Note-Worthyby TheTiredQuillChaptersThe NoteParchmentFace TimeQuick DecisionsThe Note Sunburst hummed as he strode into Flurry Heart’s room, steering her pram over toward the crib and delicately lifting the child out. “Here we are, Flurries.” Flurry Heart cooed and clapped her hooves, lighting her horn and grabbing the end of Sunburst’s beard in her magic. “Okay, okay,” he laughed, easing her hold on him with his own magic. “Time for nappies.” Gently, Sunburst placed the giggling baby in her crib. “Good night, Flurries,” Sunburst smiled, turning to leave until the familiar pull of Flurry Heart’s magic wrapped itself around his tail. “No,” Sunburst laughed, easing her magic off of him again. “It’s time to go night night.” Turning back to Flurry Heart’s crib, Sunburst slid the covers over her with his magic and gave her a quick pat on the head. “Now sleep,” he said, letting his eyes linger on her for a moment before he once again turned to leave. He made it a measly three steps before Flurry Heart’s magic wrapped itself around his right rear leg. Sunburst let out an undignified yelp as he was thrown off balance and sent tumbling into the table by the crib, causing the whole thing to come crashing down on top of him. “Flurry,” he groaned, blinking the spots from his eyes. “We talked about this.” Flurry Heart giggled down at him from the bars of her crib as Sunburst stood and took a moment to fix his glasses. “You can do all the magic you want later, but now it’s time to go to sleep.” Sunburst turned pointedly toward the baby’s crib and laid her down. “Sleep,” he said sternly, easing the covers over her again. Having learned from his past mistakes, Sunburst stood over Flurry Heart and waited for any signs of magical activity; and after several minutes of nothing, Sunburst let out a sigh of relief. “Finally,” he said, turning away from her. “Sweet Dreams, Flurries.” This time, Sunburst was only able to take a single step before something abruptly slapped itself over his face, rendering him blind. “What in Equestria?” He yelled, prying the paper off his eyes just in time to notice the familiar yellow-ish tinge of Flurry Heart’s magic around the paper. “Now, Flurry-” he began, only to have the reprimand die in his throat as he stared at the paper in his hooves. “What do you think it could be?” Cadence asked as she, Shining Armor and Sunburst stood in contemplation around the paper. “Some sort of message? A threat maybe?” Shining moved to embrace his wife. “Calm down, honey. I’m sure it’s nothing like that.” “How are you not worried at all? What if somepony is out to get our daughter?” “I never said I wasn’t worried. I just think we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.” Shining turned to Sunburst. “You said you found it in her room, right?” “Uh huh,” Sunburst nodded, affixing his glasses on his snout. “I was just putting her down for her afternoon nap like I always do and I found this as I was leaving.” “You just happen to find it as you were leaving?” “Well, more like it found me. With a little help from Flurry’s magic of course.” “And this was the only one you found?” Sunburst nodded again. “I looked over the whole room twice and didn’t find anything else like it.” “What do you think it means?” Cadence asked, poring over the picture on the table in front of her. “I’m still not sure,” Sunburst said, leaning over to study it with her. “It’s clear that it’s some sort of message. But for the life of me I can’t figure out what it’s trying to convey.” Shining Armor came to stand by his wife and crystaler. “Are you sure Flurry didn’t draw it?” Cadence snorted. “Shining, she’s not even a year old.” Sunburst couldn’t help but let out a chuckle of his own. “Well, I wouldn’t put it past her. But I don’t think that this was actually her doing.” “How can you be sure?” Cadence asked. “Well for one I don’t think a child — even one as exceptional as Flurry Heart — could draw something with this level of detail. And even if she was somehow already this good, as far as I know she doesn’t have any crayons or anything in her room to even draw it with.” “You didn’t give her any crayons, did you, Shining?” “No.” “Well, I sure didn’t.” “Which is what leads me to believe that somepony else is behind this.” “Do you have any idea who?” Cadence asked, as she continued to stare at it. Sunburst took a long moment to study the picture. “No. But if we put our heads together I’m sure we can find out something at least.” “Yeah…” Cadence frowned. Shining Armor put a hoof around his wife’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay, honey.” “I think I need to go lie down for a bit.” Cadence said, holding a hoof to her head as she walked over to their bed and collapsed onto it. “Is she gonna be okay?” Sunburst asked, not looking up from the paper. “She’ll be fine,” Shining said, looking over at the formless lump lying on their bed. “We should just give her some time. Do you have any ideas?” “Well, I don’t really have much to work with. I mean, there’s only two pictures here and neither one of them seems like it has any correlation with the other.” Shining leaned over Sunburst’s shoulder and took a long moment to analyze the two images on the page. “I don’t know either. I mean, that is the sun right?” Shining asked, pointing to the illustration on the left. “Yes.” “And that one’s...an explosion?” Sunburst squinted at the illustration on the right next to the crudely drawn picture of the sun. “That’s what it looks like to me.” “So...what? Is someone trying to tell us the sun is going to explode?” “I doubt it.” “This doesn’t make sense.” “Well, let’s think about it. If we rule out the sun exploding, what do the sun and an explosion have in common?” “They’re both hot,” Shining Armor offered. “True…” “They’re both big.” “In some respects, yes.” “And bright.” “But there has to be something else.” Sunburst pondered. There was another generous few minutes of thinking between them before Shining Armor chuffed and fell onto his haunches. “Yeah, I got nothing.” “Hmm,” Sunburst stroked his beard. “Maybe it’s some kind of cipher?” “A cipher?” “Yeah, like a code or something.” “Then wouldn’t there have to be something that explained it?” Theoretically, yes.” Sunburst turned the paper over in his hooves a couple times. “But this seems to be all there is.” “Do you think maybe it has some kind of magical property to it?” “The paper?” “That’s all I can think of right now.” “I guess it could be possible.” Knitting his brow in concentration, Sunburst picked up the page in his magic and began to search it. After two minutes and many, many passes over each side, Sunburst eventually let the paper fall back onto the table and exhaled a heavy sigh. “Well, looks like it’s just an ordinary piece of paper after all.” “Well, what do you think we should do?” “About the paper?” “About the baby!” Shining Armor bellowed.“What if Cadence is right? What if somepony really is out to get her? I have to double — no, triple the guard! I-" “Shining, honey,” Cadence’s voice came suddenly as she trotted up to her husband and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Who's gonna protect the baby if we’re both complete wrecks?” “You’re right,” he said, taking a breath. “You’re right…” “Let’s just calm down. We’ll just move Flurry’s crib into our room tonight. We can double the guard, put up the protection spell and tomorrow morning we can do more research into where this strange note might have come from, okay?” “Okay…” “Alright,” Cadence pulled away from her husband and turned her attention toward Sunburst. “You heard all that right?” “Yes ma’am,” Sunburst said, snapping to attention. “I’ll need you to go and get Flurry Heart and bring her here. After that I want you to help me and Shining put up the protection spell.” “Right away, your highness.” “And inform the guard about the double shifts.” “Consider it done.” Sunburst said, giving a quick nod before heading toward the door. He’d just reached the archway when Cadence’s voice stopped him. “And Sunburst-” she began before her eyes went wide and she was rendered frozen in place. “Is everything alright your highness, Sunburst asked, taking a cautionary step forward. “Sun...burst…” she repeated as if in a trance. “Cadence, honey,” Shining said, stepping toward his wife. “Didn’t we just have a talk about staying composed for the baby’s sake?” “No, Shining,” Cadence growled, grabbing the paper in her magic and levitating it so it was floating right next to the bewildered face of their crystaler. “Sun. Burst.” She said slowly, pointing first at the picture and then at the stallion standing awkwardly next to it. Shining’s face immediately lit with realization. Sunburst swallowed hard, an icy pit dropping into his stomach. “What…?” Parchment“So, let me get this straight. You’re saying it just appeared in the princesses’ room?” Sunburst stared up at the large, armor clad stallion standing over him and cleared his throat. “That’s what I said.” “And you have no idea how it got there?” Sunburst let out an irritated huff and pushed his glasses up his nose with his magic. “It’s like I told the last guy. I was putting Flurry Heart down for her nap, and as I was walking out it just happened to hit me in the face.” “Last time you said she hit you in the face with it.” Sunburst groaned. “I was walking out and it hit me in the face. What more do you want me to tell you?” The guardspony held up a hoof “Hey, I’m just trying to get all of the facts.” “I know, I’m sorry. It’s just...it’s been a long morning.” “Here,” the guard extended a cup of steaming, brown coffee to Sunburst with his magic. “You definitely look like you need it.” “Thanks,” Sunburst took