“... Robbin' people with a six-gun. I fought the law, and the law won. I fought the law, and the law won~”

The Clash saw the two most handsome studs of the Bay on their merry way across the morning rush of ponies readying their businesses for another beautiful day in Maretime Bay. It had been the song that the randomized alarm clock on my phone had chosen, and now would be stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

However, I’d woken up feeling a bit impish that morning, and wanting to mess with the townsponies on our way back to the brighthouse. So, humming the lyrics and falling behind my companion, who also happened to be the town’s sheriff, with both wrists tightly pressed together in front of me as if they’d been cuffed, I was sure to attract the attention of passing ponies who, dumbfounded, didn't know what to make of our little procession.

“Alex.” Hitch tiredly called over his shoulder, accompanied by his blankest gaze as he trotted in front of me, doing his absolute best to ignore the crooked smirks and titled heads the citizens were sending us.

“Yas?”

“You’re an idiot.” He stated, clear and simple.

“Of course I’m an idiot. Don’t you see that I fought the law, and the law won. I fought the law, and the~…”

It seemed Hitch had woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning, since my flawless and intelligent sense of humor was met face first with his cold indifference, holding a blank look for a couple more seconds before returning his attention to the road with a tired sigh. Little Sparky, however, was having a blast riding the sheriff’s back and seeing me fooling around.

Some ponies just didn't have a healthy sense of humor…

We’d contacted Sunny before our departure, and she’d asked if we would be so kind as to pick up some blackberries and blueberries for her special ‘autumn season pancakes’ from the community garden. That would be our first and only stop on our way back to our breakfast meeting with the rest of the gang. Through our shared group chat we had also caught a message from Misty, claiming something urgent had come up regarding a family member and she had to bolt early in the morning, and regretfully wouldn't be there to join us for breakfast.

A shame. I wanted to ask her about her time with the girls, seeing how together they can be… entertaining.

I also hoped the experience hadn't been too much for her, given how she always acted so shy around others. She reminded me of somepony, alright.

The community garden was mostly deserted when we caught sight of it halfway up the hill, with only a handful of ponies coming out with saddlebags full of produce for their future meals. This new earth pony magic sure was a hit, granting them the chance to manipulate plants actively rather than passively, accelerating the results by a huge margin.

And, seeing how it was still a relatively new branch of magic, who knew what else would come out of it?

A courteous greeting later, the ponies were on their merry way and Hitch and I were left to ourselves amidst the lush garden packed to the brim with the last of the summer’s harvest. He offered to take care of the blueberries, enlisting the help of his baby dragon, while I headed to the opposite end for a handful of blackberries… and a few strawberries if I caught sight of ‘em.

We worked silently for a few minutes, with nothing worth mentioning transpiring during our short foraging session. The only thing that truly caught my attention was the messy state of the southern end of the garden, right near where the lettuces and cabbages were grown. A dusty shovel had been left carelessly on the floor nearby, a couple of holes half-dug in random places around it. It was almost as if a group of moles had partaken in a competition to see who could dig better or faster or… whatever competitions that moles competed in.

Since that was an unlikely case, I would’ve thought that earth ponies would have been more mindful of the state of their shared community garden, but reasoning how it surely belonged to some lazy pony having left in the middle of a job, I didn't give it much thought. I didn't want to keep the girls waiting for long so, catching sight of my prize, I grabbed a handful of berries and stored it in my pocket for Sunny to use. I didn't want to grab too much since I hadn't grown them in the first place. No strawberries, though…

“Done here!” I warned Hitch, who yelled back upon the completion of his own search. With nothing else to keep us there, we joined together at the upper exit of the garden and, taking hold of his berries and storing them in my other pocket, we traveled the short distance to the looming crystalline lighthouse, the Unity Crystals continuing challenging the heavens with their rainbow magic without interruption. I was overjoyed to see how no other weird glitches or anomalies had arisen to make a mess of the town again. Everything was going according to plan… well, whatever plan it was that had prevented me from carrying out my original mission.

I let him know about the mess somepony had made of the southern end of the community garden on our way out. He promised to take a look later and talk to the culprit. Once we had reached the entrance, I dug into my memories of Earth for another bout of human nonsense.

“Knock Knock! Uber Eats!” I announced loudly, not waiting for an answer before crossing the foyer with Hitch in tow, eliciting yet another bemused head tilt from him. I loved messing with the ponies using Earth references. Sparky, munching on a berry the sheriff had sneaked for him, vigorously jumped from his back and hurried in his search for his favorite unicorn with a mischievous giggle.

“Sparky! What did I tell you about running inside other ponies' homes?!” Hitch, eyes widening at seeing his scaly charge making a swift escape, bolted behind the baby dragon.

Noise could be heard coming from the kitchen. Somepony was already up and preparing our promised breakfast. Leaving the poor sheriff to deal with his rampaging dragon, I set out the kitchen as my next stop, my mouth already watering at the prospects of delicious pancakes, especially if the involved pony had chosen to follow my recipe… or, Spike’s recipe to be more precise.

The mare in question was none other than Sunny who, humming one of the many songs from my late home world she’d learned, was already hooves full in preparing the pancake batter.

“Guten Morgen, mein kleine… uh, I forgot the German word for pony.”

Sunny, ears perking at the sound of my voice, strained her neck to find me over her shoulder without missing a beat on her stirring, a tiny smirk adorning her muzzle.

“I wouldn’t have understood it either way.” She joked back, the tip of her tongue slipping through her lips mischievously.

With a chuckle of my own, I walked around the island and joined the earth pony over the counter, reaching for my pocket and placing two handfuls worth of berries on the counter.

“As requested, my lady,” I spoke with deference, offering a small bow.

“Why thank you, my good sir.” She playfully lowered her head in return, attempting to look courteous, yet the numerous blobs of pancake batter staining her hooves and fur made her look kinda ridiculous.

Without further ceremony, she took the aforementioned berries and dropped them whole into the batter, stirring it up energetically to make sure the mixture became as homogeneous as possible.

Once she was happy with the result, she ceased her mixing and covered the bowl containing the batter with a thin film of plastic.

“Okay! Now we let it rest for a bit before adding the cinnamon and chocolate chips.” She happily declared while removing her pink heart-themed apron and unceremoniously resting it on the counter. I waited patiently while she washed her batter-covered hooves, just silently enjoying watching her having a blast while whipping up her special recipes, my heart beating faster at her closeness. It was simply undeniable at that point, and a lot of thinking and self-exploration had brought me to my final decision, one I would let her know during the Mareseids meteor shower, just shy of a week away.

Once her forehooves were clean and dry, Sunny, her eyes sending me as much love and warmth as mine did for her, approached me and reared on her hindlegs, comfortably tucking her forelimbs over my shoulder, now meeting me eye to eye. With a mind of their own, my arms surrounded the mare, coming to rest on the small of her back while slightly pushing her against me. Faust, how fuzzy it made me feel having her nearby…

“Must’ve been a terrible night’s sleep without me around, huh, Tangerine?”

Pursing her lips, she dipped her head to the side in a dignified manner. “Never slept better.” She spoke dismissively, mockingly raising her snout in the air.

“I’m sure you did.” I chuckled at her silliness, tenderly rubbing my nose on her snout in the way I knew she adored. A fond smile erased the smugness on her muzzle, followed by a playful lick to my nose.

“So, a lot of gossipping happening behind our backs?” I teased with a knowing smirk, absentmindedly scratching around the base of her tail, one of a pony’s many sweet spots. “I hope anything said about my chiseled body has been gravely exaggerated…”

“Pfff.” She released an annoyed snort. “I wished we had! But… well, Izzy…” She dragged on with hesitation.

“Dragged you all night long around the place without stopping?” I finished for her. The way she went limp against me was all the answer I needed. “Heh, that mare sure is something.” I chuckled at the peppy unicorn’s exhausted behavior.

With a long sigh, Sunny took the chance to sneak a few head rubs against me while she rested tiredly against my body. “It was an interesting night. We got her to see reason at the end and she slowed down, and I don't feel any jinxies on me.”

“How would you even know if you got the jinxies?” I wondered aloud, rubbing my fingers behind her ears. All she returned was a shrug, breathing deeply of my scent while enjoying the free dose of snuggles.

“Well, at least you girls had fun. How was Misty? Did she enjoy the sleepover?” I was curious about the newest integrant to our circle of friends. While she mulled her answer, I caught the faint echo of the main doors opening and closing in the distance, alongside the telltale melody of Pipp’s colorful humming. I guessed that she wasn't gonna stay for breakfast either.

My new inquiry had gotten her attention and, begrudgingly, she unstuck herself from me to meet my gaze. “She was very shy at first, but I think she had a great time. Especially when we got Izzy to slow down and dedicate more than a single minute to each of the activities.” She explained with a fond giggle. However, her features suddenly chilled in a worrisome frown. “Although, during storytime, I chose the tale of the Guardians of Harmony and… well…” She fought to find the words for a moment. “My version seemed to… rile her up a bit.” She voiced with uncertainty. “And she told us her version of the story afterward; a twisted and VERY wrong version of the tale, I might add.”

I could see in her eyes and how her voice wavered that whatever Misty had told them had gotten her worked up quite a bit.

“A different version? How so?” I asked, intrigued since I knew the three tribes had shared a similar story about the times before the fall.

“W–Well.” She stammered, failing to meet my gaze in favor of my shirt. “She talked about an alicorn qu-”

“IT’S GONE!!!”

Zipp, having appeared out of nowhere, thought it was wise to scream into our faces at the top of her lungs. It went without saying that both of us jumped twice our height from the scare, barely saving the contents of the mixing bowls from falling from the counter.

“Jesus Christ, Zipp!!” I cried alarmed, annoyed at her sudden invasion of our space as well as her apparent need to shout like that. My hand went to my heart since I swear I felt it skip a beat or two. Sunny fared no better, almost tripping over her tail and clutching her fluffy chest while wheezing out long breaths. “What the hell was that about?!!”

“It’s gone!!” She repeated as if we automatically would understand what she was implying with her loud screeching.

“What’s gone?” Sunny inquired once she’d gotten her pulse under control.

“Your lantern! It’s not in its case!” Zipp wailed, still hovering in front of us with fast-paced wingbeats.

While Sunny’s eyes narrowed to match the panicking pegasus, I could only furrow my brow in confusion. “Her dad’s old lantern?”

But Zipp was no longer paying attention to us. Instead, she was dating all over the place, searching for something which, after a few hurried laps, apparently failed to find. Releasing an anguished groan, she flopped over the kitchen island while extracting her foldable phone from under her wing holster.

“And it's not here with you! Which means it’s missing!” She wailed to herself, hooves flying over the screen.

Don’t get me wrong, one of our friend’s most cherished possessions going missing was serious business, but none of us would be able to make heads or tails of the problem if Zipp wasn’t going to stop hyperventilating like a madmare. “Zipp, take a breath and expl-”

“I need to find it!” She rudely cut me off, outright refusing to take a second and see reason and taking flight with her wings once again. “B-But it could already be too late! Don’t you know that the first few hours after a crime are critical for clues?!” She suddenly addressed us once again, her left eye twitching in unrestrained panic.

Sunny, ever hopeful and hating to see her friend in such distress, went for the most obvious possibility. “Zipp, wait! I'm sure somepony just left the lantern somewhere in the brighthouse. I-I mean, you guys know you’re free to use it whenever you need to.” She tried with a hopeful wish.

Detective Zipp didn't buy it. “When? We were all asleep just an hour ago! Who could have grabbed it without us noticing?!”

She had a point there, which only worked to unnerve poor Sunny further, the mare now beginning to hyperventilate following the pegasus example while Zipp continued rambling about theories and possibilities and whatnot.

“My dad’s lantern…” Sunny whined in distress. We all knew the importance of that lantern to her, and it was even more important now that we knew it contained a smidge of the Prisbeam energy inside. In other words, it was a LOT of pure, unfiltered magic, tightly bottled into such a little container. While not outright volatile or anything like that, it could very easily be harnessed and could be used for some very nefarious purposes that I’m sure a potential thief would be very interested in attempting. Or just a curious pony prodding where they shouldn’t be and hurting themselves, or worse.

Zipp’s urgency was justified. We HAD to find that lantern, both for Sunny and for the power it contained. But that didn't mean we should start clucking aimlessly around the place like headless chickens. The best approach for this kind of situation was a cool-headed, rational one.

