It was a warm summer’s afternoon in Clydesdale. Cicadas were buzzing in the vividly green trees while the squirrels and rabbits darted across the old beaten path. Birds and pegasi alike flew through the skies above the town without a care in the world, simply enjoying the warm summer sun. One sepia toned Pegasus however, was walking with a pastel blue earth pony across the river back towards town. Beside them was a black Labrador that followed closely to the earth pony.
“So what do you want to do now Flashback?” the earth pony asked as she looked towards the Pegasus with her gray eyes.
“I was thinking of heading on over to Inkblot’s place. Do you want me to drop you and Nights off at home or do you want to come with me Dreamweaver?” Flashback asked.
“I’d love to come with you. I haven’t heard from her in a few days and I want to make sure she’s alright. It’s unlike her to be so quiet,” Dreamweaver replied with a smile as she closed her eyes and continued walking. Flashback followed after the blind pony off through the Market District of town towards Inkblot’s home.
The two ponies lazily made their way to the end of the Market District where Inkblot’s home resided. Flashback knocked on the door and took a step back. After a few moments she knocked again.
“Inkblot? Are you there?” she called at the house. She was preparing to knock one last time when the door opened and a cream colored unicorn looked at the two guests on her porch.
“Oh it’s you two,” Inkblot yawned with a smile. “I’m sorry I was just catching a nap, I didn’t hear you knocking. Please come inside.”
Inkblot stepped aside, allowing the two ponies to step into her home. As per usual the one story home was a bit of a mess with papers and books scattered about the living room. Inkblot’s horn lit up as she cleaned up the room a bit so it was at least able to be navigated. Flashback, Dreamweaver, and the Labrador took a seat on the couch. Flashback looked at the unicorn as she sleepily walked over and took a seat on one of the cushions lying around. Her mane was a complete mess and she looked utterly worn out.
“Are you okay Inkblot?” Flashback asked. “You’ve been gone a few days.”
“Huh? Me? I’m fine. I’ve just been busy working,” Inkblot replied with a forced smile.
“You don’t sound fine,” Dreamweaver chimed in, looking towards the unicorn. “You sound like you haven’t been sleeping well.”
Inkblot sighed with a smile and looked away, knowing there was no use trying to hide from her friends.
“I haven’t. It’s been really restless and I don’t remember dreaming,” she admitted. “I’m sorry I can’t really give you something to interpret Dreamweaver.”
“It’s alright. I’m sure we can get to the bottom of this,” Dreamweaver replied. “Has anything happened lately?”
“No, nothing big has happened, except Faria made it through the dungeon of Hokma and recovered the Sacred Chalice.”
“Inkblot please, try to stay in reality here. What about an anniversary?”
Inkblot thought for a moment before a look of nostalgia came over her.
“Well, it was my mother’s birthday,” she stated casually.
“Did you buy her something nice?” Flashback questioned curiously.
“Oh no of course not. She was carried off by the kobold minions of Mad Vick years ago,” Inkblot replied simply. It was not the first outrageous story they had heard from their friend. The other two glanced towards each other. This sort of story was a bit out the ordinary though.
“ Inkblot, what happened to your mother?” Dreamweaver asked curiously.
“I just told you, she lives in a thriving city on the ocean floor to the west.” Inkblot responded cheerfully.
“Inkblot, what happened to your mother?” Dreamweaver asked once more.
“Again, I just told you. Are you having trouble hearing me Dreamweaver? I said she’s living up in the space station protecting Equestria from hostile lifeforms that keep trying to invade.” Inkblot answered, her eyes looking at her friends clearly confused if not slightly agitated that she had to ‘repeat’ herself. Flashback looked at the unicorn confused.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Flashback asked. Inkblot merely nodded. Dreamweaver looked concerned as she looked towards her friend.
“Inkblot you’re certainly not alright,” the earth pony stated. “You just gave me three outrageous stories that are odd even for you. That’s not alright Inkblot. Something is wrong.”
“I’m perfectly fine, I swear.” Inkblot insisted as she looked at the two ponies, both of which seemed extremely concerned for their friend. Her ears fell as she slowly fell to her haunches.
“Okay, maybe there is something wrong,” she muttered quietly as she looked off to the side and then down at the floor. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Dreamweaver sighed as Flashback turned towards her.
