Zipporwhill P.I. and the Show Stopper

Chapters

The Job
Let The Show Begin
Cool Off and Recover
Dirty Low Blow
No Time to Lose
Captured
Come One Come All
Shadow to the Light

The Job

Zipporwhill sat at her office desk, staring out the open window. There was not enough space for a proper breeze to blow in, but she could still feel the cool air, and smell the ocean as it blew in from the harbor. The radio was on, broadcasting a cloudball game between a team of griffons and a team of hippogriffs, but she was not really listening to it. It was more just for some background noise than actual interest in sports.

Most of her attention was focused on the latest bit of graffiti. Under one hoof, it was nice to look at something other than the dirty red bricks of the neighboring wall, and the artist was very talented, especially since they were able to do it in a single night. Under the other, however, while she was not familiar with the mare portrayed, Zipporwhill was fairly certain that said mare's backside was nowhere near as proportionally large as portrayed, and the artist had been very explicit in their detail work.

From his pet bed in the corner, her dog, Shadow, lifted his head. His eyes focused on the door, staring at it, as his ears perked forward.

With a flap of one wing, Zipporwhill sent her chair spinning. The mare shut the blinds, turned off the radio, and grabbed her fedora before coming to a stop. Leaning back in the chair, she placed her back hooves up on the desk, and placed the hat on her head, glasses peaking out from just under the brim.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and in walked a zebra mare. Except this zebra was different from any other that Zipporwhill had seen before, which, admittedly, was extremely limited. Her stripes were not the typical black that most zebras had, but more of a light golden color. From her long, stylized mane to her hooves, and from the tips of her lips to the end of her tail, stripes of gold streaked through the white coat. One long ear gave a flick, black studs glistening in the light.

"Are you Zipporwhill?" she asked, looking at the pegasus through blue tinted lenses.

"Yes, ma'am," Zipporwhill confirmed. With one of her pinions, she lifted the brim of her hat, revealing her grass green eyes. "And you are?"

The zebra mare ran a hoof down the front of her blouse before stepping further into her room. The lines which made up the her cutie mark, a stylized tree of some sort, were of the same golden color.

"My name is Zerrin," she announced as she approached. "I am the owner of Gold Sugar Soda Company." Reaching the chair, she sat down.

"You mean those fizzy, sugary drinks in the bottles?" Zipporwhill asked. It had been something that she had discovered when she first arrived in town, looking for a place to live and set up office. Small glass bottles of liquid kept on ice. They were really sweet, and the bubbles made the tongue tingle. Very popular, especially with the tourists. Quite a variety of flavors too. She had tried a few of them herself.

A tingle of excitement suddenly shot through the pegasus as a thought occurred to her. If the owner of a big company was here, that could only mean one thing: industrial espionage.

"Worried a rival company is going to steal your formulas?" she asked, leaning forward. "Need a pony to make sure none of your employees are corporate spies?" She tried to hide her excitement, but could feel her wings twitching at her side. Not only was the possibility exciting, but it could be a massive step forward in her career.

"No," Zerrin stated, dashing the excitement with a single word. "I have taken some measures to protect our recipes, of course, but considering that I am only selling in Baltimare, I doubt other beverage companies are going to see me as much of a threat at this time." She then leaned forward and lowered her glasses, revealing her red eyes. "Which brings me to a more immediate issue, and the reason I'm here."

"Oh?' Zipporwhill said. Moving, she sat up properly and leaned over her desk, giving the zebra mare her full attention.

"For a while, I've been getting menacing letters. 'Shut down the business,' 'stop making sodas,' 'go back to your homeland,' things like that. No threats of violence or such, and there have been no attempts at sabotage. As such, it is not a very high priority to the police, and I normally don't take them seriously myself.

"Have you heard of the upcoming Baltimare Trained Animal Show?"

Zipporwhill nodded. She had heard about it quite a bit. Although, it was more a competition than a just a show. Creatures would be showing up with their pets, performing tricks for the audience to show off how intelligent, skilled, and well trained they were. There would be judges, and the best would get awards of some kind.

"Well, I am the one sponsoring the event," Zerrin announced.

"And providing refreshments," Zipporwhill suddenly blurted out. Her eyes narrowed as she smirked. "Hundreds of creatures from all around Equestria, some of which will be very wealthy, all in one place, trying out your soda."

"Precisely," the zebra confirmed with a smile. She leaned back, smile growing wider. "I was even able to get Former Princess Celestia as one of the judges. If I can get her to like my product, not only will I be able to expand distribution to Silver Shoals, but quite a few others will be interested as well."

That was impressive, and pretty much true. Although she had given up the throne and title of princess years ago, Celestia had been a part of ponies' lives and their leader for generations. As such, she still had quite a lot of public influence, whether she liked it or not. There were articles in the newspaper about what she was up to, and during her last visit to Ponyville -- the adoptive home of the current ruling princess, Twilight Sparkle -- there were still ponies and others that were watching and talking about what the former ruler was currently doing.

Which suddenly made something occur to Zipporwhill.

