//------------------------------// // The Fourteenth Day (The Fallout of Falling Down) // Story: Ponid-21 // by Cadenzel Washington //------------------------------// The Fourteenth Day I slumped down on my makeshift bed and rubbed my left temple with my hoof. I let out a pained groan as I reviewed what Franklin had just told me. I had been asleep for over a day after my magical escapade and now I’ve earned a lot of unwanted attention with that accident I got involved in earlier.  I sighed, thinking about all the different consequences that would arise from what I unintentionally did. If it was on the news then the public probably knew about us now. Sure, the officials can deny it, but given what I saw, it’s gonna be pretty hard to convince people not to pay attention to what’s happening. I gritted my teeth and let out a groan. “Hah...this is a real mess I’ve put everyone in, huh?” I mumbled, my eyes downcast, not wanting to look Franklin in the eye. Franklin leaned against the desk and crossed his arms. “Well, while you might be the cause of our current situation, I know you didn’t do this intentionally. Don’t worry, I’m not pointing fingers at you, Penn.” Despite Franklin’s words, my ears drooped and I hung my head low. “Thanks for the reassurance but I still don’t feel great about this.” Franklin frowns and sighs. “I’d like to say I have some good news, but I’m afraid if I did that, then I’d be lying.” I turned my head back to look at Franklin. “When it rains, it pours, doesn’t it? Gah, this sucks.” Franklin nodded sagely. “Ain’t that the truth? Like I said before, Hayden was a business partner of mine and when our research into that fossil began, we both had wildly different ideas about what to do with it. Fortunately, the board of directors saw it my way and chose to put me in charge. But now? I fear that this incident has given him the ammunition he needs to oust me as the leader of this project. He still has clout with members of the company and I think this is enough to tip opinion in his favor. I fear I have little time to act before he executes his plan.” I tilted my head slightly and pursed my lips a bit before nodding. “Alright, what do you want me to do about it?” Franklin chuckled. “You don’t miss a trick. You’re pretty smart.” I shrugged. “It was just deductive reasoning based on the fact that you brought me to your office just to have a chat.” He nods. “Well, you’re right Penn. There’s a good chance I will be asked to step down as the director of this facility and Hayden will be put in my place. While I probably won’t be kicked out of the company completely, Hayden will be doing everything to keep me away from here. He’s still got a sore spot in regards to me, so he’ll probably use his new power to snub me by kicking me out to another position away from here.” I tapped my hoof on the floor. “So, what do you need me to do?” “I need you to be my eyes and ears here in this place to keep me informed of what’s going on. I’ll be using my own contacts and connections to try and keep things from going south, but I can only do so much if I’m not there in person. So I need your help.” Franklin sighed and breathed in sharply. “Please Penn. I know I can’t make you do it, but I’m begging you to help me. You might dislike me and I can understand why. However, I can guarantee you that Hayden is far worse. Please.” Franklin then walked over toward me and hunched down to meet me at eye level. He turned over the palm of his hand slightly for a handshake, or in this case a hoofshake. “Please, will you help me?” Franklin asked. I stood there in silence looking at his outstretched palm. Any other day before this and I probably would have said no given how closed and evasive Franklin was being with me and my friends. However, my life was put in danger and me getting seen like that might have put my friends in danger as well. In addition to that, Franklin was finally opening up to me and not being evasive with what was happening. I felt like he was being open and honest with me. For the first time, I felt like I could trust him. I moved over and placed my forehoof into his palm. “Alright, I’ll agree to help you.” Franklin smiled and shook my hoof. “Thanks a lot, Penn. I’ll make it worth your while. I know it probably wasn’t easy to agree to this but I’m grateful that you did. Now, let me get you something to help you out.” Franklin moves over to his desk and pulls out a small electronic device that looks like a weird looking bean. He moves back over to me and shows it to me. “I’ll need you to wear this in one of your ears.” “Alright but...what exactly is it?” I ask with a hint of hesitation. “It’s