>flying fast, dodging mothponies as they jump away from your path
>That’s what you are up to currently
>You were seeing how fast you could fly and it changed into trying out how nimble you are on your wings as you fly around the more or less busy streets of Dust Valley
>Another tight corner you gracefu-
>”Waah!”
“Oomph!”
>You fly straight into a pony carrying a bunch of boxes around and knock her, yourself and the boxes over, kicking up a cloud of wing dust
>You start coughing as you pick yourself up and blink a few times to get it out form your eyes
>And you’re met with a surprised mothpony you know, looking at you in mild shock
>”...Squeak? Why did you fly into me? I mean I’m not upset or antyhing, just curious, btu if you don’t want to tell me then that’s fine too...”
>You blush under Sequin’s gaze and rub the back of your head embarrassedly as she keeps talking more and more embarrassedly
“I wanted to see how fast I could fly...”
>Sequin stops trying to apologize and you notice the things on the ground
>Hats, a lot of different sort of hats
>You look from one hat to another, your embarrassment being replaced by awe at the many different looking hats of all sorts
>Sequin picks herself up and flaps a bit of dust off of her wings
>You turn your eyes on her And Sequin stares back at you, then glances behind her, and then back at you again
>”Um...what is it?”
>You point at the many hats
>”Oh, I was taking them to Meisa, she needed them because...”
>Sequin pauses and looks up like she’s deep in thought, and then she blushes and averts her eyes from yours
>”I forgot...”
>You look at the hats again and then you start picking them up and putting them back in the boxes
>”You’re going to help me?”
>You give a nod and a squeak to Sequin, which puts a smile on her face
>”Thank you”
>collecting the hats back up is not a big chore and it’s even easier to balance the mane boxes, at least for you
>Sequin’s not doing such a good job but the two of you soon get them all to Meisa’s house
>She invites you both in and the two of you set the boxes down
>”So you talked Squeak into helping you out?”
>Sequin shakes her head with a hint of a blush on her face
>”No, we ran into each other and, well it was more of a crash-“
>Meisa gasps lightly
>”B-but we’re both fine and none of the hats got damaged and...”
>Meisa nods
>”Don’t worry about it Sequin. Good to see that at least you’re acting yourself”
>Sequin rubs the back of her head while smiling awkwardly as Meisa turns to look at you
>”Did you see Hexferry after we couldn’t find her yesterday?”
>You shake your head and Meisa frowns
>”I can’t understand where she disappeared when we all ran after her...”
>But then Meisa sighs and smiles
>”Since you helped Sequin I think I owe you something, how about...”
>Your mouth opens in wonder and your body tenses up as you start to get excited to hear what Meisa has for you
>”I let you choose any hat from here for yourself?”
>You jump up into the air in excitement and then fly up to Meisa and give her a hug, and then one for Sequin too before you zoom of to the boxes of hats and start digging
>Wow, this is a lot of cool hats
>You put on a cap with a propeller on it on your head and give it a spin
>...no not this one
>A hat with a big poofy feather? Nope. One with Sequins? Nah.
>Suddenly you see it
>That is the hat.
>You lift it up and hold it in your hooves before putting it on
>You turn around and Sequins tilts her head in confusion as Meisa raises an eyebrow
>”You want that hat?”
>nod
>Meisa shrugs
>”If that’s the one you want then it’s yours, but you could have gone with something more-“
>You fly past her to see yourself in the mirror
>Yes, this deerstalker hat is just perfect, you look like a detective like Sherlock Hooves
“Thanks!”
>And with that you fly out of the house
>Because you are a detective now, and the peace of Dust Valley is in your hooves
>you stop and flutter still in the air
>that is if there were any mysteries or crimes to solve...
>You droop your head and start fluttering towards the ground, but as you do you notice Virgo and Hexferry talking to one another
>And Hexferry seems very angry for some reason, maybe this calls for some detective work
>You fly to the two just to catch some of the things she’s barking at Virgo
>”-nd why would you even spread rumors like that, I can’t believe you!”
>As you land Virgo looks at you with relief and quickly pulls you next to him
>”Squeak here can proof that I’m not lying, you really did do that”
>Hexferry shakes her head
>”No you must have pulled her in on this too, I bet-“
>Virgo interrupts her once again
>”Meisa and Sequin were there too, I can get them to say the same thing”
>Now Hexferry looks surprised and taken back
“What’s going on?”
>”Hexferry here thinks I am spreading lies about her cuddling up to me like she did yesterday”
>Hexferry snorts
>”It could not have been me”
>”Why, because you dislike me?”
