Dragons are one of the common creatures in Equestria. One of their favorite things is gems, which are good for their diet. But there is one dragon that stands out from the rest of them, and that dragon is Spike. Spike is Twilight's number-one assistant. Ever since they met in Canterlot, he likes helping her out with whatever goes on in life. And he'll never replace her with somepony else.
One day, Spike returned to the Castle of Friendship. Twilight was inside the library. She was reading a book. Then, she spotted Spike.
"Oh, hello, Spike!" greeted Twilight.
"Hello, Twilight," Spike greeted back.
"So how was the cleanup of the apple farm with Applejack and Big Mac?" Twilight asked.
"Well, it was a bit of a mess, but we got it all sorted out. The dead trees were a bit of a hassle to move out of the way!"
"I'm glad to hear that! At least you've got something heavy to lift." Twilight got up from her seat and placed the book away on a shelf. She then looked over at other bookshelves.
"Ha, ha, ha. Anyways, I found this underground while I was walking back here." Spike pulled out a bright red ruby from a small handbag. "Fresh from the earth."
Twilight turned over to Spike and saw the ruby. "Hold on a second. Is that a ruby?"
"Yeah," answered Spike. "Don't know how it came all the way here to Ponyville from the mountains up north, but I'll just add it to my gemstone collection if you'll excuse me."
Twilight was puzzled for a second. "You have a gemstone collection?"
"Yeah." Spike was confused about what Twilight asked her. "Do you not know?"
"Well, of course not," said Twilight. "I never rummage through your stuff whenever I go to your room. It's indecent!"
"Fair enough," said Spike. "Fair enough."
So Spike left Twilight and entered the door that led to his room. But as soon as he entered, Twilight jumped in shock after hearing a scream from within his room. She jolted quickly to his room.
"Spike!" cried Twilight. "What's going on?!" Then she gasped. "What in the world happened here?!"
Spike's room was rambled with vandalism! Glass particles were scattered throughout the floor, and pieces of furniture were flipped and tipped all across the room. Twilight saw Spike looking frantically throughout his room.
"Oh, dear! Where is it?!" he panted. He swarmed through the drawers, appearing as if he was looking for something. "No, no, no! It can't go missing!"
"What can't go missing?" asked Twilight.
"My gem collection!" answered Spike. "I've been robbed!" Then he ran to Twilight, tears running down his face.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" said Twilight. "Do we have to file a report or something?"
"No, Twilight," said Spike in an ominous tone. "We're gonna have to do this... the hard way."
"What do you mean we're gonna do this the hard way?" questioned Twilight, unclear of what Spike had said.
"It means," continued Spike, "that 'we're gonna have to investigate.'"
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no. We are not doing that," protested Twilight. "I'll just send a report to Celestia and then they'll take it from here."
"No!" Spike popped over to Twilight and silenced her in the lips. "Don't let Celestia know. She doesn't have to know."
"But what about-"
"Ah, ah, ah." Spike lowered her finger from Twilight's lips.
Twilight sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Fine. But if this 'investigation' doesn't go as planned, I'm sending the letter to Celestia."
"Great!" yelled Spike. "Our detective names shall be 'Fantasy Star and Dragon Breath'!" Twilight looked at Spike in confusion. "I'll come up with a better name later. For now, let's focus on this. First-"
"Wait!" interrupted Twilight. "Before we do so, detectives need cool-looking outfits, right? And I know just the pony who could take care of that."
Twilight and Spike approached Rarity's boutique for some disguises. Rarity opened the door.
"Ooh, Twilight! And Spikey-wikey!" exclaimed Rarity. "What can I do for you two today?"
"Let's cut to the chase, Rarity," said Twilight. "Spike's gemstone collection was apparently stolen by somepony, who also trashed his room, and we're investigating it ourselves. But in order for that to work, we need outfits. And I know a certain pony who could help us with that."
Rarity sneered. "Well, you came to the right place, darling. I've got some lovely designs I could give you! Just give me a moment and you'll have them on in a jiffy!"
