//------------------------------// // Act 6: Snooping // Story: Friendship is Failure #19: Write in the Head (Hour long special) // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// ACT SIX “Stone is behind the dreams?” asked Spike. Even he had to admit the evidence was building up, but this was still not complete fact to fully incriminate him. “Your majesty,” Twilight said to Celestia “With your permission, I’d like to do some thorough investigation on Stone Heart.” “You mean spy on him?” asked Starlight. “Um… that’s kind of a tad overboard.” said Applejack “And much as Stone is a bit brash, he did have a point about invasion of privacy.” “…All the more reason to do it.” insisted Twilight “If he is responsible for the nightmares we have to find out how he’s doing it and why, and this may be the best way to do it.” Celestia was forced to agree. “This may be against my good judgment, but I believe you are right Princess Twilight. We cannot leave the citizens of Canterlot to suffer from nasty night sleeps like this. Do what you must, but try and be cautious. There could be some evil force at work that we may know nothing of.” “Wait! What about the rest of us?” asked Pinkie “We’re going too, aren’t we?” Twilight shook her head, “I need to handle this one myself. That way we won’t arouse suspicion. Stone’s pretty mad with all of us as it is…” she paused and looked over at the windows “…And I’m going to find out why once and for all.” Everyone could see there was no talking her out of it, especially after she teleported away. Spike then poked at Starlight and whispered to her. “You and I are following her, aren’t we?” to which Starlight nodded, and even Celestia allowed them to as well. Twilight found Stone on his route, emptying garbage cans into his wagon. She used an invisibility spell to keep from being seen. Stone looked very cross; most likely after the talk he had given Celestia and the rest of the group that day. She also noticed that many ponies were making fun of him as he innocent went along his route. “Look, it’s the wannabe writer.” “He writes one successful story and then he quits like a coward.” “He may not contribute to society, but he sure chose a befitting job.” “Yeah, he’s trash, just like the other stories he tried to write.” “I’m surprised he doesn’t have a wagon full of his failed stories.” Stone ignored them and carried on his work, but some of the ponies decided to throw their garbage on the ground right in front of him. “What’s the matter? We thought you were used to being surrounded by garbage all the time.” “You’re not just going to leave it there, are you? That’s not doing your job.” Stone grudgingly picked up the trash without saying a thing to the nasty ones. Twilight was already outraged at the cruelty being shown, but she didn’t dare do anything about it to stay hidden. “How can they act like this?” she thought “I don’t recall those ponies ever being infected by the nightmares, or ones we interviewed. Was Stone ever mean to them as well?” She continued to follow Stone around; unaware that Starlight and Spike were following her. Starlight used the same invisibility spell on herself and on Spike whom was riding on her back. He began to slide and fall off, but Starlight kept him steady. “Don’t fall off!” she scolded “If you fall out of the field, you’ll be visible again, and try to keep your voice down too.” “Sor-ry!” grumbled Spike “Just don’t lose sight of Twilight.” Stone didn’t bother having lunch that day, and just kept on gathering more and more trash, and then he went to picking up litter in the park. Poor Twilight had to skip lunch too, and her stomach growled a little. Fortunately, Stone couldn’t hear her as he just kept levitating a pointy-stick to gather up trash on the ground and toss it all into his wagon. Starlight and Spike hadn’t eaten either, and while Spike wasn’t starting to feel peckish, starlight was more fascinated by Stone’s efforts, trying to clean up the litter in the huge park alone. Spike thought even the discarded foods looked good enough to eat, and it made his stomach growl loudly. Twilight swore she could hear it, but she couldn’t see anyone else other than Stone, and Pager marching up to him. “Hey, Stone!” he bellowed. Stone sighed softly, “What do you want now?” “Payback, that’s what! You made Princess Twilight yell at me the yesterday and ponies have been making fun of me behind my back!” Stone chuckled, “You caused all that yourself for being a good-for-nothing bully.” He then noticed the bags under his bully’s eyes. “Wow! What’s the matter, Pager; not sleeping well? Is your guilty conscience finally catching up to you?” Twilight and the others sensed trouble was about to happen, and it did when Pager roared and charged at Stone, “You’re going to pay for that you toxic trash-heap! I’m going to send you and your bad attitude to--” he stopped when he slipped on a discarded banana peel, and crashed into wagon, burying his face in a heap of smelly, rotten garbage. Twilight and the others gagged silently. Pager pulled himself out and wiped the sludge from his head and face. “YOU!!” he shouted. “What, you’re going to blame me for that little stumble now too?” grumbled Stone. “You slipped on that peel yourself.” “Yeah, but you just