Equestria Noire: The Beginning

*Night Mist's POV*

As I left the Castle, a lot of things were on my mind about the missing royal guards. Questions like:

How did these three guards disappear from a heavily guarded castle?

How did it happen with no pony noticing?

And, mostly, WHY did this happen?

Now, I'm no expert on security or magic, but I would have to think that with a big castle in Canterlot, it has to be heavily guarded with either multiple guards on duty, or has to have a magic spell that prevents any outside Invaders from launching an attack on Canterlot grounds.

Now, I did hear a story that about 6 years ago, when Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza were set to be married, it turned out the real Cadenza was abducted by the former Changeling Queen, Chrysalis. And she disguised herself as Cadenza during the entirety of the planning of the wedding. Now, eventually the real Cadenza showed up, revealing the Cadenza that was attempting to marry Shining Armor was a fake. Then, when Chrysalis revealed herself, her Changeling army invaded Canterlot, terrorizing the many folk of Canterlot. I'm pretty sure some ponies might have died during the attack. It was a small number, I think only about 4 or 5 who died. The rest of them were injured. Some minor, some major. Thankfully, Cadence and Shining beat Chrysalis, saved everypony, and were married in a great ceremony.

So, maybe it could be possible that somepony has been invading Canterlot, and abducting these royal guards at night. However, I also have to think, with Princess Luna having guards of her own, she must have guards on night watch after the day royal guards had gone home. So, if somepony DID abduct these ponies at night, they must have been a master of infiltration and stealth. Sneaking past the guards without them even noticing a thing. They, also, must know the layout of the castle very well. When the guards are in their positions, some blind spots, how they move around, and they're schedule when they come in and when they leave. It kinda reminds me of.......HIM........No. Don't think about him now. You have a job to do.

However, there's also some other questions I have regarding this case. Questions like: Why are guards being abducted? If it's somepony who wants something like money, wouldn't they abduct somepony of higher importance? Ponies like Shining Armor's daughter Princess Flurry Heart? Or Twilight's assistant Spike? Why would they abduct a royal guard who doesn't really have that much importance to Canterlot or any other place in Equestria, other than guarding a royal castle or the royal princesses? It just doesn't make sense to me.

Also, if they are abducting royal guards, what is it they want with them? What is the purpose of this? Is it to send a personal message to Shining Armor? Or even Celestia or Luna?

All this was on my mind as I was walking back home to my apartment. I had two objectives I needed to do: Talk with Meadow Blossom and study over these documents. I knew I had a lot of work to do.

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*Shining Armor's Point of View*

Once I left Twily's castle, I made my way over to the castle in Canterlot. I knew I was going to ask Silver Star some questions about Platinum Shine. It actually feels kinda cool working with a known detective like Night Mist. I remember I used to read mystery novels back when I was in middle and high school. I mostly loved the Moon Light Mystery book series. I remember almost binge reading every Moon Light Mystery story, until Mom told me to go out and do something. And, of course, you don't want to mess with Mom. She's crazy.

Anyway, I made my way to the castle, greeted Princess Celestia, and went to Silver Star's position, which was on the 2nd floor on the South Side of the castle. I found him standing by himself near a ledge that saw the entire south portion of the perimeter of the castle. When he saw me, he saluted me.

"At ease, Silver Star." I said to him.

"Sir, yes sir." He said to me with a straight look on his face.

"I'm actually not here for business. It's for something else. So you don't have to say "sir, yes sir" all the time, okay?" I told him.

"Sir, ye---I mean, okay Captain, what can I do for you?" He said dropping his straight expression.

"I need you to tell me everything you know about Platinum Shine." I told him. After I said that, his regular expression turned to a depressing one. It looked like he was still bummed out over Platinum's disappearance.

"Why do you wish to know that Captain?" He asked me.

"I'm working with a detective named Night Mist. Princess Celestia was the one who gave him the case. And me, my sister and her friends are working with him. He told me to come here and ask you a couple questions about Platinum, then report to him ASAP." I explained to him in detail.