“Zipp.” I placed a reassuring hand over her shoulder to gently nudge her down to land, the other one busy petting a panicking Sunny between her ears. One hyperventilating pony was enough, thank you very much. “I want you to take a deep breath and listen to me.”

She struggled to do so, her wings fidgeting at her sides despite her attempts to keep them in place, while her forehooves shuffled nervously beneath her as her eyes betrayed her urgency by casting frenetic looks around the place as if she believed that they could catch something of interest from where she was standing.

“Okay.” I began once she was more or less settled. “First, nopony besides us knows about the lantern and the power it contains, which rules out somepony from the town just sneaking in and stealing it from under our noses.”

“B-But…”

“Second.” I interrupted her before she could launch herself into another bout of nonsense. “Since nopony from our group has left the brighthouse, it means that in case somepony misplaced it, should still be here somewhere.”

“B-But…”

“So.” I cut her off once again, earning an annoyed twitch from her tail. “I can think of two possibilities: One.” I raised a finger. “Hitch’s critters are playing a prank on us again, just like the last time, and they’ve hidden it somewhere. That leads me to possibility number two.” I raised another finger. “Somepony DID take it and misplaced it without remembering that they did it. I believe Izzy tends to sleepwalk sometimes, perhaps you should ask her.”

A spark of inspiration struck Zipp's eyes. I could practically hear the rusty gears in her head turning and coming up with a solid plan.

“Yes…” I heard her mumble.

I had one last thing to offer. “Aside from all that, if somepony did sneak in and out, there must be hoofprints on the dirt path leading downhill… unless it was a pegasus, in which case they would've just flown out a window. That’s gonna be harder to track down if that’s the case.”

“Oooow, what if it was a pegasus? And they’re now hundreds of kilometers away?!” Wailed Sunny, who pressed herself against me in distress. “This is gonna be another Discord incident!! Why is everypony so intent on stealing from us!!” She cursed to the heavens, stomping her hooves angrily on the marble floor.

The answer was obvious. “‘Cause we hold things of great power in here, Sunny. You’re the new Guardians of Harmony, which means that the road is gonna be everything but easy.” I explained while moving my hand behind her left ear to provide a gentle scratch.

My touch failed to ease her anger. “Some work we’re doing…” She muttered darkly under her breath.

“I’m gonna follow your advice, Alex.” Zipp agreed with me while taking it to the air once again. “I’m gonna finish turning the brighthouse upside down. If it’s still here, I’m gonna find it!” She assured us boldly, but her ears flattened immediately after. “If not…”

“If not, you take that determination outside and search all the way down to the town. Hoofprints, stray feathers, mane ‘n tail strands…”

Nodding firmly, she pumped her wings hard and flew towards the interior of the structure, but not before reassuring Sunny one last time that she was going to find her lantern if it was the last thing she'd do. With full confidence in her friend's abilities, Sunny gave Zipp her blessings while coming up with a plan to find her lantern herself.

“I’m going to try the townsponies and see if anypony has seen it since this morning.” Sunny turned on her hooves to face me fully and quickly explained her strategy, the delicious pancakes-to-be waiting on the counter all but forgotten by now. “I need your help.” She begged with her best puppy eyes. Not that she needed to, I was more than willing to lend a hand. I had a firm hunch that the lantern was going to be crucial for us in the future. You don’t cut a slice of your power to fit it inside a lantern just for the sake of it, so the urgency to find it was more than justified. The more eyes on the search for it, the better.

It was shaping up to be a very busy morning for the lot of us. “You know you can always count on me, Sunny.” I stated the obvious, slightly bending on my knees to rub my nose over her snout.

A thankful smile and a warm blush grew on her muzzle. With no more time to waste, we rushed out of the brighthouse. Sunny pointed out to me that we needed to make a stop at Hitch's office before we started. I could already imagine what he was up to…

Under the beds, inside the drawers, inside its casing (again, just in case I was blind or something), in the shower, Alex’s room, the crystals’ room, the complete mess our storage room was, and still, it’s…

No matter where I looked, Sunny’s lantern was definitely missing. I mean, there were only so many places a pony could misplace a rainbow-glowing, metal-cased, size-of-your-head shining lantern. My search was bearing no fruit, and my immediate options were running out. Izzy was busy in her workshop after having given little Sparky his daily dose of unicorn cuddles. While not as bad as when we first moved in together, she still tended to sleep-walk once in a while, especially during vivid dreams when she would rise to her hooves after having spent a good while mumbling in her slumber. There was a chance she might have taken it during an episode or she might’ve grabbed it while awake to search for some leaves for that tea she likes to prepare when she felt restless and later woke up thinking it had been a dream. If I had a bit for every time that had happened… I’d have two bits, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice.

That had happened to me too once when I was little. I thought I had dreamt I’d eaten a muffin because I was feeling hungry after being sent to my room without dinner that night. If it hadn't been for the muffin crumbs over my muzzle and the wrapping carelessly discarded on the floor I would’ve never known it had been real. My mom gave me a royal scolding the following morning.

And, well… things happen around Izzy… weird things. Alex told us we shouldn’t worry about it, that she was just ‘being Izzy’.

I was still working on that mystery.

But I couldn’t allow myself to get sidetracked. Interroga- uh… kindly asking Izzy if she remembered having taken the lantern during the night was definitely on my list of objectives, but before I started madly throwing accusations around like I did yesterday with Misty…

Misty…

Misty.

‘She called an emergency and apparently had to leave early in the morning. I didn't hear her leaving… but it’s also true that she would have left during the small hours of the morning when we all would have been sleeping our deepest. Perhaps…’

“Now now, Sparky. What did I say about gnawing other ponies' personal belongings?”

Hitch’s light scolding brought me out of my musings. Misty being responsible for this was a solid possibility. Heck, in reality, it was now the most promising lead I had! But I was very hesitant to doubt her after my previous night’s behavior towards her; I still felt really bad about it. Once I had come down from my ‘detective high’, I only saw a scared mare whose first time hanging out with her newest friends I had completely obliterated with my lack of consideration and forceful attitude. True, she did say some weird things… but that didn't excuse me acting like a complete jerk to her and Izzy.

My ears flicked at the sound of raspy growling below me. Sparky had sneaked his way under my chest and was lovingly hugging my foreleg, his big reptile-like eyes wishing me a good morning, while his little jaws clamped shut around one of my sister's socks…

Why did she even wear socks? Actually, when had she ever worn socks?

“Hey there, you little rascal.” I gently took the baby dragon in my forelegs, sinking on my haunches and letting him nuzzle his little face against my cheek. “Dragon dad treating you good?” I softly asked the little guy, earning an expected gurgle in return. “Heh, I’m glad. A Sheriff’s salary can only buy so many gems for you to gobble up, huh?”

“This Sheriff’s salary is more than enough to cover anything he might require, thank you very much.” An offended Hitch, having followed his little charge to our bedroom where I had concluded my search, stuck his muzzle in the air with a ‘humph’.

“Well, you’re the only sheriff in town.” I chuckled at his indignant attitude, returning Sparky to the ground where he scampered towards her dad. “They ought to keep you tied to your post somehow.”

“Hah! Tell that to the Council!” He loudly exclaimed, rubbing his fetlock over the dragon's head in greeting. “I believe there’s a whole drawer in their archives reserved exclusively for me and the endless complaints I’ve filed asking for more funding for the office, my own salary included.” He stated with a tone indicating he was far from pleased with the outcome.

“Awwww, you poor baby…” I playfully teased the grouchy stallion. “But don't you worry, I’m sure this princess can lend you a bit or two to keep your office from collapsing on your head.” I teased with a smug grin, holding his unwavering gaze until we both couldn't keep it inside any longer, and exploded into snickers.

“I’ll take your word for it.” He lowered his head in mock deference, a gesture that Sparky took advantage of to climb onto his withers and settle on his back in a surprising demonstration of agility. “Ouch! Sparky! Gently, please!” Hitch complained while rubbing his aching neck where Sparky had taken a good grab on his fur and mane to climb to his preferred place on his back.

“Grrrru?” With an innocent dip of his scaly head, any blame promptly evaporated from him when his puppy dog eyes crumbled Hitch’s resolve. With a sigh of submission, the stallion let his surrogate son escape scot-free from this one. My heart warmed at the sight of the pair, now an official family after he had finally made up his mind and had presented formal adoption papers to the town hall the other week. It wasn't looking likely that a dragoness was going to suddenly appear from beyond the ocean in search of her missing baby, so he might as well have a real family with the stallion.

But that warm moment wouldn't last for much longer, for I had a lantern to find. “Hitch,” I called out to my best friend, shifting his attention from the tiny reptile to me. His features turned firmer following the tone of my call. “I need your help.” I requested solemnly.

He was quick to notice that something was not right. “Whatever you need.” He agreed without hesitation.

Sighing mentally, I silently celebrated his cooperation. “I need you to do one… no, two favors for me.”

With a silent nod, his ears perked attentively while he took a step closer to me.

“Sunny’s lantern has gone missing, and I can’t find it anywhere in the brighthouse.”

I saw his eyes widening at the news, only to immediately harden under his furrowed brow. “Another thief in our home?!” He inquired aloud with rising embers in his eyes.

“I don't know.” I declared with a solemn shake of my head while I absent-mindedly tapped my forehooves against the marble floor out of nervousness, to the point where I was probably making a dent. “I believe it’s very likely that somepony might have misplaced it somewhere…”

“Did you find anything that might point to a theft?” He inquired, falling into professional mode. Sparky whined softly on his back, feeling the stallion's unwelcome change of attitude.

Another shake of my head. “Not so far, but I’ve searched everywhere inside and I’ve found absolutely nothing.”

With a pensive hum, Hitch averted his eyes to the side, a hoof rising to rub under his chin. “Hmm, that’s definitely weird.” He muttered loud enough for me to catch. “I mean, Sunny’s lantern is not exactly inconspicuous…”

“I know!” I wailed desperately, feeling my frustration get a hold of me. With a deep breath to rein in my wings, I extracted my phone from its holster and motioned for him to approach me. He did so immediately, falling beside me to take a good look at the complete lack of evidence I had worked to acquire during my search.

I felt his warm coat brush against mine as he slightly pressed against me to get a better look, making my hormones scream some very distracting, but not unwelcome,thoughts to my brain.

‘Zipp! This is the LAST moment to be thi-’

“What did you want to show me?” His voice dragged me out of my mental chastising, making my cheeks light up in embarrassment.

“S-Sorry...” I stammered like a filly in front of her crush, which in my case…

‘NO! This is NOT the time for that!’

I sifted through each and every photo I’d taken, the spy drone having captured them where I’d pointed, and sent them to my phone automatically. My spyglasses hadn't revealed anything noteworthy either. Some shed fur from the lot of us, hoof marks scattered around from our previous sleepover, and a bit of filth from our hasty renovation efforts of Izzy’s own corner of the room pending cleaning…

“No signs of forced entry, no other items missing, nothing else out of order.”

He took a careful, analytical look at each of the pictures. After a slow process of meticulous scrutiny, he reached the same conclusion.

“Nothing I can see either.” He lamented, slightly pulling backward to continue mulling over our poor findings. A small part of me registered disappointment after the loss of contact with his side, a tiny part I promptly silenced.

“Have you spoken with the girls?”

“Everypony but Izzy, but the rest claimed to have seen it before going to sleep,” I explained, pulling the next step of the search into motion. “And that’s where you come in,” I informed him while returning the phone to its holster.

“Hmm?”

“First, I need your help with the case, Hitch.”

“Always.” He spoke without skipping a beat, forcing a disguised smile on my muzzle.

“Thank you. Second, I need you to ask your critter friends if they’re playing a prank on us. You know what they did to the town last time.”

Poor Hitch visibly cringed at the memory. “Ugh, don’t remind me. It took us the whole day to make an inventory of everything missing.” He lamented with a shudder, earning a comforting pat on his head from the dragon on his back. “Thanks, Sparky.” He nuzzled the baby dragon in return.

Smiling warmly at their little moment, I waited for Sparky to settle down on his back. “We cannot rule out the possibility.”

“I’ll check the critter’s corner, although I’m sure some have already left to get an early start foraging for the winter, so not everycritter will be there.”

I’d also checked the critters' little corner of the brighthouse, assembled after the cutie mark fiasco of the other week between Hitch and Sunny. The little guys absolutely loved it, and more often than not you’d catch some of them playing around or simply lounging. And also, they were close to their favorite sheriff, so it was a win-win for them.

However, if they had been the mischievous culprits, they hadn't hidden their booty in their artificial dens down on the ground floor.