“So what do we do now? She won’t tell us what is really going on,” the Pegasus stated.
“We need to find the underlying cause for these stories. I suggest we should go back to where this all started.” Dreamweaver replied, looking towards her other friend. “Do you remember when this all started? You’ve known her longer than I have.”
“She’s, always been like this ever since she moved here. She’s never really discussed her mother before though, the first I ever heard about her was when we bought her those ribbons, and it was a crazy story then too.”
“I’m right here you know.” Inkblot grumbled as she glared at the two ponies. Dreamweaver turned back towards the unicorn.
“Well we need to get to the bottom of this, and this problem seems to have started before you moved here. So we need to retrace your steps, figure this out and face it if you’re ever going to move past this, and find some peace,” Dreamweaver explained as she stood and looked at her friend. “Please Inkblot, let us help you.”
Inkblot gazed at the floor for a few moments before closing her eyes and let out a sigh.
“I’ll try to,” she muttered.
“That is a good start at least,” Dreamweaver said with a soft smile. “Now, I think we need to go where you were before you came to Clydesdale.”
“Can anypony say road trip?!” Flashback grinned as she stood, flapping her wings a couple times in excitement. “You mentioned it once. You said you grew up in some town on the other side of the White Tail Woods right?”
Inkblot slowly nodded as she looked up at the Pegasus.
“That’s settled then.” Flashback smiled. “All we have to do is go pack. Then tomorrow we catch the early train towards the woods, and we should be there by evening.”
“Is that alright with you Inkblot?” Dreamweaver asked.
“I-I don’t want to go,” the unicorn admitted. “You two can go I’ll be fine here.”
“Oh no, we aren’t leaving you here by yourself. You’re coming with us if we’re going,” Dreamweaver said sternly.
“Alright, I’ll go. I’ll meet you girls back here tomorrow morning then, around dawn,” Inkblot sighed as she headed to the door. The two ponies and canine followed after her.
“Sounds like a plan then. We will see you back here at dawn tomorrow, “Dreamweaver started. “In the meantime, please try to get some rest.”
“I will. See you two later.”
With that, Flashback and Dreamweaver left Inkblot’s home and headed back to their apartment to begin packing for the trip ahead.
The next morning, the two ponies arrived back at Inkblot’s home right as the sun peeked over the mountains. Inkblot opened the door and followed them to the station with her luggage. The three ponies boarded the station wagon, and were on their way to the train station. Inkblot was rather quiet, her gaze focused out the window for the duration of the trip. Flashback and Dreamweaver left the unicorn with her thoughts. Before long they were boarding the train that would take them across Equestria. Inkblot didn’t say a word as she grudgingly boarded the train. Dreamweaver put a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder and smiled softly towards her.
“It’s going to be alright. You aren’t alone in this,” she comforted as she followed Flashback’s hoofsteps to their seats. Inkblot gave a slight smile as she settled down in her seat.
“So question, where exactly are we starting when we get there?” Flashback asked.
“I figured we would start in the library, look up some information on the town and the surrounding area,” Dreamweaver offered.
“There isn’t a library. It’s a small town.” Inkblot grumbled quietly.
“Oh. Well there has to be somewhere that has historical records.” Dreamweaver replied.
Inkblot pawed at the seat slightly and looked down at the floor. Clearly she still wasn’t happy about being dragged along. Flashback looked at Inkblot.
“Aw come on, cheer up Inkblot. I mean when was the last time you were back home? Isn’t it exciting?” she asked with a smile.
“I left for a reason,” Inkblot stated gloomily. Flashback whined a bit but left it at that. Dreamweaver exhaled and looked towards the unicorn concerned, but did not pester her any further.
It was nightfall by the time the train pulled into the station. The three ponies gathered their belongings and headed into the small town of Foalbrook as the moon rose into the sky. They headed into the Inn and settled down into their room. Inkblot tossed her bag into the corner and curled up on one of the beds, her back to the other two ponies.
“Inkblot, I know this is really hard for you, but we don’t want to see you suffer any more. You’ll be better off having worked through whatever happened. Everything will work itself out,” Dreamweaver reassured as she carefully settled onto one of the other beds. Flashback took the last bed and grinned.
