//------------------------------// // Sunday // Story: Madmare Island // by Alaborn //------------------------------// Madmare Island By Alaborn Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein. Chapter 4: Sunday The nine campers awoke groggy and grouchy. Worries about the knife-wielding madmare made sleep fitful even for those who didn’t take a watch. “At least the sky’s clear,” Archer said. “I want one more trip to the lake before we leave.” “I agree. Plus, I left my saddlebags there,” Silver Spoon added. “The boat comes at noon,” Scootaloo reminded everypony. “That said, a little fun this morning sounds like a good idea.” “Now hold on,” Diamond Tiara said. “There’s something we should do first. I’ve been thinking....” “That’s always dangerous,” Scootaloo interjected. “Quiet. Look, I learned all about scams and setups from my father, and it’s clear this is some big trick,” Diamond Tiara continued. “Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me,” Apple Bloom said. “Apple Bloom, this isn’t the time for this,” Diamond Tiara said. She closed her eyes, wincing like she was in pain, and exhaled slowly before continuing. “If I had your family’s talent for knowing when a pony was being honest, my job would be a lot simpler. But I don’t, and so my father has taught me all the ways ponies have tried cheating him in the past. And this haunting smells like sabotage at the hoof of a rival or a disgruntled employee.” “So what exactly do you propose we do?” Sweetie Belle asked. “There’s one building we haven’t checked. The office.” Diamond Tiara looked at her unicorn companions. “Can one of you teleport? Or can you manipulate locks?” “No, that’s way too hard,” Snips said. Snails nodded in agreement. “Maybe some of the fine manipulation spells Rarity taught me could be adapted,” Sweetie Belle said. “But I don’t know how the lock works. All I remember is our attempt to be Cutie Mark Crusaders locksmiths was a disaster.” “If it comes down to it, I could buck the door off its hinges,” Apple Bloom said. “Guys, stop it,” Scootaloo said. “I have a key.” Everypony stared at her. “Why didn’t you say something?” Diamond Tiara said. “I tried, but you all kept talking over me,” Scootaloo replied. “Then let’s get going,” Diamond Tiara said. Scootaloo unlocked the door and opened it. The hinges creaked with disuse. A faint musty smell assaulted the ponies’ nostrils. “There’s a telegraph inside, and it’s the only way to contact Waypost in the event of an emergency,” Scootaloo explained. “And I don’t suppose you know how to use it?” Diamond Tiara said. “Sending out an SOS shouldn’t be that hard, right?” Scootaloo observed. “Anyway, I thought Open Hearth was being ridiculously cautious when he gave me the key. But now I’m glad I have it.” The ponies crowded into the small office, opening the shutters to let in light and fresh air. The light revealed a cluttered office. The old desk was covered with stacks of papers, and brown accordion folders stuffed with even more papers covered every surface. “So what are we supposed to do?” Snails asked. “We want to find out about the employees,” Diamond Tiara stated. “So look for something like a payroll. I’m particularly interested in any unicorns who worked here over the last year.” Together, the classmates searched out everything made of paper. The cabin was quiet, save for the sound of shuffling paper and the whispers of some ponies who tended to read aloud. “I found something,” Scootaloo said, breaking the silence. “Except it’s from December.” Diamond Tiara looked over the document. “Two employees. Based on the names, it’s probably an earth pony and a pegasus. This looks like a lump sum payment for the off-season. Based on the numbers, I’d guess the pegasus is being paid for full-time work, and the earth pony for part-time labor.” “So not them?” Apple Bloom asked. “Keep looking for something from summer,” Diamond Tiara said. “I expect to see seasonal workers, kind of like the ponies Barnyard Bargains hires before Hearth’s Warming. Our perpetrator is probably one of them.” Scootaloo dug deeper into the drawer she had opened, finding more payroll documents. Diamond Tiara took over at that point, cross-referencing payroll and personnel documents with a practiced eye. Unlike most such situations, the others welcomed her taking charge; it was rare to find Diamond Tiara’s ability matching her own assessment of her ability. “So, anything?” Sweetie Belle asked. “No!” Diamond Tiara replied tersely. “According to the payroll, everypony who started in May was still working in September, and the ponies who worked less were obviously students.” She pointed to the personnel records, which listed name, age, sex, and type. “We have a couple of unicorns, but they’re either students or retirees. Nopony appears to have quit or been fired.” “So this is another dead end?” Silver Spoon commented. “No. Keep looking! Find some older records. We’ll find who’s responsible for this flimflam,” Diamond Tiara said. “Did you say Flim-Flam?” Archer