the cup from the guard and immediately gulping down a mouthful. “I didn’t really get much sleep last night.” “I can tell. You look like the back end of a diamond dog.” “I just can’t stop thinking about it. I mean, as far as I know I don’t have any enemies; and I can’t think of anypony that might actually want to hurt me.” “Don’t worry,” the guard placed a hoof on Sunburst’s shoulder. “You’ll be safe as long as you’re here.” Sunburst took another swallow, his visage grim. “And what makes you so sure it’s some kind of omen?” Obelisk continued. “For all we know it could just be a coincidence or a harmless prank.” “You’re awfully optimistic for a guard,” Sunburst pointed out between sips. “Just trying to lighten the mood I guess.” Sunburst was ready to say something, but his response was cut off by the common room doors swinging open. “Obelisk,” Shining Armor began as he marched inside. “Have the guards reported anything strange?” “No sir,” the stallion standing opposite of Sunburst replied, his posture immediately going rigid. “But I’ll keep having the perimeter guard report back every hour, as requested.” Good,” Shining Armor turned to Sunburst, his eyes softening. “Sorry about all this, Sunburst. It’s nothing against you personally. I’m just trying to be thorough.” “I can’t say I blame you,” Sunburst laughed a hollow laugh. “I would most likely do the same in your position.” A loud boom echoed from the hallway behind Shining, cutting off the witty remark he had prepared and making everybody in the room jump slightly in alarm. “What was that?” Shining said, whirling around to face the empty hall and readying his horn. “Obelisk!” His years of military training kicking in, Obelisk jumped in front of his captain and the crystaler, his horn sparking dangerously. “Do you think we’re being attacked?” Obelisk asked, his eyes never leaving the hallway. “I’m not sure,” Shining responded. “Take point, and stay on alert.” “Understood.” “Stay behind us, Sunburst.” Sunburst sidled up behind Shining and tried to make himself as small as possible. “Okay, let’s move.” On cue, Obelisk began to slowly inch forward, followed closely by Shining while Sunburst took up the rear. The trio of stallions made it just outside the common room door when a trill, repetitive tapping noise began echoing from a ways down the hallway. Instinctively, both Shining Armor and Obelisk braced themselves. Sunburst meanwhile tried his hardest to disappear behind Shining’s flank. The tapping continued to steadily grew in volume. Obelisk raised his horn. Shining did the same. Sunburst shakily readied his own spell from halfway behind Shining’s leg. “Shiny!” The voice cut sharply through the cavernous hallways and the magic sizzling at the tip of Shining’s horn quickly fizzled out. “Cadence?” Not three seconds later, the pink coated princess of love skirted around the corner, coming to a stop in front of the three stallions. “Shiny!” She exclaimed breathlessly. “There’s something-” “It’s okay Cadence, just...take a minute.” Cadence took a handful of large, heaving breaths before sucking in a large mouthful of air. “The library,” she heaved. “There’s something in the library.” “Slow down. What do you mean ‘there’s something in the library?’” “You just have to see it,” she said, turning around and starting right back the way she came. Shining and Obelisk shared confused, unsure looks but took off after the princess nonetheless. Sunburst merely stood and watched as Shining, Obelisk and Cadence disappeared around the corner and down the hallway. It took a full minute of coercion and heavy deliberation before he decided to follow, weaving around the corner and down the hall with anxiety bubbling dangerously in his gut. Sunburst took his time as he made his way down the long stretching hallways and toward the wing that housed the library. All the while his mind raced with new and frightening possibilities. Would it be another note addressed to him in some way? Would it be one of the other ponies in The Crystal Castle? Possibly even The King or Queen? Was whoever was sending these messages really out to get them? Shaking his head, Sunburst rounded the upcoming corner, barely able to suppress a yelp of surprise as his forehoof came down on something slick and it nearly caused him to topple over. Re-establishing his footing, Sunburst glanced downward to see what he had slipped on and his jaw fell wide open. Masses of paper were strewn around the entirety of the hallway, so much so that the floor was barely visible beneath the mess. “What in Equestria?” he gawked, lifting one of the pages with his magic and squinting at it. “He was a stallion of twenty-five or twenty-six years of age, of unprepossessing countenance obsequies to his superiors, insolent to his subordinates; and this, in addition to his position as responsible agent on board, which is always obnoxious to the sailors, made him as much dislike by the crew as he was beloved by them.” Letting the page fall back to the floor, Sunburst picked up another at random and skimmed through the text written on it. “I started my trudge along the fields that had gone some distance before I paid my attention to the soft and muddy ground, which was dooming my new horseshoes.-” Frowning, Sunburst let the page fall back into the sea of texts at his hooves and began to wade through the mess in front of him. It took a fair bit of struggling, but eventually he fought through to a point where the flow seemed densest and came upon the doors of the castle’s library, cracked wide open and stuffed with pages. Knitting his brow and lighting his horn, Sunburst pushed against the wall of parchment with all of the magical might he could muster, emitting a yelp of surprise when it gave way and sent him tumbling through to the other side. “Sunburst,” he heard Cadence say from somewhere to his right. “Did you know about this?” Getting to his hooves and re-adjusting his glasses, Sunburst looked up and saw something that made his blood run like ice in his veins. There — standing like an idol in the center of the room — was a giant paper mache figure of a unicorn pony striking a ferocious looking pose with magic sparkling at the tip of his horn. Sunburst pushed his glasses up over his eyes and squinted at the structure, noting the flowing goatee and the glasses that looked strikingly similar to his own. “Wha- no. I did not know anything about this, I swear!” Cadence idly walked around to the other side of the figure, her eyes never leaving its form. “What I want to know is how somepony could even get in here and do this without anypony seeing them.” “Obelisk,” Shining Armor barked. “Gather up all of the guards assigned to this wing of the castle and bring them here.” “Yes, sir.” “Also, go to the servants quarters and bring back a hoof-ful of maids.” “Right away,” Obelisk saluted, obliterating the wall of paper with his horn and disappearing down the hallway. “Sunburst,” Shining Armor said, turning to Sunburst and skewering him with a hard look. “If you know something about this, you need to tell me. I promise you you won’t be in trouble.” Sunburst began subconsciously wheeling backward as Shining Armor advanced on him. “I swear to you, your highness. I don’t know anything about this. I was in the common room all morning being questioned by the guards.” “Swear on Celestia’s name.” Sunburst gulped. “I swear by Celestia herself I have no idea how this got here.” Shining Armor regarded his crystaler with a long look. “I believe you,” he finally said. “But that still doesn’t explain how somepony could infiltrate the castle so easily like this.” “Your highness,” the gruff voice of Obelisk said as he cantered through the parchment-ridden doorway with five or so guards behind him. “I brought all of the guards assigned to this wing, as requested.” “And the maids?” “They should be arriving shortly.” “Good,” Shining armor began as he walked the row of guards assembled before him. “Which one of you was supposed to be guarding the library?” The guards shared uneasy looks between them until one of them spoke up. “You instructed us not to guard the library anymore sir.” Shining snorted. “Why in Equestria would I say something like that?” Another guard spoke up this time. “You said it was ‘a waste of manpower.’” “Well, that was obviously an error in judgement on my part.” “Um sir...” a mouse like voice came from the doorway and everyone turned to see one of the castle’s maids standing awkwardly in the archway. “You needed something?” “Yes,” Shining Armor started, gesturing to the mess of paper littering the floor. “I need this mess cleaned up for starters.” “Right away, sir,” she squeaked, scuttling into the room along with five others. “You two,” he gestured toward two guards who’d been standing silently off to the side. “Go stand guard outside. Nopony comes in or out unless Obelisk gives the OK.” The two guards saluted their captain before walking outside of the room and positioning themselves on either side of the door. “And you six,” he said, whirling toward the guards he’d sent for. “I want the area searched and any findings reported Obelisk who will then relay them directly to me, is that understood?” “Yes, sir!” The guards saluted, breaking formation and beginning to search the grounds. “You’re not usually so stern with them,” Cadence smiled as she came to stand beside her husband. “Can you blame me?” He said, his gaze fixated on the floor. “I mean, I’m supposed to be this great captain and somepony was able to break into the castle without me or any of the guards noticing and do this!” He swept a hoof toward the towering structure in the middle of the room. “You do your