David rubbed his eyes, trying to get them to focus on his computer monitor. He’d run the code before his vacation and it had worked just fine, but for some reason upon his return, it gave him numerous errors. The lack of sleep had put a toll on his usually keen troubleshooting abilities, and he finally decided to take a break.
He spun around in his chair and got ready to navigate the cubicle maze to the break room. As he walked, he listened to the rapid clicking and clacking coming from each of the cubicles. Judging by the sounds of it, several of the other programmers were encountering errors of their own.
Out in the quiet hallway, David gave a quick glance in each direction before taking his cell phone out of his pocket. Kristin hadn’t picked up when he’d called her that morning, and his phone displayed no new messages. He sighed and tucked it back into his pocket.
I hope nothing happened, David thought as he walked toward the break room. His dream had seemed a bit too vivid, and his mind kept going back to it. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn’t even realize he was being spoken to.
“Uh, hello? Earth to David, you come in?”
David stopped walking and turned to see a tall African American man leaning against a water cooler. He held a brightly wrapped box in one hand, and a paper cup in the other. Both his eyebrows were raised as he stared at David, waiting for an answer.
“Oh, Mani, how’s it going?” David asked, shaking out of his stupor.
“Good, good,” the man replied. “You alright? You walkin’ like a zombie. Almost thought I was gonna have to go Daryl Dixon on your ass.”
Walking Dead reference—just laugh, David’s subconscious whispered. “Hah, no, I’m fine,” David chuckled, leaning against the wall. “Uh, have a good Christmas?”
“Was alright,” Mani replied, crushing his paper cup and tossing it into the bin. He then presented the gift he’d been holding to David and said, “I got you a little something.”
David took the gift and instantly knew that it was a DVD box inside the wrapping. “I left yours at my desk, gimme a sec, I’ll go get it,” he said, turning to go back up the hallway.
“Nah, worry about it later,” Mani said, putting his hand out to stop David. “You headed to the break room? I’ll join you.”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” David said, turning back around. Together, the two walked up the still decorated hallway and toward the break room. The holiday decorations lining the hall had been set up by human resources in an attempt to boost morale in the workplace. All it really did was waste five hours of the HR department’s already unproductive day setting it all up.
The break room was decorated in a similar manner, and David got an urge to just tear it all down. He and Mani grabbed their usual seats right in front of the flat screen TV mounted to the wall. A couple other people in the break room were fixated on the TV rather than engaging in conversation.
David sat with his back to the screen and looked around for something to talk about. He didn’t really want to bring up his “pony problems” to Mani, so he resorted to small talk. “You’d think HR would have had these decorations down by now,” David mumbled.
“Yeah,” Mani pointed around at various ornaments, “Melissa loves setting this shit up, but she ain’t never want to take it down.” He then returned his focus to David and said, “She wasn’t in her office this morning. Guess she must have had a wild Christmas.”
“Yeah, probably,” David replied with disinterest. He didn’t care for his human resources manager all that much, although Mani had a bad habit of creeping on her.
“I heard her talkin’ last week that she bought her daughter—get this—a pony for Christmas!” Mani laughed and waited for David to join in. When all David did was stare, Mani just shrugged it off and pressed on. “So, what you get Tiffany for Christmas? No ponies, right?”
Mani started laughing at his own joke and David chuckled nervously, “Actually, yeah, a pink one that talks.”
“One of them new “Little Pony” toys, right?” Mani asked. “Those things are friggin’ expensive, I wouldn’t waste the money.”
The break room doors swung open and several of the other programmers trudged in. David was on the verge of telling Mani about Diamond Tiara, but he quickly lost the motivation with the threat of being heard by others. To make things worse, someone grabbed the control to the television and turned the volume up.
Mani’s attention quickly deviated to the TV behind David and the grin faded from his face. “Damn, that sucks,” he said, pointing behind David.
David turned and saw an NBC field reporter on the screen, with several crashed cars in the background. The banner at the bottom of the screen read, “1 dead, 3 injured in bizarre crash”. The newsroom anchor was still speaking when David started listening.
“—leaving one dead, and three in critical condition. Sarah Heiser is out in the field with more. Sarah?”
“Rick, I’m still here in front of Madison Square Garden where officials are still trying to figure out how a miniature horse got behind the wheel of the vehicle that witnesses claim caused the crash.”
Did she just say a horse caused a car crash?
Mani tried getting David’s attention, but David was too fixed on the screen. Men in police uniforms worked the scene as paramedics tended to the injured. The screen cut away to a witness being interviewed earlier.
“Yeah, I was standin’ right here when it happened, and, ya know, I go to make sure everybody okay,” the witness said, adding in hand motions for emphasis. “So I open the door, and there’s this little pony, I kid you not, a little pony, strapped into the driver’s seat!”
“And did you see anyone else?” the reporter asked.
“No, it was just the pony, and man, I ain’t never seen a pony like that ‘cept in the cartoons! It was bleedin’, but I swear it had red fur! And its hair was like, green or somethin’!
The camera cut back to the live feed where the reporter was standing next to a New York police officer. “I’ve been informed that the pony has been taken to a local veterinarian clinic while officials search for the owner. Standing here with me is Officer Kelley of the NYPD with more information on the driver.”
