Chapters "Where is she?" Applebloom asked Scootaloo, who's desk was right next door.
"I don't know." The little Pegasus replied. "Maybe she's sick?"
"Obviously she heard you three were coming today and she wanted none of that." Diamond Tiara interjected. She, her lackey Silver Spoon, and a few others giggled at the insult.
Sweetie Belle hopped out of her desk and ran to the teacher's desk at the front of the classroom, just beneath the chalkboard. She dug through stacks of paper for a note. "I can't find anything. Just a lesson plan, a few homework assignments, ooh, a love note!"
"Don't read that!" Applebloom shouted. "That's miss Cherrilee's private mail!"
"Fine, don't be fun. Hey, the answer sheet to yesterday's homework! Oh, ok, number three was not lettuce."
"You know." Silver Spoon started. "I read the handbook, and it said that if our teacher is fifteen minutes late, we get the day off."
"Really?" Scootaloo asked. She glanced at the clock. "Oh, still another ten or so to go." She put her head on her desk. "Wake me up when something important happens." Snoring came from her desk almost immediately.
"In the meantime, I'm just gonna read this." Sweetie Belle pulled out the love note and began reading it. Applebloom jumped up and ran to her.
"Don't read that!"
"Too late. Ooh, it's so cutesy wutesy!"
"Give me that!" She swiped it from her friend's hoof. She glanced at the signature at the bottom. "My brother wrote this? Oh man, ah gotta read it!"
Sweetie Belle poked her head over Appleblooms shoulder and resumed her reading. "Woah, it's that what grown up ponies do for fun? No wonder they need each other. That sounds hard to do alone."
There was a shuffling from the hall. A scrawny gray pony in a blue-green outfit walked up to the door. "What are you kids doing here? Didn't you hear, school was cancelled for a while."
"It was?" Sweetie Belle asked, unbelieving.
"Yeah. Miss Cheerilee went missing, she can't teach."
All the school foals bolted towards the door and outside, screaming their joy. "SCHOOL'S OUT!" One exclaimed. "THANK CELESTIA!" Said another.
"Thanks Mr. Janitor!" Scootaloo called back at the pony.
"See you around, and hey, tell your friends not to read love letters from adults."
"Ok, bye!" She shut the doors after the last pony passed through.
The janitor chuckled. "Kids." He picked up his mop and began wiping down the floors.
"Applebloom? What're you doing home so early?" Applejack asked her sister when she ran back to the farm. "It's not even nine o' clock yet!"
The little filly stopped at her sister and jumped with joy. "Miss Cheerilee didn't show up so we could leave early!"
Applejack looked straight into Applebloom's eyes to try and catch the lie. When she got nothing, she had to know more. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. She didn't show up, the janitor was already cleaning, he said she wasn't here so we could go!"
"Interestin. Well, you know Granny, she'll be mad if you miss another assignment. It's yer funeral if yer lyin."
"I'm not lyin! It's true!"
"Welp, make yourself useful and carry these bushels back to the farm." Applejack nodded her head at four large baskets of apples full, and one half full. There were several empty ones stacked up.
"Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked as she walked through the front door to the boutique.
"Sweetie Belle? Why are you home so early?" The larger version of the filly asked from a side room.
"The janitor said we could leave because Cheerilee was gone." Sweetie said excitedly. She hopped around the room.
Rarity looked at her sister with a confused face. "Why wasn't I told of this? The schoolboard should have sent a letter that she was going on vacation, or at least get a substitute." She sighed. "Oh well, just don't rip any of the dresses I'm working on. There's a new fabric shop opening in Canterlot tomorrow, everything is half off for the opening sale, I must make sure I wear the best dress for the occasion. Do you want to come with me?"
"Nah, tomorrow is Saturday, we have a Cutie Mark Crusader Club meeting!"
"All right, just don't destroy the town!"
"We won't!"
Rarity stole a glance at the clock then trotted back over to her sewing machine as her sister made herself a sandwich.
Scootaloo flew over to the abandoned house at the end of the road. She knocked on the door a few times. She heard some whispering from inside. She barely heard them, but it was clearly a conversation between a mare and stallion.
"Did you invite any pony else?" The mare asked.
"No, did you?" The stallion replied.
"Are you crazy? That'd be really difficult! Maybe it's the landlord."
"Can't be, he died and specifically willed this house to all homeless ponies.
"Maybe it's a homeless pony?"
"Probably." The whispering was replaced with a shout. "Who is it?"
Scootaloo replied. "It's me, Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash told me to meet her here after school.
The whispering came back. The stallion started this time. "You invited a kid?"
"She wasn't supposed to be here for like another 6 hours."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously dude, it's Friday, she has school! Now make yourself look decent!" There was a sound of hooves on stone, then the door opened. "Hey Scoots." Rainbow Dash said, welcoming the filly in.
"School was off." Scootaloo said. She looked at a grey pony sitting on a bed in the corner of the room, preening his wings. He looked up and smiled.
"Hey scamp." He returned to his feather straightening.
"Why is he here?" Scootaloo asked the cyan mare.
Rainbow glanced at Soarin, scared. He offered a shrug. "He was helping me refurbish, for the homeless ponies who use this place." She lied.
"Yeah, all about the needy." Soarin joined in.
"Cool." Scootaloo said. She quickly imagined what a homeless helper cutie mark would look like.
"Why are you here so early?" Rainbow asked.
"Miss Cheerilee wasn't here, so the janitor let us out."
"Oh, cool."
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Princess Celestia!" A gray royal guard shouted, running down the hallway to the throne.
A white alicorn sat on an elaborate chair. Her colorful hair waving in nonexistant wind. "Yes?" She said in a calm voice.
"The weather team found something, they think you should come down and check it out!"
"Hmm, what is it?"
"They wouldn't tell me, just said to get you there."
"All right, you three." She pointed a hoof at three guards by the foot of her throne. "Assemble a picnic, when we get there, I'll need some food."
