Chapters A golden lyre, held in a golden magical embrace, gently floated in midair. Music wafted from the instrument's plucked strings: one could almost see the notes floating into the air like a flock of paradisal birds, to be joined with the most beautiful voice in Ponyville.
Bon Bon, a blissful smile on her face, sang one of her favorite songs as she sorted out the candies on her shelves.
"Who can take a rainbow Sprinkle it with dew Mix it up with chocolate and a sunny day or two?"
"The candymare can," Bon Bon's voice was joined with her wife's, Lyra Heartstrings. The mint unicorn sat next to the counter as she played the lyre, watching as if hypnotized as Bon Bon twirled around the aisles of the shop.
"Who can take tomorrow, Wrap it in a dream, Take out all the worry and whip it into cream? The candymare can."
Bon Bon did a little spin and, in doing so, selected a bag and pulled some of her homemade rainbow toffees into them, singing, "The candymare can 'cause she mixes it with love and makes the world taste good." She handed the bag to the eager Cutie Mark Crusaders. "There you go, dears. Just the thing to cheer you up."
"Thank you, Ms. Bon Bon!" the three fillies said in unison, giving her a couple of bits as they headed out the door, Scootaloo carrying their plunder in her mouth. "Say hi to Tootsie for us!" Sweetie Belle called over her shoulder as the trio headed out on their next adventure.
"I will!" Bon Bon called after them as they disappeared down the street. Bon Bon carried the bits to the register as Lyra put the lyre down. The two wives shared a quick nuzzle.
"You really should try out for the Ponytones," Lyra said.
"Lyra, you know I don't like singing in public," Bon Bon protested.
"You sing in front of me and the ponies who come into the store," Lyra pointed out.
"That's different. I get stage fright something terrible."
"What's so scary about the stage?" Lyra said with a grin. "Get it?"
Bon Bon laughed loudly, leaning against the mint green unicorn. "You...you always know how to make me laugh!"
At that, there was the sound of the bell ringing, signaling the entry of new customers. Looking up, Lyra and Bon Bon spotted Twilight entering, followed by a male pegasus that neither of them recognized.
"And this is Bon Bon's Bonbons," Twilight said to the stallion. "The best candy store in town." She nodded to the two mares. "Good morning, Bon Bon, Lyra."
"Hey, Twilight. Now who's this handsome stallion?" Lyra said.
"Girls, this is Flash Sentry," Twilight said. "He's my new Guard."
"Pleased to meet you both," Flash nodded in greeting.
"And you, too," Bon Bon said, exchanging a knowing look with Lyra.
"Flash is new in town," Twilight explained. "I'm showing him around. He needs to know the area, of course."
"Well, welcome to Ponyville, Flash!" Bon Bon said. She reached behind the counter and selected some of her speciality, hoof-mixed bonbons with caramel swirls. "Here, have a couple. On the house."
"Oh, no, I couldn't," Flash protested.
"Consider it a welcoming gift," Bon Bon said, waving it off.
Flash spotted Lyra's lyre on the counter. "Oh, you play the lyre?"
"Yup. Me Da got me into it, and it turned out to be my special talent," Lyra said, picking up the lyre with her magic and playing a simple scale.
"I play the guitar," Flash said.
"Well, string me out!" Lyra said with a grin. "Get it?"
Bon Bon laughed loudly again. Twilight groaned and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I get it, Lyra."
"I'd love to hear you play sometime," Lyra said.
"Sure," Flash said with a smile.
"We should get going," Twilight said. "I've still got a lot to show him."
"Always rushing, eh, Twilight?" Lyra chuckled. "You go have fun with your new colt...friend. Your new friend!"
Blushing, the two said their goodbyes and left the store. As they exited and stood outside, two other ponies walked up to the store. One was a unicorn with a pink coat, violet mane and tail, amethyst eyes and a cutie mark of three cut diamonds. The other was a unicorn filly with baby blue coat and lavender mane, tail and eyes.
"Hi, mom and mom!" Tootsie Flute sang as she came through the door.
"Hey, sweetie!" Bon Bon said. "Did you and Amethyst have fun?"
"We sure did! We went to the park and flew a kite and had a picnic and watched the clouds!"
"She was very well behaved," Amethyst Star, Ponyville's number one foalsitter, said with a smile.
"I'm sure she was," Bon Bon said, tussling her daughter's hair.
At that moment, a unicorn stallion walked up. This pony had soft yellow fur, a black mane and tail, blue eyes and a cutie mark of a pair of clouds.
"Hey, Amethyst," he called. "You free for the rest of the day?"
"Sure am, Dreamy," Amethyst said with a smile.
"Who's this, Sparkler?" Bon Bon asked, eyeing the stallion curiously.
"This is Dreamcaster, my coltfriend," Amethyst replied. "He just moved here a couple months ago, and we met at the market." She gave a little giggle that reminded Lyra and Bon Bon of the days when they were first dating.
Dreamcaster nodded hello. "Amethyst has told me a lot about you. I'd really like to get to know you better."
"And we'd like to get to know you better," Lyra said. "But maybe later, eh?" she added with a knowing wink that made the other two ponies blush.
"So, movie night?" Dreamcaster asked Amethyst.
"Sure! See you later!" Amethyst said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. The two ponies departed.
Lyra stepped outside for a moment to collect the mail from the mailbox. When she did, she noticed a plain envelope amongst the mail. The only marking was "SWEETIE DROPS" in typewritten letters on it.
Wasn't that Bon Bon's name before she moved? Lyra thought. She took the letter and brought it inside with the other mail. "Bon Bon, there's something for you," she said, handing the envelope to her.
Bon Bon frowned as she was given the envelope. She pulled it open with her teeth and took out the letter. As she started to scan it, her eyes widened, then hardened.
