//------------------------------// // Research // Story: Strange Discovery // by epreeses1 //------------------------------// Drake Manwell, a lankey twenty six year old that worked in the mail department at Maine Wildlife Park. His day started in room 108 of the Best Western off of I-63. A cramped single bed room with one bathroom and a 30’ inch sony flat screen that got about twenty channels outside CBS and 9 news now. When he got his promotion from mail line worker to maile line supervisor, he upgraded his service to fifty channels. Now he gets fox5 for his lonely superbowl parties and the military channel so he can learn about World War ll round the clock. Drake swore off the drink two years ago after nearly crashing into a five year old pulling the old ball in the street gag, trying to replace the ethanol rich beverage with black lemon tea, adding some lemon juice to imitate the bitterness of the real thing, but it only lasted a year. After falling out of the twin sized bed Drake would take an ice cold shower, racing to see how fast he could get out and warm up (his record is a minute and a half) following this up with a cup of black coffee. Drake Manwell has been arrested three times for pedophilia and became a registered sex offender in 2016. No one plans to become a pedophile and he knew his mother would give him five across the ass if she ever caught him touching a little boys premature love stick, but that’s the problem, his mother was gone. It started when his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. He was just ten at the time and didn’t have a firm grasp on the concept of death yet. It was slow at first, the cancer going into remission twice before doing her in, but it quickened, growing malignant and taking her life the third time round. “Third time’s the charm,” Drake stood next to, Aleshia Manwell’s grave, a bouquet of violets in his gloved hands. He visited his mother’s grave whenever he was thinking of kicking the bucket, hoping for a little company in his somber life, but all he gets is a wall to talk, and cry, to. His urges didn’t start until he was fifteen, after his sister passed from blood poisoning when she accidentally picked up the wrong heroin needle. “Miranda took to the needle and I took to the little children,” he told the granite slab, crickets. “You ripped me off you dirty skank and I hope you rot in hell!” He threw the bouquet to the ground, its petals fluttering in the chilly fall air as tears mixed with the rain. “You got to fucking die while I have to sort fucking mail and check in with child fucking protective services so they know I’m clean.” He was shouting like he always did at four in the morning. Drake never wanted to be a pedophile; it’s just, whenever he sees a happy little child hug his mother, or a sad one get his ‘boo boo’s made all better, he felt his hatred for the lucky ones, as he called them, boil over, and when it became too much he stole the child, either finding him alone off to the candy store with the dollar he whined off mommy or playing with his friends, and he would grab him. “They have something I don’t!” he cried into the freezing rain, letting the downpour put out his fiery anger. The only thing keeping him going was the thought of reclaiming the house his mother died in, but right after his mother’s death the house was sold to the current owner, Eric Winters, whom he knew nothing about. “One damn day, Mom, one day I’ll reclaim what is rightfully ours and then, then I’ll be happy. Nothing else matters to me, I will, I swear I will Mom, and once I have it, I’ll find my way to you.” He looked at the gravestone, purple petals scattered around like a decorative border. His fists were starch white and he could feel his unclipped nails dig into his tender flesh, like booze the pain was welcome and once he felt his blood trickle down his palm he released his grip. “I need to call Eric again, Bridget said he’d be awake by now.” 1 Knock… Knock… Knock I was in the bathroom holding Eclipse as she silently wept into my shoulder. I could feel her tears soak through my shirt and wondered if she even noticed the knocking. Knock… Knock… Knock How could I have been so stupid? I thought. There is no way I could hide a unicorn from the world! Hide I blinked, a simple word stopped me dead in my tracks. Hide I looked around the bathroom for anywhere to hide Eclipse The tub, no too obvious… the sink, no, even more obvious. Everywhere I looked was either too obvious or too dirty. Knock… Knock… Bang My heart dropped, the person was getting impatient. It could be a reporter, or a scientist trying to take Eclipse and… and experiment on her! “No, can’t let that happen.” An anaconda wrapped itself around me chest and began squeezing. “Hic… what happen, E-Ewic?” Bang… Bang… Bang She flinched, tightening her grip on me while hiding her face against my constricted chest. “W-what was… dat?” If I wasn’t scared shitless, I’d get my notebook and start documenting her, but I am, and there would be no document if the subject is taken away. “Eclipse” I said hoping my voice didn’t betray