//------------------------------// // 9 - The Missing Fillies Are... Missing! // Story: Not Quite Romeo & Juliet [NaPoWriMo 2013] // by Yukito //------------------------------// “Hey, show me how this freakin’ camera’s supposed ta work.” Diamond Tiara groaned and moved her forehooves up to her ears to plug them. “Shut up…” she muttered in her sleepy state, her eyes clenched tightly shut and her little body curled up into a ball for warmth. “Why is there no film in here?!” “I said shut up,” Diamond said slightly louder, her eyes fluttering open ever-so-slightly. She realised that her hooves hadn’t actually followed her orders to cover her ears and wondered why. She looked around at what was supposed to be her bedroom, only to remember that she was currently staying at an abandoned warehouse… and that this wasn’t it. “I’m going out to buy some film,” a nearby voice said. Diamond tried to push herself to her hooves, but found that she couldn’t move her legs at all. Turning her head to look down at herself, she found that both her forelegs and her hind legs had been bound by some thick rope. She struggled to try to break it, but it was fruitless. “Check on the kids, will ya?” Diamond gasped as she heard hoofsteps moving her way and acted on instinct by resting her head upon the cold cement floor and closing her eyes. She breathed lightly and made every effort to ignore the horrible smell around her as the hoofsteps grew louder and louder. “Still asleep!” another voice called out. “Told ya they’d be out for longer since they’re kids!” “Just stand guard outside until I get back! If you hear any noises from inside, knock ‘em out again!” “Got it!” Diamond Tiara heard a door open and then close. “Not like they can do much anyway with their hooves all tied up. Guess I’ll finish that crossword while I wait.” The hoofsteps sounded again throughout the room, this time moving further and further away from Diamond Tiara. The door opened and closed again, this time followed by a click. Diamond Tiara quickly opened her eyes and looked around, her heart racing as panic overtook her system. “W-Where am I?” she asked herself in a whisper. Her surroundings were very much like the abandoned warehouse; filthy concrete floor, dark brick walls, moss and fungus growing all around, and only a few patches of light filling the room from the windows high above her. The difference between this place and the warehouse was all of the menacing-looking machinery instead of stacks and stacks of empty shelves. “A factory?” Diamond thought aloud as she squirmed to try to move. “How did I get here? I thought I was sleeping in that warehouse… Wait, I remember going to the arcade… I met Babs, and then…” Images of a colt covered in birds entered Diamond’s mind, and she shuddered. “That’s right. Babs went out to look for the blank flank, and then I got attacked…” “Ow… Mah head…” Diamond gasped at the familiar voice behind her. “… Blank flank?” “Really? First thing in the mornin’?” Apple Bloom asked as she tried to move her hoof up to rub her head, only for it to not move at all. She opened her eyes and looked over at the tied-up filly lying in front of her. “… Diamond?” “What?” “Why are y’all tied up?” “Because of you,” Diamond said in a bitter tone. “Because you didn’t stay at that creepy colt’s place and I had to look for you. Then I got foalnapped when I was all alone.” “Creepy colt? Oh, ya mean Birds? He’s not creepy, he’s just a… a lil’ enthusiastic.” “Don’t use big words like you know what they mean,” Diamond said with a roll of her eyes. “Ah know what it means!” Apple Bloom shouted back. ‘Kinda.’ “Ssh!” Diamond hissed. “Don’t y’all be shushin’ me! Ah can talk whenever ah darn well-” “One of our foalnappers is outside!” Diamond told Apple Bloom in a loud whisper. “If he finds out we’re awake he’s going to knock us out again!” Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. “Well why didn’t ya say so? We’ve gotta get outta here!” “Wow, you figure that out all by yourself?” Diamond asked in a sarcastic tone. “How’d you even get captured anyway? What kind of idiot would want an unattractive farm pony like you?” “Ah’m not unattractive!” Apple Bloom retorted. “Granny Smith said ah’m the spittin’ image of her when she was a filly.” “Not exactly proving your point,” Diamond muttered. “As fer how ah was foalnapped… ah think ah was runnin’ down the street when ah saw two stallions havin’ problems with their cart. They asked if ah could help ‘em hold it up while they fixed it, an’ the next thing ah remember is wakin’ up here… Oh! They said somethin’ ‘bout me ‘bein’ with the ten thousand bit kid’.” “I think… that’s what they called me