station and that he needed to hurry. The dark orange pegasus chuckled at the irony, and had finally arrived at the police station.
Spectrum opened the doors to the station and was greeted by the sound of telephones ringing and the sight of what seemed to be hundreds of cops, gathering around whiteboards and enjoying their cups of coffee.
Coffee.
“Urgh, I forgot my coffee this morning,” Spectrum grumbled, “and now I’m gonna have a headache and I’ll be tired...”
“Quit your whining Spec. There’s a lot to do apparently.” Spectrum had noticed that Eye Spy had been walking beside him the whole time. Out of the corner of his eye, Spectrum also saw the turquoise unicorn’s horn glowing with a nice, hot cup of java. Spectrum’s eyes widened at the sight.
“I’m not whining, I’m complaining,” Spectrum retorted as he reached for the coffee. He was on the tips of his hooves and almost had it in his grasp, but Eye quickly yanked the mug away and let Spectrum fall flat on his face.
“I’m serious, Spec, the chief seems to be really pissed that you’re late. And, this coffee is for me. After a night like mine, I deserve it a bit more.”
“See, I knew you were hung over, I just knew it,” Spectrum said as he picked himself up. Eye swiftly smacked him in the eye with her tail. “Sweet Celestia, you’ve just been angry and abusive all morning!” the pegasus exclaimed. Eye chuckled to herself, and they went to go talk to the chief.
“Ah, if it isn’t Spectrum Analysis,” a boisterous earth pony said. The chief was always an outspoken person, as Spectrum kindly refers to it. Eye Spy likes to claim that he is one of the loudest and most unpleasant ponies to be around. Spectrum always found this ironic.
“Good to see you again, chief. Eye Spy told me that you have a job for us.”
“Hope you like robbery cases, Spec, because our stallions spent all day yesterday trying to figure out this one,” the chief remarked, sliding a folder over.
Spectrum eyeballed the folder for a while, going over its contents multiple times. He said nothing the whole time, making no noises besides the occasional grunt, sigh, and “yes.” After several minutes of silence, Spectrum walked up to the chief.
“Is there any security footage?” Spectrum questioned. The chief nodded, and pulled out a tape and pushed it into the VCR. The television showed only static at first, much to Spectrum’s surprise. “You don’t have any of the Blu-Hay players or HD televisions yet?”
“Our budget doesn’t allow it, plus the jewelry store doesn’t have high quality security cameras.”
“You think a place like that would have some of the best security,” Spectrum groaned. The chief shrugged, while Eye Spy was muttering something to herself. The video started, and Spectrum shushed Eye and directed both their attention to the screen.
The video started with the store and an earth pony behind the register. She stood there for a few minutes waiting for any customers, and Spectrum could tell nothing was happening for a while. He sternly looked at the chief and motioned him to fast forward to the events. The chubby stallion nervously fumbled for the remote and quickly fast forwarded. The tape went forward for a while, but then a pegasus in a mask limped into the store. “Let the tape play!” Spectrum shouted, as the chief meekly stopped fast forwarding. Spectrum stared intently at the screen, while Eye and chief looked at him in wonder.
As the tape continued, the mysterious thief quickly dodged the store owner’s attempts to knock her out with spells, but she failed to. The criminal dove towards the owner and kicked her swiftly, sending her flying into the shelves. The pegasus proceeded to grab various diamonds and pieces of jewelry, leaving behind only a mess. As the pegasus turned to leave, Spectrum grabbed the remote and paused the tape. The still was a clear shot of the silver burglar’s body, mane, tail, and her flank, although the shot was too blurry to tell what the cutie mark was. Spectrum got up close to the screen and eyeballed it, with Eye Spy and the chief staring at him in confusion. After what seemed like an eternity, Spectrum backed off from the screen, muttered to himself, and then turned to the chief.
“I assume you have some suspects. I would like to see them.”
The chief led Spectrum into a room where six stallions and five mares were lined up, all with the same gleaming silver coat as the criminal. Spectrum walked up and down the line, occasionally staring into the eyes of the suspects one by one.
“Will the stallions and non-pegasus suspects please leave?” Seven out of the eleven suspects leave the room, chaperoned by a police officer. Spectrum shakes his head, thinking about how the Manehatten Police Department managed to get seven suspects that didn’t fit two of the major details about the criminal. He brushed the thought away, eyeing the suspects again. Spectrum walked up and down the aisle, and finally stopped at the pegasus in the middle. “Would you please walk around the building with me?” Spectrum asked with chivalry. Eye Spy and the Chief glanced at each other, and glanced to Spectrum.
