A Prose By Any Other Name

by Jarvy Jared

VI: Rumors

“Twilight?” Sweetie Belle asked the unicorn while they waited for Doctor Irons in the hospital. “Is that stallion going to be alright?” She and the CMC had joined Twilight in waiting for the doctor’s report.

The unicorn shook her head, slightly jostling her brown bag. “I don’t know, Sweetie Belle. I certainly hope so.”

“He’s… he’s not gonna die, is he?” Apple Bloom asked, making Sweetie Belle’s eyes nearly fill with tears.

Twilight winced at the question. “He shouldn’t,” she answered hastily, trying to calm down the little unicorn. “I mean, he didn’t sustain any injuries that would have been fatal.”

A door opened, and out walked Doctor Irons. He walked over to where Twilight and the CMC stood. “Good morning, Doctor,” Twilight greeted, quickly directing the focus away from morbid subjects. “How is the stallion?”

“He’s recovering, Ms. Twilight,” Irons answered respectfully. “We’ve got a few answers to the questions you posed.”

Twilight nodded. “Alright, tell me.”

“First, his name is Dusk Prosa. A rather unusual name, if you ask me.”

“It certainly is,” Twilight said. “Please, continue.”

“Based on the state of his cloak and vest, the story Steven Magnet told seems to hold up. I’m no detective, but I have seen my fair share of Timberwolf attacks.” He shook his head. “But the other marks… from the Shadewolves, I presume. It seems… odd.”

“How so?”

“Shadewolves inhabit the Hollow Shades. And nopony ever travels through there anymore. So why was he?”

Twilight frowned. “That certainly is a matter that needs discussing. Anything else?”

“Well… he doesn’t appear to have a Cutie Mark yet.”

“What?” Scootaloo asked. “What do you mean?”

“Where his Mark should be, is just a pewter-grey spot. He’s blank.”

Twilight scratched her chin. “That’s odd. Nopony should be blank at that age.”

The CMC shared worried looks. What if they ended up like that?

“There’s more; though, it’s highly controversial,” the doctor continued.

“How so?” asked Twilight.

In answer, the doctor leaned in so as to whisper in Twilight’s ear. As he leaned back, Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you serious?”

He nodded solemnly. “Says it’s for personal stuff. I’m not so sure about that, though.”

Twilight’s eyes grew worried, and she fell silent as she considered this information.

“Twilight?” Sweetie asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, girls. Run along now, alright?”

“But, what about the stallion—”

“He’ll be fine,” the doctor reassured them. “I promise.”

The girls were still unsure, but nodded, leaving shortly after. Twilight and Irons shared a silent look that spoke volumes of their uncertainty.

Twilight discreetly cracked open the door, stepping inside carefully. A quick glance around the room showed that it was empty of any other occupants—save for herself and the patient. The stallion in bed did not seem to notice her; perhaps because his gaze was turned away, facing the side wall. She guessed that he was deep in thought. She shifted her body to more comfortably carry the brown bag she held over her shoulder, trying to do so as quietly as possible. She was unsure whether to say anything or not, and the indecision locked her tongue.

After a period of silence, he spoke. “It’s rude to enter without knocking, you know.”

Twilight was caught off guard by his voice. It was hard to describe, sounding like a mashup of coldness and morbid amusement. She blinked at him, before trotting over. “I’m… sorry about that,” she said, a bit nervously, managing to untangle her tongue.

He waved her apology away with his hoof. “No worries. Everypony makes dumb mistakes like that.”

She let out a nervous giggle. “Yeah… dumb mistakes.”

There was a moment of awkward pause between the two, before he asked, “So, what brings you to my humble bed, Miss…”

“Sparkle,” Twilight finished for him. “Twilight Sparkle.”

“Ah, yes. Miss Sparkle, personal student of Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia.” His voice seemed almost mocking, even dismissive, but Twilight ignored it. “I suppose I should introduce myself.”

“Dusk Prosa,” she answered for him, blushing slightly. “Um, the doctor told me.”

He allowed himself a chuckle. “That he did, huh?” He turned his head, looking at Twilight.

