Ponies Anonymous

by DontAskForCookie

Chapter 5: "Going Up?"

“Sup?”,asked the voice on the other line. Even distorted as it was by the cellphone it dripped with exotic undertones that were hard for me to put my finger on, his accent a unique popri of unplaceable origin.

“If you're hearing this then you have tried and subsequently failed to reach Zedrich Calhoun, or just Zed if you're a fan. Stick around after the beep to leave me some deets so I can get back to you as soon as I can. FYI thats return numbers, why your calling, and measurements if you got this number from me at a bar”.

My head thudded lightly against the glass of Janets drivers side window as I listened to the message yet again, lips easily mouthing along silently with Zeds pre-recorded voice. Since leaving Terminal West I had tried calling the number listed on the Arcane Arachnid flyer but had not been able to reach anyone after a few attempts. Moving on from there I had tried Calling the number from the text, confirming that it was in fact Zed’s number but nothing else.

The first time the message played I had fallen for the simple greeting and subsequent pause at the beginning, jumping right into rushed conversation before realizing the joke. four more attempts later and I was now starting to get over my original hesitance to leave a message, something I usually disliked doing in the best of circumstances. However In this one case I’m willing to admit defeat and wait to hear the full message yet again.

“Anyway you know what to do, talk to you later!”
BEEP!

“Ummm… Hi, this is Liam, Liam Pettman. Not sure if you remember me or not but we met at the concert last night, I'm Berries Friend. I was just calling with some questions, we both have some gaps in our memory and were hoping to see if you could help us out. Berrie and I would really appreciate any info you could provide…”

Looking awkwardly out the window of the parked car at the half empty lot near the apartment I considered my words carefully. I had promised Janet that I would be as discreet as possible with what had happened, but seeing as Zed was current the only lead I was going to have to say something. The direct approach would have been my preference but since Janet was the one who was going to have to deal any fallout from this incident I was willing to do things her way. Dropping subtle hints and hoping that the singer was able to pick up on their meaning was the best I could do for now.

“So if you could just give me a call that would be great, would let me mark off something from my list of things to worry about, really help me ink in some details. You know what I mean? Well if you do please give me a call back at this number”.

Subtle, very subtle, I should be seeing that recruitment letter for MI6 any day now.

Leaving my number (but certainly not my measurements) I terminate the call, staring down at the phone for a moment before bringing up the call history. Three calls to the number on the poster, five to Zed’s cell, and two unanswered calls to Janet. It seemed abundantly clear that no one was in a mood to answer any of my calls today, an annoying fact that had made me feel slightly less bad about having ignored the single call I had received from Ronnie. The guy was fun to have around but with the mess Janet and I had found ourselves in after last nights fun I'm less than eager to spend time goofing off with the guy.

He’s my buddy, and I would to just about anything for him, but Janets fate did not rest on the two of us palling around.

Pocketing the cell and locking the car door as I exit the cramped vehicle I couldn't help but notice the nagging feeling that I had heard something similar to this line of thought before. Dismissing the notion I instead start reviewing all that I had learned while making for my apartment building. Janet was sure to have long since returned from the tattoo parlor and I was eager to share our findings.

Walking around the side of the building and pressing my way through the front door into the lobby I allowed my mind to lose itself in thought, completely overlooking Marcus Koontz until he had stepped onto the elevator with me and shoved me headlong into the polished steel back wall of the small enclosure with a powerful shove.

Bouncing off the back wall stars appeared before my eyes as my wobbly legs gave out underneath me. Still dazed from the impact the elevators loud chime echoed around in my skull as the double doors slide closed, shutting me and Marcus off from the rest of the world for some alone time. The shadow of my attacker grew as Koontz stepped over my crumpled form, twin images of his snarling face peeking out from his hoodie spinning above me.

"Ouch", I grumbled unintelligibly to the dual images of Janet's boyfriend. Leaning down over me and grasping me by the chest my perspective shifted quickly as Koonts pulled me off the ground and pressing me against the same wall my face had become intimate with moments earlier. The contents of my stomach roiled at the sudden motion but I managed to keep from spilling my lunch even as Koontz leaned into me, his weight alone keeping me upright on my still weak legs.

"Where is she?", He spat venomously through clenched teeth, his partially shrouded face inching closer and closer to my own with each threatening word.

My wits were slowly recovering after Koontz brutal surprise attack but my head was still swimming in a thick fog, my throbbing head pounding harder and harder as I felt a warm sensation growing across my brow. Blinking at the predatory face of the Apartments resident goon it honestly took a few seconds to realize what he was asking me. Judging from the growing glare of his narrowed brown eyes he was starting to tire of waiting so I quickly stammered out the best line my rattled mind could come up with.

