The Start of the Missing Books Case (Chapter 1)
Rainbow Dash trotted into the Ponyville library with a scowl on her face. One of her latest Daring Do issues had been accidentally left at Rarity’s house. Rarity had told Rainbow that she had left the volume on the counter while working on a couple of dresses, and an hour later when Rarity returned upstairs she had found that Opalescence had ripped the book to pieces, slicing Rainbow’s heart in two. Rainbow sighed loudly, remembering how expensive the books had been. As a popular series, most of the books had sold out instantly. Only a few copies were left in Ponyville, scattered around in shady places she had no intention of exploring. She loved Daring Do as much as the next pony, but she wasn’t ready to risk her life over a book.
After a while, Rainbow managed to stumble into the fiction section of the library, but she immediately noticed something strange. Many of the books that usually occupied the shelves and tables were missing, creating an off-putting atmosphere. All the knowledge that had been bestowed and held inside the library had vanished without a trace.
As she continued to explore the library, she felt her heart start to pump faster. Was it fear? Or anger? The emptiness of the library was starting to get to her. She increased her trotting speed, which soon led to her soaring through the library. She scanned each shelf, desperately hoping to find any resemblance of a Daring Do book anywhere.
Rainbow's thoughts were interrupted as the sound of a large crash echoed throughout the library. She looked around to see a stack of books lying on the ground. A pony cloaked in black stood beside them, but before Rainbow could dash towards her, the pony seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving the pegasus shocked and bewildered.
Rainbow hovered in place, her eyes wide in surprise. "What in Equestria?" she muttered, her gaze darting around the library. She landed on the ground and approached the fallen books with curiosity, her heart still racing. She examined the area, trying to find at least a clue of where the mysterious pony had gone, but she was left with nothing.
Determined to get to the bottom of things, Rainbow flew over to the librarian's desk. "Excuse me?" she asked, a mixture of anger and urgency in her voice.
The librarian, who was currently facing away from her, seated in an office chair with an oversized hat on that stuck out like a sore hoof, sighed at Rainbow's question and turned around. She was an earth pony wearing full-on detective gear, magnifying glass in one hoof, calabash in mouth, and fully covered in a gray trench coat. If Rainbow didn't know any better, she would say the librarian was in the middle of her own mystery novel herself. The pink earth pony looked at Rainbow Dash with a raised brow, her expression stern, but unkind.
“Rainbow Dash? Nice seeing you here, have you seen anything recently that has come off as strange?” The mysterious figure mentioned in a monotone voice, fidgeting with her hooves.
Rainbow stepped back, creeped out by the detective's strange and jarring behavior. Her blue eyes, pink skin, combined with said jarring behavior were all the information she needed to know who she was dealing with. "Pinkie. Is that you?"
Pinkie Pie let out a melodramatic sigh, removing the calabash from her mouth and placing it on the desk. “Indeed, Rainbow Dash, it is I!” She shouted, her voice animated, reminding Rainbow of her usual self. “But, it’s not Pinkie Pie at the moment, no, currently it’s Detective Pinkie Zinkie, and Zinkie is on a missing book case. Zinkie needs somepony who is fast, bold, and determined to solve this case by her side.”
“Let me guess. That somepony is me, right?” Rainbow asked.
“Well duh, Rainbow, who else do you think I'm talking to? Myself?” Pinkie asked in an accusatory tone.
“Uhh… maybe?” Rainbow replied. “Pinkie always likes to joke around.”
Detective Pinkie shook her head. “Detective Pinkie Zinkie doesn't like to joke around, got it!?” She shouted, slamming her hoof onto the desk, causing some of the remaining books in the library to fall off their respective shelves.
Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat, jolted by Pinkie’s unexpected aggression. She saluted and nodded, feeling a mixture of confusion and fear. “Alright, Detective Pinkie Zinkie! I’m sorry for my error, but can we please focus back on the task at hoof, which is solving the mysterious book thief case?”
“No worries, my faithful student, or should I say, sidekick!” Pinkie exclaimed as she pulled out a notebook and quill from her pocket. She opened to a random page and began to jot down her thoughts about the entire situation. “A couple of minutes ago, I heard strange sounds throughout the library. At first I thought it was a gust of wind, or a rat sneaking through the place, however, the sounds only grew louder and louder. So, I began my search, exploring the library with my trusty magnifying glass, and found something massive.”
