The Mystery of the Missing Mango Tree!

by TikiBat

Rating: everyone
Tags: Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Mystery, Bat Pony, Slice of Life
Length: 6363

A lone detective takes on one of the most challenging cases of his career.

A worried citrus farmer distraught about a missing heirloom, a lone detective hot on the case, and a tree thief.

As weird of a case as it was, this was definitely one of the most challenging cases of Skipper’s career as a Cloudsdale detective. Having tracked his mark for weeks, he finally manages to crack some of the case in Dodge Junction... but will he finally solve it once and for all?

Only time will tell...

Set in the same universe as Apples and Blood Oranges, however that isn't required reading for this story.

Published 2020-08-04 17:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-08-04 17:10:01 UTC

The Mystery of the Missing Mango Tree

I was never big on fruit. Weird, right? I know, some ponies love it like it’s some kind of priceless treasure, but not me. So what does this have to do with anything? Well, my latest client was one of those ponies, and as dumb as I thought her dilemma was, she paid well. So here I was, traveling through some sandy desert going out of my way to help a poor distraught bat pony that I barely even knew. I didn’t get to travel out this way much, and every step I took gave me another reminder why.

The dusty desert surrounded me for as far as the eye could see, and the burning sun sat low in the sky making me squint my eyes as I continued to trot towards it. My hooves kicked up small clouds of dust, making me scrunch my nose as I took a few tired breaths in and the dry air irritated me in ways that only a pegasus could understand. It made me yearn for my home back up in the clouds, a home that I’d hopefully get to see again sooner rather than later. I didn’t venture out into the desert often, and to say I was uncomfortable would be the understatement of the century. You see, I wasn’t here for fun, I was on the hunt, the hunt for a notorious criminal at large who had stolen some poor mango farmer’s priceless tree.

How does one pony steal an entire tree and skip town without a trace? Well, that’s what I was here to find out. Our little tree thief had jumped town to town, bringing their perilously plundered priceless plant with them before leaving the next day without a trace. They kept to the shadows and no pony knew their face, the most I could dig up was a few strands of a bright green mane and a flash of their bright purple eyes in the moonlight three towns back. I had been tracking them from the beginning, when a distraught citrus farmer from Hollow Shades put out a call for anyone to help solve the mystery of her missing tree. I had been on the case for weeks now, trotting from the hollows, to Appleoosa, to the Canterlot Caverns, and now here. Their motives and movement seemed sketchy and strange to say the least, and it was frustrating me beyond belief.

Other detectives and bounty hunters had tried and failed, but I wouldn’t be one of those failures. No, I was the best of the best, and I’d crack this case before it cracked me. That’s how I was, bull-headed and determined not to back down, even if the case in question was absurd and not worth the effort I had put in to track my mark this far. As I neared the small settlement I was immediately greeted by the sight of a lone earth pony sweeping up the porch of their saloon. Seeing no better place to start, I trotted up toward them.

“Evening stranger.”

The pony looked up and nodded, “Howdy, you’re not from around here, so ah take it you’re here for the big harvest festival?”

I shook my head, “Unfortunately not, I actually didn’t even realize there was a festival going on,” I cringed at how dumb I must have sounded. The whole center street was lined with banners and bunting, it was painfully obvious to any casual observer that some celebration was taking place.

“Well, it’s no problem at all, hopefully you’ll stop by tonight though. It’s the biggest celebration that we have round these parts. Now uh, how can ah help you?”

“I just need to ask a few questions, maybe rent a room for the night. You’re the proprietor of this place right?” I gestured up toward the saloon’s sign.

He nodded, “Rooms start at fifteen bits for the single suite and twenty five for the deluxe, either of those sound good to you?”

“The single suite would be more than perfect,” I smiled, “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name either. I’m Skipper, just a traveler from out of town looking for a pony that might have stopped through here not too long ago.”

“Skipper eh? Well Skipper, my name is Bright Sun. So you’ll be taking the single suite? Why don’t you come on in and maybe I can see about answerin’ some of your questions.”

I nodded and followed the earth pony inside. He laid the broom against the bar top and pulled a chair up, gesturing toward it, “Take a seat my fine feathered friend, and ask away.”

I smiled, “Well, like I said I’m looking for a pony that might have stopped through here in the last day or two. I’m afraid I didn’t catch too many of their features, but they had a bright green mane and purple eyes.”

