"Look out!" said Zipp as she rode on a skateboard.

The girl flipped over a railing as a parent pulled his daughter back to avoid getting in the teen's way.

"My bad!" exclaimed Zipp as she turned the corner.

She peered out of the corner of her eye as on her tail was someone else. The person was Mario as he leaped with his skateboard and began to grind on a bench before grabbing the lampost to change his direction. The boy was now side by side with the girl as they smiled.

"Not bad, Zippster. But watch this," said Mario as he pulled ahead of the girl and began to weave in and out of some cones on the sidewalk before doing a kickflip and landing perfectly.

"Show off!" shouted Zipp with a smile as she caught up.

"Hurry up, y'all!" yelled Mario as he turned to the rest of their friends behind them.

"Roll, pick up the speed!" said Sunny as she and the girl were on rollerblades.

"Shouldn't you tell Hitch that?" responded the girl.

Roll and Sunny skidded around a corner with their left arm out to allow them to spread out their weight while turning a tight corner before picking up speed to catch up with the duo in front. Behind them were Hitch, Izzy, and Pipp, as the trio was on scooters that Izzy gave them. All seven friends were currently in the park as they were going for a ride. They were approaching a ramp as Mario and Zipp launched off simultaneously. They landed as both chuckled and quickly came to a halt.

"You got some wicked skills, Mario."

"Right back at you."

Soon Roll and Sunny leaped off the ramp and skidded to a halt as they kicked up some dirt as Mario and Zipp looked away to avoid getting it in their eyes.

"What a rush. Now I know why you like to rollerblade, Sunny," said Roll as she removed her helmet and shook her hair.

The last of their friends rolled up as, apart from Izzy, they were a bit exhausted.

"Did you... have to go that fast? I think my hair got messed up," said Pipp as she pulled out her mirror to look at her reflection.

"Calm down, sis. Your hair is still fine. Right, Mario?" said the girl as she elbowed the boy her sister had a crush on.

"Funny," responded the boy sarcastically.

"Not that I want to be that guy, but shouldn't we start heading back? Curfew is about to take hold," stated Hitch, as he didn't want to violate the rules.

"Hitch is right. Me and Mario just got off being suspended; I am not going to take another chance," said Roll as she and Sunny began to put their helmets on.

"Follow me. I know the way," stated Izzy as she took off on her scooter.

"You sure, Iz?" asked Mario as the others all began to follow her on their respective rides.

"Oh, yeah, it's this way. I think," said the girl as she led the group in the opposite direction.

After a few, okay, a lot of misturns and misdirections from Izzy, the group made it back to school just in time to avoid breaking curfew. The pair split up as they prepared to head to bed.

"Oh no! This isn't right! Now what am I supposed to do?" said Hitch. The boy was trying to practice making the recipe he had to perform for their Home EC class tomorrow.

"What's the matter, Hitch?" asked Sunny as she made her way to her friend before she lowered the stove's heat.

The two childhood friends were in the girl's dorm kitchen as she knew that Hitch wasn't the most skilled in cooking. Compared to her, she offered to help him practice the recipe their Home EC teacher asked the students to make for class on Monday.

"Sunny, I think I messed up. I might have accidentally made this food much sweeter than I wanted..." said the boy as he tried to recreate the food he had to perform for tomorrow's class.

"Really? Let me taste it," said the girl as she grabbed a spoon and took a bite of the pot's substances. "Hmm, yeah, a little sweet. What if we try adding a few spices?"

Sunny then added some seasonings from the table to the food. She tossed the seasonings into the air before adding them in. She stirred quickly before lifting the spoon and offering it to her friend.

"Huh? Wow! This is delicious!" said Hitch at how Sunny could turn his cooking mishap into something tasty with just a few seasonings. "You're still an amazing cook, Sunny!"

"Helping out my father in the kitchen comes with perks," smiled the girl.

"No wonder you always work so hard. I might learn something if I watch you cook!"

"Heh, no promises," said the girl as she tasted the food Hitch was making. The girl enjoyed it as she licked her lips. "Don't worry, you're gonna be fine tomorrow. Mrs. Sugar Belle won't fail you if you do your best."

"That's hoping I won't forget to overcook an egg," said Hitch.

"Just have faith, Hitch. Like I always do in you," said the girl, placing her hand over her friend's to show her support for him.

