Equestria Noire

Chapters

Like A Moth to A Flame
Back on Duty, Detective
Case: No Strings Attached
Distorted Visions
Way Back "Home"
Case: Birds of a Feather
Mad About the Mare
Case: Fiery Inhibitions
Final Case: Brothers In Fraud
Ending: Heartaches By the Number
Ending: Troubles By the Score

Like A Moth to A Flame

‘So this is how it ends, huh? I fight through Japan during that goddamn war. I go from a rookie cop to a great detective. I stop serial killers like the Black Dahlia. I prevent robberies, rape, murder, everything. I come back to my wife and kid, get left when they find out I had a thing with the German singer, Elsa, and then she gets kidnapped. Then, I stop the guy killing my old unit, save my former-best friend, Jack Kelso and Elsa, just to get swept away by some flood. It’s ironic really. All of this, only to be taken out by some shit water from LA’s finest. Maybe God wanted me to die this way instead of in the war or the times I got shot on duty. Maybe this, is how Cole Phelps is supposed to die.’

Cole Phelps thought deeply and thoroughly on his life and it’s experiences before accepting his fate. He had deserved this. Killing and burning a cave full of injured civilians, children included, was not forgivable even in the eyes of God. The water was bouncing all over the rusty pipe-covered walls. They were sloshing around, making the detective’s finest suit dirtier than it had been when it was stained with blood.

He didn’t even feel the need to vomit. No, that feeling was long gone. Seeing the charred barely-living children reach out to him from back in Japan, begging for help, scarred him for life. Every time he had put down another public menace, the memory of it flooded his mind, much like the one carrying him was. It reminded him that he had sins to do penance for. Sins that he needed absolved with the blood of the evil.

This was why he became interested in being a detective in the first place. To put bad guys behind bars and keeping kids off the streets. Little did he know, it was much harder than it seemed. Maybe that’s why he did not even try to resist the current, why he didn’t reach his hand out to grab Kelso’s which would save him. That’s why he wanted to die.

He could feel himself in a large room now. It was a giant swirling vortex in which all of the water seemed to be drowning into. He had always heard the rumors that that was how the sewer system emptied itself. He never questioned it though, because no one had ever explained where the water ended up. Some thought it just evaporated, others thought it was flowed back into the ocean. Hell, even the crazies thought something; they believed that it led to another world.

Maybe that was where he was going, another world, an afterlife. Phelps couldn’t help but laugh at the thought, getting sucked into a suction cup hole and get dropped into another world. His laugh was cut short though, as water quickly filled his lungs from his mouth being wide open. He couldn’t breathe, gurgling on the disgusting sewage waste in his trachea.

He felt a large force pull him in before he lost consciousness.

Rainbow Dash was reading yet another ‘Daring Do’ book inside of Twilight’s library. It was probably the seventh one in the series. “This is so rad, Twilight! Do you know when the next one’s coming out?” An enthusiastic Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Relax, Rainbow. The next one is not coming out until next month.” Twilight was a bit annoyed as Rainbow Dash had been speaking aloud for the whole time. The unicorn herself couldn’t enjoy the ‘Manelock Holmes’ book she was reading.

Twilight Sparkle loved to read mystery novels. They were her favorite kind of fiction. She really liked no other, and sometimes even pretended to be an inspector. She cherished the moment on the train with the MMM cake. That was probably the one and only time she would be able to use her deductive skills and reasoning to solve a real mystery.

If she ever had the chance, she would pursue a career in solving crimes. Too bad that not many had occurred in all of Equestria. She let out a loud, content sigh when she read the final page of the newest mystery book Canterlot had to offer. “So what now?” She asked. For once in her life, Twilight didn’t have any planned schedules for that day and that day only. Princess Celestia had raised the sun earlier, giving everypony an extra day.

“I dunno. Wanna go and see what Applejack’s doing?” A bored Rainbow Dash replied. She too had finished her favorite book.

“Sure. Spike! Keep an eye on the library, okay?” Twilight said while moving towards the door.

“You got it, boss!” Spike answered from upstairs. He was too busy reading as well. Albeit, the book was very different from the ones that the two mares had been reading. Spike was reading ‘How to Confess Your Love and Get the Pony of Your Dreams for Dummies’. He thought to himself ‘Try saying that ten times fast.’

The two friends made their way towards Sweet Apple Acres. Some rough housing could be heard off in the distance. “Oh Applejack..” Twilight said while nodding her head at her farm pony friend’s antics.

“Get off of mah apples, ya varmints!” Applejack was bucking all the apples she could while an armada of worms was trying to eat her hard work.

“Applejack, chillax! These fun guys are just a little hungry, is all!” Pinkie Pie said while carrying ten worms on each hoof. She gave a gleeful smile at the farm pony who was not as happy as she was.

"Well you can take yer friends and get movin" She said annoyed. Pinkie nodded and carried every worm on her back. She trotted towards Ponyville once again, leaving her friends to stare at her in pure confusion.

“That pony is so random.” Rainbow whispered.

“It is Pinkie.” Twilight added. They looked back at the distraught farmer who was fussing over another thing now.

“Some darned pony or some other critter came here and took mah farmin’ equipment! Can one of ya kindly go look for it?”

Twilight let out a happy squeak. “Yay!..I mean yes, I’ll do it.” She then put on an inspector hat from nowhere and gave a less impressive hat to Rainbow Dash. “Let’s go, my dear Watson.” She said in a sophisticated manner.

“What’s a ‘Watson’?”

(Backdrop for story. Sets the mood for the rest of the chapter.)

Cole Phelps had experienced many things. But never, had he ever such an enormous, painful headache before in his life. He rubbed his head excitedly, trying to ease the pain, which was to no avail. He had not opened his eyes since he was unconscious. He could feel a cool breeze in the air though. He opened his eyes and the beams of the bright sun made him blind for a few seconds. “Ah hell!” He said while raising his arm to block the incoming sunlight.

He got up off of his back and dusted off his coat and pants. He then knelt down to pick up his silver, white lined, fedora. He moved it around a little, readjusting it so that it fit perfectly on his head. After it touched the imaginary comfort line he designed on his head, he exhaled pleasingly. Now he had to see where he was.

“Well would you look at that. Those crazy junkies were right. I’m dead!” He said while laughing. The world around him seemed to colorful and peaceful for it to be Earth. Earth had always been a large cesspool full of bad people. The bad people outnumbered the good. This place didn’t have an inch of war on it. Not even crime. He smiled disbelievingly and walked down the cobblestone road that he stood in the middle of.

Little calling birds chirped through the air, calling for a mate. “Hell ,this place looks like some coloring book for a kid.” He muttered to himself. He checked his person while still moving. Caressing and flattening out any folds or wrinkles in his expensive suit, he felt his possessions still on him. He took notice in his mind of the lack of smell from being drowned in sewer water. His clothes were dry for the most part, also. The only soak in it was that of his own now-gone sweat.

He was walking for what seemed like minutes. The road looked like it stretched for eternity. ‘Maybe this is my punishment, walking forever down a never-ending road.’ He mused. Something stood out in his twenty-twenty vision. His eyes were like that of an eagle. After all, he needed good eyes to be a good soldier. It looked to be some kind of sign or direction post.

The fit and decorated veteran rushed ahead to get a closer look at the sign. He checked his items once more after looking at the sign. It said a town named ‘Ponyville’ was to the left and the ‘Everfree Forest’ was to the right. “Ponyville? Everfree Forest? Who names these places, pre-school teachers?” He laughed whole-heartedly.

On his person, was his nickel-plated Colt. It still had a full magazine and a few spares. He cleaned it with his cloth for a minute. In the war, a soldier had to maintain his weapon or else it would jam up on him. After finishing and pocketing the cleansing handkerchief, he opened up his notebook. It still had plenty of pages. He flipped through all of the previous ones and looked at his drawings of certain suspects of witnesses. One page seemed to magically flip itself.

Hugo Moller. That son of a bitch. He remembered him from that case not too long ago. It was before he reached the Arson desk. He sighed and closed the book. He put the pencil inside to mark the newest page and continued walking once more.

‘This place. It’s not as grimy as the cesspool of a world I lived in. Maybe I am in heaven..or some sick part of hell that wants me to feel secure before doing something. All I know is that the world was dying and LA was the place that had a welcome sign for the worst and seediest characters around. City of Angels? Ha! More like City of Demons. Maybe anywhere but there is better for me.’

He could see the top of buildings in the far off distance. Wherever he was going, it was towards civilization. To him, the roofs looked like they were made of straw, or thatch, like back in the Medieval Times. Maybe he was just in a third world country or something. He whipped out his notebook and began to sketch the top of the buildings he could make out. With every ten steps, more of the town named ‘Ponyville’ was revealed.

After a long, relaxing walk, he got to the center of the town. Horses seemed to be walking freely in this town. They were also really colorful, just like the world, and had really different manes. ‘Those are some weird looking hairs..wait what are they called? Manes!’ He thought. The horses all seemed to be staring at him in shock. He took notice of tattoos that laid bare on the horses’ read ends. He scribbled down every pattern that he could notice.

‘So that one’s carrots. That one looks like one of those old guitars in the Middle Ages. Those over there don’t even have any..interesting. Must inquire with stable owners on use of dye and tattoo artists.’ He wrote in a section of a page. He heard someone talking and spoke out. “Man, you guys have a lot of horses if you don’t mind me saying. Shouldn’t you have a leash or something?” He said without looking.

“Hey, we’re ponies. Not horses!” He looked up and saw a flying rainbow-maned pony with wings flying. It, she, he, whatever, was talking to him. Once he noticed the wings, and the fact that he spoke, his mouth dropped right to the floor and the notebook and pencil fell out of his hands.

“Twilight, where are we going?!” Rainbow Dash said in a whiny tone.

“We’ve only been walking for five minutes! We need to go to the center of town, I have a list of possible suspects.” Twilight retorted in an aggravated manner.

Rainbow Dash seemed to perk up at this. “Suspects, really?! Who?!” She said while flying around Twilight.

“Stop it, you’re making me dizzy. Anyway, I can’t tell you yet. It’s a surprise.”

“Man, you guys have a lot of horses if you don’t mind me saying. Shouldn’t you have a leash or something?” A mature, adult voice said behind them. Twilight assumed he was another creature, a gryphon perhaps. Maybe even another dragon that was civilized like Spike. She spun around along with Rainbow Dash who answered the voice without a body.

“Hey, we’re ponies. Not horses!” Everything grew silent. Twilight could hear the dropping sound of a book and pencil. That did not move her attention however, as the tall being before her seemed to captivate all senses. The thing before her looked like an ape or monkey yet it was hairless. It stood on it’s hind legs, and was wearing clothes. “Clothes!? And it can speak?!” These thoughts echoed throughout her mind.

Everypony stood still in the entire town, staring disbelievingly at the foreign creature before them. “What..what are you?” Twilight finally found the courage to ask. This creature, was not too different from them. It was able to display a vast range of emotions. The look on it’s face told Twilight that it was not only shocked, but baffled. It opened it’s mouth and began to mouth words.

“I-I’m..what are you?!” He said raising his voice. He then proceeded to point an accusing finger at the two friends.

“Why..we’re ponies.”

‘Ponies? The small talking horses are way too cartoony for me. NO thanks, I’ll stick to steam-boat Willy and Betty Boop.’ Cole silenty thought. The flying ‘pony’ then flew over to him and picked up his hat. “Neat lookin’ hat!” She said. Well he assumed she was female due to the voice and extra curves compared to the male ponies he had seen.

“Rainbow Dash! Sorry about that..Mr..” Rainbow Dash returned his fedora and Twilight lingered, waiting for a name.

Cole readjusted his fedora, stopping when it was in place, and then hesitantly answered. “…Phelps..Cole Phelps.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Phelps. May I ask if you are friendly, which you seem to be.” Phelps nodded his head slowly, followed by Twilight making a weird happy noise. “Excellent. Now may I ask what you are?” He knelt down and picked up his notebook and pencil.

“I’m a man. More precisely a human.” She took note of this in her mind, then asked another question.

“Why are you here?”

He was confused as how to answer. He wasn’t sure himself after all. He just scratched his chin, trying to think of a logical explanation. “I just ended up here, I guess. I don’t really know exactly how, but I got here. That’s for sure.” He said calmly.

“Sorry to hear that..it must be so sad to leave your home like that..” Twilight said while she hung her head down.

Cole waved his hands. “No its alright. It’s not too bad.” Twilight perked up, then realizing that all of the citizens around them were still scared.

“Everypony, it’s okay! This man, Cole Phelps, means no harm. Please just continue on with your regular day, I’ll hold a meeting later to formally introduce our new visitor here.” The ponies seemed to hold Twilight in high esteem, as they followed her advice and went about. They still gave Phelps a long cautious stare though.

Twilight was laughing nervously, causing the still lingering ponies to slowly depart. “So what are you? I noticed that besides the regular ‘ponies’, there are ones with horns and others with wings. Are you guys unicorns and pegasuses?” He questioned.

“Yes, we are. Oh and it’s pegasi.” Twilight corrected. Her grammatical attentiveness made him chuckle. She reminded him of his wife, who always corrected him when doing something wrong.

“You know you sound just like my w-“ He stopped, gazing at the two ponies before him. Up until now, he had not noticed that they were wearing clothes. More specifically, inspector clothes. Like that of Sherlock Holmes and his dear friend, Mr. Watson. “What’s with the get-up?” Twilight blushed, embarrassed by what she was going to say, but said it anyway.

“We’re investigating a mystery.” Twilight finally said.

“A mystery?” Phelps asked. Twilight shook her head in confirmation.

“I think I can help you with that.”

Back on Duty, Detective

‘All of my partners told me things. They told me about my characteristics, thoughts, knowledge. Some insulted me, some complimented me. Patrol, Traffic, Homicide, Vice, Arson. It’s all the same. These were just different jobs with different people. When it came down to it, no matter if they liked me or not, my partners wouldn’t hesitate to cover my back in any situation. My first partner from when I was just a uniform, Ralph Dunn, told me that I knew odd things. He said that in my mind, there was the Phelps’ Encyclopedia of Thin Air. When he asked me about the war, I told him “Friends who want to stay friends don’t discuss religion or politics. In my case, you can add the war to that.” I probably shouldn’t have been so blunt but he didn’t know the horrors of that living nightmare. Stefan Bekowski, my first partner as a detective told me that I was “educated, hardworking, and straight-as-an-arrow. You’d never make it in Central.” He was right. Politics seems to slither it’s way into everything.. That was the reason why the department was so corrupt. As long as there was a politician involved, everything went to hell. That’s why I hate politics.’

“That’s nice of you to offer, Cole. But I’m not sure how you can help exactly…” Twilight said in the gentlest voice she could muster. What she didn’t know, was that Cole Phelps was one of the best detectives in all of Los Angeles. Perhaps the entire United States, even.

“Trust me; I have solved plenty of cases and street crimes in my time. I’m a professional detective for the LAPD.” Phelps said reassuringly. He pulled out his badge, which shined brightly in the radiant sun. The clean surface gleamed proudly. The badge displayed the symbol of the Los Angeles Police Department. Also, Cole Phelps’ badge number was strewn across the bottom. “Phelps. Twelve-Forty Seven.” He said, reading off his identification number.

“That’s awesome! Hey, what’s an ‘LAPD’ anyway?” Rainbow Dash said while admiring the golden badge.

“It’s the Los Angeles Police Department. I’ve been working for..what? Almost three of four years now?” He said while trying to remember. “Patrol, Traffic, Homicide, Vice, Arson. I’ve worked them all and I can easily say that I worked hard. What prides me most is that I was able to keep the streets clean.”

“Those are a lot of commendations, Detective. So it seems that I was quick to judge. Would you care to help us then?” Twilight said while giving a cute, convincing smile to the human.

“With a face like that, how can I turn down a lady?” Phelps mused.

Besides the sounds of Twilight Sparkle asking questions about Cole Phelps nonstop, the pattering of his black Italian loafers could be heard while he was walking on the cobblestone road. He could smell the air and enjoy it for once. Back in LA, the smells of gasoline, smoke, gun residue, and drugs polluted the air. In here though, it smelled of candy and other innocent smells. These were smells that Cole would get used to.

He took notice of the rustic looking village around him. It was quiet, apart from the idle chats from it’s citizens nearby. ‘Maybe there’s no murder here?’ Phelps thought to himself. He thought that the day of him forgetting the smell of blood and death would never come. Maybe this was something that could prove otherwise. He had stopped listening to the inquisitive unicorn’s inquiries when she asked him about technology. He wasn’t sure if they had anything developed as much as Earth had. The only signs of electricity he could find were the street lamps that occupied the corners.

Even those looked like something from the time of the renowned writer and poet, Edgar Allen Poe. Then, he remembered something; something crucial to the current investigation. “Who is the suspect, and what’s the crime?” He said nonchalantly.

“It’s not really a crime, we just want to know who borrowed Applejack’s farming tools. That’s all.” Twilight replied calmly.

‘Applejack? These names are going to take a while to get used to. I’ll just keep this to myself. Maybe I can find another human being here.’ He then rubbed his chin at the thought. The presence of another human being in this world was highly improbable. He wondered if there had ever been any humans in this world called ‘Equestria’.

“Here we are, the tracks end here.” Twilight said while tapping Cole.

“Interesting..the mud trail ends here, but the tools aren’t around. You two stay here while I have a look around.” Cole said as he walked away. By the time that the two distraught ponies could open their mouths to speak, the detective was out of hearing range. Cole was walking around a home now. He could see the small, yet distinct markings of a tool being scraped against a wall.

He followed it until it ended abruptly. He moved his hands against the end, feeling discrepancies between this part of the wall and the rest. ‘Maybe if I push here..’ *Click* The sound of the clicking was replaced by a fake wall sliding open, revealing a long and dark hallway that stretched for a few feet. Phelps pulled out his flashlight and proceeded into the dark abyss.

The dripping sounds of water echoed across the chasm. Something was leaking in there. He followed the sound to it’s source, which led to a large, open room. The room, was laden with makeshift furniture thrown about in a disorderly fashion. It seemed as though some creature rampaged through the room, searching for something. In the corner, an irregular color caught his eye. He walked up to it, and knelt down to examine it.

“Hmm…what’s a pink lollipop doing here?” He said while twisting and turning it in different directions. It looked to be new and barely licked. Only small strands of saliva could be felt as he traced his hand along the edges. “What’s this?” There was a trowel not too far away from where the confection was. He took out his notebook and wrote down his findings. ‘Barely eaten candy, and discarded trowel.’

He put the items down after sketching them. He closed his notebook and got back up. He made his way outside and turned off the flashlight. A voice called up from behind him “Where’d ya go?” Rainbow Dash asked. Right behind her, was Twilight Sparkle, who was thinking the same thing. He brushed off his pants from the dirt that got on it from inside the hidden room and spoke up.

“I found some things that might help us later on.” He then took his hat off and scratched his head. The two ponies looked at the hair on his head and became confused.

“Wait, so is that all the hair you have?” Rainbow asked curiously.

Phelps thought about it for a moment, unsure to tell them about the other hairs. He shrugged his shoulders and thought ‘Why not?’

“No, this just covers my head. I can grow a mustache or beard when I don’t shave. There’s also some…other locations..” He informed, although hesitantly.

“A moustache and beard? I think Spike would be pretty excited to meet you.” Twilight stated matter-of-factly.

‘Spike? Great, another pony.’ He thought but said “That sounds good.”

They just kicked around at the dirt before Phelps spoke up again. “So where to next?”

Twilight then realized they had to organize a meeting. “We have to introduce you! Oh, I’m so silly for forgetting. How could I have forgotten something so important?!” Twilight ran up to Cole and then nudged him towards a large building.

“We have to hold it at City Hall. Rainbow, go get the others.” She said while pointing a hoof in all different directions.

“You got it, boss!” Rainbow said as she whizzed away.

Cole still needed to get used to that. “So you’re still going to wear the get-up during this meeting?”

Twilight shook her head for also forgetting to take it off, which she did by using magic. “There, all gone.”

The detective froze in amazement, never witnessing anything of the sort before. “How did you do that?”

“Why, it’s just magic. Can’t you do it?” She asked casually.

“No. It’s just a myth where I’m from. A fantasy that can never be achieved. WE just use technology back on Earth.”

“That’s weird. Everything relies on magic, flight, and willpower here. So how do you get anything done?”

“With our hands. We use them for just about everything.” He said while moving his fingers to present his point.

“That’s really special. Can you come back to my place later so I can write this all down?”

Phelps nodded, which made Twilight jump in joy. “Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!” She repeated excitingly while still jumping. This put Cole in a rather awkward situation. He coughed to snap her out of her trance.

“Ahem.”

“Oh sorry.” Twilight blushed and gave him a nervous smile. They walked for a few more minutes before reaching the main building of Ponyville. It was large, but the doors seemed a little on the small side. Since the land was occupied for ponies, everything was made to their size. The five-almost six-foot human had to bend his knees a little to get inside the door.

“So where’s the party at?” Phelps asked.

Suddenly, a large cheering sound could be heard right behind him. It was booming and high on volume. Behind him, there was literally a party. A one-pony party, more specifically. A pink pony with a curly, dark pink mane was dancing around with a cart that seemed to be making noise and shooting confetti.

“Ohwhatareyou? Doyoulikeparties? Ilikeparties. Let’sbefriends,okay?” She said without pausing to breathe.

Phelps, trying to comprehend it, was just nodding his head along. The pink pony seemed to make a springing noise whenever jumped up and down. He wasn’t sure what to make of this.

“Sorry about that, this is Pinkie Pie and she’s just being herself.” Twilight rushed in front the party girl and held her down.

“Who is he, Twilight? What is he?” Pinkie asked while still bouncing around.

“I’ll explain at the meeting that’s going to take place in a few minutes. Just calm down until then.”

“Okie dokie lokie!”

Pinkie vanished out of thin air, causing Phelps to furrow his brows in search of the previously-present mare.

“Where’d she go?” He said while searching the borders of the large hall.

“Ignore her; I’ve learned not to question her. It’s done wonders and kept me from going insane trying to figure it all out.” Twilight replied blankly.

Phelps decided not to question the matter any further…yet, anyhow. He went over to a chair and sat down, waiting for the time to pass already. He pulled out his wallet from his light grey linen suit pants and opened it. He still had about sixty dollars and some change lying about. Also, his driver’s license along with various business cards was placed randomly. He checked to see if he still had his own business cards which he gave to people to contact him.

Cole checked the back compartment of his wallet, checking to see if his most possession was still in his wallet. He pulled on the small corner of an object. Slowly, the picture came out of the container. The picture of his wife and two daughters was still clean, with a few wrinkles here and there. They seemed so happy back then, before he started the affair. He wasn’t sure what caused him to do that, to cheat on his loving wife.

Looking back, the only reason that could be made was that with the kids at home, Cole and his wife Marie didn’t have the chance to love. To embrace in the unity of marriage. With caring for the children, and Cole’s long work hours, when would they get a chance to love? Was this why he had an affair? Or maybe it was something subconscious or just pure lust?

“Hey, what is that you have there?” Twilight broke his long and deep concentration by levitating the wallet out of his hand. She looked at the different items inside. “What are these green bills and coins? Are they your monetary system? Also what’s with the pieces of paper with names and numbers on them? I can see this is an identification card of some sort because it has your face on it.”

She searched all throughout the wallet, checking every single nook and cranny. Finally, she reached the picture. She stopped her inquisitive attitude and replaced it with a more somber and gentle one.

“Is this your family?” She softly asked.

“Yeah..” Phelps blankly replied.

“You miss them, don’t you?”

“You got it.”

“Why can’t you go back?”

“……Beats me.”

Phelps seemed to slouch in the chair, the thought of never seeing his family again was hitting him hard. It was hard enough that a separation was coming. He could handle seeing the kids and his wife every once in a while, but never seeing them again was brutal. He had no one to keep him motivated, no one to fight for.

Sure, taking the criminals away to save the innocent people of LA was a good cause. But he wasn’t in LA anymore. He probably wasn’t even on Earth anymore. He was in a land full of talking ponies and mythical creatures, probably having no crime whatsoever.

“They’re here, Cole. Let’s not keep them waiting.” Twilight nodded her head towards a door to the right, indicating a direction for the detective to go.

Beyond the large door, Phelps could make out some conversations and whispers ongoing in the next room. Presumably, all about him. After this entire time, Cole had forgotten that he had his fedora gripped tightly in his hand. He put it back on, readjusting it, yet again.

“Is that necessary, Cole?” Twilight asked a bit annoyed.

“It is if I want to keep a clear head.”

Twilight simply accepted his remark and opened the door. Flashes of light and snapping noises meant only one thing to Cole Phelps; the paparazzi were in town. If there was one thing that Cole Phelps and perhaps all police officers hated, it was a reporter. Most of these ruthless newshounds had no regard for the meaning of life.

Many news reporters and journalist treated murder like a headliner. They took photos of indecency and did not even think for a moment on whether or not to publish the stories. They just wanted money and fame.

Cole covered his eyes with his hands while walking blindly forward. He had no idea where he was going until a bump abruptly halted his advance. He looked down and saw that he was in front of a podium. On it, laid a microphone that he was to use to speak and address the crowd.

Twilight moved him aside to speak first.

“Everypony, this is Detective Cole Phelps. He is a new creature that has come here and he isn’t sure how. He’s a nice guy, despite his size and looks so please, treat him like you would everyone else.” Twilight stepped away, gesturing to Cole that it was his turn.

“……Like she said, I’m Detective Cole Phelps. I…don’t know how I got here, but I know that I want to get back home. I’m a human, or a man and I can speak as you see here. All I do know is that I can investigate any crimes or mysteries any of you may have. If you need me, please call me at….disregard that last part. Find me at..wherever. Also before I go, just know not to commit any crimes. I’ll get you sooner that you think.”

With that, Cole stepped down. He thought that he did terrible. He almost forgot that they didn’t have telephones here, or television for that matter. Cars and planes, he would have to investigate if they were created yet. Twilight smiled at him. She was accompanied by five other ponies.

They each stepped forward to introduce themselves, all except Rainbow Dash and Twilight, who already introduced themselves earlier.

“Hey there, mah name is Applejack, pleasure to meet yer acquaintance.” The orange pony with a hat said as she extended her hoof, which was met by Phelps’ hand.

“Hi there, you met me already, but I just wanna say that my name is Pinkie Pie and I am going to throw you a huge welcome party later, okay?” Pinkie suddenly appeared behind Phelps and rubbed his face. “Wow, your face is like really soft. It feels like cotton candy!” She then appeared back with the others.

‘How the hell?’ Phelps had to keep an eye on her.

“Hi..my name is…Flutter-”

“I can’t hear you, miss.” Phelps knelt down to meet her, which caused her to back away in fear.

“Sorry about that, Fluttershy is a just what her name is, shy. Anyway, I am charmed to meet such a fashionable fellow. My name is Rarity, and might I add that the clothes and hat absolutely fit you.”

“Thanks..it ran me about a hundred bucks.” Phelps took a notice of Applejack and Rarity’s voice. The former sounded like a Southerner, and the latter sounded like one of those high and mighty drama-queen actresses.