“Bright green hair and purple eyes? That doesn’t do much to describe a specific pony I’m afraid, there’s lots of ponies around here that could match that. You wouldn’t happen to have a picture of em though, would ya? Ah never forget a face once I’ve seen it.”

I let out a small sigh and shook my head, “No, that’s all I’ve got unfortunately. They might have come through here with a mango tree though.”

The old earth pony continued to wipe down the counter, pausing as I described the odd absurdity of the tree thief’s theft.

“A mango tree ya say? You know, I think I did see one or two of those get pulled into town on a cart. Seemed awfully strange, normally we get citrus farmers and cherry farmers round these parts, but never mango farmers. They typically only bring fruits or seedlings too, not a full grown tree.”

A couple mango trees pulled in on carts. Not the strongest lead, but a lead nonetheless! Feeling a newfound burst of energy, I looked up from the counter, “Do you know where they might have gone?”

The stallion shook his head, “Afraid not. It’s probably pretty hard to hide an entire tree though, I’d go check with some of the local farmers, maybe out behind the orchards too. And who knows, ya might have luck findin them down at the big festival tonight. Every pony stops by for that.”

I smiled, “Thanks Bright Sun, now how much do I owe you for the room again?”

“Fifteen bits, and I’ll tell ya what, I’ll throw in a complimentary breakfast tomorrow, to welcome ya to Dodge.”

“You don’t have to do that, I usually eat pretty light in the mornings anyways.”

“Well ah insist, even if ya take it for the road, ah’d still rather you get a nice home cooked meal.”

“In that case, I really appreciate it. If you don’t mind I’m going to head up to my room and unwind a little bit.”

“Ah don’t mind at all,” he pointed up toward the stairs, “First door on the left, door’s unlocked.”

I fumbled through my saddlebag and slid the earth pony the fifteen bits, plus a few extra as thanks for his hospitality and help so far.

“Thanks for the tips Bright Sun, keep the change.”

He looked at the extra bits and shook his head, “You’re too kind.”

“I could say the same to you. Thanks again for the help.”

“It’s mah pleasure, feel free to give me a holler if you need anything, okay?”

I slowly stood up and collected my belongings, giving the innkeeper another small nod as I made for the stairs, “Absolutely, I don’t think I’ll be much of a bother, but I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

“Mhmm”

The single suite was small and cozy to say the least, but that was perfect for me. A place to rest my head, a secure place to hold my belongings, and a place to rinse off and take care of my poor dust coated wings— what more could I really need? More importantly, this room also gave me a great overhead view of the town, something that I had banked on proving useful. My saddlebag sat on the small desk in front of me, and I continued to jot down a few of the observations I had made so far. I didn’t know what would be useful, or if I’d even solve the case tonight. Regardless of that, I still needed to log my findings, even if they amounted to a small conversation with the old grisled innkeeper.

This would be the perfect vantage point to keep an eye out for my mark, assuming they hadn’t skipped town yet. If they’d follow the same pattern that they had for the last three towns, I’d probably have a better chance at seeing them tonight during the big festival, but this was the biggest event of the town and would probably complicate things. Bright Sun had said that there were plenty of ponies with green manes and purple eyes, but only a couple that had come through with trees. My search would be tricky to say the least, but hopefully having every pony out and about would help a lot.

Feeling antsy to start, I shook my recently washed and preened wings dry and lazily brushed my mane into its usual messy style. I wanted to look presentable enough for the festival, but I didn’t need to wow anyone. In fact, I usually tried to do the exact opposite. I liked to look as boring and uninteresting as I possibly could. With just enough charisma to keep a conversation going and get my leads, but while also being dry enough to make no memorable mark on the other pony. I could get in, get what I needed, and then disappear without a trace just as quickly as I had appeared. It’s what made me a great detective, and what led me this far.

I scratched my head and trotted back over to the window, taking a quick look outside. The sun had set not too long ago, and the festivities had already started to begin. Lights glowed in the distance, and if I listened close enough I could make out cheerful music in the distance, mixed in with the music and cheering coming from the inn’s dining room below. With a smile on my face I made my way toward the door, quickly opening it and heading out into the hallway.

