Those Thirty Days

  Of the many cases I faced through the rest of my career, I never once had to face something so... interesting, I'll say. I stayed in the business for another fifty years, taking odd jobs and the like and some major cases once in a while. I am now retired, and quite thoroughly tired. I never got married, I never had children, and I never figured out where Lodestone took those other two Stymphalians, though he claims to have sent them to where the others flew off to. I for one, kept the last Stymphalian as a friend, since I can rightly call him a pet. He is as old as I am in bird years... at least I suppose he is since his once bronze colored feathers are a bright silver and he's cranky all the time.

  I started to develop a friendship between Ganache and Caramel, though I never once kissed that stallion again. I see the from time to time, with their grandchildren at the park. Lodestone, by what he says, works at a wildlife preserve while also occasionally teaching the young'uns how to survive in the wild. I occasionally hear from Gin's family... a sad story that one. As for Calculated Risk and Brushstroke, they had several kids, grandkids, one of which is expecting the first great grandkid.

  Steel Beak is telling me that it's almost time. You see, after the Fillydelphia Research Institute lost the court case, it still had enough bits in its coffers to continue functioning for a while, though as expected, with minimal staff. Police inspected them every month for the first ten years, and then once every two, than every six, until four years ago it became once every year. The F.R.I. was reduced to chemistry sets, and most of the scientists who were part of it never were able to leave. In the paper last week an announcement was made that the F.R.I. building was being destroyed, and that a new park or something was gonna be built there. I, along with half the town, have come outside to watch it go. We plan on celebrating the final and utter demise of this wretched thing.

  This ends of notes on 'Case File: Solitaire'.

  The stallion lowered the file from view, looking out the window in thought. It had been an odd case indeed, that one, and more so why this Fillydelphia Research Institute hadn't been shut down prior to that point, though he guessed that it just took the evidence Keen Eye had procured. The sound of heavy wings beating caught his attention. A large, bronze feathered bird sat on the windowsill, waiting to be let inside. With a chuckle, he opened the window with a push of his magic, allowing the massive bird inside. The bird ruffled its wings a bit, a few of his razor sharp feathers fluttering down to the ground.

  "Have you finished with that case, yet?" The bird asked in annoyance. "You've been at it for nigh on to ten days now, you'd think that it were a book or something." The stallion chuckled in response.

  "Well, if somepony turned the bland recording of details into something a bit more verbose and actually structured in a way that it might feel like a story then I'm sure it would sell quite well." He said calmly to his Stymphalian friend. "Besides, how am I supposed to finish my masters degree if I don't look into large cases of the past."

  "I'm sure you're auntie Keen Eye would be proud of you, but I also think she'd understand if you'd just take some time to yourself and actually enjoy life." The Stymphalian bird countered. "I'll be across the street if you need me, I hope you like pizza." The stallion smiled as he watched the bird hop through the window, gliding down across the street.

  Sitting back in his chair, he looked out of the window with a sigh, the blue sky above pleading with him to come out and do something under its magnificent beauty. Looking back to the folder, he finally relented and shot forward, getting to his hooves in a flash before moving out of the building his aunt Keen Eye had worked in all those years ago.

Together, we are strong. Together, we can accomplish anything. Ponies don't need technology, or innovation to make great leaps and bounds, and we certainly don't need shut-ins to work their hooves to the bone to make something to be better as a whole. Ponies only need each other and a bit of cooperation and we can go wherever or do whatever. United we stand, but divided we fall. So why do we try and do things alone when many hooves makes light work? We aren't a species of loners, we are meant to be together. So how about it? Let's tey and work together.

                                                                                                                                       -Unknown

                                                                                                                  -The End