before they knocked me out.” “What’s that mean?” Apple Bloom asked. “You got ten thousand bits inside you or something?” “Blank flank, for once, use that brain of yours,” Diamond Tiara said, hearing a growl behind her in response. “They obviously mean to sell me for ten thousand bits. Quite frankly, I’m appalled. I’m worth at least a hundred thousand.” “Ah’d certainly pay that much jus’ fer ya ta shut up,” Apple Bloom said. “But then if they’re after you, why take me as well?” “Who should I know?! All I know is that it’s your fault that we’re in this mess!” “Mah fault?! Nopony told y’all ta come lookin’ for m- Wait, why were you lookin’ for me?” “Don’t get the wrong idea,” Diamond spat. “I wasn’t looking for you for your sake. It was for Babs. Because she…” Diamond hesitated for a moment before continuing. “… She said I wasn’t her friend if I didn’t help her.” Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “Since when did you an’ Babs become friends again?” Diamond Tiara was about to respond, but Apple Bloom cut her off. “Oh, ah get it,” Apple Bloom said. “Y’all are tryin’ ta lure Babs over ta your side again, jus’ like ya did last time.” “What? No I’m n-” “Don’t deny it!” Apple Bloom gritted her teeth together as she felt her blood start to boil. “Y’all are tryin’ ta take mah family away, jus’ like before! Well it ain’t gonna happen! Babs is smart enough ta catch onto yer tricks, an’ there ain’t no way ah’m gonna let y’all-” “Do you even hear yourself?” Diamond asked. “You’re right about Babs being smarter than she looks, and maybe that’s why she can see that I’m much cooler than you’ll ever be.” Diamond grinned as she tried but failed to look over her head at Apple Bloom’s surely furious face. “Maybe that’s why she chose me over you. Maybe she just thinks I’m a cooler friend than you’ll ever be.” “Come over here an’ say that!” Apple Bloom challenged. “Idiot! If I could I would!” BANG! Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom gasped and both turned towards the direction of the loud banging sound that still echoed throughout the room. “W-What was that?” Apple Bloom asked. BANG! “The door!” Diamond shouted. “Somepony’s banging on the door!” A few seconds of silence passed, before a different sound came from the direction of the door. The sound of something clicking. “T-They’re coming!” Diamond Tiara whispered as she lay her head down and closed her eyes again. “Horseapples!” Apple Bloom cursed under her breath as she followed Diamond’s lead and pretended to be asleep. “Applejack… Please help…” The sound of the door opening slowly filled the room, and both Diamond Tiara and Apple Bloom had to force themselves not to make a single sound as the sounds of hoofsteps echoed throughout the room. Aunt Orange couldn’t believe her ears. She simply couldn’t believe a thing that she was hearing. To think, her own daughter, Babs Seed, would do such a thing as hiding two runaways without telling anypony, one of whom was the daughter to who was by far the family’s biggest investor. “Aunt Orange, please calm down,” Applejack instructed as she provided her aunt with a paper bag to breath into. “C’mon now, deep breaths.” The mare grabbed the paper bag and held it over her muzzle, breathing in and out very rapidly. Beside her, Uncle Orange was doing his best to maintain a calm and diligent appearance to their three guests. “Officer, you must be mistaken,” he told Detective Gumshoe as he held his wife’s hoof. “Our daughter may be reckless, but she’s still a good child. She would never partake in such delinquent behaviour.” “Not even to protect her favourite cousin?” Gumshoe asked. “I’m given to understand that you daughter and Apple Bloom have had a rock relationship in the past. And Miss Applejack here has informed me that your daughter told Apple Bloom, and I quote: ‘I owe you one for all the trouble I gave you. Whenever you’re in trouble, come find me and I’ll help you out’.” “T-That’s…” “Where is your daughter, out of interest?” Gumshoe asked. “She’s at a friend’s house,” Uncle Orange told him. “This late at night?” Applejack asked, a worried look on her face. “It’s just around the corner,” Uncle Orange told her. Gumshoe rose to his hooves and turned towards the door. “Please show me the way. I would like to question her.” “She would never-” “If she’s innocent, then there’s nothing for you to worry about,” Gumshoe said. “However, right now there are two families that are both worried sick about their missing fillies.” “Please,” Filthy Rich pleaded from his seat opposite to Uncle Orange. “I just want to see my daughter again. I’m begging you… please help in any way you can…” Uncle Orange gulped