//------------------------------// // XI: Black Friday // Story: I Should Have Never Bought That Pony // by Final Draft //------------------------------// "Oh what the Hell is this?" David stopped and stared at the mass of people surrounding the NY General Animal Hospital and Shelter. They had signs and banners, and chanted angrily while they waved them around. At the front of the crowd were several members of the NYPD, preventing access to the animal hospital. The officers stood resolute as the crowd writhed and seethed with anger. "What's going on?" Celestia asked. The filly had her head poking out of Tiffany's backpack along with Diamond Tiara. Diamond Tiara looked less than thrilled to be in her current situation. "There's some sort of rally or something going on," David answered. He took Tiffany's hand and said, "Stay close, I'm going to figure out what's going on." As David approached the crowd, a member at the back happened to turn and look at him. She raised her sign higher and shouted, "Ponies are people! Free the talking pony! Ponies are people! Free the talking pony!" David backpedaled from the woman who looked like she may swing the sign at him to keep him away. Pinned to her winter jacket was a bright yellow pin with the letters P.E.T.A. printed on it in blue letters. Looking around, David saw every other member of the crowd sported the same pin, and some even had P.E.T.A. embroidered on the backs of their jackets. "Oh, not PETA," David mumbled under his breath. He retreated back to the opposite side of the street to think out his next move. Celestia once again popped out of Tiffany's backpack. "Who are those humans?" she asked, looking across the street. "They're the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals group," David answered. "Oh, they sound like good people. Are they here to help?" Celestia asked optimistically. David only sighed. "Maybe it's the media, but I've only ever heard bad things about PETA." Speaking of the media, standing off to the corner of the crowd was an NBC field reporter and a cameraman filming everything. The reporter paid David no mind as he pushed past by standers and stood behind the cameraman. Over all the noise, David was able to hear the reporter as she spoke into her microphone. "--where hundreds have gathered after this video went viral late last night." There was a lengthy pause where the reporter stood still and said nothing. "As you can see," the reporter continued after some time, "the video shows the pony taken from that bizarre crash that occurred yesterday. While some are claiming this is all an elaborate hoax, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals organization is taking this very seriously." "Ponies are people! Free the talking pony!" The chant went through the crowd in unison, and they waved their banners rapidly. "The pony is being held here, at the New York General Animal Hospital and Shelter, where that video was filmed. The doors remain locked and guarded by police officers, and only people with seriously injured pets are being allowed in at this time. Hoax or not, law enforcement remains on site until the pony is taken to a different location, or claimed. "The search for the pony's owner, and for the man accused of stealing it both continue, but both have taken a turn for the strange." The reporter paused for a moment before saying, "Thanks, Rick." The cameraman held up his hand and then lowered it, indicating the feed had been cut, going live to a different reporter covering the investigation. No longer on the air, the crowd settled down a bit. The morning chill seemed to take the energy out of them as well, causing them to bunch together more tightly for warmth. David stepped out of the way as the cameraman and reporter made their way back to the news van parked on the corner of the street by several police vehicles. This is bad. Very bad. Millions know now. The government is probably going to get involved soon! And then they'll be looking for other talking ponies, and they'll find me, and take Diamond Tiara, and I'll be turned into- "Daddy?" David had been so preoccupied by his thoughts that he almost forgot Tiffany was with him. "Yes, what is it, sweetie?" David asked, looking down. Tiffany had taken Diamond Tiara out of her backpack and was cradling the little pony in her arms. "I think Diamond Tiara is sick," she said, holding the pony up for her father to look at. "What are you t-t-talking about?" Diamond Tiara asked, her voice quivering a bit as she shivered. "It's just c-c-cold out here, I'm fine." There was nothing apparently wrong with the pony, but he wasn't a vet, so there was no way he could be sure. And that's when he got the idea. They're letting people with sick pets in! I could bring Diamond Tiara up, get in, get Zack, and get out! I just have to get past…PETA…twice. "Keep Celestia in your backpack," David instructed, taking Diamond Tiara from his daughter. "I think we're going to have to take Diamond Tiara to the vet." Diamond Tiara's eyes went wide and she pushed her hooves against David's chest. "Wait, I'm not sick! Put me down!" "Shhh!" David tried to silence the pony so he could explain his plan. "Just don't talk and act sick. It's the only way we're going to get in." The pony stopped her fidgeting and crossed her hooves across