A Meeting... Of Sorts
Birds chirping. Trees swaying in the gentle breeze. Sweet smells of flowers filling the air. Noontime sun shining down. All of this led to a wonderful atmosphere where foals played and picnics were common. Honestly, I had no idea why my superior chose a walk in Ponyville’s open green plains, but I wasn’t complaining as I kept pace beside her.
Turning my head, I watched the wind play at her long mane. A smile continued to grace her features as she stared straight ahead. She giggled, and distracted as I was, I didn’t stop in time to avoid running into a group of fillies riding on a scooter and trailer across the well-worn path.
I tried to catch myself, but my hoof became stuck on the tow hook. Flipping and twisting over their mode of transportation, I landed on my back and brought the girls in the cart down atop me, forcing the air from my lungs. The sudden stop caused the third filly to slam into the scooter’s handlebars and fall back, adding to the pile of pony, and my pain. Moans from the girls elicited a short gasp from beside us and I craned my neck to see the owner.
A mare colored in such a light grey it could be confused for white, were it not for the clouds above her, stood before me, staring upon the pile with concerned eyes. Her curled indigo mane whipped to and fro as she surveyed the wreckage that was pony.
“Sweetie Belle!” the mare called louder than necessary. “Are you all right?” A groan came from above me and a filly of the same color as the mare squirmed. This movement started a cascade of twisting limbs and torsos. As I was on the bottom, I made sure to stay still and wait.
“I’m... okay,” she called back, straining to pull herself out. “Get off, Scootaloo! I can’t move.” I yelped in pain as her hoof struck my face and held itself there, pushing down while she struggled.
“Stop, stop, stop! Ya’ll are pullin’ mah tail!” the yellow filly right above me hollered with a southern accent as she twisted her flank, right into the off-white hoof. The change in balance caused the filly’s red tail to fill my face, followed by the one called Sweetie Belle’s muzzle slamming into mine through the hairs.
The newest sensation overwhelmed all others as stars filled my eyes. Sweetie Belle’s eyes were clenched shut in pain as the weight above me increased. Just as quickly, it left, along with a little extra.
“Right. I’m off; I’m off,” came the voice of the third filly. She circled around and grabbed the white filly’s front hooves. Upon pulling, the unicorn’s body slid across my face until her rear hooves caught the ground and she lifted herself up. Finally, the yellow filly climbed off and joined her friends. All three of them gave me a scrutinizing glare.
“What gives, mister! Why’d you run into us?” the orange pegasus yelled, her small wings buzzing. I laid there, staring back at them, as I waited for my body to stop complaining of pain. The mare switched her gaze from my supine form and and the girls a few times, before stepping between us, looking at the fillies. “You three are lucky you aren’t hurt. What were you thinking, going that fast across the road?” I sighed in relief, believing she was on my side, but then she rounded on me. “And you. Were you not watching where you were going?”
I finally had a chance to look at my superior, who only seemed to be watching on in mirth, her smile plastered on her face. With another groan, and against my body’s protests, I rolled over and stood. My eyes shifted between the fillies, their faces slightly downcast, and the irritated mare.
“Sorry, miss.” I bowed my head to her. “And I’m sorry for running into you three girls.” Another bow to the girls, and I looked back to the mare, awaiting her response.
“That’s better.” She turned to the fillies. “Well?”
“We’re sorry, mister,” the three said in unison. With a nod, the mare turned back to me.
“Now that that is taken care of, I must say I haven’t seen you two around Ponyville before.” She studied my attire. “And I would know, with one wearing such an ensemble. Where might you two be from, might I ask?”
“We are from Canterlot, miss...” I let the sentence hang as my superior trotted up beside me, her grin still present.
"Oh, how rude of me. My name is Rarity, the local seamstress, though I have worked for the Canterlot elite. Perhaps you've heard of me?" she asked, her azure eyes glowing with a mixture of hope and pride.
Realizing the attention was no longer on them, the fillies took the chance to slink away, dragging the scooter and trailer behind them quietly. I smiled inwardly, wishing I could avoid the upcoming conversation as well. I admit that I hadn’t heard of Rarity before, and I knew where our talk would lead after that. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, hoping to keep the upcoming response from happening as long as possible.