A few minutes went by. With some pattering of glitter, yard-by-yard measuring, and sewing, Rarity revealed some business-esque outfits. Twilight's outfit had a tophat, a blue coat with a flower in its left pocket, and open spots to fit with her wings, while Spike's outfit was similar to a waiter's outfit in a fancy restaurant: a small white flannel with a black tie and coat, in addition of a mustache.
"Whoa!" gasped Spike. "Rarity, words cannot describe how these. Look. Amazing!"
"Thanks, Spike." Rarity beamed for having to give her two friends outfits for their expedition. "Now, is there anything else I can do for you? Like tightening up some loose threads? Or picking out which outfit would be the best for the next Grand Galloping Gala?"
"No, we're good." Twilight shook her head. "Spike and I are ready to find who took the gems and bring 'em to Celestia as framing!"
"Okay. Good luck!" rooted Rarity. "Track that thief down and show them who's in charge!"
"Thanks, Rarity!" said Twilight and Spike as they both went out the front door, leaving Rarity all alone in the boutique.
Rarity began chuckling to herself. "Ah, Spike. When will he ever learn? But I won't blame him. I do go maniacally over shiny stuff."
Twilight and Spike walked down the street. They were confident in capturing the thief responsible for Spike's missing gemstone collection.
"Anyways, Spike," Twilight said, "what were you gonna say about what?"
"We have to look in the room first to find anything hoofprints," answered Spike. "Those are important
It wasn't long 'til they reached the Castle of Friendship. Twilight and Spike looked back at the latter's room to look for prints. Twilight used a magnifying glass to examine any dirty hoofprints on the floor.
"See anything?" questioned Spike.
"Not that I know of. This room is completely clean of prints! Whoever did this must have clean hoofs, and I must say, that's kinda impressive."
"Well, this investigation just got a whole lot more interesting," Spike declared.
Twilight grunted as she got up. "Alright, there's nothing else I could do here. What new plan do we have now?"
"Well," Spike began, "witnesses are the first thing to come to mind when an investigation pops up, right?"
"Yes...?" answered Twilight.
"So, therefore..." continued Spike, "...we're going to talk with those that are greedy for money! After all, they're more likely the ones that do anything it takes to get money."
"Wait, you're kidding, right?" Twilight speculated. "You mean we're gonna interrogate every single one of the ponies that have an obsession with money? But that's gonna be a waste of time! Plus, how would we know that it was a pony who did it?"
"You can't set up an investigation" — Spike exhorted — "without getting to know everypony first."
"Who told you that?" asked Twilight.
"I dunno," answered Spike, "I read it from some comic I once read a while back."
"The Power Ponies?" Twilight guessed.
"No, I believe it was a comic about detectives."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Whoever wrote that piece of dialogue is probably in the wrong."
Minutes passed, and Twilight and Spike were back in the library. Twilight walked back and forth. "Okay, who were the ponies we know that are money-hungry?"
"All I know is Flim, Flam, and Filthy Rich are our best bets," answered Spike.
"You think they're the three that somehow managed to climb up that window, steal your gems, and then vandalize your room?" Twilight concluded.
"Well, they're the ones that want money the most," Spike pointed out. "Plus, Flim and Flam do have horns, so it might be possible they teleported into my room."
Twilight was in total denial upon hearing Spike's suspicion of Flim and Flam. "But that might not always be the case. We don't know for sure if they can teleport with their magic. We've only seen them use their magic to its full extent for that Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 machine we had to compete against that one time."
Spike sneered. "And that's where things get interesting... Twilight, can you teleport us to where Flim and Flam are?"
"You're not going to inspect them, right?" questioned Twilight, turning her head right towards Spike.
"Don't worry, Twilight!" Spike insisted. "I'm not going to hurt them. I just want to have a little talk. You know, like face-to-face."
"Ugh," groaned Twilight. "Okay, Spike. If you say so." And Twilight used her horn to teleport her and Spike out of the castle and to where Flim and Flam could be at.
Las Pegasus would be the first destination Twilight and Spike teleported to. Everything in the city was hustle and bustle. Ponies walked and flew around. And it all seemed like a paradise.
"So this is our first location: Las Pegasus," Twilight declared. "This place is home to many money-making activities, especially one where Flim and Flam would run their apple cider business. If they still have one, that is."
