Another Member of the Band

by Magic Step

Endless Rescues

Adorabelle walked extremely slowly once she reached her home street. She wasn’t sure why, exactly; it was either due to a dim hope that she’d meet Violet Edge going home, or because of a vague foreboding of what awaited her at home. She lived in one of the more moderately rich areas of town, where residents had the comforts of money and none of the downsides of fame.

She passed the Perfect family manor- one of them, anyway. It had been designed by an ancestor of Perfect Karma’s whose perfection had been architecture; like many buildings in Canterlot it had spires on top, royal blue and purple with golden decorations. It seemed to be made of a single enormous chunk of marble, even close up.

Adorabelle lingered in front of it for a moment, checking all the windows. Except for the window of the tallest spire, all were dark. But the porch light was on, so maybe Perfect Karma was just hiding from her.

Violet Edge was nowhere in sight. Hopefully he wasn’t still mad at her.

Sighing, she moved on to her own house. Her dad’s mansion was one of the smaller ones in the area, but it was still too big for just the two of them. It was more like a normal two-story house, all cream and brown with huge windows, but there was more of it.
After Adorabelle walked up the three slate steps to the door, she sighed heavily with the realization that she couldn’t just sneak in like she’d been planning. Resting her horn on the doorknob, she knocked resignedly.

After a few minutes, the door started to swing outwards, making Adorabelle stumble backwards across the porch and down one step. Her dad had a mug of what smelled like hot chocolate in his telekinetic grip, and his eyes seemed red, but dry.

“How… was the trip?”

Adorabelle swallowed. “Fine.”

Sterling Scales stepped to one side, gesturing Adorabelle forward with the mug. Adorabelle ducked under the floating dish and crept onto the irregularly shaped tiles of their hallway.

Sterling Scales sighed heavily. “And… him?”

Adorabelle pressed her face against his shoulder. “If anything… I think he’s g-getting worse.”

“That…no, it can’t happen. It shouldn’t happen. That’s not how it works. Not how it works at all…” Her dad trailed off. “Um, er… have you had a chance to eat yet?”

“Guess not.” Adorabelle lifted her head and swiped a hoof across her eyes. “Um… so… I’ll be in the kitchen, and…”

“There’s a sandwich for you. And you can have hot cocoa. It’s on the stove.” Her dad turned to shut the front door. “Um, will you be going out again?”

“Well, y’know, if I’m needed.” Adorabelle shuffled to the end of the hall, then turned around.

“Why do I know, like, nothing about how my mom died?”

“Why? What do you want to know?”

“Oh, I don’t know… maybe, like, the other pony who died?”

“Bronze Coin remembered him?” Her dad set the cup down on the floor in shock.

“Well, like, not exactly, but… he told me about him.” Adorabelle coughed. “And… about the Missing Children Incident.”

Sterling Scales just stared at her. Adorabelle wasn’t sure if he was shocked or not.

“He didn’t,” Sterling Scales said. “He should know better. How… why would he do this? You don’t need… what was he thinking?” He turned and knocked into the cup with one hoof. Fortunately, it slid forward without tipping, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I could just… I could just… I feel like going to the observatory to tell him…!”

“Please!” Adorabelle said, trying to smile. “He misses you so much and my mom would have-”

“Your mom would understand what is happening to us, so don’t you dare finish that sentence!” Sterling Scales stepped over the mug on the floor and approached Adorabelle. His eyes became soft, and he knelt down to look her in the eye better.

“What did he tell you?” he asked.

“Just the name… the newspaper name. He, like, couldn’t remember anything else.”

Sterling Scales sighed, this time with relief. “And that’s how it will stay.”

“Why? What are you scared of?”

“Adorabelle, listen! Whatever you think you’ll find, this has nothing to do with your mother’s death, and… and…” He studied the floor tiles. “Perhaps some things are best left forgotten, for now.”

The two sat in silence for a while longer.

“I… I understand,” Adorabelle said.

Sterling Scales hugged her. “Thank you.”

Adorabelle hung a limp foreleg around one of her dad’s shoulders. “I understand… everything.”