my fear. “I need you to hide for a little while.” She tensed, her cries seizing with a loud gasp, like she was holding her breath; I could see her tears force themselves out instead of flowing like a little stream, and the grunts she made gave her own fear away, but when I stroked her mane with a shaky hand she seemed to calm a little. Finally she let go, her tears flowed freely again and she repressed herself against my chest, her breathing turning into frantic hyperventilation. “D-D- Don’t g-go Ewic… I-I’m —” BANG BANG BANG! She screamed, clawing at my shirt, her towel falling to the floor, exposing her to the biting air and screamed again. “Shhh,” I felt each bang on the front door like it was me getting pounded. “Everything is going to be okay.” I tightened my grip on her, took a deep breath and continued. “You just hide and I’ll send whoever’s at the door away.” If Eclipse is going to trust me, I need to do my part and be strong so she didn’t have to. “Okay?” She huddled close, soft sniffles escaping her. “Oh “hic’ kay” She sounded defeated, like she was throwing in the white flag, unable to go on. “Stop worrying Eclipse,” I smiled, bouncing her in my arms. She gave a startled squeak as I set her into a sitting position and stared at me with her giant purple eyes. “I told you I’d take care of whoever’s at the door, didn’t I?” She looked at my shaking arms, then looked at me, then nuzzled my chest and I could see her muscles relax. “Okay, Eric.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll hide wherever you tell me to.” Closing her eyes she seemed to listen to my heartbeat, and soon her breathing slowed. Moments later she gave a soft snore, curled up in a ball and yawned before saying: “I’m too tired to ‘Yawn’ care right now.” With that she rested her head on my lap, falling into a shallow but peaceful sleep, leaving herself completely defenseless. I smiled and, just like when she was taking a bath, it was a large smile. She looked too cute lying there with her little horn sticking out of her head, I couldn’t help stroking her mane, and from her little coos, I think she enjoyed it. I was about to get up when a shadow appeared at the window. “AWWWWW That’s soooo cute!” “What?” It was then that I realized the knocking stopped. I turned to the window, seeing Bridget pressing her face against the glass, her phone in her left hand. “I left my key inside, can you open the damn door?” Oh, it was Bridget at the door? Wait… where did she go!? I sighed, that didn’t matter. It was Bridget, someone I could trust, not a reporter or scientist. I got up and went to the door, Eclipse sleeping in my arms. The fading light of the sun forcing me to cover my eyes, and saw that she had changed. She now wore a light pink tee shirt with a deep purple jacket protecting her from the bitter cold that passed through the open crossway. She looked to have two pairs of pants on, one purple and the other a swirl of pink and green. I recognized them as the pair of pajama pants she wore the last time I slept over at her house, but one thing that threw me for a loop was the badge she had pinned to her left jacket pocket. It was her work badge. I noticed then that she had taken her makeup off and let her light brown hair fall against her face, slightly damp from a rain shower I must have missed, that or she took a shower before getting here. “Why do you have your badge?” I said welcoming her in. “Well I’m sleeping over, duh. How else would I get to play dress up with my newest friend?” I should have expected this. Bridget spends the night whenever I get something new and cool. It happened with Black ops, cards against humanity and now it’s happening with a baby unicorn. “I’b not a… baby.” Eclipse mumbled in her sleep, shifting around until she had her forehooves locked against my throat. “Ohhh, she’s so cute!” Bridget tried to take Eclipse from me, and if it were anything else I’d let her, but this time, it was different. I swirled around, using my back to keep her hands away from Eclipse. “What???” she said with a long whine. “She’s sleeping, Bridget.” My heart was pounding, for the second time today I broke my daily routine and it made me want to throw up. “She’s had a long day so you’re going to have to come back tomorrow.” I internally gagged, a dull throb pressing against my left temple. “But?” “No, Bridget.” I moved to the couch. “You said it yourself, shes more man than beast.” I gently broke Eclipse’s love affair with my neck and placed her on my orange bean pillow. She sunk in, groaning in her sleep, struggling to find a comfortable position. I grabbed one of the towels I left by the fire last night and turned her into a burrito. When I finished she fell back into a deep sleep. When I turned around to tell Bridget to leave, a sharp slap pierced my ears and pain billowed like smoke from my left cheek. “I didn’t pack all these dresses just to be kicked out by you, Eric… although” I put my hand against my cheek. “Although what?” “Although, it’s good to see that you’ve finally got some backbone.” she wrapped an arm around my neck. “I didn’t