It was mass panic, ponies were galloping back and forth uncaring if they ran into each other. Under some overturned carriages ponies screamed for help, one mare was trying with all her might to pull a friend free but all she did was cause more pain. Traffic lanterns were down and fire had began to spread, the street intersection as far Whistle’s eyes could see was backed up for miles as more wrecks were starting to happen, she cringed at the sound of screeching metal.
High above she saw a white Alicorn in golden armor flying into the scene, she lifted her head and attempted to levitate the carriages but just then another wreck occurred that when colliding broke into many pieces. One sharp piece that had covered the wheels was sent high into the sky and Whistle saw the Alicorn scream with blood pouring out where her horn had been.
From behind her Whistle could hear laughter, “Hahahahaha! Oops, I did it again!”” she turned around to see a pony who looked really out of place.
A crowbar in one hoof and pointing at the Alicorn with the other, but Whistle didn’t notice neither for her attention was locked on her featureless, empty face.
Whistle had sprung forward gasping, she took a look around her surroundings and felt her heart ease as it was her room. Flopping her head back on her pillow she leaned up again and felt it with her hoof, she reached down and touched her covers which were just as soaking wet. Sighing she leapt from bed and dug through her nightstand until finding her small mirror.
“I hate nightmares..” she uttered as she let out a faint whistle as she took out an equally small cloth and wiped her brow clean of sweat.
She went back to her bed but after feeling how soaked the covers were in her own sweat, along with the fear of that nightmare reoccurring, she decided against sleeping and instead went into the living room. As she passed a door she turned back and gently nudged it open, seeing the form of her brown friend soundly asleep she carefully closed the door.
“Happy I didn’t wake her” Whistle whispered as she tiptoed down the hallway.
Coming to the living room she made a beeline to a double doored dresser and pulled them open, as her eyes scanned the many books that was neatly arranged she thought on which she should read. She puzzly looked over them until her eyes spotted a purple bound book that she immediately grabbed, she tried not to leave teeth marks as she closed the dresser and trotted to the sofa. She felt her back melt into the warm and welcoming fabric as she spat the book into her hooves and opened to page one.
“It was another cold day for Daring Do,” she began reading aloud. “having forgot her coat at camp her wings acted as a backup but they did little to warm her up. Daring Do was normally fond of snow, as her hooves sank deeper with each step she couldn’t help but find herself wanting to make a snow Alicorn. But she had to remain focused for she was on the trail of Ahuizotl who had made off with a artifact she had found the following night. The idea of Ahuizotl sneaking into her camp was unnerving to her, and as she followed his tracks she couldn’t help but think why he hadn’t---”
Pausing to rub between her eyes Whistle went back to reading for about two paragraphs before pausing again, she was reading the words well but her imagination was elsewhere entirely. Placing the book atop a drawer she looked around the room and spotted a box that was a few inches away.
She stretched out her body so she could reach it, her hooves were just starting to touch it when “Almost---got i-whoa!” she lost her balance.
She closed her eyes and prepared herself for a hard fall that never came. Slowly opening her eyes she saw she was hovering and felt her wings flapping, whistling she grabbed the box by the foldable top and dragged it atop the sofa with her.
Opening it she dug through the various VHS tapes before sliding the box away, “They won’t help either...” she told herself as she rested her head against the sofa’s puffy arm rest.
She tossed and turned and even punched the armrest to make it more comfortable, “Ugh, why can’t I get this out of my mine!!!” she silently shouted before leaping down.
Making her way to the kitchen she was careful to be silent, she was storming in very annoyed but suddenly came to an halt. She felt her body become a mixture of warm and cold shivers, peering to her right she saw the moon was casting light in through a window. The light felt relaxing and as she saw the walls sparkle as if it were glittered, she felt her anger simply drift away and she felt more at ease.
Taking a moment to bask in the moonlight she trotted over to the refrigerator and felt such a cold breeze after opening it her jaws were shaking, using one hoof to keep warm she took a milk carton and closed the door. Rubbing both hooves together to get them warm she waited for the microwave to warm the carton, all the while her eyes were on the timer. Suddenly the idea of Sparkleworks being awoken by the microwave popped into her mind and she rushingly slammed the stop button, she felt the carton and wrenched
her hoof back.
