Ragged Wings Detective Agency

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 1

Fillydelphia was one of Equestria’s bigger cities, a sprawling mass of gridded streets butted up against a thriving port. While it lacked the impressive skyline of Manehatten, Fillydephians were still proud of its tightly knit knot of skyscrapers.
The impressive cloud/brick hybrid buildings still buzzed with activity, even with the Luna’s moon reaching the midway point in its nightly journey. However, the activity our heroes are presently concerned with is happening far from the looming shadow of the massive structures.

In one of the town’s less well-off neighborhood, two ponies dressed in absurd trench coats and fedoras were making a mad dash for their lives. Exploding through a steel door and out into a grimy alley, the pair darted quickly around the corner of the building and out onto the street.

The cyan blue mare fumbled with her coat, picking at the buckle with her teeth attempting desperately to get free on the confining clothing. Unable to pay full attention to where her hooves were going, she promptly tripped over a pothole in the ill maintained street and fell into a heap. A creamy yellow hoof shot out to her aid, and upon accepting it the blue mare was quickly back on all fours again.

“C’mon Dashie we gotta run!” The butter yellow mare squeaked to her companion, fear and concern etched across her face.

“No, Flutters, what we have to do is fly! If I can just get this dumb thing off my-” Rainbow’s frustrated retort was cut shot as the air between the two mare was rent by the all too familiar whizzing of a blast of magic. Had the shot been better aimed, it was odds on either Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy would be waking up six feet under or at least in intensive care ward of Our Lady of Celestia Hospital. Instead the blast had landed a few feet wide, carving yet another pothole in the rough street.

“Of course there’s a unicorn,” Dash grumbled as she and Fluttershy once again sprinted away.

Ducking into another alleyway and behind a dumpster, the pair held their breath as their pursuers sprinted past the mouth of the alley. Rainbow returned to her task of undoing the buckle on her coat once more. Fluttershy held a hoof to her lips as an unneeded reminder of silence. Rainbow shot her companion an annoyed glare as her teeth were finally able to undo the belt that had too long confined her wings.

She turned to her companion and whispered hastily, “Do you have it?”

Fluttershy nodded rapidly and indicated her coat pocket with a hoof.

“Spread out they can’t have gotten far!” Came a stallion’s shout from out on the street.

Fluttershy went rigid with panic as she heard the slow clip-cloping of hoofsteps on the uneven brick of the alley. She shot a panicked glance at Rainbow who was busy shrugging off her coat. There was no time for Fluttershy to remove her own jacket and secure the package; one of the assailants would surely be on them in a matter of seconds.

Without preamble Dash scooped up Fluttershy in her hooves and blasted off into the night sky, leaving a rainbow trail and a cloud of dust in her wake. As she sped away she wasn’t sure if she heard, or simply imagined, a unicorn stallion shaking his hoof at the sky and saying something to the effect of, “Curses foiled again by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy!”
Once Rainbow had put a few neighborhoods behind her and any possible pegasi pursuers, she touched down on one of the main thoroughfares of Fillydelphia’s north side, making sure that despite the lateness of the hour there would at least be a witness or two to any assault. After quickly scanning the sky, the cyan mare laid into Fluttershy.

“Why in the name of Celestia’s pale flank did we have to wear these stupid disguises?!” Dash shouted animatedly at her companion, tossing aside the fedora that had somehow remained perched on her head despite the wild flight.

Fluttershy flinched at her partner’s volume, “B- because, they… the gang… was given our descriptions… C’mon Dashie, you know we needed to hide out wings and manes…”

Rainbow exhaled a sigh and looked into her fellow detective’s aquamarine eyes, “Yeah, yeah, I know but still. I like to know that if things get hairy I can fly us away, that was too close.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, that one had certainly been a close call and she was hoping to not have another like it for a good long while. She reached into her trench coat’s pockets and fished out the package they had been hired to retrieve: a simple brass pocket-watch.

“Can’t believe all this was for a stupid clock…” RD said with as much grumble as she possibly could.

“But Dashie, it’s an heirloom and those meanie thugs were using it to blackmail that nice family.” Fluttershy said as she removed her coat and placed the watch in a small pair of saddle bags she had kept hidden under the coat.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Yeah that nice family whom you allowed to pay us our fee in carrots and daisies instead of cold hard bits.”

“But that was the whole point, they couldn’t afford the blackmail and they certainly couldn’t afford us. At least now our kitchen is well stocked,” Fluttershy replied as she stretched her wings as she spoke; the time under the coat had done them no favors.

Dash scoffed, “Yeah… Kitchen…”

After returning the watch to its sleepy rightful owners, the pair of pegasi entered the shabby office building that housed their home base. Rainbow was the first through the painted glass door which read ‘Ragged Wings Detective Agency.’ She ventured into their office, carrying in her mouth a bag of fresh daisies, with Fluttershy followed soon after, her saddle bags bulging with carrots.

The office had clearly seen better days. The bitter scent of burnt coffee washed over the pair like a wave, but despite its pervasive presence in the office the two had come to regard it as comforting. ‘Who needs scented candles,’ was a favorite joke of Dash’s. The main room of the office had once been a waiting area for a smaller office that resided just off the room, behind another door. Now it seemed that the former reception area was pulling its weight as the main work room. A single desk sat facing the door, two chairs set on either side of it. One set for Dash and ‘Shy, the other for clients. Behind the desk was a pair of windows that looked out over the Fillydelphia skyline. The room felt entirely too big for the sparse amount of furniture, but two detectives made do.

Dash trotted over to the small kitchenette in the far corner of the room. Back in its waiting room days this is where guests may have been able to help themselves to some nice coffee or a bagel while they awaited their appointment, but now the kitchenette obliged not only to hold a coffee pot, but a hot plate and mini-fridge as well. She opened one of the cupboards and retrieved a four slices of bread.

“Daisy sandwich okay?” She called over her shoulder to her partner.

“Sure, Dashie,” Fluttershy said as she pulled up next to the blue mare at the counter, depositing the carrots as she did.

The pair hadn’t intended to be roommates, but their business was in a slump and each was left unable to afford their rent. It had been a bit of a shock the night Rainbow had carefully crept into the office only to be greeted by Fluttershy’s soft snoring. The unexpected company had caused Rainbow to spring into what she had called ‘attack mode.’ Dash had ended up inadvertently pinning her partner to the ground and threatening her with jail time. The effect this had had on Fluttershy was… strange… to say the least. The half-asleep Fluttershy had mumbled something along the lines of: “Why don’t you just kiss me you big sexy mare,” before the whole mess went to hell in an awkward, blushing hand-basket.

In order to keep their mess mostly tucked away, the pair had agreed to commandeer the office room as their new bedroom. The back office now housed a pair of cloud-cots (which Dash had expertly retrieved from a passing front) and a couple flat pack wardrobes, which held the few pieces of clothing the pegasi owned, a bookcase, and whatever furniture the pair could salvage from their apartments.

After the few moments spent preparing the meal, Rainbow and ‘Shy sat down at the desk to eat their sandwiches.

“Look it’s not that I don’t like daisies…” Dash began between mouthfuls.

“I know…” Fluttershy averted her aquamarine eyes, unable to meet Dash’s rosy orbs. “They just needed our help so badly… but I know we could use the bits…”

“Damn straight we need the bits Flutters, we got bills to pay!” Rainbow realized that she had raised her voice and shook her head, hoping that if she jerked her head hard enough maybe the stress would melt out of her ears. “Look I’m sorry, I know we needed the food too… and it did feel good helping those folks out...”

