October 18th

Report 001
Ravenville Investigation

I am Detective Colonel Silverwings of the Royal Guard. I am writing this report on the events of our investigation of the strange happenings in the town of Ravenville, which lies to the west of Canterlot. The 82nd's two other detectives were mobilized to investigate said happenings. My division was requested to attempt to figure out the reason behind the events. We are world renowned for our detective skills, and whenever something that the Princesses decide needs investigation, we are on the case. Not to mention, we run Canterlot Palace's internal affairs bureau as well. There are only three of us detectives save for Rocket, who runs Internal Affairs and has staff under him.

This case just seems like an ordinary one. We often receive reports of strange happenings around various towns. Nothing rattles my detectives. We've even investigated the Everfree Forest a few times, and I have never lost a detective. Now this may be due to the fact we train on a weekly basis, or just dumb luck. However, these strange events seem to be getting to my agents. Stuff like this is stuff we haven't trained for or seen. It's unexplainable, but I will try my best to explain.

* * *

We were called to an audience with Princess Celestia a few days before I started to write this report. She asked us to investigate the Ravenville disappearances, to which we agreed. We gathered equipment and moved out that evening, taking a chariot to the town. It wasn't too long of a trip considering that we were airborne and not walking or taking the train. This saved precious time, for in an investigation time is one's worst enemy.

I watched the clouds zoom by, sometimes revealing patches of beautiful stars. The stars guided our way, for compass deviation was something we didn't have time to deal with. An annoying problem, that. The compass needle would wander due to atmospheric effects at altitude, drifting away from true north and causing a wrong heading indication. In turn, a compass deviation would cause you to think you were on one track but in reality, you'd wind up a few miles away from wherever it was you were trying to go. And after that, you'd waste time trying to adjust for your wrong heading, and time is precious as I stated before.

As I saw the clouds part, I couldn't help but feel a slight longing to be the one doing the flying. You see, something just feels right about you being the authority on where you want to go. And nothing beats the feeling of the wind whipping through your mane and flowing over your wings. Acrobatic flight is my talent. This means, according to Equestrian laws concerning flight, any unusual attitude or stunt exceeding a sixty degree bank angle relative to the horizon. I am known as the 'Princess of Flying,' for I am an alicorn and a relative of Celestia's.

Pushing my thoughts aside, I glanced over the side of the golden chariot and saw a large forest below. It wasn't the Everfree, but it was nearly as large. The chariot banked left and entered a descending turn towards a small cluster of lights in the middle of the forest. The lights grew bigger as the minutes passed, and eventually they turned into buildings. "Alright," I said to the other detectives. "We're here."

Author's Note

We will continue this story