It was yet another glorious day on the Fillydelphia Urban Guard's graveyard shift, and I found myself trying not to fall asleep at my desk.
When I was first given the opportunity to work as a detective in one of Equestria's biggest cities, I imagined myself working on high-stakes cases, thwarting bad guys, and making a show of performing all the tasks expected from a servant of the monarchy. And yeah, it did consist of those things, but my superiors never mentioned how exhausting the job could be. I would still sign on without hesitation, but it would've been nice to be given a heads up. I also would've liked a warning about what it would be like to work under the infamous Brass Tacks; unfortunately, they'd decided to drop me in the deep end with no warning. It's likely that this was intentional on their part, because if there's one thing I know about their work ethic, it's that, in their eyes, anypony who folds under pressure isn't fit for the job. I certainly understand that view, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed experiencing it firsthoof.
Brass Tacks, the Fillydelphia Chief of the Guard, had been diligently investigating suspicious activity around the city after a string of unsolved robberies. However, given that this was no ordinary case, neither he nor his subordinates were making much headway. The robberies had been conducted in the dead of day, so there were few witnesses to begin with. In addition, all reports stated that the burglars had utilized high-quality equipment, and that the robberies themselves were carried out with military-like efficiency, which ruled out most of the usual suspects. Combined with the depressing lack of evidence left behind, cracking a case like this with the resources at hoof would be challenging for even the most seasoned detectives. Most other ponies would have appealed to the higher-ups, or even the ROSE for help in the face of such odds. However, Brass Tacks was not most other ponies. As a result, we'd been run ragged trying to find anything about the culprits. We pursued lead after lead, but all we had to show for our efforts were a few habitual shoplifters and petty thieves behind bars. After nearly a week since the robberies and no results, many of my colleagues were starting to lose hope that we'd catch them before the bulk of their loot vanished.
Me? I was just hoping that this whole ordeal would be wrapped up soon so I could get some rest.
Fortunately, it had proven to be a relatively slow day in comparison to the previous six. If my luck held up, I'd only have to deal with some paperwork, and then I'd be able to race home before Luna raised the Moon and everypony started rushing to work.
Sadly, luck had never been my strongest suit.
The sound of hoof steps coming in my direction caused me to look up. Trotting over to me with a familiar gleam in his eye was my partner, a thestral named Waning Crescent. Based on prior experience, I knew that my dream of an uneventful day was about to be brutally murdered in front of me. I forlornly picked up my mug and took a big sip of coffee. I was going to need caffeine for whatever he was about to say.
He came to a stop in front of me and announced, "We're going to Eventide State Park."
I almost choked on my coffee.
"Eventide State Park?" I echoed after my coughing fit died down.
"Yeah, I've hit on a lead that could crack this case wide open," he whispered conspiratorially. "I just finished another interview with Mrs. Flower, and she told me that she thinks the vans might've been heading in that direction."
I rubbed my temples and sighed. Ice Flower was an elderly mare who lived practically next door to one of the banks that'd been hit. We'd already interviewed her, of course, but few in the department viewed her testimonies as worth much considering her deteriorating memory.
"Crescent-" I began, but he cut me off.
"I know what you're going to say, Tall Tale, but I have a good feeling about this!"
"That mare forgets her name every other day. What makes you think she knows where the robbers went when an army of detectives doesn't?"
He frowned, "C'mon, Tale. Just because her memory isn't what it used to be doesn't mean she can't remember anything! Plus, it would make sense, wouldn't it? We've turned this city upside down and found nothing, and the Rural Guard hasn't found anything in nearby towns, so it would be reasonable to at least check Eventide. Who knows, if we find something, there may be a promotion in our future!" he said with a grin.
I highly doubted that, but held off on saying so.
"More likely, you're just going to waste your time. Besides, Eventide is technically under the Rural Guard's jurisdiction. If you really think it needs to be checked out, you can file a report to Brass Tacks and let him pass the word on to-"
Waning Crescent's grin turned back into a scowl, "And when will they get around to doing anything about it, two weeks from now? Every day we don't catch the thieves, more of this city's money is being funneled to Princess knows where. We've spent the whole week searching Fillydelphia and found nothing, so shouldn't we at least check if there's anything to this lead? Wasn't it you who told me that part of being a detective is thinking outside the box and having the will to follow leads nopony else will touch?"
I averted my gaze, inwardly cursing myself for having said that.
He was quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh, "If you really don't want to come, fine. I'll investigate by myself."
With that, the decision was made for me. There was no way I was going to let him investigate Eventide without me.
"Alright, alright. I'm coming; let's just make this quick."
Crescent let out a whoop and ran out to the car ahead of me. I grabbed my things and followed him outside. Hopefully, nothing would go wrong.