"Doesn't that mean you're a threat to the tea industry, then?"

That got a snort and eye roll.

"I sincerely doubt anyone is going to drink soda first thing in the morning, or on particularly cold winter nights," Zerrin stated, "and I doubt they are planning on making a type of tea to drink cold." She gave another snort. "Who would even want that?"

With a sigh, she leaned back into her chair.

"Still, this is a very important event for me. I need it to go as perfectly as possible." Her eyes narrowed as she turned serious. "Which means I need to take all the precautions I can. That includes the possibility that whomever sent the letters shall attempt to sabotage the show, publicly humiliating me, and thus ruining my chances of expansion."

"Uh-huh," Zipporwhill said. She leaned back in her seat, thinking about what all she had been told. "And... am I going under cover as a contestant, or working openly as security?"

"Open," was the reply. "I would very much prefer if we could discourage any attempts to cause trouble to begin with rather than catch someone in the act."

That got a nod as she considered it all. Basically, it would simply be a single day of security work, that may or may not have something happen during. She would have to stay vigilant, just in case. Perhaps go in early in order to check things over before contestants and spectators arrive.

Bonus, it means that she would get to spend the entire day around animals. And get paid for it. Even if nothing happens.

Still, she could not show too much excitement.

Zipporwhill turned toward Shadow, who had been watching the entire conversation from his bed in the corner.

"What do you think?"

The dog shifted his forelegs, his tail thumping against the wall as it wagged excitedly.

With a nod, Zipporwhill returned her attention to Zerrin.

"Alright, we'll take the job."

Let The Show Begin

The crowd... was likely not as large as Zerrin had been hoping. Zipporwhill did not do an exact count, but there were a lot of empty seats noticeable. It was definitely less than one-fourth, but she could not figure it out any more accurately beyond that.

Still, if the lack of attendance bothered Zerrin, she certainly did not show it. The zebra mare was smiling as she took her position for all to see. Her voice was cheery and upbeat as she greeted the crowd, thanked them all for coming, introduced the judges (which led to a pause as cheers went up for the former princess), and finally, began the competition.

The first entry was a changeling and a dog (which was an actual dog). The performance was pretty basic, with the dog going through the commands of sit, lay down, roll over, and sit up, before finally jumping through a hoop. Decent for someone with their first pet, but nothing very impressive when it came to trained animals.

The next entry was unique, and as far as Zipporwhill was concerned, creepy. A female hippogriff rode into the performance area on a surfboard... carried by crabs. Dozens of spidery, dark legs, all crawling in the same directions. They were the kind that walked sideways, so they were able to carry the board while facing outwards. Beady black eyes glistening in the light, staring out from under the board in every direction. That also meant that their claws were facing out as well, ready to snap and pinch at anything that came within reach. Like a pony's cannon. Or a curious little filly's nose.

Just as the competition seemed to be hitting its rhythm, when everything suddenly turned very noisy. Deafeningly so. The dogs howled and barked. Cats yowled and hissed. Birds screeched and squawked, flapping wings. Some of them even took off, flying up into the rafters.

Shadow started barking as well.

"What is it?" Zipporwhill asked, turning her attention to her dog. "What's going on? Do you know what's--"

Before she could ask the question, the pegasus learned two things that were important.

First, that someone had brought a Shocking Mungtooth to the competition: a creature that, when agitated, created electrical storms around its body.

Second, whatever was causing the agitation was affecting it as well.

A coat raising charge to the air and a shout of "Watts! No!" was all the warning that anyone got before it happened. Bolts of electricity shot up and out in every direction, in blue and yellow. The hum and crackled of the energy filled the air, but was quickly drowned out by the yelps and screams of the other surprised sapients. Some dropped to the ground, bringing forelimbs up and over their heads. Others jumped up into the air, taking flight. A few even managed to do quite well despite not having wings.

Zipporwhill took off, flying up into the air. There was nothing she could do to stop the mungtooth, but it looked like its owner -- a blue pegasus colt with red and white hair -- was already trying to calm it down. With Baltimare being a port city, storms were pretty common, with rain or snow, wind, and lightning. As such, the buildings had to be constructed to withstand any and all of the conditions. There was nothing Zipporwhill could do about the electrical discharges herself, so she had to hope that it could be absorbed by the structure and discharged into the ground harmlessly. As it was, no one seemed hurt.

That meant there was only one thing for her to focus on: finding what made the animals excited. Her first guess was that it must be some sort of sound ponies could not hear. Something like a dog whistle.

She took off, heading into the main area and up toward the rafters. It was the best place to start. From there, whoever was responsible would be able to see all of the trouble their actions were causing, but be at no risk of being caught up in it somehow.

As she had been hoping, there was a figure standing on the walkways. It was dressed in a cloak, hiding most of its form, but stood as a quadruped. Flying in closer, Zipporwhill could make out that the legs mostly ended going straight down, and that one was holding something up to where the mouth must have been.

Zipporwhill wished she had some sort of throwing weapon, like a ninja-pony, or Mistress Mare-velous. Then she could just throw one at the robed figure and knock the flute away from their mouth. Maybe even get extra fortunate, and manage to either destroy the instrument, or injure the leg so the suspect would not get away.