"Who?"

Koontz wasted no time in showing his displeasure with my response as he swiftly reared back and delevered a vicious headbut, my face exploding with pain as his forehead crashed against the brim of my nose. The stars from before paled in comparison to the sea of light that flashed by my dimming eyes. Blinded by pain a wave of blackness rolled across my vision obscuring the sight of Koontz and the elevator for a short while. I didn't even feel it when my body crashed against the hard floor for a second time.

Laying there with my head spinning I slowly became aware of a distant sound. It took me a while to realize that Koontz was talking to himself more than me and longer still to regain enough composure to make since of his words. Bits and pieces of the one sided conversation floated in and out of focus as my mind rebooted.

"-ck'ing tattoos, tryin-..."

"-ole taking our car for a joy ride, leaving m-..."

"-ing from me like this, Ingrateful runt! Going to drag her ass back home where she belongs and get some answers about what's been going on around here".

Groaning I twisted my head away from the sight of the slightly dented elevator wall above me, my mind only vaguely registering what the fresh red stain was, and tilted it towards Koontz. I had missed a majority of his speech but it was fairly obvious what, or rather who, he was after. Marcus Koontz was allot of things, a drug dealer, a jerk, an abusive boyfriend, but he wasn't a moron. Somehow he had made the connection between me and Janet, true it couldn't have been that hard when I was driving around in her car all day, but still I had been holding out hope of avoiding this exact encounter.

So much for that hope.

The trip to my room had been short as always but oh how much more interesting it had been made by the antagonizing of Koontz! Between the elevator and my door alone I had manage to acquire two more harsh bruises from where he grasped my arm with a death grip as he escorted me quickly through the hall. While not as immediately noticeable as the line of crimson running down my face from my brow or my now slightly crooked nose it was still quite painful, more than enough so to keep me from struggling.

For his part Koontz was all business, his partially covered stubbly face showing little of the fiery mood from the elevator. While I couldn't tell for sure so long as he wore his prefered tinted shades I suspected from the occasional tilt of his head that he was on the look out for any interruptions. Luckily for him (and subsequently unluckily for me) no one appeared to intercede in my forced march

Stopping abruptly at my door Koontz finally released my arm but remains close at my side, staring down his nose at my from behind his shades. From the other side of the door came the unmistakable sounds of the television, which I had left off when I had left. There was no doubt Janet had made it back well before me, just as planned.

Frozen in place and with no obvious means of escape my mind blanked yet again, unable to think of a single plan to escape this mess. Koontz had me, there was no way around that, Even if I refused to open the door for him he would just beat the snot out of me and take the keys for himself. One way or another he was going to get into my apartment, and when he did he was going to find exactly who he was looking for.

Glancing at the door I contemplated shouting, giving Janet a warning about what was awaiting her. Not that there was any escape from the room besides the front door, even with a warning she would be trapped. Seeing no other alternatives though I had almost worked up the nerve to yell out when Marcus beat me to the punch, barking out a quick order under his breath.

“Shift a leg loser, get the fucker open!”

My fortitude collapsed like a house of cards in a earthquake. Reaching into my pocket I fished out my key ring and fumbled with the lock for a bit before opening the door with a click. Turning the knob I was quickly shoved aside as Marcus stepped in before me.

Failure, I had failed Janet completely. This wasn't a fight I wanted to be any part of but still I had given her safe place to work out her problem only to throw her back to the wolves at the first sign of trouble. I could have at least tried to resist, or called for help, or one of a hundred other things rather than just let myself be dragged up here to turn Marcus loose on her. Instead I had complied, and in doing so I had failed.

I am not a hero, I am not a guardian angel, I'm not even a well meaning neighbor who can be relied on in a time of need. What I am, is a coward, a coward who watches life from behind a lense and can't even endure a bit of pain to save another from the same fate. Pressing myself up against the wall outside the door I cringed as I waited for the imminent clash, unwilling to actually watch as things played out.

“Howdy”

Ok, not the voice I was expecting. A confused look plastered across my face I quickly poke my head around the door frame to see Ronnie sitting at my table casually shuffling a deck of cards. The once muffled sound of the television now revealed itself to be one of my pony DVD’s (currently playing Season 1 episode 4: Applebuck Season, if you were wondering). Scanning the room quickly It became immediately obvious that the common area of the two bedroom apartment was devoid of anyone besides the shockingly calm Ronnie and the again furious Marcus.

With a smirk I even noticed that the box of booze had been moved away from view, to where I couldn't imagine. Looking to Ronnie for answers however proved futile as he was currently locked eye to eye with my torturer, his gaze giving nothing away. As always Ronnie was the king of the poker face, and today he was proving its mettle like the glorious bastard he is.

“Something wrong?”