The guards nodded and bolted towards the kitchen. In ten minutes, they returned with two saddlebags filled to the brim with food. Both bags hung off the bulkiest of the three.
"Now you, lead me to the weather team." The princess told the informer.
"Follow me!" He turned and went towards the balcony then took off, the princess and three guards short behind.
Just after takeoff, Celestia whispered under her breath "I hate flying."
"Here we are." The gray pony said. He gently floated down into a clearing in the Everfree forest. Several ponies in flight suits were huddled around, talking. "Attention! Princess Celestia and royal guard here!" The rest of the ponies landed behind him. "Show her what you found."
"This way m'lady." One of the ponies said. He made his way through the forest a short way. "Right here."
Celestia looked where he pointed. Her jaw hung open in awe. "A-a-a skeleton?"
"Yes ma'am. By the coloration of the bones, it is obvious it hasn't been here long and has been picked clean. Judging by the size and pelvic bone shape, female, middle aged, maybe slightly older. No holes in the skull suggesting either a horn was removed or foul play. Bones too thick to be a pegasus. She was most likely an Earth pony. The only signs of her possible death we could find were a few pink hairs in the immediate area and two gashes here in the ribcage, possibly a predator's claw mark."
"A predator's claws? But the only predator in the Everfree is the manticore. Not only is the only known one domesticated, but they'd leave much more of a scene."
"So what are you saying?"
"Either we're in for a surprise about some giant beast, or this is a murder."
The covered pony looked at the gouges again. "Whoever did this is not a first timer."
A letter materialized in front of Celestia. "A letter? From Twilight? But, she's not supposed to write to me for a few more days. Odd." The princess used her magic to unroll it then read it aloud.
"Dear Celestia,
We have reason to believe that the school teacher, Cheerilee, has gone missing. Several foals are running around the town claiming that the teacher never arrived and the janitor let them leave. I've asked around, and it seems as though nopony knows where she is and the latest she was sighted was leaving town last night, towards the Everfree. What's more, the janitor cannot be found. The only description I could get out of the kids made him sound well built, with a gray coat. Sadly his hat covered his mane and uniform his tail. If you do not say otherwise, I will send out an amber alert tonight at 8. Please write back.
-Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle"
"Missing?" The weather pony asked. He stopped himself from showing his fear. "Do you think this is her?"
Celestia walked around the skeleton. She stopped at a tree that had a clump of pink hair hanging off of a branch. She plucked it off and examined it closely. "I'm afraid to say so. This skeleton," she pointed at the object in question, "is clearly equine, one missing pony, one found skeleton. It makes perfect sense. GUARDS!" The four guards rushed towards the princess. "Wrap this skeleton and take it back to the castle. I have to write to Twilight."
"Oh Spike, it's nearly seven. Do you think she got my letter? I need to know if I should put out an amber alert." Twilight said, pacing the floor.
"Uhh, Twilight?" The small dragon interjected.
"I mean, what if we're just overreacting and she, she went to see Zecora for some medicine and she's spending the night there?"
"Twilight." Spike clutched a claw over his mouth.
"No you're right, she doesn't like Zecora. Maybe she just went to talk to Fluttershy? We haven't seen either one."
"Twiiliight." He doubled over, keeping himself from hurling.
"Why would she do that? If she'd have gone anywhere, it'd been to the Apples' house to talk to Mac."
"Tw-" spike burped some fire and a scroll appeared.
"Celestia's letter!" Twilight grabbed it with her magic and began reading it.
"Dear Twilight
I received your letter concerning the disappearance of the pony named Cheerilee. Unfortunately, we have some grim news. The weather team discovered a corpse. If the townsponies ask where she is, don't tell them the truth. We have strong reason to believe she was murdered and we don't want any pony to panic.
-Yours Truly, Celestia
"Murder." Twilight mumbled.
"But, ponies can't do that, it's illegal." Spike said, tears welling in his eyes.
"Laws are just rules Spike. Some ponies break them, and they get punished."
Spike looked at the lavender alicorn. She was looking at the ground, face ridden with anger. "But you said it was impossible to break rules."
"I know what I said Spike. It was to keep you from doing it, I lied all right? Now, let's just go get some sleep, I'll go to Canterlot and ask Celestia what to do tomorrow."
"No, Twilight. And I will not say it again. Investigating this is much too difficult. We have absolutely no leads or evidence besides two bone deep gash marks." Celestia stamped her hoof as her voice resonated around the hall.
"But what if they kill another pony just like her, Celestia, when will it end?" Twilight complained to her teacher from the foot of the throne.
"We don't have anything to go off of here, we'll need them to screw up to catch them, or to see them do it, considering how well put together this one was, I'd say that both are extremely unlikely unless we develop some all seeing truth magic or invisibility or something. You just can't get them, they'll probably have fled the town, heck the country by now."
"Fine, but if one more pony so much as feels threatened, I will not hesitate to tell every pony in every town about your refusal to let me investigate."
"Go ahead, see if any pony believes you."
"You are a horrible ruler."
"No, I am a practical ruler. What if you were killed, Twilight. I can't allow you to put yourself in danger."
Twilight glared at Celestia then turned around and walked out of the throne room, muttering something under her breath.
Rarity stole a glance at the clock. Noon. "Sweetie Belle!" she shouted at the air.
"Yeah?" A squeaky voice called from down the hall.
"Hurry up sweetheart, your Crusader meeting is in half an hour! I packed your lunch, it's on the table, I'm going to Canterlot, don't stay up past nine, you know the rules."
"Ok, bye sis!"
Rarity trotted over to one of her mannequins and stole it's saddlebags. She used her magic to levitate a small sack of bits into the left bag. She took one long look at the main room of the boutique before leaving for the day. "When I come back, my sewing machines will feel it." She said. She turned towards the train station and began today's adventure.