“Anything you can wring out of them will be crucial,” I noted, nodding in gratitude for his help. “I’m gonna start checking over the outside perimeter and make my way into town. We’ll meet on the road or there when you’re finished, sounds good?”

“Let’s crack this case, Detective Zipp!” With a playful wink and a winning hoof-bump, Hitch galloped his way down to the critters’ den while I took to the air, spy glasses on and drone buzzing, ready to catch a lantern thief.

‘If you could crack Discord's case, you surely can catch a two-bit lousy thief, Zipp. With Hitch’s help, we’ll be done in a jiffy!’

So, do you remember my flawless plan? The one I’d claimed to be so simple that it was virtually impossible for it to derail, nosy pegasus princess aside? Two simple steps: get in and out with the prize.

The first part came out perfectly… well, almost. That pesky pegasus princess sticking her muzzle where it wasn’t welcome almost tramped my plan’s perfect execution, but it ended up being my new ‘friends’ who had scolded her and gotten her to back the hay away from me, or else that crazy unicorn would’ve begun crying… or something. It was hard to read that mare sometimes, which didn’t particularly work well in my favor. But still, Zipp had suppressed any and all further questions and fell back in line with the rest of the enthusiastic ponies.

I kinda felt bad for her. After all, she was dead on the nose with her suspicions, but regardless of what a great time I had spent with them after all the ruckus had died down, I couldn't allow myself to go soft on them. They were the ENEMY. The ones interfering with Opaline's critical vision for the future of Equestria!

I also had to gather info from them, which they gladly divulged. I couldn’t understand most of it, but I still memorized all they had talked about during the sleepover. Perhaps Opaline would find it interesting…

Regardless of having spent my entire life living inside an isolated castle, I’m neither heartless nor an idiot. Opaline made sure to nurture that second part. The first, I believe she’d rather wish that I’d lost that part of me a long time ago. I knew that what I was doing was wrong, toying with their trust like that. Poor Izzy truly thinks we're ‘best unicorn buddies’. Heck, she came up with that entire sleepover nonsense just for me!

Never before have I had such doubts assault me, nor have I ever endured such… strength from doubts before. What kind of ‘enemies of Equestria’ invite a thieving, lying scoundrel like me to a slumber party and wish to be your friend from the bottom of their hearts?

I would have enough time to bust my brains over it once I returned with the lantern. I was in far too deep to succumb to guilt and spill my guts to everypony. For once in my life, I would get it right! After that…

After that, there was a lot of thinking to be done.

That took me to step two of the plan. Slumbering ponies, happily lost in their little dreams, wouldn't notice me sneaking out with Sunny’s lantern. I’d had plenty of practice sneaking around; Opaline’s fortress is sooooo big but completely empty. Any step you take bounces all around the place… when she isn’t screaming at me or speaking to herself, that is.

My escape had been perfect, barely eliciting an ear twitch from the lantern’s owner. All that was left was to bolt out of there and take my usual path home. With a steady pace and more than a little bit of Faust’s luck on my side, I would soon be well away from the town and relaxing on my bed inside the fortress, a very proud Opaline complimenting me for a job well done. Perhaps she would bring the ice cream out!

A mare can dream…

However, it was that last little detail that the ‘flawless’ part of my flawless plan shattered like one of those very old vases Opaline once had in her room during a storm. I imagined myself, happily eating a hypothetical bowl of ice cream, chilling in my room, and telling the empty ceiling what a fantastic adventure I’d been in. And of the ponies here, who were now searching for a lantern that was a fair number of kilohooves out of reach…

It was obvious. It was so painfully obvious. So much so, that I simply couldn't believe that I hadn't considered it sooner. The realization brewed as I galloped down the dirt path to the intersection that diverged between the town, or further inland. I was debating whether to take the short path into town and risk being spotted or turn right for an excruciatingly long detour around the bay when the full force of that realization hit me.

I hit the brakes so hard that I almost dropped the lantern I was carrying in my maw, with me falling immediately on my behind. Not wanting to risk being spotted sitting in the middle of the road like an idiot, I quickly got up and sought refuge in the berry bushes growing inside the community garden to formulate another plan.

I felt like baptizing the place as a spiritual refuge for Misty to chastise herself, for it had been the second time that night that the lush vegetation, carrying the scrumptious last produce of the harvest season, enjoyed front-row seats watching a sky-blue unicorn mare calling herself a complete fool

And that's exactly what I did… for a couple of minutes at least.

I ran through in my mind what they would think when they woke up: A rainbow-emitting, glowing lantern, one of Sunny’s most cherished possessions, suddenly goes missing. And then, that weird unicorn mare with the useless horn? Why, would you look at that? Gone too, both happening in the dead of night. Isn’t that very coincidental? Isn’t that very suspicious?

The town was virtually off-limits; there was no chance of me accomplishing anything there, much less hoping to step hoof in it without having that pesky pegasus and her little group of friends seek me out like a wounded timberwolf.

But it's not like I could go back to them to with my tail between my legs claiming a ‘silly mistake’ led me to take the lantern.

“‘Oops, sorry about that guys. I thought it was a little gift from a souvenir shop, the one you guys don't even have in the first place. Hehe, silly me…’ Yeah, they're gonna buy it straight out the horse's mouth. Uuuuugh!”

The good news was that I had found the fatal flaw in my plan before it was too late. The bad news? There was a fatal flaw for me to deal with. That's what I get for putting together a plan in the time it took to trot from the main square to the brighthouse.

The only possible solution I could come up with in my angry, panicked state was to compromise. I would hide the lantern, and claim that I had an emergency to justify my absence for the time being, yet make sure they saw innocent Misty around town lanternless and completely off the hook.

And then, after all the fuss was over and they wrote it off as lost, I would reclaim it and bring it to Opaline. And after all that effort, I could surely no longer call myself a cutie-markless pony!

But where to hide it? The town was obvious as a first choice, but several things made it less than desirable. First, it was full of ponies. Sleeping ponies, sure, but it would still be risky if I had to move stuff around to hide the lantern. Also, a lot of ponies in an enclosed space meant more chances to be discovered regardless of my efforts. Second, it was dark; not on the streets, themselves thanks to the streetlamps of course, but the dark, enclosed alleys (which would be my preferred hiding places) would surely be as dark as the pit of a manticore’s jaws. And it's not like the inert, pointy lump of bone sticking out of my forehead was gonna help me light the way.

My immediate surroundings became my saving grace. It was considerably more secluded, and the lush vegetation would prove very useful. Also, there were a couple of shovels discarded in a corner. Nothing better to hide a lantern than a good ol’ hole in the ground, am I right?

“Aaah… Aaargh… Heavens, these earth ponies make it… aaah… look so easy…”

It required more time and muscle than I had expected and digging as quietly as possible meant all movement needed to be done in slow motions.

You can imagine how much of a pain in the flank it is digging a hole in slow motion.

Several attempts were needed, the soil proving too hard in some places, too many roots in the way in others, or simply too exposed for my liking. The glowbugs buzzing around the place provided the bare amount of illumination needed to ease my work, the stars and moon covering for the rest. I must've half-dug-half-buried at least a dozen holes before hitting the jackpot.

But I did it! A nice, inconspicuous hole at the foot of a lush glowberry bush, from which I took a hooffull of berries once I was done. I deserved them.

I placed the lantern inside, tilting it slightly to better fit its hiding place, and carefully returned the dirt to its proper place. Well, as much as I could collect since some ended up too far for my immediate reach... and, honestly, I was simply too tired to care, covering my deceit with just enough dirt to entomb all the glowing light coming from inside the lantern. It was messy and far from perfect, but it would work. It was practically under their snouts, which on this particular occasion only worked to my advantage.

Discarding the shovel, I dusted my hooves and allowed myself a momentary victory pose since loud cheering was out of the question. A quick message regarding a family emergency suddenly arising would be good enough to deflect most questions. All that was left was to wait for a bit and I would return here tomorrow to collect my ill-gotten gains.

And so, it was time for some much-needed rest!

But where; back in the brighthouse, maybe? In that comfy sleeping bag, that the unicorn had graciously provided for me? And risk waking up the ponies and get them buzzing around me again?!

… I had found an abandoned shack far from the outskirts of town some time ago. I had used it previously during my longer runs around the bay. Tonight would be no different.

Nighttime was rough, as you can expect from spending it inside a freezing, half-rotten shack. How I woke up with several thorns embedded far into my skin with all that protective fur was beyond me. I gave myself one final mental kick for not having taken the sleeping bag with me.

But if I wanted to avoid repeating such a wonderful experience the next time, and possibly for the rest of my days if Opaline willed it, I had to put the new plan in motion!

The first step of the new plan was already done; dig a hole and hide the lantern. Done and done. The second step was to return to the brighthouse bright and cheery, apologizing for the rushed exit and assuring them my uncle's leg sprain was nothing to worry about.

I hoped they'd be concerned. It's the polite thing to do, after all.

The third and last step was to let the situation play out, look as shocked and crushed as the ponies, and then promise my very best to ‘assist’ with the search. Once the lantern was declared lost for good, I would return for my reward, gallop all the way back to Opaline, and then take a sixteen-hour-long bath. I was itching to scrub off those sorry excuses for cutie marks on my flanks. Although I wouldn’t mind if the actual thing looked similar, I had grown fond of my own design.

Morning ablutions involved erasing any trace of me having spent the night role-playing as a mole and sleeping under the beautiful cover of the stars and half-chewed roof planks which, possessing a staggering number of zero toiletries, was an adventure in itself.

‘Faust above, why is the sea so cold?!!!’

I must've aged a decade from all the cursing I had made through the course of that night. But a freezing bath and an hour of sunbathing later as my method of drying myself saw me ready… and very much awake.

Seeing as there was no further need to remain inconspicuous, I chose to take the direct route through town, making sure everypony saw little, innocent Misty doing absolutely nothing besides taking a morning stroll. I wanted to see that pegasus’s face when she’d eventually get to asking the townsponies about me. Although I hoped it wouldn't come to that, seeing how a random hiccup was enough to throw that mare off, any help in that regard was more than welcome.

The walk uphill was spent humming a little song, one I had learned from Opaline. She tended to sing in the shower, can you believe that?!

I could almost see it. Me, standing in front of a smiling Opaline, eyes full of pride, praising me for a job well done. She would take the lantern and… do something with it, I guessed; and I would trot merrily to my room with a pair of shining cutie marks adorning my rump. And that useless carrot on my head would finally glow up with my newfound magic!

The brighthouse was well in view by the time the sun had reached its zenith, and so was the community garden where my prize patiently waited. It went without saying that I hadn't had any breakfast, and my tummy made sure to let me know loudly and repeatedly. Those glimmerberries of yesterday suddenly sounded very appetizing. Perhaps I was growing an addiction or something?

I couldn't have cared less. My growling stomach took over my hooves and I made a beeline towards the garden. No pony was walking near the plant thankfully, meaning I could sneak a couple of berries and check in on the lantern on my way out.

…

…

The lantern was gone. A couple of hoofprints, a bunch of reflecting, aquamarine glitter mixed with the scattered dirt, and a lanternless hole under the shadow of the nearby bush.

And then there was me, standing frozen in place, not looking like an idiot, no; but the worldwide unchallenged champion of the morons!!

“....... NnnnnnnggggggggffffffffffffffBU-!!!!”

“Misty.”

“AAAAAHH!!!”

Jumping thrice my height, almost cartwheeling in the air while I was at it, I made a rough landing in front of a very serious and very prepared pegasus mare, kitted out in full detective gear she had presumably brought with her from their trip to the pegasi city.

Which meant that she was already detectiving… Is that even a word?... Whatever, it is now. She was detectiving for their stolen lantern, which had been stolen by me and had now been STOLEN FROM ME!!!

… I simply had to come up with a bad joke about it. It would be the perfect start!

“Z-Z-Ziiiipp!” I managed to squeak out, hoof clutching my chest as if my fast-beating heart was gonna make a run for it. “Y-You can't go around making ponies jump outta their horseshoes like that!”

“I called out to you.” She blankly replied. “Several times. You were just… standing there...” She concluded with a shrugged muzzle.

My sight fixed on the dirt my forehoof was sheepishly pawing. “Hehe… y-yeah I, uh… sometimes space out… a bit…”

“Misty.”

Her sharp call brought me out of my pathetic number. “Y-Yeah?”

“We need to talk.” Her professional, albeit unnerving scowl was driving me to the edge.