“Wow that’s hot!” she whistled. “OK note, four minutes is way to long”.
Whistle searched the kitchen for something to protect her hooves with and spotted a couple of dish rags by the sink, thinking they were just perfect she wrapped one around her hoof like an bandage. Carefully she lifted the milk carton, the heat seeping through the rag she was extra careful as she went for the biggest gulp.
“Hahahahaha! Oops, I did it again!” Whistle missed as the laughter crept back into her mind and the warm milk poured on the floor, she shook her head but that faceless pony came into focus and she slammed the carton down in frustration.
“Ugh! I gotta know who she is!” she angrily shouted as she felt like she was going insane.
She stormed her way to Sparkleworks’ room fully intending to ask her questions, but as she grabbed the door handle she completely froze up. She stared unblinkingly at the knob, occasionally looking at the door as she imagined what’ll happen if she barged in. Every inch of her was ready to yank it open and wake Sparkleworks up but she simply couldn’t do it, slowly she released the knob and trotted quietly away, once or maybe twice she looked back as if building her courage up.
She needed answers but her closest source was sound asleep and she knew nothing is more terrifying than waking her friend up, she thought even Tirek wouldn’t had stood a chance against an woken up in the middle of the night Sparkleworks. Drinking about two cups of coffee to fully wake herself up Whistle left the apartment, she knew there would be no sleep unless she could get some sort of answers.
Taking flight she flew over the towering buildings and flew off into the night, she knew a few friends who worked night shifts and she tried to think which of them to go to first. As she went through her various friends over in her mind she couldn’t help but notice the scenery, it looked a lot more peaceful than it had in her nightmare. Instead of fiery wrecks with screaming ponies it was calm and quiet, the moonlight reflected off of the buildings and gave off an kind of glowing hue that Whistle just couldn’t get tired of.
As beautiful as the city looked Whistle had to force herself to ignore it. The only friend she knew for sure who might know Malty was Star Catcher, being both mayor and captain of the Fillydelphia guard meant she had many sleepless nights, something Whistle could really relate to right now. The only problem that Whistle could see was that Star Catcher wasn’t in Fillydelphia, she had left for Canterlot two days ago and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.
She wanted answers now and didn’t care if she was up all night for them, she flew over to the nearest friend she could ask and hoped she had the answers that she wanted.
“Sorry Whistle, I never meet a Malty before, is that some kind of new salt?” spoke the first who juggled between talking to Whistle and locking up the bank’s vault.
Sad her friend didn’t have any answers she flew over five miles to a building which was having an overnight pool party, something Sparkleworks had expressly told her not to attend under any circumstances.
“Do you know a pony named Malty!” Whistle had to shut over the loud and deafening music.
Her friend who was the only on duty lifeguard shook his head. “Sorry I don’t, but why not ask Minty? She knows as thei-HEY no dogs in the pool!” he had shouted leaping from his towering seat.
Whistle tried getting his attention back but the overly loud music and roaring cheers were beginning to hurt so she was forced to leave, after she had flew over to meet at least two other friends her belly had begun growling and she couldn’t fly on an empty stomach, flying down she got in line for a carrot dog. As the unbearably long line was getting shorter Whistle couldn’t help but feel her quest was hopeless and started wishing she had woke Sparkleworks up, she only had one friend left to ask before she would have to wait til morning anyways.
“Is this line moving?” came a familiar voice from behind.
Whistle turned around and was surprised to see Cotton Candy. Whistle felt something click in her head and immediately started a conversion, she didn’t know Cotton Candy as well as her other friends so she wanted to get her interested in talking first. They talked for a few minutes about various stuff.
“Say, how’s your mom doing?” Cotton Candy asked.
Whistle stared off in the opposite direction while whistling, “Ptff, why can’t she trust me living on my own?” and she immediately changed the subject.
“No, he hadn’t asked yet” Cotton Candy replied on the subject of her coltfriend. “Three years so he should ask me any day now”.
“Maybe he’s just afraid of asking? I mean it’s not like a mare asking another mare on a date, he’s probably just nervous” Whistle replied as she looked back at the line and whistled happily that only one pony was left before her.
