Part 34 - The Vigilante
Everfree Forest
June 10th, 2:45 PM
It was only mid-afternoon, yet already the path through the Everfree Forest was growing steadily darker as the sun moved off its zenith, disappearing behind the high canopy of trees as Apple Bloom and Twilight delved deeper into the woods.
Now well off the relative safety of the path, Apple Bloom looked around a particular area she dimly remembered walking through during the previous night while Twilight kept watch, fearful of encountering everything from manticores to timberwolves, uncertain if she could defend herself and Apple Bloom if they should appear given her nearly depleted reserves of magic.
Applejack had once told her that the beasts of the Everfree didn’t usually come that close to the edge of the woods outside of zap apple season, but… there’s a first time for everything! Twilight worried as she watched Apple Bloom continue her as-yet fruitless search.
“Ah think it was over here?” she said with noticeable uncertainty while looking at a nearby bush, but then: “No, wait! It’s over here!” She tried a different hedge, making Twilight wonder if the search was just a waste of time.
She’s been dragging me around this forest for almost half an hour! she thought with a groan, getting more irritated and anxious the longer the wait dragged on.
After several more minutes of walking around and inspecting seemingly random bushes—and at least one close call with a hidden thicket of Poison Joke—Apple Bloom stopped near a large tree. “Okay, yeah! It was right here! Ah remember now!”
“This is where you saw that thing fall from the sky?” Twilight asked skeptically. “You’ve said that two or three times already!”
“Yeah! Ah remember looking up and seeing the moon right through that small break in the branches right there. So Ah’m sure it was somewhere around here,” Apple Bloom insisted while pointing to a small patch of sunlight peeking through the canopy, though she didn’t sound entirely certain.
“I hope this is worth it,” Twilight muttered under her breath as she began to search as well.
“Alright! Ah think it fell close by. Ah’m sure Ah heard it hit this here bush!” With that, Apple Bloom dove into the underbrush, rustling the leaves as she went.
“Apple Bloom! Don’t go off by yourself!” Twilight called out, but the young earth pony had already disappeared into the bushes… and soon the rustling stopped. “Apple Bloom?” She immediately began to worry. “Oh, great! APPLE BLOOM!” she called out frantically, but there was still no answer. Nor could she sense the filly’s presence with her magical awareness, which was blinded by the chaotic background energies of the forest. Twilight was about to plunge in after her but—
“AH FOUND IT!!!” Apple Bloom leaped out of the bushes with a triumphant yell, causing the older mare to rear up in fright.
“AHHH! Don’t scare me like that!” Twilight scolded.
“Sorry.” Apple Bloom cringed, dropping the object she’d been holding in her mouth at Twilight’s hooves. “But lookie here! This is the thing I heard fall from the sky, Twi!” she announced quite proudly, motioning to the floppy brown leather object with her hoof as it lay on the ground between them.”
I’m never having foals! Twilight decided, certain they’d be the death of her if she did.
“So, whaddaya think, Twi?” Apple Bloom prompted when she didn’t immediately reply. The young filly was as eager and energetic as ever and not in the least bit frightened of their surroundings, leaving Twilight wondering if it was only because she wasn’t alone this time, or just the simple fact that it was still light out, even if that only went so far on the floor of the Everfree.
Putting the question aside, Twilight looked at the retrieved object curiously. “It looks like some sort of bag or satchel,” she deduced, seeing it was a pouch sealed with a single thick strap, poking at a bulge and feeling something solid within. “Hey—didn’t Lenora have a bag like this?” she flashed back to the griffon eagless at Town Hall, remembering her taking the photograph of Cruise and his sister out of a very similar satchel strapped to her flank.
Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. “Oh! Yeah, reckon yer right! And Ah could tell there was something inside this when Ah was carrying it! In fact, Ah reckon this must be the package the Griffon Express lost! So let’s open it!” she suggested, and didn’t wait for Twilight’s answer to start doing so.
“Apple Bloom! That’s private correspondence! We can’t just go through somepony else’s mail like—” But before she could finish, Apple Bloom had already pulled the strap free of its buckle with her teeth and was nosing around inside. Within seconds, she had pulled out...
“Ooooo! Lookie, Twi, it’s a bottle!” She pulled it free with a hoof to show Twilight.
Well, I tried! Twilight sighed, deciding that with the cat out of the bag there was no point in not taking a closer look. “A bottle… but of what?” she asked curiously, seeing a small but rather ornate glass flask with some kind of purple substance inside, capped with a small blue crystalline cork.
Apple Bloom turned the item to look at it from various angles. “Ah don’t know. There ain’t any label,” she noted, checking every inch of the bottle but not seeing any writing or markings on it.
