Morning Meir Mysteries: Case 1: A Mad Mare Affair

by XombieSlayr

Chapter 12: "Sapiens Timet Veritatem."

Chapter 12: "Sapiens Timet Veritatem."

The calm summer breeze, mixed with the sweet perfume scent of the various bushes of lilac that grew along the park's hedges, gave me a feeling of tranquility. Even with Ms. Gold Digger sticking so close to me, her hooves were practically up my back.

Ever since we had returned to Mareposa, she had been on edge. She tried to mask it with her normal snobbish chit chat, or some random inquiry about the weather. But I could tell; she was nervous about something. No...more than that.

She was scared.

I turned to her, causing her to suddenly jump back a few feet, as if I'd suddenly turned around brandishing a butcher's knife.

"What in the world's gotten into you, Ms. Digger? You've been on edge ever since we arrived back in Mareposa." I asked with genuine concern.

She looked at me, with wide alert eyes. "Of course I'm on edge, Ms. Meir! I may not believe in their whole world domination ideals, but I'm still a member of The Circle. If any of their contacts sees me out here with you, who knows what they'll do!" She exclaimed in a worried tone.

"I agree that you should take some caution. But jumping at the slightest sneeze and duck taping yourself to my backside will raise far more suspicion than simply trotting alongside me." I explained.

She sighed and nodded her head. "You're right, I know, but....

She trailed off, as after a long walk through downtown, we had finally come to the great gates of The Mareposa Cathedral.

Mareposa Cathedral, Outer Gates, 2:15 pm

It stood massive, surrounded by great iron bars that towered over us. As it loomed over the area, I couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. Perhaps it was because this place now had some great significance to itself, other than being a mere landmark. Something about this place held something within. Something that drew the interest of a maniacal pony (Or other) bent on a goal of dominating civilization. Of course it didn't help that the whole place resembled a castle from a horror movie.

As we stood and stared at the Victorian grandeur of the place, I suddenly noticed something. The great gates were closed, and locked up tight. As well as several parts of the cathedral were in disrepair. Shards missing from windows, pillars missing portions and parts of the roof had caved in. What had happened here?

I then saw a rather portly construction pony standing at the gate, enjoying a sandwich. A can of brass paint lay opened at his hooves. Perhaps he would know something about the cathedral being in such a state, I thought.

"Excuse me, sir?"

He turned and with his mouth full, and spoke in a thick Manehatten accent. "Whatchu wat?" he said. He swallowed to make it easier to talk (And in my opinion, it's just rude to talk with your mouth full) "This area's off limits, missy." he drawled.

"I just wanted ask you some questions is all."

He rolled his eyes at me. "Fine, whateva. Just's long as I don gotta get back to my work." He snorted. My opinion of this guy dropped lower and lower, the more I stood in proximity of him. Nonetheless, he had to know something about what was going on.

Questioning (Greasy Bolts, Construction worker, May have details regarding the disheveled state of The Cathedral, 2:23 pm)

I took a moment to calm my nerves as I asked my first question. "What's going on with The Cathedral? Did something happen?"

"Yeah, sometin happn'd. These rich nobodies started excavati'n the place. Hired me to clean up debris and wat'not."

"And the paint?"

"For touch'n up any of dem brass ornaments that mighta gott'n damaged in the process."

"You said their excavating? What are they looking for?"

"No clue. Tell you what though, I'm surprised at the sort of ponies that are so interested in this thing."

Me and Gold Digger both raised an eyebrow. "What do mean? What sort of ponies?" I asked quickly.

"Heh. None of them look like archaeologists to me." he scoffed.

"And...what do they look like?"

"Three piece suits, cuff links, fancy shoes, black fezzes."

"But no archaeologist dresses like that!"

He smiled. "I know. See? It's all mighty suspicious I tells ya."

So something was definitely going on at the Cathedral. That much was clear. But was it The Circle?

It certainly sounded like it.