After a long day of shopping for new fabrics, Rarity returned home. She opted out of taking the train so that she could take a nice stroll along the beach. Her saddlebags had rolls of fabrics sticking out of them, and a very empty leather pouch hung off of one. When she got to the beach, she stared at the water. The moon was at just the right height that the water gleamed and the stars were reflected. "It's nights like tonight that make you love living." She said to herself. She stared in awe of the beauty of the situation for a minute before resuming her trek home. The unicorn paused when she smelled a rather disgusting odor. "What is that smell?" She asked. There was a pony in a poncho by the shoreline throwing dark red bits into the water. "You there." she shouted at them.
"Can I help you?" He asked in a deep gravelly voice. The pony eerily looked Rarity's direction, but the shadow of the cloak hid his face.
"What is that putrid odor molesting my nostrils?" She demanded.
"I'm just chumming the water." He turned back to the water and threw in another hoof.
Rarity looked disgusted. "You do realize that the few fish that the animals around here react much better to cheese right?"
"I'm going for the carnivorous fish." He said. He lifted a fishing rod, revealing his gray hoof.
"Why is that?"
He paused for a moment. "The griffon kingdom, they pay a lot of money for them. Something about extra meaty flavor or something. I don't know, I'm just a pony." A sleek looking fish leaped from the water, the pony grabbed it mid-air with his hoof and threw it onto the beach. "Small one, but that'll do." He pulled out his rod and cast the line. "What's a pretty pony like you doing out here so late, alone?" The way he said alone made Rarity uncomfortable.
"Going home from a long night of shopping in Canterlot."
"Be careful, they're thieves on this road."
"Really?"
"Well, that's what my pop told me about twenny years ago. Probably clear now." He glanced back at Rarity. "You have a good night ma'am." He tipped his hood to show respect, though the lack of hat really made it awkward. He returned to his fishing.
"You too kind sir." Rarity began trotting home again, a little faster this time.
Twilight felt the wind slice through her mane as she flew over the Everfree Forest. She looked ahead at the pegasus in front of her. He was a gray stallion borrowed from Celestia's militia, with Luna's permission of course, this entire investigation had to be under wraps. He turned his head back and signaled for a landing with his hoof. The Princess felt a little claw dig into her side.
"We're landing now Spike." she said to her drake.
"Ok." He shrunk down as low as he could and clutched for dear life as the alicorn changed her angle towards the ground. Shortly after, they landed. Spike jumped off her back.
"Where is the skeleton?" Twilight asked the stallion as he adjusted his chestplate.
"Right this way." he wandered a short distance through the trees with the pony and dragon. They came upon a skeleton with slightly yellowing bones. "This is where the body was found, to our knowledge, still untouched since death."
The lavender mare looked at the ribcage closely. "Two small cuts, about half an inch deep. Blade probably was about two inches long. Judging by size, a thicker knife, quarter inch wide. Definitely designed for cutting things." She looked around the small clearing. A tuft of pink hair was still attached to the branches. "Good thing this forest is too thick for wind to cut through." A notepad and pencil materialized from nothing and the pencil began taking notes. Twilight looked around more. She saw a tan object laying a ways into the woods. "Spike."
"Yeah?" The little Drake asked, walking towards his mentor.
"Go get that for me."
"Ok." He dashed past the trees, ducking branches. He clutched the object and took it back to Twilight. "It has a strap, and a button." He undid the button and the top flap became loose.
"We'll search in this later. What we've found here really builds up my suspicion. "You." she pointed at the guard pony.
"Yes?" he responded, startled.
"Drop this off at my tree please, and don't tell Celestia a word about this."
"Whatever you wish my princess."
Twilight walked up to the stand at the town center that sold cherries. The tan stallion behind the counter quickly pulled out a bowl from beneath the counter and set it up.
"Hello miss." he called. He casually used a hoof to slick his black hair. "Would a beautiful mare like yourself care to try a free sample of my decadent cherries?" He smiled, obviously trying to woo Twilight.
"Sir, I am here on official business, besides, you aren't my type." Twilight cut it simply.
"Well that is quite saddening, whaddya need?" he said, instantly going lax in his posture.
She leaned in close to his face. "Word is, you got a knife." she whispered
"Yeah so? I need it to cut the cherries from the tree." he whispered back.
"I would like to see it."
"All right. One moment." He hid beneath his table and fiddled around for a minute. He came back up with a small knife in his jaw, which he set on the table.
Twilight took the knife in her magic and sized it up. "Mighty nice knife you got here." she twirled it around as she finished her measuring. "What is it? One by ten?"
"You nailed it miss. One inch long and one tenth thick."
"That is all I needed, thank you for your cooperation."
"Anytime ma'am. And hey, be a little nicer, y'know a single stallion sees a pretty mare like you and he's gotta fall, just say your taken next time, ok cupcake?"
"Whatever you say." Twilight walked away, rolling her eyes.
"And if you ever feel lonely, you know where to find me!" he called out to her.
After walking out of earshot, Twilight looked at the baby dragon sitting on her back. "Why did he not say a thing about you?" She asked her purple and green assistant.
"I dunno. Maybe he didn't notice? So, was he the guy?" he asked.
"No, knife is much too small, I'd need a warrant to get any further evidence on him. We're going to need to check out that satchel when we get back home, maybe it has some clues." she said hopefully. This criminal is NOT getting away.
Spike looked at the brown bag left on the table by the guard. "What do you suppose is in it?" he asked Twilight as she walked over, two glasses of water in her magic.
"I don't know, but hopefully there is some evidence." She set the glasses of water down, next to the bag and then opened it.
"Didn't I open it in the clearing?"
"Yeah, but he probably closed it so that nothing would fall out as he flew." She grabbed the first thing she saw and slid it out. It was a notebook. Twilight silently paged through it, occasionally taking a sip of water. Lesson plans, grades, lesson plans, grades, assignments, lesson plans, test, there has to be something else, I just know it! About halfway through, she tore out a page in frustration. She looked at it and yelled as though it did something wrong. "Why can't I find anything? What are you hiding from me? WHO DID IIIIIIT?!?!?"