best, honey, that’s all anypony can ask of you.” Cadence wrapped a hoof around her husband’s neck and gave him a peck on the cheek. ”Why don’t we go out for dinner tonight? Take our minds off all of this craziness that’s been going on lately?” “What about the baby?” “We’ll just take her with.” Shining smiled and buried his face in his wife’s mane. “What did you have in mind?” “Someplace fancy. Mediterranean maybe.” “That sounds great actually.” “Perfect.” With that, Cadence and Shining started toward the door. Cadence stopped her husband just before they’d gotten to the hallway and whispered in his ear. Shining nodded and turned to face the room. “Sunburst. Why don’t you join us for dinner tonight?” Sunburst — who’d been studiously studying the base of the statue — turned toward the couple, surprised. “Oh...um, I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to impose.” Shining shared a small look with his wife. “It’s fine, really. We insist.” “Well, when you put it like that...” Sunburst laughed clumsily, slinking across the room and toward the door. “I expect this place to be cleaned up by tomorrow morning,” Shining stated sternly before him, his wife and their crystaler disappeared out the door, leaving just the guards and the maids in the room. “What a pompous ass,” one of the maids scoffed as soon as the sound of their hoofsteps disappeared.. “Melody!” another hissed. “Keep your voice down. What if the guards hear?” “I don’t care, Meoldy shot back. He was being a total jerk.” Harmony frowned at the other maid, walking over to the base of the statue and giving it a thorough once over with her eyes. “You know, I'm a little bummed we have to take it down.” “I'm not,” Melody chuffed, angrily swiping a hoof-ful of paper off the floor. “I have other things I could be doing right now.” “Like what?” “Oh, I dunno. Maybe relaxing at home in bed instead of cleaning up after some idiot who thinks they're the next Picasso or something. I mean, out of all the ponies in Equestria you could make a statue out of, why Sunburst?” “I dunno. I think it’s kinda cute.” Melody's eyes narrowed, her mouth turning up in a knowing smirk. “Does that mean you think he looks cute, too?” No, Harmony sputtered. “It’s just...can you imagine? Somepony breaking into the castle, risking their freedom just to show you how much they care. Doesn’t it just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?” Melody frowned. “It definitely makes me feel something.” “Well, I still think it’s sweet.” A wad of paper connected solidly with the back of Harmony’s head and she turned and shot daggers at Melody. “Well you can think it’s sweet all you want, but we still have to clean it up.” Another wad of paper hit Harmony in the face this time and she growled viciously at her the other mare. Melody only rolled her eyes. “Now come help before I come over there and make you.” Harmony picked up her own hoof-ful of paper and shaped it into the perfectly sized ball. “This means war,” she growled, launching it across the room and hitting Melody square in the back of the head. “So that’s how you wanna play?” Melody snarled. Collecting another wad of paper in her hooves, she launching it toward her target. Her aim was true, but Harmony’s reactions were faster and just before it hit her, she ducked, causing the projectile to hit a maid that had been standing innocently behind her. “Melody!” Harmony hissed, turning to the maid who’d been inadvertently caught in the crossfire. “Sorry about that.” “It’s fine,” she said, pausing as she went to pick up another wad of paper. “Hey, do they really expect us to clean all this up?” “Are you new?” Melody said flatly. “Yes actually.” “I knew it,” Harmony interrupted. “You’re the only one here I couldn't put a name to the face.” “I’m Honeydew.” Harmony extended her hoof. “I'm Harmony; and that ray of sunshine is Melody.” “Welcome to hell,” Melody spat from across the room. “Don’t mind her,” Harmony waved. “She’s perpetually cranky.” “Bite me,” Melody shot back. Honeydew looked up the statue, confusion knitting her brow. “So do they have any idea who did this?” “Probably someone who’s not all there upstairs.” Melody chimed as she angrily swiped up more paper. “Do you really think somepony crazy did this?” Honeydew asked, still poring over the statue. “Either that or somepony is madly in love with Sunburst.” “Which I don’t think is even possible,” Melody added. “Isn’t he the crystaler?” “Yup,” Harmony said. “And to be totally honest I don’t think he’s that bad looking.” "Knew it," Melody scoffed. Harmony ignored her. “What about you?” “What do I think of Sunburst?” “Yeah. I mean let’s face it, he’s no Shining Armor, but I’d definitely still go for a romp in the sheets if he asked.” Honeydew blushed hotly, shuffling a few papers with her hoof. “Yeah, he’s pretty cute I guess.” “Shining Armor though...” Harmony let out a long, wistful sigh. “The things I’d do to that stallion if he wasn’t married.” “Hey!” Melody’s voice cut through the awkwardness like a hot knife and two wadded up pieces of paper hit both of the mares in the back of the head simultaneously. “If you two are done gossiping can we please finally clean this up so I can get home sometime before the sun comes up?” Harmony whirled to face her compatriot, already forming a means of counter attack. “You just don’t know when to quit,” she snarled playfully, launching the projectile across the room. Melody barely had time to duck as it sailed over her head. “Oh, It is on!” Face TimeEarly the next morning, Melody arrived at the maid’s quarters to find a note posted to the door. “All castle staff are to report to the west wing study upon arrival.” After a bout of hemming and hawing and a long walk she found herself turning the corner toward the west wing study only to bump snout first into something firm and fall ungracefully on her rear. “Ow, hey-” she started, but was cut off by a familiar, cheery voice. “Melody!” Harmony cried, throwing her forelegs around the disgruntled mare. “Finally. How are you always so late to everything?” Melody looked past her friend down the long line of ponies. “What the hay is going on?” “Dunno. I saw a note that said to come here, so here I am.” “Is the whole staff here?” Harmony leaned over and peered lengthwise down the hallway for a moment. “Looks like it.” Following her friend’s lead, Melody leaned over to look down the hallway. From her position at the back of the line, she could see the towering hats of the chefs, the long flowing robes of the castle seneschals, and even a fair number of guards-ponies. As she got toward the back of the line she noticed all of the maids lined up in front of Harmony and subconsciously began taking roll call. “Wait,” she said, counting the heads of the maids lined up in front of her. “Where’s what’s-her-face?” “Who?” Harmony asked. “That mare from yesterday.” “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “You know, orange coat, yellow mane, helped us clean the library yesterday.” “Ohhhhhhhh. You mean Honeydew?” “Yeah, her.” “Is she not here?” Melody swept her eyes over the line and then back over her shoulder. “I don’t see her.” Harmony shrugged. “I dunno. She’s probably just late or something. Maybe you rubbed off on her already.” “Hilarious.” Melody grumbled as she watched a pony pass her on the opposite side of the hall and turn the corner back toward the castle proper. The line moved up a whole half step. Melody sighed, loudly. “Great. This won’t take long at all...” It took an excruciating two hours for all the ponies to be cleared out save Melody, who was doing her best to listen through the doorway. Without warning, it swung open and Harmony strode past her. Melody shot her an imploring look. Harmony simply winked at her and continued on down the hallway, leaving Melody to face the unknown alone. A green stallion poked his head out the doorway just then. He had a black dress hat on his head and a cigarette clenched between his teeth. “Looks like you’re the last one,” he mumbled, propping open the door with a foreleg. Melody stepped past him and into the study, jumping the slightest bit as the door shut behind her. “Sorry,” he said as he walked past her to a table at the center of the room and took up a seat next to a portly turquoise stallion. “Good morning. I am detective Cortland. And this-” he gestured to the hefty stallion next to him. “-is my partner, Benedict.” Benedict tipped his hat to her. “Pleasure.” Melody didn’t move. “You can sit down Ms…” “Melody,” she finished flatly, not taking her seat but instead using it for balance as she leaned over it. “And I don’t know anything about what’s been goin on-” “That’s quite all right,” the stallion said, swinging his legs up onto the table, balancing his chair on only two legs. “We didn’t come here to pry information out of ponies.” He continued with a small laugh. “Ain’t an interrogation.” “Sure feels like one.” The stallion allowed himself another small laugh as he brought himself upright in his chair, bringing the other two legs down with a bang. “Sorry bout that, m’am,” he started as he got out of his chair and quickly put out his cigarette in the ash-tray situated between them. “I know what it might look like but I assure you, s’not how we operate. Is it, Benedict?” The turquoise stallion shook his head. “No sir,” “See?” Cortland said as he sauntered around the table and leaned over the edge just a pony’s length away from where Melody sat. “We only want to know what ponies already know, not what they don’t.” Their eyes met and when it became clear she wasn’t going to take the bait, he spun himself back into his chair and threw his hooves back up onto the