An incident in Ponyville brings out some questions and unintended consequences for those involved. What starts as a routine police case soon escalates into a nightmare most involved could never have seen coming.
What starts as a routine police case soon escalates into a nightmare most involved could never have seen coming. Twists and turns reveal a point of view few have ever had.
"Well sug, I don't know," Applejack replied. "It seems awful strange... and just plum awful as well."
There was a silence around the table at Twilight's place. All six friends were together. On any other day, it would be fun to have a meet up. Truth be told, none of them wanted to talk about what they had gathered for.
Twilight looked around the room. Somber faces and eyes at the floor.
At first it was just a domestic incident, and as bad as those may be, it usually ended with the foal coming back in a few hours. Statistically it would happen once or twice per foal in even the best parts of Equestria. Even the best of them had rebellious stages. The police chief, named Chief, even had an outline for how these things usually went down. Runaways in Ponyville rarely went outside of his outline.
1. Dispute with parents and family. 2. Frustrated; confides plan to run away with best friends. 3. Leaves note for parents to scare them or provoke remorse 4. Leaves with must-have personal belongings 5. Becomes scared and/or homesick 6. Returns home
On occasion, the foal would stay away long enough to warrant a search party. Even then, they were found within hours. Chief was so confident with his outline that if any incident went outside of his outline, he bought a round of drinks for the entire search party after the foal was found. Eventually Mayor Mare found out about this and seriously reprimanded him for betting on lost foals. He never saw it that way, but conceded.
This disappearance didn't line up with Chief's outline.
Twist's family lived on the east side of Ponyville. It was a good trot to get to the marketplace and there were no immediate neighbors, but her parents liked the open air and plentiful space. It had a nice country feel to it, much like Sweet Apple Acres except no farm and less land. The best season in Ponyville was early spring. The cool mornings would start with a dark blue sky before the sun came up. As Celestia lifted the giant star, pinks and oranges would be seen in the clouds and the horizon bloomed with life. The tall, two-story home would cast a long shadow over the fields behind it as the wildlife awakened. As the sun became higher in the sky, one could smell the dew on the ground start to evaporate. On a Tuesday morning much like that, Twist's mom came upstairs to wake her filly up for school. She had made her a great pancake breakfast to start her day before school, and the smell was palpable. She knocked on the door. No response.
"Oh I bet she stayed up reading that book again..." her mom quipped. Again, she knocked harder this time. After another lack of response, she entered the door, only to find Twist wasn't there at all.
There was no argument the night before, there were no problems at school, there was nothing missing from her room, there was no note, or even an open window to climb out of. She was just... gone.
Immediately the police were contacted. Chief talked to the nearly hysterical mother and heard the entire story.
"Ma'am, has your daughter shown any recent changes in behavior? Are there any habits she has made recently that we might consider out of the ordinary?" Chief asked.
"N-- No sir," she replied in tears. "Twist is a great filly. She would never do something like this." The mother tried in vain to hold herself together.
"P-Please find her."
Her husband behind her, she let Chief find his way out and let her body shake with worry and pain. Pancakes cold and ruined, the spring morning didn't feel as good anymore.
From the mother's perspective, this wasn't Twist acting out. From Chief's perspective, this wasn't a normal runaway. Chief's gut tightened as he got back to the station. He had seen something like this go sour before, and it wasn't something he wanted to experience again. This was the hard part of his job. Search and Rescue was called out to broad daylight and regular officers knocked on doors to ask about the missing foal. Everyone knew her, but none had seen her since the day before. At the end of the day, they hadn't made any progress.
Chief had a sixth sense about police situations. His gut feelings were nearly prophetic; it was what separated him and all of the other candidates in the academy for faster promotions. This is what enabled him to be calm and still in situations that required patience and strategy. However, this time he felt his gut churn. "This is going to be a nasty one."
That night, no one found any clues. Twist was just as much missing as when he visited the family. In the middle of day two, Chief made the painful visit to Princess Twilight. He had to report what was going on, and he also wanted any help or insight she might provide.
Part of Twilight's first project as a princess was to personally meet all residents of Ponyville. As such, she knew Twist fairly well. She was a sweet little filly who was very interested in books and her education. Her social skills weren't exactly as high as her grades, but most in her class liked her anyways. From similarities alone, Twilight liked Twist. It made it that much worse when she heard Chief give the news. It was difficult to hide her emotions as she heard the news. She wanted to make an outburst, but she learned from her mentor Celestia that a ruler must be calm and collected especially when having an audience.
Twilight converted all of her fear for Twist into pure focus and energy. As soon as chief left, Twilight had Spike write down her orders. She wouldn't lose Twist. She couldn't.
Immediately, all off-duty weather pegasi were ordered to help the S&R teams. Weather would be sunny pending Twist's return, as to help visibility. If she wasn't found by that night, she would have to be more drastic. Neighboring cities would allocate a portion of their police until Twist was found. All home and shop owners would be required to thoroughly inspect their houses once in the morning, afternoon and night. Local beast hunters would be brought in and deputized as "specialists" for their tracking skills and Everfree knowledge.
Chief questioned if the Princess had put too much into this, maybe she was calling the cavalry a bit pre-maturely; then again this was her first major domestic incident since ascending. She would have to not screw up and he would follow her orders. As young as she was, Chief had no problem taking orders from her. She had done more for Equestria than he would in his entire life. Some of the former Royal Guards like Chief hated the officers above them due to their young age but every once in a while there would be a young one that actually knew what they were doing. Twilight, should she have entered the guard, would have been in the latter group.
What started as a hopeful day of searching ended with no progress. There were no clues, no evidence, and no witnesses. The longer the case went on, the worse things started to look. Chief had been in a case like this in Trottingham before he became the head of police in Ponyville. Some sicko took a filly around the same age and...
He didn't want to think about it. Amidst the cool, pitch black night on the way back to the station again, Chief tried to forget that case. He never would forget, but it was always worth another try. Not even the beautiful starry sky could aid in the the escape of his memories.
As chief got back to his office around 2am, he pulled out his lucky scotch and poured himself a drink. Before he could leave, he had to check all officers and S&R teams to make sure nothing was found. He made the calls. Nothing. Then he had to make the call to the Princess Twilight. The next day would be hell.
A rookie came in his office and asked, "Hey Chief, you okay?"
"Yeah," he gruffed out after a nice gulp of the fine liquor. "Just thought I left this shit in Trottingham."
2:17 am: Twilight gets the call. Twist has still yet to be found. Twilight holds her own fore-hooves to try and repress the urge to have a panic attack. Tomorrow she lets the cavalry loose. The press would probably go wild and would breath down her neck until the case was over. The citizens would probably panic soon.
9:36 am, Day 3: After only 4 hours of sleep, Twilight calls her friends over to discuss this. She would need them now more than ever.
The morning on day 3 wasn't nearly as beautiful as it was on any normal spring day. The sun was out and the sky was cloudless, as per Twilight's order. But there was a stuffiness in the air. It was hot and humid and generally unpleasant outside. A few minutes after the call, the girls arrive. Applejack is the first to enter and the first to sit down at the large round table. There is a tingle of sweat on her, as she's already been up for hours doing work on the farm. Rarity comes in second, just freshly woken up in time to put her makeup on, but not with enough time to eat breakfast. Rainbow literally just woke up, and visibly tired. Fluttershy and Pinkie come in at the same time, both early risers because of work, but not to the same degree as Applejack. The awkwardness in the room could be cut with a knife. Spike makes highly caffeinated coffee for Twilight and slightly caffeinated tea for the rest. As Pinkie Pie sits last, even she feels the weight of the situation. After some mumbled greetings and awkward small talk, Twilight spoke up first.
"I'm sure you all have heard of the, erm, 'incident' that is still ongoing?" Twilight manages to get out. The girls all nodded their heads; Rainbow added an obligatory and solemn "Yes", speaking for the entire group. Twilight looked up again at the group again.
"Then you all understand what this means." Her anxious appearance morphed into a commanding, confident and somber tone. "Whatever has happened to Twist is no doubt a tragedy in itself. The fact that she hasn't been found yet leads me to believe this could be a worse situation than what we previously expected it to be."
Fluttershy looked up with misty eyes and a faint lip quiver, but she said nothing. Applejack took off her hat out of respect and kept her eyes either on Twilight or the floor. Rarity put a hoof on Fluttershy's back to try and comfort her. Rainbow's typical nonchalant mannerisms were nowhere to be found. If anything, Rainbow was angry that something this awful could happen to a little filly. Pinkie's hair became noticably more straight as Twilight updated them on the situation.
Twilight continued, "And as tragic as this is for Twist, there is more on the line than just her. As the local princess, it is also my job to look at things like this from an objective... political even, point of view. These types of situations affect small communities like ours on a greater scale than it would for a city like Canterlot. Ponies here will remember Twist's disappearance and be scared to live their lives here. If fillies and colts just start disappearing in Ponyville, everyone will leave. On top of that, everyone's trust in me as a princess will fade substantially. If I lose the faith and trust of Ponyville..."
Twilight turned her head away for a moment. "I don't even want to think about what could happen."
Fluttershy looked up at Twilight. With eyes slightly more dry than before, "Oh Twilight, you know we'll always trust you."
The other four nodded their heads in agreement and gave a "Mmhmm."
Twilight, touched by her friends, kept going. "I know that, and I can't even begin to thank you enough for your non-stop belief in my abilities as not only a ruler, but a friend as well." She pointed a hoof to the door. "But they don't have that same blind faith, and for good reason. That's why I need your help. Chief and the local police have done an excellent job so far. So we need to think outside of the box to try and find Twist. Anyone have any ideas?"
Rainbow stomped a hoof on the table. "I don't know what we need to do, but we need to start doing something NOW."
Twilight nodded her head. "As much as I usually disagree with Rainbow, she's right. There isn't time for time-wasting. Twist is out there somewhere and we have to find her. Anyone else?"
"Well sug, I don't know," Applejack replied. "It seems awful strange... and just plum awful as well."
There was a silence around the table at Twilight's place. All six friends were together. On any other day, it would be fun to have a meet up. Truth be told, none of them wanted to talk about what they had gathered for.
Twilight looked around the room. Somber faces and eyes at the floor.
"I don't think that is the way to go, Rarity. I considered it, but ultimately our police Chief has done a great job of heading not only the police but also the S&R teams. I wouldn't have time to do anything else and Chief wouldn't be able to be as productive and helpful as he is now. I think we can do better if we put our heads together and more importantly work together. Just the six of us," Twilight rebutted.
The room had lightened a tad with a sense of progression. Twilight could swear the room lightened up a little. The hard part, bearing the bad news, was over. Now was time to make a plan and do something.
"You mean seven?" Spike asked, somewhat irritated.
