Sherlock Sparkle: Broken

>Deep breaths Twilight.
>You can do this. You're in pain, bleeding, and exhausted from manipulating the train, but you can do this. You have to do this.
>Pinkie's hoof tightens around your shoulders. She's getting antsy, and you can't blame her. It's all you can do to gather the required energy for the spell. You can feel the magic surge through you, and in an instant the hot air of the barren lands are gone.
>You can no longer hear the creaking metal of the wrecked train. Instead, the sounds that reach your ears are that of chatter in the streets of Canterlot.
>The cut in your side flares to life and pain surges through it. You fall to the ground, gritting your teeth and trying not to scream. "Twilight!" Pinkie is at your side in less than a second. She leans down, a worried frown on her face. "We need to get you to a hospital."
"No."
>"But..."
>You plant your front hooves on the ground and slowly push yourself up, fighting through the pain.
"I can do this. I just have to stop the bleeding. I don't have enough energy for a full healing spell, but..."
>Another deep breath.
>A burning sensation spreads over the cut in your side, and you wince, putting in all your strength to simply not fall to the ground. Pinkie never looks away from you despite the small crowd gathering around to look. You hear the worried murmurs start, and Pinkie looks like she's about to cry, but you don't have time to assuage any fears.
>Anonymous knew you would be on the train, that means he also knows where you're headed.
>You run down the street and towards the palace, your steps heavy from your physical injuries and this inescapable sense of forboding. Pinkie trails behind you, still worried, but she's smart enough to know there's no time.
>You're running on a very short clock, and it's hard to think you'll be able to make it on time.
>Anonymous would have planned for every contingency, after all.
>When you get to the palace everything seems to be in order. There are at least five guards posted at the entrance, and it appears that the gate is locked tight. Two at the gate and three on patrol. It might be a good idea to get their attention.
"Excuse me!"
>You raise your hoof in the air, waving it around like a mad-mare. It's hard to run with three legs, but you manage to do so with a bit of hopping. It's the guard posted at the left of the gate that catches sight of you first. He steps forward as you approach him. "Ma'am, I'm afraid the palace is on lockdown."
"You don't... understand."
>Pinkie is by you in less than a second, holding you up, "Twilight, you gotta rest." Before you can say anything else your partner turns to the guard. "We're here to see Captain Lance, he's in a biiiiiig gator pit!"
>The guard raises an eyebrow.
>Pinkie frowns and grunts in frustration. "Trouble! He's in trouble! You gotta let us in. That big ol' meanie pants Anon is trying to kill the ponies that are after him!"
>The guard shifts uncomfortably from one hoof to another, obviously not knowing how to handle the girl in front of him. It doesn't help that the two of you still look like crap from the train wreck.
>"I uh... I don't... let me check with the captain of the guard."
>He turns away, but before he can you channel energy through your horn and grab him with a simple telekineses spell, pulling him to look right at you.
"I am Twilight Sparkle, a consulting investigator for the royal guard. My brother, Shining Armour, is the captain of the guard. We are here to see Iron Lance about an important matter regarding the felon Anonymous. We have to... we have to..."
>Your vision blurs and you stumble slightly.
>The bleeding is stopped, so you're not in danger of death, but you had no idea you'd already lost so much blood.
>"Please, Ma'am, calm down. You said your name was Twilight Sparkle?"
>"Yes!" shouts Pinkie. "She's an Element of Harmony. I'm one too!" Pinkie grabs the guard by his shoulders and shakes him back and forth, "Ya gotta let us in, there's no time!"
>When she finally lets him go he shakes his head to try and regain his bearings. "I... I know who you girls are. The Captain's been waiting for you."
>"You hear that Twilight?"
>You feel Pinkie wrap a hoof around you and hoist you up a bit, and your vision finally starts to clear, "They're gonna let us in, we made it in time."
"I... I'm exhausted. We aren't... gonna make it."
>The gates open, and Pinkie holds you up as both of you walk forward.
>Then, with no warning, your entire world is consumed in fire.
>You and Pinkie are sent flying back, and you crash into the ground, rolling and tumbling as the entire world spins around you.
>Everything is silent. The only thing that exists to you is the pain of being thrown back and crumbling on the ground. By the time you come to a stop your ears have started to ring.