Rainbow was listening to Pinkie intently. "So what did you find, Detective Zinkie?"
Pinkie, who was currently jabbing her chin with her quill, revealed a mysterious box that was lying under the desk. She hoofed the box towards Rainbow. “This box contains the first clue to solve this mystery. You must open it with caution, because tampering with evidence could lead to bad things."
Rainbow blinked. "Bad things? Like what?"
Pinkie stared back at her blankly. "Honestly, I don't know. I didn't think I would get this far. Just don't tamper with the evidence I've gathered. Ok?
The pegasus nodded. “Alright Detective Zinkie, now hoof me over the box.” Pinkie did as she was told, hoofing over the box to her. Rainbow opened it instantly, revealing the contents inside. She stared at the items with a perplexed face. Inside there was a spell book, a pink piece of confetti, a white piece of fabric, seeds and a lasso.
Rainbow chuckled awkwardly, not understanding the connection between these seemingly random items and the case they were trying to solve, but then it all hit her. "Wait a minute! A spell book, a pink piece of confetti, a white piece of fabric, seeds, and a lasso rope. These all relate to every single one of our friends—minus me, which means I’m in the clear!"
Rainbow soared into the air and did a loop-de-loop before landing back onto the sleek, matted floor. "Oops, sorry. I overreacted, didn't I?" she said, rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish grin.
Pinkie nodded. "Yep! Minus you, it could be any one of us. It could be Applejack, it could be Twilight, heck, it could even be me!" Pinkie overdramatically explained. She took a deep breath before continuing. "But don't worry, even if I don't know this Pinkie fellow, I bet she’s a nutcase with all the confetti in the box. if I'm betting on any pony to be the dirty book stealer, it's her."
Rainbow pointed a hoof at her. "Detective Pinkie Zinkie, you’re Pinkie Pie!"
Pinkie shook her head. "No, I'm not! I would never be someone so reckless."
Rainbow just laughed. "Pinkie might be reckless, but she is really fun to hang around with."
"That might be true, but in cases like these, feelings are put to the side. The end goal of catching the criminal at hoof is what matters the most, not our petty differences and our squabbles. You got that?" Pinkie eyed Rainbow as she spoke.
"Okay, okay. Look, how about we take your advice and focus on the task at hoof, look down there!" Rainbow pointed downwards towards the book. "The book's title says 'How to Teach Teleportation for Dummies'... Do you know what this means?"
Pinkie nodded. "Of course, this slippery snake must be a unicorn! She must've placed all those items around the library to frame the rest of our friends!"
"But why would Twilight or Rarity intentionally try to frame one of us?"
"I'm not sure myself," Pinkie replied, picking up the quill from the desk and fidgeting with it. "If one thing's for certain, one of those unicorns is going to get severe justice for their crimes!"
With Pinkie's deduction in mind, Rainbow considered the implications. If one of their unicorn friends did this, there had to be a motive. Rainbow racked her brain, trying to think of a motive why Twilight or Rarity would intentionally frame their best friends.
"This doesn't make sense. Why would Twilight or Rarity, two of the most trustworthy ponies I know, do such an awful thing?"
"I don't know, Rainbow, but this is an investigation. The ponies you'll least expect are usually the ones who had committed the crime in the first place," Pinkie said, getting up from her chair and walking over to the library exit. "You must think long and hard about this, Rainbow because who knows.. Whenever all this is said and done, we might lose someone dear to our hearts."
Rainbow felt a chill run down her spine from Pinkie's words. She knew that in an investigation like this, anything could happen, but the thought of one of her closest friends committing such an act of betrayal was almost too much to bear.
As Pinkie walked out of the library exit, Rainbow stood there in silence. The only sound accompanying her was the sound of white noise as she delved deeper into her mind, replaying the day’s events over and over again, trying to figure out the latest clue that could piece everything together.
But the longer she stood there, motionless, the less it made sense. With anger boiling within her, she fluttered her wings and soared out of the library.
Leaving the Ponyville Library, Rainbow soared through the skies. Her mind was already made up about who she was going to talk to first. As she descended downwards she found herself outside of the Golden Oaks Library. Twilight, out of all her friends, would be the best choice to visit first about the issue since Rainbow knew that Twilight was the most responsible one in the group, and knew a great deal about magic and books in general.