Rarity looked over and gave Spike a sultry look and a pat on the head. "Of course you'll help, Spikey!" After Spike's ego had been resurrected, he went back to the kitchen to make himself a late breakfast.
Rainbow was visibly irritated and anxious. "Okay listen," she yelled out. "I'm done sitting here. Fluttershy, Twilight and I should fly over to different parts of Ponyville and the surrounding areas. We can cover a lot more ground if the three of us split up into different directions. Rarity and Pinkie, you go on hoof wherever the S&R teams haven't covered yet. Applejack, you send out word to the family you have in the surrounding areas about the situation and tell them to keep an eye out. If we all can't find her here, she must be in a neighboring town. It's 10:13 am right now. I say we do our work and meet at Sugarcube Corner at 1 pm to get lunch and go over what we have found."
Mouths agape, the other six including Spike sat in awe at Rainbow's plan. It wasn't that she was stupid, but rarely did they see her come up with plans that didn't involve jumping the shark. Even Applejack, who usually ended up arguing with any statement or opinion Rainbow ever had, just responded with "okay."
"Wow, Rainbow," Twilight said whilst being slightly taken aback by how logically sound the plan was. "That's actually a great idea."
And out the door they went.
Except Spike. Spike stayed home.
*Two hours later*
Applejack was still on the phone calling extended family members. Sometimes even to AJ, being southern had disadvantages. Having a huge extended family was usually great for reunions, but if you have to talk to all of them it could take hours. And as if it wasn't bad enough to have to call almost every family member she had in one sitting, it was what she had to tell them once they picked up. It wasn't a friendly 'hi' or 'how ya doing' phone call. It was telling them to look out for a lost filly who has been gone for days now. It was a cold reminder of how Equestria wasn't perfect.
To Applejack, hard work always had a funny way of fixing problems. But she knew that even if she worked herself to death, she couldn't save Twist from the memory of what happened to her. In Applejack's mind, there were no two ways about it. This situation could never be 100% salvaged. Even if they found Twist in good physical condition, something bad happened to the poor filly and she would probably be a little mentally damaged because of it. She could only hope that whoever took her wouldn't physically damage her. And that got her thinking...
"...what if this happened to Applebloom?"
The idea, now planted into her head, quickly grew into a patch of rage. Her heart started beating faster, sweat started dripping, her hooves started shaking. Thoughts of violence took over and she quickly went outside to walk it off. While outside she imagined some creep stallion taking poor Twist in the night and hiding her so she wouldn't be found. Talking herself down quickly brought her back from her rage, but one thought deep down would continue its whisper.
"I hope I find him first."
Chief understood why Princess Twilight ordered the skies cleared for full sunlight until dusk. It made sense, really. He silently applauded her on her ingenuity.
It just sucked to be in the hot sun all day, and he wasn't exactly the 20 year old athlete he once was anymore. He could sweat in an air-conditioned room these days. To make the situation worse, every time we went to get a break to go inside somewhere, some boot rookie needed his help outside. Between that and the constant updates from the search teams, calls from every politician in the nation, calls from police in other cities, and the hourly frantic call from the poor filly's mother, Chief just quit trying to go inside. Instead he ordered some boot to go get him a couple beers.
"Umm... Chief, it's not even 1pm yet," the young stallion said.
Chief just looked at the poor uniformed stallion with disappoint practically dripping of off his face. Today was hard enough and this new guy thought he would try out being Chief's mother? The rookie got the message fairly quickly.
Almost shaking, "Oh, um, of course sir. I'll get those beers right away, sir. Sorry sir."
As soon as the kid left, Chief took a deep breath and wiped the sweat off of his face. As soon as he saw the pink and white mares approach from down the street, he needed to wipe his face again. It was Pinkie Pie and Rarity. That alone made the sweat even worse. Was it because the Elements could have bad news, or because the elements themselves were all pretty mares? Being married and all, Chief would never tell.
"Chief! Do you have a moment?" Rarity asked.
Chief looked back at Pinkie and Rarity. "Pinkie Pie and Rarity, of course. What can I do for you?"
For Chief, it was always nice to see any of the Elements. Aside from them being an extra level of security for the town, Chief had to admit that Ms. Rarity was especially easy on the eyes. She was young, cultured, pretty and talented. He was far too old and far too married for her, but still...
"Well darling, we have been doing our own little search for poor Twist and we were wondering if you could tell us where the Search and Rescue teams have not tried yet," Rarity said.
Chief took a moment to think. "Well as far as the Ponyville area goes, I think about the only other place they haven't gone to yet is Rambling Rock Ridge."
"I see," Rarity confirmed. "That's a good distance away from here, is it not? What would be the best route to get there?"
Chief thought whether or not to even mention the actual fastest way, but they were Elements so he knew better than to lie. "The fastest way is technically through the Everfree, but you know the dangers of that forest. The next fastest way is taking a train to Dodge City and taking the road to the Ridge. Do you want me to assign some officers with you when you go?"
"Oh no thank you, Chief. We'll be fine on our own. I'm sure you're spread thin as it is." Rarity took a slight head nod to show respect to the Chief. He gave her and Pinkie the return gesture. Rarity walked off and Pinkie started hopping away saying, "Thanks Mr. Police Chief!!"
There wasn't enough time to get to the ridge and be back by 1pm, so Rarity just walked towards Sugarcube Corner. It was only about a ten minute walk, but it seemed to last longer. Rarity didn't like the entire situation. Truth be told she would rather see the local police handle it and let other get back to their business. But she also know that there was life at stake, and she would sacrifice anything to help. She would put her clothes order on hold for weeks if that's what it took. She was Generosity incarnate, after all.
Plus, this season's popular fashion trends were awful anyways.
It took Rarity a minute to notice the lack of hopping Pinkie was doing. Pinkie was right next to her after they saw Chief, but then she stopping hopping and was now behind Rarity. Rarity stopped and turned around, worry in her eyes. Pinkie was head down, slowly walking.
"Pinkie... are you alright?" Rarity asked.
Pinkie lifted up her head and tried to put on her best fake smile, but it fell apart like broken glass. Eyes ever so slightly misty, she plopped down on her haunches. "I just, I don't like this. I like being happy, Rarity. I like bouncing and parties and cake and bouncing and smiles... but I can't smile about this."
Rarity sat down on the street next to Pinkie and wrapped a hoof around her. "Pinkie, nobody likes this. It's just awful any way you look at it, but we have to do our part to help Twist."
Pinkie looked up, thankful for Rarity in this moment in time. "I know that Rarity, I just have a bad feeling."
"You mean your Pinkie sense?"
"No," Pinkie said. "Just after we left Chief a few minutes ago, I just got a bad feeling about something. Like, maybe something bad happened somewhere, or maybe something bad will happen later."
Rarity didn't know what to say. After a minute of silence, they both got up and returned to the path of Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie had one question in mind.
"Are you scared, Rarity?"
Once again, the white mare stopped in her tracks to think about her answer. She wanted to be strong in this situation, but she knew better than to lie. "Not yet, Pinkie. For now I'm only worried about Twist."
Fluttershy rubbed her hooves together. "I've checked every rooftop in Ponyville."
Rainbow cocked her head down a bit. "I checked over the entire river."
Twilight looked at the two of them, all still hovering, and wondered how she could keep morale up. "I flew over Ghastly Gorge, twice. Listen I know this feels bad, but maybe what we need is some good lunch and time to think and maybe make a new plan. Let's head over to Sugarcube Corner and wait for the others."
Applejack walked in last for lunch. The rest had already ordered their drinks. She sat down and ordered a water to drink.
Twilight didn't even bother to ask if anyone found anything.
After they ate, there was some more silence. Rarity spoke up. "Chief told me that the only place the search teams haven't checked is Rambling Rock Ridge."
Twilight nodded. "It sounds like our best option for now. We should all go together on this one; the ridge can dangerous."
"There is one more thing, however," Rarity continued. "There are two ways to get there: through the Everfree, or a train to Dodge City with a hike to the ridge. The Everfree path is shorter but Dodge City is much safer by comparison."
"Obviously we have to take the train," said Twilight.
Infuriated, Rainbow couldn't hold back any more. "WHAT!??" as she slammed a hoof on the table, silencing the entire restaurant/bakery. All eyes on her, she continued. "You've gotta be kidding me! That train ride is more than two hours long! Going through the forest would only take one hour MAX."
"Rainbow please, calm down. You're making a scene," Rarity pleaded.
Rainbow gave a death glare to Rarity. "How can any of you calm down?? There is a filly missing and she's been gone for three days now! Time is short and if we wait too much longer, we might NEVER see her again!"
Twilight stood up. Hoping to cool Rainbow down, she said in a calm voice, "Rainbow, I understand what you are saying, but if we lose another pony trying to find Twist it will only make this worse. We have to be careful about this and not let our emotions blind our judgment."
"Careful?" Dash mocked. "You mean comfortable."
Applejack got up and forcefully sat Rainbow down back in her seat. "Now you hold it right there, partner. I don't know where you're gettin' this attitude but it's goin' to stop right now. We know you're upset about this and trust me, we all are. But blaming any one of us and talking like that to Twilight just ain't gunna fly. We're all doing our part here and you goin' off like a cannon won't solve a word puzzle. We gotta stay calm and focused like Twilight said or all of our work won't matter a hill o' beans."
Rainbow, now calmed down, tipped her head. "I know," she said quietly. "I know you're right, and I'm sorry for yelling."
Twilight understood how Rainbow felt and spoke up. "Rainbow, to be truthful, I want to take the shortest route possible as well. But flying over the forest and walking in it are two totally different concepts. Both are dangerous but walking is far more so. Only three of us have wings, and Fluttershy and myself can't carry another pony for that amount of time. We also can't risk just me, you, and Fluttershy going because if something were to happen over the Everfree we might need all of the Elements to get us out of trouble."
Dash lightly nodded her head and lowly responded, "I, uh... I didn't think about all of that. We should take the train."
"Okay then," Twilight said as she got up from the table. "Girls, pack your saddlebags for an overnight trip in case we don't get back tonight. I'll tell Chief what we're doing. It's 2pm right now, so let's meet at the train station at 3pm."
After the decision was made, they all started to make their way towards the door. Applejack pulled Twilight aside.
"Hey Applejack," Twilight whispered. "Thanks for covering me back there. Rainbow means well but sometimes she just... I don't know."
"It's nothing Twilight, but I need to talk to you for a second."
"Sure Applejack, what's up?"
Applejack lightly pawed the ground a few times. Talking at low volume, she said, "Now listen, I called up the kin today, just like we talked about. I told them to keep on the lookout and to call me if they find her. Of course they'll do anything they can to help, but I need to ask you something and I need you to understand that I'm just trying to help you when I ask this. But Twilight... Dash had a point."