think I’d see the day you stood up for something.” “Well thanks, but I don’t want you waking her up, so if you could leave I’d be—” “Yeah, that’s not going to happen” she moved to pull her blue rolling suitcase inside. “It’s fine if you want her to sleep.” she fiddled with the zippers, “but I won’t be leaving until I put… where is it… ah, this on her.” It was a small dress, one with pink frocks and blue frills. Its small, apron like, blue swatch on the front made Bane whimper and hide in his cage. There was a giant pink polka dotted bow wrapping around the neck, and it seem to be falling apart. Seams were broken and exposed thread seemed to be the only thing holding the left arm together. The frill was dirtied and without the apron it would look like a sailor moon outfit after being thrown into a 90% discount basket. “If Bane didn’t like it then why do you think Eclipse will?” I said, eyeing the dress. “This is the same dress I wore during my beauty pageant appearance.” “It wasn’t a beauty pageant, Bridget, your mother just had you walk down the sidewalk with three other girls.” “Okay, so it wasn’t official, but that isn’t going to stop me from putting it on Eclipse!” “Keep it down,” I said motioning with my hands that Eclipse was still asleep. “Sorry” she covered her mouth and I could see a blush grow against her cheeks. “Is it raining?” “No, why?” I grabbed her arm and pulled her out onto the front porch, checked to make sure the door was open before closing it. There I could feel the cold wind punch through my thin pajama pants, and I began to shiver. “LIsten, Bridget” The only thing I saw on her face was stark shock, and for one, I felt that same shock. “Eclipse isn’t some kind of toy, she’s like a puppy—” “I know Eric, I was the one who told you she was more man than beast, but I guess you’re right.” “Right? I haven’t even said anything.” “No, you didn’t have to. I saw how protective you were of her, and since she’s giving you something of a backbone.” she complimented this with a hearty slap across the back. Which hurt “I’ll abide by your wishes and let her sleep.” “Really!” Pride welled in my heart like rising smoke. “But” My pride was wrapped in a fire blanket, extinguishing its warm and welcome glow. “But what?” I said with a whine. “Oh nothing, I’ll just have to beat you in Mario Party while we wait.” She took off her purple coat and wrapped it around my shivering body. “Now let’s get you inside before you freeze.” “You’re not my mother!” I shouted embarrassment sitting in my stomach like a lead ball; the warm jacket doing its work. “S-stop” She pushed me inside, smiling all the way and when the warmth of the house could be felt once more, she grabbed Eclipse’s pillow, treating the sagging motion like a baby’s crib, rocking her to sleep without even noticing it. “I’ll just put her in your room, then I can beat you again.” “Sure… wait what?” But she had already closed the door. “I wanted to research Eclipse though.” No, I will, Bridget won’t stop me this time. I sighed, taking the coat off and setting it on one of the kitchen chairs, then heading to the laundry closet and grabbed my laptop. Normally whenever I want to research something I’d do it at work, as I am pretty good at multitasking there, and I don’t like to work at home. I was given the laptop by Bridget for my 24th birthday, but I never opened it. I brushed the dust off the white cardboard case, wondering if I remembered the internet key code. It came with the house and is paid through my paycheck, but again, I never use it. If you’d ask me when I moved into this house that I’d only use my laptop when a filly unicorn showed up at my doorstep I’d laugh and say “Cool story”, but now, it was happening. As I fiddled with the plastic cover, trying to open the damn thing, Bridget opened my door. “Well, Eclipse will sleep there, but only until dinner!” she said closing the door like she just put her own daughter down for a nap. “Now let’s get gaming!... Uh, Eric, what are you…” she paused, and a cold icicle dropped into my shirt, chilling my bones. “Is that the… laptop I got you three years ago?” I could taste the venom in her voice and suddenly I thought she’d dropped a packet of ice cubes down my pants. “Now let me explain this.” she picked the white box with the words “Dell Pentium Processor” laser printed in black ink. “You… didn’t even OPEN IT!!” I wanted to scream apologies at her, beg for forgiveness, but my tongue had turned to stone. She took a deep breath, giving a long worried stare at the door she so delicately closed, listening for a “Wha?” or a “Keep it down!”, and when none came she gave a long sigh of relief, before glaring at me with hardened eyes. “Come with me,” she said in a long, hurt, tone. I didn’t resist when she grabbed me, nor did I try to word an apology, for I was literally weighed down by the sudden guilt, barely able to move on my own. I tried to always keep my friends happy, but when I grabbed the laptop, I forgot about how easy it is to hurt Bridget’s feelings. In that moment I forget that she was even in my house, and it pained