//------------------------------// // Whitetail Woods // Story: Ryuuzan, a Gryphon Silenced // by Kimono-Gryphon //------------------------------// *(Please allow me a small note, carried from a comment from the last chapter... ) Thank you so Much for enjoying my story so far, as I really put my heart into writing it well. A small note: I had some health ailments that had rendered me partially deaf, (Tinnitus, vertigo, and hearing loss) and I also had a passing fascination with sign language, so I decided to try to incorporate a character that was either fully deaf, or mute that could hear fine. Altho I know some may question how ponies could aptly sign with hooves without digits, maybe roll the hooves on edge to represent which digit to be understood perhaps? I did try to do a search for characters that either understood hoof language, or was deaf themselves, but I didn't find any using the search. Any questions you have, I'll be happy to answer, except spoilers of course.... ^~^. Cheers, Gryphon <>< (And now on with the story... ) ********** The next day, Luna's assistant Quill Feather was following up on paperwork that needed to be finalized for the gryphon's care. She had sent word to Princess Twilight that morning requesting the services of one of the Elements of Harmony, and StarLight Glimmer to track some loose ends, since Twilight-Sparkle was overseeing her new magic school and her own princess duties. Quill Feather looked up from her desk as a knock sounded from the door. "Please come in." The door opened and Rainbow Dash had arrived with Starlight Glimmer. They both looked around the office and smiled approvingly. "Now this is a nice office." Starlight had piped up as she smiled, greeting Quill Feather. Feather smiled, nodding in reply. "I'm Quill Feather, and I'm honored to meet the personal protege` of Princess Twilight Sparkle, Miss Starlight Glimmer, and the Element of Loyalty, Miss Rainbow Dash." Feather rose and greeted the two ladies with a polite bow. Feather had sipped from a small cup of coffee, glancing toward Starlight as Rainbow hovered over Starlight's right shoulder. "Just one of the perks of being Princess Luna's court assistant. Thank you for coming ladies. My apologies for sending the note to Princess Twilight so early this morning, but time is of the essence." Feather slid a folder to Starlight which she opened with her magic. Inside it was a photograph of a nurse that was working the previous night. "This is Meadow Mist, she was working the previous night in the medical wing when there was an attempted murder on a patient, and was apprehended as she tried exiting out a side window before ditching her nurse uniform outside of the castle." "Pardon me ma'am, but isn't this for the Guards to investigate?" Rainbow had asked, flapping her wings keeping herself hovering in place. "Why call us?" "As I said Miss Dash, time is of the essence. You 'are' the fastest Wonderbolt I take it?" Quill had slid a piece of paper with an address on it to the cyan pegasus. "How fast can you make it to WhiteTail Woods? The nurse provided an address of residence where she resided. We have reasons to believe the nurse here is involved in something sinister, and Princess Luna is ready to have armed guards to storm the home. We have to be certain it's a valid address with a matching description from the patient in Luna's care." "That's a good distance away, If I push it, I can be back in an hour, hour and a half tops." Rainbow had looked up, hoof at her chin figuring out the distance. "If a team of your guards can keep up with me, i'd say we can be there in an hour. And if there is somepony there already, then the guards can mop up the pieces if they try anything by fighting back or resisting arrest." "We hope things don't escalate that quickly, but I see your point." Feather had pressed a small buzzer, and two of Celestia's guards and one of Luna's Night sentinels had entered the room. "Guardians, please join the Element of Loyalty here and fly as fast as you can to the address in WhiteTail Woods that is provided. Take a team of up to ten guards with you consisting of the fastest flyers available, as time is not on our side. There are reasons to believe there are ponies plotting at the very least, attempted murder of a guest here under Luna's care. Your orders are to remove the ponies from that residence and bring them here for interrogation. If there is any struggle, use whatever force necessary to bring them in." "Ma'am, Yes Ma'am !" All three guards saluted and joined Rainbow Dash as she flapped toward the hallway. "I'll meet with you later Glimmer when we get back. Hope you guys can keep up with me." Rainbow Dash smiled as she bid farewell to Glimmer and Quill, chatting and smiling to the guards following her down the hall. "Cmon, I'll show you some flight tricks for you to see on the way." "How would you like my help Miss Feather?" Starlight had asked after Feather had shut the door to the office again. "Miss Glimmer, you may accompany me to visit a medical office here in Canterlot to get some facts straightened out about Luna's patient's story. They said they were never resided at Equestrian Mental and Medical Research and Science Institute, EMMRS." Feather had slid Glimmer an I.D. badge and a folder of paperwork. "Luna's patient is a Gryphon, and arrived here at the castle the evening before last, and had drug a chain with him, meaning he was either a captive at EMMRS previously, or