She gave her dad a moment, then pulled away. “So, um… like, thanks for the sandwich. I’ll take it to the breakfast nook.”

“Tell me before you leave, please,” Sterling Scales said.

The breakfast nook had an advantage over the other eating rooms in that it faced east, in the direction of the Perfect manor, and had large windows. Adorabelle settled on a small, cream colored, backless couch and munched the apple sandwich her dad had made.
She had finished the sandwich and was halfway through her cocoa when she saw lights go on in the front room.

Quickly, she drained the rest of her mug and cantered to the hall, pausing only briefly to switch her pink sweater for a navy windbreaker.

“I’m, like, going to the Perfects,” she called up the stairs.

“Please actually come home,” her dad half begged from his bedroom.

Adorabelle slipped out the front door. On her street, a lamplighter pegasus was supposed to take care of the streetlamps, but the current worker was a bit lazy, so everything was dark. Adorabelle lit her horn so that she could see a few feet ahead of her. Not that she was worried about getting lost on her way next door, but whatever.

The Perfect manor looked especially foreboding and fortress-like when it was night. Adorabelle leapt up the front steps and pressed her ear to the huge oak door.

Nothing. Oh well, that didn’t mean anything. Nothing. Something like that.

Adorabelle grabbed the door handle, a ring made of crystal, and pulled it open a crack. Now she could hear something.

“…turn out just like your weak, stupid, milk-and-water father. Is that what you want? Look at me! I said look at me when I’m talking to- what? Does the truth hurt? Are you a stallion or a filly?”

Adorabelle galloped down the hall, skidding to a stop as she reached the living room carpet. “Hi, Perfect Karma!”

Perfect Karma snapped his head to glare at Adorabelle, not even missing a beat. “And as for you-”

“Skipping that.” Adorabelle trotted across the carpet to where Violet Edge sat on the floor. He closed his eyes and wouldn’t look at her. She pulled him into a tight hug. “I wanted to make sure you weren’t, like, still mad at me.” She stuck her tongue out at Perfect Karma where he sat on a slightly throne like chair, or rather a section of the floor that had a throne back and arms. He gritted his teeth, and a vein on his forehead by one ear started throbbing. Apparently he’d given up on trying to yell at her and was beginning to accept her nightly invasions.

“Soooooo…” Adorabelle pushed Violet Edge back out of the hug and brushed a strand of mane from his face. “Now you, like, aren’t looking to me in addition to not speaking to me?”

Violet Edge took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.

“Okay, like, that’s a start.” Adorabelle smiled at him, hoping for reciprocation.

Violet Edge turned to stare at a Perfect family portrait.

“You know what that portrait looks like. Stop avoiding me. I’m not, like, a cockatrice or a… um… basilisk…”

“Those are different names for the same creature,” Violet Edge muttered.

“Ha! Made you talk!” Adorabelle moved behind him and pressed her nose to the back of his head. “Now let’s see about bed for you, huh?”

She gently herded Violet Edge towards his room, which was in one of the two towers of the Perfect manor. They had to go up one normal flight of stairs, wide and fashioned from black marble, to reach the second floor, then through one living room and to the back of one library to reach the second set of stairs. This set was a spiral that was mostly hidden behind the wall and made of reddish brown wood that creaked.

Violet Edge hadn’t spoken to her once so far. Halfway up the second set of steps, though, Adorabelle felt lightheaded and stopped.

“Adorabelle?”

“I’m, like, totally fine…”

“And you’re just tricking me. Of course.” Violet Edge half stomped up the next few stairs, the sound echoing in the dark passageway lit only by a few glowing crystals embedded in the wall.

Adorabelle gasped and lay down on the steps. “Not s-so loud, please.”

Violet Edge came back down. “No, seriously, are you okay?”

Adorabelle reached up and nuzzled his cheek. “I’m fine if you are.”

“Ew, stop!” Violet Edge swiped a hoof across his cheek. A faint blush appeared; unfortunately for Violet Edge, color showed up especially well on light gray fur.

