> Rarity Belle and the missing manuscript
>  by Reily
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: The Vanished Manuscript
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hi Rarity!" 

Sweetie Belle shouted beside me, just as I was about to finally finish this garment. 

Neither heavy rain, nor shine, nor the presence of a little sister shall hinder me finishing a project on time. 

"Sweetie Belle?!  Don't you know you shouldn't bother me while I'm in the middle of a stitch?" 

I sighed. 

"Anyway what's up?" 

Sweetie Belle gave me a quick hug. 

"Just here to tell my favorite sister I love her." 

I turned my head towards her and wrapped my front hooves around her. 

As obnoxious as it is being interrupted,  I love these moments with my little Sweetie Belle. And I'm more than grateful that Mother and Father sent her to me. She really does brighten a room. 

Actually it did seem a little brighter for some reason. I suddenly heard some heavy fabric knocking to the floor. 

"Bye Rarity! Got to run. Crusader Business!" 

Just as soon as she finished saying that, Sweetie Belle pulled my hooves off of her. Then proceeded to make a beeline straight towards the door. 

That was a little strange. At least Sweetie promised she wouldn't get in trouble while working on getting her cutie mark. So much for that promise. Knowing my luck, there would be property damage. Again. Regardless I guess I could use a break. 

I put the fabric back down and took a look in the inspiration room. All the luxurious rolls of fabrics seemed right where I left them; though there were some rather small muddy hoofprints on the floor leading further into the room and a few uneven clumpy dirt lines draping the walls like horrible off-color beige curtains.

I’ll have to spend hours scrubbing the floor and the walls if I want things to look good as new. And ideally, maybe I should add some primer to finish this time around. But something isn’t right here. I have come back to see Sweetie Belle coming in after a long rain, but she’s always thoroughly wiped her hooves every time. The filthy scoundrel is going to get a firm talking-to,for sure, but what else could they have done here.

Feeling unnerved, I trotted into the inspiration room. Nothing major seemed out of place, barring the placemat covering my secret safe. My eyes widened in disbelief. My secret safe was completely exposed. After rushing over , I saw it was open and the keypad was covered in a thick layer of some sort of colorful rainbow dust shimmering like prismatic shards. Lingering in the air was a thin hint of vanilla, but it’s more than possible that Sweetie Belle got into my perfume earlier. 

The place where I keep my lesser secrets; things I'd love to talk about when it won't embarrass me. Tales of my love-life, fashion ideas I’d never think about ever unleashing upon the public right now, and stories that I’m too embarrassed to share with the world.   Ransacked by some ruffian, and having it leaked to the press. I’ll be branded as an outcast, a laughing stock, I’d be lucky to keep the Carousel Boutique and be forced to move back in with Mother and Father. Oh the horror!

My poor heart raced a mile a minute. I lit up my horn and dug the stack of papers out clutching my chest begging for nothing to be missing.

Let's see, my Shadow Spade story should be in here somewhere, at the top if I recall correctly. The color changing dress sketch, not it. My sketches for a future retro look, not it. My list of potential admirers, I was looking for that earlier. There were rumors of a fancy stallion coming to town from Canterlot, perhaps he might be the sort of gentlecolt that’d be interested in moi.
 
I flipped back and forth in the stack, but despite my best efforts it is just gone. Most ponies wouldn't know this at a glance, but I am extremely organized. Everything has a place in my system, but no system is perfect. 

I need to find my manuscript as soon as possible,though. The literary world will discard anything that isn't 110% quality. I'd never be able to forgive myself if something I made and shared wasn't perfect.
> Chapter 2: Clues and Connections
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I carefully put everything back in order , sorting through the loose documents and grouping them by type. Then carefully closed up the safe and ensured the mechanism was locked. Finally I placed the welcome mat back down, but not without discovering a pink slide whistle where the mat was. I sealed it up in a bag  , along with a sample of the sparkly dust; to keep a record of clues like all good detectives do. 

