Chapter Eight - The Reason and the Investigation
“Easy there champ, don't overexert yourself,” Bones chided.
Braeburn groaned, holding a hoof to his head as he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes, as well as to relieve a slight, overbearing, tense sensation in his head. It reminded him of it could be on a long day when he'd overtax himself trying to get work done, feeling worried about getting things done on time.
“Here,” Bones levitated a glass of water over the earth pony, who held it between his hooves, staring at it for a moment before taking sips, “How're you feeling?”
“Noggin' ain't feeling too good, but I think I'm okay,” Braeburn muttered.
The stallion looked about. It was his room, and judging form the light outside it was... morning? He looked over curiously at Bones.
“Uh, am I alright? Did I hit my head on somethin'?” he guessed.
“Well, I'm kinda hoping you can tell me that actually,” Bones said, the corner of his mouth bent up in an uncertain smile, “You scared the light out of your aunt when you wouldn't get up earlier. What's the last thing you remember?”
“Well... I...” Braeburn hold a hoof up to the edge of his muzzle, eyes once again staring down, though this time they seemed to be looking through the pattern of his blanket, “I remember sayin' goodnight to Cinnamon, Chestnut, and the kid. Dusty too, but I think she might have already been asleep. And then I spent a little time stargazin' out the window before I went to bed...”
“Had anything to drink before you went to bed? Or anything to eat that you usually don't?”
“Nah, been too nervous about being anything but sober lately,” Braeburn shook his head, “Don't want to lose Cameo again because I might dare to keep an eye off him for more than a minute.”
Braeburn noticed the nervous frown at the mention of that.
“Oh Celestia, don't tell me he – “
“He's fine,” Bones insisted, laying a comforting hoof on Braeburn, “Seems he though he'd go out an' play hero, tried to uncover some stash used by Scornful's gang. Dusty brought him back though.”
Braeburn heaved a heavy sigh of relief.
“That's good. Thank goodness she did, she's practically becoming that foal's guardian a--” Braeburn paused, “Wait, Dusty. I remember a little bit more with her. Woke me up last night.”
That earned another curious look from Bones, the unicorn leaning forward.
“What happened? She tell you that Cameo was leaving?”
“No. No, I... don't think so...” Braeburn massaged his forehead as he tried to get around the mental block that seemed have been placed in his head, “It was... I'm not totally sure... I... I remember feeling upset at her for some reason. I felt bad about it too.”
“Any idea what about?”
“It was... I... I don't know...” Braeburn tried to go over in his head how it went. She woke him up, he got upset, and then... “I know I wasn't upset because she woke me. It was... Something she had on her mind...”
Bones bit the bottom of his own mouth for a moment, wondering if he should give a suggestion.
“Did she mention anything about leaving?”
For a moment, that didn't seem like the case as Braeburn ruminated on that possibility. The lights went off in Braeburn's eyes though that showed his internal revelation, the cogs turning.
“Yeah, she did actually. I was... hoping she'd stay and help. Mentioned something about how she didn't belong, an'... an'...” Braeburn rested his front on the bed as he brought up his front hooves to rub circles about his temples, “When I asked why she wanted to stay with my family if she was gonna leave she said somethin' about... Needin' somethin'... And then...”
Braeburn blinked a few times as he tried to think about what happened next. Something came to mind but he wasn't sure if it made sense, if it even fit. It just seemed bizarre, and it didn't help that he was having a hard to time remembering.
“She hugged me?” Braeburn guessed aloud, “I think that's what happened.”
Braeburn looked over at Bones, who was at that moment staring down at the floor, his eyes jittering about as though he reading a book.
“That mare...” the doctor murmered.
“What is it, doc?”
Bones glanced up at Braeburn for a moment, registering the query before looking back down, thinking some more before huffing a sigh.
“I've been trying to figure out what exactly her deal is. She's like...” Bones shook his head, as though doing so realigned his train of thought, “I've seen ponies who come from back intense journeys or service who act like her. Especially if they've lost a lot. It's been a while since I've run into one, but... I think I know that look, that attitude.”
“What do ya... How exactly do you mean, doc?”
Bones looked up from his thoughts, regarding the relatively naive stallion.