Hitch looked at his childhood friend as Sunny's warm smile brightened his mood. He noticed some of the food he was making on the girl's lip and brought his hand up to wipe some of it off. The pair smiled as it brought them memories of when they were little.

"Come on, everyone is waiting for us," said the girl.

The pair soon made their way back to her room; inside were Pipp, Roll, Mario, and Izzy, as they had all gathered in the girl's place to watch a movie.

"It lives... My monster lives!" said the mad scientist as the teens watched the film.

Everyone, apart from Mario, was all scared. Well, the boy couldn't really react as all he was experiencing was pain. Pipp held his arm tightly as he could feel her nails digging into his skin.

"Pipp!" grunted the boy, trying to get the girl to release her hold.

Izzy was popping a kernel into her mouth as the lightning from the flash when the sound to Sunny's door burst open, and there stood Zipp with a pissed-off look.

"It's Frankenstien's monster!" exclaimed Hitch.

They all took cover as Mario fell to the floor, with Pipp releasing her hold. The boy lifted his head as he felt his shirt being grabbed. Zipp was staring at him directly as her glare intensified. Everyone peeked out from their hiding spot to see Zipp tightly grabbing the boy.

"I'm only gonna say this once! Who took my sunglasses?!" demanded the girl as she yelled in Mario's face.

"Why are you looking at me?" responded the boy as Zipp didn't once take her eyes off him.

"Everyone follow me!" shouted Zipp.

Within a few minutes, the group found themselves in Zipp's room. As if they were being treated like criminals, Zipp had each of her friends hold up a board with their names and numbers on them, taking some mug shots. Which Pipp and Izzy didn't take seriously. They soon came to the girl's room as tons of papers all spread about the room.

"Love what you've done with the place, sis," responded Pipp hesitantly.

"This place is a mess!" exclaimed Roll.

The girl turned with a glare as she kicked a wall. It seemed to react to it as it retracted some shelves and then flipped over to reveal a board full of pictures and strings that were all connected, like some crime scene investigation.

"Whoa. That's intense," said Sunny.

"When did you become a detective, rich girl?" said Mario.

"Let's start with our first person of interest. What do you say, Hitch?"

"Huh?" said the boy.

"Remember the RV incident at the beach? After we got out and hit the sand? You remember what you said?" stated Zipp as it flashed a bit to show what she was referring to.

Zipp, Izzy, and Hitch were walking along the beach. In the background, Izzy was shown with some measuring tape, holding it up against the girl's face.

"Another bright, glorious day. Too bad I left my sunglasses back at the station. I'll just steal yours, Zipp!" said the boy in a burst of evil laughter as he took the girl's sunglasses and put them on.

"Objection! That is not what I said!" exclaimed Hitch as he defended himself. "Here's what I said!"

The memory reappeared.

"Another bright, glorious day. Sure wish I hadn't left my sunnies back at my dorm room."

"You see!" said the boy as he recalled his tale.

"Okay, okay. What about you, Pipp?!" said the girl to her little sister, who looked up from her phone and rolled her eyes as her sister circled them, "I get it. We're sisters, Pipp. And you borrowed something without asking. Just give 'em back, and we'll forget it ever happened."

"Why would I take your sunglasses, Zipp? They're so not my style," responded Pipp.

"Need I remind you of when you tried to apply to Mane Melody for your internship? Huh!"

"I borrowed your sunglasses one time! In an e-mer-gen-cy! But why would I steal them? I have plenty of my own." expressed the girl.

"Alright then, you two..."

"Don't even think about it!" yelled Mario as he gave a look to Zipp if she even thought about accusing him or Roll of stealing her stuff.

"Well, uh... w-what about you, Sunny?" stuttered Zipp as she moved to her next accused suspect. Sunny just glared at her friend. "I'm sure you-"

Sunny cutoff Zipp as she flicked her hands to reveal some red sunglasses that were her own. She put them on like a boss and sipped on a smoothie as she let her slurp do all the talk while looking cool, calm, and collected at Zipp through her killer shades.

"Uh... Right," chuckled Zipp nervously as she moved on. She returned to her board, looked at it, and eliminated suspects. "That only leaves... Izzy" She then gasped as she recalled something, "Of course! All... that... measuring... Making sure that my sunglasses would fit you! Before you stole them!"

The girl now turned back to her friend and stared her down. The others were also looking at her. Izzy was sweating as all eyes were on her.

"Noooo..." said Izzy as she laughed nervously, "Zipp, see, I mean... The thing, actually... uh... DISTRACTION!"