“Give it here, Apple Bloom,” Twilight asked, the filly passing it to her. Holding it in her own hoof as she didn’t fully trust her power in the woods even under good circumstances—the wild energies of the Everfree Forest tended to have odd effects on her magic, she had noted in the past, making her spells more powerful but also much harder to control—she examined it herself and confirmed there wasn’t any sort of identifying mark on the bottle. That’s strange. She’s right; there isn’t any label on this. Looks like there’s some sort of liquid inside? she noted as she shook the bottle, watching the purple-colored fluid it contained slosh back and forth.
“Do you know what it is, Twi?” Apple Bloom said.
She shook her head. “No, I don’t. Can you check to see if there’s maybe a shipping manifest in the satchel?”
Apple Bloom blinked. “Huh?”
Twilight couldn’t help but smile at that. Guess there are some big words she doesn’t know! “Check the bag for a piece of paper or something that might identify this,” she clarified.
Apple Bloom did as she was asked but found nothing, shaking her head. “That’s strange. Okay, then. Let’s try this...” Twilight trailed off as she popped the blue crystal cork loose. “It almost looks like a perfume bottle. So let’s give it a whiff, and maybe I can identify it by smell.” With that, she waved the cork near her nose to take a tentative sniff of the strange substance, but then…
“Nghh… uhh… AHHH!!” Twilight recoiled, dropping the bottle from her hoof; Apple Bloom barely caught it before its contents spilled out. “M-MY NOSTRILS!!!” she cried, stumbling backwards, tears of pain streaming down her cheeks.
Apple Bloom watched her with a frightened look on her face. “Twi? What’s wrong?” she asked in alarm.
“What’s wrong is it smells like... concentrated used kitty litter!” she got out around repeated gags, attempting to choke back the bile rising within her throat, suddenly and sorely reminded of one time she’d been looking after Rarity’s pet cat Opalescence while Rarity herself was out of town, who made her displeasure about being left in the care of others known by refusing to bury her business.
Apple Bloom was certainly used to such smells herself, given the pigs her family kept for fertilizer, but even she looked at the bottle quite warily. “It kinda looks like grape Juice. Yer saying it smells THAT bad?”
“It smells worse!” Twilight gagged again, rubbing her nose with her hooves and trying to get rid of the putrid stench by inhaling the aroma of some nearby wildflowers, even chancing putting her nose near a poison joke bloom because she knew its odor was so strong. What a waste of TIME! Here I thought this would be case-breaking evidence and instead I just ended up losing my sense of SMELL! she thought as she rubbed her nose into a patch of dew-laden moss as Apple Bloom looked on, the young filly carefully picking up the bottle and doing her best not to inhale the odor herself, holding her breath as she recorked it.
As much as she thought it was worthless, Twilight decided to take the bag and bottle along, not wanting to leave the woods empty-hooved after all the effort they’d gone through to find them. After all, maybe there's at least a slight chance they aren't just trash!
“Awww...” Apple Bloom suddenly sighed.
“What’s the matter?” Twilight asked, finally able to breathe again, blinking the remaining tears out of her eyes. She decided to wear the satchel as it was too big to fit in her saddlebags, tightening up the straps all the way to make them fit. Huh. Whoever this belonged to must’ve been a fair bit bigger than me!
“Ah didn’t get a cutie mark for being a private investigator,” Apple Bloom answered in disappointment, motioning back to her still-blank flank.
“Oh really? That’s too bad,” Twilight said simply, not wanting to hurt her feelings. “Come on Apple Bloom, it’s getting darker, so let’s get out of here,” she instructed, turning to head back to the main path and out of the foreboding forest.
“Right,” Apple Bloom replied, starting to look a bit more nervous herself as she realized the light level was getting lower. “That’s okay. Ah wonder what an ‘Investigator’ cutie mark looks like, anyway?” Apple Bloom asked idly as she fell in beside her.
Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe a magnifying glass?” she suggested, starting to head back towards the path.
Hearing that, Apple Bloom looked away from Twilight, her eyes going very distant. “That reminds me, Twi.” She hesitated before speaking again. “Do ya remember what happened the last time we went into the Everfree Forest together?”
Twilight froze at that; a surge of fear and anxiety gripping her. ”Apple Bloom, that was just your imagination!” she quickly snapped back—that was not a story she cared to remember while in the middle of the Everfree. “Or it was just the wild magic of the woods making you see things. Zecora warned us about that, remember?”
