The story of a new life

Those numbers... They were geographical coordinates... I had no idea if 'geography' was the same in this world but those coordinates sure resembled the ones in my world. I was curious but I would worry about them later. For now I had to focus on interrogating Twilight's friends and put together the informations I could find. Rainbow Dash talked about a video... I wonder if that has anything to do with the case, or if it was just insane talk...

And judging by how Rainbow Dash was acting, we could clearly see that the poison had also an effect on her brain. There was also this letter, found on her body at the scene of the crime, I will have to check that at the Ponyville police after we are done with the global interrogations. I had multiple clues and small paths to take, that was good. In some cases, I was just stuck without any clues...

Finally, the last information we got is that the poison's components were from the Everfree forest. I am not a doctor but I knew that we needed to know the exact ingredients and proportions in the poison in order to obtain an antidote and since we had no such information... I was sharing those theories with Twilight while we were walking in the streets. Still all those ponies staring at me... This was getting uncomfortable... I asked Twilight :

"They really have never seen any human here ?" I asked

"Well, humans are pretty rare here, we only summon them for some tasks that we can't perform without help. Ponies are usually very curious about new creatures coming to Ponyville." She answered

We walked for about twenty-five minutes and we arrived at our destination at six o'clock. I could see not far from there a small cottage. Twilight stopped and told me :

"Ok Christopher, this is my friend's cottage, her name is Fluttershy" She said

Those names...

"There are a few things you need to know about her before you interrogate her, she is kinda... special. She represents the element of kindness and she is very, very shy, but you'll understand what I mean when we get there. Just try not to be too sudden with her..." She declared

I was was curious to know what she really meant but I followed her without a word. After five minutes of walking we finally arrived at the cottage. It was a pretty nice house. There was lots of trees and colourful flowers around it and I noticed that there wasn't one tree or solid surface without at least one bird house. I noticed all kind of wild animals running around : squirrels, bunnies and even... a bear! There was also a small river, separating the cottage and the road. We could cross it with a small bridge. A few healthy-looking fishes were jumping in the water.

Wow, she must really like nature.

Twilight stopped at the door and told me :

"We came to see Fluttershy first because she is the only pony that might be awake at this time. She always is, to feed her chickens."

"So, wait, here ponies also have animals ??" I asked, confused

"Of course, everypony has the right to have a pet or in this case, farm animals, as you can tell, Fluttershy really likes animals, she can speak their language." She answered

Wow, I wish I could talk to animals.

Twilight approached the door and knocked three times with her hoof. After a few minutes we finally heard some noise. The door opened on another pony. She was about the same size as Twilight but her fur was yellow. Her eyes were cyan and here mane and tail were both pink. I immediately noticed that she was a pegasus as she had a pair of yellow of wings. I couldn't help finding her kinda cute, I mean, compared to the other ponies I had already seen. She first saw Twilight and started talking in a soft voice :

"Oh hello Twilight, what brings you here ? I am sorry I took so long time answer the door but I..."

She interrupted her self when she saw me. Her entire body expression changed : she backed away and tried to make herself as little as possible. I could see she was shaking a little and her wings were twitching, she was looking at Twilight with a confused expression. I decided to try to talk to her :

"Hmm, hello, you must be Fluttershy right ?"

"hmm.. yes...hello..."

"... Wonderful weather we are having" I said

"hmm... I... I...

...

...

This was getting awkward. I looked at Twilight, trying to tell her to talk to Fluttershy. She nodded and got closer to the frightened pony. They whispered things to each other that I couldn't hear. After a few minutes of talking, Twilight told me :

"It's no use, I don't think she is ready to talk with you just yet. I can't even change her mind... I mean, to her you are pretty impressive and I told you she was shy..."

"sigh... So we came all the way here for nothing ?"

"It's ok, I'm sure we will have more luck with my other friends. You just have to get use to Fluttershy, after you do, she is a great friend. She is always like this with strangers, and you are not even a pony... though, I told you not to be too sudden with her...." Said Twilight

"Are you serious..."