"Twilight, calm down, look." Spike ran over and turned the page around. A note was scribbled on the back. Though it wasn't in Cheerilee's hoofwriting.
Life has a purpose, we will discover the key to immortality. Celestia can't keep it a secret fore-
there was a line that led to the edge of the page starting from the bottom of the 'e'. Two small red dots were near the edge of the paper.
"This, this writing." Twilight stared at it for a moment. "I've seen it before, but who's is it? I can't put a name to it." She looked at the satchel then back at the paper. "What else is in it Spike?"
"A water bottle, a few ungraded papers, and a small sack of bits." the drake took out the bag and weighed it in his hand. "I'd say about 30 to 40 bits in it."
"That's a nice hunk of cash there. I'd say our murderer needed some quick bits, but something came before he had the chance to steal them.
"But the skeleton was picked clean. They clearly weren't in a hurry. Plus, the note the left in the book." Spike reminded.
Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "Yeah, that does seem a bit odd." She thought for a moment. "But who would benefit from this?"
"Maybe they didn't do it for a benefit?"
Twilight looked at her assistant quizzically. "What?"
Spike looked down and dug his foot into the floorboard. "Y'know. They just did it. Because they could."
"You mean, like they had no purpose to kill?"
"Exactly."
"But, that doesn't make sense."
Spike took a long sip from his water glass. "But, wouldn't it seem like it'd make it harder to catch them?"
Twilight thought for a moment, a hoof to her chin. "That makes no sense. Why would you commit a crime that would result in losing your life if you get caught, just to see if you don't?"
Spike walked away and hopped up on a stool. He took a book off the shelf and began to read it. "I don't know. I personally think that you should poke around some and see if somepony has any idea."
Twilight tore out the page and rolled it up. She then shut the book and looked at the cover. Two knife marks were shallow in the cover of the book, similar to the skeleton's, but much shallower. "I have one more possible subject before we start poking around."
"All right, I'll get your detectives hat."
"So then I said-"
"Excuse me? Angel?" A purple bunny hopped over to Angel, who was deep in conversation with various other animals.
The rabbit sighed and turned around. "What?"
Never in a thousand years had I thought I'd need to use a transformation spell. Twilight the now-bunny thought. "Angel, I'd like to speak with you, alone."
"Fine," he turned back to the animals. "Story time is postponed, return here in two hours." He and Twilight hopped away. "So, you new here eh?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?" She instantly freaked out that her idea wasn't going to work at all.
Angel chuckled to himself. "You're purple! I think I'd notice if we had a purple rabbit here." He stuck his nose in her fur and took a deep sniff.
Twilight slapped and shoved him away. "What the heck! What's wrong with you?"
"Sorry. I didn't realize you were from the city. You see, out here, most animals keep track of who is who mainly by smells."
That's right. I forgot animals do that. I'm glad he had an excuse for me. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know." she blushed under her light fur coat.
Angel shrugged. "It's all right. I'm glad Fluttershy sent you to me. Most of the others wouldn't think of that and instantly think you're weird."
Twilight looked at him. "I never talked to Fluttershy." She sat up and stared at him. "But, while were on the subject, has she been acting odd lately?"
"Wait. No, no, go back. Are you saying you know me?"
"Uhh, yeah?"
"And you never talked to Fluttershy?" he demanded.
Twilight realized the corner she'd backed herself into. "Umm, yeah, I mean." She quickly ran several scenarios through her head to get out of this position. She chose the one that seemed most logical and safest. "I'm the pet of that pony right there." she pointed a paw at a barely visible house at the edge of Ponyville. "And, she's, uh, out of the house a lot. So, I wander when I can. I've watched the farm from a distance just enough to know most of the animals." Phew. That was close.
Angel shook his head. "Whatever." He started hopping forward towards the treeline. "So are you planning on living here. or just visiting?"
Twilight thought which choice would get her more info. "Well, my owner is out of town for a few days. I could stay here until she's back."
"All right. Well, over here in a little hidden grotto is where most of the rodents sleep when we can't use the house." He stopped by a bush at the base of two trees and parted it. It opened up into large area with patted down grass and piles of various seeds here and there. "There's a small stream back there a bit further if we need water, as for the bathroom, just go wherever as long as it's not too close to our food, water, or sleeping area." He closed up the entrance, turned around and headed towards the cottage. "Now of course, you know Fluttershy. She needed to go to the store, so she isn't home right now, but I can still show you around the cottage."
"Ok, I can't thank you enough, Angel." Twilight stopped his hopping and gave her tour guide a hug. He instantly blushed under his fur and ducked out of the embrace after a couple of seconds.
"You're welcome." Angel held back his childlike glee. "Now." He started hopping again. It wasn't long before the two arrived at the cottage. He stuck his paw through a small crack and maneuvered it to open the door. "This is the cottage." he gestured for Twilight to enter before him. "This is where sick animals are taken care of, where most of us get fed and watered, and even where some of us sleep." He hopped up onto the counter and flipped on a light switch. He looked at his guest, who was still on the floor. "I'm sorry, I never asked your name."
Twilight looked up at him. "Oh! Uh, it's, Titania." she lied.
"That's a lovely name." He jumped back down to her level and gave her a quick nuzzle. "And you are so beautiful."
This is my chance. 'Titania' quickly took advantage of her position. "Aw, thanks!" She returned the nuzzle. "And you are such a handsome rabbit yourself." she whispered in his ear.