Eye lids scrunched, Twilight asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, it's been three days, sug. The odds of finding this filly get worse every day she's still out there. I know you know that but... what are you going to do if we, and Celestia forbid, but what are you going to do if we don't find Twist? Or... if we do find her, well... disposed?"
The thought alone forced Twilight to fight tears from coming on, and Applejack put a hoof on her shoulder in hopes to comfort. Twilight shuddered. "I.. don't know, Applejack. I've thought about it a few times but I try not to. Twist still has a chance, even if it is slim."
"Well, do you know what you'd have to do if the worst does happen?"
Twilight contained herself and tried to iron out the mental wrinkles. "Procedure dictates that the residing Princess of Equestria, Celestia, must be notified first. After, breaking the news to the family would come next. There would..." Twilight's composure faulted for a brief moment. "There would eventually be a ceremony honoring the victim's life and I would have to officiate it."
Applejack was shocked. She couldn't even imagine how awful that would be for Twilight if she had to do all of that. Applejack placed a hoof on Twilight's chin and lifted her head up. "Let's make sure that never happens."
"Chief, I need you to give me a detailed report on the search so far."
"Well Princess, this is going to take some time. The short version is, we haven't found her. The long version is even worse," Chief said as he pulled out a map of Equestria.
"I've had double police officers on duty since the disappearance. We've been taking calls on tips and general information but nothing has fleshed out yet. Search and Rescue teams have been deployed since the first day. Teams have been active here in north, east and west Ponyville. What S&R teams I have left are checking areas like Ghastly Gorge and White Tail Woods. I've personally contacted the head of police in all other cities and towns within Equestria and gave them her description. They will be checking for Twist as well. What I'm saying is, we're running out of places to look, and absolutely nothing has shown up."
Twilight's face contorted a bit with question. "Chief," she said. "You mentioned north, east and west regions of Ponyville, but not south?"
"As you know, Princess," Chief said. "South Ponyville is the entrance to the Everfree. I have a plan, but I'll get back to that. Some extra police came in from Appleloosa and even some from Baltimare. The other cities just don't have enough to spare. I'm having the new guys trained in our way of doing things and they should be ready to patrol by tonight. I personally put out the signs on the mandatory home inspections and I also made the sure newspapers put it on the front page as well. As far as the tracking specialists, most of the ones that do have Everfree experience refuse to help us. They have a couple stories on what can go wrong."
Chief looked up from the map and looked Twilight in the eye. "Personally, I have a allergy towards any and all forms of cowardice, but I know the Everfree doesn't operate like the rest of Equestria. A few years back, one of my rookies went in there trying to find someone's missing cat. You know what happened? Some dragon-chicken turned him into stone...
a dragon-chicken, Princess. There's just something not right about that. I'll take it a step further, too. I don't have anyone on the force right now that can handle that type of magic. These 'tracking specialists' might help avoid things like that but what if mistakes are made and an entire S&W team gets turned into organic concrete? I can't have that on my hooves, Princess."
Twilight turned away and walked to the other side of Chief's office. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. Twilight, deep in thought, looked at some of the pictures on the walls. There were family photos and individuals of his wife and children. From vacation photos to sitting-around-the-house photos. There were also some pictures of Chief and other police officers. Some pictures were very old, like the one he got when he graduated the Academy. Others seemed more recent.
But on the wall behind Chief were memorial pictures. Officers who died on duty. Their full names were presented and beneath their names were the birth date and death date. Some of them had small epitaphs on the picture. The whole wall was packed with these. It made Chief remember why they do what they do. It made Twilight realize Chief's position and responsibility.
With a stern look, Twilight looked back at Chief. "You're right, of course. And I agree to the plan."
His eyebrow cocked up, "But Princess, I haven't even told you the plan."
With a poker face that only Celestia could teach, Twilight responded, "You really don't have to tell me. If the police and S&W teams can't go into the Everfree, then the only other options would be the Royal Guard or the Elements. Obviously there aren't enough Guard for this and technically it wouldn't fall under the purview of their responsibilities. So if everywhere else is checked and nothing is found, the Elements will have to go in. Still, I want your police and search teams to have signal flares ready for if they find Twist. Assuming it comes to that, I don't want to be in the Everfree longer than I have to."
"What about you, Princess? Won't you need a signal flair if you find her?"
Smugness wiped itself on Twilight's face. "I'm an alicorn, Chief. I can make my own signal flare."
Slightly embarrassed, Chief respectfully put his head down. "Of course, Princess."
Twilight made her way to the door. "The Elements are going to Dodge City on train tonight to investigate Rambling Rock Ridge. I'll contact you when we get back. If anything big happens, get Spike to send me a message."
Some ponies native to Ponyville had jobs in other cities. For this demographic, train usage was the only viable option of transportation. Of course there were exceptions, but most took the 8:15am to either Baltimare or Canterlot. There was a separation comfort that most in this group enjoyed. They lived miles away from work and once home was in sight, the day was done and it was time for either family duties or leisure. Work was loud, busy and hard. Home was quiet, slow and easy. Ying to the yang, and whatnot.
Twilight never even thought about leaving Ponyville once she ascended. Her home was Ponyville and moving back to Canterlot, though providing an easy access to Celestia and Luna, would ultimately force too much separation between herself and duties concerning Ponyville. That's what she told Celestia at least. Truth was, she just didn't want to leave. Forget about the added benefits the town would receive from a residing princess being ever-present. Benefits such as tourism, population growth, reduction of an already fringed percentage of crime and added jobs; her friends lived there and she was happy right where she was. Would it be stressful, living in her workplace? Sure, but it was worth it to Twilight.
As she sat down at the train station watching all of the working ponies get off of the cars, she again decided that she made the right move by staying in Ponyville. As the rest of the Elements showed up and sat next to her on the bench, this thought was reinforced. She was happy she got to the station early. It was the 20 minute break before the 2 hour ride she needed to get away from the stress of the seemingly never ending situation. Like an actor waiting backstage before the premier performance, she tried to soak up the calm before the storm. A pause before her performance. A break before she would swim out into the most violent, stormy ocean she had ever been in.
Rarity gave her a nudge at 2:56 that brought Twilight back to reality.
"Twilight," the white mare said. "I just want to say that you have done such an excellent job with this case. I know it must be awful to have to deal with something like this so relatively quickly after you became a princess," Rarity said as she extended a smile and a hoof to Twilight's shoulder. "But I am very proud of what you're doing and how you have handled so far. I'm sure the rest of the girls, and even Princess Celestia feel the same."
Rarity would never know how badly Twilight needed to hear those words from someone at that exact moment, but she wrapped around Rarity and gave her a giant, almost painfully tight hug. "Thank you," Twilight whispered in Rarity's ear.
At 3:01 exactly, the train to Dodge City arrived and the Elements went aboard. None more than Twilight, they could feel the anticipation in the air. A few like Fluttershy and Rarity needed the hour after lunch to themselves in order to soak up the courage and mental fortitude required for this trip and the task ahead of them. Applejack and Rainbow just wanted to leave as soon as possible. However all of them, even Pinkie, felt their performance was close to open curtain.
The population on the train was sparse, mostly due to the fact that there weren't any jobs in Dodge City that citizens of Ponyville wanted to work. Though the six talked among themselves, the train ride was quiet. Twilight spend most of the ride looking out of the window. About halfway there, Applejack plopped down next to Twilight.
With a look that mixed friendliness and concern, Applejack asked, "How ya holdin' up?"
Twilight never moved her eyes from the view outside the window. "I'm good, Applejack. I wish this train could go faster."
"Yeah, I know the feeling. I bet Spike fumed up good when you told him to stay home, didn't he?"
"Yeah," she said as the two giggled. "Yeah he did."
That was the first time Twilight had a laugh in three days.
At 5:16 hooves hit the ground of Dodge City, and they were welcomed by scorching hot dirt, sand, and air. Twilight wished there were a few clouds to provide some temporary relief, only to remember she was the one who ordered skies cloudless until Twist was found. She checked her saddlebags to make sure she didn't lose or forget anything, and took a look back at the others to make sure they all had their saddlebags as well. Twilight took a long, deep breath, closed her eyes and put her head down for a moment. The five behind her wondered what she was doing but not a word was spoken. A few seconds later, her head rose, eyes opened, and she exhaled.
It was go time.
With authority, the wheels in Twilight's brain turned back on as she took command of the situation. "Applejack, we need to make a visit to Cherry Jubilee's farm. Lead the way."
The orange earth pony lowered the Stetson to keep it from flying off. "You got it, Twi." She rared up and started a gallop towards the cherry farm. Pinkie and Rarity followed suit and positioned themselves on either side of the farmer. Twilight, Rainbow and Fluttershy took to the skies above the others. The townsfolk that saw this immediately knew that the Elements weren't there for leisure; they had arrived for business. Even Dodge had heard of the disappearance of the filly in Ponyville, and they had heard of what Twilight was doing to find the poor filly. They respected Equestria's newest princess more than ever, and seeing her round up the Elements to find the poor thing caught the hearts and minds of the entire town. To the folks of Dodge, seeing the six rip through the town streets on a mission to find a lost filly was the most exciting thing they saw all month. The younger ponies cheered and waved at the Elements and their parents nodded their heads out of respect. Before, the Elements were something confined to a newspaper read or a tall tale. Now these ponies saw with their own eyes who the brave six were.
To all in the town, they were more than guardians of harmony. They were heroes.
Cherry Jubilee was on her porch sipping a hard lemonade when she saw the giant dust trail coming. When it got close enough to see that it was the Elements kicking up that dust, she already knew. Cherry told one of the workers to prepare some beverages for the incoming six. When Applejack got close enough, she slowed down to a trot so as to not have the dust following them hit Cherry's house. The rest followed suit and the flying ponies landed. Applejack and Twilight walked up the steps to greet the cherry farmer. The rest tried to wait outside of the porch, but Cherry would have none of that.
"C'mon you four, it's hot out there. Rest on the porch for a while! I got y'all some drinks."
All of them were dirty and sweaty, and even though they wouldn't stay too long, some shade and a drink sounded great. Rainbow and Rarity looked at each other and shrugged. "Why not?" they said in unison. As the four walked up the porch stairs, Rainbow saw how much dirt and sweat Rarity had on her. "Hey Rarity," Rainbow playfully mocked. "That dirt, sand, and sweat really brings out your white coat." Rainbow had a good snicker.
"Well Rainbow, I'll have you know that dirt is the 'in' fashion right now," Rarity bantered. "Of course I'm not a fan of it, but I can put my needs to be clean aside for a filly in danger. Priorities, Rainbow, priorities."