Twilight laughed :

"It's ok, you couldn't have known. Just remember that for your next encounter with her."

We left the cottage and right before we crossed the bridge, I turned around and I waved my hand in the air to say goodbye to Fluttershy that was still next to her door. And as strange as this sounds she did the same with her hoof and then went back into her cottage.

hmm, weird why is she saying goodbye to me when she was so scared a few minutes ago... Oh well, maybe I'll have better luck with her next time. I do wonder what Twilight said to Fluttershy...

"Ok, next stop, Sweet Apple Acres. It is the most famous apple farm in all Equestria and the only one too... It is where the tastiest apples of all Equestria are made. And this is where my friend Applejack lives and works."

This time I avoided questions like 'how a farm can still be in business if all it sells is apples ?' or ' what the hell is a pony doing working in a farm anyway ?' because I was starting to understand the logic of this world : there is no logic. The farm was far away and we had to walk for forty-five minutes. As we were still in town, I realised that I hadn't had any breakfast or any kind of meal since yesterday and that I was starving. I asked Twilight if we could eat somewhere.

"Oh, you are hungry, alright, we can go to Sugarcube Corner, before meeting Applejack, they sell the best cupcakes around." She said

"Then Sugarcube Corner it is!" I said, too hungry to not want cupcakes.

The bakery was not very far and we arrived at half past eight. We entered, I heard a small ringing sound from the bell that was attached to the door. I approached the counter, and two ponies, one male and one female, came out of a room at the back (probably the room where they did the cooking), they looked very surprised to see a human here apparently as they were staring at me... Then Twilight joined me at the counter, the male pony talked to her :

"Oh hello Twilight what can I get you and... your friend ?" He said

Wow, I met her only yesterday and people are already seeing us as friends... Well I did read that friendship was a really important thing in Ponyville.

She laughed, just like she read my mind.

"Yes he is, we would both like some of your delicious cupcakes please" She said

Then she turned her head to me.

"Which flavour do you want yours, they have everything." She asked me

"Hmm... I'll take vanilla flavoured cupcakes please."

"Very well, that'll be ten bits please" Said the female pony behind the counter

Twilight took out the money from her bag and gave it to the two ponies. I couldn't help thinking that we could pay and get Rainbow Dash out of this mess. But it wasn't that simple... We both sat down at a free table and waited for the cupcakes.

They finally arrived after ten minutes of waiting. They were positioned on a big shiny plate, there were ten of them, five vanilla and five chocolate. I started eating, a spark in my eyes. I think I never tasted something this good. The frosting was melting and crunchy at the same time, and it was just so full of flavours in my mouth, making them perfect in my opinion.

"OH MY GOD !! What is in these things, they are the best cupcakes I've ever eaten !!" I almost screamed

The couple blushed.

"Oh, it was nothing, just a family recipe. We are glad you enjoy them." They said

After these delicious break, we decided to continue heading towards Sweet Apple Acres. After twenty minutes of walking, we entered in a more farm-like environment. There were much more fields animals and I could even smell the scent of the ploughed ground as we progressed. Finally, we arrived at the barn Twilight was talking about at half past nine.

It was a big and majestic building, almost fully painted in a bright red, a red that you can only see on the best and brightest apples. I did also notice an apple-shaped weathercock on the top of the farm. It was static as it wasn't a very windy day but I could imagine this big apple spinning around at the top of this farm. In addition to all the farm odours I had smelled, one was standing out, and it was the smell of... apples. We walked around the building and we found the pony we were looking for. It seemed she was working on collecting apples by hitting the apple trees with her hind legs. She must be really strong as every time her hoofs connected with the tree, about a dozen apples fell at the same time in her wooden basket.