table. “So,” he began as he took off his hat and combed a hoof through the red locks of his mane. “What do you know?” “Look, all I saw was the weird paper statue of Sunburst in the library, that’s it.” “You didn’t see anything else. A scrap of clothing, a suspicious looking pony maybe, anything?” “Nope. Can I go now?” Cortland and Benedict shared a weary look. Cortland picked up a tiny notepad from the table and spent a long moment looking it over. “What can you tell me about Honeydew?” “Not much. I just met her yesterday” “So, she’s just recently been employed here?” “I guess. They don’t exactly tell us when we’re getting fresh meat around here.” Cortland picked up the notepad and glanced at it again. “Well, according to your friend, she didn’t show up today. Would you happen to have any idea why that is?” “I don’t know. Do I look like her keeper?” Cortland leaned forward in his seat. “Harmony also told us that she was with y’all while you were cleanin’ the library. Is that true?” “Yup,” Melody said, biting back venom. “And nothing out of the ordinary happened?” “Nope. Spent forever cleaning the library, then went home and passed out.” Cortland looked from his notepad to Benedict, then got up from his char, affixed his hat back on his head and made for the door. Melody followed. “You’re free to go, Ms. Melody,” he said, propping open the door for her again. “And again, my deepest apologies if I somehow offended you in any way.” Melody stopped in the hallway just outside the door for a moment. “Have a good day,” she muttered quickly before starting off down the hallway. Cortland nodded and shut the door, dragging himself back over to the table and collapsing in his chair. “You believe her story?” Benedict asked through a mouthful of pastry. Cortland took off his hat and placed it on the table again, kicking himself up onto the chair’s back legs. “I’m more curious about this ‘Honeydew’ pony. I think we need to make a house call.” Quick Decisions“You sure this is the place?” Benedict turned to Cortland, his brow raised. “One thirty four Amber Avenue,” Cortland fished out his notepad and flipped through a few pages before tilting his hat back and squinting at the numbers nailed above the door of the yellow, crystalline structure he and his partner were standing in front of. “That’s what it said in the file.” Cortland made his way up the stairs and rapped gently on the door. Seconds later it opened, a blue unicorn mare with a white mane stood loosely in the doorway. “Can I help you?” “Good evenin’ ma’am,” Cortland started. “My name is detective Cortland; and this is my partner, Benedict.” Benedict tipped his hat to her from the sidewalk. Cortland cleared his throat and continued. “We were just wondering if we could have a word with Miss Honeydew?” “Honeydew?” The mare blinked. “Yes, ma’am.” “There’s nopony here by that name.” Cortland plucked a photo from underneath his hat and showed it to her. “She don’t live here?” The mare took the photo from Cortland and studied it for a long moment before handing it back to him. “No,” the mare shook her head. “The only ponies that live here are me, my husband and our son.” “And you’re sure you’ve never seen her before? While you were out walking or at the store maybe?” Cortland still had the photo held out between them and she took another long moment to study the face before shaking her head again. “Can’t say that I have, sorry.” “Not a problem,” Cortland huffed as he stashed the photo back underneath his hat and slipped it on. “You have a good day then, ma’am” he said, turning and starting down the stairs. “You too. Sorry that I couldn’t be of more help.” “That’s quite alright,” he waved back to her. “You enjoy the rest of this wonderful day.” “I will,” she smiled at him before shutting the door. Cortland shuffled down the steps and filed in with Benedict who’d been watching the exchange whilst he feasted on what had once been a decently sized bear claw. Rumbling something low in his throat, Cortland fished a cigarette out of the carton he kept tied to his hat and took a long pull, letting the smoke seep out his nostrils with a long sigh. “Ain’t it a mite suspicious that she would give a fake address?” Benedict gurgled through the pastry in his mouth. “Assuming she’s even who she says she is at this point.” “Well, that coupled with the fact that she seems to have mysteriously vanished leads me to believe we just found our first suspect.” Cortland sucked the rest of his cigarette down to the butt in one long pull then threw it to the sidewalk and ground it out with his hoof. “Which would be a helluva lot more significant if we knew where in the hay she was.” “Ain’t that why you brought me along?” Benedict smirked as he deposited the wrapper from his dessert in the trash bin he’d been leaning on and started off down the sidewalk. Cortland looked up from trying to light another cigarette. “Where you goin’?” “The kitchen,” Benedict responded over his shoulder. “Wait, what?” Cortland sputtered, the cigarette pursed between his maw falling to the concrete. “Hold on, Ben, slow down!” he yelled as he chased his colleague down the sidewalk back toward the castle. “Alright,” Sunburst said as he levitated a tiny, purple sphere into the corner of the room where the wall met the ceiling. “That should do it.” Cadence came to stand beside Sunburst, raising a brow at the sphere stuck in the corner above the door. “I’m still confused. What are these things again?” “Think of them like mirrors in a sense,” Sunburst explained as he led Cadence over to a much larger purple sphere situated nearly in the center of the room. “With this big thing here being the conduit that feeds into all of the smaller spheres.” “You said they’d allow us to see inside of a room without actually being there?” “Precisely,” Sunburst said. “All you have to do is give it a little spark and-” with a flick of his horn, the sphere was wreathed in magic and after a brief delay a bird’s eye view of the very room they were occupying was reflected on its surface. “-viola.” “Sunburst, this is amazing.” “It’s okay I guess,” Sunburst tittered. “I just wish I had time to tinker with them some more.” “How do you see the other rooms?” Cadence watched as the sphere was once again wreathed in Sunburst’s magic before the scene reflected in its surface slowly changed to that of the adjoining bathroom. “May I?” She asked, a twinkle in her eye.. “By all means,” Sunburst said, stepping aside. Just as Sunburst had done, Cadence coated the sphere in her magic and the image in the sphere changed to that of the hallway outside their bedroom. “How many of these did you put in?” Cadence asked as she continued to flip through the different viewpoints. “Well, there’s one in here, one in the hallway, one in the kitchen, one in the throne room and one in the guest room. So...five in total..” “Speaking of. How’s the moving coming?” Sunburst gave a tiny, stifled laugh. “Actually, right when I got here Shining said he sent the some guards to get the last of my things, so it shouldn’t be too much longer.” “I hope it isn’t going to be too jarring for you having to suddenly pack up and move like this.” “Oh, no I’ll be fine,” Sunburst waved. “I do practically spend most of my time here as it is.” The door opened just then and Shining Armor poked his head through. “There you are,” he smiled at Sunburst as he made his way into the room. “They just finished moving the rest of your stuff into the guest room.” “Oh,” Sunburst blinked. “Speak of the devil.” “Did you put the spheres up?” “Yup,” Sunburst nodded, gesturing to the sphere he placed in the corner of the room. “All five.” “And the conduit?” Sunburst gestured to the larger sphere near the center of the room. “Set and calibrated to just you, me and Cadence.” “Excellent,” Shining sighed in relief. “I can’t thank you enough, Sunburst.” “It’s nothing,” Sunburst smiled, averting his eyes. “Just glad I could help.” The shrill cries of a foal rang out in the bedroom just then and Cadence flounced over to the crib and lifted the wailing Flurry Heart out of her crib. “Oh, what’s wrong my little angel?” Cadence cooed as she lifted Flurry Heart out of her crib and began to rock her. “You think maybe she’s hungry?” Shining queried as he made his way over. “Maybe. You fed her before you put her to sleep, didn’t you?” “Yeah. Half the bottle-” Well,” Sunburst interjected lightly. “I’m gonna go unpack the rest of my things.” “Oh,” Shining said, turning to him. “Do you need any help or…” “No, I got it,” Sunburst replied, pulling open the door with his magic. “Just come see us if you need anything,” Cadence said while she continued to rock a much more content Flurry Heart. “Will do,” Sunburst said as he walked out, shut the door behind him and started down the hall. He reached the guest room in just under a minute and as he pulled open the door and stepped inside, he was nearly rendered speechless There, strewn all about the room, were stacks and stacks of plain brown boxes. Sunburst walked over to one that was almost touching the ceiling, grabbed the box at the very top and pried it open. A hefty layer of books filled the box to bursting. Sunburst set it down and went to retrieve another box from the other side of the room — this one filled to the seams with books just as the first had been. With a heavy sigh and a long look around the room, Sunburst lit his horn. Slowly, he picked up the box at his hooves and maneuvered it toward the bed but stopped short when he caught a glint of something lying on the bedspread. Setting the box down, Sunburst trotted over to the bed, a cold pit forming in his stomach as he stared down at the object perched delicately atop the bed sheets. “Not again…”