As the two sat down next to Fluttershy and Pinkie, Rainbow had a half-smile towards Rarity. "You know Rarity, I can respect that."
Dash offered up a hoof bump. Rarity smiled, savoring a moment where she and Dash agreed on something. Then Rarity gave her the hoof bump. Fluttershy was so touched by the moment she almost teared up.
As a worker passed out drinks for the visitors, Cherry took her focus to the two ponies in front of her. Twilight started the conversation with a respectful head nod and hoofshake, as was how Dodge native greeted. Applejack did the same. "Thank you for the drinks, Ms. Jubilee," Twilight said.
Cherry smiled. "Anything for the Elements, Princess Twilight! I haven't seen you since before you became an alicorn." She looked at Twilight's wings. "You sport your wings very well, I see."
The compliment put a smile on Twilight's face. "Thank you Ms. Jubilee, I appreciate that. I can't believe it has been that long since we were out here last."
Cherry turned to Applejack. "And Applejack, always nice to see you. It's great to see another fruit farmer do well, but I must admit that I miss my hardest worker. How are the apples doing? And how are the Apples doing, too?"
Applejack took off the Stetson and tried to hide an embarrassed blush. "Shucks Cherry, now you're just bein' flattering. Apples are in season right now so the farm is doin' great. Family is doin' good too; thanks for asking."
There were a few moments of silence on the porch before Twilight continued.
"I'm sure you can guess why we are here," Twilight said.
"I can," Cherry solemnly responded. "The Dodge sheriff came by yesterday for the same reason and told me the news. After he left I took the entire day and had my workers search the house, fields and barns. Nothing."
"We appreciate that," AJ chimed in.
"We certainly do," Twilight continued. "We're headed up towards Rambling Rock Ridge to look for Twist. Have you heard anything around town that might help us? Even if it seems unimportant, any detail might help."
Cherry tilted her head down, took a sip of her drink and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. The whole town has been putting in time to help the finding of that Twist, but not a thing has come up. If I may, Princess, what do you think happened to her?"
There is was.
The question that no one had actually asked Twilight until right now. The question that she didn't want to answer, but one that all had on their minds. It had an answer that no one wanted to hear. Twilight put her front hooves on the metal railing and turned to look out from the porch. Any conversation the other four friends had was immediately stopped to listen. Applejack places a hoof on Twilight for comfort.
"I think she was taken," Twilight forced out.
Fluttershy made an inaudible whimper.
"I can't say that I am positive how it happened because there was no evidence left, but I think she was taken."
"Who would do such a thing?" Cherry asked.
Twilight took her hooves off of the railing faced the rest on the porch. "The problem is, again, there is no physical evidence to go by. But... after reviewing what we do know a few times, I picked up on a few things. There is a theory that Twist ran away, but I don't think that is the case. She was doing great in school, she was turning a new leaf with her social life by making more friends and even attracting one of the colts in her class. There were no arguments or problems within the family at the time and her father brings in ample money, so they aren't in need. To top it off, her speech therapist even said she was making leaps and bounds overcoming some of the words she finds difficult to pronounce. I mean, she even has her cutie mark now. Why would a filly run away from that life? It doesn't make sense."
She continued. "As far as clues go, I had to look at what evidence wasn't left behind, starting with the front door. Keep in mind that this particular house doesn't have a back door. The door to the house wasn't jimmied or tampered with, and the family never heard anything the night she went missing. Now, sometimes, criminals can break into a house without being heard. Some think that whoever took Twist was just quiet. The problem with that theory is that it is an old fashioned house. The stairs creek when even a light pony traverses them. No one, not even the most careful intruder could be silent in that house at night. The bottom floor windows were shut and locked as well. Twist's father went on record and said he does that in the spring to keep the pollen out of the house. None of the windows on the bottom floor were opened or broken. And there were no prints on the windows, door, or floor on the inside...
"... in fact, there were no foreign prints anywhere in the entire house. Not even a hair left behind in Twist's room. Nothing was out of place in the entire house. There was a thought that the intruder could have gotten in through the chimney, but if that were the case we would have found soot in the house. That basically leaves two options. The first scenario is where she is teleported directly from her room to the outside. This option is viable until you realize that teleportation would definitely wake her up and scare her quite badly, especially if it was her first time going through the process. She would have, most likely, screamed quite loudly and woken up her parents. This is what some of the detectives still believe. They think that whoever did it could have done a silence spell immediately after teleportation, but that's high level magic and also impossible to activate quicker than she could scream. Even so, most of the ponies who are known to be capable of that level of magic have been interrogated and have rock solid alibis."
Rainbow spoke up with, "So where does that leave us? What do you think happened, Twilight?"
Twilight looked off into the distance again, then back at the group. Even the farm workers were now on the porch listening.
"I think whoever did this went in through Twist's bedroom window, second story. It's too high to jump into and there weren't any markings to indicate something like a grappling hook or ladder was used to get up there. I think it was a pegasus who did this. Many ponies never open their windows for whatever reason, and if Twist was like that I could make a stronger case for this theory. Windows left unopened for weeks or months at a time have a tendency to collect large amounts of dust, dirt, and small debris that can attract bacteria after a rain. If there were large amounts of this bacteria on the outside portion and trace amounts on the inside portion of the window, we could use that as evidence that the criminal knocked some off of the outside by coming in. We could also test to see how long the bacteria has been there, and if the bacteria on the inside is fresh, we would have a stronger case for my theory. The problem is, her mom told me that Twist often opens the window to stargaze at night. After testing it myself, I found that there was little bacteria build up on the outside, and a decent amount of old bacteria in her room around the window as well, supporting what her mother told me and not giving any viable evidence that her window was used for entry..."
Twilight realized that she went pretty technical and by the looks she was getting, she decided to simplify it a bit.
"In common terms it means I can't prove anything, but there is more. The fact that there are no prints suggests that something was put on the assailant's hooves to prevent leaving prints behind. Something like the type of hoof-protection you can buy for either medical use such as surgery or maybe outside work such as farming or gardening. Whoever did this made no noise whatsoever, but more importantly, Twist didn't make any noise. This to me could be the most important part.
"The first possibility is so impossible that it is practically nonsensical, and that is that this pony could fly and do magic as well. As you all know, only alicorns can do that. Obviously none of the Princesses, including myself, would ever do such a thing. One thought is that... and Celestia forbid... but that she might have been killed and then taken. I don't think that is what happened. Why go through all of the effort to take her after you killed her? It would make more of a statement to make a mess and leave her there. I count that one out. Another possibility is the usage of some type of gag, but even then, one can still make noise with a gag, just not coherent words. I think she could have been loud enough to wake her family if that were the case. Again, I counted that possibility out.
"The last possibility is the one I'm sticking to. I think whoever did this used some type of drug to keep her from waking up. To me, this is the only course of action that makes sense. At first I thought that maybe this drug was given by needle, but no drug could work so fast that she wouldn't wake up from the pain of the needle, at least for a few moments, before the drugs kick in. Then came the idea that maybe it was given orally, like on a rag that could have been stuffed in her mouth, but again, she could have made noise before it took effect. I believe that if drugs were used it had to be nasal insufflation, aka, through the nose. Most likely, this drug wouldn't have a smell, so it wouldn't wake her up at all."
Rarity's face showed disbelief. "Wait, Twilight, you're telling me that there are drugs out there that can be sniffed and they will make a pony sleep? How would you be able to detect it if such a thing were used on you when has no smell?"
"You wouldn't," Twilight somberly answered. "That's why these types of drugs are illegal. If they were used on you, from your perspective you would just come-to after the drug wore off. Most likely you wouldn't remember what happened either, or what you were doing while under its influence.
"It gets worse. There are different strains of these drugs. Some cause a deep sleep. Others cause a short coma. Others are made to be lethal. Some others even cause the effect of being susceptible to mind control, and depending on the strain, the effects of these drugs can last between 5 hours and a week."
Clearly a bit disturbed, Cherry asked, "So who are we looking for?"
"Good question," Twilight responded. "My profile of who did this is built completely off of assumptions and gut feelings, but this is what I think. Again, none of this is fact; only my opinion. I could be totally wrong, but...
"...to me, we aren't looking for your run of the mill pony. Whoever did this is not like us. Though there is nothing to point that this is the case, for ease of explanation and using the fact that these crimes are mostly committed by males, we'll say this criminal is a stallion. I think whoever did this also would also be considered very smart by his peers, possibly genius level intellect. While at the same time, he would need to have decent, if not well-balanced social skills. I don't think he would look weird either, because that would attract unwanted attention to himself. I think he will be able to blend in well with a crowd and not stick out. I feel like he is decently good looking, but not model status. He would need to be a good liar without cracking under pressure, so he might have an acting background. If I am right about the drugs, then he would have some kind of medical experience as well. He left no evidence behind, so he is careful and strategic. This leads me to believe that it is not his first time doing this.
"One more thing. I think he's alone. I don't know why, but if I'm right, I think he's doing this on his own. That's all I have," she finished.
Stunned and in disbelief, the rest of those on the porch took in everything that Twilight said.
"Twilight?" Cherry asked.
"Yes?"
"If what you say is true, you six need to get to the Ridge right away. I'll tell the sheriff what you just told us and we'll continue the search in and around town. If you come back tomorrow and haven't found her, see me again and I'll tell you if we found anything."
Rainbow jumped up and nearly hit her head on the porch awning. "I'm with the cherry farmer on this one. Let's get a move on!"
Twilight nodded her head and the rest got their saddlebags back on, got up, and off of the porch. "Thank you for the drinks, and for your help on this," Twilight said as she was leaving.
Cherry waved goodbye. "Good luck to you Twilight. If anyone can find the poor filly, it's you and your friends."
As the six said their final thank-you's and goodbye's, they got back into formation and galloped/flew towards Rambling Rock Ridge.
It was almost 7pm before the six got to Rambling Rock Ridge. As the storm of dust kicked up by their hooves slowed to a stop, the runners and fliers gazed at what was before them. At the base of the massive terrain, it was a sight to behold. A diversity of formations made completely out of red rock dominated an area large enough to compare to Canterlot. There were giant rock spikes guarding the outside portions of the Ridge, and two mountains surrounding the flat plateau in the middle. Those who came to the Ridge for tourism or recreation breathed in its beauty and wonder with awe and an open mouth. The Elements sighed with disappointment, knowing full well how long it would take to search the entire ridge. They would be spending the night for sure.
As the friends laid down for a much needed rest, Rarity had a question.
"Should we wait here and sleep at the base tonight?" she asked.
"What?" Rainbow responded with a look of disgust. "Why would we do that? We still have at least an hour or two before it gets dark!"
