The Anthro-Phantom

by JesterOfDestiny

Chapter 3

Now with renewed confidence, Lyra walked up to the stage. She was practically gleaming with energy. She was ready to tackle the issue and beat the truth out of it. Just the way I like to see her.

“Wait with the re-burial just yet Franz,” she exclaimed with enthusiasm, “we’re going to set this straight.” She waved her hoof around in a bombastic manner.

“Aren’t you afraid of the curse?” Franz worried.

“Pf, I’m not afraid of things that don’t exist.” She boasted.

“I don’t know, I don’t really feel like risking it.”

“There’s absolutely no risk to it, I guarantee!”

Hazel and Marge looked a bit concerned. They were happy about the ghost just moments ago. “Are you sure it’s a safe thing to do?” Hazel asked. “Tampering with the skeleton is probably the last thing it wants.”

“Oh it wants nothing. It’s dead.” Lyra declared. “I am sure that somepony is behind this whole thing and I’m gonna find out who.”

Hazel and Marge looked at each other, then back at Lyra. “But why would anypony do such a thing?” Asked Marge.

Lyra put her hoof up to her chin, to think for a moment. “I guess we’ll find out. Before our train back to Ponyville departs tomorrow, I’ll have it all figured out.” She declared with an almost dangerous amount of confidence.

They looked anxious. Especially Hazel and Marge. I guess Hazel believes in humans now, if she believes in the skeleton’s curse.

“Alright, let’s do it.” Franz agreed reluctantly. “But on the first sign, that the curse is real, we’ll put the skeleton back.”

Lyra agreed and gave her word. They went away, but the journalist from before stopped them to ask a few questions. Lyra approached me.

“I’d say that was a much more impressive spectacle.” I joked, referring to her attitude from just a few minutes ago.

Lyra looked around. “So, where do you propose we start?”

“We should look at what happened, analyse the incident.”

“I think I can help you with that.” Twilight walked up to the two of us with the camera. “It was my job to document everything, after all.” She seemed eager to participate in this investigation of ours.

“Of course,” said Lyra, “the pictures will be really useful.”

“Unfortunately, I kind of forgot to take pictures during the event. I only made two and in a very agitated state, so they’re not very good.”

Lyra flipped through the pictures. Lots of crowd shots, pictures of the participants, the start of the presentation, then a very blurry image of the ghost, a blurry image of the shocked crowd, then some better ones of the aftermath. Lyra selected the two pictures took during the incident and tried to spot anything interesting.

“I think I can just make out what’s happening.” She said. “You can clearly see the light sources.”

“Let me see them.” I suggested. Lyra levitated the two pictures so I could see them too.

“The first one with the ghost is the most interesting. You can just make out the 3D projector.” She pointed at a pretty obvious flare inside the window.

“Yes, you can even see the light from it going towards the ghost.”

“You think it was a projection?” Twilight wondered. “Then how was the voice done?”

“Bon Bon said something to me, when she tried to cheer me up.” Lyra pondered. “By the way thanks for that! She said that the voice came from somewhere else.”

“I actually kind of made that up.” I admitted with an awkward smile.

“No, you’re right. The ghost was right above me, but I distinctly remember hearing its voice from behind me. It came from the crowd.”

“So you’re saying,” Twilight questioned, “that somepony in the crowd was voicing the ghost? How did nopony notice that?“

“I don’t know, is there a way to make your voice sound so different?” I asked.

“WELL OF COURSE THERE IS!” Twilight said in Tirek’s voice, which scared both of us. It scared Lyra so much, she launched herself onto my neck. Twilight laughed and apologized. “Sorry. But yes, there is a spell for that. But the question remains, how did nopony notice that?”

“I guess in situations like this,” Lyra speculated while climbing off my neck, “some things just slip by your notice... Or the perpetrator is a not so talented ventriloquist.”

“What about the other picture?” Twilight inquired.

I leaned over to look at it. “I can just make out Persy over there and Hazel next to him.” I said.

“Interesting,” Lyra noticed something, “Hazel’s horn seems to be glowing.”

“So? A lot of horns are glowing in that crowd.”

“Yes, this doesn’t really prove anything. Still, it’s useful. Thanks Twilight!”

“No problem.” Twilight was glad to help. She took back the camera and left, leaving the two pictures with us.

“Let’s look into a few other things too.” Lyra suggested. “I think we should start with the 3D projector.”

So we walked up to the room the projector was in. Of course, the door was locked, but thankfully the handymare was nearby and she let us in. So there it was. The so fabled 3D projector. It looked just like a strange alien device that sort of resembles a traditional projector. We had no idea where to start with it. How do you even operate it? Fortunately, the handymare was happy to help. In her own dry voice, she began explaining.

“You put in the image here, then you adjust the distance here, mess around with various settings here and you activate it with your magic.”

“With magic you say?” Lyra inquired. “So only unicorns can operate it?”

“Precisely!”

“Kind of an odd way of doing it.” I commented.

“Well, the inventors really like combining unicorn magic with machinery.” The handymare explained. “There are many possibilities in stringing together simple spells, that activate each other. You just have to trigger the first one.”