Landing outside of the library on Twilight’s doorstep, Rainbow gently knocked on the door and waited patiently for it to swing open at any moment.
Her wish was granted when Twilight opened the front door, puzzled by Rainbow's sudden appearance.
"Hey, Rainbow! Is there something you need to talk to me about?"
"Yes, Twilight. I came here to talk to you about an incident that happened at the Ponyville Library earlier that I saw first hoof."
Twilight jittered, wondering what Rainbow might’ve seen. "A-An incident? What happened? Did a bunch of books get stolen?"
Rainbow raised a brow, suspicious of Twilight's correct answer. "Yeah… that’s exactly what happened," Rainbow spoke in a slightly mocking tone, trying to get a reaction from Twilight. "How did you know that there was a robbery at the library? Or was it you who stole the books from the library in the first place?" Rainbow pressed, taking a step forward.
"No, I didn't steal any books from the library.” Twilight stepped back, her eyes widened, and her heartbeat accelerated at Rainbow’s accusation. “Rainbow! Please, you have to believe me!"
Rainbow narrowed her eyes as Detective Pinkie’s words flooded back into her mind. “Then why are you so nervous?” Rainbow asked, her voice laced with venom, a villainous grin plastered on her face.
"Because you’re scaring me!" Twilight cried.
Rainbow's eyes widened. She looked down, realizing that she was unknowingly gripping Twilight's hoof. She immediately let go and noticed the red mark appear. Her eyes widened, realization setting in as she began to feel awful about what she had done.
Twilight rubbed her sore hoof and took a deep breath, regaining her composure. “Rainbow, I promise I had nothing to do with the books disappearing. If anything, I’m here to help you figure out who did this. Let’s calm down and think this through together."
Rainbow sighed, feeling embarrassed. “I'm sorry, Twilight. I didn't mean to freak out on you like that. It’s just… it’s Daring Do we're talking about. Those books come a diamond a dozen. They’re so rare, and it’s killing me inside knowing that I’m behind everypony on what happened in the latest volume.”
“Your apology is accepted, Rainbow Dash. I know how it feels to be behind on a book series that you love, especially when it’s Daring Do. Those books get my heart pumping every time I read them.”
“Thanks for accepting my apology, Twilight,” Rainbow thanked, glancing down at the mark on Twilight's hoof, noticing its darkened crimson color. “To make up for injuring your hoof, I wouldn't mind taking time out of my day to give you a hoof massage or something to make you feel better.”
Twilight smiled. “That would be nice, Rainbow. Thank you!” Twilight said but then realized that the rest of Ponyville was still under threat from the book thief. “I’m sorry, Rainbow, but can you give me a hoof massage later? I’ve just remembered that the rest of Ponyville is at stake, and I don't want my own personal pleasure to get in the way of ponies' books, or even lives if the thief out there is dangerous.”
“You’re right, Twi! We’ve got a thief to catch and books to rescue!"
“Exactly! Any plans in that wild mind of yours for stopping the thief dead in his tracks?”
“Well, me and Pink—I mean, Detective Pinkie Zinkie—are on the search. Zinkie showed me a box full of items that point to one of us being the thief.”
“One of us?” Twilight questioned with a confused tone. She couldn't understand for the life of her that somepony out of her friendship group would steal a bunch of books. “One of us?” she repeated. “What did Pinkie show you?”
“A spell book, a pink piece of confetti, a white piece of fabric, seeds, and a lasso,” Rainbow explained. “The spell book was an advanced one. One of the pages I read was about teleportation and flight.”
Twilight's eyes widened, realizing why Rainbow thought she was the thief. “No wonder why you thought I was the thief. A pony with that much knowledge about magic would obviously make you jump to the conclusion that I was the book thief.”
“Tooting your own horn a bit there, huh, Twi?” Rainbow said with a sly grin.
Twilight blushed. “Nope, not at all. I’m just saying that, let's be honest here, Rainbow, there aren't that many ponies in Ponyville that have the same magic abilities as I do. It doesn't help that I’m a massive egghead, so stealing books would make sense.”
