> Obsessions > by Derpyx0 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1: Questions > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It started out as just an obsession, really. I didn't think it would escalate into so much. I though that she would drop it, as she did all of her obsessions. I thought that it wouldn't be a problem, that she would be fine. But you can't NOT have problems when you're dealing with another world, another race, can you? Of course, this was thought to be impossible, and nopony had ever heard of this before. They would have thought we were crazy! That's why we didn't tell anypony. Not a single soul. It was our not so little secret. But, it's impossible for a secret to STAY a secret, isn't it? I was making some tea when I heard a knock on the door. I trotted over to it, looking out the peephole. At my door was one of Celestia's Royal Guards. I gasped; what would one of them be doing here? I hadn't done anything against the law, had I? I hoped the hospital was okay! I let the guard in. "Come in," I said. He walked into my house, looking around. I was nervous. "I'm Redheart, take a seat. Would you like some tea? Oh, Derpy just brought over a-" The guard silenced me with his hoof. "It's okay, ma'am. But... a seat does sound nice," he said. I scrambled to grab a chair from my kitchen, without realizing we had walked into my living room. While rushing out of the room, I tripped over a chair, causing me to tumble to the ground. I got up, blushing furiously. The guard stifled a laugh. Without thinking (once again), I shot a glare at him. He quieted down after that. I trotted over to my red sofa and sat down. I looked at him. He looked at me. "So, what are you here for?" I asked. I looked him up and down. Definitely here on official business. I almost snorted. Why would I think anypony would be here for me? I mean, I'm not ugly. I have a white coat, and a light pink mane that I ALWAYS keep up in a bun. My cutie mark is a red cross with pink arrows in the slits. But, my neck is a little too long, and my flank is a bit too big. I've tried working out, but it doesn't help. With all the sweets I eat, I don't think I'll EVER be skinny! I know what you're thinking; "A nurse.... eating lots of sweets?!" but I can't help it. It's an obsession. Besides, I know ponies with much more dangerous obsessions, like her. "I'm here to ask you some questions. I know you must be hurting dearly right now, but we would like to get to the bottom of your friend Lyra's death. Since you were the last one seen with her... we thought you might have some answers." "Answers? I-" I faltered. I knew what had killed her. I knew why she wasn't here. But, I didn't know if I wanted to say. Plus, I wasn't really hurting over her right now, and talking about her might make me feel guilty. I had gotten over the hurting stage, and now I was angry and a tad upset. What she did to kill herself..... it wasn't right. "Who... who, besides me and you, would get to know this information?" I asked. The guard pondered my question. "Well, the authorities of course, and her family. You see, her family really wants us to find out how she died so they could have a- a 'proper burial'. And we thought that you might know something." I cringed. If I told the authorities, nothing like this would ever happen again. And, I know Lyra's family. They're really nice people, and they deserve to know how she died. But- but that's just the problem. How she died was, well, not good. Actually, it was illegal. But my big heart took over my mind. I knew Lyra's little sister personally, and she and her family are very religious. Funerals matter to them, and without knowing how Lyra died... Besides, she's dead, right? They can't punish her! They can punish you. You'll get in trouble, you'll be thrown in jail, you- "Shut up!" I screamed. The guard looked astounded. "Uh, sorry I, um," I stuttered. Now, when it came time to confess, I wasn't so sure. But I had to. For Lyra, and her family. "Yes, I... I have information on how she died." "Well?" the guard asked. He- I looked at his name tag- Blaze looked at me expectantly. "This might be a while. I'll go get some tea and muffins." I trotted out of the room before he could protest. When I went into the kitchen, I got out some herbs and started making some tea. While it was heating up, I warmed up some muffins and put them on a plate. When the tea was done, I poured it into some teacups and put them on a tray. When everything was stable in my hooves, I trotted into the living room. "Um, okay. Where to start?" "Wait, start? I thought you were just going to inform me on how she died?" "Yes, well, it's kind of a long story. You might want to get comfortable." I could just inform him on how she died, but I thought that a the punishment might be less harsh. "Alright. How long is this going to take? I have to report back in an hour." "I- I don't know. I've actually never told anyone this before. Actually, that's not true. They... they found out." I almost hit myself, remembering the time. Letting other ponies know our little secret was careless, hay, it was idiotic of me! "They?" "Well, that's later in the story." "Well then start the story!" he grunted, frustrated. I didn't want him to lose his patience, so I began. I took a deep breath. "Well, I guess it all starts with Lyra." > Chapter 2: Her Story Part 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lyra had always had an obsessive personality. She and I actually became friends through one of her obsessions. When I was a foal, I moved from Manehattan to Ponyville. I had always had trouble making friends, so I was nervous for my first day at school. When I got to school, I scanned the playground, looking for a friend. The I saw a mint green pony playing with a pink and purple pony. They were shouting things like "Argh! You must walk the plank now, Scorpio!" As soon as they said Scorpio, I gasped. Scorpio was a character from my favorite book series, Pirate Ponies. It wasn't very well known, and up until then, I had yet to find another