"Ugh, you'd think I'd get used to the Sun after working on the graveyard shift for 3 months, but it still makes my head hurt," Crescent complained in a whisper.
I glanced over at my partner, who I could see was squinting beneath beneath the standard-issue tinted visor attached to his helmet.
"You're a thestral. Being twice-blessed by Princess Luna doesn't exactly make one fond of the daytime," I responded. "Probably should've considered that before you decided to work during the day."
"Keep your voice down!" he hissed. "And it wasn't my choice which shift I worked."
I raised an eyebrow, "Making a thestral work during the day seems like an odd choice. I don't think we're that short-staffed."
Crescent pursed his lips, not replying to my implied question. Realizing he wasn't going to continue, I turned my gaze back to the small dirt road we were taking. After entering the park and conducting a cursory inspection of the roads, Waning Crescent hopped out and started trotting down a dirt path that lead deeper into the forest. I tried to convince him to get back in, but the stallion insisted on heading to the deepest part of the woods because 'that's where I'd hide if I was a robber. Why would I hide where somepony could see me from the main road?' Unable to counter his argument, I begrudgingly parked the car and followed him.
In spite of the nature of our visit, I couldn't help but take a moment to admire the scenery. The leaves on the trees around us bore the vivid yellow, orange, and red of autumn, and the presence of sunlight only further highlighted their vibrancy. Making sure that Crescent wasn't watching, I allowed myself a rare smile.
"...You've heard of the Crescent Family, right?" he finally broke the silence.
I blinked, "The Noble House?"
"Yeah, I'm the youngest son of the current Duke."
My expression must have looked amusing, because Crescent had to stifle his laughter. Why was I only learning about this now?! Why had nopony told me?! Sure, he had the same last name as a Duke, but "Crescent" wasn't exactly a rare surname! We live in a country ruled by a mare named Luna, for light's sake!
Oblivious to my mental turmoil, Crescent continued. "Well, I wanted to do more with my life than socialize with other nobles and get a hoof picked job from my father. I want to actually make lives better in a way that I can see, so I decided to try working as a detective. My father allowed it, but pulled a few strings to ensure I'd be thrown in the proverbial deep end as a test. If I can't handle it, I go back. But if I perform well, he'll allow me to keep pursuing this as a career."
...And just like that, my job became a thousand times more complicated. I let out a groan and tried to suppress the stress headache I could feel welling up in my skull. I glanced back at the path, seeing that we were nearing the absolute deepest part of the woods.
"Okay, let's head back to the station."
Crescent spun to look at me with an incredulous expression, "What, why?"
"Because we've scoped out most of the forest already. I think we'd have found some clues by now if there was a hideout here."
He stared at me for a moment before pointing at the small hill in front of us, "Practically the only spot we haven't checked is right in front of us! We've crisscrossed this whole park, and you want us to stop right before the finish line?"
I rubbed my eyes beneath my visor, "Crescent, please. I just found out my partner is a duke's son, I'm tired from walking for miles at this point, my head hurts, and I haven't slept properly for the past week. It's not going to hurt your integrity or job prospects if we wrap it up here. I can bring it up to the boss and have him send a team here to check it out after moonrise."
Crescent snorted and turned away, "Tall Tale, I respect you and all that you've done for me, but I'm not going to leave an investigation unfinished just because you say so. It doesn't matter if it's not likely anything's there, it doesn't matter if I'm also exhausted and have a headache, and it doesn't matter if it has no impact on my job prospects. I. don't. leave. jobs. unfinished."
I hung my head and let out what was probably the biggest sigh of the day. Waning Crescent really was a good kid.
"Alright," I murmured, my voice dripping with resignation. "Let's just make this quick."
We crested the hill and hit the dirt simultaneously. The hill itself was one of several that formed a rough circle surrounding a small valley. The entirety of the area was filled with trees in such density that the sun was completely obscured in most places. The only exception to this was the center of the valley, which housed a small clearing. Within said clearing was a decently sized cabin which looked well-worn from use.
However, what was most important to us wasn't the cabin itself, but the presence of ponies around and inside it.
I ignored Crescent's triumphant look, pulling out my binoculars and getting a closer look at the group of clearly-not-park rangers. I heard my partner do the same once he realized I wasn't going to give him the reaction he wanted.
The cabin was surrounded by armed ponies clad in golden armor (and no visors, a detail that immediately jumped out to us). Contrary to other cases we've worked on that involved organized crime, all of the guards stood just as alert as any member of the Army would, not even wincing as the Sun continued to beat down on their heads. They exuded professionalism in a way that dime-a-dozen goons or private security simply couldn't. Whoever they were, they weren't ordinary criminals.