Fluttershy nodded, still not quite looking at Rainbow Dash as she took another bite of her sandwich.

“What we need is a rich client…like an obscenely rich client…” Rainbow said tapping her hoof to her chin.

“What about a Filthy Rich client?” Asked a stallion from the doorway.

Author's Note

What's this? Another mystery/thriller fic from Flutterguy89? He must have discovered that he liked writing the genre!

Yes, voices in my head. Yes I did.

Chapter 2

The earth pony stallion stepped forward into the office, as he left the darkened hallway the pair of pegasi could make out his appearance. He was wearing a suit that was probably worth more in bits than the lease on their office, and then some. His black mane was slicked back with more than enough pomade to have its sickly sweet smell cut through acrid tang of burnt coffee. He appraised the office with cold blue eyes and wrinkled his nose as the aforementioned scent hit his
nostrils.

“I do apologize, I cannot resist a dramatic entrance,” he drawled. His accent held a bit of the old Hayvard lockjaw. “I was hoping I might be able to procure your services. In more a common vernacular, I have a case for you.”

Rainbow’s eyes lit up, and Fluttershy could almost see the bit-signs shining in them.

“Yes please, come have a seat Mr…?” Fluttershy queried politely as she pushed aside the plates that held her and her companion’s dinner, hoping to make the office a modicum more presentable.

“Oh yes, you see, that was my little joke before. It’s Mr. Rich, Filthy Rich,” He said as he paced himself over to the desk. He eyed one of the offered chairs warily. Like most of the furniture in the office the chairs had come from a second-hand shop. He lowered himself into it and while the chair gave a slight squeak in protest, it obliged itself to not collapse.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Rich. I am Rainbow Dash and this is Fluttershy.” Rainbow added in as genial of a tone as she could muster, but the effort she was taking to suppress her usual straight-to-the-point demeanor was visible. A forced smile stretched across her lips. Wine and dine ‘em Dash, you can do it…need that paycheck…

“I apologize for the lateness of the hour, but the matter is quite important, frankly I’m surprised you two are even here I was just going to leave a note…” Rich said with an arched eyebrow.

“Oh …well you see we were just wrapping up a case and-” Fluttershy began to explain hastily but she was cut off.

“No, no, it’s quite alright, lucky really. This matter is of the utmost importance. You see my daughter, Diamond Tiara, has been fillynapped.” His years as a successful businesspony were all that allowed him to keep his voice even and calm, but the empathic Fluttershy could read the turmoil in his eyes.

“Wait, wait, Fillynapped!?” Rainbow asked animatedly. “Why come to us then? This is a job for the Fillydelphia cops not a couple of gum-hooves… unless…”

Filthy sighed, “I suppose I should be frank with you. Were I to report this to the police they would likely ask certain questions I’d like to avoid answering. I admit a few of my business relationships are… unsavory.”

Fluttershy gave Dash a significant look of discomfort, but the cyan mare didn’t respond. Instead she just looked across the desk to Filthy.

“And you think it was one of these ‘unsavory’ contacts that took your little filly.” Rainbow concluded.

“I know it.” Filthy said, his tone hard as stone and twice as heavy. He pulled out a note from the interior of his suit jacket with his teeth and passed it across the table.

Fluttershy and Rainbow leaned over the note to get a closer look. It looked like every other cliché fillynapping note they had ever see, with each letter of each word clipped from a newspaper or magazine. It read:

Don’t back out now Filthy. To do so the consequences would be quite severe for your little filly.

~Your new friends

“It’s not very specific…” Fluttershy said quietly to her partner.

Rainbow jerked her head in agreement. “So who are these ‘friends’ of yours? Know where they like to hang out?”

Filthy hesitated a moment before speaking, “They are in the… shipping… business. They were looking for an importer who could bring in their goods under the radar. They seemed particularly keen to avoid Equestrian customs agents as well as Fillydelpia’s finest. I didn’t ask them anything else, you see, the less I know in this business the better. Unfortunately the relationship soon soured, they were foolishly unwilling to pay the fee we had first agreed upon, and I attempted to sever out relationship, but… it seems they were not so keen on us going our separate ways…” He coughed in an attempt to play off his discomfort. “The place we met was a warehouse, down by the docks, just off 35th street. They had a number of their people there. It’s most likely where they took her…”

“Let’s talk turkey here, Mr. Rich. From what you are telling us this sounds like we could find ourselves in either danger or legal trouble. So the question is, what can you do to make it worth out while?”

The stallion pulled a check book from his jacket and quickly scribbled down some numbers before sliding it across the desk to Dash. Rainbows eyes went wide; it had been quite a while since she had seen a check with so many zeros on it.

“That is half what I will pay you, the rest will be given to you upon the safe return of my Diamond.”
Fluttershy sighed and looked over to their new client, “Do you have a picture we could borrow? How old is she?”

Filthy nodded and pulled out a photo that looked as though it had been clipped from a yearbook. “She’s going to hate me when she finds out I cut this out.” He said to himself as he passed the photo to Fluttershy. “She’s seventeen, a junior at Lady Luna Preparatory Academy.” His façade was beginning to crumble. “..She’s getting straight A’s, you know…” He added weakly.

Despite everything else, he was still a father missing his daughter. Fluttershy could never say no to a pony in need, even if that pony was probably a crook.

“We’ll do our best,” She said in her soft soothing voice.

Rainbow, finally finishing her mental celebrations at being handed a check instead of daisies, shot a cocky smirk to Filthy. “You just hired yourself Ragged Wings, and you aren’t gonna regret it. Don’t you worry, Diamond’s as good as found.”

“Thank you both, I… I must get going.” He said rising shakily to his feet. He added a final “Thank you” before leaving, shutting the door behind him.

The two looked at each other, and despite the mild look of anxiety gracing Fluttershy’s, features both peagasi’s eyes danced with excitement.

“We got a case!”

“Celestia’s hot flank! Did you see this check!” Dash said animatedly waving around the piece of paper. “I could put a down payment on a place with this thing this!”

“Wow, that much,” Fluttershy said glancing over at the check with wide eyes.

“Yeah! No more sharing a closet sized bedroom, bet you can’t wait to get my flank outta your mane!” Rainbow said literally hovering with excitement.

Fluttershy however became silent, casting her gaze at anything but Rainbow.

“Hey, Equestria to ‘Shy.” Dash called to her.

“Oh… um, yes, sorry. Yeah, it’s great,” Fluttershy said still looking away. “Yeah, it’ll be great to have my own place again….”

All alone, she added mentally.

Author's Note

Here ya go folks, enjoy!

Chapter 3

Rainbow beat her wings furiously, shuffling off the bonds of gravity, and leaving the ground and all its crowds behind. She exploded up into the sky, her climb taking her higher and higher, away from her cares, her troubles, and her worries. Through flight she could leave behind trivial things like rent, and work, and bills. The greens, browns and grays of the Equestrian surface below faded to nothingness below her. She burst through a layer of clouds, sending balls of cloud fluff scattering in every direction, and soon the clouds too began to fade away. Only the cyan blue of the sky lay before her. It was a vast field of emptiness that held no concerns, no worries, no anything.

She was so high up now, higher than any pony had every flown. She could even see the border between Luna’s Night and Celestia’s day. She was the best flier in Equestria. She was the first to bear witness to this awe inspiring sight . She was where nopony could ever bother her, annoy her, weigh her down, or hold her back. She was… alone. But for some reason the word tasted bitter in her mouth. This had been her heart’s desire hadn't it, to feel free and unfettered?

All she really felt was the cold chill of the mesosphere.