“D-Do we?”

“Something bad has happened.” She shortly stated, taking one step forward.

“I-It has?” I meekly replied, not daring to break eye contact. “B-But what could poss-?”

“Sunny's lantern has gone missing.” She swiftly declared, taking another step forward, this time accompanied by one backward step from me. “Neither hair nor feather of the culprit has been found. Hitch’s talking with his critters in case somecritter’s playing a prank on us, but I don't think that's gonna be the case.”

She took another step forward, again forcing me to retreat until my rump was pricked by the thin branches of the bush behind me. Cold drops of sweat ran down my forehead and around the sheepish grin stretching my muzzle, a poor attempt to hide my mind-numbing panic.

‘SheknowssheknowssheknowsAGAIN!!!’

“Do you know anything about it, Mi-?”

Suddenly, the full strength of her suspicion was lifted from me, and was now focused in full over the not-so-discreet-anymore hole at my hooves.

“Huh?” Her head tilted to the side, her forelegs bending to bring her closer to the ground. Her little spy drone detached itself and, following a silent command, began taking picture after picture of the scene.

“O-Oh, yes!” Miraculously saved by the bell, I used my chance. “I saw it too when I came in. I was hungry for some berries after having walked all day away from my uncle's place, nothing serious after all, thank goodness. It rubbed me strange seeing all these holes around as if a bunch of rambunctious moles…”

“Gophers.”

“Huh?”

Zipp, having ignored my nervous babbling while carefully analyzing the half-filled hole, suddenly clarified with a slight tilt of her head in my direction. “This hole is more likely to have been dug by a gopher, not a mole.” Her hoof went to rub under her chin as a sudden realization lit her eyes. “And it could very well fit a lantern too!”

“You don't say!” I celebrated, making myself sound as surprised and oblivious to the matter as I could. A faint hope considering who I was trying to fool, but it's not like I could do much more than play the innocent pony.

“Mhm.” She enthusiastically nodded. Say what you want about her, but the spark in her eyes and the joy in her voice spoke volumes about how much she truly was enjoying it. Even when dealing with something as serious as a theft, the joy and commitment that went into her efforts was a clear reflection of her passion for being a detective. A striking contrast when compared to how she was acting around me the other day. I guess a good detective has to play their game in different ways depending on the situation. You won't get a pony to split the guts with warm smiles and supporting words.

At least that was what Opaline had taught me…

“But a gopher would not leave hoofprints behind!” She exclaimed while pointing to an alarmingly clear hoofprint well-imprinted in the nearby mound of loose dirt, surely from the same pony that had left all those other hoofprints around the hole that had now been re-baptized as a crime scene. But I had nothing to worry about… at least regarding that matter. They weren't mine and those that were would’ve already been muddled over by the sea breeze carrying small tidbits of the sea foam from the waves crashing against the cliffs… terrible thing for the mane, I tell you. Thank hoofness mine was already curly by nature.

“And what is this?” Zipp continued with her investigation, vigorously skipping to the side to assess the scene from a different angle. I prayed a silent thanks to Faust for the pegasus’ enthusiasm, having already forgotten about me and the fact I was at the crime scene to begin with. “Glitter? A magical remnant?... No, those flitter away quickly after spellcasting.”

She caught me off guard by going as far as taking a hoofful of dirt and giving it a good, analytical lick. My muzzle scrunched back and my eyes narrowed in disgust while hers did so in contemplation.

“Hmmmm… still considerably humid, it’s not been uncovered for long. Perhaps somepony buried it and then only unburied it recently? But why? That'd be kinda stupid.”

‘Well excuuuuuse me, princess. Not everypony is a smarty-smart, snout-deep-where-she-shouldn’t-have-it McSmartypants! Ugh!’ I mentally scoffed, remaining on the sidelines while Princess Smartflank dirtied her snout like a common earth pony…

That was racist, wasn't it? Not like I would've known at the time…

“And your fancy glasses couldn't have told you that?.” I shot with no short amount of snark.

My inquiry actually got her by surprise, eliciting an embarrassed grin as she lowered said glasses over her eyes. “Heh, I’m… still getting used to having them.”

She went on with it for a while, bringing up stuff like print size and depth, soil composition, magical residue, and whatnot. I had tuned her out after a while, mentally debating whether I should try and quietly sneak away while she was absorbed in her investigation, or whether I should stop to grab some glimmerberrys first. I was as hungry as a horse!

“How's your uncle, by the way?” Zipp suddenly spoke after several minutes of silent investigation. She had her glasses on, so I couldn't fully decode her expression.

It seemed I would have to play my cards sooner than anticipated. “O-Oh, he's fine, thank-you for asking,” I replied in my most convincing voice. “It ended up being a bad bump, nothing broken. He actually called me when I was halfway there, and said that I shouldn't bother with such a long journey in the middle of the night and all.” Zipp remained focused on her work, but her twisted ear told me she was very much listening, and this was far from a simple pleasantry. “I… uh, it was very late when I came back and… I didn't want to bother you girls so I… spent the night at the inn…”

“Maretime Bay doesn’t have an inn.” Zipp shot, now turning her head towards me.

A nervous gulp drowned any further words on my muzzle. You can only go that far with petty lies and excuses, I lamented in resignation.

“Although there's this nice old mare, Mayflower, I think she was called? She's renting rooms for tourists until an actual inn is built. Are you talking about that?”

Another last-minute save. I simply couldn't believe my luck. Dumb as it was, it also got me out of sticky situations once in a very long while.

“Y-Yeah, that's it!” I exclaimed as if I had suddenly remembered. “Sorry, we don't have that kinda thing back in the fortre- ah! Forest. Bridlewood Forest. Yeah…” I sheepishly apologized, biting my tongue after that barely avoided slip-up.

“Why would you have one? It's not like you unicorns were expecting visitors!” She chuckled and returned to her analysis. “Gotta say it, you guys went a little too far with the ‘keep out’ signs.” Another amused giggle. “It almost seemed as if a bloodthirsty monster was looming inside.”

“I'll… let the ponies know when I return.”

“Nah, they'll have removed them by now.” Seemingly finished with her analysis, she raised back to her full height and motioned for the drone to take a final picture. “You know. With everypony being friends now and all. Not very welcoming to keep them there, huh?”

“Well of course not!” I loudly agreed, my voice breaking a bit from the fake enthusiasm behind the claim. “Now that everypony can travel wherever they like, that's the last thing you want. I mean, I am here.” Zipp followed my hoof up towards my horn.

“You can say that again.” She finished with a smile, which quickly turned to a puzzled look. “Although, now that I look at it, I've never seen you use magic. Why?” She asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Now that you guys can, it sounds like a missed chance.”

Now that tiny trick I wouldn't be able to physically prove, so I had to improvise. Again. Lucky me.

‘ThinkthinkthinkthinkthinkthinkTHINK MISTY!!’

“Weeell… I mean, I can TOTALLY use magic if I want, b-but,” I swallowed another nervous lump. “I'm not very skilled with it, outright terrible actually. And ponies… um, they asked me not to in case I ended up lighting somepony else's house on fire which, you know… living in a forest and all...”

Zipp’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, um… woah, that's rough.” She said with a long whistle.

You might think it was such a stupid story that it could end up working. The thing is, it was an actual story, more or less. No magic involved, of course, just a curious filly playing around Opaline’s alchemy room, accidentally dropping several vials of chemicals that shouldn't under any circumstances be mixed…

Thank hoofness that a shallow stream runs under the fortresses’ bridge. Up to that day, I was still sore from all those buckets filled with water I had to carry back and forth.

“Well, you do your thing, Misty. I, for one, am gonna enjoy these babies to their fullest.” She extended her wings to their full length, flexing into a smug pose in the process.

“Woah, they’re very pretty.” That might as well have been the first truly honest thing that had left my muzzle so far that day.

“Why thank you. I use this special shower gel which…” But her speech was interrupted by her phone buzzing under her wing. Carefully extracting it, she removed her spyglasses and looked over the incoming message.

“Huh?... Oh, Hitch’s done with his part.” She noted to herself while her eyes ran over the text. “Mmmg, he’s not had any luck either, guess we'll have to take it to town.”

She returned the phone to its holster and flapped her wings once again, readying herself for liftoff.

“Misty.” She called as she was about to launch into the air. “I need you to please stay vigilant and immediately text me if you see something suspicious.” She asked, at which I nodded firmly. “Thank you. I'm not sure if there's anypony still at the brighthouse if that's where you're headed. Breakfast’s canceled.”

“Yeah, I can imagine. I'll keep an eye out, detective.” I promised with a hoof on my forehead in military fashion.

With a final nod, she pumped her wings and disappeared against the midday sun. She had told me that perhaps the brighthouse was empty, a golden opportunity if the Unity Crystals had been my goal. But my hooves carried me back into Maretime Bay.

I had a thief of my own to catch.

Sooooo, morning business ended up being less busy than anticipated, which doesn’t mean I wasn’t busy myself. I felt bad for having to ditch my friends after the sleepover. Sunny had promised breakfast together with the colts, but Mane Melody called for her owner to lend a hoof with the alleged ‘morning rush’, which ended up being but a mere trickle of customers asking for semple redos or manecuts. Nothing my wondrous companions couldn’t deal with.

Perhaps not the best news for the business, but most definitely for me! Summer was on its tail end, and that meant a mandatory renewal of MM’s inventory. Seasonal fragrances, hooficure patterns, autumn-themed mane styles… Ugh! Simply so much work to do!

One hundred and thirty-seven fragrances made up my current inventory, brought from aaaall over Equestria. And it was up to me to take this mismatched arrangement of odors and come up with new BREAKING sensations in time for the leaves to fall.

And that was what I was doing at the moment, standing in front of my creation board, an analytical frown running over the different combinations I had come up with, which I would later combine, bottle up, and try on myself and a couple of willing volunteers…

My coworkers. Sometimes I felt like I really didn't pay them enough…

Buuuuut, that wasn’t all. Nononono. After my… particular finding that very same morning, I had to stay away from my sister while taking good care of the lantern I had stumbled upon on my way here. The very same lantern I caught her searching for all over the brighthouse like Mom did when she lost her phone, only to have it tucked in the holster under her wing.

Poor Mom, age is indeed merciless…

But Zipp looked like she was having soooo much fun. It rubbed me the wrong way to hide something so important from my friends, and especially her owner, but just looking at her giving her best in the search and having such a great time…

I would let it play out for a bit, wait for her to eventually follow the PAINFULLY OBVIOUS clues to me, all too lead to a climatic, SHOCKING revelation. Princess Pipp?! A thief?! Who could possibly have guessed?!!

It would be just like in the movies! Ooooh, I simply couldn't wait!

But I’m sure you might be asking, ‘Pipp, where did you find the lantern?’ The thing is, the where I could tell them, but I can’t really explain why I found it where I did.

On my way out of the brighthouse I caught the marvelous sight of the gorgeous community garden we had all grown together, and I simply couldn't resist taking a few pictures to light up the feed early in the morning.

So there was me, looking my best for the camera and searching for the best shot when I suddenly tripped over a half-dug hole, one of many littered around as I saw later, only from my phone to slip from my hoof and land into another one just below one of the berry bushes, almost completely stripped from any delicious treats.

“Ugh… Why do I even bother to brush my mane?” I remembered cursing under my breath, for it hadn't been the first time my looks had been ruined not even an hour after my thorough early-morning pampering ritual. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Maretime Bay, but ever since the return of magic, this town has swung from one crazy event to the next in the few months since we banded together to rejoin the Unity Crystals. And semi-apocalyptic events do NOT work in favor of your mane and coat.

Brushing the filthy dirt from my fur and fixing my mane as best as I could, I went to retrieve my phone, praying it hadn’t suffered any damage. Not like I didn't have, like, seven spares or anything stored back in the ‘Heights, but I wasn’t particularly feeling like flying all the way and back again, especially since Mom would snatch me away the moment she caught sight of me and wouldn't let go until later into the afternoon.

She misses us so much… I had to plan a visit for that weekend.

My prayers had been answered, for my phone hadn’t suffered any damage beyond getting as dirty as I had. Brushing away the loose soil and detritus from the screen, I turned it on again, the default rear camera popping up the moment I pressed the button. I was about to continue with the impromptu photo session when something caught my attention. The camera was pointing down to the ground, more precisely the half-filled hole I had extracted the phone from. For a moment I panicked, since the image showed a spec of dark blue where only dirt should appear. I thought for a second the camera’s lens had cracked or something, not that I used the rear camera that much, but still! These things are expensive!