Oh how I wish I had the time and resources to do that detective fashion line at some point. I’m going to need some help on this caper. Who to go to for help? Twilight might be my best bet. 

I made my way out of the boutique and carefully closed the doors. Stepping around some leftover dried mud, past twigs ; I walked inside the Golden Oak Library with my head held high. At first glance, I’d immediately noticed Twilight. 

It’s not often there are patrons or other ponies in here. But I definitely can smell another pony here other than Twilight. Maybe she’s gotten another assistant besides sweet little Spikey-Wikey. It’d certainly be good for the dear. 

Inside Twilight was busy with a huge scroll in front of her, scanning every single line meticulously. Nevertheless I told her my problem. 

"It's absolutely terrible Twilight. Some heathen has ransacked my inspiration room and stolen a manuscript I was working on. You absolutely must help me catch the ruffian who stole it " 

The scroll fell with a crash and Twilight focused her beautiful amethyst eyes towards me. 

"Sorry Rarity I haven't seen any loose pages that looked like they belonged to you. Though I have been a little busy today." 

A pink pegasus filly with a vibrant rainbow mane approached with a grin on her face ran up to Twilight ,carrying a thick crimson book in her mouth. As she passed right in front of me for a second, I couldn't help but notice that the book was in an unsightly state;  a few unsightly brown stains on the book and there were several loose pages sticking out of it. Though there were some specs of dirt covering the filly. “Excuse me, where is this book supposed to go?” 

Twilight sighed. “Easy there Melody. If you wanna keep assisting me at the library and filing all of these books, you’re going to have to avoid biting down on them. Please. Also it goes up on the back corner with the rest of the reference materials”

Melody proceeded to energetically fly up towards the back creating quite a huge gust in the room, while still holding the book in her mouth. She rushed up there, past a stained saddlebag and nearly knocked over a bookshelf in the process. I raised an eyebrow. “Having trouble there Twilight?”

“Another library in Canterlot shut down a few weeks ago and all of their old books are coming here. Quite a few of them were damaged and torn in different ways, but there’s still a hoof-full that remains salvageable. I’ve got a crate downstairs, and am allowing anypony to help put away these stories with me and Spike.” 

Twilight grimaced. “She’s one of the few that routinely shows up to help and is a pretty voracious reader herself. I'd love more help though." 

After that Melody showed up back in front of me. “It’s not all bad. I’ve been helping out here all morning. I’m sure me and Miss Twilight will get through all of these books before next Winter Wrap Up.” 

I winced. 

As much as I love my dear friend , I need to make headway in this case. Then help with the giant cluster of novels. Goodness knows that Twilight and all the other girls would give me their support if I had a big project ahead of me. 

I fluttered my eyelashes at Twilight. “Perhaps you’d be willing to give me a couple of leads to perhaps work with? With a big case like this and little old me. Hmmm…” 

Poor Twilight sputtered for a few seconds before responding. "Well…as enticing as that sounds,  I can't pull a lead out of my flank. Though maybe I can help you make sense of some of the stuff you saw at the crime scene if that helps." 

I thought about it over a couple seconds, visualizing the crime scene in my mind. 

"Well darling there was some sparkly dust all over the safe keypad that I know for a fact didn't come from any of the sequins I worked with. Any idea where that came from?" 

I presented the sample of prismatic dust to Twilight who stared at it for a minute, opened it up and took a good whiff. 

"Yep, that's Pinkie's, alright. Smells just like the confetti she fires from her cannon—fresh vanilla and glycerin. Maybe go to her, maybe some of it was stolen. Can't be easy to transport and spread after firing, not without covering yourself up."

Hmm..could it be? Yes. I do say that does seem to be a likely explanation. 

With that connection finally made in my mind, a glimmer of hope washed over me. Thanks to Twilight’s sparkling brilliance, I now had a few leads to track down. If I know Pinkie’s schedule, she should be working right now. With my head held high, I started sauntering toward Sugarcube Corner.

