11. Voracity
Damn it. Why did it have to be him? Somewhere, in one of the toilets of Ponyville General, a lone detective sat down on the floor, breathing heavily. In his current state, he looked nothing like the strong-willed, brave detective he set out to be. He was instead reduced to a panicking mess on the floor.
Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit! Gotta pull it together...If they find me out like this. If I can’t be the best anymore, I’ll be doomed! I need to stay on top. Oh, I know. I’ve heard about breathing exercises that helps with calming oneself down.
Looking Glass took deep, concentrated breaths. He focused all his attention on getting his breathing back to a normal frequency and once he was done, his sharp gaze returned. Gone was his fear, now replaced by his usual determination.
Let’s get it over with. I'm a h-hero. Heroes don't show their fear to others, they inspire them to be better.
Readjusting his black suit, he opened the restroom’s door and took one step out... only to stop when he spotted a royal guard in the corner of his eye. Darn! He saw me exit the... oh, that’s just Mango.
“Hey Looking Gla, uh... Ya got any apple cider? One with alcohol, please.” The captain drunkenly asked.
“I have no alcoholic beverages on me at all times.” Looking Glass said, masking the disdain in his voice of steel. “That should be expected coming from somepony who takes his line of work seriously.”
“Ah.” Mango rubbed his head in disappointment. “That’s a shame.”
Looking Glass noticed the absence of an important figure near the captain. “Where’s Princess Luna? Shouldn’t you be near her to ensure her protection?” He asked, his expression remaining indistinguishable.
“Bah! It’s just Ponyville! There’s no super-criminal hiding around here waiting to kill our beloved princess.” Mango dismissed, hiccupping from time-to-time.
“I don’t share this belief.” Looking Glass looked in the other direction. “I hope you know where the progress review will take place.”
“Eh... no.”
Looking Glass shot a look at Mango. Was it a glare or just a look of disappointment? The drunken captain couldn’t really tell. The stallion was a master at hiding his expressions. Nopony truly knew how he felt, part of the reason why they’re always nervous around him.
“Follow me. I’ll lead the way.”
Doctor Hoof trotted nervously around the conference room. This night, two of the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria alongside their most respected detective would come right here, right now! Understandably, he was anxiously trying to anticipate how things would go in his mind. Everything had to be perfect! He quickly shook his head, realising that he was just wasting his time.
Trotting over to one of the numerous empty seats, he sat down, trying to calm his legs down so he doesn’t look like a nervous mess once everypony would start piling in. Once the door opened, he quickly turned his body around to greet the newcomers, only to mentally slap himself across the face when he saw only Redheart enter.
The poor nurse looked like a zombie holding a cup of coffee. Her eyes could barely stay open, her fetlock was tightly wrapped around the cup. Her hoof moved robotically, taking a few sips of her coffee as she shambled towards the seat next to the good doctor.
“Hey.” she croaked.
“Are... you okay?” Doctor Hoof worried.
Redheart looked at him with her tired eyes. Her blinks were slow and weak. “Figure it out yourself.” She took a big gulp out of her cup. “Come on, did Looking Glass really have to ask for this meeting to take place in the middle of the night?” she grumbled. “Does the darn pony never sleep or what? He could be a batpony in disguise for all we know.”
Doctor Hoof sighed. “Princess Luna accepted his invitation. We live to serve the crown, not the other way around. I’m afraid we don’t have a say in this matter. I mean, w-we're professionnals and all so it shouldn't be a problem, hopefully.”
The door opened once more. This time, Heedful Care entered the conference room alongside Snowheart. The counselor scouted the room with her eyes before breathing a sigh of relief. “Oof! I thought I was late.”
“Somepony here would have wished to be late.” Redheart grumbled, dreaming about a nice pillow to rest her heavy head on.
"Don't be so moody Redheart." Doctor Hoof tapped on the seat next to him, waving the two newcomers over. “E-Eh, come sit next to us, if you don’t mind.”
The counselor giggled. “Of course I don’t mind!” She gleefully trotted next to him and sat down, placing down her saddle bags and other personal belongings on the table. Snowheart followed suit but remained silent. She had a worried look on her face. The bathroom incident still haunted her. “Hey hold on, weren’t you in charge of the emergency room tonight?” she asked, shotting a worried glance at the stallion.