“It’s like Dreams said. It’ll work out just fine. I have a good feeling about this,” she beamed towards the unicorn. Inkblot looked towards her friends as they settled down for the night and nodded.
“I hope so,” she murmured as she turned the light off. It didn’t take long for the sounds of sleeping ponies to fill the room.
The next morning Inkblot woke with a start as she was catapulted out of her bed and onto the floor.
“Morning!” Flashback shouted and smiled at her friend. “We’re going to Town Hall to see what we can find.”
“Flashback I said to wake her up gently, not give her a heart attack!” Dreamweaver scolded in her direction. Inkblot groaned as she got up and rubbed her head, glaring at the Pegasus.
“Can I at least get breakfast first?” she protested as she got to her hooves. Flashback handed her an apple which she quickly devoured. With her stomach sated for now, she followed Flashback and Dreamweaver out of the Inn. Flashback looked back towards her as the two ponies hesitated, waiting for the unicorn. Inkblot hung her head with an exasperated sigh as she took the lead and led them off to the center of town where the Town Hall was located. The earth pony and Pegasus passed up the unicorn and began to head inside Town Hall. Flashback stopped and looked back at Inkblot as she waited at the bottom of the stairs.
“I’m waiting here,” she stated stubbornly. “I don’t want to go in there.”
Flashback covered her face with her hoof and groaned.
“Inkblot we need your help. We don’t really know what we’re looking for here. We’re here for you after all,” Dreamweaver specified. Inkblot stomped her hoof and looked away.
“No. I’m not going in there,” she repeated. Flashback glared slightly.
“Come on! We need you! How are we supposed to help you if you won’t help yourself?!” she yelled.
“I said NO!” Inkblot insisted as she planted her flank on the ground and looked away from her friends. Flashback took a step towards her only to have Dreamweaver put a hoof on her back.
“Leave her Flashback. We can’t make her do what she doesn’t want to do. It would be detrimental to what we’re trying to do,” Dreamweaver started before turning to Inkblot. “Inkblot will you at least wait here for us to return?”
“I will wait for you right here,” Inkblot said as she hit the ground with her hoof. She looked towards the two ponies, her ears falling a bit. “I’m… I’m sorry but I just can’t.”
“We understand. We’ll be back as soon as we can,” the earth pony replied as the pegasus led her up the rest of the steps and into the building.
Dreamweaver and Flashback walked up to the front desk where a unicorn sat, clearly busy talking with an earth pony stallion. He was a dark red pony, and his black mane was starting to show signs of his age. He wore a black ascot around his neck.
“Yes sir, right away, Mayor Rabble Rouser.” She confirmed as she quickly scribbled something down on the notepad in front of her. The stallion nodded, before looking towards the two new comers.
“You two don’t look familiar, have you just moved here?” he asked curiously.
“Oh no, we’re just visiting.” Dreamweaver explained. “We’re just looking for some information regarding a pony.”
“Oh?” He questioned curiously. “And what would you tourists like to know?”
“We’re looking for information regarding a pony named Liberty Records,” Flashback piped in as she walked up to the counter. The secretary behind the desk looked at them deep in thought.
“Liberty Records… Liberty Records… Let me head into the back and see what I can find alright?” She stated as she stood and did just that. Rabble Rouser watched them curiously as they waited for the secretary to return.
“Why are tourists looking up that particular pony?” He questioned.
“We’re trying to help our friend.” Flashback answered. The stallion nodded slowly.
“I see. Well if you two would excuse me, I have an important meeting to get to across town. Good luck in your search girls,” he smiled as he headed off down one of the corridors.
The secretary returned with a small box.
“This is everything we have on the pony Liberty Records.” She stated. “You may look through its contents in the next room.”
“Thank you,” Flashback replied as she took the box and led Dreamweaver over into the next room. It had a simple table and a few chairs around it, but that was about it. Flashback helped Dreamweaver into a chair before setting the box down and looking inside it. Her ears fell in disappointment.
“There’s like, five pieces of paper in here and that’s it,” Flashback muttered as she riffled through the papers, looking for more in the box. “I was wondering why it was so light.”
“It’s better than nothing. What are the papers?” Dreamweaver questioned.