But the camera hadn't been damaged, judging from my inspection of the mechanism, and on the ground, I found the same spec of color mixed with the loose dirt and a few leaves fallen from the bush atop it.

“What in the wingfeathers…?”

It was so unusual that I simply had to check it out. The idea of dirtying my hooves wasn’t particularly appealing, but my hooficure was already ruined from my earlier trip, so not much additional damage would be done.

The touch, and the sound it made against my hoof, revealed it to be something metallic. Somepony had buried something. Poorly, that is, but still. A hidden treasure perhaps?!

The ground was loose enough for me to dig the mysterious object out without the need for a shovel. Better that way since there was less of a risk of damaging whatever it was that I was unearthing.

I had been expecting some discarded garden equipment, or perhaps a bracelet somepony had lost if you stretched it.

“... HUH?!!”

Sunny’s lantern, dripping sand and completely covered in filthy dust, shone its rainbow light against my hooves that gripped it ever so carefully.

My sister was going crazy searching all over the brighthouse. And yet, it was here. In the middle of the garden, poorly buried by… well, whoever had snuck it away.

“... Um… okay?”

I didn't have my sister’s interest in mysteries, so I was left completely puzzled as to how, or even better, WHY Sunny’s lantern was out here of all places. The only reasonable explanation I could come up with was Hitch’s critters playing a prank or just demanding attention like last time. It took me a whole week, a WEEK, to find my favorite mane brush, only to find a SKUNK of all critters had made it her own because she liked how it felt when she used it on her tail.

OF COURSE IT FEELS NICE, THAT’S WHY IT WAS MY FAVORITE!!!!

… I didn't dare touch that brush ever again.

“Well, whatever the reason you’re out here, I’m sure Sunny’s itching to get you back.”

Patting it gently a couple of times to loosen as much of the filth sticking to it as I could, I secured the lantern, returned my phone to its holster, and flapped my wings in the direction of the brighthouse.

“I guess the mystery is over…”

Just as I was about to land and open the doors, voices coming from the kitchen reached my ears. Flying low to peek over the rim, I saw Alex, Sunny, and Zipp in the kitchen. Their muffled voices told me they were discussing several possibilities regarding the lantern’s location. From where they stood, Sunny and Alex’s backs were turned to me, but I had was a clear picture of my sister, eagerly listening to Alex’s proposition, that same sparkle now present in her eyes when a mystery was ahoof, clad in her full detective gear.

I couldn't really tell from where I hovered, but I could've sworn her cutie mark was positively glowing!

“Oooooww...”

I couldn't do this to her. I couldn't trump down her fun so quickly, not when she was having the time of her life after a few weeks of relative peace. This was her first true mystery since the Discord incident, and since the search for the Ocean Lily ended up being waaay more than what we could chew.

We’d barely made it out of that alive. I still dream about it from time to time…

“No. This mystery is gonna be solved under MY conditions!”

I had the best idea a pony could come up with! The lantern would be safe with me, and Zipp would be allowed to continue with her investigation, an investigation that would eventually bring her to me. I only needed a couple of things to get the game started.

Rapidly pumping my wings, I silently made my way to the upper floor, using the window over my bed to enter our room, and I quickly snatched a bottle of my all-new Pipp-brand wing glitter. Aquamarine, just like my sparkle! It was simply the best.

I then spread that glitter at the very same place I had found the lantern, accompanied by a noticeable hoofprint well placed over the little mound of soil born from my excavation.

My sister would crack it the minute she saw it.

And that, my pony friends, is what brought me there. The lantern was safely stored in the backroom of Mane Melodt, and little, innocent me worked on my fragrances without raising suspicion, impatiently waiting for my sister to burst through the doors with an accusing hoof screaming ‘HALT, THIEF!’

‘ME?!! Why, sister?! How could you possibly believe I would commit such an outrageous act?!!’

I couldn't help but excitedly giggle thinking about the upcoming moment. It was gonna be so epic!

However, my imaginary scenarios were promptly shattered by the sound of a familiar voice screaming her lungs out as she passed in front of my shop.

“... -ergency! We need your help! Join us in the plaza for a very impor-...”

And off she went. It sounded like Sunny had taken the matter into her own hooves and, making use of Hitch’s megaphone, she was rallying the townsponies to her cause.

Not far behind her, our human friend walked at a brisk pace behind the rushing earth pony, hands in his pants’ pockets and assessing the unfolding situation with an amused smirk.

Once again, curiosity got the better of me. Leaving behind my vision board and half-cooked formulas, I rushed out of the shop to meet up with them.

Hearing my approaching wingflaps, Alex turned his head to catch me landing just at his side. “Oh, good morning, Pipp. Everything alright? You kinda bolted on us back there.” He greeted me with a friendly scratch on my ear. I let him do as he pleased as long as he didn't mess with my mane. One fashion crime a day was more than enough, thank you very much.

“Sorry about that, but Mane Melody beckoned me for some emergency fashion do-over for the new season. Lots of work, so little time!” I apologized for my escapade, tilting my head to give him better access. I understood why he claimed Sunny and Izzy to be addicted, it felt really good… far from my carefully brushed mane, that is. “We can all meet up for lunch if you want.”

He took my proposition in earnest, but the most pressing matter was well on display. “No complaints from me, but we are kinda in the middle of something…”

“Sunny's lantern.” I finished for him. “I read Zipp's message. How could anypony just take it from under our snouts like that?!” I wailed, doing my best to fake my anger.

“We don’t know if it was stolen or just misplaced, Pipp.” He clarified, returning his hand to his pocket while his eyes searched for a rampaging Sunny, who worked her best to rally as many ponies as she could around Mane Square, with limited success, sadly.

Whining softly at the disappearance of the nice feeling, I followed his sight towards the orange mare, who was momentarily taking a breath from all that shouting while we resumed our march towards where she stood.

“What’s her plan?” I couldn't help but wonder. Screaming at your fellow townsponies’ faces with a megaphone didn't seem to me like the most productive method of enlisting help for searching for a lantern.

“She wants to rally them up together. She believes that the more ponies there are together in one place, the more harmony is created and the brighter the Prisbeam shines, including the Prisbeam inside her lantern.”

“Weeeell, it’s not the worst plan I’ve heard...” I muttered loud enough for Alex to catch.

“Meh, Zipp’s already hard on the case. Doesn’t hurt to take a look around town and ask some ponies while we’re at it.”

Sunny, still a bit breathless after her screaming show, noticed our approach. The poor mare was huffing and puffing, leaning against a streetlamp when her eyes lit up at the sight of us.

“Pipp!” She called, pulling her weight back on her hooves and trotting towards me. “Pipp, it’s awful!!”

“I know, Sunny girl, I know.” I pulled the distressed mare in a winged hug. She was shaking, both from exhaustion and sheer nerves, I reckoned.

“They took my lantern!” She wailed after pulling back from my feathery embrace. “It was a gift from my dad, Pipp! I can’t lose it!”

It crushed my heart to see her teary eyes seeking comfort from me. I felt so bad I almost launched myself from there back to Mane Melody to retrieve her precious lantern.

“We’ll find it, Sunny. Trust in Zipp.” Alex beat me to it and, taking a step forward, captured her in an embrace of his own, running his fingers over her scalp in a soothing manner. “I’m sure it's just a silly misunderstanding. We’ll get it back.”

Sunny was more than willing to accept his reassuring hug, burying her head against his stomach. Her posture relaxed and her breathing slowed the moment his close proximity erased her nervous twitching. I didn't miss the disguised smile growing on her lips at his touch. Even with her lantern still missing, she found time to smile when he was nearby.

‘Oh, these two are SO gonna end up together if it's the last thing I do!’

He had told me he had something appropriate planned for the occasion, and even enlisted my help to get both of them alone when the time came. I was more than willing to help, of course. Between them and my sister’s ‘foalish, completely invented, and absurdly unrealistic’ crush on Hitch, her words not mine; I had my work cut out for me.

And what about poor, ol’ me? Where was the dashing stallion who would sweep me from under my hooves and carry me into the sunset?

Who even said it had to be a stallion…

But those were musings for a later time. Now, we had more concerning matters at hoof.

A quick look around me revealed Sunny’s partial success in calling forth the denizens of Maretime Bay. I was sure many just thought this was another one of Sunny’s crazy initiatives and simply went along with it, just like the other week with the garden.

“Sorry to disappoint, Sunny.” I addressed the mare still snuggling with our tall friend. “But I think you’re gonna need a pair of wings and horn to get these ponies' attention.”

Sunny, hearing my proposal, also cast a look around the immediate area, becoming even more dejected at the poor numbers she had managed to amass.

“Not again…” She whined under her breath, ears pressing against her scalp.

Alex didn't turn a deaf ear to her plea. Reaching with both hands, he placed them over Sunny’s ears, pressing them gently against her head.

“Ready now, Pipp.” He suddenly warned me. I caught his gauntlets powering up from the corner of my eye.

Puzzled, I wondered what he was planning. “Huh? Ready for what n-?”

“PONIES!!! THINE PRINCE DEMANDS YOUR PRESENCE!!!!”

Whatever followed was virtually drowned by the high-pitched beeping assaulting my poor ears. Unsteadily struggling on my hooves, I had to use my wings to remain upright and not end up pushed down on my rump from the sheer strength of his yell. I swear on my crown that I felt the ground positively SHAKING under me.

After a moment to collect my bearings sounds finally began to push through the squealing pitch in my abused ears. The far-off crashing of waves against the beach, the twittering and tweeting of a couple of birds… but, what my hurt ears didn't catch was the sound of the passerby ponies on their daily routines.

Opening my eyes and blinking hard, I first brought my gaze to the pair beside me. Sunny, also struggling to regain her hold in reality, unstuck herself from the tall human to regard him with absolute shock. Alex for his part rubbed his throat while uncomfortably flexing his jaws.

WELL, HE BETTER HAVE BEEN SORE AFTER THAT!!

“Alexander!” I loudly demanded, incessantly rubbing my aching ears. “WHAT IN TARTARUS WAS THAT ABOUT?!!!”

Instead of answering verbally, he motioned with his head towards the new sight around us. Where only a few curious ponies had been railed by Sunny’s summons, now a town’s worth of ponies filled the plaza, ears attentive and forward, waiting restlessly for something.

It was as if a switch had been flipped. A bit creepy, if you ask me.

“B-But…” Sunny, also wincing from the pained throbbing in her ears, struggled to comprehend what was transpiring.

“Sorry about that, Tangerine.” Alex apologized, tenderly rubbing the aforementioned appendages. “But it’s faster this way.”

“This way how?!” I demanded once again, leveling up on my wings to reach his eye level.

A crooked smirk split his flat muzzle. “What can I say? When you’re crowned a prince you earn some privileges, like the Canterlot Royal Voice.”

“THAT was the Canterlot Royal Voice?!” Sunny, her knowledge of times past surprising my own by far, loudly inquired, raising herself onto her rear legs to also meet him eye to eye with boundless curiosity, the aching all but forgotten in the light of learning something new.

Alex placed his arms on her back to secure her. “Mhm. Luna taught me the spell, but she made me pinkie-promise to only use Old Equish every time I used it.”

Her eyes twinkled with unrestrained wonder while mine rolled in their sockets. How she saw that number he had pulled out of his flank a wondrous thing to witness was beyond me. I didn't need to SCREAM my lungs out to get ponies to listen to me! Just a targeted post here, a subtle comment there… tricky business, you know?

Getting a fair amount of bad vibes from seeing all those ponies standing to attention as if petrified, I made for a rushed exit. It reminded me of a cheap zombie movie those guys at Horseywood would come up with.

“U-Um, well, I-I can see you guys have got this under control.” I lightly stammered, slowly returning to the ground and tip-hoofing my way back to Mane Melody. “I-I’m gonna head back now, still a couple of customers to att- oh, no.” Both mares my coworkers had been attending to were also there among the multitude, manes half done, one with a mane straightener still clinging to her hair. “There they are, hehe. Um… see ya!”

And with that, I bolted the hay out of there, Alex’s loud belly-laugh filling the absurdly quiet plaza.

‘Sheesh, royalty sure packed a punch back then…’

“What were you fillies doing at exactly four twenty-two in the morning?!!”

The trio of quaking fillies shared a hesitant look with each other, swallowing nervously and nudging each other in an attempt to get one of them to cave in and answer my question.