"You think we'd find them immediately?" asked Spike. "Look at this place! So loud and big!"
"I know we're gonna find them," said Twilight. "We just have to start looking."
"Oh, look! There they are!" Spike pointed his claw to a wooden stage, which had Flim and Flam on it, who were performing an advertising program. "Seem to be busy at the moment."
"Well, on the bright side, it shouldn't take long," Twilight pointed out. "They look as if they're almost done with the show. Once they're done, we'll teleport them back to the castle. Easy."
An hour passed, and every pony had left the stage, prompting Twilight and Spike their one chance to speak with Flim and Flam. "Now's our chance!" whispered Spike as he and Twilight snuck stealthily through the stage and behind.
"And then, that's when he went 'Oh my!'" said Flim. "You should've seen the look on his face. It was hilarious."
"I know," replied Flam. "That's why we, Flim and Flam, are the best salesponies Equestria has ever seen in its lifetime."
The two unicorn brothers laughed in unison before being cut off shortly by Twilight and Spike, who blocked their way.
"Oh, it's the Princess of Friendship and her dragon companion," taunted Flam. "Cute outfits, by the way. What can we do for you?"
"First off, don't call our outfits 'cute'," threatened Spike. "Secondly, we need to know if you're a little familiar with, let's say... 'gemstones'."
"Hm?" Flim was unfamiliar with Spike's words. "What are you talking about?"
Twilight and Spike looked at each other. "Come with us to the castle," said Twilight. "We'd like to talk." And once again, she used her magic to teleport the four of them back to Ponyville and into the Castle of Friendship.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Flim. "What do you want us for?"
"I'd like to know if you're familiar with this." Spike opened the door to his vandalized room, much to the shock of Flim and Flam.
"What in the world happened here?" gasped Flam.
"This room contained gems worth ten-thousands, if not, hundred-thousands worth of bits," Spike explained, "and we suspect you might be the ones responsible for this outage yesterday."
"Now pause there for a moment," interrupted Flim. "What makes you suspect we are the ones responsible for this ridiculous room of chaos?"
"Oh, gee, let me think..." Spike ridiculed. "Maybe the time you tried to steal Applejack's business away from her?"
Flim and Flam turned their heads to each other. "Okay, maybe we can be a bit money-hungry sometimes," Flim answered, "but we wouldn't go as far as breaking into somepony's property just to steal some money!"
"Yeah!" added Flam. "That's just way too far and too out of character for us to commit!"
"Then tell us," ordered Twilight. "Tell us what you have been up to yesterday."
"No words will come out of us!" rebelled Flim.
Twilight looked over at Spike. "Should I?"
"Yes, you can," answered Spike.
"Okay. Start talking, boys!" Twilight cocked her horn with a dark purple aura that could potentially harm Flim and Flam.
"Whoa!" yelled Flim. "Okay, okay! Flam will explain what happened."
"Take notes for this one, Twilight," ordered Spike.
"Got it." Twilight took out a notepad using her magic and began writing.
Flam took a deep breath before he began explaining their whereabouts at the time of the incident.
"To start, we were in Manehattan advertising our new product, 'The Automatic Washer'. Good laundry product, would recommend it. Anyways, our next location was Las Pegasus, so we took a train from Manehattan to Las Pegasus, until it, unfortunately, broke down. So we had to spend the night here in Ponyville until they could repair the train. And here's where the suspicion diverts away from us. We had to check in at a hotel that wasn't as crowded compared to the ones in the big cities. The hotel we checked in at was far from this castle, so we wouldn't have any idea that somepony broke into this room and steal whatever stuff you had. But that was when we left Ponyville at the time your little 'investigation' began. So there. Now, do you believe us?"
Spike remained silent for a few moments before he concluded his answer. "Okay, you two. You're off the list. But don't even think it's all fun and games if this ever happens to you."
"Of course we're not gonna think it's fun and games," Flam replied in annoyance. "It certainly ain't gonna be cool."
"While you're at it, can you teleport us back to Las Pegasus?" asked Flim.
"Ah, sure." Twilight emitted magic from her horn to teleport Flim and Flam back to Las Pegasus.
"So who's next on our list?" asked Spike.
