//------------------------------// // CHAPTER TWENTY:It Gets Worse, And Then Terrible // Story: The Bizarre Case Of Minty And Malty // by Speedy //------------------------------// “OK, let me ask very clearly...” started Star Catcher who trotted around a small circuital room. Her friends Minty, Whistle, Tropical Dream, and Lily sat at a table in the center of the room. Sparkleworks stood against an glass stained wall which was the only thing that stood out against the rest of the room which was dull and metallic. Star Catcher took a seat and crossed her hooves as she looked over her friends intensely. “Have any of you seen Malty in the last twenty four hours?” she asked them. At her question the mares shook their heads saying no, Whistle however, had remained silent. Star Catcher raised an eyebrow and when Whistle had took notice of the suspicious glares she nervously whistled and tapped her hooves together. She looked about the room but the more she ignored the stares the more they burnt. She bit her upper lip down in an attempt to remain silent, but she couldn’t take it, she broke. “OK OK! I thought I saw her the night of the game, but I lost her” she blurted out suddenly. “Now please---stop with the stares! Their killing me!” An sigh of relief came from Star Catcher, before she spoke again her gaze turned to Sparkleworks who was holding a single hoof to her face. While keeping her eyes on Sparkleworks she asked “Where did you see her?” and saw an immediate reaction. Sparkleworks had worry, stressed, and concerned mother all over her face. She had noticed her friend’s stare and Star Catcher turned back to Whistle who seemed to be taking quite a headache. “At some club” she spoke rubbing her temples. “All I recall were orange flashing lights, she ran when I saw her” “Hm..curious” Star Catcher whispered. She took a moment to gather her thoughts, shown by her staring down at the table before looking back up at the other three. They had said no to seeing Malty but Star Catcher needed more than simple words, even from her best friends. “Are any of you certain, absolutely positive, that you hadn’t seen Malty?” she asked them again. “No” answered Minty who had crossed her fore legs. “I hadn’t at least, I mean how could I?” “How could any of us?” spoke Tropical Dream who gave Minty a slow head shake. “She’s been missing for two months, plus the three of us had been painting and had no time to be outside recently”. “I can vouch for that” Lily spoke, waving her hoof at an invisible fly. “I got the stained dresses if you want prove” “That won’t be necessary” replied Star Catcher. A guard had entered the room suddenly, trotted up to Star Catcher and left after whispering to her. Minty whispered to Whistle “Wonder what that was about?” to which her friend simply shrugged. As if she had heard her Star Catcher gave a fake cough, Minty had sat up so fast her back stretched and the blue hue returned. She gave an curse under a grunt, “Sorry...” she nervously grinned. Star Catcher turned her eyes to Sparkleworks and then at the glass wall behind her, where no doubt Pearl stood watching them. She closed her eyes for a moment or two, inhaled and exhaled as she spoke “Last night a bar fight broke out and an stallion would had been Bludgeoned to death if not for an courageous small dragon breaking it up”. Tropical Dream held back something like an laugh. “I always tell ponies those places are for brutes, my dear old aunt almost lost her eye in a bar fight!” she embarrassing spoke after she had gotten angry stares from the others. “Yes, well the culprit ran from the scene but we had many eyewitnesses who came forward” Star Catcher paused to stand up as she looked down at her friends. “The details were---conflicting, at best. But one detail remained the same, yellow eyes”. Minty and Whistle turned to the other, mouths open and totally speechless. She saw Tropical Dream starring in her direction and Minty mouthed the words “I thought you were watching me!” “I was!” mouthed her friend who suddenly had an look of horror on her face. “W-Well I may had fallen asleep---” “Oh come on! You had one job to do! One jo---”” Minty froze, she had forgotten to mouthed the words and had instead yelled them. Minty gulped and forced a smile as she began to sweat. Star Catcher was tapping her hoof, Whistle had banged her face against the table, the guards whispered to one another and she dare not look at Sparkleworks nor at the glass wall behind her. “I--I---um..” mumbled Minty. “Is there something you would like to tell us?” at Star Catcher’s question Minty shook her head, she raised another eyebrow and Minty just gulped. She had to come clean, she knew it was the best option. She wasn’t even sure how Malty returned as she was still certain that one broken peppermint couldn’t had lasted long enough for her, plus how did she return