Something whizzed by the chariot on the way down, nearly colliding with it. It caught my eye, and I saw it disappear into the sky. I leaped from the chariot and spread my silver-feathered wings, gliding to investigate the thing that had the audacity to interfere with royal business. I flew at a steep upwards angle, climbing while making ten-degree scans with my eyes in an attempt to locate the elusive object. My eyes eventually settled on a raven, and after doing some quick calculations in my mind and a split-s maneuver to position myself behind the bird, I determined that its flight path put it on a near collision course with our transport.
Satisfied, I approached alongside it and gave it a wave with a hoof before rolling right and entering a zoom-dive to follow the chariot down to the city center. I landed next to the chariot on all fours, flapping my wings to slow my approach. Sometimes the ground approached you faster than you'd like. I trotted over to where Rocket and Classified stood, talking with the royal guards who had flown us here.
Rocket was a brown pegasus with a black mane and a firework for a cutie mark. He was our tech whiz, and knew everything about the tools we used for investigation. I had known him since foalhood; we had attended flight school together, growing close over the course of said school. When we graduated, I was sent off to go live with Aunt Celestia in Canterlot, remaining pen pals with Rocket. Rocket and I reunited in Cloudsdale when I was around fourteen. I met him again while he was in detective training with Classified.
Classified was a black-furred bespectacled pegasus with a blue mane. I hadn't known her as long as I knew Rocket, but we had become friends nonetheless. She had a knowledge of technology that rivaled Rocket's, and the two were constantly on edge with each other, one trying to prove they were more intelligent than the other. As mentioned before, I met her while Rocket was going through detective training. She was top of the class and aced her tests, impressing the instructors and beating the rest of the class by a longshot. So it's no wonder that she was assigned to the 82nd, as smart as she is.
With a short greeting and a thanks to the two pegasi who flew us here, we began to set up our investigation. I asked Rocket and Classified to go and start asking questions around the town and meet me back at the fountain in the town square after one hour. We split off in our separate directions, Rocket to the east, myself going north, and Classified going west.
I took a look around the town, taking in my new environment. It is good to know your environment; you never know when you may have to use the environment to your advantage. I knew I was standing next to a fountain; I don't believe I need to mention it twice. Surrounding me were many Gothic-style buildings, with their pointed roofs and windows softly glowing with the yellow light of lanterns inside. Street lamps emitted their glow onto the dirt street, and ponies of all kinds were going about their nightly business around the town. There was also a very large amount of ravens flying about, and this may be a bit of paranoia on my part, but they all seemed like they were watching us. And I still fear that they are.
After taking in the sights, I decided to start asking around about the town's history and when this whole disappearing event began. My first stop was a small shop a short ways down the street from my current location, where I figured I could find somepony who would be willing to be asked a few questions on the town. The storefront was again in the Gothic style like the rest of the buildings around the town, with a sign outside the door proclaiming it to be a general store. Of course, there was another live raven perched on the store's sign, watching, waiting, looking like a sentinel over the area in front of the modest storefront. A little unnerved, I proceeded to enter the shop.
The shop's interior looked similar to any of those you may find in less-urbanized areas of Equestria, with shelves stocked with goods and produce. However, this shop appeared like something out of a time long since past. Instead of metal, the shelves were wooden, almost medieval in appearance. I walked over to where the clerk stood behind his counter, and introduced myself. He was unnerved by a detective showing up out of nowhere, and jokingly asked if he had done something wrong. When I asked him about the town, he stated:
"This place? Well, this is the city of Ravenville. Surely you know that, yes? Anyhow, the town was founded way back in the early days, when the building style was still relevant. It was named for all the ravens that lived in the surrounding forest and the site where the town was built. Silly how everypony says this here place is haunted. Me? I don't think so. Now I ain't knowledgeable on the city's history, Princess, but I'd recommend the town hall.
"As for the disappearances, I can't say much. I don't rightly know what's been going on. Ponies walk in here one day and are gone the next without a trace. Come to think about it, nobody knows what's going on here really."
The town hall was where I had decided to go next after meeting with Rocket and Classified. I asked the stallion for his name, and wrote it down on my notepad before thanking him for his time and turning to leave. I told him to come and find me if he had learned any more about the disappearances that plagued this town.
I met Classified at the fountain soon after, and Rocket appeared a few moments after my arrival. Classified claimed she'd gotten some information on the town, but nothing on why the disappearances were taking place. However, something she said intrigued me. It was that she happened to find out that one of the first to disappear was the town sheriff, Gold Star was his name. It just so happened that Gold Star had disappeared after venturing into the forest looking for a lost foal. He never came back, and nopony replaced him as sheriff. Because of this, certain ponies were unwilling to talk to her, and getting information had not been too easy.
Rocket, on the other hoof, said somepony whom he met on the street told him to go look in the town hall for some information on the town's history, so coincidentally, I believe I can safely conclude all of us received the same suggestion. I told Classified and Rocket of my discovery, and how the stallion said Ravenville was reportedly haunted. They burst out laughing at this, claiming they'd 'never heard anything so farfetched.' I reminded them that any and all information we could get counted, and for some weird reason, I believed the stallion at the store may have been correct. And I still do.
Even as I sit here in our room at the town's inn, I think I can hear voices outside. It could just be the wind, but it sounds like it's trying to tell me something. I've spent hours trying to decode this, and yet I still can't figure it out. It's getting late. I should get some rest.
Tomorrow we are going to visit the town hall. And the wind is unnerving.
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