What was going on inside the cabin wasn't entirely clear. Most windows were obscured by curtains, and the one that wasn't only revealed a couple masked unicorns participating in a group spell of some kind. The only thing I could surmise at our angle was that whatever spell they were casting was extremely strenuous, something I gathered from the drops of sweat continuously pouring from their faces.
The front door suddenly swung open, revealing a unicorn mare with an imperious look. Similarly to how the guards emitted a feeling of professionalism, this mare radiated a sense of authority and conviction that I had only seen matched by the most devout of Moon Priestesses. She wore a flowing orange robe with yellow cuffs, a necklace that was partially hidden in her robe, and an expensive looking white ribbon that bound her green mane into a ponytail. She wasted no time, striding over to the nearest guard with no hesitation and coming to stop beside him. The abruptness of her stop loosened the necklace from the folds of her robe, exposing it to our (now widening) eyes.
It was a bronze medallion with a circumference roughly equivalent to that of a young foal's hoof. Ornately carved into the center of the medallion's surface, and carefully overlaid with a thin layer of gold, was an image of the sun whose rays reached the edges of the sacred emblem. The final component was a small heart-shaped ruby embedded into the very center of the engraving.
I heard a sharp intake of breath from Waning Crescent as he realized the implications of the symbol's presence.
Most rank-and-file members of the Guard wouldn't know what the symbol was, or what organization it and its wearer were affiliated with. That was because, officially, neither existed anymore. As far as the vast majority of history-minded ponies were concerned, Luna had destroyed all remnants of major resistance to her rule nearly 700 years ago, resigning both that emblem and its wearers to museums and history books. However, as the son of a duke, Waning Crescent was definitely aware of the truth of the matter, or at least some of it. As such, he didn't need me to explain that we were looking at an Everbright Sun and a Sun Priestess.
These weren't gangsters; they were Solar Cultists.
While Crescent was still frozen in shock, the mare spoke to the guard, her words barely loud enough to be heard by us.
"The last mass teleportation of the stolen goods will be completed soon. Prepare to disembark before sundown." The golden guard saluted, and the robed mare disappeared back into the cabin.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked over and saw Crescent gesturing for me to move backwards. The two of us silently crawled away until we were no longer in view of the guards or the cabin, then he rose to his hooves.
"Those are bucking cultists!" he frantically whispered. "We need to call for backup. We need the Rapid Response Guar—no, we need the ROSE! We can't let these nutjobs carry off all that money; there's no telling what they'll use it for. C'mon, Tale, we need to go!"
Spinning around and preparing to sprint down the hill, we were stopped in our tracks by the sight of nearly half a dozen stallions in camouflage fatigues pointing crossbows at us. After a few tense seconds of silence, another pony stepped out of the shadows and stood in the midst of them. It was another robed mare, but unlike the one we had seen before, this one looked considerably older and more seasoned. She stared at me for a moment before turning to my companion.
"I'm afraid there will be none of that, colt." Her words held no malice, but I could tell they had shaken him. "I must admit that I wasn't expecting a member of the Guard to be here this afternoon. Would you care to tell me what led you here?"
I saw Waning Crescent's body tense up and his face twist into a defiant scowl, but he didn't say anything. The mare waited patiently for a moment, saw he wasn't going to reply, and then spoke again.
"I can tell that you are a stallion with a great sense of both duty and charity. If I didn't think so, we would have killed you on your way up the hill." Crescent flinched. "Because of this, you're being given an offer that very few ever receive. Renounce Luna, pledge yourself to the Sun Queen, and you will be welcomed into our ranks with open arms. Few thestrals make up our number, but I guarantee that-"
"To hell with your offer, nightmare spawn!" he snarled.
I pursed my lips. I'd expected him to have a reaction like that, but I'd still hoped otherwise.
Crescent channeled all the aristocratic pride his father had drilled into him into a withering glare, "We'll never betray Princess Luna just to lick the horseshoes of a blasphemous sun demon!"
The cultists just stared at us. Crescent continued yelling even as he reached into his trench coat for one of the weapons he'd brought with him; I did the same.
"I'm a Moongazer, a loyal subject of Equestria, and an enforcer of the law! We both are! And if you think Tall Tale and I are ever going to dishonor those things, then your brain's not worth its weight in hay!"
I allowed myself a small smile at that. His devotion to his ideals, as well as his faith in me, made me appreciate him even more than I already had. His loss of control may go against how I'd taught him to react in situations like this, but his conviction would put his peers to shame. Truly, his steadfastness in the face of danger would make his father and his Princess proud.
Crescent tensed and his wings twitched. Come hell or high water, Crescent had resolved to fight his way out and back to the station or die trying. Even with my help, his chances of succeeding were low, but he was skilled enough that the possibility of still existed. I needed to act quickly.
The moment he prepared to lunge, I plunged my dagger into the base of his skull.
