The sitting room was filled with seven equine figures, all of them trying to get comfortable. Sherlock Holmes decided he could not get comfortable. Too many ponies in this small space. This space was usually just for him and Watson, no one else.

On top of that, since surprises came very rarely to him anymore, the fact that the great Sherlock Holmes had been shocked to see the Mane 6 at his door wasn't really welcomed by him. He started to pick up his pipe to help him deal with his stress, but it was tugged out of his grip by the telekinetic power of a unicorn. He let it go, having already predicted Watson wouldn't let him smoke in the presence of all these mares.

He gave a light huff before fixing all of the ponies in his home in his gaze. "Let me guess. Something about the legendary Rainbow Dash?"

The moment he saw Pinkie Pie's ears shoot straight up and her pretty blue eyes light up, the detective was on the move. He had managed to back up about half a horse length before the pink earth pony was bouncing right up in his face. The detective had been told that he himself did not know, nor respect in response, the boundaries of personal space, sometimes standing too close and making others uncomfortable. But he never quite went as far as jumping up and down in someone's face, speaking as loudly and as fast as they possibly could.

"How did you know that?! Did you use your own kind of Pinkie Sense?! I didn't see any twitching! What can you tell us about Dashie?! I'm so worried! She didn't eve-"

"Pinkie, give the Sherlock some space. Can't you see you're making him uncomfortable?" Princess Twilight Sparkle said with a little shake of her head. She was clearly amused by her friend's behavior.

Holmes, on the other hoof, was not amused. His teeth were bared and his blue eyes had shrunk. He leaned away from Pinkie, wanting his personal space back. Once the exuberant pony backed up with a chirped "sorry", the great pony detective took a deep breath and relaxed.

Watson gently touched his shoulder to check to make sure he was actually alright. But the doctor's eyes portrayed the message of "how does it feel, hmm?"

Holmes shrugged Watson off before settling his gaze on the mares again, regaining his usual, confident frame. Of course, they'd seen the side of the detective that was often hidden from stranger's eyes. "So, when did she go missing?"

The Princess Twilight Sparkle trotted forward to give her explanation of things. "About three or four days ago. Usually, we wouldn't worry. Rainbow Dash has numerous jobs that sometimes takes her away to Cloudsdale. But she's usually back in two to three days."

"AND..." screeched Pinkie Pie, "She hasn't sent me a postcard or letter! She pinkie promised that she would! She always does! Dashie never goes back on her pinkie promises!"

"Please remain calm, Miss Pinkie," Watson stated. He looked to his dark gray earth pony friend and saw Holmes's blue eyes clouded with thought.

"Dear Watson, when did those bodies first appear?" Holmes inquired, which in turn, earned a gasp from the group of mares before him.

"Bodies?" The white unicorn gasped almost theatrically. She fainted in right in front of the detective, but he just watched her fall, his attention momentarily directed at her and distracting him from all other thoughts. Fluttershy was quickly at her friend's side to help her back to her hooves when she had regained consciousness. Rarity was unimpressed that the Sherlock hadn't even tried to catch her.

Holmes took a moment to regain his train of thought, and recall the unicorn's name, which both took about three seconds each."Yes, bodies, Miss Rarity. We started finding murder victims right around the time you said Rainbow Dash left."

Applejack pushed her way forward, one eyebrow raised at the great pony detective. "I hope ya ain't tellin' us that Rainbow is one of them victims, are ya?"

"Oh, no, no, no. There's just a possibility that they are connected."

"How so?" Twilight Sparkle spoke once more.

"They're all pegasi foals, Princess. All of them incapable of flying ever in their lifetime," Holmes replied. He turned to Watson once more. "I ask once more, my dear Watson. When did the bodies start showing up?"

The doctor did not get to answer, for Pinkie Pie was bouncing at the detective once again. "Pegasi who failed to fly?! Dashie told me a story like this!"

"Um... very good, but we haven't the time for stories," the Sherlock stated.

"But it might help! Maybe it's a true story!" Pinkie exclaimed before taking a breath. Holmes's eyebrows raised as he prepared himself for another long, rapidly spoken, rant.