“The vehicle that caused the crash is registered to a Zachary Folsom, yet he was found nowhere near the scene after the crash.”
David’s jaw dropped and he felt Mani’s hand clasp down on his shoulder.
“Yo, ain’t that your brother-in-law?” Mani asked with concern. David’s lips moved but he couldn’t seem to form any words. He didn’t know what to say, so he continued listening to the news report.
“We’ve had reports coming in from other drivers claiming Mr. Folsom was behind the wheel shortly before the crash. There are also scattered claims there was a second individual in the vehicle that was not the pony.” A large picture of Zack with the NYPD’s contact information appeared on the screen. “If you have any information, don’t hesitate to call.”
David’s mind was going a mile a minute as he stood up and ran out of the break room. Zack. Colorful pony. Taken to vet. Second individual. The contract. Discord. He knew he had to get home and make sure both Tiffany and Diamond Tiara were safe. Kristin and Jen were probably already hysterical, making matters worse. There’d be investigators and reporters showing up, asking questions, poking and prodding, and if they found Diamond Tiara…
Mani and several others watched as David ran through the doors, fully understanding his concern. The room was quiet except for the continuing news broadcast, and most turned their attention back to it.
“Coming up after the break, we continue the trend with more equine news: Hasbro’s new My Little Pony toy reaches record sales, New York prepares its New Years celebration, welcoming in the year of the horse, and surprising video footage of a man stealing a girl’s pet pony right out of her arms.”
The last part of the previews showed black and white footage taken from a security camera of a woman and a little girl waiting to cross an intersection. With a three second delay between frames, a man ran up to the two and snatched what appeared to be a pony out of the little girl’s arms, and then ran off. Mani squinted at the screen and looked closely at the woman.
“Huh, that kinda looks like Melissa,” he said to himself.
-----------------------------------------
David pushed through the crowded streets as he tried to get home as fast as possible. For once, he didn’t care about how many people he bumped into, and ignored their complaints and insults as he ran past. His breath plumed out as he breathed heavily, the cold air burning his lungs. He hadn’t bothered going back to his cubicle to grab his jacket, and his collared shirt provided no protection from the elements.
The only thing he did have on him was his cell phone, and it started vibrating. He slowed his pace enough to slip his hand into his pocket and remove the phone before taking off at a sprint again.
“Hello?” he asked, even though he knew who it was.
“David, there was an accident! Zack—” Kristin’s voice came though the speaker but David cut her off.
“—has been turned into a pony, I know,” he said, dodging honking cars as he maneuvered through a busy intersection.
There was a small pause before Kristin replied, “W-what? No! David, he was in a car crash! Jen doesn’t know what to do! The police are asking all sorts of questions!”
A taxi came to a screeching halt inches from David and he slid over the hood before continuing running. “I’m on my way home; just keep Tiffany and Diamond Tiara safe.”
He ended the call and focused his attention back to his path. Zack’s contract—how did it get broken? Was it something he did? Or was it Rebecca? Or Jen? Wait… David slid to a stop and looked around. People stared at him as they passed him by, sure that he was crazy. What are they going to do with Zack?
He shook his head, clearing the thought, and continued on. Before long, the thought returned, however. What do you think they’re going to do with a talking pony? Will they let the press know? No, because some government organization will probably show up to keep everything hush-hush.
People moved out of David’s way as he stormed into the apartment building’s lobby. He mashed onto the elevator button and tapped his foot impatiently. The doors opened and he stepped inside, relieved that it was empty.
How many other people bought ponies? He thought back to the room full of ponies and rationalized there must have been at least fifty still in cages. Who knows how many of them he sold? And how many had he sold before that? There could be hundreds running around.
"Not your problem," the much more collected part of David's mind spoke coolly.
But it will be if the government or God knows who or what else start looking for them. I'm essentially harboring an alien!
"Calm down," the collected voice said over his frantic thoughts. "You have nothing to worry about. Just don't break the contract. Doing that would be far worse than whatever else could happen."
I don't know what's on the freakin' contract! David slammed his fist against the side of the elevator, leaving a dent above the button panel. The elevator slowed and the doors opened with a cheery ding. The hallway was empty and only the muffled sounds of someone's television set could be heard through the wall. David composed himself and walked hurriedly toward his apartment.
The door was unlocked and he let himself in. Kristin was pacing around the kitchen and looking at her cell phone. As soon as the door shut, she turned and gave David an exhausted look.
"They still haven't found Zack," Kristin said in despair.
"I know," David said quickly. "Have the police been here?"
"No, but they're still at Jen's," Kristin replied. "They keep asking her about the ponies. She thinks Zack bought Rebecca a third pony, and that's the one they found in his car."
"A third pony? What do you mean, a third pony?" David asked.
"Tiffany and I went over to visit Jen today, and Rebecca had two ponies. I guess Zack bought her another one last night."
David looked over to Tiffany's door and saw that it was shut. "Did anything happen while you were over there?" David asked, turning back to Kristin.
She shook her head and looked back to her phone. "No, all we did was go to Ben and Jerry's for ice cream. We never even saw Zack, he was at work."