“Ya had to buck a hundred trees just ta get that there hoity-toity suit? Musta been hard doin’ that.” Applejack stated in disbelief. What she didn’t know was that a buck was another term for dollars back in the United States.

“Right……where will you be staying Mr. Phelps? I hope that you do have some sort of place to stay.” Fluttershy whispered from behind Applejack.

“I honestly don’t know…..is there a hotel around that I can stay at?” Cole had not thought about the matter of a house or apartment. He was used to staying at Elsa’s house ever since he was kicked out of his own home by his wife.

“Well, he could stay with me. There’s plenty of room back at the library.” Twilight suggested.

Rarity gasped in horror. “Absolutely not, Twilight. Do you not see the genius and elegance of this man’s fine clothing. I shan’t even mention the probable cost of it! He shall stay with me. Perhaps he can tell me of the fashions back where he is from.”

The whole group nodded in agreement and went to the stand to speak again. After answering some tedious and repetitive questions, listening to speeches from the mayor, and waving goodbye, the meeting was concluded. Now, most ponies would know who he was and that he meant no harm. Surprisingly, not much time had passed as it was late morning now. The sun still up high and the sky was still that baby blue, meaning that it was either ten or eleven o’ clock.

Twilight pleaded with Phelps and the others to go back to the library, to which they reluctantly agreed. The walk there was not quiet, but very interesting. The girls were arguing over what kind of crimes that the detective solved. The man in question was remaining silent for the time being.

Twilight’s Home/Library
11:45 AM

They opened the door and went inside of Twilight’s home. Twilight levitated some chairs over for them all to sit on.

“So what kind of crimes did you solve detective? You told me your departments but most of them aren’t familiar to me.” Twilight inquired while having a quill and parchment at the ready.

“I did some patrolling here and there, mostly stopping some mugging and helping old ladies across the street. It wasn’t too glamorous. Then I got to the Traffic desk. I handled speeding crimes and things of that sort.”

“Speeding’s a crime? What the hay is going on here?!” A confused Rainbow Dash interrupted.

“Let him continue, Rainbow. Everypony, let him finish before sharing your thoughts.” Twilight put bluntly. She wasn’t going to miss this chance for new information on mysteries and crimes.

“It got interesting for sure, which got me promoted to Homicide.”

“What’s ‘homicide’?”Fluttershy asked.

“You know, murder. Killing another person.”

All of the girls gasped, followed by Rarity and Fluttershy fainting. No such violence existed in Equestria. Sure animals ate each other for survival but this was a whole other thing. Deliberately taking someone else’s life was appalling to them.

“….I’m guessing, you don’t have that here. I’ll just skip the more gruesome details. After that, I got promoted to Vice, which handled drug trafficking..I guess you don’t have that either, huh?”

The ponies responded by shaking their heads no.

“Alright..well it’s just things that aren’t supposed to be abused and only used for the right reasons. Criminals use them for their own gain and for pleasure. Well after an…..occurence..I got transferred to Arson.” Phelps wasn’t keen on talking about the affair, the media, and the backlash that happened when light was shed on it. He just continued on. “Arson had me dealing with fires, which is something that is definitely here..right?”

They nodded in confirmation. “Well, that just about sums up my career in law enforcement.”

Twilight, who was almost shredding through the ink-engrossed parchment, stopped and looked up at him. “How many cases did you solve, Cole?”

“I think twenty five cases and around forty or so street crimes. The number doesn’t matter to me, just the lives that I saved.”

The girls looked at him and felt the need to congratulate him. They haven’t met a person, or pony, that did so many amazing feats and managed to stay on top of it all. Twilight still had one remaining question. “What did you do before all of this?”

The once grinning look on Cole’s face completely vanished. It was masked by a look of grimace and self-loathing. There was no way that he could speak about the horrors of Japan’s jungles; the horrors of Okinawa. He kept his mouth shut on this question.

“Nothing. I did nothing. So are we finished here?”

Disappointed, and feeling something was amiss, Twilight decided to press the matter further later. For now, she had to write a letter to the Princess. So she let the girls and the human out of her home and went to her bedroom. Spike was oversleeping, which was good because the things that Cole had spoken of were not meant for the ears of children.

“Well, wanna go to Sugar Cube Corner?” Pinkie asked.

“Sure.” Rainbow answered for the others.

Sugar Cube Corner
1:26 PM

“What in God’s name?” Phelps was baffled at the sight of the place called ‘Sugar Cube Corner’. He had seen many otherworldly and childish sights, but this was just ridiculous to him.

‘An actual building made out of gum drops, gingerbread, candy canes, and mints. Well slap me on the ass and call me a donkey, I think I’m in Candy Land.’

“Well, welcome to my place. How do you like it Cole-y Woley?” Pinkie had made up a nickname for Cole Phelps. As with the others, she made their names less formal and more informal. Phelps tried to argue with her about it but she would not change her mind. He decided to leave her at it.

Pinkie pulled out some candy and handed them all a piece. She gave a lollipop to Cole after licking it once. “Here you go, it’s my favorite kind. I only like to lick it once though.”

A spark clicked in the detective’s mind as he took the lollipop from the mare. It was licked barely and was the same as the one from before. ‘The same lollipop…I’ve got the perpetrator right in front of me. Just need a little more evidence.’

“Hey, could you just hold this for me? I want to check around for something.”

“Okie dokie lokie!” She said while bouncing with a spring in each one.

Phelps looked behind him to see if any of them were following him. ‘Good, now to see if there are any tools around.’ He looked around the building, only seeing more ridiculous sweets used as part of the structure. He spotted a freshly dug hole in the ground nearby. He went over and examined it. He pulled out his notebook and wrote down some things of it.

‘Freshly dug hole. Made from using tools. Possibly for storing something.’ He closed his notebook and inspected the hole further, using his hand to move the dirt around. He managed to feel the wooden hilt of something dug deeply in it. He strongly tugged at it. The hole widened and more of the hilt was revealed, albeit covered in dirt.

It wasn’t long before the hilt was not coming out anymore and in it’s place was the end of a shovel. This shovel was used to dig the hole, and then buried. Also, a small strand of cake frosting was on the end of it. He wrote down the shovel into the notebook. “I think this case is closed.” He said aloud.

He went back around to the front of the store where the girls were waiting. “What were ya doin’, Cole?” Applejack said while chewing gum.

“I think I’ve found your tools, and the pony who took them.” Phelps said while flipping through the pages of his notebook.

Pinkie started choking on her taffy but swallowed it after hitting her throat.

“Ya did!? That’s mighty resourceful of ya! Who was it?” Applejack spat out her gum and tipped her hat in respect to the studious detective.

“Why don’t you tell us, Miss Pinkie?” He said while turning to her.

“What are you talking about? I have nothing to do with that.” Pinkie said while not looking at the accusing detective.

“What did you do with the tools, Miss Pie?” Phelps said in raised voice.

“Tools? What tools? All I know is that some meanie took Applejack’s tools.” She was quaking in her hide.

“Don’t lie to me, I know you took them.”

“You don’t have any proof.”

After reviewing his evidence, he looked back up at her. “Yes I do. The lollipop you handed me is the same as the one I found in an abandoned house. Next to the discarded lollipop, which was licked only once, was a trowel. One that you used.”

Pinkie started to tear up. “Okay, maybe I found her trowel and borrowed it for a few seconds.”

“That’s not true, you took her shovel as well.”

“You can’t prove that I did.”

“There was cake frosting on the end of it. It’s in the back of the building. Also, there was a hole dug as well. And don’t you work in a pastry store?”

Pinkie finally broke out into an all out cry of lament. “Okay, okay! It was me, it was all me. I took the tools. I wanted to make a home for the worms.”

(Backdrop that fits the rest of the scene)

Phelps smiled, not because he solved the crime, but because it was just some mere child’s play. If he had to take cases like these, then his life from now on would be easy. He would never have to chase anyone or anypony again.

“I think this is all over, how about we wrap this up and call it a night.”

Pinkie, along with Applejack and Rainbow Dash went inside the store. Rarity and Cole walked to the Carousel Boutique to get the gruff and stiff detective settled down.

The Carousel Boutique
2:17 PM

The walk to the detective’s temporary home was enjoyable. It was somewhat quiet and peaceful. Sometimes Rarity would ask about his designer clothes or shoes but other than that it was just the chirping of the birds. Phelps couldn't complain. This was probably one of the best moments of his life. Some time to actually listen the nature express itself in it's beautiful ways.

They reached a large, somewhat cosmopolitan building that seemed to be based on French architecture. Cole took notice of the elaborate colors and support structures. It was brilliant. Rarity tiled her head, telling him to follow her inside. She opened the abnormally large doors and went inside. Cole followed not too far behind.

The inside smelled like a woman's department shop. The various smells of perfume was spread across the room. The smells ranged from lilac, lavender, and chrysanthemum to more intricate and complex smells. Cole couldn't help but pinch his nose. He didn't like the overwhelming stench of perfume. He preferred the decaying snell of a dead body than to this, and that was saying something.

"Well darling, make yourself at home. Do you want something to eat?"

All throughout this day, Cole forgot that he was starving. He had not eaten since...before he even entered the sewer that brought him to this world. He looked down at his stomach and heard loud grumbling.

"I'll take whatever you have."

"I think I still have some eggs lying around somewhere...Aha! Do you like them medium, or sunny-side up?" She asked while levitating the eggs to the kitchen.

"Whatever's convenient for you."

"Excellent, I shall have a perfect late-breakfast ready in a few minutes."

Phelps was alone in the foyer now. He walked around, marveling at the fashionable designs strewn about. They all looked to be by some talented dress maker. He looked at one in specific. It's fabrics, along with design and color resembled a costume from one of his favorite works by William Shakespeare.

He couldn't help himself when he fell into a moment of remembrance.

"Alas, Poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio." He raised a hand up into the air, pretending to have a skull in it.

He heard clapping of some sorts emulating from behind him.

"That sounds like a marvelous piece if literature. Please continue." Rarity complimented while bringing her front hooves together repeatedly.

Phelps grinned. He was in a pretty decent home and he had someone who could cook for him. Best of all, he had someone who was interested in the arts of poetry as much as he was.

"With pleasure."

Case: No Strings Attached

‘Racism, politics, bribery, sexual favors, blackmail, innuendo, a corrupt government. Sure these things were all present in my world, bright as day even. Not a day went by when I didn’t see some little kid from Oklahoma or some other faraway state sell herself on the streets. It was pathetic and heartbreaking how fast it was before some old guy in his fifties picked one of these girls up in their car and drove off. These girls were barely even fifteen. I would see them in the same exact spot the next day, ready for more. And what did they do it for, a quick buck? I noticed that after a few “engagements”, they would come back bruised, cut, and their spirits were shattered. It was like someone stepped on their dreams as if it were an ant. Half of the time, I couldn’t even chase the perverts down. What was sad was that most of these pedophiles would be someone working for the state. One time, I even saw the DA go and pick a girl up himself. My partners always told me it was best to leave it alone. What scared me the most was what the girls’ thought were. Why did they give up their bodies, their innocence, away so easily? Why would they let the evils of this world take them in one fell swoop and crush any sanctity they had? Why..did they let the leeches drain their hopes and dreams? I couldn’t figure it out. Some obvious reasons came up, becoming famous or rich was a major one. Some money to support themselves was another. But it just didn’t make sense. Why go through all of this agony? They could have just went to someone for help, for Christ’s sake. I wanted to help so badly, every bone and part of me told me to. One day though, my homicide partner, Rusty Galloway, told me the truth of the matter. “You just gotta let them be, Phelps. If they chose this road, they have to travel it alone. Don’t let yourself get involved, it’ll just screw you over in the end. Just remember to never get attached.” Hell, these words echoed through my head every single goddamn time I saw one of those little under aged kids strut around with a slutty dress that was too big for them. I wanted to cry, but it would help at all. So I took Galloway’s advice and didn’t get involved. I never got attached.’

Phelps didn’t sleep so well that night. Well, he slept fine at first, dreaming of his family and two daughters once again. But then it turned into a nightmare. He saw some new abusive boyfriend going out with Maria, his wife. He beat her and slapped her around like she was just some piece of meat. He didn’t treat Cole’s daughters any better. No, they were tossed around like a potato salad. He even recommended that they get a job on the streets. He told them to work as one of those forsaken ‘corner candy’. That’s what under aged prostitutes were called, pieces of delectable sweets that could be unwrapped, eaten, and tossed away like nothing.

He hated men like this. He even hated most of his co-workers because of this. Cole Phelps liked to consider himself and was definitely specified as ‘morally gray’. He never sided with a person immediately, but rather he took the neutral approach until a conclusion could be met. He never judged anyone on their looks, education, wealth, race, color, anything. He looked to all as equals until proven otherwise. That was why he was such a level headed detective compared to most other detectives in his city.

He despised the sight of it. The son of a bitch was smacking his love and mother of his children around. All Cole could do was watch from an omniscient view as the events unfolded before his gazing and observant eyes. He wanted to yell, to call out for them to run away. To his dismay, no noise had some from his mouth and he was put on mute.

The event was escalating though. His wife was now bleeding from the drunken madness of her new brutish boyfriend. She tried to pull out a knife on him but he laughed in her face. “You spineless whore, you think you’re really gonna hurt me with that? No wonder your husband left you, you worthless tramp.” Phelps’ wife was crying not only from the sheer pain she was feeling, but from the man’s hurtful and venomous words.

He just laughed again though. She couldn’t take it anymore as she lunged at him, leaving a large gashing cut across the right side of his shaved face. He reached up to it, not longer laughing. As he moved his hand in front of his face, his eyes changed emotions. The once, abusive and jolly man was now steaming. He was stark-raving mad. He yelled in a loud, furious voice. “You’re going to pay for that you little fuck!”

He moved his hand to his black leather belt, almost caressing it as his hand moved to something just below it. Phelps heard the noise that was all too familiar. *Snap* The noise of a gun holster being opened boomed in the frantically useless detective’s ears. The overseer was now futilely holding his hands to his head, trying to block the noise out. He had his eyes wide open though.

The violent man, whose face was just a shroud of black, aimed at Maria, the now cowering mother. The sound of the knife clattering across the tiled floor as well as her muttering made the shadow-faced madman smile. He then let out an amused chuckle. “You really are useless. I’m going to do you a favor that your shitty husband couldn’t.” As he finished his statement, he changed the gun from it’s safety position.

Cole’s wife was now begging for mercy at the top of her lungs. Her pleas were hopeless though, as the gun’s hammer dropped from it’s raised position, striking Cole’s heart as he knew what was to come. The man gave a final goodbye to Phelps’ wife as the smoke left the chamber. Time slowed for Cole as he bore witness to the event that would end his wife’s life, her very precious life.

The smoke was emitting from the barrel and muzzle, and the small little ball of steel was travelling at about fifty miles an hour. It’s speed was still of no importance as the time was still emphasizing the scene that was playing before the tearing detective. He looked to his wife as her face gave a something that he could read clearly. Maria’s face was sending a final message. It wasn’t to her killer though. Maria’s final message that was displayed through her present emotion stated this. ‘Why did you leave Cole, why?’

*Bang*

Phelps arose from his perfectly sized bed. A thunderbolt from outside pierced his ears, which was why he woke up. He wasn’t panting as he should be, nor was he sweating. These kinds of dreams had been bothering him from time to time now. He was just weary as the detail and reality of it was too vivid. He just wanted for them to go away. He wiped his forehead and got up. He looked at his watch on his hand.

“It’s four thirty huh?” He said to no one. It was early in the morning; the sun had not even begun to rise yet. The moon was still high in the sky, yet it was another day. Cole recalled the events of the day before. He had been somehow transported to a strange world full of colorful, talking ponies. He was not killed from the large body of water in that grimy sewer. And he had all of his things on him when he arrived.

After introducing himself, he was accepted into the population of the equines. He also solved a mystery that no one else had not seen which was fairly obvious to even an amateur detective. When he arrived at the white and pampered unicorn’s semi- French pavilion looking home, he recited lines from Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. She appreciated his favorite artist’s writings. He ate a good breakfast, talked about his world and her’s, and then he called it a day.

He had slept soundly until that nightmare. He got up out of the queen-sized bed, which was met to a pony’s size, and went to the bathroom. It was kind of Rarity to give him a new toothbrush as well as his own towels. Also, she started to make him some suits, much to her chagrin, which resembled some of his ones back home. She had complained the lack of beauty and fashion sense in them but left it alone after Phelps had asked her nicely. His one that he had been wearing was washed and pressed quickly while he hid in the bathroom last night.

He took the brush in hand and sleepily cleaned his teeth while his eyes were half-open. He felt like resting his head on something, like the towel rack next to him. So that’s what he did. As soon as he put all of his weight on it unwittingly however, it fell over, along with the now wide awake law enforcer. He surprisingly landed quietly, yet still there was a smart pain on his head. He rubbed it while still brushing.

After a few minutes of freshening his teeth, and the previous mishap, he spat out the toothpaste hastily. He gargled some mouth wash nearby and spat it out after swishing the mint-tasting liquid in his for a minute. He washed his face, cleared his eyes of the morning crusts, and rubbed his face off with a towel. Then he turned to the shower behind him and turned the water valve. He stepped into the hot steaming water and closed his eyes.

The warm wisps of air rose to the ceiling as the rush of the relaxing sensation overtook Cole. He felt all of the tension in his bones smooth and his worries slowly fade. In this moment, he could actually relax peacefully. He thought about happy things and general things such as his plan for the day, the finding of a new job, and some food. After almost drifting off for fifteen minutes, he exited and dried himself off.

(Ambience)

He donned his suit, pants, and hat. Now he had all of the required clothes, he slowly made his way to his red tie. It was made of a velvet silk that seemed to shine in any sort of light; even the moon light. He picked it up and put it around his neck. He effortlessly and skillfully curved it and enclosed it until it was tied the right way. He pushed it into his inner suit coat and then put on his larger black coat, in which his items were mostly stored.

He slowly made his way down the stairs of the clean dress store. Models of new suits made for him lined the back walls. They looked magnificent, albeit they were placed on pony mannequins. He shrugged this informality off as he silently opened the front door, careful as to not wake his host or her little sister which he had yet to meet. The entire store was dark save for some candles around the room. Phelps stepped outside and closed the door very slowly. After hearing the click, he turned to face Ponyville.

The sound of a granite road being pelted by soft rain drops filled the air. The detective who was always enclosed with the stench of decay, rigor mortis, and flames, inhaled deeply. For some reason , he had always found the rain calming. He also loved the distinct smell that roads gave when they were wet. He moved his hat around a bit, readjusted his trench coat, and moved out of the cover of the Carousel Boutique.

Outside of Rarity’s Boutique
5:30 AM

The rain did not hesitate to fall upon him. He could feel the fabrics of his clothes get lightly moist from the small and silent raindrops. He looked up to the sky and smiled. The rain slowly streamed down his face. The night moon was going to fade soon, being replaced by a large, energetic sun. The clouds were white with a small shade of grey. They were only wisps of what the clouds looked like back home.

He turned his attention back to the main road and just walked. That was his plan for the early morning; a morning stroll through town. He felt almost mesmerized from the peaceful sounds of the rain dripping off of rooftops. He closed his eyes for just a brief moment to take it all in. He let out a loud content sigh and continued onward.

None of the citizens of Ponyville had yet stirred. Only sparse individuals would appear every so often. It was almost immaculate. The forever-staring eyes of ponies were not upon him for now. He could just walk without having to worry about scaring or being questioned by some curious pony. Phelps could see store windows lit from the inside. Shopkeepers were beginning to wake as to get the day up and running.

Cole had travelled a few blocks already, mentally noting where everything was. He took note of the hospital nearby, the general store, and the produce section. It was still raining and looked to probably continue for the rest of the day. Phelps was near the middle of town now. He could see the city hall that he had made a somewhat short speech in just the day before.

The detective stopped to sit down on a drenched bench nearby. After wiping it with his hands, he sat down to make himself comfortable. He gazed at the flowers at a stand glistening in the hail of water. It bobbed up and down with each passing second. He looked at the magnificent clock tower off in the distance. It’s craftsmanship resembled of Big Ben’s in Great Britain.

Phelps took note of the clouds beginning to part as red and orange light seeped through the tiny openings. The sun was begging to dawn and the moon was going away. If he could capture this moment in a photograph, it would make for a great decoration or memento. While absent-minded, he finally took note of the frantically fleeing mint-green unicorn running away from an aggravated earth pony.

“What?!” He quickly came to his senses and rose from the bench. Cole ran towards the ongoing chase that was about twenty feet away. The earth pony and the unicorn were fast, he had to give them that. But he knew that they would relent soon because he could continue to run for days. He had done so back in high school when he was a major part of the Varsity Track Team. He didn’t run madly like the two runners were, but was pacing himself rather nicely.

‘Alright Phelps, remember; one foot in front of the other. The slow turtle wins the race and the impatient hare runs tired.’ Detective Cole Phelps ran this mantra in his head as he jogged to the two, now panting, ponies. He had been forced to memorize this mantra as a runner for his school from his over-exerted coach. Cole always received some spittle and phlegm from the gaping mouth of his endlessly shouting red-faced manager.

After being punished and having to run about thirty laps around a twenty minute course in fifteen minutes, he learned to always remember that saying. The other varsity runners ran quickly in order to get the punishment over with already. Phelps ran at a slow pace, knowing that he would faint if he ran in over-drive.

After leading the team in the laps, he was off the hook and was free to be about his weekend. That was when he met his wife Maria. He went to his home to shower and then went to a bar with friends; using a fake identification card of course. He met the cheerful women at the Irish bar with two of her friends. Cole’s friends had tried and failed miserably at flirting with Maria’s girlfriends, but Cole just laid back to enjoy the sight. As he watched, Maria made her way over and they witnessed the comedic show together, forming a friendly bond that would escalate into something else in the future.

Phelps snapped back to reality. The unicorn and earth pony were now walking, albeit very tensely. The earth pony was still giving curses while the unicorn was hopelessly trying to run away.

“Get back here with my concert ticket!” The grey earth pony exclaimed.

“No way, this is one of the only ones ever sold here!” The mint-green unicorn replied.

"But that was given to me by somepony special! …Vinyl, I hope you won’t be too mad..” The earth pony said to herself as she collapsed on the floor.

The fleeing unicorn squealed in joy and then let out a self-loathing sigh. “I’m sorry, Octavia..I just really need this ti-”

The unicorn stopped midway when she saw the now ensuing human right on her tail, figuratively of course. She started to run again but found that her limbs would not budge any further. She was too fatigued from running for more than half an hour. She wasn’t used to this kind of exercise, as Octavia wasn’t either.

“Stop right there! LAPD!”

Phelps was enclosing on her, but she didn’t want to get caught. Panicking and running every single possible scenario in her mind, she chose the best possible choice in this delicate predicament. A bright spark from her horn gave way as Phelps raised his hands to shield his eyes.

“Arrgh!” Phelps exclaimed in pain. The pure intensity of the light blinded him like the sun had when he had first woken up. He blocked his vision for some seconds before searching for the fleeing criminal. He was surprised to find no one but the victim of the robbery there. The mint-green unicorn had somehow vanished into thin air.

Cole shook his head to forget the mysterious disappearance and ran over to the unconscious and heaving grey mare. He checked for vital signs and sighed in relief when he found that her heart rate was stable. She had just collapsed from over-exhaustion. He picked her up in his hands and began to walk to the hospital. The pony in his arms was sweating profusely.

From feeling beads of sweat dissipating into his sleeves and suit, he chuckled. She reminded him of some of the weaker runners back on the track team. She had a distinct smell though. The mare was emitted a fragrant smell that seemed similar to that of daffodil and roses. She started to stir in his arms. He shifted his arms so that she would be more comfortable and gave her his fedora so that the rain would not soak her mane.

Ponyville Hospital
6:15 AM

He could spot the hospital not too far away now. The sign on the front door read “Ponyville General”. The doors magically slid open as he stepped through. The World War II Era detective had not yet seen technology reach this certain point. The automatic sliding doors caused him to examine them more closely.

“Interesting…so they open on their own huh?” He muttered to himself.
“Yes, they do. Technology has reached pretty far, hasn’t it?” A white coated nurse said from a desk behind the human. “Don’t they have sliding doors back on your world?”

Phelps shook his head no. “No…I’ve never seen anything like this..except maybe in a movie.” He brought the exerted mare in his hands over to the nurse, who had her pink mane in a bun. She smiled at him and pointed him over to a room.

“What happened to Octavia, Mister?”

“I was taking a stroll when I saw her chasing some other pony around. She got robbed by some green unicorn. I guess she wasn’t used to running because she fell right there on the spot.” Phelps said as he walked with the nurse to the patient room. He slowly and gently placed her on the bed.

“That’s too bad..wait did you say a green unicorn? By any chance did she have a lyre for a Cutie Mark?”

Cole thought back to the situation in his memory. He fast-forwarded to the particular point where her flank was pointed in his direction. He zoomed in on her Cutie Mark and found that it was indeed a lyre.

“Yeah it was. Do you know who the perp is?” He asked while pulling out his notebook.

“Uhuh, that was Lyra. She’s just a musician along with Octavia here. I don’t know why she would steal because they are both friends..” The nurse said as she plugged some wires and tubes into the unconscious Octavia. She then scratched her mane with her hoof.

“Lyra..does she have a last name?” Phelps questioned as he sketched the facial features he recalled from the short engagement.

“Yep, it’s Heartstrings. Lyra Heartstrings.” She then smiled at him yet again with a pleading undertone. “Please don’t hurt her, Detective. She’s just an innocent pony. Please find out what caused her to do this.”

The diligent detective closed his notebook as he penciled in the last details of the suspect. “Don’t worry ma’am. It’s my job to see what others don’t. I’ll bring whoever is behind this to justice or my name isn’t Cole Phelps. Oh, and I never got your name, miss…”

“Redheart. Nurse Redheart.” The nurse replied as she extended her hoof. Cole met her hoof with his hand and shook.

“Well, it was nice meeting you Ms. Redheart. I just wish it was under better conditions.”

“Likewise.”

The detective walked outside, pausing to look at the automatic doors once again, and then continued onwards. He decided that now would be the best time to look for the perpetrator. He readjusted his silver fedora and walked towards the giant tree library that Twilight resided in. ‘If anyone knows where Lyra lives, it’s got to be Twilight.’

Twilight’s Library
6:32 AM

*Knock Knock* “Miss Sparkle, could you open up please? This is an urgent police emergency.” Cole Phelps had been knocking on the door for five minutes now, which received no reply. He could hear some shuffling and groaning from the insde. He tapped his feet impatiently as he waited for someone to answer.

The door opened with a loud creak. A horn came out first, followed by a purple mane and lavender head. “What’s so important that you come to the library before opening?!” A clearly annoyed and tired Twilight asked.

“There’s been an occurrence and I need your resources to find Miss Lyra Heartstring’s place of residence.” Cole let himself in and caused Twilight to stumble backwards.

“An occurrence?! What happened!?” She was now wide awake from hearing this sort of news coming out of the detective’s mouth.

“A robbery. I won’t go into specifics though because this is a police matter. Just tell me where she lives.”

“You’re not on Earth anymore, Cole. Just let me help with this.” Twilight asked in a cute voice. She looked at him with huge, persuading eyes that had done it’s job the last time.