“So the pony behind the ghost was a unicorn.” Lyra pondered.

“Why do you think so?” Asked the handymare.

“You just said, the machine can only be operated by unicorns.”

“Yes.” The handymare responded dryly. “I was the one operating it.”

“Oh”, Lyra thought for a few seconds, “Is it possible somepony got in without your notice?”

“Not a chance. I always lock this room”

“Did anypony other than you get in?” I asked.

“Yes. In fact, there were three. Princess Twilight, Marge and that one mare, I forgot the name of. Some sort of Blossom, or something.”

“Must be Hazel Blossom.” Lyra wondered. “Twilight is a bit unexpected though. What did they want?”

“They were curious about the 3D projector.”

“Makes sense. But still, what exactly did they want?”

“Nothing particularly interesting. Marge helped me calibrate it, Hazel and Twilight just wanted to learn. Although now that you mention it, Hazel was oddly fascinated by the image mechanism. But then again, she was nothing compared to Twilight.”

“Is it possible one of them switched the images?” I asked.

“Not a chance. Marge and I checked them after calibration, right before the presentation and after the ghost’s appearance. We too thought it was switched. But nope.”

“So somepony must have switched it in that tiny window of time.” Lyra thought out loud.

“I just said it wasn’t.” The handymare declared dryly.

“I’m sure it was switched after the calibration.” Lyra ruminated on the information. “I don’t know how exactly. Do you still have the image?”

“Nope, Marge took them away.”

“Marge huh?” I commented. “We better ask her about those then.”

So we did. We didn’t have to go too far, it did take like an hour of asking around, but we found her. She was having coffee with Hazel Blossom, in the hotel’s dining room. Those two hang out together a lot, I noticed. No matter, we were going to question Hazel too anyway. So we approached them.

“We’ve got a few questions for you Marge.” Lyra said bluntly.

“Oh? What is it?” Marge looked straight up from her coffee.

“We talked to the handymare and she said you two checked the images in the projector before and after the presentation.”

“Yes, that’s true. The image was fine. It was just the one we were meant to be using.”

“She also said that you took the images after the incident.”

“Yes I did. And they were still the correct images.”

“May I take a look at them?”

“Sure. I’ll even insert them into the projector for you.”

And so she stood up and left, taking Lyra with her. Lyra was polite and held the coffee for her with her magic. I waited for a moment, while they left us, then I turned to Hazel.

“Sorry, we had to cut short your coffee together.” I apologized.

“Not a problem at all.” She took a sip. “This is a very important investigation after all.” She said that with the same smile you’d give to a playing child.

“But now that we’re here, I might as well ask you a few questions too.” I sat down into the seat Marge was occupying moments ago. “The handymare told us you took a look at the projector”

She nodded.

“She also said, that you were particularly fascinated by the image mechanism. Is there a specific reason for that?”

“No, not really. It’s just a very neat little mechanism. It’s so complex, yet simple at the same time. I barely even understood most of the spells inside it.”

“I also have a slightly more personal question. I noticed that you and Marge hang out quite a lot nowadays. Why is that?”

“We might have very different opinions on a lot of things, but we agree on one important thing.” She paused to take a sip and gather her thoughts. “I always wished anthropology got a bit more attention, because there is definitely something behind all these discoveries and it would be great to really get to the bottom of it. As it turns out, Marge felt the same way. We’ve been planning a lot on how to further the science and how to attract more research.”

“You both said that the ghost presents a great opportunity. Why do you think that?”

“An ancient curse might just be the thing to get it going. It got the attention of the press. They already dubbed the ghost the anthro-phantom.”

“Anthro-phantom? It’s a catchy name, I give them that.”

“It sure is, isn’t it?”

“And one more question? Do you believe the... anthro-phantom, to be real?”

“Absolutely!”

“So in addition, do you think humans are real too?”

Hazel took a sip from her coffee to think her answer through. She took a drawn out glance at her drink, then came up with a straight, but not too firm “Yes.”

We met up with Lyra and Marge in the hall. They were already finished with the presentation’s images when we arrived. It would have been nice to see it, but oh well. I guess I already saw a demonstration. Anyway, Lyra didn’t seem to be too satisfied with the results, but Marge seemed plenty pleased with them.

“They’re real.” Marge declared when we arrived.

“The images are the ones we were supposed to be using.” Said Lyra with a slight air of disappointment. “No ghosts in there.”

“So you finally believe the anthro-phantom?” Asked Hazel in a complacent tone.

“Absolutely not.” Lyra sounded almost offended by that question. “It just means the case is trickier than I first thought. There are still plenty of clues to look for.” Then she paused for a moment and her slightly offended tone turned to bewildered. “Wait, what did you just call it?”

“The anthro-phantom.” Hazel answered with a grin.

“The anthro-phantom?” Lyra echoed. “I really hope you won’t catch me calling it that.”

“I have a question, if you don’t mind.” Marge interjected. “Do you think we did this?”

Lyra hesitated a bit, she thought hard about what to say. “Well, I try not to think of anything exact at this moment,” she said and paused again, “but you’re definitely on the list somewhere.”