He then sighed a huge sigh. He looked like this was going to be hard to talk about.

"Okay Captain. I'll answer any question you got." He said to me.

I then used my magic to create a piece of paper that I could write down every detail he gives me. I'm gonna need it when I report to Night Mist.

"So, how close are you to Platinum?"

"Oh, we've been best friends since middle School. We both met during the first day of our first year of middle School. We both loved comics, wrestling, mystery movies, rock n roll music, and royal guards. In fact, we both knew what we wanted to be when we would graduate high school: a royal guard for Princess Celestia. We both worked our asses off to become a royal guard. And it all payed off." He said with a sad smile on his face. So, these two have been friends for years. I can tell, he must be going through a lot.

"Can you tell me anything about Platinum's personal life. Like, is he married? Does he have kids?" I asked him.

"Well, he actually is married to a mare named Cloud Crusher. Those two were high school sweethearts. They've been married for about a year already. I was actually his best stallion." He said with a small smile on his face, remembering that day.

"How close are you to Cloud Crusher?" I asked him next. This could be another lead on this case. After all, this is his wife we're talking about. And, me being married myself, I know that my wife probably knows me better than anypony. So this pony must know even more information than Platinum.

"We're pretty close. I mean I'm the one who introduced her to him back when we were sophomores in high school. After that, they became a great couple." He told me.

"So they're marriage is going great then?"

"Yes. Those two have a great relationship. He talks about her a lot when we are on shift together. He loves that mare more than life itself." He answered me. I could tell everything he was saying, he meant it. It kinda made me sad for Platinum Shine and Cloud Crusher. They seemed to be as happily married as me and Cadence are.

"Well, since you know Platinum better than anypony, did you notice anything off about him before he disappeared?" I asked him.

"Well, not a whole lot, but there was one thing that was off. Other than that, he was usually his normal self." He answered me.

"What was that one thing?"

"It was the day before he disappeared. He told me he was going to work with Bronze Shield and Steel Bar. It was on the top floor of the castle. And, I thought, that it was Princess Celestia who made the change. I didn't ask a lot of questions about it. But it was weird, because normally Princess Celestia would announce it to us face to face. But, I figured, that because she is Princess Celestia, she has to be extremely busy with a lot of meetings, interviews, grand openings, and a lot of other stuff. What, also, was weird was that I didn't see him leave the castle grounds. I just thought maybe he left early, or took a different route home. So, I just went along with it. Well, the next day is when I found out something was up." He said.

****Flashback******

Silver Star was at his position in the castle. It seemed like a regular, normal day, when Princess Celestia came around the corner. As she came, Silver Star bowed to her in respect.

"Good morning Silver Star. How's everything going with your shift today?" She asked him sweetly.

"It's going very well, your highness. Although with the recent position change you made a couple days ago, I've been working a lot harder than usual." He said to her with his straight expression most guards have.

Princess Celestia raised her eyebrow. "Position change? I never asked for a position change." She said looking suspicious. Silver also was looking a little suspicious as well.

"Well, yesterday my friend Platinum Shine said, along with his new position mates, Steel Bar and Bronze Shield, are now working in the top floor of the castle grounds, your majesty." He told her. He looked like he was starting to get a little scared now.

"Did Shining Armor know anything about this?" She asked, now looking a little concerned. This was getting a little odd for her. How can a message be sent around the castle without her knowing.

"Well, he and I thought you told Captain Shining Armor, and that he must have put the word out to every guard here. So, we thought it was already a done deal. He went to the top floor yesterday with Bronze and Steel. I've been doing my position by myself for three whole days now." He said. As he explained himself to Celestia, he now felt extremely stupid for being so naive. He should have known something was up when the message wasn't realyed to him.

"We don't have positions on the top floor. It's just an empty room." Celestia told him.

"What? Are you serious?" Silver asked her looking more scared than ever.