>”No, because I was sick and in bed the whole day yesterday
>Virgo opens his mouth, but then pauses
>”Wait you were sick?”
>Hexferry nods
>”Yes, I was sick and I stayed in bed the whole day so I know it must be you spreading all these rumors of me coming onto you around.”
>You put your hoof up and wave it from side to side to catch both of their attentions
“It’s true, you were weird”
>Hexferry opens her mouth, but then closes it before opening it again
>”It really happened?”
>You and Virgo both nod
>Hexferry seems shocked now
>”B-but I didn’t...I could not have, I mean sure I was sleeping trough the whole day but-“
>Virgo puts his hoof on Hexferry’s shoulder
>”How about I go and get Meisa and Sequin and we can all talk about this?”
>Hexferry looks at Virgo , but then suddenly remembers his hoof on her shoulder and puts some distance between the two
>”Yeah...I need to hear it from those two too, I still don’t fully trust what you’re saying, it...”
>Hexferry blushes very red
>”...sounds so embarrassing...”
>Virgo turns his head to you now as he takes flight
>”Can you escort Hexferry to the café in case she goes all weird again?”
>You nod and puff up your chest proudly as Virgo starts flying towards Meisa’s house
>Hexferry starts walking towards the café with her ears and antennae drooping slightly as she stares at the ground, deep in though
>You take flight and flutter next to her as the two of you start making your way to the café
>After a while Hexferry lifts her gaze from the ground
>”So I really did do those things to Virgo?”
>You nod a few times which makes Hexferry sigh and blush
>”I hope I did not do anything else strange yesterday, maybe when I was sick I was sleepwalking or...”
>Hexferry sighs again and you shrug
>The rest of the way to the café goes in silence, no matter how much you keep fixing the position of your new hat to get Hexferry to say something about it
>When the two of you arrive there Virgo’s already there with Meisa and Sequin as well
>Hexferry gives them a hi and all of you make your way inside and sit at a table
>After Meisa and Sequin finish explaining what happened at the café, with Virgo interrupting them with a “told you so” every now and then, Hexferry is now left completely baffled
>”So you were sleeping at home for the whole day and don’t remember stepping out of the house at all?”
>Hexferry nods and Meisa keeps questioning Hexferry about her sick day
>You on the other hand stay deep in thought, until you remember something
>the weird disappearing cutie mark!
>You get up and walk to Hexferry, and then kneel down and start inspecting her butt
>Hexferry jolts and lets out a surprised squeak as your hooves touch her behind as you look for the cutie mark
>”W-what are you doing Squeak?”
>You finish inspecting her butt and get back up
“Cutie mark”
>All moths at the table stare at you questioningly
>You point at Hexferry
“She had a cutie mark yesterday”
>Now the four ponies look at you with surprise
>”I did?”
>”She did?”
>”How did I miss that when I stared at her-“
>Hexferry and Meisa give Virgo a glare
>”-nothing...”
>Meisa continues talking
>”Maybe this cutie mark is a symptom of the illness that you had yesterday that made you act so weird. What other sort of symptoms did you have?”
>Hexferry thinks for a moment before answering
>”I just thought it was a common cold, I was feeling very tired throughout the whole day and slept mostly, but for some reason I was all well today like I hadn’t been sick at all yesterday”
>Sequin joins the conversation now
>”Maybe you should go see a doctor...just in case, though it might be a bit dumb since it's a mystery illness, but still...”
>As the ponies start agreeing on it and getting up you stay seated, deep in thought again
>”Are you coming?”
>You look up and at Virgo who just asked you if you’re coming too
>But instead of answering you ask him a question
“Were you sick two days ago?”
>Virgo shakes his head
>”Nah I haven’t been sick in ages”
>Hmm, that’s weird, you once again sink deep into thought, so deep that you manage to ignore your friends asking you again if you want to come along, before heading off without you
>Didn’t Virgo have a cutie mark two days ago? But he says he wasn’t sick...
>You shrug, maybe it was something different
>time to quickly bother Minty if she’d sell you some coffee now that your friends are not around to tell her no
>But, the new hat you have is compelling you to look more into it
>maybe after the coffee, or tomorrow...
>As you walk towards the counter and Minty you by chance glance into the book side of the store
>And you stop walking and stare
>It’s Minty, she’s talking with Birch in a Virgo-like way, making her look red in the face
>You turn to look at the counter where Minty notices you and gives you a smile
>You look back at Birch just in time to see her fainted on the floor, and Minty quickly leaving trough the back door
>And also something extra on her flank...it’s like a red flower cutie mark
>Your mouth falls open
>”Squeak what is i-Birch?”