after it had wore off? Before Minty ate her blue and green peppermints almost religiously and thus Malty was able to sustain herself for hours at a time, or at least that was what Minty theorized. If her theory was correct then the only possible answer was that Whistle hadn’t destroyed them all, but she had searched the entire building twice over after she was released from the hospital and found none were left. If there was a stash she had forgotten then it was likely it wasn’t in her building. If that was the case then she’d never find them. The other possible answer is that she was wrong, she did found it odd that she kept the damage Whistle had done to her spine as it conflicted with one glaring problem. She had a black eye and never once did Whistle remark on Malty having one, it had healed for her but returned in full for Minty? How was that even possible? Physical pain was just that, physical, yet Minty can barely stretch without pain but Malty can engage in a bar fight? What made her so special! She was not even her own mare so why was she getting the better end of the stick, Minty was really starting to hate her more and more by the passing minute. She knew it’d was likely Malty would return again and if she did, she'd rathered be locked up in an cell than out there murdering. She stomped with an great sigh, ready to confess and take blame for everything. Whether they believed her or not she didn’t care, at least they would take caution to her words. But right as she was about to speak Tropical Dream had stood up and interrupted her. “Its my fault” Minty stared at Tropical Dream in shock, what was she doing? “I was suppose to find Malty and hide her, you see---” Tropical Dream took a glance at Minty who was mouthing for her to stop before she made a huge mistake. Tropical Dream didn’t listen, instead she spoke “I’ve been hiding her, a final wish from Amethyst to protect her daughter..w-wait I mean---” “Daughter?” interrupted Star Catcher who looked rather taken aback. “You mean she’s Minty’s sister?” “W-Well...not exactly her sister,” mumbled Tropical Dream as she fractionally tried correcting herself. “you see she’s---” “Oh Celestia, finally some sense!” Star Catcher sighed in relief. The others breathlessly stared at her. “That explains why she resembles Amethyst and Minty, their related! Half sisters I take it? Only met her mother a few years ago?” “I-I---yes! Why, that’s exactly what I meant!” Tropical Dream answered as she rolled with the idea as she found it rather safe for Minty. “Minty never knew, oh my stars in Heaven, they wanted to tell her but you knew how her and Amethyst splitted ways..” Minty couldn’t believe that Tropical Dream was lying to Star Catcher’s face, it was so out of character she actually wondered if she had gotten into the peppermints and had changed too. “T-Tropical---I---don’t believe this..” Minty gasped, this seemed so surreal she wondered if she was dreaming. “Oh Minty, please understand, it’s for your own safety” Tropical Dream spoke in a reassuring smile. Minty wanted to speak up and stop her friend but by the time she did Star Catcher had said “If you’re telling the truth, then we need to speak privately. Guards”. Without so much as an word Minty and the others were escorted out, the last thing she saw before the door closed was Tropical Dream’s reassuring face. *** It was high noon, the train rolled into the station and engulfed the entire platform with steam and smoke. “Ack! Stupid steam!” Whistle coughed, hating the train. The engineer stepped off of the train, followed by the chef and some waiters. The engineer spoke aloud in his booming voice “There will be a few minutes break before we go, have to fetch an repair pony” and trotted off the platform with the other three in toe. “Well, that’s just divine” spoke Pearl who gave a gentle head shake. She turned to Whistle, who was still coughing her lungs up, and with another head shake she patted her daughter’s back then softly rubbed it. “I’d swear you have asthma, honey”. Whistle’s coughing ceased although now her throat was a bit sore. She spoke trying to hide it from her mother. “I’m fine, next time I might not wanna stand on the very edge..” “That’s a good idea, honey” Pearl smiled as they trotted to a nearby waiting bench. Once they sat and were comfortable she turned and asked “Are you sure you want me to go?” Whistle jumped at her sudden question, “Yes, well no---granddad needs you more than I do” she replied, being really nervous she had added “Maybe I can visit you sometime!” Pearl nodded her head and turned to the other ponies who were waiting around impatiently. Over to her left she spotted the engineer returning with two Unicorns, along with the chef and waiters who were carrying large boxes of food, they reentered the train. Through the windows she could see the faint glow of the Unicorns’ magic, then there was a loud scratching sound that had made everypony grip their ears tightly. “What, are they repairing the hull?” Whistle asked sticking her tongue out. The loud noises didn’t stop there, they heard what sounded like hammering and an crash, everypony shook their heads with a few considering to just leave. “Promise you’ll write? If anything happens?” Pearl asked. After Whistle had nodded she added “With what’s been happening I wouldn’t normally leave. I’m sure my dad’s nurse would be glad to stay with him but, oh, that stallion can’t go a day without seeing me” suddenly Pearl looked down depressed. “You know I suspect your grandfather is losing his memory more and more each day..” Whistle started to feel sad, she knew her grandfather was in bad health and needed daily care, but she had no idea that his mind was going. She hadn’t seen him in forever and it seemed like the window to visit is growing ever shorter, perhaps when this whole mess was over she could manage a train ticket. As if her mother had read her mind she asked her a question, one that had made her mind return to her own question on whether or not she knew about Malty. “How’s Minty doing?” Whistle took two solid seconds before she answered “Fine, I suppose”. Pearl nodded, she stared at the platform and for a moment Whistle wondered if she had seen something ran by. “Twin sister..wonder how she’s taking it?” Pearl almost whispered. “O-Oh..!” Whistle managed to hide an sigh she had just taken as she gasped in relief. “How can you deal with something like that?” she asked. “Thistle Whistle, promise me something?” Pearl had asked. Whistle curiously tilted her head, then nodded. “If...if anything were to happen, message me right away? I need to know---if you’re safe”. Whistle was taken off guard by her mother’s question, she pondered on her answer for a few seconds. She had to know, why else would she be asking this? Besides just being a worried mother Whistle had thought, she nodded and said “I promise, mom” and Pearl seemed to be better at ease. Pearl reached inside her saddlebag and took out an old and grey bound book, she passed it into Whistle’s hooves with the words “This is the book I mentioned the other day, maybe it could help you in a certain pitch” along with a smile that felt as warm as the sun’s beaming light. Suddenly the train’s loud horn blew followed by the words “All board!!!” and Pearl hovered to her hooves. “That was fast, I’ll write when I get home” spoke Pearl, she  kissed Whistle’s forehead before adding “Remember to keep me posted” then she trotted to the train. Whistle watched as she entered and took an window seat, when the train started to roll out some minutes later both waved to the other. Her emotion building Whistle chased the train up to the very edge of the platform, clutching the book to her chest as she shouted “I love you mom!” then she watched until it had vanished over the horizon. Whistle remained there for a few minutes, a million thoughts were going through her mind. She looked at the book her mother had just given her and read its title aloud, “The Strange Case Of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde..” An quick look at the pages revealed it was very short, at least eighty nine pages long. She wondered what the pitch her mother had mention could be, could she had meant Malty? Why didn’t she just come out and tell her? Was she scared? Concerned or worried about what Whistle would had said? Whatever her reason was, at least Whistle didn’t have to lie. As she trotted off of the platform she had turned to the front page and started reading, immediately she saw a connection that felt so eerie she was sure the air had turned ice cold. Whistle kept reading the book over the course of three days, the second day she couldn’t read much as Sparkleworks wanted to check on Tropical Dream who was incarcerated due to her lie of hiding Malty. Minty visited that day as well but they had just barely missed her, Tropical Dream told them that Minty was taking her being locked up quite hard. To see Tropical Dream, who was always so clean and neat but was now filthy and quite wore, Whistle felt really depressed. Tropical Dream gave a reassuring smile that did little to cheer her up. Tropical Dream had asked Whistle about her mother, to which she replied “I got her letter this morning, my pappa---that’s what I call my granddad---is doing alright. I’ll write back later this evening”. During the present day Whistle was relaxing on the sofa as she read the last few pages of the book while simultaneously listening in on the morning news. The news pony was just saying “Five attacks in two days, the perpetrator, now identified as one Ms.Malty, is getting ever more bold”. Whistle had flicked her head up to see an photo of Malty being displayed. As the news pony said “Malty was revealed, by