Now Celestia was looking very scared and concerned. She did not know about a change in positions around the castle. She had been busy with meetings from all across Equestria. She had about 3 meetings a day, for three days. She never looked into the royal guards' positions, because that was the job of Shining Armor.

She then got a serious, determined look on her face as she looked at Silver Star.

"Let me take a look at the top floor for a second." She said as she teleported to the top floor of the castle.

When Celestia teleported to the top floor of the castle, she noticed no pony was there. No Steel Bar. No Platinum Shine. And No Bronze Shield. She looked all around the top floor, but no traces of them anywhere. This was starting to get a little scary. She also felt a chill run down her spine. She just felt that something BAD happened up here. She didn't know what, but something just wasn't right. She then teleported back down to Silver.

"They aren't up there Silver?" She told him looking nervous.

"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Silver asked now looking terrified out of his mind.

"THEY AREN'T UP THERE! DID YOU SAY YOU DIDN'T SEE THEM LEAVE?" Celestia said now sounding almost extremely hysterical.

Silver was looking scared as hell. He was having the all powerful ruler of Equestria baring over him. He replied nervously "Y-yes. I didn't see them leave." He answered.

Celestia looked concerned about this situation. The guards just disappeared without a trace. Something was seriously not right here.

"I think something has happened to them. They disappeared last night." She told him.

"What do we do?" Silver asked her wanting to help out as best as he can.

"I'm going to contact the Elements of Harmony. I want you to contact Captain Shining Armor and let him know about what has happened." She said sounding intensely scared.

"Yes your majesty." Silver said as he bowed to Celestia, who the teleported away from the area to go and contact Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

*************End Flashback**************

"And then I contacted you, and here we are now." Silver said looking as depressed as ever.

I was shocked when he heard this story. I couldn't believe somepony tricked me and Celestia into not knowing about a fake position change. I had no idea that happened. And how could I not know that happened. Somepony snuck right under our nose and got us. And I'm partly to blame for this.

"Somepony put in a fake position change? How the hell did they do that?" I asked him.

"I don't know. For some reason, they changed there positions, and what happened happened." He said looking scared as hell. I couldn't blame him. He didn't know what happened.

"So, did you talk to any of the guards' other partners after they disappeared? Did they say the same thing?" I asked him.

"Yeah, they said they didn't know either. It's just like me. They didn't know the change was fake. And I didn't either. And now I feel like an idiot for falling for this. It's my fault. I'm sorry that I let this happen Captain. If you wish to fire me for my incompetence, I'll accept it." He said looking like he might let a couple tears.

I put my hoof on his shoulder to comfort him. He blames himself for this. I, along with a lot of other ponies know, it wasn't his fault. There's no way he could have predicted this could happen. If anything, I should have predicted this to happen. I'm the one to blame.

"Hey, don't blame yourself. It isn't your fault. It's mine. I'm the captain. I should have known this could have happened. So don't worry, I won't fire you. Your all good." I told him while smiling.

He then smiled at me. "Thank you Captain. I feel a little bit better." He said to me.

I took my hoof off his shoulder and said "Thanks for the info Silver. You've been a big help. I'll deliver this info to Night Mist, and we'll get them back in no time. I promise." I said as I saluted him. He then saluted me.

"Thank you Sir." He said to me.

He went back to his position as I left to go to Night Mist's apartment to give him the information I had just gotten. I wonder how Twily's doing. I hope she is getting good information from Picture Frame.

******1319 S Leland Street-Twilight Sparkle's Point of View*******

Me and Spike made it to Steel Bar and Picture Frame's house. It looked like a pretty decent house. Kinda small, but looked like a pretty nice place. Sometimes, when I look at houses, it makes me miss the library. Even though the castle is great, I still miss living there.

Anyway, me and Spike went up to the front door and knocked. We waited a couple seconds before a young unicorn stallion answered the door. He looked to be about 24 years old. He had a light brown coat with a reddish brown mane. He was wearing a yellow button down casual shirt. He also had a picture frame for a cutie mark. Hence why that's his name.