The girl yelled that word as she flung a stack of papers that was nearby into Zipp's face to blind her field of vision temporarily. Zipp felt the papers stick to her face as Izzy took off. The athlete saw the girl booking it out of her room as she went after her. Izzy was running down the hall, and the stairs as Zipp slid down the rail to catch up and cut her off as she stood before the door. Izzy skidded to a halt before changing direction, and Zipp continued after her. The others watched from the upper floor as they saw Zipp chasing Izzy about the dorm's common room.

"You can't run forever, Izzy! We live in the same dorm building!" expressed Zipp. "Izzy, stop!"

The girl flung a blanket on one of the couches in the living room as Zipp crashed into it from chasing the girl. Zipp tumbled and struggled to get the cover off as it allowed Izzy some breathing room to gain some distance. Zipp peeked her head out and glared as she saw Izzy disappear behind the corner upstairs.

The girl rushed past the others watching and went to her room; she flung the door open and didn't close it. She quickly reached her workstation and rapidly waved her arms about as she tried to assemble something. At that moment, Zipp was shown as she cornered her friend.

"End of the line, Iz! Nowhere left to run!" declared Zipp, strapping her Duel Disk on and slotting in her deck as she was ready to fight, "Now, we can do this the easy way or the—"

"Here you go, Zipp! I hope you like it!" said Izzy as she presented a present to the girl.

"Buh... For me?" questioned the girl as she looked at her smiling friend. Zipp then took the lid off the gift and gasped as what was inside shined in a gold light.

Inside was a vizor, as Zipp put it on. The device came online and scanned the entire room. Zipp liked the device as her vizor changed modes while looking at Izzy and seeing her heat signature and a skeleton.

"Whoa...! Incredible!" exclaimed the girl as she enjoyed her new toy.

"I didn't take your sunglasses, Zipp. I swear. I was taking your measurements so I could make these for you. I know you like solving mysteries and pretending to be a detective, so I thought of making you this. Everybody knows that any good detective has super fancy gadgets." said the girl as Zipp took off her vizor to look at her friend.

"Isn't that more of a spy than a detective?" said Mario as everybody else was peeking their heads into the room.

"Oh! Thanks, Izzy!" said Zipp as she hugged her friend before rushing out of her room and beginning to play with her brand-new vizors.

Zipp was running about the dorm building, using all the cool features Izzy had installed. The others watched the girl zipping about the building, laughing and smiling like a little kid. She looked at the cabins and the X-ray feature to see what was inside. She approached a basket of apples and lifted one to scan as her X-rays revealed a worm inside.

"Ewww, gross," said the girl as she put the apple back and was disgusted.

Zipp was now on her bed as she was looking about. The others smiled at her, glad to see their friend enjoying herself.

"Best gift ever, Izzy! I love them!" said Zipp, still wearing the vizor. "Whoa!" The girl slipped as a piece of paper was stuck to her foot, and she lost her balance. The teen fell onto her bed as the others were concerned. A cracking sound was heard as Zipp lifted her head with the vizor hanging off; she turned to see where her elbow had landed as she felt something. The girl lifted her pillow; the cracking sound turned out to be her sunglasses as they broke when she landed on them.

"Guess I found them. Sorry," chuckled Zipp nervously while lifting her broken shades.

"I can fix those!" proclaimed Izzy with a smile as she left for her room to get her supplies.

"Ugh!" scoffed Pipp as she began to leave.

"Amateur," said Hitch as he was heading to his room.

"You've gotta be kidding me," said Sunny as she returned to her dorm building.

"Thanks for wasting our time!" shouted Roll.

"Uh, b-but that was fun, right? Right?" said Zipp to her friends, who were upset with her.

"Next time you want to play detective, rich girl. Make sure you got a case you can solve!" yelled Mario as he stormed out.

"M-Mario! Sunny! Guys? Come on, I'm sorry!" said the girl, trying to apologize only to groan and flop onto her bed. She was going to get an earful from them tomorrow at school.

"Mario, please! I said I'm sorry!" stated Zipp as she walked beside the boy.

The girl tried apologizing for what she did by gathering her friends up and accusing them of theft.

"Come on, please!"

"I don't want to hear it, rich girl!" said the boy as he put his hands in his pockets.

The pair turned the corner when they saw a massive crowd gathered. The sea of students was gathered around the music room as Vice-Principal Luna tried to defuse the chatter.