“Spec, uh, what exactly are you doing?” Eye Spy inquired.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back in a bit.” Spectrum then left the room with the mare, and he tried striking up a conversation with her, leaving the others completely baffled.
After about twenty minutes, Spectrum returned, laughing with the suspect. The chief was still completely puzzled with what he was doing, and Eye Spy was starting to feel a bit jealous.
“... and that’s how I got my cutie mark!” Spectrum appeared to be having a lovely conversation about his cutie mark. This left Eye and the chief even more confused than before! Why is Spectrum flirting with a possible diamond thief! Eye just had it up to here, and was ready to explode with rage. She was about five seconds away from kicking Spectrum’s flank to the moon, until she saw Spectrum drop the smile.
“Now tell me, Lola; what did you steal from the Equestrian Diamond shop?”
Almost immediate, the mare burst into tears. “I took eight necklaces, four pearl rings, twelve pairs of earrings, a twelve karat diamond ring, and a hairband!” Eye Spy and the chiefs jaws dropped to the floor.
“There’s your mystery thief, head of the MPD.” Spectrum wore a proud look on his face, bordering on smug.
“So how exactly did you do that,” inquired the chief. “I mean, you’re not a unicorn so you didn’t use a spell, did you seduce her, or what? How did you even know it was her?!” The clamorous earth pony was asking so many questions that Spectrum could not keep up. He simply raised his hoof and silenced the chief.
“Her body shape was the exact same as the criminal in the tape, same color of fur, tail and mane. I was able to distinguish the cutie mark in the video, and it was identical to hers. In the video, the criminal had a limp, and I took our suspect on a walk to see if she had the same limp. My suspicions were confirmed, and I knew that she did it. Additionally, I noticed an excessive amount of eye movement. That is always a red flag in my book. Now, about how I forced her to confess. I gave her a false sense of security and friendship when I took a walk with her. I complimented her a lot, told her about myself, and gave the impression that I was an open and non-judgmental person. I tried to be as charming as I could, and flirted with her for good measure. Her defenses were weakened, allowing me to force it out of her with ease.” Spectrum smirked, as the chief and Eye Spy’s jaws hit the ground for a second time. “Now if you excuse me, I believe I had lunch to attend with somepony, but I will be needing some bits to pay, of course.”
“You did it again,” praised the chief. “If it weren’t for you, about half the crimes we record would go unsolved. You know, there’s always an open desk for you here at the department. You would be a valuable asset to the team, and I could easily replace my other staff with you.” The distant sound of spitting coffee and complaints pierced the air, and the chief started to sweat. “I’m kidding of course, Whooves!”
Spectrum trotted up to the chief and shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but I decline. The best part of being freelance is that I determine my clients, and my own salary. Speaking of which...” He raised an eyebrow, and the chief reluctantly pulled a sack of bits out and tossed them his way. “Pleasure doing business with you, as always! Since I am feeling generous, I will give you a fifty percent off discount.” Spectrum pulled out some of the coins and plopped them in the giddy stallion’s hooves.
“Hey, don’t forget about the lunch you’re buying me, Spec.” Eye whipped him in the face with her tail. “It is very rude to make promises that you can’t uphold,” she teased.
“Eye, next time you hit me with your tail, Celestia help me, it won’t be easy sleeping tonight,” joked Spectrum. The two shared a laugh and left the police station to go grab a bite.
****************
“Welcome to the Broadhay Café, how may I help you?”
“Yes I will take a daffodil and daisy sandwich. Do you also have Iron Will energy drinks? If so, I’ll take one, please.”
“Excellent choice, sir. And for you, ma’am?”
“I’ll take today’s Stew and Brew special.”
“Er, y-yes ma’am. Your order will be out in a flash!” The waiter took Eye and Spectrum’s menus and promptly left. “It’s only noon, how odd for a Stew and Brew, now,” the waiter murmured to himself.
Spectrum looked his partner dead in the eye with a disapproving look, confused about the mare’s drinking habits. “Isn’t it a bit early in the day to be drinking, especially since you were just complaining about being hungover about an hour ago?”
Eye Spy began to laugh uncontrollably. “Oh, Spec, it’s never too early to be drinking! Don’t you know that the cure to a hangover is more alcohol?”
