Zipp Storm Investigates!-The Mystery of the Missing Butter

by The Blue EM2

Chapters

Intro
Chapter 1-a Study in Orange
Chapter 2-The Speckled Bland
Chapter 3-The Great Game
Chapter 4-The Trap
Chapter 5-The Chase
Chapter 6-a Nightmare in Halcyon
Chapter 7-The Storm Breaks
Chapter 8-Losing Control

Intro

Fimfiction Proudly Presents

A Story by The Blue EM2

Based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Louis Stevenson

Starring the voices of:

Jenna Warren

Matreiyi Ramakrishnan

J. J. Gerber

A. J. Bridle

Joshua Graham

and Nick Robinson

THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING BUTTER

Animation by Boulder Media and Arc Productions

A Hasbro Production, Copyright MMXXV

Chapter 1-a Study in Orange

Zipp felt this view would never get old.

As she soared in from above the town, she whooped as she put herself into a dive. Wings back, cut airspeed. Once down to appropriate speed, tip down, drop at a near vertical angle before you hit the ground, then hit the brakes (spread wings out), then fly down the street and land.

It was a routine she had practiced many a time in her lab, with the huge turbofan below her providing an easy means of testing new flying tricks. And the skies over Maretime Bay were ideal for trying them out.

Zipp roared in from the sea, dipping down and touching the water with her hoof. She whooped as she started to pull up. Now there were two sentences she wouldn't have said only a few months ago. But here she was, thundering around with the freedom of a bird. No longer was she stuck on the ground, she could soar about the skies as she saw fit.

And that was all thanks to the work of her and four friends. Well, mostly the friend she was going to visit today, but they had all played their part, hoof to heart.

She looked up as she climbed towards her dive point. The coastline jutted out here, and a large building site had cropped up where the lighthouse had once stood tall. Zipp was glad to see that place was getting rebuilt. She didn't know where Sunny was living whilst her home was repaired, but soon she would be able to move back into her old home.

Zipp knew how that felt. Places you live are so much more than just buildings. They have memories attached to them. Memories of things said, things done, and the spirits of the people you knew and loved. And based on their conversations, this was why Sprout had targeted the building. Not just because of the magic, but because of what it meant to Sunny. That place carried the memories of her childhood, and seeing it destroyed was intended to serve a psychological blow.

Zipp dived down towards the town, thinking again to herself. Sunny sure seemed to have been through a lot in her short life, and undoubtedly needed some support. When they got Canternet fully set up in the area, she would look into getting Sunny some therapy sessions.

All around her, stands were being put up and put into service. Zipp was partly here because of them. The stands were for the upcoming Maretime Bay Food Festival, a day when earth ponies showed off their creations and promoted food and drink from their native diets. Zipp had been dispatched to attend by her mother (who had recently been restored to the throne), as not only is food a superb way to learn about another culture, it also shows commitment to the idea of unity- taking in the traditions of another culture who until recently had been sworn enemies. How quickly things had changed.

Zipp touched down in the street and smiled. "Right, which way to the Prancing Pony?" she asked.

"Two streets towards CanterLogic, then take a right and walk a block," said a voice. "You chose a good time of year to visit. Maretime Bay Day can get very hot, which I imagine you might struggle with!"

Zipp nodded. "Thanks." The climate here was something she'd have to get used to on top of everything else. Maretime Bay was a long way south of Zephyr Heights, nestled in a horseshoe shaped bay not far from where Baltimare used to be, according to an old map which they'd found in the archives. Now that had been a treasure trove of information.

Anyway, the climate led to a number of differences between pegasi and earth ponies. Pegasi usually lived at high altitude, and to compensate their bodies had larger lungs (to cope with the thinner air) and longer fur (to cope with the colder air). Earth ponies, on the other hand, had smaller lungs and short fur for the humidity.

No wonder Sunny was so often out of breath during her time in Zephyr Heights.

Zipp strolled through the streets, soaking up all the things around her, before she stepped towards her destination. This particular cafe had been recommended to her by Sunny, and as such they'd set it as the place to meet for lunch before Zipp checked into her hotel room.

Zipp wandered in, showed her reservation to the bouncer, then waited as she was shown to a table and sat down. Good thing she'd thought to secure a reservation indoors. Zipp was feeling the heat, so switching to air conditioning was quite a nice change.

"Afternoon, Zipp! Sorry I'm late!"

Zipp glanced over to see a familiar orange mare make her way over to the table. She deposited her bag next to the chair and sat down in the opposite chair.

Zipp smiled. "No worry, Sunny. I only just got here myself." She shifted in the chair. "You do something different with your mane?"

Sunny nodded. "Yeah. I've been unable to get these rainbow streaks I gained out of my mane, so I've decided to wear my braid differently so they're less obvious. I'm so not in the mood for getting all my paperwork updated with new photos, let me tell you that!"

Zipp had been surprised that night. Safe to say, nopony had seen that coming. "So, how have things been going, Sunny?"

As their drinks arrived, Sunny launched off into her story. "Well, I've mostly been focused on making the Maretime Bay Food Festival more friendly to unicorns and pegasi. I took a look at many of the dishes we often serve and they contain a lot of mayonnaise, so I suggested we try making ones without that in to be more inclusive."

"Good thinking. Where are you living nowadays?"

"I've got a room at the local Mareiott until construction work at the lighthouse is finished," Sunny replied. "Phyllis is footing the bill for that one."

"The building works or the hotel?"

"Both." Sunny then dropped her head, as if in sadness.

Zipp noticed this. "I noticed that the building works are quite extensive."

Sunny sighed. "They got a surveyor out to look at the ruins- only the bottom part of the building was left, and had taken quite a hit when the main tower fell on top of it. Sadly, he had to condemn what was left of the building as it had taken too much damage, and they're currently demolishing what's left." She looked away from Zipp, seemingly wiping something out of her eye. "Sorry. I know, it's ridiculous I'm getting emotional over an old building, but-"

Zipp looked empathetic. "Sunny, it's OK to be upset. I know that place meant a lot to you. And we can honour that legacy through what we do next."

Sunny nodded. "Thanks, Zipp. At least you understand. I got asked a lot why I was sad over an old building, but that's where I grew up, made a lot of memories. After dad passed it always felt like his soul remained there- and now it's gone. At least I was able to save some items from it." She then seemed to brighten up quite a bit. "But there is some good news. They've agreed to build a new lighthouse to replace it, and that's due to be finished by the next Maretime Bay Day. They let me take a look at the plans, and it looks great! When construction is done I'll be sure to invite you guys over."

The plates of food had since arrived, and both mares took to eating whilst chatting about what was going on with their lives. Zipp had surprisingly little to report- royal protocol rarely changed from day to day and Zipp suspected Sunny would find it incredibly boring anyway.

As they chatted away, Zipp suddenly noticed something about Sunny's meal. "Sunny, I don't mean to sound weird, but is that the low fat option?"

Thankfully, Sunny wasn't offended. "Yep! Normally I'd cook for myself as I'd know precisely what was in my meal, but at the moment I don't really have access to cooking facilities so I've been somewhat dependant on hotel food or the local cafes or grocery stores. And the diet around here is kinda fattening."

Zipp nodded. "I'll tell Pipp to take it easy when she arrives."

"So, anyway, since we last met I found I'd put on more than a bit of weight." Sunny looked serious again. "Obviously, that's not good for my health, so for the last little bit I've been on a diet. Seems to be working OK, although I seem to have snuck a few pounds on somewhere."