"Please, students. Remain calm. For now, go to your classes. Until further notice, all music classes and extracurriculars will be postponed." stated the woman.

"What are we going to do?" asked Sunny to Roll as the pair were at the back of the crowd.

"Hmm," said Sunny as she began to think.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

"Oh, Mario, Zipp," said the girl as she turned and saw the pair approaching them.

"So what's the dealio?" asked Zipp.

"Well, there seems to be some issue until Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna figure it out. Anything music related is canceled," explained Sunny.

"What issue?" asked Mario.

"Well, it all started..." said Roll as she explained what happened.

(Earlier)

Octavia was teaching her class as they rehearsed the song they had been learning the past few days.

"Alright, class. It's time to start the rehearsal. And begin." said the woman as she tapped her conductor's baton on the music stand to make a sound.

That was the cue to the students as they all lifted their flutes to their mouths and began to blow on them to play the notes in front of them. However, the flutes were slightly off as off-key notes rang out. The music professor cringed at hearing the bad noise.

"Okay, okay! That's enough!" shouted Octavia as she got everyone to stop playing. "Very funny. Perhaps we can play the notes the composer intended us to play."

The woman tapped her baton on her stand to reset everyone. She commanded to start and moved her arms about to conduct as the kids lifted their flutes to their mouths and blew. However, the same thing happened again as off-note keys rang throughout the room. Octavia cringed as she covered her eyes and shouted.

"Stop!" said the woman as the students stopped playing. "Is this some kind of joke you kids are playing?"

"No, Ms. Octavia," said a student.

"Wait a minute. My flute has too many holes," said Sunny as she showed extra holes in her instrument.

"What?" said Octavia.

"My flute has seven holes," stated Posey as she looked at hers.

"I have eight," stated Delhia.

"Mine has nine!" stated Roll, looking at hers.

"It's almost as if someone has sabotaged the flutes," said Sunny.

"But that's impossible. I lock them in the cupboard every night. Who could have done such a thing?" said the music teacher.

(End of Flashback)

"Sabotage?" said Zipp.

"Well, I can't confirm that. But how else do you explain the flutes having more holes than usual?" said Sunny.

"This is serious mysterious," mumbled Mario to himself.

"That is strange," said Hitch as he appeared. "Sounds like a mystery."

"Mystery, ehh?" said Zipp as a smile formed.

"What are you thinking, rich girl?" said Mario as Zipp took off her backpack and revealed her vizor.

"You carry that thing around with you?" asked Hitch as he was amazed that Zipp had Izzy's gift in her bag.

"Looks like this is a job for Detective Zipp," said the girl.

"How many mystery novels have you been reading?" asked Mario.

"Come on, this my chance to redeem myself for... you know..."

"Accusing us!" said the others, glaring at their athletic friend for yesterday.

"Alright, I get it. I'm sorry. Can we please drop it and figure out this mystery?" said Zipp.

"Well, as much as we would like to help. We have some things to take care of," said Sunny.

"Good luck," stated Roll as she walked away with her smart friend.

"Alright, then. Three can work."

"What do you mean, three?" asked Mario.

"Duh, I'm talking about you two!"

"Us!" said the boys in unison.

"I can't solve this case by myself. I need some help. Besides, every good detective needs assistants." stated Zipp.

"Assistants?!" said both boys.

"Glad we agree," said Zipp as she pulled out her phone and began to record the case details. "New entry: The Case of the Off Key Flutes. Detective Zipp and Junior detectives..."

"Hold on. I will not be labeled as a junior detective," said Hitch.

"Fine, then what do you want to be called?" asked Zipp to the boy for interrupting her moment.

"How about... Sheriff?"

"Sheriff? This isn't the wild west, cowboy," stated Zipp.

"Sheriff Hitch. Gotta admit, it's a nice ring to it," said Mario as he backed up his friend.

"Fine, whatever... Sheriff," said Zipp as she turned back to her phone. "As I was saying. Detective Zipp, Sheriff Hitch, and Junior..."

"Oh no! There is no way I'm playing sidekick. Especially your sidekick!" said Mario as he pointed to the girl.

"God damn it!" grunted Zipp as she face-palmed how difficult the boys were making her first real case difficult. "Fine! What do you want to be called?! Obviously... everyone wants a cool nickname. So tell me, what do you want?" shouted the girl as she was about to pop a vessel.