As soon as he saw me, he got all nervous and bowed to me. I guess I can understand somepony freaking out when they saw royalty like me and Princess Celestia. But, when somepony bows before me, I just find it kind of annoying. I may be a princess, but I'm still just a regular mare. At least, I feel like one.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle! It is an honor to meet you in person. What can I do for you? Frame a picture you want? I'll gladly do it for you." He said while looking all nervous. He also had a bit of a girlish voice. It was kind of cute.

"At ease Mr. Picture Frame." I said to try and calm him down. It didn't work.

"You know my name? Oh, this is incredible." He said getting all estatic. He must be a fan of me. Not that there's anything wrong that. I love all my fans.

"Yes. And the reason I know is because of the dissapearance of your Colt friend, Steel Bar." I told him. As soon as I said that, he immediately stopped with the excitement and had a look of shock on his face.

"Does that mean you found him? Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay." He said looking worried. I can't say I blame him for being worried. If my Colt friend was missing, I'd be just as worried as this guy.

"We haven't found him yet, but I'm working with Detective Night Mist for this case. I need to ask you some questions about Steel Bar so I can give this information to him. Can you do that for me?" I asked him.

He did look sad that Steel hasn't been found yet. "Yes, absolutely your highness. Please come inside." He said as he guided me in.

"Thank you Picture Frame. And please, just call me Twilight." I said as I followed him in to his home. As me and Spike walked in, we got a good look at the place. It looked a pretty nice and cozy place to live in.

"Nice place you got here." Spike said.

"Thank you Great and Honorable, Spike the Brave and Glorious." He said to him with a smile.

"Aw, just call me Spike." He said.

Me and Spike sat down in the living room. We sat on the couch that was there in front of an HD TV. I need to get me one of those. Then, Picture sat down in the chair next to the couch. He took a deep breath.

"Do you want anything to drink?" He asked us.

"No thanks I'm good." Spike said.

"I'm also good. Now, I'm going to ask about Steel Bar. Do you think your ready?" I asked him.

"Yes. I'll do my best." He answered me. As he answered, he looked very worried. I could tell he was scared out of his mind for Steel Bar. They must be a really good couple. Not to mention cute as well. I then popped out my notepad with my magic to write everything down. I'll need it to give to Night Mist.

"How long have you and Steel Bar been together, and when did you first meet?" I asked him. He blushed a little bit. I could tell he was a bit embarrassed that he was about to tell this story.

"Well, heh heh heh, it's kinda funny you should ask. It was one night about, hmmmmm, 3 years ago. We were both at a coffee shop. I was with my sister Light Flash. We were just going to get a quick coffee together. Well, this guy came in. He was about 20 years old. He looked very handsome. He had just gotten signed as a royal guard. He was with his captain, I think his name was Shining Armor. Well, he then went to the bathroom." He cleared his throat and then continued.

"Light tells me she saw me eyeing him. She tells me to go talk to him after he got out. Oh, and she knew I was gay already. Heck, she knew for years. And, of course, me not being the most socially active pony, I was freaking out and telling her no. Well, a minute later, I get called up to get my coffee. I go up. Get it." Then he blushed again in embarrassment. This must have been the good part.

"Well, clumsy me, I bumped into Steel and got my coffee all over my shirt. We both apologise to each other. He gets some napkins and trys to help me get the stains out. Well, then we looked into each other's eyes, and notice how stupid we both are being. I introduce myself, then he does. Well, my sister offers to get me a new shirt at home. Then she leaves, leaving me alone with Steel. He offers to stay and keep me company. Well, even though I'm pretty much scared outta my mind, I accept. So, for about 30 minutes we sat and talked. Getting to know each other. He was so sweet, charming, very shy. I was surprised by that. Him being a buff royal guard, and was so shy. I liked that. Well, then my sister comes back with a shirt. I go to the bathroom and put it on. Well, then we both have to leave. But before that, he gives me his phone number. Then I give him his. After that, we went on a couple dates, or hangouts as he called them. Then, on another one of those "hangouts", I slip up to him, that I'm gay and I have a huge crush on him. And I thought that he was going to reject me. Guess what happened?" He asked me looking kinda sassy.