basically a one-way receiver. I’ll be able to hear things you hear and I can save that audio for future purposes, but as a show of trust, it’ll only be active when you want it to be. I realize having something that can receive audio could be considered an invasion of your privacy, so I made sure it’s under your own power. Only you can turn the power on.” I nod and pick it up with my magic. “Okay, now how do I activate it?” “Just press the little button on the top of the device right there.” He said, showing me where it was. I placed it in my ear and tucked it out of sight. “Hum, it fits surprisingly well! Alright, what do we need to do next?” Franklin seemed ready to give me another explanation but before he could say anything, the intercom on his desk pinged. He moved over and pressed the red button on the box. “This is Franklin Merchant” he spoke, his tone taking on a much more rigid and neutral tone. “Mr. Merchant sir, Hayden Argus is here to see you, he says it’s urgent” the female voice on the other end replied.  Franklin seemed briefly surprised by that fact but he quickly recovered. “Alright then, go ahead and send him up.” “Yes sir, I’ll send him up to you right away.” The voice responded. As soon as he finished the conversation, his tone shifted again. “You need to hide, now.” He bluntly stated. “W-wha?! Alright.” I stammer out a response as he begins to usher me toward the desk. “On the plus side, it’ll be a perfect test run for the bug in your ear.” Franklin muttered as he gently pushed me underneath his desk. The leg well of his desk was very spacious and sat flush to the floor so there was no chance of being found out when looking from the front. After a bit of fumbling, I was firmly underneath the desk.  Thanks to my smaller stature, the area under his desk wasn’t actually all that cramped and I could actually extend my wings a bit if I needed to. Despite me being well hidden, my heart was still racing at the idea of being caught by someone from outside the facility. It almost felt like I had the instincts of a wild animal and that I should flee from here. But I knew that escape would be impossible in such a short amount of time unless I were to teleport and...well, I didn’t want to risk something else going wrong again. After hearing Franklin moving items around in the room, he finally sat down at the desk right in front of me. I could only see his lower half and he seemed to be consciously pulling back to make sure I had plenty of room underneath. It didn’t take long for me to hear the door open. I quickly pushed the button on the bug and sat down in silence, waiting to hear what the two would talk about. “Ah, there you are Frank. It’s nice to see you again!” the new voice said with a bit too much exuberance. “I would prefer Mr. Merchant, Mr. Argus.” Franklin coldly replied. “Ouch, last name basis now, Frank? I’m hurt. I didn’t realize our differences were so vast that you feel the need to address me like that. I thought we were friends, ol’ buddy!” Hayden replied. “Can I help you with anything?” Franklin calmly replied. “No pleasantries, huh?” Hayden gave a small chuckle. “Well fine, if that’s how you wanna play it, I’ll get to the point; the board of directors will be meeting today to see if a change of leadership is needed.” “They’re meeting today? Why wasn’t I informed of this?” Franklin demanded. “I’m informing you now, aren’t I?” Hayden replied with fake indignation.  “I just came to help a friend and let them know what might be happening to them in the near future. Based on the recent...developments and the situation that’s arisen because of it, the board is most likely going to remove you from your position and place you elsewhere. A slap on the wrist for bringing unwanted attention to the company. I know you care a lot about this operation and it would be a shame for someone of your talents to be forced elsewhere.” “Just tell me your deal already.” Franklin spat out. “Okay okay, calm down Frank” Hayden relented. “I get it, you’re angry about this whole situation. I feel you. You’re probably expecting me to offer you the assistant director's position of this facility and just ask you to be my right hand man if you agree to go along with my way of doing things, yeah?” “Not an unexpected offer.” Franklin flatly replied. “But given how you phrased that last sentence, I’m guessing you have something ‘better’ in mind for me?” Hayden laughed, clapping his hands. ““Very astute of you, Frank. Yes, I do have a better offer for you. Instead of offering a watered-down position, I can call the members of the board and rescind my vote of no confidence and convince my