Zipp nodded. Once the meal was over, the two mares went their separate ways, with Sunny heading for the Mareiott.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and Zipp's ears perked. "What was that?" she asked, as she headed in its direction. "Come on, Sunny!"

Sunny dashed after her. "Looks like we're off on another adventure!"

Author's Note

Hello everybody, and welcome back to my stories. I had noted that it had been a while since I had written a story set in Equestria, and as such have decided to tell a new story in a genre I haven't worked in all that much- mystery. The decision to set the story inbetween the movie and MYM Chapter 1 was partly a self-imposed challenge to try and capture the tone and feel of the early days of G5, not to mention we know very little about what happens between the two (making it a goldmine for storytelling).

I also took the opportunity to reference some of the changes in direction the story took. The G5 comics appear to be based on an earlier version of the proposed TV series, as the first few show the lighthouse as having been rebuilt before switching to the Brighthouse partway through. I also decided to give an origin for the latter structure, as it is implied to have been built in the gap between the movie and MYM Chapter 1.

And now, there is action! What could this be about? Find out more... tomorrow!

Chapter 2-The Speckled Bland

Zipp dashed through the streets as fast as her hooves could carry her, weaving around fellow pedestrians as quickly as she could to ensure she could cover the ground quickly. After all, somepony was clearly in trouble, and needed help, and who better to help than her?

As she continued, she soon realised she had run into a rather serious problem- she had absolutely no idea where she was going.

As she ground to a halt, she saw Sunny catch up to her, puffing and panting. "Why are we running?" she asked.

"What if somepony's in trouble?" Zipp asked. "We need to be there quickly, and-"

"Know where you're going?" Sunny asked, raising an eyebrow. "Zipp, I know you want to help, but perhaps it's best I lead. I do know these streets like the back of my hoof." She took a quick look at one of her hooves. "Hmmm. That wasn't there yesterday..."

Zipp nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed. "You're right, Sunny. Perhaps you should lead, given you live here."

Sunny smiled. "Then follow me!"

Of the pair went once more, trotting through the streets at a somewhat more sedate pace. As they went along, they knew they were drawing closer to the situation based on some of the sounds they could hear from a nearby street. Finally, they rounded a bend and were confronted with a scene of chaos.

"Another one?" Sunny asked. "That's the third one this week!"

Before them was a large grocery store, but it wasn't open for business. Instead, vast quantities of black and yellow crime scene tape was festooned over the front, and ponies dressed in uniforms were sweeping over the scene.

Hitch was directing the efforts. "Right, keep it up you guys! These crimes won't solve themselves!"

"Hey Hitch!" Sunny said, addressing her foalhood friend. "What seems to be the problem?"

Hitch turned to her. "Fancy seeing you here, Sunny. I've kinda got a case to solve, so if you could let me concentrate that'd be-"

"I may be able to help," Zipp said, stepping forward so Hitch could properly see her. "I've got something of a background in solving stuff."

"Didn't know you were a detective," Hitch said, looking back to his work.

"Well, I've listened to plenty of crime podcasts," Zipp replied. "And I do have a forensics kit back at home, so I can certainly try and help."

"If our adventure a little while back was anything to go by you've got a keen eye for this stuff," Hitch nodded, starting to see the sense in this idea. "As part of the powers granted to me under the Office of Sheriff of Maretime Bay, I hereby deputise Zipp Storm for this case. You too, Sunny."

Sunny was a little surprised. "Erm, OK. Why me, if you don't mind me asking?"

"You're better at persuasion than me," Hitch smiled. "That and you know an awful lot of ponies. That will probably make talking to them a lot easier."

Sunny nodded. "I guess there's sense in that."

The process now complete, the group dipped under the investigation tape and into the crime scene proper. The scene before them seemed to be that of a typical grocery store one would find in any town or city in Equestria. Only with one critical distance.

"Somepony made an incredible mess in here," Zipp said. "I know that's stating the obvious, but it sure is messy in here."

And she was right. All over the floor were the remains of produce. Smashed jars and broken bottles littered the floor, with vast amounts of various sources all over the floor, ruining the once pristine floor tiles kept clean through hard work. In short, it was an absolute mess in there.

Sunny was similarly shocked as Zipp. "Who would do something like this?" she asked. "Especially given this is the third one this week!"

"That's what the MBPD is trying to figure out," Hitch replied. "But there are many aspects of this crime which don't seem to make any sense."

"Such as?" Zipp asked. She frowned when she saw Hitch's confused look. "Hitch, if I'm your deputy on this case, I need to know the details of the crime. You know, the tea?"

"It's not finished brewing!" shouted a voice from outside.

Hitch nodded, and stopped them in an intersection near the front of the store, roughly where the bread and fish aisles diverged from one another. "We've been getting a series of odd calls recently reporting break-ins to grocery stores late at night. This is the third one this week, and whomever is doing this shows no sign of stopping." He sighed. "I fear a potential crime wave, which is the very last thing we need this close to the Maretime Bay Food Festival. But this must be one of the strangest crimes I have ever worked on."

"How so?" Zipp asked.

"Nopony has been able to get a decent visual on the thief, and when CCTV footage is played back there's always loads of interference," Hitch explained. "Almost as if the thief is messing with the systems. On top of that, although lots of things are always smashed or broken when we arrive at the crime scene, very little is actually taken."

Zipp pointed at the floor. "That's quick the tomato slick."

Hitch nodded. "Potential clue there. I'm going to put some barriers down."

Moments later, Hitch produced two barriers from nowhere and placed them on the ground both in front of and behind the slick of tomato sauce. The barriers read CRIME SCENE- KEEP AWAY.

Hitch looked at it. "And will you look at that. The sample has a hoofprint in it. This could be the breakthrough we've been looking for! I'll get the forensics specialist to take a look and retrieve a sample."

As Hitch called up the forensics officer on his radio, Zipp looked to Sunny. "Wasn't planning on an adventure this soon after I got here."

Sunny nodded. "This is such a weird crime, though. What was the thief after?"

Zipp trotted round the tomato slick, going the long way via the bread aisle, and soon found herself on the opposite side of the slick. As she stopped and looked at the shelves, she noticed something odd. In a lot of the other aisles, the shelves either had produce broken or knocked into odd lines, as if somepony was hunting through them erratically.

But that wasn't the case here. This section of shelves was completely empty, and had nothing it it.

Nothing at all whatsoever.

Zipp looked over to her friends. "Guys, there's a completely empty shelf here!"

Sunny was first to trot over, and Hitch followed a few moments later. "That's weird. That suggests the thief took whatever was on them. But what was there?"

Zipp leaned down, and took notice of all the lables. "Menton's, Berrow's, Hector's Finest... if I'm reading this correctly, these are all brands of peanut butter."

Hitch took a close look too. "That is weird. Nothing but the peanut butter is missing. Zipp, go check the warehouse out back and see if anything else is missing from there."

"Roger that!"

"My name's Hitch, not Roger."

"Oops, my bad!"

Zipp vanished off on her own towards a set of large double doors next to the freezers aisle, and kicked the door open with her back hooves. "That trick always works. Hoofprint recognition would do this place wonders."

Zipp slipped into the space and looked around her, noting it looked like the usual sort of stock area you would see when looking about in such a space. And it seemed to have been knocked about as well.

Damaged goods and tipped boxes littered the area, and they had made such a mess it made navigating somewhat difficult to do. Zipp slowly trotted forwards, being careful not to contaminate the area as she looked about.

But, at last, she found something critical. Sitting in one stack was a pallet which seemed to have been opened, based on the number of items on the floor next to it. Zipp trotted over, and looked inside, taking her phone out and switching on the torch to enable her to see better what was inside.