"What?" I ask, mimicking his sass.

"He kissed me. He told me he was gay too. And that he's had a crush on me, ever since he met me at the coffee shop. That night, we officially became a couple. And we've been a couple for 3 years. Going on 4 in just 2 months from now." He told me with a shy smile on his face.

"That was a quite a little love story. I'm very happy for you." I told him. Those two must have a great relationship together. And it seems that Picture Frame must really be in love with Steel Bar.

"Oh, thank you. You know, we actually just moved in here together about 4 months ago." He told me. Okay that was something interesting.

"Okay. So, during this time living here, did you notice anything off about Steel? Like, did he act differently than usual?" I asked him. Then he had his head down in sadness.

"No, not until the day before------" He then got a little choked up. He looked a little emotional talking about this. Spike then went over to the counter area in his home, where a tissue box was held. He grabbed it, and then gave it to Picture. He smiled and thanked Spike.

"Not until the day before he disappeared. He told me he was working a new position with two guards named Bronze Shield and Platinum Shine. They were going to be working on the top floor of the castle. And he took his job very serious. So, he never asked questions about a position change. He just accepted it and moved on. Well, he told me that he got it from a form that was in his mailbox at work. Well, from what I heard, Princess Celestia would always announce something to everypony before it went into effect." He said to me as he dried his eyes of his tears.

That was true. Whenever Princess Celestia would want something changed, she would tell everypony in the castle. That is strange. Why would a position change for royal guards be any different?

"So, that was strange. Well, he left to go to work, and told me he loved me. Well, his shift would end at about 5 pm. Well, that time came around, and he didn't come back yet. I waited a couple hours, and he still didn't come back. I was getting worried. But, then I thought maybe he had some extra work to do, and would come home at night. So I went to bed. Woke up the next morning to some pony at my door, telling me------" He got choked up again. He was apparently very struck by what happened to Steel Bar. I'd be too if I was in his position.

He dabbed his eyes, which now had tears in them. I got up from my seat, sat next to him, and hugged him. This guy needed it after everything he's went through.

"He tells me, that Steel, along with Bronze and Platinum, disappeared from the castle last night." He said as he let out more tears of sadness with a couple jobs mixed in. I hugged him tighter. I just wanted to hug all the sadness out if him. Although, I knew it was impossible to do that. He misses the love of his life, and is worried he may either never be found, or, if he is found, he would be found dead. I didn't want to think that he might be dead, but it still could be a possibility.

My hugging must have helped somehow, because he continued to talk to me. I could tell that, even though he's in a weak state right now, this is a strong stallion. Not in muscle, but in heart.

"I'm just so worried about him. I just want to him to come home." He told me with sadness in his voice.

I wanted to spend more time with him to let him know that he's not alone, but I needed to hurry up and get back to Night Mist's apartment. So I'm going to wrap this up. Poor guy. I feel so bad for him.

"Now, before I go, I just want to ask two more questions: 1. Do you have anything that could be, somewhat, of a clue to his dissapearance? And 2. Do you have an idea about anypony who would want to hurt Steel Bar?" I asked him. I hope he does.

He looked a little concerned before he answered me. "Well, I don't have a clue for the dissapearance, but there is somepony who I think might be involved." He said, now looking a little angry.

"Who is it?" I asked him.

"Gear Shift!" He said looking even more angry. Apparently he did not like this guy. Maybe this could be a potential suspect.

"Who's Gear Shift?" I asked him looking curious.

"He's also a royal guard. Him and Steel HATE each other. And I hate him too." He told me.

"Why's that? Did he do something wrong?" I asked.

"If you wanna call him being a homophobic asshole, and calling Steel a fag constantly, then yes." He answered me.