As the pony placed her order for two carrot dogs Cotton Candy had said “Well if he wants to keep on dating that’s just fine, not like I want a family or anything” but it had went over Whistle’s head as she concentrated on how to ask about Malty.
She rubbed the back of her head while whistling nervously. “Say, do you know a pony named Malty?” she finally blurted out.
Cotton Candy raised an eyebrow as she replied “Why would you want to know about that mare?”
“Because, just curious is all” Whistle unconsciously whistled an higher pitch and avoided making eye contact.
The pony ahead of Whistle trotted off and the stallion running the stand called for the next pony in line, but Whistle didn’t hear him. Whether Cotton Candy had saw through her lie or not Whistle wasn’t sure, she was just relieved she kept talking although it took another two minutes before Cotton Candy had told her anything she hadn’t already heard.
“I heard she favors the corners Candy and Tails, you know, near that baseball field?” Cotton Candy finally answered after enough persistent questions.
As Whistle gave an joyful whistle she immediately took flight with Cotton Candy staring after her, shrugging it off she took Whistle’s place in line and placed her order. As Whistle flew over the tall and towering buildings once more she stared down at the busy traffic miles below and couldn’t help but feel sorry for all the ponies who couldn’t fly.
“At least there aren’t any clouds tonight” Whistle thought to herself as she flew higher. “And traffic jams..”
It took about five minutes for Whistle to locate the corner and for another ten minutes she flew around it in circles, but eventually her wings grew tired and the coffee had started to wear off. Before she could doze off Whistle landed and shook herself awake, scanning the immediate area she spotted a billboard and galloped behind it. Checking the brick wall that laid behind the billboard she felt like she was hidden in a good vantage point, the billboard was surprising close to the ground and the brick wall was covering her rear so she knew nopony could sneak up on her either.
She felt like this could work, before she began to wait she stomped in circles making a soft and grassy bed before peering her head slightly around the billboard.
“The street sure is empty tonight..” Whistle thought as the cold windy air, mixed with the silence, made for a very eerie scenery. “She should be showing up any time now” she whistled to herself for about an hour later.
Another hour went by and there was still no sign of Malty. Whistle saw various crowds every now and again but Malty was in none of them as far as she could tell, from what she got from her friends Malty’s fur was a very dark shade of green and her mane was a mixture of light and dark pink, as well as looking very octopus like. From their descriptions she not only wears a bowler hat but also a business overcoat so they assumed she was a high business mare, she even at times trotted with a cane either in hoof or had it strapped to her leg as if it was broken.
Time went on and dawn was slowly approaching and Whistle was starting to wish she was back home in bed, “Maybe I should just go home..Sparkleworks might worry if she sees I’m not there” she said aloud.
Since Sparkleworks would be up soon she could go ahead and ask her about Malty, the only problem she felt was what if Sparkleworks didn’t know anything useful either? Whistle remembered her saying she had met Malty but also didn’t remember anything really special, was it worth asking her when she knew what the answer could be? She felt her brain starting to lock up and she tried shaking it but her mind was completely shutting down, she had no idea what to do now.
The wind whistling in her ears didn’t help to ease her mind either, grunting with aggravation she galloped from her hiding spot and just wanted to fly. She flopped open her wings mid-gallop and jumped to take flight when---CRASH---she collided with something and went stumbling down.
There was a crack and she painfully rolled into a metal fence that felt like barbed wire. Through the pain that temporarily blinded her she heard someone growl “Watch where you're going mare!” and felt whoever it was crawl themselves out from under her.
Whistle heard more angry grunts as she stood up with slight difficulty, her legs felt like rubber trying to hold up many bricks so she resulted to hovering instead. Immediately she yelped as her left wing flinched, it hurt something fierce but at least it was more bearable than standing. Rubbing her eyes her vision took a few seconds to return and when she could see, with a few tears here and there, she looked for who she had galloped into. It was a mare, she was dusting off her coat and Whistle could tell that she was very angry.
Without even turning to check on her the mare trotted away, Whistle sniffed as if she was about to cry and just wanted to go home so she could cry into her pillow. Wiping her eyes she started to fly away when she suddenly took a double take at the mare and saw she was carrying a cane. Heart racing with a gasp she flew as fast as her wing would permit and caught up with the mare.
