Chapter 1: "Morning Meir, MD, PhD and PBP"
Mareiposa.
The City of Dreamers, Artists and gifted creators.
So they say. And I would most certainly agree! Its just that since that day, when I was called for the Mareiposa Intelligence Summit, I've been a little well...anxious. I won't deny that I'm smarter than most other ponies, but...
"The Smartest Pony In The World?"
"The Greatest Mind In Equestria?"
"Equestria's most brilliant scholar?"
I don't know about that....after all:
I'm just a doctor.
Mareiposa (Summer)
The summers of Mareiposa were always enchanting, at least from what I had read in books (In all honesty, this was the first time I had ever traveled outside of Equestria, Let alone to another country.) But I wasn't outside at the moment. I was standing there inside the great Palae De Mareiposa, the place where the summit had been arranged. I was the only pony not dressed formally, as for some reason, my invitation had said there was no need for it. Yet as I looked around at the curious, well-groomed faces in the room, I saw I was the only one not in some form of fancy attire.
You see, I'm a fairly neat and proper looking young mare. I wore my teal and light purple mane the same as I always had: With a large swirl hanging just slightly down my brow and the rest in two smaller swirls below my ears, that always stayed in the same spot, no matter what I did to them.
I didn't wear a dress, and instead had on my simple white lace blouse and my favorite bow tie which resembled a small blue butterfly. My cutie mark was a cross of hearts, though I never quite understood what it had meant. I had never really payed much attention to it, and simply done what I had always loved doing: Studying medicine.
As I looked back at it, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, that caught me by surprise.
A mime, of all things was looking at me with a large smile and painted face, from across the room. Incidentally, as soon as he saw me looking at him, he trotted over to me and began to perform his act.
I'm not the biggest fan of mimes, but I'm not one to be rude or impolite to others either. I humored him and watched his act. He put his hooves up in a manner that simulated he was behind a door, then motioned for me to knock on it.
I chuckled and humored him, pretending to knock on the invisible door. He opened it, and bowed to me as I trotted through.
I clapped my hooves in applause, and he tipped his little bowler hat then trotted off to entertain the other guests.
"That was odd. But it was also kind of fun!" I thought, as I saw him act out for a group of other ponies. Noticing them, I realized a recognized a few of them. Like me, they had been invited to the summit as well. Unlike me, they were all dressed in fancy attire, that seemed to make me stand out more than before.
The tall red unicorn stallion in a pressed tuxedo and thick glasses was Doctor Aerospace. He was the senior director and scientist at the Equestria Space Administration (ESA). He was very smart and rumor has it, he's the pony who will send the first ponies into space, someday!
The white Pegasus mare with the golden colored mane and sundress was Sunshine Delight. She was known for her upbeat attitude and her fantastic academic record. An Academic genius, Scholar and successful Author, She had not only graduated The Royal Canterlot University in only a year, but had gone back to teach the same classes she aced. She probably knew way more than I did, about lots of stuff.
The cream colored unicorn mare with a caramel colored mane and half moon spectacles was Dr. Seastone, an absolutely brilliant scientist and the creator of some of equestria's greatest inventions. She actually wore a lab coat, making her and me the only ones not wearing something fancy (which made me feel a lot better!) I smiled, as she laughed joyfully at the mime's routine.
And the silver earth pony with the bronze mane and stiff glare, was Sleuth Maregold, The head inspector for the police in Mareiposa. He was taller than most and had a look like he didn't care about...well anything, honestly. He only grunted at the mime's act, then trotted away to the other room. Even though he wore a suit, he hadn't taken the time to tie his bow tie, which showed he didn't care about where he was or why he was here. He was certainly not the friendliest pony around. It occurred to me, he might've only been here for security reasons.
I suddenly heard gasps as a elegant and stunning mare in a royal gown entered the room. She was Pompous Regal, the wife of one mister Alphonse Regal: Entrepreneur, Business pony and the host of our little get together. Miss Regal was quite young and very beautiful. Her gold mane was in the fanciest updo I 'd ever seen, and she wore more diamonds and jewelry than I thought a single mare could wear.