Cole was clearly struggling with the cute look, as it reminded him of his daughters when they asked for a new toy. It was hard saying no to his little girls. He took a deep breath and regained his composure before answering.

“Not this time, Twilight. Just tell me where she lives and I’ll be on my way.”

Twilight let out an aggravated huff that was accompanied with some disappointment.

“Fine! Let’s see here…she lives in the house just to the right of Ponyville town hall.”

Phelps nodded and walked out of the door. “Thanks for the info. Just don’t follow me, I can see it in your eyes that you were planning on it.”

Twilight blushed in embarrassment. Was she really that readable? She wasn’t sure if he just said that as a precaution or that she had clearly displayed an intent on doing so. She cleared her throat and answered.

“I promise I won’t, Detective.”

Cole looked at her once again, noticing small beads of sweat travelling down her face. He could tell she was lying, as her face showed it all. She would be horrible in a game of poker. He chuckled and closed the door behind him because he knew that once a girl wanted something, they wouldn’t take the thought out of their mind.

Twilight was relieved and laughed at herself. “He never made me Pinkie promise.”

Lyra Heartstring’s Home
6: 40 AM

The intelligent detective snuck around the back of the home so that he could possible inspect any clues as to her motives of stealing the ticket from Octavia. He recalled that Nurse Redheart personally told him that they were friends. He had seen this kind of crime happen many times in his first days. He knew that there was a deeper ulterior to this mishap.

He was near the back door when he heard talking. It was muffled but he could still make out everything.

“But I stole the ticket for you!” Lyra exclaimed.

“That wasn’t all that we wanted. We wanted the girl as well. We told you that if you don’t ever want us to harm that precious little friend of yours, you had to take the goggle-wearing unicorn as well.” An accented and gruff voice replied.

“But…I can’t do it..it’s not right.”

“Well then, I guess that we’ll just hurt your friend won’t we?”

“Please don’t!”

“You can have one last chat with your pony friend. Then, we will take her to the edge of town. Meet us there if you ever want to see her safe again.”

“Wait!”

A digging sound could be heard as well as the house and ground started to shake. Everything inside Lyra Heartstring’s home was silent, even the previously yelling unicorn within. Phelps decided that this was the time to question her. He went to the back door, drew his pistol, and kicked the door in.

“LAPD, freeze!” He yelled to the cowering Lyra before him.

“Please don’t hurt me.” She pleaded.

“Where’s the other guy in here?!”

“There wasn’t anypony else here, I swear!”

Cole realized he wasn’t going anywhere with this so he holstered his gun. He pulled out his notebook after scanning the area that was Lyra’s kitchen. It was clear, although there was a must in the air. It hadn’t originated from Lyra as she smelled like candy. No, Phelps could swear that he had experienced this smell before. Now it was all a question of where.

“Miss Heartstrings, I want to know why you stole that item from Miss Octavia.” Phelps said bluntly as he flipped through his pages.

“What ticket? I didn’t steal any ticket..” She was looking down at the floor.

“Don’t lie to me, Heartstrings. I saw you right there. Then I even got a recognition from Nurse Redheart. You little fool, you could go to jail for larceny!”

Lyra started to sweat. “I..needed the ticket badly..I’m sorry okay?”

The detective was confused as she had not ticket on her person. “Where is it?”

“I…lost it, yeah that’s it, I lost it.” She looked to his eyes, although halfway.

Cole furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a disbelieving glare. “Right…who was that you were talking to just now?”

“No one. I wasn’t talking to anypony. It must’ve been your imagination.” Lyra answered quickly as soon as the word ‘now’ left Phelps’ mouth.

Cole sighed, knowing that he wouldn’t get anything out of the unicorn in front of him. He closed his notebook and a gush of air pushed Lyra’s mane back. He started to walk out of the door while talking to Lyra. “Lyra, if you know what’s good for you, you’d find me right away and tell me everything.” She gave no reply back and simply sat silently.

Cole Phelps knew what he had to do next. He had to wait until Lyra had felt it was safe and went about her day. Not long after, which was about twenty minutes, Lyra hastily left her house. She checked her surroundings for any one suspicious. If Phelps had still been a rookie, she might have seen him leaning against a tree nearby.

Ponyville Marketplace
7:02 AM

She trotted towards the market place of Ponyville. Now since Cole Phelps, LA’s finest detective, was the only human in all of Equestria, he couldn’t just walk incognito in crowds of ponies. No, the towering and clothes wearing detective stuck out like a sore thumb. He reasoned that the only way to successfully follow the information-withholding mint-green unicorn was to follow from alleys, drains, ladders, and any other sort of good hiding spot.

Lyra gave an occasional greeting as Cole followed from behind. To his surprise, the alley ways didn’t smell as bad as he thought. They smelled of clean, unwasted scraps and papers. He even checked some and found nothing that would be considered normal trash back on Earth. He didn’t find condoms or old pornography magazines, but broken quills, used parchments, and the occasional piece of furniture.

Cole was starting to lose hope that Lyra would give a further insight or clue on the case. She was just idly browsing the shops and stands, buying some fruit or vegetables. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. But Cole had to remain aware if he wanted to find anything useful. Thankfully, she started to trot over to the less occupied and thriving part of town.

Lyra approached another pony, an earth one. Her coat was light tan and her mane was blue with a streak of pink. Her Cutie Mark was that of three pieces of candy. Phelps perked up, as he heard them exchanging very friendly chatter. Perhaps this new pony was the ‘little friend’ that the other voice inside Lyra’s house was talking about.

‘I’ve gotta stick to the shadows. Lyra’s hiding something and I have to find out what.’ Phelps thought to himself while getting closer to the corner of the building he was hiding behind. He was trying to get a better view and to hear the two ponies converse.

“Hey Lyra, what’cha doin’?” The voice asked in a voice similar to that of New York or Boston.

“Nothing, Bon-Bon. I have to go, there’s somepony who I have to meet. Just do me a favor though..and be careful when you go home, okay?” Lyra asked with a hint of sadness.

“What do ya mean? What are you talking about, Lyra?”

“Nothing..just do it for me okay?”

“Whatever..I swear, you can be so weird sometimes!” Bon-Bon exclaimed as she walked away.

Lyra galloped towards the center of town again, leaving the other pony alone. Cole was about to confront her but turned around quickly.

“Could you stop following me? I’ve noticed you about three blocks back.” Phelps said to a shadown further down the alley.

Out of the shadow, stepped the wannabe detective, Twilight Sparkle, who gave a nervous and sheepish smile to the detective who had his eyes et on hers. “Hehehe…I just wanted to see a professional up close.”

With a largely displayed sense of aggravation, Cole answered “I told you to leave this to me. Whatever, you’re here now. Ju-” Cole’s speech and lecture to Twilight was interrupted by a loud teerifed scream.

“AAAAAAAAHHH! HELP! SOMEPONY HELP ME!” Bon-Bon yelled at the top of her lungs. Cole and Twilight run out of the cover of the building to see what had happened. They were both shocked to see that three hulking dogs were carrying Bon-Bon out of town.

(And Cue Chase Music)

“Twilight, follow them to wherever they’re taking her!” Cole commanded.

Twilight complied and chased after the three Diamond Dogs that had a thrashing and crying Bon-Bon slung over their shoulders. Phelps had other plans, as he heard some raspy laughter coming from another building nearby. He ran towards the laughter to see a dog rubbing his paws together.

“Haha! Now we have stupid pony with us! Lyra will have no choice but to bring Vinyl to us!” The voice was shrilly and somewhat childish, high-pitched even. The dog’s ears bolted up as it caught sound of footsteps approaching and it’s nose caught wind of sweat. It turned it’s attention to an unfamiliar being that was running at it, with conviction in his eyes.

“Stop you oversized mongrel!” Cole yelled as he chased after the conspiring dog. After noticing the human, it ran away hopelessly. “Come back here scum!”

The dog let out a yelp as it weaved in and out of alley ways, the human detective right on his tail. The dog took a hard turn around a building, followed by smacking face-first into the wall. He then quickly recovered and sprinted even faster as Cole was getting closer. He saw a pair of steps and ran up, Cole following right behind.

“You can’t run forever!” Cole yelled from behind the dog. The dog reached the top of the stairs and had nowhere else to go but up. It spotted a pipe nearby and started to climb. Cole jumped up and followed suit. Cole got relatively close to the dog before getting kicked in the face by it’s leg. It reached the top of the pipe, Cole right behind a few seconds later.

“Nowhere else to go. Now where are you taking BON-BON!?” the dog yelped at the raised tone from the foreign creature. It knew it wouldn’t be able to win in a fight. Maybe.. It jumped off of the building, making Cole let out a yell. “What the hell?!”

Cole ran to the edge of the rooftop and saw that the dog jumped into a bale of hay. Cole had to follow so he didn’t hesitate to jump off. ‘Oh shit!’ Phelps thought to himself as he jumped. He closed his eyes and was met with a loud thump sound. He felt around and everything around him felt soft. He opened his eyes and saw that he successfully landed. His success was quickly washed away as he saw the grizzly dog run through the crowd of the market, pushing bystanders out of the way.

Phelps jumped to his feet and ran as fast as he could. Ponies were all over the floor, dazed and baffled at the occurrence. Cole tried to fluidly move in and out of the crowds, met with some success but mostly failure. The dog was brutish and cared little for the others. He simply wanted to escape. Cole was starting to lose sight of him when he hatched the idea. Phelps pulled out his gun which was never seen or heard by the residents, and fired.

*BANG*

The loud booming noise echoed throughout the entire market, which caused everypony to fall to the floor while covering their ears. The fleeing dog cringed and held it’s ears as well, as dogs have sensitive hearing. Cole now had a straight beeline for the dog, which he took. He was gaining on the decelerating dog. In moments, he could apprehend th-

*Whack* Phelps fell to the floor as he felt the extended hair arm of the dog hit his face. He just got cheapshotted. Seeing the dog reveling in victory, he sprung to his feet and gave the dog a punch to the nose. The dog, which shouted in anger, swung his paws at Phelps’ face again. Phelps dodged them with ease and counterattacked. He landed a few punches in the dog’s face.

The dog was now steaming with rage. It threw it’s paws at Phelps in a fit of mindless fury. The hits were met with ‘thuds’ each time, as they connected with Phelps arms. But what the dog didn’t realize was that Phelps was blocking his face. After it was momentarily exhausted, Phelps took this to his advantage and tackled the dog to the floor. He then proceeded to give the dog a right and left hook, followed by a few left jabs.

The dog was now in large pain as it’s face was being hailed on with skillful hits. It finally surrendered. “OKAY I SURRENDER!”

Phelps, still not yet satisfied, punched it one more time before getting up off of the dog. He then turned it around and handcuffed it with his own pair of steel handcuffs. He picked it up and pointed to it’s face. “Where the hell is Bon-Bon!?”

“That pony i-” The dog was interrupted by Twilight coming behind them, panting halfway.

“Cole! They took Bon-Bon to the edge of town. I can’t get her myse-”

Cole raised his finger up to her to silence her. “Get the others. I’ll be over there with my friend here. If things go south, I might need a pony or two to help me out. Go now.” Phelps stated.

Twilight nodded and teleported away with a bright purple flash. Cole knew he would have to ask her about that later as he dragged the dog with him. “Let’s go ‘pal’.”

Outskirts of Ponyville
7:45 AM

“Well, is it just your three friends?” Cole asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

“Yes, yes. It is just three of my tribe here.” The dog answered unintelligibly.

“Good.” Cole smiled at the thought of just fighting three others. He had tried to fight five people at once during a prison break and it didn’t end too well. Other guards had to step in by the time four of them were beating on a huddled up Cole, who had managed to knock one out while badly damaging the rest.

He walked up to the three dogs with his prisoner, hoping to negotiate the situation. “I have your friend here. Let the girl go and we can end this with only a year or two sentence.”

The three Diamond Dogs scratched their heads before laughing in an uproar. Cole, obviously annoyed, shoved the dog he had with him to the floor, putting his black Italian loafer on it’s head. “Listen, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

The dogs didn’t even bother to consider the options, quickly going with the hard way. Just like the previous fight with the lone Diamond Dog, Phelps fought the same way. It had been relatively easy as the dogs bumped into each other and gave themselves less mobility. All Cole had to do was duck and block while giving a long left or right hook which would connect with all three of their faces. The dogs were almost going to be knocked out when Twilight and the girls arrived.

“Hey Coley-Woley!” Pinkie yelled out while waving.

Distracted, Cole turned his head to look at the girls.

“Look o-”

Twilight was stopped when one of the Diamond Dog’s paws connected with the detective’s jaw. Cole stumbled to the floor before feeling his mouth. He shouted in anger before pulling all of their legs, making them fall, and jumped on the middle one. He gave the delivering blow to each of their faces as they let their tongue hang out of their face. They were knocked out cold.

Cole got up and wiped his mouth which had some blood stained on it. His blood, of course. He turned to the girls and motioned for Applejack to tie them up. “They’re going to be locked up for a long time.” He looked to the Diamond Dogs while informing them of the rights that all people were given on Earth. “You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, you will be provided with one from the government. Anything that you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

The dogs were levitated by the unicorns of the group and carried towards town. Cole looked to the tree that the Diamond Dogs were lounging around and saw Bon-Bon, who was tied up, red-eyed and her face was moist from crying so much. He untied her gently, and removed the gag they had used to silence her.

“Shhh..you’re alright now. Everything is going to be okay.” Cole said as he stroked her mane. She wrapped her fore hooves around him and cried on his shoulder. In between some sniffing and wincing, she said words of praise to him. They were almost inaudible.

“Thank..*sniff* you..so much..” Cole nodded his head and patted her back.

“Just my job miss.”

A loud shriek emerged from behind him. Lyra ran up to the two, who was also crying tears of joy. “Bon-Bon, you’re alright!”

Bon-Bon let go of Cole Phelps and ran over to her friend. They embraced in a loving hug and were crying together. Lyra turned her attention to the detective. “How can I ever repay you?”

Cole shook his head in declination and walked away silently, letting the two friends to rejoice. He decided that now would be the best time to go to the hospital.

Ponyville Hospital
8: 37 AM

“I would love to thank you so much for all that you’ve done, Detective.” Octavia said in a gentle voice.

“No problem. I was just glad to be of service.” Cole said modestly.

“Oh, don’t be so modest! You not only brought me to the hospital when I was ill, but you saved Lyra and Bon-Bon from those horrid beasts.” She nuzzled his arm appreciatively.

Cole, confused at the friendly gesture, wrongly took it as a sign of attraction. He got up and backed away, letting out a nervous laughter. “Haha..it’s okay. Anyway, I hope you guys get this whole thing settled. I have to go now so see you another time? Twilight wants me for something about a letter.”

“I shall see you later then, Mr. Cole Phelps. Also, if you ever want to come to one of my recitals or shows, don’t hesitate to ask. For you, there is always a cello at the wait.” Octavia gave Cole a friendly smile. “Until next time, detective.”

“I’m sure our paths will cross again, Octavia.” With that, Cole Phelps walked out of the sterile hospital room and into the bright and now peaceful town of Ponyville. He had cleared the day of it’s darkness and was now on his next journey; to Twilight’s library.

Distorted Visions

‘The case that makes you or the case that breaks you. This is one of the most profound mottos for any aspiring police detectives. Looking back, I think that I did well. If there was one thing that I wasn’t proud of; it was that I wouldn’t always be able to save everyone. My partners always told me that I needed to just accept that I’m not Jesus or God. There’s no way that I would be able to save them all. But still…I..I just couldn’t take it when I saw some young men or women cut down in their prime because some murderous psychopath needed to get the edge off. What kind of world has Earth become? Children and high-school kids are raised in an environment surrounded by murder, rape, robbery, and drugs. The scariest part is that they accept it. They have no quarrel and some even participate in it. If I could just do more than catch the bad guy..’

Cole Phelps’ previous day had been very eventful considering he had just arrived not even three days ago. On his first day, he solved a little inconvenience that ended quickly. The second day, however, ended up being a full on chase and brawl. He took a few hits here and there but he managed to overpower them and apprehend the criminals. It turned out, the Diamond Dogs were threatening to hurt Bon-Bon for a ransom. Lyra Heartstrings had to gather the things they needed to stave off the brutes.

The whole thing was solved and Lyra, Bon-Bon, and Octavia got around to talking and resolved the tension between them. As for the item in question, the concert ticket was never found. Not much was given on its location or who had obtained it by now. The interrogation that followed after the event proved to be fruitless. The Dogs were unresponsive in any type of techniques. The detective tried all that he could, from appealing to them, playing the two sided personalities, threatening them with a long-term sentence, and finally more..physical means.

Phelps did manage to gain one thing out of the perpetrators. He received three letters; FFB. What it meant, he had no clue but he knew he would find out eventually. He kept the single fact to himself and had the criminals hauled away to the Canterlot Castle dungeons. None of the cities apparently had any type of police force except for a neighborhood watch and the Princess’s Royal Guard.

He informed Twilight Sparkle of the mishap and she wrote a letter for Princess Celestia to send a detachment of Pegasi to transport them. The rest of the day was spent speaking with Twilight, more specifically scolding her for her abrasive actions. She seemed to be very disappointed in herself when Cole told her of the many things that could have happened since she was following him. But past all of the faults, Cole commended her for being there. Had she not been there, he might have not found the Diamond Dogs and Bon-Bon in time.

He congratulated her on her initiative and even told her that he would consider training her as a detective and as his partner. Twilight seemed to be so overjoyed at this, that she fainted. Cole, who was confused and out-right tired, just went home and decided to sleep early. No nightmares were had on this night. Cole slept soundly of a meadow with wildlife and flowing streams. He had finally gotten some deep sleep.

Rarity’s Boutique
5:00 AM

Cole Phelps, detective and defender of the people, shifted upwards and made his way out of the bed. He went to the bathroom and did his morning routine. He brushed his teeth, relieved himself of bodily fluids, took a warm shower, and dressed himself in the new suit that Rarity had completed for him. The entire outfit itself was black with a blue overtone. It was like the same suit that he had worn during his days as a Homicide detective. The fedora was the same, a blue shade of black, and it had a red lining. His tie was black as well.

Most people or ponies in this case, would look him as a macabre or grim type of person. This was mainly due to his outfit, but was also accompanied by the fact that he had dealt with so many morbid crimes. Cole moved to the mirror and rubbed around his face.

‘Looks like the stubble is growing in soon. I need to shave by tomorrow.’

He moved out of the bathroom and towards the door in his given room to go outside. He opened the door and could overhear some raised voices arguing. He moved towards the noise which seemed to be downstairs. He quietly walked down; careful as to not have the floorboards creak and give away his presence, and listened in on the conversation.

“Sweetie Belle, how many times have I told you to not cook breakfast yourself? This toast is burnt beyond recognition.” Rarity said in an annoyed voice.

“It’s not that burnt..and that’s the milk anyway!” Sweetie Belle’s squeaky and cracking voice replied.

“Honestly, Sweetie! This is completely uncouth.”

“Rarity, you think everything is uncouth!”

“Why..I….you..why I never!” Rarity seemed to be getting angry.

“Besides, I thought that maybe I could do your job for a day sis. Can I do it? Can I design clothes for your customers? I already started on that fancy looking one that says ‘FP’.”

“…..Did you just say ‘FP’? Sweetie..please tell me that you didn’t mess up the designs I was making for Fancy Pants!”

“Oh…I may have cut it a teensy bit..”

“Sweetie…”

Cole was at the bottom of the steps by now. He was watching as the two feuding sisters were yelling back and forth amongst themselves, apparently not aware of the human. For some reason, as Rarity called her little sister’s name, she turned her head around so that Sweetie Belle couldn’t see. Then, she gritted her teeth together, her eyes looked like they were bulging out of the sockets, and she cocked her head left and right. That was when she saw the questioning glare coming from Phelps.

She smiled awkwardly at him and proceeded to calm down. Cole continued to stare at her with his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth ready to say something. She gave a nervous laugh before turning to her sister.

“We’ll talk about this later.”

“Why Rarity? It looked like you wanted to say something else.”

“We have a guest here.”

Sweetie Belle moved her head around from Rarity who was blocking her view and saw Cole who tipped his hat at her.

“Oh hey, Mr. Cole! I didn’t see you there.”

Cole spoke up, breaking his morning silence and lightening the mood.

“Hello Miss Belle. Nice to see you so up and early. By the way, what was that about?” He asked.

“Oh, I just messed up-”

“No not that,” Cole turned his attention to Rarity who had been mute the entire time. “I mean why did your older sister start having..an episode?”

“Huh?” Sweetie Belle had never actually witnessed Rarity’s little fits that would break her lady-like appearance.

Rarity finally spoke up. “Oh, Cole, let’s just leave that shall we? Don’t you have a ride to catch with Twilight?”

Cole snapped at the reminder. He had completely forgotten about meeting Twilight so that they could travel to Canterlot and meet the Princesses face-to-face.

“That’s right! Thanks for the reminder,” Cole stepped closer to Rarity so that he was leaning right in her ear. “Watch yourself, Miss. I’ve seen enough nutjobs to know when someone’s gonna go crazy. Keep your cool and don’t do anything to your sister that you might regret.”

Cole moved away from the frozen mare and went upstairs to pack his belongings. He would most likely be gone for just a day or two but it wouldn’t hurt to be safe. He walked back inside the room and used the bag that Twilight had given him as a gift in lieu of his excellent police work. He packed the essentials. He packed some clothes and an extra pair of shoes that Rarity had made. They were made of some kind of material that wasn’t leather. When he explained what his black Italian loafers were made of, the posh unicorn fainted. Apparently, they not only hated or allowed the eating of meat, but they didn’t allow the use of animals as clothes either. In fact, the whole idea of using an animal's coat was unheard of and foreign to them.

They actually requested him to burn or dispose of his wallet, his gun holster, and his shoes because they were offensive to other animals and were against any form of ethics in Equestria. Normally, he would gladly accept but these were his only things that he had and he wasn’t about to just toss them away at the leisure of some ponies. He zipped the bag up and slung it around his shoulder. He walked backed downstairs and found Sweetie Belle waiting for him.

He went down there to meet her and crouched on one knee so that she wouldn’t have to strain her neck to look up at him.

“Hey, Kiddo. I’m gonna go for a few days. Watch the place, okay? And if Rarity gives you any trouble, don’t hesitate to call..I mean write me.”

Sweetie Belle nodded in response and Cole made his way to the door. The mare in question suddenly appeared, which Twilight explained was teleportation, and she looked at him with an analytical gaze.

“I suppose you’re off then?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And you’ll be gone for a short while?”

“Right.”

“I have to admit, darling, I will miss you. The house is absolutely garish with just Sweetie Belle and I in it. Do come back won’t you?” Rarity pleaded in a gentle tone, batting her eyelashes at him.

“…I can’t say no to a face like that. I’ll be back before you know it. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye..”

Cole Phelps opened the door and walked out, letting the door close itself on his exit. Rarity sighed and shook her head. She would truly miss the detective’s presence and companionship. Over the last few days, he had been the best guest one would ask for, considering Rarity’s standards. He not only cleaned after himself, but he cleaned the Boutique as well. Even if he hadn’t done anything to cause any messes. And when Rarity would gruel days on end over a new fashion line, Cole would suggest some absolutely stunning new designs from his world.

He was also a great conversationalist. From talking about events of the day, his history and hers, and fashions, he would also talk to her about literature and poetry. Rarity appreciated the fine arts greatly. They shared many pieces that were renowned in their respective worlds and also pieces that they had wrote themselves. It was peaceful. Something that Rarity had almost no contact with, what with Sweetie Belle running around and her friends always going on adventures. Nopony ever had time to just sit down and talk with her.

That was why she would miss Cole while he was away. He was something that Rarity would never think to develop between the two different species. He was her best friend.

Ponyville Market
5:45 AM

Cole Phelps had just arrived at the center of town. This was where Twilight had designated that they meet anyway. He observed his surroundings as he tapped his feet patiently. The market was starting to get busy. Many customers who wanted the first and freshest products would have to wake up very early in the morning to get their desired items. He took notice of seeing the same ponies come around more than once.

‘Must be a close-knit community. I bet that if one pony knew something, it wouldn’t take long for the whole place to know.’

Still waiting, he decided to grab a little breakfast as he only had a piece of toast on the way out. He walked up to the carrot stand and waited for the shop keep to turn to him. A curly orange-maned earth pony turned to greet her customer.

“Hey there, Mister Phelps! What can little old Carrot Top get you on this fine morning?”

Phelps perused the said wares, taking notice of the different kinds of carrots. There were spicy carrots, sweet carrots, sour carrots, and so on. They also came in a variety of sizes, from tiny, to small, to medium, large, and extra large. Cole’s stomach growled to emphasize his hunger. He opened up his wallet and pulled out ten bits. Twilight and Bon-Bon had paid him an earnest amount of money, to which he refused but they insisted on him taking it, and he gently placed it on the stall counter.

“I’d like a few medium-sized carrots and a large one. Regular please.”

“Coming right up!” Carrot Top exclaimed with a captivating amount of energy considering the time of the day.

She put the carrots into a bag and handed him his goods. He proceeded to thank her and move to a bench nearby. He sat down and began to chew on the large carrot first. Within minutes, he finished all of them save for one that was half-eaten. The time seemed to go by quickly as he watched the blue jays overhead fly to their destinations. He closed his eyes to listen to the world around him closer. He could hear the breeze gently moving in the air. He could hear the sounds of hooves upon stone. He could hear the sound of someone chewing his last carrot. He could hear content moans coming from said someone.

Wait a minute.

The detective turned his head around and found Twilight seated next to him, eating his last carrot and quenching her hunger. She burped accidentally and held a hoof to her mouth. She then laughed from embarrassment.

“Oh my. Hehe, sorry about that. I was just so hungry though. I didn’t get a chance to eat breakfast and all after spending an hour writing to the Princess and trying to call down a chariot to bring us there. It looks like we’ll have to take the train.”

Cole smiled at her, as even though she was a grown mare, she still acted pretty child-like, a quality that Phelps had wished still existed in the kids of his world. “It’s alright, I wasn’t that hungry anyway.” He lied. “So what’s this about a train?”

“The Royal Guard couldn’t afford to make it over here on account of their duties so we have to take the train to Canterlot. It should only take us a few hours.”

“Sounds good, Twilight. Let’s get moving.” Cole said as he stood up and walked with her to the train station.

During the walk there, the human taught the studious unicorn of many new techniques and skills that she could utilize as a detective. He also informed her of his expectations from her as his new partner. He told her of the bond that partners share. Cole told her of how partners were supposed to support each other in their actions, even if they didn’t agree with it. He also informed her of how they should always watch each other’s back and that their lives were in the hands of the other. Finally, he told her that she would have to be willing to lay down her life for him or for the civilians should the need ever arise. Cole promised that he was doing the same.

Ponyville Station
6:02 AM

The inspirational lecture had transported them to the train station. They approached the ticket booth and bought their proof of purchase for five bits each. Not even two minutes later, the train came into the station. The conductor walked outside and called out to the scattered travelers.

“All aboard the train from Ponyville to Canterlot! I say again, all aboard the train from Ponyville to Canterlot!”