“Let’s see. One is a newspaper article, one is Liberty Record’s birth certificate, Inkblot’s birth certificate, a written letter, and a photo.”
“What does that news article say?”
“It’s basically recognition for some community service she did around town. One of those articles you know?”
“What about the letter?”
“One moment. It’s just a thank you letter addressed to her for her community service.”
“What is the photo of?”
“Looks like Inkblot as a filly and her mom in front of a house.”
Dreamweaver hesitated for a few moments before exhaling.
“Let’s see if Inkblot knows anything about any of these things.” Dreamweaver stated as she stood. Flashback helped Dreamweaver out of the room. After returning what was left in the contents of the box they left the building. Inkblot hadn’t moved an inch from what Flashback could tell as the two ponies walked down to her. Inkblot was staring up at the clouds as the two ponies approached. Her ears moved to trace their movements, but she didn’t remove her gaze from the sky.
“Did you girls find anything?” She asked curiously.
“Not much. What do you know about your mother and community service?” Dreamweaver asked. Inkblot hesitated a bit before tearing her gaze from the sky and looked towards her friends.
“I don’t really remember. It’s really fuzzy,” she admitted slowly, as if struggling to get the words out properly.
“Oh. There was a photo of you and her when you were younger in front of some house,” Flashback offered. “We couldn’t bring it with us but maybe you know the photo.”
“I remember that photo. It was the only photo taken of us, it was in front of my house just before she was sent away to the coal mines,” Inkblot explained. Dreamweaver sighed and shook her head.
“I suppose your old home would be our next stop,” Dreamweaver said.
“Let’s not go and say we did,” Inkblot grumbled as she looked at the ground.
“Oh come on! Work with us here.” Flashback groaned.
“Fine, fine. I believe it’s this way,” Inkblot sighed gloomily as she stood up and slowly started down the dirt road.
The three ponies soon came upon a simple worn out building that had once been Inkblot’s home. The building had seen better days. The windows were broken and the roof had numerous holes in it, over all the building looked broken. Flashback walked up to the door, finding a couple notices on it.
“Danger. This structure is declared unsafe for pony occupancy or use. It is unlawful for any pony to enter or occupy this building,” Flashback read aloud. “There’s a demolition notice.”
“Well so much for that idea,” Dreamweaver sighed as she sat down, trying to think of what to do next. Inkblot looked at the two ponies before glaring at the door. She walked over and opened the door.
“Inkblot what are you doing? Didn’t you hear what the notice said? We’ll get in trouble!” Flashback scolded.
“You two wanted me to come along on this wild goose chase. If you want to get to the bottom of this, we’re going inside,” she stated stubbornly as she ventured into the building. “You can either follow or stay outside, but I’m going in.”
Flashback groaned and covered her face with her hoof.
“NOW you want to help? Gosh darn it Inkblot make up your mind!” Flashback grumbled.
“We better follow her and make sure she doesn’t get hurt.” Dreamweaver said as she stood and slowly started towards the door. Flashback led her inside after the unicorn. Inkblot had stopped in the entry way to look about her home. It was empty, with just a few forgotten books and papers scattered about. The old building creaked, as if threatening to come down on their heads at any moment. Inkblot looked back at her friends as they followed inside. She slowly made her way into the living room.
“I remember playing in here when I was just a filly,” she muttered quietly as she looked at the state of disrepair her old home was in. Flashback looked about the room as well, as Inkblot slowly made her way towards the kitchen area. She stopped where the tile began, her eyes surveying the area. Even through the dirt and grime, a dark stain could be seen in the middle of the kitchen. Inkblot slowly sat on her haunches as she eyed the stain quietly. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife as Inkblot stared at the stain.
“Is something wrong Inkblot?” Dreamweaver asked nervously.
“No,.” Inkblot lied, her voice strained from fighting back tears.
“What are you fillies doing in here? This building is condemned,” a stallion’s voice stated. The three ponies jumped and looked towards the sound of the voice. Out of the shadows a dark red stallion with a greying mane stepped out and looked down at them with disapproval.
“I suggest you three leave immediately before you hurt yourselves,” he said.
“Mayor Rabble Rouser? What are you doing in here?” Flashback asked confused.