Inside were huge numbers of empty cardboard packing containers, and all of them were missing jars based on how they were tilted at odd angles. Zipp leaned in closer to try and read the packaging.

"Hector's Finest Peanut Butter," Zipp read slowly.

"Any updates, Zipp?" asked a voice. Zipp turned around to see Sunny standing there.

Zipp indicated inside the packing containers. "All the things that have been taken from them are peanut butter jars," she explained. "Whomever is doing the stealing is only taking peanut butter for some reason."

Sunny looked concerned. "Well, that's weird," she said. "But who would be stealing peanut butter from our stores? And more importantly, why?"

Zipp nodded. "I guess that's a mystery we'll just have to figure out. But we need to collect some evidence first."

Chapter 3-The Great Game

Hitch's office at the station was normally the image of neatness and tidy information. Today, however, it was not the image of neatness and tidy information.

Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact.

Hitch had moved several boards into the centre of the main room and had stuck lots of pictures onto them, arranged roughly in the street layout of Maretime Bay. Between the various images he had connected large quantities of red tape, which seemed to be trying to connect the different incidents together.

Zipp peered at it in surprise. "You sure are good at this," she said.

"Well, I trained under the best in the Force, and I do have a number of useful qualifications in the field," Hitch replied. "I presume you used the same method too?"

Zipp nodded. "Yeah. I used to sometimes find mysteries that needed solving around the palace, and often set up evidence boards like this to try and figure out how they were connected."

"The palace must have had a lot going on for there to be so many mysteries."

Zipp shrugged. "Turned out that mom was setting them up to give me something to do. I know we've had our disagreements, but I really do owe a lot to her. Even if being reminded that I'm the Crown Princess ad nauseam gets old after a while."

Hitch nodded as he finished adding some new string. "Well, if it ever helps, you can pop down here to help with cases if you need a detox from palace life."

"Thanks, Hitch."

Hitch backed up from the board. "OK then. That's some more evidence in place. Let's get down to business."

"To defeat the Huns?"

"Zipp, I'm not really sure fourth wall humour is appropriate right now." Hitch stepped back again to where Zipp was. "OK. Here's what we know so far. Three stores have been broken into, all at night. And all three cases have something in common- only peanut butter was taken. That's an oddly specific item to steal."

Zipp thought for a moment. "It could be a stunt to try and stir up tensions again. The upcoming Festival will see members from all three pony kinds attending, and if something bad were to happen earth ponies may try and pin it on either unicorns or pegasi. But who would try to do that?"

Hitch glanced over to the desk where his (long since fired) deputy used to sit. "I know I've got the samples out at the forensics lab, but there's just a nagging feeling in my gut. Sheriff's gut, so to speak."

"Do sheriff's normally rely on their digestive system for this sort of thing?" Zipp asked.

"Figure of speech, Zipp. I just have a suspicion that somepony, and I think you know who, might be behind all of this. He might be able to hide behind his family for now, but eventually the moral arc of the universe bends towards justice. You're dismissed for now, Zipp. Me and Sprout are going to have a little talk."

That evening, Zipp arrived at the Mareiott and showed her reservation.

The receptionist typed it into the system. "Zephyrina Storm?" she asked.

Zipp nodded. "Yes, that's me. Here's some ID as requested." Looks like my attempt to get the info changed to my preferred name didn't work, she thought to herself.

After some more clicking, the display updated once again, and the receptionist handed over a keycard. "Here you go, Your Royal Highness. Enjoy your stay in Maretime Bay."

Zipp smiled. "Thanks." Sure enough, she headed off down the corridor and to the elevator. After stepping in, the elevator began to rattle upwards until it reached the floor that Zipp had selected.

She stepped out of the door and trotted along the corridor before finding her room and pressing the keycard to the lock. With a quick buzz, the door opened, and Zipp was inside.

After ensuring all the things in the room were in order, Zipp popped down the corridor to Sunny's room and knocked on the door.

"Coming!" called a familiar voice. Moments later, Sunny opened it, her green eyes reflected in the mirror on the back of the door. "Hey Zipp! How's the investigation going?"

"No leads so far," Zipp replied. "This is frustrating. Can I discuss it with you?"

Sunny quickly glanced at the clock in the room. "Given it's almost dinner, I was going to suggest we discuss it over some food. Food for thought and for the stomach, eh? Besides, the food here is really nice."

Zipp nodded. "Sounds good to me. Lead the way, Sunny."

"I'll just grab my things and we'll be on our way."

A little while later, Zipp and Sunny were eating. Zipp had decided to try the seafood- seafood was a delicacy in Zephyr Heights as it had to be hauled all the way from the sea by airship, but given Maretime Bay sat next to the sea it made sense seafood was plentiful.

"So, Hitch thinks Sprout did it," Sunny mused. "Sorry, but I'm not so sold on that. He's in enough trouble as it is, given he already has a vandalism charge against him."

"All a clever ploy by you to bring down my family."

Sunny looked over. "Hello, Sprout, so lovely to see you," she said, in a tone of voice which indicated the exact opposite sentiment.

"Thanks to you, my inheritence is being wasted on building a lighthouse- when we have no ships. I mean, what's the point?"

"Well, you did destroy a historic landmark. It's only natural the town would try to rebuild it," Zipp countered.

"Don't get involved, featherbrain. I think I know what really happened. You put explosives in your house and blew it up to make it look like my machine did it!"

"How do you explain the lack of explosions?"

"That's easy, thermite. You set this all up to humiliate me- all because you're jealous of me."

Sunny rolled her eyes. "Why would I be jealous of a clown like you?"

"This way, sir," said a voice. And with that, Sprout was dragged away.

When Zipp and Sunny arrived in the lobby the next morning, the space was a scene of pandemonium.

"WE'RE DOOMED! DOOMED!" shouted a voice, and a stallion ran into a closet.

"MARETIME BAY HAS A CRIME WAVE!" shouted somepony else.

"Where is my peanut butter sandwich?" asked somepony other.

"Where's my jars of peanut butter?" asked a second.

An older stallion with a beard peered around, squinting. "Where are my glasses?" He then reached up. "Oh. On my head."

"What is going on?" Zipp asked. Then her eyes were drawn to the TV screen, which was playing a news report.

PEANUT BUTTER THEIF STRIKES AGAIN! ran the headline.

"I don't think you spell thief that way," Zipp noted.

"This news station frequently has typos in the headline banner," Sunny explained. "They're often in a rush to get the news out before any other station."

A stallion sat behind a desk. "Breaking news: Maretime Bay is seemingly on the verge of a new crime wave after a series of unexplained thefts. I am Justin Thyme, and joining me from Maretime Bay is Ana B. Ceeswater. Ana, what's the news?"

The camera abruptly cut to a reporter in the streets of Maretime Bay. "Thank you, Justin. Maretime Bay has been hit by a series of bizarre robberies this last week. Grocery and convenience stores have been broken into throughout the town, and the only things that have been taken are peanut butter- nothing else, just that."

"Do you think we are looking at the start of a gang stealing this stuff?"

"Not clear as of yet. Sheriff Hitch of the MBPD is yet to issue a statement and has declined our requests for an interview. In the meantime, though, this shocking image has appeared."

A very blurry photo then appeared on the screen. What was interesting, however, was there was a subject clearly standing inside a building.

A figure who had wings.

This caused another wave of hysteria from the crowd. "A PEGASUS IS DOING IT!" somepony cried, before running into a lamp and falling over.

"I KNEW WE COULDN'T TRUST THEM!" said somepony else.

Zipp shook her head. "This is ridiculous."