However, Twilight seemed to instantly know what Pinkie was taking such a deep breath for. "Pinkie, we don't have time for-"

The bright pink pony burst into song, and a little dance, and Holmes was surprised for the second time that day. It was horrible! But Watson made him listen, holding him back from fleeing the area as Pinkie Pie sang her song, ignoring any attempts to stop her.

"Deep in the pages of history
Lies a shadow hiding in a mystery
A late night story buried far away
Until it once again sees the light of day."

Pinkie Pie hopped closer to the detective, eyes shining as she continued.

"And when the little colts and fillies turn out all lights
And tell a story of a factory as black as night
The luxury of rainbows comes at a price
Just ignore the screams, and don't think twice."

She flashed a grin, trying to appear somewhat scary, but Sherlock merely rolled his eyes. He had flattened his ears to his head to try and block out the sounds of her singing.

"You've proven to yourself and to all of us
That you're not fit to fly like a Pegasus
You don't even deserve those wings you bear
When you stand beside a legend, you don't even compare
All of the failures help to fuel success
In the bloody and visceral weather game of Chess
And just because you've disappointed you'll pay the price
Now accept your fate and die in the Pegasus Device.

"Phantom screams echo through the ruined facility
A horrible silence builds an eerie tranquility
The souls of many innocent fill the air
And the hope that they all died was scattered here and there."

Pinkie took a deep breath and Sherlock went to interject. But the exuberant pink pony started up again, a bit louder this time.

"A mighty machine built within the wake
Of a long dead dream, little demon awake
The citizens sleep, never quite knowing when
The device will reawaken, hungry again.

You've proven to yourself and to all of us
That you're not fit to-"

"Yes, Miss Pinkie, I think we get it now!" Holmes exclaimed. As much as he had disliked having a live concert right in front of him, the song put light onto the case at hoof. "And you were quite right, it is very helpful."

"It was?" All of the other ponies, except Pinkie Pie, asked with a frown. The pink earth pony brightened and declared, "I knew it would be!"

Holmes started shooing the mares gathered in his home towards the door. "I will take on your case. I have a feeling I can solve both cases at the same time."

The Mane Six left, grumbling about the rude dismissal. Twilight turned to the detective before leaving. "Sherlock, could you at least tell us what sort of lead Pinkie gave you?"

"Well, isn't simple? The factory as black as night? Luxury of rainbows come at a price?" Holmes asked with a light frown. Surely this bookworm of a princess had heard of the infamous pegasus legend. He'd never heard that song before, but he had definitely been on camping trips in his youth where the pegasi children would be telling this story around the campfire. He assumed someone had written a book as well.

Twilight Sparkle gave a confused shake of the head. "Um.... no, it's not simple, nor is it obvious. What is your lead?"

Sherlock Holmes huffed and gently pawed at his floor. "I shan't worry you with it then. You won't even know what it is. Please, Princess, I'll contact you when I have found something of the utmost importance to you. Other than that, I'm afraid I need some time to think."

It was Twilight's turn to huff, but she gave a nod and turned away. Holmes watched the mares trot off down the road. He could tell by their trajectory they were going to be paying the sun and moon a visit. Holmes backed up into his house and slammed the door. "From now on, I think I'll have clients send a letter first!"

Watson was looking out the window. He jumped when the door was slammed and looked over at Holmes with wide eyes. "Come now, there was no need to speak in such a manner. There's no need to be that way now either."

Holmes snorted with derision, but said nothing. He watched as Watson looked out the window once again. "What has your attention outside, my dear Watson?"

"Well, after a rainstorm, we usually get a beautiful rainbow-"

"Not again with rainbows. Seriously Watson, you're a grown stallion. Yes, we get rainbows after rain, but we also get them at other times. Why stare at the sky at an arc of colors in the sky when we can be solving crime? Don't be a bore."

"But there aren't any rainbows in the sky right now."

Holmes threw open his door again and stepped outside. He squinted up at the sky and saw that his dear doctor friend was correct. He looked at Watson grimly. "It seems the Rainbow Factory decided there will be no rainbows today."

Author's Note

I do not own the song Pegasus Device. That credit goes to Slyphstorm.