Angel took a step back. "Let's do what we came here for." he suggested. "I mean, I'm supposed to help you get settled in. We have a few days to cuddle." He smiled at her and started showing her around. "This is the kitchen. If you ever get tired of eating forest seeds and berries, you can come in here for fresh produce." Angel led his purple partner towards a large open room in the center. There were a few animals in little beds around the room on the walls. Mainly birds with some sort of wing splints on. "This is the infirmary. If you ever get injured, you'll go here. Fluttershy will fix you up and feed you and stuff. I don't really know, never been here."
Twilight took a moment to see the room from an animal's perspective. It was a little larger and it seemed more mellow. From her usual perspective, the room was more like a place of suffering for poor animals, but now it seemed almost like a vacation. Then again, as a pony, she'd have to do the taking care of, and as a rabbit, she'd be the one getting taken care of. "Wow, it's so different."
"Yeah, city pets don't usually have an infirmary. If you get hurt you just sit in your cage for a while. Or, so I've heard."
Twilight looked at him, she was confused for a second. "Oh, yeah. Exactly. My owner also had a parakeet who broke her wing. She was miserable for a week before she was let out again."
Angel took in that piece of information. "That sucks. Hey, I don't mean to intrude on your life, but who is your owner?"
Twilight froze in terror. She hadn't prepared a back story, she'd barely made it this far. "It was like, Sparkle, Shine. Or something. I'm not sure, she rarely has someone over so I don't hear her name that often." she felt the inevitable wave of fear wash over her. This is the make or break point. If he believes this either I'm good at this, or he's dumb.
The white bunny stared at the purple one next to him. "Sounds about right. Pony names are all weird like that." He glanced out of a window and saw that the sun was setting. "Come on, it's probably like eight thirty by now. We should head to the grotto, it looks like Fluttershy won't be here to let us sleep inside tonight."
"Oh, ok. I was hoping to spend some more time with you tonight." Twilight said it like she was honestly disappointed. She looked at Angel with those eyes that nobody can seem to resist.
Angel rubbed his head on her side. "it's ok, there's always tomorrow." He hopped towards the door and looked back. "Let's go."
Twilight curled herself into a ball towards the corner of the clearing. She wasn't used to sleeping without a blanket on her and occasionally a small fire going nearby. Even then, if she was still cold, she had her magic. Now, she was completely magicless. She couldn't even use a spell to transform back into a pony. She gave Spike an enchanted scroll for that. She thought about what she was going to do tomorrow. She didn't have much time to get information, people would notice her absence, and eventually the purple rabbit. She got up and readjusted her sleeping position, hoping to retain her heat better, but to no avail.
Angel took notice as Titania shivered from her lack of heat. He stood up and wandered over to her. He looked down at the cold rodent and curled up around her as much as he could. They looked at each other, their eyes met. The stare was held for several long moments before they both rubbed noses. The two lovers lied down their heads and went to sleep for the night.
Tomorrow, I will get information. Twilight thought.
Tomorrow, I will get her love. Angel mused.
Author's Note
I know this chapter is on the longer end of the spectrum for this story, and that it's more lovey dovey than the others combined, but trust me, that long hiatus of no writing whatsoever has not affected the storyline whatsoever and this was all planned from the start. Well, minus the huge break...
When she woke up, Twilight did her usual bed stretch. She completely forgot that she was outside, or a rabbit, or cuddled up with a larger one. Of course, this sudden motion woke up Angel too.
"Huh?" The white bunny lifted his head from his lazy stupor. "Oh." he let out a huge yawn before continuing. "Good morning Titania." he said lazily. He rolled over off of her and stretched.
"Good morning Angel." Twilight replied after a second, remembering her persona.
Angel rubbed his head on Titania's. "You want some breakfast?"
"Sure."
"What do you want? We have cherries, grapes, various grains and seeds. Make a choice."
Twilight thought for a moment. "I'd be okay with just about anything."
Angel hopped over to a pile of small red fruit. He brought two back over to his new friend, and they each ate one happily.
"That was good, thanks!" She gave an innocent smile. "Now, how about we go get something to drink?" Twilight suggested.
"Nothing goes better with some food than some water."
"Umm, yeah, sure."
The two hopped to the back of the bed clearing and Angel led the way a short distance to a stream. The two took long sips of the crystal clear water. A ways down, a small fish leaped from the water and made a pleasant splash.
Twilight looked over at Angel. "Angel, I have a couple questions." her face lost all emotion and she went serious.
"Ok?" he laughed lightly. "What do you want to know?"
"Has Fluttershy been acting, odd, lately?" She stepped close to the bunny.
Angel thought for a moment. "Yeah I guess. Why do you want to know Titania?"
"When was the last time she went out in the forest?" Twilight stepped closer, cutting off all of Angel's personal space.
He looked around for an escape. "What's gotten into you?"
"Don't dodge the question."
"Titania, I'm not feeling comfortable right now."
"Answer me. Are you covering for her? When was she last in the forest?"
"I don't know, like, two weeks ago?"
"That gives about one week." Twilight muttered. She stared Angel down hard. "Was she already acting weird at this time?"
Angel took a step back, his paw slipped into the stream for a second before he pulled it back out. "It was after that."
"Did you pay much attention to her that day?"
"Yeah, why? She went fishing, she needed some food for the bear and chimera."
"Did you see blood on her hooves?"
"She was fishing, so of course, she probably gutted them!"
Twilight backed off. "Thank you, now, if you value your safety, you do not tell anyone, especially Fluttershy, about this encounter."
Angel nodded his head before darting into some nearby underbrush. Twilight heard sobbing from the cluster of leaves. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to tell what was going through his head. He obviously loved Titania, and now she just went crazy psycho and asked all these questions. Heck, just the questioning would scare most, the love part just made it worse.
Twilight scoffed. "Weak." she wandered back towards the clearing where she slept the night before. She looked around one last time. After her years of helping her friend take care of the animals, she'd never found this place. I better get back while Spike still remembers how to use that tome. She left the clearing and headed towards her treehouse in town. Her purple rabbit guise, somehow, kept ponies away, so stealth was not a necessity in town. "SPIIIIIIIKE!" she shouted when she arrived. Of course, the young drake only heard a loud squeak.