Rainbow chuckled at Twilight’s joke, shortly afterwards, Rainbow found herself inside the Golden Oaks library. Viewing the endless shelves that surrounded the sanctuary. Twilight had brought up a good point, that in cases like these, it’s best to gather evidence about the potential suspect, before jumping to conclusions. Rainbow at first, frowned at her statement, she wanted to get straight into the action. Taking down the thief and causing the residents of Ponyville to view as a hero. However, Twilight reminded her that this wasn't some dream or game, and that they needed to gather information before striking against the thief.
After some time. Rainbow grabbed herself a volume, flew over to Twilight's sofa and sat down. The title was ‘The History Of Magic In Equestria For Dummies’. Rainbow leaned back, flipping through the pages absentmindedly, the pages were a blue, her mind focused on the words Pinkie said to her earlier. ‘The ponies you'll least expect are usually the ones who had committed the crime in the first place’. Those words echoed in her mind, sending a shiver down her spine.
Rainbow stretched her hooves and looked up from her book to see Twilight in a world of her own, leaning back on her stairs with the book in hoof. Not paying attention to anything surrounding her. She had a smile on her face. A smile that could have meant anything in Rainbow's eyes.
Rainbow observed Twilight for a moment, noticing the peaceful expression on her face as she delved deeper into her book, it was a rare moment of tranquility amidst the chaos of the investigation.
Feeling a ping of guilt over accusing Twilight earlier, she closed the volume, the satisfying sound of the pages closing echoing through the library as a rainbow rose from the sofa and walked over to the preoccupied unicorn.
“Hey Twilight.” Rainbow greeted, the light of the library caused her wings to create a shadow around her.
Twilight's head perked with, closing the volume and looking at Rainbow with a genuine smile, “Oh hey, Rainbow, what's up? Have you found anything that could help solve this case?”
Rainbow’s eyes darted all over the place, not being able to look Twilight in the eyes. “Sorry, I haven't,” her hooves trembling in place, “and it’s getting on my nerves. However, I came over to you since I wanted to apologize again for accusing you of stealing those books in the library.”
“Oh, Rainbow, it’s okay.” Twilight replied, rising from the stars and placing a reassuring hoof on Rainbow’s back. “I completely understand why -”
“No, it’s not okay!” Rainbow interrupted, shaking her head, her teeth visible. “I cannot believe that after all this time of knowing each other, my mind instantly jumps to believe that you were the culprit. I feel like a monster.”
“Rainbow, you aren’t a monster; you just made a simple and honest mistake. All ponies make mistakes, no matter how strong they are. Trust me, Rainbow, I completely forgive you. Now please, can we get back to finding out the real culprit? There's no time to waste!”
Rainbow nodded, feeling relieved by Twilight’s forgiveness. “You’re right, Twi, there’s no time to waste. Ponyville needs us both to hunt down the criminal, together.”
Rainbow leaned forward and hugged Twilight, surprising the lavender pony.
“R-Rainbow Dash,” Twilight blushed, stumbling over her words, “what’s with the sudden need for physical affection?”
“It's me repaying you for being such a good friend and snapping me out of doubting you and the rest of my friends. Without you, this investigation would be a lost cause.” Rainbow released her grip on Twilight, bearing a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I just got caught up in the moment.”
Twilight smiled warmly at Rainbow while twirling her hair. “It’s okay, Rainbow, I understand. We’re all under a lot of stress right now; we’re in this together, and together, we’ll use our bond to find out who’s behind this.”
Rainbow nodded, feeling the reassurance she needed from Twilight's words. “Exactly, we’ll catch this book thief and together put an end to these shenanigans once and for all!”
The determination in Rainbow's voice resonated with Twilight as they both set their sights on looking for clues to find the culprit. With a renewed sense of determination, they combed through the library, reading through countless numbers of books to try to find any sort of magic they could use to help them on their case.
Hours passed by, the sun had dipped below the horizon, the moon casting shadows through the library windows. Rainbow and Twilight had worked tirelessly on their search on the sofa but couldn't find anything conclusive. Tiredness consumed their bodies, their eyes felt like they were about to shut at any moment, and before they knew it, their eyes closed and their bodies shut down, delving into the world of endless dreams.
Author's Note
Yo, I just want to say thanks for reading my story. I appreciate it. I haven't tried to write a multi-chapter story in god knows how long, so hopefully this fic can be a success. Also, feel free to comment on anything about my story that you liked or didn't like.
This is Ben and Peace.