“Not every pony faces combat and comes back out of it the same way. Yer grandpa was mostly alright, though I reckon he spent plenty of time just shutting off himself. Still, he lived a good life, had your pop among a few other kids. Other ponies though...” Bones stared out the window, “They might survive a battle or war in a physical sense, but mentally – that becomes another issue. Some come back from the war but they still bring a little of the war with them, whether they like it or not. They still hold onto some drive they needed to develop to survive because they just can't let go of it.”
Bones looked back over at Braeburn, pointing at his own head for a moment.
“You get... set in a way. Like someone took a chisel to your head and carved some instructions into your skull so you wouldn't forget them. And for some that means they can never really be at peace – it doesn't help if you don't got a good place to return to when the fight is done.”
Braeburn thought over that for a moment, wondering what he could say to truly acknowledge these sort of words he was hearing.
“Y' reckon Dusty's been through some nasty times then?”
“I can't imagine it being anything but a certainty,” Bones nodded, looking up at the ceiling, “There's that certain stoicism to her. Cameo says she's called herself a soldier. And those words she'll say, 'I need to go,' 'I will survive,' 'I don't belong,' all of that, and, well, when she was talking about this place, that 'it's not her home'.”
A heavy silence hung over the room as those words hung over the two stallions.
“Maybe she needs her home then?” Braeburn guessed.
“That's the thing, I'm not sure she has one to go back to, at least not one that she needs,” Bones dismally noted, “She talks about how she's not going anywhere in particular. There's also how she came in wandering out of the desert. And then she seemed ready to wander back out after getting the stuffing knocked outta her. I practically had to twist her hoof to get her to come back. It's like she wants to put herself into harm's way. Braeburn... I don't think she values her own life.”
It was a terrible thing to consider for Braeburn. It was not as though he hadn't heard of the concept, it was just that it always seemed so distant, impossible. It was hard to imagine a pony being like that.
“Is there anything we can do to help her?”
“Give her a place to stay, and support her best as we can, I reckon. If she'll let ponies do that, that is.”
Another heavy silence stood over the room – though thankfully it was soon quashed by the sound of a knock on the door to the room.
“Doctor Sawbones? Is everything alright in there? Is Braeburn okay?” came Cinnamon's muffled voice.
That got a small smile out of Bones,
“In the meantime, I think you could use a little support yourself,” the doctor said quietly with a wink. Turning to the door, he used his magic to unlock the door, “Sure is Mrs. Cider, come on in and see for yourself.”
Cinnamon Cider came in immediately, with Water Chestnut and Cameo bringing up the rear. Cameo was noticeably looking rather self-conscious of himself, though the glances from Chestnut were likely contributing to that. Cinnamon came up next to Braeburn, smiling at the stallion, holding a hoof up to him.
“How's my favorite nephew doing?” she asked, earning a little smile out of Braeburn himself.
“Tiny bit of a headache it seems, but he's alright otherwise. I reckon he just had some difficulty sleeping,” Bones offered, though in his own thoughts he was still thinking on that. It still seemed like there ought to be something more with his difficulty waking up, but there was no sense in worrying the family even more. As Cinnamon gave Braeburn a hug, a certain colt spoke up.
“Hey Brae, um... glad you're not dead,” Cameo sheepishly offered.
The wording got a slight chuckle out of Braeburn.
“Glad you're not dead either squirt, I heard you wandered off last night,” he replied.
“Yeah...” Cameo scuffed a hoof on the floor at the attention, “I got attacked by more outlaws.”
Braeburn's blood seemed to turn to ice for a moment, with how he reacted, eyes wide, body stiff.
“Y – you what?”
“He went out and almost got himself killed,” Cinnamon harshly rehashed with that certain tone that only disappointed, chiding mothers seemed able to do, “And he's going to be grounded for a very long time for that.”
“Yeah...”
“Well that serves you right, you'd think you'd learn,” Braeburn shook his head, before looking up between Cinnamon and Chestnut, “Thinking of putting him on a leash?”
The corner of Chestnut's mouth turned up in a slight smile, “That ain't a bad idea actually,” he spoke thoughtfully, exaggeratedly stroking his muzzle.
“Hey! You can't do that!” Cameo finally piped up with some excitement, “That's gotta be, like, illegal or something.”