>An explosion...
>You can't move.
>An explosion from the palace!
>Celestia, Luna, Shining, Cadence, Iron.
>You try to move your right hoof to position it so you can push yourself up, but a sharp pain shoots through it. "Twilight! Twilight, where are you?" That's Pinkie.
>She's looking for you. You try to open your mouth to reply, but all that comes out is a cough. Dust dances in your vision, and you finally notice that you're trapped under a pile of rubble.
"Guh..."
>Once more you try to move your front right hoof, and once more pain lances through it. You barely suppress a scream and look down. It's dark, but there's light leaking in and you can see, albeit with blurred vision.
>Your breath quickens when you see the bone protruding from your coat.
>Claustrophobia kicks in as you realize there's no way you can get out.
"Pi... Pin..."
>"Twiliiiight!"
"Pinkie! Pinkie I'm trapped!"
>The call for help burns your throat, and you descend into a coughing fit as you hear the rubble around you being moved.
>"Where is she?"
>Another familiar voice. A motherly voice.
>"Right here," says Pinkie.
>You feel the stone shift around you, and you're suddenly blinded by the day's sun. Above you stands Celestia, Pinkie at her side. The Princess' gaze falls to your arm and she gasps, "Twilight, you're horribly injured."
"I... I can still go on... I have to..."
>Magic lifts the final boulder pinning your broken front leg. "Twilight, we have to get you to a hospital."
"Princess Luna? My brother? Cadence?"
>Celestia nods, "They're fine."
"Set it."
>Celestia's eyes widen. "Wh..."
"Please, Princess... set the bone."
Pinkie steps forward. For once her carefree attitude is gone, and she gives you a stern look, "Twilight, there's a limit. You're going to kill yourself."
>You shake your head.
"My magic is exhausted. I can't heal myself, but you can Princess. Healing magic won't work until the bone is set."
>"You still need at least a week to recover," says Celestia with a frown, "If you go chasing after Anonymous you could end up..."
"I know the consequences. In the worst case I won't be able to use this leg anymore, but is it really worth letting Anonymous get away?"
>You've never seen the princess look so distraught before. You hate to put her through this.
"I have to get to the records office. Where did the bomb go off?"
>Celestia sighs, "The second floor. The evidence locker was caught in the blast, but guard records are still intact."
"Good, I don't need evidence. I only need to find someone."
>"... Very well. I will do this for you, but on one condition."
>You grit your teeth, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in your leg. It's hard to do. You've never broken a limb before, and to have it be a compound fracture...
"Anything, Princess."
>"I go with you to take Anonymous into custody. He has threatened my kingdom, conspired to have my subjects murder each other, and now he has injured you. His actions are inexcusable, and I desire to face him."
"What are you going to do?"
>"Ask him why."
>You frown and shake your head with a sigh.
"You might not like the answer he gives you."
>"Life does not make a habit of giving the answers you desire, my dear student. Are you ready?"
"Ready as I can be."
>Pinkie steps forward, handing you a small piece of wood that you assume is debris from the explosion, "Bite down on this," she says softly.
>You open your mouth and bite down hard. Closing your eyes, you take a deep breath and give a soft nod. You can feel Celestia as she leans over you. "This is going to hurt," she says, "It's a compound fracture, so I have to set it in a certain way. It may take more time than you would desire."
>Please, just please get it over with.
>You hear the sound of magic being gathered into Celestia's horn, and then the pain hits.
>It's like fire flowing through your leg.
>You bite down so hard on the chunk of wood that it almost cracks.
"MMMMMMNNNNNNNGGGG!"
>It's the worst pain you've felt in your entire life, but you have no choice but to bare with it.
>Finally, after what seems like an eternity, it slowly subsides. You feel tears fall from your eyes as you spit the chunk of wood out.
>You want so badly to just curl up somewhere and have a good cry, but there's no time for that.
>Then, just as the pain finishes fading, a different kind of magic takes its hold on your arm. A comfortable warmth spreads across the wound, and you can almost feel everything shifting back into place.
>Not only that, but you don't feel as worn out anymore.
>Celestia leans down and kisses you on the forehead, "I'm sorry I had to put you through that, Twilight."