Cole and Twilight began walking to their seats inside. Cole took notice of how the train looked similar to that of one during the 1800s. He was about to speak about this and suggest some of the better models that were present in the 1900s but decided on his better judgment to keep his mouth shut. He sat down on the red cushioned chair next to Twilight. She looked outside of the window to just capture the town’s essence on their departure.

Cole decided to take a snooze for a few minutes. So he tiled his hat downwards so that it covered his eyes. He could hear Twilight saying something to him and he just nodded his head to whatever she had just said. He found quiet peace inside of his mind and the darkness embraced him.

Music resounded in his ears. They sounded like something that one would play at a gathering or party. It was soothing.

Cole was in a grand hall of some sorts. It looked like a ball room in a five-star resort. The floor was tiled with golden plates and the walls were covered in stain glass tapestries and the curtains were a velvety red. They also had a gold lacing on the sides. There were enormous chandeliers on the ceiling that shined all across the room. He stopped admiring the décor and focused on what was in front of him.

On the walls were viewpoints that one would find at an opera house. On the stage at the end of the room, was a large orchestra who was providing support for the lone piano player. They all worked in a fluid motion that seemed so captivating. They all wore black suits with red bowties, like one would find in Hollywood. A lone conductor swung his baton around in rapid movement. To an uneducated fellow, it would look like he was a madman. But in Cole’s eyes, he knew that the orchestrator was bringing together a perfect harmony of music.

The room was suddenly being flooded by people. Men wore the same things, black suits with red bowties. They all had their hair styled for this momentous occasion. Their smiles showed off their sparkling white teeth and they all seemed so young and perfect. The whole place felt like a dream or movie.

The women were no different. They wore stunning red dresses, white dresses, blue dresses, all colors that displayed their natural beauty. Many of these dresses were sequined. Some of the women had headdresses to cover their face with a tangible black veil. Others just showed their face off to the public. All of the women wore solid rose red lipstick. Their cheeks were flushed with most likely make up. They also had on glittering high heels. Every single woman in the room was slender, like an actress or a beautiful model.

The place seemed too surreal. Almost all of the attendees of the function had wine glasses in their hands, topped with an olive or umbrella for that extra effect. They conversed over trivial matters. Cole could not hear all of the chatter but he could single out some such as “That is a gorgeous dress you have on, Miss Ruby.” and “Thank you, you look handsome as ever, Mister Sinclair.” He made his way for the bar and spoke to the keep.

“Excuse me, sir. Where am I?” Phelps inquired.

“Why, sir, this is your honoring. The governor requested this be put together in honor of your accolades and services. Now might I have your choice of drink?” The waiter asked while cleaning out a wine glass with a fine towel.

“Okay..I’ll have a glass of your finest Château Margaux, preferably from 1921.”

“Excellent choice, sir. 1921 was certainly a great year for the French estate.”

“Yeah it was. My father was in a business that travelled the world.”

“Glad to hear that, sir. Here’s your glass.” The waiter poured him a drink out of an aged bottle and handed him the glass.

One would not know from a single glance that Cole Phelps was actually experienced in wineries and the good types of it. He swirled the drink around in a circle, making the red and purple fluid itself follow and form a typhoon, and he inhaled the smell deeply. The smell was intoxicating. It consisted of grapes, raspberries, and a few other ingredients. He could practically smell the feet of the fair woman who stomped on the fruits.

He took one last smell before drinking a good amount. He knew to not drink all of the wine in a glass in one serving. It had to be cherished and tasted. He swished the drink around in his mouth as the taste registered in his buds, and he gulped. The drink seemed to make the room look lighter and more enjoyable. He walked around the room and gave a knowing nod at anyone who looked his way. He moved in and out of the crowd until he arrived at one of the tables. He took his seat on the golden chair and admired the view.

Five figures came into the peripheral of his vision. He craned his head to meet them halfway and grinned.

“Ralph, Stefan, Rusty, Roy, and Herschel, how are you guys doing?” Phelps stood up from his seat and gave each of his partners a handshake.

“Looks like the Encyclopedia got you this far, huh, Phelps?” Ralph Dunn, Cole’s Patrol partner asked.

“Yeah, I guess it did. So I’m guessing you’re all here to enjoy the party?” Cole answered.

“Hey kid, don’t let it go to your head. Cleaning up those junkies isn’t the only thing that got you here.” Roy Earle, Vice division, interjected.

“Jeez, lay off him will ya? Don’t mind him, Cole, he’s just mad cuz some broad screwed him over the other day.” Stefan Bekowski, Traffic, defended.

Almost on cue, a waiter came over with a tray full of drinks. He lowered a glass to each officer of the law and they took it. He bowed in respect and made his way towards the bar.

“So Rusty,” Cole started, which was met by an annoyed growl because Galloway didn’t like people to call him by his first name. “Going back to the old habits as always?” Cole asked rhetorically. Rusty Galloway was a heavy drinker and even stopped to do so while they were on duty. He never let it get the better of him though, but Phelps had tried on numerous occasions to convince him to sober up. In Phelps’ mind, Galloway would drink himself to death, very much like the death of Edgar Allen Poe.

“Back off, Phelps. Let’s just enjoy the part in peace.” Galloway retorted and brought the drink to his mouth. He e drank all of it in one go and slammed the glass down on the table. “That wasn’t strong enough.” Rusty pulled out of his coat, a large silver flask. On the sides, was imbedded ‘My darling, May. May you always be flowing with the healing waters of whiskey.’ Underneath the inscribed words, was a cross. Rusty took a large drink out of it and wiped the remaining liquid on his lips, followed by a belch. This caused some of the others to either laugh or become disgusted, either of which Rusty Galloway gave no mind.

Cole noticed that his partners weren’t wearing the regular suits they usually had, but they had on the clothes of everyone else, as if it was a dress code. He looked down to his own body and saw that he had on the same attire himself. He decided not to question it for now and just enjoy himself. He looked to Herschel Biggs, his Arson partner, who had remained quiet the entire time.

“Herschel, you’ve been awfully quiet. What’s on your mind?” The man of the hour was concerned for his last partner.

“Well, someone’s gotta be quiet. These kids are all yapping their mouths off. I’m just observing.”

“Observing what?”

“Observing how long it takes for you to realize that you got a lady waiting for you at the dance floor.” Biggs replied while pointing to a shadowy figure in the distance.

“Who is it?” Cole was intrigued.

“See for yourself.”

And Cole Phelps did just that. He waved a dismissive hand to his men and made his way through the crowd and to the woman in black. He took a final drink of his fine wine and set it down on a passing table. He felt like there were eyes cutting through his back, which was proven true when he turned around and saw his partners raising their drinks at him.

He turned back to the woman who was but a few mere feet away from him.

The orchestra began to change as a singer stepped onto the stage and began his tune.

“I heard that you were looking for me, Miss..?”

The woman unveiled her face and smiled lovingly at Cole Phelps.

“Sweetie, it’s me. Your wife.”

Cole rushed up to her and brought her face to his chest as he embraced in a loving hold. She cleared her throat, telling Cole to disperse as the eyes of the room were on the pair.

“I think you owe me a dance, Mister.” She cooed.

“By my allegiance to the LAPD, I am sworn to comply.” Cole teased.

They held hands as they separated a few feet away. They clasped their hands close together and they began to move forward as one body. Cole’s suede shoes clicked on the floor while Maria’s slippers moved. They would occasionally look left or right to break their gaze from each other. The whole dance was spent looking into each other’s eyes.

They moved backwards, left and right, and forward. They jumped every once in a while to make a clicking that complimented their movements. They swayed backwards and forwards. They leaned into each other. They would do twists and turns and other such dances in this passionate courting. Cole and Maria moved away from each other a far distance and then ran back and jumped with Cole carrying her on his hands. As he lifted her she balanced herself in a graceful manner. Finally, as the song concluded, he brought her down to his arms and they kissed, which was applauded by the entire room.

Maria was embarrassed and her flushed cheeks became even redder than it already was. Phelps just waved a hand at the crowd and moved with his wife to his table surrounded by friends. He and his wife sat down as the aforementioned criminal apprehenders crowded them. They shook hands and Roy Earle even kissed hers. Cole’s partners had never met his family per say, and the same could be said the other way around. Life was kept strictly professional in their line of work.

The time seemed to be going great though. Laughs, cheers, and joyous times were being had. If only Cole Phelps could live like this forever. His wife took a drink from the table but it slipped out of her hand. Cole dived to try and catch it and save them face but he was too late. The glass slipped out of his hands and shattered. Time slowed as the thing collapsed, allowing Cole to watch each shard fly in multitudes of directions. But alas, it came to an end. The ear-piercing crash jolted Cole and he woke up.

Phelps’ ears were ringing, like someone had just lit off fireworks or he had just been sitting too close to the loud radio. He rubbed his ears and smacked it a few times to get some hearing but all he heard was a loud-pitched hum. It was giving him a headache. He turned to his friend Twilight who was scrunched up in the corner, crying. He moved his hands out to comfort her but he couldn’t for some reason.

It was as if he was strapped to their chair. There was also a pain in his stomach. It felt familiar, like it had happened before. He wasn’t sure what to make of this spectacle when he smelled something. The aroma was non-mistakable. It was the smell of gun residue and smoke. Someone had just shot a gun. He moved his hand for his holster only to find it empty. He searched his entire body with his eyes but found nothing.

There was an item shining at his feet though. He looked down and saw it. His nickel-plated Colt handgun was smoking at the end of the barrel. He saw little droplets of blood. He moved his hand to follow the trail as it headed upwards. It lead to his body. He moved his suit and found the source of the pain.

He let out a loud pain groan as he tried to stand up. Twilight had finally broken out of her self-loathing when she heard him make a sound. She moved over to him and hugged him, crying into his shoulders.

“I-I’m so sor-ry! I d-didn’t mean to h-hurt you!” Twilight’s voice was muffled as she sobbed into his clothes.

He put his free hand to her back and rubbed it gently. “It’s alright. Just do me a favor and bring me to the bathroom. I can clean this myself.”

His other hand was spent holding the gunshot wound to keep pressure on it. If he didn’t, the hole would continue to bleed and he would die. Then he motioned for her to move somewhere else.

“Can you get some antibiotics and maybe some towels? I need something to dress the wound.” He was speaking through gritted teeth as the pain was abominable. Luckily, he could feel that the bullet wasn’t stuck inside of him. It had ripped clean through from one side to the other, ending up wedged in the metal floor of the train. It hadn’t cut through any major organs from what he could tell, and it was basically a clean shot. All he needed was to wrap it and he’d be all better.

Twilight had sped off to find a doctor onboard. Cole, dragging himself basically, brought himself to a restroom. He looked to find that it wasn’t too bad; the blood had only stained a small portion of his clothes. It didn’t show up on his inner or outer black suit, just the white dress shirt. He unbuttoned the shirt hastily and began to clean the wound. Not a moment later, Twilight and another voice knocked from the other side.

"Where's the fire?" A unfamiliar voice asked.

Phelps opened the door and leaned against the wall.

“I need some stitches too.”

“I can take care of that.” The bearded middle-aged brown colt answered.

The doctor opened his medical bag and placed all of the needed items aside. He brought a swab of cotton to his mouth and dipped it in alcohol. He looked at the human to see if he was ready for the sudden sting, to which he said yes, and he cleaned the wound.

Cole Phelps had been shot before. When he was tasked with clearing caves of enemies during the Battle of Sugar Loaf, he ordered an entire cave to be set ablaze, unknowingly torturing the injured civilians and children inside. After seeing what he had done, he ordered them to be killed in mercy so that they may not feel the pain. Angered with his commanding officer’s horrid actions, Courtney Sheldon, a private in his platoon, shot him in his back.

How he survived that shot, Cole never knew. He did know that the Army regarded him as a hero, which he thought he wasn’t, and gave him a medal. Now reliving the memory, he thought that maybe this was God’s way of punishing him. He winced in pain from the sterilizing liquid but took it. Next came the stitching. He closed his eyes as the doctor began to mend his wounds. Within minutes, the wounds were closed and the bandages were wrapped around him.

Cole and Twilight sighed in relief and looked to the packing healer.

“How can I ever repay you Doc?”

“It’s fine, really. I’m just glad to help an injured soul. Thanks Celestia I got her in a flash. If I went any faster, I might have left a streak of fire in my wake." He chuckled. "It was nice meeting you Miss Sparkle and Mister Phelps. If you ever come into Canterlot again, I ask that you might stop by my office. It’s called ‘Doctor Forest’s Quick Fix Hospital’. I’m writing a book on foreign anatomy and I think you might make quite an article.”

“Well, thanks again, Forest. I’ll be sure to do that when I get the time.” Cole shook the colt’s hoof and they returned to their seats.

Phelps washed any of the left over blood on his seat and the floor and picked up his Colt handgun. He clicked the safety back on and holstered it again. He looked to Twilight, whose heart had not stopped thumping since the incident. She was still solemn and sorry for what she did.

The detective decided to get the story from her and why she did it. He gave a her a stern stare before speaking.

“Twilight, what happened?” His words were blunt but still had a caring tone to it.

“I..I..”

“What? Just say it.”

Twilight took a big breath and a large exhale. She began to recount her view of the events that had just transpired.

“When you fell asleep, I was talking about the proper way to talking to royalty. I wanted-and still do- for you to be on your best behavior so that the Princesses would be impresses with us. I didn’t want them to think of you as something bad or anything, because you really aren’t. I was also trying to tell you how you should address them but that’s when I heard the muttering. You were talking a bit in your sleep. But anyway, I may have gotten a little upset and smacked you..” She trailed off.

She looked to her partner to find daggers being thrown her way. If looks could kill, she would be six feet under right now. She looked down to the floor and continued.

“You didn’t wake up from the little ‘call’ and I decided to look through your things. That’s when I saw that shiny metal thingy that you had. It looked like a pipe on top of some box. I was messing around with it, throwing it around and such, then I saw a word on the side. It said safety, so I turned it thinking that it would guarantee out safety. Nothing happened. So I looked down the pipe, which pointed at your torso, and..well..I think you get the rest..” She looked up at him and immediately back down.

Phelps gave an over exaggerated sigh. He looked at Twilight and shook his head.

“I guess it’s my fault. I should’ve told you what it was so you would’ve known to not mess around with it. And if you’re really sorry about it and it was an accident, I can get over it. Just promise me you won’t screw around with my stuff, okay?”

Twilight nodded, still looking at the ground in shame.

“Listen here, this thing right here,” Cole explained as he brought his Colt out, still on safety for good measure. “Is a Colt M1911, nickel plated. It has special grips that enhance accuracy and it’s the best thing to have in a gunfight. I can’t even tell you how many times this baby has saved my hide.” He began to recall many of the shootouts that occurred on the streets of LA, whether they be during a case or a simple street crime.

Twilight began to eye the thing that she had used to injure her friend. She berated herself for even touching the thing, let alone use it. “What is a gun?” She asked as the technology of Equestria had certainly not reached this far weaponry wise.

“Oh, I guess you don’t have these, huh? Basically, in layman’s terms, it’s an endgame, a death bringer if you will. It shoots little metal pellets that will put down anything you need. Basically, if the need ever arises, you point and shoot. That’s all there is to it.”

Twilight understood the down toned explanation and made a mental note to never go near it again. The idea of even examining it was out of the question. During this whole debacle, they had not even noticed that they were arriving at their destination. The train whistle blew so loudly that it broke Cole and Twilight’s thoughts.

“Hear all, hear all. Now arriving at Canterlot Station. Check your belongings and make you way to the platform. Thank you for riding Equestrian Railways. We hope to see you again.” The conductor shouted.

Phelps took his bag off of the rack and Twilight did the same. The injured man thanked God that he did not carry many things or else it might’ve strained his muscles, causing the wound to hurt more than it already did. He was somewhat reluctant to go meet the rulers of this world on account of his newly-received injuries from his rookie partner.

‘Note to self; Never, EVER, let Twilight near my stuff. LET ALONE MY COLT.’

Canterlot; General Vicinity and Castle
9:14 AM

They walked along the platform and were met by a group of the Royal Guard. The largest and oldest looking one, who was a white coated Pegasus, stepped forward. He eyed the foreign being up and down. He turned his attention to the Princess’s apprentice.

“Miss Sparkle, you and your friend must come with us to the Royal Throne Room. The Princess wishes to meet this..thing.” The stallion spoke in a gruff voice.

“Sure thing. Cole, let’s go.”

Cole Phelps had meanwhile studied every single mark and feature on these guards. They wore golden armor that very much resembled something out of the Roman Centurions, or at least the ancient peoples of Sparta. They all looked the same, white coat and blue eyes. And they also seemed to have no emotion. If these were the police of Equestria, he wouldn’t mind having one or two watching his back.

Cole and Twilight began to walk, but the gunshot wound was acting up again. Phelps put pressure on it but was having trouble walking. Two of the guards took notice of this and walked on both of his sides. They gave him a sort of support to keep him standing. The detective gave an appreciative nod, which the guards answered by shaking their heads.

The walk to the Canter Castle was relatively short. The duration of it, however, consisted of uptight and snobby mares and stallions looking at Cole and gasping at his face. Most of them were appalled by his face itself, as it had not hair save for the top of his head. But they did admire his clothing because they seemed very fashionable. Saying that the human was an attention magnet was an under-statement. The citizens of Canterlot began to crowd the human’s destination. More guards actually had to be called in to stave the oncoming horde of onlookers.

After much inconveniences and ‘events’, they reached the Canterlot Castle gates. The door itself seemed to open on its own. Inside the building, was a magnificent hall that caused Cole to brighten up. To him, it was like something out of Hamlet or another Shakespearian work. The stonework was remarkable and the tapestries were regal. The murals on the windows were like something from a Catholic Church.

The castle itself smelled like flowers, tea, and perfume. For some reason though, when the group would reach an intersection of hallways, Cole felt like someone was watching him from the dark. He knew when he was being watched or followed. A couple of black eyes and bruises taught him that during his first days as a police officer.

The long march down the hallway came to a halt as a larger door opened. In this room, was definitely the throne room. Phelps could see two high-backed chairs and they were held in high esteem. They were situated so that the ones who sat on them would be able to see everything in the room. One of them had a sunny look to it and the other had luminescent scenery.

The guards abruptly stopped them in the middle of the room and left. Twilight Sparkle and Cole Phelps were the only ones in the room. Suddenly, sounds of hooves came from an unseen doorway. Out of the shadow, came a tall regal looking mare that was as white as snow and as majestic as a lioness. She had a warm smile written on her face as she moved in front of the two investigators. From behind her, another similar looking mare that was as blue and black as the night sky moved forward. When they finally reached the two, they observed and analyzed everything about the human.

While the room remained silent, Twilight bit her lip from the awkwardness, while Phelps had studied the two ponies before him. They both wore a crown, which meant that they were royalty, no doubt the Princesses. They had horns which meant that they were unicorns. But something on their sides confused the mythology-read detective. They had wings. Now normally, it was one or the other, not both. So this appearance baffled him. Finally, he was that they had two contradictory Cutie Marks.

The white princess had a sun adorning her flank while the dark blue one had a moon adorning hers. Phelps could only deduce that their special talent must have something to do with the weather, more specifically the celestial bodies.

The white princess broke the deafening silence.

“Hello, my name is Princess Celestia. This is my sister Princess Luna. We are the rulers of Equestria, and our duties are to raise the sun and moon. You are Cole Phelps, if I’m not mistaken?”

Cole moved his hand forward waiting for the friendly gesture to be returned. “That’s right, Princess. It’s nice to finally meet you; Twilight here talks about you a lot.” He shot a grin toward the bulgy-eyed lavender unicorn.

Princess Celestia closed her eyes and kept that same regality about her. She extended her hoof and they shook. Twilight began to speak up.

“Princess, I hope that it isn’t too much if I ask for room close to some doctors.”

Princess Celestia gave her student a curious look. “What do you mean, Twilight? Are you hurt?”

Twilight looked to the floor once again. ‘Boy, does she really likes floors.’ Cole mused to himself. Twilight’s cheeks began to blush in a pink hue.

“It’s not me that’s hurt, Princess..I kind of hurt Cole..” She almost said inaudibly.

Princess Celestia looked back at Cole who was scratching his head. He then responded to her curious gaze. “It’s alright, Princess. Just a projectile ‘misfire’.” Princess Celestia decided to not press the matter further and answered Twilight’s request.

“I shall accommodate Mr. Phelps with a room near the Royal Medical Team. Luna, have you any say in this matter?”

Cole turned his attention to the silent princess of the night. He extended his hand in the same gesture, waiting for it to be returned.

“Nice to meet you, Princess Luna. Twilight told me a lot about you too. She said I just missed the Nightmare Night Celebration or something and you were there. I take it that it’s named after you?”

The princess kept her unimpressed and almost intimidating look about her. She eyed his hand then his face. He slowly began to put his hand back down when all of a sudden; she brought her hoof up to comply. They shook and Cole gave her a friendly grin. She still looked at him undeterred though.

“Why is she so ‘unwelcoming’?” Cole whispered to Twilight.

“I don’t know. Just be careful though. She uses the Royal Canterlot Vo-” Twilight stopped near the completion of her sentence when she saw Princess Luna brace herself. Princess Luna took a deep breath and opened her mouth.

Cole looked at Princess Luna with a bewildered face and wasn’t sure what exactly was about to happen. Before Princess Luna even spoke, Twilight could feel the strong gust that was about to hit her partner straight in the face. During this crucial moment, she could only think one thing.

‘Oh horse apples.’

Way Back "Home"

Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter, but I need time to work on the next one. The next is going to be a Case. I was thinking, should I put "Case" in front of chapter names with cases? Tell me in the comment section what you think. Also, pay attention to the last major Case with Lyra, because all of the oncoming cases add up to the last chapter which is arrviing soon. By the way, there are two more cases, and one more filler chapter.

‘A lot of things allow people to judge each other. These things, whether money, status, actions, views, thoughts, they all count as the important part of people. I don’t think in the same way. I judge a character by his personality and good-deeds. If someone is a kind-hearted soul, then they’re good in my books. If they aren’t, well let’s say I wouldn’t exactly give them a Christmas present. I also respect a person if they speak in a noble fashion. I hate jerks who think they’re all high and mighty, but I prefer those who are humble and forthcoming. If you can gain my attention and speak the truth, we’ll be the best of friends.’

Everything within Cole’s sight was blurry. He could hear sound, but it was being drowned out by the noise of ringing in his ears. There were multiple figures, one purple one, one blue one, and a final one being pure white. He tried to move his arms but they felt like hundred pound weights. His legs felt no better. He could do nothing but sit there and vegetate.

More figures started to form, the same form as the other three but they were white at the middle and then different colors on the ends. His vision was starting to get more focused as he could make out a window on his left side. The sky was still blue and cloudless. That constant ringing was still paining his ears though. It was as if someone had shot a heavy machine gun next to his ears. He had suffered this pain multiple times during his deployment.

Rookie gunners would lie next to him and open fire, not even regarding their superior officer. He was just glad he had not gone deaf from it like many of them men in other platoons had. Still though, this ringing was lasting longer than all of the other times combined. It was faltering however, as some words w ere reaching his sensory organs.

“…..he……okay?” A distorted voice asked.

“Not……….might be…paralysis…” Another voice answered.

“Luna…….voice?” The previous voice asked again.

“We……….did not……harm..” Cole could recognize this one, even if it was only for a second.

If only he could make sense of what they said. He tried yet again to raise him limbs but nothing. He could still feel them there, so dismemberment was not a possibility. He wasn’t paralyzed, as he could move his fingers and toes. He tried to arch upward to see everything. Cole Phelps, ace detective, was met with failure when trying to move his body.

“It looks like he’s waking up!” Twilight said.

Phelps’ hearing was restoring itself. His hands could now move a few inches and his feet as well. He pushed himself off the bed he was on and arched forward. The human rubbed his head, trying to recall the events that had caused this. It was seriously all a blank.

“What happened?” Cole groaned.

“We…I can tell you what hath happened. When I first saw you, I was just fascinated with thou. Thou art a being that I have never seen before. So We…I..held myself together until you spoke to me. I may have accidentally…used the Royal Canterlot Voice..” Princess Luna looked away in shame.

“Royal Canterlot Voice? Alright…I’ll take that as a bad thing. So what exactly happened after?” Phelps motioned for her to continue on.

“The force and wind of the Voice may have thrown you a good distance away and right into a marble column…”

“So that’s what happened.” The detective concluded. “Well, is there anything else I can help you or the other Princess with, or is that all?”

“Yes, We wish to speak with thou on the matter of history, technology, and other important trivial matters.”

Reluctantly, Cole nodded his head in agreement while Twilight sat by his side, watching them converse. All throughout the questioning, which felt ironic to the detective seeing as how he always did it, doctors and nurses would come in and check his wounds and so forth. So far, he showed no fractured ribs or bones. His wound was still a bit rough but they assured him that it would be fine.

Canterlot Castle
3:13 PM

“So thou art telling Us that there is a contraption that can fly? Luna was skeptical from what Cole Phelps had told her.

“Yes ma’am. The first known sketched out plan was by Leonardo Da Vinci. Then the Wright Brothers perfected it and created the first working model. And from those great men, came the working plane that is still used on Earth to date.” The human explained.

“Well, that…intrigues Us. That concludes all of the questions that We have for thou. You may go now, back to Ponyville.”

Cole, after his clothes were cleaned and pressed by the medical staff, took his pile of belongings and went to the bathroom and changed quickly. His attire felt as soft as it had felt when he had first put it on. He tugged his fedora forwards and walked out. He motionied Twilight to gather her things as well and they made for the door.

“Hark, Cole Phelps. We are..sorry for the incident earlier and as such allow you to buy anything from the Canterlot wares as a token of Our apology. Be sure to tell the owners that We have decreed so.” Luna added.

“It’s alright Your Highness. I don’t need anything.” Phelps was being completely modest.

Princess Luna, formerly Nightmare Moon, furrowed her brows at him with a look that visibly stated “Take the offering or feel my wrath.”

Cole, evaluating just the gusto of her windy voice, gulped and nodded, then hastily began to jog down the hallway towards the castle gates. Twilight was just a few feet behind him.

“So airplanes? Why didn’t you ever tell me about them?” His partner asked in an annoyed tone.

“You never asked. Besides, I never knew that Pegasi could control the weather. That sounds ridiculous!”

“A flying piece of metal sounds ridiculous! Especially since it has no magic powering it!” Twilight retorted.

“Oh it has magic alright. The magic of sweat, blood, and gasoline.” Cole Phelps felt pretty proud seeing as how his race was more technologically advanced, despite the ponies’ magic and flying capabilities.

Twilight huffed at his response and they continued on. They rushed past a group of castle guards who watched the gates. Before the guards could even speak up, the two inspectors were gone in a flash. They ran down the white stone flooring until they reached the marketplace of Canterlot.

“I thought you didn’t need anything?” Twilight reminded.

“I don’t. But Rarity would probably like a thing or two. She talk about this place all the time.” Phelps remembered in most of the conversations the tenant and the manager gad, the latter had always dreamed of living in this metropolitan city.

Twilight gave him a cocky grin. “So you talk a lot, huh?”

“….I don’t like that smirk you’re giving me.” Phelps scowled at her attitude.