foal who enjoyed the series. Gathering what little courage I had, I took a deep breath and walked over to them. The pink one looked up from her treasure map and gasped. "So YOU'RE the new pony!" I nodded my head. She smiled at me. "Hi, I'm Cheerilee, what's your na-" Cheerilee was cut off by a mint green hoof. The green foal clamped her friends mouth shut. "No," she whined, "you're Scorpio! And I'm Golfen! Not that she'd know who those are." "Lyra! Be nice! She's new!" Ah, so the green one's name was Lyra, I thought. I trotted towards Lyra, who scowled at me. "Actually, I DO know who those are. Golfen is the Captain of all the Pirates from Treasure Island, and Scorpio is his sidekick who in book three of the Pirate Ponies series, Traitor, was forced to walk the plank because he betrayed the pirates by telling their location to the Captain of the Pirates from Evil Island!" I sat down on the ground, out of breath. Lyra blinked in astonishment. Cheerilee just looked at me with her mouth open. "I- I uh......" Lyra stuttered as she tried to think of something to say. After awhile, she said excitedly, "Welcome to the team!" Cheerilee pumped her hoof up in the air, and Lyra threw me an award-winning smile. Just then, the bell rang. We walked towards the schoolhouse together. Suddenly, Lyra stopped. "Hey, we never got your name! What is it?" "Redheart." I answered. "It's Redheart." ~~~~~~ "What does this have to do with Lyra's death?" the guard asked. I scowled. "It has everything to do with Lyra's death!" I growled back. "You'll be less harsh, okay? If you want to know about her death, you'll hear my whole story!" The guard rolled his eyes and nodded. "Fine," he spat, "go on!" He then took a vicious bite of his muffin. I gasped. I'm kind of a, what you call.... a neat freak. "No crumbs on the carpet, please!" I wrapped the crumbs in my glowing magic and threw them back onto the plate. "Now, where was I? "Lyra, Cheerilee and I were friends for a long, long time! We would do everything together! We were like," Redheart shivered, "t- the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Except not as.... vicious. Lyra had always had an obsessive personality, like I said. She obsessed over EVERYTHING! From stallion bands to her grades, Lyra raved on and on. When Cheerilee got her cutie mark, she went off to Manehattan to get her degree in teaching. Around that time, Lyra was finding something new to obsess over. Since I left shortly after Cheerilee for medical school, I never got to find out what her new obsession was. "I ended up coming back to Ponyville, along with Cheerilee. Lyra had always stayed in Ponyville. She ended up being a musician, and she played at Sugarcube Corner on Sundays. We were so excited to see our friend again, and she was ecstatic. But we noticed something different about her. She seemed, well, distant, more like she was up in the clouds. Then she would start disappearing at night, not coming back until about 3 AM. She never used to do this, so obviously Cheerilee and I were concerned. "We figured she was at the bar, and she wanted to keep it from us. So we went there one night. Nothing. She had never been to the bar alone at night. We searched everywhere, Cheerilee and I, but we found nothing. Nor did we ask anything. We figured that it was something personal, so we let it go. Well, Cheerilee let it go. I was afraid for my friend, and I was sure she was up to something bad. "So one night, I crept over to Lyra's house and followed her. I had no idea where she was going! She made all these twists and turns throughout the streets of Ponyville, as if she was trying to lose somepony! Then it hit me. Maybe she was trying to lose me! But she never could have seen me, I had kept hidden this entire time. Eventually, she stopped in front of an old, rundown house. It didn't look like anyone lived in it, but Lyra went right on in. "By now I was really nervous. I was afraid of what was in the house. I followed Lyra cautiously to what looked like a living room with no furniture. The only thing besides me and her in the room was a mirror. To my utter surprise, she, she stepped into the mirror! She just walked right in! ~~~~~~ "She walked into a mirror? Ma'am, a-are you okay?" Blaze asked in disbelief. I know, it seemed crazy, but she just walked right in! "No, Blaze, I'm not crazy. I can show you the mirror! I swear, it's there," I assured. Blaze glanced up at my clock and sighed. "Fine, but I only have 20 minutes until I have to report back. Let's hurry up." He and I trotted out my front door. When we exited my front yard, I remembered I didn't know the route exactly. I giggled nervously, causing Blaze to cock his head. "You do know the way, right?" I giggled again, blushing. "Y- yeah. I know the way! I- it's this way!" I pointed a hoof towards Trotting Street. Blaze grumbled, and reluctantly followed me. 10 minutes later, with a LOT more twists and turns then when I followed Lyra, we arrived at the run-down building. "Ha! I told you I knew the way!" Blaze just grumbled some more and trotted after me. We made our way through the house into the so-called-living room. When we got there, I pointed to the mirror. "See?" He smirked. "Yes, I see a purple, pink, and blue mirror that looks like it belongs in a castle play set for a little filly!" he scoffed. I snorted in anger; he was being a real jerk! Suddenly, he stuck his hoof out as if he was trying to break the mirror. He gasped when it went through. "I- I.... you weren't lying." I didn't even say 'I told you so'. The look on his face was priceless! His expression was a mix of shock, horror, and... something I couldn't place. He kind of looked like he had been slapped. "I- I have to go report back, but I'll be here tomorrow, same time." "Same time? You can't just invite yourself over! Besides, I have a garden to attend to a-" Redheart was silenced by Blaze's hoof. "Official business. Canterlot Royal Guard. I have to come." I huffed, but reluctantly agreed. "Fine. Same time, same place. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, Blaze and I went our respective ways. > Chapter 3: Her Story Part 2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next day, I was tending to my garden when Blaze walked up to my house. "One second!" I said after he called out my name. I got up from the moist dirt and slid off my gardening gloves. I glanced back at Blaze, who was staring off into space. He wasn't looking at me, so I turned back around to my flowers. "Love you guys," I muttered, then I blew a kiss towards them. After I said goodbye to my flowers, I trotted up to my front door. When I walked inside, I realized Blaze was still leaning up against my window. "BLAZE!" I yelled, causing him to yelp. He stumbled, and started falling towards my roses. "No!" I shrieked, using my magic to catch him. "Two times! TWO times! First the crumbs, now this?! Are you TRYING to make me lose my temper?!" I seethed. Blaze glanced up at me, then looked away. He's the wimpiest guard I've ever seen, I thought. I carefully placed him down, and he trotted after me into my living room. "Now, uh. Can we get started? I need to report back at-" I cut him off. "Well, excuse me! I need to report to my job at noon, so this meeting will have to be cut short!" Blaze grumbled, but agreed. "Now, I guess we'll start from where we left off. First off, that.... mirror gives me chills. And, it brings back memories. We will never visit it again. If you would like to study it, you can study it on your own. However, you may not damage it or move it. It is-was Lyra's, and it will forever be Lyra's. "Lyra got that mirror when her grandmother Gemstone died, and it is a precious family heirloom. When she told me that it was magic, I didn't believe her. I guess I had this great realization that she hadn't been lying all those years when I followed her. She discovered that it wasn't a normal mirror around the time Cheerilee and I went to college. I remember I was writing a paper about the pony anatomy, when I got a call from Lyra. I picked it up, and she-after some trouble- finally told me about the mirror. I, of course, didn't believe her. She told me she wanted me to see it, but I was all the way in Canterlot. When I moved back to Ponyville, she never talked about it again. "When Lyra told Cheerilee, she reacted the same way I did. However, she, over the years, forgot about the little incident. I never did. I was reminded of the incident when we went to Canterlot years ago. We were going to see her friend Octavia perform in a concert. We were just walking around Canterlot, when we saw a sign that said "For just 100 bits per pony, you could go get a tour of the castle!" Lyra was ecstatic when she saw that, and she begged and begged me to buy tickets. I said fine, but she ended up paying for dinner that night. "We payed our 100 bits, and we walked over to our assigned group and guide. Lyra asked the guide if we would get to see the Royal Canterlot Library, and he said yes. I thought it not possible, but Lyra was even more excited when he said yes! Throughout the entire first half of the tour, she kept on asking when we would get to see the library. Finally, about halfway through the tour, we reached the library. There, Lyra's friend Twilight was reading. Lyra had moved to Canterlot for a short period of time when she was a teenager, and she was one of Twilight's, well, acquaintances. Twilight didn't have any real friends at the time. "Back to the story. As we passed the room, Lyra ducked under the rope that guided the tour, and ran up to one of the bookcases. The guard had shouted at her to "get back with the group", but Twilight came to her rescue. Being Princess Celestia's protege, Twilight was able to get Lyra out of trouble. To the group's surprise, Lyra skipped the rest of the tour to hang out in the library reading. I myself have never been a huge reader, so I went along with the rest of the tour, and met up with Lyra afterwards. "When we met up for lunch, Lyra's saddlebags were full of books. She pulled one out after we ordered, and to this day, I remember the title. The title was Bipeds 101: Humans. It was so weird! I had NO idea what a human was! I searched for it in books, but none of them had what I needed. I even asked our librarian, Twilight Sparkle, you know the story of Twilight, right? Good. As I was saying, I even asked Twilight, and she didn't know what a human was either. She said she would research it for me, but she never got back to me. To this day, I still don't know what they are. I never thought of humans again. I just thought that they were another one of her weird obsessions. "I don't know what they are, but for some reason, I feel like they're connected to her death somehow. I feel like they are connected to that mirror. I thought of this too, that day, but I just shook off the feeling. To my knowledge, she never returned those books. You know, now that I'm thinking about it, after those books, she never became obsessed with something so deeply ever again!" Blaze stopped my story by asking me "Where did you say she got those books again?" "In the Royal Library. Why? If your thinking I can look for the books, forget it. I would never be able to get into the library!" "You can't, but I can. We can go in together. I am assigned to this case, and you said the humans might be involved. I need to look to." "Wonderful! When can we go?" "Well, I'll come again tomorrow and-" "Hold on, Mister. I have a life besides you! I'm busy all day tomorrow! Come back on Wednesday. Oh, and speaking of me being busy, I have to report for my hospital shift in 15 minutes! Bye!" I was shoving Blaze towards the door as he protested. "Wednesday?! That's way to far off! My boss'll get mad! I have to come tomorrow! Surely your other plans can wa-" I silenced him with a spell. "Now, lookie here, buddy. Do you want the story or not? Tell your boss he can wait, or he can get nothing. I'll see you on Wednesday, now goodbye." With that, I shoved him out the door. I don't know what made me push a guard around like that. Maybe it was because he was so wimpy. Maybe it was