“...Miss... Rarity? I you heard from about Fancy,” my superior said, her voice quiet.
Though my eyes were closed, I winced. She had gained enough respect in Canterlot not to be teased, but I was unsure how her speech impediment would be received in Ponyville. Slowly, I peeked out of one eye and saw the face, the face of one who is about to mock another: a raised eyebrow, head raised slightly, and an almost unnoticeable smirk.
“Really?”
Here it comes...
“Fancy Pants told you about me?”
What?
“Oh, that’s fantastic news.” Though her voice was overflowing with energy, her actions showed nothing of the sort, other than a casual smile. “Oh, but where are my manners?” she said, placing a hoof to her chest. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company... oh, it seems I didn’t get your names, either. How silly of me.”
I was too shocked to reply right away. Somepony who didn’t mock my superior’s speech, even slightly? Though there were those that didn’t, the average would without thought, and some did it without meaning anything spiteful. Not only that, but she actually understood and responded in kind. The odds were not stacked in her favor.
“...Keen... Eye,” my superior said, watching me with the ever-present smile. She motioned towards me. “Regard,” she continued, though without issue. Rarity nodded towards us as our names were spoken.
The nickname pulled me from my thoughts and I shook my head to clear it. “Sorry. We came here under orders of Her Majesty, Princess Celestia, to look into the rash of insanity cases.” Keen smacked her face with a hoof after I spoke, moving her head from side to side.
“What?” I asked before looking back at Rarity. Her face had paled, somehow turning whiter than she already was as her eyes shrank to pinpricks.
“You... you two... are investigating... my friends?” My mind filled with curses at my brashness. “E-excuse me...”
The unicorn ran by us, her head lowered as she headed into town. I watched her silhouette grow smaller and smaller, before my head was knocked forward and pain throbbed from the back of my skull.
“Owww... what was that for?” I asked, peeking up to see my superior glaring at me. “Right.” I straightened up, stretching to get the soreness of the earlier wreck out of my system, before turning back to town. “Guess we should follow her, huh?”
“Later, Regard. I’ve had my fun; let us get to the INSP,” she replied as she continued down the path. With a sigh, I trudged after her.
Not five feet later, a pony jumped in front of us. He was a tan earth pony, and his scraggly brown mane looked like it hadn’t been washed in weeks. Eyes wide, he stared directly into Keen’s own. With a whisper, he said, “If you want to get out alive, run for your life.”
“Sir, what are you saying?” I asked.
“If you stay, it won’t be long till you’re burning on the inside!” With that, he ran off towards a copse of trees. We stared at him as he faded away into the distance. I turned to my superior and she looked back at me, worry etching its way upon her features.
The institute loomed before us, a blight upon the happy town behind us. With the sun behind it, the entire facade was set in shadow, as if daring anypony to enter willingly. It was painted a simple grey, the only splash of color being the curtains hanging in the windows, most of which were closed. A large French door marked the entryway with a bench on either side. Beside the foreboding building sat the hospital, and we could see the occasional doctor rushing between them, using a side entrance marked by a small awning above it.
Upon entering, we were greeted by doctors and nurses scuttling about, whether working frantically at a desk, or rushing through the doors next to the check-in counter or the two on either side of the lobby. Their hooves scraped against the white tiled floor as they paused to regard us, only to turn away and continue their work. No pony was sitting on the bench left of the entrance, and we could see why: a yellow guard in a simple blue vest started towards us, no doubt to usher us away from the chaos.
“The institute is closed today. I need to ask you two to leave,” he said as he reached us, his large frame making a convincing argument for complacency. Unfortunately for him, we weren’t leaving so easily.
“We’re here to investigate the bearers.” Reaching into a pocket of my vest, I removed a sheet of paper and presented it to him. “Orders from Celestia say we have full access, should we need it.”
The stallion’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as he grabbed the note with a hoof and read it. His mouth pulled into a scowl before he threw it back at me. “Wait here,” he replied simply before turning around and heading through the center door.
