The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds

by Kamahido

Chapter 6 - Unseen

As the sun rises, the apothecary slowly walks toward his shop. Looking up, he sees Scootaloo waiting for him.

“Good morning, Scarlet Filly.”

“Likewise, sir. But are you alright?”

The apothecary yawns. “I’m feeling a bit tired. Been up late working the shop since this business started.”

“This has been keeping you busy?”

“Yes, indeed. Everypony in town’s been asking for more treatments to ward away whatever this is.”

“I don’t understand.”

“My shop also sells herbal treatments that fortify the immune system faster than you can blink an eye. Everypony’s worried it’ll start affecting adults soon.”

“Will it?”

“It hasn’t yet. But who’s to say. Now then, are you here for some medicine as well?”

“Truthfully, I was wondering if you needed some help.”

“With gathering more herbs?”

“Whatever needs doing really.”

“Hm… well… actually there is something you can do to help. You see, I bring medicine to the hospital every morning. Only problem is with as many salves and tinctures that need to be made it puts me behind schedule.”

“Do you want me to bring it to the hospital for you?”

“That would be helpful, yes. Follow me.”

Opening the door to his shop, the stallion heads for the back room. Returning with a box, he sets it on the counter and looks to Scootaloo.

“These are today’s treatments. Just bring them to the nurse at the front desk and tell them I sent you. They’ll take it from there.”

Scootaloo nods and puts the box in her saddlebags as several customers enter the shop. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks. Looks like I’m going to be extra busy today.”

Leaving the shop, Scootaloo passes several more ponies heading for the door. She turns and watches as they queue in front of the counter before continuing on her way.

“I don’t trust that stallion.”

Arc frowns. “He does stand to profit from this pandemic, yes.”

Scootaloo sighs as she looks at her saddlebags. “So what reason is there for him to help cure it?!”

“Dead customers don’t spend much money. He’d do well to keep them alive.”

“Well, I want to take a look at these vials.”

“Agreed. Head over to those crates.”

Scootaloo does so. She looks around momentarily before pulling the box from her saddlebags and opening it. Pulling out a vial she looks it over carefully.

“This isn’t the right color for what it’s supposed to do.”

Opening the vial, she gives it a sniff.

“Smells about right though.”

“Uh… maybe you shouldn’t taste it.”

“We have to know for certain. “

“But you could be poisoned!”

Scootaloo shakes her head. “I’m not swallowing this. Good or bad, I’ll spit it out.”

Holding the vial up, she tips it so a single drop falls into her mouth. Spitting it onto the ground beside her she turns to Arc.

“Tastes… similar to what it’s supposed to.”

“Is that bad?”

“I don’t know. The normal reagents are in there. It’s just that there’s something else present that I’ve never tasted before.”

“So… should we tell someone about this?”

“Not sure what we’d tell them. That and I would assume the hospital tests them for purity and accuracy before administering to the patients.”

“Well, we’re going to make sure they do.”

A short time later Scootaloo enters the hospital waiting room. Walking up to the front desk she pulls the box from her saddlebags and sets it down on the counter.

“I have a delivery here from the town’s apothecary.”

The nurse smiles. “Ah! We’ve been waiting for that!”

She picks up the phone and pages a nurse before turning back to Scootaloo.

“I’ll see to it this is taken care of.”

“Okay. See you later.”

Heading out the door, Scootaloo walks back toward the Inn. She mutters to herself as she walks.

“Good luck, Big Brother.”

Meanwhile, Arc waits next to the front desk. A few minutes later a nurse walks over, picks up the box, and carries it down the corridor. Arc follows her closely. Soon they come to the lab from the other night. Entering, the nurse sets the box on another desk.

“Morning delivery.”

The other nurse nods and takes out a vial. Putting a drop into a machine, she waits as it’s analyzed. Arc looks over her shoulder at the screen.

“You seeing this, Scootaloo?”

“Yeah. Shouldn’t take but a few more moments though.”

As the machine dies down, text comes up on the screen. Arc frowns.

“Uh… can I assume red is bad?”

“Not necessarily. It could just mean that the sample contains naturally occurring chemicals that don’t directly affect the final product.”

“Like what?”

“Flavoring, preservatives, emulsifiers… things like that.”

“What about poisonous interactions?”

“It detects that too. But the nurses don’t seem bothered by the readouts. Without knowing more I would say the sample is safe to use.”

