The Blossoming Darkness

by ChaosknightRB

Rating: everyone
Tags: Tragedy, Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 1100

Twilight Sparkle investigates a string of disappearances in Ponyville.

When Ponyville has a sudden string of disappearances Twilight Sparkle took it upon herself to investigate the matter. The following are excerpts from the journal of Ms. Twilight Sparkle. Submitted to the Canterlot Ministry of Justice on April 16th, 0:00 hours. The recorded events take place between February 13th and April 15th of the year 2013.

Published 2013-04-17 17:10:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-17 17:10:03 UTC

Chapter 1

Day 1:
08:00

It's been three days since these mysterious disappearances began. I've decided to take it upon myself to begin a full scale investigation. I've just finished reading my copies of "How to be a Detective", the beginner and advanced series. Between these and my readings of Sherlock Whooves, I'm confident in my ability to become a freelance detective. The first and most important part of being a detective is to keep a detailed journal on all my thoughts and findings during the investigation, so I can look over them later. Seems simple enough. Detective Twilight Sparkle is on the job!

08:21

I've arrived at the location of the most recent disappearance, Sugarcube Corner. Mrs. Cup Cake. I find it hard to believe that she'd become a victim in this. Mr. Carrot Cake was having a difficult time dealing with his loss. I can see that Pinkie Pie is also quite upset, but taking care of Pound and Pumpkin seems to be keeping her preoccupied. For some reason the twins are covered in flour.

I've explained my intentions to Mr. Cake. He doesn't seem very reassured, but he appreciates the thought that somepony is looking for his wife. He proceeded to lead to me to the kitchen, the scene of the crime. The window had been broken and many dishes had been thrown about. I found a single lavender flower in the middle of the kitchen. Mr. Cake says he doesn't remember seeing it there earlier. My first clue, but how did it get here if it wasn't there earlier?

08:45

Now that I've completed my analysis of the scene inside, I came outside to check the area around the broken window. I've found a set of hoof-prints. The strange thing is that there is only one set, and they're walking away from the window. They appear to lead off towards the street. All the glass shards appear to be on the inside, meaning the window had to be broken from the outside. How did they break in and not leave a print? Flight is the most viable option, but I can't rule out the potential use of magic. I've followed what I assumed to be Mrs. Cakes trail as best I could. Once they met with the road, there was no hope of finding her exact prints among the hundred of others made on a daily basis.

09:16

The next step to take is to find potential witnesses. I've spoken with the nearby residents and come up with nothing. It seems that not a single pony saw or heard anything. I don't understand this. How is it that a window being smashed and a struggle against a foalnapper didn't catch anypony's attention? I'll have to head back to the library and review my notes for the day. This isn't going to be as easy as I thought...

Missing:
- Roseluck
- Carrot Top
- Mrs. Cup Cake

Potential Suspects:
None

Day 3:
09:00

It's the third day since my investigation began and so far nothing. There has only been a few constants with each of the disappearances: they have all been mares so far, there are signs of a struggle, only ever one set of hoof-prints, and the place where they disappear there is always a lavender flower. Perhaps this is some sort of calling card? If so, this may be a huge clue in finding them. So far no word on any disappearances. Perhaps whoever is responsible stopped?

09:36

It seems I spoke too soon. Applejack just rushed here to tell me her brother, Big Macintosh, is missing. This puts the trend of mares only to a quick end. I'm headed to Sweet Apple Acres immediately.

10:25

After thoroughly searching the farm Apple Bloom found the lavender flower in the barn. No one in the family seems to know why Big Mac was there in the middle of the night, but between the heavy dents in the nearby wooden supports and what appear to be claw marks there's no mistaking this is where he was taken from. There is also a notable gash on the inside of the barn door. It's almost as if something were trying to...get out? The claw marks definitely help cut the list of potential suspects by a sizable amount. No pony could have done this. Whatever it is, it must be terribly strong to overpower Big Mac.

13:00

I've gathered everything I possibly can from this foalnapping. Applejack invited me to stay longer, but I needed to get home to do recap on today. This scene definitely shed some light on the case. For one I can now confirm a pony isn't behind this. It was also a good indication on the perpetrators sheer physical strength. It has given me a potential suspect to work with. I'll have to get a message over to Rainbow Dash. We're going to have to visit a friend of hers for questioning.

Missing:
- Roseluck
- Carrot Top
- Mrs. Cup Cake
- Vinyl Scratch
- Big Macintosh

Potential Suspects:
- Gilda

Day 8:
12:20

It took several days to track down Gilda. During those days there were more disappearances. More claw marks, still no witnesses and a bouquets worth of iris flowers. The number of disappearances has gone up to more than one a night. For the past two nights ponies had disappeared in pairs with the scenes being no where near each other. Dash and I had been searching non-stop for the griffon during this time. Her absence had made my suspicions grow even further. I was convinced it was her all along. That's when we found it. Or rather, it found us. The local mailmare, Derpy Hooves, brought me a small, neatly wrapped package from an unknown sender this morning. Upon opening it I found a lavender flower...along with a large brown feather. When Rainbow Dash saw the contents of the package her heart sank. We both knew what this meant. Gilda had been taken and the one who took her is now taunting our efforts. When I asked who gave it to her Derpy simply said she had found it on her doorstep with my name on it. Rainbow Dash went out for a while to cool down. I think I need to lay down for a spell as well. No doubt this has been hard on her. It's been hard on all of us...

Missing:
- Roseluck
- Carrot Top
- Mrs. Cup Cake
- Vinyl Scratch
- Big Macintosh
(The list goes on...)

Potential Suspects:
- ~~Gilda~~