"Oh, Twilight, you're back!" A familiar purple dragon hopped down the stairs and up to a bookshelf. He took a specific book off the third shelf and took out a page. "This one right?" there was a dull yellow glow around it.
Twilight nodded to say yes.
Spike traced the shape on the paper and said the spell's name. "Undo transformation!" The paper shot off a blinding light towards the purple rabbit. She slowly grew and reformed her body until she was her normal unicorn state.
"Thank you Spike. I cannot stress how helpful that was." Twilight stretched forward, several loud pops came from her spine. "Ugh, I just couldn't get those spots as a rabbit, not enough vertebrae. It's weird, I still felt that I needed to crack them." She then rolled her head left and right and got similar results to her back.
Spike cringed at the sound. "Now that sounded painful." he thought for a moment. "So, what information did you get?"
"A week before the skeleton was found, she went into the forest supposedly to go fishing. Her supplies of those usually last her a month, she had days left when I went into the cottage as the rabbit, so, there's no way she fished two weeks ago. Plus, she had blood on her hooves when she returned. I never saw the bear or chimera there, so they were probably getting ready for hibernation." Twilight paused. Her forehead scrunched as she was in obviously deep thought. "But, it's summer, so that can't be it."
Spike hopped up on a chair and swung his legs. "I don't know. I saw her pass by today, she was getting some groceries, so she couldn't have been murdering any pony. The bear and the chimera could've been anywhere."
Twilight used her magic to make an over-sized whiteboard appear in the room. She took a black marker and wrote down all of their evidence and open spaces in stories at the bottom, and all possible suspects at the top. She even included Rarity's fisher, and Celestia, just to be on the safe side. "Ok, so. Fluttershy's blood ties to Fluttershy perfectly." she drew a line between the two. "Same as her absence and the location of the skeleton. Her refusal to aid in the investigation ties with her and Celestia." she continually went through all combinations of evidence and suspect, explaining each one to Spike. Any that made perfect sense had a solid line, while disputable ones got dotted lines. She analyzed the connections thoroughly to make sure none were missed or incorrect, Spike helped as much as he could.
"So, what was the whole purpose of those last two hours?" Spike pondered.
"Well." Twilight looked at her little dragon. "I've been going off of a point basis, solid lines are two, dotted are one. From what we've gathered so far, the number one suspect is Fluttershy, with 11 points. Her predatory animals combined come in second with 9, and the fisher pony is a close third with 8."
Spike's jaw dropped. "So it was Fluttershy?"
"No, she's just top suspect, it could still be any pony. Even Rainbow Dash is a possibility, and we haven't even seen or heard of her since the incident. Wow, isn't it odd? We've only heard of or from our friends when we need them since we saw the skeleton."
"That, that is actually very interesting. Now that you mention it, where are Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie? And where did Rarity even go?" A chill ran down his spine as he imagined what had happened.
Twilight shook the thoughts out of her head. "No, we can't worry about them right now. What matters is Cherilee is dead, and there's a murderer on the loose."
Author's Note
Just curious, who do you guys think it is? Who is the murderer? What is Celestia hiding? Who wrote in Cheerilee's notebook? Where are the missing friends? You know, just curious to see what my few fans are thinking.
Spike looked up at Twilight. "So, what will we do? There's so many suspects!"
The lavender mare put a hoof to her chin as she thought for a brief moment. "Well, we should probably wait to go snooping around Fluttershy's for a while. I know for sure that Angel is on edge after the last couple days, and he probably told Fluttershy about my little excursion. It shouldn't be hard for her to put two and two together if Angel doesn't for her, so she wouldn't like it if either of us came over for quite some time."
"So, what do you suppose we do?" Spike looked at the whiteboard Twilight had set up the night before.
"Let's try to figure out who exactly Rarity's mysterious fisher pony is."
"Oh, hello Twilight, Spike. What a nice surprise!" Rarity smiled as her friends walked into her boutique. "What do you need?"
Twilight smiled back at her friend. "Hi Rarity! We just need to ask you a few questions." She used her magic to make a notepad and pen appear out of nowhere. She tapped the end of the pen on the paper. "Would that be okay with you?"
Rarity eyed her friend, thinking. "Depends on what kind of questions."
"Do you remember your encounter with the fishing pony about a week ago?"
Rarity rolled her eyes and scoffed. "How couldn't I? He was so weird. Who else would go fishing that late at night for fish like barracuda?"
"OK, great, thank you." She scribbled down a line of notes. "Now, tell me everything you remember from that night."
"Well, it all started when I went to a fabric sale." Rarity told Twilight everything she still remembered about the odd pony, and Twilight kept notes of everything she said.
Twilight parted a few branches of the bush she was hiding behind to scan the beach again. "So, you're sure he'll be here again tonight?" she asked Rarity. The mare returned to her hiding place and looked at her friend.
"I've taken a few walks by this beach lately and he's been here every night fishing." Rarity began. "I've always headed back home whenever I saw him, he just creeps me out. I just don't feel safe near him." She rambled on with more useless information that she's already told Twilight.
Twilight put a hoof to her friend's lips. "Stop. I get it."
"I'm sorry darling." her voice dropped to a whisper. "So, is he here yet?"
Twilight poked her head out of the bush again to look for him. "I'm not seeing him, it could be, OH! There he is!" She instantly sprang from their hiding place and darted through the darkness at the shadowed pony.
Spike followed after her. "Hey, wait for me!"
Rarity sat behind the bush for a minute and looked around, not seeing very far at all. "Ohh, don't leave me alone in the dark!" she cried, chasing after her two friends. She ran in fear from what could be, but probably never will.
The mysterious pony looked up at the three strange figures in front of him. "Oh, hello. I wasn't expecting anyone. Can I help you girls, and dragon?"