"STOP!" she cried out as landed on the walkway. "Drop the instrument and keep your hooves where I can see them."

Instead of complying, the cloaked figure reared up, slipping the flute under the garment. It then pulled something else out and threw it at Zipporwhill. The pegasus only had time to brace herself and bring her wings up in front of her. She felt something hit her wing and break apart. A cloud of red engulfed her. She felt her eyes, nostrils, and throat start to burn.

Coughing, eyes watering, Zipporwhill felt a desperate need to get away. To escape whatever was attacking her.

Zipporwhill leapt over the railing and into the air. Her wings gave a flap to get the stinging powder off before holding open in a glide. Eyes burning too much to see, she had to trust her pegasus instincts. There was nowhere near enough space to fly down straight, so she had to circle. But how much space did she have, and how far was the ground?

A tingle of magic flowed across her body, encompassing her.

"It's alright," a familiar feminine voice said. "I have you now."

Zipporwhill relaxed a little out the sound. Not only was she safe, but she had been saved by Princess Celestia herself.

Cool Off and Recover

In the little medical room, Zipporwhill sat on an exam table. The doctor, a pink mare named Heart Throb, shined a light into her eyes, nose, throat, and ears even though the last part was not bothering her.

"And it was a red powder which did this to you?" the doctor asked.

Zipporwhill nodded slightly in response. She had tried to talk when she first arrived, but whatever had been used had irritated her throat, and she ended up coughing instead. Fortunately, Celestia had been able to explain what had happened before returning to the judge's booth.

The pink blob leaned forward, and Zipporwhill felt a tongue slide up along the front of her snout. There was then a smacking of lips, like someone was tasting something.

Had... had the doctor just licked her? Why?

"Are you allergic to chocolate, or lactose intolerant?"

Zipporwhill could only give a shake of her head dumbly. What in Equestria was going on? One moment, she was being examined like normal, the next, she was being licked, and now she was being asked about possible food allergies? Was this real? Was Heart Throb even a real doctor?

Said "doctor" disappeared from view.

"Go down to the concession and bring back a chocolate shake," she ordered, voice indicating that she was moving around the room.

Some seconds later, she returned.

"Tilt your head back and open your eyes wide. Try not to blink."

Zipporwhill did as she was told. She watched as something was brought up to her eye, and did her best not to blink or pull away. A cool liquid dripped into her eye, followed by a second, and then repeated with the other eye. There was a fresh burning sensation that made her blink, then quickly faded.

"Capsaicin," Doctor Heart Throb stated. "You can put your glasses back on now. It's what causes spicy peppers and such to make your mouth burn when you eat them."

As Zipporwhill put her glasses on, a tissue was passed to her.

"For your nose."

She took it and started blowing as the doctor continued talking.

"When it comes in contact with membrane tissue, such as the nostrils, around the eyes, or certain parts of the throat, it can create similar burning sensations. Fortunately, there's no known permanent or long term effects to such an exposure. So once the sensation has passed, you should be fine."

The door opened as another pony came in, carrying a milkshake.

"I unfortunately can't do anything directly about your sinuses. You'll just have to let your body flush it out naturally."

Heart Throb took the shake with a wing and passed it to Zipporwhill.

"Drink this," she ordered. "Slowly. Let it cover as much surface area of your mouth as it can before swallowing."

Taking the offered shake, Zipporwhill took a long, slow, drink, letting the thick, chocolaty liquid fill her mouth. Everywhere the beverage touched felt cooler. Not simply making her mouth colder, although it was, but also like someone had put a soothing lotion on a burning rash. The burning sensation did not vanish completely right away, but it did become a lot weaker, a lot more tolerable.

Tilting her head back, she let the shake rest in the back of her throat before swallowing.

"I would suggest that you go home and take a shower immediately," Doctor Heart Throb said, "but I doubt that you're going to."

"The creature responsible is still out there," Zipporwhill replied. Her voice was on the raspy side, and throat still felt tender, but she was able to talk again.

She took another long, slow swallow of her drink.

The doctor let out a snort of annoyance, pink wings flickering against her side. She rolled her eyes and gave a shake of her head.

"Well, there's nothing else that I can do. You're free to go when you're ready."

After taking one last long, slow swallow of the shake, Zipporwhill set it aside and hopped off the exam table.

"Thank you for your help, Doctor," she said as she started for the door.

Outside the room, she found Shadow waiting. The dog sat up as she came out, tail thumping against the wall with excitement. Zipporwhill reached out to pet him.

Just before she could touch him when Shadow started snorting, then shaking his head, followed by pawing at his snout.

Zipporwhill stopped, watching. She recognized the behavior. It meant that something was bothering the dog's nose. But he had been fine just...

The powder! She still had the powder all over her.

Turning around, Zipporwhill grabbed the door and pulled it back open.

"Doctor?" she called out. "What would happen if that stuff was used on animals?"

Heart Throb turned to look at her, brow furrowing as she thought.