“Well sure I can, I'm your dad. And I think your mother would rest easy knowing you won't be running off on some hair-brained adventure,” Chestnut said as a slight grin spread across face.
It was Cinnamon's turn to laugh, though she was trying to avoid being obvious about it. She held a hoof to her mouth as she tried to contain herself, little fits of giggles escaping.
“Mooom! That's not funny!”
“Sure it's funny,” Braeburn agreed, “Why I think it'd be even better if we gave you one of them collars with the jangly bells on them so they'd know if yer comin' or goin'.”
That got Cinnamon to let loose the laughter, leaning up against the wall as she allowed the mirth to flow out of her. Cameo pouted at this, and tried to dodge as Chestnut tried to muss up his mane.
“Oh thank you, both of you, I really needed that,” Cinnamon smiled, wiping the tears form her eyes before she walked over to Cameo, looking down at her son, “And don't worry Cameo, we won't do that to you. Yet. Just don't be making anymore mischief.”
“I won't...”
Bones, observing this, had a smile all his own.
“Oh, you'll cause your parents a headache some other way, I'm sure, but at least you're trying to learn,” he commented before standing up and heading out the door, “You should be fine, just maybe drink a little more fluids.”
“Thank you doctor,” Cinnamon said with a nod. A silent nod form Chestnut showed his own approval as well.
“No problem,” Bones said before departing the house, leaving the household.
It had been a tough evening and morning, between the search for Dusty, looking over Reed and Whisper, and then the time with Braeburn, but it seemed like he finally had a chance to rest. Maybe just head back to the clinic and take a nap the--
“Bones! I'm glad I found you,” the familiar voice of Silverstar called out down the street.
“No rest for the wicked...” the doctor muttered under his breath before turning to Silverstar, putting on a least a modicum of a more chipper facade, “What can I do for ya' Silver?”
“I need your help with handling River Reed and Whisper Wind. They just woke up and, well, they don't seem right in the head,” Silverstar explained.
Of course they're not, Bones thought exasperatedly to himself.
“They've been saying stuff about seeing some sorta demon who hid in the skape of, well, Mirage.”
That was different though.
“I reckon they were talking about Dusty at the time?” Bones guessed.
“That's what I'm figuring,” the sheriff nodded, though a twist in his expression showed a bit of fury concerning the matter, “Considering what Cinnamon's foal said, and how every pony was found out there, I'm willing to guess they fought Dusty in some capacity, but that demon thing, that don't make sense.”
“Yeah, you're right, that doesn't...” Bones muttered as he moved around to Silverstar's side, following alongside the sheriff', “Your friend, Mirage, you mentioned she had a talent for tricks of light, do you think that maybe that could be something? I mean, it wouldn't be the first time there's been a... similarity between her and Dusty.”
“Maybe, but I'm not so sure about that,” Silverstar shrugged, glancing up at the sky for a moment, “She was good at what she did, but she really never did that well about it at night. And that wouldn't explain some of the claims they are making.”
“Such as?”
“Saying that she tried to steal their souls.”
Bones halted in his tracks a for a moment before catching up.
“That sounds, well, it sounds ridiculous,” he stated.
“I know, right?” Silverstar said, looking Bones' way, “I thought that maybe they were trying to work some angle to worm their way out of jail, but if that is the case it's probably the hairbrained way to do it imaginable. They're insisting they get examined to prove it, though personally I'm just hoping you can find out whatever is making them act so crazy, maybe find a way to shut 'em up.”
Bones took a deep breath, but nodded.
“Well, I suppose it's only proper I do the sheriff department a service.”
“Thanks Bones,” Silverstar said as he looked back ahead, a determined grimace and furrowed brow showing his lack of enthusiasm about the process, “Quite honestly, I think it'll help to just get someone else in there who can deal them other than me.”
“Isn't that what your deputy is for?”
“You'd think that, but honestly I don't feel like Haul Away is ready to handle that. Barely a stallion he is,” Silverstar smirked a little bit out of amusement, “Apparently I still scare the living daylights out him. So if I lose my cool...”
“... He's not gonna be able to get you to hold yourself together.”
“Yep. You though Bones, you got enough sense to know how to reel me back.”
“Well, when you live as long as I do, you realize a few things about ponies.”
“I suppose so. Still it also helps that you don't quite got the same history with Reed I do.”