because he ticked me off. All I knew was that he would never press any charges against me, or he wouldn't get his story. Soon, I rushed out and stumbled into the taxi waiting for me outside. "Ponyville Hospital, stat! I'm almost late for work!" I yelled. The taxi driver glared at me, and took off. "Someone's not getting a good tip," I muttered under my breath, before turning to face the window. > A Guard's Tale: Part One > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blaze suppressed a groan as he watched Redheart walk away. What was with that mare? She acted as if she were better than the rest of the world, and it annoyed the hell out of him. The only reason he let her push him around like that was so he could get this story out of her. Sadly, being a citizen of Equestria, they couldn't force the story out of her. It had to come from her freedom of speech. Plus, if he was a jerk to her, she would report him. And... well, let's just say Blaze didn't need any more infractions at the moment. He was walking on thin ice as it was with his boss. If he did anything, anything to screw this up, he would be fired. And Blaze needed the money. Not that he got much. Contrary to some beliefs, minor ranks in the guard like him don't get paid a whole lot. Maybe about 500 bits a week, which was barely enough to cover his rent. He must have had the tiniest apartment ever, and he still had to pay 200 bits a month for the ratty piece of crap. On top of that, Blaze had to pay for food, his bills (electricity, health care, etc.) and his addiction. Blaze sighed at the thought of it. He became addicted to alcohol. It was pretty bad. If he didn't have at least one bottle a night, he would become depressed an unresponsive. He would be in a different world, and that didn't help his 16 hour shifts. Blaze growled, a scowl creeping its way onto his face. It wasn't his fault he was addicted. It wasn't his fault he was depressed as all hell. It wasn't his fault he had a crappy job. And it wasn't his fault he was always angry, depressed, and.... lonely. Though he never admitted this to himself, Blaze was lonely. Ever since Her, things had gone downhill. Blaze shook his head. He couldn't think about that now. He didn't want to stress himself out before his meeting with his boss. As long as he wasn't drunk or stressed out, this meeting should go well. After every visit with Redheart, Blaze was supposed to give a full report to is boss about what he had learned, and what action they had to take at that point. It all seemed very, very silly to Blaze. So, one pony died mysteriously. How many times has that happened? Who says she didn't commit suicide? The Guard didn't know what had killed her, so why was she so special? Why was Lyra Heartstrings so important? The more Blaze thought about it, the more confused he got. The Guard wasn't bored. They had a changeling threat to deal with. So why would they be wasting all their time on one pony? Surely there was something they weren't telling him. It's not like this hasn't happened before. The Guard had withheld information from Blaze in the past. Sure, some things were classified, but Blaze thought he deserved to know why this case was so important, when there were much more important things going on. Maybe it had something to do with Redheart saying that he had to hear the whole story so she wouldn't judge Lyra's actions harshly. Speaking of Redheart, she wasn't making this investigation any easier. She kept giving Blaze bits and pieces of the story. It seemed like she's not actually telling him the story at all! Blaze knew he was on a schedule here, but surely she could tell a freaking story in one hour! Blaze jumped as his hoof hit his cabinet. "Shit," he muttered, rubbing his hurt hoof. He didn't even realize he had gotten home! He must have been so wrapped up in his thoughts, he just naturally did his routine. After concluding that he didn't need ice for his hoof, Blaze stared at the cabinet he had been reaching for. He recognized it immediately. Its beautiful oak designs, swirling down the cabinet like a waterfall. Blaze knew this cabinet all too well. It was his liquor cabinet. He was about to open it, when he looked at the rusty, brown clock hanging on his moth-eaten wall. It read 3:30. "Shit!" Blaze yelled as he raced out the door, putting his armor on as he ran. When he reached the castle, he was out of breath. One of the guards on watch asked him what his business was there. Since it was protocol, Blaze answered. "I'm"-huff-"here to see"-wheeze-"Captain"-gasp-"Lance." The guard nodded. "You must be Blaze, his 4:00?" Blaze could only nod in response as he tried to catch his breath. "Very well, come in." The gate to the castle opened slowly, allowing him entrance. He made my way to Captain Lance's office, which was in the west wing of the Princess' castle. At exactly 4:00, Blaze knocked on the Captain's door. "Come in," was the Captain's only response to the knock. The door creaked open slowly, revealing the Captain sitting at his large desk. "So, what do you have for me today, Blaze?" the Captain asked, his voice mono toned. "Well sir, she was as cryptic as always," Blaze began. > A Guard's Tale: Part Two > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Basically, Miss Redheart continued her story and didn't give me any new information," Blaze reported to Captain Lance. The Captain nodded his head in response, yet he looked dissatisfied. "Blaze, you know how important this case is. We really need you to find out what happened to Miss Heartstrings, and we think that her friend's story is the only way to get the information." Captain Lance threw a discouraged look at Blaze. They needed this information, and they needed it now! Blaze held in a grunt of frustration. His boss always acted as if Blaze was supposed to know more then he actually knew. On top of that, everything that was going wrong was his fault! He couldn't force information out of the stubborn mare, so he had to let her tell the story at the pace of a snail. Sometimes Blaze wished he could force the