To Kill a Princess

Sleuth kicked open the front door of the building and ran up the staircase to his immediate left.

Once he finished his swift ascent he tripped over a broken floorboard knocked the stairwell’s door off of its final hinge. “Dammit!” He floated his revolver out of its holster and used a hole in the wall to hoist himself up. The firing stopped.

He slowly crept down the hallway until he approached the first door to his right, aiming his gun at the lock. “I know you’re in there!”

A series of quick, heavy hoofsteps was suddenly heard to his right, getting louder with every step. Out of instinct, he immediately swung to the stairwell and fired, narrowly missing an ascending orange mare.

“Woah nelly! Yah could’ve killed me!” she yelled.

“Hooves up!” Sleuth yelled back.

Without hesitation, she raised her hooves high in the air, fearing she’ll get shot again.

“Hey… Aren’t you Applejack?” Sleuth asked, lowering his gun slightly.

“Ah sure am,” Applejack stated. “And also, get that gun outta mah face!”

Sleuth swiftly rotated the gun to his left and fired at the door, causing Applejack to jump. “Hey! Remain still, Applejack. As far as I know you could be the criminal.”

“Ah ain’t the criminal!”

Sleuth holstered his gun. “Very well. Being the element of honesty I know you can’t tell a lie… probably.” Applejack was a little surprised by the sudden change in how the detective viewed her. “Well, don’t just stand there! If you wanted to help out so badly you’d risk getting shot, then you can go in first.”

“But what if Ah get shot?” Applejack approached Sleuth, cautiously.

"Exactly my point," he replied.

“But you’re the investigator, so Ah reckon you should go first.”

Sleuth smiled. “Well, there’s no need for either of us to go in first because the room’s empty; All that’s left is a gun and a… something else.” Sleuth stepped through the doorway to get a closer look, and Applejack followed.

“Ah-ah-achoo!” Applejack sneezed. “Hoo boy, it sure is dusty in ‘ere.”

“Hmm, quite,” Sleuth concurred. “There doesn’t seem to be any hoofprints in this dust either, so this gun must have been set up ages ago, but that doesn’t make any sense because the gun is dustless.”

“Maybe a pegasus flew in; that would explain the lack of hoofprints,” Applejack suggested.

“Unlikely, Applejack. You see, if a pegasus where to fly in the dust would be disturbed, but it all seems to be an even coat.” Sleuth picked up the metal contraption wired up to the machine gun. “This looks like some sort of timer.”

“An’ that there gun looks like it belongs in a museum.”

"And this looks like two morons tampering with the evidence!” a voice bellowed from the doorway.

“Oh great, if it isn’t Snowldier, late to the crime, as per usual.” Sleuth rolled his eyes.

“I told you my name is Chief Snow, you fucking moron,” the officer said.

“Hey, I’d advise you watch your Celestia-damned mouth, you oaf; there’s no need for profanity,” he turned to Applejack. “C’mon, Applejack, we’re going! I wouldn’t want to… impede his investigation.”

“Don’t think about checking out any of the other buildings, Detective, we already confiscated all the evidence. And you,” he pointed to Applejack. “I advise you don’t get too friendly with ‘Sleuth’, less you want to make an enemy of the PPD.”

“She won’t make an enemy of the department, she’ll make an enemy of you,” Sleuth turned to Applejack. “If you really want to help solve who tried to kill your best friend, you’re better off working with me, someone who does his job to help ponies.”

“Yah didn’t seem so helpful when you almost shot mah head off,” Applejack muttered as she followed Sleuth to the stairwell.

“You what?!” Snow yelled. “You almost shot another civilian!” He drew his gun and fired into the ceiling, creating a spotlight for the startled detective.

“Perhaps we should go,” Sleuth said before rushing down the stairwell.

Applejack looked back at the angry police chief holstering his gun before following Sleuth down the stairwell. ‘Ah hope Ah made th’ right choice.’

-~-~-~-

Sleuth was storming down to the Town Hall, muttering numerous swear words as he reloaded his revolver.

‘Maybe Ah should help him cool off,’ Applejack though as she ran up to meet him. "Hey, Sleuth?"

"Yes?" Sleuth half yelled as he accidentally spat into Applejack’s face.

"How come ya moved here t’ Ponyville?"

"Job opportunity,” he said flatly.

"C’mon, we's both know that that ain't th’ only reason."

Sleuth quickly pressed his gun into Applejack’s neck. “Because I-” he cut himself off, lowering his gun. Was that a tear in his eye? “I needed a change of scenery; the city was too much,” he said darkly.

Applejack was skeptical about his new answer, but decided to believe him. “So, uhh… what didn’ yah like about the city? Y’know, apart from all th’ snooty folk.”

“The noise, the lights, the people… they were too much. Sometimes the lights were so fucking bright that I wouldn’t rest for days, and the noise, dear Celestia the fucking noise! It was so loud that even the deaf were complaining!”

“Where did ya live?”

“Southern Commercial, just across the street from the industrial district. Below me was a dance club and above me was a strip club.”

“Sounds… gross,” Applejack said. “Well, we’re here at th’ Town Hall, any reason we came back ‘ere?”

Sleuth’s face quickly changed back to his usual, serious expression as he faced Applejack and swiftly procured the timer from underneath his coat. “We need to hide this from the police, and this is where my office is.” Sleuth examined the surrounding area; two ponies were loading large blue bags into the back of a carriage while two officers were busy putting up yellow tape. Three other officers were around, examining the dirt. “I’m gonna go and lock this in my office, you ask around to see where the mayor and the Princess are.” He rushed into the Hall.

Applejack cleared her throat. “Hey, uh, do any of y'all know where I could find Twilight? I want to make sure she’s okay.”

A young officer with a bronze star spoke up. “She was just rushed to the hospital,” he said. “And your other friends safely made it out of the area, if you’re wondering.”

“Thank ya kindly,” Applejack said, tipping her hat slightly.

“Ah, I see you’ve met my friend, Blue,” Sleuth said, startling Applejack. “Did he say where the Princess is?”

“Yes, Twi’s at the hospital right now.”

“Ah, lovely. Come along, Applejack. I need to ask her some questions.” Sleuth took off down the street.

“Other way,” Applejack said.

“Of course, I knew that.”