“Well don't worry, I'll make sure to keep you an honest pony.”
Coming to the jail adjacent to the sheriff's office, Silverstar was the first to enter, the sheriff glancing about inside as he did so. As Bones finally followed in, he was rather enthusiastically greeted from one of the cells.
“Oh thank Celestia! You're the doctor right? Listen, everyone here is in danger!” shouted a familiar looking earth pony, Reed.
“He's telling the truth, that demon mare attacked us!” Whisper insisted.
Bones glanced Whisper's way, briefly noting the lead covering over the unicorn's horn that he had applied himself earlier when the two outlaws had been dragged in here unconscious. It also gave him a moment to notice the twitch in Silverstar's expression, mouth pulling back into a severely unamused frown.
“Easy there fellas, let me examine you first,” Bones said dismissively, before looking Silverstar's way, “Would you be so kind as to open up Reed's cell, sheriff?”
Silverstar wordlessly nodded, producing a keyring from his vest and dexterously handling the right one to open up the cell door in question. As soon as Bones was inside and it was clear Reed wasn't going to make a run for it in that moment, Silverstar turned the key again and locked it. Bones opened one of his medical saddlebags and produced a small wand, levitating it. With a slight manipulation of magic, the wand started to produce a soft light.
“I ain't insane or seein' things,” Reed insisted.
“I'll be the judge of that,” Bones stated before hold the wand close to Reed's eyes, “Please focus on my horn, and try not to blink. Now, did you imbibe anything last night, or eat anything out of the ordinary?”
“I am teetoler, sir,” Reed insisted – a mocking laugh from Silverstar immediately detracted that thought.
“And I'm the raiser of the sun!” the sheriff declared.
“I wasn't drunk!” Reed shouted, turning to the source of discredit.
“Eyes on me, please,” Bones said between gritted teeth, “And total honesty, otherwise I can't speak for your health reliably.”
“Okay, I had one beer. One beer! And I hardly ever drink, it's the truth. And I didn't have anything weird to eat.”
Bones held back the lid of Reed's eyes slightly, noticing some of the red in there.
“Alright, tell me your version of events,” the doctor ordered as he continued his examination.
“We were going after that... mare... and the colt, figuring we'd get a decent ambush in. I noticed what she looked like, like...” Reed glanced out at Silverstar for a moment, “... like how I knew her years ago. And then when I tried to attack her she had the kid head off and then she...”
With his hoof on Reed's pulse, Bones noticed the pick up in rate. He saw the way Reed's eyes contracted further in fear.
“I swear on my mother's grave, she turned into some kinda of demon, like some sorta insectile mockery of an alicorn thing straight outta Tartarus,” he said, shivering slightly, “And then she went after Whisper, and she touched a horn to his and...”
Bones stole a look in Whisper Wind's direction, noticing that he was hunched over, looked afraid as he himself relived the moment in his head. And for some reason, he was rubbing at his head, like he had some sort of headache...
“And what did she do?”
“I – I don't know exactly, but it looked like she was sucking the soul or somethin' out of him.”
“He doesn't appear to be a zombie. Nor do you,” Bones noted.
“That's not – ! Look, I don't know what she did exactly but I know it knocked us both clean out. After Cirrus left she went after me and did whatever she did.”
Bones noticed Reed rubbing a little at his forehead.
“Headache?” the doctor inquired.
“Yeah, ever since I woke up,” Reed nodded, “I'm sure it's from what she did.”
“Or maybe you're just a lyin', hungover, sonnuva – “ Silverstar started, only to swiftly be cut off by Bones.
“A hangover is definitely more likely,” he spoke.
“I told you – !”
“I know what you told me, now hold on and let me finish this examination so I check up on your partner.”
Reed acquiesced to the silence, but it was short lived before he decided to bring up something else.
“She's in town, isn't she?” he nervously asked.
“The mare you assaulted is currently in town, yes, recovering from her own injuries,” Bones noted, trying to keep a dry, clinical tone.
“Knew it... Listen doctor, everyone here is in danger. She might look like a mare but I guarantee that – “
“That's enough outta you,” Silverstar growled threateningly.
