Sherlock Sparkle 3

>You are Anonymous, and you are currently enjoying the Sunday paper of Manehatten at your dining table with a cup of coffee. There's nothing much that catches your interest, and the one article you're looking for has yet to appear.
>The small flat you are staying in is nothing too great, but you're laying low, so it is useful for a time.
>It's been a year since you arrived in this strange land of equines, and you have to say you've grown rather accustomed.
>You pick up your coffee cup and take a small sip from it.
>Hmm, still hot, you'll have to give it a few more minutes.
>Before you can go on reading the paper, however, the doorbell rings.
>You let out a soft sigh and rise from your table, walking to the far end of your apartment to answer it.
>When you open the door a very panicked looking stallion with a brown coat and mane is standing there, out of breath.
"Dust, what are you doing here?"
>"Sir... the hotel."
>He can barely get a word out without sounding like he's going to collapse.
"Yes? What about it? Surely it wasn't that difficult of a task."
>The look that he gives you tells you otherwise.
>Your cheerful disposition vanishes.
"What happened? Tell me everything."
>"Violet got arrested on her way out of town."
>You widen the door to let him in, a frown etching your features.
"Well that's not good. That was my favorite knife too."
>You close the door behind you and Dust turns to you, still looking like he's about to hyperventilate, "At first i didn't know what could have gone wrong. Even if they figured out it was a murder they should have arrested one of those two."
>You lay a hand on his shoulder and give him a smile.
"Calm down my good man. Tell me what you found out."
>He nods and takes a deep breath, "The Guard enlisted outside help, a consultant."
>Consultant, there's a term you're all too familiar with.
"Oh? Who were they?"
>"Her name is Twilight Sparkle."
"Well, no time like the present then. Get after her. Find out what she knows."
>"Do you want me to..."
>He lets the sentence hang and you laugh, "No, no. It's much too direct, I'm sure you'll get the information just fine without having to resort to more barbaric means."
>"Aren't you coming with me?"
"It's much too soon, Dust. Not even the Princess knows I exist, and I intend to keep it that way for some time."
---------
>You are Twilight Sparkle, and you're not sure this is the right address.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah-KrvcwJkY
>Before you is a very strange building. It stands out like a sore thumb, especially on the streets of Manehatten.
>It's a tall thing, made out of various bits of metal haphazardly thrown and welded together. It has the vague shape of a house, along with a roof, also made of the same metal patchwork.
>On the very top is a chimney spout.
>Just as you look at it, it let's out a horrid hiss and bellows steam.
>You float a small piece of paper from your saddle bag and examine it closely.
>'221 Baker Street Lot B.'
>You look to your right and there is a lone street sign that matches, then you look back to the building.
>Second building on the street, and along with the patchy metalwork you can make out a rusted sign by the door that says 'B'.
>You frown.
>Definitely the right place, so why doesn't that make you feel better?
>"Good morning Miss Sparkle!"
>You almost jump out of your skin at the shout.
>You look to your left, and then your right, but there's not a single other pony on the street with you.
>"Up here!"
>Your gaze follows the voice, and up on what appears to be the second floor of the metal house is a pony leaning out of a window.
>Well... it's more of a metal hatch than a window.
>The pony is a young looking Earth pony mare, white coat with a light blue mane. Her cutie mark is what appears to be a blue flower, and she's wearing what looks like a welding shield.
>It's not covering her face, instead it's clipped up over her head.
"Uh... are you Sapphire Bloom?"
>"Yep, that's me!"
"I brought you my research notes on magical and mechanical application. I added some stuff to it last night, but it's still not complete. I didn't have any time to work this morning."
>"That's alright, Clockwork is out of the shop anyways. The reason you got my name for the delivery is because he's always away tinkering with who-knows-what."
"Right... can you come down?"
>"No problem!"
>She snakes back inside, closing the hatch-window. After a moment, the front door of the shop opens, and Sapphire Bloom greets you, sans welding shield.
"So... what exactly do you do here? Princess Celestia said something about your work being important."
>Sapphire grins, "Is it ever. Clockwork isn't a unicorn, but he might as well be with the magic he works."
"It doesn't look like your talent is anything mechanical."
>She blushes and frowns, "I know. I own a flower shop, but ever since I was small I've always been fascinated by the things Clockwork does. Do you have the notes?"
"Yes, sorry. That's why I'm here, I guess."
>Sapphire holds out a hoof, and you float a thick notebook from your bag to her.
>She smiles, "It's nice to finally meet you. Princess Celestia always talks about you."
"Oh? What does she say?"
>"All sorts of stuff. If I got into how much she gushed over you, you would turn red as a tomato."
>Heat rises to your face and you clear your throat.
"Um... do you talk with the Princess often?"
>"No, but she does come by the shop every once in a while to play with some of the stuff we have and see if it can be used for anything practical. Speaking of which, if you ever need anything, drop right on by. Me and Clockwork would be happy to help you."
>You smile.
"Thank you. That's very generous."
>She waves a hoof, "It's our job."
"Anyways, I should be going. I've got a train to catch."
>"Alrighty. Drop by whenever you want!"