me physically whenever I fucked up. Once again, the cold wind bit into my vulnerable skin, goosebumps crawling over my arms. “Why?” That one word spoken by her was enough to send the claws of guilt digging down my back. “I’m sorry, Bridget.” I truly meant it “I know you are.” she followed this with a swift punch to the gut and a kick to the dirt. The pain was immense and I found it hard to breath, but at the same time, I welcomed it. Whenever I fucked up, the only thing that helped calm me down was making myself suffer. It was a tingling sensation that brought an external conflict to distract me from my internal one, kind of like fighting a forest fire with another fire. I remember my days of cutting myself with a razor blade whenever I fucked up with friends. I’d hide away in my room and bring them out, Ersa and Bridget, I’d named my two favorite blades after the two people I was closest to. One night, when I was using ‘Bridget’, the real one barged in. I still remember the look of horror on her face when she saw my mutilated right forearm. I was thrown from my dirty flashbacks when I felt the cold ground disappear from underneath me. “That’s enough Eric.” I looked up to Bridget, tiny streamlets falling from her eyes, her voice sounding just as shaky as Eclipse’s when she found that she could stay. It hurt more seeing her like that and knowing I brought her that pain. She threw me on the couch, pegging me with an ice pack I couldn’t figure what she wanted me to do with, and grabbed the dusty laptop box from in front of the laundry room. “So what did you want to use this for anyway?” she said ripping the box open. “It must be something important for you to risk me finding out that you didn’t use it for three fucking years.” She glared at me. “I’m still angry by the way.” She wasn’t, I could tell by her cool tone. If she were angry, I’d feel the fire in her eyes, but she was hurt, and I didn’t blame her. “I wanted to look up things on Eclipse, research her in a sense.” “Slap!” “You perv!” was all she said. Well, looking on the bright side I finally have a use for that ice pack. “Not like that, Bridget,” I said, chuckling through the pain. My joy grew as a look of confusion formed on her face. “I’m looking to find out how she came here, or what she eats. Maybe if she has some kind of connection with the internet, but mainly I want to learn how to take care of her.” “Oh…” Bridget looked at me, gentle warmth seeping into her eyes, if the fireplace was going it might feel romantic. “In that case let me get my laptop.” She got up, passing me the dell laptop she hooked to the wifi, and went to the blue IZOD suitcase, the one where she held the torn Sailor Moon dress, unzipping the zipper and grabbing her small acer chromebook. I turned after pulling up google and saw something interesting. A pair of blue and black socks, they seem simple, but something about them was off, what I didn’t know. “Alright, let’s learn all we can!” Bridget shouted plopping her butt on the other side of the couch. “You ready Eric!” “Yeah!” Both my pain and the socks were gone, the only thing that mattered was the giant smile on Bridget’s face. I turned my attention to my screen, admiring the newest Google logo. I wonder if Google changes that daily or weekly? Or if it’s different for every region. The logo was of a winter wonderland, where a snowman with a top hat and wooden pipe acted like a g. A more feminine snow woman lying on the ground with her lower two balls being the oo’s while its head was squished by a smaller snow girl (from the cute blue bow she wore) looking more like an “l” than a “g” but the L was a giant pipe normally adorned by the older snowmen. The “e” was a snow dog. The entire logo had a snowy animation with snowfall and a smoky chimney in the background, the cabin attached to said chimney looked a lot like mine. The cabin had the same style of woodwork and window placement as mine, but it was snowed in, cold white clouds covering up half of the cabin. A chill made its way down my back. I saw a dark shadow move across the bright yellow window; it might have been part of the animation, but it creeped me out none the less. “Let me grab us some blankets” I said, looking away from the logo. “Nah, I’m good. Hey, you want me to look up her eating habits while you see if this is just some freak accident or something… more.” she gave me a sly look. “Sure, you’re a better cook than I am anyhow.” “Thanks, but you don’t have to stroke my ego.” She started typing before adding: “You’re forgiven.” I stopped, my hand on one of the spare blankets I keep under my towels, the rough texture feeling like hot coals on my hands. “You’ve suffered enough and just knowing how much you care about Eclipse, enough to risk my wrath, and grow a backbone. It makes me happy rather than mad.” I took the blanket, moved back to the couch and gave her a short, but tight hug. “Thanks.” Releasing the hug, I quickly turned myself into an itchy burrito and grabbed the laptop. Typing in the word unicorn alone got me some interesting results. Feast of the unicorn Unicorn