Twilight cleared her throat. "I just wanted to know what you're doing at the beach at this hour." She glanced in his bait bucket, the silver of it shining amazingly bright in the moonlight. It was only about half full, and though it was hard to tell exactly, it looked like little meat bits.
"I'm fishing. It's a lot easier at night because I don't need to worry about hooking a pony, or anyone scaring the fish away. Well, mostly." He readjusted his hooded cape, covering up more of his already hidden face.
"What are you hooking with this kind of bait?" She poked the stuff in the bucket for emphasis.
He took a glance at his bucket. "Well, anything that'll bite really. Mainly marlin and barracuda. Quite rare, but such a huge profit. Those griffons love them."
Twilight pondered this for a brief moment. "Interesting, so, where do you get this bait? It is meat right?"
"I buy a load of steaks every day from the griffons. They love me so I get a huge discount as long as I keep selling them fish. Why do you want to know? You interested in profit fishing? I can help you get started." He shook his hips and a belt dropped to the sand, several small sticks were tied to it. He stepped away from the dropped belt and took a stick from it in his hoof. He whipped the stick like he was casting a rod and it grew. After a few seconds there was a small splash as a bobber hit the water. "Here, a portable fishing rod, I have lots of them back home as backups. You three can each have one." he held out the rod to Twilight.
"Thanks, but no. We just want to know your name." Spike interjected quickly.
The pony turned his head towards the little drake. "Oh, alright." He reeled in the line and hit the stick's bottom on the sand, it instantly retracted into it's stick form. "My name huh? That's odd. Well, it's Silver Steel. Unless you're going to complain to someone, then it's Dark Flasher." He chuckled to himself as he reattached his belt somehow without touching it. "Anything else?"
"No, thank you. You are very cooperative." Twilight bowed her head to him. "Have a good night and a fruitful fishing trip." Twilight immediately turned around and left without another word.
Spike and Rarity were short behind her, only taking once glance behind them each to be sure he wasn't following. The little dragon looked over at the mare next to him. "Wow, he is pretty offsetting." he said in a low voice."
"I know right?" Replied Rarity. "But, what's gotten into her?" she pointed a hoof at Twilight, who was muttering under her breath.
"Hey Twilight." Spike said to his caretaker. "What's up?"
She stopped instantly and looked at her hoof, the one she dipped in the bait bucket. There was a red liquid on it that glistened in the light. "OF COURSE!" she shouted. "How couldn't I have seen it before? It's so obvious."
Rarity looked confused at Spike who offered only a shrug. "What is?"
Twilight wiped her hoof on the sand to get rid of the liquid then grabbed Rarity's face and spoke directly at her. "Can't you see? It's so obvious! He and Fluttershy were conspiring to kill Cheerilee! Both of them have fishing as a significant business, Silver Steel for money and Fluttershy to feed her animals. They each have enough string and time on their hands to easily set a trap, and gutting knives to use as weapons. Fluttershy baited Cheerilee into the woods where nopony could find the body easily, then she triggered a trap and Silver killed her and chopped her up for meat to use as bait. Then the two worked together to get whatever it is that they needed from her and-" she was cut off by a slap from Rarity, she instantly released her grip.
"Twilight! You're crazy! You are just jumping to conclusions now! Fluttershy would not do anything to hurt another pony, and we barely know this pony, he has a much a reason to kill Cheerilee as you and I! You are going crazy!" Rarity scolded. "Snap out of it!"
Twilight stared for a moment. Then she lowered her head in shame. "You're right." she looked back up at her friend. "Thank you, I must be losing it. This investigation is just, all over." She turned back around and resumed walking home. She secretly ran through other possibilities as they headed back. Twilight was confident that she would solve this mystery.
"I just don't know what to do Spike." Twilight said to her little dragon friend as she paced the floor of her library-like house.
Spike took a moment from eating a glittering gem to speak. "Mmmph mur hun?" he asked as he swallowed his last bite.
Twilight took his question like he actually spoke. "Because, every time we get some evidence, I just feel even further from the answer."
"What? I asked if you knew if we had any juice. You weirdo." Spike walked into the kitchen to check for himself. "Weirdo." he repeated to himself.
"Yeah, it really could be anypony. But, you know, that fisher last night, he kept saying any ONE rather than any PONY. But, what could that possibly mean?" She started murmuring to herself.
Spike walked back in with a glass of yellow liquid. "Probably nothing. A few ponies here and there do that, it's not common, but it happens." He paused to take a sip. "Most griffons and dragons even say it too, he probably picked it up because he has to spend so much time buying and selling with the griffons." He walked back into the kitchen, finishing his drink, to put away his cup.
"I just, I have a feeling that we need to do something soon, you know?" Twilight looked at her whiteboard, which was still not cleaned for sake of investigation. She used her magic to make a marker draw a line from 'FIshing Pony' to various evidences that she had learned from the previous night. "I just don't get it." Twilight was deep in thought when there was a loud thud on the door. "Spike, are you expecting anypony?"
"Uhh, no?" he asked as he hopped up onto a bookshelf to see what was about to happen better. He barely got up when the door swung open, crashing into the wall as it opened fully.
A shadow loomed in the doorway. A black smoke slowly drifted in and two red glowing eyes appeared in the smoke. "Twilight." said a deep and demonic voice. "What did you do-" a yellow pony slowly stepped from the shadow. The eye glow vanished as her voice returned to normal. "-to my beloved Angel?" Fluttershy's voice still carried a tone of rage.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "What are you talking about?" her voice cracked in fear.
"It was you, wasn't it? You're the one who terrified my rabbit!"
"What? Me? No. I didn't do anything." Twilight glanced at Spike for help. He offered a shrug.
Fluttershy stood in front of her friend and loomed over her, clearly intimidating the unicorn. "You already know I'm innocent. You are to not to step hoof on my property. If you so much as think about trying ANY of your tricks, I swear to Celestia that I will end your investigation." The mare didn't wait for a response. She turned around and ran of back towards, presumably, her cottage in the woods.