But, why such a specific hour? Well, I don't know. But, usually, more concrete evidence works better to crack a pony open during an interrogation… I believed… I hoped.

And why were Maretime Bay’s most infamous trio of fillies the focus of my interrogations…?

Honestly, I didn't know anymore by then. I was tired, cranky, and my overworked mind thought it was reasonable for them to be the culprits since they were small and famous for causing mischief around town. I know it sounds stupid in retrospect, but I was on the brink of pulling my mane raw from my scalp in frustration.

After a short silent debate, Seashell ended up drawing the short straw. “U-Um, four twenty-two… Um, we were… totally asleep! Yeah!” She hesitantly claimed after being nudged forward by the two other members of their little group.

“Yeah! We definitely weren't up watching YouHoof videos!” Peach Fizz, emboldened by her friend's initiative, took a firm step forward, although her bravery promptly died under my piercing look.

“Hmm…” I mulled silently for a second, although there wasn’t really anything to mull about, it was just for show. While an adorable effort, a foal is not the type of pony you'd choose to keep a secret. “That was very specific. Too specific. And not very convincing!”

That’s all it took for them to spill the beans. “Fine! I admit it, okay?!” Seashell cracked under the pressure.

“We were up late watching Princess Pipp glow-up tutorials! She just released a new line of wing glitter!” Peach Fizz continued, the three of them boring the combined strength of their cuteness and teary eyes on me.

“Please, don't tell on us!” The three of them pleaded in unison.

With a deep sigh of disappointment at another, albeit ridiculous dead end, I waved the fillies away, wordlessly promising to keep my lips sealed. The three did so in earnest, any traces of fear from my harsh interrogation evaporating the moment they were given a free pass to continue turning the town upside down with their antics.

I was running out of leads. Hitch had texted me a while ago saying the lead of the critters playing a prank on us had led to nothing since nocritter had admitted taking part in any prank recently, although he had mentioned how some of them weren't present since they had begun foraging in the nearby forest in preparation for the upcoming cold months. Also, while not claiming to have hidden the lantern, he had managed to squeeze out a couple of mischievous acts from his little friends carried out during the last month. It seemed some had taken a liking to playing pranks on the bigger, meaner ponies, although no substantial damage nor anything of worth was stolen. Still, the possibility of one of the missing critters being the culprit couldn't be fully discarded.

However, I was more focused on finding the lantern itself than catching the culprit by that point. I had combed the area around the brighthouse and the way into town when I bumped into Misty…

‘Damm it, Zipp! Stop thinking like that about her! You already gave her enough of a hard time as it is during the sleepover!’

But my head just wouldn't let, it, go! She appeared out of nowhere, had practically no idea about unicorn traditions even though she had grown up there, asked a lot of weird questions, and… I don't know! But my guts wouldn't stop screaming at me that something was way, way off with that pony.

I didn’t want to think bad of her. She was actually very sweet, when she wasn't stuttering and shaking like a leaf. I mean, I get being shy around new ponies. I for one was guilty of that. But she always sounded defensive and… weird.

And on the very same night she stayed with us in the brighthouse, Sunny’s lantern went missing. But if she was the culprit, then why was she still around? What was she doing at the community garden, so close to the brighthouse. Was it one of those cases where the perpetrator returns to the crime scene? This wasn't a cheap movie! This was very much a real-life problem!!

“Come oooon, give me something!”

No matter where I looked, my spy glasses didn't catch any trace of dirt from the area around the garden, nor that totally-out-of-place glitter somepony had left behind while digging that hole. Nor was there any noticeable hoofprint trail I could follow. The ponies must’ve been freaking out watching me tearing the town apart in search of clues, now dressed like a cheap futuristic detective with my new equipment. I didn't want to repeat the events of the festival, but this hunt was proving as fruitless as the last one, and the one before that…

I’d talked with several ponies as well as with Izzy before I’d left for town. Talked, not interrogated, I promise! None had seen Sunny’s lantern or anything that might reveal its hiding place. And Izzy, while admitting having borrowed it on previous occasions to find her way around the community garden to gather some leaves for her weird knock-out tea, hadn't needed to use it that particular night.

No, actually, that’s not what she said. She said she hadn’t consciously taken the lantern, but couldn’t promise she hadn’t grabbed it and misplaced it while sleepwalking, but since her dreams tended to be, and I quote, ‘uni-tastic’, and they were hard for her to remember in the mornings.

Considering her antics and her reputation for sleepwalking (she had given us more than one scare by this point), I couldn't fully rule out that possibility either, leaving me once again back at square one. But again, I was beyond pointing hooves and much more eager to find that Faust-forsaken lantern! It’s not just the fact it was Sunny’s property and, well, very special to her. That lantern held power, power none of us fully understood, not even our human resident who in theory designed the very things granting it that wonky rainbow magic! Energy! Whatever!

Ground, street, sky, and back. Over and over I targeted my sights following that pattern, praying that the scanners in my glasses would pick something up, but over and over that annoying, infuriating *beep* from a negative match stung my ears, followed by a red, flashing warning across the AR screen. I had to give it to the brothers, they sure knew what they were doing when they came up with this. It just happened that the pony behind the glasses wasn't as good as them in getting the job done, apparently.

*Beep* Red, no match. *Beep* Red, no match. *Beep* Orange, no mat-.

“AAAH!” Pumping my wings, I barely avoided crashing into a yellow furred stallion, currently sporting his side band where his sheriff badge was proudly attached for the citizens to see.

“Um,” Hitch, tilting his head sideways, stood before me as I landed back on the ground. “Everything okay, Zipp?”

I could feel the vein in my temple threatening to pop. ‘Okay? Does it look like I’m doing okay?!!’

Taking a deeeeeep breath to calm my pulse and prevent me from senselessly lashing out, I trotted back to his side, sporting a frustrated scowl against his innocent and well-meaning query.

“No, Hitch, it’s not okay.” I sharply shot as I passed by his side, his raised eyebrow betraying his surprise at my moody tone. Falling in tow behind me, he followed quietly as I resumed my scrutiny of the surrounding area, although I knew by then I would come hooves empty from it. I simply didn't know what else to do.

“Soooo, no luck on your side either, huh?”

The scolding glare I sent his way quickly made him recapacitate, smiling sheepishly while skipping a step or two to gain some distance from me.

I cursed under my breath. The last thing I wanted was to push him away, especially now that my feelings for him were kicking in harder than ever. Heck, if it hadn't been for this lantern issue, I might have mustered enough guts to at least test the waters with him. I wasn't as bold and direct as my sister, but I didn't want to be a pushover either. Perhaps I would take a page out of her book and ask him there and then.

But that would have to wait for after this case was solved, or until I threw in the towel and had to drag myself to Sunny and beg for her forgiveness. My heart almost shattered at the mental image of her crushed features and spirits.

‘NO!! You’re going to find that lantern, Zipp, even if it kills you!’

“Um,” Hitch tested once again from his safe distance away from my fuming self. “Sooo, do you still want my help? I can ask around or something…” He hesitantly proposed, nervously pawing the stony road before him. “I don’t wanna get in the middle of...”

Witnessing the usually bold and confident sheriff now rubbing the ground nervously like a filly asking for more ice cream both melted my heart from sheer adorableness as well as made me kick myself harder for acting like such a jerk. If there was something I was improving on, it was being a jerk to other ponies.

Wordlessly, I looked over my shoulder and, lifting my glasses to look him in the eye, motioned to him with my free hoof to approach me.

He did so slowly, his posture slightly hunched backward as if expecting me to snap at him any second. I didn't, instead removing my gear and storing it in my saddlebag for the time being. He reached my side and stood still, questioning eyes losing their hesitation while filling with expectation as to why I had called him to my side. I used the moment to sit back on my haunches and rest my upper body against him, my head coming to rest against his muscular neck where I softly nuzzled him, both in apology for my harsh behavior as well as seeking reassurance. I felt him tense up for a moment, but he didn't move a muscle to refuse me, a gesture I silently appreciated.

“... I don’t know what else to do, Hitch…” It came barely over a whisper, my tone a mirror of my tiredness. He didn't answer verbally, but I felt him sitting on his rump at my side while moving a supporting foreleg around me, lightly pushing me closer. “Every minute I waste is another minute that Sunny’s lantern gets away from us.” The sense of defeat I was experiencing pushed a few angry tears out of my closed eyes. “She’s gonna be so crushed,” I mumbled, voice threatening to break. “She’s gonna be so angry at me for being such a failure…”

I didn't know what to expect from him, perhaps some encouraging words, the usual ‘you can do it, Zipp. We trust you’ and all that jazz. But the feeling of his hoof booping my snout while my sight remained in the dark was not on that list.

Rapidly opening my eyes and blinking away the stingy tears, I pulled back slightly to assess him with no short amount of puzzlement. “Uhhhh, what are you doing?”

“I’m pressing the reset button.” He explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“...”

“‘Cause the Zipp in front of me was not the one who’s gonna find the lantern.”

I was lost for words, my frozen brain barely registering the foreign, albeit not unwelcome feeling of his hoof on my muzzle. Hitch took my silence and bemused blinking as a signal to continue.

“Yeah. The Zipp I know would never stop until she found the truth, and she would very much turn this town upside down ‘till she had examined every last bit of evidence.” I felt his foreleg rub against my back and the space between my wings in reassurance, his supporting smile slowly chasing my self-doubt and sadness away. “The Zipp that never gives up. The one who asks for her friends’ help when the case turns out to be more than she can handle. That’s the Zipp that Sunny trusts to find her missing lantern.” With one final pat, he rose back on his hooves and offered a hoof to help me stand up. “And that’s the Zipp who’s gonna find it, now that I’ve pressed the button.”

It was so random, and so stupid, that I did the only thing a sensible pony could do in such a situation…

I began laughing my flanks off and, gosh, how good it felt…

“What?” Hitch asked with a playful pitch in his voice, not retracting his offer for help.

Covering my muzzle with my forehoof, I grabbed his stretched foreleg with my free one and rose to my hooves, my snickering not wavering as his dorky joke ran its course.

“Oh, you’re such a…” A spoke between chuckles, catching his eyebrow raised playfully at my incomplete claim. “Ah, forget it.” I decided best to let it hang in the air, swallowing down the last of laughs to refocus on the task at hoof.

“Thank you, Hitch.” A pathetic demonstration of how much I appreciated his company and, well, getting me out of the slump I had dug myself into.

“Always, Zipp.” He returned with a warm grin of his own. That finished driving the nail. I was so gonna do something about it after we got all this lantern ruckus solved.

‘Yeah… Yeah, Zipp. Let’s do something about it!’

The thought of what my near future held for me only worked to rekindle my resolve further. Call it something to look forward to.

With another pair of searching eyes and helping hooves, the sheriff and I resumed our scrutinizing of the little coastal town, encountering one dead end after another but, now that he was at my side, every failure only served to push me further. Any loose string we grabbed and released got us closer and closer to the truth. I could feel it in my guts, we were getting close!

*PONIES!!! THINE PRINCE DEMANDS YOUR PRESENCE!!!!*

It wasn't only the jumpscare that launched me in the air. It was something in the words from that lung-bursting yell, something that… compelled me to comply. I saw it in the nearby ponies from my vantage point hovering near the ground. All of us became paralyzed, ears pointed towards the center of the town from where the ear-splitting command had originated. One by one, ponies began leaving the avenue we had been traversing to trickle away through the side streets following the authoritative shout. And I almost followed in tow, if the urgency of the search hadn’t rooted me in place.

‘Thine prince… Who speaks like that anymore?!’

“What in Celestia’s mane was that?!!” Hitch mirrored my thoughts, albeit in a more vocal manner.

I was transfixed by the sight of how ponies, either pulled by that weird feeling or out of raw curiosity, followed the herd toward the origin of the voice. And yet, one particular pony stood out from the colorful mass. A sky-blue-furred unicorn with a distinctive, two-toned curly mane and tail. She seemed to have ignored that piercing command in her urgency since her bated breathing and frenetic eye movements betrayed her nervousness as well as her panicked attempts to look for something, and failing miserably by the looks of it. She might as well have been a mirror of myself.

“Misty?”

I wasn’t calling for her, just wondering aloud to myself. But it must have been loud enough for her to catch it as immediately after her name had escaped my lips, her ears prickled towards my direction, her sight following in tow. Now that she was here, I wanted to at least ask how she was doing and what had gotten her tail in a knot. And, at the same time, perhaps inquire if she had found anything regarding the lantern as I’d asked her when we bumped paths earlier in the community garden.