Most of the ponies in the lobby stopped and stared at us. Every one of their eyes had a mix of annoyance and hope, and I put faith in that we weren’t imposing too much. A cough resonated from the counter, pulling our attention towards a mare. She tapped the surface and floated a pen towards us in a pink hue of magic. Apparently, we were still expected to sign in.
We approached the desk and gave our names before she handed each of us a waiver. A simple thing, signing it would let the institute know we were aware of certain risks inherent in communicating with those of less sane repute. Just as we finished giving our signatures to the clipboards provided, the guard returned, another stallion in tow. This one wore a white lab coat with his brown mane combed back.
“Back to work, ponies! Don’t mind these two,” he said as he stepped before us, an irritated frown marking just how much we were intruding. The others complied immediately, leaving the room or scribbling on notepads as quickly as possible. “You two couldn’t have picked a worse time to show up, you know that?”
“What’s going on?” I asked as I watched the other ponies working.
“Those bearers you are investigating are being vicious. So much so, in fact, that they helped a few patients escape.” He turned back to the door he entered from, waving us to follow. “I don’t have time to go over everything right now, but suffice to say, ponies were wounded.”
“How bad?”
We entered a long white hallway with a security station set up ten feet away. As we reached it, he waved a hoof again, this time towards the guards there. We were allowed passage without being checked before he spoke again.
“Bad enough. Look, I’m taking you to the surveillance room. You can’t talk to any of them right now, so you’ll just have to be happy with observing.”
“I guess we don’t have a choice in the matter right now. Who are you, anyway?”
He stopped and spun around, eyeing me with irritation. “I’m the head of this institute. Didn’t you read anything before coming here?” After a dismissive snort, he continued. “Doctor Ouroboros. Anyway, here we are.”
His hoof pressed against a blue box adjacent to a closed entryway for a moment before the steel door slid up into the ceiling. Within, screens lined the walls with numbers placed beneath them showing a different cell in each one. “Rooms ten through thirteen. Go ahead and leave when you’re satisfied.” Turning on his rear hooves, he trotted further down the hall.
We stepped in, scanning the room. The dim lighting within allowed the screens to show everything without a glare. Two guards were on either side, keeping an eye on every cell with practiced ease. As we looked around, we spotted the row of monitors Ouroboros mentioned and made our way over, looking at each monitor one at a time.
Pinkamina Diane Pie, room ten:
A pink mare sat on her bed with her back to the camera. Her mane hung limply across her shoulders and back. She’d be beautiful, if not for the instability. As if knowing I was there and what I was thinking, she turned towards the camera with a seductive smirk on her face, mouthing, “I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem.”
I shuddered, a spark of electricity shooting down my back as my superior raised an eyebrow towards me. A small smile grew on her face before she shook her head. She turned back to the monitor and we continued to watch.
The mare had turned fully to the camera, now. Her head tilted to one side; she seemed to be thinking of something, a twitch in her leg the only movement we could see. Then, her eyes widened and the sultry look returned.
“How naughty,” she said, shocking us when her voice came through a speaker on the console beneath the screens. I looked down to see a grey hoof moving away and followed it to its owner, one of the guards.
“Turn the dial to the screen you’re viewing to hear the patient,” he replied to my silent question. Then, he went back to watching the various other monitors. I sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day and turned back to Pinkie’s cell.
“Can she hear us as well?” I asked as the mare giggled, the sound more menacing than it should have been.
“If you hit the button marked ‘mic’, yes, though I wouldn’t put it past that one.” I nodded stiffly at his grim statement. Deciding I had enough of watching the mare, I looked to the next screen.
Fluttershy, room eleven:
She was pounding on the door, screaming, and I didn’t want to turn the dial. It seemed my superior had the same thought, as she didn’t reach for the controls, either. The room she was in had the same design to it as the last: white padded walls reinforced to prevent cutting and a simple mattress without a bed frame.
The continuous assault on the steel door actually started to make dents. My eyes widened in surprise. How could a petite mare like her possibly have the strength to damage two-inch thick metal? Keen blinked rapidly at the sight, just as surprised as me, when a sigh came from beside us.