Rarity rolled her eyes. She was nearly fed up with Rainbow's constant enthusiasm. "Because it would be safer, Rainbow. We don't know what is up there, after all." Applejack and Fluttershy both cringed, for they knew what multi-colored fury that was about to be unleashed. Rainbow hovered near Rarity, getting rudely close to the white mare.
"That's garbage, Rarity," she said at a volume slightly quieter than a yell. She then turned to the rest of the group. "Look, I know you're all tired and I am too, but we have to keep going. The only thing that might be up there is Twist! We came all the way out here from Ponyville; wanting to stop before we even start is a load of horsefeathers!!"
"Rainbow!" Twilight chastised. "What's gotten into you??"
"WAIT!!!" Pinkie Pie screamed out.
Suddenly silence. The friends all looked at Pinkie.
"Stop arguing!" as she motioned a circle with her hoof. "We're on the same team!"
Rarity rubbed her hooves together. "Pinkie Pie is right... so is Dash."
Twilight looked at Rarity with complete surprise. "Really?"
"Yes, darling. I know that I'm tired but I'm... I'm honestly more scared than anything. I've never been to Rambling Rock Ridge and I can't get the stories my father told me as a filly. I know it's juvenile of me. Dash is right; we need to hurry it up and find Twist."
After a pause, Twilight got up. "Okay then. If everyone is ready, let's move. The hike up will definitely be a work out to the legs, so stretch if you need to." As the rest got their saddlebags back on and started up the mountain, Twilight went towards Rainbow and pulled her aside.
"Dash, wait. I need to talk to you," Twilight coaxed.
Not even making eye contact, Rainbow refuted with, "Twilight, we don't have time for this, we need to look for whoever did this!"
"Dash, I'm serious!" Twilight said with a hoof stomp.
"Fine, what is it?" Rainbow said as she finally stopped and looked at Twilight.
"I need to know something. Why are you so emotionally involved in this case?"
Dash rolled her eyes. "Pff, I don't know what you're talking about." Rainbow started to walk away.
"I think you do, Dash." Twilight jumped in front of Rainbow to stop her leaving. "I'm not saying you are a bad pony, we know that isn't true. I know you would do almost anything for anyone in need. But this... this case has been different. You have been obsessed with this since the beginning to the point to where you are willing to bash your own friends in order to see this end. I know you are loyal, but this is past loyal. This is something different and I want to know.."
Rainbow cut her off. "You want to know why? You really want to know? Fine." Dash exhaled deeply and slowly and took a step back. Her demeanor changed from an attacking one to one of defeat.
She quietly continued. "I had a friend in Cloudsdale when I was real young. Her name was Goldie. She had a light orange coat with silver mane and tail. We met in our first year of school. I wasn't always this... loud... when I was young so me and her hung out all the time. Her house was the first friend's house I spent the night at. We knew everything about each other and we were the sisters neither of us ever had...
"Then three years after we met, she misses four days straight from school. She never said anything to me before and her parents wouldn't tell anyone what was going on. Later that day, I heard my mom tell dad to make sure I didn't watch the news. I ran into the room anyways and watched as dad tried to get me to leave. I'll never forget the pictures they showed of Goldie's body. It was... so mangled and torn. The reason why it took them so long to find her was because whoever did it somehow got her to Trottingham without raising any suspicion."
Dash had a tear fall down her face as she immediately tried to wipe it off and put her head down. "Every time I hear of this Twist, all can think of is Goldie. I was too young to do anything about it back then, but I'm plenty old enough to help now. I can't let this one slip. I know that's cliched and dumb but Twist is someone's Goldie. "
Twilight initiated the hug Rainbow had needed since she heard of the Twist situation. "I'm so sorry, Rainbow. I didn't know. It's not cliched; I understand now."
"No, I'm sorry,"Rainbow said. "I know that sometimes I can be a little forceful with this but I feel like if we take our time then we might barely miss her somehow. I've been unbearable this entire search and I get that now." She looked to the side. "I guess I just needed to get that off of my wings. It bothers me, but I'll try not to snap again."
Twilight gave a nod of understanding. "If you just told the rest of us that, I'm sure they would understand."
Rainbow started making her way up the mountain. "I will."
Applejack had made her living by working outside, no matter the weather. Though Ponyville was never known for its harsh weather, it didn't stop a blistering sun during the summer and freezing cold snow in the winter. She was easily the most hardened against the weather out of the six. However, this place a different kind of heat that made it difficult for even the farmer. Even on the hottest of days at the farm, her trees provided shade when it was necessary and the air had at least a little moisture. And yet even she was not immune to the bone dry air and the never ending, sweltering sun that occupied Rambling Rock Ridge. The openness of the ridge made it easier to look for something. There were really no places to hide outside of a few caves, but that also meant that there were no areas to get some shade. The only relief from the unbearable heat that the Elements would get would happen after the sun set. The six set mental countdowns to when this would occur.
The night before, the six made it to the top of the first mountain and camped there. When morning rolled by, they got up and took a look around both mountains. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Their last bet was to search the plateau and caves in the middle of the Ridge. As far as the search went, there was no progress. The caves were the best bet, but they were running out of caves to search.
Twilight had read up on Rambling Rock Ridge years ago, which she found to be fascinating. It was always told that the Everfree hosts a plethora of dark magic and the beasts that lived there were tainted mentally and physically. The night time in the forest was much worse than the day time and nothing made sense in the Everfree. The Ridge was different. They said that it possessed a different kind of darkness. With no plants or water in sight, it made living there impossible. Add in the extreme heat during the day and wintry nights, and you have a recipe for disaster. They said that the Ridge would give insanity before it gave death. There were several cases where this was proven correct.
Of course the rest of the six already knew about the Ridge. It was the topic of many scary stories parents would tell their foals in hopes to steer them away from visiting the dangerous region. Some like Fluttershy and Rarity still harbored fear from said stories even into adulthood. Still, the group carried on.
Hours had passed since morning and the entire group was already hungry, thirsty, and tired. Out of the Elements, there was not a single one who wasn't dripping with sweat. As hooves clopped against the hard rock moving their bodies forwards, patience seemingly seeped out of their heads through their ears. In order to prevent insanity, they kept conversation going. Rainbow eventually told the gang what had happened to Goldie and apologized for her behavior during the search. Of course, she was cut some slack and completely forgiven by all. Pinkie Pie went on about the type of rocks they saw and poured out information about them. Only Twilight found that interesting.
Before long, however, they reached the end of their search. They found themselves at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Everfree, Ponyville, and Canterlot in the far distance. It was a beautiful sight to see, but the Elements couldn't really enjoy it. They had failed to find Twist and now had to go home with nothing. They sat there in silence as the sun set. Twilight spoke up, defeated, "Let's go home, girls."
The trek off of the Ridge seemed longer than the hike up. With not only less vigor and stamina but less food and water as well, coming down was the worst part of the trip. As they passed Cherry Jubilee's farm, the cherry farmer went outside and just shook her head. Nothing new was found in town. As the six approached the train without a filly in tow, those around them made sure not to make any comments about the situation. The train ride back to Ponyville was as depressing as it was quiet. There was little conversation made whatsoever. Nearing Ponyville, Fluttershy took a seat next to Twilight and asked, "What do we do now?"
The other four heard the question and gathered around. Twilight thought it through. She had hoped it would never come to this. There were so many other possibilities in the beginning of the search, but one by one, all other options were crossed off of the list. It was the only other option left. With the other five looking at her, she looked back at them.
"Tomorrow we go into the Everfree."
As she got off of the train, Twilight said goodbye to her friends and made her way towards home. It was late, and the moon was so bright that she had a shadow. Street lights were all on and police were out patrolling. Those who asked Twilight if the Elements found Twist received the response, "I'm afraid not." She was tired and hungry. Her hooves were achy from the hard rock she traversed upon, her wings were sore from the hours of speed flying and all four legs had seen a bit too much lactic acid. All she wanted to do was eat a quick snack, drink some water and fall right into the comfort of her own bed.
Spike was told to stay home and wait for Twilight's return, whilst also being prepared to send a letter in case Chief found Twist. At the beginning of the search, he was told he would participate. This was hardly participation in the search, he thought. He had come to expect this kind of treatment, really. However, he would persevere to the end.
The end, of course, would be the day Rarity would accept him as more than a friend. He would take another 10 years of this treatment if that's what it took. He would move in with her and watch her work and wake up with her....
But he had a lot of work to do until then.
In the meantime, he could still be mad at Twilight when he got snubbed out of responsibilities, and he was indeed mad. They were out having an adventure and he was stuck at home. Sure the situation was a bit more serious than that, but it was better than being cooped up all day. After eating all of the chips in the house and going through his emergency stash of gems, there was nothing left to do but twiddle his thumbs. During his period of extended boredom, his frustration with Twilight increased through time. He decided that he would confront her when she got home about his denial of participation in something important like this.
When he heard a knock at the door around midnight, he knew it would be Twilight. He prepared his best 'dissatisfied and irritated' face and slowly opened the door. To his surprise and dismay, there wasn't the colorful and confident Twilight he was so used to. Instead, there was a tired, upset, and depressed Twilight at the door. Just from the sight alone, his anger melted into compassion. He would bring up his complaint another day.
"Hi Spike," Twilight mumbled as she walked in. She let the door slowly shut behind her and dragged herself to her bed upstairs.
"You don't look too good, Twilight. You feeling okay?" he asked. It had been a while since he saw her this beaten and glum.
"We didn't find her, Spike. Tomorrow, me and girls have to go into the Everfree to look for her."
Suddenly Spike was perfectly fine with staying home tomorrow. "You're going into the Everfree?? C'mon Twilight, that's dangerous! You could get hurt."
Twilight face planted into her bed and talked into her pillow. "I know Spike, but the Elements are the only things that can take on the Everfree. It's the only place that hasn't been searched. I don't want to do it, but as a princess I have to."
Feeling her pain and understanding what she was going through was one of the things Spike was good at. At times like these, Twilight needed a set of ears to talk to and some food. After a minute of silence, Twilight opened her eyes to find Spike at her bedside with some food and water asking, "You hungry?"
A smile was the only answer Spike needed. After she finished, both tried to go to sleep.
But soon after she put her head onto the pillow in hopes of slumber, a little voice in her head started to get louder. It was asking if Twist had a nice bed that night to sleep in. It beckoned if Twist had a roof over her head at that moment. It wondered if Twist was even breathing anymore.
After an hour of tossing and turning, Twilight still couldn't fall asleep. Spike was eventually woken up by her fiddling around and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I can't sleep. There's too much on my mind," she replied.
Spike knew immediately that she was stressed out, but didn't know how to help her. Then an idea came to mind. "Hey Twilight, what entrance are you using tomorrow?"