Suddenly, her wings locked up at her sides and she began to plummet. Her decent was so rapid that consciousness itself began to desert her. Her vision narrowed slowly as she crashed into the cloud layer she had so casually punched through during her ascent. As the earth hurtled ever closer, the pin prick that had become her field of sight winked out, and she was left in blackness.

She found herself unexpectedly surrounded by softness. A voice hummed to her. It was soft and soothing, motherly even, but she couldn't place it. The tune itself was a lullaby, her favorite from foal-hood. ‘…Hush now… Quiet now…’ She felt compelled to join in but her voice had betrayed her, and with every desperate attempt all she could manage was a wheeze.

A tender hoof gently stroked her mane. She tried desperately to look for the mysterious owner of the hoof, but her eyes wouldn't open. She tried to reach out to make contact with the unknown pony’s hoof, but her limbs felt both weak and heavy. She struggled in vain to do something, anything! She summoned all her strength preparing for one last desperate measure.

Fluttershy was in the middle of preparing breakfast when she heard an almighty crash come from the bedroom. Clapping a hoof to her mouth in concern she crossed the office to their makeshift bedroom and quickly as her hooves could carry her. Upon opening the door she found Rainbow sprawled on the floor, blankets draped halfway over her body.

“Dashie, are you okay?” She asked tentatively, crouching down to fallen mare’s level.

Dash grumbled and quickly attempted to right herself. However she managed only to tangle her legs in the blankets, causing her to trip once more and bump her muzzle on the cold hardwood of the floor.

Fluttershy moved to help Rainbow out of the blankets, but the cyan mare shrugged off her helping hoof and with minor difficulty extricated herself from the blankets. She cast the coverings a dark glare and a roughly tossed them back onto the cot.

“A- are you okay?” Fluttershy ventured timidly.

“Bad dream…” Rainbow growled back at her companion. Fluttershy flinched at her partner’s tone, instinctively taking a step back. Rainbow sighed, venting some of her pent up frustration in a cleansing exhale, before turning back to Fluttershy and offering a weak grin. “Sorry Flutters. Just a dream right? No need to get all upset.”

Fluttershy nodded, not unused to the cold touch of nightmares. “Well, I was working on breakfast. Daisy omelet okay?”

Rainbow and Fluttershy ambled into the office. Fluttershy found her way back to a skillet that rested on their hot plate, while Rainbow retrieved a mug from a cabinet and poured herself some coffee.

“You know ‘Shy, you gotta be some sorta angel.” She mumbled over the black liquid. “I mean coffee ready for me every morning; sure you aren’t Celestia in disguise?”

Fluttershy gave her partner a warm smile. “No horn, at least not since last checked.”

Dash chuckled and made her way to the desk/table. She flopped down in one of the chairs and kicked up her hind legs to rest on the surface. She stretched out her wings with an audible groan, working the feathery appendages around in their joints. Soon her attention returned to the dark ambrosia that sat before her and delicately brought it to her lips, blowing across the steaming surface. She relished the first sip of her coffee each morning. It was a simple ritual to ground her before the day went one of two ways: mind-numbing boredom as the pair of detectives sat around playing board games and waiting for a case, or while working a case, despite whatever meticulous plan they laid, everything would go sideways while they tracked down whatever leads they could find. If today was going to shape up to be the latter of the two, all the more reason to drink up while she could.

A daisy omelet materialized beneath Dash’s nose. She gave a smile of thanks to Fluttershy who positioned herself at the chair next to hers.

“So… what do you think we should do Dashie? I mean we could stop by the warehouse, but I don’t think they will want any, um, visitors.” Fluttershy queried after a few bites of her breakfast.

Dash looked up from her own omelet, which had vanished with the exception of a few pieces of egg which had fastened themselves to her cyan muzzle. “Well, I was thinking we could just stroll around the building all casual-like, maybe you could enlist a few pigeons or gulls or something to scope out the interior, if we find her we can figure out where to go from there.”

Fluttershy nodded, this wasn’t the first time her abilities with animals had come in useful. “You think we should head over soon? I mean, if we are sneaking around at night they might… um… want to hurt us…” The last few words escaped her mouth as a squeak.

Dash mulled it over. Normally they tended to do their investigating at night, mostly because it always felt more exciting that way to Dash. That’s how it always went down in the stories, right? On the other hoof, if they wanted to look all casual and such, a stroll by the sea in the morning seemed easier to play off as innocent to any guard ponies they encountered.

“Ya know, I think the whole night time sneaking could be dangerous, I mean these are fillynappers after all.” Dash said nodding sagely, as if the idea might have been hers all along. “Okay I’ll start packing the bags soon as I’m done with my coffee, and we’ll hit the road.”

“Oh and… um… Dashie, you got a little something…” Fluttershy indicated her muzzle with a hoof, suppressing a giggle as she did.

Dash flushed and reached for a napkin, “uh…thanks Flutters.”

The pair left the office and trotted put into the warm early autumn sunshine. Their office wasn’t in the nicest of buildings but it wasn't in the roughest part of town either. Suffice to say if you didn’t look for trouble in their neighborhood, you wouldn't find it. The two had decided to walk towards the wharf rather than flying, as much as Dash loved to take wing it was a bit conspicuous for what they had planned.

“Okay so let me get this straight, we’re marefriends?” Dash said arching a skeptical brow.

Fluttershy blushed fiercely but the plan wasn’t that hard to believe, was it? “Well… you know… if any guard ponies want to know what we’re doing, we can just say-”

“Oh I get it! Couple of hot-to-trot mares having a little midmorning rendezvous by the sea side, perhaps looking for a little privacy, hence warehouse district. Not bad Flutters, not bad at all!” Dash’s face brightened, this could work. Maybe for once the plan would work…

The buzz of morning foot traffic surrounded the pair as they closed in on the seaside warehouse district. Fillydelphia happened to have one of the busiest ports this side of Equestria, second only to perhaps Manehatten. However, where Manehatten imported cultural luxuries, Fillydelphia was a city that imported the everyday materials that the entirety of Equestria couldn’t do without. Stone, grain, lumber, and iron; Fillydelphia was a city that was built on the backs of its labor force, be they earth pony, pegasus, or even on occasion unicorn.

Finally after ducking away from the more busy main street, the two found themselves ambling towards their target. It was big, like most of the warehouses crowded around the waterside, but unlike the others their appeared to be a bit of activity surrounding the building, without even so much as a crate, piece of machinery, or shipping container in sight. Upon closer inspection the pair made out several groups of earth ponies clad in identical sweatshirts and wool caps.

Dash sniggered, “You think they get a discount at bad-guys ‘r us?”

Fluttershy smiled but held a hoof to her lips signaling her companion for silence. Fluttershy then closed her eyes and emitted a soft coo. As if they had been merely waiting the signal, a pair of pigeons fluttered down to rest in front of the pair of private eyes.

“Hello little friends,” Fluttershy spoke in her soft warm voice, “If it’s not too much trouble my friend and I have a favor we’d like to ask.”

The pair of pigeons nodded in assent.

“Oh thank you little friends. Please if you could look around inside that warehouse there, we are looking for a lost young mare, oh one second…” She rummaged around in her saddlebags and pulled out the photo of the pink earth pony mare, with her two-tone white and lilac mane. “This is what she looks like… and please be careful, little friends… these ponies all look so mean…”

Rainbow watched in awe as the pair of pigeons soared away towards the warehouse. She let out a low whistle and shot her companion a smile. “No matter how many times I see you do it’s still pretty amazing.”
“It’s nothing…” Fluttershy looked away bashfully, a smile gracing her lips. “So…I guess we wait now?”

