Operation Exquisite Corpse

by The Red Parade

Chapter Three (Moonshot)

They walked in relative silence. Every so often, Coco would turn her head and make sure Derpy was following her, and they’d half-smile at each other.

Finally, they reached a narrow alleyway. Coco stopped and cleared her throat. “Okay, Apple Street isn’t too far from here. I’ve got to head back to the shop, but I’ll give you directions for the rest.” She gestured back and forth with her hooves. “Take a right at the next intersection, then a left, then another right. The house numbers start at 105, so 123 Apple Street shouldn’t be far.”

Derpy saluted. “Thanks for the help, Miss Pommel! And have fun at work.”

Coco grinned. “I will.” As she walked away, she turned her head back. “Don’t forget! Right, left right.”

Derpy waved her goodbye. “Right, left, right,” she murmured. “Right, left, right.” She took a deep breath and began walking down the alleyway.

As she went, she silently cursed Manehattan’s grid plan. Apple Street was on the outskirts of the city, meaning the city blocks could stretch up to a mile long. Plenty of time for her to get distracted by a stray bakery or forget Coco’s instructions.

“No, I can’t,” she said to herself. “I have to deliver not one, but two important packages. Though I still do wonder who these are being delivered to.”

She took one of the packages—Lyra and Bon Bon’s—out of her mailbag and inspected it. There seemed to be no identifying name anywhere. Though she handled it carefully, a gentle shaking emanated from within. As much as Derpy wanted to scour the package for more clues, she was a professional mailpony. She shrugged and placed it back into the mailbag.

At least Pinkie’s time-delayed party package hasn’t activated yet, she thought. I’d be so embarrassed if it unfolded on me right now! Right, I should be taking a… left here.

As she turned the corner, she spotted a familiar stallion in the road step out of a taxi and frantically gesture to passerbys. He looked much more panicked than before, his mouth seemingly moving faster than his mind could catch up.

That’s funny, Derpy thought. I guess that means him and I were headed toward the same spot. For the most part, though, Derpy paid him no mind. She was only a hop, skip, and a jump away from Apple Street, after all.

A reassuring road sign proved her thoughts correct. N. Apple Street, pointing left. Quickly, Derpy followed it. The sun was only beginning to set—Derpy hoped that if she delivered the packages quickly enough, she’d be able to grab dinner on the way back to Ponyville and pick up Pinkie’s muffins for an evening snack.

“105, 111…” She began counting the house numbers. “117, 120, 126… huh? Where’s 123?”

She turned her head to look at the house numbers on the other side of the road. Still, they seemed to skim over her destination. She walked up and down the street, double and triple checking to make sure that she wasn’t missing anything.

Still nothing. She huffed and sat down, hooves crossed. From the corner of her eye, she saw a middle-aged mare open her door and walk outside. Derpy’s face lit up, and she rushed over to the mare. “Excuse me, miss! I’m here to deliver some packages. Do you know where I might find 123 Apple Street?”

The mare looked at her blankly for a second, as if not registering her words. Her mouth opened and formed soundless shapes as she looked back and forth. “There’s—” Her voice sounded guttural, foreign. Then she coughed and smiled. “My apologies, but there’s never been a 123 Apple Street here, as far as I remember.”

Derpy raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? I had three ponies today ask me to deliver to that address. See—” She retrieved both packages from her mailbag. “Look.”

The mare tilted her head, her mouth a thin line. “Mm. That is strange. Maybe you should retrace your steps?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” said Derpy. “Thank you.” She nodded quickly and walked back the way she came.

“Right, left, right,” she muttered. “So, when I walk back, it’s left, right, left. Left, right, left. Right, left… oh!” She stopped in her tracks, turned around, and quickly scanned the road for the sign. N. Apple Street, pointing left. She smacked her head. “Silly me! I just saw ‘Apple’ in the name and got excited. I should be turning right here, and not left.” Chuckling at her mistake, she headed right, humming softly as the sun sank and the lights around her began to turn on.

She began to count the house numbers again. “105, 111…” She stopped. On the left was the same blue and white house, followed by the same green and white house that she’d seen before. In fact, everything on the road looked nearly identical to N. Apple Street, down to the swinging tire in the nearest backyard.

Shaking her head, Derpy soldiered forward, scanning for 123 Apple Street. “117, 120, 126.” It was missing again. Perhaps she’d gone left again? She turned back and retraced her steps. As she rounded the corner, where there’d been a different street before, filled with bright street lamps and a scattering of ponies, she was met with the same dimly-lit houses, the same backyards, the same street numbers.

Heart beating in her chest, she turned the corner the opposite direction and found herself back where she’d begun. She flew all the way to the end of the road, blinked twice, and saw the same row of everything. She tried heading in every direction, walking backward, closing her eyes. Nothing.

As the moon rose into the sky, she slumped to the curb, breathing heavily, her mouth dry. Through clenched teeth, she desperately scanned the house numbers again. 123 Apple Street. Where was it? Where was she? What if she was having a bad dream, or was caught in some—

The sound of creaking wheels snapped her out of her thoughts.

From the corner emerged a bright yellow and black vehicle. It moved on its own, with no one in the front to draw it forward.

In the passenger’s seat sat a very familiar stallion. Up close, Derpy could see his dirty brown mane and mud-colored coat.

She held her breath as he approached.

Slowly, agonizingly, he stuck one hoof out the taxi, then another. As he hopped out, he extended a firm hoof to Derpy.

“I’m Rivet,” he said. “You look a little lost.”

Author's Note:

Written by Moonshot