left it there instead of doing your job and picking it up!” protested Pager. Starlight and Spike were outraged. “This guy is nothing more than a low-down, inconsiderate bully.” whispered Starlight. Spike flexed his claws. “I’d like to teach him a lesson.” but he knew he had to stay put. Stone figured he had wasted enough time and went back to work. “Yeah that’s it! Run!!” bellowed Pager “Run like that pathetic, toxic coward you are!” Stone stopped dead in his tracks, “You call me toxic, but its ponies like you that are throwing your trash all around, and I have to pick it up, but you know what… it means I’m contributing to society, by keeping the streets clean for bigoted slobs like you. …But you can’t bother to see that, or you refuse to because to you I’m just a coward and an unworthy pony regardless of what I say or do. You may be a successful writer, Pager, but that doesn’t make you a decent person, and the way you keep assaulting me like this, it’s no wonder Princess Twilight balked at you. You’re just lucky you didn’t get arrested.” Pager felt enraged, but walked off in a huff, but Stone looked back towards him with a nasty expression on his face. “Sleep with one eye open…” he muttered “…You’re in for a night of hurt!” Twilight could read his lips, confirming what she suspected. “He IS the one behind the nightmares… but how does he do it?” She kept on following him, with Spike and Starlight keeping close by, right up to Stone getting off work and returning home at sundown. Stone lived in hillside region of Canterlot, away from the bustling and crowdedness of the main village. The house was a single room of a dugout in the side of a grassy slope. It was nice and quiet here, and Stone didn’t have to be bothered too much by other ponies. “I thought today would never end.” he sighed as he checked his mailbox, and no doubt he got more requests and more offers from other publishers, all of which praised The Strength of Friendship. No surprises, he was annoyed with the offers and tossed them into his own garbage can. “I’ll deal with them in the morning. I got other things to deal with.” Then he went inside, practically slamming the door behind him. Twilight, still invisible, walked right up to the house and looked in through the window. “I can’t believe this!” she groaned to herself, “I’m peeking through someone’s window like a peeping tom.” Starlight and Spike couldn’t believe it either. Twilight then cast another spell and magically transported herself into the house, changing herself into a lined-drawing of herself so she could move along the walls, and hopefully remain out of sight. Starlight did the same thing for herself and Spike, but they both appeared right near Twilight, making her gasp. Stone stopped suddenly where he was, wondering what that faint sound he heard was, but then he brushed off, and he stowed his uniform in his washer, and then went off to have a bath in the far corner of the single-room, hidden behind screen panels where his tub was. While he was busy washing, the trio hid behind a bookshelf. “What are you two doing here?” asked Twilight. “We were asked to keep tabs on you by Celestia.” answered Starlight. Rather than start an argument with her friends, and trusting in Celestia’s orders, Twilight gave in and let them spy around with her. “Let’s look around. Look for anything that might seem suspicious.” she instructed “Stone must be casting the nightmares on all the ponies, and he’s going to give Pager another one, but we have to figure out how.” Spike’s stomach gave a huge growl. “There better be a huge meal in this soon.” So the trio looked around, slinking around the walls and looking all around the house, which didn’t take long because of the single room which made it easy to see all things. There were just bookshelves, a kitchen corner with an icebox, a bed area; quite the house… for one pony living on his own. It really didn’t look like there was much out of the ordinary or anything to indicate anything magical or cursed. Even after Stone got out from his bath, wearing a bathrobe and made himself some simple soup for dinner, there was still nothing to reveal his secret. He sat down in a simple armchair by the fire as he ate his dinner. He looked so gloomy and miserable, and very tired. Then after which, it was already dark out, and he decided to turn in. So he walked over to his bed area grumbling, “No pony has any respect these days. Well, if it’s what they want, then that’s what they’ll get.” “Great, he’s going to bed.” Spike grumbled softly “We may never find how he does it now.” “Wait…” whispered Twilight “He’s setting his alarm clock… …for midnight?” Stone set his clock down. “That should be good and late enough. They’re all bound to be asleep by then.” he snickered wickedly “Pleasant Screams…” and then he turned out the light and went to sleep. “He’s going to wake up at midnight.” whispered Starlight “That must be when he’s going to make his move.” “Of course…” remarked Twilight “At that hour, practically every pony everywhere would be asleep.” Spike let out a huge yawn, and his stomach gave a large growl. “So we have to sit here, with empty stomachs and baggy-eyes waiting for him to make his move?” The ladies nodded at him. “I was afraid of that.”