The Tip

     Soarin arrived at the police station on a black motorcycle. He set his helmet on the handlebars and made his way to the door. He pushed open the red door, which closed faster than expected. It managed to clip his tail in between the doorway. Without noticing, he continued walking forward, only to go too far and make his rear feel like somepony was pulling on his backbone. He grunted painfully, and carefully opened the door and took his tail out from between it.

Dammit, I hope nopony saw that.

     He walked over to the desk by the door. It had thick glass protecting the mare inside.She wore a navy blue uniform with a golden badge on the left. She was speaking on her phone to somepony else.

     "Hello, officer."

     She failed to acknowledge him and continued talking.

     "Oh, it was awesome. Yes, yes it was. Don't beat yourself up about it." She replied to some unknown pony.

     Soarin scanned the items situated around the apricot mare. He saw something that looked like quartz, a dream catcher, and strange charms.

     "Hi."

     "Like I said, it was absolutely amazing." she said to the other pony over the phone.

     "I'm Soarin Skies."

     The mare spread her left wing and pointed it to a bench across the room. There was a stallion sitting there, cuffed to the armrest.

     "Oh-- oh, no, that's not for me. I'm here for a commendation. I called in a tip." Soarin spoke of his usual cheerful attitude.

     The mare, who was smiling about the conversation with other pony, turned to him. She still bore the smile, but it was obviously not directed to him. The apricot colored mare the pointed to the bench again.

     Soarin turned his head back towards the bench. The criminal still sat at it.

     "Oh, you must be crazy if you think I'm going to pay for that."

     "Here's the thing, I just--"

     The mare pointed back towards the bench. He attitude grew some annoyance.

     "Clearly, you feel very strongly about this."

     Soarin turned around slowly, stalling to see if somepony was going to take the criminal somewhere else. Since that didn't happen, he slowly walked to it and sat down. He continued to watch the mare at the counter.

     "It was weird, she new all about granny's childhood curios that she left for our cousins. I could feel her spirit in the room."

     Soarin grinned at his newfound information. He would put that to use later. He looked toward the yellow stallion on the other end of the bench. Soarin leaned forward to see the rest of his face. The stallion slowly, with a scowl, turned to him, inadvertently showing Soarin the rest of his face.

     He was a light yellow in color, with a bright green mane and tail. Across his forehead, the word "bloodthirsty" was tattooed. He also had teardrop tattoos under his eyes.

     "Get out of here. I have the same tattoo. But the spelled it wrong on mine." Soarin lied. "Can you believe that? You would think somepony, anypony would develop a spell checker for the ink guys."

     The stallion's short temper was then shown because he tried to reach over to Soarin to most likely strangle him. We he realized that it wasn't going to be possible having cuffs around his forehooves, he settled down. Soarin, however, bore a smirk the entire time.

     "I cannot believe that you haven't already tried to do that."

     The stallion simply turned away from him. Soarin looked over the space. A tan mare opened a door carrying several faxes. Soarin got a look inside it, and saw another colt reading from other printed documents. He was moving his hooves in a synchronized pattern. He then looked back to the criminal that he was sitting near. The criminal had bright red shards on his ear.

     "What did you do? Busy up your ex-wife's car?"

     The stallion looked at him in surprise. "Her new coltfriend's."

     "That will teach her."

     The stallion glanced side to side to check for any cops who might be listening in on their conversation. "They have no witnesses."

     "Sweeeeet. You might want to get the shards of broken taillight off your ear."

     The colt went cross eyed and flicked his ear thrill the red shards were cleared.

     "Thanks guy."

     "Sure." Soarin looked at the stallion's midsection. There were now small red specks all over his wing. He was about to say something about it, but then decided that it was for the best.

     "Right this way Mr. Skies." An officer said as he ushered him down a narrow hallway.

     "Sooo, when do I get my money?"

     A door was opened ahead of them. A dark blue mare had her hoof on the doorknob.

     "Money?" She scoffed.

     "Yeah, the reward. You arrested the store manager. Am on right?"

     He fully entered the room where her saw a bright orange stallion leaning against a slate gray table.

     "Why don't you let us ask the questions for awhile?" He motioned to a chair on one side of the table while he and the mare walked over to the two seats across from it.