Apple Bloom vehemently shook her head. “But I was there, Twi! There was a village, and partying, and then those ponies tried to—”
“I refuse to believe in such things!” Twilight cut her off sharply, an edge to her voice. “The next day I went and checked the area you were in myself, but I found nothing but trees as far as the eye can see!” she reminded herself as much as Apple Bloom, trying to erase the very disturbing story the young filly had related to her some months earlier from her mind.
Apple Bloom fell silent at that, looking very troubled. But it DID happen! Ah wasn’t just seeing things; those ponies were REAL! Why won’t anypony believe me? she thought in frustration.
“Look—just remember to stick by me no matter what this time. No wandering off by yourself like you did then, okay?” Twilight went close to her, nuzzling her a bit. “Applejack would never forgive me if anything happened to you,” she added, worried that she was going to be in serious trouble with Apple Bloom’s older sister just for taking her into the woods in the first place.
“Oh. Okay,” Apple Bloom agreed weakly, hugging Twilight back.
Twilight pulled her close to give her a nuzzle and brush her mane a bit, trying to comfort her—and reassure herself; the first time she’d heard Apple Bloom relate that impossible but horrifying tale, she’d had nightmares for a week. “Hey, cheer up! Even if it was just your imagination or the forest making you see things, that’s a good thing. Maybe you can write a story about it?”
“A story? Really?” Apple Bloom echoed, perking her ears in interest.
Twilight nodded. “Sure! A lot of writers base stories off personal experiences. I’m sure you can write a good story about yours!” she said. “Who knows? Maybe your cutie mark will be in writing?” she added with a grin, seeing Apple Bloom’s orange eyes light up at the idea.
“Thanks, Twi! Reckon I’ll do that!” she said with a sudden sparkle in her eyes, picking herself up with a big smile on her face. Think Ah’ll call it… ‘The Story of the Blanks!’ she decided, certain it would be better-written and more ‘in-grossing’ then some mushy and disgusting ro-mance novel. Reckon if nothing else, it’d sure give Rainbow Dash’s scary campfire stories a run!
But Twilight wasn’t as happy as Apple Bloom was, letting out a big sigh as they continued to walk back to the path. “Well, this journey proved to be fairly fruitless,” she sighed out the words, pausing to scratch the back of her head.
Apple Bloom’s shoulders slumped at that, the filly sitting back on her haunches. “Ah’m sorry, Twi. After all that searching, Ah really thought it’d be something important,” she apologized, turning downcast.
Seeing her contrition was genuine, Twilight nuzzled her again. “It’s alright, Apple Bloom. You have been a big help, and we found a plethora of other things that may be useful tomorrow,” she noted, motioning with her head to her now-full saddlebags.
“Thanks, Twi! So what’cha wanna do now?” Apple Bloom asked, making a mental note to ask Applejack what ‘plethora’ meant when she got home. Ah learn so many new words being around Twi!
Twilight had already thought of that. “I want to go speak with Cruise Control again. I’m sure he knows something about Ace he’s not telling us.”
“Ya mean that funny pony who kept talking to himself? Didn’t he say he was gonna go register fer the race?” Apple Bloom remembered, sticking very close to Twilight as she had promised.
“You’re right,” Twilight recalled as well. “We should start looking for him by going back to town and heading for the starting line where the Equestrian 500 will begin,” she began to reason, only to freeze, thinking she’d heard something in the bushes; the memories of the tale Apple Bloom had told and the knowledge that her magic was likely too weak and unstable to defend them against any real threat causing her anxiety level to spike again. “Come on, Apple Bloom—we got what we came for; the sooner we get out of this forest, the better!” Twilight picked up the pace as she heard whatever was in the woods start to come closer.
She didn’t know what the noise was and didn’t wait to find out. The forest boosting her power, she decided to chance her magic, using her aura to levitate a startled Apple Bloom onto her back. Telling her to hold on, she ignored the young filly’s protests and ran back to the path, leaping hedges and logs as she went.
She sped up even further upon reaching the dirt trail, heading out of the forest at a full gallop, not slowing until the exit was in sight.
Everfree Forest Entrance
June 10th, 3:20 PM
As an out-of-breath Twilight put a slightly annoyed Apple Bloom down near the entrance, the latter spotted a figure standing on the path just outside the woods.
“Hey, who’s that?” Apple Bloom pointed out to Twilight.
“Somepony is by the exit,” Twilight belatedly noticed, still panting lightly as they got closer. Only two miles and I’m out of breath? Maybe I should get out of the library more often, she thought, resolving to start exercising as the figure at the entrance began blurting out words and gesticulating wildly.
“Feenie! You’re finally back! I thought you’d never come back and you’d be stuck in there forever or something and your ghost would haunt the forest like WOOoooooOOOoooOO!”