“Yeah, I was.” He admitted. “But considering I was asked to be present by the crown, I had no choice but to come. Rest assured, Care, we’ve put somepony else in charge for the remainder of the conference.”
“Who?” the counselor pushed.
“Uh, a-an intern I'm afraid.” Hoof sheepishly answered.
“An intern?! Didn’t you have anypony else better qualified for the job?” Heedful Care asked, now on the edge of her seat.
“Sadly no. B-but the ER is relatively calm tonight. No patients in critical condition, and the place sure isn’t busy right now.” Doctor Hoof said, regaining his cool. “I doubt we’ll have another ‘Olive incident’ while I’m here.”
The pegasus slumped back into her chair. “I sure hope so... but I'm telling you, this hospital needs some serious revision.”
“Damn it, I've already emptied my cup of coffee.”
Twilight stared in confusion at Princess Luna. The door leading to the conference room was right there and yet, the taller alicorn simply stood still before it. Applejack was also starting to question what was going on.
“Uh, princess?” Twilight started.
“No need for honorifics amongst princesses, Twilight.” Luna said.
“Oh, sorry, force of habit. ” The princess of friendship briefly lowered her head sheepishly. “I just want to know why we’re standing in front of the door instead of, you know, going in?”
Princess Luna looked left and right before sighing. “We’re missing somepony.”
Applejack noticed the strange absence of the captain. “Mango? Where did he go?”
“That’s the problem. We can’t go in without him.” Luna sighed. “He’s supposed to check the room first before letting us in.”
“That feels a little unnecessary.” Twilight said. “We’re two of the most powerful beings in Equestria. Having a bodyguard feels like overkill.”
Luna nodded. “Indeed it is, but We insist we let Mango do his job. Firstly, it's an old tradition and secondly, It’s best to let our royal guard perform these tasks so that they don’t forget their training in life-or-death scenarios.”
“Oh, so it’s mostly for their sake.” Twilight understood. “I’m sorry for questioning our traditions.”
Luna smiled. “You don’t have to be. You’re still a relatively new princess. We don’t expect you to know everything from the get-go.”
“Hey, speak of the devil!” Applejack exclaimed. The two alicorns followed her gaze and saw Looking Glass accompanied by Mango.
“I apologise for being late.” The detective said. “I had to further prepare the evidence I've gathered before the meeting.”
Mango for his part, lifted a bottle of apple cider. “And I’ve got my hoof on this beauty!”
Applejack cracked a smile when she saw that it was one of Sweet Apple Acre’s cider. “It sure is beautiful.”
“Are we ready to go in?” Luna asked the newcomers.
“Of course.” Looking Glass responded.
The five ponies stayed in place and, uh, nothing happened. The silence became awkward as Looking Glass himself began to look confused. The three mares shot a bored glance at Mango.
“Mango, you’re supposed to check the room for danger.” Luna informed, sounding a little disappointed.
The captain, who was eyeballing his cider, snapped out of his drunken trance. “Aye aye, my beloved princess!” He sounded as if he bucked the drunkenness out of his body.
The captain checked the room as was part of the procedure before he allowed the alicorns to enter. Twilight rolled her eyes but let him do his job nonetheless.
Upon noticing their arrival, all the ponies present in the conference room bowed before them. Twilight still felt a little uneasy, not used to being treated differently by her peers as opposed to Luna who gave them a simple smile before going to the head of the table. Due to her tall stature, she was only offered a few pillows for her to sit on.
As for Twilight, she sat next to the princess. Problem is, they also placed pillows for her seat rather than just a normal chair.
Grumbling, she was about to lift a chair resting on the wall until her good friend Applejack fetched it for her. “Here ya go, pardner.”
The earth pony then sat next to her friend, much to the silent frustration of Mango who had to sit a little further away from the lunar princess than he’d like. Looking Glass was the last to sit down, appearing just as emotionally indecipherable as always.
“Princess Twilight, Princess Luna. We’re honored by your sacred presence tonight. We hope you were not inconvenienced by Looking Glass's antics.” Doctor Hoof greeted, hiding his nervosity fairly well.
“Do not fret. This timing is most agreeable to us.” Luna smiled, hoping it would calm the good doctor.