We walked towards her, and, as usual, I analysed who we would have to deal with : she was as tall as Twilight and Fluttershy but I could see that she had more 'muscle mass', probably because she was an earth pony. Her fur was orange and her eyes green, her tail and mane were attached with a red elastic and a wrong hat was resting on her head, giving her the look of a cow-girl... or in this case, a pony-girl... if that makes any sense. We approached her from the sides so I noticed that she had three red apples on her right flank... Just like the other symbols... I didn't pay attention to Fluttershy's flank, I wonder if she had one too. When she saw us she stooped, picked up her basket and came to us. She didn't look surprised or bothered by the fact that I was human.

"Howdy Twilight, what brings you here to Sweet Apple Acres, oh, do you have any news about Rainbow Dash" She said

"Her state hasn't improved... But me and my friend Christopher are on the case and we're confident that we will be able to catch the criminal " She declared

"Ok, then, but I am still worried about Dash..."

"No need, she'll be fine"

Twilight forced a smile on her face... Applejack then looked at me with a curious expression.

"And who is your friend ? Is he a human ?" She asked

"Yes, he is the detective I told you about, he is going to help us solve the case" Twilight answered

"Well then, hello mister, if you are a friend of Twilight, then you are my friend too" She said, smiling

She then shook my hand with her hoof so violently I thought my wrist was going to break.

"The name's Applejack, nice to meet you."

"Yes... Hello, would you mind answering a few questions about the crime ?" I asked, still holding my wrist...

"Sure, just make it quick, I got to get back to the farm to sort those apples" She answered, pointing her hoof at the basket full of apples.

"Ok, first how and when did you meet Rainbow Dash, and what is your relationship with her ?"

"Oh, that already seems so far, but how could I forget how I met my best friends. I encountered Rainbow Dash for the first time a few years ago. It was a happy day at the barn, I was harvesting some apples for the annual apple celebration, when suddenly, a blue pegasus came down from the sky and... landed in my apple basket. It was Rainbow Dash. She was practising her flying... Obviously."

Obviously...

"I helped her get up while yelling at her for making such a mess with my apples. She apologised and then, she gathered all my apples in no time, you should have seen her, she was moving as fast as a lightning bolt. When they were all in my basket again, we laughed and I invited her to spend the annual apple celebration with everyone, and she did. If you ask her, she might tell you that it was boring but I know she enjoyed it very much. And that is how we became friends. I just hope she will recover soon." Applejack continued.

I was very intrigued, she had been poisoned and was on the verge of death, how could she say that... I looked at Twilight but she told me to keep on with the questions with a little tilt of her head. I did :

"Very well Applejack, where were you when the crime took place ?"

"At this precise time I... I kinda overslept... I was very tired from all the hard work I had done the day before that, when I heard that Rainbow had been attacked in the Everfree forest, I went to the hospital but couldn't get in for some reason, the nurses didn't want to, sadly, I know little about the incident..." She said

This time I looked at Twilight firmly, she sighed, making me understand by another sign of her head that she owed me explanations.

"Last question Applejack, did you notice anything strange around here lately ?"

I knew that this wasn't a very appropriate question for the situation but... you know, force of habits. But after I asked her, she looked more distant, more hesitating, I took note of that.

"No, no... nothing out of the ordinary around here, just good old apples and work and... stuff."

At that moment I saw a little pony hoping around in our direction. She stopped right next to apple jack and told her with the cutest voice I had ever heard :

"Applejack !! Applejack !! Why don't you tell them about the..."

Apple jack quickly put her hoof on her mouth to prevent her from talking.

"Applebloom, what did I tell you about interrupting conversations like that. You still have work to do at the barn, so go ahead, I will come and help you in a second."

"BUT APPLEKACK !!!!" The little pony said, whining

"No 'buts' little filly" Applejack replied

Applebloom turned around and walked slowly to the barn with her head down. Hmm... I wonder what she had to say, It didn't seem like much but I had a feeling like this is a very important information... I had to find out but I couldn't right now... OH, I just had an idea, an exciting idea... But it had to wait this night. So I decided to keep interrogating her friends for the moment.

"So, ok Applejack...I guess you've answered all of our questions, if you notice anything strange or have any information about Rainbow Dash, just come and tell us". I said

"Will' do sugarcube " She answered, any trace of her being nervous had faded away.