her chest. "So you're just going to carry me out here? In the open? In front of all these humans?" The tightly packed crowd of P.E.T.A. members still stood in front of the animal hospital, raising their signs and chanting. If he could just get past them, maybe he could find another way out once he had Zack. "I know what I'm doing," he replied slowly. He didn't know what he was doing. His brain was functioning at half its usual level. The two hours of sleep he'd gotten were only enough to keep him upright and coherent. He'd spent the majority of the night waiting for Kristin to come home from her sister's, only to wake up alone. Whatever he was doing at this point was purely instinct. He grabbed his daughter's hand with his free hand and used his shoulder to edge into the crowd. "Pardon me, excuse me," he said as he pushed passed several P.E.T.A. members. Some got out of his way, others simply grunted as he made them move. They didn't know who he was, or why he wanted to the front, but none seemed interested in stopping him. That was until one of them caught a glimpse of what was cradled in the crook of his arm. "Hey!" a man with a FUR IS MURDER shirt shouted. "Hey, put that pony down!" Other members of the crowd looked around until they saw David trying to squeeze past. More and more of them caught sight of Diamond Tiara and began shouting. David tried to move faster, but the people in front of him began turning around to investigate the commotion. As soon as they saw the pony in his arms, they made an effort to stop him. "Move! She's sick!" David shouted, elbowing a man that wouldn’t move. "It's your fault!" someone shouted amidst the commotion. David was in the middle of the crowd now, and people on all sides seemed determined to stop him. His grip on Tiffany's hand was beginning to weaken as the crowd pushed and pulled against them. Diamond Tiara looked out in horror as people made wild grabs for her. She wrapped her hooves around David's bicep, trying to anchor herself to him. The crowd clawed and reached for the pony, certain that freeing her from this man was the right thing to do. They pulled at his hair, clawed at his flesh, grabbed at his clothing, but he still pushed forward. He could see the big letters of the animal hospital only feet away, and he readjusted his grip on Tiffany's hand before giving a final push through the crowd. He nearly tripped into the police barricade as he emerged from the crowd. They were still behind him, shouting and grabbing at him, but he was more focused on what was in front of him. Several police officers stood around behind the barricade, looking at the crowd with disinterest, until the commotion near David caught their attention. "Hey, settle down there!" a vaguely familiar voice shouted. David's heart sank as he saw the police officer that had visited him the night before approaching the barricade. He hoped the officer wouldn't recognize him, but he had no such luck. "Mr. LeCommpt?" he asked with the same, familiar gruff voice. His eyes scanned over David, looking at the scratches on his face and the blood trickling down from his hairline. "Ahhh! Daddy!" Tiffany screamed as she was pulled back into the crowd. "They have another one!" an angry voice shouted. David turned to see Tiffany's backpack being torn open and Celestia being ripped out of it. "Hey, put her down!" he shouted, charging at the man and woman holding his daughter. He slugged the man in the face as hard as he could, and the woman let go out of fear. Tiffany picked Celestia up off the ground before anyone could grab her and she ran to her father. At this point, the police officer had crossed the police barricade and pulled the can of pepper spray off of his belt. "Enough!" he shouted, waving the spray bottle threateningly. The P.E.T.A. members backed away from David and Tiffany, but continued hurling insults and threats at them. "Ponies aren't pets!" they began chanting as David was pulled behind the police barricade. "What are you doing here?" the cop asked, eyeing both Diamond Tiara and Celestia. Both ponies were physically shaken from the ordeal, and Diamond Tiara didn't even need to act sick to raise concern. Her hooves were still wrapped around David's bicep in a death grip, and she shook all over. David held her up to show the officer. "She's sick, and I need to get her in to the vet," he explained. She helped out by making a sick coughing noise that David couldn't tell was fake or not. "Where did you get these? They aren't yours, are they?" Crap. David hadn't thought that through. Would it be better to lie, or to tell the truth? Well, only some of the truth. The officer didn't need to know everything. But before he could open his mouth, Tiffany grabbed the police officer's arm and gave it a small tug. "Please, my pony is really sick!" she said, making the most heartbroken face she could at the officer. The officer looked at her and then back to Diamond Tiara. "This is your pony?" he asked. Tiffany nodded. "Don't you people know a city is no place for a pony?" the officer asked, looking to David with annoyance, but it passed as he began leading them toward the front doors of the animal hospital. David knew he wasn't in the clear yet. Surely the officer wanted to know where he'd gotten the ponies. The automatic doors of the animal hospital opened and they stepped into the deserted lobby. No one stood behind the reception desk, and most of the lights were off. "Just ring the bell, they're out back," the officer instructed. "Once your daughter's pony is admitted, you and I need to talk." He maintained eye contact with David as he walked backwards and out the automatic doors. David's heart was pounding. He'd managed to get into the animal hospital, but how he was going to get out was still a mystery. There were no laws prohibiting owning ponies, but he felt like a criminal, and he'd just put himself into the hands of law enforcement. They were going to want to know where he'd gotten the ponies, why he hadn't said anything the night before, if they could talk… *Ding! Ding!