"This sort of hysteria was par for the course for the town back in the day," Sunny replied. "We'd best be getting down to the crime scene."

The duo soon left the Mareiott and stepped outside, soon realising the situation outside was little different to inside. Ponies were moving in fear, some hiding in buildings and others hiding behind bins and similar.

As they trotted along, Sunny went over the clues. "Peanut butter, convenience stores, wings... that would suggest a pegasus. But I don't know any pegasi who have moved here yet."

Zipp thought to herself. "Who in the world could be behind all of this? What does stealing this stuff achieve?"

"Well, whoeverpony it is, I hope it's not a penguin."

Chapter 4-The Trap

Zipp and Sunny ran into the street just as Hitch ran round the corner. Already police ponies were at work covering the building in yellow and black tape, which was serving its purpose very well.

"Stand back, everypony!" he shouted. "This is an active crime scene! Stand well back, please!"

Zipp walked forward. "Deputy Zipp, reporting for duty," she said. "We heard the new info on the news and-"

"Don't take another step closer to our Sheriff, you criminal!" shouted a familiar voice.

Sunny glanced over to see a certain beehive mane approaching. "Oh boy, this is gonna take a while."

Phyllis Cloverleaf stopped in front of Zipp. "After all I did to help reunify us, and this is how you repay our little town?" she said.

"Run along, Phyllis," Hitch said. "Let the professionals handle this."

"The news said the thief had wings. Zipp is the only pony in town with wings. Therefore she did it!"

Zipp rolled her eyes. "Ever heard of innocent until proven guilty, Phyllis? Maybe that'd be a good idea- or are you just prejudiced against me because I'm a pegasus."

Phyllis huffed. "Especially after Hitch dragged my good son's name through the mud. He's working so hard to rebuild his reputation, and then you accuse him of being a thief!"

"No, I called him in to ask some questions, both yesterday and today. Both times he had a watertight alibi." Hitch sighed. "You don't seem to understand how the law works, do you?"

Phyllis shook her head. "Well, when the thief comes and steals your food, don't come crying to me. Either you catch them, or I stop funding the brighthouse construction."

Sunny looked horrified. "You wouldn't!"

Phyllis looked at her coldly. "I don't think you realise just how little power you truly have, Sunny." She then walked off.

Hitch coughed to catch their attention. "Give her no mind, and let's focus on getting this crime scene investigated." He moved some of the tape and led his friends inside.

"Shows the importance of not jumping to conclusions, eh?" Zipp said.

Sunny thought to herself. "What if there's an ancient being from outside of town doing all of this to divide us, so she can rule over all of us again?"

Zipp shook her head. "Sunny, I think you've been reading too many of my comic books."

Once indoors, the crime had all the hallmarks of being the mysterious peanut butter thief. There was even more produce on the floor than usual, and the floor was covered in mess and sauces- not to mention a lot of broken glass. The scene was one of mayhem, and as usual the peanut butter section was empty.

"That was a long shelf," Hitch said. "How did the thief make off with such a large quantity of peanut butter?"

"With a large bag?" Sunny suggested.

Hitch sighed. "Not quite the answer I was looking for, Sunny. We need to look at this one further, in a place of solitude. To the station, my fine fellows!"

On arrival, Hitch had instructed a member of staff to brew them coffee, which was soon done. The three ponies sat in Hitch's office, all sipping their drinks and consulting the evidence board.

"So, any clues?" Zipp asked. "On top of the prior ones."

"We need to figure out who would have the motive to be doing this," Hitch replied. "Clearly it's somepony who dislikes the other tribes if they're trying to pin it on a pegasus."

Sunny thought for a moment. "I know I ruled him out yesterday, but wouldn't Sprout be an obvious choice for this?" she suggested. "I mean, he does dislike the other tribes quite a lot if his antics during the battle were anything to go by."

"Unfortunately, that's proven to be a dead end," Hitch said. "I hauled him in for questioning- twice, might I add- and he had watertight alibis the whole time. Both nights he was at the construction site, and this was verified by the site manager. So, in short, he's no real lead. We are back at square one."

"I think we may need to take drastic action," Zipp said. "If the cases I investigated were anything to go by, sometimes it's not enough to just play catchup all the time. We need to find a way to move ahead of the criminal and catch them in the act!"

Hitch smiled. "I'm glad you suggested that, Zipp. Because I have been having the exact same thought. Say hello to Operation Dazzleberry!"

He flipped a board round as dramatic organ music played in the background.

"Operation Dazzleberry?" Sunny asked, as the organ sounded again.

Hitch looked over. "Will you stop that?"

A police pony looked over from an organ console, and closed it. "Sorry."

"So, what is Operation Dazzleberry?" Zipp asked.

Hitch smiled. "It's a plan to catch this thief red hoofed." He pointed to the board. "Given that the criminal is yet to visit the same store twice, my solution is to station officers in the shops he hasn't gone to yet. That way, when he arrives, we can arrest him and drag him in for questioning."

"Any particular reason you're assuming it's a stallion?" Sunny asked.

"My document does, for some reason," Hitch replied. "I'll need to get it updated. Question is, we're two officers short for one of the shops. Can you two help?"

"Sure, I can do that," Zipp said.

"I'd be honoured to help out a friend," Sunny added.

"Excellent," Hitch said. "Report for duty at around eight in the evening. I'll brief you when you arrive at the store, then you two need to watch the entrance like hawks until you are relieved in the morning. You'll be supplied with caffeine and coffee to keep you awake, but until then I'd advise you both get some rest to ensure you're right as rain."

"I can't see any rain. Come to think of it, when did it last rain around here?"

"It's a figure of speech, Sunny."

"Ohhh."

"It's very dark out there," Sunny said, looking at the monitor. The interior of the store had been festooned with all sorts of equipment. The cameras were running on overtime to ensure anything was captured, and the other equipment included a thermal sensor and a motion tracker, which seemed to beep every now and then.

"Seems pretty high tech," Zipp said, as she sipped on her coffee. Long nights up weren't unusual for her, but still the caffeine was helping her stay awake regardless.

There was a yawn from Sunny as she glanced at the display. "Phew. I'm tired."

"Don't yawn more, Sunny," Zipp said. "You might set me off and we won't be able to catch the crook."

Sunny nodded as she tried to focus, and looked out of the window. "Seems odd for them to target this one. You know, right next to the town entrance? They'd have to run all the way back through town in order to get to wherever they're keeping the stuff, and then have to get rid of it all somehow."

"You know, you're onto something," Zipp said. "I checked with the refuse company and there's been no increase in garbage being thrown in- and no packaging for peanut butter either. Where is this thief keeping all this stuff?"

Sunny shrugged and leaned back in her chair. "Well, that's another mystery for us to solve, I guess."

There was a bit more silence, as they sat there in the darkness. No sound apart from the beeping of equipment and the sounds of the air conditioning in the store.

There was nothing going on at all- which was what made things so extremely tense out there. More silence rolled by, with the darkness continuing to get darker. As darkness is known to do from time to time.

Then, Sunny turned her chair. "I need to use the bathroom. See you in a moment."

"See ya, Sunny," Zipp said, and turned her attention back towards the display. The display was currently set to nothing, so that was less of an issue for her. The time continued to click by, and Zipp soon lost track of what the time actually was as nothing seemed to be happening. Her eyelids also seemed to be drifting shut, which was a bit of a worry for her.

Suddenly, something happened that brought her attention. The thermal sensor suddenly flared up, and Zipp looked at it closely. This something, whatever it was, was giving off a lot of heat.

"That's strange," Zipp said to herself, and noted it down. Then something else caught her attention.