"To the Everfree?" she lifted her head off the pillow and asked. "I don't know actually." She thought about it for a minute and got out of bed. "I don't know, but I'll go look for the best one while I can't sleep. When I get back, I'll be able to sleep for sure."
"Okay Twilight, but try not to take too long," Spike sleepily replied.
Spike was snoring again before she even got out of the door.
Twilight flew all the way to the northern part of the forest and walked down its border. The forest in itself was massive and made entry a daunting task.The nocturnal things in the Everfree were things to be feared, so Twilight decided she wouldn't go in far if she found a good spot. There were trails used by a select few that entered the forest. Fluttershy had one near her house that her animals used. There was one near Sweet Apple Acres that the timberwolves used. But after checking both, she didn't want to attract anything towards Fluttershy's place and she certainly didn't want to run into any timberwolves. That left one trail entrance. It was located just outside of town.
As Twilight approached, she sat and looked at it for a while. Trees and brush parted a few feet in diameter to make a path into the darkness. Her mind took her years back when Celestia told her about the Everfree for the first time. Celestia warned the younger Twilight that she should never go into the strange forest. Celestia told her stories of ponies getting lost in there, only to never return. There were the few unicorns that tried to tap into its dark power, only for them to receive acute crippling insanity. She told Twilight about the cockatrices and timberwolves that ran wild. Twilight imagined being chased by a herd of timberwolves. She could hear the beasts raging closer and her not being able to fly or use magic. They would catch up to her eventually and tear her apart. She could practically hear them running towards her.
Then she realized she actually could hear something running, and it was in the forest. Eyes wide open and fully back in reality, Twilight sat perfectly still. As she listened, it sounded like something was running...
...towards her.
She shot up off the ground as her heart stated racing. As Twilight's fight or flight was turned on, she backup up and chose to fight. It could have been a wild Everfree animal, but it could also have been the pony that took Twist. Either way, she wasn't about to let it go. Her wings spread open and her horn lit, she readied herself to attack whatever was coming at her. If it was a timberwolf, she would need to be ready to attack hard.
She yelled out, "I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!"
But then the running stopped and a small voice responded with, "Princess Twilight?"
Stunned, Twilight didn't move. A shadow was slowly moving towards the forest entrance. As the figure came out of the darkness and into the moonlight, Twilight squinted her eyes to see what it was.
Twist walked out of the forest.
Twilight powered herself down and tucked her wings back in. Feeling a mix of shock, joy, and relief, she ran towards Twist. Twilight picked up the filly and gave her an overwhelming hug. Tears running down both of their faces, Twilight kept repeating, "I'm here; you're safe now."
After what seemed like minutes, Twilight put Twist back down. "Are you alright, Twist? Are you hurt?" she asked.
"I think I'm okay. I just don't remember anything," Twist nervously responded.
Twilight realized how traumatic the past days must have been on Twist and decided to not ask anymore questions. Instead she let Twist ride her back and walked towards Ponyville. "Don't worry Twist, I'll take you home." As Twist climbed on Twilight's back, she leaned forward and hugged Twilight's neck. Both starting to tear up from relief and joy, Twist whispered to her savior "Thank you Princess Twilight."
Twilight arrived at Twist's house sometime around 2:30 in the morning. Knocking on the door, she quickly heard someone coming to open it. Twist's mother was revealed, and she didn't look good. Curlers in mane, bags under her eyes, and the look of someone who was emotionally drained.
But when Twilight smiled and said, "I brought someone with me," she turned to reveal a sleeping Twist. The mother immediately lit up and grabbed her filly. Tears were everywhere once again, though Twilight managed to keep it to a big smile this time. The mother was so overwhelmed that she could barely speak coherently. Still, Twilight managed to discern a "my baby" and "we were so worried." The father hearing the commotion barreled down the stairs and immediately cried as well. At that moment, no one wanted to ask what had happened. They were just glad she was back. The three hugged and enjoyed their company, while Twilight just watched.
After a minute, the three went back to Twilight. Tears of gratitude and joy still flowing, the mother said "Princess... thank you so much. I can't tell you how happy you have made us."
The father stepped up as well. "Yes, Princess. If there is anything we can ever do for you, consider it done. If nothing else, you can expect our full support in whatever you do."
"I'm just glad she's back," Twilight responded with a smile. "You three have a good night. Chief will be coming in the morning to ask some questions, but I'll make sure you have at least one night of peace."
And with that, Twilight walked back to her place. She would call the girls and the Chief to tell them the news, and then immediately go to sleep. The next day would be a media frenzy, but that night she would sleep well for the first time in days.
"I know this may be a little bit difficult, but do you think you can talk about it? If you can, just tell me what happened and include every detail you can remember."
Okay. I got up on Tuesday to go to school like any other day. It was real hot and sunny, even in the morning. Mom made my breakfast, pancakes, and I went to school. Ms. Cheerilee taught most of the day on history, Post-Banishment Equestrian History, to be specific. Diamond and Silver passed notes in class. The Crusaders were jumpy waiting for recess. Snips and Snails just stared at Silver all day. The only strange thing that happened, happened at recess. I was playing around with the Crusaders on the swings. Scootaloo wanted to jump off and do trick while in the air. The rest of us were happy to not jump off the swings. Ms. Cheerilee was reading a book; that's what she did when no one was misbehaving outside. Then, I saw her give a weird look in our direction on the swings and she got up and walked to us, then went past us. Scootaloo and Applebloom were too busy arguing about what a swing-set cutie mark would mean, but Sweetie Belle saw what I saw. There was a stallion on the far side of the playground just watching us. He was outside of the fence but he didn't say anything to anyone, and he didn't look like anyone's dad that I knew, and I have seen most of my friends' dads.
I was too far away from hearing everything, but I heard a few of the things he and Ms. Cheerilee talked about. She came up and asked what he was doing or if he needed anything. He told her that he is moving to Ponyville in a few months and just wanted to see the school his colt would go to. I think she was suspicious of him at first, but after he said he was moving here she became friendly. She told him about the school and introduced herself as the teacher, then gave him a tour of the place. She got into detail with all of the playground equipment we just got. When she let him inside the classroom, Snips and Snails tried to blow bubble gum bubbles, but ended up getting it stuck on their faces. After a few minutes I saw him leave the school building. Sweetie Belle and I watched it all happen. It kinda seemed weird, him just standing there, but I guess some ponies are good with starting conversations. I asked Sweetie about it later and she said she thought the guy looked weird.
"Can you describe what he looked like?"
Yeah, he was kinda tall, but not too tall. Real light brown with a short, dark brown mane and tail. He was wearing sunglasses, so I don't know his eye color. He had a syringe as a cutie mark. He looked to be pretty young, for a father. Oh, and he was a pegasus.
"Can you remember anything about him physically that might stand out other than his cutie mark? Like scars or birthmarks?"
I couldn't see anything like that, but I guess I wasn't looking for those. He did have saddlebags on, though.
"Okay, what happened after that?"
I went home after school. Sometimes I go to hang out with my friends after school, but I had a lot of homework so I went straight home. Dad got off of work early and he got to eat dinner with us. Mom made dinner and we even had apple pie for dessert. I finished my homework around 8 and got ready for the next day. I went to bed around 9:30, like always. Next thing I know...
I could feel the ropes around me and the bark of the tree on my back. I don't know how I got there or when or how long I was out. I couldn't move and the ropes were really tight. My glasses were still on but it was so dark outside that I couldn't see anything. I took a deep breath but there was something on my mouth and nose, like some kind of powder. Every time I took a deep breath, I got kind of dizzy. I wanted to cry for help, but I knew that if I was in the Everfree, it would attract predators. I wiggled and tried to get at least one rope off. Eventually the ones on my hind legs got lose, and I got out of those. Whoever tied me there was not good at knots because I got out of them in what felt like an hour. There were two trails that led to where I was. I didn't know where I was so I picked the trail that had some moonlight penetrate through the trees. I just kept walking down this trail, hoping it would take me back to Ponyville. I tried to be really quiet so I wouldn't wake anything up, but I was so nervous I kept accidentally making noise. I remembered from science class that there were non-poisonous berries in the Everfree that were safe to eat, but in the dark I couldn't tell the poisonous from the safe berries. Every once in a while I felt like I was being watched, so I would stop and look around. I never saw anything. By the time I got down the trail a while, I could tell it was really late. I could see a little better than I could when I first woke up. When my eyes adjusted, the greens and the blacks of the nighttime forest started to separate better. I don't know how long it took me to get out, but the trail led me towards Ponyville.
When I saw the end of the trail approaching, I started running towards it. I just wanted to be out of the forest. As I saw the opening exit get larger and larger, I heard a shout from outside the exit. I was running so hard that I couldn't hear what was said, but I slowed down so that I could hear it if it happened again. As I approached the exit, I saw Princess Twilight in some kind of magical powered-up state. He eyes were turning white and there was a pink arua around her entire body. I got kinda scared because she looked really angry and I didn't know why. I thought maybe she was mad because I was gone in the forest, and I thought about turning around to avoid getting into trouble. But then I realized that I would eventually come back so I slowly stepped out of the Everfree. I thought she might zap me right there, but when she saw me, she powered down and ran towards me. I guess she wasn't mad because she seemed really glad to see me. I got really tired after it was all over, so she let me ride her back as she took me home.
"I bet it feels good to be in your own bed again."
Yeah, it sure does.
"We're all glad you're back, but I do have a few more questions."
Um, okay.
"Twist, you never saw who took you?"
No sir.
"Not even once? Did you hear him at all?"
Not even once. I never saw or heard whoever took me.
"And you never came-to until last night."
I guess so, Mr. Chief.
"Do you suspect anyone in particular, or know anyone that might do this type of thing?"
I don't think so. No one I know would do that sort of thing.
"Alright. Thank you for your time, Twist. I'm sorry this happened to you," and with that, Chief left their home.
Twilight was mentally off in another land thinking about what she had just heard. It seemed insane that in the end, Twist found Twilight, not the other way around. But most importantly, Twist was back. The out-of-town police were sent back to their homes, the weather was set back to normal, Search and Rescue was disbanded, house inspections were lifted, and police went back to normal rotation.
It was a victory in the end, but something still bothered Twilight.
"If I may," Chief added. "You don't look very happy, Princess."
Twilight came back to reality and looked back at Chief. "Oh, I'm ecstatic that Twist is back! It is the best thing that could have happened!"
"...But?"
Twilight put a hoof on her chin. "But it doesn't make sense. How could a criminal so careful in taking Twist be so sloppy that she got out on her own? She's just a filly, for Celestia's sake!"
Chief put the testimonial back into its folder and into the corresponding filing cabinet with the rest of the recorded testimonies. "I don't know either Princess."