The Note Sunburst hummed as he strode into Flurry Heart’s room, steering her pram over toward the crib and delicately lifting the child out. “Here we are, Flurries.” Flurry Heart cooed and clapped her hooves, lighting her horn and grabbing the end of Sunburst’s beard in her magic. “Okay, okay,” he laughed, easing her hold on him with his own magic. “Time for nappies.” Gently, Sunburst placed the giggling baby in her crib. “Good night, Flurries,” Sunburst smiled, turning to leave until the familiar pull of Flurry Heart’s magic wrapped itself around his tail. “No,” Sunburst laughed, easing her magic off of him again. “It’s time to go night night.” Turning back to Flurry Heart’s crib, Sunburst slid the covers over her with his magic and gave her a quick pat on the head. “Now sleep,” he said, letting his eyes linger on her for a moment before he once again turned to leave. He made it a measly three steps before Flurry Heart’s magic wrapped itself around his right rear leg. Sunburst let out an undignified yelp as he was thrown off balance and sent tumbling into the table by the crib, causing the whole thing to come crashing down on top of him. “Flurry,” he groaned, blinking the spots from his eyes. “We talked about this.” Flurry Heart giggled down at him from the bars of her crib as Sunburst stood and took a moment to fix his glasses. “You can do all the magic you want later, but now it’s time to go to sleep.” Sunburst turned pointedly toward the baby’s crib and laid her down. “Sleep,” he said sternly, easing the covers over her again. Having learned from his past mistakes, Sunburst stood over Flurry Heart and waited for any signs of magical activity; and after several minutes of nothing, Sunburst let out a sigh of relief. “Finally,” he said, turning away from her. “Sweet Dreams, Flurries.” This time, Sunburst was only able to take a single step before something abruptly slapped itself over his face, rendering him blind. “What in Equestria?” He yelled, prying the paper off his eyes just in time to notice the familiar yellow-ish tinge of Flurry Heart’s magic around the paper. “Now, Flurry-” he began, only to have the reprimand die in his throat as he stared at the paper in his hooves. “What do you think it could be?” Cadence asked as she, Shining Armor and Sunburst stood in contemplation around the paper. “Some sort of message? A threat maybe?” Shining moved to embrace his wife. “Calm down, honey. I’m sure it’s nothing like that.” “How are you not worried at all? What if somepony is out to get our daughter?” “I never said I wasn’t worried. I just think we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.” Shining turned to Sunburst. “You said you found it in her room, right?” “Uh huh,” Sunburst nodded, affixing his glasses on his snout. “I was just putting her down for her afternoon nap like I always do and I found this as I was leaving.” “You just happen to find it as you were leaving?” “Well, more like it found me. With a little help from Flurry’s magic of course.” “And this was the only one you found?” Sunburst nodded again. “I looked over the whole room twice and didn’t find anything else like it.” “What do you think it means?” Cadence asked, poring over the picture on the table in front of her. “I’m still not sure,” Sunburst said, leaning over to study it with her. “It’s clear that it’s some sort of message. But for the life of me I can’t figure out what it’s trying to convey.” Shining Armor came to stand by his wife and crystaler. “Are you sure Flurry didn’t draw it?” Cadence snorted. “Shining, she’s not even a year old.” Sunburst couldn’t help but let out a chuckle of his own. “Well, I wouldn’t put it past her. But I don’t think that this was actually her doing.” “How can you be sure?” Cadence asked. “Well for one I don’t think a child — even one as exceptional as Flurry Heart — could draw something with this level of detail. And even if she was somehow already this good, as far as I know she doesn’t have any crayons or anything in her room to even draw it with.” “You didn’t give her any crayons, did you, Shining?” “No.” “Well, I sure didn’t.” “Which is what leads me to believe that somepony else is behind this.” “Do you have any idea who?” Cadence asked, as she continued to stare at it. Sunburst took a long moment to study the picture. “No. But if we put our heads together I’m sure we can find out something at least.” “Yeah…” Cadence frowned. Shining Armor put a hoof around his wife’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay, honey.” “I think I need to go lie down for a bit.” Cadence said, holding a hoof to her head as she walked over to their bed and collapsed onto it. “Is she gonna be okay?” Sunburst asked, not looking up from the paper. “She’ll be fine,” Shining said, looking over at the formless lump lying on their bed. “We should just give her some time. Do you have any ideas?” “Well, I don’t really have much to work with. I mean, there’s only two pictures here and neither one of them seems like it has any correlation with the other.” Shining leaned over Sunburst’s shoulder and took a long moment to analyze the two images on the page. “I don’t know either. I mean, that is the sun right?” Shining asked, pointing to the illustration on the left. “Yes.” “And that one’s...an explosion?” Sunburst squinted at the illustration on the right next to the crudely drawn picture of the sun. “That’s what it looks like to me.” “So...what? Is someone trying to tell us the sun is going to explode?” “I doubt it.” “This doesn’t make sense.” “Well, let’s think about it. If we rule out the sun exploding, what do the sun and an explosion have in common?” “They’re both hot,” Shining Armor offered. “True…” “They’re both big.” “In some respects, yes.” “And bright.” “But there has to be something else.” Sunburst pondered. There was another generous few minutes of thinking between them before Shining Armor chuffed and fell onto his haunches. “Yeah, I got nothing.” “Hmm,” Sunburst stroked his beard. “Maybe it’s some kind of cipher?” “A cipher?” “Yeah, like a code or something.” “Then wouldn’t there have to be something that explained it?” Theoretically, yes.” Sunburst turned the paper over in his hooves a couple times. “But this seems to be all there is.” “Do you think maybe it has some kind of magical property to it?” “The paper?” “That’s all I can think of right now.” “I guess it could be possible.” Knitting his brow in concentration, Sunburst picked up the page in his magic and began to search it. After two minutes and many, many passes over each side, Sunburst eventually let the paper fall back onto the table and exhaled a heavy sigh. “Well, looks like it’s just an ordinary piece of paper after all.” “Well, what do you think we should do?” “About the paper?” “About the baby!” Shining Armor bellowed.“What if Cadence is right? What if somepony really is out to get her? I have to double — no, triple the guard! I-" “Shining, honey,” Cadence’s voice came suddenly as she trotted up to her husband and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Who's gonna protect the baby if we’re both complete wrecks?” “You’re right,” he said, taking a breath. “You’re right…” “Let’s just calm down. We’ll just move Flurry’s crib into our room tonight. We can double the guard, put up the protection spell and tomorrow morning we can do more research into where this strange note might have come from, okay?” “Okay…” “Alright,” Cadence pulled away from her husband and turned her attention toward Sunburst. “You heard all that right?” “Yes ma’am,” Sunburst said, snapping to attention. “I’ll need you to go and get Flurry Heart and bring her here. After that I want you to help me and Shining put up the protection spell.” “Right away, your highness.” “And inform the guard about the double shifts.” “Consider it done.” Sunburst said, giving a quick nod before heading toward the door. He’d just reached the archway when Cadence’s voice stopped him. “And Sunburst-” she began before her eyes went wide and she was rendered frozen in place. “Is everything alright your highness, Sunburst asked, taking a cautionary step forward. “Sun...burst…” she repeated as if in a trance. “Cadence, honey,” Shining said, stepping toward his wife. “Didn’t we just have a talk about staying composed for the baby’s sake?” “No, Shining,” Cadence growled, grabbing the paper in her magic and levitating it so it was floating right next to the bewildered face of their crystaler. “Sun. Burst.” She said slowly, pointing first at the picture and then at the stallion standing awkwardly next to it. Shining’s face immediately lit with realization. Sunburst swallowed hard, an icy pit dropping into his stomach. “What…?”
