//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: The Puppet Masters // Story: The Horror of Happiness // by CrackedInkWell //------------------------------// The next morning, Trek woke up on the couch, stretching his limbs and neck as the sun lit up the room of photographs. Not wanting to wake his temporary housemate up, he decided to cook some breakfast. He decided to use the dry-packed meals to make the powdered eggs and hot oatmeal. As he was near finishing, he heard hoofsteps from upstairs. Dr. Lovejoy came down the stairs, a yawn escaping his muzzle. “Where did you get the eggs?” he asked as he appeared in the living room. “They’re from my rations actually,” he said. “They’ll be done in a moment.” “Take your time,” the elder unicorn said as he pulled out his camera. Curious, Trek saw the stallion setting up the tripod in front of him of the couch in which he sat down and took his own picture. Once that was done, he went upstairs again for a moment before coming back down with a picture of himself in his aura. He walked over to where the garbage bin was, tore the picture into pieces and threw it away. “Why did you do that?” Trek wondered, “Do you do that every morning?” “Quite,” he said as he sat down at the simple table. “Ever since I found out that I was a dead pony walking, I always took a picture of myself every morning of every day because it could very well be my last self-portrait. But if it so happens that I’m still alive the next morning, I would tear that old picture apart for the new one.” “That’s a little grim isn’t it?” Trek asked as he started to dish out the breakfast between them. “Taking what could be the last photo of yourself.” “You may see it that way. But I wish for whoever comes across my photos see what I was like on the very day before I passed away. If anything, this isn’t anything new to me, after all, when I got into photography, the hospital that I practiced in encouraged me taking pictures. Both of the living and the dead for future study, so you could imagine that I took plenty of post-mortem portraits.” The younger unicorn shivered, “You mean like one of those pictures that look like they’re alive, but they’re really not? I think I’ve seen those before in a few museums, but those things always give me the creeps.” “For me,” Lovejoy said as he started to take a forkful of fake eggs, “I found that there’s a certain… art to taking those photos.” “That’s because you’re a doctor, so I guess you’re probably used to that sort of thing.” Trek sat down across from him, taking a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth. “What are you planning on doing today?” “Well, speak with the locals a bit; see how they live and all that.” “That’s right,” the doctor realized, “I’ve nearly forgotten! I need to speak to Starlight about having her giving you the tour of the village.” “I suppose that’s a good place to start.” “So, Dr. Lovejoy,” Starlight said as she offered the elderly stallion a seat, “What brings you to my humble home?” “I have an inquiry for you that I think you might be interested. It’s about the new arrival.” “Oh?” the mare sat down next to him, “What about him?” “You see, Ms. Glimmer, I’ve talked with the young stallion, and he’s very curious about how this tiny society works. For you see, he’s a writer for a travel magazine that explores the unknown part of Equestria.” When he saw that this caught the mare’s full attention, he grinned and continued, “I think ma’am, that while I’m an old and frail stallion that is just lucky to have stumbled onto this place, perhaps Mr. Trek would prove something beneficial for you.” “You don’t say,” Starlight raised an interested eyebrow, “what exactly are you suggesting?” “I was thinking, that if you wanted to gain attention to more ponies that are lost and looking for a better life, don’t you think that this provides the excellent opportunity to expand your community?” The lilac unicorn hummed, putting a hoof to her chin, “An interesting and insightful idea indeed.” “I was also wondering if you would take the time to show him the town yourself,” Lovejoy added. “That is unless you have something else to do today.” “Oh, no-no! I’d be more than happy to give him a tour of our village,” Starlight stood up, “In fact, why not you came along too? I’m sure what I’ll have to show you and Mr. Trek will be quite enlightening about the nature of cutie marks.” The elderly stallion stood up as well, “As intriguing as that is, I’m afraid that I have to pass on the offer. I want to take my noonday nap and catch up on some reading today. But you can show the young fellow around if you wish.” Starlight frowned, “Oh… that’s alright. Still, I’d be more than happy to show him around our lovely village.” “Keep in mind too, that he’s interested in mapping out the area as well, so I think you two will be at it for the whole day.” “That won’t be a problem,” she said, “for the stallion that’s from a travel magazine; I’ll take all the time in the world to answer all of his questions.” “Four, five and six barrels. Yes, this should be plenty,” Dr. Lovejoy muttered as he observed the barrels of salt in his basement. Looking at the book