The Everfree Files

by kaminakat

Canterlot, 5:00 pm

2, 1, B1…

A column of plastic elevator lights took turns glowing to life before fading out as the floor they represented was passed by. The paper inserts behind the plastic were faded, washed out by the passage of time. The elevator went from the second floor all the way down to a sixth basement floor. A single overhead light illuminated the old lift with a yellowish glow. The metal walls were scratched and faded, and the doors even worse for wear. The light wasn’t bright enough to reach the corners of the lift; its passengers would be flanked on all sides by shadows. Many a pony would complain of the claustrophobia caused by this place.

In the center of the lift stood a single mare: a unicorn named Moondancer. She wore a black dress shirt and pair of thick-rimmed glasses. Her mane was carefully groomed and tied back out of her face. Around her neck hung an ID badge sealed in a plastic casing, attached to a simple black plastic cord. She watched the lights change as the floors passed, feeling uncomfortable in the foreboding lift. She had been quite surprised at the state of the elevator when she had boarded on the second floor. When she had arrived at the building a few minutes ago, she had been greeted by a professional looking establishment. Equestrian Bureau of Investigations was displayed in large silver letters, centered above the doorway. Underneath it was a smaller line of text to denote it as the Canterlot branch of the Bureau. Inside, the second floor (the entry floor, the building was housed on a hill) had been nothing if not pristine. The elevator felt out of place; it was old, musty, and dark.

Aiming to distract herself from her discomfort, Moondancer grabbed the ID card hanging around her neck and held it up to the light.

Special Agent Dancer, EBI - Canterlot

It still felt a little unreal each time she read that title. Not long ago she had been a recluse, only spending her time at home or the local library. Luckily, one day Twilight Sparkle remembered that Canterlot was a place that existed. She had come back to try to reconnect with her old friends, which had included tracking down Moondancer. Come back to rub your princess status in everypony’s face, huh? How very thoughtful of you.

After Twilight’s numerous attempts to reconnect and a long-overdue breakdown, Moondancer put her hostility aside. She accepted Twilight, and their other old friends from school, back into her life.

Things had been much better after that, having her other friends in town and Twilight visiting whenever she could. On one of her visits, Twilight had suggested applying for a position at the EBI. Moondancer was uncertain at first, but after some research she ended up taking her friend’s suggestion. It was “a shame to let such a powerful mind go unchallenged” after all, at least according to Twilight.

As the light for BF 4 finally began to glow the elevator rumbled and stopped in place. The doors squeaked as they slid open.

Moondancer stepped out into a dark hallway. The ceiling was absent, all manner of pipes visible. A few overhead lights hummed faintly, barely lighting the hallway. She heard the elevator doors squeak closed behind her as she began to traverse the dark passage.

“Let’s see…no, that’s a bathroom…another bathroom…janitor’s closet…storage closet…” she muttered to herself as she passed by each door in the hallway. Reaching the end of the hallway, she was presented with a single door.

Room 42 – Agent Strings – Everfree Files

She read over the faded silver plaque a second time, confirming that it was her destination. That department name still puzzled her. Everfree Files. She had been met with a variety of confused responses when she had brought it up in conversation with other ponies. Her superiors had informed her that her work would entail “unusual cases”, and that she was to report to this Agent Strings. Miss Strings had taken over heading the Everfree Files after its prior head had went into retirement about a year ago. That was the extent of the information Moondancer had been able to find regarding her new position.

She took a deep breath and opened the door.

The room was bigger than she had imagined. It was only lit about as well as the hallway preceding it; the same dim hanging lights hummed over the office. The walls were covered with posters, newspaper articles, pages of magazines and erratic drawings. There were several file cabinets with piles of file folders on and around them on the floor. Against the back wall of the room was a large black desk. A pair of mint green hooves were crossed and propped up on top of it, while a large opened newspaper obscured the rest of the pony sitting behind it.

“Hey rookie, bout time you showed up!” said the pony at the desk as Moondancer approached them. Hearing this froze her in place. She recognized the voice.

“Lyra?”

The newspaper lowered to reveal a confused Lyra Heartstrings. After a split second of processing, a warm smile came across her face.

“Moondancer! What are you doing here?” Lyra hopped up out of her chair. Moondancer gave a gentle smile in return and offered a hoof to shake. Lyra grabbed it and pulled Moondancer into a tight hug. Moondancer let out a small squeak, being taken off-guard. Lyra pulled back and looked at her with excitement.

“Wait, are you my new partner?”

Moondancer reached down and bit gently onto the top of her ID badge and pulled it up so Lyra could see.

“Ashent Dansher at your servish.”

Lyra gave out a squeal of delight. Moondancer watched as her new partner jumped to and fro with glee, knocking around some stray papers on the floor. My, she certainly is an excitable one.

Moondancer gave a soft, awkward laugh as she took a seat in a folding chair set up on the other side of Lyra’s desk.

“So Lyra, what is this department all about? These ‘Everfree Files’, what exactly are they?” As Lyra sat down and regained her composure, Moondancer glanced at one of the magazine clippings on the wall. (Princess Celestia: Replaced by a Lizard-Pony!?)