entire story out of her in five minutes so his boss wouldn't be this mad all the time. If he just knew what he was looking for, he could ask the mare and be on his way. But no, his boss had to make it so hard for him to gain any information. He wasn't aloud to know anything about the case he specializing in! He deserved some answers! "Captain-" Blaze started. "Captain Lance," the Captain interrupted. "Uh, yes. Captain Lance, sir. Since this is my case, and I'm the one finding out the answers for you, may I ask just one question?" Blaze asked. "Yes, you may ask a question, but make it quick. I have something scheduled after this appointment that's very important." "Yes, sir. So, um, may I ask exactly what we're trying to figure out here? I mean, I know we are trying to figure out why Ly- Miss Heartstring died and all, but why? Why is this mare so important? Does she belong to royal family? I've never seen her around the castle though. And why would she live in Ponyville? It doesn't make any sense! And what would her friend know? She seems just as clueless as us!" Blaze gazed at his Captain, awaiting an answer. His boss remained silent, challenging his gaze with a glare of his own. Captain Lance finally broke the battle with a sigh. "Blaze, some things are just not meant for you to know! All you need to know is that we need to find out how Miss Heartstrings died as soon as possible, and your dilly-dallying around with her friend is not helping our situation! We need to get to the bottom of this; for reasons not meant for your ears. This is a highly important case, and I'm starting to regret putting you on it. All you need to know is that Miss Heartstrings was a very important pony, and her death has cost us many things. We are afraid that what killed her may try and kill us too. What she was associating with is not from our world. We need to figure out what it was, and if it was what killed her. Do you understand?" Blaze blinked in response, shocked by how stressed his boss sounded. "I- uh.. Yes, sir. I understand. It seems that this case is very important, and I'll try to get as much information as I can out of her. I'll try my hardest, sir." Blaze was about to walk out the door, when something hit him. "Oh, uh, sir, one more piece of information I forgot. It seems as if this would help. When Miss Redheart and Miss Heartstrings went on that tour, Miss Heartstrings got some books. Miss Redheart said that one of the books was titled 'Bipeds 101: Humans'." "Thank you Blaze. That piece of information has really helped our case. Pay attention to the details, for they might be more important then you think," Captain Lance said cryptically while writing in his notebook. "You are dismissed." Blaze followed the order and trotted out the door, heading home. On the long walk home, Blaze pondered what the Captain said. He didn't know much, but he now knew that this case was one of the most important cases he had ever had. These... creatures might be even more dangerous then the changelings! Blaze shook his head in annoyance. All these thoughts in his head were giving him a headache! Blaze decided to stop thinking about work so he could have a clear head once more. ~~~~~~ When Blaze got home, he headed straight for his liquor cabinet. After a stressful, confusing meeting like the previous, Blaze really needed something to get his mind off it. He opened the cabinet, only to find that, to his dismay, it was empty. "Ugh! Shit! I really needed some right now!" Blaze sighed, and went over his options. He could go to the store and buy more, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with the questioning eyes of other ponies. Whenever he went to the store, it seemed as if he and is large amounts of liquor were the most interesting things in the world. On the other hoof, he could always go to the Ponyville bar.... The only problem with that was that everyone seemed to want to make a conversation, and whenever he got more then three beers, the bartenders would say "Don't you think that's enough?" Stupid Ponyville bartenders. This town was too nice. Manehattan was much, much better. But he couldn't stay in Manehattan, not with the memory of Her around. So he moved to Ponyville, joined the guard, and eventually got assigned to this case. Blaze groaned, and gazed longingly at the cabinet. He didn't like thinking; it made him stressed. And Blaze did not like being stressed. If he had his liquor, he wouldn't be stressed right now. But no, it had to be all gone when he most needed it! Since he didn't want to have to sustain a conversation, Blaze opted to have people staring at him for a couple minutes instead. He headed towards the Ponyville Supermarket accompanied by his wallet. When he got there, he quickly grabbed a shopping cart and rushed over to the liquor isle. He got all his favorite, strongest beers and loaded his cart up. After he had everything he needed, Blaze trotted over towards the checkout line, trying not to notice all the stares directed towards him. Blaze purchased everything he needed and headed home. When he got home, he stocked his liquor cabinet, and popped open a cold beer. He sat on his couch and turned on the T.V., his liquor and The Housemares of Miami distracting him from his questions about his case. At about midnight, he shut off his T.V. and went to bed. He fell asleep with "At least I only had one. Hangovers are only aloud on weekends." > Chapter 6: Her Story Part 3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I awoke to the chirping of the birds, the sing-song sound of the wind, and- "How cliche," I grumbled. I then heard a knock on my door. "Never mind." Tuning out the knocks, I brushed my mane and teeth, and soon made myself a cup of coffee. My stomach grumbled, so I prepared myself a leftover scone from yesterday morning. After the steaming tea and delicious scone was lain out properly across the table, I opened the front door with a smile on my face. "Hello, Blaze! And what brings you to my humble home?" I asked, my smile changing into a slight smirk. I was in