“Uh… Pinkie Pie?” Twilight raised an eyeridge as she recognized her party-loving friend. What’s she doing out here?
Pinkie saluted like a soldier. “Oh! Twilight? You’re not Feenie! Guess I gotta keep waiting, then!” she said with her chin held high and her gut sucked in like she was a Royal Guardspony standing at attention.
Twilight and Apple Bloom shared an odd look. “Forgive me for asking, but what are you doing by the Everfree Forest, Pinkie?” the former finally caught her breath enough to ask, not entirely certain she wanted to know the answer.
“Just waiting for my friend!” Pinkie said with a smile and a wink.
“Yer friend?” Apple Bloom asked before Twilight could.
“Yeah! He’s—HEY THAT’S IT!!!!” Pinkie suddenly blurted out, pointing to Twilight’s saddlebags.
“Huh?” was all a dumbfounded Twilight could say in response, looking back over her shoulder to see what Pinkie was referring to.
“You found it, Twilight! You found it!” Pinkie reared up and pinwheeled her forehooves in delight.
Twilight felt another headache starting to come on. “Pinkie, can you start making some sense, please?” On the other hoof, look who you’re asking, Twilight!
“You found my Golf Club! I’ve been looking for it for days!” Pinkie claimed, plucking out the burned metal stick from Twilight’s saddlebag and hugging it affectionately.
Twilight stared at it in disbelief, sharing another glance with Apple Bloom. “You’re saying this miserable looking stick… is a golf club?” She raised an eyeridge, not sure why Pinkie Pie would invent one—the nearest golf course was in Canterlot, quite a distance away.
Pinkie winked again as she held the stick up for inspection. “Yup-yup! Here, Twilight, let me introduce you to my greatest invention ever! This is the Pinkie Iron Mk. V!” she claimed as she raised it up proudly, holding it high for the two ponies to see. “I’ve nicknamed it ‘The Panther’!”
“Wow! Ah didn’t know ya were a blacksmith, Pinkie Pie!” Apple Bloom was genuinely impressed.
“Well, of course, silly! We had to make our own tools on my family’s rock farm, you know! I keep my forging gear in my top secret party-planning cave beneath Sugar Cube Corner!”
Twilight sighed. I’ll probably regret asking, but… “How do you ventilate a forge from the cave? And if this is your first invention, what happened to Mk. I through IV?”
“Oh, they got obsolete pretty quick!” Pinkie explained, slightly nonsensically. “I mean, I tried to keep them useful—even made the Mk. II into a flamethrower—but after a while, even the IV-H and J variants couldn’t keep up with newer designs!”
Twilight sighed, and instead of pursuing a pointless conversation turned her attention back to the ruined rod. “It’s all burnt and the end is broken off… if it really is a golf club,” she said dubiously, examining it in front of Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie’s eyes widened in realization as she saw the missing club head. “You’re right! Somepony broke it!” she noted, turning a suspicious gaze on Twilight. “Heeeeyyyy! Did you break my golf club, Twilight?” she demanded to know, giving her unicorn friend an angry look.
“Huh? N-No! Apple Bloom and I found it in the lake at the park. I don’t even play golf!” Twilight explained quickly, careful not to say something Pinkie might misinterpret.
Pinkie Pie looked confused at that. “At the park? Back in Ponyville? That’s weird, because I lost the Pinkie Iron in the forest a week ago. I wonder how it got into the lake back in town?” Pinkie pondered, taking a hoof-on-chin pose that reminded Twilight of Phoenix again.
“Say again?” was all Twilight could immediately offer in response. “You lost it in the woods?”
“It’s true! I was golfing in the forest a week ago when I lost grip of the handle while I was giving her a swing, and it went flying. Whoooosh!! Just like a bird!” Pinkie smiled and pantomimed her actions, including swinging the golf club, as she told her story.
Twilight gave her another look. “Why would you go golfing in the forest? With all those trees around, wouldn’t it be a little… counterproductive?” What would each hole be? A par-FIFTY?
“Nah. I wanted a challenge!” Pinkie answered with a smile and a shrug.
Feeling her headache getting worse again, Twilight gave up looking for a rational answer on how she was playing the game, focusing instead on another question lingering in her mind. “So you lost the golf club a week ago? That’s really strange. How did it get in the lake and why is it so busted up?”
Pinkie looked down at her golf club, her smile turning into a sad frown. “I have no idea. Why would anypony break my poor little golf club? It didn’t do anything to anypony!” she said sorrowfully, cradling and nuzzling it like it was an injured foal.
Twilight shared another look with Apple Bloom, who simply shook her head in confusion, unable to make sense of Pinkie’s logic as well. “This is awfully suspicious. Pinkie, since it’s broken… may I keep it?” she requested politely, strangely certain it was a significant find.