Dash nodded. No sense in charging in until their feathered informants returned.

Fluttershy and rainbow Dash were sitting around the corner of the warehouse adjacent to the one they were staking out. The two sat against the cool brick of the wall. The pair of gum-hooves took turns passing a piece of paper, a quill in each of their teeth.

Dash marked an ‘X’ on the paper and then spat out her quill in celebration. “Hah! I win again! That’s twenty three to zip!”
Fluttershy set down her quill and smiled, ever gracious in defeat. After all what was the fun in winning if it meant Dash would lose. It’s not like she minded losing a few games of tic-tac-toe if the net result was a happy Rainbow Dash.

“Jeez Fluttershy, it’s like you don’t even want to win.” Dash said playfully nudging her companion. Fluttershy squeaked and quickly looked away, worried she’d been found out.

Then quite suddenly the pair heard hoof steps meandering towards them.

“Quick, uh, act casual,” Rainbow hissed.

A pair of stallion guard ponies happened upon the two mares, one was slate grey, the other a rust colored red.

“And what, pray tell, do we have here?” The grey pony spoke first with a slight twang to his voice.

“Uh… hi…we’re just-” Rainbow began, inwardly cursing her lack of in-the-moment grace. But she was saved by a buttery hoof being wrapped around her shoulder.

“Hush dear, it’s okay,” came the smooth voice of her companion, tinged with a sultry quality Dash wasn’t sure if she had ever heard before. Fluttershy turned to the two stallions and gave them a pleading look, her voice quivering just slightly as she tried to sell the story. “I’m sorry sirs… it’s just our parents don’t know… they’d call us filly-foolers… we just wanted to be alone.”

“Hrumph...” The rust colored stallion grumbled, apparently satisfied. He turned to his companion and gave a curt nod. “Look here ladies, I think it would be best if you move along.”

It was, of course at this precise moment Fluttershy’s spies decided to return. The birds began to flap animatedly at the yellow mare, frantically pointing at the ware house with outstretched wings.

The two stallions were instantly put back on high alert. “What are those birds doing!?” The grey pony commanded of the two.

“Th-They...um… are… uh…” Fluttershy stammered unable to come up with an excuse.

“Oh buck this.” Dash swore before catching the grey stallion with a sucker punch under his jaw. The pony went down like a sack of potatoes, and Dash turned her attention to the rust-red stallion who against all odds appeared to be smiling. Dash began to close in on the stallion, preparing to deliver another powerful thrust of her hooves, “What’s so funny, chuckles?”

The stallion didn’t answer; he simply pulled a whistle from beneath his sweatshirt and gave it a short shrill blast.

“Okay…what was that?” Dash said, feeling as though someone had told an inside joke. Turning to Fluttershy she saw that her friend’s wore a look of unbridled horror, she followed Fluttershy’s gaze she realized that the two pegasi were suddenly surrounded. ‘Not by more guards, no that would be too simple,’ Dash thought with a groan. ‘No it had to be-

“BUCKING NINJAS! You have to be bucking kidding me!”

Author's Note

What!? Did I just update this again? Okay, its official, I'm having entirely too much fun. Lock me up, I don't know if I can stop myself.

Chapter 4

Fluttershy shook like a leaf in the wind. Standing before her and Rainbow Dash were a half dozen, black-clad, hooded and masked authentic Nieghponese ninja. Her eyes darted to each of the combatants in turn. The entire group were stallions, though any coat or mane coloration, or any useful descriptors beyond that was made impossible by their garb. Four earth ponies who carried long slender swords stood flanked by a pair of pegasi who, though appearing unarmed, she was sure carried some tricks up their sleeves.

“D-Dashie…” Her voice quivered as the ninja began to advance on the pair.

Rainbow spared Fluttershy a quick glance and a curt nod. “Stay behind me, Flutters,” She growled, “I got this.”

The first of the earth ponies charged at Dash, a long katana held in his teeth. Dash ducked out of the way of the sharp blade, delivering a powerful buck to the warrior’s ribs. The pony convulsed in reflex to the force of the hooves being driven into his chest. The blade fell from the pony’s teeth, clattering against the hard concrete surface of the sidewalk. Dash deftly delivered another strike to the fallen pony, this time to the base of the fighter’s skull. The ninja’s eyes slide out of focus and Dash let out a grunt of satisfaction as she observed the pony’s unconsciousness.

“Next,” Dash taunted, a confidant smirk growing on her lips.

Unfortunately the ninja, gauging the strength of their opponent, had switched tactics. The pegasi moved forward to engage Rainbow, while the remaining trio of earth ponies advanced on the frightened Fluttershy.

“No!” Dash shouted, picking up the fallen warriors sword in her teeth. She shot forward at the ponies who had dared to attack the innocent mare, the steel of the blade flashing in the midday sun. The pegasi had anticipated Dash’s move, and the cyan mare felt something whiz past her ear. Looking ahead of her she saw a throwing star embedded in the brick wall. She ground her teeth and pushed the thought of the flying blades from her mind, she needed to save Fluttershy, the rest was unimportant.

Fluttershy had her back pressed firmly to the cold brick of the warehouse. She could only think of one thing to do, but the thought tore at her heart as surly as the blades of her opponents would tear at her should she hesitate much longer. She let out a low cooing sound and shut her eyes tight; not wanting to see what came next. Try as she might though she couldn’t block out the frantic cries of two of the earth ponies as the pigeons she had recruited earlier tore at their eyes. Fluttershy let out a gasping sob and reopened her eyes. The pair of now sightless earth ponies lay before her, clutching their faces with their hooves. “I’m so sorry…”

Rainbow engaged the final earth pony, making sure to get in close in hopes of deterring the ranged attacks of the pegasi. Her opponent danced around her with the practiced fluidity of a trained swordspony and Dash’s tenacity and defiance were all the kept her in the fight. She winced in pain as a well-placed swing of the ninja’s blade left a laceration in her shoulder, and she absent-mindedly noticed a few strands of purple and green hair flutter to the ground. The ninja was on the verge of pressing his advantage when a brick sailed through the air and caught him on the temple. The black-clad stallion went down, blood trickling from his forehead. Dash retraced the brick’s trajectory to find the Fluttershy, staring at her, the yellow mare’s eyes pleading with her cyan counterpart.

“Dash we need to fly, now!” Her voice cracked and squeaked but her tone was urgent.

As if the universe needed to further punctuate the point, Dash felt a sharp flash of pain alight in her flank. Dash didn’t need anything else to tell her to get moving; the athletic mare flapped her powerful wings and was soon joined by Fluttershy as the two fled as quickly as possible.

After they had cleared several city blocks, Dash looked back to gauge their pursuer’s progress but was startled to see that the two ninja pegasi were nowhere to be found.

“Where did they go?!” She shouted to Fluttershy, who was panting to keep up with the stronger flier.

“Th- the….The birds…I asked them to…” She cringed at the words she was about to speak, “…clip their primaries… they were so focused on trying to hurt you… I don’t think they even noticed…”
Dash’s stomach lurched and she felt herself wincing. The thought of robbing a pegasus of its gift of flight, no matter how necessary, not matter how temporary, was frankly horrifying to one who valued that gift as greatly as Dash did.

The two made the rest of the journey back to their building in an uncomfortable silence. Dash still reeling from the battle, and the lengths they had had to go to in order to get away clean. Fluttershy was still fighting back the occasional sob, the battle had forced her to do such violent things… the very memories caused her hooves to start shaking. Upon arrival at their office the pair elected to enter through a window rather than bother with the front door.