Parchment“So, let me get this straight. You’re saying it just appeared in the princesses’ room?” Sunburst stared up at the large, armor clad stallion standing over him and cleared his throat. “That’s what I said.” “And you have no idea how it got there?” Sunburst let out an irritated huff and pushed his glasses up his nose with his magic. “It’s like I told the last guy. I was putting Flurry Heart down for her nap, and as I was walking out it just happened to hit me in the face.” “Last time you said she hit you in the face with it.” Sunburst groaned. “I was walking out and it hit me in the face. What more do you want me to tell you?” The guardspony held up a hoof “Hey, I’m just trying to get all of the facts.” “I know, I’m sorry. It’s just...it’s been a long morning.” “Here,” the guard extended a cup of steaming, brown coffee to Sunburst with his magic. “You definitely look like you need it.” “Thanks,” Sunburst took the cup from the guard and immediately gulping down a mouthful. “I didn’t really get much sleep last night.” “I can tell. You look like the back end of a diamond dog.” “I just can’t stop thinking about it. I mean, as far as I know I don’t have any enemies; and I can’t think of anypony that might actually want to hurt me.” “Don’t worry,” the guard placed a hoof on Sunburst’s shoulder. “You’ll be safe as long as you’re here.” Sunburst took another swallow, his visage grim. “And what makes you so sure it’s some kind of omen?” Obelisk continued. “For all we know it could just be a coincidence or a harmless prank.” “You’re awfully optimistic for a guard,” Sunburst pointed out between sips. “Just trying to lighten the mood I guess.” Sunburst was ready to say something, but his response was cut off by the common room doors swinging open. “Obelisk,” Shining Armor began as he marched inside. “Have the guards reported anything strange?” “No sir,” the stallion standing opposite of Sunburst replied, his posture immediately going rigid. “But I’ll keep having the perimeter guard report back every hour, as requested.” Good,” Shining Armor turned to Sunburst, his eyes softening. “Sorry about all this, Sunburst. It’s nothing against you personally. I’m just trying to be thorough.” “I can’t say I blame you,” Sunburst laughed a hollow laugh. “I would most likely do the same in your position.” A loud boom echoed from the hallway behind Shining, cutting off the witty remark he had prepared and making everybody in the room jump slightly in alarm. “What was that?” Shining said, whirling around to face the empty hall and readying his horn. “Obelisk!” His years of military training kicking in, Obelisk jumped in front of his captain and the crystaler, his horn sparking dangerously. “Do you think we’re being attacked?” Obelisk asked, his eyes never leaving the hallway. “I’m not sure,” Shining responded. “Take point, and stay on alert.” “Understood.” “Stay behind us, Sunburst.” Sunburst sidled up behind Shining and tried to make himself as small as possible. “Okay, let’s move.” On cue, Obelisk began to slowly inch forward, followed closely by Shining while Sunburst took up the rear. The trio of stallions made it just outside the common room door when a trill, repetitive tapping noise began echoing from a ways down the hallway. Instinctively, both Shining Armor and Obelisk braced themselves. Sunburst meanwhile tried his hardest to disappear behind Shining’s flank. The tapping continued to steadily grew in volume. Obelisk raised his horn. Shining did the same. Sunburst shakily readied his own spell from halfway behind Shining’s leg. “Shiny!” The voice cut sharply through the cavernous hallways and the magic sizzling at the tip of Shining’s horn quickly fizzled out. “Cadence?” Not three seconds later, the pink coated princess of love skirted around the corner, coming to a stop in front of the three stallions. “Shiny!” She exclaimed breathlessly. “There’s something-” “It’s okay Cadence, just...take a minute.” Cadence took a handful of large, heaving breaths before sucking in a large mouthful of air. “The library,” she heaved. “There’s something in the library.” “Slow down. What do you mean ‘there’s something in the library?’” “You just have to see it,” she said, turning around and starting right back the way she came. Shining and Obelisk shared confused, unsure looks but took off after the princess nonetheless. Sunburst merely stood and watched as Shining, Obelisk and Cadence disappeared around the corner and down the hallway. It took a full minute of coercion and heavy deliberation before he decided to follow, weaving around the corner and down the hall with anxiety bubbling dangerously in his gut. Sunburst took his time as he made his way down the long stretching hallways and toward the wing that housed the library. All the while his mind raced with new and frightening possibilities. Would it be another note addressed to him in some way? Would it be one of the other ponies in The Crystal Castle? Possibly even The King or Queen? Was whoever was sending these messages really out to get them? Shaking his head, Sunburst rounded the upcoming corner, barely able to suppress a yelp of surprise as his forehoof came down on something slick and it nearly caused him to topple over. Re-establishing his footing, Sunburst glanced downward to see what he had slipped on and his jaw fell wide open. Masses of paper were strewn around the entirety of the hallway, so much so that the floor was barely visible beneath the mess. “What in Equestria?” he gawked, lifting one of the pages with his magic and squinting at it. “He was a stallion of twenty-five or twenty-six years of age, of unprepossessing countenance obsequies to his superiors, insolent to his subordinates; and this, in addition to his position as responsible agent on board, which is always obnoxious to the sailors, made him as much dislike by the crew as he was beloved by them.” Letting the page fall back to the floor, Sunburst picked up another at random and skimmed through the text written on it. “I started my trudge along the fields that had gone some distance before I paid my attention to the soft and muddy ground, which was dooming my new horseshoes.-” Frowning, Sunburst let the page fall back into the sea of texts at his hooves and began to wade through the mess in front of him. It took a fair bit of struggling, but eventually he fought through to a point where the flow seemed densest and came upon the doors of the castle’s library, cracked wide open and stuffed with pages. Knitting his brow and lighting his horn, Sunburst pushed against the wall of parchment with all of the magical might he could muster, emitting a yelp of surprise when it gave way and sent him tumbling through to the other side. “Sunburst,” he heard Cadence say from somewhere to his right. “Did you know about this?” Getting to his hooves and re-adjusting his glasses, Sunburst looked up and saw something that made his blood run like ice in his veins. There — standing like an idol in the center of the room — was a giant paper mache figure of a unicorn pony striking a ferocious looking pose with magic sparkling at the tip of his horn. Sunburst pushed his glasses up over his eyes and squinted at the structure, noting the flowing goatee and the glasses that looked strikingly similar to his own. “Wha- no. I did not know anything about this, I swear!” Cadence idly walked around to the other side of the figure, her eyes never leaving its form. “What I want to know is how somepony could even get in here and do this without anypony seeing them.” “Obelisk,” Shining Armor barked. “Gather up all of the guards assigned to this wing of the castle and bring them here.” “Yes, sir.” “Also, go to the servants quarters and bring back a hoof-ful of maids.” “Right away,” Obelisk saluted, obliterating the wall of paper with his horn and disappearing down the hallway. “Sunburst,” Shining Armor said, turning to Sunburst and skewering him with a hard look. “If you know something about this, you need to tell me. I promise you you won’t be in trouble.” Sunburst began subconsciously wheeling backward as Shining Armor advanced on him. “I swear to you, your highness. I don’t know anything about this. I was in the common room all morning being questioned by the guards.” “Swear on Celestia’s name.” Sunburst gulped. “I swear by Celestia herself I have no idea how this got here.” Shining Armor regarded his crystaler with a long look. “I believe you,” he finally said. “But that still doesn’t explain how somepony could infiltrate the castle so easily like this.” “Your highness,” the gruff voice of Obelisk said as he cantered through the parchment-ridden doorway with five or so guards behind him. “I brought all of the guards assigned to this wing, as requested.” “And the maids?” “They should be arriving shortly.” “Good,” Shining armor began as he walked the row of guards assembled before him. “Which one of you was supposed to be guarding the library?” The guards shared uneasy looks between them until one of them spoke up. “You instructed us not to guard the library anymore sir.” Shining snorted. “Why in Equestria would I say something like that?” Another guard spoke up this time. “You said it was ‘a waste of manpower.’” “Well, that was obviously an error in judgement on my part.” “Um sir...” a mouse like voice came from the doorway and everyone turned to see one of the castle’s maids standing awkwardly in the archway. “You needed something?” “Yes,” Shining Armor started, gesturing to the mess of paper littering the floor. “I need this mess cleaned up for starters.” “Right away, sir,” she squeaked, scuttling into the room along with five others. “You two,” he gestured toward two guards who’d been standing silently off to the side. “Go stand guard outside. Nopony comes in or out unless Obelisk gives the OK.” The two guards saluted their captain before walking outside of the room and positioning themselves on either side of the door. “And you six,” he said, whirling toward the guards he’d sent for. “I want the area searched and any findings reported Obelisk who will then relay them directly to me, is that understood?” “Yes, sir!” The guards saluted, breaking formation and beginning to search the grounds. “You’re not usually so stern with them,” Cadence smiled as she came to stand beside her husband. “Can you blame me?” He said, his gaze fixated on the floor. “I mean, I’m supposed to be this great captain and somepony was able to break into the castle without me or any of the guards noticing and do this!” He swept a hoof toward the towering structure in the middle of the room. “You do your best, honey, that’s all anypony can ask