>Minty, who had made her way to you, quickly rushes to her fainted friend
>You on the other hand feel excitement swelling up in your chest
>A case has appeared!
 
 
 
>You stand there with your mouth open
>A case! A real case for a cool detective like you to solve!
>You do a small cheer before rushing to Minty and Birch, who’s currently waking up in MInty’s hooves
>”Birch? Are you ok?”
>You fly to the two and land down next to them as a few curious ponies gather around
>”Wha...Minty!”
>Birch quickly scoots away from the confused Minty and blushes crimson as Minty tilts her head and looks at her friend with confusion
>”Birch?”
>Birch points her hoof at Minty
>”Why did you suddenly kiss me!?”
>There’s a collective gasp from the crown of ponies while Minty’s confusion deepens
>”Kiss? I haven’t kissed you”
>Now Birch looks confused
>”But just now-“
>Minty shakes her head
>”I was making a mint frappuccino for a customer
>A pony from the crowd steps forward and nods
>”Yeah she was behind the counter the whole time making my drink”
>Now Birch looks very confused, you on the other hand wave your hooves around to get anypony’s attention, but they’re all ignoring you!
>Minty walks to her friend and presses her forehead against Birch’s, makign the latter blush and look away
>”You’re warm, maybe you’re sick...”
>Minty gasps while you grumpily put your hooves down
>Of course she feels warm, because she’s blushing because a Minty doppelganger just kissed her!
>”Maybe it’s that weird sickness I heard Hexferry and the others talking about! We need to get you to the doctor!”
>You rip the hat off of your head and throw it on the ground in frustration and quickly fly to Minty and Birch and block their way
>You starts squeaking and signing to Minty, trying to tell her that you actually saw the other Minty
>Minty just pushes you aside and helps Birch move
>”I’m sorry Squeak but I have to get her to the doctor, I’ll play with you when I get back”
>Your mouth turns into an angry pout as you sit your flank down on the floor and fume silently
>Fine, you’ll do all the detective work alone then
>You quickly fetch your hat and dust it off before putting it back on and heading where the second Minty headed off
>You walk out form the back door and just in time you notice something green disappear between a few houses
>You quickly take flight and run between the houses
>And in there you find a dead end, and a pony
>It’s...you?
>You stop flying and land down while staring at yourself in confusion
>You look...frustrated and caught?
>”Well, I wasn’t expecting to run into you here...”
>Your body double takes a few steps towards you while glaring at you
>You notice a cutie mark on her flank, a pink squeaky toy
>But as you stare at the butt of this another you she suddenly jumps up and flies over your head, knocking you onto your back
>It takes a few seconds for you to process what happened before you quickly spring up and fly out of the alley way in pursuit
>But then you stop as you come across the most wide and busy area of the village
>You can not see your body double anywhere, no matter where you look
>But you do notice a completely different mothpony with a cutie mark on his butt
>Suddenly you come to a conclusion with a gasp
>There must be more than one of these doppelgangers around!
>but what could it all mean...
>That’s it!
>That’s why you can’t think of anything, your detective outfit is not yet complete
>You lack the old fashioned pipe that makes soap bubbles
>If you remember correctly you have it in one of the trunks full of fun things in your attic
>You quickly fly to your house and kick the door open, and without bothering to close it you head straight for the attic and to the trunk
>You quickly open it and start rummaging trough various items until you finally pull out the pipe
>wasting no time you fill it up with soap water and fly to the hospital while blowing bubbles intensely
>You need the pipe so you can appear the most detective-like as you can for your friends
>They’ll be so surprised when they hear you solved the case
>Ponies are not sick, but...
>You quickly put on the breaks and top flying
>Oh yeah...you’re still unsure what’s going on
>You blush and land down while letting out an awkward little laugh to nopony
>you forgot you actually need to solve the case fully
>But what could this all mean? If only you were smarter
>Wait, smart...books! Birch has a lot of books
>You quickly fly to the cafe and head straight into the book side of it
>There’s nopony there and there was a closed sign on the door but since it’s to help Birch you’re sure she won’t mind
>But you forgot there were this many books, it’s enough to make you feel woozy!
>You stop blowing bubbles and set the pipe down before you fly to the nearest bookcase and pull out a book
>But as you do so all of the books in that case come tumbling down and spread all over the floor
>...this might take a while...