The sounds of utensils clattering and a stream of music echoed out from downstairs, reminding me again that Bright Sun definitely ran a popular establishment. That was my original plan— holding up at the local inn and hoping that my tree thief would be lax enough to patronize it. It was a lot of guessing on my part, but when your mark is smart enough to outsmart you like mine had been doing for weeks now, you had to just work with whatever you could. That plan all changed when I learned of the festival, but I still felt like scoping out the dinner guests just to be safe.

I stood up on my hindlegs and set my hooves up on the balcony railing, leaning against it and taking in the small crowd of guests below. There were lots of ponies chatting away and eating their dinners, but none that had bright green manes and purple eyes, at least as far as I could see. I cursed my luck, of course it wouldn’t just be that easy, and I shouldn’t have expected it to be. Oh well, there was no point in getting frustrated at the fact that my mark had obviously anticipated this move. It was time for my new plan. I stepped back from the railing and adjusted my saddlebags. Putting on the most personable and cheerful face that I could, I started to trot toward the stairs, gliding down them with ease and stopping at the bottom.

Bright Sun was hard at work behind the bar counter, but being the polite and inviting host that he was, he stopped and trotted over toward me, greeting me with a big toothy grin, “Evenin’ Skipper, care for some grub or are ya headin’ over to the festival early?”

“Heading over to the festival, Bright Sun. I was kind of hoping the pony I was looking for would stop by here, but I don’t think it’ll be that easy.”

“Well lotsa ponies have stopped by here tonight, ya could have just missed em. You’ll probably run into em at the festival sooner or later, no pony else is open right now so unless they’re a recluse they’ll probably be there.”

I smiled, almost feeling as if this pony had been a long time friend just by how polite and conversational they were, “Thanks again.”

As I started to trot away, the stallion called back to me again, “Ya sure ya don’t want anything for the road? We’re having’ a special today.”

I paused mid stride and shook my head, “I’ll grab something down there. I will take you up on that breakfast offer tomorrow though.”

“Well in that case, have fun! Oh, and good luck findin’ your friend.”

“I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Cya later Bright Sun.”

The stallion smiled, “Ya know, you can just call me Bright if you’d like, everypony else does.”

“Right, well thanks again Bright. I’ll see you later.”

I trotted toward the door again, a large smile creeping across my face. It was weird to say, but everypony here seemed so friendly and welcoming, I was starting to think I’d actually miss it when I left. Maybe it’d wind up being my new weekend getaway…

As I reached for the saloon door, I paused, noticing a patch of bright green hair on the ground outside and a few loose leaves bunched up on the ground. Aha! So my mark had stopped by after all, and by the looks of things, they were sloppy and left the perfect trail for me to follow! I pushed through the door and collected the small pile of evidence, pausing as I noticed more scattered leaves haphazardly leading in the direction of the festival. I couldn’t believe my luck so far, this thief was either very smart or very sloppy. Whatever the case was, I knew that tonight would be the night I’d finally confront them and end their terrible reign of tree thief terror!

I trotted through the town, carefully following the trail of leaves that our careless thief had left behind. The path they took winded down the central street, weaving back and forth and all around the small town, seemingly for no other reason than to make following their trail as annoying as possible. Maybe that was their plan all along, give me some crazy path to follow in the hopes that I’d just get bored and give up. Or maybe they were leaving some long winding path of mane clippings and tree leaves as a red herring, leading me along some crazy path while they just skipped town again.

I cursed under my breath. They were smart, and had no doubt planned all of this ahead in advance. For all I knew leading me on some wild goose chase for weeks like they had had been a part of it too. I began to move quicker, making my way toward town square and the festival at a fevered pace. I wouldn’t let this criminal mastermind outsmart me, not while I still had a chance to catch them once and for all. Picking up my pace, I broke into a quick trot, leaping up into the sky and quickly following the winding leaf trail until I finally reached the edge of the town square.

The playful clip clop of hooves dancing along the dusty ground and the cheerful songs and hollers drowned out everything around me, making it hard to focus on my task. I began to hastily glance around at the ponies around me trying my best to pick out any pony that fit the bill. Bright Sun couldn’t have been any more right, there were plenty of ponies with green manes around, and as far as I could tell, none were accompanied by trees.