a certain friend to whom is already in custody, to be the daughter of Amethyst and half sister to our famed candy genius Minty---” Whistle became worried, what if ponies started to hassle Minty now? Minty was already in a bad state as it was, keeping herself locked up for hours on end and refusing to leave her room in fear of suddenly changing. Whistle thought it was a big mistake, as well as heartless, to had mentioned Minty in the news. Ponies might start believing that Minty was hiding Malty, which she was but not in the way that they might expect. Suddenly Whistle had jumped straight upward with the book falling to the floor, her heart raced and she knew what was just said could only mean bad news. The words replayed in her mind with an eerie echo, “I was just told that another death occurred, a small dragon from our own Dragon Town was just discovered in the most gruesome state yet...” Forgetting that the remote was beside her on the sofa Whistle had hovered over and raised the volume on the TV itself. The news pony spoke, in a voice full of panic and fear “Yes? Oh? Oh dear..I was also just told, dear viewers, that starting today at twelve Fillydelphia will be under a total lockdown. To keep myself short, every inch of Fillydelphia will be under heavy patrols from now until Malty, or whoever this monster is, is caught. How could anypony do that to a child!” Suddenly the news cut to an error screen used for intermissions and Whistle could hear static coming from the speakers. She thought this was the final nail in the coffin as it was serious now, more than it was before. “A complete guard lock down..?” Whistle repeated, the last lock down that she even remembered was way back into her filly years. Whistle had to see Minty, she hovered up but just then she noticed Sparkleworks. She was staring at the TV from the archway between the kitchen and the living room, she seemed to had been in an state of shock but was broken out of it when Whistle had moved. As if Sparkleworks knew what Whistle was thinking she firmly said “Oh no, you’re staying right here Thistle Whistle!” “I have to see Minty!” Whistle returned loudly. ”She can’t be alone right now, you know that!” “Maybe, but Lily should still be working there, she’ll be fine as long as she stays inside and I expect you to do the same” Sparkleworks replied. To make her point even more clear Sparkleworks had trotted to the front door and slammed it shut, she locked it, trotted over to the sofa and sat down. Whistle wanted to scream in frustration, stuttering she yelled as she left the room and slammed her bedroom door shut. Sparkleworks cringed a little as she too wanted to scream. She felt a little bad she had to do that, but she knew Whistle would only get hurt if she went outside now of all times. She felt guilty, as well as a bad mother as she sat there for at least an hour before she suddenly stood up. She silently trotted to Whistle’s room, nudged the door open ever so gently, and saw she was sound asleep. Sparkleworks smiled, happy that for once Whistle hadn’t disobeyed her and snuck out. Quietly she closed the door and went to her own bedroom, the time on her sun themed clock was nearing eight fifty, usually she would stay up til ten but felt she should just go ahead and rest. Surprisingly it didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, her dream was the old and usual one where her and Star Catcher were trotting around and greeted their friends whenever they happened to bump into them. The trees were thin and tall, leaves dancing in the soft and gentle breeze, the grass was lust and had an brilliant blue hue to it. The two mares trotted, each nuzzling the other, they had reached Whistle and Pearl who were having a picnic. They greeted each other and Sparkleworks asked if they could join them, as Whistle spoke Sparkleworks had jumped in shock. Her face was melting, her eyes and mouth disappeared and were replaced by black indents, her body looked similar to wax that was under very intense heat. Suddenly the entire landscape began melting and Sparkleworks screamed as she saw both Pearl and Star Catcher were melting as well. They advanced on her, she stepped back and stumbled down a hill that wasn’t there before. She rolled until crashing into a tree and suddenly, faster than she could had ever reacted, the three melting ponies had grabbed her. She fought against them but they were stronger, she was held down and she feared the worse. Suddenly, from the melting Whistle came a whisper and they all stopped. She repeated the whisper but this time it was so ear piercingly loud that when Sparkleworks had leaned forward screaming she was back in her room. Her fur covered in sweat and the covers were askew, she fell back onto her pillow in relief but had almost immediately sat back up as her bedroom door was suddenly busted open.