Let’s see what Pinkie knows.
> Chapter 3: Rarity's Confidences
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I made my way past mud, twigs, and huge water puddles. 

Mud , mud, and more mud. There's gotta be a simpler way to avoid getting dirty. 

"Over here, Rarity. Me and Bon Bon wanna talk to you." 

I almost walked right past her and was about to enter Sugarcube Corner when I finally noticed Lyra waving her hoof in front of my face. As the hoof retracted and I took a good look , I saw both Lyra and Bon Bon in front of me.  

"Lyra, I think Rarity is a little busy. " 

A little busy is an understatement darling. But feel free to go on. 

Lyra proceeded to groan. 

"But Bonnnie…I wanted to talk about the My Little Human fanstory she helped inspire me to write." Lyra instantly perked up.   "They go around solving mysteries! And plus it's nice to talk about mystery stories every other week with RareRare. How is that not epic?" 

Lyra's horn glowed a bright tangerine as she pulled out a stack of papers with somewhat illegible chicken scratch. As the pages moved closer to me, I couldn't help but notice some small bite marks. 

"Pardon me but what happened to your pages darling? Did a pet get into it?" 

I do feel sympathy though. Though sweet Opal has always been very well behaved, if not a little fussy. I love her so much and would abhor having a filthy mutt, but too bad cats can’t smell as well. Otherwise I’d bring my little snuckums here with me. 

Lyra shook her head. 

"Nah. There was a gust earlier that scattered quite a few pages around. Luckily for me and the adventures of Clemency, Swift, and Heart ; some filly helped me gather them before they fell into a puddle or got too ruined. I'll remember to thank her next time I see them." 

I started to get a strange feeling of Deja-Vu. 

"Say that filly wouldn't happen to have had pastel pink fur with rainbow hair?" 

Lyra's grin grew. "You know them too? Great! Bye bye,RareRare. Let's go Bonnie!" 

As the pair wandered off, I got back to my quest; and entered the Sugarcube Corner’s warm inviting gingerbread themed doors. A sudden whiff of delicious mint ice cream approached my nostrils as I pushed the door open. The bell chimed, and with a sudden jolt, Pinkie practically jumped right on top of me and gave me a squeeze. 

Nice to see you too Pinkie darling. Even if it’s only been a day or so.  If only I wasn’t here for business. I’d get enough tubs of ice cream to fill a tub, and maybe a scone or two. Goodness knows how hard it is to stockpile these things for a major disaster the likes nopony should ever have to deal with. 

Despite being a slow day, the few customers there gave us a quick glance then returned to their food. Though I could have sworn I saw Sweetie Belle at a bar stool with her horn soaking inside a hot fudge sundae. 

I remember those days as a foal. Practicing my magic and feeling my horn starting to overheat. I know she’s been trying to learn some more advanced spells, but the only one I really use daily is basic levitation. 

“Hiii Rarity! Nice to see you. Betcha the sewing’s going fantastic! What can I do for you?” 

I cleared my throat and prepared to explain my troubles. 

Even with her general Pinkieness; she’s smart and witty in her own right. Here’s hoping she can help.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Pinkie. I was hoping to discuss certain matters," I said, looking around the room, "in private."

I'd rather not have too many prying eyes, even if it is rather innocuous all things considered. 

"Okie Dokie Loki. Meet me in the kitchen. I'll be with you shortly" 

I trotted into the kitchen, only to be greater by an overwhelming amount of bright pink balloons. All labeled "Good job Rarity". I took a seat at the table and began to wonder what the heck Pinkie was up to. 

"So Rarity! I've felt in my tail that you're going to get some major really good news today. Three shakes and an uncontrollable blinking in my left eye. Have you heard it yet? If so, tell me. Tell me, tell me, tell me!" 