"Well, I'm not a veterinarian," she said, "and with so many pets, I doubt the reaction would be universal." She let out a hum as she rubbed here chin. "But all the mammals are certainly vulnerable. The area in their nostrils and around the eyes are similar enough to ponies that it would affect them the same." Her brow furrowed. "Maybe more so since they are more sensitive?"

A frightening image formed in Zipporwhill's mind. The powder released throughout the entire building. Creatures and animals all throughout the building suddenly finding their eyes, noses and throats burning. There would be confusion. Panic. Fear. Some of the animals would lash out, possibly attacking anything that came near, even if it was some creature it knew and intended to help.

And if there was even one of any number of dangerous animals around, lives would be at risk.

"One more question. Do you know if this place has a ventilation system?"

Dirty Low Blow

HVAC: Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning. Zipporwhill had never really been interested in architecture or most technology. She much preferred being outside, playing with the animals that she could. Besides, HVAC systems were not really a thing in Ponyville. When it came to heat, most places had fireplaces built in that they could use and snuggle up by. As for ventilation or air-conditioning, normally they would just open a window, and maybe turn on a fan.

So when a teenage Zipporwhill took a trip to Manehattan with her parents and got to stay in a big fancy hotel, she had been quite confused, and then curious, when she discovered... The Thermostat! With the single turn of a knob, she could make it as warm or as cool as she wanted.

Admittedly, she had gone overboard with it. One night, she turned the heat up until it was practically a sauna. The next, turned up the air conditioner until she could see her breath.

As it turned out, nearly all the buildings in Manehattan had some sort of HVAC or other.

A few years later, when Zipporwhill moved to Baltimare, she learned that many of their larger buildings had them as well. Unfortunately, it turned out neither her office nor her apartment had either air conditioning or central heating. This in turn led to her to learn about window units air conditioners and space heaters, which she was saving up for.

Although most of that was not immediately relevant.

It took some searching, but she was able to find someone that was able to tell her that, yes, The Baltimare Civic Center did indeed have a ventilation system built into it. After further searching, Zipporwhill managed to find someone who knew where it was and how to get there. One who knew the ins and out and every inch of the center.

The janitor.

The janitor was a zebra mare, whose normally black stripes were a silver color, just barely darker than the white of her coat. She was dressed in a short-sleeve, button-up work shirt and a cap, both in a dark blue color. She also was not very talkative, giving little more than grunts with slight nods in response to Zipporwhill's questions. Still, the mare had been nice enough to agree to show where the main ventilation unit was.

The two walked in silence, making their way through some of the less used portions of the building, Shadow following alongside Zipporwhill. The pegasus detective looked around, studying the area as she walked through it again. She had definitely been through this part before, and thought she had looked over everything. Even if she had not, the center's security team should have as well, and they definitely knew about the HVAC unit. Which means either they all missed something, or the suspect had done something after they had looked. In either case, it made her want to double-check everything, make sure there was no detail that she missed this time.

Reaching an industrial door, the janitor pulled it open, motioning for Zipporwhill to go ahead. With a smile and a nod, she entered the room.

Which turned out to be a broom closet.

The realization as she stared at shelves did not fully sink in by the time the door slammed shut behind her. Even as she heard an audible click, Zipporwhill turned and threw herself at the door. She grabbed at the knob, twisting it and giving the door a hard shove.

Locked.

And her without any lock-picks. Although, in truth that did not really mattered. Zipporwhill had never learned to pick a lock to begin with. She was going to be a good, legal, private investigator. No sneaking into suspects' homes or breaking into cabinets to steal files. Why would she need to know how to pick a lock?

Turns out at least one reason would be in case someone locked you in a broom closet.

From the other side, she could hear barking and snarling. After a second, it was replaced by whimpers and sounds of scratching at the door.

"Shadow!" Zipporwhill called out. "Shadow, can you hear me?"

Shadow gave two barks in response.

"I need you to go get help," Zipporwhill shouted. "Understand? Go. Get. Help."

There were two more barks, and then silence. She had to assume that he had listen, and was going to get help. All she had to do was wait, and sooner or later, someone would let her out.

However, Zipprorwhill was not one to just wait around. Especially since she had work to do.

With a flap of her wings, she took up, making her way toward the ceiling and trying to find a way to escape. If she was lucky, she would find a way to escape, meet up with Shadow and the rescue team, lead them to the main air ventilation system control, and capture the culprit in the process, before she could set off whatever she was planning.

Hopefully, whether she escaped herself or was freed, it would be before she had to use the bathroom.

No Time to Lose

Things were not going how Zipporwhill had hoped. The good news was that she had found a map of the center, and it let her know where the central air control system was. The bad news was that she had not managed to escape the closet and race there, stopping the criminal. Further good news, Zipporwhill discovered that The Baltimare Civic Center had a sprinkler system installed. Further bad news, however, was the fact that she had damaged one of the pipes, causing water to pour into the room.

Whether the fact the door was holding the water in was good or bad seemed up to debate, but she was not happy about it at the moment.