     "Okay." Soarin side as he got comfortable. He put his hooves on the table. In the reflection of the one way mirror, he saw the large colt rub his wing across the mare's back.

     "So, what questions are you going to ask me?"

     "Oh I don't know, where were you on the night of the last robbery?" The orange stallion asked with narrowed eyes.

If they're going to be like this, then I'm just going to throw them in to a loop.

     "I was robbing a stereo ship." They gave him nothing but raised eyebrows. "Hehe, I wasn't. I don't know. I think is was doing the same thing you were doing. Not solving crimes."

     "Your not helping your case here."

     "My case?" He analyzed the serious faces. "Wait, I'm a actually a suspect?"

     "Oh, your our lead suspect."

     "I gave you the guy." Soarin hastily answered.

     The orange colt shrugged. "He had a partner."

     "Do I have to find him to? I'm confused. When are you going to start doing something?" Soarin inquired.

     "See, that info you dropped was good. So good that it had to come from the inside."

     "Inside of what? Look I have called in dozens of tips. Just check it out."

     "Oh I did. I saw a lot of stuff in your file." The colt flipped the cover of a folder resting on the table. "Like that you are currently unemployed. You have never held a job for more than a few months. On top of that, you have a criminal record."

     "I was eighteen."

     "Oh you were eighteen? Well that makes it all okay. Let me just scratch this out." His words dripped with sarcasm.

     "I borrowed a car."

     "You stole a car."

     "To impress a mare."

     "Was she?" The midnight colored mare cut in.

     "Very, at least until the cops came and cuffed her. Then she isn't the so called, wild filly she claimed to be."

     "Forgive us Mr. Skies, but this seemed a bit far fetched."

     "Would it help that it told you that she had a.... reputation, and I was 0 for..... high school?"

     The midnight mare swayed her head downward all to the side. The orange colt gave him the "Are you serious?" look.

     "Ok fine. The were extenuating circumstances. The officer that was arresting us was my father. He was trying to teach me some stupid lesson."

     "Did you learn it?" The colt said snarkily.

     "I learned that I hated my father. So sure, I learned it."

     "Well pardon me, but I'm still skeptical even as believable that you committed all of these crimes by..." he began to flip through the folder. "I'm sorry what was it? Watching the Channel 8 news reports."

     "I confess. That is false. I watch Channel 5 too. I actually prefer Channel 8 because the weather mare is adorable." Soarin locked eyes with the glaring pegasus colt.

     "So your saying that you can read guilt off of TV interviews."

     "Can't you?"

     "Don't try to trivialize police work." He growled.

     "I think you doing a bang up job of that yourself." Soarin grinned. "You can't keep me here. I know my rights." Soarin started rising to his hooves. He trotted back over to the red door he came in through. He swung it open.

     "Good. Then you know that you have the right to remain silent. you have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you." The police duo rose from there seats.

     "Wait, wait, wait. You're serious?"

     "A few hours in a holding cell might not you memory."

     Soarin looked down the hallway into a cell. A black colt looked up at him with a vacant expression. There was an airplane-like toilet without a lid in the middle of the room. Another stallion that was chewing on a toothpick evily grinned in his direction.

     "Just  give us a reason Mr. Skies. That is all we need. How did you get this information?" The midnight mare spoke once more.

     "No, it is to late for that." Her partner answered. "Officer Bright Clouds, book him." The apricot mare from the front desk grabbed him and put began to put cuffs around his hooves.

     "Really, for the walk down the hallway?"

     "Or you could give us a plausible explanation." The dark blue mare asked again.

     Soarin looked frantically around him. He saw the green mare had a crystal necklace and some of those weird charms from earlier. The stallion that saw in the copy room was also there.

     "Okay, okay. Fine. You win. I got the information because... I'm a psychic." As soon as the words left his mouth, the apricot mare fumbled with the hoofcuffs and dropped them.

     "Get him out of here." The orange colt demanded.

I better sell it if I'm going with this shtick.

     Soarin threw himself at the door frame. He put a wing tip to his temple.

     "Oh, boy. I'm getting something."

     Everypony paused and faced him, including the green mare, referred to as Bright Clouds, who was crouching on the floor. The mare that Soarin turned to.

     "Your grandma would be proud."

     She looked at him in disbelief.

