Morning Meir Mysteries: Case 3: A Mayan Island Mishap

by XombieSlayr

Chapter 8: "The Voiceless Jungle."

Author's Note:

We now return to Morning Meir

Chapter 8: "The Voiceless Jungle."

Oh. My head.

Ugh....not again.

Stay calm. Just open your eyes.

I did as my brain instructed, only to find the world was inverted, and I couldn't move, my limbs bound by tight ropes, as I hung over the deck of a small river boat. I had been captured and trussed up like the catch of the day. Swell.

"Hey. Look whose waking up." A female voice said. It was rough, like sandpaper. Indicating she wasn't very lady like if at all.

I looked around and gasped as a smiling mare with a half scarred face, suddenly appeared in front of me, having dropped down from the support beams above. Then I saw the crimson robes she was dressed in. The Setting Sun. And these weren't initiates either. These were the real deal this time. I had to find a way out of this, but I was no match for them in a fight. I had to think my way out.

"Where am I?" I asked, looking around. But given my current position, I couldn't tell where exactly I was. Only that I was on a river boat. On a river.

The scarred mare laughed. "Of course. Your on our boat, about 6 miles in land." She explained. "And you' She grabbed me by the chin and looked me dead in the eyes. "Are going to die."

But I wasn't afraid. I had literally looked death itself in the face and survived. This mare had nothing on that. "Wouldn't be the first time." I joked.

"Ooh, she's got jokes!" a male voice said. A stallion in crimson robes and his mane drawn back in a top knot came up from below deck and laughed. "That's good. It's nice to have a sense of humor, even when you're about to die."

I wasn't playing any games here. "Who the hell are you? What do you idiots want with me!" I demanded angrily.

The scarred mare smirked. "You already know who we are. As for what we want, well that's easy. We were instructed to catch you, then get rid of you so you'd stop interfering in Al-Syd's plans."

"Right. Al-Syd. Arabic for 'The Master', isn't that right?" I said smugly. "How typical."

With speed too fast for me to see, the scarred mare drew a sword, cut me down and pinned me, upright against the side of the boat, all with enough strength to rock it back in the water. She glared menacingly at me. "Never' she hissed "Say The Master's name again. You are not worthy to speak it!" she yelled.

The mare drew back her sword and aimed it's point for my throat. "Any last words, little pony?" she asked mockingly.

I glared back at her, as my brain took in every detail around me, and like a flash, I had my escape route. I wasted no time putting it into action. I smirked at the mare. "Just one."

"Momentum."

"Huh?"

I kicked the sword out of her hooves, sending it spinning up into the air. As she watched the sword fly up, I slammed hard into the side of the boat, making it rock once more, as it swung hard to the left, causing the mare to tumble forward. As she hit the side, I did her the favor of kicking her hard over the side, not stopping to watch her fall into the water.

I ducked under the sword of the stallion, and rolled over to a stack of barrels. I leapt to my feet and kicked one at the stallion. He easily dodged it, but I wasn't aiming for him. As I'd calculated, the barrel smashed against the mast, causing the sail to come undone and wrap itself around the stallion's head. As he fought to free his face from it's prison, all it took was another hard kick and a shoulder knock to send him over the deck with his companion.

With the deck cleared, I stopped right where I was and waited. A split second later, my ropes were sliced by the blade of the sword as it buried itself, hilt deep, into the wooden deck of the boat. I rubbed my hooves as I took a minute to catch my breath.

That would be the second time I had been tied up on this case. If there was a third, I would NOT be a happy pony. (Not that I was too happy right now, but still.)

With the boat now mine, I steered towards a clearing that led deep into the jungle, and docked it.

I stepped off the boat and gathered my courage. "Nowhere left to go, but forward." I told myself, as I began to make my way through the thick vines and bush, to enter The Voiceless Jungle.