“What smirk?” Twilight asked rhetorically, still having the same look.

“Never mind. Let’s just check this place out. ‘Fancy Pant’s Formal Attire and Camaraderie’, wow that’s a pretty unique name, don’t you think?” Cole looked at his rookie but she didn’t answer, only nodding in agreement.

(Let's add some music, eh?)

The two walked inside and found a wide assortment of clothing and fabrics. If this wasn’t Rarity’s Boutique, then it would be a front-runner to it. The store itself was so large that one could even think it to be a castle in itself. There were hundreds of mannequins, in pony-form of course, laden amongst the millions of assorted outfits.

Unable to decide for himself, he turned to his friend. The lavender mare just stood her ground, dumbfounded by the multitude of dresses. Deciding he was on his own, Phelps moved to the counter where a very refined gentleman wearing a monocle and suit, not to mention a moustache, was reading a book. The human cleared his throat and gained his attention.

“Mmm..Yes? Can I help you, my gentleco-” The stallion was cut short when he saw his new customer.

“Name’s Cole Phelps, it’s nice to meet you. I was wondering if you had anything you could recommend for a mare. Something…exotic or fancy. I’m not sure what Rarity would like…” Cole trailed off.

The store owner snapped out of his daze and regained his fancy-like composure. “Why, you know the fair Miss Rarity? You must be quite the character then. Pleasure to meet you; I am the procurer of this fine establishment. And if you haven’t read the name already, then my name is Fancy Pants.”

The two shook hand and hoof together. “Here are the finest things in this place, sir. Take them as a complimentary gift to the fair lady.” Fancy Pants gave Cole a bag full of many expensive looking materials.

“Wow, these look like something. Well, if there’s anything I can do..”

“Not at all, my good man. This is courtesy of friends, is it not? Please greet her for me.”

“I will.” Cole and Twilight left the store after waving farewell to Fancy Pants.

They began to walk to the train station, not having to pay for a ticket this time. The entire station was crowded this time, unlike their trip to Canterlot. This time, the two friends just decided to remain quiet on the return trip. As if on cue, the whistle sounded yet again. The train itself came speeding after.

“Now hear this, the Canterlot to Ponyville train is now arriving. Departure is in three minutes, please take your seats.” The conductor called.

The two made their way to the seats, the train this time being more polished and furnished, seeing as how it was from Canterlot. They sat down and let out a sigh of content. The sound of the whistle and the tracks passing under the train floor filled their ears as they began to slumber. Cole Phelps was just closing his eyes to be specific. His partner, on the other hand, was leaning her head on his arm and snoring the evening away. Cole chuckled to himself, the little unicorn reminding him of his daughter, and just looked out of the train window until they reached home.

“Home. I’d never thought I’d be calling a place full of ponies home.” He said to himself.

Ponyville
7:46 PM

Cole Phelps had to carry the weary unicorn, along with his and her belongings, to the library. The walk was very solemn. Many of the citizens of the town were wrapping up their business. Shoppers were beginning to leave the marketplace and go back to their homes. Shop keepers were collecting their leftover wares and storing them for the next day. Nopony paid the over-encumbered detective any mind whilst he dragged the things through.

With the giant, hollowed-out tree in sight, Cole used all of his remaining might to sprint to the finish line. And within seconds, with some sweat running down his face and onto his chin, he knocked on the wooden door. He could hear some footsteps inside shuffling about. Finally, they rested at the doorway and the door creaked open.

“Hello? Oh, hey Cole. Twilight’s asleep? You can drop her wherever, I can take care of the rest.” Spike gestured to the bean bags in the corner of the room.

“Okay, make sure to get her things too. Have a good night, Mister Spike.” Cole slowly lowered her onto the floor and dropped her saddle bags onto the ground.

“Will do, Cole. And stop calling me ‘Mister’. Jeez, you make me sound like I’m old.”

Cole let out a half-chuckle and made his way to Carousel Boutique. “See you later.”

The walk to his temporary home was like a blank. It went briskly by as he thought about how the rest of his life would go. If this was truly an afterlife, then it wasn’t one to him. He kind of missed the action back in LA. The sounds of gunshots, police sirens, and threats were just imprinted in his mind. They were like an everyday thing to him.

There was almost none of that here. There weren’t any cars, any guns, and any heavy artillery. How did these things fight? He wasn’t even sure if he would actually use his Colt handgun for purposes other than clearing crowds. He put the though aside when he abruptly bumped into the front door. Pulling his spare key from his pocket, he put the brass metal into the lock and turned.

The sounds of sweet jazz filled the air. The entire front of the place was lit up like a Christmas tree. He looked all around, and as per usual, it was clean. The floor itself was spotless and the walls were lined with various designs and outfits. Back in the inspiration room, Cole could see little pieces of paper hanging out. If there was one room that was always messy, it was Rarity’s room. She called it “organized chaos” when it was really just a big trash heap.

He breathed in deeply, feeling the stitches on his wounds and called out. “I’m back home!”

Case: Birds of a Feather

‘People are leeches. They suck the blood of another until said victim is run dry. In a sense, people do the same thing. They take other people’s money, food, family, the list goes on. Everyone has a motive underneath. Someone never just does something because they feel like it. Whether it’s something primal or conscious, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is the ability of one to control themselves, to stop their wrong doings. In this world, we can’t stop ourselves from doing bad things; we just have an inclination to do it. We aren’t bad at heart, but we are tempted to do so. One just needs to learn how to control it.’

The previous day, the day in which Cole was shot by his own gun, met the royalty of Equestria, and bought some desirables for his friend, Rarity, ended in smoothly. Upon announcing his arrival, Rarity came clobbering down the stairs, still in her bath robe and a mud mask stricken on her face. By the time she collected herself, Cole was trying his hardest not to laugh.

Upon exchanging greetings, Cole gave her the shopping bag full of things from the stallion named Fancy Pants. It took some time before she reacted, but her reaction was completely unexpected. Her eyes widened as she basically leapt onto the detective. She expressed an endless amount of thank yous as she held him in a tight embrace. It had taken some time for her to let go. Tired from the events, Cole gave her a sincere smile as he went upstairs and slept soundly once again. Thoughts of his family entered his mind once more…

Rarity’s Boutique
7:07 AM

Cole Phelps woke up on his own accord, enjoying every single minute longer that he had spent lying in the bed. He checked his treasured wristwatch as he saw the time of day. He chastised himself for waking up so late and got up from his bed. As per usual, the regular events of the morning ensued.

After the justice aficionado finished his warm shower, he turned his attention to the choice of appearance for the day. After selecting from a wide variety of fanciful clothing, Cole took in hand a brown suit. He took a velvet red tie and wrapped it around his neck, accordingly. He took his brown fedora in hand and went into the hallway. From what he could tell, the other two roommates had woken long since. He went downstairs and peeked around the railing.

“Why do come down, darling. I just finished breakfast!” Rarity called.

Cole took his time down the marble stairs, admiring how much shine it had. With each step passing, he saw his own reflection in the small slabs of stone. He turned his head back to the mare and could not but gawk at what was before him.

“Well, what do you think?” Rarity stretched out her forehooves in a manner as if she was presenting her food.

Phelps was speechless. There were miles upon miles of pancakes. Following this was a mountain of buttered toast, coffee, lemonade, and possibly anything else that a vegetarian would eat for breakfast. Cole gulped rather audibly as he cleared his throat.

“Ahem, this is a good spread you got here.” Cole stuttered out. He never ate this big before.

“Well, that must be exciting for the females back at your home, but what about the food?” Rarity replied wittily.

It took some time for Cole to put two and two together, finally realizing her joke. “Wha..But…Miss Rarity, that’s not what I meant!” He guffawed.

“I know, it’s just a joke. But really, I just felt this was needed after you looked so tired yesterday.” Rarity explained.

“Well, I was pretty tired. But that’s all over now….” His stomach growled loudly, quelling his rebellion. “I’ll take a seat if you don’t mind me.” Cole sat down without any further comments or inquiries.

Rarity chuckled a bit as she sat herself. And so, they dug into the massive meal before them. Phelps had to admit, the food here was amazing. It was like the fine imported Italian cheese that his father had always let him have a sample of. But those were pretty expensive. If something that was pretty cheap was so good, how would the expensive cuisine taste? He would have to find out soon enough.

After letting out a loud belch, the well-mannered human wiped himself with a cloth as he excused himself.

“Well, I have nothing to do. I guess I’ll check on Twilight.” Cole figured as he made his way for the door.

“Wait! I was hoping if you would kindly check on Fluttershy? She seems to be having some sort of a problem at the moment.” Rarity asked.

Cole nodded and opened the door. “Sure thing, I’ll bring Twilight along just in case.”

As Cole walked outside into Ponyville once again, the sun glimmered ever so brightly. This time he was prepared for the celestial body. He shielded his eyes in a way that he would be able to see the large fiery sphere but also allow him some relief. The start of a brand new day was at hand.

Cole’s shoes lightly tapped against the ground as he made his way to the library. Thankfully, it wasn’t too much of a far walk. Though he did get a good night’s sleep, he was still worn out from the wound and the miniature tornado called the Royal Canterlot Voice. He waved to a few of the familiar looking residents that passed him by. Ponyville was a small town, that was for sure.

He thought over the following plans of the week.

‘So I have to check out Fluttershy..what else? I really have nothing else going on, do I? God, I need something that can take up my time. Barely anything happens here that’s isn’t too difficult to solve..’

Phelps, with a keen eye for solving mysteries and crimes, was actually pretty free. At first, he would think that it would be a paradise but he was wrong. After relaxing for so long, one starts to feel nostalgic over things that they frequented. For Cole, apprehending criminals and solving crime was his daily life. He knew that the rare occasion of crime would not quench his thirst for helping people, or ponies in this case. He felt obligated to do so, mostly in part with his actions during the war.

His mental contemplation caused him to be distracted for a moment’s notice. He quickly snapped out of his day dream as he stopped himself from colliding with the exterior of Ponyville’s library. He knocked on the door with a hint of urgency, albeit it was drowned out by the feeling of fatigue. The door slowly shifted open as a small head poked out.

“Oh hey, Cole. Looking for Twilight?” Spike asked.

Cole nodded his head in response.

“Sorry, dude. She’s really busy today. She totally forgot that today was re-shelving day. You had to see her when she practically went nuts over her ruined schedule.” The assistant explained.

“I suppose it would be useless to ask her to help me on a little situation?” Phelps mentioned.

“Yeah, pretty much. She went bananas when she was late for a letter to the Princess, so I think we should let her sort everything out.” Spike replied.

“That’s fine.” Phelps accepted. The two waved goodbye as Cole turned his back to the library, facing in direction of Fluttershy’s cottage. “I’ll just go solo on this one…”

Fluttershy’s Cottage Outside of the Everfree Forest
7: 41 AM

If Cole Phelps had known how hot it would have been, he would’ve left the fedora and suit back in his room. He was practically sweating bullets as the sun had intensified over the short half hour that had passed. He hoped that the sun would cool later during the afternoon or evening. He wiped his face as his hair was completely soaked. He combed it back with his hand as he continued on.

Fluttershy’s roof was but a few dozen feet away. Phelps took a big sniff as the greens of the Everfree were nearing. Sure, he had the pleasure of smelling the aroma of flowers in Ponyville, but there were plants here that nopony dared to take. It was stunning really, the flora called Poison Joke. Twilight had informed him of the plant’s ability to cause reactions, although they were more of a harmless prank than a lethal poison. Despite its wild effects, the flower itself still smelled as sweet as honey.

After finishing his marvel of beauty, his love of poetry and all things literature being the underlying tone, he soldiered onto the home of the timid little Pegasus. The door seemed to be open from the angle that he was standing at. He squinted his eyes in order to get a better view. It was open. His twenty-twenty vision, along with the basic training of using a rifle, allowed him to fully see that it was indeed open. Not only that, but it was forced open. He could see shards of wood all around the border of the doorway.

Without a second thought, he took his handgun out of its holster and moved quietly towards the front door. He could make out a few distinct set of tracks. They weren’t ponies though, which threw the detective off his first guess. He’d have to inquire later as he heard a small little squeal inside. He brought his back in line with the door as he took calm breaths.

‘One..two…’

“Three!” Phelps shouted as he ducked out of his cover and moved inside.

There was clearly a struggle inside of the humble home as Cole Phelps saw dozens of glass pieces and furniture thrown about in a chaotic manner. There were many dents in the walls of the home and in some cases, there were entire holes. Aware of the worst but hoping for the best, Cole crept into the living room.

“He-hello?” A tiny voice stammered.

Checking the perimeter, Cole hesitantly followed the sound of the voice, still remaining silent.

“W-who’s there?” The voice spoke again.

Still deathly silent, Phelps continued further.

“Please d-don’t hurt me again..” The voice whispered.

That did it for the detective. He basically sprinted the remaining distance (a foot or two) and checked for the source of the voice. There was nothing but a turned over couch. The human got down on his knees as he wrapped his hands around the head cushions. With some effort, he lifted the piece of furniture back to its upright nature and sighed.

Cole reached his hand out to the cowering Fluttershy, who in turn shivered even more. Phelps, a bit unsure of how to proceed, stroked her mane gently. She seemed to not tense as much as before and started to look up to meet him.

“Are they here?”

“Who? “ Phelps inquired with a stern face.

“The…the…Eep!” She screamed as she recalled who her assaulters were.

Cole realized that this was getting him nowhere. Having Twilight with him would have made calming the poor mare a whole lot easier. Since he was alone, and he barely had any interaction with her, soothing Fluttershy was going to be no meager task. He sheathed his gun as he put his hands around her form. She tensed, trying to pry herself from his grip. He only continued, lifting her to the couch and sitting next to her. He looked deeply into her reservoir of blue eyes, staring widely at him with the same hued tears bordering her tear ducts.

“Are you alright, Miss?”

“I..I think so..” Fluttershy responded.

Cole gave her a look over as he continued speaking to her. He noticed some blue and purple spots that conflicted with her normally yellow coat. “Were you with anyone else before…” He took a look around the room, pointing his hands to emphasize the situation’s magnitude. “This happened?”

“Um….no..I don’t think so anyway..” Again, she spoke in a soft voice.

“And when did this happen?”

“Well..right after I normally feed Angel, so…just twenty minutes ago?” Fluttershy started to calm herself.

After mentally kicking himself as he could’ve prevented this beat down, as it seemed, or at least saw the perpetrators’ faces, he grimaced and looked back to her. “Miss Fluttershy, tell me what exactly happened.”

“Well…”

Fluttershy’s Cottage
7:18

“There you go, Angel. Is it just how you want it?” Fluttershy asked with a smile as she removed her chef hat.

Angel nodded his head vigorously as he munched down on the breakfast special his best friend had made him, “Carrots Le Petite”.

Fluttershy gave him a warm smile and patted his little furry head. “I’m glad you liked it. I worked really hard to make it just right.”

Fluttershy flapped her wings as she flew over to the windowsill. She pushed the shutters open as she admired the beauty of nature. She could see everything in harmony. The butterflies floated in the distance. The bumblebees were sleeping on sunflowers. The squirrels ate their acorns in the trees gleefully.

Fluttershy inhaled deeply, ready to address the world in a shout.

*Gasp*

“Good morning, everypony.” She said in a very raised whisper.

As expected, nopony heard her and she just continued back to her friend. “Angel, what time did we have to-”

Fluttershy stopped as she heard her front door open. She was not expecting any visitors anytime soon. She had spoken to Rarity about some problems she had been having, but she assured her fashionable friend that it was nothing of grave importance. Thought it wasn’t the whole truth, she was sure that Rarity had sent Cole to check up on her. Thinking it was the human, she smiled as she turned to the hallway.

“Oh you didn’t have to come and check on me Cole. I’m perfectly fine.” She reasoned.

“Oh, you won’t be so perfect after I’m done with you.” An all too familiar voice answered.

Immediately, Fluttershy tensed up and began to search for an exit. She had not expected a surprise “visit” so soon. In fact, she was hoping they wouldn’t happen again. She looked at Angel, who was staring at her with worried eyes. Fluttershy began to mouth words.

“Run! Run as far as you can Angel bunny!” She was starting to tear up, knowing what was going to happen.

The small critter reluctantly hopped off hastily. He had escaped the torment to come. For Fluttershy, there was no escape, there never was. Her “friend” always brought her “friends” whenever they wanted to visit Fluttershy. She could already see the silhouettes of the others guarding the exits. She heard some knuckles crack from right behind her. Instinctively, she spun around to meet her visitor. She gave her a smile, hoping it would perhaps help her ease the situation.

“Hi…Gilda..”

Fluttershy's Cottage
Present Time

After finishing recounting her morning, Fluttershy began to whimper yet again. Cole put a hand on her shoulder as he looked into her eyes.

“Hey look, they won’t do it again, I promise you. As long as I’m breathing, they won’t spend another day without a pair of steel shackles around their han- claws.” He caught himself from mistaking the limbs as he assured her sincerely.

She looked up, crying but smiling throughout the sad endeavor. “R-really?”

“I promise.”

“Do you Pinkie Promise?” She sniffled.

“What? I don’t even…yeah, I do.” He reluctantly agreed. “So do you remember where they went?”

“No, not really. But I think I heard one of them say they were going to hang out at the…Everfree Castle?!” She was frightened when recalling the events that she had with her friends the first time they had gone there.

“A castle in the forest?” Cole raised an eyebrow. “That is not the most strategic placing for a keep. But hey, I’ve seen weirder things, right?” He was skeptical but glad to have a sense of direction nonetheless. “So where is it?”

“Just head due north, you can’t miss it. It has a …scary bridge!” She warned.

“Right,” Cole stood up and began to walk towards the door. “I’m sure the bridge is frightening.” He waved a dismissive hand. “Take care and make sure to have a doctor check that out. I’d say that the bruises will hurt for the next few days or so.” He opened reached the hallway and craned his head to see her for a last time. “Stay safe, Miss.”

Fluttershy smiled at him for the concern. “Oh, I will..just do me a favor? If you don’t mind that is…don’t hurt them.” She pleaded.

Cole Phelps turned his back to her as he moved out of the door. “I won’t hurt them!” He called. After he was out of hearing range, he muttered to himself. “I won’t hurt them. I’ll hurt them a lot.”

He couldn’t stand seeing the timid Pegasus like that. There was something special about Fluttershy, something that he had rarely seen in his entire life. It was something that he had wished there was more in LA, let alone Earth. It was something that he was sworn and obligated to protect, something that he wanted spread through the world. Innocence.

He had never before seen a large display of innocence and care in his career. After being beaten by the griffin, Gilda, she was forced to watch as Gilda's friends ransacked and vandalized her home. After finishing, they began to assault her mentally and emotionally, calling her degrading names and such. Fluttershy told of the events that had led up to this. After being defriended by Rainbow Dash, Gilda decided to do whatever she could to harm her friends. Fluttershy was the easiest target of all and was thus, the first choice.

For months on end, Gilda had been beating Fluttershy and in some instances, her animals. For some reason, Fluttershy always forgave them; only causing Gilda to mock her more. Phelps’ blood was boiling. Here was an innocent child, devoid of heinous thoughts or actions. She went as far as to forgive any who had caused her harm or done anything distasteful against her. Yet, people called her weak. He just wanted to find the griffins and make them pay, more than just apprehending them.

If Twilight was here with him, he might’ve gone about this in a calmer manner. After all, he was level-headed in many situations and preferred peace over violence. But this was something else, and for once, he had no restraint. This time, the gloves came off and the formalities, abandoned. Everyone had to let out their steam sometime, and this was the engine room of Cole’s disdain for humanity and evil.

Everfree Forest
8: 22 AM

Cole Phelps was practically stampeding through the forest. While the wildlife was once thriving, they were now silent as mice. Cole’s anger was sensed by the creatures of the Everfree as they decided to move out of the infernal path. If his anger could actually be emitted in fumes, the entire forest would have been set ablaze the moment his big toe left Fluttershy’s doorway.

What few animals or mythical creatures that had mustered the courage to express their less than tolerable liking to his presence were quickly quelled by his Colt’s echoing shot. He was seriously not to be trifled with at the moment. He was aware of his gung-ho attitude, but was un-phased by his bluntness. Animals were more intelligent than humans in the instinct sense. So they were able to decipher his “Screw off” attitude. The once spaced out claw prints of five griffons started to intermingle into but a mere two set of limbs.

The track was beginning to thin out and would soon end. He felt a sudden change in temperature as the air started to become cooler. He looked ahead and there, but a meager ten feet, was a large wooden bridge atop an endless chasm or gorge that was canopied by fog. The bridge itself was made of highly unused wood that looked like it was about to fall apart. It was obvious that the bridge was in need of extensive repair but the detective did not care. This was something personal.

With a teeming ocean of confidence, he crossed the rickety bridge with ease. The boards that had fallen from the wooden deathtrap from his footsteps had seemingly taken notice of his mood. Proving this was the fact that the boards did not snap or fall upon his immediate touch, rather moments afterwards. With the bridge to his back, Phelps pressed onward. The castle was in sight. After lying in ditches, surrounded by enemies and the deceased bodies of his fellow US troops, he had also developed a keen sense of perception. With the almost bat-like sense of hearing, he made out some chatter, albeit incoherent. Reigniting his train of pain, he charged like a knight in shining armor, save for the battle cry, noble steed, sword, lance, shield, or armor.

Everfree Castle
8:41 AM

Fluttershy's description of the old castle was pretty spot on. From her words, the old destroyed ruin was "scary, dangerous, dark, and evil". Phelps didn't need to be a psychic to know or feel the bad vibes this place was giving off. The stone foundation was scarce, virtually nonexistent. The columns were littered with moss and decay. Wild plants grew between cracks and holes. And adding to the cliche of decrepit fortresses was an array of musty statues. In all, it was a pretty depressing sight.

Nonetheless, Phelps pressed onward to "apprehend" the malefactors. The chatter was getting closer; he could feel the subtle vibrations shaking the ground. Nearing the entrance of the building, he took his Nickel-plated gun and checked its magazine. It still had a full clip, minus one bullet used in the forest. He stretched a few times, limbering up for the incoming physical confrontation. Well, he hoped that it would lead to one. He paused to listen for any nearby movements inside. Nothing but the sound of dripping water ensued. Yet another cliche; a leak in the walls leading to a nervous tempo of consciousness. With no one inside, Cole swept around the corner and into the hall.

The hall was dark and dimly lit. There were two torches lighting the long chasm. If he were not planning on being stealthy, he would've took his flashlight in hand and proceeded madly. But due to having the ability to retain some reasoning, he silently crept forward. The voices were within earshot now.

"Hey bro, get your stinking claw off my stuff." A gruff female voice called.

"Your stuff? I took that from the pony and then put it down for a few seconds. You just picked it up and called it yours!" A male voice retorted.

"Oh yeah? Wanna fight about it?" The gruff voice threatened.

"You're so lucky the bosses are paying us to focus on the smart guy and his stupid pony friends. How are we supposed to know what he looks like anyway? They don't even know what he looks like. I tell ya, the only reason we're out here is because those dumb dogs got caught with their tongues out. If they were smart enough to get rid of the trail, we'd be flying back home.."

"Oh stop whining like a girl. You know what? Stop whining like a Fluttershy."

"That's a low blow, dude." The male answered.

"Hey, where's idiot number two?" The girl asked.

"I dunno. Should be on his way here though."

Phelps had been taking note of these facts. These griffins were not only harming Fluttershy, but were after the detective himself as well. In fact, they were after all of the girls. There was some sort if link between the Diamond Dogs, these griffins and the "bosses" that the two work for. These small strings of crime were definitely something big.

Finishing up, Cole pocketed his notebook and pencil and drew his attention and gun back on the two inside of a large (what seemed to be) throne room. There were multiple broken and normal windows inside. Hopefully, they wouldn't try to run from Cole. As he finished his inspection, Phelps walked inside of the room loudly. He slammed his loafers against the old stone flooring to emphasize his presence. The two griffins turned to face the newcomer.

"What the feather are you supposed to be?" The female asked.

"Are you Gilda?" Phelps asked emotionless.

"Yeah, who's asking?" Gilda replied.

"A friend of Fluttershy's. I'm here to take you in for vandalism, assault, animal abuse, intended murder, and conspiracy. You have the right to remain silent." He grinned, hoping they'd react as planned.

"Apprehend us? This feather brain thinks he can catch us. Well come on, pip-squeak. Let's dance!" Gilda taunted, pushing her friend first.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Phelps replied as he cracked his own neck, freeing the tension building in his muscle.

The griffin, unsure of how to proceed, charged at Cole Phelps blindly. With ease, the veteran stepped to the side and gave a hard jab to the attacker's beak. A loud and agonizing pop followed as the top part of the beak was forced out of place. He fell to the ground, holding his maw in an attempt to ease the pain.

"This is for Fluttershy." Cole stated as he kicked the griffin in the stomach, causing the victim to exhale deeply.

In retaliation, the griffin clawed Cole's thigh, cutting through the linen suit pants, and displaying three red flowing cuts upon the detective's lightly tanned skin. Wincing in pain, Phelps kicked the griffin again, successfully knocking all of the wind in the downed bird's lungs. The griffin would be incapacitated for some time. Now finished with one of the two griffins, the human turned to greet the remaining criminal.

The sound of a loud growl and the feeling of sharp claws across his face followed. It took Cole Phelps some time to realize what had occurred. Before him, flying in the air triumphantly, was Gilda who was admiring a few strands of red flowing down her claws.

"Ya know, you fight pretty good for an ugly monkey. I can see why the bosses want you out of the picture and how you took out those dumb Diamond Dogs. If you thought this would be easy, you're dead wrong. You'll never beat me or the bosses. And you just wait, all of your friends are going down, one by-"

*Bang* *Bang*

Gilda fell to the ground quickly as two bullets exited both of her wings. Bleeding out of her wounds, the griffin thug tried to flap her wings hopelessly. She screamed in pain and anger when each flap caused her displeasure.

"Gah! What did you do to me?!"

Cole wiped the blood on his face and felt the large claw mark that was drawn on it. He used his tie to dry out most of the red substance. He calmly approached Gilda and gave her a distasteful look.

"I guess you never heard of this either, huh? Well, in layman's terms, it can shoot little metal pellets that can cut through just about anything. In rare cases, I use this. This is a rare case." The detective stated matter-of-factly.

"Just wait till the bosses find out! You're dead! You are dead!" Gilda threatened.

"I usually take criminals in and have them locked up, but you did something horrible. Something that almost rivals what I did. You beat up Fluttershy, even destroying her when she forgave you. Well, I can't forgive you for that. No one should." Cole aimed his gun at Gilda's head.

"Wait! You need me! I can tell you who the bosses are!" Gilda tried to bribe the modest detective.

"I live for justice and stand for the weak. I fight and jail criminals so that the children can roam safely. I give my life for the world. I still I've your friend, don't I?" The detective that everyone once knew was gone momentarily. Everyone has a dark side and Cole's had taken over.

"But.." Gilda was wordless.

"Crime never pays, Gilda. Crime never pays." Cole pulled the trigger.

Instead of hearing any impact between flesh and metal, Phelps heard the sound of metal upon stone. Looking down, he saw the lone bullet lodged into the stone next to Gilda's head. He turned his head to see who had caused him to miss.

