Ponyville Mysteries Issue 1

My Little Pony: Ponyville Mysteries #1 is the first issue of IDW Publishing's My Little Pony: Ponyville Mysteries comic miniseries. In the issue, the Cutie Mark Crusaders help Nurse Redheart figure out who is stealing supplies from Ponyville Hospital.

Summary
The issue begins with the Cutie Mark Crusaders volunteering as nursing assistants at Ponyville Hospital, eager to take a break from their usual mystery-solving adventures. However, they are suddenly drawn to a commotion involving Nurse Redheart; Nurse Neightingale angrily chews her out for not securing the supply closet after the third occurrence in a string of hospital thefts.

As the Crusaders eavesdrop on Redheart and Neightingale, the hospital janitor loudly scolds them for being nosy. The Crusaders approach Nurse Redheart as she despairs over the possibility of losing her job because of the thefts. The fillies offer to help her figure out who has been stealing supplies, and while Redheart is hesitant about involving hospital volunteers, she accepts out of desperation.

In the supply closet, Redheart explains to the Crusaders that the thefts started happening two weeks prior, the only things stolen were soft objects like bandages and towels, and that the only ponies with keys to the closet are herself, Nurse Neightingale, and the hospital janitor Distemper. The Crusaders suspect Distemper, but Redheart says he has been with the hospital for a long time and would never risk his job by stealing. The only other clues the Crusaders find are feathers on the floor and a nearby window that not even a foal could fit through.

The Crusaders go to talk to Distemper, and he once again scolds them for snooping around the hospital rooms. When they try to ask him about the recent thefts, he refuses to talk and goes about his daily job, so the Crusaders follow him around all day. At one point, he stops to help a hospital patient whose leg bandages came loose with an extra roll of bandages he has in his supply cart. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo deduce that Distemper is the supply thief because he is the only other hospital employee with closet keys, he refuses to cooperate in the Crusaders' investigation, and he is carrying around bandages—one of the items that were stolen. Despite Sweetie Belle's doubts about this conclusion, they decide to inform Nurse Neightingale.

After the Crusaders report their findings to Neightingale, she decides to suspend Distemper until further investigation is conducted, and the Crusaders happily inform Redheart that the thief has been caught. Unfortunately, another theft takes place by the following day, and Redheart tells the Crusaders that she has also been suspended under suspicion of involvement. The Crusaders assure her that they will continue their investigation after making a delivery from Carousel Boutique to Fluttershy's animal sanctuary.

At the Sweet Feather Sanctuary, the Crusaders deliver a cart of scrap materials, and Fluttershy explains that the Equestrian social weavers are using it to build their nests for nesting season. When she also mentions that the weavers only soft material for their nests, Sweetie Belle makes a shocking realization. She leads Apple Bloom and Scootaloo back to the hospital and points to the small window near the supply closet. Remembering that the window is too small for a pony to fit through and what Fluttershy said about the social weavers only using soft materials for their nests, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo come to the same conclusion.

Later that day, using the Twinkling Balloon, the Crusaders take Redheart, Neightingale, and Distemper up to the animal sanctuary's tallest tree and reveal that the social weavers have been stealing the hospital's supplies to build their nests. In the face of this revelation, Neightingale apologizes to Redheart and Distemper for wrongfully suspending them. However, she tells Distemper not to treat patients without medical training and considers recommending him for nursing school. The Crusaders also apologize to Distemper for casting suspicion on him in the first place.

Back at their clubhouse, the Crusaders realize they are good at solving mysteries and decide to officially establish their own detective agency. Overhearing this, Jeff Letrotski and Walter burst in with a new mystery for them to solve.

Quotes

 * Sweetie Belle: I'm glad we've become friends with Lilymoon since her family moved in. But with all the weird things that we've been dealing with, a break from mysteries will be nice.


 * Nurse Neightingale: This is your responsibility, Nurse Redheart. If you can't prevent these thefts, then maybe I need to find somepony who can!
 * Nurse Redheart: Yes, Nurse Neightingale!


 * Scootaloo: Poor Nurse Redheart!
 * Sweetie Belle: I know! I hate to see her getting yelled at like that.
 * Distemper: Then maybe you shouldn't eavesdrop on other ponies' conversations!


 * Nurse Redheart: I guess if I can't trust Ponyville's most helpful ponies, than [sic] who can I trust?


 * Distemper: Do you know what I find suspicious? Ponies who snoop around other ponies' hospital rooms!


 * Nurse Neightingale: I hate to think that somepony who has been so loyal for so long could be stealing. I am especially concerned to hear that he's been giving patients medical treatment when he does not have the proper training! He could cause further injury!


 * Sweetie Belle: That's how our thief got into the closet!
 * Apple Bloom: How's that possible?
 * Scootaloo: Yeah! We already determined that a pony could never fit in there.
 * Apple Bloom: Plus, it's so high up!
 * Sweetie Belle: You're right. A pony couldn't fit in there, but what about—
 * Apple Bloom and Scootaloo: Ohhh.
 * Sweetie Belle: Aaaaand they finally got it.


 * Nurse Neightingale: You are my two most loyal employees. And yet I was so quick to believe the worst about both of you. Can you ever forgive me?
 * Nurse Redheart: Of course!
 * Distemper: Absolutely!


 * Sweetie Belle: Are you thinking what I am?
 * Apple Bloom: That we should officially start—
 * Cutie Mark Crusaders: The Cutie Mark Crusaders Super Sleuth Clubhouse!


 * Jeff Letrotski: So it's true that you solve mysteries? If so, we've got a crazy one for you!