Pinkie started shaking me back and forth like a foal’s rattle; almost as aggressively as Sweetie Belle used to be to those toys Mother and Father got her.  

I’m grateful I didn’t have a big meal earlier. Not that I normally would be caught doing such a thing normally mind you. Though this definitely isn’t helping.

I gently coughed; trying to get her attention. She slowly eased up her grip and presented a sheepish smile.  

The only good news I’m looking for right now is my story to actually be found and maybe for a handsome gentlecolt to sweep me off my feet. 

"Not yet, I’m afraid. Though, Pinkie, I believe this belongs to you," I said as I levitated the plastic bag with the confetti dust.

Pinkie took it in her hooves, opened it up, and then stuck a dollop of the confetti in her mouth for a second and spat it out into the bag. 

“Yepperoni! That’s mine. I made it last week; vanilla flavor. It was a huge hit at this birthday party for a cute little pegasus filly. Too bad her uncle didn’t show up; he apparently was still in Canterlot busy with work that day." Pinkie took a minute to start rubbing a hoof against her chin. 

"And after the main event, the birthday pony was curious about the confetti dust and I let her have some. I’m not sure what a pony would do with leftover confetti dust, but who am I to get in the way of curiosity. Especially when I ensure all my confetti is completely safe for foal consumption; though its texture has always been a little off. Plus less cleanup for me to do.” 

Pinkie was now just sitting there with a goofy grin on her face. 

"Does that help you Rarity?" 

I nodded. 

"Kinda. Thank you darling. It does help me quite a bit." 

Just as I was about to walk out, I heard a sudden shout from Pinkie. 

"Wait! Before you go, I think you should get some lunch. Having food always makes me feel better. Even if it's from a snooty uptight place like Café Hay. Hint. Hint." 

Pinkie gave me an exaggerated wink then waved me off. 

"Good luck! Don't forget to have fun." 
> Chapter 4: Unraveling the Culprit
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I suppose I was a wee bit peckish and could go for a light meal. 

Besides, if Pinkie says to go to the Café Hay , it must be important. 

I made my way out of the backdoor of the Sugarcube Corner and started my way down the road; once again doing my best to avoid stepping in the patches of mud and wet spots. Right along the path, was a long path of yellow ducks heading down the road. 

You don’t see that everyday. An entire parade of ducks blocking the entire path up ahead and it’s too long to just go around. 

Eventually the row passed, followed by Fluttershy who quietly whispered “Sorry”. I waved her off, then eventually managed to make my way to the Café Hay. I made my way past the mushroom tables and a brown stallion walked right in front of me. 

“Pardon me miss,”  an absolutely dashing brown stallion with a sophisticated white mane and neatly trimmed mustache beard combo greeted my sights. 

My heart briefly went aflutter after looking at him. Plus check out that absolutely snazzy detective hat cutie mark. I think I’m in amore. 

"W-would you like to join me for lunch this fine noon sir?" 

With a firm nod, he said with a gruff voice "Sure". 

We made our way down to a mushroom table and sat down. After a few brief moments, the waiter provided us with two complementary glasses of water with lemon wedges. 
Talk about efficient service. 

"So darling what brings you here from Canterlot?" I said, trying to make conversation.

"Just here to visit my sister and niece. I feel bad about missing my niece’s party last week. But you know how work can be. Even if we couldn't look more different,  family still matters. " 

A stallion after my own heart. Still that seems like a pretty important clue or remarkable coincidence; an uncle missing their niece’s birthday party. Hmmm. 

“I understand the feeling. Working on custom dress commissions can take up so much time, I swear sometimes I worry about myself being worn ragged when I finally finish a set.” 

The stallion glossed over the menu and nodded. Judging by the page he was on and how he was focusing on the top section , he was definitely eyeing the cauliflower steaks. He shot an inquisitive glance over here. 

“So you’re a seamstress. That’s not the worst choice in careers. I’m a detective for a living.”  