"Zipporwhill?" someone called out. "Are you in there?"

The voice sounded familiar, but was hard to place. More so since it was distorted by the walls and door of the room, and probably the water as well.

"Yeah," Zipporwhill called back. "Can you get me out of here?"

No response came immediately. Hopefully it was because there was more than one creature out there, and they were coming up with the fast way to get her out.

"Move away from the door," ordered another voice.

Shifting, Zipporwhill looked at her spot, up on the topmost shelf, pressed against the far wall.

"That's... not really an issue!" she announced.

A golden aura slid around the door, encompassing it. There was a groan of metal and wood straining. Then...

Well...

It was hard to tell exactly what happened from her position. Either the spellcaster ripped the door out completely, and the water started pouring out, or she (the voice was definitely female) had loosened it, and the pressure threw the door the rest of the way off as it escaped. Whichever was the case, the door was open, and the water was dropping fast.

Hopefully no one got caught up in the wave and washed away or something.

Once most of the water had poured out, Zipporwhill launched herself from the shelf and flew through the opening. Not far away stood Celestia, Zerrin and Shadow. Celestia's golden magic still encompassed the former door, holding it in front of the group lengthwise, redirecting the water away from them.

"Thanks," Zipporwhill said as she flew toward them. "And sorry about... uhm..." A small cough escaped her as she motioned at the water with one hoof. "...that..." Straightening up, she turned her full attention to them. "But I think I know where the suspect is, and what she is going to do. If we hurry, we might just be able to catch them in the act, and stop them."

The pegasus took off, making her way through the halls and toward the HVAC room. She flew as fast as she dared, wanting to get there as soon as she could, but not wanting to leave the others behind either. Although, in truth, a part of her was tempted. The suspect had escaped her twice already, and while the first had been more public, the second was more embarrassing professionally. As such, Zipporwhill really wanted to stop the mare.

Except she had already been outwitted twice, and this could be her last chance. If Zipporwhill failed to catch the suspect altogether, it would be quite a mark on her barely existent record. She could probably come back from it, eventually, but would take months or years to do so. Years of following spouses accused of cheating, of finding debtors who do not really want to be found, or -- worst of all -- having some rich pony who misplaced something in their drunken stupor hire her to investigate "the help" for "stealing" it.

The group reached a set of steel double-doors. It would be a great moment for Zipporwhill to speed up and slam into the doors, throwing them open to dramatically reveal her and the others. It could even surprise the suspect, catching her off-guard, and giving the group the opportunity to take her right quickly. To stop the whole plot.

Too bad the doors opened in the wrong direction. Which meant that flying into it would do nothing but hurt.

Zipporwhill came to a stop, landing in front of the double doors and waiting for the others to catch up. As they gathered, she reached out, gripped the handles, and pulled the doors open.

Inside was what must have been the HVAC system and control. It was like nothing that she had seen before. A massive metal device, with gauges, knobs, and switches on the front of it. A large square duct rose up from the top, splitting off into two more before disappearing into the ceiling.

There were no other creatures in the room, zebra in janitor clothes or not.

With Zipporwhill in the lead, the small group made their way into the room. Ears were perked up and twitching, trying to catch any sounds. Eyes moved back and forth, scanning the room for anything that stuck out or did not look like it belonged.

"I could have sworn she would be here," Zipporwhill whispered. it had not been a conscious choice, there was just something about the room that made it seem like she should not be too loud. On silent hooves, she walked further into the room, making her way toward the right and around the machine.

Just as she was about to ask if any of them saw anything odd, something caught her eye. Something attached to the backside of the machine.

On closer inspection, the object looked to be based on a sand timer of some sort. The thing could not accurately be called a "sand timer" as it did not have sand, but some sort of liquid. Not water. It was too thick, and poured too slowly for that. Something more along the lines of honey, but green. The framework was made of wood, with the supports made to look like trees where the roots and branches could not be told apart. A ring of gold had been built into the glass, not far from where it started to bell outwards, and gold wires were wrapped around the lower one. Said wires spread out from the timer, slipping into the metal of the control system before disappearing from sight.

"I found something," Zipporwhill called out. She pointed at the device with a wing. "It looks to be a timer, but I don't know how it's going to do anything."

"Pull the wires off!" Zerrin ordered. "Pull it now!"

Zipporwhill reached out and grabbed one of the wires. It took some twisting, bending, and a hard yank, but she was able to break one. Once that was done, the other seemed to come free quicker. With the wires broken, she took a hold of the timer and pulled it away from the rest, holding it out to the zebra.

"What is it?" asked Zipporwhill.

"Zebra alchemical technology," Zerrin answered as she took the timer. "I can fill you in on the specifics later. For now, what matters is that I believe I know who is responsible for the attempted sabotage." Her eyes narrowed as her ears pulled back and lips pressed thin. "And, I think I know where she will be."

Captured

As the former princess's horn lit up, and Zerrin prepared herself, Zipporwhill reached out with one wing, wrapping it around Shadow and pulling him close.

"It'll be okay," she whispered softly to the dog. She gave him a gentle stroke, trying to to assure him and keep him calm.