a... devious mood. Besides, I was angry at him for ruining my cliche morning. The annoyed look on his face was enough to make my half-smirk widen, and Blaze took note of that. "Miss.... Redheart. I was standing at your door for twenty minutes! I almost thought you weren't home, but I knew you'd hate to miss our little... get together. Oh, is that tea and scones I smell? Now I know what took you so long! Or maybe... you wanted to get all ready for me? Your mane is done up quiet nicely! I am quite the stallion! I can see why you would be into me!" I growled. Oh, he was good. Too good, and I hated it. His cleverness made me want to strangle him even more then I already did, but I restrained myself. "Oh, I would never want to miss our wonderful discussions, Blaze. I was just making myself some breakfast, which I am sure you already did. It is ten in the morning! And I was just brushing my mane, so it wouldn't look like your rats nest of a mane," I shot back. Blaze, almost protectively, ran his hoof through his messy mane. It did look like a rats nest, and stallions didn't care about their manes, right? So nothing I said could be hurtful, I thought. Then I thought, Wait, why am I concerned about his feelings? I'm bickering with him for a reason! "So, Blaze, would you like to come inside? I'm sure I have some tea leftover." Blaze smirked at me, knowing that he had won. I held in a disgruntled sigh; I wasn't happy he had won. But I had to be the bigger mare! I then snorted. Blaze was acting like a little filly! To think that a stallion would take part in such a petty fight! Ha! "Are you going to let me inside your humble home, Miss Redheart?" That was the bad thing about losing. Blaze could now mock me all he wanted. It was an unspoken, unofficial rule. And I hated it. A lot. Though I hated him, it was my duty to tell him the story of my dear, dear friend Lyra Heartstrings. Though I didn't know why the guard wanted this story, I knew they did, and I didn't want to question their expertise. Still... this was my friend we were talking about here. And I was the one telling the story! I deserved to know some answers! And from what limited knowledge I knew of deaths and the guard, their lack of communication towards me was highly unusual. I decided to talk to the guard this afternoon, and to try to get some answers. Suddenly, a soft munch drew my attention to the corner of my living room. "Blaze!" I shouted in anger. "Why in the whole wide world of Equestria are you eating my scone?" Slurp. "And drinking my tea? That's mine!" I was fuming. The nerve of this stallion! Eating my food and drinking my drinks without permission! "You said you would prepare something for me. I thought, 'Well, I'm hungry, and you promised me food, so I just thought-" Blaze's snout snapped shut when I shoved him across the room. In hindsight, that wasn't the smartest thing to do, but I was angry! "You, Blaze, are here on official business, and official business only! That gives you no right to steal my food, ruin my flowers, or any of the things you have been doing! I have a mind to report you to your boss right this instant and I- A- Are you... smiling at me?" Throughout my whole rant, Blaze had a dumb smile on his face. "You are just too cute when you're angry. You know that? It's a wonder you aren't married!" It was like he had slapped me. I was dumbfounded. Had he... had he.. "A- are you... flirting with me?" I stared at Blaze, my eyes wide. Was he flirting with me? Why would he do that? Surely he didn't like me! I.. I honestly wasn't pretty, well, not like Lyra. But, well, even with his tendency to be annoying, he was one heck of a stallion. Those huge muscles, his soft, blonde mane. Wait... what was I thinking?1 I didn't like him! I don't like him! He's a jerk! I- I can't like him! "Well," Blaze started, drawing my eyes to him, "I guess I am. You sound angry, though I don't know why! I've seen you looking at me! Seriously, don't deny it!" "W- what the hell are you talking about? I have never stared at you. If anything, you're the one staring at me!" I don't know why I got so angry. I guess I just didn't want him to like me, since romantic relationships have never worked for me in the past. All of my previous boyfriends have... well, they left me, for one reason or another. And I seem to have horrible taste in men. It seems as if they always have something "wrong" with them; whether it be an addiction or cheating, I can never seem to find the right guy. And I had a feeling Blaze had something he was hiding from me. I don't know what, but he just gave me that feeling. But... he was still pretty cute... No! I couldn't think about that! I looked up (not realizing I was looking at my hardwood flooring), and stared him straight in the eye. He stared back. Then he smiled, just like they all did. Memories flashed in my mind, and they weren't good ones. The memories and his smile broke me. I was too afraid. I couldn't handle stallions! They were to unnerving, their talent at manipulation. They were all like that, and Blaze was probably no exception. "Get out," I declared, "now." "I- but- you can't do that! I'm sorry, alright! I- I don't know what came over me! But I- I have a story to get! My boss'll kill me! This story is super important to this case! Please, Miss Redheart, I need this story." Blaze's eyes searched my for pity, for a place where he could break me, so my story would spill out. But I wouldn't let him break me. I was already broken enough. "I- I said to get out. This is my house. You have no right to intrude upon my household. You- you're... trespassing?" I ended my should-have-been statement with a question mark. I didn't know much about legal affairs, but I was pretty sure he was breaking some law. My judgement must have been right, since Blaze backed away from me and trotted out my door. "I'll be back tomorrow. Or will that not work for you? Maybe I can come the next day. Since this is your house. And I mean, who cares about my job? I don't need what little money I make for my crappy apartment and my addic- and