“I saw you three entering the property. Seeing as you’re new comers, I figured I’d warn you myself before calling the police,” he replied simply. Inkblot stared at him quietly. Her expression quickly shifted to one of rage.
“Y-you,” she growled as she stood and stepped towards the stallion. “It’s, it’s your fault!”
“Excuse me?” He asked, clearly confused. Dreamweaver and Flashback looked towards their friend.
“It’s your fault!” she yelled as she lowered her head and started to charge. Flashback quickly grabbed her friend.
“Dreamweaver grab her!” Flashback urgently yelled as the earth pony quickly joined in holding their friend back.
“It’s your fault! It’s your fault she’s gone!” Inkblot screamed, tears in her eyes as her horn lit up. The various forgotten books around her began to levitate and launch themselves at the politician. The stallion growled as the first book struck him.
“This is assault!” he snapped as he dodged the books. “I will have you arrested!”
“You’re the one who should be arrested! If it wasn’t for you, she’d still be here!” Inkblot yelled, tears streaming down her face as she struggled against her friends to get her hooves on Rabble Rouser. He glared at her as she thrashed about.
“You’re Liberty’s filly aren’t you? It all makes sense now,” he sighed as Inkblot ran out of things to throw at him. “You two were trying to help this poor deranged mare. I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time. You can’t believe a word that pony says.”
“Inkblot is our friend. She doesn’t get this hysterical over nothing,” Flashback snapped. “What did you do?”
“I did nothing. She’s mentally insane,” he responded as he stomped his hoof forcefully, causing the ground to shake slightly. “You three are going to be arrested for trespassing and-“
He was cut off as a beam from above came crashing down between them. The wall began to bend and splinter.
“The building is collapsing, we need to get out of here, now!” Flashback yelled as she pulled on Inkblot. “Inkblot leave him!”
Inkblot glared as the debris began to fall rapidly from the ceiling. Her ears fell as she closed her eyes and turned away.
“This way.” She shouted as she helped Flashback quickly lead Dreamweaver out the back door just as the entryway gave way. They ran from the building as it collapsed in on itself. They stopped and looked back at the ruins, looking for any sign of Rabble Rouser. They didn’t see him anywhere. Inkblot looked at the remains of her home, refusing to leave the site. It wasn’t very long before the fireponies and police arrived on the scene. Flashback and Dreamweaver answered their questions as best they could, while Inkblot stayed silent for the duration.
“So let me get this straight. Your friend here ignored the notice and went inside anyway, you two followed her, then Mayor Rabble Rouser found you three and your friend went berserk and attacked him, and then the building collapsed,” the police pony asked to which the two mares nodded. The police pony sighed.
“Well I’m going to have to take you girls in for trespassing and your friend there for assaulting the Mayor,” the police pony stated as she pulled out the hoof cuffs. Inkblot looked up at the police pony as she went to put the cuffs around her friends.
“It was all my fault.” She stated as she stood and walked over. “They were just trying to help me and I messed everything up. I went inside because I used to live there, I attacked the mayor, Flashback and Dreamweaver didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Wait a second. You used to live here?” the police pony asked, examining her closely for a moment. “You’re Inkblot, Liberty’s filly.”
“I am. If it’s not too late, I’d like to give my side of the story of what happened to my mother.” Inkblot said quietly. The pony looked at her and glanced at the other two ponies.
“Since you two are just tourists you’ll probably just get a fine. You though,” she said, pointing to the unicorn “We have much to discuss. We’ve been trying to crack that case ever since you disappeared.”
Inkblot nodded as the three of them followed after the police pony down to the station.
Inkblot fidgeted nervously as she sat in the steel chair in the room. A stallion sat across from her patiently.
“Begin whenever you’re ready Inkblot. Just tell us what happened that night,” he said calmly as he listened carefully to her. Inkblot took a breath and nodded.
“I can do this, I can do this.” she muttered to herself as she closed her eyes.