blood Pet Unicorn How to kill a unicorn, But what interested me most was Unicorn found dead in Bangor Maine, but before I clicked the “I’m feeling lucky” tab, Bridget said: “It’s eight now, let’s give, Eclipse and hour before I make dinner.” “Sure, but I don’t think it’ll take that long to figure—” “I know, and when we finish I’ll just beat you at Mario Party again to pass the time.” “Fair enough… and you won’t beat me this time!” I shouted with a little rage. “We’ll see, now do what you do—” I tuned her out, giving a slight nod before clicking. The site I got was named Equestria Daily, with its newspaper theme and bright… ponies? I don’t know, but they were bright, and everywhere! Pegasi, Unicorns and what the site called Earth ponies of all shapes and sizes assaulted my eyes, and I reflexively turned to my right to see if Bridget was looking. I got a feeling like I was being naughty, looking at something that I wasn’t meant for, but little did I know it would be one of my deepest obsessions I’ll ever have, rivaling my train collector days back in high school, “Conductor Eric”, they’d call me, I even had a conductor’s hat, blue with green stripes. Bridget was the only one who cared about me back then, and she would stay true during the next week before everything crumbles to the ground. The center picture on the site depicted a mint green unicorn with a random tattoo of a… harp? Lyre? I couldn’t tell, on her butt. She had a two toned mane and tail just like Eclipse, but her colors were a pale green and an even paler one, kind of like toothpaste. Toothpaste huh? Maybe… her, his? I don’t know’s name is Colgate or something. Lyra Heartstrings shot in cold blood!!!! Guess I was wrong, and Lyra… maybe that means her tattoo is of a lyre. It took me a few more seconds for the words Shot in Cold Blood!!! to hit home, and soon I could see three separate holes appearing on Lyra’s body. One behind the head, execution style and two on her left side, one just above where her stomach should be, and the other around her liver, all three seeping fresh blood. I felt my pulse skyrocket at the sight of blood! I’d had a fear of blood ever since my mother passed, but it wasn’t until Eclipse showed up that it really began to show. I went into a trance, blood soaked rags wrapped around my eyes, seeping! But this blood isn’t even real and I could see the same hospital, smell the antiseptic and hear the screams of agony as the thrift shop burned to the ground. I pressed my hands against my face, hoping it could block out some of the images, but it didn’t work and I would have lost my laptop if Bridget hadn’t acted. I shook, a strange yet pleasant pressure growing in the back of my head. I saw my mother burning, screaming as her eyes turned to charcoal, but even though it was made of fabric, the skin graft bandage was perfectly fine, continuing to cover the right eye like a lost soldier in the middle of a burning field of corn. My fear began to ebb, slowly, being replaced by confusion. “Eric, you okay?” Why did this happen? It was only red pixels, not real blood! Why did I have an episode (If I can call it that) now? “Hello?” Bridget grabbed my arm, the feeling of another’s touch bringing me back. “You in there numb nuts?” “Yes, I’m fine.” “Oh good!, I didn’t expect you to—” “Do you know how my mother died?” she looked startled, her eyes sinking back into her eyes as she processed this. “Please.” “How do you not know???” her voice made it seem like I was playing a prank on her. “I think she burned down in a fire.” “No… don’t tell me you forgot?” with a loud “slap” her hand connected with her forehead. “How could you forget that!?” “Just tell me okay!” I shouted, but immediately covered my mouth, hoping I didn’t wake Eclipse up. Bridget looked at me, her ears trained for the slighted whine. When it didn’t come she said in a hushed tone: “She died of skin cancer, don’t you remember?” The sight of the paper white bandage, bright in the roaring flames, seemed to take over my vision for a brief second. I was taken aback, like something physically slapped me. Nothing made any sense. “It’s not that I don’t believe you,” I said. “Could you look up everything on Eclipse?” “So you can look up your mother’s death?” I nodded. “Why? How could you forget—” “I don’t know, OKAY! Just… do it.” I took my laptop back, quickly x’ed out the picture of Lyra Heartstrings Shot in Cold Blood and opened a new tab. Bridget didn’t respond, and for the first time, did what I wanted her to do, but I didn’t have time to be elated; I quickly typed “Casey Grace Winters” and unlike last time, hit the enter button. The result pool wasn’t all that impressive, just some of the websites my mother was affiliated with, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Kaiser Permanente, and the Facebook account I made for her a year after she died. When I turned to the next page though, things changed. The first like had “Casey” and “Winters” bolded followed by “Passing”. I wasn’t truly convinced to click until I saw the quotes underneath. “Casey Winters died…” The site itself had two