Snorting at the comment Marcus steps forward quickly, grasping the back of the chair and throwing it and Ronnie backwards onto the ground, his face darkening. “You know what the fuck is wrong, Janet fucking Berry is here somewhere in this shit apartment and your going to tell me where”. For his own part Ronnie seemed totally non plussed.

“Nope, just me. What makes you think she would be here?”

This earned Ronnie a quick kick in the side, I didn't hear any cracking but from the way he reeled from the attack it was more than obvious how painful it had been.

“Last chance, chubby. Buddy of mine said he saw her hanging around this ass hat last night”, he didn't say my name but from the jerk of his thumb towards the door It was apparent which ‘ass hat’ he was talking about. “Now im going to ask one more time, where is my girlfriend. You feed me that bull again and im going to tear this place apart and if I DO find her? You're dead!”

Gasping and filling his lungs with air after the kick Ronnie rolls over and brings himself up to his knees. “Fucking prick, look around dumb ass. Shes not here!”.

Stepping over the sea of playing cards now scattered across the floor Koontz started to do just that, making his way first to the kitchen. “You better pray I don't find her!”. Once the brute had turned his back Ronnie offered a quick one finger salute before giving me a sidelong look followed by a wink. It wasn't uncommon for me to have no idea what Ronnie was up to, but in this case I was immediately glad for his shenanigans.

Rushing inside to Ronnies side I stooped low and began to whisper before being quickly cut off by my friend who was now starting to gather up the cards from the floor. A simple shake of his head and nod towards the sound of Koontz steel toed work boots thudding against the floor as he moved on to the bathroom to search there gave me a loud and clear message.

Play it cool.

Still unsure of what was actually going on I did just that, Helping ronnie as Marcus Koontz turned over my apartment in search for his girlfriend. Which was actually a good question, from the sound of his cursing it was becoming more and more clear that janet wasn't actually here, which begged to question where in the world she could actually be. Compounding the mystery further was the presence of Ronnie who had somehow managed to get inside my apartment without a key.

By the time Koontz searched every room in the small apartment Ronnie and I had finished collecting the cards and the DVD had already proceeded to the next episode. The two of us watched as the walking inferno of rage marched back into the living room to find us, from the sounds of his search I dreaded looking to see the state of the other various rooms in the apartment.

“Alright, If shes not here then where is she? And dont try and feed me any bu-”

“Pinky Pie!”

Rainbow dash’s nasally yell was loud enough to interrupt Koontz as we all turned to look at the multi colored pegasus and her pink friend who replied sheepishly.

“Umm… I mean, Perfect. Now just wait for my signal.”

The three of us stood stupidly and watched as the scene played out on screen, Spike stepping outside of the library with a arm full of scroll only to be startled by Rainbow Dash. It was an odd interruption to be sure but it seemed to give Marcus Pause, his brow twitching slightly as he suddenly noticed what was actually playing on the television. Never had I been more glad for Pinkies pure randomness.

Composing himself Marcus waves an open hand towards the screen, his fire and brimstone replaced by a look of annoyance. “What… in the hell am I looking at?”.

Had I not thought that it would earn me a further beating I probably would have laughed at his confusion. As it was however I managed to contain my humor at the whole ridiculous situation and shared a look with Ronnie, the two of us silently debating in that way that only good friends can with only their eyes which of us should even start to even try and explain Ponies to the Madman in my living room.

“Its called My Little Pony”, came the response from a fourth voice in the room from the doorway, this one gravelly and deep, a voice I and every tenant in the apartment building knew well.

When I found out I had made out with a guy last night, I had been surprised to say the least. Ronnies voice coming from the apparently otherwise empty apartment after Koontz appearance had been quite a shock. By the time we had arrived here at this moment where a episode of My Little Pony had provided enough of a distraction to sidetrack Marcus from violence I had decided that there was nothing left that could take me by surprise.

Apparently the universe had decided to prove me wrong.

Standing in the doorway was none other than the buildings superintendent, Mr. Shipley. As imposing as always the hulk of a man stood just inside the threshold of my apartment, his beady eyes appraising the situation as his hands rested easily on his tool belt. Thumbing the end of a wicked looking wrench Mr. Shipley silently eyed us as the episode continued to play out behind us, even marcus was visibly shaken by the appearance of the man.

Either to stupid to know better or slightly more suicidal than I took him for It was Ronnie who broke the silence. “How did you kn-”

Mr. Shipley was quick to interrupt, cutting Ronnies question short. “Daughter, what's your excuse?”. Not waiting for a response he looks down at the floor, all eyes on the room following his gaze to the trail of red drops leading into the room from the hall. Following the trail Mr. Shipleys eyes shift to my face, a thoughtful look of calculation forming behind his steely gaze, it wasn't hard to imagine the man recreating what must have happened in his mind.