The motion sensor suddenly flared into life, and Zipp looked closely at the display. It was beeping slowly, indicating whatever was moving was moving slowly.

But it was seemingly in front of her, and moving closer. Yet Zipp couldn't see anything.

The beeping rose in pitch, and still nothing.

And only then did Zipp realise what was happening.

Whatever this thing was, it was in the vents above her.

Chapter 5-The Chase

Suddenly, a vent popped off from the ceiling, bringing with it a vast cloud of dirt and dust that hammered to the floor. Zipp covered her eyes as the dust began to settle, followed by a loud clang from the vent cover itself slamming into the floor.

The heat sensor and motion trackers were still screaming, so Zipp switched them both off for fear of the noise attracting... whatever this thing was.

As she sat there, watching, something dropped out of the vent and landed on the floor, briefly dropping onto something before getting up. And in the dark corridor of that grocery store, Zipp quickly realised she had no idea what she was looking at.

This was mainly because it was too dark to actually get a proper look at this thing. It was shrouded in darkness. Zipp switched one of the displays to night vision mode, but almost immediately turned that off as it was blinding her. This thing was giving off so much heat it rendered the display basically unusable.

So, instead, Zipp hid. She slid under one set of shelves and hid out of sight, fearing this thing might have seen her.

It then walked straight past all the equipment and past where Zipp was hiding, and onwards. Zipp still couldn't get a proper look at the creature as it went by, but it seemed to be breathing heavily as it went by.

Zipp stuck her head out and looked as the creature stopped at one section of the aisle. Then, with a blinding flash most of the produce was sent flying to the ground. Bottles exploded on impact, leaving a massive mess. Sauces and other items landed on the floor, producing a horrible mess.

Zipp looked as the creature hungrily opened a peanut butter jar- and started to eat the contents. Whilst it did this, it started to shove the other ones into a bag.

Then things went wrong. Zipp moved too far and knocked a tin off a shelf, which landed with a bang.

The creature looked at her, its face still shrouded in darkness. And then it ran.

Zipp slid out from under her hiding place and gave chase behind it, soon emerging from the store entrance and out into the cold night air. "STOP RIGHT THERE!"

The creature didn't reply, instead suddenly leaving the ground on a pair of glowing wings. Zipp spread her own and jumped into the air, trying to catch up as fast as she could.

This was getting wierder by the second. No way this thing was a normal pony. Possibly it was one of the legendary sphynxes? Or maybe even a hippogriff? Rumour had it those had been able to give off blasts of energy.

Suddenly, the thing let off another flash of light. Zipp yelped, blinded by the light, and plummeted down to the streets below before landing in a full bathtup.

She sat up, groaning. "Well, I fell right into that one. But why couldn't it have been a conveniently placed mattress?"

The next morning, after a rest, Zipp decided to retrace her steps after the creature had escaped, and was now following the streets with an app on her phone. This was highlighting unusual things and objects on the way, and suddenly something interesting.

Zipp stepped closer to a distance marker that sat between her and the Mareiott, which had a burn mark in it. The marker, not the Mareiott. "Whatever that thing was, it passed this way."

Suddenly, her phone began buzzing loudly, and Zipp checked to see who it was. "Oh boy. Why does she have to arrive now?"

Suddenly, a familiar face landed next to her. "Hey sis!"

Zipp rolled her eyes. "Hey Pipp."

Pipp walked round the front. "Hey, you not excited to see your little sis?"

"Is it really so hard to say a two syllable word?"

"What got you in such a grouchy mood?" Pipp asked. "Mom sent me to document this event. She'd have come herself but she's SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO busy and doesn't have time. So I'm going to stream the entire thing! Isn't that Fabulous?!"

Zipp nodded. "OK. I must ask, why do you sing the last word of so many of your sentences?"

"Stylistic touch. But my question stands. Why such a grouch?"

"You've kinda arrived at a bad time, Pipp." Zipp then quickly got her up to speed on what had happened so far, including last night's dramatic chase.

"Ooooh, an actual mystery to solve!" Pipp said, looking excited. "I'll get to try my new detective outfit!"

"Pipp, must you dress up for everything?"

Sure enough, they arrived at the crime scene, and Hitch was already there. "What happened?" he asked. "Zipp, are you OK?"

"I'm fine," Zipp replied. "Landed in a bathtup. Not so sure about the store, though."

"I've already got a team combing through the building for clues." Hitch looked at her. "Now then, fill me in on what happened?"

Zipp nodded, and relayed all that had happened that night- including the dropped container of peanut butter.

"One of our forensics officers found that, and it could be a big breakthrough. The bite marks in it can be matched to the database, and we'll be able to bring this crook to justice for sure!"

Zipp nodded. "I'll go fill Sunny in if that's OK."

"Sure thing. Seems a bit weird she vanished when going to the bathroom, but I've seen weirder things in my life."

Pipp looked to Hitch. "Like a giant blueberry bouncing down a street and exploding?"

"That sort of thing only happens in cartoons!" Hitch replied, as he went inside.

Pipp sighed. "So, shall we go and find Sunny?"

"You betcha, Pipp!" Zipp replied, and both sisters set off in that direction.

But Pipp still had some questions. And she was asking them as they walked in through the front door of the Mareiott and into the lobby. Zipp glanced over. "Don't worry, she's my sister. Just here on a brief visit!"

Pipp, on the other hand, continued her speech as if nothing had happened. "But who would steal peanut butter? That seems like such a weirdly specific thing to steal. It'd be like stealing ice cream!"

Zipp nodded. "I know. It's the strangest crime wave I've ever seen- and that Maretime Bay has ever seen, apparently, given there was one guy who was stealing ping pong balls."

"That's also oddly specific."

Zipp shrugged. "Alas. not for me to judge. Let's just talk to Sunny and get her up to speed."

They entered the lift and Zipp hit the floor button. After some upward movement they exited, and wandered along the corridor to Sunny's room.

Zipp knocked.

There was no reply.

"Sunny?" she called.

Still no reply.

Zipp looked to Pipp. "Do you have her phone number?"

"Yeah. Should I ring it?"

"Probably should do."

Pipp scrolled quickly through her contacts and soon found the button she needed before hitting the ring button. The device rang for a few seconds before ringing out.

"OK, this is really bad," Zipp said. "I may have to force ent-"

And suddenly, the door opened. Sunny was on the other side, her mane currently in some sort of towel. "Hey Zipp! Oh, hi Pipp!"

"I thought you were going to call me Mark for a moment there," Pipp said.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?" Zipp asked.

"I only just got out of the shower," Sunny replied, indicating to the towel. "I was drying myself off, and my mane needs a bit more time to dry. What time is it?"

"It's nearly 11, Sunny."

Sunny's eyes went wide into a panic. "Oh no! I've really badly overslept! There's so much stuff I need to get caught up on and-"

"Suns, calm," Pipp said. "Let's get you relaxed, and then we can chat about... Zipp, was it the jelly thing?"

"Peanut butter," Zipp replied.

A few minutes later, Sunny had finished drying her mane, and the others quickly filled her in on all that was happening. Sunny nodded. "Well, I must admit I'm not quite sure what happened after I went to the bathroom, but I remember feeling very sleepy. I probably fell asleep in the stall and somepony brought me back to the hotel."

This struck Zipp as odd, so she noted it down.

Pipp, meanwhile, had gotten distracted and was looking at the decor inside the hotel room. "Nice pair of scales, Sunny!" she said.

"Thanks!" Sunny said. "I think they might be broken though."

"Why's that?" Pipp asked.