There was a flash of golden yellow light, a feeling of a warm breeze passing through them (which was strange, feeling air rushing through things that could not be touched), and then, it was over. In an instant, they had gone from the ventilation control room to The Civic Center's elevated walkways.

There, a short distance away, stood a silver and white zebra mare dressed in a work shirt and cap.

"ZAHARA!" Zerrin bellowed as she charged toward the other zebra. She then started yelling something that at the other zebra which Zipporwhill did not understand. It did sound similar to the Zebrican that she had heard from Zecora, a zebra shaman that lived not far from where she grew up, but Zipporwhill had never learned enough to find out a single syllable. Not that it would have mattered: Zerrin was talking so fast, that it was impossible where one word would have potentially ended and another began.

Reaching up, the silver zebra pulled off her cap and threw it over the railing as she turned to face Zerrin. The silver mare pointed a hoof and started yelling back. Very excitedly.

From the way Zerrin threw her head back and rolled her eyes, she obviously did not agree with something that was said. She moved closer as she resumed speaking, poking at the other mare with one golden hoof.

Silver swatted at the hoof, then stomped her own as she leaned in, yelling at the other mare.

Zipporwhill got the impression that it was very close to getting physical. She tensed, ready to step in and assist her employer if she needed to.

A hoof pressed gently against her shoulder, and she had to stop herself from jumping at the unexpected physical touch. Technically, Zipporwhill had not forgotten that Celestia was there, just that she had gotten so caught up in the discussion between the two zebras, that she did not entirely remember it.

"There is no need for you to interfere," the former princess assured her. She gave a small smile as her pink eyes shifted from the pegasus to the pair of bickering zebras. "In fact, I think it would be best if we leave the two of them to discuss the matter in private."

Zipporwhill's gaze drifted from the giant white alicorn to the two zebras. The suspect must not have been worried about being attacked, because she had actually turned her back to them, waving a hoof around at the building. She was not entirely sure what Zerrin was doing, but it looked like she was waving a hoof and opening and shutting her mouth without saying anything. Like she was mocking the other mare.

The pegasus then returned her attention to the alicorn. A part of her mind started whirling as puzzle pieces started to shift and fall together.

Celestia was a princess. She used to rule over Equestria. More relevant to this moment, that meant she would also have to be the one to speak to other countries: allies and enemies alike. That would mean actually being able to speak with the other nations, and it seemed unlikely that they all spoke Equestrian. So...

"Do you know what they're saying?" asked Zipporwhill.

Celestia's eyes twinkled as she let out a faint laugh.

"I have learned Zebrican, but have never been fluent." She turned to look at the pair. "Plus, they have been speaking very quickly." Her smirk grew wider. "Still, I was able to catch a few words. Including two that very much explained quite a bit of what was going on."

Her gaze then returned to Zipporwhill.

"Do you want to know what those word were?"

Zipporwhill nodded, eyes wide and ears perked forward.

"Zerrin called the other mare 'dada mdogo,'" Celestia stated. "Which means 'little sister.'"

"'Little sister,'" Zipporwhill repeated in a whisper. She turned back to the zebras, and caught sight of Zerrin sitting on the other mare and pinning her to the walkway.

Growing up, Zipporwhill had been an only child. No big brothers to look out for her, or little sisters looking up to and wanting to be just like her. As such, her experience when it comes to sibling relationships is from the outside, mostly from watching her classmates who had them. It gave her quite a lot to take in about such relationships, good and bad.

However, while it did give her quite a wide range of experiences to watch, it was not one she had always paid attention to. Most of the time it was for a short while around events like The Sisterhooves Social, or when something made her wish she had a brother or sister of some kind. Plus, there were times when no amount of observation could substitute for direct experience. Such as how ponies acted in public versus how they acted when alone.

At the present, Zipporwhill was torn. In a way, she could see it now. The way the two of them were acting toward each other gave the impression that they knew each other very well. At the same time though... would one sibling sabotage another's entire career just to get what the first wanted?

The golden glow of Celestia's magic gently encompassed her and Shadow.

"Let us leave them be," the former princess declared. "I do still have a competition to judge, and you should probably have security investigate the ventilation."

"Right," Zipporwhill agreed. She shifted, allowing herself to be levitated, and keeping Shadow calm as he was as well. As they made their way to the ground, she thought about the former princess, her sister, and what happened between them centuries ago, as well as about a decade ago.

Maybe the idea of sabotaging an entire career did not seem so outrageous after all.

Author's Note

Come One Come All

The Baltimare Civic Center was a large building, standing taller than the ones around it, but not quite reaching a full story above them, and wide enough that Ponyville's Town Hall and Town Square could have fit inside with room to spare. While the other buildings had wooden exteriors that were painted white, it had large, polished, dark stone, fit together so well, it could have been carved from a single, solid piece. The roof was not as slanted as most of the other buildings, and was made of metal, which shined a bright golden color in the sun.