“Heh, mostly her.” Mango said, chugging down on his apple cider. "But don't tell her the truth, it'll hurt her royal feelings."
Twilight shot a glare at the captain, but Luna didn’t seem to mind much. In fact, she secretly enjoyed the captain's daring attitude just as much as Looking Glass's own tunnel vision. It was nice to be surrounded by ponies who didn't treat you like a deity.
“Mango, a bit of restraint please.” She told him before turning her attention back to the staff. “Our only concern is that we’re potentially taking away your time from caring for sick ponies.”
Doctor Hoof smiled. “Rest assured, everything’s fine. A progress review is a normal part of our routine. It’s to ensure that our patients are being treated with the best practice and upmost care.” He explained, letting his professionalism shine through.
“Naturally. And are we to assume that these meetings typically held at night?”
“No.” Looking Glass answered in place of the doctor. Said doctor looked bewildered, sitting down in a hurry. “You already know the answer, Luna. Do not waste our time here.”
Strangely impatient coming from him, but Luna knew better than to question him. She did let out a sigh because he omitted to mention her title... again.
“Very well, may we proceed?” Luna said, looking directly at Doctor Hoof.
“Hm? Oh yeah!” The stallion stood up and took a paper out of his pockets, placing it down on the table. “Since we have some non-medical ponies present tonight, I will firstly remind everypony that any specific information about the patient is strictly confidential and should not be disclosed to anypony not involved in her treatment unless it is permitted by the patient or any appointed guardian... n-not that there are any guardian to speak of.” the doctor instructed, trying his hardest to not sound monotone.
A few brief nods were given and that was the signal for him to commence. Looking Glass tapped the table a tad impatiently, repeatedly checking his pocket watch.
“I won’t employ any form of medical jargon to better help with your understanding.” He announced before starting in a monotone voice despite his best efforts. “The patient suffered many deep lacerations and tears caused by a sharp object, theorised to be bites, followed by a fracture on her right back leg. Several traumas were also inflicted to her skull and torso.”
"Ugh, this is sick..." Applejack felt more uncomfortable with each injuries mentioned. It brought back unpleasant memories. Strangely enough, she also saw a reaction coming out of Looking Glass. It was just a slight wince of the eyes, but that movement alone spoke a million words. Hatred? Fear? It was indecipherable.
“We were able to save her in time, placing a cast over her broken legs and bandaging up her lacerations. Her leg will make a full recovery.” Doctor Hoof continued, his voice staying monotone. He turned his attention to Redheart. “Nurse Redheart, following her stay in the emergency room, you were assigned to take care of her. Can you tell us what you’ve learned about the filly?”
Redheart blinked, her eyes feeling heavy. “Yeah, just... give me a moment to think about it.” She rubbed her eyes a few times, finally getting her energy back thanks to her coffee. “When I first entered her room, she was unconscious, or at least, I thought she was. Olive was pretending to be asleep so that I wouldn’t come near her. It was only when I noticed that she was awake that she finally interacted with me.”
“So she was trying to avoid you?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, she probably didn’t trust any of us.” Redheart answered in a tired voice that still displayed some sympathy. “After I got her to calm down, I offered her some food.” She looked a little uncomfortable. “She was surprised to find no meat in her plate.”
The few who were unaware of this fact widened their eyes in shock and disgust. “Her parents were carnivorous then, I presume.” Luna said.
“Cannibals.” Looking Glass corrected, causing even more shock within the room.
“Cannibals?!” Applejack shouted. “Wha- how can ya know that?”
Looking Glass winced, his whole face darkening as he gritted teeth. “Her father is no pony. I know, because I found myself stuck in his lair alongside my partner.”
Concussed, bleeding, dazed, the detective struggled to lift his head. Every time he turned his head, his vision would get blurry. All he heard was the sound of bones cracking, chewing and murmuring. Groaning, he struggled to get back on his hooves.
The sounds became louder as his ears stopped ringing. Turning his head towards the source of the sounds. He saw a large pack of ponies gathered in a small circle; their heads lowered as they kept on making these strange sounds. They were stuffing their faces in... something like a pack of hungry timberwolves. His breaths must have been too loud as one of them lifted his head and turned around to face him. A turquoise stallion with glasses then did the same. The others soon followed suit.