Now this was something.

"Did those two ever get into a fight?" I asked.

"Only once. He got to Steel. Steel may have hit first, but Gear pushed him. And Shining Armor suspended both of them for 3 months without pay. And I guess that pissed off Gear. He's only a royal guard for money, and nothing else. Steel is because he really does love it. He always wanted to be one when he was a Colt he told me." He told me.

"Do you think Gear is the one who did it?" I asked him.

He was silent for a quick second. "I don't know. He might have done it." He answered.

I think that was enough for now. I gotta get these notes back to Night Mist. I hope Shining and him got some good enough information.

"I think that's all for now. Thank you Picture Frame. You've been a big help." I told him as I turned to go the front door.

"Your welcome. Please find him. I miss him." He said looking sad.

I looked back to him and said "Picture Frame, I promise I will find Steel Bar and bring him home to you. You have my word." I told him confidently.

He smiled and said "Thank you for everything Twilight."

"No problem." I said as I left out the door.

I knew now I needed to take this as serious as possible. I made a promise to bring Steel Bar back. And I will keep my promise. Even if it means I lose something in the end.

*********Ponyville Pines Apartment Complex--Night Mist's POV***************

I finally made it back to my apartment. I thought a lot of things on my way back here. But right now, my objective was to interview Meadow Blossom. She had to have had some answers regarding Bronze Shield.

I went up to her apartment door, which was number 54, and I knocked. I waited a couple minutes before somepony answered the door. Now I thought it was going to be a fully grown mare who would answer the door. Instead, it was a little filly who looked to be about 8 years old. She had an orange coat with a light brown mane. She didn't have a cutie mark yet. But that's to be expected. She's just a kid. And when she looked at me, she looked a little intimidated by me. Like she was scared of me. Can't say I blame her. I can come across as a very scary looking stallion. Iknow I'm kind of a freak. I mean I hung out with freaks before I got into law enforcement. I guess when you hang with freaks, you become one yourself. That's the biggest regret I have in life. When I was apart of....those guys. I regret it everyday of my life.

But, this wasn't Meadow Blossom, right? Cause if it is, then I'm gonna have a problem with Bronze Shield.

After a couple seconds of awkward silence, I spoke to her in my usual straight faced expression. "Hello little filly, what's your name?" I asked her.

She looked very nervous as she was talking to me. "I-I-I-I'm Orchid Breeze." She stammered. I was relieved. Now, I didn't have to catch two suspects. But if this wasn't Meadow Blossom, then where is she? Is she still here? Maybe she was this filly's mother.

"That's a nice name. Tell me, Orchid, is your mother home?" I asked her trying to sound nice.

She stammered as she said "Yes. Do you need to talk to her?"

"Yes I do actually. Could you go get her for me?" I asked her

She nodded and went into a random room in her apartment. I heard her call her mother. She must have been doing something. I just hope I didn't catch her at a bad time.

Finally, she came back into the room with a grown up mare. She looked to be about 24 or 25 years old. She had an orange coat like Orchid did and had a darker brown mane. She had a cutie mark of a bag of groceries. This mare must have been a bagger at a super market or something. She looked a little confused and surprised to see me.

"This is the man that wanted to see you Mommy." The filly told her. I was right. This was the filly's mother. And if Meadow Blossom was in a relationship with Bronze Shield, then this must be his daughter as well.

"Okay, well why don't you go to your room and play, while me and this man talk for a bit." She told her.

Orchid smiled and said "Okay Mommy." She said as she went off into the other room. Now, me and the mare were alone, ready for me to ask questions.

"Are you Meadow Blossom?" I asked her.

"Yes. Why do you ask? And why are you here?" She asked me.

"I'm Detective Night Mist. I'm investigating the dissapearance of three royal guards. I heard one of them is your boyfriend Bronze Shield." I told her.

Her expression didn't change. She still had a straight look on her face. Either she was trying to be strong, or, and this is what I'm afraid of, she didn't really care.