Pointing with a thick finger at Ronnie, Shipley maintains a level but dangerous voice while never letting his eyes leave from there new found target of Marcus Koontz.

“This one I have seen hanging around here before, but I think you must have gotten off at the wrong floor Mr. Koontz. Your Girlfriends apartment is on the floor below us. I think you should go back to it and wait for her, unless of course you would like to help me find out who it was that put a dent in the Elevator that is. With such a mess to clean up i'm half convinced I should maybe even call the cops”

Marcus had managed to close his mouth but still looked unsure if he wanted to start anything with the likes of Mr. Shipley. He was a bully and a real jerk, but Koontz wasn't stupid and knew well when he was outmatched. No amount of blustering would get Mr. Shipley to back down, anyone who had tried arguing any point with the man knew of his unmoving nature.

“Of course I could see about settling things myself If you like?”

The sight of Mr. Shipleys hand finally coming to a rest on the handle of the Wrench was enough to break Koontz’s will to remain in my apartment. With a defiant shrug and a huff Marcus adjusts his hoodie and makes for the door, stepping easily by Shipley as he moves to allow the younger man to pass. With a turn down the hall towards the stairs Marcus was gone without so much as a further threat or taunt.

Mr. Shipley however was not above some final threatening words. After stepping into the hall and watching for a few silent moments to be sure Marcus made it all the way back towards the door the large slab of a man turned his attention back to us, raising a threatening finger.

“I dont know what the hell you did to piss of that punk but I swear to the lord almighty above that if you keep it up and make more of a mess for me to clean up that he is going to he the least of your worries. Understand?”

Both of us quickly nodded in the affirmative, noticing that he still had his hand waiting on his wrench. Squinting his eyes at us Shipley reaches for the door knob to close it behind himself with a loud thud. I swear, that piecing look is going to haunt my dreams for days!

Laughing nervously I turn and give Ronnie a grin which he returned before wincing and pointing at my now puffy face.

“Oh geez man, what did he do, jump on your head like a trampoline?”

“Wait, so Janet is here?”, I asked while wincing as I applied neosporin to my forehead.

Investigation in front of the bathroom mirror showed I had suffered little serious damage from my scrap with Marcus. A cut had formed just above my hairline and was already starting to scab over when I started administering first aid, besides that I had a few bruises here and there as well as a partial black eye from my original face plant into the elevator. All in all nothing a bag of ice and the contents of my trusty medicine cabinet couldn't solve.

“Yup, out on the fire escape. How else do you think I got in? She was watching MLP when I showed up to see if you wanted to do anything”.

Groaning at the obvious answer that Janet had been the one to let Ronnie into my apartment I stared once again at my crooked nose. I had told Ronnie I didnt think it was broken, but now I wasn't so sure. At first I thought it was the swelling that was giving it that slanted look but worry was still welling up at the sight of it. Shouldn't it be bleeding a lot more if it was actually broken though?

“Fire escape?”, I asked without turning around or even looking at his reflection in the mirror.

“Josh's room”, replies my friend with a shrug and no small amount of sarcasm in his voice. “Seriously, you have been living here how long and you didn't know he had a fire escape?”

Finally turning I cross my arms, the throbbing of my now treated wounds putting me in no mood for sarcasm. “So I don't make a habit of going into my roommates room and checking his windows, sue me”.

Ronnie and I just stand there for a few moments looking at each other for a while longer as a nice sized awkward silence grows between the two of us. As grateful as I was for Ronnies save here at the apartment I could tell there was something else bothering him besides Koontz. Wanting to break the silence I nod in the direction of Joshs room.

“...so, any reason she is out there?”

Shrugging Ronnie waves dismissively, the serious look that had encompassed his face during the awkward pause not leaving. “Probably just thinking over all the stuff thats going on, what with the cutie mark and all. She was already out there before Koontz showed up. Sort of surprised she hasn't come back in yet though…”. Trailing off Ronnie glances towards josh's room with a slight look of worry on his face.

Groaning mentally I nod, Of course he now new. Maybe that wasn't such a bad thing after all though, he had just endured a direct conflict with Marcus without spilling the beans. Already he had shown more backbone than I ever did.

“She told you about that did she? Sort of surprised, she didn't seem to want anyone to know”

Marcus nods in agreement, “Ya, she mentioned that to me later, but really when you see someone answer the door to an apartment that doesn't even belong to them with a different hair and eye color than they had yesterday, well questions came up and she was kind enough to get me up to speed after a quick freak out”.

Calmly, and with no amount of haste or rush my mind flipped the sign on the door to its office from open, to closed.

“...What about her eyes now?”