“Well ye' better listen up 'sheriff', and listen good – I know you wanna see yer' mare friend in that thing, but I guarantee you there's something more sinister afoot! Whatever she is now, she's gonna do something to drag every pony else down to their graves – nothin' that evil looking has any good intent!”
“I oughtta kill you, you – !”
“Silver!” Bones shouted, looking sternly at the stallion, making sure he wasn't about to explode. He then turned back Reed's way, closing his saddlebags back up, “And you, River Reed, I recommend you keep your mouth shut too. Your observations have been noted.”
Thankful for the quiet, Bones lit up his horn once more to do a sort of arcane, magical scan over Reed's body. He encounter a little bump, for lack of a more appropriate word, while scanning the mind but otherwise didn't detect anything out of the ordinary. After a careful exit from the cell, Bones then went on to Whisper Wind, who thankfully cooperated much more, not making as much noise. Both Bones and Silverstar were thankful to then leave. The two outlaws had finally shut up, but the silence was tentative, doctor and sheriff knew that.
“So, any idea what they might have had to see such a thing?” Silverstar asked as both stood in the street.
“Besides a ton of alcohol? There's a variety of cactus out in the wilderness that can induce intense hallucinations when consumed. They seem too lucid for that though,” Bones pondered.
“So what ya' figure then?” Silverstar asked.
Bones rested his muzzle on a hoof for a moment as he contemplated the idea. There were similarities to other things that were becoming disturbingly linked.
“I'll need to get back to you on that. Maybe... maybe there's some sorta illness going around, but I'll need to check on a few patients of mine to be sure,” Bones then said.
Silverstar looked a little surprised at that, but otherwise simply shrugged.
“If you say so doc.”
Bones waved to the sheriff before turning his attention on a house down the road, the abode of a certain orange pegasus. He smiled pleasantly at the other ponies walking by, but internally was mulling over an unfortunate possibility. Knick Knack... Yesterday, Bones had written off how Knick Knack had been feeling to a hangover. After all, he'd come in for a drink when they first noticed Dusty. Knick Knack hadn't had as much to drink as usual though, something which Bones had attributed to maybe the alcohol he had being a little stronger than usual. However, there was a possibility of... well, a demon wandering into town was ridiculous, but... Bones shook his head. Whatever was happening, it had a reasonable explanation, he was sure of it.
Bones was almost surprised by how little time seemed to pass by the time he made his way to the general store, looking inside. Sure enough, Knick Knack was there, looking fine enough. But passing over just because of that initial visual inspection wouldn't be good, and Bones knew that. He gave his head another shake as he thought to himself on the matter. He wasn't admitting anything by looking into this, wasn't saying that Dusty was some monster, he was just making sure all aspects of this story were straightened up. Walking in, Knick Knack smiled slightly his way.
“Hey there Bones, how are you fairing? I heard last night was rather... busy,” the orange pegasus asked.
“You could say that,” Bones said with a yawn, “Braeburn's cousin ran off, Dusty got him, ran into some of Scornful's lackeys... Thankfully it's getting sorted.”
Knick Knack's smile grew from a tentative to a somewhat fuller, more genuine one.
“Well that's good it's getting sorted. Shame about Braebrun's cuz' though. Little fella seems determined to put himself in his footsteps,” Knick Knack mused, “Though hopefully if he does he'll eventually calm down and learn to try to be a bit more careful like Braeburn has. Well, as careful as he can be at least.”
Bones snorted, though it is was more out of amusement than anything else.
“Yeah... Braeburn still has some growing to do I think, but he's trying,” Bones nodded before taking a breath. He liked this line of conversation, but he needed to ask more, “Truth be told though, I didn't come here just for small talk. I was wanting to check and see how you were doing since yesterday.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I hadn't been doing bad. I took it easy, made sure to get in some extra rest, and the headache has died down, so I'm doing alright,” Knick Knack said, his pleasant expression interrupted for only a moment.
“Well that's good. Have you recalled anything else happening the night before?” Bones inquired, leaning in a little.
“Nothing different I think. I remember being at the saloon with you fellas, helping out that mare, having her get kinda weirdly close and then... well, I woke up with the hangover,” Knick Knack shrugged.
“I see then,” Bones nodded, “Uh, when she got close, like, what was it like?”
Knick Knack blushed, earning a facehoof out of Bones as he realized what the question sounded like.