The unicorn couldn’t explain it, but she immediately quailed under the stallion’s gaze. Bright, pink eyes stared at her, brimming with intensity and intelligence. She could tell that a million thoughts were happening in his head, and she could practically see the gears working in his brain.

She gulped. For some reason, she felt like she was under examination.

“So… my question,” Prosa prompted, causing Twilight to blush in embarrassment.

“Er, right.” Taking a deep breath to gather her thoughts, she answered, “I was… coming in to ask you a few questions.”

He stared at her. “Did not the doctor ask already?”

Twilight shook her head. “Well, he did, but I want to ask… other questions.”

He nodded. “Alright, then, Miss Sparkle. Go ahead.”

“Please, just call me Twilight. All my friends call me that.”

His eyes narrowed, and Twilight instantly felt the tension in the room amplify tenfold. “We are not friends,” he muttered darkly, “Miss Sparkle.”

Once again, Twilight was taken aback by the sudden shift in tone. It seemed that Dusk was doing his best to make this conversation less personal, redirecting her statements back at her with cold wordplay. She gulped, apprehension rising in her throat.

“Er, right,” she stuttered, fighting to regain her train of thought. “First off…”

She had intended on asking first with an overly complicated question, but her mind locked up and she froze. Dusk stared at her with mild curiosity. “Yes?” he asked.

“Why don’t you have a Mark?” she blurted. She gasped and pressed her hooves to her mouth. “Oh, gosh! I’m sorry, that was rather rude of me!”

Surprisingly, he chuckled. “Not at all, Miss Sparkle. I figured you would ask me that eventually.” Those pink eyes bore a hint of warmth in them, as if he found this whole situation amusing. “I don’t have a Mark simply because I chose not to have one.”

She looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I never sought for a talent to call my own. I simply lived on without one.” He paused, glancing in her direction. “You don’t need a Mark to live life, Miss Sparkle. All you really need are the essentials.”

“Which are?”

“Food, water, shelter—and a ton of stubbornness to not die.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, though. Everypony eventually gets their Cutie Mark—”

“Even when they don’t want it?”

“Well, I would imagine so!”

He leaned forward, placing his hooves on his chin in contemplation. “Is it really so impossible for me to not have a Mark, then? See for yourself—” He pushed the covers away, revealing his still blank flank. “It’s there, alright. Physically there. Or rather, not there.”

“But—but that’s impossible!” she spluttered.

“Is it?” A sardonic grin came across his lips, chilling her to the bone. “So is surviving attacks from Shadewolves and Timberwolves.” He leaned back, closing his eyes. “We make the impossible happen through determination, do we not?”

Twilight knew she could not answer that question, so she tried asking another one of her own. “So you came all the way from the Hollow Shades?”

He nodded. “That is correct.”

“And what was the destination you had in mind?”

“Ponyville.”

“Why?”

“For personal reasons.”

She waited, thinking that she could prompt him into giving more information. He simply stared at her in silence. She cleared her throat. “Would you mind telling me what those reasons were?”

“I do mind,” he answered simply and tersely.

Twilight nearly sighed out loud. Prosa was good at not answering, that was for sure. She decided to approach from a different angle. “What made you think Ponyville was a good place to visit?”

He said nothing for a few seconds, turning away. Twilight let out a low breath of relief as he finished boring through her skull with his eyes. Finally, he said, “Ponyville certainly is different from where I come from.”

Her eyes lit up, and she could not contain her eagerness from her voice. “Yes? And where did you come from?”

“… Someplace different.”

She nearly groaned. Of course he had to be difficult.

She asked a few more questions, relating to his background and whatnot; and each time, he answered with barely anything. She could only guess if he was telling truths, lies, or half-truths. Strangely, though, compared to his hostile reaction when she had initially entered, he approached her questions with mild amusement. Whenever she asked a question, he answered in earnest; though, in retrospect, Twilight realized that Prosa had never truly answered her inquiries.

By the end of the questioning, Twilight had realized that she had essentially received little to no information regarding the stallion—and she was shocked. Somehow, Dusk had managed to seamlessly evade the unicorn’s persistent questioning with ease, and leave her unaware until the very end!