"No!" she suddenly shouted, and began to furiously rip the paper into shreds, letting out a flurry of language that would make a sailor wince. "Bon Bon! What is it?" Lyra said in concern, but Bon Bon furiously shoved her off, throwing the torn-up letter into the trash can and running upstairs, frightened tears running from her eyes. Lyra was left standing in the candy store, bewildered at the sudden turn of events.
Author's Note
I would've gotten this up sooner, but I came home for Christmas vacation to find that the power was out due to a severed line, and it only came back on yesterday.
In any case, here's the newest Phillip Finder mystery, featuring Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon! What is this mysterious message and why did it have such an effect on Bon Bon? Stay tuned...
Part 2: Stalked and Locked
The next morning dawned late, Celestia's sun doing its best to warm the early fall morning air. But a few early risers had more to think about than the morning chill.
"Well, Mr. Finder?" Mayor Mare asked, hovering over the detective's shoulder.
Phillip Finder did not look up, continuing to examine the lock through his loupe magnifying glasses. The door of the safe in Ponyville Town Hall's basement stretched from floor to ceiling and was made of six inches of magic-resistant steel, secured with a five-number combination lock and a pair of locks, both of which had to be opened simultaneously to avoid setting off an alarm. Only Mayor Mare knew the full combination and the location of the two keys. The safe was supposed to be virtually impregnable.
So how had somepony managed to open it last night?
"I see no signs of picking," he said. "I'll need to talk to each of your assistants."
"Of course," Mayor Mare said, worriedly glancing into the open safe. The vault was filled with stacks of papers and records, paintings and photographs, and memorabilia of Ponyville's past, a number of it quite valuable. But there was something missing. A collection of ancient coins discovered in the area that dated back to Starswirl the Bearded's time was gone, stolen from the vault.
Phillip thoughtfully examined the contents of the safe. Nothing else out of place, no other valuables stolen. The thief knew what he was looking for.
"It had to have been two ponies," Mayor Mare suggested, looking at the two keyholes on either side of the door. "Right?"
"Possibly," Phillip said.
"Do you think it may be the same ponies who've been doing all those burglaries recently?"
Phillip subconsciously gritted his teeth. Mayor Mare was referring to a rash of break-in's around town recently. In the past week alone, the thieves had managed to steal some of Rarity's jewels from the Carousel Boutique, gold bars from the bank vault, money and clocks from Time Turner's shop, and had even successfully broken into Filthy Rich's house. Always the same: dead of night, no sign of forced entry, and little evidence. The burglar was proving to be a great frustration to him, and he feared that it might enter his small, but noteworthy list of unidentified criminals.
How did they get in? Phillip wondered. Exiting the building, he circled the outside of Town Hall to a back door. He knelt down on the ground outside, examining any tracks in the slightly wet mud from last night's rain. There . A pair of tracks, one on top of the other, leading up towards the door, partially washed out by rain. That does seem to indicate that there were two ponies. He glanced back at the door. No sign of forced entry, but it was locked from the inside. Hmmm...
He glanced back at the hoofprints and noticed something odd. Upon closer inspection, his suspicion was confirmed.
Putting his loupe back in his case and giving his promise to Mayor Mare that he would do his best to find whoever did this, he got up and started heading towards the Friendship Castle. He needed to talk to Twilight.
In the library of the Friendship Castle, Twilight was studying a tome on ancient Muleta, sipping the hot cocoa that Spike had provided her with. Flash was on guard duty nearby, dressed in full uniform, watching out the window over the snowy town. Twilight had spent much of yesterday giving him a tour of the town, which was now his home. He watched the ponies below, calmly making their way through the dirt roads, most with a smile on their face. Their slow pace and the quietness of the town served as a contrast to the quicker pace and constant bustle of Fillydelphia and Canterlot that he was used to.
I think I'm going to like this place, he thought to himself. I'm going to like being with Twi—hey, who's that?
He spotted a mint green unicorn heading towards the castle. Her quick step and her lowered head indicated urgency. A small bag flew after her, held in a golden magical aura.
Is that Lyra? he thought.
There was a knocking at the great doors. "I'll get it," he shouted, flying downstairs to the great hall. He opened the door to find that it was indeed Lyra standing outside, looking extremely worried.
"Is Twilight in?" she said quickly.
"Lyra?" Twilight called from the landing. "What's wrong?"
"Twilight, it's Bon Bon," Lyra said, pushing past Flash and hurrying up to Twilight. "It's something desperate. She got this letter yesterday, and it's got her really bothered."
"What did the letter say?" Twilight asked.
"I don't know! Before I could take a look, Bon Bon tore it up and threw it in the trash," Lyra cried. She opened up the bag and emptied the contents. Several scraps of paper fell out. "This is the letter."
"What do you mean, got her bothered?" Flash asked.
"She got really scared and angry," Lyra said. "I tried to talk to her about it, but she wouldn't tell me anything. She just said that it was her problem."
"Maybe it's hate mail?" Flash suggested.
Lyra scowled. "We've been taking flak from gobdaws for ages, and we've never let it bother us. This...this is something more." She looked up at Twilight. "Bon Bon's scared, and that means that I'm scared. I'm afraid that somepony's going to hurt her, but she's too stubborn to ask for help herself." She tilted her head up, allowing her lower lip to tremble. "Please help me, Twilight. Please?"
"Of course I will!" Twilight said.
"Yay!" Lyra instantly brightened, jumping up and down a few times and hugging Twilight. "Thank you, thank you! I knew I could count on you, you sound friend!"
"Of course, Lyra," Twilight said, gently pushing her off. "Now, let's take a look at this letter." She gathered up the scraps and sorted them out on the table, frowning in concentration. "It'll be a puzzle."
"Oh, it's nothing to get torn up about!" Lyra said with a grin. "Get it?"
Twilight and Flash both groaned as they set to work rearranging the letter, Lyra watching them. Within a few minutes, the letter had been reconstructed. The three ponies looked at the message typewritten on the paper.