Inside, competitors from all across the country were gathering in their waiting areas. With time for the event to begin fast approaching, a variety of reactions was occurring. Some were rushing about in a bit of a panic, trying to make some last minute adjustments to get everything ready. Others were more relaxed, chatting with their neighbors, and getting to know each other. Still others who were tense "relaxed" by enjoying drinks that were not exactly appropriate for foals: and if one of them happened to enjoy too much and be unable to perform, that was hardly the fault of the other competitors, whether they just happen to speak on how many spectators there would be, increasing the pressure the other felt, or even provided the beverage being imbibed.

Throughout the top of the building were rafters and suspended catwalks, allowing creatures to walk back and forth high above the performance and seating areas. Although flying was the most common way of getting up, there were ways for creatures incapable of flight to do as well.

Zipporwhill walked along one of the catwalks, wings partially open for improved balance. Her gaze drifted back and forth, scanning the area around her. In some stories, the antagonist would take advantage of such areas, looking down on the crowd below. According to at least one explanation, it was partially to symbolize how that character saw themselves: above it all. It also made some sense from a practical standpoint, though. A way for one creature to look out on many, to see further and more than they could at ground level.

It was also a place from which a lot of trouble could be caused. Such as tying a rope around someone's neck and tossing them over the side, dropping something, making something fall, or setting off some sort of explosive, be they fireworks, or something with more destructive power to them. Even if the last did no damage, the sight and sound would send panic through those below, causing them to try and flee.

That was what brought the pegasus detective up to the rafters that day. Although the civic center had its own security force, and they had done multiple sweeps, Zipporwhill felt obligated to do at least one herself. Especially since she was being paid more than them (one of the advantages of going into the private sector instead of civil service). She and Shadow had already done the ground section and lower portions, checking on them prior to the contestants arriving.

It was unlikely, but if some creature was planning on tampering with the competition, maybe she would get fortunate and catch them up there. Maybe she would even get super lucky, and overhear them monologuing to themselves about the whole plan, like a supervillain in the comic books or something.

Actually, maybe it was better if she did not. After all, supervillains meant superheroes, which meant super fights, and those led to super expensive amounts of property damage.

Still, no villains -- super or otherwise -- and no signs of traps or sabotage.

As Zipporwhill made her way back down to the ground, she caught sight of two figures not far from where her loyal canine companion was waiting for her. Getting closer, she quickly recognized the pair once she could make out more detail. Although it was not that difficult. Not exactly a lot of pink alicorns out there, and even fewer that were foals. Two and one, to be exact.

"Come here, puppy," the filly of the pair called out, holding a hoof out toward the canine. "Come on, boy." She then made some kissing noises.

For his part, Shadow remained where he was. His head was turned away from the alicorns, very pointedly not looking at them. However, his ears were tilted toward them, listening to the sounds they were making.

"I'm afraid that's not going to do you any good, Princess," Zipporwhill said as she flew down, landing on the other side of Shadow. As she did, the dog relaxed, leaning to press against her, tail wagging. Zipporwhill reached up, scratching gently around his ears.

"He's pretty much trained to respond just to me."

She gave one last pat before turning her full attention to the alicorns.

"Princess Cadance," Zipporwhill said, giving a partial bow. "Flurry Heart. Are you here as judges as well?"

"No," the older alicorn, Princess Cadance, answered. "Aunt Celestia told us about it, and invited us to attend, but she's the only one of us judging."

Reaching out with a wing, she wrapped it around her daughter.

"No, the main reason we're here is because Flurry Heart is getting older, and my husband and I thought that getting her a pet would help her learn about responsibility. Admittedly it's a long way from taking care of a kingdom of ponies" -- considering some of the things Zipporwhill had seen, she was not so sure, but chose to keep quiet -- "but it's a starting point."

"I wanted a wintering mungtooth," Flurryheart huffed, "but somepony thinks I'm not ready for that much responsibility."

"Let's start with something that doesn't cause massive blizzards whenever it gets overstimulated and anxious," Cadance replied, giving her daughter a pat. "Which brings us back to why we are here. Celestia invited us as guests to watch the performance, and I'm hoping it will give us some better idea on what sort of pet would be best to start with."

Zipporwhill gave a nod.

"Well, if you decide to go with a dog, I know a couple breeds that do well in cold climates like The Crystal Empire." Her gaze drifted to Flurry Heart. "Although, they tend to shed, especially when it gets warm, so you'll have to comb them to prevent their coats from getting matted."

"We'll keep that in mind, Miss..." Cadance trailed off, looking expectant.

"Zipporwhill." With a wing, the pegasus pulled out a business card and held it out to the princess. "Private investigator." Her other wing shifted to point at her dog. "And this is my loyal canine partner, Shadow."

Shadow gave a small bark of acknowledgement.

"Miss Zipporwhill," Cadance finished. She took the card, looking at it before putting it away. "Well, I don't think we're going to need a private eye while we're here. Still, like I said, we'll keep your offer in mind."

She too a step back, placing a wing on Flurry Heart.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we should get to our seats, and let you continue working."