* Tiffany had run up to the reception desk and hoisted Celestia up to ring the bell when she couldn't reach it herself. She lowered Celestia back to the ground and approached her father. "Daddy, how is Diamond Tiara?" "She's fine, we just need to keep up the act a little longer," David replied, prying the pony off of his arm. "Here, you hold her." Tiffany took Diamond Tiara from her father and squeezed her tightly. "Yay! Don't worry, Diamond Tiara, you're gonna be okay!" Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I know. Put me down." From the shadows behind the desk, a pretty, young girl in light green scrubs walked out. "Can I help you?" she asked nervously. She addressed David, but looked over the desk and saw Tiffany and the two ponies at his feet. "Oh no, not more ponies," she said with a hint of fear. "Please, can you--" "They talk, don't they?" she interrupted. "They look like the other one." "Listen, I need your help, and I need you to believe everything I'm about to say," David began, but a shadow behind the girl made him stop. A tall man in a white lab coat walked out and stepped in front of her. "Sarah, go wait out back," he instructed, looking only at David. "Can I help you?" Back to plan A. "Yes, my daughter's pony is sick, and we're not sure what's wrong with her," David said, collecting himself. The veterinarian peered over the counter and surprise flashed across his face upon seeing the two ponies. "Well, we've been having plenty of experience with the equine lately, I'll just need you to fill out these forms and I'll admit her." He passed David a clipboard and a thick stack of papers before disappearing out back with his assistant. David looked at the stack of forms and sighed. I don't have time for this, he thought, looking around in annoyance. Maybe I can just sneak back there and grab Zack. But then the police will be looking for me. I have to do this smart, come on, think! "You appear to be stressed," a gentle voice said. Celestia looked up at David with concern, and her ears folded back. "I know he is your family, and I can understand your struggle to save him. Possibly, I can help?" She can sneak through and find Zack while I keep them distracted, he reasoned. But what if there are more people working? A place this big surely has more than two employees. "Can you go find where they're keeping Zack?" Celestia nodded and stealthily made her way behind the reception counter. David sat with Tiffany and Diamond Tiara and just made scribbles on the blank lines of each form. He was sure they wouldn't read them anyway. A few moments later, Celestia returned and hopped up on the chair next to him. "Through the doors, down the hall, first left. I couldn't look to see inside, but judging by the screaming, he's in there." "Oh God, they're already experimenting on him!" David said, assuming the worst. He tossed aside the clipboard and stood up. "Come on," he said, grabbing Tiffany's hand. Celestia and Diamond Tiara galloped behind him as he ran behind the reception counter and threw open the double doors. There was a long hallway that had several doors on the right, but only one on the left at the very end. David's shoes were still wet from the melted snow he'd walked through on the way there that morning, and they squeaked loudly against the linoleum floor. He tried to control his foot placement, but his hurried pace made it impossible to be silent. The muffled screams of what sounded like a young boy could be heard throughout the hallway, and David knew it was Zack. He made it to the door Celestia had indicated and flung it open. The room was full of empty cages and smelled of bleach and ammonia. In one of the cages was a bandage covered red pony with a green tail. It was screaming and crying incoherencies while rolling around in what appeared to be a puddle of urine. Sitting just outside the cage was the young female veterinarian, and she was holding her cell phone pointed at the pony. The girl gave a jump when the door slammed open, and she dropped her cell phone. David was able to look at the screen and see she'd been recording a video. Other than her, there were no humans in the room, especially none torturing the pony. "You're not supposed to be back here!" she said, reaching for her phone. "What are you doing, recording this?!" David asked, grabbing the phone before she could. "You put a video on the internet last night, didn't you?" "Yeah!" the girl shouted, standing up angrily. "I have to let as many people know about this as possible!" The pony in the cage stopped screaming and