//------------------------------// // Second Account, Recording Three // Story: Her Eyes Reflect The Stars // by Lynwood //------------------------------// A crisp click. "This... this is investigator Close Look with the Dodge City division. Case One-Two-Five, interview five. This recording is for the purpose of analysis at a later date. Are you sure you're ready?" Measured breathing. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready." "Tell me about your escape attempt from 'the house.'" A cough. "Well, we knew where the exit was, but most of us were too scared to use it because of the crystals. Listen, if you ever see a yellow crystal that doesn't look right, just avoid it and forget you saw it." "Why?" "Just trust me on that one. I, um... I don't remember exactly, but one day I missed home so bad that I walked through the cave. Maybe I made it through by sheer luck." "That's incredible." "I'm not sure about that because when I walked outside, She was waiting for me. She looked different than I'd ever seen before, and She was looking away from me. I remember exactly what She said, clear as day." "What did she say?" "'If you leave, dear child, you will be the last.'" "The last what?" A silence. "Of the foals that went missing, how many were found before I was?" Paper shuffling. "Four." "And how many were found after?" "...Zero. Are you saying—" "The foals that I left behind never escaped. They might still be there." "What happened next?" "I walked for maybe an hour before I reached my backyard." "Oh. Oh." "That was the deal." "...If this is real, if she's real–" "She's plenty real. Not quite in all the ways that matter, but She's definitely real. How many times have you recorded me while investigating this case?" "This... would be the fifth." "And what's this case's number?" "Case... case one-two-five." "One hundred twenty-five. Five sets of five sets of five. She involved you before you even knew a thing about Her." "What does that mean?" "It means that something about what you're doing, or something about you has attracted her attention." A silence. "It's coincidence." "Listen, I didn't just come back to argue about Her. In my dream, there was something wrong with Her. She was the same, somehow, but different. Angrier and happier than She was when I was a filly." "What changed?" "I hope I never find out. I'm gonna take my family on vacation. We'll be leaving here for a while. You should too." "Are ponies in danger? Could She pose a threat?" "I... don't know. I have a really bad feeling about all of it." "Then I need to send this up. I need to send this all the way up." A wooden chair scraping across linoleum. "I'm sorry, but I don't have anything else that can help you. Whatever you do, you had better do it fast. As fast as you can. Goodbye, Close Look. Good luck." "Goodbye, Lily." Receding hoofsteps and a hurried scraping of paper. "Come on, come on..." The quick scratching of a pen on paper, and more shuffling. "Ah, there it is. Oh, I can just make the next one." Cloth sliding across fur and the gentle clink of a buckle being clasped. Receding hoofsteps. A door slamming shut. Silence. Steady hoofsteps over sodden carpet. Labored breathing and steady dripping, dripping, dripping, dripping, dripping, dripping. A mare's slow, wet laughter. A crisp click.