Wind Rider stood, well sat before all charges as all hooves and eyes were pointed at him. Yet the old Wonderbolt patiently waited until Detective Rarity had finished presenting her findings, not once saying a word before. He had to admit, he was impressed by this unicorn's detective skills, and while he did admit she could use some more practice, such as not accusing someone until they had all the evidence laid out, he really did think she had the potential to become a brilliant detective.
Finally, after undoing his scarf and presenting the final bit of evidence to the scene and proving him as the culprit, he decided to speak up.
"Well done! You caught me. I admit, I did it," he said before everyone. The others gasped, all except for Rarity who looked proud at her success. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, looked broken before her idol.
"But why, Wind Rider?! Was it because I took the last broccoli at the dinner and you really, really wanted it," she asked. He was about to reply, but Rarity beat him to it.
"No. It was because he was afraid that you would break his long-distance Wonderbolt record! I heard him when Spitfire said you were close to breaking his record. He said, and I quote, 'Heh-heh'. That's the polite but disingenuous laugh you make when you want to seem happy but really you're not.," she explained. She then turned back to Wind Rider and thrust her hoof at him. "What do you have to say for yourself, Wind Rider? Is that not the truth, that you were jealous of Rainbow Dash and decided to have her kicked out?"
He looked at the hoof directed towards his face before meeting her eyes. He gave another 'heh-heh' before gently pushing her hoof out of the way and standing up.
"Far from it actually," he said as he began to trot around the room. "You see, Spitfire brought me over to her room last night, said she wanted to discuss something with me." His hoof pointed towards the envelope on the desk. "I felt as if I could use a few more spritz of my cologne and I offered Spitfire if she wanted some. She said yes, which explains the scent on the envelope."
"Anyways, she told me that she was extremely tired this week. From overworked schedules, to paperwork to sign, sort and file, to performances, she told me she didn't feel up for the aerial stunt show. She knew she couldn't say 'hey guys, I want to fly in the stunt show with you, but I just don't feel like it so...', so she had to come up with an excuse to not be there and someone to take her place. And luckily for her, somepony she knew here who could take her spot." His hoof moved from the desk to Rainbow Dash.
"So, with my help, we devised this scheme. Spitfire and I would write this fake letter, saying that Spitfire's mother was ill and that Spitfire was going to see her while she really was elsewhere. To help her get out without being caught though, we had to distract the guards. Wearing some of my clothes, including my scarf," he gestured to it, "to avoid being recognized, she bought the cake and was going to bring it to the castle when she accidently stained it. While the guards were on their break, she snuck past them stealthily, thus explaining why the curtains were out of place, just like you noticed."
"And the sheared hair clipping we found," Rarity asked as she held the plastic bag containing the hair follicles up to his face with her magic. He looked confusedly at them, then at her, before he answered.
"Heck if I know. Cut hair was never in the plan. We didn't even plan this investigation since we never intended that Spitfire's mom would be here and uncover our plan." His head turned towards Rainbow Dash and he frowned at her. "Sorry for the false accusations, kid," he apologized. Her hoof went to rub that back of her head sheepishly, when she suddenly froze and pulled her hoof back. Some rainbow-colored hairs sat on her hoof. She then looked up, eyes wide in realization.
"Wait, I remember now. I know why you found sheared hair clippings," she exclaimed. "I had just stopped in Cloudsdale to pick up a few things before the party and I kinda got a mane cut on the way. It was just a trim off the split ends, but then I remembered that I was running late so I flew out before the barber could brush off the extra hair clippings from my shoulders and head." She then looked at her audience and guessed the question on everyone's mind. "Oh, but I paid them before I dashed out the door," she reassured. "What I do know is that Spitfire gave me a congratulatory hug after we talked a bit near the end of the party about my stature as a promising reserve, so maybe some of my cut hair fell onto her and was carried to her room where Rarity found it." Everypony nodded in agreement at the plausible theory, before Soarin then stepped up before her.
"We understand now, Dash." His hood went out and came to rest on her shoulder. "Sorry we falsely accused you of sending Spitfire away. Considering all the things you've done for us in the past, that should've been enough that we should've immediately known you weren't involved in it. And for that, we are all very sorry." The other Wonderbolts replied in agreement.
"Hey, no sweat it," Rainbow reassured. She looked at Wind Rider who nodded at her and her eyes suddenly grew wide with joy. "Wait! So, does this mean I get to fly in Spitfire's place for the show," she asked joyfully.
"That's what Spitfire requested," Wind Rider confirmed and nodded. Dash suddenly flew up into the air cheering and began performing her own little celebratory dance. As several of the Wonderbolts watched her express her joy, Rarity came over to Wind Rider and tapped his shoulder to get his attention.
"I have to apologize, Wind Rider. I should not have accused you until I had presented all of my findings and then asked if there was anymore from the rest," she said. Wind Rider just sent a warm smile her way.
"Hey, no problem. I talked with Spitfire about telling everyone her plan, but she replied 'no. It's easier this way', so in all due it's my fault for starting all this. It was never my intention for Rainbow Dash to get framed, but once the ball got rolling, I knew I had to say something in the end. So if anything, it's me who should be apologizing to the two of you." Rarity giggled and flicked her hoof at him.
"Oh, it's quite alright. But the one thing that I just can't figure out is why didn't you say anything earlier about the matter," she asked. He look shocked at first, but then a slight chuckle escaped his mouth and he shook his head.
"Well, if there is one thing you should know about me, is that I love to see hard effort being put forth for a friend and a good mystery. I wanted to see if you two could solve it. If not, well, I would've come clean anyways," he confessed. Rarity looked stunned for a moment, before joining him in merry laughter.
Author's Note
And so Rainbow Dash flew in the aerial show, Spitfire returned and explained she had brought along some of her paperwork to do while she was in the Crystal Mountains, and they all lived happily ever after and Wind Rider wasn't a villain. Hope you enjoyed reading my story. Please leave a review and feel free to check out some of my other stories. Sincerely, v.t.7