I let out a frustrated groan and facehoofed. I was dumb to think this would be that easy, the tree thief was smarter than I thought— he just had to be!

“Heya stranger, everything alright?”

I glanced up at a pegasus mare that had trotted up to me, and was now staring back with a concerned look on her face, “I uhh… yeah. I’m fine. Just looking for a pony and I’m not having any luck.”

“Well what kinda pony are you looking for? A friend, family member… maybe even a special some pony?” She asked in her cheerful sing-songy voice.

“I guess you could say they’re an out of town friend. Came in with a tree on a cart. had a wild green mane and striking purple eyes.”

Her face turned into a playful pout, “Well I can’t say I saw them, but maybe I can help you find them?”

I shook my head, “I’m sorry miss…” I paused, realizing that I hadn’t caught her name.

“Julep. Mint Julep. And you are?”

I nervously shuffled my hooves, debating whether I should just take off and continue my search or press her for any information. My time was limited, but right now I could either continue my giant guessing game or at least ask this mare a few questions that might give me a few answers. Taking a small breath, I nodded, “Skipper. Just Skipper.”

“Well pleased to meet you Skipper. So why don’t you tell me what your friend looked like and maybe I can help you find them?”

“Well… they’re uh…”

“Not really your friend, are they?”

I hesitated for a moment, before grimacing, “What makes you say that?”

“I can see it in your face. You’re looking for someone for some reason, and I bet they did something bad.”

A twinge of confusion coursed through me, and I considered running right then and there. Something kept me there though. Letting out a long sigh, I nodded, “Okay, to tell you the truth, they’re not really my friend. I’m a detective from cloudsdale and I’ve been trying to find this pony for weeks.”

“What’d they do? I can’t imagine you’d chase them all the way out here for nothing.”

“Well it all started a few weeks ago. I got a call from some grief stricken citrus farmer out in Hollow Shades. Turns out that she and her fiancé wound up coming home from an emotional family reunion only to find their prized mango tree missing. The tree was a priceless heirloom passed down from her lots of greats grandfather and under standby she was in a panic.”

“So you chased this tree thief all over equestria? And now you’re here at the Harvest Festival hoping to catch them, right?”

My eyes widened in surprise, “Yes actually, that’s exactly what it is.—“

“—and you’re frustrated because the thief moves at night and you’ve only been able to get a quick look at them. So you’ve been going in blind then huh?” She continued.

“I.. how..” I stuttered out, completely awestruck at the fact that this seemingly random mare had figured out everything so quickly.

“How did I know this? I’m the town’s lawyer, I know a thing or two about how to piece together a case.”

“Just a thing or two? You’ve got every single part of it right so far.”

A sheepish grin spread across her face, “Well… my father was the town sheriff when I was a filly. He taught me all about the law and the ponies that’d break it. You kind of just learn how to piece this all together when you grow up with it.”

I couldn’t believe my luck. I could accept getting a few lucky breaks and meeting a few helpful ponies, but meeting the town’s lawyer of all ponies? What were the odds?

“I swear It’s my lucky day or something. I haven’t had this much luck with this case since I’ve started, and I feel like I’m just about to crack it.”

“Well it’s a good thing I’m here then. So what do you need to help find the thief? I can get us into some of the orchards out here if you think they’re hiding out there.”

I shook my head, “they’re somewhere here all right,” I pointed down at the small pile of leaves and mane clippings, “they’ve left a trail.”

“Well, you’re not gonna have much luck following this trail further I’m afraid.”

I began to let out another sad sigh, feeling almost as if I was some cliched detective that was down on my luck or something, “So it’s the trail’s end here? Guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.”

“Not exactly,” she beamed, “I know a pony that might be able to help with this, he’s gonna ask for a pretty hefty price though.”

“Oh?” My ears perked up again, “well who are they? Some farmer, another detective friend…”

“A barber.”

“A barber?” I laughed.

She returned a chuckle of her own and nodded, “A barber. Old Clean Cut. He’s a bit grumpy, but he could tell you everything you ever wanted to know about a pony just by looking at their hair. He might have even cut their mane earlier if you’re extra lucky.”

I beamed again, thanking my luck for saving the day once more, “Well let’s go see him, the sooner we can get some answers the sooner we can wrap this case. So what’s he charge for information anyways?”

“Zap Apple jam?!” I repeated back to the old stallion in bewilderment.