asked. “Because I saw that in one of these letters.” “What?” Apple Bloom shouted. She pushed through the others to bring herself next to Archer. “Where?” “Somewhere in there,” Archer said, pointing to the top of a cabinet. A device consisting of large wire rings in parallel held what appeared to be correspondence. She grabbed one stack, eventually finding the letter she remembered seeing. Apple Bloom grabbed the letter from Archer and quickly read it over. She scowled and slammed the letter onto the cabinet, the crack of her hoof hitting wood resounding through the cabin. “What’s wrong, Apple Bloom?” Snails asked. “It’s the Flim-Flam brothers. Scootaloo, those dirty little thieves are after your cousin,” she replied. Diamond Tiara read the letter. “This letter is from late last year. It’s their ‘final offer’ to buy this island. I’m not familiar with land prices here, but I’d wager this offer is at least forty percent below market value.” She turned to Apple Bloom. “But why are you so upset?” “Those two tried to swindle Sweet Apple Acres from my family. They’re the unicorns you’re looking for, I just know it!” Diamond Tiara looked confused. “When did that happen?” “Cider season, six years ago?” Apple Bloom offered. “There was a big competition? The whole town was there?” “Well, I wasn’t,” she replied. “After all, I have more refined tastes.” “You’ve never had Sweet Apple Acres cider?” Silver Spoon said, slowly shaking her head. Everypony else was reacting similarly, leaving Diamond Tiara in the unfamiliar position of being the outcast. “Let’s see what else we can find,” Scootaloo said. There turned out to be several pieces of correspondence from the Flim-Flam brothers. Their plan was to build an amusement park on the island. Open Hearth didn’t keep copies of the letters he sent in response, but he added mouthwritten comments to the letters indicating when and how he responded. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t share the brothers’ vision. “Well, they didn’t specifically say they were going to be competitors, but that’s probably their plan,” Apple Bloom said, remembering her own family’s encounter with the brothers. “Actually, I don’t think so,” Diamond Tiara said. “I think they have their eyes on this land, first and foremost.” “Why do you say that?” Snips asked. “I’m thinking about the likely result of what we’ve seen here. Unhappy campers leave early, tell their friends, and ruin the place for the season.” “I’d be more worried about the fake fog,” Rumble said. “Somepony could get hurt or die if they need rescuing and nopony can find them!” “If something like that happened, the investigation would shut this place down,” Silver Spoon said. “That’s why Father is adamant about enforcing the safety standards of his silver mines.” “This is bad, really bad,” Scootaloo said. “Open Hearth runs this camp because he loves making campers happy. He can’t afford something like that happening!” “Well, now that we know their plan, he’ll be able to fight it,” Diamond Tiara said. “All we can do now is check for more of these tricks.” “The only ones we know of are around the lake,” Rumble said. “Well, that settles it,” Scootaloo said. “Let’s go back to the lake!” Scootaloo flew across the lake, marked a large X near the shore, and zipped back. “So here’s the plan. We form two teams. Sweetie Belle, you’re on one team, and Snips and Snails, you’re on the other. We circle around the lake looking for more gems. Then we meet up at the X, and see who found the most gems.” “How many gems are we looking for?” Archer asked. “I’m not sure,” she replied. “About the only thing we have to go on is how much fog disappeared when one spell was dispelled.” “I’ll make an educated guess that there are seven more,” Silver Spoon said. “There may be more, but that fog wouldn’t affect the lake.” “Now, let’s get going,” Scootaloo said. The ponies wordlessly split into two teams. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo followed their longtime friend, and Rumble joined them. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were surprisingly eager to join Snips and Snails. Archer picked up her bow and chose to join the latter group. “Go!” Scootaloo called. “So, piece of cake, right?” Scootaloo said to Sweetie Belle. “You’ll just use the gem-finding spell, right?” “Yes, but I told you I’m not that good at it. I’m sure Rarity could find all of the planted spell gems, plus an undiscovered cache of sapphires, with one spell, but I can’t,” Sweetie Belle said. “So what do we do?” Apple Bloom asked. “I guess we walk a little bit, and then I’ll use the spell,” Sweetie Belle replied. The four ponies walked far enough that they couldn’t see their starting point, and could no longer hear the others. Sweetie Belle stopped, raising a foreleg. Once the others stopped, and it was quiet, Sweetie Belle let the magic flow through her horn. Sweat formed on her brow. “There!” she finally called, pointing off to the distance. “Follow me!” Sweetie Belle’s spell was good enough to give her an