Saliva was dropping from their bloodied muzzles. Looking Glass’s eyes widened to the point that they felt like they were going to jump out of their orbit. It was terribly dark in there, but he could just make out a lifeless pony on the ground, smack dab in the middle of the circle the ponies were in.
“No...” He muttered, his lips quivering. One of them had black, abyssal eyes with emerald pupils staring him down. He gave him a grin full of bloody teeth.
“Hey, don’t suppose you’re that famous detective, huh?” Two voices came from his one and only mouth. One sounded very much like a stallion but the other one... it scared the detective to his very core.
The other pony next to the leader rose. Sweet Celestia, he was enormous, surpassing even the mighty white alicorn in height. Each of his steps made the ground beneath them rumble.
The flesh-eating ponies shambled towards Looking Glass. The unicorn backed away until he hit a wall. A few torches were lit, allowing him to see the horde of ponies behind the cannibals. There truly was no way out.
Curiously, the detective could make out two small shapes hiding in the far back. One of a foal, no less than a year old. It was accompanied by a small pony, a filly most likely. The filly dragged the foal away so that it wouldn’t see the horrors unleashed upon the defenseless unicorn.
Falling on his flank, Looking Glass could only watch as impending doom marched towards him, grinning at his end. But then, they stopped.
The monster before him knew who he was, and he seemed to take pleasure in that fact. “Blaze, fetch me Batsy. You know who it is.”
“Wh-What in the hay are you?” Looking Glass asked, terrified.
The stallion ripped his suit off him with one powerful spell. “What am I? Good question, I myself have been asking this same question for a while. That’s when I realised that knowledge isn’t always bliss, so I gave up on finding the answer. Memories hurt, knowledge hurts too. It’s best to live in ignorance. You might want to quit that detective job, just a suggestion.”
The turquoise stallion returned with a spiked bat, much to Looking Glass’s horror. “No...”
The evil stallion smiled. “We call this; disciplining. It’s a parent thing, you wouldn’t get it. Now then, let’s make some noise.”
In the conference room, there was nothing but silence. Everypony present was staring in sickened horror at the detective. Looking Glass spared them the details, but their imaginations filled in the blanks.
“That’s horrible!” Heedful Care whispered, her mouth wide open.
Luna was filled with righteous fury. She greatly respected the detective and to hear that tale made her feel a great deal of sympathy for him and for all the ponies who takes on dangerous jobs. “You... never told us about this.” she somberly said.
“And how could I? This stallion’s too dangerous. I didn’t want to get anypony involved in a case that would get them killed. It took my partner’s life.” Looking Glass said, looking down on the table.
“B-But didn’t you say you feared no criminals?” Redheart asked, leaning on the table.
“I don’t fear criminals...” he reaffirmed. “but this pony’s no criminal. He’s a monster, and I can tell you for a fact that Crimson Mask was nowhere near as bad as this beast.” Looking Glass stood up and slowly removed his suit. What followed were horrified murmurs and gasps.
The front of his body was filled with gnarly scars that could only be done with a spiked bat. Among them were even large bite marks that remained after all these years.
A terrified silence filled the room. The air started to feel thick for the ponies inside as the detective slumped back in his chair, putting on his suit.
“U-Um, miss Snowheart?” Twilight said, catching the attention of the quiet nurse. “We’d like for you to share what happened with Olive in the bathroom, if you’re comfortable that is.”
The mare tensed up and took a deep breath. “After I brushed her mane and cleaned her in the bathroom, I touched her flank to direct her outside.” A brief flash of fright came across her eyes. “She got startled and shouted at me to ‘get away from her’. It sounded like three voices were yelling at me!”
“And her mouth also opened, going far pass what is possible for a pony.” Twilight added.
Luna frowned, remembering the filly’s nightmares.
“Not everything’s bleak with her.” Redheart said, trying to shed some light on the situation. “She has gotten more expressive and happier when I'm nearby. The same could be said for when Applejack came to visit.” She shot a thankful glance at the earth pony. “She’s opening up to us.”
“E-yup. She’s a real sweetheart.” Applejack added, tipping her hat.