"I'm on a diet right now, quite carefully watching what I'm eating. And somehow I'm still putting on weight!"

Zipp's ears rose at that. That also seemed very odd.

Sunny sighed. "Hopefully I'll be able to get it under control. Anyway, I need to be off shopping."

"Why?" Zipp asked.

"I'll need a dress for the Food Festival party, that's why!" Sunny said, as she trotted out of the room.

Zipp looked at Pipp. "We need to search this room whilst she's out."

"Why?"

"To eliminate any doubt."

Chapter 6-a Nightmare in Halcyon

Zipp started by pulling open the closet. "Come on, there's got to be some stuff in here!" she said.

Pipp flew up next to her. "Zipp! Isn't this an invasion of privacy?"

"Not if I'm rifling through it with a good purpose it isn't!" Zipp replied, who looked through the bottom of it. "Nope. Nothing of concern down here. Let's check the sock drawer."

Pipp floated back as Zipp continued to throw things out of the draw. "Watch where you're throwing things?"

"Perhaps you could look somewhere else instead of buzzing about? Check the kitchen for anything."

Pipp scoffed. "Well I never! Buzzing about? You need to get your priorities sorted out."

"Remember who the crown princess is," Zipp replied.

Pipp huffed and flew over to the kitchen section of the room, pulling open a drawer as she did so. Knifes, spoons, and forks were also neatly lined up, ready to ensure their proper use for other things such as food preparation. "Nothing out of the ordinary in here, Zipp. In fact, this looks super neat."

"Sunny does like to arrange things in straight lines," Zipp replied, now having finished emptying out the sock drawer. "Right then, we need to look elsewhere. I'll take a look in this trunk. How's the kitchen?"

"I have no idea why a pony would need this many woks," Pipp complained. "There's five stacked in here like Yakyakistani Dolls!"

"Perhaps Sunny cooks a lot of Chighneise food?" Zipp suggested. "Then again, that wouldn't explain the lack of smell."

"Perhaps she had the ventilator on?"

"Good point." Zipp flipped open a trunk and began to look through it. "Hey, this is full of really old books. This calls for a much more careful approach."

"And throwing somepony's socks on the floor doesn't?" Pipp asked, as a sock suddenly sailed past her. "Watch it! You nearly hit me in the face!"

"Sorry, but I'm kinda busy here!" Zipp replied, continuing to look. "Just a pile of books and maps in here. No doubt Argyle looked at these at some point. I wonder what's in them?"

Pipp stopped moving plates and glanced over. "Zipp, I hate to rain on your parade, but what exactly are we looking for?"

Zipp looked over. "I've been noticing some pretty weird stuff with Sunny lately. She mentioned she's been having weight issues-"

"Zipp, it's rude to ask a mare about her weight!"

"She freely offered the information. Not only that, she seems to be losing any recollection of the night, as shown there, and she vanished completely whilst on a bathroom break last night. Not only that, she got up really late this morning, which is really unlike her."

Pipp looked surprised. "You don't think Sunny is the peanut butter thief, do you?"

"I just want to eliminate all doubt, that's all," Zipp said, before shutting the trunk. "Keep looking at the kitchen. I'll go look in the bathroom next."

"Sure thing," Pipp replied, sounding utterly defeated. "Honestly, that mare..."

Zipp closed the door behind her and looked around inside the bathroom. Nothing of real concern in here, but the area did seem to be very clean. Then again, Sunny had just been in here.

Zipp tried to blot out the overwhelming smell of mane conditioner as she looked through trays, boxes, and cupboards. But nothing in here was proving to be that concerning, so that suggested it was a dead end.

Zipp left the room, and closed the door. "Nothing in there, Pipp, just some-"

Suddenly, Pipp fell backwards and slammed into the bed. "Ow! Get it off!"

Zipp looked at her. "Pipp, what happened?"

"That can fired soap suds in my face!" Pipp replied. "Urgh! This is gonna take an age to get out of my mane!" She shifted forwards to get up.

There was a clinking sound, like glass.

"Stop," Zipp said.

"Did you hear something?"

"Move back to where you were, then forward again."

Pipp leaned back into the bed, then forward again. Sure enough, the strange clinking noise was there again.

Zipp was getting very concerned. "Something is under that bed," she said. "And that something may be connected to this case."

Pipp nodded, not knowing what to expect.

Zipp moved forward very slowly, fully expecting something nasty under the bedding and bed frame. With a swift movement, she pulled it up and looked under the bed.

Her eyes widened in horror as she saw what was underneath it.

Sitting in messy piles were vast numbers of empty peanut butter containers.

Sunny had been out longer than she'd been planning to be. The main street had been oddly busy, with people grabbing the last supplies they needed before the festival began tomorrow. This had meant waiting in a lot of long queues.

Thankfully, Sunny had been able to get everything she needed, and had even managed to get the dress she'd seen on sale at a reasonable price. It was a dark blue number with turquoise streaks coming of purple stars, with the bodice finished in turquoise. She'd even bought some dark blue horseshoes to go with it.

Sunny trotted along the waterfront, watching as the sun continued to drop in the sky towards the ocean. She had often enjoyed watching the sunset from the top balcony of the lighthouse, but obviously she couldn't do that right now.

Come to think of it, she couldn't remember the last time she'd actually watched the sun set and the moon come out. So she decided she should probably do that.

Sunny left her shopping at the hotel to pick up later, and then headed back to a bench she liked. She fished through the bag she had on her, and pulled out a peanut butter sandwich to munch on. Sometimes she snacked between meals to help pass the time, but she generally didn't.

She looked down at frowned at her somewhat pudgy frame. She still had no clue how she was gaining weight, but she was planning to see a doctor about it.

"Aha! I knew it!"

Sunny looked over to see Sprout running at her. "Evening, Sprout. How may I he-"

"You're the peanut butter thief!"

Sunny blinked. "I'm what?"

"You're the peanut butter thief!"

Sunny blinked in confusion. "I'm the peanut butter thief? Whatever gave you that impression?"

"Not only did you just admit to it, you've been taking it to make me and my fellows look bad!" Sprout thundered. "Hitch immediately assumed that I was the thief, and I know you've been jealous of me!"

"Why would I be jealous of a clown like you?" Sunny asked, before looking up at the sky. "Look, I'd best be going now, as it's getting late, and -"

"You won't be getting away that easily." Sprout circled in front of her. "We'll sort this out, pony to pony."

Sunny shuddered and brought her hooves up in front of her face. "Sprout, stop! Think about what you're doing!"

"Oh, I've thought very carefully about this, Sunny," Sprout said, and lunged.

His hoof suddenly bounced off some sort of golden thing.

"Wait, what?"

Sunny looked at him- and suddenly her eyes seemed to go cold.

There was a bright flash of light, and Sprout was hurled through the air and crashed onto the ground. "What in the world was that?" he asked.

He sat up, noticing Sunny seemed not to be moving. The entire scene was illuminated only by street lamps and the intense light of the moon, shining down through the clouds.

He started to move forward, noticing Sunny didn't seem to be reacting to anything, her eyes staring off into space. "Sunny?"

What happened next occurred so suddenly Sprout jumped backwards in shock.

Sunny suddenly started spasming violently, as if she was having some sort of fit.

Sprout looked in confusion. Did Sunny have a history of epilepsy, and as such was she currently having a fit? Perhaps he should call for a doctor or something similar.

Just then, a new sound joined the scene. A blood-curdling scream suddenly flew from Sunny's throat as she started to change.

Two wings made of some energy erupted from her sides, and a horn burst out of her forehead and seemed to glow intensely.

Sprout started to back up. "Uh, guys, maybe we should keep away!"