Upon touching down in the office Dash let out a cry of pain, it felt as though someone had pressed a white hot knife into her flank. As the adrenaline of their flight began to ebb, she became aware of a feeling of a trickling wetness making its way down the exterior of one of her thighs and another wellspring of liquid oozed down from her shoulder. These sensations were quickly followed by a mounting pain, growing slowly from an ache to an inferno.

Fluttershy turned to her friend and gasped, “Oh, oh no Rainbow, I need you to stand very still okay, just relax, I need the first aid kit.”

“You know…that tone of yours… makes it so easy to relax.” Dash muttered sarcastically as the yellow mare came rushing back over to her. She quickly pressed gauze to Dash’s shoulder to staunch the bleeding. The cyan mare’s fur from her shoulder to her hoof was already becoming matted with sticky red blood, but the Fluttershy’s practiced hooves were able to stop the bleeding without much effort.

“I’ll need to stitch that up shortly… but …um…Dash… this is going to be the hard part…” Fluttershy’s aquamarine eyes darted to Rainbow’s flank. Rainbow followed the other mare’s line of vision and what she saw made her own eyes widen in shock. In her flank, one of its tines half buried in her, flesh was one of the ninja pegasi’s throwing stars.

“Shy…” Rainbow tried to breathe evenly but the sight terrified her. “Get it out….get it out… get it out...”

“Shhh… Shhh…” Fluttershy hushed her partner in an attempt to calm her; the wound would be tricky enough without having Rainbow go into shock. She moved her way back to the injured limb and ran a soothing hoof along Rainbow’s mane. “It’s going to be okay, it’ll be nothing really. I have the some nice coagulating herbs here; it’s going to be okay.”
Dash gritted her teeth, half-terrified, half-disgusted with the fact that she was so very scared, and all-grateful that Flutters was there to help. Fluttershy began to hum pacifyingly to the rainbow-maned mare, the tune gave Rainbow a fleeting impression of déjà vu.

The buttery pegasus quickly prepared an herbal salve and applied it thickly to a bandage, then she delicately gripped the bladed weapon in her teeth. She took a cleansing breath, and exhaled slowly. She then slowly slid the weapon from her friend’s flank, careful not to cause any further damage. As the bloodied point of the weapon surfaced Fluttershy quickly spat the thing on the floor and applied the bandage with as much haste as she could manage, praying to Celestia that had been quick enough to stop any further blood loss. To her great pleasure, the herbs did their job and Fluttershy fastened the bandage in place with some medical tape.

“I’m sorry Dashie… That was the hard part, but this the part that is going to hurt…” Fluttershy said in her soft apologetic manner. She produced a needle and thread, and bitterly wished she had had the foresight to purchase some topical anesthetic.

“Just do it,” Rainbow managed through gritted teeth.

Rainbow lay comfortably on her cot the better part of an hour later. Rainbow inspected her bandaged shoulder and flank. ‘All and all, it could have been much worse,’ she thought to herself. ‘Fluttershy made it out okay and she patched me up good…but Luna-damned ninjas… really? Really!?’

Fluttershy entered the room with a tray laden with a bowl of warm soup. “Used some of our carrots, it’s my mom’s recipe.” The yellow pegasus spoke in her most gentle of voices, with a warm little smile twitching up the corners of her mouth. “She always told me it would help little fillies grow big and strong, so I’m hoping it helps big mares get even stronger.” Fluttershy let out a musical little giggle and placed the tray in front of Dash.

“Thanks ‘Shy,” Rainbow mumbled as she looked down at the soup, she had never been much of a fan of being pampered and cared for, not that her folks ever had much time for that when she was a filly. Coffee and breakfast were one thing, but this felt like she was being treated like a foal. It made her feel weak and dependent, and even if she was actually was both of those at the moment, she still didn’t enjoy the feeling. However, the heavenly scent wafting off the carrot soup cut straight through her pride. ‘Okay…maybe it isn’t all bad…’

“So, Flutters, haven’t had the chance to ask you yet, but what did your birdies find out?” Dash queried through hot mouthfuls of soup.

Fluttershy lowered her head, hiding behind her pink mane.

Dash gave her a worried look, “What is it Flutters? They didn’t… kill her?”

Fluttershy shook her head, “No… it’s… I’m so sorry Dashie… but she wasn’t there…” Fluttershy felt tears well up in the corners of her eyes, “…you got hurt for nothing…”

Dash hung her hear as well, she had at least been hoping for some information. Catching sight of her partner’s pitiful state though, she knew she’d have to be the strong one, even if she didn’t quite feel it herself.

“Hey, not for nothing.” Rainbow said softly. “I mean, I made sure you didn’t get hurt. We beat up some ninjas. I mean how often does that happen, right?” Suddenly an idea stuck the chromatic -maned mare, “Hey did that thing that stuck in my flank have any marking or anything on it?”

Fluttershy looked up and into Dash’s sparkling rose-colored eyes. “I… I think so.”

“Well there you go! That’s a clue!” Rainbow’s brow furrowed for a moment, her excitement evaporating as she let out a sigh. “Which means we’ll need to go see… her.”

“Oh, yeah I suppose so…” Fluttershy’s face flushed light pink, almost matching her mane. “She’s not that bad you know. I mean she’s nice, and she pays us well for all the stuff we bring in…”

“I don’t like how she looks at you.” Rainbow snapped in agitation.

Fluttershy grew very quiet and looked anywhere but towards Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow shook her head and returned to her soup. After slurping up the last drops of the delightful liquid, she looked over at Fluttershy who still seemed determined to avoid Rainbow’s gaze. Another sigh escaped Rainbow’s lips and she idly ran a hoof through her mane. “Sorry I snapped at ya, but I still don’t like her much… and thanks for the soup, it was really good. I mean it”

Fluttershy brightened up a bit and gave a little smile to her friend, “Well if you want to go to the shop tonight, we might be able to make it before she closes up as long as we don’t leave to late. You’re all stitched and bandaged, so as long as you don’t do anything too strenuous-”

“Like fight off more ninjas,” Rainbow cut in.

“Like fight off more ninjas,” Fluttershy agreed with a smile. “You should be fine.”

Author's Note

What strange twists will the case take? Who is this mysterious expert? Will there be more ninja?

All will be revealed!*

*Eventually.... when I get to it...

Chapter 5

The pair of pegasi touched down in Fillydelphia’s Old Town district. Old Town had once been the jewel of the city, its brick and mortar mansions housed the city’s most elite earth ponies and unicorns, the pegasi of course still preferring clouds. But that had been several decades ago, before the rapidly expanding suburban sprawl that now ringed the city. Many of nouveau riche and young heirs or heiresses opted for these new suburbs over the congestion of the city, where for less money you could settle down in a palatial home with a yard, picket fence, and two-point-five foals.

But where did this leave Old Town? Well many of the old mansions have been carved up, now existing as apartment building. The population had shifted as well, gone now was the old money, replaced by professional ponies and artists who had an eye for the older architecture. All and all, it was a neighborhood that contained that nebulous quality that real-estate ponies called “character.”

Fluttershy tilted her head sky ward as she and her partner made their way down the street. Despite an affinity for the natural world, Fluttershy had to admit she loved the way sunsets looked in the city. The way that the fiery orb of Celestia’s sun dipped below the rows of shops and homes on the street, its last rays peeking through the crevasses and alleyways, it reminded her of the way it would do the same thing with the trees when setting in the wooded areas.