“That’s the third door she’s damaged since she was admitted.”
“What do you mean, ‘third door’? Surely a few dings wouldn’t warrant replacing, as impressive as it is.”
“Normally, no, but see those punches? They aren’t random.” He came over and we all watched the mare on the screen continue her assault. The hits seemed random enough, but after a few moments, I saw the same pattern repeated over and over. “When we first installed the door, she just looked at it. Now, she is hitting the weakest points, and we have no idea how she figured it out.”
“You mean she can find the weakest points of a door and hit them long enough that it actually folds in on itself?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Only halfway through, and I already felt like running for my life. If either one of the mares we had already seen escaped...
I shook my head, erasing the morbid thoughts, and turned to the next screen.
Twilight Sparkle, room twelve:
The mare in this room seemed to be sleeping, her chest rising and falling slowly, rhythmically.
“...Guard...”
“It’s Brick.”
“Rooms arrange how is?”
“You all right there, miss?”
“...Yes.”
“How are the rooms arranged? Well, odd numbered rooms are on one side with evens on the other.”
“Hmm.”
I saw what my superior was getting at. Really, what is wrong with this institute? First, they give a half-flanked report on each patient, and now they put them all next to each other? Knowing they have a connection?
“I thought Ouroboros said they were being violent and helped others escape. Baring Fluttershy, the other two seem fine,” I said, turning away from the sleeping mare to watch the guard shuffle on his hooves.
“These mares aren’t normal patients. One minute they can be calm, and the next they can be difficult, even violent. What you’re seeing now is two hours after the assault.”
“...Stimulus?”
“None. Absolutely nothing happens between when they are cooperative and not. The doctors are baffled.”
I was sure the guard shouldn’t have said that last part. Anything that can compromise the integrity of the institute, such as telling outsiders the professionals were lost, had to be written in the rulebook as a big ‘no’.
The mare suddenly raised her head, perking her ears towards the door. Keen quickly turned the dial to her cell to listen in, but whatever Twilight was hearing didn’t come through the speaker. Then, she turned to look at the camera.
Her mane was a mess, strands sticking out at odd angles as a manic grin was plastered to her face. Pinprick pupils stared directly into the camera, though they shook with raw insanity.
“Hahaha!” Her loud laughing forced its way through the console and she didn’t stop until all the air had left her lungs. Taking a large breath she screamed at the camera. “You think you can solve this case?! Look at me! Do you believe yourself capable of succeeding where I failed? Celestia’s personal protege?! Ha!”
Acting purely on impulse, I pressed the mic’s activation button. “We will find the cause. We will.”
Pealing laughter filled the room as the mare threw my proclamation away. “If you think you’re smart enough to find the culprit, detective, then answer this riddle!
“I live in the forest, but don't make my home there.
“You can move through me, see if I care.
“When you've forgotten me, that's when I spring.
“Your life is with me; to your death I bring.”
Everypony waited as I thought it over, coming to the answer quickly. “A river,” I said in complete confidence. “It lives and flows through a forest, and doesn’t care if you step in it. But if you forget to watch what you’re doing, it can cause your death, easily.”
“Ha! I knew it. Have fun on your wild goose chase!”
I narrowed my eyes at the screen, glowering. That was the only answer that made sense, and yet she laughed it off as wrong. Turning, I saw my superior shaking her head slowly at my brash actions. With a grunt, I threw myself off the console, releasing the mic activation button in the process, and stepped back.
That has to be the right answer.
Rainbow Dash, room thirteen:
An empty room was shown on the monitor. The mattress was torn, as well as a few small rips in the walls. There was evidence of repairs having been made many times before, but there was nopony inside at the moment to do more.
“Hold on. She likes to hide away from the camera,” Brick said before pressing another button on the console.
The view panned to the left until a light blue mare with a polychrome mane could be seen. She was curled in a ball, shivering, as she stared into the center of the room. Her ears were perked for the slightest noise, which caused her to watch the camera turn towards her. The guard then turned the dial, just in time to hear Rainbow Dash yelp and run to the newly made blind spot.