I thanked the construction worker and went around the corner to think things over. I had to get into that excavation. I had to see what was going on. Whatever it was, It sounded like The Circle had made their move on the Cathedral. Rather than just buy the place, they had decided to take what they wanted from it personally. And I had to find out what it was. And stop them, as well.

"Gold Digger, you stay here." I told her.

"W-What?? You...you can't just leave me here!"

"Relax. I'm going to find a way in. It's better if you stay out here in the open. It's me they're really after. They'll worry about me, before you."

"I guess that's true. Fine...just, don't get caught."

"Thanks."

"Or killed."

"Yes, thank you."

I left her at the corner and began to study the area. I surveyed the gates. Very well maintained, and quite intimidating from the ground. I wasn't a Pegasus, and I wasn't very good at climbing over iron bars, so that strategy was out. I walked around the corner and spotter a back entrance into the place. It was guarded of course, but there was only one.

A light blue, skinny earth pony in a guard's uniform , stood near the door that led into the back of the Cathedral. He was clearly a young colt, and seemed rather nervous given to how he kept looking left and right. He was on the lookout for something.

As I approached him, I hoped it wasn't me.

"Hello sir. How are you doing tod-

I yelped as the young guard suddenly, rounded on me. "Not another step! Who are you, what are you doing here? Explain. Now!" He shouted.

I was so rattled by his outburst that I hesitated before answering as quickly and calmly as I could. "My name is Morning Meir. I'm a doctor, and I just wanted to ask you about the excavation going on here. That's all."I said softly. The poor colt was clearly quite on edge. I wondered what had him so alert...and paranoid.

His expression softened a bit, but his eyes remained locked on me. "I've heard of you. Famous doctor from Equestria. We'll we don't need a doctor around here, so you can just move along. This site is restricted to the public."

I raised an eyebrow. "On who's authority?"

"The ones paying me, miss. They've made it clear I am not to allow anypony through this door. No exceptions." He said sternly.

He was doing a very good job at acting serious. But he didn't fool me. The way his eyes were darting around slightly, trying to keep a good look at everything at once. The shakiness of his hooves and the slight quiver of anxiety in his voice. The way he tried to put space between him and the door, as he pretended to look around. He wasn't scared. He was terrified. Not of something that was going to show up at the door. But of what was already inside the Cathedral.

"What's your name?" I asked kindly.

His act didn't falter. "And why should I tell you?"

I sighed. "I know you're afraid of something. But I can't help you if you don't tell me anything."

His eyes softened, as he backed up a bit. The stern tone in his voice began to waver. "What are you talking about?"

I smiled as I tried to calm him down. "I'm a doctor. I know when someone is in distress. Be it physical or otherwise." I explained. "I can help you. Just please, tell me: What is it your so afraid of?"

He paused for a moment, before his eyes suddenly grew to the size of dinner plates. "Y-You...You don't wanna go in there, miss. They...They said I had to guard this door. I have to...or else." The panic in his voice was now completely clear.

"Just calm down. Take a deep breath. Collect your thoughts, and tell me what's going on."

There was a long pause where the guard said nothing. Then after taking a deep breath, his voice calmed down a bit as he explained what he could.

"These...aristocrats. They payed off a huge construction firm to start excavating in the basement of The Cathedral. It's been condemned for years, so no one thought anything of it, but..."

"But??" I urged.

"I'm sorry I don't know any details. But...the noises. The things they were talking about. I...didn't want to be in there anymore. I asked if I could leave. Then they ordered me to guard the door while they "worked."

"Worked? Worked on what?"

"I don't know anything else Ms. Meir. I-I....I have to guard this door. I can't let you in. At least if I do what they ask, I know I'm safe."

"Listen, I know your scared. I am too. But, I have to get in there. You don't know whats at stake!"

"I'm willing to risk it, Ms.Meir. I have to get back to work. Sorry."

The somber look in his eyes told me, he had made up his mind. He couldn't let me in. And I didn't want him risking himself just to let me in, either. I had to find my own way in. That way, at least they wouldn't blame him for letting me through.