"HELLO SWEETIE. I SAW YOU IN THE MARKET TODAY WITH YOUR KID. YOU'D BETTER KEEP AN EYE ON HER NOW THAT I'M BACK IN TOWN. AND YOUR QUEER WIFE. JUST REMEMBER: NONE OF YOU ARE SAFE. NOT WHEN I'M HERE."
"Oh, no," Twilight said softly, turning to Lyra. "Lyra, I think Bon Bon is being stalked."
"By somepony from her past, looks like," Flash said, examining the letter more closely. "Hmm...looks like the O key is slightly misaligned and the E and T are both a little faded. Lyra, do you have the envelope this came with?"
Lyra pulled the envelope out and gave it to Flash. "Sweetie Drops?" he asked upon examining the name.
"That was Bon Bon's old name before she moved here. She never told me why she changed it," Lyra explained. She bit her lip in worry as Flash looked over the envelope.
"Lyra, don't worry," Twilight reassured her. "We'll find whoever this is. We won't let anything happen to Bon Bon or Tootsie."
"Thank you, Twilight," Lyra said, giving her another hug. "I know you won't let me down." She gave Flash a hug as well, much to his surprise, and decided to head out. "I'll go talk to Bon Bon."
As she exited, Lyra passed by Phillip, who was coming in. The stallion nodded hello to Lyra, who cheerily waved back.
"What did she want?" Phillip asked as he entered.
Twilight quickly explained the situation. Phillip listened in silence, then looked down at the letter.
"Romano type 13. Fairly common. Do you need help?"
"We'd appreciate that," Flash said.
"Anyway, what brought you here? Aren't you working on the burglaries?" Twilight asked.
"I just had a theory," Phillip replied. "Twilight, is there a spell that you can use to detect if somepony had recently used magic on something?"
"Yes, why?" Twilight queried.
"Come with me, I want to test something," Phillip said, turning and heading towards Town Hall. Twilight and Flash followed.
Author's Note
Blame writer's block for the delay.
And now that everypony's on their way, let's see what happens.
A purple magical field floated around the locks on the door of the safe. The field abruptly turned dark red, then faded away.
"You were right, Phillip," Twilight said. "Somepony opened the back door and the safe by using their magic to manipulate the tumblers."
Phillip nodded, still thinking. "This pony must have unusual talent for opening locks."
"What about his partner?" Twilight asked.
"There is no partner," Phillip stated.
"But the tracks—" Twilight started to say.
"The set that was on top was unusually deep in the toes and there was dirt sprayed backwards," Phillip explained. "That indicates that it was the same pony walking backwards over their tracks to make it look like there were two ponies. The tracks indicated a male pony, which we now know is definitely a unicorn, about three and half feet tall, slightly overweight."
"That narrows it down, but not by much," Flash observed.
"No," Phillip said as they exited Town Hall. "I'll need to do some more work. I—"
He stopped suddenly, his head snapping up and his eyes narrowing.
"Bon Bon's," he said, already following his crime sense alert at a fast trot. Flash and Twilight were right on his tail.
"Has something bad happened?" Twilight shouted in concern.
"Don't know, but it's urgent!" Phillip said, taking a shortcut by climbing up Berry Punch's house and leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Flash and Twilight flying overhead. Reaching Sweet Street, the pegasus and alicorn flew in for a landing while Phillip leapt down, tucking and rolling as he hit the ground. Sprinting to Bon Bon's Bonbons, they pulled the door open to find Lyra and Bon Bon standing over the counter.
"Lyra! Is everything okay?" Twilight called.
Before Lyra could answer, Bon Bon looked up, revealing a livid face. "No, everything is not okay!" she spat. "That (she used an adjective that made Twilight very glad that Spike was not here) was in my home! "
She showed the letter that she'd been bending over to them. It was typewritten, and the message was chilling.
"JUST DROPPED BY TODAY. YOUR CANDIES ARE STILL AS GOOD AS I REMEMBER. BUT YOU SHOULD GET A BETTER LOCK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE FROM ME. SEE YOU LATER."
Phillip studied t the lettering. Romano type 13, O key misaligned, E and T faded. Same pony.
"He broke in here when I stepped out to the market," Bon Bon said. "I found this envelope on the counter when I came back." She indicated an envelope, which also had "SWEETIE DROPS" typewritten on it.
"How long ago was this?" Flash asked.
"About half an hour ago," Bon Bon replied.
Phillip bent his head in thought for a moment. "Twilight, use that spell again on the back door."
Twilight closed her eyes in concentration, her horn lighting up. The lock around the back door was surrounded by a lavender field, which turned red before vanishing.
"It's the same magical field," she said.
"You're certain?"
"Every unicorn has their own unique magical energy signature," Twilight explained. "It—"
"Right," Phillip interrupted. "Flash?"
"Neighborhood canvas, see if anypony saw anything," Flash said, heading out the door.
Twilight walked over to Bon Bon, who had buried her head in her hooves and was quivering. "Bon Bon, it's going to be okay."
"N-no it's not!" Bon Bon said, raising her head to reveal her tear-streaked eyes. "You don't know him."
"But you do," Phillip said. "Bon Bon, this is somepony from your past, somepony that you're afraid of. That much is obvious." He stepped in close to her. "Who is it, Bon Bon? Who's scaring you so much?"
Bon Bon looked back at him, chewing her lips as if tasting the words in her mouth before speaking. Her wet blue eyes considered him with hesitation. He recognized that look: it was the look of somepony who was so scared and hopeless that they considered help impossible, somepony who considered their suffering the status quo.
He hated that look.
"Why'd you come here anyway?" Bon Bon asked throatily.
"I asked them to come," Lyra said.
Bon Bon turned to Lyra, her eyes suddenly blazing. "It was none of your effing business! You shouldn't have gotten them involved!"
"I thought—" Lyra stammered, cowering a little as her wife's rage washed over her.
