While Lieutenant Vigil and one of his Guard Upper Class escorts were getting patched up by the fellow escorts from the glass scrapes caused by their breaking into the Final Act Retirement Community, they made a plan about how to search the building. The apartment building in the pegasi colony above Canterlot seemed to have been fortified by boarding up all the windows and doors, but there were no rebel forces inside, or any signs of rebel activity. There was also no sign of the usual residents or staff in the building, and worry streaked Lieutenant Vigil's mind in the same way shafts of sunlight penetrated through the boarded-up windows.
"We'll start with the rooms of the 'two witnesses'. That'll be the best place to find clues." Vigil affirms once the cuts had been bandaged over, referring to the two pegasi residents sent down into the main city by "Lord Zedd", presumed to be an Agent of Chaos, as "witnesses of his final act", whatever that actually meant.
"Yes sir, as soon as we can obtain a room listing of where they are. We need the listing because otherwise we would be stumbling around in the darkness not knowing where we should be going." the escort performing the bandaging explains, carefully manipulating "wing fingers" to secure a gauze bandage over a cut.
"Understood. Artificial lighting may have been deliberately sabotaged, so we will not attempt to restore it right now. Instead, we'll go with the lanterns." Lieutenant Vigil affirms, using a wing to turn on one of the emergency lanterns that the squad had been equipped with previously.
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The room listing showed Wind Rider's room as being closer than Stormy Flare's, so Lieutenant Vigil ordered the squad to check that one first: "Wind Rider is Room 106, shouldn't be too far from here. If we need to, we'll check Stormy Flare at Room 155 after that."
"At least we won't worry about having to climb stairs in this darkness..." one of the escorts sighs in relief.
Vigil and the two escorts form up, leaving behind the broken main entry doors, and proceed to the opposite end of the atrium, taking in what little they can see of the movie theater thematic of the place. This goes right down toward the sign above the doors leading inside, which reads "All Screens This Way". The pegasus Lieutenant gives a careful push with a forehoof on the double doors, and one of them swings a bit revealing they are unlocked. Despite misgivings (shared by the escorts as shown in the worry-filled faces) that they were walking into some kind of trap, Vigil pushes one door all the way open, revealing a well-worn red carpet underhoof leading toward the "screens" (actually the rooms of the residents).
"Check the doors, see if there's any response. One of you on the leftside, the other on the rightside." Vigil orders, referring to the rows of doors on each side each labeled in number order - even numbers starting from 100 were on the doors to the left, odd numbers starting from 101 on the right.
The escorts split up and beginning rapping on the doors with forehooves, the knocking sounds echoing through dark and empty hallways. No response, from any direction, emerges, even after repeated attempts. Looking slightly further down the hallway, the pegasus Lieutenant notices the door to 106, Wind Rider's room, seems to be the only one open and/or unlocked.
"These doors wouldn't automatically be locked behind them, somepony had to lock all these doors themselves. The question is who did it and why? And if the residents aren't in there, where are they?!" Vigil replies in puzzled frustration - some things about this mystery weren't adding up.
"Sir, permission to try another pair of doors? There may be ponies in great distress and need of medical attention right now in this building!" an escort asks, some desperation in his tone as he speaks.
"Go ahead, although the fact there hasn't already been a response of some kind to our presence worries me." Vigil replies, and quickly the escorts get to work rapping on doors. Again, though, their efforts are lost in dark echoes down the hallways only illuminated by the lantern lights of the searching Royal Guards.
"This just keeps getting worse and worse, sir." an escort comments worriedly to Vigil after the last sounds are lost in the darkness.
"Into Wind Rider's room, then." Vigil responds, seeing there was nothing better to try at this point...
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Lieutenant Vigil carefully swings the open the door into Wind Rider's room, and immediately recognizes the scent that tickles his nostrils as he and his escorts cautiously move into the living area: "Juniper Phoenix. He must apply the stuff to everything around here..."
"Sir, look over here, all these trophies! Mustang Marathon, Wonderbolt Flight Endurance Record, Canterlot Circuit, Cloudsdale Circuit..." an escort comments as his lantern light glints off a wall-length case of trophies and plaques.