I turned my back to him as I analyzed my surroundings. Nothing of use was around here. Then a few feet down from where we stood, I saw a bathroom. It had a sturdy lock on it as well. Probably to keep others from using it when the Cathedral wasn't open. I saw several cans of what seemed to be wall plaster sitting near the door as well.

Then I got an idea. I only hoped it would work.

"Excuse me, sir?"

The guard turned away from me. "I already told you, miss. I can't let you-

"Can I please have the key to use the restroom? It will only be a moment." I said simply.

"Oh, well yes. Of course." He took his key ring off his belt and handed it to me. "The brass one with the letter R on it."

"Thank you!" I said, taking the keys and making my way over to the door. I used the brass key, and heard the lock click on the other side. I opened the door and closed it behind me.

Mareposa Cathedral Restroom, 2:34 pm

The restroom was, to put it nicely, nothing fancy. A closet with a toilet and (hopefully) working sink. Chunks of the wall were missing exposing the various piping and wiring beneath. Even the bathrooms in the Cathedral were not spared from its current state. I was amazed that it managed to at least smell half decent. (Then again, perhaps my sinuses were still singed from my time down in the sewers.)

I knew I didn't have much time, so I got to work. I went over to the sink and picked up a bar of soap left on the edge. I took out the guard's keys and started going through them. Unfortunately for the guard, they had all been labeled accordingly, so I had no trouble finding the right one.

I stopped at the one that said "Cathedral Maintenance Key" and firmly pressed it hard into the soap, so when I removed it, it left a near perfect indentation of the key in it.

Setting the keys down, I spotted the cans of plaster left over by the wall, and moved over to the opened one. Very carefully, I dipped the mold into the plaster, then tilted it to make sure no extra plaster stuck to the soap.

I examined it, and it had worked! The plaster had created a perfect replica of the key!

I took the mold over to the hoof dryer on the wall, and turned it on, letting the heat speed up the process. It had taken a while, but a few minutes later, I had made myself a completely unconvincing plaster key.

Being made of plaster, this thing was too fragile to use on any lock. But that's not what I had made it for: I planned to substitute it for the real one.

But of course, the key looked like plaster, not metal. I had an idea to fix that as well, but I needed help to do it. In the meantime, I had taken up enough time in here. I had to return the keys to the guard.

I gently pocketed the plaster key, then exited the restroom.

I handed the keys back to the guard, who thanked me quickly before turning away. I went back out to the park, to see Gold Digger waiting for me on a park bench.

"What happened? Did you get in?" She asked.

"Not yet. I have to use a phone."

"A phone?? What do need a phone-

"It's important. Is there one out here."

Gold Digger looked very confused and a little annoyed. But she pointed to a phone booth down the pathway, near the park fountain.

I quickly trotted over to it, and dropped a bit into the coin slot. Putting the receiver to my ear, I dialed in the number to Ralah and Salah's suite in the Trottingham Le Grande.

It rang for a few minutes until a familiar, and extremely cheerful sounding mare picked up the other line. "Hotel Salah! Salah speaking." she said happily.

"Salah? It's Meir. Listen, I found out a few things you guys need to hear, but right now I need you to do something for me, kay?"

"Ooh, is it a secret mission?" She asked eagerly.

"Uh...sure."

"Awesome! What do you need me to do?" She asked.

I looked back to see if the construction worker was still at the front gate. He was still there, and was now eating a rather large box of powdered donuts. (What did they pay this guy for again?)

I turned my attention back to Salah. "I need you to distract somepony for a few minutes. Can you do that?"

Salah laughed on the other line. "You know who you're talking to? This is what I was born for! You just do what you have to, and I'll keep em on the line for days if you need me to!" she said confidently.

"Great! You stay on the line, I'll go get him."

"Will do!"

I put the receiver up so the call wouldn't end, then made my way back over to Greasy Bolts. He had his muzzle halfway into the doughnut box, and hadn't even seen me until now.

He looked up from his box. "You again? Watta you want now?"

"There's a phone call for you in the park booth. It sounded really important."

"Me? You sure?"