"I didn't ask for their effing help!" Bon Bon shouted. "I don't need their effing help! Just leave me alone!" And with that, she lowered her face onto the counter again, shaking with fresh sobs. Her whimpers were the only sound in the candy store, everypony still shaken from the candy mare's tantrum. A tantrum, they all realized, that was born of fear, not anger.
Slowly, cautiously, Lyra approached, as if her wife was a firecracker that had failed to go off. Bon Bon did not react to her presence. "Honey, please," she said, laying a comforting hoof on Bon Bon's shoulder. "We just want to help."
"You can't help," Bon Bon muttered, her normally melodic voice a resigned monotone. "Nopony can help me."
"You're right," Phillip said to everypony's surprise. "Nopony else can help you unless you help yourself."
"Mom? Mama?"
Everypony looked up. Tootsie Flute, having just returned from school, was standing at the door, looking with confusion at the group in the store.
"Why are Princess Twilight and Mr. Finder here?" she asked, entering. "Is something going on?" She caught sight of Bon Bon's face and her eyes widened. "Mom? Were you crying?"
Bon Bon sat up, wiping her face. "It's all right, honey," she said as Tootsie trotted around the counter and gave her mother a hug.
"Was it some big meanie, mom?" Tootsie asked.
Bon Bon didn't answer for a moment. "Yes, dear. A very mean pony was bothering me."
"Why are you letting him bother you, mom?" Tootsie asked, in that innocent way that younglings have. "Are they here to help you?"
Bon Bon looked up at Lyra, who returned her gaze with a pleading look, as if saying, Bon Bon, please. Think of her. Think of our daughter.
Bon Bon nodded. "Yes, they are, dear." She kissed Tootsie's forehead and set her. "Why don't you and Mama go upstairs and play while we talk?"
"Okay!" Tootsie said, already heading upstairs. Lyra play-chased her upstairs, giggling.
Once they were gone, Bon Bon turned back to Twilight and Phillip.
"When I was living in Detrot, years ago, back when my name was Sweetie Drops, I had a...coltfriend," she said, spitting the last word out as if it left a bad taste in her mouth. "His name was Lockpick. He was charming when I first met him, but..."
"It changed," Twilight finished, nodding sadly.
"He became controlling, always wanting to know where I was, following me, getting angry when I talked to anypony else. And he was a thief, always hanging out with crooks. I finally had the courage to get up and leave. I ran away here, to Ponyville, changed my name. I married Lyra, had Tootsie..." Bon Bon smiled, but a fresh tear fell down her cheek. "I honestly thought he'd leave me alone."
"What does he look like?" Phillip asked.
"He's a unicorn. About three and a half feet, heavy build, blue eyes, black mane, silver coat. Cutie mark of an open padlock: his talent was using his magic to open locks," Bon Bon recited, with the face of somepony who is forced to recall something unpleasant.
"Let's get the town looking for him," Twilight said.
"I'll call in some favors in Detrot, see if I can get anything useful about Lockpick," Phillip said.
At that moment, Flash returned. "Nopony saw anything," he said, shaking his head. Bon Bon frowned.
"Don't worry, Bon Bon," Twilight said. "I promise, we won't let anypony hurt you, or Lyra, or Tootsie. You don't have to be afraid of him anymore."
Bon Bon managed a weak smile. "I know. Thank you."
The three ponies exited the candy shop and went out into the streets of Ponyville. A brisk wind was winding it's way around the town, between the cottages, businesses, parks. Somewhere, in some part of this town, a potentially dangerous thief and stalker was waiting, watching, searching for his next target.
They had to find him.
Author's Note
We find out who our stalker and our burglar is.
Now we just have to find them.
Part 4: The Thief in the Night
The next day was cold, a teaser for the oncoming winter. The sun was hidden behind a curtain of thick gray clouds and the few leaves that were left in the trees were rattled by a northern wind that chased most ponies into the safety and warmth of their homes, where hot cocoa and warm fires were shared.
Flash shivered in the cold wind and turned up the collar on his sweater. He'd wanted to wear his armor, which was a little warmer, if a bit heavier, but Twilight had pointed out that it sometimes had the effect of intimidating the locals, who weren't used to having a Guard in town all the time. "You should go back to the castle, Princess," he said, forcing his teeth not to chatter. "You'll be warm there."
"First of all, don't 'Princess' me," Twilight snapped impatiently. "Second of all, I'm not going back to the castle. We have a job to do, and I'm going to do it."
Flash didn't know whether to admire or curse Twilight's tenacity. He chose instead to closely follow behind Twilight as she made her way to the next cottage in their door-to-door quest for any information on Lockpick, which had so far turned up nothing.
Twilight knocked on the door. It opened to reveal Amethyst Star, who looked up at them with hopeful eyes. "Twilight? Is this about Lyra and Bon Bon?"
"Yes. Could we ask you a few questions?"
"Of course, come in," Amethyst said, widening the door to allow them in.
"Thank you," Flash said, entering after Twilight and casting a quick glance around the room. He noticed the yellow-coated unicorn stallion sitting in the chair next to the fire and gave him a quick look-over, noting the scissor cuts on his ears that his bad manecut failed to cover (lives alone), the slightly overweight build and unbrushed coat (unemployed), and the nicotine patch on his left foreleg.
"This is Dreamcaster, my coltfriend," Amethyst told them, sitting down next to him. "He moved here a few months ago." The stallion nodded hello. With her magic, Amethyst brought over two mugs of hot chocolate, which her guests sipped at appreciatively.
"Twilight, please," Amethyst said, "Tell me what's happening with Lyra and Bon Bon. Tootsie's been worried about them, and so have I. What's going on?"
Twilight and Flash glanced at each other before deciding to answer. "We believe that somepony is stalking Bon Bon," Twilight stated.
Amethyst gasped in shock. "Who would do that?"
"We think it's somepony in town," Twilight said.
Amethyst looked down at the floor, recovering from the shock of the news. Flash, however, noted that Dreamcaster had not yet reacted to anything.