an escapee. We do not know which. It's just the bracers on the gryphon's wrists and neck had the EMMRS tag on them." "Wait, that's the same gryphon that the newspaper was talking about? The story is all over Canterlot and Ponyville." Starlight placed the badge cord around her neck saying she was under Canterlot's Royal Court authority as she was with Feather. "Rainbow Dash and I seen the damaged picture window when the carriage arrived here at the castle." Quill Feather had joined Starlight, and they walked out of the office. "Before heading to the EMMRS building, care for a coffee at Donut Joe's?" ***** (EMMRS Research facility) "We understand your reservations Director, but we are here under authority of Princess Luna to investigate a crime where this facility is linked, and the possibility of a patient that has escaped under your care." Feather and Starlight were standing in the office of the facility's director. "I thought you might be the least bit concerned about these things." "Miss Feather and Miss Glimmer," The pony behind the desk was an older male black earth pony with a short cropped grey mane. Dressed in a longer lab coat, he had a polished but authoritative aura about him. "This facility has the record of 'zero' escapes by patients out of 17 attempts since I had become director here 22 years ago. We do take pride in one of the safest environments for patients and employees alike."! "Sir, we aren't here for the sales pitch or the PR spin you are using." Feather had blinked at being felt like she was being stonewalled. She then turned to Starlight, nodding and smiling to her. "Starlight, do go and get the director's secretary, and two assistants under him, and bring them back here please." Starlight Glimmer had gone out of the office, then returned two minutes later with the director's secretary, and two assistant directors in tow as Quill Feather had requested, then she and the director faced off in a mental chess game. "Under the orders of Princess Luna, we request any and all files showing 'anything' consisting of gryphons, or bracers used here in confinement." Quill Feather addressed the secretary and the two assistant directors that entered with Starlight-Glimmer. "I will offer any assistance you need in retrieving those files, but they are paramount to our investigation, and your help will be most appreciated." But the director ordered the others 'not' to move out of that office or comply with the two unicorns in front of him. Quill then turned back to the director, and narrowed her eyes behind her glasses. "You wish to tangle and play hardball with me? I have Princess Luna's very own directives here and I 'will' get these answers. Or do you wish to address the Princess herself this evening and explain why the sudden refusal to help in an investigation?" "All we need is for you and your assistants to confirm some names, and verify some photographs we have." Quill Feather had opened her file folder, showing photographs of the gryphon, and the chains and bracers with the EMMRS logo imprinted on the tags. "If you continue to refuse to answer, I can notify one of the royal guardian's under 'my' jurisdiction, and find these answers 'myself' while I take apart your precious perfect little complex here, and is fully locked down and gone over with a fine toothed comb. If then 'any' inconsistencies found, I will be happy to forward to the crown financial wing for reconsideration of your yearly operations budget, and access fines so high, you sir will need to work a side job at HayBurgers to survive." The director sat and refused to budge. "I do have patient's privacy laws saying such records are privileged information between doctor and client. It's not that I don't want to show those files, I cannot open them because they are confidential, and only the patients or their closest families themselves can authorize the opening if the patient is not mentally able to do so. My hooves are tied." "Very well director, thank you for your valued time." Quill Feather nodded and turned to leave. "Let's go Starlight. We have other places to go and other ponies to meet." As soon as she and Starlight had exited the doors, she magicked a signal to a squad of guardian ponies that accompanied her, but stood outside enjoying the afternoon sun. "Please place EMMRS and all files on lockdown, for impeding the investigation of the crown under directive from Princess Luna. Keep the employed here that care for the patients going as usual, but files and documents are now under lock-down until further review." Starlight Glimmer looked to Quill Feather and whistled favorably. "Remind me never to get on your bad side, Quill Feather." "Again dear Starlight, I am under no obligation to be forcibly stonewalled and ignored by 'any' pony or some committee, trying to undermine my authority in the course of an investigation." Quill Feather had replied, headed back to her office, feeling like she was back at square one, but with some suspicions. "I'm acting as quickly as possible to find answers for that gryphon that almost died in front of me. Answers are out there Miss Glimmer, and I 'will' find them, no matter who it points to." ***** Once back at the castle, Quill and Starlight had stopped by the holding cells where the nurse pony had sat, having been lengthy questioned about the gryphon the night before. "Well Miss Morning Mist, how does it feel being under scrutiny for attempted murder?" "Murder? I have no idea what