Pinkie thought about that for a few seconds, then shrugged. “Sure, why not? Guess it’s not much use if it’s already broken. But don’t worry, Twilight! I’m already making mental blueprints for ‘The Pinkie Iron Mk. VIII’!” she announced, standing up on her hind hooves and putting her front hooves to the sides of her head, smiling eagerly at whatever new idea she’d come up with. “And since ‘Tiger’ is already taken, think I’ll call it the ‘Maus’!”
“Riiiight…” Whatever goes on in that head of hers, keep me out of it! Twilight decided as she returned the burned and battered rod to her saddlebag, thinking better of asking Pinkie why she was skipping the Mk. VI and VII.
The broken club safely stowed again, Twilight turned her attention back to Pinkie Pie. “So, how long have you been waiting for your friend? It’s not very smart going in the Everfree Forest alone.” To say nothing of going in with a young filly without most of my power! she somewhat ruefully admitted with her thoughts. “Trust me, I ended up turning into a life size lawn ornament one time I went in there by myself.” Twilight shivered as she recalled her encounter with a cockatrice; chicken-headed snakes that had a Maredusa-like ability to turn passing ponies to stone by locking gazes with them.
Fortunate to be rescued by Fluttershy after one such creature had petrified her, the first thing she did after her close call was devise an enchantment to defeat its ability to do so, though she hadn’t needed it for her latest forest foray since the half-chicken, half-snake monsters were nocturnal. Good thing, too, because I don’t think I could have cast it!
“About forty minutes. He said he wanted to meet somepony at the clearing in there,” Pinkie said simply, standing watch over the woods entrance again. “It only takes fifteen minutes to get there, so I guess he’s having a long talk with whoever he was meeting.”
Forty minutes? In there alone? Twilight shivered. Whoever this stallion is, he’s either very brave or very stupid! “So who is this friend you’re waiting for anyway? Somepony I’ve met?” Twilight asked, barely hoping she might get an actual answer from her.
“Of course he is, silly! He’s—” but before Pinkie could give a name, another pony came galloping out of the woods, colliding with Twilight.
“GAAAHHH!!” Twilight fell into a tangled heap of limbs and wings along with the mystery pony, the contents of the newcomer’s saddlebags spilling out all over the grass and dirt path. “Hey! Watch where you’re going!” she scolded, picking herself up with Pinkie’s help and using her tail to brush some dust off her flanks, hoping the glass bottle inside her saddlebags hadn’t broken from the impact or she’d probably have to burn them to get rid of the smell.
“Oh, excuse me! I’m sorry!” A familiar male voice shouted back.
When Twilight’s vision cleared, she looked up to see... “Cruise Control?” she recognized in surprise. THIS is who Pinkie Pie was waiting for? How the hay does she know him?
“Hi again, Twilight Sparkle!” Cruise greeted her with a grin, only to abruptly change his tone again. “Why did you smash into her, you idiot? She’s right! Watch where you’re going!” Cruise berated himself.
Apple Bloom spotted the former contents of his saddlebags lying scattered on the ground around them and started to gather them up. “Oopsie! Looks like ya dropped all your things! Don’t worry, Mister Cruise, Ah’ll help you pick them up!” she promised, starting off by picking up a small book.
“Thank you!” Cruise said gratefully, but then… “Ugghhh... NO! You should be a responsible adult and take responsibility for your actions! Not force a little filly to pick up your things!”
“OooOOoooo… another new pony in town! Wow, with so many new visitors around for the race, I’m going to be busy throwing welcome-to-Ponyville parties for a month!” Pinkie pinwheeled her hooves in delight again. “I’m Pinkie Pie! Good to meet you, Mister Cruise Control!” She blew a party horn and shook his hoof very hard.
Cruise looked surprised at that. “Oh! Uh, well, good to meet you too, but I really don’t have time… uggghhhh… NO! You should always accept whatever hospitality is offered you, you ungrateful idiot!”
I REALLY don’t want to deal with this again! Twilight said to herself as she rubbed her temple, her headache coming back full force. But then again, I wanted to talk to him anyway. So I guess now is as good a time as any?
“Um, I’ll help too,” Twilight offered as she joined Apple Bloom in picking up the strewn items on the ground, which included several very odd objects she’d never seen before—a small silver medallion with scales, a colorful metallic-looking object with a series of numbered buttons the size of a small brick, a thick wallet of an unfamiliar design full of colorful cards—What’s a VISA? she wondered—and rectangular pieces of very intricately decorated paper with numbers on the corners. “Though while you’re here, Cruise, I have a few more questions for you,” Twilight said as she used her weakened magic to collect the oddly disparate items into a neat pile, planning to put them all inside the bag after she and Apple Bloom had gathered them all up.