"What can we do to help?" Amethyst asked, raising her head.
Twilight flipped open a notebook. "Have you seen anypony suspicious watching Bon Bon recently?" she asked.
"No, nopony," Amethyst said. "Dreamcaster and I see them a lot around town, but we haven't noticed anypony suspicious."
"What do you mean, suspicious, anyway?" Dreamcaster asked.
"The pony we're looking for is a unicorn, about three and half feet tall, heavy build, blue eyes, black mane, silver coat, and cutie mark of an open padlock," Flash said. "Have you seen anypony fitting that description?"
"Every time I look in the mirror," Dreamcaster said with a laugh. "Except for the silver coat and the cutie mark."
"I keep telling you, you should get some exercise," Amethyst said. "Help you lose some weight."
"Babe, it's not my fault if I'm big boned," Dreamcaster replied impatiently.
Amethyst sighed and rolled her eyes. "Big boned, my—"
"Hey!" Dreamcaster snapped, his tone rising dangerously.
"Please, you two, there's no need to fight," Twilight said, trying to quell the situation. The two fighters returned to their corners, both of them pointedly looking away from each other.
"Have there been any incidents at the candy store?" Flash asked.
"Not that I know of," Amethyst said.
"Has anypony strange been asking you questions about Bon Bon or Lyra?"
"No," Amethyst said. Dreamcaster also shook his head.
"I think that will be enough for now," Flash said, finishing his cocoa. "If we need more information, we'll talk to you again."
"You will find this creep, won't you?" Amethyst asked Twilight.
"You can count on us," Twilight said with a reassuring smile.
"When you do, don't go easy on him, okay?" Dreamcaster called.
Nodded their goodbyes, Twilight and Flash exited the cottage and headed back out onto the street.
"We've still got a few more ponies to question," Twilight said, already heading off.
"Oh, splendid," Flash said through tightly-clenched teeth.
That night, the only light came from the distant stars and the tiny sliver that was the moon. The brisk wind had settled down hours ago, leaving the city soundless.
Except for the hoofsteps of a single pony, clad all in black, stalking the dirt streets. A pair of blue eyes peered out of a ski mask as he sought out his target: the Ponyville jewelry store. Looking through the window, he stared with greed at all the beautiful jewels and precious stones displayed in the glass cabinets.
Approaching the back door, he summoned up the magical energy within himself. A yellow aura surrounded the locks on the back door. In less than three seconds, the tumblers had been pulled back and the door unlocked. The thief smirked to himself as he entered. Too easy: then again, after the vault in town hall, everything was easy.
He stepped into the empty store, practically salivating as he looked over the valuable jewels, glowing like stars in the faint light of his horn. Fallen stars that he could take for his own, plucking them out of their cases like selecting apples at the market. But first...
In the back of the store was the safe where the uncut diamonds and sales profits were kept. This was a bit more of a challenge: three-inch thick door with a four-number combination lock and a key. He took a breath and concentrated, reaching out with his magic. He felt the wheels on the inside of the lock and slowly, patiently began to turn them, feeling out where the wheel flies were. The key was getting them all to line up right.
Within a minute, he'd succeeded. All of the wheels had lined up, and he was able to unlock the first lock.
Next step, the keyhole. He reached inside with his magic, feeling the tiny tumblers within. One at a time, he gently pushed and pulled until all of them were in the right position for the lock to turn and open. The thief grinned as the door to the safe opened and his greedy eyes were treated to the sight of uncut jewels and piles of golden bits, all his for the taking. He took a sack out of his pocket and swept all the valuables into the sack.
Now for the other gems. Turning back to the showroom, he cast his gaze around. His eyes were drawn to a large ruby ring displayed in it's own case in the corner. Eyes shining with greed, he used his magic to open the case.
Instantly, every light in the store turned on and an alarm bell began ringing, shattering the stillness of the night with its cacophony. The thief froze for a moment in shock, then quickly turned and ran, cursing himself for allowing himself to get cocky. Leaping out the back door, still clutching his bag of spoils in a magical grip, he turned to sprint down the alleyway, weaving his way through the back streets of the town.
Until a pony dressed in the armor of a Royal Guard dropped down in front of him. "Stop!" Flash Sentry ordered.
Instead of stopping, the thief sped up. Before Flash could react, the thief had tackled him. The two wrestled, hooves scrabbling in an attempt to gain or release a hold. Flash managed to seize the thief's mask and pull, but was rewarded by having his head slammed hard against the unyielding ground. Dazed by the blow, it took Flash a second to get up again. By that time, the thief had already gone.
Looking around, he spotted something at his hooves. Lying on the ground was the thief's mask. He picked up it as he heard hoofsteps behind him.
"He got away?" Phillip asked, running up.
Flash nodded, gritting his teeth. "Sorry."
"You did your best, mate," Phillip said. "That their mask?"
"Yes, sir," Flash said, handing the mask to him.
"Start a search, knock on doors," Phillip told him, turning the black fabric over in his hooves. "I'm going to the jewelry store." He looked up at Flash, gray eyes hard in the moonlight.
"All it takes is one mistake, Flash. We've got this wanker."
Author's Note
More soon...
Celestia's sun had just barely begun to rise above the horizon when Flash knocked at the door of 221 B Boulevard.
"Open!" Phillip's voice called distantly.
Flash entered, glad to be out of the cold and stepped inside to the living room. Noticing the door to the basement stairs was open, he headed down and found himself in Phillip's basement laboratory. Phillip himself was sitting at a table, his eyes glued to a microscope.
"Nice crime lab," Fash said, examining the shelves of scientific equipment and books with interest.
Phillip grunted in acknowledgement, not raising his gaze from the microscope.
Flash licked his dry lips and realized that he had unconsciously settled into attention. Ordering himself to relax, he spoke up. "I searched all morning, but I couldn't find any trace of the thief. I questioned the neighbors, but nopony had seen anything useful."