“But is it effective?”

“That’s a different matter entirely.”

“Great. I’m going to follow that box and check on that filly who got your medicine last night.”

“Good idea. I’ve been wondering about that myself.”

Following the nurse out the door they proceed to the Foal’s Ward. Entering, Arc looks to the filly’s bed. Scootaloo frowns.

“She doesn’t look any better than last night.”

Arc grimaces. “I’m going to look at her chart.”

“Just remember not to pick it up! We don’t need everypony in here thinking the hospital is haunted.”

Kneeling down, Arc looks over the top page as he calls out telepathically.

“No real change recorded here.”

“That’s really strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if it isn’t a cold, that medicine I made last night should have at least treated her symptoms.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Arc stands and turns to watch as the nursing staff continue administering the medicine. Scootaloo appears relieved.

“Nopony seems to be rejecting it.”

“Define ‘rejecting’.”

“Throwing it up. That’s actually a good sign.”

“How so?”

“If it was poisoned, some of the recipient’s bodies would be more apt to reject it outright. Hence vomiting.”

“I guess it’s good that they’re not doing that. But by the same token, they’re still suffering.”

“We have to figure this out, and fast!”

“Agreed. And right now the apothecary is our prime suspect.”

“What now?”

“We go back to the shop, report the job done, and get paid for it.”

Scootaloo frowns. “I mean regarding the investigation.”

“That is the next step. Now, here’s the plan…”

A short time later Scootaloo enters the shop. Numerous stallions and mares stand in line waiting their turn. Spotting a bench, Scootaloo sits down to wait. The apothecary spots her and calls out.

“I’ll be with you as soon as I catch up over here.”

Scootaloo nods. “No rush.”

Meanwhile, Arc quickly makes his way past the stallion and into the back room. Looking around he calls out telepathically.

“You there, Scootaloo?

“Yeah, I’m watching.”

“See anything out of place back here?”

“Not really. Truth be told it kinda reminds me of my parent’s back room in the store in Knothole Village.”

“Let’s look over the reagent bottles.”

Looking at each bottle’s label, Scootaloo watches from the other room.

“Nothing there stands out as being out of the ordinary.”

“What about the machines back here?”

“All standard fare for an apothecary. At least for the most part.”

“Oh?”

“Well, there is a rather large ‘still’ back there.”

“Is that normal?”

“Maybe. After all, Vanhoover is a rather large town by comparison. It would stand to reason he’d need to do more and larger batch size extractions than my mom did back in Knothole Village.”

“Well, that’s another dead end idea.”

“But we’re not giving up on this, right?”

“Nah. We still have one other lead.”

“We do?”

Arc nods. “The robed stallion the apothecary was talking to behind the inn.”

“But you said he flew off.”

“Right. I was still invisible, so he couldn’t have seen me though.”

“Maybe he heard you following him.”

“Probably. But running off forced me to match his speed. Which means he definitely knew something was after him.”

“So how do we find him?”

“There really isn’t a way to do that.”

“Then how…?”

“He needs to come to us.”

Scootaloo groans. “But he’ll be ready for us then! Assuming he comes back at all, that is.”

“I’m guessing he’s a regular ‘supplier’ of the apothecary here. So it stands to reason that he’ll be back.”

“No clue when that will be though.”

“Right. Unless the apothecary calls for him.”

“Why would he do that though? He has plenty of materials from that last shipment.”

Arc grins. “We’ll just have to change that.”

Later that evening, as the sun sets, the apothecary sighs wearily as he flips the sign to ‘closed’. Walking slowly toward the workbench with his head down, he puts a hoof on it to grab his bag. Not feeling the familiar satchel, he looks up.

“What the…?”

Looking around, he frowns.

“I know it’s around here somewhere.”

Heading to the back room he scans the benches and tables to no avail. Meanwhile, Arc peeks through a window and nods as he pats the bag under his arm. Looking all around the shop the stallion groans.

“Where could it be?! I need those reagents!”

Groaning, he walks to the phone behind the counter and picks up the receiver.

“Looks like I’ll have to pay for rush delivery.”

As he speaks to someone on the other end of the line Scootaloo calls out to Arc from their room at the Inn.

“Did we have to do it this way, Big Brother?”

“It’s the only reason he’d call for more supplies.”

“Want me to follow him this time?”