The thing that had once been Sunny jumped from the bench, and slowly prowled towards him.

"Sunny? Hey, uh, maybe you don't want to do this!"

The thing simply growled at him, seemingly not recognising him or even being capable of speech. It continued to get closer to him, still growling.

Sprout now realised his back was against a wall, and he was face to face with this creature and its eyes. Those cold, dead eyes. He could feel its laboured breathing on his forelegs.

"Uhh, is there something you want? Cause I'll give it to you! No, no, don't kill me, please! I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

The creature lunged for him- and pulled a jar of peanut butter out of a dumpster behind him. Sprout got a front row seat as the creature devoured the entire contents of the jar before tossing it aside and blasting into the night sky.

Sprout got to his feet and looked around. "What the buck just happened?"

Chapter 7-The Storm Breaks

Zipp crashed her way out of the front door of the Mareiott and charged out into the open night. "Come on, Pipp! We have to speed up!"

"What exactly is your plan again?" Pipp asked, who was dashing behind her as fast as she could.

"I saw something weird during the stakeout last night! The two have to be connected!" Zipp replied, going as quickly as she felt she could. "But first we have to try and find Sunny and figure out what's going on!"

As she dashed into Maretime Bay proper, she suddenly spotted the moon shining high in the sky. Her eyes looked up, and then down to the ground. "Wait a second. The moon's been out for the last few nights. And Sunny said there were three robberies before I arrived! What if the moon is playing a part in this?"

As she arrived at the waterfront, there was a scene of pandemonium at the police station. Hitch was faced with an angry mob.

"We saw the monster with our own eyes!" one of the ponies shouted. "You have to do something, Sheriff Hitch!"

"I'm already posting officers to critical locations," Hitch replied. "We can't solve this if we all panic, so I'm going to have to ask all of you to stay calm."

"HOW CAN WE STAY CALM WHEN THERE'S A MONSTER ON THE LOOSE?!" shouted a pony.

This caused the others to all start running about, slamming into street furniture and each other.

Hitch shook his head. "However did we get anything done?" He turned to one of his fellow police ponies. "Officer Whitehead! I need you to head to the report of the last disturbance. Collect any information you can!"

"Right-o!" said the police pony, and he trotted off. "There'll be time for tea and crumpets when we're done. I do like a bit of gorgonzola, after all!"

Hitch sighed, then saw Zipp. "Any news, Zipp?"

"I can't find Sunny anywhere!" Zipp said. "I looked in her room and about town, and she seems to have vanished!"

Hitch looked over to another pony. "Put out a missing pony report, ASAPP."

"Yes sir!" said the police pony, who went inside to the machine that issued missing pony reports.

"Keep looking, Zipp! With you on the-"

Suddenly, a loud shrieking noise echoed from the skies, and they all looked up to see a golden thing streak through the air before vanishing.

"What the sweet tap-dancing Thorax was that?" Pipp asked.

"I'm going to go investigate!" Zipp replied, who blasted into the air and gave chase.

Zipp closed in behind the creature rapidly, and realised it was the same one she had seen in the store the previous night. Clearly this was somehow tied to the moon, and Zipp was determined to figure it out.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Can we talk?"

There was no reply.

Suddenly, the creature dived towards the street, so Zipp followed, landing a short way behind it. The creature had touched down in front of another store which sold food, and Zipp moved around the side to try and get a better view of it.

The creature was seemingly unaware of her. It slowly walked forward to the store, and in a brief moment Zipp got a decent view of it.

The fur was orange, and green eyes sat in its head that Zipp knew very well. And the purple mane with the rainbow streaks meant there was no denying who this was.

Zipp was shocked. "Sunny..."

The creature still ignored her and smashed open the door with an energy blast before going inside. Zipp stopped a safe distance away and watched as Sunny got to work. She grabbed a jar off the shelf and tore off the lid, before then tipping the container to her mouth and starting to suck it down. She even had some water which she periodically tipped down her throat to aid with digestion.

It reminded Zipp of a cement mixer at a building site, and this was both fascinating and revolting to watch at the same time.

It was in that moment Zipp realised all of the things fitted together. Sunny and this thing were one and the same, and this thing had been eating a lot of peanut butter. At least that settled one mystery.

"Well, no wonder Sunny's been putting on so much weight," Zipp noted to herself. She retreated back into the shadows, knowing this would have to be addressed in the morning.

It would not be a pretty sight.

The next morning, Zipp returned to the hotel and went to her room to grab some things, before returning to outside Sunny's room. She then knocked.

There was a delay of a few moments, then the door opened. Sunny was on the other side, looking slightly dishevelled but otherwise with a smile on her face. "Morning, Zipp!" she said. At least she seemed to be pretty chipper about things.

"Can we talk?" Zipp asked, stepping into the room.

"Of course!" Sunny said, with a smile. "Just let me finish moving some cushions."

Zipp looked across the room, and spotted the bedside table had a plate on it- with a part eaten peanut butter sandwich. This was not looking good. "Sunny, were you snacking last night?"

Sunny looked over to Zipp. "Oh! You mean the sandwich! Must have made that last night and forgot to finish it." She went back to the cushions. "Now is it big on top of small or small on top of big?"

Zipp shook her head and went to look through the room, looking at the sandwich. She noticed that a jar of peanut butter was sitting next to it, and it still had the barcode on it. Zipp quickly ran the barcode through her detective app, and spotted something. It was the store that she'd seen Sunny at last night.

"Sunny, I think I know who the thief is!" Zipp said.

"Oh? Who?"

Zipp turned to face her. "Sunny, this is gonna sound crazy... but based on evidence I've been collecting, I think you're changing into some sort of monster at night and stealing peanut butter."

Sunny looked aghast. "Me? Stealing butter? No! I've not been out at night in a few days!"

"What did you do after you went off to use the bathroom?" Zipp asked.

Sunny thought to herself. "Erm, after I went there, I, erm..." Sunny's face scrunched up as she tried to recall what had happened. "Well, I think I might... no, I can't remember at all!"

"Somehow, I think you can't remember what happened when that thing is in control," Zipp said. "And here's the key evidence, which explains why we haven't been able to find any traces of the peanut butter jars in waste bins or other places."

Zipp trotted round Sunny's side of the bed, and pulled back the bedding and blanket to reveal the vast mountain of peanut butter jars that sat below it. The pile had grown in size since last night, with even more empty and part eaten jars sitting there.

"It's all been under your bed the entire time."

Sunny recoiled in fright and backed up towards the wall. "No, no no! There's no way! This isn't happening! This has to be some sort of nightmare!"

Zipp looked on as Sunny was clearly in a state of denial about what was happening. "Sunny, calm dow-"

"DO NOT tell me to calm down!" Sunny said. "I'm not a criminal! This has to be some sort of setup!" Suddenly, she began bashing her head against a wall. "Come on, Sunny, wake up! WAKE UP!"

Zipp pulled her back, and put her face right in Sunny's. "SUNNY STARSCOUT, LISTEN TO ME!"

Sunny abruptly stopped her actions, and looked in Zipp's face with a worried look in her eyes.

"We're going to fix this and find a way to get you back to normal. But you have to trust me, and that means informing me of any clues that could help solve this. Do you understand?"

Sunny nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Now then, let's get to work on seeing how much evidence there is."

Suddenly, before Zipp could stop her, Sunny lunged for one of the jars of peanut butter, tore off the lid, and started eating the contents. It took her a few moments to realise what she was doing, and throw the jar down to the floor.

Sunny looked at her hooves in horror, before backing up.