“However,” Redheart tilted her head to the side. “She still seems to hold some affection for her father. She’s still unwilling to share much information regarding her life with him.”
“I’ve known plenty of cases like this.” Heedful Care affirmed. “Olive doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on. She feels like she’s done something wrong to have ended up in the Everfree forest.” She remembered something and nearly stood up from her chair. “Wait!”
She reread the notes she had brought with her. “According to my notes here, we believe based on what Olive said that she might have been the victim of sexual abuse.” She looked to Looking Glass with a bit of desperation in her eyes. “Do you think this stallion might have done some... things to her.”
Looking Glass winced. “Celestia knows what he could do to a foal. This monster seems to have no limit to his cruelty. I’m not saying he did, but we can’t rule it out either.”
At the head of the table, the three mares were beaming with rage. Applejack especially for she got attached to Olive. The thoughts of the countless abuse she must have been exposed to made her feel angry. Under her closed mouth, she was gritting her teeth.
“Who? Who is this pony?” Luna asked, her face darkening.
Looking Glass took out his cassette tape. “Before I answer this question, I want you to listen to this.” He hit the play button and let the recording play out.
Everypony went quiet, listening intently to the contents of the tape. A general wave of discomfort overcame the conference room. Every passing seconds only seemed to make all its occupant feel more miserable.
“Hey, who’s this lanky one?” Mango said, looking torn between drinking and staying somewhat sober.
“I’ve seen two foals before they tortured me.” Looking Glass started. “That was eight years ago. I’m guessing the filly I saw back then must be the one they’re referring to.”
Applejack's eyes widened. “Hold on, Ah only found Olive at the Everfree forest. Where’s the other one?”
“Dead.” The unicorn bluntly responded. Applejack looked visibly hurt by this answer. “Olive was lucky to have survived, though I don’t know why they went after her too.”
“Enough.” Luna said, her eyes beaming with righteous fury. “I want to know the name of the stallion we’re after.” she commanded.
Looking Glass took out a photo from his suit and placed it down on the table. The photo depicted Olive’s father, albeit in a poor quality which only served to make him more terrifying.
“What the...” everypony muttered in disbelief.
“Olive’s father is Anarchy, the most dangerous and bloodthirsty criminal Equestria has ever seen. He’s the leader of a criminal organisation called ‘The Anarchists’. His crimes always include the death of important figureheads in big companies. We can only hope that he won’t come near Ponyville.” Looking Glass stated.
“He doesn’t look similar to his own daughter.” Doctor Hoof said. “Could it be that he kidnapped her at a young age?”
“Impossible.” Looking Glass shut down his theory. “If that would have been the case, there would be a missing pony report filed at the bureau of investigation. We never got an unresolved case of a filly disappearing.”
Luna stood up. “We thank you all for sharing your knowledge regarding Olive’s situation. If we have nothing else of note to add, I’d call it here.”
Nopony said a word.
“Good, now if you’ll excuse me; I need to talk with somepony.” In the dreamscape.
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More good
Wow!!
What a reveal!!
Cannot wait to see how this goes now!!
Anarchy's gonna get those hooves!
I have been liking this story a lot so far, but I am concerned with the similarity this and the previous chapter has with a few chapters from Greenhorne’s story Trust Once Lost. It looks like a few lines are the same with some slightly changed to work with this story, and many portions follow very similar patterns. I am uncertain if the intention is to be a reference to said story or is just copying. The chapters I am referring to have been written 3 years ago, so I don’t think this is could be a reverse of the situation. Nothing is said in the author’s note or anywhere else to confirm the intentions of this story’s recent writing. I understand following a similar pattern as chapters from another story, but this doesn’t feel right with how direct this is. Once again, I like this story and am afraid that this could be some form of plagiarism.
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Do not fret, my intention isn't to plagiarise. I have been inspired to write this after reading some stories like Trust Once Lost and What A Strange Little Colt. I have taken certain ideas from them to help me start off the story or to push through my occasional writer's block, although I may have unconsciously taken too much recently. I hope that I can bring enough of my own elements to the table to differenciate this story from them and give it its own flair. I will certainly not try to rip them off at every turn now that I feel like I've got more than enough ideas to take things down a similar yet unique approach. The next chapter certainly won't have any ressemblance with these stories, I can assure you.