She rolled her almond shaped eyes at the commenters in the room, and strutted elegantly over to one of the servants who was busy serving sparkling cider to the guests. As she engaged him in what I heard was a scolding on not charging bits for drinks, I decided to introduce myself to her.
I trotted up to her and smiled, but before I could say even a single word, she sighed.
"Yes, what is it?" she said, speaking in a smart and annoyed tone.
I ignored her rudeness and introduced myself. "Hello, Miss Regal. My name is Morning Meir. I want to thank you and your husband for inviting me to this event! Mareiposa is such a beautiful city. It's a pleasure to meet you!" I smiled warmly at her, extending my hoof in friendship.
Unfortunately, my politeness was not returned.
"Yes, I'm sure." She replied giving me a blank and uninterested look. Miss Regal was known for being as cold as ice, hence why many ponies referred to her as "The Ice Queen." as she brushed me off, I could see her reputation was well earned.
She gave me a sideways glance as the servant trotted uncomfortably away. " As for your previous comment, I did not invite you here. I know little of my husband's business affairs, and I care even less. It was he who invited you and your ilk to my home, not me. If you want to thank someone, then go and bother him and instead of me."
With that she turned on her hoof and left the room. I stood there for a moment, before breathing a sigh of relief. I was glad she had left. She made me feel so...inadequate, for some reason.
I decided to take the Ice queen's advice and go see Mr. Regal. Perhaps he would be more open to conversation than his wife.
I left the room and made my way to Mr. Regal's office, trotting through lavish halls of statues and various paintings. The Palae De Mareiposa is a truly amazing site to behold, especially from the inside!
Approaching the office door, I heard Mr. Regal's gruff voice behind it. I couldn't make out what he was saying, but it sounded like he was arguing with someone.
I delicately knocked on the door.
"Bah-what!? Who's there? What do you want?"
"Oh...I" (I had been so taken back by how startled he sounded, that I didn't know what to say to him.)
"Go away! I came in here to be alone!"
"Alone?" I thought. "Then who was he talking to?" Something didn't feel right.
"Mr. Regal? My name is Morning Meir. I'm a doctor from Equestria. I just wanted to thank you for inviting me to this summit." I said as delicately and politely as I could.
I didn't hear a response from him. I was about to knock on the door again, when I heard the sound of breaking glass. A vase had fallen and broke, from what I deduced from the delay of time between the breaking and the shards hitting the floor.
"Mr. Regal, are you okay?"
Again no response. I began to worry.
"Mr. Regal, I'm coming in, okay?"
If he was hurt or injured, it was my duty as a doctor to help him. Plus my instincts told me something bad had happened.
When I entered the room, I muffled a scream as I saw that my instincts were indeed correct.
Laying on the floor was the dead body of Mr. Regal, sprawled out on the floor, with shards of broken porcelain around him. It seemed as if he had been killed by a fatal blow from the now shattered vase. But something was off...
Before I could dictate what had happened, I caught a barely audible hoofstep behind me. Whoever it was, they most certainly were trying not to be heard. The intruder suddenly lunged at me from behind, but I was not as helpless as they had probably thought.
I ducked to the side, and saw that the intruder was none other than the mime. The same mime from before! He was attacking me!
He grabbed my arm, but I easily locked his in my other. He tried to push me away but I tripped him from behind. I may not have been a fighter, but I'd always had a knack for catching details of the world. When fighting, all one has to do, is examine these details in order to successfully defend themselves. I could easily anticipate attacks and how an opponent would defend themselves based on the details of the situation. I could then use that to fight.
For example, he stepped forward on his right hoof, indicating he would then throw an attack from his left. His breathing was rapid, meaning he was in a hurry. He didn't want to be caught here. Lastly, his attacks were very strong and well placed, indicating that he was most definitely not a mime. No mime was as well trained as this.
He squared off with me for but another second before a voice down the hall, made him panic. He pushed me away then jumped clear out the window.
Ms. Regal and a number of ponies arrived into the room, and all responded exactly as you would imagine: They all freaked out, at the sight of the now deceased Mr. Regal.
"Um...I can explain!" I said, quickly getting up off the floor.
though to be honest...
I'm not sure where I could've even started.