"They said they wanted to speak to a "Greasy Bolts." You know anyone else by that name?"

Greasy suddenly straightened up and looked out at the booth. "Yeah. Yeah okay. I'll go see what they need." With that he put on his hat, and made his way over to the phone booth in the park, leaving his can of brass paint completely unguarded.

Keeping an eye on him, I quickly took out my plaster key then dipped it into the brass paint. I let it work for a minute or two, before pulling it out. The plaster had completely taken to the paint, and it now looked to be made of brass. It still felt like plaster though.

I went back over to Gold Digger, who looked at me like I was out of my mind. But what did it matter? My plan had worked so far. Now for the next step.

I went back to the guard, who seemed to immediately put his guard mode at full power as I trotted towards him. Gold Digger merely watched from the corner.

"Miss, I already-

"I have to use the bathroom again!"

"What?? But it's only been-

"I forgot to wash my hooves."

"Oh. well....alright. Fine."

He handed me the key ring again, and I went over to the bathroom once more. Once back inside, I swiftly removed the real key and replaced it with my plaster copy, pocketing the real one in the process. I waited a few minutes to make it seem like I was actually doing anything in here, then went back outside.

I held my breath, and hoped that he wouldn't notice the substitution, as I gave him back the keys. "Thanks. Here's your keys back." I said thankfully.

To my great relief, he didn't so much as hesitate taking the keys back, and put them back on his belt without a second thought. I simply trotted back over to Gold Digger, who desperately needed some form of explanation, so she could at least know that I wasn't insane.

"Meir. I'm begging you. Please tell me this is all part of your plan."

"This is all part of my plan."

"Oh, thank Celestia."

"And now I need you to do something for me."

"Me?? What?"

"I need you to go distract the guard, so I can unlock the door into the Cathedral."

"And just what am I supposed to say? I don't know him!"

"You're Gold Digger! Richest Mare in Europa! You don't need to know him: He only needs to know you."

The mere thought of talking to anypony below her class, seemed to make Gold Digger slightly ill. But she nodded anyway. "Fine. I'll grace the poor colt with my presence. Just...don't make me regret this!" she said anxiously, as she flipped back her mane and made her way over to the guard.

I couldn't hear what she had said to him, but not more than a second later, she had led him away from the door, into the park. I stopped to see Greasy still in the phone booth, and he was crying his eyes out for some reason. I decided to not think about it right now, and get on with what I came here for

I returned to the now unguarded back entrance into the Cathedral, and rather then going straight in, I...stopped. My instincts suddenly flared up, alerting me to the extreme danger that was behind this door. Something about all of it, it felt....wrong. Anxiety gripped my body as I turned the key, then against my better judgement, slipped inside the Cathedral, shutting and locking the door behind me.

Mareposa Cathedral, Back Lobby, 2:56 pm

The scene that awaited me was certainly not what I had expected. I came into a large empty room, with a massive gaping hole in the floor, that extended an unknown amount of feet down into the depths of the Cathedral's basement. A ladder, connecting to several platforms led the way down.

A strange feeling arose in my stomach. An incredibly strong sense of foreboding suddenly accosted my nerves like a freezing cold wind. Everything in my brain was screaming at me to leave. That I shouldn't go down there. But I had no choice. I had to get to the bottom of all this. What were The Circle after down here? And what had both me and that poor guard so...uneasy?

I ignored the terror that crept up my spine as I made my way down the series of ladders and platforms, taking a lit torch in one hoof, to light my descent.

The further down I went, the colder it seemed to get. The silent terror didn't go away. It moved itself around inside me. Trying desperately to get my attention. I had never in my life felt so scared, without even knowing why. And that just scared me even more.

As I finally reached the bottom, my brain decided to ignore my fear, and focus on making out the image of the nightmarish creature that now faced me in the shadows.

I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out. As I waited for the worst, I realized to my great relief that what I was facing, was merely a statue. I managed to catch my breath as I felt my heart ready to fly right out of my chest.

I took several minutes to calm myself, before studying the statue.