>She shuts the door after you say your goodbyes.
>Interesting mare, that one.
-------
>The train ride back to Ponyville is always uneventful.
>You let out a sigh as you lean back in the seat a bit and close your eyes.
>It's been a long trip.
>Your entire purpose in going to Manehatten in the first place was just to meet Sapphire.
>Then the murder happened.
>Apparently they found the mare who did it. Like you thought, a jealous rival in the modeling business. This also meant they found out who the victim was, and had to tell the family.
>You could only imagine the grief they're going through right now.
>With another sigh, you attempt to let sleep take you away.
----------
>Arriving in Ponyville, you're not surprised to see your friend waiting for you.
>Hugs, hugs everywhere.
>You can't help but smile.
"Sorry I'm a few hours late girls. I ran into a little trouble at the hotel."
>"We heard," says Dash, a frown on her face, "There was a murder."
>Rarity gives you a soft smile, "We're so glad that you weren't hurt, Twilight."
"Me too. They also caught the culprit trying to leave town."
>Your friends sigh in relief.
"Well ain't that just dandy? I hope they lock 'em up good."
>As you leave the station, you start getting back into the swing of things, chatting idly with your friends as you walk to the far end of town and back to your library.
>It's good to be back.
>Eventually, you reach the library and everyone says their goodbyes... except Pinkie.
>She stays right where she is, grinning at you the whole time as the rest of your friends take their leave.
>When it's just you and her, you turn to her and smile, "What's up Pinkie? Did you want to talk about something?"
>"Yep!"
>Her cheerful disposition is no surprise.
"Alright, come on in, then. We'll have a snack and we can talk."
>You make your way to the kitchen as Pinkie gets comfortable. After shuffling around through the cupboards you find some crackers, and make your way back to the main room, where Pinkie is already sitting at the table.
>"I'm super-duper glad you're back Twilight!"
"Me too. I still can't believe I got caught up in that mess at the hotel."
>"That's what I wanted to talk to you about!" She sounds way too excited for broaching a subject like this, "We heard about the entiiiiire thing before you even got back. The Princess dropped by yesterday!"
>You're starting to think that Princess Celestia is kind of a gossip.
"So you know about me helping the Royal Guard."
>You float a cracker to your mouth and take a bite.
>She nods vehemently, "Yep, I wanna help!"
>That cracker promptly chokes you. You cough, barely managing to swallow it without dying.
"Pi... Pinkie, what are you talking about?"
>"When the Princess came by I was really excited. She told us about how totally amazing you were solving the case, and it got me thinking about that one time on the Friendship Express when we figured out that everyone was eating everyone's desserts." Pinkie jumps up, planting her hoofs on the table with a wide grin, "If you get to solve mysteries, I wanna help."
>You frown.
"Pinkie, this is very serious. This 'mystery' that I solved was a murder. It's not just fun and games."
>"I know," she says. Then, without warning, she leaps across the table and hugs you, "That's why it's really important that I'm there."
>You smile and let out a soft sigh, returning the hug.
"It would help to have a friend."
>You take a deep breath as she pulls away.
"Alright, you have a point, but no getting in over your head, okay? Let ME do the investigating this time."
>She giggles, "Oh, I'll be helping with that, too, silly."
"What?"
>You have brief flashes of the absolutely insane theories that Pinkie came up with to try and figure out who ate the MMM. You don't exactly want a repeat of that incident.
"Pinkie, no offense, but you and reasoning don't exactly get along that well."
>Another giggle, "It'll be fine, Pinkie promise. Before you came to Ponyville I didn't work at the bakery."
"It's hard to picture you working anywhere else."
>"Hehe, but I did! I wanted to help other ponies, and the town hospital was under-staffed at the time. I worked as Nurse Redheart's assistant."
>You give her a flat look.
"You're joking, right?"
>"Nope! I always made my patients smile. It was a part of my job, and it was my favorite thing to do in the world!"
"So you're... medically licenced? How come you never told me this?"
>She tilts her head and blinks, "You never asked."
>You bring a hoof to your face and let out a sigh.
>This just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?
"Alright. I can't just ignore what you have to say, no matter how crazy it gets. Just... try to tone down the fantastical stuff, alright?"
>"Okey dokey lokey!"
>You hold out a hoof to her.
"Partners?"
>She bumps it with hers, "Partners! This calls for a party!"
>Your career as an investigator is going to be a long one.
-------
>You are Anonymous, and the story you were looking for has finally hit the papers.
>'Twilight Sparkle: Ace Detective'
>The title is dull and unoriginal, but it interests you, nonetheless.
>In all the times you've gone up against the investigative wits of the Royal Guard since you've been here, they have only succeeded in figuring out the deeper story behind the crime you orchestrated one time.
>One single time.
>And even then, they could not identify that someone else had been behind the deed.
>They arrested their culprit and called the case solved.
>They remind you of the detectives in Scotland Yard.
>But this... Twilight Sparkle.
>She reminds you of someone else.
>Someone far more interesting than an average detective doing their rounds.
>And the word they use for her.
>Consultant.
>You know that word all too well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLlt0cK4uA0