flames on either side and a white hot center with a list of fourteen names, three in red while the other eleven were in green. FOURTEEN KILLED IN THRIFT SHOP FIRE Going down the list of those killed, I found my mother’s in green. There was a picture of her on a hospital stretcher, the bandage on her right eye. I hadn’t seen a picture of my mother in seven years. The dark black clouds and the heavy rain gave the scene a grainy feel. The flash left a blinding white circle on my mother’s chest as two giant black umbrellas covered the stretcher. I knew that below the angelic white blanket, my mother’s body had been burned from her chest down, even though I couldn’t see it. Curly blond hair, fluttering in the storms wind, the back of my 6 year old head was pressed against my mother’s bosom like an infant suckling, on second glance, I wondered if that was what I’d been after. The same bandage taped on the right eye shined in the light of the camera flash. I looked at the website, it was a government site. It wasn’t faked. I was unable to understand why I felt like my heart became stuck in a meat grinder at the sight of this. My mother died, why should it matter how she died? If that was the case then why was I crying? I stare at that picture, riveted by the sight of my mother, completely unaware that Bridget is staring at me. Suddenly the screen disappeared and I feel something slap my shoulder. “I think you should take a break,” Bridget said. “What were you even looking at?” she reopened my laptop. “Hmm…” I saw her mouth drop, a giant O marking the void of her mouth. “How is… wait… no…. THE FUCK!” We both covered out mouths, shaking as we listened. “Thump” “Shit, you woke her up!” I said, getting up. Bane followed me down the hallway. Opening the door, the hall light spread through the room in a door shaped pool of light exposing the tiny Eclipse that fell off of the bed. Beside that tiny unicorn was a bright orange bead pillow. The rest was cast in a dark, shadow. Eclipse moved, groaning as she got over the pain and shock of falling off a bed. “Eclipse! I’m so sorry!” Bridget rushed in, picking up the fallen filly and cradling her like a baby. “Wha…” Eclipse put a small blue hoof to her throbbing head. “Eric… ow…” looking up, she saw that it wasn’t me who held her, and her eyes bulged, threatening to pop out of her head. “Who are you!” she pushed away… futilely might I add. “Relax Eclipse” I said, putting a hand on her head. “This is—” “I can introduce myself Eric!” Bridget stammered. “I’m Bridget Nightingale, Eclipse. You were my little cheerleading section back when you locked yourself in Bane’s cage.” “Bark” All three of us looked down, Eclipse brandishing a mile wide smile as she struggled to break free of Bridget’s grip. “Okay, now let me go!” She wriggled and writhed, hoping to snake her way out of the crushing grasp. Bridget dropped her like she turned into a giant spider. “Geez,” she said, watching Eclipse bound towards Bane, wrapping one tiny hoof around his neck, giggles dripping from her mouth like drool. “It’s sooooo good to see you!” her voice changed. It sounded childish, well, more than before, but the change was almost palpable, the difference between smelling an apple and tasting one. I felt the tuggings of another smile, but I have another plan. While she reunited with, Bane I sneaked to my dresser, research on my mind. Shuffling through the neatly sorted socks, one for each day of the week, I grabbed the five star notebook along with the ball point pen that sat askewed under a pair of clean underwear. I could finally take my note on her. Maybe even add a scientific paper to my reputation. That would help me get a trainer’s job. While returning I noticed that Eclipse, Bane and Bridget were all gone. I headed towards the living room where Bridget was fumbling through her suitcase, throwing the sailor moon dress onto the couch, while Bane and Eclipse murmured to each other like a duo of gossiping teenagers. I had to fight myself for a few seconds. Either start studying the unnatural phenomena or research how to take care of her. “Bridget, can you stay with Eclipse so I can continue researching?” “Yeah, whatever. Where did I put that dress?” Bridget seemed crazed, determined, to find something in her suitcase that was on the couch. I figured Eclipse wouldn’t like playing dress up with an ugly rag like that so I quietly shoved it under the cushion. “Keep looking,” I nodded towards Eclipse, hoping she would be safe with Bridget, but quickly moved back to my room. Closing the door I fell onto my queen bed, not caring about the blankets misplacing themselves. Opening the laptop, I blinked as the bright light caught me off guard. Sinking in, I opened google chrome, images of LYRA HEARTSTRINGS SHOT IN COLD BLOOD coming back and I had to fight to keep from having another breakdown. Looking through Google, I took my headphones out of my backpack and hooked them up to my computer. I found one of the newer Mario soundtracks on YouTube and listened while I worked. Typing in “Unicorn found in Maine” (I didn’t go for the “I’m