you mean." Morning Mist had replied smugly. "All I did was change an IV bag and whistle a little nursery rhyme. Why is it illegal to whistle 'Ring Around the Rosey? It's my own foal's favorite song." "Well it's awful coincidental that just after you left a patient's room having changed an IV Bottle, they stopped breathing." Feather had read her notes on the arrest of Meadow Mist. "We are also arresting other ponies that are staying at your residence, the same address verified by the victim you nearly killed." (At that same time, in WhiteTail Woods) Rainbow Dash arrived at the house, hovering just out of sight among the treetops as she waited for the rest of the heavily armed guards to arrive. She had scouted ahead of the guards and verified the house was there and ponies were spotted inside. "Miss Dash" The lead guard pony had landed, with the team of guards second checking their equipment and arrest warrants for all ponies at the listed address. "I'm Granite Pie, we will be storming the home at the front and rear doors. Could you watch above the home in case any pegasus try to escape thru a side window?" "I'm on it Chief!" Rainbow had saluted the lead guardian pony, but grinned. "You're related to Pinkie Pie who works at SugarCube Corner, and my best friend?" "She's my granddaughter and she's quite the pony." Granite Pie had smiled, his face lighting up as he waved Rainbow close to whisper in her ear. "Hey, wanna know something funny about Miss Pinkie?" Rainbow had grinned, leaning close to the older Pie. "Ooooo, do Tell !" Granite Pie had rolled his hoof and pointed to his rear legs. "Miss Pinkie is severely ticklish at the backs of her knees. Tell her Grandpa Granite told you that when you see her." He smiled big as he joined his fellows at the front door. After a silent count between both groups of guards, they stormed into the house in a flash. Inside the home was three ponies, two pegasai and one unicorn. The pegasai was in the kitchen and one female had bolted toward the back of the home and leaped thru the window, when the guards forced the doors open. The other pegasai dropped to the floor in shock as he was pounced upon by one of the night sentinels. Granite Pie and a fellow guard had flown upstairs into an office where a male dark green unicorn was seated behind a desk, rifling thru some paperwork. Rainbow Dash, true to her word seized upon the female escaping pegasus when she cleared the yard. "Got you, now stay down, or we are gonna make this hard on you, and fun for me!" Rainbow had tackled the mare, and tumbled onto the ground, and locked the mare's wings down under herself. All the mare did was turn her head and started whistling a light tune and smiling. Upon entering the office doorway, the unicorn had blasted the lead guard with a stream of magic, knocking him onto the floor, as Granite had used the blade end of his pole-arm to force the unicorn against the wall. "You're under arrest and coming with us, along with the others downstairs." He then helped his fellow guard from the floor grabbing the folders of paperwork and ushered him and the prisoner out the door and down the steps. then to meet everyone back at the edge of the yard outside. The unicorn didn't resist but replied. "We are glad you are here guardian. Care to hear a tune as we walk out the door?" "A tune? What are you blathering about?" Granite had shoved the unicorn male towards the doorway, carrying the folders of paperwork tucked under his armor. "Oh just a favorite tune everyone here at the house enjoys when we have guests." The arrested unicorn lit his horn in a pink-reddish hue and started whistling the same tune that the other captured pegasus had sung, using his magic to turn a small steel eyelet that was attached at the floor at one side of the room. With a metallic creak, the eyelet turned and then clicked. The house suddenly blew apart in a magic fueled explosion, the blast throwing Rainbow Dash and the female pegasus against the neighboring trees bordering the home they just invaded. (Canterlot Castle, Dungeons) "Victim? The Gryphon?" Meadow Mist smugly replied as she laughed out loud. "Don't be absurd. The Gryphon isn't the victim, he is the one that orchestrated the entire plan. He was the one that also wired up the home for explosives when your guardians arrived there. Oh that's right, you didn't hear that small detail before? Well, it seems either your precious guardians arrested the others there and left, or they were blown clear to Tartarus. Ohhh Well, Sucks to be them." Quill Feather then shown her teeth angrily and leaned her face to Meadow Mist, then pulled Meadow upward by her mane, and held her there. "YOU, I don't care if you say that gryphon is or isn't the victim here. But if anything happened to Rainbow or any of the guardians at that house, I will PERSONALLY make it my mission to petition Princess Celestia herself 'repeatedly' for the death penalty just to see your neck stretch!" "Well good luck there, as no pony had been sentenced to death in 138 years." Meadow Mist replied after yelping from having her mane nearly ripped out. "I do wish to retain a lawyer, by the way before any further questions. Until then, good luck on getting 'any' more information. Unless you want to offer any immunity to me, then I will tell you what I know, but only 'after' my attorney is sitting beside me." Quill Feather was already almost out the door fuming, with Starlight following close behind. **********