//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10: "New Leads." 
// Story: Morning Meir Mysteries: Case 3: A Mayan Island Mishap 
// by XombieSlayr 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 10: "New Leads."

I wasn't sure if I had actually heard him correctly. Had he really said that the treasure that Clover The Clever and Starswirl had hidden on the island....was Clover The Clever? If so, then it only resulted in more questions.

Questions that, I'm not sure anypony could properly answer. 

"I'm sorry but....how? How is that possible?" I asked, simply unable to ask anything else. 

Benny nodded. "I know. I know. Believe me, I had to sit down and think it all out myself when I found out." He said, actually taking a seat as he spoke. "But it's true. Clover The Clever is here on the island. And she has been for centuries."

I had to sit down now. This was quite a bit to take in, even after all the things I had seen. "Clover The Clever died thousands of years ago. She would be even older then Celestia and Luna if she was alive today! How is that possible? How could you know?" I asked, talking much quicker then I had anticipated. 

Benny picked a book from his shelf and read a passage from it. "This is my journal. Back from when me and Simon still worked together." he explained before reading the page out loud. 

Day 1

Upon our visit to the the local Oloyan tribe, we were greeted rather warmly by their shaman. As ponies of science, we had much to learn of their mystical practices, including their usage of strange blue stones that the villagers claimed were carved from the crystal by which their savior resided. I am.... fascinated by them. Perhaps I will see if the shaman can tell me more.

Day 2

Their shaman is....very aloof. He refuses to tell me anything but a prophecy that must come true. And when I question how it is that his people all seem so young, he asks me to be silent. He's clearly hiding something. But should I really pry any more into this? This was a week long expedition to the jungle for research and nothing more. What right do I have to pry into the lives of these ponies? I won't be looking any more into this.

Day 3

I was awoken from my slumber in the dead of night by a young mare in a gold robe. She says her name is Oracle and that she can show me what it is that I seek answers to. The thing that keeps her people youthful for eternity, and what protects the island from an unimaginable evil. She is taking me to the caves within the Temple of Tezcatlipoca. There I will learn the truth of the island. I trust her word. Nopony else will help me otherwise.

Even as I write this, I can scarcely believe what these old eyes have witnessed. I had read so many stories of Clover The Clever as a young colt, I could recognize her anywhere. Then it's true. She is alive, and has been for thousands of years! Oracle explained to me that Clover froze herself in some sort of otherworldly magical element called Arcanichalcum. It preserves magical essence for an untold amount of time. It is this large mass of crystal that the Oloyan people get these strange blue stones, that allow them to perform extraordinary magical feats. It is also the power of the large odd looking sapphire Clover holds in her hooves that keeps the people of the village young for all time. Except the shaman, which Oracle had no answer for. 

With all that I've learned I decided to look more into what it is that Clover froze herself to protect the island against. I have booked another expedition to a nearby temple, that has been untouched by anypony for millenia. Simon is coming with me. I know that together, all of us can stop whatever is coming. 

Day 5

Simon is gone. The son I knew has left and been replaced by....a monster. I have no idea what happened in that temple, all those screams and...her. Why her? Why did he have to see her? Like that....

I can see it in his eyes. Hear it in his threats. He has changed. For the worst. 

I have to try to get him back. 


Day 7

This will be my final entry as a scientist with Cobalt Industries. Simon tried to kill me last night. When I confronted him, he said I was his past, and that he had plans for a new future. For the world. He seized everything I had.

Or at least he thinks so. I have hidden the important stuff in a remote location close to the Oloyan village. I will be leaving tonight, with whatever I have been able to keep to myself. 

Simon has become the instigator of this terrible prophecy. And I have to stop him. I don't know how but the most I can do right now is set up surveillance. Cobalt is MY company and I'll be damned If I let Simon use it for evil. From now on, every move he makes, I'll know about it.


Day 54

Its been many days since I left. I built a small lab in the jungle, and have been keeping an eye on everything as planned. It's gotten worse. Simon has begun recruiting followers for his plot. He has called them The Setting Sun. Tropical Breeze is still unaware of Simon and his plans. Good. She doesn't deserve to see her husband like this.

This is between us, and us alone.


Day 130

I've been out here for so long. I feel like this jungle is a part of me now. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep I can think of only one thing: I need to stop Simon. No matter how far gone I get, I will never stop protecting this island or Cobalt. I'm only happy that Adden and Dawn managed to get themselves and little Morning off this island so quickly, on the day all this madness started. That little filly doesn't need to see what kind of world we really live in. What things are really out here. She's meant for far better things. I've never seen another pony anywhere near as smart as her, including myself. In fact she's probably...

"The Smartest Pony In The World..." I finished for him, with tears in my eyes. 

Benny looked at me kindly. "It's been so long, since I've seen another pony. I'm glad that after this long the first pony I see is you, Morning."

I embraced him like I would a long lost uncle. Every word he had told me from the moment I had met him had been completely true. Nothing in his tone or his mannerism showed he was hiding anything. He really had known my parents. He had even known me. I never thought I forgot anything but....I had forgotten Benny. How could I do that?

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I forgot you." I sobbed. Tears streamed down my face as I fought to keep control of my sobs.

"You didn't forget me, Morning." He said softly. "I left before you could remember me." He looked at me and smiled. "You may think you had forgotten, but no. I could see it in your eyes. Somewhere, some part of you recognized me, even if you yourself didn't know it. You really are the smartest pony in the world, Morning. Even more then you may think."