Marge and Hazel seemed displeased with that answer, but their faces quickly changed. Marge seemed a bit concerned, while Hazel put on a smug, but somewhat angry expression.

“Well, I do hope Persy is on that list too,” she said, “if anypony would do such a thing, then it’s him.”

“Oh, there you are Heartstrings!” Speaking of the devil, there he was, with his obnoxious voice crashing through the air. “As you know,” he carried on, “I have been conducting my own research about the anthro-phantom-.”

“I bet I will say that by mistake at some point.” Lyra whispered to me.

“-And I think I have a pretty good theory on what happened.”

“Oh yeah?” Lyra said doubtfully. “Let’s hear it then.”

“I think the pony behind the anthro-phantom, is Franz Foals!” His declaration was followed by complete silence. This is where the sound of a cricket would have gone, as a cheap joke. But our expressions served as the aforementioned cricket instead.

“So you think he ruined his own research? For what purpose exactly?” Lyra asked in a condescending tone.

“I see you all doubt my theory,” Persy began again, “so let me clear it all up. Franz Foals didn’t ruin his career, he just simply ended it. You see, he’s retiring, all he needed is an excuse.”

“He is not retiring!” Lyra was downright outraged he would suggest such a thing.

“Oh really?” Persy said more obnoxiously than usual. “Why don’t you ask him about it?”

We looked at each other, then as he suggested, we did just that. We looked for Franz in his hotel room and he was there, packing up his stuff. They wanted to talk in private, but they didn’t mind me eavesdropping... At least, I’m sure they didn’t mind, because they didn’t make any precautions to stop me... Anyway, I overheard their conversation.

“I wanted to tell you this,” said Franz after a sigh, “I just didn’t know when or how. I guess the time has come and there’s no more time to think about it.” He paused. “I am retiring.”

“But why?” Lyra said, shocked, but no longer surprised by the news.

“It’s just been getting really tiring.” Franz continued. “All that searching for proof and arguing my case with ponies who never had any intention of believing me. And I’m old. Too old for this. And the incident last night, seemed like a good opportunity to finally do so.”

“But you are the foundations of anthropology!” Lyra said with a lump in her throat. “You’re the one who made me an anthropologist!”

“And I’m glad I did. But sometimes you gotta replace the foundations, when they get old and rusty, replace it with a new and better one.“ He paused. “Somepony like you, Lyra.”

“Me?” Lyra was surprised.

“I’ve never seen such spirit in any scientist, as you. I think you are strong enough to lead the entire field.”

“But we’d be losing the most brilliant mind of the field!”

Franz chuckled. “No, I’m pretty sure you just said I created it.” He then continued in a much more mellow tone. “Don’t worry Lyra, the field will be in good hooves with you. Or should I say... good hands!”

They fell silent. I think they finished and this was the part where they hugged. So I stepped away from the door. Not that I was doing anything wrong, as I said, they were fine with me eavesdropping... And surely enough the door opened. Lyra walked out and Franz went back inside. She looked like she could use another hug, so I gave her one.

“We’re all going to miss that fine stallion.” Said Persy sarcastically, who was waiting on the corner. We tried to ignore him, but he wouldn’t let us do that. “I actually have a new theory in mind. I think the pony behind the anthro-phantom was trying to speed up Franz Foals’ retirement, so she could take his place. And the perpetrator was none other than his successor, Lyra Heartstrings!”

“I just found out about this!” Lyra screamed in her defence.

“Knock it off you jerk!” I yelled angrily, while trying to hold back Lyra. “This is really not the place or time for this!”

Persy just laughed smugly. “Oh I didn’t mean to ruffle any feathers. I’m just saying to make it clear as day.” He then got very close to Lyra’s face. “You’re on the list, Heartstrings.”

“I hope you know you’re on the list too.” She said, with the anger narrowing her eyes.

“Well of course I’m on the list! I was on the list before there was even a reason to have a list! I’m just making sure all possibilities are taken into account. Just like I always did.”

“Good work, point taken, now leave us alone!” I told him.

“I can’t leave just yet. Celestia forbid the images were found in possession of one of the suspects!” He said smugly as he pulled said images out of his pocket.

“Are those...?” Lyra asked.

“Yes, the very proof that the anthro-phantom is a hoax!”

“Where did you find them?”

“Well fortunately for you Heartstrings, it was not in your room. Franz gave them to me himself.”

As if the mood couldn’t be made any worse. Lyra was on the verge of tears after that reveal.

“Now, I’m going to make this clear.” Persy carried on, finally in a less obnoxious manner. “This still doesn’t prove anything. Franz told me he took it from Marge, which could mean she just didn’t notice she took out the wrong images and somepony switched them seamlessly, without her ever noticing a thing. Still,” he put the images back into his pocket, “this is something extremely important and you shouldn’t overlook my theory this time.” He then turned around. “I’m going to take a look at that projector.” And with that he left, leaving behind the hurt Lyra and me.

Comments

[raven618]

I can't tell if Percy is being overly confusing on purpose or if it's just his character.