     "You spoke to her?" Bright Clouds said with hope evident in her voice.

     "I did, she's... safe, comfortable. She wants you to stop spending all of your money on those charlatans."

     "The fortune tellers?" She nodded at her words.

     "Yes, the fortune tellers."

     "Just to be clear, your claiming be a psychic Mr. Skies." The midnight mare interrupted.

     "Ahhahah..." Soarin put out his front hooves while he balanced himself with his wings. He spun on his heels and faced the police duo.

     "How else would I know that you two are sleeping together?"

     The orange colt, who was rubbing his lips together, froze as his eyes widened. The blue mare glanced at him. Bright Clouds and the other colt simply looked at each other and then back to the events unfolding before them.

    "One, two, three. One, two, three." Soarin's hooves swayed with each word. He turned around and faced the colt. "One, two, three. One, two, three. One... When's the wedding?"

     "May 3rd." He grinned. "Wait, how did you know?"

     "I'm getting dance lessons at a wedding reception. And you... are getting good."

     "Wow, that amazing." The colt goofily smiled.

     "Oh come on! Who is buying this?!" The orange colt exclaimed.

     Bright Clouds, the bright yellow colt, and a pony in the adjacent cell all braised a hoof, with an exception if the pony in the cell since he had to stick it outside the bars in order to do so.

     "I got it!" Soarin put a wing tip to his head again. "Go to detention room number three. Shake down the vandal. You will find all the evidence you need..." Soarin shook the wing still folded at his side. Bright Clouds, the colt, the blue mare, and the angry stallion all gazed at his wing. "on his left wing."

     The midnight coated mare rolled her eyes. The orange colt pointed at Soarin with his right forehoof.

     "I will be back here in 2 minutes." He pushed through the ponies in the doorway. He faced the green mare. "With my own cuffs."

     Soarin exhaled deeply.

     "Woah."

     The mustard yellow colt was being arrested. Ponies worked at their various desk nouns within the small space. The room's sky blue walls glowed in the sunlight. While this was happening, Soarin "divining" something at the front desk with Bright Clouds.

     "I'm getting.... I'm getting.... the letter L."

     "Yes, yes! Her cute little kitten Lulu! Did she say anything else?"

     "Uh, I'm getting a very negative presence here. It's blocking me." Bright Clouds looked behind Soarin to the Detective duo.

     "It was a lucky guess."

     "Lucky guess?"

     "He planted it! I don't know." The orange colt growled.

     "His alibi checks." The midnight mare tilted her head to the front desk. Soarin was still speaking with the green mare.

     "Question. Do I pay taxes on reward money?"

     "I will find out. Please, feel free to come back anytime." The mare had a bright, happy smile.

     "You know I will. Magic poke." Soarin put his wing up to the circular hole in the glass. Bright Clouds slowly did the same.

     "Boop." Soarin trotted off. Bright Clouds attended to her work, still bearing her smile. The orange colt walked over to the desk and plopped down a stack of faxes. Her smile dropped into a scowl.

     Outside, Soarin hovered over the stairs. He randomly said "Doctor" to a pony climbing them. The doors at the top of the concrete stairs opened, revealing a pregnant, pale yellow mare with an icy blue mane.

     "Not so fast Mr. Skies. Misty Fly, Interim Police Chief."

     "I know."

     "Heard about what you did in there." She carefully took a few steps down.

     "Oh, you're welcome."

     "That wasn't the phrase that I was going to use. I was going to say... improbable. Possible, yet unlikely."

     "Look, it's hard to explain. I'm gifted. I was born that way."

     "I knew your father. He was a good cop. You are nothing like him."

     "I take that a a compliment. Really I do, ma'am."

     "Don't you ever call me ma'am again."

     Soarin grew an expression of confusion. "Am I still free to go?"

     "Not exactly. Are you familiar with the Waters family?"

     "Waters? Yeah the own like, half the hill." he jeered.

     "Well there has been a kidnapping."

     "Oh come on. I had nothing to do with that." Soarin insisted.

     "Would you like to?"

     Soarin raised his eyebrows. Misty took a few steps down towards Soarin.

     "The Fed's are itching to get in this case. I need to make some progress. What I need is a miracle. Or in this case, a facsimile of one."

     A dawn of realization washed over Soarin.