“Five cases,” he nodded, “ah don’t get to go out there too often and ah’m having a cravin’ for the stuff lately.”

I facehoofed again while Mint Julep just laughed. This was ridiculous and almost not even worth it at this point, but I owed it to my client. Letting out a sigh, I nodded, “Okay, five cases of Zap Apple jam. So what can you tell us about these mane clippings?”

The stallion carefully scrutinized the collected evidence for a few moments before finally giving any kind of response.

“You’re looking for a bat pony mare, who came from… ponyville ah think? She’s got blue fur and a sleepy face for a cutie mark.”

“You cut her mane?!” I cheered back, the excitement definitely carrying in my voice.

Clean Cut nodded, “Eyup! She stayed and danced around in the celebration for a bit, then seemed to get a little antsy. Kept lookin at her tree and asked me if ah knew any plant doctors. Ah didn’t know much ‘bout what she was sayin, but figured she might be lookin for someone like Snapdragon. So I sent her her way.”

“Snapdragon?”

“The town botanist,” Mint Julep replied. Lives just up that ridge we passed outside. She’s the sweetest earth pony you’ll ever meet, has lots of plants and trees, I can’t believe I didn’t think to go there first.”

“Why would you?” I asked, eyebrow raised.

“You saw those leaves that were all over the ground? The tree she took is probably dying.”

My eyes shot open in surprise, “you mean we’ve only got a short time left until it’s nothing but a hunk of dead wood and some dried up leaves?”

The mare nodded, “Yup!”

Right, well we better get a move on then, we can’t waste even a minute!”

I turned to thank Clean Cut again and made for the door, Mint Julep trotting up next to me to keep up, “You know he’s serious about the Zap Apple jam. I hope you’re not just planning to skip town once you’re done with this case.”

I shook my head, “I know, and don’t worry. Once I’ve got my client’s tree back I’ll come back here with all the Zap Apple jam he could ever want. Now Snapapple’s place is just right up there, right?” I pointed with a hoof.

She nodded, “Yep, just up that ridge,” she paused for a moment, stopping me with an outstretched hoof, “Let me do the talking okay? Snap’s a little reserved and gets antsy around strangers. She doesn’t need some hot shot detective scaring her away with questions.”

“Gotcha. When we get there you can lead the introduction, I’ll keep calm and collected.”

“That works for me, hopefully this’ll be it and you can finally call it a wrap on this case.”

I smiled, “Oh I hope so too. I’ve got a good feeling about it!”

“I do too,” she agreed, “Now sorry for holding you up, let’s go see if Snap knows anything. Hooves crossed.”

“Hooves crossed.”

We resumed our stride, trotting through the dusty outskirts of the town and up the ridge, coming right up to the decently sized orchard that looked over the entire town. I paused for a moment and looked back down at the bright lights that were emanating from the square and smiled. This was finally it, I’d finally crack this crazily convoluted case wide open and even get to celebrate afterwards. I was beaming from ear to ear, and Mint Julep let out a laugh as she took notice.

“You’re really that excited to wrap this up, aren’t you?”

“It’s that obvious?”

“Just a tad, the big goofy smile gives it away. Now if you’re ready to move on, the greenhouse is just further in.”

I nodded and we both pressed onward, letting the sounds of the festival fade into the distance as we approached the greenhouse. This was it, the moment I had been waiting for for weeks. I held my hoof to the door and paused, a wave of emotion and thoughts running through my head. What if my particularly troublesome tree thief wasn’t there? Or what if this was some kind of trap?

I shook my head. Now was not the time for second guesses. No, I needed to press on, I needed to finish this once and for all. I turned back to Mint and nodded, “Okay, let’s go.”

I gave a few quick knocks and waited, pivoting my ears in the hopes of hearing anything from within. We sat in silence for a few long moments before Mint finally began to speak up, “Maybe she’s out right now? I mean normally she keeps cooped up in here on her own, but who knows…”

A few soft hoofsteps started to echo from the inside, quieting our conversation. The sounds of locks clicking and sliding open could be heard before the door slowly began to open. Remembering what Mint Julep had said before, I stepped behind her, letting her take charge of the introductions.

“Minty?”

Mint nodded, “Good to see you again Snap. How’s the orchard been?”