Finally our waiter, all dressed up in a fancy uniform complete with a twisty mustache showed up and said in a Prench accent “What can I get for you madame and monsieur?” 

“I’ll have the garden salad with extra tomatoes, and the dashing stallion in front of me will have a medium well cauliflower steak with a slight honey drizzle and crispy dandelion stems as a garnish.” 

The stallion nodded and we hoofed over our menus to the waiter. 

"Quite a bold move. What made you sure that'd be what I wanted?" 

Time to show that I've been paying attention. If I'm right about this, then maybe I can get another hint. 

"Well darling. Judging from your eye movements on the menu , it was pretty clear that it seemed like you were leaning towards it. I see myself as a bit of a mystery buff. Though…there are a few enigmas of my own I can't solve." 

I took a small sip of water, as I focused on relaying this information just right; being sure not to be too accusatory. 

"Mainly , what would bring a filly to ransack a secret safe and only steal a story from there?" 

The stallion in front of me just performed a spit take and nearly choked on his own water. In his eyes were a glimmer of recognition. 

“I. Well that is. My niece has always had an interesting idea of getting her cutie mark ever since I told about my career. She’d borrow my magnifying glasses, my hoof printing kits, my handcuffs, and even case files to try to learn more about detective work. I’d tell her about it myself, but her mother doesn’t exactly approve of it. Too dark and scary for young filly minds.” 

“I see…my little sister can be a little rambunctious as well. Her and her friends spend all the time together trying to find ways to get their cutie marks. And I’d hate to bail, but I need to head back to the library before it’s too late..At least let me pay for dinner though.” 

I started pulling out some bits from my saddlebag and he just started putting them back. 

“No need. Consider not worrying about the bill as an apology for the trouble my niece caused. For what it’s worth, maybe we can try going out to dinner sometime. My card.” 

The stallion levitated his card in green magic and put it in my hooves. 

“Theo Hoofington 

 Canterlot P.D” .

I put it in my saddlebag and bid the nice stallion ado; hoping to run into him again sometime in the future. But for now, places to be. 
> Chapter 5: Confrontation with the thief
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I galloped off as fast as I could to Golden Oak Library, pushing my legs to their limits. I was no athlete like Applejack or Rainbow. But if I wasn’t fast enough, Melody would be gone and so would the ability to confront her. Not only that but who knows what’ll happen to my manuscript. All those pages being touched upon dirty hooves and my rough draft ending up who knows.  Even if I have to get a little dirty and take an excruciatingly long bath afterwards, retrieving my story will be completely worth it.

Here’s hoping I got here in time. 

I burst open the doors with a forceful push and took a glance at the scene. At least Twilight and Melody were still here, putting away books. Twilight shot a glance towards me. 

“Rarity,  It’s bad enough I have to keep a window open for Rainbow Dash when it isn’t raining. But please don’t turn these doors into splinters. It turns into this big hassle trying to replace and fix things in here” She sighed. “So any luck with finding your manuscript? I was just about to take a break and let Melody go home for the day.” 

Lungs on fire. But still gotta keep going. Just do some short breaths and I’ll be fine. 

After a few seconds, I finally felt ready to say what I needed to. 

“I’ve made progress alright! And let me“ , I took a quick breathe, “explain what I’ve uncovered” 

IMelody tugged on Twilight’s foreleg a few times, and had a nervous expression I’ve seen on Sweetie Belle many times. The look of somepony who was just caught with their hoof in the cookie jar. 

“Miss Twilight! Can I go home now?” 

Twilight turned towards Melody.

“Of course-” 

I shook my head. My mane must have looked absolutely horrible, but this is too important. “Wouldn’t you rather stay and listen? Especially since you’d be very very curious about what I uncovered.” 

Melody quietly eeped, and lowered her head. 

Twilight’s eyes widened. “What do you mean? Is there something I should know?” 

