Equestria Noire: The Beginning

I woke up from my slumber when the train arrived to Canterlot. The lady over the buzzer told everypony, which included me, that they had arrived in Canterlot. I didn't get the best amount of sleep, but good enough sleep. I got a full hour and a half. That's pretty great for a guy who usually doesn't get a lot of sleep.

Anyway, I got off the train and walked through town. And as I walked, I could see all the rich snobs who lived here. The kind that would steal money from the poor and give to either themselves or somepony that's just as rich as them and would hope for more money in return. The kind who would bribe you to make sure they're name wasn't dragged through the mud.

Yeah, it's safe to say that in my work, I have had some run-in's with Rich families. And most of the time, even if I gave them all the evidence in the world, even if they were caught red-hoofded, and even if they flat out ADMITTED that they did the crime, they would still get off scott-free, simply because they were rich and would do everything they could to make sure they're family member, like a son or a daughter, would never see the inside of a cell, even though they totally belonged there for the horrible atrocities they committed. So, basically, society today says "Everything, whether legal or not, is okay as long as your rich". Yet, if you were poor, and you were accused of something, and didn't do it, more likely than not, you'd get convicted anyways. Hell, even if you were found not guilty, because of the media and their coverage of events, they will always say "The Justice System is Flawed" and then that guys life will be ruined forever, because of that accusation. It's just a tough spot to be in when your a detective. You try to everything you can, and sometimes it just leads to one thing: FAILURE.

Anyway, I continued walking through this rich, snobby town, when eventually, I made it to the royal castle. The home of Princess Celestia and Luna. It was huge. Even bigger than they say in the newspapers. I walked up to the main entrance where I saw two royal guards, who were muscular looking pegasi, standing at the front door. They looked like those kinds of guards you see in the movies where they stay completely frozen like a statue. And no matter what you do to them, they will never move a muscle.

As I walked up to them, they held out one of each of their wings in front of the door and in front of me.

"HALT! WHO GOES THERE?" They both said at the exact same time. Really? They used a line that old line. You would see those in the oldest of old movies. But I decided to play along with them, just so I could see Princess Celestia and get this over with.

"Detective Night Mist. Princess Celestia called me for a meeting. I'm originally from Michneighgan." I answered them as respectfully as I could, even though I wanted to bop them on their heads, just looking and sounding stupid.

"Ah, yes." The guard on the left said. "Princess Celestia has been waiting for you for a while now. Your right on time. Follow me." He said as he walked into the castle. I followed behind him.

As we walked through the castle, I looked around at all the artwork that was done in this castle. It did look outstanding. All the enemies Equestria has had over the years, and defeated by the Elements of Harmony. The artwork of it looked great. Hell, they even had one of "Great and Honorable, Spike the Brace and Glorious".

Then, finally, we made it to the main room. There she was. Princess Celestia. The ruler of Equestria. Sitting in her throne. She did look like the ultimate royalty. Mainly because she deserved it. I mean, she ruled Equestria. Her and I made eye contact.

"That will be all Cavalier." Celestia said to the royal guards next to me. He then bowed to her and left to go back to his position. She then looked at me and spoke in her kind-hearted voice.

"Hello, Mr. Night Mist. I'm so glad you came all this way for this meeting. Let me just say, it's an honor to speak with somepony of law enforcement. An everyday hero so to speak." She said to me.

I then bowed to her in respect. "Absolutely your majesty. And thank you for the hero compliment, but I'm not one. I just do my job." I spoke to her in a respectful manner.

Oh, modesty is in everypony, I can see." She said to me with a smile on her face.

"Maybe it is. So what is it?" I asked her point blank.

"Hmm?"

"Why have you asked for a meeting with me? I'm just a regular pony who happens to be a detective. If you have called a meeting for me, this must be because you have a pretty big case for me. So is that true your majesty?." I asked her.

She looked a little surprised at how quickly I caught on. I guess she must have underestimated me slightly.

"Well, yes. I do have a job for you. And it's pretty big." She answered me.