at the sight of Filthy Rich, one of the most influential ponies in Manehatten and one of the Apple Family’s biggest investors, practically on his knees and begging for help from him. “I…” Uncle Orange sighed. “Of course. Of course I’ll help.” Rising out of his chair and walking past the detective, Uncle Orange opened the door and motioned for the others to follow him. “I’ll lead the way.” Babs was panicking like never before as she ran through the streets of Manehatten with little regard to what was in front of her. Her legs were tired, her breathing was heavy, and her hooves felt like they were on fire, but she wasn’t going to stop until she had found them and knew that they were safe. ‘Stupid Diamond Tiara!’ Babs thought to herself as she rounded a corner. After failing to find Apple Bloom at the abandoned warehouse, she had gone back to Birds’ house to collect Diamond Tiara, only to find out that she had gone out after her despite being specifically told not to leave the house. ‘Now they’re both missin’, and I have no idea where else to look!’ Babs stopped for a moment to take a breath, but continued running again not long after. ‘I can’t stop! They’re both out there somewhere, and they’re in danger! I have to find them! I have to-’ Babs collided with something as she was running, her blurred vision preventing her from seeing whatever it was she had ran into before it was too late. “Ow! …” “Babs?!” a mare’s voice called out. Babs gasped and looked up at the ponies in front of her. Two of them she didn’t recognise, but the other three were… “A-Applejack… and mum and dad…” “Babs!” Aunt Orange cried as she reached her hooves forward and grabbed her daughter’s shoulders. “What are you doing out here on your own?! I thought you were at your friend’s house!” “I…” “Miss, please,” the stallion in the grey trenchcoat said as Uncle Orange pulled his wife to the side. The stallion knelt down and met Babs’ eyes. “You’re Babs Seed?” Babs simply nodded. “My name is Detective Gumshoe. I’m looking for-” “You’re a detective?!” Babs shouted, startling the group of older ponies. Gumshoe nodded. “T-Then you can help! You can help me find ‘em before it’s too late!” “‘Find them’?” Gumshoe asked. “What do ya mean?” Applejack asked, her face contorting into horror as a particular thought crossed her mind. “Y-Y’all aren’t sayin’ that Apple Bloom is…” “W-Where’s Diamond Tiara?” Filthy Rich asked, looking past Babs only to find nopony else there. “Where is she?! She’s with you, isn’t she?!” Babs swallowed hard and slowly shook her head, sweat pouring down her head and slight sobs starting to form in her throat. “T-They were… with me… b-but we got separated, an’ I can’t find ‘em… anywhere…” “You WHAT?!” Filthy Rich demanded, taking a step forward, only to be stopped by Gumshoe’s foreleg. “What do you mean you lost her?! You mean that she’s out there all on her own?! My daughter is lost in the big city, and night, with nowhere to go?!” “Please,” Gumshoe said, pleading for the stallion to calm down. He turned back to Babs, a stern look on his face. “When did you last see them?” Babs took a deep breath to calm herself down. “I-It was earlier today that I last saw Apple Bloom… Sometime in the afternoon… And I was with Diamond until about half-an-hour ago. Oh, but Birds said that Apple Bloom was with him until a few minutes before Diamond and I got there, so-” “Who’s Birds?” Gumshoe asked. “A friend of hers,” Uncle Orange answered for his daughter. “He lives a few blocks from here. It’s quite a trek…” “Detective,” Filthy Rich said, “We don’t have any time to lose. We have to find my daughter before something happens to her!” “We will,” Gumshoe assured him. “Apple Bloom too,” Applejack said. “She’s tough, but she’s still only a filly! We have ta find ‘em before-” “We’ll find them!” Gumshoe repeated, silencing the two panicking ponies. “… For now, I want you to take your daughter home,” he told Aunt Orange, before turning to Uncle Orange. “Do you know the way to this ‘Birds’’ house?” Uncle Orange nodded. “Yes. I’ve been there a few times before.” “Alright then, lead the way,” Gumshoe instructed. “We’ll look out for clues along the way, and question anypony we see about if they saw anything.” “Um, excuse me,” a voice called out to the group. Everypony turned around to see a grey stallion with a short, tidy white mane approaching them. The stallion stopped and gasped as he laid eyes on Filthy Rich. “Mr. Rich?” “Silver Bullet!” Filthy Rich cried in surprise as the sight of his friend graced his vision. “What are you doing here?” “I could ask you the same,” Silver Bullet said, “But I have more pressing matters. I’m looking for my daughter and her friends.” “Silver Spoon’s here too?” Filthy Rich asked with a gasp. “And she’s missing?” Gumshoe put a hoof to his forehead. ‘Be careful what ya wish for, eh?’ Silver Bullet nodded. “Yes. My daughter, Silver Spoon, told me about how Diamond Tiara was feeling sick, and asked if I could bring her and her friends here to buy a get-well gift for her.” “At this hour?” Applejack asked with a sceptical edge in her tone. “… She… gave me that look,” Silver Bullet said with a solemn bow of his head. “Anyway, I looked away for one second and they were all gone! Please, you have to help me find them!” Gumshoe sighed and shook his head in his hoof. “Great. That’s just great… Out of interest, how many friends did she bring along, exactly?” “Just two,” Silver Bullet said. “Not her usual kind of company, but they said that they were just as worried for their friend, so…” “So that makes five missing fillies,” Gumshoe summarised. “… Alright then. Filthy and Uncle Orange-” “I prefer ‘Rich’,” Filthy Rich said. “-You two come with me. Applejack, you accompany Silver Bullet to the nearest police station and file the report for three missing fillies.” “But Apple Bloom-” Applejack began. “We’ll find her,” Gumshoe interrupted. “Just trust us. But for now, there are another three fillies that also need ta be found. Okay?” Applejack was silent for a few seconds. She then nodded. “Alright then. Ah’ll catch up once the report’s been filled in.” “Please don’t,” Gumshoe said in an exasperated tone. “Last thing I need tonight is a missing mare to find on top of five fillies.” “It’s alright,” Uncle Orange said. “I’ll head back home after I show you all the way. After that, I can escort Applejack when she’s done with the report.” ‘It’d be pointless to argue,’ Gumshoe thought to himself, ‘And we’re losing precious time…’ With a nod, Gumshoe turned to Filthy Rich. “Alright then,” he said, turning back to Uncle Orange. “Lead the way.” Diamond Tiara begged her heart to stop beating so loudly. She lay down on the cold floor as still as she could, which wasn’t very still when her entire body was shaking from both fear, and the cold air all around her. ‘Wait… where’s my coat?! Oh, those no-good dirty-’ “Diamond!” Diamond gasped. That wasn’t a stallion’s voice. It was a filly’s, and a familiar one at that. Diamond Tiara slowly opened her eyes. She saw a grey hoof mere inches in front of her. She opened them completely and stared up at the three fillies standing before her. “You’re okay!” Silver Spoon cried as she lunged forward and hugged her friend. “Thank Celestia!” “S-Silver Spoon?” Diamond asked. “Scootaloo?” Apple Bloom asked from behind Diamond. “Sweetie Belle? W-What-” With dual grins on their faces, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle bumped flanks together, striking heroic poses behind Silver Spoon, and declared in unison: “Cutie Mark Crusader Missing-Filly Finders!” “Plus one,” Scootaloo added, glancing down at Silver Spoon. She turned her attention back to Apple Bloom and ran up to her, examining the rope and wasting no time in trying to undo it. “We’re here to rescue you!” “B-But what about the guy outside?” Apple Bloom asked. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged knowing grins. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about him,” Sweetie Belle said. “He’s a little tied up at the moment.” On the cold grass outside, Red stared up at the beautiful night-time scenery flying above his head. He had to hand it to the Princess of the Night, she sure knew how to make a peaceful, serene night sky that one could easily get lost in. Of course, it would have been easier to enjoy it had his hooves not been tied up by no less than three crazy fillies that had assaulted him from out of nowhere. “… What are you doing?” his partner’s voice called out to him. With some effort, Red managed to sit up straight and smiled sheepishly to his partner. “Oh, hey there. Uh, lil’ help?” Pulling out a switchblade knife from his belt, Fury held the blade to his partner’s neck and glared down at him. “You wanna explain to me what’s goin’ on here?” “H-Hold on!” Red pleaded. “This wasn’t the cops’ doin’! It was just three lil’ fillies who ambushed me from outta nowhere!” “… Three fillies did this to you?” Fury asked. Red nodded his head quickly. “And where are these fillies right now?” Red motioned his head towards the factory beside him. “They went in there not too long ago.” Fury turned to the factory door and smiled. “That so? Well then…” Lowering his knife, Fury cut the rope binding his partner’s hooves and allowed him to stand up. “It’s been a while, but let’s go exterminate us some pests.”