Through Tiffany's door, David could hear Tiffany and Diamond Tiara engaged in conversation. Occasionally, a voice spoke that he did not recognize, and he moved closer to listen. Kristin had continued talking, but David tuned out her voice to focus.
His hand reached for the door knob and slowly turned it. The conversation inside the room stopped as the door swung inward. Sitting on the floor was Tiffany, Diamond Tiara, and a little white filly. The unfamiliar pony looked at David with confident eyes, and stood up to greet him.
"Daddy!" Tiffany shouted, running past the filly, nearly knocking it over. Tiffany grabbed hold of David's leg and squeezed affectionately. "Look! I have a new pony!" She released her father's leg and quickly snatched the pony off the floor, cradling it in her arms.
"Pleased to meet you," the filly said, looking up at David.
Kristin walked into the room behind David, still talking, and stopped mid-sentence. "Tiffany! Is that Becky's pony?!" Kristin shrieked.
"Yeah," Tiffany said quietly. Her expression suddenly perked up and she smiled at her mother. "I won her!"
"We won her, thank you very much," Diamond Tiara chimed in, joining the group.
"For the record, I let you win," the filly said.
Kristin and David looked at their daughter in disbelief. David quickly turned his attention to his wife and asked, "How did she get her back here?"
"In my backpack!" Tiffany answered proudly, pointing to the My Little Pony backpack on her bed.
"Please, it's aside the point," the filly said, getting everyone's attention. "My name is Princess Celestia, and I need your help."
"Hold on, first things first," David said, "my brother-in-law is a pony now! Let's focus on that!"
The room went quiet and Kristin looked at her husband like he was crazy. "What? What are you talking about?" she asked.
"His contract was violated," Celestia said calmly.
Kristin looked at the filly as if she had forgotten it could speak. "You're serious? That pony in the car crash was Zack?"
"Crash?" Celestia asked, tilting her head.
A loud knock came on the apartment door and David turned to Kristin. They waited a moment and another knock sounded, followed by, "NYPD!"
"Hide the ponies, I'll answer it," David whispered. He closed the door to Tiffany's room behind him and slowly crossed the living room. Just as the officer on the other side of the door got ready to knock a third time, David opened the door.
"Hello," a gruff looking police officer said. He stood a full head taller than David, and was about twice as wide. He flashed his badge and asked, "Are you David LeCompt?"
"Yes, that's me. Is this about my brother-in-law?" David asked, not wanting to draw things out. "Because I haven't seen him since last night."
"You're aware of the accident, I assume," the officer asked, peering into the apartment.
"Yes, it's terrible. If he didn't drive like such an ass--"
"Is your wife home?" the officer interrupted.
David looked back at Tiffany's door and saw that it was still closed. "Yes, she's in with my daughter right now."
The officer remained quiet and stared at the door for a moment. "May I come in?"
"Do you have a warrant?" David asked almost immediately. No! Stupid! Wrong thing to say! What do you think this is, CSI: NY?! David clenched his teeth and listened to his angry thoughts scold him.
The officer's brow furrowed, and he asked, "Do I need one?"
"No, no, please, come in!" David insisted, laughing nervously as he stepped out of the officer's way. The officer looked at him suspiciously before entering the apartment.
"Mr. LeCompt, are you aware your brother-in-law bought ponies for his step-daughter for Christmas?"
David offered the officer a seat, but he ignored it and walked slowly around the apartment. "Yes, Rebecca had one with her at our Christmas party last night."
"Did he tell you where he bought it?"
"No," David answered.
"I see." The officer turned to look at David. "The pony that was in Mr. Folsom's car matches the description of one that was stolen late last night. There aren't many red and green ponies in New York city, I can assure you."
The door to Tiffany's room opened and Kristin walked out, shutting the door behind her. She made eye contact with the officer and smiled as she casually walked over to David.
"They think the pony in Zack's car was stolen," David said, leaning to whisper into Kristin's ear. He was still trying to process the words through his own mind. He knew that the pony they found was actually Zack. Could it be that the theft of an identical pony was coincidence?
Kristin had had a hard time with the existence of talking ponies. The thought of her brother-in-law being turned into a pony was more than she could actually believe. The idea that it was simply a talking pony that Zack had stolen was much easier to digest. Even better if the pony hadn't actually talked.
"Zack stole a pony?" Kristin asked with genuine surprise.
"It looks like it," the officer replied. "But until we find him, nothing is sure." The officer walked his way back to the apartment door and turned to Kristin and David. "One last question before I go, and this is completely off the record," the officer lowered his voice and his expression changed to uncertainty, "the pony he had with him last night -- did it…talk?"
Kristin and David looked at the officer, slightly confused. "Um, uh, no. I mean, a talking pony? That's a bit weird, wouldn't you say?" David chuckled.
The officer laughed, but he was still clearly concerned. "Yeah, it's just…when I pulled that pony from the wreck today, I swear it said something." There was an awkward silence following the officer's comment. Suddenly, he stood up straight and his hardened expression returned. "Thank you for your cooperation."
And with that, the officer left, closing the door on his way out.