Instead of getting anything useful from the uneasy mare, or at least a polite ‘Hi, Zipp. Very busy right now, sorry!’, her eyes narrowed to a pair of pinpricks and, as if a Tartarus demon was on her tail, she began running. Running away from us.

I had promised Izzy. I had promised everypony. And I had promised myself, but that was the straw that broke the pony’s back.

‘Yeah, no, this is too much to sweep under the rug.’

Leaving a puzzled Hitch behind, I pumped my wings and began my pursuit of the fleeing unicorn. Perhaps she was trying to lose me amongst the crowd, kinda stupid considering I had the aerial advantage. Perhaps it was the very same crowd cutting her escape routes short, but her hurried galloping only brought us closer and closer to the point where the yell had originated. The muffled voice of a mare bounced weakly against the walls. I recognized that voice as Sunny’s, addressing the silent crowd that the loud creature, which now I suspected was Alexander, had amassed in the middle of Mane Square.

But the crowded plaza full of ponies wouldn't be our final stop. In a dextrous show of agility, Misty managed to avoid the attentive ponies, skipping left and right without slowing down. I had no such trouble aside from a couple of pegasi hovering over the earth-bound ponies to get a better view and partially blocking my path. Nothing a pair of well-executed acrobatics couldn't solve.

“Misty, wait!” I tried to call out to her. Not ordering, for it wasn't like I was going to arrest her or anything, but I needed to talk to her. She was only making things worse for her by fleeing like that.

But Misty, catching a quick look behind her to find me gaining ground on her, only became more invigorated, quickening her galloping once she had freed herself from the crowd of ponies, running unrestricted through Mane Street in a northbound direction.

“Zipp! Hey, Zipp!”

A masculine voice reached my ears, but my brain, dead set on the chase, didn't register it. Nor did the half-blurred sight of my human friend standing on the edge of the crowd waving at me. I was going too fast to notice, and I couldn't allow myself any distractions if I wanted to remain on her tail.

In what I could only call a desperate move since she could’ve never hoped to outrun me on flat ground, she made a sharp left turn and forced herself into one of the side buildings lining the street. And it just so happened that this building was none other than my sister’s mane saloon (and karaoke, ugh).

The faint telltale two-by-two steeping rhythm of my approaching human friend was drowned out by the raw expectancy filling my body at the prospect of finally catching the fleeing unicorn. Finally! Something good I had managed to accomplish! And the way she was galloping away from me spoke volumes of her alleged culpability.

Ooooh, the lantern was close alright, I could feel it in my bones! And that mare was gonna show me the way!

A first look inside revealed a striking lack of customers, no doubt most having been dragged to that impromptu town meeting. Only Pipp’s co-workers remained inside, attending to a customer who was wearing headphones, most likely not having heard Alex’s booming call. How or why he had pulled that eardrum-bursting move out was a question for a later time. My sister was nowhere in sight. Perhaps she was with the rest of the herd, I reasoned.

But I didn't give it much thought. My target now was the mare pathetically attempting to hide from me by masking her features with a deactivated mane dryer over her head while innocently pretending to skim over a fashion magazine.

Ignoring my sister's co-workers' greetings, I slowly approached her, like a lioness about to pounce on her prey. I saw her shoulders tensing up with each step closer I took. I could almost taste it, sweet, sweet victory.

Pulling hard on the stylist’s chair, I forced the unicorn mare to face me. A nervous grin stretched her muzzle, the magazine falling from her limp hooves to the immaculate floor.

“U-Um, H-H-Hi, Zipp. H-How’s the search going?”

I simply wasn't in the mood. Pulling on the rim of the mane dryer, I forced it upwards to fully reveal the unicorn under it. She was on the brink of a nervous crisis, the tangy scent of her sweat permeating her fur. One last vain attempt to scurry away was pulled by her when I had removed the protective casing of the dryer from her head, but my pegasus reflexes kicked in hard to keep her pinned to the chair.

“U-Um,” She began stuttering once again. “I k-kinda need to use the little f-fillies ro-”

“Enough with your nonsense!”

My sharp cry worked to nail her in the chair fully, muscles tensing and muzzle scrunching in a grimace while her eyes darted around the place to fall anywhere but in my murdering glare.

“Misty.” I forcefully called for her attention. “I’m so tired of you and your attitude!” Her nervous gulping and hurt eyes could barely scratch against my cold resolution. “I know everything, Misty! And I know that it was YOU who stole the lantern!” I bashed my forehoof into her chest fluff in emphasis, pushing her further against the pink, leathery fabric of the chair.

“W-What?! Zipp, I-I would never…”

I wasn't going to fall for more of her horseshit. The time for ‘Miss Nice Detective’ was over! “Ever since the unicorn sleepover, I’ve had a weird feeling about you!” I rudely cut her off, driving daggers into her shivering form. “Those probing questions about Sparky, not knowing anything about Bridlewood, and then finding you trying to activate the elevator up to the Crystal Room?!” She recoiled further and farther with each accusation. “And that creepy version with the alicorn queen? What was that about?!”

She opened her muzzle in a vain attempt to defend her innocence, but I wasn't going to allow her. “And then, I found you right beside the crime scene! And now, after you promised to help me look around, the moment I called out to you, you started galloping away! The shadiness and half-flanked excuses are over, Misty! Speak, or as Celestia is my witness, I’ll…”

“STOP!!!”

I felt a force dragging me away from the unicorn, who had begun to shed terrified tears by then. I fell belly down to the cold floor and, after a moment to shake the surprise away, I stumbled with the image of my sister dragging me away from the culprit.

“Pipp! What do you think you do-?!”

“It’s me! I’m the lantern thief!”

Any trace of rational thought promptly left me the moment her claim reached me, leaving me open-muzzled and blinking owlishly at my sister.

“N-No.” I croaked out, working to get my hooves under me to recompose myself. “She’s the thief, I cough- uff!”

Something hard and metallic crashed against my exposed chest, dragging me back to the floor. Gazing beyond the tip of my muzzle revealed the very same thing I had been hunting the entire day half buried against my chest fluff, gently lighting my white coat in a marred of colors slowly swirling from their casing.

“W-Wha-?”

“I found it this morning as I made my way out of the brighthouse.” My sister proceeded to explain further, stepping towards my upside-down form with a furious scowl of her own. “I’ve had it the entire time!”

I was left speechless. All those leads, all that chasing ponies around, searching in every nook and corner for clues…

And she had it all along.

The sound of the front door opening and closing filled the small shop, followed by the clink of the door bell signaling that a new client had entered.

“What in fuck’s name is going on in here?” I recognized the voice of a human compelling an explanation from Jazz and Rocky, who had remained on the sidelines unsure of what to do.

But my entire attention was set on the lantern resting against my chest and the fuzzy ball of anger in front of me. “Y-You…”

“I wanted to tell you right away, sis.” Pipp continued, folding her legs to rest her body in front of me. Misty remained rooted in the chair, having calmed herself a bit in the absence of immediate danger, but remained tense observing the situation unfold itself. “But your cutie mark was just glowing, and you were having so much fun investigating, and I…”

“What have you done, Zipp?” Now came Alex’s turn who, having left the pair of coworkers behind, had reached us to try and understand what the hay was going on. His tone left no doubt as to his own fury, directed exclusively toward me. Ain’t I a lucky mare…?

I simply didn't know how to address both of them. “B-But… the h-hoofprint…”

“I put it there!· Pipp jabbed her chest with her hoof. “To keep you going! And the wing glitter was a clue to lead you to me! ME, Zipp, not HER!” She pointed towards Misty, who was now being softly reassured by our human friend, having stepped away from me to assist the quivering mare. She clung to him like a lifeline, hiding herself from me against his bigger frame while my sister bore her frustration into me.

“N-NO!” I managed to regain some of my rapidly leaking drive, balancing on my elbows to push myself up to at least sit on my haunches. “She’s the culprit!” I pointed another accusing hoof towards her. “She’s been hiding something for us. I know it!”

“She is hiding something.” Alex suddenly shot, momentarily leaving his attention on the mare pressed against him to bore his scolding eyes into me. His fingers gently brushed against her mane in a conforming gesture, a striking contrast to the fury permitting his features.

His claim stole the words from my throat once again. “And it’s none of your business.” He concluded harshly, completely surrounding the mare with his arms and pulling her towards him as he rose fully to his feet, carrying a still-clinging Misty against his chest as he passed beside us heading for the exit.

‘She… is?’

He had said it. It came straight out of his flat muzzle, just like that. And he had also said it was none of my business…

How was her keeping secrets NOT my business!!!

But he had already left the saloon, carrying Misty with him, well away from my prying hooves, leaving a defeated detective transfixed on the empty space in front of her, clutching the object of her frustration tightly against her chest.

“I’m so sorry, sis.” My sister scooted closer to me, pressing her side against mine and resting her forehead against the side of my head. “But I've never seen your cutie mark glow like that! You finally got to be a true detective! You were having so much fun!”

“No!” I abruptly pulled back from her reach, lightly startling her. “I wasn't… I mean, I WAS having fun! At first! But you can’t… I, I-I almost… I was about to…”

It came crashing down like a hurricane. So fixed on finding the lantern right? That’s what I had believed for myself, the drive that urged me forward.

But it was a lie, a self-webbed lie to hide the fact that I was itching to find a culprit, and if that culprit turned out to be the very same mare I had been cast my suspicions on for the entire night, the better! A reason for my suspicions, a justification for me not being just a crazy, paranoid mare!

Why was I so transfixed on finding her guilty? Yes, she was shy and weird to be around. It was plainly obvious that she wasn't used to being around other ponies, but was that enough reason for me to start shining the light of suspicion over her?

But I was so sure, so convinced it was her, if not the thief then something, something sketchy, something…

“... What is wrong with me?”

“Oooh, sis...” Pipp, having caught my depressed mutters, launched herself at me whether I was feeling like it or not, trapping me in a sisterly hug that sought to chase away all the pain clinging to my everything. “It’s my fault, sis. I shouldn’t have kept you in the dark.” She apologized earnestly. “B-But, I made it SO obvious! How did you not get it? The hoofprint, the glitter. It was aquamarine, Zipp!”

Well, of course it made sense now, hindsight is twenty-twenty after all. Why hadn’t I seen it? Because I wasn't actually looking for it.

“So… my whole investigation was for nothing, then?” I asked rhetorically without an ounce of heart behind my words. “Just me looking like a fool and accusing Misty of a bunch of terrible stuff she didn't do?”

A pained sigh escaped my sister’s nostrils, pressing herself into me while lightly nuzzling my face. “There’s a lot of apologizing for us to do, sis.” She mumbled dejectedly, dreading our friend's reactions as much as I was, those who hadn't already caught in the mess we’d brought upon ourselves, that is.

“Yeah. Yeah, we do.” I agreed, dread filling my every bone.

And the first one would be the unicorn mare I had been persecuting and baselessly accusing without fundament for an entire day. I had no hope she would ever forgive me, but I had to try. I owed her that, at least.

With renewed strength, I pushed myself up and, hoofing Sunny’s lantern to Pipp for safekeeping, hurried out of the saloon in search of the pony I had to apologize profoundly to.

“Misty!” I called just as I was crossing the door. “Misty, I’m so-”

But she wasn't there. Instead, Hitch had caught up to us as well as Sunny, who seemingly had concluded her speech to the townsponies, whom now filled the streets again as if nothing had happened. Alex was there too, but no unicorn was in his grasp. Instead, he stood near Sunny, talking to her and Hitch about something when I interrupted them with my desperate call.

“W-Where is Misty?”

“Gone,” Alex replied, venom figuratively dripping from his mouth. “What were you expecting?”

Noticing his dark demeanor, Sunny looked back and forth between us. “What 's going on?” She could only ask, feeling the animosity between us.

However, her confusion was short-lived as her features brightened up like the rising sun the moment my sister exited her establishment behind me, cradling the lantern in her foreleg.

“My lantern!!” She cried in ecstasy, forcing her way past me and into a waiting Pipp, who had to take a step back to prevent Sunny from literally crashing into her. “Oooooh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!!” She hugged my sister so hard that her eyes threatened to pop out.

“Hehehe, yeah I… I found it, eheh…” Pipp chuckled nervously while darting her eyes around, lost as to whether to play along or spill the beans there and there.

There would be time for that later. I had to find Misty!

Extending my wings fully, I prepared for a hard liftoff. I would comb the entire town if that’s what it took to find her. But, just as my wings pulled down and my hooves lost contact with the ground, a telekinetic grasp rooted me in place. Its mixture of bluish and white hues betrayed its caster.