Cruise looked noticeably uneasy at the suggestion. “Uh… I really can’t, sorry! I’m in a huge hurry!” he said anxiously.
Twilight raised an eyeridge at that, next picking up a pill bottle. Whoa—that’s a powerful painkiller! What’s Cruise taking this for? “A huge hurry? So what were you doing in the Everfree Forest, anyway?” she asked curiously, continuing to collect seemingly random pieces of paper and other items scattered about while Pinkie looked curiously over her shoulder, examining the stuff she was picking off the ground.
“Wow, Cruise! That stuff you’ve got looks a lot like the stuff I found with Feenie today! Like there’s a ripped up paper, the room key, the pictures of the unicorn book, the list with Rainbow Dash on it…” Pinkie recited, causing Cruise’s consternation to increase.
None of it made sense to Twilight, but one thing her friend said did ring a bell. “’Feenie’?” Her brow furrowed a bit upon hearing the unfamiliar name. “Who’s that?”
“I was just, uh... I felt like taking a stroll!” Cruise stammered, his eyes going evasive as he answered Twilight’s earlier question.
“A stroll… through the Everfree Forest?” Twilight asked him, giving him an askance look and starting to grow more suspicious. “And why not just fly?”
Cruise seemed to grow even more nervous the more she pressed, giving her some new appreciation for how witnesses must feel in court. “Uh, just trying to save my strength for the race, you know!” he added, forcing a smile and looking ever more eager to leave. “Listen, thanks for all your help, Twilight Sparkle, but I really need to get back to town! Could you give my stuff back now? Please?” he requested in a tone approaching panic, his wings and tail twitching noticeably.
Just as Twilight had finished gathering his things together along with Apple Bloom, she noticed one final item that had fallen out of his saddlebags, glittering in the grass—an odd comma-shaped gemstone with a hole in the center, glowing a weak green in the sunlight. Huh? That looks like— she picked it up with her magic, only to gasp and drop it immediately when she sensed a familiar form of mystical energy emanating from the object.
Apple Bloom stopped what she was doing and looked over at Twilight, who was now standing rigid, her eyes fixed straight ahead. “What’s the matter, Twi?” she asked in concern.
At that moment, an icy ball materialized in Twilight’s stomach. With great deliberateness that belied her suddenly churning insides, she turned to ask Pinkie Pie a single, very difficult question. “Pinkie,” she started, struggling to keep her voice even. “Is your friend’s name… Phoenix?” She held her breath.
Pinkie immediately and eagerly nodded, offering a happy smile as well. “Yup-yup! I just call him Feenie, though!” she confirmed, then jumped once in delight. “Sure, he looks a little strange, but he’s so funny and fun to be around! Wow, Twilight! How did you know? You must be psychic like that pony Feenie and I met earlier!” Pinkie said in the most delightful and happy tone she could muster.
But Twilight was neither happy nor delighted as she looked at the ‘charm’ then back at the male pegasus. “Cruise? If you have all of his stuff… then that means…” She slowly turned towards him.
Cruise Control began to back away in very telling guilt. “P-please! I had to!”
Her worst fears confirmed, Twilight rounded on him, her head lowered and horn hard aglow, aura tinged a fiery orange instead of its usual purple. “What… did… you… DO to him?!” she demanded to know, approaching the male pegasus menacingly in a low crouch, anger and fear over Phoenix’s fate giving her renewed strength. If he’s hurt him, I swear I’ll—!
His eyes went wide at that, fearfully eying her glowing red irises and the wisps of smoke that were starting to come off her mane. “Please, Twilight! I d-didn’t want to, but I had to! I-I’ll tell you where he is! Just give that stuff back to me and let me go!” Cruise begged.
Twilight didn’t bother to reply, but instead turned her head fractionally to the side. “APPLE BLOOM! Go to Fluttershy’s cottage and get the police there!” she ordered, not taking her eyes off Cruise. “NOW!” she shouted when the surprised young earth pony didn’t immediately move.
“Huh? Okay, right!” Apple Bloom immediately rushed back towards the cottage.
“N-nooo! Please! I can’t go to jail!” Cruise pleaded, flaring his wings like he was about to take flight. Twilight immediately restrained him; she didn’t have enough power to paralyze him but could at least pin his wings to his sides, preventing him from escaping by air.