“I mean that in the most clinical way possible. Like, how were you arranged? Was there any sensation that felt off?” Bones said, trying to get himself to give a better attempt at the question.
“Well, uh, I don't think so? I don't really remember too much. It's like, well... I think it was a fairly close hug maybe? Chest to chest, heads past each other, it's kinda hard to picture in my head exactly what was going on.”
Bones closed his eyes for a moment, trying to think on that himself before something else came to mind.
“Would it be okay if I did a little arcane scan of your head? I need it for the sake of checking into something that might be involved with another case,” he asked.
Knick Knack's head cocked off to the side as he considered the request, pondering it before a thought went off in his head.
“Wait... so are you thinking it might not have been just a hangover?” the pegasus cautiously asked.
“I'm not sure what it is, which is why I'm asking. Might be nothing,” Bones shrugged. It could also be something, but that didn't need to be dwelt upon too much, “I mean it, it's just something I need to figure out.”
Knick Knack looked uncertain, uneasy at that, but eventually nodded.
“Well, if it'll help, I'll permit it,” he said before walking out from behind the cash register to directly in front of Bones, “Let's do this.”
Bones' horn lit up, a light slowly moving off of it and starting to move over Knick Knack.
“You'll notice a tingling sensation, but this shouldn't hurt,” he mentioned before going full on into analysis.
Much to Bones' own discomfort though, he found himself encountering that same “bump” as before. He was familiar enough with magical and biological theory to know that something like that shouldn't be there. All ponies had some level of a “magic field” to them that flowed a certain way. Unicorns were the most obvious of course because of their horn which channeled magic in a linear fashion out of the body, allowing for the exercise of magic in specialized, esoteric ways. The Earth Pony magic field was more confined to the body, running in a circuit that helped to bolster their strength and constitution, though according to some it was likely this could be shed off to help growth of life in other beings. Pegasi seemed to occupy a middle ground between the two on the other hand – their magic field ran loosely through their body, which allowed them fly as well as to easily extend their magic out of their body by interacting with elements of the weather. Every pony of course had their own unique, exact field that matched with their personal being. But they all had a similarity, and to some extent, they all had a sort of flow. This bump, it was... not quite an interruption of the flow, but it seemed to be doing something. It was as though someone had taken a rock and tossed it in a stream. The water still flowed, but there was a diversion in the exact nature of the path for some reason. And it was linked somehow into the mental well being of Knick Knack, Bones knew that much. Eventually, the light stopped moving over Knick Knack's head, and the thaumic glow retreated into Bone's horn.
“So... did you find what you were looking for?” Knick Knack asked.
“I think so. I'm still trying to figure out what it is exactly, to tell the truth,” Bones muttered as he chewed a little on the bottom of his mouth, “Gonna need to check some more folk before I feel like I can say anything definitive.”
“If you say so Bones. Just, well please tell me if anything goes wrong?” Knick Knack requested, looking nervous, “I wouldn't want to be left out of the know if it turns out something is getting spread around.”
“I'll make sure you know,” Bones nodded before turning about, walking out the store, “Thank you Knick Knack, have a nice day,”
“You too, Bones.”
Coming out onto the street, Bones found his legs already taking him back to one other place he knew he needed to check out. He yawned, and realized that eventually he would need to stop and rest. Not yet though. It might be better to check and see whatever this might be if it was still relatively fresh, so to speak. He didn't like how this was going though. He had felt downright sorry for Dusty, saw a little bit of others he had seen before in her. In truth, he saw a tiny bit of himself in there as well. He kept on though, telling himself that even if this meant this was all linked to Dusty in some way, it didn't mean that what Reed claimed was true. Soon, Bones' hooves were standing before the front door of Braeburn's house. After a quick knock, the first thing Bones saw was Cinnamon Cider.
“Oh hello there doctor. Is everything alright?” the mare asked anxiously.
“I'd like to give another look over Braeburn, I think I might have missed something this morning,” Bones admitted.
“Oh. Well come on in, I certainly wouldn't want to miss out on anything that might have happened to him,” Cinnamon said with some concern as she backed out of the way, leading the doctor back out to where Braeburn was still resting in bed. Bones caught a brief moment of Braeburn reading a book before the stallion turned his attention to him.