"I expected as much," Phillip said without looking up.
Being the professional soldier that he was, Flash did not allow his face to change. But the offhoof comment stung like the cold wind in his face. So I've been running around wasting my time, have I? he thought bitterly.
"Meanwhile, I've been taking a look at the thief's mask," Phillip continued. "I found several hairs on the inside of it. Long black mane hairs, smooth ends indicating that the thief recently had a haircut. Also had some hairs from coat. They were silver in color, but when I took a closer look, I found that they had been dyed."
Flash blinked in surprise. Dyed silver? Recently cut mane?
"Sir, I think I know who this is."
Dreamcaster was renting a cottage on Maple Road. A simple, run-down affair, it was a small white two-story house, nearly identical from all the others in the suburb.
Phillip knocked at the door, Flash behind him. "You sure about this, mate?" he asked.
"Almost positive," Flash said.
The door opened and Dreamcaster was standing there, looking both of them over with bleary eyes. "Who are you?"
"I'm Phillip Finder," Phillip introduced himself. "I think you know Flash. May we come inside?"
Dreamcaster looked confused. "We just want to ask a few questions," Flash said reassuringly.
"Uh, all right," Dreamcaster said, standing back and allowing them entry. The two stallions entered the living room, which was a demonstration of organized chaos: there was a couch, a coffee table, and a few chairs, most of which were covered in junk food wrappers and magazines. There were no books to be seen.
"Either of you want coffee?" Dreamcaster offered, using his magic to levitate over a cup of coffee from the kitchen (which was, if anything, as much a disaster zone as the living room). The cup, surrounded by a golden aura, was raised to his lips and he took a long draught.
"No, thanks," Phillip said as he and Flash both seated themselves in one of the chairs.
"So, uh, what's this about?" Dreamcaster yawned, flopping down on the couch.
"Are you aware that the Ponyville Jewelry store was robbed last night?" Phillip said.
Dreamcaster didn't blink. "Yeah, of course. The whole freaking town knows; that alarm bell woke up everypony, including me."
"You were here all of last night?" Phillip asked.
"Yes, and before you ask, nopony was here with me."
Flash and Phillip both glanced at each other before continuing. "When did you come here to Ponyville?"
"About three months ago," Dreamcaster replied. "I started renting this cottage after I lost my old job in Fillydelphia."
"And when did you meet Amethyst Star?"
"Soon after I came here," Dreamcaster smiled, taking another draught from the coffee. "We met up on the street, and something just clicked, you know?"
Flash suppressed a smile. "Yeah, I do." Catching the look on Phillip's face, he continued: "I know we asked this before, but are you sure you haven't seen anypony strange around town?"
Dreamcaster shook his head, licking his pursed lips. "Sorry, no. Wait, hold on: I think I saw somepony that you described last time hanging around the jewelry store around three yesterday."
"Hmm," Phillip murmured, looking around. "Nice typewriter."
Dreamcaster glanced up at the old typewriter sitting on the bare wooden desk in the corner of the living room. "Oh, yeah, that. I've been using that to send letters to employers. I've been looking for a decent job around here." He looked down at the coffee cup. "Hey, this coffee just goes right through me! Mind if I go to the bathroom?"
"Go ahead," Flash nodded. Dreamcaster exited the room, setting his coffee down in the kitchen as he left for the bathroom.
As soon as he was out of sight, Phillip got up and went over to the desk. Taking a clean sheet of paper out from a stack, he set it into the typewriter and tapped out a few letters.
"Romano type 13, O key misaligned, E and T faded," he said in a low voice. "You were right, Flash."
"Must have dyed his coat and had his cutie mark tattooed over. How should we proceed?" Flash asked.
"No need to spoil the surprise," Phillip said. "We can wait until he comes out, when his guard will be down."
There was a pause while they both waited in silence for Dreamcaster to return. "He's taking a while, isn't he?" Flash wondered.
Phillip walked quickly towards the bathroom and knocked on the locked door. "Dreamcaster? You in there?" he called.
Silence. Frowning, Phillip knocked harder on the door. "Dreamcaster!" Still nothing. Bracing himself, Phillip knocked the door down with his shoulder.
The small bathroom was empty. The back window was open, and there were hoofprints outside.
"He's gone after Bon Bon. To the park!" Phillip declared, already heading out the door. He and Flash hurried for the Ponyville park, both of them cursing their idiocy with every step.
Bon Bon and Lyra weren't hard to spot in the early morning park, primarily because of Lyra's distinctive, unusual way of sitting with her back perpendicular to the ground and her hind legs dangling off the bench while Bon Bon lay beside her, reading a newspaper.
Dreamcaster approached the two at a trot, his glaring eyes focused on Bon Bon, who did not notice his approach until he was within a few feet.
"Dreamcaster," she said with a pleasant smile. "Is there something—?"
She paused, her eyes widening as she suddenly recognized the look on Dreamcaster's face from long, long ago: a look that preceded violence.
"Lockpick!" she gasped, trying to get away, but it was too late: the false stallion lunged forward and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her off the bench.
"Hey, Sweetie," he said in a low growl. "Miss me?"
"Let go!" Bon Bon shouted, struggling in his grip.
"Let her go!" Lyra said, leaping up to her hooves, but stopping when Lockpick pulled a knife out of his pocket.
"Filthy little fillyfooler," he snarled, before returning his attention to Bon Bon. "Did you honestly think you could run away from me? I've been watching you for days, right under your nose."
"Lockpick!"
Everypony looked up to see Phillip and Flash rushing towards them. Lockpick immediately picked up Bon Bon and held the knife to her throat. "Get back!"
"There's no way out of here, Lockpick," Phillip said calmly.
"She's my way out," Lockpick growled. "I loved her...and she left me for that freak!"