The Voiceless Jungle, Late Afternoon

The morning sun was still in the sky, but the afternoon was creeping up behind it. The air was hot and muggy, as hundreds of tiny white insects- some kind of gnat - hovered over the tall grass, darting one way then the other.

I heard a shrill buzzing. And somewhere in the distance, the high cry of a bird, followed by a low reply from another. Sweat beaded on my forehead, as my hooves began to feel heavy. I felt like I had been walking for days.

As I walked through the jungle, I suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of an organ being played. A jaunty, upbeat droning, like that at a ball game, could be heard just through the brush up ahead.

I followed the sound and discovered a tree house in a nearby clearing. It was a massive structure, seemingly all built by hoof, with several strange and wondrous machines all pumping and spewing around it. Some connected directly to the tree house such as the large water wheel, which siphoned water from the nearby river via a complex series of aqueducts. I could see it connected to a large machine which generated electricity to the tree house. It had been built by hoof, to provide a natural source of power.

Another was a washing machine which consisted of a crude wooden wheel with wooden slats. However it looked in need of some repairs. I prayed to Celestia that whoever lived here found another way of washing their clothes. For my sake and theirs.

Taking a look at the water wheel, I saw it had a rim of roughly beaten iron. Probably put in place to stabilize the structure of the wheel.

Moving past it, I looked up to the tree house, where I could hear the organ music coming from. I had always wanted a tree house like that when I was a filly. Then again, I suppose many would like a tree house of this magnitude. I cupped my hooves around my muzzle. "Hello?" I called up. "Anypony home?"

But there was no answer. Even if there had been, I doubt I would've heard it over the organ's drawling tones.

Clearly there was someone up there, and I needed help. I was in the middle of The Voiceless Jungle with no idea how to get back to Quaramonte, or if Daring was out looking for me, or even if she knew I was gone! I needed a way of either communicating with her or at least a map back to the city.

But how could I get the attention of the owner of this tree house, if they couldn't hear me? I'd have to get their attention another way.

I spotted a pile of leaves near the water wheel, and hatched an idea. I took the small, hideous statue of Tezcatlipoca and held it up so I could look it in the beady eyes. "I finally found a use for you. And honestly, I won't miss you any time soon." I told it.

Tezcatlipoca, unsurprisingly, did not respond.

I held the horrid little thing to the rim of the water wheel. As I held the flint statue up to the iron rim of the wheel, a shower of sparks cascaded onto the leaves, igniting a small controlled fire, which smoked more then it burned, just as I had hoped.

The smoke went up to the window of the tree house, and wafted in. A few seconds later, the organ music stopped, and a figure opened the door to come out and see what was going on. "What in the wide world of Equestria? Whose out here!" the figure called in an old, cracking voice.

"Um. Hello!" I called, giving a small wave.

He looked over the railing down at me. He was a wild looking, elderly grey stallion, in a torn up lab coat, the messiest white mane i'd ever seen, which seemed to just jutt out from his head in all directions, and a huge white mustache that was big enough to hide his muzzle. His eyes couldn't be seen behind the strange orange soda bottle goggles he was wearing, of which the left lens was cracked. "And who the heck er you?" he asked.

"Sorry. My name is Morning Meir and-

"I don't give a hoots about dat! Put out that dern fire, before you kill us all!" he yelled, suddenly.

"Oh! Sorry!" I ran over and quickly stomped out the fire with my hooves.

When it was extinguished I heard him yell out at me again. "What'ya want? I'm busy up here!" he snapped.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir! I just wanted to see if you could tell me where I was. Or at least give me directions back to-

"WAIT!" he screamed suddenly, making me jump halfway up a tree.

'What!? What is it!"

"You said yer name is Mornin, Meir?"

"Y-yes...?"

"Hang on! I'm sendin da latter down! Come on up, when yer ready."

The nutty stallion then moved a latter from behind the railing and sent it down, allowing me to climb up into the tree house. I hesitated as I grabbed the rung, thinking this guy was clearly a little out there. But if he could help me, that was fine by me.