The boy began to think as he tried to think of a cool title and not play second fiddle to the girl. Something to show that he had a similar title to Zipp and Hitch.

"Just... call me Inspector."

"Inspector Mario? Ooh, now that's a good one, bud," said Hitch as he admitted Mario's title was a bit better than his.

"Alright, Inspector. Now can we please solve this case!" said Zipp as she turned and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "The case of the flutes starts now," groaned the girl as she closed her phone.

The trio were in the music room as they talked with Octavia about what happened. She told them about what Sunny had informed them that the flutes all had extra holes and were causing them to sound bad. But the strange thing was how they could have gotten the extra holes when locked away.

"This is where I store them. It's all yours, kids," said Octavia as she handed the key to the cupboard to Mario.

"Thanks, Ms. Octavia."

"Hope you kids have luck," said the woman as she left the room for the teens to begin their investigation.

"So, what's the call?" asked Hitch.

"I think it's best to start by looking at the cupboard," said Mario.

"Already on it," said Zipp as she lifted a magnifying glass to the cupboard and looked through it. "Nothing, no prints."

"The lock seems to be intact," said Hitch.

"Maybe we should look inside," stated Mario.

Zipp put on her vizor and began to use its functions to take a closer look through its X-ray lens. She looked about the cabinet and found nothing unusual until a huge hole appeared.

"Okay, that's odd."

"What do you see?" asked Hitch.

"Some kind of... hole in the wall," said the girl, who couldn't describe it from the X-rays.

"Let's take a peek," said Mario as he tossed the key up and down before inserting it into the keyhole and opening the cabinet.

The boy opened the doors with Hitch and Zipp looking over his shoulder to also see. They scanned about the slightly dark cabinet.

"Nothing ususal... wait. There it is."

"Yup, that's a giant hole. It seems bigger than a grapefruit," said Hitch as he could indicate that whatever made the hole was larger than that.

"Zipp, mind if I use your magnifying glass?" asked Mario as the girl gave it to him. He lifted it up to the hole as he looked through the lens and noticed something. "Look. It looks like this hole has been chewed." stated the teen as he showed off the bite marks in the wood.

"Hmm. Whatever made the hole must have some pretty solid teeth," stated Zipp as she lifted her vizor up.

"So, something big chewed through that wall? Uh, you sure we should be messing with whatever this is," stated Hitch, feeling a bit scared.

"Don't panic, sheriff," chuckled Zipp for making her friend a bit jumpy. "It has to be pretty small to fit through that hole."

"Hold on. These extra holes aren't holes but more like punctures," said Mario as he held one of the wooden flutes through the magnifying glass. "Punctures from teeth and by the looks of it... the same teeth that made the hole in the cupboard. This is our first clue."

Zipp pulled out her phone and took a picture of the hole.

"Hold on. It ate the flutes, too?" said Hitch as he held on and looked at it.

"Looks like it. You two go look for clues outside, and I'll inspect in here," stated Mario.

"So, we're looking for an animal that chews wood?" clarified Zipp as she and Hitch began to walk.

"Let's hope that's all it likes to eat," responded Hitch as they left.

While Mario was searching for any more clues inside the music room, Hitch and Zipp were outside where the cabinet was connected as they were looking about the ground for anything. However, the pair weren't finding anything.

"I hate to say it, but I think this a lost cause. Think about it, thousands of little animals could've strolled into the school and chewed on the flutes. How can we find the right one?" asked Hitch as he sat against the wall. "For all we know, it could be a bird in that big nest up there!"

Hitch pointed to a nearby tree with a nest resting on top of the tree.

"We're not looking for a bird, Hitch. We're looking for an animal with teeth," stated Zipp.

At that moment, a sound was made. As if a branch broke off. Zipp turned to the tree that Hitch pointed out earlier as leaves began to fall. As for the boy, he was a bit spooked by the sudden noise that he took cover behind the corner of the wall.

"What happened? Are you two okay?" asked Mario as he called from the window.

"We're fine. Well... one of us is," snickered Zipp as Hitch glared before coming out. "We heard the animal."

"Yeah, it sounded huge," stated Hitch, based on the sound the pair heard.

"That doesn't make any sense," responded Mario with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe we should look somewhere else," suggested Hitch as Zipp approached him and noticed something.

"What's that?" asked the girl as she looked down at Hitch's feet.

The boys also looked as there appeared to be some rocks. Mario bent down to grab some of the small rocks with his hand and looked at them.

"Hmm. Course salt," said the teen.