“I think we should take a vacation after this…” Fluttershy said absently, momentarily lost in her own thoughts as they walked the last block to the shop.

“We?” Rainbow’s voice held mix of playfulness and confusion, but her words were enough to snap Fluttershy back to reality.

“Uh… I mean yeah, you’re my best friend… so we could go, you know… together.” Fluttershy was trying to play it cool, but well, she was still Fluttershy, and her voice quivered nervously.

Dash let out a pleasant snort through her nose. “Sure, why not. Your family still got that little place up Ponyville way? I could use a little open space to stretch my wings.”

Fluttershy smiled and looked over at her friend, her eyes dancing with happiness. “Yeah, I’m sure we could use it for a weekend or something.”

RD offered a smile in return, but her face soon fell and her jaw locked in place. They had arrived at their destination.

A small hand painted wooden sign swung on a wrought iron signpost above the doorway, proudly announcing to the world that this shop could be known as “First Editions: Antiques, Rare Books, and Collectibles.” The display window in the front of the shop displayed stacks of dusty tomes along with a few trinkets that were mostly magical in origin. The dying sunlight glinted off a highly polished pocket watch and glinted straight into Dash’s eyes, causing the cyan mare to blink rapidly and look away.

“Ugh, I’m hating this already,” the brash pegasus groaned.

The pair of detectives entered the shop, a little bell attached to the door jingled to alert the proprietor to their arrival. A voice floated over to them from the back of the shop, its owner apparently hidden behind the counter. “Welcome to First Edition, feel free to browse our inventory, I’ll be with you in a second.”

Dash turned to Fluttershy and rolled her eyes.

“Um… It’s us…” Fluttershy ventured timidly, unsure if she was interrupting something important.

The head of a lavender unicorn popped up from behind the counter, and excited grin playing across her lips. Her eyes passed over each of the pegasi in turn, lingering for a half-second longer on the buttery mare. “Fluttershy! Rainbow Dash! My two favorite gum-hooves, what brings you to my shop this time?”

“Same thing as always, egghead.” Dash groused.

“What she means to say is that we have… something… that we need you to look at, Twilight,” Fluttershy said in her meekest possible tone in an attempt to wordlessly apologize for her partner’s rudeness.

Twilight’s eyes gleamed. “Well you know the deal girls, I tell you all you could ever want to know and I get to keep the item. So what have you got for me this time?”

“Well it’s uh… I think it’s some sort of Neighponese weapon…” Fluttershy voiced as she turned her head to retrieve the item from her saddlebags.

“It got stuck in my flank.” Dash said flatly.

“So that explains the bandages,” Twilight replied with a curt nod, clearly neither fully forgiving nor forgetting the earlier ‘egghead’ comment.

Rainbow reflexively rolled her eyes again as Fluttershy carefully dropped the throwing star on the counter. The metallic weapon tinkled a bit as it impacted the glass display counter. Twilight leaned in and examined the bladed projectile through a jeweler’s loupe.

“Hmmm…it’s authentic alright… And the insignia…” Twilight quickly turned around and ducked through a curtain and into a back room, reappearing moments later levitating a large book alongside her. She placed the tome on the counter and began flipping through its pages, using her magic to rapidly search for her quarry.

“Here we are!” She exclaimed suddenly, which earned a squeak from Fluttershy whose attention seemed to have wandered in the interim. “’The Hoof clan’ or so my guide here says, which I might add is extremely accurate. The gist is that they currently operate as criminal organization, primarily smuggling arms. Believe it or not they abide by a strict code of honor, so no drugs or prostitution or harming foals, that sort of thing-”

“Wait!” Dash interrupted and Fluttershy’s widened with understanding. “They don’t harm foals, how about young-mares? Would they ever fillynap a young mare?”

Twilight looked perplexed. “No. It’s among the list of dishonorable acts. They’d rather send assassins to deal with an enemy directly than do something so, well, dishonorable.”

Rainbow stamped her hoof on the floor of the shop. A few items wobbled on their various shelves, which earned Dash an extra look of scorn from Twilight. “Buck it all to Tartarus!”

Fluttershy extended a hoof towards Dash’s should in an attempt to soothe the seething mare. “It’s okay we were just-”

“Just walking in a damn trap, that’s what! We just went with the note! Anypony could have written that! I was too damn eager for a payday, and we didn’t even try anything else!” Dash was pacing back and forth in the confined space of the crowded shop, her anger rising off in a nigh visible manner.

Twilight’s eyes followed the mare, letting out a little gasp whenever she neared any of the store’s various treasures. “If you’re going to keep that up, please do it more carefully”

Dash shot a look of pure loathing in Twilights direction before letting out an actual growl of frustration. “I’m going outside, ‘Shy.” She managed in a somewhat less animalistic voice before storming out of the shop, the little bell on the door clanging excitedly as the door slammed.

Fluttershy stood, hoof outstretched, mouth half-open, and a look of concern crinkling her features. It seemed as if she had been about to say something, but unfortunately Dash had acted too fast for her to keep up with. ‘What else is new…’ rang a bitter though from the back of Fluttershy’s mind.

“Well…” Twilight gave Fluttershy a little smile. “Sorry about the case.”

Fluttershy’s look of concern didn’t quite dissipate, but her eyes softened slightly as she turned back to the shopkeeper. “I suppose we’re back to square one…”

“I’ll never understand why you’re hung up on her…” Twilight said, issuing a frown towards the door through which Rainbow had stormed.

“I…uh…what?” Fluttershy stammered.

“Look you gals come in here all the time, and every time I use every trick and subtly I have come across in my research to get your attention, but you only ever have eyes for your cyan companion. Do you know how few mares I meet in my line of work?” Twilight heaved a sigh. Her voice now took on a husky quality that made Fluttershy squeak. "Not many, as you might guess, and even fewer of your caliber and, well, persuasion.”

Fluttershy blushed, feeling immensely uncomfortable. “That’s flattering… but… I’m not really-”

“Oh come on.” The unicorn shook her head, a coy smile spreading across her lips. “How are long are you going to wait for that mare to wise up? My books aren’t the only thing in danger of getting dusty, you know.”

Fluttershy blinked obliviously. “Huh?”

“If you want I can come over and apply some, ahem, polish,” Twilight finished, and though the lavender mare was clearly attempting to be smooth it came out a bit awkwardly. “You know, when I read that in 101 Book and Antiquity Related Pick-up Lines it sounded much better.”

Fluttershy blushed, “Look Twilight, I’m flattered, but… not interested…”

Twilight however remained undeterred, and a coy smile danced across her lips. “Yeah I kind of figured, but hey when you get over that little crush of yours-”

Twilight’s proposition however was cut short by the bell on the door being violently abused once more. Dash stormed back towards the counter and glared at Twilight. “Back off egghead,” she barked at the unicorn before turning to her partner, “‘Shy we need to head back to the office and plan our next move, now.”

Fluttershy nodded, grateful for an exit to the awkward mess that her conversation with Twilight had become. The two pegasi left the shop together (not before Rainbow could throw the lavender mare a final scowl), and the little bell rang a final time that evening. Twilight sighed and collected the Hoof-clan weapon from counter.

“Least it wasn’t a total waste. Come here my beauty, let’s find you a home.”

Fluttershy lay on her cot, exhausted from the day. She could hear slow, even breathing coming from the cot on the other side of the room. Dash had been right, sure all signs had pointed to the docks, but what evidence did the really have? The note was anonymous, the style was overly clichéd… maybe… maybe someone had wanted them at the docks? But… Only Filthy could have set than set them up, and Fluttershy had felt the sincerity in his concern over his fillynapped daughter. In their field of work Rainbow and Fluttershy lived and died by their gut instincts, and Fluttershy hadn’t been wrong yet when attempting to recognize the emotional state of a client.