“H-Hey..! Are you by chance Malty?” she asked and instantly the mare came to a halt so fast Whistle had almost ran into her a second time.
The mare remained still and seemingly frozen in place for a few seconds, Whistle was even starting to wonder if something was wrong with her. “I am. Do pray tell, how did you know?” she asked.
Whistle for a split moment looked like she hadn’t heard the answer, but the very next moment she flew high into the air with a smile so big even Pinkie Pie would be jealous.
“I found you!” Whistle had said with a whistle full of joy as she slowly hovered back to ground level. She was careful not to land as her legs were still hurting, she knew her punches and kicks of joy did little to ease the pain but she kept doing them nonetheless.
But she didn’t care, the pain felt nonexistent as her quest was over. She had spent hours asking questions and searching for Malty, she was just giving up hope about finding her when she ended up galloping right into her. No words could express how happy she was feeling, the mare gave a grunt while facehooving but Whistle was to happy to notice.
“I’ve been spending hours trying to find you, and now, I finally found you!” Whistle shouted in joy.
“Hmph, and why, dare I ask, were you searching for me?” Malty asked. She wasn’t sure who this pony was but felt like she could be trouble.
At hearing Malty’s question Whistle heard her voice more clearly than before, it was a little deepen and sounded scratchy as if she was getting over a sore throat. She started to say “I--I um---heard about you the other day and wanted to---”
“Ah, I see now” Malty interrupted and Whistle felt a sense of foreboding which she thought was extremely odd.
“What do you mean?” Whistle asked.
“You heard about a mare, who was unusual and strange. Perhaps the stories of this mare haunted you day and night, a faceless horror you could not be rid of. A horror that in the very back of your mind it hides, and you simply wanted a face to go along with it. Am I’m correct?” Malty explained.
Whistle was in total shock to the point her eyes shrunk for a brief second and felt herself getting goosebumps. “ Wow!” she gasped. “How did you---”
“My dear, it isn’t the first time a pony heard about me and wanted to have a face to go alongside their stories.” Malty answered with another interruption. “In fact, I dare say you’re the fourth one”.
Whistle had no idea what to possibly say next, her mind had gone blank for everything except that image of Malty being faceless. “Can I...see your face?” she asked and felt extremely odd and whistled in a vain attempt to lighten the mood.
Malty gave a slight laugh at her forwardness and actually thought it over, Whistle could tell she was talking to herself and was waving her cane around in the air until finally holding it at a still. Placing it under her leg she slowly turned around and for a solid eight seconds the two mares stared eye to eye with each other, as Whistle gazed into her eyes she felt a sense of dread like Sparkleworks had mentioned this morning.
Whistle had gasped at seeing Malty’s piercing yellow eyes, she thought her pupils were dragon or even snake like and her imagery went crazy. She had blinked and squinted her eyes, they were just normal pupils. She laughed to herself and felt silly for thinking they looked dragon like, although Sparkleworks was right in saying there was an odd vibe about Malty. She moved her eyes to Malty’s mane hoping to see tentacles but saw it was quite normal, it was a mixture of both light and dark pink with tiny polka dots which made it look quite filthy.
Whistle had never seen a mane so messy in all her life and wondered how Malty could possibly see, Whistle looked Malty over a few times to see if she had any odd features.
“Does my appearance surprise you?” Malty’s word seemed to had broken a wall of dead silence. It felt like a pin should’ve dropped and Whistle’s wings almost locked up.
Whistle nodded and said “You're-----just a normal pony?” to which Malty laughed. Whistle thought this laugh should’ve been much more evil-like and was again let down.
“No surprises there, now I do believe I shalt not need to ask your name.” Malty said as her yellow eyes looked over Whistle who felt how odd and rather unsettling it was to have a pony look your body over. “Dark blue fur, wings, whistling to yourself like you are now---why, you must be Thistle Whistle, aren’t you?”
Whistle felt her heart skip so many beats she was surprised it was still beating at all, blushing slightly she asked how Malty could had known her and to which she answered “I’m a novelist dear, I write crime stories as well as mystery thrillers. It’s my job to be a good guesser” and after thinking her reply over Whistle thought it was a very good answer.