“Not really. After all, we don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“I could fly overhead. Then he wouldn’t hear me.”

“Well…”

“Please?!”

Arc sighs. “Fine. But I’m going to be watching everything.”

“Deal!”

As the moon rises, Scootaloo follows the apothecary. Flying high overhead she peers down at the stallion waiting patiently in an empty field.

“Nothing so far, Big Brother. But are you sure that stallion from before will show up?”

Arc shrugs from their room at the Inn. “If he doesn’t, the apothecary is waiting around for nothing.”

“True. But maybe… wait!”

“Action?”

“Yeah! Somepony in a black cloak just walked up!”

“Let’s see if they do the exchange like last time.”

Arc and Scootaloo watch as the apothecary looks through the saddlebags. Nodding, he takes the satchel and the pair part ways.

“Should I follow him?”

Arc nods. “Yes. We need to talk to that robed individual.”

“What about the apothecary?”

“He’ll just head to his cottage or shop. This one here is the real wild card.”

Scootaloo does as she is told. The figure walks to the edge of the clearing and enters the foliage. Squinting, Scootaloo keeps her eyes on him.

“I wonder where he’s going.”

“According to the map there shouldn’t be anything out there other than the North Luna Ocean.”

Scootaloo grins. “Think he’s going for a swim?”

“If he keeps going that way, yes.”

The stallion heads for the water as Scootaloo frowns.

“I was just joking. But he may very well be going to jump.”

“If he does, we’ll lose him for sure.”

“Why don’t I try talking to him?”

“You planning to make a purchase?”

“Just to get him talking.”

Arc shrugs. “Worth a shot. Just keep your distance. If he moves to attack, get out of there.”

“Okay.”

Turning down, Scootaloo dives toward the ground. Pulling up, she lands twenty feet behind the stallion. He turns around quickly, clearly surprised.

“What the…?!”

“Hey. I’m looking to…”

The stallion hisses angrily as he looks her over.

“A Crimson?! Here?!”

“H-how did you…?!”

Without warning, the stallion lunges at her. Scootaloo takes flight as Arc calls out to her.

“Get back to the Inn! I’ll handle him!”

“Fine! But I don’t really see why he’s so mad!”

“We’ll ask once we’ve taken him down!”

Reaching town with the stallion hot on her heels, Scootaloo heads for the Inn. However, with a burst of strength, the stallion catches up and wraps his hooves around her back. Unable to flap her wings, she along with her assailant, plummet to the ground. Throwing her weight to one side at the last minute, Scootaloo forces the stallion to take most of the blow. Rolling aside, she squares off against him as he slowly gets to his hooves.

“What’s the big idea?! I just want to…!”

Growling, the stallion charges her. Dodging the attack, Scootaloo watches the stallion smash into the side of a building. Lights come on in several nearby windows and the townsponies step outside to see what all the commotion is about. Scootaloo looks around nervously and adjusts her hood.

“We’re making quite a scene here!”

“Get him to chase you behind the apothecary’s shop! I’ll meet you there!”

Turning, Scootaloo does as she is told. The now half-crazed stallion runs after her haphazardly. He bangs into several nearby crates, buildings, and even a lamp post in his attempt to catch his prey. Scootaloo dashes around the shop as Arc lies in wait. As soon as his head comes into view, Arc grabs him by the throat and throws him through a window. Jumping in after him, Arc spots the stallion attempting to get up. Taking hold of a nearby flask, he smashes it against the robed stallion’s head. He falls to the floor, unconscious as Arc calls out to Scootaloo telepathically.

“Get in here quick!”

Scootaloo does so as the sound of numerous hooves approaches the building. Several guards along with numerous townsponies peek inside. Hopping through the smashes window the guards walk over to the unconscious stallion before looking to the robed filly before them.

“What happened here?!”

“I saw this stallion skulking around outside the town. When I approached, he went crazy and attacked me.”

“Why?”

Scootaloo shrugs. “No idea.”

A townspony calls out. “He forced her down!”

“Right!”

“I saw it too!”

Scootaloo nods. “Then he chased me back here. I got the jump on him and threw this fella in here. Smashed a bottle over his head to stop him.”

The front door of the shop opens and the apothecary hurries inside.

“What’s going on in…?!”

He stops dead in his tracks as he sees Scootaloo, his contact, and the guards standing in his shop. Scootaloo steps forward and points a hoof.

