.......

.......

.......This is gonna be difficult to tell them.

Flashback

"You want to give me a new office in Ponyville?" I asked Princess Celestia. After she teleported me and Twilight over to the Canterlot Castle, the three of us sat down for a little meeting of some sorts.

She wanted to give me a job as a Private Detective for Ponyville. I would stay at the Castle of Friendship with Twilight and her friends. The other Elements of Harmony.

She nodded. "Yes. I heard about how stressed you were with all the bills. And the fact that you were having trouble getting big time cases. So, I can plan to make an arrangement to have an office set up for you at the Castle of Friendship."

"And the police ponies at the Detention Center will help you out whenever you need it. Same with me and my friends." Twilight added.

I cleared my throat before I spoke. "Well, this sounds really nice, Princess. However, I don't think I'll have the money to set up shop. Or keep the bills from getting overdue. Not to mention, there isn't a whole lot that goes down here in Ponyville." I told her.

She chuckled. "Well, you'll never have to worry about payments again. Because all expenses will be paid."

I was stunned. Princess Damn Celestia will pay all the expenses for a new office? I don't think I've EVER heard of her doing something THIS generous for an ordinary pony such as myself. For Twilight, yeah, because she's her student. But me? This is surprising as hell.

"And as far as the cases themselves, it won't just be Ponyville itself you'll be doing cases. Yes, it'll be the main town I expect you to do in, but if there is a case that needs to be solved somewhere in, let's say, Cloudsdale, or Baltimare, or Manehatten, or your home town of New Colt City, or even international places in Equestria, like Yakyakistan, I can give you that case. All I ask from you is to keep doing what you do, and solve these cases to the best of your abilities." She explained to me.

Fuck man. I not only get to have an office in Ponyville, that's is already payed for, but I can, at times, go outside of Ponyville to places I've never been before? The money couldn't line up more perfectly.

But, hold up, there's gotta be something to this.

"Princess Celestia, I can't tell you how amazing this sounds. I get to have a chance to be a traveling detective. And make a lot of money in the process. It sounds amazing to me." I said to her, who was smiling wide now.

"Too amazing almost." She looked confused. "This all sounds like there's a catch to all of this. I'm not trying to sound rude, but I've been in situations like this. And all those times I believed them, something came up later on. So, again no disrespect Princess, but what is the catch to all of this?" I asked her.

Princess Celestia looked over at Twilight, and sighed. "There is one catch." She told me.

Okay, I'm all ears now.

"Twilight told me about your past." She said.

I looked at Twilight with anger in my eyes. The fuck did she do? She looked all guilty like at me.

"Princess, I can--" I started to explain, before she cut me off.

"No need to explain, Shadow. Me and my sister Luna did some research on the night that happened with your mother. Don't worry. I'm not here to punish you, or criticize you. I know that you were protecting your older sister. I still can't believe that a seven year old Colt had to go through something like that. I'm sorry that happened to you. I understand completely why you would suppress everything." She said.

I had my head down in shame. She is right. That is why I try to do that.

"And I won't even get into what happened with Silhouette. It was tragic. That's all I can say." She said.

I still think about her sometimes. I wonder why she did it to this day.

"So, the "catch" is that you see a therapist. All courses will be paid for. I also want you to take Friendship lessons with Twilight. If she is to work with you, I need to know you can count on her friendship to help you whenever you are involved with a case." She said to me.

I had a feeling that something like this was gonna happen. To be fair, my whole family has been telling me for the longest time to see a therapist. To get out and meet ponies. Make some friends. Course, I didn't listen. I just thought all of it was a waste of time.

However, if I want to have this great opportunity, I may as well just suck up everything that I'm being asked to do in exchange for this.

"If you let me do my cases MY way, and give the officers over at the Detention Center some cases as well, I will accept the deal. I'll do your therapy courses and friendship classes." I said to her.

"So, do we have a deal?" Twilight asked, sounding excited.

I stuck my hoof out in front of Celestia. "I'll take your offer, your majesty." I told her as we shook hooves in agreement. This was just what I needed.

So now I have a new detective job in Ponyville. I'm just worried how Mel, and especially Comet are gonna take it. I'm worried they'll think I didn't consider how they felt. But I did. I really did.

It was also hard to tell Angel Blossom this.

Flashback

I managed to get all my shit out of my old apartment. I boxed it all up and went back to Ponyville to move it all into my new home. I let the movers handle my stuff, while I went back to New Colt City to tie up some loose ends.

First, I went over to Angel's house. It was a nice place. I should know. Cause I've been here many times when our relationship was on. When it was off, she'd want me as far away from here. And, of course, I'd listen. Cause, she could, and I used that term loosely, call her squad on me.

Though, I know she'd still want me to be okay. I know her to well.

She answered the door. There she stood. With her beautiful white coat and flowing blonde mane. Her somewhat hypnotizing green eyes. This mare was as beautiful as she was uptight.

When she saw me, she quickly pulled me into a hug. It felt nice. "Shadow! I'm so happy you're okay. I was getting worried about you." She said to me in her concerned tone of voice I've come to know.

"Don't you worry about me. I'm okay." I said to her. She smiled.

"And thank you again for getting me that case. It helped me out a lot." I told her.

She blushed and fidgeted with her hooves again. So cute. "Well, I'm always happy to help somepony I care about." She said.

Her fidgeting stopped when she noticed the look on my face. "Is something wrong?" She asked me.

I sighed and then nodded my head. "Yeah." I said. She stepped outside.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked me.

I paused for a little bit, before I told her everything. "Angel, I got evicted from my apartment."

She gasped. "Oh, Shadow, I'm so sorry. Do you have a place to stay?" She got fidgety and blushy again. "Cause, you can stay with me if you want." She said.

I sighed. Here we go. "Actually, I've already got a place to stay. It's in Ponyville." I said.

She raised an eyebrow. "So, you must've liked it in Ponyville so much, you decided to just stay there?" She jokingly asked me.

I shook my head. "No. I got a new job. Princess Celestia offered me a new office. Where everything will be paid for. I won't have to pay a bit for anything involving it. I'll be staying at the Castle of Friendship with Princess Twilight and her friends." I said.

She looked at me. Her expression looking blank.

"Not even just that, I'm also gonna have a chance to solve cases in other parts of Equestria. Not just Ponyville itself. I'm getting a chance to make really, really great money, Angel. This is a big deal for me." I said to her.

Her head was now down. Oh no. Is she gonna cry again?

"I know it's so sudden, but I needed to make a decision. I didn't want to have to stay with somepony, and be a fucking burden to them. I'm staying with Twilight, yes, but it's still my own place inside her castle." I told her. Her head was still down.

"I'm sorry Angel. But, I did what I have to--" I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence as I was interrupted by her with a kiss. That was surprising.

She looked into my eyes. Tears rolling down her face.

"You're not angry at me?" I asked her.

"How can I be?" Angel replied. "You made a choice, based on your decision. I can't fault you for that. If anything, I'd have been mad if you moved into one of those crappy, run down motels in Bright Town. Where all those prostitutes are. You're moving to one of the nicest towns in Equestria. You're gonna be working with Princess Fucking Twilight. Or, she's gonna be working with you. Huh. I'm a little jealous now." She poured her heart out to me.

I smiled at her now. She was always one of the most understanding mares I've ever known. That's why I've always had a soft spot for her.

Maybe even love her.

"I'm sad your leaving, but I'll always support you Shadow. No matter what." She said. I kinda let out a few tears as well.

"Thank you, Angel. Thank you for everything." I said, as I kissed her one last time.

That was tough to get through. But, I made it. And I'm glad she's doing okay as well. Hopefully, her and I can work together again some day.

And I can tell her just exactly how I feel about her........

But, now I'm heading off to my big sisters house. I'm taking a train there. I'm sitting in the middle train, with Comet's present right next to me.

This is my last official thing I have to do, before I move away. I have a feeling that Mel and Solar are gonna be support me, like how Angel is doing. But, my biggest concern is Comet.

It's his tenth birthday, and I'm gonna have to deliver him bad news that his fucking hero, his uncle, is moving away to Ponyville, and I won't have as much time, as I used to, to talk or hang with him. I have a feeling there might be tears coming ahead on this special day. I still hope not, though.

After I got off the train, I walked up to the house. Where my big sister lives. It was a nice house. Nothing to big, or small. It looked like a decent house where a normal family lived. Normal, huh?

I heard loud music coming from the back yard, where the fence is blocking my view. Even though I couldn't see, I knew that Comet and his little friends from school were dancing to some, pretty awesome music. Mel and Solar must've payed the band a lot of money to perform. That, of it's somepony they know personally who is performing.

I went up to the door, and knocked a few times. I waited for a few seconds, before my own hero showed up at the door to greet me.

My big sister, Melody Rays. She was five years older than me. A unicorn. She had a bright red coat with a black, shoulder length mane. Along with a song note cutie mark to go along with it. She looked happy to see me. As I was with her.

She pulled me into a big hug. "Oh, Shadow. It's so good to see you again, little brother." She said in her kind hearted voice.

"Hey Mel. It's good to see you too." I said to her. I then noticed a particular looking stallion in the kitchen. He was pulling out some cupcakes from the looks of it. Strawberry. Comet's favorite.

This was Solar Storm. Mel's husband of 11 years now. These two have been together, since they were in high school. It was always clear to me and my other "sisters" that these two would end up getting married. And, wouldn't ya know it, they did.

Solar out the cupcakes down on the cooling rack on top of the oven. Then, the pegasus looked over at me. With his blue coat and brown, kinda spiky mane. Along with his planet of Equestria cutie mark. He looked over at me and smiled.

He laughed. "Good to see you again, Shadow. Long time, no talk. How ya been?" He asked.

"Well, other than getting off of a tough murder case, I guess I'm fine. But, I've been better, I guess." I said to him.

He nodded. "Well, that's good." He said.

I looked around the kitchen, which lead into the living room. "Any idea where I can put this?" I said, as I levitated my present, which was in a gift bag, for Comet Chaser.

Mel pointed over toward an empty space between the couch and the chair. That's where I saw all the other presents that Comet will be getting from his friends and his mom and dad.

I nodded and then quickly put it over where all the other ones were.

"So, are you gonna go and say "Hi" to Comet? He's been waiting anxiously for you, ya know." Mel told me.

Well, here comes my other hard thing I have to do now.

"Actually, before I see him, I need to tell you both something. And, it's not easy." I said to them.

This caused Mel and Solar to look concerned for me. "What's wrong, Shadow?" She asked me.

"Yeah." Solar chimed in. "Are you okay?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay. Here's the thing."

After that, I explained everything to them, just like how I did to Angel a little while ago. Celestia, was it hard to get this all out to them? The looks on their faces. They looked genuinely surprised.

"So, are you guys okay? You know, with my decision?" I asked them. I could feel some emotion in my voice as I asked that. This was so fucking hard to do.

Mel got up off the couch and approached me. She looked at me with a bit of a stern look in her eyes. The kind when a parent doesn't have to tell a kid when he's done something bad. He just knows it when you give him that look.

Oh, fuck. Is she mad at me?

My question was answered when she pulled me in for a hug. I was surprised, but thank Celestia she's not angry with me. And it looks like Solar isn't either. Cause he came up, and gave me a nice pat on my shoulder with his hoof.

"I'll always support you, Shadow. I made that promise a long time ago. And I will keep it. All the way to the end." She said to me. "I'm proud of you for making your own choice. Heh. My baby brother is all grown up." She jokingly said.

I chuckled. "Ah, come on, Mel." I said back to her in a joking way.

"Well, I'll support you as well, Shadow. But, I won't lie when I say, I'm really gonna miss you, man. It's gonna be weird without you in good ol' New Colt City." Solar said.

"We're all gonna miss you, Shadow. Good luck. And take care of yourself out there, okay?" Mel said, looking to have a few tears in her eyes.

I have a few as well. "I will. You know, I will." I said, as I brought her into a hug of my own. Which, she accepted.

After I broke the hug, I decided to FINALLY do what I ultimately came here for.

To see my favorite nephew.

I looked outside to see him, and his school friends, dancing outside. Yeah, I love my nephew, but he's not that good a dancer. Not like it's a competition. But, if he was going to enter dance classes, which I don't see, cause he wants to be like me, he'll have a LONG way to go.

I walked outside to the loud music, all of the kids dancing around, when I heard that excitable little voice I know and love.

"UNCLE SHADOW!” I turned and saw my little nephew gliding toward me with his little wings. He was a little Colt with a blue coat and a spiky black mane, along with a bright flashing comet for a cutie mark. He held his little hooves open, as he now welcomed me into a big hug.

Only, since he was coming at me with such excitement and speed, the result was, he knocked me flat on my ass. As I was on the ground, I heard a few laughs from a few of his friends. I guess it was a pretty laughable situation.

He pulled his arms off of me, and stared down at me with a super excited grin on his face. "Hey, Uncle Shadow. I'm so happy you came." He said.

I chuckled again. This time, I ruffled his little mane up. "Heh. Anything for my number one fan. Good to see ya, kiddo." I said.

He laughed and got off of me. He then turned to all of his friends. "Everypony, I'd like you to meet my Uncle. Detective Shadow Haze." He proudly said, as he presented me like I was some kind of reward.

Some of the fillies and colts looked at me with either amazement, casually, or intimidation. I guess I understand that part. I mean, back during the case, I heard some pony call me a demon under their breath.

I put on a smile. “Hello, my little ponies. It feels good to be here. And I’m really happy that my little nephew has a lot of friends.” I said to them.

Comet then stepped in and proceeded to tell a story about how awesome I am. Heh. My little number one fan, alright.

“So, you guys, my Uncle Shadow here, he’s the one who solved that case with that poor Royal Guard in Ponyville. He fought tooth and nail to bring justice to him. And I know that he bagged the big jerk who did it.” He told all of them.

He then turned to me. “Isn’t that right, Uncle Shadow?” He asked all excited like. This caused the others to look at me with interest.

“Well, I don’t know if I should tell you this story, my little ponies. I don’t want to give any of you nightmares.” I said to them. Now they REALLY looked interested.

There was one colt who spoke first. He was Comet’s age. He also was a pegasus. He has an orange coat with a spikey blonde mane.

“I won’t get scared. I’m not afraid of anything.” He said with a type of proudness in his voice.

Then, there was was a unicorn filly. She had a light pink coat with a dark pink mane that went down to her shoulders. She, honestly, looked like Pinkie Pie. Minus the horn and the long mane.

“Yeah. This sounds interesting. I’d like to hear it too.” She said, sounding excited.

Finally, there was another colt, who was just an earth pony. He had a white coat with a clean cut mane that covered one half of his face. My guess, he’s considered “the cool kid”.

He scoffed at me. “I’ll listen, but it’s probably not as interesting or scary as Comet says it is.” He said in a rebellious kind of way.

That caused Comet to look at him all stern like. However, the unicorn filly looked completely fond of him. Hence, the whole bad boy attitude.

Well, if these ponies wanna hear, they wanna hear it.

“Okay. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I said. After I said that, Comet and all of his friends, including the three I just mentioned, sat down in front of me, eagerly awaiting to hear the whole story about everything that went down back in Ponyville.

“Now, lets start where I first got the case.” I said. After that, I explained everything that happened. Granted, I made sure to use different words when describing certain subjects. These foals will learn about them one day. They just don’t need to hear it from me.

After a good 20-25 minutes of telling this story, I was reaching the end where I arrested Rocky. At this point, most of the fillies and colts were at the edge of their seat. Listening on with excitement.

“So, I managed to distract him for a quick second, and that’s when I struck him down with a buck to the face. After I gave him a few punches to the face, I finally subdued him. He’s in prison now as we speak.” I finished my story.

Comet, of course, jumped up for joy and shouted, “Whohoo.” He turned back to all his friends. “Did I tell you guys or what, huh?”

The orange colt jumped up in excitement as well. “That WAS awesome, Mister Shadow.” He exclaimed.

The pink filly spoke next. “Yeah! It sounds like you kicked some flank.” She said.

The white colt, I could tell he didn’t want to admit this, but he did. “Well, I guess it was a great story. Good work, Mister Shadow.” He said in a kind of cool voice.

“Well, thank you my little ponies. As an officer of the law, it’s my job to put my life on the line to save the innocent.” I told every pony.

All of Comet’s friends looked at me in amazement. “Your the greatest, Mister Shadow.” Another one of his friends said.

Then, I heard my sister come outside. “Every pony, the cake is ready.” She said, which resulted in them getting even MORE excited.

They all ran inside to get a piece of cake. I guess I’ll have one as well. Mel’s cooking was always great.

After every pony was given a piece of cake, it was now time for the opening of the presents. The moment of truth for me.

Comet got a few nice things from a few of his friends. One, he got a nice pair of goggles. He could use them during his flying. He was a big Wonderbolt fan, so maybe he can live out that random in a way here.

He also got a few comic books here and there. Thankfully, none of them were the one that I got. His parents got him a few video games. They were said to be really great. Maybe even better than during my time. Hope he likes them.

Okay, now it's my turn.

I levitated over my gift bag to him. "This one's from me, Comet. Hope ya like it." I said to him.

He smiled excitedly again. "Thanks Uncle Shadow." He said as he pulled out the gift paper. He pulls out the comic collection.

The look on his face. It's like he's so surprised, that he can't even speak. Until he finally did.

"U-Uncle Shadow. I-Is this--?" He started asking me with that surprised look on his face.

I nodded. "Yep. Found it in the store at the Crystal Empire. Had to work harder on that case, but it was worth it. Hope you enjoy it, kiddo." I said. I really do.

Then, out if nowhere, he flew over and hugged me again. Though, this time, he didn't knock me on my ass again.

"YOU ARE AWESOME!" He exclaimed. "Thanks Uncle Shadow. I love it." He said as he looked up at me with a smile on his face.

I chuckled and ruffled his little mane. "No problem, kiddo." I said.

About an hour or two later was when the party came to an end. All the guests were leaving. Comet, the little gentlecolt that he is, was walking every pony out, thanking them for coming and wishing them goodnight.

Right now, I was talking with Mel and Solar about when I'm leaving.

"So, you're gonna tell Uncle Dark Moon and Aunt Mystic Shine right? And the others as well?" She asked me.

I nodded. "After I'm done here, I'm gonna go around the city and tell them in person. I don't wanna tell them over the phone." I said.

"Well, that's good." Solar said.

Mel then looked concerned. "But, what are you gonna tell Comet?" She asked.

I sighed. "I'm gonna tell him right now. When he's done with what he's doing." I said.

Solar put his hoof on my shoulder again. "Like I said Shadow, we're really gonna miss you." He said.

"Yeah. Don't forget about us, okay?" Mel said.

I smiled. "Come on you two. I'd never forget about--" I was then interrupted by what appeared to be a gasp.

Oh no.

I turned around and saw the one thing I didn't want to see. Something I was so worried was gonna happen. Something I wanted to avoid.

Comet was standing a few inches away from us. With tears in his eyes. His lip quivering. A few whimpers escaping his throat.

Mel and Solar, obviously saddened by their sons state, looked at him with the most sympathetic look they could ever give.

"Comet." Mel said with compassion in her voice.

But, before any other word was said, Comet ran out the door, and flew away as fast as he could. I could hear him crying a little bit as he flew off.

Oh, that poor kid.

Solar looked like he was gonna fly after him, until Mel stopped him. "Why did you stop me? We gotta go after him." Solar Storm said.

Mel shook her head. "No need to worry. I know EXACTLY where he's going. Plus, we should let him blow off some steam." She said.

I sighed. "Where is he going?" I asked.

I made it to the pond. This was where Mel says Comet likes to go sometimes to be alone. And, low and behold, she was right. I looked over and saw Comet sitting near the pond, crying his poor little eyes out.

I told Mel and Solar to let me handle this one. He needs to hear what I'm about to say from me.

I walked over to Comet and sat next to him. "Hey kiddo." I said. He looked over to me with tears in his eyes. And then looked back down.

I sighed. "Look, Comet, I'm really sorry you had to hear all that." I said to him.

He sniffled a little bit. "You're really leaving? You're moving away?" He asked me with a sob in his voice.

I put my hoof on his shoulder. "Yes. I was in a lot of financial trouble with my apartment. And I got evicted. So, Princess Celestia offered me a job." I explained to him.

He looked surprised. "Princess Celestia?" He asked, kinda in amazement.

I nodded. "Yeah. She offered to help out with all my money troubles. Plus, I'm gonna be in other places to solve cases as well. It's not just Ponyville. This is a big deal for me, buddy. I had to." I said, sounding compassionate myself.

He sniffled again. "So, it's official?" He asked. I nodded my head yes.

"Well, I guess I'm happy for you, Uncle Shadow. I am, really." He said not trying to look even sadder than he is now.

"I-I just didn't think think that it'd be over so fast. I guess I'm just sad about--" He kept talking before I interrupted him.

You know, I look at this kid, and I honestly can see that his mind is made up about wanting to be a detective one day. Just like me. Kinda like how I've made up my mind about moving. Me being in town was helping hold onto a dream. A dream he wants to Chase and achieve. Now that I'm leaving, he may not have that as much.

Fuck. Why not give the kid something to hold onto? I may not like that he wants to be like me, cause my job can be traumatizing. But, it's his dream. So, why the hell not?

"Yeah, kiddo. There's a lot of things that are gonna change now. Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight, the Elements of Harmony, so many ponies are gonna demand my time. So, I won't be here a lot to see you." I said to him, looking at his face that still had tears in them.

He then looked a bit surprised when I gave him a smirk. I ruffled his mane again. "But, do you honestly think that that is gonna be enough for you to get out of being my successor?" I asked him, my confidence rising.

"Successor?" Comet asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm not gonna be a detective when I'm 60. I gotta pass down my knowledge to somepony to keep it going. And who better to pass it down to then my number one fan?" I said.

He got an excited look on his face again. "Really?" He asked out loud.

"You know it." I told him. He then hugged me again. I mean that. When I do have time, I'm gonna give as much knowledge as I can to my nephew. Cause I know he has the heart to follow in my hoof steps.

And I look forward to it already.

So, after a couple more days of saying goodbye to my family, I FINALLY am ready to make the change and move to Ponyville for good.

I got off the train, and who was right there waiting for me?:

Princess Twilight.

"Hello, Twilight." I said.

"Hello, Shadow." She said back. We then started walking over to the Castle of Friendship. I was kinda looking forward to seeing what it looked like.

"So, when am I gonna meet the other Elements, Twilight?" I asked her.

She had a smile on her face. "Oh, you'll be meeting them sooner rather than later." She said. I raised an eyebrow. The way she said it made it look like she was planning something.

Anyway, we made it inside. Though, it was dark as hell in here. This didn't feel like the same building I walked into not too long ago.

"Why are the lights out?" I asked Twilight.

But, before I could get an answer, I was greeted with something I didn't see coming.

" SURPRISE!" I heard a ton of ponies, that I didn't know, yell out as the lights were turned back on. There had to have been about 30 ponies here. After that outburst, I heard some music playing.

"Did ya like it? Did ya like it? Were you surprised, huh?" I suddenly was being questioned by that pink pony I met a little bit ago. Her name was Pinkie Pie. She looked excited to see me. Kinda like Comet.

"Yes, I was surprised." I answered non-chalantly.

She squeeze and ran off to greet other party guests. I heard about the mare's party's before from a few family members of mine.

I walked up to Twilight, who was drinking punch. "Why did Pinkie throw a party for a stranger like me, Twilight?" I asked her.

She giggled. "It's her way of saying "Welcome to Ponyville." And I feel that way too." She said, as she put her hoof on my shoulder.

"Welcome to Ponyville, Detective Shadow Haze." She said with a warm smile on her face.

I was surprised. Literally and figuratively. All the ponies here seem nice, and they do something like this to welcome a new guy. I guess I might as well join the party-goers and have a nice time.

I think I'm gonna like it here.

Author's Note

So, yeah. That's it. It took me a year, but I finally finished my first case in my Noire series. I hope everyone liked this story. If you did, or didn't, let me know in the comment box below. Feel free to like, favorite and follow me as well.

Thank you all and stay tuned for the upcoming Case #2.

Goodnight everybody.