my, uh, cat. Yeah, my cat, Addison. So, goodbye. I hope you're happy." Blaze left with a slam!, and the door was closed in my face. I know he was trying to make me feel bad, and he was close to succeeding. But seriously, he couldn't get fired for not getting enough, er, any of the story today! How important was it, anyway? Blaze would probably know. And he probably would hold the information over my head. Speaking of information, that reminded me that I wanted to call the head of this case, Mr. Lance, for some answers to my questions. He told me he had given me his cell phone number, and I knew I had the card somewhere. I needed to get answers from him, not his assistant or something. It was a good thing he had given me his personal cell phone number. I couldn't stand assistants and waiting. I finally found the card, and I dialed the number. It looked oddly professional... Ring Ring.... The phone was picked up after two rings. Hello, this is Mr. Lance's office, how may I help you? I groaned. A secretary, he had lied. It wasn't his personal cell phone number. "Yes, hi, I would like to make an appointment to talk with Mr. Lance..." > A Guard's Tale: Part Three > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blaze was in a daze until he heard the words "Get out, now." It was Redheart. Oh, Redheart. Stupid, stupid Redheart. No, it's not Redheart's fault. It's Hers. No matter who's fault it was, Blaze followed Redheart's command. He made his way out of her house, and to his own. When he got there, he immediately checked his booze. Yup. Just as he thought. Six bottles were missing, and he could only think of who drank them. "Stupid stupid stupid!" Blaze yelled, pounding his head against the wall. When he was sober, he would go over to Redheart's and apologize. At least now he knew that it wasn't either of their faults. After shutting the cabinet, Blaze felt a throbbing pain in his head. Trying to ignore it, he closed his eyes until sleep washed over him. "Get out. Now." "Blaze, I just can't do this anymore! I just can't! Just... Leave. Now." "B- but sweetheart. I'll have nowhere to go! I- I have to stay!" "Well, you should have thought of that before you got drunk and hurt Plug! Leave! Now, or I'll... I'll call the cops! I'll call the cops! I'll call the cops! I'll call the cops!" Blaze awoke with a jolt. He hadn't realized how similar those two situations had been. But this time, he hadn't hurt anypony. Luckily. Still the two situations were too similar for his liking. Redheart and Her... they both hated him. He had failed them both. And it was all because of... "Argh! Why the fuck did I keep you?! You just keep screwing everything up!" Blaze smashed his hoof into his booze cabinet. He smashed all his beer and the cabinet itself. "Never again. Never. You won't screw me over this time!" After everything was smashed, Blaze was panting heavily and sitting on his floor. He felt a pain, and he glanced down at his hoof. It was covered in blood. "Shit," Blaze said quietly. How the hell was he supposed to get to the hospital? There were no taxis in Ponyville. Well, the outskirts of Ponyville. There was only one pony close enough who he could ask for help from. And she was the last pony he wanted to see right now. Still, his hoof was bleeding like mad, and he needed to get to the hospital. Decided, Blaze wrapped up his hoof and hobbled towards Redheart's house. When he reached her door, after many glances and horrified stares, he gathered up his courage. "You can do this, Blaze. You can do this." With all his courage, all his strength, Blaze did the impossible. He knocked on her door. "Who is it?" she asked. "It- it's Blaze. Please-" "I don't want to talk to you. Go away." "Please. You don't have to talk to me! I just need your help. I... I can't drive, and I need to get to the hospital... and-" "Did you say the hospital? I'll be right out!" Blaze heard many clicks, and the door creaked open. Redheart inhaled, eyes widening at his hoof. "What... what the hay did you do?" "I... Well I..." Blaze was too embarrassed to tell the truth. "I got a little... angry." "You don't say. C'mon. We have to get you to the hospital. We need to get you to a professional." "But I thought you were a professional?" "No time to argue. Come with me." Not wanting to argue, Blaze followed Redheart. "I don't know why you came to me, but you did. Now let's go." ~~~~~~ "Now don't walk on it for a while, alright? And keep changing that bandage! Come back in a week, and we will see how you're doing. If it is still swelling after three days, come back immediately. If it looks infected, come in immediately. Now, off you go. I have lot's of other patients." Blaze groaned. So much work for one stupid hoof! "C'mon. You're coming to my place. I don't feel like driving to the outskirts of Ponyville. I also don't think you should be alone. That could be dangerous!" She didn't know how much her words stung him. Dangerous. That's what She had called him as well. Before She threw him out. Blaze grunted. He still regretted that day. It was horrible. And it was giving him a migraine, so he didn't want to think about it. After Blaze and Redheart were home, Redheart ordered him to lie down on the couch. "Drink," she said. She placed some steaming hot tea in front of him. Blaze sipped cautiously. It was hot, after all. He didn't drink carefully because he thought she was so mad Redheart poisoned his drink! That would be ridiculous! "Now, tell me what really happened. That doctor was an idiot. You can't do that to your hoof after tripping and falling down the stairs. So, what really happened?" "I- I... Uh. Like I told you before. I got angry." "Blaze, angry about what? If it's about me, I promise I won't be angry. I won't blame you or anything." "You won't blame me? For anything?" "Anything." Looking into her eyes, Blaze could tell she meant it. Her eyes were sincere; they held concern within them. Her reassuring gaze washed over Blaze, loosening him up. He didn't know if it was her gaze, or the pent up feelings he had, but he felt that it