idea of the general location, and after a brief manual search by all four ponies, they found their first gem, stashed in the hollow of a tree. “To be honest, Diamond Tiara, I thought you would go with Sweetie Belle,” Snips said. “I’m here because if this is a competition, I want to be on the winning team,” she replied. “Really? You think we’re going to win?” Snails said. “Let’s go down the reasons,” Diamond Tiara said. “Most importantly, there’s two of you. Second, you’ll be using a spell you’re good at, whereas Sweetie Belle will be using one she’s uncomfortable using. And most importantly, you have my leadership and Silver Spoon’s smarts helping you.” “What about me?” Archer said. “Your keen eye will help once we know where to look,” Diamond Tiara replied. “What’s your plan?” Silver Spoon asked. “If I remember what I learned in magic class, a stored spell emits a low level version of its magical signature,” Diamond Tiara stated. “That’s correct,” Silver Spoon said. “It’s detectable above the level of ambient magic, as long as you’re not in a magically active locale.” “Oh, I get it. We detect for illusion magic?” Snails said. Diamond Tiara nodded. “Since there are two of you, you can both detect the closest source of illusion magic. Do it from about ten pony lengths apart. When your horns are pointed in different directions, then we triangulate.” “It shouldn’t be hard to calculate a distance at that point,” Silver Spoon said. “It’s not like the math is difficult.” “Let’s do it, Snips!” Snails said. A brief pulse from each of their horns sent them into the woods. After a short walk, they tried again, being pulled in slightly different directions. “About eighty feet that way,” Silver Spoon said. Once they reached the right area, it took only a few minutes to find the gem, resting next to a boulder. Diamond Tiara’s plan worked well as the group found two more gems. They left the woods, entering a clear area, with grasses gradually thinning out as they neared the mud of the lake shore. The fourth hit for the two unicorns pointed them to the shore. They heard voices in the distance. They saw the others, with Sweetie Belle pointing to the shore. Scootaloo and Rumble were flying just above them, searching for the gem. “Run!” Diamond Tiara ordered. They headed for the shore. Their competition was similarly motivated, and rushed as well. Archer caught a glint of sunlight off something green in the mud. “There!” she called, running ahead. “There!” Rumble shouted as well. He dived for the shore. Their target was actually in the X Scootaloo had marked on the shore. Archer ran and jumped, her desperate dive hoping to beat the determined Rumble. The two ponies both landed in the mud as they reached out with a hoof. The others trotted up to see who won. The green gem was stuck between the hooves of Rumble and Archer. “I guess that’s a tie,” Scootaloo said. “I agree,” Diamond Tiara replied. “We found three gems. How about you?” “We got three, too,” Apple Bloom said. “Well, which is it? Did you get three, or two?” Diamond Tiara said. “Very funny,” Apple Bloom replied. Archer stood up and jumped, trying to knock dirt and mud off her coat. “Well, I think I need to clean up. Who’s up for a swim across the lake?” Diamond Tiara looked across the lake. It was probably properly classified as a pond or something else, but it was still a heck of a lot bigger than the pool at Ponyville High School. “You’re crazy,” she said. “I’ll do it,” Apple Bloom said. “Excellent!” Archer replied. “Mind carrying my bow back as the rest of you take the long way back?” “Fine,” Diamond Tiara replied. Even with the impromptu gem hunt, the group still had a couple of hours to just have fun. The boats and rafts were brought out again, and everypony spent some time on the water. Or in the water, such as in the case when Snips and Snails’s raft tipped over. They hurried back to the campground, where they finished packing. Afterward, it was a short walk to the dock, where they awaited the return of the boat. “Well, that was an interesting weekend,” Silver Spoon said. “Not exactly what I had in mind,” Diamond Tiara said. “Me neither,” Scootaloo added, with a glare at Diamond Tiara. “You know, that was kind of fun,” Snails said. “All the scary stuff, now that we know it wasn’t real.” “Yeah, it was! If we had known we were walking into that, it would have been a ton of fun!” Archer said. “Sure, but it would have been better closer to Nightmare Night,” Sweetie Belle said. The conversation was interrupted by the sound of music coming from one of Sweetie Belle’s trunks. Several ponies jumped at the sinister strains issuing from her magic piano. The rest jumped when a figure stepped out from behind a building. The same mask, the same dark cloak... it was the madmare! Somepony screamed. Several backed away. Others stood closer to their friends as a show of protection. The madmare had not approached any closer. Apple Bloom looked closer at the figure. Now that it was light, more details about the madmare were