of you.” Cadence wrapped a hoof around her husband’s neck and gave him a peck on the cheek. ”Why don’t we go out for dinner tonight? Take our minds off all of this craziness that’s been going on lately?” “What about the baby?” “We’ll just take her with.” Shining smiled and buried his face in his wife’s mane. “What did you have in mind?” “Someplace fancy. Mediterranean maybe.” “That sounds great actually.” “Perfect.” With that, Cadence and Shining started toward the door. Cadence stopped her husband just before they’d gotten to the hallway and whispered in his ear. Shining nodded and turned to face the room. “Sunburst. Why don’t you join us for dinner tonight?” Sunburst — who’d been studiously studying the base of the statue — turned toward the couple, surprised. “Oh...um, I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to impose.” Shining shared a small look with his wife. “It’s fine, really. We insist.” “Well, when you put it like that...” Sunburst laughed clumsily, slinking across the room and toward the door. “I expect this place to be cleaned up by tomorrow morning,” Shining stated sternly before him, his wife and their crystaler disappeared out the door, leaving just the guards and the maids in the room. “What a pompous ass,” one of the maids scoffed as soon as the sound of their hoofsteps disappeared.. “Melody!” another hissed. “Keep your voice down. What if the guards hear?” “I don’t care, Meoldy shot back. He was being a total jerk.” Harmony frowned at the other maid, walking over to the base of the statue and giving it a thorough once over with her eyes. “You know, I'm a little bummed we have to take it down.” “I'm not,” Melody chuffed, angrily swiping a hoof-ful of paper off the floor. “I have other things I could be doing right now.” “Like what?” “Oh, I dunno. Maybe relaxing at home in bed instead of cleaning up after some idiot who thinks they're the next Picasso or something. I mean, out of all the ponies in Equestria you could make a statue out of, why Sunburst?” “I dunno. I think it’s kinda cute.” Melody's eyes narrowed, her mouth turning up in a knowing smirk. “Does that mean you think he looks cute, too?” No, Harmony sputtered. “It’s just...can you imagine? Somepony breaking into the castle, risking their freedom just to show you how much they care. Doesn’t it just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?” Melody frowned. “It definitely makes me feel something.” “Well, I still think it’s sweet.” A wad of paper connected solidly with the back of Harmony’s head and she turned and shot daggers at Melody. “Well you can think it’s sweet all you want, but we still have to clean it up.” Another wad of paper hit Harmony in the face this time and she growled viciously at her the other mare. Melody only rolled her eyes. “Now come help before I come over there and make you.” Harmony picked up her own hoof-ful of paper and shaped it into the perfectly sized ball. “This means war,” she growled, launching it across the room and hitting Melody square in the back of the head. “So that’s how you wanna play?” Melody snarled. Collecting another wad of paper in her hooves, she launching it toward her target. Her aim was true, but Harmony’s reactions were faster and just before it hit her, she ducked, causing the projectile to hit a maid that had been standing innocently behind her. “Melody!” Harmony hissed, turning to the maid who’d been inadvertently caught in the crossfire. “Sorry about that.” “It’s fine,” she said, pausing as she went to pick up another wad of paper. “Hey, do they really expect us to clean all this up?” “Are you new?” Melody said flatly. “Yes actually.” “I knew it,” Harmony interrupted. “You’re the only one here I couldn't put a name to the face.” “I’m Honeydew.” Harmony extended her hoof. “I'm Harmony; and that ray of sunshine is Melody.” “Welcome to hell,” Melody spat from across the room. “Don’t mind her,” Harmony waved. “She’s perpetually cranky.” “Bite me,” Melody shot back. Honeydew looked up the statue, confusion knitting her brow. “So do they have any idea who did this?” “Probably someone who’s not all there upstairs.” Melody chimed as she angrily swiped up more paper. “Do you really think somepony crazy did this?” Honeydew asked, still poring over the statue. “Either that or somepony is madly in love with Sunburst.” “Which I don’t think is even possible,” Melody added. “Isn’t he the crystaler?” “Yup,” Harmony said. “And to be totally honest I don’t think he’s that bad looking.” "Knew it," Melody scoffed. Harmony ignored her. “What about you?” “What do I think of Sunburst?” “Yeah. I mean let’s face it, he’s no Shining Armor, but I’d definitely still go for a romp in the sheets if he asked.” Honeydew blushed hotly, shuffling a few papers with her hoof. “Yeah, he’s pretty cute I guess.” “Shining Armor though...” Harmony let out a long, wistful sigh. “The things I’d do to that stallion if he wasn’t married.” “Hey!” Melody’s voice cut through the awkwardness like a hot knife and two wadded up pieces of paper hit both of the mares in the back of the head simultaneously. “If you two are done gossiping can we please finally clean this up so I can get home sometime before the sun comes up?” Harmony whirled to face her compatriot, already forming a means of counter attack. “You just don’t know when to quit,” she snarled playfully, launching the projectile across the room. Melody barely had time to duck as it sailed over her head. “Oh, It is on!”
Face TimeEarly the next morning, Melody arrived at the maid’s quarters to find a note posted to the door. “All castle staff are to report to the west wing study upon arrival.” After a bout of hemming and hawing and a long walk she found herself turning the corner toward the west wing study only to bump snout first into something firm and fall ungracefully on her rear. “Ow, hey-” she started, but was cut off by a familiar, cheery voice. “Melody!” Harmony cried, throwing her forelegs around the disgruntled mare. “Finally. How are you always so late to everything?” Melody looked past her friend down the long line of ponies. “What the hay is going on?” “Dunno. I saw a note that said to come here, so here I am.” “Is the whole staff here?” Harmony leaned over and peered lengthwise down the hallway for a moment. “Looks like it.” Following her friend’s lead, Melody leaned over to look down the hallway. From her position at the back of the line, she could see the towering hats of the chefs, the long flowing robes of the castle seneschals, and even a fair number of guards-ponies. As she got toward the back of the line she noticed all of the maids lined up in front of Harmony and subconsciously began taking roll call. “Wait,” she said, counting the heads of the maids lined up in front of her. “Where’s what’s-her-face?” “Who?” Harmony asked. “That mare from yesterday.” “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “You know, orange coat, yellow mane, helped us clean the library yesterday.” “Ohhhhhhhh. You mean Honeydew?” “Yeah, her.” “Is she not here?” Melody swept her eyes over the line and then back over her shoulder. “I don’t see her.” Harmony shrugged. “I dunno. She’s probably just late or something. Maybe you rubbed off on her already.” “Hilarious.” Melody grumbled as she watched a pony pass her on the opposite side of the hall and turn the corner back toward the castle proper. The line moved up a whole half step. Melody sighed, loudly. “Great. This won’t take long at all...” It took an excruciating two hours for all the ponies to be cleared out save Melody, who was doing her best to listen through the doorway. Without warning, it swung open and Harmony strode past her. Melody shot her an imploring look. Harmony simply winked at her and continued on down the hallway, leaving Melody to face the unknown alone. A green stallion poked his head out the doorway just then. He had a black dress hat on his head and a cigarette clenched between his teeth. “Looks like you’re the last one,” he mumbled, propping open the door with a foreleg. Melody stepped past him and into the study, jumping the slightest bit as the door shut behind her. “Sorry,” he said as he walked past her to a table at the center of the room and took up a seat next to a portly turquoise stallion. “Good morning. I am detective Cortland. And this-” he gestured to the hefty stallion next to him. “-is my partner, Benedict.” Benedict tipped his hat to her. “Pleasure.” Melody didn’t move. “You can sit down Ms…” “Melody,” she finished flatly, not taking her seat but instead using it for balance as she leaned over it. “And I don’t know anything about what’s been goin on-” “That’s quite all right,” the stallion said, swinging his legs up onto the table, balancing his chair on only two legs. “We didn’t come here to pry information out of ponies.” He continued with a small laugh. “Ain’t an interrogation.” “Sure feels like one.” The stallion allowed himself another small laugh as he brought himself upright in his chair, bringing the other two legs down with a bang. “Sorry bout that, m’am,” he started as he got out of his chair and quickly put out his cigarette in the ash-tray situated between them. “I know what it might look like but I assure you, s’not how we operate. Is it, Benedict?” The turquoise stallion shook his head. “No sir,” “See?” Cortland said as he sauntered around the table and leaned over the edge just a pony’s length away from where Melody sat. “We only want to know what ponies already know, not what they don’t.” Their eyes met and when it became clear she wasn’t going to take the bait, he spun himself back into his chair and threw his hooves back up onto the table. “So,” he began as he took off his