was the time to finally tell somepony. To finally get this off his chest. "A- All right. Well, it... It all started with Her. Sweetheart. And I was in love with her. Madly." > PLEASE READ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sorry I haven't posted in a while! I've been on an eight day camping trip! I should have some chapters out soon! -Derpy 2 > A Guards Tale: Part Four (Not Edited) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "We were madly in love. She was beautiful, I was handsome. Everything was perfect... until it happened. We were in our first year of college when she got pregnant. Not wanting to be an ass, I stayed with her all through the pregnancy. When it was born, she wanted to keep the baby, whereas I wanted to get rid of it. I knew it would cause so many problems, financially and relationship wise. But it was technically her baby, so we kept it. She dropped out of collage and moved into my apartment so she could take care of it. I got three jobs to help support us, but I was stressed. Three jobs and a scholarship is hard to keep up with. All the stress was affecting me and my life. I was moody and pissed off all the time, and my bosses didn't like that. Due to my stress and moodiness, I eventually lost my jobs, one by one, until I couldn't pay for my apartment anymore. My parents were so disappointed, they stopped paying for college. I'm not kidding you. They cut my funding, until I could "get my life back together". Me and my girlfriend were on the street; the baby too. And I guess I... wasn't thinking straight. We made a little money, and what little money we made I spent what little money we had on booze, and just like that, I was addicted. I was so stressed, I needed something, anything to let it out with. The booze helped a ton. "I eventually got another job, but she got one as well and it paid better then mine, so she was paying for the majority of our one room, really shitty apartment. Even though our apartment was shitty, it was expensive, so with our payment, it was getting harder and harder to keep up with the bills. We eventually had to take out loans so we could keep on living in our apartment. Luckily, my parents chipped in a bit. But it was still the hardest time of my life. Because of all that was going on, my got really b- bad, and I was drinking e- every night. I guess one night I just... lost it. I was t- thinking about how shitty my life was, and about how none of it would be happening if that stupid baby, Plug, hadn't been born! I- I was drunk and I- I was stressed and I-" Blaze was in tears now. This was all so hard to think about, let alone talk about! "I hit him! I blamed him for everything. I... and then... she came home and she... it was horrible... And the bruises and he was crying an- and... and then she ki- she kicked me out! I was on the street just like that with nothing but the idea that I was a monster." Blaze was crying hard now. He didn't realize it, but Redheart had put her hoof around him, and she was quietly saying "Shh." "I... I lived on the streets for years until I finally went back to collage. I finished out my years, taking out more loans to do so. I eventually got a job in the guard, but I've been paying off my loans ever since. Honestly, I've hated my life ever since. I can't even look at a foal now! And all the expenses! But the worst part? I was still addicted. All these years what made me a horrible stallion would sit in my cabinets. It would mock me because I couldn't stop. An- and then today. Everything was so alike then, and I was drunk and I... I got angry at all the booze. I got angry at what it did to me. To my life. It ruined me! So I decided... I smashed it. I got rid of it. And then I... Well, I hurt my hoof. Shards of glass do a number to the hoof." Blaze was hiccuping now. He couldn't keep it together. Redheart was about to reassure him, but he continued his sorrowful rant. "I... I'm sorry! I'm very, so very sorry! R-Redheart and Sweetheart a- and P- Plug! Plug, I'm so sorry! I was so horrible! I am so horrible! I... I have to go. I can't stay here. I'm horrible!" Redheart could tell he wasn't talking to her now, at least not directly. Soon, Blaze got up to go, but Redheart grabbed him. Afraid he would hurt himself if she allowed him to leave, she stopped him. "Blaze! Don't go! This all happened so long ago, you have no reason to call yourself a monster! No pony blames you." Blaze ignored her attempts to comfort him. "But... Redheart... I do. I blame me. She blames me, I know it. A lot of ponies blame me, and I can't do anything about it! Nothing! I thought apologizing to you would make everything better. I thought it would be all okay if I apologized. I thought it might... make my actions a little less horrible. But it didn't. I'm just as horrible a pony. I can't take back anything that happened. Nothing. I did so much wrong, and the scars will be there forever. No matter how much I try to fix everything, I ripped them apart. And I can never put them back together again. I'm a monster. The scars will always be there. There on Plug, and on me. I- I'm a monster." Blaze slumped down on the couch. He curled up and shut his eyes. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to walk away from this nightmare. He wanted it to end. But he knew that the moment he fell asleep, he would dream about Sweetheart. There was no way to end the pain. He could never make up his sorrows. No matter how much he tried, he would never shake away his sins. Ever. But maybe this time... he could sleep peacefully, knowing that his story was of his chest. He felt a little bit lighter now. Not that much, but good enough that he could tell the difference. The chip was now off his shoulder. Now it was just following him. That was better then it always being there. So, very much better. Blaze suddenly realized how droopy his eyelids were, and how heavy they seemed. He yawned and stretched out on the couch. The last thing Blaze heard before he fell asleep was, "I forgive you, Blaze. I really do." With that, his eyes closed.