“She doesn’t trust anything, so she hides from the camera. The doctors say she’s claustrophobic, too, but we’re not about to let her in the open,” the stallion explained. “Those tears you see were from her. It’s a good thing we have a nurse good at sewing, or we’d have to give her a new room every day.”
My superior nodded to me and we left the monitors, giving our full attention to the guard. “When did the room get repaired last?” I asked.
“Three hours ago. She was returned to her cell after we captured her during the riot an hour ago. She’s really fast.”
“So I’ve heard.” The riddle was still bugging me, keeping me from being completely in the conversation, though I understood when Keen prodded me. “We’ve seen what we needed, officer. We’ll see ourselves out.”
“Of course. Take care, and I hope you find out what’s happening. Divinity knows this needs to end.”
With a nod to the stallion, I pressed against the room’s exit. Not needing a security pass for exits, the door opened immediately, revealing Ouroboros standing in the doorway. He waved his hoof for us to follow him again and we headed back to the security checkpoint, through the door beyond, and into the sunlight, shaded though it was from the building.
The doctor breathed in deeply, letting it out slowly as a smile crossed his lips. “Fresh air, huh?” he said, though he didn’t bother waiting for a response as he pulled out a small box from his coat pocket and withdrew a cigarette. “Though I prefer this.” He lit it with a flash of his horn and pulled from it.
Smoking was new to Equestria, and it was extremely rare to see a pony do so. Everypony knew the dangers of such a habit, but some were drawn towards it for its supposed relaxing effect. As he exhaled, though he was kind enough to do so away from us, the breeze wrapping around the building blew some into our faces.
“Sorry. The wind,” he stated simply as we coughed. “So now you know what you’re up against. Think you can handle it?”
“I’ve solved cases others thought impossible, doctor,” Keen Eye replied with perfect clarity. I turned to see her looking back at Ouroboros, her eyes focused.
“Good luck, then.” With that, he threw his cigarette on the ground and stomped it out, turning to reenter the institute.
“Luck to you as well, Nebulus.”
A barking laugh filled the air as the doctor continued towards the doors. “Comparing me to him? I have much more experience; I don’t need luck, Sighted Light.” We watched him disappear back into the grim building, confidence exuding from his very being, before we, too, turned away.
Sorry for the wait; I’ve been extremely lazy. Just so you know, I’ve done a few tweaks to the first chapter, though none of it will be a problem. Reread it if you want.
Thanks to N64Fan for help with the riddle, also RavensDagger, Frederick the Saiyan, and N64Fan (again) for some editing/prereading work.
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FURST!
AWWW YISSSS.
The mystery deepens.
It would certainly be interesting if the insanity was due to something in ponyville's water. Why else would Twilight give that riddle? I'm fairly certain there has to be some method to her madness...
Great story! You're keeping me on my toes and I can't quite guess the cause of the disease yet
Hmm, so a riddle with a possibly fake answer? Interesting enough haha. Twilight seems to be turning into some cross between Hannibal and the Riddler...
Hehe, I'm sorry, but the first thing that came into my head after reading the riddle was slenderman, I mean, he lives in a forest, but from what I've heard he didn't originally live there, you move around him in the game and...ok, he probably does care, i mean that's why he's killing you...still, if you're not paying attention properly, that's when he's most likely to get you and, he kills you, after waiting..I'm sorry, that answer might just come from me having played slenderman recently but anyway.
Anyway, my proper answer (that I can currently think of) is darkness. Yeh, that's my guess to the riddle.
Darkness lives anywhere, so it's 'house' can be anywhere or everywhere, You move through the darkness, it's not gonna do anything-unless you aren't paying attention-which is where the forgotten bit comes in, you can hurt yourself in the dark if you're not careful and in a forest-specifically, since its MLP, the Everfree forest-your life is with you in the forest, so its with the forest (and aren't spooky forests supposed to be full of spirits?) and the Everfree forest is likely to kill you (sorta). Anyway. THIS STORY IS AWESOME!!!!!
7935777
actually, considering the title, maybe the answer is shadows...