“I can handle it.” Adorabelle stood up and immediately swayed into a wall. “No, look, I’m fine and stuff…”

“It’s the front door, isn’t it? Perfect Karma locked it and you went and opened it anyway.”

Adorabelle gasped. “Oh my princess, I completely forgot! Ugh…”

“You really should go home,” Violet Edge said.

“It’s just a few more steps. Let’s hurry so I can get home faster.”

They finally arrived on the first level of the tower. The large, round tower was divided along a chord; the smaller, semi-circular part was the hallway and where they were standing in. It had two doors, one leading to the other half of the circle- Violet Edge’s room- and one leading to an outdoor walkway. On the far side was another staircase leading to the top floor of the tower.

The door to Violet Edge’s room was ajar. Both young ponies froze.

“I’ll check first!” Adorabelle dashed forward and pushed the door open. It was pitch black.

“We could leave,” Violet Edge whispered.

“From your own room?” Adorabelle swallowed and felt for the light switch. Her hoof brushed against the sharp protrusion. She took a deep breath, then clicked it on.

The room was empty. Adorabelle sighed with relief.

Violet Edge’s room had changed very little since Adorabelle had met him. Bookshelves lined every inch of the walls except the part where his desk and bed were. Violet Edge didn’t believe in getting rid of books, but the junior mysteries of his youth were now pressed flat against the backs of the shelves and hidden behind thicker nonfiction titles. There was a door to a balcony hidden behind the bookcases; Violet Edge had blocked the door one day, and Adorabelle had decided she didn’t need to know.

“She’s not here,” Adorabelle said. She moved to Violet Edge’s bed and started fluffing the pillows. In accordance with his name, his bedspread was purple- royal purple.

“You can leave now,” Violet Edge said. His steps were cautious, as though he thought the rug was going to explode. He carefully slipped off his jacket and brought it over to a tissue-paper lined box he’d left on the floor that morning. He carefully folded the tattered purple cloth, wrapped it up, and settled the lid on.

“So, like, will you wear those cute pajamas I bought you?”

Violet Edge closed his eyes in pain. “Never ever say that again.”

“What? Whyyyy?”

“It was cute when we were foals, but now we’re older and it’s weird. I shouldn’t even have you in my bedroom anymore…”

“It’s not weird to me, and it won’t be weird to you if you don’t let it be.” Adorabelle set the pillows back down. “I just saw some cute pajamas and I can’t stand to let cute clothes go unbought but they were guy pajamas and didn’t go with my dad’s chocolate coat…”

“Didn’t go with- for the love of Celestia, Adorabelle, please. It’s summer. I don’t need pajamas…”

“You, like, still have a quilt here.” Adorabelle peeled back the covers and couldn’t keep back a small gasp. There was something under the covers. Something small and plush. With a top hat.

“What?” Violet Edge turned toward her.

Adorabelle made herself smile sheepishly at him. “I, like, just remembered you might not have brushed teeth and stuff. I’m such a dweeb.”

“It’s not your job to remember. Don’t feel you need to be here when I come back.” Violet Edge trotted out of the room.

Adorabelle breathed a sigh of relief and pulled the teddy bear out from under the purple bedspread. No way could she let Violet Edge see this; she had to get rid of it somehow. She tossed it on top of a bookcase. It landed on its nose, and Adorabelle heard a loud honk that made her wince. She’d forgotten it did that.

No good; she could still see its limbs dangling off the top. She telekinetically fetched it down and hid it under the bed, managing to honk its nose twice more in the process. No, no, bad idea; what if Violet Edge looked under there for some reason? Not worth the risk.

Briefly, she considered moving the bookcase and tossing it outside onto the balcony. No, that would take too long.

Adorabelle scooped the top hatted bear into her mouth and trotted into the hallway. She could hear hoofsteps on the stairs. Her mind froze, and she chucked it in the direction of the staircase to the higher floor, on the other end of the hall, as far as possible. She had just enough time to pray it wouldn’t squeak again.

“Something wrong?”

The plush landed soundlessly, hidden in the shadow of the stairs. Adorabelle sighed and turned to Violet Edge. “Nah. S’all good. Ready for bed?”