Zipporwhill gave the royal pair one last bow before they left. Once they were well on their way, she did get back to work. She had inspected everything but the seating areas, and that was too large for one pony to do it all by herself. So, that she would leave to the security team, who had already done so, and trust them on it.

She could also use something to drink.

And there was a perfect way to do both at once. There was a concession stand near the front, and a door for the waiting area for the competitors not far from that. She could make her way there, checking on the creatures participating along the way, and then grab a drink while taking a short break.

As she walked past them, Zipporwhill took a note of each competitor [race (and tribe), gender, coloration, and cutie marks when applicable], and the animal they were entering with. Ponies, changelings, hippogriffs, griffons, and zebras, with dogs, cats, birds, and so many others. There was even an aquarium that had several large crabs of some sort.

One particular entry, however, got Shadow's interest. The canine came to a stop, ears perked and tail low. A noise escaped his throat. Not a growl. It was less an R noise and more an M, similar to a thoughtful hum.

The dog that had gotten his interest was sitting there, staring back.

Zipporwhill looked at the two, then turned her attention to the trainer, a brown earth pony stallion with a bone crossed with a dog whistle for a cutie mark. She cleared her throat, getting his attention.

"What?" he asked.

"I think we both know what," Zipporwhill replied.

The trainer turned to look at her directly, brow furrowing.

"I don't follow."

"Fairly certain you do. I don't know the exact terms they are using to define the competition --" opening a wing, she pointed a pinion at the dog "-- but I'm pretty sure that if you have to disguise yourself, you know you don't fit them."

The stallion took a deep breath, straightening up to his full height, and glared down at her.

"If you have such an accusation, you very well better have proof of it, ma'am."

Eyes narrowing, Zipporwhill took a step forward, almost pressing her nose against his.

"Well, if you want, we could go to the judges and clear this all up." Her eyes narrowed more as she smirked. "I'm fairly certain that if we ask, they can produce some potion or other that can reveal the truth." She then turned toward the dog. "Or the two of you can come clean, and dropout without having everything made public."

After five seconds, the "dog" let out a huff. A flash of blue flame engulfed its form, giving way to reveal a pinkish changeling, around the equivalent of cutie mark age. Shortly after, there was another around the stallion, revealing a slightly older one with a lavender carapace.

"You're not going to tell our parents, right?" the first asked.

It was the first time that Zipporwhill ever saw changeling do puppy-dog eyes.

"Well," she said slowly, "since you didn't actually compete yet, I guess we can say you didn't do anything wrong." She smiled. "So, I guess that means there's nothing to tell anyways."

She gave the pair a wink.

"Now get on out of here."

Shadow to the Light

"Go. Get. Help." That was the order that Alpha had given him. Shadow did not like the idea of leaving her wherever she was. They were not in their home territory, and he did not know what was beyond the door. Unfortunately, it was not one that he was able to open. Only a not-dog like Alpha would be able to open the door and let her out.

So Shadow ran back the way they had come, looking for a not-dog to help Alpha.

There were a lot of not-dogs around, including many that were prey, and many that were like Alpha, but not. However, Shadow was looking for a very particular not-dog that was not Alpha. The biggest not-dog that Shadow had ever seen. One that he had even seen catch Alpha as she had been falling.

The dog made his way to the big space that was not outside, where most of the others were.

There were all sorts of smells. Like the scents of all the not-dogs that were sitting and watching, as well as the not-dogs and dogs that came out to do things and then left again, and all sorts of foods, including ones that smelled delicious but he was told "NO!" when trying to eat them. It was all very enticing. He really wanted to sniff around, explore it all, and see what he could find.

Except that was not something he could do. Alpha needed help, and Shadow was the one that was supposed to find it.

Tilting his head up, Shadow sniffed the air. He started picking at the smells and pulling them apart, to separate them from each other and ignore the ones that were not what he wanted until he found the one that was.

And there it was. The one that smelled of happiness, of running around the park on a warm sunny day, and something beyond the dog's understanding of the world. Nose twitching rapidly, Shadow followed the singular scent. He made his way across the large space, ignoring all the other smells and sounds around him.

Then he found her. The big, white, not-dog. She was on the other side of what was like -- but not -- a counter. There were three other not-dogs with her, including Alpha's latest "Client."

Reaching the not-counter, Shadow stood up on his hind legs, and leaned against the thing. He barked at the group, getting their attention. The barks became more of a grumbling noise as the not-dogs turned their attention to him.

When Client mentioned Alpha's not-dog name, Shadow was certain he had their attention. He gave another bark and dropped down to the ground. After darting a short distance toward the way he had come, the dog stopped and turned back, checking to see if big white not-dog followed.

Unfortunately, not-dogs were not always the brightest. He had to move back and forth, and bark at them several times before she finally got the message and followed him, Client in tow as well.

Shadow hurried back to Alpha, stopping just long enough to make sure they were still behind him along the way. Once they reached the door, he ran up, barking and scratching at it.

"Zipporwhill?" Client called out. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah," Alpha called out. "Can you get me out of here?"

Client and big not-dog talked a moment before not-dog stepped forward.

"Move away from the door."