The mare opened the door wide and smiled, “It’s been going good, had a great harvest this year. You should be down at the festival you know.”

Mint laughed, “Yeah, I should. I met a new friend though, was trying to figure something out and I figured you’d be the best pony for the job.”

“Oh a new friend eh?” She looked toward me and smiled, “Hiya, I’m Snapdragon, pleased to meet you!”

I returned the smile and put on my best I’m just a friendly pony from out of town here to ask a couple of questions face, “Nice to meet you Snapdragon, I’m Skipper.”

“Skipper, that’s a cute name. So what brings you out to Dodge, Skipper? You don’t look like a tourist or a farmer.”

I smiled, “Well, that’s because I’m not. I’m a detective from Cloudsdale, here on a mission.”

“And let me guess, you’re looking for a pony. A pony that took something that didn’t belong to them perhaps?”

I nodded, “Yes, that’s exactly it. You don’t happen to know anything about said pony… do you?”

She laughed, “Come on in, let me grab you something to drink and we can chat about what I do or don’t know,” The earth pony waved the two of us in as she trotted toward a cozy looking kitchen, “Would you like some tea?”

“We’d love some,” Mint Julep replied as she took a seat in the den.

I, however, decided to do a little sleuthing of my own. I glanced back toward Mint, who seemed distracted enough with one of the magazines that Snapdragon had left out on the table. Perfect, I had at least a few minutes to glance around the small home without being seen. I peeked around the room, trying to make sense of the layout so I could hopefully find where my mark was.

I slowly and quietly creeped down the dim hallway, my ears pivoting to pick up any sound I could possibly register. This was my talent, being able to hear things that others could not. Some called it weird, I called it convenient. It was another thing that made me a good detective, and it would definitely serve me well here now.

I continued to creep along, before suddenly I heard a barely audible snore from behind one of the simple wooden doors. Twitching my ears a bit, I continued on, trying to find the source of the suspiciously silent sound. My eyes fell upon the door at the end of the hallway, and my heart leaped out of my chest as I knew exactly what was behind it.

My mark, the pony I had spent weeks chasing down from town to town, that troublesome tree thief that thought they could trick me.

Letting my emotion get the better of me, I opened the door in a frenzy, scaring the room’s sleeping occupant awake, a loud “EEEEK” being the only response I got. Fear shot across their face, surprising me probably just as much as I surprised them.

Was this really my mark? Or was this some lookalike that the old barber had confused for someone else? Her bright green mane and purple eyes certainly matched the ones I had caught a glimpse of from afar, but she seemed so… frightened.

I took a few steps back, bumping into a very angry looking Snapdragon. I nervously gulped, giving her my own meek “EEEK”

“You wanna explain yourself Mr. Skipper?”

“I uhh… well ah—“

“You thought poor Somnambula here was some thief, didn’t you?”

“Somnambula, isn’t that one of the pillars?”

Snapdragon shook her head, “It is, but it’s also the name of the poor pony you scared half to death.”

“Well I…”

“Well I what? If you think she’s a thief, I can tell you right now that she isn’t. You don’t have the full story.”

I raised an eyebrow, “I’m sorry, what?”

“I… I can explain Snappy.”

I looked back toward the meek batpony, feeling a shred of guilt welling up inside me. Was I really wrong? Did I somehow miss part of the story? Or maybe my client had misread the situation. Regardless, something was fishy here, and I needed to get an answer, “Well uhhh… care to explain?”

The bat pony nodded, “Well, I guess sleeping is my talent. I’m not just good at it, I’m too good.”

“And what does this have to do with my case?”

“I was just about to get to that. So this was back a few weeks ago, and I was taking one of my normal naps by one of the orchards in Hollow Shades. I guess I got too comfy because I slept like a rock under one of the smaller mango trees. I must have gotten hungry in the night or something, because when I woke up I somehow had a whole tree next to me.”

“A whole tree? You mean Citrus Swirl’s prized mango tree.”

“I didn’t know who’s it was, where I got it from, or how I got it. I just woke up with it.”

“You just woke up with an entire tree that you somehow dug out of the ground and perfectly transferred to a cart all in your sleep? Do you know how sketchy that sounds?”

