Blood is Thicker Than Water

Fortune Hunter was walking on his way to the library when he bumped into Rainbow Dash.

“Oops,” she said “sorry, friend. Gotta run!”

“Oh that’s ok,” he said, or rather, was about to before she darted off at the speed of sound. He sighed. He wasn’t your typical smart pony. He didn’t have glasses, talk with a lisp, or have terrible acne. He was actually pretty normal looking, with a dirty blonde mane and hazel eyes. His body color was light brown, and he wore a Rarity approved fashionable outfit, with khaki pants, dark brown loafers, a T-shirt, underneath a grey cardigan with leather elbow patches and brown buttons. There was something different about him though. He was smart, not Sherlock Holmes smart, but he was a not so well known academic competitor and compatriot of Twilight Sparkle at Canterlot High. He’s currently, the youngest unofficial detective in the history of Equestria, though most of his classmates wouldn’t assume that based on his cutie mark. Most of them ignored him, and he went about his daily and routine. The one thing that kept him going, was an ambitious drive to rival nightmare moon. He tailored it by being quiet, and being very…very…smart.

“Hey Forty,” one of his friends, Octavia hollered at him. He thought, or at least suspected that she had a crush on him, but what he was doing was more important. He smiled courteously, and moved on. Then he looked over and saw two Pegasi snatch an Earth Pony. She screamed as they moved her out the door quickly. He shoved his way through, maybe now was his time to shine. He whipped out his cellphone and called his older brother, who was a police officer in Canterlot.

“Hey bro,” Fortune said “we got something here at the school.”

“Damn it Forty,” he said “dial 911 or something, not my private phone…and how did you get this number?”

“I nicked it off you when you were drunk one night,” he said “but that’s not important. Get down here immediately, I think we might have a kidnapping!”

Within minutes the police had arrived and quarantined the scene. The whole school was interviewed. Fortune Hunter could see Twilight and her friends whispering and looking in his direction. All he had eyes for was his brother though, who walked up and punched him in the shoulder.

“Ouch!”

“Next time dial 911,” Officer Tanning said “or believe me it’ll be your face next time.”

“Can I help you with the case?”

“No!” Officer Tanning said “we have real C.S.I.’s for that. You’d just be getting in the way.”

“Please bro,” he begged “I promise I won’t be a bother to anyone, and you can keep me in check.”

“You already know the rules,” Officer Tanning said “that’s just horse crap and you know it.”

“Oh come on don't be an idiot,” Fortune Hunter said “I’ve helped you in the past five cases, and we’ve gotten the bad guy every time haven’t we?”

“That was because you weren’t actually on the case,” Officer Tanning said “and anyway, this is pretty gruesome. You probably shouldn’t…hey!”

Fortune Hunter knew that the coroner would be arriving shortly, he wanted to be in and out and examine the body for himself before he got the report and the examiner ruined everything. His eyes darted back and forth, his feet danced around careful not to touch anything or step in the blood. The student, unfortunately, was Purple Pimpernel, niece of Gloriosa Daisy, the school counselor. She had been stabbed six times in the chest, but what was odd, was that there was bruising around her neck, as if she’d been strangled before and then stabbed. He knelt down to get a closer look, he could see his classmates watching him but he didn’t care, he was absolutely focused on the job. He noticed, tiny holes in her forehead, five to be exact. Another odd thing, she was missing an ear ring. He heard his brother cough to get his attention

“Find anything Sherlock?”

“I told you not to call me that,” Fortune said “for one thing, he doesn’t exist, and two…I might be better.”

“Might?”

“I try to stay humble about it…”

“Regardless,” Officer Tanning said “what did you find?”

“Obviously she was stabbed,” Fortune Hunter said “six times in the chest, above the diaphragm at an angle of sixty five degrees, roughly. Instrument was something long and narrow, like a screwdriver, maybe a filet knife. She’s missing an ear ring, and has four injection holes in her forehead.”

“Anything else?”

Fortune got up and walked to his brother “Her name is Purple Pimpernel, she’s our school counsellor’s daughter. She’s a grade ahead of me, junior, captain of the cheer squad, and all around popular girl. You remember I told you about Octavia?”

“Yeah,” Tanning said “You told me you thought she had a crush on you…”

“Far from it,” Fortune said “anyway, Pip as she’s nicknamed, is the second most popular girl. She got decent grades, though, not as good as mine, and had a boyfriend.”

“Name?”

“Amber Heart,” Fortune said “red hair, handsome face, can’t miss him. Also, send me the toxicology and the blood sample analysis won’t you?”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Well,” Fortune said “just…keep me posted.”

As he walked away he felt like a total badass. Sunset Shimmer walked up to him “Hey,” she said “do you know what’s going on? Why were you in there? I thought only cops could work a crime scene?”

“Can’t tell you.”

“Why?”

“Police confidentiality,” Fortune said “we’re under legal restriction to not give any information pertaining to any case we currently investigate, and this is one of them.”

“Who was that you were talking to?”

“If you want to know that,” he said eyeing Sunset Shimmer coolly “you’re gonna have to get a warrant.”

"Get a warrant?" She shrieked "she was my best friend! How dare you! If you were a decent person, you'd tell me what was going on!"

"I don't make the rules Shimmer," he said "I only follow them."

"What makes you so special then?" she sneered "how come you get special privilege?"

"Because," he said "blood is thicker than water."

With that he walked away and pondered over the information he received. The facts to him just didn’t seem to add up. Why strangle someone if you were simply just going to stab them? What was their motive? Why would they disguise one type of murder, in this case, a cold and calculated one, with one of passion? This is where the killer made their first mistake. Fortune was going to capitalize on it. When he went to his locker, he opened it and was about to put his books inside when the door slammed shut. Amber Heart stood there, with his friends Harsh Wood and Iron Side. They’d been his bullies since the first day of school, two years ago and they were relentless.

“Hey Lucky Loo,” Amber Heart sneered “did you kill Pimpernel?”

“Is this an interrogation,” Fortune Hunter retorted “or a lame excuse for one?”

“You better watch it pal,” Amber Heart said “if you killed her, I’ll make your life so bad that you’ll be happy to live in Tartarus.”

“It’s kind of already like that,” he shot back “and anyway, you’d better watch out for Iron Side there.”

“Why?”

“Already dating somebody else Amber?” Fortune queried “Your old girlfriend has only been dead for a few hours and your best friend is already causing her to cheat on you.”

“Why you little…”

“Simple observation really,” Fortune said “but then again, why don’t you ask him yourself.”

“Well,” Amber Heart said glaring at Iron Side.

“Bro,” Iron Side said “I didn’t. I swear…you little twerp! I’ll gut you!”

“Maybe it wasn’t me who killed Pip after all,” Fortune said “maybe it was Iron Side here, clearing up loose ends as they say…”

“Why you…”

“Students!” A calm but firm voice bellowed. It was Principle Celestia, and she didn’t look too happy about what she was seeing “I’ll have none of this going on in my halls. Go back to your classes now!”

As Amber Heart turned to walk away he shot Fortune Hunter a glare “I’d watch my back if I were you Forty.”

“I’d be more concerned with being put behind bars,” Fortune said “than watching my back.”

Principle Celestia looked down at Fortune Hunter “What was that about Fortune Hunter?”

“Nothing ma’am,” he said innocently “false accusations and rumors without evidence.”

“I could do something about that you know,” she said “I don’t allow bullying of any form in my school. Least of all something as serious as a false accusation.”

“I’ll let the evidence speak for itself ma’am,” Fortune said “then the court room can handle everything else.”

With that, they gave a curt nod at each other, and Fortune Hunter went off to Algebra.