“He was meeting the apothecary out there!”

The citizens gasp. “WHAT?!”

A guard steps toward the apothecary. “Is that true?”

“Not… exactly.”

“Well, either way, assaulting a foal is pretty serious. We’d better take him in.”

One of them shackles the stallion as the other turns to Scootaloo.

“Are you absolutely certain you saw the apothecary dealing with this stallion?”

Scootaloo nods. “Yes. He was making some kind of transaction.”

“I was, yes. But that isn’t a crime.”

One of the guards nods soberly. “That depends on what the deal entails.”

Scootaloo points a hoof. “What he bought is in his saddlebags.”

“We’ll search them.”

He turns to the apothecary.

“Show us what you bought.”

Sighing, the apothecary sets his saddlebags down on the floor and steps back. The guard looks through them carefully before frowning and looking to the elderly stallion before him.

“There are several illegal herbs in here. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I… n-nothing.”

“We’ll take them both in. Get the other prisoner ready for…”

He is cut off as the stallion suddenly gets to his hooves, snaps his bindings, jumps out the window past the townsponies, and runs toward the tree line. Scootaloo and one of the guards hurry after him. As Scootaloo catches up to him, the stallion sidesteps behind a tree. Turning, she lunges toward him… right into a bush. Looking around, Scootaloo frowns as the guard approaches her.

“What happened?!”

“I don’t know. He just disappeared around here.”

“Were he a unicorn I would have said he just Blinked away.”

Scootaloo frowns. “Right. But he’s a pegasus.”

“Let’s get back to the other prisoner. Maybe he can tell us more about this escapee.”

Looking around one last time, Scootaloo hops out of the bush. Hearing a slight rustling she looks back. Seeing nothing, the guard escorts her back to town. Arriving back at the shop, the pair find half the town stomping their hooves angrily as the other guard escorts the apothecary out.

“What’s going on here?!”

“The crowd’s split on this! Half think the apothecary’s innocent, while everypony else thinks he’s behind the sick foals up at the hospital!”

The townsponies nod and call out angrily.

“Yeah!”

“My filly’s been just fine until recently!”

“He’s been nothing but helpful for years though!”

“Right! Nopony can deny that!”

“Maybe he’s been poisoning them this whole time!”

“Maybe he’s been poisoning all of us!”

The apothecary cries out. “But I’m innocent!”

A guard frowns. “Let’s go, you.”

“Where?”

“To the jail.”

“What?! But I’m needed here to…!”

Scootaloo frowns. “You’d better do as he says. This crowd might turn violent at any time.”

Sighing, the apothecary nods and turns to the guards.

“Lead on.”

They escort the elderly stallion down the street as the rest of the citizens continue arguing. Arc motions to Scootaloo as he climbs out the window.

“We need to get back to the Inn.”

“Yeah. But what about the apothecary?”

“He’s certainly been up to something. Whether or not that led to the foals getting sick is anyone’s guess though. Either way, this’ll lead to an investigation that will hopefully uncover the truth.”

“I’m not sure that’s for the best.”

“What do you mean?”

“That crowd was really mad.”

“They were, yes. But finding out the truth is the first step in getting those foals the help they need.”

“Does that mean we’re done here?”

Arc shakes his head. “Not in the least. We’ll continue our own investigation.”

Meanwhile, back in the forest, the bush Scootaloo jumped into moves ever so slightly. In the blink of an eye it changes back into the robed stallion. He grits his teeth and looks back toward the direction of town.

“Damn that Crimson! Now I have to…!”

A voice rings out in his head.

“Report.”

“There’s been a… complication, Dark Lady.”

“Define ‘complication’.”

“A Crimson showed up and…”

The voice hisses. “A Crimson?! In Vanhoover?!”

“Yes, your highness.”

“Did you eliminate them?!”

“I… I tried to, but…”

“They must be dealt with immediately! The plan cannot be halted at this point! And we’re so close!”

“What should I…?”

“I don’t CARE! Whatever it takes, you need to get them out of town! And soon!”

“Very well, your highness. I’ll see to it they’re removed from the equation as soon as possible.”

Comments

[Munro]

11063471
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/193170/its-complicated

[Munro]

that was a changeling and the dark lady is crysalis ore even a queen from a different hive.

come on nothing else makes sense here

[Kamahido]

11063875
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiJUbfynMGM