The pony stepped further into the room, his gray eyes moving in all directions, taking in every detail.

"Um, well, we appreciate you coming so...quickly," Twilight said, struggling to readjust to the situation. "My name is—"

"I know who you all are," Phillip interrupted without looking up from the pile of books on the floor. "In case you haven't noticed, you've all achieved a certain level of fame in this city."

The mares and dragon watched as the pony took a loupe—a pair of glasses with magnifying lenses attached to them—out of one of the pockets in his vest and put them on his nose, then pulled a tape measure out of one of the pockets on his vest and a notebook and pencil out of another. He began measuring distance from books to to the shelves, writing down notes in the book.

Of course, Pinkie couldn't stand by and be a stranger. "Hi!" she declared, bouncing up to Phillip. He stopped what he was doing to face her, but his expression did not change from its neutral state, even when she got right up into his face.

"I'm Pinkie Pie, but you knew that!" Pinkie giggled. "Are you new to Ponyville? You must be, because I don't know you, and I know everypony in Ponyville! So are you new? Are you? When'd you get here?"

"Two months ago," Phillip replied flatly.

Pinkie gave a gasp of shock so great that she jumped right off the ground. "Two months?!" she screeched. "I've been here for years and—ohmygosh! I don't remember throwing you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party! I never had a party for you! I gotta have a party—"

"Not right now," Phillip said, an edge added to his otherwise flat voice. "I've got work to do, in case you haven't noticed."

To everypony's surprise, Pinkie backed off. Phillip returned to his work, examining the pile of books and the floor around them.

"Hold on a minute," Rainbow Dash cut in. "How do we know he's not the one who broke in here? Maybe he's trying to get rid of the evidence. Besides, I saw him watching us earlier."

"He seems to be trying to help," Fluttershy said softly. "Maybe we should give him a chance."

"I agree with Rainbow," Applejack said. "It is a bit suspicious."

Before Twilight could put in her two bits, Phillip, who was now examining the floor with a the loupe, answered. "The reason I'm here is because my crime sense went off when I passed by here, and I heard you talking from outside."

"Crime sense?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"Part of my special talent," Phillip explained without looking up. "Warns me if a crime has been committed nearby."

"Like my Pinkie sense!" Pinkie cried.

Phillip stared at her for a moment before turning back to the others. "And I assure you that I am not the one who broke in here."

"Yeah? Prove it," Rainbow dared, getting into Phillip's face. As with Pinkie, he looked up, but did not show any emotion.

"There were actually two ponies here, both Earth ponies. One of them was in here searching for a book—a new botany book—and the other was outside acting as lookout."

Seven pairs of eyebrows raised in surprise. "I'll know more in a few minutes," Phillip declared. "'Preciate it if you all would keep quiet so I could work."

The group stayed silent and kept their distance, watching as Phillip continued his investigation. He walked around the room, peering at things that were visible only to him through the glasses. He looked at the key in the door, then examined the ground beneath the box where the spare key was stored. Using the tape measure, he examined the depth of tracks on the ground. Then he circled the tree, peered at an open window in the back, then walked across the street to study the ground at the feet of another tree. Occasionally, he'd take another note in his book. The investigation stretched out into long minutes, and the whole time, he never said a word or even acknowledged that he was being watched.

Finally, he nodded, apparently satisfied. "Well?" Rainbow said impatiently.

"Two thieves, both Earth stallions," Phillip stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "One was very heavily built, about three and half feet tall, dark red coat and brown, greasy mane, and has a loose nail on his rear right horseshoe. He was the one who came in here and searched. His partner, the lookout, was a little shorter, very strong, blonde mane with a mustache, has a light complexion—possibly sunburned—and chews black sugar. Oh, and both were probably from Canterlot."

Seven jaws dropped in astonishment.

"That still leaves the question of why they came here in the first place," Phillip said, walking back inside. "Twilight, have you recently gotten a new book on botany from Canterlot?"

It took a moment for Twilight to answer. "Uh, yes. A copy of Lillybud's notes on magical botany."

"Hmm," Phillip grunted. "What'd you do with the book?"

"I took it...up to my room!" Twilight cried, a sudden, horrible thought occurring to her. She hurried up the staircase to her room, dreading what she might find. Phillip followed behind, looking from side to side.

Dashing to her desk, Twilight threw open the drawer and sighed in relief; the manuscript was still where she had placed it, still in its pristine condition. "Here it is," she said, levitating it out to examine it more closely. "But why would they want this particular book?"

"'Cause there was something in it that they wanted," Phillip said from the door. Twilight turned around to see him bending over the floor. He reached down and picked up something that had tucked itself against the doorjamb: a small pearl bracelet. The pearls were perfect, and glittered magnificently in the dying light of the day. Small, carefully cut jewels of all the colors of the rainbow were placed between the pearls, and the string that bound them was made of gold.

Upon seeing the jewelry, Rarity gave an admiring gasp, her face lighting up in awe. "Oh, my! Isn't that the most exquisite collection of jewels that you ever laid eyes on?" she cried.

"And it was in that book," Phillip said, closely examining the jewels. "It's what the thieves were after. You interrupted their search and they bolted, but they'll be back for it." He frowned in thought for a moment. "I think I'd better keep this."

"Now, hold on," Twilight said, raising a hoof to stop him. "Rainbow has a point. We don't know you. How do we know you're not a thief?"

Phillip was silent for a moment, staring back at Twilight with an unreadable expression. Then another, timid voice spoke.

"Um, I think we can trust him," Fluttershy said. "He seems to be trying to help, and he doesn't really have a reason to steal it or to lie to us. If he wanted to take it, he could have just grabbed it."

There was a moment of silence as everypony thought about it, looking from one to another. Everypony's eyes eventually turned to Twilight, who looked at Phillip. Slowly, she nodded. He placed the bracelet into one of his many pockets.

"I'll do some further investigations and let you know when something comes up. In the meantime, keep an eye out." He extended his hoof to Twilight, who shook it. Phillip turned and started to exit, touching the brim of his trilby in salute. "Hoo roo, mates."

"Wait!" Pinkie called after him. He paused in front of the door. "How could you have lived here for two months without me knowing about it?"

"I have a gift for repelling unwanted attention," Phillip said without turning. And with that, he left without another word.

"Well, that was a strange fellow," Applejack said.

"Indeed, he carries an air of mystery about him," Rarity agreed.

"Do you get the feeling that you've seen him somewhere before?" Spike asked. "I mean, before today?"

"I still don't really trust him," Rainbow said, folding her forelegs across her chest as she hovered in midair. "How do we know he didn't just make that all up?"

"Aw, don't worry, everypony!" Pinkie said, smiling broadly. "He's a detective, and he's going to solve the case and catch the thieves, and then I can throw him a big 'Welcome to Ponyville two months late' party!"

But nopony else shared her enthusiasm. The ponies stared up the darkening street at Phillip's retreating figure, the same thoughts in each of their minds.

Author's Notes:

Phillip Finder is a detective of unmatched skill and ability.

So how come nopony in Ponyville knows him? Just who is he?