“What books did you write?” Whistle asked wondering if she and Sparkleworks had any at home. They don’t usually look at the author’s name or pictures so the chances were pretty high.
Malty smiled as she answered “Oh nothing fancy, Mane-Lock, How Did This Happen, Under My Pillow and The Pony With A Lighting Bolt are just a few. My latest story was Traffic Jam, A Prank Gone Wrong and it became my second best seller”.
Whistle thought on those names but she couldn’t remember of ever hearing about them before, “Traffic Jam...” she whispered to herself. She only needed to think for a brief moment before she knew what Malty could be talking about. “OH! You mean that prank you pull---”
“I did not cause that!” Malty yelled, slamming her cane on the ground with great force.
It almost sounded like Malty had the Royal Shout and when she saw Whistle’s frighten expression she realized she had made an outburst, she broke eye contact for a brief moment or two and straighten her hat.
“Please forgive me, I-I get so touchy about that...” she apologized.
Whistle in the fraction of a second went from frightened beyond belief to feeling sorry herself, “It’s OK, I didn’t mean to upset you.” she apologized as well. “But, ponies seem to think you did, why would they---”
“It was because I laughed, I’m---what you would call a pony who laughs at others’ misfortune. Like, The Three Mares they get hurt all the time on TV. It was just a split moment of laughter and a month of paying off a find.” Malty sighed and turned away from Whistle. Her attention was on the night sky that was slowly turning to day.
“Ponies seems to think I was laughing at dear old Star Catcher too, but I was not.” Malty spoke. Before Whistle could reply she had added “In fact I accepted the fine without nearly a complaint, I didn’t dare complain despite not causing the accident”.
Whistle wasn’t sure why but she was starting to feel sorry for Malty. She found it odd that she got the overwhelming feeling that she had met her before, but she felt very confident that she hadn’t.
“It did become the basis of that book though, a pony who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Framed for a huge incident, but after a mixture of police hunting---my made up guard section---and crime solving she unveils a big conspiracy. A small accident, yet a brilliant story thought up from it. Had to get old Star Catcher’s permission though, but I dare say it was worth it none the less” Malty happily explained.
After hearing her short story Whistle suddenly felt intrigued again and wanted to talk with Malty some more. Malty seemed not to care the mare who had ran her over wanted to chat, she seemed interested a little bit herself but about two minutes into their conversion she took from her chest pocket a watch. Whistle ooed and awed at how the gold and brown coloring shimmered.
“I’m afraid we must cut this short” spoke Malty as she bowed her head.
Whistle’s senses snapped in full force when she had heard Malty. “Why? We just started to talk?” she asked confused.
“I’m running late for a---meeting, I’m due for brunch with my dear mother” Malty simply returned.
As Malty trotted off Whistle felt abandoned by a friend who had better things to do, quickly and without thinking she asked “U-Um me and my friends are holding a picnic this Saturday! Why don’t you attend? That way we can---”
“Sure, if I can manage some free time I might” interrupted Malty. “Good day, Whistle”.
***
As Whistle was flying home she couldn’t help but reflect on what just happen, the entire night she imagined Malty as this faceless terror with a crowbar, a pony with no love for anyone else’s safety. But the pony she met was unlike the gossip she had heard in every way, Whistle actually thought she seemed quite nice and well mannered. The entire time she was flying she smiled at the idea of meeting Malty again and the fun they were going to have at the picnic.
“Oh wait...Minty doesn’t like her!” Whistle suddenly said aloud as her stomach turned into knots.
How was she going to tell one of her best friends, who disliked a pony to the point she choked on her own candy, that she had just invited said pony to their picnic? Whistle thought Minty would explode and she cringed at that very scene being pictured in her mind, she was starting to think that inviting Malty might had been a bad idea.
“No, I’m sure when they get to know her they’ll see she isn’t so bad” Whistle said aloud. “Yeah, what could be more fun than making new friends?” Whistle smiled again as her imagination went from worried images back to a happy daydream.
“Well, I could think of one thing. No more clouds...” she shivered and went back to the daydream.