Strange Stallion's Tree House, 3:34 pm

The inside of the tree house was crammed with books. Books on shelves that rose to the high ceiling, books in stacks on the floor, books holding up a potted violet in desperate need of water. On two arm chairs arranged around an oak coffee table rested still more books- which me and the stallion removed so we could sit-and on the table itself, piled in precarious, leaning towers, were even more. I took my seat and looked around the place. Except for the books, the furniture, and the violet, it appeared to be empty.

"Exactly, how long have you been out here?" I asked without really thinking.

The stallion looked up as he pressed a button on the coffee table. "Oh, about twenty years, I'd say. Maybe more. Hard to tell with dis old mind, you'see." he said calmly. A second later, a strange light and whirring noise emanated from the coffee table, and two full mugs of coffee, suddenly appeared on top of it, like magic, without magic.

I was stunned. "H-how did you do that?"

He seemed amused. "Heheh. Itsa lil somethin I made, a few years back. Uses arcane runes I discovered in one of the temples around here. Instantly transmutes matter from one place and reconstitutes it somewhere else, in a different form. The machine here, picks up that matter and re-configures it. Specifically into a decaf, hazelnut and vanilla cream latte."

He took a sip and set it down on the table. "Sorry if ya don like hazelnut."

Was he serious!? Did he hear what he had just said? He found a way to reconfigure the basic building blocks of the universe, into coffee! With a coffee table! How was he so nonchalant about that?

"Who are you?" I asked, simply needing to know at this point.

He shook his head. "I knew ya wouldn't recognize me, Mornin. It's been so long since I last saw ya. Probably about when you were barely a filly, was when your dad last came to see us, I'd say."

"You knew my father?"

"Of course!" He said happily. But then his smile wavered. "But that was back when It was just me and Simon. Back before...." He trailed off there, as tears formed at the corner of the old stallion's eyes.

"I'm sorry, you know Simon?....are you-

The old stallion looked up at me and removed his orange goggles. His eyes were surprisingly vibrant and silver as a moon. They sparkled with tremendous insight. "My name is Benjamin Corvo Cobalt." he said sadly.

"I am Simon's father."

Questioning (Benjamin "Benny" Cobalt, Simon's Father, Missing for twenty years, Knows something about what happened to Simon)

My mind erupted with questions. I had to scramble to find one that was actually appropriate to ask in this situation. I didn't understand. Why hadn't Simon mentioned his father was here? That he had been living in the jungle all this time! And what was he talking about, him knowing my father? He had never told me about.....What was going on here!?

I calmed myself. I wouldn't get anywhere just blurting out questions. I was time to get to the bottom of this. "I'm sorry." I said politely. "I'm....still trying to come to grips with this. You said....you're Simon's father?"

"Dats-oh sorry. I mean, that's right. We worked together on this island. Started out with just a lab, a handful of workers and a dream. We wanted to help the world, inspire it. Make our mark, and leave something behind for other ponies to dream of."

He took another sip of coffee. "And your parents, they helped us. Your father believed in that dream too. The three of us, and your mother. We accomplished things that would have changed the world. And we would've done so much more."

He set his cup down. "But then Simon....changed."

I looked up from my mug. "Changed? How?"

"He found something. One day, while we were in the tombs just outside the jungle, he....started seeing things. Said he heard a voice talking to him from behind one of the walls. He ordered our diggers to take it down."

I sat up in my seat, eager to hear more. "What happened?"

Benny gave short laugh. "All hell broke loose." he said simply. "The second those walls came down, all the lights we had set up in the place began to flicker and crackle. All of us started hearing things, voices, screams, shouting. And all at once. But seemingly from nowhere."

His eyes went wide suddenly, the fear in them was apparent, as he remembered something. Something that terrified him. "Then....I saw her. S-Simon saw her..."

"Who?"

Benny struggled to say the words. "My wife." he said softly. "She appeared in the entrance to the room we had unearthed. She spoke only to Simon...I don't know what she said to him, but...."