Spectrum started to laugh, but he quickly put on a stone cold face in order to scold Eye. “Doctors are going to have a field day with your liver once you’re dead,” he said. “But hey, it’s your body, I’m not the one to dictate what goes down.” Spectrum smirks and gives her a wink. “Anyways, tell me about why you’re hungover in the first place. I’m sure it’s a grand story.”
“Well, I went to a party--”
“Of course.” Spectrum realized he shouldn’t have said that. Eye Spy hates being interrupted. He crossed his hooves in hope that she wouldn’t rip his face off.
“Hey now, this is my story to tell,” she growled. Spectrum stayed quiet, and allowed her to continue. “I was at a party with some friends, and boy was it a party. There was at least five hundred ponies. But get this.” Spectrum leaned in anticipation, and Eye simply muttered; “DJ PON-3 was there.”
“Wait, THE DJ-PON3?” Spectrum asked in shock. “A big name like her at this party? Just which party was this exactly?” Spectrum pondered for a moment. “And how come I wasn’t invited??”
“Vinyl Scratch shows up to a lot of parties, that’s just what she does. It was a party hosted by somepony that’s like a rich actor, or something like that. He throws a lot of exclusive parties, and my friends had invitations and got me on the list.”
“But that still doesn’t--”
“It was one of those parties, Spec. I know you hate drinking, so don’t even guilt trip me.” Spectrum opened his mouth to retort, but then stopped himself. He looked at the ground, and then at the table, and then to the ground again. He started to say something, then let out a sigh and moved on. “You know you wouldn’t have enjoyed yourself,” Eye giggled.
Spectrum blushed, and frowned. “Moving on! Was there any other big names at the party?”
“Just Spitfire.”
Spectrum blinked. “‘Just Spitfire?’ Oh, no big deal, one of the Wonderbolts decided to drop by, everyday occurrence I guess.” Spectrum facehoofed, and turned away for a bit. “Even if I’m not into those types of parties, meeting Spitfire would’ve been pretty awesome. My dad took me to all of their shows when we lived in Canterlot.”
“Well, you probably don’t want your image of her tainted, so it’s for the best that you didn’t see her. She and Soarin’ had at least six shots of tequila each, so Spitfire was wasted, and started to rub--”
“That’s ok, I’m not interested in hearing what she did to Soarin’, I’ll keep my childhood memories pure, thank you very much.” The waiter had arrived with their meals, and Spectrum saw this as an opportunity to quickly change the subject. “Thank you, it looks delicious.” Spectrum took a bite into his sandwich, secretly hoping that his friend had forgotten the subject. However, Eye decided she wanted to press another matter.
“Tell me about your father.” Spectrum’s eyes widened, and he dropped his sandwich on the plate. Spectrum, gulping down the morsel of food in his mouth, raised an eyebrow.
“Do you really want to hear about my dad? It’s a pretty boring story, and it’s also kind of a sad one, and you’re probably not interested in--” Eye Spy placed her hoof on his mouth, pulled it away, and motioned for him to continue. Taking a deep breath, Spectrum started his story. He told her about that he was a detective in Canterlot, and he was the main reason that Spectrum is a detective now. “His name was Photo Analysis. This hat,” Spectrum pointed to his head, “used to belong to him. It was his gift to me before he left.”
“Why did he leave you?”
Spectrum told her about that he had gotten offered a job in Manehatten with the police department. His dad was afraid of the dangers his son might come across, so he left him at home with his Grandma. “But unfortunately, his job didn’t last him that long. During a murder investigation, a then suspect shot him down, and the police knew about it. They failed to protect him, and I’ve held it against them since. What if that happened to me? What if I have kids someday, and they lose their father? It wouldn’t be fair. So that’s why I turn down every job offer they give me.” Eye noticed that he was starting to choke up, and patted him on the back. “But...” Eye backed off. “But at the same time, I guess my current job is just as dangerous. I don’t know why I’m getting so worried about it. All the loose ends are tied up. Dad’s killer is rotting in prison, and he’s resting in peace now. I guess I should really move on.”
Eye saw that her friend was distraught, and she felt an obligation to comfort him. “Hey now, don’t worry! I’m sure if your dad was with us today, he would be proud of how amazing of a detective you are. It’s ok to hold onto the memories, but you should also let go of the sad ones.” Eye Spy looked at him, and gave him a smile.
Spectrum cleared his throat, and tried to put a manly facade on. “Well yes, I’m not the emotional type, so I think it’s best if we just changed topics.” Spectrum gave the mare a wink and said “Is there anything you want to get out? Since we’re having emotional-sharing time.”