“It all started when it was storming that night. I was playing in the living room when there was a knock at the door. My mother stopped what she was doing in the kitchen and went to see who it was. I ran over curiously and poked out from behind her leg. It was Rabble Rouser. I remember the glare my mother gave him as he walked inside and headed into the kitchen. He had a case with him. He set it on the kitchen table and began to talk to my mother. It was something to do about the election, and he wanted my mother to be quiet about something. He opened the case but I wasn’t able to see what was inside. My mother glared at him even more as she slammed the case shut and pushed it towards him, demanding he take his ‘filthy money’ and leave. Rabble Rouser refused to leave and started to yell at my mother that she had better stay quiet. My mother began to escort me into the other room. I turned around to see what he was doing. He had reared up, and then forcefully brought his hooves down upon my mother’s backside. I remember screaming as I ran away to the corner and stared at him as he rose again and again, bringing his hooves down on my mother. She screamed with every blow, but then she stopped screaming, stopped moving. Rabble continued to bring his hooves down on her till finally he stopped, panting as he looked at her. He cursed as he grabbed his case and left through the back door. I approached my mother and nosed her. She didn’t respond in any way. I remember sitting there calling for her, begging her to wake up. She never did. I remember it wasn’t till morning that the neighbor came over for some sugar that he contacted the police. I was put in the orphanage, I found that after a while I couldn’t say what really happened. I had to lie and make up stories to cope with what had happened. No matter how many times the police ponies asked me questions, I couldn’t tell them this story. After I earned my cutie mark, I ran away from the orphanage and moved to Clydesdale. This place brought up too many memories.”
The detective looked at Inkblot as she finished relaying her story.
“You’re saying Rabble Rouser killed your mother?” he asked cautiously. Inkblot nodded.
“I know now he was trying to bribe my mother into silence for something to do with the election.” She added. “But that’s all I remember.”
The detective nodded and sighed as he stood up and shook her hoof.
“Well it was a pleasure to meet you Inkblot, and I’m glad you were finally able to tell us the truth of what happened that night. I’m very sorry for your loss,” he stated.
“What will happen now?” Inkblot asked as she stood and followed him out of the room.
“Rabble Rouser was pulled out of the building. He’s in the hospital now, but he will be brought up on charges for murder,” he replied. “This crime has gone unpunished for long enough. It’s time you finally received some justice.”
Inkblot nodded and remained silent as she was let out into the lobby where Flashback and Dreamweaver were waiting. Inkblot walked over quietly and gave a small smile as the tears formed in her eyes. Flashback hugged her tight.
“We knew you could do it,” Dreamweaver smiled as she stood and hugged the unicorn as well.
“I did. No more stories about her,” Inkblot sniffled as she finally let her friends go.
“So what do you want to do now Inkblot? We don’t have to stay here anymore if you don’t want to,” Flashback offered. Inkblot smiled and shook her head.
“No, it’s okay. If it’s alright with you girls I want to stay for a while. I want to see him see face justice to the fullest extent of the law,” She responded. Dreamweaver smiled at her friend as she stood and looked towards her.
“Then we’ll stay as well. We’re with you till the very end Inkblot,” the blind pony stated as she hugged her friend once more. “Come on, it’s been a long day. Let’s get back to the hotel and order room service.”
“Sounds good to me!” Flashback laughed as she led Dreamweaver out of the police station and followed Inkblot back to their room at the Inn.
It was about a week later that former mayor, Rabble Rouser, was put on trial for the murder of Liberty Records. Inkblot sat in the crowd, between Flashback and Dreamweaver as the trial proceeded. The jury was just returning to give their verdict on the defendant.
“We the jury, find the defendant, Rabble Rouser, guilty of altering the ballots for his election, and guilty of the murder of Liberty Records.” The spokespony stated. The judge nodded as he looked down at the former mayor.
“In that case, I sentence you, Rabble Rouser, to life in prison.” He said simple before letting the gavel fall. “Case dismissed.”
The court room buzzed with conversation as Rabble Rouser was led away. He growled and grumbled to himself as he was led out of the court room. Inkblot gave a small smile as a couple tears fell from her eyes. Flashback nudged her and grinned as Inkblot gently nudged Dreamweaver to follow as they left the court house. They stopped once they got to the bottom of the stairs.
“Now what?” Flashback questioned.
“I believe that is up to Inkblot,” Dreamweaver replied. Inkblot smiled at her friends and hugged them tight.
“I believe it’s time we went home,” she sighed with a smile. The other two smiled as they walked with her back towards the Inn to pack for the trip home.