friends on the board to do the same. Everything will go on unchanged here. You’ll simply get a small reprimand and you’ll forfeit a bonus, but other than that, no problems at all.” “That all seems too good to be true.” Franklin replied. “So I’ll ask the obvious question; what do you want in exchange?” “Oh, nothing too much really. You know the…’pony’ or whatever it is that was featured in the footage that’s all over the news reports?” Hayden chuckled a bit. “I want you to hand over custody of that individual to me.” I felt the fur on my back stand up. I stifled a breath. I wanted to gasp in fear but I knew that I couldn’t compromise my position so I fiercely bit my lip to prevent the sound from escaping. From the outside, the room was quiet. But in my head my mind was filled with questions about why he’d want me specifically. “What do you want with that specific individual?” Franklin said slowly, trying to pry more information out of Hayden. I couldn’t see Franklin’s face but the tone suggested he was narrowing his eyes. “I don’t need to reveal that information to you.” Hayden responded, his faux glee evaporating in an instant, replaced by a cold calculated response. “If I don’t know what you’ll be doing with one of my patients, then I can’t in good faith hand them over to you.” Franklin responded. “No deal.” “Are you sure about that, Frank? You’d lose basically nothing defending them. Rejecting my deal means I’d get custody over that purple little pony anyway. Accepting my deal just means you’ll end up losing a lot less.” Hayden said. “What I’d lose...is my principles. Unlike you Hayden, I realize that there is a benefit to treating your fellow man with dignity...even if that man isn’t a man. There is more to life than just money. As for custody, I know you’d be bound to certain rules set forth in the Project charter that are unalterable even if you were to run a radically different ship.” Franklin countered. “No. Deal.” “Hmm…” Hayden hummed to himself. “Well then! If you’re absolutely sure you don’t want to accept any of my deals then I guess I’ll let the board come to their decision. You’ll most likely be removed from your position here. If I were you, I’d pack up your stuff now so you can get a head start before you’re given the boot. Oh, and one more thing...” I hear a brief pause before I hear Hayden speak again. His voice is lower and much quieter, but I could tell his voice was much closer. “You could have prevented all of this if you just went along with my idea...any blood that’s shed will be on your hands now.” I hear the sound of brisk footsteps before hearing the slam of the large wooden doors. After a few seconds Franklin pulls away from the desk and looks down at me. “You can come out now, Penn.” I meekly crawl out from my hiding place and look up at Franklin. “You...you weren’t considering selling me out, were you?” Franklin scoffed. “Of course not. I think that human...er, sapient life is valuable. Handing you over to Hayden would be tantamount to a form of slavery. I don't bargain with people’s lives.” I sigh a breath of relief. “Thanks, but what about you? If what he said was true, you’re gonna be thrown out of here and instead we’ll be stuck with that guy who’s…” I trail off as my mind starts conjuring up different, terrifying scenarios that he could come up with. I shudder and turn back to Franklin. “It’s not fair!” “You’re right, Penn. It’s not fair at all, but I unfortunately don’t have much choice in the matter. Don’t worry. I still have friends here like Shinzo and Dr. Matt among others. They’ll help support you, I guarantee it.” “Alright, I’ll trust you, Franklin.” I respond, my ears drooping down. I had the sinking feeling that everything was going to change drastically and not for the better. Regardless, I didn’t have much else to do in Franklin’s office so i felt that I should head out. “Well, if that’s all, I guess I should get going, yeah?” Franklin nodded. “Indeed, I have a lot of stuff to do before tomorrow, but you should meet with your friends and tell them what’s up beforehand. Better that you tell them than Hayden.” I nodded as I made my way outside his office. \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ I made my way down to the Magic Meeting Room. I thought back to all the times and memories I made in this room and all the friends I made. I remember the games we played, the plans we hatched and the feelings we shared all in our own little hideaway. But now...things were going to be tough. Who knew if things would ever be the same? I took a deep breath and let out a pained sigh. I shook my head and opened the door. Upon stepping into the room, I