“Don’t even think about running away! There are two of us and only one of you!” Twilight bluffed, just hoping the sight of her glowing horn, red eyes and smoking mane would be intimidation enough to keep him there until the police arrived, knowing that if Cruise tried to break past her and gallop off, she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Pinkie, on the other hoof, was still obliviously rummaging through the pile of Phoenix’s possessions that Twilight and Apple Bloom had gathered.
“Oooo… look, there’s Rarity’s paper thingy! And that neato song-maker of Feenie’s! You really DO have a lot of the same things he does!” she said cheerfully while continuing to dig through the pile, now examining the strange object with all the buttons, trying to figure out how to make it sing again.
“Pinkie! For Celestia’s sake! They are ‘Feenie’s’ things! He attacked Phoenix in the forest and stole them!” Twilight spelled it out to her as Cruise turned to run the other direction, back into the woods, which would break Twilight’s hold over him once he got out of sight.
Pinkie’s eyes widened and her smile dropped; her hair suddenly falling flat to the sides as she finally comprehended the situation. “He… hurt… Feenie?” she whispered, the ‘song-maker’ falling from her hoof with a loud clatter. With that, Pinkie dove into the bushes only to somehow appear ahead of Cruise, blindsiding him with a flying tackle, using her greater earth pony weight and strength to pin the lighter, hollow-boned pegasus stallion to the ground. “You hurt my friend! You’re not going anywhere!” Pinkie informed him, her voice as sharp as a knife.
Cruise froze at the lethal tone of her voice. “Please…” he begged one last time as he struggled , only to find that caught between Pinkie’s strength and Twilight’s magic, he was trapped and had nowhere to go.
* * * * *
The police arrived just a minute later, led there by Apple Bloom. They arrested Cruise Control on the spot after hearing Twilight’s testimony and finding human items in his possession, knowing there was only one individual he could have gotten them from.
Once Phoenix’s possessions were returned to her by the police—they trusted her to return them as they knew she was Phoenix’s co-counsel—Twilight watched as a broken and unresisting Cruise Control was led away in hoof and wing cuffs by an earth pony detective and two unicorn deputies. They promised to dispatch police pegasus ponies and the weather patrol to search for Phoenix, but they wouldn’t arrive for at least twenty minutes, leaving Twilight badly torn over her next course of action. She knew she’d be taking a terrible chance reentering the woods alone with her power so weak, but she was also fearful Phoenix didn’t have that long.
Every minute in there is another minute that some forest monster could find him! she knew, swallowing hard as she reached her decision. “Pinkie, I know you want to help look for ‘Feenie’, but I need you to take Apple Bloom back home. It’s getting late and it’s not safe for her out here.”
Pinkie nodded, her hair floofy again and trademark smile back on her face, to Twilight’s relief—she’d only seen her friend in that angry, flat-haired state one other time, and would be happy to never see her like that again. “Okie Dokey Lokey! Oh, that reminds me! Your sister is looking for you, kiddo,” she told Apple Bloom.
The young filly’s orange eyes went wide. “Oh no! AJ’s gonna give me grief fer running off!” the she knew, cringing at the thought of what would happen when she got home. I don’t wanna be lectured by Big Mac again!
“I’ll get her home safe, promise! But what are you going to do, Twilight?” Pinkie asked in concern.
Her guts clenched. “I’m not waiting for the police. I’m going back in there myself to find Phoenix,” she managed, her calm voice belying the trembling of her legs.
“Oh! When you see him, tell him that I had a blast with him today! We should do it more often!” Pinkie requested, back to her old self, shining her bright smile at Twilight.
“Promise.” That’s IF I see him… Twilight swallowed as she turned to go back into the Everfree Forest, carefully gathering her courage and what little remained of her magic, not sure if she was more afraid that she wouldn’t find Phoenix… or that she would; her mind dredging up nightmare images of the state she would find him in.
“Twi?” Apple Bloom interrupted her brooding thoughts, walking up to her. “When you see that nice human lawyer guy again, could you tell him Ah’m sorry Ah lied in court this morning?”
Twilight hugged her tightly. “I will,” she replied, tears welling in her eyes. “And you were right, Apple Bloom—you were a big help to me. Thank you,” she kissed the young filly on the forehead before letting her go.
“Bye-Bye, Twilight!” Pinkie waved as she and Apple Bloom parted company with her, heading south for Sweet Apple Acres.
As she took her first few tentative steps into the forest, Twilight’s thoughts began to dwell on what she had done to Phoenix, an avalanche of emotions starting to pour out of her. What was I THINKING, abandoning him like that? The Judge was right; I should have at least heard him out! When I didn’t, he must have tried to investigate without me! Oh, this is all my fault for leaving him alone! I HAVE TO FIND HIM! she knew as she stepped deeper into the woods, starting to pick up her pace.