Waning Crescent's body collapsed into a heap beside me, his face still twisted into a look of furious defiance. Good, that meant his death had been quick. After pulling out and cleaning the blade, I solemnly closed his eyes and brought my hooves together in prayer.
"Oh Daybreaker, ruler of the Sun and steward of the heavens, please have pity on this wayward soul.
Spare him your wrath as he passes by, though justice must be done.
A thousand curses upon your demonic sister, who twisted his mind and tainted his soul.
Nevertheless, let light consume all darkness."
I opened my eyes to see that everypony but the priestess had shuffled out of sight. The priestess, one Gentle Flame, approached my partner's body. She drunk the image of it in and shook her head.
"So few ponies of his caliber these days... Why did you two come here?"
"He interviewed on old mare who lives near the bank. Nopony in the department put much stock in her testimonies because of her memory problems, but Crescent here was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt when she speculated that you were heading to Eventide. I tried to talk him down a couple times, but he stubbornly insisted on following through with the lead." I looked down at him, "He was a principled stallion, one who's willing to stand up to his peers if it means doing what he thinks is right. That's probably why Brass Tacks paired him up with me."
"I see. In any case, I'll see to it that his body is not disturbed before we leave."
I looked up at her with a grim expression, "There's something you need to know. He's one of Duke Crescent's sons."
Gentle Flame's eyes widened, "You're sure of this?"
"I am. I worked with him long enough to get a read on him, so I could tell he wasn't lying when he told me."
She furrowed her brow, "If that's the case, the ROSE will be crawling all over this place once his father finds out. I suppose we'll have to strip this safe house before then..." she eyed me, "...and since you are the principle witness, they'll want to call you in for an interview or two."
I nodded, "What do you think?"
She chewed on her lip as she thought. After weighing her options, she delivered her verdict.
"If you were more experienced, I'd leave you in your current position. However, schismatic as they are, the ROSE's ponies are exceptionally skilled at their craft. Given that this is your first major assignment, I think it would be best to have you reassigned rather than run the risk of cracking under interrogation."
I bowed my head. I didn't like it, but I would heed her judgement.
"Follow me to the cabin. I'll let everypony know the situation, and we'll have an associate pass the message on to Brass Tacks."
I hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you think you could ask the higher-ups to give me a more inconspicuous alias next mission?"
Gentle Flame raised an eyebrow, "You really hate that name, don't you?"
"Going by 'Tall Tale' just feels like tempting fate. I'd rather have a name that doesn't imply deceit when I'm trying to convince others that I'm a normal pony," I said, once again irked that I wasn't being taken seriously about this.
She rolled her eyes, "I'll see what I can do. Now come on."
She walked past me, and I turned to follow. I paused, took one last long look at the body of Waning Crescent, and then turned my back on him for the last time.
Barely twelve hours after Crescent's death, his body was discovered on the hillside where he'd fallen. Word quickly spread that the duke's son had been murdered, and soon enough, ROSE agents were swarming Eventide State Park, with Chief Brass Tacks pledging his full support for the investigation. Not much came of their efforts, however. The culprits had been thorough in covering up their tracks in spite of the haste at which they'd packed up and left.
It was not long before the ROSE's investigation hit a dead end similar to the one the Fillydelphia Urban Guard had reached in the recent robbery cases. Few concrete details were able to be relayed to the distraught Crescent family, and even fewer were cleared for release to the general public.
The only pieces of evidence that stuck out to the investigators were the cracked badge of Waning Crescent's partner and a few signs of a struggle that had been neglected in the culprits' haste to flee. It was surmised that Tall Tale, a relatively young detective with no immediate family to speak of, had been attacked and subdued while searching the cabin. At the same time, a hidden assailant ambushed and killed Crescent before he could fly for help. However, just like the rest of the case, an inquiry into Tall Tale's current whereabouts yielded no results.
After a few fruitless months of searching, representatives of the ROSE and Fillydelphia Guard released an official statement. Waning Crescent had been murdered by an as of yet unidentified criminal gang when he stumbled across their base of operations. While little headway had been made, both representatives vowed to continue searching for the perpetrators of this heinous act.
The fate of Tall Tale was unknown. Though there were doubts that Crescent's partner still lived, they affirmed their commitment to finding the senior detective as well.
Author's Note
Terms
Urban/Rural Guard: Essentially the police.
ROSE: The Royal Order of the Silent Eye is an intelligence organization under Princess Luna's direct command. Their duty is to find, monitor, detain, and/or neutralize threats to the Crown's authority.
Moon Priestess: The all-female clergy of Equestria's state church.
Moongazer: An adherent to Equestria's state church.
Everbright Sun: The holy symbol of the schismatic (and supposedly defunct) Solar branch of Equestria's state church.
Rapid Response Guard: Basically the SWAT.