"Chief, how many officers are you keeping on active search duty for the assailant?"
Chief, still at the filing cabinet, turned around with a face of surprise. "Zero?"
"What??" Twilight responded in shock.
Chief sat back down at his desk. "Princess, you know we don't have enough officers as it is. On top of that, what do we have to help us find this criminal? We don't even know what he looks like!"
"Yes we do!" Twilight countered. "Twist gave the description of the stallion who was at the school yard!"
"No, Princess, we don't. Twist said that she has no recollection of who took her and what he/she/it looked like. The drugs came back as a positive for a strain that would cause memory loss. As far as that stallion at the school is concerned, he wasn't breaking the law. I don't know who he is, but we can't arrest him for looking at a playground."
"But Chief, that's CREEPY!!"
"Princess, our jails would be full if I could arrest citizens for being creepy. Now I'll make sure my officers keep a look out for anything suspicious, but that's all I can do."
Chief took a second to decide whether or not he would say what was on his mind, and decided to do it. "Twilight, you know I have the utmost respect for you and your job. It's something I know I could never handle. But I think it's about time you realized the difference between your ideals and your job. The job doesn't always end the way we want it to. Do I want to find whoever did this to that little filly? Of course. But I don't have the resources or evidence to track him/her/it. You might have to accept the fact that we may never catch whoever did this. That's just life, Princess."
Infuriated, Twilight flung herself out of the chair and marched towards the exiting door. "You know Chief, I thought you were on my side."
Disappointed that he couldn't help more, Chief pleaded, "I just told you I wanna find whoever did this too, but we have to follow certain..."
*SLAM*
"...rules."
Twist was sleeping. Her parents always did their best to make sure that she got a full 8 hours every night. Her mother attributed this with the good grades she received in school. Her father attributed her excellent growth spurts and the attaining of an early cutie mark. Either way, they were happy with their daughter getting good sleep.
Twist wanted to stay up longer almost every night, but she was mature for her age. She knew it wasn't fun to live the next day without enough sleep and she knew it was good to get a full night's rest for many reasons. In other ways, she liked sleeping. It meant that she could get to school earlier, see her friends earlier, eat a delicious breakfast earlier. Either way, she was happy she was getting good sleep.
She was dreaming of school again. It was the same ole', same ole', but she liked it. The educational accomplishment of getting good grades appealed to her almost as much as seeing her friends.
A creak of her window cried out to Twist's unconscious mind, nudging her slightly out of slumber. As she opened her blurry eyes, there was a figure at her window.
This is a dream, Twist thought. The figure saw the eyes of his prey open, but he knew the shining moonlight at his back would not allow her to see his face. A wet cloth was loosely placed on her nose and mouth, and her eyes drowsily closed again. When the figure was positive she was out cold, he spread his wings and flew off into the night sky; filly in tow.
As Twilight was in her bed, not even sleep would give her a release from her never ending questions. Why would the culprit leave her in the forest unattended? How could she get herself out of those ropes? Why would he not try to get her back after she escaped? How could he be so meticulous in taking her and so sloppy later? None of it made any sense and this bothered Twilight heavily.
After about an hour of rehashing the information, Twilight went back to step one. Clearly there was something keeping them back from what happened.
Maybe there is a mistake in the way I am looking at this. Go back to step one. Evidence points towards the fact that Twist was taken, and she wouldn't have the knowledge or know-how to drug herself. Even if she did, what is the endgame with that anyways? Strike that out.
So she was taken. If she never woke up until days afterwards, then there must have been some type of mind-control drug applied repeatedly.That would explain the remnants on her nose.
Still, there was no sign of physical injury or abuse of any kind. She was given food and water, else she would have died. Her vital signs are fine, and her psych exam just shows trauma from being taken, not taken advantage of.
Since no ransom offer was given, maybe her captor was going to make her help him with a robbery, bank probably. But every bank in Equestria has every bit counted for. Not even stores have reported any robberies since she was taken.
So why go through all of that trouble just to... release her?
Twilight sprung her head up from the bed and practically jumped out. Her face went from one of deep thought to a look of anger.
"That's it."
She teleported away.
Twist's bedroom was quiet and finally free from police tape and markings. The only pony there was Twist herself and she was fast asleep. The comfort of her own bed and recognizable surrounding gave way to an unconscious grin on the sleeping small pony. As she was still sleeping, she rolled over. Her mind busy with warm dreams of being back in school; a break from what her reality had been for a while. A poof was heard from the far side of her room, slightly nudging her mind out of slumber. As she opened her blurry eyes, she saw Twilight next to her. Twist smiled, thinking she was being protected by her rescuer, even in dreams.
This is still a dream, Twist thought. I'm so happy Princess Twilight found me. Twist blinked her eyes a few times to slowly see her heroine clearly.
But something was wrong. Twilight had bags under her eyes that could carry groceries. The eyes themselves, wide open, were red from dryness and lack of sleep. Her mane was slightly mangled. Her breathing caused billows of air to escape her nose, much like an angry bull. Her magic energy pulsed around her body, emanating pure anger. Twist realized this wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare that was very much so real.
Quickly, Twilight grabbed Twist out of bed and teleported the two away.
They reappeared in an open field next to Sweet Apple Acres. No one would hear them where they were, and Twilight needed to make sure no one heard this. Twist got nauseous from teleporting and tried to not vomit. Twilight faced away from Twist in the dark field, checking to make sure they were alone. She looked up at the beautiful stars in the sky as they were the perfect foil to this unpleasant situation. She turned back around to look at Twist. The filly was about to say something but Twilight lifted a hoof to stop her.
Clearly both irritated and angry, Twilight lowered her voice as she said, "I need the truth, Twist."
Twist's body tightened up a bit. "I don't know what you're talking about, Prin"
Twilight cut her off and let some of her rage out. "Don't you lie again. You didn't escape; you were LET GO. I want to know EXACTLY what happened! Now tell me, WHAT ELSE DID YOU LIE ABOUT?"
Eyes wide open, Twist asked "How... how did you...?"
"Because it didn't make sense, Twist. Whoever did this was good enough to not leave anything behind when he took you. They wouldn't be so sloppy as to allow you to escape unless they WANTED you to. Now tell me what REALLY happened, and this time, make sure it's 100% truth."
Twist, clearly upset and afraid whispered, "He told me not to tell anyone."
Taken aback from the response, Twilight lowered her voice again. "Tell me what? Who said this?"
Twist looked at her hooves and tried to hold back the coming tears. She took her time and talked to the grass instead of Twilight. "I.. I don't know. I didn't escape like I said I did. I was woke up and some stallion untied me. I never saw his face and he told me not to turn around and look at him. He told me which trail to take and said I shouldn't tell anyone what he did."
Twilight took all of this in. She was right, Twist didn't escape. The criminal let her go.
Twist looked up with misty eyes. "But that's it! That's the only lie! Everything else is true! I'm sorry Princess Twilight!"
As Twist broke into soft tears, Twilight knew she had the right story this time. "You never saw any of him?"
Still upset, Twist answered "I.. I only saw that his coat was grey on his legs. That's it."
Twilight had softened when Twist began to cry. She was upset that the filly would lie, but she also understood why she did it. It wouldn't be fair to grill her anymore since Twist was the victim of the situation. Twilight grabbed Twist and gave her a hug.
"It's okay," Twilight said. "I'm not mad at you, Twist. Next time, just tell me the truth the first time, okay?"
Wiping her tears away, Twist nodded and managed to get out an, "Okay."
Twilight looked off into the direction of the forest. She knew what she had to do. "Sleep well, Twist."
She teleported Twist back to her bedroom, then teleported herself to the forest entrance.
As soon as Twilight got into the woods, she knew this could be the last mistake of her life. The darkness around her was a constant reminder that she was never more weak than right now. None of her regalia, none of her title, none of her friends, and none of her library knowledge could help her here. This was a place for the wild, savage, and instinctual. This was not for her.
But she was a princess for Celestia's sake. She was among the ten most powerful beings in and outside of Equestria. She had magical brawn that replaced and bettered physical brawn. The only problem was, she had limited experience with the Everfree. As she knew very well, the Everfree was technically not ruled by Celestia. It was too wild, too unpredictable, and full of dark magic. Cut one tree down in the Everfree and three more popped up. Kill one wild beast, and a pack of the same kind took its place. The unicorns brave enough to try to tap into its dark magic went insane... every time.
Twilight stopped in her tracks as she thought of these things. She didn't want to go in alone. She certainly didn't want to explore the Everfree by herself, but it was her responsibility as the local princess to find who had done this. She had taken on the responsibility as a princess when Celestia allowed her to ascend. She was hoof-picked as a foal to be who she is now, and who was Twilight to refute Destiny? Except when the rubber hit the road, Twilight found the hard part of being a princess of Equestria: risking your life for the sake of your subjects.
She had to do it. Deep down, beyond the fear and anxiety, there was a filly who was taken against her will and a town that could individually suffer the same fate if Twilight didn't act. In a spot of her psyche, Twilight wanted to do this no matter the danger. Princess Twilight needed this.
She kept going down the trail.
A distance away, tucked between brush and tree branches, a pair of dimly lit orbs focused on Twilight.
Twilight had been in the forest for an hour, but it seemed like several hours had already passed. The darkness that poured around her surroundings grew more dim with every step her body drew. Trees grew bigger, the brush became thicker, the ground slopped with mud. The calls of wild animals surrounded her at all times. She began to wonder if her mind was playing tricks on her. She could swear that she saw eyes looking at her a few times. Nervous sweat dripped from her body as she cautiously continued down the trail. She kept seeing things move in the distance, but she didn't want to upset any creatures by calling out. She tried using her horn as a lamp, but it was surprisingly hard to use her magic at all. She could still do it, but it took more force and energy to keep it up. Her magic was weak here.
Twilight stepped on a twig; the breaking of which seemed to echo a warning to predators throughout the foliage. Twilight's eyes dilated as the extra adrenaline hit her veins. Her legs began to shake in place and she could hear a racing pulse in her ears. As she tried to control her breathing, she waited silently so as to hear anything coming her way. As a panic move she shot her eyes towards the tall tree canopy, hoping to find an emergency opening between the trees to fly out of. There was none.
Twilight didn't want to be here anymore. Her magic was difficult to use, there was hardly any light at all,
After being completely still for over a minute, Twilight checked the trail behind her.
There was no trail behind her. The forest had closed up behind her. There was only forward. Twilight saw with her own eyes how alive the Everfree really was, and nothing had scared her as much as that fact did. She shakily placed one hoof in front of the other to continue on. There was literally no way out now.