“Leave her alone, Zipp,” Alex demanded with an arm stretched and a gauntlet humming with intimidating magical power.

“No!” I pleaded. “I have to…”

“I believe you’ve done more than enough already.” He swiftly crushed any further attempts at pleading, his telekinetic hold only strengthening the harder I tried to pull myself free. Sunny was too preoccupied with coddling her precious lantern like it was a foal, but my sister did notice what was happening, as did Hitch who tried in vain to get Alex to relent his hold on me.

“Alex, wait!” Pipp flapped her wings to land in front of the glaring human. “It’s my fault. I’m the one to blame!”

“Misty told me what happened.” He addressed my sister with no less amount of anger. “The fact that it was you who had the lantern doesn't excuse your sister's behavior. This isn’t the first time we’re having this discussion.”

The amount of shame I experienced at that moment cannot be described in words, for it was indeed the same thing we’d discussed after Pipp and I had almost gotten ourselves killed searching for that Ocean Lily. Albeit in a different context, the issue was still the same: me being a reckless hot-headed loudmouth who didn't know when to stop.

“Please.” My sister tried to succeed where I had failed. “I take full responsibility. Let her be and I’ll deal with her, alright?”

A short staring duel was conducted between the imposing human and the relentless pegasus, the former finally giving in and releasing me from his magical hold. An uncomfortable feeling ran through each of my feathers, making them ruffle in my wings, tightly pressed against my sides. We pegasi don’t like feeling restrained, now more than ever that we’ve regained our ability to fly.

With a deep exhale, he powered down his gauntlet and, thankfully, lost the murderous look he was sending me, one of profound disappointment replacing it immediately afterward.

“Are you gonna be the one to explain to Izzy why her newest friend is fleeing the town like a wanted criminal? Huh?”

He didn't wait for an answer, choosing instead to leave me in the dust and start on his way up the main avenue, possibly to return to the brighthouse to inform Izzy about what had transpired with her friend. Perhaps he was just done with me being around. I couldn’t really blame him.

Watching him leave, I felt as if all the trust I’d built up with him, all of the times we’d spoken about me and my unilateral rejection of anything royalty-wise and my insecurities and all… I felt as if I’d sent all of that progress down the drain. He was mad. No, he was furious, and rightfully so. Hitch for his part remained where he was, unsure as to what to do or what to think. He didn't look disappointed or angry just… lost, I guess.

“Zipp.” Sunny, having witnessed my exchange with Alex, called out to me with a similar amount of puzzlement as the sheriff. “What happened?”

My sister and I shared one last defeated look. There was a lot of explaining to be done…

Long-due explanations were delivered, and the ponies involved took it better than I could ever ask for. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Sunny was far from happy that Pipp had kept her lantern hidden from us to help me play detective, for that was what all my investigation work turned out to be. She understood why she had done it, and she was more than happy to know how bright my sparkle shone when I was on the hunt for clues, but kindly asked that, the next time we did this, we chose something else to hide beside one of her most cherished possessions. Pipp apologized long and deep to her. I, well, I apologized to everypony for acting like a major jerk and chasing Izzy’s newest friend away.

Talking about our resident unicorn, who had virtually missed all the ruckus while dragonsitting Sparky and being engrossed in her creations. She was NOT happy with me and my attitude around Misty. Both from the sleepover and especially from today. She made sure to let me know verbally, and also physically to some extent. That mare might as well have been an earth pony with how much she was packing in those hooves.

Still, once she was done berating me and bumping my head, and making me swear on my name and kingdom to never, ever, EVER lay into Misty like that, we all decided it was in our best interests to take the rest of the afternoon off just to chill and let the bad vibes fly away.

Izzy would try to contact Misty, and see if she could convince her to come back to town, for me to apologize to her and for her to hang out with us some more. And, as a self-imposed punishment, I promised not to delve into any detective-related activities for the rest of the summer. I was also itching for a timeout myself after that day. Enjoying a few flaps around the bay sounded nice, and perhaps assisting Alex with his own research efforts, assuming he still wanted to be around me anymore. At least he had lost his scowl by now, no doubt thanks to his two favorite mares' proximity. Whatever the reason, I swore to never lose myself in the hunt for clues like that ever again. Whether he believed me or not was up to him.

A few cold drinks had been passed around. Hitch distracted himself with his surrogate son and a foal-friendly puzzle. Alex, Izzy, and Sunny chatted amicably about the upcoming meteor shower and the coming of autumn. And my sister sunbathed… however much you can sunbathe with a body covered in fur with a setting sun beyond the mountains.

I, for one, remained mostly quiet, listening to my friends go through many topics while enjoying their own drinks and light snacks provided by our gracious, permanent host. I didn't feel like participating, nor did I feel like I deserved to. Even if all had been forgiven and bygones had claimed to be bygones, I still felt some lingering uneasiness around them. Best to shut my trap for once and let things play out for a bit.

Only one thing remained behind, restlessly hammering my tired mind. Alex claimed Misty was indeed hiding something from us, but that it was none of our business. I would never doubt his words, not after all he had done and was doing for us. Perhaps he had misunderstood me and was simply referring to something very personal surrounding the unicorn.

Whatever it was, he had promised it didn't involve any of us or the Unity Crystals or anything that we should be concerned about, that it was something that Misty would reveal IF and WHEN she chose. My sister was the one who tried to pry it from him for us, since I felt like if I even hinted my desire to know I was gonna trot away with a face full of fist. He ignored my sister’s pleas and repeated what he had said previously.

“Sunny.” The very same human’s voice brought me out of my silent musings. “This morning, what were you going to say about Misty telling a different version of the story?”

The mare’s eyes lit up in recollection. That weird version had been one of the weird happenings around the unicorn that had triggered my detective senses. I remained put while Sunny cleared her voice to finish the conversation I had interrupted that very same morning.

“Um, she told us a… well, it was kinda creepy. A different version of the tale of the Guardians of Harmony. She was very adamant that it was the true version.” She recalled from the previous night with all of us in the living room. “But then she backtracked, saying she had made it up or something. She was very nervous.”

Izzy nodded in agreement. “Mhm. I think it was kinda cool. Definitely some imagination required for that one, but who am I to judge a fellow unicorn?” She happily claimed white asserting her place against the human’s side on the garden couch they shared with Sunny.

“Think you can tell me?”

Wetting her lips, Sunny dug in her memories to bring forth as close a version as the one Misty had narrated as possible, with the rest occasionally pointing here and there where the earth pony had missed something. A pensive look grew on his features the further Sunny went into the story. A flash of worrisome recognition as well as an undertone of incredulity. Yet the most predominant feeling coming from him was defeated resignation. It practically oozed out of him, especially once Sunny was done with her storytelling.

“... Faust damm it, seven centuries and still the same crap as always…”

His face came to rest in his hands as he leaned forward into them, a tired sigh the finishing touch of his cryptic message. He remained like that, lost in his musings, until a certain unicorn nosed her way into his hands where she promptly nuzzled them away from his face to bump her snout against his tiny nose.

Alex couldn’t help the crooked smirk stretching his slips. “You silly filly.” He chuckled while gently grabbing Izzy’s head, bringing her closer to plant a thankful kiss below her horn. Smiling brightly, the peepy unicorn eagerly accepted his gesture, happy now that she had succeeded in turning his frown upside down.

“What do you mean by that?” Sunny inquired once he had returned his back against the back of the couch.

He didn't turn to address Sunny, instead fixing his sight on the flower-patterned foldable canopy above us

“... Well, that version, while overly exaggerated and twisted, is what many ponies believed of Opaline when she began her quest to break the three tribes apart.”

“Huh?” Pipp, losing her sunglasses, composed herself to better listen while I did the same in my seat.

“Yeah, Discord claimed something similar. In the end, those who agreed with her lies would file behind her against Twilight, and I’m afraid to say those weren't your usual two or three crazy rioters.” He recalled dejectedly from his time in the past. “She would fill entire plazas worth of ponies during the speeches she gave on the towns she visited after abandoning the School for Gifted Unicorns.” His thumbs rubbed nervously against each other. “Misty knowing that story means that perhaps there are still ponies out there who believe in her words, or at least ponies who don’t know better than that version of the story.”

“... That’s definitely preoccupying.” Hitch offered from his place, supervising Sparky’s efforts in completing the puzzle.

A puff of air left the human's nostrils. “Whatever. I’ll deal with her when I next see her and I’ll see if I can learn of anypony else who clings to that version. I don't think it might, but there's always a chance it drives ponies against our cause in the future.”

Sunny, the main promoter of the change that we were advocating for, was more than in an agreeable mood, the rest of us following close behind. I guessed it made sense how, when having three segregated communities of ponies living in isolation, some old-rooted notions and ideas can stick within a population. Parents to foals and all, not a reason to wonder or doubt. That could pose a problem for us in the future, and we would have to keep both ears open.

The chilling bite of the incoming night bit on our coats, prompting the ponies to seek refuge inside our shared home. Alex, Sunny, and Izzy left first, with the earth pony wanting to restart her work on her ‘autumn season pancakes’. Tonight was breakfast-for-dinner night, it sounded like. Pipp soon followed, claiming she wanted to get more progress done with her new line of fragrances to begin test-mixing tomorrow. A chance had it, Hitch and I were the ones who remained behind, the fatherly stallion playing with a very proud Sparky on his lap, the little dragon exalted after successfully having finished the puzzle.

I had promised myself I would deal with the storm of feelings twisting my heart in regard to that very same stallion once the issue with the lantern was solved, but my current mood just wasn't feeling the moment. Still, I reasoned it was as good a time as any other. If he was up to it, I would be the happiest mare alive. If not, well, it wasn't like I could dig myself further into the ground by that point…

With my mind made, I rose from my seat to reach the modest-sized garden bench they were sharing. Hitch welcomed me and invited me to share a seat beside him in his usual friendly manner.

“Hitch.” I began, nervously rubbing my fetlocks together once I had lowered myself on my rump. “Am I a bad pony?”

It didn't take him but a second to answer. “Of course not, Zipp. You just… lost yourself for a bit and went too far.” A guilty smirk grew on his lips. “I should know how that works after my dramatic number during the flora magic crisis.”

I chucked at the memory. That had been a crazy day if we ever had one.

“You just need to work on yourself a bit.” He continued. “We can’t blame you for your initiative or determination. Just… pull on the reins for a bit and listen to us once in a while?” Hitch finished with a friendly pat on my back.

A comfortable silence fell between us while I gathered the courage necessary to spit the dreaded question. Sparky for his part remained oblivious to our discussion, happy to gnaw around the longer fur of Hitch's fetlocks.

“Thank you, Hitch,” I spoke from the bottom of my heart and steadied myself. “Say… and this is purely hypothetical, by the way…”

“Shoot away.” He invited me, oblivious to my rising nerves.

“Um…” I hesitated for a moment, rational thought fighting a fearsome battle against my heart. In the end, a clear victor arose and took over my lips. “In the case that a certain princess should want to ask a certain town sheriff on a date…” I fought to squeak out, rubbing my forehooves so hard smoke was beginning to come out of the friction zone. “W-What would the sheriff’s hypothetical answer be?”

Instead of startled surprise or offense, a coy smirk saw his eyelids slyly falling over his eyes. “Oh my, I didn't know your sister thought of me like that...”

A rough punch to his side got him to stop messing around with me. After batting his forehooves in mock defense, he got the rest of his cackling out before responding.

“Okay okay. A very serious matter, clearly.” He joked with a final chuckle, clearing his throat afterward. The pressure in my chest threatened to burst out of it explosively. A long pause followed, bringing me to the edge of calling out loud for an answer when his verdict finally came.

“Well, this sheriff would, hypothetically, of course; be very willing to go out on a date with the beautiful princess before him.” He spoke softly, his words carrying as much love as the one making my heart pound widely against my chest. “Somewhere very expensive, he hopes, since his pathetic sheriff’s salary can’t afford more than a sad hayburger, unfortunately.”

As my human friend would’ve said:

‘FUCK YES!!!’

…

…

…

“Awwww, Ziiiiiipp…” The very annoying and uncalled sound of my sister's coo coming from the window directly above us completely obliterated the moment.

“PIPP!!!!”

Author's Note

Sorry in advance if this chapter has more typos than usual. Docs' kinda buggy and struggles to tell apart Spanish from English, and comes with some weird spelling mistakes. I might've missed some.