Hitch and Zipp attempted to look at the mineral in Mario's hand as they bumped heads.

"Ow," said the pair as they rubbed themselves.

The girl then pulled out her phone and took a picture of the salt in Mario's hand.

"What's salt doing out here?" asked Hitch as he looked at some of the stuff in his hand.

"Good question, Hitch. But this is our second clue," stated Mario.

"Let's talk to Ms. Octavia. Maybe she can explain," said Zipp as all three teens got up from bending down and prepared to find the music professor.

"Do you know where this salt might have come from?" asked Mario.

"Well, I do keep some salt in the cupboard," said the woman as she got up, approached the cupboard, and opened it. "It absorbs the humanity." Octavia reached in and pulled out a pot. "See... hey! This pot was full last night."

All three teens look at the empty jar.

"So this animal likes wood salted?" stated Zipp.

"But if it likes wood, why did it eat the fruits and not the baton?" added Hitch. "Isn't that wood as well?"

"Maybe it doesn't taste as good."

"That's an interesting theory, Zipp," said Mario as he approached the cabinet and pulled out the baton. "Ms. Octavia, do you know what kind of wood this is?" asked the boy as he held the thing.

"Actually, that's not wood," said the woman, grabbing it from the boy's hand and waving it like a conductor. "The baton is made from fiberglass. But the flutes... well, I don't know what they're made of. But I might know someone who might."

The teens were walking in the hallway, heading toward the person Octavia said might help them. They stopped before a door as the words: Principal were written on the name tag next to it. Sate to say, this was not how Hitch or Zipp envisioned them going to the principal's office. Mario took a deep breath as he placed his hand on the handle and turned it.

"Um, Principal Celestia?" said Hitch as he attempted to get the woman's attention.

"Ah, Mario, Hitch, and Ms. Zipp. Ms. Octavia said you would be stopping by," stated Celestia as she turned around to face the teens. "Now then, what can I do for you? I hope it doesn't pertain to you being in... trouble, now?"

"No, trouble, ma'am. Honest. We were just wondering about something and hoping you could help us." said Hitch.

"What can I do?" asked Celestia as she put the piece of paper in her hand on her desk.

"We wanted to know what material is used to make the flutes," Zipp asked.

"That's a rather odd question to ask," responded Celestia.

"It's for our investigation," said Mario.

"You really want to know?"

"Yes, please," responded the teens to their principal.

Celestia sighed.

"Very well. They're not actually made from wood. The person who supplies us with them says they make them from deer antlers."

"Deer antlers?" said the teens.

"It's rather harmless, actually. He uses deer antlers that are shed."

"Wait, deer can shed their antlers?" said Zipp, unaware that was possible.

"If I recall correctly, the timing of antler dropping varies, but on average, some males shed their antlers in late winter and early spring. Once a deer sheds their antlers, new ones grow immediately."

"You are correct, Hitch. I'm impressed with your knowledge of animals," said Celestia with a smile.

"Wow! I find that hard to believe," said Zipp.

"In fact, using deer antlers has been a long tradition throughout history. They give the flute a unique subtle sound."

"Thanks, Principal Celestia. I think you've given us our third clue," said Mario.

"So, what now?" asked Zipp.

"Let's review what we know. Come on," said Mario.

"And where are we going?" asked Hitch.

"Where else but to solve this mystery? The science lab."

The three teens were now in the science lab as they were looking to review the clues they obtained to see if they could solve this mystery. They were all gathered at a computer as Mario sat in the middle and typed on the keyboard with Zipp's phone plugged in as the images she took appeared for them to review.

"Let's look at our first clue," stated Mario as it enhanced.

"Our first clue is the hole in the cupboard," said Zipp.

"Which proves that whatever animal broke, it likes to eat wood," continued Hitch.

"And because of the size of the hole in the cupboard, we know it's not a big animal," responded the girl.

"We also know it took all the salt out of the pot. Remember," said Mario as he touched the screen to pull up the second photo of the empty jar. "Ms. Octavia said it was full."

"Right. The salt was our second clue."

"But there are probably lots of animals that like salt and chew on things," said Hitch. "We still don't know anything specific about this one."

"You're right. That's why the third clue is so interesting," said Mario.

"Principal Celestia said that the person who makes the flutes uses deer antlers," said Zipp.

"Deer antlers are made from bone," stated Mario.

"So... deer antlers and salt make a tasty meal?" wondered Hitch as all three were confused.