She took her basket and headed inside the barn. I told Twilight :

"Ok Twilight let's find somewhere to talk, I think you have some things to explain..."

"...Yes, let's go near the Everfree forest, There next to no ponies around there."

We walked for about thirty minutes and when we got there, I understood why ponies were afraid of this forest. There seemed to be only one entrance and all around it, was a barrier of black-wood trees. Those particular trees weren't like the one in the human world or like the ones near Fluttershy's cottage : their branches were just like arms with sharp claws, ready to lunge on you, and the trunks had spikes on them... I really didn't want to go in there. I wonder what could have pushed Rainbow Dash to do so... There was a small bench about ten meters away from the entrance. It was dirty and old, the paint was falling of ans it smelled like something died on it but it was good enough for a... conversation.

We both sat down and I told her :

"Twilight, if you want me to continue working on this case with you, you have to be honest with me and you have to tell me the truth... It is the key of trust..."

Inside of me, I couldn't believe I had just said that to a talking unicorn

"You are right... I'll start with the the beginning. You asked earlier how I knew your name, well the truth is that Princess Celestia had all this planned..." She said, looking very embarrassed

"What do you mean ??" I asked, starting to feel confused again...

"You see, when Rainbow Dash got poisoned and Fluttershy found his body, we immediately restricted news and reports as much as we could, as crimes like these are very rare in Equestria. Princess Celestia convened me into Canterlot. She told me that every single pony detective was useless here and that I had to find another one." Twilight continued

"She told me that I had to teleport you with a particular spell that I didn't know yet. I was very confused but all she told me was to trust her... She also mentioned your name, and that you might overreact, but that was normal. And finally, she pointed out that I was going to summon our best chance of finding the criminal. I really don't know anything else I swear... I also have no idea why Princess Celestia knows you even though you are from another world... She told me not to tell you anything but I guess that is too late for that now..."

"Well things are a little bit more clear now. But why did Applejack say that Rainbow Dash had been attacked ??" I asked

"As I told you, we didn't want anypony knowing about the poison so we covered the case and waited for a real detective to take the case... And as an order of Princess Celestia, we kept everyone thinking that he had just been attacked and had a broken leg..."

"So you lied to your friends ?" I said

She lowered her head even more. with a very sorrowful expression.

"I too wasn't fine with it, but if everyone would have known, we wouldn't have been able to investigate the case, the media would have got involved and would have been here following us every single time. And the fact that Rainbow Dash may...die in three days would have traumatized my friends and we probably wouldn't have been able to interrogate them properly..." Twilight finished

There was a pause. We both stood up, still quiet... I decided to break the silence :

"Twilight, you did the right thing... I hope. I appreciate you telling me the truth. Now we can go back to the case. I know that we will be able to find the criminal. I mean, if Princess Celestia has faith in me, why would I fail ?"

"So, even after that, you still wish to continue ?" She asked looking at me

"Well of course, I did commit to this, didn't I ?" I answered

I smiled to Twilight. She smiled back. It was already eleven o'clock. Now that Applejack had been interrogated it was time to move on to the next pony.

"Who is next on the interrogation list" I asked

"My good friend Rarity, I'll tell you about her on the way there, and remember Rainbow Dash have been attacked and has a broken leg." She answered

"Roger that partner"

After this, I had this weird feeling in my stomach. A weird but pleasant feeling, nothing like I've ever experienced before, it was like joy but deeper and stronger. I didn't know what it was but I was about to find out. I had now fully committed to this case and I would finish this no matter what.

We might not have collected a lot of important information yet, but this was only my first day on the case and I had a few ideas what to do after that, and it would be surely more exciting. As we were walking, I asked my self one question but I couldn't even imagine the answer : what would happen if Rainbow Dash died ?... I erased that thought from my mind and told myself, over and over again : you are going to succeed ! And it worked. Now I was focused and ready for the next interrogation, and I hoped that it would give us more details this time. But I was confident and that was all that mattered.