feeling lucky” option) and found that most of the links had to do with a show called My Little Pony; I was pretty sure that watching something would be counter productive, and I should look at the links about news or something like that, but the feeling of procrastination I only got when I tried to work at home came over me and I clicked the first episode. Who knew I’d ever do research while slacking off? To this day I can’t figure out why I stayed on that site, but something hooked me from the moment I heard the infamous “Once upon a time” traveling through the clouds to that shady spot where our main character, Twilight Sparkle read me the legend of the “Mare in the Moon”. Something about Twilight reminded me of Eclipse, maybe those eyes, or something else, but I couldn’t help seeing Eclipse whenever I saw her. One thing I did know was that the show was addicting. Seeing Twilight brush off those other ponies reminded me of myself when I was younger, no need for friends when they only brought wasted time and needless demands. I wanted to save my money by not buying pointless birthday presents… just like Twilight. But I did have one friend back then, like Spike was Twilight’s friend, Bridget was always by my side, although she wasn’t a baby dragon, she acted like a full grown one, beating anyone who brought me harm to a pulp and personally tending to my wounds. The former didn’t happen until after middle school where the bullies did more than push me to the ground. It was about half way through the first episode that I realized, Bridget might have been a little overprotective of me, yet not towards anyone else. The question as to why this was festered inside me and I was beginning to think she used me, but that was impossible. Bridget had nothing to gain from needlessly protecting me. I was listening to Twilight childishly whine about the party taking place in her treehouse when a loud thump rocked me, my headphones falling onto the bed, from the episode. “Uncle Eric... helllllp!” more banging as she desperately tried to get inside. I shuffled off the bed, fast at first, but slowed down as the thought of them trying to play a little prank and make me worry came to mind. “Help!!!” I could just see Bridget shushing Eclipse as she kept yelling for help, only trying to get me scared so they can laugh. But I wasn’t falling for it. Quietly, I looked for something that could scare the two, but nothing in my room would do the trick. I sighed and settled for a magazine, might as well have something, even though it’s a copy of the 2011 gameinformer with the impending release of Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword. I never played the game but watched my friend play it the day after our finals. It was the one time I didn’t celebrate the end of a semester with Bridget. Opening the door, I hoped FI would at least get a little jump from the two, but once opened just enough for a small cat to squeeze through, Eclipse shot inside, banging her head on the steel mattress undercarriage. With a shriek she came to my side, clutching my leg with a vice grip. She was hyperventilating and shaking like a jackhammer. “What happened?” “It was just a magic surge, nothing else.” Her eyes darted from left to right, up and down and side to side, but watching the door at the same time. “A magical surge? What are you talking about? And why is Bane barking?” I didn’t notice it at first as the unicorn took most of my attention, but Bane was yelping in the living room making my ears yell out in pain. It wasn’t like him, and he only barked when, Bridget… “Wait?” As if on cue, Bridget slammed the door and pushed me onto the bed, leaving Eclipse exposed and vulnerable. “Uncle Eric!” Eclipse yelled, debating whether it was better to stay put and not risk getting hurt by the angry monster or help and risk it. She ran to the bean pillow and hid herself completely underneath. “She destroyed my dress!” Bridget was in my face, screaming at the top of her lungs like I was to blame. “I really cared about that dress.” “Well maybe you should have noticed its bad condition then?” It was like someone was talking for me and I was watching from some distant land. “And how could a tiny unicorn rip that dress? Why would she want to rip that dress?” “She told me it was ugly, that’s why.” she looked at me, tears in her eyes. “Why the hell don’t you care? That dress was important to me, not because it’s gorgeous, but because I wore it on my first beauty pageant. It’s a memory!” “Do you really think she meant to destroy something you hold dear? I know you told her that you cared about that dress.” I have no idea who was talking or where this emotion was coming from. Bridget fell on me, crushing that air in my lungs out. “I don’t know, Eric, I did tell her, but she did destroy my dress!” I was trapped beneath my childhood friend, a copy of the 2011 gameinformer between us, I could feel the warm push of her breasts against my chest, and this wasn’t one of my mental breakdown moments. Understandably, I got the urge to kiss her. Just give her a peck on the