     "Oh, I see, I see. Well I make $12,000 bits a day."

     "It's a tryout."

     "That's what I meant to say. Yep tryout. It's all pro bono. Just a little gift for ya. I'll take it."

     "To be very clear Mr. Skies, your case is still open and it stays that way until I see a reasonable demonstration on the ability that you claim to have utilized to solve these numerous crimes. And if this psychic thing is a scam, we will prosecute. You know rendering a police investigation is a criminal offence." Misty Fly started climbing back up the stairs.

     "Sounds good. We're on the same team now. Kidnappers beware!" Soarin said with his voice raised. He chuckled nervously as he contemplated what just unraveled before him.

     At the Southeast Pharmaceuticals Company, Soarin trotted quickly down the bright passageway. The room was huge, which made sense since it had to have many ponies stationed within it. There were windows across every wall, bringing in lots of natural lighting. The white walls reflected this light to make it seem ever brighter. Several phones were ringing in a cacophony that could somepony a if they were around it for extensive periods of time. Soarin opened a door with a name writes on it in formal, gold letters. Inside the room, a fiery maned mare looked up from her computer.

     "I have a job for you." Soarin pointed at her.

     "I already have a job."

     "Playing video games?"

     Like the many ponies earlier that day, she looked at him with surprise.

     "How do you do that?"

     "C'mon, your left wing is on the space bar, and your other is on the arrow keys. Spitty, you should ask me a challenging question. At least every once in awhile. Just for kicks maybe."

     Spitfire logged out of the gaming website she was on. She stood up from her chair.

     "I can't go anywhere. I am behind on my route. I have new samples of methylprednisolone sodium succinate." Soarin reached over to Spitfire's desk and pulled out the bottom left drawer. It was filled to the brim with suckers and hard candy. He scooped some up.

     "Oops, sorry. I didn't know that the new butt cream had came in. So you are not interested in hearing about doing the thing that we have dreamed about doing since we were eight."

     Spitfire trotted over to the coffee machine in the far corner of the room.

     "I have gotten us the last job that we will ever need buddy."

     Spitfire laughed. "Soarin, you have had 62 different occupations since we left high school."

     "Indeed, and they were all fun. Except for the one where I had to clean up monkey dung. But this one takes the cake. And the pie. Definitely takes the pie."

     "What about that acupuncture clinic?"

     "I didn't know that experience was necessary."

     "What about the summer you spent driving the wiener mobile?"

     "I did that for the veggie dogs. And they were delicious. Anyway, I took those jobs for the experience. Then I mastered it. And guess what, I moved on. However, this job has a little bit of everything." Soarin spread a wing to her. She lounged in her black chair. "Come with me."

     "Uh, no. I'm never doing anything blindly with you again. I learned that at the Saddle Arabian border. Twice." She said with a pseudo grin.

     "Okay, this so hard to explain. But I guess I will try and give it a shot. You and I.... are opening are own private detective agency." Soarin went hushed halfway through the sentence and had spread his wings for emphasis.

     Spitfire started at him blankly for a few seconds. "Oh, see? No exclamation necessary. Let me get my coat." She turned back to her computer.

     "But you not getting your coat. You don't even have a coat."

     "Exactly."

     "Alright, you want to sweat the details? Fine. The cops think that I am a psychic, and now we are investigating a kidnapping."

     "What did you say?" Spitfire inquired.

     "You are investigating a kidnapping!" Soarin said in a hushed manner again.

     "That's what I thought." She looked back at him. He didn't look like he was kidding.

     "You're serious?"

     "Yes! I am 100% serious! A week ago, Lightning Waters, aka Lightning Chaser, the sole male heir to Waters tiles, was seen being forced into his Range Rover at a dog park. Nopony has seen him or the dog since." Soarin ranted. During the duration of his mini speech, he was hovering while waving her legs every which way.

     "They took the dog?"

     "You see what I mean?" Soarin did useless wing motions toward... everything. "I need you. I need you to write stuff down. You know that I zone out when other ponies start talking."

     "Just for today?"

     "Just today. You know what? Bring your samples case cause some of those forensic guys--"

      "Woah, woah, wait." Spitfire leaned over the desk with a grin and wide, shining eyes. "There's going to be forensic ponies there?"