"I'll answer any question you want detective. Anything to bring him back to me and Orchid." She said.

"You know, not that it's any of my business, but you look really young to be a mother of an eight year old Miss Blossom." I told her.

She looked a little embarrassed when I said that. She sheepisly rubbed her Ieg with her hoof as she spoke to me. "Me and Bronze had her when I was 16 and when he was about to turn 17. I know it wasn't right for us to have sex at an early age, but it just happened. Please don't judge me."

It didn't matter to me if she was a young mother or not, as long as she cares for, loves, and raises her child in a good way, that's all that matters.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to judge. I'm just here to ask some questions about Bronze Shield." I told her as I levitated out my note pad.

"Of course. Come take a seat Mr. Night Mist." She said guiding me over to a chair to sit down and talk with her.

I had my pen and notepad, and now I was ready to interview her. I just hope I get some good info to find out what happened here. Let's just do it and see.

"So, how long have you and Bronze been together?" I asked her.

"Me and Bronze actually have been a thing ever since middle school. We went to a dance together, had a great time, and after that we started dating. Then we went to high school. Things were great the first two years. Then, during our junior year, one night we met up to just hang out. Well, one thing led to another, and......we wound up having having sex. Then not to long after, I found out I was pregnant with Orchid. I told him. And I thought, kinda like those stupid teen drama films, that he was going to bail on me." She told me as I was writing everything down.

"And, because you two are living together, I take it he didn't abandon you?" I asked her even though I already knew the answer.

"No he didn't. And my parents were so angry at me and him. And his parents weren't to happy either. They wanted us to break up and get an abortion. But, he never abandoned me. He was there all the time for me. He even was there when Orchid was born. Happiest day of our life. And, just for the record detective, me and him never got help from either of our parents. They were the ones who abandoned us. It's because of their ego getting the better of them. We have been raising Orchid by ourselves ever since she was three. After she was born, we lived with his Bronze's uncle Gold Medal. He was the guy who helped raise Orchid with us. He's a good man detective." She said. When she was telling me about her's and Bronze's parents, she sounded spiteful. Frankly, who could blame her? I know what it's like to be abandoned by family. Mine did it to me..................

"Okay, so when did you move to Ponyville with Bronze and Orchid, and when did Bronze become a royal guard?" I asked her.

"Well, that's actually funny detective. Gold Medal, Bronze's uncle, when he was living with us, he offered Bronze a chance to be a royal guard, because he also was a royal guard. He was about to retire soon. So, he thought, if Bronze really wanted to support me and Orchid, maybe he should become a royal guard. And, because of everything Gold did for me and Bronze, he accepted. And he trained him hard and fair. And, ultimately, Bronze did get a spot on the royal guards. That I also thank Shining Armor for. He gave him a huge opportunity. And him and I are so thankful for that." She said to me with a warm hearted smile on her face. I could tell this mare was very thankful for a lot of things that she had been helped with. She had good ponies in her life.

"So, has Bronze ever talked about work when he's at home? Has he ever talked about other guards he doesn't like? Or he thinks that are suspicious?" I asked her. She did look a little annoyed when I asked this.

"He's only talked about one guard. His name is Gear Shift. He works in the same area with Bronze, but they don't work together." She told me.

Gear Shift, huh? This could potentially be a pony of interest for this case. After I'm done studying the documents, I'm gonna have to talk with this Gear Shift. First, I'll need some info on him.

"You mentioned this Gear Shift. Do you know him personally?" I asked her. She then looked a little angry when I mentioned his name. Is this guy really that bad?

"Hell yeah I know him personally. One day, we took a tour of the castle. Me and Orchid. It was just a fun little look around of the castle. Well, Orchid went to the bathroom. And, while I was waiting for her, this guy fucking hit on me, very creepy like I may add, and walked pass me like nothing happened. I reported it to Shining Armor. The guy denied everything he did to me. He acted like I was fucking crazy. You know I'm not, right detective?" She said. She looked incredibly serious when she told me this. Usually, I can tell when somepony is serious or not. And I knew, this mare was telling the truth.