lips, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The magical power to defend Eclipse, a six year old unicorn, from my best friend when the unicorn was clearly in the wrong couldn’t give me the balls to steal a peck on the lips. “Why don’t you care!” Bridget rolled off of me, tears freely flowing and boobs plumping up to their normal c cup size. “I do care, Bridget, but do you really think she did it?” There was no response, Bridget just stared at the terrified Eclipse hiding under my desk, her body shaking,clutching the bean pillow. I could see it in her eyes, she wanted to lash at the defenseless unicorn, but … she couldn’t. “I need to ga— I-I need to go” She fumbled around the room, nearly tripping on the power cord to my laptop before opening the door and running out. I sat there, wishing I could taste her cherry lipstick, as I heard the door slam and Bane’s barking piddle out. I could still smell a faint puff from her perfume. Even when Eclipse trampled into me, pressing her face into my lap, I never looked away from the door. Silently hoping for another chance to steal my kiss, but all that would have to wait. “What did you do?” I said, trying not to sound intimidating but keeping a little edge in my voice. “It was just a magical surge, Uncle Eric. I never meant to—” “What do you mean magical surge? How did you tear her dress?” Eclipse looked at me, her giant puppy eyes staring into my soul, her lip quivered. “It was an accident.” "Then tell me what a magical surge is.” Even if the dress was in tatters a filly her size couldn’t destroy it. How would she even grip the thing? When she didn’t respond, I picked her up and took her to the living room, but I wasn’t in too much of a hurry. “Where’s the dress?” Eclipse had glued herself to my shoulder, her tears dampening my shirt and she was acting like a child who spilt wine on the new carpet, making me the bad father to punish her. It felt wrong. While she hicked and quietly sobbed on my shoulder, I looked around for the tattered remains of Bridget’s prized dress. I was a child once, and if I broke something my parents found special I would hide it under something, but be it under the couch, under Bane’s mattress. even under the table, I couldn’t find the evidence. I was beginning to think, Bridget framed Eclipse and took the dress with her when Eclipse spoke up in a harsh teary tone, saying: “I-I vaporized it, Eric.” A loud gasp later and she added “Please don’t hate me!” “Stop talking nonsense. You can’t do that.” I turned to tell her to stop lying when she gave me a face that looked a mix between constipated and hurt. “Yes, I can” She struggled to break free from me (only succeeding when I let go) and fell to the ground with a soft ‘thump’. She eyed me, a mark of disapproval similar to Twilight’s when Spike couldn’t spell ‘inevitable’ on her face. “I was right here when my horn surged with magical energy and destroyed Bridget’s ugly dress” I knelt down on one knee and put a hand over her head. “That’s not possible Eclipse. I don’t know what world you came from, but here on Earth there’s no such thing as magic.” Her pout was adorable, and she looked like she was about to throw a temper tantrum, but stopped and looked shamefully at the ground. I moved my hand to the back of her ear. “Don’t feel down, just because Bridget framed you doesn’t mean you have to mope.” “But I did vaporize that dress!” “No,stop talking like that and go sit on the—” “Ring” “Just go sit on the couch, Eclipse, we’ll talk after I get off the phone.” “FINE!” she stamped to the couch. I walked to the kitchen, let Bane out, told him to keep an eye on her, and answered the phone before the third ring. “Hello?” “Hi, this is Drake Manwell. Can I speak to Eric?” The voice seemed on edge, cold like it expected rejection. “Speaking” I took a peek into the living room to see Eclipse punching the couch pillow and smiled. “Okay, last night you hit my car so the two of us could get past a landslide.” “What?” “I know this sounds ridiculous, but it happened and my Mom wasn’t happy that I damaged her car. So if I could stop by to get the four hundred dollars needed to fix it” “Listen, I don’t have time to talk to tax collectors, could you please—” “No! My mother said the person who damaged my car should pay. If you think I’m lying then look online. The damn thing probably hit the news a couple of hours ago. A landslide on Manchester road about 9:30PM eastern standard time. Two people died when their Toyota Corolla went over the cliff. They were right behind you when you pushed my car forward. They died because of you!” “Okay, I’ll look into this landslide business Mr. Manwell, but do not accuse me of murder. If you want to talk like civilized humans than come to my house tomorrow around six thirty. We can settle this and go on with our lives.” I don’t know why I was asking this man to come over when he threatened me with murder, maybe it had to do with me standing up to Bridget after five years of letting her push me around. “I would like that very much Mr?” “Winters, Eric Winters. I’ll see you tomorrow at six thirty”