was rushed by a flurry of different pastel ponies. I felt my body being firmly but gently gripped on all sides by my friends. I was now sandwiched in a large, warm, fuzzy hug. “A-ah!” was all I managed to get out before the barrage began. “Penn!” I heard Meghan cry out. “We were so worried about you!” “You can’t go away without telling us first!” Will blurted out gruffly. “Are you okay?” Juan asked. I was so overwhelmed by the love and affection from my friends that I almost didn’t notice how tightly I was being squished by everyone. “I’m...alright but...can you guys let up a bit? I’m a little crushed here!” Upon hearing my plea, my friends released me from the hug hold. I breathed out as I looked at all of them. “Thanks for being so worried about me, but I’m fine.” My friends grinned and gave me nods of approval. I sat down in my usual spot and sighed. “Well, I’m alright but...things are not alright in general.” Darnel frowned and tapped their hoof on the table. “Yer talkin’ about that news report that just happened, yeah?” I nodded and began to retell everything; my teleporting mishap, the fossil I found, my experience falling, the events in Franklin’s office, what he discussed with me, his likely expulsion, the meeting with Hayden and how I was asleep for over a day. The reactions from my friends all varied from shock to disgust. Alex growled. “This is bullshit!” They said, slamming a hoof down onto the table. Everypony jumped at Alex’s sudden outburst. Upon seeing this, Alex pulled by into their chair and sighed. “I’m sorry for startling everypony. I’m just so frustrated with all this. We’re being led around like a dog on a leash and just when we were finally getting somewhere, this falls in our laps! Terrific.” Juan shook their head. “No, you don’t need to apologize, Alex. This whole situation is annoying and disruptive. It’s okay to be mad about it. Honestly, I feel the same way. It just makes me feel so...peeved!” Once again, everyone reacted to this sudden burst of anger, though the group seemed even more shocked by Juan’s sudden change in attitude. Will sat there slack jawed from the outburst before finally managing to utter a simple. “Holy shit.” Juan’s sudden bravado was quickly followed by an equally quick withdrawal into their chair. “I...uhm…I mean, I’m a little frustrated…” Nathan grinned and shook their head, “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a good bit of venting, darling.” James simply looked on at Juan and nodded. “Impressive” was their only reply. I sighed and looked at everypony. “Guys, this is a big deal but I know if we can overcome it. Whatever happens with the new changes, we need to be ready to face them head on. Plus, we now know where all this magic came from.” “That giant pony fossil, right?” Cadence said, tilting her head. “What could that thing be? If it’s a fossil, it must have been there for thousands of years. Could it be a space alien?” “An alien that’s shaped like a horse?” Will interjected. “I’d say that’s weird but well…” Will motions to their body. “...y’know.” I continued. “We’re gonna need to be even more aggressive in our information gathering and see what we can all find out about these artifacts, especially that fossil. The answers we’re looking for are so close. I can just feel it. We’re going to need to be wary though. From what I overheard in Franklin’s conversation with Hayden, that man is a deeply unpleasant individual. Franklin told me he’s going to do what he can to help from the outside, however it might be limited.” “All this time I thought Franklin was some suspicious jerk, but then the plot thread just went NYROOOOM in the other direction!” Meghan said, imitating the sound of screeching tires. “Things are probably going to get harder from here on out. If any of you have any reservations to us doing all this cloak and dagger motions, I won’t force any of you to be here.” “N-no...we’re all in this together.” Juan stated firmly. “You’re not gettin’ rid of us that easily!” Will smugly nodded. “We’re like a family and families stick to it through thick n’ thin!” Darnel grinned. “It’s time for Spy Mission 3: Spies Take New York!” Meghan gleefully chuckled. “I’m in it ‘til the end, Penn.” Alex nodded. “We will not fail you!” James proclaimed. “Darling, did you really think you could be the hero by yourself? Friends stick together.” Nathan flipped their mane and smirked. “Looks like the whole team is on board.” Cadence happily pointed out. I sighed and smiled at all of them. “Thanks, you guys. Alright, let’s do this.” I knew that things would be tougher from here on out but now I knew I wouldn’t have to face it alone.