I began to recount the clues I gathered earlier; first bringing my attention to the conversation I had with Theo and retrieving his card out of my saddlebag. 

“You see darling, Melody here has a bit of a tendency to borrow things that don't belong to her. Especially things related to detective work from her uncle, who just happens to be a detective in Canterlot. And here’s his card.” 

The card was enveloped in lavender light as Twilight looked it over. “I see…I haven’t seen anything from the library go missing though. But I’ll be sure to check on the inventory once I’m finished.” 

I shook my head. “What was Melody up to before I got here earlier today?” 

Twilight looked back down at her list of books. “I was having Melody look through the book collection in the basement and was supposed to be arranging them into multiple stacks. Though I haven't been back down there yet.” 

I paced back and forth and pointed a hoof towards Melody. 

"Also notice how she had a fair bit of dirt on her when I came in and the unsightly stains on the one reference book. Small muddy hoofprints were also found in my inspiration room. I'm almost certain she was involved. " 

Melody was starting to sweat a little bit. I know I’m close to getting her to confess. 

Just a little more pressure. 

“So I’m a little dirty. So what?! I was in the rain. Helping gather loose pages in the wind, no less. Besides, how was I supposed to get back and forth from Twilight’s basement so fast?” 

She’s right. That is the crux of the issue. Think. Twilight said Melody was in the basement. Was there any way of getting in and out fast? Argh…the only thing I can come up with is teleportation. But even ponies in kindergarten know the only pony type that can teleport are unicorns and she’s clearly a pegasus. That leads me to point two. How did she do this; who helped her? Obviously it’s not Twilight as she has way too fine control for teleportation. But who…? It has to be a pony sympathetic to her cause. And as I learned earlier from her uncle, all Melody wants to do is earn a cutie mark. Oh no. Oh no. Not you Sweetie Belle. You promised and the light in your horn was a teleportation spell.

I cleared my throat. "Twilight by chance do you see Sweetie Belle outside your library today?" 

Twilight tilted her head. "Yeah twice before you came here the first time. Both times she was standing out by the window with her horn lit up. Each time I got close , she ran off. And I think there was another foal with her, but I couldn't see them very well. I was planning on asking her next time she stopped by what spells she was struggling with , cause she looked a little exhausted the second time." 

I shook my head. "Well Twilight you won't have to ask anymore. Sweetie Belle seemed to have gotten the hang of teleportation. That's how Melody got in and out of the basement so quickly." 

Melody had her head facing the ground. "I'm in a lot of trouble aren't I?" 

I ruffled the poor filly's mane. "As long as you give me back my manuscript,  all will be forgiven. Just please for your uncle's sake and mine, ask before taking alright?" 

She flew back up to the reference section,  and retrieved those pages from the reference manual I saw earlier. Then neatly dropped them back in front of me. 

"Here you go. And for what it's worth, you make a pretty good detective Miss Rarity. Good job. Think you can teach me some stuff?" 

I gave her my best smile. 

"We'll see darling." 
> Chapter 6: Bonus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I made my way back home with my manuscript secured in my saddlebag, thankful this day was finally over. My story was safe and sound, meaning I can finally fix my mane in peace. I opened the inside of my boutique and saw Sweetie Belle lying down on my spare fainting couch with an ice pack over her horn. She squinted and looked up at me. 

“Rarity, I don’t feel so good.” 

I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Maybe next time you won’t go so hard on the advanced teleportation spell use.” 

Sweetie Belle jolted up. 

“H-how did you figure that one out? I thought Melody and I were extra careful…I knew I should have gotten the rest of the rest of the crusaders to help.” 

I love you Sweetie Belle, but it’s super easy to see through you. 

I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter. I have my ways. But I do expect an apology later and I have the perfect punishment for you. For now though, please rest up and take it easy. I love you. Don’t forget that.”

I gave her a quick hug. 

Even if you’re a pain in the flank, you’re still my precious Sweetie Belle.