“If you’re finished questioning,” Dusk said, staring at her intensely, “then I suggest you leave.”

His tone was cold, but it rang true; she was finished questioning him. She had nothing else to ask, because she could not think of anything else that would guarantee her a straight answer. She let out a sigh and got up, walking away from the bed. Dusk turned away and closed his eyes, seemingly letting himself fall asleep.

Before Twilight completely left, however, she noted one final thing. Dusk’s bag had been left on the bedside, and the stallion did not seem to want them at the moment. He must still be tired from recovering, she guessed.

She glanced from Prosa back to the bag, making sure he wasn’t looking. Quickly and silently, she opened the top and pulled out one of the syringes. He won’t miss one. She tucked the syringe in her pack and, after a final glance around the room, she left Dusk alone.

Before she had completely left, she heard Dusk whisper a final phrase. “I enjoyed our little game, Miss Sparkle.”

It sounded innocent enough, yet left a chilling feeling of unease in Twilight’s stomach.

Five ponies entered the Golden Oak Library, their faces down and hidden in the tree’s shade. Eyes were pointed forward, and little joy spread from the mouths. Even the pink one could sense the seriousness of the situation, refraining from bouncing around. They exchanged worried gazes as they approached. Their friend had told them little of what she wished to discuss.

As they entered, Spike greeted them, though a bit solemnly. Even he could tell that something was wrong. They each said their quiet thanks, and Spike nodded to them. Somehow, he managed to fight down the urge to compliment Rarity, as the tension weighed down any words.

The five ponies approached the living room, where a certain lavender unicorn waited. Her eyes were wide with worry, and she cast furtive glances around. Satisfied that it was them six, she gestured to Spike to go upstairs. Surprisingly, the baby dragon did not protest, and left for his room.

She gestured for the others to take a seat, and they did, regarding Twilight with silent, anxious stares. She took her own seat, taking slow breaths to calm herself.

For a moment, nopony said anything, simply waiting for the unicorn to speak.

“… Have you heard what’s happened?” she finally asked.

“A little,” Applejack replied, “but not a lot.”

“Perhaps you could tell us exactly what happened?” Rarity asked.

Twilight took a deep breath. “… Three days ago, Steven Magnet swam into Ponyville carrying an unconscious stallion on his back. I had him sent to the hospital to recover. According to Magnet and the doctors, the stallion was found in the Everfree, having been running from Timberwolves for a while now.”

“Oh, that’s awful!” Fluttershy gasped. “Is he going to be alright?”

“I think so,” Twilight said, “but that’s not all of the story. The stallion came all the way from the Hollow Shades.”

“That far up?” Rainbow asked. “What’s he doing down here?”

Twilight placed a hoof on her chin. “If I had to guess, it almost seemed like he was running.”

“Well, of course he was running!” Pinkie said. “He was running from Shadewolves and Timberwolves!”

The lavender unicorn shook her head. “I don’t think it’s that simple, Pinkie. There were places before Ponyville that he could have stopped at to recover. I don’t understand why he kept going.”

“Or why he traveled by land,” Applejack added. “Don’t they have train tracks up by the Shades?”

Twilight nodded. “I was wondering that as well. And they do, and a week ago, the stallion could have gotten on a train and ridden here. That would have been far safer than running all the way down here.” She looked at Pinkie. “That’s why I thought he was running from something. Nopony sane would do something that risky.

“Of course, that’s all assuming that he came from the Shades…”

“What do you mean?” asked Applejack.

“Doctor Irons told me that his vest came from Manehattan, and it was of high quality. The stallion said it was a gift from a friend, but I don’t know… something about his story didn’t seem right.”

“Did you talk with this mysterious stallion while you were at the hospital?” Rarity asked.

“I did. And let me tell you, that was an interesting experience.”

She quickly detailed her conversation with Prosa. Her friends’ facial expressions morphed into confused looks as she recalled the stallion’s half-answers.

“Maybe he has a talent for getting out of interrogations?” Rainbow suggested.