finally visible. She was clearly a mare, and the shape of folded wings underneath the cloak indicated she was a pegasus. The cloak and mask covered much of her, but her pale blue coat and golden mane and tail could be noticed. The cloak didn’t cover her cutie mark, which showed a blue jay with the sun in the background. The madmare did have her long knife, but it wasn’t in her mouth this time. Rather, it was in a sheath attached to her foreleg. And that foreleg was fidgeting, the hoof scuffing small circles in the ground. That gesture, and the position of her head, was very familiar to Apple Bloom. She had seen those behaviors many times in her longtime family friend and now sister-in-law, Fluttershy. Emboldened, Apple Bloom walked slowly up to the madmare and raised her foreleg. “I’m sorry we scared you so much,” she said. “What? WE scared HER?” Diamond Tiara shouted. Silver Spoon placed her hoof over her friend’s mouth, forestalling any further interruption. Apple Bloom took another step forward. “I’m Apple Bloom. What’s your name?” “I’m... I’m Jay Sun,” she replied quietly. “But my friends call me Sunny.” “Well, I’m always happy to make another friend, Sunny,” Apple Bloom said. “I apologize. I should have realized my appearance would be frightening,” Sunny said. A few of the others bravely approached. Archer, Rumble, and Scootaloo stood up front with Apple Bloom, with Snips and Snails behind them. “So, uh, why the... you know?” Apple Bloom asked, motioning to Sunny’s mask. “Oh, um, I kind of got struck by lightning two days ago. I need the mask and cloak to protect my exposed skin until it heals,” she replied. She lifted her mask slightly, revealing the singe marks and raw skin that both Scootaloo and Rumble recognized as the consequence of a lightning strike on a pegasus, at least one without Rumble’s freakish lightning resistance. “You got struck by lightning, and you were on your hooves the same day? That’s pretty radical,” Scootaloo said. “I didn’t want to disappoint your group,” she replied. “That’s some honest dedication,” Apple Bloom said. Finally, everypony had gotten comfortable with the situation. The remaining ponies approached so they could hear what was going on. “Do you work here?” Archer asked. “Yes, I live on the island year-round,” Sunny replied. “I keep the firewood and supplies stocked at camp, and keep the vines and madmare grass under control. I like it. It’s very quiet.” “Wait, madmare grass?” Scootaloo asked. “You know, that long grass that wraps around your legs? I have to cut it,” she replied, lifting her foreleg with the machete strapped to it. “How do you think the island got its name?” “Oh. M. damara,” Silver Spoon said. “I bet that’s where the name came from.” “Does that mean you’re the pony who rescued those old tombstones?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Yes. I’ve been finding them at the river’s edge for a few years. It didn’t feel right to just treat them like some forgotten rubble,” she said. “Well, I think that’s a noble task,” Sweetie Belle said. “This camp’s lucky to have you.” All around, ponies nodded and expressed their agreement. “It sure is,” another voice said. Again, several ponies jumped. Scootaloo flew to the earth pony stallion and gave him a quick hug. “Cuz! I thought you were on vacation!” “Hey, Scootaloo. I got your telegram, and took the first train home,” he replied. “I was wondering why all your bags were left by the dock. I see you’ve met Sunny.” “Did we ever,” Scootaloo said. “We have some not so good news, but let’s talk on the boat.” “See you, Sunny!” Sweetie Belle called as the group started heading towards the dock. Again, the quiet mare was standing nervously. Apple Bloom turned back and addressed her. “Sunny, were you trying to tell us something earlier?” “Oh, yes,” Sunny replied. She pulled something from under her cloak and held it up. “I found this the night you arrived. Is it one of yours?” The others turned to look. Diamond Tiara saw it, her eyes opening wide. “My earring!” she shouted excitedly. She rushed over to Sunny. “Oh, thank you! I thought it was lost forever.” “Well, I’m glad I could help,” she said. On the boat, Open Hearth shook his head slowly after hearing the high school students describe the events of the weekend. “This isn’t good. I don’t think the camp can survive if I have to pay to protect against somepony trying to drive me out of business. I’m already in a hole because I had to come home.” “What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked. “My trip to Mihaymi Beach? It’s not a vacation. I work at an old friend’s resort. I need that work, since my camp is only open for the summer.” “I’d be happy to tell you all I know about Flim and Flam,” Apple Bloom said. “You tell the town that those two cheaters shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near your island.” “I’ll do that,” Open Hearth replied. “But... it’s just not going to be enough.” Scootaloo smiled. “Actually, cousin, I think I know just what to do to save your camp.”