"No, I do believe you ma'am. But, I have to know, if he made you uncomfortable, what happened to him? Did he get fired, suspended, anything?" I asked her.

"He only got suspended for a week without pay. He also got suspended earlier, like 6 months later, because I heard he got into a fight with some other guard named Steel Bar." She told me.

"How did you hear about the fight, and why did this fight happen?" I asked her. This was starting to get good.

"Bronze told me about the fight. As far as how it happened, well Steel Bar is gay. And, I guess Gear is a homophobe. So, from what he told me, Gear called him a fag, Steel took offense to it, and they got into it. They both got suspended, which is bullshit if you ask me. Gear should have been fired." She said looking pretty pissed off. I agree with her. This guy sounds like a dangerous individual.

"Have Bronze and Gear ever had any interactions with each other?" I asked her.

"They did almost get into a fight that time when he hit on me. Thankfully, Captain Shining Armor was there to settle everything down. But, other than that, they haven't had much interaction." She answered.

"Okay, now here's my last question: did Bronze say anything to you before he dissapeared that you thought maybe something might be up?" I asked her.

She had an inquisitive look on her face. "The only thing that was weird was that he got a new position to the top floor of the castle without Princess Celestia saying it to everypony. That was weird, because she always announces new things around the castle to everypony in a big meeting. This time though, she didn't. That's all I can say detective." She told me.

Now that did sound strange. I can imagine Princess Celestia announcing new positions for guards to everypony in the castle so they would immidiately know about the changes. Did somepony fake a position change in Celestia's name? Could be possible. Now I need to look over the documents. My time with Meadow is over.

"Thank you Meadow Blossom. You've been a big help." I told her.

"No problem detective. And hey, get that piece of shit Gear Shift for me okay? And please find Bronze alive. If he's, you know, I don't......" She trailed off looking like she was about to get emotional.

I put my hoof on her shoulder as I spoke to her. "Meadow Blossom, I give you my word I will bring Bronze Shield back home to you alive. I promise."

She smiled and said "Thank you Mr. Night Mist."

I nodded my head and walked out the door. As I left, I went back to my apartment, which was not to far from hers. I went inside and sat at my desk. I put out all the documents and looked over the positions. They all seemed pretty standard. Two or three guards at the North, South, East, and West ends of the castle corridors, in front of the castle, in the back, in the main halls, the usual stuff. I kept looking over, until I saw the top portion of the castle. There were no guards positioned at the top. It was basically just an empty room.

That really hit me. If this was an empty room, why would guards need to be here? Why would they need to guard something that didn't need guarding? It seemed to me like this was a set up. Somepony put in a fake position change to the top floor of the castle, got three guards up there, and, somehow didn't make a sound, and abducted them from the castle with out anypony noticing. I've seen this kind of infiltration before. Could it be.....him?........I don't know. I hoped I'd never see those bastards faces again. Maybe it could be them. I know them better than anypony.

I needed a break. I made myself some dinner to try and relax my brain a little bit. As I did, I kept thinking about the possibility of the culprits being those guys. My former "family" so to speak.

"What the hell could they want with royal guards?" I asked myself out loud.

I knew one of these days I'd eventually come across them again. Only, this time it's on different sides of the law. I just didn't think it could possibly be when I first moved to Ponyville. Now, I can't automatically label them as suspects without evidence or proof, but I still had that thought I the back of my mind.

I ate my dinner and then sat in my chair. I had a feeling Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor would have gotten their information by now. So I expected them to come over here with it once they got it right away. So I'm just gonna wait for them. In the meantime, I'm gonna take a little nap. I'm gonna need all the energy I can to solve this case. I just hope I it ends with everypony being okay. I hope to Celestia everything turns out okay in the end. I then fell asleep, awaiting for another day of solving this case to begin.