looked at the human confronting the bitch that had been filming him. He recognized him, and almost couldn't believe how happy he was to see him. "David! David! It's me!" David ripped the SD card out of the girl's phone and stuffed it into his pocket before tossing the phone back to her. "There's better ways to help those in need!" "Did it just call you by name?" the girl asked, not even concerned with the lecture. "Does it know you?" "David, please, you gotta get me out of here!" the pony shouted. "Come on, it's me, Zack!" "Shut up for five seconds, Zack," David said. That was a phrase he'd wanted to say for years. All those long winded holiday meal speeches, all the boring Red Sox game recaps, all of his investment mumbo jumbo--just shut up! Zack remained quiet as David kept his eyes on the girl. He crawled to the edge of the cage for a better view, and saw Tiffany, her pony, and (shockingly) the pony he'd bought Rebecca on Christmas. "This is my brother-in-law," David calmly explained, "and he's coming with me." "Y-your brother-in-law? So he was human?" the girl asked shakily. "W-what happened?" "It's a long story, but listen, you have to let us out of here." "You're going to let us out of here, or else we'll turn you into a pony next," Diamond Tiara said, going up to the already frightening girl and snarling. It was completely unnecessary. She held her cell phone up as if it would defend her, and she backed up against the bars of the opposite cage. Celestia pulled Diamond Tiara away and they awaited David's next command. "What's the easiest way out from here?" he asked. The girl raised her hand shakily and pointed at a door in the back of the room. "Tiffany, take the ponies and make sure that way is clear, and you," David glanced at the girl's name tag, "Sarah, I need you to open this cage for me." Celestia took lead and escorted Tiffany and Diamond Tiara to the large metal door at the back of the kennel area. It led to a back alley that was littered with snow covered debris. Down one end of the alley, taxis and other cars could be seen zooming by. "This way is clear," Celestia shouted to David. The whole while this had gone on, black, unmarked vans had pulled up to the animal hospital, and men in suits filed out onto the sidewalk. The crowd of P.E.T.A. members watched as the men made their way toward their group, and they held their ground. "The government doesn't care about animal rights!" and similar shouts directed at the suit clad men came from the crowd. This didn't phase the men, as they pushed through the crowd single file. When they reached the police barricade, all they had to do was hold up their badges, and the officers gladly stepped aside. Once inside the animal hospital, the men removed their sunglasses and looked around. At that moment, the head veterinarian had just walked into the lobby to check on the man that had entered with the two ponies. He was quite shocked to see nearly a dozen men in identical suits all staring at him. "C-can I help you?" he asked. He already knew what they wanted. They were probably some covert government organization in charge of covering up stuff like this. They'd either pay him off or kill him to keep him quiet while they took the talking horse back to Area 51 for experimentation. Of the dozen men in the lobby, there was one woman, and it was her who stepped forward. "Where is the pony?" she asked in a polite yet monotone voice. Everything about her was all business--no makeup, blonde hair done up in a tight bun, eyes as cold as a New England winter, and a body that offered nothing for a man to enjoy. Had she not spoken, she could have passed as one of the dozen men in the room. "Ah, yes, the pony," the veterinarian said with a nervous laugh, "right this way if you'll follow me." He had no desire to play games. The sooner this was over, the sooner he could take his hush-up money and move to The Keys. He held one of the double doors open, and waited for the group to file though, but only the woman stepped forward. She walked past him without a word and waited for him to lead her down the hallway. He gave one glance at the group of suits still standing in the lobby before letting the door swing shut. The screaming had stopped, and he assumed Sarah must have sedated it. Hopefully the fact it was unconscious wouldn't be a problem. "We've been keeping it right in here," the veterinarian said, approaching the door to the kennels. The woman said nothing as she followed behind. He turned the knob and held the door open for the female agent when suddenly she drew her gun. The action was so fast, he didn't even realize what was happening. On the other side of the door was a man with cuts and scratches all over his face standing over Sarah, who looked to be on the verge of tears. "Oh shit! David, behind you!" Zack shouted. "Don't even move," the woman said with her gun pointed at the back of David's head. "Who are you? Are you with PETA?" David had his hands in the air and stood completely still. "My name is David LeCommpt," he said. At the end of the room, he could see Tiffany and the ponies poking their heads in from the alley way. He mouthed silently for them to run, knowing if they were caught it would be all over. Celestia tugged Tiffany away from the door and it shut without anyone inside noticing.