"Filthy Rich is our last witness," answered Twilight. "I believe I saw him here around Ponyville. Just let me get him first..." And Twilight teleported away.
Filthy Rich was walking down the streets of Ponyville, when suddenly, Twilight unknowingly appears right in front of him. Rich was surprised and collapsed to the ground in shock.
"Filthy Rich, I believe is your name?" said Twilight.
"Yeah," answered Rich uncomfortably. "H-how can I help you?"
"Nothing concerning," Twilight answered back, "just that I need you to come with me."
Rich looked in both directions before looking back at Twilight. "Why?"
"Once again, nothing that'll feel discomforting. Just a little talk." Twilight used her magic to teleport her and Filthy Rich back to the castle.
"Ah. Filthy Rich," Spike quietly said. "I figured you'd stop by."
"It wasn't my choice, dragon!" yelled Rich. "Your purple friend teleported me all the way here!"
"Well, technically," Twilight agreed, "he isn't wrong. It was your idea after all to ask me to bring him here."
"We'll decide upon that later," said Spike. "For now, I'd like to know if you're familiar with this." He showed Filthy Rich the room that was still vandalized.
Filthy Rich had no words to describe what he was seeing. "What happened here? Why are you showing me this room?"
"This room contained gems that could've been worth hundreds of bits," answered Spike. "We suspect you might be one of the culprits here due to your addiction to money."
"Well, I swear I have nothing to do with it!" Rich protested.
"If you had nothing to do with it," asked Spike, "then tell us: what have you been doing yesterday?"
"Oh, so you're asking me what I had to do with it, are you?" bellowed Rich. "Well, jokes on you, my life is private and you'll never tell me otherwise!"
"Should I do it again?" asked Twilight.
"No, Twilight. I got this." Spike cleared his throat. "Since I'm a dragon, I have this magic that could burn you to a crisp if you don't speak what we need. Do you want me to show it to you?" Spike's words made Rich tremble with terror.
"Alright! Stop!" cried Rich. "I'll tell you everything."
"Take notes of this too, Twilight," ordered Spike.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Twilight got her notepad and started writing Rich's story.
Rich exhaled. "I was working with some co-workers of mine at the Town Hall, making some financial exchanges. The hall needed some repairing in order for it to operate properly, and considering it's far from here, like in the square, and the castle is all the way here, there's no way I could even be aware of what was happening at the time. There. Now you've got your 'evidence'. Can I go now?"
Spike was surprised. "Umm, sure."
"Thank you. And by the way, good luck with your 'investigation'. You're gonna need it." Rich left the room. "Uh, where's the door leading out of here?"
"Down the hall to your left," answered Twilight.
"Thank you." And Rich finally left the castle.
Spike sighed with disappointment. "That's everypony. Flim, Flam, and Filthy Rich, none of them are the culprits! If it wasn't neither of them, then who else could've done it?"
"I don't know, Spike," said Twilight. "Seems like the investigation is off for now. But look on the bright side though, at least we did our best! That's all that matters. We'll get this mess sorted out tomorrow morning. I do have to clean the castle, anyway."
Spike sighed a second time. "You're right." I'll just start cleaning this up so you don't have to do a lot of work tomorrow." He took off his outfit and hung it up on a clothing rack.
"Well, good luck." Twilight left Spike alone in his room. Spike began to pick some books and cups up and put them back on its shelves.
Night fell. Spike slept soundly in his bed, which he managed to put upright. Then, unbeknownst to him, a male dragon covered in a black jacket grabbed onto the window with its claw and formed a circle around it. The dragon removed the circle carefully and entered Spike's room, walking slowly and quietly. A name tag on his jacket reads "Asher".
"What do you have here, little dragon?" whispered Asher.
Asher rummaged through the cabinets and pulled on the drawers. He took out books from the drawers and the golden cups from the shelves. All until he finally found the ruby Spike had picked up himself yesterday.
"Ah," gasped Asher. "A little red ruby. Very well done, dragon. Today is not your day, but rather, my day."
Asher then wiped the prints on the floor with some alcohol wipes he bought with him, to deceive Spike into thinking he hadn't broken in, and that someone else had. But before he could exit out the window, Spike stuck his tail out of the bed and Asher tripped on him with a clatter. This awoke Spike.