"If you really loved her, you have a funny way of showing it," Flash said. He and Phillip both kept their distance from the hostage taker, slowly splitting up to divide his attention. Bon Bon was panting through clenched teeth, sweat trickling down her brow as she stared at the knife at her throat. Lyra watched helplessly, her horn sparking yellow with barely controlled emotion.
"She's mine!" Lockpick shouted. "She was mine! I stole just to make her happy and she abandoned me!"
"You abused her," Phillip snapped back. "You don't love her at all: she's just another prize to you."
"She wasn't happy with you," Lyra said. "She's happy with me."
"Shut up!" Lockpick snarled, turning to her, his eyes blazing as he pointed the knife at her. "Just shut—!"
Seeing that Lockpick's concentration was broken, Phillip, Flash, Lyra and Bon Bon all seized their chances. With a flick of his hoof, Phillip sent his boomerang spinning out, striking Lockpick in the forehead and stunning him. Lyra reached out with her magic, seizing the knife in a golden field and holding it fast. Bon Bon elbowed her captor in the chest and spun out of his grasp. As soon as she was clear, Flash flew forward and delivered a hard cross to Lockpick's jaw, knocking him down.
Bon Bon collapsed into Lyra's embrace, panting and trembling with shock. "Are you all right?" Lyra asked.
Bon Bon took a slow breath. "Yes, I'm fine," she said softly, wiping her eyes.
Flash and Phillip pulled Lockpick to his hooves, Flash cuffing his hooves and putting an inhibitor ring on his horn. As soon as he was able to speak again, he started screeching curses. "You little fillyfooler! I gave you everything! Where would you be if it wasn't for me?! Huh?! You stupid, stinking—"
He was silenced when Bon Bon slapped him in the face hard enough to leave a bruise. "I'm not afraid of you anymore," she said calmly, giving him a glare that could sour milk.
"Let's go, creep," Flash snarled, tugging Lockpick along the path.
Lyra kissed Bon Bon on the forehead. "That's my Bonnie," she said fondly.
Author's Note
After struggling with writer's block, I finally managed to produce this. But we're not done yet: we still have to find that loot!
"We have a problem," Phillip greeted Flash two hours later. He guided the younger stallion into Lockpick's cottage. "I've been searching this place, but I can't find any of the loot he stole." He cut open one of the pillows on the couch with his pocketknife and started rummaging around within the goose feathers. "The coins he stole from the vault are a historical artifact. We've got to find them."
"Where have you searched?" Flash asked.
"I've checked his living room and the bathroom already," Phillip replied. "You start looking in his bedroom."
"All right," Flash said, heading upstairs.
He entered the bedroom, which was surprisingly sparse. There was a bed with rumpled sheets, a closet with a few clothes, and a few odds and ends and trash scattered on the floor and around the walls. A layer of dust on the floor was kicked up by Flash's hooves.
He divided the room into three horizontal sections—floor to bed, bed to closet and closet to ceiling—then started searching from the bottom up, moving around the room in a circle. Everything he encountered was closely examined, but he was unable find anything that looked like stolen loot. He checked underneath the bed, beneath the closet, tested the floorboards to see if any were loose and examined all of the knickknacks on the floor.
Sighing in exasperation as he set down a fishing pole, he was about to start searching the next section when he heard a click. Looking down, he saw that the sinker on the fishing pole was stuck to his armored horseshoe. Intrigued, he pulled it off with some effort.
It's magnetic? he thought.
An idea formed in Flash's head. Thinking back to Twilight's tour of Ponyville, he recalled that the closest body of water was the pond in the park.
"I don't think it's in the house," Flash called to Phillip, already heading out of the door. "But I think I know where it is!"
Twilight, Lyra, Bon Bon and Phillip watched as Flash walked along the bank of the pond, slowly trawled the fishing line back and forth across the still water. "Are you sure about this?" Twilight asked.
"I'm pretty sure," Flash said. "I saw some waterproof bags in his home, and...hold on." The line had suddenly gone taut. Flash pulled on the line, reeling it back up to the surface.
Out of the water came the fishing line, the magnetic sinker attached to a metal tag that was tied to a length of rope. The other end of the rope was tied to several waterproof bags. He placed the bags on the ground and opened one of them up.
Out of the bag spilled several jewels and gold bits. "That's from the jewelry store," Phillip said.
Each of the bags was opened, revealing Lockpick's stolen loot: money, jewels, clocks, silverware, and more. When Flash opened the last bag, out came several old coins.
"The coins from the vault!" Twilight said in delight.
Phillip took out his notebook and checked the loot on the ground against his list. "That's everything that he stole."
"Awesome!" Lyra shouted enthusiastically. "I always knew there was something fishy about the whole thing! Maybe it was his magnetic personality! We all fell for it, hook, line and sinker! Get it?"
Bon Bon laughed so hard that she had to lean against her wife for support. Everypony else just sighed and rolled their eyes.
A golden lyre, suspended in a golden magical aura, gently floated in midair. Music wafted from the instrument's plucked strings: one could almost see the notes floating into the air like a flock of paradisal birds, to be joined by a pair of other instruments.
Lyra, Flash and Phillip sat side by side in the living room of the Friendship Rainbow Castle. Lyra played her lyre, Flash strummed his guitar and Phillip played his sax. Bon Bon and Twilight watched, both of them allowing the music to carry away all outside thoughts. Tootsie Flute sat beside them, humming along.
"How's Sparkler?" Twilight asked Bon Bon.
"She's still upset," Bon Bon replied. "Mostly at herself: she can't bear to think about what might have happened if she'd left Tootsie alone with him. But that's understandable, I guess. Did I ever thank you for all your help?" Bon Bon asked Twilight.
"You don't need to," Twilight assured her.
"I lived in fear of Lockpick for years," Bon Bon said, watching her wife and daughter. "I was always terrified that one day I'd turn the corner and he'd be there, waiting for me. I buried that fear beneath everything else, refusing to acknowledge it." She paused for a moment while she gathered her thoughts.
