The scent of heavily perfumed Saddle Arabian tobacco swirled around the stallion, focusing his mind. He studied the chessboard in front of him, pondering the white pieces standing in their perfect little rows, ready to stand against the onslaught of the black.

His eyes focused on the white knight, the carved eyes staring straight ahead at him. Phillip Finder was here, and he was every bit as sharp as he remembered. The ever-clever stallion had solved his puzzle quite readily.

But what of the others? He studied the white pawns that the knight sheltered behind. It was odd for him to work with others, particularly ponies like them. Distasteful little ponies, so sickeningly full of life. He had to take a huff of his cigarette to calm himself.

He considered the entirety of the chessboard, the pieces on the white side, and his own black assets, ever ready to obey his instructions. In his mind, he considered hundreds of different openings, a thousand counters, which piece would best be placed where. A simple fact crossed his mind: any piece could become a threat, but easily become a liability to its owner. To turn the pawns against his opponent would not be easy, but he would see a way to do it.

However, at the moment, he needed to learn more about his opponent's strategies. And he needed more capital and resources if he was to last the long game that he knew he was entering.

A smile crossed his face. Taking one of the white pawns in the grasp of his golden magic, he advanced it forward two places. Then he took one of his black pawns and advanced it into the white pawn's range. An opening sacrifice to appease his enemy.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

Author's Notes:

An updated chapter as part of my efforts to finalize the series and give them one last run-over for completeness. Hopefully this will entice future readers to continue the series!

Chapter notes

Making Phillip Finder
—Originally, Phillip was going to be more of a pony version of Sherlock Holmes. His original name was in fact Hooflock Holmes or Sherhoof Holmes. However, I scrubbed this as too unoriginal and decided to give him more of a modern noir influence.
—I chose the name Phillip as a nod to Phillip Marlowe, the literary private detective created by Raymond Chandler.
—Phillip originally spoke with an English accent, but I changed it to a Cockney accent, then Australian. His backstory of Sydneigh came from that.
—Phillip's vest came from when I was creating him in Pony Creator. I gave him a vest on a whim, realizing that he would need somewhere to store his gear.
—I briefly envisioned Phillip wearing an akubra, but I decided it was too silly and kept the trilby.
—The idea for Phillip's crime sense came out of a need to explain how he was able to arrive at the crime scene.

Part 1
—This story is loosely based off of The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
—"sheilas": Australian slang, "girls."

Part 2
—Hoo roo: Australian slang, "Good bye."

Part 3
—It occurred to me that crime probably wasn't as big a problem in Equestria as to give Phillip enough business. That spawned the idea of him being a street musician/occasional performer to support his income.
—Joshua Redcolt's Adagio: Adagio by Joshua Redman
—Surely the significance of Phillip living at 221 B is too obvious to mention.
—Phillip playing music when he's thinking is another nod to Sherlock Holmes, who was known for playing the violin when contemplating a difficult problem.
—I'm a detective. That means I solve mysteries. Not mysteries such as, 'what is the purpose of life,' as that falls within the category of philosophic conundrums. I solve practical mysteries: This dialogue parodies the Team Fortress 2 video Meet the Engineer

Part 4
—"name, rank and favorite brand of cereal": reference to name, rank and serial number, which all military prisoners of war are required to give under interrogation.
—I don't know where I got the idea for Phillip to be able to do parkour, but I liked it, so I kept it.

Part 5
—"flathoof": play on flatfoot, an insulting name for a detective.

Part 6
—Central Colt Park West: Central Park West by Avishai Cohen. Central Colt Park is of course a reference to Central Park in NYC.
—Phillip's backstory was based off of Spider-Man's.