Zipp Storm Investigates!-The Mystery of the Missing Butter

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.