My cheeks reddened as they always did. But this time even more then usual. "Thank you." I said simply. "But I didn't build a treehouse laboratory in the middle of a jungle."

Benny laughed. "Eh. You could have done it in a day. Took me over twenty years." he joked.

I laughed with him.It was good to know that even out here in the middle of the jungle, I still had a friend. And that I always had.

But another thought hit me. "So Simon is after Clover. What does he plan to do?"

Benny let go of me and sighed. "I don't know." he said softly. "He's beefed up his methods since then. I've been able to track him, but I never catch wind of what he's planning to do with Clover. I can't really imagine what he would want with her. She's frozen in that crystal after all."

I agreed. Because now it made sense. It wasn't Clover he was after. But the sapphire she was protecting. It was the key to making sure his plan worked, that Tezcatlipoca would be freed and Simon's new world could begin. But the question was how? I didn't have enough details yet. 

I needed to investigate. I needed to find out what Simon had been up to all these years. What deals he had made, the relationships he had formed, the contacts he had that gave him so much control in both Cobalt and The Setting Sun. He couldn't pull something like this off on his own. He needed help. A partner.

I just had to find out who they were.

"Benny? Do you think Simon is acting alone in this?" I asked politely.

"Not for a second. Simon is smart yes. Maybe even smarter then me." I rolled my eyes. Simon had never built anything like this lab or tree house. It was clear the father outweighed the son in that department. "But, yes I believe your right. Simon has an accomplice on the island. Someone to help keep things running smoothly, and take care of anything or anyone that strays too close to the truth."

I nodded. "I need to find them. They can tell me what Simon is really planning, and maybe even how we can stop him. Any idea where I can start?"

Benny thought for a moment. "Hmm." he pondered. "Now that I think of it, there is one pony on the island that may fit that bill." He got up from his chair and went over to a large filing cabinet, decorated with magnets of various parrots. He searched through the drawer till he withdrew a large white folder and handed it to me.

Opening it I saw it was an employee profile. A profile for the manager of the Cobalt Industries Warehouse: Quill Feather. The adjoining picture showed a stunning young pegasus mare with a dark-blue coat and a long, sky blue mane which hung down straight as though it were draped over her head and neck rather than growing there. She wore a serious expression on her face which indicated her demeanor as a high ranking employee in a multi-billion bit corporation. She also wore a black suit and tie that was hidden by the cropping of the picture, and only enhanced the focus of her features even more.

Benny read my expression when I saw the name. "I take it you know her, then?" he asked.

"You could say that. We probably almost got her arrested or fired the other night." I said without looking up from the picture. Her violet eyes seemed to stare right at me, like she was looking at me through a window.

Benny brought me out of my trance. "Welp, I'd say that she's our best bet." he said as I handed the file back to him.

He was right. I knew that she wouldn't be willing, but she was obviously very close with whatever Simon's plans were. She knew what he was up to, maybe even advised him herself. Who better to keep an eye on your warehouse meant for your doomsday plans then the partner helping you make those plans a reality.

"Any idea where I can find her?" I asked. "With the warehouse temporarily closed, I'm sure she's been assigned somewhere else. Somewhere important to Cobalt. And to Simon."

"Very true." Benny said. He stroked his wildly untidy mustache in thought. Then his eyes lit up as the answer came to him. "Sapphire Sands."

"Sapphire Sands?" I repeated. "What is that? They never mentioned it in the brochure."

Benny chuckled. "No, they wouldn't have." He said. "It's a secret resort made specifically for employees of Cobalt, vacationing in the Keyes. Its the most technologically advanced place in the Keyes, where everything is automated by Artificial Intelligence. Nopony has to do a thing." He explained. "More than that, its where all the big execs of the company get all their work done. If there was anywhere, Quill would go to get things back in order, it would be there."

It certainly sounded like my best lead. But where was this place? and more importantly, how could I get in? It wouldn't matter if I knew Simon personally or not. He wouldn't want me getting close. He had to know what I knew about him now.

As if reading my mind, Benny smiled as he grabbed his coat. "It's quite a ways away, and neither of us are pegasai, so we can take my hovercarriage." He explained. "Plus, the credentials of the thing should bypass any security we encounter on our way into the resort. But as for getting into the place....I'm afraid you'll have to figure that out." He said politely, giving a wink. "Not that I'm worried."

I smiled at him, as we descended the latter. A large rusted looking carriage with no wheels, but strange humming pads beneath it, waited for us in a small clearing. It burst to life with a loud metallic whirring, as we approached and climbed inside, bound for Sapphire Sands.

I wondered so many things during that long trip, flying past trees and thick brush, the jungle seeming to move around us of its own accord as it receded behind us, the soil turned to sand. 

I had found a friend in the infamous Voiceless Jungle, and discovered that Simon Cobalt, the stallion I knew and looked up to like an uncle as a young pony, was gone. In his place was a twisted, megalomaniac sociopath who was planning to reawaken an ancient Mayan deity to bring about the destruction of the world. 

What had happened to him in that temple? What had he seen? What did he hear inside his head that told him to do this. That doing this was right, that it was meant to be, and that he was meant to make it happen. Or was it all in his head in the first place. Was it all a show to him, and he only now decided to show who he really was. Who he always was...

I wondered: Was Simon Cobalt ever even the pony I knew? Or was he always what he is now?

A monster.