“Hey there doc,” he said with a slight grin, “What brings you back here?”
“Just wanted to do an arcane scan to make sure I didn't miss something.”
“Scan away,” Braeburn said with a shrug.
As Bones approached, looking a little half-lidded in the eye as he fire up his magic, Cinnamon looked at him with some concern.
“Think you could use with some coffee Doctor Sawbones? You're looking a little tired,” she asked.
“No, I'll be fine, just gotta get this out of the way and I'll be heading back home for a rest, no need,” Bones said with a limp attempt at a dismissive hoof wave.
Cinnamon frowned a little but otherwise said nothing more, allowing the doctor to go back to his work. Bones himself started to frown as well, displeased at what he found, that same “bump”. All of them had something in common, being with Dusty at some point without another to back them up, or at least someone legitimate as was the case with the outlaws. Bones shook his head though as he realized he needed more to make this experiment legitimate. He needed to check other ponies. Stepping out into the living room, he looked over Cinnamon.
“I'm sorry to bother you longer, but could I take a quick look at you as well? It shouldn't be long,” Bones explained.
“Uh, sure, I guess,” Cinnamon said uncertainly, “You sure everything is fine?”
“I believe so, I just want to double check some things.”
“If you say so.”
She obviously wasn't very sure about it, but Bones felt sure he'd be able to have some semblance of something more comforting. After doing the scan, Bones felt relieved when he noticed that he did not find that figurative “bump”.
“Everything's okay then?” Cinnamon asked.
“Huh?”
“You were smiling a little bit just there after you did your magic thing,” she pointed out, gesturing to his face.
“Oh, uh, yes, yes I suppose it;s all okay then, yep, hehe,” Bones said, chuckling nervously.
Cinnamon frowned, clearly still unconvinced.
“Doctor Sawbones, what's going on?” Cinnamon asked.
Bones sighed, hanging his head low for a moment. He didn't want to raise any further concern, but the ethical thing to do would be to tell her what was going on. Lying because you thought you knew what was best could be a slippery slope if you weren't careful.
“I'm trying to figure out if there might be a link between some cases,” he finally spoke up, “Of people going unconscious and waking up with headaches. I've noticed all of them have some sort of a small... thaumic blemish,” that sounded more official than a bump at least, “that can be detected with magical scans. And I didn't detect it on you, which is good.”
Cinnamon looked at Bones as he explained this all. Judging form the look on her face, the doctor gathered she might not have gotten it all completely, but she seemed to understand for the most part.
“Alrighty then. Any idea what that sort of thing might be caused by then?” she asked.
“Physical contact, I suspect,” Bones found himself again biting the bottom of his mouth as he eventually found himself feeling he had to ask, “Did you touch Dusty at all while she was here?”
“Uh, well, there were a few moments we might have bumped into each other or something I suppose,” Cinnamon asked, concern coming out again, “You think she might have some bug?”
“I don't know, that's why I'm checking. It's possible she caught something while out in the desert, but I'm not sure. If I could check your husband and foal...”
Cinnamon nodded, and led him to the other bedroom where Chestnut was giving Cameo a very stern look. Thankfully it seemed an atmosphere of discipline had been brought over the place, so requesting and getting a scan didn't take a lot of fuss thankfully. After that, Bones headed for the front door.
“They're okay?” Cinnamon asked.
“They're both okay,” Bones nodded, “You all had prolonged chances for contact, I think the symptoms would have emerged already. For now though, Mrs. Cider, I have a request.”
He wouldn't be 'lying' with this request would he?
“Could you please not tell anyone that I think Dusty might be involved in this? It's just a theory, and I'd for an innocent pony to get messed up in something just because I messed up with a theory.”
Cinnamon spent a moment wrestling with that idea for a moment in her head as well, but eventually nodded.
“I'll honor your request.”
“Thank you.”
Stepping out into the sun, Bone squinted a little. He felt his body fill with that paradoxical feeling of liveliness and tiredness, as though his spirit were nourished by the light but was weighed down by the armor of his being that was his flesh. He still had some looking into to do, but for that point in time he finally impressed upon himself that he should recover some sleep before he made a mistake today. Trotting back to his house, he stumbled into his room, closing the blinds and laying in bed. Maybe he'd find himself thinking more clearly with a little rest.