Something about the tree thief’s confession seemed fishy, even fishier than before. I didn’t know whether to believe her, or whether she was trying to fool me once again. Just as I was about to air my complaint, Snapdragon stepped in and spoke up.

“Let me explain something to you mr hot shot detective. Sleepy’s got this thing where she’s almost a different pony when she’s asleep. Has this whole thing where she’ll just sleepwalk and go about some random task. She’s clearly innocent of whatever crime you think she did.”

I didn’t know whether to feel guilty, sorry for her, or suspicious. So I felt all three. I cleared my throat and glanced back to the bat pony for a moment, “But she still took the tree and didn’t even bring it to the guard. She spent three weeks skipping from town to town with this tree, clearly trying to take it somewhere it didn’t belong.”

“I can explain that too,” Somnambula chimed in, “I woke up in the middle of nowhere with the tree. Didn’t know who it belonged to or where it came from. I thought the guard would think I was playing some dumb trick on them if I turned myself in, so I decided to take it to the only friend I knew who could take care of something like this.”

“Snapdragon?”

“Snapdragon,” she confirmed, “Snappy and I go way back, and I knew that she’d be able to tell me all about this tree. It was such a pretty tree and I didn’t want to just let it wilt, so I knew I had to carry it all across Equestria just to keep it safe.”

I paused to take everything in, finding the sequence of events hard to process and more convoluted than I ever imagined a case could be. I shook my head and let out a low, involuntary chuckle, catching the two ponies off guard.

“What’s so funny Skip?” Snapdragon asked with a confused look on her face.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, “I’ve been on this wild goose chase for three weeks and the whole time I thought I was chasing down some crafty criminal. Now you’re saying that the entire time it was just one pony who accidentally stole a tree in her sleep and was trying to bring it to her friend that could take care of it.”

“It does sound a little strange when you say it out loud,” The sleepy bat pony added, “but it’s the truth.”

I shook my head, “I believe you. I just can’t get over how dumb this whole thing is, especially after everything I’ve been hyping up in my head.”

“So you’re not mad or anything?”

I looked over to Snapdragon, “I’m not… and I guess I could ask you the same thing.”

“Well it depends, are you going to say sorry for sneaking around my house and scaring my friend?”

I nodded, “I’d be a pretty poor excuse for a detective if I didn’t,” I looked toward the bat pony, “I’m sorry, I mean it. I had you hyped in my mind as this master criminal and that’s not who you are at all. I hope I didn’t scare you too much.”

“Well you scared me awake pretty badly, but I forgive you,” she paused for a moment, “So uhh… you know who the tree belongs to then?”

I smiled, “I do, and I know that the owner of it is going to be so relieved and overjoyed that it’s safe and sound. I don’t even think she’s going to be that mad, she had her own crazy misunderstanding with a family member not too long ago and that all turned out fine in the end.”

“So we’re all good then?”

I looked over toward Snapdragon, “It depends. Is the tree safe? And do you think it’ll be good to bring all the way back to Hollow Shades?”

The mare paused for a moment, “I’d rather let it sit a few more days before we start pulling it all around Equestria again, even if it’s just to Hollow Shades. Do you think your client will mind?”

I shook my head, “I don’t think so. I think she’s going to just be relieved that it’s okay, and maybe she’ll even get a laugh out of the story.”

“Well in that case, why don’t we all head down to the festival together, just enjoy the rest of the night. That sound good to you?”

I nodded, “I think that sounds great.”

As we trotted out of the room I ran into Mint Julep again, who was standing in the hallway with a concerned look on her face.

“So what was all that commotion about?”

An involuntary laugh came to me again, “It’s a long story, I’ll tell you on the way to the festival.”

She raised an eyebrow and smirked, “So I’ll take it you cracked your case?”

“You could say that, just not in the way I thought I would,” I waved her along with a wing, and soon enough we were back outside and on our way to the festival.

So there it was. I had cracked the maddeningly monotonous case of the missing mango tree, and in the most surprising way imaginable. I was happy, the accidental tree thief was happy, and tomorrow my client would be happy as well. While the journey had been long, tiring, and even frustrating at times, I had to admit that maybe it was for the best. Soon enough I’d be flying back home to Cloudsdale, though perhaps I’d pass this way again. Something about the quaint and quiet charm of it all just spoke to me, and I’d certainly have a couple new friends or two to spend the time with.