The poor stallion trailed off. "My wife has been dead for years. An accident back at the Institute, took her from us." he said, tears beginning to stream down his face. "Whatever that thing was, that talked to my son....it was NOT my, Lucienne."

I got up from my chair and put a hoof on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what that must have been like." I said solemnly.

He shook his head. "No. It's alright, Morning. There's so much Iv'e seen since I've come to this island. Since I've come to the Keyes, that make me second guess if science really has any meaning against the unexplainable." he took out a handkerchief and dabbed his eyes. "Anyways, whatever that thing told him, it was enough to change him. He started questioning what we were doing. If we were really helping ponies. If we were really making a difference in the world. Then he became bitter, angry and even violent towards many of the ponies who worked with us. He started making irrational decisions, ordering workers to stop digging, and threatening to kill them if they didn't listen."

"I...tried to talk to him. Tried to reason with him. But he laughed, said I knew nothing of what was destined to happen. That he had seen it, and he would fulfill his vision of the world. Even if it was a world where I wasn't needed." Benny put away his hankerchief. "Then he threw me out. Said he would start killing ponies at random if I didn't leave. I haven't seen him since."

All I could do was stand there and stare in disbelief. That didn't sound like the Simon I knew when I was a filly. It sounded like a lunatic. A monster.

Then I had another question. "I know it may be impolite to ask Mr. Cobalt, but...what happened to Simon that put him in that wheelchair?" I asked as politely as I could.

Benny looked at me, confused. "I'm....I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"Huh? The wheelchair. Whatever put Simon-

"Morning." Benny eyed me seriously.

"Simon doesn't use a wheelchair."

My breath caught in my throat. "Ex...excuse me?"

"Nothing ever happened to Simon. I have been secretly keeping an eye on the compound since I left, and not once did I ever see him using a wheelchair. In fact, he looked healthier and stronger then I had ever seen him."

I sat back down in the chair, trying my best to remain calm. "I....I don't understand....why, why would he lie to us? Lie about being disabled!" I exclaimed, clearly not trying to remain calm anymore. I had known something was different. Something was hiding behind Simon's eyes, since the moment I saw him. I had known. But I refused to believe it.

Benny shook his head. "I have no idea. To look innocent I suppose? But I do know one thing: My son has something horrible planned for this island. For the whole world." Benny said gravely. "And he's not alone..."

"The Setting Sun."

Benny nodded. "His doing. Promised them all a place by his side when the new world began. I've been doing everything I could to keep any eye on them. See if I could put a dent in their plans."

"Does Breezie know?" I asked, looking down at the floor.

"I don't think so. Hopefully, he's left that poor mare out of it. She was always a kindhearted soul. She would never want anything to do with this, even if it was Simon."

I nodded. Breezie loved Simon dearly. Always had since the day she married him, and even before that. But she would never go along with something as insane as this.

Benny got up from his seat and led me over to a large map he had drawn up on the wall. "I've been keeping an eye on everything my son and his cult have been up to for years." he explained. He pointed to a large 'X' on the map. It was close to where we were now. "And I even set up my little home away from home, close to what he's after. So I could keep an eye on it."

"The treasure? The one Clover the Clever and Starswirl left on the island?"

"Precisely. I know where it is! And what my son plans to do with it." He explained. "Or rather.....her."

My eyes widened. "Her??"

Simon took a picture from his desk and pinned it onto the map, right where the 'X' was. It was a very old medieval portrait of a stunning mint green unicorn with a flowing golden cloak, forest green mane and a branch of parsley styled into it. Clover The Clever, as all those stories told of her.

Then it hit me. My eyes expanded twice their size as my pupils shrunk. "No....you...you can't be serious."

Benny smiled broadly. "Very serious." he said. "The treasure that was hidden here on this island all those centuries ago, was not a treasure at all."

"It was Clover herself!"