Twilight turned to Spike and the two stared at each other in silence for a long moment. "I think we have our killer." Twilight said at last.
"Seriously?" Spike asked. "What makes you think that?"
"She refuses again and again to aid in the investigation, offering as little information as possible. The murder scene was found on her property, and she clearly has the means to kill and completely strip a body of all meat. Plus, she just threatened to kill us if she catches us on her property! Any innocent pony would've done everything differently. Any jury would find her guilty without a doubt after all of that."
"Yeah, whatever. Do whatever you think you need to."
Twilight used her magic to make a scroll materialized along with a quill and she began to right a request for a lawyer to Luna, hoping to keep the investigation a secret from Celestia as long as possible.
Spike shook his head. "You're serious about this?
"Hey, I don't want any other pony to be murdered. The public's safety comes before my friend's comfort."
"What if the court's ruling is innocent?"
Twilight chuckled. "Silly Spike, there's no way in tartarus that a jury would even think about that ruling. Besides, I know a few 'mental hacks', so to say, that will ensure our victory. Trust me."
"When they don't put her in jail, don't say I didn't tell you so." Spike said. He hopped down from his shelf and walked to his bed for a very early sleep.
Author's Note
I honestly was just trying to drag out this chapter after seeing how short it is. So yeah, I know that it really feels dragged out.
"So, what did she say?" Spike asked Twilight as she plopped down on the couch.
"No." She responded. She put a hoof to her forehead.
Spike thought for a moment. "What? What do you mean 'no'? She realizes how serious this is right?"
"Yes, but we don't have any leads." Twilight used her magic to levitate a book off her shelf and towards her face. She turned to a random page and set it down to cover herself. "I can't believe that some pony committed murder and got away with it. If you need me, I'll be here for the rest of my life."
The little drake looked at his friend, disappointed. He knew how horrible she must have felt. Then, he felt a familiar feeling. "Twilight."
She ripped the book from her face and threw it to the ground, she glared and Spike. "What?" she growled.
Spike took a clawed fist and hit his chest a couple times before burping flames into the air, a scroll appeared in the green.
"What does she want?" Twilight said. She grabbed the scroll in her magic then threw it into the trash can. She rolled over, burying her face in the cushion and shut her eyes. "I don't care."
Spike ran over to the trash and pulled out the scroll. He rolled it open and read it to himself. The handwriting was, off, to say the least.
Dear Twilight
I heard what my sister said to you, that you can't search for the criminal. I know that you want to find them and bring them justice. I officially give you my permission as Princess of the Night to search for the murderer. Celestia knows not what she says. With my knowledge of the law, it is obvious that murder is a first class offense and that we should stop and nothing to capture the perpentrator. If you still desire to find them, go ahead. I wish you good will.
-Princess Luna
Spike stared at the sheet. "Twilight!" he shouted.
"Leave me alone!" she hissed.
"No, Twilight, read this!" He pointed at the third sentence in the note.
Twilight's eyes opened wide. "No way." she mumbled. She snatched it from her assistant and read it herself. "This is amazing Spike. I can't believe this!"
"Are you going to go?"
"Of course! And I think I know where to begin."
Author's Note
I get that this story is really dragging on before the 'good stuff' happens, but don't worry, the next chapter WILL be the beginning of the investigation.
Twilight snuck into her friend's small cottage just outside of town. She slipped into the kitchen. It was simple really, all of Fluttershy's animals were used to the lavender alicorn and took no notice of her abnormal presence. The pony slammed her hooves on the counter next to her friend and shouted "FLUTTERSHY!"
The pegasus dropped a bowl of soup on the ground. "Oh my Celestia! Don't do that to me Twilight! You're lucky I'm using the bad bowl this time, otherwise you'd have to clean up the mess!"
"Why is the bad bowl, never mind. I'm here on official business. I need your full cooperation."
"Oh, all right. What do you need?"
Twilight stared at her friend as she went to the closet and took out a mop. "You are in possession of knives correct?"
Fluttershy swabbed the stick back and forth over the spill. "A filleting knife, a trimming knife, a pair of shears to clip claws off my critters, a steak knife in case the bears are feeling really hungry."
"So, would these blades have blood on them?"
Fluttershy put away the mop and set the bowl on the counter. She looked at her unwelcome guest. "I clean them daily."
Twilight stared Fluttershy in the eyes. "Have any of them taken any lives?"
"Pfft, of course silly. I've killed plenty of fish. The predators love them!"
"What about ponies?"
Fluttershy went cold. "What?"
"Are you a murderer Fluttershy?" Twilight stated it plainly.
Fluttershy stared daggers at her friend. "You best leave now Twilight. You do not bring those accusations on me."
"You can't hide from the truth my friend." Twilight shoved her face into her friend's. "It was you, wasn't it?" A bear grabbed Twilight from her read legs and pulled her away. "I will find the truth Fluttershy! YOU CANNOT HIDE FOREVER!" And with that, the pony was gone.
"Makes you think huh Fluttershy?" Spike asked.
Fluttershy jumped back. "When did you get here?"
"Hopped off her back just as we came in." Spike jumped onto the counter and stared Fluttershy down. "Be careful. There's a murderer, and Twilight thinks you or one of your animals did it."
"But that's impossible! The only creature who left my land was the Kimmy."
"Kimmy?"
"The Chimera. I let her out to hunt every once in a while. The only thing she's ever killed were fish and some small mice. She's extremely scared of other ponies!"
Spike thought for a second. "Fluttershy, I suggest you keep a closer eye on Kimmy, she might get into some deep trouble that we can't help you out of." He hopped off the counter and ran after Twilight. "Be careful!" Spike shouted back.
Fluttershy waited until the drake was long gone. "Phew, that was a close one."