"Thank Celestia I got here in time!"

"......Twilight?"

The purple mare galloped to Cole's side, examined the injured Gilda, and looked at Phelps in shock. "Cole? You did this?"

Well, the detective was caught with the smoking gun, literally. Not sure on how to explain, he asked how she had arrived.

"Well, Fluttershy came over and asked if you came back. I never even knew that you went to her house. So I asked her what happened and where you went. That's when I used the teleport spell and got here. Did you do this?!" She asked again.

Cole opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Gilda.

"Get the claw outta here! They caught us!" The injured leader shouted at the door.

Out of the corner of his eye, Phelps saw a shadowed figure flee the scene. Through his deductive skills, he concluded that it was the third member of their crime syndicate. He scolded himself for not checking for the third one first. He started to raise his hand to punch Gilda but stopped when he remembered his peaceful partner stood ajar.

"....Clean them up, Twilight. We'll bring them in for custody and I'll interrogate them then." He turned away from the mess that he had caused and began to briskly walk away.

He heard Twilight say his name but after not answering, he only heard the sounds of silence. When reaching the hallway, he saw that they had gone and that the pool of blood still remained. Sighing, the detective dusted himself off, cleaned his wound with his tie, and walked back home in silence.

Ponyville
11:17 AM

The detective would have arrived hours earlier but decided to cool off and collect himself. He rarely lost his composure, if even doing so at all. He took his time admiring the landscape; the natural beauty of Equestria. He took time to look at himself in the lake and river, seeing if it was truly him.

Phelps didn't feel like himself. Hell, he didn't act like himself. He contemplated if he was losing his sanity. He wondered if he would be able to control himself. He asked if he had taken the right course of actions that day. He wondered if he deserved to live.

Cole arrived into Ponyville nonchalantly. Many of the residents stared at him though. His wound was pretty noticeable. It was difficult to not see three straight lines slashing down his face, red upon white. He ignored the gawks and gasps that ponies gave him and went straight back to where he wanted to go; his room. The only thing in mind right now was a nice hot shower.

Upon arriving at the Carousel Boutique, the heavily depended upon man sighed in relief. He could finally just sit and garnish his thoughts. He opened the door and stepped inside. Now for some peace and quiet.

"Hey Coley-Woley! We heard about that big fight with Gilda and her friends! Boy, were they hurt! My Pinkie Sense just told me that you were going here! Isn't that neat? Oh! And I almost forgot that the- hey, where are you going?" Pinkie looked at Phelps in bewilderment.

The moment he had seen Pinkie, Phelps thought it was best to just walk by and ignore her. Thankfully, the plan was a success as the party mare left him alone to his self wallowing.

"Aww..I just wanted to ask him if he wanted cake or cupcakes.." Pinkie's curly hair deflated with a poof.

"Now darling, I think we should just leave the poor thing be. As for the food, he prefers cupcakes, trust me." Rarity assured with a smile.

Pinkie seemed to be content with the answer as she bounced right back up and hopped away singing a song.

Rarity looked up to the stairs and shook her head. "Please help him, Celestia."

Cole Phelps was not a drinker. In fact, he liked to consider himself as a designated driver. But for once, he wished he had a flask of whiskey with him. He took off all of his clothes, save his pants and shirt, and went inside the bathroom. Being in what he considered a safe haven, he turned the shower on and stepped inside, soaking his clothes as he took in the warm wash.

Cole leaned his arm on the shower wall as he arched his back. The warm water was freeing and relaxing. It gave him time to think things through.

"Why God, why?! Why'd I ever have that thing with Elsa? Why'd I ever let go of my family? Am I damned for eternity!? Is that why this is? A game?! Because of all of my sins, you separate me from my family and make me think about them all the time! You put me in a world full of cartoons, myths, and ponies, and you make me the only human here? Why!? WHY?!........why? Oh god, Marie, I miss you.." Cole had been shouting all of his pent-up worries and troubles the world, hoping to reach the ears of the one who had put him on Equestria. He broke down into a full cry as he slumped down against the wall. There was so much that you could do to a man and keep him sane, but separating a man from his family was a hell of it's own.

Cole Phelps, decorated war veteran, keen detective, loving father and husband, was crying. He didn't care if the world witnessed this spectacle. He needed to let it out.

"Just look at me, I'm a damn wreck.." He muttered.

Cole felt the warm drips of water splash him. He also felt the sudden touch of warm hooves from an embracing unicorn.

"I don't think you're a wreck, sweetie. I think you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"I'm hopeless..."

"No, you are hope. Cole, look at me," Rarity brought Cole's hidden face to hers. She smiled sincerely as she spoke. "You've done so much for this town, for its ponies, for me. We didn't even know you, we haven't even given you anything, and you've done us so much. Cole, you're a hero."

Cole looked into her blue eyes and saw a burning passion being expressed. She had truly felt that way. He slowly began to smile back.

"...Thank you, Rarity. I needed that."

She just smiled, tears forming in her eyes as well. It was hard to notice though, as the water of the shower concealed any tearing well.

Go to Sleep, Detective.

Rarity gave Cole some support as he picked himself up. He stumbled over to the towels and dried himself off. Rarity tended to his wounds and wrapped bandages around them.Wearing new pants and a shirt, Cole Phelps laid down on his bed. The tired man had finally reached his rest. He felt something move next to him. He turned and saw Rarity lying with him, holding his head in her hooves, gently rubbing his head to relax him.

"Go to sleep, Cole. You deserve it."

Once again, Cole dreamt of his family. He dreamt of the loving times they had, the laughs, the births of his daughters. But something new appeared. He dreamt of Rarity giving him a warm and loving smile.

Mad About the Mare

Author's Note: This is something that's been plaguing my mind ever since I wrote the case with Gilda. I'm going to be completely vague on this, so for those of you who understand it, too bad for you. It's better to not understand. In the end, Cole will have to choose. There, I said it. Prepare yourselves, the end is nigh. Well, in a couple more chapters, really. Also, when you finish this chapter, you're probably going to ask that of all things I could have used as a filler chapter, why did I choose this? Well, to be quite honest, it was mainly because of the Rarity picture on my page. After seeing my friend send it to me in a PM here, the picture's been etched into my mind for all of eternity. Accounting this new rape picture of Rarity saying "Bend Over" with a seductive smile has caused this. Don't blame me for the main subject of this chapter, blame the guy or girl who started that "Bend Over" meme with Rarity. And the ending of this chapter is not a troll attempt on my end, it actually fits into the next chapter. I thought it best to end it there.

‘The world is changing. Activists are sprouting up everywhere. People are starting to leave their ignorant shells. Tolerance is being embraced for the general public. Equality for every race is paving the way. Through all of this radical change, one can seemingly feel afraid or misguided. It’s pretty easy to end up this way. Hell, most of the people are. But what they don’t realize is that they’re not alone. In everyone’s life, there is at least one person willing to be there for them. There’s always a person willing to see things through to the end. Someone who watches over each other in times of great need or desperation. People need friends. People need a family. People need love.’

Carousel Boutique
4:44 AM

Somehow, Cole Phelps had managed to sleep an entire day away. Judging from his actions of the previous day, Twilight had been probably throwing a fit or some other form of disdain for the unnecessary amount of violence that the usually level-headed detective displayed. Cole just didn’t care for all of the troubles of the previous day. He was worn out, dreary, and was crowded with the thoughts of the mysterious schemers.

There was something worthwhile out of it all, Cole Phelps had finally freed Fluttershy from the torment of the griffins. He had finally done what he sought out to do in the first place; help the innocent. The human took relief in that fact. For one reason or another, he felt.....lifted. He felt like he was redeemed for his sins in a small capacity. The feeling was great to him, in fact, he wished to have more of it. So he swore that he would continue his crusade against crime.

Cole’s heavy eyes slowly opened, giving him some vision of his surroundings. The room was dark, as per usual. He had preferred a room without any lighting as to remain stealthy should any robbers decide to check inside of the room. He had learned this curious trick back from his olden days. His shoulder and body felt sore, as if something was lying on top of him. He tried to get up, only to be put back down. He craned his neck forward as to see what obstructed his movement.

And there, upon his torso, was Rarity. She was lying horizontally across his own body. She was sleeping deeply as Cole heard her soft little breaths of air. It took him some time to put together the meaning of this matter. Before long, he gasped as he held a hand to his mouth, stopping any audible noise to escape.

‘Did she?.....No...No..that’s not like her..Besides, how would that work?..I’m not..like that.’

Quelling the obscene thought, he slowly and gently moved her aside so that she could sleep comfortably while he left. After wrapping a sheet around her, he turned his attention to the bathroom door. Hopefully, she wouldn’t wake from the noise. He stepped inside of the room and began to brush his teeth, following his usual routine. After spitting out the toothpaste, he rinsed, and so forth.

Now was one of the best moments of each day; the shower. Cole stepped inside and turned the handle to a startling cold. After a few seconds of the freezing ocean, he adjusted the temperature to a mild. Following the bland water came the warm change. And after relaxing in the warm shower, Cole turned the handle to hot. The water hit his face as he closed his eyes, gathering his thoughts. The room quickly began to fill with steam as he was blinded by the intensity of the blast. It was relaxing to say the least. Everyone had their quirks, and Cole Phelps’ quirk was the love of hot water. It seemed to just soothe him.

He embraced the silence that filled the bathroom as he continued to clean himself. Had his eyes been open, or had he lingered on one of the other modes of water, less steam would have been created and he would have been able to see a very sleepy Rarity enter the room. He took a bar of soap in hand as he glided it across his arm muscles. That’s when he tensed up. He heard a loud yawn from behind him. Instinctively, he covered his male appendage as he remained mute for the entire duration.

Just a few moments earlier...

Rarity had just woken up. She scolded herself for falling asleep while comforting her hurting friend. She had to admit to herself though, she had a good night’s rest. Who knew that she could sleep the entire day? Talk about beauty sleep. Luckily, Sweetie Belle had gone to sleep over Apple Bloom’s, so Rarity’s sister being locked out of the home was not a worry. She dragged herself out of the bed, noticing Cole’s absence. “He must have left already.” She said to herself.

As she stepped inside of the guest bathroom, she felt steam waft into her face. It felt pleasuring in a sense. The warm sensation caused her drowsiness to multiply. She yawned from her tiredness.

‘I could go back for more beauty sleep..’

She shook the thought of sleeping in out of her head. She was not going to be Rainbow Dash anytime soon. She took an extra toothbrush from the jar nearby and cleaned her pearly whites. After finishing, she sniffed the air, distinctly smelling something clean and familiar.

“Lilac? Why do I smell lilac?” She questioned.

Shrugging of the confusing scent, she took a brush nearby in hoof and began to style her mane. She had definitely tossed and turned in her sleep as she saw that her previously styled mane had some misgivings, knots, and stray hairs. Deciding to cleanse her hair, she eliminated any imperfections and once again, her unkempt mane was returned to its beautiful normalcy. All the while she was doing this, her eyes were closed. She opened her eyes and moved closer to the mirror. As she inspected herself, she finally noticed the shower was on.

“Oh dear, Cole must have forgotten to turn it off. No matter, what’s done is done.”

She went over to the shower door and pulled it open, expecting to turn the valve to its resting position so that the flow of water be cut off. Instead of seeing what she had expected, she bore witness to a naked Cole Phelps, struck with a look of embarrassment, shame, and utter horror. Rarity, the lady that she was, was frozen. Her mouth lay agape as she stared at his fully bare form. Thankfully, she didn’t see Cole’s....manhood in its entirety. The silence had reached an all time high.

Seething and wincing from this experience, Cole stammered out, “Uh...R-Rarity? I’m up here.” He motioned one hand, the other still trying to cover himself. The mare in question snapped out of it as she looked to his face. Finally accessing the entirety of what was transpiring, she nervously and awkwardly smiled at him.

“I’ll just...l-leave you here to your shower then, o-okay?” She muttered while bolting for the door. Her face was shaded a complete red.

In his opinion, no one or no pony had ever spoken words more true. Now having his mood for a thorough shower ruined, he washed off the remaining suds and stepped out. He quickly dried himself with a towel and then grabbed whatever was next to him. Just as if God himself had planned it, he took in hand his first garbs that he had worn on his first day in Equestria. He wore his silver/gray suit, and his red tie, complete with the matching silver white-lined fedora.

Hesitantly, Cole opened the door and stepped into his room. Sighing from relief, he gathered his belongings from the cupboard nearby. He just wanted to get this day over with. He knew that dealing with Twilight was going to be difficult.

‘Today is going to be a handful. Well, in this case, a hooful.’

Phelps chuckled at his own weakly attempted joke as he stepped into the hallway. It was deadly silent. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to encounter Rarity after their....untimely morning wakeup call. Stealthily, he lightly stepped downstairs to the foyer. So far, the lighting was out and it meant that Rarity was probably inside of her room. He hastily ran outside of the door and shut it tightly. He turned and immediately walked in a disturbed manner to the Ponyville General Hospital. After what he did, that was the best possible place to take the two detainees for care.

Rarity hid from Cole as he left the Boutique. She watched him exit from a half-shut door in the dark living room. After he left, she heaved a delighted sigh. Now that he was gone, she could think on what in Celestia’s name had just happened.

‘..So I sort of slept with him..I walked into the bathroom while he was there, and I....saw him..’

Her cheeks flushed into a rosy red as she giggled at the thought of seeing someone naked, but it was awkward nonetheless. She berated herself for being so intrusive and for being so ignorant. To her, she quickly realized that the analytical detective wouldn’t forget to shut off the water. She also had wished that she didn’t stumble into the shower so blindly. But she also berated the detective for being so quiet. Had he just sneezed, coughed, or whispered, the whole debacle would have been avoided. She shook her head at both herself, and Cole. But then the images of Cole standing there kept entering her mind. She didn’t see all of it, but she saw enough to know the humans and ponies weren’t so different after all. Well, their sexual appendages anyway.

‘..I saw his...’ Again, she laughed as the pink color came back to her cheeks.

Ponyville Hospital
5:14 AM

Eventful morning aside, Cole was already anxious about the day. He had lost his cool when that whole happening had occurred but he got over it as he walked to the medical facility of Ponyville. Unfortunately, he lost his cool again the moment he saw the big red “Ponyville General” plastered on its front. He adjusted his collar, feeling as if it were strangling him. A few lone beads of sweat rolled down his face’s right side as he moved closer. He was within visual range of the hospital’s visiting hour schedule. The doors opened themselves, again amazing the WWII era soldier. He stepped inside and met a familiar face.

“Well, nice to see you again, Detective.”

“Likewise, Nurse Redheart.” Cole waved, “By any chance, is Twilight or any of the griffins here?”

“Well...yes and no,” She began, her previous warm greeting smile was replaced by a look of worry. “Twilight brought them back and they’re under heavy watch. Also...she may have warned the security staff to be wary of you.”

Swallowing his manly pride, he took the news in stride. “And where is Sparkle?” He thought it best to take things back a notch with Twilight. Perhaps she wasn’t exactly in the state of calling Cole Phelps a friend.

“Last I remember, the archives. She was looking through our medical records to see if she could find any history on Ms. Gilda or the other fellow.” The Nurse explained.

“Thanks, I guess I’ll go see her.” He said through gritted teeth.

“Good luck.” She wished sincerely.

Phelps left the pink maned mare to her duty as he walked down the sanitized hallway. If he recalled correctly, the archives room was right around the corner from where Octavia had been bedded. And his memory served him right when he saw the small wood sign that read “Archives”. Taking a deep breath, most likely his last, he opened the door and stepped inside.

“Hey there, Spar-” Cole was stopped by a hoof in his mouth.

“You.” Twilight hissed with venom.

Ponyville Marketplace
5:46 AM

After cleaning herself up and getting over the previous matter, Rarity thought it best to go out for breakfast. The alone time would certainly help her think things through. Still though, how would she approach Cole? He lived with her so she would have to speak to him about it eventually. Her absentmindedness caused her to collide with the window of a building. After regaining her composure, she checked to see where she had ended up. She went inside as soon as she read the label displayed on the storefront.

“My favorite! Cafe Le Petite has the best coffee.” Rarity rushed to a waiter who properly seated her. She looked upon the menu and quickly chose a French Vanilla Coffee with a salad to get her day started, more than it already was. It wasn’t long before Rarity’s mind started to wander. She was just perplexed on how they would get passed this occurrence. Contemplating about a male caused her to realize something. She looked around to confirm her suspicion. “Am I the only mare here?!”

The entire cafe was crowded, sure. But there were only stallions there and a mare except Rarity was not within sight. Surrounded by ponies of the opposite gender, she paid for her half-eaten food and barely touched coffee and left in a hurry. She needed to go somewhere that was peaceful and quiet. She headed towards the park. All around her, stallions were in abundance while mares were virtually nonexistent. Today was not her day.

With much more energy, she galloped towards the park in a flash. Within moments, she arrived at the park and proceeded to scan the area for any benches she could relax at. Off near the trees was a single bench that seemed perfect. She travelled over to the bench and was not surprised when she saw who else was there. She quietly and slowly approached Detective Cole Phelps.

Ponyville Park
6:02 AM

Well, the visit at the hospital was just what Cole had expected. He was scolded, threatened, and given death glares all the while from his partner. She had explained to him the ethic of using brute force over reason. And every time he had tried to explain himself, speaking of Fluttershy’s predicament, Twilight held a hoof up to silence him. She proceeded to tell him how he could’ve have gone about this another way instead of being a “complete idiot and jerk”. Not to mention the fact that he had injured the griffons very badly.

Twilight informed Cole of just the extent of his outrage. Apparently, the male griffons as going to need serious hospitalization from the broken ribs and bruised body muscles the human had caused. That wasn’t the worst of the brunt either, as Gilda had it much worse. The bullets had managed to sever a major tendon used for flying and the possibility of flight for Gilda was going to be limited. There was even the chance of her not flying at all.

After finishing her long planned speech, a taken back Phelps stroked her mane in an effort to get on her good side. That action had given him something, alright. The moment he stroked her mane and spoke the words “I’m really really sorry”, he got a good slap on the face. That was when Twilight had officially forgiven him. Finally, Cole Phelps got his chance to interrogate the two apprehended criminals. They didn’t speak much due to their new found fear and stubborn attitude, but Cole did manage to get one thing.

‘Who the hell is “FFB”? He or they have been showing up in both of these crimes. This is bigger than I thought.’

He managed to escape a barrage of questions from his partner when she turned around to use the little mare’s room. While she was taking care of business, he slipped out of the back door and immediately went to the park to come to some sort of conclusion. He sat down on the nearest bench as tried to examine everything that had phased him. Everything from the evidence, to the culprits, to the crimes themselves. They made no sort of connection within his mind. What was a ticket or two to some concert worth that a pony got kidnapped and the Detective himself, along with his friends, were being targeted as hits.

‘It just doesn’t make sense..’

Phelps was snapped out of his daze when he heard a voice speak up from his side.

“Hey there, didn’t expect to find you here as well.” Rarity chirped.

“Right..me neither..” His thinking was getting him nowhere, and Rarity’s presence was not helping.

Rarity coughed a few times as they remained silent for the next five awkward minutes.

“Sooooo...” She overdrew her beginning to break the silence. “Bad morning for you as well?”

“You have no idea.” Cole replied.

The morning’s events kept on appearing in her mind. She bit her lip, regretting her next choice, but continued onward.

“So..is that the normal size for humans?” She gestured towards his private area.

Seized by the sudden question, Cole began to have a coughing fit. “W-what?! I’m not sure that’s appropriate for a young lady to ask.” He reasoned.

“I know, I know. I’ve been telling myself that as well. It’s just that......well.....curiosity, you know?” Rarity attempted to give him a convincing smile.

He turned to meet her and shook his head. “I know that it killed the cat.” He recited the old saying.

“Someone killed a cat? My poor Opalescence is home alone!” Rarity tensed up at the thought of a cat killer.

“Never mind, it’s just a saying. Why are you really so interested?”

“Oh...I...I don’t know to be honest. I just feel..some sort of feeling that compels me to know you better.” She looked down at the ground.

“Listen, I know you mean well and all, and I appreciate all that you’ve done, but I see where this is going. I have a wife, Rarity. I’ve done something once that I’m not exactly proud of....And I promised myself I wouldn’t do it again. Other dimension, world, heaven, I still plan on keeping that promise.” The detective tried to explain as gently as possible.

“Oh..that’s quite alright, really. I feel silly for intruding so much.” For some reason, her mood felt glum. The moment he had finished explaining, some subconscious thoughts had been quelled, leaving Rarity to be left in confusion and despair. Why did she feel so badly? The prospect of an interspecies relationship was not unheard of, rather, it was unique.

Cole, feeling a bit harsh in what he had said, just turned away from his friend. He looked to the sky as the sun was rising. Rarity had looked at it too, but looked back at her friend. She looked down at his lap and noticed something bulging out. The fashionable mare tapped lightly on his shoulder, gaining his attention.

“Cole?” She asked in a soft voice.

“Yes?” Cole looked to meet her and saw two big shiny blue eyes staring right at his. The eyes seemed so reminding. They were blue, and had a feel to them that was not unlike his wife, Marie’s. If he weren’t able to see anything but her eyes, he’d have mistaken Rarity for Marie herself. The rising sun seemed to brighten the oceans of blue that were the Element of Generosity’s eyes. One could swim in them for eternity.

Finally, Rarity bit her lip before smiling at him warmly. She tilted her head to the side, seemingly amplifying her beauty. “Do me a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Bend over.”

Case: Fiery Inhibitions

Author's Note: Final Chapter is coming next. Sorry this case isn't exactly passed the 5k mark but I need a whole lot of time to work on the finale. I want to make it more than 7k, possibly 12k if I can even manage.

‘Every life begins with a flicker, a torch. As a life is kindled, it grows into a bigger fire. With every year, the small ember turns into a large flame that eventually becomes an inferno. The inferno is destructive, relentless, and has no target. It just consumes all in its path. The inferno continues to grow until it’s met with another flame or until it burns out. And after all that it’s done, the only thing left is ash. A world covered in ash.’

“Bend Over.”

Rarity’s words seemed to have caused Cole Phelps to freeze into a living statue. Her words rendered him immobile in the middle of the Ponyville Park as he remained somewhat nervous. When she repeated herself, Cole looked to her face as she smiled at him rather innocently. Sighing audibly, he stood up, hunching his back forward in a way of bending. Rarity moved closer to him and he craned his neck to see what she was doing.

“There. Here it is!” Rarity exclaimed.

Cole sat back down to see what she had in her hooves. In her hooves, laid a scroll that he had not seen before. He didn’t recall any kind of item being on the park bench except himself. Rarity handed him the message as he began to unfurl it.

“It was trapped between your legs.” Rarity explained.

“Oh..” Cole replied blankly. He took the letter to his face and began to examine its contents.

“Cole,

Get over here quick! Sweet Apple Acres is on fire!

- Spike”

Scratching his head at the shortly and hastily written message, Phelps stood up and handed the urgent message to his caretaker.

“Where’s Sweet Apple Acres?”

“Why, it’s not too far from here. I can take you there, but what’s going on?” She inquired.

“It’s on fire.”

After receiving a bemused expression from his compadre, Rarity read the letter and immediately began to gallop towards Applejack’s home. Having no sense of direction, Cole could not but follow in hopes of her being right. It was a relatively quiet run. They just ran and kept conversation to a minimum, trying to decipher just what was the magnitude of the situation.

Hundreds of trees bearing apples passed by as they made their way for the buildings dead set in the center. Within moments, the temperature changed from the mild heat to a scorching hot. Cole beheld what he had seen many times. All there was left was ash and the smell of ethanol. Smoke and fumes covered the entire area, making it hard for everyone to breathe. They had arrived a few moments too late.

Applejack and the rest of her family were being consoled by Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike. Rainbow Dash was flying in the air, most likely to find the cause of the fire. Taking his fedora off and wiping a single bead of sweat off his forehead, Phelps moved towards the Apple family. He reached into his coat and took out the notebook and pencil. He flipped through the first dozen pages until he reached a blank one.

As he neared, the family looked up and approached him swiftly.

“Detective!”

“Cole!”

“Mister!

“.....!” The last voice didn’t really say much, more it gave a stern, concerned look at the human.

Phelps took an observation of all of them. They were all related, of course. They were covered from head to toe in soot, most likely from trying to quell the flames. And they were all bedraggled and tired. The detective began his investigation.

“Okay, what seems to be the incident, ma’am?” He asked Applejack.

“Well, mah family and Ah were tendin’ the farm and such. Then, we hears this big ol’ crashin’ sound and we came back here. That’s when we saw the darn fire all around our house and barn. We tried to put it out, but as ya can see.....we didn’t exactly stop it..” Applejack looked to the ground. She began to kick at the dirt.

“Take it easy, Miss. No need to exert yourself.” Cole wrote down some of the key facts in her story and turned to the others. “So, Miss...”

“Apple Bloom.” The little filly gave him a weak smile.

“Right, Miss Apple Bloom. Did you see anything out of the ordinary?”

“Well, Ah saw that the house just magically got hot or somethin’. Ah didn’t see no random spark come out of nowhere. Ah think Ah heard some kinda clicky noise behind the barn. Before Ah could see what it was, the whole place was burnin’!” She recalled.

“Got that...” The human turned to the red stallion. “You?”

He closed his eyes and solemnly shook his head. “Nope.”

“Okay..and you, Miss...?”

“Granny Smith. Ya’ll can call me Granny!” She was enthusiastic to say the least.

“So what did you see, Miss Smith?” Cole bit his lip and leaned closer towards the old mare. His right ear was pointed towards her so that he could hear her better.

“Well, as usual, Ah was makin’ sure the bees were all god and happy. Then, Ah started thinkin’ ‘bout mah old Pappy. That’s when Ah saw the cutest little red ghostie on the farm runnin’ away.” Granny Smith’s dentures popped out of her mouth. “Oops!”

“Red ghost...”

“Yessem, sir!”

“That’s...definitely going to be useful...”

“Don’t mind Granny, she tends to speak in metaphors.” Applejack added.

Spike came over to Cole as Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity went to console the now homeless family.

“Hey dude, what do you think this is?” Spike inquired.

Phelps flipped through his current notes so far. He cracked his neck and then began to explain. “Well, so far it seems like a regular case of arson. From the descriptions they’ve given me, someone in red clothing or is red set fire to the barn and ran. Now, normally, I’d mark this up to just a kid playing with fire, but I smell ethanol. You only find that in gasoline and...”

“Alcohol.” Spike finished.

“Exactly. So I need to find out who has access to alcohol here and it’ll make the search that much easier.” Phelps closed his book and put it back in his coat. He moved up to the ash and began to look for any evidence or clues.

Coughing nervously and then giving a fake laugh, Spike moved up to the taller being. “Hey bro, that’s going to be a problem. More than half of the town owns just a but of alcohol.”

Cole sighed in return. Something in the corner of his peripheral vision caught his attention though. It stuck out from the grey and white powder, mainly because it was a solid item. He moved closer and picked it up. He eyes it carefully before grinning.

“That might be the case, but I doubt half of the town owns a matchbox from a tavern.” The human tossed the matchbox to the little dragon. The dragon, in turn, began to twist it to take in every detail. His eyes widened in realization after seeing the source of this item.