“Oh, no, please, don’t…”

Adorabelle wrapped one foreleg around Violet Edge’s neck and awkwardly walked him into his room.

Violet Edge whined, “You’re not tucking me in again, and I don’t need a lullaby. I’m not a baby.”

“Mmkay. Just a goodnight kiss, then.” Adorabelle quickly pecked his cheek.

Violet Edge started blushing again. “Please go home and take care of yourself.”

“You too.” Adorabelle turned to go, then turned back to talk to him.

That was a bit much on her poor dizzy head, and she stumbled to one side.

“Are you okay?” Violet Edge had his forehooves on his bed.

“Dandy. I just, um, thought of something…” Adorabelle closed her eyes, pretending she was thinking, when she was really trying to make the disorientation go away. “So, like, have you heard of something called… the Missing Children Incident?”

“…Can you be more specific?”

Adorabelle opened her eyes to see Violet Edge snuggled under the covers. “It was the case my mom was working on, like, right before she died.” Violet Edge didn’t reply. “So, like, about when you first came to live here? Ring any bells?”

“No,” Violet Edge said a little too quickly. “Anyway, what you’re describing sounds like a kidnapping, and Perfect Karma only works with homicides.”

“Well, it’s like, a newspaper name, and, like, they always have to put a positive spin on things in the news, y’know? ‘Cause ponies don’t like downers, and it, like, doesn’t sell.”

“I would have been seven, or… nine… or something like that. At any rate, I can’t remember that-” He choked on the words. “…that… uh… name, I mean.”

“Oh, like, okay. I’ll be here for school tomorrow.”

“Or you could just walk there by yourself, without waiting for me, like normal ponies do.”

“Admit it, you’d miss me.” Adorabelle backed toward the door.

“No I wouldn’t.” Violet Edge pulled the covers over his head. “I’ve seen you every day of my life. You can give me a break once in a while.”

“Whatevs.” Adorabelle turned and stepped into the hallway.

Somepony had turned off the lights, and now it was pitch black outside the room.

Which meant somepony was awake. But Perfect Karma didn’t come near this tower if he could help it.

The door to Violet Edge’s room slowly swung shut behind her, making Adorabelle gasp. She could barely see anything. What if she went to the wrong staircase by mistake?

She started to light her horn, only to feel a stabbing pain near her ears when she did so. She let the light fade, but had just enough time to notice that the plush bear was no longer where she’d thrown it.

That couldn’t be good.

Adorabelle had never been more aware of just how dark a windowless, unlit room could get. There were four places for something to enter this hallway- Violet Edge’s door behind her, the two staircases on opposite ends, and the door to the balcony that was right in front of her. Nothing was going to come out of Violet Edge’s room, but if she turned to run towards one of the staircases, she’d be turning her back towards anypony- or anything- coming up or down. Which way was safest?

Maybe… it was neither.

Heart racing, Adorabelle dashed across the hall, flung open the door to the outdoor walkway, and dashed outside. At least here was starlight; she galloped across the purple bricks until she reached the middle, then turned to look back.

The moon was full, the Mare in the Moon smiling down, so it was easier to see. To one side was Violet Edge’s tower; Adorabelle had left the door half open, so she could still see the black void inside.

On the other end of the walkway was Perfect Karma’s tower, where his bedroom was. And he wasn’t likely to appreciate Adorabelle’s intrusion.

Yeah, okay, this had been a bad idea. What was she going to tell Perfect Karma? That she was scared of the dark? That was silly. No, she should go back downstairs and stop worrying. These decisions were so much easier to make when she could see.

She walked quietly over to the half open door of Violet Edge’s tower. She could hear her own heartbeat, and heavy breathing…

Wait. Was that her own breathing?

Adorabelle froze and held her breath. It was hard to make out from the pounding in her ears, but it seemed like… yes, she could hear something else. She stepped closer to the door, only a few feet away now. The sound got louder.

She had to be imagining things; she had to be imagining things. Swallowing hard, she lit her horn.

“YEEEARGH!”