Twenty minutes later, Twilight approached an opening. There was a decent sized tree in the middle with ropes fallen around it. This must be where Twist was set free, Twilight thought. But behind the tree, there was a pony gathering the rope from the ground. Twilight immediately put more energy into her horn light and jumped to the side of the pony.
"Stop where you are!" she exclaimed.
The other pony wasn't surprised to see her in the least bit. In fact, he cracked an eerie smile at her. It was a stallion. He had a dark grey coat, white mane and tail, and green eyes. He had neither a horn nor wings. He looked to be older than she was, but not by too much. He was also a bit taller than she was as well.
"Can I help you, Twilight?" he asked with a cocky smirk.
"I don't know who you are, or how you know me, but you match the description of the stallion that took Twist." Twilight stomped a hoof down. "You're coming with me!"
Still sporting a smirk, the stallion dropped the rope back on the ground. "I can't do that, Princess."
Teeth clenched in anger, Twilight responded with "It wasn't a question." Her horn lit up and a beam slowly traveled to the stallion. Visually struggling to use her magic, she finally grabbed the stallion with her magic and shoved him into the tree. He put up no resistance.
"Why are you not struggling?" Twilight asked in irritation. "You are the one that took her, aren't you?"
Still calm and confident, the stallion responded. "There is no need for me to struggle, and I do not feel remorse for what I did."
Now beyond furious, Twilight screamed out, "Give me a reason why I shouldn't hurt you right here!"
The stallion, unfazed by Twilight's efforts, simply waited. Twilight walked closer to him, her eyes manically wide open. He bent his neck forward towards her ear and whispered, "Left."
Twilight looked to her left. In a spot between the center tree and a wall of trees that lined the trails, the ground started to glow a deep green. Outside of Twilight's line of vision, the stallion's eyes had a dim glow of the same color. The spot on the ground started to open up as something was being lifted from beneath the ground. Fluid of some kind started to spurt from the open ground, but Twilight could not see its color. Mud and muck began to bubble up, but there was something wrong. Twilight's heart started beating as she became very afraid of what had just been triggered.
Then she saw a hoof. Then four hooves. Then a head.
It was a dead pony. It was relatively fresh but its coat around the neck was soaked in the blood that had stained the mud it was buried with. Eyes still open and tongue hanging out, the corpse was looking right at Twilight. So shocked and disgusted by what had just happened, Twilight let go of the magic holding the stallion and vomited. As seconds past and her nausea calmed down, her heart beat did not. She turned to the stallion, standing by the tree.
Eyes wide open and near panic, Twilight asked, "What is that?!?"
His eyes still half shut, the stallion calmly responded with, "Look closer."
She slowly walked towards the dead. She held back another vomit when she got close. It was a pegasus. Light brown coat with dark brown mane and tail. Wings looked injured. Large cut at the throat and...
... a syringe cutie mark.
This is him, Twilight thought. The pieces to the puzzle were coming together faster than Twilight could handle. She turned back to the living stallion.
"You... you didn't take Twist, did you?" she asked in disbelief. "You set her free."
He simply nodded. There was a soft breeze in the forest as Twilight kept putting the pieces together, but there were many things she still didn't know.
"How did you find him? What did he do to Twist? Why did you kill him??" she asked, still in disbelief.
The stallion didn't answer. Instead he turned to walk away. He spoke towards the trail he was about to take. "You should leave now."
Twilight, was too shocked to be truly irritated by this stallion's noncompliance. She meant to yell but "I have to know," barely got out of her throat.
The stallion kept walking away. Twilight put all of her magic into teleporting him back in front of her. Once she did this, she grabbed him with her magic so as to keep him from walking away.
"What is your name?" Twilight demanded.
The stallion no longer wore a smirk on his face; he was now visibly uncaring. "Unimportant, really. You are angering him." As he finished speaking, his eyes began to dimly pulse green.
"Who is 'him'? And why are your eyes glowing?" she asked.
"You will find out both soon enough."
Twilight got a hold of herself and was done playing games. "I've had enough of you, whoever you are. I don't know if your eyes work, but I am an Alicorn Princess, and you are just an earth pony! I might be weaker in here, but you will respect me and give me the answers I want. I will use force if I have to."
The stallion's eyes pulsed a brighter green as time went on. He responded, "You are asking the wrong questions, Twilight. Frankly, by sticking your neck when it doesn't belong, you have made a terrible error. You are as foolish as you are naive if you think this is about Twist or the stallion that took her."
Twilight took his insult personally, but she hid how hurt she was from it. Two can play this game, she thought. "I have a theory." Twilight said, still magically charging up. "I think you are a vigilante who is far out of line. I think you are a murderer who is no better than those who get caught in civilization. I think you like this 'work' and you live here to savor it. I think you are scum, and I'm waiting for a reason to not either bring you in or end you right here."
For the longest time, he said nothing. He just stood there, seeing Twilight's magic and power charge up while still being completely unfazed. His mouth had not moved and his eyes stood open. He was neither impressed nor worried with Twilight's display of power.
"Are you done yet?" he finally asked. His question was so surprising that Twilight actually put away her magic. "You still don't get it, do you?" he mocked.
Twilight kept her composure. "I get that you have killed a pony. I would guess it's not your first time. Who knows how many, and for what reasons? Why shouldn't I strike you down for your crimes against Equestria?"
"Only a dictator deals in absolutes, Princess Twilight." He added, "You know, I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed in you for being so naive, or in Celestia for not trusting you with this wisdom."
"Don't you DARE speak on Princess Celestia like that!!" Twilight screamed, getting into attack position.
"Why? Will you kill me here in the forest?" he bluffed. He stared at her with his color-pulsing eyes. He knew her political and moral stances. He knew how to bend her sideways with those stances and knead them into weaknesses. Weaknesses that all politicians have.
"I don't think you will," he continued. She paused herself and got out of attack position. She had never seen this kind of mental fortitude.
"I think we both know what will happen," he went on. "Someone will eventually find out that you killed a pony here in the forest, and you won't be able to prove it was for a good cause. I think we also both know that you still don't have the political power to uphold capital punishment on your own without a trial."
Twilight clenched her teeth and they grinded against each other. Her eyes went wide open with anger. She knew what she should do. He was out of line, and she could end it before he went out of line again. He didn't operate by Equestrian laws. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't end him here. It would be an abuse of power. If Celestia found out, I might lose my crown.
"That's right Twilight. You won't kill me," he went on. "You are smart, Princess Twilight. Smarter than your mentor's wildest dreams. You know more spells than I could imagine and you could quote libraries' worth of information. I know for a fact that you are the smartest pony since your idol Starswirl was still breathing."
Surprised by his unusual and seemingly sincere compliment, she took a few steps back.
"But," he added, eyes pulsing faster. "You have one fatal flaw that gives me the upper hand. With all of the knowledge you possess, you don't know the most important part of knowledge...
"Ponies. You don't know ponies, Princess, and you never will. You don't know how they work, or why they do what they do, or what they are capable of. That is where I will always have the upper hand. I can tell a rapist from small talk in the marketplace. I can tell a serial killer by the way he trots. I can sense a kidnapper from 2 miles away. And as much as you hate it, that is the only reason why your precious red haired filly is still alive."
Twilight was visibly upset and angry. As her horn powered up, she exclaimed, "We have police and Royal Guard to fill the role of catching those criminals. Our society does not need vigilantes like you running amok. Our justice system is fair, and focuses on rehabilitation, not death. You have crossed over the line of toleration, and I will bring you into a court of Equestrian law."
As soon as she finished speaking, Twilight spread all of her legs apart in attack position. She pulled her head back, then shot it forward, throwing a pink tranquilizing beam from her horn towards the stallion. As soon as he saw this, he got into the same attack position, and from his eyes came two bright green beams that met Twilight's beam halfway. The clashing of the two magics caused a white-hot energy in the middle of the two, and upon meeting, caused somewhat of a sonic boom that shook the trees near them. Twilight was putting everything she had into this spell, but her opponent never broke a sweat. As seconds passed, the green began to push the pink back towards Twilight. Twilight, now panicking, closed her eyes to try and focus. The green came only a few inches from her horn, and upon opening her eyes, she immediately knew what he was trying to do. In fear, she cried out, "HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS? YOU'RE JUST AN EARTH PONY!!!!"
Then it happened. The green beams hit her horn, which caused a small explosion. It disabled her magic completely. She fell to the ground, weak, tired, and beaten. Her horn was dysfunctional, which caused a terrible migraine. Lactic acid washed her muscles, causing pain and soreness altogether. Her eyes hurt from seeing the explosion. Tufts of her mane were fried. The victor stepped toward her, eventually standing over her.
"Not exactly, Twilight. You flaunt around your morals and standards for others to see," he rebuked. "As should a Princess do. But you lack the understanding of the price to which affords you those morals and standards. You operate on a strict code of righteousness, and always sacrifice for the good of your constituents and friends. You have lived upon a set of ideals given to you since birth. You look around with your eyes and yet you do not see. You see society and believe that there is no force that makes it the way it is. You see the status quo as free of charge."
He turned around and took steps away from Twilight. Obviously in some sort of pain, he clenched his jaw tight with a grunt.
The stallion quickly turned back at Twilight in anger. His eyes were now fully glowing green without pulse at an almost blinding brightness, and as he spoke three other voices at different pitches and octaves accompanied his words as well as drones of low frequency sound. His voice now rumbled the ground and shook the trees. The sound of timberwolves howled nearby, as if recognizing their master. A green aura filled the opening in the forest like a fog. It was nothing less than intimidating. All Twilight could do was stay on the ground and watch as this happened in front of her own hurting eyes.
Beholding what happened, Twilight cried out, "What are you!?"
"My name is Ruslan, Harbinger of the Everfree. I am beyond your comprehension."
After Ruslan spoke, Twilight tried yelling out amidst the deafening drone noises. She opened her mouth but no sound was produced from her body. Then suddenly, she began feeling the ground below her sinking. The forest was molding itself to swallow her. She tried screaming again but still nothing. There was nothing close enough to grab onto with her hooves. She tried using her magic to hold something, but it still did not work. Voices, laughter, and white noise began to deafen Twilight as the ground was up to her forelegs. Frantic tears poured from her eyes as she reached out to Ruslan for help.
Everything went black.
Twilight nearly jumped out of bed. As she regained consciousness, she took a frantic look around. She was home, but her bed was replaced by a hospital bed. Medical machines were running next to her bed and she had an IV in. Celestia was by her bedside, caring for her. Twilight lifted her head out of panic and shouted to Celestia, "How much of that was REAL??
A poof was heard in the room. Before Celestia could answer, her eyes suddenly widened at something on the other side of Twilight's bed. A presence was felt very near. Twilight turned her head to see what Celestia was looking at.
"Not much, I'm afraid," said the green-eyed stallion with a smirk.