Maybe someone wanted Filthy at the docks… That made more sense. Anyone involved in that much shady business would have plenty of enemies

“Rainbow?”

There was a grunt in the dark.

“I think… I think we should check out Diamond’s school, maybe her friends saw something, someone following her. It’s not much, but it’s a start.”

Another grunt, which was followed the sound of a body shifting its position. “Hey Flutters?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay? I mean, I know you hate get… violent.” Dash’s voice floated across the dark room, seeming to hang in the space between the two mares. Her tone was laced with an undercurrent of sadness but mostly it simply held a sort of gentle concern.

Fluttershy suddenly felt an icy talon grip at her heart. Maybe it had been her concern over Rainbow, or a subconscious suppression of the event, but Fluttershy hadn’t given much thought to her actions during the fight. Now it came back to her, detail after sickening detail pouring through her skull. And worst of all, if there could be something worse than all the pain she had caused, was that she had compelled two poor innocent pigeons to act as her weapons. The buttery pegasus felt her stomach lurch at the thought, and she found herself fighting down bile that had risen in the back of her throat.

“No…No I don’t think I am…”

Rainbow strained herself, trying to find the proper words to comfort her partner. It was difficult task for one particular reason. Fluttershy had gone a bit…savage… and bearing witness to it had frightened Dash. She had understood why it had happened, but it didn’t quite numb the pang of fear. Unlike herself, Fluttershy didn’t know the first thing about fighting so naturally she did whatever she could to survive. It had been alarmingly effective, and when you looked at the net results, it was understandably scary: two blinded earth ponies (hopefully not permanently, but Dash had no idea how severe the attack had been), two grounded pegasi, and a third earth pony who had taken a brick to the back of the head (and with any luck, survived). Dash pressed a hoof to the bridge of her snout in a gesture of frustration, ‘Idiot, if it scares you a little, think of how Flutters is feeling! Say something!’

“I’ve always had a pretty straightforward outlook on things like this, you did what you had needed and we are still breathing because of it. Ipso facto job well done and no need to worry,” Dash managed to force out. The cyan mare then did an unseen facehoof, her words having come out much more clinical and callous than she had intended.

She heard soft sobs emanated from Fluttershy’s side of the room. ‘Way to go Rainbow, let’s try this again.’

“It’s okay to be scared… I mean…” She cut herself off and finished the rest of the sentence in her head, ‘…I am too. Nope that would make her cry harder and you know it! Ugh! I suck at this!’

Dash took a deep inhale and then exhaled slowly through her nose, hoping her third attempt might actually help. “I just… I’m here for you okay… and well, you saved my life, twice if you count the first aid which I do. So yeah, I know it today was rough but you got me, pal.”

Dash sucked in another breath and held it, waiting in the dark for a response. She head the sobs slowly drop away and let out a sigh of relief.

“I… just don’t like to hurt ponies…” Fluttershy’s whimpering voice intoned in the dark.

“I know Flutters, I know. I’m sorry we ended up in that situation.” Rainbow hated herself in that moment, feeling an overwhelming sense of responsibility for her friend’s distress. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

“You did all you could,” Fluttershy’s voice seemed stronger now, or at least more even. “I’m sad I had to hurt ponies… and make those poor birds hurt ponies too… but… I did it for you, and if I had to do it for anypony… I’m glad I did it for you.”

Dash wasn’t sure what to say to that confession, so she settled on, “Uh… Thanks ‘Shy. Goodnight,” before drifting off into an uneasy sleep.

Author's Note

This essentially concludes the unofficial first act of the story, hope everyone is having fun!

Chapter 6

The next day started in much the usual way. Fluttershy hummed to herself as she prepared breakfast , her divine voice wafting throughout the whole of the office. This, of course, was punctuated by the occasional titanic snore from her partner who, like every morning, was sleeping in.

Eventually the snores subsided and a bleary-eyed Rainbow Dash meandered into the main room. She took a seat at the desk and only winced slightly as her injured flank contacted the negligible cushioning of the second-hand chair. Fluttershy suddenly materialized in her line of sight, holding in outstretched hooves a cup of the sweetest ambrosia known to ponykind: coffee.

‘Well, next to cider of course,’ Dash thought to herself with a chuckle as she took the coffee from Fluttershy. Dash nodded a ‘thank you’ to the other mare before she returned to preparing breakfast.

The cyan mare sipped her coffee through pursed lips, tentatively checking its temperature. One slightly burnt tongue and a few muttered curses later, she decided that perhaps she would have to wait a few more minutes.

Rainbow trained her sights on the bubbly reservoir of good cheer that currently took the form of a yellow pegasus. Rainbow never could understand Fluttershy’s desire to rise with the sun. Especially after days like yesterday, where if anything could have gone wrong, it did. But it wasn’t just the bad days. Even when Dash could drag the timid mare to a bar, and the pair would stumble back to their makeshift apartment well past the witching hour, still, the buttery pegasus would be awake before Rainbow. She was always there to present her with a cup of coffee and a smile. Rainbow could never figure out if she loved or hated Fluttershy for this annoying yet admirable quality.

She closed her eyes and took a deep inhale of the steam that wafted from her coffee, willing that by some transitive property the caffeine could be absorbed via the nostrils. It was during this sublimely calm moment that Dash’s ears finally began to pick up the tune that Fluttershy was humming. It wasn’t anything in particular, or if it was it wasn’t something Rainbow could recognize. Yet, for some strange reason the meandering tune stuck a cord somewhere within the brash pegasus. She began to hum along, adding her own smoky voice to Fluttershy’s saccharine symphony.

‘Maybe we should get a place together, once those checks clear. I mean, not sure I could ever knock together coffee this good on my own…’ Rainbow thought idly.

Several minutes later Rainbow was brought forth from her reverie by the softest of coughs. Her eyes drifted open, and there in front of her was another of Fluttershy’s omelets as well as Fluttershy herself, offering that same sweet little smile.

“You’re allowed to have a bad morning,” Dash said as she began wolfing down her omelet. “It’s not like the world will stop if you decide to sleep in or are grumpy or anything.”

The briefest of shadows passed over Fluttershy face, and despite the sincerity of her smile, the happy expression didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Oh no, I just have to be up this early,” she replied in her meek cadence. “It’s the best time to hear the birds singing…”

It wasn’t quite a lie. Not really. However the real reason Fluttershy always found herself awake so early had nothing to do with anything as cheerful as birdsong. Living with the mare that she held such affection for was both a blessing and a curse for the timid pegasus. She would often find sleep difficult to cling to. Thoughts of the rainbow-maned mare often invaded her mind just as she hovered on the edges of sleep, or when sleep loosened its grip in the early hours of the day.

Sometimes the thoughts were pleasant. Dreams of a future spend together, partners in more than crime-solving. Other times they took the form of sultry fantasies that made Fluttershy desperately wish their improvised apartment had a bit more privacy. Unfortunately, most often her thoughts turned against her. Images of a scornful Dash standing over her, berating the buttery mare for daring to love somepony so amazing as she. This or other such nightmarish visions would too often haunt Fluttershy, making sleep an unobtainable goal.

To cope, Fluttershy would rise early each day, and each day she would prepare a meal and coffee for the mare of her dreams. Each day the groggy smile or nod of appreciation from Rainbow was enough to banish the dark thoughts. At least until her pink-maned head hit the pillow again.