of ‘Ancient Coltypt: Everyday Life and Death on the Nile,’ the doctor scanned again at the list of items he scribbled at the side of the book. “Let’s see… I’ve got plenty of salt, plenty of bandages… but what do I do for rising? They’re no trees around here, so I wonder if candle wax would do the trick.” He paused as he looked at his basement once more, “And suppose somepony were to come down here, where do I hide the body then?” He looked around at the layered bricks that lined the entire outline of the walls. His eyes fell upon the shovel he brought with him when he got an idea. “What if...” he wondered aloud as he trotted up to the wall right beneath the stairs, looking between it and the shovel, “Could it work? Then again Trek is gone for the whole day…” Making up his mind, he took the shovel, a hammer, and a chisel, “Better safe than sorry.” It was almost dinner time, and Lovejoy still hasn’t seen his new housemate since this morning. Although he made some soup earlier, he sat rocking in his living room while the phonograph plays some Buch as he waited. What was taking Hidden Trek so long? Looking at his pocket watch, it was almost seven o’clock. “Where are they?” he muttered. He went up to the window to peek through the curtains, looked up and down the street in hopes he would find anything. For a moment, there was nothing, but before he turned away, he saw some movement that was coming from the bared house from across the street. Narrowing his curtains to a crack, he saw one of the villagers, then three, then five, until there was a crowd that gathered at the front door. There was a violet glow that moved from behind the house to the front door, but Lovejoy couldn’t make out what it was. Then suddenly, the light went out, and the villagers calmly returned to their homes. “What was that all about,” he wondered as he waited until the last pony was out of sight. Exiting from the back door, he kept to the darkness as he headed towards the town’s “Equality House,” to peek through the side window to see if there was anything new. To his surprise, along with the stallion he framed that sat in a corner, in the dim light was Hidden Trek. Only, his entire coat and mane color were muted, and his cutie mark now bared a black equal sign. “Mr. Trek?” Lovejoy asked. The younger unicorn snapped his attention, “Doc? Oh thank Celestia Doc,” he said as he went up to the barred window. “You’ve got to help me! Starlight’s a nutcase!” “What happened to you? And what happened to your cutie mark?” “She took it.” The doctor paused for a moment, taking in what he’s just heard, “Come again?” “I’ve figured out why everypony in this town has the exact same cutie mark, she stole them!” “Calm down, calm down, just tell me what happened.” “Well, she showed me around the village, showing off all the shops, that bakery, the underground greenhouses, and even the opal farm too. Along the way, I asked her why everyone has the exact same cutie mark. She told me that she came up with a philosophy in which that the only reason why there’s a conflict between ponies is that we have different talents, hence cutie marks. And instead of looking at them as a good thing, she sees it as the cause for dividing ponies up or something like that. “Then I had the mistake of asking how it was done, and she led me to a cave in which housed a glass vault that held everypony’s original cutie mark. And by it, there was a stick called the ‘Staff of Sameness’ where Starlight took it and said that there’s a better, easier way for me to understand her insane thinking. But when I turned to leave, I found that the villagers were there, cornering me. Then… that witch levitated me, kept me paralyzed in the air as she used that stick to rip my cutie mark off! I’d be surprised if you didn’t hear me scream back there. Now, she’s thrown me in here, and she wouldn’t let me out until, as she puts it, ‘completely understand our great philosophy.’ But what does that even mean?” That answer came when from inside the darkened cell, the voice of Starlight Glimmer saying, “Exceptionalism, is a lie. Free yourself from your cutie mark. To excel is to fail,” and so on. By the sound of it, the doctor quickly realized that this was a recording. Lovejoy’s eyes widen, “Ooh… now it makes sense.” “Doc?” The elder stallion chuckled, “Oh that’s clever! She’s brainwashing you!” Trek’s eyes widen, “She’s what?” “Now I understand. The strong sense of community, the emphasis of equality, and why every single pony in this town is always smiling! Oh, that is just beautiful!” “Uh doc,” the nervous stallion behind bars interrupted, “That’s nice and all but, could you let me out? I really want to get as far away from this place as I can.” Lovejoy tapped the side of his face, humming, “Nope.” Trek’s face piled, “No?” “No,” he grinned, “If anything, I actually want to take this moment to thank you for enlightening me. Now I’m starting to understand what this mare is truly capable of. Good night Trek,” he smiled before he started to walk back to his home. “Uh, doc?” Trek called out, “Doctor Lovejoy, you’re not going to leave me in here, are you? Doc? Doc? Doc! Wait! Please come back! DOC!”