Zipp had seen the creature act in the same way last night. "Sunny, are you sure you can't recall a thing? Because the creature acted like that last night."

Sunny looked at Zipp. "Zipp, what's happening to me?" she whimpered.

Zipp didn't know what to say. It was clear that Sunny was scared out of her mind, but at the same time there was nothing she could say to reassure her other than meaningless platitudes.

Now was a time of action, not of words. And Zipp knew where to start.

Chapter 8-Losing Control

Sunny still looked horrified at the scene, and Zipp wasn't in the slightest surprised. I mean, who wouldn't if they found out they had some other thing trapped inside them that broke free every night and was engaging in mass theft of consumable items? She looked at Zipp, wild eyed. "Zipp, please don't turn me in!"

"Why would I?" Zipp pointed out. "You're not the one committing the crimes, Sunny. I'll be here for you, and we're going to figure this one out together. But in order for any of this to work I'll need to ask you a few questions. Perhaps it's best you get comfy, Sunny."

Sunny nodded, and sat back in a chair, relaxing as she did so. "I never realised how a well sprung chair can help soothe a pony's nerves."

"Well, there was one pegasus psychologist who argued that letting people talk about their problems was a more efficient way of helping to diagnose their issues." Zipp sat down nearby. "Now then, if I recall correctly you say you don't recall anything about the night time recently, correct?"

Sunny nodded. "For the most part, I've been going to bed at the same time every day, around ten at night. I'm back at the Mareiott well before then, mind."

"What was your typical routine?"

"Well, I'd have dinner, spend some time in the gymn or the swimming pool, then retire for bed. The curtains were long since closed by that point, so there was no natural light coming into the room- earth pony buildings usually have very thick curtains as the sun can get very bright in the morning."

Zipp nodded. "Interesting. So, Sunny, what sort of time do you get up?"

"I usually try to be out of bed by seven thirty at the latest. I got up later yesterday and the day before that for reasons I didn't understand at the time but now-"

Zipp stopped her. "One line of focus and one line of enquiry at a time. Otherwise information might get muddled."

Sunny nodded. "Gotcha. So, as I said I usually try to be out of bed by seven thirty at the latest. By that point the sun is blazing high in the sky, so that's not really an issue for seeing. I then go in the shower, dry myself off, then go for breakfast and start my day properly."

Zipp nodded. "Thanks, Sunny. That'll be really helpful. But you said the thefts had been occurring for a few days before I arrived, right?"

Sunny nodded. "Yeah. But I was indoors during that time and asleep well before the time of the incident. How did that happen?"

"Was it anything to do with curtains?"

Sunny thought. "Well, there was that one night where the air conditioning broke and I had to have the window open or else I'd boil alive. That required me to leave the curtains open."

Zipp noted this fact down. "Were their clouds that night?"

"Not when I went to bed."

Zipp flipped to another page. "What happened the night of the stakeout?"

Sunny thought as hard as she could, trying to remember what happened.

Sunny spun her chair away from the desk and dropped onto the floor, her hooves making a clicking sound as they impacted the cold tiles of the polished floor. "I need to use the bathroom. See you in a moment."

"See ya, Sunny," Zipp replied, not turning her attention away from the display. She certainly seemed intent on using this equipment to catch the crook, that's for sure.

Sunny wandered down the corridor to the bathroom and popped open the door, flicking on a light to make seeing easier. Back in the old days, she'd gone without turning on the lights to avoid waking her dad up. That had always been an interesting challenge.

Sunny snuck around the room and into a stall, and shut the door behind her. The stall seemed oddly bright, as if some other light source was in there. But it had been a cloudy day when she'd gone into the store, so maybe the moon was out.

Sunny stepped forward- and into the light of the moon itself.

Suddenly, she jolted awake and looked about her. She was in her bedroom, surrounded by her things. "Wait, that was weird. Probably just a strange dream." She then looked at the clock and her eyes widened in shock. "It's past ten! Sugarcubes! I need to get caugh up!"

"So, you can't remember what happened between you walking into the light and waking up?"

Sunny shook her head. "No. The time inbetween those is just a big blank. I have no clue what went on in that time. Nor do I recall much of last night."

"What did happen last night?" Zipp asked.

"Well, after I went out shopping I decided to go and watch the sunset, as I used to do that a lot when dad was still alive. I watched it go down, and then Sprout started being annoying before something suddenly threw him backwards."

Zipp noted that down with interest. "Did anything else happen after that?"

"Not that I can remember. Next thing I recall is you greeting me this morning, only a few minutes ago. The moon was out, though." Sunny put her head in her hooves. "So, if I've got this correctly, the things I can't remember are when I'm that... thing."

Zipp turned her phone around and showed a picture. "Pipp captured that last night."

Sunny's eyes widened in surprise. "That's an alicorn!"

"A what now?"

"An alicorn! They're a rare type of pony that has the attributes of all three pony kinds. They can fly, they can do magic, and they can use super strength."

Zipp turned the picture back, and then noticed something familiar about it. "Hey, that's the thing you became after we reunited the tribes!"

Sunny, however, seemed crushed. "A criminal alicorn. Just another thing I have to put with being now."

"Look, we can fix this," Zipp said. "And I've spotted a pattern to all of this. Each time this seems to happen, the moon is out. It was cloudy when we walked to the store for the stakeout, so you were blocked from the light of the moon. Furthermore, the stall clearly had a hole in the roof so the moon could shine through, and you were directly in view of the moon when out last night."

"But what about before then?"

"You said you had your curtains open. That'd allow moonlight to shine through."

Sunny nodded. "So, it seems my transformations are somehow tied to the moon. Why has my life suddenly turned into a cliche horror movie?" She tried to open the door, but seemed to be struggling, and before either she or Zipp could react she lunged for some peanut butter and tried to get the cap off before stopping herself. "Did the alicorn do that?"

Zipp nodded.

Sunny looked at Zipp. "The longer this goes on, the more of the alicorn's traits I seem to be gaining... what if it becomes permanent?"

Suddenly, there was a bang at the door. "THIS IS THE POLICE! OPEN THE DOOR IMMEDIATELY!"

Before either of them could react, the door burst open, and three police ponies burst into the room, Hitch leading them. "Hooves where I can see them!"

Zipp calmly put her phone down and backed up, whilst Sunny dropped the jar of peanut butter she had been holding and turned around. "Hitch, what's go-"

"Sunny Starscout, by the powers vested in me as Sheriff of Maretime Bay, I have a warrant for your arrest. You are hereby charged with disturbance of the peace, serial theft, and criminal conspirary to rob stores."

"But I didn't do anything!"

"Exactly what a criminal would say," said one of the other police ponies, pulling up the bedsheets. "See! All the evidence we need, right here!"

Another police pony slapped cuffs on Sunny's legs before she could say anything else, as Hitch continued reading her her rights. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say whilst in custody can and will be used against you."

Sunny tried to back up, but the cuffs caused her to topple over. "Hitch, stop, please just listen to me!"

Hitch sighed. "I'll add resisting arrest to your charges if you're not careful."

"What evidence do you have?" Zipp asked.

"Apart from the jars down there, the forensics team got some data from the tomato slick and the unfinished jar of peanut butter you found in the store. The former had Sunny's hoofprints in it, and the latter had bite marks which match Sunny's teeth- according to her dentist."

The police ponies formed up on either side to haul her away, and as they dragged her out of the door Sunny looked back. "Zipp, help me! You know I'm innocent!"

Zipp wasted no time in following along. After all, she was technically a deputy right now. And deputies had all sorts of important powers to help the Sheriff.

She was going to clear Sunny's name, no matter what it took.