Eye Spy froze. Oh no, is this a good time to tell him? He just went on about his father and he seemed really bummed out, maybe I should wait! The unicorn’s mind was racing, not sure what to do. But if I don’t do it now, I may not have another opportunity. Urgh, I keep putting this off too much! Eye was not aware that she had been pulling at her mane with Spectrum watching the whole time. He gave her a weird look, and Spectrum thought Sweet Celestia, what a fool I’m making of myself. I guess I should play it cool and tell him how I feel. Here it goes. Eye tried to play it off as she was fiddling with her dark green mane, and then she started to blush. “Sorry Spec, I thought I felt something in my mane. But there was something I did want to tell you.” The stallion leaned closer to her, and Eye Spy turned a deep shade of crimson, clashing against the baby blue streaks in her mane. “Well, for the longest time, I’ve really--”
“WAAAAAAAAATCH OOOOUUUUUUTTTT!!!!!!” a voice from above echoed, and as Spectrum and his partner turned to look into the sky they saw what appeared to be a blur of cyan and rainbow flying straight towards them. Right before impact, Spectrum grabbed Eye and they darted out of the way. *CRASH* The unidentified flying object crash landed in the café, destroying some of the tables. A crowd gathered around to see what caused the mess, and saw that it was a young pegasus! All of the ponies started mumbling about who she might be and why she was being so reckless.
Eye Spy started to giggle. “At least she didn’t crash into our table, Spec!”
Spectrum glared at her for such a rude comment. “Hey, what if she’s seriously hurt? Let’s go help her up.” The two trotted over to the pegasus and lifted her back on her hooves. “Who are you, and what the hay just happened?”
The pegasus straightened out, started to sweat, and laughed nervously. “Um, heh heh, my name is Rainbow Dash, and I’m the best flier in all of Equestria! I was practicing some sweet new moves because I heard in Manehatten the skies are clear and the buildings are totally awesome for maneuver practice, so of course I wouldn’t pass up on the chance to show off!” Rainbow Dash’s look of fear quickly turned into a smug one, and Spectrum felt annoyed by this.
“Yeah, if there was a competitive table diving sport, I’d say you earn a gold medal in all categories,” teased Eye Spy. Fighting back laughter, Spectrum elbowed her in discouragement, while the rest of the crowd began to snicker. Rainbow Dash’s arrogant grin, quickly dropped off her face, and started to growl at them. Scared the pegasus might snap, almost everypony else returned to what they were doing, leaving the two detectives standing there.
Rainbow Dash turned to see a fuming chef, a frustrated waiter, and a saddened manager. She felt guilty for what she had done, and thought she should apologize. “I’m sorry for any damages I caused to your restaurant, so I hope this covers some of the damages.” The cyan pony kicked over a sack of money, and took off almost immediately. The three employees counted through the money, and feeling content, returned back to normal business. Spectrum, however, lost his appetite, and Eye Spy only felt the need to finish her drink, and even then it tasted more bitter than usual.
“Hey, you were gonna say something before.... that happened. You still wanna?” Spectrum asked. Eye’s face started to burn, but she shook her head, forcing a smile. “Well then, I gotta be heading back to my place now,” Spectrum said, “but let’s do this again sometime!” Spectrum left a sack of bits on the table and waved goodbye to Eye Spy.
“See you, Spec! We’ll talk later!”
*****************
“My goodness, it’s only two o’clock and I’m already exhausted.” Spectrum unlocked the door to his house and dragged himself in. As soon as he got to his bed, he flew up and let himself drop, and let out a sigh of pleasure. “I still wonder what Eye was going to say. The way she was acting, it seemed pretty important.” He sat up. “But I can’t get distracted by this. It probably isn’t a big deal in the first place. Well whatever it is--”
The sound of a phone interrupts him.
Spectrum trotted towards the phone, wondering who might be calling him right now. The last time somebody called, it was a raging pony who threatened to shove his hat in various places that he would rather leave untouched. Shuddering at the thought, Spectrum thought it might be best to let the phone go to voicemail. In a moment of paranoia, Spectrum reached for the phone fearing that it may be something important.
“Spectrum Analysis, the only freelance detective in Equestria that gets the job done, what can I do for you?”
“Yes, I am speaking with Spectrum, correct?”
Spectrum was set back a bit. “Why, yes of course, may I ask who’s calling?”
“Oh sorry, how rude of me. I am the mayor of Ponyville, and I am in dire need of your assistance.”
End