It towered over me, carved of some type of black stone that gave off a rough texture in the dim light of my torch. It was straight out of a nightmare. A true nightmare. One that your brain forces you to forget come morning, as it would terrify you into shock if you didn't. Except this time, I wasn't asleep. And the nightmare was all too real.

A disturbingly tall, bipedal creature with several appendages jutting out from its bulbous torso, and no head. But it had eyes. Too many. Huge glaring orbs that dotted every inch of the creature's body, that seemed to all be looking directly at me. It looked like a huge puzzle of several sea creatures, that had been carelessly put back into some distorted, random order, creating a new, all too unsettling abomination in its place.

I struggled to comprehend just what I was looking at, but It was all in vain. Never in my life had I ever seen a creature as horrible and disturbing as this. Questions began flaring up in my mind like thousands of unstable fireworks. And I didn't have an answer for any of them.

I suddenly felt that I was being watched. I felt eyes, not in front of me. But behind me.

Then I heard a gasp behind me, and spun around, ready to strike whoever was trying to get the jump on me. But I stopped mid swing, as I saw who it was.

"Hey!! Whoa! Take it easy! It's me, alright!" Gold Digger exclaimed, putting her hooves up in defense.

For a moment I was very happy to see her. Something about being down here by myself. With only this.....thing, to keep me company. It made one very glad to see another pony down here. I had now entered a glimpse of a world I knew I shouldn't have. But at least now I didn't have to go alone.

As my senses returned to me, I now had many questions for her. But she asked first.

"What in the name of Celestia are you doing down here?! I came in to see if you were in trouble, and-W-What in.....WHAT IS THAT!?"

She nearly fell over backwards as she spotted the statue behind me. She tried to scream but no sound came out. Mostly because I had cupped my hoof to her mouth, as I heard voices down the hall.

"It came from down here!" A rough voice said. I heard hooves coming down the hall, and knew we had to hide. Unfortunately, there was only one place we could hide.

I grabbed Gold Digger by her hoof, and managed to get both of us behind the statue just as the two stallions entered the room. We held our breath as we had to stand on our hind legs to safely hide behind the statue.

"I could've sworn..."

"Forget it, we have work to do down here. Now, come on! You don't want to disappoint The Grand Master."

When I was sure that the coast was clear, we came out from behind the statue. Well, I did. Gold Digger unfortunately had apparently tuned out, and was now curled up behind the thing. Apparently too scared to move from the spot. I didn't blame her.

Now that I had a chance to look around, I saw that we were no longer in the Cathedral, but were now standing in the rotunda of a large temple, that had apparently The Cathedral had been built over top of. But why was it so far underground? How long ago was the place built?

As I looked around, Gold Digger came out from behind the statue, although she didn't look any less terrified. "W-What are you doing?" she asked me.

"This temple....it's strange. Clearly this place was built to serve some sort of purpose. These symbols...I've never seen anything like them before. What could they mean?" I wondered aloud, examining rows of bizarre glyphs that stretched around the base of the statue.

"Who cares what they mean! Let's get out of here!" Gold Digger whispered loudly.

"No! We can't leave yet, didn't you hear? The Grand Master might be down here!" I replied.

"Yes, which is exactly the reason we need to leave!"

I could tell she was scared. As was I, but I hadn't come this far just to turn tail now."This could be our only chance to really find out who....or what The Grand Master is. Are you even a little curious as to why they're really doing all this? Who they really are?"

Gold Digger looked quite annoyed at my question, but I could tell she was taking it into thought. As much as she wanted to leave, if she had the chance to find out who The Grand Master was, then she shouldn't pass it up.

Finally, she agreed (albeit reluctantly) to stay with me as we explored this place. But if things would get too dangerous (for either of us) we would leave as soon as we could. There was no point in finding out anything about The Grand Master if we just ended up getting killed doing it after all.

I had no idea at that time just how dangerous things would soon be getting for us. And I couldn't have possibly imagined the horrifying truth we would discover down there. A truth that not only changed the entire spectrum of this case.

But the entire scope of what I thought could be real.