"Well, your majesty, I always thought that you would want the Elements if Harmony to do a job this big. No offense, your majesty, but saving the world isn't my job. My job is to keep the streets safe from criminal scum. So why would you need me for a job this big?" I asked her honestly.

"Well, I wouldn't call this "saving the world" kind of big, but it is big overall. And the reason I called you is because I've read about your work. And I must say, you are a pony who has my utmost respect. You truly are an honest detective. So I thought that, because of how skilled you are, and at such a young age no less, maybe you could help us out in this time of need." She said looking very serious.

Wow. Princess Celestia just said she was a fan of my work. That will definitely be a huge mark on my resume now. This feels great that I got high praise from her.

Well, enough stroking your ego Night Mist. She said this was a "time of need". What did she mean by that?

"What do you mean time of need, your majesty?" I asked her.

"Well, 3 of our royal guards have gone missing 2 months ago. One night they just disappeared without a trace. No note. Nothing. I even had my faithful student Twilight Sparkle and her friends look for them, but they found nothing. No clues, no evidence, no proof, nothing that would tell us what happened to them. So, when that happened, I knew I needed the work of a real detective. Somepony who can gather evidence, proof, and clues that can help us find out what happened to them. And, since I've read your stories about the amount of cases you've solved, and how you solved them, I knew you were the right pony for the job. So that is my job for you Detective Night Mist. I need you to find out what happened to the three royal guards who went missing 2 months ago." She said to me with a worried, but proud look on her face.

Alright, this seemed like a pretty good deal. So I agreed. "I will accept this case, your majesty. I promise I will find out what happened to these royal guards, and bring them back safe and sound. You have my word as a detective." I said to her.

"Thank you good sir. But there is one thing that I also request, and I don't know if you'll like it." She said to me. Oh great. Bad news. What could this possibly be?

"What is that?" I asked her.

"I would like you to work with my student Twilight Sparkle and her friends." She said to me.

You've gotta be fucking kidding me. I get a case that is brought to me by Princess Fucking Celestia, and now she ruins it by saying I have to work with somepony. Uhh, this just ruined the good feeling I had a moment ago.

"Princess, with all due respect, I prefer to work alone." I told her.

"I understand that. And I can say that you can get this done by yourself if you could. But, these girls want to protect Equestria just as much as you want to protect the streets. Plus, they felt very bad about not finding anything before. Now, with you, maybe they could have some hope in solving this case." She said to me.

"*Groan* Before I do this, tell me this, why should I trust them?" I asked her brutally honest.

"Because, not only will it solve this case in a quick amount of time, but I feel you and them could become friends." She said to me very sweetly.

Friend. Again. Somepony uses that word that is nothing but fake nonsense. Why would Princess Celestia care if I made friends or not. Ultimately, I knew that there was no point in arguing with her. So I agreed, much to my dismay.

"Alright. I'll work with them. But I can't make a promise on if I become friends with them or not. I'm really not looking for friends. All this is just business. I hope you can respect that, your majesty." I told her in the most honest way I could.

"I do respect that. But please at least try to make friends. They are very good ponies. I promise you that." She said to me.

Yeah, last time I was friends with somepony, it didn't end well. But I had a job to do. So I ended the conversation the way I always ended it with my clients.

"I'll do what I can." I said to her as I turned around and headed for the exit, preparing to go to "The Castle of Friendship". Ugh, revolting name if you asked me.

"That's all I ask." Celestia said with a confident smile on her face.

I eventually reached the exit, and left the castle grounds. Ugh, why did I have to work with somepony? Partners usually just got in my way. All the cases I've done before, I did them on my own. So, why would I need a partner now? Let alone 6 partners. Now that is just ridiculous.

But, a jobs a job. And if Princess Celestia is the one who gave it to me, then I'll know I'm going to get a pretty big payday. And that was something that I definitely looked foreward too. So I guess I'm going to have to swallow my pride for now and just deal with it.

Well, let's just hope these ponies are good enough to work with. And let's hope they don't try to get into my personal life. Cause that will cause huge problems for us. Big problems.