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think so, Rainbow. From what I saw, Dusk Prosa doesn’t even have a Cutie Mark.”

There were gasps of incredulity at that, and her friends clamored for an explanation. Twilight felt a bit of shame creep up on her as she admitted that she couldn’t completely understand why Dusk did not have a Mark.

“He explained it as such,” she tried. “He chose not to pursue a talent for all of his life.”

“But that’s impossible!” Rarity exclaimed. “Nopony can go their whole life without getting their Mark! It happens spontaneously!”

“That’s what I told him,” Twilight responded. “Know what he said back?”

“What?” Fluttershy asked.

“‘So is surviving attacks from Shadewolves and Timberwolves.’” She shivered. “He said it like it was some sort of sick joke.” She grimaced as she remembered that frosty grin of his, dripping with sarcasm and morbid amusement.

She took a moment to recollect her thoughts. “One thing’s for certain. He’s definitely intelligent.”

Her friends remained silent, unsure of what to say. Twilight cringed as she remembered one last detail, and her friends noticed her unease.

“Oh, no,” Fluttershy murmured. “More bad news.”

“Maybe…”

She took a moment to compose herself. “Before I left, I managed to take a look at his belongings without him noticing. While I couldn’t take the bag home for further investigation, I did manage to sneak something out.”

At this, her horn glowed, and she suddenly summoned an object from across the room. The girls gasped at what they saw.

It was a clear-white syringe, the needle endpoint stuck out. It was empty, and seemed clean, though they couldn’t tell for sure.

“You stole this?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight blushed slightly. “Not exactly. It’s more like I took it for… further analysis.”

“Twilight?” Rarity asked, a bit of trepidation creeping into her voice. “What does this mean?”

“He had quite the stash,” Twilight said. “His bag, from my brief look, had syringes of various sizes, all empty. I suspect that he planned on using them soon.”

“Using them? For what?” Pinkie asked.

The other girls shared looks of realization. Applejack grit her teeth and hid her face behind her hat. Fluttershy eeped and looked away, while Rainbow narrowed her eyes. Rarity looked away, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

“Pinkie,” Twilight said, “I think Dusk Prosa was planning on self-injection.”

The silence that followed those words could have weighed down giants. Nopony in the room could believe that they had one of those ponies in their town. Sure, there had been rumors that a wave of needle enthusiasts were sweeping the eastern side of Equestria, but police were quick to pull the plug on the various operations. Yet, with Prosa here, it seemed that the operations had not truly been defeated, and had, in fact, relocated to somewhere else. Ponyville.

“Twilight? What do we do?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight hesitated, unsure if they could even do anything. “I’m… not sure. I’m really hoping I’m wrong about this. I’d like more evidence that Dusk is actually doing this stuff before we do anything we might regret.”

“Maybe he’s got a weird obsession with sharp stuff?” Rainbow suggested. She winced as she realized what she said. “Actually, that’s probably not any better.”

“Should we tell the Princesses?” Rarity asked.

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t think so. We’re already having a country-wide manhunt. I don’t want to bother them with rumors of a potential user.”

They nodded, a thoughtful silence falling over them. After some time, Fluttershy asked, “Do you think he could be dangerous?”

Twilight took a moment to think before answering, “No, I don’t think so. But… he’s calculating. Like he’s working from every angle that only he can see. He seems determined to do something; but I don’t know what.” She exhaled slowly. “Regardless if he’s dangerous or not, he does need to be watched.” The five other girls murmured their agreement.

After a few more parting words, the five eventually left the library. Dusk Prosa consumed their thoughts and blocked out everything else—meaning that they missed a certain confused trio of fillies who had eavesdropped from outside, unsure of what the group had talked about yet still understanding that it was something serious. Three faces shared uncertain looks as the five walked away, before leaving for their respective establishments to think.

Despite the illumination of the afternoon sun, it was not bright enough to clear away the murky fog that Dusk Prosa brought with him. And the fog would only grow thicker as the days went on.

Comments

[way_2_spooky_4_u]

How could Prosa be injecting himself if all of his needles were empty?