"Ah..." Spike yawned. "What was that?" Then he spotted Asher. "Whoa! Intruder alert!"
"Shoot!" With a last-second attempt, Asher jumped out the window and flew into the air.
"Twilight!" Spike called out.
Twilight busted through the door in confusion. She was exhausted. "What's going on...?"
"I think I know who was responsible for wrecking up my room yesterday!" said Spike.
Twilight's energy was suddenly jolted up to eleven upon hearing Spike's words. "I'm sorry, what are you talking about?" Then Twilight saw Asher flying away! "Oh, jeez! Come on, Spike! Hop on!"
"You don't have to tell me twice!" Spike jumped onto Twilight's back and Twilight whooshed like the wind. The chase was on!
Asher watched behind him to see Twilight and Spike catching up to him. "Oh no, you don't!" He threw some crystal bombs at the two, detonating on impact. Twilight and Spike spluttered from the gray smoke they emitted. "Ha, ha! So long, suckers!" And he flew away quickly as his wings could carry him.
"He's getting away!" cried Spike.
"Don't worry. I got this." Twilight charged her horn and shot laser beams at Asher. Asher avoided the beams and continued off.
"Nice try!" Asher taunted.
"Oh, there's more where that came from."
"What are you doing?" asked Spike.
"Hold on tight." With a sudden charge of energy rushing through her bloodline, Twilight shot out a large laser beam from her horn that quickly penetrated through the wings of Asher.
"No!" screamed Asher before he collapsed to the ground with a thud. Twilight and Spike landed on the ground and marched toward him.
"You have fifteen seconds to explain yourself" — Twilight boomed — "before I use this next discharge of energy upon you."
"Okay, okay!" Asher panicked. "I'll tell you everything."
"Spit it out!" Spike boomed.
Asher breathed. "I stole the gems this dragon here had because I was jealous of his wealthiness, so I had to find something quick to do so, even if it meant breaking into someone's property just to do so."
"Two things," said Spike. "One: you know you could've just, like, go up to the mountains or dig on the ground just to hunt for some gems, right? Instead of just breaking into my room, you could've done all of the above." And two: how in the world do you even know I had gems?"
"It was easy, actually," answered Asher. "I looked around for a dragon in Ponyville and then I saw you. So I knew you had to have some sort of gems, even if it was just a little."
"Just because I have gems and all doesn't mean I'm that wealthy."
"Yes, I know that now."
Twilight shook her head. "You made a big mistake here, buddy."
"I know!" yelled Asher. "And I'm sorry for that! P-please! Please don't hurt me! I-I'll do anything! I swear!"
Then, an idea flew into Twilight's mind. "You're lucky I'm the Princess of Friendship, so on one condition, how about you work as our maid in the castle for a month, and I'll give you fifteen bits a day for you to purchase something? Do we have a deal?"
"Yes!" Asher agreed. "I said I'll do anything."
"Good. Now, where are the gems?"
Asher took off a knapsack from his back and opened it to reveal all the gems that went missing. Rubies, diamonds, and emeralds glared from inside.
Spike looked at Twilight. "Well, Twilight, you know what this means."
"The case is closed!" declared Twilight and gave a hoof bump to Spike.
The next day, Asher decided to pay his debt to Twilight and Spike by cleaning up the castle every day of the month. Spike entered the castle and saw him sweeping the floor of his room. His gem collection was also put back on its shelf.
"How's that cleaning going along?" asked Spike.
"Ugh, terrible," said Asher. "I knew robbing you was a bad idea."
"Well, at least you know the consequences of doing so. It can get you in big trouble."
"Yeah, you're right."
Then, Twilight walked by. "Remember, only twenty-nine days to go, and you're free to go!"
"Ah, shoot," said Asher. "I forgot I set it for a month."
"Next time, think before you do something!" Twilight reminded Asher.
"Yes! Yes!" yelled Asher. "I know! My actions have consequences!"
"Just sayin'."
So Asher swept the floor with his rusty broom, while Twilight and Spike left him alone, hoping that he has learned his lesson by thinking twice before doing something.