"One of the legends of his day, but now he'd have trouble keeping up with the young recruits..." Vigil comments.
"Sir, there's something written on the coffee table!" the other escort exclaims, looking down at the surface with horror. Vigil can vaguely see various books and other items scattered at his escort's hooves, some in a broken condition - indicating the coffee table had been cleaned off by everything pushed off onto the floor.
"Let me see... is that in blood?!?" Vigil says in horror when he reads the writing for himself, a deep red and streaky writing covering the entire top of the table.
"Maybe just red paint, sir." the escort replies, squinting down at the writing as he speaks. "Let's see...'ALL TO THE HARVEST, LORD ZEDD WILL HARVEST ALL'."
"There's that 'Lord Zedd' again. But if he's here, why haven't we met him yet? Why is there no activity here?" Vigil asks in a mixture of frustration and concern.
"I wish I knew, sir." is all the escort can give in answer.
"In any case, this doesn't really help us with anything. It doesn't tell us where the residents and staff might be, never mind where this 'Lord Zedd' is!" Lieutenant Vigil continues, the frustration becoming more obvious.
"Are we going to move on, sir?" the escort cautiously asks.
"Yes, to Stormy Flare's room. Since we know where Wind Rider is already, there's nothing more to be gained by staying here. You two can keep trying doors if you want, but I have a sinking feeling nopony will respond..." Vigil answers, nerves beginning to pierce his professional manner. The pegasus Lieutenant was already beginning to think the worst had happened, but had no way yet to figure out whether his theory was true or not...
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Moving down the main hallway of the retirement center's first floor, the escorts rapped on doors as they passed, but as feared got no response whatsoever. This, in combination with Vigil's nerves beginning to show through, also causes the escorts to start losing their nerves. Upon arriving at Stormy Flare's room, they find the door in the same state as Wind Rider's room, further adding to the worry.
Entering Stormy Flare's room reveals a setup fairly similar to Wind Rider's, but with one disturbing difference. Medals and trophies, some of them bearing the name of Spitfire instead of Stormy Flare, were found scattered on the floor among the shattered pieces of the broken trophy case. Some of the trophies were broken, fractured in a manner consistent with being smashed underhoof by a violent blow, and the appalling stench of urine emanated from the carpet on the floor.
Seeing the descration of such honors was appaling enough, but the escorts also found a coffee table cleared off and painted with words the same way as in Wind Rider's room. This prompted a speculative comment from one of the escorts: "Were Wind Rider and Stormy Flare deliberately targeted for this treatment, sir?"
"Possibly. Stormy Flare is Captain Spitfire's mother, and Wind Rider is one of the most decorated veterans of previous generations of Wonderbolts. There's other old Wonderbolts that live here, but those two would make the most obvious targets. Why they were drugged up and dropped off in the city below, though..." Vigil speculates.
"Maybe keeping them alive was the point - they said they were 'witnesses'. They must've 'witnessed' something, sir, and they would be the most effected by being humiliated like that instead of whatever's happened here..." the escort replies in his own turn of speculation.
Vigil nods as he looks down at the writing on Stormy Flare's coffee table: "ALL HARVEST IN CAFETERIA. THE WONDERBOLTS MUST DIE! LONG LIVE CHAOS."
"Who wrote those messages? And where is that pony?" one of the escorts asks with great alarm, recognizing there was possibly a totally psychotic pony running about in the building.
"It might be 'Lord Zedd' himself leaving these messages behind. Whoever that pony is, they're absolutely insane. And we need to get down to the cafeteria as quickly as possible!" Lieutenant Vigil exclaims.
"You think that's where the 'something' those two witnessed happened, sir?" the escort replies.
"Yes, and we need to get whatever artificial lighting is still working back on in here. Right now!" Vigil exclaims again, trying to keep panic from racing through his mind. He knew by instinct something very bad had happened in here, but didn't know what and didn't know if there was anything he could do to fight against it...