‘I have to be happy in the mornings, Dashie. If I wasn’t I wouldn’t see that smile of yours… Then I don’t know what I’d do…’

Fluttershy seated herself alongside her partner and began to daintily chew at her own breakfast. Dash had already finished with her breakfast and now slurped her coffee loudly. The sound comforted Fluttershy further, rough-around-the-edges as the Rainbow was, she would never be as cruel as the Dash of her nightmares. She was brave and loyal, and though she didn’t often let others know it, quite kind as well…

“Being awful quiet this morning Flutters,” Dash chided her companion with a chuckle. Accusing Fluttershy of being quiet was as redundant as accusing water of being wet.

“Just, um, thinking of the case…” Fluttershy lied.

“Yeah, me too,” Dash responded, though this too was a lie. Dash had actually still been mulling over the idea of the she and Fluttershy remaining roommates even after they could afford their own place.

An uncomfortable silence then passed between the two pegasi, neither quite daring to reveal their true thoughts just yet. Dash decided that perhaps talking about the case wouldn’t be such a bad idea and broke the tension with a cough.

“So, you think the school will be cool with the two of us just marching in and interrogating their students?” Rainbow said as she took another sip of her coffee.

Fluttershy began to look a bit sheepish.

“What is it?” Dash asked with a cocked brow.

“Well I may have called ahead to the school this morning and asked the headmistress if we could ask around. I told her that we were working Diamond Tiara’s missing pony’s case and well, I think she thought I was a police officer.” Fluttershy explain with a nervous grin. “I, uh, didn’t correct her.”

“Way to go, Flutters,” Dash said, giving her companion a devious smile.

Lady Luna Preparatory Academy. Filthy Rich had certainly spared no expense when it came to his daughter’s schooling. Somehow both located within the city’s center and possessing a beautiful lawn and grounds, Luna Prep was by far the best education money could buy. Though what made the school so special is that not everypony had to buy in to benefit.

The school was renowned all over Equestria for its generous scholarships, awarded to anypony who might have been able to pass the grueling entrance examinations but found themselves unable to afford the school’s tuition. The resulting socioeconomic diversity resulted in a student body that often looked at each and every issue from a myriad of perspectives. In this fashion, pupils not only learned to be disciples of academia, but students of life as well. Well, that is, if they managed to look beyond the haze of high school drama.

As Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash made their way within the ivy-covered walls of the venerable institution, their ears were immediately assaulted by the relentless chatter of the teen-aged multitudes.

“…He said what?...”

“…No way she got a better grade…”

“… she said, ‘a good size,’ What does that even mean?...”

“…I wouldn’t be caught dead with…”

“…yeah , no, I totally know where you can get that…”

Fluttershy hid instinctively behind her mane. Visions of her the hell that had been her high school experience began to play over and over in her mind. The bullies, the awkwardness, the classes, the awkwardness, the failed attempts at dating, the awkwardness! She shut her eyes tightly, trying to will the noise around her to subside.

She felt a hoof on her shoulder and slowly the stress began to melt away. She looked through her mane to see her Rainbow Dash giving her a kind smile.

“Hey Flutters, you’re an adult now, okay? No more high school.” The cyan mare’s voice was warm and sympathetic. Rainbow had occupied a front row seat to the hell Fluttershy had experienced in high school. After all, she had been the shy mare’s only friend, and vice-versa.

“Th-thanks. Can’t believe this still gets to me…” Fluttershy managed, going a bit pink with embarrassment.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Ninja ponies attack and I’m all swagger. Set foot in a high school and suddenly my hooves are all sweaty,” Rainbow said with a self-deprecating chuckle.

The pair made their way to the headmistress’s office, finding it without too much trouble. Rainbow pushed the door open roughly and the pair entered. The private-eyes’ ears were treated to a string of cursing that managed to make even Rainbow blush.

“Oh my…” Fluttershy managed from behind her mane.

“Oh, oh dear. Officers I’m so sorry,” A violet earth pony gave the pair of pegasi and apologetic smile. She wore a pair of half-moon spectacles that were perched halfway down her nose. Her two-toned mane had been styled into a tight bun, and her every feature gave the detectives the impression that she was both highly skilled and entirely overworked. The office itself was absolutely covered in paper. Stacks and stacks of files and folder covered every available surface. In fact, it seemed – from the papers now scattered across the floor – that Dash’s abrupt entrance had created a bit of a gust which had disrupted a particularly perilous stack. This unexpected occurrence had precipitated the storm of swearing to spew forth from the otherwise demure headmistress.

“My name is, uh, Cheerilee,” The head mistress said as she bustled around her office, attempting to clear pylons of paper off of the pair of chairs usually reserved for guests. “We are in the middle of switching filing systems and, well, we are having just smallest spot of trouble…”

The pegasi shared a significant look. Cheerilee clearly had a talent for understatement.

“Well, Miss Cheerilee, we are here to ask about Diamond Tiara. As my partner informed you over the phone we have been assigned to her missing-pony’s case.” Dash worked very hard to sound as official as she could. Granted, in her younger and wilder days, she had been granted a first-hand exposure to the inner working of the legal system. She now mined the experiences for all they were worth.

“Ah yes, let’s see here. I had pulled her file after the phone call but…” Cheerilee swiveled frantically in her chair, eyes scanning the forest of files. Finally she let out a call of triumph and pulled a piece of paper from beneath a coffee mug.

“Here we go! Ah yes, Diamond Tiara: daughter of Crystal Tiara, socialite and ex-beauty queen, and Flithy Rich, business mogul. She’s been quite the fixture in the extracurricular scene around here, especially after that memorable, if short-lived stint as the editor of the school newspaper. I’m all for equine-interest pieces, but I draw the line at a scrawny colt digging through my trash.” She gave a mirthless chortle.

“Oh, let’s see here, there’s a note from the guidance counselor. Apparently Diamond’s mother passed recently, poor thing, and she has since been living with her father. Until recently, he only held partial custody over Diamond. Filthy and Crystal were divorced, you see. This seems to have been accompanied by a bit of a dramatic shift in Diamond’s behavior. She has given up her positions on a few of our more frivolous clubs…” The headmistress leaned in, eyes darting about the room, almost as if expressing a personal opinion was forbidden within the walls of her office. “We seem to be plagued by a rash of self-indulgent clubs that the more wealthy fillies and colts use as a means of differentiating themselves from the ‘rabble.’ Yacht clubs, and the like. I’ve tried to make them more inclusive, but rich donors keep the doors open around here – for everypony – and my hooves are tied.”

She gave a bit of a cough and straightened back to her previous posture and continued. “Says here that she joined a student activist society.” Her eyes darted around the room again before adding in a whisper, “Good for her… guess there is hope.”

Fluttershy and Rainbow had maintained the most formal decorum they could manage throughout the school-mare’s exposition. When she had finally finished, it was Fluttershy who spoke first.

“Do you think we could have the name of the group? Maybe where they meet? We really need to question those closest to her in order to determine if they had… uh… witnessed any improper activities and… strangeness.” Fluttershy’s façade had faltered but the headmistress didn’t seem to care. She had instead preoccupied herself with digging through a filing cabinet until she managed to pull out another sheet of paper.

“Here you go. This is their club renewal application. Has the meeting location as well as a charter of members.”

Fluttershy accepted the document and she and Dash scanned it simultaneously.

The Crusaders: Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo

Then, hoof-written in at the bottom as a last minute addition…

…and Diamond Tiara

Author's Note

So, I'm kinda proud of how this turned out. Enjoy! Comment! Anything!