"I wonder," said Mario as he began typing away on the keyboard and searching for something.

"Huh?" said Zipp as she looked at the boy.

The sound of the keyboard keys being pressed was heard.

"Interesting," said Mario with a smile as he found what he was researching. "Fascinating!"

"Uh, we'd like to share in the joy too," said Hitch as he and Zipp didn't know what Mario was getting excited about.

"Wow! I never knew that!" shouted the boy.

"Hello, earth to Mario!" said Zipp, trying to get the boy's attention to tell her and Hitch what he learned.

"I'll tell you both later. Come on, let's go find Ms. Octavia," said the teen as he got up and began to walk.

Hitch and Zipp just looked and shrugged at each other before following their friend.

The music teacher was in her office going through some paperwork. When she heard some knocking, Octavia was looking to put in a new order to get some flutes.

"Come in."

The door opened as in came the trio of teen detectives.

"Ah, you three. So, did you kids solve the mystery?"

"Uh..." said Hitch and Zipp, unsure how to answer that.

"Yup, I think we found the solution," said Mario.

"We did?" said the two.

"Come outside."

The duo and Octavia began to follow Mario outside. He began to lead them to where the hole was shown from the outside. Just then, Hitch noticed something as the tree he pointed to earlier with the big nest seemed to stir.

"Uh, is it just me, or is that nest moving," said the boy.

Everyone looked up as the nest was shaking. Soon it stood up as it was revealed not to be a nest but an animal. The animal let out a yawn sound before turning around in its place and going back to sleep.

"This is perfect. This is just what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What?" said the teens and music teacher.

"That's the culprit, right there," said Mario as he pointed.

"The culprit? That tiny animal?" said Octavia.

"Wait, so I was right earlier? Yes! Score one for Sheriff Hitch. Hold on, isn't that a porcupine?" asked the boy as he noticed the quills on its body.

"Yup. Sometimes porcupines sleep in trees curled up in a ball," responded Mario.

"He's the one that chewed up my flutes?" asked Octavia.

"Yup. Because the flutes are made from deer antlers. He likes the taste of antlers and salt."

"Heh. Mystery solved!" exclaimed Zipp as she crossed her arms.

"Thanks, kids. I'll be sure to let Principal Celestia know."

"Alright, little critter. Time to leave. We don't want any trouble." said Hitch as he approached the tree and looked up at the animal.

"Aw, he's kind of cute," admitted Zipp.

The porcupine yawned before scurrying down the tree as Hitch moved out of the way to avoid its spikes.

"Well, I'd best inform her," stated Octavia as she left the kids.

"So, do I finally redeem myself?" said Zipp.

"I'm still not letting that go," stated Mario as he turned around in his chair.

The trio was in the library going over some practice plays.

"Oh, come on. I... we solved a case. An actual mystery." expressed Zipp, unlike how she accused her friends of something so small that she forgot where she put them.

"She's got a point. Besides, I must admit, it was fun to solve a mystery," said Hitch.

"Can't really disagree with that," responded Mario as he looked at Zipp, who smiled. "Fine, we're even."

"Knew you see things my way," said Zipp as she pulled out her phone to record the final details of the case. "Entry log: The case has reached its conclusion, and thanks to the efforts of Detective Zipp, Sheriff Hitch, and Inspector Mario, the school will make sure no porcupines go looking for a late-night snack."

The boys looked at each other as they shrugged at how Zipp narrated her story.

"Now we just need a cool catchphrase."

"For what?" asked Hitch.

"Something to say when we solve another mystery. Like a phrase or codeword to indicate that we have a case to solve."

"Oh, great," groaned Mario as he felt like this would happen again.

"Any ideas?" asked Zipp.

"How about: This is serious mysterious."

"I like it. That's our slogan," said Zipp to Mario as she recorded that line for later.

The girl finished her recording and put her phone away as she put her hand on the table. Hitch then did the same as Mario was the last to put his hand on the pile.

"All for one," said Zipp as the boys nodded their heads to confirm that statement before breaking.

Author's Note: The mystery of the flutes has been solved, and Zipp has finally redeemed herself from her mishap of accusing her friends for stealing her sunglasses when she misplaced them. I'll admit, I never knew that flutes could be made from deer antlers so researching that fact actually surprised me. Hope you all enjoyed the little detective group between Hitch, Zipp, and Mario as I may or may not do more mysteries like this one in the future.