“This is the coolest job in the whole Bureau,” said Lyra. “Have you been to the Everfree Forest just outside of Ponyville?”

“No, I can’t say that I have.”

Lyra pulled open a drawer in her desk and retrieved a photograph. She looked at it with a grin as she pushed the drawer back in.

“Well, the Everfree Forest is a very unusual place. The weather there changes without the aid of pegasi, plants grow without the aid of earth ponies…”

Lyra placed the photograph face-up on the desk.

“…and all manner of strange phenomenon occur there on a regular basis.”

Moondancer pulled the picture closer to her and examined it. The photograph showed what appeared to be a stone statue of Twilight Sparkle. The lighting was very poor; it was obviously taken at night. A dense forest could be seen in the background of the shot. Must be this “Everfree Forest” Lyra is referring to.

“How exactly is a statue of Twilight considered a strange phenomenon?” she asked. The only strange thing she could ascertain from the picture was the odd look on the statue’s face. It wore a surprised face, as if Twilight had just stepped on a previously unnoticed snake. She also noted that the statue lacked Twilight’s wings, so it could not have been made recently. But why would someone make a statue of Twilight before she was a princess? And why in the middle of an apparently uninviting forest?

“That isn’t a statue,” said Lyra. “That IS Twilight. Or, it was. She’s fine now, this was taken ages ago.”

Moondancer furrowed her brow.

“Turning a pony to stone requires higher level spells. This must have been done by a very gifted unicorn.”

“It wasn’t a pony at all,” said Lyra with a chuckle. She placed another photograph on the desk for her partner to see.

“It was a cockatrice!”

Moondancer slid the picture over to her. This photograph was no doubt taken in the same location; it was just as dark and shared the same forest backdrop. This time, however, there were two subjects in the frame. On the right was a light yellow pegasus, average height, long pink mane. She wore a stern look, and it seemed to be directed toward the photograph’s other subject. The subject in question was an odd-looking creature. Its head was that of a chicken, albeit with much redder eyes. The body, however, looked like a miniature dragon. Green scales, small green dragon-esque wings, and a long tail dragging behind it. The creature was about half the height of the pegasus, and was cowering into the ground.

“A cocka-wah?” Moondancer asked listlessly.

“A cocka-trice!”

Moondancer pushed the photograph back to Lyra.

“There is no such thing as a cockatrice. They’re just an old pony’s tale.”

Lyra leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes and laughing dryly to herself. Moondancer gave her a concerned look. Was she always such an odd pony?

“You will learn very quickly in this line of work that most old pony’s tales are true.” As Lyra concluded her retort, she opened her eyes and contently gazed around at the walls. A soft rattling sound came from the ceiling.

“That is the sort of thing that we investigate. Bizarre occurrences. Cases that cannot be explained. When conventional means have been exhausted…” Lyra placed a hoof out over her desk. The rattling came to a head and then ceased as a scroll fell from the ceiling just above the desk. It landed perfectly in Lyra’s hoof.

“…they call us.”

Moondancer glanced up at the ceiling. One of the pipes ended with a sort of downward spout right above the desk. As she brought her eyes back down to her partner, Lyra had opened the scroll and begun reading.

“So we’re like paranormal investigators?” asked Moondancer.

“That would be a good title for us, yes!”

Well that explains the odd looks. Moondancer had been anticipating a high level position. Some special job that only a pony as gifted and studied as her could possibly perform. Solving locked-room murders against all odds. Not chasing shadows.

I will just ask to be relocated. She wouldn’t make a big fuss out of it, no reason to. She would just request to be reassigned. She would implore her higher-ups to keep it discreet. Lyra would be none the wiser.

Moondancer felt a pang of guilt. Lyra is your friend. That’s no way to treat a friend and you know it.

It was true. Moondancer didn’t have many friends, and the small amount that she did have she truly cared for. She had also spent the least amount of time recently with Lyra out of everypony. It was harder to see her since she lived in Ponyville. This job would certainly be a good opportunity to spend some time together.

“Well, looks like you got here just in time. We have a case.” Lyra set the letter down and got up from her desk. With a spark of magic, she withdrew a shoulder bag from behind her desk and slung it around her neck. She walked right past Moondancer and toward the door.

“Wait, right now?” asked Moondancer, getting up from her seat.

“Uh, yeah. They aren’t paying us to sit.”

As Lyra exited, Moondancer looked around the room a final time. She glanced down at her ID badge.

Agent Dancer.

She would give it a chance. She could always ask for a transfer later on anyway.

Moondancer closed the office door behind her as she entered the dark hallway. She jogged for a moment to catch up with Lyra. The two ponies entered the elevator, and Lyra hit the button for the second floor.

“So, where are we going?” asked Moondancer.

“Ponyville!” Lyra smiled at the topic of her home.

“What’s the case then?”

“Oh, some giant unspeakable monster crawled out of the forest and scared a local half to death. Not the most exciting first case, sorry Dancer.”

Moondancer laughed nervously as the elevator began its ascent.

Comments

[JFalk]

A MLP/The X-Files crossover? Intrigued...