• Published 24th Apr 2013
  • 6,261 Views, 354 Comments

The Watchful Eye - Mr Anomalous



A blur in the darkness--revered by some, loathed by others--and one that seems to have taken Ponyville into its excessive and unnecessary protection . . . and no one can figure who, what, where, when, why, or how.

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Chants


As far as Twilight could tell, her stomach and all of her insides had all been swallowed up, deep inside a bottomless pit of frigid blackness. She hadn't the slightest clue why, but that symbol, that thing whose genesis resided in some arctic pit on some dark planet hitherto unbeknownst to ponykind, made her feel very uneasy. And Celestia's stolid stoicism, her overall lack of movement, save of course her ever-flowing mane, was not helping the issue.

Twilight turned away, ripping her attention off of the eccentric sigil and fixing it instead on the solid marble ground. She wanted to flee, but managed to hold her ground.

"Celestia?" she managed meekly, "What is that thing?"

Princess Celestia, her brow furrowed, said in a reserved voice, "I am afraid that I do not know, Twilight. But I most certainly do not like it."

With that, Celestia suddenly turned about, startling a nearby guard whom she ordered: "I want that symbol gone, and as soon as possible."

The soldier only nodded smally and Celestia went off. Twilight lifted her hoof, paused, and looked back and forth between the receding Celestia and the symbol on the wall, finally opting to stand there and gaze upon the symbol, studying it. Her initial terror had subsided to recede to a tolerable level. Still, there was something about the thing . . . yes; it needed to be gone as soon as possible.

- - -

It was Saturday. Saturday, damn it! Wisp knew what he was getting into when he signed up for his work, but even when duty called when he wished it didn't, it had the tendency to be annoying.

Wisp left the bookstore, only the second establishment on his list, and managed to reach his home rather quickly, discarding his new books and his food for next week or so.

He hurried over the the guard station and quickly outfitted his armor. As he was fastening on his helmet, he frowned. There were a lot more stallions at the station than there were when an emergency was usually called. Must be a big one.

Wisp followed the stallions--trying to stay out of their notice--into the briefing room where they all sat on their haunches and awaited the talk. Counting them, Wisp concluded that there was approximately twenty, including himself, whereas most weekend emergencies required two or three squads--three stallions in each --at the most. Yes, definitely a "big one."

The captain, Captain Aurora he was, stood at the front and began to speak, saying, "Gentlecolts, there appear to be reports coming from the residents of Appleloosa of some . . . disturbing activity up near Ghastly Gorge. Nothing too definite yet, but reports contain information referring to chanting, yelling, and smoke. When we get there, keep your eyes and ears open, and watch each other's backs. There have been scouts sent by Appleoosians, but they have so far failed to return. Exact locations and details will be provided en route, beginning now."

Author's Note:

Gah! I'm really sorry for my tiny chapters--chapters that don't often come very close together either--but I've learned that I can't force my mind to yield the creativity that it simply doesn't have, at least not at the moment.