“Berry’s Tavern! Dude, I know all of the ponies who go there. Not many do, but it’s still the same ones.”

“Alright, who are they?”

“Well...you have Berry Punch, who runs the joint. Then you have Carrot Top, Daisy, Cheerilee, Caramel, Ditzy, and Thunderlane.”

Cole wrote down all of the names and began to narrow it down. “Do any of them seem like the violent type to you? Or someone who’d do something like this?”

“Not really....I mean, all of them have pretty good lives. I don’t think any of them would do it.”

Cole sighed for the fifteenth time this day. “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

Berry’s Tavern
7:16 AM

Cole Phelps moved onward towards the bar. Since it was one of the only sources of alcohol in the town, it was probably somewhere that the culprit of the arson frequented. Planning on heading alone, Cole was quick to move. But before long, Rarity began to follow him along with a discontent Rainbow Dash.

“Darling, do slow down. This running is making me sweat.” Rarity complained.

“I can’t. Besides, I didn’t ask you to tag along.”

“Yeah, Rare. He doesn’t need your prissy flank to go with us.” Rainbow Dash commented.

“I never asked you either.” Cole clarified.

Rainbow Dash huffed while Rarity kept in tow. “You do know that you need somepony with you on this, right?”

“Yeah, a partner is almost always needed in a case. But you two don’t exactly fit the bill.” He explained.

“Oh, pish posh, Cole. As long as I’m here, you can’t refuse the help, now can you?”

“Well...”

They stopped when they reached the building. It wasn’t exactly the best looking bar that Cole had ever seen, in fact, it would probably rank in one of the worst. But he had nothing to say considering their architectural advancement. The place was rustic, as was almost the rest of the town. The wooden sign that read “Berry’s Tavern” was made of an oak or mahogany wood that would swing back and forth from the direction of the wind. The bolts that held the thing together were rusty.

Cole made a mental note to start to make visits here in the future. He walked inside, Rainbow Dash and Rarity following. He had done many cases in which he had to extract information out of bar patrons. So he did the right action. He walked up to the counter, sat down, and ordered a drink.

“I’ll have what’s on tap.”

“Alright, three bits.” A raspberry mare responded. She gave him a grin and passed him a filled glass.

Cole realized he didn’t exactly have their kind of money. He turned to his two friends who shook their heads in disappointment at him. Rarity took the money out of her saddle and gave it to Berry Punch. The proprietor happily took her earnings and moved to the opposite end of the bar to tend to two new patrons, a sea green unicorn and a blue pink-stiped maned vanilla mare.

Cole raised his glass up to greet Lyra and Bon-Bon, who in turn, waved back at him. Rarity plopped herself next to the detective and whispered in his ear. He could feel her warm breath gently rolling off his skin.

“I do hope you know what you’re doing.”

Cole took a small sip from the drink, which was beyond nothing. The seediest bars in LA had stronger drinks on tap. So he drank the whole glass, which left him unscathed, and turned to face the white mare beside him.

“Just mingle. Go with Dash over there and talk to some of these guys. If anyone acts suspicious, then I’ll look into them.”

Rarity began to speak, but stopped. Her opinion was withheld as she moved away from him and towards the other patrons. He laughed as he heard their weak attempts at poking for any information.

“Hello...Carrot Top. So...have you seen any fires lately?” Rarity asked.

From another corner of the room, Cole could hear Rainbow Dash having an even more useless chat.

“What’s up, Cheerilee? Burn anything good lately?”

Cole was left unsurprised at their adequate inspection skills as he turned back to meet the two reddish eyes from the barkeep.

“Your friends aren’t exactly the smartest around, are they?”

“I have no idea. So, how’s business?”

Berry Punch began to wipe the countertop with a rag.

“To be honest, not good. Sure, I have the same regulars, but they order the weakest stuff. I made more off of you than I do half of the time. I’m planning on throwing in the towel.”

“Well, there’s a bucket right there. Let’s see if you can make it.” He pointed at an empty bucket, motioning her to throw the rag she had at it.

“You’re funny. We don’t have a lot of that around here. Most of these ponies here just visit to get some steam off, celebrate something small, or want to forget everything. The only funny one here is when Cheerilee gets drunk. She talks a lot of hooey about the school fillies.”

“I see. So, any offers on this place yet?”

“Not really. I wish I had a better stride or something. Maybe if I could get some more money, I could fix the place up and get more customers. This place has been in my family for generations. And just my luck, I get it when it’s a dump.”

“That’s life for you, you get the things your parents left behind. And you have no say in it.” Cole turned his back towards her and made his way for the door. He whistled, gaining his two “partners’” attention as they followed behind.

“Hey!” Berry called out.

“What?” Cole turned to see her.

“Good luck on whatever you’re doing. I’d do whatever I could to get this place up and running and you should do the same!”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Cole, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash left the bar.

The two mares looked up at the human’s face, which was left blank and annoyed.

“Well, the only thing I got out of that was a good talk. That was useless.”

“Yeah, Rarity bombed with her thing. Hey, let’s go check out Twilight’s place for help!” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“That’s not a bad idea. Let’s go.”

And so, the three left the bar for the library in hopes of gaining more insight to the matter. They planned to go straight to the hollowed-out tree but Rarity decided to stop in the market for some things. This caused them to postpone the trip for about half an hour. After finding nothing of her interests, Rarity led them to the library. What happened there was not what they expected.

Twilight's Library
8:01 AM

Twilight’s library was on fire. The tree line of the building was being burned through quickly. Small little embers were falling down and spreading to other parts of the place. Cole ordered Rainbow Dash to look for help and Rarity to use magic and teleport water onto the flames. Instinctively, Cole ran inside to see if anyone was there.

“Hello! Anyone here! Get out now!” Cole shouted as loud as he could.

The only thing he got in response was the sound of wood falling off of the tree. He ran upstairs to look for Twilight in her room. The ceiling was practically melting as he could feel heat being emitted. Luckily, there was no one inside. So that left the kitchen to be searched and then he could leave. He ran down the stairs and went towards the kitchen at full speed. And that was when he fell to the ground when he felt a piece of wood smack against his face.

He was sprawled on the floor as a shadowed figure loomed over his body. It was a mare, that was for sure. The voice was feminine.

“Should have listened to the griffons, Detective. You and all of your friends are going down. I need the money the bosses are paying.”

The figure galloped away as he heard the piece of wood, presumably a board that was used as a weapon, clattered against the floor. His vision was getting blurry but he had heard that voice before. It seemed so...familiar. He couldn’t think straight as his vision turned to black. He closed his eyes and was rendered unconscious.

“Cole!”

‘Who’s calling me?’

“Cole!!”

‘Who is it?..’

“Wake up! Cole!!!”

*Smack*

Cole bolted upright as he felt his cheek. It was red and warm, probably because of the way Rarity was standing over his body. Her hoof was arched in a way that made it seem like she hit something, which in this case she had hit him. He felt his face and looked at his hand. A crimson red stream trickled down his face. The metallic smell of blood was mixed with the smell of smoke and wood.

“Wha-what happened?” Phelps asked.

Rarity smiled at him warmly as she moved off him. “You were out cold. Luckily, Twilight came when she did and she took care of the fire. I rushed inside to see what took you so long and you were on the floor, a big blue bruise on your face and blood coming from your nose.”

“That broad hit me.” He remembered.

“Excuse me?”

“I got hit in the face when I ran for the kitchen. Tell me, did you see anyone come out of the library before you went in?”

“No, I was at the front the entire time. Although...there is a back door..”

“Damn, the suspect got away. If we can find some kind of trail, then we can find who did it.” Cole looked to his side and saw Twilight and Rainbow Dash watching him with concern. “Thank God you weren’t inside, Twilight.”

“I was with Fluttershy at the cafe when somepony ran up to me telling me there was a fire at my place. It was pretty tricky to stop it. The fire was everywhere. So I used a bubble spell to make all of the oxygen in the fire area get used up. Right after, the fire died out.” She told.

“Well, we got to find this firebug. This isn’t just a random act anymore. It’s someone that’s working for FFB. Let’s go Twilight. Rarity, go back home and take Rainbow Dash with you just in case.”

“I’m not a baby, Cole.”

“I just want you to be safe.”

“Fine!” Rarity scrunched up her nose and moved away.

Cole Phelps and Twilight Sparkle began to walk circles around the library. There had to be some sort of evidence left behind because in all of Cole’s years as a detective, no one had ever committed a crime without leaving a small trail. They neared the back door when Cole found a small shard along with a portion of some paper. The shard itself, looked to be part of a bottle or container. The one side smelled like whiskey or another powerful form of alcohol. The paper read “Celestia’s Finest. Red.”

“What do you make of this?” Cole passed his findings to his partner, who gasped upon looking at it.

“Cole, this is a special kind of drink that only two ponies in this town have! From what I know, only Cheerilee and Berry Punch own this.”

“Wait, aren’t they both raspberry-coated?”

“Well, yes...why?”

“We have our ponies. We have to know which though. Granny Smith said something about a red ghost, probably one of them. And I found a matchbox belonging to the same bar that they both were at. It has to be one of them.”

“Let’s go to the school. It’s closer so that way, we can focus on the tavern if it’s not Cheerilee.”

“Alright, move it.” Cole and Twilight moved swiftly towards the school house.

The case was wrapping up as they moved to confirm their suspicions. The ground passed them like thin air as they were encroaching on the school’s location. After this trip, they’d finally be able to identify the suspect of this horrendous crime. The sign of the school passed them within milliseconds. “Ponyville Elementary School” was within reach now. Cole drew his gun, which caused Twilight to give him a cold glare.

“I’m not going to shoot her. If worse comes to worse, then I’ll warn her. Then I shoot.”

“No, put it away.” Twilight spoke coldly.

“I’m keeping it drawn but I’ll keep the safety on.”

“Fine.” Twilight accepted.

“You go in the front. I’ll take the back.” Cole started fro the back. “Watch yourself.”

He heard Twilight enter the red schoolhouse’s front door as he edged along the side. No one was going to escape this time. He quickened his pace to get to his destination faster. He heard liquid being poured onto a surface. As he neared the corner, he heard a gasp as an all-too-familiar mare ran away. She dropped the bottle of wine to the ground and dropped dozens of matches.

(Chase music. Play on loop until the end of the chapter.)

“Stop! You’re not getting away, Berry!”

He took his gun and put it back in the holster as he bolted after her. Her hooves clopping against the cobblestone followed by his loafers clacking against it filled the air. She spoke no words, as did Cole. Occasionally, he would shout some threats, rights, and pleads as to her causes of this crime. She spoke none.

Ponies passed by the two runners like a blur. As they moved closer into town, more crowds began to form, making the chase all the more difficult. They reached the marketplace as Berry Punch knocked over a cart full of cabbages. Cole jumped over the majority of them but tripped on the last few. Dusting himself off, he hastily took his fedora and began his chase again.

Berry Punch had gained a good distance from his mishap but he wasn’t about to relent. They neared a haphazard collection of buildings as Berry Punch took a sudden right. Cole was on her tail. She moved to the left, edging around a corner. Cole slammed into the sudden appearance of the building but continued. They reached near the end of the alleyway as the criminal tossed a few garbage cans at him. He jumped over and charged. She went inside of a building and shut the door behind her.

Cole ran up to the door and kicked it down. He ran inside, his weapon drawn as he heard frantic hoofsteps above him. The room was dimly lit but he saw stacks of alcohol containers all around the room. This place had to be the back of the tavern. Putting the thought aside, he turned left and ascended the staircase. He could hear more frantic pounds from above. As he reached the top, there was another set of stairs. He ran up those until he reached a room filled with all sorts of papers, pictures, and chalkboards, all of Cole Phelps and the Elements of Harmony. He saw a small file labeled “FFB Final Plans” but marked it off to read it later after apprehending the perp.

He ran up a last set of stairs and found a large wooden door. He tried to open it but it was locked from the outside. So he slammed into it with his shoulder. It had no effect. He did not relent as he tried a second time. That didn’t work either. Not having the patience he normally had, he shot the four corners of the door and charged for a final time, causing him to stumble along with the door. He recovered quickly and looked up. Berry Punch was grinning at him.

“You have nowhere to go left, Berry! Give it up and it won’t be too bad.” Phelps pointed his finger at her. She was on the balcony of the building, barely balanced.

“You think this is all about that money? This place is a dump and I couldn’t care less about it. No, this is about being famous. The bosses’ plan would’ve gotten us all famous and rich. But you and your friends had to nose into everything, didn’t you? No, this is more. They’ve been hiding in Ponyville the entire time, scheming and developing ways of making the Elements of Harmony pay for what they did. I guess you can say what happened with Applejack’s farm was payback. But nevertheless, this plan is gonna go off without a hitch.”

“Who are they?!” Cole drew his gun and pointed it at her. “You’re trapped.”

“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough. And I have nowhere to go, do I?” Berry Punch revealed a side of her that Cole had yet to see. She had a kind of feel to her that one would get from a Hollywood starlet or addict. “Smell ya later, Detective Cole Phelps. The House Always Wins.”

And with that, Berry Punch turned and gave the detective a wink. She leaped off of the building, sprawling her limbs in their respective positions. Cole ran up to the balcony to see what happened but was met with a gust of wind hitting his face. After recoiling, he saw Berry Punch flying away in a contraption that seemed to be a developed version of Leonardo Da Vinci’s flying machine.

She had a pair of goggles on as she glided farther and farther away from the good-willed human. He stomped the ground in frustration as he turned back towards the staircase down. But something landed on his hat as he walked. He moved a hand up to see what it was and found a note. He read the yellow piece of paper.

“To the thorn in our side,

If you’ve made it this far, then we applaud you, good sir. But you’ve been annoying us for far too long. We’d like to meet you face to face, under....mediated conditions. Without you in the picture, this would’ve gone off without a hitch. But since you seem to be insistent in stopping us, then we have called on our endgame. If you refuse to meet us, then let’s just say..your pampered marefriend will be swimming with the hydras. Meet us at the Ponyville Dam, by yourself. If we even see another face, you can say goodbye already. We hope to see you soon.

P.S. Oh, and if you think that you’ll be using any of the plans from our previous home for evidence, think again. Berry’s already set the place on fire. Watch your feet, don't want you to get burned.

-The House Always Wins”

Cole read the letter and sighed. But then he said “What the hell” as he looked at the last part of the letter again. And indeed, it had said that the building was being set ablaze. Cole saw smoke stacks just beaming out of the doorless doorway. Having no buildings nearby that he could jump onto, he looked around for something. If there was just one thing that he could..

“Oh hey, Ditzy. Carrying your trash out of town, already?”

“Yeah. It’s a big cartful this time. I..hehe...ate too many muffins.”

“I can tell, there’s practically a swarm of flies just buzzing around it.”

Cole looked down the balcony and saw a giant pile of garbage just in the middle of the street below him. There were no other means of escape, and he would be burned alive if he didn’t jump. Sighing, slapping himself, and cursing aloud, he held his breath and jumped down.

‘Rarity’s going to kill me.’

Final Case: Brothers In Fraud

Author's Final Note: And with this last chapter, I bid you all Adieu! The next project, if you are all interested, will be submitted by the time this is published and will hopefully be on the site twenty four hours from now. I'm not going to say what it is, except that it's another Crossover. So if anyone wants to check it out, go on ahead. Also, when you get to the end of this chapter, just know that I planned a seriously sad ending, but I took it out so I could have a somewhat sad and a happy one. If you wish to know what the third ending was, ask me in the comments, PM me, I don't know. But trust me, it would've made you cry. Probably.

“I have no time, just spray me with it!”

“....Okie dokie lokie..” Pinkie Pie reluctantly agreed.

She pulled back on the nozzle of the garden hose and water spewed forth rapidly and effusively. It soaked the Detective in water all around. Small little scraps of discarded apples, papers, and treats fell from his linen suit and onto the ground, flowing with the stream towards towards wherever it lead. After wiggling, flapping, and shaking his body and head, Cole Phelps put his hat back on and began to thank the pink party mare.

“So why were you covered in garbage again?” She asked inquisitively.

Picking out a piece of cupcake out of his jacket pocket, he dusted off his hands and answered. “Long story short, I jumped into a pile of garbage to escape the burning tavern.” He recalled the event. And it was certainly not clean.

Moments earlier

The human detective took in his surroundings. There was no other choice. The building beneath his feet was crumbling from the flames and he would die if he didn’t jump. How he would die, he knew exactly. Two things would happen if he didn’t jump. The fire would reach to the roof and he would be set ablaze. The other possibility was that the wooden support would give and the roof would collapse on itself, causing Phelps to fall to a fiery death. Neither option really suited him, as he hoped to at least have an open casket funeral at his eventual death.

Sighing with disbelief, and shaking his head at the reaction he’d get from Rarity, he jumped while holding his breath.

‘Rarity’s going to kill me.’

And he landed with an audible plop onto the widely assorted amount of waste. Now, mind you, he was thankful for where he was. In Equestria, the place itself was innocent for the most part. Cole didn’t have to worry about any gun wielding maniacs running down the street, robbing the harmless citizens willy-nilly. No, the technology of ponykind was confusing, but was lacking. They had recording devices for brain waves, as Twilight Sparkle had shown him, but they were also living in mid 1400 to 1800 era houses.

How a society with medieval themes could function, he didn’t understand. They had a primitive idea of locomotion one which would’ve been prominent around twenty or thirty years ago, but they also still relied heavily on street lamps and torches. They had yet to show any sings of lightbulbs. As far as entertainment went, there were no signs of television sets or radios, though they did have speakerphones, conveyor belts, and potato chips.

Also, they refrigeration units, solely based on the fact that they had ice-cream and were able to keep it in its desirable form for long times. After all of this, Cole knew he would definitely need a vacation from everything. And that would be the perfect time to pry things open, information wise.

“Hey! You dropped into my cart of garbage!” A voice called.

Cole picked himself up of out of the urban muck and wiped off his pants. He slowly picked his hat out of what seemed like a mountain of rotten muffins.

“Sorry about that, Miss. I’m sure you’ll be paid for any damages on my....part..” Cole was speaking as he dusted his clothes, but started to drift off as he met his trash-stained victim.

Her mane was blond and her coat was of a greyish hue. Her Cutie Mark, from what he saw, were bubbles. But that wasn’t what caused him to stop. No, it was her eyes. They weren’t looking at him. He cleared his throat, trying to stop himself from staring any longer.

‘Come on, Phelps. You’ve seen worse than this. Besides, it’s not that..noticeable.’

He extended his hand and greeted the mare. “Detective Cole Phelps, and you are?”

“Ditzy. Ditzy Doo.” She answered, looking at his hand and laughing. “That’s pretty dirty, you know?”

Cole recoiled and looked down at his opposably thumbed hands. They were covered in dirt, grime, and everything that resembled what was once an Italian dinner. He took his hand back and began making his way for Rarity’s Boutique. “Sorry about that. I’ll be sure to notify the proper authorities.”

Phelps quickly disappeared from sight as he rounded the corner of Sugar Cube Corner.

“That was a weird thing, right?” Ditzy asked.

“He was nice when I saw him.”

“You talked to him before, Carrot?”

“Well, he did buy some food, so yeah.”

“And I thought I was sneaky.” Ditzy rolled her eyes.

Carrot Top deadpanned. “You are. Talk about secrets, for a mailmare, why are you in a secret society of Muffin Protectors?”

“How did you know!? It’s a sworn oath to be anonymous!”

“You told me, remember?”

“Oh yeah...”

After his less than desired escape route, Cole had taken the side route of Sugar Cube Corner. It wasn’t exactly the most pleasant experience, having crumbs and such all over one’s body. The smell certainly didn’t help either. As he reached around the corner, he heard a melodious voice singing a song.

“A hop, skip, and a jump!”

Cole Phelps reached the end of the building in time to see Pinkie Pie jumping over bee hives. Her motives were unclear, leaving the detective to just wonder. Her ears rose up like a dog’s head smelling food as she turned her head to the human.

“Hey, Coley-Woley! What’cha doin’?” She suddenly appeared behind him, running around him in circles.

Putting his logic aside, he grinned, but then coughed at the smell of his own clothes. “Nothing, I could ask the same to you.” He looked around when a green tube caught his eyes. “Is that a hose?”

“Why, yes indeedie! Why, do you wanna take it?” She asked with a huge smile, her bug blue eyes almost taking up the major portion of her face.

“Actually, I was wondering if you’d spray me with that.”

Present Day

“And that’s when I got here.” Phelps explained.

“Oh, so what about the part with the bad guys having Rarity?”

“How did you know about that? I never told you.” He was now interested in Pinkie’s affairs.

“Oh, the guy told me. You know, that guy with the face.” Pinkie looked back and forth, as if she was being watched or followed. “That guy with the numbers..” She whispered.

“What ‘guy’? Is he the one doing all of this?!” Cole demanded an answer, thinking Pinkie to be an associate of ‘FFB’.

“No, silly billy!” She leaned in closer, her cotton candy mane and breath in Cole’s face. “The guy watching us. He’s been watching since you came here.” She pointed to the sky and nodded. “He’s been pressing these little thingies with letters on them this entire time.”

Knowing he wasn’t getting anything useful out of the mare, Cole walked away. “Thanks for your time.” He said, like it was a part of his coda.

“Your welcome!” She waved at him vigorously, smiling at the same time. She then turned around, looking around cautiously. “You saw what I did there, guys? Don’t tell ‘him’ though, or he’ll be upset.” She whispered. “Keep this a secret! The wall isn’t supposed to be broken in any of his things.” She winked at the air, as if there was an invisible audience there.

Cole trudged along towards the Carousel Boutique. The letter he had read was doubtful, to say the least. He had left Rainbow Dash with Rarity, and the rainbow-maned Pegasus seemed like she could handle herself. At most, they would have some griffins or Diamond Dogs, but nothing could’ve gone through Rainbow Dash, right?

Ponies passed by Cole like a blur. He was walking in an erratic fashion, not even minding his environment or his well-being. All he could think of was walking into the Boutique and seeing Rainbow Dash with Rarity. He couldn’t fathom the thought that his caretaker was kidnapped. The said building was within sight now. All Cole had to do was get to the door, knock , and wait for a few moments as Rarity fumbled with the locks. He could see it now.

He got to the door within minutes, ready to knock. But that was when he saw the flash of light. The lights were on in the store and the door was creaking open. He drew his pistol and put his free hand on the door lining. He pushed it in slowly as he angled his head in various ways to get better views. So far, all he saw were thrown over desks and chairs. The door abruptly slammed open, causing Cole to jump back.

“Finally, you got here..” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, clearly tired and worn out.

“What happened?” Cole holstered his gun as the mare called him in.

“A lot. Last I remember, these wise guys were sneaking around the place. Before I could go look, I blacked out.” Rainbow Dash felt the back of her head with her hooves. She moved them to her face to see what it was. “Uh oh.” There was red liquid on her cyan fur.

“Let me take a look at that.” Cole brought her towards him. Her fur was soft, surprisingly for an athlete. He moved her head, to which she pulled back from his.

“What’s the big idea, chump? Don’t go and get all grabby on me! You..pervert!”

“Pervert? I’m just trying to see the injury.” Phelps was beyond confused.

“Yeah, Rarity told me how you went birthday suit on her and tried to get her to do things.” Rainbow Dash said with a bemused expression.

“Birth- Oh you had to hear her wrong, or she said something wrong. She walked in on me in MY bathroom. Now let me get a look.” Phelps pulled her down forcefully, yet gently. He parter her spectral mane to get a good look at the source of the red liquid. “That’s not good.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” She fiddled with her hooves as she tried to look at the human.

“They got you on a blood vessel. Looks like blunt force. You probably got hit on the head when you weren’t looking.” Phelps concluded, having some experiences in medical injuries.

“Okay, Doc, then what should I do?”

“Well, the first thing is to get to a real doctor. But more importantly, where’s Rarity?”

“I....don’t know.” Rainbow Dash bowed her head in shame.

“Just like I thought, they weren’t pulling on their end...” Cole trailed off.

“What?”

“Nothing,” He lied. “It’s nothing.”

“So are we gonna go get her or what?” She questioned.

“‘We’ aren’t going to do anything. You are going to the hospital. I’m going alone.”

“Are you crazy?” She gave him a cockeyed look.

“I have no idea.” Cole said as he walked outside. “Hey, where’s the Dam?”

Rainbow Dash flew to his side, to which he looked. She pointed her hoof down a side road. “Follow it all the way down and take the left in the fork. It’s hard to miss after that.”

Cole tipped his hat out of respect and began walking. He heard Rainbow Dash call his name from behind. He turned to see what she wanted. “I’m getting Twilight to follow you.”

He didn’t even bother to answer. He waved a hand dismissively and continued on his path. He wasn’t running, but he was not walking either. It was more of a sprint in which his shoes sounded like gunshots whenever their soles would reach the floor. He swore he could see himself kicking up dust, despite being on a stone path.

Bugs would fly right by his face, some smashing right into him. Thankfully, he had his mouth closed or else he would’ve had an unhealthy lunch. The sun was otherworldly. It had to be this day, that the sun be so relentless. The heat wasn’t much, but it wasn’t pleasant either. It was a warm to mild feeling. Phelps could feel himself starting to perspire under the bright celestial body.

He couldn’t pay attention to that now. Even though it was disturbing him, there was a more pressing matter at hand. Shoving the heat aside, he moved down the road. The trees nearby stood as still as time, almost watching the detective. He felt hundreds of eyes on him, causing him to feel more uncomfortable. This was too much pressure for him. And he reached the fork. There were two paths, one to the left and one to the right. SInce there were no signs to indicate any sense of direction, Phelps went left based ob Rainbow Dash’s explanation.

He couldn’t feel anything except a nagging thought in the back of his mind.

‘Someone’s watching you, Cole. You know it. You’ve had this feeling before and you were never wrong. Catch them with their pants down, metaphorically speaking.’

The human knew his instinct was right. Not once had it failed to please when he felt like a gun or eyes were pointed at him. He decided he would turn and catch the follower or followers red handed. The bend of the road etched into a small patch of forest, providing him with the perfect opportunity. So he quickened his pace and quickly ducked behind the cover of a fruitful cherry tree. He pressed his ears to the trunk and listened for vibrations in the ground.

There was no mistake, he heard the distinct sound of hooves upon dirt. It wasn’t hard to pick out the sound, considering where he had been staying for the past days. And so, he prepared to engage this mysterious contact. The body was moving closer, as the sound was growing and he could hear it without the use of the tree.

“Stop!” He jumped out of cover and braced himself. But what he saw caused him to shake his head and just continue on the path.

“What? Rainbow told me to help.”

“I thought the look I gave her told her no. Twilight, the note I got clearly said no one else.”

“What note?” She asked following.

“This one,” Cole began to search his coat pockets, stopping at one and pulling out a piece of paper. “It’s pretty clear about it.”

“Let me see,” She took it over by use of magic and began to follow the words, left and right, until she reached the end. “Well, you were right about that. But don’t worry, I’ll go unnoticed. That way, you have back up in case things go wrong.” Twilight gave him a sheepish smile.

“Dames....I can’t stop you, huh?”

“Nope.” She stated matter-of-factly.

“Fair enoough. Stick far behind me, I don’t want them seeing you on my neck or something.”

“I know how to sneak, you know. Why, once I sneaked into the castle with Pinkie and Spike.” She recalled.

“How’d that turn out?” Cole asked as he ducked under a hanging branch.

“I was- you know what, that was a bad example. But still, I can be sneaky when I want to.” She hesitantly replied.

“Exactly. So stay back. If they so much as see you, just get out of here.”

“But I-”

“No buts, missy.” Cole interrupted, feeling like he was in a conversation with one of his daughters.

Twilight glared at him with daggers but he wiped off his shoulder. “Time to get moving again.” Cole walked while Twilight moved backwards, skulking and mumbling swears and curses at the human. He could swear he heard her call him a “horse apple eater” and a “sly feather butt”. Of course, he didn’t understand the magnitude of these curses, so he just brushed it off and kept going.

He saw it from where he was. It was large, almost as large as any dam he had ever seen in his life. Which is to say, none. He had seen pictures of Hoover Dam and of the dam in Canada near Niagara Falls, and they were seemingly large from the images. But seeing a dam in real life was another thing. It was made of concrete, from what he could tell, like any other of its compatriots. But it was just so...towering to him.

He heard some clicking from behind him. He turned to meet multiple unicorns in black suits and fedoras, all looking stern. One stood apart from the others as he stepped towards Cole.

“The bosses would like a word with ya.” He spoke in a New York accent.

His horn lit up, as if it were pointed towards him, ready to shoot. Cole took in his surroundings, there was no cover nearby so a gunfight was not possible. He’d be shot as soon as he drew his own gun. Also, there were more than ten or fifteen goons lounging around in the back, most likely being a minor part of their security detail.

They followed Cole as he was nudged forward. Up ahead he saw two shadowed figures sitting on some folding chairs, underneath a parasol and drinking from cups. A familiar mare stood nearby, grinning obnoxiously at Cole. It was Berry Punch.

“You finally got here, detective.” The venom in her voice was ever present.

“I would’ve been here faster if it wasn’t for your henchponies.” The human struggled from the stallion’s grip behind him.

“Well, that’s a shame, you’ve kept them waiting all of this time.” Berry Punch looked to the two figures watching them. “It isn’t the best thing to keep them waiting. They aren’t patient.” She waved at them, the figures nodded in response.

“When am I going to meet them already?”

“Hey boss, our guest has finally arrived.” Berry called.

The unicorn goons pushed Cole forward as he approached the two leaders. They were still mysterious and unseen, due to the shading of the sun under the parasol.

“So you’re the ones who’ve been causing all of this?” Cole moved closer.

“We could say the same to you, my dear sir.” One of them moved forward, revealing a red mustache. “What say you, Flim?”

“I agree, brother. You have no idea how annoying you’ve been for us these days. Years of planning, all gone to waste.”

“What was it that was so important that you needed to do all of this?”

“Why don’t you explain, Flam?” Flim asked his older counterpart.

“Why certainly, Flim.” He turned to the detective. “Now, as you recall, this all had to do with you the moment you stopped our business associates, the Diamond Dogs. Rough fellows, they were. But they knew when there was a profit to be made, even though it was seventy to thirty.”

“Yeah I remember, they tried to steal some items through use of hostages. And they wanted a certain mare as well, right?” Cole narrowed his eyes.

“That is correct, sir. We needed the concert tickets, along with Vinyl Scratch for a very important and crucial part of our plan. You see, we created a spell that can cause certain music to lull unsuspecting ponies into our grasps, buying our products willy-nilly. The concert tickets were our way of getting into a prestigious show with hundreds, no, thousands of wealthy citizens just ripe for the taking. The Diamond Dogs were the closest help-for-hire around, so of course we took their aid. But then you had to go and ruin all of that, didn’t you? Thank Celestia that they are loyal things, or else you might’ve stopped us a way earlier.”

“But what about the birds you sent after Fluttershy?!” Cole barked.

Flam, the mustached unicorn, turned to his younger sibling. “Your turn, brother.”

“Why, my pleasure. From there, we wanted you out of the picture, gone, dead, put away, we didn’t care. So we hired the strongest creatures that would hassle you and your little friends. And what do you know, Gilda was waiting right around the corner for a piece of revenge on Misses Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Gladly, her overactive anger and overall ill feelings towards ponies made us hire her without a doubt. That was her problem, was it not? She attacked the weakest one instead of going straight for you? I told her to get you while you were sleeping but she insisted on doing things her way. But what can you do? I mean, she was a sell-sword, or griffin, in this case.”

“You two are criminals!” Phelps glared at the two brothers with hate.

“Oh ,we know. We know.” Flam answered. “That’s why we sent our number one helper here, Miss Berry Punch. Quite the help, if I do say so myself. We met her back when...that was some time ago. Anyway, we met her back during our escapades as traveling salesponies. She was interested in our ventures, so she offered her help for some pay. You know, that was what sparkled this all. Did you know that? That was why we decided to take this...darker path. We wanted to be so rich and powerful, that we could run Sweet Apple Acres to the ground. We had our share of humiliations, but that was the biggest one we ever got. But you made sure it burned to the ground, right Berry?”

Berry Punch nodded and smiled. “You got that right, boss. I burned that thing myself, with my good old family recipe. The place never saw it coming.”

“Good work, bravo!” Flim praised.

“I aim to please.” Berry Punch curtsied.

“Well, on back track, we had her back in her old place, housing us while we developed the rest of the plans. But then you had come along yet again, ruining this critical part of the scheme. Do you know why we had all of those buildings burned? Do you know why?” Flam asked rhetorically.

“Because you two are sociopathic maniacs that need to do some good time behind steel bars?”

“No, although I do appreciate the thought. We not only wanted to harm your companions, but we wanted their insurance money as well. Did you know how many ponies in Equestria actually have insurance policies on their homes? More than half. The ones we were torching all had huge claims on them, most of which we have some take on. Through some of our persuasion, we were able to obtain the contracts and ‘rewrite’ certain aspects. If we pulled that part off successfully, we would’ve racked in a total of one million bits! Can you understand the magnitude of that much money?”

“No, but I know that money goes to a person’s, or pony’s, mind. If one has too much, then they’d go mad with power. They’d lose focus and their grip on the real world and try to mold it in their own way.” Phelps said.

“My my, a meddlesome detective and philosopher. You might beat us in our proficiency of occupations, dear man. But I digress, the main goal of these plans was to do one thing. Control Equestria. Do you know how many of the Royal Council, officials, and emissaries would keel over for just a portion of the riches we would’ve gained? Well actually, we still can buy more than half! And what do you think will happen when we have the majority of them in our hooves? We’d take over Equestria! Princess Celestia and Luna would be taken off their thrones. We’d have the officials spreading propaganda against the royalty so that distrust would form. And then the greatest part of this plan is that they won’t do anything to us or the people, lest they want a bad reputation.”

“You’re crazy. Who says I’m going to let you do this?!” Cole moved closer to them but was held in place by a field of green magic.

“I have him, Flam. Finish up the story, will you brother?” Flim asked as he used his magic to hold Cole in place.

“So then we’d have the entire government of Equestria in our grip. And then, we’d be free to do whatever we wanted, whether it was to sell apples from Flim Flam Fields, be insurance holders, anything. The possibilities are endless, my dear boy. And to think, this all started from a small grudge with the Apple family.” Flam started to laugh, the other ponies following. His mustache bounced with him.

“Screw you and your plans! Where the hell did you take Rarity?!”

“Oh, that’s the best part. Berry, be a dear and tell him about his little marefriend?”

Berry Punch moved up to Cole Phelps and started to run her hooves along the lining of his clothes. Then she spoke to him like a mother would to a child. “Your little Rarity is gone, up the empty stream, right under the dam. We had a special device made with the Brothers’ genius. It’s called an ‘Atmospheric Magical Detonation Device’. It has powerful magic stored inside, and with the lighting of a fuse, can explode, causing disastrous effects. Rarity is tied down like a ship at the bottom of the empty river. But, when the bombs blow up, let’s say Rarity won’t exactly be safe.” Berry Punch started to laugh.

“Why do you think we told you all of this, detective? For our health? No, we told you because there’s no way out for you this time. After we finish with you, the dam is going to blow, washing away both you and your friend. Not to mention , we’d get to rack in the money we’d receive from the insurance claim on the dam. And after that, Canterlot here we come.” Flim and Flam said in unison.

Cole Phelps, a master detective, war veteran, justice seeking policeman, was stuck. He was surrounded by more than thirty or so ponies, and he was trapped. He couldn’t pull his gun or else he’d get a shot of magic right through his chest. He also didn’t want to put Rarity in danger. If only there was a wa-

*Zap*

A pony fell to the ground, turned to stone, as a lavender beam passed through him.

“We said nopony else!” Flim barked as he ran for cover.

Flam and Berry ran towards a mobile vehicle, seemingly old and vintage. It looked like an automobile from the late 1800s.

“Start it!” Flam shouted.

“I can’t, it’s jammed!” Berry replied.

“Of all times..”

The goons were in a chaotic array, they were running around madly as bolts of lavender came at them, turning them to stone and stopping them in place. It was coming from somewhere in the forest, but Cole couldn’t see where. Making the most of his situation , he ran to a nearby unicorn and punched him on the back of his head, rendering said pony out cold. Cole took the unicorn in his arms and pumped his body like a shotgun. It wasn’t the most dignified thing to do, but Twilight had taught him that unicorns could be used like a weapon, which she was used as such during a wedding in Canterlot.

When he pumped the unicorn, it surprisingly made a cocking sound like a shotgun would. “Well, what else is new?” He squeezed the unconscious unicorn’s belly as a bolt of magic protruded from his horn, hitting a stray goon in the head and knocking him a few feet away. This was repeated, Cole Phelps would pump the unicorn like a shotgun and fire. He received some shots his way back but he would dodge them, or use his weapon as a shield.

Once his weapon had run out of magic, he tossed the used up pony aside and observed his environment. The Flim Flam Brothers along with Berry Punch were still trying to operate their vehicle. The remaining henchponies had left already, leaving many unconscious bodies and the detective alone. A familiar lavender unicorn came galloping out of the woods triumphantly.

“Thanks for the help, God knows I needed it.” Cole ruffled her mane.

“No problem. But what about them!?” Twilight Sparkle pointed towards the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. It was piping fumes and moving slowly away, gaining speed with each minute.

“But Rarity’s still in danger! We need to get them but we need to save her..”

“There’s two of us, partner. What do you want to do, Cole?”

'Let go. You've put enough criminals behind bars, what's two more? You partner can go after them. Save the girl. She needs you, Cole.'

'This ends here. They've been terrorizing Equestria for long enough. Your partner can save the girl, you need to get these bozos and end it.'

Ending: Heartaches By the Number

‘Revelation 21:6 - It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.’

“Go, catch those bastards and make them pay! They’re a blight to this world and they need to be caught!” Cole commanded.

Twilight nodded and immediately ran after the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. It was still having trouble moving, but that was overwritten by the fact that it was moving downhill. Cole hoped that the bookworm would be able to run the distance. The weather changed almost instantly as the morning sun was replaced by an afternoon drizzle. It pelted the grass, mud, and the detective.

Putting his observation of the environment aside, he ran towards the dam. His shoes began to go deeper into the mud ground as some had even started to get kicked up to his face. It would normally stay but the rain washed him off. It was just what he needed. The trees seemed to be endless, going on forever. He just wanted to reach the end already and save his caretaker, his friend, his Rarity.

The dam seemed so large now that he was getting closer. It was intimidating, really. If the two brothers were true to their word, then seeing the damn explode and all of its contents, leak, would be horrendous. He had been in a sewer before, the sweeping force which caused him to end up here. But never had he ever been nervous about dying as much as he was now. Before, the water current was controlled, only going a certain amount and in a constant direction. But this dam, it was just so....large.

Cole shook his head and snapped back to reality. He needed to find Rarity. His pace quickened, not even straining the high school track runner. He was passing by trees even faster, perhaps even faster than a bicycle could travel. He squinted his eyes to get a better view of the distance and he saw it. He saw the lovable purple mane along with the white coat. Just as they had said, Rarity was tied up right in front of the dam.

Phelps ran faster than he could have ever in his entire life. Everything zipped by as he almost instantly reached Rarity, who was tied up, and gagged. He took off the tape that was on her mouth gently, to which she smiled at him and thanked him. She tried to wriggle, but it caused dirt to stain on her clean fur. This only caused her to react even more, staining herself and the detective all over. After untying the mare, she got up on her hooves and smiled sheepishly.

“Now would you kindly carry me? I need to get to the spa, immediately!”

Cole was irritated. He started to yell at her. “You had me worried this entire time, and you get caught, and the first thing you say to me is going to the spa?!”

Rarity nuzzled his side as she looked up at him with big eyes. “I knew you were going to save me, sweetie.”

Cole sighed, and then bent down to pick her up. As he tried to move though, the ground began to shake.

*Boom*

The two looked up and saw what was the cause of the vibration disturbance. An explosion had just went off near the top of the dam, causing visible cracks to form in various spots.

“That’s not good.”

“No, it isn’t.” Rarity replied.

They both turned back to the forest and Cole started to run, Rarity on his back. But there was something about the floor. He looked down and saw his feet completely buried in mud. The rain had been so heavy that the mud was completely watered and was now sloshy. Cole tried to pick his feet up but they took minutes. At the rate he was going, they wouldn’t be able to get out safely.

“Can’t you use your magic to teleport us?”

“I can try...” Rarity scrunched her face as her horn began to light up. But just as it did, multiple larger explosions occurred, causing Phelps to lose his balance and fall to the ground, Rarity in tow.

They looked up and massive amounts of water began leaking. There were barely any explosives left. The two looked to each other and came to the same conclusion. Using magic would detonate the bombs. Cole picked himself up and carried Rarity in his arms. He looked down to her and tried as much as he could to walk. Again, he barely could as more explosions followed.

“What are we going to do, Cole?!” Rarity started to panic.

There was still one bomb left. Already, streams of water were flowing down, pushing Cole and Rarity against it. Phelps could barely hold on any longer, for if he tried, the current would carry them to wherever. Realizing his only option, Cole looked and Rarity and smiled warmly.

“Brace yourself.” He threw her to the side, as close to the forest as possible, before she could even speak.

She got up and looked like she was furious. “What are you doing?!”

“It’s the only way, Rare. It has to be like this.”

“You idiot! We...we could’ve done something else..” She started to realize what he meant. Tears formed around her eyes, already imagining what was about to happen.

*Boom*

All remaining parts of the dam were destroyed, causing a giant waterfall to descend on Cole Phelps’ position. Cole looked up and embraced his fate. He turned to Rarity who was still staring at him with awe-struck eyes.

“Don’t go...” Rarity pleaded.

“Goodbye.”

Those were Cole Phelps’ last words. He waved her farewell as the wave of the water struck him heavily. Within mere moments, he was carried away and out of sight. And just before he left, he gave Rarity an endearing final word. Rarity was there, on her haunches, unsure of what to do. She tried to reason with herself that the flood would end and she would find him on a beach or some other, washed up and unconscious. But she knew. She knew that that was the end.

She didn’t want to accept the realization, but it was there. All she could do was remember that final image of Cole Phelps as he looked at her and said goodbye.

“Cole....”

It took the rest of the day, but the Royal Guards had found Cole Phelps. They left him in his original spot as two mares walked up to the still body. Twilight looked on and started to cry. His body was cold, wet, and no longer living. Rarity had still not come to terms with his death, though. In her mind, he was taking a deep sleep. So she trotted to his side, and began to pat his chest to wake him up.

“Wake up. Wake up. Wake up!” She went from soft taps to hard punches. She was angry with Cole for leaving her. He just left her like that. She just wanted things back to normal. But things would never be the same again. She took his things and kept them as memoirs.

After that day, his funeral was given. Still though, Rarity had not accepted his death. To her, he was just waiting for the right time to wake up. And so, after the funeral, she went home and made new suits for him non-stop. She made a total of a hundred suits before somepony stopped her. She took this time to rest.

The day after Cole Phelps’ funeral, everything changed. She went inside of Cole’s old room and laid down on the bed. She rolled around a bit before walking inside of the bathroom. It was empty and had not been in use since...that day. But she continued to stroll around the room, leaving everything in its original spot, save for the bed. She went over to the dresser and began to search the contents. There were things like Cole’s badge, his wallet, and some other personal possessions. She accidentally moved her hoof forward and knocked the drawer out.

She began to pick things back up when something caught her eye. It was a note of some sorts. So she went over to it and picked it up, reading it.

“Journal...I have no idea what the date is,

Haven’t written in here since the last days of Arson. Starting to feel crazy. Maybe it’s the paranoia setting in. I still can’t believe just a day or two ago, I ended up in this place full of ponies and mythical creatures. To think, I only have the stuff I had on me when that sewer even happened. I wish I had a copy of some Shakespeare on me. Maybe some Rudyard Kipling. I’m not sure how I can take this, though. It’s like some weird dream. I want to know if this is real or not. That Rarity’s been way too nice these days and I’m starting to get edgy. One of these days, I’m going to end up dead or wake up dead. If I do die, where am I going to end up? This seems like heaven....for kids. I’ll have to see when I die, I guess. Hopefully, I don’t die from stabbing myself, drinking poison, or getting trapped in a walled up basement winery, right? Heh....I don’t know what to write. Life is way too strange nowadays. But my mom always said to me ‘Live. Live for the future. Live for me.’ Kind of inspirational. I think this would be my last message to everyone. Well, whoever cared.

Signing off for the last time..?

C.P Cole Phelps”

Rarity’s heart changed. It was like a weight was lifted off of it. She breathed in deeply as her face was covered in streams of tears. Her eyes were like the dam, themselves.

“He’s dead. He’s been dead this whole time. He said...goodbye. And he was happy with what he did.” She looked out of the open window, at the rising sun. “He saved me.”

Ending: Troubles By the Score

‘Proverbs 29:7 -  The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.’

“Get Rarity, Twilight. You can save her with your magic. Leave the three to me.” Cole looked to the moving car.

“Are you sure?” Twilight inquired with a doubtful look.

“Go.” Cole told her, pointing towards the dam without looking. He could feel every single nerve in her body telling her to stay with him, but she reluctantly started to gallop away. When he felt she was a good distance from them, he ran towards the vehicle.

Flim was shooting green magic his was as Cole moved left and right, dodging anything that could harm his ability to give chase. The mud under the wheels of the contraption was kicking up, flinging itself onto the wood exterior of the car. The weather had changed all of a sudden, most likely due to a scheduled shower from the Pegasi. It changed from a hot sunny morning to a drizzling afternoon.

Cole, having been a track runner in high school, paced himself as he ran after the runaway machine. Berry Punch and Flam operated the controls as Flim covered them, still desperate to shoot Cole dead on. Phelps couldn’t give up now, the fate of Equestria depended on him. If he didn’t save it, all might be lost. He had not even noticed that his clothes were soaking wet yet again and his shoes were tracking mud.

He was a mere ten feet away from them. All he needed was to jump onto the thing and pull himself upwards. But as fate would have it, Cole slipped on the ground as the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 tumbled over a bit due to the friction of the floor. But this was not in ill of his favor, as he grabbed hold of the rickety cart as he fell. But not before he slammed his head against the hard wood, causing the spot to bruise and bleed. He dangled along the edge, being swayed back and forth by the movement. But regaining his sense of direction and balance, Phelps turned around and grabbed ahold of the back.

He started to pull himself upwards, feeling the top of the car and ready to take out all three perpetrators. But alas, he was knocked on his face as a pair of hooves smacked him on his nose, causing it to bleed. He stumbled back and lost his grip, falling back to his original spot. But he did not quit. He pulled himself up again and dodged the oncoming attack, pulling Berry Punch’s hooves down as he came up. He saw her fall off of the side as he got on it. She screamed as she fell over the edge and hit her head straight on the dirt.

What happened to her didn’t matter to the human detective. Stopping them was his number one priority, even if it ended in their deaths. He thought he saw a pool of blood form around her mane but he wasn’t entirely sure, due to the fact that he was bleeding from the nose and the forehead. He pulled his attention away from her and turned around as he was punched in the face.

“You think we salesponies can’t fight?” Flim grinned as he saw Cole spit out some blood.

Cole lunged forward with his left hand and got Flim on the snout, causing the stallion to fall back on his haunches. Flim tried to get back up but Cole didn’t want to be gentleman like about this. He jumped on top of Flim and punched him relentlessly, that is, until Flim shot Cole off of him with his magic. Phelps landed on his back as he tried to get back up. He felt for his gun but saw it had slid out of the holster from his push.

He tried to reach for it but felt a heavy weight on his chest. He looked up and saw Flim smiling triumphantly.

“You never could stop us, detective. This was over to begin with. Now stay still...” Flim’s horn began to glow a bright green, a large orb circled the tip. Flim was going to use a powerful spell that would end Cole Phelps right there and then. Cole tried desperately to reach for his pistol as the orb grew in size. His fingers felt the very chamber of the gun. All he needed was to pull. The orb on Flim’s horn had grown immensely, almost to its peak level. “It’s over.” Flim turned down to see his victim , expecting a grimace from the human. But all he received was a grin in return.

“You’re right. It’s over.”

*Bang*

The bullet went right through Flim’s head, right between the eyes actually, and caused the cream-yellow coated unicorn to fall beside Cole lifelessly. He was no more as a pool of metallic blood exited the dead body’s wounds. The transport kept moving however, as Cole got up to his feet and looked at the final remaining criminal. He wiped his mouth with his hand as the blood was cleaned from his face. He walked up to the older brother quietly.

“I say, Flim, did you get him yet? Did you give him the ol’ one two shot? Hmm?” Flam began to chuckle as his red mustache was soaked from the rain. After receiving no answer, he turned his head to look back, only seeing something tall in front of him and something metal and shiny in his face.

“Give Flim my regards.”

*Bang*

And it was over. The expertly developed and well-planned scheme was no more. The two proprietors, Flim and Flam, had ceased to live. No other form of justice could exist in Cole Phelps’ mind except the death penalty. And this was no court or prison, this was the outside.

Cole jumped off of the motionless vehicle as he walked back up the hill. The rain had subsided considerably. The sun had come back out again as it warmed his cold body and wet clothes. Royal Guard ponies started to fly in from the sky, checking the perimeter and cleaning all messes. Some glanced at Cole Phelps, giving him questioning looks. But none dared to speak with him. For he looked like death, itself. The sounds of the stallions conversing was soon replaced by Twilight Sparkle galloping towards.

“Cole! Are you alright!?”

“I’m fine. Where’s Rarity?”

Twilight kicked at the floor, almost afraid to speak. She just shook her head and pointed towards the distance where a group of guards had made their way.

“You don’t mean...”

Twilight nodded her head.

Cole couldn’t believe it. No, it wasn’t true. She had to be alive! He ran as fast as he could towards the group of ponies blocking his way. He pushed, shoved, and hell, even punched a few guards to get to the epicenter of the commotion. He gasped when he saw what was there. It was Rarity. But.....she was.....

“What are you all looking at?! My coat is absolutely dirty! Somepony get me to the beauty spa!” Rarity’s white coat was plastered with giant splotches of brown.

Cole Phelps, a dark and grim man, barely a hollow of what he was before the war, master detective, solver of crimes, murder and otherwise, laughed his ass off. Rarity looked annoyed and approached him.

"And what is the meaning of this?! This is a serious matter!”

Cole got up after wiping some tears from his eyes, and ruffled her mane, to which she recoiled but embraced. But then she kicked him back.

“You could’ve went after me, darling!”

“I needed to end this. So, where to now, my lady?” Cole brought out his arm, waiting for Rarity to take it.

Rarity took his arm in hoof and walked off towards Ponyville with him. “Firstly, we are going to pay a visit to the Spa! Then we are- what’s that awful smell?! And what is that hanging out of your pocket?!” Rarity asked as she pulled out a muffin container out of his pocket. She looked at him angrily.

“About that...”

And so, Equestria was saved once again, but by another being. A human.

A dark figure in a shady room was reading a newspaper. The headlines read “Equestrian Hero Saves the Day!”. There were multiple sub-headlines that pertained to the mystery. They all read as follows.

“Barkeep Arrested! Tried for Conspiracy Theory!”

“Ponyville local turns out to be part of huge scandal and fraud. Being tried for more than 25 years in prison! Defendant Punch says ‘They had me under a brain-washing spell, I swear! Get that damn camera out of my face you piece of sh-’. More about the sentence on page 3."

“Musicians Finally At Rest.”

“After a lot of unsuspected crimes involving Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Lyra Heartstrings, and Bon-Bon, all residents of Ponyville, they have come to learn the meaning of peace. See page 8 for details on speech of Lyra Heartstrings speaking on same sex marriage.”

“Griffins Gone Mad”

“Mercenary griffin criminals went crazy while being injected with sedatives in the Ponyville General Hospital. A strange being went inside and put them down with a mysterious device. Sources speculate it was the new hero, himself. See more on page 19.”

“Insurance Policies At Wits’ End!”

“A large insurance fraud scheme gone wrong has been foiled, leaving the ponies whose homes have been destroyed rich as day. One Miss Applejack Apple had this to say. ‘Ah reckon those darn varmints learned their lesson. Now if you’d be so kind, everypony! Come to Sweet Apple Acres, we got the best darn tootin’ apples in all of Equ-’ Her self advertisement was cut short due to the lack of clearance.”

“Local New Hero Establishes Police Force.”

“A seemingly new individual of a completely foreign, yet similar race has stepped forward, showing the true meaning of justice. With his presence, more judiciary organizations have been formed, including a police force. New Captain of the Ponyville Police force, human Detective Cole Slaw, had this to say. ‘Stay out of trouble ponies. There’s a new sheriff in town. Heh, just kidding. But remember, a police officer is your best friend. Stay on the good side of the law, crime never pays.’ Yes indeed, Captain Cole Slaw has been a great help, rounding up twenty crime lords from different cities in mere days! The Police Force is calling new recruits, and you can be an officer of the law, today!”

The door to the dark room was kicked open. A pony in a dark blue uniform with a shield badge and a similar badge upon her hat came inside. Her mane flowed in the wind from the outside.

“Captain! They say the Cupcake Killer has struck again!”

The figure she spoke to had their back towards her, looking out of the window with the newspaper in hand. His legs were folded across each other, his arms crossed behind his head while the folded paper hanged.

“Can you believe this, Officer Dash? They got my damned name wrong again. How do you get ‘Cole Slaw’ from Cole Phelps? I’m not a damned food.” He turned around and slammed the newspaper on the desk. It was laden with a picture of him, his wife and two daughters. Opposite of that was another picture of him, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle, all smiling as Cole blew his birthday cake.

“I...don’t know what to say...but we have to get going! Head Detective Sparkle needs you there!” Officer Rainbow Dash stammered.

Sighing, the new Police Captain of Ponyville rose from his chair. He straightened his jacket and put on his hat. He took a nearby bottle of whiskey and drank it. “Tell Rarity I’ll be home late.”

“Yes, sir!” Officer Dash waited by the door as Captain Phelps walked over. He took out a pair of keys and locked the door to his office. “Ready sir?”

“There ain’t no rest for the wicked, is there?”