Oh, Celestia, PLEASE let him be all right! she said a silent prayer to her regent and mentor, her walk quickly turning into a trot, then a canter, and finally a full gallop as she raced for the forest clearing in search of the missing Phoenix Wright.
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This makes you actually think if Story of the blanks actually was just Apple Bloom's wild imagination turned into a campfire story. Great job!
2305614 Kipaji's a great editor indeed, yes? It was his idea~
I remember that Creepy-pasta game it scared the hay out of me
2303130
Edgeworth is the best!
so... is everybody writing a bad ending to this for the contest?
2305961 yeppers
If you know what I mean...
2306077
do you even have any ideas for your ending? i have rough idea what im gonna do already but i havent started writing yet.
im trying to make the people cry.
2306508 already finnis 900 words. And I hope you get a better exuse to trick a rival like that
. Good luck with your writing, and no funny tricks, ok?
2306521
what? ME? trying to trick competitors? i would NEVER!
i need to start writing, it would seem
2305689
Thanks, Raven.
2306498 Giggity.
2306984 Dang it, I picked rock.
Alright, go ahead; are you Phoenix or Miles?
2305706 "Story of The Blanks" was a Creepy-pasta? I've played it but I never thought it was a Creepy-pasta.
2307247 yes it was a creepy-pasta game
2306583
2307013
I think I'd have to be Edgeworth.
The man's too cool for his own good. He's also got my favorite outfit in the series.
Now, if we can just get a few others to join in, we can offer roles like Mia, Maya, Franziska (who wants to wield the whip?) or if you want to skip ahead a bit, Godot... arguably the coolest prosecutor of all...
2312465 I want to be... Maya!!
2316238 so much reply It's inception
2316238
I guess that means I'll have to buy a hamburger for you later.
Or maybe Blazing_Mane01, since he's Phoenix. 
2322978 Yay! Burgers!!!
2346032 gotta do just that~
2347735 2346032
That's something I added in with the edits--that Phoenix asks Owlowicious for two favors, not just one. Consider it another story enhancement, if a minor one, and it will not interfere with what part 4 revealed Owlowicious did.
I'll tell you both privately what the second favor is if you wish, and how it fits in with Owlowicious' known actions.
There it is again, 'The story of the Blanks'. I've played the game, and even seen my friend make a comic series out of it, and now your telling me it's a story? I thought it was interesting, but I never knew it had so many fans.
Apple Bloom: Hey, AJ! What's a "plethora?"
AB: From Twilight.
The saga continues...
Apple Bloom did as she was asked but found nothing, shaking her head. “Okay, then let’s try this…” Twilight trailed off as she popped the blue crystal cork loose. “Let’s give it a whiff, maybe I can identify it by smell…” With that, she took a tentative sniff of the strange substance… but then… “Nghh… uhh… AHHH!!” Twilight recoiled, dropping the bottle; Apple Bloom barely caught it before its contents spilled out. “M-MY NOSTRILS!!!” the violet unicorn cried, stumbling backwards, tears of pain streaming down her cheeks.
I know what's in that bottle!
Cats are pretty wretched little beasts if only for the unspeakable horrors that come out of their little bodies.
I haven't read this story, but it's got quite a reputation!
Pinkie, you can't own a golf club. You're a pony. It's just unnatural!
I really love the writing on Pinkie. This. Is. Classic.
I doubt she's counting strokes. You probably win by reaching the end of the course first, or maybe you win by not comically whacking yourself in the face with the ball...
We'd all be speaking German if the Nazis had gotten a hold of her. Can you imagine Maus tanks in Poland? Pinkie can, apparently.
militaryfactory.com/armor/imgs/panzer-8-pzkpfw-viii-maus.jpg
Cruise is just lucky Maud wasn't on hand to administer the earth pony justice...
i.imgbox.com/z1PlqXD2.jpg
Oh merciful emperor.... I remember the Blanks from Humanity's story "The Lost Element", even then, they're freaky!
You just activated Pinkamena you damned fool.
9043087
True, but don't worry--she's not homicidal here.
Wouldn't it be her forehooves?
Wouldn't it be her forehooves?
9146565
Indeed it would. Corrected.
6998901
I agree on the parts about Pinkie's writing being spot on funny but at the same time, insightful and not just a played for laughs dunderhead like a lot of people do (even if it is unintentional). Also agree that Cruise was D****D lucky Maud wasn't there or Limestone for that matter (although now that I think about it, Limestone might have disliked Phoenix on principle and may even have sided with Trixie as I remember her being almost like Gilda in the show Loud, Temperamental, and overall not a very nice pony.)