//------------------------------// // Dazed & Seeing Double // Story: The Watchful Eye // by Mr Anomalous //------------------------------// Seeing Double The single candle flickered about, throwing and entire cast of dancing shadows about the bookcases and the wooden walls. A small dragon sat at a desk, scribbling with a battered quill on an old piece of parchment. As it was night outside, Spike was tired. But, alas, he still had a few more tasks to do before he would be allowed to retire. The dragon's eyelids sagged, and his posture slumped deeper and deeper as time passed. Eventually, however, he finished his documentation and smiled weakly. He left his stool and turned to his bed, glad for the recent move from his basket. The thing was getting a bit cramped. Finally growing a bit was fun, but, as Twilight said often, "With age comes responsibilities," or something like that. Oh well, life couldn't be perfect. Spike lifted a claw and was about to draw back his blue covers when the candle that he had apparently forgotten to put out flicked heavily, almost going out. "Huh?" Spike said as he turned his head about. It had almost seemed like something had, well, ran across the room. Spike worked his jaw in thought and eventually decided to leave it alone. He slithered into his bed and closed his eyes, grateful for the sleep. - - - "What!? Another month!?" Rarity gasped, eyes wide and hair frazzling. Twilight looked at her friend from across the counter with a concerned look. "Well, yeah. He released the statement this morning." "I, I don't know if I can take it anymore!" Rarity cried before she slumped down onto the wooden floor, close to tears. Twilight felt for her friend; she and Rainbow had had similar experiences before with the Daring Do series, but there was not much for her to do. Twilight told her friend so, and Rarity, sniffing, assured her that it was all right. Rarity left Twilight's library and shuffled home. Trender Hoof may have been her favorite traveling writing, but the eccentric Astrus was by far her favorite novelist. And his story had been pushed back! "It's okay, Rarity," she assured herself as she crossed her boutique's threshold, "You've been through this before. Remember when Breigndon Saddleson delayed the Stormlight Archive? Yes, that was bad . . . that was bad . . . ." Rarity mumbled to herself. Rarity wasn't looker where she was going. Soon, she bumped into something. Something that felt . . . rather familiar. The disheveled mare looked up and, without a hint of surprise or fear, said: "Oh. It's you." The lensed creature, as it always did, cocked its head at Rarity. "Oh, it doesn't matter. It's just. my favorite book got delayed a month, and . . . ." Rarity never finished. The creature immediately swooped down and scooped her into his grasp. Rarity gave a cry of surprise, but let him stroke her. After a while, he set her down, and, again, swung his bag from his shoulder. He began to dig through it, and Rarity braced herself for the onslaught of junk. It never came. The creature retrieved a tome, an old and tattered one. "Metro . . . 2033?" Rarity asked, slightly confused. The creature nodded. "Did you . . . go through something similar?" The creature nodded earnestly. He then made a series of movements with his hands including writing, reading, and a big explosion. "Did . . .something happen that stopped you? From getting the next one?" The creature, again, nodded, this time very quickly. Rarity sat and pondered that for a moment. She had to wait a month. The alien . . . he would never get his next book. "I . . . I'm so sorry." The creature reached over and stroked Rarity's mane. The two settled down onto the floor, not sure what else to do. Then, out of the blue, the creature stood, dumping Rarity onto the floor. Rarity looked up at his masked face, startled. He had his finger up, as it to say "idea!" or, "I just remember!" And then he promptly withdrew a frying pan and swung it at rarity's skull. - - - Mandolins are amazing instruments. They are held like a violin, yet played like a guitar. They have both four strings and eight, and they have an entirely unique sound. Not to mention that they have been used by many cultures in many different ways, from the vast, marching armies of the Equestrian Conquerors to the simple country folk in Appleoosa. That is, they're interesting instruments is one played them correctly. Rarity was drawn from her slumber by a hideous-sounding twanging. An area near her horn ached and throbbed, and the entire side of her body was being pressed into by a sheet of gravel. The twang sounded again, followed by another. Rarity groaned, and the noise stopped. Rarity froze. Her memories slowly crept back and her bloodshot eye bolted open. He waved at her. Rarity quickly scrambled to her hooves and took a defensive position. She knew she should've never trusted the alien creature. Hay, he was wearing a mask, how could she have ever known his true intentions? The creature reached out to Rarity, but she shrunk back. The creature lifted held his hands in the air and the two stared one another down. At least, Rarity stared the alien down. No one ever really knew what the alien was doing. Ever. Again, the creature waved. Needles to say, Rarity was a bit confused. He was acting as friendly as ever, but he had still knocked her out with a frying pan and dragged her out to . . . to . . . . Rarity's mouth fell open. She was in a cave, one with a bright, pool in the center. And, from the floor to the wall, were piles of treasure. Gold, silver, brass, jewels, as well as ornate chairs and several handheld mirrors. "Wha . . . what?" Rarity whirled back around to her forced host. "Did you . . . did you steal all of this?" she asked. The creature's hand flew to his chin and his stroked it for a few moments, before waddling his other from side-to-side in a "so-so" gesture. "What do you mean, 'kind of'?" The creature pointed to a part of the cavern that Rarity had not noticed. She followed his finger and, once again, her mouth fell open. There, amid the jewels and the treasure, was the skeleton of a dragon, picked clean. "You . . . killed a dragon?" The creature nodded. And then, in his trademark randomness, withdrew a notepad from his pocket. Using a rather nice-looking fountain pen, he scribbled on it and then showed Rarity. Wait here, I have business to attend to, it read. Rarity frowned. "Business?" The creature nodded and then spun around. He dashed off into one of the many offshoots and all was silent for a few moments. Then the screaming started. Rarity's eyes widened and she backed away from the smaller cave. They sounded like they belonged to a stallion, and they were very pained. Rarity was horrified, but she knew. She knew what this creature did to thieves and criminals. And now that it was taking place so close to her . . . it was unnerving, to say the least. Rarity, knowing that the monster liked her and was likely to forgive her, turned around to leave. But then, for the third time in the past week, something rather solid stopped her. She looked up. The other creature cocked his head. - - - Golden Mind panted heavily. Tears slid down his face, but he no longer had the energy to weep. The pain was dulling, which he was thankful for, but his fear returned when the monster, his tormenter, turned to him, a syringe in one hand, a hoofheld drill in the other. But then someone, someone that was not Golden, screamed. The monster's head lifted from Golden who lay, tied an old dining table. And then he was gone. A vast range of delusional hope surged into Golden's head. Maybe the creature was gone forever, maybe he could somehow escape while . . . but then Golden remember that his hoof had been crushed. Suddenly, he found the energy to weep once more. - - - Rarity backed into a stone pillar, beholding the new monster. It was similar to the other alien, thous different in its own ways. This new creature was taller, more solid and muscular than the first. This new creature wore a tan jacket, filled with pockets, old camouflage cargo pants, and a hood, also camouflaged, but green. The most interesting part, however, were his hands. This creature's gloves were fingerless, unlike those of the first monster, and this meant that Rarity was able to see some of the alien's flesh. It was pale and hairless. None of this made Rarity any less confused. Suddenly, the first alien returned. He froze and stared at the second, who stood stoically, arms crossed. The first took a few quick steps forward and stopped in front of the second. Neither of them moved. Slowly, ever slowly Rarity backed out of the main cavern area, until she found the exit, which she graciously took.