hat and combed a hoof through the red locks of his mane. “What do you know?” “Look, all I saw was the weird paper statue of Sunburst in the library, that’s it.” “You didn’t see anything else. A scrap of clothing, a suspicious looking pony maybe, anything?” “Nope. Can I go now?” Cortland and Benedict shared a weary look. Cortland picked up a tiny notepad from the table and spent a long moment looking it over. “What can you tell me about Honeydew?” “Not much. I just met her yesterday” “So, she’s just recently been employed here?” “I guess. They don’t exactly tell us when we’re getting fresh meat around here.” Cortland picked up the notepad and glanced at it again. “Well, according to your friend, she didn’t show up today. Would you happen to have any idea why that is?” “I don’t know. Do I look like her keeper?” Cortland leaned forward in his seat. “Harmony also told us that she was with y’all while you were cleanin’ the library. Is that true?” “Yup,” Melody said, biting back venom. “And nothing out of the ordinary happened?” “Nope. Spent forever cleaning the library, then went home and passed out.” Cortland looked from his notepad to Benedict, then got up from his char, affixed his hat back on his head and made for the door. Melody followed. “You’re free to go, Ms. Melody,” he said, propping open the door for her again. “And again, my deepest apologies if I somehow offended you in any way.” Melody stopped in the hallway just outside the door for a moment. “Have a good day,” she muttered quickly before starting off down the hallway. Cortland nodded and shut the door, dragging himself back over to the table and collapsing in his chair. “You believe her story?” Benedict asked through a mouthful of pastry. Cortland took off his hat and placed it on the table again, kicking himself up onto the chair’s back legs. “I’m more curious about this ‘Honeydew’ pony. I think we need to make a house call.”
Quick Decisions“You sure this is the place?” Benedict turned to Cortland, his brow raised. “One thirty four Amber Avenue,” Cortland fished out his notepad and flipped through a few pages before tilting his hat back and squinting at the numbers nailed above the door of the yellow, crystalline structure he and his partner were standing in front of. “That’s what it said in the file.” Cortland made his way up the stairs and rapped gently on the door. Seconds later it opened, a blue unicorn mare with a white mane stood loosely in the doorway. “Can I help you?” “Good evenin’ ma’am,” Cortland started. “My name is detective Cortland; and this is my partner, Benedict.” Benedict tipped his hat to her from the sidewalk. Cortland cleared his throat and continued. “We were just wondering if we could have a word with Miss Honeydew?” “Honeydew?” The mare blinked. “Yes, ma’am.” “There’s nopony here by that name.” Cortland plucked a photo from underneath his hat and showed it to her. “She don’t live here?” The mare took the photo from Cortland and studied it for a long moment before handing it back to him. “No,” the mare shook her head. “The only ponies that live here are me, my husband and our son.” “And you’re sure you’ve never seen her before? While you were out walking or at the store maybe?” Cortland still had the photo held out between them and she took another long moment to study the face before shaking her head again. “Can’t say that I have, sorry.” “Not a problem,” Cortland huffed as he stashed the photo back underneath his hat and slipped it on. “You have a good day then, ma’am” he said, turning and starting down the stairs. “You too. Sorry that I couldn’t be of more help.” “That’s quite alright,” he waved back to her. “You enjoy the rest of this wonderful day.” “I will,” she smiled at him before shutting the door. Cortland shuffled down the steps and filed in with Benedict who’d been watching the exchange whilst he feasted on what had once been a decently sized bear claw. Rumbling something low in his throat, Cortland fished a cigarette out of the carton he kept tied to his hat and took a long pull, letting the smoke seep out his nostrils with a long sigh. “Ain’t it a mite suspicious that she would give a fake address?” Benedict gurgled through the pastry in his mouth. “Assuming she’s even who she says she is at this point.” “Well, that coupled with the fact that she seems to have mysteriously vanished leads me to believe we just found our first suspect.” Cortland sucked the rest of his cigarette down to the butt in one long pull then threw it to the sidewalk and ground it out with his hoof. “Which would be a helluva lot more significant if we knew where in the hay she was.” “Ain’t that why you brought me along?” Benedict smirked as he deposited the wrapper from his dessert in the trash bin he’d been leaning on and started off down the sidewalk. Cortland looked up from trying to light another cigarette. “Where you goin’?” “The kitchen,” Benedict responded over his shoulder. “Wait, what?” Cortland sputtered, the cigarette pursed between his maw falling to the concrete. “Hold on, Ben, slow down!” he yelled as he chased his colleague down the sidewalk back toward the castle. “Alright,” Sunburst said as he levitated a tiny, purple sphere into the corner of the room where the wall met the ceiling. “That should do it.” Cadence came to stand beside Sunburst, raising a brow at the sphere stuck in the corner above the door. “I’m still confused. What are these things again?” “Think of them like mirrors in a sense,” Sunburst explained as he led Cadence over to a much larger purple sphere situated nearly in the center of the room. “With this big thing here being the conduit that feeds into all of the smaller spheres.” “You said they’d allow us to see inside of a room without actually being there?” “Precisely,” Sunburst said. “All you have to do is give it a little spark and-” with a flick of his horn, the sphere was wreathed in magic and after a brief delay a bird’s eye view of the very room they were occupying was reflected on its surface. “-viola.” “Sunburst, this is amazing.” “It’s okay I guess,” Sunburst tittered. “I just wish I had time to tinker with them some more.” “How do you see the other rooms?” Cadence watched as the sphere was once again wreathed in Sunburst’s magic before the scene reflected in its surface slowly changed to that of the adjoining bathroom. “May I?” She asked, a twinkle in her eye.. “By all means,” Sunburst said, stepping aside. Just as Sunburst had done, Cadence coated the sphere in her magic and the image in the sphere changed to that of the hallway outside their bedroom. “How many of these did you put in?” Cadence asked as she continued to flip through the different viewpoints. “Well, there’s one in here, one in the hallway, one in the kitchen, one in the throne room and one in the guest room. So...five in total..” “Speaking of. How’s the moving coming?” Sunburst gave a tiny, stifled laugh. “Actually, right when I got here Shining said he sent the some guards to get the last of my things, so it shouldn’t be too much longer.” “I hope it isn’t going to be too jarring for you having to suddenly pack up and move like this.” “Oh, no I’ll be fine,” Sunburst waved. “I do practically spend most of my time here as it is.” The door opened just then and Shining Armor poked his head through. “There you are,” he smiled at Sunburst as he made his way into the room. “They just finished moving the rest of your stuff into the guest room.” “Oh,” Sunburst blinked. “Speak of the devil.” “Did you put the spheres up?” “Yup,” Sunburst nodded, gesturing to the sphere he placed in the corner of the room. “All five.” “And the conduit?” Sunburst gestured to the larger sphere near the center of the room. “Set and calibrated to just you, me and Cadence.” “Excellent,” Shining sighed in relief. “I can’t thank you enough, Sunburst.” “It’s nothing,” Sunburst smiled, averting his eyes. “Just glad I could help.” The shrill cries of a foal rang out in the bedroom just then and Cadence flounced over to the crib and lifted the wailing Flurry Heart out of her crib. “Oh, what’s wrong my little angel?” Cadence cooed as she lifted Flurry Heart out of her crib and began to rock her. “You think maybe she’s hungry?” Shining queried as he made his way over. “Maybe. You fed her before you put her to sleep, didn’t you?” “Yeah. Half the bottle-” Well,” Sunburst interjected lightly. “I’m gonna go unpack the rest of my things.” “Oh,” Shining said, turning to him. “Do you need any help or…” “No, I got it,” Sunburst replied, pulling open the door with his magic. “Just come see us if you need anything,” Cadence said while she continued to rock a much more content Flurry Heart. “Will do,” Sunburst said as he walked out, shut the door behind him and started down the hall. He reached the guest room in just under a minute and as he pulled open the door and stepped inside, he was nearly rendered speechless There, strewn all about the room, were stacks and stacks of plain brown boxes. Sunburst walked over to one that was almost touching the ceiling, grabbed the box at the very top and pried it open. A hefty layer of books filled the box to bursting. Sunburst set it down and went to retrieve another box from the other side of the room — this one filled to the seams with books just as the first had been. With a heavy sigh and a long look around the room, Sunburst lit his horn. Slowly, he picked up the box at his hooves and maneuvered it toward the bed but stopped short when he caught a glint of something lying on the bedspread. Setting the box down, Sunburst trotted over to the bed, a cold pit forming in his stomach as he stared down at the object perched delicately atop the bed sheets. “Not again…”