>You stand slowly, flexing your leg before setting it onto the ground to make sure everything is in one piece. A dull pain still runs through it, but it's perfectly usable now. You're sure that by the end of today the pain won't be so dull anymore.
"We have to find Dusty."
>Pinkie nods firmly, "Yep. Last time we saw him was on a train to Canterlot." She falls silent, then her eyes widen and she grins, "Oh oh! I bet he was spying on us for Anonymous."
>You smirk and shake your head.
"Brilliant deduction Pinkie, how ever did you manage to reach it?"
>"Oh don't be so mean. I just figured it out." She sticks her tongue out at you.
"So, it's safe to assume Dusty is still operating within the areas of Canterlot and Equestria."
>You turn back towards the palace, the bottom part of it now a smouldering wreck. "And why would that be?" asks Celestia.
>You start walking, a slight limp in your step. The Princess and Pinkie trail behind you.
"Simple, really. He was sent to keep tabs on us. Anonymous is smart and organized, he thinks like me."
>"I remember you talking about this," says Pinkie, her voice slightly lilting, "That bully told you that he was the same as you."
>You continue speaking as you make your way towards the remains of the gates.
"Well, we're not exactly alike. However, the fact of the matter is... his thought process is similar to mine. Spike and Owlicious are my assistants in Ponyville's library. They do my daily checklists and help me make sure everything that needs doing gets done."
>Pinkie yawns.
>You frown and roll your eyes.
"Anyways. Since you're falling asleep so easily I'll get to the point. I divide tasks equally among my assistants. If I had as many assistants as Anonymous does I wonder if everyone would be left with one task, maybe two or three."
>Celestia speaks up next. "Are you saying this... Dusty character followed you around while you solved cases for the royal guard?"
"It's highly probable. Perhaps he was there on the day Anonymous kidnapped Rarity and we had to solve his riddle."
>"You mean when we went to the big scary prison?" asks Pinkie.
"The very same. Maybe our friend has a few disguises. Really, he could be anypony in a crowd with a bland coat like that. It's more than likely one of the reasons Anonymous chose him to watch us."
>You reach the palace just as the conversation ends. There are piles of rubble everywhere. The guards that had been on duty at the gate are okay, it seems, but one of them is leaning against a boulder, holding his left rear leg taught.
>Looks like you're not the only one who broke something.
>One of the guards runs up to Celestia, "Princess. We're getting reports of casualties on the second floor!"
>"How many?"
>"Six died in the blast, four injured that we know of."
>Six ponies. Dead just like that. Anonymous' body count is going up every time you run across him. The thought only makes you want to push harder, faster. The sooner you catch him, the sooner this horrible nightmare can end.
"We need to get to the records office in the guard station on the fourth floor. Is there any way up there?"
>The guard frowns. "Hmm, there might be an opening around here somewhere, but I've been too busy trying to keep everything in order to look for it."
"You don't have to worry about it. We'll get there, one way or another."
>You look to Celestia.
"Can you teleport us inside? I'm still worn out."
>"Hmmm, in theory... I suppose."
>You raise an eyebrow.
"In theory? Your magic is very powerful."
>Is she blushing?
>"While it is true that I posses more raw power than you, magic is not my talent, Twilight. I know how to fire a volley or put up a shield, and I can teleport myself with accuracy, but I've never... taken anypony with me before."
"Well that puts us back at square one. Unless... you want to try it anyways. Or maybe you could go in and find the record yourself."
>"What a splendid idea. As expected of my favorite student."
>You turn away to mutter under your breath.
"Flattery won't make me forget that you don't practice basic spellwork."
>"What was that?"
"Erm... nothing, Princess. By the way, while you're in there could you keep an eye open for Captain Lance?"
>"Iron Lance?"
>You nod.
>"Very well. I will attempt to find him, but our priority is Anonymous."
"Understood."
>With a flash Celestia is gone, and you're left alone with Pinkie.
>You hear the sound of crunching and turn to your friend. It appears she's chewing on something. Brown crumbs fall from her mouth, and she swallows with a satisfied sigh.
>She holds up a chocolate chip cookie in front of you, "Do you want one Twilight?"
"A bomb just went off, where did you get a cookie?"
>"In my emergency cookie stash silly."
>You know what?
>You don't even want to know.
"I would love a cookie, Pinkie."