"So when I got that letter, I was terrified. All I could think about was that he was watching me, what he was going to do to me. But then I saw you, Lyra, Flash and Phillip all doing what you could to help me..." She smiled. "And I realized that I didn't need to be afraid of him. Not with such good friends by my side."
The song ended. Tootsie Flute applauded. "Hey, fair play, boys!" Lyra said, raising her hoof. "Gimme five!"
Flash stared at the raised hoof in bewilderment. "Uh..."
Lyra looked at her hoof. "Oh, right. Uh, high hoof!"
Flash smiled and slapped her hoof, noticing Bon Bon shaking her head with a weary half smile behind Lyra's shoulder.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Tootsie said, reaching into her bag. She took out a hoofdrawn sheet and gave it to Twilight. It was a crayon depiction of Tootsie, Lyra, Bon Bon, Amethyst, Twilight, Flash and Phillip, all of them smiling. At the top of the picture were the words, "Thank you for helping my moms!"
"Aw, thanks," Twilight said. Tootsie hugged her around the neck and Twilight put a foreleg around her, allowing the filly to be comforted by her touch. Tootsie then ran over and hugged Flash, who chuckled and also embraced the filly. When Tootsie bounded over to hug Phil, he stiffened in shock and uncertainty, giving Twilight a "What do I do?" look as the filly put her forelegs around him. He eventually settled for awkwardly patting Tootsie on the head. The tension was obviously lost on her, as she smiled happily as she released him.
"Come on, me girls," Lyra said. "I'll make us some colcannon back at home."
"Nice playing with you," Flash called. "We should make that more common."
"Feel free to drop by the candy shop any time!" Bon Bon waved back as the family headed back outside to return home.
As they left, Phillip started to pack up his saxophone into his case. "I've got to go. I have an experiment waiting." He swung the case onto his back and started to head out the door. "By the way, congratulations on your promotion, Flash," he added.
"Huh?" Flash said.
Phillip nodded at the stack of unopened mail on the table. "Letter from the promotion board in there. You earned it, Flash; I mean that." And he left without another word.
Twilight fished the letter out of the stack and opened it up. Along with the typewritten letter of congratulations came a golden shoulder pin: the two chevrons of a corporal.
"Wow," Flash breathed, taking the pin. The golden sheen sparkled in the light of the room.
"Congratulations!" Twilight said. She magically lifted the pin. "Here, let me." Flash held still as she gently took the pin and attached it to his armor.
"Now, Corporal," Twilight said. "Would you care to come and watch the snowfall with me?"
"I would love to, Your Highness," Flash said, bowing. The two headed up to the balcony of the castle, Twilight taking the crayon drawing to put away with her other collections from her adventures.
Outside, the snow fell like stars upon the town, giving Ponyville the promise of peace.
Author's Note
And we've finished with this storyline! I'll admit that this may not have been one of my best, but I hope that you enjoyed my work and are looking forward to the next in the Phillip Finder series. I've been looking forward to the next few stories!
Part 1Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory , written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and sung by Aubrey Woods.The Magic School Bus TV series.Da : Irish slang, "Dad." Ever since I saw this picture , it's been my headcanon that Lyra has Irish ancestry, so I gave her some Irish slang in her speech.And Tootsie Flute Makes Three as (mostly) canon in my universe.
Part 2Small, but noteworthy list of unidentified criminals : while Phillip maintains that there's no such thing as "the perfect crime," even he has had bad luck or been outsmarted on occasion.Muleta : ponyfied version of Malta.gobdaws : Irish slang, "idiots."sound friend : Irish slang, "good friend."
Part 3He hated that look : because he's been there, and knows how it feels.cowering a little as her wife's rage washed over her : Lyra has been on the receiving end of Bon Bon's anger more than once.Detrot : ponyfied version of Detroit.
Part 4"Don't "Princess me" : when Twilight's focused on a job, nothing's going to stop her, not even her title and position.
Part 5Lyra's distinctive, unusual way of sitting : a reference to the episode Dragonshy , which had Lyra sitting like a human on a bench. It's my headcanon that she just does this to be weird.fillyfooler : a common name in MLP fanwork that's used as an insulting name for a lesbian.
Part 6"fair play" : Irish slang, "well done!""Gimme five!" : a nod to the common "Lyra is obsessed with hands/humans" meme, which I don't particularly follow.Colcannon: traditional Irish meal, made from mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage or kale.
Author's Note
Chapter notes from the story.
Epilogue: The White Knights
Well, now, this was interesting.
The chessmaster stroked the second white knight on the chessboard with his magic, thoughtfully sucking on the cigarette between his lips. This Flash Sentry had been an unexpected addition to the board, a second white knight to stand alongside Phillip Finder. His skill and maneuverability had been truly surprising to behold: the white team had gained a very valuable piece in the Guard. And the truly incredible thing was, Phillip truly cared about the colt.
But his feelings didn't keep him from putting the youngling out before his own pawns, though.
He considered the state of his own armada. Lockpick had been a valuable piece, and losing him had been a rather harsh blow to his own organization. But it was the fool's own fault for allowing his misplaced, obsessive love to get the better of him. And besides, he was certain that Phillip Finder would have caught him eventually. He'd been doomed the moment he came to this town.
He took a long draw of his cigarette and blew out these thoughts in a puff of smoke. Enough. It was in the past now. It was time to focus on the present. Specifically, on Phillip Finder.
Specifically, on how to break him.
He glanced up and took down one of the photographs from the ever-expanding portfolio displayed on the walls. It was a shot of Phillip Finder and Flash Sentry standing side by side as they exited 221 B Boulevard. A perfect shot of the two stallions in motion, both of them caught completely unaware of their admirer. Blissfully ignorant of the fact that they were caught up in this great game of theirs. Simple little minds, ready to be broken.
Broken...
A vindictive smile crossed the chessmaster's face. He knew just the pony to call.
Author's Note
Thought you'd heard the last of this guy, didn't you?
